Daryl felt the anger moving through his sister as Caroline stood and she started pacing the room. He stood up as he headed for her and Caroline nearly walked into him.

"Sorry," she said, lowering her head and he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"It ain't on you," Daryl said as they locked eyes after she looked at him.

"He's right," Carol said as she got up and walked to them.

"I know," Caroline said with a growl. "Fuck! Why does she still have a hold on me?!"

"Why does Ed still have a hold on me?"

"He does?!" Daryl asked, arching his eyebrows up.

"Sometimes."

Daryl looked from his sister to Carol when he held out his left arm and Carol slid against him. He hugged both of them and they put their heads against his head. He moved back when he sighed and ducked his head.

"Our birth parents and Merle still got a hold on me," he confessed.

Carol gently poked him in the chest and he shrugged his shoulders.

Caroline walked back to the couch and she started piling up the cards. Daryl and Carol went to sit on the couch and Caroline placed the birthday cards in a pile.

"So, the reason Jessie had him killed was she found this?" Carol asked as she picked up the air plane ticket.

"No. It was in the wall safe," Caroline said.

"What if someone saw him picking the ticket up at the travel agency and told her?"

"Maybe."

"Why do you think it wasn't an accident?" Daryl asked.

"When I went home after the accident, I asked to see the accident report. Accordin' to the report, the car which hit Dad's car slammed into the driver's side with such force that Dad's car flipped over three times."

"Was he hit by a truck?" Carol asked.

"No, but the traffic cameras showed the car which hit Dad's car going over the speed limit."

"Shit," Daryl whispered.

"Another thing I thought was weird was the report said the driver was drunk."

"Sounds like someone was lying when they wrote the report," Carol said.

"Or paid to make it look like an accident," Daryl said.

"Yeah," Caroline said as she started to place the Christmas cards in a pile. A piece of paper fell out of one of the Christmas cards and she reach down to pick up the piece of paper.

"Looks like a newspaper article," Carol said and Daryl moved closer to look at the newspaper article.

"Who's that?" Daryl asked as he pointed at the photograph.

"Says his name is "Dante Torelli"," Caroline said as she read the article.

"Who's he?"

"Dunno."

Caroline read the article when she frowned and tilted her head to one side.

"Says here he was…a mob boss?!" she said with wide eyes.

"Shit."

"Why would Dad care about a mob boss?"

"Keep readin'."

Caroline read the newspaper article when she realized it was an obituary and she frowned

"This is an obituary," she said.

"Does it mention if he had any family?" Carol asked.

"Yeah. His wife, Sophie, is dead. He has a daughter," Caroline sad when she read the daughter's name and Daryl removed the newspaper article from her hands before she flexed her fingers into fists.

"Jessie," Daryl said as he read the name then read the rest of the newspaper article.

"Our adopted grandfather was a mob boss."

"Dad said her father was powerful. Guess this is what he meant."

"How did he die?" Carol asked.

"In a car accident."

"Just like Dad," Caroline said with a sigh.

"Yeah."

"And no one made a connection?" Carol asked.

"Nope," Caroline said, placing her head back. "Shit. I thought we'd finally got all the answers, but now we have more questions."

They sat in silence while Daryl looked at the newspaper article and he pressed his lips into a thin line.

Later that night

Daryl rested on his back while Dog slept next to him on the couch and Daryl looked up at the dark ceiling. His mind replayed what Thomas had written in the letter as well as finding the airplane ticket and the money and what they found out in the newspaper article. His eyelids started to feel heavy when he heard the sounds of drums, chanting and flutes and he closed his eyes. Dog lifted its head as the dog saw the night sky turning green and Dog growled.

"Daryl!" made him open his eyes as Daryl sat up and he saw the thick fog floating around him.

"Caroline!" he called out while getting to his feet and he saw her standing up. She ran to him as he held her against him and she placed her forehead against his chest.

"Why are we here?" she asked, softly.

"I think we're gonna get answers to our questions," he said after he saw Thomas walking out of the fog. Daryl looked at the hospital gown Thomas was wearing and the fog swirled around the bandages. "Dad's here."

Caroline turned to look at Thomas as he gave her a sad smile and Caroline went to stand next to Daryl.

"Hey, Baby Girl," Thomas said then he looked at Daryl. "Did you take her to Virginia Beach?"

"Yeah," Daryl said with a nod.

"Did you find anything?"

"Found yer bike."

"Blue Steel?"

"Yeah."

"Anything else?"

"Found the nameplate you made fer me."

Thomas nodded as he looked down at his feet then sighed before raising his head to look at them.

"We found the wall safe," Caroline said.

"Were you able to open it?" Thomas asked.

"Took me a few tries to figure out what the password was."

Daryl thought back to how Thomas started the letter when he figured out what the password was and he puffed out a breath of air.

