A/N Thanks so much for everything. I'm loving writing this story for you and we're just getting started! It's Christmastime at the Farm.

Christmas was just two days away and she was driving Mama and Daddy crazy. "Calm down Beth, it's not like we don't have Christmas every year." Mama was trying to get the last batch of cookies decorated and her daughter was driving her crazy.

"I know Mama but you've never invited Daryl to spend the night on Christmas Eve before!"

"Well I suppose we never thought about it before, we should have. There were many years Daryl would probably have liked having someplace to stay, other than where he was." Mama sighed remembering back to that little boy in the rag bag clothes that always seemed hungry and in need of a hug. Not that he'd give or take a hug, it had taken years before they'd reached that point with him. But he sure had looked like a little fella that could use a warm hug.

And Mama was thinking back to when it began, that first day they'd met Daryl and the journey he'd already been on in his young life. He could have chosen what might have seemed the easier path, dropped out of school, turned to drinking and drugs and not worried about a future. But Daryl had bucked the odds. He was such a hard worker and he had an eye on the future, he had goals.

And although he and Beth were still just children in Mama's eyes, there was no doubt in her mind they'd be together forever. She was happy with that; she couldn't have picked a better match for her youngest daughter.

Sure he'd gotten in his share of trouble and scrapes over the years, but he always seemed to learn from his mistakes.

"Oh Mama I can hardly wait to give Daryl his Christmas present, I hope he loves it as much as I think he will. Of course if he knew how much it cost he might get mad, but it's something he's always wanted and he deserves it."

Mama smiled at her girl, "Daryl's a person who has a little trouble accepting a gift, but he's also a person who's far more appreciative of the thought than most are."


He was just finishing cleaning up a job site and his mind wandered to Christmas and staying with Beth's family. He was plenty excited but also a little uneasy. This was going to be a new experience for him. He'd never stayed at someone's house before. Well unless you counted the few times child protective services had taken him to foster care for a night or two. His father always managed to smooth talk those CPS folks into sending him back home, so it was never for long. And those foster people had been strangers, it was different with the Greenes they meant something to him, they were a big part of his life.

Shawn and Maggie were going to be home from college and Mama told him he'd be bunking in Shawn's room, that was cool with him. Shawn had always acted like Daryl was his little brother, he'd teased him a lot but he always treated him right. And he was looking forward to hearing all of Shawn's college stories.

But what he was really looking forward to was giving Beth the present he'd bought her. He hoped it would mean as much to her as it meant to him to give it to her.

He felt sure this was going to be his best Christmas, hell if it wasn't for the Greenes he never would have had Christmases at all.

xxxx

Christmas Eve came and they were snuggled up just as close as they could get, without upsetting her Mama and Daddy. She was leading everyone in singing Christmas Carols but Daryl wasn't singing. He never had and he never planned to, but he always loved to listen to Beth.

There were popcorn balls, hot chocolate and Christmas cookies and everyone seemed so happy and loving. Contented. It always amazed Daryl that families could be like this, he wondered if he and Beth would have this kind of family together. He knew she was capable but was he? Would he know how?

But he'd made up his mind he wasn't going to think about the bad stuff anymore, he was going to be positive. And when her Mama and Daddy weren't looking he leaned in and kissed her cheek. When she smiled at him he hoped, and he tried hard to believe, that he could have this with her forever.

When bedtime came and they had that quick minute alone in the upstairs hall, he held her and kissed her, "Can't wait for mornin' Baby, gonna be fun watchin' ya be all Christmas crazy."

She playfully pushed his shoulder and laughed, "Goodnight Mister Scrooge."

5:30 Christmas morning and he was lying in bed wide awake. Shawn was quietly snoring in the other bed. The house itself was quiet, still, until the commotion started in the hallway.

She was running up and down banging on everyone's door and hollering, "Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Santa Claus Came! Santa Claus Came!" He was smiling to himself thinking he was right, she was Christmas crazy.

Shawn rolled over and grumbled, "Welcome to the insanity that is Beth Greene. Lucky you Daryl, lucky you." And he muttered "Shit" as he got out of bed. Daryl followed suit.

Merle and Carol had given him an early Christmas present to take with him to the Greene's, flannel sleep pants, a new t-shirt and a pair of slippers.

He and Merle had never had a Christmas growing up and he supposed they just never thought about exchanging gifts, even when they were on their own. This was the first time he'd been given any kind of gift by anyone in his family. He was a little overcome and he'd felt real bad he hadn't gotten them something.

