Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead

Every morning, the minute I open my eyes, I have to remind myself where I am, and what's going on. This is still all so new to me…to us. I don't have long to think though because I should get up and get ready to start the day, and go help out.

First though, I need to get my fix so I won't be in such a bad mood the whole day. Rummaging through my bag, I pull out what I need, after getting dressed, and head out.

I see my mom and some of the other women washing clothes.

"Good Morning." A woman named Carol says to me with a smile. I like her a lot. She's always kind and welcoming.

"Morning, Mrs. Peletier." I say.

"Please, call me Carol." She chuckled. I just smiled.

Turning my attention to my mom, I said, "I'm just gonna, uh, you know…go do something real quick, and then I'll come help."

"Alright." My mom nodded, and I walked away towards the woods.

"Don't go too far!" My mom called.

"Yeah I know!" I said without turning around.

When I thought I was far enough where no one could see, I took my stuff out of my pocket and lit up. My mom thinks I come out here everyday to go to the bathroom. I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I don't care; there's nothing to do, it's the end of the world for all we know, and to top it all off I miss my dad so incredibly much. So I say screw it.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard footsteps behind me.

Shit! I thought. I looked around, but didn't see anything. I should play it safe though, so I decided to just take one more hit.

"You smokin weed?" A voice behind me said, and I almost shit my pants.

I hurriedly tried to hide my stuff behind my back while looking up to see who was there. It was…this guy named Merle. Why him?

"Uhh…" I couldn't speak, and my face was probably redder than an tomato.

I decided to play it cool. Besides, why does he care if I get high?

"Yeah. What's it to you?" I said.

He paused for a brief moment then all of a sudden, he laughed really loud.

"Shit." He said. "Where in the hell did you even find that?"

"I didn't find it. I brought it from home."

"Your mama know?"

I got a little nervous. "No. And I'd like to keep it that way."

He got a devilish grin on his face and laughed again. "Well, you're gonna be in a lot trouble, little girl, unless…you let me hit that."

I was a little taken aback at first. Is this really happening right now?

I smirked and handed it to him. He took it and hit once, then twice. He looked so cool doing it. Like he's so used to it. He hit it a third time.

"Hey! It's puff puff pass." I said.

He glared at me, but didn't say anything. He hit it again, then said, "This is done."

"Thanks." I sarcastically said. "That's okay though, I have more."

His grin faded. Uh oh.

"We have more." He said.

"What?"

"Unless you want everyone to find out you're a pothead."

Now it was my turn to glare. "Wow, seriously?"

"Yup." He grinned that evil grin again.

I huffed. Then I just had a thought.

"Shit! I told my mom I'll help with laundry! I gotta get back."

"Ya better run." Merle laughed.

"Shut up!" I yelled back.

When I got back to camp, I could have sworn everyone's eyes were on me. It didn't take me long to figure out why though, Merle was right behind me. I'm sure they were all confused when they saw us walking back together.

My mom looked concerned, and called me over to her.

"Sorry, I took so long. I didn't even realize." I apologized.

"What were you doing? Why was he with you?" She tried to whisper.

"Oh, uh…we were just…talking." I said.

"Honey, stay away from him please. We don't know him too well, and he seems…"

"Dangerous?" I finished her sentence for her. "Mom, believe me, you don't have to tell me."

She still had a concerned look on her face so I just told her I was fine.

"So, sorry I took so long."

"It's okay, but we're almost done here so, Carol and I want you to look after Carl and Sophia for us." She stated.

"You want me to be a babysitter?" I said with a laugh.

"Yes." She said seriously.

"Okay." With that said, I went to over to where my little brother and Sophia were playing.

"Hey, guys. What are you doing?" I said.

"Playing cops and robbers." They said in unison.

"Cops and robbers? Don't you need more than two people to play?" I smiled.

"Yeah, but who else will play with us?" Carl asked.

"Why don't you ask those kids over there?" I pointed at the two kids standing by their mother, looking bored out of their minds. They're Mexican I think.

"But we don't know them." Sophia said.

"Well, they look like they could use some friends. Why don't you two go over and introduce yourselves?" I said looking from Sophia to Carl. "At least ask. If they say no, then I'll even play with you guys."

"Okay! Come on, Sophia!" Carl yelled while running in the direction of the other kids.

I watched them jump up with glee as Carl asked them to play. Looks like my work here is done.

"Here you seen my mom?" I asked Carol.

"Yeah, I think she went into your tent."

"Okay, thanks." I said with a smile. I walked over to our tent, and was about to go in but stopped dead in my tracks when I saw…my mom…and Shane…kissing! What the hell? How could she? I felt sick to my stomach like I was going to vomit so I left quickly. I leaned against a tree and tried to catch my breath. I know my dad is dead, but so soon? I felt like she had betrayed my dad.

