Thank you for being patient with me. I'm hoping this week is a little more calm at work than last week was. And I hope you like this chapter and that it was worth the wait! Thank you for your support!


Ten.

Daryl has just filled Lemon's bowls with fresh water and fresh cat food and set them on the floor in the kitchen when there's a hurried knock on the door. He can't help, but glance at the clock on his microwave and when he does, he frowns.

It's just a few minutes after five. Who the hell would be here, bugging him already? He's still in his sweatpants for God's sakes.

He is frowning when he goes to the door and unlocks it, but when he pulls it open and sees who it is, his frown disappears within seconds.

"Beth?" He says her name as if he can't quite believe that she's standing there.

And he'll never tell her, but she looks like shit. There is a quilt wrapped around her shoulders, and she's still wearing her pajamas as well, and it looks like she didn't sleep at all the night before; dark circles forming beneath her eyes.

"What the hell happened?" He asks and he's almost demanding, but something obviously happened for her to be looking like that, being at his door at five in the morning, and he can feel his heart starting to pound in his chest.

Beth shakes her head and tears pool in her eyes and Daryl doesn't think about it. He just reaches out and cupping his fingers lightly around her elbow, he pulls her into his apartment, closing the door behind her. Lemon sees her and abandons his bowls immediately to come darting towards her, weaving himself in and out from between her ankles and finally, Beth smiles faintly down at the kitten.

She exhales a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she says with a shake of her head again and she tilts her head to look to his face. "I'm sorry for just coming over here so early."

"I don't care 'bout that," he tells her and he really doesn't. If she's over here this early in the morning, there's a damn good reason for that and Daryl's not letting her go back to her apartment until he finds out what that reason is. "Somethin's goin' on so tell me."

Beth pauses and he can see a barrage of thoughts pass across her face – as if she's thinking of every reason why she's over here right now – and he almost finds himself holding his breath, getting himself ready to hear whatever she's about to say. But then, she shakes his head and he can't quite understand the disappointment he feels from that.

"I… I think Little Dot is just making me crazy," Beth then says. "It's nothing."

"Bullshit," Daryl can't help, but snort and Beth's eyes widen slightly with surprise at that. He glances towards the clock before back at her. The words leave his mouth before he can even register them himself. "You wanna get some breakfast before work?" He asks.

Beth opens her mouth, but no words are spoken and she slowly closes it again. Not for the first time, he can see her thinking. Girl has the most open face of anyone he's ever met. She'd be the most shit poker player.

Beth's mouth opens again. "That sounds nice," she then says with the faintest of smiles.

Daryl tells himself to look away from it. It's like she's Medusa or something. He looks at that smile, he'll turn to stone. But the thing with Beth is the girl has absolutely no idea she has such a power to her and Daryl doesn't understand why he's giving it to her.

But, to real no surprise to him, Beth smiles and he can't seem to look at anything else.

"There's a Denny's right across the street from the jail. You think you can be ready in 'bout an hour?" He asks. "That'll give us plenty of time to eat without havin' to rush through it."

"I'll be ready," she promises, practically beaming now and if it wasn't for the dark circles still under her eyes and if she wasn't over here at such an early hour, Daryl would almost think that there was nothing wrong with her at all.

She bends down and gives Lemon a quick rub down his back and then giving Daryl one final smile, she turns and hurries from his apartment, back to her own, leaving Daryl standing there, wondering to himself what the hell has just happened. He's lost count of how many times he has told himself to stay the hell away from her so what does he do instead?

He invites her to Denny's, to eat breakfast with him, as if it's the most natural thing in the world. First sight of her and he's opening his mouth, telling her to talk to him and putting his hand on her elbow and pulling her into his apartment and he's never been this with another single person in his entire life. Why her? She's pretty, yeah, but he's never been the kind of guy to trip over himself when around a pretty girl. He usually just ignores girls – pretty or not. He ignores everyone and it's worked for him pretty damn good so far.

But not now. Now, the instant he lays eyes on Beth Greene in apartment A2, everything that has worked for him throughout his entire life just gets thrown out the damn window and he finds himself putting himself at her beck and call. Beth Greene snaps her fingers and he's down on his knees at her feet, ready to do her bidding.

