*I noticed a lot of duplicate words after I uploaded this. So I just went back and fixed them, so if you have already read this then nothing new has been added.


"Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."

-Hebrews 13:2

Ch 11 - Hospitality to Angels

After all was said and done they spent 3 days in that small office at the back of the mini-mart. The dead were uncommonly reluctant to leave even without knowing that there was a food source nearby. Merle thought it probably had something to do with his truck, and wished that he hadn't filled the tank to the brim before coming into the store. Sometimes he was just too smart for his own good.

Those three days had them bonding in ways that they could have never anticipated. 'But after all,' Merle mused, 'how can you not feel somewhat connected to someone after you've had to piss in a empty coffee can in the each others presence?'

Serious training had started that first morning after they both had managed to get some real sleep. He started off teaching her about proper handling and basic gun care while they quietly waited for the dead to get board and amble away. After all it wasn't like he had anything better to do. Well, there was in fact better things to do, but unfortunately sex was clearly off the table.

Very, very unfortunate. Hell, he'd even take a measly handjob with no complaint at this point.

Merle thought that he was probably going to die from blue balls. Could you die from that? He had been telling girls that homegrown truth since the age of 14, at this point he wasn't even sure if it was even a real thing, or just a lie that all boys told until they believed it themselves.

Thankfully, for the sake of his sanity, Beth was a quick learner.

He had insisted that Dexy sit in on his lessons, pay attention, and to learn all that he was able. Firmly telling the little boy that he was not allowed to touch the guns just yet. For now he just wanted him to watch until he felt the boy was ready for more. Telling Beth that in his opinion there was no better time than the present to begin the boys formal education on the ABC's of surviving the zombie apocalypse.

At first the boy was standoffish, but with Merle showing no aggression, and teaching him interesting things that would help him keep himself and Beth safe, Dexy was quickly becoming less wary of him. After a few days with no big outbursts of temper on Merle's part, Dexy started creeping closer and closer, and by the third day he would find the little boy often standing next to him and even once Merle had found the little boy so engrossed in what he was teaching him, that Dexy ended up standing in between his knees during that lesson as he pointed out how to load the gun.


"Merle...Merle." He could hear the little boy whispering somewhere near his left ear, but Beth shushed him. "No, Dex. Let Merle sleep a little bit longer, he was on watch most of the night and he needs his sleep." She told the little boy firmly. "Okay, Mamma. He gunna sleep long?" He asked sounding as impatient as a 4 year old could manage.

"Probably not, why don't we look in our bags and find something to get ready for his breakfast." She gently urged the small boy, and Merle could hear her getting up from her place on the floor. He listened to her soft steps retreating, then he felt the boys small hands along his side. Cracking one weary eye open, he watched as Dexy pulled the filthy shirt that they had been using as a blanket up over the top of him. Then giving him a soft pat on his head and "shhhhhhing" him as if to lull him back to sleep.

He would have chased him away, but he was just too tired to work up any indignation at that particular moment. So he shut his eye and drifted off into a semi sleep, listening to the boy talking and thinking longingly of bacon. When he fully woke little bit later it was to to the sound of Beth sweetly singing to the boy somewhere behind him. It was an old church song, one that he could remember hearing his Nana sing while she went about cleaning the house.

As he lay still listening to her angelic voice, sure that if he moved a muscle that she would stop. He couldn't help but to wonder if Beth Greene knew how to bake cookies, and how they would compare to Nana's.

With his eyes still shut he just relaxed to the sound of their voices, Dexy joining with gusto at the chorus. A feeling an unaccustomed peace and contentment filled him. This is what he had thought it would feel like on a lazy Saturday morning, if he had ever found himself a wife. Unfortunately, none of the women he dated for any length of time would put up with his shit long term. There was also the fact that he wouldn't be willing to put up with their shit for very long either.

Having a loving wife, and a much loved and doted on child was something that he had never much thought about. At least not very often. And when it did, he knew that it was something that happened for other people, but not very likely to ever be in the cards for him. Except...every so often after a few lonely beers in his quiet apartment, he would think if he ever found the right woman that maybe...just maybe he would be willing to give it a try.

What were the odds that Beth and Dexy could be his maybe? Hell, he fuckin' wanted them to be his maybe...and as quickly as that thought drifted through his mind, that peaceful feeling was gone like a soap bubble popping in the breeze. Causing him to sit straight up and swear savagely, "Fuck me! I'm fuckin' invested!"

He was met with a silence so deep and still, he was forced to glance over to make sure they hadn't been a dream. But Beth and Dexy were there, both of them staring at him with their eyes wide in alarm at his unexpected outburst.

He looked back at them, his eyes narrowing in ire, as if daring them to comment on his distress or his words. After a moment when neither of them had dared questioning him, he visibly relaxed.

Beth had taken her time, allowing him to regroup, before she brought him some breakfast and put it on top of the desk for him. Dexy had all but reverted to his standoffishness self, and had silently and carefully crept up, standing off to the side where he could observe Merle behind the safety of the desk. He couldn't stand the frozen look in the little boys eyes, they looked like Daryl's eyes when Pop was getting ready to go on a tear.

Merle grunted, and cleared his throat, "Bad dream." he stated to the room in general.

Getting up he stretched popping his back, before walking over the the plate of food Beth had put on top of the desk for him. "You wanna learn more about guns today, little man?" Merle asked him as he broke the breakfast bar on his plate in two and offered half to the little boy sitting on the floor. "Maybe we can look into getting you a BB gun, to practice your aim with iffn' you show me that you've been paying attention." He said looking searchingling at the boy, as he held the broken treat between them, waiting for the boy to make up his mind.

