A/N - The summer is back and so is this story! :) If anyone is still reading, I would love to hear from you. As well as any new readers! I had a bad case of writers block with it, but I am back!
Daryl wasted no time in getting to the morgue after picking up Rick's frantic call as he had been sat alone in the bar after his meeting with Carol. He hadn't been on duty but he had still been willing to get over there on Rick's request as fast as he could. Daryl had come to realise uniform or not he was always half on the job in their small town, never able to fully relax, and certainly not now with the sinister murder investigation under way. He had a bad feeling about things, really bad, and something was telling him things were only going to get worse.
"Thanks for coming." Rick rushed across the room to greet him as soon Daryl appeared at the entrance to their small town morgue where Lizze Sammuels body was still being held.
"S'fine," Daryl dismissed, his eyes quickly surveying the room in front of him. Rick was joined by his wife and local town doctor Andrea, the forensics specialist Denise and the new trainee deputy Tara.
"Listen you aint going to believe what we've just seen," Rick said alarmingly. He looked as though he had seen a ghost. They all did.
Daryl instinctively shifted his gaze to the body lying motionless on the slab in a zipped up body bag. The room around it was eerily quiet, but there was the stench of blood and death everywhere still, despite it having been there for days now. He grimaced as he looked back to Rick awaiting his explanation…..
…...
"He asked you out on a date?" Amy asked in a little awe as she sipped her drink next to Beth.
Beth blinked coming out of her own little world where she had been daydreaming about Daryl to look at her friend. Amy was still going on about Gareth after she'd spotted his business card in Beth's hand. "Mmm…" Beth muttered in response, not wanting to think about how she was going to have to try and get out of the date Gareth thought they were going on. He had been so damn persuasive, he hadn't taken no for an answer, despite her lame attempt at blowing him out.
"But I'm not gonna go," Beth added casually, taking a small sip from her drink too.
"What?" Amy exclaimed, "Are you crazy? He was gorgeous."
Beth shrugged, "Not really my type, looks aren't everything you know."
"Beth, what has got into you these days? First you turn down Randall's hot friend Dave, now some mega hot guy from the city asks you out and you're acting like it's no big deal. If I didn't know better I'd think…."
"Think what?" Beth cut in brusquely.
"Nothing," Amy shook her head in annoyance.
"There was just something about him, I just didn't get a good vibe," Beth explained, hoping Amy would change the subject, Gareth was the last person she wanted to spend the evening talking about.
Amy looked back at her friend with her mouth gaped open slightly. "Beth, you need to stop making up excuses and just start dating, you're never going to find a man unless you get over whatever hang-ups you have that are stopping you from just going for it with a guy like that."
"I don't have any hang-ups," Beth snapped in irritation. "But, if you like him so much why don't you go on a date with him instead? Your taste in men has always been a little questionable," Beth spat out further, realising instantly that had probably been a little out of line when she saw Amy's hurt face, but it needed to be said all the same. Amy did have terrible taste in men. Before Randall there had been Nicholas who had two timed her and then dumped her, and then there was Aidan the arrogant jerk she had lost her virginity to who had told half the town and then dumped her back at high school, and now she was drooling over Gareth who despite being handsome was clearly another jerk and a little creepy too.
Amy's cheeks reddened in response to Beth's statement as she glared and replied, "Well, I could say the same about you, getting rides from Daryl Dixon."
Beth's eyes narrowed, "What?"
"Andrea said he picked you up from the office the other day?" Amy responded.
"That was a work thing! I had to go over my witness statement with him," Beth was quick to explain sounding defensive.
"Alone in his car?" Amy mocked, raising her perfectly sculpted brows.
"No, actually in the woods," Beth explained, realising as she said it how that sounded.
Amy shook her head and her lips turned up into a slight smirk before she giggled and repeated, "The woods?"
Beth smiled too, "It aint how it sounds," she said, pushing her hair away from her flustered face. "He's not like that."
"All men are like that," Amy responded.
"Nah, not him," Beth said firmly staring down at her drink, wondering how much to actually confide in her friend about the depth of her growing feelings for the sullen deputy and how confused she was by some of his actions.
"Well it's no loss either way, he's a jerk and a hot-head. I remember a time he punched Nicholas in the face in here, just because he'd had a disagreement with his asshole brother Merle over something," Amy said rolling her eyes as she remembered the scene with her ex and the Dixon brothers.
Beth flinched, she knew so little about Daryl's past but she felt certain of the kind of man he was and he was no jerk like some of Amy's previous boyfriends. "He was probably just sticking up for his brother, I really don't think he's like that," Beth dismissed, "And Nicholas probably deserved it anyway."
Beth knew she had really hit a raw nerve then, Amy had never really gotten over Nicholas, but Beth had always known he was bad news, Glenn had hired him as manager for one of his restaurants but he'd had to fire him after he'd caught him stealing from them.
"You never liked Nicholas!" Amy exclaimed as her face turned sour again.
