Chapter Text
Time seemed to slow down as the end of Beth’s shift drew near. It became increasingly difficult to be friendly to her customers while she was already so impatient with the clock. She tried her best to focus on doing a good job, that it wasn’t these people’s fault; in fact, the busier she stayed, the harder it was to get a glance at the clock and bite back yet another sigh of disappointment when she found its hands had barely moved.
She still had fifteen minutes to go when, lo and behold, Daryl and Jeremy were filling her window. “Well, good afternoon, gentlemen,” she said with a wide smile. “How may I help you today?”
Jeremy piped up first, apparently having thought long and hard about his decision while waiting in line. “Can I get a Bodacious concrete?” he asked.
“Ooh, a chocolate lover,” Beth grinned. “A man after my own heart.” She looked up at Daryl, “And for you sir?”
Daryl leaned in closer to the order window and murmured, “Surprise me.” Beth could only grin, feeling like a timid school girl who’d just been greeted by the star quarterback.
“Right away,” she said with a giggle as she began to work on their orders. For Daryl, she made a hot fudge sundae, much like the one they’d had back at his garage when she surprised him that day. This time, however, she added chunks of brownies, which happened to be the special of the week. She left the container on the counter, planning on adding brownies to Jeremy’s concrete even though they weren’t technically in the list of ingredients. Beth was reaching for the spoons for the desserts when Gorman came up and began speaking in his oily slick tone.
“Now, Miss Beth, you know that’s not where I like it.” She looked up at him, trying to hide her nervousness with her confusion. “The brownie bits. They belong on the bottom shelf where it’s better refrigerated.”
She nodded. “Yes, I know, but I just figured since they were part of the special, I’d leave them out here rather than having to keep bending to the bottom shelf every time I needed them,” she defended herself.
He narrowed his eyes and gave her an evil looking smirk. “Mmm, but like I said,” he said as he leaned closer to her, “that’s not how I like it.” He straightened up marginally, “Why, leave them out and they’re bound to dry out. We don’t want our customers to get brownies that have gone dry, do we?” Again another step closer, “We like ‘em all kinds of moist. Good enough to really sink your teeth into.”
Beth tried not to roll her eyes at him, hiding her disdain for the man, and snapped the lid back on the container and returned it to its place on the bottom shelf. When she stood back up, Gorman was still standing there, and she noticed his eyes were coming up to meet hers. God, is he trying to check out my ass? she thought, fighting a wave of nausea.
He grinned lecherously at her then looked down at what she’d been preparing for Jeremy and Daryl. “Since when do we put brownie bits in a Bodacious, Miss Beth?”
Every time he said her name, her skin began to crawl; the goosebumps that now covered her arms and the back of her neck were most certainly not caused by the fact that she basically worked in a freezer. “He asked for them extra,” she lied quickly, mostly just wanting to get him away from her.
Gorman still loomed over her, mulling over her words. “Well, you just be sure to charge for the extra toppings. Don’t wanna be givin’ anything away for free now, do we?” he said as he licked his lips. “That is, unless you plan on payin’ for it somehow,” he added suggestively.
Not able to formulate any words, and being thoroughly creeped out, Beth snapped her mouth shut and stuck the spoons in each cup to bring the ice cream to the order window. She handed Jeremy’s concrete to him, earning her a toothy grin from the little boy. Daryl, however, did not look happy.
“The hell was that?” he asked, motioning to Gorman, who was now slinking back into his office.
Beth looked over her shoulder, making sure he was out of ear shot, but still kept her voice down when she spoke. “That’s Gorman. I’m pretty sure he’s harmless, he just gives me the creeps.”
“Guy needs to watch himself,” Daryl growled. Beth had never heard his voice sound so threatening. After a moment, he met Beth’s eyes again, all signs of anger gone. “You gonna be done here soon?”
She nodded, “Yeah. Noah just showed up. He’s got next shift.”
Daryl gave her his customary smirk, “Good. I just need two more things.”
