Hello! Ninelives had a writing challenge and this was my entry. It was suppose to be a long one shot but, again, I became long winded and had to turn it into a chapter fic. Good news is, it's finished so no waiting. The bad news is, it really isn't anything too special. Lol It's just a story about Caryl. I thought some of you might enjoy it anyway. Thanks for reading!

Chapter One

She hadn't taken the job because she wanted to. She took the job because she needed to be able to pay rent for her apartment and she needed to save up for a car so she could get out of the crappy town she had grew up in. She needed to get the hell away from her stupid ex and start all over.

So here she was, pouring drinks at the notorious Dirty Bird Bar. She felt like a disgusting floozie in the ridiculous uniform they made the female employees wear. She had to admit though that the tips were damn good and she was making more money than she had at her previous job waiting tables at the fanciest restaurant in town. So what if she looked like a stripper. The point was, she wasn't one. She was respectable, even if she didn't look it. It wasn't like she flirted or anything. She poured drinks, handed out beers and occasionally engaged lonely patrons in small talk.

It was mostly rough necks that frequented the place and several of them declared that she was their little sister and would break the necks of anyone that would cause her harm. She supposed that was kind of nice. It wasn't every day that big burly biker men took her under their large leather wing. It had actually came in very handy the few times her ex had came in with his ridiculous college friends just to give her a hard time.

Other than her ex the men that frequented the Bird, which was what most of them called the place, were mostly older guys. Late twenties and up. It wasn't a college hang out at all. She had never seen herself working at a place like this, dressed like a biker slut and passing out poison to a bunch of grinning leather clad patrons, but here she was, and she smiled because her life could always be worse. She had made some good friends at the place and she had to admit that her job was never dull.

"Carol!" A loud boisterous voice called as a pair of large hands slapped the bar.

She looked up from the line of shots she was pouring and grinned. "Merle," she greeted.

"Lookin' classy as usual," Merle grinned back.

Carol rolled her eyes and looked down at the skimpy black shirt she was wearing. It showed off her midriff and the neckline was cut in a V that barely concealed her breasts. "Go to hell, Merle," she said with a smile.

"You save your shots for me tonight?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

As the head bartender she was allowed a few drinks every night. Merle had been taking shots with her for months now and usually that was the only time she would have anything to drink. She liked him. He was lewd and he was rough around the edges but he looked out for her and he was at the bar as much as she was for the most part.

She reached under the bar and pulled out a bottle of Tequila. "Of course. Highlight of my night."

"Make it three," he said with that easy grin of his.

"Hot date?" She asked, glancing around for one of the women that he usually had hanging all over him.

"Nope. Pussy has to wait for later. Special occasion, actually. My baby brother's finally legal and I plan on getting him shit faced. He's a lightweight so what's probably gonna happen is, he's gonna watch me get shitfaced. But fuck it, right? It's a reason to celebrate."

"I didn't know you had a brother. I'm not sure if I can handle two of you, Merle. I'm only one woman."

The smile that he gave her was pure evil and he raised an eyebrow. "Now that would be a hell of a night. You wouldn't be able to walk right for a week. But you know you ain't my type, darlin'. You ain't his either. You're too respectable. I appreciate the offer though."

"What the fuck are you talkin' about?"

Carol and Merle both turned to the newcomer. Carol felt her eyes widen slightly, sure that this guy wasn't old enough to be here. She felt like she had seen him before but she couldn't place him. She would remember this one for sure if she'd met him.

Merle grinned. "Carol here offered to throw it to us both for your birthday, baby brother. Hell, I didn't even know she was interested. I should kick her ass for even thinkin' such a thing."

The boy's face turned scarlet and Carol was sure that hers matched. She would never get used to this man. Ever. "I assure you, I never offered. Can I see some ID?"

The guy eyed her and then grabbed his wallet and tossed it onto the bar. She eyed him right back, letting him know that she dealt with much more intimidating people than him on a nightly basis and then picked up his wallet. She opened it up and stared at the driver's license before closing it up and sliding it back to him. "Happy Birthday, Daryl," she said with a smile.

He rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

She sat their shots down in front of them and then readied her own. She did her duty, took her shot, and then had to move on to some other customers. She was busy for a good half hour and knew that Merle would be gone when she made it back around. She was a little surprised to see that his brother hadn't taken off with him.

"How about a beer?" She asked with a smile. The guy looked kind of miserable and when he looked up from under a fringe of bangs she was, once again, taken aback by how good looking he was. Merle had her distracted earlier so she hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to the quieter one but now she was having a hard time looking away.

Finally he nodded. When she sat the mug down he went for his wallet again but she shook her head. "You only turn twenty one once, right? It's on the house. Just remember, if you get as rowdy as your brother, I'll have to have Oscar throw you out. I'd hate to do that."

He took a drink of the beer and then shook his head. "I won't. Merle's a goddamn buffoon. I got more sense than him."

She grinned. "I can tell."

His face flushed again and he busied himself with his beer as she moved on down the line, talking and joking with some of the other regulars. She surprised herself when she caught herself frowning when she looked up and he was gone. She figured as much. Merle wouldn't have let him sit there all night, even though he looked as though that was what he would have preferred. Actually, for the first time since starting this job, she found herself wanting to talk to a guy.

She shook the thought and continued on with her evening, watching the tip jar fill up and loading the waitresses down with table orders and enjoying the smooth sounds of classic rock that drifted towards the bar from the jukebox. The night went as smoothly as it usually did and Merle made a few more appearances.

"You're shitfaced, Merle Dixon. I'm cutting you off."

Merle swayed but the woman he had on his arm giggled and steadied him. He held up his hand. "I'm leavin'. Just came over to tell ya that I'll see ya around."

