Falling into the Undead

Chapter Twelve

War of Words

I've officially finished writing Season One and I have started the first chapter of Season two. Eight more chapters to go!

This was one of my favorite chapters to write. I really disliked Lori in it though...

Enjoy!

All the things she said, all the things she said

Runnin' through my head

-All the things she said by t.A.T.u

The reunion between Remington and her kids was a happy one, tears streamed down Maisie's face, while Remington promised silently that she wouldn't leave them for so long in the future. Her arms wrapped protectively around the two children and ignored the way both dogs tried to shimmy their way in-between.

Nothing, however, beat the cry of wonder, grief, and happiness, which fled from Carl once he caught sight of his father exiting the police car. She had watched the way that Rick, knowing he would meet them again, still broke down, falling to his knees as his son plowed into his chest. He gripped him tightly, Carl's sobs met her ears, as she searched for Lori, who stood looking surprised, and heartbroken, before her feet finally carried her to her husband. There was something off in the way she carried herself, and how she hugged her husband, but Remington realized it was the lack of tears. She looked lost like she hadn't quite grasped what was going on, and as she held onto her husband, her gaze had locked onto Shane.

Frowning, Remington watched how Shane looked away, his face full of barely concealed guilt, as he moved toward his tent.

These events were strange. Remington wasn't sure what she had changed, but there was something off about everything.

Trying to push the drama that surrounded the Grimes family from her head, Remington made her way over toward Carol who had been watching the scene with surprise. She owed the woman thanks for watching over her kids and promised herself, that she would find something good to give the woman in thanks. Tiny hands clutched tightly to her own as they walked over. The sensation gave Remington relief, nothing bad had happened while she was gone, and perhaps some things were still on course.

"Thank you for watching them, Carol," Remington said, once they were close enough. "We had a bit of a hiccup last night. I never expected it to happen, but I appreciate you watching over them for longer than planned."

Carol grew uncomfortable under her gaze. The look of guilt, unexpected on the woman, had Remington wondering what had happened while she was gone.

"I didn't mind watching them," she started. "We had a good time yesterday, and this morning, but I'm sorry, Remington, I wasn't able to watch them overnight." Here she paused, her eyes falling to the ground, not baring to witness the disappointment from the kind woman. "Ed, he, well we didn't have enough space. Merle watched over them last night. Kept a lookout outside their tent all night."

Remington could read between the lines. Ed hadn't allowed her to keep the children, and though a part of that burned with anger inside of her, what piece of shit would allow children to be on their own, she couldn't help but thank they hadn't been close to him either. She could see the guilt festering inside Carol, knew it hurt the woman, that she would never have left them alone, but she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Remington wished she could do something for her friend, to help in some way, but she would only make it worse. She knew how men like that functioned.

"It's all right Carol," Remington said, trying to ease the guilt, as she patted the woman's arm. She wasn't angry at Carol, disappointed a little, and hoping that strong Carol would show herself with time, but not angry. "Just means I got a Dixon to find and thank." She smiled, trying to show she meant it. "How did the run go yesterday anyway?" The fact that Merle had made it back safely eased her worries considerably. "Merle didn't drive anyone crazy?"

"He didn't go," she said. Her voice had shown her confusion over the change. "Kept to his tent most of the day."

"Oh. Strange." Remington had seen the look on his face that morning. He had wanted to go. She was certain it was meant to go find something, probably more drugs, but he hadn't gone. "Well, we'll see you in a bit, I'm gonna go look for him." Carol waved goodbye, steering Sophia over toward a table where there were schoolbooks waiting. Remington thought that it would be good for her two kids as well. Give them something to do and take their minds off what is going on.

"Did everything go okay with Mr. Dixon?" she asked them as they turned to start looking for him.

"Yeah!" Maisie said, sounding excited. "He fed us, I got sad, and fell asleep, but I woke up and he was waiting outside for us!"

"It was fine." Landon didn't give her much to go on. His voice rarely allowed her a look into his mind, always sounding the same, and she wondered if that was something he got from his father. Fine with him could mean anything, but she knew he didn't really care for Merle and assumed it meant that the man hadn't annoyed him.

"Merle's really cool!" This was said by Maisie. It didn't really surprise her. "Can I go see Shane? I've got something really cool to tell 'em!"

