I hope you are all happy with this chapter! All the reviews I woke up too were incredible and I love you all for keeping the ideas flowing. I'm a reader pleaser and knowing you all like this story so much keeps me writing and writing and... well... you get the picture. So thank you all for keeping this going! Hope you all have a good morning! =)

Chapter Thirty Four

"This was a big camp. A lot bigger than ours." Daryl said as him and T-dog stood in a clearing. He had spotted it while following the trail. A much fresher trail than he'd found so far.

"You didn't find anything that would make you think they went after Sophia and Carl do you?" T-dog asked worriedly.

Daryl shook his head. "No but the kids saw this camp too. That's what made me look over here."

T-dog crossed his arms and gazed at him skeptically. "Now I can admit that you're pretty damn good at all this outdoorsy shit, Dixon, but how the hell would you know if the kids saw this or not?"

"Cause, Tonto. They stopped over there for a while. Shuffled around for a bit. If they did that then somethin' must have caused them to stop. So I figure they saw the camp and might have talked about comin' over here for some help."

"But they didn't?"

Daryl shook his head. "Sophia most likely talked Carl out of it."

T-dog scoffed. "Let me guess, you can tell that from the tracks right?"

"Nope. But out of the two of them who's gonna be the one more cautious when it comes to people?"

T-dog just stared at him and then nodded his head. "Damn. I guess I am the sidekick. Son of a bitch."

Daryl slapped him on the back as he walked past him. "Come on, Tonto. I'll help you back on your horse."

"Find anything?" Maggie asked as Daryl actually did help poor T-dog back on the horse.

"There was a pretty big camp over there a ways. Looks like they packed up and moved on early. Fire pits ain't even cold yet."

"What about the kids?" Maggie asked worriedly.

Daryl shook his head. "They went this way." He led them away from the abandoned camp.

"Why would there be so many people in the woods? Ain't they worried about those things that are out there?" Maggie asked.

Daryl shook his head. "From what we can tell all the Walkers stick to more populated areas. The whole time we were all camped out we only saw a couple till our last night."

T-dog grimaced. "And then that last night there were probably fifty or more. We lost two of our own."

Daryl nodded. "It's like there startin' to run in packs now."

They rode on for a while in silence until Daryl stopped. Maggie and then T-dog followed suit. "Holy shit." Daryl mumbled.

"What?" Maggie whispered as she followed his gaze.

"Tree stand." he pointed and then the others saw what he had seen.

"The hell is a tree stand?" T-dog asked.

Daryl and Maggie both turned their heads and gave him a look.

"What the hell. I'm from the city. I don't know what a damn tree stand is."

Daryl shook his head. "It's something hunters use so they can wait up high for a deer to come by." He nudged the horses flank and it trotted down the hill. "And this is where they must have slept." he said mostly to himself as he guided the horse around the tree. "The tracks leadin' away are just a few hours old. We almost got'em." He looked up grinning and then took off at a gallop, Maggie right on his heels and T-dog cursing them both as he bounced around wildly as his own horse joined the others.

They slowed down so T-dog could work on righting himself. He was nearly hanging off the horses side, the saddle had slipped a little and sat at an odd angle. They kept their pace more subdued after that even though Daryl wanted to race ahead of them. His heart was racing in his chest and he took a few deep breaths to steady himself but then finally there was a break in the trees and he saw a flash of blue. He stopped the horse and squinted.

Sure enough, a few hundred yards away there was some sort of shack and sitting against the wall with her legs crossed was Sophia. His breath came out in a rush and then he was racing forwards. He nearly jumped off the horse while it was still moving. Sophia took off towards him at a sprint that seemed more suited for a marathon. Carl was running too but she was ahead of him and she was flying.

He knelt down a bit and she almost jumped into his arms. It wasn't until her arms were wrapped securely around his neck that he realized that he had actually harbored a little bit of doubt that he'd find her. But everything was fine now.

"What took you so long?" She asked into his shoulder.

"Got shot, kid." he said in a thick voice. "Had to take a few days to heal."

She leaned back with her hands on his shoulders. "Shane actually shot you?"

He laughed and shook his head. "I swear, I thought the same thing. But he didn't do it. Some kid was huntin' dear. It was an accident."

He tore his eyes away from hers long enough to catch Carl staring at Maggie and T-dog. When he saw Daryl looking at him he shook his head slightly. "Where's my dad?" He asked.

"He didn't come. He's been in the woods for two days searchin' though. He was gonna come out with Glen this afternoon."

The boy looked disappointed but he nodded and walked towards T-dog who had jumped down from his horse once more.

"Daryl, I have something to show you." She pulled away and took his hand, leading him towards the shack.

"What is it?" He asked quietly feeling uneasy for some reason.

"You gotta see for yourself." She said with a slight smile.

She stepped into the room and it only took him a few seconds for his eyes to find him. Daryl dropped Sophia's hand and all he could do was stare.

"Well I'll be damned. The girl was right. How you been little brother?"

Daryl couldn't find his voice. Merle was right there, alive, if not well. He should have been thrilled. He was only numb. Staring down at Merle like a dumb ass. He thought of T-dog outside. He thought of Carol back at the farm. He thought about Rick and Glen. He thought about everything he had gained in the short amount of time that Merle had been gone. And he couldn't help but feel like he was being cheated. Like all the things that were important to him now were being stolen from him. He had wanted his brother back. He still did. But did he want to pay the price? His eyes traveled down to the stump that lay at Merle's side.

