#bethylfiction

[darkmystress00]

Crayons and Kindergarten

Prompt: parents meeting when they take their kids to class au

Words: 1377

Pairing: Bethyl

Beth smoothed out the front of her blouse nervously. It was Sammy’s first day of kindergarten and to say Beth wasn’t a wash of crazy emotions would be the worst sort of lie. She was fit to be tied for a good number of reasons, none of them logical. With a quiet huff she got out of the car and moved to the back, unbuckling her daughter and lifting her from her car seat.

“Sammy, put on your backpack while Mama ties your shoes.” She mumbled as she knelt down to double knot both little sneakers.

“Yes, Mama.” Sammy chirped as she pulled the little jean backpack trimmed in white lacy from the spot next to her seat. Sammy wrinkled her nose at the frilly bag, but knew better than to argue with her mama, especially when it was obvious her mama was feeling a certain sort of way. Sammy had no idea why her mama seemed so nervous, it wasn’t like she was the one who had a new teacher and needed to learn all her ABCs.

Beth straightened and smiled down at Sammy before taking her hand and walking her across the little school parking lot. She tilted her head up, chin out in determination. She could just about feel everyone’s eyes on her, but she chose to ignore them. When she’d come home from college she’d been the talk of the town: freshly twenty-two, unmarried, and pregnant. She’d had a steady college boyfriend (not that anyone who gossiped knew that) and they’d even talked about coming back and getting hitched. When Beth had wound up pregnant all those dreams had come crashing down on her. The boy had said he just simply wasn’t ready to be a daddy and had up and disappeared on her. She’d hidden away at her parent’s farm trying desperately not to hear the not so whispered rumors that started in the church yard and followed her around town. After Sammy had been born the gossip mill had moved along from the unwed farmer’s daughter to something else, but Beth hadn’t been listening. She just focused on raising her beautiful sweet baby girl as best she could.

Now it was the first day of school, and she could feel that rumor mill getting ready to start up all over again. Beth was dreading it, but knew she’d bare it and come out stronger because of it. The part that burned her up the most was hearing all the sympathetic mumbles of ‘Poor child, no daddy at home. Such a shame.’ It positively made Beth bristle when she’d catch the tail end of that statement. She was doing just fine by her baby girl without a man in her life to complicate things. Besides, Sammy did have her grandpa.

Hershel had taken some knocks in his life: son and wife passing too early, farming accident that injured his leg and caused him to have to hire outside help, permanent limp, and a stressful harvest season that he had to sit on the sidelines for. Yes, Hershel had had his fair share of hard knocks, but when Beth had arrived back at the farmhouse with the declaration of him becoming a grandfather, now that just simply wasn’t one of them.

Beth entered that kindergarten classroom and ignored how the conversation seemed to stopped when she entered. She followed Sammy to her little chair, with her name on the tag, and the little pencil box that had crayons and a pencil inside. Beth crouched down, helping Sammy take her little backpack off before hanging it on the back of her chair. Sammy looked at the little boy sitting next to her and wrinkled her nose. “Mama, Ms. West put me next to a boy. I don’t wanna sit next to a boy. They’re gross.” She whined.

“Samantha Abigail Greene you mind your manners and be nice.” Beth huffed, putting her hands on her slim hips. “For all you know he don’t wanna sit next to you none either. Now apologize.” Sammy pouted. “Go on now.”

“I’m sorry.” Sammy grumbled looking back to the boy. He gave her a shrug.

“S’okay.” He grinned at her. “I had Ms. West for preschool last year. Ms. West calls me her special helper. She told me she knows I can sit next to anyone and be their friend, even the naughty ones in class.” Beth stifled a snicker as Sammy gave a horrified gasp.

“I am not naughty!” She whined. “Mama, tell him I’m not naughty!” Beth just looked at her daughter for a moment before she opened her mouth to reply. She was stopped short when a man walked up beside her and spoke first.

“Dev, you knock that off right now, y’hear?” Daryl grumbled. “Ain’t no way to make friends in class, ‘specially not on the first day.” Beth jerked around to look at the rough and tumble man now standing beside her.

“Aw, I was just bein’ honest. You always say if a man ain’t honest, he ain’t nothin’ at all.” Daryl felt his ears start to burn red. His eyes flitted from his nephew to the blond standing beside him.

When Merle had showed up, panicked on his doorstep five years ago, Daryl had no idea what he was in for. Merle had blabbered on about how Cheryl (who the hell was Cheryl?) had gotten knocked up and had dumped the baby on him, but he had no idea what he was doing, and he knew he was gonna fuck up this kid, and he knew he couldn’t do anything right, and would Daryl please just watch the kid for a little while until he could get his shit together?

The kid was screaming and carrying on and Daryl did the only thing he could think of: he’d picked the kid up and started bouncing him until he was quiet. Merle took that as an agreement and shouted out his thanks as he all but sprinted down the hallway. Daryl was left alone with his nephew in the dark faster than you could count to three, and it had been the two of them ever since. He’d been trying his best to raise the kid right, but he had a streak in him that belonged solely to his daddy, and there was no taming that mouth no matter what Daryl tried.

That was how he found himself wishing the floor would swallow him whole in the middle of Devon’s kindergarten class while a pretty blond eyed him curiously. “I also say if you ain’t got nothin’ nice to say, you keep that mouth closed.” He grumbled as he watched Devon frown.

“But she started it!” He whined. Daryl was fixing to remind him it was disrespectful to argue back but was stopped by the pretty blond.

“He’s right.” She said, a small smile on her lips. “Sammy can be a handful and isn’t always careful with her words. He was just standin’ up for himself.”

“Mama!” Sammy shrieked from her seat. Beth smiled down at her daughter before ruffling her hair.

“Maybe you’ll think twice about what you say to others huh?” Sammy pouted before turning to the boy next to her.

“I’m Sammy.” She said grudgingly. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Devon,” He paused and looked at her, “do you like frogs?” Sammy’s eyes lit up and she smiled before nodding her head vigorously. Beth shook her head. From enemies to friends just that fast. She turned and looked at the man standing next to her.

“I’m Beth. Beth Greene.” She smiled at him, tucking some hair behind her ear.

“Daryl. Daryl Dixon.” He stuck his hand out to shake hers.

“I have a feeling, Mr. Dixon-“

“Just Daryl.” He cut her off. “Mr. Dixon was my dad.”

“Well, Daryl, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.” She motioned to the two kids talking a mile a minute at their table. He felt his heart thump a bit faster in his chest.

“Think so?”

“Oh I know so.” He nodded as he looked at her.

“Well, in that case, wanna get a cup of a coffee?” Beth grinned that hundred-Watt grin.

“I think I’d like that very much…”

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[darkmystress00]

In Living Color - Ch 13

A/N: Trigger warning…character death. Not directly mentioned, but alluded to. This was tough to write, but I hope you enjoy anyway!

Pairing: Bethyl

Catch up: Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Ch 8 | Ch 9 | Ch 10 | Ch 11 | Ch 12 | Ch 13

or read on AO3 or FFN

Beth couldn’t hold it in anymore. The sobs that wracked her body felt like they shook the very walls of the prison. All the anguish and pain had Beth gasping for air and feel like she was drowning. The keening sound that hit her ears was foreign and took a minute to register within her overwhelmed mind as her own desperate wails.

“Beth…” She heard someone rumble somewhere far off, and felt arms go around her. Her brain flashed with images of Lori, desperate and in pain, explaining how to save the baby, and the blood. All of the blood. “Beth.” It was becoming like a chant falling on her deaf ears, trying to draw her out of the place in her mind that she was trapped. She felt herself swaying as she was pressed against something solid, or rather someone. Her eyes clenched shut as her free hand came up to clutch at the cloth before her face. She didn’t know who was holding her, but she sobbed into them, taking their comfort to try to soothe her devastated heart. The baby screeched in her arms, muffled as it pressed into her chest for comfort of its own. She heard movement around her, but couldn’t bring herself to pay attention.

Daryl stared down at the blonde head pressed against his chest. He’d seen Beth walk around the corner and collapse to her knees, covered in blood and in so much visible anguish, and it had felt like his heart had jumped to his throat and choked him. He didn’t know what he was doing until he found himself crouched beside her, calling her name, and wrapping his arm around her. He’d wanted to get her out of the hallway and to her cell, but the devastation in her cries had gutted him and all he could do was press her to him to try to comfort her.

His eyes darted to the group that seemed frozen in the hallway. He could see Rick standing in front of everyone, face pale and almost slack while he wobbled forward slightly. “We need…” Rick croaked out, his eyes staring at Beth, taking in all the blood, knowing what it meant. He cleared his throat. “We need to take care of the body.” He brokenly whispered. Hershel stepped forward.

“I’ll handle it, Rick.” The older man said softly, a hand coming up to rest on Rick’s shoulder.

“No.” Rick’s voice was pained, but determined. “I’ll go…” He took an unsteady step forward.

“Rick I don’t think-” Hershel began

“I-I need,” Rick’s eyes turned to Hershel, “to say goodbye.” It was a long, hard minute before Hershel released Rick’s shoulder with an understanding nod. Rick tucked his chin down, unable to meet eyes with anyone else as he walked around Beth and Daryl, still on the floor, and made his way towards the isolation rooms.

“Beth,” Daryl rumbled again, just above her ear. He felt her head shake from side to side, “Beth we gotta give the baby to someone else so it can get cleaned and you can calm down.” She was trembling in his arms, but finally her sobs had turned to hiccups. His eyes darted up to Maggie and saw her step forward while Carol moved behind her.

“I’ll take her,” Maggie said softly as she knelt down to disentangle Beth from Daryl’s arms.

“I’ll get the baby cleaned up. I remember finding some extra blankets that we can use for swaddling until everything has calmed down a bit.” Carol’s voice was soft next to Maggie’s.

For the first time since she laid eyes on the group and couldn’t hold back the pain, Beth’s eyes opened and took in her surroundings. She saw Maggie next to her, and Carol just beside her. Her watery eyes drifted up and looked to the chest she was still clutching with her blood soaked hand, and then up to Daryl’s face. She felt a mild surprise at noting the concern hidden in his face. She noticed the smear of dirt, mixed with sweat, noting the hard task they’d just returned from, and couldn’t help the feeling that welled up inside her. The moment her hand moved to wipe the mark from his forehead she froze, her eyes landing unseeingly on the deep red that coated her hand. Finally her eyes dropped to the crying bundle in her hands. She could see the little baby, pink from screaming and red from the blood on the cloth that surrounded it. Her shaking hand released Daryl before gently stroking the baby’s forehead. She frowned at the smear it created and moved to try to wipe it away before Maggie caught her wrist gently. “Beth, give it to Carol so she can clean it up.”

“No.” She whispered brokenly before her red eyes landed on Maggie. “I-I got-ta take care of her. I can do it, Maggie. I swear...I can.” She hiccuped uselessly.

“We know Doodlebug.” Hershel’s voice floated softly to her from just behind Maggie. “And you will, but right now, you need to get cleaned up, just like the baby.” Beth’s eyes looked up to Hershel and then down at her hands again, widening like she was only just comprehending what the dilemma was. “Carol will just go clean the baby and get it wrapped up. By then you’ll be clean and ready too.” Beth nodded before gently extending her hands to Carol. She watched numbly as Carol scooped up the baby and moved away. Beth felt Daryl moving beside her and before she knew it she was standing with him, his arm still around her like he was afraid she’d collapse again. Maggie reached out to take her but froze as the loud sound of the gunshot echoed through the corridor. Beth’s eyes stared down the corridor blankly. She felt like she was trying to put puzzle pieces together but for some reason they just wouldn’t quite fit and the picture just wasn’t quite right. She went limply when Maggie guided her down the corridor towards the showers.

Daryl watched, brow furrowed as Beth disappeared. His eyes went to Hershel who was standing beside him. He didn’t know what to say to the man, and Hershel just shook his head. “Sometimes, son, there ain’t any words to make it better.” Daryl gave another nod. “She’ll pull through. She’s stronger’n she looks.” His eyes stared at the doorway Beth and Maggie had disappeared. “She don’t get treated like it much, but she is. She’ll be a little bit battered, and broken, but who ain’t in this world?”

“She wasn’t.” Daryl rumbled, inexplicably saddened at the thought. Hershel gave an agreeing nod. Daryl stood there another moment watching the corridor like he was expecting someone to come back out. He looked down at his shirt and grimaced at the blood staining it. He shot one more look down the hallway before he moved forward.

“Son?” Hershel called.

“Rick’s gonna need help with...the body. Can’t expect him to do it by himself.” He called over his shoulder before adding softly. “At least, he shouldn’t have to with all of us here to help him.” Hershel nodded.

“We’ll start digging.” Hershel said and turned to Glenn. As the two disappeared outside to begin their work Daryl paused in the hallway outside the showers. Maggie emerged quietly and connected eyes with him.

“How she doin’?” Maggie gave a shrug.

“Gonna get a change of clothes and hope that’ll help a little.” He gave a nod and watched as Maggie walked away. He turned to leave but froze as a sound hit his ears. He could hear her again; Beth sobbing her heart out. He couldn’t explain why it hurt him as much as it did to hear it, but it did. He needed to get away. He needed to go help Rick.

Beth sat under the spray of the shower, fully clothed and let the water carry away the grime coating her. Her eyes were closed but she could feel Maggie watching her. Her mind was still foggy and jumbled, and she liked it that way at the moment. “Beth,” Maggie paused until Beth looked at her from her perch under the spray. “I’m going to go get you some fresh clothes and give you some time. Please,” she begged softly, “get clean, and when you’re ready come out. We’re all here for you.” Beth’s head tilted in a jerky nod and she closed her eyes to enjoy the spray. She heard the door shut and slit her eyes to take note of the empty room. She looked down at her hands sitting limply in her lap as the water mixed with the blood and dripped away. Her mind flashed back to the isolation cell.

“Beth, you’re going to have to take that knife and cut along the scar on my stomach.”

“No Lori...no!”

“If you don’t we’ll both die! Save my baby!”

“Lori!”

Beth covered her face as she cried. She cried long and hard as she remembered her friend. She’d been given one job and she’d failed it. She’d failed Rick, and her friend, and now her friend was never going to watch her baby grow up. That baby would never know her mama. Beth had known loss, but nothing like this. Nothing like this.

And so she cried.

~~~

“We gotta make an emergency run.” Daryl’s voice filled the hall where the group usually ate their meals. There was a somber and sad tension that filled everyone, rightfully so, but Daryl knew they didn’t have time to wallow. “Little Ass-kicker needs formula or she won’t make it.” Horrified eyes turned to him.

“Daryl, you can’t call her that.” Carol chided softly.

“That’s what she is. She strong, and she tough, and when she’s old enough she’s gonna kick ass, so that’s her nickname s’far as I’m concerned.” Carol rolled her eyes but looked down at the baby swaddled in her arms. “We need to find formula. We need to form an emergency run party. Who’s comin’ with me?”

“I’ll go.” Daryl whipped around and met eyes with Beth as she stood in the doorway. “I should go.” She added a bit more determined. She was fresh-faced and clean, but Daryl could still tell her eyes were a bit raw from crying. “It’s my fault Lori…” She paused to steady herself. “I couldn’t save Lori, I need to save the baby.” Carol stood and locked eyes with Beth.

“There is no ‘fault.’” She said quickly. “Lori had Carl by c-section. It was a slim chance she would be able to deliver naturally without complications. That isn’t your fault. She came early. That ain’t your fault either.” She came closer to Beth and held the baby out to her. “This baby needs you. She needs you here and with her.” Beth’s eyes flew up to Carol. “We found some powdered milk in the kitchen. We can use that to get by until the scouting party gets back in a few hours, but we need you here.” Beth’s eyes welled up as she looked defeated.

“Doodlebug,” Hershel called softly, “this ain’t a matter of you bein’ too weak to go.” Her eyes snapped over to him. “We’ll let you go if that’s what you really need to do. But that baby needs a mama bear to protect her right now, and with how fiercely you fought to bring her into this world, I couldn’t imagine Lori trustin’ anyone else to take care of her.” He touched her shoulder gently. “We all got jobs to do, Doodlebug. Is your job runnin’ or protectin’ that baby?” Her eyes searched his face, and she could see it. He wasn’t saying it because she was weak. He wasn’t saying it because he thought she amounted to little more than nothing. She looked to Carol who was still holding the little bundle out to her. And finally she looked down to the little bundle. The little pink child who had come into this world bathed in red. The little pink child who didn’t have a mom. The little pink child who needed her. She reached out and cradled the baby to her with a gentle nod. Her eyes landed on Daryl who cracked the barest of smiles in response.

“Who is comin’ with me?” Daryl turned back to the group.

“I’ll go.” Glenn raised his hand.

“And I’ll come.” Carol offered. She looked around. “We’ll hit up some of the abandoned grocery stores and see if there is anything. Even expired, formula would be better than powdered milk.”

“Agreed.” Daryl offered. “Alright, get your things together. We head out in ten.”

~~~

Daryl stared down the sight of his crossbow as they ensured they were clear. They didn’t find much but they found some containers of formula in an abandoned walmart not far from the prison. Having cleared the shelves of what was there Daryl found himself in the garden section. The plants around were either long since dead (those located inside) or extremely overgrown (those with access to the elements outside) but that wasn’t what Daryl was looking for. He rounded a corner and saw the old cardboard stands tipped over and packets scattered everywhere. He scooped up all the packets he could reach and shoved them into the pack on his back. He knew some of them would be flowers, but some of them would be edible seeds to help start that garden Beth had mentioned. They needed to get on their feet sooner rather than later, and this would help.

Something crunched behind him and Daryl swung around, drawing his crossbow up to stare down the sight at a stranger. Her hands were up and she froze just staring at him. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Like you could.” He retorted coming to a stand while never letting his weapon or guard fall.

“I’m not going to debate with you. I need a place to hide.” Daryl narrowed his eyes at her. “My name is Michonne.” She paused and looked at him, not dropping her hands.

“Whatchu hidin’ from Michonne?”

“You heard of the Governor?”

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[darkmystress00]

In Living Color - Ch 12

A/N: Trigger warning...character death. Not directly mentioned, but alluded to.

Pairing: Bethyl

Catch up: Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Ch 8 | Ch 9 | Ch 10 | Ch 11 | Ch 12

or read on AO3 or FFN

“What do you mean I need to hang back and protect home base?” Beth screeched from the middle of the corridor of their cell block.

“You gotta stay here and protect this area. If something happens and walkers get back here, we’re counting on you to keep Lori and Carl safe.” Maggie reasoned. Beth was seeing red (metaphorically).

“That’s just bullshit.” She spat.

“Language Beth!” Maggie scolded.

“You want me to stay back here because you know no walkers will get this far back. You don’t think I can handle it.” Maggie crossed her arms in front of her and gave Beth a stern look.

“I want you safe. That’s all.” Maggie looked at the very pregnant Lori sitting on the steps at the end of the cell block. “Between the three of you, you are the most capable. If something does get back here...we need someone besides Lori and Carl to protect this area.”

“But…” Beth’s eyes jumped to the haggard group behind her sister and she tried to make eye contact with someone, but so far everyone was steadfastly refusing. “Daddy, please…” She moved around Maggie. “I can help. I can do this.”

“Bethy, sweetheart. Look at Lori,” he replied beseechingly, “eight months pregnant, almost full term,  and if something gets back here she’s got to rely on her son to protect her. It’s a rock and a hard place of a situation…”

“I can do this.” Beth reaffirmed.

“Beth, do not make me lock you inside a cell. This is a prison, and I can do it.” Maggie growled behind her. Beth rounded on her ready to lay into her when she felt two hands settle on her shoulders. Beth turned again, her eyes landing on the grimey faded brown shirt of Rick’s sheriff uniform.

“Beth…” He started, his green eyes boring into hers. “I need you. I need you to protect my wife and unborn child. I need you to protect my son. I need you to do this for me. I won’t be able to go out there and do what I need to do safely if I’m worrying about them back here. Please, can you do this for me?” She wanted to argue, but knew, as she felt her stomach drop, that she couldn’t do it.

“I...I need a weapon at least.” She offered weakly. She was startled when Daryl walked up and handed her a knife in its sheath.

“Keep this.” He mumbled as she clasped the knife in her hands. She tucked it into the waistband of her pants and watched silently as the rest of the group turned and walked out. She huffed a sigh and moved to sit next to Lori on the stairs. Lori watched her with careful eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Lori said softly.

“It’s not-”

“I know. I also know you feel like you gotta prove yourself, and no one gives you the chance.” She smiled sadly. “It’s a special kind of helpless when no one will look at you twice.” Beth remained silent, listening. “I know it seems hopeless, like it’ll never come, but you will get your chance to prove yourself. Maybe not to everyone, but you’ll show them you are tough and can do what needs to be done.” Beth smiled softly and glanced up to Lori.

“Maybe.” She started but froze when Lori let out a gasp. Lori grabbed Beth’s hand and placed it to her swollen belly. Beth marveled at the rolling and movement coming from underneath. “It still amazes me, every time.” She sighed a little. “I can’t wait to meet this little one.”

“Won’t be long.” Lori said absently. “The more active he gets the more convinced I am he’s going to come early.”

“He?”

“Carl was just as active.” She supplied. “Of course I’m only guessing. Won’t really know until they come out.” Beth giggled and nodded before drawing her hand back into her lap.

“How was your first birth?” Beth asked.

“It was tough. I couldn’t deliver naturally. I started hemorrhaging and they had to rush me into emergency surgery. Carl was born twenty minutes later.” She smiled, “He was healthy and happy. That was all I could have asked for.”

