OMG before posting chapter 5 (Mini Merle) there was 36 favourites and 72 followers. Now there are 97 followers and 52 favourites! You guys are so great.

I just want to make this clear. Many people have asked, some have told me to not to, others want me too. But this was decided before I wrote the first chapter.

TOBY IS NOT A DIXON. This is almost-basically proved in the flashback chapter but I'm just clearing it up. Toby isn't related to Daryl and Merle. I feel like if they were related, it would defeat the whole purpose of their relationship. (I don't know if that makes sense)

There is a reason that in the first chapter, Merle thought Toby looked familiar to him, but that won't be revealed for a while. (sorry lol)

As for Merle being left behind on the rooftop . . . I don't want to, and many of you don't want me too. But remember how in season 3, it was revealed that Merle and Daryl were planning on robbing the camp? The only reason that didn't happen, was because Merle was left behind, if he wasn't Daryl never would've gotten close to the group and gave a shit.

With Merle gone, it will give Daryl and Toby some bonding time.

MERLE WILL RETURN. Well . . . most of him . . . his knife hand is badass though.

BTW this chapter isn't edited, I finished it and got too anxious. So I just posted it. I hope it's good enough for you guys :)

My attempts to give Merle his jacket seemed futile, for whatever reason. Maybe I just tried to give it back at all the wrong times. I either wore it, or kept it in mine and Shane's tent, waiting for him to ask for it back. On the days it wasn't too hot, I wore it around camp. But those days were still pretty warm, I mostly did it to continue confusing and angering the camp. Maybe that was why he didn't ask for it back, another way to spite the group.

As the days rolled by, Shane proved to not be the one I should listen to. Whenever I didn't listen he didn't seem to do anything about it, and no punishment came into view.

Merle hadn't punished me either, but he seemed willing enough. Around Merle, I always knew what to do, because he told me. He told me what to do and what not to do, one of the things he told me not to do, was listen to Deputy Dumbass.

I was okay with that. Even though I had many awkward moments with the Dixon's, the awkwardness went away and I was getting very used to them. But with Shane, it was never ending, I didn't know what to do when I was around him because he never told me. He would even tell Carl to go do his chores, but no one ever really gave me any. But they never stopped me from helping if I asked.

When another day came by that neither of the brothers were awake, I went for another walk through the woods, the first one since Shane had told me not to.

Each walk took me farther and farther into the forest, I was never sure how long I walked for, my concept of time was terrible. But this walk had to have been over an hour.

With my eyes on the ground, I stopped abruptly. For a minute, I just stared at it, my mind trying to make up whether it was real.

I crouched low, running my hands over the deep imprint in the dirt. Excitement built in my stomach and I smiled. As quickly as possible, I went to the closest tree and carved another marking in it, practically jumping up and down as I did so. When I was done, I ran back to camp.

Camp was pretty far away, I had to stop at least twice to attempt to catch my breath. I ran through camp, over to the Dixon's, dodging people as I passed. Please be there, I silently begged.

As I turn around one of the tents, I slammed into something hard, falling backward onto my butt. A sound of surprise and pain escaped my lips as I rubbed my forehead, which had suffered most of the impact. I looked in front of me seeing Carl on the ground, his eyes were closed and he was clutching his nose with both hands.

"Ow . . ." he groaned. When he opened his eyes, they widened at the sight of me. "Oh, I'm sorry . . . I didn't see you," he said, voice muffled by his hands.

"I's okay . . . didn't see you either . . . Are ya bleedin'?" I asked him, still rubbing my forehead. I felt angry at him, but at the same time, I knew it was my fault and felt guilty.

He pulled his hands from his nose and looked down at them, "no, just hurt a bit, that's all."

"Sorry."

We stared at each other for a bit, then he asked, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," an awkward silence followed my answer. I spent a lot of my time in silence, I preferred it. But I hated it when it was awkward, the awkwardness made the air feel heavy and suffocating. Neither of us knew what to say. I hated the feeling of not knowing what to say, mostly because I didn't want to say anything, but the awkwardness made me feel like I had too.

After a while, he started to get up, "uh, here." He stood in front of me and held his hand out. I raised my eyebrows then hesitantly took it, pushing myself off the ground as he pulled me up.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," he said, and the silence continued. After what felt like an eternity, I remembered the reason I was running in the first place. I glanced over at the Dixon brothers camp, seeing Daryl, but not Merle. I took a step passed Carl to leave when his voice stopped me.

