THETRUEFATHER

Daryl walked quietly down the hallway. His mind was, for once, on his homework. The new math project was going to be a bitch, and Daryl wasn't looking forward to it. But at least Buck could help out.

It had been 10 days since Daryl had met Buck, and Daryl had to admit, he really liked the man. Buck was an odd combination of bad ass and fatherly love, which Daryl had never felt. Buck was certainly teaching Daryl by helping him with his homework, but in other ways too. Buck was always open to questions, and he always answered to the best of his knowledge. Daryl was beginning to see Buck was much more then your average felon.

Buck had told Daryl he read quite a bit, both in the military and in prison. Buck loved history, and Daryl loved hearing about years gone by. But Buck's love of reading had spread out from history to math, science, politics and pop culture. Buck was skilled in math, but that made sense considering his history.

Daryl chuckled as he remembered arguing with Buck about marvel vs DC. Buck was a hard person to argue with, but when Daryl proved him wrong all Buck did was laugh.

Daryl walked into the cafeteria. Most often he only had the cash Merle had managed to slip him for lunch, but even then it wasn't much and it needed to last a while. Now Daryl had the cash for a real lunch, and he took advantage of it. He grabbed a plate and loaded it up, paying for it and slipping out of the cafeteria. Daryl sat in the corner around the outside of the building, away from any groups of students or teachers. He pulled out his cell phone, and opened up a new message.

D-Lewis assigned some bullshit math project. I hate her assignments.

Daryl dug into his food as he waited for the response, which came back quickly.

B-what's it on?

D-a practical application of math in a life or death situation.

B- military targeting systems. Without triangulation off of satellites, our warheads would be impossible to control. No telling where they could land.

Daryl pulled out his notebook and jotted down the idea, before texting Buck back.

D- hadn't even thought of that. Thanks.

B-bring your text books today, I'll help out with it while we have daylight. I'm already in the woods, keeping an eye on Merle. How long has he been hooked on heroin?

Daryl bit his lip as he wrote back.

D-over a year. He used to just do party drugs, but now its every day.

B-i can detox him or we can get him into rehab. Either one works for me.

D- i know he wants to be clean, but he keeps getting dragged back. Travis doesn't help, he shoots up too , he was the one to introduce Merle to it.

B-every time Travis goes by the window I have an urge to shoot him. You may come home to Travis missing if Merle leaves the house long enough.

Daryl sat back thinking about what Buck was saying. The man was more then deadly, but if Travis went missing...

D- he's not worth more prison time.

B- I wouldn't get caught. But I'm still going after custody.

Daryl bit his lip before texting back his response.

D-can that wait until we have Merle convinced too? I don't want Merle there with Travis when all that goes down, Travis could hurt him bad.

B-I'll wait until we have Merle convinced. I know it's gonna be a battle with Merle, but I'm stubborn.

Daryl snorted at that.

D-so's Merle. This maybe interesting.

"Look here! Anderson's got himself a phone finally!"

Daryl groaned as Ed and Shane came up to him. Daryl put his phone and notebook away quickly, and shoved past Ed and Shane as he threw away his garbage. As he turned to go inside, Daryl felt a hard shove come to his back, sending him flying into the wall in front of him. Daryl smacked his cheek bone hard on the rough wall, before another shove sent him stumbling forward. Daryl righted himself in time to dodge the next shove from Shane, but Ed slammed Daryl into the wall. Daryl was ready to punch back when Carol appeared with Michonne, her friend.

"Ed! what are you doing?!"

Ed smirked as he dropped a kiss on Carol's head, pulling her along behind him as he left.

"Taking care of the trash honey."

Carol gave Daryl a sorry look as she was pulled behind ed, but Daryl ignored her as he righted his backpack and shoved past Shane and Michonne, and walked off.

As Daryl walked off the school grounds, he pulled his phone out and sent a quick text.

D- leaving school early, I'll be out in the woods soon.

B- I'll be waiting.

THETRUEFATHER

Daryl walked in the house as quietly as he could but not enough as Merle came slamming out of his room.

"What the fuck ya doin' home early?!"

Daryl cringed as he looked at Merle.

"i had a rough fuckin' day okay! I needed a break from those assholes!"

Merle growled as he shook his head. "i barely got to the phone before Travis! Ya willin' ta risk a beatin' ta play hookie?!"

Daryl shook his head. "no, I'm willin' ta risk a beatin' to get away from another! Fuck Merle just cut me some fuckin' slack!"

Daryl threw his backpack down as he grabbed the rifle and stomped out of the house into the forest, Merle calling out behind him.

"Daryl!"

Daryl turned and glared at Merle. "go to hell!"

Merle flipped Daryl off and he returned the gesture as he came into the forest. Daryl was a few feet into the forest when he heard a voice.

"rough day?"

Daryl turned to see Buck standing looking at him. Buck had his bow again, and a few kills already on his belt. Buck walked up to Daryl, reaching a hand out to look at the shiner Daryl had on his cheekbone.

"Travis?"

