A/N Thank you all so much! We're going to have some fun at the spa this chapter but also a serious moment as Daryl shares something very personal. Beth's going to have a mini meltdown and Daryl will step up to try and fix things :)

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Frankie had no idea how awkward and self-conscious they felt standing there in the fluffy white robes and slippers.

The woman smiled and winked like she knew what they'd been up to, gushing, "You two are such an adorable couple," then held the door open and instructed, "Come on now, follow me for the most deliciously luxurious spa experience of your lives."

Daryl knew it would be the most deliciously luxurious spa experience of his life. He wasn't even 100% sure he knew what the hell they had in a spa or what exactly a person did about it. But right that minute there was something else he was more concerned about, "We're gonna go walkin' around the hotel in bathrobes?"

"Yes but don't worry. You're completely covered up. Anyone we encounter will assume you're on your way to the spa or the pool. Hurry along now, we have a schedule." He was about to protest but Beth took his hand and that made him smile. The smile faded and a little wave of disappointment washed over him when he remembered it was all just acting.

Still he held onto her as they followed the woman named Frankie through the labyrinth of hotel hallways until they reached their destination, the French Riviera Hotel Spa.

He had no idea what to think but when he glanced at Beth from the corner of his eye she looked so happy, and her small hand felt so good in his. He'd made a promise he would do this spa thing with her so he made up his mind then and there, he was going to do his best to just go along with it all. He even admitted to himself it wasn't only for the money. He thought he'd like to try and keep that pretty smile on her face.

They entered a softly lit room where soothing background music played and candles flickered, and there were two women standing in front of a gently flowing waterfall feature. The women were dressed all in white and had friendly, welcoming smiles. Frankie introduced them as the massage therapists. Everything seemed pleasant enough and Beth looked even more excited so he just nodded a hello.

Introductions were made, "Ladies this lovely couple are Mr. and Mrs. Dixon, they're our newlywed winners. Miss Carol wants them to have the complete luxury experience today beginning with a nice relaxing couple's massage."

The taller one replied, "Certainly, we've been expecting you. Please come right this way Mr. and Mrs. Dixon." They followed her through one of the doorways and into another dimly lit room, this one with two massage tables. The tables were set up side by side and just a foot or so apart. Next to each table was a smaller teak table with fresh orchids scattered here and there, bottles of various oils, jars of sugar scrub, and a small oven for heated stones.

In her delight Beth squeezed his hand and cheerfully asked, "Daryl, isn't this beautiful?"

He still didn't know what the fuck was going to happen next, but he was determined to be a sport so he smiled and squeezed back, "It is Baby. I can't wait."

"We'll give you two some privacy while you disrobe. Just slip under the sheet, lay on your tummies and don't worry, we won't get too personal. We'll keep your bottoms covered." The door closed and Daryl and Beth stood uneasily staring at each other, reality had hit.

He spoke first, "K, um, I'll turn my back and I promise I won't look." He turned around and nervously mumbled, "K, go on." He'd been nothing but a gentleman and she had no doubts that he could be trusted. She slipped the robe off her shoulders hung it on the hook and crawled under the sheet. She felt a little tingle go through her knowing she was completely naked in this very romantic setting, with a handsome stranger who just happened to be her husband.

All he could think about was how much he wanted to turn around and take a little peek, but he'd never do that to her. Well not unless she didn't care if he did. In that case he'd be more than happy to look at her naked body for as long as she'd let him. Pfft, sure, like that was ever going to happen.

Those were his thoughts, pleasant and sexy with a hefty dose of reality, until it finally dawned on him when she said, "Okay Daryl, your turn."

He spun around and there she was laying on her tummy with just a thin sheet covering the lower half of her body. Her perfect body. Her skin was creamy white and scar-free and he was sure it must feel warm and silky. He liked everything about it. The body he had a problem with was his own, which wasn't even close to perfect.

He didn't want to tell her and he damn sure didn't want to show her, but shit, he wasn't going to be able to hide it anyway once they were living in the same house. He might as well get it over with right now. He'd just pull the Band-Aid off, hair and all.

"Um, Beth, before I do this I gotta tell ya sumthin'."

The way he said it, the tone of his voice and the nervous way he was biting his lip had her worried, "What? Is everything okay Daryl?"

