Merry Christmas Eve! Hope everyone is finding some enjoyment out of the holiday season! To my favorite guest reviewer, you are very welcome, sweetheart, but you need an account so I can call you something other than Guest! I'm glad that you like this story so much! I hope you guys like this chapter! I like a little drama but I am not a huge fan of Caryl drama so I'm just going to have a little served on the side for a few other characters ;) And now I'm going to go on and let you read. Thanks for the love and support! Hope your Christmas is awesome!

And the Plot Thickens

The phone rang, jerking Carol from a deep sleep. She was about to reach for it when a heavy arm held her in place. Daryl reached over her and picked it up, looking at the face and then answering with a grumbled, "Hello?"

Carol closed her eyes, more than willing to let him handle whoever it was on the other end. It was barely light out and she knew everyone else in the house was sound asleep.

"This is Daryl, who the hell is this?"

The blanket was jerked off of her when he sat straight up. She opened her eyes just when he switched ears and then looked at her sharply.

"Yeah, I know exactly who you are. Do you know me?" He asked, his eyes looking sharp despite being pulled from sleep himself only moments before. "Do you know where we are?" He asked as he threw the covers off himself and sat down on the edge of the bed. He grabbed his jeans off the floor and tugged them on.

Carol sat up, looking at him worriedly. It had been a week and a half since T-dog had showed up and everything had been pretty quiet. From Daryl's tone it seemed like that was over now.

"Get your ass over here then. We have a lot to talk about. The rest of the group is here."

Carol moved until she was sitting in the middle of the bed on her knees, watching him.

"Yeah, you too," he said quickly before he hung up the phone.

"Who was..."

"Andrea," he said quickly, cutting her off. "She knows everything as far as I can tell. Said she bout pissed herself when Amy brought us up to her on the phone the other day. She's on her way now. You ready to have another sit down?"

She nodded and let him pull her out of the bed. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and didn't even bother changing out of it. She just grabbed some jeans out of the closet and yanked them on as he watched. "What about Amy?" She asked quickly as she ran a hand through her hair.

He just shrugged and slipped a shirt on, buttoning it quickly. "Didn't say."

"I'm so glad she knows already. It would have been hard keeping tabs on them if she didn't," Carol said as she made her way down the hallway. "But really she's only a few days early. I would say we have less than a week before everything happens."

He nodded, following her to Rick and Lori's room. She knocked lightly on the door and then opened it when Rick called out. She explained to them quickly and then moved on to Merle's room.

"Blondie, huh? I've been lookin' forward to this," Merle muttered sleepily as he crawled out of bed.

Carol snickered and moved on to Glenn's room. After everyone was up she decided to make breakfast, knowing that Andrea had an hours drive ahead of her. Everyone gathered in the kitchen, Lori instantly falling into the same groove as her as they bustled about the room preparing food for the others. The newly erected building was stocked with three truckloads of canned and dry goods and so was the basement so food wouldn't be a worry for them. Not for a long time. But they never touched it. Always opting to go to the grocery store for any food they needed. Until the stores closed down, they left their supply alone.

Glenn and Maggie made their way outside to take care of the animals. Carol and the others figured that taking care of the livestock wasn't the only thing they did out there in the barn but that was alright. They were young and kind of newly in love. No one ever bothered them about it. No one but Merle but he took a lot of satisfaction in tormenting Maggie every chance he got and every now and then Carol thought that maybe she deserved it.

Carol noticed that Lori looked a little nervous and couldn't help but wonder why. "What's up?" She asked the other woman knowingly.

Lori popped a grape into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "I know now that Andrea was still alive when we left her on the farm. You told us that already. I feel like we failed her somehow, I guess."

Carol shook her head and smiled slightly as she flipped the pancakes. "She understood. How could we have known she hadn't died? When she showed up at the prison, even with the drama with the Governor, she was happy to see us."

Lori just nodded so Carol turned back to her task. She understood Lori's concern. She had been afraid that Andrea would feel like they had abandoned her but she hadn't. She smiled to herself at the prospect of seeing her friend again. She had missed her. When she had heard what had happened to her in Woodbury it had hurt. Rick blamed himself for that too but she wasn't too sure why. But that was Rick. He blamed himself for everything from the moment he had decided to be their leader.

"Shane still hasn't mentioned anything. I don't understand, after everything that happened, why he doesn't dream about it all," Lori said in a quiet voice as she glanced around the room, making sure Rick wasn't anywhere near them.

