This chapter is a little longer than the last few. Hope you all enjoy this one and have a great morning! Or night, depending on what side of the globe you are on =) Give me feedback! I'm trying to get to the good stuff but there is so much that has to go into the different things each character is going through and how they are developing that I'm trying to do that and still hold onto the story. It makes it take longer to get from one place to the other here. Daryl and Carol were easy. Then when I started the Merle and Sophia POV I was worried that it would feel like the story was slipping a little. There is a point to all the time I have spent on these two, especially Merle, so I hope you are still enjoying it!

Chapter Fifty One

Everything was a bit of a blur after that. Daryl saw Dave reaching for a gun so he shot him in the knee. He dropped like a stone, forgetting all about the gun. The boy did the same but Merle had his gun trained on him so he just whimpered and held up his hands.

"Good shot, Bro." Daryl said as he slapped Merle on the back as he made his way over to Dave. He knelt down and grabbed the mans gun first and then he put one booted foot on the guys shin and yanked the arrow out of his knee. He wiped it on his pants before placing it with the rest. He needed to look at Carol but he didn't want too. This wasn't something she would take very well and he wasn't ready to deal with her. Instead he watched as Merle shoved the kid over next to his buddy.

He landed on his knees and kept his head down. "I didn't do nothin'." he cried. His friend wasn't just crying, he was howling. Clutching his knee and rolling back and forth in the grass.

Looking up he caught Carol's eye just as the others were coming. Everyone was running towards them and he stood up and gave Merle a look. Merle just nodded.

"Jesus!" Rick skidded to a stop, Shane right on his heels. "What the hell happened here?" He asked as he took in the scene before him.

"They drew on us. Merle shot that fat fuck in the head and I got this one in the knee. Needed'em alive. They said they're from a bigger camp."

"You think it's the same camp?" Rick asked as he looked down at Dave who had finally grown still.

"Has to be." Daryl nodded.

Merle stepped away from the boy as Shane approached. Daryl backed up himself and then was surprised to feel a hand on his back. He turned and Carol was there. He searched her eyes but they were as clear as ever and that small smile was on her face. He hadn't realized how much he had dreaded the look on her face. But there was nothing there to dread.

"You knew what he was doing, didn't you?" She asked quietly.

He nodded grimly. "Merle's a lot of things, but he ain't all that bad. Two things he hates more than anything is people who mess with little kids and men that like to torture women. Soon as he got him talkin' I knew he was gonna kill'em. At least the fat one. He'll kill the other two too once we get what we need from'em."

She nodded and then looked over to where Merle was standing alone. "You know how close Sophia was to those men?"

Daryl felt his stomach start to churn at the thought of it. "Yeah. I've thought of that."

"Do you think they could have..."

"Don't fuckin' matter. She was smart and she got the hell away from them. Just like I knew she would." He growled.

She nodded, kissed him and then turned around to walk towards his brother. He watched them. Merle rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his, probably waiting for her to lay into him. Daryl was kind of waiting on the same thing.

He wasn't close enough to hear what she was saying but whatever it was had him frowning. And then had his face turning red. She reached up and placed her hand on one side of his face and then reached up on her toes and kissed him on the jaw. He silently hope Merle didn't have the same reaction that he had had the first time she had ever done that to him. But he didn't. He just looked at her for a few seconds and then she turned and walked back towards him.

He glanced up and had to stifle a laugh when he saw who else had noticed. Shane was glaring at Merle now. Good. Stupid prick.

She took his hand when she reached him. "I'm sorry about everything I've said about your bother." She said quietly.

He nodded, not sure why she was saying this to him.

Sophia, Carl and Duane showed up then. They all three looked scared to death.

"Where's Merle?" Sophia asked suddenly.

Daryl pointed towards where Merle was standing alone and she took off towards him. "Wonder what all that was about?" He asked out loud even though the question wasn't directed towards anyone.

"She heard the gunshot and thought that maybe someone hurt Merle." Carl explained.

Carol looked up at him and then shook her head. "What is it about him?"

Daryl gave her a crooked smile. "You tell me?" He arched an eyebrow.

"I was wrong." She said. "Very wrong and I owed him an apology. Sophia was right when she said I was a hypocrite. I was."

"Merle ain't the easiest person to give a chance too, woman. He does that to himself." Daryl said as he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, not caring that they were standing with a rather large group of people at the moment.

"But my twelve year old daughter saw right through him. She knew. I was such a bitch to him. Even to you and you had every right to stand up for him."