"Me and Sophia are going down to the water . . . you can come if you want."

I stared at him then glanced around, expecting to see Lori and Shane watching us. Neither of them were in sight, leading me to believe that Carl wasn't asking because they were making him.

I thought about it, almost wanting to say yes, "I gotta go, sorry. Bye." I answered, walking toward Daryl.

"Maybe later?"

I glanced back at him, giving a nod, "maybe, just not now."

I jogged over to the lone Dixon, disappointed it was only him. I stood in front of him, watching as he sharpened one of his arrows while waiting for him to notice me.

After a while, I became impatient, excited for what I was about to tell him, "mister Daryl?"

He continued what he was doing, not looking at me, "what."

"I saw-"

"-Go bug Merle for a while, will ya?"

My excitement plummeted, dropping into my stomach, causing it to churn anxiously, "I . . . I found . . . uh . . ."

"Spit it out, girl." I jumped at the voice and turned around to see Merle, almost backing into Daryl. "What you find?" Merle continued, his arms crossed.

My anxiety settled into my stomach, feeling like a lead weight. My smile and excitement were both gone, instead I was now a bit scared. This was news to be excited about, but the tracks had been there a while, it was possible the trail had gone cold by now. If I showed either of them and that was the case, I may get in trouble for wasting their time.

Merle went to sit in his usual. I had already caught their attention, there was no sense in not telling them now. "Uh . . . tracks. I saw deer tracks."

Daryl's head shot up at me, staring in disbelief as Merle did the same. They glanced at each other before turning back to me.

"No ya didn'," Daryl said, squinting his eyes, almost in a glare.

"Ye-"

"-Been lookin' e'eryday, circlin' the camp for miles. There's nothin'."

Merle raised a hand, his voice serious, yet amused at the same time as he turned to Daryl. "Now, now, hold up, baby brother. Don' think the lil' darlin would make this up."

I hesitantly gave a nod as Daryl turned his glare to his brother.

Merle ignored his brother as he looked at me, eyes soft but expression hard, "where'd ya see 'em?"

I pointed in the direction of mine and Shane's tent, that was always where I went off into the woods, from there I just followed my marks. "Over tha' way, they're kinda far. An' they're old."

"How old?" Merle asked me.

At first, his tone had been encouraging, but at that question I got nervous again, not wanting to disappoint him. "I . . . I don't know. I can tell whether or not tracks are fresh, but I can't tell how long they been there. I ain't good at that."

Merle grunted in response and pulled out a cigarette. After lighting it and inhaling, he nodded at Daryl, "go see."

"Ya can't be serious," Daryl said.

"Dyin' for a fuckin' steak. Go see if it's worth goin' after."

"Me? The hell I gotta go for? You go."

Merle inhaled again, his smirk making an appearance, "can't, got shit ta do."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

Merle stood up with his cigarette hanging from his lips. He patted Daryl's shoulder, "wha's wrong, Darlina? Afraid ta follow a lil' girl inta tha woods? Relax, kid don' bite."

"Shut up."

He chuckled, "go, ya might teach 'er somethin'. Hell, maybe you'll learn somethin'." Merle looked at me and did a double take. He squinted his eyes and raised his index finger, poking the centre of my forehead, "the hell 'appened 'ere?"

"Ow, hey." I groaned, pushing his hand away and rubbing the forming bump on my forehead. "I ran into Carl."

"The hell ya do tha' for?"

I crossed my arms, feeling angered at his question. I didn't do it on purpose. I opened my mouth to say something, then stopped. Don't talk back, don't be bad.

I shrugged in response. Merle shook his head and turned around walking toward the groups camp. Daryl grabbed his crossbow, muttering a string of curses under his breath as Merle walked away.

"Le's go," he said roughly, passing me. I rushed ahead of him and lead him over to the other tents, before we could get any further, he stopped and turned around. I followed his eyes to Merle, who was talking to Glenn and Shane.

"Think ya broke my brother," he said, and began walking again.

"Fuck, kid, how far'd ya go?" Daryl asked as we passed another marking.

"I's over there." I said, pointing ahead.

Daryle rushed ahead of me, taking long strides to the next marked tree. He scanned the ground as he passed it.

