Daryl was awoken to the sounds of a crying animal somewhere outside of his apartment building, punctuating the usually quiet neighborhood where his apartment building was. And for some reason, it seemed to be coming from right outside his door.

He closed his eyes, hoping that whatever animal was out there would get the hint and leave, but when it didn't stop after a minute, Daryl groaned and stood from his bed, shuffling towards his apartment door. Maybe shooing the animal would get it to shut up and leave.

When he opened the door to the apartment and looked down, he immediately became alert at the sight of a baby carrier on his doorstep, the squirming pink bundle inside the source of the crying. This was the last thing he was expecting. Whose baby was this? What was it doing here? What kind of shit parent leaves their kid outside in the middle of the night on a stranger's doorstep?

Daryl knew he couldn't just leave the baby outside, so he picked up the carrier and brought it inside, trying to think of a way to get the kid to be quiet. As the carrier started to move, though, it immediately quieted down, only hiccuping. He didn't dare stop, staring to pace the apartment, attempting to come up with a plan. He would call Rick in the morning to turn the kid in. Daryl could stand a night taking care of it. It was so tiny. Who leaves a baby by itself?

"Where did you come from?" Daryl asked it aloud, looking down in the carrier. The baby didn't answer, already fast asleep from the motion of Daryl's pacing.

He noticed a thick envelope tucked by the baby's side, the top open. Maybe he could find out whoever the mom was in that envelope. He extracted it carefully, putting the carrier in the crook of his arm to allow him both hands to look at the papers inside.

The first one in the stack is a blank sheet of paper, with only a few words scrawled on it in unfamiliar handwriting.

'I can't do this. She's yours now.'

What the hell does that mean? Daryl wondered. So this person definitely abandoned their kid, but why did they pick his doorstep?

The next piece of paper is a birth certificate, apparently for the baby in the carrier. Name, Ann-Marie Lynn Dixon.

A thousand thoughts began rushing though Daryl's head. Dixon? Why would her last name be Dixon? Was this Merle's kid?

Daryl remembered that it couldn't be Merle's kid. He had gotten a vasectomy to me sure that he couldn't have any kids and be saddled with child support. Merle never wanted to be a father. Deep down, Daryl did, but he knew it would never happen for him. He didn't deserve a kid.

Daryl felt his fingers going numb as he continued to read the birth certificate. Mother, Emily Park. Wasn't that the girl he met at the bar a few months back? Daryl tried to count back how long it had been. He hadn't meant to hook up with her, but they were both so drunk that was the only place it was going to lead when she took him back to her apartment. That was a year ago.

He looked down at the baby again. He didn't know much about them, but from what it looked like, he guessed it has to be at least a few months old. Old enough that some of her features were familiar to Daryl. Familiar enough that Daryl the only reason he looked at the birth certificate again was for clarification.

Father.

Daryl Dixon.

Shit.

—-

It's just past seven o'clock in the morning, and Daryl could already tell that the early August day was going to be as hot as Georgia'll get out. He was grateful that he was able to fix the air-conditioning in the little house without having to call one of actual repairmen. He hated paying for something he knew how to do by himself. He just didn't have the parts on him. He wasn't looking forward to working outside.

He turned his attention back to his daughter, who is sitting at the counter, already in her school clothes as she happily munched on her Cheerios, swinging her feet back and forth as she ate her breakfast.

"You ready for your first day of school, baby girl?" Daryl asked her, drinking some coffee from the mug in his hand, wincing at how bitter it was. He hated the taste, but he didn't sleep well the night before and needed the energy.

She nodded vigorously, setting her spoon down and swallowing quickly. "Sophia told me that the first day is the funnest." She answered, smiling.

"I'm sure it will be. Now come on, we got to get goin'. Go brush your teeth." He told her, cleaning up her breakfast as she ran into her tiny bathroom to do as he said. A single bark from their dog outside alerted Daryl that someone was there. Daryl walked into the living room and watched as Carol entered with Sophia, closing the door behind them.

"I brought over that camera you wanted." Carol told him, holding up a digital camera in her hand.

