Daryl sat outside his tent sharpening a buck knife when he heard her walking up. He didn't know how he knew it was her, but sure enough when he glanced up Nora stood about five feet in front of him. She held a basket on her hip.

"Laundry day."

He wiped a bead of sweat of his forehead and grunted, moving to the open flap.

"Well my goodness, if it ain't you."

Daryl froze; Merle was back from wherever the hell he'd been. He dug through the tent, snatching up the things that smelled the worst as he heard his brother continue outside.

"C'mon now, princess, give ol' Merle a smile."

Daryl craned his neck and saw her watching Merle evenly, but he'd seen something else flash through her eyes. It was so quick it was almost like it hadn't happened at all, but not even Nora could fool Daryl Dixon.

Years of prowling through the woods alone- and learning to detect the smallest change in his old man's body language before a punch was swung- had given him a talent for keen observation. He knew when he saw Shane and Lori coming back from the woods what they'd been up to; he saw the guilt Andrea felt when she looked at her little sister. And he could see the things that went on behind Nora's eyes no matter how quickly she managed to stifle them before they leaked onto her face. What he did not know was why she hid them.

Merle took another step forward, giving her a long look up and down. Daryl didn't like the direction this was taking. Her lack of reaction was only spurring him on.

"Now, now, that's no way to treat a friend," the words came out in a drawl as his brother's sharp gaze returned to her face, "didn' your mama ever tell you that?"

There was still a stink of unwashed clothes in the tent, but Daryl gave up looking for more and moved to chuck the bundle he had in the basket.

"And since we're friends, lemme tell ya a little secret."

He was only a couple steps away when Merle moved in close to Nora and reached a hand towards her face.

"I like anythin' thats on my body to be reeeeaall soft."

Daryl dropped his pile on top of the other clothes. The second they landed Nora jerked her head away from Merle's fingers, turned on her heel and walked away. Daryl felt his stomach twist as Merle gave a croaking laugh.

"The world's gone to shit, sugar tits! Your credit card ain't gonna help you no more! When you're ready to start takin' things a little more seriously, ol' Merle'll be right here!"

She didn't flinch, moving on to the next tent. Now that he was closer, Daryl could see how constricted his brother's pupils were and the choppy way he was breathing; he scowled, the sickness in his gut deepening.

"You look like shit." he growled.

Merle lashed out an arm, clocking Daryl around the ear before he could duck.

"An' if you weren' my kin I'd swear you were some faggot bitch!"

Merle swung again, missing this time.

"Nice piece of cooze comes 'round and you can even get it up!"

He knew that everyone in the vicinity could his brother's slurred words. He knew that she could hear, and felt his face beginning to burn with anger and something else.

"Shut yer ugly mouth!"

"You got no right takin' it out on me, Darlina! Jus' cuz I ain't got a limp dick-"

With a snarl he flung himself at Merle. The scuffle lasted just long enough for each Dixon to give the other a split lip before they were pulled apart. Shane twisted Merle's arm behind his back.

"Problem, officer?"

"Y'all need to cool it, thats my problem!"

Daryl pushed back the men who held him and stormed away into the treeline. He saw her standing close to Jim as he past. He kept his eyes forward, whipping the blood from his face as Merle's laughter rang out behind him.