This is the longest chapter that I've written for this story and I wasn't planning on it being this long, honestly. I don't know what happened - at first I was struggling to write it at all and then I ended up with this beast!

Anyway, I hope you like it.

Beth slammed the front door of the farmhouse behind her and marched over to her truck. She stomped down the steps and hurried towards where the vehicle was parked, but she wasn't quick enough.

"Beth!"

She ignored Maggie's calls and searched in her bag for her keys, cursing under her breath when she couldn't find them. Beth could hear Maggie's footsteps getting closer and closer to her and she tried her hardest to ignore her presence, but she eventually removed her hand from the inside of her bag and threw it to her side, finally looking up at her sister to give Maggie her best scowl.

Beth had never been the best at looking intimidating or scary, and Maggie didn't seem phased by her expression at all, but Beth was still pretty pleased with herself. She was squinting her eyes and almost giving herself a headache because she was knotting her brows together that hard and her lips were squeezed into a thin line. Beth thought it was better than her previous attempts, which usually ended up with her laughing or smiling because it just felt so ridiculous to look like this.

But this was different. She was angry now - no, furious - and scowling at her sister seemed like the best thing to do.

Maggie looked quite pleased with herself as she dangled the keys to Beth's truck in front of her face in a teasing manner. Beth wanted to gasp and scream and shout but she didn't. Instead she chose to keep her expression stone-cold.

Beth made an attempt to snatch them from her sister, but Maggie wasn't close enough and she was far too tall for her to reach them, anyway. Beth narrowed her blue eyes even more and Maggie's facial expression softened after a moment.

"Come back inside, Bethy," she said.

"No."

Beth couldn't help but be a little bit proud of herself for how steady her voice sounded.

You're getting good at this standing up for yourself business.

"Beth, please -"

"Maggie, give me my keys."

Beth hadn't fought with her sister in such a long time and she really hated doing it. Maggie was hard-faced and so cold when she wanted to be, but whilst Beth was equally as feisty and fierce, she was also warm and soft. The fact that she wasn't the best at being nasty didn't help, either. Maggie always knew what to say to hurt her in all of the sensitive spots, and whilst Beth probably did know what would really upset Maggie, she would never dream of saying any of it.

But Maggie had taken this whole thing too far and out of proportion and they were well into their twenties now, so why weren't they past all of this?

"No," Maggie said. "Come inside and talk about this and then I'll give you your keys."

Beth shook her head.

"Screw you," she hissed.

"Bethy!"

Beth's eyes widened at the sound of her father's voice. She hadn't noticed him standing at the top of the porch steps, and now he was looking at her with such sad eyes and a disappointed frown that made her feel awful. Beth rarely cursed because she knew how much her daddy didn't like it and here she was, speaking to her sister with language like that right outside of his house.

That was the problem with Beth. She felt guilty all too easily, whereas Maggie always thought that she was in the right and was never sorry for anything.

"See," Maggie said, looking over her shoulder at Hershel before looking back at Beth. "You're upsetting daddy."

Beth's big blue eyes widened again at that. She couldn't help but think that Maggie could be so ignorant and oblivious sometimes.

"I'm upsetting daddy?"

"Yes, you are."

Maggie was speaking through gritted teeth now and Beth took a step backwards, putting more distance between the two of them. She was shaking her head back and forth and her ponytail was starting to fall loose but she didn't care about that.

All she cared about was getting as far away from this place as she possibly could.

"Maggie," Beth said, letting out a shaky breath to try and calm herself down. "Give. Me. My. Keys."

"No."

Beth let out a strangled noise and threw her arms up in defeat.

"Fine," she spat. "I'm leaving. Whether I walk or whether I drive. I don't care."

And she did just that. Beth turned on her heel and stomped away, ignoring the shouts of her sister telling her to come back.

Once she was almost halfway down the long dirt road that led up to the farm, she sighed in defeat and removed her phone from her bag, unlocking it quickly and dialing the number of the only person she wanted to see in that moment.

Daryl answered on the third ring and she was so relieved to hear his voice that she almost started to cry. Beth knew that her voice was breaking and Daryl probably thought that she was actually crying already even though the tears hadn't yet spilled from her eyes, but she was too caught up in everything that had been said to care anymore. All she really wanted was to get away from her family - her sister in particular - and give herself some space.

