Thank you very much to those reading each chapter and leaving me reviews. This story is reminding me of Catch Me with some hating Daryl and some understanding him while some just seem to dislike what I write no matter what. I hope this chapter clears up his thought process a little and more can understand where Daryl is coming from. Thank you!

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Chapter Eight.

Louis Dixon is, by far, her happiest dog patient and she tells him this as she examines him. His owner, however, is a completely different matter but she's not going to think about Daryl Dixon right now because this is Louis's appointment and Louis is her first priority.

"Alright, Louis," Beth smiles as rubs the dog behind his floppy ears and Louis's tail is shaking with such force, it's rocking his entire body back and forth. "Now what did we learn from all of this? Porcupines are adorable but must not be threatened."

She kisses the dog on his snout and she then goes to get him a Milkbone dog biscuit from the container on her desk.

"You think porcupines are adorable?" Daryl asks as she holds out the treat for Louis and the dog eagerly takes it and chomps it up.

"Yep," Beth smiles and takes Louis's chart, writing down her final notes. "There's this video online of a porcupine at a zoo who high-fives his caretaker. It's probably one of the cutest things I've ever seen," she says and lifting her eyes to look at him, she sees that his lips are doing that twitching thing where it looks like he's going to smile but is not quite sure if it's what he actually wants to do or not. She wonders why he doesn't just smile.

She's been trying her hardest not to have her thoughts dwell on this man across from her. She had a crush on him but it was fast and she's done her best to squash it. She asked him to watch a movie with her and he wasn't interested so as far as Beth's concerned, that's that. That's what she tells herself anyway.

When she saw him at Joe's a couple of nights ago, she had been out with Rosita, her long-time boyfriend, Spencer, and Zach. Beth had dated him for a year in high school but they had broken up during junior year and neither of them thought of one another much after that. But Beth has moved back to town and Zach has happened to move back, too. His father is the dentist in town and Zach had also gone to dental school to become a dentist and is now sharing his dad's practice. It felt good to connect once again after not talking for so long. Zach used to be incredibly immature – a typical seventeen-year-old high school boy – but now, he's obviously grown up; an adult, a dentist now, of all things. And Beth had enjoyed catching up with him again – even though she knew from the first second of seeing him again that she could see having nothing except friendship with Zach.

Of course, when she saw Louis, and then Daryl, after that, she told herself that she could see having nothing except friendship with Daryl, too, though her clenching stomach seemed to disagree with that.

"Alright," Beth finishes writing her notes to herself. "He is as good as new," she says with a smile, lifting her eyes and looking at Daryl; finding that he's already looking at her.

He's a handsome man. Attractive. Good-looking. And not for the first time, Beth has to wonder exactly what Amy had been thinking when she ended her relationship with him. Beth doesn't know Daryl that well; doesn't know how he would be in a relationship but she has always gotten a vibe from people and it has rarely steered her wrong. And she depends on animals a lot. Animals have a keen sense of who a person truly is and Louis is such a happy dog and he follows Daryl everywhere. If Daryl is truly a terrible person, Louis wouldn't act as if the sun rises and falls with the man.

Beth looks at Daryl and sees him as the kind of man with who she'd want to share a relationship. But she knows he looks at her and sees that she's not Amy and that's all that matters to him. She doesn't question his feelings though. He was in love with that woman for a few years of his life. He just can't turn it off just because she hadn't wanted him.

She goes to her desk and clicks a few things on the computer screen and a piece of paper spits out from the printer. "Here you go," she says as she hands it to him and he doesn't even look at the invoice before he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet. He takes out five twenties and something inside of her tells her that these are the twenties she gave to Lori to give to him for fixing the well pump.

"It's only eighty," she says and takes four of the bills. "You're a very stubborn man," she then notes as she goes to put the cash in the lock-box in her bottom desk drawer.

He smirks at that. "Looks who's talkin'," Daryl retorts, folding the remaining twenty into his pocket. "'s quiet 'round here today."

