A/N: I own nothing associated with TWD. If I did, I would have the cast insist that you finish all that leftover Halloween candy by yourself.

"Sort of boyfriend?" Beth thought she heard Daryl mutter under his breath, a habit of his that she was beginning to pick up on. She thinks she sees a flash of disappointment in his eyes as he turned to stare at Shane.

Maybe she was hoping it.

Beth mentally shrugged as she mirrored Daryl and turned to watch Shane, silently counting down the seconds to their inevitable introduction.

It was probably the last thing she should have been concerned about at that moment, but Beth couldn't help but feel conflicted. Exactly whose side am I on?

She took a few steps towards Shane before stopping and turning back to Daryl. She wished she wasn't so damn naïve in regards to the opposite sex. She wanted to know what he was thinking. She turned to look at Shane who had the same blank expression on his face. She wanted to know what he was thinking too.

Oookay, this may just be a little awkward

"Hey" she smiled as Shane got within arms distance.

"Beth" he answered, though his eyes remained focused on Daryl. She unconsciously moved between both men, thinking it would be the safest for all of them. It was silly, really. Both men stood a good feet and a half taller than she did, so Beth wasn't really protecting anybody.

Both men glared at each other, Daryl watching Shane through hooded eyes, while Shane scanned Daryl up and down. Daryl had his arms crossed, almost as if bored, whereas Shane had the classic officer stance down, both thumbs hooked on his belt, shoulders back.

"This is my friend." Beth gestured towards Daryl as she turned slightly to her right, putting both men on either side of her. Shane referenced Beth for a second before looking back to Daryl. After what seemed like an eternity, Shane stretched out his hand.

"I'm Shane, Beth's lover." He said as means of introduction. Beth frowned at him but he was not paying any attention to her. She turned to Daryl and found his eyes were already on her. He had obviously seen her reaction.

After a few more seconds he took Shane's hand.

"Daryl."

Shane gave a half chuckle and let go of Daryl's hand. "Just Daryl?"

"Just Daryl" Daryl repeated "I don't need a label, Beth knows me well enough without one."

Beth laughed nervously. Dear Lord, what is happening?

Feeling the need to stand up for him, Beth turned to Shane. "Daryl is a professor in the science department" she looked between both men, but neither looked at her.

"And Shane," she continued as she turned to Daryl "is the head officer of campus security."

And not my lover she wanted to add.

"I'm surprised Beth hadn't mentioned me before" Shane still hadn't referenced Beth, and that possibly upset her more than the lover reference.

Daryl shrugged as he reached for another cigarette. "Beth doesn't owe me anything. She's free to decide what or whom she chooses to mention."

A voice deep inside of Beth perked up at this comment. It was the same voice that had been picking up several red flags that the still-insecure part of her refused to acknowledge. Isn't it supposed to be Shane who defends me?

Shane continued his stance, no real indication that Daryl had hit a nerve.

"Well Daryl, it's awful nice of you to keep my girl company" Shane carried on, ignoring Daryl's comment.

"She's the one giving me company." Daryl responded roughly.

She looked at Shane and saw that he had begun chewing the inside of his cheeks, finally showing signs of agitation. This isn't going the way he wants. Beth realized as she observed him.

At that moment she realized that neither men were ever going to be friends. She would just have to sort out what it all meant to her at a later point. Right now she knew she had to put a stop to this. It was unfair to subject Daryl to Shane any minute longer.

"Okay, I think my break is over." Beth reached down to pick up her bag and saw that both men continued to leer at each other. She sighed and turned to Daryl "Thank you so much for the jam, it was lovely." She smiled and was rewarded with a smile back.

She turned to look at Shane "Want to walk me back to the library?" So I can get you the hell away from Daryl?

"You go on ahead, I'll meet you later." Shane responded, keeping his eyes on Daryl.

"You should never turn down an invitation from a woman like Beth," Daryl stated, voice low and almost threatening. "Especially when the woman is, how did you put it? A lover." Daryl grinned as he said the last part, and at that moment Beth knew Daryl hadn't believed him.

She was so busy admiring Daryl at that moment that she hadn't noticed Shane taking a step in his direction. "Why don't you stay out of it, professor." Now it was Shane's voice which held the threatening tone, one that made Beth's heart race.

"You're the one who came and interrupted us, officer" Daryl growled back

"It didn't look like I was interrupting much of anything."

