A/N I told you this was coming! I don't know why, but I really struggled with their first time.. It should be easy and light-hearted right? Uh-uh! Not these two! They have been difficult from the start, but maybe, just maybe the road to love is starting to even out. Yeah right! Well at least for now everything is smooth sailing! And over 6,000 words that I had to rip from my soul! Enjoy! I know you do and I appreciate each and every one of you!
"Oh my god! My eyes!" Maggie screeched.
Daryl was up in a flash, lifting Beth off his lap where she had seconds before been be torturing him. Looking at Maggie's face, Beth broke into uncontrollable giggles. She didn't think it was possible to shock her sister. Maggie was usually the one causing Beth to blush. She went to stand up and Daryl's hands were on her hips holding her down.
"Uh uh, You ain't going nowhere, gonna have to help me hide my, uh.." He didn't have to say anything else because Beth's ass was currently pressed up against Daryl's predicament.
"Oh." She crossed her legs and rested her hands in her lap and smiled up at Maggie.
"Bethany Anne Green! What if I had been daddy? He woulda keeled over with a heart attack!" She stood there with her hands on her hips looking down at the both of them. "Thought y'all was supposed to be feeding little Norman?" Maggie had a soft spot for horses just like Beth did and she knelt in the hay and coaxed the little guy over to her so she could rub his nose.
"Wha' the fuck kinda name is Norman fer a horse?" Daryl growled from behind Beth.
"Maggie had a cat named Norman when we were little. He was black and white." Beth explained.
"What's wrong with Norman? What would you call him?" Maggie asked glancing over at Daryl.
"I'unno, maybe Spot," Daryl said nudging Beth, letting her know it was okay to move.
"Oh, that's original." Maggie rolled her eyes. "Nope, Normie it is. Huh, little guy. You like that doncha!" Beth stood up and reached a hand down to Daryl.
"And daddy would have made some noise, he's not exactly clueless." Beth crossed her arms and glared at her big sister.
"Daddy never would have imagined his baby girl would be making out in the barn with Daryl Dixon!" She had a smile on her face and all though she was teasing Beth knew there was some truth in it. What if Hershel had walked in and seen what Maggie had seen?
"Come on Daryl, I think Maggie can handle it from here." Beth laced her fingers through his and squeezed gently. His face was pale and she was sure he was thinking about Hershel walking in on them too.
"Y'all better go get a room! But Daryl can I suggest you get the hay out of your hair and zip up your fly before you leave the barn. Daddy was saying something about sitting on the porch for awhile." Beth and Daryl both looked at his fly.
"Maggie you're horrible! His pants weren't, we never.." The giggles overtook her again. Maggie was right about the hay. It was poking out all over the back of Daryl's head. Pointing she tried to form coherent words. "Daryl you've got, um, there's, oh come here." She pulled him closer and reached out and plucked the hay from his hair while he gritted his teeth and growled something she couldn't quite make out. All the while glaring at Maggie. It was hilarious, but Beth refrained from laughing anymore and lead Daryl from the barn.
"See y'all later! Have fun!" Maggie called over her shoulder.
X X X
Daryl shifted the car into park and just sat there staring at the steering wheel. He felt Beth's small hand on his thigh.
"Daryl?" Her voice was like honey. She was doing that on purpose. Girl!
"What if yer daddy had'a walked in Beth?" He had spent the drive home imagining Hershel's reaction, and it always ended with a shotgun. He'd also imagined a very different scenario where Hershel had got in his truck to drive across the state with Maggie for something, didn't matter what as long as they were both gone, and he and Beth were alone in the barn and she was doing what she'd been doing. For some reason, though that's as far as he could get, Hershel kept walking in and ruining the fantasy.
"Daryl, I'm 21 years old and I have a boyfriend, my daddy has got to expect-"
"Don' matter, yer his baby girl, he'd a killed me." Daryl was exaggerating a little, he didn't think Hershel would've actually killed him, but it wouldn't have been good. He held onto the steering wheel, avoiding looking at Beth. He felt silly for being so concerned, but what her daddy thought of him seemed important for some reason.
"Does that mean you don't want to come in, stay for a while or something?" Now she was running her hand up and down his thigh. He made the mistake of looking over at her and she had a pouty lip thing going on, not to mention those big blue eyes of hers just blinking at him.
