Like I said. For whatever reason, the wedding chapter just does NOT want to be written. It's really annoying when the chapters won't be written. So I decided to just sit down and force myself to write it. Because most of this chapter has been written half the year. XD PRETTY MUCH JUST THE WEDDING SCENE WASN'T! XD And some editing and I added a few things. But still! UGH! I just didn't want to write the wedding. Nearly just skipped it. I patched bits and pieces from ceremony scripts on the internet anyways. XD So really didn't write anything. 8D

Give Me Reason
Chapter 14: A Thousand Years

In the end, they loaded Merle's freezer in the back of the pickup. They hadn't broached the subject of Daryl's brother being in jail, just that he was out of town. Which wasn't entirely a lie. Because Merle was out of town. James had laughed loudly and clapped Daryl hard on the back. "It's a prank!" The man had said. "Between brothers! What fun!"

Daryl's mouth fell open for a moment and he glanced at Rick. But the cop just shrugged. "Yeah." Daryl said. "A prank."

James smiled and laughed again. "Alright, boys. Gotta drain the main vane." He turned and pointed to the line of trees. "You mind?"

Daryl shook his head slowly, his mouth hanging open a bit. This had to be a joke. This whole thing had to be some monumental joke.

James turned back, looking way too excited. "I ain't pissed in the woods since I was a kid."

Once the man was out of earshot, Daryl turned to Rick and grabbed his arm. "Your dad is nuts!" He hissed,

Rick laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "He is a bit... off. Not sure what's gotten into him."

"Brain leech." Daryl said with a serious voice.

Rick laughed again.

"I'm serious, man." Daryl pressed. Because something was seriously wrong.

Rick reached over and wrapped his arm around Daryl's shoulder. He drew the hunter closer and smiled. "Come on."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

She tilted her head to the side and blinked. Then she tilted her head the other way. After a moment, she shook her head and sighed softly.

Carl heard and turned. "What?" He asked softly, looking at her.

She glanced at him and adjusted Judy in her arms. "Oh nothing, sweetie." She said softly, smiling. "You're getting so tall, sweetie!" She said, standing up straighter. "Another couple inches and you'll be taller than me." She said warmly.

Carl frowned. He hated when adults did that. Like he was too young to understand anything. "No, grandma." He shook his head. "Tell me. Is something wrong?"

She looked at him again. Then turned her gaze back to the front of the courtroom, where Rick and Daryl stood. She breathed out loudly. "I just... I don't mean to sound... judgmental... but couldn't that boy have... dressed up a little?"

Carl turned back to look at them. He smiled as he looked at Daryl. His new stepdad had tried to dress up. The jeans and shirt were the least torn and least grease clothes Daryl owned. He even ironed them. "He did." Carl said, still smiling.

"Oh..." She frowned slightly.

"He's a mechanic nanny." Carl said, looking back at her. "Anything that's not covered in oil or baby food is dressed up for him. He bought a new shirt he was gonna wear... but Judy threw her breakfast on him this morning."

Linda tilted her head and nodded slowly. "So you're saying... he tried?"

Carl nodded. "Very hard."

Her expression softened and she smiled. "How sweet."

Carl let out a soft laugh and held his arms out towards Judy.

Linda smiled and handed the slobbery baby over. "I do believe she's the best dressed of everyone here."

Carl laughed again, louder that time. "Daryl dressed her. He loves all those frilly dressed you send."

"Grandma has good taste."

Rick suddenly turned around and waved them over. James reached over and grabbed his wife's arm and the two of them stood off to the side of Rick. Carl adjusted Judy against him and stepped back behind Daryl.

The judge acted as their wedding officiator. The man smiled at them gently and cleared his throat. "We ready here?"

Rick nodded his head and Daryl promptly stared at the floor.

"Alright." The man approached them and lifted his hands. "Love is the reason we are here. In marriage, we not only say, 'I love you today,' but also, 'I promise to love you for all of our tomorrows."

