I do not own any of the TWD characters.
Cornbread Dressing
Kelly, Ginger, and Michael had long since excused themselves when Annette had wrapped each of them a brownie in wax paper to take for the road.
"Oh shit" Negan complained loudly as he stood. "I'm stuffed. Think that last brownie was probably one too many."
Daryl wasn't fairing much better – he had almost as much hot fudge sauce on his shirt as Andre did.
Glen moaned out in discomfort. "Ohhhhh, my stomach" he whined. Rick couldn't even form words – he was only able to grunt and rub his stomach.
Daryl looked down at Andre who'd snuggled up next to him on the couch and his eyes were getting heavier by the second. "Boy, ya ain't gettin in my bed with all that chocolate on your face." The fact that Andre was sleeping with Daryl and Beth wasn't even up for debate. The little boy had done so every night since he'd been in Chicago so why go bucking the trend now?
Andre looked up at Daryl in his ice cream coma and asked, "Have ya seen your face?"
"Oh my gosh" Glen laughed. "He got you Dude – you got fudge sauce all over your face too." Glen laughed and pointed at Daryl causing Daryl to wipe at his face, but it wasn't much use as it was already dried – he was pretty sure that he and Dre both needed to jump into the shower.
Michonne was slipping from the living room to put Lila down, but not before Negan could convince her that they should all go to the big Thanksgiving Day Parade in the morning.
"Chonne, I don't know" Rick hedged. "It's gonna be cold and dreary."
"Yeh, and your old bones can't take it" Michonne teased. "I know Mr. Grumpy pants, but it'd be a shame to miss it – I hear it's a really big deal."
Negan waggled his eyebrows at Rick. "Come on man" Negan prodded. "It's a good time. I can get us a spot right in front of the Architectural Foundation." Beth stomped through the living room to retrieve all of the dirty ice cream bowls and gave everyone a death glare. It made Glen nervous enough that he jumped up to help his sister in-law gather up the dirty dishes. Maggie simply ignored her baby sister – she was used to her throwing fits now and again. Besides, Maggie didn't feel nearly as lazy as the other asswipes in the room. At least she'd been picking up Lincoln Logs. That's more than any of the rest of them could say.
Negan, thinking he'd mess with Beth a bit, kept holding his bowl just out of her reach.
"Dammit Negan" Beth finally snapped as she reached and stretched for the bowl. "I've got to get to bed at some point tonight."
"Besides" Negan directed the conversation back to Rick again when he tired of teasing his princess. "It'll get us the hell out of Beth's way in the morning. Pretty sure that's not gonna be pleasant at all."
A look of acceptance, no maybe agreement, came over Rick's face. "Yeh, okay" Rick finally accepted his fate.
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Daryl waited till he heard Andre's light snoring. "Pssst" he said trying to get Beth's attention. No response. "Pssst" a little louder this time." Still no response except for a tiny female sounding snort.
"Psssst" this time pretty loud and he poked Beth in the shoulder.
"Dammit Daryl" Beth snapped. "I'm tryin to go to sleep" she grumbled. "Done told ya we ain't foolin 'round with Andre in the room."
"Beth" Daryl whispered. "How come you gotta spend the night away from me tomorrow night? Huh?"
"Cause Daryl" Beth sat up on her elbows and looked over at her husband. "We've already discussed this."
"Ya gonna have to remind me" Daryl told her. "I'm thinkin it didn't make any sense."
"Daryl" Beth sighed. "Friday night is going to be just like a reception. We're staying at the hotel for the weekend. I just kinda thought" Beth's voice trailed off.
Daryl was grinning. "Ya kinda thought what?" he teased.
"You know what" Beth giggled.
"No I don't" Daryl replied. "What?"
"I thought it'd be excitin if we abstained for a while before" Beth finally answered him, complete with much blushing.
"Beeetthhhhh" Daryl whined. "I've already gone damn near a week without. I don't think I can make it another night, much less two."
"Don't be silly" Beth teased. "Of course you can. Now turn over there and go to sleep."
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Everyone was up bright and early the next morning – they were going to grab bagels somewhere along the way to this promised "sweet spot" of a place to view the parade. Andre was so excited that he was bouncing from room to room. Rick had Lila tucked into the stroller and was shoving blankets into every nook and cranny around the baby girl to keep her warm. Everyone was having to bundle up since a cold front had come through the night before and the temperature had pretty much bottomed out.
"Now Rick" Annette began – just as any grandmother would, "You make sure Andre keeps that tobaggon on his head at all times. We sure don't need an earache to deal with."
