A/N: Soo, this chapter is a little slow. I apologize for that. I needed some minor character development, and this is setting some other things up for later. I super appreciate all of the reviews, the favorites, and the follows. You guys are spectacular. I even got a reviewer from Brazil! (I google translated your comment, too, and I really appreciate the great review!) I hope you all enjoy the rest of the story. The good news is, because I get excited and write chapters sporadically, I already have a couple more chapters all written and ready to post- they're just not next in line to be posted. So at least you won't have to wait forever, right? =)

Anyway, here is chapter 4. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

The weather in Georgia was somewhat hard for Beth to get used to. It was closing in on October, and for a whole week, the sky had broken open and tried to wash them off the face of the planet. After that, though, the next few days were rain-free, and it took another couple of days for the land to dry back out. Beth had finally been able to get her car out of its predicament, sunk 4 inches deep in mud. There were dried gouges now left in her driveway, and for the few days after, she kept it parked in her front yard. It looked terrible, and she was positive it wasn't good for what little grass she had, but she couldn't afford to have the Audi get trapped again. She'd finally found a buyer for her in Atlanta.

That Saturday morning, Beth skipped out onto her porch wearing a pair of jeans, some brown boots, and a light purple sweater pulled over a tank top. Layers were the key to this weather, she had decided. She also had a light jacket and a raincoat thrown over her arm, just in case. She locked up her cabin, briefly peering through her own front window, ridiculously pleased with how well the interior was coming along.

She stopped and stared at her beautiful dark blue Audi for a minute before walking down the steps of her porch and getting in. She did love that car; it had been a dream of hers to own that car. When she got the internship at one of the largest Chicago-based ad agencies around, she had been ecstatic. Things were panning out perfectly. She'd driven the little red car her dad had given her when she first turned 16; a car which had belonged to her sister before her, and their brother before that. It had never started real well in the cold, and during the winter she had to hike through the snow to the L-train to get to work every morning. Even after she was one of only three interns that they offered full-time positions to, though, Beth had held on to that little red car, and had thrown money into an account to save up for a down-payment on the car she wanted. She bought her Audi used, since brand-new cars lose so much value right after you drive them off of the lot anyway, but it had only been a few years old, and had an older owner who hadn't driven it much. She had cried the day she brought the Audi home, just one more successful endeavor in her life that she worked hard until she achieved it.

And now, only three years later, with the car nearly paid off, she was selling it. She hadn't really wanted to, but she convinced herself that it was for the best. Despite her well-paying job, the payments were still pretty high, and driving through her new environment required a much tougher vehicle. Keeping the Audi just wasn't practical. Beth's beautiful car would have to just live a happy life with a new owner in Atlanta. This morning, that's just where she was headed.

Last Thursday when Beth had mentioned driving to Atlanta to sell her car, the girls all jumped at the chance to have a weekend away, so Lori volunteered to follow her up, and they'd all been looking forward to a day of shopping and having lunch together.

With Sasha in Lori's car, Carol had opted to ride into the city with Beth. She was always on the quiet side, so Beth didn't know too much about the older woman. She figured being in a car with her for an hour was bound to yield some results, though, so she was happy for the driving arrangements.

"What kind of music do you like?" Beth asked, being sure to stay close enough behind Lori not to lose her; Beth had never been to Atlanta before, so she was thankful to have someone to follow.

Carol shrugged and gave her a small smile. "Country and blues, I guess. Mostly older music, though."

Beth smiled, thinking back to the stuff her daddy played on his record player. "You're an Elvis kind of girl, aren't you?"

Carol's smile got a little wider and she looked down at her hands in her lap as she nodded and answered, "I am. I love Elvis."

"I've been listening to Elvis my whole life," Beth told her. "My daddy was a huge Elvis fan. He always said he got it from my mom, though. I think he loved it more because the songs reminded him of her."

"What happened to her?" Carol asked, catching onto the past tense.

"She passed away right after having me," Beth said, giving Carol a smile to reassure her that the topic wasn't bothersome.

Still, Carol said, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thank you," Beth replied.

The silence stretched out between them, leaving Beth unsure of what else she could use to try to open Carol up with. She seemed so reserved and unsure of herself. Beth wanted her to feel comfortable enough to talk about anything she needed to. It's what friends were good for, after all.

Luckily, Carol brought up a topic or two on her own; generic questions about Beth's job and family, which Beth reciprocated interest in. Carol became slightly more animated talking about her little girl, Sophia, which Beth thought was endearing. By the time Beth pulled into the dealership behind Lori, Carol seemed much more relaxed and light-hearted.

