Authors note: This is a little Christmas one shot that plays up the theory that Beth survived the shot and is buried alive. Enjoy!
"You've come a long way in a year," Maggie beamed, stroking the blonde ponytail of her baby sister. Beth doesn't remember that she used to wear a braid in her ponytail. Her family had tried hard to help regain her memory, talking about her life before the apocalypse, the prison, the people they'd lost and the good memories they'd had - the way she wore her hair just never came up. Daryl missed that little braid, but he didn't know how to bring it up without sounding effeminate. A Dixon doesn't notice a girl's different hairstyles, nuh-uh.
Beth was snuggled up in Daryl's poncho under an artificial Christmas tree that, like them, had seen better days. They'd found some coloured, glass baubles in a Home Depot, the majority were smashed on the floor but they salvaged what they could, along with a string of multi coloured fairy lights. In the Alexandria Safe Zone they were allowed to put the lights on for no more than two hours on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
"How do we even know it's Christmas Eve? It could be like January the 5th for all we know..." Carl inquired as Judith stumbled from his knee to Rick's.
"We don't know for sure, but Eugene's calendar seems pretty accurate. There's no rules when it comes to Christmas anymore, we can have it in the middle of June if we want!" Beth smiled, and this seemed to satisfy Carl. Daryl watched her as he sat on a chair opposite, a smirk drawing from the right hand corner of his lip as he considered how she can make anything okay just through her hopeful words.
"I remember your very first Christmas," Maggie spoke softly to Beth as the younger girl leaned back into her embrace. "I was six, Shawn was two and you were what, 5 months? Annette was so busy running between you crying and the food that the whole dinner ended up burned!" They all chuckled at the memory apart from Beth, who sat with a scrunched nose as she remarked:
"I don't remember that," just as she had done so many times over the past year since she had been shot.
"You're not suppose' to remember tha', you were a baby!" Daryl snorted, eyeing Beth with a cheeky grin plastered to his face. Her complexion turned rosy pink as she stuck out her tongue in defence. She noticed how Daryl's breath caught in his throat as she swiped her tongue out of her mouth and across her bottom lip, jabbing it in Daryl's direction in defiance. Maggie rolled her eyes and grinned at their playful display of affection; everyone had long accepted the relationship between Beth and Daryl.
The evening was spent listening to music on an old stereo, drinking expensive wine which they'd discovered hidden in a long abandoned cellar, and giggling over memories of the past. Beth was feeling slightly drunk as Daryl frequently refilled her glass, shooting him knowing glances each time he did so. Sasha proposed they sang Christmas carols as they had none on CD to listen to, so Beth led the way with a sweet rendition of Joy to the World. She had forgotten a lot of things, but she never forgot how to sing.
"I'm gonna hit the sack, got a nice day to look forward to tomorrow," Rick yawned, Judith teetering on his hip with tiny hands wound around his neck.
"It's gonna be great," Carol smiled, "I can barely remember the last time we celebrated Christmas."
The family said their goodnights as they all retreated to their own homes dotted around Alexandria. Beth and Daryl were some of the last to leave Maggie and Glenn's house where they had been hosted.
"Happy holidays, little sis'" Maggie enveloped Beth in a tight embrace, rubbing her back in small circles.
"To think last year we..." And she broke off, sensing the unease that still lingered around the topic of Beth's premature burial.
"Let's not remind ourselves," Daryl grunted, patting Maggie and Glenn on the shoulders in turn, his own way of showing affection for his new in-laws.
The pair walked hand in hand to their house, a practice Beth had insisted on much to Daryl's awkward dismay.
"When we get in, I got a little somethin' you can have tonight, the rest are for tomorra'" he winked and pulled Beth in close, his hand snaking around her bottom.
"Oh yeah? Am I going to like it?" Beth grinned, a hint of mischief gleaning in her eye.
"I damn hope so."
Beth sat expectantly on the ragged old couch in their front room, the fairy lights she had hung in a vain attempt to make the house "Christmassy" dangled above her head. She was waiting for Daryl to return after he had so eloquently commanded her to "stay put". She toyed with the idea of what her surprise may be, expecting a salvaged chocolate box or something equally as simple but hard to come by and readily appreciated in this World. She heard him fumbling around upstairs and giggled as she considered just how sweet her Daryl had become since she took a hold of his heart. He promptly reentered, calling out "close ya eyes," before doing so. He was taken aback with how stunning she looked in that moment, the lights above her illuminating her nigh on perfect skin.
Beth's smile widened as she covered her eyes with her little hands as proof that they were closed. Daryl reached down and took one of her hands from her eyes, whilst warning her to "keep 'em closed." Her hand closed around a tiny box and she jutted her face upwards to Daryl's, silently asking permission to look. The box was gold and glittery, with a tiny clasp on the front holding it shut. She glanced between Daryl's embarrassed smile and the box before prising open the tiny encasement. Inside sat a fine silver chain with a little sparrow charm with blue gems for eyes dangling from it. She gasped as she took in the beautiful gift, observing the intricate detail on the bird; its feathers were etched into the silver and its minute beak stood proudly from its face.
"Daryl, it's gorgeous!" She threw her arms around his neck and peppered kisses from the crook of his neck to his lips.
"Jus' a little somethin'" the redneck mumbled, not used to splurging presents on women. He hadn't had many in his life worth splurging out on. Beth's eyes glistened with unshed tears of happiness as she giggled at his modesty. He took the necklace from her palm, spun her around and swept her long, blonde hair to the side. Tentatively, he stroked his callous fingertips across her collar bone before fixing the chain together at the nape of her kissable neck.
"I love it, Daryl. Thank you so much," she smiled, turning to plant a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth. His fingers brushed her sides as she kissed him, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine.
"C'mere," he whispered as he spun her back around. She waited expectantly for him to kiss her neck as she felt his hot breath tickle her ears. Instead, he took a thick strand of hair and began twisting and turning pieces of it into a badly made braid running from the top of her ponytail to the bottom. Beth's eyebrows knitted as she wondered what he was up to, she questioned him with a curious "hmm?" while he concentrated on his failing attempt.
"Ya used to wear your hair like that, except it was better when you did it. I dunno, I like it," he mumbled, his creation finally complete.
"I did? Well I like it, I'll do that more often then," Beth beamed, checking out her new hairstyle in the half smashed mirror above their fireplace.
"Now... If you come upstairs then I can give you your early present too," Beth winked, trailing her fingers down from Daryl's neck, over his chest, torso, and resting on the waistband of his jeans. She hooked her fingers into the top of his pants, gently stroking the skin above. His eyes lit up like fire as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the stairs.
"Damn woman, yer'll kill me one of these days!" He growled as they clambered up to their bedroom with haste. Once they reached the bedroom door Beth leaned against it playfully, blocking Daryl's entrance to make him wait just a little longer. He smirked at her and picked her up with ease, her legs curling around his waist as her arms curled around his neck just like perfectly fitting jigsaw pieces. He banged open the door and dropped Beth on the double bed. Making quick work of his clothes he climbed on top of the young woman eagerly anticipating him and stared into her eyes, bursting with words to spill:
"Merry Christmas, Beth. I love you"
"I love you, Daryl."