One of you guessed the Katherine angle perfectly. lol Hope you all had a great weekend and thanks for reading =)

Chapter Twenty Five

Daryl hadn't expected it to be easy but he hadn't expected it to be this damn hard. They had driven to the nearest city and it had taken them longer than anticipated because of the cars piled up on the roads. Merle had wanted to go through the cars, looking for anything that could be useful. Daryl hadn't wanted to search the cars. He had just wanted to get this over with and get back to the damn cabin.

Now the three of them were pretty much fucked.

"They'll move on eventually," Merle said, leaning against the wall.

Daryl scowled. They had gotten in and out of the pharmacy without a hitch, cleaning it out for the most part. They managed to get inside one of the locked up pawn shops. They had managed to gather up a decent amount of rifles and some impressive hand guns. They had even gotten a lot of ammo. And then all of a sudden those dead bastards started pouring in from the street. The place had been deserted when they had gotten inside but they must have made too much noise.

Him and Merle managed to take out the ones coming in while Richard stood back like a pussy. They had been able to move the bodies out of the way in time to close the steal gate that slid over the windows and door. Now more and more of those things were gathering, trying to claw their way inside.

"They ain't goin' any damn where, Merle. They can smell us. This is fuckin' bullshit. We ain't making it back tonight." And then Carol was going to think he was out there fucking dead. She'd be scared to death. Stressed out.

"Don't snap at me like that, asshole. I didn't tell the goddamn things to come at us," Merle snapped.

Richard stepped forward then, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "Now fighting with each other isn't going to solve anything. We need to calm down and think about this."

Merle and Daryl shared a look but it was Daryl that spoke. "Shut the fuck up, Dick. You stood there and let us do all the dirty work. If we do find a way out of this mess, you'll be lucky if we don't leave your worthless ass here."

Richard paled and took a step back, looking at the door and the distorted faces pressing against it. "There has to be a back entrance. There's a possibility that we can get out that way, maybe cause some sort of diversion and then get back to the truck."

Merle and Daryl both grumbled their doubts but they were pretty desperate. Merle wanted to get back to Piper, and Damon had to be worried about them too. The little girl needed that damn medicine. They had to get the fuck home and they had to get home tonight. Even if they didn't like Richard, he had a point. Standing around and arguing wasn't going to do a damn thing to help them out of this mess.

~H~

Carol kept glancing at the windows and the darkness that pressed against them ominously. Anxiety had her hands almost shaking. Kathrine had managed to get the little girl to eat a little but she was back on the makeshift bed. Now Carol and the other woman sat in silence. Katherine had a book that she was reading. Brody was lying sprawled out on another pallet close to the door. He seemed to be asleep.

"Your man seems very capable, Carol. I'm sure that they just came upon a road block. We ran into a lot on our way south," Katherine said quietly, glancing up at her quickly before looking back down at the book.

Carol shook her head. "Daryl? He isn't my man. He's my friend."

Katherine raised one dark eyebrow. "I'm sorry. I just thought..." she shrugged and returned to her book but Carol did notice the corner of her mouth turn up slightly, like she didn't believe her at all.

"I'm sure you're right. Him and Merle are strong. They know what they're doing out there. I'm sure they're safe. Aren't you worried about your husband?" Carol asked, just because she needed to talk. She couldn't stand the silence anymore.

Katherine shook her head but didn't look up.

Carol watched her closely. "How long have the two of you been married?" Carol asked.

Katherine finally looked up then, her eyes going to the far side of the cabin where Brody lay. "Seventeen years."

Carol nodded. "That's a long time." She hadn't seen Katherine or Richard interact very much, and even if she had, she wasn't exactly on the ins of how a real marriage was suppose to look, but she knew enough to know that something was off. The whole thing was off. They definitely didn't seem like a couple that had been married nearly two decades.

Katherine smiled slightly. "I suppose."

"I couldn't imagine being married to a United States Senator. You must have had a very exciting life before all of this happened." She was pressing and she knew it but she was damn tired of being lied to. She wanted to know if her suspicions were true. "I mean, all the money and the notoriety. Was it very hard, living in the spotlight like that?"

Katherine paused in her reading and her body seemed to tense before meeting Carol's eyes. Carol held her gaze for a long time and then Katherine looked away. Carol saw the fear in the other woman's face and she moved her chair closer. Katherine shrugged. "I got used to it."

Carol was done with this charade. "Katherine, you cook, you clean, you dote on your daughter and you are terrified of that boy over there. No wife of a powerful wealthy man would eagerly jump into the role that you have. I need you to tell me the truth. We're good people here. We can help you if you and your daughter are in trouble."

The woman didn't look up but Carol saw her brown eyes fill with tears. She tried desperately to blink them away but one slipped, leaving a trail down her cheek. "He isn't my husband," she whispered, gripping the hand Carol offered her. "He told me that I needed him to survive and now that there was no law, if people found out that I wasn't his, some man out there was going to think it was okay to take me for himself."

Carol watched her closely, leaning closer to hear her better.

