Chapter 12

She was standing on the roadside, waiting for something. What it was, she didn't know. She just knew that she was shaking and nervous, like something bad was about to happen. She had a terrible feeling of dread wash over her and she felt sick to her stomach. She saw the approaching lights around the curve. She somehow ended up standing in the middle of the road and watched helplessly as the motorcycle came careening around the bend and took the curve too fast, spinning out of control and flipping end over end, tossing its driver into the ditch by the road. Everything after that happened in slow motion. She walked over to the man lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood trying to absorb what had just happened. The man was staring up at the sky and it was then that Beth realized that he was dead. Daryl was dead.

Beth sat up in the bed, her heart pounding out of her chest and she began to cry. Tears streaming down her face, sobs wracked her entire body. She had lost him but she didn't know why. She had thought she had prevented the accident. She thought she had saved him, but she was wrong. She could not fathom a world without him in it. She couldn't imagine him not kissing her again, not holding her again. Her chest hurt so badly she couldn't breathe and she was certain that her very heart was breaking and she would never be the same again.

Daryl heard gut-wrenching sobs from where he was in the living room flipping through channels, finding absolutely nothing on television. He couldn't imagine what had her so upset but he went running into the other room. She was sitting up in the middle of the bed, tears streaming down her face and she was crying so hard he wasn't sure she was breathing properly.

Crying females had never been his penchant and he didn't figure this one was going to be any different. What he wasn't prepared for was the sight of her crying tugging every single string on his heart until it ached. He rushed to the bed and sat down beside her.

"What's wrong Beth? Are you sick?" He looked at her and he knew he must look like a deer caught in headlights. He couldn't figure what was wrong with her and she was completely unintelligible as she clutched at his shirt as she clung to him as if her life depended on it. She leaned her head on his chest and continued to cry and Daryl put his arms tentatively around her, wondering what in the hell was going on. He pulled his phone from his back pocket and dialed Maggie's number. She answered on the second ring.

"Hey Daryl. Everything okay?" Maggie asked and she sounded a little out of breath.

"Not really. She's crying and I can't understand her." Daryl tried to keep the panic out of his voice but he pretty much figured he was failing miserably judging by Maggie's response.

"Dixon, you better not have done anythin' to make her cry." She said, trying to keep her tone even.

"I didn't, I swear!," he said as Beth continued to sob into his chest, leaving wet places where her face rested. He didn't care. He just wanted her to stop crying.

"What were you all doing right before she started crying?" Maggie asked.

That made sense, thought Daryl and then he wanted to kick himself. It seemed to be the dipshit response he was having more and more often here lately where Beth was concerned. He thought maybe he'd better read up on transitioning angels so he could figure out what to do, what not to do, and how to recognize when a former angel was having a painful human experience.

"Never mind Maggie, I think I know what it is." He almost smirked into the phone. "She had a dream. She had just woken up." He pulled back a little to look at Beth.

"Is that what this is all about?" He asked her gently, putting a finger under her chin, tilting her face up to look at him.

Beth nodded at him miserably as she continued to cry. Daryl had never seen such sadness in her eyes. Hell, in anyone's eyes.

"What do I do, Maggie?" Daryl pulled Beth back against his chest. He had not one fucking clue about how to comfort a sad woman.

Maggie still sounding out of breath and now a little impatient now that the "crisis" was over, finally replied. "That's easy. She just needs something to make her feel better. Get some take out and rent a pay-per-view movie. Something cute. Something romantic." She said, emphasizing the last word and Daryl knew that was specifically for his benefit.

Daryl groaned. "A chick flick?" he complained. This was not how he had planned on spending his evening. Then again, he figured all his plans went out the window when he got involved with Beth. He wasn't complaining. It just was so.

"Yes, something really romantic. Do you have Genesis Cable?" Maggie asked him.

"Yeah, why?" Daryl was hesitant to ask many more questions lest he end up spending the evening painting Beth's toenails or braiding her hair or some other girly shit.

"Go to channel 423. It has all the good romantic ones. Just pick any of them. She's never seen anything so she'll love whatever you pick."

"Okay, thanks Maggie," Daryl hung up and put his phone on the bed. This shouldn't be too bad, right? All he had to do was get her to stop crying and follow Maggie's instructions.

