This chapter really focuses on Daryl and his thoughts but I've already begun work on the next chapter and there will be plenty of Daryl and Beth interaction in that one.

…

Chapter Five.

When Lori gets back home and hands Daryl the twenty dollar bills, telling him that the money's from Doc, he's not exactly surprised. He's been expecting her to do something like this and he almost smirks as he takes the money from Lori and slips it into his pocket. Lori lingers, clearly expecting him to protest or force the money back into her hand, but he just says a thanks to her and picks up his cards again.

That Doc Greene has got to be one of the most stubborn people he's ever met and instead of pissing him off, it's really just amusing the hell out of him. She won't charge him for vet visits but she expects him to charge her for fixing something that took him all of ten minutes. She makes absolutely no sense and he's never been interested in complicated girls. He likes the straight forward girls. Amy was like that since the first day he met her. What he saw with Amy was exactly what he got. Of course, she did prove that she did keep things from him and all wasn't what met the eye with her, but when they first met, he fell for Amy's bluntness. With Amy, he never had any questions.

But with Beth, the Doc, Daryl feels like he's got nothing but questions.

She confuses the hell out of him and he, for one, doesn't really like it. He's not the kind of guy who likes when a girl spins his head around. He has some buddies who love complicated girls. The more complicated, the better, and more than one have stated that they love the crazy girls. He doesn't think the Doc is one of those crazy girls but she's definitely not simple, either.

And he's not even thinking about the way she had cried in her kitchen that morning. There isn't one part of him who blames her for just crying. Girl lost both of her parents, she's running her old man's animal practice on her own and now, she's also in charge of the big Greene farm all on her own. He can imagine it'd be pretty damn overwhelming for anyone. He doesn't want to admit it – and will never admit it to anyone – but he feels a little sorry for her. It's a hell of a lot for one person to handle.

After losing and winning some hands against Rick and Shane, Daryl heads out. It's not that late – just a little after eight – but he's always been the kind to go to bed early and wake up early. He makes the short drive back to his mom's house because even though Paulie Dixon lives on the other side of town, the town is small enough where it doesn't take that long getting anywhere. Not that there's any "new" part to their town – a new house hasn't been built in years since the population has stayed steady for just as long – but the Grimes live in the newer part; the part that had been built when the nearby cardboard factory began growing and making more hires and the little town went through something of a boom.

After her asshole husband split town for the last time and came up dead, Paulie Dixon has done alright for herself considering she wasn't left with much. She got a job and raised her sons as well as she could even when she was working all hours at the Oak Tree Diner. She rented them a little house in the old, more run-down, part of town and once Merle and Daryl were old enough to work, they helped her with bills and eventually, she was able to stop renting and she made an offer to the landlord to buy that little house.

It's not an ideal neighborhood and Daryl knows what people think when they see it. Typical white-trash poor Southern neighborhood with its run-down houses and trashed yards but it's not like their town has a crime wave – most of the crime having to do with drugs or domestic disputes – so it's safe enough. Daryl knows he's not going to be staying with his mom forever. He just has no idea where to go. He and Amy had moved into her grandmother's house that she had left to both Amy and Andrea once she passed away but Andrea already had her own place and didn't want it so he and Amy had bought her out. Andrea had told them that that wasn't necessary but Daryl had been the one to insist. Fair's fair, he had told her.

There's not a lot of options for him. Merle's got his own place. Sort of. He rents a trailer from Joe that's set up behind the bar but Merle's always got people coming in and out, girls staying over, and Daryl likes his peace and quiet too much to stay with his older brother. His friend, Shane, has an apartment above his garage and Daryl is considering that ever since Shane made the offer to him but warned him that there is a lot of work – and mice – that he'd have to do to make the place livable. Daryl's never been afraid of hard work – that's for sure – but maybe he's setting his sights too high in hoping for a place rather than a one-room apartment over his buddy's garage.

Maybe he'll just build himself a house. And he almost smirks with amusement at the idea as he pulls his truck into the driveway. Sure. Just build a house. Easy as that.

