A/N So after almost 9,000 words I decided (after getting some advice…) to break it up into two chapters. Luckily for you all that meant an added smut scene that wasn't initially going to be included! So enjoy! And hugs to all of you who are still reading along and having fun! I appreciate you!
Beth pushes herself forward in the seat as they turn down the road leading to her childhood home. She never felt deprived of the things her friends did, like living in town close to what might have been going on there. She liked living in the country and being close to everything that it had to offer. Going off to school had been exciting and living in the big city was definitely an eye-opener, but this, this is home. Glancing over at Daryl she feels a rush of love for him and knows that he's also part of what she considers home now.
"Ya excited or somethin'? 'Bout to bounce off that seat girl?" The way he looks at her makes her feel so loved, she leans over and presses her lips to his scruffy cheek. Maggie's car is already there and she wonders briefly how their daddy is going to take Maggie's news. Whatever happens though, they'll get through it together. They're a family and they've weathered worse. Once they're out of the truck she reaches for Daryl's hand and laces their fingers together.
"Wanna go check on Norman with me?" Looking down at their hands he asks,
"Do I got a choice?" He's giving her a lopsided grin, but she can also see by the set of his jaw and the way his eyes keep flicking up to the house that he's little nervous. She's learning his body in and out of bed. And that feels so right. Once they're inside the shadows of the barn she stops him and wraps her arms around his waist.
"Hey, it's gonna be fine." Raising up on her toes she kisses his scruffy cheek again, relishing in the rough against her lips. "He wasn't waiting on the porch with a shotgun," she whispers, laughing softly.
"Ya ain't funny." His voice is gruff and he holds her against him, fingers pressing into her hip bones. Cupping his cheek she kisses him and shivers as he moves his hands up her back. The barn door creaks and Maggie's standing there with her hands on her hips.
"If y'all are looking for Norman he's out in the paddock- or maybe not! Seriously Beth? Y'all just got here and you're already sneaking off to the barn?" Beth tilts her head to the side and laughs a little never moving from Daryl's embrace.
"Have you figured out how you're gonna tell Daddy Mags?" She feels Daryl's silent chuckle and watches as her sister's face pales slightly. Glenn comes in the open barn door and he looks like a terrified little boy.
"Your dad's gonna kill me. You're gonna be a widow Mags and my child is gonna grow up without a dad." Beth actually feels a little bad for the guy. Looking up at Daryl she rubs a hand lightly across his chest.
"Think yer dad'll be too busy tryin' ta kill that poor sucker an he'll forget 'bout me?" Daryl asks her quietly. And she nods her head.
"Yep. Most definitely."
X X X
Daryl watches Beth in the paddock with Norman. The little horse has been around so many humans in his short life he doesn't shy away. She's kneeling in front of him and he's nipping playfully at her hair. It could just be Beth though, Beth and her goodness, her big heart. Her smile almost always brings a smile to his face. She's so damn beautiful and… Nope, he's not gonna think about all the reasons why he doesn't deserve her. And he's gonna get through this dinner and take her home and show her just how much she means to him.
"Hey, horse whisperer, we better get inside," he calls to her. She stands and dusts herself off saying something to the little horse who's following her as she walks over to where he's leaning on the gate. Daryl reaches out and rubs Norman's ears and gets a little knicker out of him.
"He has the same effect on me!" She giggles leaning over and kissing the horses soft pink nose. "Bye little guy." Closing the gate behind her she takes Daryl's hand and he can feel her gaze settle on him. She must sense he's still feeling nervous. She sees right through him. Squeezing his hand gently, they head towards the house. Daryl sees the screen door as it opens and watches Hershel step out onto the porch. He raises his hand in a wave and Daryl expects Beth to run to him, but she stays by his side as they walk up the steps.
"Hey daddy, how are you?" Beth finally lets his hand go and he tucks it in his pocket and looks down at his feet as she hugs her daddy.
