there's not a lot that i feel obliged to share or talk about

"Why don't you two get a room already?" Dwight remarked, a playful smirk on his face.

Beth giggled, causing the pool stick in her grasp to slip, while Daryl scoffed and raised his head to look across the pool table at Dwight. His hands remained on Beth's arms as he guided her in aiming her shot at the cue ball, and his front was pressed up close against her back.

"Maybe if you'd shut up once in a while, I could teach 'er how ta play right," Daryl said with a half-smile, and Dwight laughed.

"C'mon, babe, don't give him a hard time," Sherry chuckled, her hand on Dwight's arm. "They're doing what you're supposed t'do on a date."

Dwight turned his head to smile at his wife and snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her in close to him while she continued to beam at him, and joked, "Alright, Honey, that don't mean I wanna have t'watch it all night."

Beth looked back at the cue ball at the end of her pool stick, suppressing another giggle and steadying her hands while Daryl went back to helping guide her shot. At this point in the night, his body pressed against her back didn't feel all that strange, nor did it make her blush or give her chills. It just felt comfortable. And right. He was warm, as always. And even though he'd switched to beer, he still smelled like whiskey and cigarettes.

With his help, she made her shot, and the cue ball hit the 6-ball directly into a pocket. She reflexively gasped and stood up straight, turning to look at Daryl with wide eyes. Then she grinned, and he smiled as he watched her reaction, taking a step back and retrieving his pool stick.

"I did it!" She said happily, throwing her arms up in triumph.

Dwight and Sherry clapped and laughed lightly.

"You get ta make another one now, ya know," Daryl smirked, gesturing toward the pool table.

"Oh – yeah, I knew that," Beth said, still smiling as she surveyed the table and decided on her best shot. As she tried to focus, she realized just how buzzed she really was. Which was a little past buzzed.

After attempting, and failing, to make another pocket, she shook her head and stepped back, holding the stick in front of her and watching as Dwight stepped up to take his turn.

"'Least ya made one," Daryl said, smirking at her.

She nodded and chuckled. "Honestly, that was all I wanted. So, really – I've won tonight."

He laughed and turned back to watch as Dwight sunk a ball into a pocket.

As she stood and watched Dwight lining up his next shot and talking trash to Daryl, Beth realized she needed to make a trip to the bathroom after all the liquid she'd ingested. She glanced around the bar, searching for a restroom sign, but couldn't see anything of the sort. As Dwight celebrated and moved to make yet another shot, she stepped in closer to Daryl and spoke quietly.

"Hey – where's the restroom?" She asked.

He pointed behind him, in the direction of the jukebox. "Want me t'take you?"

She shook her head and squinted in the direction he'd pointed, unsure of where exactly she was walking. "No – I think I'll be fine."

He nodded and watched as she leaned her pool stick against the edge of a nearby table and moved to head toward the restroom, but then Sherry gestured toward her and said, "You going to the bathroom?"

Beth paused and looked at Sherry, nodding. The older woman set down the drink that had been in her hand and told Dwight quietly, "I'm gonna go pee."

Dwight nodded and continued playing pool, still entertained with teasing Daryl. Then Sherry turned to Beth and walked over to join her. "I gotta go, too. I'll show you where it is."

Beth was grateful that Sherry offered to show her where the restroom was because it wound up being at the end of a weird hallway that was easy to miss next to the jukebox. The women's restroom had two stalls and a counter with two sinks, one large mirror hung on the wall over it. The walls and stalls were painted a disgusting olive green, but it was the cleanest public bathroom Beth had seen in New York City thus far.

As she sat on the toilet inside the narrow stall, letting out a deep sigh of relief while relieving her bladder, she could hear Sherry in the stall next to her doing the same. Beth's mind was racing a bit more than usual, wondering what these two really thought of her and asking herself if she should be worried that they'd recognize her somehow. She was just starting to think about how she'd been fooled into believing alcohol was supposed to ease your mind, when Sherry's voice interrupted her thoughts, echoing off the bare walls of the small restroom.

"Are you really twenty-one?"

Beth froze for a moment and second-guessed her ears. Then she answered hesitantly, "Yeah… why?"

She could hear the slightly higher pitch to the older woman's voice, as well as the normally well-concealed Southern drawl making itself more prominent, and knew that Sherry was starting to feel all the beers she'd had. "I dunno – ya just look really young."

Beth bit down on her lower lip and listened, thankful for the walls around her. Unsure of how else to react, she said, "Yeah, I know." Then she thought on Sherry's words for a second longer, thinking of Daryl, and asked, "Like – how young? You think it's… weird?"

"No, not like that," Sherry quickly said, and Beth could hear her standing up and clumsily pulling up her pants. "I dunno, it's hard to explain. Maybe it's not really something physical, but – just something about you. Did you grow up kinda sheltered?"

