A/N: I loved all of the reviews after the last chapter!

Someone mentioned that I had built up to some stuff and then all of a sudden, the last chapter left Daryl without Beth for a whole week. I know, that sucks! But I really didn't want to do the festival one day after the birthday, which was one day after Sophia had gone missing. It seemed like too much. And I figured if I'd had them keep speaking during the week that I didn't write about, it'd be like we missed a vital step in the relationship and suddenly it was just a component that was there, and that always sucks, too. So I thought, much like in life, maybe it wouldn't go quite as they'd planned, and we could have a little break to keep the hearts growing fonder.

A lot of people voted that Daryl should be cut some slack. I do agree- I've beat him up enough for a little while. But a lot of other people pointed out that Daryl is DARYL, and with all of the shit he's been through, he's bound to have some angst following him around. So I guess I'll just have to try my best to make it a good mix.

I think I've come up with a way to please everyone, so hopefully I can spin it properly.

I also originally didn't have anything more about the blonde that had been mean to him; in my original draft, she just walked off… but everyone was calling out for justice, so… Yeah.

Anyway, enjoy it and let me know what you think!

Chapter 30

The girls meandered around the festival grounds, stuffed with hot cocoa from one of the cafés they stopped at.

They'd already played a lot of games at the booths, and Beth had even bought herself a necklace with a little silver arrow dangling from it. As soon as she had spotted it, she'd thought of Daryl, and it made her feel all warm and tingly inside.

Beth hadn't heard from the crazy huntsman all week. She had tried stopping by his apartment the day after her birthday, but he hadn't answered the door, so she hadn't been sure what to think. He was always so strange about his space.

In the aftermath of her party, Beth opted to spend the remainder of the next day helping Sasha clean up the massive mess they'd left in the courtyard. The two extra waitresses that Sasha had on staff, though, both called in complaining of the flu, so Sasha was crunched for time. With nothing better to do that week than fill out job applications, Beth had offered to lend a hand at the diner as an extra waitress for some pocket money. With just her and Sasha working the place open to close, the week had been long, and hard.

For one thing, Beth had never had to work in the food industry before, so she was sorely inexperienced; she'd gone straight from college into an internship with the advertising agency back in Chicago. The girls found out pretty quickly that Beth wasn't really cut out for that kind of work, though. Despite Sasha's insistence that she didn't need to worry about it, the majority of Beth's paycheck would be going toward replacing a lot of broken dishes.

Aside from the hectic chaos of helping tables of people and trying not to drop or spill things constantly, Beth rather enjoyed the time she got to spend chatting with people and hanging out with Sasha and Ty. Even when she'd dropped things or screwed up an order, she'd apologized profusely and most people forgave her and still left tips. She realized early on that she'd missed the feeling of actually being useful and earning her own money again, rather than just swiping it out of her dwindling savings account.

A couple of days into the week, Bob had stopped in to grab dinner on his way home; and obviously, to see Sasha. Beth took a moment to corner him after Sasha had taken his order, and asked about Daryl. She'd been relieved to hear that he'd just been working open to close all week because their boss was out of town. It felt a lot less like he was intentionally avoiding her for whatever reason.

One afternoon, Lori had mentioned the festival opening up a couple of towns over, and all of the other girls jumped on board, except for Carol, who'd decided that it would be too much for Sophia at the moment. They had just put Ed in the ground, and despite Beth's offer, Carol wouldn't accept any help. Regardless, Sasha and Beth had taken turns dropping meals off at Carol's house after the diner closed, just so she and Sophia had warm, healthy meals to eat during their dark period.

As far as the festival went, though, Sasha had jumped at the chance to invite Bob to go along with them, and Beth had texted Bertha to invite her and Oscar along, as well. Before she knew it, a whole slew of shop guys and their girls had apparently agreed to meet up and have some beers.

A couple of nights before the weekend, Bob had been in the diner eating dinner again, so Beth cornered him, again. As to whether or not Daryl had opted to attend the function, though, Bob wasn't sure. She was a little concerned to hear that Daryl had practically been spending every waking hour in the shop, ignoring everything and everyone but his work. At that point, Beth made Bob promise to do everything in his power to convince Daryl to come to the festival and unwind.

