Leave Out All The Rest (Bethyl AU)

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"That looks great Bethy." Hershel watched his daughters hang the first few ornaments on the Christmas tree in his Vet's office. It was a week away from Christmas and a day after the fair where Beth had sang at the Christmas fair. She spent the whole night in her room thinking about the strange encounter she had with Daryl Dixon. Every time she thought about him her stomach did back flips and she hated feeling this way for someone she hardly even knew. There was something about the way he looked at her though. She pictured his piercing blue eyes and found herself staring into space thinking about him on more than one occasion today as she helped her father decorate his office. His office was only a few miles down the road from their farmhouse and since he wasn't sure if the help he got from the courts was going to come in he called Beth and Maggie to help him until they showed up.

            "Daddy, I can't stay much longer. Glenn is coming to pick me to go have dinner with his parents in an hour." Maggie said to Hershel as she put the angel on top of the tree.

            "Fine. Fine. If Beth can stay then I don't mind you heading home to get cleaned up." Hershel said and Maggie shot Beth a hopeful look.

            "Sure. I can stay for a bit." She said less enthusiastically. She had hoped she could get home to ride some her horse down to the river before it got to dark but she knew that probably wouldn't happen if she had to stay at her dad's office all day. Maggie hugged her little sister and then her father saying she would call whenever she was on her way out.

            "Beth why don't you go check on Checkers. He should be waking up soon." Hershel said and Beth stood up from decorating the tree and headed to the back of the building.

She passed some of the kennels and looked in on the few puppies they had that were still nursing off their mother. She loved helping out with the animals but she really wished she was outside in the fresh air today since it was warmer today than it has been in the past few weeks. She opened the door to the potbelly pig's room and saw the fat pig still passed out. She checked his vitals and she was about to head back to the front when she heard the roar of a loud motorcycle outside. Beth looked out the window and saw the source of the noise. Her heart sank when she saw Daryl Dixon and another guy getting off the bike and heading inside. She sank to the floor and when the bell rang and they came inside she heard her father greeting them. She poked her head in the large square window behind the receptionist desk that connected the room she was in to the front office. She saw Daryl shake her father's hand and almost had a heart attack. She quickly looked down at her clothes and realized she was still wearing what she wore to bed that night. Leggings, boots, and an oversized shirt that hung off her shoulders. She hadn't bothered to put on make up either.

            "Beth." Her fathers voice called her and she wished more than anything that she would have left with Maggie when she had the chance.

            "Just a minute." She called back and hurried into the bathroom in the back and splashed water on her face. She ran her fingers through her hair and quickly pulled it up in a ponytail and inhaled and then exhaled.

            "Ah, there you are." Hershel said as Beth entered the front room. When Daryl saw Beth she noticed his eyes open wide and she gave him a small smile not sure if she was supposed to act like she knew him or not. "This is the help from the courts I was talking about." Hershel said and looked at the two boys. "Here for community service. Better late than never though."

            "Sorry about that, having to rely on my little brother here ain't the way I dreamed of getting around sir." Merle said and Daryl shot him a look. Daryl did not want to look bad in front of Beth or her father.