"I really messed up with this guy. His name's Daryl, and I think I've screwed things up for good. I lied about something huge and it could've been bad. Like, really bad. I don't know if he'll ever talk to me again. What do I do, Shawn? I don't think I can deal with losing someone else." Beth confessed. Listening to Beth talk to her dead brother about this made him instantly feel like an ass. He barely listened to her side of the story and she deserved more than being yelled at.

"You're gonna get hypothermia or some shit." A low gravelly voice spoke from behind her. Beth kept her back to him, her sobs turning into small hiccups.

"What are you doing out here?" Beth called over her shoulder, her voice cracking. Daryl shifted from foot to foot before walking closer to her.

"Maggie'll have my ass if something were to happen to you." Daryl said as he took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. Beth was freezing cold and wet, but she shrugged his jacket off and stood up to face him.

"Like you care?" Beth seethed, her voice rising as she balled up his jacked and threw it to his chest. Daryl caught his jacket and huffed. She went from blubbering to instant bitch as soon as he spoke. Beth started to stomp towards her car, but Daryl grabbed her arm.

"Beth, stop-.." Daryl started, before Beth cut him off and yanked her arm away.

"No, you stop! I know what I did was bad, but the way you reacted was worse. You're such a jackass!" Beth spat before trying to retreat to her car. Daryl swiftly reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Beth, stop. Right fucking NOW." Daryl yelled, jerking her back to him.

Beth fell into his chest and Daryl gripped her upper arms and bent down to where they were nose to nose. Beth's eyes were like saucers, she looked terrified at his sudden outburst. Normally, Daryl would've dialed it down but he was going to make her listen. Even if it meant getting up close and personal.

"Are you going to listen?" Daryl growled, his dark eyes boring into hers. Beth nodded her head slowly, his intense stare freezing her to the spot. Daryl loosened his almost painful grip on her upper arms, but didn't let go completely.

"Listen, I know the way I reacted was shitty and I'm sor-..I shouldn't have said what I did. You can't lie to me about stuff like that, Beth and damnit I do care. " Daryl said, his voice softening. Beth averted her eyes and chewed on her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry." Beth mumbled, her voice wavering and her body shaking from nerves or the cold, Daryl couldn't tell.

Daryl let go of her arms and pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on top of her head. He wanted to be mad at her, he wanted to be angry. Well, he was angry, but not at her. He was angry at himself for not being careful...cautious. But instead of being cautious, he and Beth had been acting like a couple of horny teenagers the past forty eight hours.

"You're shaking and you're drenched. We need to get back to the house so you can dry off and so we can talk." Daryl mumbled into her ear. Beth nodded her head and reluctantly let go of him. Beth took a step back and looked up at him, he was looking at her with a mixture of concern and protectiveness on his face.

"Just dry off and get into something warm and wait in your room. I'll stop by the guest house and change clothes and I'll be right over. Okay?" Daryl instructed, tucking a wet strand of hair behind her ear.

Beth nodded and trudged over to her car and got in. She started her car and immediately cranked up the heater. She was freezing and she instantly regretted wadding up Daryl's jacket and throwing it back at him. She sat there for a couple moments and thought about Daryl's words before driving off.

Daryl stood back and watched her drive off. He's seen her be strong as hell, but he's never seen her so fragile and breakable. He reached into his pocket and pulled the keys out and made his way over to the truck. He was about to open the door when he stopped. He felt like there was something he needed to do. He looked up and ran his hands through his hair before looking over to the white cross hanging on the fence. He took a deep breath and walked over and stood in front of it.

"Um, you don't know me. I'm the guy Beth was just talkin' about...Daryl. Just wanted to tell ya that I'll take care of her..I um..I love her." Daryl said, shoving his hands in his pockets. He mentally kicked himself for being nervous and spilling his guts to thin air.

The moment when he said that he loved her out loud he felt his stomach twist and his throat tighten. He's never felt anything along those lines and it scared the hell out of him to think about it, let alone saying it out loud. He knew he was speaking to air, but it was something that he thought he needed to do. Daryl stared at the wooden cross for a couple of minutes before turning on his heel and stalking back to the truck.

As soon as he got into the the truck he reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He always kept and extra pack in the truck for good measures. He shakily ripped the cellophane off and pulled a cigarette out, jamming one between his lips. He reached into his pocket and pulled his lighter out, quickly lighting it and taking a long pull. He relaxed his muscles and started the truck and headed back to the farm.

This is chapter was HELLA short, but it was REALLY DEEP. Sorry for that, but just think of this chapter as a the end for last chapter. Thanks for all of the awesome reviews! They mean A LOT to me, you guys have no idea! Do me a huge favor and check out my other Bethyl AU 'The Alley' for me and leave it some love! Until next time... ~BethylAddixon~