Chapter 10
Daryl held Beth's hair back as she bent over in the gravel, her stomach heaving up everything she had put in it the past several hours. His heart broke for her as she moaned between retching.
"Here, try this," Maggie said softly from beside him and he used his free hand, the one that had been stroking her lower back as she got sick, to place the cool cloth Maggie had obtained from inside the bar. He and Beth had been dancing, a slow song having been played, and her head had been pressed against his chest when she suddenly looked up at him and he had known the look. Had seen it all too often, hell he'd felt it all too often after a bender.
"Better get her outside, Dixon," Glenn had said. "She looks like she could use some fresh air and a lot less beer." They had all chuckled at that until Maggie had slapped her head against her forehead.
"I can't believe I am so stupid. She's not supposed to be drinking. At all." Glenn had looked at her strangely and she had to keep her mouth shut until they got outside and then she had told Daryl.
"She can't have alcohol not for the first several days after transitioning. It's too much for their systems," she had whispered furiously. "I can't believe this. Even after they transition, even years later, they can't drink much. She's going to be feeling pretty rough for a couple days Daryl. Daddy is gonna kill me," she exclaimed, pacing back and forth in the parking lot.
He had brought Beth outside where she had promptly bent over at the waist and vomited, leaving Daryl to hold her up with one hand so she didn't fall on her face while simultaneously holding her hair back so she didn't get any of the vile stomach contents on it. It didn't seem like she was ever going to stop.
"God, Maggie, what the hell did she eat tonight?" Daryl said as he pressed the cool cloth to her neck now.
"A lot of ice cream?" Maggie looked at him sheepishly over Beth's head.
Beth stood up and leaned against Daryl weakly. "Stop talking about me like I'm not here, please". She said, her voice gruff from being sick.
"God, I'm so sorry Beth. I forgot. You're not supposed to drink," Beth looked over at Maggie, smiling weakly.
"It's okay Maggie," Beth slurred her words, the alcohol clearly not all the way out of her system.
"How long is she gonna be like this?" Daryl whispered to Maggie.
"A couple days probably," Maggie said, wrinkling her nose, "think you can keep her at your place? I'll tell Daddy that we're staying at Lacey's tonight." Maggie looked to Glenn and smiled sweetly at him. "Mind if I stay at your place?"
Glenn stammered for a minute and finally answered, "Sure, you can stay." Then he had looked at Daryl and Daryl just chuckled and shrugged his shoulders at him. He'd seen the looks Maggie had been sending Glenn. She'd been flirting with the boy for damn near 6 months. Daryl laughed to himself a bit thinking that the guy was not going to know what hit him or maybe he did judging by the star-struck look he had in his eyes.
After they had all decided on a plan and they had helped him load Beth into the truck, they had all taken off for their own places. Merle had left long ago and Daryl was glad that Gareth had not shown his face again that night.
Daryl glanced down at Beth, now asleep on his shoulder as he drove through the wee hours of the morning to his place. They had closed the bar down and it was hard to believe everything that happened in less than 24 hours. She had passed out right in the middle of talking almost as soon as they pulled out onto the road. He had always thought that angels were supposed to be quiet, observant souls but this girl could really talk. He chuckled to himself as he realized that actually she never shut up. All his preconceived notions of heavenly beings went right out the window, all because of this girl beside him.
His thoughts, he realized, were constantly at war with one another. There was the part of him that knew his past was shady and he was too damaged to have anything to offer anyone. Then there was the part that didn't see anything but Beth. The part that said to hell with his past and all the shit that he had done. He didn't know which part was winning the war right now because he was completely exhausted with the events of the past couple of days and all he wanted to do was to fall into the bed and sleep. He groaned. She was going to be staying with him and he had no idea what to do with her. He had never taken care of anyone before. Besides his mama that was. Whenever his old man had been on a bender, he took to hitting her and Daryl always took care of her the next day, while his old man lay passed out wherever he fell.
