Merle led me back to the campsite with a hand on my lower back. He has been silent since our kiss and I understand that he needs his time with this. This being the first real relationship he has ever had and that he has two sons he needs to take care of now. When we stepped out of the trees all eyes were on us. Merle glared at them as he pushed me to where Daryl still sat by Bullet and the twins. Jax was up and was staring at Merle as we got closer. Jax said nothing as Daryl stood from his spot and walked over to his older brother. Jax just watched his father and uncle silently. His Georgia blue eyes, which are the same color of Daryl's, never left his father's face.

Sighing, I sit on the ground where Daryl just sat and run my fingers threw Bullets fur. Ryker was still sleeping peacefully on Bullet chest. I run my fingertips over Ryker's face and smile before kissing my sons cheek. Ryker don't stir, just like his daddy. Both Merle and Ryker can sleep threw anything. While Daryl and Jax are light sleepers.

From the corner of my eye I see Shane, Lilly, Matt, Chris, Andrea and my mother staring at my little family. Shane and Matt are talking softly to each other while shifting their gazes to me to Merle and back again. Lilly was glaring at Merle, still not forgiving him for leaving me. Andrea was looking at Jax, trying to read my son. But just like Daryl, that kid rarely shows his emotions. My mother was glaring at both Dixons, clearly thinking they aren't good enough to be anywhere near her family. And Chris was just standing there with his arms crossed over his large chest.

Merle finally realizes that his oldest son was staring at him and stopped his convocation with his brother to look at our son. Jax slowly stood up, making Bullet pick his head up to look at the boy. Jax walks over to Merle and stands in front of his father.

"Will you take me hunting?" Jax asked while staring up into his father's gray eyes. I watch with a smile as Merle crouched down in front of our son and nodded his head, still not knowing how to act in front of the seven year old.

Jax smiles and wraps his arms around Merle's neck, "thanks daddy." Merle smiles some and wraps his arms around Jax before stand upright with our son in his arms. Jax sits comfortably on his father's arm as Merle talked with Daryl once more but this time it was loud enough for us to hear. And what are they talking about? Well hunting of course.

I roll my eyes at their man talk and look back at our audience. Shane and Matt was staring at Merle in shocked. My mother looked disgusted. Lilly was actually smiling at Merle, so was Andrea. Then you have Chris, who I think became a statue.

I giggle at the thought and look down at the now awake Ryker. He smiles up at me before looking for his brother. When Ryker finally sees Jax in Merle's arms, he frowns. Ryker rubs his eyes and yawns before standing up and walking towards his brother, father and uncle. Ryker looks up at Merle before walking into his tent. Jax calls out to Ryker but his twin ignores him. Jax frowns and jumps down from Merle's arms. Merle watches our oldest son follows our youngest.

"I told you that Ryker was just like you. Daryl and Jax can either ignore your faults or forgive you. You and Ryker are too god damn stubborn to forget and forgive someone." I say not looking up from Bullet as I pet my puppy. Merle just grunts before walking off to his tent. I felt Daryl sit down next me and I look up to see him carving more arrows for his crossbow.

"Merle does want to be a good father to the boys but he just doesn't know how too." Daryl spoke softly to me. I just nodded my head and said nothing.

I have nothing to say about Merle being a father to our sons. I am giving him a chance, a chance I don't have to give him. If he can't deal with Ryker's attitude towards him for not being there for us then I doubt he can make it as a father, a good or bad father. It doesn't matter, if he can't man up and be a parent then we can't be together. It's me and the boys for him not just me.

Daryl doesn't say anything more after that. He just keeps carving his arrows and I just keep petting Bullet. Merle climbs out of his tent and goes to the boys. I watch silently as Jax walked out of the tent, leaving his father and brother alone. Jax comes to sit next to Daryl and started to carve arrows for his uncle. I heard Ryker's voice getting louder and louder until Merle screamed at him to shut up and listen. That was the last thing I heard from my sons' tent.

Merle walks out of the tent with Ryker right behind him. They both have no expression on their faces. I try not to get worried as the two of them walked into the woods. It was night, the two of them just got into a fight, and I didn't think this was going to end well.

I bite my lip and tried to keep my mind off of my son and Merle out in the woods in the middle of the night. I put Jax to bed with Kane after an hour of worrying. I walked around the camp with Bullet on my heels. I helped Carol and Lori clean up after dinner. I kept quiet and sneaking glances towards the woods as Carol and Lori talked about anything.

"What do you think, Chloe?" Carol asked breaking me free from my worrying. I looked at Carol confused. "Do you think that this place can be a home for us?"

"Nothing is going to be home. Soon we are going to have to leave and move on. We can't make homes anymore. We just got to stay alive." I said not looking up at either of them as I washed another plate clean.

"How can you be like that? We are safe here." Lori said with her hands on her hips and a glare on her face.

"We are safe for now. No place in this hell we call a world is safe anymore. The dead is walking. No matter where we go, we are going have to fight for our lives. I'm not going to give me or my sons' false hope about a safe haven." I turn to look Lori in the eye. "It's only a matter of time before this world kills us. Mentally, emotionally or physically kills us."

I walk away from them and towards Daryl. I sit down on the same log and look into the fire. I sigh and cross my arms over my chest.

"Something wrong?" Daryl asked as he kept his eyes on his carving.

"Eh, Lori thinks that giving the kids false hope is better than telling them the truth." I said while looking into the fire. Daryl scoffs out a stupid bitch for Lori as he kept carving. I let a smile come to my lips as I looked over my shoulder to see Ryker walking towards us.

"Hi Mama." Ryker plopped down in front of me and right next to Bullet. He leans back against my legs and let his head rest on my knees.

"Where's Merle?" Daryl questioned and for the first time looked away from his carving to look at Ryker.

"He's coming."

Noticing the distant look on my son's face, I run my fingers through his blonde hair. I gently pull his head back so I can look in his eyes.

"Is everything ok, Baby?" I asked softly and he shook his head no. "What happened out there?"

"He talked, I listened. We fought some more. Two walkers came stumbling towards us." The look came back into his gray eyes. "I killed my first walker with one of his hunting knives. The walker pushed me down and Merle tossed the knife close to me and I stabbed it in the head. I killed someone and I didn't feel bad." Ryker finally focus his eyes onto me and smiled some. "Merle told me he is proud of me. My dad is proud of me."

I smile through the worry and kissed his forehead. "Do you forgive him or are you just going to deal with him for me and Jax?"

"I guess I forgive him. He did try to talk to me. He could've just stayed away. That means something, right Mama?"

"Yeah Baby, that means something."