Beth sat troubled. Lori had a difficult birth the first time. If she went into labor they’d need her daddy to help with a second c-section. Beth would be completely unprepared and might lose not just the baby, but Lori as well. She sent up a silent prayer asking for Lori to wait until the group came back. It was her best chance.

~~~

Daryl gripped the edge of the crossbow as he walked through the quiet corridor. They weren’t to the dangerous section yet, but it never hurt to be too careful. His eyes scanned over their little group. Hershel, Rick, Maggie, Glenn, Carol and him. Everyone had been decided to go. Everyone except Beth that was. She’d been forced to stay behind and guard Lori.

Daryl still marveled at the anger she’d been filled with when Maggie had told her she had to stay behind. No one had been able to calm her, except for Rick. Rick had been able to move in their and smooth talk the situation like she wasn’t being targeted for being one of the weakest links in their group. No one said it (well, Maggie said it all the damn time but for some reason she didn’t count) but everyone knew that Beth was in a dire need of training but would most likely hurt herself before learning anything.

Daryl tended to disagree. He knew she could learn, but he’d be damned if he’d be the one to sully her light with the training and danger of it all. She didn’t need all that on her. So, Daryl had stood by, silent, while she’d begged, and pleaded, and begged some more to be trained. Daryl had stood by silent as she’d thundered and raged (you couldn’t really call it that, to be honest) every time someone went out to clear the perimeter and told her not to leave her cell. He’d stood by silently as it seemed like her little spirit was being broken and she was accepting her fate. It ate at him, chewed him raw, to see, and he couldn’t stomach when they’d all stood there and she’d seemed so desperate to prove herself and protect Lori (after she’d accepted the fact that she was going to be left behind regardless of if she wanted to or not.) She was right. She needed a weapon if she was going to be successful at all in her ‘mission.’ He’d gotten some of the darkest glares from Maggie when he’d pressed that knife into Beth’s hands, but he hadn’t cared.

It was a funny thing; to understand why your soulmate was a certain way, but to disagree with it. It was just his luck to spend so much damn time around his soulmate only to watch her spend more time with someone else (she and Glenn were getting awfully close). It was just his luck to spend so much time around his soulmate only to find he really disagreed with a lot of what she did or thought. Hell, he was a Dixon afterall. Honestly, it was just Dixon luck for all of that.

Knowing Dixon luck, his colors would arrive and he wouldn’t really have a soulmate at all. The longer he spent around their little farm family additions, that was exactly what he thought was going on. Had to be. His Dixon luck had caused him to be broken; with colors and without a soulmate to share them with. It was a special kind of hell. All the colors that your mind can’t even imagine and no one to talk about or understand them with. The only positive was now he didn’t have to worry about keeping anyone alive because of sentimental reasons. He didn’t have to get attached.

He could focus on keeping everyone alive, no matter how angry they were at getting left behind.

“Alright,” Rick said softly, trying to keep his voice down. Just beyond the barred door in front of them was the hall to the kitchens. They needed to be tactical about this. Nice and quiet until they were in position. “I’m gonna unbar the door, and fire off a round. That’ll draw them over this way, but they’ll be funneled through this door. Hopefully we can take the majority of them out in smaller numbers before we have to move past this point to the kitchens.” His eyes scanned their group. “Any questions?” Daryl gripped his crossbow and shook his head in the negative. Rick gave a nod. “Alright, everyone take your positions.”

~~~

Beth was sitting in her cell writing in her little notebook when she heard Lori begin pacing the cellblock. She closed her notebook and stood to lean against her open door and watch. “You gettin’ restless?” She asked and watched Lori stroke her belly as she moved.

“Yeah...must be it.” Lori agreed distractedly. Beth frowned.

“You alright?” She walked to Lori’s side as Lori gripped the hand railing and began breathing.

“Yeah. Just weak...think I need to eat something…” Beth could tell she was lying.

“Lori…” Lori’s eyes landed on Beth and the fear was palpable.

“Beth…” She breathed, “I think the baby is coming.”

~~~

Daryl wiped the grime from his hands. Killing the walkers as they’d funneled through the door had been a good idea, but difficult to execute. Getting into the kitchen had been even harder, but they’d managed. There was a stock of cans they could use to help tide everyone over until their garden was up and functioning. He pulled the backpack and bag from around his neck and flung them over to Maggie as she started shoving the cans in. “Looks like we got some peaches, corn, beans, cans of chicken, and a large bag of rice down here.” Maggie said as she shoved things into the bag. “We won’t be able to take it all right now. We’ll have to come back in a few trips to get everything. Trying to secure this section would mean cleaning another cell block. Right now, it just ain’t worth it.” They all nodded.

“We can plan another smaller run after we get back. Just grab what you can carry and we’ll make our way back.” Rick supplied as she stuffed another bag full of cans. Daryl gave a grunt as he kept an eye out down the hallway for more walkers coming. So far, so clear.

“That’s all I can carry,” Glenn offered. Maggie made an agreeing noise. Grunts were heard through area before Rick made the signal for everyone to head back. Daryl tried his best to bar the door once everyone was out so that no walkers would get in, but there wasn’t much he could do to really secure the room.

He barred the door once everyone back through the safe zone and continued down the hallway back towards their cell block. When everyone entered it was deathly quiet, with an air that put everyone on edge.

“Beth? Lori?” Rick called out as he walked to the center of the cell block.

“Dad!” Carl cried out from inside his locked cell. Rick rushed over. “It’s mom...the baby is coming.” Rick’s eyes widened and he stood rushing to the end of cell block but stopped halfway down the hall and froze. He heard footsteps behind him but just watched.

The fear in Rick’s voice pushed Daryl into action, moving before he knew what was happening. He froze next to Rick as the sound hit his ears before the picture met his eyes.

Beth stumbled down the hallway, tears blurring her eyes as she walked. She cradled a bloodied sweatshirt to her, not caring of the blood spattered across her front and dripping down her arms. Her eyes landed on everyone’s faces as she rounded the corner and she froze just staring at everyone. A choked sob escaped her throat before she collapsed to her knees, clutching the bundle closer to her as it started wailing.

Her blue eyes darted up as she heard someone step close to her and she locked eyes with Daryl. It was half a breathe that she could hold his gaze before she broke and the baby’s wails were joined by her own.

Taglist: @imamotherfuckingstar-lord @fangirl1802 @blueicevalkyrie @deathtonormalcy56 @walkerfairytales @redrosalie1

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[darkmystress00]

In Living Color Ch 10

A/N: Alright friends...I know I've been gone FOREVER. I went back to school and got my masters. I just graduated the program the end of April. Then a week later my family suffered a tragic loss. My father-in-law passed away unexpectedly and my muse disappeared as I took care of my husband and his family in their time of grief. Thank you for being patient with me. I'm on summer break and hoping to do quite a bit of writing. Unbeta'd so 100% of the mistakes are mine.

Pairing: Bethyl

Catch up: Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Ch 8 | Ch 9 | Ch 10

or read on AO3 or FFN

“You what?” Daryl hissed narrowing his eyes.

“I-I mean. I’m imagining what colors might look like.” She faltered. “My daddy used to tell me all about them when my mama was alive.” She took a tentative step back, away from him. The look on his face read like thunder and Beth was scared she’d just dug herself a hole she couldn’t get out of.

Daryl’s heart hammered back to life in his chest as the knot in his stomach loosened. The second this little slip of a girl had mentioned colors Daryl’s heart had stopped and his stomach had dropped to the floor. It would be his luck to get stuck with a girl who was more than likely going to get him dead than anything else. Hearing that she was only imagining helped to ease the fear and tension in his gut. Daryl stared at her for a moment longer, just studying her. He’d never really allowed himself a moment to do that; shouldn’t really be doing it now either if he was completely honest.

She was young. Really young. Blonde hair that shone like sunshine and blue eyes that were way too innocent and made his stomach tighten uncomfortably. She was way too sheltered, and it was going to get her killed. Daryl felt a moment of sadness touch him at that thought, but brushed it off. Lots of people die in this world, he’d do his best to see her trained properly, but after that it wasn’t his problem. His eyes watched as she nervously fidgeted with the pocket of her pants and for a fleeting moment he recognized how she could be considered pretty; by younger guys. He corrected. Guys her own age. He clarified in his mind. Definitely not him. “Y’really shouldn’t be out here.” She gave a quick nod before taking a hesitant step forward while tucking her knife away. “Go’on.” With that she scurried away. Daryl stood for a moment, trying to clear his mind.

His eyes scanned the area and he resisted the urge to smile. If she could see color, this definitely would be a good place to come. His eyes scanned over the greens and browns. Yeah, this definitely would have been the spot.

~~~

Beth wiped her brow as she scrubbed the dishes. Her eyes watched as people milled around the yard. She saw Daryl talking to Rick down by the barn and her heart thumped a little faster. Ever since her little slip up in the woods, three days ago, she’d been avoiding being around Daryl. It wasn’t that she liked him...heavens no. He just made her feel so off kilter. He seemed to keep to himself, and study. That was something new.

No one ever studied to make their own conclusion. At least not when it came to her. Everyone always assumed that she was helpless, and in need of protecting. He didn’t seem that way. He was keen on coming to his own conclusion. And that’s what made her nervous. He could possibly be the only one on this whole farm that would see her; truly see her. And she didn’t want to mess that up...if she hadn’t already.

She watched as her daddy approached the duo, sharing a few words before Daryl gave a few short, curt nods and stooped to pick up his crossbow and headed out into the woods. No doubt they were discussing the food stores. While the farm was getting by on the crops that daddy had planted, all the extra mouths were making those food supplies dip mighty low. They were going to have to go out for a hunt; see if there wasn’t some game they could flush out to help stretch the food a bit longer. Beth sighed. She could make something like spaghetti tonight. The pasta would feed a lot of mouths on a smaller supply. She could toss in a few of the tomatoes from the garden to help stretch the sauce. That might buy their little group some time until a proper hunt to help find more food.

~~~

“Afternoon, boys.” Hershel said as he neared Rick and Daryl. Both men tipped their heads. “I got kind of an odd request. Our food stores are running a touch low,” he hedged carefully, “I’ve been tryin’ to stretch the crops we got so far, but I’m afraid it ain’t much without some protein.” Both men nodded. “We got some livestock animals, but if we sacrifice one, there’s no tellin’ how that will hurt us in the long run.”

“Say no more, Hershel.” Rick offered. “I’m sure we can find somethin’ in the forest.” Hershel brightened as Daryl stooped to scoop up his crossbow.

“That would be mighty fine of you sirs.” Hershel nodded. “It’d be a nice surprise for Bethy what with her birthday comin’ up.” Daryl paused as he turned to leave the group.

“Beth’s birthday is coming up?” Rick’s voice rose in surprise.

“Yes sir. Day after next.” Hershel shoved his hands in his pockets gently. “We don’t do much for it, considering. But it’d be nice to have a full meal available. Kind of a celebration of sorts.” Rick nodded and cast his eyes to Daryl who gave a low grunt before moving off towards the perimeter fence and the forest.

Daryl thought as he quietly moved through the green and brown underbrush. She may be a small, slip of a girl, who was woefully unprepared for the world she lived in, but that didn’t mean she didn’t deserve to have a decent meal on her birthday. Hell, it might help put some meat and muscle on her frame so she could get stronger. He gave a snort.

He needed to find some game for the group anyway. Having Beth’s birthday was just an extra excuse to get out here and hunt. It wasn’t like he liked the girl. No...definitely not.

~~~

Beth groaned as she peeled her shirt up over her head. She’d had a hard day today. She’d woken bright and early intending to train before her chores, but Daryl was nowhere to be seen. She’d had to settle with doing some extra mucking in the barn, and plowing some of the fallow fields to get ready for their late summer crops that needed to go down. She’d worked clear through the day and felt about ready to drop, but she couldn’t she still needed to get down there and make dinner for everyone. She sighed as she swiped the cool damp rag along her neck and dropped it back into the sink. She’d give herself a better clean up after dinner, once everyone had settled for the night.

Without a second thought she pulled another shirt over her head and turned to leave the bathroom. Quickly she made her way downstairs only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw everyone piled in the kitchen around a dinner that was already made and smiling up at her.

“Happy birthday Beth!” Lori called, followed by Maggie, Hershel, Rick and most of the rest of their group. A bright smile lit up her face as she stared at everyone. Rick came up and slung an arm around her giving her a gentle hug.

“We know it ain’t much, but we put together a little something for dinner.” Rick swept his hand over the table that was just covered with food. Beth let out a small gasp.

“Oh my goodness.” She breathed staring over the meal. There were carrots, potatoes, green beans (canned of course), and rabbit.

“Snared us a couple a rabbits. Figured we could enjoy some today and then store the rest. Use them for different meals.” Beth’s eye shot up to Daryl and she smiled.

“That was very smart of you Daryl.” She breathed. “We can make jerky and maybe make some soups from the bones.” She offered. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from giggling at the adorable shade of red his cheeks started to turn at her praise. The fact that he - that anyone - had gone to so much trouble for her was astounding. “My word.” She shook her head. “Thank you everyone. This is so amazing.” She looked around at everyone one more time. “Let’s eat. I can’t wait any longer.” She was met with a round of cheers as everyone milled around to start the festivities.

Daryl stood back, hunched against the wall, watching everyone. He hadn’t seen their little group this happy in a long while. Who’d have guessed that all it took was a few measly rabbits to put everyone in high spirits. His eyes darted to Maggie who was laughing with Beth at one end of the table. He noticed Glenn hovering a touch too close to Maggie, but for some reason couldn’t find it in him to be bothered. He didn’t have a swell of emotion within him like he would have thought he should if another man was sitting a little too close to his soul mate. Not like the swell of pride he’d gotten when Beth had paid him that compliment about the rabbits. If he was that way with a nobody, shouldn’t he have stronger feelings with his soul mate? Trust the Dixon gene to be so fucked up that even this soulmate shit didn’t work correctly.

He let out a sigh. It would just figure.

~~~

Beth smiled and sighed as she splashed cool water on her skin. Tonight had been amazing. So much fun and so much food. They hadn’t eaten that well on the farm in a long time, and it was nice to have one night where everyone was free to laugh and eat until they had to be rolled away from the table.

Gingerly she cleaned herself, scrubbing away the day’s grime and smells. She felt like a whole new person. It was amazing what a good meal and a night of laughing could do for a person, mind, body, and soul.

Beth tugged on a tank top, ready to climb into bed and sleep like the dead. She froze as sounds ricocheted off the walls from the windows as from inside the house. Her blood ran cold. Those were walkers. Lots of walkers. And they were close. She jumped as someone pounded on the door to the bathroom before flinging it wide. Her frightened eyes landed on Daryl as he surveyed her. He reached out, grabbing her wrist before tugging her out of the bathroom.

“C’mon girl. We gotta move.”

“Daryl, what’s goin’ on?” She cried as she heard gun fire from outside and the shouts of their group members.

“Walkers.” He responded as he pulled her downstairs. “A lot of them.” Her eyes widened. “We can’t stay here.”

“What?” He all but dragged her through the front door and the sounds seemed to become deafening. She froze on the spot at the bottom of the stairs to the porch. The sheer amount of walkers pouring in from the fences. Her eyes jumped from the walkers to the members of their group spraying them with bullets in a feeble attempt to hold them back.  

“Move Greene!” Daryl yanked on her arm, spurring her into action. He flung her towards a motorcycle before climbing on himself and kicking it on. He felt Beth climb on behind him. Her arms circled around him and he spurred the bike onward into the night.

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[darkmystress00]

Colorin’ the Future

AN: So I’ve been dying to write…but I’m super busy with school…and therefore my muse of ILC has been vacationing…somewhere far away from me. Enjoy this quick little thing I thought up randomly…

He hadn’t seen the old man since he was a kid. Well, a teenager, but still a kid in his own mind. Daryl took a long pull from his cigarette. His old man had been a mean sonuvabitch, everyone knew that, and when Daryl had left he swore he’d never step foot inside that crappy house. And he’d managed to stick with that promise this far; at least until now.

The sound of dirt crunching underfoot alerted him to her presence and he turned to watch her. Beth.

Beth Greene had been an unexpected turn his life had taken upon his arrival back into their sleepy little town. He’d always known who the Greene's were, but had never had any reason to cross any of their paths. Meeting her had just been a lucky happenstance. Good luck wasn’t something Daryl was used to.

He watched as she came up and gently took his hand, threading her fingers with his.

She’d bustled into his life in a crowded diner with a pot of coffee and had quickly decided right beside him was where she belonged. And that was where she stayed, much to the dismay of her older sister. Her daddy had been weary at first, but everyone knew: when Beth set her mind to something, there wasn’t a soul alive who could convince her otherwise. So, Hershel Greene had welcomed Daryl into the family fold.

It had taken a year before he’d shared his past with her. Curled up in their tiny little apartment, bathed in moonlight and the heat of summer clinging to their skin, he shared about his childhood and, for once, let her light chase away the dark within him. It had taken another six months before he’d been willing to even listen to her ideas about ‘healing old wounds.’

That was how he found himself here. At the sonuvabitch’s grave, Beth’s delicate hand woven with his. He took another long pull from his cigarette before dropping the damn thing to the ground and stamping it out with his foot. Together he walked them over to the small marker that read ‘Will Dixon’ and they just stared in silence for a moment.

“Been a while, ol’ man.” Daryl rumbled out. He could feel an unchecked emotion burning in the back of his throat and started when Beth gently squeezed his hand in reassurance. “I ain’t here to make amends or forgive…the shit you done ain’t worth forgivin’. I’m here to let you know, I’m leavin’ this shit here. All that bad and dark, I’m leavin’ it here, with you, where it belongs.” He felt Beth rubbing gently on his upper arm with her other hand. “You ain’t gonna color my future the way you colored my past.” He felt clever spouting off something he’d heard Beth tell him a time or two when he’d voice insecurities. He paused for a moment, feeling lighter, like the old man’s hold had finally losened. He smiled over at Beth. “I’m leavin’ this shit here…and I ain’t comin’ back. Got too much good with me to keep holdin’ on to all your bad. So, this is me, leavin’ it here.” He stood there for a moment awkwardly before looking to Beth. She smiled up at him, knowing how much this whole thing had affected him, and how important it was to him to get it done.

She kissed his shoulder before he grumbled that he was done and ready to go. She nodded and followed him back to their truck. She watched him silently from the passenger seat as he climbed into the driver side of the truck and buckled in. He looked at her. “What?”

“Nothin’. Just proud of you. I know that was hard for you. But you did it, and I’m so proud of you.” His hand moved from the steering wheel to rest gently on her rounding belly.

“I had to. Like you keep sayin’, we got too much good comin’ to let the bad keep colorin’ our future.” He smiled at her, “Still think this baby’s gonna be more Greene than Dixon.” She snorted as she felt a swift kick to the area where Daryl’s hand was resting and watched him smile at her. “Tough, just like her mama.”

“A fighter just like her daddy.” Beth countered. “A Dixon all the way, and I couldn’t be any prouder of either one of ya.” She leaned over and kissed him gently as he started the truck. He was right, she silently acknowledged, they had far too much good coming in their future to worry about anything in their past anymore.

[darkmystress00]

Like I’ll Never Love You Again

Beth tucked a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear and smoothed down the front of her soft yellow waitress uniform. The old door creaked open and a small crowd of regulars walked in. She set her tray down on the bar as she looked around the old beat up bar she now worked at and smiled with a warm affectionate smile. Everyone who came here were regulars, mainly because it was the only bar in town and they happened to serve some of the best food in the county. Growing up in a small town where everyone knew everyone else, it was hard not to become a regular at a friendly place like Dale’s.

Her blue eyes scanned the crowd before making their way to stare at the man behind the bar, and she felt her heart give a little flutter. Daryl Dixon stood at the taps, filling a couple of mugs with beer, and talking to a group of their friends. Abraham, Rosita, Rick, Michonne, and Eugene all sat laughing and talking at the bar.  She watched as Abraham said something to make the whole group, save for Eugene, burst into ruckus laughter. She’d grown up knowing Rick and his wife Lori. She’d even been around to help take care of Carl and new baby Judith when Lori had passed. When she’d been looking for a job during her senior year, Rick had mentioned that Dale (a friend of her father, and owner of this bar) was looking for a new waitress since his oldest daughter, Andrea, had decided she was going to do some traveling. It was there she’d been introduced to Mr. Daryl Dixon and the rowdy group she now affectionately called her friends.

When she’d first started at the bar, Daryl had been surly and intimidating, and Beth had hated the shifts she had to work with him. Her first day had been miserable and she’d wanted to quit within the first half hour.

~~~

Daryl loaded her tray up with mugs and bottles of beer with a hard stare, and simply pointed towards the table that she needed to serve. He mumbled something at her (more like grumbled) and turned to start taking care of customers at the bar. Having never waited tables a day in her life she’d been nervous, but determined to prove to him (and herself) she could do this. She picked up her heavy tray took two steps, tripped on the leg of a chair set out from a table, and all but tossed her full tray to the floor, sending bottles and mugs crashing and spilling all over the old worn wood floor. The whole place erupted in a round of sarcastic applause and jeers. Humiliated, she crouched down to start collecting the shards of bottles and broken glasses. She got halfway done before a pair of worn hands batted her own out of the way. She looked up to see Daryl crouched down next to her. “I’m…”

“Just go get some towels from the back.” He bit out in a clipped voice. She gave a silent nod and stood, on wobbly legs, and walked glumly to the back storage room where they kept the extra supply and the towels for clean up. Once safely safely inside the little room the tears started and Beth couldn’t seem to make them stop. The door opened behind her and she blindly grabbed for the towels before her.

“I got the towels Daryl, here. I’ll be right out.” She choked out, shoving the towels towards the chest in front of her.

“Bethy,” She jerked at the sound of Dale’s compassionate voice. “Calm down sweetheart. Everyone drops a tray their first shift.” She felt Dale wrap her in a gentle hug. “Andrea dropped three her first day, and even managed to dump a full draft into someone’s lap.” She let out a sniffle as she listened to his words.

