"You can't go back to him, Carol. Please don't go back." Daryl had begged her, but she couldn't just stay gone. Ed would look for her and he would find her. She had stayed with Daryl for one week; one week was long enough for her husband to settle his drinking down a little bit. She wanted to stay with Daryl, she really did, but it would put him in danger and she couldn't risk that.

"I have to go, pookie. You know I have to." She watched the heartbroken expression on his face and it made her want to stay even more. "One more night, ok? I'll stay one more night."

"You're my damn wife and that's my little girl too, you bitch." He had said those exact words, the fact Carol divorced him must have slipped his mind. She had left him all those years ago just for him to find her again. It had been at least ten years since she had packed her and Sophia's bags. He took the opportunity to find them just after the world had gone to shit and luck must have been on his side because he found them just outside of Atlanta with a small group.

"I'm not your wife; I was never your wife." She spat in his face. The other member of the group threw curious glances towards them. She was not afraid of him, not anymore. She had seen true terror and he wasn't it, he was a coward. He grabbed her roughly by the arm and began to pull her towards the woods, but she would have none of it, she had to keep Sophia safe and away from this bastard.

"She isn't yours, Ed." Carol whispered before yanking her arm away. Sophia didn't know this man; she had been two years old when they left, so to say she was his would be a lie. No, she wasn't even his biologically. Carol knew who Sophia's daddy was and she knew he was on the other side of this camp or off hunting somewhere. He hadn't seen her yet, she avoided him like the plaque. She wasn't the same, didn't look the same, and she knew he wouldn't want her again.

"You're mine, Carol Peletier, and Sophia Peletier is too." He growled in her face, putting emphasis on the last name. She grinned at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Carol Mason is not yours. Sophia Dixon is not yours either." He backed up a bit, surprised by her confidence.

"Dixon? The hell you call her that for?" His voice was rising and probably carrying to the ears of people around the camp. She didn't care at this point.

"That's her name, Sophia Madison Dixon. That's what it's always been." Sophia knew who her dad was, knew his name and what he looked like, but Carol wouldn't let Sophia tell him, it had to be her. Ed was livid and raised his hand to strike her, but Shane Walsh stepped in front of her, grabbed Ed's hand and twisted him around. The bastard was on the ground in handcuffs before anyone could blink.

"You were cheating on me, you fucking whore!"

It was true; she had cheated on him, multiple times with Daryl Dixon and she was far from ashamed. She was damn proud, was it cheating if you wipe the marriage completely out like a dry erase board? She wasn't sure and she wasn't sorry.

Shane roughed him up quite a bit then they had taken Ed and tied him up to a tree until he learned how to play well with others. The way Carol viewed it; he would be there for a long time. Eventually Merle came back with the others from a run in the city; they had a new guy with them. Merle spotted Ed faster than any of the others did and he crouched down beside the idiot tied to a tree.

"Ya look familiar. What's your name, asshole?"

Ed spit on the ground at Merle's feet, causing Merle to laugh loudly. He raised an eyebrow at Ed and the bastard had the nerve to snarl at him.

"His name is Ed." Sophia's quiet little voice drifted to their ears and Merle turned to raise an eyebrow at the girl. "He used to hurt my momma, but we ran away." She spoke louder than he had ever heard her speak. Merle turned again to look at Ed like he was the scum of the earth. Daryl might have been clueless to Carol being at this camp, but Merle sure as hell wasn't. He kept an eye on her, but steered clear of conversation until Daryl figured it out.

"Ed Peletier, that's your damn name, innit? Ya married that mouse that always hung out with my baby brother." Merle sucker punched him in the jaw without batting an eyelash. "This your dad, little girl?" He glanced over at her, she frantically shook her head.

"He ain't my damn daddy. My dad is a good man." She looked away from him. Ed made a sound of protest at that and glared at Sophia. "Daryl Dixon is a better man than you could ever dream of being, Ed." She raised her little chin up defiantly. Merle's jaw dropped as soon as his little brothers name left her mouth.

"Did you say Daryl Dixon, darlin'?" Merle was sure his eyes were as wide as hers. She started hyperventilating and panic was written all over her face. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder to calm her a bit, but she flinched away.

"I... I shouldn't have said that, Momma will be mad at me. Please, don't tell him!" Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes. Her eyes, they were identical to Daryl's, and Merle quietly nodded his head at her request. He wouldn't tell him, but he had a few words to share with the mouse.

"Sophia Dixon, Mouse? Ya ask my little brother what he thought of that?"

Merle approached her slowly, but she jumped anyways. Her hands froze above the dirty laundry water and she stared at him like a deer caught in headlights. He smiled a rare smile at seeing her up close again. After she moved away from them all those years ago, he sort of missed having her around.

"You know, it seems to me like she knows who he is, but he has no idea that she exists. Now, why is that?"

He sat down beside her and started folding some of his clothing and putting them in a pile, he wouldn't fold the others, to hell with them people who could do it themselves.

She hadn't answered, but went back to scrubbing out the blood, dirt, and grime. He could tell she was thinking of how to answer, so he sat there with her quietly.

"You… You called me mouse." She finally spoke up with amusement in her voice. He rolled his eyes at that and raised an eyebrow at her to let her know that he wasn't letting the subject be dropped; they needed to talk about it.

"It happened right before Ed made me move, don't think I wanted to leave your brother because I didn't, he packed our shit and threw me in a car. I found out I was pregnant after we moved to Tennessee and I knew Daryl was the father, we hadn't used protection. Ed always wore a condom, said I was too much of a whore for him not to, I suppose he was sort of right."

She took a few deep breaths and looked at Merle to gauge his reaction. He looked angry and she couldn't tell if it was her fault or not. "Ya ain't no whore, mouse. My baby brother loved you, hell he loves you." She smiled at that, but shook her head in denial.

"I lied to Ed about her last name, about her being Daryl's because I was afraid he would kill me. I wanted to tell Daryl, but I could never find you two again. I left Ed two years after Sophia was born, he had been drinking so much and I had enough. I never looked back."

His grin was wide when she said that last bit. She was confident when she said it and he was proud of the mouse, she was a Dixon for sure. He went on to tell her about him and Daryl moving around a lot after she left, about the two Dixon boys living up to their reputation, and about how much Daryl missed her. The boy still had dreams about her for fucks sake. He was in the middle of telling her about a nasty nightmare of Daryl's where he woke up screaming for her, when Daryl's shout interrupted the two.

"Merle, where the hell ya at?"