Broken Halo

Chapter 12

Winter was over and they were on the road to D.C. According to Abraham they would be there by noon the next day so they stopped and made camp for the night. Beth and Daryl were doing better than anyone had expected. The first week after the miscarriage had been hard. Neither one of them ate, they hardly slept, and they never left their room. Slowly they started to piece each other together again and slowly, throughout the winter they got better. They were more affectionate towards each other than the group had ever seen them. They were inseparable, and they had noticed that Beth had been putting on more and more weight, getting back to her healthy self. They still had their bad days and nights though. Every now and then the whole camp would be woken to Beth's horrifying screams as he relived the rape and the miscarriage. Daryl would eventually get her to calm down but no one ever mentioned it. They knew she was getting better, that's all they cared about. They all sat around the fire and speculated about what they would do if they could actually get back to a world without walkers, without the threat of death every day. Daryl and Beth didn't say anything, but they knew what they would do. They'd have a family.

When Beth rested her head on his shoulder he kissed her head. "Let's go to our tent," she whispered to him. He nodded his head and helped her up. They said their goodnights and made their way to their tent. Beth climbed in and Daryl closed the door behind him as they lay down against the blankets. Beth didn't say anything to him, and he didn't question her when she leaned over him and kissed him, running her hands up his chest under his shirt. They hadn't had sex since they'd been back at the morgue, things had gotten too complicated and she had needed time to heal. He never pushed it, knowing that she'd come to him when she was ready. He nipped at her bottom lip, sucking on it as he gently rolled them, putting her small body under his.

Beth helped him pull her shirts over her head and toss them to a corner of the tent. His vest and shirt went next. He kissed a path over her jaw and down her neck, passing over her collar bone and over the flat plane of her belly. She arched under him, moaning softly as she ran her fingers through his hair, her short nails scraping over his scalp in the most delicious way. He hummed against her as he popped the button on her jeans and eased the zipper down. She arched her hips as he pulled them and her panties down her legs. He made slow, passionate love to her that night. The kind that had them clinging to each other, the kind that slicked their skin with sweat and had them gasping out each other's names as they came together and exploded into particles in the air. He held her close as she slept against him, playing with her hair and running his hands up and down her back.

The next day they walked into the city, it looked like everywhere else they'd been—full of walkers. It didn't look like there was living soul in the city. Carefully, attracting as little attention as possible, they made their way to the White House. Eugene was certain there was a special facility set up there where he could work on the cure. They spent three days clearing it out; the first day was just clearing out the first floor and barricading a room so they could sleep. The next two days were spent clearing the rest out. By the time they were dragging out bodies to burn they had a home again and while Eugene worked on a cure, the rest of them worked on a perimeter to keep other walkers out. It wasn't as safe as the prison, but once they'd cleared out the yard and sealed up the gate, they were as protected as they were going to get. They started to get back to their lives, like they had been at the prison. Rick and Carl started looking for the best soil so they could start growing again. As Beth and Daryl looked around that night, they realized they were going to be okay.

…

Five years later…

Daryl groaned when he felt her jumping up and down on the bed. The sun wasn't even up yet, but she was and that meant mommy and daddy had to be up too. He sat up slowly and pulled the jumping girl into his arms. "What are you doing awake little girl?" he asked, still groggy from sleep.

She giggled and looked up at him. "Uncle Rick said to wake you up."

He rubbed his eyes and sighed, looking over at the clock. It was only six. What the hell was Rick doing up so early? He climbed out of bed. "Where are you going?" Beth asked, rolling over and sitting up.

"Apparently Rick is here." He put Angel down on the bed and let her cuddle up with Beth. "I'll be right back." Beth nodded her head, pulling the covers up over herself and Angle. Daryl walked out to the living room of their apartment. Rick and Carl were sitting there with Abraham, Maggie, and Glenn, all of the state officials, minus Carl who just gave his input and helped out. "There better be a good reason why you're all here at six on a fuckin' Saturday," he growled out.

Rick smirked and looked at Carl. "You wanna tell him?"

Carl grinned and looked at Daryl. "We got a report this morning. The last walker died in California and power has been restored, country wide."

Daryl stared at him. So they did have a good reason for waking him up. "That's…awesome."

Abraham nodded his head. "So it's time for you to uphold your end of the deal."

Daryl sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. He cut it from time to time, but Beth liked it long. "Guess so." He'd made a deal with Rick three years ago, when a semblance of government was getting restored. Rick took over at president, everyone deciding he was the best for the job, but Rick wanted Daryl to step in as his vice president. Daryl had told him that until his wife and daughter were safe from walkers, he wasn't going to concern himself with anything but keeping them safe. He had owed that much to them after everything they'd been through. He'd almost lost Beth the night she gave birth to Angel. He looked at Rick. "I gotta wear a suit?" he asked.

They all laughed and Rick shook his head. "No, don't think I'd like seeing you in one." He smirked a bit and clapped Daryl on the shoulder. "We'll make the announcement at breakfast."

Daryl nodded his head and showed them out before making his way back to the bedroom. Angel was passed out again in the middle of the bed. He slipped under the sheet and smiled when she curled against him. "What's going on?" Beth asked, automatically fearing the worst.

"The last walker died, time for me to keep my word." He sighed and shook his head, looking at her. "Don't think I'm cut out for this."

Beth smiled and leaned over their daughter. "You are, you've been Rick's right hand man since we left my daddy's farm. He trusts you, we all do, and you make the right calls. You're more than cut out for this."

"I'm just a dumb redneck. Never even finishing high school."

"No," Beth said shaking her head. "You're not a dumb redneck. You're my husband, the father of my child, and the man who has kept us both safe. You'll be fine." He nodded a little and bent his head to kiss her. Maybe she was right. Maybe he would do an okay job. He sighed as he held his girls close to him. He knew one thing, if nothing else. He loved his life.

The End.