"You okay, Princess?" He crooned as her sobs finally started to subside into pitiful hiccups. She finally pulled away from his chest and looked up at him.

What he saw there nearly wrecked him. Blonde hair, messy from sleeping again, cheeks stained with tears, her eyes pale and watery and looking right at him. "You wanna tell me what your dream was about?" He whispered encouragingly.

Beth nodded. "It was awful. I have heard of these dreams before. Nightmares I guess. But I never knew how bad it could be." She started crying again and he reached up and wiped her tears away but they seemed to be falling faster than he could catch them. It was a hell of a thing, to want to help someone but helpless to do so.

"Yeah I used to get them once in a while." He said, the tiny white lie sliding off his tongue and tasting bitter. He got them all the time now. He had always had nightmares. He couldn't remember a time when he didn't. "I still do sometimes," He amended, hoping she didn't ask what his were about, but he was willing to bet she could guess, given all that he had told her. It still amazed him that he had spilled the details about his childhood so easily to her, something he had never done with anyone before.

She sniffed back her tears as she used her sleeve, his sleeve, to wipe the rest of them and the ensuing snot from all that crying from her face. His heart ached for her then and she was so beautiful he was nearly speechless.

Beth looked at Daryl as she spoke and told him of the dream. She told him how she'd been helpless to do anything, the opposite of how it had happened in reality. She told him how she felt when she realized he had died. She started crying again then, the thought of it threatening to overwhelm her again. She wiped furiously at the tears wanting to get the rest of the story out. "Why did it end differently in my dream than it did in real life?" Beth asked, her face a mask of anguish. At some point during the story, she had reached for his hand and their fingers were linked. He gave his fingers a slight flex, squeezing her hand before he answered her.

"I guess it's something the mind does. It takes the things we are 'fraid of the most and builds on it. Of course, sometimes it's the other way around. It takes the things we love and creates scenarios." God, Daryl, you sound like the biggest fucking idiot. A week ago he was sitting at home, drinking a beer and watching The Fast and The Furious. Here he was a week later, comforting this perfect angel and spouting some psychobabble. He knew she hated for him to refer to her as that, but he couldn't help it. Even if he didn't know she was an angel he'd want to call her that. She was the epitome of a heavenly being in his book, with her ethereal beauty and otherworldly personality.

Beth nodded and smiled a little. Daryl heaved a sigh of relief. He had been starting to worry that he would never see that million watt smile again, but there it was making him smile in return. Her smiles were contagious that way. Hell, everything about Beth was like that. She was kind of like a drug, he decided. And if that was the case, he was definitely addicted.

"So what did Maggie say?" She asked him, but not letting his hand go.

Daryl's brow creased then. "She says I gotta order us take-out and watch a movie." He said.

"Oh?" She asked. Now she was curious. She trusted Maggie's judgment. She wondered what she and Glenn were doing then thought better of it. It was probably better that she didn't know what they were doing.

"Yep. The only problem with that plan is there is no take out place that delivers way out here." He said.

Beth chuckled a bit at that. It was one of the most remote places in the county probably, besides the Greene farm. "Didn't you say you made something?" She had thought that Daryl had said he would make something for them to eat when she woke up from her nap. "What time is it?" She asked.

He laughed then, "It's almost 5 pm." He smiled at her incredulous look. "Lunch has long past," he teased.

"I slept the whole day away." She complained. She still couldn't get over how tired she was. She moved her hand up to her hair and frowned. "I really need a shower." She mused.

Suddenly, just with her words Daryl's train of thought changed course. His mouth went dry at the thought of her in his shower, naked. Of course she'll be naked you dumb shit. Still the thought of her stripped down to nothing, the water sliding over her body, glistening and wet, had him thinking things he knew weren't a good idea, especially if they were taking things slow now. Why was it he had suggested that again? He must be out of his mind. Suggesting to take things slow when the very thing he wanted to do was lay her down on this bed and make love to her all night. Love. Yes, he knew that's what it was. It was the only thing that could explain how he was feeling. How he just could sit here all day talking to her, holding her hand like nothing else mattered. Daryl thought about that for a minute. Nothing else did matter really. Merle was god knew where at the moment. His father was gone. Everything he wanted and everything he needed were wrapped up in this one person. He looked her over then. "You're so damn beautiful, Beth." He had to say it. Had to tell her, just in case she didn't know. Beth was the kind of girl that ought to be told she was beautiful and told often. He hoped he'd always be able to tell her that.