Awhile later, after Beth signed the paperwork, got her check, and handed over her keys, she called Lori to swing by and pick her back up. As she waited for the girls to pull into the parking lot, she walked over to her car and ran her hand across the doorframe. She felt a little silly that tears were burning the backs of her eyes, but she couldn't help it. She'd had some amazing times in that darn car, and it was one of the last links left to be broken from her life back in Chicago. Letting go, even when it was the right thing to do, was always hard.

After she was retrieved from the car lot, the girls spent the afternoon going from store to store, trying things on in dressing rooms, and just having fun. At their fourth store, Beth perused the racks, intent on buying a new outfit to make herself feel better about her car. Beyond a rack of leather jackets, Beth's attention caught on Carol, who was holding up a lovely red blouse with a ruffled neckline. She was frowning as she stared at it, and Beth could tell something was amiss. She threaded her way over to the other woman, and putting her hand on her shoulder.

"That's such a beautiful blouse, Carol."

Carol smiled a little at Beth's comment, but hung it back on the rack.

Beth wasn't sure if Carol was going to say anything, but then she said quietly, "Ed never lets me wear things that flashy."

"You should try it on," Beth said gently, running her hand over the fabric. "I bet it would look great on you."

Carol finally looked Beth in the eye, and a twinkle of admiration shown on her face. "Thank you," she said. "But I shouldn't."

Beth could tell that pushing, in this instance, would do more harm than good. Carol was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of wearing the shirt; whether because she was afraid of how she'd look, or because she'd feel guilty about disobeying Ed, Beth wasn't sure yet. She'd resolved to work on getting Carol out of that shell, though. She knew she had the potential to be an amazing person.

"Well," Beth said, stringing her arm through Carol's, "would you be willing to help me select a new outfit, then? I feel blue about my car. I could use the pick-me-up."

Happily, Carol obliged. By the time they left, everyone but Carol had a bag in hand. Beth ended up with a cute, soft, brown leather jacket that had a faux fur-lined hood and was cut short on her torso. She grabbed a couple of soft, stretchy tank tops in a variety of colors, and a jean skirt that was high on her thighs and ragged at the edges. She also bought the red blouse with the ruffled neckline, in Carol's size. One day, she promised herself, she would get Carol to try it on. She might even get her to like it, and keep it, although she knew enough about Carol already to tell that she'd fight it. But Beth was a Greene, and her stubbornness knew no bounds.

Finally, they all agreed on a lunch spot at a cute, trendy café where they scoffed at the price of the seafood and all ended up with soups and sandwiches to ward off the October chill that was settling in. They chatted about unimportant things, and pointed out neat stuff that was adorning the walls.

Then, finally, it happened.

"So, Beth," Sasha said, "you never really told us why you moved down here. I mean, you don't have any family around here and you're still working your same job from out of Chicago. What made you decide to leave?"

He did, she thought to herself.

Beth grimaced as she took a bite of soup that was too hot, trying to think of a plausible answer. She'd been trying to rehearse ideas, in case someone eventually asked, but they'd all sounded lame, even to her.

Regardless, she answered, "It was just time for a change."

"That's a pretty big change," Lori remarked, eying her. Like husband, like wife, Beth mused. Lori seemed to miss very little when it came to people hiding stuff.

"It is," Beth agreed. "But I was due for one. This place was the last place in the United States that was anything like Chicago, and I was ready for a pretty big change. So, I just… did it."

"Pretty brave of you, though, moving all the way down here without knowing a soul. I couldn't have done it." Carol said softly.

Beth smiled at her. "My daddy always said, 'only at the precipice do people truly change.' And I certainly believe that. In Chicago, I had a few things about my life that I really wanted to do differently. I tried, too; I did. But I began to realize that the people I had surrounded myself with were holding me back from what I wanted out of myself, so I did the only thing left I could think to do, and I fled. In fact, I wouldn't consider it very brave at all. Just an extreme act of cowardice." Beth laughed along with Sasha and Lori. Carol smiled at them and remained silent on the matter.

The waiter came back with refills for them, and as he dropped off their checks and cleared plates out of the way, Lori folded her arms on the table in front of her and gave Beth a look that meant business. Once he was gone again, Lori asked, "So, has everything been alright for you? I mean, at the cabin. You haven't had any… trouble?"

Beth laughed as she thought about the fiasco she had trying to get water running back into the place when she first got there. Her toilet wouldn't work, even after service had been connected back to the place, and after she played with the knob on the pipes behind the toilet, it began spewing out and flooding her bathroom. It'd been a huge mess.

"I've had a few problems," Beth admitted. "Fixing up a cabin ended up being a lot more work than I had expected it to be, honestly. I still have a lot of work to do on it. I'll never get it all done. And when it rained, everything turned to mud. Daryl suggested I get gravel for the driveway, but I haven't even gotten a chance to look for a company around here that does that, yet. Things have been hectic at my company, too. So there's always that. But it'll work out. It always does."

