Merle parked his truck about twenty feet from the walker holding pit. He turned off the engine and opened the truck's door.

Daryl cracked one eye open and moved his head so he could see Merle. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked.

Merle snorted. "Why I'm feeding you to the biters, of course."

Both of Daryl's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, scrambling back on the seat until his back hit the passenger door. "You asshole!" he said and his voice broke. He reached for the door handle but before he was able to open the door and get out of the truck, Merle caught hold of him by the collar of his shirt and hauled him towards him across the front seat.

"I was kidding!" he hissed. "Good Lord, do you really think I'd do something like that to you?"

Daryl's cheeks reddened and he dropped his eyes. "I don't know. Maybe."

Merle shoved Daryl backward and pinned him against the passenger side door. He got right into Daryl's face and Daryl kept his eyes down, avoiding looking into his older brother's face.

"Look at me." Merle said.

"Why?" Daryl mumbled.

"Because I fuckin' said so, that's why!" Merle roared.

Daryl winced as his head reacted to the shouting and he kept his eyes averted.

Merle blew out a breath. "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… you know.. but.. shit…dammit Daryl, fuckin' look at me when I'm talkin' to you!" He started off quietly as he spoke, but he was shouting again by the time he finished his sentence.

Daryl lifted his gaze to meet Merle's eyes. He was dizzy again and the little man with the jack hammer inside his head had brought out the really big jack hammer and was pounding away. Daryl was having a hell of a time concentrating on what Merle was saying and he was having a hard time keeping his eyes trained on Merle.

Merle was concerned. He didn't like the way his brother's eyes would zero in on him and then start to drift and then zero in on him again. "You still with me?" he asked.

"Yeah. Still here." Daryl muttered.

Merle sighed. "I know I've been a shitty big brother," he said, "and there ain't no goin' back and correctin' all the shit I did wrong, but I'm a different person now. Been clean for the last five months and things are a lot clearer now an' I know what's really important."

Daryl was impressed. Merle hadn't been off the drugs for years.

"One thing that's really important is kin." Merle said. "We're kin, baby brother, we got the same blood flowing through our veins. We're Dixons, you and me. We had the same damned mean bastard for a father and a weak submissive mother. You an' me, we've had our backs against the wall and been fightin' to get by all our lives." Merle put his hand on Daryl's shoulder. "I just want you to know I'm sorry for bein' such a shit ass brother and for now on I've got your back, no matter what. I'd never do nothing to hurt you, not on purpose, anyway. Shit, Daryl, it hurts that you think I'd fuckin' throw you into a pit full a biters."

"Mmm sorry." Daryl mumbled.

Merle watched as Daryl's eyes wandered again and then blinked before they closed.

Daryl didn't even notice that he'd closed his eyes and his head had started to fall forward until he felt Merle's rough hand grasp his chin and yank his head up. He opened his eyes again and raised his eyebrows slightly at the expression on Merle's face. Merle actually looked like he was worried.

"What, am I boring you or are you passin' out here?" Merle narrowed his eyes at Daryl and he watched Daryl's eyes wander again and then look down. Merle felt red hot anger rising up inside of him. "Shit, that bastard Morey really fucked you up, didn't he. I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch!"

"No,"' Daryl said, "don't be gettin' into it with that.."

Merle moved the hand holding Daryl's chin up and covered his brother's mouth with it. "Don't be tellin' me what and what not to do! The guy fuckin kicked you in the head, baby brother! He coulda killed you and you're tellin' me you want me to leave it be? Just let him get away with it?"

Daryl nodded behind Merle's hand.

Merle sighed. "You must be fuckin' nuts."

"I just don't think it'd be any too wise to be callin' attention to yourself is all." Daryl said, his words muffled behind Merle's hand but still understandable. "And get your filthy hand offa my mouth."

Merle grinned and dropped his hand from Daryl's mouth. "Don't you mean 'get your hand off my filthy mouth'?"

Daryl winced and sucked in a breath as one of those damned sudden sharp pains tore through his skull.

Merle put his hand on Daryl's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Is your head achin' bad?" Merle asked.

"Somethin' awful". Daryl admitted.

Merle nodded. He'd never liked seeing Daryl like this. "You dizzy? Feel like you wanna sleep?"

Daryl smirked, "Fuck, yeah."

Merle had been through situations like this with Daryl before. He knew Daryl needed to get a lot of rest over the next few days in order to heal and get his head straightened out. Daryl had been the recipient of several head injuries in the past, starting when their father began beating the hell out of him when he was just a young kid. Merle had had his share of blows to the head, but Daryl'd been clocked in the noggin so many times over the years that Merle was surprised that Daryl wasn't a blithering idiot or institutionalized somewhere in a permanent coma.

