I do not own anything TWD. If I did, I would have the cast sneak by your house at night, throwing pebbles at your window, and asking you to join them for walk in the moonlight.

She stared at Daryl for a few seconds, attempting to process the sight in front of her. It occurred to her at that moment that this was the first time she had seen him outside the theater, and it seemed wrong somehow. Like a daydream come to life.

"Do you need help with those?" he gestured at the books that Beth accidently knocked down seconds before.

"No," she furiously shook her head "I, uh, meant to drop them on the floor at some point today. I guess I got ahead of myself" she smiled at him, wishing there was some force that could take pity and blink her out of existence.

He laughed at her attempt of a joke, and try as she might, she couldn't fight the urge to laugh back.

We're both nervous. She realized when they both stopped and made fleeting eye contact with each other.

She was flustered for a second but then realized she had the upper hand there. He was on her turf now, she could dictate how this went.

"Can I help you with something, Professor Dixon?" she asked in a mock authoritative voice. He brought both of his hands together and started squeezing them before releasing and then biting the pad of his thumb.

Is he more nervous than I am right now?

He cleared his voice before speaking. "Nah, I was just passing by. Thought I should stop and say hello." He kept looking at the counter in front of him, picking up a pen and tapping it on the counter. Carol use to do that she remembered fondly as she watched.

She furrowed her brow before looking up at him again "Wait, you were passing by? Isn't the science department on the other side of campus?" Beth was genuinely confused. Daryl stopped playing with the pen but kept his eyes down.

"I wanted to see if you were okay." He finally responded as he slowly placed the pen back in its holder.

"If I was okay?" she repeated, curiosity echoed in the words she spoke.

Why would he come to see if I was okay?

"You haven't been at lunch" he finally looked at her, seemingly able to read her thoughts. "I wanted to see if you were okay."

She stared at him, trying to figure out how to respond. She felt the nervous giggles creeping up, and was proud of herself for keeping them at bay. She knew she should say something, anything, in response, yet just couldn't figure out what.

Just keep it simple, Greene.

"I'm okay." She smiled at him, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"The library has been really busy" she continued "end of the school year and all." She shrugged almost apologetically. The butterflies were gone and her heart had returned to normal speed. She now felt a sense of calm, a familiarity being near him.

He nodded and led out a short breath, almost as if relieved by her words.

"Right," he took a step back, looking around the room.

"So, uh," he turned to look at her again, blue eyes hooded "is the library winding down at all?"

Beth looked down at the stack of returned books piled on the counter. She turned to her right and saw that all the computers which lined the walls were occupied with students as other students stood by waiting for an on open spot. She looked to the left just as a handful of students came up to bulletin board to sign up for thesis assistance. A third student walked up to the counter and picked up several Requests for Book Retrieval applications.

"Actually," she looked back at Daryl "yes." She smiled wide, "It is slowing down a bit."

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, absentmindedly reaching for the bag he had placed on the floor.

Beth pressed her lips together in a tight smile as she nodded, reaching towards the pencil holder, picking up the pen he had put down.

"Alright" he turned around and walked towards the exit then stopped. He turned towards her "I'm glad you're okay" He gave her a half smile before walking out.

Her first instinct was to call Maggie and fill her in on the craziness that just took place. Her second instinct was to run back to Tara and get her input on things. Her third instinct was to run to the bathroom, stare at herself in the mirror, and replay the conversation over and over again.

She decided against all of these options.

She was making healthy and positive strides in her road towards self-awareness. She was not going to slip back to previous ways and over analyze every part of the interaction. She would not perseverate on the fact that he came out of his way to find her because he was worried. How he managed to ask her to come back to lunch with him the next day. Or especially how both were able to see past each other's bull-crap and communicate what they really wanted from the other.

She groaned to herself and lightly pounded her fist against her forehead.

You're still you, Beth

With a sigh she decided to compromise. She would only give herself the amount of time it took for her to get back to her office to obsess over this encounter before she dropped it and went along with her day. Once she was sitting back at her desk, she would let it go.

