This chapter has the pace of a filler to me but some questions are answered. Unfortunately more questions will be asked after this one. I apologize for that! But it comes together. I hope you all enjoy it regardless! Thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a safe weekend!
An Odd Encounter
Church was a complete bust. Everyone had been so certain that they would find T-dog there that the look of defeat on their faces when they all came moping into the house almost made Merle feel bad for them.
Daryl sat down heavily in a reclining chair in the living room and stared off into space. Carol squeezed his shoulder reassuringly on her way by him. The rest of them looked just as beaten down. No one said anything for quite some time. Glenn was standing there with his little girlfriend. Merle had already heard about what he had done to the girl but it wasn't like that had happened here in this world. She didn't have to glare at him like that every time her eyes landed on him.
Merle watched as Sophia and Carl ran past him, heading towards the foyer.
"So, Merle. Why didn't you go to church today?" Maggie asked as her eyes narrowed on him. "Were you too busy sacrificin' virgins or somethin'?"
Merle crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a wide smile. "Nah, not today, Little Bo Peep. I'm surprised a fast assed girl like yourself even knows the meanin' of the word."
"Go to hell, Merle," she spat.
He ignored her and went to the kitchen. He was already sick of the way everyone looked at him and that was without them knowing about Penny and the Governor. He was almost looking forward to the drama of it all once it all got out in the open. Hell, if they knew about it now then he was pretty sure it would snap them all right out of their sour moods over that asshole that dropped the stupid key in his dream. He stopped in his tracks when he realized that he was doing the exact same thing that the others were doing to him. Maybe the dumb ass had dropped the key in his dream but as of right now he still had his damn hand and all was right with the world. Well, as right as it ever was for him.
He thought maybe he should have thought of that before he went and turned the ol' Governor's head into squash but he shook that thought off. That son of a bitch needed to go. Carol turned with a container full of left overs and sat it on the counter before looking at him. When she finally did she didn't waste any time getting right down to business.
"I told Daryl about what you and I talked about yesterday," she said hurriedly.
He studied her but she looked as though she were waiting for him to say something. He leaned his hip into the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. "That why he looks like a lost puppy out there?" He asked, genuinely curious. He kind of wished that she had followed her own advice and kept that between the two of them.
"No. He was really looking forward to seeing T-dog today. I guess he's just disappointed is all."
He nodded. "That's good news I suppose. I figured he'd be a nervous wreck thinkin' we were all gonna wake up back in 1985 or some shit."
She actually smiled, her eyes brightening some. "Wouldn't that be something? To wake up young like that and still knowing everything we know now?"
He thought about that for a second and then nodded in agreement. "Sure would. Cept I ain't too fond of that year. Best make it '86 or somethin'." He scowled at the memory. "Maybe skip the 80's altogether."
She gave him a mischievous grin that had him feeling the urge to grin right back. He didn't though. He was already going against his own code by being as friendly with her as he was, especially knowing she wasn't going to be putting out. "Why is that, Merle?"
He snorted. "Well, there's the hair back then. The clothes. The music. The cars. You can't tell me much good at all came out of the 80's."
She laughed and he found himself liking the sound of it. "Okay, you win. But why not 85 specifically?"
"Spent the whole goddamn year in prison, that's why. Who the hell wants to wake up in jail? Young or not, that place was for the birds. Besides, I believe my brother was only about sixteen back in 86'. I ain't too sure if you woulda had any luck with him then."
"Sixteen, huh? I was twenty..." She stared off towards the window like she was lost in thought and then he watched as a blush caused her face to turn a soft shade of pink.
"You pervert!" He nearly shouted and then laughed.
Her face grew even more red and she smacked him in the arm. "Would you keep your voice down? I wasn't thinking about that!" She hissed but it was quite obvious that that was exactly where her mind had gone.
He patted her back as he walked past her. "I'll do that. I'm gonna go on upstairs now and leave ya to your fantasizin'."
He could almost feel her glaring daggers into his back as he headed for the service stairs. She mumbled something but he was already to far away to really hear what it was she had to say. Before he made it to his room he had to pass Sophia's room. His room was closer to the main stairs than hers was. He paused outside of the closed door.
He had checked in on Penny earlier but he figured it wouldn't hurt to pop in one more time to make sure she was alright. He wasn't going to admit it to anybody but he actually kind of liked the kid. Even if she was a little on the creepy side. She looked up from her spot in the middle of the floor where she was putting a puzzle together.
"Hi, Merle," she said brightly before she looked back down at the puzzle.
"Hows it goin' bookworm?" He asked, trying to be as nice to her as he could. After all, he had killed her daddy and then kidnapped her. Being nice and looking after her a bit was the least he could do.
