Chapter 6

The rest of the week went by both slowly and quickly for Daryl. Work was busy and he was happy that the days flew by. He took in as many jobs as he could, as he wanted to show Mack that he could handle the shop alone and do it well. Some nights he stayed late to finish a last minute repair, but each day he went home he felt like he accomplished something with his day. It was a good feeling that lasted until he got home. Then the nights dragged on. He hadn't seen Emma since Monday. She managed to come and go without him seeing her at all. He needed to talk to her, but he had no idea what to say.

Daryl gave himself a pep talk all the way home after work. It was early Thursday evening, so he hoped her car would be there when he got in. He had stayed late to finish up a radiator repair. That same nervousness came over him as he pulled into the complex and headed for home. He could feel his heart beating rapidly as he turned the corner, but when he saw the empty parking space at Emma's it dropped instead. She wasn't home.

Emma knew it was childish the way she had been avoiding Daryl all week. He disappointed her. Just when she was starting too really like him and even though they were just neighbors for now, his words to his brother hurt her. Emma had hoped they were moving towards something other than just living next door to each other. She was just glad that she figured him out before she let herself really fall for him. Once she stopped being mad, she would be civil to him, nothing more.

When Emma had left to go to work at the bar that evening, his truck wasn't around, it was a relief that she could leave without the possibility of seeing him. She was not ready to talk to him yet. So now a couple hours later while she was waiting for her drink order to be filled by the bartender she was daydreaming about the guy she didn't want to daydream about. As mad as she was, she still thought about him all the time

She so wasn't looking forward to tomorrow. Friday mornings were always tough. She worked at the bar until closing and then had the early shift at the diner. No matter how long she did this, she was always exhausted on Fridays.

Emma dragged herself home at twelve thirty in the morning, smelling of beer and smoke, took a quick shower and was asleep the second her head hit the pillow. The alarm would be ringing all too soon.

Daryl woke up Friday morning knowing this was his last day of running the shop before Mack got back on Monday. He lay in bed for a few minutes running his day through his head. He had a couple of easy jobs to do, plus a truck that needed a whole new set of brakes, so depending if anything last minute came in, he should be comfortably busy.

His stomach grumbled and Daryl realized he was starving. When he looked in the refrigerator last night it was completely empty of food and even beer. He would have to stop off and pickup something on his way in. Then he got an idea, but could he do it? Should he do it? Why he couldn't get breakfast at Emma's diner? It had to be better than anything he could grab from a drive through and he could see Emma. He had to talk to her and while this wasn't the best place to catch her, she at least couldn't get away.

"Wow, "he thought. "Do I really want to do this?" He knew he had to, so before he could chicken out he jumped in the shower, put on the cleanest work clothes he had left and headed off to the diner.

Daryl was able to park the truck in front before the nerves really kicked in. "Man up you pussy," he scolded himself. He got out of the truck quickly before he could change his mind and walked through the front door of the diner as a man with a purpose.

There was an older man at the cash register counter right where he walked in. "By yourself, son?" he asked.

"Yeah," Daryl answered looking around for Emma. She wasn't out front. At least she couldn't tell him to leave before he sat down.

"If you want a counter seat, just help yourself or would you prefer a table?"

"Can I get a table in Emma's section?" Daryl asked. This was it, he was actually going to see her and apologize. It wasn't that he thought he was right, he wasn't, it just was something he didn't do because he rarely cared this much about a woman to even consider apologizing and here he was doing it, or at least trying.

Joe looked him over and then it clicked who he was. "You drive the two tone pickup, don't you?" This was Emma's neighbor that dropped her off the other day. Joe was curious to know why he was here.

"Yep, that's me," Daryl told him looking him straight in the eye. He had nothing to hide.

Joe met his eyes for a moment, before grabbing a menu and heading toward a booth that was part of Emma's section. "Thanks for bringing her in the other day. I appreciate it and that you helped her fix the tire. She's like a daughter to me," Joe told him. He placed the menu down on a table and looked at Daryl. "This is Emma's section." He held out his hand to shake Daryl's. "Names, Joe. Thanks again."

"Daryl. It was no problem." He shook the older man's hand, before sitting down and checking out the menu. He had eaten in enough diners to know what they typically offered. This one was no different, which was a good thing, as he could not concentrate on what he was reading. Then he heard her voice.

Emma came out of the kitchen with her arms loaded down with food. She was laughing at something someone in the back had said. She looked beautiful.

Daryl buried his head in the menu so she wouldn't see him until it was too late. It just took another few minutes before she came over distracted so she didn't recognize him right away.

"Coffee?" she asked holding the half full pot over the empty cup on the table.

"Yeah," he replied looking up so she could see it was him.

"Daryl?" she exclaimed almost dropping the pot. "What are you doing here?'

"Having breakfast," he said with a small smile that tilted up the corner of his mouth just a little. "And I wanted to see you. You haven't been around lately. I…umm…need to talk to ya."

Emma put the coffee pot down. She cocked her hip to the side crossed her arms across her chest. He had nerve coming to her job. "Daryl, I am working. I really don't know what we need to talk about, so if you are ready to order I would appreciate it. I'm busy."

Daryl looked around the diner and only saw a scattering of customers and at least one other waitress. "Sure. Three eggs over easy, homefries, a side of hash, bacon and sausage."

"You're gonna eat all that?"

"Yep. You gonna write it down?" he asked with a smile. Suddenly he was no longer nervous.

Emma looked down at Daryl and raised her eyebrows. "I don't need to. Do you want white, wheat, or rye toast?"

"You choose. Surprise me."

She rolled her eyes at him, grabbed the coffee pot and started to walk away. "Emma?" Daryl called out.

