A/N Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting, I appreciate it so much. There was a plan, a righteous plan. It seems everyone hated the plan. Let's see what Merle decides to do next.

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He almost drove passed the driveway, it was his last moment of "do right" before he completely gave in to "do wrong." He was hanging onto the edge and it could go either way. That's when his phone beeped, he pulled it from his pocket and clicked the message button. All it said was, "Hi Merle." That was all it needed to say. Fuck it. She belonged with him and he could take care of her better than anyone else. Maybe.

He got tough with himself though, yeah he told himself he wasn't going to get involved with her in any way except to help her get on her feet. That was it, nothing more. He'd make sure to make it real clear that was all there was ever going to be between them. That was the promise he made to himself just before he made that hard right into Carol's drive.

He took a deep breath, turned off the ignition and before he could change his mind again he rang the bell. Carol opened the door, smiling when she saw him. Her hand went to her hip and she shook her head just a little, "I'm surprised it took you so long to get back here, but then I was pretty surprised when you left her." She turned her head and called, "Beth, you have a visitor."

Beth couldn't imagine who it was, she was worried maybe Randall had found her. She was tentative as she came down the hallway and peeked around the corner. Then she saw him, she called out "Merle!" as she ran to him, throwing her arms around his waist. Her head was laying on his chest and he was surprised a little thing like her could squeeze so tight. "You came back," she whispered. She looked up then and he could see her eyes were red and swollen and he knew she'd been crying.

He used a thumb to try and wipe away her tears, smiled and said, "Hey now Baby, no need for tears. Remember I told ya, the time for cryin' is done. C'mon now. Ya sure ya feel like ya wanna just up and leave this nice home ta come to a place ya never been with an old man ya barely know?"

"Yes, I'm very sure. I already unpacked but I can pack again in a hurry."

"No need ta rush Baby. Ya just go on and take your time, I ain't leavin' without ya."

As soon as she was out of earshot Carol was only half-teasing when she said, "Well I finally met the woman who could knock Merle Dixon to his knees."

"Nah, ya got it all wrong. It ain't like that at all Carol. I'm just gonna be helpin' her out is all. It ain't about man / woman stuff. I'm just personally seeing to it she's okay."

"You keep telling yourself that Merle." She was smiling but then she got a more serious look, "Be gentle with her Merle. She's real fragile right now."

"A course I will be. Shit Carol, ya always go back ta that. I wasn't an asshole ta you, was I?"

"No it's true, you never were. You were honest about what it was right from the start. It was all me, I guess I just hoped maybe you'd change your mind. I'm sorry. Maybe I'm a little jealous."

"Dammit woman, come on now, there ain't nuthin' ta be jealous of." The words were just out of his mouth when he saw Baby round the corner with her case. He hurried to take it for her, and he puzzled as to why he was worried she may have overheard his conversation with Carol.

She didn't resist him opening her door or helping her in the pickup, all seemed to be just swell now. Baby looked happy. On the drive back to his place he told her the deal, "So tomorrow mornin' the movin' guys are comin' and loadin' up my stuff. They're takin' it up ta Clear Springs and puttin' it in storage 'til I get a new place. We got just the bare necessities ta stay at my place tonight, do ya need anythin' before we get home?" Home? He probably shouldn't call it home. Fuck, he was confused.

"Well I'm kind of hungry."

That made him laugh, "Yeah well I'd bet on that. How bought I take ya to a little joint I know where you can have a burger and I'll have a beer?"

When they got back to his place and got ready for bed he got real serious with her. He lay his hands on her shoulders again, and he looked her dead in the eye, "Ya listen here ta me now Baby, you're gonna sleep in that bed in the guest room and I'm gonna be sleepin' in my bed. Don't ya come crawlin' in with me, k? Ya can't be doin' that shit. I don't need the temptation and you don't need an old man like me. We clear?"

"Yes, we're clear. But you're not an old man Merle. Not at all." Not that she had any intention of crawling in bed with him EVER again. That had just been some weird one-time thing. Yeah, like a fluke. And she certainly would never be doing "it" with him. Pfft, he was dreaming if he thought she was interested in anything like that with him, she wasn't at all. At least that's what she kept trying to tell herself.