"Were you really gonna call me "Baby Boy"?" Daryl asked and Thomas smiled.

"Only until you were three," Thomas teased.

"Found the envelope," Caroline said.

"And the airplane ticket to Georgia and the money," Daryl said.

"Ah," Thomas said then paused. "I guess I should explain. You know Jessie was hell bent on finding Caroline, but she was also looking for you."

"She was lookin' fer Daryl?" Caroline asked.

"Yes. She thought if she got hold of your twin brother, you'd come out of hiding."

"I had no idea he even existed."

"That is what I told her after I found out she was looking for him."

Daryl heard the truth in what he was saying and he nodded his head for Thomas to continue.

"I wrote your birth father to warn him and included my cell phone number if he wanted to get in contact with me. Two weeks later, he called me. He was frantic. Wanted to know everything. I told him and he started yelling at me. Saying I was… He called me names. After I got him to calm down, I suggested he should hide Daryl. He asked me where he should send him and I told him to send him to Boston. That there was someone there he needed to meet. I thought he had hung up when he said he wanted to meet me. I wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but I'd do whatever it takes to protect my kids."

Daryl thought for a few seconds when he remembered the time he had walked into Merle's office and Merle was pacing the room. He saw the anger on Merle's face and Merle was swinging his arms in the air.

"That stupid asshole! That stupid, fuckin' asshole!"

"Merle, what's goin' on?"

"Never you mind. I handled it."

"Handled what?"

"I said never you mind! Now, drop it!"

"That explains the plane ticket. What about the money?" Caroline asked.

"That was for Daryl's plane ticket to Boston," Thomas said.

"What if I didn't wanna go?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah. He might not have believed either of you after you told him what was goin' and told you to fuck off," Caroline said.

"Then I woulda had to find a way to make him believe us," Merle said as he walked out of the fog.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Thomas asked and Merle smirked.

"Just tryin' to help clear the air."

"What are you talking about?"

"The person who called you wasn't our birth father. It was Merle," Caroline said.

Thomas thought back to the phone call when his eyes widened and Merle snorted a laugh. Caroline walked to Merle as they stood toe-t-toe and he waited for her to speak.

"Seein' how he never made it to yer meetin'. What would you have done if I had?" she asked.

"After we had compared notes, I would've taken you to meet Daryl," Merle said.

"Still wouldn't've believed you," Daryl said.

"Then I would've taken you to see the old man," Merle said, looking at Daryl. "You know when someone's bullshittin' you, right?"

"Yeah," Daryl said with a nod.

"Then you would've known he was tellin' the truth once I got him to talk."

"What would you have done to get him to talk? Beat him?" Thomas asked. Merle gave him a cold look as Thomas sighed and shook his head.

"Speakin' of the old man…," Caroline asked while walking to Thomas. "Was Jessie's father really a mob boss?"

"What're you talkin' about?" Merle asked.

"Dante Torelli."

"Shit."

"You heard of him?"

"I might."

"Yes, Dante Torelli is/was her father," Thomas said.

"And he had a hand in the adoption?" Daryl asked.

"Yes, I did," made them look into the fog and Dante Torelli walked toward them.

He was a tall, muscular man with wavy blonde hair and brown eyes. He had a strong jaw, nice lips, a straight nose and an intimidating look in his eyes. He had wide shoulders and a barrel chest and strong hands, arms and legs.

He wore a tattered, dark suit, a white shirt with dried blood on it, a black tie and black leather belt and he was missing one of his black, hard leather shoes.

His face was badly bruised and his right arm was bent in an odd angle. Blood stained the left sleeve of his suit jacket and a bloody bone stuck out of the hole in the left leg of his pants.

"Hello, Sir," Thomas said.

"Daye," Dante said with a nod. He looked at Caroline and Daryl while Daryl slid Caroline behind him and Dante frowned. "You must be the brother."

"Why did you let yer daughter make my life miserable?" Caroline asked. Dante heard the anger in her voice and the cold look in her eyes.

"Believe it or not, I have asked that question many times. The only answer I can give you is fear."

"Fear?" Daryl asked.

"Like your adopted father, I was afraid of my daughter. From the very beginning, I knew there was something horribly wrong with her. My wife? She just ignored it. Told me Jessie was special. When I would recommend that Jessie should be hospitalized, Sophia, my wife, said no. Now, you would think someone in my position would just have Jessie committed despite what his wife said. But no. Sophia's father was my don and I was more afraid of him then I was Jessie."

"What about Dad? If you knew she was that dangerous, why let him marry her?" Caroline asked.

"He was one of the people who told me not to marry her," Thomas said.

"Then why did you?" Merle asked, rolling his eyes.

"Like I told Daryl, I loved her. It wasn't until later that I found out how just insane she was."