Beth was furrowing her brow and listening intently to Sherry's voice from the other stall as she finished her business and pulled her pants back up. Now she could definitely tell that the alcohol was making Sherry chatty, and she couldn't help but wonder to herself if this woman was like Carol – more observant than she appeared. And should she be worried about what Sherry might pick up on? Or was this one of those conversations that women had in the bathrooms of bars, like she'd seen in movies and read about in books?

"Yeah. Kinda," Beth answered simply, then flushed the toilet, filling the restroom with the loud sound of rushing water. She heard the toilet in the other stall flushing, too. And she quickly realized that she hadn't even had to lie.

She didn't understand why, but that word suddenly appeared in Beth's head again, repeating over and over: brainwashed. And then she felt horribly guilty for admitting to being "sheltered." It felt like denying her daddy the credit he deserved for keeping her healthy and safe.

A few seconds later, she was standing at the counter next to Sherry, both women washing their hands in the sinks. Beth took the sink on the right while Sherry had taken the left, and when Beth looked up from her soapy hands, she saw Sherry gazing at her through the mirror.

"So how long's it been?" Sherry asked. "Since you've been not sheltered?"

Beth shrugged and replied, "I'ono. Couple years. It was… a process."

She was answering with a lie that felt closer to the truth than she'd expected.

But Sherry nodded understandingly, glancing down as she rinsed her hands beneath the faucet. "Still is. That's a longer process than people realize. But – I think you're in good company."

Then she flashed Beth a knowing smile through the mirror and Beth felt her own lips tugging upward in a small smirk. She nodded and finished rinsing her hands, then shut off the faucet and grabbed a handful of paper towels from the dispenser in the middle of the countertop.

"You don't really seem like – well, me an' Dwight haven't seen Daryl with somebody since Lu – Mal's mom," Sherry said, shutting off her faucet and grabbing paper towels to dry her hands. "And, honestly, we were really thinking he wouldn't find anyone, or even give anybody a real chance. She was like, a one-off kinda thing…"

"Lucy," Beth muttered, tossing her wet wad of paper towels into the trash can as Sherry's eyes met hers. "He told me about her. I know."

Sherry didn't appear too surprised. She nodded and continued, "All I'm saying is that I think you're really good for him. He seems happier than we've seen him in a long time. He can get a little dark sometimes, and I can tell that you understand it… and maybe you wouldn't let him get too dark."

Beth smiled weakly and quickly nodded, looking away and pretending to fix the hem of her shirt. "I got my own fair share of dark. But… yeah. I think I understand it."

"Yeah, I heard you still had bruises when you first got here," Sherry said. "Daryl's probably the best person you could've met when it comes to dealing with that kinda shit."

"It was jus' a black eye, but – what d'you mean?" Beth asked, lifting her head again to meet Sherry's gaze.

What kinda shit? She thought. How much did Daryl tell them?

Sherry tossed her wadded up paper towels into the trash and continued gazing into the mirror, fiddling with parts of her hair and wiping away tiny smudges of makeup on her face while she talked. "It's never 'just a black eye…'"

Is she putting the pieces together? Beth thought. She tried not to let the anxiety show on her face, but her eyes went wide for a brief second, and Sherry glanced in the mirror and noticed.

"Don't worry, he didn't go telling us whatever you guys have talked about," she assured. "He just said that you got away from a bad situation – which is what we all did. And all I meant was that Daryl understands better than most what it's like to be somebody's punching bag, and how it feels t'leave all that and try t'figure out who you are outside of all the… pain. And shit."

Beth nodded and glanced down at her wrist, fiddling with the bandana absent-mindedly. She grasped at her chance to veer the conversation in a different direction. "What made you an' Dwight come to the city?"

Sherry raised her eyebrows and Beth quickly added, "I mean – what'd you guys leave behind? Was it… bad, too?"

Then Sherry smirked and shrugged, eyelids heavy over her watery eyes as she gazed at Beth through the mirror and over her shoulder. "Not that bad, but… bad enough. We'd been thinkin' about it, and then it was like a sign from God or something."

Beth furrowed her brow quizzically and Sherry quickly said, "Dwight hates when I say that, but it's true. If it weren't for the fire, we'd probably still be living in his grandpa's moldy old house – that's the thing about Dwight and Daryl, they both needed swift kicks to their asses t'convince them to leave Georgia… You can't make either one of 'em do a damned thing they don't wanna do."

Beth couldn't help but smirk, thinking about how true that statement was, and mutter, "That's one a the things I like about him…"

Sherry smiled and turned her head to gaze at Beth directly, celadon eyes sparkling in the fluorescent bathroom lighting. She agreed, "Yeah… Me, too."

The girls shared a laugh and Beth could feel herself getting a little more comfortable with Sherry. Before the older woman could ask any more questions about "Rosie," Beth asked, "Why did you wanna leave Georgia so bad? And why didn't they?"

I probably never would've left if I'd had a real choice, she thought. I still miss the smell of home. I miss my room. I miss that guitar I barely got to play.

