Hey readers! omygod we have 72 FOLLOWERS AND 36 FAVOURITES! I'm so happy I hope I don't disappoint you with this chapter. I feel like I may have gone a bit OCish on Merle. I hope not, trying to get his character right but at the same time . . . we know we want him to bond with our Toby. ANYWAYS I wanted to thank the reviewers!

Rasha007 - Thank you for your constant reviews, idea, and opinions on the story. You really gave me a confidence booster when we talked about Just Gone, I hope you'll stick around until the end of Toby's story! You're awesome. (whenever it maybe and if I even get that far)

Slintheaded - (Love your username BTW) Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying it! I hope you like this chapter.

leylinjan - THANKYOU I'm so glad! I hope I can keep you liking it lol.

DreamBigandBeUnique - Toby and Daryl will get a lot closer don't worry, it's no secret that we have to part with Merle very soon :( but it starts the complicated, confusing relationship of Daryl and Toby that not even they understand! I'm so glad I have you 'hooked' I never thought anyone would use that word for something I wrote!

Delenadreamer16 - I'm so happy you're interested in Toby's story! I hope I can keep you interested! I hope you like this chapter!

I love all of you, thank you so much but I need to stop my cheeks hurt from smiling because you guys make me so happy!

I was sitting on the ground against the side of the RV, half asleep with my arms hugging my knees while my head rested on them, when a sudden impact practically knocked me over.

"Toby. Git up, girlie. Ain't got all day."

My hands were on the ground to stop me from falling all the way, I glanced up at Merle, realizing he had kicked my side.

"Hurry up, or we're leavin without ya."

"Leavin'?" I asked, my head foggy from sleep. One glance up told me it was dawn, I wondered how long I had been sitting there, or if I had even really been asleep. It felt like I had only sat down a couple minutes ago.

"Goin' huntin'. Git your scrawny ass up, ain't waitin' any longer."

I nodded, finally putting together what was going on. I must've stood up a little too fast because everything spun around me for a brief moment.

"Go an' git your knives."

I nodded, feeling a mix of both excitement and anxiety about Merle helping me with knife throwing. Instead of just taking one knife, I took the whole leg wrap and strapped it around my left thigh, adjusting it until I was sure it wouldn't fall off. Then I snuck into the tent, careful not to wake Shane, took my slingshot from under my pillow, and stuck it in my waistband.

When I got back to Merle, his brother was with him. "Ready." I said.

Daryl glanced down at me, then to his brother, "your bringin' the kid? What the hell for?"

Merle shrugged, walking away, "said I would."

"Somethin's broke in your head, I swear." Daryl followed him, holding his crossbow over his shoulder. We walked through their small camp and as we did, Merle grabbed a rifle that was leaning against the tent. I trailed behind them quietly for a while, staying close but not too close.

"Go check the snares that way, see what else you can find. I'll check the ones this way, then I'm gonna show the girl how ta throw 'er knives."

Daryl glanced at me and shook his head, walking away, "I ain't even gonna ask."

Merle and Daryl split off into two different directions. Merle walked pretty fast, I was practically jogging to keep up with him. A few minutes later we came across one of his snares, but it hadn't caught anything.

"Merle?" I got up the courage to ask. He grunted in response as he continued walking, "how many snares you got?"

"Got 'bout six down this way." The next snare we got to had caught a squirrel. He freed it from the trap and handed it to me. I held it by the tail and watched as he reset the trap. "Ya daddy teach ya 'bout snares?"

I nodded, "after 'e taught me he always made me set 'em an' get whatever it caught. Don' think I did it right though, they didn' always catch anythin'. Daddy got mad lots."

"You can get the next one then," he said when he finished. As we began walking again he pulled a cigarette pack out of his vest pocket and lit one. I watched the cigarette as he smoked it, wondering why people liked it so much. It didn't smell good, at least not to me. He reached his hand out for the squirrel I held and I gave it to him.

With his free hand, he took the cigarette from his lips, "what?"

I shrugged, looking away. He stopped walking and reached the cigarette toward me.

"'ere," he said. "You wanna try it, righ'?"

I shook my head, "Daddy says I'm not allowed to touch his smokes."

"This ain't your daddy's, is it?" He gave his crooked smile.

He's right. Hesitantly, I reached for the cigarette and took it. I adjusted my hold on it so it stuck between my index and middle finger, like I had seen many others do.

"Go on," he nodded at me.