She shrugged. "Okay I guess."
He hated that she was stuck up here most of the time. The only time she ever came down was when Rick and Lori weren't around so she had been stuck in the house for a few days now. He sat down on the edge of one of the twin beds. "You goin' stir crazy up here yet?" He asked as he glanced around the girly room.
She shook her head, "No. There's plenty to do and usually Sophia and Carl are with me."
He had an idea just then. When it had crossed his mind downstairs it had only been a brief idea to stir the shit pot a bit. He wasn't worried about Rick Grimes throwing him in the pen since Rick was one hundred percent on board with this whole thing. So now it seemed like something to do and not only would he get to sit back and watch the house get turned upside down but the little girl wouldn't have to hide in her room all the damn time.
"How bout me and you just go on downstairs and we'll introduce you to everybody. How's that sound?" He asked.
She gave him a look that reminded him of Carol's little girl and shook her head. "It isn't time for that yet, Merle. You know that."
"Now is as good a time as any. It would be better than sittin' up here readin'," he grumbled as he glanced around the room.
"Sophia said you would probably try something like this. She also told me that if I did what you said then it would cause more trouble for you then you think. I'll stay here until it's time to let the others know I'm up here."
He scowled. That damn Sophia really got on his nerves. The kid from the quarry never would have acted that way. This Sophia was a real pain in the ass. She was killing his fun. He wasn't worried about Rick doing anything about it. Rick knew what was going on. He knew that Daryl wouldn't let him lock his own brother up right before the world became overrun with the walking dead. With a sigh he got up from the bed and walked towards the door.
"Merle?"
He looked at her over his shoulder expectantly. "Yeah?"
"You really should try to be good. Sophia is really gonna need you."
He frowned. What the hell was this kid talking about? "What do ya mean, need me?"
She gave a delicate shrug. "I don't know. I just heard Carl and her talkin'. They thought I was asleep. She said she hoped you could manage to keep your nose clean because they all need you. She said that it was up to you and her to do what needed to be done for the group."
With a frown he turned and left the room, heading towards his own. What the hell could Penny be talking about? He had already did something for the group. It didn't matter that he hadn't known about all the shit that the Governor had put the group through. The point of the matter was that he was dead. He was gone. The only thing they had to worry about now were the walkers and the walkers weren't going to be able to get past a reinforced block wall. His mind went to the memories he had of the dreams where he had actually talked to Sophia but nothing, other than her telling him to kill the Governor, really stuck out.
He closed his eyes once his head hit the pillows. He was feeling a headache coming on. Something occurred to him then and he sat up. A headache? It had been a few days since he had consumed any kind of drug at all. He hadn't even drank so much as one beer. Why the hell wasn't he tweaking the hell out?
He glanced around the room, waiting for the overwhelming urge for a fix to hit him but nothing came. He didn't feel like being high right now. He felt... good. Other than the headache, that wasn't even that bad, he felt better than he had in years. He just hadn't realized it until now. Frowning he dropped back down to the pillows and rolled over on his side. He'd take a nap so he wouldn't have to deal with the house full of assholes downstairs and then maybe he would talk to Sophia later and find out what the hell was going on. He wanted to know exactly what Penny had overheard.
He wasn't sure how long he had been lying there but he finally gave up and, with a groan, sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands. He swung his legs around and opened his eyes.
"Who the fuck are you?" He asked as he launched himself off the bed. Standing between him and the closed door was a young woman. More a girl, really. Her hands were crossed over her chest and she was smirking at him. She had copper colored hair that was swept back from her face and her hazel eyes studied him with a calculating look. The first word that popped into his head was 'stunning'. She was really something, whoever she was.
"Hello Merle," she said as her hands went to her hips.
He swallowed hard. He knew that voice and he instantly felt the hairs on his arms stand on end. "Sophia?" His voice came out in a low rasp and he took a step towards her.
She smiled then, causing him to blink a few times. He saw the little girl in this young woman's face now but he still couldn't believe his eyes. She was tall and willowy but he could see a strength in her stance that made him feel a strange sense of pride. He had no idea why he would feel anything towards the girl other than annoyance. They stood there like that for a few heavy moments and then his breath hitched.
"Fuck!" He nearly yelled when he remembered what him and Carol had discussed the day before. "I'm awake ain't I? We jumped into the future didn't we?"
She shook her head and quickly grabbed his hand in both of hers. "You're asleep Merle. You're fine. You guys have to stop worrying about that. Where you are, that's real."
Her hand was warm in his. Solid. "What the fuck is happenin' then? Why the hell are you here?"
