Hello! A quick story about myself before you read this chapter and start in on me about the likelihood of this actually happening. Okay, when I was eleven years old we lived out in the country. My dad thought it would be a good idea to teach me to drive. I learned really quick. Well, he also happened to be a bit of a heavy drinker and so when he would pass out I would take his van and cruise around the back roads. I drove just fine. Never got in an accident once. lol Keep that in mind.

Another thing. The lovely ldyjaydin takes the time to edit my chapters for me cause I kinda suck. When she sends me my edited chapter back I save it to a file called edits and when I went to go over this particular chapter to correct things, the edits file was gone. Like, totally missing from my computer like it never existed to begin with. So, if you find a crap tone of mess ups then I gotta say, I am so sorry! Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Things pick up here soon so bear with me if you are getting bored =) Have a really safe weekend!

Grand Theft Auto

"This is the stupidest thing I have ever done. You know that my mom is going to kill me right? And then when she gets done killing me Daryl is gonna bring me back to life and then he is gonna kill me. I'm gonna die twice. If you don't kill us first," Carl droned on. "She doesn't even like it when I sit in the front seat while she's driving."

"Would you please just shut your mouth. We are almost there and we've barely passed any cars," Sophia said, annoyance clear in her voice. From the corner of her eye she could see Carl shaking his head as he clutched his seat belt.

"What are we going to do once we get there?" He asked after a few blessed minutes of silence.

"We're getting Penny out of there and bringing her back with us," she explained for the third time.

"And then?"

She sighed loudly, "I don't know. I guess we can try and hide her for a while. It isn't like that house isn't big enough. I'll think of something."

He didn't say anything else for a while. She didn't need him to remind her that this was about the stupidest thing she had ever done. It was dangerous and dumb but she didn't see any other way she could help that girl and save Merle from ending up in prison before the walkers came. Sometimes people had to do dumb things. Dangerous things. Things that could get them in huge trouble. This was one of those times. She didn't like it but it was the truth.

When she was about a half mile from Merle's house she pulled over onto the side of the road. He lived on a back country road and she wasn't worried about anyone seeing them. She took a deep breath and got out of the car. The road was dark and deserted and she had to admit that she was relieved once she felt Carl there at her side.

"What are we doing? There isn't even any houses around here," Carl whispered, like there was anyone around to hear them anyway.

"It's only a little further. I couldn't just pull into his driveway," she said as she started walking.

He walked with her but he was apparently in the mood to chat because he didn't let the silence go on for very long. That was something that she noticed about him. He didn't like long silences. "When are you going to tell them the rest?" He asked.

She stopped and then grabbed his arm. "I'm not. That doesn't matter. Everything is going to be fine as long as everyone keeps doing what they are doing." She could feel his eyes on her once she started walking again but she ignored him. They weren't going to talk about the other dreams. She wasn't going to think about any of that. Not right now. Maybe not ever.

"Sophia, you can't just let them go on wondering how all this happened," he said in a quiet voice. "They deserve to know."

She shook her head and started walking faster.

"Sophia!" His voice was harsh.

"Shut up, Carl!" She nearly yelled but she didn't slow down. He listened to her and dropped the subject. They walked on without another word until the small house by the woods came into view. They slowed then.

"What now?" He whispered.

She glanced at him and then squared her shoulders. "Now we go get the girl."

She heard him groan as they cautiously approached the house. She knew that this was the dangerous part. Merle was off his rocker more often than not and she was really pushing her luck now. She was going to try the door first. If that was unlocked then maybe he would be asleep or passed out and they could get Penny and go. They climbed the porch steps slowly and she couldn't help but notice that Carl seemed to swallow down what fear he may have felt and put himself between her and the door. She didn't say anything. She knew him and arguing over this wouldn't do her any good. He made it his mission to keep her safe and she would let him do it. If it kept him from becoming what he had become in the prison then she would gladly let him do this.

