Thank you for all the reviews and comments last chapter. Seem to have shocked most of you.
"I don't understand how that's possible," Beth stumbled through her words, not able to think properly with the bomb that Merle just set off.
"Are you trying to be funny Merle? Cause this is sick, even for you," Daryl was agitated. He felt terrible before, but now, he was taking on Beth's anger.
"I ain't kidding. Just had to piece together some information but I'm pretty sure on this,"
"But Zach is Chase's dad!" Daryl spoke forcefully. He was trying to keep his emotions in check but he was finding it difficult as his fists clenched.
"When I first saw the kid I knew he looked familiar. Looked just like Daryl. So I got one of those paternity tests kit and sent in the kid's and mine's swab thing. Turns out, I got a nephew." Merle explained.
"You need to leave Merle," Daryl said dryly, no longer making eyes contact and staring at the drink in front of him. He drank it all in one gulp and set the glass back down, feeling the burn down his throat.
Beth didn't wait for either of them and went to the bedroom to cool down. She tried her hardest to keep it down, as Chase was sleeping, but she couldn't help the stomping and pacing she was doing.
She was livid and also embarrassed. This was the one secret she had held onto for years, and had hoped would never come out. Once Chase was old enough, she had every intention of explaining it to him, but until then, she kept it locked inside.
It was completely confusing to her. How could her boyfriend of less than a year, be the father of her seven year old child? This was the stuff from movies and romance novels, not from real life.
She climbed onto their bed and hugged her pillow tight. She wanted to scream, to cry, to laugh and she didn't know what to do first. She was angry at Daryl and Merle for going behind her back like this, without giving herself the chance to explain it to Daryl first. But would she have told him?
Merle said something that had struck her as odd. Daryl being Chase's new daddy. Did that mean that Daryl was thinking of adopting him? It was the only clear answer she could think of. He must have said something to Merle about it, why else would he have gone through all this trouble.
She also wondered how he got the DNA test done. He would have had to ask Chase for a sample from his mouth, unless he took a hair or something. Is that how these things worked? Either way, Merle did what he did and now she had to deal with the results as they were.
She should be happy. Not only did she find love and happiness in this man, against the odds, he was the biological father of her child. Even if he wasn't, he still treated Chase like he was his own before this so at least she knows that he was genuine in his feelings for the both of them.
Would things change now though? They had no reason to but what if Daryl wanted them to get married or legally change Chase's name to his? It felt really fast and unexpected but Beth didn't feel anxious. She was just mentioning to Daryl not that long ago that maybe they should move. That would be stepping up the commitment level, having them own a home together. They were headed in that direction so what if things happened sooner rather than later?
"No, that's wrong," Beth chastised herself. They still needed to take a slow pace with their relationship. Beth groaned, flopping back onto the bed. This was insane. She couldn't keep debating these things with herself. She needed to talk to Daryl and explain everything to him. Tell him what was running through her head back then and what was running through it now. She was an adult and a mother and she needed to own up to her part in this. As weird as it was to her.
Daryl had kicked Merle out, not wanting to say a word to his brother on what he did. Merle seemed to understand because he left without a fight. Daryl went back to the table and poured himself another shot of the whiskey and took in all the information he was just handed.
He never told a soul what he had done. It was a low moment in his life and he just wanted to help out his brother. He saved his brother's life and somehow created another in the process. He was a dad, a real dad.
As much as he considered Chase his, he always felt like he was intruding in on someone else's life. This was Zach's kid, or at least he thought he was. He held back from loving this kid wholly because of that fact. But now that he knew that Chase was his own flesh and blood, he felt that love creep into every corner of his heart.
How did he not notice it before? The more he thought about it, he could see some similarities in himself and Chase. Mannerisms and facial features seem to pop out at him more now. Daryl never looked at himself as a child, his parents never took their picture so he really didn't have a lot to look back on. He was always so focused on growing up and getting out of that life that he just tried to push back those childhood memories.
Merle would have noticed and Daryl berated himself for not seeing that either. Merle was always looking at Chase, studying him in a way that was almost like he was trying to figure something out. He spent a lot of time with the kid and Daryl just thought he was trying to get his life back on track and be with good people. Lo and behold, he was actually spending time with his own nephew.
He left Beth alone for the time being, one, being that she was angry and needed to calm down, and two, he needed the space too. But he knew they needed to talk about things and he needed to know from her, how this was possible. He knew how, he just needed to hear it from her. He remained quiet at the table, continuing to take small sips of the amber liquid.
