Chapter Text
Rin and Maggie fussed around with Beth's hair, piling it on top of her head and letting it fall this way or that and their faces were screwed up like she was something under a microscope.
"Y'all aren't exactly making me confident you know what you're doin'." Beth complained looking back and forth between the two of them. They were in the dressing room of the shower house and every time Beth glanced to her left at the mirrors she had to suppress a little smile remembering what she and Daryl had in here just a few days ago.
Beth had showered and they had painstakingly curled her hair around their fingers so now it was piled on top of her head the gentle waves cascading down, a waterfall of pale butterscotch. Maggie let her hair fall from her fingers, letting it rest on her shoulders and over her back. She stepped back and put her finger on her chin and then grinned at Rin who was already nodding her head, then they were both grinning like fools.
"Would you two please tell me what you're freakin' out about 'cause you're kinda freakin' me out too." Beth looked back and forth between the two of them anxiously.
Maggie leaned over where Beth was seated on the bench and hugged her. "Oh, Bethie you look beautiful. It really looks best down."
"Stop, you're gonna mess up her make-up." Rin was grinning and Beth looked at her.
"Are you crying?" Beth reached her hand out and placed it on Rin's arm, tugging slightly. Rin looked right at her, her eyes a watery hazel.
Rin nodded and swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, smiling down at Beth. "Don't mind me. I just hope I get this one day. You look beautiful Beth. Daryl is a lucky guy."
"Rin, you will have this one day. I just know it." Beth squeezed Rin's arm before releasing it.
Just then, Mika came bounding into the shower house. "He's ready, he's ready." She was panting as she approached Beth, stopping in a rush. "Oh Momma you look so pretty." Mika's smile was bright as she looked at Beth and her heart just melted.
"Thank you, sweetheart." Beth said, barely able to swallow past the lump in her throat at Mika calling her Momma. "Now, you said they are ready for me?" Mika nodded emphatically and Beth laughed, getting up from the bench, smoothing out the dress Maggie had found in one of the other dorm rooms. She looked in the mirror one last time, smoothing the white fabric her fingers only slightly shaky for the woman who was about to become Mrs. Daryl Dixon, which a year ago Beth would have considered to be not just improbable but impossible.
The dress was a simple cut strapless, fitted at the waist and hip and then flaring out at the thigh in a classic A-line, knee length dress. It was white satin with tiny embroidered silk flowers along the bottom hem. It was a dress fit for a princess and Beth wondered if it had been meant to be a wedding dress or a prom dress. She thought maybe it was fitting that it looked a little like both since she hadn't gotten to go to prom. She found she didn't even care. She was getting ready to be Mrs. Daryl freaking Dixon. That trumped any rite of passage in her book.
There were two knocks on the door, followed by Rick's deep voice, echoing in the room. "Everybody decent?"
Beth called out for him to enter and he stepped inside. "Everyone's ready."
Maggie slipped to her side, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. "I'll see you in a bit." Beth nodded and Rin squeezed her hand before they both took their leave.
"Is it time?" Mika was bouncing on her heels and Beth thought she had never looked prettier. They had been able to find her a floral print smock dress in the gift shop across from where Beth and Daryl had found their rings.
Beth smoothed her hand down over Mika's braid, knowing it was as perfect as it could be as she'd done the braid herself this morning. Mika had been careful to keep it perfectly intact even though Beth had told her not to worry if some pieces fell down.
Beth looked up at Rick who brought his hands out from behind his back. "You ain't a bride until you have a bouquet".
Beth beamed up at him as he handed her a perfectly gathered dozen pale yellow daffodils. They had just started blooming lately around the zoo with the spell of warm weather they'd been having with approaching spring. She took the bouquet from him and leaned up, pressing a quick kiss to his slightly stubbly cheek. "Thank you Rick. That was very sweet."
"Wish I could take credit for the idea but it was little misses' idea here." Rick looked down at Mika affectionately.
