Hey, you guys! Although I have 19 chapters of this story written, my goal is to stay ahead so I wont have to stress out over updates and I am constantly tweaking each chapter so the story flows better and isn't so confusing. That is the reason I don't like to update daily for this story.

With that said I have to reply to a guest review I received about the last chapter. It wasn't a bad review but they were concerned about Merle not remembering Carol when so far everyone else has on their first encounter. But this wasn't their first encounter. He recognized her at the bar when she first found them. Merle is very much first season Merle for now. He is stubborn and he is very self medicated. I do eventually go into Merle's POV so everyone can better understand what is going on with him. I can't put everything in one chapter. Just bear with me and I think you'll enjoy it more. Everything will come together, given time.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

The Good Samaritan

Chapter Thirteen

"Are you outta your goddamn mind?" Daryl glared at the man sitting behind the desk.

Carol thought it would be a good idea to consult a real estate agent to help them find the type of place they needed since neither of them had the first idea of where they should start looking. She hadn't been sure if they would find one on a Saturday but they learned quickly that Real Estate agents were eager people. To her they had lucked out but Daryl was not too happy with what the guy had to say.

Carol grabbed his hand and gave it a tug so he would sit back down in the chair next to her own.

The man looked a little nervous. Good. He cleared his throat and gestured for Daryl to calm down. All this did was make Daryl want to knock his ass out. "I assure you Mr. Dixon, you and your wife will not find a better..."

Daryl nearly choked on his own tongue as the blood rushed up into his face. "Wife? What the hell are you talkin' about? She ain't my wife." He shook his head angrily and then shot her a look. "Wife," he scoffed, "And you think this idiot is gonna help us?"

"Jesus, Daryl would you just shut up and listen to him for five seconds?"

He stared at her like she was stupid. "Are you really tellin' me to shut up right now when this asshole is tryin' to take ya for every damn dime that you got?"

"Daryl, it isn't every last dime that I have okay," she hissed.

His eyes moved back over to the man across from him. "Fine. Go on then." He gestured for the man to hurry the fuck up. He was ready to get out of that fancy ass office.

The man, Doug if the plaque on his desk was correct, gave them another one of those nervous smiles. "As I was saying. This really is a steal. It's been on the market for some time, which is good news. You can most likely get it for even less than asking price..."

"Which is some bullshit," Daryl grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Doug cleared his throat. "There are sixteen acres total, a barn that hasn't been used in a while but shouldn't take long to get back in working order."

"What about water? Does it have city water or are there wells?" Carol asked quickly.

Doug looked down, scanning the paper in his hands. Daryl watched him with his mouth closed, knowing that no matter what the man said the price tag for the place was too fucking high.

"Looks like there are several wells on the property but there is also access to city water if you would rather switch. Cob county is a lovely place..."

"Cob county?" Daryl asked, almost sounding civil.

Doug nodded. "Are you familiar with the area?"

Daryl shrugged. "Me and my brother met a girl from there once."

"Oh well that's nice. Everyone I've met from around that area has been a real pleasure."

Daryl snorted. "She was a pleasure alright. Till she gave my brother the clap."

He heard Carol groan and then she elbowed him hard. "You win. Go ahead and wait outside. I'll be out in a minute."

He wasn't going to waste any time. He left the office in a hurry. He put some serious thought into flipping off the secretary that was eyeballing him like he was about to steal her fancy pencil holder. People like this pissed him off.

When he pushed through the doors he was nearly knocked onto his ass when someone slammed into him as they tried to enter the building.

"Watch what the hell you're doin' dumba..." the words stuck in his throat when he found himself looking into a set of familiar brown eyes.

The last time he had seen those eyes they had been staring up at him, pleading, right before he blew the man's brains out. Dale. God, he never in a million years thought he would miss someone like him, but he had missed him a lot by the time they made it to the prison. He was so grounded and still very much human when by that time they had all turned into something much less than that. More like machines that focused solely on surviving.

"Excuse me, son. Are you alright?" Dale asked politely.

Daryl blinked stupidly as he stared at the man, trying desperately to think of a way to start a conversation with him, stall him. He finally realized what Carol had been trying to tell him all along. They could save them all if they went about it the right way. He wouldn't have to put Dale out of his misery with a bullet to the brain. He could live. They could all live. Finding Carol, or being found by Carol, was something that threw his whole universe off kilter, but seeing the others and knowing the burden that she had been bearing alone brought it all home for him.

"Son?" Dale looked worried now, his bushy brows furrowing.

