Walk With An Angel

Chapter 28: Who I Am With You

To say his nerves had gotten the better of him was an understatement. Daryl already knew Beth loved him and wanted to marry him, but he was worried he'd do this all wrong.

He took the little blue box and tucked it away, needing to see his brother before he made this very large leap. Now that Beth was coming home, he had to make this just right for her, he had to make it right for the both of them.

Beth was looking better, her smile once again the sunshine in his life. She reached her hand out to him as he kissed her forehead. "Are you ready to go?"

"More than you know." She slipped on her flip flops and tied her scarf around her head.

Daryl bent down and placed a kiss on the back of her neck, her body leaning back towards him. "Daryl… do you think we could get a moment alone tonight?"

"Don't see why not." He felt his heart beat against his chest as her hand touched his face.

"I can't believe all of this could be behind me. I know I still have more medication to take, doctors to see and hair to grow back, but I can do it all with you by my side." Daryl placed his hand on the back of her head, his thumbs brushing her neck.

He looked deep into those cool blue eyes and saw his future, a future he never knew he wanted until her, until she loved him.

The nurse came in with the wheelchair and motioned for Beth to sit. She did, but she held tight to Daryl's hand. Her parents and Maggie were waiting for her in the lobby, Annette giving them both a pleased smile.

As he helped Beth in her father's truck, he kissed her softly. "I'm gonna go see Merle, but I'll be back later. You get some rest and listen to yer ma."

Before he could turn to go, she took his hand and jerked him back. Her lips met his with a hungry need, her hands clutching at his shoulders. Her kiss was slow and wanton, her tongue blazing the inside of his mouth. She pushed her lips along his, making his body tingle all over.

"I'll be waiting for you… don't make me wait too long." When he looked back at her, he didn't see the endless sky blue of her eyes, but a smoldering sapphire that burned with a passion that he couldn't wait to share with her.

"You got it, princess." She hugged him tight, her head resting on his shoulder. He couldn't wait to have her in his arms again, to have her strong and healthy so he wouldn't be afraid to hurt her.

As he climbed on his bike, he felt the ring box pressing into his ribs. This girl, this impossibly wonderful girl had chosen him. Out of all the guys she could have had, she picked him. Somewhere deep in his heart he felt a bit of pride, that maybe if she loved him, then he was worth loving after all.

He saw Merle's truck in the rehab parking lot as he drove up. Carol waved at him as she climbed out, Sophia tagging along behind her. "I didn't know you were coming to see Merle today? I thought Beth was coming home."

"She is, just need to talk to Merle about somethang." Daryl saw the look on Carol's face, the one she got when she was reading him like a book.

"What's up?" She stopped inside the lobby, telling Sophia to go check them in.

Daryl took a seat and she joined him, Carol giving him a smile back. "Is it Beth?"

"Yeah." He could tell from the smile on Carol's face, she knew what was on his mind.

"You two getting serious?" The smirk that flashed across Carol's lips made him blush. Daryl was serious about Beth, more serious than he'd ever been with anyone or anything in his life.

He pulled out the blue box and handed it to Carol. She opened it and tears sprang from her eyes. "It's beautiful Daryl. She'll love it. You asking her tonight?"

"That's the plan." She handed the box back to him as Sophia walked over with their visitor badges.

"I'll let you go see Merle first. Daryl... just so you know. That girl, she's good for you. You aren't that frighten little boy anymore, now... you're a man." Carol patted him on the back and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

Daryl walked away feeling like Carol was right. He knew Beth had changed him, changed him into a man he wanted to be.

When he rounded the corner to the visitation room, he saw Merle sitting by himself, looking out the window. He quietly crept up behind him and whispered close to his ear. "What'ya doin' old man?"

Merle jerked forward, slinging his arm back at Daryl. "You best watch it baby brother. I can kick yer ass and get away with it in here."

They both sat down at a table, Merle's face covered in graying stubble and long lines. Daryl couldn't remember a time when Merle looked so old, but he had a clarity to his eyes that made him look younger too.

"What brings you out here? I'll be home next weekend… that is if y'all still want me." Merle hung his head, his voice giving away his somber mood.

"Course we want you home. I'm gonna need you at yer best, you got a job to do." Daryl took out the ring box and held it in his hand. Merle stared at it for a moment, his eyes matching the smirk on his face.

