I'm hoping you enjoy this chapter since the first part of it is pretty much Daryl and T-dog and their lovely bromance. Hopefully it makes you laugh. And Merle finally repays an old favor ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing and of course for still sticking with this =) It's a tad bit smutty. I haven't written much of that lately Haha

Skin Deep Chapter Seventy

Daryl was pleasantly surprised that T-dog had actually kept his mouth shut. He was also pretty light on his feet for a city boy and seemed genuinely interested in watching Daryl hunt. Of course, all he ended up catching were squirrels and a few decent sized rabbits but after a few hours he thought he had enough to feed the group. Enough to keep them all from starving anyway. At least for the day. It was dark now and they were picking their way silently back towards camp.

"I'm starving." T-dog said, finally breaking the silence.

Daryl glanced at him and then stopped. He hid a grin as he lifted up the string of squirrels. "You want me to cut one up real quick. We can share."

T-dog rolled his eyes. "We can't build a fire and sit around eating while the rest of our people are at camp with their stomachs growling. Damn, Dixon."

"We ain't gotta have a fire, stupid."

T-dog frowned. "Okay, how the hell we gonna cook those nasty things without a fire?"

Daryl fixed his face into a look of confusion. "Cook'em? The fuck you talkin' about? If you're hungry we can just cut'em open and eat'em."

T-dog stared at him for a few long moments before speaking. "You're serious." It wasn't a question.

Daryl nodded. "Yep. Here, I'll show you." He pulled out a knife and grabbed one of the dead animals by the neck without even unstringing it.

T-dog reached out and grabbed him by the wrist, carefully avoiding touching the dead thing. "No. Put that damn knife away. What the hell is wrong with you?" He looked like he was going to be sick.

Daryl shrugged but put the knife away. "You said you was hungry. Figured me and you could eat. What's wrong with that?"

"I ain't never been hungry enough to eat some disease ridden, flea infested animal," He swallowed loudly, "raw. You gotta be the nastiest man I ever met." he gave him that disgusted look again and shook his head."Nasty." He repeated as he started walking again.

Daryl just scoffed. "Pussy."

T-dog shook his head. "Hell no. Wont eat that raw either."

Daryl couldn't help but laugh. He laughed until his stomach ached. Laughing felt good. It was normal to laugh. T-dog did a good job of keeping his face screwed into that look of disgust which only made it worse.

When Daryl had managed to quiet himself T-dog looked at him questioningly. "Man, was that brother of yours kissin' on Maggie earlier? What the hell is going on with that?"

Daryl felt all the remnants of humor leave him and he scowled. "No idea. Caught'em screwin' around a few times. Figured they was bored and decided to kill some time on the farm. But I guess that ain't the case."

T-dog made another disgusted sound. "I gotta admit that if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here right now, but I gotta say it. Merle Dixon is the meanest son of a bitch I've ever met. He's bat shit crazy and has the foulest mouth of any man I have ever known and he gets a girl like Maggie? You throw dead things at people, always getting in someones face and you eat raw squirrel guts and you got yourself the whole damn package. And here I am, fine upstandin' citizen from a good family. I'm non confrontational, I'm quiet, polite, respectful. And I cook my damn food before I eat it. It don't make any sense. Hell I'm a lot prettier than you Dixons, too. There's a lot more wrong with the world than we realize. It's all backwards."

Daryl scoffed. "You ain't prettier than me, Tonto."

"I am too. Look at me. I'm a beautiful man. You always look like you done rolled around in a mud puddle."

Daryl could see the break in the trees and the telltale flickering of camp fires. He had been silently working a squirrel from the line around his waist. "So you think I'm just a nasty dirty redneck, huh?" He asked.

"Pretty much, my friend." T-dog muttered.

Daryl figured it was as good a time as any. He swung his arm around quickly and caught T-dog right in the face with the small corpse. "You ain't very nice, Tonto."