Remington remembered the look on his face at the Grimes family reunion. Could remember their talk on the way back home. She didn't think he'd want a child bothering him right now. Maybe later, when Remington thought he had enough time to stew in his own thoughts, before needing a kick to get out of them.

"Not right now," she said. "Shanes tired. You can go bug him later."

"Can I go play with Carl?" Landon asked. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but with them. It brought a frown to her face but figured it was because he didn't care to be around Merle.

"Why don't you go learn some school things with Carol and Sophia? Carl is probably spending time with his dad. Let the family have some time alone. Take Maisie with you. I'll be over soon to help." Landon scowled at the thought of school, but as he normally did, he didn't question her. Instead, he grabbed Maisie's hand and tugged her along with him. Maisie looked, even more, unhappier, complaining the entire way, as she tried to tug her hand free.

Remington found Merle in front of his tent, sharpening a stick with his knife, looking a bit lost in his thoughts as she walked closer.

She noticed the way a chair had been placed in front of her tent. He had stayed up all night then. She felt a bit guilty about how they had left it the other day. Not that she was in the wrong, but how she went about it could have been different. She was still feeling a little heated over what had happened. She knew she needed to get past it though, to allow Merle to show her how he wanted to act, and she was never good at holding grudges. They took way more energy than she liked to spare on them.

"I've been told I need to thank you," she said, swiping Daryl's chair, and pulling it closer to Merle. "You didn't have to take care of them last night, but I seriously appreciate it." Merle glanced up, watched as she plopped down next to him, and made herself comfortable.

"Wouldn't have needed ta if yah had come back," he grumbled, his eyes narrowing, waiting for her to say what happened.

"Is that your way of showing that you were worried?" Her face had pinched while looking at him trying to wrap around the concept of how he worked.

"I wasn't worried." He turned a glare toward the woman. "Kids needed someone, and fuck if anyone else volunteered." Remington couldn't help the smile that took over her face. It was almost an outright confession of caring. He wouldn't have bothered if it was anyone else's children. Though she wondered if he had started to care for the little girl that bugged him daily. Maisie was like an itch that you couldn't make go away. She always managed to endure people to her in the end.

"Thank you, Merle." She aimed that smile at him, not daring to reach over and hug him, though she had that feeling stirring up inside of her to do so. "Why didn't you go with them yesterday? Heard you stuck around."

Merle sighed heavily, tossing the stick to the ground as he narrowed his eyes.

"Didn't feel like it. What happened for yah ta not come back? Didn't think yah was the type ta leave those kids fa long."

"Didn't have much of a choice." It was Remington's turn to be a little huffy. She did not want to think about what had caused her to be gone longer than planned. Her eyes couldn't help but drift over to where Glenn was helping Morgan and Duane set up a tent. They had found a couple of extras on the run yesterday apparently.

"Something ta do with the newcomers?"

"Sort of." She began to wring her hands, a nervous tick, as she frowned and leaned back in her seat.

"Those the ones yah left for?" His eyes narrowed as he watched her carefully.

"Yeah." She didn't bother to say anything else. It was bad enough that she had told him what would happen to him, that he thought she was a bit crazy, and saying how they didn't know her, but she knew they needed saving, wouldn't help that outlook of crazy. She wasn't sure if she could even prove to Merle that she meant what she said and that it was real, or would have been, but she was changing too much faster than planned. She didn't want him to start avoiding her.

"Hm." He continued to eye her. "Something off about yah fa sure. Yah sure yah not a little crazy?" Remington snorted.

"Maybe. But there's the dead walking around us, not staying very dead, so maybe I'm no crazier than others." He hummed again but made no comment to force her to leave or to imply that he didn't trust her. So, she stayed. "Your brother make it back yet?" She glanced around curiously, knowing that if he had he would be sitting where she was, or inside the tent. She eyed the tent questioningly.

Merle smiled, the teasing one, that tilted the corner of his lips up, as the blue in his eyes sparkled with mischief. Remington sighed, having walked into it once again, but preferring it over the heaviness that their conversation had flooded her with.

"Yah seem so sweet on my baby brother. Ole' Merle feels a little left out yah know. I'd accept some of your sugah." She rolled her eyes, a smile forming on her lips, as she listened to him flirt his ass off. She played along, denying any emotions for his brother, and stating her disinterest in anything he would be willing to give her.

