A/N Thank you all very much. We got through dinner, we got through the meeting with the parents after dinner. So far, so good. Now, Daryl has shown up at Beth's apartment and I suspect we're about to hear his story.

As you read about some incidents like job loss and names on birth certificates, that seem wrong and unfair, remember, he is referencing 1950.

Shout out to my guest commenters!

Enjoy!

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Jim's got a full car. Amy's sitting up front between him and Carol, and Beth's sitting in the back between her folks. Nobody's doing much talking, but everybody's doing a lot of thinking.

Jim pulls in the alley behind the Solo Café and gives Herschel a hand getting out of the car. They shake and Jim says, "It was nice ta see you folks again, Herschel. I hope you'll be back soon." Then his voice lowers and he adds, "Just so ya know, Daryl Dixon is a real fine man, I think he's helping your daughter get her smile back."

Herschel nods, "Thank you Jim, and thanks for the lift. You folks are welcome at the farm any time."

"Thanks, I might just take ya up on that."

In the mean time, Carol has given Annette a helping hand, and now smiles, "It was lovely to see you, what a nice day we had." Then she leans in a little closer and whispers, "I've known bad men, and I've known good men, and the Dixons are good men. You'd never have to worry about Daryl mistreating your daughter."

Mama is a bit caught off guard and simply responds, "Thank you for telling me that Carol."

Herschel and Annette Greene make a point of driving by Dixon's Tire and Auto before leaving town. Herschel slows the car down to almost nothing so they can get a real good look, then they glance over at each other and nod as if to say, "it will do."

All Beth's folks talk about on the long ride to the farm is the relationship between their youngest child and Daryl Dixon. Herschel notes, "Despite the way he looks with that gawdawful hair and all the scruff on his face, he does seem to have a lot going for him."

Annette agrees, "He's quite young to have his own business, and my goodness, it's paid for. He's obviously industrious, he has a home almost paid for too. I agree with you though, I didn't much care for the scruffiness, and I was a little worried about the fact he has a small child. I feel terrible about asking him so bluntly, but at least now we know what the situation is. He's a very young widower, but he seems to be handling the responsibility of raising a child well."

Herschel smiles, "That Teddy is quite the charmer," then asks, "Why do we feel so uneasy about this Annette? Is it the money he handed me? You know I have trouble believing a fellow like Randall Jones would have a large sum of money stashed away, and it's even harder to believe he'd so easily turn it over to Daryl and his brother."

Annette admits, "I wondered the same thing, but why would Daryl make up a story like that? And if it's not true, then where would a garage mechanic suddenly come up with such a large amount of cash?"

Herschel shakes his head, "That's a question I can't answer. Maybe we should just accept our blessings, go home and say a prayer of gratitude."

"That sounds like the right thing to do Herschel. I have so many things to thank God for, and a lot to pray for his guidance about. Where Daryl Dixon may have gotten that money is not my biggest concern."

Her husband's brows raise, and he asks, "What would your biggest concern be?"

"He has a child, he's obviously a man who's had a physical relationship with a woman. I don't think that's something a young man easily gives up. What will he expect from Beth? She's so naive about those things Herschel, we've kept her so sheltered. If he pressures her, I'm worried she'll give in because she thinks it's what she has to do to make him happy."

Herschel takes a minute to think about that before responding, "This seems strange even to me, but I'm not worried about Beth feeling pressured. I don't think our girl would just give herself away so easily, not just to make Daryl happy. I saw the feistiness in her today, and I've seen a little of that spunk in the past. Yes, she's innocent and she got badly fooled once, but she's not weak and she's not one to be coerced into doing anything she doesn't want to do. If it comes about that it happens between them, it will be something they both wanted to do. Did you see the way your daughter kissed that man? I think that's what shook me up the most, there was no doubting the desire she has for him."

"Can we go in?"

"Oh. Yes, yes of course."

Daryl and Beth enter the small apartment and as soon as the door is shut his lips are on hers. The kiss is deep and needy and her whole body responds to him, until suddenly she pulls away. The look in her eyes gives him a pretty good idea of what's on her mind, and he's not surprised when she says, "Daryl, it's time. I need you to tell me the story of you and Teddy's Mother. I need to know where you got all that money you gave my Daddy."

