Okay, I already posted this chapter about 30 minutes ago but I had to replace it. Oh my God the typos! I am embarrassed. Hopefully I caught them all and this version is more acceptable!

Chapter Sixteen

Daryl didn't feel like taking anymore shit from Merle and he wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone else either so he locked himself in the room above the garage and laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering what the hell he was going to do about this assault charge. It wasn't his first, of course, but not all of the other ones stuck so he'd just have to hope that this one didn't either.

That was what he was thinking about on the surface anyway. Deep down he was actually thinking about how weird it was that his pillow still smelled like Carol and how long the scent would stick around. Not that he laid there sniffing his pillow like some kind of obsessive whack job. He rolled his eyes when someone started banging on the door. He was pretty sure it was Merle and he'd already had an ear full from that grumpy bastard.

"Open the door, asshole!"

He sat up, scowling. What the hell was Piper doing trying to tear his fucking door down? He unlocked it and then she nearly plowed him over as she stormed through. "What the hell's your problem?" He hadn't seen the girl this pissed off in a long time. She was better about keeping her temper under control but she looked like she was ready to tear someone apart.

"I just stopped by Sophia's to see if her and Damon were back," she said angrily, pacing the floor. "He hit her! The mother fucker hasn't been home a day and he's already hit her!"

"Who hit her? Ed? He hit Sophia?" Daryl felt his insides turn to ice.

Piper shook her head. "No, he hit Carol. She opened the door and it must have just happened. The side of her face was red and there was blood on her lip. Blood!"

Daryl stared at her, his mind refusing to process what she was saying. "She said that she'd call if he did that." He was trying to think of any other reason she would have a bloody lip. Surely if he had come home and hurt her she would have let him know about it. She'd sworn she would call if she needed him. Then again, she had also sworn she wouldn't call if she didn't. She probably just didn't want to burden him with her problems because she thought that he didn't want to see her anymore and that was the furthest fucking thing from the truth.

"Well, she lied because he hit her and I know it," Piper barked. "And you should see him! The arrogant bastard. I swear to God I wanted to rip his ugly face off!"

"You went in there?" Daryl growled.

"Hell yeah I went in there. He can't get away with that shit." She stopped pacing and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What did you do?" he asked, knowing that Piper was capable of doing any number of stupid things. She was little and always had been, which had always worried Daryl and Merle so the girl knew how to defend herself. They made damn sure of that.

"He's coming here tomorrow to meet you," she said angrily. "And you can take care of it."

He felt like a trapdoor just opened up under his feet. "You fucking told him? Are you stupid! He'll beat her death!" He stood up, running a hand through his hair. He was fully prepared to go to her house right then and slit the bastard's throat.

She scowled and shook her head. "Of course I didn't tell him! I told him we're recruiting and since he's gonna be running that dealership you all wanted to talk to him about joining up with us."

He shook his head. "Piper, that ain't even how that works." He felt like he was going to throw up and his head started throbbing at the thought of that man touching Carol.

"But he doesn't know that." She ran a hand through her hair and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Look, I don't know what happened with Carol last night but I know that you at least care about her enough to not want her to get hurt. You can keep tabs on him this way."

He swallowed down the anger that rose like bile in the back of his throat. Why the hell hadn't she called him as soon as it had happened? "What the hell can I do for her if she ain't even willin' to do anything for her damn self?" He knew that wasn't fair. He knew things weren't always cut and dry like that but goddamn she could have came to him. He could do something to help her.

"You have to do something," Piper yelled, glaring at him.

Daryl glared right back at her. "What am I suppose to do?" His voice shook with the rage that he tried to swallow down.

Piper stared at him, those jade green eyes wide with disbelief. "You can think of something! You can't act like you don't care! We ain't blind! We can all see it!"

He held her gaze for a long time, his mind spinning. What he wanted to do was kill the bastard. Just walk right into the house and kill him. But he couldn't do that. "You really think sittin' that cock sucker down in front of me is a good idea?"

"That was kind of the point," Piper said as she headed towards the door. She turned around before she left the room, meeting his eyes. "You're gonna fix this. You're gonna get your head out of your ass and you're gonna do something to put a stop to this shit. If you don't... then you ain't who I thought you were. You don't let people that you care about get hurt. One of the first lessons you taught me. You stick your damn neck out for the people that you love. You remember that." With that she slammed the door, leaving him standing there, staring at the floor.

He knew he had to do something. Not doing anything right now was causing his chest to tighten. But what good would he be to her if he went there and then got his ass thrown right back in jail?

