Beth and Daryl are moving somewhat quickly (at least compared to what I usually write them) and that's actually going to come back and bite them.

…

Chapter Twenty. Fly.

Beth shifts the brown paper grocery bag into the crook of her arm as she lifts her fist to the door. But before she can even knock, it swings open and Paulie is standing there.

"Hi, Paulie," Beth smiles at her and she has no idea why she's nervous. She adores Paulie. Absolutely adores her. And she knows Paulie likes her, too – at least she had before Beth started dating her son. Maybe after Amy, Paulie is now weary of any woman in Daryl's life.

But Paulie bursts into a smile when she sees her. "I thought I heard your truck," Paulie says as she ushers Beth into the house and closes the door behind her. "No Daryl this time?"

Beth shakes her head as Paulie herds her into the kitchen. She loves Paulie's house. Some people might call it tiny, but Beth would disagree and say that it's cozy. She may live in a huge house herself, but Beth has never understood why people need so much space.

"Rick called and was setting up a last-minute poker game for tonight," Beth explains.

She has set the paper bag down on the kitchen table and Paulie begins rifling through it. Beth blushes when Paulie pulls out the pre-made pie crusts and she raises an eyebrow at the sight of them before turning the look onto Beth.

"I'm not even going to pretend that I'm not offended by these," Paulie says and with that, she goes and practically tosses them into the refrigerator. "We're makin' our pie crusts from scratch," she informs Beth as she practically pushes a rolling pin into her hands.

And Beth is surprised that making a pie crust from scratch isn't that difficult. You just have to make sure it's not too thin or too thick and when placed into the pie pan, you have to make sure there are no bumps or bubbles in the dough. It's like art and when she tells Paulie that, the older woman lets out a bark of laughter.

"Been makin' pie dough in my family for generations. Don't think anyone's considered it to be anythin' than makin' the family somethin' for eatin'," she comments and Beth smiles.

Paulie sets the pie crusts aside and then, they begin on the filling, which is definitely much harder in Beth's opinion, but like with the coconut cake, Beth listens to Paulie's instructions and reads the note-card with her recipe written and she does her best.

"So, you and Daryl happy?" Paulie asks rather unexpectedly and Beth nearly cuts her thumb with the knife she's using to cut the pecans.

Her eyes fly to look at her and Paulie is looking at her with a smile. Beth almost asks how Paulie knows about her and Daryl but she stops herself before she can. It's a small town. Smaller than small. Of course Paulie knows that she and Daryl went out. It would have been more shocking if she hasn't heard from someone yet.

Beth visibly swallows and she nods her head once, going back to cutting. "I'm really happy," she answers quietly as if it's something she shouldn't be shouting from the mountain tops.

It hasn't been a good year for her. Or really, years, and that's putting it mildly. First mom and then daddy and Shawn and Maggie both leaving her all alone… No. Being happy is definitely a very big deal. But she knows that Daryl isn't the sort to announce anything to anyone. He is private and Beth respects that so she supposes that she's keeping herself reigned in as well about the whole thing going on between them - whatever that thing is.

"I can tell," Paulie smiles at her and Beth feels her cheeks warm.

Beth nearly asks Paulie if she can tell if Daryl's happy or not, but she's able to stop herself before the question can leave her mouth. Deep down, a part of her doesn't want to know. Deep down, a part of her is terrified that she's just the rebound; that she's giving this man her heart, feeling whooshes and falling for him, and to him, she's just the girl to help him get over the first girl. She knows that Daryl likes her. That's obvious. But she has no idea if his feelings for her match her feelings for him. He seems to be over Amy, but is he really?

Once the pies are filled and are baking in the oven, Paulie asks if she'd like to see her greenhouse and Beth eagerly accepts the invitation. She knows that Daryl had built it for his mom and Paulie's love for it is obvious, opening the door and stepping inside, Beth following behind. In the summer sun, the greenhouse's air is so thick with heat and humidity, Beth nearly has trouble breathing, but she's able to quickly get used to it and look at the things Paulie is growing. Different flowers and herbs – some of which Beth can't identify. No one in her family had ever been into natural medicines. Her daddy had known about plants and which ones could be helpful – or harmful – but Hershel had kept the knowledge to himself and hadn't passed it down to any of his three children.

