I love, love, love this chapter. I hope you enjoy!

…

Chapter Twenty-Five.

Beth doesn't want to say anything, but Daryl is acting very weird.

He had left for a moment and has now been back, sitting next to her on the couch, for almost five minutes now and hasn't said a single word. He's just looking at her and even though she loves when Daryl looks at her, this is slight disconcerting. Lucy is quiet in her arms, sucking on her pacifier, and she can hear the muffled music coming from the party in the backyard, but inside of her apartment, it's quiet. She looks at Lucy and then to Daryl, waiting for him to speak – figuring that he wants to say something, but he remains.

"Whew!" Beth then lets out a quiet exclamation and a slight laugh as she smells her daughter and less than a second later, Lucy begins crying.

Beth stands up and carries her into the nursery, setting her down on the changing table. Being a mom for a couple of weeks now, it's still amazing to her how such a little, adorable thing can create such a disgusting mess.

She changes Lucy's diaper as quickly as she can, doing her best to not gag. Moms do not gag.

She wipes her and sprinkles her with baby powder and then puts a fresh diaper on her. "There," she says, smiling, proud of herself, and Lucy has stopped crying. "You, baby girl, are no longer Ms. Stinky. Let's keep it like that for a while," Beth teases her, giving her a light tickle on her stomach and Lucy gives her a smile from behind her pacifier.

From the corner of her eye, Beth sees Daryl standing in the doorway, watching her, and she turns her head, giving him a smile. He doesn't smile back and he's back to staring at her and she really has absolutely no idea what he's doing or why he's acting so strange all of a sudden and deep down, she begins to feel a slight clamp of cold.

He's been so good over the past couple of weeks since Lucy was born. He comes over as much as he can to see her and the baby, even though he doesn't want to impose on her family being here as well and he's already helped change her diaper and burp her and he's just been so wonderful. It's been overwhelming, but at the same time, it's been so frightening as well, because she just can't believe that a man – a handsome and successful man like Daryl – would so willingly tie himself to a single mom and a baby who isn't his.

Is that why he is so nervous? Is this the moment when he tells her that he's done?

Stop it, Beth, she swiftly scolds herself. If he didn't run away during the labor and delivery, he won't just leave now when she's changing a diaper. Daryl's not going anywhere and she needs to stop being always afraid that he is. She loves him and he loves her and she needs to just have faith in that and believe that it will last because after Lucy, Daryl is the best thing to ever happen to her and just like she reminds him, she needs to remind herself.

Daryl is nothing like Aiden.

She loves him and believes in him and the most important thing – she trusts him.

A lock of her hair has fallen into her face as she buttons Lucy's onesie back up and before she can tuck it behind her ear herself, she sees Daryl from the corner of her eye moving his hand and he tucks it for her himself.

"Thank you," she gives him a smile and she lifts Lucy back up into her arms. "What's wrong?" She then feels brave enough to ask.

"Why do you think somethin's wrong?" Daryl asks, the slightest frown pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Well, you're frowning," she then says with the tiniest of smiles.

"Yeah, but that's got nothin' to do with you," he says with a slight shake of his head and his hair falls into his eyes and it's Beth's turn to brush it away for him. Her hand lingers on his face and he's staring into her eyes and Beth can't look away from his.

"Thank you," Beth finds herself saying quietly to him.

"For what?" He asks, still frowning a little, but this time, there's a little crease between his eyebrows and Beth knows that that's because he's a little confused with her words.

"For being here," she clarifies, again with that same small smile.

"Ya know there's nowhere else I'd rather be than here," he says quietly and his ears turn red as if saying such a thing has embarrassed him terribly; even though it's exactly what Beth needs to hear from him.

Daryl lifts his own hand now and there is the slightest hesitation before his hand comes to a rest on her cheek. Beth smiles at him and can't help, but tilt her head into his palm. He brushes his thumb lightly across her skin.

"Tonight, after the party, do you think your folks would mind if you went somewhere real quick?" He asks her then.

Beth feels laughter bubbling in her throat, but she manages to swallow it down. She doesn't want Daryl thinking that she's laughing at him.

"I don't need my parents' permission to go somewhere," she tells him and after a moment of staring at her, Daryl smirks a little and his hand slowly falls from her cheek. "Where are we going?" She then asks as they leave the nursery and head back into the living room.

"'s a surprise," is all he says.

"No hints?" She asks, smiling wider now. A surprise? She has absolutely no idea what it could be. She doesn't need anything and he certainly doesn't need to be giving her a surprise.