"Why did you approve the adoption?" Daryl asked as he looked at Dante.

"I hoped he would take the baby and run. I'd make sure Jessie never found him or the child. Hell, I would have made sure he'd adopt you as well," Dante said.

"Problem was Jessie figured out what you wanted me to do. That is why she would "fall off the wagon" whenever I mentioned adopting him," Thomas said, pointing at Daryl. "Or if I threatened to leave and take Caroline with me. As long as both of us kowtowed to her, she could do whatever the hell she wanted."

"What about her ma? Why did she allow all that shit?" Merle asked.

"She died when Jessie was fourteen," Dante said.

"How did she die?" Caroline said.

Dante thought as they watched the emotions moving across his face and Dante growled.

"She died in a car accident after she had an argument with Jessie," Dante said.

"And her old man never did anythin'?" Merle asked.

"Her father told the police it was an accident."

"Damn."

"What about this?!" Caroline demanded as she held up her right hand. Dante looked at the scars as he cautiously reached for her hand and Caroline walked to him, letting him hold her hand in his hands. He grumbled something in Italian as she saw the anger in his eyes and he placed his right hand on top of her hand.

"Please forgive me," he said with such sadness in his eyes.

"For what?"

"I was the one who told your doctors and the police that you did that to yourself."

"You what?! You son of a bitch! I was put on a suicide watch and had to take antidepressants! If Dad hadn't finally convinced my doctors and the psychologist that they made me talk to that Jessie did this, I would have never left the hospital!" she shouted, removed her hand from his hands then stormed to Daryl. Daryl held her as she placed her head against his right shoulder and he shook his head to stop Merle from attacking Dante.

"If I am such a monster, would I have helped him get you not only out of that hospital, but out of town?" Dante asked and she glanced at Thomas.

"He did," Thomas said.

"I also made sure you were safe while you were in exile," Dante said and she glared at him.

"Safe?! She was terrified to leave her apartment! She thought Jessie would find her and kill her! She also thought Jessie or you would send someone to kill her! She nearly shot an innocent man with the gun he gave her for protection because the asshole thought he was at his apartment!" Daryl shouted while pointing to Thomas.

Dante frowned as he lowered his eyelids and the muscles in his jaw twitched.

"I had to take Daryl outta town after I found out that yer daughter was after him," Merle said.

"Who are you?" Dante asked.

"I'm their older brother."

Dante looked from Merle to Caroline and Daryl then he sighed.

"Did…? Did Jessie have somethin' to do with how you died?" Caroline asked.

"I have a feeling she did."

"It said in the newspaper article that the breaks in your car failed," Thomas said.

"Which is odd. I had the car inspected the day before and my mechanic said the breaks were fine."

"And you believed him!?" Merle asked.

"He knew better than to lie to me," Dante said then he looked from Daryl to Caroline. "I am sorry, but I need to leave."

"Then leave," Merle said.

"Merle," Daryl and Caroline warned at the same time and Merle shrugged his shoulders.

"Before I go, I just want to say I'm sorry that I never got to watch you grow into the people you are now. I am very proud of you," Dante said then walked into the fog. They watched him vanish and Daryl lightly rocked Caroline.

"Do you have any more questions?" Thomas asked and Caroline glance at him.

"If they do then I guess I have the answers," came from the fog and they watched a figure walking closer. He stopped next to Merle as he moved side-to-side and dried blood outlined the torn-out section of his throat. He was wearing a bloody red and black checkered shirt, a bloody white t-shirt, jeans and work boots and a bullet hole was at the center of his forehead.

"Wondered when you'd show up," Merle asked and Will Dixon growled.

"Shut it," Will said then he looked at Caroline and Daryl. "Go ahead. Ask me."

"What would you have done if Merle had shown up with me and Daryl and told you who I was? Would you have denied I was yer kid?" Caroline asked.

"Nope. Know why? Because you look like yer ma before the smokin' and booze robbed her of her beauty," Will said then he turned to Merle. "How did you find out anyway? I burned everythin'."

"You thought you did. While you were off on a bender with some bitch, I found all of it. Replaced it with blank paper. Then I hid it. Not sure what I was gonna do with it. Maybe go find her and bring her home. Maybe take her and Daryl and get the hell outta Dodge. All I knew was I had an ace up my sleeve to use against you."

"Hmph," Will grumbled.

"Looks like we're done here," Merle said while looking at Caroline and Daryl then he and Will vanished into the fog. Daryl and Caroline looked at Thomas as he smiled at them and walked closer.

"I have to go," Thomas said.

"Love you, Daddy," Caroline said.

"Love you, too, Baby Girl."

"Uh…," Daryl said then ducked his head. "I love you, Dad."

"Love you, too, Ba…. Daryl."