He unlocks the front door with his key and he expects Louis to be right there, jumping around and greeting him and demanding attention, but instead, he doesn't get up from the couch where he's curled up with Paulie, both of them moving their eyes away from the television to look at him.

"What's this?" Daryl asks with an amused pull of his lips as he sets his toolbox down on the floor of the hall closet. "You kidnappin' my dog 'way from me?"

"He's keepin' me warm and he wants to see how this Lifetime movie ends," Paulie answers, her eyes going back to the television.

Daryl comes into the living room, sinking himself down into the recliner chair. Louis looks at him and thumps his tail on the couch cushion but he still doesn't get up. Daryl's eyes float towards the television, too, and watches the movie for a few minutes. Some crazy assistant trying to kill her boss's entire family. Pretty standard Lifetime movie from the looks of it.

"Amy and Randall came into the diner tonight," Paulie says, muting the television during a commercial break.

Daryl doesn't say anything. He just keeps watching the television and the muted commercial for a cordless vacuum cleaner. This isn't really a conversation he ever wants to have. But his silence has never stopped his mom from talking. If anything, she's used to her youngest son being practically a mute.

"I just don't know what she sees in him," Paulie continues as Daryl knew she would. "He's young, isn' he?" She asks.

Daryl shrugs again. Why the hell would he know how old Randall is? Younger than him, that's all he knows. "Amy's young, too," he grunts and looks to the clock on the wall.

He should get himself to bed. Him and T-Dog have another full day tomorrow, beginning work on remodeling the basement of the Ramirez family house so their two little kids have more of a play room. And he really doesn't want to keep hearing about Amy. It's hard enough living in a little town like this where everyone knows practically everyone else's business. And having your girlfriend cheat on you in a little town where everyone finds out isn't ideal either. Everyone is either looking at him like they feel sorry for him or like he's a loser.

"Not that young where she shouldn' be able to know when she's got a good thing," Paulie frowns and the movie has come back on. She un-mutes the television once more.

Daryl stands up and then leans over. "Night, ma," he says and kisses her cheek before heading out of the living room, down the hallway, and he hears Louis jump down from the couch and follow after him.

After brushing his teeth, he goes into his bedroom and closes the door. Louis has already jumped up on the bed and Daryl gets himself changed, tugging on a pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt, and he makes sure he tucks the Doc's money safely into his wallet, which he leaves on top of the dresser. He has to think of a way to get it back to her. Maybe when Louis has his follow-up appointment with her in a few more days. One thing's for sure. He's not keeping it. Getting mud out of her well pipes was a lot easier than pulling porcupine needles from a dog's snout and he can't believe that she hasn't charged him for that yet.

With the lights off, he climbs onto the bed – on top of the covers – and turns his head on the pillow, looking out the window, listening to the bug zapper in the backyard. Louis moves himself closer to him and rests his head on Daryl's stomach and Daryl scratches the dog behind one of his floppy ears.

"Where we gonna go from here, boy?" Daryl hears himself asking the dog quietly.

There's some empty lots up and down his mom's street. Around town, too. Maybe… maybe building himself a house isn't actually as far-fetched as he first thought. He knows that if anyone could build a house, it'd be him. Maybe he should look into it. He loves his mom but that doesn't mean he wants to live with her forever.

He's a grown man. Time to be a grown man, get over his girlfriend breaking up with him and move the hell on.

…

The diner has its usual morning crowd. Guys heading out to their shift and guys just getting off of their third shift at the factory. Daryl and T-Dog stop at the diner for breakfast a couple of times a week before heading out to their job for the day and this morning, they sit at the counter, both with a heaping plate of pecan pancakes and sausage links. Every few minutes, Daryl will look out the front window to see Louis in the pickup truck, waiting for them. Daryl's already set aside a couple sausage links to take out to him when they're done eating.

He turns his head to look out the window and this time, he sees Louis no longer looking at him but rather, he's looking at someone coming, his tongue hanging out as if he's grinning and his tail is wagging so fiercely, it's shaking his entire body. Daryl thinks it's probably Merle or maybe Rick coming but instead, he sees Doc appear.