Daryl shook his head. "naw, some assholes at school."

Buck eyed Daryl. "ya gettin' bullied?''

Daryl was silent for a moment before he nodded. "have been since elementary school. Son of the town drunk, doesn't help me in school."

Buck shook his head. "you're not the son of the town drunk, you're the son of the town bad ass. Come on, I got some shit ta teach ya."

Daryl followed Buck into the forest until they reached a grassy clearing. Buck set down his bow and the kills, as well as emptied his pockets. Daryl laid the rifle down and took out the wallet and phone Buck had given him the night before, laying them carefully beside the rifle.

Buck directed him into the middle of the clearing, father and son facing each other.

"alright, what I'm gonna teach ya, this will work for bullies at school. Don't try it on Travis, cause the key is video cameras."

Daryl raised an eyebrow. "what the fuck are ya talkin' about?"

Buck smirked. "the key to a bully is they are good at not gettin' caught. The key to undoin' a bully is ta force them into a position where they let themselves get caught. Ya got security cameras at ya school, trust me I know."

Daryl chuckled. "do I want to know how ya know that?"

Buck smirked again. "it would be better if ya had plausible deniablity."

Daryl chuckled as he nodded. "yeah we got cameras in the commons and a few other places, but Ed and Shane don't go after me around them."

Buck nodded. "they wouldn't, cause they know they'd get caught. What ya gotta do though is flip the fight into your favor. Ed and Shane, what are they built like?"

Daryl scoffed. "Ed is a fuckin' fat ass, Shane's slow."

Buck smirked. "good, cause ya got my speed I can tell ya that. You're a quick fucker, and your built to pack a punch when ya need to. Use that to ya advantage. When Ed and Shane come after ya, you need to draw them to the camera's but ya gotta do it so they don't realize they're bein' played."

Daryl nodded. "how do I do that?"

Buck leaned over, motioning for Daryl to come at him. "try ta punch me in the stomach."

Daryl raised an eyebrow before shrugging and striking out at Buck. Buck easily jumped back, dodging Daryl's fist, while motioning for him to continue. Daryl followed Buck across the clearing, speeding up his punches, trying to catch Buck, but Buck was always one step ahead of him.

"how are ya doin' that?!"

Buck smirked. "let me do it to ya, I ain't gonna actually hit ya so don't worry about the pain. Just watch, see if ya can tell which arm I'm gonna go after ya with. Just keep movin' backwards, I'll follow ya."

Daryl nodded and concentrated as he watched Buck. The first strike he subconsciously braced himself for pain, but Buck only gave him a light slap on the side. Daryl moved back, watching Buck as they repeated what they had done just before. By the time they reached the other side of the clearing Daryl had it figured out.

"your shoulders, that's what ya move first."

Buck nodded. "good eye, lets switch. Watch how I'm dodgin' ya, how I'm movin'."

they continued practicing, Buck showing Daryl several different dodges and escapes over the period of an hour. By the time they were done, Daryl could easily see the hits coming, and was doing much better at dodging.

Daryl picked up the rifle and his things as he looked up at Buck. "how do I make sure they follow me under the cameras?"

Buck smirked as he picked up the bow and kills, filling his pockets again. "that parts easy. Ed and Shane, I'm guessin' they ain't geniuses?"

Daryl snorted. "far from it. Ed is worse in math then me."

Buck chuckled. "alright then, just keep tellin' them that. Keep insultin' them, get their blood goin'. Unfortunately ya gotta take at least one punch under the cameras, but after that, you'll be around enough people they'll break it up."

Daryl nodded before he looked up at Buck. "where did ya learn this?"

Buck smirked. "prison. I learned a lot of things in there."

Daryl raised an eyebrow. "like what?"

Buck shrugged. "how to not be a father, lots of criminal things. how to be zen."

Daryl snorted. "zen? That Asian shit?"

Buck chuckled. "naw, nothin' like that. Its more...a personal zen. Here, follow me."

Buck lead Daryl a bit into the forest, until they came up to the river. Across the small valley was a doe with two young. Buck pointed to the river as they sat down.

"if the world was to end today, the human race to go extinct, what would happen to the river?"

Daryl shrugged. "i don't know."

Buck nodded. "neither do I. And neither does the river. But it doesn't matter what happens tomorrow, because there will always be another tomorrow, and another tomorrow after that. The river just keeps goin', it doesn't stop. It can't, just like you and I can't. The river doesn't know where it's goin' in life, but does it really matter? No, because the river doesn't have an option of givin' up, and neither do you."

Daryl thought about that as he looked at the river. "i can't control tomorrow so why stress about it?"

Buck nodded. "roll with the punches, just like we just worked on. You gotta take what life gives ya, and deal with it. It ain't easy, in fact its a god damn bitch at times. But why worry about somethin' ya can't control, when you can just as easily handle it when it happens."

Daryl shrugged. "i ain't never really been in control, so guess that's normal for me."

Buck chuckled. "that's life baby boy, we can't control much, but we can control ourselves. Speakin' of which, what was that with Merle earlier?"

