I know the first chapter had hardly any Daryl/Beth in it so to make up for it, I have made this entire chapter basically just these two. Christmas had to be split into two parts. Their wedding will be in part four.
…
Part Two. Christmas – part one.
She had graduated in May and she was still trying to figure out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.
She was afraid of this happening once she had dropped out of the education program and had just gotten her degree in music. At the time, she had thought she was making the right decision. She hadn't wanted to be a teacher. It hadn't felt right and had only stuck with it for so long because what could a person do with just a music degree. As Beth was finding out for herself, there wasn't much to be done.
Beth had talked with Daryl a few times about opening up her own music store but something like that took money and it was a risky venture anyway – with so many independent music stores going under on account of no one really buying physical music anymore if it wasn't on ITunes. And giving piano lessons to a few of the kids in town only gave her so much money and helped pay so many bills.
Living with Daryl, he told her that his job at the GE Warehouse was a good job and brought home good money and living in his cabin that had become theirs, there weren't that many bills anyway. He told her that she could take as long as she needed to find something and if she never did, if she just wanted to give piano lessons in their cabin to a few kids, she could do it. She could do whatever she wanted because for the first time in his life, Daryl was financially stable and he had enough to take care of both of them.
And Beth knew that Daryl would have no problem with that but Beth didn't like the idea of Daryl going to work every day and taking care of her when she wanted to take care of him, too.
Her last lesson on Wednesday – the day before Christmas Eve – was to Sophia Peletier. Sophia was playing tomorrow night at her church's mass and she wanted to get I Saw Three Ships perfected. Beth kept telling her that she had the song down pat but Sophia was a perfectionist and wanted to play it "just one more time", she kept saying, and Beth didn't have the heart to tell her that it was time to stop.
A little before five, Daryl got home, quietly entering through the front door once still hearing piano music and Beth turned, giving him a smile and he returning it with a small one of his own as he went into the kitchen, being as quiet as he could be – just as he always was when she was giving a lesson.
At five after five, there was a knock on the front door and Daryl went to go answer it, opening it for Sophia's mom, Carol, who smiled at Daryl and stepped inside. It was a frigid night and the cold air rushed in and even though the piano was right beside the fireplace, a warm fire roaring within, Beth still shivered.
Sophia started the song one more time and Beth could hear Carol talking quietly with Daryl in the kitchen. Carol once had been Beth's college advisor and had been hesitant when Beth told her she wanted to drop out of the education program. The last thing Beth wanted was for Carol to think that she was right; that Beth had nothing to do now that she was no longer pursuing a career as a teacher.
She considered giving piano lessons to be different. Yes, she was still teaching but she wasn't in a classroom. It was just her and one other student and she could teach them any music they wanted. They weren't on some syllabus or following guidelines. And Beth knew she could handle and teach one at a time. She hadn't been sure she could handle twenty or more at once. She just knew, deep in her heart, that she hadn't wanted to be a teacher at a school and there was nothing wrong with that and she was just glad she figured that out sooner rather than later.
She just wished she knew what to do now.
"Alright, Sophia," Carol said. "It's time to go and get some dinner."
Sophia sighed but she stood up from the bench.
"Wait! Don't forget," Beth said and reached onto the top of the piano lid where she had stacks of sheet music, paper and on top of that, she had several sheets of stickers for the kids to choose from at the end of their lessons.
Sophia smiled as she chose carefully and decided on a cat wearing a Santa hat. Beth took it and placed it on the front of her piano book to join her others.
"You are going to do so wonderful tomorrow," Beth said as they walked from the piano to where Carol and Daryl were standing. "Just remember. Tap your foot as you play. It helps keep your rhythm and you won't have my metronome with you."
"I'll remember," Sophia nodded. "Will you and Daryl come hear me?" She asked.
"Sophia, Daryl and Beth go to a different church," Carol reminded her daughter. She then looked to Beth. "I'll record it for you."
"That'd be great," Beth smiled. "I can't wait to hear it."
"Here you go," Carol handed her the folded check written out and given to Beth at the end of each lesson. "I paid a little extra this week. For Christmas."
Beth almost hesitantly opened the check and saw that the amount was written for sixty dollars instead of Beth's usual fee of thirty dollars per lesson. And when she saw it, she almost immediately opened her mouth to protest but before she could, Carol handed a small gift bag to Sophia.
"You left that in the car," she told her daughter.
"Here, Beth!" Sophia in turn held the bag out towards Beth with a wide, eager smile. "Merry Christmas!"
