This chapter is a bit on the short side. It's kind of a filler but it is one that is needed! There is a point to it =) Thanks for reading and reviewing! You'll have another one to read in 12 hours to make up for this one!

Chapter Thirty Nine

"What the hell was that all about?" Daryl asked as he watched Merle and Sophia walk back into the house.

Shane glanced up but he didn't look at him, his eyes went straight to Carol. "You think it's a good idea to let her hang around with Merle Dixon? We all know what kind of man he is."

"The fuck you tryin' to say?" Daryl asked angrily. "Merle wouldn't hurt that girl."

Shane just looked at him like he was stupid. "You sure about that? I don't think you know your brother as well as you think you do. The mans a loose cannon. He'd hurt anybody. I met a lot like him in my time."

"You best watch your mouth, jackass. I said my brother wouldn't hurt her."

Shane pushed himself up off the porch step and moved closer. Carol stepped between them. "Hey, man. I been tryin' to get along with your ass so you can lose that attitude."

"You been tryin' to what? You spent one afternoon on the road not bein' a prick and now I'm suppose to be your buddy? Fuck you. I know exactly what you went and told her after I got shot. I ain't fallin' for your good guy bullshit." Daryl's fists were clenched at his sides.

"I told her what you wanted me too, remember?" Shane sneered. "Or did you forget that part?"

"I was all fucked up in the head and you knew it you stupid shit. You saw an opportunity and you jumped on it. And what good did it do you, huh? Keep my brothers name outta your mouth and my woman outta your fucked up head. You got enough problems, you don't want me bein' one of'em."

Carol was nearly smashed between the two men. She looked up at him and he almost took a step back. She was pissed. "Are you done?" She snapped.

"So long as his ass is done."

"Daryl. I think maybe you should stop taking everything that comes out of his mouth as a personal attack. You know how everyone feels about Merle." She said as she put a hand to his chest and pushed until he took a step back.

Shane looked down at her and shook his head. "It's alright Carol. I shoulda known it was gonna be this way. It's my fault." He took a deep breath and looked up at Daryl and shrugged. "I'm sorry. I worry about the girl is all. Your brother hasn't said a thing out of the way since he got here. Old habits, I suppose."

Daryl narrowed his eyes at him. What the hell was this guy up too? Daryl knew whatever it was it wasn't good for him. Carols eyes flashed from Shane's face to his but he didn't look at her. He was watching Shane. And as soon as Carol's head was turned Shane's apologetic looked melted into his trademark smirk and then he wiggled his eyebrows at him.

This guy couldn't be serious? He was still up to his same games. He knew he had messed up big time at the CDC so now he was going to play the good guy card. And from the looks of it Carol was really falling for it. He was trying to worm his way back in.

"Daryl?"

He looked down at her, knowing there was a scowl on his face. "What?"

"You can accept his apology, you know? You don't have to stand there like that, giving him the evil eye."

Daryl forced his face to smooth back out. He nodded and looked at Shane as Carol stepped away from them. He took a deep breath. Now Shane had that sad look on his face again since Carol was looking. "Shane." He said quietly.

"Yeah?"

Daryl, without warning shoved him, as hard as he could, with both hands in the chest. Shane flew backwards and landed on his back at the bottom of the steps. Carol grabbed his arm as he tore down the steps himself but he slipped out of her grip pretty easily. Shane hadn't righted himself yet, it had knocked the wind out of him. Daryl stood over him and then reached down and grabbed him by the front of the shirt and put his face close to his. "I ain't fallin' for your bullshit." He growled and then he shoved him back down.

Shane didn't try to fight back. It wouldn't have done him any good. Daryl was mad enough to rip his stupid throat out with his teeth at the moment. He spun around to go back into the house and came face to face with Carol.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Daryl Dixon?" She hissed as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Holy shit!" Merle whooped from the porch.

Three pairs of eyes went to the porch to look at him. He was standing there with Sophia. Carol glared at Merle and then she glared at Daryl and then to his surprise she knelt down next to Shane and asked him if he was alright.

She offered him her hand and helped him sit up. She turned her head and glared at him over her shoulder. "Are you done now?" She asked in an angry tone.

"Hell no I ain't done! You can't tell me your fallin' for this shit. Your smarter than that." He fumed.

Shane picked himself up off the ground. "It's alright Carol. I knew this was how it was gonna be. I told you that yesterday."

"Shane, wait." Carol called as he turned around to walk away.

Carol walked up to him and smiled. "Lets walk, okay."

Three sets of mouths nearly dropped to the ground when she asked him that. Daryl looked towards Merle and Sophia and they were just picking their chins back up. Sophia looked a lot like Carol at that moment. A lot like Carol when Carol was pissed anyway. Merle just looked confused. He didn't know how he looked. He glanced back towards Carol and Shane and she turned to him them.

"I'll be back in a bit." She said angrily. And then she turned around and walked away. She wasn't close to Shane so he thought that was good, considering. Shane made it a point to turn to look over his shoulder and throw Daryl one of those infuriating winks.