"I'm good Bethy. And how are you two? Daryl?" Daryl looks up at Hershel who's wearing a serious expression on his face.
"Afternoon Hershel," he holds out a hand, "look I wanna 'pologize-" But Hershel is holding up a hand.
"Thank you for taking Beth home with you after what happened. I'm so thankful you showed up at her place when you did." All Daryl can do is nod. It won't do any good to argue, Hershel isn't going to let him take responsibility for what happened.
"They got the guys, daddy, and Merle, he talked to a couple of friends so I think it's all taken care of." Beth is back beside him, small hand holding onto his and it's the only thing he needs right now, her touch is a reassurance.
"I stopped in at the station and Rick told me. I'm really glad to hear that. Otherwise, Daryl and I might have had to take matters into our own hands, isn't that right Daryl?" He winks and smiles and Daryl has to try and smile back even though it's a little uncomfortable seeing as his smiles, the ones that feel right are usually directed at Beth. But he gives it a shot and it's not too bad.
"Thas' right," he says. Maggie pokes her head out the screen door and eyes them all.
"Roast is ready, come on in and let's eat." Her bright smile looks forced and Daryl knows exactly how she's feeling.
"We better go on in. This was all her doing. Don't want to make her mad." Hershel chuckles and heads in. Daryl glances at Beth. That's all? It doesn't feel finished to him. Hershel may be okay with it but Daryl feels like he deserves to be questioned. At least that. She slides her arms around his waist and smiles up at him, her blue eyes wide.
"See? It wasn't nothing, my daddy doesn't-"
"Shoulda asked why, why I didn' do more." Daryl feels a tightening in his chest, one he's familiar with. Every time he thinks about what he walked into that day at Beth's apartment he feels it.
"Stop blaming yourself, Daryl." She steps away from him and he immediately misses her embrace, wants to reach for her and bring her back to the circle of his arms. She has so much faith in him, her daddy does too. All he needs to do is have a little faith in himself. He's trying and he's definitely doing better than he was a few years back. He knows he's a good person. He knows he deserves good things and to be happy, but sometimes it's hard to actually hang onto that.
"Okay, Beth." He reaches for her arm and brings her back like he wanted to. "Gonna have ta keep remindin' me like ya said ya would." Kissing the crown of her head he hugs her tight until she's giggling against him.
"I will, I promise."
X X X
Dinner at the farm is like the dinners Daryl sees on TV and in the movies. Everyone sitting at a table talking about their day, passing endless amounts of food around and holding hands while they pray. Daryl never had that growing up. Even after he and Merle got out on their own they'd never had a typical sit-down dinner. Just fast food containers and bottles of beer and whiskey. Hanging out with Rick and Michonne he's done the whole family dining experience and he likes it. He likes this too, the praying part isn't something he understands or feels the need to have in his life but it's important to the Greene's and to Beth, so it matters to him.
She squeezes his hand after they finish praying and they share a small smile. He happens to glance over at Glenn and the poor guy looks nauseous. Maggie's piling stuff on her plate and he's staring at the table with only a dinner roll in front of him.
"This roast is delicious Maggie," Hershel says. Oblivious to what's coming, Hershel is enjoying his meal. Daryl hopes they'll at least give him time to do that before they drop the bomb. But that's not Maggie's plan. Daryl watches as she sets her utensils down and they clink against the ceramic plate.
"Daddy, Glenn and I want to talk to you." Maggie begins. Hershel raises his eyes to his daughter and Daryl can see the question there. But this is Maggie and she's been giving him hell for years.
"Oh? Well, let's talk then." Hershel wipes his mouth with his napkin and looks back and forth between Maggie and Glenn. Daryl feels Beth's hand slide up and over his thigh. He's trying to focus on the conversation but her hand under the table on his leg is a distraction.
"Glenn and I are getting married. He asked me and-" Maggie holds out her left hand and there's a ring there. A little gaudy in Daryl's opinion. He wonders if that's something Beth would like, a big diamond.
