So, here is the second installment for the day. Thanks, again, for reading and reviewing! =) I know that some of you are a little worried about Merle. I hope this helps ease your mind a bit!

Chapter Thirty Five

Sophia, after a long time had passed, finally lifted her head. She hadn't cried. She had shed a few tears but she wouldn't let herself cry anymore. Crying never got a person anywhere. She didn't look at him because she knew that sometimes he didn't like people looking at him and she felt a little stupid for acting like such a little girl. But she felt his finger under her chin and then he lifted her face up.

He looked her in the eye for a few long seconds before he looked away towards T-dog and Carl. "Ain't nothin' changin', alright?" He said in a low voice. "It'll be hard for a while but we'll get past it. Eventually."

She nodded, keeping her eyes on his as she untangled her arms from around his neck. A part of her wished that she had listened to Carl and just took off. She trusted Daryl and she knew if he said that things weren't going to change then they wouldn't. But she had to wonder what he meant about things being hard for a while. Hadn't he had it hard enough already? He deserved some peace just like her and her mom did.

"How's my mom?" She asked instead of voicing her other concerns.

He smirked. "How do you think?"

"Well, she should have known that you'd find me. I hear you're like a bloodhound. Best tracker in the world." She grinned and then stood up.

"Is that right?"

"Yeah. Everyone knows that if comes from the mouth of Merle Dixon then it must be the truth." She smirked.

Everyone turned to the door when Maggie stepped out. She didn't seem too mad, which Sophia took as a good sign. She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and then crossed her arms. "We have to get him outta here. He's runnin' a high fever. He's talking out of his head in there."

Sophia shook her head. "No, he's just like that. I'm sure he isn't talking out of his head."

Maggie rolled her eyes. "Lord help us all then." She looked down at Sophia and smiled. "He's actually askin' for you."

Sophia sighed but headed towards the door but then she felt Daryl's heavy hand on her shoulder pulling her back.

"No." He said quietly.

She turned to look at him but he was glaring towards the door. "Daryl, I've been with him all day. He ain't so bad."

Maggie watched them with a small smile on her face, her arms crossed in front of her. "Daryl, I think we need to talk about how we can get him out of here. You'll be right here if she needs you. He really was gushin' over the girl. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"Merle? Gushin'?" Daryl snorted but dropped his hand from her shoulder. "He must be talkin' out of his head then."

Sophia took this as permission so she walked towards the shack. Merle was sitting up and he looked better. To her he did anyway but so far she was the only one that had seen him this morning and then he looked like he was half dead.

"There ya are. The hell took ya so long?" He asked as his eyes flashed to the door. "My brother let you come by yourself?"

She nodded. "Did you need me for somethin'?" She asked as she put her hands on her hips. She was still mad about what he had said earlier.

He patted the spot next to him on the bed and she sat down. Thankfully she was sitting on is left side so there wouldn't be a chance she would have to look at that stump. Every time she saw it she felt bad for him and she didn't want to feel bad for Merle. She was glad that she was able to help him but Merle was somebody that could ruin everything for her and her mom and she couldn't really find much like for the man at the moment.

"So you and my brother are pretty close, huh?" He asked casually.

Her guard went up instantly. She shrugged. "He's pretty nice."

"Nice, huh? He risked his own ass to scour these woods lookin' for ya, girl. That's a bit more than nice if ya ask me."

"For one, I didn't ask you. And for two, a lot of people would have done the same thing. Just cause you could let a few kids die in the woods without blinking an eye doesn't mean that other people would. Especially your brother."

Merle regarded her with a serious expression before finally he grinned. "Ya know somethin', I think me and you is gonna get along just fine."

"That's a scary thought." She said dryly as she went to stand up. He stopped her with a hot hand on her wrist. She wasn't afraid. Not with Daryl right outside but she was curious because he had that serious look on his face again.

"I need to thank ya, girl. I ain't the nicest person in the world and I ain't never offered to do a damn thing for ya back at camp. Never even crossed my mind too. But you came in here and tried to take care of me the best ya could. And Ol' Merle here don't forget things like that. You gave me water and you fed me and you stayed when it woulda been a lot smarter to move on. I owe you one. I spose you wanna get real technical bout it, I owe ya more than one. I woulda been chow if not for you. Sittin' pretty in a Walkers gut by now. I owe ya, lil miss. And I pay my debts."

She sat back down but his hand stayed on her wrist. It was rough and calloused and she had to wonder how much pain those hands had brought to others. And yet she was still unafraid. He meant what he said and she saw an opportunity to try to make things okay with these new developments. She pulled her wrist out of his grip but she didn't move it away from him. Instead she took his hand in hers and studied it. When she glanced over at his face he was studying her curiously.

She looked back down at his hand in hers and studied it for a long time before she finally spoke. "Do you really mean that?" She glanced up again.

He nodded, his expression serious. "I do."

She nodded and covered the top of his hand with her other one. "Then will you try?" She whispered.

"Try what, girl?"

She looked back up at him. "You have to try to stop. Stop bein' so bad all the time. Try to fit in with our group. Try to forgive and forget. You do that and I'll call us even."

"I don't think ya know what your askin' me, girl. Them people left me for dead. Do I need to show you what I had to do to myself to get off that roof? I don't owe them sons of bitches a fuckin' thing."

His voice was filled with a quiet anger that had her looking up once more. "Merle," She whispered, "You and all your meanness can mess everything up for me. You don't even know it but it's true. I think I've earned some peace and the only way I can have it is if you try to help me. Can you please just try?"

