Sorry! Didn't quite make good on my promise to get this one up within hours of the last one! But, here.

Chapter 7 - Wearing you down

It was the last day of the MotoAmerica event, and at the race track, Merle, Andrea, Daryl and Tahlia merged into the crowds of people buzzing around, threading through the merchandise stands, the gear for sale, the bike displays and of course, watching the motorbikes that were whizzing around the track.

They found Shadow trying on jackets inside the gear hall.

"Check this out!" he said to Daryl and Merle, after greeting Tahlia and Andrea with warm hugs and cheek kisses. "So much lighter than the one I got now. I want it."

"Nice." approved Merle. "Probably go on sale at the end of the day, though. Might as well wait 'til then. Seen any of the races yet?"

"Not yet. Junior Cup's just started. Let's go check it out."

Outside again, Tahlia raised her hand to her eyes as she watched a group of bikes speed past. "So Shads, this is what you used to do?"

Shadow nodded. "Yeah. Stuff like this. Dreamed of making it to MotoGP but fucked myself up and that was the end of it."

"Because of your injury?"

"Yup. Well, that was the beginning of the end. Never forget that fucking day. Was sunny, like this, but there was a random rain shower when I was out on the track. Normally an official would hold up a flag to let you know the track's wet, but it happened so fast, I was already gunning it round the corner before they could get out and I came off my bike. Totaled it, fucked my leg up, got a bad concussion. Was given a lotta pain meds for the recovery, but kept having double vision from the concussion, so they wouldn't sign me off to ride again 'til it cleared. Happy to give me more meds though. Ended up hooked on those, felt all sorry for myself so decided to give up on racing and focus on getting high. Not great life choices I know, but least I got to meet these two assholes."

He gestured to Daryl and Merle with a grin, then looked back at Tahlia and chuckled. "Don't look so sad, Tahls. That's just the way shit went. And I'm good, I cleaned up a lot since then, just mostly stick to weed these days, get high and watch other people ride. Best of both worlds now, right?" he said cheerily, and Tahlia tucked an arm around his waist and gave him a commiserative squeeze and he hugged her right back, as Andrea turned to Merle.

"Have you been injured?"

Merle laughed. "Most everyone who rides been injured at some point."

"So that's a yes? Badly?" asked Andrea, her eyes wide and worried.

Merle gave a dismissive shrug. "Broke a few bones. Took a bunch of skin off 'nother time. Teach me for not wearin' a jacket."

Slipping out from under Shadow's arm, Tahlia sent a questioning glance at Daryl.

He held her gaze for a moment, then lifted his right arm. "Pins in my elbow. And broke my collarbone."

"Oh my God!" declared Andrea, shaking her head. "None of you are riding bikes again! You can all take the fucking bus!"

With a hearty chuckle, Merle threw his arms around her and pressed a kiss on the top of her head. "If it ain't this, it's gonna be somethin' else, sugar. Can't live forever."

Sucking in a sharp breath, Andrea pressed a hand over her eyes in distress. "Don't say that!"

"Aw, baby." murmured Merle, angling down to kiss her with intensity like there was no one else around.

Daryl rolled his eyes. "I'ma go get drinks."

"I'll come help you." offered Tahlia, but Daryl held up a hand as he started across the grass.

"Naw. Don't need no help."

Tahlia laughed. "And I don't care, bestie. I'm coming. Sorry Shads, you're in charge of the lovebirds!"

Heaving a sigh, Daryl waited for her to catch up before heading in the direction of the bar.

"This is all so cool!" enthused Tahlia. "I reckon I might want to be a biker chick."

Daryl just squinted at her, then shook his head.

"What?" she asked, arching a brow.

"Nothin'."

"You look at me like that a lot, you know."

"Like what?"

"Like I'm Cruella De Ville and you run the Puppy Rescue Centre or something."

"Who?"

"Are you serious?" demanded Tahlia, wide-eyed. "101 Dalmatians? No? Ok, well we're going to need to do something about that. We'll have to have a Disney movie marathon."

