Bethyl {One-Shot Collection}

Enid

Prompt (From buffygurl077): "Alexandria fic; Beth gets jealous when another woman hits on Daryl and he reminds her that he only has eyes for her."

Notes: AU!! Changed details are different because I chose to change them for my story. I've been getting comments/messages lately "correcting" details in my AU works, and not all of them are with good intent, but rather are quite rude. Chances are, I changed it on purpose to further my story, if it differs from the show's story-line. I do, however, appreciate (polite and constructive) help/tips on grammar, structure, spelling, etc. Rant over. Thanks! :) Now for notes to clarify such changes since they now seem to be necessary. *SPOILER ALERT*

1) Pete is already dead.

2) Enid is 26 years old.

3)Rick isn't going nuts.

4)The group has been at Alexandria for nearly 6 months, and so far it's going well.

5)Beth isn't "dead". The Grady exchange went as planned.

6) Daryl and Beth have been "together" for about a year. (Daryl likes "together" better than "dating").

Okay, now that that's out of the way, STORY TIME! 

***

           Never in her life had Beth felt jealous. Then again, never had the words "maybe later then" angered her even the slightest bit. Now, though, she could be infuriated by just about anything Enid said or did. It didn't always even have to do with what she said, but the tone she used when she spoke. And that body language! Beth's face burned hot as she watched Daryl, her man, smirk and nod once. She turned on her heels with a huff, missing Daryl's awkward, annoyed head shake; missing his concerned stare as he contemplated following her but decided better of it to hang back and giver her space. Beth stormed all the way back to the group's shared house, forcing a smile to slide past Rick unquestioned. She scooped up Judith on her way by, closing the door behind her when she reached the small, closet-like space she'd shared with Daryl for nearly six months. Cuddling Judith close to her chest, Beth fumed silently, unconsciously squeezing the toddler closer until she became agitated and cried out. Beth jumped, releasing her grip some and opening up a window for her anger to bubble over, which for Beth, meant tears; and plenty of them. She began to sob, which obviously upset Judith, who leaned back in, spreading her tiny arms around the front and sides of Beth's waist in an effort to comfort her. Beth sniffled, shifting Judy's weight and patting her on the head with a small smile. She wiped her eyes and stood, making a half-turn to fix the bed sheets with one hand. While her back was turned, Judith squealed happily and jerked toward the door. Beth snapped back around to find Judy's arms outstretched to . . . Daryl, who'd opened the door and had been standing there, watching them, for a length of time she could only guess at. Beth glued her eyes to the floor, determined not to burst into another round of tears. "How long have you been there?" She asked hushedly. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed the door creak open. Perhaps she'd been too caught up in her own head. 

             "Long enough." Daryl softly replied. "When you left Aaron's, I thought I'd give you some space." Beth remained with her eyes down while she Allowed Daryl to hold Judith, who'd been antsy for the exchange the entire time he'd been there.

               "Then why did you follow me?" She shot back, angrier this time. 

                Daryl drew in a breath and released it forcefully, in a loud, tired sigh. "I changed my mind. You're upset, and if it's something I can fix, I wanna deal with it now, not later."

                "It's not." She snapped, a bit more harshly than she'd intended.

               Daryl moved closer to her, bringing the gap in between them to about six inches. "Then why are you acting so pissed at me right now?"

               Beth sighed and looked up. She knew she'd been harsh and stupid. She hadn't tried to hide her discontent, but still had lied about the target of her emotion. It was Daryl she was upset with, but not just him. Enid was an issue as well. With new determination, Beth decided to be open and honest, so the discussion could be over sooner. "Okay, it is you sort of. . . I mean I guess." Beth took Daryl's look of puzzled interest as a cue to continue. "Enid. . . do you like her? I mean like." Daryl's expression changed to relief, but slight concern remained.

                 He gasped. "Hell no! That's what this is about? You missed the whole back-end of that discussion! After ya left I talked ta her; told 'er ta stop buggin' me or we'd have a problem. Yer the only lady for me."

                Beth brightened at this. "You sure?" When Daryl nodded reassuringly, she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. Judith immediately latched onto handfuls of Beth's sun-bleached hair, squealing loudly and babbling incoherently. "I'm sorry."

                Silence followed for a minute, Beth's words hanging in the air. Finally, Daryl replied. "For what?"

               "For reacting so quickly. She just makes my skin crawl!" Daryl hugged Beth back, tighter with his free arm.

               "Don't be. It's okay. 'Least I know ya love me." Daryl chuckled and Beth smiled into his chest.

              "Yeah. . . . . I do."