․° °․

Remington had felt happy, relieved even, being back at the camp. The rest of the morning drifted to afternoon and Remington had been relieved when she spotted Daryl exiting the forest before walking up to his brother. The game he managed to find was more than she had seen them bring back so far. His belt was littered with small creatures, ranging from birds to rabbits. It was enough to feed the camp for a couple of days if they stored it properly and chose the right meal. She decided to volunteer herself for the task when the brothers were done.

Remington turned her gaze away from them, focusing back on Glenn, who she had volunteered to help go over the food inventory with.

"We seem to be doing good on bags of rice," Remington muttered as she stacked them off to the side.

"We're doing good on canned fruit as well," Glenn said, stacking his last can.

"How are we doing on the canned meat?"

"Running low, we've been able to hold back from using it because of the meat the Dixons have been scoring recently." She watched as his eyes bounced toward the brothers, a nervous gleam covering his eyes, as he turned his attention back toward Remington. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." She tallied up the low number of canned vegetables they had. They would need to go on another run soon. The food they had brought from her run with Shane had helped, they were now doing excellent on rice, and beans, a meal that would at least be filling, and keep them going, but would get old fast. Maybe, she and Carol could find a way to spruce it up.

"You seem to get along with the Dixons," he began, looking twitchy as he made sure they hadn't come up behind him. "I don't know Daryl well, except he's quieter than Merle, but he's got a temper sometimes. Merle, he scares me, the way he can go off sometimes, and how he acts on runs." Glenn paused, looking like he was gathering his thoughts, as Remington raised her eyebrow.

"You going anywhere with this Glenn?" She kept a smile on her face, telling him she wasn't upset, but curious.

"They seem different since you showed up," he said. His voice had lowered. "Well, before you showed up. I guess it could have been around the time they met you. Merle, he's still scary, but he hasn't been as confrontational, and makes fewer scenes now."

"Hm," she hummed. Absentmindedly she wrote down another number. "I don't know if I've really had much to do with it. Maybe Merle is just showing his true colors finally. Something tells me there's more than one side to the man. The side he shows is racist, loud-mouthed, and foul. Then there's the side he hides. Someone who actually does care and is protective. I don't know. I think Merle is like Shrek."

Glenn had frozen in his actions, a look of dawning horror covering his face, as he simply stared at Remington.

"Did you just compare Merle to Shrek?" He looked caught between laughing and being horrified as he glanced over at the older Dixon. Said Dixon happening to glance up at the same time. Their eyes met. Glenn looked as if he were about to melt into the ground. Remington couldn't help the laugh that fell from her lips.

Merle frowned, watching them, sending her a speculative glance. Remington just shook her head, regaining Glenn's attention as she laughed at the dread covering his face.

"Your fine, Glenn," she giggled. "There's no way he can hear our conversation."

"What if he could!" His face had turned pale. "There's no way he would be okay with being called Shrek."

"I think I'm fine. He wouldn't even get upset with you over it. Stop worrying about it, Rhee." She knocked her shoulder into his, shaking her head, as she let off another laugh.

"How can you think that? Shrek may have been grumpy, but he let people in eventually."

A fond smile slid onto her face, the amusement still there, but softening.

"I think Merle has more in common with Shrek than he or anyone else believes." Glenn dropped it, they fell into a comfortable silence, and when she glanced over at the man he seemed to be taking in their conversation. She hoped it would help. Even just a little, to have Glenn on Merle's side, to at least wish to try to understand him, would be a good outcome for Remington. Lost in her thoughts, a habit she decided needed to stop, Remington missed the angry woman stalking toward her. Glenn was the first to recognize Lori and had started to smile in greeting before it quickly fell. He began to shuffle in place. Uncomfortable but not sure if she was mad at him or Remington.

"You!" Lori hissed. "You need to mind your own damn business and stay out of mine."

Remington blinked, slowly, in surprise as she tried to figure out what could have caused the woman to become so pissed at her. She was meddling in a lot of people's business, but Remington was certain that she had been discreet, and no one had caught on. It would be hard to explain otherwise.

"Lori, I think you should calm down," Glenn tried to reason with her. Remington was grateful for the man, he looked like he was about to pass out, but had tried to stand up for her. Remington would remember this in the future. She was definitely going to be helping him with Maggie later. Those two had always been one of her favorite couples.

