I really have to apologize for this chapter. It's a filler and it basically sucks! I restarted it a bunch of times but the end result was always the same. It's also pretty short. I think this was one of those nights that I should have taken a break but I really hate doing that! I may take tomorrow night off so I can organize these ideas and then Sunday I can totally make up for this one! On the plus side, there is a little bit of smut. That always helps =) Plus, at least it is something to read. Thanks for reading! Hope you all have a great weekend and stay safe!

Chapter Thirty Seven

It had been three days and they were just now releasing Buck from the hospital. Buck had been pissed but Carol had talked him into staying anyway. Her and Daryl were able to return to work, which was a big relief for both of them. Not just because they were nearly completely broke but because working made it easier to keep their minds off of the mess they were in.

"He's gonna be pissed when he finds out that you moved him to that little guest room downstairs." Daryl said as he drove the car all the way up the driveway and parked it next to the garage.

"He doesn't need to go up and down the stairs. He has everything he needs down there." She muttered.

"Everything but his dignity." Daryl chuckled.

She glanced over at him and smirked. "He'll get over it." And she knew that he would. He'd just grumble and growl a lot but he would secretly thank her in the long run.

It had been another hot day and Daryl was a sweaty mess. He hadn't bothered putting his shirt back on and he was very distracting this way. Neither one of them bothered to get out of the car right away. She was staring at his chest when his hand snaked out, wrapping around her wrist and then yanked her to him.

She didn't hesitate to bring her leg over his lap until she was straddling him. She hit the horn with her ass on accident, causing them both to laugh. She'd worn a skirt, which was rare but decidedly convenient at times like these. They hadn't had a chance to really be alone with one another. Between taking care of Merle at night, working and running back and forth to the hospital to make sure Buck was properly fed, by the time they had a minute alone they were both asleep as soon as their heads touched the pillow.

"I think Merle is almost all the way better." She muttered as his hands pushed the skirt up to her hips.

He huffed. "Don't mount me in the car and then start talkin' about Merle. It's a real turn off." He pulled her face down and caught her bottom lip between his teeth.

His lips were salty and it caused her head to spin. "Can't tell from where I'm sitting." She breathed into his neck as he gripped her hips and then shifted under her. When she felt his hand slide up between her thighs her breath hitched. "Daryl, we got a lot of stuff to do. We have to go pick Buck up and we have too... and it's still light outside and... She kissed him slow and deep as his thumb worked in a quick tight circle over her panties.

"We got time. I'll make it quick." He grinned against her lips and then he increased his speed.

"Daryl..." His name slipped out of her mouth as a whimper when she was suddenly gripping his shoulders as hard as she could to keep her body from shuddering over his as she vaguely hoped that no one saw them. She caught his lips with hers and then moaned quietly into his mouth. When it was finally over she put her forehead to his.

He was grinning like a cat and breathing heavily.

"Was this why you parked way back here next to the garage?" She asked suspiciously.

"That?" He frowned and shook his head. "I parked way back here for this." In one quick motion his hands went to her hip and ripped the waistband of her panties. He did the same thing with the other side, slid the garment away from her and tossed it over his shoulder into the back seat.

"You can't be serious." She whispered.

He nodded. "It's been days. I'm dyin' here."

She glanced around but she was almost sure no one could see them. She had him unbuttoned and freed from his jeans quickly. She'd learned a whole lot in the time she had been with him. They both had. But she hadn't ever done anything like this and she wasn't sure how to go about it. He guided her hips over him and then licked his lips as she sank down slowly. She kissed him greedily then, reveling in the feel of him.

He urged her hips in a back and forth motion. It didn't take her long to find a rhythm that had him panting. She was driving herself to that edge and it was an empowering feeling. She was in control here. She set the pace and she decided how and when to move. She bit into the tender skin below his ear gently, causing him to hiss and then the grip he had on her hips became tighter.

His body tensed and he tangled his hand into her hair, pulling her towards him right before she cried out, kissing her roughly as he growled low in his throat as he followed her. She kept kissing him as she slowed her pace and then finally stopped. She raised back up on her knees long enough for him to put himself back into his pants and then she sat right back down and was kissing him again. When she pulled away she was glaring at him.

"I really liked those underwear." She hid a smile.

He nodded sagely, still breathing heavily. "I did too. But it was worth the sacrifice. Even if it was just a quicky." He chuckled and leaned his head back into the headrest.

"Hmm. I agree." She grinned and then they both jumped when they heard a loud bang.

Merle came around the side of the garage, Beth in tow. They had been inseparable for the last few days. Even with Hershel home and ready to shoot anyone that came into his house uninvited, Beth still stayed with them. She slept in Buck's bed, of course. Merle still had demons to fight at night. Demons that Beth still didn't know about as far as Carol knew.

"The fuck y'all doin' in there? You best not be dirtyin' up the damn front seat! I gotta drive that car too, ya know." He yelled as he came around and glared into the open window.