They both stood there for a long time just listening for any sounds that may indicate that Merle was awake. When they heard nothing but silence Carl tried the doorknob but it was locked. She nearly cursed out loud. Instead of standing there and sulking about it however she hurried off the small porch and went to the nearest window. She hoped it was to the living room and not Merle's bedroom. He seemed like the type that would shoot intruders on sight and then check to identify them after the fact. Wouldn't that be just perfect.

The window went up easily at first but then seemed to stick. She jiggled the frame around but it wouldn't budge. She was small enough to squeeze inside but that wouldn't be a very good position to be caught in in case Merle wasn't asleep.

"Let me go first," Carl said right before she was about to boost herself up. She moved so he could go in first. He glanced over his shoulder and then motioned for the porch. "Just go wait by the door and I'll let you in. It'll be easier."

She nodded and then hurried back up onto the porch on silent feet. She didn't let herself panic. She knew he would make it inside. He would be fine. Compared to some of the things he had done this was a piece of cake.

It seemed like an hour but was probably less than a minute before she heard the door creak open. It wasn't really loud but it may as well have been a shot gun blast. She flinched with every inch it opened. If they ended up gunned down by Merle it was going to get very ugly. Thankfully she slipped in and realized the whole house was dark and silent. No angry gun wielding redneck in sight. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her heart was hammering hard in her chest.

They didn't know their way around the house and since it was pretty much pitch black it took them a while to find the hallway with the three doors. One was open and led to a bathroom but the other two were closed.

"Which one?" Carl asked in a voice she could barely even hear.

"How am I suppose to know?" She shot back.

"Because this was your idea, not mine. I'm just along for the ride. Literally."

She rolled her eyes and went to the door closest to them and put her ear against the wood. At first she didn't hear anything at all but then she thought that she could make out the sounds of someone quietly crying. She reached for Carl's hand in the dark. She felt better once she found it and then argued with herself that she didn't need anyone, not even Carl Grimes, to feel brave.

She turned the knob slowly and winced as she pushed the door open. There was just enough light to see a small form curled up on a bare mattress on the floor. Sure enough, the quiet sounds were coming from over there.

"Penny?" Sophia whispered.

The girl stiffened and then rolled over, peering out into the room. "Who's there?"

Sophia approached her cautiously and knelt down by the bed while Carl kept watch by the door. "My name is Sophia. Me and my friend need you to come with us," she said in a voice that she hoped was soothing to the smaller girl. She remembered all the nights that her mom would come to her when she was crying like this. She remembered how safe she felt, even though she had known deep down that her mother was powerless to protect her, she had still felt protected.

"Someone killed my dad," Penny breathed.

Sophia put her arm around her when she sat up. "Everything is going to be fine okay. You just have to be as quiet as you can and we'll take you somewhere safe. Do you understand?"

"I'm not safe here?" Penny asked.

It was obvious that Merle hadn't forced the girl to go with him and she must not know that it was Merle that killed her father. That was a good thing but Sophia couldn't help but wonder how he had managed to pull that off. "Not as safe as you'll be with us."

"Are they going to kill me next?" Penny asked.

Sophia glanced up at Carl who was still standing in the doorway, listening for Merle. "No. No one is coming for you. You just aren't as safe here as you would be with us." She stood up and took Penny's hand, pulling her from the bed. "Remember, as quiet as you can, okay?"

Penny nodded but was crying again as they slipped out of the house undetected.

~H~

Carol wanted to throw the alarm clock out the window. She smacked it until it shut off and then she rolled over, facing Daryl's empty side of the bed. She sat up frowning and glanced around. She usually woke up when he got up. She must have been really tired.

She was quick to shower and get dressed so they could get another day started. There was always so much to do. She found them all in the kitchen. Carl and Sophia were sitting at the table, scarfing down a bowl of cereal and Daryl was standing with his back to her, arms crossed over his chest as he looked out the window.

Sophia and Carl both looked up at her at the same time. She noticed that something was a little off about them right away. She couldn't really put her finger on it. Call it woman's intuition but it was something. Daryl turned around, giving them both a pointed look before looking at her.

