Beth peered down the empty road. The only noises that punctuated the air were the sheep grazing by the fence.

"So what kind of car is it?" Beth asked Daryl, who was clipping their…his helmets to the bike. Beth had to remind herself that the helmet she'd worn didn't belong to her.

"S'got four wheels. Steering wheel. Runs on gas." He replied deadpan, standing up once he'd make sure the bike was secure.

Beth rolled her eyes. "Funny." But she couldn't stop a small smile breaking through. They had parked at the gate, at a farm similar to Beth's. The drive had been pleasant, the sun shining and blue sky as far as the eye could see. The rain earlier that week had disappeared, and the sunlight had thankfully been lapping at its heels.

"Looks like it's a bit of a walk," Daryl squinted in the sunlight up the driveway, which like Beth's, was more of a dirt road.

Daryl opened the gate for Beth, shutting it behind them before they began making their way towards the house.

"So who's watching the shop today?" Beth asked. She still hadn't seen Martinez around, and it had been a long time now. Usually he came by the diner for lunch or something, but nothing for months was a little weird.

"Had to hire a guy. Useless sack'a…" he cleared his throat, glancing sidelong at Beth who looked at him amused.

"Wheat?"

Daryl's lip quirked. "Shit."

Beth nodded. "Uh huh."

"Name's Axel…knows nothin' about everythin' he said he knew."

"And you left him running the place?" Beth furrowed her brow. She hoped that she hadn't put him out by going out today.

"Pretty quiet at the moment…he'll take bookings, change some windscreen wipers or somethin'," Daryl shrugged.

Beth tilted her head. "What if he does more than that?"

"He'd better pray he doesn't." Daryl's tone was rougher than gravel, making Beth run her eye over his profile.

"You're a pretty good mechanic, huh?"

He glanced at her sharply, before shrugging. Beth took that as a yes.

"Do you own the Auto Shop, or does your brother?" Beth asked.

Daryl glanced at the ground as they continued walking. "M'brother owns it."

Beth nodded thoughtfully as they continued walking the dirt path.

There was no barn like at the Greene farm, only a few small sheds, but their land was vastly bigger than the Greene's. They walked up the steady incline, Beth thinking more about Daryl's family than why they were even at this person's house.

"My brother moved away," Beth said suddenly, as it occurred to her that she'd never gotten to tell him.

Daryl squinted at her. "Ya miss him?"

Beth nodded a little glumly. "The house is so quiet now. I thought it was quiet when Maggie left, but Shawn is the loudest one out of all of us."

"He'll visit."

"Yeah, but…it's not the same."

"Your sister still datin' that Chinese kid?"

Beth narrowed her eyes. "He's Korean."

"Whatever," Daryl replied, shrugging dismissively. Beth shook her head, and remained silent until Daryl looked at her again before rolling his eyes.

"That Korean kid?"

Beth arched an eyebrow. "Yeah…why?" She asked curiously.

"Nothin'…seen him around," he peered at the dirt road ahead of them, rolling his shoulder.

Beth furrowed her eyebrows, glancing at him as they approached the house before she remembered her birthday.

"Oh yeah, he said you helped him out once!" She smiled at him. He merely grunted, which she took as confirmation of this account. "He suggested you," she nodded at him, smiling.

"That right?" Daryl asked, squinting as he looked around them.

"Yep," Beth replied.

Daryl glanced at her. "You wouldn'tve come 100 yards near me otherwise," he stated, sounding certain. Beth was starting to get a read on him though.

"That's not true," she told him quietly. She wished he'd let down his walls some time. Her heart ached a little when she saw how damaged he was, and how concrete his defence mechanism was in place.

They reached the house, and once they were standing on the veranda Daryl knocked on the door heavily. After a few moments, a middle aged man came to the door.

He introduced himself as Nelson, and took them to the shed where he kept the car.

It was a large sedan, and already Beth couldn't see herself driving it. Daryl glanced at her and from the look on his face, she knew that he couldn't either.

They decided to take it for a test drive anyway.

Beth walked around to the passenger side but stopped when Daryl followed her, placing his hand on the door to stop her from opening it.

"You're gonna drive," he told her in a low voice.

Beth nodded, sighing. She didn't really want to but she knew it made more sense.

She got in the car, sitting behind the steering wheel and looked at the gear stick a little apprehensively. She had driven a stick shift before but only once or twice, and to say she had stalled a few times was an understatement.

