Thank you to all those who favorites and reviewed last chapter. It is much appreciated.

I've finished writing this story and it's going to be 12 chapters long. Hope you enjoy it!

Daryl was working hard, laying the boards out to start framing the wall he was working on. He enjoyed his job, as it allowed his to have a change of scenery every few weeks and he only had to work four days a week.

He always had a good work ethic in life, knowing you had to work hard in order to earn your money. He was also about legitimate means and not the illegal dealings his brother was into. He earned decent pay and it kept him comfortable. He never wanted anything more, and he was able to live in his trailer and buy hunting equipment when he needed it. His biggest splurge was on his bike, which he took the utmost care of. He loved tinkering with the thing and cleaning all the chrome and metal. It was always his dream to have a bike, and he made sure that it became a reality.

That work ethic hadn't been passed onto Merle unfortunately. Although they had spent that one night celebrating his three month stint at his warehouse job, he disappeared after and Daryl could only assume he wasn't showing up to work. As much as cared for his brother, it was getting pretty frustrating to keep bailing him out. The things that Daryl had done previously to help his brother out, he would rather never discuss again.

Which brought him back to his current predicament. He usually had a one track mind while working: get it done. But lately, his mind had been wandering. He wasn't concerned with screwing something up, as he could do this shit in his sleep, but it was odd for him to be affected by a woman and her son.

Chase was an awesome kid, always wanting to learn more from Daryl. He was attentive and did exactly what he was told. Kid was lucky to have a mom who was willing to try something different. Most kids he knew growing up were playing football or soccer. He prefered the outdoors and hunting with his brother.

He, of course, noticed Chase's mother, Beth. She was young, but absolutely gorgeous. He was never one for dating, usually keeping to himself, but he still took notice to the opposite sex. He was still a man with needs and he occasionally indulged in the odd one night stand, or maintaining a woman in his life for a couple weeks if she was decent.

Beth was different though. She was the kind of girl that expected a relationship and that was something he just couldn't offer her. Or at least, he didn't think he could.

As the week went on, he grew more excited for this class that he was teaching. Maybe it was to see Chase, or maybe it was because of Beth. The other three boys he taught were okay, but definitely not memorable. They never showed the same enthusiasm that the youngest one did, but that could just be the age difference. Regardless, that Greene duo had caught his attention, and he started to wonder what could be.

Rick had invited Daryl over for dinner on Friday night, knowing that he wouldn't have anything planned. It was a running joke between them, that if Daryl didn't pick up his phone, it was because he was off hunting or in the bathroom. The man had zero social life and was generally easy to track down if needed.

Lori had made a delicious meal of meatloaf, potatoes and green beans. Daryl knew how to cook but he rarely went through the trouble of making anything too strenuous. He would eat leftovers for days then. He kept it simple and only made what he would need for his dinner and lunch the next day.

They were sitting around the table, talking about their work week; Carl already being excused so he could continue on a book report that was due on Monday. Judith was happily sitting in her high chair, playing around with the mashed potatoes and barely getting any in her mouth.

"Lori tells me your archery class is going well," Daryl grunted towards Rick in affirmation as he took another bite.

"You keepin' tabs on me?" Daryl asked with a sly grin on his face. Lori chuckled.

"Just wanted to make sure things ran smoothly. I'll be staying home this weekend so you don't need worry about me showing up randomly."

"Ain't worried bout you. Damn parents are pissing me off."

"Oh no! Beth said that everything was fine with her being there," Lori frowned.

"Ain't Beth that's the problem," Daryl spoke down to his plate, and Lori could see his ears start to turn red. She smiled and continued to prode.

"So who's causing issues?"

"Boy's dad, one of the older ones. Was asking my qualifications of teaching the class. 'Bout told him I could shoot his ass from across the field but didn't think you'd 'preciate it."

"Probably not, but if he keeps showing up, let me know," Lori stated. Daryl nodded and cleaned his mouth with the napkin provided. He sat back in his chair and took another swig of his beer.

"Beth seems to like you," Lori absently said which caused Daryl to choke on his beer slightly. She laughed slightly and corrected herself. "I mean as a teacher. She said you're a natural."

"Don't know about that."

"Chase was apparently causing issues in school and they made her enroll him into something."

"Don't seem like it, kid listens."

"You seem to be helping him out then. Well, both of them, really. If Chase was anything like Carl, we were both going insane," Lori said, looking at Rick.

"That's about when my hair started turning grey," Rick added with a smirk.

"Where's the kid's dad?" Daryl asked.

"Don't know. Her emergency contact is her boss and there was no father listed on the paperwork. I frankly don't know how she hasn't gone insane yet," Lori questioned.

"She's tough," It was a true statement. Daryl took notice to her and how protective she was of her son.

"She seems really sweet too," Lori said, looking directly at Daryl.

"What does that mean?"

"Means, maybe you should try and go on a date," Lori challenged. Daryl scoffed at the idea. He didn't have the first clue on what a real date entailed.

"Leave him alone, Lori. Man wants to keep to himself and die alone, then by all means, let him wither away to nothin," Rick joked. Daryl just squinted his eyes, baring daggers into Rick's head.

He continued to laugh.

Daryl could already tell that this class was going to be a lot harder. It was the third week and he wanted to push his students a little further. They trained a little with the bow but then he brought them to a little area to talk about survival. The four boys sat in a circle, while Daryl showed them the various leaves and berries that were okay and brought a sample of some poisonous.