"Yeah, yeah it's all fine it's just that, well ya got such pretty skin, real soft and smooth lookin' too," He was sure he was bright red and he could see she was, but shit, he was having trouble here. "Well uh, it's just that my skin ain't like that, not at all. Besides havin' some tats, but ya probably figured that, I got a whole shit ton a scars."

She was immediately concerned for him, "Scars? What kind of scars? Oh my gosh Daryl, were you hurt?"

"Oh yeah, it hurt. It hurt plenty. It was my old man. He was a world class asshole."

He'd said it almost matter-of-factly and she was confused, "Your own Dad?"

"Yeah, like I said, asshole. Anyway, I's thinkin' ya probably don't wanna hafta look at em. I could ask if they got a t-shirt I can put on or sumthin'."

"Daryl what kind of person do you think I am? Are you really worried I won't be able to stand looking at you? I can see passed the scars, I can handle it. You're my husband." As soon as the words were out of her mouth she realized what she'd said, but she couldn't take the words back and besides they were true, he was her husband.

He nodded in response as he chewed the side of his thumb, and the pained look on his face told her he was feeling shame. She quickly forgot her own embarrassment. Her thoughts and feelings were focused on him and his feelings. She reached her hand out, "Hey Daryl, c'mere."

He looked kind of awkward and shy as he walked toward her and then took her hand. "Just let me see." She rubbed her thumb along the back of his hand and added, "Hey, the scars aren't you, they can't take away from the good person I know you are. Besides, I'm sure it doesn't look nearly as bad as you think."

He snorted and said, "Nah you're right, it's worse Baby." The truth was, he didn't much care about people seeing the scars, the damn things were just a cold hard truth of his life. He never bothered going out of his way to hide them from anyone, not like he'd done when he was younger. It just felt different with her. It was important to him that she didn't find him disgusting. How could even a fake marriage work if she was repulsed by the sight of him?

He needed to get it over with though. He took in a breath and as he slowly let it out his shoulders slumped, his head nodded and he said, "K, I'ma show ya." He turned his back to her, untied the belt and let the robe slide off his shoulders until it lay just below his slim hips.

Initially all she could focus on was how nice a body he had. Screw the tattoos and screw the scars, they didn't take away from the fact he was built like some kind of Adonis. But there was something more important on her mind. She thought of his feelings and his apparent shame, "Daryl it's awful and I'm so sorry it happened to you. It never should have and it's wrong, but it's not something you did wrong and you shouldn't feel any shame. You know what else, I mean honestly? For me those scars don't detract at all from the reality that you have a really nice body." As soon as the truth came out she felt the fire in her cheeks.

The words were barely out of her mouth and the robe went back up and over his shoulders as he turned and muttered, "pfft, yeah right. Now you're just embarrassin' me." But he was glad he showed her and he appreciated how she acted and what she said. It made the already warm feelings he had for her that much warmer.

"Well it's the truth Honey." Honey? Oh no, she didn't really just call him Honey. Well whatever, he really was a Honey. Still she tried to act like she didn't say it, "Okay, I'll be good. I promise. I'm closing my eyes right now. You get your robe off and get under the sheet and I won't look until you tell me I can." She wouldn't, but man it was going to be a tough promise to keep.

Honey? She called him Honey. He tried not to think too much about that, it was probably just more playacting.

After closing her eyes and coaching herself to be calm and just breath, she could hear Daryl laying himself down.

As the couple wordlessly stared at each other the massage therapists entered and walked to the heads of the tables. The taller one spoke again, "I understand you're newlyweds and you can't take your eyes off each other, but you'll be far more comfortable if you place your faces in the supports. Just relax, close your eyes and enjoy the experience." They were still staring and she smiled and added, "What you can do for a little more intimacy is reach out and touch hands."

Their eyes were still focused on each other and now they'd been given an excuse to touch. They slowly reached across the narrow space, fingers clasping fingers while they put their faces in the supports.

The ladies began their work right at the top, and once he got over his initial embarrassment Daryl managed to enjoy it. He was amazed at how the therapist seemed to know just where to apply pressure to his head to help relieve his still massive headache. The woman's surprisingly strong hands moved down to his neck and he felt the tension in his muscles disappear, then she stopped long enough to rub oil all over his back.