"No," Beth replied, "I didn't. He was a waste of space." It wasn't just the incident at Glenn's restaurant that made her think that either, but Beth wasn't about to tell Amy about the other occasion when Nicholas had put the moves on her behind Amy's back. Beth didn't know Daryl that well, but what she did know of him she couldn't imagine him ever behaving like that.
"Y'know what, I'm tired, and Randall said he might come over when he finishes work one night, so I'm going to head home," Amy grumbled with an even more hurt look on her pretty face.
Beth's eyes widened with concern, she knew she had overstepped the mark now and really upset her friend. Amy had also said earlier that she hadn't heard from Randall for a few days so it was hardly likely he'd keep his word on stopping by to see her any time soon either if he was avoiding her calls, and Beth didn't want her rushing off like this. She reached her hand over to touch her friends, "Amy," she said softly trying to catch her eye.
Amy pulled her hand away from Beth's and looked away from her as Beth detected a few tears sprouting in her eyes. Beth felt terrible, she hated it when they argued.
"I was going to call a cab, we could wait together?" Beth suggested in a friendly tone.
"If it's all the same with you I'd like to walk, I could do with the fresh air," Amy said, clearly still in a huff as she slid off her bar stool. "I'll call you," she said coldly, before walking away.
"Amy wait," Beth yelled after her, remembering what Daryl has said about not wandering around on their own at the moment.
…...
Daryl drove in silence, scarcely able to get his head around Rick's explanation of events, and Andrea's and Denise's and Tara's! Bodies didn't just come back to life, did they?
But apparently this one had. Denise had been working on her own when she had heard growling, she had called Rick and Andrea, and Tara had been on duty. When they had arrived at the morgue they had found Lizzie's cold dead eyes had opened, rabid and bloodshot she had looked at them before she had reached out with her hands to try and grab them, then her eyes had suddenly closed again and she had dropped back dead again like nothing had happened. It made no sense. But, for all four of them to have seen it? Daryl rubbed his beard as he thought it through.
He slowed down and took his foot off the gas slightly as he approached Bob's bar, noticing a familiar blonde stood outside on her own. Beth!
The dick part of him wanted to speed on by, seeing as he wasn't on duty, Rick had just called on him as he had said he was the only person apart from Andrea that he knew he could trust, and seeing Beth now brought back the uncontrollable feelings of slight anger and jealousy Daryl had had experienced earlier when he had clocked her with that smug-looking guy back at the bar. But the decent side to Daryl over-ruled that and he knew he had to put his personal feelings to one side, there was no way he was going to leave her there on her own and not check she was okay.
"Beth," he called out attracting her attention. She looked over immediately and he could see her eyes were worried, she had been crying even. Despite that though she broke into a small forced smile to see him
"What ya doing out here alone?" he asked in a rough gravelly voice, looking at her through his hair.
"It's a long story," she replied a little shakily, biting down on her lip.
"Come on, get in," he jerked his head towards the passenger seat.
Beth felt the smile fade from her face, something about the way he had said that irked her, he wasn't her father or brother, in fact she barely knew him and he had hardly seemed too bothered to see her earlier that evening when his focus had all been on Carol.
But Beth quickly realised she was being ridiculous, Amy was gone, the bar was shut and she was all alone with a nagging irrational feeling that Gareth was going to show up any minute seeing as his hotel was just down the road even though she knew that was slightly ludicrous. But that so, she had still run out of options. Daryl was concerned about her now, that was all.
"Thanks," she hesitantly replied opening the door and getting in next to him, immediately comforted as she was hit with his strong masculine scent as she reached over to do up her seat belt, and it made her feel safe.
"My sister told me never to get into cars with strange men," she joked with a little flirty flick of her mouth and a sparkle in her blue eyes.
"Aint a strange man," Daryl grunted back, catching her eye through his long tousled hair with a smirk.
Beth looked away and her smile widened causing her dimples to appear on her pink cheeks.
"So, you wanna tell me what you were doing out there on your own?" Daryl asked more seriously as they drove away.
Beth sighed and ran a hand through her long hair, "I was with Amy, but she kind of ran out on me and now I don't know where she's gone and she's switched her phone off because she's mad at me. She's been dating this loser guy and I hope she hasn't gone running to him, because…." she broke off and chewed down on her thumbnail, she didn't really feel like giving Daryl the full explanation of what their falling out had been about, seeing as it had involved him.
"I feel like such a bad friend," Beth exclaimed blinking out the window, before she glanced over at him.
"You aint a bad friend," Daryl said kindly, resting his hand on the wheel. "But she's an idiot for going off like that."
"You think she's okay?" Beth asked in a panic. Something about the tone of his voice and his body language told her something was up. The way he had left the bar earlier too, something wasn't quite right, she could tell.
"She's probably fine, but I'll put a call in to Rick when we stop to check she got home okay, he's on duty now so either him or Tara can go over to her place," Daryl said, taking his eyes off the road for a second to look at her.
