A/N Thank you all so much for reading this story, it makes me smile! Sorry this didn't get up sooner, I just couldn't get it to flow, I think I finally got there and I hope you'll enjoy it.

Rick was back to work full time, but he was taking it just a little easy, not pushing himself too hard, it had been awhile and he was out of the day to day mode.

He was enjoying being back, but he missed spending his days with Beth. Besides being the prettiest girl he knew, and also the smartest, and kindest, she was by far the most interesting person he'd ever met.

She and Carl seemed to be getting along great, Carl told him they were chill. Rick wasn't sure exactly what the hell that meant, but he was happy they were both happy.

He appreciated Beth's approach with Carl, she was definitely a caregiver, but she wasn't trying to be his Mom. Like she'd told him, he had a mom, she wanted to be Beth, to be there for him when he needed her to be, and she had rules about respect, his room, his homework, and checking in with her if he wasn't coming right home from school, just reasonable stuff, nothing stringent.

And when Rick got home from work that night, the scene made him think it was all going to be good. She and Carl were sitting on the couch with a baseball game on TV, she was teaching him how to keep score, and while he was looking at her, absorbing the information, he was untangling a little pile of cords. Perfect. How could he not smile at that?

"Hello family, I'm home," he said cheerfully.

Carl looked up for just a second, "Hi Dad."

Beth looked to him with a smile, "We'll eat as soon as the game's over, okay?"

"Sure, no rush, who's playing?" He knew she loved her baseball, and he was just enjoying the sight of a happy family.

"It's the Dodgers vs the Pirates, but it's an old game, don't tell Carl who wins," And she had a conspiratorial little smile.

He laughed and said, "No danger of that, I haven't got a clue. I'm going to get out of this uniform, be back in a few."

But he stood there another few moments just taking in the scene. The time had come, and he was going to talk to Hershel. He knew what he wanted, knew what he needed, why was he hesitating? Not only was she everything he wanted in terms of the person she was, but fuck, he could hardly control himself in the bedroom anymore, all he could think about was making love to her. He'd call Hershel in the morning and see if it would be okay to stop by at lunch.

Then the doorbell rang, it was Daryl, "Hey Rick, don't mean ta be intrudin' was just in the neighborhood, wanted ta come by and say 'Hi' ta the pain in the ass kid, Beth told me he was stayin' here now." Then he looked at Carl like he hadn't known he was sitting right there, "Oh hey punk, what're ya doin' here?"

Carl didn't miss a beat, "I came to check on you, heard you were bein' nothing but a giant redneck pain in the butt."

And Rick was sure he was the only guy in the room who wasn't mentally 14.

But he smiled at his friend, "Come in Daryl, you know you're always welcome here. Beth and Carl are just watching a ballgame, Beth's teaching him how to keep score."

Daryl quickly bent down and kissed Beth on the cheek (Rick may never get used to seeing Daryl openly display affection), "Hey girl, how ya doin'? We still on for the mornin'?"

"Sure it's on. We need to leave here about 8:30, but I don't think it'll take all day, I'm thinking it should be over by 10:30 or 11."

"A'ight, I got no problem waitin' for ya Beth, give me a chance ta mess around with that goofy tablet thing ya told me I should get. When ya come outta that meetin' I oughta have 'bout 390,000 questions, n you can answer all of 'em for me." He smiled at her.

"I'd love to Daryl, we can come back here and I'll make lunch."

And Daryl said, "Well I sure ain't turnin' down yer cookin'!" And he glanced up at the TV, "Dang Beth, is that the Dodgers versus Pirates game I've had ta watch with ya 'bout 10 times? Geez, don't they ever play any new ones."

"Oh Daryl, you know I love this one, everyone gets so many hits and homers, it's a fun one," And she beamed that smile, "Now don't tell Carl what happens, he's never seen it."

And Rick was wondering exactly what the fuck was going on. Not only did Daryl and Beth have plans for the morning, but then she was going to cook him lunch, and he seemed to know this was her favorite game and he'd watched it with her 10 times. Hmmm, he wasn't really jealous, okay, maybe just a little, but not like he suspected them of anything. It was the closeness they shared. He knew he shouldn't resent it, and it wasn't like he wanted to keep her cloistered away, and she and Daryl were old friends, he had to respect that. But you know, still. He'd just wait and talk to her about it later, when Carl was doing homework and Daryl had gone home. In the meantime he said, "Can I get you a cold one Daryl?"

And Daryl said, "Yeah, sure, thanks man."

And Beth looked up from the game, "Oh excuse my manners Daryl, will you have dinner with us? It's one of your favorites, pot roast."

And Rick was thinking shit, isn't this just so sweet. But he got Daryl the beer and handed it to him with a smile, because after all, Daryl was his 'brother' and Carl's 'uncle' and her best friend. One big happy family. And he finally went in the bedroom and got out of that damn uniform. And he also told himself to quit being such a fucking grouch, if he was going to make this relationship permanent, he'd be living with their closeness a long damn time.