"I'm really, really sorry to ask," she began, trying to keep her voice strong like it had been when she was talking to Maggie. "But is there any way you could come and pick me up?"

Daryl agreed without any hesitation and that almost made Beth smile. She told him where she was and he said that he would be there as quickly as possible.

"Thank you," she said. "I'll be at the bottom of the dirt road just before you turn in."

He was already waiting for her at the bottom of the dirt road when she got there. Beth briefly wondered how fast he must have been going to get to her so quickly, but she pushed it away and smiled at him instead.

Beth had never ridden on a motorcycle before and Daryl nodded at her when she told him that.

"Just hold on tight," he said to her.

Beth climbed on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing the side of her face into his back.

"Y'alright?" he asked before they set off.

Beth just nodded her head once and squeezed his middle tightly. Daryl didn't say anything else to her and she was glad for it, just enjoying the ride back to wherever it was that he wanted to take her. She hadn't exactly specified where she wanted to go and Daryl seemed to be able to tell that she didn't care where she went, she just needed to get away from the farm.

Beth closed her eyes and tried to breath steady as they rode, laughing a little when the wind hit her a little too hard and sent the bobble flying from her hair, causing it to whip around her face and neck as Daryl sped off.

They pulled up outside Daryl's house a short while later and he helped her climb off the bike. Beth was glad that he knew what he was doing because she didn't even realise that her legs would feel like jelly and she probably would have ended up falling over and hurting herself.

Daryl told Beth to sit down on the couch and she could smell something cooking in the kitchen and she instantly felt bad that she had interrupted his evening, causing him to have to leave his dinner cooking in the kitchen so that he could come and get her.

She looked around at the living room and realised how much more spacious his place was than hers. Beth had always imagined Daryl to prefer old-school decoration, but the place was actually modern and although it was a bit bare, it suited him in a strange way.

The walls were a cream color and the couches were white and he had a television and a computer desk with a laptop placed on it. There was a little coffee table in the middle of the room and it was open-plan, leading straight into a dining room. Beth wondered if Daryl ever had people round for dinner because it looked like only one of the chairs had ever been sat on and she smiled a little at that.

"You hungry?" he asked, emerging in the doorway to the kitchen.

Beth just nodded her head once and smiled a little at him before he disappeared back into the kitchen. He came out a few minutes later carrying two plates of spaghetti and placed the food down on the dining room table, setting it so that they were sat opposite each other. Whilst Beth settled herself in one of the chairs, Daryl hopped back in the kitchen and came out with two glasses; one of them filled with lemonade and the other empty.

Daryl passed her the empty glass, looking a little sheepish as he did so.

"Didn't know what you like," he told her, nodding his head towards the kitchen.

But Beth just smiled at him and accepted his silent invitation, heading into the kitchen and looking around. Daryl's kitchen was bigger than her kitchen and like the living room, it was simple and sleek and modern with marble counter tops and clean surfaces. Beth opened the fridge and poured some diet coke into her glass before she returned to the table.

"Thank you for this, Daryl," she told him.

He just shrugged his shoulders at her but didn't say anything as they both tucked into their food. Daryl ate a lot faster and messier than she did and Beth bit back a smile throughout the meal and she was proud of herself for not giggling at him.

Daryl looked like he was dying to just eat his food with his fingers but he was using his manners and eating with a knife and fork and Beth thought it was sweet of him. She smiled at him from across the way when he looked up at her and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards a little.

"This is really good," she said as she placed another forkful into her mouth.

Daryl snorted at that.

"I mean it," she said once she had swallowed. "You're a good cook."

"You'd be the first to think so," he said, shoveling the last of his food into his mouth.

"Have you ever cooked for anyone else before?" she asked.

Daryl shook his head.

"Just Merle," he said after a moment, and Beth smiled a little at that.

"Then I'm the first to say it because nobody has had the opportunity to say it. Besides, I'm sure Merle thinks you're a good cook."

Daryl made a noise in the back of his throat but didn't say anything more about it, so Beth didn't, either. He waited at the table until she had finished her meal and then he took both of their plates into the kitchen. Beth picked up her glass and went to sit on one of the couches, kicking off her trainers before she snuggled into the chair.

She knew that she was probably making herself all too comfortable when it wasn't her place to, but she felt so awful and miserable and his couches were cosy and they smelled like him.