"No, wrong side," I told him. He glanced at me and I walked to the other side of the tree, slightly afraid that, for some reason, the tracks would disappear. But I easily found them. Daryl came beside me and crouched low to the ground, doing the same thing I did, running his fingers over the imprint.

"They're old," I said, "but they're there."

"Yeah, couple days maybe."

" . . . can ya still find it?" I asked hesitantly.

"It'll take a while, but yeah." Daryl glanced up at me, "nice eye."

I felt elated, as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I heard a strange sound from a distance away, I couldn't really interpret what it was. I turned around, searching the trees. More sounds followed, sounds like moaning and crunching. I squinted my eyes, trying to get a better view of the movement I saw behind the trees.

I watched as a figure came into view. It was a man, or what was left of one. His clothes were tattered and bloody, his skin a dull greying colour, eyes a glowing yellow.

"Daryl?" I practically whimpered. I heard his movement behind me, knowing he was seeing what I was. I watched from the corner of my eye as he raised his crossbow.

"Shit." He muttered as we saw more of them appear from behind the man, "go back, now."

I began to turn, only to see more. Their groaning and moaning became louder at the sight of us, "there's more."

"Shit," he said again, I heard the sound of his crossbow go off, and a squelching sound as it hit its target. I clutched my knife in my hand, body shaking in fear. My heart beat increased and got louder by the second, I was sure those monsters could hear it. It wasn't the first time I had seen one of them, but it didn't make the situation any less terrifying.

My arm was yanked roughly and I yelped, seeing the monsters blackened teeth inches from my face. I fell backward and it fell on top of me, hissing and groaning as it dug it's nails into my skin. I placed my hand n its throat attempting to push it back as a sickening smell entered my nostrils, it took everything I had not gag. I knew the smell, on hikes and hunting me and Daddy had seen our fair share of animal corpses.

I took my knife, stabbing it in the shoulder. The knife didn't go very deep, it's body pushing me into the ground hadn't given me much momentum. It pushed harder against me, it's nose almost touching mine. I tried to pull the knife out of its shoulder but its weight pushed my elbow into the dirt, making it impossible.

I was holding my breath as sounds of protest escaped my throat, I tried pushing it off of me, but my efforts were futile. I heard a thwack sound and yelped as something shot out from the centre of the monster's forehead. All at once it's movement ceased and its head dropped down on me. The weight of the body was taken off of me as I started breathing again.

I stared up at Daryl in shock, still trying to process what happened. Looking around, I saw all the monsters lying motionless on the ground. I counted five of them.

Daryl reached down and with one hand, pulled me up, "ya bit? Scratched?"

I couldn't talk, I was attempting to breathe at a normal pace, but my shaking wasn't helping. Daryl placed his crossbow on the ground and began to examine my shoulders. He glanced at my neck then grabbed my right arm, turning it to see some fresh blood. There were stains on the ends of the sleeves from gutting and skinning food over the past week.

He grabbed the hem of my sleeve and began to pull up, that was when I was snapped back into reality. I immediately pulled away from him.

"I need to see if your bit," he said.

"I ain't."

"Your bleedin'."

"I ain't bit."

He rolled his eyes and took my arm again, I tried to pull away but his grip only got tighter. He yanked my sleeve up and stared at my arm. On my forearm, close to my elbow, were two round spots of blood. He whipped the blood away with his hand, revealing two red crescent shaped marks from the monster's nails.

Fear knotted in my stomach, "am I gonna die?" I asked in a whisper.

He grunted, "think you're fine, 'aven't seen no one die from scratches yet."

Yet.

"The fuck?" He breathed out as his eyes trained down my arm. He stared down at the multiple white, circular scars that adorned my forearm. He turned my arm to see the other side, revealing more, some a more pinkish colour, still healing and more fresh than the others.

Daryl's eyes met mine in an unreadable expression. He dropped my arm, reaching for the other one, but I was able to pull back in time. He stared at me, not making a move to push any further. After staring at each other for a moment, he glanced around at the bodies. When he went to retrieve his arrows I pulled my sleeve down, covering the cigarette burns.

I turned to the monster that attacked me and slowly pulled the arrow out of its head, afraid it would jump at me again. I pulled my knife out of its shoulder and looked at Daryl who was watching me.