He takes in a deep breath and responds, "I knew this was comin'."

She quickly assures him, "I'm not mad, not at all, but...well, I shared with you, and I'll share whatever you want to know about me, but I think you have much bigger secrets than I. I think if we're going to get closer, you should share those with me."

He's biting his lower lip as he nods his head, then purses his lips before responding, "You're right, and I will tell ya everythin', but I'm gonna warn ya ahead a time, there's things I ain't proud of. There's a lot of it I don't think you're gonna like, or approve of, but all of it is already done and I can't change it now."

"Well I've suspected there might be some dark secrets, but I'm ready to listen." She hopes she's ready. She wishes she hadn't eaten the fried chicken and potato salad, her nerves have her feeling nauseous.

"All right then, let's sit, together. Here," He points to the floor in front of her bed, and holds her hand as she sits, then he sits next to her and they lean their backs against the bed. He wants to keep hold of her hand, but maybe he shouldn't. It would feel awful if she suddenly pulled her hand from his, so he rest his arms on propped up knees. "Where do ya want me ta start?"

She wants to know it all, "Right from the beginning, I guess. Where did you grow up? What was your childhood like? Where are your folks?"

He lets out a humorless laugh, damn, this is going to be bad, "Shit Baby, all right, but we're startin' with some nasty stuff. I should have brought a jug of whiskey for this."

Oh no, but she asked for this. She gives him her full attention, listening quietly as he begins, "I grew up in the country just outside Atlanta. Rural but close enough you could get there in a morning drive. I've known a lot of mean, ornery people in my life, but my Dad was by far the meanest S.O.B. I've ever known. My Mom? She was sweet enough, but she drank way too much wine, smoked way too many cigarettes and those two things are what killed her."

Beth lets out a little gasp, "Oh my, I'm sorry. What happened?"

He's looking down, chewing his lip again and she knows this is hard for him. "I was eight years' old that summer, but I'd already seen a lot of life and most of it was stuff no kid should ever see. I had a rusty little bike Merle scrounged up for me somewhere, and I was a couple streets over from our place riding around with the neighborhood kids."

He stops, swallows hard, breathes out, then suddenly begins talking fast, like he can't wait to get the words out, "We seen smoke and all us kids were anxious ta find where it was coming from, but I was afraid to. I knew that was right about where my house was. We rode over there and shit, I was right. There were already firemen and policemen there and the whole house was up in flames. It seemed like just a minute later, it was gone. She was gone."

She reaches over, laying her hand on his, he's biting that lip again before he finishes, "Anyway, it took em til later that night ta say they found a body inside, but I already knew they would. By the time I'd left that morning ta go play with them other kids, my Mom was already a bottle of wine in and chain smoking. Eventually the fire officials said the fire was caused by a cigarette. So yeah, that's what happened to my Mom."

"I'm so sorry Daryl."

"I guess in some ways it set her free, she didn't have to live with my Dad anymore."

Beth doesn't say anything further, she gets the sense he's about to tell her something else almost as bad. Sure enough, he gets to his feet, pacing a little as he speaks, "I used to be so embarrassed, like it was something I did or caused, it took me a long time ta realize it didn't have nuthin' to do with me. I's just handy, someone there. Still, I never wanted to let anyone see the marks my old man left, but you can't hide much in the boys high school locker room, and you damn sure can't hide in an army barracks. So anyway," He pulls the t-shirt up and over his head and does a slow turn, "This is the man my father is."

She gasps in horror at the sight of his scared skin. There are lash marks that are still so red and raised, the kind that never go away. They're on his back and his chest, and oh my gosh, he has tattoos to boot. It's a mess like something from one of those horror movies. "I'm so sorry Daryl."

He shrugs, "It was a long time ago, and as long as I never have to see that bastard, it's over for me."

She takes a chance and asks, "Where is your Dad?"

"I got no idea. When the war broke out he ran and hid, just like a coward would. He didn't wanna hafta fight men, he preferred beatin' women and kids," She gasps again but he seems not to notice, "Merle or me, neither one of us has seen him since 1941, and we don't care to."

