When Darylhad woken up from his alcohol induced sleep that morning, the first thing he knew was that he was hungover. His brain was pounding against his skull and it was a sensation he that was usually saved for the holidays with his brother. He had no intention of getting drunk the night before.

When he got to the bar with Jim, everything had already been in full swing. The town's band of misfits were surrounding a table, howling and clinking glasses at a joke Merle had just told. Lori, the bar owner, had seen them come in before anyone else and already had their usual drinks up before they were halfway to the counter.

While Jim joined the rest of the group as soon as he got his, but Daryl hung back a little longer. He wasn't quite ready to be antagonized by Merle. He had given his brother hell about trying to lose a customer, and he'd been the one that had actually gone and done it.

"You look like you could use something a little stronger than beer," Lori had said, as she began to wipe down the counter, or at least what she could reach of it. She was pregnant with her second kid; and damn was she one interesting mom.

Lori wasn't the type of bar tender that thought she had to be a shrink to every damn person, she answered other people's problems with liquor. Which made it hard to believe she was not only a mother, but the sheriff's wife as well.

Stupid pigs.

Not that Daryl himself had a problem with the local PD. But with the amount of times they'd taken Merle into custody, he didn't have the best relationship with them either. Rick, Lori's husband, was tightly wound. He had a clear set of ethics in his head, and where Merle was concerned, he was highly involved.

He didn't like Daryl's brother one bit. It probably pissed him off even more that Lori was one of the few people in town that not only hung around the Dixons, but seemed to genuinely like their company. She didn't care if they probably scared away other customers, she let them drink and – before sperm met egg – smoke in her bar and was perfectly content with it.

"I might," Daryl had been joking, but Lori pulled out five shot glasses and filled them with booze, telling him he was a big enough boy to handle all of them. To take the edge off, he swung back ninety perfect of the shots. Then he drank his beer and let his brother order a few more rounds. He decided it would help him forget what an ass he'd been.

Daryl didn't expect to dwell on it very long. If Beth had any sense, he thought she'd probably have a tow truck ready to take her vehicle to a different shop by the early morning. Then he'd never have to see or think of her again.

It came as a surprise to him when he drove past the shop to see the truck still there that morning. But it was an even bigger surprise to him to see her not only in the diner, but in his booth when he got there.

The first thing he noticed was the blonde hair, then he saw her globe-like blue eyes popping out of her head at his presence and realized she was literally hidingfrom him. It threw him off completely. It was strange to Daryl that the girl that had the balls to scream at him the night before, was now recoiling in the corner of the booth.

Daryl considered just leaving and saving himself the pain of whatever was going to come with the encounter with Beth, but it would only delay it a little longer. Plus, he could smell the freshly brewed coffee he was craving to cure his hangover. So he simply sat down on the right side of the booth (Beth was in his usual side) and watched her shoulder muscles tighten.

"What the hell are you doing?" her pale skinned face turned a deep shade of red and the blonde's eyes got even bigger. Daryl could practically see the wheels turning in her head, contemplating her next move.

Beth slid into a proper sitting position and attempted to respond to his question, "I- I…uhm," mostly she just stuttered.

Last night Beth had left him speechless at his idiocy, but it looked like it was her turn then. Finally, she stopped trying to make words and just stared at him. Daryl stared back, not knowing what else to do. The awkward air between them could probably be felt throughout the entire diner. He watched her continue to process everything and her eyes darted away from him. Beth started getting up and moving then, grabbing her purse to make a getaway.

"I- I'm sorry, I'll…go…" she managed to fumble a few words out.

Daryl would have liked that, but he knew he owed her some kind of apology. Admitting he was wrong or saying sorry wasn't something he was used to, he didn't really know what he was supposed to say. The first thing that came to his mind was about something she'd asked him yesterday.

"I had a dog growing up."

The blonde paused. "What?"

With a sigh he said it one more time. "I had a dog growing up."

Beth blinked a few times, trying to register what he was saying. Daryl watched as her eyes narrowed; she was probably wondering if he was full of shit. But then, believe it or not, a giant grin appeared on her face. Beth collapsed back into the booth and started laughing. And it was just some girly giggle, it was a reallaugh. The kind that was contagious.

Daryl didn't actually laugh, he felt the corners of his mouth twitch. "He was a mangy thing. I didn't have him for too long."

He'd found the dog on the side of the road when he as around ten, the age where most kids thought that if brought a stray home and begged their parents to keep it, they could. Daryl didn't have asked, his dad didn't even notice the thing. Until it bit Will that was. That was the last thing the dog ever did. Daryl kept that part out of the story of course. He didn't know if he should skirt around talking about death, Beth seemed a little manic depressive.

"What was his name?" Beth asked, and started cutting into her pancakes. He wondered how it was that she forgave so easily and bounced back without blinking.

The awkward air between them had almost melted away for her. And if Daryl was going to be honest, he only felt the normal awkwardness that came along with most of his social interactions.

"His name was Dog," Daryl could feel the corners of his mouth twitch once more, "I wasn't a very imaginative kid." He had actually wanted to name the dog Skip, but Merle, who was actually home for once, called it a queer name.

The two continued to talk while Beth finished her pancakes. It wasn't anything too personal or too deep. It was just small talk. Beth even threw in a comment about the weather. Daryl did notice her skirt around some of the conversation a bit though. A few times he saw her open her mouth, but stop herself before she said anything. He didn't know what the deal as until she didn't catch herself in time and ended up cutting her the word daddy in the middle.

Daryl probably could have kicked himself. Beth cared so much about whatever feelings she thought he had towards her daddy issues after what he'd done that she still didn't feel confident mentioning her father. It was unbelievable. Even though she'd accepted his mediocre kind-of-an-apology, Daryl knew it wasn't enough.

With a sigh, Daryl stared at Beth very seriously, "Look. You can say it. Jesus...you were right 'bout me being a jackass. I ran my mouth when I shouldn't have."

"Okay," Beth spoke cautiously, then blushed and nodded slightly. "I'm sorry I called you that, it was rude."

Although Daryl would have liked to point out that he was the rude one, he didn't. She looked like she needed him to take the apology. So he did. After, Beth got up to leave, giving him a small wave as she did. Just before she got to the door, Daryl remembered one more thing.

"HEY!" He called after her and Beth turned back toward him, "I'll call you this afternoon about the truck."

"Thank you," Beth smiled at him one more time before she left and it was after that Daryl noticed that the entire diner was staring at him; and probably had been since he sat down with her.

With a shrug, Daryl spoke loud enough for every gawking person to hear, "What?"