Okay, so this chapter is a very important cornerstone in this story, so I honestly hope you guys enjoy it. It is also longer and, even though I enjoyed every second of writing it, it was a difficult one. Make sure to tell me what you think, and thank you everyone for your support. :)

All Beth remembers from the remainders of that day is that Daryl stayed with her until doctor had arrived and then left, while Beth's head felt like it was going to explode, and she was going to burn from inside out. She doesn't like to think about that though, it's much better to let her mind wander off to the moments of Daryl hugging her, or carrying her, or just holding her hand. Those moments make the sickness worth it.

She is much better now, and Maggie even allows her to come downstairs, as long as she lays down on the couch. Maggie hasn't said a word about Daryl's sudden appearance that day, and it doesn't seem like she is going to, and Beth can't even express how grateful she is for that. The last thing she wants is having to explain herself to her sister. It's not like she doesn't know what Maggie would have to say, anyway. 'What were you thinking?', or 'Why do you always let him hurt you?', or 'How many times is he going to break your heart until he breaks you completely?' Something along the lines of what every overprotective sister should say in a similar situation. Beth is not sure whether she has strength (or will, for that matter) to cope with that right now.

As Beth slowly gets better, she can't stop herself from glancing at her cell phone occasionally, praying for one particular name to appear on the screen. Maggie notices it sometimes and gives her sister a look of judgement, but Beth always shrugs nonchalantly in response. It's not like Maggie to hold grudges, but Beth sees where she is coming from. She definitely does. The phone never rings though, and as two weeks pass – in which Beth recovers completely – she loses all hope she had at the beginning.

With a lot of moral judgements and rationality put into it, she decides not to get angry – he helped her when he didn't have to, after all. What seems like a brilliant idea pops into her head, and the first thing she does when she is able to spend her day out of bed, is bake cookies. Beth remembers he used to like chocolate chip cookies the best and she smiles and sings to herself while she bakes. As Maggie gives her a happy smile for seeing her up and well, Beth offers her a shrug and a tight hug. She loves Maggie and seeing her so worried about her well-being makes her love her sister even more.

Beth puts a lot of effort in baking these cookies – making sure that they are all almost the same size and have equals amounts of chocolate in them – and it takes her ages to make them, but she enjoys every second of it. That reminds her of how her mama use to say that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Beth chuckles at that and shakes her head. She doubts it will make Daryl warm up to her.

When the cookies are done with, and have cooled off on the counter, she puts them in a Tupperware container with a blue lid. Heading towards the front door, she bumps into Maggie, who has just been upstairs in their daddy's room and is now coming to the kitchen with a dirty plate in her hands.

'Where are you going with that?' Maggie asks, and Beth once again hears that protective tone in her voice.

This time, however, she is not irritated – it only makes her smile.

'To thank the man who brought me home unconscious. His name is Daryl, remember him?' Beth answers her question patiently, refusing to lie.

'Yes, I remember him very well. He also reminds me of the man who broke your heart two years ago.'

Beth's smile tightens.

'I know that. And I'm not going there to let him do it to me again. I just want to thank him for his act of kindness.'

Maggie sets the plate on the counter none too gently and crosses her arms.

'Oh, and whose act of kindness will you need next time when you are heartbroken and crying in the middle of the night?' she says.

Beth's smile drops now and she sighs heavily.

'You don't know what you are talking about, Maggie,' she says and decides that maybe it is time to tell her sister what happened that night. She nods at the table and they both sit down, and it seems like Maggie is all ears. 'Jimmy showed up at two in the morning,' Beth starts fiddling with her nails, still feeling extremely guilty about hurting her friend's feelings. He has been avoiding her recently and Beth didn't say or do anything, deciding not to dwell on it. 'He wanted to talk.'

'About what?' Maggie asks with no sign of impatience, and something tells Beth that she already knows the answer.

'About his feelings… for me. He said it's obvious that I'm unhappy and he can't believe that I'm still in love with the same man.'

'And that's why you were crying? Because you still love Daryl?' Maggie frowns.

'No. I was crying because I hurt Jimmy,' Beth reassures her sister. 'And because I love Daryl too,' she then quickly adds. 'But,' she cuts Maggie off, seeing that she has something to say about it, 'you are officially not allowed to comment on this because it's not like I can control what I feel.'

That makes Maggie keep quiet for a few moments, and it seems like maybe – just maybe – she is starting to understand Beth's reasoning. Beth finds herself hoping desperately that she does because she is extremely tired of this. Tire of everything, for that matter.

'You know,' Maggie speaks up, and this time her voice sounds much softer. 'I used to imagine that you'd marry a nice farm boy like Jimmy. You'd have a hoard of running and screaming kids, and we'd need a bigger dining table for family dinners. I always thought that would make you happy.'

