Try to ignore the typos. I couldn't bring myself to go over this chapter. Migraine brought on by uncontrollable fits of coughing. Fun stuff. =/ Hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks so much for reading! Back to bed for me!

Chapter Fifteen

Merle ate in silence but he kept his eye on his brother and Carol. He didn't really know what the hell was going on between the two of them. At first he had been sure that they were at least fucking. Now he flat out didn't know what to think. He liked the thought of Daryl finding someone. He was a flighty little bastard and he didn't get along with many people. He didn't like his space invaded. He had been that way since they had lost their mom. He was never one to have many friends and he sure as fuck never did much talking when it came to females.

Carol leaned a little closer and said something too low for the rest of them to hear. Daryl flushed and turned wide eyes on her and then she grinned and bumped his shoulder with hers. Daryl fought a smile of his own, shook his head and continued eating.

It was so weird but it had been like this all week. Daryl rarely snapped at the woman. He smiled more than he ever had before and he watched her like a fucking hawk, like she would simply disappear if he wasn't on watch. And when he left at night, he did so reluctantly. Merle wanted to march right over there and force their heads together so they would just make out and get it out of the way. If they didn't stop this painful goddamn dance they were doing then he was going to do just that.

Daryl tipped the bowl up, slurping noisily and causing Carol to turn her head and stare at him with one raised brow. When he lowered the bowl she shook her head and grinned at him. Merle's eyes widened when she raised her hand to Daryl's face and let her thumb grazed the corner of his brother's mouth and then hurriedly stuck the thumb between her lips.

Daryl stared, his face flushing and even Merle had to admit that he was a little bit turned on by the innocent act. Merle saw her eyes widen once she realized that Daryl was looking at her like a starving man ready to devour her. He was close to trying to slip away without Daryl or Carol noticing when he heard something that had him forgetting all about Carol and his brother.

Merle stood up, turning towards the cabin and the unmistakable sound of a vehicle approaching. His heart beat fast and hard and he took off towards the front, his gun drawn. He heard feet pounding behind him and the door slam shut once he was in the front. Damon came out, rifle in hand.

The four of them stopped and waited. Merle was surprised to see that Carol wasn't hiding behind his brother. She was standing next to him, her own gun clenched in her hands in front of her. She didn't look scared, which was what he had expected. She actually looked ready to kick some ass and for the first time, he was starting to think that she was actually a damn good match for his brother.

His eyes went back to the drive and sure enough a large white SUV appeared. It was a nice ride but it had probably seen a lot of hell over the last week. There was a u-haul trailer being towed in the back and how the thing hadn't bounced the hell off the side of the mountain, Merle would never know.

"Where the hell are the girls?" Merle asked as Damon joined him.

"Loft window."

"Armed?" Merle asked.

"You know it."

"Both of them?" he pressed, knowing Sophia wasn't exactly comfortable with guns just yet.

Damon nodded and then they waited. Merle wasn't as quick to inflict pain on someone now days. Having to raise a daughter on his own had calmed him down a lot over the last sixteen years. But the world had changed and since the world changed, a man had to change with it. Hell, Merle didn't even have to change to keep up with the way things were now. All he had to do was open that door that he had locked up after Piper was born, and let the killer out. He knew that the people here were all the people in the world that mattered and if that meant he had to blow somebody away to protect any of them then that's what he would do.

The driver's side door opened and he sensed the tension in Daryl without even glancing over. He was even less likely to trust any newcomers than Merle was himself. A man stepped out, his arms raised, hands in the air, letting them know right away that he wasn't a threat. Merle sized him up, narrowing his eyes. He was clean cut, dressed in a suit that was wrinkled and stained but otherwise screamed money. Too bad for him, money didn't mean shit around here.

"Who the hell are you?" Merle called, his voice cold.

The man's eyes were wide, taking them all in. "My name is Richard Sandoval. I'm unarmed and I have my wife and children with me," he said, his voice a few octaves too high.

"How the hell did you know there was people up here?" Merle asked. The last thing he wanted was for them to be discovered by a large group. As far as he was concerned they had a good thing going here and he didn't want that being disrupted. He had never believed that anyone would risk that road on the off chance that there would be some sort of salvation up here.

"We found an abandoned house further down the mountain yesterday. We heard gunshots earlier and thought we would drive up to see if we could find more survivors. Please... My kids are starving. I wouldn't ask if it was just me and my wife but..."

