I don't even know what to say in regards to the response on the last chapter except holy shit, THANK YOU!

…

He's imagined of kissing her for a while now. He actually has no idea for how long because it feels like it's been forever now. Maybe since that first time she kissed him months before and he hid away from her like some pathetic coward. But here he is, finally kissing her, and everything he's imagined is actually true. Her lips are soft and she tastes like chocolate and he can't stop from pushing his tongue in between her lips for a deeper taste.

And Beth doesn't seem to mind as she moans softly and presses her lips harder against his and her fingers clutch around his arms. He's pretty sure he's heard nothing better than her moan. And here he was, thinking her laugh was the best. And her laugh is still pretty high up on the list of things his ears enjoy hearing but now, her moaning has taken the number one spot. He wonders if he can get her to do it again.

He kisses her a little harder, pushes her back against the wall behind her, and there it is. She moans softly again and he feels it in the very pit of his stomach.

Instead of wearing her hair braided and pinned up like she seems to like to – and he likes it, too – tonight, Beth is wearing her hair down and he's actually grateful for that because his hands slide back and his fingers tangle in her hair and he's able to hold her closer to him.

He has no clue why kissing her feels as good as it's feeling. He never got this feeling when he and Amy kissed; the feeling like everything was a little bit warmer and brighter. He can't help but wonder if Beth ever got that feeling while kissing Spencer.

Their lips eventually part, both of their chests heaving up and down to fill their airless lungs, and they look at one another, neither clearly too sure what to say right now. She's probably wondering what the hell had made him do that and Daryl knows that he should probably say something but he doesn't have the first clue as to how to explain himself.

"See you tomorrow?" He finally speaks.

Beth gives him that soft smile of hers and she nods her head.

"G'night," he then says and considers kissing her again but instead, he's able to take a step back towards the door. If he kisses her again, he has no idea when he'll be able to leave and they are nowhere near that point yet.

"Good night," Beth says in return, still smiling that soft smile, and Daryl swears he can still feel his lips trembling as he leaves her apartment and heads back into his.

People eat all sorts of weird things in this world. Who's to say that in some part of this world, peanut butter and sardines do actually go together?

…

"Wanna grab some lunch?" Martinez asks and Daryl wheels out from underneath the car he's been working on for the past day. "What do you think?"

"'m thinkin' that not even a junk yard would want this thing," Daryl grumbles, looking over the car that came in for an oil change and he just keeps finding things wrong with it. The owner though seems to be a bit attached to it and told Daryl to do whatever needs to be done. And Daryl gets it. He loves his truck and his bike and would do the work they both need to keep them running but sometimes, a person just needs to throw in the towel.

"At least working on this is keeping you from being in a bad mood," Martinez grins at him.

Daryl's brow furrows. "What makes you think I'm not in a bad mood? This car is pissin' me off," he says but Martinez just keeps grinning and shakes his head.

"Nah. If you were really pissed off, you'd be kicking at the thing by now or throwing your tools around," his boss points out to him.

Daryl doesn't have a response for that and doesn't say anything as they head to the diner. The truth is, he's not in a bad mood and it's not just because he's busy that day at work. Being busy has never stopped him from being pissed off. He figures that with most of his life, he's been pissed off.

And he's not some genius but he's not an idiot. He knows exactly why he's not in a bad mood today. He hopes that when he gets home tonight, there's a post-it on his door.

They get a booth by the window and order their usual burgers and cokes.

"You got any cupcakes today?" Daryl then asks the waitress before she can leave.

"Yep, sure do. A fresh order just got delivered this morning," she beams. "There's banana with cream cheese frosting and a-"

"'ll take that one," Daryl says and that's the only one he needs to hear because out of all of the cupcakes Beth bakes and has him try, the banana is definitely his favorite.

The waitress takes note of their order and then leaves. Martinez looks at Daryl with a cocked eyebrow and curious look. Daryl's definitely never ordered a dessert before.

"Am I going to want one of those cupcakes, too?" Martinez guesses.

Daryl just smirks and shakes his head. "You sure as hell ain't sharin' mine."

…

He had a dozen reasons as to why he should stay the hell away from Beth. And it's been almost a year and he has stuck to those reasons. Even when he knew, deep down, that he liked this girl and imagined being with her in all sorts of ways, he reminded himself of all of those reasons and kept himself away from her.

Over the summer, he's gotten close to her – and Matty – again though and it's gotten harder and harder for him to remember every way in which being with Beth in any way was a bad thing. The list of reasons dwindles down until there's just a couple of ones left and even after he kisses her, he can still remember those reasons and wonders if those are reasons that will always be true and will somehow keep him from kissing her again.