Maybe he had thought that he would have more time for that, too.

"And Daryl built this for you?" Beth asks, looking at the small seemingly simple wooden structure with the wooden-planked floor and the windows on all sides and the roof.

Paulie smiles, rubbing her hand affectionately along one of the wooden tables. "He did. When he was a lil' one, the church had a garage sale every year in their basement where the congregates would donate things from their homes that they didn' need anymore. I was able to get quite a few things for just a few dollars for myself and the boys – even though I'm pretty sure Dolly Crawford, one of the church women who organized it, gave me discounts on things though she'd never admit to doin' such a thing."

Beth listens intently to Paulie's story. She sees the scar over Paulie's eyebrow and the way she walks with a limp, and it's a secret to no one of hers and Merle's and Daryl's past life, but still, it's so hard to believe that this strong and kind woman was ever a beaten housewife. She wonders what Daryl remembers of his youth; if he even wants to remember anything from it. Beth knows she'll probably never be brave enough to ask him about it.

Besides, it's not really any of her business unless Daryl wants to make it.

"Daryl came with me every single year. He prob'ly won't admit such a thing now, but when he was lil', he didn't like lettin' me out of his sight too much. He walked around, actin' like my protector," Paulie says with a faint smile and Beth smiles at that, too. "This year we went to the garage sale, he was about five, I figure, and I was able to get us some clothes and a new pot for cookin' and I turn around and Daryl's not there anymore. I find him by the table of toys and he's got his eyes set on a Lego set. It was supposed to be a pirate ship but pickin' up the box, I knew all of the Legos weren't in there anymore but Daryl didn' care. It was a dollar, but Dolly told me that it was on sale for a quarter and I knew it was bull and us Dixons don' like takin' charity from anyone, but I wanted to get it for Daryl."

Beth smiles faintly as she imagines a tyke-sized Daryl clutching a Lego box to his chest.

"And after that, if I couldn' find 'im, I'd go to his closet and sure enough, he'd be in there, playin' with his Legos. I made sure he only played with the Legos in the closet so his dad couldn' step on any."

Beth can just imagine how that would have gone if Will Dixon pierced his foot on a Lego.

"He built the pirate shop and then after that, he was always buildin' somethin' else," Paulie continues. "It's as if now that he started, he wasn' able to stop himself. And I loved watchin' him build whatever was up in his mind. That boy had an imagination that I couldn' imagine any other Dixon havin'. Merle picked up on his brother interest and he'd come home sometimes, his pockets burstin' with more loose Legos to add to Daryl's collection."

Beth thinks back on what Daryl had confessed during their date at Rio Rancho.

Sometimes, I think Merle might hate me a lil'.

Beth had thought he was crazy then and she thinks he's crazy now. Just hearing this one story, she stands by her previous statement. Merle adores his little brother. And she thinks of the way Daryl had dragged Merle into her office for her to check him out. It's pretty obvious to anyone that the Dixon brothers do anything for one another.

"This was the first thing he built that wasn' made of plastic," Paulie smiles, rubbing her hand along the table once more, looking up at the glass ceiling with a brightness in her eyes. She then looks back to Beth. "I had Merle when I was so young, I was still a child myself and Merle and I grew up together. I know I prob'ly didn' do the best with him."

Beth immediately opens her mouth to tell her otherwise, but Paulie shakes her head, stopping Beth before she can; knowing that's what she's going to do.

"And I love my boys more than anythin' in this world, but Merle and Daryl have always been different. Even if I was able to give them exact same life, they would be different. Daryl's always been the sweet one. And he's always been the best thing I've ever done."

Paulie takes a step towards her then. Beth's hand is resting on the table and Paulie moves her hand, covering it, and she stares into Beth's eyes, making her eyes stay locked with hers. Beth is back to feeling nervous like she had felt when she first arrived.

"I like you so much, Doc, but, and I mean this as nice as possible, if you break that boy's heart, you're gonna have me to deal with."

