Author's Note: I hope y'all enjoy!

Storm clouds rolled in overhead. The warm breeze picked up, carrying leaves and dirt across the gravel driveway. The low rumble of thunder sounded in the distance.

Carol Dixon stood at the window, watching the storm move in through the open blinds. She chewed absently at a fingernail, a bad habit of hers she'd picked up years ago.

She hated stormy weather. It made her anxious.

She heard another rumble, this one much louder than the one before. She watched as her husband's motorcycle turned onto the long driveway. His brother's bike pulled in behind him.

She let out a breath and headed outside.

She approached Daryl as he dismounted his bike. She made sure to plaster a huge smile on her face. They'd only been married a couple months. He didn't need to know about her nervousness toward storms.

"Hey, Pookie," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling away from her.

Her smile faltered. Normally he was much more excited to see her, especially on a Friday evening.

He started walking toward the garage.

"Are you alright?" She called out.

"Fine!" He barked back.

"He's been pissy ever since we left," her brother-in-law said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her in. She rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arm around his waist.

"About what?" she asked.

Merle shrugged. "Hell if I know. He never tells me a goddamn thing goin' on in that head of his."

Carol sighed. Daryl had always been like that, ever since she'd met him. He didn't deal with his emotions well. Sometimes he didn't deal with them at all. He'd just keep them all to himself and sulk around the house, snapping at anyone that got too close.

Normally, when he got in those kinds of moods, Carol could handle it. He wasn't the first angry man she'd been married to.

On a day like today, though, when she was already tense and nervous, his anger might be more than she could handle.

"Alright. Thanks for the warning. You stayin' for dinner?"

"I'm stayin' the night, darlin'. Ain't you watched the weather?"

Carol shook her head. She knew better than to watch the weather. It just made her more anxious and panicky.

"I thought it was just a storm. We getting something more?"

Merle nodded. "Weatherman says we're due for bad storms, maybe even tornados. Figured I'd stay the night here in case my trailer gets blown away."

She felt a chill run down her spine and a wave of nausea wash over her.

"You alright?" Merle asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Y'all gonna be in the garage for a while? I'll bring y'all some beers. Dinner will be ready in a half hour."

She walked away before Merle could ask her anymore questions.

She headed straight for the kitchen and turned the faucet on. She splashed the cool water on her face and the back of her neck. It felt good. She was burning up.

When she felt like she could breathe again, she grabbed three beers from the fridge and went outside to the garage. She didn't normally drink, but maybe the beer would help relax her.

Tornadoes. The thought was terrifying. She should have watched the weather report earlier. Now she wasn't even prepared.

She found Merle and Daryl seated in the garage, their bikes in between them. Daryl was tinkering with something while Merle watched. She handed a beer to Merle.

"I brought you a beer," Carol said, holding the cold bottle out to Daryl. He didn't look up.

"Just set it down on the floor or something."

Carol sighed and set it by his feet. Then she sat down beside Merle on the work bench. She opened the beer and took a long drink.

"What's wrong with the bike?" she asked.

"What the hell ya doin' with that?" Daryl snapped, making her jump. She felt her face turn red.

"Daryl, it's just one beer."

Carol was already mentally cursing herself. Drinking a beer in front of Daryl was not the way to get him into a better mood. His mother had been an alcoholic before she died. In fact, alcohol had played a big part in her death, and Daryl was adamant about making sure that Carol didn't end up the same way his mother did. He rarely ever let her drink. He didn't even smoke in the house, afraid that she might pick up the habit. He always smoked out on the porch.

He stood up and walked over toward her. He stood over her, looking down at her with blue eyes full of rage.

"Carol, give me the damn bottle." He grabbed for the neck of the bottle, trying to pull it out of her hand.

She fought back, tugging on the beer bottle.

"Daryl, stop it!"

Merle stood up then, ready to get in the middle. The movement distracted Carol for a moment, and her grip on the bottle loosened. Daryl snatched the bottle away from her and sent it sailing into the air. It smashed into her car, which was parked out in the driveway. They all cringed when glass shattered everywhere, including glass from the headlight.

She watched as her husband hung his head in shame. He dared to glance at her from beneath the hair that fell in his eyes.

Carol stood up. Merle stayed in the same place, his body humming with pent-up energy, ready to get in between them if it came to it.

"You know, if I'd wanted to put up with this shit for the rest of my life, I would have just stayed married to my ex-husband."

She cringed as she said the words, but she was proud of herself for keeping her head high as she headed inside.

"What the hell's gotten into you, boy?" Merle asked his baby brother. Daryl hadn't moved; he was still standing in the same spot, head hung, breathing heavy.

"She knows I don't like her drinkin'," Daryl grumbled.

"It's about more than the drinkin'. Ya been pissed off ever since ya got off work."