She told him what the oil was called and all the fabulous things it would do for him, but he didn't quite hear her. He was too busy wondering how Beth looked with that oil on her skin. Then he heard his accidental wife make soft moaning noises, and not like she'd been hurt. Like something felt almost too good. It got him thinking about things maybe he shouldn't be thinking about and he must have temporarily lost his mind. He lifted his head from the support, looked over at her and in a low raspy whisper asked, "Feel good Baby?"

Her mind was apparently wherever his was because she raised her head and looking across at him answered, "Mmm yes Honey, it feels wonderful."

The therapists shared a knowing smile as they gently guided the couple's heads back where they belonged.

They were nearly asleep when the most luxurious spa experience Daryl Dixon ever had ended. He wasn't quite ready. As the ladies left the room they told the couple, "Okay, be careful getting up now, we'll be back to get you in just a few minutes."


They entered another room and Daryl balked when the woman explained that now it was time for their calming facials. His eyes were pleading when he looked to Beth, "Nah, that ain't for men Baby. It can't be." She didn't argue or beg him to go along, she didn't have to. He saw her expression change and those happy blue eyes now looked so sad and disappointed.

The worst was she let him off the hook real easy, "It's okay Honey, I understand."

Shit. "A'ight I'll do it, but if I hate it I'ma get up and go in the other room, k?"

"Yes, of course it's okay Daryl. I don't want you to be miserable."

He'd never admit it, well maybe later to Beth, but as it turned out he kind of enjoyed the facial. Especially the cool compresses on his eyes. He was beginning to think his hangover might actually go away.

Next they sat in a private steam room with their towels carefully wrapped around their otherwise naked bodies, trying hard not to stare at each other. After they'd sweated out all those toxins in the steam room he was shown to the men's grooming area, and she to the women's where they had cooling showers.

Attendants came for each of them and they were reunited in the hallway. He thought they must finally be done. What else could there be? She smiled his way and it must have started coming naturally to him, he took her hand. He thought to himself he was getting the hang of this newlywed stuff. "We done now?" He whispered.

She shrugged in response and then a woman said, "Okay you two, time for your next treatment."

The new person smiled and said, "Please follow me." They were ushered into another room which, unlike every other room they'd been in, was brightly lit. There were upholstered chairs that Daryl thought looked a lot like big recliners, except they had tubs of bubbling water where a guy would put his feet. He looked at Beth and her big eyes were sparkling when she smiled, "We're getting mani pedis!"

"What the fu…heck is a mani pedi?"

She knew she'd better try and sell it, "You'll see Honey, it's going to be wonderful, just like the massage and the facial. Weren't they wonderful?"

He was almost afraid to ask, "Yeah okay, but what's this here?"

"It's a manicure and a pedicure."

"Nah, nah Baby. I went along with the rest of it, but this? This ain't me."

Then she looked at him with those big blue eyes and said, "Please Daryl. Pretty please?"

He shook his head but he sighed and answered, "Yeah okay I guess, but this is the only time I'ma ever be doin' this Beth, and I'm only doin' it for you."

She did it again. For the second time that day she leaned up and kissed his cheek, "Thank you Honey." That just about made whatever the hell was going to happen next worth it.

They were each given a tall glass of detoxifying cucumber water and he waited to watch her take a drink before he tried it. She smiled and promised, "It's good, refreshing."

He gulped down all of his in one swallow and then looked at the large platter between them. It was covered with beautiful fresh fruits, orange segments, sliced kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. He scooped up a handful of the various fruits, popped the whole handful in his mouth at once, barely chewed, swallowed, looked at the woman and said, "None a that polish stuff for me."

Beth bit her tongue to keep from laughing, but she also reached for his hand and told him, "Daryl, you're a very manly guy, and what makes you even more manly to me is how you've been so giving today. I want you to know that sharing this experience with you made it extra special for me. Thank you."

Yep it was all worth it, he smiled back, "You bet Baby." Then he remembered, she was probably acting. Maybe not though. He hoped not.


With their luxury spa experience complete it was time to get ready for a photoshoot in the chapel, and finally dinner.

Frankie returned for the couple and they were taken to a private and very plush salon area. She explained that they were going to get "freshened up" and the hotel was also providing them with beautiful new clothes for their "official" wedding pictures.

Daryl discovered he was in for a hair, beard and mustache trim, while Beth would be getting her hair done and makeup applied. Bullshit. He was about to protest again, but he remembered how much he needed the money and he kept telling himself he only had to live through another couple days of this stuff. And of course, there was also Beth.

