Orangecatlady: I actually have other plans for Merle as far as relationships go, but yeah, he does become a father figure to Sophia. Thank you for reading and reviewing! ^_^
KEZZ 1: Thank you for the review! I'm heading back into canon now, so hopefully the changes and chapters I write regarding this season is worthy of your continued reviews.
ChildishAssassin: Yeah, trust me, the first thing she does when she sees the tank is go 'fuck'.
So, I've watched up to the first episode of season 10 and I have so many plans...so, so, so many plans...I'm going to have to go through and watch the episodes to write chronologically, but I must say that I am enjoying all of the plans I have. Now, I'm warning you far beforehand that I plan on going dark for a while. I must say, I want things to be more personal for Daryl than what they seem in the show. As I said, I started back to work today, so I can't guarantee it will be every other day I write anymore.
Also, can I just say a few things about what I've seen...FUCK CARL DYING. FUCK JESUS DYING! WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH ALPHA! BITCH NEEDS TO DIE! Poor Carol and Ezekiel...And, AAAHHHH! DOG! ^_^ Okay, momentary reaction to catching up over...commence the enjoyment of reading...Thank you for the reviews and reading thus far!
"That's it, girly. Keep your sights up. Loosen your grip. Yep, just like that," Merle told Sophia as he coached her for the second week at using the bow. The first week, he'd simply showed and made her hold the proper form for a few hours a day, now he was showing her how to nock an arrow. "Yup, lock the arrow into place, just like that. Good, girly. Keep your back straight, feet apart. Good, good. Eyes up, straight ahead at where your shootin'. Alright, draw back. That's it, keep goin'. Hold it. Make sure you got your bearin's right. Bring the fletching to the tip of your nose. You got it, girl. Alright, now, be prepared for the force of the release. Alright, go ahead and loose. Just release your fingers." He watched as the arrow soared through the air and hit the lower edges of the target. "Not bad for your first try. Good job. Now, here comes the hard part. You're gonna stand here and do that ninety nine more times."
"Ninety nine! Mr. Merle, isn't that a bit much?" Sophia complained.
"Now, now, girly. Do you want to build the strength to be able to take down a deer? You gotta start by practicin' your shootin' until you can hit the target," Merle said. "Or are you givin' up before you even start?"
"No, sir!"
"Alright then, keep shootin'."
Ani and Daryl had gone on a run with Glenn, Maggie, and Sasha for more supplies. They weren't necessarily running low, but Ani had a few more things she wanted for the inside of the prison to make things a little more comfortable. They all had personal items in their cells now, and Merle was pretty damn impressed by how the prison was coming along. In just four months, they had a decent sized farm going and enough defenses to stave off the walkers from harming the fence. It wouldn't stave off an intrusion by others, but it would at least keep the walkers from piling against the fence. He had to hand it Ani; when she wanted shit done, she got shit done.
Carol came down with some lunch for him and Sophia, Merle allowing the little girl to take a break from shooting arrows to eat. He commented about how she was doing really well for her first time with a bow and asked Sophia how she learned how to aim like that. When she told him Ani had been training her with throwing knives since the quarry, he just shook his head and said he shouldn't be surprised by her anymore. Hell, he'd been wrestling with the kids the other day, all of them, out in the field, just goofing around and they'd all been able to get him to the ground at some point. Sure, he might have fibbed a bit for the younger kids, but still, Carl and Sophia had both been able to properly pin him to the ground using holds Ani had taught them. Sophia had put him in a proper choke hold, for fuck's sake!
Merle couldn't help but smile at Sophia, telling her, "You're on your way to becomin' a proper little warrior like Ani."
"You know, there once was a time I didn't like the thought of that," Carol said. "Now, I think that's a mighty fine thing. Ani is a good role model for you," she told her daughter.
"I told her once I wished I was more like her," Sophia told them. "When we were lost in the woods and she was having a hard time but still so sure we were going to make it. I told her I wanted to be more like her. She's so brave and smart. Ani's always telling me that I can do anything I put my mind to."
"She's right about that, girly. You're close to hittin' your target already," Merle said, noting how she was only about half a foot off the mark after only fifty releases.
"I think it's because of you, Mr. Merle."