He reached for his arrow and I gave it to him, "next time, get it in the head."

"Huh?" I asked.

"I's gotta be the brain, or it won't die."

"Oh," I breathed out.

"Doesn't look like anymore are comin', le's get back, tell the others."

"Can't stay 'ere no more, i's fuckin' stupid." Daryl said angrily.

To be honest, I didn't remember the walk back. I stayed close to Daryl, replaying what happened over in my head multiple times. Then suddenly, Daryl had stopped walking and was yelling at Shane. I hadn't caught the first part of the conversation.

"My brother's right." Merle said, stepping in beside Daryl and Shane, "gonna get killed if we don' move the camp."

"It was only a few, you took care of it." Shane protested.

"An' if I don' next time?" Daryl asked in a condescending tone.

"They don't usually come this far into the mountains. In case it does happen again, that's why we have the noise traps around the camp, we'll hear them coming."

"It'll 'appen again, tha' ain't gonna stop shit," Daryl told him.

Merle crossed his arms, glaring at the officer, "can't be much left for 'em to eat in the city, more are gonna come sooner or later. You're bein' a fuckin-"

"-We aren't leaving!" Shane yelled,"we're staying right here! It was one of very few isolated incidents. This is the safest place to be."

"Somethin's broke in your head. Thought you were a fuckin' cop, you're supposed ta at least try to protect these dumbasses." Merle said, jabbing a finger in Shane's direction.

"I am!"

Merle placed his hands on Shane's chest, pushing him back, "you're doin' a shit job of it!"

Shane stepped toward Merle, going right in his face. "It's too risky to go somewhere else. When the government starts cleaning this mess up, they'll start with the cities. This is the best place to be for the rescue, they'll find us faster if we stay here!"

"Are ya fuckin' kidding me right now? No one's comin'! They ain't cleanin' nothin'!" Merle shook his head.

"Yes, they will! If we go run and hide somewhere else it could take them months to find us. We'll be fine here."

"Ya wanna get e'eryone killed?! Fine!" Daryl turned away, walking toward his tent.

"Asshole," Merle muttered, and turned to follow his brother.

Shane sighed, running a hand through his hair. I turned away from him to follow the Dixons but he caught my arm, "hey, what did I tell you about going out there?"

I internally groaned, but I knew there was no avoiding this. After Shane told me not to go into the woods alone a couple days ago, I had avoided him the best I could. We actually hadn't talked since then.

"Ta not do it," I answered.

"And what did you do?"

"I went with mister Daryl."

His expression hardened, "kid, I know its been hard for you and I don't want to make it worse on you, but you can't keep doing this. I told you that you can't-"

"-Ya told me not ta go out there alone. I didn't do anythin' ya didn't want me to." I lied to him, I did go out alone this morning. But he doesn't know that.

"I didn't mean take Daryl Dixon. Listen, I've been trying to tell you, the Dixons are bad news. You should be around others your own age."

I didn't respond to that. How many times were we going to have this conversation? There's nothing wrong with them, they're the reason the group has food.

"I saw Carl and Sophia with the Morales kids down by the quarry, why don't you-"

"-You ain't my daddy."

His eyes widened and something in his expression seemed to break at my words. He looked away, thinking hard. I pulled away from him, not sure what his problem was, and followed the Dixons.

" . . . gonna get them all killed," I heard Daryl say when I caught up to them.

"These people don' stand a chance," Merle said.

"When can we-"

"-what'd ya find out there, besides those rotting fucks," Merle interrupted.

Daryl grunted, sitting in his usual spot when we reached their camp, "trails a couple days old. It'll take a while but I can probably find it. I can leave tonight, get back as soon as possible."

"Good," Merle said, sitting down, "give ya somethin' ta do while I'm gone."

"The fuck you goin'?"

"On a run, Officer Dumbass got a group together, leavin' in tha mornin'. I volunteered." He smiled, looking proud of himself.

"The hell ya doin' tha' for? Doesn't the China Kid go 'imself?"

I thought for a moment, remembering when Glenn had come back from his last run. Glenn hadn't gone anywhere since.

"'Parently, what 'appened was he went on his usual run, saw a bunch of those dead fucks and pussied out. So, Officer High an' Mighty got a group together. Thought I should help out."

"An' for what reason?"

Merle made his expression soft, placing a hand on his chest, "only outta the goodness of my heart."

