Sorry about the delay! Other stories will updated soon if any of you are waiting for them! Thanks for reading!

Chapter Fourteen

They made it work for two whole months. Eight whole weeks. Sixty whole days. And it wasn't easy. Keeping everything a secret was wearing on both of them. They didn't see each other very much except for on weekends when Daryl didn't work and on Mondays when Carol was off. Keeping things from Merle was rough too. He was like a hound dog sniffing around.

It was a Saturday night and him and Merle were shooting pool with a couple of Merle's buddies that he hadn't seen in a while.

"So, you comin' home tonight or you takin' off again?" Merle asked as they made their way to the bar.

"Takin' off again," he said, drumming his fingers on the wood.

"Don't that lady of yours get pissed off that you spend so much time here?" Merle asked, not for the first time.

"Nope."

"When you gonna let me meet her?" Merle asked. "You scared I'm gonna try to dip into it?"

Daryl shook his head. "Soon I think. And she knows all about you. You ain't got a chance."

Merle's eyes lit up. "Soon, huh? How soon?"

Daryl shrugged and he was saved when Carol finally made it to them.

"Beers?" She asked, flashing him a smile.

He nodded and Merle elbowed him, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know. Sooner than later." And he meant it. He was ready to take his beating and get on with it. Carol wasn't going anywhere. It wasn't just a fling. He didn't want to have to hide anymore.

"Sooner than later, what?" She asked, looking back and forth from him to his brother.

Merle threw an arm over his shoulder. "I think he's finally gonna let us in on this secret woman he's got stashed away somewhere. She's bound to be a dog too so when he shows up with her, try not to laugh at him. There's a reason he ain't brought her around yet and I'm guessin' that's why."

Carol raised her brow and then eyed Daryl. He rolled his eyes, knowing she was going to have some fun with this. "So, when is this mystery woman going to finally show her face? Surely a handsome guy like yourself managed to snag a real keeper."

Merle shook his head. "Nope. Bet she's uglier than a cross eyed water snake. Thing about snakes though, they can dislocate their jaws and swallow things whole. I bet that's why he's with her."

Carol laughed, her blue eyes dancing. "Is that the secret to love everlasting? Good head?"

Merle snorted. "Course not. You can get good head anywhere. Great head is the key to love everlasting."

Carol sighed and shook her head. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Merle."

He scowled. "I wasn't talkin' about you!"

Daryl wanted to die.

She shrugged. "Well, if you say it works then I guess I have no choice but to a meet a man and try my hardest to get him to-"

"You shut your filthy mouth right now! Ain't nobody around here wantin' to think about you doin' any sick shit like that."

She patted Merle's cheek, winked at Daryl and then sauntered off to serve someone else.

Merle sat there scowling. "I swear, that girl says shit like that just to piss me off."

Daryl laughed and took a long drink of his beer. "I'll never get why the hell you care. Here I am, your own flesh and blood brother and you give me shit all the time. You've not known that girl long at all and you treat her like a Saint."

"Cause she is. You're an asshole. And she's a girl. Little sisters ain't the same as little brothers."

"She looks like a woman to me, and she sure as hell ain't my sister" Daryl grumbled.

Merle glared at him but then shook his head. "You know, I'm half tempted to talk her into givin' you a shot. Hell, at least if she was with you, I wouldn't have to worry about some other asshole."

Daryl glanced over when a couple of newcomers took the empty seats next to him. Merle stood up then, walking off towards the bathroom. Daryl ran a nervous hand through his hair. That hadn't been too bad.

"You look like you need another beer."

Daryl looked up. Carol's expression was sympathetic.

"Hey, beautiful, two shots of Jameson for me and my friend here."

Daryl turned his head, taking in the man that had just spoke. He was used to the pet names. He wasn't bothered when men made remarks like that, but there was something about this guy that didn't sit right with him. He seemed... off. He looked like an asshole. His long hair was slicked pack and tied at the back of his neck and his eyes were narrowed on Carol, his lips turned up in a confident smirk.

"Sure thing," she said, turning to grab the glasses and the bottle.

The man leaned closer to his friend. "How much you wanna bet I can take the bartender home?"

Daryl rolled his eyes. This guy was a fucking joke. He wasn't about to leave his seat though, just in case the guy had any plans of saying something to her. He looked up and noticed that Oscar was standing close, arms crossed over his chest, watching the men with a look like anger on his face.

