A/N You guys are so great. I appreciate you all. If you read my other fics, you know I don't hate Maggie, but in this one, she is not one of our faves. Thank you for reading.
Like all couples, Beth and Merle had their squabbles and tonight there was definitely trouble in the air.
She'd asked if she could go clothes shopping with Lori and he'd said, "Sure Darlin' get yourself sumthin' pretty. I told 'em down at Davison's you could charge on my account any time, let me give ya some cash too, in case you need anythin' else you can't get at Davison's."
"Oh thank you Merle, I'm very excited, Lori knows so much about clothes and fashions," every time she gave him that big smile he fell a little bit more in love.
Well he never thought he'd see what he saw when he walked in the door that night, she had a great big smile on her face as she slowly turned around to show off her purchase.
She saw his lips close in on one another, his jaw clinch tight, and his eyes turn angry. "What ya got on there Beth?" his voice was rough.
"Well this is the latest fashion Merle, aren't they cute?" She could tell he wasn't happy but she wasn't quite sure why.
"Where's Tommy?" he asked.
"He's outside playing with the toy truck you got him," she smiled.
"Good, cuz we're gonna have us a discussion. What the hell Beth, what was you thinkin'? That ain't no kind of outfit for a woman!" He was so angry.
"Well Lori got a pair too Merle, they're the latest thing," She tried to sound cheery, but she was getting more and more uncomfortable.
"I don't give a damn what Lori wears, that's Rick's business, but I'll not be havin' my wife wearing pants. Pants are for men, women wear dresses, that's that," and he was fuming.
"But Merle, I like them, they're so comfortable, I thought you'd like them too," she didn't know what more to say.
"Well you were wrong Beth. I want my wife lookin' like a lady, not like she thinks she's the man a the family. I won't have it Beth, I just won't have it, now I'm firm on this," she knew by now when he said he was firm he was not wavering.
She looked at him and burst into tears. Ahh fuck. "What Beth, now what? You expect me ta tell ya it's okay, keep 'em, wear 'em cuz yer cryin', well I ain't gonna. Ya know I like ta make ya happy, but damn, I can't abide this, I just can't."
And she went up to him and put her arms around his waist and said, "I hate it when you're so mad, it scares me."
And that's when he felt the guilt.
"Darlin', I didn't mean ta scare ya, I'd never mean ta do that. But dammit girl, yer my wife, I got ta tell ya how I feel about this, and it ain't good. I Like ya in a dress, like a women's s'pose ta be. I ain't mad at ya, I ain't, just don't want ya wearin' them pants. Makes ya look fast," he was definitely having a hard time.
"Fast?" she asked, "what do you mean by that?"
Now he was on the spot, "Fast, ya know, easy, like yer willin' ta mess around with men."
And then the crying really started and she ran in the bedroom.
Oh hell no. And he followed her in there, he put his arms around her, and she tried to pull away, he pleaded, "Please Darlin', please don't try ta get away from me, I ain't gonna hurt ya, I love ya so much. I just got ideas 'bout the way things are s'pose ta be. Don't be mad at yer husband, I ain't mad at you. Please."
And she looked at him and said, "Please Merle, go in the other room and give me a few minutes to myself."
And he thought for sure that she hated him, and he just nodded his head and walked from the room. Defeated. What was he gonna do without Beth? His life wasn't worth livin' if she wasn't in it.
A few minutes later she came out of their room, she had on a pretty pink dress with a tight waist, full at the hip, cap sleeves and a peter pan collar.
He was sure he'd never seen anything more beautiful than his wife at that moment. He went to her and he hugged her close, "I don't know what I'd ever do without ya Beth, my life would be over. I love ya so much. If ya feel like ya gotta wear them pants I ain't gonna stop ya."
"I love you Merle and I don't want to upset you or go against you. I've been wearing dresses my whole life, and if that's what you want, I won't change."
And he pulled her even closer, kissed her and said, "Whatever you think is best Darlin'."
And she never wore pants again.
xxxx
The next day there was a letter in the mail from Maggie, they exchanged letters every two weeks or so. Maggie was still living in Michigan with her husband and she always talked a lot about him in her letters, how perfect he was, and how much in love they were.
She opened the letter expecting to read the usual updates of daily life but there was more to it than that, Maggie was coming to visit.
She wasn't quite sure how she felt. She hadn't seen Maggie since before Tommy was born, and he was now three and a half years old.
As much as she loved her sister, there was a time they'd been the best of friends, she couldn't help feeling anger toward her.
Why hadn't her sister taken more care of her, Beth had been so young. Why hadn't she and her then boyfriend offered to take Beth when they moved to his home state of Michigan? Why did her sister practically let her and Tommy starve? If it hadn't been for Merle what would have become of she and Tommy? So many questions.
It said in the letter that Maggie would be arriving on the Greyhound Bus on the sixth, which was next Monday, just five days away. She was feeling nervous, excited, angry and confused.
When Merle got home he knew right away something was wrong.
"How ya doin' Lil Darlin'? Everythin' go alright taday?" He could tell it hadn't.
Tears came to her eyes and she told him, "I got a letter from my sister Maggie today, she's taking the Greyhound and coming for a visit, she's going to be here on Monday."
"Alright then Darlin', she's yer sister, so tell your husband what's wrong here," he always felt her sister hadn't done right by her, but he'd never said anything and he didn't plan to, that was her family business.
And it all came spilling out of Beth in a rush, the way her sister had left her behind four years ago, the abandonment she felt, how she'd had to turn to strangers to help her when she was going to have Tommy, how she and Tommy may have been out on the street and starved if she hadn't met Merle, how Maggie hadn't come to the wedding, how Lori and Michonne were better sisters to her than Maggie, and she went on, and he let her. And when she was done, he wrapped his arms around her, held her tight and told her he loved her.