I opened my mouth, placing it between my lips, then I inhaled. The minute the smoke hit my throat I erupted into a fit of coughs, and Merle took it from me. My mouth felt dry and my throat burned, it felt as if I had been swallowing sand. I found it hard to catch my breath with a tickling feeling in my throat, causing more coughs. Covering my mouth as the coughing began to subside, I heard another noise. Merle's laughter.

His eyebrows lifted in amusement as he shook his head, chuckling.

"That hurt," I rasped, wishing I had water with me. "You like that?"

"Yep."

"I don't get it . . . seems pointless and stupid," I said, walking beside him.

"It is," he smiled his full smile this time, but didn't look at me.

"Then why do you do it?"

"l'm allowed to do stupid shit, you ain't." He put the cigarette between his lips again as he spoke.

"Then why'd ya tell me do it?"

He took it away from his lips, glancing down at me, "ya wanna do it now?"

"Well, no."

"There ya go."

I don't get this guy. We continued walking, and at the next snare, I freed the squirrel from the trap. When I did, I gave it to him and he told me to set it back up. He watched as I did what he said, I took a lot longer than he did at the last trap, but I did it. When I was done, he stared at it for a minute, inspecting it.

"Looks fine," he said, surprising me. "Sounds to me like ya just got shit luck."

I shrugged, trying to suppress my excitement from his praise. Every other trap except one, had caught a squirrel. In total we only had four squirrels. After the last snare we kept walking, I wasn't sure where we were going.

Merle abruptly stopped beside a tree we were passing. I followed his eyes to the tree and recognised the X carved in it. He put one of his fingers on it, tracing the carving.

"Tha's mine," I said.

He glanced at me, "you did this?"

I nodded, pointing away from us but not in the direction we were heading, "there's more down tha' way. I do it whenever I leave camp so I know how ta get back, get farther e'ery time."

"Good target as any." He turned away and walked a bit, but not in the way we were going.

"Huh?"

"Tha's your target, c'mere." He told me, I followed him until we were about ten feet away from the tree.

He held his hand out, "gimme one of 'em."

With my right hand, I reached over to my left thigh, pulled a knife out of it's slot, and gave it to him. He twirled it with his finger from the lanyard hole, ya know how ta hold it?"

I pulled another knife out and pinched the tip of the blade between the side of my index finger and my thumb. "This is how Daddy taught me."

"Lots a' ways ta hold 'em, tha's pro'ly the best way with how light these are." He held the knife over his head while stepping back with his right foot. He then quickly leaned forward and threw the knife.

With a thunk it landed in the tree, about a foot above the target, "'aven't done this shit in years."

He nodded at me, indicating it was my turn. I took a step back with my right foot, just like he did while holding the knife over my head. After eyeing the X in the tree I threw it, it spun in the air and landed in the dirt right in front of the tree, blade in the dirt.

Merle nudged my shoulder, "you're s'posed ta hit tha tree."

"You were s'posed ta hit tha target," I muttered quietly.

"Shut ya mouth, brat. Try again."

I took another knife out and position it with my hand, when I threw it, it bounced off the side of the tree, a couple feet below the target.

"When ya throw it, shift your weight to your left leg."

I nodded, and got another knife. I did what he said and threw it. It hit the tree, still a great distance below the target. It stuck in the tree and I started to smile, but before either of us could say anything, it fell to the ground. My arms hung limply at my sides, disappointed.

"How long ago did your daddy teach ya this?"

"Two years ago, I think. When 'e gave up I still tried. I practised whenever 'e was sleepin' or left the house." I waited for him to get mad, but instead he just stared at me.

"Your fine, lotta people can't even throw 'em. Don' worry 'bout the target, jus' worry 'bout gettin' the knife in tha tree."

I nodded and got ready to throw another.

"Try gettin' mad, it helps. Think about your daddy if ya have ta."

Daddy? Why would thinking about him help?

I decided to ignore that part, thinking about what made me mad. Shane made me angry, Lori mad me angry when she tried to get me to say my name when Carl came around. How closely they watched me only to forget I existed the next minute. How hard they tried to get me to play with the other kids, just because we were close to the same age, didn't mean I wanted to be around them. I was also frustrated with myself, not being able to sleep because I was afraid of getting in trouble, afraid of the nightmares themselves. Why wouldn't they go away?

I threw the knife, and with a thunk it wedged itself into the tree. It wasn't in deep. I waited in anticipation for it to fall.