Merle just clapped him on the back and told him, "Don't worry about it kid we didn't expect nuthin', an anyway ya can't be showin' up ta breakfast at the Greene's in yer skivvies."

He was especially grateful to have the new things when he saw Shawn was dressed similarly.

He picked up the package he had for her and opened the bedroom door. As soon as he did she grabbed him, "Merry Christmas Daryl!"

He couldn't help himself he started to laugh, "Well Merry Christmas ta you! Ya keep this up you'll be all outta energy before seven." But she just giggled, grabbed his arm and pulled him along down the stairs.

"Santa came Daryl!"

"Yeah I heard ya yellin' that 'bout five times up and down the hallway." He wasn't used to smiling so much, especially not at six in the morning.

And then he saw all the presents under the tree and it did look like Santa had come. He'd never seen anything like it, well except those trees in department stores with the fake presents. But they weren't as pretty as this, and the smell of baking and the smell of the tree, it all seemed so perfect.

Mama must have gotten up extra early because there were cinnamon rolls, coffee, juice and hot chocolate. He'd been a coffee drinker for a few years, that's what Merle drank in the morning so he drank it too, but she was having hot chocolate. He smiled, "That's just what ya need girl, sugar an caffeine." She'd giggled and it was making him happy just to see her so happy, practically bouncing.

Before they all started opening their gifts her Daddy gave a little talk about what Christmas was really about, and they all said a prayer, and it wasn't uncomfortable, he didn't mind.

Shawn had been designated as the one to hand out the gifts and as he picked up the first package he smiled at Daryl, "We had to start doing it this way, passing them out one at a time, because Beth couldn't control herself. She'd just start ripping packages open whether they were for her or not."

"Quit it Shawn I was like five."

And Maggie laughed, "Yeah or 15."

He saw his girl turn bright red and it just made her even cuter to him.

Her Mama and Daddy gave him a new pair of work boots and he was nearly speechless, "Wow this is real, real nice an I thank ya, a lot." Mama saw his neck flush and he was chewing that bottom lip and she wondered if Daryl would ever feel like he deserved to be thought of, to be cared for and loved.

He'd gotten her Daddy a new pair of leather work gloves and her Mama a fancy box of candy.

Beth handed him a large box with a big red bow on it. The package seemed almost as heavy as those boots. He looked at her questioningly and she nudged him, "Open it Daryl."

He couldn't believe what he saw; she'd gotten him a black leather jacket. It was the only article of clothing he'd ever really wanted, but damn they were expensive. "Beth, wow girl, thank you, but geez isn't this a lot? Ya shouldn't be spendin' on me like that."

They could all see how overwhelmed he was. She put her hand on his arm and spoke softly, "Daryl you work hard and you should have some of the things you want. I know you've wanted this a long time. I wanted to give it to you because of that and because I love you. Merry Christmas Daryl."

He was looking down and chewing the side of his thumb, but he nodded and slipped the coat on. He looked to her and smiled that little half grin of his. "Whaddya think?"

She was beaming him that Beth Greene smile, "I think you look too handsome, I'm going to have to take it back to the store."

He did something then he'd never done in front of her family, he gave her a kiss on the lips. He was embarrassed, he felt his neck and his ears flush pink, but he didn't regret it. He just regretted he couldn't keep kissing her.

Again his neck and ears flushed as he handed her the small package, "Merry Christmas Beth."

She opened the package, gasped and she felt her own face flush bright pink. "Daryl." It was a promise ring with a heart-shaped cluster of tiny diamonds that looked almost pink, they were surrounded by small white diamonds. The ring itself had intricate sculpted scrollwork, it was so delicate and feminine. Just like the way he always thought of her.

That's when she did something she'd never done in front of Mama and Daddy, she threw her arms around his neck and leaned into him, "Oh Daryl it's so beautiful, thank you so much. I just love it, I never expected it…"

And for once she was speechless, and that made him smile, "Merry Christmas Baby, I'm glad ya like it."

Mama and Daddy were giving each other that knowing smile. As quickly as time seemed to pass, they knew before long he'd be giving her an engagement ring.

After a light breakfast the guys all went out to do chores while Maggie and Beth helped Mama get Christmas dinner started. Merle and Carol would be by at noon to spend the rest of the day with them.

Maggie put an arm around her sister's shoulders. "That sure is a lovely ring Daryl got you Bethie. I never would have thought of him as the kind of guy to go into a jewelry store and buy such a romantic gift. I guess its official, Daryl's in love." And Maggie smiled as she watched her little sister's cheeks flush.