"I'm fine," Daryl managed once he found his voice. "Are you alright?"

Dale gave him that ready smile. "Just fine."

Daryl watched him walk away, into the building he had just vacated. How the hell was he suppose to talk to the man? What was he suppose to say? No one was going to believe them. Carol would know what to do.

He kept his eyes on the door as he leaned against Carol's car. It didn't take her long to finally emerge. From the angry set to her lips she hadn't caught site of the old man. She stormed over towards him.

"I can't believe you treated that man like that." She looked pissed.

"Dale just went in there," he said in a rush.

"Did you say anything to him?" she asked, looking towards the doors. She must have forgot that she was upset. He'd dodged a bullet there.

"I bout cussed him out for plowin' into me. But then when I recognized him I shut my trap. I couldn't think of anything to say."

He was on the verge of freaking out and he knew it. This was too fucked up. He'd seen Dale die. He'd been the one to kill him. He'd seen the man's insides ripped to shreds by that walker.

"Calm down. We'll figure something out," she said soothingly.

He gestured towards the door. "This is our goddamn chance. If we lose him now then who the fuck knows if we'll ever find him again? He'll die."

She glanced at the door and then back to him. "Just follow my lead okay?"

"What?"

Just then the door opened and Dale stepped out. Daryl was looking at the man, not paying any attention to Carol so he didn't see it coming. She shoved him.

"What the fuck!" he yelled.

She put her hands on her hips and glared at him, right before she started yelling. "If that's how you feel then go pack up your crap, Daryl! I'm done trying! Just get your stuff and get out of my house!"

She gave him a look like now it was his turn but he didn't have a clue what the fuck she was talking about. Well, until he looked up and saw Dale watching them with that worried expression on his face. Then he knew what she was doing and he almost ruined it by grinning.

"Fine," he threw up his hands, "Ya want me gone, I'm gone. Have a nice fuckin' life!"

Her back was to Dale for now so Dale couldn't see the look on her face. Those incredible blue eyes filled with tears, causing him to take a step towards her. She shook her head and winked, smiling brightly. Daryl looked over her shoulder and sure enough, Dale, the good hearted guy that he was, took a few steps closer. She was a fucking genius. She knew Dale wouldn't be able to pass up on the opportunity to help someone. Especially in matters of the heart. That was just Dale.

"You're just gonna throw away five years of our life over a stupid argument over a house?" she cried and then wiped her tears away as she turned her back to Daryl, arms crossed.

Dale looked as though he were having some inner battle but finally he straightened his shoulders and approached them. He was wearing that stupid hat. Daryl had hated that damn hat.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear..." he looked at Carol and smiled kindly, "I'm usually not one to pry but are you two okay?"

Daryl could have laughed. Not one to pry? That was hilarious. That's all Dale did was pry.

Carol dabbed at her eyes again. "I'm sorry. We didn't mean to cause a scene..."

Dale shook his head, his dark eyes shifting from her face to Daryl's. "No, no," he smiled and held up his hands. "I'm glad you did. Really. My wife and I were married for a long time and there were quite a few close calls. I know I don't know you from Adam and have no right to butt in but maybe if the two of you just took a breath and talked it out, you'd be able to work on it."

Daryl looked down at her, she met his eyes with a smug smile. He doubted Dale would know the look but he did.

"I'm sorry, Daryl. This man is right. We're being ridiculous."

Daryl nodded and then met Dale's eyes from over Carol's head. "You gotta name?"

Dale seemed to visibly relax. "Dale, and I suppose I need to be on my way now."

Carol shook her head and then touched his arm. The look that came over Dale's face was one of confusion. "Please," Carol said quickly, "Is there anything we can do to repay you for that advice?"

He patted her hand. "No need. Here's to five more years for the two of you." He squeezed her hand and then turned to walk away but she didn't let go of his arm.

"What about dinner? I- I could make dinner for you and your wife." Even Daryl could hear desperation creeping into her voice.

Dale looked her in the eye and then met Daryl's. "That's kind of you both but my wife passed a few years back."

Of course they both knew this but it wasn't like they could let him know that. "I'm so sorry, I didn't..." Carol began but he didn't let her finish.

He held up a hand to silence her. "You couldn't have. But I have a little bit going on. Selling the house and buying an R.V." He grinned. "I figure it's about time to see the world."

Carol nodded. "Of course. You take care. And thank you."

He walked away and Daryl rolled his eyes. "Why the hell did you let him get away? Now we might never see him again."