"Huh-uh. Nope. I ain't going in there." Beth's house. Those yellow pillows and hell she probably had a picture of her daddy on her nightstand. " 'M gonna get my truck, you go get yer stuff and I'll take you to my house." He opened the car door, but Beth wasn't moving. "Ya comin'?"
"You want me to stay the night?" God, she was beautiful, especially when she was nervous.
"I want, hell ya don't have to, but yeah I want ya to stay with me. I want ya to come home with me and I want ya to stay the night." If she doesn't want to he'll be okay with that. He doesn't want her to do anything she isn't ready for. He just thought that after what happened on her couch before they'd gone out to the farm, and then in the barn. He was just reading the signs. But this isn't the forest and he's not tracking deer. It's 100 times more complicated with the little blonde who's currently turning his world upside down. When she doesn't respond right away he's thinking that maybe he blew it, until he sees that smile. That little smile. His smile.
"I want to Daryl." Standing, she slides her arms around his waist and presses herself against him and he's pretty sure he was reading those signs right.
X X X
Walking into Daryl's house this time is different. Not to mention it's only the second time she's been here, but it's more than that. She isn't going to be leaving until tomorrow. Morning. So everything is just a little surreal. Daryl is rushing around grabbing up things, a newspaper off the couch, a coffee cup left on the table, and he's mumbling something like an apology for 'the mess'. As if. She was here last Saturday night and the fact that it hasn't even been a week since that night kind of blows her away. So much has happened since then, too much for only almost a week. She takes a look around. The rich brown hardwood floors and the denim couch where she cleaned his wounds, the same deep blue as his eyes. She remembered thinking that last Saturday night. It's all part of one big room with the kitchen on one side and the living room on the other. A little hallway off the back of the living room leads to the bathroom. She did go in there for the first aid kit and it was neat and clean too. Gray and black towels and some kind of rock tiles on the floor that also served as walls for the tub and shower. Anyone coming in here would be able to tell that he took pride in it.
She hasn't seen his bedroom though and she finds herself wondering what it looks like.
"Beth? Hey, ya in there?" Daryl is waving a hand in front of her face and she laughs, embarrassed that she was so caught up in the mystery of his bedroom.
"Yeah, I uh, I was just thinking I never told you what a beautiful home you have." Now it's his turn to be embarrassed, he shrugs his shoulders, but she can see the colors on cheeks.
" 'S ok. I like fixin' it up. Can I get you somethin' ta drink?" He takes her bag and sets in on the floor by the door to the hallway that leads to his room.
"Um, yes, please. Whatever you're having is fine." Beth sits on the edge of the couch and pulls off her boots, tucks them up against the couch and leans back into the soft denim cushion.
"I'm havin' whiskey, think I need it." He turns and heads to the cupboards and she admires the view from behind for a minute before asking,
"Why do you think you need it?" For just a second she imagines them both there in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Together. Shaking her head she lets the fantasy go.
"Cause yer in my house woman!" Daryl huffs and he pulls a whiskey bottle from the cupboard.
"You invited me, Daryl." Is he having second thoughts now? Or is he just nervous cause she thinks he looks kind of nervous? And she is definitely nervous. But she's going to do her best to pretend she isn't and maybe that will make him feel better too.
"Ain't got no fancy yellow pillows or nothin' " he mumbles and Beth breathes a sigh of relief, he is nervous. She stretches out on the couch, arches her back a little, like a cat getting comfortable.
"Those yellow pillows don't leave much room for two people to snuggle up together Daryl. Your couch is definitely better for that!" She has to tease him just a little. It eases her own frazzled nerves. With the bottle of whiskey and a small glass of ice, he comes over to the couch and she bends her legs and lets him sit. He's watching her and she suddenly feels self-conscious at the enormity of the situation. And maybe that's an exaggeration, but not as far as she's concerned. They've been headed for this for a little while now. Sitting up she folds her hands in her lap and doesn't take her eyes off of his.
"You gonna pour me that drink, Mr. Dixon?" Where the sudden courage to flirt comes from is beyond her. He clears his throat and fumbles with the bottle and glass, setting them on the table.
I don' wanna do this." He's mumbling, but Beth is 100 percent sure she heard him right.
"Wh, what?" He can't be that nervous, but then again she's feeling all kinds of things too.
"Ain't gonna be like this with you. I could sit here an drink til I ain't so nervous, but I ain't gonna do that." He glances at her and holds out his arm and she scoots into the circle of it, her heart pounding for other reasons than her nerves.