After the big Christmas dinner they finally got to go to the orchard together. He was wearing his new leather jacket and when he leaned her up against a peach tree, she slid her arms inside the coat and around his waist. "This is my best Christmas ever Daryl. You made it that way. I love my ring so much and I love what it means and I love you."

He put his hands to her cheeks and looked into her eyes, "The next ring I buy ya is gonna have one a them big diamonds in it an I'ma be down on one knee." He kissed her then and she was feeling so much love for him, their tongues were exploring and their want for each other was so strong. The only thing that stopped it from going further was Shawn coming by on the horse.

He laughed loudly, "What are you two lovebirds up to?" And they were so embarrassed, and also so relieved they hadn't gotten passed the kissing part yet.

xxxx

Spring was in the air and their Senior Prom was just two weeks away. She knew Daryl wasn't thrilled to go, and especially not thrilled about having to wear a tux, but he was doing a great job of pretending to be okay with it all, even acting like he was looking forward to it.

Mama had taken her to Atlanta dress shopping and although it wasn't quite the silly experience she'd had shopping with Maggie, it was good to spend a day with Mama doing something besides working on the farm.

She decided on a full length pink sleeveless gown. It was soft and feminine and she knew Daryl would like that, and it had a high neckline to keep Mama happy. She loved it and felt pretty in it and she thought it showed off her ring. Mama let her get new shoes and a cute little purse and now she was really looking forward to prom.

Prom was also an expensive night out and they were both trying so hard to save their money. Mama offered to cook them a fancy dinner so they wouldn't have to spend the money to go out. They readily agreed to that, "It don't get any better than yer cookin'." Daryl had told her Mama.

Beth almost couldn't catch her breath when Daryl came to the door, he was so handsome in his tux. He'd brought her a beautiful pink and white wrist corsage and it almost brought tears to her eyes. She was thinking it would be a lot like this on their wedding day, they'd both be all dressed up, Mama and Daddy would be there and so happy for them. She just couldn't wait to marry Daryl and she knew he wanted that as much as she did.

Mama took what seemed like a million pictures of them all dressed up before they sat down to a dinner that was nothing like what they usually ate on the farm. Mama had made something called Beef Wellington. At first Beth thought Daryl seemed reluctant to even try it, but once he had that first bite he was all smiles. He ate all of his and half of hers.

Before they left for the Prom Daddy almost said something to them about not doing anything crazy, like they tried after the last dance. But he thought better of it. They'd learned their lesson he was confident of that.

They got to the dance and immediately grouped up with Amy and Caesar and Lori and Rick.

Beth didn't miss the way that darn Andrea was checking out Daryl. Could she be more obvious? My gawd. Beth was starting to think she was going to come over and start drooling on him any minute. She held on tighter to Daryl's arm.

He didn't miss the way that asshole Shane was looking at her. It was pissing him off. He'd always been sure Shane had a bad case for her, that and the guy was nothing but a horn dog. Well he wasn't getting close to Beth. Daryl put his arm around her waist and pulled her in tight to his side.

The three couples were having a great time together, the girls were admiring each others clothes and hair and jewelry, while the guys were giving each other crap about their suits.

Then it came time to announce the Prom King and Queen and their court.

Amy and Lori were excited, positive Daryl and Beth would be crowned King and Queen. Daryl couldn't give a shit less, he didn't want the attention, didn't want to wear the stupid crown. But if it happened, and as long as she was prom queen, he'd go along. This was the big night she'd been waiting for and he wasn't going to ruin it for her.

When they announced the court the Prince and Princess were named first. She was stunned and Daryl didn't know what to do or say. Beth had been voted Princess and Shane Prince. As pissed off as Daryl was about her not being Queen, he was much more shaken by the fact that Shane was Prince. That couldn't be right.

And then Andrea was named Queen and Daryl was named King and he hated to even look at Beth, so afraid she might cry.

Lori and Amy, hell even Rick and Caesar were shocked. How could it have turned out this way?

It was expected, it was tradition that the King and Queen would be paraded around the room together, and then dance a dance, being joined halfway through by the Prince and Princess.

Daryl was steadfast. "I don't dance with no one but Beth an she don't dance with no one but me."

Then Shane laughed and said in his cocky voice, "Well this Prince is going to dance with his Princess and she's going to enjoy every one of my moves." And he laughed and he grabbed Beth around her waist hard, practically slamming her into him, she let out a yelp. He had his face up close to hers and he said, "And I think you should give me a kiss." She had her hands on his chest trying to push him away.