"This is too much…" Beth began to say and taking the bag, she set it on the counter and pulled out a box from within. Opening the top lid, she couldn't help but gasp a little as she pulled out a glass angel figurine, the angel sitting at a piano with its wings spread out behind it. "Oh, it's so beautiful," she said as she turned it carefully in her hands, looking over every detail.
"I thought it would be perfect for you," Sophia said proudly. "The piano is you and Daryl always wears that vest with the angel wings on the back of it."
"I love it. Thank you so much," Beth said and then setting the figure down on the counter, she first embraced Sophia in a hug and then Carol as well. "Merry Christmas," she smiled to them both.
"Merry Christmas! See you next week!" Sophia called out as she and Carol walked outside and Beth stood on the porch, waving to them as they drove back down the path that would take them from the woods back onto the main road.
Behind them, they left nothing but quiet. It was so quiet and the air smelled so crisp, Beth wondered if it would snow that night.
Hurrying back inside, she closed and locked their front door once more and saw that Daryl was back in the kitchen from where he had gone upstairs for a moment.
"Look," Beth smiled, picking up the angel figurine. "Isn't it beautiful?"
Daryl turned his head away from the cabinet he was sifting through. "Yeah," he agreed with a nod of his head. "You cleaned up with your kids this year," he then said and she laughed a little as she went to go put the figurine on top of the piano.
It was true. Judith Grimes was her littlest, youngest student and Lori had given Beth a tin of chocolate and peanut butter fudge. Mika and Lizzie Samuels had given her a large poinsettia pot that was now sitting in their bedroom, upstairs beneath the large circular window where it would get plenty of sunlight. Molly Garrison and her younger brother, Grant, had given her a new red cable-knit scarf and Patrick Harris had gifted her with a container of snowmen shaped sugar cookies.
"I got another little tip, too," Beth said, returning to the kitchen area. "How was work today?" She asked as she gently ushered him away as he clearly was looking for something to eat and grabbed her oven mitts.
He shrugged. "Kind of slow. Most of the construction has stopped for the year. Had a couple of guys comin' in, lookin' for this or that but most of the day, I just cleaned the warehouse and thought about you."
"Me?" She couldn't help but feel surprised at that. "What about me?"
"About what you're doin'," he said and closed the oven door once she pulled out the casserole dish she had been cooking in there. Beth just kept looking at him, waiting for him to continue. She took down two plates from the cabinet and began scooping out the chicken and rice cheesy casserole she had made them for dinner. "You got seven kids and that's thirty bucks for each of 'em. $210 a week."
Beth nodded, already knowing this. When she had first started giving lessons, she had been unsure of the amount to charge but after doing some research, she found most piano teachers charged anywhere between thirty and forty dollars per half-hour and some in Atlanta charged fifty of more.
"You're not doin' bad and you're doin' what you wan' to do," he said.
Beth exhaled a soft breath and handed him the plate but he didn't take it to the table. He just stared at her. She knew he didn't like it when she served him but she knew right now, the stare wasn't about that. He was waiting for her to say something to what he had just told her.
Moving past him, she took her own plate to their square kitchen table and set it down before returning and getting the water pitcher from the refrigerator, along with two glasses, and bringing them to the table as well. Daryl grabbed forks and finally followed her, sitting in his chair across from her as they both settled in to eat.
"I just think maybe I should be doing something more," she said. "I went to college for four years to teach seven piano lessons a week?"
Daryl shrugged. "Gives you plenty of time to write your own music which I know is what you really wan' to do."
She frowned a little, unable to help herself. "And what? Wait for that multi-million dollar record contract to fall in my lap? I can't make money from my music writing."
Daryl was the one to sigh this time. "Why do you think we need so much money? You make money and I make money and we're gettin' married. We have enough to take care of ourselves and be comfortable."
Beth didn't say anything to that. She didn't know what to say. Daryl made it sound so easy and she wondered if it really could be. It was enough money for them – yes – but what about when they had a baby. She didn't know what Daryl thought of the manner. They had only mentioned it once or twice in passing and were usually joking when they did but Beth knew she wanted a baby. Right away, too, if Daryl wouldn't mind getting one in her. Would they have enough money then?
"I jus' wan' to take care of you and I wan' you to be happy, Beth," he said quietly and she lifted her eyes to look at him as he stared down at his plate, playing with the rice on his plate.
"You do and I am, Daryl," she said in a matching soft voice. "I've never been happier."
Daryl looked at her for a moment, as if trying to decide whether or not he could believe her when she said that and then finally, he gave a slight nod and she smiled.
