I know it says this story is complete but I got the idea for this and I decided to just add it onto this story since it's another part of Cornerstone instead of creating a whole new one-shot.

…

Their life together didn't change after the wedding – not that she was expecting it to. They went to work and came home to their trailer and on Sundays, she went to church and he went hunting and every Thursday, they went to his brother's for dinner. It was the same as life for them had always been and Beth found a part of herself actually relieved because for the briefest moment, she had thought, for some reason, that everything would be different now that they wore wedding rings and shared the same last name.

"Hey," Daryl stepped into the office at lunchtime when the other mechanics cleared out of the garage and it was usually just Beth and Daryl who stayed behind.

"Hi," Beth smiled up at him, still sitting at her desk.

"You wanna go somewhere for lunch today?" He asked, sitting down in the chair across from her and when she looked at him, raising an eyebrow, he smirked. "Kind of sick of bologna sandwiches. Figured nothin' wrong with changin' things up."

"Alright," she gave her head a nod and reached into the top drawer where she kept the keys for the garage.

Outside, she made sure the front office door was locked and the bay doors were closed for the hour and she climbed behind Daryl on his motorcycle. She didn't ask where they were going but she wasn't surprised when he took them to the Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet in town. They had a five dollar lunch special and Daryl was certainly one of those people who got his money's worth.

Inside, after being shown to a table, they ordered drinks – Coke for Daryl and water for Beth – and then Daryl headed straight for the buffet. He loaded his plate with the chicken and beef options and Beth chose the vegetable fried rice and Lo Mein noodles as well as a cup of the egg drop soup. She remembered the first time Daryl had taken her here – on what was their sixth date though Daryl had insisted it wasn't a date because he had to spend more than five dollars on her. She had been so self-conscious, sitting there, convinced Daryl would take one look at her plate and tell her to go get more food so she could eat more.

But he never said a word and she was always so grateful to him that he understood. She was still sick but she was definitely better and even if she was completely healthy, there was no way she would be able to eat the amount of food that Daryl ate when they came to the buffet without making herself sick. They had two very different stomachs and Beth would never be able to eat the amount of food he did.

He always ate as if he was starving and deep down, Beth knew it was because when he was a child, he had never gotten enough to eat and as an adult, his brain had conditioned him into eating as much as he could while he could. She never commented on it though. Even if they were married, there were still certain topics that were almost considered taboo and Daryl's childhood was certainly one of them.

Even as his wife, she felt as if there were some things that just weren't her business until Daryl decided to make them her business.

"So, I was thinking that Saturday after work, we could go to the grocery store. I've been working on a list," she said.

Daryl nodded, chewing a mouthful of beef and broccoli. "Sounds good," he replied once he had swallowed. "And I know Thursday's usually our night but Merle was wonderin' if we wanted to go over for a Saturday night cookout."

"Of course," Beth answered with a smile and head nod. "Maybe we can pick Hank up a little something from the store before we go," she then suggested.

"You spoil 'im," Daryl smirked a little but Beth just shrugged.

She wasn't going to deny it because there was no reason, too, when they both knew it to be the truth. She definitely did spoil Hank Dixon but she couldn't help it. He was her nephew and she was his godmother and she loved him to death. Neither Shawn or Maggie had children yet and there was no way she would ever be able to have children of her own. She liked having a baby in her life who she could buy adorable clothes and toys for.

They had talked about it once – she and Daryl – before they got married about how she would probably never be able to have children of their own. It was something that she accepted because she had no one to blame but herself for it and it was something she had come to terms with and Daryl had honestly said that he didn't want kids anyway so it didn't matter to him whether she could have any or not. And Beth believed him because Daryl Dixon was never one to tell lies and if he told her he didn't want kids, of course she believed him.

They never talked about it again after that initial conversation. There really wasn't a point to it. This was the way things would be and as long Beth had Daryl, she really didn't need to have children. She knew some people wouldn't be able to believe that. She was a woman. Of course she should want to have children and she had – when she was younger. When her mother was still alive and she was still eating and had all sorts of dreams for herself that kids usually had for themselves.

But life happened and she changed along with everything else changing around her and she was definitely a different person than she was when she was a younger girl. And now, just because she was a woman, that didn't mean that she had to want children or have children to have her life be complete. She had a home and a job and a husband who she loved and who loved her more than anything. She was pretty sure her life was already as near to complete as it could be.

Daryl got up to get his second plate of food as Beth still worked on her noodles and when he returned, he had brought back a small plate for her with a couple pieces of Crab Rangoon, knowing that she usually got that if she had room to eat them.

