Two weeks later

Saturday morning Daryl was excited. His long work week was over and he knew that the next one would be short – he'd only work 2 full days before heading to Georgia and then on to Florida to see Beth. Today was moving day. He'd found a new place for them to live, something bigger and brighter and much more accommodating. And luckily for him, through some miracle that he still couldn't quite believe, the rent was unbelievably low. Carol had come through for him again, finding him a wonderful little house, which he knew Beth would love. When Carol first showed it to Daryl he immediately knew it was just right for the two of them.

After the last letter from Beth, Daryl felt more confident than ever about his and Beth's relationship and their future. He'd spoken to Hershel again, a few times actually, and he'd felt increasingly comfortable with the relationship he was slowly developing with him, as well. It was amazing, Daryl thought, how Hershel could be so nice and understanding, open-minded and kind, while his brother was completely the opposite. He was glad that Beth's uncle was out of their lives, at least for now – he and Beth didn't need anything else coming between them. They'd had enough struggle for a lifetime, he thought, and all he wanted now was for them to settle into a happy and quiet life, together.

Daryl knew he had a long day ahead. He'd packed up all the things from his apartment, which he was somewhat grateful now weren't much. He planned to have breakfast and shower, and then load his things up and head over to the new place, which was only a few minutes away. Hershel had insisted on coming up to help him and he was bringing up a small U-Haul trailer full of furniture for their new place. Daryl had offered multiple times to come down to Georgia to get those things, but Hershel had insisted that he'd bring them, insisted that he needed to come and help Daryl get things situated at the new place. And while Daryl didn't think that was necessary, he was incredibly grateful that he was coming to help with getting Beth's things from her uncle's house. That was still an uncomfortable place for Daryl and while he planned to go and help Hershel with the things, he knew he would have had a difficult time going alone, if her uncle would have even allowed it at all. He knew he'd have done anything for her though, no matter how uncomfortable it made him.

Beth. She preoccupied every part of his mind. He'd never known it was possible for someone to be so deep under your skin that you couldn't escape them, couldn't get them out of your head, even if they were so many hundreds of miles away. He couldn't wait to see her, to wrap his arms around her and not let go. And mostly, he couldn't wait to tell her that he loved her, actually say those three words that had been running through his mind almost constantly since she'd been gone.

After his breakfast and shower, Daryl packed up his truck with his things. He realized he hadn't checked his mailbox since Thursday. He'd had his mail forwarded to the new address, but knew he needed to clear out anything left in the box. He anxiously walked out to see if he'd gotten anything, really just hoping for one last letter from Beth. He knew she always would write on Wednesdays, but this last one would be the last possible letter. He couldn't help the smile that formed across his face when he saw the now familiar envelope. Unlike the last two times though, when he'd ripped into the contents before he could even move back towards his apartment, he decided to save it. For some reason he thought he'd wait until tonight, when he'd gotten more settled into their new place. Her last letter, he thought, should be read in their new home. And he needed to get moving to the new place, Hershel had already called to tell him he was close, and Daryl thought that Hershel might even beat him there. So he needed to get moving.

The move in went surprisingly easy for Daryl. He was amazed at the beautiful furniture that Hershel had brought for him and Beth to use in their new home. It was absolutely perfect for the style of the house and he couldn't wait to see the look on Beth's face when she saw it all. It was definitely her style, mostly antiques, and it was hard for him not to smile like an idiot looking at all of it, thinking about its origins, and how close he felt to Beth in this new space. He had quite a bit of work to still do to make everything ready for her to come home, but he thought he was confident he could get it all done on Sunday.

Daryl kept an ever-growing list of things he felt like they needed but didn't have and he knew he'd have to plan another trip to Wal-Mart to get them. He thought back to the last trip he made, and how drastically things had changed since then. He knew this trip would be so much more hopeful and he was even a little excited thinking about going and picking out things for them, things for his new home with Beth.