She knew she should have called him and invited him herself, but truth be told, she was a little worried that she'd scared him off with how forward she was the night of her birthday. He'd been the one to grab her at the end of the night and seal his own fate with that damned good kiss, but then he fled and she heard nothing from him. The man was so damn skittish.

Beth resolved to herself that if Daryl skipped out on going to the festival, knowing she'd be there, that it was a clear message he really wasn't ready to be close to her after all. She knew it was silly to let so much ride on one little thing, but enough was enough. If he didn't want her to be an intimate part of his life, despite the insane, unexplainable connection they shared, then so be it. She'd back off, once and for all.

If he came, however… Daryl-hunting season was still on.

Truth be told, Beth knew deep down in her gut that Daryl Dixon wasn't getting away from her that easy; he just needed a little time to adjust. His family life had obviously been pretty terrible, and Beth suspected that Daryl hadn't ever engaged in a fully functional relationship with a woman before. He was always scurrying as soon as he got too close, like he was afraid of getting caught in a trap or something.

But even someone as emotionally dented up as Daryl couldn't possibly deny that the strange bond he shared with Beth was immense and so rare.

"I don't see anyone, yet. I can't believe I forgot my phone at home," Sasha grumbled. They'd been keeping their eyes out for the guys for a couple of hours, but hadn't had any sightings. Beth knew the shop closed up a bit later on Friday nights, so the guys would still be awhile yet, and she said as much to Sasha; although it didn't stem the other girl's grumbling. Beth smiled at the idea that someone had Sasha so twisted up inside, too.

As the girls wandered through the booths, they saw Lori again. Her little boy, Carl, was running around checking out all of the random cages of animals they had set up. It had begun to get dark out, and many of the family-oriented booths were beginning to close up, the little animal booth included.

Lori waved at them as they got closer, and Beth knelt down to look into a cage that Carl had his fingers stuck through. Four little tiny puppies yapped and climbed over one another as they fought to be the one getting petted with his little hand.

Beth chuckled as she stood up and moved on, browsing through all of the different puppy breeds in the cages. Then she stopped at the last cage, which had only one puppy left in it. It was curled on its side, facing away from her, but it looked nearly hairless. She was concerned it was sick or something and wondered if it was even good for it to be out in such chilly weather.

"Ma'am?" she said, hailing one of the older ladies running the booth. As soon as she spoke, though, the hairless bundle shifted and she found herself looking into the face of a tiny little piglet. It ran over to her from the other side of the cage and stuck its petite nose through the wires to sniff at her hands.

"Yes?" the older woman asked as she came over.

"I'm sorry," Beth said, laughing in wonder. "I thought this was a hairless puppy at first. I didn't realize you were selling pigs, too."

"Oh yes. We usually have a batch of piglets to sell all at once, but this little guy has had nothin' but trouble, so we thought we'd try our hand at getting rid of him at the festival."

As it turned out, the little pig had been the runt of his litter, and for that, he'd been excluded and kicked out of the warm circle of his siblings and mother. The woman who owned them had been bottle-feeding him, but with the holidays coming up, she admitted that he was more of a burden than a blessing.

Beth thought it was very possible that the sob-story was a ploy to get rid of the last pig so that the lady didn't have to haul it home, but her bleeding heart screamed, So what?!

Before she knew it, Beth had been handed a bag of supplies and the teenie little piglet in exchange for half of the money she'd brought with her. The little guy had been trembling when he was given over to her, so Beth had taken a moment to wind her scarf around his small body, hoping that'd help keep him warm.

Soon after, Lori and Rick bid farewell and departed to get Carl to bed, leaving Sasha and Beth to wander the festival alone once more.

"I can't believe you bought a pig," Sasha said again, eying it as they made their way over to the bonfires that were burning near the edge of the festival.

"I can't either," Beth admitted. "But look at how cute he is!"

Sasha only laughed at her friend, hooking her arm through Beth's as they strolled along.

Suddenly, Sasha gasped and pointed. "I think I see Bob!"

Beth chuckled as her friend gave her an excited squeeze and then sprinted off to see her new beau.

As Beth neared the crowd huddled around one of the huge bonfires, she saw Oscar and Bertha trying to feed and wrangle their four little kids, two boys and two girls. They all looked so similar, Beth couldn't tell if any of them were twins or not.