"You can wait," he tells her and they head towards the patio door, Daryl reaching past her to slide it open for her first. The music and noise of the party flows over them and Beth stands in the doorway, looking up at him.

"You're being mean to me," she said with a fake pout and he smirks again.

"No, I ain't," he informs her with a shake of his head and Beth can't help, but laugh a little and Daryl smiles. His hand goes to her lower back and together, they go back out to the party for the rest of the afternoon.

…

She has been brimming with excitement and anticipation for the past few hours and she can hardly hide it. She gives Lucy a kiss and then another and another because she hasn't been away from her baby girl ever since she was born and she knows she won't be gone that long at all and she'll be perfectly fine with her mom and dad, but still, she kisses Lucy and hugs her and promises her that she'll be back soon, very aware of the fact that she's acting as if she'll be gone for days, rather than just an hour or so.

At his pickup truck, Daryl opens the passenger side door open for her and Beth practically skips, climbing up.

"You're actin' a lil' crazy," he points out to her.

"Shut up," Beth replies with no bite and she can't stop smiling. "I'm excited," she then states the obvious to him.

"It ain't nothin' to get excited over."

"I'll be the judge of that, Daryl Dixon."

Whatever this is and wherever he's taking her, she knows it's going to be great. She has no doubt and it's simply because it's Daryl. He may have no faith in himself, but lucky for him that she has all of the faith in the world when it comes to him.

Daryl pulls out of the parking lot and drives down one of the residential streets and within a minute, he is pulling into the driveway of a house. Beth leans forward in her seat to look. It's a small house with a covered front porch, a porch swing hanging from the roof, plenty of windows that would allow the sun to pour in and a fence in the back that has been knocked down.

"Are we rescuing another kitten?" Beth asks and Daryl tries to give her a little smile as he gets out. She opens her door, but Daryl is hurrying over to hold it open for her as she slips down, her eyes set on the dark house in front of them.

The roof is stripped of shingles and she knows that he and Tyreese usually start there.

"Ain't nowhere close to bein' finished. We just started on it, but I wanted to show it to you and see what you think of it."

Beth stands in the driveway and looks at it for a moment. She then looks to Daryl with a smile. "Can I see inside?" She asks.

Without a word, he takes her hand and leads her towards it.

She has no idea why Daryl has brought her to this house, but she's not going to assume. She has an idea – a hope – but she is not going to leap to conclusions until Daryl tells her himself. Still though, it feels like she has just swallowed a handful of butterflies and they are all in her stomach now, fluttering everywhere, trying to get out again.

He leads her up the steps of the front porch to the front door. It's dark, but he has a little flashlight with him and he turns it on.

"So this is the front porch," he says. "It ain't that big-"

"It's perfect," Beth feels the need to jump in. "Are you keeping the porch swing?"

"Yeah. Karen's gonna do her thing with it. Refurbish it and repaint it and when me and Ty are finished with the roof, we're gonna get new hooks so it hangs good and strong there."

Beth smiles at that. "You should also put hooks so a person can hang plants or flowers."

Daryl looks to the porch and gives a nod. "I'll let Karen know."

He takes a key from his pocket and unlocks the front door though the door seems so warped and old, she can't imagine that a lock would keep anyone from coming in here if they really wanted to.

"You'll put on a new front door?" She asks.

"Yeah," Daryl nods as they step into the front entry hall. "Karen's got a few samples, but 's up to me to make the final pick."

Beth feels the butterflies momentarily stop their fluttering. "Why do you get final pick?" She asks, knowing that Karen usually makes all of the cosmetic decisions with their flips.

And she holds her breath, waiting for the answer, hoping it's the answer she thinks it is.

"'cause 's my house. I bought it," he states and she bursts into a smile.

"Daryl, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" She lets go of his hand so she can throw her arms around his shoulders. She hugs him tightly and she feels him hugging her back, his strong arms squeezing around her waist.

She closes her eyes, reveling in the warmth and strength of his body, and she can feel his nose in her hair, smelling her. She wants to keep hugging, but she also really wants to see the rest of his house and Daryl seems to be able to read her mind.

"C'mon," he says with a final squeeze of his arms around her. "Got a lot to show you and I'm gonna wan' your opinion on all of it."

"Why would it matter what I like? It's your house," she says, but he doesn't answer her.

She would have loved to see the house in the daylight, but with the flashlight and the light from the streetlamps outside, she can see enough. It is a house that was built in the twenties – hardwood floors and a fireplace in the living room to the right of the front entryway and the room has a large window that she walks to with a smile, looking out over the front yard that is just a dust field at the moment.