He decided right then to kill the son of a bitch the first chance he got. He walked back up the porch steps and took a seat next to Sophia. Her and Merle had both sat down in the spots they had been occupying earlier.

"Can either one of you tell me what the fuck just happened?" He asked as his gaze never left Carol's retreating form.

He felt Sophia scoot closer and he draped his arm over her shoulder without thinking about it. He looked down and met her angry eyes. "What just happened was that creep trying to sabotage you and my mom." She said grimly. "And that shit just ain't gonna fly."

Daryl barely noticed that she had actually said shit. But he did notice the tone. And he noticed that look in her eye. He had a feeling that Shane was really going to need to watch his back now. This was not the girl to mess with from the looks of things.

"You want me to go shoot him?" Merle asked.

Daryl and Sophia both looked at him but Sophia spoke before Daryl had a chance. "Yes. But then that probably wont go over very well with the others. But I'm gonna think of something. He isn't getting away with that."

~H~

Carol walked with Shane in silence for a while but it was getting uncomfortable. He wasn't like Daryl. She could be silent with Daryl and it not feel awkward. This did. "You okay?" She asked.

He gave her a sideways glance and then nodded, returning his eyes to the path in front of him. They had been walking the fence line for a while now. She was so mad at Daryl right now. She was pretty sure that he was pretty mad at her at this point but she couldn't just let Shane walk away on his own. He would have probably gotten in his Jeep and left right then. She had heard him apologize with her own ears and then Daryl goes off and shoves him off the porch? She didn't understand that man sometimes. She loved him more than she could even comprehend but she didn't think she would ever understand why he did some of the things he did.

And Sophia was starting to act a lot like him. Maybe allowing her to hang out with Merle wasn't such a great idea.

"I didn't think he would be so pissed off about it. He has to know how everybody feels about Merle." Shane said suddenly.

Carol kept her own eyes on the ground. "Merle is his brother. He's going to defend him. Especially to you."

"Still. I don't like the thought of him spendin' any amount of time with Sophia. She ain't mine but I worry about her, you know. Merle Dixon is a dangerous man, he was dangerous enough before but he'll be even worse now." Shane glanced at her.

"What do you mean? Worse now?" She asked worriedly.

Shane laughed bitterly. "Did you see what that crazy son of a bitch did to his own hand. And you know as well as I do that he blames this whole group for that. He's gonna come after every one of us for Rick leavin' him on that roof."

"He seems to be making an effort to get along with everyone." Carol muttered. But she couldn't help but worry.

"Exactly. He wants everyone to let their guard down. And what I'm most afraid of is him doing something to Sophia to get back at you."

"At me? He knows me and Daryl... he knows that Daryl and I are together. He knows how much Daryl loves Sophia, even if he doesn't say it. Merle wouldn't hurt us."

"You sure about that? Another thing you need to think about is this. The only reason he's here, with people he don't want to be around, is because Daryl wont leave you behind. So he's stuck. If somethin' happens to you and Sophia he knows that Daryl wont stay around for the rest of us. Then Merle has his brother back. He can do what he wants to the group and then they could take off. As far as I can tell, you and Sophia are in the most danger with him runnin' loose around here."

Carol felt fear grip her chest as she thought about what he was saying. Could that be what Merle was up too? Was allowing Sophia to be around him really dangerous? She wasn't sure and if she wasn't sure then the only thing she knew to do to protect the girl was to keep her away from him. But she felt as though she would have a fight on her hands if she said anything to Sophia. Daryl hadn't felt too easy about Sophia spending time with the man either so maybe he could talk to the girl for her. Sophia would listen to Daryl.

"I didn't mean to scare you, Carol. It probably isn't even the truth. I was cop for a long time and I've seen a lot of bad stuff. I guess I always just jump to the worst conclusions. That line of work is enough to make a man paranoid. Especially about the likes of Merle Dixon. Daryl ain't so bad. Not anymore."

She shook her head. "If I tell Sophia to stay away from Merle that's going to be ugly."

He nodded. "But wouldn't it be better to have her pissed off and alive? He's dangerous Carol. You've seen it. And he's crazy. Anybody that can do that to himself? Imagine what he'd do to someone else?"

Carol felt herself growing more and more uneasy just knowing that Sophia was with him now. She didn't know how she was going to tell the girl all of this and she didn't know what kind of rift it would cause between her and Daryl but she was her daughter and she had already failed at protecting her once. She couldn't leave anything to chance now. Surely Daryl would understand. He had too. He cared about Sophia enough to want to keep her safe just the same as she did.

"Carol I'm sorry. I really am. I guess my nerves get the best of me. But if you need someone to talk to after you tell her whatever it is you're going to tell her, I'll be here. You're the only friend I have left and I wanna be there for ya."

Carol gave him a small smile and nodded. Surely things wouldn't turn out that bad. Daryl and Sophia would understand.

She hoped.