First, I want to thank Shelly and Kaye, who pm'ed me today. It was one of 'those' days and those emails helped me get through it , along with all my other wonderful reviews.

I really hope I don't lose any readers over this chapter. I think it really illustrates how Amber, and now Daryl walks between two totally different worlds.

Need something to take edge off. Send with Merle's vest/phone. -Thanks, Pooshie

Amber pressed the send button, the message now on it's way to her mother, before sliding the phone into the back pocket of her cut offs. She turned her attention back to her breakfast plate. Despite the shock of finding her Mamaw in her kitchen a half hour before, she had been hungry, finishing off the eggs and grits before dishing herself up another plate. Daryl had quickly slunk into the bedroom, coming out a few minutes later wearing a black sleeveless tee and a faded pair of jeans. He left his boots in the bathroom, choosing to remain barefoot until after their late breakfast. Merle was in his spot at the counter so he took his plate from Roxie and sat behind Amber on the couch. They ate in the uncomfortable quiet, which prompted Amber to send the text to her mother. Merle finished up first and walked to the door with a "Goin' ta smoke" and a smirk playing on his lips.

Roxie slid into his seat across from Amber and reached across the table to take her granddaughters hand.

"How are you doing, baby?"

Amber shrugged, still looking down at her plate. She knew Daryl sat behind her listening as he slipped on his boots.

"I'm fine. No more scared than Mama or Kaye." She nodded her head toward the thick book that sat on the end of the bar. A small vial lay on top. "You brought your Bible and your anointing oil down here. Planning on doing some preaching and praying?"

Roxie chuckled softly. "Praying is definitely in order, don't you agree, baby? You were raised believing, and I know you still do in your own way. As for the preaching..." she leaned over, eyeballing Daryl where he sat on the couch, working on his thumbnail, "this isn't the time. Daryl, honey, please stop chewing on your poor nails and ask your brother to come in for me."

He jumped up nervously, and walked over to the door to stick his head out.

"Hey, her Maw wants ya in here."

Merle stubbed out his cigarette and leaned in the open doorway to Amber's right as Daryl stood behind her. She had the feeling the Dixons were about to get a crash course in Pentecostal grannies.

"I've been deep in prayer over the last few days." Roxie began, "I had the feeling something like this was going to happen. And I believe God has given me some scriptures appropriate for the situation. And no, they do not reference fornication."

Merle snickered and Daryl shot him a warning look, his face burning a deep red. Roxie pulled her Bible to sit in front of her on the counter, turning the worn pages to a spot she had marked. She sat the vial of anointing oil just to the right of the book.

"Amber, baby, go get your gun and your knife."

Amber slid from her stool and walked past a wide eyed Daryl to go to the bedroom and rummage in her nightstand. It had been so long since there had been a need for her to wear the weapons, over five years. The Glock 19 still felt the same in her hand though, as did the switchblade with it's pink pearl handle. She returned to the counter in the living area dropping her weapons on the counter. Roxie nodded her head to the men.

"Your turn boys. Weapons please." Both glanced toward Amber who nodded her head with a small smile. First Merle's .45 slid onto the counter, then joined by Daryl's new Desert Eagle and his buck knife.

Roxie gestured toward the bow. "That too, and the arrows or bolts or what ever you call them." The crossbow and it's bolts were crowded onto the small counter. The old woman opened the vial and touched her fingertip to the opening. She then laid her finger on the handle of every weapon and the body of every bolt. Her voice rose, thin but strong as she prayed, first that the weapons not be needed, that another way be found. But then she prayed that if evil men still sought the life of an innocent, that bullets and arrows would fly true, knives be as extensions of the hands that wielded them. Amber could see both the Dixons were fidgeting, clearly not used to such displays.

The prayer was concluded and Roxie stepped in front of her granddaughter. She touched the oil again, then Amber's forehead. Roxie addressed the wide eyed men.

"Don't worry, boys, we'll save sacrificing the goat for next time."

Both men's eyebrows popped up, until Amber and Roxie chuckled. Daryl smirked as Merle snorted, realizing she was breaking the tension with a joke. Roxie then took up her Bible and read the ninety first Psalm over her. Amber was familiar with the Psalm of Protection and quoted parts of it with her.

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress...