"You were my last patient. I am officially done for the day," she tells him with a smile and then gives Louis one more rub behind his ear. "Would you like a cup of tea? I was just about to make myself a cup," she says to his owner.

She has no idea why she's asked that. She doesn't expect him to accept her invitation and she can't imagine Daryl Dixon drinking tea. He stands there for a moment, not saying anything, and like she had done in his kitchen when she had asked him to the movie in the park and he had been silent just like he is now, she almost tell him never-mind.

But Daryl answers her before she can say that.

"A'right," he says with a nod of his head.

Beth feels her eyes widen at that, unable to help herself. She had never expected him to want to stay here longer than he had to. She makes sure to quickly collect herself. "Do you like chamomile?" She asks.

"Yeah," he nods once more.

She gives him a small smile and opens the door to the exam room, stepping out, aware that he's walking behind her and she can hear the click of Louis's nails on the hardwood floor and the clink of the metals around his neck as he walks with Daryl, both following her into the kitchen. Beth goes right to the cabinet where she keeps her tea boxes and she fills the kettle on the stove with water.

Once setting that on the stove ring, she turns back to him. Daryl is standing in the doorway of the kitchen as if unsure whether he should come all the way in or not. Beth smiles at him and holds a hand out towards the table and he slowly goes to it, pulling a chair out and sitting down. She then goes to another counter and takes a plastic container.

"One of my patients made these for me and brought them yesterday. Do you like peanut butter cookies?" She asks as she lifts the lid back, releasing the scent of the homemade cookies that are making her stomach grumble just at the sight of them.

"They're my favorite," Daryl answers.

"Mine, too," she gives a small smile at that and sits down in the chair next to him. She takes a cookie for herself and he follows her lead, taking a cookie for himself. "So," she begins, hoping they'll be able to talk with one another without making it somehow awkward. No matter what her stomach seems to think, she'll be more than happy if she can have some semblance of a friendship with Daryl Dixon. "How's work?" She asks him.

"'s a'right," he answers with a shrug and breaks off a little bit of the cookie, giving it to Louis. "Keepin' me and T-Dog plenty busy. How 'bout you?" He asks in return.

And just like when he accepted her invitation to tea, she's taken aback for a beat in time that he seems to be trying to engage her in conversation.

"It's alright," Beth answers truthfully. "Still finding my way. I know how my daddy ran his practice and I want to run it the same way but I… I want to be able to put my own stamp on it, too, you know?" She asks though she can't imagine that he would.

Or maybe he would.

He's a Dixon and his dad may have been gone and dead for years now but that name comes with some weight to it in their little town. Maybe he knows all about showing people that he's not his dad.

She takes a small bite of cookie and then sighs softly. "I've always wanted to be a vet. Ever since I was a little kid and you change what you want to be when you grow up just about every other week. Not me. My answer was always the same and my daddy was always so happy and proud that I was going to be following in his footsteps. He'd let me come into the exam room and watch him with the animals and I just always thought it'd be Greene and Greene on that front door."

She's not sure why she's just told him all of that but when she lifts her eyes, she sees that he's looking right at her, listening to her every word. And best of all, she doesn't see pity in those eyes. He looks a little sad for her but that's much better than being pitied by people. She's been getting that look ever since she's moved back here. But Daryl is just sitting there and listening to her and she hadn't realized how badly she needed someone to just listen to her without interjecting their own opinions as to what she should do as she talks until now.

How can a man who doesn't even know her know exactly what she needs right now?

"And living here, it scares me sometimes. Not that I think someone is lurking in the shadows. It's just… it's so big. Way too big for just me and it's too much for just me to handle but if I don't, who will? My older sister lives in Michigan and my older brother is… somewhere. Oregon, now, I think and they don't think about the farm at all. They would tell me to sell it. But… it's daddy's farm, you know? It's been in the family for years and I just can't… he wouldn't want me to sell it."

"You sure 'bout that?" Daryl finally speaks and he takes a bite of cookie as she looks at him.

"What do you mean?" Beth asks and the kettle starts to scream as it releases its steam. She gets up to go prepare their cups of tea. She looks over her shoulder, back to Daryl at the table to urge him to go on, and he shrugs, looking at her.