Carol was still straddling Daryl but at least he was covered up now. "I can do whatever I want in or on this car, Merle. It's my car."

Merle frowned as he glanced between the two. Daryl was looking straight ahead, chewing the inside of his lip. "You didn't?" Merle grumbled.

Daryl glanced at him and shook his head. His face reddening slightly. "Course not, dumb ass."

Merle narrowed his eyes and then stormed off without another word. Beth glanced back and laughed and then hurried after him. Carol was really glad Beth was sticking around. She was good for Merle. She was just good period. She enjoyed Beth's company. She was quiet and reserved but inside she was a really strong girl. Merle needed someone like that. And if he didn't have Beth then it was hard telling what kind of women he would be bringing into their house.

"He knows." Daryl laughed as they climbed out of the car.

Carol shrugged and pulled him towards the house. "He always knows."

After they both took a quick shower and changed it was finally time to go to the hospital. They didn't talk much on the way there. They hadn't talked about anything major in days. They didn't bring up Jenna knowing about Ed. They didn't bring up the killer and they didn't talk about Daryl looking for the guy. They didn't even talk about how they were ever going to come up with the money to pay Buck's hospital bills.

Instead they talked about how fast the bills and the mortgage were going to get caught up. They talked about the bike Merle was putting together in the garage. They talked about the weather and they talked about Beth. They talked about Merle needing barely any drugs to function and they talked about how last night he had barely even suffered through any cold sweats.

Their problems were far from over but they both silently agreed to take today and push them to the back of their minds. At least for a little while. Today was a good day. Buck was going to get to come home. She found it strange how much they all missed him. And how much he obviously missed them. He even called and talked to everyone even though they were there several times a day to see him. She thought it was sweet.

When they pulled into the parking lot Daryl cursed under his breath. Jenna had just came out of the hospital entrance talking to a man. Carol squinted to see if she could recognize the person with her but she couldn't.

"Let's go. I hope she ain't been in there fuckin' with my dad." Daryl grumbled.

Carol couldn't help but smile. He glanced over at her, his frown deepening. "What the hell ya got to smile about?"

"You've called Buck your dad a lot lately." She said as she climbed out of the car.

Daryl looked confused for a second. "I didn't realize it." He said as she came around and took his hand.

"It's really sweet." She grinned and then leaned into his side.

He snorted.

Jenna looked up as she saw them approaching. She said a few more words to the man in the lab coat and then strolled towards them, smiling, of course. "You know, if the two of you looked any sweeter together I would have to go get my fuckin' sugar checked." She said as she looked from Carol back to Daryl.

"What the fuck are you doin' here?" Daryl growled as his grip on Carol's hand became almost painful.

"Don't worry, Daryl. I wasn't here to bother your Papa Bear. Even though, since he's still my husband, I could do that if I really wanted too."

"Have you found out anything new?" Carol asked suddenly. She didn't know why she trusted the woman but she did believe that Jenna would come through and figure something out on her own as far as the killer went. After spying on them without them even knowing it she seemed like the type that was covert enough, anyway.

"See son, take some pointers from your girlfriend here. No need in coming right out and acting like an asshole." She looked at Carol. "And no. But I'm getting there." She winked.

Daryl looked down at her. "You ready? We're late."

Just then the doors opened again and out stepped Buck and Andrea. He was upright but there was stiffness to his walk. Andrea stayed close to his side, probably in case he needed the support. He spotted them first and offered her a smile. When his eyes slid to Jenna, however, that smile turned into a cold look. Andrea glanced up at him and then to Jenna. His step didn't falter. He made his way over to them.

"Y'all are late. Good thing blondie was here or they wouldn't have let me leave." He said as he kept his eyes on his son.

Jenna gave Andrea the once over and then rolled her eyes. "She's a little young for you, don't you think?" She said in an icy tone.

Andrea narrowed her eyes but before she could say anything Buck was talking. "Ain't any of your business, Jenna. Worry more about who you open your legs for and not what I'm doin'. I'm sure that advice woulda saved ya quite a few trips to the doctor if I'd have given it to ya sooner."

Jenna turned back to Daryl. "I'll see ya around." She muttered as she stormed off towards her SUV.

"Who the hell was that?" Andrea glared after Jenna's retreating figure.

"A bitch."Daryl grumbled.

"The fuckin' Devil." Buck growled.

"That was Daryl and Merle's mom." Carol offered helpfully.

Andrea looked up at Buck and then back to Jenna who was just pulling away. "It's good to see your taste in women has improved over the years." She muttered.

"What the fuck was she doin' here, anyway?" Buck asked as he glanced from Daryl's face back to Carol's.

They hadn't told Buck much since he had been in the hospital. Daryl didn't want to stress him out and neither did she. They were going to have a lot to talk about once he got home. But they couldn't say much in front of Merle and Beth either. That was something they agreed on. If Merle knew that Jenna was in on their dirty family secret then that could send him backtracking and Carol wasn't going to let that happen.