Daryl shakes his head as he checks on Lemon, seeing that the kitten has returned to his own breakfast in the kitchen, before he heads into the bathroom for a quick shower. He knows Beth isn't like that. He knows she's not the sort to use a person to her advantage like that. Girl doesn't even know how to use anyone for anything.

The thought would never even cross her mind.

And maybe that's the answer. Maybe it's as simple as an explanation to Daryl as that.

Beth's like him. What you see with her is what you get.

And that's… refreshing as hell, if he's being honest. It won't matter that that baby's daddy is a complete asshole and if Daryl ever sees him, it will be hard to not punch him in the face, because that baby is going to have Beth as its mama and that's pretty damn lucky already. She'll raise the kid to be good and honest because that's the kind of person she is.

She's not Medusa. She just comes to him when she needs something – whether she wants to admit that to him or not – and Daryl stands under the hot spray of water streaming from the shower head, letting himself admit that he doesn't hate when she does.

They drive themselves separately to Denny's since Beth works right across the street and Daryl is going to the latest property Tyreese and Karen have bought at auction to see just how much work this next project is going to be.

They are shown to a booth next to a window and are handed menus.

"Coffee?" The waitress asks.

"Yeah," Daryl nods and turns his cup over so she can fill it from the pot she's carrying.

"And for you, hon?" The waitress looks to Beth.

"None for me," she shakes her head despite her longing looks directed towards Daryl's cup. "Can I have orange juice to start?"

"You got it. I'll be back in a few to take your order," the waitress says and then leaves them alone and Daryl pushes the menu back towards the end of the table, not needing it.

Beth, however, opens hers and begins looking it over. "I've never been here before," she admits, lifting her eyes to look at Daryl.

Daryl smirks, taking a sugar packet and shaking it between his index finger and thumb. "Damn, girl. Where you been your whole life?" He asks and she smiles.

He figures she's wearing makeup, because the circles under her eyes aren't that obvious anymore, but she still looks tired as hell. At least, to him, she does and he wonders if anyone else will be able to notice or if it's just some special skill he has towards her.

"Get the Grand Slam," Daryl then tells her. "'s what I always get. Two eggs, two bacon, two sausage and two pancakes. It'll fill you and lil' Dot up, for sure."

Beth smiles again and finds it in the menu, looking it over. "That is definitely the right choice," she agrees, but continues looking through the menu to see what else there is. "Oh my gosh. Daryl, look. At. This."

She turns the menu around so he can see what she's looking at. The final page filled with the milkshakes and other desserts and one of them has her attention more than the others and Daryl smirks again when he sees it.

"It's too early for this. …isn't it?" Beth asks, her eyes looking to the picture longingly.

"Get what you wanna get," Daryl shrugs. "Thought pregnant women got to use that to their advantage when it came to eatin' whatever the hell you wan'."

The waitress comes back and they both order the Grand Slam breakfast with sunny-side up eggs and then Beth takes a deep breath as if she's about to break some silent rule.

"Can I also get a Cake Batter milkshake?" She asks.

The waitress only smiles, adding it to her ordering pad. "You got it, hon."

And then she takes their menus and leaves the table and Beth exhales the deep breath as if relieved that the waitress hadn't told her no, she couldn't get that. Daryl can't help, but smile a little as he lifts his coffee cup, bringing it to his lips.

"I hope Amy won't be too mad, but I think this milkshake is going to replace her chocolate cake as my sweet of choice," Beth says with a smile.

"You've met Amy?" Daryl asks.

"Yep," Beth nods and pulls the paper wrapping away from her straw before dunking it into her glass of orange juice. "Since I'm in Magnolia's just about every day, we introduced ourselves. She's really nice and goodness, I wish I could cook and bake like her."

"Yeah, she's got a good thing goin' on," Daryl agrees, but he really doesn't want to talk about Amy if he's being honest. He takes a sip of coffee and then puts his eyes back on Beth, noting her smile at him. "Wha'?" He asks and wonders if he actually wants to know though.

"Do you have a crush on her?" Beth then asks playfully.

Daryl nearly drops his coffee cup. "course I don't," he frowns at her. "What the hell gives you the idea that I do?"

Beth keeps smiling and shrugs. "I don't know. You look uncomfortable."

"cause she makes me uncomfortable," Daryl answers, still frowning. "Always smilin' and flirtin' with me. I don't like it."