She giggled with delight, "I've never had my makeup professionally applied. Oh my gosh, this is so much fun."

He sat down, shut up and got trimmed.

Now he thought he'd finally get to put his clothes on and grab something to eat. In a manner of speaking he did get to put his clothes on, they just weren't any clothes he would have ever been seen in.

The guy handed him the whole shebang from underwear and socks to the white dress shirt, white slacks and white dinner jacket. Finishing the look were black kidskin dress shoes. Again he thought about saying "no," and then again he thought about her and the million bucks they were going to share. He put on the "outfit" and tried to focus on the good news. He didn't have to wear a tie.

She walked out of her dressing room looking better than a million bucks. She was in a real pretty red dress, but different than the other one she'd. This one was tight on top and cinched at the waist with a full skirt. Somehow the look managed to make her appear both sexy and innocent.

The couple were dressed, coiffed and she wrapped her arm through his as they were escorted back to the place it all began, the French Riviera Wedding Chapel.

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Carol was about to come down from her offices and talk to the winning couple. She just had a few more details to check on. She was also taking another look at copies of Daryl and Beth's wedding pictures. She smiled at Frankie, "Do you know how lucky we got with these two? We could have wound up with anyone. Beth and Daryl Dixon couldn't be more perfect. A couple of country kids who also happen to be gorgeous. We hit the jackpot Frankie. Mark my words, this story is going to make headlines all over the country."

"I'm sure we'll see a clip on tomorrow night's evening news, and I've already heard from People Magazine, Entertainment Tonight and the local news." Her smile spread, "Forget the good news story of the year, this is the good news story of the decade. If we'd spent that million dollars running ads it still wouldn't buy the kind of publicity this story is going to generate, and we're going to milk it for all we can. The board of directors will find out they made the right decision when they trusted me with this."

Her smile was wide and her eyes sparkled when she said, "Now, let's go talk to the lovebirds."


When they entered the chapel there were pink, red and white flowers everywhere, soft candles glowed, music played and instead of a suit and tie the minister, or whatever he was, was wearing a clerical collar.

Daryl was checking out the room when he spotted his brother standing in the corner. Merle was all slicked up and dressed in a dark suit, and just the sight of him pissed Daryl off. He raised an angry voice, "Merle you…" as he walked toward him with Beth still on his arm.

Merle held a finger to his lips and when Daryl got close enough he whispered. "Hey man they wanted me here, remember you're the happy couple and I'm your lovin' brother. They even put me up in a room here at the hotel, a course it ain't as fancy as the one you and the little woman got. Hell, and just look at me, they even dressed me all up and said I's gonna get a picture with ya."

He turned to Beth adding, "They was tryin' ta find your sister too little one, but it turned out her and her friends couldn't quite get it together. They was all drunk as skunks."

Daryl felt like throwing a punch but he was aware he had a job to do. He'd wait and kill Merle later. Besides, he had a bigger concern, he'd felt her body kind of slump. His arm went around her waist and he whispered, "Hey now, it'll be alright."

He turned back to his brother and his voice took on a hard edge as he asked, "Where's my pickup and the bikes?"

"They're here too. They give me a special underground parkin' spot. Everythin's cool brother, all good."

Daryl might have argued with that statement if Carol hadn't arrived and reintroduced herself, "You probably don't remember me. There was so much excitement last night it was hard to keep track of everything going on." It was a statement that Daryl, Beth and Merle all took for what it was, a very nice way of saying the couple was too drunk to remember her.

She pulled a sheaf of paper from her briefcase and smiled, "You signed these contracts last night but I'm going to ask you to look them over one more time. Please just initial and date all the places where you signed."

"I gotta sit down n have a look at all this," Daryl muttered. He wasn't sure what he was checking for but he thought it seemed like a good idea.

Carol's smile looked a little strained, like something in the contract might change their mind. Still they were shown to a small office and seated at a table with the papers. Daryl looked them over, not really reading them all too closely, then he handed them to Beth who did the same.

She looked at him and shrugged, "It seems to be just what Merle told us Honey, we have to really 'be' married. Live together, be seen together, stay together. All of it for the next year." Then she smiled, "That won't be hard at all, will it?"

He shook his head no, but then held her gaze for at least a full minute before he asked, "You sure bout this?"

"Yes, I'm sure, are you?"

