Beth watched as her daughter twirled around in her new Easter dress, the blue sequins popping out and littering the floor in light. She was standing in the spot of the room where the window let the sun in, and if she had a camera right then, it would have made for the best photo.
The little girl giggled and lifted her hands in the air, spinning faster and faster. Beth saw that if she didn't stop her soon, she was going to spin right into the wall, and so with her recently acquired reflexes, she snatched the child up and brought her to her chest, kissing her cheeks.
"Alright, enough playing around. We're gonna be late." Beth noted the child's pout, her hand gently lifting her dress in admiration once again, then looking back to Beth with such innocence. She wanted to twirl some more. "We have to go visit your Aunt!" Beth supplied, but the girl still seemed to disagree. "Ellie." She warned, but it was no use. The kid had powers or something.
Beth was caught in her gaze, those big blue eyes staring back at her. Her hair was dark, but her skin was porcelain and delicate. She was the most beautiful thing Beth had ever seen. "Fine." Beth admitted in defeat and sat the girl down, letting her run back to her place in the spot light. In just seconds, she was back to smiling and laughing, and Beth was wondering if she was ever going to be able to be a strict parent.
They arrived late. Half an hour late, to be exact. Everyone was already eating and Beth looked around for her sister while her daughter stayed put in her arms.
The crowd was quite large this year. People from all over the city were in her sister's house, loading up on any and everything they could find.
She heard a grumbling noise, and looked at Ellie. "Are you hungry?" The little girl nodded, then pointed at where the bread was sitting in a large woven basket, half empty. "Well, let's get in line then."
Someone nudged her from behind, and she spun around with wide eyes until she saw Rick Grimes standing behind her, a shit eating grin on his face. "Well, look what the cat dragged in."
Beth hit him in the arm, laughing all the while. She saw his eyes go from Beth to Ellie, and Ellie started moving in Beth's arms, reaching out to Rick. He obliged, holding his hands out and taking the girl into his arms.
"You look so pretty in your dress!" He told her, and Beth smiled. Rick held her in one arm and a plate in the other. "So, where have you two been off to these last few months?"
Beth looked over her shoulder, a big glopping spoonful of beans in her hand. "We went to Disney World last month." She took a bite of some of her ham, holding her hand in front of her mouth as she spoke, just like the good girl she was raised to be. "She loved it. Heck, I did too! It was the most magical place I have ever been."
Rick nodded, chuckling. "Guess you never get to old for Disney. I was thinking about taking Carl and Judith sometime this summer."
"You should." Beth told him. "Speaking of, where are those trouble makers of yours, Grimes?" Her eyes searched the room for Judith right after she spoke.
Rick walked in front of her, grabbing a roll. "They're outside. Carl's 'bout to help set up the Easter Egg hunt, and Judith is sitting with your sister."
Beth's ears perked up. "Maggie's out there?" She grabbed a roll for her and another for Ellie, then picked her from Rick's arms. "I guess we'll be going out there too."
"Beth, wait-"
She was walking out of the back door already. "Hurry up, Grimes. You're old age isn't catching up with you, is it?" She called back, her eyes on the man behind her, when she slammed into someone's warm chest. Her eyes quickly looked over Ellie then turned back. "I'm so sorry," Beth muttered, watching as a piece of mash potato slipped off of the man's chest and splattered against the concrete.
She instantly grabbed a napkin, dabbing it on his shirt when his hands grabbed hers. "S'okay," he told her, and Beth knew the voice.
Slowly, she looked up and met his eyes. Her stomach nearly fell out of her ass. "Daryl?"
"Beth?" He asked looking equally confused.
Beth looked over at Ellie, then shifted her on her hip. "What are you doing here?"
"Rick invited me."
Beth turned, her chaotic death stare focused on Rick. He licked his lips, opening his big fat mouth to try and diffuse the situation, but Beth held up her hand. "Don't."
"Damn, Beth. I didn't know you was going to be here." Daryl told her, dragging her eyes back on to him. "And even if I did, I sure as hell didn't know you were going to be so mad."
"Didn't anybody ever teach you not to cuss in front of a child?" Beth spat, only venomous because it was Daryl Dixon. If it had been anybody else, she would have brushed it off with no concern. She cussed too sometimes.
Perhaps it was a mistake to draw attention to Ellie because Daryl looked down at her, and Beth watched as he looked at her daughter with pain. Good. She hoped it hurt him.
"She yours?" He asked.
And now Beth was in pain. How much was she willing to say?