"Good thing you got a rock hard skull, little brother. Let me help get you into the back seat and you can take a siesta there. I've got a sheet I can throw over you so no one will see you when we go back through the gates and into town."

"Don't need no help." Daryl grumbled in response and he slowly pulled himself up and over the seat back. Merle watched him as he laid himself down on his right side on the back seat, facing away from him.

"I can give you something to help your head when we get to my place." Merle said to Daryl's back. "I couldn't just take you there without coming here first. I had to make it look like I'd disposed of a body or else I'd raise suspicions."

Daryl grunted in reply.

"Now listen up 'cause this here is some important shit. You listenin'?"

Daryl mumbled something undecipherable and Merle said, "I'll take that as a 'yes'. Now here's the deal; after we get your headache squared away, we gotta get you in the shower. You really stink, little brother. I'm talkin' nasty, killer B.O. here. You smell just awful. So bad it could make a skunk puke. Hell, I'm surprised I ain't pukin' right now..." Merle went on a bit more about how vile Daryl's 'killer B.O.' was before he was ready to drop the subject.

Daryl was silent but he heard Merle's words. They sounded like they were being spoken from somewhere far away, but he understood them and he smiled. He'd spent a lot of time in the sun the last couple of days moving vehicles and sweating, sweating, sweating. Then he'd been rained on. Of course he stunk. He felt a thin, light sheet cover him and then Merle's hand was pulling it up over his head. "Just be still, baby brother. Be still and big brother Merle will take care of everything."

Daryl relaxed. After being thrown into the mess he had found himself in earlier that day, that was just what he needed to hear.


Maggie sat in the rocking chair in Haley's living room and watched as Haley tried to show Glenn how to ready her compound bow for firing. Glenn stood holding a blunt arrow against the string and Maggie watched the arrow point up, down and to the sides as Glenn fumbled to try to hold it correctly. She looked to her left and tried to project the course of the arrow should Glenn accidentally release the thing.

"No," Haley was saying and she positioned herself behind Glenn and leaned forward, pressing herself against his back as she put her right hand over the hand Glenn held the arrow against the string with. "You have to pinch the nock behind the string, then pull the string back using the arrow while holding the nock. This holds the arrow in place."

She pinched Glenn's fingers against the nock, trapping the bowstring in it. "Now pull the arrow back." she instructed.

Glenn swallowed. He could feel Haley's chest pressing up against his back and he could smell her. She smelled like jasmine. He hadn't noticed it before when they had been talking on the library lawn.

That was because Haley hadn't had any perfume on when she met Glenn and Maggie. She had remedied that situation when the three of them had arrived at her apartment, running into her bedroom to spritz herself while Maggie used the bathroom and Glenn looked through her collection of CDs.

Maggie had noticed the perfume immediately when Haley had come out of her bedroom and she had grinned to herself. Was Woodbury so short on eligible young men that this young woman felt the need to pounce on Glenn only minutes after meeting him?

As Maggie watched Haley trying to give Glenn a lesson in basic archery, she had to admit to herself that Glenn was a good catch. He was smart and cute and compassionate and funny. She appreciated all those qualities in him, and at one time he was all she needed and she was completely content in her relationship with him.

Daryl had changed that for her. Cranky, foul-mouthed, sarcastic Daryl Dixon had fucked that contentment all up. She smiled as she heard Glenn laugh at something Haley had said, and she glanced over at him. Glenn was a sweetie, but Daryl... She made a list of adjectives in her mind; adjectives she would use to describe Daryl. She'd already thought of cranky, foul-mouthed and sarcastic and now she added more to the list: short-tempered, caustic, strong, brave, defensive, introspective, self-loathing, sad, smart, self-sufficient, skillful, insecure, audacious, handsome, honorable, daring and anti-social with a touch of crazy thrown in for good measure. She reached into her pocket and ran her fingers over the smooth, heart-shaped stone hidden there and wondered where Daryl was right now and what he was doing. Damn, she missed him so much.

An arrow flew through the living room and planted itself firmly into the cushioned back of a leather armchair.

"Oh, man, I'm so sorry!" Glenn exclaimed.

Haley leaped over the coffee table and approached the wounded armchair. "Don't worry about it," she said as she grasped the arrow's shaft and pulled it out of the chair. "That was pretty good for a beginner, although I thought we were just going to learn how to hold the arrow against the string. Releasing it indoors usually isn't a very good idea."

Glenn plopped himself down on the couch and sighed. "I really am sorry. Maybe I'd be better with a crossbow. Daryl makes loading one of those look so easy and the arrow stays in place without being held."

"Bolt," Maggie corrected, "A crossbow's projectiles are called bolts, not arrows."