Daryl got in the passenger side, and caught her looking at the gear stick.

"Know how to drive stick?"

"Yeah, I'm just...a little rusty." Beth replied defensively.

Nelson stayed behind, and Beth got off to a bad start, stalling the car twice. If she had expected Daryl to get frustrated, she would have been wrong. He only made suggestions softly, keeping an eye on her feet, leaning over to see what she was doing. Beth found it hard to focus when he leaned in, and honestly it was probably the reason she stalled the second time. Eventually though they were driving along the driveway, and Daryl tried to turn on the radio. When it didn't work, he tried the CD player, which didn't work either.

"Try parking it between them two trees," Daryl gestured at two trees that were close together off the dirt road.

Beth found it difficult with the high back of the car as she couldn't see very well, and by the time they brought the car back around to the shed Beth had decided not to get the car.

They thanked Nelson, and started walking back to the bike.

"So somethin' small?" Daryl asked, as they made their way back up the hill.

"Yeah, not a sedan. A little hatchback or something," Beth said.

When they got back to the bike, Daryl unclipped her...his helmet and gave it to her.

"Y'hungry?" He asked.

"Starvin'." Beth smiled at him.

.

.

They pulled in to a diner off the highway, the feeling of the bike familiar to Beth now but no less thrilling.

A bell chimed as they walked in. It was a busy diner, with quite a few families eating lunch.

Daryl chose one of the few free booths over in the corner.

Beth snuck a couple of glances at the table next to them. There was a young girl, who couldn't have been older than nine or ten, and her rather dour looking mother. The young girl had a gigantic milkshake with whipped cream and a cherry on top. Beth had only ever seen that before in cartoons and movies. She watched as the girl sipped it daintily through the straw, scoffing internally. Beth would be inhaling that milkshake, scooping the cream up. Didn't kids have any fun anymore?

She glanced at Daryl who was examining the menu, and turned her focus back on what she would order. She debated whether or not she should order the milkshake…would it seem like a kids thing? Daryl would probably be ordering a beer.

"You folks ready to order?" A robust woman strode over to them, whipping her pen and pad out of her apron.

"Yes, can I please get…the club sandwich?" Beth smiled at the woman, who nodded.

"Steak and fries," Daryl ordered. "And two of them milkshakes," he jerked his chin at the girl at the table next to them, who looked at them darkly. The woman nodded as she walked away, jotting down their orders.

She fought back a giggle as Daryl glared back at the young girl. Beth's smile turned softer as the young girl's scowl slipped a little, and her mouth twitched. Daryl smirked at her as though he'd accomplished his goal, before sitting back in his seat, catching Beth's eye who regarded him warmly.

"Didn't take you for a milkshake man," she said. Beth had nearly done a double take when he had ordered them.

"Saw you lookin' at it like you were gonna steal it."

Beth giggled. So she hadn't been quite as sneaky as she thought she had. "So that made you want one too?"

Daryl was momentarily saved from answering by the waitress. "Here you go," she said as she placed the steak knife on the table for Daryl.

Once she'd walked away, Daryl smirked at Beth. "Nothin' wrong with milkshakes. 'Sides, wouldn't want you to get in trouble or anything."

Beth narrowed her eyes. Daryl continued to simply smirk, glancing around the diner. She knew he was having a little bit of a dig at how much of a goody two-shoes she was.

"Very funny," Beth all but pouted.

Daryl chewed the inside of his cheek for a second.

"You can have the cherry on mine." He offered, his lip quirking.

"Afraid I'll steal that too?" Beth asked tartly.

Daryl shrugged slightly, still smirking infuriatingly.

"What if I don't want your cherry?" Beth asked.

Daryl shrugged again, looking back at Beth. "Don't have it then."

Beth paused. "Can I still have it?" She asked, looking sheepish.

He drummed his fingers on the table. "Maybe."

.

Beth saw the tray of milkshakes being carried out by the waitress first and sat up straighter in her seat, causing Daryl to raise his eyebrows slightly before the woman reached Daryl's side.

"Two chocolate milkshakes," the woman announced, as though they hadn't just ordered them ten minutes ago.

"Thank you," Beth smiled as the milkshake was set down in front of her. Daryl nodded to the woman as she set his milkshake down, and as she walked away he plucked the cherry from the top of the milkshake, dropping it next to the one on top of the whipped cream in Beth's shake.

