Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! I'm not because people expect me to be social and I am not a very social person. Anyway, I know it's a pain in the ass but I figure if I update faster then we'll get over this hurdle faster so I want to update again this afternoon. Hopefully that will pacify some of you =) Thanks for reading!

Chapter Thirty Four

He was pissed. He was beyond pissed. Andrea was suppose to be one of the best and so far she wasn't showing him shit. She sat across from him, her green eyes calculating as he sat there fuming. He had been in this hole for almost a fucking week. A week! And he had held on to a little hope that she would prove that she was worth all the damn money she was costing the club and have his ass out by now. Saturday he had seen Carol for all of ten minutes. Behind a glass wall with a phone up to his ear. She had looked upset, understandably so, but had tried to put on a brave face.

"There's gotta be a way to get me the fuck out of here," he snapped.

She narrowed her eyes. "You didn't leave me much to work with Dixon so you can lose that attitude right now. Whether or not you get out of here any time soon isn't what I'm focused on. I'm focused on keeping this from going to trial and you getting sent to prison for years. Years! So cut me some fucking slack."

He shook his head. "Give it to me straight. How much longer do you think I'm stuck here? Be honest. No sugar coating bullshit."

She met his eyes. "Three months. They aren't budging on it. All I can do now is keep you out of prison and it'd be nice if you'd help me out with that. I mean it, if I can get you out of this you have to stop. I'm not telling you that as your attorney, Daryl, I'm begging you as a friend. Can't you just let things go?"

He barked out a humorless laugh that startled her and caused the guards that were standing by the door to stiffen. He leaned across the table and met her eyes squarely. "Believe it or not, I was workin' on that."

"Well, I don't believe it. I won't until I see it."

He snorted and leaned back in his seat. "Well, I guess that's it then, huh? It's pretty much a done deal that I'm here for three months."

"Actually eleven more weeks. In case that makes it seem a little shorter."

He glared at her. "Thanks."

She patted his hand and stood up. "I mean it. I really hope that this is it for you. If we keep you out of prison, you should start putting a little more thought to your actions. You don't just hurt yourself. It hurts Buck and Merle and Piper too."

"I know that," he grumbled, feeling helpless.

"Then act like it. Please," she said before leaving the room.

He was led back to his cell by one of the asshole guards. A few months ago he would have probably started some shit with the guy. Now he ignored the fact that the guys grip was a lot tighter than it needed to be. He breathed through it. Besides, he was too damn depressed to even put much thought into it.

He was shoved into the cell, the door slamming shut behind him. He didn't say a word. He sat down heavily on the cot and stared down at the awful shoes he had to wear here. They matched the orange jumpsuit he was stuck wearing.

"Good, you're back."

He looked up and saw Shane standing in front of the door, holding up two envelopes and smiling. "What's that? My release papers?"

Shane shook his head.

"Then throw them in the fuckin' trash. I ain't interested," he grumbled.

Shane made a face and looked down. "So you have no interest in a letter from Piper and somebody by the name of Carol?"

Daryl's head came up quickly at that and he hurried to the bars. "Hand'em over."

Shane handed him one of the letters. It was the one from Piper, but he kept the other just out of reach. "I think I need to read this one myself." Shane held the letter up to his nose, breathing deeply. "Christ. I don't think you should have this one, Dixon."

"Shane, I'm gonna rip your goddamn balls off and feed'em to you," he growled.

He sniffed the letter one more time before handing it to him. "She shouldn't do that to you, you know? Sending letters that smell just like a sexy woman. One that you won't be able to touch for a while. It's goddamn cruel."

"Get out you asshole." He called over his shoulder as he sat back down. He waited for Shane to leave before he sniffed the envelope himself. He smiled but Shane was right. It was cruel. This was what she smelled like all the time and it filled him with a slow longing that had his chest feeling tight. He sat that one aside and looked at the letter from Piper. She was a pretty good artist and had sketched a picture of a hand holding up it's middle finger with the message, "Pigs Suck" drawn elaborately under it. He laughed.

