The old house made many peculiar sounds as night descended upon the fading structure. The walls creaked with age and exposure, and the floorboards groaned beneath every step that was taken. But the most ominous of sounds wasn't even a sound at all. The silence, it rattled within the small space. Seeming to echo with a voice of the sad history within the worn down walls.

The house brought up memories for Daryl Dixon that he tried his best not to think of anymore, but it was inevitable. The shack that provided you and Beth and even Daryl himself with a roof for the night, stirred up reminders of his life before all of this and where he came from. Things he hated to be reminded of.

If the situation you were all in wasn't enough, this place was sure to trigger him to a breaking point. And you had been right.

"Do you think daddy would've liked you being with Daryl? In the way that you two are?"

Beth's soft voice breaks you of your thoughts, and soon you refocus your eyes on your younger sister who sits across the coffee table from you.

Daryl had long ago went out back for a smoke. And you knew he needed the time and the space to cool down.

You smile faintly to yourself, "I don't think daddy would've liked me being with any man the way that I am with Daryl."

Beth smiled softly your way, and even as her yellow shirt is barely yellow anymore, it somehow still manages to highlight the brightness within her young soul. 

"Do you ever wish you had told him?"

Beth's tone is gentle and almost cautious, as if wanting to know the answer but not wanting to stir up any unnecessary or painful feelings around the subject. But even as she tries, you feel the tight sensation of guilt constricting your chest.

"In the beginning," You swallow deeply as you look to your little sister. Her eyes watching you closely yet with loving compassion reflecting back. "No. When Daryl and I started whatever it is that we have right now, I didn't want daddy to know. I knew he wouldn't understand or that he wouldn't support what it was that I saw in Daryl."

Your father was never cruel hearted, and he cared for all people. Even Daryl Dixon. But knowing his daughter was in love with the roguish redneck, that was a different story. You were still his responsibility in his eyes, and he would never stop protecting you.

"But now," You shake your head, and your head drops. Your eyes looking to your hands that sit in your lap, unable to continue looking at Beth. "I can't help feeling guilty. Guilty that I lied to him, all the way up to the day he died. I never told him the truth, and now I'll never get the chance."

"Maggie didn't tell daddy when she started having feelings for Glenn." Beth reminds you and slowly, your head raises back up to look her way. "We all keep secrets, its human. You can't let it eat you up, because it will."

How was it, that this young, blue eyed, blonde haired sweet girl, could speak the deepest out of everyone you had ever met in your life? She knew how to get to the core of things and see things in a light that not everyone could view the world with. But Beth had that gift.

"I think he would've been happy for you." Beth tells you with a smile that brightens the dark and musty room.

You raise an eyebrow as a soft hum escapes you, "And why is that?"

Beth laughs a soft sweet laugh, and her sing song voice rings throughout the worn down cabin. "Because he would've been happy seeing you happy."

You look to your little sister, with her wide beautiful smile against her tanned skin, and can't help but smile back. It was infectious, her smile and her bright outlook. It was a cure for the darkness that threatened to destroy every single one of you.

Stretching your legs as you stand from your seat on the ground, you look down at your sister.

"Are you good here if I go check on him?" You ask her. And even as much as you want to go see him, if she wanted you to stay with her... you would.

But Beth simply grins your way and nods her head. "You go. I've told you both I don't need a chaperone."

Laughing softly, you begin walking out to the back porch where you know you'll find the secluded redneck. And it isn't long before the scent of cigarettes guides you straight to him.

"Hey." You say quietly, as you lean against one of the wooden posts on the unfinished porch.

Daryl's head turns to the right as he sits a few steps away from you, on the edge of the porch. His back leaning against a different post as he blows out a breath of smoke.

"Hey."

Walking towards him slowly, you sit down across from him. The breeze that blows through the tall trees that surround the shack, fans against your skin. And the breath of fresh air entering your lungs is a welcome feeling.

"You doing alright?" You ask him gently, as you lean your head back and watch him take another drag from the shrinking cigarette in between his fingers.

Daryl simply nods his head, "As right as I can be."

You knew he was putting up a front, but you didn't push for him to tear it down. Not yet anyway.

"Beth alright?" Daryl questions suddenly, and you can hear the anxiety in his voice. And if he wasn't smoking right this moment, you know he'd be chewing on his thumbnail in the nervous fashion he does so often.

You hum softly. "She's strong, she'll be fine."

Daryl's eyes drop to his knees that are bent out in front of him, and although he keeps his eyes hidden from you, you know what he's thinking about.

"She'll be alright Daryl. You startled her, and maybe spooked her a bit. But she understands that you had hit your breaking point." You kindly assure him. "We all have them. She gets it, and I get it."

Daryl nods his head and you can see that maybe slowly your words are sinking in. But still, you know he feels bad about going off on your little sister.

"Besides, we weren't even talking about you in there. Not everything is about you Dixon." You nudge him with your foot, as you tease him in an attempt to lift the mood.

And watching his blue eyes raise to meet yours and the edge of his lips curl into a faint smirk, you know it's worked.

Daryl shakes his head at you, and putting out his cigarette, he flicks it somewhere in the tall grass. Never to be seen again.

"We were talking about my dad," You share with Daryl and he relaxes against the post. Preparing to sit there and listen to you completely. "And what he would've thought about you and me."

Daryl raises an eyebrow at this topic and you breathe in a deep breath of the cool night air.

"Beth thinks he would've been happy, because I was happy."

"But you don't believe that?" Daryl questions and you simply shrug your shoulders.

"I don't know. Maybe that's what's bothering me the most. The fact that I was so afraid to hear his response that I just didn't tell him. And now I can't ever tell him the truth."

You close your eyes as you lean your head further back against the wooden post. "I lied to him and hid this from him, all the way up to the day he died."

"He was my father and I--"

Daryl's low voice cuts you off and breaks through the quiet. "He knew."

Your eyes flash open and your head pulls away from the post. Sitting up straight and alert.

"What?"

"He knew bout us," Daryl confesses to you. "I told him."

Your hand moves to cover your mouth in shock, and you can feel the warm burn of tears collecting in your eyes.

"Had too much respect for your old man to not tell him I was with his daughter."

Daryl's words fill you with a warmth that spreads to every single inch of your body.

"What did he say?"

Daryl clears his throat before he speaks again. "Said he wasn't surprised. He said he always knew you were drawn to free spirits."

Removing your hand as a tear filled laugh escapes you, your lips smile wide at your father's words. And you can just imagine them coming from him.

"He told me to take care of ye," Daryl shares and tears flow freely down your sunburned face. "Look out for ye and love ye right. That I best treat you like a real man should."

Your eyes squeeze shut with the overwhelming feeling growing within your chest. Your heart feeling as though it'll burst if it expands any further.

"But he knew," Daryl promises you. "And he was happy for you."

Crying out, you bound from your seat and move into Daryl's embrace. He's taken off guard for a short moment as your tackle rocks him to the side, but he soon recovers as he wraps you tightly in his loving arms.

And there, as you sit with Daryl beneath the light of the moon listening to the creatures in the night, you can feel your father. Like a ray of sunshine peaking through the night sky, you could feel your father smiling down upon you. You could feel his happiness all the way up in heaven, from witnessing his daughter finally finding true happiness.

A/N: This one shot came as a request from unextraordanary I hope you enjoyed it and that it was close to what you were hoping for!❤ I hope that you all liked it because I actually really like this one!!