Chapter 37

Daryl could feel the eyes watching him as he slowly walked up the stairs. He was careful as he walked, trying to keep from dropping flour on the floor. They had finished the food for supper but they had quite a big mess to clean up other than just the food. After Beth had thrown some on him, they both began pelting each other win flour. She ran giggling and slipped in the flour. When she came up, she was more covered than before. Daryl had to bite a smile back, thinking about how carefree and happy she looked. She had been completely whitw, with flour everywhere but her eyes had a twinkle in them that made him see thay she was happy again. They decided to go get cleaned up for supper and when they walked out of the kitchen, the conversation Maggie and Glenn had been having suddenly broke off. He could hear Glenn start laughing and quickly turned to him.

"What's so funny Chinaman?" He asked with a smirk on his face. He fingered some of the flour and looked at him expectantly.

"I'm actually Korean." Glenn gulped as he realized that Daryl could easily cover him in flour also. Daryl turned back towards the stairs to follow Beth and could sense their eyes burning holes into his back.

As he was waiting for Beth to finish with her shower, he heard voices drifting upstairs.

"I just don't know what to think about him. When I ask Beth about him, she gets defensive. Hell she almost kicked me out of the car when I asked about her scar. All I want to know is if she is ok." Maggie's spoke and Daryl instantly knew she was talking about him.

"I think she is ok. If you see the way he looks at her, then you would know that he would never hurt her. She looks back at him the same way. Like they would gladly jump in front of a bullet for the other. And if she has a scar on her wrist, it isn't from him. When you asked her about it, we're you pointed or just curious? 'Cuz if I know you, then you were probably pointed about it and it upset her." Glenn replied and Daryl couldn't help but smirk a little at his response. He could tell that Maggie didn't really care much for him and he figured that she had said as much to Beth. He heard the bathroom door open and Beth came out with new clothes and wet hair. She smiled at him and he quickly went to take his shower.

It took a bit of scrubbing and rewashing before he felt clean enough to exit the shower. He dried himself off, got dressed and ran a comb through his hair. He exited the bathroom and went to take his clothes to his room. He stopped in the hallway again as he heard voices drifting up the stairs.

"I wanted to apologize. I realize that I didn't go about my questions as I should have. Glenn brought it to my attention and made me realize how much I was in the wrong. I think that part of me still sees you as the little girl you used to be and not the young woman you are today. I also shouldn't judge people so quickly and harshly if I don't know them. Will you forgive me?" Maggie asked and Daryl figured that she was talking to Beth.

"Yes, you know I'm not going to hold something against you. I just wish you would give him a chance and try to get to know him. He may seem a little rough around the edges, but I wouldn't love him if he wasn't a good guy. He has helped me through a lot since I've met him and he has never treated me badly." Daryl didn't think Beth would tell her sister that she loved him, but knew that she was being as honest as she always was. She wasn't one to lie about things so it made sense that she would just tell her sister.

"You never told me you loved him. That's why you got so upset and mad when I accused him of hurting you. Especially since it wasn't him. Will you tell me what really happened?"

"Yes, but I think it will be best to wait until all four of us are together. That way I only tell it once and Daryl can fill you in on what I don't want to say or what I am unable to answer." Daryl walked back to his room thinking about how this conversation was going to go. Either Maggie was going to blame him for the situation with Shane or she was going to blame it on luck. He already blamed himself enough as it was and didn't need anyone else telling him it was his fault. He already knew it was.

When he got back to the kitchen he found Glenn, Maggie and Beth sitting at the table waiting for him to eat. They quickly got the food passed around and began to eat. He could feel eyes on him and he looked up to see Maggie staring at him.

"I know we didn't get off on the best foot but I am very easily unsettled when it comes to Beth. She has been through a lot so I worry about her. I hope we could start over and forget about the first time we met." Daryl nodded after she finished and he saw her sigh and smile. "Now for the story you promised that you would tell me."