When he opened it he found himself grinning. The letter wasn't long but that wasn't all that was in there. She had sent pictures. Could it have seriously only been a week since he had seen these people in person and not behind that stupid glass? There were a few of Buck and Merle, neither looking very happy about getting their picture taken. A couple was of some of the other guys pulling up to the garage on their bikes. Some were of Piper, Damon and Sophia, looking like dorks as they made faces at the camera. He was glad to see that Sophia seemed happy though. Then he came to a picture that Piper must have snapped of Carol and June at work. It was a candid shot of her laughing, her blue eyes shining brightly and a smudge of flour on her forehead. This one actually stung. The next one was even worse. He recognized the safe house right away. It was a picture of Carol, curled up into the corner of the couch, her bare legs tucked under her. Her face looked forlorn as she stared down at a book in her hands and along with the short cut off shorts she was wearing his t-shirt. The one that he had been wearing the day before he had been arrested.

He opened up the letter from Carol with a heavy heart.

Dear Daryl,

I don't think you realize how long it's been since I've sat down and actually written a letter to someone. When Piper told me that she was going to write you I figured that maybe you would like a little more reading material. I'm sorry I didn't talk much when I saw you on Saturday. It wasn't easy seeing you like that and I wasn't sure what to say. I know this probably won't make you feel any better but you are the only person I've ever seen that can make orange look sexy. Or maybe I have some strange convict fetish that I wasn't aware of until recently.

I miss you. I really hate myself for feeling that way but it doesn't have a turn off switch or anything. It's really kind of stupid, since it isn't like we were able to spend very much time together. I'm about five seconds away from turning this into a sap story so I'm moving on now. I just wanted you to know I'm thinking of you. A lot actually.

Sophia is a stranger to me and I couldn't be happier. That sounds weird, I know. She laughs a lot. She smiles for no reason. She doesn't hide anymore. It's taking some getting used to but it's kind of amazing to watch. Damon is always around too and I don't even mind that. He's good for her. He's good to her. I'm happy that she's so happy, even if I am a little envious.

I love working with June. I never knew how much I missed having close friends until I was able to get to know her. Her and Odin are so different but that makes their relationship kind of perfect. Who would have thought? Oh, speaking of relationships, I had to turn down a marriage proposal from your friend Randy. He's sweet enough but I just can't get over that eye patch. Depth perception is important to me in a man. He forgave me quickly but he called you quite a few names, since he assumed it was all your fault.

Your dad and your brother watch me like a hawk. Merle took me to the grocery store the other day and I ran my cart right into some poor man that works in the building next to the bakery. I felt bad about it because I was in a hurry and walking faster than I should have been so I knew it had to have hurt the guy. After apologizing we struck up a conversation and Merle came out of nowhere demanding to know why the hell the man was chatting up his wife. I don't remember marrying your obnoxious brother so I assume this was just to scare the guy away. Can you tell him to ease up a little? For Christ sakes, my life is far too complicated for me to make it my mission to look for a boyfriend! I can turn men down on my own. The other day we all went on a walk and Damon was eyeballing every male that walked past us. What is it with you Dixons intimidating people for just smiling at a woman?

Well, Piper is fussing at me to wrap this up. I hope that lawyer of yours clears this up real soon. And if not then maybe the next time I see you behind that stupid glass I can think of more to say to you. Take care of yourself and don't worry about any of us. We're all fine.

Love always,

Carol

He read the letter two more times before folding it up and slipping it between the mat and the steel bed. Picking up the two pictures of her he leaned back against the wall, studying them closely. The first one made him smile but the second one, despite the fact that her legs were on display, bothered him. She looked as good as she always did but that sadness in her eyes in that picture bothered him more than he thought it would. He had turned her whole world upside down and now she was on her own to pick up the pieces. Sure, she had the club and that was no small thing, but she didn't have him. And from the way it looked she wouldn't for a long time.