"Married huh? Well I don't remember giving my blessing but maybe it's not something-" Hershel looks a little putout and Beth's attention is suddenly focused on her daddy. Daryl's listening too, taking note of the way things are done in the Greene house. There may come a time when he needs to know these things. That thought makes him nervous and scared and he looks over at Beth and she's so beautiful and she loves him and he feels likes a sappy teenage boy. Could he really ask her to marry him someday? And would she say yes?
"I apologize, Hershel, sir. I, uh, it kind of just happened." Glenn should have known the man is old fashioned. He's got a whole bunch of sisters, he should know how it is with daddies and their daughters.
"If my daughter is happy, I'm happy. I appreciate the apology, Glenn. I know you're a good man." Maggie's been sniffing the entire time and suddenly she's bawling out loud. It's uncomfortable but it doesn't rip at Daryl's heart the way Beth's tears do.
"And I'm pregnant! I'm sorry daddy. I woulda married Glenn anyway, I love him!" Beth hurries over to Maggie's side and wraps an arm around her and Daryl just smirks at Glenn. He'll get no sympathy from Daryl, besides the guy must be made of some tough stuff, he's marrying Maggie Greene after all.
"Now I see why you made such a delicious dinner. This isn't the way I'd hoped to find out my daughter is getting married and making me a grandfather, but I suppose not everything in life goes according to our plans does it?" For some reason, Hershel looks right at Daryl when he says those last words. Daryl sets the dinner roll he took a bite of back on his plate and takes a big drink of water. No, nothing seems to go according to the plans they make. The mood in the room feels kind of somber and it seems like they're all waiting for Hershel to lead them. He takes a sip of what Daryl guess is sweet tea. The ice in the glass clinks softly as he sets it down, not unlike Maggie's utensils against her plate. Daryl catches Beth's eye across the table and hopes the slight nod he gives her is enough to let her know he wants her back beside him. Maggie moved her chair so she's right up beside Glenn and they both look like two children who are being reprimanded.
Beth slips back into her chair beside Daryl and immediately his hand is in her lap reaching for hers. The look he'd given her hadn't escaped her notice. She'd comforted Maggie but now she wants to be right here with him. She told him it's okay, and it is. It takes a little longer for Daryl to accept these kinds of things, things where he isn't the bad guy, where he doesn't mess up and ruin something. His grip tightens around her hand and she squeezes back.
"Well," Hershel starts, "regardless of how I found all of this out, I think it's a cause for celebration. And the Fourth of July is as good a day as any. Otis brought over some fireworks today and it reminded me of how much you loved them Bethy." His smile is melancholy. Beth feels her heart skip a beat. "When you were really little you'd sit in your mama's lap and yell, 'blow it up daddy, blow it up!'" She can remember that! Sitting on a blanket out by the pond as darkness fell. Fireflies flitted through the reeds and the cattails. Everyone cheered and clapped as Hershel and Otis let off firework after firework. The fourth of July was always a celebration in their house. Her mama had loved the holiday and they'd have a huge party with a picnic, barbecue and fireworks display. Beth had loved the fireworks. Hershel went all out for his wife and all their family and friends. After Annette died he stopped celebrating it. There were no more parties, no fireworks, he even refused to let his daughters come out and cook him a meal on that day. So this was something.
"Daddy?" It's hard to speak, the lump in her throat hurts and she's afraid that any second now the tears are gonna come and make it impossible to talk. "Are you sure?" It painful because after all this time it seems like her daddy is finally giving himself closure. He's letting go and while there's nothing wrong with that it's a milestone that hurts. It's been four years. Maybe it's finally time.
"We have things to celebrate and people who have come into our lives that we should be thankful for. And this was your mama's favorite holiday, she'd want it that way I think." Beth looks across the table where Maggie is softly crying, her head leaning against Glenn's shoulder. Then she leans in and kisses Daryl's cheek as she stands up to approach her daddy. Wrapping her arms around him she buries her face in his shoulder and he smells like home, like all the memories of being his little girl.