“Oh?” she said, raising an eyebrow. “And what would those be?”
“Whatever kinda sundae you would like, and for you to hurry up and clock out.”
Beth frowned a little, “What I would like? Aren’t we going for dinner soon?” Realization dawned on her suddenly. “Hey! Aren’t these going to ruin your appetite?”
“They’re for after. Was hopin’ we could keep ‘em in your freezer for later,” he said, almost shyly.
She laughed at that. “Of course. Give me those back. I’ll put lids on them and put them all in a bag. Then just let me finish up and I’ll be right out.”
Minutes later, Daryl and Jeremy were following her car in the pickup truck to her apartment. Daryl made sure Jeremy wiped his feet well before entering, and Beth couldn’t help but smile at that. “You two make yourselves at home,” she said as she put their desserts in her freezer. “I wanna change real quick.” She dashed into her room, pulling out the sundress and jacket she had picked out earlier, then quickly brushed her hair and braided it before returning to the living room.
Father and son were sitting on her couch, immersed in a quiet conversation, which ended abruptly when she emerged. Daryl stood up, his eyes roaming over her, which Beth could feel almost as a touch. “You look really nice,” he said softly, tapping Jeremy’s shoulder to get him to stand up. Beth smiled, her heart warming at the thought of Daryl teaching his son to be such a gentleman. “So where are we going?” he asked her.
“Well,” Beth began. She had thought quite a bit about where to go for dinner to hear Daryl’s big news. Nowhere that was too noisy, that was for sure, but nothing too romantic since Jeremy would be coming along. She wasn’t sure if a ten-year-old boy would want Chinese, which would have been her first choice. “Mrs. Shelor, my cooperating teacher, introduced me to this cool little family diner down the street from school. So far, everything I’ve ever had there is really good. I thought we could go there.”
Daryl looked at her, frowning slightly. “You’re sure?”
She nodded, “Absolutely.” She walked over to grab her purse and turned and waited for the boys to follow her to the door. “Who’s driving?” she wondered out loud as she locked her door.
“I will,” Daryl volunteered as they descended the stairs. “I remember how tiny your car is. More leg room in the truck,” he pointed out with a grin. He walked around to the passenger side and held the door open for both Jeremy and Beth before walking behind the bed of the truck to the driver’s side. “Where to?” he looked to Beth for directions. She guided him, turn by turn, until they arrived at their destination.
They were seated right away, and took no time in deciding what to order. Once they’d placed their orders, Beth looked at Daryl excitedly. “So? What’s the big news?” Her smile stretched across her face as she awaited his answer.
Daryl shook his head. “Not yet, Buttercup. Not ‘til after dinner,” he answered.
Beth groaned in disappointment. “Any hint?” she tried, but he only shook his head again, remaining silent. “Jeremy?” she looked to the boy for anything, any ounce of help.
“He won’t tell me, either,” he replied, sounding just as disappointed as she did.
“Well, it’s gotta be good if he sprung for ice cream for dessert, right?” she tried sounding hopeful.
Jeremy shrugged, “That or it’s so bad that he needs ice cream to make us feel better.”
Beth’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Does he do that a lot?” She felt a little awkward talking about Daryl while he sat there between them, but the smug grin on his face indicated he was enjoying seeing the two of them getting along and talking as if they’d known each other for years.
“Not a lot, I guess. Whenever mom would forget about one of my games or something, he’d always take me out for ice cream afterwards.”
If Beth’s heart was warm from before, it absolutely melted in her chest now. “That must have been hard,” she offered, but he only shrugged again in response.
The three of them eventually fell into easy conversation, with Beth making sure to steer clear of mentioning anything regarding family too much. She didn’t want to make Jeremy feel like she was rubbing it in that her family got along well and both her parents were incredibly supportive of her. They talked about school, what his favorite subjects were, how he liked playing football, and he tried to pick her brain on how she managed to beat his favorite Nintendo game. She had just promised to show him all her tricks the next chance she got when their food arrived and they all tucked into their dinners. Both Jeremy and Daryl agreed the food was really good for being such a little, local restaurant.