Sherry shrugged and said plainly, "Bad memories. Bad people. It just wasn't the place for us… It took nearly dying in a fire to convince Dwight of what I'd been sayin' for over a year. And then it took nearly dying from a stab wound to convince Daryl of the same thing, except it was me and Dwight tryin' t'convince him – the entire year before we left and for two years after we moved."

Beth raised her eyebrows and stared at Sherry with intrigue as she listened, imagining a younger Daryl and Dwight, bull-headed as all get out and naïve in their own ways.

Sherry sighed and shook her head, thinking back on the memory with a hint of exasperation. But then she smiled and continued, words occasionally slurring, "I thank God all the time that they're both here, though, an' away from all the shit back home… I always thought they were good for each other – they kinda keep each other in line in a way that me, or any other woman, never could... I dunno, I think they both always thought they were just… some stupid, redneck assholes, destined t'live the same menial lives as their grandpas and dads and brothers. But I saw something in Dwight when we met in high school, and then I saw it in Daryl, too, and I knew they both could do better than that shithole we grew up in… And they did. They overcame all the bad influences and the shitty hands they got dealt, and they've helped remind each other of that, and keep each other in line. They're good men. Good people. A little rough around the edges, sure, but…"

Beth smiled weakly to herself as she listened, and when Sherry's voice trailed off, Beth said softly, "Nothin' that can't be fixed."

She continued smiling but then she saw Sherry's face grow more solemn. Beth's smile quickly faded and Sherry said, in a firm tone, "They're not broken. They're good men – not underneath a shell, or deep down, just all the way through."

Beth swallowed hard and nodded, "I didn't mean – "

Sherry shook her head and smiled faintly, tone immediately softening. "Sorry – I don't mean t'be a bitch. I just… you're young. Sometimes, girls your age think that they need to fix guys like that. But that's not true. And it's especially not true for Daryl."

Beth nodded and kept her eyes locked on the taller woman's, fingers fidgeting with the bandana around her wrist once again. She knew if it weren't for the booze in her system, she'd probably be trembling in her boots right now. But she maintained her composure and didn't waiver despite Sherry's rather intimidating presence. Her voice came out hesitant as she said, "I know that. I don't wanna – I don't think he needs t'be fixed. I didn't mean t'say… that. I – well, Carol thinks he still has a lotta, um… demons. To deal with. But I know he doesn't need me for any a that."

To Beth's surprise, Sherry's lips turned up in a small smile. She seemed to be studying Beth, perhaps in a new light. Or maybe her vision was just getting blurry and she was having trouble focusing. At this point, Beth thought it was anybody's guess.

But then Sherry said, "That's the thing about people like Daryl, or just… most people. They don't need t'be fixed or saved, they don't need t'be told what they should or shouldn't do, or that they should change, or whatever… they just need t'be heard. They need somebody to see them – see everything, exactly as it is, and just… be there. Witness it. Stay with it. Stay despite it… The soul just needs to be companioned for what it already is, not changed into somebody else's idea of what it should be... That's all."

Beth stared back at Sherry thoughtfully, absorbing her words and letting them sink in. They were hitting harder than she'd anticipated.

Maybe me and Daryl both need the same thing, she thought. Maybe we can both see it in each other... I'd accept him, no matter what he might tell me. But can I say the same for him? Once my disgusting secrets come out? …Doubtful. And it'd be wrong for me to expect him to accept it. Not after lying for so long.

Then Sherry shrugged and her tone was lighter again, and she gave Beth a crooked smile and said, "Not like we're perfect, but me an' Dwight have made it through some shit together, and we came out stronger for it. But only 'cause we understand each other, and we've shown how much we're willing to sacrifice. We're both pretty messed-up people – but we take care of each other… Things definitely haven't been perfect just 'cause we got out of Georgia. But they've been better. And we don't give up when it gets rough."

Beth chewed on the inside of her cheek and tried to imagine Daryl allowing her to help him, or take care of him the way he'd taken care of her. Sherry turned and glanced in the mirror one more time, quickly fluffing her dark brown hair at the ends before looking at Beth and gesturing toward the door. "C'mon, I'll have Dwight tell you the story of how he saved my life."

Beth let out a small laugh and followed the taller woman to the door and out into the hall that led back to the bar. Then she furrowed her brow, walking closely beside Sherry, and asked, "Wait – like, literally saved it?"

Sherry nodded and flashed Beth a subtle smile, her eyes lit up with excitement. "Yup."

Daryl and Dwight were sitting at the small table near their paused game of pool, empty glasses of beer sitting before them while they smoked cigarettes and shared an ashtray that was set in the middle of the table. They were sipping from bottles of water now, and when Beth and Sherry approached, the guys looked up and greeted them.

"What'd ya do, get lost?" Dwight teased, snuffing out his cigarette butt and standing to kiss Sherry lightly on the lips. She chuckled in response.