Daryl rolled his eyes, and Merle burst into laughter. I smiled and sat down, a couple feet away from the both of them.

"Why bother? I mean, aren't we . . ." Daryl glanced at me, " . . . y'know."

Merle glanced at me also, then back to his brother, "yeah, once I get back. Better ta wait 'til afta' tha run, whether I go or not."

Daryl nodded, silent while he stared at me. I stared back raising my eyebrows in question.

"Kid got scratched," Daryl said, turning to Merle.

"Huh? By what?"

"Ya know what. Had 'er pinned ta the ground, she ain't bit though."

"Le' me see it," Merle leaned toward me, reaching toward me, expression hard.

Daryl reached his arm out at Merle in a gesture, "don', man."

Merle froze, staring at his brother, "what?"

"Jus' don'." They stare at each other intently, something unreadable seemed to pass through them.

Merle frowned, sitting back in his spot, "beat it, girl, will ya?"

I didn't say anything. I felt a bit disappointed but didn't show it as I got up and began to walk away.

"Eh!" Merle called.

I turned back to him.

"Don't be goin' out there again, not without me or Daryl."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, "you told me not to listen to Officer Shane."

"Tha's why I'm tellin' ya. Ya hear me?"

I gave a nod, "yes, Merle." I turned and walked away.

After I left the brothers, I went over by the car Glenn used for going on runs. I sat on the trunk, my legs crossed, facing the road. I kept expectin' Daddy to drive up in our car, but I knew he wouldn't. Our car was still stuck in the traffic jam on the highway. That made me wonder, would he walk here? Or try to find a car that wasn't blocked?

Maybe that was what was taking him so long, he was walking here. But even so, shouldn't he be here? The highway isn't that far. I glanced down at my hands, they were hidden by the sleeves of Merle's jacket.

"There ya are."

I turned my head to see Merle, a cigarette hanging from his lips. He took it from his lips, exhaling, "was lookin' for ya."

"Ya told me ta beat it."

"Had ta talk to Daryl for a bit," he said coming closer. "Fuck ya doin' over 'ere?"

I shrugged, not really wanting to answer. He walked around me and hopped up on the trunk beside me, making the car rock. He placed his elbows on his knees, raising the cigarette back to his lips.

"Why are ya goin' on tha' run?" I asked.

"Figured I'd lend a hand." -(A/N OMG I didn't even get this until I typed it . . . feel so bad but I'm gonna leave it.)

"You don' even like 'em," I said.

he shrugged, "you don' either, huh?

I didn't, but it felt wrong to admit it. Sure I was annoyed by most the people in the group, but they did try to talk to me. They just didn't understand that I didn't want to be talked to. They all seemed nice enough, but being around them always gave me things to be confused about. When I was with Merle and Daryl, it was simple.

"Daryl told me wha' 'appened."

"I know," I said, I heard Daryl telling Merle what happened, I was there for that. But I knew Merle was talking about after I left. What did Daryl tell him? I glanced at Merle, only to find him looking down. I followed his eyes to my arms. Oh, I realised. Pulling my arms closer, embarrassed.

"I told ya, I get inta trouble lots."

Merle turned away, not saying anything for a moment, inhaling and exhaling his cigarette. I glanced down at my lap, pulling both sleeves back to reveal my hands. Out of habit, I began to pick the dirt from my nails.

"Your scratches, they hurt?"

"Nah, they did at first. They're fine unless I think 'bout 'em. But . . ."

"But what?"

I'm scared. I didn't know a lot about death, I didn't even know if there was more to know about it. But I did know I didn't want to become one of those things. I don't want to look like that, I don't want to have those eyes, I thought. Imagining those yellow, predatory eyes that would haunt my nightmares.

"Eh,"

I glanced up at him and he brought his hand close to my face. I leaned backward, confused at his movements.

"Hol' still, wha' I tell ya 'bout cowerin'," he said, holding his cigarette between his teeth. I froze at his words, still confused and a bit scared about what he was doing. He used the side of his palm, wiping it across my forehead, then my cheek. "Got blood on your face."

He pulled away, wiping his hand on his pants. I rubbed my eyes, trying to relieve the tiredness I felt. But it only made it worse. I missed being home, I wanted to be home. I missed Daddy too and was wondering where he was. But I wanted it to be one of those days he wasn't home, where I could sleep without worrying about waking anyone up.