Beth tried forcing herself to eat slowly, but her plate was cleared before she knew it. She waited patiently, or at least as patiently as she could, for the other two to finish their meals. Daryl had a mischievous look in his eyes, not saying a word until all the dishes had been cleared from the table and the waiter had dropped off the check. “Alright, spill it!” she said excitedly. “I can’t wait any longer!”
“Aight.” He wiped off his mouth with his napkin and made a show of sitting up in his chair. “Well, the garage I’ve been working at, the owner wants to open up another storefront, expand the business, and told me he was looking for a manager. Said I was the best damn mechanic he’d met - his words - and that the shop would be in good hands with me running it.”
“Oh, Daryl, that’s wonderful!” Her voice had come out much louder than she’d meant it to in her excitement, and looked around apologetically at the other patrons who were now looking at her.
“Ain’t done yet,” he continued. “The new storefront is up here, just outside of Atlanta. He said since I already know the area, it’d be easier for us to move up here than for him to uproot his whole family and start over.”
“So,” Jeremy began softly. “We’re moving again?” His voice didn’t sound nearly as excited as his father’s had.
Daryl nodded. “Yeah. You’ll be going back to your old school, be back with your old friends again,” he tried placating his son.
“But what about my new friends? What about football?” Beth stayed quiet as the two started to work out the details of this new step in their lives.
“Your new friends will only be an hour away, so we can come down and visit on weekends once your season is over. As for football,” he turned in his seat to face Jeremy better, “I been talkin’ to my buddy Rick. You remember him, and his boy Carl? He said one of his teammates took a hit real hard. He’s out for the season, which sucks for him, but that means there’s an open spot on the team. Jeremy,” he paused for effect. “they moved their kicker to his spot on the roster. Turns out he’s a better runner than a kicker. Either way, they need someone bad and they need someone now. Rick already talked to the coach for ya. The spot’s yours if you want it.”
Jeremy seemed to brighten on the spot. “Okay,” he replied, trying not to sound too excited, but the grin on his face belied him. “So when do we move?”
Daryl looked back to Beth. “As soon as we find a place to move into. Boss wants me to take over up here this week, so Merle and Carol will be watchin’ over ya until I get home each night. They’ll make sure ya get to school and practices, too.”
“You’re driving up here and back down every day?” Beth interrupted, and he answered with a nod. She was already calculating how early he’d have to leave each morning. As manager, he’d have to be at the shop before it opened and most likely be the last to leave. “Daryl,” her voice lowered, letting him know she was absolutely serious. “You can’t do that. You’d be at the garage and on the road more than you’d be at home with Jeremy. When would you even have time to look for a place?”
“I...I ain’t sayin’ it’s gonna be easy, but I can’t pass this up.” He raised one shoulder in a half-shrug. “Maybe you could help me look for a place. We can set up a couple appointments for Sunday or something.”
While she felt beyond excited at the prospect of helping him find a place for him and his son, she knew he’d still have to find some time to go and look at the different places for himself. “I can help, sure. But Daryl,” she reached over and placed her hand over his, “That’s still gonna be so hard on you...on the both of you.” Then she put into the words the idea that had been growing in her heart since she heard Daryl’s news. “What if you stayed with me, just until you find a place?” Her heart was racing, thudding wildly in her throat.
“Beth, I can’t do that. I can’t just leave Jeremy. Even if I only see him right before he goes to bed, I wanna be there with him,” he answered.
She nodded, “I understand.” A quiet moment went by before she added, “I do have a second bedroom. It’s supposed to be an office for me, but it’s not like I really use it yet anyway.” Daryl went to respond, but she stopped him before he could, “Or if anything, my couch opens up into a futon bed. It might not be as comfortable as an actual bed, but it’d be something. And like I said, it’d just be until you find a place up here.”
Daryl sighed and looked back and forth between Beth and Jeremy. The look on the little boy’s face said it all: he’d rather stay with his father than be separated from him, even if it was only an hour’s drive away. “Are you absolutely sure?” he asked.