Daryl put out his cigarette, as well, and stood to wrap his arm around Beth's shoulders and pull her in close against his side. "You want another drink?" He asked quietly. "Or some water? I'm gonna stop drinkin' so I can get us home."

Beth shrugged and replied, "I think I might have one more."

Daryl nodded and kissed the top of her head lightly before walking off to order another drink from Axel while Sherry and Dwight returned to their spots beside the pool table. Sherry was leaning over the edge, lining up to take her next shot.

"Yer next, Rosie," Dwight called to Beth, who looked over at him and nodded, then walked over to stand at the other side of the pool table and retrieve her stick.

Sherry sunk one ball into a pocket, but the next one bounced off the corner and rolled to a stop near the middle of the green cloth. Dwight tsked playfully and she shook her head, standing up straight again and grabbing her half-empty beer from the nearby table to take a sip.

"Dang – well, you made one, that's still better'an I'll do," Beth chuckled, leaning over the table and carefully lining up her shot, taking a little longer than normal to focus on the cue ball at the end of her stick.

Sherry laughed, and as Beth made her shot and they watched the colored ball hit one side, then another, before slowly rolling to a stop at the very edge of a side pocket, the older woman said casually, "Oh, babe – tell Rosie about the fire. She hasn't heard the story yet."

Beth stood up straight again and froze, watching Dwight and Sherry with anticipation. She felt embarrassed and wasn't sure why, but the look of nonchalance on Dwight's face and his quiet chuckle brought her some relief. He took a step toward the pool table, stick still in hand, and gazed down at the array of colored spheres on the green cloth.

Beth muttered quietly, just loud enough that the couple could hear her from across the table, "I didn't wanna be rude – you don't have t'tell me if – "

Dwight shook his head and laughed, waving away her apologies. "Nah, don't worry, ain't that big a deal. Everythin' turned out fine, and my wife gets a kick outta pretending I'm some kinda superhero or somethin'."

Sherry laughed and shrugged, then nodded in agreement as she took another sip of beer.

Dwight smirked over at her flirtatiously, then leaned down and began lining up his shot on the pool table. As two balls rolled around on the surface, Daryl returned with a fresh drink in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, making a beeline to Beth. She carefully took the drink while he set the water down on the table and explained that he'd brought it for when she was finished. She thanked him and he turned to watch Dwight making a follow-up shot.

"Just in time, I was about ta tell the story 'bout the fire," Dwight muttered, tapping the cue ball lightly with his stick and sending a ball slowly rolling to a rest on a difficult part of the table.

"You asked him?" Daryl immediately smirked and looked to Beth curiously.

She shook her head and sipped from her glass. "No – um, I asked Sherry. But she thought he should tell it."

"Oh, lord, here we go," Daryl muttered teasingly, picking up his pool stick and walking to the edge of the table as Dwight stepped back and laughed.

"Like I was sayin'," Dwight began, a playful smile still on his face and in his tone. "Everythin' turned out fine, so I might as well be proud a the story – "

"Yeah," Daryl interrupted. "Not like it made ya any uglier."

The two men shared a hearty laugh while Sherry shook her head, smirking and rolling her eyes in amusement. Beth allowed herself to smile along with them and watched Dwight, wondering how he could seem so light-hearted about something that obviously changed his life so drastically. But then that began to make her wonder if she should pay more attention and take some notes from this man and his wife. Would Maggie think that was smart, though? What if this was part of getting too comfortable? Would Maggie have even liked Dwight and Sherry? Beth took a long drink from the glass held tightly in her hand as she listened to Dwight's voice, beginning his story once the laughter faded away.

"Well, this is all skin grafts," he explained, pulling up the left sleeve of his T-shirt and turning his arm under the light that hung above the pool table. Beth took a step closer and leaned in to look as he pointed to the parts of his arm that looked like different shades of skin, stitched together with parts of his own, covering most of his left arm all the way up to his shoulder. It continued toward his neck, which he pointed to as well, and then his face as he explained, "An' they did some plastic surgery, buncha shit I can't even name anymore. Managed ta salvage a lot more than we thought – I got lucky compared t'most people with such severe burns."

"He nearly died twice on the way to the hospital," Sherry commented, a faint expression crossing her face like the memory still brought her pain.

Dwight smirked toward his wife and lowered his sleeve again, standing casually with his pool stick and continuing his story while Daryl lit up a cigarette and eyeballed the arrangement of balls on the table. "Well, we were livin' in my grandpa's old house at the time. He left it to me when he passed, but I guess it had some bad wiring. I thought I smelled somethin' burnin' fer a couple days – shoulda checked it out."

"Yeah, you blamed it on my cooking," Sherry remarked, a playful half-smile on her face.

Dwight chuckled softly and nodded, "My dumbass ignored everything I knew about electrical fires. Anyway, guess the fire started while we were sleepin', couple hours before I had ta get up for work. Honey usually gets up first t'pack my lunch, but by the time I woke up to her screamin', she was already trapped in the kitchen."

Beth let out an audible gasp, staring intently at Dwight as he recounted the tale.