Beth saw Maggie stand up now, no longer in a conversation. "Yes." Beth told him, seeing his face fall with just a bit more anguish.
"How old is she?"
Here it was. Here it god damn was. Now or never, Beth. Her heart beat was erratic and she was gripping Ellie's waist for support, emotionally if not physically.
"She's three." Beth said, then walked passed him just as realization set in. She didn't want to stand there while he decided what he was going to do, didn't want to see him think about how big of a mistake he had made. She didn't care about him anymore.
Maggie put her hand on Beth's back, looking at Daryl before glaring at Rick and leading Beth away.
They sat on an old porch swing, Judith and Ellie playing in the grass. Maggie was holding Beth's hand, and Beth was just trying not to break down and cry.
Why the hell did Rick think it was a good idea to bring Daryl here? How did he not realize that it was going to tear her up to see him?
"You need to talk to him." Maggie said, and Beth felt betrayal.
"He was the one that left me!" Beth reminded her sister, Ellie and Judith looking up at the loud voice. Beth smiled apologetically then sighed, leaning back in the chair.
Maggie squeezed Beth's hand. "I'm not saying get back with him. I'm saying talk to him, tell him about Ellie and tell him how big of a dick you think he is." Beth laughed at that. "Just tell him how you feel. Men ain't smart enough to get it on their own." Beth followed Maggie's eyes, seeing their friend Glenn in the distance.
"You haven't told him yet?" Beth asked.
"Don't change the subject." Maggie teased, slapping her on the shoulder. She stood up after. "Alright kiddos, let's go see what gifts Aunt Maggie has for you."
Beth watched them chase after her. She sighed once again, reclining back and staring at the sky. It was a beautiful day out. She just wished that she could enjoy it.
"She's mine, ain't she?" Daryl asked, stepping up beside Beth's laid out figure.
Beth covered her face from the sun, or from his eyes, and smile with displeasure. "Yeah, Daryl. She is."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Beth shot up in her seat, her eyes set on him in an instant. Was he really asking her that? "Are you kidding me?"
He looked at his feet, his eyes not being able to meet hers. She knew he was feeling guilty. She knew everything about him. But knowing everything about him also meant she knew how to make him feel horrible. How to rip his heart out and make him eat it. Make him feel how he made her feel.
"Was I just supposed to pick up the phone and call you? After everything you put me through?" Beth shook her head. "No, you didn't deserve that." She stood up, about to leave. "You didn't deserve to know her."
Daryl followed her, walking beside her while she blew steam out her ears. "I was trying to do the right thing by leaving!"
Beth stopped, laughter filling her throat. Daryl heard her voice crack. "Oh, that's fantastic! I'm so glad you decided that leaving me naked and alone in some hotel in New Mexico was the "right thing", Daryl Dixon."
She tried to leave again, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "You weren't going to have a life with me, Beth." She didn't interrupt this time, needing him to explain. He did. "You were so god damn good, and sweet, and clean. No way we were going to make it out of there without me tainting you black."
"Maybe I wanted to be tainted. Did you ever think about that?" He hadn't. "Maybe I accepted every," she poked him angrily in the chest, "single," again, "piece of what I thought was a good man, despite the shit he had been through." She threw her hands down, balling them into fist by her sides and spinning away from him in her anger. "God! We had been doing so well, too! Here I thought that I was in love with you, and you were just willing to throw it all away because you got some after-sex jitters."
Daryl stalked behind her, his own eyes slanted in anger. "I didn't want you to accept me! You deserve way more than some redneck asshole. You deserved the big house and the picket fence and the husband who gives you everything, and that wasn't me." He shook his head. "That ain't never goin' to be me."
Beth looked at him now, really looked at him. He looked good on the outside. Nice hair cut, shorter than the last time she had seen him. His arms were toned and his pants were clean. But, his eyes were puffed from exhaustion, and his hands were shaking. She didn't want to yell at him anymore. Because, despite all of the fight that she may put up, Beth was tired too.
"I know." She said.
His rage disintegrated, and what was left was a man who didn't know what to do with the cards he was dealt. "I didn't mean to make you upset by coming here today, I-I just needed to see you. Even if it was just once." He rubbed his hand down his face. "I needed to see how you were doing, and I was fine watching you in the window. Saw you and Rick talkin', and I swear I wasn't going to even tell you I had been here."
Beth saw his hands began to fidget, and she couldn't help but fall back into her old ways, grabbing his hand and soothing her thumb over his palm. It was honestly second nature to her after 8 years.
"What changed your mind?"
