I made a couple of changes and Paulie will be more in the next chapter. Also, some have been really harsh towards Daryl and you are absolutely entitled to your opinion. Just try to understand where he's coming from. Also, since this chapter is from Beth's POV, please remember that what she thinks of Daryl might not necessarily be true. Thank you so much for all of the support you have been giving this story. I still can't quiet believe it.

…

Chapter Twelve.

Beth looks down to the little Cairn Terrier on the metal table in front of her and then to the man standing across from her, looking nervous.

"How does he look?" Rick asks.

Beth doesn't answer straight away. First, she checks the puppy's ears and listens to his heart and then gently inspects his teeth and gums. She looks over his little paws and pads and his nails and then runs her hands down his body, searching for bumps or other abnormalities before gently holding his tail out.

"He seems very healthy," Beth says as she hangs her stethoscope around her neck once again and Rick lets out a breath of relief at that. Beth nearly smiles. "Has Lori killed you yet?" She asks.

"Not yet," Rick answers with a slight smirk pulling at his lips. "But she told me to come and bring him to you right away for you to check out."

"And what made you get a puppy when you have a newborn?" Beth finally has to ask, going to the counter to get the puppy a treat because what she has to do next will not be fun for him. She scratches her hands behind his floppy ears – not having pointed into their usual triangle shape yet – and the puppy wags his tail happily as he crunches on the little Milkbone she has fed him.

He is so adorable, but Beth admits she was surprised when Rick had called her first thing that morning, asking if he could bring a puppy to see her. He and Lori had just had a baby a few months ago and everyone knows that little Judith is exhausting them. Their older son, Carl, is nearly in high school and they're not used to having a little newborn in the house. And now, Rick has spontaneously bought a puppy to add to their already hectic home? Having a puppy is like having another child in many aspects and that's not something that a lot people understand when they bring one into their lives.

She knows Rick's not an idiot but she hopes Rick knows what he's getting into.

Rick shrugs to her question. "Got him for Carl mostly. He's at that age… just don't want him to feel like he's any less important to his mom and me now that Judy's here."

Beth nods at that. That's more understandable than some people would probably think. Apparently, when she had been born, daddy had gotten both Maggie and Shawn kittens.

She gives the puppy one more ear rub and then goes back to the counter, opening one of the drawers, pulling out packages of syringe needles. As she returns to the table, she hears banging of tools against the metal ducts from the basement and a murmur of voices talking.

"How's it going down there?" Rick asks.

"Good, I think," Beth answers with a smile. "No one's come up to tell me yet to call an ambulance, so I'm taking that as a good sign."

They had arrived that morning just as she had finished getting dressed for the day. Daryl, Merle and T-Dog with her new AC unit, ready to be installed. And after she gave them cups of coffee and strips of bacon, they had begun their work and have been at it for the past few hours. Beth wants to go down and check up on them and see if they need anything but this isn't the first air conditioning unit Merle has installed and he has Daryl and T-Dog helping him out. She wouldn't want to get in their way.

And honestly… it's hard for her to be around Daryl right now. Despite what he said to her, she is embarrassed. She had passed out and he had swept her up in his arms and taken her to urgent care and it's embarrassing because she grew up in this house. Her daddy and mom lived in this house without air conditioning and they never passed out.

At the clinic, Lily had mentioned something about this being one of the hottest recorded summers that Georgia has seen in decades but that had done little in making Beth feel better. The truth is, she fainted and Daryl had come to her rescue and it's embarrassing that he had to rescue her from anything. She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself and for some reason, she doesn't want to appear weak in Daryl's eyes.

"And you're feeling alright?" Rick asks and she feel his eyes looking at her closely.

Beth nods and makes sure to give him her best smile. She may have lived in Atlanta for a few years to go to school, but she's never forgotten how small this town of theirs is. Ever since she got home from the clinic, not having even spent twelve hours in that bed, the phone calls and visitors have seemed to be constant. She thinks it's sweet; everyone wanting to come and check on her. But it only adds to her embarrassment.

"Alright, little guy," she says after she unwraps the syringes. "I promise, this will only hurt for a second and you'll get another treat afterwards."

She is quick to give the puppy the booster shots he is in need of and he yelps as Beth holds him gingerly, murmuring to him that he is such a good boy. She throws the needles out in the proper disposal can and then goes to get him another little Milkbone treat.

"You and Lori really need to give this little guy a name. Shouldn't Carl name him?" Beth asks as she returns to the table and Rick is holding the puppy now in his arms. She holds out the treat and it seems as if the puppy has already forgotten all about his shots because he wags his tail and takes the treat eagerly.