Daryl looked horrified. "Naw. That ain't never happenin'."

"No to Disney? Ok, what movie marathon should we have?"

"Fuck outta here, Silver."

Not to be deterred, Tahlia rubbed a hand across her chin. "Hmm. I'm guessing it would be guns and violence for you."

Frowning, Daryl took the bait. "And what makes ya say that?"

"Am I wrong?" she asked, then facetiously said, "Oh, maybe you're a romance guy! Or period drama? Both? Little bit of Jane Austen?"

"Fuck off. Right first time. Maybe Terminator. Or Predator. Stuff like that." Then Daryl caught himself and folded his arms. "Stop."

"What?"

"We ain't doin' this."

Tahlia feigned innocence. "Doing what?"

"This gettin'-to-know-ya bullshit."

"But how will we become best friends if we don't know anything about each other?" she teased. "What's your favorite pizza topping?"

With a withering look Daryl shook his head firmly. "We ain't doin' this!"

Wrestling the smile from her face, Tahlia rolled her eyes dramatically. "Fine. You can just continue to be a man of mystery that shows up in my life every week or so and does nice things for me but refuses to engage in casual conversation."

Having trouble keeping his own smile contained, Daryl pulled his mouth into a hard line and raised his brows. "You're real annoyin', y'know that?"

She matched his look. "And you're real serious."

"Only 'round people that ain't my friends." Daryl countered without missing a beat.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed, eyes widening, hand flying to her chest, faux-wounded. Then she broke into an easy smile and cocked her head to one side. "It wouldn't be as terrible as you think, Daryl. Being friends."

They had made their way to the front of the bar queue and Daryl had nothing to say to that, so he just gave a dismissive huff, then motioned to the drinks.

"Whatchu want?"

Giving him a little shove out the way, Tahlia moved in front of him and said wryly, "Let me get it. I don't want to be dragging all these gold bullions round all day. I'll end up throwing my shoulder out."

He made to protest but she silenced him with a hand in the air, so he let it go and waited quietly a couple of paces away as she ordered.

He'd meant what he'd said.

She was fucking annoying.

But, maybe not in the strictest sense of the word.

More like sleep-stealing, dream-infiltrating annoying.

Feverishly, relentlessly, distractingly, miss-your-exit-on-the-freeway, burn-your-dinner annoying.

And though he kept reminding himself that they were different, so different, too different, it was getting harder and harder to remember why that even mattered. Harder to remember why he was putting so much effort into keeping her at arm's length.

Merle was right.

It would be easier just to drop his guard, open up to her, let her in, just like all their other friends had.

She was wrong, though.

He didn't think it would be terrible to be friends with her. The more time he spent around her, the more he was beginning to think it would be the exact opposite of that. And if he were honest with himself (though he'd prefer not to be), maybe, maybe, that's why he'd been so resistant.

"Dixon!"

Tahlia's call snapped his attention back to the present.

"Help me with these?"

She gestured to four drink carriers, four beers in each.

"How many people you buyin' for?" he asked drily as he picked up two of them.

"Better than waiting in line again, right?"

They had to take it slowly on the way back so as not to upend all the drinks, and at first, as they walked in silence, Daryl wondered if he'd upset her. But after sneaking a glance at her out of the corner of his eye, he realized that her attention was on the track, caught up in watching the riders speeding around the bends.

"You're really havin' a good time here?" he asked curiously, because he had been sure that this wouldn't be her scene at all.

"I didn't think that I would." she admitted, her eyes bright in earnest. "But I love it. I don't know why. I just love all of it." Then she stopped abruptly and stared up at him. "Holy shit, Daryl! We found something in common!"

Pausing to stop and stare right back down at her, her expression filled with unbridled delight and her grin deliciously infectious, Daryl just couldn't pull it back in time and let his mouth curl into a lopsided grin right back at her.

Tahlia's beam faded a few watts as she gazed at him.

So, that's what it looked like when he smiled, then.