He stared at their hands together for a moment before answering, feeling how her skin was cool to the touch. "I saw her. Our daughter." His face twisted into a bit of a grimace and he spoke again, "well, I thought she was your daughter. Hell, for a second, I thought she was yours and Rick's and he had just called me here to gloat or somethin'."
Beth rolled her eyes at the thought. "And how would that have made you feel?" She asked, still needing to know what the hell he was getting at.
His eyes went from her own to her lips, then repeated. She felt her toes curl at the very thought. "You kiddin' me? It felt like my body was on fire."
"And now that you know about Ellie. Now how do you feel?" Beth questioned, slightly breathless. He was so close, and it might have been stupid of her, but she loved him. She had always loved him, even when he made stupid mistakes like he did when he left her that night.
His hands slowly slid up her arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake. She shivered while he explored her for the first time in three years, his fingers knowing just the right pressure points to make her want to fall into his moronic arms again.
"Like I have a family." And she wanted to cry because she knew what he meant. He had a family for the first time. A real family. People who would love him and care for him. People who would bring him back from the deep end if he ever stepped into it.
She closed her eyes, letting him lean into her lips, their breaths swirling and her mouth watering with the anticipation. How would it feel? Would it be just like it used to be? She could hardly wait, nearly jumping into his arms and attacking his mouth, but no. He needed to do it. He needed to make it up to her, and she wasn't going to let him off the hook.
"Momma!"
They broke apart, seeing Ellie walking over to Beth with her arms spread wide. Beth gave a look of agony to Daryl, letting him know this surely wasn't over, before scooping up her daughter.
"Ellie, there's someone I want you to meet." She said, letting her daughter get a full view of Daryl.
The girl looked at him curiously, then back up to Beth for answers. Who was this person?
"Ellie, honey." Beth thought for a moment on how to introduce them. She wanted to let her know it was her dad, but she also couldn't stand the thought of him leaving them in the future, and Ellie running around asking for her dad.
Beth looked up, catching Daryl's eyes on Ellie. He was looking at her with such awe and strange wonder. It literally looked like he thought the sun shined out of her ass, and she felt her chest warming. "This is your daddy."
Ellie looked back at Daryl. Both Beth and Daryl waited as the youngest of the three contemplated how to handle this new information. Giggling, she threw her arms out, wanting him to hold her.
Daryl didn't need to be asked twice, quickly pulling the girl to him, a huge smile on his face as he did. Beth just smirked, once again wishing she had a camera.
"Daddy?" Ellie asked, poking Daryl's cheek.
He laughed boyishly, then kissed her finger. "Yeah, baby girl. I'm your dad."
Beth sat beside Daryl comfortably as they watched Ellie run down towards the eggs that were hidden in plain sight, a basket on her arm. She was running and jumping, and really, Beth should have seen it coming when she took a dive, her front slamming down on the dirt.
She rolled over, tears streaming down her chubby cheeks and dirt on her chin. Beth stood, once again ready to take on the world for hurting her kid, when she felt a hand slip into her own. She looked at Daryl beside her, him watching Ellie, not even seeing Beth's gaze on him, and it dawned on her that she didn't have to do it alone anymore.
Quickly, she kissed his lips. It was swift, and she took off running after Ellie right after, but it was sweet and just like Beth. Daryl took a moment to compose himself before he too ran to the aid of the little girl, himself just a bit more anxious than Beth, this being his first time dealing with such a thing.
Beth watched him check Ellie for deep cuts or anything, ask her if places her, trying to discern if anything was broken, then looked to her for help like a lost puppy.
She leaned forward, kissing Ellie's hands. "You're alright." Beth cooed, and Ellie sat up, tears still dripping, but she was no longer so hysterical. Beth hugged the little girl and picked up her basket for her, telling her to hurry and get more eggs. Ellie nodded, gripping her basket in determination and running off.
"She's strong, you just gotta remind her." Beth told him.
Her heart skipped a beat when his arm wrapped around her waist, her face turning just in time to catch that emotion that she had waited years for him to mention. Love.
He pulled her to him, kissing her with all that he had and maybe just a little bit more. He had his hands tangled in her hair, and she pulled on his shirt. His lips were no different than before, except that now he was more confident. Where he used to shy away when she scraped his back, he now groaned into her mouth. When she bit his lip, he'd tense up a bit, but when she did it now, his hands ground further into her skin, making her smile and give him gentle kisses. His hands lifted her onto her tip toes, trying to pull all of the emotions out of himself and let her feel them.
"She's just like you." Daryl told her before kissing her again.
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