Beth has no idea what to say to that. She knows Paulie. She likes Paulie. And she knows that Paulie isn't exactly threatening her and yet, that is exactly what the small woman in front of her is doing. Beth wonders if she had said the exact same thing to Amy when she and Daryl began dating two years earlier.

Beth visibly swallows and she nods her head and Paulie smiles, patting her hand.

"Good girl. Now le's go check on those pies."

Paulie leaves the greenhouse, heading back towards the house, but Beth stays behind, taking a moment to collect. Well, she and Daryl must be serious if his mom is giving her thinly-veiled threats. Are they serious? That certainly is a conversation they haven't had.

She finally is able to leave the greenhouse, closing the door behind her, and as she heads back towards the house, following Paulie's path, Beth wishes she had been able to say something to Paulie in response.

Paulie better have a talk with Daryl and make sure he doesn't break Beth's heart either.

…

Parking the truck in her usual spot behind the house, Beth takes the cool pecan pie from the seat next to her and heads inside. She had seen Daryl's truck parked outside in front and there are a couple of lights turned on so she knows he's returned from poker night and when she comes in through the back door into the kitchen, Louis is running in a moment later, barking happily and wagging his tail as fast as a whip.

Beth smiles at Louis' enthusiasm as she always does and she goes to the counter to set the pie down. "Where's your daddy, huh?" She asks the dog, rubbing him behind his ears.

And after making sure the door is closed and locked behind her, she leaves the kitchen and pokes her head into the living room. He's not there – not that she was expecting him to be. He would have gotten up to greet her if he was. So she turns and heads up the stairs, not hearing anything that would alert her as to where he is.

She nearly leaps when the bathroom door suddenly opens, releasing light and pent up steam, and there's Daryl, a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair and body still wet.

Beth immediately feels her throat go dry at the sight of him and she stands there, knowing that she's staring at him, looking like an idiot, but she can't seem to help herself.

He's not chiseled from stone – and that's a little surprising to her because she's seen his arms, but no. He's got a little tummy on him; not a six pack. And Beth is trying to think of the last time she has seen anything sexier than Daryl standing in front of her right now without a shirt on, water droplets chasing one another down his body. He's a man. An actual man. And Beth is feeling nothing except whooshes wreaking havoc on her stomach.

Daryl looks initially embarrassed to have her seeing him like this, but then, he sees her face – and Beth wonders what she looks like right now (she can only imagine the lust evident in her eyes) – because Daryl's demeanor changes then, too. He doesn't relax. If anything, he seems to stiffen anymore, but Beth can tell that this is a different sort of tenseness.

And then, just like their first kiss, Daryl launches himself at her in the same way he had then, his hands framing her cheeks and his mouth hungrily kissing hers. And Beth is more than eager to return those kisses with kisses of her own. Her fingers dive into his wet hair, holding it back from their faces as she stands on her toes and presses herself against him. And she nearly whimpers because he's wearing nothing but a towel and it obviously does nothing to hide how excited he is right now. She can't help but feel relieved that he seems to want her as much as she wants him.

It's all happening so fast – they are flying through so many steps that Beth usually takes with a man to get to this point – but she doesn't even consider stopping them right now. Daryl is making her feel like she's floating and the last thing she wants is to come crashing back down. In the back of her mind, she wonders how soon it was after their first date that he and Amy slept together, but Beth is quick to slap that thought away. Right now, Daryl and Amy is the absolute last thing that she wants to think about.

Right now, it's just Daryl and Beth. Beth and Daryl. And nothing and no one else.

They practically fall into her bedroom and she laughs against his lips as Daryl shuts the door behind them.

"Don't wan' Louis watchin'," he exclaims and Beth laughs again.

Feeling bold, she is the one to push him towards the bed and he falls backwards onto the mattress, the towel loosening from around his waist, almost falling off. He immediately reaches for Beth, but she shakes her head, going to the foot of the bed where he can't get her. And then, with a braveness she didn't even know she has, Beth begins peeling her clothes off. His eyes never leave her, staring, growing darker, with each piece of clothing that falls from her body onto the floor. She has never done anything like this before, but the way Daryl is staring at her, he's making her feel brave and beautiful and her stomach is in a state of constant flutters and whooshes.