Then, he brought out some rope and twigs and wanted them to learn some knots. The older boys caught on very easily but because of Chase's age, he was having some issues with dexterity and tying knots.

He could see that the more Chase tried, the more frustrated he was becoming. Daryl was all too familiar as he had a bit of a temper growing up, and he was trying his best to diffuse the situation. The teenagers weren't helping either. Josh was making snide comments to the other two, about how he probably wasn't even able to tie his shoes, let alone a knot for a snare.

Daryl was about to cuss the boys out when Chase beat him to it.

"I ain't a baby," he yelled, throwing his materials at them and stomping away. Beth, who was nearby, saw the outburst and went after her son.

"Chase, that was rude," Beth scolded him, as she started walking towards him. Chase spun around and glared at his mother.

"Stop treating me like a baby. Why did you even come? I'm big enough to be here by myself, and you keep ruining everything."

"Chase," Beth said sadly, not wanting to believe he would act out like this, after all the progress he had made.

"No, I don't need you!" He finished his outburst and ran back towards the field. Beth was about to run after him when Daryl stopped her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and followed after him.

"You boys can go back to the buildin', lesson's over today," Daryl scoffed and made his way towards the younger boy. He found him sitting at the targets, playing with grass. He looked back to see Beth hanging back and the older boys making their way back. He quietly made his way to where Chase was and sat down beside him, hanging his arms off his raised knees.

"If you're gonna yell at me, I don't wanna hear it," Chase mumbled.

"Wasn't the plan," they stayed in silence for a few minutes before Daryl got back up and grabbed the bow and arrows from his bag. He held them out for Chase to grab.

Chase looked up at him in confusion. Daryl figured he usually got things taken away from him when he was upset, not given things. The kid carefully got up and grabbed the bow from Daryl's hand. Daryl walked away until he was about ten feet away from the target. Chase followed him, as Daryl still held the arrows.

Once Chase was positioned correctly, Daryl handed him one arrow and stood back to let the child do his thing. He could see Chase visibly relax himself and steady his breathing. He pulled the string and let the arrow sail through the air and hit the target dead on. Instead of praising him, Daryl simply backed up another five feet and waited for Chase to follow him back there.

Daryl once again gave him an arrow and let him shoot. This went on another few times until they were back about thirty five feet. Chase was still hitting the bullseye, shot after shot, but now they were out of arrows. When you looked at the target, it was a bunch of arrows all settled together in the middle and that was something that even impressed Daryl. He held his hand out to Chase and waited for him to put the bow back in his hand.

"You got a talent kid," Daryl said, which only made Chase smile with pride. "Hate to see you waste it by being an ass."

"That's a bad word," Chase chastised him.

"Thought you weren't a baby," Daryl challenged him. Chase's smile dropped and he hung his head. "Can't have you throwing a tantrum when you get upset. Disrupts everyone."

"They were making fun of me," Chase defended himself.

"You let them get under your skin. You gotta act better than that," Daryl simply stated. Chase understood and nodded his head in agreement. "And you best never treat your momma like that ever again."

"I know."

"Nah, I don't think you do. She's busting her ass, trying to give you a good life, and when you say things like that, I don't think you deserve any of it."

Chase sighed deeply. "I just wish that it wasn't just her."

"Can't help it. I lost my mom about your age and my dad was a real piece. I would have given anything to have her back."

"Least you had a dad," Chase muttered and Daryl finally saw the pieces of the puzzle line up. This was the age where kids noticed differences in themselves compared to others. Daryl himself went through this when he was younger, with how poor his family was compared to other kids at his school. Chase's attitude was a direct link to how he viewed himself to others and it was a coping mechanism.

"I get where you're coming from kid. Don't give you an excuse to treat your one parent like shit."

"I guess."

"I don't know what your momma's gonna do to you, but I expect you to treat her a lot better than you did today. If you lash out again, I ain't gonna have you back then."

"But…"

"You best go and apologize to her and do something nice for her when you get home. She deserves it after you went and embarrassed her," Daryl looked into the boy's eyes and let him know he meant business. Rather than talk back, Chase got up and went straight to his mother, who was still standing off to the side. Daryl couldn't hear what was being said, but Chase hugged his mother from around her waist and Beth was biting her lip, trying to control her emotions. She gripped his arms, to hold him back, allowing her to kneel down to his level and she spoke a few words to him. He nodded his head and hugged her again, this time around the neck.

Daryl couldn't help but smirk and start cleaning up his area. He was content that he could set that boy straight and not let his attitude get in the way. He was just grabbing the last of the arrows when he heard a small voice clear their throat. He turned around and almost came face to face with Beth. He was slightly startled and backed up slightly.

"Sorry, I know you want to get going, but I wanted to say thank you for what you did," Beth rushed out, almost like she was nervous.

"Kid just needed some sense knocked into him," Daryl commented.

"I think he's just tired of hearing it from the usual people, so someone new might actually have a chance to get through to him."

"Just made him realize he was being an ass," Daryl said, trying to downplay what he did. He knew that he might have helped the situation, but he didn't want her to think it was only him.

"Well, I appreciate it none the less." Daryl just mumbled and went back to his work, leaving Beth to follow Chase to their car. He couldn't help but catch one final glimpse of them, walking hand and hand down the field. It made his heart beat a little faster and he wondered if maybe he was writing a life like that off for no reason.

Thanks for reading and please review.