I own nothing TWD

Beth woke up earlier than she wished she had, turning over and seeing it was before seven. A Sunday morning talk show was playing in the background, and it took her a second to realize she had left the radio on. She smiled softy at the memory of her Saturday, and then groaned when she attempted to get up, realizing she was slightly hung-over. She forced herself up and prepared some coffee before heading back to bed. She didn't have any plans that day, thinking she was going to need all of Sunday to recoup from an emotional day. But she wasn't feeling emotional; she had poured her feelings out last night before passing out.

After a few minutes, she got up again, figuring she might as well start fully waking up. She sat on her couch, book in hand, drinking her coffee as she leisurely turned the pages of the novel she had read so often she practically had it memorized. She heard her phone ding in the other room, but was too lazy to get up and check it.

What to do today she wondered, happy to have a whole day to herself.

Right as she thought of the perfect morning plans she heard her phone ding again. She walked back to her room and put on a simple black skirt and white tank top, then braided her hair to her side. She was looking for her comfy sneakers when the phone went off again. She cursed as she turned to look for it, knowing it could only be one person messaging her at the moment.

Just as she suspected, she glanced at the phone and saw that Maggie had sent her three messages.

Mr. Blue is HOT!

"Oh geese," Beth groaned as she scrolled down to the next one.

No really, good going there Bethy.

"Yep, yep, I did good" she sarcastically answered, though didn't type it.

The last message was pretty long, but it made Beth smile.

Just so you know, I only stopped by yesterday because I knew you were going to be a nervous mess, and I wanted to distract you. I'd rather have you irritated at me than a wreck in front of him. And what do you know, it worked! Call me later, I can't wait to hear all about the brunch ;)

"Oh Maggie, you know me so well." She was about to type a message full of love and gratitude before she received a last message.

Also, I really wanted to see what he looked like. HOT!

This morning was particularly brutal. Beth already felt the sweat pooling at her lower back as she got out of her truck, yet she couldn't think of a better way of spending the morning than at the farmers market. She removed her sunglasses for a second, drying off some sweat that had gathered on the lens before putting them back on.

She started humming to herself as she walked towards her destination. She had completely gone through all of the pear-honey jam Daryl had purchased her, and she was eager to buy some more for her and Maggie. It was going to be the fourth of July in a couple of days, and she was going to bake some pies that would taste great with the jam. As she reached the stand, she put her sunglasses on her head. She wiped the sweat that was just above her cheek bone and wiped it on her skirt as she looked at all the jars, trying to find the one she wanted.

"If I could make a recommendation?" A nice looking Hispanic man stepped into her view and greeted her with a warm smile. She couldn't help but reciprocate it.

"A recommendation?" Beth repeated.

The man nodded and turned around reaching for a jar with a green pepper sticker on the lid

"You wouldn't believe it, but jalapeño jelly is quite delicious. A combination of sweet and spicy, something I'm sure you're familiar with."

"Ew," Beth scrunched her nose and giggled, not quite sure how to react but reaching for the jar anyway.

"No seas latoso, Caesar" the owner of the jam stand laughed from across the tent. Both Beth and the man identified as Caesar turned to look at him. "Dejarla en paz" the older man continued as he straightened out some jars in front of him.

"No te metas, Javier" the man scolded at him before turning back to Beth "He's telling me not to bother you and leave you alone" he translated, causing her to laugh.

"He's not bothering me, thank you though" she smiled at the older man and looked down at the jalapeño jelly. Javier laughed as he shook his head and went to sit back in his folding chair.

She turned to the man who was still looking at her. She felt odd not saying anything to him, and figured it wouldn't hurt to chat. "So, you know a lot about jams?"

"I know a lot about a lot of things" he smiled "how about I take you out and you can pick my brain."

Beth took a second to mentally check herself. She had pretty much rolled out of bed and changed into the first thing she found. She hadn't even showered for goodness sakes, and she was fairly sure she had forgotten to put on deodorant. She was sure she smelled. With all this in mind, how was someone actually flirting with her, let alone actually asking her out?

She scanned his face, noting that he had a little frown on her face. Oh no, he thinks I'm rejecting him.

"Oh, sorry, I'm barely waking up right now and I'm just…"she shrugged and looked at him. He was cute, she'd give him that. He had soft features that made him look kind, and despite his bad pick up line, he wasn't giving off a creepy vibe.

Why not? She thought for a few seconds before turning fully to him

"That sounds like an incredible opportunity there, picking your brain and all" she smiled, feeling the warmth return to her face. "But I can't. I'm, uh…seeing someone at the moment."

Well, It's kinda true.

"Of course you are, linda." Ceasar said with no malice at all. "Someone as beautiful as you isn't running around unclaimed."