The nightmares were scary, before and after people started getting sick and attacking each other. But I had held off on sleep long enough to know I couldn't do it much longer. A yawn escaped my mouth and I covered it with my mouth.

"Still ain't sleepin? Told ya, ya can't hide from sleep forever."

"I'm not, jus' . . ."

"They're jus' dreams, kid."

Ain't just about the dreams, I thought, I don't want to be bad.

"Deputy Dumbass," he remarked, "watchin' you, tellin' ya what ta do, sayin' you're his responsibility. He don' even know where ya are half the time, shares a tent with ya an' doesn' even know ya ain't sleepin'."

"I'm good at hidin' it."

"No ya ain't, got circles under your eyes, look like a damn corpse."

I cringed. That had gotten to me. I raised my hand up, feeling under my eyes, but I didn't feel anything different. Merle hopped off the car, making it rock.

"C'mon."

I jumped down and grabbed my knife that was also on the trunk of the car. I followed him to his and Daryl's tent without question.

He unzipped the entrance and held the flap open, "get in."

I looked at him in confusion, "but-"

"-Now," he commanded. I did what he said and crawled into the tent.

I glanced around. The inside was pretty messy, there were clothes scattered everywhere and two bags leaning against the side of the tent. There were also two sleeping bags, a lantern in between the two.

"Sit down," Merle ordered, pushing me toward the nearest sleeping bag. I did what he said and sat down on it. I watched as he got to his knees and began rummaging through one of the bags, his back facing me.

I glanced around the tent again, surprised I was even there, "where's mister Daryl?"

"Went huntin', be gone a day, maybe two. Depends."

Merle pulled out a large plastic bag, filled with orange bottles. I recognised the pill bottles immediately, Daddy usually had a lot of them. I then remembered the one pill bottle in my hiding place.

He reached into the bag, opened a bottle and took a single, white, oval shaped pill out. I watched as he bit the pill in half and spit it into the bottle. He held his hand out to, the other half of the pill settled on his palm.

Hesitantly, I took it. Merle then put the bottle into the bag and put the bag back. He reached for a half full water bottle next to the other sleeping bag. He tossed the bottle and it landed in front of me.

"Take it."

"Why?"

"Jus' do it."

Merle watched me as I put the pill in my mouth and washed it down with the water, "go ta sleep."

I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion, "i's still daylight." Thinking about it, it couldn't have been more than a couple hours past noon.

"Ya look like death, kid. Now lie your scrawny ass down 'fore I beat it."

I glanced down at the sleeping bag, "here?"

"Yes, here!" He huffed, obviously frustrated. I did what he said and lied down on the sleeping bag, when I did, the smell of sweat and dirt hit my nostrils. It was a scent I was used to from camping over the years.

Merle got off his knees, half standing as he began to leave the tent.

"You're leavin'?" I asked.

"What? Ya need a fuckin' bedtime story?" He snapped.

I shook my head, guilty I made him mad. H e grunted and left the tent.

When I was outside during the night, I knew better than to lie down. because once you did, it became almost impossible to fight sleep. Lying down made your exhaustion known. And that's what happened as I laid on the sleeping bag, the exhaustion I had been fighting so hard, hit me like a title wave.

I really don't get this guy.

I opened my eyes, confused because I never remembered closing them. My eyelids felt sore and heavy, I rubbed them with my index finger and thumb. I was aware of a funny feeling in my forehead, it wasn't painful but it wasn't not painful. I used my index finger and pressed against one of my temples, trying to decipher whether or not I had a headache.

I slowly sat up, even though my body seemed to protest. My legs and arms felt heavy. I glanced around, trying to make sense of my surroundings.

I'm in Merle's tent. I slowly crawled toward the tent flap and zipped it open. I looked out, noticing the sun was going down. How long was I sleeping for? Felt like days.

Then it hit me, I slept.

I stood up, stumbling a bit at first, my legs feeling weak. Suddenly Merle was in front of me, I wasn't sure where he'd come from or how long he'd been there, but he was just suddenly . . . there.

"I feel weird," I told him.

"You're still tired,"

I groaned in response, rubbing my eyes.

"Dumbass is lookin' for ya, by the RV. Must've realized he ain't seen ya all day," he scoffed.

