His Light in the Dark

AN: So here is the first of the last 4 chapters that have been prewritten for months. That's right. There are only 3 chapters left after this one. I hope you have all enjoyed the story as much as I have enjoyed writing it! Leave those reviews!

Ch 10

A few weeks had passed since Daryl and Beth had talked. Since then, Daryl had started talking with the others again, and Beth had begun going on some of the runs- to get baby supplies and such. Rick and the others had told her that they could just as easily get anything she wanted, but in a new mother fashion, she refused, stating that she wanted to pick out the things her baby would use. The others hadn't argued. They just made sure one of them was always with her. Usually either Michonne or Sasha.

Daryl was on guard duty with Rick at the front gate when Sasha, Beth and a few others returned from the latest run. Since they had been gone, but more specifically Beth, Daryl had felt this tightness in his chest. He felt like he couldn't breathe properly, and it made concentrating on patrolling extremely difficult. He felt protective toward Beth in a way he didn't understand. He wouldn't feel better until she was back home and safe.

So, when they pulled up to the gate, and Daryl could see Beth's shining blonde hair, he immediately felt his breath return. It felt like a physical weight was lifted from him. He watched as they pulled inside the gate and got out of the car. Beth stepped out of the back seat and Daryl felt a sudden urge to run to her and pull her into his arms. He took in the gentle swell of her belly, which was just starting to pop out even more. He wondered again what kind of man would do that to Beth and then walk away. He knew if it was him, he would never do that to either one of them. She had told him they had been something, but Daryl didn't know when. It must have been long before his accident, but he also figured that with Beth being pregnant, it was probably brief, and she moved on with the baby's father. He was never good at long term anything. And never mind how young Beth was. It hurt his head to think about it.

Thinking back over their conversation from that day, he assumed he was the one to end whatever they had before. She had said she didn't mind him kissing her and she had wanted him to do it for months. He could only figure he had been an asshole and hurt her enough to leave her. Not that he knew for sure that a relationship had even been involved. Hell, they coulda just been fuck buddies for all he knew. Hell, maybe they weren't anything. Maybe she just had a huge crush on him or something and saw a chance to live out a fantasy. Whatever it was left him confused as fuck…

As if feeling his eyes on her, Beth looked up at him. She smiled and waved. Daryl felt like he was hit with the sun when he saw that smile. He lifted his hand, waving back quickly. He felt Rick's stare on his back.

"Not a word," he grunted out. Rick wisely kept his thoughts to himself. Daryl watched as Beth grabbed a bag from the seat next to her and swung it onto her back. He heard it make a dull clanking sound. She spoke to Sasha briefly and then walked toward Maggie and Glenn's place. Unconsciously, his eyes followed her until she walked into the house.

Suddenly, he felt empty again.

Sasha and the others unloaded their haul, and several members of the community came forward to help them. After everything was taken to their respective locations, Sasha made her way over to the watch stand. She climbed the ladder gracefully.

"Hey Rick. Hey Daryl," she greeted them once she was on solid ground again. Daryl grunted a response, but Sasha didn't seem to mind. "Daryl, Beth wanted me to tell you that after you get done with your shift, she wants you to stop by her place. She got something for you on the run and wants to give it to you personally."

Daryl's head popped up. "She did? What'd she get?"

Sasha just shrugged. "It's a surprise." With that, she made her way back down to the ground.

Daryl suddenly found he couldn't concentrate again. He wondered what she had gotten for him. For some reason, the thought of her looking specifically for something for him made his belly tighten up and a heat creep into his body. He started to fidget, his thumb automatically lifting to his mouth so he could chew at it.

Rick chuckled at his friend. He could see how antsy Daryl had become. He decided to put him out of his misery. "Go on. Go see what she got ya."

Daryl swung around. "Nah man, can' leave ya up here alon'. Wouldn't be right."

Rick just laughed and made a go on motion. Daryl nodded and then threw his crossbow across his back and headed down the ladder. He felt a lightness in his step the closer he got to her front door. Climbing the porch, he rapped on the door a couple times.

"Just a minute," he heard her sweet voice say from inside. He stood there, a bundle of nerves. He couldn't understand why. Jus' Beth. Not the big, bad wolf.

The door swung open, revealing Beth's smiling face. "Oh! Daryl, yer here already! Come in please!" she stepped back, allowing him entrance. He walked in and heard her close the door behind him. "Come into the living room and have a seat," she said. She walked that direction and he followed. She sat at the end of the couch and saw him take the other end. "I tol' Sasha to tell ya to come after yer shift was over," she said, tsking quietly.

His hand rubbed at the back of his neck. "She did. Rick tol' me to come now." He didn't say it was because he had lost all concentration after Sasha had told him that.

"Well, no worries. Maggie and Glenn are out patrollin' the other side, so it's just you an' me," Beth told him. Daryl swallowed hard. Ever since they had kissed that day, she made him nervous sometimes. Not in a bad way, just in an uncertain way.