"It's going to be so beautiful, Daryl," she says, smiling, turning back towards him and he is watching her intently. "I can picture everything."

"How do you picture it?" He asks, soft and almost gruff.

The butterflies are flapping insanely now.

Beth swallows. "I would put the couch here," she says and steps to the space in front of the fireplace. "On cold nights, you can sit here with hot chocolate and watch the fire."

She is quiet and Daryl hasn't stopped looking at her.

"Wha' else?" He prompts.

"The coffee table… here," she points to in front of where the couch would be. "And the armchair here and the bookcase you have would look perfect against this wall."

"I was thinkin' of putting the flat screen above the fireplace," Daryl speaks. "Karen and Ty tell me that people do it all the time and it saves space."

Beth falls quiet, looking at her. Daryl doesn't have a flat screen television. She does.

Her breath catches in her throat, but still, she doesn't want to assume. Maybe he plans on buying a new television to replace the ancient box with rabbit ear antennas that he has.

"Come on," Daryl says. "More to see." He takes her hand again and leads her into the dining room. "You like this fixture?" He asks, shining the flashlight over the fixture that will hang over where the table will be.

Beth looks at it for a moment and then shakes her head. "Not really."

That makes Daryl smile a little. "Good. Can't stand this fixture either."

She laughs a little at that and he leads her into the kitchen next – not that there's much to look at. There's no appliances and the cabinets have been gutted and ripped from the walls.

"I was thinkin' white," Daryl says. "White cabinets and I was thinkin' of usin' the same white subway tiles from the kitchens in the apartments."

Beth takes a little spin around the room. "White would be perfect in here. That way, you can use any colors you want for your towels and accessories."

He smirks a little at that, but doesn't comment. He points to the window instead that is above the sink and overlooks the side of the house. "And the sill's big enough for herbs."

Beth stares at him and doesn't say anything.

Daryl looks towards the back door. "And I'm gonna make sure the back deck is fixed up for cookouts and the backyard is fenced in so Dot's got a good, safe place to play."

"Daryl," Beth manages to whisper his name, but she can't say anything past that.

Daryl turns his head back towards her. "You ain't figured it out yet?" He asks.

Beth wishes there was a counter for her to lean against. "I… I think so, but I…"

Daryl slowly steps towards her and doesn't take his eyes from her. She feels like she can't breathe and she does her best to remind her lungs to inhale and exhale as Daryl comes to a stop right in front of her and she tilts her head up so she can keep looking into his face.

"I'm askin' you and Lucy to live with me in this house and I'm askin' you to marry me."

Beth has never done it before so she can't be exactly sure, but she's pretty sure that she's just swooned. Her head feels light and the floor seems to have shifted beneath her feet.

"That's a lot of questions and you haven't actually asked me any of them yet," she is amazed with herself that she's able to say all of that.

Daryl looks at her and smirks a little and then reaches into his pocket. "How do you wanna do this?" He asks and his brow is furrowed and he looks suddenly very unsure about it all.

"Do what about what?" Her head is still spinning.

"I've got a ring to give you, but I don't know if you want me down on one knee or not. Never proposed before and I don't know what I'm doin'."

"You… a ring?" Beth swears that all oxygen has completely left her body.

Daryl pulls his hand from his pocket and he holds up the ring, pinched between his index finger and thumb. "It ain't that big. I didn't think you'd want some giant rock on your finger, but if you do, I can change it."

"Don't you dare," Beth rapidly shakes her head back and forth as she stares at the ring. It is a silver band with a small, square cut diamond perched on top.

It's beautiful and it's perfect and ever since she was a little girl, she's been imagining her engagement ring and how the man would propose to her. There would be roses and candles and in all of her daydreams, she's never actually seen the man, but that had hardly mattered. As long as the ring and surroundings were beautiful. And he would get down on one knee and profess his undying love for her and ask her to be his wife forever and ever.

But she has grown up so much – in more ways than one – and she doesn't need any of that anymore. She doesn't need roses or candles or a picnic spread out before her that she had been led to by horseback. She just needs this. Daryl, standing with her in a kitchen that's falling down around them.

She just needs Daryl, who loves her and her daughter and there's nothing more in this world that she can ask for more than that.

He takes a deep breath. "Beth, will you mar-" Daryl begins to say, but that's all he gets out because Beth stands on her toes, throws her arms around his neck and kisses him.

…

Clarence Meeks, newest employee of the Burger King in Baker for the past two weeks, stands a little taller when he sees his next customer approaching the counter.