One of the little girls squealed as soon as she saw the piglet cradled in the crook of Beth's arm and ran over to see it, followed closely by her sister. Beth laughed as she watched their bright eyes dance with wonder as they petted the little pig and tickled it under the chin.

"What's its name?"

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Does it bite?"

"Where did you get it?"

"Girls!" Bertha scolded as they continued to bombard Beth with questions. "Sorry about that. Their daddy has been giving them all kinds of sugar today."

"No worries," Beth said, smiling down at them. Soon, both little boys ran over to join the fun. As Beth answered their excited questions, she looked up and let her eyes sweep the people around her, catching sight of Sasha and Bob leaned into one another.

Beyond them, Beth finally spotted Daryl.

He looked handsome in black cargo pants and a black button-up shirt underneath his leather angel-wing vest. She was surprised he hadn't dressed more warmly, but then… Daryl was always uncomfortable anyway.

His attention was focused on a leggy blonde woman wearing ridiculously-short shorts who was grinning at him a little maliciously. Daryl, meanwhile, looked like he was spitting daggers out of his eyes, but even with the heat and flame from the fire, his face looked abnormally red.

In fact, Daryl looked to be pretty pissed.

She frowned and handed the piglet off to Bertha so that the kids could continue petting it without following her.

As she threaded her way through people, the blonde woman walked off from Daryl with a cruel, satisfied smirk on her face. The woman locked eyes with Beth as they approached each other, and her expression contorted into a scowl. They slammed shoulders as they passed, and the woman immediately rounded on Beth.

"Watch where yer goin', bitch!"

She wasn't sure where the hostility was coming from, but she definitely felt like it had something to do with Daryl.

"I did," Beth said shortly.

She wasn't the type to get into a catfight with some girl she'd never met before, but she also wasn't the type to be kowtowed for no apparent reason, either. She had no intention of getting out of this girl's way and letting her be a bully. That's not how life worked.

The girls stared each other down for a minute before Beth looked her over disapprovingly. Who would be dumb enough to wear shorts when it's forty degrees outside?

"You should stick to yer own kind," the woman said scathingly.

Beth had no idea what this crazy woman was talking about, but before she could think to try and be more polite about it, she responded, "You should look into getting a weather app for your phone."

The girl's mouth dropped open, but she seemed to have nothing further to say. Oscar, meanwhile, shouted "Daaaaaaamn!"

Done wasting her time, Beth smiled at her stunned face, and then turned around to go find Daryl.

She bumped straight into him when she turned; she should have known he'd be right there at the first sign of confrontation, just like always.

His blue eyes looked golden as they reflected the shades of the bonfire. He stared down at her with an expression on his face that she hadn't ever really seen there before. He almost looked… pained.

In the background, Beth heard the trashy woman start getting mouthy, but Oscar's wife cut her off midstream and none-too-sweetly told her what was going to happen to her if she came around looking for a real fight.

Ignoring the commotion, Beth searched out Daryl's face, trying to get a read on him.

"Hey," he mumbled quietly, shifting as he began chewing on the inside of his lip.

"Well, good evening, Mr. Dixon," she responded just as quietly, grinning at him as his lips curved into a small, sad smile.

Reaching up, she put her hand on his face and rubbed her thumb between his crinkled eyebrows in an attempt to smooth out his tense expression. His eyes fluttered closed at their contact and he leaned his cheek against her hand.

Aware of their massive audience, and knowing how Daryl felt about people being in his business, Beth gently removed her hand and held herself back from kissing him like she wanted to.

He opened his eyes and searched her face, like he was looking for something, too. His mood was very off.

"Will you walk with me?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said gruffly.

She smiled at him and then turned to carefully make her way over the people, beer bottles, and shopping bags strewn about around the fire. Butterflies erupted in her stomach when Daryl reached over and gripped her hand firmly, letting her lead him out of the crowd.

They walked for many minutes in silence; Beth enjoying the scenery and the smells of all of the different food vendors. But then she glanced over at Daryl and caught him focused on the ground as they walked, the same strange look still adorning his face.

"Please tell me what's wrong," Beth blurted out. She knew directness wasn't the best way to get anything out of Daryl, but his expression was killing her. What was going on?