When Ann-Marie was first left at Daryl's doorstep five years ago, Carol was the first person he accepted help from. She had heard through Tobin about Ann-Marie and since Daryl was over in her shop frequently for work, helping her put together displays and fixing various problems that came with the old building, she told Daryl that if he ever needed any help to give her a call. He had immediately shot her down, not wanting anyone in his business, especially now that he had a child to take care of, but after a night where Ann-Marie wouldn't stop crying, he called Carol to enlist her help in calming the child down. Since then, Carol had become a staple in the young girl's life, teaching Daryl how to care for a baby properly and always being his first call whenever he had a question, even going so far as to watch her while Daryl was working. Daryl didn't know how to express how grateful he was for her help, but he did it in the best way he could by beating Carol's husband, Ed, into a pulp when he found out he had been abusing her and Sophia, forcing him to divorce Carol, leave her all the money, and get lost, or else Daryl would kill him. Ed was all too willing to skip town after that, following Daryl's instructions to a T. When it came to threats, Daryl Dixon's were not empty, and the entire town knew it after Ed had left. Since then, the two families have been thick as thieves, watching out for each other to show how appreciative they were of the other. The fact that they were now next-door neighbors happened completely by chance. When Daryl bought the house for his family, Carol just so happened to buy the house next door to get away from the place she shared with Ed. Too many bad memories, she had said. Neither one knew until moving day.

Daryl gestured with his head for them to follow him into the kitchen. "You two want anything?" He asked, walking to the fridge.

"No, we already ate. Just wanted to drop off the camera and see Ann-Marie on her first day of school." Carol told him, resting her hands on Sophia's shoulders.

"I'm ready!" Ann-Marie announced, running into the kitchen. Her face lit up when she saw Carol and Sophia and ran over to hug them, squeezing them both tightly before stepping back. "Why are you here?" She asked, looking to her dad for the answer.

"We wanted to see you before your first day of school, pumpkin. Come on, let's get a picture of you." Carol said, herding the group outside.

The Dixon's blue tick hound, Beau, circled the group when they stepped outside, head-butting them for attention. Daryl rubbed him behind his ears absent-mindedly and hooked a finger around his collar so he couldn't jump in the picture as Carol snapped a picture of Ann-Marie with her backpack on in front of the large oak tree in the front yard. She was growing up too fast.

"Come on, Daddy!" Ann-Marie called, smiling at him once her picture was taken, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Yeah, Daryl, jump in there." Carol told him as he smiled at his daughter, stepping forward and hefting her into his arms as Beau walked forward and sat patiently beside him. A small part in the back of his mind feared when she would be big enough where he couldn't pick her up anymore.

He pushed that thought out of his head as he exaggerated his grunt. "You been sneaking sweets without me knowing, girl?" He commented, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Daddy." She sighed, rolling her eyes before focusing back on Carol.

"Okay, you two, say cheese!" Carol said, raising her camera up.

"Cheese!" Ann-Marie repeated, grinning for her. Daryl smiled for the picture but refused to say cheese. There were some things he drew a line for.

"Daddy, you didn't say cheese." Ann-Marie accused, poking him in the chest with her little finger.

"I smiled, don't you worry." He told her, kissing her cheek before setting her down.

Carol took one more picture with Sophia and Ann-Marie together before they bade their goodbyes, walking back towards their own house.

"Come on, sugar bean, let's go to school." He told her, helping her up into the truck and in her booster seat, allowing Beau to jump in the back with her before climbing in the driver's seat and driving towards the school, turning on the radio and smiling slightly as Ann-Marie started singing along.

"You excited?" He asked her, looking at her expression in the rear-view mirror.

Ann-Marie nodded. "Henry's in my class." She announced happily. Henry was one of her best friends in pre-school, the son of the only other single parent in their little town, besides Carol. Rumors were thrown around about Kate Shaw because she mostly kept to herself, much like Daryl, but mostly over how she was not Henry's real mother. His real mother was in fact her sister, who had shown up pregnant on Kate's doorstep and then left as soon as Henry was born.

The only reason he knew all of this was because of Tobin, who despite keeping his promise not to force his way into Daryl's life, felt it was his duty to keep Daryl abreast to all of the goings-on around town. Daryl swore that man clucked more than a hen.

"That'll be fun, knowing someone." He responded.

"Henry told me he was nervous yesterday. He thinks Mrs. Williams is scary."

Daryl snorted at that. "Mrs. Williams's bark is worse than her bite, you tell him that."

