One more chapter left in this story. I can't thank you for all of your support and love with this one.

…

Part Eighteen.

Rick is able to meet him for lunch though Daryl has no plans on actually eating. When Rick pulls to a stop outside of the jewelry store where Daryl had told him earlier to meet him, Rick steps out of his patrol car and grins at him. Daryl just stands there with his hands in his pockets.

"Expected you to be inside already," Rick says as he steps onto the sidewalk.

Daryl shakes his head. "Want to spend as little time in there as I can."

Rick grins at that. "I remember picking out Lori's and mine. Took me almost four hours and I still was up at night, worrying I picked the wrong ones."

"That ain't happenin' today," Daryl says, finally turning towards the store, Rick following behind. Inside the jewelry store, a saleswoman immediately approaches them with a smile on her face. "Weddin' rings," Daryl grunts at her and then follows her to a display case on the far side of the store, Rick coming up beside him.

The saleswoman is going over the selections, making her own suggestions, but Daryl honestly isn't listening to a word she is saying. His eyes are sharp, looking over all of the pairs of rings. He knows Beth isn't expecting this. She is expecting a quick wedding – which is fine with him – but at the same time, he knows its not what she really wants. Beth is a girl who wants the white wedding dress and flowers and wedding rings and Daryl is going to be doing his best to give her all of that.

It's a little out of order – having the kid before the marriage – but it's better late than never and Daryl wants to marry Beth. He hasn't told her that in so many words but he really does want to do this. Couldn't imagine himself doing it with anyone else; had never even thought about getting married before. And he was stunned when she was the one to ask him. He had never expected her to do that and he still feels like a jackass for not being able to say anything more than alright because Beth, the mom of his kid and the woman he wants to be with, deserves more than just an alright.

"Those two," Daryl interrupts the saleswoman in the middle of her never-ending speech and points to two white gold bands. "Those are the two."

"You sure?" Rick asks as the woman puts the two rings down in front of him.

Daryl looks at them for a moment, imagining one on Beth's finger and the other on his, and he gives his head a single head nod without thinking twice.

…

Beth laughs as the small audience cheers and she hears Axel give a sharp whistle.

"Thank you," she smiles into the microphone as she brushes her hair back from her face. "And thank you so much to all of you for coming out tonight to come hear me. I can't tell you how much I love that you are here. Especially my baby girl, Molly."

Molly is sitting in Daryl's lap at one of the tables in the coffee shop and as the others begin clapping, the baby begins clapping, too. Daryl smiles a little and when he looks from Molly to Beth, he keeps smiling and Beth smiles, too.

"This song obviously isn't mine but it's one I love singing and I think Daryl and Molly don't mind listening it too much," she is still smiling and her fingers begin plucking the strings of the guitar strung across her lightly.

"Come up to meet you/tell you I'm sorry/you don't know how lovely you are," and then she begins singing into the microphone. "I had to find you/tell you I need you/tell you I set you apart."

This is her third time performing at the coffee shop on Wednesday night and Daryl has gone to each one and he sees the way she smiles at him each time; as if she is truly surprised that he would come to see her sing and play and he smiles back but deep down, he feels like some form of shit because why would she be so surprised to have him there? He knows he's not the best guy – he knows he needs to start treating her better – but he thinks it would have been obvious by now how much he cares about her. They live together, have a kid together and now, they're getting married. Hell. He kicked his own brother to the curb for her. And for himself, too, but mainly for her. He feels he has done so much for her but she's still surprised.

Beth sings the familiar song and Molly leans back against his chest as the baby's eyes are seeming unblinking towards her mama on the stage. Daryl keeps a strong arm around her so she doesn't go toppling and his eyes stare at Beth the whole time. Her lips are upturned in a smile even as she closes her eyes and sings and strums and she's so damn pretty, he still can't quite believe that she wants anything with him.

…

He never saw himself as a dad – never even thought about it – but when Beth told him she was pregnant, he dove right into it because this was Beth and there isn't anything he won't do for her. He read the books and rented the house and bought everything that their baby was going to need; things he had never had for himself.