"Girl, you gotta stop callin' me that. Just Merle is fine."
"Ani was the same way when I called her Ms. Parker, and then Miss Tea. Though, I kinda want to call you something else."
"Oh? And what's that?"
"Well, Ani told me all about her papa and what he did for her. You do a lot of the same stuff for me, and, I dunno, I guess in my head I started calling you Pops."
Carol laughed loudly as Sophia blushed and Merle sat looking startled. "Don't, don't call me that, girly. I ain't worthy of such a name. I ain't ever gonna be nobody's pops."
"You're my Pops," Sophia insisted.
"Whatever. Get back to shootin' if you're done eatin'."
Sophia laughed and went back to her bow, picking it up and resuming her stance. By the time she was done with the remaining fifty draws, she was only an inch off from the bullseye. Merle commended the girl on her fast progress and told her that she had to do that every day, a hundred draws a day. Next week, they'd go on a practice run for hunting and see how she does if she could hit the bullseye all 100 times by the end of the week. That reward had already been approved by Ani when Merle suggested it.
~x~
The run had gone smoothly for the most part. There had been a run in with another small group that left Daryl with a black eye and a cut on his eyebrow, but the man who had done it to him was in worse shape with a dislocated shoulder and a swollen knee. They'd come all the way from Decatur and had suffered a decent amount of losses, both to the dead and bad people. Ani's show of force when Daryl had been sucker punched had them all wary of her. The group's leader had originally wanted to just leave in peace, but Glenn and Sasha managed to talk to them while Maggie helped Daryl calm Ani down enough for her to finish the talking.
While the group had been reluctant at first because of how Ani had reacted to the surprise attack on Daryl, they quickly realized that she was calm and level headed unless you hurt her people. She'd gotten a pretty good gist of how the group worked and the dynamics within it. They were mostly scavengers, with only one person knowing how to set traps and snares. There was only one strong fighter in the group, and when Ani asked to spar with Daryl to see what his skills were, he proved that he wasn't completely inept. He held his own against Daryl's redneck, bar-fight style of fighting for a good long while before Daryl switched it up and got the man in a Judo hold he couldn't break. As soon as Daryl had used the hold, Ani had started laughing and saying it was over.
None of the people from the group had a problem with coming back to the prison, and none had killed any humans that they knew of, at least not outright. There were a few who had shot at people they were trying to get away from, but they weren't entirely sure if they'd actually managed to hit anything. They'd been too busy booking it out of their old camp to worry about whether or not they'd actually done any damage. Ani told them that she couldn't blame them for not wanting to stick around and find out.
By the time they got back to the prison, Ani couldn't help but be happy with the supply of food they'd managed to get, although still not enough with the numbers growing, as well as the sanitary items for the women that Carol had requested. She rested her head on Daryl's shoulders and stifled a yawn as they entered the gates and made their way up the courtyard. Seeing Merle and Sophia in the courtyard, she couldn't help but smile at the sight while Daryl was kicking the stand down and shutting the bike off. Standing up, she gave Daryl a kiss on the cheek before dismounting and walking over to Carol, who was at the grill cooking dinner.
"How's our little archa doin'?"
"Really good. You know, she decided to call Merle Pops? Merle acted all offended, but you should've seen his ears," Carol told her.
Ani laughed out loud, "Gods, thank ya for the ammo! I'm gonna tease the eva lovin' fuck outta him now!"
"I thought you might like that," Carol said with a laugh of her own. "Did you get the things I asked for?"
"Yup, in the truck," she informed the older woman. "What?" she asked as Carol gave her a strange look.
"Are you okay? You seem tired lately."
"Jus' been busy. Was jus' thinkin' I need a nap," Ani said nonchalantly.
"You need more'n a nap. You need a whole damn day! Been on the go since we said the vows," Daryl said as he walked up to them. "How you holdin' up?"
"I'm fine. Merle and Sophia are doing good. He's been having Sophia practice shooting since," Carol informed him. "Here, take this and get some rest. And make sure she stays in bed for the rest of the day. She looks about ready to keel over," Carol said as she handed them some stew before looking at Ani. "When was your last day off?"
