WOOOO! I'm back!! Work was killer this weekend. Luckily I have this weekend off but then I'll be going out of town for the next two weekends after that! Boooooo! But the money is nice!

Over 100 followers, over 28,000 reads, over 700 votes, and over 200 comments!!!! Y'all are so freaking awesome!! Thanks for the 16 comments on the last chapter!! Keep those coming!!

Alright time to answer the question from the last chapter!!

@Toribaby514 asked: "Plan on seeing Norman anytime soon?" I wish!!! I was planning on going to a convention in July in Kentucky but it looks like it's 99.9% not happening :(

That was it! How sad! I wanted to answer more!

Again if you haven't or if you're a new reader of mine please go check out @SynysterHarlot's 'Bite me' it's another Daryl Dixon story and it's really freaking good!!

--

I knew that voice anywhere and it always made me cringe. I turned around and pushed Sophia back to Lori and Carl before stepping up beside Daryl and waiting for the bastard to show his face. We all heard the rustle in the bushes again and faced it drawing our weapons.

Finally he popped up and sneered in our direction before stepping out. I noticed his now stump wrapped in an old bandage that could definitely use a good cleaning and change. Some of the women gasped while the men kept their weapons drawn on him.

I looked at Daryl out of the corner of my eye. He was frozen, stiff, no expression on his face whatsoever. I felt myself glaring as his smiled at the two of us and Daryl took a half step forward so he was slightly in between us. I heard a small growl come from the back of Daryl's throat.

"Oh-ho shit, if it ain't Darlyna and good ole Sugar Tits," this time I felt myself growling but Daryl stepped in front of me blocking my line of vision. "Merle," I grumbled while stepping to the side so I could see him. I looked to my left to see both Deputy Do Good and Dip Shit holding their guns out at him.

I felt myself growling at them too. Sure Merle was an ass but he didn't deserve to be held at gun point. Daryl still seemed to be frozen in his place. I could tell he didn't know what to think with Merle standing right in front of him. For all he knew Merle was dead.

I walked over to the deputies and pushed their guns down. "Look, I know y'all don't like him, but let Daryl handle it and if he gets too out of line y'all can step in," they both nodded slightly before slowly lowering their guns and taking a slight step back.

I could feel his stare burning into the side of my head. I snapped my head to look over at him and he had a slight smirk on his face. Daryl took a couple steps towards Merle and let his crossbow hang limply from his fingers. I think we were all waiting to see what would happen.

Quicker than a blink of an eye, both clasped each other's hands and then clapped each other on the back. Daryl turned around and Merle followed. Rick and Shane instinctively went for their guns but I shot both of them glares and they both lowered them.

Merle smirked at me and for some reason I couldn't look away from him. "What? No hug for your pal Merle?" I rolled my eyes. "I'd rather kiss a frog," I grumbled while taking a step back. He was still the same ole Merle and secretly I had missed him and I was glad he was okay.

Merle walked past us and started towards Daryl's truck. I turned and watched him and I felt a warm hand on the small of my back. I stepped away from it and looked up to see Daryl who now had a slightly hurt look on his face. "Sophia and I will ride with Rick," I whispered.

He scowled a little. "Emery," he whispered back while trying to reach out for me, but I stepped away and looked back at Merle. "I'm not letting him around Sophia and I'm not going to let her ride without one of us," Daryl rolled his eyes. "Let her ride with Deputy Do Good Junior. She'll be fine."

I shook my head slightly. "I can't. I'm sorry," I said. This time I went to reach out for him but he glared at me and stepped back. Daryl growled at me before turning on his heel and marching back towards his truck. I sighed and turned to the group making my way to Sophia.

"We'll figure out what to do with him when we find a place to stop for the night. Right now just let him ride with Daryl and let them have time together," I said. Though none of them seemed happy about it they all nodded and we went to our cars.

"Uh Rick can we ride with you?" I asked softly. He turned around and smiled a little before gesturing to the car telling us to go ahead. Rick and Lori sat up front while Carl, Sophia, and I sat in the back. I sat by the window and let my head rest against it.

I held one of my bolts in my hands and let it twirl between my fingers trying to pass the time. I sighed thinking about the Dixon men that were just a couple cars behind us. I didn't even want to know what was going on in that car, yet I was curious.

