So, I actually managed to write down chapter 2 in the middle of the dissertation! I'm pretty proud of myself, and I can't believe you guys are actually enjoying this story! Please keep reviewing it, I'm so curious to know what you guys think of this. If you hadn't noticed already, it's gonna be a pretty light hearted and fun story, just like the Indiana Jones movies are :) Enjoy this new chapter!

"Daryl, please, don't be stupid! You can't bring Beth with you, it's not safe!" Dale was following Daryl down the hall back to his office, and Beth was struggling to keep up with them.

She understood Dale, she really did. He treated her like a father would: she was young, and away from home and she knew he saw her as a fragile thing that had to be protected. But she wasn't. All her life, she had wanted something like this to happen to her. An opportunity to really prove the world – and herself- that she could do this. That she wasn't just some scared little girl, that she was capable.

Running on an adventure with the famous, dangerous, surly archaeologist Daryl Dixon? She couldn't have asked for a better opportunity to finally prove her worth. Moreover, she actually thought that he could have used her help. There weren't many people who knew more than she did about Mayan art.

"Dale, you can't keep me from doing this! I am twenty-two years old! And it's for the good of the museum and all that's inside of it!"

"Beth, I can't take this responsibility, I…"

"Then don't. It's not your responsibility, Dale. It's my choice."

She eyed Daryl, expecting him to come to her rescue but he seemed too busy looking at the Mayan calendar to care.

Dale sighed. "I guess you couldn't be in safer hands, Beth," he muttered. He stepped towards Daryl, grabbing him by the arm.

Daryl rolled his eyes and looked at him.

"I know, I know. I'll keep her safe, Dale."

"Don't sass me. I know how your 'explorations' end up, with you being followed by some bunch of crazy people with guns. You're not on your own this time, you better remember that."

"Hey, I don't go lookin' for them! It's them who come lookin' for me!" Daryl complained.

Beth couldn't help but shiver, half in fear and half in anticipation.

Adventure. Real, out of a novel adventure.

Dale shook his head, resigned, before looking at Beth.

"It's a dangerous world out there. It's not a game, Bethy, and remember you have a family to go back to. And me and the crew, okay? Don't be foolish, okay?"

She nodded, hugging the older man. "I promise, I'll be back before you know it! Just tell the others I'm taking a short holiday."

"Ain't a holiday, Bethy," Daryl interrupted the hug, looking unimpressed. "And I better teach you how to shoot a gun, you can go around hitting people with books and with those tiny arms of yours."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

Daryl and her kept bickering, and she could have sworn she heard Dale muttering something to himself that sounded very close to 'Daryl Dixon and women'.

The morning after Beth woke up at 6, despite having gone to bed late and having had a hard time falling asleep because of the excitement.

She quickly prepared a backpack and a bag with what she considered sensible clothes, glad that she was actually an outdoorsy person. She tried to think about the clothes Daryl was wearing the day before, picking a leather jacket to match, boots and comfortable clothes.

She couldn't help but feel a little like Lara Croft as she watched her refection in the mirror, and she quickly braided her hair to channel the tomb raider a bit more. Yes, she looked ready for adventure, she decided. Despite that, she still packed mascara and lipstick, just in case.

She couldn't believe what she was doing, and when she heard the rumble of a motorcycle outside she darted out of her home. She had called her parents and told them she would be on holiday for a couple weeks, so that they didn't have to worry.

She sprinted out of the house, only stopping in front of Daryl, who had gotten off of his bike and was staring at her looking quite amused.

"What?" she snapped.

"Playing dress up, Lara?"

Beth blushed, but stood her ground.

"Would you rather me be going around the jungle wearing a sundress?" she bit back.

Daryl didn't say anything, before eying the compass she was wearing across her neck and huffing, shaking his head.

"What, so you're the only one who can look cool?" Beth exclaimed, exasperated.

"You think I look cool, Bethy?"

"Don't call me Bethy!" she hoped he hadn't noted her blush.

He just smirked, offering her a helmet after having put her bag in the back trunk.

"Hop on and hold tight, okay?"

"Yes, Professor Dixon."

He didn't say anything, but as soon as he started the engine he gave the motorbike a sudden acceleration that had her squealing.

"That'll teach you, Bethy."

"A plane? We're taking a plane?"

"Girl, just five minutes ago you complained that your ass was feeling stiff after just half an hour, do you really wanna ride a bike to Mexico? Besides, it's safer this way."

Beth couldn't help but feel a little disappointed: going on a plane didn't feel adventurous at all, she thought, even though she had to agree that her butt was feeling really stiff already. She had never been on a bike before though, and she had to say that, apart from the sore behind, it had been thrilling. Especially getting to hold on to Daryl's taut stomach and chest and getting to feel all those muscles under her hands.

"Which airport will be leaving from? I thought Atlanta's airport was the other way."

They were at a gas station, Daryl refilling and her sipping on a much needed coffee.

"We're not leaving from an airport. An old friend of mine, he… well, you'll see for yourself. Hope you ain't scared of flying," Daryl said, his usual smirk gracing his features.

"I've only been on a plane twice before," Beth confessed, feeling like the most boring human being in the world. "I guess that's kinda lame, huh?"

Daryl just shrugged, "You're young," he just said.

Beth huffed, a little annoyed that everyone seemed to consider her barely past her teenage years.

"You are. Ain't a bad thing, either," he muttered.

"How old are you?" she asked, feeling brave.

"Too old for this," he just replied, making her giggle. "Come on, we still have a couple hours down the road. You done with your coffee?"

Beth nodded, finishing the last few sips before throwing the cup away.