Daryl pulled Andrea's hands off his arm, then he pulled Shane off Beth, and as he swung him around he threw a punch that connected with Shane's jaw and Shane went down.

Daryl took Beth by the hand and said, "C'mon Baby, we're outta here."

The chaperone at the door tried to stop them, "You can't just leave it's against the rules!"

And Daryl snarled, "Fuck the rules." And he and Beth got in his truck and sped away. Now she was crying softly. "Sorry Beth, sorry I ruined your night."

"Oh no thank you Daryl, I can't believe that happened and I can't believe Shane grabbed me like that. Thank you for getting him off of me, I was afraid." He took her hand and squeezed it tightly. "I ain't ever gonna let anyone hurt ya Beth, been tellin' ya that since we was five."

They went up in the hills a ways and he pulled the truck over. He left the engine idling and cranked the radio up. He got out of the truck, went to her door and helped her out, and he smiled at her, "Can I have a dance with my Queen?" He was still wearing his crown and she smiled, nodded her head and said, "Yes my King."

And they danced out there under the stars and she told him, "If we were smart we would have just said no to the prom and gone to our spot at the creek, that would have been more fun."

He was thinking that was his idea all along but he'd never tell her that.

They eventually got back in the pickup and they kissed and fondled and they said their I love You's and they took each other to that place. And afterwards they cuddled quietly listening to the radio and just being together, until it was time to get her home.

When they were pulling into her driveway he spotted it, "Aw fuck, that's Merle's truck."

"Why is Merle here?"

"Shit I'm guessin' we're in some kinda trouble. No other reason he'd be here. Probably it's cuz a me throwing a punch at Shane an for us leavin' the dance. Oh yeah, an I cussed in front a the lady at the door."

He took her hand and they walked in, Mama, Daddy and Merle were all standing right there waiting. Daddy spoke, "What in the world went on tonight?"

As it turned out, Hershel and Merle had both been called when Daryl and Beth left the dance. Merle wouldn't have thought much about it, it didn't seem like a big deal but Hershel had called him. Merle always tried to go along with the older man for two reasons, he respected him and because Merle's first priority was to protect Daryl. Daryl wanted this life like the Greenes had so Merle wanted it for him.

Beth started to speak, "Daddy please…"

That was all she got out before Daryl took hold of her arm, "No Beth, let me tell it." And Daryl did tell the story, all of it exactly like it happened, except he didn't say "fuck" in front of her Mama and Daddy. "So then I drove the truck out in the woods a little ways and just parked. I turned up the radio real loud an we danced right there."

Merle just pursed his lips and nodded a little, waiting to see what Hershel would think of all this. For his part he thought Little Brother did just right, defended his girl and got her out of the situation, and he decked the muther fucker that had manhandled her. Merle was proud.

Daddy took a deep breath, "Well son, I understand why you reacted the way you did. Shane Walsh certainly had no business grabbing Beth that way. I'll be speaking to his father first thing in the morning. But Daryl we've talked about this before, violence is always a last resort. Perhaps it could have been settled in a more gentlemanly manner."

Yeah well Daddy didn't really know Shane but Daryl wasn't going to argue. "Yes sir Hershel, I know yer right an I'm sorry. All I could think ta do at the time was get him offa Beth and get her outta there. I shoulda stopped ta think for a minute."

"Usually we get a little more patience as we get older. It'll come Daryl. And I'm not of a mind to punish you kids for leaving the dance without permission, breaking the rules. I'd like to know where these chaperones were while this boy was grabbing my daughter and scaring her. I'll have questions for the school come Monday morning."

And as embarrassing as that sounded to Beth, her Daddy calling Mr. Walsh and the school, it sounded a lot better than her and Daryl being punished, having to be apart again. And they'd had a wonderful evening.

Daddy surprised him when he told him, "And Daryl I want to thank you for always taking good care of my daughter, protecting her."

At school on Tuesday it would come out that Shane and one of his cohorts had tampered with the ballots, that indeed it should have been Daryl and Beth who were named King and Queen. Daryl felt bad for her because all this shit meant something to her. She promised him it didn't matter she had a wonderful time with him and that was what mattered.

But the best part was someone sneaked in the school either late at night or early in the morning. They'd painted a crown on Shane's locker and written in bold red paint, "Shane Walsh Voted Prince of Douchebags."

Years later Beth would learn it was Amy.

A/N I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next we have graduation and you know what comes after graduation :) Thanks so much for reading and please leave a review / comment. xo

To see the chapter photo, and yes Daryl is wearing his crown, please visit my tumblr at bethylmethbrick