Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead.
AN: So sorry for the long wait on this story. I have been working on quite a few of my stories that I have not finished yet. if it seems a bit choppy or have mistakes I apologize now. I wanted to get something up for you all. I'll go back and correct chapters later when I have a bit more time in my hands. hope you enjoy. this is been months in the making lol
Jo didn't even have the chance to reply to her brother, before Shane decided he needed to take control. Of course, he wouldn't listen to her warnings the night before. The man needed to feel in charge. Jo decided to stand back and let him do what he thought he needed to do.
"We're not sure." Shane said. Three simple words that had Daryl's anger boiling once again.
"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl demanded as he started to circle around Shane.
"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." Rick said walking up to his partner. He wasn't going to let Shane take all the lashing for something he wasn't there for.
"Who the hell are you?" Daryl growled at the man then sent a glance over towards his sister.
"The Squirt's dad." Jo said as she leaned back against the RV and crossed her arms across her chest. She knew her brother was about to blow. She decided to watch from a short distance unless he needed a bit of assistance.
"Rick Grimes." Rick introduced himself. Both Daryl and Rick ignoring Jo's introduction all together.
"Rick Grimes." Daryl mimicked the man. A bit childish in Jo's opinion, but in Daryl's anger he did not usually come up with many intelligent comebacks. His go to was mimicking and telling the other person to shut up. "You got something you want to tell me?"
"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal." Rick said calmly. "He's still there."
"Hold on." Daryl said as he turned his back on Rick. Jo pushed herself off of the RV, knowing he was about to blow, and noticing his hunting knife. She wasn't liking the looks of how this was all going down. She had let the small group grow on her a bit, and wasn't ready to leave them if Daryl did something to get them sent away. She wasn't about to let her brother do something stupid.
"Let me process this." Daryl growled out. He glanced over at Jo, realizing that she had already known about Merle. His anger boiled even more. He knew Merle and Jo didn't get a long much, but Merle was still her brother. Her lack of emotion was a bit unnerving to him. "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there!"
Daryl then turned on Jo. "Did you know about this?"
Jo didn't reply. She stared blankly back at him. He didn't need to ask her. He already knew that she had known. Daryl threw the string of squirrels at Rick and headed for him, to only be tackled by Shane. Shane quickly got to his feet as Daryl went for his knife at his belt. He grabbed for it a few times before he realized that it wasn't there. So he decided his fists where just going to have to do. He took a step towards Rick, ready for his fist to connect to the mans face, but instead he found himself sitting on the ground with muscular arms clamped around his neck in a secure headlock.
"You'd best let me go!" Daryl demanded as he fought against Shane.
"Nah, I think it's better if I don't." Shane replied. He heard Jo snicker from behind him. He quickly glanced up at her, knowing that they had forgotten she was there. At any point in time, she could have jumped in and shot either one of them to protect her brother. But to his surprise, she was back to leaning against the RV, a hunting knife in her hand as she lazily cleaned her nails with it.
"Choke holds illegal." Daryl said as he slowly stopped fighting against Shane
"You can file a complaint." Shane said sarcastically. "Come on man, we can keep this up all day."
Rick knelt down in front of Daryl so that he was eye level with the distraught man. He was actually very glad that Shane had been there. He was never really that good with man handling people like Shane was, Rick was more of the talker. The one to talk some one off a bridge. "I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?
Daryl didn't reply so Rick leaned in closer, making sure that the man was looking at him. "Do you think we can manage that?"
Daryl wasn't the one to answer. It was his sister. She had stepped away from the RV and was now standing next to Shane. She put her hand on his shoulder and looked down at Rick. "He can manage it."
Shane let go of Daryl and backed away. Jo knelt down by Daryl and he quickly looked away from her. He felt betrayed by her. After looking after her, she didn't do the same when he felt like he may have needed it.
"Just listen to him." Jo suggested. Daryl didn't reply but nodded to say that he was listening.
"What I did was not on a whim." Rick said, still using the same calm voice he had used before. Something about the way he talked, made the Dixons listen. Something they didn't do when the person carried a badge. "Your brother does not work and play well with others."
