Sorry for the delay. Fanfiction wasn't sending notifications for updates so I decided to wait before posting this. I posted for Dork, so if any of you are reading that and didn't get an email, it's there. Really close to wrapping this one up. Thanks for reading! =)

Chapter Thirty Nine

Daryl did what he could to keep himself and the rest of them busy for the first three days and for the most part, it worked. The forth day, with no word from the others, and he was starting to have a hard time maintaining his nonchalant attitude. He had hoped that if he was able to keep his cool then it would be easier for the others to do the same but his composure was slipping.

They all seemed to have their own ways of dealing with the stress.

Merle was snapping at everybody for no reason at all. Piper was sullen and quiet, keeping herself busy with a sketch pad she had stashed in the loft the last trip they had taken up here. Sophia got a little worse every day, her eyes losing that familiar light to them and her voice dulling to a monotone when she actually did speak. Carol cleaned, scrubbing floors, dusting under everything, coming across a nasty surprise that had come from the suitcase that they had forgotten all about. Luckily it was Carol that had found it and not June, and now the thing was gone forever, thrown down a ravine for some poor hiker to find thirty years from now.

The only people that didn't seem as bothered were Katherine and Sam, but that could only be expected since she didn't exactly know any of them. The woman watched Merle when she thought no one was looking but he didn't pay any attention to her at all, even before his nerves were kicked into overdrive over his family being gone so long.

All of them immersed themselves in work to keep from worrying but it just wasn't enough to keep their minds off of their worries anymore.

They were hard at work on one of the cabins when Merle finally voiced what the others had all been thinking for a few days now. As him and Daryl lifted one of the logs, hoping that the notches would fit perfectly, Merle spoke. "It's been too long. If something hadn't happened down there they would've gotten back by now. They wouldn't dawdle and make us worry like this for nothin'."

Daryl eyed the fit, taking his hands and slamming it into the side of the log so it moved the quarter of an inch that it needed to. "I know. The question is, which one of us stays?" He didn't want his brother going out there alone and he knew Merle felt the same way. They also couldn't leave the others alone because none of them other than Piper were skilled enough to keep each other safe.

"None of us," Merle grunted, using the hatchet to carve another notch.

Daryl swiped the back of his arm across his forehead, wiping the sweat away and staring down at Merle like he had lost his damn mind. "What the hell do you mean, none of us?"

Merle glanced up. "Just that. I ain't leavin' them here. Any of'em. We figure it out tonight and leave out in the mornin'."

"We don't even know where the hell they are!" Daryl barked.

Merle stood up, glowering. "You wanna just sit up here on your ass and wait, not knowin' what the fuck happened to them?"

"I'll go, okay. I'll be quicker on my own, cover more ground and do it quieter."

Merle glared, just like Daryl expected but there was no way he wanted to take all of them off the mountain. As far as he was concerned Carol and Sophia would never leave it again. "No."

"Merle, goddamn it, Sam is eight years old and is just now gettin' over what happened before they got here. You can't-"

"That fuckin' kid ain't my goddamn problem and I'll be damned if I sit up here on my ass instead of lookin' for my kin just cause those two ended up here. That woman can take care of the kid herself. If she wants to stay, she can, but the rest of us are leavin'!" Merle barked, taking a step towards him, his hands fisted at his sides.

Daryl happened to glance past him then and cursed. Katherine was standing a few feet away with Sam in tow, carrying bottles of water for them. Her chin was held high but he saw the pain and worry in her eyes. The girl was staring at Merle, her eyes wet and Daryl knew they had heard every harsh word that Merle had spat about them. Daryl knew that his brother didn't really feel that way about the duo, that he was lashing out because he was scared for his family, but the damage seemed to be done.

Merle's eyes hardened even further and then he glanced over his shoulder, his shoulders tensing as he stared the woman down, at the moment Merle didn't give a damn that he'd obviously hurt them both with his careless words. This was just how Merle dealt with things. If he was hurting you could bet your last dollar that he was going to lash out until the pain was shared.

"We thought you two might be thirsty," Katherine said, taking another few steps and offering Daryl the bottle in her hands, not glancing at Merle at all.

He took it with a nod, glanced quickly at Merle and then drained it in just a few quick swallows. He hated that she had heard Merle's outburst. Daryl liked the woman. She was a good fit here and Carol was thankful for her presence, he was sure of it. And Sam was a good kid, eager to learn and to help with whatever she could. Neither one of them deserved Merle's wrath.

Daryl cleared his throat and gestured towards a cleared area near his own shack. "You two'll have your own place soon enough. Once we get the rest of them back, we'll have it up in just a day or two."

She offered him a thankful smile. Sam was still standing there, her dark damp eyes on his brother and then she suddenly dropped the bottle she had clasped between her hands and took off running towards the cabin. Katherine watched her go, sighing heavily, and then turned on her heel, still not even glancing at Merle.

