A/N: Yeah so this has been chilling in my documents for a while. Just what I need is another WIP, but hey it's never a dull moment with me right?

Hope you like, let me know what you think.

It's been a long, long time. Since I got you on my mind.

Stir It Up- by Bob Marley

She pressed he foot down hard on the gas pedal, shifted the car into fourth gear and turned up the music. She could play it as loud and as obnoxiously as she wanted to now. She lit a cigarette and took a long satisfying drag off of it.

Life was good today.

He favorite band OAR on the radio and the road ahead of her.

The song was 'Stir it up', her favorite song, of all time. This time Mark was singing it along with Junior Marvin from Bob Marley's original band. This song just did something to her, she listened to it at least once a day in some form. It was her touchstone somehow.

This recording was a live one. 'Stir it up' was best played live and loud. She had found that out along the way in her very crazy life. She loved live recordings best, especially this one.

The sun was shining and it was April in Georgia. The highway stretched in front of her filled with possibilities. Endless, wonderful possibilities.

She was almost home.

A home she hadn't seen in ten years.

She pulled into the familiar gas station to buy a drink and some more smokes. She practically skipped into the store, she felt so free.

The feeling of her shoes on the gravel of the parking lot and the wind in her hair was a feeling she had missed in her other life.

The one she was leaving behind.

She had been given a wonderful gift, a second chance. Once her divorce was final and she cleaned up the house she intended to start a new life. A good life this time.

A life where she could do what she wanted, when she wanted and could pick out her own cloths. A life with no pain and no fear. No sadness, that was over now.

She peered into the soda case happy that she could have whatever she wanted now, no one to answer to. Ed wasn't standing behind her watching every move any more. Calculating every dime spent and every calorie consumed.

He was back in New York, where he belonged and God willing he would stay there.

She heard a familiar voice calling to her across the store. She smiled without even looking because she could never forget that voice.

"Carol Chambers….well holy shit are you a sight for sore eyes." Merle said walking over to her by the soda case. "You looking good, how about a hug for your ole pal Merle."

"Merle Dixon." She smiled lifting her arms to hug him and he practically lifted her off her feet. "So good to see you."

"Good to see you too darlin, been a long time." He said looking her over. She had changed from the sixteen year old girl who left here in tears once upon a time. "Been a good long time Carol."

She nodded. "I know."

She didn't really know what to say to him. It had been a good long time, she never meant to be gone so long.

"I like the hair Red's your color Darlin." He ran his finger through her hair softly. "Almost wasn't sure it was you."

"Shh, I'm incognito." She whispered giggling a little.

"Who ya hiding from." He whispered like it was their own secret.

"No one important." She answered fully expecting Merle to ask more questions. That was the way he was.

Merle considered this for a moment and then he smiled that wicked grin of his.

He wasn't going to ask a million questions, she was back and that was all that mattered. If she wanted to explain things, she would, but he wasn't asking. He just had one question.

"That so, what brings ya back? You decide to take my brother for another spin." He laughed.

She smiled and laughed, almost nodding her head. Maybe. Maybe she was back for that.

Maybe she was hoping to see him again, if he would see her.

"My Aunt Fran passed, left me her house, and it just so happened I was in the market for a place to live." She said laughing as they walked to the register. "So here I am."

"Hmm, you sticking around a while." Merle asked.

She nodded as she asked the cashier for her cigarettes, which Merle insisted on buying for her along with her drink. She argued but he wasn't having it, even if she smokes those shitty menthols as Merle had said when he paid.

"It's a welcome home gift, Carol. We should do it proper though, come to Dale's tonight, I'll get Daryl to come."

"You sure that's wise." She asked. "Doesn't he.."

"No girlfriend, no wife, you of all people would know that." He said assessing her reaction.

She had wanted to be there for a few days before she went looking for him. She had planned to go looking for him.

She didn't even know what his life was, she had tried to find him on Facebook about three years ago, but he wasn't there. Merle wasn't either. Then things went to shit and she wasn't even on Facebook anymore.

But really what if he didn't want to see her?

Might as well put it all out there.

"What if he doesn't want to see me, Merle?"

"Pffftttt he gonns piss himself when he hears you came home."

Carol was nodding as he spoke and he noticed a smile that went right to her eyes. This girl had come home looking for Daryl, Merle thought to himself. Inheritance or not this might just be his brother's lucky day.

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"Yup. she was at the station buying a pack of those nasty menthol cigarettes she always liked. She still has the tattoo." Merle said to Daryl that night.

Daryl and Merle were sitting on their porch after work each drinking a beer. Merle made sure to casually look at her wrist, when he saw her, because Daryl had the same tattoo on his wrist. A D and a C intertwined in script writing in the inner wrist, mirror images. His was on the left wrist hers was on the right. So that when they stood facing each other it was like a mirror. They had done that before she moved away, to remember each other, and to remember they would be together again.