The main reasons is something that will always be true. Beth is just too damn good for him. She's like one of those cupcakes she bakes. Sweet and kind and just being around her makes him feel better. He can't imagine himself ever making her feel like that. Beth and him are just on two completely different levels and she's so much higher than him, he doesn't have a shot of ever reaching her.

Why the hell would this kind of girl ever want to waste her time on him? Why would she want his lips and dirty hands anywhere near her? If it was anyone else, Daryl would think that it's just because their kid likes him but Beth's not like that. Matty is a cool kid and really likes Daryl and Daryl really likes the kid so that helps but it's not the only reason why Beth seems to like him. He just has no idea what the other reasons could possibly be.

He gets home from the garage and sure enough, there's a yellow post-it on his door, asking if he wants to come over for dinner and he can't help be grin. Actually grin. Beth Greene is making him grin like some damn idiot just because she's given him a dinner invitation; like she's never done that before.

He opens the door to his apartment and Morris is right there, waiting for him. Daryl scoops the cat up in his arm and then turns, heading towards Beth's door, giving it a swift knock. She answers a moment later and smiles the instant she sees him. Daryl smiles a little, too. Not the grin he had given the post-it just a moment ago but an actual smile all the same.

"Hi," she greets and she sounds a little breathless.

"Everythin' a'right?" He asks as she steps aside so he can come inside. He bends down and sets Morris down on the floor and she closes the door behind him.

He doesn't kiss her. He wants to. Wonders what it would be like if he just leans down and gives her a quick peck but he doesn't. He's not sure he's going to kiss her until Beth moves towards him, signaling to him that she definitely wants him to kiss her again. Maybe the night before had just been a fluke. He practically forced himself on her.

"I got roped into something and I have no idea how it happened," she tells him and heads into the kitchen with Daryl following her.

Matty's sitting at the table, eating his chicken breast and mixed vegetables, and there's a boy with dark skin and a shaved head sitting in the chair next to him at the table, also eating dinner, both boys laughing over something. And on the counter is two dozen cupcakes, yet to be frosted and decorated.

"Daryl!" Matty exclaims the instant he sees him. "This is Tavon. He's my best friend."

Tavon looks at Daryl and smiles shyly at him before looking down to his food.

"Hey," Daryl greets Matty and the team's quarterback.

"Tavon's mom works at the nursing home and she picked up an extra shift today. I told her that I'm more than happy to take Tavon to practice tonight," Beth says with a smile in the boys' direction. She then looks to Daryl. "And then another mom on the team called me and oh, she was good. Complimenting Matty and telling me how good he is and how the team is so lucky to have him and then asking me about myself and my baking and then she's suggesting that I bake two dozen cupcakes every week on Friday's practice before a game for the team and coaches and if I want to make any for the parents, I can make three dozen, but that would be great and I was agreeing to it before I even realized it," Beth says. "And I don't mind baking cupcakes for the team and coaches. Not at all. And really, two dozen is nothing but she could have just come out and ask me instead of manipulating me into doing it. And why the heck can't the other moms bake something? Why can't we take turns?"

Daryl's lips twitch in a little smirk. "You're too nice," he says as Beth hands him a plate with a chicken breast and he helps himself with two scoops of mixed vegetables from the pot simmering on the stove. "Are they gonna pay you for your ingredients?"

"Of course not," Beth shakes her head. "But my son is the running back for the Gators and I should just want to do this without a peep."

Daryl almost chuckles. "You ain't gonna be makin' a peep," he points out to her. There's no way Beth would complain to anyone about this even if it was really bothering her.

"Of course not," Beth says again with a sigh.

With their own plates of dinner, Beth and Daryl sit down at the table with the two boys.

"Daryl, we're playing the Bears tomorrow," Matty tells him. "You'll be there, right?"

"If I'm not workin', you know I'll be," Daryl says. He doesn't like coming right out and making a promise to the kid just in case on the off chance that he gets slammed at the garage and isn't able to make it. He can't stand the idea of letting this kid down.

"Coach Douglas was telling me that the Bears head coach was at our Wildcats game and he was laughing about my curls. Said it made me look like a girl," Matty frowns.

Daryl has a feeling that T-Dog is making things up just to get under the boy's skin in an effort to make him play against that on Saturday. If the Bears coach really was at the game, he was more concerned with how fast Matty could run as opposed to what's on his head.

"There's nothing wrong with your hair, Matty," Beth tells him gently. "You know that."

"My brother calls me bushy top when I got my hair," Tavon speaks up. "That's why I have mama shave my head."

Matty looks at Beth, clearly about to ask her for the same, but Beth just shakes her head.

