Rick Grimes stumbled into the dark house. No one left a light on, he had fumbled with a key in the dark trying to find the switch to turn the light on. He looked around the kitchen and found a meal covered in tin foil on the bench with a note. 'For you!'
He pulled off the tin foil and shoved it in the microwave. Night shifts were killing him. It was also affecting his time with Carol, she was busy during the day, he was out all night. For fuck sakes he was eating dinner at 5am in the morning! He put his plate in the sink and wandered down the hall. Into her room, as he expected he found her asleep in bed beside Merle!
Fuck, another night he hadn't spent with her and he had. He wasn't jealous of their relationship they all went into it with their eyes wide open. Merle had stepped up to the plate after Daryl just left, he just up and left one day no note, just a phone call to say he was leaving to Merle. He never even said goodbye to Carol just left her with a broken heart. Then she discovered she was pregnant a month of two later. Merle stepped up to help her, not wanting to leave her to struggle on her own.
Merle moved her into the house as a house mate over the year it developed to more. Rick had already been sharing with Merle. Both of them had strong feelings for Carol but while Daryl was about no one acted on them. One night Merle was out Rick had kissed her and she kissed him back. Since then both men had a relationship with her. Kept separate from each other. It worked for them, it worked for Carol. She called them her men!
Sex with Carol was great, he missed it. He was going back onto day's next week and already had scheduled himself in on the calender that they kept so everyone knew where they were. Merle had had free range on his family for the past two weeks. Rick smirked thinking about Carol's and her son as his family, Christ he even thought of Merle as his family, he chuckled to himself as he went to check on little Joey.
Joey was sound asleep tucked into his car bed with his stuffed raggled teddy at his side. Rick bent over and gave the little 4 year old a kiss. He certainly was a Dixon, even asleep he had Daryl's look about him. Rick wondered for a moment where the hell Daryl was. He had used all the police data base looking for him but it was like he had fallen off the grid. He knew if Daryl knew about Joey he would be here. There would be no way he would be letting Rick and Merle take his family the way they had taken it.
Merle was much like Daryl in a worse way. Carol brought the good out in him and Joey, well Joey won his heart the moment he arrived with a red screaming face. Merle wasn't letting Carol struggle on her own because Daryl was a red neck arsehole. Rick watched him sleep a bit longer before wandering down the hall to take a shower and change. He wanted to stay up and spend some time with the little boy before he went to pre school and before Carol went to work.
Merle and Rick told her she didn't need to work, she shook her head, she wanted to help and pay for things too. So they were like a team. Carol winning because she was dating both men. Rick chuckled to himself if it got out around town what went on behind closed doors at the house. Carol would have a scarlet letter across her chest for sleeping with both men, and them agreeing to it.
Standing under the shower he wondered what some of their friends would think if they knew both he and Merle were sleeping with and supporting Carol. They were very careful to hide it from everyone. Going out together was a task, hiding the need to want to touch her or talk to her. Both men fronting up at Joey's pre school to pick him up or drop him off under the gize of the uncle.
Joey had no idea, they hid it from him too, he was small enough that he didn't notice a lot, they kept it from him. All he knew was his Mama loved him. Uncle Merle loved him. Uncle Rick love him, and they all loved his Mama! Rick stood in the shower washing his hair thinking about how different his life would have been if Daryl was still about. He knew without a doubt he never stood a chance with her while he was about. At times he worried if he was ever to come back. He had been gone nearly 5years.
Rick and Merle couldn't understand where he was and why he just left like that. What happened to him. They knew he would be alright, he just packed some shit and left. Merle worried about him coming back. He wasn't about to give Carol back if he did come back. They had the relationship sorted between the two of them. They didn't care, they both loved Carol and she loved them. It just worked.
He stood there a bit longer willing his tiredness just to leave long enough for him to spend some time before falling asleep, he would try to stay up as long as possible to try get back into day's again. He pulled on some clothes and wandered out to the lounge sat on the couch and started to watch TV. That was where Carol found him two hour later snoring his head off.
'Morning Rick!' Carol whispered in his ears kissing his neck. 'How long you been sleeping here?'
Rick reached out to hug her to him, looking over her shoulder to see Merle in the kitchen making breakfast with Joey on his hip. They were not paying them attention. He reached up locking his lips on hers bringing her in for a full on kiss. He let go finally when Merle started talking that breakfast was ready. That's when Joey realised Uncle Rick was home and jumped all over him.
'I missed you! and your Mama!' Rick hugged and kissed him. He looked over Joey's shoulder and caught her eye. She nodded she missed him too.