Daryl started fidgeting slightly. He lifted his hand to his mouth and started chewing on his thumb. Rick quickly reached over and grabbed the man's hand, pulling it back down and holding it between his own.

"Marriage is a precious gift." The man continued on talking. "A lifelong commitment and a challenge to love one another more completely each and every day. Please... join hands... like you already have... and look into each other's eyes."

Rick smiled as Daryl lifted his gaze to his. He could tell the hunter wanted to look away. He was positive it was too much for him. But Daryl didn't flinch or look away or even blink.

The judge turned towards Rick. "Do you, Rick, take Daryl, to be your husband? To live together in marriage, to love and comfort him, honor and keep him, in health and sickness, in prosperity and in adversity, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him, as long as you shall live?"

"I do." Rick answered, the smile still on his face.

The judge nodded and turned to Daryl to repeat the words. "Do you, Daryl, take Rick, to be your husband? To live together in marriage, to love and comfort him, honor and keep him, in health and sickness, in prosperity and in adversity, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him, as long as you shall live?"

Daryl nodded his head.

Rick let out a soft laugh and leaned forward a bit. "You have to say it."

Daryl breathed out and nodded his head again. "I do." He mumbled.

The judge nodded. "Rings?"

"Yes." Rick turned slightly and glanced at Carl. The kid shifted his sister in his hold and pulled a small box out of his pocket. He stepped closer as he opened the box. He pulled the two simple, gold sings out of the box and handed them over. Rick looked down as he rolled the ring between his fingers. He smiled as he slipped it on Daryl's finger. When it came to Daryl's turn, the hunter's hands shook a little. But he quickly shoved the ring on Rick's finger and breathed out.

"In accordance with the laws of this great state of Georgia and with great joy, I now pronounce you... husband and husband." The judge said. "You may kiss... the husband."

Daryl stiffened slightly and Rick smiled. He leaned forward and pressed a quick, chaste kiss to the hunter's lips. And then Judy promptly let out a squeal, spoiling the moment. Daryl looked relieved at he turned and grabbed her from Carl. He looked over at the judge. "We done here?"

The man smiled and nodded.

Daryl turned to Rick. "Gonna go change her." He grabbed the diaper bag and pointed at Carl. "Come on."

Carl frowned slightly as he moved to follow Daryl. "What for?"

"You're standing guard." He answered.

"Guard for what?"

"Women's restroom."

Carl's eyes widened. "You can't go in the women's restroom!"

"They got them changing table things." Daryl said. "And I ain't taking yer sister in the men's."

Rick let out a laugh as the two disappeared down the hall. Then he turned towards his parents, still smiling. It may have been a quick and weird ceremony, but he was really glad they had come. "Thank you for being here." He said, stepping closer to them. "Thanks for changing your minds."

James tilted his head slightly. "Changing our minds?"

Rick nodded. "I know you were upset with me about Lori and everything."

They exchanged a quick look. "We were never upset, sweetie." Linda said.

Rick frowned. "You weren't?"

She shook her head quickly. "I'm so sorry you thought that!"

Rick opened his mouth slowly. "But... then why... after I told you... you never called anymore and you only visited once..."

"Wasn't cuz yer gay, son." James said bluntly. "We were fine with that."

"Fine?" Rick gasped out.

"Honey." Linda smiled and reached out to pat him on the shoulder. "We already sort of knew."

Rick's eyes widened. "You knew?!"

James shrugged. "We thought you were in love with your friend Shane when ya'll were younger."

Rick's mouth fell open.

James smiled and clapped him on the back. "We were concerned back then. We talked 'bout it lots. But then you met Lori an' got married an' thought maybe we were wrong."

Rick blinked at them for a moment before shaking his head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Then... then why? I thought... do you know what I've been through this past year? I thought you two hated me!"