"What had gotten your feathers all ruffled over Merle in the first place," he asked.

Carol glanced over her shoulder where Shane was standing with Milton and Hershel while they checked out Dave's knee.

When she looked back up at Daryl he just nodded. He had known it from the start but at least she was admitting it now.

"You think you can stay away from his stupid ass now?" His brow pulled together and she reached up with a finger to smooth it out.

"I can manage that. I still don't want him to run off and get himself killed, though. He was my friend at the quarry."

"Carol," He whispered as he leaned down next to her ear, "He wanted to get in your pants."

She frowned. That isn't true. Not at first. I think he's just a typical man. He wants to get in anyone's pants."

"I didn't try to get in your pants." He said with a smile.

"No. But you got me out of them the very first time I ever visited your tent." She arched an eyebrow.

He laughed at the memory and several people turned to stare at him. He wasn't much for laughing. Or he used to not be. He had more things to laugh about lately. And their first night together was definitely one of them. The rest of the group would get used to it eventually.

"No!"

Daryl looked over at Duane. The boy was wide eyed and backing up slowly.

"The hell?" Daryl asked as he followed the boys gaze.

The crowd had moved a bit and now the men on the ground, all three of them were in plain view. And that's when he knew for sure that these were the same men that had attacked the boy and his dad. Before the kid could take off Daryl grabbed him by the wrist and called for Rick.

"Duane?" Rick sounded worried. "What is it?"

"Those men." he turned his eyes up to Rick. "They're the ones that got my dad."

~H~

Merle watched as Rick and the others led the Randal boy and that Dave guy off somewhere. He didn't much care where the hell they took them or what they did to them once they were there, as long as he didn't have to look at them anymore. He should have killed them too but he wanted to know where that camp was just as bad as the rest of them. Not so much to find the black guy that they had taken, it would just be pretty fun to shoot the assholes. Maybe beat on a few before he planted a bullet in their brain.

Shooting the fat guy wasn't enough. He wanted his hands to get dirty. All this craziness that he had been dragged into the middle of was really starting to get to him. All this family shit. And it was only going to get worse since the rest of them were moving into the house. Like a dysfunctional fucking Brady bunch. He sighed as he thought of sitting through another awkward ass meal at the table with all these idiots. And then sure enough if he didn't join them here would come little miss bossy ass Sophia telling him how he needed to try harder. Like he wasn't trying enough. Didn't she get that all he wanted to do was kick most of them in the ass? And do much worse to some of the others.

He could have flogged Carol for what she said to him earlier. Marching over here like she owned the world and apologizing to him for how she'd treated him. Like he gave a shit if she felt bad for acting like a bitch. Telling him some bullshit about how good a man he was. And then the crazy woman reached right up and kissed him on the jaw. He hoped his stubble gave her a rash right on her mouth. It would serve her right. He wasn't a good man. He was dangerous. He was Merle. Plain and goddamn simple. For her to say any different really pissed him off. She was crazy.

"Think your somethin' now, don'tcha big guy?"

Merle looked up from his musings to find Shane standing in front of him, a tight smile on his face. "The fuck you talkin' bout, officer numb nuts? You gotta problem?"

Shane placed his hands on his hips and dropped the smile. "You think that you can just go around shootin' people?" Shane asked.

Merle gave him a careless shrug but on the inside he was seething. He was tired of this guys shit. Fucking with him and making things hard for his brother. Two things smarter men wouldn't try. But this guy wasn't smart. "Don't see anybody around here that has the balls to stop me. Didn't see Rick having a problem with the way this little drama played out. He's the boss around here, ain't he? Not like it was back at camp. He makes the calls. Hell, boy, you ain't even in the runnin' to be his bitch, are ya?"

This seemed to get under Shane's skin a little. He glared at Merle.

"Hit a soft spot did I?" Merle asked with a grin. "What hurts the most there, Deputy? The fact that your best buddy has taken to turnin' to my brother for advice, or is it that other thing?" Merle's grin widened. "You know. How here lately you don't seem to be very important to the skinny bitch you was bangin' in the woods at the quarry? You know. Your best friends wife."

"If you knew what was good for you Merle you'd shut your mouth right now. Ain't nobody scared of you. You're nothin' but talk. Your nothin' but trash."

