A/N – Couple of warnings and disclaimers for this chapter. For one, regarding the bar scene in Nebraska, I tried to remember what was said and I used some Youtube clips to piece together the Rick and Dave stuff. I'm sorry if it's a bit inaccurate, but I tried to do the best I could. And for two, this chapter contains violence and/or attempted violence towards a child. Put down the pitchfork (or stones), and don't worry. It's Sophia's story and you can trust me, I'm not going to let anything happen to that little girl.

Thank you for the reviews and for reading!

Chapter 12

Merle wanted to make this quick. Quick into town to get what he needed and quick getting out and back to Sophia. He didn't trust leaving Sophia alone with that bunch, at least not for long. If there was anything Merle was good at, it was spotting the assholes. Takes one to know one, right?

As soon as they reached the town, Merle went straight for the closest convenience store and Dave and Tony took off on their own, doing God knows whatever they planned to do. Merle was glad to be rid of them for a moment. He was fairly certain they wouldn't leave without him, which was only a concern given that there was only the one truck to take them all back; but either way, he didn't plan to linger. As it was, he hoped to beat them back to the truck. Better to be waiting around for them to finish than to be left in their dust.

Food was easy. He knew what to get for him and Sophia. Even clothing wasn't that hard; Sophia needed a new pair of pants to replace the bloodstained pair, and he grabbed an extra pair for her too just in case. He never imagined that someday he'd be getting clothes for a little girl, and he certainly never imagined stepping foot into the feminine hygiene aisle.

The aisle was full of items he'd only seen before in different broads' bathrooms when he'd cleaned up after a quick roll in the sack, or bed, or table, or up against the wall. Really anywhere, Merle had never been picky, and the chicks he met up with weren't either. Hell, they couldn't be picky to get involved with Merle. Merle had never had a relationship last longer than three days… although not even days, really just nights, because Merle never saw broads during the day anyway.

And technically, he'd probably had more one time type relationships than anything. He'd been a local favorite at the bar back home – one of those classy joints with a mechanical bull to ride; except with the lady customers, Merle was just as popular as the bull. Like a rite of passage… they had to have a ride and Merle had always been more than happy to oblige. The thought made Merle's hand automatically go to his crotch and scratch absently. Prob'ly how I got the clap.

He looked at shelves and shelves of boxes and plastic packages and wondered what the hell he'd gotten himself into. He'd definitely grown to care about Sophia… he might even consider that he loved the girl, although he'd be damned before he'd admit it out loud. She was his little girl, somehow she'd just dug her way into his heart and he wasn't letting that go anytime soon. But this was something so out of left field, so foreign, little girls and their lady troubles… how the fuck am I s'posed to know wha' to get.

"Look for the Always brand." The voice stopped Merle cold and he turned, seeing Dave standing in the doorway that faced the aisle.

"The fuck do yer dumb ass want…," Merle scowled.

Dave shrugged. "Hey, if you don't want the help… hell, you seem to have it covered anyway, fuckwad."

Merle swallowed his pride… for Sophia. "Fuck…," he muttered, "come again now… 'lways, ya says?"

Dave smirked. "Yeah, Always brand. If you're getting pads, I'd go with the winged kind. Or you could do Kotex. Oh, and tampons, you could get her tampons but she's still pretty young, probably better to start with pads."

Merle glared at Dave. "The fuck ya know bout this shit?," he growled.

The other man made a face, shrugged again. "Hey, man, I'm more than just a fucking asshole. A guy's allowed to have fucking layers. I had a mother, okay, and three little sisters. You learn to buy girls' shit really fast in that kind of family."

Merle nodded, the only thanks he was going to give a guy like Dave. Then he grabbed a package off the shelf and chucked it in his bag, cast a sidelong glance at Dave and muttered, "yer still a fuckin' asshole."

Dave chuckled. "Fuckin-A, man. Just gotta check the bar next door and then Tony and me will meet you at the truck."

Merle grunted in response, turning his back to the door and listening for the door to swing shut on Dave's departure. He had one more thing to get – a weapon for Sophia.

Sophia crouched by the spring not far from the campsite, and tried to scrub the dried blood out of her pants. She wished she'd asked Merle to pick up hydrogen peroxide. She remembered how after a bad night with her dad, her mom would stand over the sink, pouring peroxide on her bloodstained clothes to get the blood to bubble itself out of the fabric.

"Well, hello there, Molly."

Sophia turned toward the voice, saw Randall standing a few yards behind her on a rock. Another man stepped up next to Randall… the man's face was bruised and bloody and his nose twisted at a strange angle. Sophia tried to place the second guy's name… Doug or Dodge or something like that.

