Hi All! Athlete Girl Here. This is the Meth counterpart to SOA Loving Mom's Summer Fire story 'Creeks'. Hope you like it!

Looking back, Beth realized that she had never been so happy in all of her short life as she had been with Merle. She was head over heels in love with Merle Maynard Dixon. Merle completed her, he made her happy and she loved him so hard she sometimes thought she'd scream with it. The majority of her thoughts were always about him, what she could do to make him happy any particular day or night…especially the nights. She worshipped him. She loved his swagger, she loved his voice, and she secretly loved it when he was being a complete dick to the others in the prison because like it or not he was usually right. And she loved it that he loved her, that his eyes were always on her, that he owned her and dominated her. That he challenged her and protected her. That he was hers. And she couldn't believe that in the course of one day it had all fallen apart like a cobweb chased by a broom.

Her daddy couldn't take it when she and Merle had been caught twice in one day at the prison trying to have a little 'private time'. The first time they had escaped the pantry with most of their dignity intact and with apologies to Carol and Rick, but when Hershel and Carl entered the electric chair room and caught a completely naked Beth riding the finger Merle had in her ass and the cock that was balls deep in her Hershel snapped. Beth didn't know what her dad had said to Merle but when Merle came up to their cell that night he broke it off because she had a future and it 'was best for her not to be messin' round with the likes a me.' His eyes were haunted as she cried and begged then they turned hard as flint when she threw herself at him, pummeling him to prevent him from exiting the cell. And that's when it happened. "I'm done withya," he said icily holding her upper arm and moving her out of the way. "Don't want ya no more."

Beth hadn't even felt the concrete tear her skin as she fell to her knees then collapsed in a heap on the floor. Nothing Maggie tried to do would console her and when Beth's screams drew the walkers it took most of them all night to regain the prison. She tried to follow Merle out of the group meeting in the early morning hours but he wouldn't have it. When she turned she saw her father regarding her, stony faced and unmovable. Not even the loss of her mother had torn at her like this. She thought she would die from it.

Her thoughts drove her mad and she began to feel her grip on reality loosen. Merle avoided her, not even coming to the kitchen for mealtimes. He was in such a vile mood that only Daryl dared talk to him. When dark fell on the third night she knew she had to get out of the prison and she ran to the guard tower, half intending to jump off the side of it. She found Daryl leaning drunkenly against the wall, half bottle of whiskey propped on his chest above his broken heart. The whiskey burned like fire but soothed her tortured brain. They both laughed at her giddiness, then her drunken singing, and then her tears began to fall. "Can I lean my head against your leg?" she asked, dizzy. He nodded and soon she was in his arms and they were furiously kissing. Her eyes were screwed shut and she thought, "It's almost Merle. I can almost believe it's Merle."

Then Merle and Carol pulled open the door and Merle saw his angel in the arms of his brother. The Dixons had fought many times before for dominance, for anger, for boredom. But this time it took three men to pull a viciously swinging Merle off of Daryl and when Beth tried to intervene she was inadvertently punched in the face knocked to the ground.

Enter the governor. Exit the prison. Now they were living on the road. Beth wouldn't talk to Hershel and Merle wouldn't talk to her. Carol wouldn't talk to either Daryl or Beth. Beth was consumed with guilt over what happened in the tower. She would never forget the pain on Carol's face when she found her on the floor with Daryl and now Beth's waking moments and many of her sleeping ones were spent miserably crying.

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Beth walked Judith around the campsite, bouncing her to get her to sleep. Merle was setting up tent that he and Carol would share but he didn't look at her. Beth had worn out her welcome in Glen and Maggie's tent and she refused to stay with her father so she had been sleeping in the backseat of a car while on the road. It was better in the long run, she reasoned, it muffled her sobs at night.

She put Judith down in the car seat and placed it with one of the Woodbury women. She looked at Merle's stiff back and felt Hershel's eyes on her. She felt the final doors slamming shut inside of her and she knew she couldn't live this way. Quietly she slipped into the woods, taking the path that branched from the lake path. Her light steps were silent amid the afternoon activity of birds and squirrels. She walked until the path became less defined and the woods became thicker. This seemed like a good place to wait. And she didn't have to wait long. A lone walker shuffled out of the woods. Beth watched dully as it became snagged on a tree branch. After a few moments its shirt ripped and it resumed its slow path towards her.

It had been a woman. Beth smiled through her tears. "Hi mama," she whispered. As it closed on her the knife that Beth held in her hands dropped quietly into the leaves. Beth tilted her head to bare her neck for the attack and closed her eyes. Soon it would be over. She heard Merle's voice bellowing her name and heard Karen's running footsteps behind her. The walker's cold fingers touched her and Karen screamed.

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Beth opened her eyes and frowned. Karen had tackled the walker and now was sitting on its chest savagely stabbing its eye. Beth was jerked around by a frantic Merle who was yelling in her face and who was pulling her clothes around looking for bites. Beth looked at him confused then raised her arms to her chest in defense and stepped back away from him in dull pain. Michonne had caught up and Glen and Rick were behind her.