“I’m so embarrassed.” She whispered.

“Don’t be. You’ll be a pro before you know it.” He gave her a light squeeze. “Now come on. Can’t have my best waitress hiding in the back because of a little spilled beer.” She gave a watery laugh, and wiped at her eyes.

“If I’m your best waitress, I think this place is in trouble.” She joked and turned back towards the shelves with the fresh towels. She grabbed another handful of towels and turned towards the door, stopping dead in her tracks as she spotted Daryl darkening the doorway. He just looked at her and made her feel so small and useless. He grabbed another case of an amber ale and left her standing there. She sighed and scurried out after Dale, helping him mop up the mess with the towels. She walked back to the bar to find her tray and another tray filled with the same order she’d just dropped.

“Take one tray and then the other. The first one may have been too heavy.” Daryl had grumbled without looking at her. She’d bit her lip, nodded and then made her way carefully towards the table still waiting for their drinks.

~~~

After the first day, she’d worked hard to redeem herself, and slowly Daryl had seemed to warm up to her. Now she and Daryl hardly worked a shift without the other present, and often bantered back and forth like old friends. It was a solid six months ago that Beth realized she had a crush on Daryl. The sound of his voice made her insides do funny things, and when he smiled (because it happened so rarely that he gave a full, real smile) her knees went weak and she thought he was the most handsome man she’d ever laid eyes on. Her sister had been the first to pick up on it, and had teased her mercilessly. She grabbed her empty tray and made her way over to the little group at the bar.

“Abe, you makin’ fun of poor Eugene?” She asked, stopping behind his chair.

“Not at all. It ain’t makin’ fun if it’s true.” The group let out another round of laughs as Eugene just sat there, face passive. Rick slung an arm around her shoulders.

“Hello Beth. Been wonderin’ when you were goin’ to make your way over and say hello.” She smiled as she hugged him back.

“Yeah, he’s been complaining about hardly ever gettin’ to see you now that you work full time here.” Michonne added with a grin.

“Aww, Rick.” Beth said in a teasing voice.  “You know you’re still my number one.” She watched as he rolled his eyes. “You are!”

“Careful Beth, you’re liable to make every man in here jealous with declarations like that.” Rosita piped up from her seat next to Abraham.

“Yeah. Daryl looks fit to be tied.” Abe responded. Beth rolled her eyes.

“Harhar.” She shook her head and shot a quick glare to Rosita. The two had become fast friends after they’d been introduced a year back. Rosita was closer to her age than anyone else in their little group. Abe was a friend of Daryl’s from way back. Rick worked with Abe, and knew Beth through her father (and her help when his wife had passed away.) Rosita had met Abe when he’d come home from overseas (he had been in the military for a short season) and had come with him when he’d moved up to Georgia from Florida. Michonne had been a completely new addition to the group. She’d just happened into their little sleepy town a little while back. She’d met Rick by chance and had quickly been accepted as a new addition to their group. “Daryl, will you come put these silly rumors to rest. Tell these fools you ain’t in love with me.” Beth called quickly as she watched Daryl duck under the bar to grab something from one of the bottom shelves. She heard a grunt and looked triumphantly at the group. “See?”

“Oh that don’t count.” Abe responded drily. She shook her head and patted him on the shoulder.

“It’s ok to admit you were wrong.” She teased before looking over her shoulder as the door opened and closed again. “Welp, I gotta go get back to work. Don’t get too carried away over here.” She said as she walked towards the new patrons that had just sat down.

Daryl popped back up from the bar just in time to watch her walk away. “So, are you ever goin’ to tell her you got a thing for her, or are you going to hide under the bar every time it comes up?” Rick asked before taking a quick swig of his beer.

“There ain’t nothin’ to tell.” Daryl responded quickly.

“Right. And I’m a rocket scientist.” Eugene said flatly. “Which, since you know me, you know isn’t true.” Daryl fought the urge to roll his eyes. It had been like this practically ever since the girl had started working here almost three years ago.

He’d watched her walk in, all sunshine and smiles and instantly knew she was going to be trouble. He loaded up her tray (heavier than he should have) and watched triumphantly as she’d tripped and sent all the drinks to the floor.

Part of him, a dark part of him, wanted her to see she was in the wrong place and leave. Then her smiles and sunshine wouldn’t be around to get to him. But another part of him, a bigger part of him, wanted her to stay and see if she could tough it out. When he’d seen her crying in the storage room after his little stunt, he’d instantly hated himself. She was new, and already having a tough time of it, she didn’t need him being a hard-ass and making it even harder.

Since then he’d taken more care in making sure her trays weren’t as crammed as they could be until he knew she could handle it. He’d taken more care to help her learn who was who and what they drank so it didn’t seem so overwhelming having to call in a bunch of drinks all at once. He’d slowly felt himself start to harbor a small amount of pride as she grew more knowledgeable about what she was doing, as she started remembering more people, as she leaned on him less. She was becoming one of the best workers he’d ever seen, and he’d watched a fair share of waitresses and bartenders come and go in this place.

The first time it struck him that he might have feelings for her it had made him stagger.

~~~

She worked a double shift, covering for another girl who was really sick, and when it was closing time, she’d hung back and helped. She helped lock up and turned out the lights in the windows, before she grabbed a rag and started wiping down the tables. Daryl had come out from the back storage room and heard her humming and singing to herself. He’d stopped and watched her for a moment, marveling at how pretty she was, with her long golden hair, pulled back in a long ponytail. She had a braid tucked back into her curly tresses most days and he could just see it as she swished around the tables, dancing to the melody coming out of her mouth. When she’d looked up and met his eyes, a smile on her lips and her cheeks tinted a light pink he’d felt his heart give and extra thud that left him all sorts of confused. His insides twisted around, but all he could do was smile at her. “Sorry,” She’d said quickly, finishing off the table she’d been working on before moving to another. “I like to sing when I’m cleaning. Makes the time go faster.” He’d nodded.

“You’re pretty good.” He moved to start wiping down the bar and cleaning all the glasses behind the bar. “You ever think about singing for our Friday night thing?” His eyes watched her carefully from underneath his dark fringe. She shrugged and shook her head.

“No. I’m too shy to get up in front of others and sing. It’s just something I do when I’m by myself.” He understood that and gave a quick nod. The soft melody started again and he smiled. He liked closing with her if he got to listen to her sing. He liked closing with her if he got to talk with her. He liked closing with because he got to spend time with just her…and the thought was a bit uncomfortable. He knew he liked her. She’d proved herself capable and able, she was a hard worker, and she was incredible smart. She was also pretty in a way he’d never really seen before. She was fresh, and young, and so full of happiness that it just seemed to spill over onto everyone (himself included) and he realized he always left work feeling happier when he worked with her. Yeah, Daryl Dixon liked her, but he wasn’t fool enough to say anything about it. ~~~

“Hey Beth!” Rosita called as the bar was getting ready to close down. “You still coming over tomorrow night for movie and girl’s night?”

“Of course.” She smiled up at her friend as she piled empty glasses up on her tray. “I’ll be finished here around seven and then I’ll come on by right after. Is that ok?”

“Perfect!” Rosita smiled. “I kicked Abraham out for the night so you wont have to worry about him for the evening.” She grinned. “Can’t wait. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.” She picked up her tray and carried it to the bar, placing all the glasses into the sink filled with warm soapy water.

“You goin’ out tomorrow?” She heard Daryl call from behind her. She looked up and saw him carrying a case from the storage room to the little refrigerator unit they had build into the shelving unit of the bar.

“Oh yeah.” She paused. “I thought Dale told you. I’m working the lunch and early dinner shift and then spending some time with Rosie.” She blinked. “I’ll only be working half a shift with you tomorrow.”

Daryl kept his features in check. To say he was bummed would be an understatement, but he wasn’t going to show that at all. “Sounds like fun. What do you two have planned?”

“Just movies at her place.” She said quickly as she rinsed the glasses she was washing. “Nothing too fancy.” She heard Daryl give an agreeing grunt from behind her and couldn’t shake the feeling like he was down about something. “You ok?”

“Yeah. Just tired.” He said a little too quickly. She narrowed her eyes at him but didn’t say anything as she grabbed and rag and started to wipe down the tables.

~~~

Beth clocked out promptly at seven and called out a quick goodbye to everyone inside the bar. She noted Daryl only briefly met her gaze, giving her a nod as she said goodbye, but didn’t pay it much mind. She hopped into her car and made her way quickly over to Rosita’s house.

“Alright,” Rosita started as Beth walked into her apartment. “I have pizza in the oven keeping warm, wine in the fridge chilling, and the new zombie movie in the player waiting for us to hit play.” Beth grinned.

“Let me get out of my uniform and I’m all for it.” Beth got changed and the girls hunkered down in front of the TV. Beth wasn’t squeamish, or easily scared, but after the credits of the zombie movie rolled up the screen, she looked at Rosita with a pleading gaze. “Can we watch something a little happier now. I just…”

“Definitely.” Rosita agreed without Beth having to elaborate. They popped in one of their favorite romantic comedies and laughed and giggled through most of it. “So, when are you going to tell Daryl you want to jump his bones?”

“Rosita.” Beth hissed before she burst into giggles. “I do not want to jump his bones. I just like him.”

“Mhm.” Rosita cast her an unbelieving look. “You must like him an awful lot to start taking the closing shifts and work there full time for three years now.” Beth felt her face darken.

“I haven’t been working there for three years because of him.” She said indignantly. She watched as Rosita gave her an unimpressed look. “Alright, at least not only because of him.” She sighed. “Rosie, he’s a good friend, and you know me. I’m too shy to say anything. He doesn’t think of me like that. I’m just a friend, and that’s ok.” Beth knew she’d only ever be his friend and coworker, and part of that rubbed her the wrong way, but she knew it couldn’t be helped.

“What is it going to hurt if you just tell him?”

“Geez, I dunno. My job? Imagine working with someone you know has the hots for you but you aren’t interested in like that? It would make things really awkward.” She recited almost as if she’d had this exact same conversation with herself numerous times.

“I don’t think so.”

“I do.” Beth said firmly, signaling the end of the conversation. Her eyes watched the movie disinterestedly as she rolled thoughts back and forth in her mind. Before she knew it her eyes felt heavy and she was drifting off to sleep.

Beth was following someone in the dark. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew deep down it was Daryl Dixon, and she knew without a doubt, she’d follow him to the ends of the Earth. Where was her family? Where were her friends? Why was it just the two of them? Deep down she had a feeling she was all alone now. She didn’t have family anymore. Her friends were scattered. It was different now. He was all she had, and she was all he had now too.  He was looking for something, somewhere. She watched as he pushed back the last few branches of the trees they were walking through. “Found somethin’.” His raspy voice floated to her ears and she stifled the shiver that wanted to creep up her spine. She followed him, weighed down by a bag she hadn’t realized she was carrying. She reached out to touch the white wood banister of the house now before her. It looked safe. It looked strong. They would be safe here, and she didn’t know why, but that was most important.

“Come on. Let’s go look inside. See if anyone is inside?” He gave her a nod and helped her open the door, securing it when they were inside. “Hello?” She called but froze when she heard him speak to her in that urgent voice.

“Don’t go callin’ out like that. Don’t know if there is anyone here…”

“Could be people here…but that don’t mean they’re bad people.”

“Ain’t no such thing as good people anymore.” She frowned as she watched him check the rooms in the dimming sunlight. There was an urgent feeling to secure the place before the darkness came.

She watched as the darkness engulfed the little house they were in and she quietly walked from room to room to find Daryl again. She found him in the kitchen, her heart beating a little easier now that she’d found him. She sat at a table with Daryl Dixon, the room filled with candle light. She looked around the darkened kitchen. There were cupboards filled with food, the soft warm candle light lighting up the different labels. She had no idea why they would be holed up in this little bunker, but whatever it was she was comfortable. She looked at the spread before her, and wanted to giggle. Bottles of soda, peanut butter, jars of jelly, and bags of things she couldn’t quite make out lay before her like a redneck buffet. She looked up at him as his voice broke the silence. “We could stay here, y’know.” She blinked at him. “We can make it work if anyone shows up, but we could stay here.” She smiled.

“So you do believe in good people?” He gave her the smallest of smiles as he looked at her and shrugged. “What changed your mind?” He looked down at the food in his hand and Beth was struck by how vulnerable he looked in that moment. He gave her a shrug.

“You know.” He trailed off before his eyes landed on her again. Confusion hit her. This wasn’t his normal demeanor. She’d never seen him seem so shy before. She continued to watch him, study him. “I dunno.” He finally finished.

“Don’t ‘I dunno…” She mimicked him. “What changed your mind?” He stared at her and she took the opportunity to memorize his beautiful blue eyes. He really was a beautiful man. She knew that already, but seeing him so shy brought him into a new light for her. When he just continued to stare at her it finally dawned on her. She was the reason he believed in good people. She was what changed his mind. She meant something to him. “Oh…” She wanted to reach out to him and hug him, tough him, reassure him, but before she could make her heavy limbs listen to her something outside made a noise. They both jumped up and made their way to the door, both on high alert. Daryl opened the door and that’s when fear began to course through her.

A mass of the dead swarmed the door, and Daryl disappeared from her vision. “Daryl!”

Beth sat up, breathing hard, fear freezing her whole body, and covered in a cold sweat. She looked around Rosita’s living room as she tried to calm her sleep addled brain. It was just a dream. It was all just a dream. Her family was fine, her friends were ok, it was all just a dream. Her heart was still beating rapidly in her chest. She wanted to call Daryl and make sure he was alright, but knew that she didn’t have his number and calling the bar would just cause everyone to be concerned. She laid back down and stared up at the ceiling. That dream had felt so real. She felt like she’d been all on her own, with no one but Daryl. But that had been ok. And then Daryl was gone, and she’d been terrified. He had been such a constant in the dream. She’d felt it deep in her bones that nothing was going to happen to him. He wasn’t going to go anywhere. To watch him disappear under that swarm of zombies-it made her heart clench and her insides grow cold. But it was just a dream…wasn’t it? Daryl wasn’t going anywhere, her family wasn’t going anywhere…were they?

She turned her head to watch her friend sleeping peacefully on the couch. She needed to do something, and she couldn’t do it here. She got up, gathering her things as quietly as she could. Gently she shook Rosita, “Rosie, I’m gonna head home. I’ll text you tomorrow.” She said softly and watched as Rosita’s eyes opened briefly.

“You sure? You can just crash here.”

“Nah, I gotta take care of some stuff in the morning, I just remembered. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Sleep well.” Rosita shut her eyes.

“Alright. Talk to you tomorrow.” She smiled as she watched Rosita roll over and fall back asleep. She left quietly, closing the door with a soft snick of the lock, and got into her car. She couldn’t sleep, and didn’t really want to go home. She needed some time to think. She’d just drive around for a little bit.

~~~

Daryl wanted to hit something. It had been four days since he’d laid eyes on Beth and he was starting to get worried. She never missed work, and as far as the schedule was concerned she was supposed to be working tonight (as well as the past three nights.) Dale wasn’t concerned. She’d called him and asked for a few days off but that was so odd on its own that Daryl wanted grab the man and shake some sense into him. He poured a mug of beer and all but slammed it down on the counter of the bar. He slid it down to Rick.

“What’s eating you, Daryl?”

“He’s missin’ his favorite waitress.” Abe supplied quietly.

“I noticed Beth ain’t been in for the past couple days. Everything alright?”

“How the hell would I know? I ain’t her keeper.” He snapped with a growl. “According to Dale, she took a few days off, short notice. I’m sure she’s fine. Ain’t like I can even check up on her…not that I want to, but I aint got a way to contact her.”

“Here.” Rick grabbed a paper card out of his wallet and snatched a pen from the bar top. He scribbled a few things down on the back of the card and handed it to Daryl. “If you needed her number, all you had to do was ask.”

Daryl scowled at him and examined the back of the card like it had the secret to the meaning of life. He delicately slid it into his pocket, still pinning Rick with a dark glare. “It ain’t like that. She’s just a coworker.” Rick quirked an eyebrow.

“You know, it’s ok to be worried about her, even if she is only a coworker.” He gave Daryl a soft smile. “She’s special and she’s a friend. Friends worry about friends.” Daryl gave him a nod but made no move to go call her. Rick took a sip from his beer, deciding not to push. Daryl was stubborn and unused to dealing with things like this. He’d figure it out on his own.

“Daryl, is the set up ready for our Friday night entertainment?” Dale called from the back storage room. Daryl jerked his gaze back towards his employer.

“Yeah. As soon as they show up it’ll be ready to go.” The door creaked open and Daryl reluctantly drew his gaze to see who had walked in. He froze when his eyes spotted Beth, golden hair down and lightly curling around her shoulders. She was dressed in casual clothes, a pink sundress, light grey cardigan and her cowboy boots. He couldn’t help the feeling of relief that flooded him, and he also couldn’t help the frustration that followed quickly on its heels. She’d been MIA for four days and here she was, waltzing in like nothing had happened. Like she hadn’t just put him through hell and back. So stuck on watching Beth he failed to notice the small group of friends following behind her towards the stage. He moved from behind the bar, intent on asking her what the hell was going on with her, until he noticed she was making a bee-line for the stage. He paused. Beth never sung in public. She was too shy. But here she was, dressed up, and stepping up on stage and grabbing the mic.

“Hello.” She said timidly before she took a breath. “Most of you know me already, so I’ll make the introduction brief. I’m Beth, and I usually waitress here, but today I’m doing something a little different. I hope you enjoy!” Daryl watched, only just taking note of the rest of the band tuning their instruments and getting ready to start the set. The music started and Daryl felt like he knew the song, but he couldn’t place it. It wasn’t until Beth opened her mouth that it all clicked into place.

“You're gonna run out of cigarettes And we're gonna run out of wine We haven't even started the good stuff yet It's OK, we've got plenty of time So pull up a comfortable chair, baby And put on those records that drive me crazy You look so good in this light Oh yeah, you look like nothing but mine”

Her eyes were closed, and she was so beautiful lost in the melody she was singing. His heart thumped heavily in his chest. He didn’t understand what was going on, what had changed in her. She was almost glowing with an inner confidence he’d never seen before. She was so bright and alive and it almost brought him to his knees. If he hadn’t been half in love with her already, this moment would have been enough to make it happen. Her blue eyes snapped open as the music swelled for the chorus and she was staring at him. There was no mistaking it. He watched her as her lips opened and she sang the song for him, to him. His heart quickened and he could feel the last few pieces clicking into place.

“I wanna love you like the world's gonna stop Til the very last second, last tick of that clock I'm gonna slow it all down and then take you from zero to ten Oh, I wanna love you like I'll never love you again”

Daryl was rooted to the spot as the song continued. Their eyes never broke contact. There was so much he wanted to say, but no clue how to say it. So he waited, and prayed that the words would come by the time the song ended. As the last chords sounded he was reluctant to move. He didn’t want what ever spell had been woven to end. He watched as she put the microphone back in the stand and stepped down from the stage. His eyes darted to Rick but he was met with a small smile as Rick tipped his beer to him. She was standing in front of him when he looked back and again he marveled at how beautiful she was. Beautiful, brave and strong. So different from what he’d thought when he’d first laid eyes on her. She smiled up at him and motioned to the back so they could talk and all he could do was follow behind her dumbly. They wound up in the storage room just staring at each other silently.

“You missed work.” He blurted, unsure what to say. She smiled and nodded.

“Yeah. I needed to sort through some things. Figure some things out.” She looked down before looking back up at him. “I figured them out, so I’m back.” He gave her a nod.

“You sang.” His words sounded simple and plain to his ears (mainly because they were) but it was the best his spinning mind could come up with.

“Yeah, that was part of what I had to figure out.” She took a deep breath. “Life is too short, and too beautiful to be scare or shy.” She started, faltering on her words a bit. “I decided I was done being scared and shy about singing in front of people. I’m tired of being scared and shy about a lot of things.” She watched him carefully. “It was hard at first, but you know what got me through it?” He shook his head. “I was singing to you…” Her words were almost whispers, but he heard them. His gut twisted in that familiar way that had to do with everything that was Beth, and he knew it ran deeper than he’d ever imagined. “What did you think?”

What did he think? He didn’t have words to explain what he thought. He was beyond confused about why such a beautiful, vibrant woman would want anything to do with him, an angry redneck bartender.  She watched as his face changed subtly with each thought that floated through his head. Finally, his eyes landed on hers and she smiled up at him. With slow hands so he could stop her if he wanted (he had yet to really say anything to say he was ok with this) she stretched up and pressed her lips against his in a delicate kiss. She felt his hands slide around her waist and pull her closer to him. His lips danced with hers and it was a magical feeling.

When it ended all she could was look up at him with half-lidded eyes. “So I take it you liked it.” She said softly.

“I liked it from the first time you sang during closing.” He mumbled as his cheeks turned a light pink. She let out a soft laugh. “You know, if you wanted to tell me you liked me, you didn’t have to get up on stage.” He rumbled and she looked up at him. “Coulda just told me.” She smiled.

“Fine. Daryl Dixon, I like you.” She felt her cheeks heat up. “Honestly, I more than like you.” She felt his forehead rest against hers.

“Well, I more than like you too Beth.” He rumbled quietly. “I more than like you too.” And with that he kissed her again. Beth sighed into the kiss. She knew what ever was going to happen for them was going to be tough, and it was going to take work, but it was going to be worth it. She was done waiting for things to happen. She was going to give everything she has to make sure life was as exciting as it possibly could be.

[darkmystress00]

Moonshine, Mistakes, and the Morning After ch 26

Beth tapped her pencil against her textbook as she scrolled through the discussions and forums for her online class. Her mind was going a mile a minute. After the scare back in January, she had been trying her best to throw herself into her studies. Two months later and she was nearing the middle of her term, and getting ready for mid-terms. She groaned and snapped her book shut, her shoulders stiffening as she heard a snort come from somewhere behind her in the vicinity of the couch. She turned to face Daryl, who was lounging on the couch watching her.