I groaned again and nodded, looking up at the darkening sky. It seemed about the time that Shane would look for me if I wasn't already in bed. I walked around Merle to the RV and found Shane.

"Hey, kid." He said, "feeling alright?"

"Jus' tired."

He nodded, biting his lip, "let's get you in bed, okay?"

I just nodded again, too exhausted to speak. We walked side by side to our tent, when we got there his hand left my back, I han't realize until then that he was even touching me.

I laid down in my cot, closing my eyes as soon as my head hit the pillow. I felt the blanket being draped over me, and heard Shane's voice, "night, kid. Need anythin' just call me."

As soon as my eyes opened, I felt very aware of my surroundings. I sat up quickly, knowing a lot of time must have passed. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt so awake. It was very bright out and Shane wasn't in his cot, I was confused for a moment. I knew I had been asleep for a long time, but I hadn't usually slept in. Not unless I knew Daddy wouldn't be home.

I left the tent and looked up at the sky, the sun was high but I could tell it wasn't quite noon yet. The camp was pretty lively, everyone seemed busy and in a good mood. Even Carl, Sophia, and the other two kids were laughing louder than usually as they chased each other across camp.

I went over to the Dixon brothers camp. Merle was sitting with his rifle in hand, clicking parts together, preparing it. Merle glanced up at when I stopped in front of him, then glanced back down at his gun.

"You jus' gettin' up?"

I nodded, slightly smiling, "yeah." I felt happy and energetic, I couldn't remember the last time I hadn't been tired.

"Was wonderin' where your scrawny ass was at," he mumbled, working hard on the rifle. I wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, I just knew he was getting it ready.

"You leavin' on tha' run?" I asked.

"Yeah, leavin' real soon. Shouldn't be gone too long, s'long as these pussies don' fuck it up. Hell, if Daryl gets lucky, might be back 'fore I am." Merle's rifle straightented out, the sound of multiple clicks following. "Hol' this," he told me, pushing the gun in my direction.

I took it from him, holding the barrel of the rifle with both hands, pointing it at the sky, the butt of it was pressed into the ground. I watched Merle as he reached into his vest pocket, and pulled out his cigarettes. Once he had one lit, he took the gun back.

He held the barrel of the rifle with one hand, and his cigarette in the other. His head was, but tilted so he could look up at me.

"Gotta talk ta ya."

"Me?"

"Who the fuck else?" He snapped, "you're the only one stupid enough ta follow ol' Merle 'round."

I looked down at my feet, feeling guilty and a bit afraid. Was I being bad? Did he not want me around? I remembered the past couple times he had called me over himself, so that didn't seem to make sense.

"Don' like it 'ere, do ya?" I heard him ask, but his tone didn't seem questioning, "with them."

I looked up at him, confusion etched into my features, "neither do you."

He took his cigarrete between his fingers, exhaling smoke in the opposite direction, "asshole's gonna get this entire camp killed, ain't smart ta stay here, won't even tell the shitheads what happened."

"Are ya talkin' 'bout Officer Shane?"

"You don' like these people, don' like this camp," his tone was expressionless, he seemed to be confirming something. This conversation seemed, odd. It was very obvious I wasn't comfortable there. But what could I do about it? I had no right to complain. I was fine with camping, but I had never been with so many people at once, it was weird not having Daddy around. I hadn't minded the location, but after the previous day, I knew the Dixons were right, it wasn't safe there. But again, I was just a little girl, it didn't matter what I thought

I gave a shrug, "better with them than with the dead ones."

"Hey, Dixon."

I turned around, recognising Morales. His skin was a bit darker, a light brown, his hair was dark and curly. I had never talked to him, but I hadn't talked to most people in the camp. I had seen Moreles with the two children I didn't know the name of and their mama, I guessed he was their daddy.

"We're all ready, you still coming?" He asked Merle.

Merle gave a nod, standing up, "calm your tits, beaner, be right there."

Morales lips pressed together, rolling his eyes. His eyes caught mine and he gave me a smile, "good morning."

I didn't respond, a little surprised he had taken notice to me. He gave me a nod, then turned to walk toward the supply car.

Merle walked passed me, holding his rifle over his shoulder, but seemed to slow his pace as he looked down at me. I followed him, saying close at his side.

"Would ya leave?"