"Yes Ms. Annette" Rick replied.
"And ya keep Lila covered up now" Annette continued.
"We will" Rick assured the woman that had become for all intents and purposes his mother. It had been decades since his mother had passed and he was very grateful that Annette Greene had been in his life to help ease that pain.
Daryl and Beth stood in the entryway of the apartment trying to say their goodbyes. Rick and Michonne stood out by the elevator. Hearing it ding, Daryl planted a sloppy wet kiss to Beth's lips.
"Let's go Romeo" Rick hollered. "She'll be here when we get back."
"Gotta go Baby" Daryl sighed into Beth's mouth. "Love you."
"Love you too" Beth answered. "Don't eat too much junk. I'm cooking a feast remember!"
About that time, Annette must have dropped a casserole dish in the kitchen. There was a crash and surprisingly, a curse word. Daryl smirked at his wife. "How could I forget?" he laughed. "We'll all be back when the parade's over."
Beth watched him board the elevator with Rick, Michonne and the kids before she closed the front door. Then calling into the kitchen, "You alright Momma?"
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It took nearly half an hour for Beth and her mother to get Annette's small disaster cleaned up. She'd dropped the dish that held the green peas and the small vegetables had rolled in every direction. Now they needed to decide if they wanted to replace that side dish with something else.
"We're havin roasted Brussels sprouts" Beth tried to calm Annette down. "That's a green vegetable, and with everything else we're havin – I'm just not gonna worry 'bout it."
Annette smiled at her daughter. "I'm so sorry" she apologized again. "I just kind of zoned out for a minute."
"Well, I don't even like green peas" Beth laughed. "Ya did me a favor."
The ladies got a chuckle out of that for a few seconds and then they heard the front door open. "That must be Lucille" Beth commented.
As if on cue, Lucille called out. "It's just me." Beth and Annette hustled out to meet the lady who was loaded down with several bags.
"What in the world Lucille?" Beth asked. "I told you not to worry 'bout a thing."
Lucille smiled as she handed off the bags so that she could get out of her coat. "Well, this sweet little southern belle I know told me once that the very least you can do is show up with cookies or something."
Annette looked into the bag she was now holding and giggled. "I don't see cookies. I see wine."
"Did I say cookies?" Lucille laughed. "Yes, cookies is code for wine." Now all three ladies were snickering and they hadn't even gotten the cork out of the first bottle. Beth looked into the bag that she was holding. It was a cheese and fruit platter from a well know deli down the street.
"Yum" Beth exclaimed. "I love Halsted's!"
"You'll never believe who I ran into" Lucille followed the other two ladies into the kitchen area. Beth looked at her as if to ask who while simultaneously searching for a corkscrew. Annette stood on tippy toes trying to reach the wine glasses from the top cabinet.
"Daryl! And Rick and Michonne and the kids" Lucille excitedly recalled. "They were grabbing some breakfast sandwiches – that Michonne is one of the most striking woman I've laid eyes on. Just a beautiful girl."
"She really is" Annette agreed. "And smart – my goodness that woman is so smart. Rick has really been blessed to finally have some happiness in his life."
Beth poured up three glasses of wine while Lucille pulled the cover from the fruit and cheese platters.
"Oh my" Annette sputtered. "Ya think it's too early to be drinkin?"
"I've been up for a really long time" Beth explained. "So, it's more like midafternoon to me."
"Think of it as juice" Lucille offered. Annette shrugged her shoulders and the three ladies clinked their glasses together. "Now, what can I do to help?"
Annette began to empty the dishwasher, so that it could ultimately be reloaded. Beth put Lucille to work crumbling the cornbread into a huge bowl. "What are we going to use in place of the sage Dear?" Lucille asked.
Beth had already started nibbling on the pepper jack cheese. "Mmmm, that's good – spicy! Whew" she finished off her first glass of wine and refilled.
"I just always used Italian seasonin in its place" Annette answered. Surprisingly, Annette had polished off her first glass as well. Lucille filled Annette's empty glass quickly, then topped off her own.
Beth pulled the Italian seasoning out of the spice cabinet and tossed it to her mother. "Yep" Beth added. "Me too."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Maggie and Michonne were enjoying a white chocolate latte that Negan had picked up for them. Lila had been strapped to the front of Rick's chest in the baby sling and Andre was sitting on Daryl's shoulders. Glen and Negan were shooting the shit as some more balloons came by. The balloons were Baby Lila's favorite thing because the bright colors caught her eye. Dre on the other hand loved the different floats and kept asking Daryl what he thought made each one of them "work". Rick was really grateful that he'd been strong armed into this excursion. Negan hadn't been stretching the truth when he had said that it was a good time.