T-dog was stunned. His eyes were wide as he touched the side of his face. "You sick son of a bitch!" he lunged but Daryl sidestepped him and then bolted for the camp.

~H~

After the food was divided up there hadn't been much. Merle had watched Sophia eat hers as slow as possible, to stretch it out as long as she could. When she had turned her head to talk to Carol he had picked up half of his own portion and sat it on her plate before she turned back to her food. She had looked down curiously but then just shrugged and continued eating.

Maggie had stayed away. She mostly spent her time with her sister. The poor kid looked really shaken up and Merle couldn't blame her.

He had volunteered to take first watch, which everyone acted like they would surely go into shock. But he wasn't sleepy. He was having a hard time shutting his brain off at all. The old mans words kept bouncing around in his head. How the hell did he know anyway? Hershel didn't know what the hell he was talking about. She'd be fine. She just didn't like the thought of getting turned down, that was all. It didn't have anything to do with him hurting her or not. What the hell did he care, anyway?

Everyone settled down as close to the fires as they could get. They all huddled together trying to share heat. Even Dale and T-dog were sleeping close together. He would have laughed if it wasn't for the fact that they were in a bad situation. And he was feeling sorry for himself because, to be honest, at least Dale and T-dog were going to be a little warm. Warmer than him, anyway. He was the odd man out. He guessed he could have slept with his brother. Him and Carol had Sophia between them, doing what they could to keep the kid warm. He'd have gladly laid down next to Carol but she was the closest to the fire so he couldn't do that. It would have looked a lot better than if he woke up and everyone was staring at him cuddled up with a grown man. He shook his head.

He stayed back near the trees while Glen kept watch closer to the road. If anything came they would hear it. Walkers weren't known for stealth. That was one good thing about them. Carol had brought him his jacket earlier. He tried to convince her that he didn't need it but it did him no good so he eventually took it and she walked away wordlessly.

That had been a couple hours ago. Hopefully by tomorrow night they would find some sort of shelter. He wasn't against sleeping on the ground so much but there was a lot more people to worry about now. It wasn't just him and his brother. It was almost twenty other people to keep a watch for. Women, kids, old people. What a fucking mess.

He pulled his knees up, wrapping his arms around them firmly. He looked up when he heard footsteps in the distance and then he almost cursed out loud when he saw who it was.

"Want some company?" Maggie whispered as she wrapped a flimsy jacket around herself tighter. She was shivering.

He just looked up at her for a few seconds and then shrugged.

She sat down next to him but not so close that she was touching him. He tried to tell himself that this was a good thing but inside his stomach did a strange flip. He could hear her teeth chattering and finally looked over at her. Her arms were wrapped around herself.

He told himself that it was because he didn't want to see her sitting there freezing to death but really he just wanted her to be closer. He straightened out his legs, grabbed her by the jacket and pulled her across his lap until her back was pressed against his chest. He took off the leather jacket and then draped it over her before settling back against the tree.

"Thanks, Merle." She whispered as she settled herself into him more.

"Can't have ya freezin' to death over here. This group would have a grand ol' time blamin' me for it." He grumbled.

She didn't say anything for a long time and when she did it wasn't anything he wanted to hear. "Merle, would you really rather me just leave you be? Do you want me to stay away? Sometimes I think you want me too go but other times I ain't so sure.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Is that what he wanted? He knew the answer. He didn't want that at all. The thought of her leaving him alone made him feel half sick. But the thought of him letting her the rest of the way in made him even sicker. He was a man that was torn. And she was a girl that wanted an answer.

"I guess I got my answer." She whispered after the silence grew heavy around them. She pulled away from him, about to stand up and walk away. Probably for the last time.

He let her raise up but when she turned to hand him the jacket his hand clamped down on her wrist and he yanked her back towards him without even thinking about it. He had had every intention of letting her walk away and end all this craziness that she had started but he couldn't. There had been a finality to her words this time that had his gut clenching in fear. This was it for her. She was going to walk away and she was going to leave him alone. The thought scared the hell out of him.