"What?" she snapped.

"Can I have some coffee?" He knew he had her flustered, and that was better than her yelling at him.

Emma scowled at him and poured coffee into his cup, before stalking off to the kitchen to try to remember what the hell he had ordered.

Fifteen minutes later she dropped an omelet in front of him, with a side of sausage and grits. Daryl tried to hold back a laugh. "Well, you got the sausage right."

Emma plopped down across from him. "Damn, I was so sure I got it right. It's all your fault, showing up here when I'm so mad at you. I can usually do a table of six without writing it down and I couldn't even get your one order right."

"Besides the fact that I am hungry, and as usual we had nothing to eat at home, I wanted to apologize. Emma…Emma, will you look at me?" Daryl asked. "I know you heard what I said to Merle, but I didn't mean it. I was just trying to get him away from you. If he knew that we were becoming friends, he would ruin it. He always does. I'm sorry. Don't be mad at me…please?" That was the most heartfelt speech he had ever given. It wasn't much, but for Daryl it was. You didn't apologize in his family because that showed that you were weak. Dixon's weren't weak.

Emma's resolve crumbled. "I'm not mad…well I sorta was, but now I'm not. I understand…now, what you did and I appreciate it." She should have known he was just doing it for Merle. He had told her what his brother was like and that wasn't Daryl. She gave him a big smile. "Friends?"

Fuck, yeah. "Friends," he told her. It felt like a huge weight flew off his shoulders. With a grin he dug into the omelet he didn't order.

Emma stood up as she knew she had to get back to work. "Let me get you what you ordered," she offered. She rarely screwed up orders and figures it would have to be his.

"Naw, I'm good. Gotta get to the shop soon anyway," Daryl told her. Emma got called away for another order and Daryl forced the omelet down. "Mushrooms! She hadda put mushrooms in it," he moaned. He was going to eat every bite of the omelet even though he hated mushrooms. However, there was no way he was touching the grits. He might be a southern boy, but he didn't do grits.

Daryl finished up his breakfast, without touching the grits, downed the last of his coffee and looked for Emma. He had to get going. He caught her eye and she motioned that she would be right over.

Emma popped into the kitchen, grabbed the takeout bag on the counter and headed back to Daryl. She placed the bag on the table with a sheepish grin.

"What's that?" asked Daryl.

"Just me making up for screwing up your order. You can eat it for lunch." Emma looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was ten to eight. "You better get going, it's almost eight."

Damn, it was past time to go. "You gonna give me a check so I can pay?" he asked extending his hand.

Emma ripped a check off her pad and handed it to him. "See you later?"

"Yeah," he said with a smile. He took the bag she had brought him off the table, dropped a five for her tip and headed off to pay. Driving to the shop, Daryl looked at the bag on the seat next to him. No one had ever given him a lunch to bring to work before. No one ever cared enough to think that he may need something to eat. The bag made Daryl smile. He just hoped that whatever she had given him for lunch just didn't have mushrooms in it.

By the end of his day, Daryl felt really good. He sat in Mack's office and ran the total money brought in that week. It looked good to him, but he never knew what the shop usually brought in each week. The money was safely locked away as Mack had showed him and best of all; Merle never figured out Daryl was working alone this week.

On his way home he passed a pizza joint and instantly got an idea. He turned the truck around and headed back. He ordered two large pies to take back with him. Maybe he could get Emma to join him? That thought got his fingers tapping on the counter as he waited for the pizzas. Now he was very anxious to get home.

He pulled the truck into his spot and took a quick glance at the pizzas next to him, still safe and sound on the front seat. Then he immediately looked for Emma's car and it was parked right where he hoped it would be. Daryl purposefully took his time getting out of the pickup. He slammed the driver's door, before heading over to the passenger side you get the pizzas. He was trying to get Emma to come to him, instead of him knocking on her door. "Man, I'm pitiful," he thought.

He grabbed the boxes of the front seat and when he turned there she was standing in her doorway. She flashed him a smile that left him weak all the way to his knees. He held onto the boxes tighter. "Picked up pizza. Got plenty if you want," he told her.

Emma thought of the sandwich she had just made that sat on the counter. That sucker was headed for the garbage, she wanted pizza and the guy that was carrying it. "Yes, sounds good, but…umm…where?" Emma did not want to go to his trailer not with the chance of his brother showing up.

"Oh…ah…yeah not here. Merle's gone, but I don't know when he'll be back."

"Then come over here. I picked up a movie. I was going it watch tonight, so we could do both?" Emma suggested. She had carefully picked a movie that wasn't a chick flick like she normally watched, she chose a new release with a hot young actor that looked like it dealt with cars called 'Fast and Furious.' She hoped Daryl would like it.

"Great. I'll change clothes and be over. Maybe you should take one of these boxes in case Merle comes home?" Daryl walked over and handed a pizza to Emma. "I'll be back in fifteen, 'kay?"

"See you then," Emma smiled. She watched him walk over to his trailer and disappear inside. The she bolted for the kitchen. The pizza went on the counter and the sandwich into the garbage. Then it was a whirlwind to make sure everything was neat as a pin inside, even though it already was.

Back in the small kitchen she started to take out plates, but quickly realized that Daryl didn't seem to be the type to eat pizza on a plate, so a handful of napkins came out instead. She poured to glasses of sweet tea and sat down to wait.

Inside his place, Daryl decided to take a quick shower after working with grease and oil all day. He spent more time trying to get his hands clean than anything else. A towel dry of the hair, a quick comb and a change into clean clothes was done faster than he thought possible. As he locked the door behind him he took a deep breath. Was this a date? Did he even know how to date? He wasn't sure where this was going to go, but he sure hoped somewhere.