I couldn't resist. I have to keep posting chapters so we can finally get back to the exciting stuff! The quicker I get them up the quicker we get to that! Someone mentioned the Walkers in the barn. There are none. Well, something is going on but as far as the barn being full of Walkers, that isn't happening in this story. Something like that is coming up but it is on a much smaller scale. There is no Walker Sophia so that part doesn't have to be such a main focus. Well, now I just sound vague and confusing... But I don't want to drop any spoilers. I'll get to that though XD. I promise! Have a safe and happy Saturday! =) And THANK YOU! I love all of you for reviewing!

Chapter Forty Three

Sophia wasn't to sure how to defuse the situation. She walked out of the barn and right up to him even though he looked scary. His arms were crossed over his chest and his blue eyes were shooting daggers at her.

"Hi Daryl." She sighed.

His scowled deepened. "Don't you hi Daryl me. What the hell did we just talk about? What'd I tell ya?"

She spared Merle a quick glance. He was smirking and watching Daryl with a look on his face that seemed to say that he found this situation completely amusing. He looked down at her and winked and then looked back up at the back of Daryl's head. She offered him a small smile before she faced Daryl's wrath once more. "I wasn't doing anything." She said with a slight shrug.

His hands went to his hips. "Don't tell me you didn't do anything. I saw you doin' somethin'."

She glanced back towards Merle but he was still studying Daryl.

"Don't look at him. He ain't gonna help ya." Daryl growled.

"We hugged, Daryl. Jeeze." She tried to step around him but he moved so quick that she nearly bumped into him. She felt her own scowl forming.

His face was still hard and his hands were still planted firmly on his hips. "Well, don't do it again. Huggin' just leads too..."

"Would you stop it!" Sophia blushed and then pushed past him. She fell into step with Merle. "Has he always been such an ass?" She grumbled.

"Hey, I heard that, kid." He called from behind them.

Merle just chuckled as Sophia looked over her shoulder. "Good!" She called back.

"Sophia!"

She stopped and spun around. He walked up to her and crouched down so they were eye level. He didn't look mad anymore. "What?" She asked in a guarded voice.

"Sorry." He grumbled. He didn't look very sorry at all but she knew how stubborn he was and she had to smile. He was trying. That's what counted.

"It's okay. But you need to work on calming yourself down a little. I heard everything you said earlier. No kissing boys. I got it."

He nodded and stood up. "Your momma wants to talk to you and then we gotta eat so don't be wonderin' off anymore."

She nodded. "Do you mind if I talk to Merle for a minute? Alone?" She asked as sweetly as she could.

He narrowed his eyes. "The hell you wanna talk to him for?"

"I'll tell you later, okay?"

He stared at her for quite a while but finally, to her relief, he nodded. He glanced up at Merle. "You keep that goddamn Grimes boy away from her."

She rolled her eyes but let him get away with it because she needed to talk to Merle. Merle nodded and they both watched as he strolled off towards the house. Then Merle looked at her curiously.

"I'm gonna show you somethin' but you have to swear that you wont tell anybody else. Especially my mom and Daryl. Can you do that?" She asked in a hushed tone as she glanced around.

He nodded without hesitation. "Yep."

She reached behind her and pulled the gun that Carl had given her out of her waistband and handed it to him. He looked at it and whistled appreciatively. "Nice piece, girl. I had myself one a lot like a long time ago. Where'd it come from?"

"Carl stole two guns from his dad." She whispered.

He met her eyes and gave her a wide grin. "Did he now? Maybe there's some hope for that scrawny little fucker."

"Will you help us? Teach us how to shoot?" She asked hurriedly glancing around.

He handed the gun back to her and she stuffed it back into her waistband and pulled her shirt down over it firmly. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know how pissed off my brother would be if he knew what you was askin'? And you know he'd teach ya'll himself. You ain't gotta come to ol' Merle with this, girl."

"They are stolen guns. I know he would teach me how to use one but he wouldn't let me keep it. He'd be to afraid my mom would find out. Or he would think I'd end up shooting myself on accident."

"And you don't think I'd have a problem with you two stealin'?" Merle asked with a severe look on his face.

"I didn't steal. I accepted stolen property. Much lesser charge, Merle"

The look on his face remained the same and she thought for a minute that she had made a mistake by telling him about the guns. But then he laughed heartily. "Shit, lil miss. Sure I'll teach you to use a gun. But ya think you can talk that boyfriend a yers to grab up one for myself?" He winked.

She scowled at that. "He is not my boyfriend. And no, I wont have him steal you a gun. I trust you. I think you'd take a bullet for me. Not in the head or anything, you're still Merle Dixon, but I think you might take one in the leg or something if it'd save my life. But like I said, you're still Merle and I wouldn't put it past you to kill the others. And I like the others."

His brow pulled down in a frown. "Well that don't seem fair. What the hell is in it for me?"

She sighed. "You get a chance to do something that would piss everyone off. You know how mad Rick would be if he found out that Carl was hanging out with you at all?"

He seemed to turn this over in his head for a moment and then finally nodded. "I spose I gotta take what I can get. But you know you're gonna end up givin' my brother a heart attack, right?"

"What he don't know wont hurt him." She said uncertainly as they finally started for the farmhouse.

"That's the truth, darlin'. But my baby brother has a knack for figurin' shit out quick."

"Let's just hope that he's too preoccupied to notice." She flashed him a grin as they climbed the steps and he returned it with one of his own.

~H~

Carol kept casting Daryl worried glances. He was mad, she could tell. "What's wrong?" She asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

He frowned and glanced around the living room to make sure they were alone. "She's up to somethin'."

"Who?" Carol asked.

