This one is about done. Don't expect there to be a lot more chapters at all. I need to think on where it ends but know that I don't even see as many as 3-5 updates more for this. Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews. Y'all are great!
Daryl shifted the sounds around him starting to slowly pull him awake. Reaching over he slapped his alarm clock and the sound stopped. Groaning he tightened his arm around Carol and pulled her in tighter against his body. Sleep was pulling him back under and he felt his breathing evening out. A loud thud had him cracking an eye open but Sophia was silent and he closed his eyes back. The sun wasn't even high enough to shine through the windows yet and he was wore the fuck out. His side was hurting this morning, not that he was going to tell Carol that, and he just wanted some sleep.
"Can't stop now, I've traveled so far..." The sounds of boots on the hard wood of the hall way, "To change this lonely life." Mac's voice was getting louder the more he sun.
Daryl growled and Carol shifted pressing her leg more into him and he grunted at the contact with his groin. She was still sleeping but he had a feeling that was about to be over.
Mac burst through the door his arm swinging wide dramatically, "I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me..." He locked eyes with Daryl as he struggled to set up and keep Carol covered.
"Daryl make it stop." Carol whined pressing her face into his chest.
"I wanna feel what love is...I know you can show me." Mac was moving towards the bed smiling waggling his eyebrows.
"Get the fuck out." Daryl warned.
"No." Mac's smile was wide, "And I wanna feel, I want to feel what love is..."
Carol looked over her shoulder causing the blanket to drop exposing part of her bare back. Mac whistled low and nodded at them, "Are you always this annoying?"
"Actually yes." Mac shrugged and leaned against the dresser, "I just want my brother."
"You can't have him." Carol huffed tightening her grip around Daryl waist as he set up. She swung her leg over his tangling together. "Besides he needs to get dressed."
Mac shrugged, "Twins darlin' he aint got shit I don't see every morning." Biting his lip he looked her up and down as Daryl shifted to the edge of the bed causing her to raise up on her elbows and hold the blanket up. "I don't see you every morning so..."
"Mac." Daryl growled.
"Hey I could have been a dick and let Sophia follow me like she wanted. Let her walk in here seeing y'all fucking naked tangled up around each other." Mac leered, "Seconds from fuckin' again."
"Get out!" Carol snapped.
Mac started singing again and called out for Sophia as he got to the door disappearing. Sophia could be heard mocking Mac as he sung and laughed in the living room and Daryl snorted. He stood up and started getting his stuff knowing that Mac would come back if he didn't hurry. Carol set up more in the bed and met his eyes smiling at him.
"I know he's your brother but Daryl...I will slap him if he ever does that again."
Daryl nodded pulling his boxers on watching her. She blushed watching him and he couldn't help but to chuckle at her. "Then I guess you better get use to a sore hand. If Mac likes you he will find something that annoys you and do just that. Your no different Carol get use to it."
She set up more and slid to the edge of the bed abandoning the blanket completely. Daryl looked at her for a second and forced him to pull his jeans on. If he got close to her now with her setting on the bed with nothing on at all then he'd never get out of this room. Licking his lips he forced himself to zip his jeans but her foot caught in the cuff at the bottom tugging on him.
"Could have been worse." Carol shrugged the motion catching his eyes and making them drop lower.
Daryl walked to her pulling his shirt on, "It can always be worse with him."
Carol smiled up at him and then stood wrapping her arms around him, "Don't do anything stupid and rip your stitches."
"Yes ma'am." His voice was rough.
Carol kissed his throat and he stepped away from her grabbing his belt and walking for the door. He could hear Mac coming back and opened the door quickly stepping out and blocking any view of Carol. Mac had a sly smile on his face and Daryl groaned as Mac kept elbowing him.
Sophia was at the end of the hall waiting on them and she launched herself at him checking him over. Daryl raised his eyebrow at her, "What're you doin' Kit?"
"Mac said you and mom were wrestling and she wore you out! Are you hurt?!" Her frantic little voice had him looking at his brother over her head.
Mac was smiling so wide he knew it had to hurt, "I'm fine and Mac's full of shit."
Sophia looked up meeting his eyes and then over at Mac, "Did you lie to me?"
"Kit do I look like the type to lie to you?"
She stared at him hard and turned her back to Daryl leaning against him. Her hands caught in the material of his jeans and she held him there. "You do. Andrea called you a sleezy son of a bitch and I reckon if she'll let you kiss her then she would no better than anyone."