Daryl sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Boss cut my goddamn hours. Ain't gonna be makin' shit now. Nobody seems to understand I got bills to pay around here."

Merle sighed. "You'll be fine, baby brother. Besides, don't Carol work now?"

"Yeah, she took that job makin' phone calls, but she don't make shit either. Don't like takin' all her money anyway. Her bastard ex-husband never let her have money."

"Bet he let her have a beer, though."

Daryl glared at Merle. He shrugged.

"I'm just sayin'. That stunt ya pulled there, it was stupid. She's nothing like mama was. You should let that girl have a drink every once in a while. Especially if she's gotta deal with your pissy moods all the time. And quit worryin' about money. We're Dixons. We're good at getting money."

Daryl rolled his eyes. Yeah, good at getting illegal money.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked down at the screen. He had a text from Carol.

Dinner's ready.

Daryl sighed. "Food's ready."

He followed Merle into the house.

Carol stood at the bedroom window, peeking out of the blinds to get a look at the storm. It was dark now, so she couldn't see much, but she could tell that the rain was coming down in sheets and the trees were being blown every which way by the wind.

She tried to get her panic under control. She still felt sick to her stomach, and her heart felt like it was racing. She kept having hot and cold flashes.

She looked at the nightstand where her plate of food sat. She knew she should probably eat something, but she didn't have much of an appetite.

Lightening flashed. Thunder rumbled. It was the wickedest storm she'd witnessed in a long time. Terrified, she got in the bed and bundled up under the covers, praying it would all be over soon.

She wished Daryl could be in there with her, his strong arms wrapped around her. She wanted nothing more than to curl up with him in their bed and wait the storm out. It didn't seem like that was going to be happening anytime soon, though.

Daryl stood at the sink washing the dishes. Outside, the storm raged, and he was starting to worry. Normally, they didn't get much bad weather in their small town. Most storms fizzled out when they got to the mountains. This storm, though, was the worst he'd seen in a while.

His mind drifted to Carol. He'd treated her like shit this afternoon. He wanted to go to her and apologize for everything, but he was scared. Scared that she was still mad. Scared that she was upset. Scared she might leave him. Jesus, he wouldn't be able to take it if she left him. She probably should, though. He was no different from her sorry ass ex-husband.

There was a bright flash of lightening and a loud crash of thunder, loud enough to rattle the windows. The power went out.

He heard Carol scream from the bedroom. He stumbled to the hallway, cursing whenever his foot would catch on something. Merle was right on his heels.

Merle pulled out a little flashlight he carried on a key ring, so they were able to find the bedroom with ease.

Daryl flung the door open. Carol was sitting in the middle of their bed, rocking back and forth, hands covering her ears, tears falling down her cheeks, eyes squeezed shut.

He went to her and wrapped her in his arms.

"Carol, what's wrong? Talk to me."

She didn't say anything. She pressed her face into his chest, covering his shirt with her tears.

"Merle, you got a lighter?"

Merle pulled a small lighter out of his pocket. He threw it to Daryl. Daryl caught it in mid-air and used it to light the cinnamon scented candle Carol kept on the nightstand.

"Give us a minute?" he asked his brother.

"Sure thing. Gonna go see if I can get something on the radio."

When Merle was gone, he unwrapped his arms from around Carol's body and placed his hands on either side of her face, forcing her to look up at him.

"Hey, you wanna tell me what's wrong?"

She sighed. "It's the storm. Makes me nervous."

Daryl let out a breath. This was more than being nervous. She was having a full blown panic attack.

"How come I didn't know storms made ya nervous?"

She shrugged. "Never came up, I guess. Not like we get this kind of weather all the time."

She had a point there.

"Why didn't you come out to the kitchen? Why'd you come in here by yourself?"

"I didn't want y'all to know. You probably already think I'm crazy, anyway. Besides, I thought we were fighting."

Daryl sighed. "Carol, look, I'm sorry for what happened out in the garage. I was being an overbearing asshole. They cut my hours at work, and I didn't know how to tell ya. That's why I was so mad."

She ran a hand through his hair. It always soothed him when she did that. Damn, he didn't deserve her.

"I'm sorry they cut your hours. I make decent money, though. Just tell me what I need to help out with.

"I hate havin' to take your money, though."

She smiled. "It's not a big deal. When have you ever known me to go on extravagant shopping sprees, anyway?"

He smirked. "Yeah, you're right, but still. Should be me providing for us, not you."

She kissed him. "Daryl, it's fine. We'll figure it out. And if we can't, I'm sure Merle could help us out."

Daryl groaned. "We ain't usin' Merle's drug money."

"I'm just listing it as an option."

