ShutxThexFrontxDoor: I'm glad you liked it. I gotta give feral-daryl-dixon more credit though, it was his idea and he started it. This one's ours though. I can't believe I forgot about it.

Summary: Pre-apocalypse, Merle feels bad about leaving Daryl, so he's done something special for his birthday. (For those of you that didn't read the above, Shutxthexfrontxdoor and I came up with this idea about a month or so ago, and I was just too lazy to get it down. Enjoy! P.S. My dad worked at that gas station when he was a teen!)

"Where are we goin' anyways?" Daryl asked as they left Georgia, driving into Florida, they got off at the first exit so they could stop for gas in a little town called Yulee. There was a restaurant inside the gas station.

"You'll see when we get there," Merle told him as he pulled the truck to a stop. "You wanna get some food while we're here? We still got a couple of hours to drive."

Daryl shrugged, sighing as he headed inside to pay for the gas, "Whatever you wanna do." Merle had been gone for over a year, and when he finally came back, Daryl had been mad at him. Could he blamed though? His brother, the only person in the world that cared about him, had left him to fend for himself.

After they ate, they got back on the road; they drove through Jacksonville, then on to Daytona. That's when traffic got bad. Daryl sighed audibly and leaned back against the seat. Merle groaned, leaning forward slightly in an attempt to see how bad it was. "Where are we goin'?" Daryl asked again.

"Here if we can ever get through the traffic."

Daryl turned and looked at his brother, his eyebrow arched.

Merle looked at his brother, "We're going to watch the Daytona 500. Happy birthday, little brother."

"How'd you get the money for this?" Daryl asked. Then thought about it, shaking his head he said, "Never mind." He didn't need Merle to tell him, he already knew it was drug money.

They eventually made it to the small hotel they would be staying at and Merle went into the office to check in and get the key. He returned to the truck and they got their bags before going to their room and unpacking for the weekend. When they were done, they headed for the race track for the Nationwide race.

They were walking around when a girl with tanned skin and long black hair walked by. Merle whistled at her, "Hey sugartits, how's about you and me go find somewhere private?"

She rolled her eyes and kept walking.

Daryl groaned at his brother's attempt to pick up women, "Do you have to hit on girls everywhere we go?"

Merle smirked, "What? I'm not allowed to try ta get laid? Besides, who knows when I'd have a shot at a Florida girl again."

Daryl rolled his eyes, "And Florida girls are different from Georgia girls, how?"

Merle groaned, "Lighten up some. Maybe we can find you a girl too."

They eventually found their seats in the stands and it wasn't long before the black haired girl from before walked up, "Did ya reconsider my offer, honeybunch?" he asked as she sat down next to him.

"No, I just have the…uh…pleasure of my seat being next to yours," sarcasm dripped from her words.

"Well, if you change yer mind, don't be afraid to tell me."

She arched her eyebrows, the corners of her lips twitching as she fought the urge to laugh.

"I'm Merle, by the way, Merle Dixon."

"Lucy Thornton," she tilted her head to see Daryl, "And you are?"

"This is my little brother, Daryl. And let me say, it is nice to meet you." He looked her over again, she wore a pair of denim shorts that were frayed along the hem and a black tank top that had a lace overlay. She wore black tennis shoes and her black hair fell to her waist in thick curls; small feathers were threaded through it. She didn't wear make-up, she didn't need it. Besides, it would've been unbearable in the Florida heat.

"I wish I could say the same."

The race was rather uneventful until they had four laps to go, then there was a big crash and a green, white, checkered finish. The Sprint Cup race would be more exciting. Despite his flirtations and innuendos, Lucy didn't mind sitting next to Merle and Daryl. In fact, he had grown on her, and she was looking forward to seeing him the next day.

When it was all done and over, and the Dixons were headed back to Georgia, Daryl wasn't as angry at Merle anymore. That, combined with managing to get into Lucy's pants, kept a smile on Merle's face on the drive back home.

A/N: I don't know where to go from here, so I'm done. If you read this far, there must be something you liked about it, so review. I threw in a special appearance from Lucy from Savior/Down the Rabbit Hole because she's my favorite and I'm too lazy to create somebody new.