Daryl shook his head. The man was a fucking idiot. If he'd just open his fucking eyes he'd see that the woman liked him, a lot more than anyone else would since he was usually either a crotchety bastard or a womanizing pig. Some how the woman looked past all that and focused on what good she could find there. Merle was his own worst enemy sometimes. Having Carol made a huge difference and if Merle would just let Katherine in, he'd see that it was a good thing to have someone there. Letting someone else share some of the burden wasn't a bad thing. It didn't make a person weak or needy. They were fucking human.

Without another word Merle scooped up the bottle the girl had dropped and drained it much like Daryl had his own. He wasn't going to say a word about what happened and it was what Daryl expected. They went back to work like nothing had happened at all.

~H~

Carol didn't have to talk to the men to know exactly what was going on. One or both of them were leaving and she couldn't even fault them for it. She wouldn't try to guilt either of them into staying there with her. All she could do was let him know that she would help make sure that Katherine, herself and the girls were all okay while he was gone. She should have encouraged him to go in the first place and then he could have gotten his family home when they were suppose to be home.

The guilt was driving her as crazy as the fact that the others weren't back yet.

She looked up when the front door banged open and Sam ran into the cabin and up the ladder. Carol didn't miss the tears on the girl's face and she threw down the towel she was folding and waited to see if she could hear anything from the loft. She knew that the girls were up there already and she was sure that whatever it was, Sam would be fine but it didn't keep her from worrying. It seemed like all she did anymore was worry.

Katherine came in and actually slammed the door closed, startling her. She spun around, eyes wide.

"That man!" Katherine fumed.

Carol felt her brows creeping up to her hair line. "I take it you're referring to Merle?" Call it a hunch.

Katherine shook her head angrily, her dark eyes narrowed to slits, hands planted firmly on her hips. "Of course I'm referring to Merle. Yours has the good sense to not be a complete and utter jackass!"

Carol hated herself for it but a laugh bubbled up her throat and escaped her lips before she could clap her hand over her mouth. It really wasn't funny because whatever Merle had done had obviously upset Katherine and Sam both but the outburst was so out of character for the woman that Carol was shocked. "I'm sorry. Really," she pulled out a chair. "Sit. I'll make you a cup of coffee and you can vent. It'll keep my mind off of everything else."

Katherine sat down, fuming as she tapped her nails on the table top. Carol kept glancing at her from over her shoulder. She sat the cup down and took the seat across from her. The woman wasn't in the mood to hold back.

"You know, I completely understand why he's upset. I get that. I also understand that I should be grateful for everything that Merle has done for Sam and I and I am. I really truly am. I owe him my freedom and both our lives for letting us stay here. But does that really mean that he's allowed to fly off the handle and be downright cruel every time his nerves get frazzled?"

"Did he say something to Sam?" Carol asked, unable to imagine the man hurting either of them on purpose.

Katherine shook her head and took a sip from her mug. "Not exactly. He was ranting to his brother, basically admitted that he couldn't possibly give a damn less about either of us, and Sam heard him. I don't expect him to make me a priority and I know he doesn't exactly care, but she's just a little girl. I don't want her to feel like the people here don't love her. She needs that, ya know?"

Carol frowned. "She does. Maybe I can talk to him-"

"Where the hell is he?"

Both women looked up, eyes widening in unison at the murderous look on Piper's face. Carol opened her mouth to say something but closed it at the furious look Piper gave her. Sam had a death grip on the older girl's hand. Their relationship surprised everyone, considering how Piper was, but she cared about the younger girl a lot, taking her under her wing, reassuring her when she was afraid, teaching her things that Katherine wouldn't have ever approved of in the old world. She was the little sister Piper had never even thought to want, and she was fiercely protective of her.

"He's down the path working on getting the logs ready for the cabins," Katherine said, her eyes shifting from Piper to her daughter.

Piper nodded and took off out the door. Katherine looked like she wanted to say something, maybe ask Piper to leave Sam there, but she didn't. Carol didn't blame her either. Merle needed to hear whatever it was Piper had to say to him. If was okay to be scared and it was even okay to lash out sometimes, but it wasn't okay to hurt a little girl, even if he hadn't meant for her to overhear his rant.

"She's so good with her," Katherine muttered, her gaze on the dark liquid in the mug.

Carol nodded and placed her hand on the other woman's arm, offering an encouraging smile. "Look, you know as well as I do that Merle is all rough edges and sharp angles, but you know that he cares about Sam. He cares about both of you. We're all a family up here and he feels that just as intensely as the rest of us. He's scared for the others, that's all. Don't let that make you feel like you're apart from us. Sophia and I were no less outsiders than you and Sam. Merle just needs time."

Katherine gave her a dry look but then she smiled slightly. "At least he's real."

Carol frowned.

"He doesn't try to pretend to be anything he isn't. Richard was a walking talking lie. My husband was no better. With these men, you get honesty, if nothing else."

Carol grinned when Katherine squeezed her hand. "Too bad June isn't home yet. I bet she would have dragged him off by the ear and demanded he apologize."

Katherine laughed at that. "I have half a mind to tell on him as soon as she gets home."

"We should."

They shared a conspiratorial look and then grinned. She was still afraid for the others and she knew that Katherine was too, but she felt like they would be home safe. Something happened down there to trip them up a little bit but she refused to believe that they had lost anyone.