“Yes,” she answered, but went on to elaborate. “I know it’s a little soon, but I also know how much it would hurt both of you to be apart from each other, and how much it would bother me to know there’s something I could do to help.”
He looked down at the table in front of him, then up to ask his son, “What do you think?”
It took Jeremy a minute to answer. “I love Merle and Carol, but I wanna be with you, Dad.”
Beth smiled, “You know, Jeremy, you’re very mature for your age.” She fought back the giggle that tried to bubble up when the tips of his ears turned red and his cheeks shone bright red with embarrassment. “So, what’s it gonna be, Daryl?”
He moved his hand so it was now holding hers. “When can we move in?”
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They returned to her apartment to watch a movie and eat their desserts. It was a little awkward, a little daunting at first, but as the movie went on, the three of them seemed to relax with one another. Daryl sat in the middle on the couch; over the course of the movie, he slid his arm around Beth’s shoulders and she took the opportunity to lay her head on his shoulder. It was nice just spending quiet time together, laughing along at the movie. Beth could easily imagine them as a little family of their own, but shook the thought from her mind, not wanting to put the proverbial cart before the horse. Still, she was glad that Jeremy seemed to be enjoying himself.
As much as she wanted to kiss her congratulations to Daryl on his new position as manager, she wasn’t about to embarrass anyone with a display of affection. While Jeremy was a smart kid who could probably figure out that Beth and Daryl did more than hug and hold hands, he didn’t necessarily need it shoved in his face. When the movie was over, Daryl suggested Jeremy use the bathroom before they began the drive home. As soon as the door clicked shut, he leaned over to pull Beth into his arms and planted a kiss right on her lips. They kept the kiss simple, but the temptation to go further was definitely there. When they heard Jeremy washing his hands, they parted, both with a gleam in their eyes, promising more to come very soon.
The next day, as soon as she got home from school, Beth began deep cleaning her apartment. Not that her place had really gotten all that dirty in the first place, nor did she think either of the Dixon boys (she grinned at that) would really care, but she wanted to be sure to start things off right with this new living arrangement, no matter how long it ended up lasting.
A flock of butterflies had taken up residence in her stomach as she worked. What would Jeremy think of living with her, another woman that wasn’t his mother, wasn’t related at all? What would he think of his father sharing a bed with her?
Oh my God. I’m going to be sharing a bed with my boyfriend.
It was true, she’d spent the night with Daryl, and with Zach before him, but never on a semi-permanent basis.
Beth was quiet as she wrapped her head around the fact that she was soon to be living with her boyfriend and his son, even if it was only temporarily. That is until she heard the knock on the door and she was filled with nervous excitement.
Throughout the day, Daryl had been texting her updates. His boss had given him the week to get everything moved and settled, and Daryl, being who he is, was bound and determined to get as much as he could done today to further impress his boss that he was able to take over the shop early. Beth couldn’t help but giggle as he vented his frustration with dealing with automated customer service or less-than-friendly or helpful staff members. She had been through it all not long ago and could definitely sympathize. Along with the hassle of transferring everything he needed back up to the Atlanta area, Daryl had the daunting task of getting Jeremy registered at his new school. Even though he was a student in the district only a year ago, they had to fill out all the registration forms, starting from scratch, and of course, everything had to be filled out in person, which meant they would both be moving in with her in a matter of hours, spending the night, and getting an early start so Jeremy wouldn’t miss much school.
The tricky part was proof of residence. He obviously didn’t have any mail with Beth’s address yet, and she wasn’t any kind of legal guardian, so he needed a copy of the lease with his name on it with Jeremy listed as an occupant...
...which meant a conversation with her landlord.
Beth braced herself before knocking on his door that afternoon. She knew it was only his business as far as paperwork was concerned, but she couldn’t help but be reminded of her father as she spoke to Dale, waiting for him to start judging her and to tell her it wasn’t right to live with a man she wasn’t married to. She truly felt there was nothing wrong with their living arrangement, that she was doing it to help them out, so father and son could actually see each other rather than being separated.
