"Why?" She looks at him intently, trying to figure out why he'd do such a thing. She didn't know him well, but she knew enough to know he'd never cut off a limb. Not unless his life was on the line.

"They cuffed me to that rooftop. Couldn't cut the cuffs, so cut off my own hand." He shrugged and leaned back against the cool stone. It was almost as if he just didn't care. But she knew better than that, he did care. Even if he tried to wave everything off, he still cared.

"Geez…" She muttered and shook her head "What an assholes!"

"Ya think?" Merle chuckled and closed his eyes, taking in the cool comfort of the stone wall. It was sorta soothing to the senses, but she was grateful they managed to make a small contained fire for warmth.

"If you need help kickin' their arsses.."

"You'll be the first I'll call, Rosita." He smirked and roamed his eyes over her body. Damn horn dog was checking her out. Some things never changed…

They stayed on the ledge for three days, gathering their strength as they healed their wounds. Well at least healed them enough to get going. Merle's arm would take another six months to even remotely heal but her concussion was improving. Some of the biters had gathered below, groaning and trying to reach for them. They missed by about ten feet but that didn't seem to matter to them. Thankfully the reanimated corpses were really stupid. The climb back up was difficult but manageable, nothing they couldn't handle.

The two of them wandered deeper into the forest, listening for any sounds of trouble as they walked.

A twig snapped somewhere to their left and the two froze, taking in their surroundings carefully. She looked back at Merle, signaling there was a figure on their left flank and slowly stalked towards the intended target. Merle just walked ahead, not bothered or worried by anything in the slightest. Damn arrogant…

She stopped in her tracks and squinted her eyes, grabbing her gun and aiming it as the figure ran. A dull thud followed almost immediately after. Merle was standing over another mans body, smirking down at the fat guy at his feet. "There you are, Rosita. Look what old Merle caught."

She scowled as he laughed at her, she didn't appreciate being ridiculed and she'd be sure to let him know that later. For now though, the man on the ground was far more interesting. "So I see…" She said as she slowly circled around the two men. "And who have you caught, oh old Merle?"
"O-o-Otis Ma'am." The fat man stuttered, looking wildly from her to Merle and back. So the guy was scared of them? Good, that meant he wouldn't dare to pull shit on them.
"And where are you from, Otis?" She asked, glaring at Merle when he interrupted the stranger with a "Who cares?".

"I do. He may be able to help us." She snapped back, looking back at Otis with a raised eyebrow. "Well?"

"From a farm, it's not far from here. The owner, he's a vet. He can help you." Otis stammered, looking at Merle the entire time. He may seem fat and stupid but he clearly wasn't unintelligent. Any sane man would be wary around Merle Dixon.

Vani smirked and helped the guy up on his feet. "Well then, Otis. Let's go." She shot Merle a quick look before smiling at Otis. The large man led them straight to the farm, little questions asked about who they were and what they did. Not a smart move.

She could see the wheels in Merle's head turning as they walked up to the farm. He was cooking up some plans and she doubted it would be good for the current residents. A young woman with light brown shoulder length hair and a cowboy hat came out to greet them.
"Hey there." The girl grinned at them and opened the gate to let them in. "Name's Maggie."

"Vani." She replied, nodding at the younger woman before pointing at the redneck. "That's Merle. Don't ask, he was born that way."

"Haha, very funny Rosita."

"You love me anyway, ya big doofus."

"Shut up."

Maggie chuckled at their little banter and invited them inside, leading the way up to the porch. An elder man came out of the house and stared at them intently before stepping aside to let them in. He brought them to the kitchen, leading them to two chairs. "Please, sit down."
The elderly man looked at Merle's right arm and frowned. "What happened? Did one of the mob get you?"

Merle laughed and gave the old man a pointed look. "Nah, cut it off myself."

"Why would you do that?"

"They chained me to a damn rooftop."

"Why would anyone do that?" A blonde haired girl stood in the doorway as Vani looked up. She was young, about sixteen. Still innocent and naive despite the harsh world that was now their reality.

"Cause they're little stinkin' jerks, that's why." Merle replied, glaring as the old man started unwrapping his bandages. "Least buy me dinner first, old man."

"It's Hershell. And I will, soon as I cleaned this up."