"Glenn, scram."

"Now, Lori, no need to be rude," Remington began. She felt bad for the guy. His head had just been chewed off for no apparent reason.

"Who gave you the right to come to this camp, out of nowhere, and try to insert yourself into people's lives!" Remington still wasn't sure what was going on, but she nodded at Glenn, telling him to leave, as she tried to wrap her head around Lori's words. It honestly sounded as if Lori was talking about her trying to get close to everyone to change their lives. She wasn't sure why that would piss the woman off unless she thought Remington was crazy as well, and she couldn't really fault her for it, but it brought up a question. How would she know anything about that? Merle was the only one that had any inkling of it, and he would have never brought it up to Lori or willingly had a conversation with the woman.

"Let's calm down. What are you talking about." Remington shoved the notebook she had been writing in onto the table on top of a small pile of cans. "I'm honestly confused."

"What I'm talking about is you sticking your unwanted nose in the business between me and-," the fight seemed to deflate some here as her eyes swiveled around. She had brought on a lot of attention with her outburst, and it was obvious she didn't want anyone to hear what she had to say next. She lowered her voice to a whispered hiss. "Between me and Shane."

This was a surprise. Remington still wasn't entirely certain why she was yelling at her, or mad, but the picture was growing in her head.

"You think I'm becoming between the two of you?"

"No. I think you're trying to talk him into revealing to Rick what happened." Her voice was like a hornet sting. She hadn't expected Shane to bring it up to her so quickly. Remington seemed to really have changed something in the man. "That'll ruin everything."

Remington found her eyes narrowing. It was obvious Lori had been pissed at the suggestion. She was allowing her fear and selfishness to rule. Wasn't even trying to consider the two men's feelings she had dragged into the mess.

Remington wasn't a saint. She hadn't liked Lori's character much in the show and had only found herself fond of the woman in fanfiction, where the author made the woman's more likable features glow, but it was obvious Remington's distaste for her would win out in reality. She had tried to be nice, had found some of their discussions to even go well, where she would slip and find herself liking the woman, but then moments like these reared their ugly head.

"I like to think of Shane as a friend," she said. "And as his friend, I gave him advice that he asked for. It's obviously eating him alive. I noticed it from the moment he caught sight of Rick. He's trying to find a way to move on Lori, to end this on the best note possible, and I think you should as well."

"Your opinion doesn't matter. This doesn't affect you in any way. If he follows your advice people's lives will be ruined."

"It could go worse if Rick finds out on his own. All trust in you two will be gone, at least if you came clean, he could possibly regain that back. You guys made a mistake. Own up to it. Air everything out. I'm sure eventually Rick would understand or at least be grateful enough that you guys went the mature route."

Lori pulled herself up, easily taking Remington's height by a couple of inches, as she scowled down at the younger woman. It was obvious what she thought about Remington's words. All she saw was Remington trying to ruin her relationship. She hadn't even tried to see that Remington was only trying to help. Perhaps she was butting her head where it was unwanted, but Shane had seemed to find some comfort in her words, even if it was shrouded in confusion and shame.

"You should talk to Shane about what he wants instead of trying to write it off as completely wrong," she went on. "He's a part of this, he's hurting as much as you, and should have a say in how everything goes."

"I'll lose everything!" Her voice had started to rise again.

"You don't think he'd lose anything?"

"It's not the same. It isn't as important. A friendship is nothing compared to the bond between husband and wife." Remington narrowed her eyes, a frown had begun to dig into her face, as she began to grow protective of Shane.

"I think you went beyond that a long time ago. You should get your priorities together."

Lori laughed, the sound mocking, and cruel. Her arms folded over her chest as she stuck her nose up at Remington.

"That's awfully funny coming from you." Remington missed the way that Shane and Merle had both started to make their way toward them. Both looked concerned, but Shane had a look of horror, and realization dawning on his features.

"What do you mean? I think I have my priorities straightened out pretty well."

"You went off gallivanting god knows where and left your children behind." Lori scoffed. "At least I've never left Carl by himself."

Remington felt her face pinch, anger coursing through her veins, as her hands turned to fists.