"I'm nervous too Daryl," she says softly. Then he's standing pulling her up with him and tugging his shirt over his head. She watches for a moment enjoying the way the muscles in his arms flex. Reaching down, she gets ahold of her tank top and lets it drop on the floor at her feet. Her hair, that she left out of her usual ponytail, is a soft cascade of curls down her back. She's searching blindly with one hand, trying to unhook her bra when he stops her.
"Lemme do it." His voice is husky and his fingertips ghosting over her ribcage cause her to shiver. Her bra lands on top of her tank top and his hands still at her sides. She puts her small hands on top of his and moves them up and over her breasts. The nipples already hard and pushing into his palms. "Ya in a hurry or somethin'? I was admiring 'em." He leans over and kisses her shoulder.
"Yeah, I want you to touch 'em, touch me, I want.." Everything he's doing is taking her breath away and she's light headed and hot and definitely needs to get the rest of both of their clothes off.
"Tell me what ya want Beth.." His lips are on her ear and she runs her hands up over his arms and those biceps that looks so incredibly good. When she gets to his shoulders he tenses and pulls back just a little. "I got a lotta scars, m' dad was a mean mother fucker." He sounds a little defensive and maybe even scared, but this doesn't faze her in the least.
She lets her hands run the length of his back and feels the raised skin, twisted in more than one place as if it wasn't taken care of properly when the wound was new. The only thing that really breaks her heart is that a parent could do this to their child, someone much bigger and stronger, who is supposed to protect not harm, inflicting the wounds that caused these scars. One runs up over his shoulder and stops above his collarbone and she presses her lips to it and he shivers. She'll kiss them all if he wants her too. Then he cups her face in his hands, tilts her head up and kisses her, sucking on her bottom lip and lingering there for a second before leaning his forehead against hers. Does he expect questions? Does he want to know what she thinks? Rubbing a thumb across his bottom lip she rests her hand on his cheek.
"They're just part of you Daryl, like mine. I never showed anyone, least, not anyone who wasn't family. Until you." Other people knew about what she had tried to do. It's a small town. Even Jimmy knew, but he'd never asked her about it and she'd never wanted to tell him anything.
"Never took my shirt off when I was with a woman. Rick's seen 'em, Michonne. Carl thought I got 'em fighting tigers, until a couple years ago. He thought I was the strongest guy alive, even stronger than his daddy." Daryl chuckled. He sucks her thumb into his mouth and the sensation of his tongue laving the digit is a turn on she's never experienced before.
"You're so strong, I see that every day, everything you do…" It's hard to talk while he's doing what he's doing to her, kissing her palm, her scar and sliding his other and down her sternum over her tummy to the button on her jeans.
"Why'd ya show me, Beth, I ain't no one, I ain't.." The question causes a hitch in her breath and stills his hand.
"Cause I'm falling in love with you. And you are someone, to me." Letting her hand slide down to where his is, she nudges. "Take them off of me Daryl, that's what I want."
X X X
Taking off his shirt and telling her about his scars wasn't hard. He'd been doing his best to let that part of his life go, at least the anger that consumed him every time he thought too hard about it all. It wasn't something he shared with just anyone. Rick had become a close friend, a brother, and being a part of the police force, he knew the stories anyway. When Michonne came into his life there wasn't ever any question, Carl didn't know any different and he loved Daryl like an uncle. Beyond those three people and Merle, Daryl hadn't ever opened up to anyone else about them or his life. He's pretty sure Carol saw them once when he was working on her car without a shirt, but she never said anything. They shared similar stories. Victims.
So letting Beth see hadn't been so hard, easier than he'd imagined when he let himself imagine them in this position. And she was Beth, she'd never judge him, not for that. She thinks he's strong, he thinks she's pretty strong too. He didn't think it would be a big deal, wouldn't matter much, but it does, because he showed her, he let her in, almost all the way.
Now she's here in his arms and for such a strong girl she feels small and fragile. And she's making him so fucking hard and it feels so good. 'Take them off', that's what she said. No way he's gonna argue with that. Kneeling before her he prides himself on the fact that he doesn't fumble with the buttons on her jeans. Gets 'em undone on the first try and she's kicking out of them and giggling softly while she gazes down at him. Her panties match the bra she was wearing, light blue and soft and silky like her skin. He stands and laces his fingers through hers.
"Les' go in my room." She isn't budging. He looks back over his shoulder at her.