"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key." T-Dog said from the crowd. Jo groaned, knowing that any progress Rick had surprisingly made to calm the younger Dixon man down, was lost. "I dropped it."
"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl asked sarcastically.
"Well, I dropped it in a drain." T-Dog replied and Jo threw her hand up in the air in defeat. Why did she even try to talk to the people in camp? None of them seemed to listen to a word she said. She had told them all the night before to let her be the one to tell Daryl about Merle. Yet here they where, on the verge of a Daryl meltdown.
"If that's supposed to make me feel better it don't." Daryl said as he started to walk away. He grabbed Jo's arm and pulled her along with him. He wanted her away from these people. He had only been gone for a day and they had already corrupted his little sister and left his brother on a roof to die.
"Well, maybe this will." T-Dog said catching Daryl's attention once more. "Look, I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him. with a padlock."
"Its gotta count for something." Rick said hopping his calm demeanor would keep the man calm as well.
"The hell with all of ya'll!" Daryl said as he did his best not to cry in front of every one. Jo bit her lip and quickly looked away. She hated to see him on the verge of tears. She had only seen him like that a few times. And those memories she didn't feel like reliving. "Just tell me where he is so I can go get him."
"We can go get him." Jo corrected him.
"He'll show you." Lori spoke up. "Isn't that right?"
Rick looked around the members of the group before he answered. "I'm going back."
"Can I have my damn knife back?" Daryl demanded and to every one's surprise, Jo handed him the hunting knife she had been playing with a few minutes earlier. No one had even seen her take it from him. Daryl walked away from the group. Jo on the other hand walked up to Rick. "Thank you."
"It's the least I can do since I got him left behind." Rick said and Jo shook her head.
"Naw, I mean for keeping calm." Jo said with a slight smirk. "He ain't used to that. Where we came from, people don't take kindly to us. You treated him with more respect then most. If it had been Macho man over there, things woulda ended differently."
Jo nodded towards Shane who glared back at the girl. She just smirked in response and turned her attention back to Rick. "And you can forget the why don't you stay here speech. I'm going to get it from my brother already, and he's going to lose just like you will."
Jo walked away from the man, knowing he was going to try and protest any way. instead she went ahead and camped out in the back of the truck as she waited for the rest of the group to get gathered.
XOXOXOXOXOX
The ride into town was completely silent. The only low grumble of the truck engine could be heard. Jo guessed it was because of Daryl's nervous twitches that had every one to scared to speak. He fiddled with his bow, his hand's shaking slightly. Jo wasn't sure if the others had noticed his shaky hands. It was only the slightest bit of a shake. Something that most people who didn't know Daryl wouldn't notice. Usually his hands where steady as a rock, only when he was in a bit of distress did his hands shake slightly.
As they got into the outskirts of town and the truck was parked, the group got out of the truck.
"Where to first?" Rick asked and Daryl turned at him at once.
"Merle. There shouldn't be a discussion about this." Daryl demanded. Jo put a hand on her brother's arm.
"We are going to discuss this." Rick said throwing a bit of authority into his voice. He stared the man in the eyes, letting him know he wasn't going to be swayed by him. "Glenn you know this area better than any of us. what do you say."
Glenn took a deep breath before he spoke. Almost as if hoping it wasn't going to be his last. "Merle is closer. So Merle first."
"Good choice." Jo said with a smirk. Glenn looked up at her, but the moment his eyes met her's, his view was blocked by the hunter. Glenn gulped under the sharp gaze Daryl was giving him. He bowed his head and got started heading towards the department store building. The others followed silently behind. Rick right behind him, followed by T-dog then Daryl and Jo.
"You think he's ok?" Jo asked glancing up at her brother.
"Yeah. Merle aint going out in cuffs." Daryl said with a slight smirk. Jo smirked back at him, only they would have caught the joke in Daryl's statement. Their father had always told Merle that he was going to die in cuffs, that he was to stupid to not get caught. Merle would always smile and tell him he was to proud to die in cuffs. And there wasn't any thing the three Dixons hated more than to prove their father right.
