The obvious is that her mother can't stand Merle Dixon. That much she knows and is completely sure of. With that comes the notion that Merle would like to strangle her mother. At one time she could have seen them getting along. That's broken now and between them stands a lot of uncertainty. It's enough to make her wish they'd just stop talking. Daryl seems lost with what to do with the two of them. Maybe he wants to strangle them both because he looks it a lot of the time. Then again Sophia herself feels that way. The fighting isn't as bad as it was with Ed but then Merle hasn't tried to break her mother's arm for fun either.

She can see the sneer curling her uncle's lip and knows he's still mad. She doesn't think it's just anger though. More that he seems protective of his brother. He's like a growling dog around Daryl and it's putting her mother on edge. Daryl himself is mad. Sophia would go as far as to say he's hurt but she knows that he's shoving that away. He's dealing in anger. Something Merle told her that was easier. She didn't ask why he'd tell her that and she didn't want too. Daryl told her about his dad when she'd gotten upset about Ed. When she'd finally started talking about it. It was a weight she'd never realized was on her chest lifting off after telling him. He'd gotten upset and angry when she'd told him how bad it really was. Now she knows it's going to be worse. She'd pulled no punches when she'd told him the entire story. Sophia knows why anger is easier to handle when emotions threaten to overwhelm. She has as a childhood that is testament to pain, rejection, and anger. A broken home is a hell of an introduction into life.

It scares her at times how much she sees of herself in Daryl. For a while she'd thought they were alike in more ways than one but pushed it away. The illusion of coincidence was shattered though when she found out he was her father. It made sense and that was all that mattered to her. She had a father that wasn't a complete psycho and she couldn't understand why no one else was just as happy as her. Her mother was scared and Merle was defensive. Daryl….she's not sure what she sees in his eyes when he looks at her. She wants to think he's happy. She needs to believe that he's happy or she's going to break. If she's rejected by him then she's sure that she'd die right there. How many times could you have a would be father tell you you aren't good enough before you're just done? Sophia's sure she's likely to find out if things don't work here.

The tension she could see in her mother was toxic. It threatened to crash Sophia's world around her and she refused that. Merle was just as bad. Barbs and insults every time he opened his mouth and her mother returning them with a level of acidity she'd never heard from her before. She didn't know where she'd hidden this backbone all those years but it was nice to see. Then again the yelling she heard her mother doing at Daryl earlier told her that it was likely just stashed away for a rainy day. Ed hadn't broke her mother completely at least.

Daryl and her mother fought repeatedly. Again Sophia understood. He was hurt. Her mother raised her away from him. He'd not even known he had a kid and so much time passed. He didn't even have the benefit of thinking she'd had a good childhood. To add insult to injury was that he'd never known if she hadn't stumbled upon his home. Sophia wouldn't have known and that's when she'd find herself getting mad. She didn't want to be mad. She was tired of fighting. She was tired of crying and screaming. Tired of bruised, blood, and hiding behind a locked door while a man that threatened her tried to get in. She just wanted to be happy and was going to fight tooth and nail for it.

"Why can't you just shut up?" Carol hissed at Merle.

Merle just sneered at the woman that was glaring daggers at him. Both were being quieter after earlier. They'd finally pushed Daryl to his breaking point. She'd never heard him raise his voice once during all the fighting until then. Her mother and Merle done enough yelling for them all. Sophia was scared he was actually in shock, that was until his barking voice thundered around them, then she'd almost laughed. FINALLY! Her mom and merle stopped yelling. That didn't last long though after he left. He wasn't back yet and everyone was anxiously waiting on him. Sophia asked what him and her mother fought about but was dismissed like she was a child that wouldn't understand. Her mom might not tell her but she knew that Daryl would. He was blunt and upfront. He didn't baby her and she appreciated it.

"I guess for the same reason that you didn't tell a man he had a kid. For shits and giggles." Merle snarled.

Sophia rubbed her face violently. If she filled a spray bottle with water and sprayed them every time they talked; it might shut them up.