"I didn't promise you but I will tell you. I ran into the cop that planted the drugs on Shawn. Shane wasn't very happy when I called him out on it and stalked us. He followed us one night, until he miraculously had a flat tire and couldn't follow us. He made petty threats, that I believed were nothing more than talk, until he kidnapped me. He was going to-" Beth broke off in tears and Daryl put his hand on top of hers and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

"He was going to hurt her since she knew what he had done to Shawn. He also thought that she could do better than me and was mad cuz she wouldn't just leave me to be with him. I found her in an old abandoned warehouse and had to shoot him in the knee with my crossbow. He is the one who gave her the scar on her wrist. Right now Shane is in jail. Since I was helping the cops, his lawyer was able to get him a reduced sentence but we went ahead and got a restraining order against him so when he gets out, he can't come after her without getting in trouble." Daryl spoke for her as she silently cried. He saw Maggie was in tears as she ran around the table and enveloped Beth in her arms.

"I'm so sorry Beth. If I knew that this happened, then I would have came down earlier and kicked his ass myself. I wasn't here for you. I understand now why you became so upset with me earlier. I can be such a bitch sometimes." Maggie cried as she held onto Beth. "Thank you for being there for her Daryl. There is no telling what would have happened if you hadn't been there."

"He saved my life and I will be forever grateful to him." He saw Beth staring at him and holding out her hand. He slowly grasped it and was pulled into the hug before he had time to pull away. Daryl wasn't one to hug one woman, so when he had one crying woman on each side, he didn't know what to do. He decided to awkwardly pat each one on the back and hoped that they stopped crying quickly. After a few moments, both of the women pulled back and thanked him for helping them calm down. He nodded to them and quickly went back to his food.

"You ain't much for talking are ya?" Daryl shook his head at Maggie's question. He heard Glenn laugh from across the table and looked up at the man who had been silent for awhile.

"What's so funny Short Round? I didn't hear ya speak up for the last bit." Daryl smirked as Glenn started laughing harder.

"I wouldn't have taken you for one to watch movies. But I'm guessing you do like to watch some." Daryl nodded at his response and finished chewing the spaghetti he had put in his mouth.

"Beth has a pretty good collection going now thanks to my movies and the ones that we have bought. One day it is gonna be massive." Daryl said and watched as Beth smiled at him. He saw the look of elation and didn't know what had caused it. He thought back over his words and realized that he had spoken for the future. He was surprised that it had come out that easily. He quickly went back to eating and decided to act like he didn't realize what he had said.

"Daryl, I wanted to let you know that a woman named Lori came into my work today. She said she was married to Rick and wanted to make sure that he had invited us to his house for the cookouts. She said that she would love to have us there. I told her that we would be there Saturday and she put us in charge of making the potato salad and bringing a dessert." Beth said as she poked at her food.

"That's fine, Rick actually brought it up with me today. I was gonna talk to ya about it later." Daryl replied after he took a drink of his beer. He had completely forgotten that he had said anything and was glad that Lori had talked to Beth.

"So Mags, how did you meet Glenn?" Beth asked as she pushed her plate away. She leaned back in her chair and looked at the couple sitting across the table. Daryl saw a look of uncertainty pass across Maggie's face and Glenn turn bright red.

"Glenn was..uh...He was my pizza guy for a long time. I always had thought he was cute. Little did I know that he was actually the owner of the place and wasn't usually the one who delivered pizza. So imagine my surprise when he takes me there for the first date and everyone there is calling him boss and waiting on him hand and foot." Maggie was beet red at the end of her confession.

"I will clarify this. One day my delivery guy called in sick so I filled in. At my last delivery for the night, I met this beautiful gorgeous woman who I immediately fell in love with. Maggie was her roommate -ow- ow- ok I met Maggie and I was instantly attracted to her. We talked for so long that my employees started calling me, worried that I had gotten in some kind of trouble. When I went back, I made sure I was very clear that if she ever ordered a delivery again, I would be the one to deliver." Glenn finished as he rubbed his arm and head where Maggie had slapped him during his story. She didn't seem too pleased with him but now she kissed him on the cheek.