"Sophia. I caught her up there in the barn with that idiot boy and then she had somethin' to talk to Merle about and she wouldn't say what it was. She just said she'd tell me later." He sounded highly offended and Carol couldn't help but laugh.

His frown turned into a scowl. "The fuck is so funny about anything I just said? You're ears stopped up or somethin'?"

"Okay, Daryl. What were her and Carl doing?" She asked as she tried to look serious.

"Huggin'." He grumbled.

Carol hid a fit of laughter behind her hand and it earned her another glare from Daryl. "It ain't funny, Carol."

"Fine. I'll talk to her about that. Now, what do you think her and Merle are up too?"

I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out."

She nodded. "I'm sure you will. But just don't forget who we're talking about. She isn't a bad kid." She eyed him. "And Carl isn't a bad kid either."

He snorted.

They both turned when they heard the screen door open and Merle and Sophia walked in. She couldn't help but notice that they both glanced right at Daryl. Merle just looked like Merle. He smirked and then walked off towards the kitchen. Sophia on the other hand really did look like she was up to something. Her smile was too bright and she wouldn't look at him for very long. Her eyes met Carols and the relief on her face was visible.

"You wanted to talk to me?" She asked.

Carol glanced at him one more time before looking back at her daughter with a smile. She nodded and held out her hand. She led her to the bedroom and shut the door behind her. Sophia sat down in the chair that was still there from the night Daryl had gotten shot.

"Sophia, about what you said earlier..." She began but Sophia shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I never should have said. I was just mad."

She smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed right across from her. "You had every right to be. I was wrong and I can admit it."

Sophia's brows pulled together. "But I thought..."

"It doesn't matter. If you trust Merle then I need to trust Merle too. I was so hell bent on convincing everyone that Shane was an okay man that I never even once thought to apply my own logic to Merle. Not that Merle makes things any easier."

Sophia nodded. "I know. But I trust him."

Carol could hear the truth in the girls voice and she just nodded. "So are we okay?" She asked with a small smile.

Sophia looked liked she had to think about it for a while but eventually she grinned and nodded. "We're okay." She got up to leave but Carol held onto to her hands tightly. "Sophia? Could you maybe cut Daryl some slack. He's trying, okay?"

Sophia rolled her eyes. "No he isn't trying, and that's the scary part. Somehow all this bossing me around and worrying like an old lady is coming natural to him. Which makes me think that maybe it's going to get even worse. Do you know he lectured me about boys today? And you should have seen him out there! He about had a stroke just because I hugged Carl."

Carol had to swallow back laughter. "Do you want me to tell him to back off?"

Sophia's head snapped up. "No." She said quickly and then had to hide her own smile. "I like that he cares. It just gets annoying."

Carol pulled Sophia into a hug. "I like that he cares too." She said happily.

~H~

Merle didn't like the idea of sitting through another meal with all these assholes. It was getting easier to keep his mouth shut. He would do it for the girl if that's really the way she wanted him to repay her for saving his sorry ass, but he didn't have to like it at all. It made him feel weak. When something needed to be said you could count on Merle Dixon to say it. And there was a lot that needed to be said here. But he kept his mouth shut.

Hershel and Milton had pushed tables together to accommodate everyone. And, of course, everyone was already huddled in their little cliques while they waited for everyone. Milton, Andrea and Dale were talking about something, probably something boring since he couldn't see Milton being that great a conversationalist. Amy and Glen were lounging in the corner laughing quietly about something. Lori was talking to Carl and the blonde girl at the table and that idiot kid that shot his brother was hovering around them. Daryl was having himself a fine old time hanging around with Rick and that asshole that had dropped the keys to the handcuffs in Atlanta.

Hershel was there too talking quietly with Patricia and her husband. He thought Patricia was alright. She didn't take his shit either. And then there was Shane who was leaning against the door frame alone and scowling. Merle hated that because him and the asshole deputy were probably mirroring each other. He sighed and shook his head.

He looked down at the only other lonely person in the room. Maggie sat towards the end of the table with her arms crossed and staring off into space. She looked pretty upset and he thought about maybe trying to talk to her but then changed his mind. What the hell could he say that wasn't just going to piss her off? And he also had the bad habit of telling people to get the fuck over it. He knew she wouldn't take kindly to that so he stayed where he was.

She looked up at him then, like she felt his eyes on her. She gave him a humorless smile and then kicked the chair next to her out a bit. He took it for what it was. A clear invitation. Not that he got his hopes up or anything. She was clearly too young. Or he was clearly too old. And she was just too fucking perfect. Not that he would tell another soul what he was thinking at the moment. Either way he took her up on her offer just so he didn't have to look like Shane over there, without a friend in the world.

"What's with the long face there, beautiful?" He asked in a low voice.

She studied him for a few long seconds and then shrugged. "Daddy thinks it's time ya'll moved on. You and your brother's on the mend and the kids are back. He don't see no reason for ya'll to stay on anymore."

Merle leaned back in his seat and sighed. "I know how hard this must be on ya. You're gonna miss 'Ol Merle something awful, ain'tcha?" He winked.

"You know what, Merle? I just might." She smiled and then slapped his thigh. "It took a bit but I'm getting' used to you."

"Is 'at right? I knew you fell in love on that horse, darlin'." He winked.

"Don't ruin it, Merle." She said dryly.

"So that means you wasn't impressed?" He asked mildly, cocking an eyebrow at her.

She gave him a stern look but then he watched as her eyes raked down and actually settled on his crotch before she looked back up and winked. "Don't jump to conclusions, Merle."

Well, I be damned. He thought as she turned her head away from him and waited for this strange dinner to start.