Sorry for the delay! Someone dumped a pup out by the road next to my house. Went door to door to find out if he belonged to anyone and no one claimed him. So, now I'm a new dog mom because the guy isn't getting sent to the pound. I forgot how much work an 8-10 week old pup can be. Anyway, I'm trying to get back on track! Thank you for reading!

Chapter Eleven

Carol couldn't stop feeling like she was about to wake up from a dream. This couldn't have all happened in one single morning. There was no way her luck could be that perfect. He was still so out of his element when it came to the kids that it was heartbreaking and comical at the same time. He simply didn't have the slightest clue what to do.

She left him alone in the house while she walked Avery out to her car.

"So, this is goodbye then?" Avery asked as she shoved her suitcase into her rental. "You'll have no use for me now that your man is back." She grinned.

Carol rolled her eyes and pulled her in for a hug. "I'll always need you. You're family."

Avery scoffed but hugged her a little tighter before she stepped away. "I really am happy that it all worked out like this. I really was expecting the worst."

Carol nodded. "I think I was expecting the same thing."

"Self preservation," Avery said sagely.

"When will you be back?" Carol asked, knowing that she was stalling because she really was going to miss her friend.

"Sooner than later. At least we'll be in the same country," she grinned and then got behind the wheel. "Until next time then!"

Carol stepped back and waved. She usually felt so adrift when Avery left. Like she really was all alone raising two kids. But she didn't feel like that now. It was strange.

~H~

"How old are you?" Lily asked.

"Twenty three," Daryl said, watching the girl as she inched her way closer to him on the couch.

"You're old," she muttered.

He bit his lip to keep from laughing. "I spose so."

"Do you like to take pictures too?" She asked.

This got her brother's attention. "He don't take pictures. He hunts, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Lily said, scrunching up her face as she thought of more questions to ask him. "Do you take pictures of dead things when you're done killing them?"

Jake shook his head. "You're so weird."

"No I'm not," she growled before looking up at Daryl again. "So?"

He shook his head. "No pictures."

"Do you got more kids?"

"Nope. You two are it, unless there's more of you runnin' around here somewhere your mom ain't told me about yet." Actually after everything that had happened today, it wouldn't surprise him.

"Are you gonna stay with us now?" Jake asked suddenly.

"Yeah," he said, no hesitation because the look on the boys face told him that he expected bad news. He didn't want them thinking he didn't want them. That was a fucked up thing for a kid to have to go through. He'd never felt wanted himself and he still carried the scars from that part of his life, inside and out. They weren't going to feel like that. Maybe he didn't know how the hell to be a dad but he'd start out by making sure they knew he wanted to be around, just by being around.

Lily laughed. "Are you gonna kiss our mom?"

Jake grinned and Daryl felt his face flush deeply. Just then Carol came in, shutting the door firmly behind her. They all three glanced up at her.

"Mama, Avery said she's had you some presents put back for a special occasion and you can find them on your bed," Lily chirped.

Carol groaned and disappeared down the hall hurriedly. He wanted to follow her to see what the hell that crazy woman could have left in her room but he was pretty sure that he'd have two tag alongs and whatever it was probably wasn't anything they needed to see. But damn if he wasn't curious.

When she came back down the hall her face was as red as he had ever seen it and she was grumbling under her breath. She looked up, meeting his eyes and then looked away quickly like she was embarrassed to even look at him. This only had his curiosity spiking.

~H~

The rest of the day was strange, but in a good way. A very good way. Usually Carol went out of her way to entertain the kids but today they shadowed everything Daryl did. When he spoke, they both listened raptly and when he expressed interest in the things they told him they both seemed to glow with pride. It made her realize that maybe they had been longing for him just as much as she had.

There was one thing that kept nagging at her though and that was Merle Dixon.

She had despised the very idea of the man for a long time. After all, he had been the one to cause Daryl to leave in the first place. Over the years she tried harder to understand his position and she had wanted badly to forgive him for his decision to force his little brother back home.

He had torn them apart but he hadn't done it to be a selfish man. He had thought he knew what was best for his brother. At the time he made a call that he considered right. And then, of course, when he had realized that he had made a very grave mistake, he hadn't been selfish. He hadn't hidden anything from Daryl. In fact, he had sacrificed his own relationship with his brother and brought him right to her doorstep.

And that flash of pain in his eyes when Daryl had told him to take everything and go was really starting to bother her. He hadn't had to bring him here, knowing that it would destroy their relationship. Merle had sacrificed a lot today, regardless of what he had done in the past. And he had done it all for his brother. Besides, all of them could have made decisions that would have altered the course that their lives had taken. Daryl could have refused to go back with his brother at all. She could have demanded that he take her home with her, her own dreams be damned. The two of them had simply not seen what sort of obstacles may end up being in their way if he left without her. And that wasn't Merle Dixon's fault. It was easy to blame him but that didn't make blaming him wholly was right. They all played a hand in their own misery.