"And the rest is history. He finally asked me out and we fell in love. Now we are here." Maggie was smiling at them as she leaned into Glenn. "Now it's your turn. How did ya'll meet?"

"We actually met at the diner in town. It was lunch time and there wasn't any open seating so I offered him a chair at my table." Beth said as she looked at Daryl. He could see the blush creeping up her cheeks and he smirked.

"So it was love at first sight?" Maggie questioned. She didn't seem to think her answer was enough information.

"Uh, not quite like that. In fact, I almost left the table when we first met. He stopped me and I ended up eating with him. I had given him my card in case he ever needed help. He called me later that night with Bo sick. I had him stay here that night and he helped me out at the clinic after that. I liked the company and asked him to stay. He's been here ever since." Beth spoke as she looked down at the table. Daryl knew she had left out the part about him losing his place to live.

"Ah, that's sweet. I know you liked having someone around after so long of being in this big house by yourself. At least you met someone who is good to ya and is gonna take care of ya. I will still whoop ya if you hurt my little sister." Maggie said as she shook her finger.

"I would never hurt her." Daryl replied as he looked down at the drink in his hands.

"Maggie, have you heard from Shawn? I haven't heard from him since Daddy died. I don't even know how to get ahold of him. He doesn't call me and I have no idea where he lives." Beth asked Maggie and Daryl watched her face drop.

"No, I was hoping that you had heard from him. I am getting worried. I know he is our older brother but I would have thought he would at least let us know he is ok." Maggie spoke softly and Daryl could tell that she was worried. He watched Glenn rub on her back and felt Beth grab ahold of his knee. He covered her hand with his and he could feel the tension in her body.

"You guys wanna watch a movie before we head to bed? Beth and I both have to work in the morning but we will be back around the same time as today." Daryl changed the subject, hoping to alleviate the tension in the room.

"Ya that would be great. And that will give us some time to decide where we want to have our wedding at and get some plans in the works." Glenn replied and pulled Maggie with him as he stood up. He followed suit and pulled Beth with him into the living room. He told Glenn to pick out the movie while he settled in on one of the couches with Beth. She automatically curled into his side and he wrapped an arm around her.

As the opening credits began playing, he could feel the tension start slipping out of her and he felt her body become loose. He knew that she was relaxing more and not thinking about her brother as much. His mind was shortly absorbed into the movie and was glad that Glenn had picked an action movie. When the movie finished Daryl looked down at the sleeping blonde he was holding and smirked. She always fell asleep during the movie. He gently picked her up and turned around. He almost dropped her when he saw the look on Maggie's face. He had been absorbed in the movie, he had forgotten that anyone else had been in the room. He looked down at Beth and then looked back up at her sister and saw the smile on her face.

"Ya love her don't ya?" Maggie whispered. Daryl looked down at Beth again and looked back up at Maggie. He didn't know what to say to her. He didn't know how to explain what he felt when he held her in his arms. He saw the smile get even bigger on her face. "You don't have to tell me since you are a man of few words. It's already written all over your face. I came down here to check and see how she was doing. She was so broken when I left and I thought that's what she would be like when I came back. But she isn't at all like she was. She is happier and more alive than I have seen her act in a long time. I may have been rude to her but it wasn't all just to judge you. I wanted to see if she loved you. And boy does she. When I said anything that could be taken negatively towards ya, she all but bit my head off. Ya take care of her for me, she is my little sister and I love her."

Daryl nodded and walked upstairs with Beth cradled in his arms. He would take care of her and make sure that she was happy.

Author's note : hey guys! This has been one crazy weekend for me. My daughter turned 2 and had her party and I had a lot of last minute things to do. I had a little bit of trouble with this chapter, trying to figure out how to get some of the stuff across like I wanted to, but I think that it came together well. Thank you for all the amazing reviews cuz you guys are awesome :)