~H~

Sophia had actually enjoyed the car show. She didn't know a whole lot about cars but he didn't mind telling her all about them. She was surprised that not only was he going to look at other cars in the show, but he was actually an invited guest. He drove a 1971 Dodge Challenger. It suited him. He looked like the type of guy that would drive a car like that. He also had a bike, which hadn't surprised her at all. She hadn't had a whole lot of time to think about what may be going on at home. Now they were sitting in a tiny booth at a burger place that was teaming with like minded teenagers and as they ate she let her mind wonder.

"You're worried about her, aren't you?" Damon asked.

Sophia looked up, meeting his dark eyes. She attempted a smile but it fell as she picked at her burger absently. "I guess I am." She looked back down at her plate.

"Can I ask you somethin'?"

She smiled. "You've been asking me things all day so what's one more question?"

He crossed his arms on the table and leaned closer to her. "So, I hear that Daryl has it pretty bad for your mom. Did you know he was with her last night?"

Sophia shook her head. "She wasn't with him last night. She was at home in bed. I went in there and saw her."

He shook his head. "He was there. He didn't show up at the garage till about four in the morning and something must have happened between them cause he hit the bottle pretty hard after he got there. Word is, this tag along, Dave, said something about your mom and Daryl went total ape shit. He beat the hell outta the guy."

Sophia met his eyes. "So? My mom's a grown woman. She's allowed to do whatever she wants to do. I think it's awful that Daryl was arrested for sticking up for her but-"

"You don't get it, do you?" He smiled and stole a fry off her plate. He had already ate all of his and her plate was still pretty much full.

"I guess not."

"Dixon's got a claim on your mom, dude. Another man puts his hands on her and it's bad news. So don't sweat it. If this Ed guy touches her then he's a dead man."

Sophia made a face. "So some man can just put some kind of claim on a woman and then that woman is his? That's the most sexist thing I've ever heard in my life."

He shrugged. "It's just how it is in my world."

"Well that's sick," she muttered. She looked up quickly after taking a much needed drink of her Coke. "You don't think that's sick?"

He grinned. "Not really. We're just a little... territorial is all. It's important for us to protect the people we care about. That ain't so bad. A lot of chicks dig it."

"Well, I don't think my mom's just going to let some man say she's his and then leave it at that, regardless of the perks."

"Did you see your mom's face when I told her about him being locked up? I think your mama's more than okay with it. Daryl is one of those guys that never gives a shit about women. They're there for one reason. But your mom's different."

"My mom is a married woman," she countered miserably.

He laughed at that. "And how has that worked out for her? I mean, fuck. Daryl went to jail just because someone said something about her. Her own husband treats her like shit. You think a piece of paper makes a damn difference?"

She sighed. "I think now that Ed is back things are just going to go back to normal. She wants things to be better but they won't be. If she tries to go against him too much he's going to end up hurting her."

He met her eyes then. "It's too late for that. You and your mom, the two of you just fell down the rabbit hole, Sophia. You don't step into this world and then skip back out. You walk in and the door shuts behind you. That door only opens one way. No exit sign. I don't know how it's all gonna play out but I'm telling you, Daryl and your mom are too far gone. It happens. It happened to my mom. It happened to Merle and Daryl's mom." He shrugged like it was no big deal.

"I almost wish that were true," she said quietly, holding his gaze.

"And what about you?" He asked, his eyes growing even darker as he studied her. "He ever touch you?"

She shook her head quickly. "No, not really. She always gets in the way before anything like that can happen." She tried to smile. "Why? Do you have some sort of biker claim on me now?" She meant it as a joke but he didn't laugh.

"Maybe."

She felt her face flush, not only at his words but at the way he was looking at her. She wasn't used to being looked at like that and she wasn't sure how to react. She liked him. She liked him a lot and he had been really sweet all day. But what he had said really was sexist. He couldn't just say he had a claim on her and then that was that.

"What if I did?" He leaned even closer. So close that she could smell the faint scent of his cologne. "Would you have a problem with that?"

She swallowed and forced herself to meet his gaze. "Maybe."

His lips twitched and he leaned back in his chair, laughing quietly. "You ready to get outta here?"

She nodded and stood up, wondering what they would do now. They had went to the movies early to beat the evening crowds and it was only a little after eight o'clock.

Once they made it outside she was surprised to see that it was drizzling. It had been clear when they had gone into the restaurant. The wind kicked up, whipping some of the rain under the awning that they were standing under and she looked down in horror when she realized that her shirt was very white. And by the time they made it around the corner to the car it would be completely see through. Damon stripped the leather jacket off and handed it to her and that was when the skies opened up and the rain started coming down in sheets.

"You'll get soaked if I take your jacket," she argued but she took it anyway. It was much too big but it was warm and it smelled amazing.