Carol had been wondering the same thing. Before she had known that this all revolved around Sophia she had thought that maybe the prison had had something to do with it. But that didn't seem to be the case. Sophia said that she could go to Merle whenever she wanted but everyone else was a hit or miss. She couldn't force people to dream about what had happened. "How do you think Rick is going to take it when Shane shows up here?" Carol asked, keeping her own voice low. This was a sensitive topic.

Lori shook hr head and wiped her hands on her jeans. "I don't know. They still talk. Rick called him just yesterday but I think Shane knows that something is going on. Rick isn't the same with him."

Carol glanced up at her, "And how is he with you?"

Lori smiled but it was humorless. "We don't fight about it anymore. We just ignore the topic, which is going to be a lot more difficult once Shane is actually here," she sighed and looked down, the phony smile twisting down into a deep frown. "It's different between me and him now. We may as well be sleeping in different parts of the state as far as he's concerned. He won't touch me. I'm just grateful that he speaks to me at all."

Carol wasn't sure what to say about that. She felt bad for her friend but she understood Rick's views on the situation also. It was a complicated matter. Technically Lori had done nothing wrong. But to Rick, that didn't matter. He had been betrayed, not only by his wife, but his best friend as well. To him it may as well have happened. Now he had to live with Lori, knowing that she would have let those things happen. It was a hard thing to get past. "It's just gonna take time," she said encouragingly.

Lori rolled her eyes and gave her a sarcastic smile, "Says the woman who wasn't stupid enough to mess up at all."

Carol met her eyes, "I messed up plenty."

"Not as far as Daryl is concerned," Lori said slyly.

She shrugged and tried to hide a grin. She didn't want to rub it in.

~H~

"You were pretty torn up over everything that happened with Andrea," Daryl said as he watched Rick pace the porch.

Rick looked up and then his eyes went to the driveway before he started pacing again. "Guess I was," he said gruffly. "She didn't deserve to die like that."

Back then Daryl had had his own problems to deal with. Between Merle trying to fit in with the prison group and having Carol back in his life, Daryl hadn't really been too keen on what was happening around him that didn't involve Merle, Carol or the Governor. The way Rick was acting, he couldn't help but think that he had missed something very major. "No. I suppose she didn't."

Rick finally stopped pacing and sat down in one of the wicker chairs that flanked the front door. He was about to say something when the door opened up and Carol came out onto the porch.

"Breakfast is ready if you two are hungry," she said as she glanced from Rick to Daryl.

Rick shook his head. "I'm not..." His mouth closed quickly and he stood up when a sturdy pick up truck came into view through the trees.

Daryl felt Carol's hand find his as they watched the driver's side door fly open and Andrea hopped down from the cab. Rick was off the porch in a flash. Andrea stopped in her tracks when she spotted them, her hand going up to cover her mouth. Daryl heard the screen door open up just as Rick reached the other woman. Andrea hesitated for just a second, shaking her head in disbelief before she reached up and touched Rick's face with a shaking hand.

That one touch was all it took before she threw herself into Rick's arms. He hugged her back hard, looking very much like he wasn't going to let her go any time soon. Daryl narrowed his eyes as he paid closer attention to their body language. He learned a lot about a person just by watching them move. If you kept your mouth shut and just paid attention there was a lot you could learn about a person before they ever even opened their mouth to speak. At the quarry he had watched Carol often because even though she was meek and cowered most of the time, he still saw something else there in the way she moved. A quiet strength that only he could see.

What he seemed to be witnessing now was an intimate moment. T had hugged Carol last night, just as tightly as Rick was now hugging Andrea, and there was love in the embrace. There wasn't a doubt in his mind about that. But it was different. They had embraced in a way that siblings that had been separated for a long time would embrace. There wasn't anything intimate about it.

It wasn't anything like what he was seeing now.

He felt Carol's grip on his hand tighten and he glanced over just in time to see Lori slip quietly back in the house. He met Carol's eyes. Hers were wide and confused. Maybe it wasn't just him that noticed something a little bit deeper going on out there in the yard. All he could do was shrug at the imploring look she was giving him. Hell, he didn't have a clue what was going on. It wasn't like men sat around talking about their love lives.

He looked up quickly when he heard feet on the steps. Andrea was staring at them wide eyed. Her gaze flicked down to their hands and then smiled. She nearly knocked Carol down, forcing him to drop her hand as Carol hugged her back, a laugh escaping her.