That had been the plan.

"Don't mean nothing that was kids' stuff." Daryl huffed.

"Was it? Because last time I checked you aint been with no other girl serious, cept for a quick fuck in the bathroom of Shooter's, or ya truck since she lit outta here." Merle said. "But, yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

"Fuck off Merle." He said. "What the fuck is she doing here anyway?"

Why the fuck did he care? She left him, a long time ago.

"Her Aunt left her that big ole house of hers, you know the one, out by The Greene farm. She aint going nowhere, so cut out the act."

"Aint no act." Daryl grumbled. "It was kids' stuff and a long time ago." Daryl stood up lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag.

This was not bad news, Carol being back, but it wasn't good news either. He had put that to rest a long time ago, and he didn't want to go back there again. He never understood why she never even called. Not once, and she didn't come back when she was eighteen either like she promised.

He wasn't mad anymore, but that didn't mean he was going to welcome her home with open arms either. Merle just didn't get it.

"She's gonna be waiting at Dale's tonight, told her we would meet her, go on get cleaned up."

Daryl swung his head around slowly. He must have heard that wrong.

"What the fuck Merle." He turned to him scowling. But he turned towards the door, Merle noted that.

"You telling me that her being back hasn't made your year, hell your entire life." He waved his hand at his brother. "You are so full of shit."

"Aint like that."

"Sure, like I said, you keep telling yourself that." He said. "Keep living this shitty life here with me, that girl almost fell over when I told her we would take her out tonight, don't be stupid. Go get cleaned up."

"You are the biggest asshole on the planet." Daryl snapped at him.

He was the biggest asshole on the planet right now, but somehow that didn't matter just now.

"Yeah, Yeah, You'll be thankin me before this night is over. She's a redhead now by the way. Goes so nice with her pretty blue eyes." He slapped him on the back. "Come on lets go meet up with your destiny."

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Carol sat at the bar drinking her Long Island Iced tea and eating her fries, thinking they aren't coming. She knew they weren't coming and she was neither surprised nor hurt.

It was what she expected.

She had promised to come back, and she never did. Ten years had gone by without a word between them. She couldn't blame him at all.

If it had been him doing that to her, she would feel the same.

But she had a reason, and she wanted to tell him.

She waited for an hour past the time Merle told her. Trying not to feel too rejected. Merle had said he would be happy to see her, but Merle didn't know everything.

She had already finished an order of fries and she was driving so no more drinks tonight. She wanted more drinks though, maybe she'd buy a bottle of wine and take it home to that disaster of a house she had now.

She deserved a night to tie one on, after what she had been through.

Then tomorrow she would start on that house.

Aunt Fran was not much for cleaning and upkeep, the whole house needed to be gutted and redone. Aunt Fran had left a butt load of money to her only niece as well. Carol would only have to work if she chose to, now and could hire out any work needed on the house.

Aunt Fran had given her a way to escape and she blessed that woman every day of her life now.

Without this house and the money, she might be dead by now.

Gratitude can make you a different person. Carol was grateful for every free breath she took now.

Life would happen the way it was supposed to, they would see each other again when it was supposed to happen.

If it was supposed to happen.

Merle had meant well, but it wasn't the right time.

She would just finish her drink and go home.

She couldn't really blame Daryl, she had never called when she moved away, and of course he wouldn't come, after all these years. If he was mad at her it was justified, she understood it. Maybe Merle would show though you never knew with him. Merle seemed happy to see her.

She was about to ask the bartender for her tab. She leaned forward to get the pretty blonde's attention and then she stopped, when she heard it.

A small slow smile came over her lips and she sat back down.

She had heard 'Stir it up' come on the juke box, she smiled, looking down at her drink.

Either he was here or someone else in this little town liked Bob Marley. That seemed unlikely to her.

He knew this was her song.

Then someone sat next to her and she looked and saw the tattoo that matched her own, on his opposite wrist, mirror image. She didn't look over at him, she wanted to enjoy this moment.

She took a few slow breaths.

He really did come, she had to stop herself from immediately turning to look at him. She wanted to remember the first time they saw each other after ten years. She wanted to savor the moment because she had dreamed of this since she was sixteen.

No need to rush, she wasn't going anywhere.

The air in the bar suddenly changed though, she could feel it, and feel it surging through her blood. Whenever they were together it was like this. That feeling going through her body like she had just run five miles.

"Come here often." He said to her grinning, she could tell he was grinning even without looking at him. And she smiled at hearing his voice.

She had missed the sound of his voice.

"Not in a long time." She answered still not turning to look at him, playing with the glass in front of her.

"Nothing much here ya know. Buncha rednecks and farm land." He said.

"That's just what I'm looking for." And then she started to turn and look at him.

A/N: Let me know what you think. I love to hear from everyone.