She ignored the two men and turned her attention back to her pants. She planned to clean them as best she could and then maybe pick some berries for Merle when he got back. She knew he'd be bringing food back with him, but she thought he might like the surprise.

"You know… Mol-ly, if that is your real name…," Randall said before trailing off. She could tell he was getting closer by the way the gravelly ground crunched beneath his feet. "You know what, Dodge," Randall continued, "I don't think that is her real name…"

"Me neither, Randy," Dodge muttered hoarsely.

Sophia kept to her task, but keeping an eye on the two men as they approached.

"You know, Dodge…. I'd bet her name is So-phia."

Sophia stiffened, she kept her hands submerged under the water, took the bottom of one pant leg and wrapped it around her hand a couple of times, gripping it.

"What makes you say that, Randy?," Dodge said. They were playing with her; she could hear it in their voices.

Randall stopped moving, standing just a foot away from her. "Gee, I don't know… maybe because that's what that fucking douchebag who broke your nose always calls her. You know, when they think they're far enough away that no one can hear."

Sophia turned her head to look at them, flickering her gaze from Dodge to Randall and smiling. "Merle broke your nose?," she asked, "isn't that a shame." The tone of her voice surprised her. It was sarcastic, and she was pretty sure Merle would approve. Her mother, maybe not; but Merle, definitely.

Dodge's eyes narrowed. "Fucking cunt, you think because you're a kid that keeps you safe? You're no kid far as I can tell… you're a bitch who needs a lesson."

Sophia stayed crouched, tightening her grip on the wet pants in the water. "Fuck you, Do-odge. And fuck your friend too." She was scared, but she refused to show it. She was twelve, and small, and pretty much defenseless, but there was no way she wasn't going to give these assholes a run for their money.

"My thoughts exactly," Randall laughed and moved forward, going to grab Sophia, but she stood up faster, whipping the wet clothes out at them, lashing Randall in the face, knocking him back a second, giving her some time to scramble forward, dashing across the spring, and up the hill at the other side.

Randall was only knocked back for a second, and he was quick on her heels, Dodge with him, moving for Sophia, going to grab at her.

Merle sat in the back of the truck for a few minutes, waiting. Wha' the fuck's takin' so damn long? Finally, he hopped out of the bed, leaving his bag behind, and moved toward the bar.

He heard talking as he approached. He hesitated at the side of the building and decided to wait before he went in. Something seemed off – he thought maybe he heard more voices than just Dave and Tony. He stepped softly and moved so that he could peer inside through a window.

Through the window, he could see Dave and Tony standing a few feet from the door, facing the bar and engaged in conversation… and then – fuckin' shit… Merle could see Mr. Officer Friendly Fucking Rick Grimes, the bastard that lost Sophia in the fuckin' woods and handcuffed Merle on the fuckin' roof in Atlanta. Merle scowled, he felt anger course through him but he forced himself to stifle it. This wasn't the time. He couldn't be that Merle right now, he needed to be smart Merle, the Merle that was going to save Sophia and get her back to her momma.

Merle shifted so that he could see better inside, moved a little closer so he could hear better what they were saying. Sitting on a stool near Rick was the Asian kid… Glenn… Merle thought was his name. Merle recognized him from the group, and there was one other guy, an older fellow sitting at the bar with a half-drunk glass of scotch or something. Well fuck.

He heard Dave say something like, "you don't know what we've had to go through out there, things we've had to do. I bet you've had to do some of those same things yourself, am I right? Ain't nobody's hands clean in what's left of this world. We're all the same. Now how about we take a nice friendly hayride to this farm and get to know each other."

Rick shifted on his seat, a little uncomfortably. His back was to the door so Merle couldn't see his facial expression, but he could hear the hesitation in the man's voice. "That's not gonna happen."

"Now, Rick…," Dave started to say before Tony interrupted.

"This is bullshit," Tony spat, moving from where he stood so that he was next to the wall. Merle saw what Tony was doing; he was boxing the men – Rick and Glenn and the other guy – boxing them in.

"Calm down," Rick said.

Fuck, here comes the fucking 'uthority. Shit Rick, how's tha' workin out for ya? Merle couldn't help thinking it. He didn't care who Rick was – something about him just irked Merle something fierce.

"Don't ever tell me to calm down. I'll shoot you three assholes in the head and take your damn farm…," Tony muttered, moving forward but stopping when Dave held up a hand.

Dave turned so that his side was to the door, shook his head and said, "whoa, whoa, whoa, relax…" Dave moved, hopped the bar in a quick movement and continued, "nobody's killing anybody, nobody's shooting anybody, right Rick? Just friends having a drink, that's all." He started rummaging through the cabinets behind the bar, "now…. Where's the good stuff? Good stuff… good stuff… oh, look at that." He grabbed a bottle from underneath, grabbed a glass and poured himself a drink. He tipped it back, swallowed it in one gulp and then looked back up at Rick, his face serious. This ain't gonn' be good.