"Aren't you gonna take yours off?" she asks looking down at his jeans.
"Ya wan' 'em off?" Of course, she does, she took hers off, well technically he took them off, but... She's standing in front of him in just those panties and she's like a little goddess carved from marble. Like the statues in the books his mom had, Greek gods and shit, Venus or Aphrodite, perfection, but not perfect with a crack or two or a missing arm. Beautiful, but broken.
He lowers his hands to his fly and keeps his eyes on her. She's watching it all, tugging on her bottom lip with her teeth. He undoes the top button and she sucks in her breath and fuck if it's not a turn on that this is having such an effect on her.
"Wanna help?" he asks. But she's shaking her head.
"Huh-uh... wanna watch." It's almost a whimper, the way she says it.
"Shit Beth, yer makin' me feel like, dammit girl I ain't got no sexy moves or nothin'!"
"You don't gotta swivel your hips for me Daryl, just get 'em off and take me to bed." She's giggling and smiling, she likes teasing him. Well, he intends to one-up her. She hadn't noticed earlier, but he ain't wearing any boxers. The hiss of a zipper and his jeans are pooled around his ankles and she's no longer laughing. She's biting her lip again, trembling slightly, her blue eyes almost black, pupils blown wide with desire. He moves to close the space between them and presses against her, his hard cock cushioned against her soft belly.
"That what you wanna see baby?" He doesn't give her a chance to respond, his mouth is on hers, tongue teasing her lips open so he can taste her, feel the little sounds she's making vibrate in his throat. He cups her ass cheeks, one in each hand and holds her, squeezing, as he grinds against her. She throws her head back, whining.
"Daryl!" He loves her breathless. "Fuck.." And apparently this is good too, he's never heard Beth use that expletive before and he didn't think he could get any harder.
"You have a filthy mouth baby. Say it again.." Gravelly words uttered against her temple. Tilting her head to the side she gazes up at him with those damn innocent blue eyes.
"Fuck... Daryl, I want you to fuck me!" Now it's his turn to moan and hold her hips still against him because this could literally end right here in the middle of his living room. "I'm so wet Daryl, so... " She slips a hand between them, slides it down her flat belly and it disappears into those baby blue panties for a second and when she pulls it out her fingers glisten with what he's doing to her. She is wet and he watches, jaw-dropping as she puts those same fingers in her mouth and then he can't handle it anymore. He picks her up and cradles her in his arms and makes his way into his room.
X X X
Beth's entire body is humming as Daryl drops her gently onto his bed. Easing her knees apart, he moves between her thighs and slides her panties off. Sex has a smell, but with Beth, it's an entirely different experience, it's intoxicating.
"Touch yerself, like ya were." He's kneeling over her, hair is his face and right about now she'd do anything he asked her too. She skims a hand over his knee, her jutting hipbone and down to the apex between her thighs, slips a finger between lips that are smooth, just a tuft of blonde hair at the top. She barely gets a second finger in before he grabs her wrist and brings the fingers covered in her wetness to his mouth. He sucks on them, his eyes closed and she feels the heat of a blush that covers her entire body. He's tasting her and that makes her feel so vulnerable she shudders and he opens his eyes, looks down at her and stretches out beside her.
"Ya okay?" All she can do is nod, she doesn't have any words to tell him how all of this feels, how he's doing things to her body and her heart that terrify and thrill her and how she never wants it to stop. His hair is falling in his eyes and they are on her, questioning. She brushes his hair aside and leans in to kiss him, tasting the tang of herself on his lips and tongue.
"Never tasted myself on somebody else's lips," she murmurs. She's aching to have him inside of her, filling her up. His cock keeps rubbing up against her pussy and she drapes a leg over his hip, opening herself up for him. Looking down between them he takes ahold of himself, thrusts into his fist and rubs the head of his cock at her entrance, teasing her clit. It's too much and she falls back on his bed, her nerves stretched taut. She's moaning and he's chuckling!
"Daryl! God, just stop, just-"
"Oh, ya want me ta stop?" He moves away, leaves her wet and wanting and groaning in frustration. "Just hold on baby." Her eyes are closed and she feels him moving beside her, his lips are on the inside of her knee, soft kisses up her inner thigh, hand on her tummy holding her down, then his mouth is on her pussy and her head arches back into the bed. His tongue is soft and hard at the same time, circling her clit, pushing her closer to her orgasm. She's lost in what he's doing to her, all reason tumbling into oblivion and she's begging, incoherent syllables that don't form words. His hand on her tummy moves to a breast and pinches her nipple.