He and Hershel had worked diligently to pack up all of Beth's things from her uncle's and move them into the new place. Daryl had unpacked most of them, but was anxious about unpacking everything. Beth should have a say in where her things went, he thought, but he also reasoned that she could move around whatever she wanted. He didn't want her to come home to a bunch of boxes, so he finally decided it'd be best to organize things as best he could and worry about how she liked it when the time came. He'd decided to put her things into the master bedroom, but to put his own in the neighboring bedroom, at least until he and Beth teased out their sleeping situation. He so desperately hoped that she'd want to share a room with him, share a bed. He wanted to be as close as possible to her now, especially after what they'd shared before she left and the weeks they'd spent apart. But Daryl wasn't naïve to Beth's need to continue her healing and he didn't want to push anything on her. He'd decided that it'd be best for her to choose when and if she wanted to share a room with him. And he was content with that.

Daryl couldn't wait until Beth saw the house, and all of their things there. Her father had kept the house a secret, by Daryl's request, so that it would be a surprise for her when they came home from Georgia. She knew she'd be living with Daryl, but knew nothing about the new house he'd found for them. And he found himself almost giddy with excitement thinking about how excited she would be to see the new place.

Time passed by quickly and by the time Hershel and Daryl made it to a good stopping place for the day the sun was already sitting very low in the sky. Daryl insisted that Hershel stay with him overnight, even though that hadn't originally been Hershel's plan. But the older man agreed and the two decided to go out to get a quick bite to eat before calling it a night. At dinner they discussed plans for the coming week, for Beth's release, and the days before and after.

She would be released early on Thursday, August 21st. Daryl had continued to communicate with Tyreese about what was going on with Beth. Earlier in the week Hershel indicated to Daryl that he thought he should go with the family to Florida and Tyreese had been incredibly gracious and encouraged Daryl to take a few days off to go down to Florida to be there for Beth. It was an incredibly long drive and Hershel had invited Daryl to come to their home in Georgia first and ride with their family to pick up Beth. Daryl was a bit anxious about this plan, but he agreed, knowing that it really was best and that it seemed to mean a lot to Hershel. Because of the time frame and the length of the drive, Daryl planned to head to Georgia late on that following Tuesday night before Beth's release. He'd spend the night at the farm and then they would all head to Florida on Wednesday, spending the night in a hotel there so that they could be at The Healing Place early on Thursday morning to pick Beth up.

Hershel had indicated that both Beth's mother and her sister Maggie planned to go with them to go pick up Beth. This made him the most anxious – thinking about the 6-hour drive to Florida with almost all of Beth's immediate family. He knew the drive home wouldn't make him as nervous, Beth would be with them and he guessed that much of the car conversation would focus around her. But the drive down to Florida was another thing entirely and he just hoped that Beth's mom and sister would be as open-minded about him as her father had been. He was hopeful that they would be.

He and Hershel also discussed what would happen in the days after Beth's release. She was scheduled to start her student teaching on Monday, August 25, and the proximity of that to her release date from the program had given Daryl a bit of anxiety. He wished Beth would have a little more time in between, although Hershel suggested that perhaps it would be good for her not to have a lot of down time. And Daryl thought that made sense. The tentative plan was for the family and Daryl to return to the farm on Thursday and for him and Beth to spend the night there Thursday and Friday before leaving early on Saturday to come back to Hilton Head. Daryl was pleased with this plan – it would give Beth a couple of days to spend with her family, and it would give the two of them a couple of days to start to settle into their new home before she had to start with school.

After they arrived back at the house, Hershel excused himself to the third bedroom, which he and Daryl had set up as a guest room. Daryl was surprised that he didn't really feel tired, so he decided to sit on the couch for a while and relax for a bit. He grabbed a beer and thought back on the day. He couldn't help but feel great about how everything had fallen so easily into place. It felt a little too good to be true, but he was optimistic about things and told himself that he couldn't worry about how good everything was. He'd spent too much of his life waiting for the other shoe to drop – and he wasn't going to do that now, not with Beth.