"All yours."

Beth leaned forward, humming in enjoyment before plucking one of the bright red cherries from the whipped cream, placing it in her mouth and pulling on the stem.

Daryl left his milkshake untouched as he watched Beth swirl the cherry around in her mouth, her lips pursed. He picked up the straw from his shake and dropped it on the table, eyes on Beth as he brought the glass to his mouth. Beth continued chewing the cherry until she swallowed, her pink tongue darting out to lick her lips. She looked up at Daryl, feeling his eyes on her.

"Sure you don't want one? They're so sweet."

He didn't reply.

.

"I'll get somethin' sorted out soon, this rate you'll have graduated before we find one you like," Daryl said before wiping his mouth with his hand.

Beth slowed her chewing, nodding. She wondered briefly what would happen once she did buy a car...if she would see Daryl at all.

"Maybe next weekend," Daryl continued, before shoving a massive piece of steak in his mouth as he glanced around the diner.

Beth swallowed, shaking her head. "Not next weekend...oh, Sunday would be all right actually," she said.

Daryl continued chewing for a moment before glancing up at her. "Busy Saturday?"

"It's my friend Vanessa's birthday. She's having a big party at her house." It would be the first party Beth would be going to in months and just about everyone was going, not just Vanessa's friends but her relatives and family friends as well. Even Beth's father had been invited.

Daryl grunted, resuming eating. He then dipped his finger in the whipped cream on top of his milkshake, scooping it out before sucking it off his finger, momentarily distracting Beth.

"Uh...did you have any big birthday parties...like for your twenty-first or something?" She asked, curiously.

For a second she wondered if he would reply, but he seemed to consider her question.

"Twenty-first...got pretty wasted. Been doing that for years though. Merle was in the army." He shrugged. "Just went to some dive bar...don't remember much."

"Oh."

Daryl chewed on his steak, already slicing the cut of meat up for another mouthful. Beth wondered again about Daryl's relationship with his brother Merle, realising that he hadn't been present in much of Daryl's life when he was younger. Regardless of her opinion of Merle, they clearly shared a strong bond. She knew it must be incredibly hard for him without his older brother around. On the other hand, she knew that without him around he could start making decisions for himself...and from his decisions regarding her, she only wanted more.

"Have you visited your brother much?" Beth asked, eyes on her sandwich. This was obviously a touch-and-go subject, but she would tread lightly and only as far as he seemed comfortable. She looked up through her eyelashes to see Daryl shake his head before taking a long drink of his milkshake.

"Haven't seen 'im," he replied, once he'd swallowed.

Beth blinked. She hadn't expected that.

"At all?"

He shrugged. "Nope."

Beth fiddled with the remnants of her sandwich, pushing bits of salad around with her fork.

"Well, I'm sure he'd like to see you."

Daryl was in the midst of stabbing another piece of steak when he paused, letting his fork stand idly in the piece of meat.

"There ain't anythin' we have to say to each other." He said tightly, glaring at Beth who stared back wide eyed.

"I just...I thought, you were close, that's all," she stammered. He looked momentarily pained as she spoke, and she wished she could backtrack to when they were just ordering milkshakes.

"You know nothin' about it," he muttered dismissively. Beth felt annoyance flare up inside her. That was the second time he'd said that to her. If no one asked the hard questions, Daryl would never move beyond his past.

"I know he's the only family you have left," she said insistently. "And vice versa!" So much for treading lightly, Beth thought belatedly.

"He told me not to come!" Daryl snapped, glaring at Beth. She felt her heart skip a beat as she stared at him in shock. Some of the other patrons in the diner had started to look over at their table but neither of them noticed.

"He said that?"

"Told Martinez." Daryl growled.

Beth sat back in her chair, absorbing this information. "So...you don't actually know if he said that?"

Daryl stared back at her silently, his eyes flickering down and back up to meet Beth's gaze.

"Do you know what he actually said?" Beth asked, as delicately as she could. He clenched his jaw before shaking his head.

"Said not to come...for a while. That's it. No fuckin' explanation."

Beth felt a little out of her depth for a moment. Daryl and Merle's relationship was surely more complicated than any familial dynamic she had ever come across before, and without the whole picture she was at a total loss. Additionally, she didn't think very highly of Merle. The only reason he was of any importance to her was that he was important to Daryl. She found the way he treated Daryl abhorrent, and if it was true that he told Daryl not to visit, she wasn't sure if Daryl should visit him. She understood how much it would have hurt to hear that your only family said something like that. But the only way to find out and resolve this was if they spoke to each other.