"Come on Beth.. come for me and then I'm gonna fuck you..." His voice vibrates against her sensitive flesh, urging her on until her body is one big wave of pleasure and his name is on her lips. When she opens her eyes he's kneeling between her legs fumbling with a condom and she rests her hands on his and guides him as he slides it over his rock hard member.
"Come're," she whispers hands sliding up around his neck and pulling him down until he's stretched out on top of her, one hand bracing himself on the bed and she's sure somewhere in the back of his brain that he's worried he's too heavy, he'll crush her or something because he's always thinking of her, always making sure she's okay. "That was amazing Daryl, you made me feel so good. It's never been like that, never, no one ever made me come like that." And while she's telling him, with a voice that isn't entirely steady, how good he is she's got one leg wrapped around him, heel digging into his ass and she reaches between them and grasps him circling her small hand around his thick length. He shudders and moans as she squeezes gently and he moves between her legs letting her guide him as he enters her slowly until he's buried in her sweet heat.
X X X
Daryl is trying to take it slow, savor it, but her pussy is so tight around him and he wants to pound into her, fuck her so hard she forgets her name and comes again while he's inside of her. He slides a hand down her thigh to her knee and he hooks his arm underneath it. Lifting her leg his thrusts are so much deeper and she moans her approval and bucks up against him. He isn't gonna last much longer. Looking down at her, lying there undone, so open, he feels so connected to her. They're in this together. And it's never been like that for him. Sex has been about getting himself off more than anything else. His pace slows a little and she makes a noise, a tiny whimper and her eyes are on him. He lets her leg slip from his grasp and he buries his face in her neck, sucking at the soft skin.
"Are you okay?" she whispers into his hair. Her hand on lower his back, kneading the muscles.
"Yeah, I.."
"Don't slow down, don't hold back.. said you were gonna fuck me. So fuck me!" How did she know he was holding back? And now he's practically shaking, bracing himself, a hand on each side of her head. She wraps her legs around his hips, sliding upwards against him and twists a little, and that is so agonizingly good. Daryl looks into her eyes and drives himself into her deep and hard, his pelvic bone grinding against her. He glances at her for just a second when she gasps, withdraws then slides home again. His eyes fall closed as his orgasm shatters him. She follows right behind him, her hand between them, urging her to get to that place with him. He falls against her, tries his best not to land heavy, but she takes it, wrapping her arms around him.
"Fuck... Beth.." Breathing is hard right now, so speaking is almost impossible. But she's smiling at him and kissing his cheeks, his eyelids, his temple, wherever she can reach and it feels so good. He gets ahold of her and rolls them over so she's tucked up against him and he can run his hands up and down her body, this body that fits so perfectly with his.
"I know." That soft laugh again. Even before the sex, he knew Beth Greene was something else, and he knew he was gonna do whatever he had to, to keep her in his life. He's big, she's small. He's dark, she's light. He's hard, she's soft. He never was much for all that bullshit about finding the person who completes you and he doesn't think they complete each other. But she does something, makes him more and everything else more. They're better together.
"Les' get under the covers, my ass is kinda cold," he whispers into her hair and he feels her hand slide over his hip and cups his ass as she giggles.
"You poor baby! It is cold!" They squirm around on the bed until they're settled under the soft sheets and she's sighing, her head on his heart.
"I wanna stay here like this with you forever Daryl." She's yawning, half asleep but he believes every word she says because he feels exactly the same way.
X X X
After he drops her off at her apartment in the morning he heads to the garage with the taste of her still on his lips and a smile on his face he doesn't think he's gonna be able to get rid of completely. He's never had anything remotely close to what he and Beth shared last night. Sex was just sex. Sure it's always felt good. He didn't dislike it. It served a purpose.
That was before. Now he's questioning whether or not he was really even having sex, which is ridiculous and it makes him chuckle as he pulls into the garage. Course he was having sex. But he never had sex with the other. Love. She'd said it, said she was falling in love with him. And he's been such a dumb ass, he couldn't say anything back, not because he wasn't feeling it, but because he was scared. Scared. Daryl Dixon isn't supposed to be scared a nothin'. Apparently, that's bullshit cause that beautiful little blonde that was there in his arms, in his bed, had him so terrified he couldn't say a single word back. That wipes the smile from his face and creases his brow with wrinkles from worry. Should he have said more? Something, anything? Beth hadn't seemed upset that he hadn't said anything in return. When it was all said and done she fell asleep, in his arms with her head on his chest and he knows he remembers a smile, a little, soft smile on her face.