Shit, he wished she wouldn't look at him that way, you know, with her eyes. They were too much. "Yeah, whatever. You take the bathroom first, I got some things ta button up."

"Okay Merle. And thank you."

"Yeah, you can quit thankin' me. Go on now and take your turn in the bathroom."

They finally got all settled in for the night and he reminded her one more time not to come slipping into his bed. It wasn't that he was craving her in that way, nothing like that. Not really. It was just that he was a man and she was a woman and things have a way of happening when a man and a woman share a bed. That's all it was. His only goal in all of this was to get her situated, all settled in to a safe new life up in Clear Springs. Yeah, that was all this was about. At least that's what he kept telling himself.

They'd gone to bed a whole lot earlier than he was used to, but then he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and he was dog tired from the stress of the day. But the early bedtime was probably also why he was wide awake by five a.m. He would never admit this to himself or to her, but he may have been just the tiniest bit disappointed when he woke and she wasn't there curled up next to him. It was good though, he didn't care for that cuddling shit all.

All he cared about right that minute was, man did he need to use the bathroom. He got up quietly, hoping he didn't wake her and she'd sleep a while longer. Then damn if he didn't nearly fall over her and on top of her. She was rolled up in the quilt from the guest bed, had the pillow under her head and all, and she was sound asleep on the floor right there in his bedroom doorway.

It goes without saying that just as he almost did the big fall he let out a loud, "Fuck!" and between that and his foot in her side she woke right up, scared to death, and she screamed. He answered the scream with, "What the fuck Baby? What're ya doin' here on the floor now? That's a perfectly nice bed right in there."

"I don't know, I just, I don't know. You said I couldn't come in your bed and I was a little scared and I was trying not to bother you." Well fuck him, now he felt guilty. Baby was scared. What else could he do? He helped her up off the floor, gave her a big old warm hug and told her, "Now Baby there ain't nuthin' ta be scared of. It's all good. Everythin's just fine. I ain't lettin' nuthin' or no one hurt ya. Ain't I been tellin' ya that all along?'

"I know. And I've spent plenty of nights alone and all Merle, but gosh, everything is just so different and it all seems so big and scary and like I have no idea what I'm doing next."

"Well right now what you're doin' is goin' back ta bed. After that, we're goin' ta breakfast, then supervisin' these movin' fellas then we're gettin' a room and goin' out for a nice dinner." His voice might have gotten just a little bit softer, and he may have unintentionally held her just a little tighter when he said, "It ain't like I'm ever leavin' ya off again. Not til you're ready. Okay Baby? Now go on and lay back down. I gotta get in the bathroom or we're both gonna be sorry."

"I'll try to go back to sleep."

"That's my girl." Oh fuck him.

It was an hour or so later she got up and went in the bathroom. She showered and dressed and he kind of liked how those damp curls went a little crazy. But there was something bothering him. Just like the day before her clothes looked mighty well-worn. Dammit, he was going to have to do something about that soon. It wasn't that it mattered to him at all, or that he wanted her to have nice things because she deserved them. No, that wasn't it at all. It was just that he thought she'd have trouble finding work if she didn't look a little more "put together." Yeah, that was it.

He showered and dressed and they went to a close-by café for their breakfast, and this time he told her, "Now Baby, I want ya ta eat a good breakfast. None a this leavin' half the food on the plate. Chances are we won't eat again til dinner. K?"

"Yes Merle, I promise and well, now that I know I'm going with you I feel so much better. I know I'll be able to eat."

Awe she was so sweet. Awe fuck. "You remember now Baby, we got us a goal. You're gonna get squared away, get a job and your own little place. We're gonna get it all figured out. Right?"

"Yes, of course, right." Geez how many times was he going to tell her that? Did he think she was some kind of moron who couldn't grasp a simple idea? She scolded herself, no that wasn't it, he was being nice and taking care of her and she was so lucky to have him. But gosh, what did he think? That she wanted to stay with him forever? If that's what it was he was just plain wrong. She couldn't wait to get her own place. As long as he wasn't too far away.

The moving men came and they packed up the bulk of his things and all the furniture. Merle watched them closely and she watched Merle. He gave instructions and made sure they were careful with his things. She thought he was very manly and not one bit shy about making sure they did things his way. She admired that. She wished she could be that way.