Daryl sighed. "i ditched school early so I didn't have ta go to gym with Ed. Merle found out."

Buck raised an eyebrow. "so why exactly did ya tell him ta go to hell?"

Daryl bit his lip before shrugging. "i was pissed off. I didn't mean it, but fuck I just wanted to get out to the forest and he was gonna rag on me for skippin' school."

Buck chuckled. "as far as Merle knows he's the responsible adult in ya life. Merle's just doin' what he's supposed to, keepin' ya in school and ridin' ya ass when ya skip. He's just doin' his job."

Daryl sighed. "i know. Fuck he's gonna be pissed at me."

Buck smirked. "yeah he is. Ya know how to fix it?"

Daryl snorted. "get him a candy bar?"

Buck chuckled. "that could work. The better option would be to apologize."

Daryl groaned. "fuck, I apologize to Merle I might as well hand over my nuts ta him."

Buck shook his head. "i ain't sayin' get on ya hands and knees and act like a bitch. I'm sayin' ya gotta say your sorry and tell him why ya acted that way. And the next time your pissed off, keep in mind Merle's doin' the best he can here."

Daryl nodded. "I'll tell him."

Buck smirked. "good, cause ya know I'll be watchin'."

Daryl chuckled as he looked over at Buck. "ya really watch me that much?"

Buck nodded. "i figured it would get weird if I stalked ya ta school, plus someones bound ta see me eventually. But from the moment ya get out of school, until Travis passes out, I'm out here watchin'."

Daryl smiled lightly. "ya know, it's still weird, ya watchin' me. But I don't mind."

Buck chuckled. "good, cause I ain't gonna stop."

Daryl smirked. "yeah, ya made that pretty obvious."

Buck shrugged. " you're my son, I can watch ya when I damn well please."

THETRUEFATHER

Merle watched from the window as Daryl came out of the tree line. He knew something was going on, he wasn't sure what though. Daryl got half way back to the house before he looked back and nodded his head slightly.

Merle frowned, there was someone out there. Someone Daryl knew about but Merle didn't.

Merle growled as Daryl came up to the house. Who ever it was out there could be a threat, someone that shouldn't be around his baby brother. And Merle had no idea who it was. That was going to change.

Merle cracked his neck, preparing for a screaming match with Daryl. He had several things to clear up with Daryl, and he knew arguing with Daryl was like trying to catch a wet cat: difficult and often painful.

Merle stomped up to Daryl as he came in the house.

"bout time ya fuckin' back! What the fuck was that earlier?!"

Daryl bit his lip before looking up at Merle.

"I'm sorry."

Merle blinked. Sarcastic or joking apologizes were common from Daryl, but sincere?

Daryl sighed. "i had a run in with Ed and Shane today at school and I skipped so I didn't have ta be in gym with Ed. Sorry I skipped, and I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it, and ya didn't deserve it. Ya do a shit ton for me Merle, and I need ta be thankin' ya instead of tellin' ya to go to hell. Sorry bro."

Merle eyed Daryl, looking him up and down. Daryl wasn't one for much eye contact, thank you Travis, but Daryl met Merle's look.

"you're fuckin' serious, ain't ya?"

Daryl nodded. "fuck Merle, I'd be dead if it weren't for ya. You're my big brother, and I treated ya like shit earlier. I'm sorry. Ya do a lot for me, more then I'll ever know. I'm glad I'm your little brother, cause god knows how bad I need ya. Thank you Merle."

Merle was shocked. He didn't think anyone had ever actually apologized to him, let alone thanked him. Merle wasn't sure how to react so he gave Daryl a short nod.

"alright. Just next fuckin' time ya skip give me a call so I can watch the phone, okay?"

Daryl nodded. "will do."

Merle eyed the collection of squirrels and possums in Daryl's hand. "we should get some of those made before dad get's home."

Daryl gave a slight wince at that, but nodded and walked past Merle into the kitchen. Merle watched him go before looking out into the forest. For a moment he thought he saw the outline of a man, but when he looked it was gone. Merle frowned and stared harder, before the trees all started to blend together as the sun set and darkness fell. Merle let it go and went back inside.

Merle sat down at the kitchen as Daryl set to work breaking down the kills. Daryl's backpack was sitting on a chair, and a piece of paper was sticking out the top. Merle glanced up at Daryl before snagging the paper, and sitting back to read it, expecting another low grade. Merle was shocked when he saw the 100% mark with a smilie face next to it. On a math test.

Merle looked up at Daryl. "ya got an A? On a math test?"

Daryl smirked lightly before nodding. "didn't cheat or nothin' either. Got that honestly."

Merle raised an eyebrow. "what the fuck? When did ya get good at math? Last time I checked you were still failin'."

Daryl shrugged. "got someone helpin' me with studyin' now. It's workin' out well."

Merle nodded and Daryl went back to working on the kills. Merle leaned back, eying his little brother. Something was going on. And he was going to get to the bottom of it.