Without a word they both put their bowls in the sink, grabbed a banana from the counter and tried to escape the kitchen. Daryl grabbed them both by the back of the shirt, stopping them in their tracks. Carol crossed her arms over her chest and watched their faces carefully.

Daryl snorted, "Where the hell are you two headin' off too?"

They shared a look and then shrugged when Daryl finally let them go. "Upstairs," Sophia said as she turned to look at him.

Carol was watching Carl, who looked almost panicked.

"What for? You know we got work to do," Daryl said with narrowed eyes.

Sophia huffed and then grabbed Carl's hand, heading towards the back door. She glanced back over her shoulder and shot Daryl a dirty look. Once they were out Carol went to the coffee pot and poured a cup.

"They're up to somethin'," he muttered as he stared at the door.

She nodded. "They are definitely up to something. How long have they been up?"

"Don't know," he said, still looking at the door with a frown. "They were already up when I came down about an hour ago."

She started rinsing out the dishes when she felt a hand on her hip. She smiled to herself when her heart rate kicked up a few notches. She still couldn't get over the fact that such a simple touch could cause her to do that. Nothing else was touching her. Just that one timid hand. She took it upon herself to lean into him, knowing that he wasn't ever sure how to start any shows of affection.

Her breath hitched when his lips touched the back of her neck and his other hand came up around her waist. "I gotta go to my brother's," he said, his voice husky in her ear.

She nodded and noted that he didn't move away from her. Instead he moved closer, trapping her between his body and the sink. "What are you going to say to him?"

His hands inched up her ribcage. "Don't know yet. Gonna figure out about that little girl for starters. Merle wouldn't have hurt her. I know that."

"Me too," she whispered as his hands moved higher.

"I won't be gone long."

"Good." She was about to turn but stiffened when she heard a loud knock at the door.

He reluctantly stepped away from her and headed towards the foyer without a word. That wasn't Rick and Lori. They never knocked. They already looked at the place like it belonged to all of them. This sounded like someone wanted to beat the door off it's hinges. She wasn't going to wait around to find out who it was so she followed him to the door.

He yanked it open with a scowl in place.

Merle didn't wait for an invite. He stormed in, pushing past Daryl and running a hand over his head in apparent irritation.

"What the hell, Merle," Daryl grumbled as he shut the door.

"We have a problem," Merle said in a hushed voice.

Daryl crossed his arms over his chest. "I knew it. I fuckin' knew it was you."

Merle shook his head quickly and glanced around frantically. "I got rid of that prick but I lost the girl."

Carol's hand went to her mouth and she leaned into the side of the door frame.

"You what?" Daryl roared, causing even Merle to flinch. "And the first goddamn thing that popped into your head was to show up here?"

Merle leaned into the wall. "Where the hell else was I suppose to go you dumb shit!" He yelled. "I tried to see you the other day and maybe talk about my plan with you but you weren't here!"

Daryl took a step closer, his finger jabbing Merle in the chest. "Don't you put this shit on me! As soon as that little girl gets a chance she's gonna have a goddamn description. How could you be so stupid?"

"You don't know shit! Your ass would be thankin' me right now if you had any goddamn idea who it was I got rid of!"

Daryl took a step back, glancing towards Carol and then back to Merle. "The Governor. He's a fuckin' psycho bastard that tried to kill us all at the prison."

Merle blinked. "You knew him too?"

"He almost killed us all," Carol said quietly.

Merle looked at her for the first time since he had came in. "He what?"

Carol nodded. "You kidnapped Glenn and his girlfriend, Maggie. You took them to the Governor and he was holding them hostage. He did... something to Maggie and you beat Glenn into oblivion and then you threw a walker at him."

Merle looked stunned. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something but then closed it again.

"You need to start watchin' the news or somethin'. See if they found that girl yet," Daryl said. He seemed to have calmed down just a little. It wasn't like he wasn't used to dealing with Merle. This was bigger than what he was used to dealing with but he was still used to it all the same.