After dinner, she sends the boys to get their pads and practice jerseys from Matty's room and Daryl helps her clean up. He loads the dishwasher for her and puts the leftovers away so she can start piping the cupcakes.

"I made you an extra," she says, handing him the first finished one. "It's just chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting."

"Gonna make me fat, girl," Daryl frowns but takes the cupcake without argument.

Beth just smiles and he wants to tell her how nice this has all been; how nice it always is when he comes over here and eats dinner with her and Matty and he helps her clean up. It's all so damn normal and domestic and he's never had anything close to this in his life before. He never thought he would ever have it so why think about it or think about wanting it?

But now, he's got it and why the hell did this girl ever let him into hers and her son's lives?

He wonders when he can kiss her again.

…

He goes to practice with Beth that night, helping her with the trays of cupcakes, and then he stands off to the side with Beth, away from the other parents, to watch Matty. He doesn't know much about football but he knows enough and Matty is good. Like Hershel had said. He's real good for just being six and Daryl actually feels a little proud when he watches the kid take a hand-off from Tavon and tears down the field, running almost sixty yards for a touchdown in the end zone. Like he's had anything to do with Matty's football skills.

"Again!" T-Dog barks and blows his whistle and Matty doesn't even show signs of being tired as he jogs back and the kids all line up for the play again.

"I heard a boy on the Raptors team got a concussion from last week's game," Beth says quietly as she never takes her eyes from the field.

Daryl looks to her and even without her looking at him, he can see the worry etched clear on her face. "Kid's too fast. No one's gonna be able to ever catch 'im to tackle 'im."

And he knows it's bullshit. It's football. Eventually, Matty will get sacked by someone. He's gotten tackled already but it's only a matter of time before he gets plowed into by another kid. Daryl knows it and Beth knows it, too. But she turns her head and smiles up at him as if that's all she needed to hear and he smiles a little, too.

She leans into him then, resting her head against his arm, and Daryl thinks about putting his arm around her but he doesn't. He's not sure if he can or if she would want him to. He just stands there and thinks how warm this girl makes him feel.

…

He visits Merle every Sunday. He drives the two hours to the Penitentiary and goes through all of the metal detectors and signs in and is shown to one of the stools with the phones and glass window in between the visitor and inmate.

Every time he sees Merle in his dark blue jumpsuit, Merle is grinning and Daryl is relieved that he seems to be doing well enough considering where he is. But Merle's always been like that. Merle likes being out – obviously – but if he's locked up, he's just as comfortable. As asinine as it sounds, being in a room with bars on the wall is just as much a home to him as any other shitty place they crashed in.

"How you doin'?" Daryl asks as he asks him every week.

"Doin' alright," Merle nods and Daryl knows he's probably telling the truth.

Even though he's never been locked up, Daryl knows what it's like in there. Guys have to find a group to stick with if they want to keep themselves safe. More than once, Merle has hooked up with the white supremacist gang and he's probably done it again. Daryl can't say anything though; can't judge him for it. Merle's just trying to keep himself alive. Merle takes care of Merle and that's the way it is.

"How 'bout you?" Merle asks. "Lookin' good, baby brother."

"Yeah?" Daryl's not too sure why he would be but a certain blonde instantly pops into his head and he wonders if Merle can tell that just by looking at him.

"Got someone keepin' your bed warm?" Merle then grins.

Daryl just shakes his head. Beth is in his head now and she won't leave because hell, he's been thinking about her being in his bed – or him being in hers – for a while now even though he knows they're not even close to that yet and who knows if they ever will be? Daryl can't even bring himself to kiss her again even though he wants to pretty much more than anything. He doesn't even know if he will kiss her again. He probably needs Beth to actually tell him that she wants him to kiss her before he makes another attempt.

"You need me to send you anythin'?" Daryl then switches subjects. It's not right talking about Beth – or even thinking about her – in a place like this anyway.

…

Beth's already there, sitting at the top of the bleachers, the same spot she had been sitting in the week before, and Daryl climbs up the steps to sit down beside her. They're the first two there again and she reaches into the cooler, pulling out a bottle of water for him. He'll probably never understand how this girl knows exactly what he needs before he even knows it himself.

Her hair's up like he likes – and it's damn hot out with the sun beating down on them – and she's wearing blue jean shorts and a green tee-shirt – GATORS MOM written in white lettering on the front of it. When he sees it, he can't help but smirk a little.

She notices him looking at it and her cheeks blush. "Tavon's mom had it made for me. I couldn't not wear it."

Daryl just smirks again and she laughs, elbowing him playfully in the side.

"Bakin' cupcakes for the team and wearin' mom shirts," Daryl teases.