Vani and Merle shared a chuckle at Hershells kind of humor. Maggie came into the kitchen with a large black leather bag, like the ones the doctors of the early twentieth century carried with them. Maggie started cleaning her scrapes and cuts while her father tried to salvage what he could of the ragged cut stump. He cleaned it up and stitched it to the best of his abilities but it would never look pretty.

"'S okay doc, now it matches my face." Merle joked, relaxing when Hershell gave him something for the pain. "Ooh, the good stuff."

"Merle, get a room." Vani winced when Maggie hit a sensitive spot but kept her composure. She was a frigging soldier and she could handle scrapes and cuts. No fucking problem.

Once they were both cleaned up and treated Hershell invited them to stay for dinner with the family. Sitting at a table was strange and foreign to them, especially after camping out in the open for so long. She smiled at Otis's wife when she passed the breadbasket and tried to act as normal as possible. She was failing miserably judging by Merle's smirking.

"Thanks, blondie." Merle said as he took the salad bowl from Beth. If this situation wasn't so goddamn awkward she would've laughed at the look of surprise on poor Beth's face.

"So, Vani. Where are you from?" Patricia asked and for a moment everybody stopped what they were doing to listen what she had to say.

"I'm from Ellijah, Georgia. Merle's too." She replied shortly, putting some potatoes on her plate followed by a pork chop and some gravy.

"I see, that's in the mountains isn't it? Is it nice up there?"

Vani tried to smile at the questions Patricia was asking but at the moment she just wanted to bolt upstairs and hide. Battlefields and Merle Dixon she could handle, sitting at a table and pretending to have a normal 'family' dinner however creeped her out considerably.

"It is in the summer." She replied quickly and thankfully Patricia didn't ask any further questions.

Merle laughed at her discomfort, earning a glare from Vani, not that he would take the hint. "You doin' alright there, darlin'?" He chuckled, mischief practically sparkling in his eyes.

"Darling? Are you married?" Beth asked softly, earning a laugh from Merle. The damn bastard was playing this family, earning their trust while fucking with her at the same time. God what an asshole.

"Yeah." Merle answered simultaneously with her "No."

"Sounds like it's complicated." Hershell chuckled.

The dinner continued quietly for the rest of the evening. The Greene family was kind enough to appoint them a room. With only one king sized bed… Just fucking fantastic. She felt him come up behind her, his hand sliding over her hip, pulling her closer until her back was against his chest.

"We gotta keep up appearances and I can still show ya a good time, Rosita."

She could feel his lips on her neck as he smelled her hair and teased her with soft kisses. She shouldn't fall for this, shouldn't do this. But really, what harm would it do. She hadn't gotten laid since before this mess started, and right now she had a horny man on her hands who was offering. "Are you now?" She smiled and bit her lip as his lips nipped at her neck.

"Sure am." He smirked and undid the button of her pants with some difficulty. "You want it?"

"Hell yeah." She breathed, turning around to face him. She pulled him closer by the waistband of his jeans and rid him of the offending garment swiftly. Her own clothing followed soon after along with his shirt and underwear. "On the bed." She commanded, smirking when he wouldn't cooperate.

She gave him a gentle shove, chuckling at the sight of his dick bouncing as he hit the bed. "You want that don't ya?" He smirked as he lazily stroked himself. And she had to admit, he did have a good looking cock. If it preformed as good as it looked, she was gonna have a good time.

"Mmm, I do." She hummed as she crawled up the bed and mounted him. She teased him with soft moans short thrusts, driving him mad with want before they even started.
She guided him in, moaning as he stretched her a little. He moaned and cursed under her as she rolled her hips, slowly picking up pace until he was fucking her thoroughly. "Fuck yeah." He moaned, his hand leaving a red imprint on her hip as he pounded up into her. "Ya like that?"

She nodded and moaned, clenching her muscles to draw another moan from his lips. They fucked with vigor, building up their releases slowly until it all came crashing down upon them. They rode out their orgasms, moving as one until Merle was basically sleeping under her. She huffed a little and cleaned them up, not paying attention to the redneck until he tried to pull her down. She fell down on top of him, her chin crashing onto his chest as his head hit the headboard.

They looked at each other and blinked a few times before bursting into laughter. She cuddled up against him and closed her eyes, hoping that tomorrow would bring an even better day.

And here it is, hope you guys like it. Let me know if you do and I'll see you guys at the next update.