He spoke matter-of-factly, reciting the story as he'd probably told it dozens of times by now, "Smoke was thick, but I found 'er. Thing that really got me was that I heard her screamin' way before I heard the smoke alarm – it was all so dark and thick that we could barely breathe, couldn't see. Tried ta get to our knees and crawl out, but then I heard something hissing. Still couldn't tell you how I knew what it was, but my gut told me I only had enough time ta protect her, so I shoved her down to the floor an' got on top of her – tried t'cover as much of her body as I could. As soon as I did, that hissing sound turned into a full-on explosion… We had a bucket fulla flammable sprays an' shit under the kitchen sink – fire swallowed it right up, set the whole damn thing off. We were just on the other side a the kitchen."

Beth gaped at the older man across the pool table, eyes wide as she listened to his story and imagined the scene in her head. Now that she knew what happened, she was amazed that he looked as good as he did. He had really meant it when he'd said he got lucky – and she could tell what Sherry had meant about him saving her life and being willing to sacrifice… everything.

But Dwight and Sherry still appeared nonchalant about the whole thing, exchanging small smiles and glances as he told the story and she threw in little comments here and there. Beth recognized the way Sherry looked at her husband – it was the same way Maggie had always looked at Glenn, and her momma had looked at Hershel. She wondered, briefly, if she ever looked at Daryl like that.

"Couple years an' a couple dozen surgeries later, I was good as new," Dwight concluded with a big smile. "And we got enough insurance money ta pack up an' leave, get ourselves a nice li'l place out here. Honey did a helluva lot for us while I was laid up in the hospital, found us jobs an' convinced my mom not t'get hysterical about me leavin'."

Sherry smiled from where she stood nearby and shrugged. "I was only in the hospital for a few months, but it ended up turning into my second home till they let Dwight out. When I wasn't at work, I was working out all the details so we could move as soon as he was rehabilitated."

Dwight nodded, then grabbed his water and took a long sip. Daryl lined up his shot at the pool table and took it, knocking a ball into a pocket and moving to make his follow-up. The sound of the balls clacking together seemed to punctuate the end of the dramatic story, and Beth shook her head, still imagining the big fire. Daryl stepped back and looked over to Dwight with a playful smirk.

"Shoulda left with y'all back then, 'stead a waitin' fer my own hospital stay," he said, stroking his chin hair as he spoke.

Dwight and Sherry laughed together at this comment, and Sherry said, "Let's just be glad you came at all. Who knows where we'd be if we'd stayed."

Then Dwight's smile faded and he furrowed his brow briefly, looking over at Daryl. "Speakin' a which – you remember the asshole that stabbed you?"

Daryl grunted and replied, "Yeah. Gave 'im a good ass-beatin' 'fore I left town. Why?" He reached over and grabbed his half-burnt cigarette from where it rested in the ashtray and took a long drag.

Dwight didn't smile like Beth expected. Instead, he said grimly, "I heard they found 'im a few weeks ago – by a creek with his throat cut open. Said he'd been dead fer a good week by the time he washed up."

Daryl furrowed his brow and Beth could see him suppressing a more worried expression as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. She wondered what was going on in his head as he grumbled, "Good. Fucker prob'ly pissed off the wrong guy. Bound ta happen sooner or later… When'd ya hear that?"

Dwight shrugged and said, "I'ono, last week. Forgot ta mention it."

Daryl grunted again but didn't say anything else, brow still furrowed in contemplation, worry lines appearing in the corners of his eyes. Then he gestured to the pool table and placed the cigarette between his lips again, mumbling around it, "Whose turn is it? Sherry's?"

Beth tried to ignore the way he was taking more frequent drags of his cigarette and staring silently at the pool table while Sherry and Dwight changed the subject and lightened the conversation, asking Beth a few questions and trying to include her. But she could see Daryl from the corner of her eye, and she could tell by now when he was thinking about something, and if it was bothering him – even in the slightest. And he looked rather lost in his own head right now. But why? She couldn't figure out why it would matter to him that a guy from so far in his past was killed. He'd spoken like he was happy to hear it, or indifferent. But Beth could see past that.

The group of four finished their game with Daryl hitting the 8-ball into a side pocket and happily high-fiving Beth in celebration while Dwight and Sherry groaned aloud. They all playfully ribbed each other and laughed together, then headed back to their little table nearby to sit down. Beth was finishing the last few swigs of her fruity cocktail while Sherry began sipping water along with Dwight and Daryl.

They sat and chatted casually, sharing a few funny memories from back in Georgia. Beth listened and laughed along with them. Then, Daryl pulled his phone from an inside pocket of his vest and looked down at the screen, chuckling quietly. He immediately turned to Beth and held the phone out for her to see.