"Fuck," he breathes as he gets out of the truck and heads inside. Uncertainty is gonna be the death of him.
X X X
Beth is in the barn with her daddy and Norman. The little foal is doing really well considering his precarious start in life. He's curious and friendly and Beth is sure he thinks he's a dog or human. She's sitting cross-legged in the hay with him and her mind keeps going back to last night and this morning. Daryl and his bed head and sleepy eyes. They were both so shy, but it was okay. They didn't talk about much of anything, but he kept looking at her and she him and whatever they need to say they will later.
"Beth, Hershel?" Rick's voice calling from out in the yard brings her back.
"In the barn Rick." Hershel stands, groaning. "I'm getting too old to be on that barn floor Bethy."
"Old? Not even close Hershel." Rick reaches out and shakes the older man's hand.
"That's kind of you, Rick. What brings you out here?"
"Looking for Beth." He glances down to where she's sitting, trying to coax the foal to take his bottle.
"Well, here I am. Come on Norman! You need this stuff. It's gonna make you strong and healthy." Beth is rubbing behind his ears and pushing the nipple between his lips. But he's having none of it and she's about ready to give up. He seems content and very frisky.
"Did you just call that horse Norman?" Rick asks a smirk on his face.
"I know. Maggie named him and he'll grow into it won't ya? What's up?" she rubs the foals soft pink nose.
Rick tells her the investigation they did for the fender bender is finished and as he suspected the other driver was completely at fault. Beth won't be charged with anything and it won't go against her driving record or affect her insurance. With everything that has been going on between her and Daryl she completely forgot about the accident and the horrible guy from the parking lot.
"I stopped in at the office and they said you were out here. I wanted to tell you in person. I know that was a bad day. I also wanted to see what you and Daryl had planned for this weekend." He kneels down and runs his hand along Norman's back and the foal turns and nuzzles his hand. "Hey, you're friendly!"
"I appreciate you coming out here to tell me, thank you, Rick. We don't have any plans yet. Daryl's only working a half day. He has a side job he's doing." If she has her way they'll just go back to his place and get back in that bed and stay there all weekend. Her cheeks warm at the thought of what went on in that bed and how it was probably the most perfect night she's ever had, even if her body is feeling the effects of it today.
"That's right he's building wheelchair ramps at the nursing home in Newnan." Norman is nibbling at Rick's watch band and making the man smile.
"Oh?" He hadn't told her that. They hadn't ever talked about his other jobs or that little calendar on his fridge.
"Of course he didn't tell you, doesn't like to say anything good about himself." Rick shakes his head. "He does quite a few odd jobs for them. Doesn't charge 'em for his time. Just the cost of supplies which he gets at a discount anyway." Beth isn't sure why she's tearing up. Maybe it's residual emotions from last night.
"He's a good guy," she says softly playing with the loop on the side of her boot.
"Yeah he is, but don't let on that you know. Makes him uncomfortable." Beth smiles, more to herself than at Rick. Daryl was gonna have to learn to take compliments. And he hadn't done so bad last night when she was breathless and whispering in his ear how incredible he was, how amazing he'd made her feel. She hasn't been paying attention to Rick and he's saying something about Daryl doing a couple of those jobs a month and how he gives rides to an older man, Jack who likes to come into the bar and Beth is nodding because she saw that first hand. She's well aware that Hershel is doing more than preparing formula back behind them on the workbench. He's listening because Rick is talking about Daryl and Daryl is the man currently spending a lot of time with his youngest daughter. So, of course, he's listening. When he clears his throat Beth and Rick look over at him.
"I knew Daryl's dad, doesn't seem like his boy is anything like him. You're friends with the man Rick and you're friends with our family, you approve of him and my Beth spending time together?" He's serious, but there is also a little twinkle in his eye.
"Daddy please!"
"I do Hershel. Daryl's been a friend for a long time and I know he's got a bad rap because of his family name, but he's an honorable man. And I know for a fact that he thinks very highly of Beth."
"That's good to know Rick. Thank you." Hershel goes back to preparing bottles of formula, but now he has a little smile on his face.