He kept out his clothes and his camping gear, his guns and a few personal items. Those things he carefully packed in his truck safely tucked away under the camper shell. She of course just had the one little case. Then he opened the garage door and there it was, a great big motorcycle, a chopper. He had it on a trailer ready to go. He backed the pickup to it and hooked it up.

She was smiling with excitement, "That's beautiful Merle! Do you ride it much?"

"Only every chance I get," he smiled, it made him happy she seemed to like the bike. "If ya want, we'll go ridin' sometime soon." What? Was he asking her on a date now? Shit.

"Oh yes please, please, please! I'd love that."

Well what could it hurt?

When the movers left he swept up the floors and wiped down counters and the bathroom and such for the new owner, then they went to the real estate office. She watched as he signed what seemed like a million papers and forms and then the agent handed him a check. He shook Merle's hand, then nodded his head at her, turned back to Merle and said, "It's been a pleasure doing business with you Mr. Dixon, and thank you too Mrs. Dixon." Boom. Fuck.

Beth felt her cheeks pink up and she didn't understand why they would. The man made a simple mistake was all. She was just the tiniest bit flattered though, to think he thought she'd have a man like Merle. Merle he felt his stomach clench, he knew it was just a mistake, but damn. What he couldn't figure out was why he felt so proud to know the guy would think the beautiful young woman was his wife. He tried shaking that thought from his head.

He made a quick stop at the bank, then drove to a little bit nicer kind of hotel than the old motels where he normally stayed. He didn't do it because she was with him. That wasn't it at all. It was because this was a celebration. His house sale was final, he'd deposited a fat check and he was on his way to a new life. Unlike his little traveling companion, he was happy as hell to be starting all over. He felt sure this was the path his life was meant to take.

He pulled into the registration parking and smiled over at her, "'I'll get ya a real nice room Baby." Shit maybe he'd get her tucked in and head out for the evening.

Yeah, that's what he thought until she looked at him with those big blue eyes and asked in a quiet little voice, "You mean I'm going to stay in a room alone, by myself?"

Well muthafuckah. "Ain't that gonna be nice Baby? Don't ya want your own room?" Please Baby please, Merle can only take so much.

"Well not really. I'd much rather be in a room with you Merle, I mean if it's alright. I promise I won't get in your bed. If they had a room with a chair or a couch I could sleep there and you could have the bed and I promise I wouldn't bother you."

Shit, he'd never known the person who could make him feel like a guilty asshole the way she could. "Well how bout then I get us a room with two beds?" Fuck him if he wasn't turning into the softest touch in the south. Damn, just what the fuck happened to his balls?

When she smiled that smile at him suddenly his decision seemed like it might be just right, and he knew for sure it was when she damn near cooed at him, "Oh Merle, you are the nicest person I've ever known. Thank you so much." Well fuck, it wasn't that big a deal, and besides, he didn't need to go out and raise hell tonight anyway.

They ended up having a nice dinner and a couple of drinks over at a little Italian place he knew, and he was feeling kind of mellow for a change. Everything went slick as could be with the moving guys and the house sale, he'd be hitting the pavement tomorrow and heading to his new life; and even though there wasn't anything to it at all, now that she was starting to feel settled in Baby was kind of fun to hang out with.

He might have just made that one little bit of a mistake when he stopped and bought a bottle of jack and a six pack of coke on the way back to the hotel room. Well shit, we all make mistakes. Right?

They got back there to the room and he mixed them a couple of drinks, straight up for him, with ice and coke for her, they had some music going on the radio and they commenced to having a very fun evening. Baby had a sense of humor and a way of teasing him, and coming from her, well he didn't mind being teased one bit. He might have even liked it, quite a bit. No, not really, he was just going along was all.

Out of the blue she asked him, "You know Merle, I really don't know much about you. Where did you grow up? Do you have any brothers and sisters? What about your Mom and Dad?"

He didn't go around talking about his ugly past but he was a little drunk, and he was feeling a certain kind of way and well maybe it was good if she knew. Maybe she'd see a real clear light when she learned about the redneck trash he sprung up from. That ought to cure any interest she had in him for sure. Especially when she saw the evidence.

