I didn't realize how short this chapter was. Sorry about that! Thanks for reading!

Chapter Fifty Four

Merle didn't say anything else about what had happened all those years ago. She didn't need to know anymore. She understood things so much better now. She understood him now. She had never imagined that Daryl had lived through so much emotional turmoil. She never understood what everyone meant when they talked about him like he was some kind of ticking time bomb, ready to go off at the drop of a dime. She had seen it in him earlier when he had mentioned his mother. She hated herself for dredging up those old memories. She wasn't afraid that he would ever do anything violent to her or Sophia. Maybe that was naive of her but she knew in her heart that he would never hurt them.

She felt like she needed more people around. She wanted this place to be a new start for all of them. Maybe she could create something here that could smooth over those old jagged scars. She hoped so.

"I should call and ask if everyone else wants to come for dinner," Carol muttered, layering the lasagna. This is going to be way too much. There's still the bread and the salad. The four of us will never eat all this."

Merle stepped behind her, glancing over her shoulder and sticking his finger in the pan, licking the sauce off and then smacking his lips loudly in her ear. She shot an elbow into his ribs but he reached around her and stuck the same finger into the pan, swiping up more sauce.

"Merle, that's so gross. Your brother has to eat that too, keep your filthy fingers out of it," she growled, trying to block his much larger frame. That didn't seem to work either because he just reached around and did it again.

"Just one more lick and then I'll leave it alone. Quit squirmin' damn it. You're makin' me get it all over you."

"What the fuck?"

They both looked up sharply as Daryl came strolling into the room. She realized then that everything her and Merle had just said could easily be taken out of context. "He won't keep his finger out of my sauce," she explained.

Daryl raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, I don't guess I blame him. Merle, if she ain't talkin' about whatever is in that goddamn pan, I'm gonna break your dick off and shove it up your ass."

Merle snorted and finally moved away from her. "You'd be lucky if you could get both hands around it you little bastard."

Daryl just rolled his eyes at his brother. Carol wasn't sure if she would ever get used to how they spoke to one another sometimes. "I need to tell you somethin'," he said to her.

She met his eyes and then she felt her chest swell with sadness for him. Everything Merle had told her came back to the surface after it took her so long to push it all away.

"That's my cue. I'm gonna go get stoned on your front porch. Found your stash and didn't figure you'd be needing it, probation boy." Merle sauntered off and Daryl wanted to kick him in the balls.

"You smoke pot?" She asked, her eyes widening.

He shrugged. "Everybody smokes pot, woman. It's good for you."

"I've never smoked it. You never told me you did drugs."

"It ain't a drug. It's a fuckin' plant that the Government outlawed so they could fill the prison system up with minor drug offenders and suck as much money out of us as they can. It was listed in medical books until the forties. Anyway, I took Sophia to Buck's so she could talk to Damon and Piper. Then I think I turned her into a devil worshiper at the hardware store, but she's not pissed off at you or anything so that's good news."

Carol blinked, trying to keep up. "Daryl, she's grounded. That means that she wasn't suppose to go to Buck's! And what do you mean, you turned her into a devil worshiper? You were only gone for a few hours. Jesus!" She could see it in his eyes that he was really struggling.

He shrugged. "Hell, all a person needs is a few hours. I only knew you for twenty four hours before I got you pregnant. Turnin' a kid to the dark side is even easier than that. Well, maybe. You were pretty easy."

"Daryl! Are you high?" She felt her face flush.

He shook his head and sat down on the stool that Merle had abandoned. "No. That's probably what my problem is. Seriously though, she needed to say her peace to those two. I didn't take her to a party or to have any fun, alright?"

She wanted to be mad at him but she really did understand where he was coming from. And Merle had told her that if anyone could get through to Sophia, it would be Daryl. She should consider herself thankful that he was the type of man that would bother with her teenage daughter that he barely knew. Not many would. "I know that you think I'm being hard on her. I just think she needs some kind of punishment for doing something so damn dangerous. And I know you don't think it was very dangerous but I do," she added hastily before he could say anything.

He nodded, running a hand through his hair as he sighed heavily. "I know. But I don't wanna be that guy. The prick that acts like the other kid ain't even there just cause she ain't his, ya know. I gotta know where the hell I stand when it comes to her. I made a call on my own cause you weren't giving me anything to go on."

She felt her stupid self get choked up again. She was tired of feeling so emotional but she really was touched. "I didn't know you felt that way. I just thought that she'd be my responsibility like she's always been."

He shook his head. "The first fuckin' thing I knew about you at all was that you had a kid. Well, that and I really wanted to get my hands on your ass cause you were bent over that car-"

"Daryl," she groaned.

"Right. Anyway, so yeah. That's how it is. You can shut me out if you don't want me butting in, but I don't want to be shut out. I figured I'd just lay it out there for you."

"You are really something else, you know that?"

He nodded. "So I've heard."

"I'm thinking about calling Buck and inviting them all over for dinner. I made way to much."

He stood up and was about to walk out of the kitchen and then stopped. "While you're at it, tell him that I swiped his Master card cause he was being a dick and he can have it back after I get to tell him I told you so."

"You stole your father's credit card?" Carol asked, her mouth dropping open.

"Yeah, but I lied and told Sophia he let me use it so she's in the clear."

"You and Sophia used it for what?"

"She needed paint and shit."

"Why didn't you use your own money? Or mine!"

"I just told you. He was being a dick. And he was being a dick for no reason. Trust me, this isn't the first time. He won't care too much."

She watched him walk out of the room, trying to wrap her mind around the enigma that was Daryl Dixon. He had just sat there and told her that he wanted to take an active role in her daughter's life. He wanted to be there for her and he wanted to be able to be involved the way a father would be involved. That made him more a man than most. It took a special person that was willing to do that. And then in the same breath he tells her that he stole his father's credit card! She shook her head. She wondered if she would ever understand him.

She called Buck and while she was on the phone with him, explaining to him exactly why Daryl had taken his credit card, Sophia walked into the room. After confirming that they would have a house full for dinner she hung up and watched the girl carefully.

"It smells great, mom. Everyone is gonna love it. Did you make the homemade sauce?"

Carol felt her eyes widen at her change of attitude. "Yes. I used the tomatoes that June canned herself."

"I'm sorry," Sophia said suddenly.

Carol stared at her but Sophia pressed on before she could say anything else.

"I know you've been through a lot. I'm gonna try to remember that it can't always be about what I think is right. I have to think about you too. And I know I shouldn't have talked to Piper and Damon but I needed to. I've been expecting you to try to see things from my perspective and I didn't even think to try to see things from yours. I scared you because I did something dangerous and I know that. I'm still glad Daryl is out but next time, I really will try to think about your feelings before I do something stupid. I'm not gonna say I won't do anything stupid anymore though because I'm sixteen and sixteen year olds make mistakes."

Carol nodded. "I can't believe it," she muttered.

Sophia frowned. "You can't believe what? That I'm sorry? Mom, really I-"

She shook her head. "No. I can't believe that Merle was right."

Before Sophia could say anything Merle walked in. "Right about what?" He asked.

"Your brother," she said, breezing past him.