Dave cleared his throat and said, "Rick, we can't stay out there. You know what's like."

Rick was standing now, facing Dave with his back to Tony. The cop shifted his gaze from Dave and then over his shoulder at Tony, and then back to Dave again. "Yea, I do. But the farms too crowded as is… I'm sorry. You'll have to keep looking."

"Keep looking…," Dave repeated, "What do you suggest we do then?"

Merle watched Rick shift his gaze again, settling back on Dave, and then say, "I don't know… I hear Nebraska's nice."

Merle heard the sarcasm and he wondered if he'd missed a part of the conversation – what did Nebraska have to do with anything?

Dave nodded slowly, then he laughed for a moment before a sarcastic kind of smile moved across his lips. "Nebraska… that's how it's gonna be?"

Merle felt the tension; he almost knew what was going to happen before it did. From his spot outside, he saw Dave go for his gun. He saw Rick move faster, blowing a round straight through Dave's head and then spinning before Tony could even get a grip on the rifle slung across his back, blowing two rounds into Tony's chest.

Merle was half in and half out as it happened, still on the outside of the door, but debating on what he should do. He had two choices… he could go in to try to talk to Rick and find out where Daryl and Sophia's momma were or he could get the hell out of there and back to Sophia. Maybe come back with her, try to get back before Rick left.

A part of him wanted to go in, but what would he really be expecting? This was Rick – not a fan of Merle already – and the Asian sure as hell wouldn't be on Merle's side, and Merle didn't even know the other guy. Merle considered going in, he wanted to go in, but it was just as likely that Rick would put a bullet in Merle before he'd hear Merle out. Shoot first, ask questions later. This wasn't the same Rick as the one Merle had dealt with in Atlanta.

Fuck. Merle couldn't take the risk. He couldn't risk getting a bullet in the fucking brain and leaving Sophia back at that camp with the others. There weren't any options. Merle spun on his heel and headed for the truck, slid behind the wheel and thanked whoever he should be thanking that Dave was smart enough – or stupid enough – to leave the keys in the ignition.

Sophia scrambled up the hill, but the soft dirt worked against her. She slid, almost went down, and it took a second off her time and she felt hands clench around her ankles, and then Dodge had flanked her, grabbed her shoulders and shoved her down.

"Get off!," she screamed, squirming as Dodge grabbed her firmly, shoved her face in the dirt before flipping her over so that she was on her back. He crouched behind her, holding her by the arms, pinning her down. She squirmed against the pressure, kicked her feet, connected with Randall who was trying to grab her legs.

"Fuck!," Randall snapped as she connected with him again. He backhanded Sophia across the face as she strained to sit up, to get away.

"Uh," the sound out of Sophia's mouth was involuntary as Randall struck her. She saw stars for a second, touched her tongue to the corner of her mouth and tasted blood. Fuck, Merle, where are you… I need you now.

Randall got in her face, his body hovering over hers ominously. She could smell his breath, rank from whatever he had eaten for breakfast or lunch. Dodge still held her shoulders, pinning her from moving, and Randall hovered, leaning over her body, put his face up close to hers. "You're gonna fucking behave you little bitch, or you're gonna fucking regret it. You got me?," Randall hissed low.

Sophia glared at him, let her eyes throw daggers that she wished were actual knives. She spit in Randall's face. "Fuck you, Ran-dy," she said angrily and she spat at him again.

He hit her again, slapping her hard across the face, and she felt the tears pop into her eyes, resisted the urge to vomit with the flash of pain that sliced through her. She turned her head back to face him, to glare, and she spit again, this time the saliva hitting Randall square in one eye.

"You bitch," Randall snapped, but before he could strike her again, Sophia felt the slightest resistance in pressure on her shoulders and she acted on it. She flung her head back, connecting with Dodge's face, plowing the back of her head right into his nose and Dodge released her, falling backwards with the pain, howling as she further damaged his already broken face.

Sophia kicked and wriggled, jamming a part of her leg up between Randall's own legs, clearly connecting with a part of him she didn't even want to consider. Randall yelped, bent slightly at the waist as he went to put a hand to his aching crotch, gave just enough room for Sophia to wiggle, bring her leg up again, connect again, and then she scrambled out from underneath. Sophia flipped as she scrambled back, moving fast on her hands and knees, up the hill, and away from both Randall and Dodge.

She reached the top and glanced back over her shoulder. They were recovering fast. She hopped to her feet and was about to run… she turned her head. Randall was on his feet and moving fast up the hill. She ran.