Chapter 25

Daryl passed by the house he, Rick, Carl, Beth, and Judith had been living in for the better part of three months. He glanced up at his bedroom window, but knew Beth wasn't there. She said she was going to Maggie's and he knew that's where he would find her. Daryl walked down the street, turned left at the stop sign and saw Maggie and Glen's house two houses away. Determined, he marched right up to the front door. He knew it was late, but he didn't care. He had to talk to Beth. He knocked on the door loudly. He waited a few minutes, but nothing happened.

"Beth!" He shouted. He knocked again. "Come on, Beth, I know you're in there. Please. We need to talk." Still the door didn't open. He slammed his fist against the wood. He didn't care if he woke all the neighbors. He was determined to see her. "Beth!"

The door opened with a jerk. Maggie was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

"Go home, Daryl," she said.

"That ain't gonna happen. I gotta talk to her, Maggie."

"Well, she doesn't want to talk to you," Maggie replied. "Just go, Daryl. It's late."

"Please. I know she's angry. I know she doesn't want to see me, but I need to tell her something, Maggie. It's important."

She shook her head. "Just…go."

Maggie began to close the door. He put his hand out, stopping her.

"I know you don't understand us, Maggie. I know you think I'm not good enough for her and I think you're right, but…"

"That's not true, Daryl. I've always believed in you from the moment I saw you two together at that funeral home. You're the only one who believed you weren't good enough for her. I never thought that. Not until tonight. Not until you turned her away."

"I'm sorry. Please, Maggie. Let me see her. Let me tell her how sorry I am. Please."

Maggie took a deep breath before opening the door wider.

"If you hurt her, I'll…"

"I'll never hurt again."

"She's upstairs."

Daryl stepped into the house, bypassing Maggie. He saw Glen standing just off to the side, ready to jump into action if need be. Daryl nodded at Glen before starting to walk up the stairs. He had been to Maggie and Glen's house enough times to know that their bedroom was to the right. There was a second room to the left. When Maggie had first brought Daryl, Beth, and Carl to the community, she insisted Beth stay with her. Even during the week where they had to go through their trial period and were watched twenty-four hours a day, Maggie had been setting up the second bedroom of the house for Beth. When Beth, Daryl, Rick, and Carl were done with their week-long observation, Maggie made it clear that Beth was coming home with her and Glen. Beth, however, made it clear that she wasn't going anywhere without Daryl. After some arguing, Maggie finally backed down. She still wasn't one hundred percent sure what happened to her little sister, but she knew that Daryl had a hand in making her better. Maggie wasn't about to deny Beth the one thing that made her happy. Even though they seemed like an odd pair, somehow Maggie could see that Beth and Daryl just worked together. She sure as hell, though, wasn't going to let him hurt her. That was where she drew the line.

Daryl stopped outside the spare bedroom door and took a deep breath. He hadn't really had time to think about what he was going to say, but he knew one thing was perfectly clear. He was going to tell her how he really felt about her, no matter the consequences.

Daryl raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"I said I'm fine, Maggie," Beth's voice floated through the door. Daryl could tell she didn't sound fine.

"It's not Maggie," he responded.

"Go away!" She shouted.

"I can't do that, Beth. We gotta talk."

"I told Maggie not to let you in. Go away, Daryl!"

"I have things I need to say."

"You said everything I needed to here before. There ain't no point in talkin' now."

"That's not true. There were a lot of things I didn't say. Things I should have said. Come on, Beth, just let me come in."

Daryl knew if he wanted to, he could just open the door. It probably didn't have a lock on it and, even if it did, he knew he would have been able to break down the door if he wanted to. As much as he wanted to go inside, though, he didn't want to force his way in. He wanted her to agree to him going inside.

Daryl waited, wondering what her response would be. He had no knowledge of what to do in the current situation. He had never been with a woman long enough, or cared about a woman enough, to be in that situation. If he was ever with a woman and they started to argue, he would usually just walk away because he didn't care enough to stay and fight. Plus, there was never much to fight about when most of his relationships were one night stands. Beth, though, was different. She was worth fighting for.

"I'm tired and it's late," Beth finally said. "Just go home."

"I'll stand here all night if I have to, Beth. Just give me a chance to explain."

"No."

"Please. Don't make me say what I gotta say through this door. I want to be able to look in your eyes when I say it. Please."

Perhaps it was his finally please or the fact that Beth really did want to know what he was going to say because the door slowly opened. She was standing in the doorway, her face pale and her hair a mess. Even her eyes looked red as if she had been crying.

"What do you want to say?" She asked.

"You want me to say right here in this doorway?"

"I could close the door again," she said firmly. She was in no mood for his games.

"Ok. Fine. I'm sorry 'bout earlier. I know it wasn't my place to tell Rick what happened. But you gotta understand, Beth. He's like a brother to me."

"That's what you came to apologize for? For telling Rick?"

"Yes…" She began to close the door. "But that's not all! Please, just let me come inside."