"I was his housekeeper. Sam, my little girl, and I lived in the guest house. Richard's wife walked out on him a few years ago. She ran off with... with my husband. Richard had had an affair and she found evidence. She blackmailed him and they divorced quietly and my husband left with her. Apparently they had been having an affair for a long time. Richard kept me on to help with Brody. Brody is his son, not mine."

Carol studied her. That wasn't the whole story and she knew it. She could tell by the look in the woman's eyes. "Has he hurt you?"

She offered Carol a humorless smile. "Not really. He's mentioned the two of us... getting together but I want nothing to do with him. Not like that. He was my employer and now he is a chance for me and my daughter to survive this. Sometimes..."

Carol waited, giving her hand a small squeeze. "What?"

"Sometimes he scares me. Before this I didn't see much of him. I took care of the house and prepared meals but was usually gone by the time he came home and there were others that he employed. I was rarely alone with them in the house. I avoided Brody, knowing how violent he was. Since being on the road with them, I feel like they have something up their sleeve. I feel like they're just waiting for the right moment. It's probably just paranoia but ever since I turned him down, I've been afraid. Brody... He's troubled. He hasn't touched me but he's made disgusting gestures and..." She shook her head almost angrily.

"You don't have to be scared of anything here. Merle and Daryl are great men and they wouldn't let anything happen to you or your daughter. Trust me, they took me in."

"What are the two of you talking about over there?" Brody asked, raising up on his elbows.

Carol felt that rush of anger that she had felt on the porch return. She glared at him. This was a child and she would not be intimidated by a child. "That's between me and your mother," she snapped, wanting to gag on that last word. How horrible for this woman to have to pretend to have spawned this boy. It made her sick to know how afraid Katherine had to have been. Even more afraid than the rest of them. Sure, the world was a mess, but Carol and Sophia had a family now. Katherine had nothing.

Katherine looked at her with wide eyes, silently pleading with her.

Brody raised up, his eyes narrowed on the women. "I asked you a question. What were you talking about, mom?"

Carol stood up. "And I answered. What we were talking about doesn't concern you," she snapped.

The boy was on his feet quickly, stalking towards the table. Carol refused to let fear overwhelm her at the fury in his eyes. Damon and the girls were out on the porch and even though she was ashamed of herself, she was sure that she had spoken loudly enough for them to hear her. Brody was halfway to her when the front door opened and Damon stepped in.

"What the hell's goin' on?" He asked, his eyes meeting Carol's from across the room.

Carol raised her chin, eyeing Brody as he stopped his advance and glared at her. "Nothing. Why don't you and the girls come in for the night?"

Damon glanced at the other boy, scowled and then gave her a nod, his eyes narrowing.

"What? You think I'm afraid of him or something? Lady, I don't think you understand who the hell I am," Brody yelled.

Carol crossed her arms over her chest. "I think I do. I think you're a spoiled brat that seriously needs to adjust his attitude before he finds his family thrown out on their asses. And when I say family what I actually mean is you and your father."

"I told you to watch how the hell you spoke to me," he growled.

Damon took a step towards the boy then, his large hands flexing and a new glint in his eye that she had never seen before. This was the Damon that she hadn't seen yet. This was the boy that would gladly hurt someone for his family. "Or what?" he asked, his voice casual despite the rage in his eyes.

Brody spun around to face off with Damon. Carol was pretty sure that he just now realized exactly how big the other boy was. He lost a little steam when he realized that Damon basically towered over him and outweighed him by a lot. Damon glared but Brody stood his ground, refusing to look weak in front of any of them. After many long tense moments he finally took a step back, a bitter laugh escaping him as he shook his head. "You people have no idea who you're dealing with."

Piper finally crossed her arms over her chest and took a step forward. "Seriously, guy. The best thing you can do is quit while you're ahead. I've seen my cousin mop the floor with grown men that were a lot more bad ass than you. You aren't shit anymore. It doesn't matter what you used to be. You fuck with this family much more than you already have and you're gonna be nothin' but a gimp. He'll gladly rip your arms off and beat you to death with them."

"Screw this," Brody said bitterly, returning to his bed and lying down like nothing had ever happened.

Damon looked up, meeting Carol's eye. "I think maybe you should either take the loft or Merle's room until they get back. I'll stay down here and keep an eye on things."

Carol couldn't imagine sleeping, knowing that Daryl and Merle were out there somewhere, possibly in danger but she nodded to Damon anyway. The truth was, she wasn't much of a match for Brody, but Damon was. She wouldn't be much use to anyone if she didn't at least try to get some rest. It was late. She looked down at Katherine then.

"Why don't you and Sam take Merle's bed. When they get back he won't mind. I'll sleep in the loft with the girls."

Katherine shook her head. "I can't do that. I'll be fine out here."

Carol shook her head. "No. I don't think you will."

Katherine sighed heavily. "Okay. Maybe you're right."

Carol looked over towards where the boy was lying. "I know I am," she said softly, wondering how they were going to deal with this situation.