Mac's response was cut off by a sudden deep laugh at the door. Merle was standing there wide-eyed and looking at Sophia. He was laughing so hard he looked like he was hyperventilating. He walked over and slapped Daryl on the back just as Carol walked in the room.
"Did you and Carol ever meet some time around nine months before Kit here made an appearance?" Merle chuckled, "If she aint a Dixon then I call bullshit."
"Fuck all y'all." Mac snapped setting in his chair in a huff.
Daryl moved to set down and Sophia crawled right up next to him. She wasn't letting him far out of her sight and he looked at Carol. He knew what this was about and Sophia couldn't be out there when they went to see what the hell was up with Shane. Carol smiled and gave him a look as Sophia set watching his every move.
"I like this one brother." Merle laughed setting next to Sophia sandwiching her between them. "Certified Dixon."
Daryl walked with his brothers, Rick and Hershel to the furthest barn. Hershel had a solemn look on his face as they all thought about Shane and the things that had happened. Martinez was setting close to the barn keeping watch for them as they neared he stood. He had a pensive look on his face and met their eyes.
"I'm sorry me coming here caused this."
"Son aint nothing you done caused this." Hershel shook his head, "That man in there aint been right since they got here."
Rick made a face and looked off when the talk of Shane started. Shane had been his friend and partner before the world went to hell. He'd left Rick for dead and then swooped in taking his family and then trying to keep them when Rick came back. Things had went back from there and it seemed he wanted to blame Daryl and the Dixon's for a good bit of it.
"His issues were with these men but he chose to hurt a woman and a little girl." Hershel's voice got firmer, "I don't abide these things and neither does the lord."
Hershel gave them a look and looked towards the house, "Do what you need to but after this no more talk of him or what has happened."
They all watched him walk away a good bit before looking towards the farm-house. Mac gave them all a dangerous look that mirrored Daryl's own. "I don't give a fuck what you think about this if you choose to let him go or not. He wont make it past sun down."
Rick looked over at him, "We agreed to talk about this...give him an option."
"YOU agreed. You let him walk and I'll walk right up behind him and that'll be all she wrote." Mac snarled.
Daryl looked at Rick, "You know as well as I do that after Lori and this thing with Carol and her girl he aint gonna go peacefully."
Rick nodded but it was Merle who spoke and commanded their attention, "Head back to the house and you two go finish getting that deer cleaned."
Rick walked away his head hung and Martinez was with him. Mac and Daryl looked at Merle and his serious face. He had that same look they remembered him getting when he had gotten back in from being over seas to find out that their father had put Daryl in the hospital. Things had changed rapidly in those times with both Mac being almost feral and protective and Merle being downright surly and aggressive towards anyone around his family.
"You go up there and take care of that shit and then check on those women. Mac you and Martinez go ahead and start digging this son of a bitch a grave." Merle turned without words and was unchaining the door.
Mac looked at Daryl and he caught his wrist. Daryl stopped walking waiting on whatever Mac had to say. Instead he just stood there with him a moment both of them feeling the tension in the other. Mac's eye went to his side and then out to where Sophia was running in the back yard with Annette, Andrea, Maggie, Carol, and Jacqui setting folding laundry.
"This...his death is on him brother." Mac's voice was low, "You got a family to worry about. You heard her yesterday Daryl she called you dad."
Daryl's chest heaved and he looked at Mac and nodded sharply.
"Besides we gotta get you healthy so we can have you knocking her up with more little Dixons."
Daryl looked over at him and started laughing, "Think you better think more on that since you're the one fucking Andrea."
"Bitch called me a sleezy son of a bitch to Kit." Mac sounded appalled, "She's clearly in love."
Daryl walked away with Mac jogging to catch up. They walked back in silence both parting ways as Mac went to get Martinez and grab shovels. They weren't going to talk about what they were doing and what the plan was. Shane was done. He wasn't nothing here and he wouldn't be mourned for what he was. Maybe what he use to be at a time but he wasn't that man anymore. He'd stopped being that man long ago.
Carol smiled as Daryl passed by and Sophia raced after him, "Where you doing Daryl?"
Daryl looked down at her and then to the area the deer was strung up, "Get on back to your mom Kit I'm going to clean the deer."
She made a face, "Why are you bathing it?"
Daryl started laughing and looked at her, "Not bathing the deer I'm butchering it."
Sophia didn't stop following him but instead trailed right after him into the building the deer was strung up. She set on a chair as he started getting ready.
"You know this isn't something you should see."
Sophia looked him dead in the eye, "You heard Merle I'm certified Dixon and we aint no pussies."