Beth blushed and snorted at his remark. "I'm a mess." She thought of what she had just said then and it reminded her of him saying that she was his mess, his girl and she got goose bumps all over again. She marveled at how mere thoughts could cause such a tremendous physical response.

Daryl sighed, thinking he'd better go find something for them to eat. "Why don't you go take that shower. I'll go find somethin' for us to eat and we can watch that movie."

Beth nodded and smiled. "Thanks Daryl and I'm sorry." She said smiling at him shyly.

"For what?" he asked looking down at her, wondering at her sudden shyness.

"For making me feel better." She said it so innocently that Daryl felt that tug again at his heart. It seemed like it should be the bigger things that made him realize how he felt about her. Instead it was these moments that were so tiny on the surface but they meant something so much deeper to him. He wondered if it was the same way for her.

Overcome with emotion he leaned his head down, capturing her lips with his, pulling her bottom lip into his mouth, suckling softly for a moment and then releasing her. ""S not a problem." He said finally before getting up to leave.

"The towels are in the closet in the bathroom. Help yourself to anythin' you need." Daryl left it at that. He decided that it would be better if he didn't know the particulars of her time in the shower.

It was making his head hurt the way his thoughts kept switching back and forth. One minute he wanted her, the next minute he wanted to wait for that part of their relationship. Add in the fact that he had no fucking idea what he was doing here and he was pretty sure that was the perfect recipe for a headache.

Some soup and grilled cheese sandwiches filling their bellies a little while later, they settled down on the sofa to watch a movie. Daryl flipped to the channel Maggie had recommended and he and Beth scrolled through the list of movies together.

Beth yawned, feeling frustrated again with her fatigue. She hoped she would be able to make it through a movie. A title of a movie caught her eye. "What about Pretty Woman? That sounds interesting."

Daryl laughed a little at that. "Nah not that one, Princess." He continued to scroll figuring that a movie about a businessman falling in love with a prostitute might not be the best way to break Beth into the world of movies.

"The Notebook", Beth said. "An old man reads a story from his notebook to a woman in a nursing home. Watch the story of the timeless tale of a forever kind of love." Beth read the description and promptly let out a little pleased whining sound. "Aww, that sounds good. Let's watch that one." She sat up straighter as if the decision had been made.

The Notebook, huh? Well it looked harmless enough. This genre wasn't exactly his cup of tea but for her, he'd watch anything. He figured if she wanted to watch nothing but static and snow on the television screen, he'd be game for that too, so long as she was sitting next to him. He turned back to the T.V. and made their selection. Beth moved to settle against him and he moved his arm to accommodate her, draping his arm over the back of her shoulder.

They watched in silence as the story unfolded. After a while, Beth started making noises every so often, just little whimpers and sighs. He guessed she was enjoying the movie and that was what mattered. He begrudgingly admitted to himself that Maggie had been right. This was just the thing that was needed to cheer Beth up a bit and take her mind off things.

"Oh!" Beth exclaimed. Daryl looked over at her to note that she had brought her hands up to her mouth and she looked like she was holding her breath.

The guy on the screen, the main character, was speaking to the woman and they were standing in the pouring down rain. They were fighting again and the rain was pelting down all around them. Suddenly the girl moves in and they are kissing like mad. The next scene they show they are in bed, completely naked. Daryl should have expected this from this type of movie but he wasn't expecting anything quite so hot, so intriguing and so very unlike anything he had ever done with anyone. They were slow and tender with one another and he felt himself heating up from the inside out, extremely aware of Beth sitting right next to him and wondering if she was having the same response.

"This is what I was missing all these years?" The girl on the screen was elated and it showed.

"Pause it!" Beth exclaimed.

Daryl reached down for the remote, clicking the button to freeze the frame. "What is it, Princess?" Maybe she had to go the bathroom, he thought, thinking about the 8th wonder of the world that was the size of women's bladders.

"What was she talking about? What had she been missing?" She looked at him, puzzled, gesturing to the television screen.