"I got to know your pops pretty good over the past couple of years," Daryl said.

"Yes," Beth nods. "He couldn't say enough good things about you."

She comes back to the table with the mugs and as she sets one down in front of Daryl, she notices his ears poking from his hair have both turned a faint shade of pink as if embarrassed. She goes to the cabinet and gets a bowl, filling it with water, before setting it down in front of Louis, and she then sits down once more, taking another cookie and looking at Daryl, hoping he'll continue.

He does. "I always got the impression that your old man didn' expect you to take over the farm. Just the practice. And you could have a practice anywhere in town," he says.

Beth blinks at him for a moment. "He said that?"

"More or less," he shrugs and pauses to take a sip of tea. "Couldn' say 'nough good things 'bout you. 've been hearin' all 'bout his amazin' youngest daughter for a while now."

It is Beth's turn to blush faintly.

"But he never, not once, ever said you were a farm girl," Daryl says. "Thinks he knew you were meant for somethin' more than to stay here and try to keep this farm goin'. Don't think he'd blame you in the least if you sold."

Beth's quiet, taking a sip of her tea, thinking that over. It's something she and her daddy never talked about. It was always one of those conversations which Beth thought they would have plenty of time to talk about and always put it off for another day.

But still, sell the farm…

"Can I ask you something?" Beth asks him as he nods as he sips his tea. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to," she then is quick to tell him just in case he thinks otherwise.

Daryl takes a bite of his cookie and looks at her and waits.

"You and Amy…" she begins but then she's not quite too sure how to continue. She sees Daryl stiffen slightly and she looks at him but he's looking at her and he's still waiting. "Are you still in love with her?" She asks and she has no idea where the courage to ask that has come from. It's absolutely none of her business. It's really no one's business – especially hers. And yet, maybe if she knows, she'll be able to finally get her stomach to stop stubbornly clenching every time he's around.

Daryl doesn't answer right away and she doesn't expect him to. He keeps eating his cookie and she takes a sip of her tea. She feels a warm weight on her foot underneath the table and looking down, she smiles when she sees that Louis has laid down and put his head on her foot. The house gets so chilly at night – even in the summer – and she imagines that having Louis around, she'd never get cold feet in bed again.

"Can't just stop somethin' like that," he finally answers, more like a mutter, and Beth looks back to him. He's leaning forward, both of his hands cupped around the mug of hot tea, not looking at her. "I was with her for two years and I jus' thought I would keep on bein' with her. I didn' know she was already done with me."

Beth's quiet at that and she can't help but feel a little sad for him. Even though Amy cheated on him and doesn't want to be with him anymore, Daryl had been in love and ready to marry her. If a person is blindsided like that, it's even harder for their feelings to dim away. Amy may have been done with the relationship but Daryl definitely wasn't. He still isn't.

"Everyone just thinks it's like a light switch, you know? Just turn it on or off." He says and lifts her eyes once again to her. Beth has never heard this man speak so much and she doesn't want to speak herself now just in case it quiets him up. She wants him to keep talking. She feels a warmth curling in her belly – not from the tea – that Daryl is talking with her about this. "Like Rick and Merle. They expect me to already be movin' on and forgettin' her and I know she's a bitch. And I wish I wasn' like this but…"

"It's not a light switch," she finishes for him.

"Yeah," he says with a nod and looks back down to his tea.

Beth is quiet for a moment, watching him. His words had had the opposite reaction though and her stomach is tightening even more than it usually does when around him.

She wishes someone would love her as fiercely as this man loves. This is a man who once he loves you, he'll probably wind up loving you forever. And Beth feels such an intense jealousy towards Amy in that moment, she's almost startled by it. Beth's never had anyone love her like that.

"When I asked you to come see Jurassic Park with me tonight, I was asking you as a friend," Beth tells him. "I have Rosita and a couple of other friends but… I don't have that many people to hang around with. I was thinking… maybe you didn't either."