Fucking gorgeous.

Eyes crinkled, blue sparkled, features softened and turned boyish and the whole picture was goddamned mesmerizing.

Then Daryl wrinkled his nose. "One thing in common don't make us friends, Silver. So don't go gettin' no ideas."

"No." she immediately replied, eyes glowing, lips pursed. "Course not. Wouldn't dream of it."

Making it back to the group with all drinks intact, they saw that Dwight and Sherry had joined them.

"Lucky we got extras!" announced Tahlia with a little pointed smile at Daryl as they handed the beers around, and Tahlia tried not to be disheartened by the fact that he sat as far away from her as possible, because she was certain that, although glacial, they were making progress.

Parked up on the verge and slowly sipping on beers, they all chatted idly and whiled an hour away, then wandered around the stalls for a bit before buying more drinks and a mouthwatering selection of fried food from various food trucks before returning to their spot and settling down once again.

Although they weren't anywhere near the fence line of the track, Tahlia shook her head in wonderment as the last lap of the current race whipped past.

"I can't believe the sound of those bikes when they all go by like that! I love it!"

"Yeah?" said Shadow, snagging a fry from the tray in between them. "If you like that, you should hear the Superbikes."

"Superbikes…" smiled Tahlia. "They have capes or something?"

Shadow chuckled as he tossed a few more fries in his mouth. "Yeah, bunch of masked-up bikes in lycra. Nah, it's about engine size. The first race we watched? 'Bout 250cc. Superbikes, we're talking 1000cc."

"Cc?" queried Tahlia, her brow furrowed.

"Cubic centimeters." Shadow supplied. "Refers to the volume of the engine. In basic terms, more fuel, more power, more speed, that kind of thing."

"Put it this way," added Merle. "When you first learn to ride, y'ain't allowed to ride nothin' powerful. Gotta work your way up. Get away on ya real fast if y'ain't used to the power. The Superbikes are grunty as shit."

"Then you got MotoGP bikes." Dwight chimed in. "The prototypes. Even more powerful still."

"So, like… louder?" asked Tahlia, feeling very ignorant but also very interested.

"Real loud." replied Shadow kindly. "Superbikes are gearing to race real soon. If you haven't heard them before, the sound'll blow you away."

Standing a couple of yards away from where the rest of them were sitting, Daryl finished his cigarette, stubbed it out and looked down at Tahlia with a little nudge of his head.

"C'mon."

Walking off a few paces, he then turned around to see that she hadn't moved, was just staring at him.

"Ya comin' or not?"

"You mean me?" asked Tahlia incredulously. "You're really asking me to come with you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Hurry up. Race'll start in a minute."

Wasting no time in jumping to her feet after that, Tahlia jogged straight after Daryl as he beelined down the verge. She didn't know where he was headed, but it didn't matter to her. Didn't matter that he didn't look back, didn't say a word, she just followed him regardless. Was happy to.

As they moved closer to the start of the track, the crowd thickened with people alight in anticipation and excitement for the upcoming race who were trying to get nearer to the barriers for a close-up view of the riders. Pushing through a group of spectators, Daryl paused and slowly looked back at Tahlia, his brow knotting as he weighed something up in his head, then, with his lip caught between his teeth, he reached down and caught her wrist, wrapping his fingers tightly around her as he pulled her close so as not to lose her in the crowd.

The wrist was fine. He told himself, shoving purposefully forward. Neutral. Impersonal.

But somewhere in between then and reaching the chain link fence he was aiming for, his hand slipped down, palm sliding hotly against hers, fingers interlinking tightly.

Her hand was soft and small in his, but somehow, it felt like a perfect fit. He'd never been a hand-holder, but this felt… good. Felt like something he shouldn't let himself think about as he tugged her along behind him.

What was he doing? Why was he – ?

Nah.

Also things he shouldn't let himself think about.

Behind him, he could hear Tahlia's litany of apologies as they snaked their way through the bodies, and he hid a smile at her good manners. He didn't bother with any of that. She was courteous enough for both of them.

