Authors Note: This story is inspired by a review I received on Changes (Which I swear to all of you, I have not abandoned. I will finish it, one of these days. Real life has gotten very busy lately and then this popped into my head and I just had to write it. I can't help it, I got a fever and the only cure is more Caryl.) Whoever left it wasn't logged in and if it was you please let me know so that I can thank you properly. A suggestion was made that Carol would admit that prior to the ZA, she had been forced to work as a dancer by Ed. Now, trying to keep her in character, I couldn't go quite that far, but I was intrigued by the setting of a strip club. So this is my interpretation of that suggestion. Please read on!

Daryl hated this place. He hated everything about it. The thick smoke that hung in the air, the country music that blasted through the room, the sweaty, drunken men that leered at the dancers and threw dollar bills onto the stage, hooting and hollering like a bunch of animals. He had never considered himself to be a classy guy or anything, he was as white trash as they came, but this place was too much, even for him. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be caught dead in a strip club, but when his brother had called him and asked him to meet him here, he couldn't say no. He hadn't seen the son of a bitch in months, not since he had been popped for possession, and though he couldn't really say he had missed him all that much, he was still his brother and for reasons that he couldn't even really understand himself, he was loyal to him and he usually did whatever was asked of him. But right now, sitting alone at a table, nursing a drink that he had grabbed at the bar, he wanted nothing more than to punch Merle right in the teeth.

He glanced around the crowded room, trying not to think about the fact that he had been sitting here for nearly a half hour and Merle was still nowhere to be found. His growing anger must have been visible on his face, because not a single one of the scantily clad women moving around the room dared to approach him. And for that, he was grateful. He tried to avoid women in general, they made him nervous as hell. But these kinds of women, bleach blondes and fake redheads with too much makeup and not enough clothing, they just annoyed him. He tried to ignore them as he finished off the last of his drink, but he found that his eye kept being drawn back to one of the waitresses, a small woman with long brown hair. He couldn't help but think that she seemed as if she didn't belong here anymore than he did. She was pretty enough, her features delicate and her body lean and tight in the denim shorts and black tank top that seemed to be the waitress's uniform. But she wasn't smiling like the other girls, she wasn't flirting or touching the customers, she just kept her eyes down as she took their orders and walked over to the bar to have them filled. He watched her for a few more minutes, hoping that if he had to talk to one of these women, it would at least be her. He got his wish as she finally made her way over to him, glancing at him nervously as she quietly spoke.

"My name is Candy and I'll be your waitress this evening. Can I get you another drink?"

He couldn't help but notice her eyes. They had too much makeup on them, just like every other woman in the room, but they were so blue that he suddenly found himself speechless. Unfortunately, whenever he found himself in a situation where he didn't know what to say, he usually just went with the first thing that popped into his head. "What the fuck kind of name is Candy?" he said, regretting the rude remark almost as soon as it had passed his lips.

A small smile broke through her nervous expression and she leaned down a little closer to him as she whispered. "It's not my real name, but don't tell anyone else that. I'll get in trouble."

He was surprised to find himself smiling, it didn't happen all that often. He narrowed his eyes at her, feeling a little bold as the warm glow from the whiskey started to envelop him. "What's your real name?" he asked, breaking his gaze from her as he realized just how stupid he must sound, sitting here trying to flirt. What the fuck did he know about flirting? Or women at all for that matter? His experience was laughably limited, he hadn't been with a woman in years, and even the girls he had been with weren't anything to brag about, a few fumbling drunken encounters, before he had finally just written off the gender as a whole. It hadn't been any great loss, he would honestly just rather be alone than have to deal with the drama that women always seemed to drag along with them. He quickly wiped the smile off his face and returned his expression to his usual scowl. "Nevermind, I don't really wanna know. Just get me a beer, I ain't plannin' on stayin long."

She didn't even seem to notice that his mood had changed, she seemed to be distracted by her boss, an angry looking woman who was watching her intently and motioning for her to come to the bar. She never even looked at him as she nodded her head, her nervous expression back on her face as she spoke. "I'll be right back with your order."

He barely had a chance to watch her walk away when a pair of arms wrapped around his chest and yanked him up from his chair. He went stiff at the contact, and spun around, defensive, but instead of some unknown threat, he came face to face with one he knew all too well.

"Well, well, well, Darylina, that how you gonna greet your big brother, you just gonna stand there? Get your skinny ass over here and give old Merle some love." he said as he grabbed Daryl by the front of his shirt and pulled him into a rough embrace.

It was pretty obvious to Daryl that Merle had started celebrating his release from jail hours ago, he smelled like he had showered in Jack Daniels and the fact that he was hugging him, well, that was so damn strange that he had to be high as a kite. Once Merle had finally let him go, he sat back down, feeling a small twinge of disappointment as he looked around and found that the waitress had disappeared. Merle dropped down into the chair next to his with a thump, and a man Daryl didn't recognize joined them. He was just about to ask the guy who the fuck he was when Merle spoke up.