"Well it's been a while now, you could go see him," she said tentatively. "And screw whatever Martinez says anyway."

Daryl caught her eye at that, his face softening.

"Beth...I don't know," he picked up his knife and fork again. "Too much shit has happened."

Beth watched him eat for a moment. "Well, how about I go with you?"

Daryl took his eyes off his meal then, the piece of meat he had just stabbed sliding slowly off his fork and falling back on to his plate.

"Ain't gonna happen," he said. "That suppose 'ta motivate me?"

"Why not?" Beth asked, feeling a little taken aback.

"I take you to a prison, your Daddy would put me in one." He paused. "Either that or the hospital." He resumed eating as though he considered the matter settled.

Beth had to agree with the sentiment there, although she truly doubted that her father could achieve either.

"He doesn't have to know, I could just say we're looking at a car."

He glanced up at her wryly, and she knew he was thinking about their argument by that lake. Funny how looking for a car had become a possible cover. Beth shrugged to his unspoken objection.

"It's not like I'm going into the prison with you, I'll just…come along for the ride, keep you company." Moral support, she thought, though she wouldn't say. Everyone needed someone in situations like this, Beth surmised.

Daryl finished chewing his mouthful of steak, swallowing heavily. The very motion of which caused Beth to swallow. When her eyes snapped back to his face, to her surprise, he smirked at her.

"I'll make you a deal."

Beth sat up straight, and made a show of rolling up her sleeves. "All right, hit me."

He ignored that, looking like he might roll his eyes. "You tell Hershel you're going with me, to the prison, and I'll let you come along."

"You mean, if I tell my Daddy, you'll go at all?" Beth said dryly.

He shrugged. "That's the deal."

Beth did have to admit, her father wouldn't love the idea. But she thought Daryl perhaps overestimated her father's reach.

She hummed, before sighing heavily, looking downcast.

He tilted his head lazily. "Y'reckon he'll say yes, dontcha?"

Beth dropped the act and nodded, a sly smile spreading across her face. "I reckon he will...not that I'll be asking him," she told him with a meaningful look.

Daryl nodded, acknowledging that fact as true. Beth did not need to ask her father's permission, but it was important to be honest with her father.

They continued eating, Daryl still finishing his meal first as Beth picked at her side of salad. They paid the bill, Daryl allowing Beth to pay half, and walked outside to his bike.

"Y'know, ya might not think you're a good person, but I already have one piece of evidence," Beth told him, watching him as he unhooked a helmet.

"Uh huh...what's that?" He asked, squinting at her as he stood up.

"You won't even let me go with you 'less I tell my Daddy the truth," Beth poked him in the chest for emphasis, seizing the opportunity as he held the helmet in both his hands.

"Cos I won't let you lie when I take you to the prison?" He repeated dryly, pushing the helmet towards her, seemingly unmoved by her poke.

"Ye-AH!" Beth squealed, a jolt going through her body. As she had lifted the helmet up, Daryl had seized his opportunity to poke her in the stomach.

She rubbed her stomach as she glared up at him sheepishly, while he only raised his eyebrows, bending down to unclip his other helmet.

"Sensitive huh," he nodded to her.

"You just caught me off guard," Beth retorted, now waiting for him to get on the bike before she put her helmet on.

"Didn't used to care," he said suddenly, catching Beth's attention.

"I know," she replied shortly. "But you do now."

He looked down at the helmet in his hands, before he straddled the bike, giving her a sidelong glance. "C'mon," he said.

Beth quickly put the helmet on and followed him on to the bike, settling against him. He had poked her quite firmly and she could still feel where his finger had jabbed her.

Daryl tipped his visor up, glancing back at her. "Ready?"

"Ready," Beth affirmed, before shutting the helmet visor.

A/N: Hello again! Got back to Australia yesterday, and very glad to be home :)

I don't know where the cherry thing came from, hopefully that didn't come off too badly...I wrote that bit a few weeks ago but funnily enough, whilst overseas a few days ago we were at breakfast and I got a milkshake that looked exactly as I had envisioned it to look. Turns out maraschino cherries aren't that nice (at least I didn't think so), but I left it in anyway.

Lastly, thank you all for your follows, favourites, reviews and for reading! It is always appreciated.