Soon Daryl had elbowed his way to the barrier and pushed out a spot right against the fence in amongst the people gathered there, just big enough for one, and he wrangled Tahlia in front of him, slotting her into that spot.

She looked over her shoulder at him then, questioning for the first time what they were doing.

He simply said, "Gotta hear 'em up close."

Nodding in easy acceptance, Tahlia turned her attention back to the track and hooked her fingers into the links of the fence in front of her while something in Daryl's gut tightened at her subservience – despite his spikiness, she seemed to instinctively trust him, seemed happy to be around him, to follow his lead. And in realizing this, that unexplainable protective fire he felt for her burned all the brighter.

Clenching his jaw, he shoved his hands deep into his pockets because he was certain that if he didn't, they'd end up around her waist.

Hanging on to the fence, Tahlia watched expectantly as the riders took up their starting positions, bikes revving, then they were off, the deafening roar crashing over her as they boomed past, reverberating through her every cell, filling her lungs to bursting, the sound unlike anything she'd experienced before, and reflexively, she pressed back into Daryl in sheer surprise and exhilaration, and he let her, holding his body firm against hers.

When she leaned away from him into the fence again, Daryl almost instinctively moved forward with her to keep their closeness, but managed to stop himself and stay right where he was, keeping a little distance between them instead. But then he noticed that the guy on Tahlia's right was a bit drunk and rowdy and jostling with a mate which was causing him to bump consistently into Tahlia. It didn't seem to bother her, but it was really starting to bother Daryl, so before he could overthink it, he moved right up behind her again, then drew his hands out of his pockets and reached them out on either side of her shoulders to grip onto the fence, boxing her in within his arms, stopping anyone else from touching her.

Finding herself suddenly encased by Daryl, Tahlia sucked in a sharp breath and tightened her hold on the fence to keep herself from melting right into him. She knew that he was just doing it to keep her from getting shoved around, but it was heady all the same and she was finding it very difficult to concentrate on anything but him, and had half a mind to tell him so, make a joke about it - but she was loathe to move a muscle, to risk doing a single thing that might make him shift away from her.

So they stayed like that for four laps, then Daryl dropped his arms and bent his head to her ear.

"Let's go to a different part of the track."

With a nod, Tahlia turned to face him, and deciding to just take her chances while the going was good, she slipped her hand into his and gave him a shrug and an innocent look.

"Don't want to lose you in the crowd."

Stone-faced, he stared down at her then loosed his hand from hers, but only so he could adjust his grip and twine their fingers together. He liked it better that way.

When she realized what he was doing, she did her best to hide the smile tugging at her lips but there was nothing she could do about the amusement in her eyes, so with a roll of his, he turned away, pulling her right along behind him.

It was strange, Daryl thought, physical contact with her.

She was a very tactile person – that much was obvious just from watching her around other people, and although he wasn't (especially not just casually with girls because it wasn't worth the hassle if they got the wrong idea), it felt kind of natural with her.

It felt different.

And not just in the way that her touch left his cells all sparked, lit up like a Christmas tree, because yeah, there was that side of it, but there was also something much simpler to it. Like there was no further intention, expectation. Like she would hold a hand or link an arm or squeeze a hug in the same way that she would offer a smile, a friendly greeting. It was just her. Another way that she offered connection and friendship (and God fucking help him if this meant that she'd busted through all his walls already). And because he'd never had this casual closeness from anyone before, never allowed it, he didn't know until now that he didn't mind it. Didn't mind it at all.

When he really couldn't justify holding her hand any longer, he let her go at the first chicane where they stopped to watch the riders slamming their bikes into the tight corners, their knees grazing the asphalt.

"How can they lean over so far?!" exclaimed Tahlia, amazed. "They're practically horizontal!"

"Gotta lean like that when you're goin' that fast." replied Daryl, shoving his hands back into his pockets before they got any more ideas about being on her.

"How fast are they going?"

"Mm, maybe 190 on the straight."

