A/N This chapter has two prompts working, one from my girl Kevkye who wanted Merle to spoil Beth a little after she'd been overworked and housebound because Edith had the flu – I built on that one. The other from a guest reviewer who wanted Merle to get a little jealous – I get there - but didn't want Merle to think Beth had done anything wrong. I appreciate the prompts very much, and I hope you're both pleased, and I hope all y'all enjoy.
Six Months Later
The entire region had been plagued by a terrible influenza epidemic for weeks. Beth had gotten it right at the start and she hadn't fully recovered when Tommy and Suzy had both come down with it, fortunately they were all finally starting to recover.
Beth had been running herself ragged. Edith had been off work for three weeks; four of her five children were also battling the virus, as was her Aunt who watched the children while she and George worked.
Beth knew she'd been spoiled by having Edith. The woman did so much for her and her family, in fact, they all felt she was part of their family.
The proof of how much they all depended on her had really been driven home when they had to get by without her.
Beth did feel as though it wouldn't have been nearly as bad if she herself hadn't gotten so sick. But when she first became ill, it seemed it was all she could do to take care of the children, and that hadn't been easy with her feeling so weak.
She'd let a lot of things go, the deep cleaning, any laundry that wasn't essential, and there were certainly no dinners that were anything beyond basic. She couldn't leave the house, so Merle had gone back to being the family shopper, getting just what they needed to get by.
Michonne had felt bad she couldn't come, but she was just too concerned about Ben, and felt that she and the boy were better off staying in the woods, away from people in general until the epidemic had passed, and Beth agreed completely.
Lori had wanted to help, but Beth was too afraid she or her children would come down with this terrible bug, so she'd told her not to worry, she could handle it, to just take good care to keep her own family healthy.
And just as Beth was starting to feel better, both of the children came down with it. Taking care of two sick children was a full time job on its own.
Beth knew her home had never looked so bad, and she was half horrified at how the laundry was stacking up.
Merle may have been more help, if he were ever home, but his two most critical employees had been fighting the illness for nearly three weeks. Axel's wife said she thought he was finally on the mend, and that that he was hoping to be back in a week. Tara's roommate, who Merle was pretty certain was really her girlfriend, had said nearly the same thing about her, probably back in a week.
Needless to say, Merle was pulling triple duty, trying to do his own job, work Axel's bay, and be the office manager, at least taking care of the critical things.
He had almost no time off. He was at the shop before 7:00 a.m. and hadn't been getting home until 8:00 at night, six days a week. Sunday's he had breakfast with his family, then went in for a few hours to try and get the paperwork caught up.
When he was home he was so exhausted he just wanted to take a quick shower and get some sleep, and Beth was the same.
Their love life was non-existent, they hardly saw each other. No evening chats in the living room after the children went to bed, no breakfast together in the morning, and certainly no lovemaking. They both kept telling themselves it was a temporary problem, that everything would right itself soon. But that didn't replace the closeness they were both missing.
For now, it was a quick kiss goodbye in the morning, and a quick kiss goodnight as they fell into bed.
Beth felt sorry for herself, her children, Merle, Edith and Edith's children. But she worried most about Merle. She knew he would work himself into the ground if he thought that was what it would take to keep the business up and running smoothly. He didn't just worry about his own family, he knew his employees also had families to care for, and he felt responsible to provide for them. They were all good workers, Merle didn't tolerate slackers. He paid well to attract and keep the best. All of his employees were top-notch, and having the two best of his employees out sick was definitely presenting a hardship. Beth loved that he was such a good person, but still, she worried about her husband.
Sunday came and despite both of them being overly tired, they were awake long before six. Merle reached for her and they made mellow, quiet love. Not their usual passion-filled display, but certainly something more than they'd had between them in a while. They were happy for the chance to just hold onto each other and express their love both physically and verbally.
The children started to wake shortly after and they just smiled at one another, at least they'd had a little time for each other.
With Merle keeping the children busy, Beth took the time to make a big Sunday breakfast of sausage and eggs with biscuits and gravy, and for the first time in a week they were able to sit down as a family and enjoy breakfast together.
She asked Merle if he would mind waiting to go to the office while she had a bath and got her hair washed, and just took a little extra time to get herself ready. She hadn't expected him to say "No" and he didn't, and she was thrilled to just sink down in the warm bubble bath while he tended the children.
She came out of the bathroom with her hair done up, a little make-up on and one of his favorite dresses.