"Good?" She then asked.
Daryl immediately shoved a forkful of the casserole into his mouth. "Good."
She giggled and ate a much smaller forkful from her plate. "I talked to my daddy today and he's thinking he wants us there around four tomorrow – just to get ourselves there and settled. Service is at seven and then on Christmas, Patricia and Otis get there around eleven and we'll eat around three."
"Sounds good."
"I can't wait for your first Christmas on the farm. Eggnog and Christmas carols and prime rib for dinner and we watch Home Alone and Christmas Vacation every year. You'll love it," she smiled just as she thought of taking Daryl for their first Christmas together – both as a couple and an engaged one to boot - and she was so glad they got to spend it with her family.
She hadn't been sure if he would want to go to Kentucky and even though she hated the idea of them being apart for the holidays, she didn't know if she would want to spend the holiday away from her family. But Daryl had seemed to read her mind because one day he came to her and told her that he had spoken with his Aunt Anne and he told her that they would be there for Thanksgiving and Christmas would be with Beth's family. Daryl already knew how important Christmas was to Beth.
Daryl hadn't had a real Christmas in so many years – not since his grandma – and Beth wanted to make this Christmas absolutely perfect for him.
First things first.
The weekend after Thanksgiving, they went to go get a Christmas tree. A real tree and they bought a stand and they spent the morning, walking through the rows until Beth declared that she had found the perfect one and Daryl cut it down like an old pro and after shaking it out, they took it back home where they set it up in their living room, in front of the large back window. Beth then decorated it with the lights and ornaments that she had gotten from her father – Annette had had so many ornaments and Maggie had gotten ornaments that had belonged to her mother and Beth got the ornaments that had belonged to hers. And once she was done – after having Daryl hang at least one – she had him place the star on top.
She had hung red stockings from the fireplace and a wreath from the front door. She had also wrapped lights around the banister that led up the stairs to their lofted bedroom and put flannel sheets on the bed and a red comforter with a white reindeer design on it. And every night, she made them cups of hot chocolate and she curled herself into a blanket and sat with Daryl on the couch in front of the fire.
"And this Christmas should be even more interesting because Shawn's bringing a girl he's been dating," Beth smiled.
Daryl raised an eyebrow at that. "I don't know if I wanna meet a girl who dates your brother," he said and Beth couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Apparently, it's been going on for a few months but they've wanted to keep it quiet. Shawn thinks it's now time to introduce her," Beth said. "I wonder who she is. I really can't picture a normal girl dating my brother. Maggie will interrogate her."
"No one interrogated me when you took me for my first movie night," he reminded her.
"Well, that's because they all liked you immediately. Maggie will want to make sure this girl is in her right mind if she's dating Shawn," Beth explained and Daryl smirked at that as he kept shoveling food into his mouth until his plate was clean.
He then got up to get himself a second helping.
"This the mail?" He asked at the letters on the counter.
"Oh!" Beth hurried herself from the table. "I nearly forgot. Just Christmas cards from people but Annie wrote you something." She pulled the white envelope from the pile and held it out for him and saw the way Daryl smiled a little as he took it.
She was so happy that Daryl had found his family after going his entire life without knowing any of them and he had found a cousin he could be close with. It was adorable in Beth's opinion that that cousin was just fourteen-years-old but she saw the way Daryl and Annie were when they were together and they were definitely family. They just seemed to understand one another.
Daryl slipped the envelope into his back pocket and then surprised Beth by leaning into her then and kissing her gently on the lips, his hand lifting to rest on her cheek.
"Thank you for makin' dinner," he said.
"Of course," she smiled into his eyes.
"I like comin' home and havin' you here," he added.
"Good thing you're marrying me then," she teased him.
"Smartest thing I ever did, askin' you," he smirked a little and she laughed slightly.
"You asked me? Is that what you call it?"
"Quiet," he playfully growled as she laughed again and he pushed back to her once more, kissing her and dropping his arms around her, wrapping her in them securely and then pushing her back gently into the refrigerator behind her.
Daryl proposing to her definitely hadn't been something she had been expecting. They had been together for a couple of months and living together just for one of those and she hadn't had any clue that marriage had even been on his mind.
But one morning, she woke up and was surprised to see the warm sun already shining into the cabin. And Daryl was still sleeping beside her, his head on her chest and holding her as if she was a stuffed animal. It was very rare for them to sleep in like this and she wondered if they had really worn one another out the night before.