"Are you fucking serious?!" asked Tahlia, astounded. "What's the fastest you've gone?"

Daryl caught his lip between his teeth and wrinkled his nose. "Probably best if ya don't know."

She looked devilishly delighted by that. "Aw, I want to go real fast, too."

"Well, you'd better get yourself a helmet."

"Yeah, and a bike. And a license. And even if any of that ever happened, I'd probably be too scared to actually pick up any speed." sighed Tahlia gloomily.

Picking at his thumbnail, Daryl casually said, "I got a bike. And a license. And I ain't scared of nothin'."

Staring at him curiously, Tahlia tilted her head to one side as she tried to work out what he meant, then suddenly she gasped. "Oh my God, are you offering to take me for a ride on your bike again?!"

He just squinted at her, then started to walk away, "We should get back."

"Daryl!"

"Let's go, Silver."

She jogged to catch up with him, beaming. "You are, aren't you?! You're offering!"

But Daryl just shrugged, his face impassive, and refused to say any more about it no matter what she said or how many noises of tortured frustration at his silence she made.

They were nearly back to their group on the verge, when they looked up to see that something had gone down.

Andrea was facing off against Merle, fierce and furious, gesturing wildly and shouting as he stood in front of her, hands up, conciliatory. Shadow was lying on the grass to the side, obviously trying to stay well out of it, while Sherry stood with her arms folded as she glared down at Dwight who was picking at blades of grass, a hangdog expression on his face.

"Oh shit." murmured Tahlia. "What did we miss?"

Daryl could hazard a pretty good guess.

"What's going on?" Tahlia asked Sherry as they came closer.

Shaking her head, Sherry gave Dwight a dirty look before turning to Tahlia.

"This idiot thought that it would be a good idea to toast to Merle's last days of freedom, even though," she glared at Dwight again, "Merle specifically told us not to mention it!"

"What?" asked Tahlia, confused.

"Turns out that my man put someone in a coma!" yelled Andrea. "And he's going to fucking prison for it on Tuesday!"

"What?!"

At Tahlia's bewilderment, Sherry glanced between her and the Dixons, her own brow knitting in disbelief. Sherry's gaze settled on Merle as she pointed at Tahlia. "You mean you haven't even told…?" She trailed off as her eyes skittered over the three of them again, then she threw her hands in the air. "She's a lawyer!"

Merle nodded and hitched his shoulders slowly. "Yeah, I know, but I already got a lawyer, already plead guilty and y'know, it is what it is."

"It is what it is?" repeated Andrea, her voice ragged with anger. "It is what it fucking is?! Goddamn waste of time is what it is! All of this between you and me?! Thought this was going somewhere, but turns out that the only one going somewhere is you!" She gestured angrily at Merle. "Just for a few years if you're lucky, you say! And you didn't think to mention it before now. Not a fucking word! And you!" She picked up an empty plastic cup and threw it wildly in Daryl's direction where it landed at his feet and he dropped his gaze guiltily to follow its feeble roll. "A fucking heads up at any point during all that time I spent at your place would have been nice! Just a goddamned… argh! Fuck this. I'm leaving. Fuck you, Merle."

Spinning on her heel, Andrea stormed off in a cloud of fury and devastation down the verge and Tahlia looked over to Merle, her forehead creased sorrowfully, then said quietly, "I'd better go after her."

"I'm comin'." stated Merle without hesitation, and followed her off.

Watching them for a few moments, Daryl then bade a mumbled goodbye to the rest of the group before trailing after his brother.

Up ahead, he could see Tahlia had managed to catch up with Andrea, although Andrea's body language was still screaming of upset and anger and it was clear she didn't want Merle anywhere near her. Merle, however, was unwilling to move too far away, and ended up pacing restlessly nearby while Tahlia tried to calm Andrea down. Daryl, meanwhile, made one failed attempt to try and approach his brother, and then sat a little way off and smoked and waited, unsure what else to do.