"Shut up," she laughs more and the blush on her cheeks deepen.

God, she looks so beautiful that afternoon. Daryl wants to just lean in and take another taste of her but he won't – especially not here in front of other people. So he just smirks and turns his head, taking a sip of water, trying to ignore the way it's ninety degrees out here today but the sound of Beth laughing makes him want to shiver.

The Greene family arrives shortly after – Hershel and Annette, Maggie and Glenn, and Shawn stands down at the sidelines like he had the week before. Daryl wonders why Shawn doesn't sign up to be a coach to one of these teams.

What he told Beth a few weeks ago is true. He's never really been into football – not like so many other guys down here – but watching Matty, he can't help but get into the game, smiling and clapping when he scores his third touchdown of the game and each time, Beth leaps up to her feet from beside him and cheers until her throat sounds hoarse. The rest of the Greene family is like that, too – cheering and yelling over bad calls and they're all just so damn proud of that kid out there on that field and Daryl thinks that Matty's probably one of the luckiest kids in the world. Because even though the kid doesn't have a dad, he has all of this other family out here, loving him and supporting him, and who needs some dad who doesn't even care about him when he's got all of that?

And with all of that, it probably doesn't matter much, but Matty's got him, too. So does Beth. He meant it. He's not going anywhere. Only an idiot would leave these two behind and he's so tired of living his life stupid. He's ready to be different.

…

The Gators win their second game of the season and Hershel takes them all out for pizza again. This time, Tavon and his mom join them because as Matty has already declared, he and Tavon are best friends and Daryl doesn't mean to brag but he wonders how good the Gators would be without this kid as running back and the other one as quarterback.

Hershel's tractor has broken down again and Daryl agrees to come out to the farm to take a look at it for him. He has no idea why the thing keeps breaking down but he's not going to tell Hershel to just buy a new one. Tractors aren't exactly something that's cheap and being a farmer is hard enough without adding even more expenses to it. And Daryl's not bragging but he can pretty much fix damn near anything.

Besides, he likes going out to the farm. He's always liked being in the open air, away from most people. It's why he loves going into the woods as much as he can to go hunting. He's just never really liked people because the only people he's ever really known have been nothing but drunks or tweakers or mean as hell – obviously nothing like the Greene family. He still can't figure out why they're so open to him being around them; why Hershel invites him out to the farm for his help and advice on his machines and equipment and why Annette always gives him a glass of fresh lemonade whenever he's there.

They must know by now how their daughter feels about him and he wonders if they can tell now that something has happened between them and he can't figure out why they're fine with that. They're good people. Don't they see that Daryl isn't?

…

He hears Beth's voice when he steps in through the front door and then he hears a male voice responding. Coming up the stairs, he sees Beth standing in the doorway of her apartment and Jimmy is standing in the hallway. Neither seem too happy with the other. Beth sees him – her eyes flicking in his direction – before looking back to Jimmy and Daryl goes to open his apartment door but doesn't go inside. He stands in the doorway, ready to help Beth out if she needs him to.

"It's football, Jimmy, and Matty really wanted to start playing this year and he's your son, too," Beth is saying. "I don't know why you can't help out-"

"Because I never agreed to all of this extra money you're asking for," Jimmy interrupts and he's holding up a piece of paper in his hand.

"It's not that much extra and you know it," Beth frowns at him. "I just thought you could help out with the equipment fee. You should see him, Jimmy. He's really good. I left you a message about all of this, asking you to come to his game. If you just saw him once-"

"I'm not paying for this," Jimmy shakes his head. "If you want him playing football and if you want to push him like all of these other crazy ass parents who think their kid can go pro, fine. But you are going to handle all of the finances that go with it."

Beth just stares at him and Daryl feels anger bubbling in his stomach, rising up his chest. He wonders how angry Beth would be if he just turned Jimmy around and punched him in the face. The guy definitely deserves it.

"I already pay you support once a month. You make it work from that because I'm not paying anything more than that," Jimmy says and with that, he turns away. His eyes lock with Daryl's for a moment but he probably sees murder in them because he quickly looks away and hurries himself down the stairs.

Beth exhales a deep breath and seems to completely deflate.

"Wan' me to kill 'im?" Daryl asks.

She shakes her head, her lips not even twitching at the joke though Daryl's not too sure how much of him was joking at making the offer.

"It's his wife," she sighs. "Jimmy just goes along with her."

"Why you always stickin' up for 'im?" Daryl can't help but wonder. He then wonders if she still has feelings the prick. Father of her child, high school sweetheart. That guy's a lot of things in Beth's life.

