Andrea stuck her head out of Merle's bedroom door. Daryl come running down the hall pulling on his pants.
"Where's Merle?" He asked her as he ran past.
"Um... that might be him." Andrea said. Lights were flashing and the noise was almost unbearable.
"Uncle Daryl... is that Daddy?" Autumn come to her bedroom door. McKenna was sleeping right through all the noise. She wasn't going to have a broken sleep.
"Yes honey bunny I'll turn it off. Go give Carol a cuddle and get back to bed." Daryl patted her on the head as he went past. "You better come Andrea."
Andrea followed him out to go towards the garage next door.
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"Do we really have to go?" Shane Walsh banged his head back on his head rest, "You know its going to be Merle Dixon making himself a milkshake or some shit!"
"It could be a real break in." Rick turned on his lights for the police car, they didn't use sirens but they speed off. "But I'm in the mood for a milk shake, I wonder if he will make us one?"
"If they don't get a new system so he can see he hasn't decoded the alarm I'm going to buy one myself!" Shane groaned.
They couldn't count how many times they had been to the Dixon garage in the past year since Merle lost his hearing. He was a good friend to both of them but they were getting tired of seeing him at some ungodly hour of the night or morning because he decided to go do something at the garage. They started making bets about what he would be doing when they got there.
"Making a sandwich?" Said Shane.
"Ice creams." Suggested Rick.
"Frozen meals?"
"Chocolate?" thought Shane.
"Smokes? Does he smoke?"
"Nah not since he had Autumn." Shane told him.
Rick pulled in behind the garage just in time to see Daryl coming from the house with a blond following him. Shane looked her up and down wondering who she was.
"Bloody Merle!" Daryl mumbled, "Andrea, Shane and Rick, local police that come out here at least once a week to see Merle because he forgets to turn the bloody noise off." Daryl used his keys to get the back door open. He keyed in the code and silence dropped over the neighborhood. They all started looking for Merle. They found him behind the counter with a display of condoms laid out in front of him. He was reading the back of a pack of condoms and had a tube of lube hanging out his back pocket because they sold every thing there.
They all walked around the counter, Daryl didn't want to give him a real fright. They had no choice, Merle looked up seeing them all standing there. He glanced at Andrea and shoved the box in his pocket.
"I forgot to turn the alarm off again didn't I?" He asked them.
"Yes you did, tomorrow we get it fixed." Daryl signed.
"Sorry guys. Sorry Andrea, did I wake Autumn again?" He asked them, he moved towards the door the intention was clear he was going to check on his daughter. He patted Shane and Rick on the arm as he left. "Sorry I promise I won't do it again." He grabbed Andrea's hand to leave.
"Wait wait wait." Rick signed, "You have a girlfriend now and you are getting condoms... what did I miss?" Rick didn't know the sign for condoms so he pointed to the packets spread everywhere.
"Talk tomorrow." Merle told them, he was embarrassed caught again with the alarm and with condoms but he also wanted to check Autumn because she didn't like the noise. They were probably lucky that McKenna would sleep right through the alarm. Shane, Rick and Daryl all stood watching him leave with Andrea and started talking between themselves. Daryl blabbed quickly that they met online and Andrea was new in town. Both Shane and Rick got called away again and Daryl went home to check all was well in the house again.
When he checked the sleeping little girls they were both sound asleep again. He could hear giggles coming from Merle's bedroom and he wished for a moment he didn't have to listen to his brothers moans and groans either.
"Everything ok?" Carol come out to the hall to check up on him.
"Fine, he was getting condoms," Daryl told her, he reached out to touch her, touch her belly. "I'm sorry I've been stand offish about the baby, I'm just... I don't know if I'll be good at it."
"You are fantastic with Autumn you are going to be great at it." Carol wrapped her arms around his neck. "And if we all have to live together we all live together ok. Whatever you and Merle want."
"Does that mean you are going to move in with me?"
"Yes it does, I will, I give notice tomorrow... but right now, you can try convince me I don't need to bring my couch with me." Carol teased him, her couch was ugly, they both knew it wouldn't be coming with her.
"I'll do my best." He bent his head and kissed her.