Haley grinned at Maggie. "Are you into archery?" she asked.

"No," Maggie replied.

"But Merle's brother, Daryl, was." Glenn said. "He was a crack shot with his crossbow."

"Was?" Haley asked.

"Is." Maggie corrected. "He left to go look for Merle a couple days ago. He thought Merle might be at Fort Benning so he was heading there."

Haley bit her bottom lip. A group of the governor's men had gone down to Fort Benning early that morning to do a sweep of the area and to bring in more supplies. Ambushes were set up near the base as well as it was a place that many survivors sought out in their search for shelter, safety and answers. She had seen the group come back from their successful endeavor earlier that day while she was working the wall. Jeff was driving an old blue pickup truck with a motorcycle strapped in the back of it when it followed the Lincoln Navigators through the gate.

Jeff saw Haley looking at him and he smiled and gave her the 'thumbs up' gesture. She turned away in disgust. She had gone out before on these excursions as 'bait' until Jeff had excitedly told her about the supplies that had been collected from a house where two men she had helped capture had been staying. The two men were older, probably in their sixties, and they had been kind to her when they stopped to help her as she stood next to her 'disabled' car. She was shocked when she learned from Jeff that these two men had been killed once information about their base and supplies had been beaten out of them. After that she had signed up for wall watch duty and she hadn't gone out on supply runs again. Jeff's wife and son had been the bait today and apparently the fishing had been good.

There was a knock at the door and Haley excused herself to answer it. She opened the door and was surprised to see Jeff standing there. He smiled at her.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"Its going great." Haley replied. "What's up?"

Jeff leaned against the doorpost. "The governor would like to see you."

Haley raised her eyebrows. "Right now?"

Jeff nodded.

"Okay," Haley said. "I'll head over there in just a minute."

"You want me to walk you over?" Jeff asked.

Haley laughed. "Thanks, but I can find my way there," she said.

Jeff smiled. "Okay, suit yourself."

Haley closed the door and walked back into the living room. "Something's come up and I have to leave for a little while. I shouldn't be gone long. Do you guys want to just hang out here for a bit until I get back? You can listen to music or play video games and if you're hungry you can help yourselves to anything in the kitchen."

"Sure, we'll stay right here and wait for you to get back," Glenn said before Maggie had a chance to speak.

"Great! I'll be back soon." Haley said and she grabbed her handbag and walked out the door.

Once Haley was gone, Maggie turned to Glenn. "What the heck?"

Glenn looked perplexed. "What?" He asked, genuinely confused.

Maggie smiled. "Haley's quite the flirt, isn't she? Batting her lashes at you and running to her bedroom the second she gets here to put some perfume on. Are you enjoying yourself?"

Glenn blushed. "Maybe. Maybe I am. Why, you're not jealous, are you?"

Maggie shrugged. "Maybe I am. A little bit. I'm sorry."

Glenn grinned. "Don't be sorry. You just did my ego a world of good. I mean, I want us to be friends, but it's hard for me to let go of the deeper feelings I have for you. I'm not going to lie, it feels really good to have another girl acting like she's interested in me. I know I just met her, and that after today I'll probably never see her again, but I'm going to enjoy the attention while I can."

Maggie nodded. "I get it. I have no business being jealous and I want to be friends, too. She sighed. "Not that I'm anxious to change the subject or anything, but we need to discuss a few things before our lovely hostess returns."

"Like what?" Glenn asked.

"Namely, that you need to keep your mouth shut about certain things and we need to make sure we have our stories straight when it comes to the information we're volunteering."

Glenn suddenly looked worried. "What, did I say something I shouldn't have?"

"I'm not sure, but let's go over a few things. First of all, I told Merle there were six of us in our group, so you should say the same."

"Okay, so who are the six? Just so we can be on the same page if we're asked for specifics," Glenn said.

"You, me, Dad, Rick, Lori and Carl. I don't want this bunch knowing about Beth and the others. Merle already knows Rick is still around and thanks to you, he knows Rick is Lori's husband and Carl's dad."

Glenn's face turned red.

"Next, no mention of the lake house. Play it as if we're still at the farm."

"But Merle knows we're not."

"Yes, but no one else here does."

Glenn nodded. "Got it." he said.

"Don't mention Daryl anymore. I opened my big mouth about him and I shouldn't have. We don't know if Merle has said anything to anyone here about having a brother and he is the only one we should be talking to about Daryl. I should have known better. I'm sorry, but I just don't have a very good feeling about this place."

Glenn snorted. "Are you serious? Everyone is so happy and friendly here. How can you possibly think something could be wrong?"

"Because," Maggie said, "things aren't always as they seem. Remember Sergeant Wallace? When we all first met him we all thought he was a good guy and look at how that turned out."