"Then I guess you weren't paying attention" retorted Daryl

Beth was genuinely surprised at Shane's comment. Hadn't he seen their hug? Or had that somehow escaped him. If he had missed that exchange then why was Shane being such a jerk? Beth then realized that both meant had closed the distance between them. She had to put a stop to this quickly before things got really ugly. It was bad enough that some of the lunch regulars were starting to look in their direction.

Come on Greene, these are the guests you invited to your Beth Party. Do something.

"Oh my god, are you two done?" She was surprised by her tone as she swung her shoulder back strap over her head and grabbed Shane's hand.

"Daryl, I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Come on Shane, you're walking your lover back to the office." She made sure to emphasize that word as she pulled him away in the direction of the library.

"It was great meeting you, Officer Shane" Daryl called out as they walked away. Shane immediately stopped and turned around, but Beth kept her hand on his and continued pulling him away. Her heart was pounding as she walked away, angry at herself for allowing the situation to get to where it did. Almost immediately she forgave herself as she realized their behaviors were completely out of her control.

Both were quiet on the way back. Beth trying to replay every second, and Shane, well, who knew what the hell Shane was thinking.

By the time they reached the front door of the library Beth turned to look at him and was surprised to see he looked exactly as he always did, no signs of distress anywhere.

She let go of his hand and was about to tell him goodbye before he interrupted. "That is not what I expected" he half laughed as he ran his hand through his hair.

"What do you mean?" Beth asked, dreading his response.

"When you said you had a friend named Daryl," he laughed again as he shook his head "I was expecting some scrawny redneck in suspenders."

She glared at him before she spoke "And not a respected Professor of Ecology and Sustainability?" Beth asked slowly, feeling the anger rise in her gut.

"Oh, he's respected is he?"

Beth slowly shook her head and turned around "I better get in before Patricia adds more things to my inbox" she called over her shoulders. She really didn't want to see him right now "I'll call you later" she added seconds before the door closed behind her.

Beth understood she was fairly new with grown-up relationships. But she was pretty sure that in any type of relationships, you had to at least like the person you were dating. Beth opted to take the stairs rather than the elevator back to her office, giving her more time to process. She barely heard Patricia scold her for being back so early and not taking her full hour of lunch. Beth assured her that she wouldn't work more than her eight hours that day as she walked past her.

After an hour she was surprised by how much work she had managed to get done considering her eventful lunch. After she submitted the final UPC number for the agriculture textbook orders, she turned off her monitor. Beth closed her eyes and remembered the interaction between Daryl and Shane. Before she realized it, she had started to cry.

"Yes!" She heard Tara before she actually saw her "Patricia is going into a meeting with the dean so we will have a full hour before-''

She froze as she saw Beth sitting and quietly sobbing at her desk.

"Oh my God Beth, what's wrong?" She quickly rushed to Beth's side and pulled her into an embrace. "What's wrong friend?" Tara ran her fingers down Beth's hair in a soothing gesture, trying to figure out what else to say.

"I don't know" Beth softly gasped, trying to figure out what was going on with her.

"Okay," Tara continued stroking Beth's hair. "Let's try to figure it out." Tara pulled back and sat on the floor in front of her.

Beth nodded as she used her hands to wipe her face. She closed her eyes and inhaled deep.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Breathe.

"Shane met Daryl." Beth opened her eyes and almost laughed. Tara's mouth had fallen open, and she held an expression that could either be described as horror or disgust. Tara quickly shut her mouth and shook her head. "Go on," she encouraged Beth.

Beth went onto describe in as much detail the standoff between both men. Well, mostly Shane's behaviors and Daryl's reactions to him.

"So, as you can see" Beth blew her nose as she finished telling the story "it was a bit of an awkward lunch, and I honestly don't know why I'm reacting this way."

"That must have been very uncomfortable." Tara reasoned "And Daryl's your friend."

"Yeah and Shane…" Beth began

"Oh Shane can go blow himself!" Tara interrupted. "Really, is he so insecure that he felt the need to whip it out and measure it for the both of you?"

"Oh my God Tara!" Beth brought her hands to her face and started laughing. She could always, always, depend on her friend.

"Hey," she reached out and patted Beth's knee "I made you laugh just now." She winked at her.

"Tara, what am I going to do?"

"I can't answer that Beth" she took Beth's hands in hers again and held her gaze. "However, I suspect you already know what to do."