She's smiling and walking up to the truck, petting Louis and rubbing him behind his ears and laughing as the dog licks her face in greeting. He watches as she reaches into her purse and pulls out a Milkbone dog biscuit, holding it up for Louis to see and the dog obediently sits. She smiles as she gives it to him and he chomps on it eagerly. Daryl wonders if she always walks around with dog treats in her purse.

He wonders what she's doing here this early. The diner has their regulars in the morning and she isn't one of them. Daryl admits that he can't seem to stop watching her – even when T-Dog turns his head to see what has his attention and seeing for himself, he looks back to Daryl and gives him a wide, amused grin. Daryl does his best to ignore him and forces himself to lower his eyes to his plate. Just one more pancake to eat and he'll have another cup of coffee and then he and T get going to start their work for the day.

He's going to focus on breakfast and then he's going to think about the plans he's drawn up for the Ramirez basement. He's not going to think about the dress the Doc is wearing that morning with flowers printed all over it and the way it skims her thighs as she moves.

He can't help but think of Amy then. No matter how hard he tries to stop thinking about her, it's like his brain refuses to give her up. Daryl supposes he can't blame his brain for that. He and Amy were together for a couple of years and he had thought he was going to marry that girl.

Amy had hardly worn dresses. She is a receptionist in a dentist's office and even as a receptionist, she had worn comfortable scrubs every day. Amy prefers jeans. The tighter, the better as far as Amy's concerned. Daryl never knew how she sat down when wearing a pair or how she even got them on in the first place. She had looked hot in them though. That could never be denied. And when she wore a pair of her tight jeans, Daryl loved taking her for rides on his bike, feeling her pressed tightly against him. He always felt so damn proud to have that girl behind him, riding his bike with him.

He wonders how the Doc would be on a motorcycle. He couldn't really picture her on one, to be honest. She just gives off that goody-two shoes vibe that she probably thinks bikes are too dangerous and she'd be too scared to ever ride one.

Beth enters the diner then and Daryl lifts his eyes, looking to her again, and for a second, their eyes meet. They look at one another – but only for a second – before Beth turns her head away. She's looking for someone and she finds them. Daryl watches as she walks up to Paulie, where his mom is at a table, pouring cups of coffee for some guys. Paulie smiles widely when she sees the Doc and Beth says something to her that Daryl can't hear. Whatever it is, Paulie nods and Beth says something else.

"Of course, honey," Paulie says, back to smiling, and Beth visibly exhales as if she had been nervous talking with Paulie about whatever she had to talk with her about. Daryl wonders what those two are talking about.

The door opens again and Daryl stiffens immediately. He swears that the entire diner goes absolutely silent as Amy and Randall practically fall into the diner, holding onto one another as if they need help to stand, and they are laughing – too loud and too annoying for that early in the morning. It's obvious they haven't gone to bed yet and are just getting back from their night out. Is Amy going to work this morning?

Daryl doesn't hear anything except them laughing and then he swears he can feel everyone's eyes in the place looking at him. He keeps his back to them. They're so damn loud, he can hear them going to an empty booth in the back corner of the diner and they both seem completely unaware that Daryl is in there, too, even though the diner isn't that big and Daryl can't believe Amy doesn't know. Or maybe she does see him and just doesn't care. Why should she? He's the ex-boyfriend and Daryl bets she and Randall laugh about him, making him the butt of their jokes. How long were they sneaking around together behind Daryl's back? Amy never really gave him a straight forward answer to that.

Clenching his jaw, not able to be in there anymore, listening to them as they laugh together and feeling everyone looking at him, waiting for a reaction, Daryl stands up. He throws a few bills on the counter next to his empty plate and walks out of the diner without a word or look to anyone. On the sidewalk, he got to the truck and Louis barks happily when he sees Daryl with a napkin in his hand and can smell the treat he has brought him. Daryl almost smiles when he gives Louis the two sausage links and the dog gobbles them up.

"I'm ready," T-Dog announces as he steps from the diner less than a minute later.

