DISCLAIMER! I DO NOT OWN THE WALKING DEAD OR ANY OTHER COPRIGHTED WORKS MENTIONED HEREIN. THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION AND ANY ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE CHARACTERS OR REFERENCES MADE ARE BY MY DESIGN.

Chapter 1 Some Kind Of Guardian Angel

When him and his brother first found the group at the quarry they stayed on the fringes. They knew that anyone knowing a Dixon wouldn't want one anywhere near them. They decided to stay away for the most part before the people got wise. If they accepted them, when they realized what the brothers were it would hurt more, be that much worse. If we were never a part of anything to begin with then it would make it easier when the group realized what utter useless trash they had let into their midst. That they had let the wolves in, and if they did not exorcise them that they would be destroyed by that evil.

I waited for it to happen but it never did. Guess when people start eating one another a pair of troublesome rednecks were the least of the problems plaguing man. So little in fact that we were largely ignored which suited us just fine. We never learned how to fit into society, be a part of it.

The cop didn't even mind us that much. He kept an eye on us sure but never more than that. In the old world he would have never waited for us to do something he could arrest them for. He knew trouble when he saw it but he gave us a pass as long as we pulled our weight and didn't make too much trouble. In the old days he would have made up a reason, any reason to arrest us, do a search, find something real, something to put us away for a long time.

Ain't like that anymore though. Funny how in just a few short weeks everything fell apart. If the fine upstanding Officer Walsh had met Merle or even me just a few weeks ago he would have sung a very different tune.

Truth was, he needed us. We could kill, survive, do the dirty work, things not many of the group hiding out at the quarry could do. He had a family to think about. He also had to think about the larger group, if we had a leader he would be it.

Sure he coulda done some things different but when the world fell apart, he had a plan. When everyone was runnin' around wonderin' what ta do, he came up with a plan. It may have not been the best plan but it was something. That's what Rick never realized, that in all the chaos when nobody knew what to do he stood up and took charge. He made sure things got done, that people had things to do, that everyone had food and shelter.

Rick never saw the first days, he never saw things fall apart. It wasn't natural that Shane became our unofficial leader, he wasn't really the leader type. He became our leader, he had our respect because he did it anyway. He made the choices that no one else knew how to make, that no one wanted to make. He didn't always choose right, he didn't do things perfect, that's for damn sure but he did them.

For the first time in my life I respected the law because of that man. He made me understand that we can do more working together instead of fighting each other. He made me understand that if mankind was to survive we needed to work together. That this world was, if possible harsher and crueler than the one before it and we needed to hold onto the best parts of ourselves, even if it was just the little silly things that we never though we could lose, that we never thought we'd be without, to survive this new world.

*You're My Cherokee Rose*

I don't know when it started. I just watched her at first, the beautiful, broken creature, the little mouse struggling under the weight of an abusive husband; doing the best she could for her little girl. I noticed her almost immediately. How could I not?

For some reason, I never really understood why, I never wanted to, but I always knew when someone was suffering, I could feel it, see it, as they tried to hide it. Everyone else in camp was a blur, everyone but her. I could never block her out like the others even if I tried.

My dumbass brother was trying to cope with how things were now by doing drugs, a lot of drugs. We weren't vigilantes or anything but we had grown up under a man like that. Our father was a mean bastard who beat us and our mother. We knew what it was like living like that and we couldn't stand it. When we were boys we couldn't do anything about it but we're men now. Now we can do something about it, we can change the lives of people like us and we do.

I knew what he did to her, my little mouse. Officer Smiley seemed determined to ignore it in the name of keeping the peace within the group but I couldn't and when I told my brother, when I got him to notice he wouldn't either. We were gonna do something about it.

*You're My Cherokee Rose*

My brother doesn't like bein' on the drugs when he's huntin' so that's when I told him about Carol and Sophia. It took a little convincing to even get him to put off shooting up so he could investigate the Peletier's. I knew I had him then, it made me feel better instantly. Like a weight had been lifted and I could breathe again.

That night he went and sat himself in the bushes near their tent so he could hear what was going on inside. While I was hiding out near the front, ready to ambush him when Merle lures him outside. Merle didn't have to wait for long after the camp tucked itself in. He never started before then, he wanted people to be asleep when he hurt her. I knew he would beat her tonight. Somethin' happened while the girls were doin' laundry and Shane beat the shit outta Ed for somethin' he said ta Carol.