So, he put on his jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed himself a beer and decided he was going to have fun with this crazy family. And once that decision was made, he did have fun, it was a great game. Carl was excited he'd learned to keep score, and he was also excited he got her cords untangled for her. Daryl told him, "Don't worry kid, yer gonna have plenty a opportunities ta untangle cords for Beth." And he smiled at her.

Daryl went home shortly after dinner and dishes, Rick told Carl to get his homework done. And he looked at Beth and finally he got his welcome home kiss, "Hey Sweetheart, missed you today."

And she smiled up at him, "Oh Rick, I always miss you when you're away from me." Now see there, he reminded himself, he was the lucky guy that she chose to live with.

"You want to sit in the living room, or do you think you'll be okay on the back porch?" He smiled, and she loved that smile so much, and she knew he had questions for her, and that was okay, he should.

"I think the back porch Rick, let me just grab a sweater."

They sat side by side holding hands and she decided she'd tell him before he had to ask, "Glenn called me this morning, and some of the big shots from one of the companies we've just designed software for have asked to meet with us tomorrow. Its downtown at the Smith Hotel, that's where they're staying and they reserved a meeting room where we'll make our presentation. I was with Glenn most of today, and we worked on it, I think it's very good. I'm excited, but I just didn't want to go alone. I wanted to know that I had a person there, someone to take me and bring me back, someone I knew would be waiting right outside the door. I know it's weird, Glenn will be there and all, but Glenn will chatter a mile a minute because he's going to be excited and full of caffeine and adrenaline. I need someone who will be quiet, especially on the drive there and back. You've just gotten back to work, I didn't want to bother you with this, so I called Daryl. He said he just needed to move an appointment, no problem."

And Rick thought about it for 10 seconds and realized it made perfect sense for her to ask Daryl, and he really was okay with it. "Gosh sweetheart, that's exciting, I'm thrilled for you, and I feel confident you're going to do great. Call me when you feel ready, and let me know how everything goes."

"Okay Rick?" And she smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I'm good Beth, honest. Do you want me to pick up dinner on my way home? It doesn't seem like you'd want to worry about cooking." He'd moved his chair closer and had his arm around her.

"That would be so nice, whatever you and Carl want," She did love this man.

"Then it's probably pizza, just warning you." And they both smiled at that, it seemed to be Carl's favorite.

"Beth, I'd like to take you out Saturday night. Do you think if it was a small, quiet restaurant that would be alright?"

"Yes, I could do small and quiet, as long as you're there with me," and she leaned up and kissed him. And he was go glad he was talking to Hershel tomorrow, because he was going to ask her Saturday, and he knew just the restaurant, and he was hoping she didn't want a long engagement, because he was so ready to be her husband.

And she was smiling at him, she knew he had a big question for her, and she was pretty sure she knew what that might be and she couldn't wait to say 'Yes.'

xxxx

The presentation went better than either she or Glenn could have ever expected. The clients were sold from the get-go, but now she was panicking, she'd had her own money for a while now; they'd been moderately successful with their other endeavors, but this? This was a whole new income bracket and then some. If their other clients reacted like the customers they'd met with today, she and Glenn were going to be very wealthy.

That was somehow frightening to her. Although she was a genius with numbers, and certainly knew about accounting and finance, the idea of being very wealthy herself seemed mostly like an enormous responsibility.

Daryl could tell she was having a rough time with something, so when they got in the truck he asked her. And for once, she looked at him and said, "Daryl, I think I need to talk to Rick about this first. I'm sorry."

He gave her a small smile and said, "Well good for you Beth, you're finally making the transition, you're right, Rick is the guy you should talk to about things, he's your number one man. I'm always gonna be yer big brother, I'm always gonna be here for you, n we're always gonna have a real special connection, but Rick, he's it for you girl, he's the one."

He pulled her into a tight hug and she started to cry softly, "What ya cryin' for Beth?"

"I just love you so much Daryl, thank you, you're right. I hope someday soon you'll feel like you can talk to me about who this special person in is your life."

"See how ya are Beth? I can't have no secrets from ya!" But he was almost laughing when he said it. "Yeah, there's someone, I wanted ta test the waters first, be more sure, I ain't never had a steady woman, well ya know that, but this woman, she's different, I want this one ta stick around. I'll tell ya about her next time. Today's 'bout you. 'Sides, I'm hungry and ya promised me lunch, n I got my 390,000 tablet questions for ya too."

And he gave her a kiss on top of the head and started the pick-up.

xxxx

Rick had called Hershel and he was on his way to meet with him. The older man had a pretty good idea what this may be about, it was obvious to anyone who saw Rick and his daughter together, they were in love.

Rick pulled up to the farm house and Hershel stood to greet him, "I'm glad you called son, it inspired my beautiful wife to set this lovely luncheon up for us on the porch, complete with Sweet Tea," He was all smiles.