Beth looked to Mika who was positively glowing with pride at her accomplishment. "Momma I heard you talking about the flowers the other day. And Rick is right. You gotta have flowers. Besides isn't somebody supposed to catch them?"
Beth laughed, guiding Mika to the door. "How did you know that?" The little girl couldn't have been more than 5 at the time of the turn.
"I saw it on a movie I watched one time." As Mika looked at the bouquet in Beth's hand, she had that far-off wistful look she sometimes got in remembering her old life. It was the same one they all wore from time to time.
They walked out the door and down the trail and paused at the top before turning the curve on the path that would take them to the courtyard.
Rick stood at her side and held out his arm for her to take. "You ready?" He said, his voice low.
"Yep, ready as I'll ever be." She smiled over at him.
"Well you look beautiful. Daryl is probably down there sweatin' bullets but when he sees you-" Rick stopped as if he had said too much. "He's a lucky guy."
Beth looked at Rick and smiled as they began walking again, Mika throwing out flower petals ahead of them. Beth smiled again. "I keep tellin' everybody. I'm the lucky one."
Daryl stood at the front of all the tables before where they had set up a bunch of chairs for the ceremony. He had never felt more like a fish out of water in his entire life. He kept sneaking nervous glances to the hillside where he knew they would be walking down any minute. Predictably, Maggie and Rin came scurrying down the hill and took their seats on the front row. He caught Maggie's eye and she smiled at him encouragingly. He took a deep breath and nodded in her direction because it was all he could manage at the moment. With all the racket his heart was making, he didn't know how he'd ever hear anything the preacher said. But all he had to do was remember the vows he had written for Beth and he patted the breast pocket of the shirt he had on, sighing when he felt the crinkle in the pocket. He smoothed his hand down the front of the shirt, a light blue buttoned up to the point he was choking but he'd figured it was only one time a guy got married. At least, he knew that was the way he thought about it. The fact that he was able to think about it at all was a true testament to just how changed he had been by a certain blonde.
He was still fighting to steady his breathing as they rounded the turn, Beth a vision as she walked down the hill on Rick's arm and little Mika ahead of them, carefully dropping petals from her tiny hands. As Beth approached, he felt that ball of nervous energy in his gut slowly start to unravel. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she walked up the small aisle they had constructed with the placement of the chairs. He glanced beside him to the preacher, Ray, Rin's uncle whom they had only gotten to meet earlier this morning to go over what type of service they wanted.
From that point on Daryl's eyes were on Beth only. She looked like something out of a dream to Daryl, that white dress hugging her curves and the way her hair fell loose around her shoulders, just like he liked it. All trace of the ponytail and signature braid were gone, replaced by soft silky flaxen waves. Daryl found himself wondering how he was going to be able to keep from running his fingers through it during the ceremony. Beth smiled his way and every bit of fear he might have harbored when he awoke this morning dried right up with her bright as the noonday sun smile.
Beth had never seen Daryl look as handsome as he did right now. She took in his hair, slightly shaggy and she wished she had time to cut it before, but she had kind of grown used to seeing him with the slightly longer locks. She liked the shirt he had picked out and knew as she got closer that the blue in the shirt would bring out the deepest hues in his eyes. She was impressed that it was buttoned all the way up and even more impressed that he had finally shed his disgusting jeans and opted for a nice pair of khakis. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she met his eyes and then she smiled because she just couldn't help but smile when she saw him.
Rick led her to Daryl who held out his hand and she laced her fingers with his. Rick leaned over and hugged them both and Beth could swear that she saw tears in his eyes as he turned away.
They both turned toward Rin's Uncle Ray who was smiling at them warmly. He was in his mid forties and was thin with slightly balding head but he was jovial and Beth couldn't help but like him instantly when they met him. He was full of life and if you didn't know any better you would think him unaware of the fact that there was a veritable war on human nature being waged outside the fences of this zoo.
Beth looked over at Daryl as he squeezed her hand and she squeezed it back and smiled at him warmly. "I love you." She whispered it as he mouthed the words back to her.