He pursed his lips, nodded and then turned to the papers and initialed and dated all those places where he'd drunkenly scribbled his name the night before. He slid the papers across the table to her, handed her the pen and nervously smiled, "Okay Baby, last chance ta back out."

"I'm not going to back out of anything Mister Dixon. I'll take my chances on a year with you." Her words caused a proud smile to spread across his face.

Beth was no sooner done signing than Frankie walked in the room, took the papers and cheerfully escorted them to the chapel. That's when the photography session began.

The newlyweds never could have guessed what was in store for them. They thought it was going to be a few quick pictures and that would be that. No, this was an elaborate photo session with special lights set up and all kinds of fancy camera equipment and accessories.

They were posed every which way. They stood together with the preacher, then they stood together arm and arm, the guy took a picture of just their tattooed hands, they stood with her arms lightly resting on his shoulders while his rested on her hips. They even stood with Merle.

It seemed like the photographer needed a million pictures of every pose, and he'd stop everything while he moved her chin up a quarter inch or Daryl's hand over half an inch.

Daryl could feel himself getting more and more pissed off. He wanted to tell them all to go fuck themselves, he might have if he didn't think Beth was about to lose it. She was looking shook and tears had begun to sparkle in her eyes. She'd been having so much fun earlier and now they'd upset her. He nearly growled out the words, "Alright, that's enough for now. We need a minute here."

He was running solely on instinct when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and walked her over to the far corner, away from the people and away from the equipment. He rested his cheek on hers so he could whisper in her ear, "What's wrong Beth? Are ya just tired or did ya change your mind? Tell me Baby, it's alright, we'll just split if that's what ya want." Then he teased, "Shit, it's only a million bucks. That's chump change for a couple high rollers like you n me, right?"

He managed to get a soft laugh from her and she whispered back, "It's not you Daryl, it's them. Everyone is touching us and poking at us and telling us we have to look a certain way and I'm just so tired. All I want to do is get something to eat and go to bed. Don't they have enough pictures for gosh sake?"

"I'ma take care of it."

He drew back, took his fancy new handkerchief from his breast pocket, wiped the tears from her cheeks, smiled and handed it to her, "Here, you'll feel much better if ya blow your nose on this hundred-dollar silk square."

He took her hand, walked over to Carol and laid it out, "We haven't eaten since breakfast, my wife needs dinner n some rest. She's tired and hungry and so am I. Let's wrap this thing up."

Carol nodded, relieved it wasn't something that was going to screw up her carefully thought out promotion, "Certainly. We just need a picture of your first kiss as a married couple, then we have a lovely dinner planned."

Daryl felt like a hunk of lead dropped in his belly, and he was sure his bride must feel the same when Carol took out the photo of their kiss from the night before and said, "All I want you to do is recreate this sweet and very romantic kiss, then we'll be done."

He was more than willing but he looked to Beth and she could read the question in his eye. She nodded "yes" and he told Carol, "Okay but let's hurry n do this so I can get my wife sumthin' ta eat."

He tried to make it look as if he were just giving her a reassuring hug while again he rested his cheek on hers again and whispered, "If ya want we can just pretend."

She whispered back, "No that won't look right. Let's just do this."

He could feel the nervous little smile on his lips when he whispered, "Alright, you asked for it Baby."

One arm circled her waist and pulled her to him, while his other hand moved up until it cradled the back of her head and his fingers tangled in her curls. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her chest was against him while their lips were pressed together, tongues in each other's mouths and for a moment they forgot they were acting. They forgot there were others in the room. Then lights began to flash and the photographer said, "Perfect. I got it. That's a wrap."

Daryl didn't want to stop kissing his bride and his bride didn't want him to, but the intimacy and romance of the moment had been broken.

He drew away from her and as they looked in each other's eyes he pulled her close again and whispered in her ear, "This actin' stuff ain't hard at all."

She started to giggle and whispered back, "Thank you for making them stop Daryl, and that was a very nice way to end it."

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A/N I hope you enjoyed the spa day, and the kiss. Please leave a comment / review. There's a chapter photo on my tumblr blogs gneebee and bethylmethbrick if you'd like to check our newlyweds out. I hope to see you all back here next Friday for more of Lady Luck and Daryl and Maggie's first meeting. Until then remember, I love ya large and appreciate you all so much! xo gneebee