I'm hoping this means that the writer's block has passed for a while. I started posting for a story that I already had finished just so I could post something. Anyway, I had trouble at first but towards the end, I was totally into this chapter. Hope you enjoy it too and thanks for reading!

Chapter Twenty One

Daryl didn't open his eyes when he woke up. He intuitively knew that it was night and he wasn't about to get out of the bed. Unless they were being attacked, he was staying right where he was. Carol on the other hand, must have had different plans because she shifted a couple of times and he felt her trying to slide away from him.

Finally he cracked one eye open and sure enough, it was dark in the room. Without a word he reached out, his arm going around her, and hauled her back until she was flush against him again. "Where the hell you goin'?" He grumbled sleepily, ignoring her feeble attempts to get away. He pressed his forehead against the back of her neck and held on tighter.

She stopped struggling and finally just rolled over onto her back and ran her hand up his arm. "I was just checking on them. I didn't ever tell anyone to take watch. We can't let our guard down no matter how safe we think we are. You know that."

He scoffed. "Yeah, I keep forgetting that everyone here is a rookie at this whole surviving thing. You better run along and take their bottles away and send them off to watch."

She smacked his arm, her laugh ending in a lazy sigh. "I know they know what to do. I'll just sleep better knowing who is keeping an eye out."

He grumbled under his breath and then let go of her, sitting up. "You know, that's one of your problems right there," he said, his voice rough with annoyance.

She sat up next to him, holding the sheet up to her chest. "What are you talking about?"

"You ain't in charge. You ain't the one responsible for everybody here. Maybe the little girl, but that's it. You put all this on your shoulders and it's a damn heavy load to bear. Why the hell do you do it?"

"Because someone has to do it," she snapped, reaching for her shirt.

He snatched it before she could. "Nobody has to do it. You put it on yourself as a distraction and as far as I can see, you don't need one anymore."

She reached for her shirt but he shoved it behind him. "Stop being a child. I do it because if something happens to them, whether it makes sense or not, I'm going to blame myself. I blame myself for a lot of things and I just don't want to deal with that. Okay? So give me my shirt so I can check on them just to ease my mind."

"Go naked if you insist on goin' then. I ain't giving your clothes back."

She laughed but it was a dark sound. "We've all seen each other naked." She slipped out of bed then and he lunged, grabbing her hand and hauling her back.

"Merle ain't seen you naked! Here," he shoved her shirt onto her lap and flopped back down. He was sulking and he knew it but goddamn this woman never listened to anything.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked, her voice incredulous.

He snorted. "No. Just go on and set up your girls so you can come the fuck back to bed and we can get some goddamn sleep."

She laughed and he raised his head.

"What the hell's so funny?"

He still couldn't see well but he felt her shift. "You are. You're lying there pouting like a child. You and Mercy should be roommates. She could teach you a thing or two on how to be an adult."

He raised back up, gaping at her. She was making fun of him. Him! He reached out and gripped her wrist hard, yanking her over until she was forced to straddle his hips. "You're a goddamn asshole, you know that? All I'm tryin' to tell you is-" Her mouth slammed into his then, cutting off anything else he might have said.

For a few seconds it was sensory overload because having someone so close was still strange, but it was something he was quickly getting over. He gripped her hips, hauling her closer. He was about to roll her onto her back when a timid knock at the door had her breaking the kiss.

"Ignore it," he whispered, his hand running up her inner thigh.

Her breath rushed out and her body shuddered against his when his fingers moved over her, her nails biting into his shoulders.

Another knock had her pulling back again so he upped his game and pushing two fingers into her, moving them skillfully. He didn't want her to move. There were all kinds of things he wanted to do, even though they had done a lot before they had finally fallen asleep. He had a lot of time to make up for and-

The knock was more persistent now and he cursed as he moved his hand away from her. Whoever it was hadn't knocked like their was an emergency but it was obvious someone had something they needed to say to one of them. It was probably Merle.

Carol cursed even louder than he had, rushing to get her clothes. He didn't know where the hell any of his were so it took him a little longer. He barely had his damn boxers pulled up when she opened the door. Lantern light spilled in a second before the woman on the other side got a full on view of his goods. Carol could have at least given him a heads up!

He couldn't make out their words but he took advantage of the light and spotted his pants. Luckily they were closer than he expected them to be and he was able to get them on so he could figure out what the hell the problem was. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe these women did need a baby sitter.

Carol looked at him, her brow furrowed in worry. "No one can find Merle and Cassidy," she said, the worry carrying over into her voice.

He grimaced, his mind going to places it didn't want to go but Carol read his thoughts and shook her head.

"There's no way Cassidy would. Not after..." Her voice hung there and then Daryl remembered exactly who they had been talking about. The woman had been held captive by the other group for a long time and the last damn thing she would ever think about was sneaking off and doing anything like that with his brother. She hated men in general. Hell, she even gave him shitty looks and she knew he wasn't a threat. She was friendlier with Merle but that was only because Merle was persistent and Merle had been the one to get her out of there.

"This is a big place. Maybe-"

The other woman shook her head. "We've torn it apart looking for them. I never would have interrupted if I thought this wasn't something big."

Daryl ran a hand through his already mused hair. "Goddamn, Merle," he growled, grabbing his shirt off the floor and rushing to get it on. Couldn't he just have one fucking night with her? Just one where it was just him and her?

