Thursday Morning

Daryl was whistling a tune of his own design to himself in the kitchen when Charlene sneaked up on him, "you sure are chipper this morning."

He cleared his throat to silence the music that was incriminating him then took a big bite out of the slice of toast he'd just smothered with butter. Maybe he was feeling chipper. Perhaps it was because he couldn't stop thinking about how nice Kate had felt in his arms. Not just touching her but really holding her, tight, flush, her chest against his.

"How'd it go last night?" Jim slammed a cabinet door after retrieving three mugs to pour coffee for the three of them.

The only thing nicer than holding Kate had been her lips against his. Daryl pictured kissing her. Since last night he had been holding on tight to the way it had made him feel because that feeling had been like nothing else. Like breathing in air, necessary to life and completely natural. Even if he hadn't wanted to hold onto the feeling he was pretty sure it had stuck all on its own, like there had been some sort of change, except he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Either way it made him more excited for how it was going to feel when he did more than kiss her.

"Oh Prince Charming…" Charlene snapped her fingers in front of his face causing him to jump and realise he had been zoning out as he wallowed in the fuzzy feeling, as he had become accustomed to doing.

"What?" Daryl had completely forgotten what his friends had been saying.

"Jim was asking how your date went…" Charlene sipped her coffee, "but I think we can already tell." His two friends both chuckled to each other and shared the same knowing look.

"It was alright."

"Just alright? With you tweeting like a bird in spring I'd have thought you were in love."

Daryl felt his face blanche as he slumped down into one of the dining chairs, spilling half his coffee in the process. In love. Char had to be half crazed, "good lord, that what ya'll think of me? We only had one fucking kiss."

"You kissed?" Char began kneading his shoulders and let out a whimsical sigh, "I just love first kisses."

"It's how they get ya, you'll be begging her to stay before the month is out," Jim backhanded his hat against Daryl's chest.

"What ya'll mean begging her to stay?" Char asked.

"She's going back home." He sat at the table, affixing his hat back on his head, "maybe she'll take ya with her… make you a kept man. You can do her laundry, clean her car, carry her fancy handbags."

"Shut up," Daryl decided shoving the last of his toast into his mouth. He needed to get himself a place of his own so he didn't have to face the ritual morning inquisition.

/

Kate pulled into the museum parking lot and spotted Daryl, leaning against his bike, smoking a cigarette in his own sexy way. She chose to take the space next to his and felt herself blush at the wonky half smile he gave her with the end of his cigarette hanging out of his mouth. When her engine stilled he straightened up, stepped forward and opened her car door.

Last night's kiss had already been at the forefront of her mind most of the morning and most of last night, seeing him now was only adding to her memory of it. Now she was only having to look at him to feel the tingly sensation all over her body.

"Have you been waiting for me Mr Dixon?" she teased, it had occurred to her that she was almost always at work before he was unless he was working the previous night.

He flicked away his cigarette and let his wonky smile grow wider, "maybe."

Kate's butterflies fluttered in satisfaction.

Daryl walked her into the museum, holding open the staff door. Something about it made her think of highschool and the boy who had used to meet her at the end of her road so they could walk together. If he was being particularly nice he would offer to carry her file full of GCSE coursework that she could never fit into her backpack. His name was Wesley and she had been known to roll her school uniform skirt up a notch higher for their morning and afternoon strolls. This was like that, sweet innocent little gestures, the simple opening of a door that somehow gave her that mushy feeling.

"Can I take ya for lunch later?" Daryl asked as he leant in the doorway of her office, watching her place her bag on the desk before flipping open the diary to check her schedule.

"I already have plans," Kate felt a pang of guilt at the way his features fell. She probably could have invited him along for lunch with Bax but there was something that told her the two men wouldn't get along and there was something more than that. If this was going to work as a fling then she couldn't see him socially everyday. It was bad enough that they were seeing each other at work for most of the week.

If the past five minutes of walking with him through the museum had taught her anything it was that she definitely shouldn't see him socially everyday. Even if she never said it in words to Daryl she needed to make sure they had boundaries so nobody got hurt when it ended. It was like dieting, a small indulgence every once in awhile didn't cause any problems. Binging herself on a Daryl diet, morning, noon and night would have been pretty easy. In fact, it was quite what she wanted to do but she needed to be smart and unlike her Nana, the hopeless romantic, Kate was a little more pragmatic or at least that's what she told herself.

