"He can't stay here Daryl," Rick said in a hushed growl, unable to believe that he was even having this sort of argument with the man that he believed was his right hand man.

"Merle isn't a stray animal, he's my brother," Daryl shot back at the former sheriff, knowing that Rick was only trying to protect the prison, but trying to get the other man to see that he was not about to let his brother go when he just got him back in the first place. Daryl glanced around the courtyard that they had managed to secure and were gradually turning into a garden and grilling area for the compound, his eyes lingering on his brother on the other side of their fence since Rick had only allowed him into the yard and not into the full compound.

"This shouldn't even be an argument after all he has done to us," Rick said with a sigh, leaning back slightly with his hands resting on his hips as he followed Daryl's gaze towards his brother as the older and much more worn out looking man scowled back at him. "Do you not remember what it was like in Atlanta?"

"I know exactly what happened in Atlanta, Rick, but he's my brother and I can't leave him again," Daryl told Rick with a sigh of his own, his much sadder than Rick's as he prepared himself to say the next words that he had to. He didn't want to play on Rick's tendency to want him around, but he had to make sure his brother was going to be allowed to stay. "It's either he stays or I go with him."

"Daryl, you don't have to do that for him," Rick said after a moment of shock, his voice weak as he looked in Daryl's eyes to see that he was completely serious.

"I do Rick," Daryl said softly, refusing to look away from Rick's eyes with his almost pleading expression. It was then that another member of their group of survivors joined them.

"Everyone is concerned about our… guest," Scarlett, the newest member of their group, told them softly, having been elected to be the one to come out to tell the two men what they others had been thinking. Her thick English accent clashed against the Southern accent the two men had, though her appearance indicated that she was just like any of them with tattered jeans and a tee that she had found out of an old clothing drive at a church she had stayed in a while back before she joined the group.

"He'll be leaving soon," Rick reassured her with a meaningful look towards Daryl.

"If he's Daryl's brother, then I don't understand why he can't stay?" Scarlett asked him in confusion, not understanding the look that Rick had given Daryl. Rick looked at her with his eyebrow raised, causing her to blush slightly in embarrassment. "I sort of heard what you were saying when I came out here."

"He can't stay because it won't be safe," Rick told her in a clipped tone like he didn't want to be having this conversation in the first place. "For any of us."

"Have you had him in your compound before?" Scarlett asked him, curious as to why it was the man who had welcomed so many people into their midst would be turning this person away without even giving him a chance. When Rick hesitated for a moment before shaking his head slightly, Scarlett was even more confused by his actions. "Then why don't you give him a shot? If not for his sake, then do it for Daryl?"

Rick looked between Scarlett and Daryl for a long moment, eyeing both of them for any hint of a waver in their resolve to let Merle stay in the prison.

"Fine, but one inch out of line and he's gone," Rick finally told them with a sigh of defeat before he turned to head back into the prison to go find his children.

"Thanks, Red," Daryl called to Scarlett as he headed in the opposite direction as Rick to go let his brother through the gate and into the main compound. Scarlett didn't hesitate to follow him so she could meet the mysterious man that she had just vouched for.

"About damn time," Merle Dixon called to his much younger brother when he noticed that he was being allowed through the chainlink fence. "Did ya have to take your sweet ass time with so many of those Walkers out there?"

"Sorry bro, Rick needed to be persuaded," Daryl said quickly, knowing that it would be better to just apologize now than to let his brother's temper continue unchecked. He motioned towards where Scarlett was waiting to close the gate back up before he continued speaking. "This is Scarlett, she helped vouch for you."

Merle looked towards the tall brunette woman with an expression that Scarlett didn't quite understand before he nodded and actually managed a crooked smile.

"I'd shake your hand, missy, but I don't have the equipment for that," Merle said in way of a greeting as he raised the nub that made up where his right hand once was.

"That's okay," Scarlett murmured, unsure of how exactly she should talk to this gruff man.

"Do y'all got any food around here? I'm starving," Merle asked, looking between his younger brother and Scarlett.

"We are scheduled for a supply run today, but no one's left yet," Scarlett informed him with a frown, motioning towards the few vehicles they had available. "Until someone comes back with more food, we are one short supply and are being rationed meals."

"Well saddle up, missy, you just volunteered to go with us," Merle snapped at her as he turned towards one of the vehicles like it was no big deal.

"We have to let the others know where we're going," Daryl called to his brother before glancing at Scarlett, who nodded and headed inside to let at least one person know that they were heading off on the supply run. By the time she was back, Daryl was just getting Merle to agree not to drive and was settling into the driver's seat himself of the fastest car they had eased down the gravel path to the gate before Scarlett opened it up to let them through. Once they were safely passed the gate, Scarlett climbed into the back seat so they could take off towards the nearest place for supplies.

It took nearly an hour of driving for the trio to come across someplace that wasn't crawling with Walkers or picked clean through of usable things, this one being a simple convenience store for whatever small town they were in. After knocking on the entrance to see if any Walkers were going to come out to attack them, Daryl seemed to believe that they were in the clear and gave them the okay to enter the building.

Scarlett was excited to be on this run since she had not left the compound in much longer than she would have liked. This store also seemed to still be stocked with some of her favorite American snacks, so that was where she was headed first while Daryl handled the supply list with practiced ease.