"Daryl, this here's a friend of mine, met him in the clink, brought me back into town since my baby brother couldn't be bothered. Thought you might show some appreciation and let him crash with us for a few days. His bitch of an old lady ran out on him and he ain't got nowhere else to stay."

The dark haired, heavyset man broke his eyes away from the girls on the stage just long enough to nod in Daryl's general direction and introduce himself. "Name's Ed." he grunted out before he returned his attention to the topless blonde that was now climbing onto the pole in the middle of the stage.

Daryl looked at Merle, not really sure what to say. He knew he was going to catch hell for it, but he had to tell him the truth. "Merle, you been gone six months. I couldn't keep up with the rent for our old place, I had to move into that shitty little trailer park just outside of town. Place is barely big enough for me. I guess if you don't mind sleepin on the floor, ya'll can crash with me for awhile, but I'm tellin' you, the place is a shithole." he said as he braced himself for his brothers reaction.

Merle looked strangely calm, maybe it was just the drugs that were almost certainly coursing through his system, but he just shrugged his shoulders. "Ain't no big deal. I'm willin' to bet that if old Merle plays his cards right, one of these lovely ladies will be kind enough to give me a warm bed to sleep in for the night." he said, gesturing to the strippers that were spread out through the room. Daryl was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when a sudden flash of anger crept onto his brother's face. "Hey, you didn't leave my bike at the old place, did ya? It was locked up in the garage."

Daryl nearly laughed. "Merle, do I look like I wanna get my ass stomped? No, I didn't leave your fucking bike in the old place. I had to sneak in with a pair of bolt cutters after that asshole landlord threw me out, but I got it. It's in the shed outside my trailer."

Merle smirked as he reached over and punched Daryl in the arm, a little harder than he would have liked. "Good boy. Nice to know you ain't completely useless."

From anyone else, Daryl would have considered the comment an insult, but from Merle, it was downright affectionate. Daryl watched as Merle turned to the man who was now practically drooling as he watched the dancers, completely oblivious to everything around him. "Ed, looks like you're on your own. Daryl ain't got room for us"

Anger crept onto Ed's face as he finally joined the conversation. "The hell you mean, I'm on my own? Where the fuck am I supposed to go? Only damn reason I gave you a ride was because you said you had somewhere to crash and now you're telling me your redneck brother doesn't have room"

Merle's expression quickly changed, a darkness creeping into his eyes as he growled. "Ed, hate to tell you this, but I don't really give a fuck where you go. Go find your old lady, get one of these whores to take you home, go sleep in your fucking car. I don't give a shit. But you insult my brother again, you gonna be sleeping in a box, permanently. Only reason I ain't kicked your ass yet is cause I just got the fuck out of a cell and I ain't really trying to go back in just yet. We understand each other?"

Ed seemed startled by the sudden turn in Merle's mood and quickly backed away, standing up from his chair as he stammered out his reply. "Whatever, it's okay. I'll find someplace. Maybe I'll see you around." he said as he quickly made his way to other side of the room.

Merle's smirk returned as he watched Ed retreat and he leaned back in his chair, quite pleased with himself. He noticed Daryl's questioning glare and spoke. "I didn't like that fucking guy any how, he ain't nothing but a pussy. Got locked up for violating a restraining order or some shit like that. I was gonna ditch him later, just needed him for the ride."

Daryl shook his head. Same old Merle, just as much of an asshole as ever. He was about to tell him so, when a waitress suddenly stopped at their table and placed a beer in front of him. He glanced up and found that it wasn't the one who had taken his order, the brunette with the sweet smile and the big blue eyes, but a young blonde girl with bright pink lips and her hair in two pigtails. He couldn't help the question that passed his lips.

"Where's the other waitress?" he asked, genuinely surprised that he even cared.

The blonde looked at him just long enough answer, telling him that she had gone on a break, before turning her attention to Merle. "I haven't seen you in here before. I'm Beth, can I get you a drink?"

Daryl watched as Merle turned on the so called "Dixon Charm", a trait that he had decided a long time ago must have passed him over. He didn't quite know how he did it, Merle was pushing fifty and he certainly wasn't the best lookng guy, but after a few minutes of not so subtle innuendo, Merle had the girl practically eating out of his hand. She giggled as she walked back to the bar to get his drink and Merle looked at Daryl. "Hope you were takin' notes, baby brother. That is how you find a bed to crash in for the night. Sweet little thing too. She can't be much older than eighteen, did you see those little titties in that tank top. Goddamn, I been locked up too long, that poor girl don't know what she's in for. Gonna get fucked five ways to Sunday."

Daryl couldn't help but feel a little bad for the girl, but he wasn't about to tell Merle that. Anyway, if she was dumb enough to take him home, she deserved whatever she got. He glanced around the room one more time, still not seeing the waitress who had caught his attention earlier. He told himself that it didn't really matter, it's not like he would have said anything to her even if she came back. He sat in silence for a while, before downing his beer in a few gulps and looking at Merle, who was watching the dancers with clear lust in his eyes. Daryl decided that he had finally had enough of this place and reached over to smack his brother on the arm. "Hey, you care if I get the hell out of here? I really don't feel like sitting here all night watching you eye fuck strippers and hit on teenagers."