"Night a the weddin', if I'm bein' honest. Got a lot ta do," Ani told her. "But I'm gonna take ya up on the offa a stayin' in bed the rest a the day afta suppa. Wanna talk ta some more a the Decatur group."
"Alright, but you listen to your mother. Get some rest," Carol said, coming around the grill and kissed her forehead. "You too, Daryl."
"Yes, ma'am," he told her while dragging Ania over to the table to sit down with the group that had been given some stew as well.
"This is quite possibly the best meal we've had in a while," David, the leader of the Decatur group told them. "Thank you so much. I can't believe this place actually exists."
"Yeah, we put a lot inta keepin' it safe. We'll be expectin' ya ta pull ya weight. And ya have ta start trainin' up, too. Everyone gets basic self-defense and combat trainin', mandatory physical trainin' too."
"Is that really necessary?" he asked her.
"It's how we keep this place safe. It's how we keep ya and ya people safe. Ya train, ya build ya strength and ya skills, and ya got a fightin' chance if somethin' happens ta this place and ya left out there again," she reasoned with him. "Ya only had one strong fighta in ya group and Daryl took 'im down pretty damn easily."
"Not at first."
"Yeah, that's 'cause I was goin' easy on him," Daryl gruffed out. "Eat, Ania."
David chuckled with Ani as the pair fell silent as they ate. She listened to the chatter of everyone from the group as some of the Woodbury citizens and other stragglers came and introduced themselves. It was nice until she heard several people telling the newcomers that if they needed something to come to her. She didn't want to be the only one everyone went to. That's why they had a council, for Pete's sake! With this mindset, she was never going to get a day or night's peace.
"Hey, D," she leaned over and whispered. "How 'bout we grab some stuff and head ova ta our towa for the night? Way they talkin', we ain' neva gonna have peace 'ere in the prison."
"Ain't gonna get much peace up there, either," he whispered back.
"But I'll be damn good and relaxed tamorrow."
"Works for me. What you need from the cell? I'll get it."
"Jus' one a the books, and some a me jerky! Can' forget me jerky."
"You got it," Daryl said before giving her a kiss and heading into the prison.
"Seem a little friendly with the gentleman," David said.
"He's me husband."
"Seriously? Thought you might be related, but didn't expect you to be his wife."
"And why not?"
"Don't get me wrong, I knew you were close. It's just, you seem so similar, I thought you might be siblings." Ani choked on the swallow of water she'd been taking and began coughing while David pounded on her back, "Sorry, didn't mean to drown you."
"We have simila upbringin's, s'all. Learned a lot a the same lessons and such. That's why we click so well," she told him as she finally got a proper lung full of air.
"Hmm, must have been one hell of an upbringing to bring the two of you together."
"It was," she told him as Daryl came back out with a bag in hand.
He walked over to her while glaring at David before grabbing her up. The two didn't bother responding to David as he quipped about their date night. No one would bother them while they were at Dixon tower, most people assuming they were being intimate, which often times they were, but they also tended to hide out there when one of them just needed a break from the others. Several times, they just went out there to sit with their legs hanging over the edge, either talking about their pasts and the differences between then and now or just enjoying each other's company and the relative silence the guard tower offered. Much like the guard tower Maggie and Glenn used, it was their place to get away and just be them. Telling Carol where they were headed, Ani let Daryl all but drag her over to the tower, only getting a chance to say hi to those who greeted her before she was moved along.
Once they were to the top of the tower, he looked around it and commented, "Think Merle's been up here again."
"Gee, ya think?" Ani asked as she held up a bra; Daryl was well aware of the fact that Ani only wore crop tops or comfort bras hating the contraptions most women wore.
"I'm gonna kill him for not cleanin' his mess. Supposed to be relaxin', not pickin' up after that stupid fuck," Daryl complained as he grabbed the sheets and blankets off the bed.
"Least we got new shite already up 'ere. Throw the pillows out too. Who knows what 'e got on 'em that neva got cleaned off."
"Nasty ass fuck. Just about as bad as my damn dad with this shit."
"Well, he did learn from 'im. At least this is the worst we gotta deal with anymore. He's pretty mellowed out now that I got 'im on as Phia's personal trainer."
"Still, don't wanna deal with his shit."