But this was different and he knew it. Maggie had said it would take her a couple of days to work the alcohol from her system. A couple of days of him figuring out his feelings while he took care of her. Even though he was uncertain of what the future held for them, he was taking this step. Taking it on blind faith and a hope that he would come out the other side relatively unscathed.
He pulled into the driveway of his house and as he opened the door to the truck, he gently slid her from his shoulder and hoped she would stay upright while he got her out from the other side. He jogged up the sidewalk and quickly unlocked his door, leaving the door open just slightly as he went to get her from the cab of the truck.
"Come'on, Princess," he whispered as he pulled her towards him gently, hoping the jarring motion didn't make her sick at her stomach again, although it was hard to imagine she had anything left in there. He had never seen someone throw up as much as she had on that parking lot.
He scooped her into his arms and she automatically looped her arms up around his neck as her legs draped over his arms. He closed the door to his truck with his backside and walked up the sidewalk, holding her to his chest and nudging the front door open with his foot. As he crossed the threshold and closed the door back with toe of his boot, he had the absurd thought that he was carrying her the way a groom carried his bride. His face flushed, and for who, he didn't know. It was only him and this slip of a girl in his arms. For a moment, he pretended it was true as he carried through the next threshold into his bedroom and then the thought that he was carrying her to their marriage bed almost made him drop her.
He never knew that he could feel like this. That these thoughts could cause him to make grand gestures like he had been doing them his whole life. But the truth was, he had never felt anything like this. He had never been like this with anyone. But kissing her hand like some chivalrous fool, holding her hair back as she threw up, carrying her across the threshold like some nervous young husband, it all felt so completely natural with her. He would be lying if he didn't say it scared him a little.
He eased her down onto the bed, his thoughts again warring with one another. Her body slid to the bed, her lithe form curving into the mattress and she curled into the pillow as if she was at home, like she had been sleeping in his bed for years. He stood back and watched her for a moment. She was the picture of ethereal beauty and he fought the urge to just move in behind her and hold her to his chest, his arms draped around her and never let her go. She looked so fragile lying there, hair fanned out against his pillow and he thought his fantasy was nothing compared to reality looking at the way the flaxen silk of her hair was contrasted against the dark wine-colored pillow case.
She shifted slightly in her sleep and he realized she couldn't move her legs much thanks to the impossibly short skirt she was wearing. Where did women even find these things? He realized then that it must be Maggie's. He was willing to bet that recently fallen angels didn't come with their own wardrobe. Fallen angel? Is that what she was? He didn't think that title fit her at all, because she didn't look fallen to him. Beth was like an enigma, something he couldn't adequately describe, the light and hope coming off her. She wasn't fallen and she didn't have her feet firmly planted on the ground either and he liked that about her. He felt she was like something suspended in mid air, something like a spinning prism, it's spectrums of light refracted in a million places like the thoughts he was having, scattered and projected onto the walls of his heart making him think impossible things. Want impossible things.
He was a simple man. He went to work every day, whether he wanted to or not because he knew the alternative was to slip back into the bad habits from before. Merle may indulge every now and again, but Daryl didn't want to fall back into that abyss. He refused and now that this angel was in his life, maybe he didn't have to worry about it anymore. Maybe she could keep him from the temptation.
Then again, she tempted him in ways he had never explored. Tempted him to think that he could have something more than this fleeting existence, one day blending into the next without any real meaning. Tempted him to think that he could have something that lasted. Something with her.
She shifted again and he knew he was going to have to change her out of those clothes if she was to get any rest at all. His face flushed, thinking how he was going to have to undress her and put her in something of his. Goddammit, this was not what he had signed up for. Because how was he supposed to change her out of those clothes and not look at her at the same time. Not feel like the pervert he knew he was right now for thinking the thoughts he was having.
This was not the same as taking care of his Mama. Not even remotely the same and he sighed as he walked over to his dresser to retrieve one of his button up flannels and a pair of sweatpants. He held out the pants and it actually brought a grin to his face thinking of how the pants would swallow her whole. He would just put her in the shirt and she could change into something else when she woke up.
