Author's Note: I don't own anything having to do with the Walking Dead only Becca belongs to me.

So I don't know how many chapters this will end up being but a HUGE thank you to Alva Starr for suggesting there was more and that maybe it was time for Merle to take it out on Becca instead ;)

If there is anything in particular you'd like to see whether it's from their past or a certain part of the show let me know and I'll see what I can come up with.

Any suggestions/comments/critiques are all welcome!

Chapter 2

I was sitting in front of a small fire over by our tents boiling water from the lake so it could be used for drinking when Daryl sat down across from me. He slung the string of squirrels he had caught up onto the log and started to skin them. It was hard to keep the look of disgust off my face, it wasn't that I didn't appreciate the meat, but I'd rather eat it and not see it while it still had a face.

My gaze was glued to the bottom of the pot almost willing the bubbles to rise to the top when Daryl spoke up, "He's getting low on his stash."

It was only a matter of time until the powders and pills were gone, the middle of the apocalypse wasn't the best time to go score some more, and I had been worried about this day since this whole thing started. There had been a few sporadic periods of time in the past when Merle would be clean for awhile but something always pulled him back in. I hated to admit it but those were the months I loved the most. He was able to think clearly, we'd be able to have an educated conversation, and our time together between the sheets held more feeling.

"Watch yourself," Daryl warned and I nodded so he knew I had heard him. It wouldn't be the first time I experienced the eldest Dixon go through withdrawal but it would be the first time I wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Daryl was only watching out for me, and I would forever be grateful, but what he didn't know was that his brother had been doing the same thing for some time now.

*Flashback*

It was a random Tuesday night in our small town and my mom had just passed out after drinking her fill of boxed wine. When I was sure she wouldn't wake I snuck out the front door and walked down to the Dixon's trailer. A peek in the window to see the living room trashed told me their father had been in one of his moods that night. I had been hoping Mr. Dixon wasn't home so I could hangout with Merle but I guess it was going to be another lonely night.

I had just started to walk away from the house when I heard a twig snap. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I spun around scanning the dark trees next to the trailer.

"Who's there?" I asked in a loud whisper with fear evident in my voice and to be honest I wasn't sure if I wanted the answer. When no reply came I reached down slowly and grabbed a large stick. With the stick held out in front of me like a baseball bat I crept closer to woods. "Hello?" I couldn't hear anymore noises but I felt a presence and as I jumped around the tree ready to bash whatever it was over the head a hand jutted out and took hold of the stick. I had to blink a few times to adjust my eyes to the darkness but when they did I let out a sigh of relief. "Fuck, Daryl, an answer would have been nice you scared the shit out of me."

It wasn't until I saw the split lip that I realized why he was out here in the first place. My mom may have been a drunk but she wasn't as bad as the Dixon's father. Hell, everyone in town knew to stay away from Mr. Dixon especially if he had a bottle of liquor in hand.

"Merle's down by the creek," he told me as he used the back of his hand to wipe away some of the blood from his face. I unwrapped the bandanna from my wrist that I used to hide my own scars and offered it to him but he shook his head. I tied it back around my wrist and was about to head to the creek when he stopped me. "Becca," I turned to look at him and he held the stick out to me. "In case you run across a squirrel."

"Ha ha," I mocked but took the stick from his hands anyways, you could never be too careful.

I should have known Merle would be down by the creek, it was the one place in town he could go to get away from everyone, because there was a good chance if he went to the bar like he wanted he would run into his father. By the time I got down there he was sitting on a large boulder skipping stones into the shallow water.

"You need a flat rock, jackass," I chided, making my presence known. He grunted in response and I pulled myself up so I could sit next to him. "Saw Daryl…"

"Told that boy to stay in the woods 'til the ol' man passes out," he grumbled, picking up another stone and chucking it into the water.

"He is," I assured and motioned to the stick that was now lying at the base of the boulder. "I almost whipped him with a tree branch."

The corner of Merle's lip curled into a small smirk, "That I would have liked to see." We sat in silence for a few moments just enjoying the peace the night sky brought. "What're you doin' out here, sugar?"

"I was lookin' for you," I admitted as I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder. He didn't put his arm around me, or comfort me in anyway, but he didn't make me move either. I saw him pull out a prescription bottle and pop a few pills into his mouth that he dry swallowed. "What was that?"

"What do you care?" He replied with a coldness in his tone that should have scared me away. "Everyone relies on ol' Merle so these," he shook the bottle, "are what ol' Merle relies on."

"Can I have some?" I held my hand out because if it was good enough for him it was good enough for me.