There's a knock on the closed examination room door and she goes to answer it, opening it to see that it's Daryl. His hair seems darker, plastered to his head with sweat, and he's wearing a blue tee-shirt that has obvious sweat marks staining it; his tool belt hanging around his waist.

He looks at her and Beth does her best to keep her eyes on his. She doesn't want him to know how uncomfortable she is now while around him. He keeps seeing her at her weakest – calling him for help with the water pumps, seeing her crying in the kitchen as she thought of her parents, finding her passed out in her bed – and she feels as if they are no longer on even standing ground and she can't help but wonder what his opinion of her is.

"Everything alright?" She asks him.

"Hey, man," Rick says, coming up behind Beth.

"Hey," Daryl says to Rick with a slight head nod and seems a little surprised to see him there before he's able to mask his face once more. "That's new," he then says, looking to the puppy in Rick's arms.

"Yeah, got it a couple of days ago for Carl," Rick answers. "What do you think?"

Daryl looks at the little terrier puppy for a moment and then nods slightly. "'s tiny," he says after a moment and Beth nearly smiles.

She thinks it's odd that Daryl and Rick's conversation seems so jilted. She knows they are best friends but they're certainly not speaking with one another as if they are. Daryl hadn't even known that Rick had gotten a puppy a few days ago.

"Was there something you needed help with?" Beth asked, putting Daryl's attention on her once again.

"'s 'bout lunchtime. Merle, T and me are gonna head out for somethin' to eat. Was wonderin' if you wanna come with us?" Daryl asks and she tells herself to keep her eyes on him even though he's staring at her too closely and her stomach is flipping around all over the place.

She looks past him to see that the waiting room is empty. Rick was her last scheduled appointment before lunch and she doesn't have her next one until two o'clock. But someone might come or call in that time, in need of her. She really needs to get someone who can answer the phones when she's not able to.

"We won't be long and 's too hot to stay here," Daryl then says as if he's able to detect her hesitancy in leaving.

And she's back to look into his face. He's now taking it upon himself to make sure she'll eat something; as if she's not a grown woman perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But, Beth reminds herself, he doesn't know that she can take care of herself because every time he sees her, she's in need of some kind of help from him.

She nearly sighs. She hadn't wanted a friendship with him like this. She had wanted them to have a friendship with one another where they are equals; where they can both benefit from it. So far, it seems as if Daryl has done nothing except rescue Beth and she hasn't been able to do anything for him in return other than pull porcupine needles from his dog. But that's her job and she loves Louis so she doesn't count that.

"Sounds good," Beth does her best to smile and Daryl's still looking at her and she wonders if this man is actually capable of reading her thoughts.

God, she hopes not. Some of the things she's imagined concerning Daryl Dixon, Daryl should never know about them.

After working out Rick's invoice and swiping his credit card, accepting payment, Rick takes the puppy and says goodbye to both of them, heading outside to his Sheriff's car parked out front. And when he's gone, Beth goes to clean up the examination room and tries to ignore the tingles she gets from feeling Daryl's eyes on her. The room has a ceiling fan as well as a few portable fans blowing that makes it tolerable – she tries to keep it the coolest room in the house – but it's not that cold and yet, she still feels like shivering.

She lifts her head and looks at Daryl, managing to give him a smile. "How is it going down there?" She asks as she throws the Clorox wipes into the trash.

"Should get it all finished up this afternoon," Daryl answers, his eyes never leaving hers. "If we ain't finished though… my ma says you're more than welcome to come to her house tonight and sleep. We got an extra room there," he tells her.

Beth's smile is easier and more genuine at that. "That's so nice of her to offer. Rosita and Spencer have offered, too. I'm lucky to have more than one person in my life who is willing to put up with me if I need it."

Daryl frowns a little at that but she's not sure why and she doesn't ask what he's thinking.

"Is everything alright between you and Rick?" She hears herself ask instead.

Daryl looks at her with a slightly furrowed brow. "Why you wonderin' that?" He asks.

She shrugs. "I don't know," she quickly shakes her head. "I was probably just imagining something that isn't there at all. I have a bad habit of doing that."

She lets the sentence hang in the air for a moment longer before she turns away, going to her desk to finish making a new file folder for the Grimes' puppy, still without a name.

"Nah. You ain't imaginin' anythin'," Daryl speaks quietly and Beth lifts her head to look at him. His thumbs are hooked into his tool belt and he shrugs, glancing down to the floor before back to her. "Still my best friend. Things are just a lil' different 'tween us now. He's got a wife and a boy and a baby and my girlfriend jus' broke up with me. Don't seem like we have that much in common anymore."