He wanted to tell her she was right, her sister was an asshole, he and Daryl would never do each other that way, no matter how pissed off they were. But he didn't feel it was his place, not yet, maybe they'd work it all out, and he hoped they would. But if Beth's sister upset her, caused her any unhappiness, he doubted he'd be able to hold in his own anger at her.
In the meantime, he held his wife, let her cry, and just kept telling her he loved her and everything was gonna be alright.
Beth got the spare room ready for her sister, and Merle took off work for an hour so he could take Beth and Tommy to pick Maggie up at the bus depot at 11:00 a.m.
He knew Beth had worked hard on a fancy lunch for her sister, although in his mind he questioned why she went to so much trouble.
But he knew his wife was having a hard time with all of this business so he didn't say anything. He'd told her ahead of time he wouldn't be staying home to have lunch with them, the shop was busy and he didn't want to be away long.
He was relieved to have an excuse.
He'd told her he'd take everyone over to the family restaurant in Robinson for supper so she didn't have to worry about cookin' that night.
When she got off the bus she came a runnin' toward Beth, she was taller and darker haired than his Beth, but she was a pretty gal.
He could see Beth tense when her sister hugged her, and he just had an uneasy feelin' this "reunion" could go bad at any time.
Beth introduced Merle to her sister and he got the feelin' she wasn't impressed. Maybe it was because after saying 'hello' to him, her next question was, "Just how old are you?" Well shit the bed. He just answered truthfully, "Turned 31 last month, why? How old are you?" That shut her the hell up.
He drove them home, he ruffed Tommy's hair and said, "See ya tonight son," and then he turned to Beth, kissed her on the cheek and said, "See ya tanight Lil Darlin'." He turned to Maggie, gave her a nod of his head, got back in his pick-up and happily headed back to the shop.
She served the fancy chef salad Michonne had taught her to make along with a crusty French bread. For Tommy it was peanut butter and strawberry jam. She'd made a chocolate cream pie for dessert; she knew Merle would be happy to have a slice of that after dinner tonight.
Maggie asked a lot of questions, where did she meet Merle, what was his story, what about his family, didn't she think he was a little old for her. But she crossed the line completely when she looked at Beth and asked, "Well he looks and acts pretty gruff, does he hit you?"
"Maggie! How could you even ask such a thing? Merle has never raised a hand to me. He's the kindest most gentle man in the world. I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't come into my life. Tommy and I were hours away from being out on the street with no place to go and no food to eat. I thank God every day for sending Merle to me."
"So, I guess you traded your youth and provided sex for a place to live and a man to take care of you, is that right?"
"Maggie! How could you say such an awful thing? I love Merle and Merle loves me! Tommy and I are going in my room now, because I don't think I can even look at you." And picked Tommy up, went in her and Merle's room and shut the door. She lay down on the bed with her son and tried hard not to cry, she didn't want the little boy to see her upset.
When Merle got home her sister was sitting on the couch reading one of those Hollywood gossip magazines. There was dirty dishes and leftover foods on the table, he just knew this was bad.
He found her in their room. She was sitting in the chair with Tommy in her lap telling him a story. He could tell she'd been crying and he was almost afraid to ask. He just walked over to her, put his arms around her and Tommy and said, "I missed my little family this afternoon, is everythin' okay Darlin'?"
And she told him what had happened, she left nothing out. He was furious, but he was trying to seem calm. Family was family and he didn't want to overstep, but dammit, Beth was his wife and he couldn't stand to see her upset.
"What do ya wanna do Beth? I'll do this whatever way ya think's best. Ya want her ta stay, I'm fine, she's yer sister, ya want her ta go I'll take her to the depot, you tell me."
She swallowed hard, looked at him and said, "I won't let her disrespect you that way Merle. It's mean of her to say some of those things to me, but I'd put up with it, but you're my husband, I can't tolerate her talking bad about you. You're a good man, a wonderful husband, Tommy's father. I want her to go home."
He studied her for a minute, then reached his hand around the back of her head and pulled her close to him, "Okay Darlin', I'll take care of it. You just take it easy in here with Tommy, I'll be back directly."
She whispered, "Thank you Merle."
He went out to the living room, looked at Maggie and said in as calm a voice as he could muster, "Ya hurt my wife, ya upset her and made her cry. I can't have that. You can say anything 'bout me ya want, that don't matter, but I won't have ya makin' my wife unhappy. I'ma take ya to the motel across from the depot, I'll pay for yer room for the night and give ya bus fare. If you was a better person I'd feel bad, but you ain't half the woman your baby sister is. Where's yer bag, I'll get it in the pick-up."
She jumped up, "Oh no you don't buster, what have you done to my sister, why would she choose you over me. You're bullying her, I know you are!"
He was about to respond when Beth came storming out of the bedroom, "It's time for you to leave Maggie! I won't have you talking that way to Merle. He took care of me when you never had the time or the love, or concern. You just stick with your husband and I'll stand by mine!"
Then she turned to Merle, gave him a quick hug and said, "Thank you husband, I love you," and went back in their bedroom.
They were both silent on their way to the motel. When they arrived, he took her bag, went to the desk and paid for the room. He gave her a business card, "If ya have trouble, call the shop, don't be botherin' Beth. She's got a tender heart Maggie, and ya broke it. I don't know why ya gotta be so mean, but I can't allow it in my home. That's my family now, it's my job ta protect 'em. I wish ya luck." And he turned and left.
It would be many years later, but the sisters would eventually reconcile, and although it wouldn't be a strong bond, they would again be family.
A/N And so, although Beth and Merle may have their disagreements, they will always support and defend one another. Thank you for reading, please review xo