"Oh, don't even go there. I went to save people, to bring them to safety, and I left them in the care of someone I trusted to watch over them. You leave Carl all the time, going off to do God knows what, as he's left to get into any trouble he can."

Lori looked pissed at what Remington had suggested. It was obvious she was talking about the affair, which hadn't been much of a purposeful affair at first. After all, they had thought Rick was dead.

"Shut up."

"No, Lori, you started this. You should look after the boy better. Keep him in your line of sight rather than getting distracted and letting him do whatever. It could be the difference between life and death right now."

"You know," she spits out. "You're right, but I think you need to watch your children better. When you had left them to go off 'saving' people, you know what your daughter was getting up to?" Lori paused here, both Shane and Merle had paused in their pursuit, as a malicious smirk crossed over Lori's features. "She was playing with guns. She's four, Remington. What right does she have in handling a gun? You think I'm endangering my kid; you're doing that a lot better than I am."

Remington's brain short-circuited. She had no idea what Lori was talking about. She hadn't been told about this. It couldn't have been Carol. She wasn't at that point yet, it would be a long while before she was secretly teaching the kids how to properly protect themselves, and Remington found herself not against Carol's idea. This was a scary fucking time to be living in, and the idea that her children could one day be by themselves, surrounded by Walkers, without the knowledge of what to do frightened her.

The anger that reared up a moment later, burned brightly, as it was all engulfing. She was pissed. Angry because no one had told her what had happened. Pissed because Lori would have been right, but Remington was so tired of wondering if she was a bad mother for having those thoughts of arming her kids being the right move, and that decision had been taken away from her.

"Don't have anything to say to that?" Lori asked. That fucking smirk was back. Remington itched to smack it off. "And don't get me started on Landon. You didn't think anyone wouldn't notice the machete he carried around on his belt? How fucking irresponsible can you be to let a boy that young carry something like that around? Bad parenting isn't something I should be worried about. I'd say you have it completely in the bag."

"You're so fucking delusional," Remington hissed, the words dripping from her mouth like poison. They were deadly and cutting, the intent oozing nothing but lethal vibes. "Do you understand the world we live in now Lori? There are literal walking cannibals that won't hesitate to eat our children alive if given the opportunity. I don't condone children using weapons. I don't! But I hardly have a choice to be queasy about it, now do I?"

She caught her breath here, holding up her hand when Lori tried to speak because Remington wasn't finished. She was done with this conversation, was tired, but wasn't going to leave before she was finished. There was a point she felt was needed to get across to everyone because she knew Lori wasn't the only one that thought this way.

"Landon already knew how to use that machete safely before all of this," Remington began. "Do I like the idea of letting him carry it around all the time, especially when I'm not around, no? I don't like it. It physically pains me, but I'd rather he knows how to use it to protect himself than to one day need it but have no option. I don't want Maisie anywhere near a gun, it makes me ill just thinking about it, I want to scream and cry, because she should be playing with dolls, not learning how to take down someone taller, and stronger than her. But I'm not an idiot Lori, I won't be able to be around them all the time, or forever, and I can't always be there to protect them, so yes, I'm teaching them to protect themselves. I'm teaching them how to respect the weapon and properly handle it, so they don't go and hurt themselves, or others, by accident".

Remington refused to allow Lori to know that she knew nothing about the gun incident. Remington would figure out who had done that later, but already had an idea of who it was. She felt tired, not so much as angry at the thought because it had been chewing her up on the inside for a long time now.

"There's no need for children to learn any of that!" Lori's anger had been reignited as her sense of justice hadn't been met. "She's four, Remington! How terrible of a mother can you get? What if she hurts herself? What if something were to happen?"

"What if a Walker stumbles upon her when no one else is around?" Remington butted in. "Should I just hope that she has a way to run away? To hope and pray that she doesn't grow tired before she loses the Walker? Or that she doesn't freeze up? Or am I supposed to accept the inevitable that she would die in that situation? I'm protecting my children the only way I see how. I'm adapting to this new world. It may not fit your perfect life, but it doesn't exist anymore Lori, this shit show of the world does. Learn to grow with it or die trying to be the same soccer mom you were before."

"There are always adults around. Your just misguided."