"Oh." Beth brought her hand to her mouth, thrilled that a total stranger paid her such a sweet compliment. "What a lovely thing to say" she managed through her embarrassed smile.

"It's the truth" he gestured towards Javier, still sitting in his chair and watching their interaction.

"Well, if you ever change your mind, I'm here a lot" he waved at Javier and smiled a toothy grin at Beth before turning around and walking away.

Beth smiled to herself as she continued searching for her honey jam, making a mental note to share that story with Maggie when she finally called her back.

"You sure have a way of making men fawn for you, don't you Beth?" Beth turned towards the voice and felt her heart swell.

"Michonne!" She walked up to her quickly and gave her a hug.

"You're always sneaking up on me, that's just not fair!" Beth beamed as she leaned back to look at her.

"Well, I use to be a hunter." She grinned, gently squeezing her arms before releasing Beth. "Had to learn to be sneaky. I see you had to turn down another poor guy" Michonne teased as she looked in the direction Caesar had left. Beth looked at her in confusion "Carl being the other one?" Michonne clarified with a wink.

Beth rolled her eyes as she turned to pay for her jams. "Yeah, that's me. Complete heart breaker."

"Good for you Beth, make them work for it. That's how I got Rick."

Beth smiled at that comment. She'd only met him once, but she could tell Rick was a good man. Michonne had done well.

"Where's Cadie?" Beth realized as she watched Michonne pick up a couple of jars.

"Carl's watching her right now. It's too hot to have her out. Plus, mom likes some alone time." She picked up a jar of rhubarb and orange jelly. Beth had missed that one and went to pick it up as well.

"I love oranges, I bet I can make something yummy with this." She spoke as she looked at the jar.

"You bake?"

Beth nodded "I love to. I'm baking pies and bread for my family's 4th of July barbeque. Really, I'll use any excuse to bake stuff."

Michonne nodded as she signaled to Javier she was ready to pay. "Well, with these jams, I'm sure it'll be delicious, whatever you make. A good friend of ours told us about this stand, and I've been coming here ever since."

Beth nodded as she reached into her wallet to get some more cash "Yeah, a friend of mine told me about this place too. Though he says it was just to get me to make more treats for him."

"Would this be the same friend you turned down that gentleman for?" Michonne laughed at seeing Beth's face turn red.

"Oh, no. I'm not seeing anyone. He was just so sweet, I didn't want to flat out turn him down." She shrugged as she put the orange jam in her bag.

"What about Shane?"

Beth turned and looked at her, surprised that she would remember his name. She'd only brought him up in passing a while back.

"No, we're not together anymore."

Michonne stared at her for a second before giving her a small smile "It's probably for the best."

Beth returned Michonne's smile as she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Well, you're a sweet and beautiful girl; I have a feeling you'll have someone eating up your goods in no time."

Beth smiled "Well, there is someone who really enjoys my goods…" she paused and looked up at Michonne who stared back, both women realizing how suggestive their comments had been.

"Oh no, that's not what I meant" Beth burst into laughter and Michonne joined her. They continued laughing until they were interrupted by Michonne's phone. She was still chuckling as she answered "Hello? Hey handsome. No, I'm at the market. I ran into Beth here"

She turned to address Beth "Rick says hi."

Beth waved awkwardly at the phone.

"She says hi back." Michonne continued and started walking down the street, Beth following. "That's a great idea, but I think she said she already has plans with her family." She paused "Oh Rick, you hopeless romantic. I'll call you back in a bit." She shook her head as she hung up.

"Rick wanted to know if you wanted to join us for Fourth of July" she smiled, answering Beth's unasked question.

Beth was touched "Aw, that was so sweet of him" she blushed a little then asked "what about that hopeless romantic comment?"

Michonne laughed as she led them both to a fruit stand nearby "he thought you might hit it off with a friend of his that's coming over. Rick can be a damn sap sometimes."

Beth scanned the fruit stand and made her way to the apples, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Actually" Michonne said after a few seconds. "You might know him, he works at the-" a loud pounding made both women turn towards the street to see a woman dressed in black strumming on an electric guitar. Within seconds another woman joined her, then another, then a young man followed suit. Suddenly, a wave of about twenty students, some of which Beth recognized from the campus came rushing out, and started to dance elaborately to the rhythm of the guitars. After a few minutes, the young man stood on top of a crate and began to sing. "Mother I can hear your foot-fall, now. Soft disturbance in the dead- fall how. It precedes you like a black smoke pall, still the wanting comes in waves…"

Both Michonne and Beth were enthralled by the impromptu performance in front of them. After a few more versus a women, apparently playing the role of the mother, pushed the man off the crate and took his place, singing about saving the young man from the brink of death, and mocking him for taking her love for granted. The lyrics were haunting, and the singing amazing, Beth got chills. After the performance, the crowd went crazy, applauding and cheering them as they quietly picked up their stuff and took off in various directions.