The group stopped in an alley way, right across the street from a department store. It looked like the front doors had been recently taken down, leaving a very clear view to inside the building.
"That's the building." Glenn told Daryl and Jo.
"Then let's go get Merle." Daryl said taking a step out into the street. Jo at once grabbed his arm and pulled him back to cover.
"We need a plan first." Jo demanded. "The last thing we need is to walk into something stupid and lose more people."
"What's your plan then?" Daryl growled as he pulled his arm away from his sister's grasp.
"I said we needed a plan dumb ass." Jo said rolling her eyes, a habit that Daryl couldn't stand. "Not that I had one. We need to be smart about this. I really don't feel like being left behind with them if you go and do something stupid."
"Hey!" Glenn protested.
"Alright that's enough." Rick said fighting the urge to roll his eyes at the others. He was starting to wonder how he got stuck playing daddy to three grown men and a teenaged girl. It seemed like all they wanted to do was bicker at one another and he was getting tired of it real fast. Rick stepped around the two Dixons and looked at his surroundings. The street was pretty well clear from Glenn's distraction the day before. only a few crawlers where left. So walking in the front door would be easy enough. It was what was left inside that had Rick worried. From his hiding spot it was hard to tell if there where any lingering Walkers inside. He remembered there being a few mannequins scattered around but wasn't sure if there was as many as he was counting. Which could mean there where walkers just standing still inside. He watched a few seconds more, hoping to see movement, but saw nothing.
"Alright here's the plan." Rick said turning back towards the others. "Daryl will go in first with his bow. It's silent so if there is any thing in there he can either take them out easily, or give us all enough time to get out if there are too many. I'll go next to cover him. Jo you stay on my tail, I think you would be the only one to stop Daryl if he tries to go into more than we can handle. T-Dog and Glenn will cover our backs incase something pops up from behind us."
"I'll cover our backs with Glenn." Jo offered, receiving a glare from her brother.
"The hell you will." Daryl growled and Jo once again rolled her eyes at her older brother.
"I'm a better shot than both them put together and you know this." Jo snapped back at him. "A Dixon leading the way and a Dixon covering our asses. I think it's a win win for all of us. If there is trouble from the front or the back we can use our whistle to worn the other."
Daryl nodded and readied his bow as Rick let out a frustrated sigh. The Dixon's seemed to have a lot of trust issues. Even though Jo had a point if she was a better shot than the other two men, she could cover their backs a lot better. So Rick nodded his approval to Daryl and the small group was off. They seemed to cross the street with out a hitch and Daryl made his way into the department store. Rick's hunch had been right about there being walkers still hanging around. But lucky for them there where only a couple. Daryl took them out with ease then turned to look around the group following him.
"Where the hell are Jo and the china man?" Daryl growled. A few seconds later Jo walked into the department store wiping a bloody pocket knife on her jeans. Glenn panting behind her as he glared over at her.
"You could have gotten me killed!" Glenn demanded and Jo shrugged her shoulders.
"You where fine. It was still a couple feet away from you." Jo said as she pocketed the knife. "And besides I got the job done with out a sound didn't I?"
Glenn threw his hands up in the air and looked over at the questioned looks of Rick and T-Dog. Daryl on the other hand looked quite amused to hear his little sister had saved the man, even if it was a close call. "A couple geeks came out from behind a car as you all passed. We split up to take out one each. I got mine, turn around and the other is right behind me. A few inches closer and it would have grabbed me. That's when this little hotshot decides to finally kill it."
"Did you use him as bait?" Rick asked a little concerned. He expected such a thing to come from the other Dixon. But he thought Jo had a little more concern for human life.
"He's exaggerating." Jo said as if it was no big deal. "I just didn't have a good angle on it. so I waited for it to turn its back. Glenn just happened to be making a bit of noise to attract it is all."
Rick let out an annoyed sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't wait for this whole thing to be over with so he could get back to his family and distance himself from the two Dixons. That is if they stayed with the group after rescuing the eldest brother. "Let's get going. Same formation as before."
