"Sparky," Daryl's big brother stood in front of Kate. A wicked grin slapped across his face, two of his friends flanking him like henchmen. She let the nickname slide, it wasn't entirely offensive and if you learn one thing when you raise a child it's when to pick your battles.

"Merle?" she tested the name, remembering his hangover cure and the cherry red waitress.

"Well well, ya already know my name, now tell ol' Merle whats a pretty little thing like you doin' 'ere with the wrong Dixon?"

She laughed or maybe it was more of a gasp, "the wrong Dixon?"

By now Daryl had all but jumped over the pool table to take her side, the smell of his skin swamped her as he stood so close that she could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her arm.

"Why have the junior version when ya can have the full size?"

"You think much of yourself… old man..." Kate folded her arms, she had the strong urge to defend the younger Dixon, "perhaps too much."

Merle laughed, a cocky, lopsided laugh and his eyes were a little more dangerous, "old man? Ya hear that boys. I could lay it all out right now if ya want…" he gestured to the zipper of his trousers.

"Please don't." Good god, if she had met both Dixon men separately then she would have never guessed they were brothers. Merle was loud, brash, quite frankly a pig, the complete opposite to Daryl.

/

"Why don't ya fuckin' grow up?" Daryl wrapped one had around Kate's waist and pulled her closer to him. He wondered if they should just leave before his dickhead brother managed to frighten Miss Uppity away for good.

"Woo wee, ya grown a pair now you're rollin' around in the sack with a nice piece of ass?" Merle's voice was at its usual level, which meant it shouted over everyone else and attracted the attention of anything with ears.

Daryl felt the accompanying shame and discomfort that surrounded most conversations with Merle. He could barely even look at Kate, he didn't want to see distaste in her big brown eyes. "It ain't like that," Daryl fucking hated his brother sometimes.

"Ooo," Merle's voice was high, ladylike and laced with ridicule, "It ain't like that… what's it like then Darylina?"

"You're interrupting our game..." Kate poked the end of her cue into the centre of Merle's chest, knocking him back a couple of steps and capturing his attention before she glided past. No man, especially Merle, could not watch this woman as she sashaying around the pool table, lips pursed, a mischievous glow in her eyes, "and I intend to win our little wager Daryl Dixon."

"What little wager?" Merle said, now completely distracted like a cat chasing after a laser pen. Except he was a horny motherfucker chasing a beautiful woman.

"It's a secret…" she leaned against her cue in the way that had got him into making wagers with her in the first place.

Merle's eyes were all but popping out of their tired old sockets and for a second Daryl wondered if that was how he looked at her, hanging off every word that fell cool, crisp and enunciated from her soft, kissable lips

"Well… Daryl…" Kate smiled, just for him, "are you going to take your shot or keep me waiting?"

Hell yeah, he was going to give this woman his best fucking shot. Merle could fuck off with his bullshit, this woman was here with him, "yes ma'am, an' I'm gonna enjoy takin' my reward too," he winked.

Merle whooped and Kate straightened up from her sexy pose, "we'll see."

Daryl's cue struck the white ball, sending it hurdling, scattering the bright little triangle into 15 pieces that shot out at all angles until one tumbled into the left corner pocket. Stripes.

1:0

He sucked in a relieved breath, so far so good. Then one glance at Kate sent a fresh wave of nerves beating his heart like the patter of a rainstorm on a tin roof. He moved around the table to take his next shot, one eye on Merle and his dipshit companions. Why couldn't his brother just take the hint and fuck off? Daryl couldn't have a single fucking thing that wasn't tainted by either that fucker or his Daddy. Except Miss Uppity wasn't exactly being tainted, she was surprisingly unfazed, her face lit up with a smile, her big brown eyes soft and both of them all for him. Jesus, there was something about the way she looked at him that made him feel nervous and relaxed.

/

"That 'uns Harley an' the other's Bo…" Merle pointed to his friends before announcing, "Imma take a leak."

Nice. Kate glanced at Daryl once more and he rolled his eyes playfully before concentrating on the table.

Harley was over six feet tall, broad, clad in black but unlike Daryl who wore the colour faded and well loved, the black that covered Harley was like the wings of a raven matched perfectly with his long dark bedraggled hair that made her think about the grim reaper. He sat awkwardly on the edge of the pool table, blocking Kate's view of Daryl, bringing his face at a level with hers, she could see the bulge in his nose where it had been broken and reset more than once, a thin scar that sliced one eyebrow in two equal halves, his eyes were the colour of cognac and his voice was surprisingly soft spoken as he asked, "wanna drink?"

