A/N: Thanks to my wonderful friend Jen for editing this for me! Of course, neither TWD universe or its characters are mine, but its creator Robert Kirkman.

Beth spent another two days without any word from Daryl. She said to herself that it was silly to think so much about someone who probably remembered her as a bother, but she couldn't help it: his Triumph was still parked out there, shining almost aggressively.

It wasn't until the third day while she was having coffee with Alexis when he turned up in the entry. She raised her sight from the cup and stared at him, maybe for too long or maybe just enough to make him shift his weight from one leg to another nervously. She hurried to stand up when she realized his awkwardness and smiled at him.

"Hi" she greeted him, trying not to sound too nervous.

"I just came to pick up the bike and…" he started, but his voice starting fading slowly, until he stopped talking altogether, scrubbing his head distractedly.

"Oh," Beth answered, almost breathless. She swallowed and smiled again, "You must have been busy, right?"

He raised an eyebrow, confused.

"I mean, it took you three days in picking it up and" she cleared her throat, feeling stupid, "well, you know" she finalized, bowing her head.

Bravo, Beth, she thought, and what do you care about how much he took to pick it up or why? And why did you keep count?

"I went hunting" he explained, and she raised her head, surprised.

"You hunt?" he nodded, "Wow. Are you good at it?"

Daryl shrugged and she sighed, relieved that he hadn't sent her to hell for being nosy.

"Well" she cleared her throat again, "do you want to come in to-"

He cut her off by shaking his head sharply and took a step backwards. Beth almost took one forward, but she contained herself.

"Okay, alright" she added quickly, raising both hands as if that could calm him. He looked at her for almost a minute until the tension left his shoulders.

They stayed silent for a while. Finally, he broke the silence.

"I should go" he grunted, and she couldn't do anything more than nod. It was not like she really wanted him to leave, but what could she do to avoid it?

Daryl had just turned when a woman's voice made them both spin around:

"Hey, you!" she exclaimed, and Beth observed, dumbfounded, how Rosita approached him with shamelessly and reached him, "You're Beth's friend, right?"

"Rosita" Beth hissed, but she ignored her. Daryl stared at her, like he couldn't quite believe that she was talking to him, until he nodded.

"Beth told me you fix things" Daryl nodded again, "How much do you charge for fixing coffee machines?"

"Coffee machines" he repeated, as if he didn't understand.

"Yeah, coffee machines" Rosita affirmed, putting her hands on her hips, "You know those machines which make coffee and are so practical-"

"I know what a coffee machine is" he grunted, interrupting her.

"Then, could you?" she asked again, "We've spent weeks without having decent coffee and Beth says you're good at your job".

Daryl looked at her and Beth wished the earth would swallow her.

"I haven't-"

"Yes or no?" Rosita insisted. Daryl seemed to think about it for a moment, and after looking at Beth one more time, he nodded, "Okay, perfect. Beth, take him to the break room".

And without further ado, she left, leaving them both alone in the entry. Beth didn't know who was more perturbed by that intromission from Rosita, but she knew who was blushing more. She felt like she was going to explode any second.

"I have the tools in the truck" he muttered after an instant, and she nodded energetically. He came back two minutes later, bringing a small tool box, and Beth guided him through one of the aisles to the break room where the rickety machine was.

Beth observed him working in silence. He didn't need more than two minutes to turn around.

"'s the thermal fuse" he said.

"Oh" she answered as if she had understood. He made a little gesture with his hand and she approached, maybe too eagerly to see what he was indicating her.

"Do you see that one that's marking?" he asked, and she nodded, "One is same as infinite. That means the thermal fuse is cut off".

"Can you fix it?"

Daryl uttered an affirmative mutter.

"We have to replace it with another one, but this machine is too old. It probably has more things broken, and a thermal fuse that fits won't be cheap. It would be better to just buy another coffee machine rather than fix this".

"Yeah, I don't think my boss will be glad to hear that…" Beth sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"I have a few. I can try them if you want, but I can't assure you this shit won't break again when you try to turn it on" he said softly, and she looked at him.

"No, don't bother" Beth smiled, smiling, "I'll talk to my colleague, she always listens to her".

"Your boss doesn't like spending money too much, does she?" Daryl asked while he put the ohmmeter in the box. Beth wrinkled her nose and shrugged.