"Here you go," Carol said, sitting the glasses down in front of the men. Her smile was brittle, like even she got a strange vibe from the two men.

"You got a name, sweetheart?"

"Carol," she said, her eyes flicking from the man to Daryl, almost worriedly. "You must have forgotten."

Looking back at the man Daryl saw that he was studying Carol more closely. After a few seconds he grinned. "Oh yeah. How could I forget," he said, his voice losing that charm and taking on an edge.

She nodded stiffly and walked away, seeming much less relaxed than she had been before this guy showed up.

"I can't believe I forgot about that night. That fuckin' bitch bout got me killed."

Daryl stiffened. Guys hitting on her at times was something he was used to. He was secure enough in their relationship that shit like that rolled right off of him but he wasn't going to be able to sit there while some greasy prick talked shit about her. That was different. But he kept his mouth shut and his ears perked and kept drinking the beer.

"How the hell did that happen?" The man's friend asked after a pause.

The man shook his head and laughed. "I guess I was just too much man for her. All I did was hit on her a few times. Copped a feel and next thing I know I was out on the street. That girl's trouble is all she is. Regular cock tease, man. She flirts and then as soon as you go in for the kill she sics her fuckin' dogs on you. Broke my nose and my wrist."

"Then what the hell are we doing here, man? We need to go," the friend said, more than a trace of worry in his voice.

The guy shook his head and his voice lowered so Daryl could barely hear it. He had to tilt his head and strain his ears to hear what the man was saying. "Nah. I'm gonna hang around till the place clears out. Then I'm gonna catch this bitch leaving and show her-"

Daryl didn't think about what he was doing. He simply acted on impulse. One second he was sitting there listening to the man speak to his friend and the next he was smashing the guy's face into the bar.

He didn't know what else the man had been about to say but now that the man was somehow on the floor and Daryl was reigning blows into his bloodied face he became curious. "Show her what?" He growled.

The man tried to shove Daryl off of him but Daryl couldn't be moved. It was an odd feeling. He felt strangely calm despite the fact that he was enraged. His heart was beating hard and fast but his mind felt sharp. "Get the fuck off me!" The man roared, trying to buck Daryl off.

Daryl was able to land one more blow before someone finally managed to grip him under the arms and wretch him away. He wasn't sure who had pulled him away from the man but he didn't fight them. He backed away willingly. He was secure in the fact that this asshole, whoever he was, had learned something tonight.

Oscar bent down and pulled the guy up from the floor and when his eyes met Daryl's he nodded, a small smile playing around his lips. The bar had grown strangely quiet. Whoever had a hold of him let him go. He could feel eyes on him but when he looked up the only person he saw was Carol. She was coming around the bar, a worried look on her face.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Merle growled from behind him. That's who must have pulled him off the man.

Daryl shook his head and watched Carol approach. She didn't hesitate before grabbing his hand and examining it carefully.

"Come on, you need to get this cleaned up," she said, gripping his clean hand and then pulling him towards the hall. She didn't shut the door behind them, dragging him straight to the sink and grabbing a handful of paper towels without a word.

He watched her face as she went to work but he couldn't gauge her mood. She couldn't be pissed at him for doing what he did. He was going to have to worry about more questions from his brother though.

"Well, all the blood seems to be from Tomas. You didn't get any cuts but they're already bruising," she said softly.

He looked down and made a face. His knuckles were swollen and were going to hurt like hell. He flexed his fingers and winced. It hurt a little but he didn't think he'd broken anything.

"What was that about?" She asked, glancing up at him worriedly.

He shrugged. "He was just runnin' his mouth."

She shook her head. "You can't just beat up anyone that does that. He's an ass. Oscar had to take care of him once before. It's his job, not yours."

The corner of his mouth turned up. "Well, he wasn't quick enough."

She sighed and looked down. "What am I going to do with you?"

He shrugged. "You can do that one thing you did last weekend, if you want. I'm game."

She laughed and then slapped him hard in the chest, looking up. He was in the process of leaning in to kiss her when someone cleared their throat from the open doorway.

"How's that hand?"

Daryl glanced over his shoulder. Merle was leaning his shoulder into the door frame, his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. Daryl shrugged. "I'll live."

Merle didn't look like he was going to move any time soon so Daryl stepped away from her and turned, heading past Merle and back down the hall. God, this was going to be hell.