He had pulled her to him so hard that she had landed in his lap once more. She was facing him, uncertainty clouding her features. She had found him in that barn, open and bleeding and she had faced that tragic mess with a grim determination and a quiet strength that had blown him away. She had came to his room, stubborn and refusing to let him sink back into himself where he was comfortable. He had watched her face down rapists and Walkers with a brave face. But now she showed uncertainty? This was what would cause that shadow of fear to take root in her?

Him? Some scarred up piece of redneck trash? It didn't make any sense but it did cause himself to have to reevaluate himself a little. Made him dare to hope that there was something in him that someone, other than his brother, found salvageable. Even Hershel hadn't wanted him to leave her alone.

He made the hard decision then. He needed her. He wasn't going to be able to let her go. He just had to dive right in and hope to God or whoever was listening that he wouldn't end up hurting her.

She was still looking at him with that fear clear in her eyes and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't find any words for her as he struggled with these thoughts. He brought a shaky hand up to the side of her face. She leaned into his palm, eyes searching his but he couldn't open his mouth. He couldn't say anything that he wanted to say. He thought maybe he could since she had already seen him at his weakest but he couldn't do it.

Instead he brought his lips to hers and kissed her lightly. He'd never kissed her before. He had kissed her back but had never kissed her first. He hoped that she would just know. Know that he was trying to tell her how he felt even though he himself wasn't even sure what it was he was feeling. He just knew that he didn't want to be the cause of that look in her eyes and he needed to fix the mess he had made.

"Does this mean you don't want me to leave ya be?" She whispered when he finally pulled his face back from hers and let his hand drop.

He nodded.

Her lips twitched but she fought off a smile. "And you're gonna stop pushin' me away?"

He nodded once more, still not finding his voice.

"And you're gonna tell the rest of group that I'm your girlfriend?"

He frowned and narrowed his eyes. His voice was back. "That's stupid." he scoffed.

She gave him a severe look then shifted in his lap so she was pressed against him firmly. "I ain't just gonna be your plaything, Merle." She lifted one eyebrow.

"You ain't." He said, his voice was huskier than normal.

She moved again until her knees were pressing against his hips, her torso flush with his. He could feel the steady hammering of her heart. "I ain't?

He shook his head and her mouth was on his, hungry and seeking. He had to hold back a groan as his arms went around her waist and pressed her against him even harder. He had missed this. Missed her. So he hated pulling his face away from hers once more.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I ain't gonna be able to keep watch with you all over me, darlin'. Best if we save all the foolin' around for when the lives of the whole damn group ain't dependin' on me payin' attention to what's goin' on." Even as he said it he was slipping his hand up the back of her shirt and then brought it around until his rough hands were barely grazing her soft skin. Her mouth found his again, her nails digging in gently on the back of his neck. She moved her hips hesitantly over him.

He pulled his mouth away again and then time he pushed her back a little. "Goddamn it, girl. You gotta stop. Go to sleep or somethin'." He pleaded.

She smiled at him and then unwound her arms from around his neck. "Fine." She turned around and leaned her back against his broad chest once again and covered herself with his coat. But now all he could think about was her ass pressing into the hardness in his pants. She settled her head between his neck and his shoulder and tilted back a little. "You still owe me, Merle. Don't be forgettin' about that." She turned her head and kissed his jaw, wiggling just a bit so he would know that she knew exactly how hard he was.

He growled low in his throat and then caught her earlobe with his teeth, almost causing her to cry out as his hand slid around and then down until he felt the heat between her legs. He pressed the heel of his hand against the heat there then dragging his hand up and down until she was moving against him herself, which caused him a lot of stress because as his hand moved against her, her ass was moving against him.