Linda's eyes widened and she hugged her son quickly. "Oh no, honey. We never meant that. We just..." She pulled away and looked at her husband. She let out a sigh and looked back up at Rick. "We've been going through a lot. We just didn't want to trouble you."

Rick frowned. "Trouble me? With what?" They shared another look and now Rick was getting really worried. "Mom, dad! What's going on?"

"Cancer." James said bluntly. "Pancreatic cancer. Didn't wanna start worrying anyone until we had a timeline. Wasn't well enough to travel a lot for a while. But I'm doing fine now."

"Cancer..." Rick repeated slowly. He glanced at the sad smile on his mom's face and then back at his dad. "I don't understand..."

"Honey." She said warmly. "We'll talk all about it later, okay?"

James nodded. "Don't let this ruin your day."

"But..." Rick started.

James shook his head. "Later."

Rick let out a sigh and nodded his head.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

They were out to dinner afterwards. Some family place that wasn't too fancy. It was really nice and homey and the food was good. By the time they got home, it was getting late. Daryl gave Judy a bath. Carl took Jessi outside to run her around and wear her out. Rick spoke with his parents about his dad's cancer treatments. And then it was bed time. Carl took Judy to her room. Linda and James settled down in Carl's room. And Rick and Daryl retreated to their own.

Rick was smiling. Annoyingly so as he watched Daryl walk into the room. Daryl pulled the door shut and turned to frown at him. "What?"

Rick shrugged. "Just happy."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Yer annoying."

"Sorry we can't go on a honeymoon."

Daryl let out a laugh and shook his head. "Don't need that fancy shit. Just need yer ass in the woods."

Rick smiled again as he stepped closer to Daryl. He threw his arms around the hunter's neck and pulled him closer. "Baby, you can have my ass in the woods."

Daryl's face colored slightly before a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Meant the camping trip with the kids this summer." He mumbled out.

Rick shrugged slightly and touched his forehead to Daryl's. "We'll sneak off when there're asleep. Go roll around in the dirt ourselves."

Daryl let out a contented sounding sigh. "I'd like that."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Daryl was sitting in the backyard. The dog was in his lap and a beer was in his hand. Three days. It had been three whole fucking days! Family time was getting a bit much for him. It just felt weird to him. All this happy positive shit in the air. So much love and laughter and accepting and the fucking hugs! It was too much. He was going crazy! He'd only seen families like this on the TV. Full House and the Brady Bunch and shit like that. And they had nothing on the Grimes. And Daryl just felt like he was mucking up their pristine image.

He sighed heavily as he lifted the bottle to his lips. The cold liquid felt good, felt normal, felt comforting. All of this had started with a beer.

The door opened and closed behind him. "Daryl, honey. There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

The grip on the bottle tightened as he let it fall from his lips. Jessi shifted and looked up at him. Damn empathetic dog. He pushed her out off his lap and made to get up.

Linda started towards him and waved her arm.

Jessi immediately tried to jump on her. Daryl grabbed her quickly and hauled her back. "Down, Jessi."

She smiled gratefully at him and then waved her arm again. "Sit back down." She said sternly. "You finish your beer. I want to talk to you." She hesitated for a moment, looking down at the ground.

"Can get ya a chair." Daryl mumbled.

She tilted her head for a moment, then shook it. "No." She sat down slowly, folding his legs up under her.

She was about a foot off to his left. Too close for a stranger. But Daryl had to remind himself, she wasn't a stranger anymore. Well, mostly not a stranger. Daryl fought the urge to step back away from her. Instead, he sat back down in his original spot. He pulled Jessi into his lap again.

Linda smiled and reached out to pat the dog on the head. Now Jessi was content and settled down. "Alright." Linda said after a moment. "I know you're not a big talker. That's fine. You can just listen, alright?"

Daryl nodded stiffly.

"Good." She smiled. "Don't be mad at Richard. He didn't go into details. But he eluded to you having a rough childhood and... that your father wasn't the best."

