I got a review from a guest yesterday on part sixteen that I don't agree with but thank you for taking the time to read and give me your honest opinion. Sorry I lost you as a reader. But to everyone else still reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter and the rest of the story. Just a couple of chapters left after this one. Daryl's POV for the next part.

…

Part Seventeen.

"You hated me when I first came here," she whispers to him one night in bed when she thinks he's already asleep and she gives him a smile she knows he can hear even in the darkness of the bedroom.

"Didn' hate you," he grunts and he's half asleep. "Scared of you."

"I would think you weren't afraid of anything," she says, a smile still in her tone.

"Pretty girl's livin' in Evergreen all a sudden and servin' me my dinner," he says. "Came out of nowhere and smacked me in the face. Was never expectin' you."

Her smile softens and she feels her cheeks warm. She loves when he's nearing sleep like this because he seems to be so much more open and willing to say such things that make her heart flutter like it has sprouted wings and is trying to escape her chest. And she wonders if he has any idea what his words like that do to her.

And she knows he's ready to fall asleep but she doesn't care and she leans across the small space between them and she presses her lips to his in a soft kiss.

"I love you, Daryl Dixon," she whispers to him.

"Love you, too," he mumbles and then she hears his breath drop off and just like that, he's asleep and she wonders if he's even realized what he's said to her.

…

Even though he doesn't want her to, she keeps working at the bakery up until two weeks before she's due. She says it's no big deal and she likes to stay active. It's important to her that she keep working and keep the bakery open and running for as long as she can.

And he has developed this habit of calling her every hour just to check up on her. She thinks it's cute but also annoying and she tries to suppress her sigh every time the phone rings and it's him, making sure she's not on her feet for too long at a time and that she's not lifting anything too heavy. And she stands there and wants to roll her eyes as she gives the same answers to the same questions but every time she hangs up, she just wants to squeal like she did when he first asked her out because he is such a good man and it is so shocking to her that more people don't see that.

…

Her water breaks and Daryl is so oddly calm about the whole thing, it almost unsettles her. She knows Daryl isn't the sort of man to freak out yet she had expected a little reaction when they got her to Dr. Peletier and labor really began.

He stands there, never leaving her side and she clutches his hand with hers, probably breaking his fingers but he doesn't even flinch. He just holds her hand back and sometime during it all, she feels him reaching over and brushing sweaty hair back from her face and when she looks up at him, he's looking right back and his eyes are such a dark blue today and when he leans down and kisses her forehead, tears spring in her eyes and she has no idea if it's from that or the excruciating pain.

…

It's a girl and Beth is still crying as Dr. Peletier smiles widely and passes the bloody, crying baby into her arms. Beth looks down at her wailing daughter and she's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen. She then turns her head and looks up at Daryl and he's standing there, stone still and looking as if he has slipped into shock.

The nurse takes her away for a moment to get her cleaned and weighed and Dr. Peletier takes a moment to clean Beth as well. Daryl still hasn't moved or said anything and she's not entirely sure what to say or do. The nurse returns and places the baby back in Beth's arms and all of her attention is back to her daughter again. She's clean now and has quieted down and she is bundled in her blanket with her tiny eyes shut and her tiny fingers curled into tiny fists and everything is so tiny and perfect, Beth feels tears welling in her eyes.

"Daryl," she says his name, looking up at him, and that seems to snap him out of whatever he's in, him taking a step closer. "Hold her," she gives him a soft smile.

Daryl hesitates. "Don't know how," he grunts.

She keeps smiling. "Yes, you do," she assures him.

She lifts her arms and he stretches his out and she gently passes the baby to him. He stands there, looking stiff and awkward and staring down at their daughter, and then, slowly, the longer he stares down at her, he finally begins to relax.

…

They name her Molly Annette and it seems over the next few days, everyone in town comes to see the baby and Beth is overwhelmed and everyone's genuine kindness towards her. She had stopped in Evergreen all of that time ago because she needed gas and had decided to stay on a whim and make this her home and now, this is what she has. She has this huge family and she can't imagine being anywhere else.

She knows Daryl was petrified the first time he held her but now, within just a few short days, he is usually the first one to get to Molly when she starts crying. Molly already has some of his dark hair and Beth teases him about genetics and he just smirks and says the kid's already got her mama's eyes.

Having a newborn baby is stressful, of course, but Molly is a good, quiet baby. She doesn't cry that much and it is as if she is taking it easy on her parents so both Beth and Daryl have time to adjust to all of this. The house is a bit of a mess, neither having the time or energy to keep it clean and T-Dog surprises them when he shows up on their doorstep with a mop and bucket of cleaning supplies because he's a bit of a neat freak and he had just been able to imagine how their house is. It seems like Maggie and Glenn are visiting every weekend to help with Molly and Glenn is surprisingly so good around babies, having three younger sisters.

Within the first month, Molly seems to grow to love the sound of Beth playing her guitar and singing her soft lullabies and it always calms her. And when she is a few months old, the first thing she is able to grip is Daryl's hair.

…

She stays home for two months before she goes to the bakery and opens it back up for business. Daryl stays home with Molly and now, Beth is the one to call him every hour to see how things at home are going.

"Don't trust me with our daughter?" Daryl asks and she hears the smirk in his tone.

"Of course I do," she says. "I just miss you two," she then admits and she feels so darn silly because she just saw them this morning and she'll them again in a couple of hours. "She hasn't done anything, right?"

"Yep," Daryl replies and she hears him rustling with something. "Took her out and taught her how to drive just this mornin'."

"Smartass," she grumbles and he chuckles.