One prim blonde eyebrow quirked up on her forehead. “What has you snickerin’ over there, Mr. Dixon?” She said, trying to add a playful layer of ice to her tone (it didn’t work.)

“I ain’t snickerin’.” He cracked a half smile. “I’m laughing because I knew it would take you about fifteen minutes to get fed up with your classes on a Saturday, and it’s only been about ten.” He gave her a look she had long since nicknamed his ‘sassy look’ (though she’d die before telling him that she called it that) and stood up. “Y’need to get outta the house.” He grabbed her coat from the couch next to him and tossed it at her. “C’mon. It’s almost time to be headin’ over to your dad’s house anyway.” She let out a small groan before a secretive smile had crept to her lips. Maggie had called yesterday fit to burst and said she needed to talk to the whole family. A quick lunch date at the farm had been set up for today.

Beth and Daryl had been taking bets. He had money saying she and Glenn had gotten knocked up. Beth stoutly refused to think she was becoming an aunt (not because it was out of the realm of possibility, but because she knew babies weren’t anywhere near Maggie and Glenn’s radar…and Maggie was always very careful) and placed her money confidently on the idea that Maggie had gotten that dream job she’d interviewed for two weeks prior. Daryl had rolled his eyes. Winner takes all (a whopping five dollars.)

“True. I gotta find out that you were wrong so I can get my big payday.” Daryl let out another snort.

“Think we should pick up a onesie on our way for when she lets us all know that I’m right?”

“Not on your life.” She chirped as she shrugged on her jacket and snatched up her keys. She followed Daryl out, watching him as he moved and smiled to herself. Since everything had gone down in January she’d started taking the time to really analyze their relationship as well as Daryl himself. She knew she loved him, but she’d never really taken the time to consider where this was going. So far in the relationship she was living in the moment, which was fine, but the scare had given her a good shake and made her start looking to the future.

She didn’t tell him, mind you, not because she didn’t want to, but after the whole baby-that-never-was he’d started getting short and distant when they talked about the future. She didn’t want to make waves, they’d only been together less than a year. She jerked when she realized…they were coming up on the one year anniversary of their first night together (the night they still couldn’t remember). Had it really been that long? Butterflies started in her tummy. She wanted to do something for him to celebrate but right now didn’t feel like it would be the best decision right now.

The pair piled into Daryl’s truck and Beth made a mental note that she needed to make an appointment to get her car into the shop for that weird ticking that was coming from the motor. It had started on her way back from Atlanta last month, but had steadily gotten worse as time progressed. They’d decided to try and not drive it until they could have it looked at, which Beth needed to get done before her drive to school this week. It effectively left them in a one-car predicament and Beth knew Daryl couldn’t go without his truck if she needed to take it to school. No, it was better if she just got her car taken care of before school.

“Damn…” She heard Daryl mutter and her blue eyes darted to him.

“What?”

“Forgot to mention that I took your car to the shop. They’re gonna call and let us know if it’s something serious.” Her face softened and she smiled at him.

“How’d you know I was just thinkin’ ‘bout that?”

“I can tell your thinkin’ face.” He said simply with a shrug. He wouldn’t tell her that she had many ‘thinking faces’ that he recognized. She had her ‘school thinking face’ which often had her gently touching her temple like she was trying to figure out a problem. She had her as-of-yet unnamed ‘thinking face’ (he didn’t know what she was thinking about but she was thinking something serious) where she’d roll her lips back and her eyes glazed a little bit. This new ‘thinking face’ had only started cropping up after “the scare” (as Beth liked to call it) in January, but Daryl couldn’t work up the nerve to ask her about it. The last ‘thinking face’ he’d seen he’d deemed as her ‘fretting face.’ She used it when she was fretting or worrying about bills, or something that had to do with responsibilities. The face he’d just seen was her ‘fretting face’ and he knew she’d been fretting over the car for the past couple of weeks.

“My thinkin’ face huh?”

“Yup, your ‘thinkin’ face.’” He mumbled quietly as he turned onto the main highway. “Anyway, took it in this mornin’ and they said it sounds like the timing belt, but they’d have to take a good look at it ‘fore they could say for sure.” She smiled, nodded and then leaned over to plant a kiss to his cheek.

“You spoil me.” She said before she kissed his cheek once more. “Thank you.” He gave her a silent shrug but she noticed the corners of his mouth tug up into a small smile for her. He took her hand in his, and she laced their fingers together. The rest of the ride passed by in relative silence, only the radio really making much sound in the small space between them, but it wasn’t strained or awkward between them. Before long they were pulling up the familiar dirt road, tires kicking up a cloud behind them. He rumbled to a stop just under one of the big trees by the porch and noticed a big grin on her face. Before he could ask she was speaking. “You ready to fork up the big bucks?” She undid her belt and popped out of the truck faster than he could blink.

He followed, watching her bounce up the stairs and inside the big farm house. “Daddy?” She called as she entered the living room. Daryl heard something from the field behind him, pausing as he mounted the steps to look over his shoulder.

“Beth…” He called. “He’s out here.” Daryl turned as he heard the old screen door creak open and she came up behind him. They watched as Hershel Greene made his way steadily across the field between the house and the barn. He was wiping his hands on a rag as he went.

“Sorry…” Hershel called as he neared the couple standing on his porch. “The mare wasn’t due to birth until later this week, but she’s been in labor all morning. Been working with Otis to get the foal out. Little thing was breached, but we got ‘im.” He gave a nod and smiled fondly up at his daughter. “Come inside with me so I can clean up and you can check on lunch Bethy.” She gave a hum as she turned to make her way inside. “Hello Daryl, how are you today?”

“Breathin’ so that’s better than some folks.” Hershel nodded.

“Ain’t it though?” The pair of men made their way inside. The smell of roast assaulting their noses as they made their way to the kitchen.

“This is ready to pull out and rest.” Beth announced as they entered the room. “Much longer’n it’ll be too dry. Might be close to there already.” She said matter-of-factly. She pursed her lips. “I’ll make a gravy from the drippin’s in case it got over cooked.”

“I’m sorry Bethy.” Hershel sighed. “I just tossed everything in the pan and went out to help Otis. Didn’t think I’d be out there so long. ‘Sides, it always was your mama who made the roasts without over cookin’ it.”

“I know. She had that magic touch.” Daryl watched as Beth floated around the kitchen she’d grown up in, grabbing bowls and pots to drain the juices and start making the gravy. He loved to watch her work in the kitchen. It was part of the reason he let her cook so often (that and she loved to cook in their little kitchen.) He could burn water more times than not, so the concept of feeling at home in the kitchen was new to him.

As Beth stood, whisking the gravy together they heard another engine rumble up along the path. All eyes turned towards the front door as they heard the crunch of dirt and rock stop, and then engine cut off. “Must be Glenn and Maggie.” Hershel said, drying his hands after washing them. “I’ll be right back.” With that Hershel made his way out to greet the couple.

The three bustled into the kitchen in a flurry of movement and sound (as was typical of Maggie and Glenn nowadays) and Daryl had to take a deep breath to cope with the sudden change in atmosphere.

“Alright y’all…” Maggie started, obviously very excited. “I can’t wait for lunch to be served.” Beth’s eyes darted over to Daryl, a playful glint hiding in her crystalline orbs. “Daddy, Beth…Daryl,” Maggie turned to look at Glenn. “Glenn proposed y’all. We’re getting’ married!”

The moment of shocked silence stretched between them before a loud girly squeal emitted from Beth’s throat and she launched herself at her sister. “Oh my goodness!” Beth let out another squeal and hugged her sister again. Maggie dragged her hand up to show Beth the ring as the two gushed and cooed about the wonderful news.

Daryl eyed Glenn, standing against the door jamb, next to Hershel. “Looks, like I’m gettin’ another son.” Hershel said with a small smile. “Welcome to the family Glenn.” Hershel patted Glenn on the shoulder. The men watched as Beth and Maggie moved out of the kitchen, lunch completely forgotten, and Daryl couldn’t help the heavy weight that seemed to be pressing down on his chest. As soon as Maggie had blurted out that she was getting married, Daryl had felt the unmistakable urge to swallow his tongue. It wasn’t that he was against marriage, but after everything had happened between Beth and him, he’d had a chance to think about their future (not something he’d really dared before.)

Daryl wasn’t afraid of commitment, but he’d never seen a good marriage actually work. What did he know about being married or being a good husband? Not a damn thing. Did he see himself getting hitched to Beth? Well, hell, he just didn’t know. He knew he didn’t want whatever they had to end, but marriage? That was a path he’d never really considered before.

Lunch was a blur of jokes and the girls talking. Maggie and Beth were planning dress shopping dates, and talking things that sounded plain gibberish to him. Caterers, and venues, and florists. Jeez, weddings sounded complicated. He caught Beth’s eyes and she smiled at him, clearly elated for her big sister, and Daryl felt something tighten in the vicinity of his heart. There was this excited glimmer in her eyes that screamed of excitement and happiness. He’d never seen anything like it before, and it positively captivated him.

Glenn nudged him quietly, “Didn’t realize this was going to turn into a big thing…” He mumbled and Daryl had to keep from snorting.

“You just proposed to a Greene girl…there ain’t no way it wasn’t goin’ to be a big thing.” Glenn grinned at him.

“Looks like you’ve got a sneak peek at what to expect when it’s your turn.” Daryl grit his teeth and instantly Glenn knew that was the wrong thing to say. “I mean…if you guys decide…I mean…uh…” Daryl gave a short grunt and that was the end of the conversation. Glenn shifted nervously in his seat.

Daryl couldn’t help the pinch of sympathy the stole through him at the younger man’s discomfort. He didn’t want it to seem like marriage was completely off the table…it just wasn’t something he’d ever really thought about for himself. He looked over at Beth again. After the whole scare, the idea of a more permanent thing with Beth had become more of a reality. He saw the glimmer in her eyes again and was flooded with a warmth in his chest.

One thing he knew for sure, he wanted to see that excited glimmer in Beth’s eyes everyday for the rest of his life. He wanted to see that excitement, that joy, that dreamy-eyed glint that he knew most girls grew up with when they thought about their dream wedding.

It was like a light bulb turned on in Daryl’s mind. He wanted to marry Beth Greene…and he was so filled with feelings about it he didn’t know what to do. Beth reached over without looking at Daryl took his hand gently under the table and Daryl hid a small smile.

Yeah, he wanted to marry Beth Greene alright…and he wanted to spend the rest of his life seeing that glimmer in her happy gaze.

[darkmystress00]

Moonshine, Mistakes, and the Morning After ch 25

big shout out to my beta! She kicked my butt in gear for this! I hope you enjoy!!

Beth paced back and forth in the living room, staring at her phone as she counted, and recounted the days and weeks. Something wasn’t right. No matter how many times she recounted, she still came out too many. Her stomach churned as a sinking feeling weighed her down. She felt sick, and scared. She heard the sound of a key sliding into the lock and froze, phone in hand.

Daryl knew something was up the minute he walked through the door. In the time that they’d lived together she’d never once met him frozen in the living room, pasty white and a look of real concern on her face (not even that time he came home three hours late without calling because he’d dropped his phone from the top of the second story he was studding.) With quick steps he shut the door, dropped his keys on the counter, and was at her side. “What’s wrong?” He watched as she bit her lip, her eyes dropping down to her phone before she looked back up at him.

“I…” she moved her phone a bit as if it would explain something. “I think we need to have the talk.” Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, and she paled even more (he didn’t think that was possible.)

“Ok. So talk…” when she just looked up at him, eyes startled, everything clicked and he felt his stomach sink. “You think…”

“I don’t know. I just keep counting and it’s coming up late…I’m over a week late. The last time was just before Christmas.”

“But we’ve been careful.” He supplied, and instantly felt like an ass. He knew, just as well as she did, that careful wasn’t 100%. Everything had a chance to fail…and all it took was once. “What do we do?” She bit her lip and shifted helplessly. “Do y’have anythin’ to tell for sure?”

“No…” She said softly. She needed a hug. She needed to feel him there with her, reassuring and solid, to tell her she wasn’t alone in this. As if reading her mind, his arms slipped around her and pressed her against his chest. She heard his heart, thumping quickly in his chest, matching hers. Even as her stomach churned and knotted, and her heart thumped rapidly in her own chest, she felt the tension leave her shoulders. She felt more at peace. As long as Daryl was there…she’d never be alone in this.

“Well, let’s go get somethin’ so we can figure it out for sure.” His voice rumbled into her hair. Daryl didn’t know how he was doing it, but the calm that sounded in his voice was nothing compared to the wild frantic fear that filled him more and more with each passing second. What the hell did he know about being a dad?

Beth nodded into his chest before pulling away gently to grab her keys and wallet. Without thinking about it too much, he reached out and snagged her hand, giving it a light squeeze. Still grimy and dirty from work Daryl marched back to his truck, letting Beth into the passenger side and climbing back in himself. As the engine roared to life he heard Beth whisper something that he didn’t quite catch. His questioning gaze fell on her as her cheeks reddened.

“Can we not go to the supermarket around the corner? Everyone shops there…and you know how talk travels in a small town.” He realized, with a thick swallow, that Beth was just as unsettled and bursting with nerves as he was. Trying valiantly to shove down the panic clawing its way up his throat he reached over and squeezed her shoulder, tugging her a little closer to wrap her in an awkward hug.

“We’ll go where ever y’want t’go.” He knew that if this turned out to be positive, Beth would want to tell her family first before the town gossip mill did it for her. She gave him a quick jerky nod.

“The pharmacy across town is a little further away, but not many people go there.” She said quickly. He knew exactly what she was talking about and set the truck in that direction.

When they got inside the pharmacy, it was like Daryl’s mind went blank. He had no idea where to find anything, and he was not about to ask. He watched, helplessly, as Beth moved around the aisles. When she paused and delicately reached out, before retracting her hand again. Daryl walked up behind her, his eyes landing on the different boxes. He watched as she seemed to freeze, and he could almost see the wheels in her mind turning. His large rough hand came up and clasped hers. “We’ll do this t’gether.” His deep voice rumbled. Her big blue eyes peered up at him before a soft, timid smile crept to her lips.

“Together.” She said softly before grabbing a box of tests off the shelves. She looked at it and felt a heaviness in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t understand, (well really she could, but they’d been so careful) and her mind was racing a mile a minute. She always wanted a family, a baby of her own, but she’d always pictured it happening somewhat differently. She took a deep breath, curling her fingers around his hand and tugging him quietly towards the cashier.

They paid for their purchase quickly, neither one making much small talk when the friendly cashier asked them how they were doing, and then made their way back into the truck. The drive back to the apartment was one of the longest drives either one of them had ever experienced. The heaviness in Beth’s stomach started to churn, the closer they got to the apartment and she felt like she was going to be sick. In all the time they’d been together, they’d never really discussed kids. It wasn’t on their radar and now (she wanted kids, but has always assumed that was a conversation they would work in to…in the future). Right now, it felt like they were spiraling down the rabbit hole with absolutely nothing to anchor them.

Daryl shut off the truck, parking in front of the apartment building and looked over at Beth. He could tell she was rattled. She was pale, and lost in her own thought, her eyes glassy and glazed as she tried to work through things in her mind. It gave Daryl a chance to try to sort his spinning thoughts. Beth could be pregnant…what did that mean? He knew what it meant on the surface. She was going to have a baby (IF she was pregnant, that is) but he didn’t know anything more than that. Did she want kids? Did she want kids with him? Was she ashamed? What if she didn’t want it? Would she carry it and give it up? Would she…get rid of it? His head started to spin. No, even if Beth didn’t want kids (which he thought was unlikely) she wouldn’t just get rid of it. He knew her at least that much, to know that would be a non-option for her. Her eyes focused and she looked around the parking lot before snapping her gaze to him. “Ready?” She almost whispered in the small space of the cab of the truck. The uneasy feeling in Daryl’s stomach intensified. He nodded once and watched as she got out, following closely behind her as they trudged up the stairs.

He slid his key into the lock on the front door and was startled by how loud it sounded in the muted hallway. He shuffled in quietly behind her, watching as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other before blushing and motioning with her hand. “I’m gonna…” She trailed off, her cheeks tinting pink. “I’ll be right back.” He nodded and watched as she disappeared back into the bedroom.

Daryl flopped onto the couch, wishing with all his might that he had a cold beer to take the edge off. He watched as Beth emerged from the back and his back went ram-rod straight. “Well?” She gave him a soft, small smile.

“It takes a few minutes to process.” She sat down next to him, sitting daintily on the edge of the cushion.

“So what do we do now?”

“Talk?” Her voice came out weakly. She looked over at him and he nodded. She felt the cold seep into her stomach. “So…if I am…” She paused, unable to say the word just yet. It made it too real, and real was really, really scary. “What does that mean? I mean, for us?” He looked at her.

“Beth, I’m here for you. Whether you are or ain’t…that’s not gonna change.” He rumbled out. “Do…” He stopped and looked away before dragging his eyes back up to her. “Do y’even want kids?” She nodded.

“Yeah. I’ve always wanted kids, but…it’s not something we’ve ever talked about.”

“Well, I think maybe we should talk ‘bout it.” He felt his tension ease a little when a small smile ghosted her lips and she nodded. “So, you want kids…” He started.

“Do you?” He thought for a moment.

“I don’t know.” He looked at her, and hated that she seemed so pained by that answer. “I mean, it ain’t like’ve been given a good example. I wouldn’t know the first thing about takin’ care of a kid. I think I’d be a shit dad.” His voice was gruff, but he was being honest. He’d be lying if he said the thought of having a little girl who looked just like Beth didn’t scare the crap out of him.

“No you wouldn’t.” She took his hand and he squeezed gently. Beth looked at him, the fear swirling around inside her seeming to calm a little. It helped knowing that he didn’t hate the idea of kids (just the idea of being a dad scared him.) “You may not have had a great example when you were little, but my daddy was amazing and he’d be right there to help you every step of the way.” She paused and realized it seemed like she was confirming his fear. That he’d be shit without someone’s help. “But that’s beside the point. You are so caring. You remember when I was sick…and you came over and took care of me, just because a friend asked you to check on me?” He nodded once. “That’s what being a dad is like. You take care of someone because they can’t and you care. You’d love your kids more than you could even imagine. You know how I know that? Because you’re a good man.” He just stared at her.

“Y’Really think that?” She beamed at him.

“I know it.” He took her hands in his.

“I love you, babygirl.” He rumbled and she smiled at him.

“I love you too.” She stroked his hand with her thumb idly.

“When did y’picture havin’ kids?” Her eyes got wide as she thought.

“Not right now. Later in life. After school, I guess.” She shrugged.

“D’ya ever picture havin’ kids with me?” He didn’t know why he asked that. He didn’t know why her answer mattered so much to him (yes…he did. He knew exactly why.) He watched as her eyes widened even more, and she paled before flushing pink. She started to open her mouth to answer, but the shrill ring of the phone alarm sounded. She jumped up, staring at her phone and then up at him.

“Time to check…did…” She looked down again. “Did you wanna come look too? Or do you want me to just tell you?” He stood slowly, following behind her as they made their way to the bathroom. The little stick was sitting on the bathroom counter…and it felt like a heavy weight was pressing down on him. He took her hand and looked at her.

“What ever it says, I’m here…y’ain’t gotta do this alone.” She smiled softly at him and grabbed the stick. She didn’t look at it but walked up to him and with a deep breath moved her hand to see the little read out. One line meant no, and two lines meant yes. She took a little breath and studied the little screen that firmly showed one little blue line. “Well?”

“I’m not.” She said softly, and was torn with the conflicted emotions that bombarded her all at once. “Here…look.” She held the stick up for him to examine. She bit on her lip. Part of her wanted to sigh and giggle in relief, and part of her was surprised at the amount of sadness that coursed through her. She didn’t realize a part of her had wanted this; had wanted this (nonexistent) baby.

Daryl studied the perfect single line and then watched Beth’s face change as different thoughts assaulted her. He wrapped her in a hug. “Y’know…” he rumbled softly, the nerves swirling around in him serving to clog his throat for a second. “Later, kids with you, might not be so bad…” He hugged her, nestling his face in her hair. The grin that split Beth’s face was blinding.

“Really?” She looked up at him and watched as the tips of his ears burned red. He nodded shyly and she hugged him tightly. “I think kids with you might just be a really good idea…” She kissed his shoulder as she cuddled close to him. “Y’know…when we’re ready.” He let out a soft hum of agreement.

[darkmystress00]

1.

Thank you juicypapeach for the prompt. I had a lot of fun writing this! I hope you enjoy it!!

Prompt: Soulmates AUWord count: 2019Warnings: Mention of character death

Description: Everyone knows the world is black and white. Colors are just a thing from long told myths about soulmates and destiny. Or that was what Beth had always been told. Now, she’s staring at a world of color and has no idea which one of her rescuers could possibly be the key that unlocked this wonderful new world.

Beth sat quietly by the fire watching the yellow and orange flames crackle and twist in the dimming light  as the sun set over the horizon. When she’d woken up this morning things had been simple. Her Mama and Daddy had still been alive, along with her older sister Maggie. She’d been happy, but most importantly…when she woke up this morning, her world was still black and white.

It was common knowledge that the world was black and white for everyone (even the walkers mulling around had seen black and white when they’d still been alive and been human.) The world was black and white for everyone and that was just fact. There was this myth that people liked to tell, a myth that said, back in the old days (before the dead started rising and killing every living thing they touched) that once you met your soul mate you could see the hidden colors of the world. Colors like reds, and purples, and blues. God how Beth had longed to see blue. She had always day dreamed about what blue might look like. But Beth, like everyone else still left in this rotting world, had just assumed that the myth was just that…a myth. Something people liked to tell to make themselves feel better. They blamed the fact that the walkers had killed most of the population for the reason that no one saw these mysterious colors, but Beth had always had a deep seated belief that the world was just black and white, and colors were just made up nonsense to try to turn a shit situation into something tolerable.