All of a sudden he remembered Beth's letter, which he'd placed, with his other mail, on the bar in between the kitchen and dining room. He quickly found it in the pile, taking it back to the couch. Just as he was opening it, Hershel reemerging.

"Just getting a glass of water… Don't let me bother you." Hershel said.

"You're no bother…" Daryl said, starting to focus on the letter. "I got a last letter from Beth… thought I'd read it now".

Hershel got his glass of water, but then stood in wait, in anticipation of a report from Daryl about the contents of the letter, wanting to know that Beth's letter suggested that she was doing okay. Daryl knew he had a stupid smile on his face, but as he started to read he didn't really care.

But the smile started to fade as he started to read the letter. And he wondered how in the world he'd explain to his girlfriend's father the reason that her words gave his body such an extreme physical reaction.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Daryl,

It looks like my time here is getting short. And almost all I can think about now is getting back to you, back into your arms. I was spoiled before – all those nights of cuddling and touching, though it all seemed so innocent then. My thoughts aren't innocent anymore though, baby. I can't wait to be with you again. I can't wait to go to bed with you every night and wake up with you every morning. And so much more… I'm not sure I'd ever have the courage to tell you this in person. So I'll just write it for you now. To let you know, while we're apart…

I've been thinking about you… there's so much I can't help but replay in my mind. Like that time we shared together before I left. The way you moved over me, going in and out of me, making me cum harder than I ever have before. I can't wait to do it again, Daryl. I think I could spend the rest of my life doing nothing but that, nothing but making love to you, and I would be so happy. You were so soft and gentle then, so loving. And the look on your face when you came inside of me... it was amazing. And how you touched me, my tits, my pussy, it was unbelievable. I didn't know that I could feel like that. How do you know what to do, how to touch me like that? Even that first time that you touched me, that Friday night that seems so long ago, when I freaked out and ran you away – even then you seemed like a master of driving me crazy, pushing me right to the edge. I remember how unbelievably wet I was then. Wetter than I've ever been in my whole love.

I think about that night a lot too. That night when everything really first started. When I realized how crazy about you I really was. I think about you driving me crazy on the car ride home... you must have known what you were doing to me, but you were just working me up into a frenzy weren't you? And when you finally ran your hand under my shorts, when I'd begged you to touch me... I thought I'd died and gone to heaven then. Do you remember when you said you wanted to taste me? God. I think about that all the time now, play those words over and over again. I can't help but think about what that would be like, what it would feel like. What it will feel like. Because I want it now, baby. I want you to taste me so bad. And I want to taste you. I've never done that before, never put my mouth on a guy's cock before. And no one's ever licked me before, licked my pussy. But I want you to. And I want to do that to you. I want you to be the first one I share that with… and the only one.

You're the only one, baby… the only one.

I never thought I'd say these kinds of things. And maybe I never will say them out loud. But I think about it so much now. I'm just waiting to be back with you. Waiting. That first time we had, it was more than anything I have ever had before, more than I knew was possible to feel with someone else. I wanna do it again and again and again. Every day. All the time. Is that crazy? I've even daydreamed about you coming home at lunch time for a sandwich and sex. And I don't wanna just do that, but I wanna know what it's like not just for you to make love to me, but for you to fuck me. God, I'm so wet right now just thinking about that. Thinking about you just letting go, hammering into me so hard that I'll be sore the next day, giving me a reminder of how hard you fucked me, how crazy we make each other, how intense our love is.

I know sex can be really kinky and that some people are really into that. I never have been. It always made me feel embarrassed to think about some of those things. But I don't feel embarrassed with you. And I think I understand now why some people get so into trying new things. Because that's how I feel now. I want to be with you every way I possibly can. I want to show you how much I love you in all the ways that are possible – and ways that I don't even know about yet. I hope you'll want that too. It's okay if you don't.

They're telling me I have to go now. I'm sorry to cut this short. I'm so wet thinking about you, baby. And it won't be long until I'm back there, right next to you. I came here because I'd gone a little crazy, but I'm going crazy now without you. I need you.

I love you. I'll see you so soon.

Beth