Kate smiled, "thank you for offering but I already have one."

A flicker of something crossed his well worn features, she might have thought it was disappointment except she didn't know him at all.

"You Daryl's girl then? That's a real waste..." Bo was fair, blonde hair mixed with a heavy dusting of grey, he was small, weedy, opposite to Harley in all ways. He rolled up a cigarette, licking the edge suggestively before putting the end in his mouth. The zippo he used to light the end had been modified to spark a flame that was bigger than his hand. "I recon Daryl don't know his dick from his ass."

"Take that outside," a woman's voice called from the bar.

"Come on Lynette… it's just a little roll up…"

"I don't care if it's a goddamn lifesaving medicine there is no smoking in my bar!"

Bo rolled the cigarette along his lips, his eyebrows giving a playful waggle and she could tell he didn't want to do as he had been asked, especially because she was watching him, but he did. Bo let out a little huff, genuflected towards Lynette and crashed out of the heavy door of the bar like a good boy.

"Bo has a girlfriend," Harley tattled.

"Lucky girl…" Kate noticed Daryl had missed his next shot as it jumped over the pocket.

"My turn," she said gleefully, taking her position at the table, leaning forward and catching the look he gave her cleavage, it was a split second glance but it was enough to make her cheeks fill red and her palms felt clammy. She took a deep breath, she needed to pick herself out of the girlish goop that Daryl melted her into and show the man who was boss.

"Did I ever mention that my Nan's fifth husband was a professional snooker player?" She scanned her option's, like a game of chess one move led to the next and you had to be thoughtful. She made her decision, lining up her first shot, cue ball clicking against the blue spotted ball sending it flying across the table, sinking into its destination with a spin.

1:1

"No Ma'am… ya did not mention that…"

"I'm not saying I'm an expert but…" in went another one and she was feeling cooler now, more in control. "I once hustled my uncle out of 50 quid."

1:2

Daryl's eyes went wide, "you…. hustled someone?"

Kate caught his eye and smiled. When people wanted to make a bet in the student union bar she was hardly going to turn it down. If she thought about it she was hustling Daryl right now. In went another.

1:3

/

Kate's next shot came devastatingly close but missed causing her to let out a soft huff before biting her lip, her eyes flicked to his, narrowing as if in a dare, 'see if you can beat me.'

Daryl could only try and not look too relieved that he was going to get at least one more turn at the table, he at least wanted to appear that he thought he could win. Hell, he still could win. Yeah she was good, she was surprisingly fucking good but she was also psyching him out.

His eyes scanned over the balls, he was fucked, he walked around the table and knew he was definitely fucked. There was nothing available to him, not even any manly dignity since Merle was back with two shots of what looked like bourbon, "ya always were a cheap motherfucker," he shouted to Daryl as he grabbed Kate's coke and handed her the liquor.

"No thank you," the sound of Kate declining Merles drink gave Daryl a satisfied smile even if his turn at the table was all for nothing.

Kate potted two more, bam, bam.

Fucking hell.

1:5

By now Merle and his friends were taking a more keen interest in this game. All he could do was take it like a fucking champ since the other option would be to ask her to let him win or employ some kind of distraction techniques to either A outright cheat or B make her falter. He imagined running his hand up the inside of her thigh as she hit the cue ball but that idea remained strictly in his head rather than his fingertips as another ball sank into the depths of the pockets.

1:6

Kate took a step back from the table, she had one more ball to pot and then the black. A fact obviously not lost on her as she sauntered over, pretty as can be, big eyes sparkling, "regretting this now Mr Dixon?"

"I underestimated ya…" he looked her up and down. If there was one thing he knew about Kate it was that she was the competitive sort, she hated to be helped, she hated to lose and there was probably not much chance she would make a big gamble if she thought she wouldn't be successful. "It won't happen again," he told himself as well as Kate before swiping the little cube of chalk on the end of her cue, "now go put me outta my goddamn misery."

"I could let you..." she cocked her head, "save a little face if you like?"

"Are ya crazy woman? Go kick my damn ass fair an' square."

She bit the grin on her lip before spinning on her heel. Goddamn woman, offering to throw the game, as if she wasn't demasculating him enough right now. Good lord, she would be the one to wear the trousers no matter how great she looked in a skirt.