He walked over to the bed, fingering the soft flannel, the fibers of it snagging on the roughness of his fingertips. He laid it down on the bed beside her and set about the task of getting her more comfortable for sleep. He tried nudging her gently awake because it would certainly be easier to dress her if he had a little cooperation, but she was not budging. He sighed again, taking the hem of her shirt and easing it upward, trying not to look at how creamy the tops of her breasts were as he slid it all the way up, bunched around her neck. Tried not to think about how the slip of skin at her shoulders felt so soft under his rough palms. Tried like hell not to think about how perfectly round her breasts were and how they were jutting up perfectly from beneath a white lacy bra. He finally slipped it up over her head and she fell back onto the bed and he eased her into the flannel shirt and she sighed. He buttoned up the first three buttons and moved his hand down her perfectly flat tummy to the button of her denim skirt. He decided the only way to do it was swiftly and he unzipped the skirt, looking up at her as he did so, half afraid that she would wake up while he was doing it and half hoping she would. It was the oddest thing to constantly have these thoughts of different veins running alongside one another in his head.
He hooked his thumbs inside the waistband of her skirt, sliding it down over her hips and legs and was horrified to realize that the white lacy panties that matched her bra didn't leave much to the imagination. He averted his eyes as he finished sliding the skirt from her and paused for a moment to remove the strappy sandals she was wearing and depositing it all at the end of the bed. He stood up and retrieved the quilt and just as he was about to place the quilt over her, she rolled over. He was horrified to realize that she was wearing thongs and his eyes were helpless to do anything but rest on the most perfect ass he had ever seen. He hurriedly placed the quilt on her and tucked it up around her shoulders, forcing his thoughts to baseball and grandmothers and puppies, anything to tamp down the unmistakable desire he was feeling.
He turned from the room finally, feeling like he had just been to battle and he guessed he had. His head hurt from everything that had happened the past couple days. He trudged to the guest bedroom, not bothering to flip on any lights and quickly undressed down to his boxers before slipping between the covers, the cool of the sheets welcoming and though he was exhausted, sleep did not immediately come. He leaned down and retrieved his phone from his pants pocket, glancing through the photos Beth had insisted he take. He smiled at the one of her sticking her tongue out at him, flipping to the one of her holding up her beer and her head tilted to the side, the one of her dancing with Maggie, her eyes seductively lowered at the camera lens. Of him and her together, her face pressed up against his, her smile drunken, but endearingly so. Then there was the one Maggie had taken when she had grabbed the phone from his hands and Beth had pulled her to him and he had gotten lost in the moment, looking down at her and the photo had captured the moment his eyes were closed and hers were too and her lips were pressed softly to his. It was hard to believe that the man in the photo was him. Hard to believe the angel he was kissing in the photo was her. As he finally fell asleep, his phone still opened to that photo and pressed to his chest, he knew he would dream of her. In reality she was in the next room, but in his mind, she was right next to him. chasing down his dreams.
Beth awoke some time in the very early morning and realized she was alone and in an unfamiliar place. She had fallen asleep for the first time as a mortal and she had missed the whole thing because she had too much to drink. She realized she must be at Daryl's house, but where was he. She slipped from the bed and blushed as she realized she was wearing one of his shirts. Unless she missed her guess, he had put her in it and the thought of him undressing her did all kinds of things to her insides.
She wandered down the hall and entered the room that had light snores coming from it. She stood in the doorway a little uncertain at first and decided that since he was asleep he couldn't very well argue with her because she didn't want to be alone. She felt disoriented and dizzy and she staggered to the bed where he lay, lifting the covers and slipping in beside him. She sighed as she realized she might still be a little drunk.
She looked at the man sleeping there, his head laying on the pillow, eyes closed and she realized that he looked so much younger and freer in sleep. She reached her hand out and smoothed a couple of strands off his forehead, then moving her hand over his face, feeling the rough stubble tickle her palm. She moved her hand down to his shoulders, so broad and the skin soft there though the planes of his muscles were anything but soft. She traced a line down his arms and felt him stir under her and she kept her fingers still.