Beth squeezed Tara's hands. "I don't think I like Shane anymore." She whispered.

"I don't think you do either" Tara whispered back.

It was 5:13pm, and Beth had no desire to go home. She slowly packed her stuff and made her way out of the library. Rather than heading towards the parking lot, Beth made her way to her favorite bench and decided it was as good a time as any to spend some quality time with the ducks.

"Hey friends, mind if I join you?" she asked a small flock that had been resting nearby. She remembered the uneaten wafers she had from lunch, and promptly took them out and threw them to the ducks. Two of them went scampering after a particularly large piece, one with a dark blue streak across its head, the other a dark tan one. Beth watched both ducks fight humorously over the wafer, and for whatever reason it reminded her of the Shane and Daryl showdown from hours ago.

I am the wafer Beth thought as the blue streaked duck successfully snatched the wafer and waddled back to the water.

"Hello gorgeous" the familiar voice came from the right. That term of endearment use to make her feel uncomfortable because she had been so insecure, she didn't believe anyone would ever think that about her. Now the discomfort was over something different.

She turned and saw Shane approach her, a big smile on his face. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and Beth had to stop herself from crying again.

She knew what she had to do at that moment.

And it sucked.

"Hi Shane" she greeted in return as he sat down next to her.

"These damn ducks, always wanting to be fed" he shooed a duck away that was hoping to get some food from him.

She turned and looked at him for a while. When he finally looked back, the grin he had been wearing slowly began to fade, and a look of concern began to take its place.

"You don't like the ducks?" she asked softly, almost as if she was giving him one last chance.

He didn't respond, just continued to stare at her.

She took a deep breath and looked back to the water.

Be honest. Be brave. Be strong.

"Shane, I really didn't like the way you treated my friend earlier today."

"Who, Daryl?" Beth nodded slowly. He cursed under his breath and brought his hands to his head. He leaned back, stretching his right leg in front of him.

"And it makes me sad that you seem pretty dismissive of my feelings and the stuff I try to make for you."

He turned and looked at her again. "You mean your pies?"

She nodded again, trying not to be hurt by his tone.

Be honest.

"I can't help but think that if you're going to be so passive about something as small as that," she continued "then who knows what other things you'll be passive about later." She looked down at her hands, proud to see they weren't shaking.

He stood, hands still splayed on his head as he walked towards the water.

"It's probably best if we just…" she didn't know how to finish that sentence.

End this before we get too invested?

Go our separate ways?

Wish each other the best and say goodbye?

As she continued to struggle for the words, Shane turned around and approached her. He took her hands and knelt in front of her. She stared at their hands, too afraid to look up.

"Beth?" He whispered, forcing her to meet his eyes.

He gave her a small smile and leaned into her ear "Its okay." He gave her a small peck on her cheek before turning and walking away.

She sat there for a few minutes longer struggling to identify the emotions taking over. It was a strange mixture of confusion, relief, and sadness. She didn't think it was even possible to have all those at once, but only having one feeling didn't seem right either.

Eventually she stood up and brushed off the wafer crumbs from her skirt. She reached down and took her bag and slowly made the walk towards her car, feeling incredibly tired and looking forward to her jammies and bed.

As she began practicing the conversation she would surely be having with Maggie when she called her later that evening, Beth stopped dead in her tracks as a new feeling took over. Not Confusion, or relief, or sadness.

Absolute certainty.

At that moment, Beth knew without a shadow of a doubt that everything would be okay.

Holding on to that feeling for a few moments longer, she turned around and looked behind her. Roughly fifty feet away stood Daryl Dixon, a look of surprise etched on his face.

Be brave.

She tentatively smiled and raised her hand. He smiled in return and waved back. Beth lowered her hand and closed her eyes. There will be time to build new relationships. There will be time to continue her path of self-discovery. She was still Beth, and there was still time to grow.

No need to force anything just yet. She was just going to let things play out.

She turned around and walked towards her car.

Be strong.

A/N: Okay folks, the next chapter is guaranteed to answer ONE question you've all been asking. The chapter after that will answer the OTHER question that's been bugging you all. I hope you stick around for those.

I've checked my thesaurus and I'm almost out of adjectives to use that describe how happy you all make me with your reviews/PMs/favs/follows. Really, truly. From the bottom of my Bethyl heart…thank you!