"Welcome to Burger King. Can I take your order?" He asks with a smile.

"Yes," Beth beams back. "Whopper meal, please, with a Dr. Pepper. Clarence, this is my sister, Maggie, and she will have a…"

"Whopper meal for me, too, with a Sprite," Maggie orders with a smile.

Clarence hits the buttons on the register in front of him. "Anything for Lucy?" He then asks, smiling at the baby in the carrier in Beth's hand.

"Not just yet," Beth shakes her head with a smile. "We'll get her some ice cream in a couple of years though," she promises. "And that's for here."

"You got it," Clarence hits one final button and gives them the total and Beth pays.

Maggie takes Lucy's carrier from Beth and the two cups Clarence hands to her so she can go fill them from the soda dispensary and give Beth a moment alone with him.

"I like your uniform," she smiles at him, unable to stop smiling because she's just so proud.

"It's scratchy as hell," Clarence responds, but he's smiling as he does.

"But besides that," she laughs a little. "It's going good?"

"Goin' real good," he nods. "I like the structure. Get here at eleven, leave at six. Class at seven. Go home, go to sleep. Get up and do it all over again."

"And classes?"

He nods again. "Think I might start studyin' law. I've got a big name to live up to." He hesitates for a moment. "You think that's stupid? Someone like me, studyin' law?"

"I don't know exactly what you mean – someone like you – but of course it's not stupid," Beth says. "Someone has to study law and why can't it be you?" She reaches into her purse and pulls out a piece of paper. "I have a friend, Tyreese, and he runs his own business, working on flipping houses and buildings. I mentioned you to him and he could use extra help from time to time. If you want the extra money and don't mind the hard work, I told him that you would give him a call."

She slides the piece of paper across to him and he stares at it for a minute as if afraid to pick it up, but then he finally does, unfolding it and looking down at the name and number written down. He then lifts his eyes to look at her.

Another worker comes and puts down their tray of food.

"It's not appropriate for Burger King Employees to hug customers," Clarence tells her.

Beth laughs a little at that and picks up the tray. "Good thing you know where to find me."

Clarence gives her a smile and Beth turns, heading towards the table Maggie is sitting with Lucy's carrier on the table in front of her, Maggie making faces and the baby smiling at her.

Beth sits down and begins divvying up the food. The sun shining through the large plate windows catches the diamond on her finger and she smiles as she usually does when she looks at it. Maggie looks at her, smiling, and smiles a little herself, too.

"So, will you be getting married in Scott or at the farm?" Maggie asks, chewing on a fry.

Beth shakes her head. "I haven't thought that far ahead. I've honestly just been thinking about my dress. I can't wear white and I have no idea what color I can wear."

Maggie frowns at that. "Why can't you wear white?"

"I love Lucy, but there was only one Immaculate Conception and she's not it," Beth replies.

"You can wear whatever you want to your wedding, Bethy," Maggie informs her. "I'm pretty sure you could wear a pillowcase and Daryl would still stare at you like you're holding the sun. If I ever get married-"

"To Glenn?" Beth teases her.

Maggie continues as if she hasn't heard. "-I'm going to wear jeans and my cowboy hat."

"Well, that's different, Maggie," Beth tells her before taking a sip of Dr. Pepper. "You've always been so much braver than I have ever been."

Maggie stares at her as if she can't quite believe or understand what Beth has just said. She shakes her head and picks up her Whopper to take a bite. "You're out of your damn mind, Beth, if you think that anyone in the world was brave enough to do what you did."

"What? Run away?"

Maggie shakes her head. "Brave enough to get out of a bad situation and make a pretty awesome life for yourself. I don't know if I could have done it."

For her entire life, Beth has always looked up to Maggie. Idolized her. Maggie was always brave and cool and she never cared about what anyone thought about her. She had traits that Beth had always envied because Beth had never seen herself having any of those.

She never would have thought that Maggie would ever admire anything about her.

"Thank you," Beth says softly, slightly stunned, because she's not too sure what else to say. She feels completely unprepared for Maggie actually admiring her.

And Maggie doesn't say anything; she just smiles.

"As your maid of honor, I need to know who Daryl's best man is going to be," Maggie says, swiftly switching topics, a little uncomfortable with so much emotionally open talk.

"His name is Rick, he's the Sheriff for this county and he's ridiculously nice. He's also my boss, so you have to be nice to him," Beth adds.

"What are you talking about, Bethy? I'm always nice," Maggie grins with a swift wink and Beth knows her laugh is too loud inside of Burger King, but she can't help herself.

…

One more chapter to go.

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