Daryl watched Beth for a long time. He wasn't sure exactly how long – time wasn't important in those moments. He wasn't in a hurry and he wanted to take his time with this. He wanted to do right by Beth. What was important was that he knew where his life was going. Finally, for the first time in his entire life, he thought, he had something to be happy about for the future.
Beth either didn't seem to notice him watching her or she didn't care. She seemed so caught up in looking at the stars, the joyful look on her face akin to a child on Christmas morning, that she seemed to have faded into her own little world. And that perpetuated Daryl's desire to stare. He had the sudden need to make her feel like this all of the time. And he knew he'd do anything to make her this happy for the rest of his life.
He finally snapped out of his thoughts about her, now almost feeling self-conscious all of a sudden. He instantly remembered the wine and quickly opened it.
"Want some wine?" he asked, realizing that his voice sounded a bit unsure. "I got Chardonnay... I know it's your favorite". He was already picking up one of the glasses to pour the wine into when Beth quickly answered, stopping him.
"Oh... Um... No. Thanks. But... I don't really want any right now..." Beth said, obviously a little unsure of herself too in that moment.
Daryl was surprised by her response. He'd never known Beth to turn down wine. In the weeks that he'd stayed with her she almost always had at least one glass with dinner every night. She never had more than a couple of glasses, but Daryl had quickly learned then that when he went out to buy wine for them that stocking up was a good idea – one bottle would never last long. So it seemed odd for her to turn it down now.
"Okay. No... Uh... Don't worry about it..." Daryl said, pouring a glass for himself and re-corking the bottle. He thought briefly that maybe he shouldn't have any either, but he desperately needed something to calm his nerves. He was nervous about what he had to ask Beth and hoped a little wine would calm him a bit.
He downed his glass of wine quickly, needing a little liquid courage and knowing that Beth was too fixated on looking at the stars to worry about what he was doing. He placed the glasses and wine bottle back into the truck quickly and crawled into the bed next to Beth. She smiled over at him tenderly as he pulled her towards him, moving her to sit in between his legs, with her back against his chest, just as he'd done so many times before. Daryl loved sitting like this with her, loved feeling her just melting into him. He thought about the very first time they'd sat this way together, all those weeks ago on the couch at her uncle's. Their relationship had been so uncertain then – and even as it seemed to gain ground, for so long it was so innocent and so undefined. Even then, though, Daryl realized now, he'd known he couldn't live without her. And that feeling had only grown more and more over the last couple of months.
They sat there for a long time, Beth leaning into him, occasionally pointing up to something in the sky and commenting on it.
"So you like this place, then?" Daryl asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them for some time.
"It's beautiful…" Beth said, still seemingly amazed by their striking surroundings.
"You're beautiful" Daryl said, kissing the side of her head and squeezing her tightly. He knew it probably sounded cheesy to say that, but he couldn't help himself.
Beth suddenly shifted a bit, turning so that she was facing him now, her butt still on the truck bed, but her legs stretching out and around Daryl's waist, although not tightly. They were face-to-face now and Daryl knew that this was the moment he'd been waiting for. He didn't quite know how to start, and wasn't confident in what words to use, but he thought he'd just jump right in, just speak what was on his mind, on his heart, and hope Beth understood.
"Beth… Baby, I brought you here because I have something I wanna ask you…" Daryl started to say. Beth looked at him wide-eyed, obviously anxious and unsure about what was happening. He almost lost his nerve looking at her, scared that the look on her face was a reflection of fear – but Beth's expression softened, and she took his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers and smiling at him shyly.
"What is it, Daryl?" she asked, almost in a whisper.
Daryl was at a loss for words now and he was so nervous. He was sure that Beth could feel how sweaty his hands were, but he knew he had to try to tell her, knew he needed to do his best to express himself.
"Beth… I've never felt about anyone like I do about you. It scares me. It's almost like… like my heart actually aches because I love you so much. Like… like if I lost you… I'd… I'd just die. And that scares me worse than anything ever has in my whole life. And I've been through some scary shit…." Daryl said, his voice trailing off. Tears were swelling a bit in his eyes, and while he knew he was losing control of himself, of his words and his emotions, he didn't care – he loved Beth and he wanted her to know everything. "I need you… I need you in my life. And not just now… but always."
"Daryl…" Beth said sweetly, reaching out her hand to wipe some of his tears away with the pad of her thumb. She was smiling sweetly and he hoped, prayed, that was an indication that she wasn't turned off by what he said.
"I love you so much, baby…" he said softly.