She found Tara waiting for her in her office. Quietly, Beth walked around and sat at her seat, shaking the computer mouse to awaken the monitor.

"I take it that was Professor Dixon?" Tara asked

"I prefer to call him Daryl. But yes, that was him" Beth typed in her login and password, not bothering to look up at her friend.

"You're not gonna say anything about what just happened?" there was a gleam of mischief in Tara's eyes. Tara knew that it affected Beth more than she was letting on.

"There really isn't anything to say" Beth clicked on her email, hoping there was something there to distract her.

14 unread messages. Yep, that'll do it.

"Beth?" Tara now looked worried.

Beth sighed. "He was just checking up on me." With that simple sentence, the butterflies returned.

She felt herself blush, but continued with her work.

When Beth was nervous, she baked. A habit she had inherited from her mother, much to the delight of her siblings. It was her way of having control over situations that were completely out of her own. When Beth arrived home that Thursday evening, she quickly got her flours and spices out and got to work. Tomorrow was going to be interesting. Lunch with Daryl, dinner with Shane. In a small part of her brain she knew she should have felt something. Guilt? Shame maybe? The fact that she didn't feel anything of the sorts didn't bother her. Maybe that was part of her evolving.

She looked at the supplies in front of her as she considered what to bake. A big smile formed on her face as an idea came to her. With a chuckle, she went into her fruit basket and selected what she needed. Looking back, Beth should have realized the significance of what she had chosen, but at the moment she was too focused on the task at hand.

After all, if she was going to finish the orange zest muffins before bedtime, she had better get started.

The muffins were a hit as was evident by most of them being gone minutes after Beth had placed them in the library break room. She saved one for Shane, who was currently on his way over to meet her.

"Beth," Olga stuck her head inside Beth's office, a huge grin on the older woman's face. "Someone's here for you." She whispered, making Beth laugh. "I'll distract Pat, you take your time." Beth laughed even harder; they all enjoyed being sneaky right under Patricia's nose.

"Well hello there Shane" she greeted as she walked up to him.

"Hello back, gorgeous. Staying busy back there?" Shane gestured towards the back.

"Trying not to" she smiled in response.

"Well, that's good to know" he nodded in approval.

She smiled back at him and remembered the muffins "Oh hey, before I forget, I made some muffins last night. Do you like oranges?"

Shane frowned and shook his head. "No, not a big fan. But thanks."

"Okay." She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Ah well, shake it off.

Shane didn't appear to have noticed her change in affect as he leaned forward across the counter "I was thinking of coming to get you around 7 tonight? Nice dinner, maybe go for a walk after?"

"That sounds lovely. I look forward to it" once more, she was surprised by the fact that she hadn't blushed.

He leaned back "I thought you would. So what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

She shrugged "Nothing really. I'm meeting up with a friend for lunch." She giggled a little at that as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Oh yeah? Who? Tara?"

Right at that moment Tara came up to the front completely in work mode, unaware of the pair. She was carrying a stack of books that she set down before scanning them onto the computer.

Beth shook her head. "No, someone else. He's a…newer friend" she sensed Tara perk up and look in her direction. "We usually eat at the old theatre by the drama department." She tried to say that matter-of-factly, like it wasn't a big deal. Which, to be fair, really wasn't. She had no reason to hide her friendship with Daryl from Shane. Besides, if Shane had any problem with it, he didn't show it.

"I hate that theater" Shane grunted. "It's caused me so many headaches over these past years, I sometimes wish they'd just take it down."

She heard Tara gasp as Beth dramatically put her hand to her heart. "Bite your tongue Shane Walsh, I love that theater!"

He shrugged "You wouldn't if you knew the hoodlums that gathered there on the weekends."

"Well, I was going to invite you to join me for lunch there, but now I'm not so sure" Beth was a little hurt by his declaration. That had been her little haven for the past 10 years and she felt protective of it.

