"Daddy!" The trace of unease in his daughter's voice brought him wrenching up, hitting his head on the pipes underneath the sink. Daryl had finally moved away from the cabin. The cabin that had contained his entire life. The cabin that had contained him and Merle. He'd wanted his kid to have a fresh start and a fresh start they'd had. He worked at the mines during the day and took out rich hunters into the mountains to supplement what he earned.

It wasn't much but it was enough to keep a small house not too far from her momma's, close to all her friends. It had helped Daryl's reputation move up in town, too. He was the handy man. You needed something fixed, you called Dixon. Harley's momma lived down the street with her new husband, Bud. They had been a one night thing and had tried to 'do the right thing' by getting married. It wasn't a terrible marriage but they were friends who happened to live in the same house. They had decided to just split after their child was born to give Hallie a chance to see what real love could be like. Leslie had found that two years later and Daryl had been the one to give her away to the right man, one who loved Hallie like she was his own but never tried to take his place.

It was the perfect arrangement. Sometimes they even had dinner together just for kicks. Daryl had dated some but he was mostly a loner. The single focus in his life was his little girl. The one thing he cherished above all else. The one person he could never disappoint. The one person who looked at him like he was her whole world. The way she called him with a smile, her mother's smile. Everything about her was simply perfect.

There was a wrench in his hand as he came out to see what was wrong. Hallie was raised in a quiet community where the town pitched in the best they could when they actually liked you. The girl was a favorite among the neighborhood binnies because she always brought them sweets on the bike Daryl had bought second hand and repainted for her birthday. And what he saw made him want to grab his child and run as far away as he could.

–

Merle was watching from the truck for a while before he even dared approach the girl; he was certain this was where Daryl lived. The kid was a surprise, though. The jealousy that went through him on the thought of his baby brother having a wife did not surprise him. Nothing surprised him these days; except for the girl who was a spitting image of her daddy playing on his front yard with two dolls. Brown mussy hair and blue eyes. A prettier version of his brother, that was for sure. Whoever his wife was she had to be one fine piece of ass.

The kid looked just like his brother. He had a niece. Blood kin. And Daryl had never told him. Booted feet exited the truck and carried him towards the kid.

"Hey there, sweetheart. I'm your Uncle Merle. Ain't your daddy ever told you about me?"

Hallie had heard his name mentioned once or twice in hushed tones when Momma and Daddy were talking. They never said anything to her, though. Something about this man wasn't right; and there was nobody around. She decided to go with the truth. They'd never told her about him, not really. Never on purpose.

"Nope." She stood, brushing off her dress as she went to go scoop up her dolls to take them inside. It was then that the strange man had grabbed her wrist.

"Daddy!"

–

The sight of his brother holding onto his little girl made him see red. Merle had released her as Daryl appeared on the porch. "Hallie, honey, go inside and call your momma. Tell her to come dinner tonight and bring your favorite."

Tangled hair bounced as she sprang to hug her father on the way in the door. "Love you, Daddy!"

Merle looked after the child with a scrutinizing gaze. "Well, well, well baby brother. You went and went had a brat." It was certainly impressive in a way. Daryl hadn't been the type to run after girls much; Merle had always gotten in the way of that particular pursuit.

Daryl crossed his arms and leaned across the threshold to his house, flannel rolled up to his elbows in the autumn chill. "What'd ya want, Merle? You ain't got no business here." He'd made that quite clear all those years ago, before he'd even met the woman who would be child's mother. "I told ya to never, ever come back after what you did or I'd kill ya. Don't make me-" What he had been about to say was interrupted as a small figure leaned against his side.

"Momma says she's gonna be over in a bit."

Merle stood back up and put his hands on his hips, giving his baby brother an appraising look. "You ain't got a wife?"

"Had a wife." The man's voice was cold even as he kissed his daughter's head and turned her around. "Go inside and watch some cartoons, kiddo. Unc' Merle was just leavin'. Go on, now. Turn it on up nice and loud for a change."

"Ain't Miz Murray gonna complain again?"

"I'll take care of her, don't you worry. Go on, now." The child vanished in a flash, leaving Merle to appraise her legging and dress clad figure as she ran.

"You ain't told me you had a wife'n kid, baby brother." It was a sticking spot, a thorn in his side. Merle used to know everything about this town and everyone in it. He'd been kicked out by his baby brother after one final incident. He'd apparently pushed Daryl too hard that night, been too rough on the kid. He'd nearly taken a pipe in the skull as a result and was run out of town in disgrace. And baby brother had been busy. "What, you ain't gonna let me get to know my niece? She's a darlin', that one. Looks just like you did when you were that age. Cute as a damn button. Gonna grow up and break hearts. What's her name?" He stayed where he was. This was an old-fashioned standoff, with Daryl guarding his home and his property and his child and Merle was nothing other than the encroacher.

Same old same old.

"Ain't yer niece, Merle. She's got an uncle already. She don't need you and you don't need to know her name." Daryl spat at the bottom of the steps, immovable as stone. He'd gained bulk since Merle had left. He'd been just a kid then but he was a man grown now.

