I didn't want to leave you all waiting for this one but I don't think I can post another chapter until tomorrow afternoon. I got a lot of stuff and things to do so I have to take a short break. Thanks for all of the reviews and suggestions! It is appreciated! Hope you all have a great day!

Chapter Sixty Seven

Merle glanced over his shoulder at the girls in the back seat before returning his attention to the road. They were almost to the spot where T-dog said the others would be. They would meet somewhere on the highway where they had gotten hung up and Sophia and Carl had turned up missing. These poor bastards were coming full circle.

Maggie and Sophia were huddled together in the back seat. Maggie had her face turned towards the window. Her expression was grim at best. She had her arms around Sophia who was looking much less like an adult than she did during their camp raid in the dark.

Merle hadn't been much of a hero this morning. The only thing he could think about was keeping Maggie and Sophia as close to him as he could and get them to a car. He had tried like hell to help the others keep the Walkers at bay but when he realized that they were just going to keep on coming he took them both and ran to the nearest car he could find. He had circled around to see if anyone else was fleeing and that was when Sophia had spotted T-dog, trying like hell to fight off three Walkers alone. Before Merle even knew what he was doing he was out of the car and shooting the Walkers off the man. Later he decided that he did it for Daryl. Daryl and this guy were pretty good friends and he left it at that.

T-dog had been even more surprised than Merle. He had actually looked at him like he expected Merle to shoot him next. But Merle just offered him his hand and they had jumped into the car.

"Merle?" Sophia asked in a small voice.

He shook his head, knowing just by the sound of her voice what she was about to ask him. "Don't even think it, darlin'. Ain't nothin' happened to them, you hear me? Nothin'."

She nodded and laid her head back down on Maggie's shoulder.

He hoped he hadn't just lied to her. There was a good chance that they hadn't made it. Those Walkers were everywhere. But he had to believe that his brother was okay and he had to believe that Sophia and Daryl hadn't lost Carol. That was too much. Daryl had been through too much to have to go through something like that. He deserved everything he had now. Daryl had lived through hell his whole life. It hadn't even ended when he had grown up, a lot of it because of Merle himself, and now the boy deserved to be happy.

"Right here. This is where we wait." T-dog muttered dully.

Merle stopped the car and they all four sat there for a few minutes before they said anything. It was Sophia who finally spoke. "They aren't here." Her soft voice filled the silence of the car.

"Give'em time. Everybody scattered in different directions. We're just the ones that got here first." Merle assured her.

"Can we get out?" Maggie asked. "I feel sick." Without confirmation she threw open the door and bolted from the car.

Merle cursed but got out and followed her. He wanted to make her feel better. The girl had been through a lot but he just didn't know how. He wasn't good at any of this shit. He had never bothered before. But he knew that he couldn't just tell her to suck it up and stop being a pussy. Even though that was about the only advice he had to give her.

Her hands were braced against the guard rail and she was definitely sick. He made a face and then patted her back. "That's gross as fuck, Maggie." He flinched. He hadn't meant to say it out loud. Now she was going to feel even worse.

She surprised him though. She let out a small laugh before heaving again.

"God. I'm gonna go try to find ya somethin' to rinse your mouth out." He said as he walked away.

T-dog was walking towards him with a bottle of water, already knowing what the girl would need. Sophia kept close to T but Merle knew how the girl was and he figured he had better say something.

"No wonderin' off, ya got it?" He asked.

She nodded.

"I'll keep an eye on her." T-dog said as they leaned against the hood of the car.

Merle walked back to Maggie, who was now turned around, leaning against the guardrail that she had just been throwing up over. He wordlessly handed her the bottle and watched as she rinsed out her mouth a few times and then drained it.

"Thanks." She muttered as she leaned back once more.

He couldn't help but notice how pale she looked. And how sad she looked. "They'll be here. All of'em." He said as he leaned next to her.

"You don't know that." She said sadly. "We could be the only ones left. You saw all those things."

He shook his head. "My brother, he's on his way. Your daddy and that sister of yours, they'll be here too."

She tilted her head and squinted up at him. "I hope you're right."

"I'm right." He said stubbornly.

She smiled and then tried to pull him closer. He glanced around, making sure T-dog and Sophia weren't looking, when he knew it was safe he let her. She turned around and pressed her back against him. When he wrapped both arms around her waist she leaned her head back and sighed. He kept throwing glances towards the other two but their backs were turned. T-dog was leaning up against the car and Sophia was sitting cross legged on the hood.