She frowned. "How was I suppose to know he wouldn't take us up on that offer? It's Dale for God's sake!"

Daryl watched as Dale got into a car. "Let's go." He hopped into the drivers seat and waited for her to get in, still not willing to be seen letting a woman, not even her, drive him around.

He pulled out, squinting into the sun as he followed Dale's car. He stayed back a block or so to try to make it less obvious. The last thing they needed was for Dale to spot them following him. "That was some good actin'," he flashed her a crooked grin. "Makes me wonder how many times you'd end up tryin' that fake cryin' shit on me if I hadn't saw it today."

"It never would have worked." She grinned despite herself. "What exactly are we doing?"

He nodded towards Dale's car a few blocks ahead. "We gotta figure out where he lives. If we don't then we might never run into him again and then he'll end up dead for sure."

The trip took a little longer than they were expecting. Dale lived in the next town over on a quiet street. His house was neat but nothing too fancy, just like he expected. They drove on past as Dale got a few things out of his back seat and headed into the house.

"Well, that didn't go as well as I was hoping," she said sadly

He absently reached for her hand across the seat but nearly jerked it away once he realized what he was doing. She held on firmly and a glance out of the corner of his eye confirmed that she had a determined set to her mouth. She wasn't going to let him settle back into his comfort zone. Whatever the hell that was anymore. He relaxed after a few stiff seconds.

"At least we know where he lives. Maybe we can try again sometime. We can stage a few run ins or some shit," he said absently.

They drove on in silence for a while and she still wouldn't release his hand.

"You hungry?" she asked suddenly once they got back into town.

He shrugged, secretly hoping that she wasn't going to try to get him to go to Rick's again. Rick and him were close but it took a lot of dreams to get them to that point. At the start of it he hadn't been fond of the guy at all and the feeling was probably mutual. He wasn't ready for that. Seeing Dale had been freaky enough. Seeing Carol had completely floored him. He needed a few days to get his head together. She had been able to ease herself into it a little better but he wasn't getting eased into anything.

Yesterday he had woken up and it had been a normal day. He'd had a lot of trouble shaking that last dream but other than that his life was still basically the same. He was still basically the same. And then she came along and everything had suddenly turned upside down. Everything he thought he knew about himself was wrong. The man he was in those dreams was real. Shaped and twisted by monsters and tragedy. Slowly shaped by her and her kindness and unwillingness to give up on him no matter what he said or did.

"Fuckin' starved," he finally said. He was starting to feel a headache coming on.

She directed him to a small pizza place on the other side of town. He groaned when he realized that she had every intention of going inside to eat. No carry out for Carol. He rolled his eyes as he got out of the car.

"You know this place delivers, right?" he asked as he came around the front of the car and joined her.

She nodded, a mysterious smile on her lips.

He remembered then. She told him that she had ordered a pizza the day she got out of the hospital and Glenn was the one that had delivered it to her house. "Glenn works here?" he asked, stopping her with a hand on her arm.

She nodded. "I figured maybe you would think of a way to..."

He groaned. "Me? Why the fuck do I gotta think of a way to get to the kid? You know how goddamn bad I am at this shit? Are you forgettin' everything about me?"

"I'm not forgetting anything about you. I know you can do this."

He huffed. He didn't remember her being this pushy in his dreams but she was sure as fuck pushy now. "And if I can't? We couldn't get anywhere with Merle, course you pullin' a gun on him probably didn't help anything there. We didn't get anywhere with Dale, other than followin' him home so now we know where he lives, which is creepy as fuck, by the way. Why do you think Glenn is gonna be any easier?"

She shrugged. "You and Glenn went through a lot. That has to mean something."

"Me and Glenn went through a lot because the world ended and by chance we ended up in the same group. It ain't like that yet."

"I think we have to at least try." Her eyes were large and innocent and he wanted to flog her and kiss her at the same time. She was impossible.

"Fuck it. Lead the way," he grumbled as he dropped her arm.

The place was small and pretty much empty except a few tables here and there. It was after one in the afternoon so most of the lunch crowd was gone. That was something, anyway. At least he didn't have to deal with a huge crowd of ass clowns. They sat down at a booth and he stared dejectedly at a menu. He hated places like this. He could have been in the woods right now, feeling much more free without his head feeling like a jumbled mess. But no. He was sitting in a booth across from an annoyingly smiley woman that seemed to find great joy in spending all fucking day putting him in different uncomfortable situations. It almost made him wish they were back at the damn prison. At least there she had her place and he had his and they met mutually in the middle. In this world she seemed to run the show and he had to try like hell to keep up.