"Hey, you okay, Abby?"

I turned around to see Glenn. He was holding some firewood.

"Uh, yeah I'm fine. I just felt…sick for a second, but I'm good now."

"Oh okay. Well come on and come join the others."

"Yeah, okay." I gave him a quick smile. I like Glenn. He's super nice and caring. He's sort of like the older brother I never had. We walked back to camp together. I saw my mom and Carl sitting next to a fire; Shane was over there too, but it looked like he was talking to someone over the radio, well trying to. I headed over towards them when I heard, "Pssst." I looked around, but at first I didn't see anyone. Then, that's when I spotted Merle over by my tent. He made a gesture toward me. What does he want? I walked over to where he was and roughly said, "What?"

"Whoa, girlie, easy now." He said, which made me more annoyed. "I was just wondering if you had anymore of that weed?"

"Yeah, what if I do?" I said and crossed my arms.

He brought his face real close to mine, and it kind of scared me. "Then, you're gonna get me high, that's what."

"Fine!" I went into my tent and got what I needed. When I came out, Merle had an ugly smile on his face. Suddenly, I heard a deep kind of raspy voice say, "Merle!" That's when Merle's brother, Daryl, emerged from out of nowhere. "What the hell are ya doin? I've been lookin all over fer yer dumbass." He stopped when he saw me. He gave me a weird look then said, "What's this?"

"Nothin, little brother, just tryin to get a little buzz is all."

"Whatever. Let's go hunt." Daryl said.

"Nah, I been thinkin bout goin with them to Atlanta."

"Why the hell would ya do that?" Daryl asked puzzled.

I started to feel awkward so I tried to walk away while they were talking.

"Where do ya think your goin?" Merle stepped in front of me. I actually felt scared of him in that moment. I didn't know what to say; I happened to glance over at Daryl and he was glaring at me for some reason. Suddenly, my bag of weed was ripped out of my hands by Merle.

"Hey!" I said.

"This," he held up the bag, "is mine now."

"You can't just take my stuff you douche!" Is what I wanted to say, and would have said to anyone but Merle Dixon but instead I said, "Fine, take it, it's yours."

"That's what I thought." He then laughed.

I quickly made my way in between them and walked passed them. Merle was still laughing. My mom was right about him.

Later on, my mom, Carl, Shane, and I were sitting around a campfire while my mom was giving Carl a haircut. Shane was saying something about frog legs. I really wasn't paying attention; I suddenly felt awkward around him, probably because I saw him kissing my mom. I still need to talk to her about that.

My mom must have noticed how quiet I was being because she asked me if I was alright.

"Yeah, I just have a headache." I lied. I get headaches a lot so I figured she'd buy it.

"I got some Aleve in my jeep if you need it, Honey." Shane said to me.

"No, that's okay. It's not real bad."

"Well, it's better to-" Shane was interrupted by the sound of a car alarm or something. It was getting closer. My mom pulled Carl close to her and said, "What is that?"

"Dale!" Shane called to the old man sitting on top of his RV. "What's goin on?'

Dale looked through his binoculars and said, "Stolen cars."

Just then, Glenn rode up in the car that was making all the noise with the alarm. They were yelling at him to turn it off. This girl, Amy, ran to him immediately and started asking him questions about her sister, Andrea, that went with them. Where was everyone else? "…yes she's fine. Everyone's fine…Well, Merle not so much." Glenn said.

"What were you thinking driving this thing all the way up here? You trying to attract every walker for miles?" Shane scolded while he stopped the alarm from going off.

"Sorry." Glenn said. "I got a cool car."

I had to smile at that. "It is a cool car." I admitted.

Suddenly, a big white truck pulled up and Andrea got out and ran to her sister, followed by Morales who ran to his wife and two children, that Carl and Sophia were playing with. I felt a sudden pang of sadness as I watched the kids with their daddy. My mom got Carl away from it, and told him not to look. I put my hand on his back while he started to cry, and said to him, "It's alright, Buddy." Oh who am I kidding? I can't even make myself feel better, how am I going to make him feel better? I had to try not to cry myself.

I heard Glenn say something about a "new guy." When I looked up…I couldn't believe my eyes. My dad was there! No! That can't be him. Shane said he was dead. "Dad!" Carl yelled and ran to him. Is it really him? Still in shock, I watched as he came towards us carrying Carl. I finally came into realization, and hugged him when he got close enough. "Daddy, is it really you?" I said crying, and trying to hide my face in his chest. He kept kissing my forehead. "Oh baby girl." He said. "Yes it's me." I can't believe it! Suddenly, I was being crushed between my parents, but I didn't even care. I couldn't be happier in this magical moment.