Daryl chortled a little bit then balked as he realized he was going to have to actually answer the question. He took a deep breath, hoping he could explain this the right way. "Well, it could mean a couple things. Maybe she's a virgin and she ain't had that-" He paused and flushed, wondering how in the hell he could say this without sounding like a total loser. "She may not have ever had that kind of pleasure before." He was pretty pleased with how that had come out, even if his face was still flushed and she was staring him down like he held all the answers in the world. He wasn't used to this, someone looking to him for things.

"Oh", Beth's felt her face fire up red and again felt exasperated at this weird emotion called embarrassment. When they had sat down to watch a movie, she had never in a million years expected it to lead to a conversation like this. She realized she was secretly glad it did. She knew what pleasure was. She just hadn't ever seen it played out in a movie before. Hadn't really thought about it at all. Now, it seemed to be all that she could think about. "You can go ahead and play it." She remarked as she settled back against his shoulder.

They watched the remainder of the movie and when it reached the end, Daryl was insanely worried that they had picked the wrong movie because it was really sad at the end. The old couple dying in their bed together was nearly Beth's undoing and as the movie ended, he found himself looking at her apprehensively.

Beth sniffled and wiped at her tears as the credits rolled. "That was really good." She had never had such an emotional response to something before. She was happy one minute, upset the next, and then these tears came, confusing because she was so happy that it was their love story being told and they got to die together wrapped in each others' arms, a testament to their great love. She hoped when she and Daryl got old that they could go in much the same way.

The thought struck her then. Did she love Daryl? Her head was spinning with the day's activities but one thing was clear. She couldn't imagine anything differently for them than ending up together, rocking on the front porch, their grandchildren playing in the front yard. She couldn't imagine sharing those moments with anyone but him. She thought back to her dream. Beth had the thought then that if something happened to him, she didn't know what she would do, how she would keep on breathing.

"It was good. I actually liked it." It surprised him that he had liked the movie. It wouldn't have been anything he would have picked out to watch alone.

Beth sat up, still leaning against him, not wanting to move. Not wanting ever to move. She looked up at him and he looked down at her and he closed his eyes and she closed hers in anticipation turning her face up towards his.

Daryl didn't miss that hint. He'd been dying to kiss her for the past two hours. If he was really honest with himself, as soon as their lips parted from one time to the next, he was dying to kiss her again. He wasn't sure he would ever get enough of Beth's lips, how her mouth felt on his, how she tasted, and most of all how he felt when he was kissing her. He pulled apart and leaned his forehead against hers, steadying his breathing, knowing it was useless. Until she was his, completely his, he knew he'd not breathe easy. It wasn't the suffocating kind of breathlessness, this love he had for her. Instead it was the kind that took your breath away but it was instantly replaced with something else. He knew without a doubt that he was filled with love and he knew that he couldn't hold it in any longer. He pulled back and looked at her for a long moment.

"Beth, I-" He lost his nerve then, her looking up at him, and he was sucked in and lost again. Lost to control anything. Lost to himself. Lost in her. "I think I love ya." It felt so good getting it out and his breath left him all at once.

Beth looked at him in surprise. She had never thought he'd say anything like that to her. She knew how emotionally closed off he had always been. So for him to admit something like that was major. Her heart was pounding out of her chest as she rushed the words out, "Oh Daryl, I love you too." She pulled him to her, grasping the back of his head as she held onto him, never wanting to let him go.

Daryl didn't know how long they sat there on his sofa, holding onto each other, embracing the moment, embracing each other, but he knew one thing. He had thought that love was something for other people. Something to tie you down because that's what it had done to his folks. Instead he found it was something quite different and it surprised him. In falling in love with Beth, he felt something he had never felt before. He felt free.

Whew, finally! I am so so sorry it has taken me so long to write this update. You guys know I love this story as much as you guys do. It's been crazy lately and perhaps I shouldn't have started another AU but I couldn't resist. Hope you don't mind too much. I am hoping to get back on a regular writing schedule this next week when children go back to school. Fingers are crossed. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing always even you awesome guest reviewers. So great to hear from you guys. Feel free to PM too if you want to clear anything up or just ooh and ahh over Bethyl. I am always happy to fangirl over them. Additionally, please check out my Bethyl blog on Tumblr – sassygirl42. Okay guys, I'm off to write another update. Don't know which one yet. Haha So, until next time, xoxoxoxoxo