I have the next three chapters planned so I think this story will be ten chapters. For some reason, this chapter took me longer than it usually takes to write so if you read, please review. It would really mean a lot to know what you think of this chapter/story. I just want to make sure I didn't waste my time with this.


Part Seven. Third of July.

Daryl's boss, Abraham, had an annual party at his house every 3rd of July and the entire office was invited and though Abraham didn't exactly say it was, it seemed to be known amongst the others in the office that attendance wasn't optional.

Beth had been excited when Daryl came home from work and told her about it.

"Does he need us to bring anything?" Beth asked almost immediately.

"How would I know?" Daryl asked with a furrowed brow before heading to the cabinet to get a glass for himself.

"You have to ask," Beth said and then shook her head. "I'll make something. A dessert. A party can never have too many desserts. And something patriotic, too."

"Exactly what the war was ' bout. Fightin' for the freedom to make patriotic desserts," Daryl smirked a little, filling the glass with water from the sink tap.

Beth just gave him a look and took her cookbook down from the shelf, flipping to the back section where the dessert recipes were kept. "There's this ridiculously easy thing I could make. I need Twinkies, strawberry glaze, Cool-Whip and blueberries."

"You don't gotta go crazy. It's jus' a party at Abraham's," he told her.

"He's your boss," Beth emphasized to him as if he had somehow forgotten that.

Daryl didn't say anything else about it. He may have only been married to Beth for less than two months but he had known her for over a year before that and he knew that this was how Beth was. She was a southern girl through and through, raised on manners and keeping one's reputation respectable and he didn't have to ask her further to know that Beth would say that her dead mama would roll over in her grave if she showed up at her host's house without bringing something in return and how dare Daryl even suggest something otherwise.

It was a hot Georgia summer day and Beth had made homemade chicken salad for dinner. She had also bought fresh croissants from the store that morning and they sat outside on their front porch, eating their sandwiches with Moseley begging at their feet for a few scraps. The birds were eating their evening meal, flying around the several bird feeders in a frenzy of flapping wings. The cicadas were singing and there was a bullfrog who lived on the creek bank right near their house and they could hear his deep bellows every evening.

They wouldn't stay out long. The mosquitoes came in like a blanket as the sun sank and they didn't want to get eaten alive but for now, they sat on the porch swing that Daryl had put up a few months earlier – at the start of spring – and enjoyed the quiet and solitude of the woods.

"How was work?" Beth asked, turning more towards him.

"Was a'right," he shrugged. "Tara always says that the job would be better if we didn't have customers to deal with and I finally get what she means. Some of 'em are jus' idiots and blame me if they buy somethin' wrong. I give 'em what they want. Not what they need. That ain't my job."

Beth smiled at that and she lifted a hand to the back of his neck, beginning to rub it. Daryl's head almost instantly fell forward and he couldn't bite back a quiet moan.

"How were your lessons today?" Daryl asked her as she kept rubbing.

"Good," she smiled. "Would you mind if I have a recital here?" She then asked.

"Why would I mind that?" He turned his head to look at her.

"Well, it'd be all of the students and their parents and it might get a little crowded. I know how you feel about people," she said and his lips twitched in a little smirk. "I just think it'd be something nice to do to show off how well all of the kids are coming along. They could play and then we could have a little reception for them afterwards. Finger foods and punch and stuff like that. I think the kids would be excited to play for everyone."

"Whatever you want," Daryl said and he reached back, taking Beth's hand from his neck and with it in his hand, he held onto it.

Whatever you want seemed to have become the motto of their wedding and though Beth wasn't planning on testing him with just how much he was willing to do for her, whenever he said it, it did make her smile each time.

She leaned into him now and kissed his cheek, near the corner of his mouth. Daryl leaned into her then as if a kitten looking for more affection and Beth smiled, resting her forehead against his and after a moment, he slipped it down, pressing his face into her neck. He did that often and in fact, it was one of the first things he had ever done with her. He just pressed his face to her neck and inhaled her deeply; as if he was drawing strength from her scent.

