I was driving to work this morning and I have been having all of these random ideas for the House Call universe so I began writing this first chapter and it just flew out of me and I have already begun the second. The last thing I need is another story to work on and I tried so hard to get my brain to shut up so I wouldn't become overwhelmed but I really wanted to write this one. I really love imagining the ways in which Daryl and Beth have both evolved in their relationship.

PS - I have played around with the kids' ages a little. Luke is twelve, Hunter is seven and Abby is three.

…

Chapter One. Dinner Party.

"Daryl Dixon, if you eat even one thing from off that table right now, I'm going to ban you from eating anything at all tonight!" Beth called out to him from the kitchen as if she had been able to see his hands going for one of pigs in a blanket.

Daryl grumbled something under his breath and slowly pulled his hand back even though there was no way she would be able to see him taking anything but knowing Beth, she had counted everything on this table and would know if a single piece of anything was missing.

"Ya' know, I've been workin' all day with nothin' to eat except a sandwich five hours ago," he said, coming into the kitchen where Beth stood at the island in the middle of the room, three-year-old Abby standing on a stool beside her, both of them wearing aprons and their matching blonde hair coming loose from their ponytails.

"Daddy!" Abby exclaimed and held out a deviled egg in the palm of her small hand.

"You sure your drill sergeant's a'right with you givin' me that?" Daryl asked with a small smirk, glancing over to Beth.

Beth just looked at him. "I'm having a moment of kindness so you better take it while you can," she said and he smirked a little wider, grabbing the egg up and popping it into his mouth before leaning down and giving a kiss on Abby's cheek, the little girl giggling.

"Best damn egg I've ever had," he said once he had chewed and swallowed.

"No use in buttering me up," Beth said, continuing to stir the cobb salad in the bowl she was working on. "There is no way you're getting out of this tonight."

He sighed heavily and went to the sink, grabbing one of the glasses drying in the rack on the counter and then filling it with water from the tap. He didn't ask her why they were doing this tonight. She would just go into another long speech about how this is what people did. They had their friends over so they could all spend time together in a fun setting and eat good food. No matter how many times she explained it, Daryl just didn't get it. It all sounded kind of pointless to him but he knew he would suffer through it tonight. Not only because it was something Beth wanted to do – and everyone knew who really ran their house – but because Beth was an amazing cook and his stomach was already grumbling for all of the food she had spent that day preparing.

He knew he wasn't going to enjoy tonight. She might have invited their family and friends but he saw them enough and even if he generally liked them, that didn't mean he wanted to spend all of his extra time with them. He liked it being just him and their family in their house without others around. He had a couple of orders from people and if this stupid dinner party thing wasn't happening tonight, he would happily spend his evening in his woodshop in the backyard, working until Beth came to get him long after the sun set.

That was his idea of a perfect night. Quiet and solitude.

And then, as if she could read his thoughts, Beth turned towards the sink and stood beside him as she washed her hands. "I promise that this will be the first and last one of these we do for a very long time. It's too much work and I'm exhausted," she said. "I've just always wanted to throw a dinner party and now we have a house where I can."

Daryl shrugged, taking a chug of water, draining the glass. "'s fine," he said and she gave him a small smile. "Just know that tomorrow mornin', I'm goin' into the woods and I'm not comin' out for the rest of the weekend."

She laughed at that and nodded her head and he smiled a little.

She turned back to the island counter, pulling at the strings of her apron. "Well, Ms. Abigail, I do believe we're finished." She lifted the toddler up from the stool and set her down on the floor, untying her apron, too. "Thank you for all of your help. I couldn't have done it without you," she said and Abby beamed at that. "Can you please go and find your brothers for me?" She then asked and Abby nodded eagerly for her new task before turning and running from the kitchen.

Beth began putting the trays of food away into the refrigerator, having cleared out the extra space for everything, until people started arriving within the next half hour. And just before she closed the door, she took a deviled egg for herself.

Daryl watched her and found himself smirking.

"What?" She asked, her hand going to the corners of her mouth to see if she had something sticking there.

He just shook his head though and slipped his glass into the dishwasher. "Can't believe a Dixon is not only goin' to some dinner party but is the one throwin' it."

She smiled at that, almost laughing. "You have become a very respectable man," she said.

"That's the most terrifyin' thing I've ever heard," he said, smirking still just a little, and this time, Beth did let out a laugh.

…

Beth had told them that they didn't have to dress up, knowing that would have just erupted into a fight and she had learned when to pick her battles. As long as what they wore was clean – she couldn't emphasize that word enough – she didn't care what they wore. Except no pajamas. No pajamas, even clean ones, could be worn and she said this directly to Hunter because right now, he was going through a phase where he wanted to wear his pajama shirts everywhere.

Daryl was clomping down the stairs, buttoning up his flannel shirt, when the doorbell rang and he went to answer it, seeing the Grimes' family through the glass of the front door.

"Sorry about this," was the first thing Rick said.

"For what?" Daryl stepped aside so they could enter the front foyer.

"Hi!" Beth came down the stairs wearing a green dress and a bright smile.