Now, staring at the beautiful colors of the flames and the burning embers of the campfire, Beth realized exactly how wrong she was. Her eyes flick around the group. She really should be grateful to them. She really should. She was all alone in the world now. She replayed the memory in her mind.

“Bethy…you go make sure your daddy gets those horses penned before it gets dark.” Her mama’s voice floated out to the porch where Beth sat, knees curled up almost under her chin, as she wrote in a notebook that was sitting in her lap. She sighed, set her notebook and pen down to the side and stood, making her way down to the barn where her daddy was penning the horses for the night. She heard the neighing and thrashing of the horses before she sensed anything was amiss. Opening the doors to the barn, she called out to her daddy, noticing as she was halfway inside that he was no where to be found. Suddenly she heard her name being screamed across the field separating the white house from the old red barn.

Turning on her heel she stifled the urge to bolt, watching in horror as her mother, sister, and father were losing ground to the mega herd coming up hot on their heels. Maggie let off a round from a pistol she carried ALWAYS, turning only to barely aim and pull the trigger. The noise startled Beth into action and she felt her feet carrying her towards her family. She watched as her mother tripped, going down to her knees and crawling for all the was worth, trying and failing to escape the clutches of the gurgling dead behind her. Maggie’s horrified scream hit Beth’s ears just as her feet froze beneath her. Beth watched as her mother, screaming and crying, disappeared beneath a sea of the undead. She felt her insides turn to ice as she watched her father turn as if to save her, losing valuable ground away from the monsters.

Maggie grabbed his arm, and tried to drag him along, but Beth knew there was no way Hershel Greene, beloved husband of Annette Greene, would just turn and high-tail it away when his wife was being ripped asunder before his very eyes. Hershel pulled his arm away from Maggie, looking towards the barn where Beth stood, still frozen by the horror of it all, and she knew. She knew this would be the last time she would see her father alive. He pulled Maggie into a quick hug and then shoved her away, towards Beth with a quick “Look after your sister!” which Beth wasn’t sure if it was meant for her, or Maggie.

“Beth! Run! Run for the woods. I’m right behind you!” Maggie screamed as she ran towards her. Beth’s last vision of her father was him standing tall, facing down the mob, shooting off round after round from a handgun. Beth ran. She ran until she didn’t recognize the trees anymore. She ran until she couldn’t hear Maggie crunching leaves and branches behind her. She ran until she couldn’t breathe. She ran until she couldn’t see around the tears in her eyes. She ran until her legs gave out and she crumbled into a sobbing mess in the middle of the mud. And that was exactly how they found her…

“Hey…” a soft touch on her shoulder and her eyes whipped up and took in the faces of the group surrounding her, guns out but not drawn. She stared at each of them before she suddenly realized she could see their clothes, covered with grime and dingy with wear, had colors she’d never seen before. Greens, and off-whites, and musty blues. That had been when her world turned upside down.

“Hey.” A boy, younger than her (maybe early teenager) with brown hair sat down next to her. He handed her a half empty can of beans. “It isn’t much, but it’s all we got for right now. At least until we can find somewhere to set up camp and do a run.” She nodded, delicately taking the can. “I’m Carl.” He said as he watched her take a small bite. He pointed to different people in their group. “The woman with the sword is Michonne.” He motioned to a woman with the deepest, prettiest brown skin she’d ever laid eyes on. She was holding a little pink baby girl, with hair a russet brown that almost looked like it had red in it if the light hit it just right. “The baby is my sister Judith. Our mom died having her. The group kind of took on different roles to help out with her after.” His hand shifted to an older woman, with silver hair (a color Beth was very familiar with) and the most shockingly green eyes. Beth wanted to just sit and stare at her eyes to memorize the color, but knew better of it. “That’s Carol. She’s kind of the den mother of the group. She lost her daughter a while back and has been having a hard time coping.” Beth nodded numbly, her mind floating back to her family, lost to her now. “That’s my dad, Rick, with the beard, and Glenn is the guy talking to him.” Glenn was an asian kid that was probably about the same age as Maggie.

“Maggie woulda liked him.” She mumbled softly. Carl just stared at her. “Maggie’s my sister. She’da liked him.”

“My dad?” He cried sounding almost affronted. Beth couldn’t help it. She let out a peel of laughter she didn’t know she still had buried inside her.

“No!” She smiled and motioned with her finger. “Glenn. My sister is the same age.” Her eyes danced around the little clearing and landed on the most striking set of blue eyes she’d ever seen. Yeah, she liked the color blue the most, and it was because of those eyes. “Who’s that?” She asked softly, her eyes dropping down to the can in her hands and away from Mr. Piercing-Blue-Eyes.

“That? That’s Daryl. He doesn’t talk much, but he’s the best hunter and tracker out there. He’s how we found you. Said he could hear you running through the brush a mile away.” She chanced a glance up at him once more, unnerved to see that he was still staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face. She nodded, but she didn’t know what for, and continued to stare down at the can of beans, now empty.

“Thanks…for the food, and…for letting me stay with you.”

“You’re welcome.” She heard Rick call Carl and watched as he wordlessly stood and walked over to him. That left Beth alone, with Daryl Piercing-Blue-Eyes, still staring holes into her head. She chose to stare into the fire some more, rather than stare at his muscular arms, or think about how his hair was so deep brown that it almost looked black. She tried desperately not to think about how soft the black leather of his vest might feel under her fingers, or how the fletchings of his crossbow bolts were the most electric orange and green she ever could have imagined.

It wasn’t long before they were snuffing out the brilliant orange and red coals, and settling in for a night of sleep. Rick was taking the first watch, and letting everyone else get some sleep. Beth felt a shiver wrack her body as she wrapped her arms around her middle and pulled her legs up to try to conserve some of her heat. She hadn’t grabbed anything before she left the farm (there hadn’t been any time) and it was starting to cool down now that autumn was rolling on in. She rested her head back against a tree and let out a pent up breath. Something soft and thick brushed her side and she jerked her eyes open to stare up at Daryl who was standing next to her holding out what appeared to be either a blanket, or a poncho. She blinked a couple times and just stared at it. “Take it. You’re cold’n need it more’n me.” He grumbled. Her hands came up and grasped the soft fabric, pulling it over her body. “Looks, better on you anyway.” She barely caught him whisper it under his breath before he turned to walk away.

“It’s red.” She said simply. He turned around and looked at her.

“Yeah…didn’t realize it until…this afternoon.” He was shifting uncomfortably as she stared at him and she wanted to smile at him. “You can see it too?” She nodded and tried to smile awkwardly at him. “Huh…just figured bein’ a Dixon that would be broken too.” He looked at her, one corner of his lips quirking up in the barest of a smile. “Glad it’s not.” She patted the ground next to her.

“Sit with me Mr. Dixon. Tell me all about your favorite colors.” He sat down awkwardly next to her.

“So far…I think I’m leanin’ towards yellow.” She looked at him curiously and his hand came up to finger a loose lock of her hair. She smiled shyly. 
“Well, yellow’s nice…but blue is the best by far.” He blinked, a slow smile quirking his lips. Gently she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. “You know what I’m really excited for?” a quiet ‘mm’ sounded by her head. “To see the sunset and all the colors I’ve been told about. Think it’s really as pretty as all the stories say?”

“Dunno…” She could see his cheeks tinting red and knew he was working up the courage to say something to her. “But it can’t be as pretty as you.” He finally rumbled out in a rush. She smiled softly, a quiet secret little smile. “Don’t tell nobody I said that.” and she could tell he was just trying to lighten the mood and had no idea what he was doing. It was cute and endearing and she loved it, because honestly, she had no idea either.

“Don’t worry…your secret is safe with me.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she felt her eyes drift closed, the horrors of the day fading from her memory as she drifted into a vivid and beautifully colored dream filled with deep blue eyes and almost-black hair.

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[darkmystress00]

Moonshine, Mistakes, and the Morning After Ch. 15

Biggest thanks go out to nerdbitches and theswampratandtheriverrat for reading through and editing this chapter! I hope you enjoy!

Smut McSmuttiness ahead! Read at your own risk. =]

Beth opened her apartment door, and quirked her eyebrow as she looked at the person on the other side. She eyed Daryl up and down, telling him very strongly with her eyes she was about 3000% done with his bullshit. He reached up to touch her, but thought better of it and roughly shoved his hands in his pocket.

“Can we talk?” He mumbled, visibly uncomfortable. Beth blinked, the annoyed look never leaving her features. Her hand fell away from the door as she turned and walked farther into her apartment, letting him come in as he pleased. Last night she’d come home in a huff and flurry after her argument with Daryl, and she could still see evidence of it even though she’d tried to clean up her mess as best she could. She’d definitely tossed a few things around (nothing to cause damage, but enough to help vent her anger.) She’d spent most of the day cleaning up her mess. The next thing she knew it was evening and rather than go out she’d pulled on an over-sized t-shirt and a pair of barely-there sleep shorts. She hadn’t planned on seeing Daryl tonight; not after last night. He’d been an ass and she’d finally hit her breaking point. Everyone deserved their freak out moment. She’d had one, and knew he was bound to have one, but last night had been ridiculous. He’d freaked out over a sugar jar. A sugar jar and a damn plant. She sat down on her couch, facing him, feet drawn up and folded underneath her. She crossed her arms over herself, her baggy sleep shirt hanging limply from one shoulder and falling lightly off the other.

His eyes roved around the apartment before falling back to her. He fidgeted under her scrutinizing gaze. “So…talk.” She snarked and he grimaced. Yeah, she was still pissed.

“Beth, I…” He started and felt the tips of his ears burn. “ ‘M sorry.” He mumbled and watched as she blinked at him, her look of irritation not moving from her delicate features.

“Ok.” She said flatly.

“Ok?” He looked at her and knew she wasn’t alright.

“Yeah.” Her words were clipped and he could almost feel her anger mounting. “You’re allowed to be sorry.” He just looked at her. “Anything else?” He blinked, unable to form words. He’d royally messed up.

“You’re still mad.” He said dumbly, and the minute the words left his mouth he felt as stupid as they sounded.

“You’re damn right I’m still mad.” She shot up off the couch. “You go and treat me like I matter, like I’m something special, make me feel like we could be something special…and then you freak out on me about a plant!”

“And the sugar jar.” He just about bit his damn tongue off when he realized he’d opened his mouth and only added more for her to be mad at him about. Her face morphed.

“Yes, and the sugar jar.” She glared at him. “Can’t forget the damn sugar jar! The sugar that has sat on your counter for months, that you use every day. The sugar jar that is just a stupid sugar jar not some crazy hidden attempt to change you.” She took a breath but couldn’t quite calm herself.  “I know everyone has their moments. I had one and I knew you were bound to have one too, but I didn’t expect you to flip over the damn plant…and don’t forget the sugar jar.” She added sarcastically as she waved her hand around. “I’m not trying to change you. I’m not trying to make this more’n you’re ready for. I don’t want more than you are ready for. I don’t want that from you…”

“What do you want from me girl?” He growled. He was trying to apologize and make everything better, and she wasn’t letting him do that. He already felt like crap and she was making it so much worse.

“I want you to just stop. Stop acting like you actually care and then like you don’t give a crap about any thing. Like nothing we’ve done, nothing we’ve gone through matters to you.” His eyes widened and he looked at her.

“Is that what you think?”

“It’s what I know. I know everything is confusing and hard, and I know you’ve gone through some stuff that makes this even harder, but you don’t get to treat me like crap just because you’re afraid.” She unloaded, panting between sentences. “It’s bullshit!”

“You’re right.” He said lowly in his throat. “If you think I don’t give a crap ‘bout you, about whatever this is going on between us, then you’re right. That is bullshit. If you think I’ve treated you like crap, than you’re right. That is bullshit.” She stared at him, a bit confused as to what exactly he was saying. “You are the single most important person to me, Beth.” He said, his voice raspy and wavering; unsure about what he was saying. He knew what he wanted to say, but as always, he lacked the real understanding of what to say. “Y’have been for so long I can’t remember anything else.” He ran a frustrated hand through his messy hair. “I’m shit at this, Beth. There ain’t never been anyone who wanted me, and then you popped up, like some fuckin’ ray of sunshine. All bubbly and happy.” He met her eyes. “Thing is, I knew. I knew from the beginning that there was no way someone like you would wanna be anything with me.” Her temper flared.

“Someone like me?” She snipped and he had to fight not to roll his eyes.

“Yeah. You’re so good, and sweet, and so much better’n me.” She froze as she watched him, understanding dawning in her eyes. He’d never thought he was good enough for her… “I always figured you’d wise up and realize you never wanted to have anything to do with someone like me…” Before she could open her mouth to ask, he clarified. “Someone gruff, and rough around the edges. A Dixon. You may not care, but that name ain’t nothing good and everyone else in this town knows it. I figured you were just havin’ you’re fun before you went off to be with someone else.” The look in her eyes made him rush through. “But the more I was around you, deep down I knew better, but…Beth, I don’t get nothing good. That ain’t a privilege a Dixon gets.”

“How could you think I didn’t want to be with you?” Her voice was soft, hedging on hopeful.

“First, you were going away to school…figured this was a summer thing and then you’d leave. Then the whole thing with Glenn…and it’s always been ‘friends’.” He rumbled, watching her face closely. She stared at him blankly, dots quickly connecting and the picture became strikingly clear.

“I-I thought you didn’t want this to be serious. Anytime anything sounding like boyfriend or relationship came up you got skittish. I didn’t want to push.” She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. He smirked at her.

“C’mere Greene.” She bit her lip and walked over to stand just in front of him and they stared at each other for a heartbeat. His hand gently came up to her jaw and his fingertips skimmed her skin before his lips came down to hers. Her arms slid around his shoulders as she stood up on tiptoes to press her lips more firmly to his. She let out a groan as his hands slid to her hips, pressing her ever closer to him. His lips left her and he smiled down at her. “I ain’t your damn boyfriend, Greene.” His tone was rough and teasing and she couldn’t help but smile up at him before pulling his face down to her. A hairs breadth away from him she breathed out softly.

“Do you wanna be?” He searched her face for a second, the corners of his lips turned up slightly.

“Yeah…I think I do.” And with that his lips crashed down on hers. He could feel her smile as their lips battled one another, tongues lashing out to tease at lips and slide together in a liquid dance that made his heart thunder in his chest and his blood boil. His knees bent and his hands slid down to the back of her thighs, lifting her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist, tiny sleep shorts stretching against her skin beneath his hands and he knew they would be the first thing he peeled from her body.

With quick, sure steps he walked to her bed, dropping her down onto the nest of blankets and sheets. She let out a groan at the loss of contact with his body, but watched with hooded eyes as his hands went to the top of her sleep shorts and slowly peeled them off of her, letting them fall to the floor at his feet, leaving her cotton panties in place. His fingers started at her knees, gently skimming over her creamy skin until goosebumps formed along her thighs. She wiggled as he neared the apex of her thighs and bit back a groan of disappointment when his hands jumped from her thighs to smooth up her tummy, under her shirt. He knelt between her legs, gently nudging them apart to make room of his shoulders, as his lips kissed first one knee, and then the other. His tongue darted out to trace lazy circle up her thighs before closing his lips and sucking lightly on her flesh; just a second or two. He didn’t want to leave marks, at least not where everyone could see, and right now, during summer, everyone would see her legs. He’d just have to find somewhere else to put his mark.

His kisses and nips volleyed from one leg to the other as he moved from her knees up her legs. Once again he by passed touching the part of her that ached for him, his lips falling on the flat of her stomach, just above the elastic waistband of her panties. His hands slowly inched their way up, dragging the shirt up her ribs until she was bare from pelvis to the bottom of her breasts. His lips followed the path his hands had taken, kissing along her stomach, pausing to dip his tongue lightly at her belly button, and then continue their upward trek past her ribs. His fingers stroked the skin between her breasts, watching her face as her eyes shut and she arched up into his touch. Her hands gripped his shoulders, gently tugging on the soft fabric of his shirt. With a quick shrug he pulled the shirt up over his head and tossed it to the floor. She sat up, following his motions, hands gliding over his heated skin. Her mouth came to his chest, mimicking his actions by kissing and nibbling her away across the expanse now bared to her.

He lifted her shirt up and over her head, vaguely registering it landing somewhere in the pile of covers behind her. Her lips came to his, hands framing his jaw as she slowly sank back against the bed, pulling him over her. He leaned back to smile down at her. She was gloriously beautiful. His hands moved up over her ribs to her breasts, fingers gently pinching and circling her nipples. She let out a sigh, her legs coming up to frame his hips, and stretched up to kiss him. He kissed her lips, along her jaw and down her neck, loving the taste of her skin on his tongue. His lips latched on to her nipple, rolling it along the flat of his tongue, as he listened to her sigh and moan. Her fingers tangled in his hair, pressing him closer to her as pleasure shot through her.

She wanted him so bad, the tension was singing through her like electricity under her skin, and made her wet, hot and ready. It seemed like an eternity, an amazingly pleasurable eternity, before his lips left her breasts and started their downward trail to where she ached for him. His fingers hooked the waistband of her panties and tugged them down. He looked up the length of her body, smiling at the way she was panting with want. His eyes connected with hers and he watched her as his tongue darted out to flick at the swollen slick bud  nestled beneath her blond curls. Her eyes slammed shut as a shout of pleasure was ripped from her lips.

Daryl slung a leg over his shoulder as he bared down on her, loving the way she cried out for him as the pleasure mounted within her. He could tell with every swipe of his tongue she was getting closer. Without warning he moved a finger, pressing it into her, and he felt her stiffen. He moved his hand in time with his mouth and was rewarded with her hands tightening in his hair, and her body freezing as his name stole her breath. He felt her muscles flutter against his finger and grinned into her.

With a tug on the hair wrapped around her fingers he moved up her body, dropping her leg by his side, and kissed her lips. He felt her fingers release his hair and squeeze between them to quickly undo the button of his pants. With nimble fingers she pushed his jeans down his legs, pushing them completely off with her legs and feet. She felt him land against her, hot and heavy, and it made her heart beat a rapid tattoo in her chest. She looked into his face carefully, studying him. “Please Daryl…” she panted out drawing her knees against his hips, her hands sliding up over his shoulders to cup his face. With a quick nod he positioned himself and surged forward, feeling her tight muscles welcome him into her heat.

The groan that escaped his throat was the most erotic thing Beth had ever heard. He caught her leg on his arm, her knee settling in the crook of his elbow, and began to move within her. Her breathing hitched at the new friction the position caused and it filled her with pleasure. She wrapped her other leg around his waist, arms twining around his shoulders as she panted and sighed and met him thrust for pleasurable thrust. He’d already taken her over the edge, but she could tell she was rapidly approaching again.

Her nails bit into the skin of his shoulders and Daryl reveled in it. The sound of her voice floated to his ears and he latched on to every pretty sound coming from those lips. Sounds like moans and groans and “Yes, Daryl..just like that.” or “Yes, keep going. Don’t stop.” She kissed his shoulder and he felt her stiffened beneath him and he silently thanked whatever god might be listening. He wasn’t going to make it much longer, and didn’t want to leave her behind. When she hissed out his name, his lips crashed down on hers and felt the waves of pleasure pulse through him. His arms gave out and he sunk down over her, loving that her arms tightened around him and she welcomed his weight.

After a moment they righted their positions on the bed and Daryl scooped Beth against his front, cushioning her head on one of his biceps while his free hand fell over her naked side and hip. He felt Beth press her lips to his arm. “Good night Daryl.” She murmured sleepily. He grunted before squeezing her hip.

“G’night Beth.”

[darkmystress00]

Moonshine, Mistakes, and the Morning After Ch 14

nerdbitches and theswampratandtheriverrat are the most awesomest betas ever!

Daryl awoke to the feeling of Beth pressing a light kiss to his temple as she rolled out of bed. He was only half asleep when he registered she’d made her way to the bathroom and was currently brushing her teeth (or at least he assumed she was brushing her teeth judging by the sound of the running water). His eyes darted to the clock and he grimaced. It wasn’t even five in the morning yet! He grunted and rolled back over, his foggy mind dragging him back to sleep for another hour. 

When he woke again, it was to a too quiet, too still apartment. There was no lingering sound of singing, no hint of feminine footsteps in the front room. It was completely silent, and for some reason that irked him and made him scowl. With a grumble he rolled out of bed and trudged into the, now empty, bathroom. His eyes immediately landed on the toothbrush holder, noting the blue toothbrush sitting in the holder next to his. He knew it was Beth’s and had seen it every day for the past couple weeks. He knew, deep down, it made more sense for her to keep a spare toothbrush here at his place since she spent most of her time here anyway, but for some reason it made him scowl. He let out a breath, swiping at his eyes to try to clear the sleep. It’s just a damn toothbrush he reasoned as he pulled his out of the cup to start brushing his teeth.

After he brushed his teeth and tamed his messy bedhead, he made his way back into his room. He noticed that her side of the bed was neatly made, where as his was still rumpled from him rolling out of it. He gritted his teeth. When did she start getting a side of the bed? He sniffed indignantly as he moved to his dresser and pulled out his work clothes. He pulled his shirt over his head before slinging his pants up around his hips. He could feel the tension in his shoulders and stopped, taking a deep breath. He was acting stupid. There was no reason for him to get so bent out of shape about a damn toothbrush and which side of the bed she slept on. He ran a hand over his eyes and shook his head. He just needed to calm down.