"Lookit – Carol said Mal's spent an hour just in the bug exhibit," Daryl explained with a half-smile, and Beth looked down at the small phone screen before her to see a picture of Malachi standing in front of a huge wall of butterflies – all of which had been alive at one point and were pinned behind glass with little labels beneath each one. The blond toddler was grinning ear-to-ear as he posed in front of the display. Beth smiled as she looked down at the picture, then back to Daryl.

"He looks like he's havin' a blast," she chuckled softly.

Daryl half-smiled proudly and gazed down at the phone screen again.

"Whatcha got – naked pictures?" Dwight joked when he noticed Daryl staring down at the phone.

Daryl scoffed and looked across the small table to his friend, then held the phone out for him to see. "No, dickweed, it's my kid. He's at an overnight museum thing with Carol."

Dwight looked down and took the phone carefully, holding it closer so he and Sherry could both look. Smiles quickly appeared on both their faces and Sherry let out an, "Aww!"

"Damn, he's gettin' bigger every day, huh?" Dwight commented, gazing down at the screen a second longer before handing the phone back over to Daryl.

Daryl still had a small, proud smile on his face, taking the phone and tucking it back into his inside vest pocket. "Yeah, he is. Smarter, too."

Sherry chuckled. "Scary smart. Just wait till you see what kinda questions he comes home from school with."

They all shared a laugh at this, nodding in agreement.

"I can't wait ta teach our kids all kinda shit," Dwight said casually, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up.

Daryl raised his eyebrows, taking a sip of his water, then asked, "An' when's that happenin'?"

Dwight smirked and shared a brief glance with Sherry, then shrugged. "Think it might finally be time. We're both… ready."

"Well, we'll never really be ready," Sherry interjected. "Nobody ever is... But we're as ready as we'll ever be."

Dwight mm-hmmed at this, nodding and gazing over at his wife with subtle adoration as he took a drag of his cigarette.

Daryl raised his eyebrows in curiosity and asked, "Oh, yeah? So yer tryin' now?"

Dwight and Sherry nodded in confirmation. Sherry pursed her lips briefly, then said, "I have an appointment next week t'get my birth control taken out. Then it could happen within a year or so."

Daryl glanced over at Beth, who was listening and nodding politely. Then he looked back to Dwight and Sherry and gave them a half-smile. "That's awesome. Congrats, guys."

They thanked him and the conversation gradually shifted as Sherry began telling funny stories from her kindergarten class. Then, eventually, Dwight and Daryl were talking about motorcycles again while Sherry and Beth were lightly chatting and sipping their waters. After a while, Sherry mentioned how all her songs had finished playing on the jukebox a long time ago, and Beth decided to get up and head over to take a look at the selection of music. Sherry offered to walk with her, as she had to make another trip to the restroom, and the women left the table together while Daryl and Dwight continued talking and smoking cigarettes.

Beth stood at the jukebox, dollar bills in hand, and pressed the buttons to sort through the collection of albums. Sherry had disappeared down the hallway to the restroom, and the bar was still buzzing with other patrons. Beth had seen Axel still working behind the bar, keeping busy, and she caught glimpses of Big Tiny and Oscar as they occasionally went in and out of the door to the back, carrying supplies and glasses back and forth. But she was focused in on the glass screen in front of her, squinting just slightly to read the words clearly in her admittedly tipsy state. She scrolled through artists and albums, reading through the H's to the few I's and on to the J's.

She was just getting through the L's when she felt a warm hand on her thigh. She froze, but for some reason, she assumed it was Sherry's hand, or maybe Daryl's. She thought that maybe the other woman was bumping into her to get her attention, or Daryl was sneaking up behind her to surprise her. But when she turned around, a small smile on her face, she quickly realized it was neither of the people she'd expected – in fact, she had no idea who this guy was. But he was middle-aged, he reeked of booze and pot, and he towered over her in a dirty plaid shirt and torn-up blue jeans. His brown hair was shaggy and greasy, and his beard and mustache were full and in need of a trim.

He was standing so close that she could feel his hot breath on her face when he spoke, and his hand was still firmly grasping her thigh. "Hey there, beautiful, ain't seen you – "

She'd been frozen at first, but something kicked in. Something was different this time, and whether it was the booze or her gradually growing self-confidence, Beth didn't know. But it told her muscles to act before she'd really thought about it, and then she was grabbing his hand firmly and recalling the recent lessons – at the same time, flashes of Rosita and Tara and Daryl playing through her mind, their unwillingness to be pushed around, with the briefest glimmer of Maggie's defiant expression in between. She let her muscles go through the memorized motions as she twisted his wrist with all her strength and stopped him mid-sentence.

The next thing she knew, her palm was pressed firmly into the back of his shoulder while she grasped his clammy, calloused hand in hers, twisting his arm behind him as far as it would go while he let out an angry cry of pain. Instinctively, Beth lifted one foot and slammed the heavy heel of her black boot down on top of the other man's beaten-up Timberland, pushing all her weight into her heel while he cried out in pain again.

"Aagghh – what the fuck, you bitch?! Lemme go!"

