Just a little update to get this story rolling again. Sorry, it took so long, I actually wrote this a while ago, but got distracted by a guy named Mac and forgot about this. I literally opened the document and said, damn, I wrote a chapter and didn't post it. Girrrrrllllll you need to get yourself together LOL

/

"Lemme get this straight," Merle said to Daryl as they made coffee and looked around for something to feed the unexpected house guest they now had, "She's the one that had you all fucked up last year?"

Daryl nodded and Merle considered this news, Daryl had indeed been fucked up over this woman for a long time. He was angry, then sad and he hadn't dated anyone since. Merle didn't even tease him about it either like he might have done. It was that bad.

Merle had never seen him that way before and it had been a little scary. Then a few months ago he started to get back to his usual self, although he still wasn't interested in any other woman.
Now she had gone and shown up at their door, with a baby of all things.

Merle needed a few answers from her now and he was not going to back down. Was she here to stay or would she take that baby back to her husband when the dust settled and fuck Daryl up some more? Because that was going to do his brother in, that was his child, there was no doubt about that. If she left again or decided not to let Daryl be in this child's life for some reason, there would have to be a war. That was just the way it had to be.

There was no way Merle was going to watch his brother shut down again, Daryl had just started putting back on the weight he had lost after she screwed him over last year. Nope, he was going to step in this time.
"That's your kid, you know that right, she's got Dixon eyes." Merle inquired.

"I know, I knew the minute I saw her," Daryl answered, as expected.

"Her husband hit her?"

"Seems so," Daryl said, "I didn't stick around to find out that day what her deal was."

"Ain't the first time, you can see that in the way she talked about it." Merle answered, "Reminds me of Mom."

"I know..." Daryl replied.

"Let her stay the night, or forever, whatever you want, blood is blood, and that little girl is our blood."

/

"He tried to hurt her. " Carol said softly to Merle while Daryl was in the bathroom, " I took her and ran."

"You ain't going back there sugar, " Merle said, "It's very simple."

"I have nowhere to go, I just have my one friend Tara, but he knows where she lives."

"You'll stay here, " Merle answered, "We have a spare room. You'll both be safe with us."

Carol had no doubt about that, she knew Daryl was a man of honor, his brother was too, no doubt. They would protect her and Sophia at the expense of their own safety, Carol was sure of that. Merle had given her his trademark, blood is blood speech and she did believe him.

But she was so unsure of what could or would be between her and Daryl, he had been rip-roaring mad at her the last time they saw each other, yet he was happy to see her. It was a start she guessed, but she had regretted not being honest with him, because there was something between them, and it was still there.

"Are you sure? I don't want to disrupt anyone's life."

"Sugar, his life's bee disrupted since you walked into it, and to me, it looks like you're glad to be back." Merle laughed.

"I couldn't stop thinking about him, this whole time, not just because of Sophia, even before I knew she was coming," Carol said softly, "I missed him."

"So you knew she was his before she was coming?"

"Yes," Carol answered.

"Why didn't you come then?"

"He was so mad at me," She replied and Merle nodded his understanding, he remembered how Daryl had been that weekend.

"You hurt him, bad, and if you're planning on doing that again, or taking that baby away from him, be ready for a fight. Dixon's do not abandon their kids, ever." Merle said in a voice too gruff for his personality,
"He ain't looked at a woman in a year since he met ya, so if you're staying, then you're really staying."

Carol didn't answer, she didn't know what to say, she had not been expecting an invitation to stay with the two brothers, although only one of them had extended the invitation. She needed to remember that, Daryl had not said a thing about that, only asked to hold Sophia and stared into the baby's eyes for what seemed like hours.

/

After dinner and after Sophia was asleep for the night in the porta crib Carol had brought, she and Daryl stood out on the deck as the sun dipped down over the horizon. It was summertime, just as it had been a year ago when they had met. It was warm with a soft breeze blowing, and he stared at her, couldn't take his eyes off of her. As they sipped Iced Tea Daryl had trouble believing she was even real. When he woke up that morning Carol had been the farthest thing from his mind, now she was all he could think of, and that baby, his baby.

She was the mother of his child, and if he thought he had fallen in love with her last year, he was mistaken because the feelings he was feeling now he'd never felt before.

"Are you sure this is ok?" She asked, "I didn't know where else to go, but I know this is...odd, I don't want..."

"Look I ain't been with no one else since you anyway. So if you're worried about cramping my style stop." Daryl turned to her, " You ain't, there ain't nothing to cramp. " He said as they stood on the back deck.

"You haven't?" Carol asked, "Been with anyone else?"

"No, " He replied.

"Why not?"

"You know why," He replied, looking into her eyes in the dark moonlight.