He pulled a coffee mug down from the cabinet in the kitchen and poured himself some of the brew Beth had made before she left. He reached for the little canister of sugar by the coffee pot and froze. “What the hell?” He picked up the little clear canister that had ‘sugar’ written in Beth’s loopy scrawl on the front of it and examined it. When the hell had she put this out? He tried to remember. He’d been using it for so damn long, he couldn’t remember when she’d brought it over. A short conversation popped into his mind and he tried desperately to remember.

“I brought this little sugar container over. I hope you don’t mind.” He grunted at her. “I just figured it would make it easier in the morning. This way you don’t have to lug down the big sugar bag every time.” She’d smiled at him and he’d nodded. It made sense, and it was only a little jar. He could stand a little plastic jar on the counter by the coffee pot.

Daryl let out a grumble. It was just a plastic container but it felt like so much more. Nothing she did, or moved, or added, was anything bad, but Daryl couldn’t help but feel annoyed. It felt like she was trying to take care of him. Daryl wasn’t a kid. He didn’t need anyone to take care of him. He was doing just fine taking care of himself.

He drained the coffee in his cup, opting to leave it on the counter rather than put it in the sink, because this was his apartment dammit. He could leave his coffee mug on the counter if he damn well pleased. He turned, snagged up his keys and wallet and left his apartment, hoping this crappy mood would pass at work.

It didn’t. Daryl spent the whole day trying not to think about Beth and her tendencies to coddle him, which prompted those thoughts to be the only things circling his head all day. It didn’t help that Abraham seemed to be in a crappy mood too.

“What’s with women?” Abe griped as he moved around the ‘room’ they were framing and studding. Daryl just looked at him. “Rosita’s been on a kick lately, and it’s driving me a bit nuts.” Daryl nodded, offering an ‘mm’ as they continued to measure the wood and line up the two-by-fours for nailing. “She’s been harping on me about how it feels like all we do is screw or fight.” Daryl paused, his eyes turning to the man he would loosely term his friend. “I mean, we’ve had a go at it a couple times, but its not like that’s all we do. And it isn’t even like it’s over important shit. ‘Where’s the new shampoo? Why do we have to watch this show?’ I feel like she’s turning into my mom rather than my girl. You know?” Abraham grumbled. “I’m a grown ass man. If I want to eat mini-raviolis out of a can, I’m gonna eat mini-raviolis out of the damn can. The woman can be such a nag.”

“Least you can call ‘er your woman.” Daryl muttered under his breath. Abe froze and looked over at Daryl.

“You mean, you and Beth ain’t made this shit official yet?” Daryl just shook his head. “Why the hell not?”

“Ain’t come up.” Daryl had to admit, it wasn’t a complete lie. It had never really come up that he wanted them to be ‘official’ only that she didn’t want to be a one night stand. They’d firmly slipped into booty-call, or friends-with-benefits, and he couldn’t see a way into ‘official’ territory without spooking her like a wild horse. Hell, the Fourth had been bad enough, and he wasn’t going to repeat that fiasco again. He liked being able to see her and have her over whenever either of them pleased, thank you very much.

“You’re walking dangerous territory my friend. All women wanna be official, even the ones that say they don’t.” Daryl snorted. Abe had very obviously never talked to Beth on the situation of her being ‘with’ a Dixon. “And they go and change on ya. Tryin’ to change you and making you into what they think their mama would approve of.”

“I don’t think anyone’s mama would approve of you Abe.” Daryl grinned and Abe let out a quick guffaw of laughter.