She twisted his arm a little harder and dug her heel in a little farther, and he cried out again. Before she could find her voice, she was looking up to see Daryl flying toward her. His face was full of a rage she'd only seen once before.

Before she could react or say anything, Daryl was grabbing the brown-haired man by his shoulders and yanking him out of Beth's grasp. She willingly released him and took half a step back, watching as Daryl slammed him into the nearby wall, right between the jukebox and the doorway to the hall. The other man was taller than Daryl but scrawnier, and he was still reeling from the pain Beth had inflicted on him. His back hit the wall with a loud whomp, knocking the air out of his lungs. Daryl held him up with one hand while he pressed his other arm across the man's chest, pushing against his throat threateningly.

"You don't fucking touch her, you got it?!" Daryl barked into the man's face, and the anger in his voice sent a chill down Beth's spine. The other bar patrons in the area were silent and staring now, watching in anticipation while some of them stepped away or tried to get out of the vicinity of whatever was about to happen.

To her shock, she watched the other man smile, then laugh. "We can share, man," he taunted. Then he was coughing and choking for breath as Daryl pressed his arm harder into the man's throat, right before Dwight rushed up to place his hands on Daryl's shoulders and try to coax him away.

"C'mon, man, it's jus' Len – he ain't worth it," Dwight said. "Where's Tiny? We'll have 'im kick this asshole out, don't break yer fuckin' hand, man."

"Ain't my hand that's gonna be broke," Daryl growled, still staring intently at the other man – "Len" – as he held him up against the wall. "Maybe I'll let my girl have atcha again, huh?! Gonna have an awfully hard time pickin' up all yer teeth with a busted hand."

Len let out another crude laugh between his coughing and gasping for breath as Daryl pressed harder against his throat, and Dwight continued tugging at Daryl's shoulders, urging him to step away. Beth stood and watched, frozen again, hands trembling as she realized what she'd actually just done. Dwight turned and called out to Axel, ordering him to bring Big Tiny and Oscar inside.

"Yeah," Daryl called. "Better get 'em 'fore I go an' teach Len here all the way!"

She looked over and saw Axel scrambling out from behind his bar and rushing out the back door while frantically calling out Tiny's name.

Then there was a loud laugh, but it wasn't Len's. It was another man, older, approaching from across the bar. Beth stared as he waltzed up, a smug look on his weathered face as he beamed at Daryl, Dwight, and Len. He had shaggy, black-and-gray hair and a goatee and mustache of the same color – a lot like Daryl's. He looked to be closer to fifty or sixty, and while he was the same height as Daryl, he was heavier, and looked like he strictly got his exercise from bar fights. He was wearing a leather jacket and blue jeans, and Beth could smell his stench of booze and cigarettes from where she stood. She watched as Daryl turned and saw the man approach, stopping just a few feet away, and then Daryl was letting go of Len and stepping back to turn and face the man who'd been laughing so loudly.

"Daryl Dixon – you still comin' 'round here?" The man chuckled, his voice just as smug as his face. "That any way ta greet yer old friends?"

Daryl spit at the other man's feet angrily, glaring back at him. "We was never friends. Best tell yer boy here ta keep his hands off the ladies – gonna get himself hurt if he don't watch it."

"Oh, yeah?" The older man said, appearing amused. Then he turned his attention to Beth, menacing smile growing bigger. She could feel the color draining from her face. "Is this the lady yer talkin' about? Huh – I can see why he'd wanna get a li'l friendly. How's that old tune go? 'Ain't nothin' wrong with a li'l bump an' grind'?"

He laughed loudly again and Daryl growled, taking a menacing step forward. This made the other man raise his eyebrows with intrigue as he looked back and forth from Beth to Daryl, doing the math in his head.

"Ohh – I see, so li'l Dixon got 'imself a girlfriend, huh?" The man taunted. "That's why you ain't been comin' around."

Dwight reached out and grabbed Daryl's arm, stopping him from moving closer. "C'mon, man – we'll let Tiny take care of 'im."

But Daryl jerked his arm from his friend's grasp and continued glaring at the older man, fists clenched and shoulders tensed. "Ain't been comin' around 'cause a shitstains like you, Joe."

"Pretty little thing, she is," Len commented from where he stood, still massaging his throat where Daryl had been pressing into it. "I'd pro'lly never leave the house if I had that piece a ass at home – he called her his 'girl'!"

As Daryl shot Len another threatening glare, Joe ignored Daryl's remark and taunted loudly, "Oh-ho! Well ain't that somethin'! She is a pretty li'l thing, ain't she? Little young, though, don'tcha think? That what yer into, Daryl? Little girls?"

An angry bile was rising in Beth's throat, and before Daryl could respond, she heard her own voice escaping her lips. "Go fuck yourself, old man."

Beth saw Joe's lip curl and he snarled, smile fading momentarily. But then he just shook his head.

Daryl glanced over his shoulder and flashed Beth a small smirk before turning his attention back to Joe. "Took the words right outta my mouth."