"Ya know, 'e's jus' outside the guard towa. I'm sure we could peg 'im with all this shite from 'ere. Ya locked the door, right?"
"Mmhmm," Daryl told her, his smirk turning into a full blown grin. "Let's see."
He went outside and looked down at where Merle was standing, still watching as Sophia practiced with her bow and giving pointers every once in a while. When he came back in, he commented about how the little girl might get hit with some of the stuff, too. While Daryl wasn't entirely sure he was okay with that, Ani had a rather dark comment that had the man laughing and going along with her.
"As the master suffers, so should the student," she said with a devilish smile.
They gathered all the clothes, blankets, and pillows and brought them over to the edge of the tower. Smiling like two idiot teenagers pulling a prank, they hefted the stuff over the railing as Ani shouted for them to look out below. As expected, Merle took the brunt of the stuff that fell while Sophia took a couple pillows to the head.
"What the fuck?!" Merle shouted up as he looked at the stuff around him, recognizing some of his clothes while grabbing the bra off his shoulder. "Oh, oops, sorry 'bout that!"
"Clean up afta yaself the next time ya man whore!" Ani shouted down at him.
"Oh, baby sis sure has a mouth when she's the one who can't keep it in her pants!"
"At least I got the same person ta bone every time! How many's that jus' this month?!"
"What can I say? The ladies love little old Merle!"
"Ew," Ani said to Daryl as she went back inside the tower to reset the bed.
"You're the one that egged him on," Daryl quipped, coming over to help her put the sheet on.
"I know, but I can' help but think that the women only want 'im 'cause they can' have ya," Ani told him while sitting down on the bed and unlacing her boots.
"Why would you think that?" Daryl asked, giving her a confused look as he removed his vest, followed by his shirt.
Ani inhaled sharply as she watched him, "Gods am I a happy woman ya only do that in front a me. Wouldn' be able ta keep 'em off a ya if they knew what was hidin' unda ya clothes."
"Ain't nothin' special," Daryl told her before laying down on the bed.
"Uh-huh, keep tellin' yaself that," she said as she straddled him. "Ya got no clue how fuckin' hot ya are."
"Shut up," he said, pulling her down for a kiss.
~x~
Another two months passed as quickly as expected considering the constant movement she and Daryl kept with. If they weren't hunting, they were on runs; if they weren't on runs, they were hunting. While they were both at the prison most days, they had started taking advantage of the prison's needs to stay away from it. Between them and Sophia, they were managing to keep the prison fed with fresh meat, which had led to the two of them being constantly hounded. Neither were comfortable with the amount of attention they were getting, so after Ani double checked the security of the perimeter and handed out tasks to the Council to hand out to those they thought best suited, they'd head off to do something else. Hershel and Carol had both made mention of it to both hunter at different times after a month of it happening, including when they were alone.
Daryl openly admitted that he didn't like the attention. It felt weird to have people constantly greeting him or calling out his name. And it felt even worse when people tried to get Ania's attention, especially now that she'd had one of the other warriors take over for self-defense classes and she only taught one MMA class a week, primarily because the only people that showed up were the people closest to her, and Carol just came to watch. They did their part in the prison keeping it safe and fed, so what did it matter if they left when everything was okay at home?
Ani simply stated that she was getting too much attention and no break from it if she was inside the prison unless she hid out in the tower. And that wasn't a feasible option when there were better ways for her to get away from the prison than simply hiding. There was very little point in hiding in the tower anymore because someone would just come to the bottom of the damn thing and yell up at them. So getting out of the prison was the only way for her to get away from being constantly hounded about every little thing when there were delegates meant for all that.
As such, during these three months, the position of leadership seemed to have shifted, but in all honesty had stayed squarely in Ani's hands. The prison members had started going to the Council more than her while she was able to take a breather as a primary hunter and supply runner. She still approved of the runs, made the final approval of the people they brought in, and helped plan and maintain defenses as the primary strategist, but simply used the council as a mouthpiece for her plans. Carol took care of any of the domestic stuff. Merle and Sasha took care of the fence lines. Maggie and Glenn made sure to gather any and all requests for the runs, as well as the list of necessities. In the end, it worked out wonderful because Ani was able to concentrate on her concoctions, hunting, and her garden.