He looked like he was in pain again. Maybe it was the fever or the medicine he had gotten from Maggie but finally he gave her a stiff nod. "Try bein' the key word, you hear? And we don't bring this up again. I don't need all these dumb mother fuckers thinkin' I done gone all pussy over some little girl and her big sad eyed bullshit. I owe you one. That's all this is."

She just nodded, somehow knowing that if she gave him anymore thanks than that it may just make things worse on him. She didn't know how her mom had changed Daryl so fast but she was going to work on this horrible rotten man until he softened himself up a bit. Being as hateful as him couldn't be very healthy. She was starting to reconsider her own new appreciation for anger.

She got to the door and then turned around when she remembered something that he may need to know about so he wasn't caught off guard. "Merle?"

He looked up, with an unhappy expression on his face. "Yeah?"

"T-dog is outside." She raised her eyebrows as his face transformed into a steely mask. "Remember, you said you would try."

She dashed out the door but she heard him before she pulled it shut.

"Goddamn it, Sophia!"

~H~

"There has to be another way." Maggie hissed at him.

Daryl just shook his head. "There ain't. Us three men all weigh a lot more than you do. It would be too hard on the horses. Carl with T-dog, Sophia with me and You..."

"With Merle." She grumbled.

Daryl couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl but really it was the only way they could do it. Merle was already sitting on the horse and Daryl could tell he was enjoying himself up there waiting for the girl to crawl up in front of him. She had wrapped the stump as best she could but Hershel was going to have his hands full when they got back. Maggie had told him that she had never seen anything that bad in her life. At least they had all of Milton's stuff and Milton himself.

Maggie walked towards Merle with a determined step and Daryl climbed up on his own horse. He pulled Sophia up by her hands and sat her down in front of him. The kid didn't weigh anything.

"Merle!" Maggie turned her head and glared at him from over her shoulder.

Merle gave her a straight faced look, like he had no idea what her problem could be.

She reached back and grabbed his left arm and wrapped it around her waist. "You keep it right there, you hear me? If I feel you inchin' that hand up again I'm gonna chew it off."

Daryl shook his head. Poor Maggie. Merle was already trying to cop a feel and they hadn't even taken off yet. "We ready yet?" He called.

Merle shot him a look and winked. Daryl ignored him and started on there way back. He felt like he hadn't seen Carol in a week and he knew that she would worry all day. She put on a brave face but she was still afraid he wouldn't find Sophia and he was in a hurry to give her her daughter back.

He had been worried about how Merle would react when he found out T-dog, the one that had actually dropped the key to the hand cuffs, was right outside. But when Merle had come out the door he didn't even look in T-dogs direction. He just walked right up to the horse that Maggie had pointed out to him and sat there without a word. He still watched him warily though. He knew Merle and he knew that Merle would hold them all responsible for his hand. Maybe even Daryl himself.

They were making good time when suddenly Maggie stopped her horse completely and looked back at Merle again. "Really?"

He smiled. "I've kept my hand right where you told me too, sugar."

"Your hand ain't what I'm talkin' about you nasty pervert," She growled from between clenched teeth.

Before Merle could even open his mouth to reply Daryl covered Sophia's ears with his hands.

"What? That?" he shook his head. "You've been bouncin' on it for a while now. I'm surprised it's taken this long to respond. Must be the fever. Pretty impressive, huh?" He grinned.

"Jesus, Merle!" Daryl groaned.

"What? Have you seen this girls ass?" Merle looked put out that anyone would blame him.

Maggie finally got over her outrage and got her horse to moving again so Daryl took his hands off Sophia's ears and followed with T-dog and Carl bringing up the rear. Everyone was eager to get back to the farm. But probably no one as eager as poor Maggie.

~H~

Carol was fidgeting. He had left out at dawn and it was close to dusk now. Anything could have happened to him out there. She had her knees pulled up and was picking at the frays around a hole in the knee of her jeans.

"He's fine, Carol." Shane said without looking up. He had been sitting on the steps with her for a while now. He hadn't left yet which she considered a good thing.

Even Andrea had gone out of her way to be kind to the man. She had left them a little while ago to go on a walk with her sister. She apparently felt that it was important to have a talk with the girl since it seemed as though her and Glen were getting much closer than Andrea was comfortable with. Carol on the other hand thought that it was pretty sweet.

"You know, them kids have been out there for three days now. They wouldn't have sat still either so Daryl has to make up for three days worth of travel. And that's why he ain't back yet. You know him. He ain't gonna stop till he finds them. He's too damn stupid to think about himself." He smirked. " And you look real good in that sweater, and he's missin' out on it."

Carol shot him a dirty look but he just winked at her and grinned. He was kidding and she knew it so she was able to smile back. She really did want things to get better for him. She had seen very little of Lori or Rick all day. Rick had taken Glen and searched again but she knew they wouldn't turn up much. The search was in the right hands now. Daryl was the only one she had faith in for a job of this caliber.

"Hey."

She looked up at Shane. "What?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Thanks." he said as he looked away.

"For what?" She asked quietly. He was looking sad again.

"For today. I know once Dixon gets back you wont really be around as much. And that's okay cause I wouldn't blame him for wantin' me as far away from you as I could get. But thanks for bein' there. He's the luckiest son of a bitch I know." he laughed and then leaned back on his elbows with his legs dangling off the step.

"Shane, he wouldn't try to make me stay away from you. So long as you aren't trying to kiss me anymore."

He laughed and a little of that cockiness returned. "You didn't like it at all?"

Carol arched an eyebrow at him and shook her head. "No. I did not."

He shook his head. "Must be losin' my touch."

"It happens." She said dryly.