Merle watches as the little girl squeezes the fluffy jacket in delight while Harry shifts awkwardly as his nephew hugs his waist in thanks for his coat. The chit's mother, Carol, is covering her mouth with glassy eyes. He mentally rolls his eyes at the dramatics, but couldn't begrudge the girl her joy. Lord knows her real father was useless and a pos, and that's coming from him of all people.
The little girl seems to thrive under the attention of Harry.
He glances at Daryl as he steps out of the tent with his crossbow pulled over his shoulder, "I'm headin' out."
Merle cocks a brow, "this late?" He asks, his brother prefers early morning hunting rather than late night hunting.
Daryl shrugs, "just needin' to get out of here."
Merle feels a grin pull across his face, "Thinkin' about a certain green-eyed devil." He teases, nudging his brother, laughing when Daryl scowls.
"Fuck off," his brother says with no real heat while picking up a piece of dried squirrel and tearing a bite off.
"We gonna have to throw hands?" He hears Daryl ask after a moment, and he peers over toward his brother and most important person.
Merle shakes his head, scoffing "Nah, don't think little Angel would appreciate it. It's convincing his skittish ass that will make it tricky."
"Alright," and that's that.
"Oh good I caught you before you left." They hear Harry call as he makes his way over with a backpack still strapped to his back, and Merle notices a biker's jacket dangling by his hip. Giving his brother a glance he can see his brother has noticed by the way his eyes track it.
"What's up sugar tit's?" He calls feeling a pulse of pride as Harry's lip twitches in amusement.
"Nothing pulled some goods while out with the love birds." He says pointing to the backpack.
He looks at Daryl with a warm expression, "I don't know if this is your size, but I noticed this as I was about and thought of you." He then pulls the vest from his side and holds it out to Daryl who stares at it with a dumbfounded look.
Harry seems to think his brother disapproves because he starts to draw back saying, "I know it's not much, but I thought with it being blank you could figure out what you wanted on it and-"
Harry is interrupted as his socially awkward brother yanks the vest out of Harry's hands gruffly saying "thanks," and proceeds to storm off into the woods, ignoring Harry's call of inquiry.
If Daryl had been on the fence about Harry, that shit just solidified it for him.
"What about me," Merle says with a disturbing pout on his stern face. He watches as Harry turns and opens his mouth to defend himself, and that is the last straw for Merle as he bends over clutching his stomach, and simply howls with laughter.
"You okay?" Lori looks up from her fingers twisting in her lap to peer at her little brother. Her heart almost breaks at the love that shines through his eyes as he looks into the tent where Carl is sleeping.
"Yeah?" She says, more so, asking only for Harry to roll his eyes and plop down next to her.
"It's been a long day," her brother says with a tired sigh and she can only imagine the stress he's been going through, ever since their parents died her brother always seemed to have it in his head that he was the protector and provider for them, despite her being older.
Feeling compelled she blurts, "You can stop, you know?" At his hurt look she quickly liberates, "I just mean, you seem to be stressing over everything when Rick-" she is cut off.
Harry's voice is soft but no less cutting, "Lori, as much as I love Rick, he's not healthy, he's barely understanding the true scale of what we are dealing with. He's been in a coma, I just think maybe we shouldn't be putting so much pressure on the man simply because he was a cop."
She gulps as he shakes his head, "but that isn't what I wanted to talk about."
"What did you want to talk about?" She asks, feeling nervous for some reason.
"About the fact that you're pregnant and you didn't tell me." The way he stresses me makes her wince.
"I-." She starts but he stops her.
"I'm not mad, well I'm disappointed that you didn't trust me, but I do understand that you're in a difficult position."
"You can't tell-"
"I won't," he says.
"I just wanted to ask what you wanted to do?"
"What I wanted to do?" She repeats.
He nods, speaking like it's the weather, "Do you want to have this baby, do you want to risk everything for them? Are you ready to handle the difficulties that will inevitably arise with a newborn?"
Softer he says, "And if you want to get rid of it-"
"No!" She shouts only to stop and look around in panic only to relax when no one seems to notice.
He leans back huffing, "Relax, I'm just asking."
After a second of silence, he speaks, "So you want to have it."
"Yes."
He peers intensely into her eyes making her feel under a microscope, "Then I want you to make sure Jenner knows if nothing else." He holds his hands when she goes to object, "when you feel comfortable telling him, is all I mean."
After a moment he says, "I'd feel more comfortable with a doctor in the know because Lori," he makes sure to look her in the eyes, "you have to realize that this won't stay a secret when you start showing." She nods feeling tears build up and a choked sob escapes as the whole situation becomes too real.
Harry sighs and clicks his tongue all the while reaching for her to which she surrenders easily into his embrace. Lori lets herself cry as he pulls her into his chest absently rubbing her back and comforts her with gentle nothings.
Harry catches the gaze of Jenner and tilts his head silently asking the man if he's okay. He noticed that the anti-social doctor had taken to staying near the medical supplies and Harry could see him meticulously counting the content on several occasions.
"You okay?" He asks as he nears and cocks his hip on the fence next to the Jenner's tent.
The other stares at him for a minute.
"I-" he starts.
"It's strange being around so many people." The doc says and Harry hums letting him know he's listening since the other is staring at the ground while fumbling with a bottle of some medicine.