Her breath was becoming ragged and he thought he knew why. She'd probably messed around with plenty of boys. But probably never someone that knew as much about this kind of thing as he did. The frustrated sound that emerged from the back of her throat was confirmation enough and then she turned her head so her face was close to his. "Merle, please..." She whispered, eyes wild.

"Please what?" He was having a hard time controlling his own voice. She was driving him crazy but he couldn't bring himself to stop touching her. Not when he knew that this was really what she wanted. Knew that he, for whatever reason, was what she wanted.

"Do somethin'." She snapped, her voice strained and desperate.

He still had to keep his head out here. Technically he was still on watch so there wasn't much he could do at all. Other than what he was already doing. And then he had an idea. It was probably going to kill him, but she did say please. There was something in that small plea that had him almost grinding against her. "Take'em off for me, sugar." he rasped. Jesus Christ this was going to be painful for him.

She didn't hesitate at all. She pressed all of her weight into his chest as she brought herself up and shoved the jeans over her hips, kicking them the rest of the way off and then bringing herself back down. His breath caught in his throat. God, he was one masochistic mother fucker.

In the bedroom he had wanted her but that want was driven by anger and humiliation. This want was driven by a raw need. She didn't feel sorry for him. She simply wanted to be with him and that made this more painful than what went on in that bedroom. He could smell her arousal, or he imagined he could, either way it was causing him to want her on such a primal level that he had to clench his teeth and take deep and even breaths because if he did what he wanted too then the whole camp would end up dead because there was no way he would be able to focus on anything but her. It was already hard to keep his ears alert for the sounds of the shuffling through the trees.

Her breath was already frantic and he hadn't even touched her yet. He was almost afraid to touch her now but he did anyway. His fingers moved over her slowly at first, exploring her like he had never explored anything in his life. And Jesus she was wet, her whole body seeming to hum against him and he hadn't done much at all. He took a deep breath and then slid one finger inside.

"Son of a bitch," He breathed as he wondered how the fuck he was ever going to be able to fit himself in there. The way she was gripping just one finger he wasn't too sure how this would ever work. He started moving his thumb up and down on her lightly while he curved his finger inside her, it was only a few seconds later he was shooshing in her ear and she had to clamp her mouth shut to keep from crying out as she started to come. Her whole body seemed to twitch and convulse on top of him as her breath came out in small shallow gasps. He moved a little faster, trying to draw it out as long as he could as her body let loose, vibrating over him one second and then grinding against him painfully the next. When she finally went still he pulled his hand away.

She relaxed against him, not saying anything at all until her breathing returned to normal. He leaned his head against the rough bark and shook his head. It was still a little sore from when he had slammed it into the wall of the barn. He trailed his hand back under her shirt and traced light patterns onto her stomach, causing her to shiver, he could feel goosebumps on her smooth skin.

"You should try to go get some sleep." He muttered into her hair.

She shook her head and then the evil girl turned in his lap. For just a second her thought that he was going to come in his pants like some horny little kid. As soon as she lowered her naked self back on him. "Tryin' to run me off?" She asked into his ear.

"No." He said simply. "But we're gonna head out early from what Rick says. And somebody'll be here to relieve me soon. My luck it'll be your damn daddy."

"Why can't we just do this?" She asked quietly.

"Huh?" He wanted to pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about but he did, and at that moment his body agreed and asked his head the same question. He was already close to busting through his own fucking zipper. Hell he felt how bad she actually wanted too.

She raised up onto her knees and put her hand on the bulge in his pants. He held his breath as she undid his button and then worked the zipper down. "How much time do we have?" She whispered as she locked her eyes onto his. "Before one of us ends up dead?"

"Plenty." He breathed and then he stopped her with a hand on her hip before she could try anything. He wasn't doing this. Not yet.

She blew out a frustrated breath but didn't try to move her body closer to his. "You're a real stubborn ass, Merle." She grumbled but there was a hint of a smile on her face.

"And you're the damn devil, girl." He growled as she took him in her hand, scooting back a little and then lowering her head.