A/N: Sorry-I-Wasn't-Listening picked up that the waitress was indeed Carol in the last chapter. Woohoo! Told ya I was trying to subtly throw a little bit of everyone in. And as for my Jax/Maggie guest reviewer: you keep hitting the nail on the head, man. And I wish I could send cookies and rainbows and hugs your way, haha.

I also want to reiterate: when I said this would be a slow build, I mean slow build. Sorry to those of you who were disappointed about the last chapter. It didn't feel right to me though, nor the characters. I will however promise you that it will happen. Thank you to those who are still sticking with me. I greatly appreciate the continued support.


That night Beth had fallen asleep curled up next to Daryl. She pushed the thought of him practically rejecting her from her mind. Besides, she really wasn't sure if she was actually ready anyway. She wanted to be though. That was for sure.

Beth awoke once morning rolled around. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before she realized Daryl wasn't beside her. She quickly sat up in bed and furrowed her brow. First he didn't want to have sex with her and now she couldn't even have the chance to wake up beside him?

She got out of bed and opened the bedroom door. It was completely silent: no Daryl and no Jesse. So Beth ducked into the bathroom and hit the light switch so that she could make sure she looked okay. She adjusted her shirt since it was slightly twisted and she pulled her hair down from her ponytail, running her fingers through it to smooth it out and put it back up again.

She hit the lights off and quietly stepped out of the bathroom as though she were going to get caught. She smiled to herself. Fixing her hair wasn't a crime. As she walked out into the living room, she could make out Daryl and Jesse's voices just outside the door. She barely lifted one of the blinds covering the window and saw that they were both leaning against the railing smoking a cigarette. And she smiled again, seeing that they were being sociable with one another. Odd to think that all this time Beth had been talking to Jesse, he was related to Daryl. And none of them even knew it.

Beth grasped the door handle and slowly opened the door. She was immediately met with a stare from both of them before receiving smiles. She closed the door behind her and made her way over to Daryl, wrapping her arms around him. He had already showered and gotten dressed for the day as his hair was still damp and he was wearing a gray button up shirt, his work shirt, that looked as though the sleeves had been torn off leaving it a bit frayed. She felt a tad embarrassed that she apparently slept through all of that.

"I've give you two some space." Jesse put his cigarette out in the ashtray and stepped back inside. Beth felt guilty that he was keeping his distance for their sake but she also respected him for not standing around and gawking uncomfortably.

"G'morning." Daryl put his cigarette out while wrapping an arm around her. He kissed her on the forehead causing her to grin.

"Good morning," Beth hummed against his chest. "…I take it you don't like sleeves?" She figured she wouldn't hound him about leaving her to wake up alone.

Daryl got a chuckle out of that. "Not a big sleeve kinda guy."

"Well, I'd have to say I agree." Beth stepped back and placed her hands on his arms smiling sheepishly up at him.

Daryl placed his index finger under Beth's chin and tilted her head up. He wore a smirk as he shook his head in response to what she had said. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips afterward.

The kiss sparked the memory of him doing nearly the same thing in front of her siblings and her mind started reeling again. "You'll have to meet my family at some point you know."

"I don't think that's such a great idea." Daryl leaned back against the railing.

"Why not? They'll love you. Or they'll at least grow to love you," Beth encouraged. "Maggie is already lightening up. Shawn is too."

"S'not your siblings I'm worried 'bout."

"My parents are understanding. Maybe not as much but they can come around. They will come around."

Daryl locked eyes with her and she was beginning to see that this was his way of trying to read her. But he didn't continue anymore on that topic. "You ready to go?"

Beth was hoping to spend more time with him but since he was sporting his work shirt, she supposed he had to go to work. She weakly nodded and Daryl stepped back into his apartment to grab his keys and helmet. He immediately handed the helmet off to Beth before walking down the balcony and heading for the stairs with her in tow.

She had just gotten the helmet fastened once they reached the ground floor and walked to his bike. And just like yesterday, once he got it running, she slipped on behind him with her arms wrapped around him with a smile.


Daryl pulled into Teller-Morrow and drove up to the row of motorcycles that was already forming. He downshifted into neutral and walked his bike back between two of them before he kicked the kickstand down and shut the engine off. Beth took that as her signal and got off while unfastening the straps of the helmet from under her chin. Daryl removed the key from the ignition and pocketed it before getting back on his feet.

"Well… I hope ya had a good birthday." Daryl took the helmet from Beth's outstretched hand and set it down on the ground by his bike. He wasn't quite sure how Beth was reacting to him slamming the brakes on yesterday during their little escapade but he had his reasons.

"The best birthday." Beth smiled up at him and hugged him for the second time that morning. "Thank you for being a part of it."

He gave her a one-armed hug and a quick kiss on the lips before she left and headed home. Rubbing his face, he headed over toward the garage where he found Jax with his arms crossed and a grin on his face.

"I don't even wanna hear it," Daryl grumbled.

"Aw, c'mon, man. Lighten up." Jax teased, "I didn't say anything."

"That grin on your face is sayin' otherwise." Daryl changed the topic before Jax could pursue anything. "You and Tara ever get your shit figured out?"

Jax sighed and lowered his head. "Yeah, if you can consider it that. She's going back. Said she's fed up with all the bullshit around here and the club. Better pay up in Chicago too apparently—bigger city, bigger hospital."

"Can't really blame her…" Daryl muttered. Things could be a real disaster around there. And the standing rule about their old ladies was that they either had to know everything that went on or nothing at all. There was no half in half out. Now that Daryl thought about it, he wondered where that put him with Beth. He wasn't sure telling her about SAMCRO would be such a great idea but at the same time, he didn't want to necessarily keep it from her. "Sorry to hear that though."

"Don't be. My mom called it before it happened. I was just too stupid to listen."

"Gemma's pretty good at that."

"Calling things out or making you feel stupid?" Opie butted into the conversation in passing. The three shared in a small laugh and Jax yelled after Opie to watch his mouth.

"Hey, do me a favor. I gotta make some phone calls but the woman coming to pick up her Mercedes should be here soon. I dealt with her yesterday and whenever she gets here I just need you to give her the keys, no charge." Jax pulled his cell phone from his pocket. "Mistake on our behalf."

"Mistake or she just complain?" Daryl raised an eyebrow. Yes, he had his moments where he did judge people. But first of all, it was a woman. Second, she was driving a Mercedes. Money and women never went hand in hand very well. Though neither did men…

Jax chuckled. "Mistake but a little bit of both. 'Customers are always right'." He started walking off toward the clubhouse and dialing a number.

"Customers are always right, my ass," Daryl mumbled to himself. He managed to keep himself busy with tasks around the garage until he saw a taxi pull up. Squinting out into the light of the day, he saw a middle-aged woman exit from the vehicle toting a large purse on her shoulder and her dark hair clipped up on her head. She wore what seemed to be some sort of business attire that reminded him of something that would deal with CEOs or something of that nature: black heels, long pencil skirt, and a blazer. She was definitely the owner of the Mercedes.

Daryl wiped his hands off on a rag and stuffed it in his back pocket with a sigh before walking out to meet the woman. He couldn't help but wonder what she was doing on this side of town anyway. She certainly seemed out of place.

"Are you the one who has my keys? I talked to some blonde guy yesterday." The woman started in before Daryl could even say anything. "He said I was free and clear, no charge. One of your guys screwed something up and I couldn't get my car back until today. I don't think you realize how much of a pain that is. I had to call into work to tell them I'd be late because some mechanics didn't know what they were doing."

Daryl forced a smile, only obvious that he wanted to give her a piece of his mind. But he kept his mouth shut. "No, he explained everything. Mercedes. Got it." As soon as Daryl turned around, his back facing her, he rolled his eyes and groaned. He was just glad Jax had to deal with her when everything else went down.

Daryl headed into the office to grab the woman's keys and slightly froze when he ran into Clay. He was seated at the desk working on something of the sort and upon seeing the door open, he looked up at Daryl with that damn infamous fake smile. Daryl slightly twitched, tensing up as he always had around the man. He tried to ignore him and grabbed the keys hanging on the wall before Clay spoke up.

"How have you been lately? Don't see you around much." Clay sat back in his chair. He directed his attention down at his hands while he rubbed his arthritis-ridden knuckles.

"Okay." Daryl replied with the shortest response he could fathom and shrugged. Ever since everything that happened with Merle and the club, Clay Morrow and the Dixons didn't mix—and Daryl was very well aware of that. Merle too, but anytime he was around Clay he just liked to push his buttons. Merle just didn't give a damn whereas Daryl had to watch what he said and did around him, considering he still had a job and was technically a part of SAMCRO.

As soon as Daryl turned back around and placed his hand on the door knob to leave, Clay spoke up again:

"That Beth's a pretty girl. She seems like a nice young lady."

Daryl's grip tightened on the door knob and he gritted his teeth before slowly looking back at Clay. He was now fiddling with a pen between his hands, the same cheeky smile across his face. It took everything Daryl had not to lose his shit right then and there. Getting tangled up with Clay was an automatic "treading on thin ice" scenario.

He threw the door open with a little more force than necessary, startled to see Gemma on the other side, her hand frozen in the air momentarily as she was just about to enter the office herself. She placed her hand over her chest and laughed.

"Scared the shit outta me. Makin' me think I got some kind of psychic powers or something." Gemma smiled.

"Maybe one day." Daryl commented before sliding past her with the Mercedes key still in hand.

Unbeknownst to Daryl, Gemma stood where she was and watched him walk over to the woman to deliver the keys. She placed her hands on her hips before stepping inside the office, shutting the door behind her and eyeing her husband. "What'd you say to him?"

Clay shrugged and set the pen back down on the desk as he got back on his feet. "Nothing." He placed his hands on her hips and leaned in for a kiss but Gemma pulled back, her eyes narrowed.

"I know better than that," she warned.

"Kid's always tense. Why you think it has something to do with me?" Clay smiled, leaning in and getting his kiss after all.


Sorry, Sons of Anarchy kind of robbed this chapter from me…