"And I love you too. More than anything… more than I ever imagined I could love someone." Beth said.
Daryl dug into his pocket, finding the tiny wrapped box and pulling it out, handing it to Beth without an explanation. She just looked at it momentarily, a little bit of surprise registering on her face. Daryl realized in that moment that maybe she thought he was proposing – and while part of him wished that he was, he'd known they weren't ready for that. Although, for him, he hoped it wouldn't take long. He wanted to commit to Beth, forever, and he wanted that with her as soon as he knew they were ready to make that step.
"Open it…" he prompted, and Beth slowly started to tear away the paper, uncovering a small black box with golden detailing. When she pushed the top back, she gasped, and then flung her arms around Daryl's neck, hugging him and whispering into his ear.
"It's so beautiful… Thank you." Beth said.
"Baby, I know it's too soon for me to ask you to marry me. But… well… I want you to promise me that one day you will. I'll wait as long as you want. But I want to be with you… forever… and I'll do anything to make sure of it. I'm giving you my heart Beth. That's what this represents… It's my heart. And it's yours. Hell… it's yours even if you don't want it… you've got it already. I think you've had it since the day we met." Daryl said, and he helped Beth take the tiny necklace out of the box and put it around her neck. She fingered the charm on the delicate gold chain, the heart-shaped charm that had a beautifully engraved D in the middle. And now she was the one that had tears streaming down her face, although there was still a sweet smile on her lips.
Daryl kissed her sweetly and then started to kiss her face in the places where her tears stood. She started giggling a little at that, smiling at his sweetness, taking both of his hands in hers and holding them to her chest.
"Don't cry, baby girl…" Daryl said, a little concerned at all the tears.
"They're happy tears…" Beth said smiling before leaning forward and capturing Daryl's lips, kissing him again and again.
"So you like it?" Daryl asked shyly.
"I love it. And I love you." Beth said. "I'll take care of your heart, Daryl. Please take care of mine. It's yours too. I guess it has been for a long time, huh?" They both giggled a little, seemingly both thinking back to the strange events that brought them together, their somewhat instant attraction to one another, and the tumultuous events that had plagued their relationship. "And I do wanna marry you too…" Beth said. "And I don't wanna wait a long time… maybe just… maybe just a little while?" Beth said, seemingly shy all of a sudden, looking down at their hands, unable to make eye contact with Daryl.
He reached out to touch her chin and brought her face up to meet him, bringing her eyes back to his own. He just looked at her then, seriously, trying to let her know that it was okay, that he would wait for her, no matter how short or how long of a period of time she wanted.
"I'll wait, okay? I'll wait…" Daryl finally said.
And Beth seemed much more sure of what he was reassuring her of now, because the smile that crossed her face was huge, beaming through the darkness of the night and lighting up the very innermost part of his soul.
"I wanna ask you about something else too…" Daryl said, a bit of his own nerves rushing back all of a sudden. He'd cleared one hurdle that he wanted to tonight, but there was one last thing – and he was scared about how Beth would respond. She just nodded at him, indicating to him that she was ready to talk about whatever it was he had in mind.
"This place… I… well… it's still such a special place to me. And now… well… it's even more special, now that I've brought you here… now that I've committed myself to you here, told you I want a future with you." Daryl said. He was finding it hard to find the words again, he thought, but he knew he needed to push past his anxieties.
"I love it here…" Beth said, looking around at the sky, at the beautiful clearing, and the trees on the edges of where they currently sat.
"Do you love it enough to want to move here?" Daryl asked. Beth's face registered with surprise, and Daryl realized his mistake, realized he needed to be more clear about his question. "Not now, baby… I know you've gotta finish school. And… well… there's nothing here yet. But… maybe in a year or so? After you've finished school… and, we may have to come down a lot of weekends, but… Well… I think we can do it. If you want… Only if you want… I never meant to stay in South Carolina… and, well… I know you said you love it there, and if you want to stay, I'll stay. I'll be wherever you are. And it won't matter. But… well… I always thought I'd build a house here… build a life here. And your family is close… And… well… now they're like my family. It just seems too good to be true, Beth. We could move here. We could have a life… a perfect life that I never thought possible. I want that. I know it's a lot to ask, but…" Daryl said, realizing he was droning on and on, but not finding it in himself to care. But then Beth interrupted.
"Yes!" Beth said, cutting off his drabbles. And, at first, Daryl wasn't sure what she was saying.
"Yes? Yes what?" he asked, confusion registering in his voice.