"And a wedding, we've got a wedding to plan right?" Beth smiles at Maggie.
"Oh no, we um we can just do the courthouse. I feel bad enough already with how everything went down. I don't wanna-" Glenn says, wringing his hands, his face bright red. Before Beth can even say a word, Hershel smacks his hand on the table.
"No way is my daughter getting married in a courthouse! We'll have a wedding here. Don't you girls remember all those make-believe weddings you put on in the barn? I do believe all of Maggie's barbies were hitched right here on the Greene farm. And Bethy you remember that teddy bear wedding you had your momma making all kinds of formal wear for those bears of yours? Any girl of mine gets married it's gonna be right here on this farm and that's that!" Picking up his napkin he wiped his mouth and smiled at Maggie. "I know I smelled a peach cobbler cooking in the kitchen earlier. How about we try it out?" Beth and Maggie both jump up and race to the kitchen still a little shell-shocked by everything that's just happened.
X X X
Daryl is stretched out on the couch with Beth. Her head is on his chest and he can feel her even breaths and knows she's asleep. In the end, the whole thing had been harder on her than it was on him. Which he still cannot grasp and honestly he's not going to try all that hard to figure it out. Beth talked about her momma on the drive home and how Hershel had refused to celebrate the Fourth of July since she'd died. So this was a pretty big deal. She'd confessed to him that she felt like her daddy was letting her momma go and it made her feel sad but also guilty. He could kind of relate. There are so many feelings that go along with grief when someone dies. Even when the someone was a monster. He'd hugged her against him then.
"I know it's part of healing, I know that.." she'd whispered.
"Maybe he ain't lettin' go, but lettin' yer momma back in, in a different way." He hadn't expected what'd he'd said to make her cry but she had. Left a big wet spot on his t-shirt.
"That's a beautiful way to think of it, Daryl." He'd chuckled as she blubbered all over him and he'd had to change his short when they got home.
Now he's thinking as he holds her in his arms on the couch, the sun starting to set, the sky outside the windows changing colors. Maggie and Glenn set a date for late September. Glenn had pulled him aside and looked at him with fear in his eyes and begged Daryl to be his best man. With only five sisters and a few college friends who wouldn't understand any of this, he needs someone to be his right-hand man. Daryl begrudgingly accepted because he knew it would make Beth happy. He has no problem helping the guy out, but a monkey suit?! This has got to be another one of those things you do when you're in a relationship. He's beginning to realize that relationships involve family and friends and that takes on a whole new meaning.
Beth sighs and raises her head to look up at him.
"Damn girl ya drooled all over this shirt!" Daryls teases. There's a little-wet spot on his chest and Beth has her hand over her mouth and she's blushing.
"I'm sorry Dary," she croaks, "I was sleeping so hard!" Wiping the corner of her mouth she stretches against him, arching her back and rubbing up against him deliciously and he remembers what he'd told himself before dinner when he got Beth home he was gonna show her just how much she means to him. He also kind of feels like he owes her. After this morning and the epic blowjob, she gave him. Thinking about that and the way she's stretching in his arms has him hard in seconds.
"Time for bed girl." He lifts her as he sits up.
"I don't know if I can sleep now. That power nap was amazing!"
"Ain't said nothin' 'bout sleep," he says standing and taking her hand.
"Oh?" He loves to make her blush and that's two times in the last 5 minutes.
"Uh huh." They make their way into the bedroom. Coming up behind him she slides her hands up under his t-shirt. "This is all 'bout you now, com'ere." He yanks his shirt the rest of the way off and reaches for her shirt pulling it over her head and loving the fact that she isn't wearing a bra. He lets his fingers skim her hair searching for the band that's keeping it up. He lets it lose and runs his fingers through it. Then kneeling in front of her he pops the buttons on her shorts. He starts to slide them down and notices the tiny lace patines she's wearing. They match her shirt. Leaving them on he takes her shorts the rest of the way off.