Beth giggles a little as if she's getting a huge kick out of this. "I've noticed that. I've also noticed that she does that with just about every male who comes into Magnolia's." Daryl looks at her, his frown lessening, but still on his face. "Some women are like that. They don't mean to be, but being overly friendly to the opposite sex is just who they are. I do think Amy flirts with you, but I also think that it doesn't mean a thing. At least not to her."

Daryl's quiet for a moment, thinking that over. "Huh," he then says and sips his coffee.

Come to think of it, she's always throwing smiles at Shane and Rick, too, but maybe Shane and Rick never think it's anything more than smiling since the whole town of Scott knows that they're married men. But now, according to Beth, Amy smiles at every guy so maybe it's really nothing more than smiling and being friendly in a way he's really not used to.

"You bein' serious?" He then asks.

Beth just keeps on smiling. "I'm a church-going girl, Daryl. I never tell a lie." She takes a sip of her orange juice. "Speaking of church, I need to find a church for me and Dot."

"'s southern Georgia. Spit and you'll hit a church," he says and she laughs at that. He takes another sip of coffee and looks at her. "So since you're a church-goin' girl and never lie, you gonna tell me what that was this mornin'?" He asks and within a second, her smile is gone.

The waitress comes back then with their plates of food and Beth's milkshake.

"You two need anything else?" She asks.

Daryl looks to Beth as she looks down at the plate loaded down with food as if she's never seen anything more amazing.

"Nah, we're good," Daryl shakes his head at the waitress and no sooner that she leaves the table, that he sees Beth has already begun on her eggs and bacon.

Daryl pours maple syrup over everything on his plate and then pushes the jar towards her.

Once her eggs and bacon are gone, Beth takes the syrup and pours it over her pancakes and sausage links and then sighs heavily. "I had the most awful dream last night," she finally confesses. "It was… Aiden… the dad, he found me and took Dot away from me."

"That ain't ever gonna happen, Beth," Daryl says and his words are firm and he absolutely means it and it's not surprising to him that he means it.

"I know," Beth says with a nod of her head and she seems to be saying it for her benefit as much as for him. "I read that being pregnant can give you really crazy dreams. It was just so real and I wasn't able to fall back asleep… I came to talk with you this morning about maybe putting a couple more locks on my door."

Daryl looks at her and doesn't say anything and she seems to be making sure she doesn't look at him as she focuses on eating her pancakes and sausage. She's eating like she hasn't eaten in days, but then he reminds himself that he usually eats like that, too, and he doesn't have the excuse of eating for two to do it.

Beth pushes her empty plate towards the edge of the table and sits up a little bit straighter as she now brings her milkshake close in front of her. "Sprinkles are one of those things that just make inexplicably happy," she tells him and Daryl feels like almost smiling at that.

She lifts her eyes and looks at him from across the table and gives him a smile of her own.

Christ, she's beautiful. She really is. He's been alive for a few years now and he knows without a doubt that he's never seen anyone as pretty as Beth. Maybe a sunrise after a good storm or the way the fog hovers over the grass in cool, fall mornings. Daryl's seen plenty of pretty things, but not a person like Beth.

He shifts a little then, as if uncomfortable, and tells himself to not watch her as she starts getting to work on her milkshake.

"I'll go to the hardware store after work," he tells her. "You'll have two new locks on your door in addition to the ones you already got by the time you go to bed tonight."

It's amazing how Daryl can physically see her relax.

"Thank you, Daryl," she says as graciously as he's ever heard a person thank another for anything. "If there wasn't a table between us right now, I'd give you the biggest hug."

Thank Christ there's a table between us, Daryl immediately thinks to himself.

"Can I ask you something?" Beth asks.

Daryl shrugs, trying to show her – and himself – that it doesn't matter much to him what she does. He wonders if she believes it because he sure as shit doesn't.

"Why are there so many buildings in Scott that need renovations?" She asks.

Daryl nearly sighs an air of relief at that. That's a safe question and one he can definitely answer, having heard all of it when Tyreese hired him and told him. He shrugs and their waitress comes back to refill Daryl's coffee cup and to take away their breakfast plates.

"Scott's been around since before the Civil War. Was never a rich town, but it always managed. But then after the war, it took a hell of a long time to recover. But then the Great Depression hit. Never came back from that," he answers her. "'cept for now, with the school and jail and the factory, 's finally on it's way."

