A/N: This is a very short and fluffy one-shot for Father's Day that's a semi-follow up to "Backseat Of A Greyhound Bus". I wrote this in less than 30 minutes so I'm sorry if there's not a lot of details and for how short it is but I hope y'all enjoy it.
Please Review!
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead, it's characters, or the song used in this story.
Just Fishin'
Beth smiled and brushed the hair back from her little girls faced and leaned in to kiss her forehead.
The little girl stirred a bit then slowly opened her eyes.
"Mommy, is it daddy day?"
"It is," she smiled and leaned in to kiss her forehead again then whispered, "Do you want to wake daddy up or do you want to help me make breakfast first?"
"I wanna help you, mommy."
"Okay, baby girl. Go get washed up and come to the kitchen."
Daryl heard the giggling and dishes dropping in the kitchen but he didn't dare get out of bed and risk upsetting both of his girls.
He wasn't big on getting all of the attention they would give him but he accepted it just because it was them and it made them happy which made him happy. He would do anything as long as it meant they would smile.
He heard them as they got close to the bedroom so he turned over and closed his eyes.
The bedroom door creaked as it opened and he tried his best not to smile.
He felt the bed dip down and then his little girl laid her head on his back.
"Daddy," she whispered. "Wakey, wakey."
Daryl reached back and grabbed her arm, gently pulling her in front of him and wrapped his arm around her.
She giggled and put her arms around his neck.
"Mornin', Silly Anne," he said, kissing her nose.
"Happy daddy day!" She squealed.
"Y'all ready for breakfast?" Beth asked.
"Yes mommy."
The three of them sat there on the bed, eating breakfast and enjoying the moment together.
When they had finished, Beth gathered the dishes and took them into the kitchen.
Daryl smiled as his little girl climbed off the bed, telling him to stay there until she got back.
She came back a few minutes later with a box in her arms, wrapped in blue paper.
He helped her put it on the bed and once she had climbed back up and sat in his lap, he opened it.
Inside the box he found two tackle boxes, one was big and blue with 'daddy' written cross the top in her hand writing and the other was small and pink, just right for her, and on the top of it she had written 'Silly Anne'.
"Do you like your present, daddy?" she asked.
"I love it, baby girl."
After six years, he still couldn't quite believe he got to be daddy to the little girl curled up in his lap.
It had been a long road, one he was certain he never would have been on if her mama had never sat down beside him, but it was well worth it.
She was his, through and through, there was no denying that, even if he wasn't her biological father.
Beth leaned against the doorway and smiled to herself.
"Celia, why don't you go get changed and then you can help me make sandwiches for you daddy."
Celia hugged her daddy and ran to get changed.
Beth sat down on the bed next to Daryl and laid her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her.
"You better get ready, too," she said. "Y'all have a long day of fishin' ahead of y'all."
"You ain't comin' with us?"
"No, not this time. I thought today would be a lot more special if it was just the two of y'all and Celia agreed."
"Naw, that's bullshit. I want ya there, too."
She lifted her head and turned to face him.
"I'm not goin' with y'all, Daryl. Y'all just go and enjoy this day together," and then she looked down and started to pick at the blanket.
"Somethin' wrong, Beth?"
She shook her head. "No, nothin's wrong. It's...it's just, this will be the last father's day you get to spend alone with her," she said quietly.
If this hadn't have been Beth, he probably would have jumped to conclusions and lost his temper but he didn't, he wait a few minutes and thought about what she had said before he spoke, all the while she was staring at him with tears in her eyes.
"Are...are you...? Are we...?" He stuttered.
She smiled and nodded. "We are."
He reached out and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her.
"How far along are ya?"
"Not far along. I have a doctor's appointment first thing tomorrow mornin'. We'll find out then."
He pulled back from her and kissed her.
"Does Celia know?"
"No," she shook her head. "I wanted to tell you first and I thought we could tell her together but I don't want to do that right now. We can tell her when y'all get back this evenin'."
Daryl pulled up to the little creek not far from their house and helped Celia out of the truck.
He helped her spread a blanket out on the creek bank then went back to the truck to get their tackle boxes and fishin' poles.
"Ewww! They're slimy!" She said, scrunching up her face as he opens a container of worms.
He chuckled. "Yeah. They are but tha fish like 'em."
He baited her line and helped her cast it out and then baited his and sat down beside her.
He had taken her fishing many times before but no matter what, the little girl never could sit still and boy could she talk, all just like her mama. Not that he was complaining about it, he would never do that because that's one of the things he loved about her. She was just like Beth.
They took a break from fishing and he pulled the sandwiches out of the cooler along with two juice boxes and they sat there eating them.
"Daddy?"
"Yeah, princess?"
"Can you tell me tha story 'bout you an' mama meetin'?"
"I'd love to," he smiled down at her, "but I'd rather wait 'til we get home. That way me an' mama can tell ya together. That sound alright, Silly Anne?"
She nodded, took a bite of her sandwich and smiled up at her daddy.
The sun was begging to set and he packed up their things and they got into the truck, Celia sitting in his lap so she could 'drive' home.
As they were pulling away from the creek, he reached over and turned on the radio.
"I'm lost in her there holdin' that pink rod and reel
She's doin' almost everything but sittin' still
Talkin' 'bout her ballet shoes and training wheels
And her kittens
And she thinks we're just fishin'"
Celia turned her head and smiled. "That's us, daddy!"
"I say, "Daddy loves you, baby" one more time
She says, "I know. I think I got a bite."
And all this laughin', cryin, smilin' dyin' here inside's
What I call, livin'"
"And she thinks we're just fishin' on the riverside
Throwin' back what we could fry
Drownin' worms and killin' time
Nothin' too ambitious
She ain't even thinkin' 'bout
What's really goin' on right now
But I guarantee this memory's a big'in
And she thinks we're just fishin'"
He kept his eyes on the road as they pulled down the driveway and when they pulled up to the house he put the truck in park just as Beth opened the front door and learned against the frame.
He leaned down and kissed the top of Celia's head.
"I love ya, princess, an' I always will."
"She's already pretty, like her mama is
Gonna drive the boys all crazy
Give her daddy fits
And I better do this every chance I get
'Cause time is tickin'
(Yeah it is)"
"And she thinks we're just fishin' on the riverside
Throwin' back what we could fry
Drownin' worms and killin' time
Nothin' too ambitious
She ain't even thinkin' 'bout
What's really goin' on right now
But I guarantee this memory's a big'in
And she thinks we're just fishin'"
"She ain't even thinkin' 'bout
What's really goin' on right now
But I guarantee this memory's a big'in
And she thinks we're just fishin'
Yeah, aww, she thinks we're just fishin'
We ain't only fishin'
(This ain't about fishin')"