"Daryl? What about my panties?" She thinks she's sly. She knows exactly where his mind is. She rakes her fingers through his hair scratching lightly at his scalp and it feels heavenly but it's her turn. Leaning forward he kisses her cute little belly button as he slides his hands up her thighs.
"Back up baby…" His bed is the perfect height for what he has in mind and when she lays back he lifts each of her legs up over his shoulders. She moans in anticipation and it's such a turn on. He loves the noises she makes when he's taking pleasure in her body. Pressing kisses along her inner thigh, he runs a hand up her rib cage and cups her breast. She's small enough that he can pay attention to these too. He rolls a hard nipple between his thumb and finger. Her breathing quickens and she squirms underneath him. Lace tickles his cheek and he presses his mouth against her panty clad pussy breathing hot breath against the material.
"Daryl, that's…" He also loves how he can render her speechless. Her hands slide into his hair and tug him closer to where she wants him. There's a wet spot on the crotch of her panties, not unlike the one she left on his t-shirts.
"Think I can make you come with your panties on baby?" Her response is a soft whine and her heels digging into his shoulder blades. He leans in and licks the lace is a long swipe putting pressure right where he knows her clit is. Her hands have slipped from his hair down onto the bed. He applies pressure with the fault of his tongue slipping his hands under her ass as he does so and she bucks up into that pressure. Her clit is so swollen now, he can feel it through the fabric of her panties and he focuses all his attention there.
"Let me just…" she reaches down and he moves her hand away.
"Uh-uh." Using his mouth he applies suction right over her clit and shakes his head and when she arches against him he doesn't back off until she's shaking and saying his name over and over. Easing her back down on the bed he backs off a little looking down at his handy work. He can see pink through the blue lace and he stands up and yanks his pants down stepping out of them and kicking them off to the side. For one heart-stopping second, he thinks all the condoms are in the bathroom, but Beth slides a hand down he tummy and hands him a little square.
"Fuck Beth…" he breathes in appreciation. Rolling it over his hard cock he eases her legs gently apart. Moving the soaked crotch of her panties aside he sinks into her groaning at how good it feels to be inside her. He's got a perfect view as he pumps in and out of her. She flushed and her nipples are hard under her own hands. Reaching under her he slides her back so he can climb up on the bed with her, feel her under him and he comes with a shudder that takes both of their breath away. Easing himself down beside her he pulls her close trying to catch his breath. To his surprise, she reaches down and takes care of the condom and his cock jerks in reaction to that. This apparently is a turn on too. He chuckles a little.
"I love you, Daryl.. that was, it was hot! I never.." she takes a deep breath. "I never thought it could be like this, any of this." Post orgasmic declarations.
"Me either girl, but I wan' it ta last forever." Brushing back the hair from her face he leans in and kisses her. And then settles in to cuddle, another thing he fucking loves but won't ever admit too, well at least not to Merle.
X X X
"Hey Beth, you like big ole diamonds like Maggie had on today?"
"Daryl? Where did that come from?" She's still breathless, her body buzzing with the after-effects of her orgasm. ANd she's thought for sure he's fallen asleep.
"I'unno, jus' wondered why diamonds was such a big deal." He's tracing circles on her stomach and if he keeps it up she's never gonna come down from the high.
"Some girls need that I guess. Why? You gonna gimme a diamond, Daryl?" The thought finally registers in her foggy brain, what he might be asking and she lays her hand over his. "I don't need diamonds to make me feel loved. All I need is you."
A/N Daryl's been thinking… :) I hope you enjoyed this one! Writing Glenn makes me miss him and with season 8 coming next Sunday it's bittersweet. But that's the best thing about fanfiction. Our faves live on for as long as we want them too! Again, I appreciate every single one of you!