"Not just yet guys." Pastor Ray said and everyone chuckled a little, even Daryl. He looked at the two of them and everyone who had gathered there. "Good afternoon."
Everyone replied in unison, "Good afternoon."
"We have all come together today to witness the marriage of Beth and Daryl. It's a rough world we live in now. Finding a love as rare and pure as theirs is, as this is what many of you have told me, is something that should be cherished. Beth and Daryl, you have written your vows to one another and my wish for you is that you cherish one another and the love you cultivate from this day forward. If you cherish one another you will never stray from your love. Beth, Daryl has asked that in timeless tradition, that the lady go first."
Beth smiled over at him, ever her chivalrous knight, feeling so very lucky to be there with him in that moment. She turned and handed her bouquet of flowers to Mika just as there was a rustle in the bushes of the side of the courtyard. Daryl's hand went to his ankle and Rick rose up, gun drawn as they watched Lucky come bounding out of the bushes, bedraggled as ever.
Beth let out a puff of air, feeling her lungs finally start to relax and everyone laughed. Lucky walked over to Carl's cot where Judy was standing up and promptly laid himself at her feet.
"Stupid mutt tryin' to ruin the day." Daryl still couldn't find himself to be mad at the stupid dog. He figured he owed a little somethin' to the mangy hound for helping his stubborn ass get in gear where Beth was concerned. He was grinning as he faced Beth.
She looked at the Pastor who nodded at her. She reached out and Daryl took her hands in his. She cleared her throat willing her voice to be steady. "When we got out together, I didn't know what to think. We had just lost everyone we had ever managed to hang onto. I knew you could take care of me, but I couldn't see past all the pain and grief." She paused as her voice broke a little. Garnering strength from his gaze, she continued.
"Until one day, in a little shack in the middle of nowhere we burned down our pasts and looked forward to the future. When we ran off from the prison that day, I had thought my life was over. Little did I know, my life had just begun. Fate had cast us out together for a reason. And that reason is because I know, for a fact, Daryl Dixon my heart was made for yours. You taught me how to fight. You taught me how to live. You taught me that there was a lot more to keep us going than just blind hope and faith. You taught me that there's also love. And I love you Daryl. I will never love another. There will only ever be you." Beth finished her voice never wavering as she had thought it would. She guessed when it came down to it, she was sure as anything of the words she spoke to him.
Daryl looked at her and his head tilted to the side as she finished. She could tell by looking at him that he was barely keeping it together. He looked up at her, his eyes watery as he gazed into hers. "Shit, Beth." He looked at the pastor quickly who shushed him and smiled. He had never heard anyone speak of him in such a way. Even in the everyday things that him and Beth said to each other, none of them held weight to anything that she had just said. To say he was overwhelmed would be an understatement. He took a deep breath and took the slip of paper from his pocket, glanced at her and crumpled it back into his pocket. If this sweet beautiful slip of a girl could pledge herself to him off the cuff then he wasn't about to pussy out either. He owed her that much. He owed them both that much.
"Beth, I ain't even gonna lie. When we got out together, I was questioning the entire universe thinking I was gonna be taking care of a blubbering female and I was gonna have to bite my tongue to keep from wanting to strangle ya." Daryl looked at her and smirked and she couldn't suppress the laughter from bubbling up as if the situation was reversed she would definitely see what he saw. "But then you just kept at me. You wouldn't back down. You kept telling me to have faith. And that we needed to keep looking for everyone because they were all alive and you knew it in your gut. You had faith when I didn't have any. And you were right because look, they are all here with us." He looked out at his family, the people he had come to love despite himself.
