Carol was fine, but Daryl had nearly broken a two knuckles. They wrapped it and gave him instructions on wrapping it and to make sure he didn't use his hand for anything. It would take some time for it to heal. He couldn't even use his gun since it was his right hand that was injured. Carol made him sit in the passenger seat on the way to the store. She picked up food for Thanksgiving, Sophia helped, and Daryl stayed in the car, trying to figure a way out of the wrap.
"Not so fast." Sophia stuck a water pistol in his face. "Hands off the wrap."
Carol smiled as she unloaded the cart.
"Yes, ma'am." He held his hands up then attacked the tickle spot on her side that he'd seen Carol use many times. She giggled and squirmed away. She glared and held the gun at him again. He laughed at her scrunched little nose and narrow eyes.
"Mom, Daryl's being mean."
"To be fair, you weren't very nice to him, baby." She closed the trunk. "But he was very rude too. I'll let him have it."
She nodded. "Be mean. Yell."
"I promise. Get in the car." She shouldered her purse and walked around to the driver's side. She felt a chill run down her spine as familiar laughter sounded behind her. She saw Ed walking toward the store with a woman beside him. She got in the car. "Get down, Sophia!" she whispered and ducked down.
Daryl did the same. "What?"
She pointed to the back window, he saw Ed pass by with a woman at his side, and he wanted to shove his fist down that asshole's throat, but he saw how terrified Carol was. Her face had lost all color, she was shaking, and she kept her eyes shut. He noticed Sophia had curled up in a ball, and his heart broke when the little girl wet herself.
"That son of a bitch," Daryl growled.
"Is—is he g—gone?" Carol stammered.
"Yeah." He sat up. "You okay to drive?"
"Y—yeah, I can d—drive." She didn't look at him, and her color didn't return. It made Daryl so angry. He wanted to get out of the car and beat the shit out of Ed for breathing. Nothing could've made that moment any worse. Nothing.
––
He was wrong. He was so wrong that it made him want to go back and slap himself for just how wrong he was. He was a damn jinx. When they returned to his apartment, Carol was going put Sophia in a bath then get their stuff and the food, but they'd found a guest
Merle Dixon stood in the kitchen, eating the remaining chicken legs from the other night when Carol made fried chicken. He laughed at the sight of them. "Damn, little brother, been gone for five months and you already got another woman and kid."
"Another?" Carol asked.
"Merle!" Daryl glared. "You'd best shut the hell up!"
"Hey, now that ain't no way to talk in front of a kid. How 'bout a hug for your older brother?"
Daryl shook his head and wanted to pound his head into a wall. "This ain't a good time."
"I'll say. That girl ain't potty trained."
Sophia blushed and hid behind Carol, gripping Carol's jacket. "We had an incident," Carol informed him. "If you'll excuse us." She took Sophia upstairs.
"Hey, use my shower," Daryl called to her then went over to his brother. "What're you doin' here?"
"Got outta jail last night, and I came to see my kid brother. So, you housin' lesbians now?"
"She ain't a lesbian, Merle."
"You screwin' her then? She good?"
Daryl shoved him by the shoulders. "Shut up, Merle!"
Merle just laughed. "What? I can't ask if my little brother's satisfied?"
"Man, just shut up, and leave that little girl alone." He went to Carol's bathroom and got the soap Sophia used. He returned as Carol came down the stairs. "Here." He handed it to her.
"Thanks." She returned to Sophia.
"They're in the guest bedroom, so—"
"You's pickin' them over blood?" Merle eyed him.
"No, I'm just sayin' you gotta sleep on the couch."
"That's what I thought you was sayin'." He went to finish eating.
"Make yourself useful. Help me bring some bags up."
"What am I? The maid?"
"You got two hands, I got one." He lifted up his wrapped hand. "Let's go."
"Damn pussy." He followed Daryl out the door.
They brought the groceries up, and Carol put Sophia in bed since she was upset and was completely embarrassed by Merle's comment, and Carol took a shower herself. She changed into jeans and tan tank with a navy blue cardigan. She crossed her arms and noticed they'd brought in the groceries. She began to unpack them, Merle smelled her perfume and peered over the stairs at her, glancing up once to make sure Daryl was in his room. He'd shut the door, so he was probably showering.
Carol was her name. She had short hair, but it was growing out with little curls at the base of her neck, really gray-blue eyes, and nice, pale skin. Looked soft to the touch. She was tiny, not very tall, and not at all fat. Her jeans fit really nice, and Merle enjoyed watching her lean up to put cans away. She wasn't as busty as he liked, but her ass made up for that.