"Good. Jump up. And no more complaining about your ass."

Beth rolled her eyes, climbing up behind him and all too eagerly placing her arms around him.

Daryl was right, the place they had arrived to was definitely no airport. It was a landing field in the middle of nowhere, literally. There was nothing but grass on all sides of it, excluding a big shed where she could guess a plane –planes?- were stored.

As soon as Daryl stopped the motorbike, a man came out of the shed, yelling something at them she couldn't quite comprehend.

Beth got off the bike, her legs feeling shaky and unsteady for a few seconds, which Daryl immediately noticed.

"You think you can manage to walk, girl?" he asked her, sarcasm clear in his voice.

Beth swatted his arm, "Jerk."

He just smirked, satisfied, and led their way towards the man.

He was tall, taller than Daryl and way bulkier. His hair was red and so was his moustache, and his arm muscles were so big they looked ready to explode. He definitely looked intimidating, but as soon as Daryl approached him a huge smile broke on his face.

"Daryl Dixon! Man, it's been a long time! How you doing?" the man asked, giving Daryl a firm handshake and a one-arm hug.

"Doin' fine, man."

The man seemed to finally notice her, and his face immediately twisted in a malicious grin.

"Last time you showed up here you were with that Tyreese guy. Glad to see your taste has improved, Dixon. What's your name, sugar?" the man asked, eying her appraisingly. Beth blushed, feeling a little self conscious.

"I'm Beth, nice meeting you…"

"Abraham Ford, the pleasure all mine, Miss."

Beth smiled at him while Daryl rolled his eyes.

"Come inside, Eugene and Rosita will be happy to see you. Eugene actually wanted to talk to you about something, Daryl. Has to do with Mexico and whatever shit you got going on over there," Abraham said, leading them inside. It was pretty hot outside, but thankfully there was air conditioning in the small office he had built inside the shed.

Beth could see three small planes inside while they made their way to the office, and she couldn't help but feel her stomach clench at how unsafe and old they looked. If Daryl noticed, he didn't show it.

There were two people inside: a pretty Latina girl, wearing too little clothes and a hat, who was working on some mechanical part while sucking on a lollipop, and she looked so badass and cool that Beth couldn't help but feel a little jealous. The other person was a chubby guy who was sporting a mullet and looked like he hadn't taken a bath in years. Beth tried not to cringe when he smiled at her creepily, but couldn't help stepping a little closer to Daryl.

"Dixon! To what do we owe the pleasure?" Rosita asked, raising her hand in sign of greeting.

"Need to get to Mexico without people keeping track of my whereabouts."

"You came to the right place," she smiled, before seeing Beth and raising her eyebrows.

"This is Beth, she's an expert on Mayan art," Daryl said before she could ask.

Rosita only smiled, but Eugene seemed even more interested.

"Daryl, I've done the research you asked me for. Figured out the right landing spot. If my calculations are right, you should only be a couple days away by car. Well, and then there's the jungle, of course."

Daryl nodded, looking at the map Eugene had handed him. "Seems right to me," he said, nodding.

"I'll be flying you there," Abraham said, "but I need you to give me a date for when I gotta pick you up to."

"I'll call you from there," Daryl replied, still intently looking at the map.

Beth was feeling nervous all of a sudden, and so out of place: these people all seemed to know what was going on much better than she did, and when she noticed the stock of weapons that were lying in boxes everywhere in the room she started to realize how much of a burden she was going to be to Daryl. She wished she could be tough like Rosita, sure the Latina girl would have known how to shoot a gun and wouldn't have panicked at the idea of flying on board of a tiny, illegal plane.

"It's okay, you'll learn."

Beth almost jumped, and then she noticed Rosita had gotten up and made her way towards her.

"I've never seen Dixon taking a girl on a mission. He must have seen something in you that made him believe you were capable of this."

The girl seemed to have read her mind, and Beth couldn't help but wonder if she had been in her same situation not long ago.

Rosita went to one of the boxes and picked up a knife in a leather sheath, and she tied it wordlessly to Beth's belt, with a small wink.

None of the guys seemed to have noticed, to busy making plans looking at the map.

Beth smiled at Rosita, whispering "Thank you."

Beth tried to focus on something, anything that wasn't the nausea that the plane ride was causing her. That thing bumped up and down and left and right more than a roller coaster would, and it was making her feel sick and scared.

Daryl was sitting in the front with Abraham, talking plans, and she was kind of glad he didn't have to see her like that. He had tied a whip around his belt and had gotten a hat out of his trunk, which Beth would have found hysterical hadn't she been on the verge of throwing up.

To distract herself, she took her knife out of her sheath, holding it experimentally and feeling the weight of it. She was so grateful to Rosita for that, and she just hoped she was going to learn how to actually use it.

"Rosita gave that to you?"

Daryl's voice startled her, and she noticed he was now sitting in front of her. That man could be as quiet as a cat, it was incredible.

"Yeah."

Daryl gestured for her to pass the knife to him, so she did, ignoring the warm feeling in her belly when her fingers brushed his.

"'s a good knife," he said, studying it. "I better teach you how to use it, what do you say?"

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, trying not to seem too desperate. Daryl smirked.

"Can't have you running around the jungle without knowing how to handle yourself, can I?"

Beth smiled, shaking her head. Daryl sat down next to her and started showing her how to hold the knife, how to throw it.

Before she knew it, they were landing in the middle of nowhere. Only, this nowhere was in Mexico.

So yeah, Daryl has the classic Indy whip-and-hat! Ahah! Let me know if you liked it ;)