Days and then weeks passed, and hardly anyone blinked and eye or asked why she stayed. Maybe they assumed they already knew the answer. Sometimes when Daryl sat and chatted with her at the counter of the diner, he would receive knowing looks, and he'd assume the ladder. It wasn't exactly something he was comfortable, which he tried to make well known, but people only saw what they wanted to see; and any gossip, true or false, was good gossip.
"I heard she was pregnant." Lori joked to him one evening.
It was all Daryl could do not to spit out his drink. His brother on the other hand, had beer dripping out his damn nose from laughing so hard. To Daryl's surprise, all he ever did was laugh when Beth was brought up. Even when he told Merle she was staying...for far longer than planned...the only thing he did was lament to loss of his bedroom.
Not that the girl ever used it. That was one thing Daryl had predicted to be right. Even if it took a little longer than expected. Almost every morning he found her on the couch, passed out with her uniform still on and a book clutched in her hand. Most of the time he'd leave her as she was. But sometimes, if her uniform skirt was riding a bit too high, he'd throw a blanket over her. That was far less interesting though, so who would know or care.
"Shut up, Merle." Daryl elbowed his brother, hard. Causing them both to spill a good amount of their drinks onto the counter.
"Hey...that ain't even the best one I heard and it's still funny!" Merle howled. "Hoo! Could you - could you imagine Daryl having a kid...with a kid!? Hoo!"
Daryl cringed. One, because that was the worst way it could have been put. Two, because calling her a kid — in front of the woman that never checked Beth's ID and whose husband was sheriff — was a slippery slope. Anyone could guess Beth was a teenager, that was a true piece of gossip. But he didn't think she ever came right out and said it; and Rick would have a field day finally shutting down the bar.
Lori didn't think all too much of it as just rolled her eyes as she started mopping up the spilt beer with a dish cloth. "Shut up, Merle."
"A man can't make a damn joke in here anymore?" Merle whined. "Now that you're gettin' more people in here you're tryna keep it classy?"
"Or, maybe the baby will hear you!" Lori shot back.
"Good, I'll give it a smoke when you squeeze it out and it can be just like Uncle Merle."
"Shut. Up. Merle." It was both Daryl and Lori that said it that time.
"Damn, you're no fun." Merle tossed back his beer, scowling.
"Who's no fun?"
All three of them turned their heads simultaneously as Beth walked into the bar and towards them. It looked as though she'd just gotten off of work; and it looked like a long day at that because her hair was a mess. Normally she fixed it a little bit throughout her shift. But, at that moment, there were wisps of blonde haloing her head and falling into her eyes. She probably wasn't in the mood for Merle's bullshit. But, Daryl didn't even bother giving his brother a look or telling him different. Merle saw an opportunity and he was going to take it.
"Well, Darylina and Lori here can't take a joke anymore." Merle started. "But, Blondie…I think you'd like –"
"– If it's the pregnancy joke, I've heard it before." Beth didn't let him finish.
Daryl let out a snort. He didn't know how, but she'd gotten really good at countering with Merle. She was always a step or two ahead of him even. Sometimes she'd hangout at the shop, while Daryl now slowly worked on her truck, and the two would go back and forth; and it always ended in Merle losing. Him losing – in the worst case scenario – usually resulted in a hissy fit. The best case scenario was him grabbing them both another beer and composing himself to go back at it.
Merle wouldn't admit it, but he actually enjoyed her company. There was a definite difference between him arguing with Daryl than him arguing with her. It wasn't so much a demonstration of power with her as it was a witty repartee. Which made sense to why he lost.
Merle scrunched his face up. "Now – "
"– Shut up, Merle." Beth smiled and sat down. "A joke is only funny so many times."
"Buzz kills! ALL of you!" Merle slammed a bill (not fitting the price of the drinks) onto the counter, finished his drink and stocked off and out of the bar.
With a triumphant look, Beth ordered a drink and chatted with Lori. "Speaking of pregnant…when is your baby due?"
"Beginning of August." Lori grabbed onto her belly. "But, it couldn't come any sooner. I'm so tired of swollen ankles and aching backs. That and Carl can't and won't stop asking if it's a boy of a girl."
"Carl? That's your son right? I don't think I've met him." Beth asked. "Is he excited?"
"Yes and yes." Lori nodded. "I think he wanted to pick out the name. But I don't know if I want a baby named after a comic book character."
"Well, I'd love to babysit a little Hulk if you ever need some time off." Beth chirped. "…if Rick's okay with that."
From what Daryl knew, Beth had met the sheriff approximately once since she'd been there. He'd been one of the few that had asked the questions. He'd gone into the diner, ordered a coffee and asked her casual questions, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to know he was probing; and he'd scared the living hell out of her. She really had a problem with authority figures, even when she'd done nothing wrong.
Rick wanted to know why and how she was so close to the Dixons. Mostly because, when she was around, they weren't social pariahs. People bothered talking to Daryl, and putting up with Merle to hang out at Lori's; and given Rick's feelings about Merle, he didn't like it one bit.
"Well…we'll have to talk about it when the time comes…" Lori responded hesitantly.
Daryl desperately wanting to defuse the awkward air growing. Whenever Rick came up, tension always rose. Lori didn't talk about it much, but they were always skirting around each other. They fought, sometimes in front of Carl front from what Daryl understood; and it made him wonder if that baby in her belly was a way to try to save the marriage.
"Hey, as long as there's no baby making a mess in the cabin." Daryl joked.
"Oh?" Beth raised her eyebrow at him, taking the bate. "Because it was so clean before you met me."
Finally, they weren't talking about the sheriff anymore.
"I'd like to think of it as having been an organized mess."
Beth sipped her whiskey Lori had poured for her and gave him a look. "If that's what you're going to call it…"
"Well, it was perfectly fine before you came." Daryl said, not realizing he might insult her.
"Really now?" Beth took a breath in, fully prepared to actually argue – if that was the hole he wanted to dig himself into. "Because I could say a thing or two about that – that dump you called…"
"Okay, okay...god, you two are like an old married couple." Lori chimed in. "A kid would never survive you two anyway."
Daryl and Beth both glanced sideways at each other. Yeah they argued, but anyone who knew each other long enough did – to whatever extent. Just because they were the opposite sex, didn't mean it was in the way everyone thought it was. It wasn't supposed to be, and it couldn't be anyway.
"It's not like that anyway." Beth said, tired of repeating herself. "But apparently no one understands we're just friends."
Lori smirked. "If that's what you're going to call it…"
"I'm gonna go work on the trunk." Daryl abruptly pushed himself up from the counter and walking away. Not bothering to say goodbye or look back.
"I'm gonna go too!" Beth spun around after her, throwing a couple twenties down as she did.
It was all Lori could do not to laugh out loud as Beth high-tailed herself out of the bard behind him. "Damn, they got it bad."