Daryl snorted a laugh as Thomas faded and Caroline looked at Daryl. The fog floated around them as Daryl wondered why they weren't waking up and Caroline saw someone walking through the fog. He was a tall man with close cut black hair and gray eyes. He was dressed in a gray muscle shirt with dried blood on his right shoulder, a black leather belt, jeans and work boots. He had a hole in the middle of his forehead and some brain matter was sticking out of the hole.

"Hey, Sunshine," Benjamin "Benji" Taylor said with a small nod.

"Hey," Caroline said.

"Uh…," he said as he looked at Daryl. "Can we be alone?"

"Nope," Daryl said.

"Look…," Caroline said, walking to Benji. "I know you were an asshole to me, but most of it was my fault. I couldn't give myself to you because I didn't like myself back then and I had someone. Someone who I loved so much that I had to give them up."

Daryl and Benji gave her a puzzled look and Caroline sighed.

"You also wanted me to be tough. That's something I never was or will be," she said, lowering her head.

"Bullshit! You were always tough," Benji said and she looked up. "But you're right. I am an asshole. That's why I never kept a girlfriend for long."

"What about my hand? You wanted me to cut it off. I asked you what you would do if I had cut it off and you told me you'd leave me behind with a gun, just enough water and supplies and a car," she said and felt the anger coming from her brother. She knew he was thinking about the time Rick banished Carol from the prison and Daryl glared at Benji.

"Again. I was an asshole," Benji said then pouted. "Forgive me?"

"I did that a long time ago."

Nodding, Benji turned and walked back into the fog. Daryl placed his right hand on Caroline's left shoulder while the fog grew thicker around them and they vanished.

Alexandria

Daryl woke with a snort as Dog got off the couch and Daryl sat up. He rubbed his face with his hands when he got off the couch and he and Dog headed for the stairs. Going upstairs, he walked down the hallway and stood in front of the door to Caroline's bedroom. He thought back to the dream and was slightly startled after Caroline opened the door.

"Hey," he grumbled.

"Hey," she grumbled and looked down at her right hand. "Sorry I didn't tell you about people thinkin' I did this to myself. If I had, you, Carol and Ezekiel wouldn't have believed me."

"Yeah, we would. You suck at lyin'," he said with a small grin.

"Yeah," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "You know, when I woke up, I couldn't move. They had me strapped to the bed."

Daryl pictured what she looked like in his head and she felt the anger moving through her.

"Dad was there. I begged him to tell me why I couldn't move. He wasn't sure if he should tell me, but he finally did. I freaked and started screamin' fer them to let me go. They had to sedate me."

"Shit."

"The worst part was hearin' the doctor tellin' Dad they wouldn't repair the damage to my hand. Why bother, seein' how I wouldn't be usin' my hand to feed myself or do shit. Dad threatened to tell… To tell Jessie's father if they didn't do the surgeries. The next day, I had my first surgery."

Daryl held her right hand in his hands as he moved his right thumb over the scars and Caroline sighed.

"Did you believe him? Jessie's father?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, I did," she said as she leaned against the doorframe. He felt confusion and anger coming from her as he moved closer and she brushed some hair out of her eyes.

"Thinkin' about Benji?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Thinkin' about him?"

"Always thinkin' about him…and his brother."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Same old shit. Blamin' myself fer everythin'."

He pulled her into a hug as she rubbed his back then he moved back.

"Night," Caroline said. She headed for the bed when she saw Dog had settled on one side of the bed and she smiled. Daryl watched her get under the bedding then he walked down the hallway and stopped at the door to Carol's bedroom. He went to knock on the door when he lowered his right hand and he shook his head.

"Daryl?" Carol's voice said from the other side of the door.

"Yeah?" he said.

"The door's unlocked."

Daryl opened the door when he walked in the room and closed the door behind him. He could barely see Carol sitting up on the bed and he leaned against the door.

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked.

"Heard your voice," she said as she looked at the wall. "Is Caroline alright?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "We, uh, we had one of those dreams."

"You mean where you talk to dead people?"

He nodded his head.

"We had to get answers," he said.

"Did you get them?"

He nodded his head again.

"You coming to bed?" she asked as she moved the bedding back and Daryl pushed off the door. He headed for the bed as he sat on the edge of the bed and she could just see the demon tattoos on his back near his right shoulder. Carol moved closer and moved her fingers over the tattoos. A cold shiver moved through him as he felt her fingers moving over his skin and she barely kissed his right shoulder.

"Like that," he grumbled and he went to stretch out on the bed. She moved the bedding up to his waist then she snuggled against his left side and he wrapped his left arm around her. She placed her head against his left shoulder and placed the palm of her left hand on his chest. She felt his chest expand then relax after he closed his eyes and she kissed his chest, closed her eyes and they drifted off to sleep.