"Am I supposed to rely on someone to protect my children over themselves? You are the misguided one, Lori. If it came between my child's life or their own, most are going to choose their own. The world isn't made up of self-sacrificing people. It's full of those who are just trying to survive, and someone's child isn't going to be worth it in their opinion."

"Keep making up excuses for yourself. If it helps you stomach your choices in life, then go on and be delusional. There's not much you can do to help a woman who's chosen to do wrong by her children."

Remington felt any hold over her emotions snap. All her carefully crafted calmness evaporated as her face twisted to reveal what she was feeling, as she lost all and any control. Remington blindly lunged forward. She was seeing red. All she wanted to do was wipe that smirk from Lori's lips and beat some sense into the woman. She was doing everything she could to keep her children alive, she wasn't a bad mother in doing so, but she was upset because she let her words get to her.

Intent on smashing her fist into Lori's face she hadn't noticed the figure appear behind her, having come out of nowhere, as he hadn't been in the area before the fight had started.

Arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back, and locking tightly around her when Remington began to kick, and squirm, trying to break free.

"Let me go!" she screamed. "I'm going to knock that look from her face."

"I can see how unhinged you are now," Lori said. "It's obvious why you would be okay with arming your children. There's something clearly wrong with you."

Remington snarled, cursing, as she tugged at the arms that held her tightly. They only held her closer, pulling her up into the air, as she started to kick once more.

"Fuck," a deep voice grumbled in her ear. "Quit it, woman. Ain't gonna do no good laying hands on her. Only gonna make yah look bad."

"Lori don't be saying shit like that when you were the one instigating this," Shane spoke up, standing between the two women, and blocking Remington's view of Lori. "What you said was wrong, and out of line. Both of you need to walk away and take a breather. We need to talk." This last piece was clearly meant for only her ears.

"What's going on?" Rick asked, walking up to the crowd that had started to form. He looked confused. It was obvious he had only joined in on the last bit.

"Just a disagreement between two mothers," Shane said, no one had heard the beginning of the argument and Shane didn't want anyone to make the connection that there was more to it. If it was going to get out to Rick, then he wanted it to come from Lori or himself. "I've got it under control. I'll talk to Lori, and once Remington calms down I'll talk to her. Daryl, why don't yah take her back to her tent, hm."

Remington was still pissed, though she had stopped fighting against her captor, she had been glaring daggers at Lori still. She hadn't realized who it was that had stopped her. She assumed it had been Merle, but hadn't bothered to check, and now realized he wasn't big enough to be Merle, and the man was standing off to the side still. His gaze was locked onto Remington. He seemed to nod toward the small camp that consisted of the Solaces and Dixons.

"Yah think you can handle that if I let yah go?" Daryl asked, his voice rumbling through his chest, against her back, as he spoke. She would have noticed this, a blush forming on her cheeks if she weren't so pissed off. As it was, the only redness forming on her face was in the form of anger, and hatred. It took her several long seconds to regain enough control to nod and mean it.

Remington stalked off, forcing herself to ignore Lori, and took satisfaction in the look of irritability that she held over being called out on for her bullshit by Shane.

Her eyes locked onto Merle, and when she passed him, she gritted her teeth, and silently took a hold of his arm, far gentler than she was feeling, as she drug him away from the camp altogether. She had the sense of mind to glance over toward Carol, who was standing with Maisie, Landon, and Sophia, all looking wide-eyed, and confused over what had just happened. Carol waved her away, sending a small smile, as she mouthed that she would watch over the children until she got back.

She didn't want to be around them when she could still so easily go off. The fact that they could have seen any of that, especially their mother come undone, made her feel something awful. It made guilt shimmer inside her gut, almost overtaking the anger, as she thought over what Lori had said, and wondered if she was a bad mother.

Wasn't she leaving her kids alone right now?

One had a machete strapped to his hip, and the other was apparently out learning how to shoot a gun.

It caused her stress, and by the time she had come to a stop, close down by the water, all fight had drained from her body. Remington felt truly tired. Deep seeded tiredness started in her bones and caused her muscles to feel like jello. All she wanted to do was lock herself in a room where she could be entirely alone and sleep for days.

"What was Lori talking about, Merle?" Remington asked, her voice portraying how she felt. Neither Dixon had ever seen her like this before. The fight had drained from her. She wasn't a firecracker anymore, that fire that burned behind her gaze had extinguished, and what was left in front of them was a woman who had found herself over-stressed and tired.