I smiled when it didn't, getting excited. I glanced at Merle. He had a small smile but he shook his head, "don' get cocky, keep throwin'"

I obeyed. The rest of the knives stuck in the tree. When I ran out, I went to retrieve them all, putting them back into their slots, then went back to throw them again. I did this several times. I stopped aiming for the target because it was clear I wouldn't hit it, not yet. So I stuck with just aiming at the tree, like Merle said. Each knife stuck in the tree, and not one dropped. After a while, Daryl found us. I wasn't sure how long we'd been there, but it must've been a while. I was retrieving my knives from the tree as Daryl watched with a skeptical gaze.

"How many?"

Merle was leaning against a tree, smoking. He raised his hand up, showing Daryl the squirrels he we got, "four, you?"

"Seven. Traps only got two, hunted the rest of the fuckers down. Should be enough."

Merle nodded and tossed away his cigarette, "le's get back, stew 'em up."

Merle and Daryl began walking away. I slightly panicked as I continued pulling my knives out of the tree.

"C'mon, girl, hurry up or we're leavin' ya scrawny ass behind!"

Once I freed the last knife, I stuck it in its slot and ran after the Dixons.

On the way back to camp, it started raining, it wasn't raining hard. But by the time we got back, my hair, which was still braided, was pretty wet.

Shane approached us almost immediately, he switched his gaze between me and the brothers, "where've you been?"

I glanced past Shane, much of the group was staring skeptically. Before I could open my mouth, Merle answered. "With me."

Something in Shane's expression changed, he seemed to be almost glaring.

Daryl cleared his throat, trying to fill the awkward silence, "got 'bout a dozen squirrel, should be 'nough."

Shane glanced at Daryl, but he was obviously at a loss for what to say. When he finally opened his mouth to say something, Merle didn't let him.

"Le's go," Merle nudged me, "got shit to do."

I began to follow Merle and Daryl to their tent, as I did I heard a hushed voice behind me, "you need to talk to her."

I wasn't sure who it was, but it sounded like Lori. Who was she talking about? Please don't be me . . .

In that moment, the rain seemed to come down harder. I sat beside where Merle usually sat, the rain pouring down on me, causing me to shiver. I brought my legs closer to me, then notice the wrap around my thigh that held my knives. My eyes widened. Did Shane notice them? I glanced back to where he was standing, to see him leading Lori in the direction of their tent. It didn't look like he did. Shane doesn't notice a lot of things, .I reminded myself.

"Hate tha' prick." Daryl muttered.

"Calm your tits, Darlina. Not much longer now." Merle said, his voice tensed.

"You're makin' it worse keepin' tha' fuckin' kid aroun'. 'e obviously don' like it."

"Ya think I give a fuck what Deputy Dumbass likes? Gonna knock tha' asshole's teeth in next time I get tha chance."

I tucked my arms into myself, trying to get some warmth as they got their knives and bucket ready. He handed one to me, but his eyes didn't leave me. After a moment, he groaned and rolled his eyes, "fuck, kid."

I watched, confused as he went inside their tent. I could hear him scuffling around. When he came out he had something black hanging from his hand. He threw it over Daryl, and I sort of caught it. It mostly just landed on me. I held it out at arm's length, realizing it was a leather jacket. I glanced at Merle as he sat down at my side.

"The fuck ya waiting for, put it on." He snapped, "le's get this done."

I slid the jacket on, thankful for the shield from the rain. the jacket was very big on me, it seemed to be eating me alive. The sleeves went past my wrists a great deal, but I didn't complain. "Thanks . . ." I mumbled awkwardly.

Merle just grunted, not looking at me. I began to attempt to roll the sleeves up as much as possible, I could feel Daryl's gaze on me as I did it, but I didn't say anything.

For the rest of the day I helped them prepare the food for the entire camp. The rain let up a little before we were finished preparing the meat, which we were relieved about. Everyone in camp was happy and thankful for the food. Each person had gotten more than their usual portion of food because of rationing, but there was more than enough and we ended up smoking some of the meat for the next day.

Everyone including Shane and the kids thanked the Dixon's. When Shane came up, he didn't say too much, just that he was grateful. He even held out his hand for Merle to shake, which, to my surprise, Merle accepted. Before leaving, Shane gave me a weary look, but it was obvious he couldn't say anything, even though he wanted to. The Dixon's had put food on the groups plates, he had no right to say anything except thank them. As soon as Shane walked away, Merle spouted some curses about the cop.

The rest of the group had a fire in the centre of camp, but the Dixon's stayed on their own, and I stayed with them. Once I finished eating, I realized no one in the group was planning on going to bed anytime soon. I had some time to hide my knives before and go to bed before Shane came to look for me. I also still had to go and wash the blood off my hands.

I stood u, "goin' ta bed."