He pulled into the school parking lot, which was for the elementary and middle school. Their town was so small that the two were housed in the same large building, with the high school just a mile down the road. Daryl still got a rotten taste in his mouth whenever he thought of his own high school experience. Dropping out and ending up here after refusing to follow Merle anymore had to be one of the best things that had ever happened to him.

"You ready?" He turned in his seat to look at Ann-Marie, but she had already undone her seat belt and opened the door, jumping down onto the asphalt.

"Come on!" She called, running around to his side of the car to wait for him.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He assured her, reaching around to roll down the window for Beau before climbing out of the car and slamming the door behind him. "You're not too old to hold my hand, are ya?" He asked, reaching his hand towards her.

She smiled up at him and responded by taking his large hand, attempting to lace her fingers through his as they walked into the building. He felt her steps falter as they neared her classroom door until she fully stopped a few feet away at the sight of her teacher, looking up to Daryl with fear in her eyes when he looked down to see what had happened.

"What's wrong, baby?" He asked, crouching down in front of her.

"What if they don't like me?" She whispered, looking to the other kids swarming around the classroom with their parents.

"You hush." He ordered, pushing some hair behind her ear. Light brown, just like his had been when he was younger. "They're gonna love you. And you're gonna have fun. You already said Henry's in there with you, so you don't need to worry about havin' a friend." He reminded her.

She nodded, looking down at her hands. He could tell how nervous she was. She was usually bubbly and energetic, almost bouncing off the walls, ready to face whatever came her way. All of that had gone away and she was now acting reserved and quiet. She was never like that.

"Hey." Daryl said, making Ann-Marie look at him. "Don't you worry. You're gonna learn so much with that big brain of yours you won't even notice those other kids. And just remember, I'll be here at 12 to pick you up and we'll go to Tyreese's for lunch to celebrate your first day."

She perked up at that. "Right at 12?" She asked.

Daryl smiled. "I'll even be here five minutes early just for you."

Ann-Marie grinned and threw her arms around his neck, squeezing tightly. "I love you, Daddy." She whispered to him.

Daryl's heart hurt from they way it swelled at her words. All the work he's done to give her the life she deserved was worth it hearing those words from her. He never thought he would have someone that loved him, let alone his own child. That was never in the cards for him. Fate was funny in the way it dealt him his hand.

"Love you too, baby girl." He responds, kissing her cheek as he pulled back and stood. "Now let's make you someone else's problem for four hours." He smiled.

She rolled her eyes again, a mirror image of her father, before pulling him towards the door.

"Well there you are, Miss Ann-Marie! I was worried you weren't going to show up!" Karen said when the Dixons entered the room.

Ann-Marie immediately looked panicked. "Are we late?" She demanded.

Karen laughed, shaking her head. "I'm just teasing you. You must get your seriousness from your daddy."

Ann-Marie nodded, going to look for her assigned cubby on the wall they had gotten on 'back-to-school night' a few days back. Daryl couldn't remember anything like that when he was in school, but his parents never cared about his education, and he hadn't been too interested either.

"She seems excited." Karen commented, crossing her arms. Daryl and the Williamses had a long relationship, ever since Daryl had walked into Tyreese's diner asking about work. When Ann-Marie came, Tyreese and Karen immediately started spoiling her rotten every time she came into the diner. Since they didn't have children of their own, they always mooched off of other people's kids, and with most parents, they would have been happy to get their kids off their hands for even just an hour. But Daryl was different. Ann-Marie was all he had, and when someone else tried to hog her, he got a little possessive. The feeling lessened as he grew used to Tyreese and Karen, but he still felt pangs from the green-eyes monster when they would steal her away while they were in the diner.

Daryl nodded in agreement. "It's all she's talked about for the past few days."

"She's smart. I'm sure she'll love it." Karen told him, resting a hand on his upper arm as if she could feel his own anxiousness at leaving Ann-Marie by herself.

Daryl grunted in response as Ann-Marie ran back up to him, giving him one last hug around the legs.

"You can go now if you want to, Daddy. I think I'll be fine." She whispered rather loudly.

Daryl smirked and bent down, giving her a kiss on the crown of her head. "Of course you will. You're a Dixon." He told her.

She looked back up and gave him one last grin before running to find her desk. Daryl was still grateful that no one in the town knows about his own past. From what he'd heard through Tobin, they just thought he was a hardworking and trustworthy, albeit somewhat standoffish, single father raising a precocious little girl that the entire town loved. Here, Dixon wasn't a mark of shame. Ann-Marie could take pride in her last name.