"I can't believe this is real," she said as she pulled away, keeping her hands clasped in Carol's as she looked her over. "You look amazing. Who knew that a regular dose of Dixon could make a girl look ten years younger?"

Daryl scowled, feeling his face turn red. Shouldn't she be sobbing or some shit? What was with her anyway? Everyone else so far had needed time to soak everything in when they realized that their dreams were real. She was standing hear cracking jokes, at his expense, like she was fine!

Carol was the one to ask the obvious. "How are you not freaking out about all of this right now?" She asked with an embarrassed smile.

Andrea's face fell a little and her eyes became haunted. "I thought it was real from the very beginning. I just didn't think you all were. I thought I was going to lose my sister. When I talked to Amy a few weeks ago, that was when the dreams started. I've been terrified. But then the other day she mentioned babysitting Sophia. She talked about you and Daryl and Carl. I didn't know what to think. I came as soon as I could. Knowing that you all actually existed kept me from losing my mind."

"I'm glad you're here. T-dog is here and so are the kids. Glenn and Maggie. Hershel is on board too. We know where Shane and Dale are but they aren't having any dreams. We still keep an eye on them though."

"Amy isn't either. Do you have any idea why?" Andrea asked as she finally let go of Carol's hands.

Carol just shook her head. "We really don't. Merle is here too. He's dreamed. Beth hasn't though so there isn't any rhyme or reason to it as far as we can tell."

"Let's get the fuck inside. No sense in standin' out here all damn day," Daryl grumbled. He was wanting to get the hell away from whatever drama was surely to unfold once things settled. He had walls to put up in the attic and Merle was going to help him.

Andrea smiled and rolled her eyes. "It's wonderful to see you too Daryl," she said sarcastically.

He grunted but did manage an affectionate punch to the shoulder on his way by. It earned him a laugh anyway. He wasn't a complete son of a bitch, after all. He caught Rick's eye for a second and the man did have the decency to drop his eyes to the floor. Daryl didn't even want to know. He was staying away from this bullshit.

As soon as they made it into the foyer they were attacked. He managed to move out of the way enough to not get plowed over by Glenn and T-dog. Glenn hugged Andrea quickly, that goofy grin on his face like it was Christmas morning and then as soon as he let go T-dog had her off the floor. She seemed just as excited to see them. He tried to slip out the doorway towards the living room but Carol had him by the hand again. He scowled down at her.

Merle chose that moment to make his way down the stairs. He was always one to make an interest. Daryl could have sworn he had dressed himself in the same clothes that he had been wearing the day they had left him on that rooftop in Atlanta. Daryl wasn't sure what he was going for with that attire but it didn't matter. It didn't seem to effect Andrea in the least.

"Hello, Merle. I take it you've been behaving?" She asked with a grin.

Merle's eyes narrowed but then a slow smile spread across his face as he shrugged. "Spose you could say that."

The morning and afternoon flew by and Carol made sure that he was around for all of it. T-dog had to work on the crew that had shown up earlier to work on the wall that was swiftly being erected. Another crew worked on the other side and they would eventually meet in the middle. He'd had his doubts but the wall would be finished in time. The heavy iron gates were already there, waiting to be put up once it was all complete.

He finally was able to slip away from the others and grab Merle so the two of them could get to work on the top floor. He had two bedrooms and a bathroom to build up there and he only had one room ready for drywall. Him and Merle had just got the wood set out when he felt someone tapping his back. He turned around and was met with Carol's angry eyes flashing.

"He slept with her!" She hissed.

Merle dropped a board and turned around quickly. "No I never!" He said loudly.

Carol rolled her eyes. "I wasn't talking about you," she looked back at Daryl, "Rick. He slept with Andrea?"

He held up his hands. "I don't know anything about it. Nothin'." He thought about it for a second and made a decision to fill her in on his theory. "But I don't think so. I really don't. I don't know what happened the night she stayed with us at the prison, whether they talked about it or not, but it didn't happen. She went straight back to Woodbury and slept with the damn Governor the next day. If she'd been with Rick just that night then that would make her..."

"Lori?" Merle offered.

Daryl flinched as Carol settled that simmering blue gaze on his brother. "Really, Merle?"

He shrugged and continued on with his measuring. "Just statin' the obvious."

"What Lori did was..." Carol began but Merle cut her off with a look.