She knows he has his older brother and Sheriff Grimes is his best friend and there's T-Dog and his mom that he can all talk with and spend time with but it seems like all of them have certain expectations about what he should be doing and feeling and she hopes that if they were to spend time together, this will be her one and only time asking him about Amy.

Daryl has fallen quiet once more and he leans back in the chair, sipping the last of his tea. And just like he had when he accepted her invitation to tea, he nods his head once.

"A'right," he says and that's all he says but it's more than enough for Beth.

…

When the town shows movies in the Commons on Friday nights during the warmer months, the area can fill up quickly but Spencer always gets them a good spot. He works right across the park in the Town Hall, where he's the Mayor's assistant. Politics are in his family's blood though they work with senators and governors and not little town Mayors but the Mayor of their town keeps Spencer plenty busy – especially since he's part of the older crowd who run the town and is a borderline racist sometimes with his comments, whether he actually means to be or not – the old South as he and the old people say – and Spencer is always running around, trying to keep him in line.

He gets them a spot by the Stonewall Jackson statue and Beth usually is the one to show up next – with the blanket and basket of food. Spencer stands up with a grin and helps her spread out the blanket before he plops down again and opens the basket to see what she's brought with her for this movie night. Around them, the park is beginning to fill up with other people and their blankets, all looking towards the large white screen that has been erected, and there is excited chatter filling the air.

"This is new," Spencer grins as he pulls out a plastic baggie filled with little bone-shaped dog biscuits. "Peanut Butter?"

"Shut up," Beth smiles and taking the baggie from him, she puts it back into the basket. "I have a friend coming tonight and he has a dog."

Spencer just keeps smiling at her and she refrains from leaning over and shoving him away because she knows that he knows exactly who is coming. At Joe's, Spencer had teased her more than once about this particular man and his dog.

It doesn't matter that her brother is clear across the country. She has a filler brother still here and she's known Spencer for years so she's more than used to his constant teasing. He and Rosita have been dating since high school – which is a ridiculously long time when a person realizes that they've been together for nearly ten years already and have survived both high school and college and the uncertainty of the future, all the while staying together. Rosita's 28th birthday is next month and Beth is the only one to know that Spencer has bought a ring and will finally be proposing to her – though in most of the townspeople's opinions, they've been married for years now.

Rosita comes next, collapsing onto the blanket without a word to any of them. She sits herself between Spencer's knees and rests her back against his chest. "I hate people," is all she says and Beth pulls a glass bottle of pink lemonade from the basket. Still with her eyes closed, Rosita, somehow, knows it's being offered and she takes it. "This better be spiked."

"I, like a true politician, hate people, too," Spencer agrees with his girlfriend. Rosita opens her eyes and tilts her head up to look at him. "You read the paper today?" He asks them both. "Another protest tomorrow morning. Stay out of the Commons, if I were you."

"Who is it between this time?" Rosita asks.

For as little as their town is, there always seems to be a protest over one thing or another.

"The usual," he says and points towards the Stonewall Jackson statue. "We should just tear it down. More trouble than it's worth."

"But then how will people spend their time here if they don't have that to argue and protest over?" Beth asks.

Beth hears an excited barking and she turns her head, spotting Louis in the crowd, running towards her, having smelt and spotted her through all of the other people. And before she can even get to her feet, the dog has practically tackled her, licking her face and begging for attention, and Beth laughs as she tries to both greet the dog and calm him down at the same time. She loves all of her patients but there's just something about Louis. Maybe it's because she was the one to find him at that rest stop when he was a puppy. And maybe Louis remembers that, too, and that's why he always seems so happy when he sees her.

When she lifts her head, she sees that Daryl's standing there now, too, his hands in his pockets as if he's not too sure what to do and as expected, her stomach clenches and she wonders if this is how it always is. Does Rosita's stomach still clench when she sees Spencer? Does Maggie's when she sees Glenn? And Beth doesn't even know if she wants it to stop; is not sure if she wants her crush on him to actually go away.

Daryl is looking down at her and Louis and his lips are doing that twitching thing like he wants to smile and Beth beams up at him.

…

Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review.