He glanced at her from underneath his bangs, and despite the fact that he had a whole head of height on her; it still somehow seemed like he was looking up at her, he was so drawn into himself.

"Please," she repeated, squeezing his hand.

Shaking his head, Daryl said, "It's jus' been a long week, that's all."

"Yeah, I heard you'd been keeping the place afloat with Ron gone," she said conversationally, although she wasn't satisfied with his answer. They both knew work wasn't the problem.

He looked over at her with his eyebrows raised. "How do you know all o' that?"

It was Beth's turn to shrug. "Sasha was down a couple of waitresses, so I helped out all week, and-"

Daryl snorted, and it came dangerously close to a laugh.

"What?" Beth asked, stopping.

"Nothin', just… you bein' a waitress. I can't picture tha'."

"What's wrong with me being a waitress?"

"You're clumsy as hell," he said, smirking a little.

Beth pressed her lips into a tight line. He knew her too well.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, facing her. "I wasn't makin' fun o' ya…"

"It's not that, it's just…" Beth paused, loathe to admit he was right. "I broke like… two dozen plates. And a handful of glasses. I'm pretty sure I owe Sash more money than I earned just by being there. It really was a mess…"

Daryl laughed at her, in his own reserved way; his eyes absolutely danced when he smiled like that. She was happy to see that frown line disappear from between his eyebrows for a minute, too.

"Anyway," she continued, "Bob came in a couple of nights to have dinner and, I imagine, watch Sasha walk around. I bombarded him about you since I hadn't heard from you for so many days…"

Daryl nodded and pulled her along as he began walking again.

"Have you…" Beth paused, unsure as to how this was going to play out. But she needed some answers. Tip-toeing around him was just making her crazy.

He glanced at her as she tried to find the right words; he looked somber and still a little sad.

"Have you been avoiding me all week?" she finally asked, keeping her tone from being accusatory.

"Maybe," he answered in his low timbre. He pulled her along again, heading for a small bench perched near the tree line, leaving behind the brightness and the oppressive noise of the crowded festival.

"Did I do something… wrong?" she asked.

"No," Daryl answered quickly, shaking his head.

She watched as he plopped himself onto the bench and leaned forward to put his face in his hands like a man who was weary of his life. Slowly, she seated herself next to him and waited.

"I'm sorry I've been pushing you so hard," she said finally, when it was clear that Daryl wasn't going to say anything. "I just… What we have… How I feel when I'm around you; that isn't normal, Daryl. That's not something many people get to experience with another person in their entire lifetime. It's something special, and I'd rather not waste it."

Daryl lifted his head as she spoke and he stared across the field as he kept his chin propped on his knuckles.

"I know you feel the same way," she continued. "I can see it in the way you look at me; like maybe I'm something special, too."

Daryl finally turned his head and looked at her, scowling. "That's th' whole damn problem, though, ain't it?"

Beth frowned at him as he stood up and began pacing. His shoulders were tense and she could see the jaw muscles clenching under his skin.

"D'you know why I'm still here?" he said finally, glancing over at her, the expression on his face fierce and resolved.

Beth shook her head, unable to speak for fear of sidetracking him.

"I'm still here, because I ain't got nowhere else t' be. My ma burned herself t' death 'n our house when I was five years old, an' my abusive shit of a father finally stopped breathin' in his trailer a couple o' months back. Right before that, my brother Merle had been sittin' 'n our apartment durin' a drug raid, and got extra time 'n prison for attackin' two of the cops. I ain't even ever been outside the state. I'm here, livin' in the middle o' nowhere in Georgia because I ain't got nowhere else t' be, Beth. I ain't got nothin' better t' do, an' no one better to become."

For Daryl, it was a long speech, and Beth was afraid to even shift and cause him close himself off. He was opening up to her, and although it stung a bit that she wasn't one of the reasons he was still there, the revelations would still help her get to the bottom of what's been going on between them.

"You had a great life in Chicago," he said, his eyes burning holes through hers. "You had a good career, an apartment all t' yourself; friends. One fuckin' prick ruined all o' that for you. He sidetracked you an' sent you scramblin' this way. But he's gone, girl. Fucker's 'n the ground."