"You two ready to order?"

Daryl glanced up and was relieved to see some girl that he had never seen before standing there with her pen poised over her order pad. He wasn't ready to see any more of them just yet but he wasn't about to tell Carol that since she would most likely argue with him. They ordered and then waited silently. He saw her eyes roaming around, glancing back towards the kitchen area but they didn't see any signs of Glenn.

"What if he ain't here? People don't work every day, ya know," he said as the girl sat their order down.

She shrugged. "We'll be eating a lot of pizza until we can catch him."

"Can't nobody call you a quitter, that's for sure," he said around a mouth full of food. She studied him for so long that he started shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"You're right. I'm not a quitter. Not anymore. So, will you please go with me tonight?"

He scowled at her. "You made me go talk to that asshole realtor guy today. You made me make an ass of both of us in front of Dale and now I'm sittin' in a goddamn pizza place like we're on a fuckin' date! No. I ain't goin'."

She scoffed. "This isn't a date. We're on a mission here, Daryl. We're trying to save lives."

"And you can go save Rick and Lori on your own. You don't need me for that." He tore off a chunk of pizza and chewed it miserably.

She sighed and looked down, her blue eyes growing misty. He narrowed his own, suspicious if she was playing him now like she had Dale earlier. "Are you going to go home after this then?"

He thought about that for a little while before answering her. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with Merle but that was something that he did need to deal with soon. He had to keep trying to get through to him so maybe going home wasn't a bad idea. On the other hand Ed might make good on his threat and show up at her house to see Sophia. So maybe he should be there just in case. Then again, everything was moving fast. Really fast. With the two of them in his dreams there had been a really slow build until he had realized that they were running out of time and he had had no other choice but to speed things up with them. He'd thought she was dying, or he was losing his mind. Either way, he'd done what he had done because of that. Now things were moving like a runaway train and he didn't know where his head was.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to. I'll drop you off so you can pick up your truck and you can go home. Just call me tomorrow or something."

She was letting him off easy and he knew it and he felt like a prick because he was almost relieved. Until he started thinking about waking up without her in the morning. Even before things escalated with them, knowing she was going to be there when he woke up had become a very vital part of his existence at the prison. Or in his head. However you wanted to look at it. He figured it was only going to be worse here in the real world. God, this was fucked up beyond belief.

He didn't say anything as they finished up and left. Once they were back in the car heading for the bar where his truck was he couldn't help but keep glancing at her from the corner of his eye. There was no way he could do this but he had to try. For her, anyway.

"What time?" he growled as they pulled into the parking lot. It was about full now and he had a knot of anxiety in his stomach that felt as heavy as lead.

She looked at him curiously. "What time?"

"What time do we gotta be there?" he asked accusingly, like she was forcing his hand and he was dreading the hell out of it. Which he was, but it wasn't like she was forcing him to go. It was just that, for some reason, not going made him feel like a real asshole. This wasn't just her burden to bear and he was going to have to suck it up and do what he could to help her. He knew if the tables were turned she would do it for him with no questions asked.

The smile that broke out over her face made it almost worth it. Almost. He didn't want to do this. But he would. At least she seemed to realize that this was a hard thing for him. "You are the sweetest man I've ever met." She beamed.

He snorted. "Shut up." He got out of the car and waited by the door for her to make her way around. She stopped a few feet away and looked up at him from under her lashes. He didn't trust that look. What was she going to try to get him to do now?

"Thank you," she said quietly and the feeling that she put into those two little words really did let him know that she knew exactly how hard this was for him and she appreciated the effort. That made it all the way worth it in his book.

He shook his head, "Might as well get used to them assholes now, right? Postponin' the inevitable is pretty dumb."

She smiled again and almost knocked him over when she threw herself at him. She pulled his face down until her lips met his, giving him no choice but to put his arms around her and kiss her back even though, once again, anyone wondering by could see them. And just like earlier he stopped caring. As soon as his arms went around her it really didn't seem like such a big deal.

Eventually she pulled away but kept her arms around his neck. "Come over at five. I don't think we have to be at Rick and Lori's until seven."

"Then what do you want me there at five..." he didn't even finish asking, the look in her eye giving him all the answers he needed. His stomach did a strange flip as a combination of anticipation and nervousness settled in.

"Go deal with your brother. I'll see you later."

He nodded and watched her get into her car before he went to his truck. Dealing with his brother didn't seem so horrible now that he had something to look forward too later.