She found herself surrounded but the only eyes she could meet were Merle's. He looked at the bruise on her cheek that had been caused by his own fist and the dull eyes that had lost all hope from his own words. He growled in fury then paced, his chest pumping and he pointed at Rick. "Get her back ta camp," he spat then walked swiftly back up the trail.

In the few minutes it took them to pry nothing but silence from Beth and for Karen to tell them what had happened Merle was already back at camp and Glen was running full tilt after him. Daryl and Carol arrived just in time to see Merle lay Hershel out with a shot to the jaw. The women screamed and Maggie launched herself at him but Merle easily deflected her. Merle's bayonet arm was an inch away from Hershel's throat and his face twisted in fury as he looked down upon the old man.

Merle's voice was a deadly rasp. "This is over old man. She's mine. You don't fuckin' look at her. You don't fuckin' talk ta her. You don't fuckin' pray fer her. She ain't yers no more." Daryl urgently interjected, "Merle!" Merle nodded his head curtly in Glen's direction. "Tell him," he ordered. Daryl fell silent and Hershel's eyes wildly darted between the three men. The silence stretched and Merle moved the bayonet closer. "Hershel," said Glen. "Beth threw herself to a walker." Hershel looked up into Merle's face that was twitching and dripping sweat. "Beth? Is she bit?" whispered Hershel, shocked.

Merle heard footsteps and looked up to see Karen leading Beth into camp. Hershel saw her too. It was as if all the color had leached out of her body. She hadn't been bitten but he could see that Beth was just as dead as any walker. "Come on Merle," said Daryl. "Made ya point." Merle's eyes bored into Hershel's for a few moments then he stood up and pulled Hershel up to standing, shoving him up against Daryl. Merle turned to Beth, grasped her gently by the arm and led her to his tent. He grabbed a blanket from beside the fire, wrapped her in it then ushered her into the tent. He followed her in and they didn't emerge until the next morning.

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Beth stood dumbly in the middle of the tent and closed her eyes. In her mind she could see the walker approaching, she could smell it and hear it. And now suddenly she was here. She should feel enraged that Merle cared now. She should feel enraged that he had attacked her father. She should….feel something. She realized that she only felt cold. Her chin was being lifted and she opened her eyes. Merle was talking but she had been blocking him out. She blinked slowly and took a step back from him, wrapping her arms around her chest to keep the blanket from slipping. "Why do you care?" she whispered in the middle of Merle's litany of questions.

Merle stopped talking and growled. "Why THE FUCK do I care? Because yer mine that's why." Beth swallowed and regarded him with flat blue eyes. "I'm not. You said you were done with me. You killed me Merle. The walker was just finishing the job. There's plenty of ways I can do it and you can't watch me every second." Merle ran his hand through his short hair and paced the few short steps that the tent allowed. "That supposed ta be a threat?" he shot back. Beth didn't answer but she didn't look down.

Merle paced a few more steps in furious silence. He felt like his head was going to fucking explode. God he wanted to kill something. This fucking situation was HIS fault. Why did he listen to that old man? He exhaled loudly and faced her. "He told me I wasn't good for ya. Told me I had ruint ya body, was ruinin' ya soul. Said us bein' tagether was an abomination ta God. That by the time you realized it would be too late for ya." Merle stepped closer to her. "I know ya believe in that God shit. I know yer better than me. That one day you might wake up and hate me for takin ya best years."

"I would never believe that," she said solemnly. "I know that God brought us together. I know that we're meant to be together until the end. Why couldn't you talk to me about it?" Merle's nostrils flared and his eyes dropped a moment. He sidled then met her eyes. "Yer pa said he'd split off from the group. Said he'd take ya sister and Glen with him. He knew ya wouldn't be able ta stay if they all left. Endin' it was the only way I'd still be able ta see ya, I just couldn't have ya no more."

Beth took a deep breath and looked at the man that she loved. "He was wrong," she whispered. Merle saw the agony in her eyes and he closed the gap, winding his hand in her hair and slamming his mouth over hers. His arms crushed her to him and she returned his embrace, her hands tracing the contours of his back. She opened his mouth to yield to him and he grunted, tilting his head to get deeper access. She felt his reassuring hardness against her and fully realized how much she missed him. She shuddered and started to cry and he pressed into her even tighter. He devoured her with his open mouth and she twisted the back of his shirt in her hands, sobbing into his mouth. He pulled his head back and attacked her neck and she bared it to him. The blanket, long forgotten, fell to her feet.

Merle pulled back, panting and brought his face close to hers. She opened her eyes to see his eyes boring into her. They both caught their breath as they stared at each other. She reached a hand up to stroke through the bristle of his beard and let it trail down his neck. "Lotta fuckin' stupid things I done in ma life," he breathed. "Leavin' you was the stupidest. Ya gonna take me back?" Beth pressed her lips together to stop the sobs that threatened and she nodded her head. "Don't leave me again," she said in a strangled voice. He shook his head and swallowed. He hated to see her hurting.