Beth finally backed up, allowing him entrance into the room. She put her hands on her hips, much like the stance Maggie had when she opened the door. Daryl closed the door behind him and stood several feet away from her. As much as he wanted to hold her in his arms, he also wanted to give her the space he knew she needed.

"Well…" Beth said, tapping her toe impatiently.

"I ain't very good with words. And I'm worse with expressin' my feelin's," he began.

Beth rolled her eyes. "You can say that again."

"When the prison first went to hell and we got separated from everyone else, I didn't know what to do. I felt like it was my fault, like I hadn't done enough to save everyone. But you showed me that wasn't true. You saved me from myself, Beth. And those first few nights at the funeral home, I started thinkin' 'bout what it would be like if it were just you and me forever. It scared the hell out of me."

"Because I'm not strong like Maggie or a fighter like Michone?"

"No, because I was startin' to like it. I was startin' to get used to it. It was like we were playin' house and it felt normal and good and…I just knew that was wrong."

"Why? Why'd it have to be wrong?"

Daryl shrugged. "Just did. Then that night…when the walkers came and you were…gone, I broke. I looked for you for as long as I could, but I couldn't find you and it hurt. It hurt more than losing the prison. I didn't wanna go on anymore, Beth. There was no reason to, but I did." He paused. "Through all this, you have been constant. You have been the thing worth living for. And that feeling has grown every day."

"You say I'm important to you, but you don't treat me that way, Daryl. You treat me like you don't want me at all."

"That ain't true. When we got here…when I saw how the world could be, the idea that we could live somewhat of a normal life, I realized something."

"What?"

"That you could do so much better."

"Daryl…"

"There were other people here. People your age. People who are good and kind and don't have all that…shit I got in my past."

"I don't care about your past."

"Face it, Beth, if this were the real world without any walkers, can you imagine two people like us bein' together? Can you imagine us makin' a life together? I sure as hell can't. We're different people, Beth. Different to the core."

"That don't mean it can't work."

"I kept tellin' myself that you deserved better. That I should let you go. That's why I was keeping my distance from you during the day, but it was harder at night. I know you think you need me to chase your demons away when you're sleepin', but I need you, too."

"You don't need anyone Daryl."

"That ain't true anymore. You ain't the only one with nightmares, Beth. And being with you, holding you, made me feel like nothin' was wrong. Made me feel like I could do anythin', like nothin' could hurt me. It was selfish. Pushin' you away in the daytime and holdin' on to you at night. It was pure selfishness."

He stopped, gathering his next thoughts. He knew what he needed to say next. Three words that he had never said out loud before.

"Is that all you came here to say?" Beth asked quietly.

"No." He walked towards her. When he was only inches away, he grabbed her hands and held them. "When you told me you loved me, I didn't know what to say or how to act. No one's ever said that to me before. Not my mother or my father or Merle. And certainly no woman."

"Oh Daryl, I'm sorry."

"Don't. Don't feel sorry for me. I didn't know how to be loved, Beth. I didn't know what that means. And I sure as hell didn't know what it means to love someone. But when I saw you walking out, when I realized that was it…that I could lose you, I figured it out. I figured out what it means to love somebody. So I came here to tell you, Beth Green, that I love you."

A tear slid down Beth's cheek. Daryl caught it with his thumb.

"And I love you," she said.

He leaned down, resting his forehead against hers.

"I don't ever want to lose you," he whispered.

"Daryl?"

"Mmm?"

"Kiss me."

He cupped the side of her face with his hands and bridged the gap between them. As her arms looped around his neck, their lips met. It was slow at first, each of them testing the waters. Daryl didn't want to push her too far too fast. It was Beth who made the first move by slipping her tongue into his mouth. With every second, their kiss grew in intensity. With their lips still connected, Beth tugged on his shirt. She walked backwards, taking him with her. She didn't stop until the back of her legs connected with the bed. She fell back and he went with her. On instinct, his hands began to roam. He started at her waist and dragged his hand under her shirt up her torso. When he felt her bra, he suddenly stopped and pulled himself off of her.

"What is it?" Beth asked, propping herself up on her elbows. She suddenly missed the feeling of his lips and his body pressed down on hers. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. It's not you."

"Then what?"

"I don't. I don't want to go to fast, Beth. I don't want to hurt you."

"You could never hurt me."

She grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, revealing a simple, white, cotton bra. It was nothing compared to the lingerie she was wearing the night before, but in Daryl's eyes, it was ten times more sexy.

"I'm trying to be a gentleman here," Daryl protested.

"Well stop."

"Beth…"
"I love you. And you love me. And that's all I need to know. I want to know what it feels like to be loved, Daryl. Not like it was…before. Make love to me, Daryl."

He knew he couldn't say no. Not when she spoke like that. He walked back over to her and showed her the kind of love he had never shown anyone before.

Author's Note: I hope everyone is breathing a sigh of relief or squealing with delight. I loved, loved, loved this chapter. More happy Bethyl to come! Don't forget to let me know what you thought!