They walked past her and she couldn't help but notice how Merle actually met her eyes on his way by. There was no animosity there anymore. She almost felt bad for him but feeling bad for a man like Merle Dixon, this version anyway, was not an easy feat. He had brought this mess on himself and in doing so he put Daryl in danger. If Merle was put in jail for this stunt then when everything turned to shit, Daryl would have to risk his own life to get Merle out of jail and that wouldn't be very easy with walkers swarming them.

She left them in the living room while she went to fetch the coffee. She was about to turn around, two mugs in hand, when she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. There were some old service stairs leading down to the kitchen and that was where she thought she saw the movement from. She glanced out the window and saw Sophia and Carl with the wheelbarrow that they mixed the mud in.

"Daryl," she called, keeping her eyes on the doorway to the stairs.

He came in and she motioned in the direction of the doorway to the stairs. He frowned and she met his eyes. He walked towards the doorway cautiously at first but then they heard footsteps hurrying up the stairs and he started running towards them.

Merle appeared in the kitchen then just as Daryl was sprinting up the stairs. "What the fuck is goin' on?" He asked.

She shook her head. "There's someone in the house." She sat the mugs down and was about to head up the stairs herself but there was something about the look on his face that had her stopping.

Merle looked away. "Might be your husband."

She looked at him sharply. "What?"

"Told Ed where y'all was settlin' down." He didn't sound all too sorry about it.

"Why would you do that?" She wanted to kick his ass. Why was he always trying to make things harder? "Do you really hate me that much?"

He looked away again, his jaw clenching. "Pretty much."

She shook her head in disgust and went to follow Daryl when she heard Merle growl and then grabbed her arm roughly. She spun around glaring.

He did the same thing he had done earlier. He was about to say something and then shut his mouth again. She jerked away from him, shot him one last nasty look and then headed up the back stairs. When she made it to the top she froze. Daryl was knelt down in the middle of the hallway.

"Daryl?" she whispered.

He spun around, face blazing with anger. "You handle this," he growled.

There, standing in the hall right in front of him was a dark haired girl. She couldn't have been a day over ten years old and she looked terrified.

"Where are you going?" she asked as he stormed past her.

"To kick Sophia's ass," he stated simply.

"What?" she gasped.

He rolled his eyes. "I ain't really gonna kick her ass. But somebody needs to."

"Daryl, what the hell are you talking about?"

He jabbed a finger at the little girl. "Carol, meet Penny. Penny, Carol. Sophia and Carl showed up at Merle's last night and grabbed her."

Carol felt her mouth drop open. "How?"

He glanced down at the girl. "Accordin' to her Sophia drove. All the way to Merle's house, broke in and took her out."

She felt the blood drain from her face. That couldn't be true. There was no way her daughter would do something like that. She was smarter than that! She could have wrecked the car. She could have gotten herself killed. How could she be so stupid?

Right before Daryl took his first step down the back stairs they heard footsteps coming up the main staircase. Daryl froze, his face a storm cloud of anger.

Sure enough a few seconds later Carl and Sophia both emerged and then froze in their tracks. Daryl stalked towards them.

"Daryl, wait!" Carol called as she placed her hands on Penny's shoulders. Daryl stopped but didn't turn around. She knelt down and smiled warmly at the little girl. She looked terrified and Carol's heart broke a little for her. "Penny, you go ahead and wait for me in Sophia's room, okay? I'll be in there in a minute and then we can fix you some breakfast."

Penny nodded and hurried off to Sophia's room. Carol knew she had to calm him down before he blew his top on Sophia and Carl. She took his hand and looked at the two kids at the end of the hall. They were both wide eyed and looked as terrified as Penny had. Daryl looked murderous.

She tugged him down the hall towards Carl and Sophia.

"Can you please explain to me what the hell happened last night?" She asked in a quiet voice. She wouldn't yell and scream even if she wanted too at the moment.

"I didn't have a choice," Sophia began but one look at Daryl and she was looking at the floor.