Merle didn't even look at me as he inhaled his cigarette, "gonna sleep this time?"

"Pro'ly not . . . 'ere" I said, beginning to shrug the jacket off my shoulders.

Merle reached out with his free hand, pushing me back, "s'fine, now git."

I really don't get this guy. I gave a nod, slowly turned around, and walked away.

The days that followed the hunting trip, much to the group's dismay, I was constantly in the shadow of Merle Dixon. Whether he was with his brother, hunting, or even talking to others in the group, I was with him.

I always made sure to leave the brothers at the right time before going to bed, just to make sure Shane wouldn't come and get me while I was with them. That wouldn't have gone well. In the mornings, Merle would always call me over to them, and I would stick around with him for the rest of the day. Unless he shooed me away, which happened every once in awhile, but he would usually call me back over later on. We didn't even talk to each other a lot, most of our time was spent in silence, or Merle and Daryl would talk and I would quietly listen.

That was the routine I settled into, I got used to their company and would go and sit with them when I got up in the morning. Sometimes they were both up, sometimes neither of them were, and sometimes, it was just Daryl. But it was never just Merle, apparently he slept in a lot, so I would sit with Daryl and wait for him to get up. Fortunately, Daryl never made me leave, but he didn't say anything either.

Daryl was still pretty quiet, he talked to his brother but mostly ignored my existence, which didn't bug me, he did the same with everyone except Merle. He was just as confused as I was why Merle kept me around.

In the mornings, Daryl was usually eating. And the few mornings we spent together, quietly waiting for Merle to wake up, he would give me some of whatever he was eating, it was usually berries or some leftover meat from the previous day.

The first time he handed me a few of his berries, I looked at them closely. He just rolled his eyes and said, "They ain't poisonous, been eatin' 'em for days, 'm fine."

"A'right then, mister Fine." I joked, and ate the berries. At my remark, he just scoffed.

Whether or not he was already awake when I went to sit down at the Dixon camp, Merle was always pretty aggravated in the mornings. I made sure to keep quiet around that time the most, not wanting him to send me away, and usually he didn't.

Surprisingly enough, I was never punished or scolded for telling Shane to fuck off. I was only a little surprised, Daddy never cared if I cursed, but cursing right at someone, was a different story.

I didn't sit with Dale as much, but whenever I encountered him, strangely enough, we were able to hold longer conversations. Before I always made sure not to talk too much, or I always dismissed who spoke to me.

The group wasn't too happy about me being around Merle. For a couple days, no one said anything. But the stares we got made it obvious, it was like no one was even trying to hide it. One morning, when I got up after Shane, like any other day, neither of the Dixon's were there. I wasn't sure if they went off somewhere or if they were still asleep, but I wasn't about to yank open their tent to check.

I decided to retrieve my slingshot, which I kept under my pillow, and just one of my knives. When I had them, I set off into the woods, following the marks I put in the trees with my knife the last time I snuck off. I had gotten farther than last time and had to make a few new marks. On my walk, I hadn't seen anything but a few birds.

After scraping one last mark in the tree, I followed them back to camp. Walking onto the campsite, I saw Merle almost immediately. He was standing by the RV, talking to Amy's sister, who I heard was called Andrea. She shook her head at him, obviously irritated, and walked away. Merle spotted me, his mouth curved upward in a smug grin. He nodded his head toward his own camp, walking over to it.

I was about to follow when Shane stepped in front of me. His eyebrows were furrowed in what I believed to be frustration, "where have you been?"

"We've been worried sick," Lori said, her arms crossed.

This is what happens when Carl's in trouble. I'd seen it from far away. Think, what does Carl do when this happens? I thought about it, thinking about his reaction whenever he was in trouble. He was always really quiet when it happened, always looking at his feet. Just stand there and take it.

I am suddenly aware of the knife in my hand, I pressed it flat against my thigh, covering it the best I can with my hand. I'm happy to have the slingshot tucked into my waistband, covered by the baggie pink shirt. I lifted my free hand and pointed to the trees, "out there."

"On your own?!" Lori said angrily.

"Yeah."

"You can't do that, kid." Shane said, "no one goes anywhere alone. You know that."

"But I did."

Shane shook his head, then crouched down to my level, "it's for your own protection. We were worried, you weren't in the tent, or with Dale, or even Dixon. You can't just run off. We didn't know where you'd gone-"

"-Or how long I'd been gone." I muttered. His expression hardened, making my insides cringe in fear and regret. Keep your mouth shut, I reminded myself, don't be bad. You're already trouble. My eyes flickered to his belt, I felt almost lightheaded with relief to see it properly buckled. Daddy often wore his belt loose or unbuckled at home, ready to pull out if I did something I wasn't supposed to.