Thursday Afternoon

Daryl tried not to hover around Kate too much even if that's exactly what he wanted to do. He didn't want to be that guy. He knew the type; clingy, needy, desperate, even if he could have probably described himself with those exact feelings. He could at least act like he wasn't going crazy and wear the disguise of a cool exterior.

Daryl was watching the monitors just like he was supposed to be doing except there was only a handful of camera angles that were benefiting from his scrutiny. He could hardly take his eyes of that damn exhibition hall except for the moments when he decided, 'enough you goddamn lunatic,' and looked away, but only for a moment. Through the tiny screen he watched Kate, talking, walking, doing nothing of note but doing everything of interest to him.

He was wondering if he should grab a cup of coffee when he noticed some pompous asshole saunter through the museum making a line straight to Kate. The man went right up to her, one hand slipping onto her waist and just like that he bent down and kissed her cheek. Alarm bells were ringing in his head, so loud that he could barely even hear any rational thought that told him the kiss was nothing, small, friendly, a greeting.

A sea of eyes pointed towards him as the chair he had been sitting on crashed heavily to the floor but he didn't even notice. He didn't even realise right away that he was standing up, face red, breath choked.

Jesus Fucking Christ. Could he die from jealousy? This wasn't fucking healthy. In a way he was going to be glad when Miss Uppity was finally fucking gone so he wouldn't have to feel this way all the time. Maybe he could go back to being normal instead of what she was turning him into. She had him in a web, a strange half limbo where she was his but only part way, enough for him to be infatuated but not enough for him to relax.

Daryl righted the fallen chair, threw his hat from his head and made his way to the exhibition hall. All the while he told himself that he was acting like an irrational idiot, but being stupid and hotheaded was a bit of a Dixon trait. All he really knew was that he wanted to mark some sort of claim on Miss Uppity like he was a neanderthal straight out of the stoneage exhibition.

Kate was laughing with the man when Daryl entered the room and every muscle tensed until her big brown eyes looked right at him, "this is Lou's friend… the one I was telling you about."

The man turned around, his smile bright as he sized Daryl up, "Doctor Baxter Templeton." He held out his hand and Daryl stared at it for a moment, rolling his eyes inwardly, and repeating the man's name with disdain in his head. Doctor Baxter Templeton, Jesus, what a fucking prick.

"Daryl Dixon," he took Baxter's hand more forceful that was necessary and his grip was met with equal pressure on the doctor's part as they held each other's gaze in tense silence.

Kate cleared her throat, "ah hem," and the two men broke apart. Baxter still smiling and Daryl doing his best not to scowl. Although he was pretty sure he was scowling. Why couldn't all Kate's friends be seventy year old men? There was nothing wrong with her relationship with Lou. Now he knew what Jim was talking about when he complained about the twenty something year old bank clerk who worked in the building next to where Charlene did and was always offering to drop her off home after her shifts.

"I'll fetch my purse and then we can go," Kate said to Bax before giving Daryl a pointed look that reminded him he was here for no real good reason. What the hell was he going to do? Knock Baxter out and throw Kate over his shoulder and take her back to his cave. Or maybe his fort, since he didn't have a cave. The idea lifted his tension, it wasn't exactly the worse idea that had ever crossed his mind. Probably not the best either.

"I'll wait for you out front Doctor Ashwood." Baxter half bowed, a sweet smile for Kate and a sardonic one for Daryl before turning on his perfectly polished shoe.

Doctor Ashwood. Daryl caught the weird look on her face before she was walking away, high heels, swishy dress, her typical hypnotic fashion but he could hardly see it. Instead, Daryl remained on the spot, dumbfounded, feeling like the wind had fallen flat from his sails. God this woman was way out of his league. He let out a heavy sigh, the last of his steam, Doctor. He might have followed her but instead he returned to the safety of the security office. He was beginning to question everything, why was he even trying? Why was he putting himself through all this fucking stress? He'd never felt like this.

Daryl sat and stared at the monitor all the while knowing he should just look away but also that he wouldn't. Kate caught her foot on the strap of her handbag and half stumbled out of her little office. Daryl laughed and felt his heart clench. Why couldn't she do something so cute and clumsy when he was around to witness it in person? He felt the familiar dopey smile lighting up his face, the familiar buzz of bees, the familiar pang of need. The need to be close to her, talk to her, touch her, anything.

Fucking hell.

Even a redneck such as himself knew the truth of why he was chasing Kate. Maybe Charlene had reminded him of the word for it this morning. Hell, the amount of time he spent thinking about Miss Uppity should have been his first clue and the only reason for that level of obsession surely only belonged to a certain four lettered word or some sort of insanity. Maybe they were the same thing. He cursed Jim for getting him this job and putting him in her goddamn high heeled path. The day he had collided with the woman was like stepping in front of a freight train, one hit and he was gone.