Later that night, we were all sitting around the campfire talking. My dad was saying about how he couldn't believe anything that happened.

"Mom said you died." Carl said.

"She had every right to believe that." he said.

"I'm glad you're back with us, dad." I said, and leaned on him. He smiled and kissed my head.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" Dale said. "He's not going to be very happy when he finds out that his brother got left behind."

Oh Yeah, that's right! Glenn said something about Merle not being okay.

I listened as they said Merle got handcuffed to a roof, and he still might be there.

Later that same night, my parents, Carl and I were all in our tent getting ready to go to bed. I thought about my dad handcuffing Merle and I had to laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" My dad asked me.

"Oh nothing." I said.

"Oh yeah." My dad smiled and said goodnight to Carl and I.

I felt extra tired today for some reason. Wow. My dad handcuffed the guy I smoked weed with to a rooftop! If only he knew that..

The next morning, I got up pretty early for me. My dad was still asleep, and I didn't want to bother him. I figured he could use some extra sleep. I got ready, and went out to help.

My usual morning routine would be me going out into the woods to get high, but I can't obviously, because Merle stole all my weed. I don't even care though, I'm just happy that my dad is alive and here with us.

I saw my mom standing alone so I figured now would be a good time to confront her about kissing Shane.

"Mom, I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure, Honey, what is it?"

Deep breath, here it goes. "I saw you and Shane kissing yesterday." I stated.

My mom looked taken aback. "…oh…well, I'm sorry you…saw that, Abby, but-"

"I'm not gonna tell dad if that's what you're worried about." I cut her off. "You thought he was dead, we all did. But that's gonna stop now, right? Dad's here and he's your husband."

"Abigail, of course!" She almost yelled. "Look, it was a mistake that I can't take back, but…please…don't say anything to Carl."

"You know I wouldn't." I said with an annoyed look.

"Thank you." She said.

"Mom, I wasn't saying anything to you. I know you wouldn't cheat on dad, but I was referring to Shane. He knows to knock it off, right?"

"Honey, that is none of your business."

"It's kinda my business, but as long as he knows." I looked around and saw my dad walking over here. "Let's just forget it ever happened." I whispered, and my mom quickly nodded.

"Hi, daddy." I said.

"Hi, baby." he said and kissed my forehead.

"Abby, do me a favor and go find your brother, please." My mom said.

"Alright."

I walked around the camp twice, but still no Carl.

"Hey, have you seen my little brother?" I asked Glenn.

"No, I haven't." He must still be upset about them stripping his car.

"Sorry about the car." I told him. "It was nice."

"Don't remind me." He said and patted my head.

Just then, I heard what sounded like kids screaming. It didn't take me long to realize that one of them was Carl. I quickly ran to where everyone was going. Jacqui was there with them, my mom and Carol were there shortly after, while my dad and some of the others went into the woods where Carl and Sophia had said they had seen a geek.

After making sure they were okay, my mom, Carl, and I went over to where the campfire was and sat down.

"Hey, you alright, Buddy?" I asked my brother.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he replied. I put my arm around him.

"Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel!" I heard Daryl's voice.

Uh oh! Here comes the fireworks.

"Daryl," Shane said, "Hold up a sec. It's about Merle."

Everyone stood around and watched and waited for the show to start.

"There was a problem in Atlanta." Shane continued.

"He dead?" Daryl asked.

"Not sure." Shane responded.

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl said getting angry.

Then my dad said something to Daryl for the first time.

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes." Said my dad.

"Rick Grimes." Daryl mocked him. "You got somethin you wanna tell me?"

My dad briefly explained to Daryl how Merle got left behind. And like everyone guessed, he didn't take it too well. He threw the squirrels at my dad(it's actually kind of funny now that I think about it) and he ended up getting put into a choke hold by Shane. I got really scared when he pulled his knife out though. That was almost really bad. Good thing we have two cops here.

I saw Daryl start to tear up a little bit, and he said, "The hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so I can go get him."

In that moment I actually felt kind of bad for Daryl.

"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" My mom said.

My dad hesitated then said, "I'm going back."

Wait, what?!

They were talking over a plan to go back and get Merle and a bag of guns that my dad dropped. I can't believe this. He can't possibly be serious, can he?

"Dad, please. I don't won't you to go. We don't want you to go!" I pleaded.

"Sweetheart listen, I'm responsible so I have to."

"No you don't! Merle's a jerk. That was his fault!"

"I'm sorry, baby, I have to."

I can't believe this. He just got back, and now he's leaving again. I thought while watching them leave.

Hey everyone! :D I've been planning this story for a long time, but I wasn't really ever sure if I wanted to make it an actual story on here! So, please review and tell me what you think! I would really appreciate it! ^_^ Thanks! I know I skipped a few things, but you know what happens! Lol.