"That was unexpected" Michonne said, shaking herself from her stupor.

"It was beautiful," Beth whispered, still watching the area where the performance had been. Yep, coming to the market was a good idea.

Monday morning dragged like very few mornings did. It was two days before the holiday break, so the few people who remained on campus moved slower than usual, including the delivery guys that were supposed to drop off the final round of textbooks. Beth was in Tara's office while both girls played on their phones. They were the only ones in the library at the moment, and had nothing else to do until the books arrived.

Every once in a while Tara would send her a text message, even though they were less than three feet away.

You should have kissed him.

"Ha!" Beth said loudly as she typed her response.

I was too emotional. I probably would have started bawling.

Tara laughed

It would have at least been a memorable kiss.

"Oh yeah, very memorable." Beth looked up at her friend "I'm sure that's what every guy wants. A girl blubbering as they make out"

"I love a blubbering girl" Tara joked "it usually means she's deep."

Beth laughed as she went back to her game of solitaire. She was about to move a king over to a blank space when her game was interrupted by another message.

What are the odds I can get you to come out to lunch early?

"If we do, who'll take the order?" Beth asked her friend. Tara looked up from her phone with a confused look.

"What?"

Beth quickly looked down at her phone again and realized the message hadn't come from Tara.

"Oh…" she said quietly. She looked back at Tara "Sorry, I, um, got a message from Daryl."

"He has your number?" Tara sat up straight in her chair.

"Yeah, I gave it to him for this weekend. He wants to know if I can come out to lunch early today."

Tara smiled wide. "Go" she encouraged her. "You know these books aren't coming today."

Beth knew it was true. It was too close to the holidays, books ordered around that time always arrived mid-July. Beth puckered her lips as she thought for a few more seconds, and then made up her mind.

"You're right. I'm doing it." She got up and looked down at her friend "You should come with. I don't want you stuck here alone."

"Nah, I'll be fine. Amy's on her way up anyway. She's just as busy as we are at the moment." She smiled wide again. "Go" she said before standing and leading her out the office door. Beth practically ran to her office to get her stuff, but not before stopping to respond to his message.

I'll see you in five.

Beth was surprised she had survived the walk from the library to the theater. She had nearly been run over by two trucks that had, for whatever reason, chosen to drive through the campus walkway. Okay don't go exaggerating, they did honk to let you know they were approaching.

A moment later she heard another vehicle drive up behind her. This one at least had the decency to slow down as it swerved around her. "What the heck is going on here?" She whispered to herself as she saw the large truck disappear at the theater entrance.

"Oh no…" she stopped, realization finally dawning on her. "Ugh, not this again." She begrudgingly continued her walk as she made her way towards their spot. Not surprising, Daryl was already there, and from the looks of it he was as annoyed as she was.

Well, at least you won't have to worry about any awkward talk

She hated herself that moment for having that thought. The last time she saw him she had left him in a hurry, overcome by her own emotions and uncertainty. At least now she had something to redirect to.

"So it looks like the theater department is at it again." She said in way of greeting as she plopped next to him. Daryl grunted in response, not taking his eyes away from the stage. She followed his gaze to see the trucks lined along the edges of the arena, unloading large pieces of wood and staging. A handful of students were walking back and forth across the arena, busying themselves with their work as they talked and laughed loudly. The sounds of power tools and hammering echoed throughout the outdoor venue (the acoustic there really were good) making their usual peaceful haven a bit of a mess.

Beth shouldn't be annoyed, this happened every year, although she always seemed to forget about it until it arrived. Out of spite she never went to any of the shows, something Tara always admonished her for.

"Those drama kids contacted me asking if I could supply plants for their show" Daryl said, still looking away.

Beth tried not to laugh at the disgusted look on his face. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." He gestured towards the stage "Said it was for a forest they wanted to build."

"What did you tell them?"

"Told them the school didn't pay thousands of dollars on greenery for them to yank it up and hot glue it onto a piece of plywood." He practically shoved a cigarette into his mouth and attempted unsuccessfully to light it. Beth watched in amusement as he struggled with the lighter.

"Those kids wanted crates of fireweed and poplar for their damn show." He mumbled to himself.

Beth was still struggling to keep from laughing. For whatever reason, this had hit a nerve for him, and she was going to let him have his moment. It doesn't mean I can't have fun at his expense

She reached out with both hands and covered his, effectively stopping him from his maddening clicks.

"Now Daryl" she scolded as she took the lighter from him. "It's important for us to support the arts" she smiled mischievously as she held his gaze. His lids lowered as if trying to figure out if she was serious. When he smiled back, hers widened as she leaned towards him, placing one hand on the ground between them to balance herself and easily flicking on the lighter with the other. He reached for her hand and pulled it close to light the end of his cigarette. She watched him still with a gleam in her eye, proud at herself for not blushing.

