Hi everybody! Thank you so much for sticking with this story and all of my other stories while I have gone thru my writers block/brain fart stage. Now that the holidays are over and I'm back from vacation, I am getting new inspiration for all of my stories. I hope you like this update.
The next morning, Beth slowly woke up feeling warm….warm and safe. It was the safe that made her eyes pop open, remembering the events of the day before. She felt the arm that was wrapped around her waist and smiled, knowing the strong man attached to the arm was the real reason for her feeling safe. She could feel Daryl behind her, softly snoring and dead to the world. It was unusual for her to be awake before him, but he had to always be on his guard while they were out so he didn't get much rest and he needed it. All she really wanted was to snuggle deeper into the covers and into Daryl's embrace but she knew that if he were to wake up with them like this, he would be embarrassed and she really didn't want to make him uncomfortable. He had done so much for her already, even catering to the fact she was too much of a baby to sleep by herself anymore. He didn't make fun of her, or criticize her when she told him she couldn't sleep. He just let her in and held her hand as she fell asleep.
She let out a small sigh and gingerly moved his arm off of her and slid out of the bed. She could hear sounds from down in the kitchen and just the thought of breakfast had her stomach growling. She turned to look at Daryl and smiled again. He looked so relaxed in his sleep and it caused the small butterflies in her stomach to take flight knowing that she helped in some way for him to relax. She knew she had developed feelings for the strong man lying in the bed in front of her. Who could blame her really after everything they had been thru, but it was more than that for her. She smiled again at him and then slowly crept out of the door, careful not to wake the sleeping man. He needed his rest.
"Morning Maggie, Morning Daddy" Beth said as she walked into the kitchen, kissing her Daddy on the cheek as she walked by.
"Morning Doodlebug. How did you sleep?" Hershel asked, his eyebrow raised at his daughter. Beth whipped her head up at his question and at seeing his look her cheeks turned red. She knew she had been caught.
"Sorry Daddy. I just got so used to sleeping beside Daryl while we were out there that I couldn't sleep without him beside me. But I swear, nothing happened" she said, her most honest look on her face. Hershel just looked at her for another moment and smiled at her.
"I know Bethy. I cannot even fathom what you and that young man went thru while you were out there. If sleeping beside him gives either of you some peace, I'm not going to say anything. We can all use some peace right now" Hershel said as he took the last sip of his coffee. Beth smiled brightly and jumped up, kissing him again on his cheek as he stood and hugged him tightly. "Just make sure it stays innocent" he continued as he kissed her head. Beth giggled and hugged him tighter. "That young man has had a rough life, you can tell by looking at him. But you can also tell he is a good man. Any man that would help you like he did Bethy is good, and as far as I am concerned it was an act of God that brought him to you" he said with a smile as he kissed her cheek again and moved out of her embrace. Beth just watched him as he sat his cup on the counter, kissed Maggie's cheek and walked out of the kitchen. She knew her Daddy was a good man, but right then she knew he was one of the best. He didn't judge Daryl on his outward appearance, unlike most of the guys in their old group. He judged him on his actions.
"Here, eat Bethy and then tell me everything that happened" Maggie said as she sat a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her.
"I told you and Daddy everything yesterday" Beth said as she took a bite of her food. God, she really missed this.
"Oh you told us the rated version, I want to hear all the details. Tell me more about how you and Daryl became friends" she said with a sly smile. Beth could feel the blush rise up on her cheeks but started telling her the story.
"Excuse me Sir" Daryl said as he saw Hershel standing out on the porch that morning. He had heard Beth and Maggie talking in the kitchen and turned around, letting them have their sister time. He figured he would take a quick smoke and then go in for breakfast, but running into Beth's Daddy helped him tackle another thing he needed to do.
"You don't need to call me Sir, its Hershel" he replied with a smile
"Ok Hershel" Daryl said a little uncomfortably as he rubbed his neck. He still wasn't used to people treating him so nice. "I was wonderin' if it I could go huntin' this mornin' in yer woods? I wanted ta bring somethin' back for yer dinner to thank ya for lettin' me stay" he said nervously. He didn't think it would be a big deal, but he had learned early on in life about asking anybody for anything.
"Of course you can Daryl. You don't have to thank us for having you here, as I told you before you are welcome to stay as long as you want. But that being said, I'm sure myself and the girls would love to eat whatever you catch. We are going to have one more with us tonight too. Otis, a good friend of our family will be staying starting today. His wife caught the virus a little while back and he finally took me up on my offer to stay here." Hershel said with a smile as his gaze drifted to the barn for a moment and then back to Daryl.
"If you need tha room for yer friend, I can move into the tent" Daryl started but stopped when Hershel placed his hands up in front of him.
"No, we have plenty of room, as you may have noticed. It is no trouble and I don't want to hear anything more about your tent" Hershel said, his voice firm but his eyes still kind.
"Yes, Sir" Daryl stated with a smirk as Merle's voice mocked him in his head 'Yes Sir, listen at cha Baby Brother! Ya turned into a right pussy'
"So let me get this straight? You put yourself in between two ex-cops and Daryl? "Maggie asked, her eyebrow raised at her sister.
"Yes, you didn't see it Maggie. They double teamed him. He was just upset about his brother and they acted like he had no right. If it had been you on that roof, I would have acted the same way" Beth said with a growl.
"Yeah well Maggie isn't a redneck jackass like my brother was, so it wouldn't have happened to begin with" Daryl said as he walked into the kitchen, crossbow strapped to his back and a slight smile on his face.
"Doesn't matter what he was, he was your brother and they shouldn't have acted like they did when they told you about what happened" Beth said, folding her arms across her check in a huff.
"Yeah well I didn't handle the situation well either. Didn't even know what I was saying till this girl started yelling" he said with a smirk. Beth let out a giggle at that and shook her head as Maggie watched them both with a close eye.
"You going somewhere with that Daryl?" Maggie asked, pointing at the crossbow strapped to his back.
"Gunna go hunting. You want anything special for dinner?" He asked, answering Maggie but looking right at Beth.
"Oh if you could catch a rabbit, I could make a stew for dinner. How does that sound?" She asked, the smile bright on her face.
'Damn good. I'll see what I can do" he said as he grabbed two pieces of bacon off of her plate and walked toward the door, Beth following close behind him.
"Be careful" she said softly as he walked out the back door. This would be the longest they had been separated from each other since they left the group and it was worrying her more than she wanted to admit. He turned and gave her a lopsided grin.
"Gotta be. Gotta bring ya a rabbit right? " he said as he turned back around and headed toward the woods. Beth watched him go till she couldn't see him anymore. Letting out a sigh, she shut the door and turned around, finding Maggie watching her with a knowing smile.
"What?" Beth asked as she sat back down at the table and tried to hide her face as she took a drink of her watch.
"Oh dear sister….you have so much more you need to explain to me about this friendship you have with Daryl "my arms are works of art" Dixon" Maggie said with an even bigger smile.