"Should have brought it up," Merle said. "Earlier this morning the kid asked me ta teach her how ta shoot a gun. I told her no at first."

"What changed your mind? Why did you think that was a good idea?"

"Told meh she wanted ta protect herself, ta protect yah, and others. Couldn't say no ta that logic. She's smart. It's not like I let her actually shoot the damn thing."

Remington found herself dropping to the dirt, her body was far too weary to hold herself up anymore, as she flopped to her back, and stared up at the blue sky. She wasn't sure how she felt about the impromptu teachings. Couldn't get the words that Merle spoke out of her head. Maisie had asked to learn how to protect herself. It rang loud and clear in her head. It made her want to cry, but she had shown far too much emotion today and refused to cry in front of them.

"Fuck," she said, letting the word loose.

"Yah mad?"

"I don't know." Her hand came up to rub at her face. She would gain wrinkles with how stressed she was becoming. "I can't be mad when I was thinking of doing the same thing can I? Though you should have asked. Told her to wait or something. She's my kid, I should have a say in stuff like this, especially when pertaining to a gun." Remington dropped the sentence with a sigh, the words flowing free fast, before any strength she had left dwindled down to nothing.

"If I've got yah permission," Merle started. "I want ta keep teaching the girl. If everything yah said earlier were your true feelings, then yah believe she should too. Fuck Lori. Yah was right. This is a different world. Kids don't get ta grow up like they used to."

Daryl hadn't uttered a word, didn't feel like he was close enough to Remington to be saying his own opinions, but he didn't disagree. The kids didn't interact with him much, but the girl loved to latch herself to Merle, and he had been around enough to get to know the kid. He was confused about why his brother even offered his help. Merle never did anything for anyone else.

That kid wasn't blood.

This woman wasn't blood.

Yet, they both seem to be changing his brother, bringing out a side that their dad had beat out of him, and when he got older, Merle had smothered and shoved into the darkest parts of his mind.

"Am I a shit mom if I say yes?"

"I think yah would be a smart mother," Daryl said, the words slipping out. "To do anything to keep them alive. It would be smart."

Remington blinked, her head falling to the side, as she stared at the younger Dixon. He had never spoken to her first. Always muttered answers when she tried starting a conversation with him that would quickly fizzle out. His opinion meant more to her at that moment than she thought he understood.

She nodded drifting her gaze away from the man who sometimes brought butterflies to her stomach.

"My brother ain't wrong," Merle said.

"Yeah, screw Lori, and what she thinks. You can teach her Merle, but only if you help me brush up on my aim as well. I've been avoiding using my gun, and the one time I used it I got lucky in the heat of the moment. My brother trained me, but it's been a long time since I've seriously picked up a gun."

She tried avoiding replaying shooting Duane's mother in her mind. She was sure she would be seeing his devastated and fear-filled face on repeat in her dreams for the next several days.

"Yah got yourself a deal sweet cheeks." He leaned down handheld out, offering to help. Remington grabbed it and allowed the man to pull her up onto her feet. She smiled over at Daryl.

"Thanks," she said. "For your words and keeping me from hitting Lori. She deserved it, and it would have made me feel better, but my kids were watching, and Carl, I don't want them to see that. So, thank you."

"Forget about it." Daryl had returned to his quiet demeanor. He had grown awkward under her kind words. Felt uncertain at the thought that he had stepped in without thinking and grabbed her. She may have been a tiny thing, but she packed heat, and it hadn't been easy keeping a hold on her.

"You'll grow used to me eventually!" Remington teased as they began to walk back toward camp. "Your brother's grown fond of me."

"Have fucking not," Merle said. "It's torture being around yah and the ankle biter. Always nagging."

"Shut up, Merle," Remington said, feeling lighter than before. "You like it."

Something stirred within both Dixon's as she continued to tease and lightly shove at Merle's arm but politely kept from touching Daryl while still keeping him involved in the banter by using her words.

Neither was willing to admit it, but Remington Solace had begun to carve a spot in their lives that they weren't sure could be filled if she were to ever decide to go away.

How many of you hated Lori in this chapter?

As you probably could guess Remington and Lori probably won't be friends.

What major event do you guys think will go down next? And how do you think it'll go differently?

Please review!