"I love you," he whispered to her again. He couldn't stop saying it. It was like the words fell out of his mouth in a way that was beyond his own control. He didn't even have to think about it before the three words were spoken. "Love you."

And out there in the woods, Beth was the only one who would hear him.

Daryl brought himself up to his knees and shrugged Beth out of her dirty jeans after undoing the belt. They slid down her milky white thighs and he tossed them off to the side, close enough that they would easily be able to be put back on if walkers showed up out of the blue. But Daryl is sure that this spot is safe, so he is lenient when it came to where the clothes were thrown to after being torn off.

Daryl's breath became uneven as he fought to stay in control.

He took a brief second to admire Beth's gorgeous body as she laid before him in nothing but gray cotton underwear with the contrast of the light green grass in the background. Beth spread her legs wide to accommodate Daryl between them. He bent back over with one hand on the soft grass that was to the right of her ribcage. He then pressed into her with an eagerness that would not go ignored. His chest heaved as he gasped for air as he felt the hard pressure and unbearable strain of his dick rub against his pants.

She whimpered into the warm spring air as he moved down her body and attacked her perky breasts with his mouth, swirling his tongue around the hard buds as his hands slid down her side, tickling her as they went.

Beth pushed on his chest until he was flat on his back and she was the one on top of him. She reached up to her head and pulled the elastic band out of her hair, letting the blonde locks fall down and cascade over her shoulder as she stuck her hands in her hair and tossed it around a bit, making it look wild and untamed. It turned Daryl on more than Beth would ever know.

She kissed him first, then brought herself up and shimmied down to his legs, her breasts bouncing as she did, causing his dick to twitch. She kept eye contact with him as she slipped her fingers under his pants and pulled them down after she got the zipper undone, slowly taking them off to torture him, something she got a kick out of. Beth got some sort of enjoyment out of making Daryl fidget around while body became oversensitive to her.

And truthfully, he did not mind it.

Okay, he actually really liked having to wait a bit longer for the prize he was granted in the end.

Her mouth instantly went to where the top of the line of his pants had been before they were balled up on the ground. Beth's warm and moist tongue dragged across his skin and it made him smirk at how well she knew his body and what he appreciated her doing to him. Her hands brushed against his hips and then his thighs, making him move his hips slightly towards her. Daryl watched Beth with adoring eyes as she bent forward again and took his dick into her mouth. A short, sharp exhale of breath came out of his mouth, followed by a moan, from the contact that gave him a wave a pleasure.

"Beth," he gasped, grabbing a handful of her hair as she bobbed her head.

After a few blissful filled moments of that, Daryl somehow found the strength to tug her away and pin her on the ground again, hand running up her outer thigh. He yanked the cotton underwear from her so that they were flesh on flesh.

One of Daryl's large hands went to her thigh, wrapping around it as he brought it up onto his hip so he could more easily slip between her and line up at her soaked entrance. He saw that it caused goosebumps to run up Beth's arms as he placed himself to hover right above her, kissing her softly on the lips.

His hand snaked down onto her chest and he felt her heart racing, pounding against his calloused hand that laid between her breasts so that way he felt the beats. He felt the cool metal of the heart necklace that he had given her, the one she never took off. His hand then felt its way back down so he could grip onto her hip as he pushed inside of her, sliding in with ease.

He went nice and slow at first, sliding in and out of Beth's tightness. She met his thrusts as his movements got faster and he gripped onto her, needing some form of support.

And then his movements fell out of the rhythm that he had earlier established, the movements becoming more jerky and erratic as he felt the need to thrust harder and deeper. He reached his hand down between them and caressed the sensitive area that made Beth whimper and sigh and claw at his back with her fingernails. She responded by arching up her back and kissing his shoulder multiple times.

He kept at it, stroking her with his thumb until her legs quivered and he was assured that his job was done, that he had succeeded in giving her a pleasuring sensation through her whole body. Beth's leg muscles gave out for a second for before she clenched them back around his hips again, knowing that he liked it. She was too good in that way, always helped finish him off. His hand placed itself back onto her hip, and he gave it a few more good thrusts until he fell apart inside of her with a groan he let out.

Daryl's open mouth landed on her shoulder as he collapsed on top of her after he pulled out. He put a couple gentle kisses on her shoulder and neck as she stroked his hair, the other hand staying firmly against his back, overtop of one of the scars.

He rolled off of her so that they laid side by side, both naked. Daryl stared up at the cover of the trees as he drifted back to reality. He let his head drop to the side to look over at Beth. His eyes roamed over her perfect body until they connected with her own blue, sparkling orbs.

"We should get back," he said between short breaths.

"We should go home," she corrected him.

"Yeah," he decided. "Let's go home."

But, in all seriousness, his home was wherever Beth was.

—

It was weeks later when Daryl and Beth came back from another hunt that he took her on when Glenn came outside to greet them, and instead told Beth, "Maggie is in labor!"

Beth and Daryl rushed back inside as they followed Glenn through the many hallways, their boots clanking against the floors as they ran, until they were brought into the room where Maggie was. "Beth! You're here."

Beth grabbed her sister's hand, holding tight as she tried to match her sister's firm grip. "I'm here."