~H~

If Merle had seen a rougher bunch of assholes in all his life, he couldn't rightly remember. The group wasn't a very large one but there were enough to do some damage if they needed to. From the looks of it, however, he didn't think any of them had any fight left. Some faces were familiar, others not so much and he thought about leaving right then.

That thought was fleeting however.

"What do you think?" Cassidy whispered. She had no choice but to stand so close that she was almost pressed into his side.

"I think we make ourselves known and I think we invite them over for some drinks. What do you think?" He asked, the scene already unfolding in his mind.

"I think you've lost your fucking mind. We don't owe these people a damn thing. We should take them out before they try to come and take what's ours," she hissed, her dark eyes narrowing.

His brows went up at that. "You know, you're goddamn unstable. Anybody ever tell you that?"

They both stiffened as a strange wailing sound filled the night. They both peered at the group, who were all moving now and then suddenly one of the women picked up a baby and Merle heard Cassidy curse under her breath. Merle couldn't believe the kid was alive at all.

"Did you see the kid or something? Is that why you want to have them come back with us?" Cassidy asked.

Merle shook his head slowly. "Nah. You see the man reachin' for her now?"

Cassidy nodded.

"That's Rick Grimes," Merle muttered with a slow smile. "And me and you both know how my brother and Carol feel about this man."

Cassidy looked at him sharply, her eyes hard. "This is the son of a bitch that tossed her out on her ass? The same one that drove her away from her fucking family?"

Merle nodded and then held up the steal contraption where his hand had been. "And I owe him for this too."

Her jaw clenched and she spit at their feet. "What are the chances of us getting to watch Carol and your brother mutilate this asshole?"

Merle rolled his eyes. "Slim. They're tame."

"You think they've been on the run since they lost that prison?" Cassidy asked. "They sure as hell don't look too good."

Merle studied the pale sallow faces of the group around the fire and nodded. "Looks that way. If not then they ain't been anywhere that I ever wanna go."

"What now?" Cassidy asked, leaning her rifle against her shoulder.

Merle flashed her a grin. "I say lets go on over so I can get reacquainted."

"They're armed, Merle," she said, not looking like she liked his idea at all.

"They won't shoot. Look at us and look at them for fucks sake! They're starvin' to death. They're gonna know we got ourselves somethin' good goin'. What choice will he have but order his group to follow us? He's got two kids that need a roof over their heads."

"Something tells me that they aren't going to trust us," she said, glancing at the group again.

"No, they won't. But they trust my brother and they know my brother left them for me. They'll come."

She sighed, shaking her head slightly and then meeting his eyes. "Okay, but if things go south I'll shoot every one of them and take the squealer to Carol and call it a night. I'm not in the mood to put up with any kind of pissing contest."

Merle grinned. "Me and you should get married, woman. Every vile thing that pours outta that mouth of yours sends my cold cold heart pitter patterin'," he drawled.

"In your dreams, redneck. We doing this?" She asked, unable to hide her slight amusement.

He nodded and then stepped out from behind the trees that had been concealing them. He felt her at his side and knew that Rick and company were in more danger than they'd ever know. Her finger was braced on the trigger and he knew without a doubt that deep down, she wanted to kill Rick Grimes. He'd wronged Carol and to Cassidy, that shit was simply unacceptable. God, he loved this woman.

Every able bodied person shot up from the ground, guns drawn except for the woman next to Rick who pulled out, of all things, a goddamn sword. Cassidy tensed but Merle put a hand on her arm before she could start shooting. Merle remembered the woman now. She'd been at Woodbury for a while.

"You look like you've seen better days, Officer Friendly," Merle grinned.

"Merle?" Glenn choked. "Oh God."

Merle chuckled.

"Who the hell is this?" A tall man with red hair asked, the gun in his hands moving between Cassidy and Merle.

"We know him," Rick said, his blue eyes boring into Merle's. He was trying to put on that air of authority but it just seemed a little sad in his current state. All of them seemed emaciated. "Is Daryl alive?"

Merle nodded. "Left him safe and sound at home in a warm bed with his woman actually. He's doin' damn good."

Glenn shook his head, looking down at his boots.

"You have a place?" The sword wielding woman asked, her face grimmer than any Merle had ever seen, deep lines between her brows and her lips turned down slightly. Her dark eyes shifted between Merle and Cassidy. He tried but he couldn't remember her name. She had been a friend of the blonde with the tits.

The girl standing with the red haired guy stepped a little closer, lowering her gun. She glanced at Rick, her eyes pleading and Rick shook his head, adjusting the sleepy child on his hip.

"Oh come on," Merle said. "You really think I'd turn you and your sad lot out? You can stop by our place, get a little food in your system. Hell, maybe get a night or two of rest. You know Daryl. He'll be surprised to see you."

"Why should we trust you?" Glenn asked, his eyes cold. Merle had almost forgot about roughing him up. Damn if this little shit couldn't hold a grudge.

Merle nodded towards Cassidy. "Cause I'm the only thing keepin' this lovely lady right here from blowin' your brains out and pickin' through your ammo. We been watchin' you a while. If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. Hell, looks like if we waited around a day or two, pulled us up a seat, we'd get a front row viewing of you mother fuckers starvin' to death." He chuckled and was surprised to see Cassidy grin at his side.

Jesus Christ, she was perfect.