Beth nods, understanding immediately. "It was like that with me and Rosita. We were best friends in high school but then we graduated and I went off to Atlanta and she stayed here and we just drifted apart. But now, I'm back and it's like we were never apart. Maybe it will be like that for you and Rick again someday."

Daryl shrugs at that. "Maybe," he says non-committedly and she can't tell if he is worried about him and Rick staying friends or not. Daryl is such an impossible man to read. "You 'bout ready to go?" He asks. "Keepin' Merle from eatin' when he's hungry ain't the smartest thing in the world to do."

Beth feels like laughing a little at that – so she does. And from the corner of her eye as they leave the exam room, she sees Daryl looking at her with his lips twitching in a small smile.

…

Daryl and T-Dog both want to go to the Chinese buffet in town but Merle has a taste for an omelet and damn it, he's the one doing most of the work putting in the Doc's AC, as he informs them all with a frown, and that means they're going to the diner for breakfast.

The diner is a bit crowded as it usually is for lunch but there's a booth open and after making sure Louis is in the truck bed and stays there, they make their way to it. Beth finds herself hesitating, wondering who will sit where, but the three men don't seem to have that same concern over seating charts. T-Dog slides into one side of the booth and Merle grabs a chair from a nearby table that isn't being used and he drags it over, sitting down at the head of the table, and Daryl looks to Beth, silently gesturing for her to slide in. She does, sliding close to the wall, sitting across from T-Dog, and Daryl slides in next to her.

"Hey, kids," Paulie comes up to their table with a smile and four menus, addressing them as if they are teenagers on vacation from the high school and enjoying the summer. "How's it goin' over at the Doc's place?" She asks, taking the menu back that Merle is already handing back to her without looking it over.

"She'll be going to sleep tonight, wearing layers," T-Dog grins and he gives Beth a quick wink and Beth smiles in return.

"Glad to hear it," Paulie nods, her smile still in place, and she looks to Beth. "I'm excited for you, Doc."

Beth smiles and nods. "I can't wait," she says and she really can't.

She hasn't had air-conditioning since her apartment in Atlanta and she never would have thought that it would be something she would miss. She didn't miss much from living in the city. Even years of going to school there, Beth never felt as if she truly ever belonged there. The desire to live in a small town pulsed through her and everywhere in Atlanta was too big and too crowded and traffic was so terrible, it took an hour to make any kind of distance. Her apartment had been nice and it had been nice to not have a lawn to worry about mowing or gutters to clean or leaves to rake in the fall. But even in all of the years she had lived there, it had never felt like home should feel.

She had returned for her daddy's funeral and had – reluctantly – returned to Atlanta for her two weeks remaining of school before graduation and then, with Maggie, Glenn and Shawn helping, packed her apartment up and she moved back here as quickly as she could.

She had made friends in Atlanta – her mom always said that it's just her personality. Beth can make friends anywhere. And she finds herself wondering if they ever think about her or even sometimes miss her. And Beth wonders if she should feel guilty because she never thinks about them – not until this very moment – and she certainly doesn't miss them.

After daddy died and she inherited the practice that they should have shared – together – Beth moved back here, determined to start her life. And she has done that – for the most part. She has the house and it's so much work, it's almost scary when she thinks about it, but it's more home than any other place has ever felt. She has connected with old friends – Rosita and Spencer and even Zach in some sense – and she has made some new ones. Examples of those new friends at this table with her – at least she thinks they're friends. She actually has no idea. Not even concerning Daryl anymore. She just doesn't know if she's comfortable around him anymore to be friends.

They order their food and Paulie leaves to go put their order in with Dale and Merle immediately takes charge of the conversation because that's just who Merle is. Beth tries to concentrate on what's being said – Merle and T-Dog are arguing about something and T-Dog is threatening to crush Merle's ignorant head in but Beth doesn't hear any bite in the man's voice and Merle just laughs at the threat – but she can't seem to focus on anything other than Daryl sitting right next to her.

Their bodies aren't touching but she can feel the heat radiating from his body onto hers. He has taken his tool belt off and left it in the truck and the short sleeves of his tee-shirt have ridden up his arms a little. She is doing her best to look at anything besides those biceps. Those biceps which had carried her from her house and into the urgent care. Those biceps that had held Louis strongly yet gently on her table as she pulled needles from his snout.

She has ordered a Diet Coke and Paulie has returned, setting everyone's drinks down in front of them. Beth hopes she doesn't seem to be too eager to dunk her straw in and take a greedy sip. She desperately needs to wet her throat though and clear her mind of those thoughts.