"There ain't no sweetness connected in any way ta my comin' up. I's born in a two room shack up outta the Blue Ridge in Appalachia. My Daddy he was a world class prick. My Mama she was a sweet woman who'd been beat down so bad she could barely function. She spent a lotta her life at the bottom of a bottle a wine."

"Daddy he liked it all, booze, dope, gamblin', women, all of it. He also liked takin' those gamblin' losses, and every other shitty thing in his life out on me and Mama. We got beat for every kind of thing that man could think up."

That's when he did it. At first she had no idea what was going on when he stood and pulled his shirt off. Before he went any further he told her, "Ya may have noticed I'm a man who always wears an undershirt. There's a reason, it covers up alotta sins. Not mine, but the ugliness done ta me." That's when he pulled the undershirt off and she saw, his chest and his back were covered in jagged scars. It looked like he'd been beat with a belt that must have had a heavy buckle. She felt the tears sting at her eyes but she tried to be strong for him. All she could manage to say was, "I'm so sorry Merle."

"Nah Baby, nah, ya ain't got nuthin' ta be sorry for and it's long done." He slipped the undershirt back on and she knew then. No matter what he told her about her bruises and marks, he was ashamed of his own.

"It was when I's ten I got my one and only siblin', my baby brother Daryl. He's a good boy, he's workin' down outta Valdosta right now but on the permanent he don't live too far from Clear Springs, just about 30 miles is all."

"I left home when I's 17, joined the army where I's a sharpshooter. I's 18 and overseas when my Mama died in a house fire of her own causin'. I's worried on account of Daryl bein' there alone with the old man, but I didn't do right by him. When I got outta the army I had a some trouble with the dope myself, almost got my ass busted good. Then I got lucky, I got hired on as an apprentice electrician. I cleaned up my act, moved baby brother in with me, and here I am."

She was shocked by how he spoke so matter-of-factly about what he and his family had been through. Maybe that was just his armor. She knew about that, about trying to act like it doesn't hurt and hoping then maybe it won't. She just had question, "What about your Dad Merle? Where is he?"

"Dead. Got run over one night out on the rural route. Cops said it was a stolen truck they found abandoned. No prints, no evidence. No one misses the sumbitch so it don't matter." For some reason she had a strong suspicion of who may have run his Dad down, but she never would ask him that. Never. It was one of those things best left unknown.

His story was done, at least all he was tellin' for that night, and she could see he'd grown a little melancholy. She wanted to do something for him, but what she didn't know. She got up and fixed him and herself a nightcap. He held his up to her as in a toast and managed a small smile, "Here's ta beatin' 'em in the end Baby. We're livin' the good life now, ain't we?"

For some reason she didn't quite understand she lay her hand on his cheek, she smiled and softly answered, "Yes Merle, we are."

He let himself enjoy that for just a minute, then he came to his senses, "We best do what we gotta do in the bathroom and hit the sack. You go first Baby."

They were ready to crawl into their beds, both a little drunk and both a little mellow. Still he gave her the talk, the one about not slipping in his bed and she promised, she crossed her heart and everything. She swore she wasn't going to do that ever again.

He was laying on his side in his bed, she was laying on her side in her bed, the lamp on the table between them was on low and they were just getting ready to say their goodnights and switch it off. The trouble was there was something that had been bothering Baby since the day before. It was that gnawing thing in the back of her mind that just wouldn't quit coming to the front of her mind. She didn't even know why she cared. Well she didn't care, not really. It wasn't that at all. She was just curious. Yes, that was it, it wasn't that she had feelings for him or anything. She was sure of that. It was just one of those things a person gets real nosey about and they have to ask. That's what she did, she asked him, "So Merle, you and Carol, was she you know…were you two…you know…well was she your girlfriend?"

Aw fuck.

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A/N Thank you all so much for reading along. Please leave a comment / review, I love hearing your thoughts. The chapter photo is on my tumblr blogs, gneebee and bethylmethbrick. If you celebrate, have a wonderful Easter. I hope to see you all back here next Sunday for more of It's Complicated. Until then remember, I love ya large! xo gneebee