"We're sorry, Beth," Lori was the one to say now. "We had to bring the kids with us."

"Oh, that's no problem," Beth shook her head, her smile never faltering. "Luke's going to have a friend over, too, and they're all just going to be playing in the study and I've made more than enough food for everyone."

"I'm not going to play in the study," Carl was frowning. Scowling was more like it. "I'm fifteen-years-old."

Rick grasped the back of his neck. "Then act like it and thank Mrs. Dixon for feeding you."

Carl sighed heavily. "Thank you, Beth."

"Take your sister and go find the other kids," Lori said and Carl grumbled something under his breath but stopped when Rick cut a fierce look towards him. He then tugged on Judith's sleeve and tugged her down the hallway.

"What the hell was that all about?" Daryl asked.

Lori sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Rick came home early from work today and caught Carl and Lizzie in his bedroom."

Beth couldn't help but gasp. "Already?" She asked in a whisper, mildly horrified.

"They still had their clothes on but it was definitely heading in that direction," Rick said.

"It will be a very long time before he's allowed home by himself," Lori said. "But anyway," she shook her head and then exhaled a deep breath, bringing a smile to herself. "I know you said you had plenty of food but I brought this." She held up a dish covered in tinfoil.

"Lori, I told you that you did not have to bring anything," Beth said and as the two women headed into the living room, Rick and Daryl remaining in the front foyer, Daryl finally closing the door behind them.

"Don't tell Lori but I was fifteen," Rick said in a low voice.

"Merle was thirteen," Daryl said with a slight smirk. "Want somethin' to drink?"

"God, yes," Rick nodded and followed him down the hall to the kitchen but instead of staying there, Daryl led them down into the basement where he was keeping a wood crate stored in one of the corners. "I am an officer of the law," Rick reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah," Daryl smirked and handed him a mason jar with clear liquid swishing around inside. "I'm just not gonna tell you where Merle got the stuff."

Rick took a swig of the moonshine, his face instantly screwing into one of disgusting. "I hate this stuff," he said but only before he took another swig. He then held out the jar for Daryl.

"Nah, I'm good," Daryl shook his head. "Beth'll murder me if I get shitfaced during our dinner party," he said the last two words as if they left a bitter taste on his tongue and Rick grinned before taking another swig of the moonshine.

"Smart man," Rick nodded. "Mind if I come down here for more later on?" He asked.

Daryl just looked at him, a hint of amusement across his face. He wondered how Beth would rate their dinner party if they had a guest pass out in the basement.

…

Carl scowled as he sat in a beanbag chair in the corner of the first floor study and drank the can of Ginger Ale that he had gotten from the kitchen. Besides his sister and the three Dixon kids, Luke's best friend, Molly Hambel, was over, too, and she was in the middle of braiding Judith's hair, who just looked absolutely delighted. Abby was having a tea party with her stuffed animals, Luke was in the middle of constructing a castle out of his pile of Legos and Hunter was driving his remote-controlled car around the room, threatening to crash into the Lego castle and laughing every time Luke glared at him.

This sucked. Really sucked. He didn't deserve this punishment. He and Lizzie hadn't done anything. Just making out and she had let him slip his hand up her shirt. He was fifteen. What did his parents expect from him? He had been seriously dating Lizzie for a few months. What did his parents think? Of course he was going to try things with his girlfriend. And just because they didn't like that, he shouldn't be forced to be here and if he did have to be here, he shouldn't be forced to be stuck in this room with all of these little kids. He should at least be able to be out there with the rest of the adults, their voices being heard murmuring through the doors.

The car suddenly slammed into his foot and Hunter was laughing. "What's the matter with you?" The kid asked.

Carl didn't answer and just continued to glare. And not for the first time, he wished Daryl Dixon was his dad. Daryl would understand and would never give him a bullshit punishment like this. Beth, maybe, but not Daryl.

And as if he knew Carl was thinking of him, Daryl slid open the doors. "Come get somethin' to eat," he told them and all of the kids went running out of the room.

Carl stood up much slower and Daryl smirked a little as he trudged towards the doors.

"'s not the end of the world," Daryl told him.

"Easy for you to say," Carl frowned. "You're not being forced to be here."

Daryl smirked at that, letting out a breath of laughter. "Are you kiddin'?"

Carl didn't say anything and followed him across the hall into the living room where the rest of the guests were milling in that room and in the dining room, all getting plates and loading them up with the trays upon trays of food that Beth had set out for everyone.

He saw his parents – his dad swaying slightly as he stood in the corner, talking with Beth's dad and mom, Hershel and Annette, about something, and his mom was talking with Carol. Probably saying how much she just loved Carol's daughter, Sophia. It was no secret to Carl that his mom disliked Lizzie, claiming something just didn't seem right with her, and she would have loved it if Carl was dating Sophia instead. They were all in the same grade and he had known Sophia since forever. They were friends. But Sophia, to him, was like what Judith was. His sister.