Beth nods, understanding. Plenty of poor Southern towns like Scott, still recovering from all sorts of things in history that have happened to them.

"Have you lived here your whole life?" Beth asks after she swallows a mouthful of milkshake, her eyes never leaving him.

Daryl's the one who can't look at her now, leaning over to take another sugar packet, purposely watching himself shake it rather than look at her. "Nah. Only for a few years now. Kind of just stumbled into it."

"I know the feeling," she says and lifting his eyes, finally, he sees her smiling a little at him.

And suddenly, he gets the strangest feeling come over him; like he wants to tell her everything. About his mom and his old man and fuck. Even Merle. Maybe she is Medusa. What the hell is this girl doing to him?

Daryl takes a gulp of coffee instead and it's too hot and burns his tongue and throat going down, but he doesn't care.

The waitress comes one more time, with their check this time, and before Beth can even reach for her purse, Daryl is already handing over some bills.

"Daryl-" Beth immediately begins to protest, but the waitress leaves and Daryl finishes his coffee and Beth sits there, staring at him.

"Wha'?" He asks once he swallows the last gulp down.

"Mine was more. I should have paid," she says, still frowning.

"Relax. I think I can afford you and Lil' Dot," he says. "Didn't Aiden ever pay for you?" He asks, but immediately wishes he hadn't. What the hell is he doing, bringing that asshole up? He hates him just on principle alone and what he did to Beth, but now, having found out the asshole's name, Daryl realizes his hate makes even more sense.

Aiden sounds like an asshole.

He winces and dares a look at Beth, but she's finishing up her milkshake and she shrugs.

"We'd go out to lunch, but always with other coworkers. And then…" she trails off and goes quiet for a moment and then shakes her head. "We were in hotels so he usually went out to bring something back or we got room service and I'm an idiot," she then says softly. "How long does it take to fumigate a home?"

And like he took her elbow this morning without thinking about it, Daryl doesn't think about what he does now. Beth's hands are on the table and he reaches for one now, not taking the time to note how damn soft her skin is and how a little cold it is now from holding the cold glass the milkshake had been in.

"Nah, Beth. You ain't," he says. "Just 'cause you're innocent don't mean that any jackass should be able to take advantage of you."

Beth looks at him and doesn't say anything, but she's getting that look on her face that he's already beginning to recognize. The look she gets when she's so thankful for something.

Without a word, Beth slowly turns her hand over so her palm presses to his and her fingers curl around his.

He tells himself to rip his hand away, but once again, his mind and the rest of his body seem to be in complete conflict with each other. He's getting really sick of this. And yet… sitting in Denny's with this girl, holding her hand… he tries to remember the last thing that happened to him that was as nice as this is right now.

They finally leave a minute later, both having to go to work, and Daryl notes how empty his hand feels now as it hangs limply at his side as they walk back outside into the parking lot.

"That was both so delicious and so terrible," Beth smiles. "Now, I know how delicious Denny's is and Cake Batter milkshakes might become a daily thing now. And I'll justify it by walking to and from here from the jail and telling myself at least I'm getting exercise."

Daryl smirks a little and shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans because he has to do something with them before he does something as stupid again as reaching out to touch her. He knows her skin is soft. He doesn't need to feel it again.

"Daryl," she says in a soft voice and Daryl looks down at her, swallowing a dryness clawing at his throat. She's so little compared to him. It immediately makes him want to puff out his chest and protect her no matter what that means. "You're one of the nicest people I've ever met and I can't thank you enough for everything you've already done and keep doing for me."

Daryl swallows again. "Must not know that many people, girl, if 'm one of the nicest."

Beth just gives him the faintest of smiles and she shakes her head and then standing on her toes, her hand braces against his bicep and her lips find a home on his cheek.

Daryl stands there, not moving a single muscle and screaming at himself in his head to not turn his head even a fraction because if he does, his lips will be touching hers – that's how close to them she is – and his body damn well better listen to his mind this one time because if it doesn't…

Christ, her lips are as soft as the rest of her. He realizes that he was afraid of that. Maybe if her lips were chapped, it would be easier to not care...

But he knows that's a lie, too. Girl could have lips like sandpaper and he'd still want them on him. Because they belong to her.


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