Daryl winked over at his little sister and got his bow at the ready as Rick pointed out the direction of the stairwell that led to Merle. They cautiously made there way up the stairs to find it completely clear and the padlock still intact. T-Dog made his way to the front of the group and clipped the chain with the bolt cutters. Daryl quickly raced onto the roof and let out a cry. Glenn tried to stop Jo from getting past him, but one quick jab to the ribs had Glenn on his knees and Jo rushing past him.
"No!" Daryl cried out as he grabbed Jo around the middle and turned her away. "You don't wanna see it."
"Oh god he's dead isn't he?" Jo said in a bit of panic. "Let me go Daryl."
Daryl shook his head and tightened his grip around her. She didn't need to see what was hanging from the cuffs. He was sure Merle had survived the mutilation he had done to his body, but wasn't sure if he'd survive the blood lose. "I don't know if he's dead."
"Then what's your problem?" Jo asked as she crushed his toes with her boots. He loosened his grip enough for her to get free and she quickly rounded the corner and gasped. Dangling from the cuffs still attached to the pipes was the sawn off hand of Merle. Jo turned away and rushed to the nearest roof edge, letting what little breakfast she had eaten that morning come back up.
"I tried to warn you." Daryl said at he pulled her hair out of her face. "He lost a lot of blood."
"A little blood lose isn't going to kill Merle." Jo said wiping her mouth on the back of her sleeve. She stood up and looked around on the ground. "He's to stubborn for that shit."
Daryl shook his head and went back to the hand. To Jo's horror. He took it out of the cuffs, wrapped it in a do-rag he got from T-Dog and placed it in Glenn's backpack.
"What the hell you going to do with that except stink up the tent as it decays?" Jo asked placing her hands on her hips. "Have you finally lost your mind?"
"Its proof we came back." Daryl said and Jo froze. He knew what he was meaning. Merle was so hard headed, that if he went back to camp, he'd never believe they had gone back for him with out proof.
"There is a trail of blood leading to the other roof over here." Rick called out and the two Dixon's quickly rushed over.
"Where the hell does he think he's going?" Daryl said climbing over to the next roof and following the blood trial. "It's a few hours old I'd say. He couldn't be that far with that injury."
Daryl started to follow the blood trail with Jo hot on his heals. She wasn't going to let her brother out of her sight. One because any trust she might have had with the other three men had gone right out the window when she saw Merle's hand. And two she didn't trust Daryl not to pull his bow on one of them. Daryl lead them all into what looked like some sort of office.
"Merle? You in here?" Daryl called out and Jo groaned. If they had the element of surprise on any of the dead, it was gone by Daryl's loud voice. They all ascended from the stairs with out another sound. All with weapons at the ready. "You stay close. You hear me?"
"Loud and clear." Jo said taking a hold of the hem of his shirt like she had when she was young. He had taken her out hunting with him a few days after he had met her. He had told her to stay close but became distracted by a butterfly and stopped to watch it for a few seconds. That was just enough time for Daryl to silently walk deeper into the woods with out realizing she wasn't there. In a panic, the young Jo called out for him and headed the wrong way. Deeper into the woods. By the time Daryl found her, she had fallen into a small creek and got stuck in the mud. Since then, when he said to stay close, Jo took a hold of the hem of his shirt. Letting him know she was in fact there.
Rick watched the two Dixons from his spot behind them. Lori had explained a little back-story about them. But the camp knew very little about the three Dixons. Mostly that they came from a very remote part of the state and the oldest brother was a jerk. That Daryl followed Merle's lead, and Jo was closer to Daryl than she was Merle. Lori also brought up the age difference between the siblings. That either brother was old enough to be the girls father. That despite them all trying to get a back story from them, none would talk. Each replying that it was no ones business.