~~

*Daryl's POV*

Merle's back. I couldn't believe my eyes when he stepped out of the woods bloody, bruised, and dirty. My brother was back, but now it seemed like Emery was gone. She completely brushed me off once he appeared and didn't really say much.

"So you and Sugar Tits are back together," Merle said. I felt myself glaring at the road in front of me. "Don't call her that," I growled at him. Merle started laughing. "She don't care about you Darlyna. Nobody we'll care about you like me," I felt myself rolling my eyes.

I scoffed but didn't say anything. He hadn't even been here 10 minutes and he was already trying to stir shit up. I bit the inside of my cheek listening to him go on and on about Deputy Do Good handcuffing him to the roof and how he was going to get revenge the first chance he got.

"Merle, shut up," I growled. Merle suddenly stopped talking and looked over at me. "What the hell did you just say to me?" he asked. I could hear the threatening tone in his voice. I rolled my eyes. "You need to stop. We'll work something out with Rick and the group but you have to play nice," I grumbled. Merle's menacing laughter filled the truck.

"You just want to stay cause of ole Sugar Tits, dontcha?" he asked. "What did ya finally get yourself a piece of woman that would want your worthless ass? I'm surprised Darlyna," I felt my hand clenching around the steering wheel listening to Merle's words.

"Nobody will ever care about you like I do, baby brother. Not even that stupid bitch of yours."

I shook my head trying to get the memories out. Merle had always been a dick to me. I would never tell him that to his face or I would lose a few teeth but he never cared. Even if he did he had a funny way of showing it. Finally we stopped and pulled off to the side of the road.

I watched as Rick and Shane got out followed by Emery. I watched as she stepped out and her hair which was pulled out of her ponytail fell down her shoulders. Even though she was covered in dirt and blood she still looked beautiful. Rick motioned for us.

"Let's go Merle," I grumbled while getting out of the car and started walking towards them. Emery didn't even look at me as I approached and I tried to ignore the touch of pain that seemed to hit me in the gut and the heart at the same time. Rick was checking his gun.

"Want to be in the group and prove yourself Merle then you have to help out, you understand?" Rick asked not even bothering to look up at Merle. I listened as he grumbled but I elbowed him. "Whatever helps ya sleep at night, Officer Friendly. Good thing there's not a roof around that ya can cuff me too. Damn shame," Merle sneered.

I rolled my eyes and caught myself looking over at Emery who was looking down at her boots where she was running the toe of one through the dirt. "Alright let's clear out the house. Daryl and Merle take the back, Shane, Emery and I will take the front."

Emery usually argued as did I about leaving each other's side when it came to clearing out houses but she didn't even look at me.  I watched as she placed her crossbow on the ground and pulled the string back before loading a bolt and standing up straight.

"Let's go. We're burning daylight," she barked before marching towards the house not even bothering to wait on us. Merle didn't hesitate walking around the back of the house and I quickly followed him. I stole one more quick glance at Emery who still wasn't even bothering to look at me before following Merle the rest of the way around the back of the house.

~~

*Emery's POV*

Even though I was glad Daryl had Merle back I wasn't really too fond of having Merle around. Who knew what kind of drama he would start now that he was back. I definitely didn't need or want Sophia to be around him. I could tell having him around would be more difficult than what I thought.

I knew Shane and Rick were on edge as we walked through and cleared out the house. I worked my way through the house quietly as both Shane and Rick split up from me. I didn't mind searching alone. Hell, I was better off alone than having those sorry pricks watch my ass.

We weren't friends for all I cared. I was starting to see that both of them thought they were high and mighty as they lead this group but I think they needed to be knocked down a few feet to bring them back to reality. It was definitely the cop in them.

I heard the groan of the floorboards coming from down the hall. I knew no one else was down there because I was assigned this side of the house. I slowly crept down the hallway listening to see if I could hear the sound again. I heard it coming from behind the door to my left.

I grabbed the door knob and twisted it letting the door fall open naturally. I drew my crossbow and made sure to push the door all the way back to see if anything was behind it. I kept my back to the wall as I slowly surveyed the room. Surprisingly there weren't any walkers.

I sighed as I made sure to check under the bed, behind the curtains and the door making sure nothing was going to jump out. I felt myself smirk as the area was clear and I closed the door behind me as I walked out to go join the guys in the living room.

"All clear?" Rick asked as I approached. I nodded and slung my crossbow on my back. Soon Daryl and Merle joined us and nodded slightly letting him know it was clear. "Good, let's grab everyone else and pull the cars behind the house before settling in."