It's rare that we find so much still good," she murmured to Merle as the much older man joined her in the snack aisle, holding up a bag of chips that hadn't been damaged in all of the chaos after the disease spread.

"Let's have a bit," Merle chuckled as he grabbed for the bag. Scarlett, feeling like being playful since she wasn't cooped up, dodged out of his reach. Merle scowled at her as she continued to dance further and further out of his reach, her eyes on him the entire time.

"Watch it!" Merle called to her, causing her to turn with her next step to see that she had almost crashed into an already precarious display. Scarlett couldn't help a small sigh of relief before she glanced around to see a sight that baffled her. Inside of one of the broken fridges that lined the back wall was a Walker that had probably only been nine or ten when they had turned. The shelves behind them had been broken as if to make room for the child who was now clawing at the door to get to them.

Scarlett could feel tears well up in her eyes as she moved forward to let the poor child out. She was stopped by a strong hand on her shoulder that pulled her back with enough force to make her stumble. Feeling too overwhelmed by what had ended up happening to the child, Scarlett allowed for her legs to give out and her whole body to sink to the floor.

"Oh no you don't, missy, there's more of them around here if that little one is trapped in there," Merle grumbled as he hauled her to her feet by lifting up under her arms. "And I ain't letting you die and ruin this for me an' Daryl, you hear?"

Scarlett allowed Merle to drag her back down the snack aisle and towards where they had seen Daryl head off to when they had entered the store. Though she was still numb from seeing that child, Scarlett knew that she need to get it together or she really would die here. She pulled away from Merle's grasp and strained her ears for the familiar sound of Daryl's crossbow in action, a tracking skill that Rick liked to keep her around for. Instead of hearing Daryl, though, she heard another familiar sound that put her nerves on edge and set her heart racing.

"They're coming," she whispered to Merle, motioning towards the very back of the store. Merle glanced in that direction and didn't see anything, so he looked at her skeptically. "I'm used to picking up different tones of various things. I can hear the shuffle of at least five of them moving this way."

Merle glanced around the store once more and, noticing no weapons that they could readily use against so many Walkers, chose to grab Scarlett's wrist to pull her after him towards one of the bathrooms.

"Daryl," Scarlett murmured as she spotted the man heading for the door with his crossbow raised. He glanced in their direction upon hearing his name only to see the pair duck into the bathroom to hide.

Scarlett stumbled as Merle pushed her towards the one stall in the bathroom before he turned to lock the door behind them.

"Daryl is still out there," Scarlett cried out as the lock was forced into place to seal the two in the falling apart room.

"He'll be fine," Merle assured her as he walked over to the trash can so he could turn it over and make it into a seat in front of the door. "I know my brother, he'll find a way to survive like he always does."

"Even if you really believe that, how can you be so heartless as to let him go against that many Walkers by himself?" Scarlett questioned him with her eyes wide like this was the first time she had seen him.

"We don't even know for sure how many of those things are out there, so you could very well be overreacting," Merle told her with a sigh as he leaned back and closed his eyes. "Besides, what happened to you trusting me? Or was that all for show?"

"I never said I trusted you, just that it was wrong of Rick to try to keep family apart," Scarlett clarified as a slight blush colored her pale cheeks. "Why did you even stop me from opening that door for the child?"

"That wasn't no child anymore and I wasn't going to let you stupidly die when your death could take me from my brother," Merle answered in a sharp tone that made it clear that she wasn't getting anymore out of him.

Scarlett looked down at the ground for a moment before she shifted to sit more comfortably with her bag of snack her lap. There was silence between the two for quite some time until Merle reached out with his only hand.

"You going to share some of those?" he asked when she looked at his hand in confusion. Scarlett jumped slightly at the request before she quickly passed over her bag so he could pick something out of it. He grabbed the first thing in the bag before tossing it back at Scarlett. You know, you are the type of girl I used to take to bed and then not give two shits about the next day with all of your goody good attitude."

Scarlett was stunned by what she had just heard, but couldn't lie to herself that she did find him attractive. People had thought that she had been attracted to Daryl, but in all actuality she liked older guys than him.

"So what do you say? It's been awhile since I've had anyone good, do you want to fill the part?" Merle straight out asked her when she had remained silent for too long.

"M-Maybe just a kiss for now," Scarlett finally murmured, unable to look at him in her embarrassment. Merle looked at her for a moment before he shrugged, a kiss was more than what he had gotten in a long time. Something about Walkers always hanging around seemed to turn girls completely off.

Merle knelt in front of Scarlett before he slowly reached out to grip her chin in his hand. He would later deny the tingling he felt when his lips met hers, but there was no denying it while he was kissing her soft lips.

The look in her eyes when he pulled away told him that she had felt something too. Whatever it had been led her to crashing her lips onto his and to the best bit of what could only be described as foreplay he had ever had. Scarlett had never found herself moaning as loud as she did as she kissed Merle and let his hand travel over her body in a way that she hadn't really let any other guy do. The passion between the two only built more and more as they continued on exploring each other's bodies and creating a strange bond and an unlikely couple, their voices echoing against the bathroom tile.

By the time Daryl had managed to come back to rescue them with others from the prison, the pair had gotten very hot and bothered by each other. Merle was so much so that he even vowed to himself that he would rid the prison of Walkers by himself if it meant getting to finish what they had started. Scarlett, on the other hand, was already making plans of where they could go for privacy on the entire trip home.

I commission that I did for someone on Deviantart