“You aren’t wrong about that.” He grinned and continued to chuckle. Daryl shook his head as thoughts started to swirl in his mind. Was that what Beth was doing? Was she trying to ‘fix’ him? Well, he’d be damned if that was going to happen. He didn’t need fixing! He had been doing just fine on his own. He could take care of himself, and he didn’t need Beth coming around and poking her nose where she didn’t intend to stay.

~~~

Beth heaved a sigh as she slung her backpack, full of clothes and small bottles of shampoo and conditioner, onto her back. She walked up the stairs and opened the front door, letting herself into the kitchen, closing the door behind her. They’d long ago agreed (albeit never verbally) that neither one of them needed to knock anymore. They both just let themselves into the other’s place whenever they arrived (as long as the other left the door unlocked). They hadn’t swapped keys, but Beth had an extra copy of her apartment key ready on her ring for him whenever she could work up the courage to give it to him without making him feel like she was labeling them.

She pretty much considered him her…her what? Her boyfriend? Her lover? Those both sounded ridiculous. He was just Daryl. He was her Daryl, and while he may not want to put a label on what they were, she did. So she did it in her mind. Calling him hers, and thinking things were theirs, and that she was nobody else’s but his. She was hoping that given enough time, she would work him into the idea that maybe, just maybe, being with just her wouldn’t be so bad. (Not that he’d been with anyone else that she knew of so far, mind you.) She set her bag down in the hallway, intending to take it with her into the bedroom, where she could hear Daryl getting out of the shower and messing around in his dresser.

She heard him amble his way down the hall and stop to stare at her while she moved around his small kitchen. “Hey, Daryl.” She said, without looking, as she moved around pulling out ingredients from the fridge and dishes she would need to make dinner. “I picked up a special skillet today so I could make dinner. It’s cast-iron. I know you have one, but it’s just so small, I knew I wouldn’t be able to fit all the food inside it.” He grunted, and she missed the frown he tossed her way. “I also saw this really pretty potted plant, well it’s more of a succulent than a regular plant, but I saw it and it made me think of you.” She paused and pointed over to the green succulent plant now sitting on the counter of his kitchen. It looked like a flower where each petal had a single point on it. “It doesn’t need much watering, but it will need to be moved into a bigger pot when this one gets too small, usually once a year, but I can help you do that when we need to move it.” She paused and smiled over at him, only to have her smile fall as she noticed the dark expression on his face.

Daryl was practically boiling inside. After his crappy day, waking up to a house that was too quiet, noticing how she’d put her touch on almost everything in his home, listening to Abe talk about how Rosita was changing him around, and now she was bringing over cookware and plants; he couldn’t hold in the irritation anymore. “You know, you ain’t gotta always do that.” He grumbled and she stilled, watching him warily.

“Do what?” She asked slowly, as if the wrong question or response would send him off the deep end.

“You ain’t always gotta come over her and try to take care of me.” He crossed his hands in front of him. “I ain’t no kid Beth, and you ain’t gotta take care of me. Buyin’ shit for my place, organizing things, the damn plant.” Beth jerked back as if he’d smacked her and it only made him get madder. He’d never raised a hand towards her, and rarely even raised his voice. She had no reason to react like she was suddenly scared he’d come at her, fists flying. She should know better. “I’ve been taking care of myself since I was fourteen years old Beth. A helluvalot longer’n I’ve known you. I don’t need you comin’ in here and changing everything around.” She held up her hands to try to calm him down.

“It’s alright Daryl. I can take the plant back to my place. If you really don’t want it. I just…I saw it and I thought of you, and I thought you might like it.” Her voice was soft but clipped, belying the calm tone she was trying to achieve. She was riled up, just like him, but she was trying to hold it together.

“That ain’t it Beth.” He growled and he saw the anger flicker to her eyes.

“Then what is it, Daryl? Because as far as I can see, I ain’t done nothing wrong; nothing new, and you’re rip roaring and ready to go over some dumb plant and a pan. Please, enlighten me as to what I’ve done to piss you off.” She growled right back, hands on her hips, and dinner fixings completely forgotten.

“You really don’t see how you’re walking around trying to change everything?” She just quirked an eyebrow, “I got a blue toothbrush in my bathroom that ain’t mine. I have a plant on my counter that I’ve never seen before. I have a damn sugar jar for my coffee in the morning.” She just continued to stare at him, eyes hard and angry. “A sugar jar Beth!”

“You’ve been using that dumb sugar jar for I don’t know how long. If you don’t like it, throw it away. It’s just a dumb sugar jar!”

“That ain’t it, Beth.”

“Then what is it?” She yelled, at the end of her rope and feeling almost completely convinced he’d lost his damn mind.

“Where do you get off? You come over here, and act like I need you to take care of me.” She marched her way towards him, intent on cutting him off, but he was going to get this out. This weird ball of frustration had been choking him all day and he needed to get it out. “You buy things because they make you think of me, but it ain’t like I’m your damn boyfriend!” Her eyes widened and then narrowed at him.

“Yeah, well would it really be so bad to actually acknowledge that maybe you should be my damn boyfriend?” She yelled before turning on her heel, leaving everything as it sat, picked up her backpack and marched out the door.   She wasn’t about to sit there and watch him melt down at the idea of being something more for her, with her. She’d made herself a promise that she wasn’t going to pressure him, but dammit if he wasn’t being the most ungrateful ass she’d ever met. She hopped into her car, turned it on, and drove off without a backward glance. She needed to calm down, he needed to pull his head out of his ass and she was going to give him some time to do that.

Daryl stared after her, not moving, in his apartment, her angry words still ringing in his head. Yeah, well would it really be so bad to actually acknowledge that maybe you should be my damn boyfriend? Did that mean she wanted to be with him? Did that mean she wanted more than what they currently already were? But all the signs! The little voice in his mind taunted. The signs be damned. Maybe he’d been too focused on what he thought everything meant, rather than what everything actually meant. Maybe Beth did want to be with him, and had been nervous about how he’d react? He thought back to the Fourth and replayed the whole situation with Glenn. Him freezing and her brushing it off. “Well, hell.” He cursed under his breath before moving his sluggish feet to carry him out of his apartment, and down the hall to the parking lot. It was no use. She was already gone. He weighed his options.

Beth had been pretty upset. More upset than he’d seen ever. He didn’t think she’d be happy to see him tonight. He’d go see her tomorrow, and talk to her. Lord knew that was what they needed to do. With how much they talked before, they’d never really discussed the important stuff. He was determined to do that tomorrow, come hell or high water.

[darkmystress00]

Moonshine, Mistakes and the Morning After Ch 13

I wanna say THANK YOU to my beta(s) that helped me with this chapter.

nerdbitches, you rock my socks! Thank you for reading this through and helping me so quickly. You are amaze-balls! (That’s Me-speak for ‘amazing’)

Beth knocked quickly on Daryl’s door, her knuckles rapping in short strokes. The speed in which he opened the door made it seem like he was waiting behind it for her to knock. She stifled a giggle at the idea. “Hello!” She chimed, shooting him a big smile as he opened the door wide enough for her to make her way inside.

“Hey.” He mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he watched her walk past him. He noticed she stayed near him rather than walk towards the kitchen. She had a pensive look on her face and it made him pause. “What’s up?” He’d learned he needed to just be direct instead of trying to read her mind and guess what she was thinking.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go out to the diner tonight for dinner. We’ve been eating in a lot and I wanted to treat us to something nice.” She chirped, a big beaming smile on her face. He frowned at her, not because he didn’t want to go out, but because he’d planned to make her dinner tonight for a change. He wanted to do something nice for her. She was constantly making them dinner, or bringing over groceries to cook at his place. This time, tonight, he wanted her to relax while he cooked for her.

“Nah. Let’s stay in.” His mumbled response made her pause and look at him. She studied him, her mind racing as she tried to figure out his response. She’d expected him to agree, or to agree but tell her he was paying (and she had a perfectly good rebuttal for that argument) but she was totally unprepared for him to completely shoot down her idea of going out. What if…what if he didn’t want to go out because he didn’t want to be seen with her? He’d always been a private kind of guy, maybe he didn’t want to go out, because he didn’t want whatever they were to be public (even though they had been out before with friends and he’d been seen at her daddy’s farm by pretty much everyone in town anyway.) The thought had her pausing, her insides going cold. That couldn’t be it. Could it? He’d just shared his past with her, he couldn’t possibly be trying to close himself off from her, could he? Her insides instantly rejected the idea, but a little voice in the back of her head whispered to her; he doesn’t want to go out, because that makes everything official. He doesn’t want to be tied down. While her common sense could rule out the idea that he was embarrassed to be seen with her, she couldn’t quite silence the nagging voice that whispered that they’d never mentioned anything about becoming exclusive (even though she’d been nothing but his since the whole thing started) and maybe that was his major reason for not wanting to go out. He didn’t want to tie himself down by going out with her in front of others. Her stomach bunched and tightened and she felt heat rise up within her. She was angry. There was no way that was true, but how else could she read it? They’d gotten into a habit of going to each other’s places and she would cook them dinner (funny how it always seemed to be her doing the cooking) and then they’d do a multitude of different things, depending on what they felt like. But never did they just go out together. Never did they just cruise the town, willing to be seen by others. She froze, rounding on him, her eyes wide and wounded. He looked at her, completely confused as to why she would be hurt and upset. All he’d done was ask if they could stay in… “You don’t want to go out because you don’t want to be seen with me.” She whispered and drew her hands up towards her, like she would ward off the cold or a particularly strong, chilly wind. He stared at her dumbfounded. “What?” Where the hell would she get that idea? How could she get that idea? He wasn’t one to run to the rooftops and scream that he liked her and was with her, but he definitely wasn’t hiding it. Hell, if he’d wanted to hide it he wouldn’t have gone to the barbecue for the Fourth. Everyone in town had been at that damn party and had seen them together. Hell, most of the party had heard Glenn’s slip-up calling him her boyfriend and no one even batted an eyelash. “You don’t wanna be seen in public with me!” She accused, and again he stared at her like she’d grown a second head. She made a move to walk past him and leave the apartment, but he reached for her causing her to stop and turn. Her hurt, watery, blue orbs looked up at him. “Are you crazy?” He snapped, starting to get irritated. Beth was usually so level-headed. To have her fly off the handle like this, jump to wild conclusions- it was so unusual he was worried. “Where’n the hell would you get a dumb idea like that?” He winced. That was not what he meant to say, or rather, not how he meant to say it. She scowled at him, he’d never seen the full brunt of her anger directed at him, and frankly it was terrifying. This girl held the delicate remnants of the heart he’d walled away forever in her hand and she could kill him with just one word. How did she not know just how important she was to him? “Well, what else am I supposed to think?” Her finger came out and poked him in the chest. “We go over to each other’s homes, I make dinner, we fool around, and then we go our separate ways! We never go out, we never see our friends. What else could it be?” She crossed her arms in front of her, willing the tears to go away. She didn’t want to cry in front of him. How could he be so cruel? He took a deep breath and grabbed his leather jacket and wallet before moving towards the door. “You wanna go out, we’ll go out.” He reached for the doorknob. She frowned even more. This wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want him to go out just to prove a point. “No. I’m going home. If you don’t wanna go out with me, I’m not going to force you.” He rounded on her so fast it made her jerk and take a couple hasty steps back. He’d never hurt her, and she knew that, never really felt like he would, at least not on purpose, but she was scared he’d run into her if she didn’t move out of the way. As she moved back he only moved closer to her, his face a perfect impassive mask, and it made her stomach flip. She didn’t like when his face was closed off like this. She liked being able to see what he was feeling on his face, because good lord the man never actually said anything about emotions. “You wanna go home, then go home. But just so we’re clear, I had planned on stayin’ in and making you dinner tonight. I ain’t much of a cook, but I can make a few things, and I wanted to do that. For you.” She instantly felt contrite and foolish. What the hell had she been thinking? “This ain’t gotta be complicated, Beth. I wanted to stay in to do something nice for you. Not because I wanna hide…this.” He finished lamely as he motioned between the two of them. He watched as her eyes clouded over, her mouth flapping helplessly like she wanted to say something but didn’t know quite what to say. “Oh…” The single syllable hung in the air between them. His eyes running over her, trying to work out in his head how they got to this in the span of just a couple minutes. Not five minutes ago he was happy and excited to see her, and now he felt like the rug had been taken out from under him. “I’m so sorry, Daryl. I just…I dunno what’s wrong with me.” Temporary insanity. Was that a thing? She was totally going to say that was a thing, and she suffered from it on occasion. “Let’s stay in. I’d love to do dinner with you here.” She offered, reaching for his hand. “Nah, let’s go out.” He mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pocket. She felt a sting as she watched him slide his hands into his pockets. “Daryl, if you wanna stay in, we can stay in.” She looked at him, biting back another apology. He sighed. “Beth, I just want this to stop.” When she froze he pushed on, “We don’t fight, and this isn’t how I wanna spend tonight. Let’s go out, we’ll get some food and figure it out from there.” She looked at him dubiously. “Are you sure?” “I told you, I don’t do things I don’t wanna…” He smirked at her and she smiled at up at him. He reached out and took her hand gently, “C’mon. I’m hungry.” The feeling of his rough hand taking hers had Beth smiling so big her cheeks hurt. She didn’t think she’d ever been as upset as when he shoved his hands in his pockets, not allowing her to touch him. She didn’t realize how much comfort just holding his hand gave her. The walk to the diner was quick (getting to anything in this town was quick) and they ate and laughed and talked until the sun had set. She looked at him from her perch across the booth. “So what do you wanna do now?” He asked as he sipped his water. She bit her lip and looked around. “Honestly, can we just go back your place?” He sized her up before giving her a quick nod. They both slid out of the booth and made their way outside into the sticky summer night. Her eyes floated around the street, flitting from one thing to another, until she felt his hand take hers gently. When she looked to him, she found his eyes averted and could tell he was embarrassed. She smiled to herself and threaded her fingers with his. Daryl could feel the tips of his ears burning as he took her hand in his. He felt her eyes on him, but refused to look at her and see the teasing look on her face. When her fingers threaded through his he let himself smile. The start of the night had been rough, but this somehow made it worth it. ~~~ Beth sat curled up next to Daryl, trying desperately to keep her eyes open. She was so tired, but she didn’t want to fall asleep. Without any warning, Daryl shifted, drawing his arms around her and lifting her up as he stood. She wiggled a little and gave an undignified grumble as he made his way towards his bedroom. “Daryl, put me down. I need to get home.” He just grumbled something under his breath as he set her on the bed.

“You can stay…you know. Ain’t always gotta head home at the end of the night.” He pulled his shirt off carelessly, without thinking, and dropped onto the bed next to her. She stilled and looked at him. Was he really saying she could stay the night, here, with him? She leaned over and pressed a kiss to the side of his face.

“Thank you Daryl.” She wiggled out of her jeans, letting them fall off the side of the bed onto the floor. She slid in next to him, under the covers, and hesitantly slid her arm over his side and tucked her head up under his chin. His hands settled on the back of her head, readjusting her so she was laying on his bicep, and the other on the small of her back, their legs tangled together under the covers. Beth shut her eyes, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart so she could sleep. She took a deep breath and kissed his throat softly. “Good night.”

“G’night.” He rumbled. His arms tightened around her and she smiled. Tonight was a good night.

[darkmystress00]

Moonshine, Mistakes, and the Morning After Ch 12

Daryl groaned. Today was Saturday and for once he actually had the whole day off. He planned on just messing around with his car. It was making a funny ticking sound that sounded suspiciously like the timing belt needed to be changed out. What he really wanted to do was spend it wrapped up with Beth all day, but things had been a bit strained since the barbecue on the forth. It had been the slowest week of his life. She’d texted him but hadn’t been free much all week. He’d started out not panicking, but as the week wore on, he was already readying himself for the final blow, when she would just break it off with him. He wasn’t looking forward to it, but with the distance between them growing into this yawning chasm it felt inevitable and he was just glad he could prepare for it. He heard an insistent knocking at his door and grumbled. Probably Merle stopping by after a hard night of boozing and drugs. He stalked out of his room, in only a pair of pajama pants since he didn’t want to answer the door for his brother in just his boxer shorts. He ripped the door open, grumbling out in a harsh tone, “Dammit Merle. You need to start coming by at a decent hour, it’s Saturday and my only day off. I ain’t got time to worry about your drunk ass.” His eyes landed on Beth standing in front of him, an amused grin on her face, and he sucked in a breath, his stomach plummeting with dread. He didn’t once notice the bag of groceries that hung from her hand, or the small bag she had on her back in a little cloth knapsack.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I’m not Merle.” She grinned up at him. “Sorry, if I’m bothering you. I know it’s early. I wanted to make you breakfast.” She moved her hand holding the bag of groceries. “I know you wanted to see me but I’ve been really busy this week. I wanted to make it up to you.” His face was blank, but his mind was whirling a mile a minute. She wanted to make him breakfast? She was here, at his apartment, with a bag of groceries because she wanted to spend time with him? Wasn’t she supposed to be calling it quits? Wasn’t she supposed to be saying this wasn’t working and that it was getting too serious and that wasn’t what she wanted? Daryl stepped back, letting Beth enter the apartment and move to the kitchen before he really said anything. He couldn’t figure her out. Every time he thought he’d figured out her next move, she completely bowled him over and did something unexpected. As he watched her unload a bunch of groceries in his kitchen he suddenly became aware that he was shirtless, exposing his back to her the minute he had to turn around to get dressed. He started to inch his way towards the hall, keeping his back away from her. Luckily she was distracted with the groceries and he made it halfway down the hall and was able to turn and scurry into his room without being seen. He left his door cracked and moved to his dresser, pulling out a pair of jeans. He shucked his pajamas and pulled on his jeans, doing up the button and zipper. He was reaching for a flannel to throw around his shoulders when he heard Beth’s voice floating into his room. “Daryl do you want your eggs scrambled, or over easy, or I could do sunny side up…” His eyes snapped up to the mirror above his dresser and connected with her blue pools where she came to a stop just inside his, now, wide open door. He watched as her eyes zeroed in on his back, her shoulders stiffening, and her teeth gently chewing on her bottom lip. Defeat flooded him, and his head dropped down, unable to see the pity fill her face. He counted his breaths, trying to stay calm as feelings of dread, and anger, and sadness overwhelmed him. Cool fingers glided up his back, fingertips grazing the long scars that covered his back. He stiffened at the contact but never pulled away from her exploring fingers. “You don’t have to tell me, if it’s too painful.” Her voice whispered behind him. He felt her cheek press against his shoulder blade as her hands wove around his ribs to press against his chest. “But I’m here if you wanna let it out. I’m here to listen.” She just stood there, wrapped around him, trying to give him comfort for pains and memories she had no idea about, and it struck Daryl that this was so very Beth. She didn’t need to hear his sob story to offer up her comfort, just because he had once been in pain. “I didn’t grow up the same as you. My dad was a mean drunk, and for a while he used up all his anger on my Ma. She eventually found her way to the bottom of a bottle to dull the aches and pains. When she died, Merle was gone already and it was only me left.” He heard a quick intake of breath but other than that she stayed silent, listening to him much like he’d listened to her back in the barn. “It started with just his hand, then he moved on to other things, shoes, spatulas, but he used his belt most often. It was always on him. He’d wale on me until I stopped squirming. Sometimes, when he’d run out of money at the bars he’d come home extra pissed because he wasn’t completely drunk, and put out cigarettes on my back. I took off when I was fourteen and ain’t stepped foot back in that trailer yet. Merle let me tag along with him until I got this place.” He could feel moisture on his back and knew Beth was crying for him. “I’m sorry.” He pressed a hand over hers, pressing her warm palm into the skin of his peck. He wanted to tell her she had no reason to be sorry, but she spoke again before the words could pass his lips. “I’m just so angry.” It was in that moment he felt her hands tremble against him. “Why?” “No one deserves what you got growing up. I’m angry that you had to go through that alone, and I’m angry I wasn’t there to make it stop.” Her voice was thick and low; a wet angry the squelched with tears as she spat out the words. Her hands gripped him tighter, pulling her body flush with his and he could practically feel her whole being trembling with her anger. That was unexpected. He’d expected sad, pity, sympathy. He hadn’t expected white hot rage to fill her tiny frame until she shook with it. He hadn’t expected her to want to be there to protect him. No one had ever wanted to protect him before. The image of a fiery, angry little Beth popped into his mind, and for a moment, he didn’t doubt she’d have ripped into Will Dixon with a righteous fury that would have made the grown man cry. A bundle of hot, golden sunshine piercing the dark in his crappy life and keeping him from the sting of his daddy’s belt. It would have been a sight to behold. “It ain’t your fault.” “I know, but it still isn’t right.” She sniffed back her hot tears, “And you are such a good person. Why wasn’t someone there to protect you? Someone shoulda been there.” He didn’t want to tell her he’d wondered that question many times himself; as he laid crumpled on the floor quietly sobbing as waves of pain rippled through his little body. As he’d felt his stomach growl as the clawing ache of hungry ripped at his insides because he hadn’t had anything to eat that day. And when he got older, as he watched others turn and whisper to each other as he passed by. “I’da laid into him. He’d have never touched you again, if I’d been there.” Her voice was soft, succumbing to her tears of anguish at just imagining the pain he had gone through as a child. “Beth you were just a baby, only a couple years old when I left.” He rumbled out. He knew it was the wrong thing to say, but he didn’t want her to hurt because she hadn’t been able to help him, and he knew that was the kind of person she was. She’d feel every slice of the buckle, every slide of the leather across his back, every scorching hot burn from the cigarettes, just from imagining the torment he’d gone through, and he didn’t want that. Not for her. Not for anyone really, but especially not her. “I don’t care!” She knew she wasn’t making any sense, but she was too far gone to try. She ached for the little boy he was, and could just imagine him crumpled on the floor, small defenseless body battered and bruised from hands that were supposed to love on him more than anyone else in the world. She ached for the man, that stood before her, doubting his own self worth, because if your own father couldn’t love you, how could anyone else in the world? She loved him. She blinked, only noting she was only mildly surprised at the revelation. Deep down she’d known already. She did. She loved him, and she wanted to show him that. She wanted to show him that he was worthy of love, but not just that. She wanted to show him that he was worthy of her love. She sniffed back her tears, blinking them away to clear her eyes. She may not have been able to give him the love he needed when he was little, but she could now, and she’d be damned if she was going to wait a minute longer. Achingly slowly, and with special care, she moved around him until she was standing in front of him, staring at his face, which was down-turned and hidden mostly by his dark hair. She stretched up, her hand cupping his cheek, and pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss. Daryl stared down at her as she moved around him, bracing himself for any pity he might see. When she faced him he was happy to see that there was none to be found in those crystal blue orbs. Her eyes and the tip of her nose was red from crying, her skin was a bit blotchy and damp from her tears and he honestly couldn’t think of a time when she looked more beautiful to him. When she pressed her lips to his, her soft cool hand on his cheek, it took all his will power not to crush her to him. His arms came around her, one hand settling at the base of her neck and the other pressing into her lower back. She felt so good pressed against him, kissing him, comforting him. There wasn’t a single soul who he’d told about his past (not even Merle knew the whole truth) except for this amazing woman now nestled in his arms, and she’d responded in the best way he could have ever dreamed. She didn’t hold it against him, she didn’t judge or pity him, she didn’t think less of him because of the unfortunate past he had. She’d been angry for him. Angry at the injustice of it all, and now she was kissing him. Showing him that he could be worthy of happiness; could be worthy of her even if he was a Dixon. Or maybe, especially because he was. It was a humbling and heady kiss. Just the mere touch of her lips to his had his body responding to hers like they were made for each other. She took both his hands in hers, ending the kiss before tugging him towards his bed. Beth guided him down to sit on his bed. Her hands cupped his cheeks before her lips landed on his, soft and questing. His hands, which had landed limply on his legs, touched her thighs hesitantly before sliding up to her hips. He tugged her in close, not breaking the kiss, and held her like a man afraid. He pulled a bit more, helping to stabilize her, as she slung first one leg over him and then the other. The hem of her summer dress bunched between them and rode up her thighs, exposing more of the creamy skin he loved to touch. His mouth opened under her lips, and his tongue darted out to stroke the fullness of her bottom lip. She groaned and allowed her own tongue to slip out and play with his. Her hands slid back to the nape of his neck, fingers tangling in his dark brown hair. She was plastered to him frantically, as if she would be pulled away any minute by an unseen force. She felt him pressing against her, hard and insistent, through the cloth of his pants. His hands moved her to rock against him, causing a friction that made both of them groan with pleasure.

He dragged the little sundress up over her head, dropping it to the floor behind her, as his lips came to the skin on her collarbone. He kissed a pathway across her chest, his tongue gliding out to lick at the spot where her bra met her skin. He felt her fingers clench in his hair, with a strangled groan sounding above his head, and knew he would never get tired of hearing that sound come from her. He’d had past flings before, but this, sex had never been like this before. This was something completely special to when he was with Beth, and he knew, deep down, that he never wanted this to end. His fingers inched their way up her back, fumbling a little to undo the clasp of her bra. When he felt the clips release he let the fabric fall away from her skin, dipping his lips down to take a nipple into his mouth. Her head fell back, and she watched him through hooded eyes.

With no warning he twisted, pulling her from a straddling position over him, and laying her down beside him on the bed. He worshiped her skin, kissing pathways from her neck to her belly. He sat up on his knees, watching as she arched and writhed on his bed, panting quickly and staring at him with eyes so hot he felt like he’d burst into flame. He hooked two fingers into the waistband of her panties and pulled them down, sliding them off her legs and letting them fall from his fingers off the side of the bed. She sat up, her fingers eagerly going to the button and fly of his pants, managing to undo both before he caught her hands with a quiet chuckle. “Gotta slow down, baby girl.” She looked up at him and whimpered. His hands circled her wrists, gently prying them from his pants and he leaned her back against the bed, placing her hands up by the headboard above her head. “We’ll get there, but you gotta slow down.” She nodded and watched as he shifted over her, not taking off his pants, until he was between her legs, thighs hugging his hips. His hands started the trek down her lithe form, followed by his lips as he kissed every inch of skin he could reach. His hands landed on the inside of her thighs, pressing them open a little more to make room as he slid lower.

He heard her breath catch in her throat as his fingers slipped into her core, feeling how wet she was for him. He kissed her thigh, his tongue tracing the spot where thigh met pelvis, and Beth arched and groaned. “Daryl…please…” She whined as she moved beneath him. His thumb brushed over her core and she jerked letting out a high pitched cry of pleasure. He couldn’t hold back any longer. He leaned forward, tongue drawing circles around the little nub before he ran the flat of it over her. She let out a shriek and gripped the blanket beneath her in tight fists. Her body was practically singing. He alternated between rubbing directly onto the bundle of nerves and circling it. She went from taut to languid, to taut again with each new movement from him. The entire time, he watched her. When he heard her pant out his name it sent a spear of want through him so strong that if he’d need standing he’d have gone to his knees. He couldn’t take it any longer and surged up to meet her lips with his. Her hands moved down, pushing his pants from his hips, and with the help of her legs he kicked the constricting clothing off and let it fall tot he floor. With one smooth thrust he was buried inside her, both groaning at the feeling of completion. With slow thrusts he moved in and out of her. He knew, it wasn’t going to be long, but it was going to be amazing.

Her hands threaded into his hair as she cried out. Her eyes met his and then she was falling apart underneath him. The sight was amazing, and with a last thrust he followed her over the edge, her name a whisper on his lips.

[darkmystress00]

Moonshine, Mistakes, and the Morning After ch 11

I am STILL looking for a beta to help me with this story and possible other stories in the future. Please shoot me a message if you are willing to help me out?

Thank you bunches!!

Beth and Daryl sipped rootbeer and laughed with friends for most of the afternoon, in the hot Georgia sun. Even though Daryl was just meeting most of the people here, he felt welcomed. Even, or rather especially, welcomed by Beth’s dad and her big sister Maggie. He’d been the most worried about those two. He didn’t care if anyone else welcomed him into the fold, but those two, those two needed to like him. They were Beth’s family, and if they didn’t like him then he could kiss whatever this was with Beth goodbye.

Daryl watched as Beth mingled, leaving him standing under the shade of a nearby tree. He just watched as she fluttered around the group of people, saying hello, laughing and talking for a few minutes before being swept off somewhere else. It was amazing to think this woman had been a tearful mess in his arms just hours ago, she was so warm and bubbly all the time. It was amazing to think she was ever a mess. Daryl jerked from his reverie to the sound of Hershel clearing his throat next to him. Daryl tipped his head, and his bottle of root-beer to the older gentleman in greeting. “How are you doing Daryl?”