"That isn't even remotely close to the truth and you know it." Carol snapped back. "You know me Merle and know that I would have never just kept her from him."

"See that's the thing though, Carol, you did keep her from him!" Merle stood fluidly. His voice echoed through the house. "And if I didn't know any better I'd think your fucking ass was planning on running regardless of him finding out now!"

Sophia flinched. Where was the lie? Her mom knew Daryl seen her. Knew that Sophia had met him. Knew he was back in town. And in all of that upheaval she'd not mentioned going to him. Sophia knew that he would have helped immediately. Even if she hadn't been his kid he would have. He was a good man. No one could argue he wasn't. He'd given her shelter all this time even before her mom left Ed. He didn't have too and that was something no one was thinking about. Daryl cared. Instead though her mother was going to just leave. Disappear before Ed got back in town. So Merle wasn't exactly wrong in his assumption and it made Sophia sick to her stomach.

Was her mother so scared to face Daryl anger and hurt? Yes. Without a doubt. She'd seen the anguish her mother tried to hide when Daryl realized that he had a kid. She'd seen the lost look that she'd had. She even seen the longing there. Was it just for Sophia to finally have a dad or something else? She wasn't sure.

Sophia looked over at them and sighed. "No amount of yelling and screaming is going to undo the past."

Both adults stared at her like they'd forgotten she was there. Sophia stared back. It was like gazing into an abyss. Was she going to be swallowed up by the poignant feelings threatening everything? Probably if these two couldn't stop shouting. It was causing her stomach to churn with anxiety. Where was Daryl?

"Sophia." Carol started.

Sophia stood and dusted her jeans off. "No, you've both given me a headache and I'm going to wait outside for him to get back."

She grabbed a jacket that was thrown on the back of one of the couches. It hung off her smaller frame like a blanket. Looking down she realized it was Daryl's...her dad's. Should she start calling him dad now? Would that just be weird? Would he be bothered? Sophia was confused and just wanted him to come home. Her finger traced of his name stitched into the jacket and smiled. If her mother forced her to leave here today she was stealing this.

Merle stared at her and smiled suddenly. He chuckled and it wasn't the same condescending one she'd been hearing for the last three hours. Instead he looked amused and his eyes were brighter. That dark swirl of anger was gone when he looked at her and Sophia felt hope flair to life in her chest. This was her uncle. No one could take that from her. She smiled back at him and it only made his smile shine more.

"He'll come back, kid." He assured.

Sophia nodded. "I know."

Carol shifted on her feet and then slouched onto the couch by the fireplace. Her eyes were outside and tears were threatening to spill. She thought about going to her but walked outside instead. She had her own feelings to deal with and didn't think she could stand another minute in the stifling house.

Pete flops at her feet and Sophia smiles down at his sleepy face. He yawns at her and falls asleep without a care. How lucky he was. His sleep didn't last long though. It doesn't take her but a second to know why his head snapped up when she hears the roar of Daryl's bike.

He's just stopped when the door slaps open and Merle's down the steps. Sophia is trailing him. Looking over her shoulder she half hopes her mom will come out but knows better. That fear is still there. She still isn't sure if her mother feels it for her daughter or herself. Maybe both. Sophia jogs to catch up with Merle and both come to a stop as Daryl swings his leg over the bike.

"Well this is awkward." Sophia grins.

Daryl snorts and Merle looks down at her. "And saying that helped so much."

Daryl finally looking at the pair of them just snorts. He shakes his head and his hand is running through his hair before he's chewing his thumb nail. Sophia wishes that he wasn't so stressed because he usually seems light. The heaviness she can see around his eyes and shoulders is even weighing her down.

"Do you want me to leave?" Sophia's voice is soft.

Her mother was never one for such bluntness. Even when she'd been a smaller and first starting school she can remember being scolded for talking in such a way. Her mother was more of a soft touch. Now she sees where she gets it. Her dad. It's enough to make her smile despite the questions she's just thrown out there.