Daryl growled. "You know how goddamn dumb that was? What the hell would you have done if you woulda gotten pulled over? Or if you had crashed the damn car?"

Sophia met his eyes. Hers were wide and wet, her bottom lip trembled slightly. "I needed to get Penny so Merle wouldn't end up in jail. I did it for you. And I know how to drive. I'm good. You said so yourself."

He scowled and then threw his hands in the air, pacing for a few seconds before stopping and glaring down at the girl again. "Is this everybody blame Daryl for their dumb ass decisions day or somethin'? I said you was a good driver so that makes it okay for you to steal a car and go on some midnight joy ride? You're both lucky Merle didn't wake up and shoot the both of ya!"

Carol was shaken by what the two of them had done last night but she felt like she needed to come to her daughter's defense. It was clear that Sophia was pretty scared and the last thing that she wanted was for her to be afraid of Daryl of all people. He was the last person in the world that would ever hurt her. "Daryl, maybe we just need to sit down and talk about it."

He turned those angry eyes on her. "What the fuck do you think I'm doin'?"

"Looks to me like you're havin' a fit," Carl said quietly.

Daryl's head whipped back towards them. "You're in trouble too you little shit! You went with her. You coulda told somebody what the hell was goin' on. You ain't that stupid."

"Don't tell my parents!" Carl said as he took a step back.

"Oh I'm gonna tell'em alright and don't think for a damn minute that you two are gonna be left alone anymore after that stunt, you hear me?" His eyes moved from Carl's face to Sophia's.

"Daryl..." Carol started again but she was interrupted by Sophia's voice. There was a quiet anger burning behind it that Carol had never heard before.

"I'm not stupid. Not as stupid as your idiot brother who kidnapped Penny in the first place! I'm trying to save as many lives as I can, Daryl. I have to! How can I save Merle if he ends up in jail? And how could I save you if you went after him and ended up getting hurt?" Her eyes filled with angry tears that spilled over. She let them flow freely as she lifted her chin, trying hard to be brave in the face of Daryl's wrath.

Carol felt a lump form in her throat and her eyes grew misty herself. Daryl took a step back like the girl had slapped him. He didn't say anything but the anger seemed to leave him. Now he just looked guilty.

"The only damn person that you need to worry about protected is yourself," he said quietly. "Did you see what that did to your mama? You dyin'? What that did to me? You said you watched us so you gotta know."

Sophia swallowed and gave him a quick nod. "I'm sorry," she whispered and then stepped around him, Carl following close behind.

Daryl watched them go, running his hand through his hair and shaking his head.

"Are you okay?" She asked as she touched his arm.

He met her eyes and frowned. "She stole a goddamn car and kidnapped a kid in the middle of the night. She's twelve years old! And you're askin' me if I'm alright?"

"Daryl I know this is really serious and it's really bad..."

"But?" His frown deepened.

"But... I don't know. I think she was only trying to help. And she did. Merle would have messed up and he would have gotten caught."

His eyes widened in shock. "You're sayin' that this was a good thing? You're not pissed off that she coulda gotten herself killed?"

"Daryl, she's scared, okay. She doesn't want to lose anybody. Especially you. She thought she was doing the right thing."

"She stole a goddamn car!" He barked.

She shook her head. "She's been spending time with you. I figured delinquency was a side effect." She kept a straight face.

His lips formed a hard line. "This is serious," he growled.

"You have bigger things to worry about than scolding Sophia over what she did."

He shook his head. "Like what?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Like your brother killing a man, kidnapping his daughter and then losing her. You handle Merle. And by the way, we may be getting some unwanted company eventually." She turned and started walking towards Sophia's room.

"Like who?" He asked.

She looked over her shoulder and gave him an exasperated look. "Like Ed."

"What? How the hell did he figure out where we lived?" His voice was angry again.

"Ask your brother," she said as she continued on down the hall.

"Mother fucker!" He hissed and then she heard his feet on the stairs.