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night...

...nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday

...no evil shall befall you...

...the serpent you shall trample underfoot

When she was done she hugged her, both of them wiping away tears afterward. Then she stood before Merle at the door. She touched a drop of oil to his forehead, him looking like he wished he could be anywhere but there. But even big bad Merle Dixon wouldn't deny this tiny old woman this. Roxie flipped through her Bible, looking for another marked page.

"Even though Barry insists you two are Demons, as far as I am concerned, my prayers are that God will equip you as warriors on his behalf. I DO NOT condone violence." she turned for a second to make sure Daryl was listening as well. "But evil men want to kill an innocent. And if needed, I hope you will strike them down quickly, before they can do damage. Romans thirteen and four, 'For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain..."

"...for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil." Merle finished for her, nodding slowly. Roxie gave him a small smile and patted the side of his face gently before turning to Daryl.

Daryl shifted from foot to foot beside Amber, glancing at Roxie from beneath his hair. He flinched when she anointed his forehead but she just continued, smiling sadly. Amber took his hand as her grandmother spoke.

"Daryl, you've become a member of our family in the last couple of weeks. Silas and I are proud to have you sit at our table. You're a good man, whether you think so or not. This is the blessing that was given to Joseph." Daryl's head snapped up at the last word, his hand tightening around Amber's. Roxie was intent on her Bible as she read, not noticing.

"Genesis forty nine, twenty two through twenty four. Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall. The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob."

She laid her small hand on Daryl's arm for a second and nodded at Amber as she closed her Bible and slipped the vial of oil in the pocket of her apron. Merle stepped out of her way when she got to the door.

"Need me ta walk ya back?" he asked quietly.

Roxie shook her head. "No thank you, son." She turned to address them all. "I've put you all in the hands of God," her voice began to waver as tears filled her eyes "and it's all I know to do. Boys, of course you'll be excused from work whenever...the need arises. And it won't affect your pay, it's the least we can do."

She had been gone for several long silent moments when Amber turned to Daryl. He ran his hands through his hair and looked at the floor.

"Go on out for a while, bro." Merle said before grabbing his gun off the counter and flopping down on the couch. "I'll keep an eye on her."

Daryl gave him a nod and grabbed his bow before dropping a quick kiss on Amber's cheek. Before she could react he was gone out the door and into the woods surrounding the trailer. Amber sat down next to Merle and looked at him questioningly.

"What's wrong with him? Where is he going?"

Merle sighed, "Just weirded out, sugar. Needs ta go out ta the woods for a bit, get his shit in order."

"Why? I know y'all didn't grow up in church, but it didn't freak you out."

"My little blessin' didn't have quite the punch his did." Merle looked up from his gun. "If I ask ya a question, ya swear ta tell me tha truth?"

"Well, yeah. I don't have anything to hide."

"You been in his wallet or anythin?"

"No!" Amber shook her head emphatically "I know how private he is! What does that have to do with it?"

Merle looked back down at his gun as he cleaned it.

"His middle name is Joseph."

TWDAUTWDAUTWDAUTWDAUTWDAUTWDAUTWDAUTWDAU

At E&M Junkyard

"What'r ya doin?"

Norm leaned against the doorway between the living room and the kitchen with his arms crossed watching Kaye as she hurriedly loaded the clip to the small automatic handgun.

"What does it look like I'm doing? Baking brownies?" She spat back bitterly.

He walked over to the table, but instead of pulling out a chair he crouched by Kaye's chair, knees popping as he sank down. He reached up to tuck a stray curl behind her ear gently.

"I buried'im under that rose bush a'yours out back."

She nodded. "Good, he pissed on it every chance he got."

Norm snorted. "Yeah."

Kaye loaded the clip and slammed it into the gun before tucking it into the holster on her hip. Then she picked up the pistol and started loading it. Norm looked over the table, she had every gun they owned laid out, along with the corresponding ammo. He sighed and placed his hand over hers, trying to take the gun out of her hands. She jerked it back, continuing her motions.

"Babe, stop." he said lowly, propping himself up on her thighs, hoping to at least get her to look at him. She shook her head.

"Gotta be ready."

"Ya think I can't take care a ya?"