Harry turns towards the childish laughter of Sophia and Carl as they get into a tussle, he withholds a laugh as Carl is knocked on his ass, "Yeah, I get that."
He turns back to the other man, "You know you can talk to me right? It's the least I can do for dragging you out of a quick and painless death."
Jenner chuckles dryly and simply nods his head, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill myself."
Harry scoffs not unkindly, "I wouldn't blame you if you did," he says, earning a weak yet cynical smile as Jenner looks up, he continues "It's nice to have someone of your caliber on our side."
Jenner lips twitch and he opens his mouth to respond only for a commotion to start.
"To hell with Rick!" He hears Shane snarl and looks over to find him walking towards the guns, the others following with a look of fear and confusion as the giant buffoon starts to hand the guns around. Harry makes his way over feeling a headache coming on as they all start yelling and making their way towards the barn.
He offers his hand to the doc and pulls the other up on his feet before following the group of dumbasses as they squabble like headless chickens, the growling coming from the barn is audible from the distance he currently is.
He glances around and notices that Rick and Hershel have returned and he feels his mind blank at the sheer stupidity he sees. They have a walker hog-tied and are trying to bring it towards them.
Feeling a snarl build up at all the stupidity he's been enduring he almost releases a blast of magic as Shane and Rick argue as if there isn't a threat to the children not but two feet away.
"You think a normal person can survive this!" Shane snarls reminiscent of Greyback with the sheer insanity leaking from his lips as he pops off multiple rounds into the chest of the man's neighbor. The deranged man leads them to the barn, his gun waving around as he spews his bullshit.
Harry gently passes Sophia over to her mother feeling more comfortable uninhibited should he have to defend himself and the others. He runs a hand through his hair as if to soothe the headache coming on as he takes in the sheer stupidity happening around him.
"Are you guys with me?" Shane spits as he aims towards the lock on the barn door practically foaming at the mouth.
"Are they insane?" He turns to see Merle groggily making his way, probably having been awoken by the shit show that's happening.
Harry shifts feeling instinctive adrenaline shoot up his body as Shane looks back at Rick asking him, "You with me?" And at the hesitant nod of Rick Shane lets the rounds off onto the only thing containing the small hoard. Harry immediately maneuvers himself in the best position to prevent any walker from getting to the woman and children. Merle follows his lead by pushing Carol and Sophia back and closer to Lori who is clutching Carl like a lifeline.
"Harry, you have to stop them!" Lori yells desperately and he gives her a sympathetic look just as the first walker exits the barn.
"It's a little late for that," he mutters, rubbing his forehead as the pounding in his head intensifies from all their hysteria.
He grits his teeth as the fools proceed to gun down the walker that makes their way out. Body after body slumps as they are shot.
There is a silence, one that sits in the air as a suffocating sob breaks through only amplified by the lack of the gunshots as they all stand there processing what just happened.
He looks back and checks on Sophia and Carl only relaxing when he sees them being comforted by their mothers.
"Shit are they stupid?" He hears Merle scoff and turns to see Beth rushing towards a female walker with Maggie following quickly behind.
"You can get off my property!"
Harry ignores the argument going on behind him while feeling dissociated as he reaches for his pocket knife. He distantly hears Merle follow him as he closes the gap just as the walker jerks up and before it can grab onto Beth he swiftly stabs it in the head.
Pulling out another knife he tosses it to Merle.
"W-what are you doing?" The shaken voice of Maggie makes him look at her frantic and traumatized eyes.
He clears his throat before answering, "Making sure they won't get back up." He tells her as gently as possible.
He watches in the distance as Jenner tries to mediate between Hershel, Rick, and Shane.
He reaches out and takes the shaking woman's hand in his, squeezing it as he addresses Maggie, "Take your sister inside and give her a hot shower, something to keep her mind occupied, and I can give her something for the night, so she can sleep without any nightmares too, if you would be okay with that."
She looks down at their hands, "This witchy shit I keep hearing about, is that what these signs mean?" She asks, turning his arm over so she can see the various runes etched onto his skin.
He simply laughs, pulling his arm back as she lets go, not seeing the territorial look in Merle's eyes at the admiring gaze of Maggie, even if it's only curiosity.
"They're called runes, and they are mainly just a dead language I find pretty enough to have painted on my skin permanently, and yeah it's just a fancy way of saying I grind up specific herbs that cause similar effects to medicine." He says with a helpless shrug, feeling like it would break the poor thing if he showed her his magical side.
He then helps Maggie lift the catatonic Beth and watches as they walk away with a bitter expression.
"Well, that was entertaining," Merle, who went about and double-checked them while he was talking to Maggie, chirps as he comes to a stop and savagely wipes the knife off on his pant leg before handing it back to Harry.
"If by entertaining you mean a cluster fuck of a shit show." He snarks back watching as the idiots follow after Hershel who went to town to get drunk or something.
"Exactly."
At least he has Merle to keep the situation humorous.
A/n:
As I said I was sick, and I did write some of this while I was on sleep medicine.
We're getting close to the end of season two.
How will Harry react to the ultimatum? Will he suffer it for his family (Lori and Carl?) Or maybe he'll just shut that shit down, I mean why listen to a former coma patient? No matter his police status.
Knowing Merle he's gonna instigate shit until Harry is in charge (since he knows no one would listen to his ass anyway)