Hershel was in the room to assist if needed. But apparently, Bob was also trained in childbirth since he had been an army medic before the turn and during deployments they sometimes had to assist with births in foreign countries when women had no way of getting to a hospital. Daryl was grateful that there was someone who knew what they were doing when it came to childbirth at the prison.

Daryl felt like he needed to give them some privacy as Maggie's contractions got closer together and Bob started to set up for the arrival of the baby. Daryl brushed his hand against Beth's lower back to let her know that he didn't feel right being in there and he would be out in the hall. She understood and nodded to him, letting him join the others who were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Maggie and Glenn's baby.

In the hall, right outside the door, Carol, Carl, and Rick waited with him. There were no words spoken between them, but there was a certain unrest in the air. Giving birth in this world was hard enough, and had a lot of risks. They all knew that, and they all were hoping for a safe delivery for both the baby and for Maggie.

Rick kept his eyes glued to the door, and Daryl could only imagine what he was going through, the concern that must be overtaking him knowing that Maggie had to cut Lori open to save the baby when it was clear that the both of them would not survive when the walkers had somehow found a way through the cell block and invaded their own. Rick needed this, needed Maggie and her baby to make it through without any problems, no medical complications. Carol and Daryl briefly exchanged a look, and that caused Carol to grab Rick's hand and enclose it into hers to let him know that what happened to Lori would not repeat itself with Maggie, and that they were all there for him.

Daryl heard the screams of Maggie and he flinched, not liking how it sounded. But he reminded himself that Beth's sister was, after all, pushing out a human being. She would be fine. Bob knew what he was doing in there and everything would turn out to be okay.

Soon the sounds of a baby crying filled the hall, and Maggie's own crying and joyful laughter as well, relief washing over everyone. Glenn poked his head out the door, pure happiness displayed on his face, and told them, "It's a girl."

They all ducked into the room to see Maggie holding a small infant in her arms that was wrapped up in a blanket, looking down lovingly at her daughter.

"Oh, she's beautiful," Carol complimented, her hands clasping together before one fell over her heart. "You both are."

Maggie flashed an exhausted smile over to Carol. "Thank you." She brushed her hand over her daughter's cheek before she leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. "She's perfect."

"And as far as I can tell, she is completely healthy," Bob added.

Beth grinned as she walked over to Daryl, holding onto his hand once she got to his side. "Maggie did great."

Michonne walked into the room next, congratulating Maggie. And after a few beats passed of everyone watching the newborn and relishing in the enjoyment and the happiness of the day, Maggie glanced up with a smile. "Anyone want to hold her?" she offered, looking over in Rick's direction.

He nodded and took a few steps forwards so that he could bend over and Maggie could gently place the little girl into his arms. Carl was by his side in a minute to get a better look at the new addition to the prison.

"Hey, Rick?"

He glanced up from holding Glenn's daughter. "Yeah?"

Glenn looked back to Maggie, and squeezed her hand. "We were thinking about baby names whether it was a girl or a boy. And we thought that if it was okay with you, then we would like to name her Lorraine. Call her Lori for short, maybe. Sort of as a remembrance. We wanted to ask you first, though. Make sure you didn't have a problem with it."

Carl smiled and looked up at his dad, waiting for approval. "Yeah, I think that would be just fine," he agreed.

"Then it's decided. Lorraine it is," Maggie said proudly as she watched from the bed she was propped up in, Glenn sitting down by her side.

Rick then passed Beth the newly named little girl. Daryl saw Beth hold her niece in her arms and cradle her with such warmth and love, with adoring eyes, and a smile on her face as she said hello and welcome to the family. And for the first time, he thought about what it would be like to see her hold one of their own.

It came out of nowhere, really.

Suddenly, this image of the future and what it could have in store for him was there. His brought his hand up to rub the scruff on his chin, mulling over the idea that popped into his head, and one that was determined to not leave as along as she watched Beth with the baby.

He was unfamiliar with the thoughts. Because he never believed he would ever have the opportunity to have a kid. He never imagined that, first of all, anyone would want to have a child with him, and second of all, he never imagined that he would want one. He believed that he was not fit for taking care of another human being in that way. Daryl Dixon and parenthood? Even a year ago he would have thought that was the craziest idea that existed on the planet.

But, now?

A baby that would be his and Beth's? Exclusively theirs and only theirs. Half of the each of them.

He liked that thought.

When Beth looked over at him with those big sparkling eyes of hers, he got the feeling like maybe, just maybe, she was thinking the same thing.

"You wanna hold her?" she asked, coming closer.

Daryl nodded his head, nervous. He remembered the first time he held Judith and she had been so small, so fragile in his arms that he had been a bit afraid at first. Beth handed over the little girl into his arms and he held her securely.

"Hey, there," Beth told the little one.

"Uncle Daryl," Glenn announced, laughing at how strange it sounded.

He rolled his eyes and huffed, though he was not opposed to the name. Beth stepped over and rested her head on Daryl's arm to admire her new niece. He didn't even think of the image that it displayed to the others, the two of them together as he held Maggie and Glenn's baby in his arms with Beth talking to her.

A/N: One more chapter to go until the story is complete! I hope you all really liked this chapter and the last one that will be coming soon! I'm excited to post it :)