Runaway-zebra: It will not be a one shot, because cliff hangers…

Klreyes91: Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed that last one.

Author's Note: The song "Falling to Pieces" by Faith No More inspired this. I highly suggest listening to it. Also, usual disclaimer: I only own the plot, Lucy, Chanel and Norah (and Liz has permission to use them.)

Lucy sat on the park bench next to Chanel, and they watched Norah play. "So have you thought about a name for him yet?" Lucy asked, turning to face her best friend turned sister-in-law.

"We're not really sure yet," Chanel replied, placing her hand on her growing belly. "I like Noah, but Daryl's not really sure about it. Says it's too much like Norah…"

"It's cute," Lucy smiled.

Chanel nodded, "Yeah…he really likes Archer though."

Lucy's eyebrows arched and she smiled, "I think that might actually be kind of perfect."

"Yeah?" Chanel turned to her.

Lucy nodded. Before she could say anything else though, Norah came running over to them, "Mommy, mommy, I fell!"

"I'm sorry, sweetie, let me see," She took Norah's hands and pulled her closer. Norah tilted her chin up so Lucy could see the scrape. Lucy frowned.

"It hurts," Norah cried.

"I know, sweetie."

"Can we go home? I wanna see daddy."

"Daddy's not home yet."

"I want daddy!" Tears started to roll down Norah's cheeks.

Lucy sighed and Chanel chuckled, "I never thought I'd hear someone say they want Merle." Lucy rolled her eyes. Both women stood and Lucy picked Norah up. Norah tucked her face into Lucy's shoulder and Lucy carried her to the car. They said their goodbyes and Norah gave Chanel a small wave.

When Lucy got home, Norah impatiently ran inside, anxious for Merle to get there. Lucy sighed and walked into the bathroom, getting out a bandage and the tube of Neosporin so she could doctor Norah's scrape. "Norah! C'mere, sweetie."

Norah came running into the bathroom, "What is it mommy?" Lucy turned to her and frowned. She knelt down in front of the six-year old and touched her chin. The skin was soft to the touch, scar free. "Is something wrong mommy?"

Lucy shook her head, "No, sweetie, everything's fine." She smeared Neosporin onto Norah's chin and covered it with the bandage. "Go play, sweetie, daddy will be home soon."

Norah nodded and left the bathroom. Lucy could hear her footsteps as she skipped down the hall to her bedroom. Lucy stood and washed her hands before looking into the mirror. She gripped the countertop tightly, "This is real," she muttered. "It's real."

She opened the medicine cabinet and got out her pills. She didn't need to take them as often as she once had. Merle and Norah kept her grounded. She swallowed two pills dry and took another deep breath, repeating her mantra again. Lucy went downstairs into the kitchen to start cooking dinner, knowing Merle would be on his way home any minute.

When Merle got home, Lucy heard the "Daddy!" shouts as Norah ran up to him.

He picked her up, "What happened to your chin, babydoll?"

"I fell of the monkey bars at the park."

"You okay now?" Lucy heard silence as Norah nodded. Merle walked into the kitchen, carrying their daughter, "Smells good, sugarplum," he said as Lucy took the baked chicken out of the oven.

She placed the pan on the stove top and turned to face him, smiling, "Thank you." He walked over and kissed her cheek.

After dinner, Norah rook her bath and Merle tucked her into bed. He walked into the bedroom where Lucy was sitting, reading a book. Merle stripped down, getting ready to get into bed beside her. He glanced over at Lucy, "Everything okay, sugarplum?"

She glanced up from her book and gave him a curt nod, "Mm hmm."

"Ya sure? All day you've been lookin' like somethin's wrong. Is somethin' botherin' ya?"

Lucy marked the place in her book, "It's just…" she sighed heavily before continuing. "It's silly; really, I know I was just imagining things, but…"

Merle sat down next to her, pulling her against him, he slipped his arms around her. His thumb rubbed the bare skin exposed by her tank top. "Tell me," he gently prodded.

She sighed again, "When I went to put the Band-Aid on Norah's chin, it looked as if her skin had already healed."

Merle kissed her cheek, "But you bandaged it anyways."

Lucy nodded and turned to look at him, her head tilted slightly so their eyes met. "This is real."

He nodded too, "Yes, sugarplum, it's real." She leaned her head onto his shoulder and slipped her arms around his waist. His arms tightened some around her, and they sat there like that for a few minutes in silence. Finally, Merle yawned, "We need to get some sleep, at least I do…"

She nodded and he got up to turn the light off while she settled into the mattress, getting comfortable. He got into bed, crawling under the blankets beside her. Merle pulled Lucy into his arms again. She smiled contently and leaned back against his chest.

Lucy had trouble sleeping, she kept thinking of Norah's chin. Her hallucination had seemed so real; it looked and felt so real. She carefully broke free from Merle's embrace and got out of bed, not wanting to wake him, and got out of bed, not wanting to wake him up. Quietly, she left the room and crept down the hall to Norah's room.

She slipped inside Daryl's former bedroom and walked over to Norah's bed. The small lamp on her bedside table cast a soft pink glow in that corner of the room, and Norah slept peacefully. Lucy leaned over her sleeping daughter, and attempted to see underneath the bandage, carefully prying it back in the middle.

It was still too dark to see whether or not the skin underneath was marred and Lucy frowned. The only way to know would be to take the Band-Aid off, and she couldn't do that without waking Norah up.

When Lucy got to the door, she heard Norah's voice behind her, "Is something wrong, mommy?"

Lucy turned back around. Norah was propped up on one elbow, and she rubbed her eyes sleepily. Lucy smiled, speaking softly, "Everything's fine, sweetie."

"What were you doing?"

Lucy gave a slight shrug, hesitating while she thought of an excuse. "I thought I heard something. I was just checking to see if you were still asleep." Lucy smiled, "Go back to sleep, I'll see you in the morning."

Norah settled against her pillow again, "Goodnight mommy."

"Good night Norah, sweet dreams."

Lucy crept back into her bedroom, easing into bed beside Merle. "Where'd ya go?" he asked as his arm slipped back around her. Sleep coated his voice.

"I needed to use the bathroom."

She settled back into his arms and let sleep overtake her.