Daryl nods and giving Louis one last head rub, he opens the driver's door and climbs into the truck, behind the wheel, as T-Dog walks around the front and gets in on the other side.

"Those two smell like they went swimming in a damn lake of bourbon," T-Dog frowns. "How can I expect to eat my pancakes while smelling that?

Daryl appreciates the man's loyalty.

He shrugs. "None of my business," he mutters as he pulls away from the curb and starts heading towards the Ramirez house, down on one of the quiet residential streets that shoot off from the main road running through town.

"Don't see how that girl's gonna hold onto her job if she keeps that up," T-Dog continues.

Daryl doesn't say anything because he's been thinking the same thing. Partying all night with Randall, showing up still drunk at the diner. Yeah, Amy has always been a little wild – has always liked to go out and have a good time – but nothing like that. He can't help but frown a little. Is that who she's always been and when she was with him, she hid it and made sure he didn't know the real her? Maybe she's always been the girl who parties all night and he's never known because she didn't want him to know the real her.

Daryl pulls a cigarette from the pack next to him and stopped at a stop sign, he takes a moment to light it, exhaling the smoke out his open window. He doesn't want to think about any of this. Amy and Randall, his mom and moving out into his own place, Doc… he's giving himself a headache. All he wants to think about right now is remodeling the Ramirez basement and what he and T are going to eat for lunch.

…

Sunday after breakfast, his mom pushes him outside, "to get out of her hair", as she says, and Daryl decides it's time he clean out her garage for her – not that there's much in there. A lawnmower and leaf blower he bought at a consignment shop for her years earlier and he uses to do her yard work for her. A shovel, a rake, some hedge clippers. There's a small workbench against one wall and Daryl goes there now, figuring that he'll kill some time, going through his old tools that he's left here over the years. He's honestly surprised that Merle hasn't come and pawned all of these.

Louis is sniffing at corners, hunting a possible mouse who lives in there, but when a familiar pickup truck pulls into the driveway, he lifts his head and lets out an excited bark. Daryl turns, unable to keep from frowning. Who would be coming here on a Sunday morning? And he doesn't know why but he's not exactly surprised when Doc steps out. He watches as she laughs and greets Louis and the dog eagerly greets her in return.

Daryl steps out of the garage and looks at her. She's wearing a dress, clearly not having changed since the church service she went to that morning.

"What are you doin' here?" He asks, stepping out of the garage, looking at her.

"Well, good morning to you, too, Mr. Dixon," Beth says with a roll of her eyes.

Daryl feels the back of his neck flush and he almost apologizes but stops himself before he can. She still hasn't answered the question and Louis doesn't need her to be making house calls – especially when Daryl knows she won't charge for those either.

"Your mom said she's going to teach me how to make coconut cake and today's the best day for her to," Beth explains and she then walks around the front of her truck, opening the passenger door with a slight squeak. She needs to lubricate those hinges.

"Why you wanna learn how to bake coconut cake?" He can't help but wonder, taking a couple of steps closer to her. "Just woke up and felt like learnin'?"

"No," Beth answers. She slams the door shut and there's a cardboard box in her arms now. She looks at him. "Today's my daddy's birthday and he loves… loved your mom's coconut cake. I want to bake it for him today."

Daryl has no idea what to say to that. He wasn't expecting her to say something like that. He hadn't known today was her dad's birthday and he feels like that's something he should have already known. And deep down, he feels like a jackass for questioning what she's doing there. She can come over anytime she wants. To see his mom. Of course his mom.

Still not saying anything, he reaches out and takes the box from her arms into his. Glancing down, he sees that she's brought her own baking supplies, including eggs. He almost smirks. He can just imagine how his mom will react to Beth bringing her own stuff. Knowing Paulie, she might actually be a little insulted.

"Thanks," Beth says softly and they begin to walk up the driveway towards the front door, Louis happily trotting beside Beth, hitting her palm with his snout so she'll pet him.

"Happy birthday to your dad," Daryl then says, finally able to think of something to say.

And the smile Beth gives up at him for that, he knows it was the right thing to say.

…

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