Merle snapped out of his little pole dancer daydream and glanced at his brother with a smirk on his lips. "You ready to leave? You ain't even drunk yet. Stick around, maybe I can get little blondie to get you one of her friends. Unless you turned into a fag while I was locked up. Is that it? Cause you been sitting there with a shitty look on your face since I got here. Way I see it, if you can't appreciate all of the fine ass pussy in this room, you must want a great big cock instead."

Daryl could feel himself starting to get pissed, but he bit back his anger and simply glared down at Merle as he stood up from his chair. "I ain't fucking gay, I just got work in the morning. I've been up since the asscrack of dawn and if you don't fucking mind, I'd like to go home and get some sleep."

Merle shrugged his shoulders as he smirked at his brother, happy to see that he could still get a rise out of him. "Ain't no need to get so pissy about it, Darylina. Go home and get some sleep so you can go to work and earn some fucking money. I'll stop by the trailer park tomorrow night and we'll start workin' on a plan for finding a different place. I ain't plannin' on sleeping at waitresses houses forever."

With that said, he returned his attention to the girls on stage and Daryl turned to leave. When he reached the door, he nearly collided with Ed as the large man entered the building. Daryl finally released the anger that had been building up in his chest and shoved the man aside, not even bothering to stick around to see where he landed as he pushed the door open and stepped out into the cool night air. His mind was a jumbled mess as he walked towards the back of the lot where he had parked his old pickup. He hadn't really planned on moving again, he actually kind of liked his little trailer, mainly because he was alone in it. He could live his life however he wanted, even if that meant that all he ever did was work and hunt and sleep. The past six months had been pretty calm, there were no drug dealers knocking on his door in the middle of the night, or skanky girls camped out in his living room, or vials of meth on his kitchen table. Now that Merle was back, it was just a given that all of those things would return with him. But there was nothing he could do about it, Merle had taken care of him when one else would and he somehow felt as if he owed it to him to take care of him now. He had accepted this arrangement a long time ago and he didn't see it changing. This was his life. He was nothing more than a fucked up redneck, with an even more fucked up brother.

He shook the thoughts from his mind as he finally reached his truck, pulling his keys from the pocket of his worn leather jacket. He was just about to unlock the door when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye, a brown mass next to his bumper. He almost ignored it, it was probably just roadkill, but something told him to take another look. He took a few steps towards it, and upon closer inspection, it wasn't roadkill at all, it was hair. A long brown wig, hair that looked strangely familiar. He raised his eyes from the wig and that's when he saw her. The waitress, Candy, or whatever her real name was, sitting on the ground with her back leaned up against tree near the edge of the parking lot, just outside of the glow of the street lights. He couldn't see her very well in the dark, but a small surge of fear crept into his chest as he realized that she was sitting very still, a little too still. He didn't know why, but he took a few tentative steps towards her, his instincts telling him that something just wasn't right. When he finally stepped out of the glare of the overhead light and his eyes adjusted to the darkness that surrounded her, he could see that his instincts were right. She was out cold, blood running down the side of her face from an injury that was hidden by her short silver hair. Bruises were already forming on her arms and chest, dark red marks marring her pale skin. Her bag was still slung over her shoulder, but her shirt was torn, exposing one of her bare breasts and he could see now that her shorts had been pulled down her legs, the denim only held on her body by the one sneaker that she still wore.

He felt sick to his stomach as he looked at her small battered form and realized what this all most likely meant. He could have run, he could have gone back to the bar and called the cops, but he didn't. It was obvious she needed help and he couldn't imagine that she would want an ambulance blaring into the parking lot, it's flashing lights and sirens alerting everyone inside to what had happened to her. Without another thought, he raced back to his truck and grabbed the blanket that he kept in the bed. When he made it back to her, he carefully tried to cover her before lifting her into his arms, trying not to jostle her as he quickly walked back to his truck. He placed her gently in the passenger seat, receiving a small moan in response, but nothing else. She was completely still as he closed the door and raced to the driver's side, jumping up into his seat and slamming the door as he thrust his keys into the ignition and the engine roared to life. He was driven by one thought as he whipped out of the parking lot and onto the street, driving as fast as he could towards the large hospital on the other side of town. He didn't know this woman, he had no reason to care about her at all, they had spoken for the grand total of one minute, as customer and waitress in a sleazy strip joint, but none of that mattered, whoever she was, she didn't deserve this. He swore to himself in that moment, driven by the rage surging through his body, that he would find whoever did this and make him wish that he had never been born.

And so, our story begins. Obviously it is AU, but I will make sure that no one gets too OOC and everyone will make an appearance at some point. Thanks for reading and please take the time to follow and review! Your support means so much to me!

xoxoxo Bekah xoxoxo