When he saw the coast was clear he relaxed into her, flattening his hand against her stomach and pulling her back against him harder, pressing his forehead into her shoulder. He couldn't help but wonder what he was suppose to do if he was wrong. If his brother didn't come back. If maybe he hadn't made it.

As if she could read his mind Maggie turned and then wrapped her arms around his neck. He resumed his spot, forehead against her other shoulder now, arms locked around her like a vice. He was blind to anyone watching and so he was less tense about what they would see. As long as he didn't have to see them looking at him he was okay. He'd just pretend that they weren't.

"What are we gonna do if we're the only ones left, Merle?" She whispered.

He let out a heavy breath. "Then we do what we gotta do I guess. But my brother ain't dead." He said after a long pause. "And neither is your people. Just give'em time."

~H~

Daryl pulled over behind the Jeep. Carl had been, thankfully, quiet for the rest of the drive and now it was time to figure out who all was in the Jeep. He had lost some hope when he saw that it was actually Dale driving. The only people that got out was Dale, Duane and that damn Randal kid.

They all looked pretty grim but Dale shook his hand and gave him a warn smile. "I'm glad you made it, son." He said and then he watched as Duane and Carl embraced like old friends. No one would have thought that more than two days ago the boys never knew each other. Bonds formed faster now days. When no one knew how much time they would have.

"Did you see my brother? Or Carol and Sophia? Rick said..." Daryl's throat closed up and he had to swallow hard.

Dale nodded. "I saw them. I saw Merle and Sophia anyway. Merle didn't hesitate at all. He got her in a car and then he was gone. He had Maggie with him."

Daryl didn't realize he had been holding his breath until it rushed out in a huff. Sophia was okay, he let that sink in for a few seconds. But his stomach was still in knots. Dale hadn't said anything about Carol. She had to be okay.

"We need to circle around and head back to the highway. That's where everyone will be." Daryl said in a strained voice that he didn't even recognize.

"I'm sure she's fine, Daryl. That is one strong woman. You know that." Dale said.

Daryl just nodded and looked at Carl. "You boys wanna ride with me or Dale? I know ya'll ain't gonna split up."

Carl gave him a half hearted smile. "I'll take my chances with Dale. He wont threaten to throw me out of the car."

"Good call." He muttered as he climbed back into the truck and waited for Dale to get the Jeep turned around.

His stomach was in knots and his heart was about to pound right out of his chest but he had to believe that she was okay. At least his brother and Sophia were alright. That counted for a lot. But he needed to know that Carol had made it off the farm. He couldn't think of what it would do to him, or Sophia, if she hadn't. He needed her now like he needed air. He didn't like to think that he couldn't survive without her. He didn't like having to depend on someone else like that. But he did. She made up a big part of who he was now. In what little time they had been together she had opened him up like a book and accepted every single flaw he had. She loved him and he couldn't lose that. Not after just finding it. He did what he had been doing since the moment he talked to her that night by the quarry. He clung to hope. Clung to it with every ounce of strength he had.

~H~

Finally they made it. The first thing Carol saw was Sophia, sitting on the hood of the car with T-dog standing next to her. She spotted Merle and Maggie together by the guard rail. She kept her eyes peeled but she didn't see Daryl anywhere. Had she expected too? She pushed thoughts of him to the back of her head for a moment. Her daughter was there. Like she knew she would be. Merle would always take care of her. She felt relief in that knowledge.

She hurried out of the car before Glen could even put it in park. Sophia was watching and when she saw her she was running towards her. Carol caught her half way, hugging her to her tightly. Maggie and Merle were making their way over. Maggie had her fingers intertwined with his but Carol barely registered that at the moment.

"Thank you, Merle." She choked as tears finally made their way to her eyes.

"Daryl?" Was all Merle said. His voice sounding softer than it normally did.

What was she suppose to tell them? The truth? Sophia pulled away and was looking at her now, the girls fingers were digging painfully into her shoulders as her own eyes searched Carols for an answer.

"I saw him... I saw him fall. There was a Walker on his back but I didn't see him get bit. I didn't see what happened." Carol's voice was lighter than a whisper. The words feeling like fists to her chest. Saying them out loud drove it in. Made it real. He could be gone.

"No!" Sophia snarled as she wretched herself out of Carol's arms and backed away. She looked like a cornered animal that was about to bolt but Merle was there as soon as she turned to run, catching her around her waist and going to his knees. "No no no." She wailed and then grabbed him around the neck, clinging to him as she sobbed.