Eventually, Tahlia managed to persuade Andrea to let Merle drive them home, and she agreed - on the condition that nobody was to speak on the way back.

That was fine by Daryl who spent the journey with his gaze firmly fixed out the window. Andrea did too, although she had a furiously pained expression on her face and her arms tightly crossed over her chest as if she were doing all she could to keep the torrent of emotion from bursting out. It was a lot harder for Merle, who kept launching into the beginning of imploring apologies before remembering that he wasn't supposed to talk, and shutting his mouth in frustration. Tahlia too, was struggling, because she was itching to quiz Merle about exactly what had happened, desperate to pull the whole thing to pieces and search for loopholes, but for the moment, she just focused on the little comfort of tangling her fingers in Daryl's shirt that was lying on the seat next to her.

Pulling up outside their apartment, Merle killed the engine and turned to face Andrea, but she'd already flung the door open and jumped out without a backwards glance.

"What?!" he yelled after her. "Just gonna keep fuckin' walkin' away? Ain't even gonna say goodbye?!"

And then he was out of the truck too, jogging after her, just catching the outer access door to the apartment before it swung shut.

Halfway out her own door, Tahlia paused to watch Andrea and Merle disappear into the block, then she huffed out a breath.

"Well. They're probably going to need a minute."

Daryl remained still and silent in his seat, so Tahlia leaned forward and gently touched his shoulder.

"I'm just gonna go for a walk until they're done. If you see Merle before I do, can you please tell him I need to talk to him?" Pushing her door open and stepping out of the truck, she added, "And thanks for… today. Showing me the bikes and stuff. I had a real good time right up until the end. I'll see ya, ok?"

Daryl hadn't moved a muscle, so she left him to his thoughts and dodged across the street to the park, scuffing her feet through the grass as she headed for the concrete path. She vaguely registered a tinny slam behind her, but she was too deep in thought to pay it any attention, until all of a sudden, Daryl appeared at her side, hands in pockets, head down as he fell into step next to her.

She stopped short and stared at him in surprise as he kept on moving.

Turning around, he walked backwards for a few steps. "C'mon then. Ya walkin' or what?"

Letting out a little laugh, Tahlia shook her head and quickly caught up with him. "Yeah, I am, but what are you doing?"

"Might as well come with ya. My ass'll go numb sittin' in that truck waitin' for 'em to scream 'emselves hoarse, fuck, then make up 'gain."

Tahlia raised her brows. "You think they'll get all the way to making up?"

Daryl just sighed. "Dunno."

"So…" ventured Tahlia, gently nudging Daryl with her elbow. "Will you tell me what's going on?"

Quiet in contemplation for a while, Daryl then nodded.

"While back, Merle been involved with some dodgy people. Y'know, like when he was dealin'? He's been clean for a long time now, but had some beef with these guys that just ain't never really gone away. Couple months ago they crossed paths, ended up fightin', he put one of their guys in hospital. He got charged with battery and his lawyer reckoned that coz he's got priors he'd be goin' away for it, no doubt. Told him to take one of 'em plea bargain things - he pleads guilty, they let him out on bail and he'll get less time inside. Five to seven years, or somethin'. His sentencin's on Tuesday."

"Shit." breathed Tahlia, rubbing a hand over her face. "But is there evidence that he's actually guilty of what they say he is?"

"I weren't there, but he put the guy in a coma, so yeah, guess so."

Frowning, Tahlia shook her head. She knew it wasn't always as clear cut as that. "Who's his lawyer?"

"Some court-appointed fuckwit. Guy don't give a shit 'bout Merle. Didn't even listen to his side, just looked at his record and made his mind up."

Tahlia tsked in irritation. It was unfortunate that there were a few people like that out there - overworked, underpaid, box-tickers who were just trying to get through the work, sometimes to the detriment of their clients – especially the ones who didn't look so good on paper.

"He shoulda told Andrea long back, he knows that." conceded Daryl. "But at the start he didn't really think it was gonna turn into nothin' with her, then it did and y'know, he's real into her. Didn't wanna scare her off."