"You talked about all the things I taught you. Well you taught me a lot too. You taught me that it was okay to feel bad about stuff. You taught me that it was okay for a grown man to cry cause it is the end of the fuckin world and we should just feel it all. Before everything out there fell apart out there, I was just driftin' around. I wasn't nobody. I was just existin'. You taught me to live. You taught me that I could have somethin' more than just existin'. Those weeks we were alone were some of the best weeks of my entire life." He glanced around at everyone. "No offense to anyone here." There was light laughter among everyone, mixed in with barely concealed sniffles. "You taught me how to love Beth. I love you. And I vow to protect ya and always be here for ya. There ain't nowhere else I wanna be but here with you and only you. I didn't think I'd ever have anythin' like this, anyone like you. Dixons weren't made for love but damn if you didn't change all that. You once said I'd be the last man standin'. And you might be right, but I know if it's to come true that you are gonna be the last woman standin' right next to me."
Beth sniffed and decided it was no use. She was openly crying now, this man having broken her down making her feel everything into her very marrow, leeching out a love that was so pure and true that her heart ached with it.
Pastor Ray looked at them then and held his hand out for the rings. He took them out of their respective hands and held them up. "This ring used to mean nothing to most of us. People got married in the old world, never giving a thought to the full commitment they were supposed to make, oftentimes thinking they could just get a divorce if it didn't work out. Well, unless I missed my mark, there aren't any fancy lawyers. Now this ring can mean something again. Pledging love, an unbroken circle. Daryl take Beth's ring and repeat after me."
Daryl took the ring and repeated the words the pastor was giving him. "With this ring, I give you everything I have and all that I am from this day forward." Daryl slid the ring on Beth's finger smiling at her, anxious for this to be over with so he could kiss her.
"Now, Beth, take Daryl's ring and repeat after me."
Beth gripped the ring in her fingers and placed it on Daryl's finger waiting to slide it on as she repeated the vows, "With this ring, I give you everything I have and all that I am, from this day forward."
They didn't take their eyes off one another and Beth giggled a little when Daryl mouthed "Are we married yet?"
"I hereby by the power of God and the state of North Carolina, pronounce you husband and wife." Daryl looked over at him expectantly and Ray grinned at him. The bastard was doing this on purpose but he smirked at him nonetheless.
"Daryl you can kiss your bride." The pastor said with a flourish of his hand.
"It's about damn time," he muttered and everyone laughed.
Beth marveled at this man. With God and their whole extended family looking at them, he dropped her hands and moved his hands up to her face, pulling her to him and pressing his lips to hers, softly, teasingly and she melted. He finally broke the kiss and Beth stood there her head spinning slightly.
"Ladies and gentleman, I present Mr. and Mrs. Daryl Dixon." The pastor announced and everyone in the courtyard erupted in applause and Beth heard a loud cat call from Glenn.
Daryl reached over and took Beth's hand looking out at everyone knowing that he had never been happier than in that moment. He looked over at her just before they were flanked on either side by their friends and family. "How long before we can be alone?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her and Beth giggled.
"Don't worry, I'll think of somethin'." She winked at him and they turned to greet everyone.
Maggie was crying openly and Glenn was standing right beside her. "That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."
She hugged them and Beth cried, "Stop it Mags, Rin is gonna get us both for ruinin' my make up."
Rin spoke up then as she sidled up to Maggie. "I can't exactly be mad at something that I can't seem to help doing myself." She grinned sheepishly and gestured to the wet tracks down her cheeks.
Everyone was downright happy and offered their congratulations. They cut a cake for the second time in a week and Beth thought how lucky they were to get to experience such a treat in a short span of time. Before the turn, something like that would have been taken completely for granted.
Beth looked over and noticed Carl then. He was watching everyone and even from here she could tell that his color was returning more with each day. She excused herself and wasn't surprised when Daryl followed after her. She reached Carl's cot and sat down on the chair beside it, the one Rick had occupied during the wedding. He was off chasing Judith at the moment, Michonne standing off to the side and laughing at her antics.
"Hey there, you feelin' better yet?" Beth said, placing her hand on Carl's arm. She felt Daryl move behind her and and place his hands on her shoulders, kneading lightly.