"You wan' us to come and see you?" He asks.

"You don't have to do that. I'm just being silly."

…

But a half hour later, she hears the bell of someone entering the shop and she comes out from the back room to see Daryl there with the stroller and even though in the back of her mind, she knew he was probably going to be coming, seeing him there, she burst into a smile as if she hadn't been expecting it at all and she rushes to him.

She throws her arms around his neck and hugs him tight and she feels his arms around her, his lips to her hair and he's smiling a little.

…

"So, have you two talked? At all?" Sasha asks as Beth comes to the diner to drop off T-Dog's dessert and pours her a cup of coffee.

Beth doesn't answer but her face seems to say it all because Sasha reaches over and finds her hand, giving it a squeeze.

"You two really need to talk, Beth," Sasha says what she has said so many times before. "You two have a baby together."

Beth sighs and drops her head into her hands. "I know," she almost groans. "And I tell him I love him and he's only told me when he's sleeping or falling asleep and I'm still so scared that he's just going to leave but… he has to love me. Right? I mean, we do have a baby together. We live together. We have this family together. That all means something… right?"

She looks at Sasha and Sasha looks at her.

"I think you two really to talk," Sasha says again and Beth sighs softly because she knows it's what has to be done but her stomach is already knotting at the idea.

…

She is sitting on the bed in their bedroom, folding laundry because they've developed a system where if Daryl washes it, she folds it, and Molly is napping in her crib beside their bed.

"Hey," Daryl is lingering in the doorway. "Can I talk to you?"

She almost drops the pair of socks she's folding and she stares at him, forgetting to answer for a moment. He's the one who wants to talk?

"Sure," she finally remembers herself.

He comes into the room as if nervous and he looks to Molly for a moment before looking to Beth and easing himself down on the bed. He is quiet for a few minutes and she looks at him, her throat dry and her stomach clenching. She looks at him and waits and he picks at the hole in the knee of his jeans.

"Dale's retirin' and sellin' his garage," Daryl suddenly says. "Thinkin' 'bout buyin' it."

Beth looks at him for a moment as if she's not understanding his words. She can't help it. She feels disappointment even though she knows she never should have expected anything and he's talking about his future – and maybe it's their future, too – and that's just as important.

He's looking at her and he looks so nervous and she gives him a small smile. She reaches over and squeezes his knee.

"I think that sounds perfect, Daryl," she smiles at him and he looks at her for a moment before exhaling the breath he's obviously been holding and nods his head once. He keeps sitting there and she wonders if now would be the time to talk about other things; the things she really wants to talk to him about.

But she's so afraid. She admits it. Daryl has called her the toughest girl he knows and with many things, maybe she is but right now, she's sitting next to this man on the bed they share with their daughter sleeping a couple of feet away and she can't open her mouth to ask him what they are. She's too terrified to because what would she say? What would he?

She keeps looking at him and she's so scared.

"I'm gonna talk with Lori. Go over the numbers," he grunts out, standing up.

Molly is awake now, starting to fuss, and he hefts her up. The baby cuddles to his chest immediately and Beth smiles as she looks at them. She doesn't think she'll ever get tired of seeing Daryl and Molly together. He's such a good dad. She always knew he would be and she always gets such a thrill when he proves her right.

This is driving her crazy. It really is because she loves this man. She has a baby with this man. She is building up an entire life with this man and she can't talk to him about the thing she wants to talk about. Daryl's always been quiet and she knows that if they are going to talk about anything, she is going to have to be the one to start the conversation.

And though she knows exactly what she wants from him – she wants some sort of verbal commitment from him; some form of anything that he's not going to go anywhere because even though they have a daughter together, she still lives on this delicate edge that his brother will come back to town and will get Daryl to go back to him – she has absolutely no idea how to say any of that to him.

She has no idea what he thinks of her. She knows he cares for her and he loves their daughter but he has only said he loves Beth while sleeping and she has no idea if he knows that he has said that to her at all. She wants him to say it to her when they're both awake and looking at one another and there is no chance for her to doubt it.

"Think baby girl's hungry," Daryl says, rubbing a hand on Molly's back, and Beth swallows, nodding, not able to say anything.

The chance to speak with him is gone as he turns and heads towards the bedroom door and she looks down to the socks she has long since folded but are still in her hands. She's not tough at all. She's just a coward who is going to stay with a man and live in this strange in-between with him and never move forward with him.

When she was a little girl, she just imagined how her life would be. She would go to college and meet a boy and graduate and they would get married and have a family and she's not blaming her daddy's death on all of this because there is nothing to blame because she is so happy with her bakery and her daughter and Evergreen but she's not happy with this… thing with Daryl.

"Daryl," she blurts his name out before he can leave. She looks at him and he turns in the doorway, looking at her. He doesn't say anything and waits for her to. She is terrified but she has to do this because if she doesn't now, she knows she never will. And she needs to for both her sanity and her heart. She exhales a deep breath. "We should get married."

She's not entirely sure what she is expecting his reaction to be but she swears an hour passes before he says anything though she knows it's probably only been a couple of minutes at the longest. Molly is blinking her big blue eyes from Daryl's arm, not making a sound as if she understands what is going on right now and how utterly important and possibly life-changing right now between Daryl and Beth.

Beth swears she's not breathing. Her heart seems to have even stopped beating and all she can do is sit there and grasp the socks in her hands so tightly, her knuckles turn white and her fingers begin to ache. But she never moves her eyes from Daryl and he never looks away from her.

And then, Daryl finally gives his response.

"A'right," he says and that's all he says but that's all Beth really needs to hear, she realizes.

She starts breathing again.

…

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