"Yes that's what I want. It's what you want… and I love it here. It's the most beautiful place. And… well… it'd be a new start for us. I think I need that… a new start in a better place. And this is home… for both of us. We should raise our family close to our family. It's what I want too, Daryl. It's perfect… Perfect…" Beth said.
"Yeah?" Daryl asked shyly, now being the one that was avoiding eye contact, although he wasn't sure why.
"Yeah…" Beth whispered out, scooting closer to him now, and wrapping her arms around Daryl, pulling herself flush with him, her head against his shoulder. Daryl heard her sigh softly and then speak again. "Are you sure you're real? Sometimes I think all this is just a big dream…"
"I think that a lot too…" Daryl said. And it was true, that was something he thought about all the time. He'd never had anything truly good in his life that lasted – and sometimes he feared the day he'd wake up and realize all of this with Beth wasn't real. But it was. He knew that now. And he was going to hold onto her as long as she let him. Forever, he hoped.
They sat there for a long time, Beth holding onto him and him holding her back. They whispered to each other, mostly silly little things and expressions of love. Daryl noticed that occasionally Beth would play with the necklace he'd given her, always smiling a bit as she touched the heart that represented his own that hung around her neck. And Daryl felt like he could die just like this and his life would have been absolutely perfect.
"Make love to me, Daryl…" Beth whispered.
Daryl wasn't sure why, but he was surprised by Beth's words. It hadn't occurred to him that she might want that now, although he wasn't sure how he hadn't thought of it himself. He had been so fixated on getting Beth here and on asking her what he wanted to, that he hadn't thought of this. And he knew, in that moment, that he wanted it too, more than anything. In fact, how could he not make love to her right now? They'd just committed themselves to each other, making plans for the future, and now he wanted to be with her more than he ever had before. He'd planned on them waiting until they got back to Hilton Head for this – but there was no reason in the world why they couldn't share this together now, right here in this special place that somehow simultaneously represented Daryl's terrible past and his beautiful future.
He nodded to her then, and kissed her sweetly, helping her to undress before undressing himself. When they were both naked, he lay down next to her – he felt no shame or awkwardness is his state, and he could tell that Beth didn't either. Neither of them were self-conscious, both just consumed by their love for each other. They touched and kissed and just lay together for a long time, whispering to each other, the way that only lovers do. It occurred to Daryl that this was much different than the first time they made love. That had been amazing, and he'd felt like it bonded them together forever the way that he knew sex was supposed to. But this, this was true intimacy, he thought – and he felt like there was nothing that separated them, no secrets or worries or insecurities.
He slowly moved on top of her and she helped him to position himself over her before he slowly pushed into her. And he had this overwhelming feeling like he'd never had before. Being with Beth, making love with her like this, it made him feel like he was home, like he was finally where he belonged, like all the puzzle pieces of his life had finally been pushed into place.
This wasn't like anything he'd ever experienced before and, although he didn't need it, it only reaffirmed to him that Beth was the person he was meant to be with. This wasn't about lust, and it wasn't filled with need, although he had plenty of that stored up for her – but it was about love, about passion and togetherness. And he couldn't get over how amazing it felt to have this with someone. It was something he'd never imagined. It made him emotional, and while that made him feel incredibly vulnerable, he couldn't bring himself to care.
Their movements were incredibly slow, both staying quiet, both knowing that no words needed to be spoken in these moments. They looked into each others eyes the entire time and Daryl was sure that Beth could see into his soul and could see the love he had for her. He could see her own love for him as he stared into her big blue eyes and he hoped that it would always be this way between them. Daryl paid particular attention to Beth's breathing and to the movements of her body and he adjusted himself accordingly, his only needs in those moments were related to her, wanting to push her into that pleasurable place that he knew would make her toes curl and her breath catch. They toppled over the edge together, reaching that place simultaneously, both breathless and sated, but unwilling to let go of the other. Daryl rolled off of her, worried about crushing her – but he wasn't willing to truly let go and he wrapped his arms around her as she folded herself into him.
They lay there for a long time, quiet, their breathing patterns becoming one. Daryl wasn't sure if Beth had fallen asleep and although he was incredibly tired his mind was so full that he knew he couldn't sleep. All he could do was think about this beautiful girl, this beautiful place, and the beautiful life they had.
And he cried. And for the second time that night Beth reached up to wipe away his tears.
"Don't cry…" Beth said sweetly.
"They're happy tears…" Daryl said, echoing Beth's own words from earlier.
He wasn't sure he could be any happier than he was then – but he planned to spend his entire life trying to be, with Beth.