Glenn shuddered remembering that day. Sergeant Wallace had seemed like a nice guy when he first appeared on the scene with Rick and the introductions were made, but less than ten minutes later Glenn was on the ground, helping Rick to pin the man down as Rick struggled to get the gun away from him.

"You're right. Things aren't always as they seem. I guess it really is better to be safe than sorry." he said. "What if Merle questions us about where we're staying now?" Glenn asked. "You know I'm a terrible liar."

"Then just let me do the talking." Maggie said as she stood up. She grabbed Glenn's arm and pulled him up so he stood next to her. She smiled and Glenn could see a mischievous glint in her eyes. He had always loved the way her eyes betrayed her when she was intent on doing some mischief. "Come on, Romeo, let's see what your new girlfriend has in her 'fridge to eat."

"Sure thing, old girlfriend." Glenn replied with a grin.


Andrea sat on the end of the dock with her bare feet in the water. She was wearing an old pair of jeans and she had rolled the bottoms up to her knees. She dragged her feet back and forth through the cool water as she held her fishing rod. The cicadas buzzed and a family of ducks that had taken up residence on the lake quacked loudly as they swam towards her on one of their many daily paddles around the lake. The ducks had quickly learned that if they announced their presence loudly as they approached anyone on the lake house's dock, they would more than likely be rewarded with something to eat.

Andrea reeled in her line quickly so a duck wouldn't accidentally get caught going after the baited hook and pulled it out of the water. She picked up a paper bag on the dock next to her and opened it, reaching down into it and withdrawing a hand full of crusts that Carl had meticulously cut from the edges of his toast that morning.

Andrea had tried to tell Carl as he performed his toast surgery that the crust was the best part of the bread, but he insisted that it was chewy and toast wasn't supposed to be chewy.

Maggie had found a fifty pound bag of wheat berries in one of the freezers in the garage the day before yesterday in the morning and had gone on a whole wheat bread and cracker baking rampage. It had been extremely hot out and Andrea thought Maggie was nuts. The heat in the kitchen was unbearable the one time she had walked through it and she didn't know how Maggie could stand to be in there. Almost everyone spent a good part of the day in the lake, lounging around on various floats and inner tubes in an effort to stay cool. Maggie spent time in the water while waiting for the bread dough to rise and was in the lake again as it baked in the oven and Andrea decided she wasn't as crazy as she'd initially thought.

Andrea tossed the bread crusts into the water and the greedy ducks gobbled them up as quickly as they could. They hung around for about ten minutes after devouring every little crumb they'd been given and once they realized that no more goodies were forthcoming, they paddled away, quacking amongst themselves.

Andrea threw her line back out into the water and adjusted the straw hat on her head. She was alone on the dock and she was glad because she didn't really feel like talking to anyone. She sighed as thoughts she would rather not think invaded her mind.

Daryl had been furious with her before he left a couple of days ago and had snuck off early in the morning without so much as a goodbye.

"Ha!" she said to herself. Did she really think he'd have anything at all to say to her after she'd pulled her gun on him and demanded that he show everyone his injured hand? She winced remembering how absolutely furious he had looked when he had turned to face her And then he had actually dared her to shoot him. Her mind suddenly took her back to the Greene farm and a conversation in Daryl's tent. He had forgiven her quickly for shooting him because she was watching out for the group. Isn't that what she had been doing this time, too? Wasn't she watching out for the group when she'd insisted that he show them his injured hand beneath the bandages? Couldn't he see that and forgive her this time?

She sighed. What difference did it make now? Daryl was gone and none of them were ever going to see him again. She just wished she could have had a chance to apologize to him before he'd left. She watched a cloud drifting lazily across the sky and more questions filled her head. Where was Daryl now? Did he go to Fort Benning in search of Merle or did he head straight for Maine? Was he okay? He hadn't been in the best of shape when he left. She took off her hat and wiped her brow before pulling the hat back down on her head.

'Stop thinking about him, he's not worth feeling guilty over,' she told herself. Besides, she really didn't need to apologize. he had evened the score, in her eyes anyway. He'd left her a message when he left. A big old Daryl Dixon personal 'fuck you', just for her. The morning Daryl left, Andrea found her straw hat hanging on the towel hook on the back of the bathroom door direct across the hall from her bedroom. She'd gone into the bathroom that morning and closed the door behind her, just like he knew she would and she had stared at the hat hanging from the hook. She'd bitten her bottom lip as tears welled up in her eyes. Sticking out around the crown of her hat and jammed into place between woven pieces of straw were twelve turkey feathers.

Holy crap, last night's TWD episode broke my heart! No, I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it yet, but...holy crap!