The first time he held Molly, the first thing he thought about were his own parents and how it was possible for them to feel nothing towards him because he looked down at his daughter and knew, in that split second, that he would die for her if that was what he would have to someday do for her. Within seconds, his entire life became Molly and Beth and there was no going back.

He doesn't want to.

He loves when Molly's a little older – a few more months – and she can support herself and he can hold her up in one arm while he can do work with the other. He loves holding her and he ignores the stroller a lot of the time. When they go grocery shopping, when they go to the woods, when they visit Beth at the bakery. Beth laughs at him and tells him that he has to put her down sometimes and sometimes, he does. And when she starts to crawl and later, toddle around on somewhat unsteady legs, he beams with pride.

She's the best thing he's ever done and sometimes, he's still not entirely convinced she's his. Not like that. He knows Beth slept with no one else but him and she's not the sort of woman to get pregnant and lie about who the father is. Beth doesn't have a manipulative or malicious bone in her body. But he looks at Molly – and at Beth, too – and can't really believe that this is his life. That he has such good things in his life because he's a Dixon and when has a Dixon ever had such good, nice things without breaking them down and ruining them?

He looks at Beth and he wants to thank her for all of this. He wants to say so many things to her and she smiles faintly at him with her pale lips and pale skin and rosy cheeks and he feels the words on his tongue. But for some reason, he can never get them out and he just winds up grunting or not saying anything. And he's not blind. He sees the flicker of disappointment in her eyes because for a second, she thinks he would have said something and all he wants to do is say something to her but something inside of himself is always stopping him from doing it.

But when she asks him to marry her, he's stunned but he's also kind of pissed because he's supposed to be the one to ask her and he wants to ask her. But then he has to remind himself that if they wait for him to ask, they'll never get married because he can't even tell her how he feels about her.

…

Her hair has gotten longer over the past few months and they both find out that he loves burying his nose and his fingers in it. She smells so damn sweet all of the time, chocolate and sugar now mixed in with baby powder and it sometimes makes him light-headed; as if high. But he can't stop inhaling her. If he dies from an overdose of Beth, it'll be a hell of a way to go.

She teases him about the length of his hair but he notices that she loves tunneling her fingers through it and grip onto it when he's pumping between her thighs. She breathes out his name and whimpers in his ear and she quivers and clenches around him and every time he finishes inside of her, he breathes her in and thinks he never wants this to end. And he reminds himself that it's not going to because they're getting married and nothing is going to come between them.

…

"That's nice," he comments as they walk through the department store, heading towards the baby section and they pass racks of dresses in the women's section.

"Hmmm?" She turns and looks to see what he's referring to. A dress of white lace and he sees the way she looks at it for a moment and a faint smile brushes across her lips. "Oh… it's beautiful." Her hand reaches out to touch it but she stops herself as if she's almost afraid to. Her eyes catch the tag. "And really expansive."

"You should try it on," he says.

"I can't," she shakes her head but he can see her eyes looking longingly still at the dress. "I don't need it…"

"We're gettin' married. Need a dress," he shrugs. "Don't you wanna wear white?"

Beth looks at Molly in his arm, sucking on her pacifier. "Kind of silly of me to wear white when we already have a baby."

He just shrugs and after she studies the dress for another moment more, she finds her size on the rack and he smiles a little when she goes towards the dressing room.

…

She has talked to Axel and Oscar because she has decided they should get married at the motel. He frowns when she suggests it but she reminds him that it's where they first met and where she first fell in love with him.

"Ain't never heard of no motel weddin' before," he says.

"I know you were thinking we could just go to the courthouse but I was thinking, maybe, we could have a small ceremony," she is smiling but she looks terrified at the same time and he can't help but still frown. Why does she look so terrified?

"If that's what you want…" he shrugs and her smile bursts wider in response. "I'd have to wear a suit?" He grunts, still frowning a little.

She laughs softly at that. "I won't make you wear a suit," she says and steps into him, slipping her arms around his waist. "I just ask that you show up."

"Where else am I gonna be?" He asks and it's not what he wants to say to her. Not at all.

He wants to tell her that he can't wait to marry her and he'll marry her anywhere she wants to. He wants to tell her that he's gotten them rings and he'll wear a suit and it'll be every damn thing she has ever dreamt about for a wedding.