"The only gossip of interest about you is your brother, Merle." Tobin told him once. "No one knows who he is."

Daryl was sure as hell going to keep it that way. Merle rarely showed up to visit his younger brother unless he needed a place to crash for a few weeks or he wanted to see his niece. For some reason, Merle turned into a different man whenever Ann-Marie was around. Maybe he could tell how Daryl didn't want any bad influences around his daughter. He vowed a long time ago that he was going to try to be the best dad for his little girl. Better than his piece-of-shit dad ever was for him. She was not going to turn out like they did.

Daryl nodded to Karen before leaving, waving to Ann-Marie one last time before leaving the classroom. He loved Ann-Marie, but he really didn't like other people's kids. He thought most of them were annoying.

Daryl catches Kate Shaw's eye in the hallway as she's dropping off Henry, nodding to her in acknowledgement when she does the same for him. He won't lie and say that she's not a pretty woman. He just hadn't had, and doesn't have, time to even think about anything close to that while he's taking care of Ann-Marie. He's completely devoted to his daughter, and she'll always be number one, even if he does find someone willing to put up with his sorry ass.

"Daryl!"

Somehow, Daryl had found his way outside, his feet automatically taking him to his truck while he was thinking. He was unfazed by the sudden jolt back to reality and looked to see who had called his name.

Lori Grimes, his best friend's wife, was walking towards him with a large smile on her face, a blonde girl walking next to her. Must be one of the high schoolers she counsels.

"Did you just drop off Ann-Marie?" Lori asked when she finally reached where Daryl stood.

Daryl nodded, pulling a cigarette out of the pack in his back pocket. He made sure not to smoke around Ann-Marie. He lit it quickly, taking a long drag and blowing the smoke away from the two women.

"I bet she was excited. It was all she could talk about at dinner last Saturday." Lori smiled. "She nervous at all?"

"Just a little." Daryl told her, leaning against the side of his truck.

"She'll do great." Lori assured him. "I don't want to keep you any longer, but I'm going around to some of the parents I know well to introduce the new music teacher for the elementary and middle school. Daryl, this is Beth Greene. Beth, this is Daryl Dixon. He has a daughter that just started kindergarten today." Lori explained to the girl, bringing her to Daryl's attention for the first time since Lori started talking.

After looking at her closely, Daryl could tell that she wasn't a girl at all, but a young-looking woman. She could have definitely passed for one of the high-schoolers down the road if she wanted to. Daryl noticed she was wearing those oxford-looking shoes with a simple navy dress with tiny stars all over it. When he finally focused on her face, Daryl feels a slight tug in his stomach.

She's easily the prettiest girl he's ever seen, her blonde hair curling softly around her face, making her blue eyes look even bluer. She's short, but he doesn't mind. He looked at her pink lips after his eyes skimmed over her flawless nose and noticed they were moving. Shit, they're moving. What did she say?

He looked down and noticed her hand was out. He shook it, pumping once before dropping it. "Nice to meet you." He tried, and apparently that's a good answer to whatever she had said because neither woman looked at him like he was crazy.

"Well, we won't keep you any longer. Will I see you on Thursday?" Lori asked, starting to guide Beth away.

It's hard to get his mind away from Beth Greene. Right. Poker night with Rick and the guys. Daryl nodded. "Is it all right if I bring Ann-Marie?"

Lori rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You always ask that, and it's always all right. I'll keep her preoccupied while you do your man thing with Rick and them."

She waved at him one last time before escorting Beth into the building he had just left. Daryl swore he saw Beth look over her shoulder once at him as she walked into the building, but that couldn't have happened. No girl as pretty as Beth gave him the time of day, let alone gave him a double-take.

Daryl stood there for a few moments before shaking his head, climbing in his truck and turning the ignition, the engine roaring to life. He pushed all thoughts of pretty Beth Greene from his mind, trying to focus on the appointments he had that day. He took a half-day so he could spend time with Ann-Marie after her first day of school. After a few minutes of driving, he felt like he'd succeeded in pushing the music teacher from his mind.

So why did he still feel that pull in his stomach?

A huge thank you to arrowsandangels for beta-reading this chapter for me!

This is my first Bethyl fanfiction, so please leave your thoughts/comments and let me know what you think! (Name of the story may change)

Thank you for reading! Until next time~