"Money is always scarce here" Beth explained, passing him the cover of the circuit so he could put it back, "It's not like I've been working here for a long time, but we don't get much money. We do what we can though" she added in a lighter tone, "We don't need a fortune. We just need people willing to take care of the elderly".

And she smiled, trying to lighten a subject that she didn't quite like. She had spent the whole day thinking about the fact that she had to pay another instalment on her car, and about how she was going to convince her landlord to give her three more days.

"Thank you so much for checking it" she told him, "How much?"

Daryl huffed.

"I'm not gonna charge you anything for putting two cables together and looking at a number".

"At least let me pay you for the time you've lost today. I'm sure you had jobs to do".

"Not many" he grunted.

"Beth, can you come? It will be just a moment" Lori appeared and Beth nodded.

"Sure. Can you wait for me?" Beth asked, and Daryl grunted something that wasn't a yes nor a no, but more like a "if you want". Anyway, she was satisfied and exited the room, just to be crashed immediately against a wall. Beth emitted a whimper.

"What. Are. You. Doing!?" Lori and Rosita had cornered her, each one in one of her sides. Beth hissed when she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder, and started rolling it in order to try to alleviate it.

"What are you talking about?" she protested.

"Beth Ann Greene, I had to ask the handy hottie to fix the coffee machine for us" Rosita whispered, "Why do you think I did it?"

"Maybe because it's broken and you're a coffee addict?" Beth suggested, but she muted when she saw the gaze the woman gave her.

"So you could fuck him" Rosita exclaimed, and Beth covered Rosita's mouth with her hand immediately.

"Don't say things like that out loud!" she hissed, furious, "Besides, it's not… it's not like that".

Lori raised an eyebrow.

"For God's sake, but have you seen him?" Lori said, lowering her voice to a sensible volume.

"Of course I've seen him" Beth countered, blushing, "but it's not professional. He's a patient's son".

"It's not like there are any rules against it" retorted the oldest of the women.

"You're not going to sleep with a patient, just with her son" Rosita snorted, receiving a poke in her ribs.

"Could you shut up?" Beth asked, mortified. She closed her eyes and sighed, "Fine, I like him. So what?"

"So you have to do something, honey, or he'll leave" Lori said softly.

"I don't know what to do to make him stay".

"Anything" Rosita emphasized, "but don't let him go".

And with that, they threw her back to the break room, with such enthusiasm that she practically crashed against Daryl's chest. She wobbled, and her body got ready for the imminent fall, until she felt Daryl was holding her.

"Sorry, sorry" she muttered, leaning against his chest momentarily. She moved away instantly, clearing her throat.

"You ok?" he grunted, and Beth nodded, without being able to look at his face.

"I wasn't paying attention" she justified herself, trying to placate the flush. God, wasn't she going to stop blushing like she was thirteen?

"Well, I'm done. I should go" he said, and she nodded, dying of embarrassment. She saw the looks that her friends were sending her along the aisle, gesturing at her-Lori in a normal way, Rosita, in a quite more censurable one- and Beth's eyes widened, waving her hand beside her neck to say "enough".

When they reached the entry, Beth was so incredibly nervous. She didn't want him to go, but she didn't know what to tell him either, and suddenly she felt like every eye was on them. She wouldn't be surprised in the least if Rosita had been divulging a rumor that they had hooked up around the nursing home.

"Thanks again" she said, trying to smile without having her lips' corners shaking.

"'S nothing" he answered, "Bye".

He had not taken two steps towards the exit when her hands closed strongly around his forearm. As soon as he turned around, Beth dropped her hands, shocked by the fact that she had been able to do that.

"Uh, I…" she stuttered, "it's just I think a thank you is not… enough for everything that you've done for us".

"I jus' plugged two cables in a machine".

"And the boiler-"

"I just moved shit around"

"Anyway" she cut him off, trying to spill it before her bravery attack faded again, "I'd like to thank you personally. D'you wanna grab coffee some time?"

Time seemed to stretch like gum. Her heart was beating so fast while she waited for his answer that she wouldn't have been surprised if he could have heard it.

"I mean…" she started again, this time in a barely audible mutter, "only if you want, of course. It's not like you have to or anything, because you know, I don't want you to-"

"Okay" he grunted, and she raised her head, shocked.

"Yeah?" she searched for his confirmation, and he made an affirmative sound. The smile that surged in that instant was so wide that she thought she would get some muscle in her face injured, "Alright, then… Do I call you on the number that-?"