Tonight Ed was hella mad and she's gonna get it extra good, maybe even die cuz there ain't no hospitals any more. Well that's what woulda happened if Merle wasn't there to intervene before things got too bad. If that bastard started ta hit her then Merle would scratch against the tent like an animal. Ed would come outside to investigate and we'd have 'im, kill 'im. That was the plan.

It went exactly like that. When Ed came out all pissed lookin' for that animal he got me charging at him. I took him down easily. I put my hand over his mouth and I said, "You and me are gonna go down ta the lake and m\have a chat with my brother." he nodded. He was scared shitless at havin' to deal with someone his own size. I didn't give him a choice.

I dragged him down to the water where Merle was waiting for us with rope to tie him up. I glared at him and made sure he didn't try anything while my brother tied the bastard up good and tight. Once he was trussed up I barked at him to sit on the rock while we stood in front of him one on each side.

Merle started out sayin', "We don't appreciate what ya been doin' to that little wife a yours."

Bastard had the gall ta start laughing before he responded, "That's what this is about? Ya'll got your panties in a bunch over me showin' my worthless piece o' shit wife who's boss? For your information I was teachin' her a lesson on how ta behave back there. That bitch is always up ta somethin'. Don't know why I even bothered to marry that fat cow but it ain't your business what I do ta my wife. Man's gotta keep his wife in line or they get outta hand real fast, mine ya gotta hit ta get her ta listen."

It was my turn to speak but I didn't even know if I could, I was so mad. Somehow I found the words though. "Well Mr. Peletier my brother and I don't care much for how you treat your wife, in fact you're gonna stop. Right now. Treat that angel right from here on out or you and I are gonna have some serious problems." Don't know how I managed to talk to the prick without hitting him but I did.

Ed apparently having no sense of self preservation yelled back, "What the fuck! You white trash piece a shits think you can tell me how ta treat my wife? She's mine you assholes and if I wanna hit 'er that's what I'm gonna do. She's mine ain't nutin you can do about it." at me and my brother. Now we did not appreciate that, not one bit.

Merle spoke next, after he socked him good in the jaw a course. "Well Ed, the world's workin' a little different now a days. The thing is in today's world we can just fuckin' kill ya."

I followed leanin' in close, "Ya see what you don't get is that we're gonna kill ya and there ain't nutin' anybody gonna do about it. See Officer Walsh, he knows what you are. We're gonna tell him that we saw you beatin' on your misses and intervening got into a scuffle with you which ended up with you being dead. Only person that's gonna ever know it was us that killed ya is Shane, he's gonna tell the group that the walkers got ya. Then he's gonna let us go, he'll think about it but in the end I think he'll see that we did what had ta be done. What do ya think a that Mr. Wifebeater?"

The last sentence I enunciated with my fists. So when he spoke again he was spitting up blood. "What I think is this. I think you want the whore. If that's the case you better hurry cuz right about now she'll be bleedin' out. See tonight I didn't use my fists, I used a knife, cut her up real good. After that shit today I was gonna kill her sorry ass and get me a new wife, one who appreciates me."

Merle had his gun pulled out by the time Ed had finished. "You go on little brother check on her, see she's alright." Putting the barrel to Ed's head he finished, "I'll clean up here." Nodding I ran off toward camp hoping I wasn't too late.

It seemed to take a hundred years but finally I scooted to a halt at Carol's tent. What I saw made my heart stop and my blood freeze in my veins.

The flap was open. There was blood everywhere and the inside was a real mess. Looked like a tornado had gone through it, or somethin' else, somethin' worse; but no Carol or Sophia not even pieces I checked. I'll admit, I panicked. Heart beatin' outta my chest I ran around the area frantically searching for clues.

Thinkin' walkers had gotten to 'em while Merle and I were handlin' Ed I ended up at the RV. Dale was usually up very late keepin watch. He should know what happened to them. Not seein' Dale on the roof I tore into the bus lookin' for him. Now that I had some kind of a plan I felt calmer which helped me deal with what I found in the back.

Carol was on one a the beds all bloody and pale. Her clothes were in shreds but there was so much blood it didn't matter. Dale was tryin' ta stitch her up while Andrea held her down. Amy was there as well, trying to calm down a sobbing Sophia. She was tryin' ta get her ta leave but she wouldn't leave her momma's side.