But as usual, he can't say what he wants and he's too gruff with her but she just keeps smiling as if she's never been happier.

…

For the past week, he's gotten this feeling in the pit of his stomach – a tightening and a soaring in his stomach like he's going over the first big drop of a rollercoaster. It's a feeling he used to get whenever Merle was around. But Merle hasn't been around in over a year now and Daryl has no idea where he is but that doesn't stop his stomach from lurching and he gets to start looking over his shoulder.

But Merle isn't there. He tells himself this at least twenty times a day. Merle is gone.

He goes to talk to the bank and Beth comes with him. She's offered to use the rest of her daddy's inheritance but Daryl refuses and gets a loan and then he goes to talk with Dale and make him an offer on the garage. They end with a handshake and signed papers and Beth laughs, throwing her arms around him. Daryl feels himself smiling and he hugs her close and then they walk around the garage together; his garage and he hears himself rambling to her – and she must be rubbing off on him because when the hell has he ever rambled in his life? – about everything he wants to do. Beth stands in the middle of one of the bays, watching him with a smile, listening to every word he is saying.

He looks at her standing in the middle of what is now his auto garage and she is smiling because she's imaging everything he's talking about. She's the mom of his kid and the woman he's going to marry.

"I love you," he blurts out, finally able to say it and when he does, it sounds like she inhales too much air because she starts coughing.

"What?" She looks at him then, completely confused; completely in shock.

"I love you, Beth," he says because it's now as if since he has said it once, he is able to say it easier with each time. "You need to know that."

She's still staring at him as if she can hardly believe it. "I know it, Daryl," she nods. She then laughs a little and tears are welling in her eyes. "I just really needed to hear it," she then admits.

"I've loved you for a while. Just have never said it to anyone before. Was tryin' to show you," he shrugs his shoulders weakly.

Beth is still smiling and she comes up to him, slipping her arms around him. "We're going to be so happy," she says to him softly.

He puts his own arms around her. "Already am," he tells her quietly in return.

And she laughs again with the tears slipping down her cheeks.

…

They get married at the motel like Beth wanted – she in her white lace dress and Daryl wearing a clean white button-down shirt and a black tie with black slacks. He has Rick as his best man and they stand by the Reverend who will be marrying them. Sasha holds onto Molly's hand as the baby happily comes down the makeshift aisle, wearing a pink dress and waving at her daddy eagerly. Maggie is the maid of honor but she also walks Beth down the aisle and she and Daryl embrace for a moment before she takes Beth's hand and holds it out for Daryl to take.

The ceremony is short but Daryl feels his hands sweating as he stands there, looking at Beth the entire time. Prettiest damn girl he's ever seen and his hands are shaking when the Reverend asks about rings and Rick hands them to him. Beth looks at him because she had no idea he got them rings and he just shrugs because he doesn't know what else to do and he's almost embarrassed by that sparkling in her eyes.

He slips the ring onto her finger and she slips his ring onto his and once the Reverend pronounces them husband and wife, Beth throws her arms around his neck and kisses him as everyone around them claps loudly.

They have a reception at the Grimes' home – Rick and Lori both insisting – and it's simple and laid back and everyone enjoys the afternoon laughing and celebrating and eating the two-tier cake Beth has baked until just a couple of slices remain.

Near the end of the evening, Lori gives them each a bone-crushing embrace. "I am so glad I ignored Rick telling me to stop and insisted I set you two up."

Beth laughs and hugs her tightly in return.

"I'm glad I punched Shane in the nose," Daryl says to Rick as he hands him another beer, keeping it out of reach from Molly, who is in Daryl's arm, trying to make a grab for it as if it's for her.

Rick smirks and nods. "We've all wanted to punch Shane in the nose."

Daryl smirks a little himself and takes a swig of beer before bouncing Molly in his arms and the baby giggling before resting her head tiredly on his shoulder. He then looks to Beth as she is talking with Glenn and Oscar and it's obvious she's trying to get Oscar to smile and she looks so damn gorgeous with her long blonde hair and her white dress and it's amazing as hell to him that this is his wife.

And just like he has to keep telling himself that Merle isn't going to show up, he has to keep telling himself that Beth isn't going anywhere.

…

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