It turned out that Dale had no qualms about her adding them to the lease. Apparently Dale had introduced himself to Daryl the day she moved in, and he considered him trustworthy and decent enough if he was there with her family helping her get settled. He drew up the new lease, stating he just needed a signed copy once they got moved in.
Beth opened her door with a smile and stood back as they carried their bags in. Daryl stopped and kissed her on the cheek as he entered, then helped Jeremy get his things to the second bedroom. He asked for her help in carrying a small dresser and Jeremy’s twin bed up from the truck, which she readily agreed to. One glance at the tiny parking lot had her stopping in her tracks. “Whose truck is that?”
Daryl grinned, “Buddy of mine was selling it. His old lady insisted he trade his pick up for a minivan.” He looked at her, “It’s nice, though, right?”
She nodded, but then asked, “But, where’s your bike?”
“Ain’t about to try and balance the kiddo and all our stuff on the back of a bike. I’ll haul it up here when I go down for the rest of our stuff. This is just the bare essentials. Clothes and school stuff, ya know?”
Beth nodded in understanding. It made sense; she had enough creature comforts that he didn’t need to move every little thing of theirs just yet. She figured the rest would probably wait until the weekend, or maybe even until he found his own place. Something about him moving in just to move out again made her a little sad, but she shook off the feeling and concentrated on helping lift the piece of furniture off the tailgate of his truck.
She’d made dinner already, and there was plenty for the three of them since she still hadn’t gotten the hang of just cooking for one yet. When the meal was over, Daryl insisted on doing the dishes up and instructed Jeremy to start unpacking. Beth didn’t want to make the boy feel like she was hovering, but she did manage to peek in to check on his progress after a while. “Need any help?” she offered.
“Nah,” he answered, still working on putting everything in the drawers.
“Hey,” she noticed something and went to sit on his still unmade bed. “I like your bear. I’ve got one just like it,” she said, picking the toy up and setting it in her lap.
He nodded, “Yeah, I know. I was there, helped make it. Dad was clueless what to do.”
She giggled at that. “Well, I appreciate it. It’s nice to have his long lost brother back with him.” She sat quietly while he still worked. After a few moments, she spoke again. “Jeremy, I wanna talk with you.” She waited until he stopped what he was doing and came to sit by her on the other end of the bed. “I just wanna say I’m glad I could help you guys, and I’m glad you’re living here with me, even if it’s just for now. I’m sure moving around can’t be easy.”
He just shrugged in response, reminding her all too much that he was, in fact, his father’s son. She could almost hear Daryl saying, “It is what it is.”
She continued, “I want you to know you’re welcome here just as much as your daddy is. If you need something, don’t worry about asking.” He nodded again, so she pressed on to slightly more personal matters. “Jeremy, I hope you know, I care for you and your dad very much, but I’m not trying to replace your mom or anything.”
Jeremy stayed quiet at that, and Beth wasn’t sure how to take his silence. “Are...are you okay with all this? Do you need to talk about anything?”
“I’m good,” he mumbled, clearly not up for much conversation.
“You nervous about being at a new school?” she tried again, but didn’t want to push him or make him feel forced to have a conversation.
He shook his head. “I did it last year. It sucks that I have to leave my new friends, though.”
“Yeah, I bet it does. But now you’re at least closer to your old friends. And I’m sure you can see your new friends on weekends, right?” He nodded, still avoiding making eye contact with her. “You okay?” she put her hand on his shoulder.
“Yeah. Just...I dunno.”
Her heart went out to the boy, certainly not out of pity, but he just seemed so bummed out. Still, if he wasn’t in the mood to talk, she wasn’t going to try and force it. “Well, I’ll let you get settled. If you need anything, lemme know, okay?”
“Okay,” he answered as she got up and started to leave the room. “Hey Beth?” She stopped and turned around. “When are you gonna show me how to beat Mario?”