She wasn't entirely too sure why he did it; only knowing that she loved when he did.

They finished their sandwiches and headed back instead before the mosquitoes could come. Daryl went to the counter to make him another sandwich and Beth took her cookbook to the couch, sitting down and beginning to study the dessert section. It was a quiet night as it always was and it was just how they preferred it to be.

Daryl sat beside her and he turned on the television. They hardly watched any television but each weeknight, Daryl liked to watch the local evening news – though Beth honestly found it to be all so depressing and she would much rather live in ignorance – and then he usually watched at least one half-hour program on the National Geographic channel. It was the only station Daryl paid extra for each month and he said he wanted to get his money's worth but Beth knew that he genuinely enjoyed the programs; of watching and learning about the animals and countries of the world. She remembered how he had tried to hide his enthusiasm when the network ran a five-night program of the different terrains and area of Russia.

She had already bought him a book for Christmas on the flora and fauna of Siberia.

She knew what some thought of her husband and those who did think it, it was only because they didn't know him. They saw him as nothing more than some backwoodsman redneck. They had no idea that Daryl was one of the most intelligent people she had ever met. She knew school had never been his thing but he was smart in other ways. He could track an animal down for a mile and find it. He knew which plants were safe and which ones were poisonous or caused itchiness or sickness. He knew about all of the animals in the area and that didn't even cover all of the knowledge he had on birds.

She sat on the couch sideways and even with the summer heat outside and the socks she wore, her feet always seemed to be cold and as she read through her cookbook, she burrowed her feet beneath Daryl's thigh in an attempt to warm them once again. Moseley was lying on the rug in front of them, chewing on one of his rawhide bones, Daryl was watching a program about grizzly bears in Alaska and Beth turned a page in her book, looking over the recipe for a cherry cake with buttercream frosting.

Daryl had asked her once if she would ever get bored with him and Beth had blinked at him as if she hadn't understood what he was asking. Daryl was a quiet man who wanted a quiet life and with Beth being younger than him – just in her early twenties – maybe he thought that she would want to go out with friends and party every night.

But Beth hadn't been that way even in college. Her friends would go out or throw little parties at their apartments and Beth would go occasionally but for the most part, Beth didn't really participate. Her friends were drinkers and she wasn't and for so much of her life – as everyone around her acted according to their age – Beth just never felt like she had much in common with any of them. She liked her friends but she always felt as if she was ready to move on.

She didn't care how old she was or how boring her friends would consider them. Spending her evenings with her husband, quiet like this, Beth couldn't ask for anything more. To her, this was as perfect as life got.

Besides, she and Daryl were trying to get pregnant and depending on how quickly that could happen, they should enjoy all of this quiet when they still had it.

"What about this one?" Beth asked, sitting up and sliding the book into Daryl's lap so he could see a picture of the cherry cake.

Daryl looked down at it for a moment and then nodded his head once before turning his head to her. "We'll go and get you some cherries at the store," he said.

"We don't need them. I have some canned cherries in my parent's basement," she said and Daryl smiled because even though a jar of cherries from the store wouldn't cost them their home, she knew how Daryl was. He liked to be self-sufficient and he liked to be able to take care of himself. "Maybe we can plant our very own cherry tree," she then mused out loud as she settled back against her pillow and even though she decided to make the cherry cake for Abraham's party, she kept looking through the desserts.

"Apple tree, too," Daryl added, his eyes back on the bear program and Beth smiled to herself.

They didn't have sex every night but more nights than not, either Daryl reached for her or Beth reached for him and their bodies met with deep kisses and wandering hands. They wanted a baby. Both agreed they wanted a baby and they wanted one soon. When she had told Maggie, Maggie had looked at her as if she didn't quite understand. Beth and Daryl had just gotten married. Didn't they want time to enjoy it being just them for a while?