As Rick watched the two, he noticed how in sync their steps where. That the young girl was following her brother's footsteps to a tee and neither one made a single noise. Daryl had his bow at the ready and directly behind him, Jo had her hand gun raised just above his shoulder as her other hand lightly held on to her brothers shirt. Both highly aware of their surroundings and each other. If Rick didn't know any better, he'd say they had been doing this for years. They both seemed very comfortable sneaking around the offices. Rick's cop raidar was going nuts. Wondering how many places had these two broke into to be as comfortable as they seemed.
As Daryl began to exit a wood paneled office, Rick watched Jo give her brother's shirt a slight tug. Daryl lifted his bow a bit higher and took out a woman walker that had been standing a bit farther into the room. He wouldn't have believed it if he didn't see it for himself. But he wasn't even sure that Daryl had actually seen the walker. Jo had. And some how she had told her brother where to shoot, just by a tug of his shirt. Rick was a bit intrigued by them now.
Daryl led the way down the hall and into what looked like a waiting room. Lying on the floor where a couple bodies of the undead. Jo snorted and shook her head as she let go of Daryl's shirt and walked around him. Picking up the wrench Merle must have used to take them down.
"Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches." Daryl said nodding towards Jo. "One handed."
Jo handed the wrench to T-Dog who had the rest of Dale's tools while Daryl loaded his crossbow.
"Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother." Daryl said and Jo rolled her eyes. She always believed Daryl gave Merle way to much credit. To her Merle was just some asshole who had a surprisingly great amount of good luck. "Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails."
"Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is." Rick said as he moved around the two Dixons to take point.
"He's too stubborn to die like this." Jo said with a smirk over to her brother. "Asshole is probably sitting on a roof some where watching us try to find him."
"Let's keep moving." Rick said not even looking back at the others. He started to follow the blood trail, but Daryl wasn't having it. he quickly barged in front of the cop. Rick was about to protest but Jo stopped him.
"What do you think Merle will do if he sees you walking in threw a door." Jo said moving in front of Rick as well. "Less chance of him attacking if its Daryl."
They all followed Daryl back to what looked like a storage room. "Merle!"
"We're not alone here." Rick warned.
"The blood is fresher than what was on the roof." Jo growled at the sheriff. "He could be bleeding out. You said so yourself."
The Dixons walked farther into the room and quickly lowered their weapons. They knew Merle wasn't in here. The smell in the room told them all they needed to know of what had happened. They walked over to where the smell was coming from and Jo quickly looked away. Daryl nodded towards the other side of the room for her to look for any clues on where Merle may have gone.
"What is that?" Glenn asked as he walked up to Rick and saw the old fashioned iron Rick held in his hand.
"Skin." Was all Rick had to say as Jo once again lost her breakfast.
"Damn Jo." Daryl said in disgust. "When they hell did you get so sensitive."
"That skin, belongs to our brother." Jo said trying not to gag. "Forgive me for turning into a sissy. Maybe if you and Merle weren't so damn heartless ya'd have a problem with it too. By the way, he went this way."
Daryl quickly went over to where Jo was and checked out the broken window that his sister had found.
"He left the building." Glenn said in complete shock. "Why would he do that?"
"Why wouldn't he?" Daryl said glancing over at his sister. "He's out there alone as far as he knows. Doing what he's gotta do. Surviving."
"You call that surviving?" T-Dog asked. "What are his chances out there. About ready to pass out."
"No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks." Daryl snapped at him. Jo at once stood between her brother and T-Dog. Daryl turned away from T-Dog and walked up to Rick. "You couldn't kill him. Aint so worried about some dumb dead bastards."
"Come on you three!" Jo growled. "He was calm. He was playing nice. Why'd ya have to go and piss him off for!"
Daryl glared over at his younger sister. "You coming to find Merle with me, or staying with these assholes?"
"Yeah you don't even really have to ask that." Jo said as she stepped up next to her brother. "Lets go get the dumb ass before he gets eaten."
"We'll all go and find him." Rick said holding his hand out to stop Jo. "We have a better chance with numbers."
"I'd be more comfortable if we had those guns." T-Dog said and Jo rolled her eyes as she looked up at her brother. She knew he'd listen to her if it really came down to it. No matter how upset he was with the other three men, Daryl was not an idiot. He knew he could use the extra set of eyes. not just to find Merle, but to make sure that Jo stayed safe as well.