It was nearing two o'clock before the rag tag bunch made their way back to Daryl and Beth's apartment. Daryl had called Beth to see if she needed him to pick up anything while he was out. She'd sounded strange on the phone, rushed, stressed maybe. Hell, Daryl just chalked it up to her being nervous about preparing a meal for so many people.
"Be home soon" Daryl told her. "Love ya Babe."
"Thanks for callin" she'd said in a faraway voice. "Have a good day."
Thanks for calling? Have a good day? What the hell is wrong with that girl Daryl wondered.
Arriving at the front of his building, Daryl noticed a fire engine parked out front with its lights flashing. Several firefighters were hanging around the truck – the female had a clipboard and seemed to be writing some information down.
"Hell, she might not be able to cook, but damn she sure is cute" one of them told the other.
"Yeh, she was cute" the other guy agreed.
"I'd hit it" the female firefighter added.
Before they even stepped from the elevator on Daryl's floor, Daryl murmured to no one in particular "What the hell?"
"Hope it's not our dinner" Maggie joked causing Michonne and Glen to laugh.
They didn't have to wait long for their answer. When they reached Daryl and Beth's door it was standing wide open, security was there as was a maintenance guy with a huge box fan. They were trying to draw out the smoke from Daryl's apartment. A firefighter had opened up an emergency window at the end of the hallway so that the smoke would have somewhere to go. The firefighter nodded at Daryl and smirked. Daryl nodded back.
"What happened Daddy?" Dre asked Rick. Rick was fighting a shit eating grin forming on his face. Michonne fought a strangled cough and Glen looked around nervously.
"Oh, Dre" Rick snorted. "I think Aunt Bethie's burnt up our Thanksgiving dinner."
Daryl took off at a jog to the kitchen where everything seemed to be as it should be. Well, no not really. There was a completely black pan with some sort of burnt offering fused to it. Several burnt towels and pot holders were strewn about the floor and then a trail of blood from the kitchen sink to the refrigerator then to the pantry. "What in the absolute hell?"
Daryl could hear voices from the living room so he followed the voices to see just what the hell had happened. "Beth" he called out. "In here" she replied. Daryl went into the living room to see Noah sitting beside Beth stretched out on the couch.
"What the hell happened?" Daryl demanded. Lucille popped up from her chair.
"Now don't get all loud and demanding Daryl Dixon" Lucille warned him. Daryl thought Lucille looked a little wobbly on her feet but it could've been where she stood up so quickly. "We just have had a few little mishaps this afternoon." Lucille looked around the room. Negan had made it to the apartment and was by Lucille's side. He looked her up and down suspiciously.
"Beth" Daryl asked. "Are ya okay?" He got down on one knee to check on her. That's when he noticed that her hand was bandaged and that there was blood soaking through the bandage. Daryl held her hand up to Noah as if to say what the frick is this all about?
"That had happened just when I got here" Noah began to explain. "Apparently" Noah looked around the room as if he were sharing some sort of government secret. "They've had a bit of wine today."
Negan had walked into the kitchen and then back into the living room. He held an empty bottle in each hand. "I'd say" Negan snorted. "There's two more empties in the kitchen."
"Oh Beth" Maggie sighed.
"Pfffft" Beth spit out.
"Girl" Negan said in a warning tone and thumped Beth's big toe.
"Ouch!" Beth kicked at him, but Negan swatted her again. Lucille let out a little hiccup.
"Anyway" Noah continued. "Beth had been chopping the giblets for the gravy and the knife must have slipped" Noah rolled his eyes but then make the international symbol for "she's been drinking". "When I got here, she was cussing and holding her hand and blood was all over the place. I've bandaged it the best I could."
Daryl took Beth's hand and looked at the fairly decent first aid job Noah had completed. The gauze was already soaked through though.
"I told her it should be stitched or glued" Noah reported. "That didn't go over very well."
"Yeh" Daryl mumbled. "I imagine not. Where the hell's Annette?"
"Passed out – guest room" Noah answered with a smirk on his face.
"Good Lord" Maggie breathed out and she turned to go check on her stepmother.
"Why is the god damned fire department here?" Negan finally felt the need to ask the next most obvious question.
"We got so caught up in trying to get Beth taken care of that we forgot the dressing in the oven" Lucille admitted.
"We ain't got no dressin?" Rick hollered out.