Beth's face is definitely all shades of red now and she's trying to disappear into the background. She isn't a child, far from it, and her relationships aren't her father's business anymore. All she can think about is last night and that big bed and all the ways he made her feel things no other man has and how it has so much more to do with her heart than her body. Once again she's lost in thought and Rick is talking about a barbecue and a pool.
"So tomorrow, steaks on the grill and hanging out by the pool?" Rick is smiling at her and she nods in agreement.
"Who's got a pool?" Maggie butts in as she wanders into the barn an apple in her hand.
X X X
He missed her call that afternoon but listens to her message three times before he gets around to cleaning up the job site and heading back home. Her breathy laugh, the way she says his name. Something else about Rick wanting them to come over and swim tomorrow, but tonight, tonight she just wants to be with him, doesn't care to go anywhere further than his back porch. He'd told her he was gonna drag his mattress out there so they could sleep under the stars. She thought he was kidding, she was gonna be plenty surprised tonight. But first, there's one thing he's gotta do. Can't do anything else until he does this. He's dirty and sweaty and he's pretty sure he has paint in his hair, but he pulls into the parking lot of the vet office anyway. The bell on the door rings and Eric, the receptionist looks over at him.
" 'M looking for Beth." He stuffs his dirty hands in his pockets.
"She's back in the lab." He doesn't wait for any further instructions, just heads back into the hallway he thinks must lead to the lab. She'd said in her message that she was going to run some of Norman's (stupid name for a horse) bloodwork and that she'd call him again when she got home. The first door is open and she's perched on a stool looking into a microscope and she raises her head when she hears his footsteps. He's graced with a smile. His. And that makes what he's about to say almost perfect.
"Ain't no fallin', 'm already there. I love ya Beth." She's speechless and he can't fathom why her face is filled with wonder. And she's still smiling, smile never left her beautiful face. Running a hand through his hair he starts backing up.
"Yeah, thas' all. Just wanted ta make sure ya knew. So, um call me when ya get home." He turns and practically runs for the exit cause he just told Beth Greene he loves her. He's never told another living soul that he loves them. Not even his brother. His momma was the only one. Thank god he made it to the parking lot before he heard her calling his name cause he feels like she's about to do something that would've caused a scene back in the waiting room and he would've been embarrassed and uncomfortable. Course he would've endured it. For her. But still.
"Daryl, hey! Stop!" He does and bites back a smile before he turns to face her. She's breathless and her cheeks are pink, maybe from chasing him and maybe from what he said. He really hopes the later.
"You can't just walk outta there like that, after.. oh Daryl!" Then she's launching herself into his arms and kissing him all over his face. Her ponytail is everywhere and he wraps it in his hand and tugs her head back just a bit.
"Calm down woman!" He growls cause he's not stupid, he's seen the effect that tone of voice has on her. It's like an aphrodisiac, like fuckin' oysters or something and he plans to use it to his full advantage. Her big blue eyes are filled with tears and she's trying to brush them away with very little success.
"I love you too Daryl." He's feeling something, even more than what he did when she said she was falling. Is this what she felt like a couple of minutes ago when he said those three little words to her? She still hasn't got a handle on those tears so he kisses the path they make down her cheeks, and gives them back to her in a kiss. Then he remembers they're standing in the parking lot of Hershel's office in the middle of the day, no they are kissing in the parking lot of Hershel's office in the middle of the day. Her daddy. Having endured what he feels is sufficient embarrassment for one afternoon, he pulls back gently.
"I gotta run to the store and go home and clean up, I'm filthy!" Daryl says.
"Oh, filthy is even better than dirty!" Her blue eyes, still sparkling with tears are also filled with a mischievous little glint.
"Girl! Just get yerself out ta my house when yer done." He presses a kiss to her forehead and tucks an errant curl behind her ear.
"Ok," she says. He squeezes her hand as he backs away and when he turns to go she calls him back. Her hands are on his shoulders and she's up on her toes whispering, lips soft against his ear, "Love you." Which causes him to once again forget how to use his voice and he just nods like an idiot, but she gets it and smiles and heads back into the office leaving him standing there wondering how he ever got so damn lucky.
A/N Apparently in all my smutty fics Daryl loves it when Beth cusses in the bedroom and is breathless and Beth loves how his husky voice does things to her... Oh well, certain things are just standard! More fluff to come and then, well you'll just have to wait and see... Thank you again for reading and reviewing and just being awesome!