He scoffed and shoved them back into his pants pocket, "You deserve better, girlie."

"Merle, don't be a douche-" I started argue as I reached for his pants pocket but he stopped me by roughly grabbing my chin and smashing our lips together.

When he let go I was too shocked to say or do anything but watch as he got off the boulder and started to walk away. "You're too good, Becca."

I ran my fingers over the fresh scars under my bandana, no Merle, I'm not good enough.

*Present*

My memory was cut short as the water rapidly boiled in the pot and I used an old shirt to move it to the ground where it could cool so I could bottle it later. Merle came out of the woods and threw the pheasants he had killed over to Daryl to clean. The youngest Dixon glared up at his brother for a moment but otherwise made no comment about the extra work. Merle walked into the tent and I offered Daryl a small apologetic smile for his brother's actions only to receive a shake of the head in response.

After a few minutes in the tent Merle came out with a scowl on his face. I got up hoping that if I could get him back in the tent and get his mind on something other than the drugs he was out of that I could prevent an unnecessary scene. Shane, a cop and the unofficial leader of our group, had come to me on many occasions warning me to keep my husband in line. I sweet talked him as much as possible, the years of being with Rich perfected my lying, and promised he'd be no trouble. I never corrected Shane, or the rest of the group, when they thought I was a Dixon. They just saw the ring, saw me with him, and assumed. I didn't have it in me to explain that I was too weak of a person to walk away from my husband to be with the man that had always been there for me.

"Everything alright?" I asked as I came up in front of Merle and put my hand on his chest. I could feel the anger rolling off of him in suffocating waves and felt his chest rise and fall with each calculated breath like a volcano just waiting to erupt. When he didn't answer my question I tried again to get through to him and laced my fingers through his. "C'mon, let's go down to the quarry and I can wash you up."

The moment the words left my tongue I regretted them. I meant it as an invitation for some fun in the water and a way for him to release some tension but the ticking time bomb that he was took it as if I pitied him.

"What's the matter, girlie?" he questioned with a grin on his face that I had seen only once before. When I didn't answer quick enough he chuckled and tightly wrapped his fingers around my bare arm, "Let's go for a walk."

Daryl met my gaze as we passed him and I slightly shook my head telling him to not interfere. I'd take whatever the eldest Dixon had to throw at me because at this point it was better than nothing at all. We walked into the woods, his hand never letting up on the death grip on my arm, until we were far enough from camp that no one could hear us.

"Think you can fix me like I'm some damaged goods, is that it?" he questioned as he released my arm and I stumbled a bit but caught myself before I fell. "Think that you can swoop in like some angel and clean away all the evil I've done?"

"I didn't-" I tried to answer him but was cut off as the air got knocked out of me as he threw me up against a large tree.

"Good, sweet, innocent Becca," his breath on the side on my neck brought goose bumps to my skin. He roughly grabbed both of my wrists and held them over my head with one hand. "This is what you want isn't it? Comin' 'round to my place a few nights a week 'cause your husband didn't know how to hit the spots ol' Merle does."

I wasn't sure how to answer and before I had the chance to think of to say anything his mouth was on mine in fierce kisses that were sure to leave my lips bruised and puffy. His right hand grouped my chest while his left easily kept my hands pinned to the tree. He popped the button on my jeans and shoved them down so they fell to my ankles. The fabric of my underwear cut into my skin as he yanked them forward until they ripped at the seams. He spun me around and shoved me up against the tree as he entered me from behind with no warning. I couldn't help the whimper that escaped as he pounded into me taking out his frustration and anger with the world on my body like it was a rag doll.

His short fingernails dug into my hips and it wasn't long until my legs started to tremble. I may not have been the sex I was expecting, or looking for, but as my orgasm got closer I couldn't help but moan.

"Louder," he growled in my ear leaving no room for argument.

My breaths came out in pants and when I vocalized just was he was doing to me I couldn't hold back anymore and my pussy tightened around his cock. It wasn't until he shot his load deep within me that he let me go. I turned around and a look of peace finally swept through his eyes. He readjusted himself and zipped his pants as I pulled mine back up. I was fixing my shirt when I felt his fingers grazing over my cheek that had been cut open from the bark.

"I'm fine, Merle," I replied honestly as I saw the remorse in his eyes that he'd never admit to.

He stepped back from me like my skin had shocked him and he ran a hand over his face. "Bec, I…"

I had seen every side there was to see of Merle Dixon and not one of them would ever leave me running for the hills. I walked over to him and stood on the tips of my toes to place a chaste kiss on the corner of his lips. "It's okay."

You can't break me, I added silently, I'm already broken.