"They're right." Jo said with a shrug. "You only have one arrow, and I'm low on bullets. We could use the gun power."
Daryl glared down at his sister. "Fine. Lets go get their stupid guns."
XOXOXOXO
Jo had to agree with Glenn on his crazy gun retrieving plan. Even though it was two against three, neither Jo or Glenn where going to give in and think of something else. Daryl was on the verge of taking Glenn's head off for even getting Jo involved in his stupid plan. The last thing he wanted was for his little sister to be any where close to undead. If the group thought he was bad with the lose of his brother, they had a new thing coming if something happened to his baby sister.
"It's a perfect plan. Jo and I will go onto the street from here, Daryl will cover with his bow. Jo stays back here at this car to cover me or make a distraction if needed and I'll grab the guns. Rick and T-Dog will be in this alley here. That way if we cant make it back to Daryl we can make it to the two of you." Glenn said and Daryl clenched his teeth. He still didn't like the fact that Jo was in the mix of the plan but Glenn did come up with a good one.
"What did you do before this?" Daryl asked.
"Pizza delivery. Why?" Glenn answered and Jo smirked. She was thinking the same thing. it was surprising what this whole end of the world thing was bringing out in people. Talents that they never had the chance to show when the world was considered normal.
As Daryl, Jo and Glenn went down the alley way Daryl started to load his bow as Jo checked her gun.
"You have a lot of balls for a china man." Daryl said as Glenn started to push forward.
"I'm Korean." Glenn corrected and Jo smirked.
"That's the Dixon way of saying your alright." Jo replied as she stuck her tongue out at Daryl. She opened the metal gate as she and Glenn slid through. Daryl watched intently as the two disappeared around the corner. All he could do was wait for them to come back with the guns.
Jo followed Glenn around the cars as the dead walked around. Not a single one of them seemed to notice that they where around. Jo was impressed with Glenn's silent steps. She had only seen Daryl walk with such silence as if walking on air. Glenn looked around their surroundings then turned back towards Jo.
"You grab the bag. I'm going for the hat." Glenn said, then before Jo could question him, he rushed out from his hiding spot. Jo cursed under her breath and quickly followed behind him. She grabbed the bag and soon Glenn was back at her side leading her back towards the alley where Daryl was waiting. As they turned the corner, they saw a car pull up to the alley and heard some one yelling. Two men jumped out of the car and raced into the alley.
"Shit." Jo cursed as she raced into the alley to find Daryl on the ground, getting beat by two Mexican men. Jo at once shot her gun into the air. The men turned on Jo and Glenn. One rushed Jo and knocked her back into the wall, knocking her gun out of her hand. The other grabbed Glenn. Daryl let out a growl as he got to his bow and took aim. Shooting the one who had knocked into Jo in the butt. He let out a cry of pain. He and his friend took off with Glenn in tow. Daryl quickly got to his feet to race after them, but was stopped as the dead started to surround the metal gate. At that time, Rick and T-Dog raced down the alley from the other end. Daryl turned his attention on the young boy the others had left behind. Rick quickly got in his way and Daryl turned back to Jo, who had finally gotten to her feet and was holding her head.
"You got this?" Daryl asked and Jo nodded. Pulling her hand back to show a bit of blood. Daryl at once put his bow down and checked out his sister's injury. There had been quite a bit of blood on Jo's hand, but he also knew head injuries could bleed a bit worse than others. He took her head in his hands and started to part her hair where the blood seemed to be coming from. The cut wasn't more than a few centimeters long but the blood didn't seem to be wanting to stop any time soon.
"Ya sure?" Daryl asked concerned and Jo rolled her eyes and pushed him away.
"No Daryl." She replied sarcastically. "I'm dead. You're talking to my ghost right now."
"Not funny." Daryl growled back at her as he cut off a piece of his shirt and placed it over the injury. Jo quickly took a hold of the cloth then turned to the others.
"lets get out of here before we become chew toys."