Chapter 25

Daryl drove Gabrielle's car to the restaurant they were meeting Rick and Michonne at. It had taken a couple of weeks, but the two couples were finally able to get together to go out. This place was not as fancy as the restaurant in Las Vegas, but it was a step up or three from what Daryl was used to. He even dressed up in the clothes he bought for the wedding and Gabrielle was wearing one of her skin tight dresses that would certainly bring attention to her. It had certainly made his jaw drop and dick twitch when he saw her. It took all of his will power not to rip it off her and take her right there.

"Why again are we going out tonight?" asked Daryl. He was looking for a parking spot at a restaurant he really did not want to go to.

"To celebrate and have fun. They are our best friends and they have been married for six months and…"

"We've been married that long," Daryl stated interrupting Gabrielle. He looked over at his wife and held her gaze. "What we gonna do?"

Gabrielle kept trying to read Daryl, but he made it damn impossible. That stony glare he was giving her did nothing to give away what he was thinking. This was a conversation they both needed to have, but Daryl chose a bad time to bring it up.

"Now, you want to talk about our marriage now? In a parking lot before we meet Michonne and Rick for dinner? Yeah, we need to talk, but not right now." Gabrielle put a hand on his arm as she could see he wasn't relaxing. "I promise tonight after dinner, we'll talk. I just wish that damned condo would sell, but when we get home, okay?"

Daryl knew she was right. Why did he say something now? It had been on his mind for weeks. When she said they were celebrating their friends six month anniversary, he wanted to celebrate too. For the first time in his life, he had something he actually wanted to celebrate. Holidays, birthdays came and went and Daryl never paid attention to them. They were just another day in the Dixon house when he was growing up, but this was different and he felt like being a part of the fun.

"Yeah, I agree my timing sucks, but we should have talked about this already. We've done the dating thing and I think we did good, right? We got married when they did and …we should be happy like they are. A double celebration cause we are married damn it!"

"Oh Daryl, you are right." The passion she was seeing from him about their marriage made her tremendously happy. "I agree completely, so we celebrate both marriages tonight. And later we talk about how this is gonna work and where we can live together? Okay?"

"Yeah, I like that. Let's get inside this overpriced restaurant before they wonder where we are."

They both got out of the car and Gabrielle hooked her arm in his. "Once in a while it's nice to eat a little more upscale. I'm not saying we do this all the time, but just once in a while. I enjoy places like this and so does Michonne."

"Long as it's just once in a while, but at least I get to see you in that dress. Damn woman, you trying to attract every red blooded male in the area?" She was still the hottest woman he had even seen.

"No, Babe, just you. You clean up pretty well too." Daryl had his hand on the handle of the door to open it, but Gabrielle stopped him. "You do realize that we just decided to officially stay married right?"

"Sure did and it's 'bout time, Princess. You've been legally mine for months, now we just gotta live it." Daryl began to open the door, but hesitated. "You gonna change your name?"

Gabrielle gave him a huge smile. "The paperwork is already filled out, I just need to file it." She saw the surprise in Daryl's eyes. "I love you," she whispered to him as she leaned over to kiss him.

"Love you too, Princess." His lips met hers. Daryl was a happy man. She was going to stay his wife and it was time to let everyone know.

They pulled apart and headed inside the restaurant. Gabrielle told the hostess that they were meeting the Grimes' and she took them over to the table. "About time you guys got here," said Rick as he stood up and slapped his friend on the back. "I'm getting hungry."

"Well I was kissing my wife," Daryl said nonchalantly.

Michonne picked up on that immediately. "Does that mean that you both are going to stay married?"

"Yes, it does. We still have details to work out on how and where we are going to live, but we are staying married. It's a double celebration tonight!" All Gabrielle had wanted her whole life was someone to love her unconditionally and she had found him and through all of the craziness that occurred after Las Vegas they worked it out. First thing Monday morning she was filing the paperwork to change her name.

"I am so happy for you both," Michonne told them throwing her arms around Gabrielle who was sitting next to her. "This is definitely a celebration!"

The waitress came over and the newcomers ordered drinks. When they arrived everyone toasted to each other. Much to his surprise Daryl was actually having a really good time. He did not feel too out of place in the restaurant and the menu didn't make him feel like it was written in another language.

They were waiting for coffee when Michonne turned to Gabrielle. "I've been meaning to tell you, your ideas were awesome. I've added some music in the afternoons from people that will work for tips, free food and a couple of books. My quiet time in the café has definitely gotten busier and the ads look great."

"I'm so glad everything helped," Gabrielle told her.

"It doing better than helping, in fact Trish who runs the gift shop a few stores down loved what you did for me. She wanted me to ask you if you could help her too. I told her I'd talk to you tonight." Michonne could see the wheels starting to spin for Gabrielle. "I know you did me a favor, but we may be on to something here. I have a feeling that once people see how good you are at this and the word will spread."

"I've always loved marketing for the small companies better than the big ones like the campaign we did for the Falcon's."

"Atlanta Falcon's the football team?" Rick asked.