She looked like she was in shock almost catatonic actually but she was still aware enough to be able to resist Amy's attempts to remove her. Carol was in and out of it but during one of her lucid moments she managed to smile and tell Sophia that she was gonna be fine; that she should go so Dale could concentrate.

When that happened I had been there for a little while just watchin' tryin' not ta get in the way but when Carol motioned for Sophia ta leave they noticed me. Dale nodded at Amy, indicating that she was to deal with me. My presence sure got the little one's attention so I bent down on my knees to address her. "D ya mind comin with me blossom?"

Amy freaked out a little when I said that. I don't blame her, no one in the camp knew me very well. I knew she didn't want to entrust me with her young charge. So I put my hands up, palms out. "I ain't gonna hurt her. I just wanna get her outta here. Take her ta Shane. She's friends with Carl." Looking back at Sophia I asked her in a soft tone, "D ya mind me takin' ya ta sleep with Carl and his family? Let Dale and Andrea patch up your momma?"

Sophia looked back at her mom before agreeing excitedly to my plan. Amy seemed mollified that I intended no harm towards her so she released her and nodded her consent to me. Freed from Amy's grasp Sophia flew into my arms.

"I'm gonna swing by my tent after I drop her off, got somethin' might help." Picking Sophia up and carrying her outside. She started to nod off so I told her what I wanted to say briefly. "I'm gonna drop you off, then I'm gonna go to my tent, get something ta help your mom, then I'm gonna rush back quick as I can. Then I ain't gonna leave her side for anything. I'm gonna stay wit her all night and in the mornin' first thing I'm gonna go to Shane's tent and tell ya how she's doin'. Alright wit you blossom? That sound like a good plan?"

She rolled her head a bit, kinda nodding but other than that I got no response. She was out cold. Poor thing must have been exhausted after so much excitement. Then he was at Shane's tent. Time to ruin his night. He would have knocked but it wouldn't really wake them up, besides I'm not one for subtlety so I opened it and looked inside.

I barked, "Shane I gotta talk to ya" through the opening. Then I waited holding a sleeping Sophia till he appeared at the opening rubbing his eyes. The I said, "Get out here I gotta talk to you." Still very groggy he replied, "Can't it wait?" I replied with a simple, nope, then I kicked the wall of the tent to emphasize my point.

Growling he finally lifted himself out of the tent, pausing to pull on his boots before emerging fully. As he got up he yawned. He stood next to me glaring at me, then his expression softened and his eyes got wide as he took in the scene before him. "Is that Sophia? Where did that blood come from?"

"Let's get Sophia inside so she can get comfy first." Lori disturbed by all the commotion appeared at the opening. Without missing a beat I handed the girl to her and told her to put her to bed. Complying she grabbed her and dragged her prone frame into the tent.

I zipped the tent closed before I turned back to Shane. I motioned for him to be quiet but he was so freaked I'm lucky he didn't scream at me. "WHAT THE FUCK DIXON? Start talkin'. Now!"

"Calm down. Ed cut up Carol tonight. Merle and I dragged him off. He's handled. Carol's a mess though. Fucker got her good. Dale's trying to sew her up. Merle's got some drugs might help her. I'm gonna go get 'em and park my ass in the RV till dawn. Ya wanna see about Ed we took him to the water. Trackin' down my brother won't be too hard, only so many places he could be."

"Fuck that it can wait. I'm goin' back to bed."

Rolling my eyes I left our fearless leader to catch his beauty sleep. I ran back to my tent. I tore through Merle's gear looking for his stash. Finding it I bolted out of the tent, I didn't even close it in my rush to get back to Carol.

When I got to the RV Amy and I sat at the kitchen table sorting through Merle's shit. Once we found the sedatives I sent her to the back to give them to Carol. I stayed at the table sorting the rest. Making two piles, useful and not. Into the first went the pain killers and antibiotics. Everything else was recreational so I put them aside to destroy later. The keepers I put in the bag they came in. I left those out for Dale to hide.

I went to the back to check on her myself. When I arrived she was resting peacefully and Dale was pulling a blanket over her.

Then everyone bedded down. Dale and Andrea in one bed, Amy in the other. I went back to the table. Folding myself onto one of the benches I tried to make myself comfortable while I stood watch. Somehow I fell asleep.