He goes on to tell her the story of Merle's jalopy and how he was able to get it running for his brother when he was just 13. He tells her about the work he did and the jobs he had, and how he saved every penny, nickel, and dime he could in his hidey hole.

What's he going to do now? Is he going to admit the gambling, shit, he has to. He doesn't want to lie to Beth, that will cause trouble somewhere down the line. Besides, Beth's loving and trusting and if she found out he kept something this big from her, that would destroy her faith in him. So he tells her about joining the army at 16 and all the money he made gambling. She is shocked, but she doesn't seem to be angry, she only says, "I can't even imagine something like that. I didn't realize people played cards for money and that it would be possible to win, or lose, so much money."

"It's not only possible to win the kinds of money I did, but people win a whole lot more than that, they lose a whole lot more too. I only felt like I was on a losing streak a few times, and when I did, I walked away from the table."

"Well, I guess that's good, but is it legal?"

"No. Not unless you're in Atlantic City at a Casino, or that new place they've been building up out west, Las Vegas. Around here, it's all backroom stuff."

"Oh. I see." She doesn't seem mad or disappointed, he figures she probably needs time to think all this over. Shit, he hasn't even gotten to the tough part yet.

He tells her how his saved earnings and the gambling money eventually brought him the business, and how he got the house with his VA loan. "I quit all that gamblin' stuff, and some other habits I got into, when Teddy was born. Before him I never had to worry about taking care of anyone but myself, but Teddy's a full-time responsibility and I know I'm all he has. I had to straighten up and fly right."

She nods a little, "I'm sure it was the right thing to do, but do you miss it? You know, is it a temptation?"

"Not really, more like a relief. That's another thing that happened to me when Teddy came along. I didn't even know what having a family and doing the right thing was like, but I found I like running the business and taking care of my son."

Getting this far he knows, he has to tell her about breaking his promise to himself, getting the money for her Dad in a card game, and what happened with Randall. He will, but first he's got to finish telling her about Teddy and Teddy's Mom, and he's coming to the hardest part, the time period after he got out of the army, up until the time Teddy was born.

Beth watches him, and she knows by his look that what's coming must be hard. She's afraid to hear it, but asks herself, how bad can it be? She reaches over, lays her hand on his, he looks down at their hands, then at her and says, "I hope ya still wanna do that in a few minutes." She hopes so too.

"Merle had been outta the Navy about six months when I got outta the Army. He was living in Atlanta, drinking a lot and doin' some other stuff he shouldn't, but he had a good job working construction and he had a place. I planned to stay there with him while I looked for work. I got lucky, I found sumthin' within a couple a days. A mechanic job at a big new Chevy dealership. I stayed with Merle another month after that just to make sure everything was gonna stick, ya know, before I worried about getting a place and furniture and all. Eventually I ended up renting a one-bedroom duplex. I'm sure it looked to everyone else like things were going real good for me. They were, except in my head."

He's biting his lip again, moving his shoulders around like he's trying to loosen them up, his neck too, and then the words start to flow, "No one talks about it, what it's like. Ya spend years fightin' a war, seein' all kinds of terrible shit. You watch your buddies die, and you take a life, and then another, and then you lose count. It's brutal, but you don't have time to sit around and think about all that. Then you get home and it's like everything hits all at once. I couldn't sleep at night for thinking about all that shit, and if I did sleep, I dreamed about it."

Beth squeezes his hand but he doesn't look at her. He's afraid to. He's got to get this out. "I didn't tell anyone what I's going through, ever. You're the first person I told. I ain't using it as an excuse for the way I started acting, and don't get me wrong, I'm proud I fought for my country, but I was a mess. I found a way to get rid of those thoughts, I drank em away, and I gambled em away in back rooms. Whatever got my mind on sumthin' besides all that. I stopped at the bar on my way home from work damn near every night, and on the weekend, shit, you'd a thought I lived there."

What can she say? All she can do is keep sitting there next to him, holding his hand while she waits for him to start talking again.