'I still can be happy, Maggie.'

'Yeah, let's just hope you don't stay like this forever.'

Beth takes her sister's hand as she feels her heart ache when she understands Maggie's sometime aggressive behaviour. It hurts her when Beth is unhappy, and just that thought makes Beth love her sister more than anyone.

Except maybe Daryl, and she hates herself for that sometimes.

Coming into the garage's office, Beth instantly prickles at the thought of seeing Amy again. It almost stops her from doing it, and she moves to spin away to leave, when she hears the familiar voice, and that's enough to make her freeze to the spot.

'Beth? What are you doing here?'

It's Daryl and he surely sounds surprised, but not annoyed or (much worse) angry. She turns around and blushes like a school girl caught at writing a love note to her crush.

'I just… I brought you these,' Beth says and hands him container with the cookies. Maggie did let her ago, but only after they had a long sister bonding conversation. But as long as she doesn't let Daryl hurt her. Again. 'Just wanted to thank you for being there on time to… take me home,' she manages to finish the sentence and feels her cheeks heat up even more, and she can't remember when was the last time she blushed so hard. Beth almost looks down but for some reasons feels compelled to keep her chin up, not taking her eyes off him.

'Ain't nothin'' Daryl says but accepts the cookies, and only now that she realises how close he is standing. He doesn't even need to stretch his arm out to take the container from her.

Beth hears a phone ringing in the office, and remembering about Amy sitting there makes her feel very insecure about her appearance. She knows she is pretty – she was told plenty of times – but thinks she doesn't have enough shape. Maybe that's why Daryl is not interested in her in that way. Amy, on the other hand, does have some womanly curves to her figure, and Beth can't help but wonder if Daryl likes that about her. She remembers what she is wearing – a yellow floral dress with a neckline a little lower than usual – and she hopes that Daryl likes it.

Beth realises that they have been standing there silently, just looking at each other, and that makes her feel even more uncomfortable. What if she is just annoying him?

'You didn't call,' she hears her own voice and places her palm over her mouth, surprised she dared to say that. She has no right to accuse him of indifference.

'Maggie told me you were getting better. I just didn't want to disturb ya,' Daryl says in a gruff, low voice that sends shivers down her spine.

'You…' Beth trails, for the first time in her life not knowing how to vocalise what's on her mind, and just hopes that he understands. He does because he gives her a nod, and that makes Beth's heart hasten.

'Can we talk?' Daryl asks.

Those three words make Beth's heart race even faster, clamouring for escape inside her. She offers him a nod in response, and as he heads back into the garage and towards the back door with Beth following him, she remembers how she used to just show up like this to see him and they would sit in lawn chairs at the back. Two years ago, it seemed like he was happy to see her, and thinking that it wasn't real makes Beth feel like a complete fool. Shawn always says that her face is like an open book because it gives away everything, and maybe that's why she never expects other people to lie or pretend.

As they sit down, Beth realises she can't manage to look at him, and she concentrates on her nails, as he lights up a cigarette.

'Beth,' he says after a few long moments of silence.

'Yes?' she echoes and looks up, and the sudden warmth in his eyes gives her those butterflies she missed so much in past two years.

He doesn't say anything for some time, just looking at her with such intense gaze she starts to worry. What is he going to say? That he feels sorry for her, but he will never be interested? Or worse, that he is seeing someone and she can't just show up at his work like this? One thought worse than another, she starts to shiver again, although she is pretty sure that this time fever has nothing to do with it.

'What made you get sick?' he asks, and that's the last thing she expected him to say.

'Uhm…' she tries her best to concentrate on his question rather than his dark blue eyes. 'I got stuck in pouring rain, but…' Beth doubts she should tell him the real reason but decides to just do it because she is not used to lying or hiding things from others. 'The doctor said it was mainly due to stress and mental exhaustion.'

He lets out an exasperated sigh and runs his hand through his hair.

'Shit, I'm sorry, Beth,' he says, looking anywhere but her.

That surprises Beth. Not that he knows he was the reason of her so-called breakdown but because he seems to genuinely regret it. Beth feels a sudden rush of adrenaline as her heart speeds up, and she doesn't know what to say. Again.

'It's… it's not your fault,' she stutters out. 'I can't blame you for not loving me. But I appreciate that you were honest back then, and…'

Beth stops halfway through her sentence, when he looks up, and she feels goosebumps on her skin again.

'I just hoped you'd be happier once I let you go,' Daryl says.

