Prompt: Post Terminus and they are on the road to D.C., set up camp in the woods. Daryl is keeping watch, with Beth asleep in his lap. The whole camp is asleep. Maggie wakes up, walks over to talk to Daryl about him and Beth. Beth hears the whole conversation.
What Changed?
His fingers lightly threaded through her pale blonde hair as she slept against him, all curled up in his lap with her head on his shoulder. When he'd gotten her back, he nearly cried. She wouldn't tell him what had happened to her, but she wouldn't let him out of her night, and he was okay with that. The camp was asleep, it was his night to be on watch and so far, all was quiet.
He looked up when he heard footsteps. Maggie had woken up and had started towards them. He sighed a little, she hadn't said a word about his and Beth's relationship since it had been made public. He'd been waiting for her to slap him and tell him off. He figured it was coming. She sat down beside him and smiled at her sleeping sister. She reached out and brushed her hair away from her face. It had been a long time since any of them had seen her wear it down.
"She looks happy," Maggie whispered, looking from her sister's sleeping face up to his. "You make her happy."
Daryl shrugged and looked down at Beth. "I don't do anything."
Maggie shook her head. "No, you do." She put a hand on his shoulder. "I can't say I completely understand what she sees in you, but I'm glad you make her happy, everyone deserves that, so I'm not going to disapprove of this relationship." She smiled and leant back against the tree, staring down at her sister. "I wish she'd tell us what happened."
Daryl nodded in agreement. "She will, in her own time."
Maggie ran a hand through her hair. "How did this happen?"
"Me and Beth?" Maggie nodded. Daryl sighed and rested his head back against the bark, his fingers still combing through Beth's hair. "We were on the run and we'd come cross this funeral home. It was a little creepy at first, but," he shrugged, "there was food. Someone was keepin' it clean, and there was a bed."
"You two shared a bed?"
Daryl smirked and shook his head. "No, I slept in a coffin."
Maggie rolled her eyes. "You're so uplifting sometimes."
He smirked and looked at her. "Bite me." They both laughed lightly. "Anyways, the more time I spent alone with Beth, the more she affected and changed me. I can't really explain it."
"What happened?"
He sighed and looked at Beth. It was easier to talk when he was looking at her. "I think it started when she wanted a drink. We stopped at a country club, and there was this woman, they'd left her clothes open and hung her up with a sign. Beth didn't like that; she wanted to take her down. I couldn't understand why, she was dead, it didn't matter. She really tore into me, but I deserved it. I got drunk, acted like an ass…she called me on it. The things she said to me, 'bout my past, they made sense. I was ready to give up and she pulled me back, then we burnt down a house." He smiled a bit, thinking about that night.
"Then we ended up at the morgue. There were dead bodies that someone had dressed up, made 'em look like humans again. She said it was beautiful." He looked at Maggie. "Then she wanted to leave a thank you note for all of the food we ate."
Maggie smiled. "That sounds like her."
Daryl nodded. "She's just so…honest and pure…I didn't think people like that still existed." He brushed Beth's hair off her shoulder and couldn't help the smile on his lips. "She made me see that there was still good people left. She gave me that hope, and I ain't gonna lie Maggie, I love her."
Maggie cupped his face and leant in, kissing his cheek. "I know, and I'm glad she has you. If anyone can keep her alive, it's you."
"Ain't nothin' gonna happen to her." Maggie nodded her head in agreement and kissed Beth's head before going back to bed.
"I love you too," Beth whispered once she was sure Maggie was gone.
Daryl looked down at her and shook his head. "You've been awake this whole time?" he questioned.
She popped open one eye and looked up at him, a smile on her face. "Yep." Daryl rolled his eyes and bent his head and kissed her. She was a sneaky one, his little angel.