Without skipping much of a beat, and for the most part ignoring the rest of Beth's explanation, Lori asked, "Beth, how often do you talk to Daryl Dixon, anyhow?"

Shrugging, Beth said, "Not often. I've only bumped into him a couple of times. I had breakfast with him at the diner once. He's not a man of very many words to begin with. Why?"

"Well, we've all been a little concerned about you, to be honest. I mean, the Dixon's trailer is only a couple of miles away from your cabin," Sasha chimed in.

Beth's eyes jumped between the three of them; Lori and Sasha looked concerned and determined, while Carol was staring into her lap and wouldn't bother to meet her eyes at all. It looked like they were trying to do some kind of an intervention. About Daryl. How weird.

"What are you getting at?" Beth asked, eager to just jump to the chase and get on with it.

"Look, Beth, you're a sweet girl. Incredibly sweet, in fact, and Daryl Dixon… Well, he's a derelict. Plain and simple. All the Dixons are. He and his brother were suspended from school more than they attended it, and his dad was known for being a really mean drunk, you get my meanin'? I think you're so good-hearted that maybe you don't see the bad in people, Beth. But believe me, there is plenty of it in Daryl Dixon." Lori sat back, letting Beth soak her warning in.

Sasha nodded at Lori's assessment and then added, "When Tyreese and I were in school, Daryl's older brother, Merle, got into it with Ty's best friend. He and T-dog were really going at each other, and then Merle lost his temper. T-dog needed 14 stitches in his face and he had three broken ribs. I was scared Merle wasn't going to stop. I thought for sure he was going to beat T-dog near to death. They're a bad bunch, Beth. Daryl and Merle were raised without morals or standards. They left town awhile back, but Lonnie Dixon passed away in his trailer a few months ago. Daryl came back into town for the funeral and just stayed at his place. Word is, Merle's doing time in jail for drugs."

Beth stared at her, unable to believe what she was hearing from them. Sure, Daryl didn't have good social skills, and he seemed to stay away from people. But he wasn't a monster. Regardless of who his brother was, Beth knew Daryl wasn't the kind of guy to beat someone near to death. They were wrong about him.

The silence became uncomfortable before Lori said, "We just want you to be careful, is all."

"Well, I don't need you to worry about me," Beth said, a little tersely. "I can't say one thing or another about Merle, their father, or any other Dixon who has been through this town; but I can say for sure that Daryl Dixon isn't a bad guy. Believe me, I may look sweet and naïve to some people," she shot Lori a look, "but I've known my fair share of men who aren't good. I know what it's like to be around a truly terrible person, and Daryl doesn't even shine a candle to that."

Everyone looked stricken at her mild outburst, unsure of how to proceed with the conversation from there. Beth could feel her eyes stinging; she always cried when she was really angry. She suddenly stood from the table and pulled her purse from the back of the chair. "I need to use the ladies' room," she said curtly, walking off before any of them said anything else or offered to follow.

After she'd returned from calming down in the bathroom, they'd all gathered their things up in silence and headed for the car. It was obvious that the day was at an end. Once they all piled into Lori's car, she turned to Beth sitting in the front. "Look, Beth, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to upset you…"

"It's quite alright," Beth said. "I understand that you've seen things and formed your own opinions. I respect that. But I'm the kind of person who will form mine, and unless I see him hurt a person or rob a store, I'm not going to treat Daryl like the kind of person who goes around hurting people or robbing stores. That's that."

She turned to look at Sasha and Carol, as well, who both nodded their understanding. Softer, she said, "I do appreciate you all trying to look out for me, though. I would have done the same for you if the roles were reversed. No hard feelings, okay?" She smiled as Carol and Sasha smiled back at her, and the tension seemed to dissolve.

The ride back out of the city was once again filled with conversation and laughing, and Beth felt much better now that the air had been cleared. Everyone seemed more relaxed. As they pulled up to Beth's house, the crunching underneath the tires threw her off at first.

"I thought you said you hadn't had the time to look up a gravel business?" Lori questioned as she drove slowly up Beth's driveway, which had been completely lined with logs and layered in the small multi-colored rocks.

"I hadn't," she responded, staring. Then, she realized what must've happened. A smile lit up her face, and she could feel her chest tighten. For the third time today, she was dangerously close to tears.

"Then, what…" Sasha began, stopping when she looked at Beth's face.

"Daryl Dixon," Beth said, matter-of-fact. The look she sent them all was pretty smug, she knew. But at least this was somewhat proof for them to see what she saw; Daryl wasn't a bad guy.

He was the best.