What if he really was falling in love with her? What if it had already happened? How the hell was he suppose to know?

Shit. He slapped his palm across his face and groaned. Now what the fuck was he suppose to do? Part of him wanted to cut all ties, forget she existed and the other part of him wanted to know what it might feel like to love somebody even if that went against every instinct in his body.

He stood up and despite his better judgement he headed for the front entrance because apparently he was a crazy man now. Bax was waiting at the bottom of the sandstone steps, smile at full capacity.

Daryl lit a cigarette even though he knew Mr Blake forbid smoking outside of the visitor entrance. He needed the crutch it offered as he took a drag, letting smoke blow out slow, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to do next.

Bax took a seat against the shiny black paint of a BMW convertible before winking at Daryl.

"That's a no parkin' zone, can't you read the signs?" he almost spat out. There was no civil way for him to talk to this man.

"I thought you were just a security guard… are you a parking inspector too?"

"I ain't an asshole who parks over a fire hydrant."

"I'll be whisking Dr Ashwood away shortly, I'm certain the museum can keep from combusting until then."

Daryl threw his cigarette to the floor, snuffing it out with the toe of his boot as he watched Bax's gaze flick to a point over his shoulder.

"Kate… you made it before the world ended and we all went up in flames." Bax said as he stood from his place leaning on the car, giving Daryl a smug look before he opened the passenger side door.

"I did?" Kate looked at Daryl, her brow creased in confusion but still the hint of a smirk playing on her lips.

He wanted to tell her, 'don't go with him' but he didn't, he wanted to kiss her but he didn't, he just stood there for the briefest moment as she walked past him down the steps submerging him in her perfume. As much as he wanted to be as close to Kate as possible Daryl couldn't take another moment with Baxter Asshole Templeton, so he turned and headed inside the museum without looking back once.

Maybe it would be best if he avoided Miss Uppity and the witchcraft she had entangled him with for at least the rest of the day. No more monitors and no more exhibition hall. Although the order he gave himself sounded vaguely familiar, but this time he meant it.

/

Bax took Kate for Sushi which was a very welcomed restaurant choice since it was one of her favorite things to eat and she could never go with Lou who didn't particularly like eating anything that wasn't smothered in some form of gravy.

"Lou said you was here on business…" Kate pried as their food arrived at the table, dish after dish all arranged for sharing. One of the things she loved about Sushi was how pretty it looked, bright, fresh, all perfectly portioned and identical.

"I've actually been offered a job over here," Bax replied.

Kate looked at him with confusion, "I assume you haven't taken it?"

"I courted the idea but in the end I couldn't bare the thought of uprooting."

Kate laughed and nodded, "I understand, even though I was happy to do it…" she thought of Harry, maybe 'happy' was the wrong word. She felt her heart start to shudder in hot little beats like it always did when she talked about something that was so close to the truth of what had happened. So like always she changed the subject, "I miss things that I didn't think I would..."I've even made a list."

Bax chuckled, "such as?"

Kate's face crinkled as she tried to pick an item from her, what was now very long list, "pork pies… you know I never really liked them… but you always want what you can't have right?"

He raised his eyebrows, "always."

"And I crave Indian food all the time, which is something I do love. I've been to a couple of places over here but it's not the same." She rolled her eyes at herself with a small laugh, "What I want is English Indian food."

"Curry mile," his little finger pushed his glasses up his nose as he grinned, "I can take you."

Kate leaned forward as if she was sharing a secret, "I was already planning on going."

When the meal was finished, Kate insisted on picking up the cheque then he dropped her back at the museum, getting out of the car when she did.

"I'm glad we did this. Got to know each other a little more. Now you can call when you get into town and I'll bring over some Pimm's and porkpies."

"Pimm's…" Kate smiled and nodded, "it's on the list too."

Bax held out his hand and Kate took it for a goodbye handshake, gentle yet still firm.

"Farewell for now…" he stepped back, " I shall see you when you return to Blighty."

Kate laughed, "I suppose you will, have a safe journey."

Blighty. Home. Pimm's and porkpies. As she watched Baxter pulling away she thought of all the things from home that she was missing so much and realised that when she did return to England then she would probably be making a new list. A list filled with all the American things that she missed and wanted once they were unavailable to her.

A/N- Thanks for all the comments on the last chapter, glad you all enjoyed the kiss! ;)