“ ‘M good.” “I know get togethers like this can get a bit overwhelming when you’re not used to the people.” Daryl agreed with a soft ‘mm’ and continued to watch as Beth milled around the group. “She makes it look so easy, don’t she?” Hershel asked quietly, drawing Daryl’s eyes back to him. He nodded mutely, not really knowing where the man was going. “She’s alway been a social girl. Used to think it was going to cause her trouble.” Daryl had a sinking feeling. Was this the part where Hershel told him to back of his daughter and go find someone else to mess around with? Was he showing what he truly thought of Will Dixon’s son hanging around with his precious ray of sunshine? “She sees the best in everyone.” Daryl watched him closely, waiting for the hammer to fall. “I know, y’all are…just friends…” Hershel gave him a knowing look that had the tips of his ears burning red, “but I wanted to let you know I appreciate you being there to make sure Bethy doesn’t get into trouble. I can’t always be around, and it makes me feel a mite better knowing she’s got someone to look after her and make sure she’s not seeing the good in the wrong people.” Daryl stared at him blankly. “Y’ain’t gotta thank me.” He rumbled out, dropping his eyes to the ground. “She’s tough and takes care of her own. She can handle herself. She don’t need anybody looking after her…” he looked over at the girl in question. “Least of all a Dixon.” he mumbled under his breath. Hershel paused and looked over at Beth, before looking back at Daryl. “Look, I know you’re Will Dixon’s kid,” Daryl’s eyes shot back to Hershel’s face. “Ain’t nobody in town that don’t know who you and yours are. And I’m standing here, on this hot Georgia afternoon, telling you that it doesn’t make one lick of difference to me if you’re a Dixon, a Grimes, or a Greene. If Bethy likes you, you’re a good man. She wouldn’t be friends with someone who ain’t a good man.” Hershel took a long sip from his tea. “She’s got a sixth sense about her, she can just see it. See what’s inside ya, and help pull it out. You’re a good man Daryl. You don’t have to do much for that to show.” Daryl looked down before his eyes traveled back to watch Beth, feeling an unfamiliar warm feeling spreading inside his chest. “Son, I’m proud to have this Dixon watchin’ after my little girl. Always remember that.” Daryl watched him go, unused to the feeling of having someone proud to know him, much less ‘look after’ a member of their family. It was strange, but he liked it. He liked that this family didn’t just hear his last name and immediately scowl and look down their noses at him. No one outside of the Greene family treated him like he was anything other than an angry red-neck, never mind the fact that he’d gotten a job, lived a quiet life and kept to himself. None of that ever mattered. He had a feeling, it never would. “You hurt her, and I’ll take you out back and put you down myself.” A feminine voice sounded next to him and he jerked his gaze to land on the eldest Greene daughter, Maggie. She wore a small grin, that said she was being friendly, but her threat was real. “It ain’t-“ “I know. I know exactly what it is and what it ain’t.” Maggie looked over to see Beth getting bear-hugged by Rick Grimes, a friend of her father. “And I’m letting you know. When it gets to be what it ain’t…you hurt her, and you won’t have to worry about Daddy findin’ out.” He quirked an eyebrow. “And what makes you think it’ll become ‘what it ain’t’?” She just looked at him with that look; the look Beth gave him when he asked a dumb question just to rile her up. “If you’re smart you’ll make sure it does.” She grinned at him. “Now, unless you wanna be upstaged by a fifteen year old, you might want to go over and snag her. Carl’s had a crush on her for years and it doesn’t look like it’s going away.” His eyes darted over to watch a younger boy approach Beth, scuffing his shoes in the dirt and acting, for all he was worth, like a boy not half in love with the girl he was talking to. “That’s my cue.” Daryl muttered before he started his trek across the field. “Good talk Daryl.” Maggie called, giving him a satisfied grin. She’d gotten the obligatory sisterly threat out of the way, now she was free to just enjoy the show. If she could read anything about Daryl, it was that he was going to fumble his way through this, and it was going to be the most entertaining thing to watch. Daryl approached Beth slowly and noticed two things. One, Carl’s eyes hit him square in the face before he was halfway across the grass, and the kid puffed up a bit as if to protect his beloved. And two, the second he reached Beth’s side, she reached out and took his hand, like it was the most natural thing in the world to do. She smiled up at him, like she hadn’t seen him in days, rather than just minutes, and she leaned into him as she continued to talk to Carl. Carl continued to eye him up and down until Beth introduced him simply saying “Carl, this is Daryl. Daryl this is Rick’s son, Carl.” Brief ‘hello’s were exchanged and then Carl’s eyes were glued to their join hands, which Beth promptly ignored. Neither one of them had to explain anything and she wasn’t about to go make it awkward when they were both having a good time. After her cry in the barn, Beth really wanted Daryl to have a good time. She’d unloaded on him, and he hadn’t been expecting it, but he’d been patient and had listened to her and comforted her. Now, she wanted to make sure that when he remembered today he focused on the fun and the good rather than her sad sob story in the barn. She kept conversation light, trying to mediate between the two boys. She wanted to roll her eyes at Carl, he was acting like he had some sort of claim on her, when he was so much younger than her it was silly. She heard Lori calling and turned to see the woman motioning for Carl to come over. “Hey, I think your mom wants you to go talk to her for a second.” Carl looked over at his mom, who motioned again for him to come over. “Don’t worry. I promise not to sneak off without saying goodbye.” Beth teased and Carl smiled a bashful smile before turning and making his way to his beckoning mother. Beth looked up at Daryl. “You having a good time?” “Yeah.” “Saw you talking to Daddy and Maggie. Everything ok?” She asked, worried. “Yeah. I can handle myself.” She looked dubious. Not that he couldn’t handle himself, but she didn’t want her family making him feel out of place or unwelcome. “Beth, they were warm, and welcoming. Your sister is somethin’ else,” She shot a glare towards her sister. “Don’t. She’s fine. Everything is fine. Stop worryin’” She stared at him, eyes searching to see if he was telling the truth. “Promise. I’m havin’ a good time.” She nodded. She heard her daddy calling out that dinner was ready and to come and get it before it got cold. She squeezed his hand. “Come on. Let’s get some food and then when it gets a little darker we can set off some fireworks before the big show starts.” He gave her a nod and followed her to the table lined with all the food. Dinner was filled with laughing and joking all around. There were picnic tables set up along with blankets laid on the ground for others to sit on. Carl sat next to Beth, trying to block Daryl from sitting next to her, but Daryl just smirked as he plunked himself down on her free side. Carl glared at him and Beth made a mental note to have a talk with him about how to treat others, and to make it perfectly clear that she was not interested in him like that. She gave Daryl an apologetic look but Daryl just shrugged it off, giving her a quick smile and leaned in to whisper in her ear, “He can sit next to you all night, as long as I’m the one taking you home.” She blushed a deep red and lightly, teasingly, smacked his shoulder. Maggie and her boyfriend, an asian kind named Glenn, sat across from them, aiding in Daryl’s cheap attempt to mess with Carl. Everyone gave a laugh when Carl grumbled about adults and stood to go throw his trash away. Maggie looked around, noticing the sun was starting to set and everyone was pulling out their little fireworks, and grinned at Glenn. “C’mon Glenn.” She stood, taking their trash and getting ready for the festivities. Glenn stood to follow Maggie, looking at Beth and Daryl. “Come on Beth. You know how your sister gets with fireworks. If someone isn’t watching her she’ll set the barn on fire.” Beth giggled. “Bring your boyfriend.” And that was when everything froze. Her eyes darted from Glenn to Daryl and she actually saw him stiffen and freeze, and felt her stomach drop. The moment Daryl heard the word boyfriend he froze. Not out of fear but because he was nervous that someone had put a label on what he was to her. Usually the term boyfriend made him roll his eyes and snort, but thinking about being that for Beth made his heart thump uncomfortably fast, and made his breathing come quickly. He liked the idea of being her boyfriend. The term was asinine but he liked being able to say he belonged to this bright ray of sunshine sitting next to him. He liked the privilege that came with being her boyfriend. Privilege like being able to introduce her to others with some sort of term that explained how important she was to him. Privilege like being able to take her places without questioning gazes and dark glares, like he was a predator stalking her. He wanted to be with her for the long term. He wasn’t thinking marriage, that was a little too long term for him at the moment, but he definitely wanted to be longer than just the summer. He wanted to take her places, and give her things, and tell her things, without it getting weird. He wanted it all, and he had no idea how to tell her that without it coming out all jumbled and wrong. It was a moment that made him hate how bad he was with words. His eyes went to her and he could see the emotions flitting across her face, settling on and uncomfortable combination of flustered, angry, and nervous. His hope seemed to die in his stomach. She wouldn’t want to put a label on it because that made it serious, and she didn’t want serious. At least, not with him. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from letting everything tumble out of his mouth. They needed to talk but not with Maggie’s boyfriend standing there twitching and fidgeting beside them. “Glenn,” Beth said, her voice oddly upset. “It’s…not like that. Daryl’s my friend.” Glenn squirmed before tucking his hands in his pockets, eyes darting between the two of them. “Oh, well, I just…” he stuttered. “I figured.” He cleared his throat. “Friends is cool.” He finished lamely before turning awkwardly and making his way over to the field where kids were playing with sparklers. Beth played with her thumbnail, not sure what to say. She was upset. She shouldn’t be, but she was. She wanted him to be her boyfriend, but more importantly she wanted him to want it too.  It was just a label. Weren’t they pretty much there anyway? She was so tired of tiptoeing around everything. She stepped away from the bench she had been sitting on, picking up their trash. “Beth…” Daryl called, not wanting her to leave, but she wasn’t ready to talk yet. She wanted to lick her wounds and talk about how he didn’t want to be tied down when she wasn’t so emotional. “I’m gonna throw away the trash. I’ll meet you over at the field for some sparkler fun?” Daryl watch her as she walked away. She was so upset it was showing and it was startling to him. He’d never really thought she’d be that upset to have him mistaken for her boyfriend. He never thought she’d truly be this disappointed to have someone label everything. It made his stomach turn. If it was that upsetting to her, he’d just pretend it never happened. As much as it would kill him, he could go back. Or at least he hoped he could. Daryl was starting to believe he was in far deeper than he intended and wasn’t quite ready for the heartbreak that was going to come when they ended, and judging by the way she’d just reacted, that end might be closer than he had anticipated before. He sighed and stood, making his way over to where the kids were playing with sparklers. He noticed Glenn wouldn’t even look in his direction, pretending something over by the barn was far more interesting than anything in Daryl’s direction. Good, serves him right.   Beth sighed as she threw the paper plates and napkins in the trash. Her feelings were hurt and her heart thumped painfully in her chest. She wanted to cry, but knew she wouldn’t have a moment’s peace if she disappeared now. She would just pretend it hadn’t happened. Her feelings may be bruised, but she was good at pretending, at least until she got home and could have a good cry. She’d just pretend he hadn’t shattered her little daydream with just the stiffening of his shoulders, and she’d plaster a smile on her face. She’d plaster a smile on her face and enjoy the show and the fireworks and figure out the complicated mess that was her relationship with Daryl another time.

[darkmystress00]

Moonshine, Mistakes, and the Morning After Ch 10

To say Beth was nervous would have been the biggest understatement made in the history of man. She was bringing Daryl home to meet her family, and the thought had her pacing all night the night before. She’d done all her laundry, and cleaned her whole apartment (she’d actually cleaned her bathroom twice, once in the initial sweep, and then after she’d taken a shower to clean herself up) while trying to get rid of the nerves that were currently making her stomach churn. Daryl sat beside her in his beat-up pick-up, looking calm and collected. She had no idea how he could do it. She was a wreck, and was barely holding it together.

She’d been so nervous when inviting him, thinking he’d over react and feel like she was putting a label on them. That was something Beth was very careful not to do. Ever since the start of this whole…whatever they were…he’d seemed to balk at the idea of her being his ‘girlfriend.’ It had stung at first, but she was so greedy for his time she’d put the ball firmly in his court and told him he could be what ever he wanted to be. He’d never given her a label for what they were, and she really didn’t need one, except for calling him her friend felt so wrong, given how many times they’d shared a bed (or couch, or floor, or table) calling him her friend felt like she was hiding. She didn’t want to be just his friend, but she liked what they were and didn’t want to jinx it by having that conversation with him. So, here she sat, in Daryl’s truck, fretting about what Maggie and her daddy would say when they showed up, and how Daryl would take it.

Without thinking, she reached over and took one of his hands in hers, he glanced over and her and she smiled at him. “Thanks for coming Daryl.”

“S’no big thing.” He smiled at her in response, his hand gently squeezing hers. It wasn’t long before they were pulling up to the family farm. Beth smiled as she climbed out of the truck, looking at the big farm house where she’d grown up. Daryl came up beside her. “You grew up here?” His voice held a note of awe as he asked and she had the feeling there was more hidden in that question than she really knew. She’d have to ask him about it later.

“Yeah.” She said softly. “C’mon. I wanna show you around before we get swarmed.” She grinned at him and tugged him along into the house. She could hear everyone laughing and having a good time out back in the field between the house and the barn. She wanted to show him around the house before too many people were around to stop them and bombard them with questions. They mounted the steps to the big white farmhouse and scurried inside, trying to dodge laughing friends and nosy on-lookers as they made their way upstairs. She giggled as they hit the top stair and she paused. “We’ll start with my room, and I’ll give you the grand tour.” He gave her a grunt and followed behind her, into a small room, filled with soft pinks and blues and flowers and Daryl couldn’t help but know this most definitely was a room that a little Beth had grown up in. There were pictures and medals all over her walls. Posters of old boy bands were tacked up on one wall, completing the whole image of a teenage girl’s room (not that Daryl really had much idea on what a teenage girl’s room looked like.)

Beth’s childhood was decidedly different from his, he’d realized, not that there really had been any question about that. He could tell, just looking around her old room, that she’d had a happy childhood, filled with love and care. He had no idea what that felt like. His eyes landed on a picture of Beth, as a teenager, with the two people he’d come to assume were her siblings, and her parents. Beth walked up beside him. “That’s my family. Daddy,” She pointed to the older gentleman in the picture before her finger moved to the next person. “Maggie, my sister, Shawn…my older brother.” She took a soft breath, “And that’s my mom.” She sounded sad, but before he could ask a knock sounded on the door and they both turned to look at who had entered.

“Oh, Beth, you are in here. Daddy was startin’ to worry.” Maggie gave a nervous smile, eyeing up Beth and Daryl. Beth smiled.

“Just wanted to show him around before everyone got here.” Beth responded. “Oh, Maggie this is Daryl, Daryl this is my sister Maggie.” Daryl tipped his head, mumbling an ‘afternoon’ while Maggie just smiled at him cautiously. “We better make our way down before everyone comes hunting for us.” Daryl nodded at her, following her out as Maggie trailed behind them.

Introductions were quick, and while Daryl had thought it would have been awkward being introduced to Beth’s dad, it wasn’t. The man was warm and welcoming, and hadn’t pressed Daryl with any awkward questions about him and Beth. He’d just moved conversation on, welcoming Daryl into the conversation he was currently having with a man named Otis, about re-roofing the barn and fixing some of the areas that had rot in the wood. Daryl didn’t know why he did it, but he found himself offering to help, ‘since he worked in construction and all.’ Hershel had looked at him with a curious look in his eye offering his thanks and a promise to pilfer Daryl’s number from Beth so they could make good on that offer.

Beth hadn’t left him to to his own devices long. She’d shown up with a bottle, of what he’d assumed was beer, but choked as the flavor of root-beer filled his mouth. Beth just smiled as he’d turned to looked at her. “It’s a long story…Daddy doesn’t keep alcohol in the house.” She said softly. She turned to her father, who was still deep in conversation with Otis, “Daddy I’m gonna steal Daryl if that’s ok? Maybe go show him the horses?”

“Sure thing Bethy. Don’t be long, your sister will start a manhunt if you disappear for too long.” He smiled fondly down at his daughter and she giggled lightly.

“Yes sir. C’mon.” She took Daryl’s hand gently and tugged him along towards the barn. The thing was massive, and Daryl was suddenly apprehensive about having to get on the top of it to re-roof.

“So, why no alcohol on the farm?” Not that Daryl was complaining. He’d grown up around alcohol and knew what it could do to people.

“Uhm…” Beth looked around as they entered the barn, coming up to a brown horse that was currently munching on some oats. “When Maggie was little, her mama died, and Daddy found comfort in the bottom of a bottle.” Her voice was soft, like she didn’t like to share the darkness hidden in her family’s past, and truthfully, he didn’t want her to share if it was something she was comfortable with. “He got pretty lost, and did some things he’s none too proud of. He woke up one day and swore it off. Hasn’t touched a drop since.” She looked over at Daryl, “This was all before I was born, so I don’t really know how it all happened. Just stories and things I’ve been told. No one really likes to talk about it much, everyone just kind of accepts that we don’t have alcohol at the farm.” He stood there staring at her for a moment, wrapping his mind around the idea that Hershel Greene, the warm kind man he’d met and talked with, struggled with drink. It appeared even the most wholesome of people had their demons. “So I heard you’re gonna help them put a new roof on this old barn?” He gave her a grunt, taking a swig off his soda. “That’s really sweet. I keep telling him he needs to just tear it down and build a new one, but…he built this barn for my Mama and doesn’t want to just get rid of it.” She shook her head and leaned back against the pen, eyes studying Daryl as he looked around.

“Where is your Ma?” He suddenly realized he hadn’t met her mother yet. That would be a hard meeting. He was definitely rough around the edges and nothing a mama would want her little girl hanging around. Beth bit her lip, her right hand going to her left wrist, thumb playing over the skin under her bracelets. There was very little Daryl missed even when he wasn’t paying attention. He’d noticed the way she wore a bunch of bracelets over that wrist only, and hardly ever took them off, (much like the way he never took his shirt off around her) and had caught the briefest glimpse of the edge of a dark, puckered scar being hidden by those trinkets around her wrist. Daryl knew she had a scar, but had never asked about it, never wanting to open that wound or draw attention to the fact that he knew.

“Mama passed away.” She said softly, her voice sounding brittle. “That’s why I never finished college.” Her eyes glazed over. “It was quick. She was making breakfast for Daddy and me, and just collapsed. I was there when it happened. I-I watched her die.” He could hear tears in her voice and moved to hold her, compelled by the ache in her voice. She buried her face in his chest and sniffed, trying to calm down. “They said she’d had a massive heart attack and washouts gone when the EMTs arrived at the house.”

“It’s alright Beth. Yo ain’t gotta talk about it, if it’s too hard.” He felt her press against him tighter, and tightened his arms, trying to make her feel more secure. They’d been doing whatever it was that they were doing for a couple months now, and he’d never seen her actually upset. Not like this. This was raw, and real, and new. This was a deep wound she kept hidden by a band-aid and a smile for everyone around her.

“No…I need to.” She gasped out. “They always say talking about it helps healing, and after a while people got tired of me talkin’ about it…so I just stopped. It’s never gotten healed.” She looked up at him and felt so torn. She didn’t want to unload on him, but now that the dam was cracked she was going to lose it until she could put her world back together. She didn’t want him to be bombarded with her dark secrets. She didn’t want to freak him out and make him run by showing him what a mess she truly was. But it was there, at the surface and she was so tired of hiding. She hid from her family, and friends, and co-workers; she didn’t want to hide from him. Not anymore.

“Let it out babygirl.” He rumbled, not catching the term of endearment. He called her that in his head, but never out loud. “I’m here. I can’t do much, but I can listen.”

“I’ve never felt so scared, and helpless before. I mean, she just…she just went down and stopped movin’ and I called her name. I tried to shake her. I yelled for Daddy, and he finally called the EMTs, and then I started yellin’ at her.” Her eyes were watery. “I yelled at her, like she was doing it on purpose. And then when they said she was dead, I just.” A small sob escaped her lips as a tear trekked down her cheek. “I just kept thinking that my last words to my Mama were angry, like she’d done it on purpose. Like she didn’t love me.” He stared at her, eyes wide, disbelieving she was actually torturing herself over things she’d said to her mom when she’d died, things she’d said when she was terrified of losing her.

“Beth, she knew you loved ‘er.” He whispered gruffly into her hair.

“I know, but still.”

“Still nothin’.” He looked down at her. “What was the last thing you said, before she went down?” She looked confused. “Just think.” Her eyes went glassy like she was thinking about something far away and long ago.

“I told her that I missed her pancakes when I was away at school. The dining hall food was nothin’ compared.”

“Then that was the last thing she heard.” Beth started to shake her head. “Beth, that was the last thing she heard.” He held her eyes, practically begging her to believe him. Watching her hurt made him ache something fierce and all he wanted to do was make it better. She was tough, a fighter, and to see her so broken down, well it didn’t sit right for him. Beth Greene deserved to smile and be happy, and not have a care in the world. Beth Greene did not deserve to live her days out haunted by pain and guilt for something she said in a moment of panic and fear. “She went out, knowing that you loved her and her pancakes.” She let out a watery laugh but nodded once.

“Thank you.” She rested her head on his chest, waiting until her breathing calmed down before she spoke again. “I was so angry at her, after the funeral and I went back to school.” She started, gripping the back of his shirt with both her hands like he was a life preserver keeping her floating in the crazy waves of emotions. If she let go, she felt like she would drown. “I was so angry, and lost, and hurt. I just…I wanted my Mama. I couldn’t focus on school. I didn’t want to come home…I tried to kill myself but couldn’t even do that right.” She looked up at him, before drawing her arm from around him to pull her wrist up between them. “I mean, I could have…but when I did it, I just,” She sighed, “I could hear Mama’s voice telling me how much she loved me, and it just felt wrong. I knew she’d have been so upset to see me do something like that. She wouldn’t have wanted it. So I wrapped up my wrist and had Rosita go with me to the campus clinic. They put me on watch and called Daddy, and Daddy made Maggie come pick me up.” Her thumb moved her bracelets to the side to show the smooth line on her wrist. It was small, but had probably hurt like hell, and Daryl watched as his hand came up and he touched a finger to it. “I knew I was better’n that, so I’ve worked everyday to prove to everyone that I am strong and I can make it.” She looked up at him.

“You are.” He agreed. “You can take care of yourself. You’re doin’ a damn good job of it.” She smiled up at him and he felt himself smile back at her. Everyone had their moments of weakness, and Daryl was starting to realize, Beth’s life wasn’t all ponies and rainbows and pancakes. She had her own scars, and her own secrets. She was trusting him with those secrets. Trusting that he wouldn’t judge her, wouldn’t look at her like she was ready to break, wouldn’t look at her like she was damaged. Even if he wanted to, he didn’t think he could ever look at her like that. She had reached her bottom and had dragged herself up through the mud to make herself stronger and better than that. She’d done a damn good job it. A damn good job indeed. He reached up to her face, wiping away one tear-track from her cheek, and smiled when she blushed prettily at him.

“You mind if we stay in here until it doesn’t look like I cried my eyes out?” He grunted out a soft ‘mm’. “I just don’t wanna have to answer Maggie’s questions.” He nodded. When she pulled away from him he almost tugged her back into place, but resisted the urge, following her down the row of stables to look at each of the horses. She told him their names, but later he’d be hard pressed to remember a single one. He was too busy watching her and marveling at how she could do so little and make him feel so much. After a few minutes she turned to him and asked if she looked normal (he’d had to bite his tongue to keep the sappy comments from spilling out of his mouth) and then took his hand to lead him back to the party. Everyone was there and it smelled like they were starting to barbecue. As they rejoined the group Beth chatted away and Daryl watched as she easily slid amongst the groups. It was like watching sunlight penetrate a thick canopy. She brightened everything around her, and Daryl was hard pressed to tear his eyes away from her. She really was something special.

[darkmystress00]

Moonshine, Mistakes, and the Morning After Ch 9

Daryl stood at Beth’s stove, stirring the pot of noodles for the dinner he was making her. He’d showed up early and Beth had been on the phone, all the food pulled out onto the counter for what she was going to make, and he’d watched her for all of a minute as she struggled to fill the pot and listen to the person on the phone. He’d gently taken the pot from her, shooing her with the wave of a hand, and smirked as she stepped away with a grateful smile on her lips. He’d filled up the pot, placed it on the burner and set about inspecting the ingredients to figure out what she was making. It hadn’t taken a genius to see she wanted to make spaghetti so he set the burner to its highest setting and went about making the sauce. Truth be told, he had no idea what he was doing, he usually just used the stuff in the jar, but Beth had everything already out so he figured he couldn’t really screw it up too badly.

That was how he found himself standing over a pot with noodles boiling away, and meat and tomato sauce simmering away. Finally, he heard the conversation ending and sensed, more than saw, her walk up beside him. She was looking down at the food a big bright smile on her face like he’d done the most amazing thing in the world by throwing all the ingredients together and tossing noodles into some hot water. “Thank you Daryl. You didn’t have to cook dinner. I’da done it.” He shrugged one shoulder, offering a grunt at her. “’S no big deal. Just kind of tossed everything together.” He looked at her. “Everythin’ alright? That sounded kinda important.” Her cheeks reddened and she nodded. 
 “Yeah. It was important, but everything is alright.” She said softly. He looked at her, squinting his eyes like he was trying to figure out a riddle or something before turning back to the noodles. “Think these’re done.” She nodded and moved to drain the noodles. He watched her. He knew she wanted to talk to him, but he wasn’t going to push. Beth drained the noodles, before tossing them back into the pot and bringing the pot back to the burner. She poured the sauce over the noodles and stirred until everything was combined. She paused and looked up to him, wide eyed, like she’d just realized she’d done something very very wrong. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think…I always mix my noodles and sauce together. That way you know whether you’ve got enough sauce for all the noodles. Is…” He gave a snort and could stop the short burst of a laugh that tumbled from his lips. “Don’t even finish that question.” He grinned at her softly as he cheeks turned red. “It’s all gonna get mixed up anyway. This is fine.” She nodded and turned back to the pot, mixing a few more times before pulling down some bowls. She spooned the spaghetti into the bowls and handed him one. The sat quietly at her little kitchen island, the clinking of forks the only sound in the room. He watched her. It was one of his favorite things to do. He could tell she was warring with herself and loved to watch the little faces she made. Suddenly her eyes came to his and she held his stare. He felt the tips of his ears burn red at being caught staring, but before he could look away, she was biting her lip, looking like she wanted to say something. “You ain’t gotta tell me what you’re thinking about telling me, if its gonna make you this uncomfortable.” He rumbled out. She heaved a sigh. “Is it that obvious I wanna say something?” He just looked at her and she smiled. “Fine.” She looked down at her empty bowl, like it was suddenly the most interesting thing ever. “You done?”  She piped before hopping off her chair. He gave her a grunt and watched as she snatched his bowl and moved to place both of them in the sink. She didn’t even turn around. “So, I was thinking of going back to school in the fall.” Her voice was nervous and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why. “I’m only a couple semesters away from getting my degree, and I figure…now is as good a time as any.” She peeked at him over her shoulder. “What do you think?” His eyes moved over her back, settling on the side of her face that was turned towards him, her eyes not looking at him. He knew she was still paying attention to him, waiting patiently for his answer, and honestly he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t understand why she was so worried about bringing this up. He’d never stand in the way of something she wanted to do, and couldn’t understand anyone that would. “I think you gotta do what’ll make you happy” He rasped out. “Ain’t no reason to let your dreams get away.” She turned to look at him. “Really?” “You on somethin’ girl?” His eyebrows rose on his forehead. “Have you ever heard me say somethin’ I didn’t really mean?” She smiled at him. “No…I guess I haven’t.” She flipped on the tap and filled the bowls with water. She bit her lip. “Would-would you look at some of the brochures with me?” She shut off the tap and turned to look at him. He shrugged his shoulders, offering a small nod. “Sure, if you want. I don’t know much about colleges though.” He placed his hands on the island and leaned forward, propping himself up on his elbows. She opened a drawer and pulled out some of the brochures and pamphlets and sat down next to him. “I just want to talk to someone about it. I mean, we’re friends, right? Who better to share with than a friend.” She smiled and looked back at the stack of glossy papers, completely missing his scowl. Friends? Friends? Is that what they were? Flashes of hot skin sliding against his, sexy moans filling the air around him, the feeling of her lips on his skin, her nails biting into the skin on his shoulders flashed in his mind’s eye. Those were not things shared between friends. He definitely didn’t think they were friends…or at least…not just friends. Is that what she thought they were? Is that all she wanted from him? To be friends, with the occasional romp between the sheets? His gut tightened. That wasn’t what he wanted. He enjoyed spending time with her. Any time with her. Not just the times that they had sex, but the times they actually watched movies, and ate dinner, and spent time together. He shoved the thought away, determined to examine what he was feeling when he was alone, away from her intoxicating presence where he could really think about what he wanted. No use in getting wrapped up in feelings when he wasn’t quite sure what he wanted. Right now, he was going to listen to talk about colleges she was interested in, because she was excited and he wanted to be supportive of something she was excited about. She pulled out a bright pamphlet, that read Georgia State University, and he felt his stomach lurch. This school was in Atlanta, and while Atlanta wasn’t super far away, it was definitely far enough away that she’d be gone more often than not (if she didn’t just up and move there.) He forced a tight smile, battling his uncomfortable emotions as he listened to her list off why she was leaning more towards this college, and what program she would be taking and ‘Oh Daryl…look at this. I’d be able to transfer classes I’ve already taken into this new catalogue…’ He gave a few nods and some non-committal grunts before she moved on to a couple other smaller colleges and a couple community colleges. He bit his tongue to keep from suggesting she just go to the community college that was twenty minutes away in the neighboring city. She’d be close enough that he could continue to be able to see her almost every day like they were now. He swallowed the words that sprang to his lips about what the driving time to most of the colleges in Atlanta would do to their time together. He swallowed it all and felt himself hide behind a wall inside him. Beth felt it too. With each new pamphlet, and each babbled sentence, Beth felt him close himself off a little more and she didn’t know what to do. She could tell he wasn’t upset with her per say, and she could tell he really was excited about her going back to college and getting her degree, but she could still feel a yawning distance between them, that she didn’t know what to do. She stacked the pamphlets and slid them away. “I’m still thinking about it, and nothing is decided yet.” She said awkwardly as she fidgeted next to him. “What do you think?” She saw him swallow and then take a deep breath before turning a soft smile to her. “I think which ever school you choose will be lucky to get you.” He was sincere. This was something she wanted to do and he was damned if he’d stand in her way. She deserved to be happy and to fulfill her dreams. Her eyes moved over him, studying every inch of his face, as if looking for the lie or the feelings he had buried and hidden away inside of him. Slowly, inch by inch she leaned forward her lips touching his in a feather light caress. She pulled back, just far enough to meet his eyes. “I don’t think you realize…exactly how much I needed to hear that.” He gave her a small grin and that made everything better. The distance was gone. The wall he’d hidden himself behind was gone, and she just wanted to beam at him. She moved to stand next to him, he assumed to put the pamphlets back in the drawer she’d gotten them from, but he didn’t want her to move. His hand snaked out, and landed on her hip, pulling her close to him as he rested his forehead on hers. “I mean it, Beth. Whatever school you pick will be lucky to have you. And you’ll do good, be good, where ever you decide to go too.” He felt her place her hands on his chest before they slid up and wrapped around his shoulders. His other hand came around her and settled delicately between her shoulder blades, fingers splayed, and pressing her close to him. Daryl was surprised to find that there was no urgency when they touched, this time, like there normally was. He didn’t have a roaring need to strip her down and touch every inch of her like he’d never been with a woman before. In fact, he was overcome with a sense of contentment. Just holding her was enough. He didn’t want to let her go. Not to let her put the pamphlets away, not to go sit together on the couch, not to have her go off to college and forget him. He wanted to stay, wrapped in that moment with her for as long as he could, because suddenly, it felt like he was seeing the end in the distance, and even though he knew it was coming (had always known really) it was still going to hurt like a bitch. ~~~ Daryl rolled over in his bed, staring into the darkness of his room. It was late in the night, or early in the morning, (however you wanted to look at it) and he was most likely not going to be able to sleep tonight. The idea of Beth going to school was bothering him. No, that wasn’t strictly true. He wanted her to go to school, but he knew that if she did, and if she chose one of those schools in Atlanta, she was going to move. There was no way she was going to commute that far every day, and even if she did. She’d leave early in the morning, spend the day at school, drive home in the evening and still have homework and shit to do. She wouldn’t have time for him. Not to mention, there would be many guys her own age at school. She could have her pick of the litter, and he knew that. She’d go to school, spend all her time with some boy and would fall for him without even meaning to. He didn’t fit into the equation of her life, and he knew he never really had, but it didn’t stop the sick sinking feeling he got in his stomach when he pictured life without spending time with her, without being with her. His life without her smile, her laugh, her warmth, would go back to the way it had been, and Daryl didn’t want that. He’d become someone. He’d become a better person with her, and he didn’t want to go back to what he was before her. He snorted at himself. He was thinking like he was something to her. She’d called him her friend right? Was he her friends? He was more of a friend than he had been to start with, but he was more than a friend. Wasn’t he? Did he want her to think of him as more than a friend? A resounding ‘yes’ sounded in his head and he knew he was sunk. He didn’t want to be just her friend. He didn’t want whatever they had to stay this nameless state of limbo where he didn’t know what to call her, or if he truly had a right to be upset at the thought of being left behind. He wanted Beth Greene, and he wanted her to want him too.