Hey all, I can't seem to keep coming up with new 'verses! This one starts up after the events of "Walk With Me". This fic will concentrate on Merlonne, but there will be hints of Caryl as we get further into the story. And, if all goes well, this will be told in Merle's POV.

I don't own The Walking Dead, or any of the affiliated characters.

The Book on Pain- Chapter One: Near-Fatal Attraction

Woodbury's a mighty fine place, don't let no bastard tell ya any different. From the short year that I've been here, it's become a home more'n that shitty camp back in Atlanta ever was. The Governor really knows how to run a place, lemme tell ya. Ev'rbody has something to do at Woodbury. Me, I like me a li'l bit of everythin'. Our library is pretty impressive, iffen yer into that sorta thing. I never was much o' a reader, other'n when I went to sit down with the bible. Still ain't much for readin', but I gotta hell of a ton to choose from, either way. And just wait 'til you see our gun stash. The guys here feel safe, and with damn good reason too.

But, this is why I'm almost scared shitless to leave. Governor's a good man, iffen yer doing his bidding. I've seen what he's capable of; hell, he's made me murder countless people. No matter how far gone I was back at Atlanta, I ain't never killed nobody before. He coulda left me there to bleed out, but he didn't. Guess he needed a bitch that ain't afraid of gettin' his hands dirty.

See, I've been doin' a lot of thinkin' here lately. Ever since we set out to kill those National Guard soldiers for their weapons and machinery, somethin' didn't quite set right. I never really thought any differently, on the account that this man saved my life. Maybe this was just some fucked-up way to get back at my brother for never coming back to Atlanta. Never really looked at it with a bird's eye view, I reckon.

Before Blondie and her mute came to Woodbury, I was still mad at Daryl. It stung like hell thinking that he was okay with me bein' stuck on that roof like that. I shoulda known that that wasn't my li'l brother. Dixon blood is strong; stronger'n anythin' else on this earth. I shoulda felt it, but no. I was too busy livin' it up here. I would always be grateful to the Governor for pickin' me up when he did, but sometimes…

What the fuck am I doing? Sulkin' o'er the past surely ain't gonna change anythin'. I shook my head and continued my watch. It was jus' after sunset, so our curfew was in full effect. No one had never been stupid enough to come out after dark. No one except for… who's that? Is that Andrea's mute girlfriend?

I turn around to get a good look at her and, sure enough, there she was. Even I know the girl has issues, and I ain't no doctor.

"Do I need to remind ya about our damn curfew again, woman?" I snapped, lowering my rifle down to my side.

She just laughed. It was a soft, choppy soundin' laugh, but it was a laugh nonetheless. I had to actually take a moment to breathe. This one's attractive, for sure, but that wasn't nothin' I was willin' to admit aloud.

"And do I need to remind you that I can't stand this place? Your Governor makes me feel uneasy," she told me, fixin' her dark eyes on mine. Damn, what was she tryin' to do? Hypnotize me?!

"Don' use those womanly wiles on me, mute," I rasped, glancing around my post to make sure that no one was watching. Anyone in their right mind could get the wrong idea about this… "I ain't lettin' ya snoop around after dark."

"You can't stop me," she warned me. I just cackled and jumped down from the gate to Woodbury. She was a funny one; maybe I could have a li'l fun after all.

"Is that so, mute?" I teased. The woman looked like she was 'bout ready to cut my head off. It was a good thing that her sword was locked away wit' the Governor. Actually, maybe it would be better if she did have her sword. But she wouldn't be gettin' outta here tonight, iffen ya know what I mean. Secretly, I'm prayin' that she and Blondie ain't rug munchers after all!

We all know that I'd be the first to call someone a nigger, but I kinda like this one. She's unpredictable, an' she can definitely handle her own. When the Governor asked for me to go snoopin' around for him, she ne'er said much. Blondie, well, as always she was big-mouthed. Mute here, on the other hand, the only thin' I got outta her was that she wanted me dead. Somethin' like that might turn a fella like me on.

"How am I still a mute, when I'm having a conversation with you?" The second that that left out of her mouth, I couldn't help but laugh again.

"What do ya want me to call you then, huh?" I step closer to her, clucking my tongue against my teeth. "My Nubian Queen? Sweetheart, Darling?" By now, I know I'm jus' a grinnin'. I know her name is Michonne, but I jus' love fuckin' with a woman's mind.

"Merle," Michonne shifted all of her weight onto her other leg. I just leered her frame up and down. Damn this woman. "Are you hitting on me?"

"Maybe, maybe I am," I winked. "What if I was, hmm?"

She simply rolled her eyes, somethin' that a man might take offence to! Michonne went to turn around, and finally she spoke, "if I'm not getting my weapon back tonight, I have no interest in anything else whatsoever…"

"Oh, c'mon," I kept close behind her, clucking my tongue appreciatively at the way her hips swayed proudly. She ain't afraid of no one; you could jus' see it in the way she walked. "I don' bite, ya know. Well," I paused for a minute, considering that. "Not unless ya like that sorta shit."

"How about," Michonne spun around to face me, stoppin' me in my tracks. "We pretend that I was never here. You continue with your little watch—"

"And let you continue your little snoop? Not a chance," I told her, tipping my chin up. "I'll tell you what, though, my watch is due to end in I dunno… ten minutes? After that, what'dya say we head back to my place… make us a chocolate milkshake, huh?"

Michonne jus' glared at me. "Keep dreaming, Merle."

And with that she jus' fuckin' left. I growled under my breath and picked my rifle back up, going back to resume my watch.

Women…

o—o—o

Every morning, I do the same damn thing. I get up, wash my face, and grab me a quick breakfast. This mornin', things were a li'l different. Brownie comes poundin' on my door first thing. Didn't even have time to get any of our coffee. While it ain't the best in the world, it gets the job done.