"We could go now" he interrupted her abruptly, and Beth was speechless again.

"Now? But umm, I don't know if I have free time, and-"

"For God's sake, Beth, leave! I'll cover you!" Rosita's scream resounded through the nursing home's walls, and that time, every eye turned towards Daryl and Beth, but for real. Beth felt like she could die of embarrassment.

She closed her eyes, mortified, but when she opened them she found that Daryl was just as or even more embarrassed than her, with his cheeks burning red. And in that moment, she couldn't help but laugh softly, and she couldn't help either that her heart skipped a beat when she saw that he was smiling mildly.

"Let's go" she panted, nervous, and he opened the door, letting her pass first.

They'd been sitting in that small café for five minutes, each one with their sight fixed in the cup in front of them, without saying a word. Beth was grabbing the chair sharply, and Daryl seemed pretty interested in his thumb nail.

"So…" she started, "are you self-employed?"

Daryl grunted a yes.

"How do you know so much about those things?"

"I don't know so much" Daryl shrugged, "it's just things I've been pickin up".

"I'd like to be able to do it" she admitted, grinning, "I'm a mess using my hands for anything else besides playing instruments".

"What do you play?" he asked her with genuine curiosity.

"Guitar and piano" Beth answered, biting the inside of her cheek, "My mom taught me to play the piano when I was little, and my brother Shawn taught me how to play the guitar. In my house music's always been pretty important. What about you?"

"Not in mine" he said harshly, "we used to have an old turntable, but it broke. I just listened to the shitty music from the old jukeboxes in bars".

"Oh" Beth muttered, "And what do you like to do?"

"Dunno" he said.

"Don't 'dunno'" she countered, imitating his tone in a very successful way. He raised his sight and looked at her with both eyebrows raised, half amused. She blushed softly, "Tell me".

"Don't do much. Hunting. Riding my bike and…" he shrugged again, "That's all, really".

"Don't you like your job?"

"I have to deal with a lotta people" he admitted, "And most of them are idiots who think they know everything".

Beth giggled.

"That happens in the nursing home too. Relatives blame you for everything that happens. I'm still not used to the shouting part".

"I don't usually let them shout at me" he said, and her smile faded. Of course not. She was a tiny woman, the youngest nurse and the one who looked the most naïve. An easy target. Daryl was a man who looked able to break the neck of anyone who tried to make him lose his temper.

She switched the subject.

"When'd you learn to hunt?"

"When I's a kid".

"Your daddy teach you?" she asked innocently, but he tensed instantly. She saw it in the way his eyes narrowed and he leaned against his chair, like he wanted to shut off. She wondered what had she said. Did he have a hard relationship with his dad too?

"Yeah" he murmured, and she felt bad for no reason.

"We should go back" Daryl said suddenly, standing up. Beth followed him, still confused, and he paid despite her weak protests which fell on deaf ears as soon as he got out, as he was almost running away from her. They walked in silence the rest of the way.

When they reached the entry, he stood there, awkward, and she lifted her head.

"I'm sorry about before" she tried to apologize.

"Didn't do anything wrong" he excused her, but Beth shook her head.

"It's obvious that your family it's not your favorite subject" Beth answered, trying to sound casual and smiling softly, "So, sorry. I won't mention it again".

Neither of them said anything for an instant, until he raised his eyebrows.

"Again?" he said in a humorous tone. Beth grinned.

"Well, now it's my turn to invite you, right?" she played along. Daryl returned her a smile very lightly, but enough to make her nervous, "I call you on number from before?"

"Yeah" Daryl affirmed.

"Okay" Beth whispered, "Bye, Daryl".

He nodded and turned around. Beth stood there until he disappeared. She released the breath she had been holding and entered the nursing home on shaky legs.

She instantly found all of her partners clustered in the entry, dissipating as soon as she entered, dissimulating in the worst way possible.

Everyone… except Rosita, who smiled openly, without trying to hide the fact that she had been spying on her, and whistled.

"Very well, Greene. You're improving" she said, approaching Beth until they were just inches away, "But…"

She raised her hand and pinched her breast quickly over her bra, making her jump.

"…I have to lend you something to emphasize your charms".

Beth thought she would end up fainting if her blood kept rushing to her face so many times in a single day.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!