He's staring at her hard. It's not unfriendly but it's enough to almost wish she hadn't asked. Merle is too and she isn't so sure he won't slap his brother. He's made it clear that blood is blood and you don't turn your back on your family. How many times had she heard him bark at her mother with that same thing? Ten, fifteen, or more...she lost count to be honest.

"No."

Sophia nods her approval. "What did she say to you?"

Merle's eyes are wide and he even hadn't asked earlier. The door was closed for a reason was the message she'd gotten from her mom. Some things were between them. Sophia didn't really care though. She was their kid and had a right to know. That was how she seen it anyways.

Merle whistled low for a second before laughing. "On that note I'll leave you two to hash that shit out."

Daryl waves him away and Merle walks, no saunters, away. When she looks back over Daryl's on the bike again but isn't straddling it like he's going to leave. His brow is raised and Sophia realizes he's just noticed her attire.

"I was cold." Her voice is defensive.

He hums low in his throat before shrugging. "She's leaving Ed."

"I know." Sophia huffs. "Why was she yelling at you? I didn't hear you yelling at her."

He rubs his face and then crosses his arms over his chest. The sound of the door opening has Daryl looking over her shoulder. When he scowls she knows it's her mom.

"She always liked yelling at me." He shrugs. "I always had a knack for pissing her off."

Sophia laughs and nods. She knows how that is. Not that her mother yelled at her but she had a knack for making her mother mad too.

"Are you going to keep fighting?"

Daryl exhales harshly. "Hard to say."

"If you fight with her she isn't going to want to-"

He looks at her sharply. "Regardless of what the fuck she wants, Sophia, she isn't just disappearing with you." His breathing is faster.

Chewing her lip and looking over her shoulder she does what she's always done best. Meddle.

"Did you love her?"

If she hadn't been staring at him so intently she knew she would have missed it. It was gone before she could even blink. Even if he didn't speak his answer the look on his face was answer enough.

"Yes." His voice is that weird emotionless tone she'd heard upstairs.

Sophia scuffs her shoe in the gravel. Stepping around til she's next to him. Her mother is on the porch. The swing is creaking quietly as her foot pushes against the banister. If she didn't know about the turmoil she would have thought she was waiting happily on her husband and kid after they'd come home. It was a lie though. One she would happily tell herself at the moment.

"Do you think you could ever love me?" Sophia persists.

Daryl smiles then and Sophia is pleased to see it. Her chest tightens when she realizes that it's not just a friend she's made smile. It's her dad. Ed never smiled at her.

"Yes."

Sophia nods at that and nudges him. "Can you do me a favor then?" When he looks down awaiting on her to speak she has a moment when she thinks that her mother will be mortified but shrugs it away. Oh well. "Can you try for me? Try to not hate her. She was never happy. I might not have known why then but I get it now. Ed was never you and would have never compared. I think he knew it too and he knew I wasn't his. I think Ed was jealous of something he never had a chance of having with her because she'd already given it away."

Daryl looks away sharply and his breathing is uneven. Sophia feels a little guilty but then again she wasn't going to let her family slip between her fingers. Merle's look from earlier told her that Daryl didn't hate her mom. No, if she wasn't mistaken it implied the opposite.

"She mourned you and then when she found out you weren't dead she mourned you again when you left." Sophia's voice breaks. "She looks at me sometimes like she sees someone else and would get so sad. I never understood why then but I get it now. Just….please."

He stands and Sophia does looking up at him. He's not looking at her and she forces herself to not smile. She was right. Her mother would be mortified if she'd heard what Sophia said.

When he finally looks down he nods at her and it's all she needs. Before he can take off for the house she's threw her arms around him. He stumbles back a step at the sudden embrace. Sophia lets him go just as quickly and beams up at him. He gives an awkward smile before both walk to the house. Sophia looks up seeing that her mother has watched the entire time. She's too far to see what she looks like but she would plead with her just like she did Daryl.