Daryl let out a grunt and took another swig of his beer. "Understatement." He mumbled.

She smiled again. "Now... I will admit when Richard first said he was getting remarried... I had my doubts. And then seeing you..."

Daryl stiffened a bit. She reached out and patted his leg gently. And Daryl stiffened even more.

She smiled. "You were just... the complete opposite of everything. And that's not bad!" She added quickly. "Just different." She shook her head. "I don't mean to sound too harsh. Am I coming off too harsh?" She hardly paused, certainly not long enough for him to actually answer. "Lori, we thought they were a good match."

Daryl squirmed a bit.

"Because Ricky told us they were." She continued on. "High school sweethearts and they were so in love." She sighed and shook her head. "Not saying she's a bad woman. She's the mother of my grandchildren and she'll always be family. But... I could tell Ricky wasn't happy. I don't know how long... but for a long while. And the gay thing never bothered us. We sort of always knew he was gay. Or into both." She shrugged slightly.

Daryl started chewing on his thumb. He felt beyond awkward.

"We never imagined he'd want to get remained." She continued on talking. "He just seemed so miserable through the divorce. We just thought he'd never want to chance something like that again. And then out of nowhere, he calls and says he's getting married. To someone he's just met. We didn't even know he'd been dating anyone. We were... surprised, I guess. After being with Lori for so long, we couldn't picture what sort of man Ricky would bring home."

Jessi let out a soft whine, vying for attention. Daryl lifted his hand and touched her head.

Linda smiled. "You are a little rough around the edges. But you are a good man, Daryl. If you weren't, Ricky wouldn't have picked you. You are strong, smart, caring, and gentle."

Daryl let out a snort and shook his head.

"You are." Linda said with a nod. "With Carl and with Judy. Carl's done nothing but talk my ear off about you. And I've seen you with Judy. They way you look at them kids, just like your own."

"They are." Daryl mumbled, his voice barely audible.

Linda smiled again. She studied him for a moment longer. "Now." She started, breaking the silence. "You've listened to an old woman ramble and prattle on long enough. My whole point was that we're a big, happy family. And you've probably noticed I'm pretty touchy feely. I understand your personal space and I will try to remember to respect that. But I'll probably forget. I also tend to talk a lot. In both cases, just feel free to tell me to back off and shut up. Alright?"

Daryl nodded.

Linda smiled. "Okay. You give me a hug and I'll leave you alone. I promise."

Daryl pushed Jessi off his lap again and scrambled up. He held out of hand and helped Linda up. Then he just stood there, staring at the ground. "Not good at this stuff." He mumbled.

She smiled again and stepped closer. She quickly threw her arms around him and drew him into a tight hug. "That's alright, sweetie. I'm terrific at it." She patted him on the back and then pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before she pulled away. "We're family now, alright? You need anything, you let us know."

Daryl nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

She turned around and frowned at the kitchen door. "Richard!" She snapped loudly, stepping towards the door. "I saw you!"

The door opened and Rick stepped out, smiling. "Mom! I was just... looking for you..."

"You were not, Richard!" She said tersely. "You were trying to spy."

Rick dropped his gaze to the ground, looking a bit ashamed. "Sorry, mom." He mumbled.

She smiled at him and gave him a quick hug and pat on the back. Then silently went inside and shut the door.

Rick kept his gaze on Daryl as his mother had her exit. He stepped towards the still man. "Hey." He said softly.

"Hey." Daryl grumbled out.

Not to be forgotten, Jessi pushed in between them and mouthed at Rick's hand. Rick glanced down at her and smiled. Then lifted his gaze back to Daryl. "You okay?"

Daryl nodded quickly.

"Mom didn't scare you off?"

Daryl rolled his eyes and shook his head. "If all'a this hasn't..." He pointed towards the house. "Nothin' will."

Rick let out a laugh and reached for Daryl's hand.