They both shrugged instead of answering his question.

"Well, I'm going to take off, go see Dale for a while. I'll stop by later, see how you're doing." Andrea said.

Carol was openly gaping at them as Andrea ran her hand down Buck's forearm. Buck smirked and then nodded. "Ya better."

Andrea rolled her eyes and then waved at her and Daryl.

Buck threw his arm over Carol's shoulder as they made their way to the car. She was careful as she wrapped her own around his waist. She was happy that he was coming home. She had missed him terribly.

~H~

Merle was distracted. He needed to be working on the new bike but his head wasn't in it and that wasn't a job for anyone to do half assed. Instead he was leaning against the workbench. Beth was perched on Carol's usual spot, her legs swinging back and forth. She was confusing. He didn't know what the hell to think when it came to him and her. She hadn't kissed him again since the other day at the cafe. He didn't know if that meant that she was going to wait for him to kiss her or if that meant that she didn't care much for kissing him and she was over it. She was still always with him. He figured that was a pretty good sign.

"So, is your sister still tryin' to warn ya away from the big bad Dixons or what?" He asked as he glanced at her.

She smiled. "No. She got over I think. It helps that Glen tries to make her feel better about y'all. He assured her we weren't over here getting drunk and havin' sex. Maggie just worries about me. I'm always gonna be a kid to her." She shrugged.

Merle laughed. "I feel the same way about my brother. He's more grown up than I'll ever be but I think I'll always see a kid when I look at him. It don't help that he still looks like one."

Beth sighed and stared off towards the open garage doors. "Are ya happy your daddy gets to come home?"

Merle turned around so his forearms were leaning against the bench. "Actually yeah." He smiled and shook his head. "Me and Buck, we've always been pretty close. It was always Daryl that hated him."

Beth frowned. "Really? But he was so upset that night. He was scared to death that Buck was gonna die."

Merle nodded. "I said hated, darlin'. They cleared the air. My baby brother and my daddy are good now. It just took a while is all."

"Are you a drug addict, Merle?" She asked, catching him completely off guard. Where the hell had that come from?

"I...uh... I was. I'm better now. Why the fuck would you ask me that?" He asked. He didn't sound angry, not really. But he was annoyed. He thought that she had been clueless about that part of his life. Obviously he had thought wrong.

"That was one of the reasons Maggie and my daddy didn't want me around you. They thought you would turn me onto drugs. Like I wouldn't know any better." She added bitterly.

He frowned. "I wouldn't have tried to get ya on nothin' like that."

He felt her hand on the side of his face and he looked up. "What was you on?"

"Still on, Beth. Kind of, anyway." Why the fuck was he telling this girl this?

"But I thought..."

"Sometimes when you're on somethin' long enough, ya start to need it. It feels like you're dyin' if ya ain't got it. I only take enough to keep me alive. I don't take it to get fucked up. Not anymore. Pretty soon I wont need it at all. That don't mean I wont still want it sometimes. I just gotta fight it off."

"That's why you get sick at night, ain't it?" She asked quietly.

He nodded, refusing to look at her even though her hand was still on his face, urging him too.

"You're real brave, Merle. To do somethin' that hard." Her voice was low and right in his ear. "Ain't nothin' to be ashamed of."

He turned his head so their faces were only a few inches apart. "Ain't nothin' brave about bein' a junkie, darlin'."

"You ain't a junkie." She said as her eyes locked onto his.

"You don't hardly know shit about me, girl. Not a thing. You don't know the kind of shit I've done. You don't know..."

She didn't let him finish. She kissed him but it wasn't like the other few times. This was a real kiss and he kissed her back without thinking, his head instantly in a fog. Her lips were soft under his and everything in him was telling him to deepen the kiss but he couldn't bring himself to do it. This wasn't any other woman. This was Beth and he wasn't sure how it happened but Beth mattered. If she wanted a deeper kiss then she'd have to let him know.

As if she read his mind he felt the hand she had on his face slide around to the back of his neck, and then her tongue was gliding across his lower lip. He decided to go ahead and take that as a sign. She was hesitant at first, which made him think that maybe she wasn't all that experienced when it came to kissing but it only took her a few seconds to sink into it. But once she was into it she was really into it.

He finally pulled back from her once her other arm went around his neck and she was pressing the top half of herself against him. He had to keep reminding himself that this was Beth and he needed to stop. That didn't mean he had to like being the one to stop it.

She looked at him with wide eyes.

Before either of them could say anything they heard Carol's car pull into the driveway. Buck grinned. "Buck's back."

Beth hopped down from the bench and grabbed his hand, hurrying towards the back door. "I gotta see the look on his face when he finds out Carol gave him the guest room." She laughed.

Merle shook his head and hid a grin of his own. Pissed off Buck wasn't going to be very scary for a while but that didn't matter. This time he was going to be pissed off at Carol, which Merle had been dying to see himself.

See! I told ya! I promise the next one will be better! Thanks again for reading =)