A solid hunk of muscle in that flannel and that damnable wife beater. Merle couldn't take the way it was coming up just over his hips to show belt and denim and a hint of skin. Daryl had never worn denim before. He wasn't getting into the woods so much these days and that was his way in.

"I just wanted to come huntin' with you, baby brother. I went to the cabin but ain't nobody there. An' I find you livin' in town like decent folk now. Come huntin' with me, Daryl, I've missed ya." The younger Dixon scowled, finally coming off his porch with the wrench in his hand suddenly looking less a tool and more of a weapon.

"You ain't missed nothin' about me, Merle." Merle came closer. Too close, an inch from his face. His brother had always been bigger, taller and it seemed like he had the advantage even now as he looked down, blues reflecting against his younger brother's. He was always looking down at Daryl.

"I'll tell you what I miss, baby brother. I miss that sweet ass of yours at night whenever I wan-" He was cut short by a fist that connected with his face and he was shoved off his feet with a savagery that Daryl didn't possess.

Or hadn't before.

"You stay away from me, Merle. You ain't no brother of mine." Daryl spit on him again. "You ain't no different from Pa in the end of it all an' I want nothin' t'do with you! Now get off my property before I call the sheriff." His voice was a snarl, nastier and more aggressive than Merle had ever heard it before. "You fuckin' stay away from my family." The wrench was raised to point the way to the truck. "Don't make me beat you again, Merle. Git." He raised his booted foot for a kick but Merle rolled out of the way and back onto to his feet with glare.

The older Dixon vanished back to his truck with a snarl, roaring down the quiet street as Leslie and Bud came up the sidewalk holding a bag of ingredients and a case of beer. The two of them knew what needed to be known and the sound of some sort of incident and Daryl's yelling had drawn them. They knew that Merle was his brother and there had been altercation involving violence, drugs, and alcohol and Merle had been run off after Daryl reacted with violence to save his life. They had decided, as a pair, that it was best to spend the evening cooking and trying to return normalcy to their child's life.

Dinner was a hushed affair between the four of them, Daryl letting Hallie have whatever she wanted and not actually making her eat her vegetables (which was usually a serious argument since Hallie was a meat person just like her dad). The child went to bed with the hint of whispers in her head. Something wasn't right. Something had her daddy brooding into his plate and stabbing noodles with his fork. Something to do with the mysterious man who had showed up today in that giant truck. The man with the same eyes as her father. The same eyes she saw when she looked into the mirror to brush her teeth in the morning.

–

She woke to somebody pressing her down against her bed with a hand over her mouth and pain across her body. It wasn't anybody she knew. Nobody she knew would ever do this to her. Hallie was crying and trying to scream for somebody, anybody, to come and save her. She couldn't do this. There were points of fire where bruises would be later and vaguely something came to mind about trying to hit certain parts of people. But she didn't know where they were. She couldn't see. She was being pressed down and it was so heavy. She couldn't breathe and she was scared and fighting like a Dixon, even if she didn't know it. Hallie was thrashing and kicking and squirming, trying to break free but nothing was working.

So she bit and she scratched and finally she was able to scream as loud as she could.

–

Daryl heard his little gir scream in the middle of the night and knew something was horrific was happening. He stumbled blindly out of bed. He couldn't see. It was dark and it was cold and he could have gone to his closet for the gun Hallie knew not to touch but he wasn't thinking. God, Lord above, please please. Don't let anything happen to his little girl. He'd never been so scared in his entire life; not even when Merle was pressing him against trees or walls or wherever he decided to take his brother next. Daryl's heart was thundering in his ears as he crashed down the hall and passed his kitchen table that was strewn with the remnants of parts.

His chest was heaving, his mind racing. He needed a weapon. But there was no time. There was no time for anything. Fingers closed around something solid and portable and that was all he needed before he barreled into his child's room, Hallie's room, and ripped off the creature assaulting his daughter.

His brother. His own brother.

Merle never stood a chance.

Dimly he was aware that Hallie was screaming. Everything he'd ever felt was coming to the surface now. Rage at his brother for raping him as a child. Hatred for what he'd tried to do to Daryl's daughter; his own flesh and blood. Fear that Hallie would never forgive him, that he hadn't been in time to save her. He wasn't sure where his instinct to protect his child ended and his own need for retribution began. He knew his hand was coming down over and over again until it was just hitting the floor. He knew there was a spreading pool of blood and he was covered. Daryl was drowning in red and in a haze, eventually becoming aware that his daughter, his Hallie, was crying against his side with her clothes ripped and her tiny body bruised and that there was a bloodied pipe in his hands as he stood over the corpse of his brother.

The pipe clanged against the floor as he sank to his knees and cradled his child to his chest as red and blue lights flushed the room. Hallie was clinging to him, saying nothing but "Daddy. Daddy. Daddy." Over and over and over and over. He was petting her hair and rocking her as the police came in with guns drawn. "Daddy, you saved me. He was hurtin' me. Why? Why, Daddy? Why?" Her tears were soaking his shirt as her lip bled into his skin. Daryl pressed her close as police filed into the room with guns drawn.

"Shhhh. It's gonna be okay, Hallie. Ain't nobody gonna hurt you again."