Beth opened the bedroom door and expected to see Merle sitting at the dining table with Daryl, but he was alone, drinking from his glass. She walked quietly over to him and sat back in her seat. She took the glass that had been poured for her, and took another sip. They remained silent for a few minutes, which gave Beth a few minutes to look through the papers again.
"I didn't have enough money to bail Merle out of jail, "Daryl finally spoke, after taking another shot of whiskey. "and there was some people in there with him that wanted him dead so I needed to get him out. It was a one time thing and I didn't think that Merle even knew about it. Told them I didn't want to be contacted and just wanted the money."
He looked over at Beth and saw her looking at the papers, clearly listening to him, but not wanting to look at him. She thumbed through the papers until a newspaper clipping fell out from in between the sheets. She picked it up and stared at it, tears starting to glisten in her eyes.
She passed it over to Daryl. "He looks just like you," she whispered softly.
He picked it up and couldn't believe the resemblance. It was a picture taken of Merle and Daryl, from a country fair, with their names just below it. They had participated in an archery contest at the state fair one year and had been in the top five. The paper was old and Daryl wondered where Merle could have gotten this from.
"After Zach, I was just…" she started but faltered, her emotion clearly getting the best of her. "I was a mess. I lost everything within five years and I was so tired of being abandoned and left alone." He could tell she was crying at this point and could see her wiping away tears from her cheek.
"Zach was with me when I lost my dad, and my sister had moved away. I thought he was going to be with me the rest of my life. Then I found out about him and Amy and I just lost it. I wanted nothing to do with anyone and I couldn't trust anyone." She took another sip of the burning liquid to gain more courage.
"I was depressed and probably crazy but I thought if I had something of my own, that no one could take away from me, that I would feel better. I told the clinic, I wanted someone who didn't want to be involved, who wanted no contact." Beth sighed. "What are the chances of this really happening?" Beth laughed between tears.
"You believe it then?"
"It's pretty obvious and I'm wondering how I didn't pick up on it before. This test and that picture just prove it." She motioned to the evidence. "Do you not?"
"I'm just in shock right now," Daryl admitted. They remained silent some more.
"Do you think I was wrong to do what I did?" Beth asked, finally looking back at Daryl.
"No. Wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for your choice. But frankly, I would have gotten a dog," Daryl chuckled. Beth smiled and could feel all her anger dissipate.
"I don't want to tell Chase yet. We should make sure Merle's a hundred percent right first and then we need to figure out a way to explain it to him."
"I don't think he's gonna understand artificial insemination," Daryl joked, which earned a giggle from Beth.
"Maybe we wait till he's older then," Beth replied back, a smile slowly starting to appear on her face. Daryl chuckled and they both knew, that things were going to be okay between them. They still had a lot of things to talk about, but it was reassuring to know that they had each other in this.
"Hell of a first Christmas together," Beth giggled some more and Daryl couldn't help but let a laugh escape from him too. "But hopefully the first of many,"
"We're stuck together forever now," Daryl replied.
They were both exhausted from their day, and with these new revelations they decided to head to bed and figure out things tomorrow. It was gonna be interesting, maybe even challenging, but they were up for it.
As they got under the covers, Beth turned over to look at the door, leaving Daryl to spoon her from behind. There was nothing sexual between them at this moment, it was more just pure pleasure and comfort. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight and she placed her arms over his, placing her own hold on him.
This was love, and regardless of how it happened, or the odds of it happening, they happened. They found each other, when they needed each other most, back when they didn't even know it. A small decision on both their parts, led to the beautiful creation of their son.
Their son.
It would take some getting used to on both their parts, and maybe Chase's when he got a little older. He was sure to have questions and they would make sure they knew the answers beforehand. They were a team now, parents in every sense to this young boy and Daryl knew he didn't want to miss a moment of him growing up now.
He vowed in that moment, that he would protect these two people with all his heart and anyone else who came along. He never saw himself as a father, and knowing how much he loved Chase and how well he seemed to be doing with him, he suddenly hoped that him and Beth would be able to have another baby one day. He wanted to be there from the beginning, watch her stomach grow with his child inside her, and take care of that being right from infancy.
Beth was thinking along the same line, wondering what it would be like to have someone with her, helping her out with her pregnancy and raising of the child. They both dreamed that night, of what their future could hold, knowing that what Daryl said was true.
They were together forever now.
I'll be posting a small epilogue tomorrow.
Thanks for reading and please review.