And Beth knew her sister probably wouldn't be the only one to think that and Beth could see their point but at the same time, she had fallen in love with a man and this was the man she wanted to have a family with. She had always wanted to be a mother and Daryl wanted to have a good family for himself and put the curse and nightmares of his father finally to rest.

Being together wasn't just about making a baby though. When they had sex together, it wasn't the only thought on their mind. They made sure that thought didn't consume them and they made sure the other knew that. They loved one another and they loved having sex with one another. That's what it really was all about and it would always be about that.

She was on her hands and knees in the middle of the bed and his hands were gripping her hips as he thrust in and out of her from behind. After a few times and trying things, it was both discovered that this was one of their favorite positions. He could always reach so deeply inside of her from this position and she always gripped the pillow with her hands and came with a broken cry of his name.

And afterwards, as they laid there, both trying to catch their breath once again, Beth couldn't help but clench herself as if that would help keep everything inside.

Daryl turned his head on the pillow to look at the clock on the table beside the bed and then he sat up, bringing the covers that had been pushed to the foot of the bed up once more and draping them over both of them. He laid back down, this time, on his side facing her and facing him on her side, she gave him a soft smile.

He stared at her and didn't say anything and it used to make her so nervous because she was never too sure what to do or what to say when he did that. She had never had anyone stare at her with such silent intensity as Daryl did. He stared at her like she was his answer to every question he could ever have in this world. It still overwhelmed her sometimes – the way he looked at her and she wondered if a man had ever loved someone more the way her husband loved her.

He didn't tell her he loved her often. If she said it, he always responded but he rarely was the first to say those words. But it never mattered to Beth because Daryl looked at her like this and she knew. How could she possibly not know that he loved her?

She wondered what he thought about when he stared at her like that.

She didn't ask though. Instead, she just leaned in and rested a hand on his cheek before her lips touched his. The kiss was light and soft and lasted for only a few seconds but it still made her heart thump in her chest.

His arm went over her hip and tugged her in closer to him, as close as they could be, and her head rested on his pillow, their faces so close together, their noses nearly touched. She smiled faintly at him again and Daryl still stared intently into her eyes.

"I love you," she whispered to him as if the night demanded a quiet voice.

Daryl leaned in and affectionately brushed his nose against hers. "I love you, too," he murmured back and she nearly shivered as his fingertips brushed up and down her back, following the path of her spine, and she tried to move in as close to him as she could be. His strong arm wrapped around her and held her close, bringing the covers up over her bare shoulder.

And even though she knew he loved her with everything he had inside of him, Beth still smiled every single time Daryl told her he loved her. She wondered if she would always smile.

They had been married since May. Since then, they had been to church and grocery shopping and hardware store shopping for a new bathtub and at her daddy's every Saturday for movie night and yet, this was the first place they were going with other people they knew being there, too, and they would be Mr. and Mrs. Dixon.

Daryl parked the pickup truck on the street down a bit from Abraham's house since there were other parties at other houses on the street that same day and the block was filling up. He got out, telling Beth to hang on, and he then walked around to her door and opened it for her.

"Thank you," she smiled as she slipped out carefully, the cake container firm in her hands, and Daryl slammed the door behind her and made sure the truck was locked.

"Wan' me to carry that?" He asked as they began heading up the sidewalk towards Abraham's ranch style house.

"Nope," she shook her head. "I don't want anyone to think you baked this instead of me," she teased and he just smirked. "This is a nice neighborhood," she then observed as they passed brick ranches with square yards and tidy landscaping.

"Too many people," Daryl said and she laughed softly. He then looked to her. "You wanna live in a neighborhood like this?"

"Not even remotely," she shook her head. "Too many people," she then giggled.

His lips twitched in a smile and in a rare display of open affection, he took his arm and dropped it around her shoulders. In Abraham's front yard, there was a sprinkler and a few kids running through it, yelling and screeching. The garage door was open and inside the garage, tables had been set up with tablecloths with American flags printed on them for people to sit at and there was another table with bowls of food – chips and pretzels and different salads – set up with stacks of paper plates and cups.