Darkness had been pressing against the windows for a while now and she was surprised to see that it was nearly ten o'clock already. The day had flown past her and she was reluctant to let go of it. She knew that the kids were going to fight her over going to bed and she didn't blame them a bit. They were excited. Jake was more reserved than his sister but she could see it in his eyes that this was something he wouldn't likely forget any time soon. Being the only boy he probably felt like he finally had an ally in the house. Lily was more like herself, rambling on with her little stories and demanding his attention but Jake was quieter. She watched him watching Daryl as he tried to keep up with Lily.

"It's getting late you two," she said from her spot in the overstuffed chair.

Jake was in the middle of showing Daryl his collection of arrowheads that Avery had bought him on a trip to the museum. Daryl had told him several old Indian legends that he'd heard from his grandfather when he had been a little boy.

She expected him to argue with her but he just nodded and gathered up the prized possessions. He looked up at Daryl, his eyes almost pleading. "You're gonna be here tomorrow, right?"

Daryl nodded. "Gotta go to work but I'll be back after that."

Jake nodded and took off towards his room. "Night!" He called back excitedly.

Carol was surprised that she hadn't heard any arguments from Lily but then she glanced down and realized the girl was already asleep with her head in his lap. Carol shook her head. "Why can't it be that easy for me all the time? They usually always put up a fight."

He shrugged. "They probably just like me better. Maybe they think you're lame."

Her mouth dropped and then she laughed, shaking her head at his lazy grin. He let his head fall, resting on the back of the couch and he watched her with heavy lidded eyes.

"You're tired," she noted, pulling her legs up.

He shook his head slowly, his eyes staying on her. "Nope."

She stood up and was about to make a move to get Lily so she could take her to bed but he moved quickly, scooping her up and heading down the hall with a dramatic roll of his eyes, like she thought that he wasn't capable of carrying a four year old to bed. She went to the kitchen and started putting away the dinner dishes.

She needed to bring Merle up and she was dreading it. She knew that from now on it would be a sore subject for him but she had to try. She waited to hear him return to the kitchen and when he didn't she got curious and turned around, nearly dropping a glass as she cried out in surprise.

"You scared me to death!" She gasped.

He chuckled and then surprised her when he backed her up until she was pressed between him and the counter. His lips came down on hers with no hesitation and for a few long moments she forgot that there were things they needed to talk about. But it was very hard to concentrate when he was this close. And when his hands were sliding down her sides like they were right now...

He was very distracting.

She pulled her face away suddenly, needing to talk to him about his brother before talking at all wasn't an option anymore. "Daryl," she breathed once his lips met the skin right below her ear. God, she had missed this so much.

"What?" He asked, his low voice rough in her ear.

"We need to talk about something," she whispered.

He dropped his head to her shoulder heavily and sighed. "You're right."

She mourned the loss of his mouth on her but she needed to say this. "I think you should talk to your brother."

He tensed and then raised his head, scowling at her but not moving away. "That son of a bitch did this! He don't think about anybody but his damn-"

"He brought you here. He didn't have to bring you here. Wouldn't it have benefited him a lot more if he just kept us a secret? He knew how you would react. He had to have known but he brought you here to us. He's the reason we're standing here right now."

"He's the goddamn reason I ain't been standing with you through all the shit you had to go through for the past five years," he growled.

She nodded, "I know that. I do. I get it, but I don't think he did it because he's a bad person. He thought he knew what was best for you. None of us knew I was pregnant. If so I'm sure everything would have been different. He didn't hold a gun to your head and demand that you leave Arizona and he didn't hold one to mine and tell me I couldn't come back with you. We thought you would be gone for just a little while and it simply didn't work out that way. But you can't just cut him off."

"Things coulda been different if he'd just hopped down off his high horse and not guilted me into goin' back."

"I want them to know their family, Daryl. I think Merle needs to be a part of their life too," she said, keeping her voice calm. "Can you at least think about it? I mean, you just found out that you have two kids but he has no one. I hate to think how he must be feeling right now."

He sighed heavily, shaking his head. "You're somethin' else, you know that?"

She nodded, wide eyes never leaving his.

"You should hate him for this more than I do."

"But I don't. It was unfortunate and it was hard, so hard sometimes, but it wasn't his fault. I hated him for a long time, blamed him for all of it, but it wasn't something he did to you on purpose. I'm tired of regrets. Please?"

He finally nodded. "Fine."

She smiled and kissed him hard. "Thank you. I think they're going to love him."

He snorted, "Maybe. You on the other hand, you're gonna have your damn hands full and you brought it all on yourself."

Daryl tried to call Merle but no one picked up. He had a feeling that Merle had gone straight to his supplier as soon as Daryl had told him to leave. He could only promise her that he would talk to him in the morning when he got to work. Surely Merle wouldn't get so fucked up that he missed work. He was walking a thin line anyway. If he didn't stop fucking up then he was going to be fired and he wouldn't have anyone to blame but himself.

He shouldn't have to remind his older brother that if he messed up too much and lost his damn job then there was no way he'd be able to find another one in time to get the rent and the electric paid. Daryl wasn't a total dick. He would do what he could, like give him his share of the money on Friday, but after that, he was done. If Carol wanted the kids to have a relationship with the man then fine but he was completely over dealing with him.