Daryl shook his head and began pacing again; through his agitation, she felt like she was getting the gist of his train of thought.

"It's all over," he said finally. "You don't belong 'n Georgia. It's time for you t' go back t' your good life. Pack your shit, get the fuck outta here, an' just pretend like it was all a bad dream."

She stared at him for a moment and couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What are you talking about? I'm not some tourist who is just… vacationing here. I live here now."

Daryl shook his head and sat back down on the farthest edge of the bench, running his hands through his hair. "You don't belong," he repeated.

"Do you know why I'm still here?" she asked, throwing his question back at him.

"No," he said bitingly.

She moved over and knelt in the grass between his knees so that her face was inches from his. "I'm still here because there's nowhere else I'd rather be."

"You already had one asshole nearly ruin your life; don't aim for it twice."

Sighing, Beth reached up and brushed the hair back from Daryl's face, frustrated with his idiotic, self-sabotaging stubbornness.

"Get off o' the grass," Daryl said quietly as he stared down at her. "You're gonna catch a cold or somethin'…"

"Not until you just admit you like me," Beth retorted. "I'll start stripping clothes off and running around the festival buck-naked if I have to."

Daryl cracked a small smile as he clasped both of her cold hands in his warm ones.

"I'm serious, Beth. I ain't no good for anyone, an' I'm sure as hell not worth givin' all that up for."

"Do you like me?" she asked, ignoring his arguments.

"That don't matter," he said, shaking his head at her.

She got to her feet as she backed up, and unzipped both of her boots.

"What're you doin'?"

"You haven't answered my question, Daryl."

"You're fuckin' ridiculous is all I know. Put your damn boots back on."

Beth narrowed her eyes at him. "You're the most stubborn man I've ever laid eyes on, Daryl Dixon, but you're still no match for me."

As he glared back at her, Beth pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it to the ground behind her.

"Would you quit? You're actin' like a lunatic," Daryl grumped.

"Do you like me? Simple question, Daryl," she responded.

"It doesn't fuckin' matter," he gritted out between his teeth.

Beth shrugged and then popped the button on her jeans, pulling them down and off of each foot in a couple of quick motions. He was right, she was being an idiot; it was pretty damn cold out, and she trembled as the air struck her bare skin.

"Christ," Daryl ground out, while averting his gaze.

"It matters to me," she said, throwing her waded up jeans at him.

"Put your fuckin' clothes back on!"

"Simple question, Daryl!"

"For fuck's sake, jus' stop this shit," he growled, tossing her pants back at her.

She let them fall to the ground as she pulled her tank top off and added to the pile.

Daryl glared at her. "You're gonna freeze."

"I can't hear you," Beth said, reaching behind her to grip the clasp of her bra.

His eyes widened when he realized she was dead-serious with her threat, and before she could react, he'd lunged off of the bench.

She squealed as he came after her, but wasn't nearly as quick as Daryl and his hunter's reflexes. He snagged one of her wrists, pulling her backward against him. He got a grip on her other wrist, too, and held them pinned in front of her as he stared down at her.

Beth couldn't help the grin that spread across her face as he glared down at her and chewed on his lip.

"Well?"

"Of course I fuckin' like you," Daryl said, his voice sounding scratchy. "I wouldn't be always dealin' with all o' your crazy shit if I didn't."

Smiling, Beth stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against Daryl's.

"Get your damn clothes back on," he mumbled against her mouth, releasing her wrists. Then he hesitated, eyes on her chest. She wondered what he was doing, until she felt him gently reach over and lift the little silver arrow necklace away from her skin so he could inspect it easier.

He said nothing as he laid it back down gently against her breastbone, but he glanced up at her from under his choppy bangs, and his eyes were blazing with understanding.

Once she was fully dressed again, they made their way back across the lawn towards the population amid the tents. She noticed, as they neared the lighting, that Daryl's face was almost beet red.

She reached down and entwined her fingers in his, enjoying how his rough skin felt against her own, slightly amused at how shy he still seemed to be around her body.

He squeezed her hand, but didn't look at her once as they wove their way through the throngs of drunks to get back to their group at the bonfire.