Beth pressed the side of her face into his chest and he held her, resting his chin on top of her head. Eventually she yawned, fighting sleep. I feel like I've been awake for a month she thought. "Ya best get ta sleep," said Merle into her hair. She shook her head. "Don't leave me," she pleaded. He rubbed his hand along her back and said, "I'm comin' with ya." Beth smiled and looked up at him and he couldn't help but smile back. Guess I'm in as deep as it gets he thought.

Beth looked at the two sleeping bags on the ground and frowned. "Pretty sure she's with my brother tonight," said Merle. Beth smiled at him and zipped the two sleeping bags together in the center of the tent, placing them on the blanket that she straightened out on the floor of the tent. She sat down and pulled her boots and jeans off then shrugged out of her bra without removing her shirt. She looked up at Merle who was staring at her like a starving man would look at a steak. "Keep me warm big man?" she asked coquettishly. Merle's eyes darkened with lust and he pulled his clothes off in record time. He stood at the foot of the sleeping bag nude and Beth thought she'd never seen anything so beautiful as her broad chested man looking down at her with half lidded eyes and a pulsing erection. She wanted him in her. She squiggled a little bit then her hand came out from the sleeping bag and she twirled her panties around her finger in a circle. "Yer mine little girl," growled Merle as he pulled the sleeping bag away from her body. He hadn't had her in over a week and nothing short of a herd attack was going to stop him from taking what was his.

He was on her in seconds and she met him with and open mouth and entwined her legs around his. His arms bulged as he lowered himself to mouth her nipples over her shirt and he thrust into her hand when she reached around to fondle him. Beth pulled her shirt over her head and Merle grunted with pleasure as he roughly mouthed one nipple then the next. Beth was undulating underneath him making frustrated sounds and she hissed with pain and pleasure as he pulled at her nipples. One hand entwined in the hair at the back of his head, pulling him to her breasts. Merle teased her until she pleaded with him, he could tell by her voice that she needed to be claimed.

His beard scraped against her neck as he worked his way up to claim her mouth. He kissed her roughly then pulled back and rasped, "Yer gonna cum little girl and yer gonna say who you belong to." Beth's breathing accelerated and he ordered, "Spread yer legs." Beth complied and he entered her slowly spreading his legs and raising on his toes to sink all his body weight into her. Beth moaned shakily as he filled her to the point of pain. "Spread 'em more," he ordered and she whimpered, complying again. Merle slowly pulled out then sank into her again and her body shook as she clutched at his back and cried out unintelligibly, she could feel a warm rush and her skin prickled as she saw white flashes.

"Please," she pleaded. Merle slowly pulled back and started a slow rhythm, sinking in to the hilt each time and slowly rotating his hips in a circle to reach every part of her. Beth was out of her mind riding on the building waves and spreading herself to the limit to take him. She stilled underneath him and he knew she was going to explode. "Yer gonna scream it so everyone in this camp hears you. Whose cock is doing this to you?" Beth was almost gone. "Merle," she croaked.

Merle panted through clenched teeth. "I said you gonna scream it," he said against her ear as he quickened his pace. Jesus he loved the sound of her pussy taking him. "Merle," she tried to whisper. "Oh God, oh God Merle please!" Merle slammed into her harder, his balls slapping against her soft ass. "Whose cock do you want?" he growled loudly. Beth felt herself coming undone. "OOOOOOOOOHHHHHH GOD!" screamed Beth. "OH GOD MERLE, I WANT YOU! PLEASE!

Beth bucked and screamed as the orgasm overtook her and Merle let himself go yelling, "FUCK!" as he drilled her rapidly. Her ass was dancing all over the place under him and he was pretty sure this was what heaven felt like as he shot his load into her warm tightness. He kept moving steadily but gently now as she shuddered and groaned beneath him. They hadn't used a condom but he didn't care. This was his woman and what happened happened. He rolled off of her and lay on top of the sleeping back to cool off.

Beth felt like she was on a cloud. She stretched and small waves of pleasure rocked her as her breathing slowed. There was a gentle smile on her flushed face and her eyelids were heavy with contentment. Merle thought she looked more like an angel than ever. When she got chilled she crawled underneath the sleeping bag and wrapped her arm around his chest, resting her head on his shoulder. She looked up at him sleepily and smiled, ready to fall asleep. She giggled when she heard Daryl's cry of passion from the opposite side of camp. "Yer pa's gettin' it from both sides," said Merle wryly and she giggled again.

Her right hand found his left and she laced her fingers in his. "I love you Merle," she said muzzily against his chest. He briefly tilted his head towards her and his voice was low in the back of his throat. "I love ya angel," he said kissing the top of her head. They were fast asleep within seconds.

AW, a little feely but I think it makes a good companion to Summer Fire – Creeks. Please R&R!