He smiled at his wife, "Darlin' I'm the luckiest man in the world to have such a beautiful wife to love me, and I love ya."
She walked over to him, put her arms around him and gave him a kiss, at which point Tommy said, "Ewww."
Merle looked at him and said, "Nah son, kissin' yer Mama ain't 'ewww' it's the best kissin' in the world."
And then he was off to work again. At least he would be home at six to have dinner with them. Right now, she couldn't ask for any more than that.
She did manage to catch up on some laundry, and the house was more presentable. She made a beef stew because she knew it was one of Merle's favorites, and she just kept telling herself that in another couple of weeks, things would be better. Merle's employees would all be back to work, Edith's children would be well and all of them would be so much happier.
Monday morning they went right back to their routine of Merle eating a quick breakfast of eggs and grits, giving her and the children a quick kiss, and being out the door at 6:45 a.m.
Edith called later that morning to tell her she expected to be back to work the following Monday. They caught up on what had been happening with Beth and Merle, and how Edith, George and their children were faring.
Merle called to tell her not to bother making dinner for him; he didn't expect to be home until at least 10 that night. Another employee was out for the day. Thankfully it wasn't the flu, so Merle expected it to only be for the day, but still, it would be extra work for everyone else. Beth felt concern for her husband but he assured her all was well.
Zach had overheard the Sheriff's wife telling him she felt just terrible for Beth Dixon. That she'd had the flu, both children had the flu, and Merle was working long hours seven days a week because he had key employees out with the flu. She was worried Beth was overburdened with responsibility and had no one to help her. She hadn't wanted Lori to come for fear she or her children would get ill, and the housekeeper was home with her own sick children.
Zach hadn't gotten over his attraction to Beth. Every time he saw her out with her husband at the diner, at dances at the grange hall, at church on Sunday, he couldn't deny the feelings it stirred in him. She was the perfect woman, that was all there was to it.
He made up his mind that the next day he'd stop by her house on his lunch break, just to see if there was anything he could do to help her out. And it was an excellent excuse just to see her and talk to her.
He knocked on the door and when she opened it she smiled, "Well hello Zach, what brings you by?"
"Hi Beth, I know you and the children have been sick, and I heard Merle's having to put in a lot of hours, I just wondered if you needed me to do anything to help you, you know, maybe run some errands, go to the store, anything at all," he smiled a big friendly smile.
"That's so thoughtful of you Zach, it really is, but we're just fine thank you, Merle and I are managing to keep our heads above water and looking forward to next week when things should start getting back to normal," she smiled back, about that time Tommy ran up beside her and tugged at her skirt, "Mama, can I have lemonade now, please."
Beth smiled and said, "Yes, Tommy," then she looked to Zach, "Can I pour you a glass? The children and I were going to sit out here on the porch, Tommy and Suzy could use the fresh air. They were housebound a long time." She didn't really want him staying around, but she was a hospitable southern woman.
"Sure, that would be great, thanks," Now he was practically glowing.
Beth sat Tommy in one of the chairs and promised to be right back. She brought glasses of lemonade on a tray, then went back in and got the baby.
It was a lovely day and they were all appreciating being on the porch drinking the lemonade and enjoying the mild weather.
Merle was missing his family. Everyone had been sound asleep by the time he got home last night, and he'd barely taken time to wolf down his breakfast this morning before leaving again.
The shop was closed over the lunch hour and he'd decided he was going home to see his family, even if it was just for a short time, dammit, he missed them.
Not too many things could have surprised him more than pulling in his driveway to see Rick's young deputy, Zach, sitting on his front porch drinking lemonade with HIS wife and children. Merle wasn't happy, but he wasn't going to make a scene in front of his family.
As soon as he got out of his truck and started toward the porch, Zach rose and made to leave. He looked at Beth and said, "Thank you for the lemonade, Beth, it was delicious. Remember, if there's anything you need, feel free to call on me," then he looked at Merle, nodded his head and just said, "Merle."
And Merle nodded his head and just said, "Deputy." But inside Merle was seething.
He went to his wife and kissed her cheek, tousled Tommie's hair, and picked up Suzy and gave her a "daddy hug."
Beth was smiling at him, "It's such a treat to see you during the day Merle! Can I fix you a bite to eat?"
And he smiled back and said, "Sounds good, I am mighty hungry, lemme just help ya." Tommy followed his Mama and Merle carried Suzy back in the house.