"Yes. The company I work for does their advertising and marketing and they are one of the many clients I help handle. But I'm finding out that I really like to work with smaller businesses like Michonne's. This is giving me ideas." She tucked the business card for the gift shop in her bag. Could she make a living working helping small companies with their marketing and advertising? Most did it on their own because if cost, but if she was reasonable it may work. Her overhead would be minimum. Hell, all she needed was a place for her laptop. She had invested in several design programs already and she was good at graphic design. Could this be her answer to leaving Atlanta?

"What's going on in that brain of yours, Princess?" Daryl asked.

"I have a crazy idea that fits into what we are going to talk about later, so let me think some more," she told him. "It could answer everything."

Everyone enjoyed the rest of their evening at the restaurant. When the bill came, Daryl and Rick were going to split it. It was the most money he had every spent on a dinner before, but Gabrielle never asked him for anything in the weeks they had been together, so Daryl wanted to do this for her even if it meant skipping lunch all week.

The car was quiet on the way home. Daryl smiled to himself, he was not sure when he started to consider his little apartment 'their home' but he did. They just had to figure out how to make this work now… that was the complicated part. She couldn't drive in that far to work every day, nor could he. They had to find a middle ground.

Once they were back into the apartment, Daryl didn't even have a chance to ask Gabrielle if she had any ideas for them, before she grabbed his hand and lead him to the sofa.

"If my condo would sell, we'd have more options. I've had showings, but not one offer yet. It's a beautiful unit, it should sell!" she sighed in exasperation. "I could try commuting in, but that's going to be over an hour with traffic."

"No." Daryl said firmly. "I want you with me, but not at that cost. That's too long for you to commute. I'll move to Atlanta and we can come here on weekends. Whadda think?" The last place on earth he ever wanted to live was in a city, but for Gabrielle he'd make that sacrifice…as long as it wasn't permanent. They couldn't afford a bigger place until they sold hers, so finding a new apartment would have to wait.

"Maybe alternate? I don't want you to have to do that every day either. God this sucks!" Gabrielle took a deep breath before she told him about the idea she was tossing around. "I want you to listen to this with an open mind. I think when I sell the condo, I want to quit my job too and move out here."

Daryl looked at her for a minute. Was she serious? He could barely live on his salary, it certainly wouldn't support them both. "And?"

"I'm not positive on any of this yet, but you heard me talking to Michonne about advertising. I love doing what I did for her. I'm going to talk to that other store owner, but I think I want to open my own agency that specialized in small businesses. That's what I enjoy doing." She had said it out loud. Could she actually give up her high paying, now unrewarding job to branch out on her own?

"Whoa, Princess, that's a big step. You sure you want to do that? I thought you loved your job?"

Gabrielle snuggled onto Daryl's lap. "I thought I did too, but this last year, I'm not so sure anymore. They passed me up for a promotion that I should have gotten. The guy they gave it to didn't have my experience, my skills and he doesn't pull in the billable hours I do. Then I started to realize how often my bosses would take the majority of the credit for my ideas. They are using me and stealing my ideas as their own. It's not a fun to place to work anymore. And not to say that work should be fun, but I'm not respected because I am a female and that's not acceptable anymore. At least not for me. I'm not happy there."

There it was out in the open and it was like a weight off her shoulders. She no longer wanted to work at Goodman and Sheppard any longer. It was no longer part of her dream…her dream had changed.

"I'll back you with ever you want to do, even though I was looking forward to being a kept man," he smirked.

Gabrielle swatted his arm. "No you weren't!"

Daryl laughed. She was right, of course there was no way in hell he'd allow that to happen. "What about your friends that work there?" He saw her tense up suddenly. "Princess, what's going on?"

"I've kind of had a falling out with them, it's no big deal."

"Princess. What. Happened?"

Damn, she did not want to tell him, but she was not going to lie either. "We had a difference of opinion."

"That's was it? Bull, what ain't you telling me." Daryl knew she was trying to hide something from him. He nuzzled her neck. "C'mon Princess, there's more."

She hated telling him this. "We disagreed about you."

Daryl chuckled. His fingers lazily caressed her breast through her dress. "They didn't think I was good enough for the long haul, huh?"

"Nope," she sighed. His hand felt so good on her.

"Sounds familiar," he laughed. Gabrielle gently punched him in the arm. "Hey! You can't deny that you were thinkin' that way once too, but my sparklin' personality won you over."

Gabrielle burst out laughing. "Yes, you won me over and let's just leave it at that."

"Well if they don't know a good man when they see one, fuck 'em. You're better off without 'em." It surprisingly didn't bother him that her friends didn't think he was good enough. That's what they get for judging him before they got to know him. He would lay down his life for her and not many men had the balls to do that.

"I agree compleltely. But Daryl?" she said her voice taking a huskier tone.

"Yes, Princess?"

Gabrielle wiggled her bottom that was sitting squarely on his lap. A lap where she had felt an erection growing under her the whole him he was playing with her breast. "You said fuck them, but I'd rather you fuck me."

Daryl got up so fast that Gabrielle almost ending up on the floor, but he grabbed her in time. The next thing she knew she was being carried into the bedroom and when Daryl looked into her eyes she saw the hunger in his. When he put her down she felt the hard bulge in his pants as he pulled her tight against him. It was time to have some fun with her husband.