"Sophia, go tell Maggie to bring up that first aid kit, okay. You stay with Carl. I'll be out in a minute." He didn't look at her.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"Just go, Sophia."

She walked away but he could still feel her worried eyes on him until she shut the door behind her.

Merle raised up slowly, giving him a strange look. "You stayed with those people?" He asked harshly. "After what they did to me? Your own brother? Your blood?"

"We went back. Me, Rick, Glen, T-dog. We all went back to get you."

"Is that right? Came back for me huh? And how long did it take ya'll to leave camp? You and all your new buddies?"

"It wasn't nothin' like that. The camp got overrun." Daryl didn't like the way he sounded. Like he had to convince Merle.

"Good. I hope everyone of them mother fuckers got chewed on." Merle spat.

Anger flashed through him at that. He took a step forward then and glared down at Merle. "If you said somethin' like that to that girl, I swear to God, Merle, I'll make you regret it."

Merle held up his hands with a smirk on his face. Daryl backed up at the sight of the stump. "Calm down, little brother. I owe that lil lady. But what's goin' on here? You got a thing for little girls now?"

Daryl scowled. "What the fuck's wrong with you?"

The door opened then and Maggie stepped in. The sun was hitting her back and causing a halo around the girl. Merle squinted and then his eyebrows shot up as she shut the door. She was holding the bag that she had brought with the first aid supplies.

She looked from Daryl to Merle and gave him a once over. "You're Merle." She stated flatly.

"And you're a vision in a dream, darlin'. A real wet one." He chuckled at his own joke.

Daryl groaned and then shot an apologetic look at Maggie but she wasn't looking at him. Her face was hard as she stared at Merle and then she walked right up to him and placed her hand on his head. When she pulled her hand back she nodded stiffly.

"You got yourself a fever there, Merle. And so I'm gonna pretend that that's the reason you said that."

"Honey you can pretend whatever you want." He grinned.

She dropped the bag at his feet and then knelt down to go through it. She pulled out a bottle of pills and Merle's eyes lit up. "What'cha got there?" He asked eagerly.

"Hopefully somethin' that'll shut you up." She said dryly. She shook out a few of the pills and handed them over with some water. "Take these for the pain. We'll have to figure out a way to get you back to the farm."

"I'll be back." Daryl grumbled. "Yell if he tries anything."

"He tries anything then you'll be hearin' him do the yellin'." She mumbled as she examined his stump.

Daryl shot Merle one more annoyed look and then stomped out the door. He hated himself for feeling this way. Sophia was right there, back pressed against the wall as she waited for him to come back out. He sat down heavily on the step. T-dog and Carl were making their way towards them and he had to shake his head.

"What are we going to do about Merle?" She asked as she came to sit in front of him with her back against his knees. Her closeness was uncoiling the tension in his muscles and he reached out to put one hand on her shoulder. She instantly took his hand and held it tightly.

"I'm studyin' on that, kid. I just don't know." he said softly.

"You think he's gonna be the same." She asked.

He shook his head. "No, I really don't." He sighed. "I think he's gonna be a lot worse."

"He said you wouldn't come for me cause I wasn't yours." She said sadly and the anger that bubbled up from the pit of his stomach was enough to set his teeth on edge.

"Merle has a real fucked up world view, kid. That's how he is and so he thinks I'm the same."

"But you're not like him." She muttered.

He wished he could see her face. "No. I ain't. And he's gonna have a real tough time dealin' with that."

She turned around so she was in front of him, her hands on his knees. "Then he can get over it." She snapped. She sounded angry but her eyes were actually fearful. "You can't go back to that. The way you were before. Before my mom. You have to keep from doing that, Daryl. I need you." Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she threw herself at him.

Carl and T-dog had stopped and turned away. Giving them what privacy they could offer them. Daryl's arm came up tight around her back and he cradled the back of her head with his hand as she clung to his neck. She didn't sob. She just stayed very still with her forehead pressed against the center of his chest. And while she stayed there like that, her stillness was an oasis to his pounding heart.

Just as her mother before her, she was saying things to him that he never thought he would hear anyone say and it was a scary thing. Carol loved him. Sophia needed him. Two simple things that were probably so easy for other people to accept, but they boggled his mind. Filled him with a strange combination of dread and elation. And then there was Merle.

Merle, who would demand Daryl's loyalty. His brother. His blood. And right now the one thing that could doom this new world he found himself belonging too. A world that he found himself eager to defend. Where Merle did nothing but take, Carol and Sophia gave. They gave him solace and they gave him hope. He wanted to be better for them not because they demanded it from him but because he knew they deserved better than what he had been. They regarded him with quiet acceptance. Merle was his blood. There was no denying that but Daryl was starting to realize that blood only ran skin deep. That woman and this kid somehow had burrowed themselves much deeper than that. And he was going to keep them there. Merle could try to pull him back. What Merle didn't understand was that it wasn't going to be so easy anymore. Daryl had something to fight for now that he didn't have back then. And there was not too many things more dangerous in this world than a man that was desperate to protect what was his.

He felt her warmth seeping into his shirt just as the realization that she was here and safe seeped into his heart and he noticed his hands were shaking. He rested his forehead against her hair and blew out a shaky breath. "I missed the hell outta you, kid." He said, not caring at the moment that it wasn't a very Daryl thing to say.

She didn't say anything back but her arms tightened around his neck. That was all the confirmation he needed. She must have kind of missed him too.