"I'll be sure to go ask Fat Tony how he feels about your little assessment. And from what I can tell, you ain't nobody around here yourself. You wasn't nothin' but a pastime fuck in the bushes to that bitch. Nothin' but a cheap screw. She gonna let you have anything to do with that kid? You know that baby belongs to you and your just too big a pussy to stand up and take whats yours. Ain't that right?" Merle laughed coldly. Maybe he couldn't kill anyone here but he could at least stir up a little shit while he was stuck in this fucked up Disney movie.

He had to admit, Shane was fast. One second the man was standing there in front of him and the next he was right there in Merle's face, gun pressing against his forehead. Merle just smiled.

"If I was you I'd shut up now. You don't know me. You don't know what you're talkin' about. Your own brother don't give a shit about you anymore. Not now that he has Carol and that kid. You're nothin', Dixon. You think anyone would blink if I blew your brains out right now?"

Merle's eyes didn't waver and his smile didn't twitch. "Do it then, pussy. Pull the fuckin' trigger. Show 'ol Merle you gotta pair."

"You get that gun away from him, Shane." They heard Sophia growl from a few feet away.

Shane didn't take his eyes off of Merle's. "You go on, Sophia. Find your momma. You don't wanna see this."

"I don't think you understand. Get that goddamn gun out of his face you stupid prick!" She growled.

Merle had no choice but to look. He slid his eyes down and then they widened when he saw that she was standing there with her gun pointed right at Shane's head. "I think you're wrong, Shane. At least one person would have a problem with you puttin' a bullet in my brain."

Shane scowled and then backed away from Merle, he hadn't looked over at the girl yet but as he backed away, keeping the gun trained on Merle, she stepped in front of him, gun still raised. Merle put a hand on her shoulder.

Shane was pretty stunned. He lowered the gun and stared at the girl now and stopped backing up. "What do you think you're doin', girl?" He said bitterly.

"Merle, do you want me to kill him?" She asked, keeping her narrowed gaze on Shane and the gun aimed at his head.

"Thought you said that killin' wasn't nice, darlin'?" Merle smirked as Shane took another shaky step back, like he could sneak away from a bullet.

"I think I'm bout done being nice. You tell me right now, Merle. Do you want me to kill him?"

Merle wasn't sure how he felt about all this. The kid sounded dead serious. So serious in fact that when his eyes met Shane's over her head the man did look like he was a little worried how this all might play out. "And what would ya do if I said to go ahead with it?" He asked.

"Then I guess I would have three kills under my belt." She said in a low serious voice.

He felt that strange fluttering feeling in is chest again and hoped he was having a heart attack. He didn't want to think of what else it could mean. Whatever was stirring there was foreign and uncomfortable. "Shane, you put that gun away and get the fuck outta here. Unless you want me to give her the go ahead? Not like you got a lot goin' for you now days."

Shane tucked his gun into his pants, gave them both one more hard look and then walked away.

Merle didn't say anything until the man was nearly out of sight. When Shane was far enough away he knelt down and turned the girl around to face him. Her face was calm and the gun now hung at her side. He knew the piece well. It's the same one he had used to kill his own daddy. "You okay?" He asked in a voice that showed more concern than he liked to admit.

She nodded. "Don't you dare believe anything he says, Merle. He don't know anything about how people feel about you." She still sounded angry.

"I ain't gonna kid myself, darlin'. I know how everybody feels about me. I just don't really give a shit." He gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"I don't think you do. You're brother loves you. My mom is really starting to come around. And I..." She blew out a frustrated breath. "I know that at first I just wanted you to be good because I wanted things to be easier on Daryl. But that isn't the reason anymore."

He frowned at her, not sure he liked where this was going at all and for a few hopeful seconds he thought maybe she wouldn't finish what she was going to say but he had no such luck. Go figure.

"You're my friend. You're like my new psychotic uncle or something. I can't really explain it very good. But I'll always have your back because that's what you do when you care about someone. And I care a lot." Her voice was very low when she was finished.

Merle didn't say anything. He didn't want to hear anything she had to say. He was Merle Dixon and Merle Dixon didn't need people caring. He didn't want people caring about him because he didn't care about other people. Not one goddamn bit. But before he knew it that stupid kid had her skinny arms wrapped around his neck, and with that sick fluttering in his chest, and fear written plain as day on his face he wrapped his good arm around her and hugged her back. He told himself that it was just because she had saved his ass. Maybe twice now, that he let her get away with hugging him. But deep down he knew that was a damn lie. And it made him feel more weak than he ever had in his life.