Beth giggled and smiled broadly at him, “Not tonight. It’s a little late to get that going. Tell you what, I have to work tomorrow after school, but I’m free the next evening. We can start then, okay?”
He finally gave her a toothy grin, “Okay!” and went back to moving his clothes from his suitcase to his dresser.
“That was real sweet of you,” Daryl’s voice came from seemingly nowhere as she headed back into the living room. She found him leaning against the wall just outside of Jeremy’s room. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Well, I’ve been promising him for a couple weeks now,” Beth responded with a grin.
Daryl shook his head, “Not that. The whole thing with his mom. You didn’t have to go and say all that.”
“But it’s true,” she argued. “I’m not trying to be his mom, but I do want him to feel welcome here, whether you end up staying a week or a month or whatever.”
He looked down at his shoes before peeking up at her through his eyelashes. “Honestly? That’s about more than she did for him. Always too busy at work to pay any real attention to him.”
Beth felt a squeeze then a pain cut through her heart. This poor little boy. No wonder he hardly ever spoke. “I still mean every word of it, though.”
“I know you do,” he whispered before bending down and kissing her. “Part of why I love ya so much. You’re too damn sweet.”
Before she knew it, it was Jeremy’s bed time, which cued Beth and Daryl to start getting ready for bed, too. A new flutter of nerves took over in her belly and her heart as she pulled out her pajamas from her dresser drawer. A tiny part of her wanted to retreat into the bathroom to change, but when she saw Daryl unabashedly pull his shirt over his head, baring his torso to her, only to replace the shirt with a faded tank top, Beth swallowed her timidity and got herself undressed, allowing him to look if he wanted to. He’d already seen this much of her anyway; no reason to be shy about it now. Without a word, she climbed into bed and waited for him to join her. The situation must have registered in Daryl’s mind because he stood at the side of her bed as if he was waiting for an invitation to join her. She softly smiled and pulled down the corner of his side of the blanket, silently giving her ‘okay’ for him to crawl in beside her. Once they were both settled, Beth clicked off the lamp that sat on her side table then curled back to lay her head on Daryl’s shoulder.
“G’night, Daryl,” she whispered, partially just to keep her voice down so she wouldn’t wake up Jeremy, partially because she didn’t quite trust her voice just yet.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead, “G’night Buttercup.” He pushed his nose so It brushed against hers, causing her to look up at him again. “You are amazing, you know that? Thank you for letting us stay here.”
“Honestly, Daryl,” she replied, “what was I supposed to do? If Jeremy had stayed with Carol and Merle while you got everything settled up here, you wouldn’t have seen him all week, and I know you two mean too much to each other than to try and separate you when there was something I could do to help.” She paused a moment before kissing him softly. “It’s not a completely selfless act, you know. Now I get to see you a whole lot more, and that’s definitely a good thing for me.”
“Oh, you’ll see a lot more of me,” he teased, pulling her tightly to him, wrapping his arms around her so she was flush up against him. He left a quick trail of kisses along her neck.
She choked back a gasp and began fighting with herself. Her heart didn’t want him to stop, but her mind disagreed. “Daryl, wait,” she pleaded quietly and waited for him to pull back. Looking him in the eye, she said, “I can’t...we shouldn’t. Not with Jeremy just down the hall. These walls aren’t super thick, and I would just die if I found out he heard us.”
“Yeah, alright,” he agreed. “But you do realize he’s gonna be down the hall no matter where I end up, and I’m not sure I can keep my hands to myself every night.” He ran his fingers through her soft blonde hair, then spoke again, a sigh escaping along with the words, “But if you don’t want to, I’ll back off.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” she said adamantly. “Just...not right off the bat, okay? You may be used to having a kid living down the hall. It’s a little new for me.”
Daryl nodded and pulled her in close again. She snuggled right up against him, more than a little happy to be able to fall asleep in the arms of the man she loved so much. “Thank you, Daryl. I love you.”
“Love you, too, Beth.”