"No, it's okay. I'm not a fan of eating outdoors anyway"

"It's a good thing you got Daryl" Tara called from the far side of the counter. Beth shushed her friend before turning back to Shane. He continued with his smirk, unaffected by Tara's comment.

"Thanks for the invitation, Beth." He told her in a lowered tone. "I know why you did it, but it's okay. I'm not worried." He winked at her and began walking backwards towards the exit. "I'll see you tonight" with a final wave he walked out of the library.

Beth continued staring at the door, not quite sure how to process what just happened. Luckily, she had Tara there to give her impression.

"What a cocky motherfucker" Tara gasped as she also stared at the door.

"Tara!" Beth chided her as she made her way back to her office. Tara dramatically rolled her eyes as she went back to work.

As Beth went back to her office she replayed the conversation in her head. She sighed as she sat at her desk and leaned all the way back in her seat.

Was Shane not worried because he trusted me? Or because he thinks I would never be interested in anyone else?

She picked up her muffin and took a big bite.

She snuck out of the office early for lunch. She was on edge for whatever reason, something she rarely felt. Beth was usually easy going, but there was something that was bothering her, and she could not for the life of her put her finger on it.

As she walked up the grassy field, she couldn't help but wonder how Shane could dismiss it so much. What was there to dislike? Trees, grass, flowers…like a little remote island in the middle of campus. As she turned to her usual spot, she was pleasantly surprised to find that Daryl was already there, sitting crossed legged, book in his hand.

She tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach as she walked up to him. She also didn't want to acknowledge that the bad feelings she was feeling earlier were slowly dissipating with every step closer she took to him.

"Hey there" she smiled as she sat at her usual spot. He jumped slightly, obviously surprised by her. She laughed a little as she settled in.

"Damn girl, you sure know how to sneak up on a guy."

Beth scoffed "I did not sneak up on you. It's not my fault you were too busy with your book."

Surprising herself (again), she took the book from his hands "Let's see what you're scaring yourself with this time" she looked at the cover and read it out loud "The Hundred Year Lie: How to Protect Yourself from the Chemicals in Your Life" she looked cautiously at him.

"Why? Why do you do this to yourself?" she half joked, half pled to him. Daryl took the book from her hands.

"Because unlike some people, I don't like to live in denial" he rasped as he dog-eared the last page he had read and placed it back in his bag. He retrieved a cigarette from its pack.

"Denial huh? Tell me Professor, what does it say about smoking in that book of yours?" she winked, smiling wickedly at him as he turned to her.

He reciprocated her grin as he placed the cigarette between his lips. "Smart ass" he mumbled as he lit the end.

She didn't know what it was about him that made her feel so comfortable, to be able to joke around with him despite the fact that it'd been weeks since they had lunch together. Maybe it was because she didn't feel any pressure now that she was seeing Shane. Or maybe because she finally accepted that Daryl wasn't interested romantically in her. Maybe it was her newfound confidence.

What she did know was that she enjoyed spending time with him, and it appeared he felt the same about her.

"Would you like to try an orange muffin?" She asked, smiling shyly at him.

"Did you make it?" He looked back, giving her the same half smile he had given her the day before.

She nodded and looked out across the theater. "From scratch actually"

Daryl followed her gaze as he took a long drag.

"Well then hell yeah." They turned to each other and smiled.

Beth knew one more thing. She was happy to be back.

A/N: I'm sorry for my nasty joke last time. It was my way of passive aggressively targeting all those mean writers who write amazing stories and then make us wait months and months for an update. I love them, but hate them for playing with my emotions like that!

Thank you thank you thank you again and again for each review/pm/fav/follow. I get the same reaction I did when I first posted…it is so my driving force to keep writing! Oh, and I included another super subtle Doctor Who reference. Because I'm a dork and am slightly mad with power.

So Beth is starting to re-think the whole Shane thing now. That'll be fun! Also, I don't know about you all, but I think it's time for Daryl and Beth to spend some quality time together outside of campus.

Yeah, I think that should happen. I think that should happen soon…

-Mir