"I see. You got to married it to get any of it... is that it?" Merle was being is usual perverted self and Daryl wasn't in the mood for it. He wanted his brother, the one that sold that classic bike to help Beth. He needed the brother that took beatings for him when they were little boys. Not the sarcastic one that hid his feelings behind sour words and a surly attitude.

"Stop. You know it ain't like that." Daryl put the ring box back in his vest pocket as he stared back at his big brother.

Merle shifted in his seat, raking his hand over his buzz cut. "I know it ain't. Can't believe my little brother went and fell in love. I can't believe we both did. Carol is a good woman, better than I deserve, but you little brother... you've always deserved an angel like Beth. We both got scars, you more than me. I should have been there fer ya instead of runnin' off. I'm glad Beth was able to put ya back together, make ya whole again."

Daryl could see the tears in Merle's eyes, his own tears threatening to fall. "We ain't like him. Ma did her best until he wore her down, until she burned up. Merle, we're still here, we ain't ashes. I love Beth, love her more than anythang. She made me see, I ain't just a Dixon or some stupid redneck. I got a lot to give and she's willing to take it. The good and the bad, that's why I love her."

They sat in there for a moment, neither of them speaking. Merle moved from his seat, stood before Daryl and pulled him to his feet. When his big brother locked his arms around him and hugged him, Daryl had to choke back his tears.

"I ain't wearin' not damn suit, but I'll stand up fer ya." Merle quickly wiped his tears and gave him that classic Merle smile.

They left it there, neither one of them saying another word as Carol walked in. Daryl nodded to her as he walked out, Carol taking Merle's hand and walking back over to the window.

Life was so different now, different from the way it had been just three months ago. To be in love with an angel and have her love him back, it was all hitting him hard. Daryl felt a swift thud in his chest, his breathing becoming ragged.

He pulled his bike over and sat there, wondering why he felt this way. Then it hit him, he really had changed. Beth made him want to be a better man. He was used to the single life, the being alone and to himself. Now he woke up each morning dying to see her, needing to be with her.

From the moment she took his hand, he knew he'd never want another the way he wanted her. Beth would always be too good for him, but she would always be his. She would forever be the best part of who he was, his wife, his lover and his best friend.

He let one single tear roll down his face as he sat there. Not a sad tear at all. These were feelings that he had locked away and dared himself to feel, until Beth. The joy in his heart, the feeling that he mattered, it bled from his heart as if he'd been hit by one of his own bolt. Who he was, that man was gone and who he had become was a man that was born out of love for a woman that dared to love him back.

He drove back to the farm, his bike soaring down the highway like an eagle searching for its mate. He needed to get to her and put that ring on her finger and begin their lives together.

When he saw her on the porch, he felt his heart do a flip. He quickly parked the bike, ran up on the porch and scooped her up in his arms. He carried her out to the big oak Green family tree and sat her down.

She blinked up at him, her smile and big doe eyes sending shivers down his spine. "Daryl... what's going on?"

He took his buck knife from his hip and started carving on the other side of the tree. She watched him as he worked on each letter he was placing into the bark.

Daryl blew the shavings from the letters and wiped them away. "Okay... you can look now."

She rose to her feet and walked to the back of the tree. There in big crooked letters was the words... Marry Me.

When Beth turned to look at him, he was standing before her with the ring in his hands. "Will ya?"

She took the canary yellow diamond out of the box and smile back at him. "Hell yes."

She leaped into his arms and kissed him. Daryl pulled back and placed the ring on her finger, his lips caressing the back of her hand.

"Let's get married soon... I want a summer wedding. I'm done waiting Daryl... I want you." The look of a hungry lioness stalking her prey radiated from her face and Daryl felt his throat go dry.

"When yer better and not before." He took her hand and they walked back to the house. Beth was still giving him that needy, hungry look.

He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to give her what she wanted. He knew her first time wasn't going to be all that great, but he was determined to make it as good as possible. Rick's words echoed in his head from their camping trip and he finally got what Rick was saying.

Love, marriage and sex, it was all going to be new for the both of them. Daryl had never been in love or married and he sure as hell had never had sex or made love to a woman he really cared about. They were both about to walk on foreign ground and hopefully together they would figure it all out.


A/N: I think y'all know what's coming soon. There is a little white church and another check mark off of Beth's list in the future. I'm floored by all the reviews, follows and favorites, thank you from the bottom of my Bethyl loving heart.