"I think Annie's pregnant again," Daryl commented as he sat down again.

"Already?" Beth couldn't help but be surprised. Hank had just turned one the month before. "Why do you think that?"

Daryl shrugged. "Just been payin' attention to what Merle says. He's past fifty and Annie's almost forty. Think they want 'em while they can still have 'em."

"Well," she said after a moment of thinking that over. "I hope they are then. They're amazing parents."

Daryl smirked at that. "Yeah," he agreed but she knew he couldn't really believe it. Not about Annie being a good mom but about Merle being a good dad. It wasn't as if either of them had had a shining example of what a good dad was while growing up and for many years of his adult life, Merle had made his fair share of mistakes, Daryl usually right there along with him.

But then Merle had been sentenced to prison and it was exactly what both needed. Merle straightened himself out while behind bars and Daryl straightened himself outside of them and now, Beth liked to tease them that they were both such upright citizens – and Merle always frowned at that as if she had insulted him somehow.

After finishing their lunch and collecting their fortune cookies, they climbed back onto Daryl's motorcycle and headed back to the garage.

"Someone is thinking highly of you right now," Beth read from the slip of paper once she had cracked her cookie open.

Daryl smirked. "Don't look at me."

And she giggled, which made him smile, and he framed her face between his hands and he gave her a kiss before leaving the office and heading back to his bay and Beth settled herself back behind her desk, munching on her cookie.

…

They had a grill in the backyard but it was hardly ever used, Merle, instead, choosing to cook over the fire pit they had set up instead. On Saturday night, Annie had prepared barbecue chicken and put Merle in charge of cooking it with Daryl's help and while they did that, Annie and Beth were in the kitchen, cooking the corn cobs and putting the salad together though the Dixon men never ate salad.

Hank Dixon was sitting on the kitchen floor, wearing nothing but a diaper because it was a sticky night and the air conditioner wasn't working at the moment, playing with his plastic dinosaur toys – his personal favorite.

And once everything was ready, they sat down at the picnic table on the back patio and Hank sat in Daryl's lap because he always insisted on eating with Uncle Daryl when Daryl and Beth were over.

"So, Merle and I just found out a few days ago," Annie began and Beth and Daryl already knew what she was going to say but they gave her their full attention. "And I'm about eight weeks pregnant," she informed them both with a wide smile.

"Annie, that is so fantastic! Congratulations!" Beth got up to go around the table and she bent down, wrapping her arms around her sister-in-law's shoulders in a tight hug.

"Congratulations," Daryl smiled at his older brother and Merle smirked in response.

"Got some strong swimmers, that's for sure," he grinned and Annie slapped his arm.

Beth sat back down beside Daryl and reached over, poking Hank playfully in the stomach and the baby giggled. "And you are going to be the best big brother," she smiled and Hank gave a wide grin as if he understood perfectly.

The rest of the meal was spent with Daryl and Merle talking about deer season that fall and maybe going into the woods for the whole weekend and Beth and Annie talked about baby things. Annie hoped they had another boy so they could reuse many of Hank's baby things but she certainly wouldn't be opposed to a baby girl and Beth smiled and asked her about names and due dates and if she had sickness yet.

Beth could feel Daryl's eyes watching her occasionally and she knew what he was thinking. She didn't say anything and he didn't ask but she would look back at him and give him a small, reassuring smile. He was a hard man to read but somehow, she had become the one person in this world who was always able to read him better than anyone else. She knew he would probably ask once they had gotten home and were alone once more even though she knew he knew he didn't have to ask that.

Once they got back to their trailer in the woods, Daryl stayed outside to smoke his last cigarette of the night and Beth went inside to get herself ready for bed. Their lamb, Harvey, was living back on the farm with Hershel and had been gone for almost a month now. He was fully grown now and no longer needed their care like he had when he was still a little lamb. Besides, Hershel had acres of pasture for the sheep to roam and Daryl was nervous about wolves in the woods, attacking him. Without him baaing though, it sounded too quiet to Daryl even with the owls hooting and the crickets chirping.

He made sure to fully extinguish the cigarette butt before going inside, closing and locking the door behind him. He supposed he never needed to lock it. He and Beth lived in the middle of nowhere in the woods and hardly anyone ever came around here but it was better to be safe than sorry – especially with Beth inside.

She was in bed, wearing one of his flannel shirts as she usually did to sleep in because it didn't matter how humid it was outside. Beth was always cold. She sat up, writing in her food journal, taking note of everything she had eaten that day and Daryl stripped down to his boxers, making sure his clothes were picked up from the floor and put into the hamper and then he crawled into bed beside her.