We all nodded and started to head back out. I felt a hand on my arm and it pulled me back until I stopped. I turned my head slightly and I was met by those icy Georgia blues. Daryl. I cocked an eyebrow at him like 'what the hell?' He squeezed my arm a little.

"We need to talk," he said. I scoffed and shook my head. "We ain't gotta do nothing besides moving the cars and getting settled for the night," I said while shrugging my arm out of his grip. Daryl glared at me before storming right past me leaving me in the house alone.

I sighed and shook my head a little before following him out. Rick and the others were already bringing their bags in. "I don't know how many you found on your side but there were three bedrooms on my side," Rick nodded a little before walking past me.

I quickly hopped down the steps and made my way to Daryl's truck not wanting to look at him. I wanted to grab my things and then get inside to claiming a room for Sophia and me. I heard Merle taunting Daryl about something as they stood at the front of the truck.

I tried to keep myself looking lost in thought as I grabbed mine and Sophia's bags from the back of the truck hoping that one of them wouldn't say anything to me.

"Hey Sugar Tits," I heard Merle call out. I rolled my eyes and marched back towards the house.

I heard Merle howling with laughter as Daryl was grumbling at him to shut up. This place wasn't that bad and we could potentially make it into a nice home for all of us to stay in especially for the winter time. We definitely couldn't stay outside in tents with how cold it was going to get.

Granted we didn't have electric which meant we didn't have heat, the house would still block the wind from outside. The house sat off the road a little ways so you wouldn't be able to notice it unless you were absolutely looking for it. If we got the right supplies we could secure the place and call it....home.

I sighed thinking about the stubborn redneck that was probably watching me walk across the yard. I didn't know what was going through his head right now but I knew with Merle being back things were probably not going to be pretty between us for a while.

When Merle was around Daryl always went into little brother mode. Always following Merle around and taking his orders like he was his butler or something. Daryl took it and I hated it. There were days that I just wanted to beat the shit out of Merle to get the message through that thick dumb skull of his.

I turned around when I got up on the porch. I looked across the yard to see Daryl staring intently at me as Merle continued to go on and on about whatever he was talking to me. I felt like everything around us had stopped for a minute as I returned his stare.

I watched as the corner of his mouth turned up into that typical Dixon smirk. I felt my heartbeat speed up and my breath catch as he nodded slightly at me. I quickly turned on my heel and walked into the house not even wanting to face him anymore.

Sophia was sitting on the living room floor with Carl playing another game of checkers. I smiled a little as I ruffled her hair as I walked past. I walked down the hall all the way to the end and noticed the door was still open and no one's bags were in the room.

This is where Sophia and I would stay. I knew Daryl would staying with Merle trying to keep a close eye on him and trying to make sure that he didn't step out of line. I let the bags fall to the ground with a thud and then flopped back on the bed. I closed my eyes and let myself relax for a second.

Today was weird between Daryl and I. Who knew what was going to happen to us. Merle was back which could mean a multitude of things. We had basically avoided each other all day and when we got a moment alone it was awkward and seemed somewhat forced.

Daryl didn't seem to mind having me around but he also didn't seem bothered when I wasn't by his side. He usually put up a fight and threw a fit when I wasn't glued to his side. Today he didn't say one word when Rick split us up. I groaned as I covered my face with my arms.

I would always love Daryl no matter what. He could be stubborn and yell in my face that he hated me and I would still love him. I let my thumb run lightly over his mom's ring that he gave me. I felt a pull at my heart as I laid on the bed playing with it. Only one thing seemed to pop in my head.

"My brother ain't one for cuddling and loving and shit. All he does is fucks them and leaves them."

--

Again make sure to check out @SynysterHarlot's 'Bite Me'

Why do you think Emery and Daryl are being mean and awkward towards each other again? Do you think a fight will break out between them? They'll avoid each other? or just kiss and make up? leave predictions below and lets see who's right!!

Thank you for all the reads, comments, and votes, and making my stories number one when you search them! You don't know how much it means to me!!!!!

If you could ask me one thing (it can be but doesn't have to be story related) what would it be? And GO! Keep it clean guys! I'll answer them in the next chapter!

Comment, vote, fan, follow, add to reading list!! Reedus kisses for everyone! xxxxxxxxxxxxxx