She was fixing him a meatloaf sandwich and he was getting Tommy a peanut butter jelly. He tried real hard to sound unconcerned when he asked her, "So, what did the deputy want?"
Beth wasn't blind to Merle's feelings or his moods; she knew he was angry, not at her, but at Zach. She tried hard to make it sound as innocent as she felt it was, "Oh he was just being very thoughtful Merle, he heard the children and I had been ill, that you were working long hours at the shop, so he came by to see if there was anything he could do to help me out. You know, like run errands and things. I told him we were getting along just fine." She smiled and leaned up and kissed his cheek.
What Merle thought was, that fuckin' little bastard, I'ma kick his ass right up between his ears, but what he said was, "Yeah, that was real thoughtful."
He ate his lunch with his family, kissed them all good-bye again, gave his wife a hug and said, "I'll be home just as soon as I can, love ya Darlin'."
And she smiled and said, "Whenever you get here, I'll be here waiting for you. I love you."
He did go back to work, and he busted ass. The shop officially closed at 5:00. He locked the doors but kept working, he'd wait until he was sure the little bastard was home. He'd seen the way Zach looked at his wife, he knew the kid had heat for her, and that was okay, he couldn't rightly blame the guy for that, but as far as Merle was concerned, the little deputy had crossed a great big line and he wasn't havin' it.
He took off for the kids' house at 6:30. He knocked on the door and Zach answered, he was out of uniform now, which Merle thought was probably a good thing.
He could tell the kid was a little shaky when he saw who it was, but he tried to act blasé, "Hey Merle, what're you doing here, is there something I can help you with."
"As a matter a fact there is sumthin' Deputy. You can help me, and you can help yerself by staying the fuck away from my family. Don't ya come on my property again unless its official Sheriff's Department business, got that?" Merle was steaming.
"Well now Merle, there's no call for you to be upset, I was just there to offer assistance as a friend, I know you folks have had a rough go the last few weeks, and I just wanted to help if I could."
"Kid, that's the biggest load a bullshit I've heard in a long damn time. I see the way ya look at my wife, I ain't no dummy. I told ya a long time ago, she's my peach. I meant it then, and I mean it now. I don't care who yer working for and what kinda law enforcement job ya got, ya come around my wife again yer gonna wish ta God I'da just shot ya cuz it'll be a pain ya ain't ever gonna get over. I take care a my own family, don't need the likes a you offerin' help. Ya crossed the line and I ain't ever forgettin' it. I'll be watchin' ya."
And Merle left a nervous Zach standing on the porch. But as he got back in the pick-up he got to thinking, maybe he wasn't doing enough for Beth. Yeah, he was the breadwinner and all, but her job was just as stressful as his, and probably tougher. Here's this young buck wanting to make her life easier, what was her husband doing for her? He got an idea, and just maybe he could make it work.
He stopped by Rick and Lori's house and asked the big favor. "Y'all know Beth's had her hands full, I ain't been able ta help out much, no one has. Now she and the children are well, I wanted ta do sumthin' nice for her. I's wonderin' if ya could see yer way ta have the children spend the night Saturday. I'd like ta take her out for a nice dinner, just the two of us."
Lori gave him a big smile and said, "I'm so proud of you Merle, congratulations on being a thoughtful husband. I would love to have Tommy and Suzy for a night, and so would my children." Rick just grinned and shrugged his shoulders, because as you know, Rick may be the Sheriff, but Lori's the High Sheriff.
Then he went home to his wife and kids, because he just needed to look at her, to hug her and to tell her he loved her.
He'd call from work the next day and make dinner reservations at that fancy restaurant over in Kupets, about 15 miles away, then he'd call the florist and order a dozen long stem red roses. He was hoping she'd agree to wear that garter belt and those silk stockings, he smiled to himself, he thought she probably would.
When he got home he went right to her and wrapped her in his arms. "I love ya Lil Darlin', love ya more than anythin'. I's wonderin' if I could take ya on a date Saturday night, take ya out for a nice dinner. I got a baby tender for the children. What ya say Darlin', will ya go out with yer husband?" He kissed her neck.
She giggled and said, "Well that sounds perfect, there's no one I'd rather go on a date with than you."
And she was thinking, I'm sure I'll never see Zach again, but if I did, I'd thank him for getting me a date with the best looking man in town.
A/N Well I hope that filled the bill. I'm always happy to get prompts, and if I can make them work, I will. Thanks for reading, please review xo