"Feels like it dropped twenty damn degrees while we were in there," he said, almost yelling over the deluge. He grabbed her hand and they both ran in the direction of the car. He even opened her door for her, ushering her inside before he slammed it and ran around to the driver's side. When he got in he shook his head, spraying water all over her and the dash.

"Well, that was unexpected," she said as she watched the water slam into the windshield.

He started the car and pulled out onto the street just as Sophia's phone started ringing. She answered wearily after checking the caller ID and seeing that it was her mom's number. Ed had probably demanded she come home and now Carol was calling to cut the date short. If it was a date. She still wasn't sure. "Hello?"

"Hey, you having fun?" Carol asked and Sophia frowned when she heard the forced cheer in her mom's voice.

"Yeah but it just started pouring. What's happened?" She asked.

"Nothing. I was just calling to tell you that you're spending the night at Piper's tonight and riding into school with her."

"No," Sophia said, dread filling her voice. "I don't want you to be alone with him. I know something's happened, mom. I can tell."

"Sophia, please. I'm fine. He's just angry that you went out and I don't want you to have to deal with that right now. It's not a big deal."

"I'm coming home anyway. I don't even have any clothes over there and Piper is at least nine inches shorter than me so I can't borrow any of hers."

"Piper was here earlier and she packed a bag for you. I'll pick you up after school tomorrow, okay?"

"Mom..."

"I love you." The phone went dead and Sophia clutched it so hard that she was sure it would break.

"Hey," Damon's soft voice had her looking up. He was staring at her worriedly and she was surprised to feel his hand slip into hers. "Everything alright?"

She shook her head. "She said that I'm suppose to stay at Piper's tonight. Something happened already. He hasn't been home for one day and something happened. And it happened because of me." She was struggling to blink the tears back.

"So I need to take you to Piper's?"

She shook her head. "That's what she said but I need to go home."

"I'm not taking you home," he said quickly.

"What?"

"If your mom don't want you there because of that asshole then I don't want you there either."

"Damon, take me home," she said, anger lacing her voice. It sounded foreign to her. Why did everyone treat her like she was some little kid? She was close to seventeen years old. She didn't need to be coddled or protected. She needed to make sure nothing happened to her mom. Especially since the whole reason Ed was mad was because of her.

"Sophia-"

"I'm not going to Piper's tonight."

"Then you'll come home with me but I'm not taking you to your house." The finality in those words had her scowling.

She stared at him with narrowed eyes. "Why?" She demanded.

"Because if your mom don't want you there then there's a reason. Fuck, why are you so stubborn."

"Because my mom might need me!" She snapped.

He shook his head but didn't say anything else for a long time. The rain was beating down so hard she had no idea where they were. He didn't even look at her again until he pulled into a driveway and killed the engine. He turned in his seat so he was facing her. "What could you do to help her that she can't do herself?" He asked.

She stared at the window but still couldn't see anything. "Where are we?" She asked, ignoring his question.

He got out without answering her, rounding the front of the car and opening her door, reaching for her hand. She took it and got out, letting him lead her to a house she'd never seen before. He let go of her once they were on the porch. "My place. You said you weren't going to Piper's. I said you weren't going home. So here we are."

Sophia stared at him, her mind momentarily drawing a blank before his words sunk in. "What? I can't spend the night with you!"

"Why?"

"Because! I'm not like that! And do you really think your parents would let you have a girl sleep over?"

"Not like what? And it doesn't matter cause they ain't here and they won't be here for a few more days."

"I can't spend the night with you," she said, feeling panicked. "I'm not the type of girl that you can just take home and..." She shook her head, not finishing the sentence.

"Why? You think I'd try something?"

She shook her head. "Not if I didn't want you to try something," she said, her voice smaller than she meant it to be. She looked away from him, out towards the car. Just yesterday she had been thinking about how unfair it was that she wasn't able to do the same kinds of things other kids her age did. How she didn't know herself because she had never had the chance to be herself. Her mom insisted she was fine. And he was right. She had never truly been able to protect her mom from Ed's wrath.

"What do you want me to do?" He asked, sounding deflated. "I give, alright? Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it."

She pulled his jacket further around her, trying to ward off the chill. What did she want? Did she really want to go home? She met his eyes and there was no mistaking the concern there. He only wanted to help her and she wasn't even sure why. "Okay."

He sighed. "Okay what?"

"I want to stay with you."

He glanced towards the door before meeting her eyes again. "You sure about that?"

She nodded. "You're right. I can't do anything for her other than make things harder."

"What about school tomorrow?"

She shook her head and moved over so he could unlock the door. "You feel like skipping?"

One dark eyebrow shot up. "You're a woman after my heart, you know that?" He opened the door and pulled her inside.