He closes his eyes, swallows hard and says, "There was a girl in there one night, she was getting her load on pretty good too. We got ta talking, not about the heavy shit, we didn't want to think about, just B.S. It felt good not to think. I was buyin' her drinks and it was even kinda fun." He pauses, says, "Shit," then goes on to tell the part Beth's sure she already knows, "Closing time came and I went back ta her place and…I think ya know what happened."

"Yes."

Her voice sounds so sad and faraway. He glances at her for the first time in a while and says, "Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize to me, Daryl."

"I feel like I do, anyway, it got ta be a routine. Not like dating, we never did that. It was just…shit it sounds so wrong now, but at the time I didn't even think about it. I'd be there at the bar on Friday night, she'd show up, we'd have a few drinks together and wind up back at her place. Then one Friday she didn't show up. I didn't think too much about it. There was a flu going around and I figured maybe she was sick or something." He sighs, "She never did come back. I just thought, well, she's sick a my ass. She probably found a good guy."

He springs to his feet, "Damn, I wish ya had a beer. Ya got a coke or sumthin?"

"Yes, let me get it."

Beth starts to get up but he puts out a hand, "No, no, I can get it. Ya want one?"

"Maybe just a sip of yours."

"K."

He sits back down and hands her the bottle, "Ladies first," she takes a swallow and hands it back. There's no more stalling after that. "It was around four or five months later I got a phone call at work. That caught me flatfooted, I'd never got one before and employees weren't allowed to get personal calls, but my supervisor come and found me under the hood of a car and said, 'hey Dixon, pick up the phone, line three, you got some kinda family emergency.' Shit, the only family I had is Merle and if he needed me for something he woulda just showed up."

He's biting his lip so hard Beth's worried it will start bleeding, "I hurried to the phone and it was her. She didn't say what was wrong, just, 'can ya come by after work Daryl? It's real important.' I knew it must be or why would she be callin', so said I would."

He smiles a little, "Shit, I got there and she didn't hafta tell me what was going on, her belly told that story. I thought we'd been careful, but ya know, I was drinkin' a lot and I musta messed up. There was trouble though, she wasn't doing good at all, ya know, her health and stuff. The doc told her she was to stay in bed, maybe get up and get on the couch, use the bathroom or whatever, but that was it. She wasn't supposed ta do nuthin'."

"That wasn't all the trouble either, a couple months before, when her boss saw she was pregnant, he let her go. She was okay for a few weeks, but then she couldn't pay the rent and her shithead landlord told her she had two days ta get the hell out, that's when she called me. She said she was sorry, she wasn't gonna bother me with it, it was her own fault for actin' like a slut. I told her that was bullshit, she wasn't like that and that I was glad she called me."

"I'm a man Beth, and I knew it was time ta act like one. It was my fault she was…ya know, in the family way and I had to take care of her. I loaded up her things in my car and got her back ta my place. I put her things in the bedroom and made a bed for myself on the couch. She was in no kinda shape for me ta be botherin' her for…," shit he probably shouldn't have said anything about that, "Sorry."

"Don't be, go on."

"She didn't have nuthin to do but sit there in bed. She asked if I'd stop and get her magazines on my way home from work the next night. I had no idea what she liked, I just grabbed a handful from the women's section and I got some a them puzzle books, ya know, find a word and crossword n stuff.. She was so damned glad when I came home with those, she was bored stiff. Then I got a bright idea and on Saturday I went to the Sears store and got a television. That was some help too. She had soap operas and game shows ta watch in the day, and we both got a kick out of some a the shows at night, Jack Benny and George and Gracie and all. I took to having the newspaper delivered, and she gave me her library card and I got a couple books she wanted. Shit, I couldn't imagine bein' stuck like she was."

He's furiously biting his lip again and Beth's tempted to tell him to stop, then he starts talking, "I changed myself. I made up my mind I had to stop goin' to the bar. I told myself I couldn't drink at all during the week, and no more than a couple beers on a weekend."

"The next night I come home and she told me, 'Daryl, we gotta talk.' I said go ahead, I'm listening. She said, 'First thing you should know is, I can't put you on the birth certificate cuz we're not married. They'll put unknown where the Daddy's name goes. I guess it's a nice way of calling the baby a bastard.' Shit, I's mad, I said no way, and she said, 'nope, it's true, my friend Kate told me, and I already checked.' "

"Oh my." What else can Beth say?