They'd brought back several people to the prison, loosing a few on runs. It sucked, and further gave Ani reason to avoid being at the prison and allow the delegations to continue. She'd had to put another five people down in mercy, not allowing the change nor suffering to befall her people any more than it absolutely had to. The good news, however, was that Karen and Tyreese had become an official couple and Beth had hit it off with one of the newer kids just a year older than her, Zack. It was cute seeing the pair walking around holding a few fingers together. Sophia had bonded a bit with Patrick, even though the scrawny teen was kind of a wimp. Ani and Sophia had both taken to calling Merle 'Pops' after a few rounds of teasing by Ani.
Merle had fully integrated into the group while still maintaining his rough and tough appearance, mainly by cussing the men out and chatting up all the ladies. However, he was no longer allowed to just use the tower Ani and Daryl did anymore; they'd learned how to keep it locked after yet another fiasco involving him neither cleaning up after himself. They were the sole users of the tower now, and several of the couples made mention of how it wasn't fair. Ani simply responded that they'd been there first and had pretty much claimed that tower since they'd gotten to the prison. It was the one place they could get away from everyone while in the prison and they weren't about to share after Merle's destruction of it.
~x~
Two weeks later, they were out on a run with Glenn coming back to the prison when Daryl began slowing down. Looking over his shoulder, she saw a man walking down the road, just a single man. Ani couldn't help but wonder what his story was as she climbed off the bike followed by Daryl. Daryl called out to the man, who kept walking for a while until Ani told him to stop. Whatever happened to him, it was definitely bad as his face and eyes were devoid of anything but despair. Daryl began approaching the man slowly, Ani following behind him. Daryl's crossbow was at the ready while Ani had her daggers in her hands.
"Ya okay there, hun? Ya look a might bit, well, ya look like shite," Ani told the man.
"I'm fine. You all should just keep going," the man said.
"Hey, you got a group?" Daryl asked him.
"I did. I'm all that's left."
"How many walkas have ya killed?" Ani asked.
"I don't know."
"How many people?"
"None that I wasn't forced to. Kill or be killed, you know?"
"We got a place. It's secure. If ya like, ya can join us," Ani offered. "At the very least, ya can get a good night's sleep. Ya look like ya dead on ya feet and haven' eaten anythin' worth eatin' in a while. We can get ya a change a clothes and a trim if that's what ya want. Give ya some supplies and send ya on ya way, but I think ya'd like it at the camp."
"Where is it?"
"It's in a prison, ta be honest. But it's got fences, and the fences are protected by a few pits and stakes. The walkas can' get too piled so long as we keep 'em cleared," she told him.
"And your leader, they'll be okay with it?"
"Yeah, pretty sure she's fine with it, otherwise she wouldn't a offered," Daryl said a little curtly.
"D, don' get so offensive. He don' know."
"You're the leader?" the man asked her, surprised that such a little and seemingly young girl was leading a group. "How many people are in your group?"
"Roughly thirty five," Glenn answered. "And yeah, she's our leader extraordinaire. So if she offers you a place, you'll definitely have one."
"Why? Why offer me a place?" the man asked Ani.
"Well, again, ya look like right shite! When's the last time ya slept? Ya ate? Ya cleaned up for that matta?"
"Do you offer anyone a place?"
"No, not anyone. No rapas, no abusas, no one who kills jus' for shites and giggles. We base it on three questions. How many walkas ya kill? How many humans? And why? Ya answered those. So ya earned a place, though I'm gonna wanna talk ta ya once ya rest up a bit."
"Are you serious?"
"Sure as shite stinks. I'm Ani Dixon, this is me husband, Daryl, and Glenn, a memba a the council a our group."
"I'm Bob. Bob Stookey."
They took him back to the prison and introduced him to the council where they learned he had been an Army medic. When Ani talked to him one on one later that night, she learned of his struggles with PTSD, just a mild form, that had led him down the road of alcoholism when he was alone. He claimed the nights got too quiet, that he'd gotten too used to the noise overseas followed by everything that went down. He had charisma and charm, but knew when to use it and when to hold it back. Never once did he flirt with Ani, Maggie, Karen, or any of the other women who were spoken for. However, when it came to Sasha, the man had no qualms in turning it all the way up.