"You gon' tell me what this is all about?"

Beth opened her eyes and jumped slightly at how close he was. He had sat beside her and was looking at her strangely, probably wondering what she was actually doing here and why she was making herself so comfortable on his couch.

She sighed even though she knew that she needed to tell him because if she didn't then it would only weigh her down.

"It's Maggie," she said. Beth had told Daryl all about her family so he knew who she was referring to. "She's just... She's horrible sometimes."

"S'up with her?" he asked.

Beth just shook her head at him.

"She's not very pleased with me seeing you."

That made Daryl's head tilt and his expression was suddenly unreadable. Beth took a deep breath before she began to explain.

Beth frowned as she entered the farmhouse. Almost every time she came round to the farm, her daddy would have heard her truck bumping along the long dirt road and would be sat on the porch on his rocking chair, waiting patiently to greet her at the door.

But her daddy wasn't there and neither was her mama and Beth was overcome with a silly feeling of panic that maybe something awful had happened. She placed her keys onto the coffee table in the hallway before she rushed into the lounge and was pleasantly surprised to see not only her parents sat in their chairs, but also her sister resting on one of the armchairs.

"Maggie," Beth breathed. "Daddy. Mama. You had me worried when nobody came to the door," she laughed, her hand resting over her heart. "Are you joining us for dinner, Mags? I told Mama that I would cook and I've probably not got enough chicken, but I'm sure that I'll be able to..."

Beth trailed off as she realised that everyone in the room had a solemn expression on their faces and she looked around at each of them before clearing her throat.

"Bethy," her mama said with a calm smile. "Why don't you sit down, sweetheart?"

"Is something wrong?" Beth asked as she lowered herself down on the armrest of her mother's chair.

Hershel was smiling at her now, too; but Maggie looked stone cold and serious as she stared across the room at her sister. Beth couldn't help but worry about what was wrong with everyone and why they were acting so strangely.

The Greene farmhouse was usually filled with laughter and kisses and warm, happy hugs and smiles and Beth had rarely seen it without those things. The silence that filled the room between everyone was deafening and she could feel her palms beginning to sweat.

"There's something we need to discuss," her daddy began. Beth knew that tone and even though her father was still looking at her with soft, kind eyes; she knew that he meant business. Beth's eyes darted in Maggie's direction before she looked straight at her father again, but her sister hadn't making eye contact with her.

"Now, Bethy, I know that you are very much a grown woman now and you are more than capable of making your own decisions. But it's come to my attention that you've been meeting up with one of the Dixon boys, and I -"

That bitch.

"You told them?"

Beth knew that her tone was cold but she didn't care. She was staring at Maggie with an angry expression, consumed by rage that was building within her. She knew that it was Maggie who had told them because now it all made sense - why her sister was there, why nobody came out to greet her, why she wouldn't even look at her until her daddy told her.

Why would her sister do that?

"I had to," Maggie said through gritted teeth. "You wouldn't listen to me."

Beth scoffed.

"I wouldn't listen to you? Are you joking? Why, because I ignored your nasty judgement of a man you don't even know?"

Maggie's nostrils flared at that and she opened her mouth to say something but Annette cut her off.

"Beth, sweetie, your sister was just looking out for you. None of us are here to attack you, we want to support you and just make sure that you're making the right decisions."

The sound of her mother's voice calmed her a little and Beth realised that her palms were shaking with anger. Beth rarely got so angry and she could usually control her temper quite well but she had a feeling that this was going to push her off the edge.

"You and daddy might want to support me, but all Maggie wants to do is meddle. It's nobody's business except mine and Daryl's, anyway. I shouldn't even be having this conversation with anybody because I didn't want anyone to know yet."

Beth caught sight of her sister rolling her eyes and she suddenly was overcome with the urge to cross the room and slap her straight across the face.

She didn't, of course - after all, she was little Beth Greene with big blue eyes and a petite body and hands that were used for cooking and washing and stitching up injured people, not for slapping her sister with.

"You didn't want anyone to know because you knew what you were doing was wrong."

"You weren't saying that when you were giving me advice about calling him! How two faced are you? Grow up, Maggie."

Beth's voice was rising higher and higher and she would probably be screaming if she could stomach the thought of behaving like that in front of her parents.