Beth can swear she feels her heart break into thousand pieces once again, and she didn't even know it could hurt so much. She immediately feels tears run down her cheeks as she gets up and slaps him across the face in a sharp, abrupt movement. Her fingers tremble and her hand is burning after that, and she almost starts feeling guilty because she has never hit anyone, but hot pain inside her stops her from feeling bad.

'Don't you dare say you did that for me!' she exclaims, looking down at him as he remains in his seat. 'Meeting you and falling in love with you were the best things that ever happened to me, and I told you that I loved you so many times, so you couldn't possibly think that losing you would make me happy! Don't make this about me, you only did that for yourself!' it is hard to finish the sentence because she is choking on tears and sobbing hard but she manages and turns to run away, when he stops her.

Daryl spins her around so that she is looking at him, and Beth sees something in his eyes. Something she used to see back when she thought he could feel something to her. Something she used to see when she would tell him she loved him.

Her thoughts are interrupted when he pulls her and she nearly stumbles before falling into his arms, and then he presses his lips to hers. She starts kissing him back instantly, feeling the taste of her own tears on his mouth, and it suddenly feels like two years that they spent apart never happened. Like he never broke her heart or said those horrible words. Like he can really love her back.

Beth can still feel tears running down her cheeks when she puts her arms around his middle, pulling him closer, dreaming of this moment to last forever. As he brushes his tongue over her lower lips, she shudders and starts kissing him even more hungrily, as if trying to express her desperate need of his love in a kiss. All the electricity is there, only now it feels heightened, and she thinks that it might be one of the consequences of two endless years away from him. Vicious and painful thoughts of what will happen when this is over start to pop into her head, but she refuses to let them in. She decides to pretend that his feelings for her are real and she embraces that fantasy, as her senses explode with delight.

Beth feels Daryl's hand touch her neck and move lower, slipping the spaghetti strap of her dress off her shoulder. She flinches at that, but doesn't stop kissing him, and it's then that she realises: she will let him do anything, even right now. At no point does she remember that they can be interrupted any second, or that she promised Maggie to stay away from him. All she can think of is his lips on her lips, his palm sliding down from her shoulder to her collarbone, and then to her cleavage. In passing, she thanks providence that she chose to wear this particular dress today. Daryl does seem to like it (or at least that's what she tells herself).

When Daryl breaks the kiss (since they both have to breathe in at least some air), Beth is afraid to open her eyes at first. She is too afraid to look at him and see regret on his face. Or sorrow. Beth knows, however, that she will have to face him eventually, so she slowly opens her eyes and flinches when he leans in and starts kissing her again. This kiss is different though, more careful and gentle, and Beth's heart jerks painfully in her chest at the love he seems to put in it. Although she knows it's not what she dares to hope, it is something more than indifference. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been kissing her… right?

As he pulls away again, she can't help but keep her eyes closed for a few more moments, trying to memorise the taste of his lips. Her cheeks are still wet with tears, but she is not crying anymore. She is too happy at the moment.

'I'm sorry, Beth,' he says, and her heart drops.

'For what?' she asks, praying that she is mistaken. She refuses to believe he is going to apologize for kissing her. She is afraid her heart will not survive that amount of pain.

'For pushing you away.'

Beth realises that she is lost and has no idea what to say to that. He can't possibly mean that. Can he?

'What do you-'

'Daryl!' she hears Amy's voice and steps away from Daryl, adjusting the strap on her shoulder in a useless attempt of pretending that they did was just talk. She looks at Daryl and realises that it's more than obvious: his lips are red and swollen, and she imagines she doesn't look much different. They are both panting, still trying to calm down. 'Your break is over, and there is a client…'

'I'll be there in a minute,' he says in a low voice that makes Beth shudder again. In a painful déjà vu, Beth watches Amy give him a smile and leave with obvious reluctance.

'Did you…' Beth begins to ask, but doesn't get the opportunity to finish off her sentence.

'No,' Daryl cut her off. 'Was never anything like that between me and Amy.'

'What about others?' she can't stop herself.

'There was no others.'

Beth closes her eyes as her heart painfully skips a beat.

'There wasn't anyone for me either,' she feels the need to say. 'It's always been you.'

Beth notices Daryl's gaze darken again, and then he presses his lips to her in a quick but passionate kiss. He turns to leave and heads for the door, when she stops him.

'Daryl,' she says, and he looks at her as she picks up the container he left on the table. 'You forgot the cookies,' Beth comes closer and, when handing it to him, stands up on her tiptoes and kisses him gently one more time. It sends shivers down her spine, and when she pulls away, his eyes meet hers. 'Will you call me?' she asks, before she can get herself to keep quiet again.

He seems to think about it for a few moments.

'Yeah,' he says, and when she breaks into a bright smile she sees him smile too.

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