"I know. Then she handed me a paper and she said, this lady is my Grandma's sister, my great Aunt Erma. I haven't seen her in about four years, not since my grandma died. She's the only relative I got left, her and her husband Uncle Dale. You have to promise me Daryl, if something happens to me, call her. Let her know, you can tell her everything, I don't mind. I know they'll help with the baby, they'd probably take the baby if you want them to."

"I got mad then, I told her ta quit talking that shit. Nobody was dying, nobody was giving babies away, and that was that, but she made me take the paper and put it in the bureau just in case. I'm glad I did."

He's quiet, like he's in deep thought, and she stays quiet too, just waiting for him to speak. "So, I chewed on that for a couple a days, ya know, that my baby was gonna be a bastard. I gotta be honest, I checked if it was the truth. It was. I made up my mind what to do, and when I went home I told her I wanted her ta marry me so the baby could have my name. I know it wasn't romantic or nuthin', but it wasn't about us being all in love. She knew that and I knew that. It was about giving our baby a name."

"I promised her I'd take care of her and the baby. After the baby came and she was healed up, we'd get a bigger place and she wouldn't ever have to work, just care for the child. My head was going a million miles an hour. I thought, I'ma have a family. Not a real one, she'd have her own room and I'd have mine, we were passed that other stuff, but ya know, we were friends and we cared about each other. We both thought we could make it work if we tried."

"I took off work early one day, told em I had a toothache and had ta get to the dentist. Me and Merle and her went to the courthouse and me and her got married. Merle picked up hamburgers from the local diner on the way back ta my place, and we ate hamburgers and watched The Cisco Kid on the TV."

Beth can't keep from smiling at that, "It sounds like quite the honeymoon."

"Yep, like I said, a lot of romance. It was about a month later I got the call at work, she was so weak I could barely hear her when she said, 'Daryl, there's blood everywhere.' I called the ambulance, but shit, I beat them to the house. I'd never seen so much bright red blood and she was as white as a sheet. I tried to act like everything was just fine, but I was scared to death. I got her in the car and I passed the ambulance on my way to the hospital."

"I know the docs did everything they could for her at that hospital, right near the end they even let me go in and say goodbye to her. I did and then, shit, they rushed me outta there and the next thing I knew, she was gone for good and I was the Daddy of a little boy."

Tears are rolling down Beth's cheeks, "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard."

"Yeah, it is, shit, she was barely 21."

He takes a swallow from the coke bottle and says, "Anyway, then the nurse tells me, 'If you don't want to raise this child alone, we can have the social workers place him in a home for you.' I wanted to yell at her, and worse, but I just told her no. Then, I finally had a chance ta call Merle and tell him what was going on and what the nurse said, and he said, 'well maybe that's not such a bad idea Daryl, you can't be raisin' a little fella without a woman.' I said, 'fuck you Merle' and hung up on him."

"Another nurse put me on to a private agency that helped me find a babysitter for when I was at work, but shit, I went ta work and I's miserable. I just couldn't leave Teddy. I thought ta myself, I got more'n enough money ta get by on til I get my business started, then I remembered the paper in the bureau. I owed it to Teddy's Mom to call her aunt, and I did. They asked me to come to Smithton with the baby and see if maybe Teddy and I could make a home here. You pretty much know the rest."

Beth's so overcome with emotion, my God, this man, and her tears are still falling.

He hasn't even gotten to the poker game and the money he won for her Dad, or the meeting with Randall, but shit, she's already bawling her eyes out. Yeah, she's done with him and he doesn't blame her.

He quickly gets to his feet, he'll get his ass out and he won't bother her again.

Imagine his shock when Beth stands too. She throws her arms around him and says, "You're the best person I've ever known. I think I love you Daryl Dixon."

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A/N There it is, please leave a comment. As always, the chapter photo is on my tumblr blogs, gneebee and bethylmethbrick, please have a look. I'll be back next week with more of Love at the Solo Café, and things are going to get a little wild. I hope you'll be back too. Until then remember, I love ya large! xo gneebee