Rick was almost embarrassed, he smiled and remarked. "I had no intention of putting anyone out, I sure never expected all this. I thought I was going without lunch today."

"That's never going to happen at this house Rick, although she must think you're pretty special, she never fixes me a fancy lunch like this, so let's get to it while we chat. You wanted to speak to me, so you talk and I'll listen, and eat."

"Fair enough Hershel. I don't think it could possibly be a surprise to you that I'm in love with your daughter, and the best thing is, she says she loves me too. I know I'm quite a bit older than Beth, certainly more experienced, but I guess you can't help who you fall in love with, and she happened to fall for an old guy. And, of course, I don't come without ties. I was married for several years, and as you know, I have a 14 year old son. It looks like he'll be with me full time now. That seems like a lot to ask Beth to take on, helping raise a teenage boy. Now she says she's happy he's there, she claims she wouldn't want it any other way, but you may not think it's quite as wonderful as she does, and I'd certainly take your feelings into consideration. I want you to know I can support her, not like a queen," and he finally smiled, "but she hasn't objected to the lifestyle so far. When my father passed three years ago, I was his only heir, and I used the money to pay-off my house. So, she won't be taking on any financial burdens."

Hershel smiled and laid a hand on Rick's arm, "Is there a question you're trying to ask me Rick?"

And Rick smiled, "Yeah, I am, I guess I was going into way too many pros and cons, my question is, can I have your blessing to ask Beth to be my wife?"

"Son, I'd be honored to give you my blessing, and I hope she says 'Yes.' As for your boy, if Beth accepts the situation, I don't see why I should object. I've always wanted a grandson and it'll be real nice to have one who's old enough to take fishing." He smiled and reached his hand across the table and they shook.

xxxx

When he got home from work with the pizzas she acted like her usual happy self, gave him a friendly kiss, told him she'd missed him, but he could tell something was off. "Everything go okay with your presentation Sweetheart?" He was concerned.

"Yes, it really couldn't have gone any better," She smiled, but it wasn't her big beautiful Beth smile.

"Alright, well after we have dinner Carl will be in his room doing homework, maybe we can slip out and have a glass of wine on the porch and talk about things, how does that sound?" He hated it when she seemed so tense and anxious.

"That sounds perfect, wine could help, but talking to you would help more." She gave him a quick hug.

"Daryl didn't have any words of wisdom for you?" He was surprised she hadn't talked to him about whatever it was.

"Oh he would have talked with me about it, but I told him it was something I preferred to discuss with you, and he agreed that's how it should be." And Rick was surprised by that, and he was elated, she and Daryl had agreed he was the person she should bring things to? Hallelujah, she trusted him, had faith in him.

He gave her a hug just as Carl walked in the kitchen, "Are you two going to be hugging and kissing all night, or can we eat dinner, I'm starving."

And so they had their dinner in the kitchen and talked about Carl's day at school and Rick's day at work, and Beth's presentation, and again, Rick was struck by this feeling that they were a real family. He'd never had this family feeling when he and Lori were married, everything always seemed almost strained.

After dinner he opened a bottle of wine and he and Beth went to the porch. The first thing he did was wrap his arms around her, and then he said, "I don't like to see you so worried Sweetheart, what's got you so concerned?"

"Oh Rick, this is going to sound so ridiculous, most people would be thrilled to be in my position, but I just feel overwhelmed. Glenn and I gave the presentation, everything was so upbeat, so positive, and they offered us an enormous amount of money for all the rights to the program. It's going to make us both wealthy, and if the other companies are as excited about their software as this company, and there's every reason to think they will be, we're going to make a fortune. That just feels like so much pressure to me. Of course I wanted to succeed with this endeavor, but I never really thought about the money. I was thinking about fulfilling a promise and achieving a goal, proving myself to myself, a personal success. What am I going to do with all of that money Rick? That concerns me, but what concerns me more is, is it going to change your feelings about me? I want you to know, I love you, I love this house, I love the way we live." She buried her head in his chest.

"First of all Beth, I can't even think of anything that's going to make me ever love you less. You're so it for me and I love our life too. You're the finance expert in the family, can't the money just be put in some type of account where you can leave it sit while you think about what you might want to do with it? You may end up deciding to give it all to some charity, or you may want to set up a scholarship program, But you don't have to make the decision this minute, sit on it a while, take your time, and do what's in your heart. In the meantime, I'll be bringing home those fat King County paychecks and we'll maintain our current luxury lifestyle, which we both seem to be content with." And he smiled at her and kissed her softly and asked her, "Does any of that make sense to you Sweetheart?"

"It does Rick, so much, why was I putting pressure on myself? I don't have to do anything until I'm ready. I don't know why I couldn't see that, I was stressing myself out. I love you Rick, thank you for being such a calming presence."

And just as they started kissing again, Carl opened the French doors and said, "Oh my gawd, you two are worse than teenagers."

A/N Well I think our couple moved forward by leaps and bounds, and we're all set up for what's coming next, Yay! Thanks so much for reading, please review xo