ShutxThexFrontxDoor: Gah! You did it. That's our thing now. Like an inside joke. Lucy's completely nuts. How do you know she's even out of the hospital? And like I said on Tumblr, Lucy doesn't just get the D, she takes it. She makes Merle her bitch.

Another month passed and the changes in Lucy were too subtle for anyone to notice. Except for Chanel. She noticed odd changes in Lucy's behavior, a weird twitch she'd get in her eye or the corner of her mouth. Sometimes it would seem like she was looking at something that wasn't there. A couple of times Chanel caught her in a conversation with herself, but she didn't say anything. What could she do about it anyways?

Finally, one night when she and Lucy were alone in the kitchen, Chanel turned to her. Lucy was sitting at the table. "Lucy, are you alright?" Chanel asked.

Lucy looked up and nodded, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Chanel shrugged, walking towards her, "You haven't been talking much. You've been keeping to yourself a lot since what happened." Chanel paused, frowning. "Lucy, your lip is twitching."

Lucy bit down on it, frowning slightly.

"Lucy, please, if something's bothering you, talk to me."

"I'm fine," she said through clenched teeth.

"Dammit Lucy, you can't do this!" Chanel slammed her fist down on the table, startling Lucy. She jumped and looked up at her with wide, frightened doe eyes. Even when it came to Merle, Chanel never raised her voice; she never came close to yelling. Chanel sighed and walked around the table. She sat down next to Lucy, slumping in the chair and placed her hands palm down on the table. "I'm sorry," she told her, voice low and measured. "I don't wanna see you revert to that. None of us do. We love you too much. Whatever's on your mind, you can tell me."

Lucy sighed and looked down at her lap. Chanel reached over and took her hand, squeezing it. "I love you, Lucy. You can talk to me. You can talk to any of us." She squeezed Lucy's hand again as she watched a tear roll down her cheek.

Marissa walked into the room at that moment and frowned. "Is everything okay?" she asked, noticing the two girls. She walked over to them and sat down on the opposite side of Lucy and wrapped her arms around her. Chanel did too and Lucy closed her eyes as she began to cry.

"Just talk to us," Marissa whispered, "don't cry."

And Lucy did. Everything she'd been keeping to herself came out. From losing her baby, to the delusions, she didn't leave anything out. Finally, she admitted to not taking the pills. "How long have you been doing that?"

All three girls turned to look at him; none of them had known Merle was in the room. He leaned against the doorjamb, his arms crossed over his chest and an unreadable expression on his face. He had walked in half way through Lucy's confession, but hadn't said anything until then out of fear of her closing up and not continuing.

She shook her head, shrugging slightly, "Just since what happened."

"How long were you going to keep pretending?"

Lucy shrugged. He ran his hand over his face before turning around and walking away. Lucy jumped up and ran after him, "Merle, wait!" He walked outside. She followed him, running down the porch steps. "Merle!" she grabbed his arm and he turned to face her, "I'm sorry I lied."

"Do you want to relapse?" he shouted at her. She hunched her shoulders, startled by his outburst and she shrugged away. "Do you want to become that delusional shell again?" Tears rolled down Lucy's cheeks as Merle yelled. His hands wrapped around her upper arms, "I'm trying my damnedest to keep you sane, but you don't fuckin' care!"

"I'm better," she told him in a barely audible whisper.

He didn't hear her though as he continued. "I don't want to lose you again. Goddammit Lucy! I love you!"

She fell against him, more tears rolling down and staining his shirt as she sobbed against his chest. Her arms slipped around him his waist, her hands on his back, and he put his around her, stroking her hair. "I'm better," she whispered again. He sighed and closed his eyes, not wanting to let her go. "This is real."

"Yes, Lucy, it's real."

She tilted her head up to look at him. He smiled softly at her. He moved one hand so he could wipe the tears from her eyes. "I love you too," she whispered. They had been together for over seven years, off and on, and it was the first time either of them had uttered the words, outside of Lucy's own delusions.

"Merle!" Daryl's voice called from the porch, interrupting their moment.

Merle pulled away from Lucy's embraced and turned to face his brother, "What?"

"You gotta come see this."

Merle turned back to Lucy. She gave him a small smile and they headed back in.

Author's Note: It's not as long as I had hoped it would be, but I wanted to leave you guys with a cliffhanger.