He saw her hand go to her belly. She rubbed it softly, and Daryl felt a smile creep onto his face. "How'r ya feelin'?" he asked, gesturing toward her belly. She smiled an almost angelic smile.

"Real good. Baby an' I are both doin' good. Do ya wanna feel?" she asked him. Before he could respond, she had scooted closer toward him and grabbed his hand. She placed it near the lower side and held it there. Daryl didn't feel anything for a few beats, and then he gasped as a small rolling sensation bumped against his hand. A second or two later, it happened again and Daryl couldn't help the smile that came across his face.

"Active li'l critter, ain't it," he said, his hand caressing her bump almost reverently. Beth grinned again. "He must like you," she said, her hand still over his. Daryl glanced up. "He? Yer havin' a boy?"

Beth shrugged. "Dunno. Jus' a feelin' I got. Feel like he'll be a boy." Daryl watched as her face dropped. "I hope he's like his daddy," she said softly.

Beth rarely talked about the baby's father and Daryl was curious. "What happen'd? To his daddy I mean. Ya never did say." The baby was an almost taboo subject- never mentioned unless it was necessary.

Beth looked up and he caught the tears in her eyes. He felt an overwhelming urge to brush them away. She sighed and he instantly felt bad about asking her. "Nevermin'. I see it hurts ya to talk about it."

"Nah, it's not that. It's just hard to talk about, is all. His daddy is...around. He just can't participate in the way I need him to right now," she told him.

"So…his daddy is here in Alexandria?" Daryl instantly felt the need to find the bastard and set him right for leaving this sweet girl high and dry.

Beth nodded. "He's here. He just doesn't know the baby's his." Her free hand reached over to the hand holding his against her belly. She fidgeted with the ring there. He realized she did that a lot. He wondered if she knew how often she did it.

Daryl was in shock. Must be the blindest fucker on the planet.

"Why haven' ya tol' him? Don' he have a right ta know 'bout it? His kid after all," Daryl said, full out irritated at the bastard who knocked her up and then walked away. If he ever got his hands on the sorry sonabitch…

"He's...dealing with a lot of things right now. I don't wanna add more pressure to him. He's a good man. He really is. I jus' think this is the best thing right now. I don't feel right adding this burden to him," Beth told him bluntly. She played with the ring some more.

Unsure why, Daryl heard himself saying, "If that was me, I'd wanna know 'bout it. I'd be there for him. Baby needs a daddy."

He heard Beth gasp again and felt her hand grip his harder. He looked up to see her face turn pink. "I know you would. You're a good man, Daryl Dixon."

A quietness fell over the two of them, the air suddenly heavier. Daryl felt the urge to wrap his arms around her. He settled for squeezing her hand.

The moment ended when Beth released his hand and stood up. His hand hung in the air awkwardly before he dropped it into his lap. She walked to the closet and pulled out the bag he had seen her with earlier. Beth walked over, a smile on her face. She held out the bag.

"I found these at the last shop we went to. I know you can use 'em, so I grabbed all they had there. I think they'll work. I hope they do," she said quickly. Daryl took the bag and opened it, peering inside.

Bolts! She had found him bolts for his crossbow. He took them out of the bag, feeling like a kid at Christmas. Beth watched him, a soft smile on her lips. He turned them over in his hands, feeling the weight of them. These would work perfectly with his crossbow. Daryl couldn't believe her thoughtfulness.

"Thank ya Beth. This means a lot ta me. Truly," he said, his gaze making her blush again. "Ya didn't have ta do that, but ya did."

"I'm glad ya like them. I know you'll get lots of use out of 'em," she said, her hand resting on her belly again.

Daryl stood up, placing the bag on the couch. He gave into the pull he felt and wrapped his arms around Beth, pulling her into his body for a hug. In the back of his mind, a part of him waited for her to push him away, to yell at him for touching her like this. He was shocked when she, instead, wrapped her arms around his waist, and Daryl couldn't help thinking how right it all felt. He had been wandering in the dark for so long now. But with his arms around Beth, he felt light creeping through the darkness. He pulled her tighter against himself, not wanting to lose that feeling. She fit snuggly against him, even with her little belly. Daryl felt his breath catch.

He felt like he'd come home.

Daryl was unsure how long they stood like that. Time lost meaning to him and all he wanted to do was keep feeling Beth in his arms. He never wanted to let her go.

Beth apparently felt the same way as him, because she wasn't letting go either. Daryl pulled back just enough to look at her face. Her head tipped back, looking into his eyes. Daryl felt like he was drowning in her eyes. The blueness of her eyes called out to him, and he answered the only way he knew he could.

His hands came up and cradled her face. He studied her, before leaning down, capturing her lips with his own. It was still a shock to him when she kissed him back.

I love her so much…