Daryl's arm left her shoulders but he then took her hand, leading her over to two females standing at one of the coolers, debating which beer would be the best.

"Daryl!" Tara exclaimed when she saw them approach. "Hey!" She held out her fist and Daryl bumped it back with his own. "Hi, Beth!"

"Hi, Tara," Beth smiled warmly at Daryl's coworker. She had been the one to train Daryl in his warehouse job and even though Abraham was the manager, everyone knew that Tara was the one who kept the office running for the most part. She had also been a gust at their wedding – as all of Daryl's coworkers had been.

"You remember Denise, my girlfriend?" Tara brought the other woman into the conversation with a hand on her back.

"Hello again," Denise smiled as she pushed her glasses up.

"It's nice to see you again," Beth smiled at her. "Do you know where Abraham or his wife is? I brought a cake and I don't want to put it down somewhere without speaking with them about it first."

"God, you are so good at that kind of thing," Tara said, shaking her head as if in awe. She then looked to Denise. "We never bring anything."

Denise shrugged. "Our company more than makes up for it," she smiled and Tara snorted with laughter.

"Abraham's in the backyard and Gloria's in the kitchen. And everyone else is just kind of scattered around," Tara told them.

After saying that they would come back to talk with them in a little bit, Daryl and Beth went through the back door of the garage that led into the backyard and just as Tara had said, Abraham was standing at the grill on the patio, a cigar in his mouth. There were more tables scattered about and most of the party was back here. There was music coming from somewhere, Bruce Springsteen playing.

"Daryl! Beth!" Abraham shouted, spotting them almost immediately.

Daryl supposed it'd be hard to miss Beth though. The girl didn't tan. She burned and to assure that didn't happen, she lathered herself in suntan lotion. She was probably the whitest, palest girl in the whole state of Georgia in July. Her blond hair was braided back and pinned around her head and she wore a patriotic blue dress. Daryl was just in jeans and a black tee-shirt.

"Hi, Abraham," Beth smiled at him as they came to him on the patio. "I've made a cherry cake. I hope that's alright. I didn't want us to show up empty-handed," she then said, holding up the cake plate in her hands.

"Homemade?" Abraham said as he looked at the cake through the plastic lid, the man practically already licking his lips.

"Of course," Beth said.

"Hell, you leave that cake with me. I'll eat it all myself," he said and she laughed a little before she realized that he was completely serious.

He took the cake from her hands and set it down on the ground next to him. There was a man standing near him with his black hair cut into an actual mullet.

"This is one of my old army buddies, Eugene. Eugene, this is Daryl Dixon. He works in my warehouse and this is his wife, Beth," Abraham made the introductions.

"Hey," Daryl grunted.

"Hi," Beth was much more polite and she smiled and held out her hand for him to shake and Daryl didn't know why but he didn't think he wanted this man touching his wife's hand. There was just something about the guy and the way he was staring at Beth. He didn't seem to care that much that Daryl was her husband and that he was standing right next to her.

Too late though because Eugene reached his hand out and took hold of Beth's.

"It is a pleasure to meet a beautiful woman such as yourself," he said in an almost monotone voice. "You are by far the hottest woman in attendance at this celebration of our country's 240th year of freedom."

Daryl frowned and Beth kept smiling as she slowly pulled her hand from his.

"Knock it off, Eugene," Abraham told him. "Go hit on Tara and Denise again." He then looked back to Daryl and Beth, grinning once more. "So, what'll it be? I got burgers and chicken and there's fixings in the garage and the beer's in there, too."

After loading their plates with burgers, pasta salad and potato chips, and grabbing sodas, they sat down at one of the picnic tables in the backyard with Tara and Denise, Spencer, another of Daryl's coworkers, and his girlfriend, Jen. Spencer and Jen had a kid together – a little daughter, Harper – and Beth thought she was the cutest thing she had ever seen. She spent most of her time, instead of eating, playing patty-cake with Harper.