Once they arrived, they were greeted with admonishments for running off, and cheers that they'd finally found their way back. The little piglet was sound asleep in a small cardboard box that the lady had supplied Beth with upon purchase, and Bertha had already departed with the kids, leaving Oscar there to drink and catch a ride home with whomever.

Mark and his girl had unfortunately never showed, but Beth was thankful that the slutty woman from earlier was nowhere to be seen, either.

Then, she and Daryl were supplied with long metal prongs and an opened bag of giant marshmallows to pull from. Laughing, Beth took a couple out and stuck them to the end of both sticks, handing one over to Daryl.

He scowled at it, but stuck it into the flames anyway.

"You don't like roasting marshmallows?" she asked.

Daryl shrugged, staring into the fire. "Never tried it before."

Beth's mood sank a bit as she soaked that in. She reflected back on all of the things she had seen and heard about Daryl since she'd arrived at her cabin. Her mind skipped through the memory of the little bit of his past that he'd shared with her right before they burned down the trailer; an admission of how his dad had abused him constantly for some asinine reason or another. She also remembered Lori's warning in Atlanta so long ago, about Daryl's dad being a mean drunk. And the scars; for as long as she lived, Beth would never forget how mangled and damaged Daryl's back had appeared when she'd accidentally caught a glimpse of it. It was riddled with torn skin tissue that would never fully heal and, Beth suspected, that ran much deeper than they looked.

It was no wonder Daryl didn't like being touched, why he hated large, loud crowds of people, and why he was afraid of letting anyone get too close; he'd been beaten down his entire life.

With tears burning her eyes, Beth leaned over, pressing a soft kiss on his cheekbone, right next to his ear.

"I promise I'll never hurt you, Daryl Dixon," she whispered for only him to hear.

He looked down at her then, and she could see the war behind his eyes. Finally, he looked away, but shifted his position so that he could drape an arm across her shoulders. Smiling at the new development, Beth snuggled closer against his side, wrapping her arm around his lower back.

"It's not me I'm worried 'bout," he whispered quietly, staring deeply into the flames.

"I trust you," she said simply, kissing the base of his throat.

Suddenly, her abandoned marshmallow burst into flames and hissed as it popped and drizzled down the length of her prongs. Laughing, Beth pulled it out of the fire and let it drop to the dirt, where the small fire sputtered and died out.

"That's… not how you properly roast a marshmallow," she said, grinning up at Daryl.

He shook his head and eventually conceded a small smile; it was like seeing a white surrender flag being waved in the middle of the battle field full of corpses.

Finally; she felt like she'd won.

0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0

After the festival had finally begun to wrap up and the beer vendors closed down, everyone meandered to the parking lot where they began saying their goodbyes and sorting out who was going home in which cars.

Daryl walked slowly over to his bike, near where Bob and Sasha were tangled together by what Beth could only assume was Bob's car. When Sasha saw her, she pulled herself away long enough to give Beth a proper hug goodbye, offering to let Ty give her a lift back.

Beth thanked her and waved as Sasha and Bob hopped in his car and pulled out of the parking lot.

"I can't believe you bought yourself a damned pig," Daryl said, unknowingly repeating Sasha's very sentiments from earlier as he eyed the small, closed box under her arm.

"Take me home," Beth murmured as she hooked her fingers in Daryl's belt loops and pulled herself against him.

Daryl put his hand on her hip and squeezed a bit, as he buried his nose in her hair and breathed her in.

Then, he released her and climbed over the back of his bike, getting it started. She felt a little nervous; she'd never before been on a motorcycle, and her dad would have had a fit if he'd known she was getting on without so much as a helmet to keep her safe. But, it was Daryl, she reasoned. And like she told him earlier, she trusted him.

Oscar began loudly, drunkenly, yelling at them from across the lot, where he was being herded toward Ian's car. Daryl revved the engine as Beth settled in, tucking the piglet's box between her thighs and wrapping her arms tightly around Daryl's waist. As they rolled out of the spot and headed for the exit, Beth noticed that the woman she'd had a run-in with was standing at Ian's car, as well, glaring daggers at them. As they rode passed, Beth turned halfway in the seat and gave the bitch her middle finger.

She could barely hear Oscar laughing profusely before Daryl hit the pavement and they sped off, the roar of the engine and the fluttering of her heart drowning out all else.