"This is just a dream," She said with a small smile. "Well, kind of."
"What the fuck do you mean, kind of? Is this real or not?" He was starting to sound hysterical, even to himself.
"It's all real. Well, it's real as long as you don't mess it up. There's only so much I can do. I just can't explain it to you right now. Just listen to me, okay. Stop trying to get Penny to show herself to the others. That can't happen yet. Nothing can happen to you, Merle. You understand me?"
He didn't understand her at all but he nodded anyway.
She surprised him further by reaching up and kissing him on the cheek quickly. "I gotta go. Just don't forget what I said, okay?" She dropped his hand and backed towards the door, giving him one last smile before slipping out.
He sat down on the edge of the bed, his hands were shaking as he ran them over his face. The next thing he knew he was waking up to the sound of a door slamming.
He sat up in bed, in the same spot he had been in when he had decided to take a nap in the first place. Another dream. Had that been another dream? This was how he had felt every time he had woken up from one of those messed up dreams about the Governor. Everything was clear, more like a memory than just the memory of a dream. He looked over and, of course, there stood Sophia. The normal Sophia. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was glaring daggers at him.
"Merle, why did you try to get Penny to go down there? Do you really want trouble? Do you really think we need that right now?" She asked in an exasperated voice. If not for the dream he would have laughed at her.
He shook his head instead of saying anything.
She stopped glaring at him and then sat down on the edge of his bed, a look of concern in her eyes. "Are you alright?"
He surprised himself when he looked her right in the eye and then shook his head again. He wasn't alright. The others weren't dealing with the same thing that he was dealing with. He knew it.
She scooted closer and hesitantly took his hand. Just like she had done in his dream. "Did something happen?" She asked.
He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly as he pulled his hand away from hers and stood up. "Nothin', kid. I'll quit tryin' to cause a stink with the rest of'em. Let's go see what the hell your mama is plannin' on cookin' up for us tonight."
She nodded and stood up too, walking with him into the hallway. "You are probably going to hate this but Dale is coming over tonight. So is Shane and Amy. The Greene family too. You think you'll be okay with that?"
He snorted, the strangeness from the dream fading slightly in the face of this new annoyance he was going to have to deal with. "Can't promise ya nothin' but I might make a point to not be as much of an asshole as I would like."
She laughed and bumped him with her shoulder. "That's all any of us can hope for when it comes to you, Merle."
~H~
Carol kept an eye on Merle. He had been quiet since coming back down. The only person he really spoke too was Sophia, which was odd enough, but it was the way they were acting that was bothering her. There was something going on with the two of them and she wanted to know what it was. They had their heads together a lot, talking in low voices. It was odd since Merle had never shown much interest in Sophia before.
"Where the hell did your head go woman?" Daryl asked as he took the knife that she was using to chop vegetables out of her hand. She hadn't realized she had been standing there holding the knife as she watched Merle and Sophia.
She finally tore her eyes away from them and met Daryl's. He sat the knife down and glanced around the kitchen before pulling her towards him with one arm around her waist. She couldn't help but smile. She would never get over how different he was when it was just the two of them compared to when there were other people around. Sophia and Merle were the only other two people in the kitchen and they were engaged in a heated conversation at the moment. "They're up to something," she said quietly, inclining her head towards the two.
Daryl's eyes slid over to them and then back to hers. "It's alright. Sophia's smart enough to keep Merle in line."
"Are you forgetting about the time she stole my car in the middle of the night to kidnap a kidnapped little girl?" She raised one eyebrow at him and was delighted to find herself rewarded with a rare wide grin.
"I don't wanna be the one to say it out loud but the girl did good. She's got more grit than I ever thought she would have."
Carol laughed but it was cut off with an unexpectedly deep kiss. Her hands instantly fisted into the front of his shirt, pulling him closer as one of his hands cupped the side of her face gently. They were partially hidden behind the counter that separated the cooking area from the eating area so she barely thought about a potential audience. She had nothing to worry about anyway because when she opened her eyes and glanced towards the table Merle and Sophia were gone.
"I thought you were in a bad mood?" She asked as her arms snaked around his neck.
He shrugged. "Got over it."
"That was quick. What managed to brighten your day?" She watched as his eyes flicked towards the doorway and then back to her.
"We're still here," he said simply.
She smiled and then turned in his arms, grabbing the knife and continued chopping the vegetables. He placed a kiss on the back of her neck before moving away from her. "I'm gonna go try to figure out what the hell those kids are up too."
She glanced over her shoulder. "What kids?"
He gave her another easy grin. "Sophia and Merle."
She laughed as she watched him walk away.