Daryl is so much more than just a pair of ridiculously sexy arms.

She wishes she knew what Daryl thought of her. Of course, with everything she's put him through just over the past couple of weeks, maybe she doesn't want to know.

"So, Doc, wha's the firs' thing you're gonna do tonight with the cold air blowin'?" Merle asks her with a grin across his face. "And don't feel like you need to keep any of the naked details from us jus' to be polite."

More than being offended, Beth blushes and feels herself wanting to laugh and Merle grins, too. Daryl leans over and punches his brother so hard on the arm, Beth swears that she can feel it but Merle just keeps on grinning and now, T-Dog is grinning, too.

But then the smiles are almost immediately gone when the door opens and someone else enters the diner. Merle is looking, his eyes slightly narrowed and his face screwed into a scowl and even T-Dog is frowning unpleasantly and Beth can't remember ever seeing the man frown before this moment.

She turns and looks over her shoulder and because of the reaction from the others, she doesn't find herself that surprised to see that Amy has walked in, Randall behind her, and Amy scans the diner for a moment, looking for an empty table.

Beth glances over to Daryl next to her but he's not looking. He's not even tense. He's just taking sips from his glass of Coke and fixing his eyes on a spot on the wall behind T's head. He knows Amy's in there now. It would be impossible for him not to know. Not only because of Merle and T-Dog's frowns and the anger practically radiating off of them – Beth admires their loyalty to their brother and friend – but because Amy is staring right over at their table once her eyes see them and there's no way that Daryl can't feel that.

Beth can't help but glance back over the top of the booth, towards the door where Amy is still standing, and when she sees, Beth nearly gasps. She quickly faces forward again and stares at her drink in front of her, pretending she can't feel Daryl now looking at her or feel eyes burning a hole in the back of her neck.

Because Amy isn't looking at Daryl. Amy's looking straight at her. And she doesn't look happy with her at all.

…

She knows Merle was just teasing her in the diner earlier but that night, with the newly installed air conditioner cooling the entire house, Beth strips herself naked and crawls onto her bed, lying down on top of the covers. With a contended sigh, she closes her eyes and smiles to herself. The house has never felt better to her.

Around her, it's quiet. Even if she lived in town, it would be quiet but not like this. Out here on the farm, there's nothing but crickets chirping and the occasional hoot of an owl and the wind rustling the leaves in the trees outside her window. And the sound of the air conditioning running. She has air conditioning now. And it is so amazing and wonderful and she knows they did for so many years but how did people survive in Georgia before air conditioning was even invented?

She has never slept naked before and she knows she'll get too cold for that but already, she feels herself beginning to drift off. Being in her comfy bed with the cold air sweeping over her, she feels completely relaxed and she realizes how poorly she's been sleeping during the nights with the heat weighing down on her like stones.

She keeps her eyes closed and she smiles to herself as she feel lips gently press to the side of her throat, facial hair gently scratching her.

"Mmmmm, Daryl," she moans softly and his lips turn upwards into a small smile.

She turns her head to the side to give him better access and his lips follow the colum on the side of her neck, heading towards her shoulder. His lips sweep across her collar bone as if he's following a marked map, and heads up the other side of her neck. She lifts her hands and runs them down his chest and discovers that he's not wearing a shirt. She can feel the warmth of his bare skin and she wants to open her eyes to look at him but she finds herself unable to; as if her eyelids are glued shut. But that's alright, she decides because he's warm and heavy on top of her and she can feel the cool air blowing over both of them and his lips are warm and wet on her skin.

She moans again and arches beneath him and his lips move, brushing over her chin and then down the bridge of her nose that makes her giggle.

"Yeah," he murmurs. "Amy always liked when I did that, too."

Beth gasps and her eyes snap open, flying into a sitting position. For a moment, she looks around her dark bedroom as if she has no idea where she is and her heart is beating rapidly. The air conditioner has stopped running for the moment and as expected, she is too cold now. She's able to slip beneath the covers without standing up from the bed and once beneath them, she rolls onto her side, bringing her knees to her chest. Her heart is still racing but she focuses on breathing, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Her nipples are in such hard points, they are almost hurting and the ache between her thighs is no better. She swears she can still feel the dream of his lips on her neck. And she can still hear his gruff, low voice in her ear.

"Amy."

That name over and over and no matter how hard she clenches her eyes shut, Beth can't get his voice to stop repeating it in her mind.

She has always firmly believed that every dream means something and while she's not an expert at dream interpretation, she supposes this one is pretty easy to make a stab at. She has a crush on Daryl Dixon. And he will never be able look at her and not see his ex-girlfriend.

…

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