Daddy never cared when I left the house, whether it was the woods or anywhere else. I felt confused and frightened for being scolded for something I hadn't been before.

"Hun," Lori placed a hand on my shoulder, I jumped back, knocking it off. She lowered her eyes a bit, "things aren't like they were before. I know you said you went camping a lot with . . . with your father, but you can't just go off on your own. It's dangerous, a lot more than before. If something happened, there was no way we would've known. Do you understand?"

I nodded, "yes, ma'am." I switched my gaze to Shane, making sure to show the regret I felt, "I-I'm sorry."

Shane bit his lip and nodded, he stood up, "it's alright. Tell ya what, next time you wanna go for a walk, I'll take ya myself."

I gave a smile and a small nod. I was about to walk away, but he stopped me. "One more thing."

I turned to him as he ran a hand through his hair, "it's about you and Dixon."

My eyes flickered past Shane, seeing Merle about ten feet away. He was close to his camp but had obviously stopped on the way. His arms were crossed and he was sending a glare our way, I was pretty sure it was directed toward Shane. I wondered if he could hear from there, probably.

Lori watched me intently, "we're glad you're opening up more and making friends. But it'd be best to stick around those your age. If you're still not ready for that, you're welcome to help me and the ladies around camp. We just don't think Merle Dixon is the most appropriate company to keep around, especially for a young lady."

My eyes narrowed, excuse her?

Shane stood up, giving his best smile, "I'm sure Dale would be happy for your company if you decided to join him. The Dixon's are grown men, I'm sure their jobs and conversations aren't very . . . thrilling. You have to be bored just sitting around all day."

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to calm the anger rising in my stomach. That's exactly what I do with Dale, you dumbass. I do a lot more than sit around with Merle.

I thought about all of it for minute. Shane had been the one who took me to camp with him, he was the leader by default because he was a cop. He had been taking care of me, and I did share a tent with him. But you never actually sleep in that tent, do you?

Again, I was at a loss at who to listen to. I glanced at Merle, who was still in the same place as before. He wasn't telling me what to do, but there was something in his expression, as if he was expecting something.

Merle acted a lot like Daddy, but he seemed a lot calmer. Not bothered by the same things Daddy was, at least not as much. I hadn't been punished once since arriving at the camp, and I'd spent most of that time around a man who seemed to mirror Daddy, which made things even more confusing for me. Mirror must be broken.

Instead of saying anything to either of them, I gave a slight nod. Both Lori and Shane looked at each other with obvious relief. Then I walked by Shane, over to Merle. I could feel their eyes on me as I went toward him. Merle gave me a crooked smile, and from that, I could tell he heard. When I reached him he patted me on the back, turning around with an arm over my shoulders, leading me to the Dixon camp. I glanced up at Merle as he sent a smug smile their way.

I was pretty sure that one of the reasons he let me stick around was to spite the rest of the group. I was okay with that, especially after what had just happened with Shane and Lori. I sort of understood why they were doing it, I had been following Merle for days, hearing his conversations with other members of the group. I knew he wasn't anyone's favourite, niether of the brothers were, but they put food on the plates.

"Wanna knock tha' fuckers teeth in." I muttered, repeating the words Merle had spoken so many times before, trying my best to sound like him.

He just laughed, pulling me closer into his side as we walked.

I'm sorry this took so long. I'm starting some college courses along with my highschool ones so updates may be a bit slower. I'm going to do my best. That actually isn't why this chapter took so long though, it's because when the Dixon's and Toby get back from hunting, Merle and Shane were meant to have a slight spat about Merle hanging around her. But I couldn't find any words for it. I might add it in this chapter in the future if I get any ideas, if I do I'll let you know to come back to this chapter. But for now I'm just going to leave it, unless you have any suggestions?

Anyway, so the next chapter will be another Toby+Dixon brother's one. Then the one after that will be a flashback chapter, and then it will meld into the first season of the show! That's what I have planned so hopefully that's what'll happen.

I hope you guys liked this, remember reviews = motivation = quicker updates. Just don't be too harsh on me.

And remember to give any opinions and ideas! If you want to, maybe tell me what you think of Toby so far. I hope you like her.

Also, Toby's dad needs a name, I have a last name picked out for both of them but her dad needs a first name. If you have an idea, give it with your review. You'll meet him in the flashback chapter.

Thank you for reading and following!