"Do you need me to call you a cab?" She asked. "And what about your brother?"

Merle frowned and glanced around. "Affirmative on the cab... and I can't remember what happened to my brother. Maybe he found himself a lady. He asked about you. He wasn't too drunk but he'd had enough beers to loosen his lips a little bit. Don't worry though. I told him you was off limits and I'd break his neck if he tried anything."

"That's nice, Merle," Carol said with a shake of her head. She made the call to get him home safe and then started wiping down the counters. The crowd was thinning out and no one seemed to want anything when she signaled last call.

"I'm gonna go ahead to the back and get the big cash into the safe," Oscar said, coming around the counter behind her.

"Right. If there's a problem out here I'll yell but I'm doubting there will be," she said as she dried the glass she had just washed.

"You're tellin' me. I think I have the most borin' damn job in this whole town," he muttered.

She nodded in agreement. He most likely did. Maybe a few times a month a fight would break out and he would actually have to get his hands dirty and toss someone on their ass, but usually he stood around behind the bar and helped her.

Once the room was empty and the last song finished she came out from around the counter to lock the doors. She'd already cleaned out her tip jar, the wad of money was now shoved into her purse. She was halfway to the door when it opened up and three men sauntered in. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes moving from the small group of men to the hallway where Oscar had disappeared.

"We're closed," she said to the men. She should have known that this was going to happen again. It had been nearly a month since Ed and his buddies had shown up.

"Doors unlocked. Looks like you're open," he said with a sly grin, elbowing one of his buddies.

"Oscar is right in the back, Ed. All I have to do is yell for him," she said, taking a step away from the men that were still heading further into the room, closer to her.

"I don't see any of your drunk boyfriends though. What's one man against three? Give us three beers," he said, his cold eyes flashing.

She clenched her jaw and shook her head. "You need to leave, Ed. I told you we're closed. If you wanted a drink you could have came earlier." Her heart started beating faster and she took another step back.

The door opened and someone else came in. The three men turned to see who the newcomer was and Carol cursed under her breath for not locking the door sooner. Merle's brother stepped in. "Hey, you think I can use your phone? My dipshit brother left with the damn keys to my bike," he said, not paying much attention to the three men standing there.

"And while you're entertaining this kid, we'll take those beers," Ed sneered as he passed her with his buddies.

Daryl watched them walk away, his eyes hard until they met hers. It seemed like his fresh faced appearance was something that got brought up often.

She sighed and nodded towards the phone behind the bar. "You can use the phone. I asked Merle where you had gotten off to but he couldn't remember," she said, leading him around the counter.

"That's Merle for ya," he muttered, grabbing the phone and nodding his thanks as he dialed a number.

She turned to the three men that were now sitting patiently, waiting for her to pour them drinks. "One beer. That's it. You have five minutes to finish them and then I want you all out of here."

Daryl was a few feet away, talking low into the phone. Ed eyed him for a second and then looked at her with a cold smile. "Look at who still thinks she's hot stuff now that she's turned herself into a little slut." He sipped his beer as his friends chuckled, eying her.

She crossed her arms over her chest, wishing, not for the first time, that she didn't have to wear these stupid clothes. She felt her face flame with embarrassment. "Just hurry up and get out, Ed. I don't want any trouble."

Ed laughed. "Too bad."

She glanced over to see if Daryl was finished with the phone and was surprised to see him leaning against the wall, watching the three men with a hard look. His eyes flicked up to meet hers and she saw a silent question there.

"So, you still just getting paid for serving drinks or have you moved on to giving some lip service to your loyal patrons, Carol?" One of the men asked.

She shook her head. "Get out," she said but even she could hear the barely concealed fear in her voice.

"We're still drinking," Ed said, holding up his mostly full mug.

"You're done. I want you out," she said, forcing the tremor out of her voice.

"And I said I'm still drinkin'," Ed growled.

She glanced at Daryl again and this time she realized she shouldn't have. Ed narrowed his eyes and glanced between them. Daryl was looking at her now and she gave him a small nod, letting him know that she was fine. He pushed off the wall and walked around the counter.

"Why don't you just cut the shit Carol. It's hard to believe that a girl like you has let herself go like you have. A bar whore." Ed laughed. "It's damn pathetic. I'm startin' to think that maybe I didn't knock your ass around enough."

She opened her mouth to say something but suddenly Ed was being dragged off the bar stool and she watched as Daryl swung, hitting him right in the nose. Ed squealed like a stuck pig and then his friends finally realized what was happening and both of them were out of their seats.

Daryl looked up, kicked Ed hard in the side and then started backing away from the two men that were storming towards him.

"Fuck," he muttered right before one of them swung, hitting him right above the eye.

She felt horrible that she was taking so much pleasure in Ed's pained cries but it wasn't because of Ed. All Daryl had wanted to do was use the phone and now he was going to get his ass kicked because of her. Her and her stupid past. She found herself more angry than she had been in a long time. She grabbed a bottle, the very one she had poured shots for Merle and Daryl earlier, and hopped over the counter. Just as one of the men made a grab for Daryl's jacket, she swung the bottle as hard as she could.

She stumbled backwards. The bottle didn't break but the man dropped to the floor like a stone. She looked up when she heard a grunt and realized that Daryl was scuffling with the other man, a cut above his eyebrow bleeding heavily, and Ed was pulling himself up off the floor.

Daryl was handling the one man but she wasn't sure if he'd be able to take two. She got lucky because suddenly Oscar came tearing down the hallway. She scurried back behind the bar then and let the two men handle it. She'd helped as best she could and if she stayed over there she would just be in the way.