"What she did was fuck the guys best friend. From what I hear Ol Rick hadn't had time for his body to turn cold before she was all over that cocky prick. If Rick did have a roll around the prison with blondie then good for him. Least there wasn't no baby brought into the mix from that romp."

Carol opened her mouth like she was going to say something but she shut it quickly, knowing that Merle was right. Daryl met her eyes again.

"I know Lori is your friend but what she did was wrong. Rick didn't sleep with Andrea though, I'd almost bet on it. The way he was after Lori died... You remember all of that."

He watched as the anger left her face. "You're right."

Merle grinned. "I know it."

"Not you, Merle," she snapped right before she gave Daryl a quick kiss and then headed back for the stairs.

Daryl and Merle watched her go, sharing a look. This was going to be a damn mess.

"Looks like some Jerry Springer shit is about to move itself in, little brother," Merle said with a shake of his said.

Daryl groaned. He had a feeling his brother was right. He was glad he wasn't in the middle of it. He was a one woman kind of guy and he knew Carol was too loyal to do anything like that. Hell, before her he was a no woman type of guy. He had never wanted anybody like that. Not anything long term anyway. He just hoped that everyone elses drama didn't bleed over into their relationship. If it did then he'd be tossing people out on their asses. They could all go live in the barn.

~H~

"You really think it's okay to show her to the others now?" Carl asked as they worked together to stack more cans of food on the shelves Merle had built in the basement.

"It's almost time. Your dad won't try to throw Merle in jail now, not knowing what will happen to him if he does." Sophia was pretty sure that the group was ready to know about Penny. It would be nice for her to get to come out of hiding. Sophia hated her being stuck up there like that all the time. It was a miracle she hadn't been spotted yet. If the house hadn't been as big as it was then there was no way they could have pulled this off.

"Are you gonna talk to Daryl and your mom about it first?"

She shrugged. "I guess I had better. Daryl don't like her being cooped up in that room no more than we do. Mom is still scared about what will happen to Merle, though."

"My dad isn't stupid. He'll understand," Carl said firmly.

Sophia glanced at him. She didn't want to tell him that there had been times where his dad actually was pretty stupid. He made the wrong call more than once in a lot of different cases. But she wasn't in the mood to argue with Carl. At least Rick wasn't a complete loser like Ed was so who was she to judge?

Once they were done with that mundane chore they made their way to the second floor, where they heard the sounds of hammers coming from the third floor. Sophia knew that that meant that Merle and Daryl were up there working on getting the attic ready. Daryl and her mom were still arguing over the three of them getting the whole attic to themselves but Sophia didn't mind. It would be like having their own place but the whole group would still be right there.

Merle and Daryl both looked up at the sound of them approaching. Merle grinned at her but Daryl narrowed his eyes. "What's spinnin' around that head of yours, kid?" he asked as he set the hammer down and stood up.

Sophia looked over at Carl but it wasn't like he was going to be any help. "I think it's time," she said quickly.

Daryl took a step towards her, panic on his face. "Time? You mean for the walkers?"

Sophia shook her head quickly. "No! No, we still have a little time before that. I meant it's time we tell the others about Penny."

Merle stood up then, joining his brother. They towered over them, neither looking like they thought that it was a good idea just yet. "And then Rick use that as an excuse to throw my ass in jail? Are you two high or somethin'?"

"My dad wouldn't do that. Not now," Carl said, taking a step towards Merle, his voice angry.

"Like your dad wouldn't leave a man abandoned on a rooftop in the middle of Atlanta would he? You forgettin' the fact that I didn't have my goddamn hand, boy?" Merle growled.

Sophia didn't see Carl angry often but Merle talking down about Rick was obviously one thing that was about to set the boy off. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Merle has every right to feel that way about him, Carl. You're forgetting what things were like there."

Carl kept his eyes narrowed but he didn't say anything else. Sophia was the one that kept going. "I'm almost sure it's okay now. He won't try anything when it's this close. Penny don't need to be a prisoner here. This is her home too. It isn't fair."

She watched as Daryl's face cleared and he gave her a quick nod. Merle sighed loudly and dropped the hammer to the floor.

"Let's go on and get it over with then," Merle said in a voice full of forced cheer. "Do we bring her on down or tell them about it all gentle like. I vote for bringin' her right to'em." He grinned.

Sophia shook her head and grabbed Daryl by the hand as they made their way to the stairs. "You would Merle," she muttered quietly. She didn't miss the sheepish grin on Daryl gave her. She hoped this didn't blow up in her face.