She was very satisfied and very content with hers and Daryl's sex life. Once Daryl had gotten past his initial shyness and lack of confidence, there really was no stopping him. Daryl Dixon was a selfless lover and did everything in his power to make her lose her mind at least twice before he even thought of losing his own. It was as if he was addicted to her and even if she was practically sobbing and shaking from the bed and telling him she needed him to stop, he only seemed to with great reluctance. He seemed to get himself off with her screams of absolute pleasure.
She shifted a little, warm with his arms and heavy head on her and upon feeling her move, it seemed to immediately wake him up, too. He took a moment to wake himself up and Beth circled her fingers around the bare bicep resting over her middle. Her boyfriend had the absolutely best arms she had ever seen. She was pretty sure they could make her drool on the spot.
Daryl lifted his head then and looked at her. She gave him a soft smile, still not completely awake herself.
"Hi," she said softly, her voice rough – both from last night and going the past few hours without using it. "We slept in," she then said, smiling a little bit more.
Daryl didn't say anything though. He just looked at her and kept looking at her and she wondered what he was looking at because she could just imagine how she looked this morning. Her hair was probably a complete disaster and she hadn't gotten the chance to wash the makeup from her face before they had fallen into bed and she knew it was probably all smeared. She definitely wasn't looking her best.
"Daryl," she said, squirming a little because he was still staring at her and he hadn't said anything yet. It was slightly disconcerting. "What?" She then laughed a little as if she was embarrassed by this all.
Daryl shook his head slightly and then slowly sat up. The covers fell around his waist as he sat up – exposing his chest and stomach and Beth wondered if she loved his abs just as much as she loved his arms – and Beth sat up, too, pulling the covers around her naked chest, watching as he turned towards the nightstand on his side of the bed and opened the top drawer. He seemed to be digging for something and took a minute to do so before he turned back towards her.
And this time, in his hand, there was a small box. A ring box. And there was only one sort of ring he would be holding in his hand.
Beth's mouth fell open as she looked at it and then she looked at him. He didn't say anything though as his eyes were lowered to the box as well and when he finally looked at her, he still didn't say anything.
"Is that…" she heard herself say barely above a whisper and her heart was beating so fast, she could hear the blood pounding in her ears. She didn't know why but she felt so scared all of a sudden; scared that maybe it wasn't what she thought and suddenly, she wanted it to be that so much.
She hadn't even been thinking about it but now that she saw the box in Daryl's palm, she couldn't think of anything else now.
"Yeah," he finally spoke, his voice low and gruff and rough and he didn't say anything else as he lowered his eyes back to the box.
His fingers moved slowly as he pulled the lid back and Beth felt her eyes flood with a rush of tears. It was beautiful. The most beautiful ring she had ever seen. A small diamond on a white-gold band but she didn't need something huge. She had never imagined having a ring that would weigh down her entire hand. This was the ring she would have picked for herself and Daryl had picked it. She felt more tears coming and she wanted to cry and ask him so many questions.
When did he get this? Why did he get this? How long had he been thinking about this – marrying her?
"Yes," she whispered before he could even ask her and his eyes widened slightly as if he had been taking the time to gather his words and she had just stolen all of his thunder. But it didn't matter. "Yes, I'll marry you, Daryl Dixon," she said, her voice a bit louder now and her words firmer. "I'll marry you tomorrow if I can."
And Daryl exhaled a shaky breath and he pulled the ring from the box. He took her left hand and Beth held her breath as he slipped it onto her third finger. Perfect fit. They both looked at it for a moment and then lifted their eyes at the same time, meeting, and his hand lifted to the back of her head and pulled her into a kiss. Beth happily kissed him in return and now, the tears were released and they slipped down her cheeks as she held hair back from his face. She couldn't stop kissing him.
And despite the eagerness they both shared to get married, they decided to take their time with it and have a wedding next spring. She loved the blossoms of the trees on the farm in the spring and she admitted to him that she had always dreamt of getting married as they sprinkled down around her and after that, Daryl made the decision that they would wait to get married and plan it right.
Now, in December, there were just five more months to go. May 14th was the best date she had ever heard. The invitations had already gone out. The church had been reserved. She already had her dress even though it had to be properly fitted. They had to pick caterers and taste samples of cake but other than that, they were both ready to go. They were more than ready to go. If Beth hadn't mentioned her dreams of a spring wedding, she knew she and Daryl would be married already.
And him wanting to give her what she wanted just made her love him all the more.
He may have known her family and had spent so much time with them already but hopefully, after Christmas with her family – especially with Shawn and Maggie – Daryl would still love her and still want to marry her.
…
Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to review! I hope you liked it!