When she's completely naked, Daryl sits up, but she still doesn't come back to the bed. Instead, she crosses the room to her desk. The air-conditioner kicks on and feeling the cold air across her naked skin, she feels sexy and confident and turning back towards Daryl, she smiles at him and holds up a foil packet that she has taken from the top drawer.

Daryl lifts an eyebrow at that. "Are there secret stashes like that all over the house?"

Beth laughs and she finally returns to the bed, climbing up on the foot, sitting up on her knees, looking down at him as he's lying there, propped up on his elbows, looking up at her as if he's never seen anything more beautiful than her.

Whoosh.

"Maggie gave a box to me before she moved to Michigan," Beth admits and as if she wasn't completely naked, she blushes as if embarrassed at admitting of being in possession of a box of condoms. "She thought I needed to have some fun."

Daryl stares up at her, completely serious. "And are you havin' fun?"

Beth smiles faintly and slowly, she drops to her hands and crawls towards him, putting herself over him. Her lips lightly brush across his. "I bet we're about to have a lot more."

And he smiles at that, actually grinning when Beth lets out a surprised shriek as he grabs her and flips her over quickly, setting her on her back. She feels that the towel is gone and she's instantly drenched between her thighs. She pulls him down for another kiss, her thighs spreading to hold him between them, and their naked bodies press tightly together.

Beth thinks of little Daryl with his Legos and Daryl and the way he cares about Louis and his brother and mom and the way he would come over here and help her whenever she needed it. She thinks of how he's a good man who cares for her and gives her whooshes.

It's never a good time to think things like that – especially between two people who are still getting to know one another – but Beth can't help it. Daryl is buried inside of her, thick and deep, and she is moaning softly with each movement of his hips, bringing himself in and out, the movements rocking their bodies together. And all she can think of is how she loves him. She honestly loves him. When had it happen? She has no idea, but it has happened.

She has gone from having a crush to liking him to falling completely in love with him.

Almost as if he can read her thoughts right then, Daryl lifts his head from where he had been grunting into the side of her throat and he looks down at her; almost as if he can't quite believe that this is happening and she's beneath him like this. His hips never stop their thrusts and her hips don't stop, lifting to meet his, but everything else seems to go completely still around them. It's just them. They are the only two people left in this world.

"I love you, Daryl," Beth hears herself say to him breathlessly, panting.

Instantly, she wishes she could take it back. She should not have said that. Not now. Not when they're in the middle of having sex. And even if they weren't having sex right now, it is way too soon to be saying that out loud. She shouldn't even be thinking it yet. It's all moving so fast. She can't be in love with him yet.

But she is. She knows she is. She just should have kept it deep down inside and never said it out loud until she knew that he would be ready to hear it.

Daryl is staring at her and his thrusts have slowed down and Beth is honestly excepting him to just crawl off of her and leave without meeting her eye again. Telling someone that you love them should be easy. It should make you feel lighter afterwards and like everything in the world is perfect. But Beth doesn't feel that at all. Honestly, she feels a little sick and she wishes he would say anything right now to her statement.

But then, when Daryl does speak, Beth wishes he hadn't said anything at all.

"Thanks," Daryl says in a quiet voice and then he looks away and begins thrusting again, but Beth can hardly even feel him now.

Thanks. As if she has just given him a cup of coffee or an extra piece of toast in the morning. Thanks as if what she had just confessed to him means very little to him. And that is the truth, isn't it? It has to be. Before her, there was another blonde woman in his life who told Daryl that she loved him and it's pretty damn obvious that that's the only woman Daryl wants to say those words to him.

Beth thinks she really might be sick. Why can't she just be a girl who has sex with a guy and has fun and not get emotionally attached? Why can't she be a fun girl like Maggie or Rosita? Why does she always have to ruin things? Couldn't she just have had sex with Daryl without whooshes in the stomach or her heart pitter-pattering in her chest or falling in love with him? What the hell kind of woman falls in love with a guy during sex?

Thanks.

Is there a worse word in the English language than that?

…

Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review! I already can't wait to write Daryl's POV in the next chapter.