Good Evening! I am so proud of myself right now, I said I was going to get this one out tonight and I am 6 minutes shy of midnight. So yay! for me :) I like this chapter, a lot. I am actually taking a page from Englishpoet18 in this chapter.

As always my biggest thanks to Englishpoet18, she is what makes this fic bearable to read LOL. Have a great weekend everybody!

Daryl sighed as he tossed the black hefty bag into the back of the old blue pickup, moving some of the heavier items around so that it would be secure. He had been in such a good mood all morning since he had left Carol's apartment. At least until Merle had come to him, telling him he had changed his plans and was leaving today instead of Monday.

"Still pissed, little brother?"

Daryl shook his head, looking at Merle. "Ain't pissed," Daryl replied.

Merle snorted, leaning against the hood of the truck, a chuckle escaping, "Gonna miss me Darylina?" He asked.

Reaching into his shirt pocket, Daryl pulled out a cigarette. Lighting it, he took a long drag letting the nicotine flow through his system. For several minutes the two brothers just stared at each other until finally Merle pushed himself away from the truck, heading back into the apartment.

Daryl would never admit it to Merle, but he was pissed. When Merle had been released from prison after his second strike, Daryl made him move into the apartment.

He wanted to be able to keep an eye on him, and up till a few months ago things had been decent. But when the factory closed and Merle had been unable to find another job, Daryl began to notice how bored Merle was and a bored Merle just led to trouble. So when Chuck, an old army buddy of Merle's called offering him a construction job, Daryl had been all for it until he found out the job was in Atlanta. Daryl was worried. Merle may be an asshole, but he was still his brother and the only family that Daryl had left. Even though Chuck swore to look out for Merle, Daryl just didn't trust anyone but himself to keep his brother out of trouble. Daryl knew he couldn't spend the rest of his life essentially babysitting Merle though. It wouldn't be fair to either of them.

Hearing the front door bang open, Daryl nodded at Merle, "Just make sure you keep your ass in line," He said, "Ain't driving all the way up there to bail yer ass outta jail."

"Don't be worrying about me little brother," Merle said, "Have yourself some fun, loosen up, get'cha dick wet or something while I'm gone."

Daryl's cheeks flushed at Merle's words, "Fuck you," He said.

Cackling, Merle shoved himself away from the truck, slapping Daryl on the back as he passed. Climbing into the truck Merle eyed Daryl, giving him a nod as he turned the key over, the truck engine roaring to life.

Daryl watched as Merle drove away. Pulling out another cigarette, Daryl headed back towards the apartment intending on grabbing up his tools and burying himself in some work for the next few hours.

Carol dropped into the office chair. Damn, she hated double coupon days. You would think the world was ending the way they were swarmed. Her feet were killing her and on top of that she was pretty sure she was going to have blisters. Sinking down further into the chair, Carol closed her eyes letting out a loud sigh, stretching from her fingers all the way to her toes. She could not wait to get home and take a hot shower. Maybe she would even open that bottle of wine.

A loud banging noise brought Carol out of her musings. Spinning in the chair towards the door, she saw Maggie through the little window. Catching her eye, Maggie nodded her head, her eyes glancing down. Carol knew what she wanted. Chuckling, Carol made a show of slowly pulling herself from the chair and slowly making her way to the door. She laughed loudly when she saw the scowl Maggie was giving her.

Pulling the door open, Maggie pushed past Carol holding three register tills. Giving a glance in Carol's direction, Maggie huffed out a half-hearted "bitch", which just sent Carol into another fit of giggles.

"You have been in a awfully good mood tonight," Maggie observed.

Snatching a till, Carol plopped back down in the chair she had previously occupied, choosing to ignore Maggie for the moment. She began counting the money instead. She had been in a excellent mood all night, and at first she had contributed her good mood to her locks being changed, to finally being rid of Ed in all aspects. But the more she had thought back to this morning, the more she began to suspect it had less to do with the locks themselves being changed, but more so with the person who changed them.

Daryl was something of a surprise to her. Her whole life she had only known loud men. Her father, uncles, and Ed had all been loud and brash, but Daryl was different. He was quiet, more reserved and sweet. She had been blown away when he had given her his card offering her protection. She couldn't think of any other time when a stranger had been so kind. It didn't hurt that the man was gorgeous, all lean muscle and tan skin. Carol had a terrible time keeping her eyes off of him.

Carol was pulled from her musings by a sharp nudge from Maggie, "You still with me?" Maggie asked.

Giving a slow nod of her head, Carol scooped up another bundle of bills to be counted.

"So," Maggie asked, "What did you do with your morning?"

Carol offered up a small shrug, "Not much...some cooking and cleaning."

Maggie snorted, "Ain't never seen you in such a state after cooking and cleaning."

Carol laughed at that, "Well, Daryl did come by this morning and change my locks. Guess I am just happy to have that taken care of."

Maggie's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline, her attention now one hundred percent on Carol, "Daryl? Who's Daryl?" She asked excitedly.

Sighing, Carol knew she had been caught. Maggie was never going to let it go until she heard every single little detail.

"He is just the maintenance guy at my apartment," She said.

Maggie hummed as she stood, heading to the safe, "And you call him Daryl?"

Carol rolled her eyes, swiveling in her chair, "It's his name, what else am I suppose to call him?"

"Hon, I have been living in my apartment for three years now and I cant even tell you what my maintenance guy even looks like, let alone his name."

Carol didn't even know how to respond to that one, but Maggie didn't even miss a beat, "So, is he hot?" She asked.

Pulling herself from her car, Carol groaned. She couldn't wait for that hot shower. Digging through her hobo bag in search of her house key, her attention was completely diverted as she made her way towards her apartment. She had just managed to snatch her key when she slammed into a solid wall of flesh causing her to stumble back. Gasping, Carol looked up, an apology already on the tip of her tongue until she realized just who she had bumped into.

Holding her keys tight in her grip, Carol took a deep breath and stood straight, her eyes locking onto Ed's, "What are you doing here?"

Carol was proud of the tone of her voice and the fact that her voice only shook slightly. Ed's hand shot out gripping her bicep in a way that she knew would leave her with bruises come morning,

"We need to have a talk," Ed said.

Shaking her head, "We have nothing left to talk about Ed," Carol responded.

Pulling her arm slightly, she tried to break his hold on her. Ed growled, his grip tightening as he pulled her closer to him. His breath reeked of whiskey so strong that Carol had to turn her head because the smell was making her sick.

"It wasn't a question," Ed hissed out.

"I don't have anything to say to you, and I don't want to hear anything that you have to say to me," Carol bit out.

Next thing she knew she was spinning around, her back slamming into her apartment door, knocking the breath out of her. Carol prepared to take a deep breath, ready to scream for help...

"There a problem here?" A voice asked.

Oh! Cliffhanger LOL! So what did you think of my first attempt at a cliffy? Review?