He leaned in to kiss her again. Just as he deepened the kiss, they heard the tornado sirens go off. He felt Carol tense up. When he looked at her, her blue eyes were full of panic.

"Hey, relax, alright? We're gonna be fine."

Merle burst into the room.

"Uh, the man on the radio says we should take shelter. Thought you two love birds might wanna know."

"Yeah, we're comin', Daryl responded, "Merle, grab that mattress out of the guest bedroom. We'll get this one, set 'em up in the hallway."

They made quick work of dragging the mattresses to the hallway. Daryl made sure all the doors were closed. They tilted the mattresses so that they could sit underneath them. If the roof came crashing down, they would have the mattresses to cushion the impact.

Carol wrapped a blanket around herself and grabbed a pillow. All three of them huddled under the mattresses, their backs pressed against the wall. Outside, the wind howled.

"Well, I'm goin' to get some beers," Merle announced, getting up. Daryl shook his head. Merle couldn't sit still. He always had to be doing something.

Daryl just sat there, staring down at Carol. She was curled up into his side, her head on his shoulder. She had the blanket wrapped around her and the pillow hugged to her chest. He smiled. She looked like a child.

He vowed to question her when the storm passed and his brother had gone home. Why did storms scare her so bad? How long had she had that fear? What other fears did she have that she hadn't told him about?

Merle returned with three beers. He handed one to Daryl and then one to Carol. Daryl winced when her eyes went immediately to his, seeking permission. God, he was such an ass. Her ex-husband had probably pulled the same shit on her.

"Go on and take that beer, girl. Daryl ain't gonna stop ya. If he pulls that shit again, ya give me a call."

"I will," Carol whispered, smiling at Merle and taking the beer.

They sat in silence for a long time, listening to the storm outside. The sirens were still going off. Merle was the first one to break the silence.

"So, sis, why do storms freak ya out so bad?"

Daryl groaned. "Carol, you ain't gotta answer that. Merle's just bein' nosy."

"How'd you even know, Merle?" Carol asked.

"Ain't like I couldn't hear y'all talkin' in there. Heard that comment about the drug money, too. Ain't all my money drug money, little brother."

Daryl scoffed. "Yeah, right."

Carol sighed and took another sip of her beer. She figured she could use the liquid courage.

"So, y'all already know about my ex-husband and what an asshole he could be. Well, one evening, there were bad storms coming through. Ed wanted steaks for dinner, but it was storming too bad for me to cook them on the grill. So, I had to cook them in the oven, which I wasn't sure how to do. Anyway, when I pulled them out, they were burned. When he saw them, he got pissed off, starting going on about how I wasted his hard-earned money and how I wasn't good for anything. As punishment, he threw me outside in the middle of the storm and locked me out of the house."

Her husband and brother-in-law were silent. She took another drink and kept going.

"I was scared out of my mind. It was raining so hard. I was soaked to the bone in seconds. The wind was whipping my hair all around. Branches were falling off the trees. Debris was floating around all over. We didn't have a porch or anything like that, so there was nowhere for me to take cover. The car was locked. So, I just curled up against the house and prayed to make it through the night. Ever since then, I have a bad reaction to storms."

Daryl wrapped his arm around her, pulling her as close to him as she could get.

"Jesus, Carol, I'm so sorry."

She shrugged. "It's fine."

"No, it ain't. I should've know about that. I should've been here for you instead…"

"Well, now you'll know for next time. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was hoping you wouldn't have to find out."

"I wanna know everything, alright? From now on, I wanna know."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Okay."

They were all quiet again, absorbing the moment. They all jumped when the sound of glass breaking reverberated through the quiet house.

The storm finally died down around two o'clock in the morning. The power came back on around three. The sound of glass breaking had come from the living room. A branch had been blown right through the window. From what they could make out, the front yard was a mess, covered in fallen limbs and debris.

After they hung up a blanket over the busted window, they all retired to get some sleep.

Daryl got in bed first, while Carol changed into her pajamas. He couldn't believe what a day it had been. He also couldn't believe that he could have lost the one person he cared more about than anyone else in this entire world besides his brother. He would never deserve a woman like Carol as long as he lived.

When she came out of the bathroom, she cut the lights off and got into bed, scooting straight into his arms. He held her as tight as he could without crushing her.

"Ya alright?" he asked.

"I'm much better now that the storm is over, and we're not fighting anymore."

Daryl shook his head. "We weren't fightin'. I was bein' a dumbass. Won't happen again."

"Good to know."

"Ya got any other fears I need to know about? I wanna be prepared for next time."

He felt her shake her head. "Nope. Just the storms, really."

"Well, from now on I'm gonna make sure you're safe from any storms that head our way."

"Sounds good to me," she whispered, "I love you."

"Love you too," he replied before they both fell into a peaceful sleep.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Leave me a review!