"Merle," Carol's soft voice reached his ears and he looked over at her. Her blue eyes were pleading.

He wasn't a complete asshole. He had a daughter. He had Damon. Hell, he'd spent most of his life looking after his brother. The mention of kids had him cursing though. He didn't need any more fucking people up here using up their resources and disrupting their lives. He gave her a swift nod and then his eyes went back to the man. He could hear Daryl's low curse and knew that he would have to deal with his brother's irrational anger later.

"You can take a break here if you want. Feed your kids and get some rest and then I want you out by dawn. This ain't the fuckin' Marriott."

The man nodded eagerly, willing to take whatever he could get. "Thank you."

Merle still just glared. This was the type of person that would just as well spit in Merle's eye than wave at him. Some upper class yuppy mother fucker that had always looked down on people like the Dixons. And look at him now. Groveling to the very trash that he probably despised a week or so ago. Damn it! Why did this asshole have to mention kids?

He looked over and met Daryl's eye. He expected this. His brother was fucking pissed. He glared at Merle and then turned cold eyes on Carol before he turned around and stormed off towards the path that would lead him to the trapper's shack. Carol watched him go, her eyes troubled but she didn't go after him. Instead she looked up at Merle.

"He'll be fine," Merle said, motioning towards the newcomers with a nod of his head. "Right now we got bigger fish to fry."

She nodded but glanced over her shoulder one last time but Daryl was out of site.

Merle got why his brother was pissed. He wasn't really happy himself. He looked up just as the passenger door opened and a woman stepped out. She looked just as upper end as her damn husband did. Her blouse looked silk, buttoned up to her neck and was tucked in neatly into a pair of slacks. Her clothes were less rumpled than the man's. Her dark hair was pulled back in a twist. Just looking at her was pissing Merle off for some reason but not as bad as looking at the man.

"Seriously, how in the hell can she look so put together? I look like a homeless person," Carol muttered, looking down at the holes in the knees of her jeans.

Merle snorted. "Trust me, you look way better than her. Bitch looks like she's got a fuckin stick shoved up her ass."

Carol glanced at him, rolling her eyes.

"Oh come the fuck on. You really wanna walk around lookin' like a high school principal?"

"No," she muttered but he could see that she was troubled. He just didn't know why. "When you first met me I looked like a bag lady. Now I look like a middle aged woman that borrows her teenager's clothes. I'm a mess."

He scoffed but then he was distracted when the man motioned for the person in the back to join them. A teenage boy stepped out. He was tall, blonde and looked like he was about to throw up. A little girl that looked to be seven or eight followed him. He didn't miss the muttered curse from Damon. Apparently no one was happy about these new developments.

The family made their way towards them and the closer he got the more he realized that they were a little more banged up than he had first thought. They didn't seem injured but they looked haggard. Especially the little girl, who had a haunted look in her large dark eyes.

Merle sighed. "Damon, tell the girls to bring out four more bowls."

Damon was watching the other boy, his eyes full of suspicion before he finally stepped away. Merle hoped he wouldn't have to be refereeing any fights between those two. Merle had watched Damon take on men twice his age, just in fun, and if it came down to it, Merle wasn't positive he could control Damon at all if he really lost his temper. The next twenty four hours were bound to be a real bitch. Merle and Carol led the small group to the back where the pot of rabbit stew still sat close to the fire.

"I can't thank you enough for this. Really, you wouldn't believe what it's like out there. The things we've seen since we left home," Richard said as he sat down next to his wife.

Sophia and Piper showed up then, handing Carol the bowls. Once everyone was eating Carol looked at the woman.

"I'm Carol. This is Merle, his daughter Piper, my daughter Sophia and that's Damon.

The woman looked up then but looked back down quickly. The man nodded. "Kathrine, my wife, my son Brody and this little one is Samantha."

"Brody?" Damon asked, raising a brow.

The boy looked up, eyed Damon for half a second and then his gaze slid over to the girls. He smiled and then shifted his gaze back to Damon, a clear challenge in his eyes.

Merle cursed under his breath. This was the last fucking thing he needed. Two oversized kids having a pissing contest. He could only hope they didn't pull the ruler out any time soon.

Richard cleared his throat. "Who was the other man? The one with the bow?"

Before Merle could say anything Carol spoke up. "That was Daryl, Merle's brother and I actually should go talk to him."

Without another word she was walking away, leaving Merle to deal with this shit on his own. The traitor.