Tara and Spencer talked work, complaining about customers and some new process that GE was implementing with their paperwork and Daryl just wanted to smirk at himself because not only could he follow the conversation and know exactly what the hell they were talking about but that he agreed and had his own opinions, too. Just two years ago, he wouldn't recognize this guy he was now. In charge of the warehouse with a wife and his own place in the woods.

Daryl tried not to think this too often but sometimes he couldn't help it. Sometimes, he thought his life was pretty damn perfect.

"Daryl!"

Daryl turned and actually smiled when he saw Oscar coming through the garage and heading his way. Oscar and him had worked nights in the warehouse together before Daryl had been promoted. Oscar still worked nights but they hardly saw one another anymore. The last time Daryl saw him was at the wedding in May.

Daryl stood up to greet him and before he could stop him, Oscar embraced him in a near bone-crushing hug. Beth then stood up and Oscar gave her the same hug, Beth giggling and hugging him back.

"Save us a spot," Oscar said and he and his wife, Eleanor, went to go get some food.

"She is just so adorable," Beth commented as they sat down once again and Harper was feeding herself potato chips from Spencer's plate.

"She's a spoiled little princess," Jen said but she said it with a smile. "Are you two going to have any children?" She then asked, looking to Beth.

Spencer elbowed her in the side and then looked to Daryl. "Sorry. She really just says whatever the hell she's thinking."

Jen gave him a frown. "It's a perfectly understandable question, asking two married people if they are going to have children."

Spencer rolled his eyes and took a big bite of his burger.

"You could just marry her," Tara said to him.

"But then what the hell would she have to bitch about?" Spencer retorted.

Jen ignored him and looked to Beth. "I'm sorry if I insulted-"

"Not at all," Beth was quick to shake her head. "And yes. Daryl and I definitely want to have children. We're actually already trying."

"Alright, Daryl," Tara grinned, slapping a hand on his shoulder, and the tips of Daryl's ears turned red as he busied himself with eating his pasta salad.

"Would Harper like piano lessons, do you think?" Beth asked, swiftly switching the subject so not to embarrass Daryl any further. "I give piano lessons and my youngest is almost four so it's a bit of a challenge just because she has no attention span but she's already catching onto the scales and Hot Cross Buns."

"You teach piano?" Jen asked, perking up a bit at that.

"I told you she does," Spencer said and Jen, once again, ignored him.

"You know, I read in one of my parenting magazines that a child who shows an interest in a musical instrument at a young age has a higher level of intelligence," Jen said. "Do you think we could get her started?"

"She might be a little too young but maybe in another year or so," Beth said.

Oscar and Eleanor returned to the table with their food and Oscar plopped down across from Daryl. The two immediately began talking about the warehouse and Daryl didn't know what it was because he had other coworkers here that he liked but with Oscar there, he felt a bit more relaxed at being at this glorified work function. Maybe it was because Daryl thought that he and Oscar were on the same level. It didn't matter that Daryl was now in charge of the warehouse. Both he and Oscar were warehouse guys and had never worked in an office in their lives.

True to his word, Abraham kept the cherry cake for himself but there was a table of other desserts and Daryl and Beth helped themselves to pieces of chocolate cake with fresh raspberries. Kids were running around with sparklers and when it got dark enough, everyone, coated in bug spray, found themselves spots on the grass, Daryl sitting himself down with Beth sitting in front of him, cradled between his legs, her back against his chest. Abraham's house was right by the high school football field were fireworks were shot off on both the third and fourth and that night, they watched the display while Bruce Springsteen kept playing in the background.

Tomorrow, they would go to the farm for another barbecue and to witness Shawn try not to blow himself up as he set off fireworks and tomorrow night, Daryl would make sure they did this, too. Him sitting with Beth sitting between his legs, his arms wrapped around her and her hair tickling his face. No matter what the holiday was, he couldn't imagine celebrating it in a better way.


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