Merle held her tightly, his eyes staring of blankly and his face deathly pale. And all of this solidified it to Carol then. She covered her face with her hands and sat down on the road. Finally letting go and crying herself. She felt a gentle arm go around her shoulders and then Maggie's sweet voice next to her ear.

"Carol, we don't know yet. There's still hope." Maggie sat down next to her and pulled her into her shoulder. Carol still cried. She cried silently but it was intense, her chest feeling shredded and her mind feeling bruised. She couldn't do this. She had to be strong but no matter how often she told herself that she just couldn't pull herself together.

More people showed up after a while. Milton and Andrea, Rick and Lori. Hershel and Beth. They were almost all there. They were missing Dale, Daryl, Duane and Carl. Rick told her that he had seen Carl and Daryl in his truck. That he had forced Daryl into his truck even though he never saw them drive off. But this didn't give Carol any hope. None, because she knew how he was. He must have changed his mind and got back out of the truck because she had saw him go down.

Merle made his way towards her, keeping Sophia close to his side. He sat down next to her, leaning his back against the same abandoned car that was about the only thing keeping her up. She was surprised when his arm went around her and he pulled her close to his side, she didn't feel any better that he was there but she did feel comforted. She felt like she wasn't alone. This was their grief to share. The three of them.

~H~

He squinted out the windshield but at first he couldn't make out who was who. When he finally put the truck in park he was close enough to see who was milling around. And not one person was the person he was looking for. He knew his brother had gotten Sophia away in time. Dale had seen that himself but he didn't see his brother anywhere and he didn't see Carol.

He was out of the truck before Dale and the kids were, running towards the others. She had to be there. They all had to be there. His luck, Merle got Sophia off the farm and then they wrecked the fucking car or something. Why weren't they there yet?

He saw Maggie then, standing with Hershel and Beth. When she saw him she covered her mouth. He nearly jumped over the hood of a car once he was close enough to see the tears in Maggie's eyes. Maggie had been with Merle, but where the hell was he? And why the fuck was she crying like that? Did something happen?

Maggie pointed to something behind him and he spun around, expecting a Walker to be there but there was no Walker. Merle was sitting on the ground with his back to the very car that Daryl had launched himself across. Sophia had her face buried in his side and Carol was actually curled up on the ground with her head in his lap, sobbing silently as Merle rubbed his hand up and down her arm absently. Her hands were covering her face. Merle looked bad. Face as white as a sheet and eyes that looked like he had been shooting up for three days straight. Vacant and unseeing.

His breath came out in a rush, and he ran a shaking hand through his hair. "You scared the fuck outta me!" He hissed and three heads shot up at once to look at him.

A smile crept over Merle's face and he was the first one up. Carol and Sophia were still staring at him like he was a ghost and he realized then that they had been just as worried about him. Merle confirmed it when he grabbed him squeezed the hell out of him in what he assumed was a hug. They had never been much on affection before but he hugged his brother back, feeling less awkward than he thought he might. He didn't think Merle planned on letting go of him until he heard Sophia approaching.

"I fuckin' knew it." She mumbled as he knelt down so she could hug him.

"Don't say fuck." He breathed into her neck.

"I thought you were gone. Mom saw that Walker on you and then she didn't see anything else." They were sure you were dead."

"And you didn't believe it?" He asked, feeling choked up that they had spent all that time thinking he was dead.

"I couldn't." She muttered as she pulled away. "But how did you get it off of you?"

He hated telling her what he had to tell her next but he felt he needed too. "I would be dead. That things teeth was right there. Carl shot it before it bit me." he would have rather told her that the little bastard had shit his pants and then ran screaming into the night but he couldn't. He owed the kid.

She widened her eyes and then suddenly, as if the boy had sonic hearing he was jerking away from his mom and rushing towards them. Sophia stood up and Daryl had to look away. He really hated that boy.

His eyes zeroed in on Carol who was still sitting against the car, her knees pulled up to her chest she gave him a small smile and shook her head a bit before she jumped up and ran towards him. He caught her around the waist and actually lifted her off the ground so they were face to face. She grabbed him by the head and kissed him hard. He returned the kiss with just as much force. How many times were they going to have to go through shit like this?

He finally sat her down on her feet but didn't let her go.

"I thought you got bit. I saw that..." She didn't finish her sentence because his lips were on hers again. He cupped her face, thumbs grazing across her cheekbones. He didn't want to hear her finish the sentence. He hated that she had been so afraid. Afraid for him. But he understood all too well. He had felt the same way.