Martinez just kept on knockin', which got on my fuckin' nerves real quick. I opened the door to let him in; he just struts in like he owns the damn place or somethin'.

"What can I do ya for today, Brownie? Go ahead, make yourself at home!" I said somewhat teasingly, swingin' the door shut.

"Not me," Martinez shrugged, hands going into his pocket. "Governor wants you. Says somethin' about your girlfriend getting out an' putting her nose in where it don't belong."

Now, who in the hell would he be talkin' about? Surely not Blondie. Must mean only one other person…

"Fine," I grumbled, "be right there."

So, I get to the Governor's apartment and, oddly enough, I'm a li'l nervous. Here lately, me and the boys have no idea what will go through his head next. Even if we didn't agree with him a hundred fuckin' percent, we still had to carry out orders. No one left Woodbury for free, there would always a catch.

It turned out that he had seen Michonne sneakin' out late last night. He didn't jump in then and there 'cause he had seen me keepin' her occupied or what the hell ever else I was doin'.

"I suggest that you don't too attached to this one, Merle," the Gov told me. I knitted my brows together. Really? He thought we were gettin' close? She was worth a good fuck or two, but nothin' more'n that.

"Nah, Governor, I was jus' fuckin' around, is all," I assured him. He had me sitting down in the common room, chuggin' down some of Milton's tea. That was one thing about the four-eyed geek I was certain of, he knew how to make some tea.

"Good," he sat back in his armchair and just stared at me for a moment. Not gonna lie, that shit kinda freaked me out. "Now, about your brother."

"Yeah, what about 'em?" I asked him.

"I know that you want to go look for him, but, I just don't think that now is the right time for all of that," the Governor was glancing over at me from his cup of tea. My radar went up on red alert, but I just ignored it like the fuck tard I was.

"Well, when is the right time?" I asked, scooting to the edge of my seat. "Huh? I haven't seen my brother in about a year!"

"Which is why I say wait," he explained. None of this was helpin', mind ya. "He waited this long, he can stand to wait another few weeks," Governor held his gaze with mine for a moment, "I need you here."

"He's my brother," I replied. God dammit, what part did he not get? There wasn't a damn thing that he could do to keep me from going to even just visit Daryl.

Gov jus' leaned forward, a smirk quickly appearing on his face. "And your brother was the one who rescued you from when you had to cauterize your hand to escape the biters. Right? 'Cause that surely wasn't me."

"Sorry, Governor," I murmured, gettin' up from the armchair after more than a few moments of silence. "Anythin' else ya need me for?"

"I want you to keep a close eye on Michonne. She starts acting like she wants to snoop around after dark again, you need to set her straight. Can you do that, Merle?"

"Yeah, ya got it," I replied hastily. If he had caught onto that fact I was in a hurry, he hadn't said anythin' about it. Have I mentioned lately how I'm jus' gettin' bad vibes from this place? Daryl and me; we didn't like something, we ran. But now, hell, I'm too damn scared to run. The Governor ain't no joke. My head could wind up in one of those aquariums as a trophy, oh so very easily.

He just nodded and sent me off on my own way. I was at a loss for a moment after I left the apartment. Was the Governor really telling me that I couldn't go see my brother? And, even if I did, what if I did it all quiet like?

And then it occurred to me: I couldn't leave my baby brother. Not after all of the other times that I let him down. When we were kids, I got the shit beaten outta me on a regular. Come find out, so had Daryl. I left him when I joined the military. I left him thinkin' I was dead back in Atlanta… and now this?

I looked down at my bayonet, which I prefer callin' Li'l Merle, thank ya'll very much. This was going to be a difficult decision. The Governor saved my life, yeah, but Daryl's my li'l brother. He's my blood.

o—o—o

"Woodbury ain't a bad place, darlin'," I winked at my Nubian Queen. Not that she really paid that much mind anyways. "Hey, are ya sure that you and Blondie ain't knockin' boots someplace?"

Michonne just tilted her head a fraction as she… processed it, I reckon. "Just because I don't fall for your advances, doesn't mean that I'm a lesbian."

"Sure it don't," I teased. Shit, keeping an eye on this one might actually be fun.

"Are you sure that Woodbury is such a safe place?" Michonne asked. I just laughed at that.

"Would you rather be here where there's hot water and warm beds, or out there without a roof and biters makin' a good meal outta ya?"I reminded her. That much was true. I'd rather be in Woodbury with a psycho than out there with a thousand psychos with a knack for flesh. At least, with this psycho, there's only him.

"It's too good to be true," she began, shaking her head in spite of everything.

"Ya just gotta pick an' choose the bullshit ya personally wanna deal with. It's all too good to be true, but ya can't be afraid jus' 'cause you're unsure," I told her. We were standin' outside of her and Andrea's temporary apartment. I was subconsciously drawing myself closer to her, without realizing it until I was practically right on top of her. What the fuck is she doing to me?! I have to keep an eye on her, I know that, but why do we have to bond?! I don't even have to fuckin' try!

I stared down at her, very aware of the fact that I could see down her shirt. Dammit, it was a perfect view too!

"Merle…"

"What?" I rasp. Hadn't realized it until now that I was still staring down at her chest… Oh shit.

Our eyes met again and she finally spoke again, "is there any reason why you keep getting closer. Or, since we're apparently on the subject, that you can't stop staring at my chest?"

Anybody have a good excuse for me to come up with…? Shit. Didn't think so.

Poor Merle. Everybody give our ol' pal Merle a big hug! So, how was it? Ya'll know the drill! More will come following events of "Killer Within" and on!