Her hair was thrown up in a ponytail and Daryl couldn't help but look at the pale expanse of her neck exposed to his eyes. He wondered if she knew how much her pale skin turned him on. She probably did. Beth knew most things about him and hardly seemed surprised when he did decide to tell her something.

He leaned in and was unable to stop himself from pressing his lips to the side of her neck. He felt her smiling as she continued to write and his lips moved towards the corner of her jaw. It was always one of those sensitive spots for her and now, just sucking on it lightly for a second, he got her to moan softly.

"Daryl," she whispered his name, already sounding a little out of breath. "I have to finish this," she told him even as she turned a little bit more towards him.

And Daryl knew she had to. It was important for her to write in that journal every day and he didn't want her to skip something just because of him. There was a support meeting twice a month in a church about twenty minutes away that they went to together. Beth had told him that he didn't have to but he didn't even discuss it with her. If she was going, he was going. Beth never spoke at these meetings – just sat and listened to others share their stories of eating disorders – and Daryl wondered if she would ever be comfortable enough to talk of her own. Daryl knew most of the facts of what she had gone through but he knew there were a few things she kept to herself and never talked with him about. And he didn't force her. He had his own secret stories he would probably never tell her and just because they were married, that didn't mean that she couldn't keep a couple of things from him.

He pulled his head back and watched as she began to write again – writing a little faster now – and he wondered if he should ask the question that had been on his mind since Merle and Annie made their announcement. He knew she already knew what he wanted to ask her and he already knew what she was going to say and yet, he really wanted to ask. Maybe to just confirm what he pretty much already knew.

"You okay?" He finally asked, his voice sounding a little gruff, and he cleared his throat. Beth finished writing and closed the journal, handing the notebook and pen to him so he could place it on the nightstand beside the bed. "With Merle and Annie?" He clarified and she looked at him, her eyes soft and her smile matching.

"Of course I am," she smiled at him. "I'm so happy for them."

Daryl nodded his head once, still looking at her. It didn't bother him. It never had and he knew it never would. He didn't need kids of his own. Didn't even want them. And Beth was in agreement but sometimes, he found himself watching her when they were around Hank, looking for the slightest hint of sadness on her face. He never saw any and he knew that he wouldn't. Beth was fine with the cards they had been dealt in this life and he didn't know what they would do if she wasn't. He guessed they could always adopt but that was a long and expensive process and they didn't really have the money for something like that. Same with a surrogate.

But she always looked so fine and Daryl didn't know why he always felt so relieved when he knew all along that she was fine. She always seemed as happy with their life as a person could be and Daryl knew that personally, he was damn happy, too.

"Excited about being an uncle again?" She asked, the smile still on her face and she adjusted herself, scooting down so she was lying down, looking up at him.

Daryl propped himself up on his side beside her. "Yeah," he answered after a minute. "Kind of still gettin' used to Hank bein' Merle's. It'll be weird as hell seein' him jugglin' two kids."

"Think about how much fun it will be to watch," Beth said with a near giggle in her voice and Daryl smirked at that, shaking his head, agreeing with her completely.

She reached up and her hand found the back of his head and she pulled him down, Daryl more than ready to kiss her and put his body on top of hers.

…

Daryl and Beth were Hank's godparents and when Ricky was born, they were made his godparents as well. Annie was a church-going woman and Merle had started attending services while locked up and both were in agreement that their boys would be raised, going to church, too.

Ricky was baptized after service one Sunday and Beth held him in his arms, smiling as he let out a quiet cry as the water hit his forehead. And afterwards, they had friends over at their house for a Sunday lunch to celebrate.

"You alright?" Merle asked Daryl as he stood in the backyard with Rick and he came to hand them each a can of beer.

Merle was more observant than people would usually think. Not as observant as his baby brother but he was far from an idiot and Daryl had Beth had been married for a year now and Daryl had mentioned once about kids and never having them and Merle knew that Daryl was probably just fine with that and Beth seemed fine, too, but he still couldn't help but ask.

He figured that if Daryl and Beth ever wanted a kid of their own, Merle could always give them one of his.

Daryl nodded, swallowing down his guzzle of beer. "'course I am," he answered in a way that made Merle feel like he was stupid for having even wondered if he was.

Daryl saw Beth standing across the yard, talking with her pops, Hershel, and Annie, who was holding baby Ricky in her arms. And it was as if she knew that Daryl was looking at her because Beth suddenly turned her head and found his eyes immediately. She gave him a happy, bright smile and Daryl had no problem giving her his own smile in return.

…

Thank you very much for reading!