Carl looked at her and Beth noticed some of the light was coming back in them. "Mostly," he said before continuing. "You look real pretty Beth." He looked to Daryl. "Congrats." He grinned at Daryl and Daryl ducked his head smiling. Carl's eyes were warm. "I'm glad we found you guys. This place seems like it's okay." Beth could tell that he was trying to keep the hope out of his voice. Once upon a time, they had thought another place would be okay. Little did they know that they would lose more from that place than ever before.
"It's a lot safer than the prison was. Besides, we won't make the same mistakes as before." Beth reassured him and he smiled at her, the first real smile she had seen in him since his accident.
They talked to Carl for a little while longer before Bob deemed it was time for him to nap again and they moved his cot back to the temporary hospital room. After a while their little "reception" was winding down and Maggie came up to whisper in her ear. "It's time for you to throw the bouquet and go have your honeymoon." Maggie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Beth rolled her eyes but secretly she couldn't wait to get Daryl back to their apartment.
She grabbed her bouquet off the table where she had left it and everyone gathered together. Beth turned around and counted to three. She turned to find a very surprised Rin holding the bouquet that had literally fallen right into her lap where she sat off to the side away from the ones who had gathered to catch it. Beth's eyes met hers and Beth winked at her. Rin blushed furiously but Beth saw a hint of a smile ghost her lips before she turned to smile demurely at Austin. He'd been staring at her the whole time and it warmed Beth's heart that two other people were managing to salvage something good out of this wretched world.
She turned back to her husband then and realized just then that they had not had a moment alone since they were declared husband and wife. Everyone was otherwise engaged, except for Maggie who was waving them off with a brushing motion of her fingers.
Daryl took Beth's hand and they took off in a fast walk until they were around the top bend of the trail to their apartment. As soon as they were out of line of sight, Daryl tugged on her hand and spun her around, his lips on hers in an instant. As her husband kissed her like every woman deserved to be kissed it reminded Beth very much of that kiss they had shared long ago outside in the rain. It seemed a lifetime ago but that's the way it was with love. It made time speed up and slow down and stay exactly the same all at once.
He broke off the kiss. "Gonna be doin' more of that Mrs. Dixon." Daryl said gruffly, his forehead pressed against hers.
"I should certainly hope so. It's our weddin' night, after all, Mr. Dixon." Beth couldn't help the giggle that slipped past her lips.
He buried his face in her neck and bent down at the same time, one arm grasping behind her legs, hoisting her up and holding her against his chest, feeling her wind her arms up around his neck." His motivation was slightly similar to the other time he had carried her like this, but it held a different connotation now that they were together. Before when he had picked her up and carried her into the kitchen like a groom would a bride, his reasoning had been two-fold. For one thing he had an insatiable desire to touch her and the other was that he couldn't wait to show her the meal he had carefully laid out for them.
Tonight as he carried the brand new Mrs. Dixon across the threshold of their apartment, he still had that insatiable need to touch her and he was definitely anxious to get that dress off her and love her like she deserved to be loved. Like he longed to love her. But there was something else, he thought, as he set her down, her feet planting firmly on the floor and he kicked the door closed. It was the fact that he was anxious to start their life together. Their new married life.
Daryl was many things to many people. He was a friend to Rick, Glenn and many others but Beth was his best friend. He was a protector of many and he guessed you could add Daddy to his many titles since that's what she'd started calling him lately her sweet little voice lilting Daddy Daryl. He was a brother and still was when he considered what Rick had said to him just the day before. But now he could add one more title to that mix and he was more proud of that one than anything else; husband. He had not come to accept it easily that others depended on him or more that he had come to depend on them. But being Beth's husband was something he was proud of. And he was determined to make her just as proud. It would take every single minute of the rest of their lives together, however long that might be, but he was up for the challenge. After all, Dixons never backed away from a challenge.
He had never thought in a million years he would have a life worth living, but with Beth he did. With Beth, he had the life he never even knew he wanted. With Beth, he had everything. His whole life was wrapped in fiber of their love. And for that he would forever be grateful.