When she first started to show Beth had been annoyed for the sole reason that the one pair of pants she owned were slowly beginning to get to tight at the waist. She had complained about it as she stood to show Daryl what she meant, turning so that he could see the waist of her jeans slowly beginning to press into her skin. Daryl hadn't really heard any of what she was saying, he found that he was unable to tear his eyes away from the small round bump in her stomach.
They had know she was pregnant for over three months now but it was not until that day that the fact truly began to sink in. It was not until Daryl saw the proof beneath her skin that he finally truly realized that there was a child forming inside of her, their child.
He had risen off of the bed and crossed the room to her, placing his hands flat against the bare skin of her stomach. Beth had stopped her complaints mid sentence to stare at him as he kneeled down before her and placed his lips softly against her stomach, as if the child inside of her would be able to feel it. He found himself desperate for their child to know that he was still there to, that they would come into this world and have two parents who loved them unconditionally. As Daryl pulled away and looked up at Beth he made a promise right there that he would never be anything like his father.
From that moment on Daryl could not get enough.
When Beth sat next to him he would often reach over to run his fingers over her slowly growing belly, as if he was reassuring their child that he was still there. At night he would kiss her stomach before he kissed her. She never questioned his need of touching her stomach, he had noticed that her own hands often drifted to rest against the place where their child grew, and her complaints of her stomach growing had stopped.
Daryl would often bend down to whisper things against her stomach, never anything important but he felt that he wanted their child to come into the world already knowing the sound of his voice. Beth never asked him what he was whispering or teased him for his actions, which only added to the many things he already loved about her. As time passed and her belly grew Daryl began to grow reassured that together they would be able to raise this child.
At night she would sit and sing lullabies as Daryl's fingers trailed small circles against her skin, as though they were rehearsing how they would act as a family.