"Who are you?" a small voice asked from the top of the stairs.
Merle looked up at the little girl who'd wet herself. "Merle. Daryl's older brother."
"Sophia." She stood on the stairs to be taller than him, and that amused him. "That's my mother, Carol."
"I know."
"Are you stayin' here too?" She stepped down the stairs and sat down beside where he stood.
"For a bit."
"Are you and Daryl close? I've never heard him mention you."
"Yeah, we're close."
"'Cause you're brothers?"
"Yeah, blood's all you got in life, kid. You'd be smart to remember that."
"I wish I had a little brother or sister, but Daddy didn't." Merle frowned as the girl's eyes took a faraway look. "There was always so much blood."
"Sophia." Carol bent down, Sophia padded down the stairs and went over to her. "Do me a favor? Be my little chief?"
She nodded.
"Okay." Carol picked her up and set her on the counter. "You've gotten so big. When did that happen? I'm gonna have to put a stop to that right...now!" She tickled Sophia, and the girl giggled and tried to get away.
"Mommy, stop!"
Carol laughed.
"What're you doin'?" Daryl buttoned up his shirt as he found Merle watching Carol and Sophia. "You better not be gettin' any ideas."
"How long she been here?" Merle ignored Daryl's threat.
"'Bout six or seven weeks. Why?"
"Her husband put his hands on her."
"How'd you know?"
"Little girl told me 'bout him beatin' her into miscarryin'. Who is he?"
"You just got outta jail, Merle. Sit down and have a beer. It ain't your business."
"It ain't yours neither, little brother." Merle grabbed Daryl's arm when Daryl started to walk away. "Did he put his hands on that little girl?"
"Just let it go. He ain't gonna find 'em."
"If he does, you let me know." He released him. "And get me a beer while you're in there."
"Hey, you doin' all right?" Daryl asked Sophia.
"Yeah." She met his eyes. "I like your brother. He's nice."
He almost laughed. "Sure."
"Daryl, could I talk to you?" Carol handed a bowl of flour and seasonings to Sophia. "Mix that, please. You can use your hands, if you want."
They went upstairs, Merle went to the kitchen and got that beer, and Sophia pulled him into a conversation.
––
"Jail!"
He winced at her high-pitched exclaim. "I needa hear, Carol."
"For what?"
"Drunk and disorderly, but he's fine."
"Is he dangerous?" She rubbed her arms. "He won't hurt Sophia, will he?"
Daryl glared. "He ain't a rapist, if that's you're askin'."
"I'm not, but with all of the rumors, I have to know. Are any of them true? I have to be sure she's okay. I don't care about me, but Sophia is my everything. Can I trust him?"
"Yeah. He's already threatenin' to beat Ed's ass if he tries anything. He wants to protect your little girl. That ain't like Merle at all." He searched her eyes. "He ain't safe, but he ain't gonna hurt you."
"He isn't? Or all Dixons?" She frowned at him. "You're not unsafe, Daryl."
He didn't say anything, and she signed.
"If you trust him, then I trust him and you." She met his eyes. "I trust you with my life, and you really saved me today. I can never repay you for that."
"Hell, I'm sorry 'bout what I said. You ain't stupid or a bitch. I was just pissed at myself."
"We have a lot work through, don't we?"
"Guess so."
"Then let's do it together." She grasped his hands, and he tensed. "We both have scars, and they have more power than they should. I say we work through them together."
"I—I don't think so." He tried to free his hands, but she tightened her grip.
"We don't have to fight our battles alone." She never broke eye contact. "I may not have known you for as long as I've known Rick, but I love you, Daryl. You're a really good friend, and I want to help you, and I want you to help me. You deserve so much more than this, and it's not...fair that your father has taken that away from you."
"Please, don't cry."
"I'm sorry." She covered her face. "I just don't see how a father could do that to his child. You should never have had to go through that."
"Hey, you neither." He shook her shoulders and made her look at him. "You never shoulda gone through Ed. You are a person, Carol. You got opinions and feelings and shit, and you needa to express 'em all. We're gonna do this, you gotta treat yourself like a person, all right? No more 'I'm nothin' shit."
"I never said that, but...it's true."
"No, it ain't! You're person, and you're my...friend. I don't wanna hear it no more."
She started to cry.
"Shit! I'm sorry!"
"Don't be. I—I don't even know why—" She buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." He set a hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, and Carol winced behind her hands. "It's...all right."
She wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him, and he tensed right up.
––
"What grade you in?" Merle asked, tossing the beer bottle in the trash.
"Second."
"You likin' school?"
"My teacher's really nice." She set the bowl down and wiped her hands on a towel.
"What's your favorite subject?"
"I like drawing." She hopped off the counter and took his hand. "C'mere." She led him upstairs to her room and got her notebook. "Look at this." She showed him one of Carol and Daryl on the boat.
"Damn girl, you're real good at this." He flipped through it and found one of Carol alone in a chair, crying, he thought. "None of your daddy?"
Her nose crinkled. "No, and he ain't my daddy. Not to me."
He crouched down. "Who is then?" he teased. "Daryl?"
"I wish," she admitted. "He's so nice to me and Mommy, and he doesn't make her bleed or anything. He yells at her sometimes, and it scares me to death, but he doesn't hit her. She's happy around him too. I've never seen her smile so much, especially with a man that wasn't Rick around."
"Oh, Officer Friendly." Rick Grimes. The officer that arrested him. Asshole. Merle rolled his eyes and Sophia laughed. "Don't laugh at the law."
She giggled at his attempt of a stern threaten.
"You're gonna be a rebel, ain't you? Make a right little Dixon." She liked the sound of that. "Lil' Dixon, that sounds 'bout right, don't it?"
"Better than Peletier," Carol replied.
He turned and stood up, finding them behind him. "She's just showin' me some drawin'. Real good ones too."
"She's talented. Honey, go help Daryl."
She left the room, glancing back once before she slowly went downstairs, trying to hear what they were talking about, but Daryl caught her trying to eavesdrop and hauled up off the stairs.
"What're you doin'?" He held her in the air. "Somethin' bad, I reckon by the grin."
"Put me down!" she squealed.
"Where're you supposed to be?"
"With you. Helping."
"Okay, good." He set her down. "Your mama's making me make dinner, so you're helping." He pulled out three packs of pork chops. Merle eats like a damn horse when he gets outta jail, and Sophia was probably hungry from not eating almost all day, so he decided to make them all.
As he and Sophia seasoned them, he noticed Carol and Merle hadn't come downstairs, and he wondered what Merle was doing to her or Carol to Merle. It made a knot form in the pit of his stomach. Had Merle charmed her? He hoped not. Sophia sleeps in that bed, and that's just wrong.
––
"Got more balls than I thought," Merle told her.
"That's because people underestimate me. Don't underestimate me." She smiled sweetly. "And don't try anything on Daryl or my little girl, because I'll come into the living room late at night when you're sleeping and I'll slit your throat."
He eyed her.
"Daryl and Sophia are precious to me. Don't forget that." She turned on her heel and stopped before leaving. "Oh, and don't stare at me either." She left the room.
He chuckled. Damn, little brother, the hell you do to her? She wasn't half as pathetic as he expected. What had Daryl and she been doing for those seven weeks? He went downstairs and he stopped when he saw Carol, Daryl and Sophia cooking together. Daryl was almost smiling, Merle could tell the boy was trying to hide a full smile, and Carol and Sophia were laughing. They made quite the Christmas card picture. How in the hell did Daryl meet this woman? They were from different planets, any idiot could see it, and it wasn't going to end well. But it was Daryl's lesson to learn, just like before. Merle didn't want to see another one die. He couldn't.
"I'm gonna buy some beer," Merle announced. "Y'all need anything?"
"No, but thank you," Carol answered.
"Can I go with him?" Sophia asked. "Please, Mommy?"
"Daryl?" Carol met his eyes. "Good or bad?"
"It's up to you," he replied.
"Please, Mommy, you didn't even let me go collect sticks. This is a car ride. I'll be fine."
"Yeah, throw that in my face to get your way." She sighed. "Fine, but I want your coat on. Gloves too and no ice cream, Merle."
"Yay!" She hugged her and grabbed her coat.
"I don't get a say?" Merle asked. "You ask the boy, but not me?"
"You tell her no, and she won't go," Carol replied.
He looked down at her, her big blue eyes were hopeful, and he groaned. "Hell, get your coat on." He waited for her in the hall. "Why do you really wanna come?"
"Mom and Daryl need to talk, and if we're here, it won't happen."
"You's pretty smart for an eight year old."
"Thanks." She got in the car. "So, ice cream?"
"Sure. One or two scoops?" He pulled out a twenty he'd "borrowed" from Daryl. "It's on Daryl."