"You know Professor Dixon, these things will kill you." She shook his lighter at him when he released her hand.

"What did I tell you about sassin' me girl" he growled, though clearly he was enjoying the moment.

"You and your hollow threats" she cooed as she looked away, feeling her confidence start to give way to her usual awkward self.

They were silent for the next few minutes, Beth finishing her chicken salad while Daryl scanned the arena. She noticed his hair had gotten significantly longer, wondered how long it had been since he cut it. He'd also put on some weight, which was good in her opinion, since he was looking like the super-hero persona she had imagined him as before. The bags under his eyes were pretty much gone and he was smiling more, something she definitely had missed from her time stalking him.

She hadn't realized she was staring at him until a stage worker crossed her peripheral, essentially bringing her back to reality. She didn't think he noticed however since he also appeared to be lost in thought.

"So, penny for your thoughts?" She asked reaching for an apple slice.

He turned to her and stared.

"A dime?" She smiled at her own joke, holding his gaze. He continued to stare and shrugged in response.

"What does that mean?" She mimicked his shrug, not taking her eyes off of him.

They continued staring at each other until a crashing sound caused them both to jump in their seats. They turned at the same time to see a group of crew workers fumbling to unload several large railings up on the stage.

"It's a good thing I wasn't wishing for peace and quiet today" he grumbled as he turned back to Beth. She giggled and then froze as she heard a familiar song playing. She turned back to the stage and saw a young man playing an acoustic guitar. She couldn't make out the lyrics, but she recognized the melody as the same one that had interrupted her and Michonne the day before at the farmers market.

The young man's voice picked up as he reached the hook. "Still the wanting comes in waves. And I want this night…" he continued as his voice got lost in the construction noise.

She turned to Daryl who was staring at the musician.

This is ridiculous. Beth thought, suddenly feeling herself get mad. You like Daryl. You really, really like him. You've been fawning over him for over a year. The ball's in your court so do something.

"Hey, are you working tomorrow?"

He tilted his head and gave her that side glance that he all but trademarked.

"I mean," she continued as she looked down at her hands "I do, but just a half day. The library closes at 12. If you're here, maybe we should leave campus for lunch? Avoid all of this" she gestured towards the construction. She turned to look at him and saw him staring at the stage, playing with his hands, cigarette in his mouth. Beth felt a rush of heat fill her stomach at that sight of him, something she hadn't felt before. It was odd but somewhat exciting.

Oh good god, Beth I think you're feeling lust for the first time…

"No" he answered still looking at the stage. He took a final drag before putting it out on the ground next to him. He looked at her and winked when he saw her frowning. He was joking around with her.

"I'm not working tomorrow, but I'll still be here." He continued.

She kept the frown on her face. Two can play this game

His grin went away at her expression. He absentmindedly bit his thumb before clearing his throat. "I'd love to take you out somewhere outside of campus." He elaborated.

"Well that's too bad" she looked away and started to put her belongings back in her bag. "'Cause I invited you, so I'll be the one taking you out." She was proud of how even her voice was, how her hands weren't shaking as she slung her strap over her shoulder, and how she stood gracefully. Inside her heart was thumping, and she was pretty sure she would pass out as soon as she reached her office.

Fake it till you make it Maggie always says. Beth was currently working on it.

She looked down at Daryl who was still sitting down, a look of amusement on his face as he turned up to look at her.

"Come get me at the library tomorrow. You remember where that's at, right?" She smiled wide before walking away towards the library.

The music continued from the stage, Beth pretended it was her victory chant.

"I'll return to you at break of light, for the wanting comes in waves…"

A/N: I have no words. The MSF killed me. Absolutely killed me. I mourned the loss of Beth Greene for a good long time and I know I will never be over it. Thank you all for the kind messages of support (Especially Tania, Joise, Mily, and getkath) they really helped me get through this. A special thanks to goshbirdie who was pretty much with me when the whole thing went down, and provided the emotional support during that painful hour. Also, to the prettiest girl I know, my spirit animal, for just being so awesome and another huge support (also sooo pretty).

Definitely not least all of you wonderful readers! I started this story at a sad point in my life as a way to channel my feels into something good. The outpour of love and support completely humbled me and gave me the confidence to continue. Now, that our beautiful girl is gone from the show, I am going to make damn sure she lives on in this story. I have a lot of happy things in store for our Professor Dixon and Baker Beth, and I hope they give you some peace as they have for me. So come closely to the screen so I can give you all a huge hug. Thank you for being the loveliest group of readers this girl has ever known.

All the love,

Mir

Song Credit: "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid" by The Decemberists