Beth gave him a grateful smile, she could tell he was trying to be helpful and he wanted her to feel better. But he was so difficult to read. One minute he was moody and standoffish and the next he was behaving like a big ol softie again. "She'll kill me," Beth muttered, thinking how Amy would react if Rick or Tara showed up at her place and woke up her parents, as if things weren't strained enough between them.
He didn't respond.
They drove on across the next stretch of the deserted country roads back to Beth's home in tense silence. Beth wanted to ask him what was up? Where he had been all night? She also wanted to ask him why he had met Carol, but she didn't dare. Daryl wanted to ask her who the guy was she had been with? But he didn't want to appear bothered. It was none of his business, all he was doing now was driving her home safely out of duty as there was a lunatic on the loose and some pretty weird fucking shit happening.
"There you go," Daryl grunted as he pulled up outside the Greene farm.
"Thanks," Beth replied hesitantly, glancing at the farm to see all the lights were off. She undid her seatbelt but she stayed where she was glued to her seat, not wanting to move yet. She looked over at Daryl and her averted her gaze. Beth felt a knot form in her stomach, he was different to how he had been with her on other recent occasions. Back in the woods going over the crime scene, and then the night back when the body had been discovered and she had stayed up talking to him and getting to know him, he had been more open with her. Now he seemed stiff and a little awkward again, like he was closed off.
"What's going on, Daryl?" she asked in a voice so quiet it was almost a whisper, her wide blue eyes searching for his. That question had a double meaning.
He didn't reply but he met her gaze with a deep expressive stare.
"Something's not right is it?" she whispered.
Daryl swallowed hard, he had sworn to Rick he wouldn't mention anything to anyone about their conversation earlier. "We just all need to be extra careful at the moment," he eventually responded. "Shouldn't be anything to worry bout then," he tried to brush off.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," she uttered in a delicate and sweet voice and fluttering her long lashes she kept her eyes on his rough and handsome face.
Daryl felt a tingle spread through him with the way she was looking at him, he was aware that she had inched a little closer to him now too, she was so damn close it was driving him a little crazy. She smelled perfect like strawberries and vanilla, so damn good he could almost taste her. They stayed like that for a second, before he retracted. He remembered how he had felt when he had seen her earlier on her date, and he wasn't about to make an idiot out of himself here. His guard had to be up.
Beth's face filled with disappointment, surely he could read the signals she was giving off? She liked him, more than a lot, the way her insides fluttered when he was near her and her body filled with a rush of electricity when he looked at her, it drove her wild. They were alone together now and it felt right to be close to him.
"What is it?" she asked shakily. "Have I done something to piss you off?"
His face twisted into a slight scowl that she even needed to ask that. "Nah," he shrugged.
"You didn't talk to me earlier either at the bar?' she questioned, not letting him off the hook that easily.
"You kinda looked busy," he grunted.
Beth's eyes suddenly widened as she realised he had thought she had been on a date with Gareth, that was it. But could he really be jealous? Was that was this was about? That single thought almost made her smile. He was pissed with her because he thought she was dating another guy.
"I wasn't," she explained. 'In fact I was trying to think of anything I could to get rid of that pushy drugs rep."
Daryl was silent still but he couldn't hide the relieved and slightly pleased look from his face, giving away his emotions. It had been a drugs rep she had been sat with, not a boyfriend.
"Honestly they try anything they can to get round me sometimes to get in with Andrea, but that guy was something else," Beth continued to explain.
Daryl shrugged, his face was serious but his eyes gave away the sudden rush of relief he was experiencing, taking himself by surprise with the effect this girl was having on him. He wasn't convinced making sales had been the only thing on that smug guy's mind, but Daryl was pretty satisfied that Beth wasn't interested in that, which was all that mattered.
They stared at each other for a moment more.
"It's late I should go," Beth said quietly.
"Yeah," Daryl agreed.
"Thanks again," Beth said and she leaned in quickly to kiss his stubbly cheek, and before she knew what she was doing with trembling fingers she reached for his hand too.
He didn't flinch or pull away, instead he welcomed her touch as he tightened her grip, linking his fingers in hers, inviting her to move into him further, and blood rushed around his body as he becoming charged with sexual awareness all of a sudden. Slowly and cautiously Beth moved her lips in to find his, her whole body trembling now as she moved her other hand up to touch his muscular bicep and she started to kiss him with passion. Daryl's hand gently caressed her lower back as he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, just as his phone went off….
He broke away from her with a shy apologetic smile, "I have to.."
"It's fine," Beth whispered, blushing.
"Yeah," Daryl answered putting his phone to his ear, swiping at his hair with the back of his hand and trying to compose himself to take the call.
It was Tara and she was speaking extra loudly, "Dixon, we need you, we got another body!"
A/N - Thanks for reading! Please review if you want to read more as it helps to motivate me! Also a heads up to anyone not logging in to read, this story will be moving to an M rating in the next chapter or so :) Hope that's okay with everyone?