"You're the one sneaking around with a guy like him! What are you, fifteen and trying to piss off daddy? You grow up, Beth."

"A guy like him?" Beth was losing it now, her cheeks flushing as she spoke. "What do you mean, 'a guy like him'?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Maggie spat.

Her words stung and Beth was so frustrated with her older sister. She wished that she had never even confided in Maggie about Daryl, but she had never for a moment thought that her sister would sell her out like this. Maggie had seemed so relaxed when they were talking about him not even that long ago and she had even confided in her about their first date and how perfect it had been.

How could Maggie not see how much of a nice guy Daryl really was?

And how could she corner her like this and expect her to understand?

All of the things she knew about her - all of the secrets she had kept to herself for so many years - and she had never once even asked Maggie to hide anything for her. Maggie and her constant sneaking around her parents backs with all of the boyfriends, all of the one night stands, all of the disappearing in the middle of the night. All of the failed papers at school, all of the pregnancy tests, all of the lies about whose house she had slept at the night before.

And Beth had never once asked for Maggie to keep a secret for her from their parents because she had never done anything like that and she never wanted to be like her sister, anyway.

That was until now, and her sister had betrayed her in the worst way possible. What did she think their parents were going to do? After all, Beth was working now and lived on her own outside of the farm. What was her daddy going to do, lock her inside her apartment and confiscate her phone until she promised not to meet with the older man ever again?

"Girls," their mother's stern voice broke Beth from her thoughts.

Both Beth and Maggie turned to face Annette, their mother's eyes darting from one to the other. Beth almost felt guilty that her mother was in this position, but she quickly checked in with herself that it wasn't her fault - this was all Maggie.

"Beth, you know I can't - and won't - stop you from dating whoever you see fit. But I do not think that leaving a bar in the early hours of the morning in a drunken state and taking Mister Dixon back to your apartment with you is necessarily the best idea you've ever had."

Beth's cheeks flushed a bright crimson color and she snapped her head round to glare at her sister. Maggie didn't even look regretful or ashamed. Instead, she almost looked happy.

"Mama," Beth said, finally breaking eye contact from her sister. "It wasn't like that."

"Don't lie, Bethy," Maggie said in a sing-song voice.

"Shut up, Maggie," Beth hissed.

Maggie didn't react to her nasty tone at all and looked completely relaxed, as if the whole situation was completely normal. Beth wondered just how relaxed her sister would be if she started listing all of the men that she had gone home with after a night out.

It had been Shane Walsh just a few days before Glenn came on the scene and Beth knew that her daddy wouldn't like that one bit because Shane Walsh had caused a lot of trouble between Rick Grimes and his wife, and daddy classed Rick Grimes as one of his good friends.

But she quickly decided against that. She wouldn't stoop to her sister's low level.

"I don't want my youngest daughter being slandered around town for who she is affiliated with," Hershel spoke up.

Beth turned to look at him with pleading eyes, hoping that he would understand.

"Then don't go round talkin' badly about me," Beth said, frowning as the words came out of her mouth.

Hershel looked offended and spoke in what she could only consider a whisper.

"You know I would never do that."

Beth nodded her head.

"I know, daddy. And ain't that all that matters? I don't care what people say about me. They can think what they want. Everyone has a lot to say about Daryl and none of it is true, and I know that you wouldn't judge someone without gettin' to know them, either."

Beth took a deep breath before she carried on.

"The first time I met Daryl was in the middle of the night when I was coming back from a shift at the hospital. I wasn't in the best part of town and ended up gettin' a flat, and you know how useless I am with cars. I didn't even have to flag him down, he just... stopped. He stopped and he helped me and he wouldn't even let me say thank you. I know he's a good man, daddy, and I know what people say about him but he's not like that. Maggie just won't listen to me."

The corners of Hershel's lips were turning up into a smile and Beth wanted to sob in relief that he actually seemed to understand what she was saying about Daryl. But then Maggie opened her mouth and the words came out and his face fell once more as his daughters began to argue again.

"I already told you that he killed someone -"

"He never!"

Beth was shrieking now, outraged at the nerve of her sister. She hopped up from where she was resting on the chair and pointed her finger accusingly in Maggie's direction.