He opened his eyes and blinked at her. She had been caught and she didn't care. She smiled at him softly, knowing she probably was still a little tipsy.
"What are you doing in here," he asked her gruffly and glancing down at where her hand was, her fingers tracing curious circles on his arm.
"I woke up alone. I don't want to be alone, Daryl." She whispered and bit her lower lip and Daryl groaned.
The hell of it was he had come in here so he could keep his hands and his thoughts to himself. Now here she was making damn near impossible. He looked at her, her face innocent and her soft smile won him over.
"Okay, fine, but go back ta sleep. 'M still tired. You should be too, ya know. You had way too much ta drink." He admonished her gently.
"What are you like my chaperone or something? Mr. Dixon." She said prissily and he had to bite his tongue to keep from kissing the sass right out of her mouth.
"No, but I will be if you don't show some good sense when it comes to drinkin' again." He looked at her trying to be stern and reasonable and knew he was failing when she looked up at him saucily, her hair fanned out on the pillow above her head and grinned up at him.
"Guess we'll just have to see about that huh?" She smiled up at him prettily and he fought the urge, again, to kiss her but he wasn't going to touch her as long as he knew there was any more alcohol in her system. He couldn't have her doing something she was sure to regret later. Something they may both regret.
"Yeah, uh-huh, just go ta sleep, girl." He whispered, his voice gravelly from utter lack of sleep.
"Your girl." She murmured as she snuggled closer to him and curled one hand around his arm as she did so.
"What?" he whispered into the top of her hair.
Beth leaned back. He thought she didn't remember but she did. She remembered how he had said she was his girl back at the bar. And she wasn't going to let him forget it or take it back. She was going to hold onto whatever she could drag out of him because it was hard enough to do so. She looked into his eyes, the deep cerulean pools reflecting the early morning light streaming through the blinds.
"You said I was your girl." She smiled at him shyly.
Daryl sighed. "Yeah, I did say that didn't I." He looked down at her, her face expectant like she was waiting for him to say something else.
She just nodded. Was she his girl? He couldn't think of anything else to describe her. Defining what they were was not something he was prepared to do just yet, but the statement was absolutely true. He wanted her, wanted her in all the ways there was to want a girl. He wanted her by his side no matter what. Wanted to hold her and hug her and kiss her and hell he had just held her hair back while she puked a couple hours ago. His girl. Yeah, that's exactly what she was.
"Yeah, Princess, you're my girl," he murmured as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. It was hard for him putting himself out there. Hard to put into words how he felt, always had been. He was a Dixon after all.
"Good, because that's what I want to be. Yours." She whispered as she looked into his eyes. She smiled at him softly and he was gone.
He pulled her closer, "And you are," he whispered into her hair and he felt her relax and her breathing even out. She had fallen back asleep, right in his arms, right where she belonged.
And right before he closed his eyes he whispered one more thing, into the air, just so he could hear it out loud instead of tumbling about inside his head. "And I'm yours." He thought as he closed his eyes, he heard her sigh and he sighed too. It was true. He was all hers. Beth's. And it felt so right.
Hope you liked this update guys! It's so hard to get what plays in my head to come out on paper with any real clarity like it should. So let me know if I came close to getting this right. This story is just hella fun to write. So let me know how you liked this latest installment. So sorry it's taking me so long to get to this story and my others. I seem to be the lucky recipient of mono! Yuck. Words can't describe how awful I have felt lately, sleep usually winning out on the writing front. I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for all the follows, favorites and reviews this story has received. It's amazing to me, still, that anyone wants to read the drabble that plays around in my head. This pairing has truly stolen my heart and I can't wait for the great reunion! So thanks again, thanks for reading and for all you do to make this experience worthwhile! Until next time, loves, xoxoxoxoxo