"I get it." sympathized Tahlia softly. "And what about you? How are you feeling about it all?"

Daryl just shrugged. Stayed silent.

"Must be hard." she added gently. "You guys are close. He's your only family. It's a lot for you to deal with as well."

It was a lot.

But no one had really asked him how he felt.

Aside from the obvious difficulties like having to pay rent, bills, take care of everything on his own, Daryl didn't want to lose his brother. Not again. And he was terrified of what Merle would be like out the other side - if he'd revert back to his old volatile, destructive self. Or worse – if he didn't come out the other side at all.

Facing up to all that was like staring into a black abyss, the darkness endless and engulfing, and that's why Daryl had tried not to think about any of it, not yet. Couldn't stand to. But here she was, making him look, making him teeter too close to the brink.

"But, hey," she continued, her tone brighter now. "No matter what happens, I'll still be taking you up on that bike ride. So, don't think for one second you're getting out of it."

His eyebrows shot up at her sudden swing back to lightness, and he wondered if she had seen that he needed that, had needed to be pulled away from the edge before he fell.

"But seriously though," she nudged him. "I'll still be here for you. For whatever you need." Then added teasingly, "That's what best friends are for, right?"

Unexpectedly touched by her sentiment, and grateful that she layered it with jest so that outwardly he could just focus on that part, he elbowed her right back.

"Gawd." He rolled his eyes and kicked at a small branch in front of him. "This how ya normally make friends? Just harp on at people 'til ya wear 'em down and they give in just to get some peace?"

"Yeah." grinned Tahlia. "Is it working?"

A tiny smile quirked the edge of his lips as he sent a side glance down at her. "No comment."

Tahlia laughed delightedly at that, which resulted in Daryl shoving her off the path, making her laugh even more, then they walked the rest of the lap around the park in comfortable silence.

Soon, they spotted Merle leaning against the hood of the truck and, unhurried, they made their way over to meet him.

"Everythin' alright?" asked Daryl, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the afternoon sun.

Merle shrugged. "Better. She's still pissed, but smoothed it over a bit. Gonna give her some time. Come by again later."

"Hey," said Tahlia. "We should go through exactly what's happened. Maybe I could…" she trailed off, wanting to tell him that she would help, but was also wary of giving either of the brothers' false hope.

"Yeah, ok," Merle just nodded, looking weary now. "When I come back tonight. You just go in now and check on her for me, 'kay?"

"Of course." Tahlia moved closer to hug him. "I wish you felt like you could've talked to me about this sooner."

"Why, honey?" said Merle into her hair as he pulled her tight. "It's already all done."

Stepping back, Tahlia shook her head firmly. "It's not, though. Not yet."

He smiled at the uncharacteristic hard edge in her voice, then climbed into the truck. "Get in, baby brother. Let's go home."

And just before he did, Daryl leaned an elbow on the open door and watched Tahlia walk towards her block for a moment before stopping her with a call of,

"Hey, Silver!"

She turned around, eyebrows raised in question.

Daryl squinted at her. "Pepperoni."

"What?"

"Favorite pizza topping."

Then he slid into the truck and slammed the door, just catching the look of glowing delight that lit up her face as he did so, and her gleeful shout of, "Wearing you down!"

As they pulled out onto the road, he hid his smile against his shoulder and ignored Merle's curious look and gruff, "Fuck was that 'bout?"

And later that night, long after Merle had gone back to the apartment, Daryl turned over in bed, his face only an inch away from the shirt that was lying on his pillow. The one that she had left in the back of the truck.

She was right. It did smell like girl. Exactly like her.

And as he closed his eyes and surrendered to the heavy murk of worry about Merle and himself and what life would look like a couple of days from now, for the first time, it wasn't just darkness he saw.

Although I've tried to research some of the legal process, no doubt some of it will be totally wrong (and possibly implausible) so forgive me for that and pretty please gloss over it (unless there's something that I can correct without having to change my story, then let me know).