There was at least one small mercy to this damn game and Daryl enjoyed it as Kate sank her last spotted ball into one of the middle pockets. Fucking hell, there was nothing bad about watching this woman bending over a pool table. In fact he could quite happily lose to her all night. Right now, he was watching her ass bending in those skin tight jeans. Before, when she was on the opposite side he enjoyed a nice view of her other assets. Thank god for the man who invented this game, he wondered if this is what the person had in mind, bars, drinking and lots of bending over. Kate had an ass for pool that was for damn sure.

It was over quickly, quicker than it had been for him to come up with the wager, he kissed goodbye to a night in the woods but only momentarily. The triumphant look in her eye as she looked over her shoulder to gloat filled him with a certainty that he would get this ball breaking woman in his tent, one way or another.

Merle downed the last of his beer and pointed the empty bottle at Daryl "ya gotta stop havin' ya ass handed to ya by Sparky, yer a goddamn embarrassment on the Dixon name."

"I ain't embarrassed, the woman can fuckin' play better than anyone I ever met… includin' you," he grinned at Merle then at Kate. Maybe he had lost but he was proud of her. Who would have thought Miss Uppity would clean up a game like that? And right now in this bar, with him, she was his girl and all her good qualities were rubbing off on him making him feel a little shinier.

"My turn girlie," Merle demanded, snatching the cue from Daryl's hand and pointing his finger at Kate. "Wanna make a wager with me?"

Kate looked at him and it took him a while to realise she was waiting for his permission although that wouldn't exactly be the right word since she wasn't the type of woman that needed permission for anything. Still, Merle wanted to play with her and before saying 'yes' she wanted his opinion and he was certain if he had shook his head she would have declined his brother but instead he said yes. Not only was he happy to watch her play another game for his own perverted reasons but it would hurt for Merle to have, as he had so delicately put it, 'his

ass handed to him.'

Before the game began Kate excused herself to go to the ladies which gave Daryl ample opportunity to pull his brother aside. "Be nice, I fuckin' mean it, she ain't some trash so don't fuck this up."

"What ya talkin' 'bout?" Merle said with a grin that meant he knew exactly what Daryl was talking about.

"I actually like this woman," he let out a sharp breath "alright! I said it. I like 'er. Don't be an asshole."

"Well shit Darylina. Ya like 'er? What the fuck's that 'pose to mean? Ya plannin' on tyin' a fuckin' knot?"

"Fuckin' hell, this is our first goddamn date, it's bad enough you're here with dumb an' dumber but Jesus... Don't go fuckin' mentionin' tying fuckin' knots." Daryl's insides were churning now, he pictured Merle saying the word 'marriage' or 'brother in law' to Kate, who had, at least in Daryl's imagination, reluctantly agreed to go on one night out.

What the hell was wrong with everyone? Irma, Jim, Merle. The second he was mentioning this woman's name they were all jumping straight to the ball and chain as if it was so completely bizarre that he was interested in a woman, that it meant he must want to marry her. Forget dating, forget fucking, just kneeling, proposing, walking down the aisle, honest woman making.

As much as he liked Kate, certainly more than he had ever liked a woman, he wasn't thinking about committing himself for life. Good lord, she drove him crazy enough already and he wasn't exactly the marrying type.

"I won't mention nothin'... but now we're talkin'... ya owe me," Merle took the bottle of beer that Harley offered but his eyes never left Daryl.

"Owe what?"

"Imma 'ere to spend a little time with Cherry an' I see you an' Sparky have gone to town on my little stash."

Daryl sighed heavily, "what the hell ya talkin' 'bout?"

"The rubbers I had in ya truck."

Daryl's face blanched and he looked over his shoulders towards the ladies bathroom. Those fucking condoms were going to haunt him. They had already caused enough trouble for him. Merle could fuck off, "ain't my problem."

"It is ya problem baby brother 'less ya want me askin' littlest princess to buy me a packet from the ladies?"

"Get some from the fuckin' mens."

"Machine broke an' like I said… ya owe me…"

"You're a fuckin'..." Daryl ate the rest of his words and balled his fist. He had a condom. Of course he had a condom. He was on a date with a beautiful woman and like all good boy scouts he was fully prepared. Except Daryl was never a boy scout, he would have got the shit kicked out of him for even considering joining something like that.

He pulled his wallet from the pocket of his jacket while checking once more for signs of Kate then he handed Merle the happy ending to his evening, "I hope it splits in two asshole."

"Thank ya Darylina, I'll remember that next time ya needin' some help from ya big brother."

"Maybe in another fuckin' life," he grunted. Oh well, at least now he would have to be a gentleman which in a way he kind of preferred. He didn't like Kate because she was easy he liked her because she was Kate and he knew exactly how crazy that sounded. Even to himself he knew how crazy he sounded.