"Mm-mm-mm, such a damn shame," Joe said, voice rising as his tone became more and more mocking. "Some piece a ass like that got you all riled up at the slightest li'l thing – wha'ssa matter? 'Fraid we're gonna bring out the devil in ya? 'Fraid she's gonna see the real Daryl Dixon?"

Beth swallowed hard and furrowed her brow, glancing at Daryl and seeing his lips pressed together, fists clenched at his side.

"Why don't you jus' get the fuck outta here, Joe?!" Dwight said angrily. "Ain't you got anything better t'do than ruin people's nights?"

"Always there ta stand up for the pussification of yer friend, ain't ya, Dwight? Just like I always said," Joe continued, still grinning. "Ain't nothin' sadder than an outdoor cat that thinks he's an indoor cat!"

Daryl's eyes narrowed and he growled deep in his throat, and just as he took a meaningful step forward and Dwight's arm shot out to grab him, the back door swung open and Big Tiny burst through in a dark flash, closely followed by Oscar and Axel.

Finally, Beth thought, relief flooding her tensed muscles.

Joe was still laughing when they swarmed him, separating him from Daryl as Dwight grabbed Daryl's arm and attempted to hold him back from taking an angry leap at the older man. Daryl only retreated once he saw that Tiny and Oscar were effectively shoving Joe and Len toward the door. Then he turned and walked directly over to Beth, grabbing her hand and pulling her in close to him, looking her up and down as if assuring himself she was unharmed.

"You alright?" He asked, brow furrowed and blue eyes full of concern, still flickering with anger.

She nodded and looked up at him, mouth dry and hands still trembling. He grasped her hands in his and squeezed them tightly, trying to still them.

"I'm fine," she assured him, managing a weak smile. Now that she was thinking about it, how could she not smile? Her lips turned upward in a genuine grin. Excitedly, she asked, "Did you see that? I – I used that move on him!"

Daryl's worry quickly disappeared and a smile formed. "Yeah – you did. Jesus, woman… maybe you should be the one teachin' the class. Shoulda let ya snap his arm, huh?"

Beth grinned and shrugged sheepishly. "I wasn't really gonna do it. But… I think I mighta broke a toe or two."

He laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, planting a chaste kiss on the top of her head. Then he rumbled, "I was hopin' we wouldn't see those guys – Len musta snuck in when I wasn't lookin', I'm sorry."

She shook her head and gazed up at him, still smiling. "Don't be – it's not your fault. 'Sides… nobody got hurt."

"Nobody important, anyway," he mumbled, smirking.

Sherry emerged from the restroom a couple minutes later, shocked and furious that she'd missed the action. Once things had calmed down, the group returned to their table with their waters while the bar resumed its usual buzz. Dwight and Daryl chain-smoked cigarettes and talked about how much they hated Joe and Len, and Daryl repeatedly apologized to Beth for not seeing Len enter the bar and slip past him. But she just shook her head and kissed him lightly on the lips each time, assuring him it was fine. Dwight remarked that he was impressed with how she'd handled herself, and Sherry was even more disappointed to have missed out on helping to beat up a couple of douchebags.

All in all, though, the four of them agreed that it had been an interesting night, and when Daryl suggested they plan a camping trip, Dwight and Sherry agreed eagerly. By the time Daryl and Dwight had sobered up from their handful of drinks and were ready to go home, they had all agreed to a camping trip in the Catskills for the following weekend. Dwight said they could use his five-seater truck to get them there and Sherry expressed her excitement for spending some time with little Malachi. Daryl explained that he would invite Carol, Tobin, and their daughters along, and ask Denise if he could borrow her SUV. Beth smiled and nodded along with them, and though she kept expecting the anxiety to kick in, it never did. In fact, the idea of going camping in the mountains – isolated, away from any people or cities or towns, with only a small group of close friends – was actually sounding pretty ideal.

As the last few rushes of booze went to Beth's head and the cool, night air hit her skin on the ride home, her arms wrapped tightly around Daryl's middle, she tried to imagine sharing a tent with Daryl and Malachi. Or laying in a sleeping bag and staring up at the stars with them. Maybe she and Daryl would get some alone time, too. Maybe it would be the perfect opportunity to tell him the truth… or at least try to.

But she quickly pushed that thought from her head. They stopped at a stoplight and she felt Daryl's hand grasping her thigh, giving it a squeeze like he always did. A tight knot of guilt formed in her stomach, and then she found herself wishing that they were taking a trip somewhere much, much farther away. And for a lot longer than a weekend.

to be continued…

A/N: Hmm maybe Beth is becoming a bit stronger than she realized...? ;) I absolutely had to put Joe in there because the whole "indoor cat/outdoor cat" thing he said in the show has always been one of my favorite things said to Daryl and I loved it even more when Daryl had that scene with Shiva in the cage and it was such a blatant callback - okay nevermind now I'm just rambling lmao. Please let me know what you thought! :D