"He's a nice guy, Maggie. Nicer than any of the men you've shacked up with! You're actin' like you care so much about me and what people in town might say about who I'm goin' home with, but do ya even know half of the things people say about you?"

Maggie was glaring at her now and looking shocked that Beth had reacted like this but she had snapped.

"I'm pretty sure you don't, 'cause if you did, you wouldn't be judgin' Daryl the way you constantly are. Stop actin' like you're holier-than-thou, Maggie, cause you're not. And everyone knows it, too. "

It was the truth and she didn't care anymore. Taking the high road didn't matter anymore. Standing up for herself and the man that she was falling for was all that mattered to her right now.

After all, it wasn't like Daryl was there to defend himself.

She was frustrated because he was nice. He was quiet and reserved and shy and sure, looking at the size of him she decided that he could hold his own in a fight and he probably had beat a few people to the pulp, but Beth was sure that they would have all deserved it. It wasn't that easy to get a rise out of him. Daryl was thoughtful and kind and sweet and when he was with her, he was even soft.

All Maggie had to do was just give him a chance, but she was too consumed in town gossip to be able to do that.

Nobody said anything for a few moments. Beth's chest was heaving and her breathing was heavy as she continued to stare at her sister who looked beyond furious now.

"Bethy, dear; please calm down -"

"No," Beth cut her mother off, too angry to think straight anymore. "No, mama, I won't calm down. I can't. It's not anyone else's business what goes on in my life except mine. I was gonna tell you and daddy, I swear it, but I didn't wanna tell you in case it was nothing."

"'Cause you're obviously doubting that he'll commit to you. Doesn't that show what you really think of him?"

Beth narrowed her eyes at her sister.

"No, Maggie, that's not the reason. The reason is that I've seen you bring guy after guy after guy round here, all of 'em different and never the same guy twice, and I don't wanna be like that. I don't wanna be like you."

The sour expression on her sister's face gave it away. She did notlike that.

"I don't want mama and daddy to meet Daryl until I'm sure that he's the right guy for me, and I wanted to be the one to tell 'em, not you. You took away that opportunity from me and that's not fair. I never keep secrets and I never wanted to and I'm pretty sure that me and Daryl are datin' now, and I'm actually happy. I've finished my degree and I've got a job and now I've got a boyfriend, too, and you don't get to come and ruin that for me."

Beth turned around so that her back was to Maggie and she was facing her parents. Her father had always been protective of her but he was much more understanding than Maggie was about her independence and her mama had always had a soft spot for her youngest child. She knew that whilst her sister's intentions were questionable, her parents were always trying to look out for her and make sure that she was alright.

Whilst Beth always felt crushed by Maggie, her parents were never overbearing with her.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Beth said, her eyes darting from her mother's to her father's. "I wanted to, but I wasn't sure what was goin' on between me and Daryl and I didn't want to cause a fuss over nothin'. And I know you'll have heard bad things about him, but he's not a bad guy. Daryl is good to me and he makes me happy and you'll be able to judge him for yourself when I decide it's time for you to meet each other."

That was the last thing she said before she stormed out of the lounge and left the farmhouse, Maggie hollering behind her for her to come back.

Beth sighed as she finished her story and looked at Daryl. He had stopped rubbing her feet a while ago and now his hands were simply resting on them. She began to play with the ends of her hair and suddenly didn't want to look in his eyes.

Daryl's hands slowly reached out from where they had been resting on her feet to cup her face. He began stroking her cheeks with his thumbs so tenderly and Beth let out a little sigh before she looked up at him with sad blue eyes.

He looked at her for a long moment and Beth was sure that he was trying to communicate with her through his eyes. He looked almost proud and happy, but she could still see the hesitation in his features. Daryl nudged towards her ever so slightly and lowered his head towards hers, bumping their noses together before he placed a tender kiss on her lips.

Beth's body sagged with relief at the contact and she suddenly felt much better. All thought about Maggie and her judgmental ways were forgotten as Daryl deepened the kiss, and it didn't take Beth long to feel better again.

Another long one.

I guess it was only a matter of time until Maggie started being mega irritating. I promise I don't hate her character, I just think she's too overbearing and I don't like the way her and Glenn have basically become one character together. Plus I think it's so mean that they got to be reunited happily and Bethyl didn't. (Not that I'm still resentful over that MSF or anything...)

Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter!