Therapy

Daryl glared at the sign as he pulled up to the ranch. The therapist he had been told to see due to a court order after his last bar fight and referred him to this place. Apparently there was a chick here who gave riding lessons to pay for school. The broad he was seeing thought it was a good idea to force him to come out here and take lessons; said something about how it'd help him work through his trust issues. Huffing he climbed out of the truck and stalked to the barn where he was supposed to meet the girl. She sounded sweet on the phone. He walked in and saw her standing there with a painted horse, stroking its neck. She looked up at him and glared. "You're late."

"Sorry," he muttered. "GPS is shit."

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "C'mon, let's get started." She led him over to the middle of the barn, leading the horse behind her. "This is Sapphire, she's pretty docile, but she'll know if you're not completely comfortable and that'll spook her." She looked up at him. "I'm gonna let you get to know her while I go get a few things." She handed the reins to him.

Daryl stared at the horse as she walked off and sighed. "Sapphire? What kind of name is that?" he asked, stroking the horse's head. He ran his hand down her long neck and smiled a little. He really did like horses; he just hadn't been around the much. The horse snorted and tossed her mane around.

"She likes you." He looked over as Beth came back. She had a stool and a helmet. "Technically you don't have to wear this, but I thought I'd bring it."

"I'm good." She nodded her head and smiled putting the stool down. "You ever rode a horse before?"

Daryl sighed and looked at Sapphire. "A few times, but it's been a while." She nodded her head.

"You wanna run through the basics?"

"Probably be a good idea."

"Okay, why don't you climb on up?" Daryl nodded and walked around to the side. Shit it had been a long time since he'd done this. He hooked his foot into the stirrup and eased himself up and over, settling his weight onto the saddle. "Good." She smiled and flipped the reins over Sapphire's head. "Let's see what you remember, walk her around the barn a few times."

Daryl nodded and held onto the reins. He wasn't as bad at this as he thought. A few times around the barn and Beth was smiling and nodded approvingly. "Shit, this is weird," he muttered as he came to stand beside her again.

"You're doing great. Give me five minutes to get set and we'll go on a trail." She walked off, leaving him there on top of the horse. She came back, riding her own horse. "Follow me." She led him out of the barn and down to the woods. "So, what made you want to take horse lessons?" she asked.

He sighed as he looked around. "Therapist thought it would help."

She nodded her head a little. "They really are great therapeutic animals." She smiled as they walked around a bend. "Can I ask why you're in therapy?"

He huffed. "I got in a bar fight and the court ordered it." He shrugged and looked at her. "Better than going to jail."

She nodded her head a little. They spent the whole afternoon talking and Daryl swore they walked the same trail half a dozen times. Way past their time limit. He didn't know why but he found it was easier to open up to her than it was his therapist. Maybe he was paying the wrong chick. By the time they got back to the barn and dismounted their horses he felt a million times better than he had that morning.

"So, I'll see you next week?" she asked and he could hear the hopeful note in her voice.

"Yeah, I'll be on time, promise." She smiled and nodded, taking the reins from him. He walked back to his truck. Something about Beth Greene was changing him.