Beth turns to look down the stairs as if she can still see Jimmy. "He wasn't always like that. Not at all. Not until he married her. When I knew him… he was the sweetest boy in the world and he… he did love me. And I loved him. It just all got so messed up…"

She trails off and doesn't say anything else and Daryl watches her closely. Does she still love him? That's what he's wondering.

Without saying anything else or looking at him, she steps back into the apartment and closes the door with a quiet click. Daryl looks at it for a moment and then figuring she just wants to be left alone, he goes into his apartment and closes his door with its own click.

…

He and Martinez go to the diner once again for lunch and when Daryl asks about cupcakes that day, the waitress says they haven't been delivered yet. He can't help but frown at that but just when he's thinking about using his lunch break instead to go back home and check to see if Beth's alright, the door opens, the bell tinkling, and Beth steps through the door with a large cardboard box in her arms.

Daryl is quick to get to his feet and she gives him a grateful smile when he easily yet carefully takes it from her arms.

"Thank you," she says, out of breath.

"Would be easier if you drove here," Daryl can't help but point out to her and he wonders if or when she'll ever drive a car again.

"No, it's alright," she smiles with a shake of her head. "It's not that far of a walk."

Daryl tries not to frown at the flush of her cheeks or how she's still catching her breath.

"Which ones do we have today, Beth?" Martinez asks, suddenly appearing over Daryl's shoulder, looking down at the box, nearly licking his lips, as if he can see straight through it.

"Pumpkin spice for fall and chocolate peanut butter," she smiles at the man. "I was going to make banana because I know they're Daryl's favorite but I wanted to try something new for the season and I can make him banana cupcakes anytime," she explains.

"I didn't know you knew that the banana was my favorite," Daryl can't help but say as he carries the box to the counter.

Beth gives him a soft smile. "I notice a lot of things," she says and that's all she says and he wonders if maybe, she's trying to tell him something more but he can't figure out what.

…

Being sick is one of the worst things in the world, in his opinion. He hates just lying around, coughing, feeling dizzy. Feeling useless. He may be a hunter and that takes a certain amount of patience, staying out in the woods for however long it may take to track an animal, but when he's sick, he has no tolerance for it and wants it to be done as quickly as possible.

Daryl knows exactly how he got sick but he's not going to blame the kid. Matty was coughing a couple of days ago and it wasn't like the kid was hacking right in his face but Matty's the only person he's been around lately with a condition like that. Matty's right as rain now because it seems he's passed it right along to Daryl.

And now, Daryl's lying on his bed, closing his eyes and feeling as if he's on a roller coaster, the entire earth moving up and down and back and forth and his head is spinning.

There's a quiet knock on the door and then "Daryl?" in her soft, sweet voice.

He almost groans. He doesn't want her to see him like this. He doesn't need to be babied and that's exactly what Beth will do because that's exactly who Beth is.

But he can't talk without coughing so he just lies there, keeping his eyes closed, hoping she'll just think he's asleep but Beth knows better and after a moment, he feels the mattress dip down slightly as Beth sits down beside him.

"I've brought you some soup. It will help with your throat," she tells him gently.

He can smell it – smells like chicken – and he groans even as his stomach grumbles.

"Come on. You need to eat," she says.

He wants to argue with her. If he wants soup, he can get it his damn self but he's too tired to say all of that and he finally opens his eyes, focusing them on her. She gives him a smile and with a cough, he manages to push himself up a bit more. Beth scoots in closer and he almost wants to slap himself for being too weak to stop this girl from feeding him but Beth guides the spoon to his mouth and he slurps it up and it feels too good, pouring down his throat to stop her right now.

"Can take care of myself," he mumbles.

"I like taking care of you," Beth murmurs in reply, feeding him another spoonful.

And he wants to call her crazy for that. He wants to ask why she let him have anything to do with her and Matty in the first place. He wants to know if she liked him kissing her and if it would be alright if he was to kiss her again. He has a thousand questions in his head for her but he can't get any of them out.

"Why?" He asks though it sounds more like a croak.

Beth doesn't answer right away. She feeds him another spoonful of soap and wipes at his chin with a napkin and he hates feeling helpless but having Beth take care of him like this isn't the worst thing in the world, he's able to admit.

She then shrugs her shoulders. "Because sometime on our way to getting to this point right here, I guess I kind of fell in love with you," she informs him, her voice strong but soft.

Daryl just stares at her, having absolutely no idea what to say or even think to that. His head is too heavy and stuffed up to think of anything else except how stuffed up and heavy its feeling. He does know one thing though.

When he gets better, he's definitely going to kiss this girl again.

…

Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to review! And I don't want anyone to think the slowness of this story is over.