He went around the dining room table , filling his plate up and ignoring the boring talks of the adults around him. Weather and crops and businesses and the election of the new state governor and maybe he didn't want to be out here with them. But he didn't want to be with the kids locked away in the study either. He just wanted to be home.

Once he made sure he had enough food, he went through the kitchen rather than the living room again and found Beth and Daryl in there, Beth pulling a tray of biscuits from the oven and Daryl closing the door for her. They hadn't noticed him and Carl watched as Daryl kissed the corner of Beth's jaw and he saw the way Beth smile faintly and turn into him and Carl knew Daryl never would do that if he knew they weren't alone.

They were still so confusing to him as a couple. They had been together for a while now, had a few kids, had this house, and yet, Beth standing there in her dress with her pretty blonde hair and pale skin and Daryl there in his jeans and flannel shirt with his dark hair getting long and unkempt, they just didn't seem to match.

He had had the biggest crush on Beth for years and being married to Beth was just another reason why Carl wished he could be Daryl. That crush had faded over the years but it was still there a little bit, a dull thud at the base of his heart. Beth was so pretty and Daryl was so cool and they just seemed so much better than his own parents. Maybe they did make sense as a couple in that way. The coolest guy always seemed to get the prettiest girl.

"Hi, Carl," Beth smiled brightly, seeing him. "Would you like a biscuit?" She asked as Daryl was already taking one for himself, tossing it from hand to hand as it was still a bit hot.

Carl nodded and without a word, he held out his plate. Beth dropped one down with a smile. "Thanks," he then said. "And thanks for having me."

"You're always welcome here," Beth said. "Not just when you're being punished."

"It's bullshit," Carl then said before he could stop himself.

Beth gave him a small frown. "You can't disrespect your parents like that, Carl. It's very hard to earn trust back once you've lost it."

"Weren't you two sneaking around for a year before you told anyone?" Carl asked.

"That was different," Daryl spoke up and Carl was surprised he said anything. "We were adults. You ain't."

Carl sighed heavily but said nothing to that. Maybe Daryl wasn't as cool as he thought.

…

No one was paying attention to her as she slowly pushed open one of the doors just enough for her to slip through and leave the study. She had eaten everything on the small plate her mama had put together but she wanted more and no one in the other room was paying any attention to her.

She walked into the living room where all of the adults were and though she recognized most of them, she didn't know them. But then she spotted her Aunt Maggie and she went to her, reaching up and tugging on the hem of her skirt.

Maggie's head instantly whipped down and her eyes widened slightly in surprise when she saw her. "And what are you doing out here, Ms. Abigail?" Maggie asked. She handed her cup to Theresa Martinez, who she had been talking with, and then bent down, scooping the little girl up in her arms.

"Egg," Abby said, playing with the necklace Maggie was wearing around her neck.

"Egg?" Maggie frowned a little. "Alright, honey. Let's go get you an egg." She began heading towards the kitchen, her eyes on the lookout for her sister or brother-in-law. She found Daryl first, standing with Caesar and Glenn and listening as the two men were talking. But then his eyes turned when he saw her approaching and he immediately reached out, taking his daughter from her arms into his. "She said she wants an egg," Maggie told him.

Daryl nodded and looked to Abby. "Egg?" He then asked her as if to make sure.

Abby smiled and nodded her head vigorously. "Egg."

Daryl smiled a little and carried Abby towards the kitchen and Maggie couldn't help but trail behind. Daryl went to the refrigerator and reached into one of the bins.

"Saw we were about to run out and I snagged one for you," Daryl said and Abby burst into the biggest smile when he handed the girl a deviled egg.

"Thank you, daddy," she said though it sounded more like "Fank you" and she then kissed him on his cheek. Daryl smiled and kissed her on the head before turning and setting her down so she was sitting on the counter. He leaned against the counter next to her.

He saw Maggie standing there, watching them, and she smiled a little.

"Does she always mean deviled egg?" Maggie asked.

"Nah," Daryl shook his head. "When she says that, she could mean anythin' really. Don't know that many other words yet. I just knew this time, she actually meant egg."

Maggie laughed a little and shook her head as if amazed.

…

Beth woke up to coldness. She slowly pried her eyes open and saw the time on the alarm clock. It wasn't even six o'clock in the morning yet and it took a moment for her tired brain to step a bit more out of its sleep-induced foggy haze. She was alone in bed and she rolled over to look at the empty spot where Daryl usually was.

She lifted her eyes when the bathroom door opened and Daryl stepped out, fully dressed. He saw she was awake and he grabbed his boots, coming around to her side of the bed and sitting down next to her so he could tug them on.

"Goin' huntin'," he said in a quiet voice and she nodded. "Want anythin' special?"

Beth shook her head. She felt her eyes sliding shut again. "You'll be back tomorrow?"

"Yeah." He finished tying his boots and then leaned in, kissing her on the head.

But as he began to rise from the bed, she grabbed his arm, stopping him. She blinked her eyes open to look at him. "Was the dinner party alright?" She then asked.

He looked at her for a moment and then smirked, leaning in to kiss her head again. "Best damn dinner party I ever been to."

…

Thank you so much for reading and please review!