Kaye laid the pistol down, and reached for the Taurus Public Defender, she wavered for a moment on the ammo. This gun took either shotgun shells or .45 caliber bullets. She decided on the shells, they do more damage up close.

"Yes, baby. You take care of me every day. But I didn't protect myself last time. This time..." her voice broke and the gun swam before her a second before the tears spilled down her cheeks. There wasn't supposed to be a this time, she should have killed that bastard ten years ago.

She felt her husbands strong but gentle hands over her own, removing the gun to lay it on the table. Norm turned her chair so that he was kneeling between her knees and he leaned over her lap to cradle her face in his hands. His thumbs brushed her wet cheeks, as his heart twisted in his chest. Twenty fuckin years and he still freaked the hell out when she cried.

"Hey...babe...listen, we got this, okay? Me, Barry,Dogg,Tyreese, even Daryl. WE GOT THIS."

Kaye shook her head. "I can't...I can't go back..."

Norm pushed up on his knees and gripped the sides of her head, making her look at him. "LISTEN TO ME DAMMIT! He's not coming! I'll kill him my own goddamn self this time! We're not waiting until they come for y'all. Barry says as soon as we get an idea where they're at..."

Kaye pushed his hands away and stood, pacing across the kitchen. Her hands traced over her lower belly and Norm's stomach rolled as he clenched his jaw. She was worrying that damn scar.

"What happen's if he comes before the sources give up anything? What then?" Her voice rose higher and more frantic with every word.

"Then I'll kill him before he lays a finger on you. I SWEAR!" He stood in front of her, blocking her way. It had been years since she had an episode like this, reliving that week in hell. He gripped her upper arms and shook her. He hated being like that, but it was the only thing that would work during times like this.

Kaye looked up at him, chest heaving. She was there, behind her eyes, she wasn't back in New Orleans anymore, at least for the moment.

"What are we doing?" her voice wavered, "You just buried Sampson in the backyard. I just packed our kids off to my mom's...when will it end?" Her knees buckled and he sunk down to the floor with her, pulling her between his legs and into his chest.

"It ends soon, when I bury my knife in that bastard's skull."

TWDAUTWDAUTWDAUTWDAUTWDAUTWDAUTWDAUTWDAU

Daryl didn't come out of the woods until mid afternoon. He had a string of squirrels slung over one shoulder and sat down on the front porch steps to clean them. Amber saw him come out of the tree line from her seat on the front porch and took out a bucket for the guts and a baking pan for the cleaned animals. Waste not want not. Looked like squirrel was on the menu for supper.

She had just sat everything down, Daryl giving her a quick nod when a bike came roaring over the damn. He tensed and grabbed the bow but she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Just that prospect daddy sent over."

She yelled in the house for Merle. He came out and past them on the steps, heading toward the young man on the bike. He came back with his new vest and phone in one hand, a large padded manila envelope in the other. He handed her the envelope with a suspicious look.

"The guy said yer mama sent it, that only you could open it."

Amber sat next to Daryl on the steps, while Merle leaned on the railing. She waited until the prospect was gone before opening the envelope. First she slid out the sheet of paper.

Only tonight. Daddy says they'll wait until at least tomorrow. Stay safe. I love you. Enjoy! -Love, Mama

Both men leaned over to read over her shoulder. She looked up at Daryl as she slid the note back in the envelope and he gave her a scowl.

"I'm gonna have'ta whip yer ass, ain't I?"

Amber smirked back. "Just need to relax a little, Desperado." He shook his head and went back to cleaning the squirrels. Merle leaned over the railing, practically drooling.

"C'mon, sugar. Pull it out. Feels like Christmas mornin all'a sudden."

Amber laughed and pulled out her old pipe, her mom had saved it for the last six years. It was a simple spoon pipe, pink swirled blown glass. She laid it to the side and then pulled out the dime bag of marijuana, opening it to take a long sniff. Merle held out his hand, wiggling his fingers. She handed it over and he took a whiff, smile spreading over his face.

"Smells even better'n pussy. Yore daddy's got some good connections, sugar."

Amber took the bag back, offering it to Daryl. He rolled his eyes but leaned forward, nodding after a second. She slid it and the pipe back into the bag before fastening it. Those squirrels needed cooked up before she had a little fun. God knows she needed it today.