I glanced up at him, even more confused than before, "an' go where?"

At first he doesn't do or say anything. Once we're about ten feet away from the supply car, he stopped and turned to me. His expression grew hard, telling me that whatever this conversation was about, it was serious.

"You're pissin' me off, jus' answer the damn question. Ya wanna get away from these shitheads or wha'?"

"I wanna," I said, "but I can't."

He rolled his eyes, it was obvious his point wasn't getting across, "and if ya can?"

"I can't, gotta wait for daddy. Ain't like I got anywhere ta go anyways."

He stared at me for a short moment before his eyes squinted and he stepped closer, his stomach almost touching my chest. I swallowed a thick lump that had formed in my throat. I wasn't sure how I made him mad, but I was sure I was about to find out.

"What did ya jus' say?"

"I got nowhere ta go." I repeated.

"No," he said, pointing at me, "ya said ya had to wait."

I nodded.

"You tol' me ya daddy left and didn' come back."

"He hasn' yet. Officer Shane said it migh' take 'im awhile, with how it is out there. I think 'e migh' be havin' trouble findin' camp." I said, sharing my thoughts.

His entire expression immediately fell away, becoming blank. He took a step back, tilting his head at me.

"Ya said 'e left ya on tha highway?" He asked, his voice quiet and curious.

I nodded, "a'while 'fore the helicopters came an' bombed the city."

Merle thought my words over. He then turned his gaze behind me, expression turning even harder and angrier than before, if it was possible.

"Fuckin' asshole . . ." he murmured.

I followed his eyes to the top of the RV. Shane was standing with Dale, they were in a deep conversation about something. I watched Shane, almost waiting for him to fall dead from Merle's death glare.

I turned back to Merle, he was still glaring. Merle sighed and looked away from Shane and to me. He dropped his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. He ran his hand over his face, contemplating something.

"Listen, kid, fuck . . . I don' think . . . Your dad ain't-"

"-Dixon, ya comin'?!" Someone yelled from the supply car.

Merle turned to the small group of people at the car, "fuck. Yeah!" He called back.

He glanced back at me, shoving a finger into my chest, "we'll talk 'bout this when I get back."

I gave a nod, what're we even talking about?

Merle leaned in a bit, his voice low, "Daryl gets back before I do stick with him, and don't listen ta Deputy Dipshit no more."

He turned around and started for the supply car, while walking he turned his head back at me. "Ya get tired again you can use our tent. Daryl gets back and says anythin' tell him I said ta fuck off. Just don't go snoopin' 'round."

I watched as he went over to the small group of people and got in the car. I turned away as I heard car doors slamming and the engine roaring to life. I began walking back to the camp, when I got close to the RV I heard Dale call out.

I glanced up at the RV, seeing Dale was alone, Shane had left.

"Why don't you keep me company?" He asked, smiling. I nodded, I walked to the ladder and climbed up. When I got up, he was sitting in his chair. He reached under his chair, grabbing a book from under it and handing it to me.

I took it, recognising the cover, it was the book I had been pretending to read with him.

"I bring it up here every day, just in case you decide to sit with me."

"Thanks," I said quietly, sitting on the roof of the RV beside him.

We were both facing the road, watching the car drive away.

"Can I ask you something?"

I nodded, not looking at him.

"Why do you hang around them, the Dixons?"

My eyes followed the car until it was out of my view, "they're kinda like my daddy."

Something knotted in my stomach at the thought of him, though I couldn't tell why. My chest felt heavy but I couldn't decipher the emotion I felt.

Where is he?

ANNNND IT'S DONE! This chapter was actually really hard to write. I literally had only the beginning and ending scene of it, nothing in between. That was all basically improvised. That's why it took so long.

I really hope you guys liked this, feel so bad that Merle had to go :(

So I hate to say it, the next chapter might take a while too, the next chapter WILL BE A FLASHBACK CHAPTER featuring Toby with her dad. Flashback chapters can get kind of hard, but I don't plan on making it long. I also have a prior commitment and can't do any writing for this for March break (which is now)

Don't worry, shouldn't be too long, I'll do the best I can.

I wanted to call this chapter "Lending a hand" but that felt way too mean.

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.

I'm going to be writing the flashback chapter now, if anyone has anymore Ideas for Toby's dad's name, let me know.

Thank you for reading and following!