Finally after a beat, Dexy guardedly reached out and took the peace offering that Merle was offering him. And Merle pulled out the gun he had been teaching him about, and started asking him questions in an attempt to get the boy to relax.

By lunchtime, Merle declared him a "smart lil' shit" and more than ready to move on to something harder. And over a lunch of beans and crackers the boy was looking at him with something close to hero worship in his eyes. And Merle decided maybe it wasn't such a horrible thing this being invested in someone other than Daryl.

So he was invested, what was the worst that could happen?

Death, death could happen. Destruction, complete and utter...heartbreak? Even in the old world he found the concept of loving someone terrifying. To willingly give another person that kind of power over you, was a madness that he just couldn't bend his mind around. It had been then, and now it was so much more. If he let her and that boy come behind the wall that he had built for himself they had better nut up and do everything they could to survive this shit, because if they didn't it could really fuck him up.

Thinking along those lines, why would he ever settle for a mediocre fuck up? If he was going to fuck up, he was going to fuck up big time. And if he was going to go down in flames shouldn't it be over something as good and pure as those two?

After all in terms of fucking up, Merle Dixon was a pro.


They had picked the store clean and the majority of the walkers were finally gone from the parking lot. There was no real reason to hang around. He didn't feel it was a safe enough place for them any longer, in fact it was his opinion they had been lucky as it was. While he was relieved that that the Dead had moved on, the fact of the matter was they had provided a sort of security against the living. Now they were gone it was an open invitation for would be looters.

The best thing to do would be for him to keep training Beth and the boy before he took them out on the road. He really needed to find a place somewhere off the beaten path, where if they were careful they could avoid being noticed for a short time. Both Beth and the boy seemed to be learning fast, soon he wanted to start them on target practice. In just a few days time Beth had become a whiz at taking apart and putting hers back together, he thought with an odd sense of pride.

In the End, Merle grudgingly decided that at least a few extra days of training would be needed before taking them on the road. Deciding that they really needed to move to a more secure location. He would need to scout around for a place that would be safe for the girl and her boy. There was no telling what the Dead were up to, and if that large herd had kept moving in the same direction or if anything had made them change their direction. Because of this, risky as it was, it would still be better to leave them at the store and go searching alone.

He left a few of his guns and two boxes of bullets with an anxious Beth and a somber Dexy. As he drove away he wondered what the chances were that Beth would choose to leave while he was gone. He was giving her the opportunity to slip away if that is what she really wanted. If she was going to go, he made sure that she was set to go out on her own. As he left early in the morning, he told Beth gruffly as he handed her car key, "I parked yours by the back door. Filled up the gas tank, and topped off the oil...it was gettin' a bit low." Abruptly turning and walking out the door before she could respond.

If she was going to go, then she would do it while he was gone and at the very least he could say that he had done right by her. But he couldn't resist looking back at her one last time as she was closing the back door behind him. He wanted to have that one last glimpse, just in case it was the last time he saw them.

As he looked back, she had paused and was watching him too. She gave him a small smile, "Be safe...when should I start to worry if you're not back?" She asked looking unblinkingly into his eyes.

"Be gone 4 hours tops." He said over his shoulder as he walked away.

After a few hours driving in endless loops around the neighborhoods just south of the store, he found a small farmhouse far enough off the main road to make it acceptable to him. It was located down a long dirt road off that secondary road, the dust of any vehicles approaching from that direction would give them plenty of warning.

He stopped and got out to look around, taking notice of propane tank and the septic tank in the yard. Walking around the yard he noticed that he could park the truck in the back where it wouldn't be seen from the road. And the endless farm land behind it insured they would literally see anyone coming from miles away. Nobody, living or dead would be blindsiding them from that direction. Checking the house itself he found it free of walkers, making it at the very least better smelling than the store. He tested the stovetop and the well water fed taps and found them both in working order - hopefully if they let the water run long enough and conserved propane they could occasionally have hot water. It would be the perfect spot for them to hole up for a few days.

5 days or 8 days, not really much of a difference in the long run. And fuck anyone who tried to tell him different.

The drive back to the store took less than 20 minutes, and he was relieved to find both Beth and the boy waiting by the back door to let him in. He had been 50/50 on whether they would still be there when he got back. Beth gave him a relieved smile as she flipped the gun safety on as she shut the door behind him.


Methodically they packed up all their belongings that they had in the small office, before heading out towards the front doors. Not even slowing his steps, Merle spat derisively on Len's bloated body as he stalked past it. Only stopping when Dexy let go of Beth's hand to run back past him. Turning he watched as the boy attempted to bring up a loogie to copy the gruff man's actions. Unable to produce one, the little boy settled for giving the body a hard kick before he ran to catch up, unexpectedly stopping when he reached Merle's side, reaching up and catching hold of his hand. Then he hopped excitedly next to him on their way out the door, happy to be leaving the store and Len behind him.

Odd that the sight of that pudgy little hand in his could make him feel an unaccustomed jolt of warmth and fear at the same time.

He had been pleased to see that Beth didn't seem particularly disturbed by the body as she had passed it by, while walking slightly in front of him. No one mentioned burying the body. And they left it where it lay, spread out on the floor among the rest of the trash littering the floor...right where that asshole belongs Merle thought smugly.

Beth was at the door waiting on them, and he caught her blue eyes rolling heavenward as they walked past her into the parking lot.

Merle walked slowly around the parking lot and the pumps, checking all the blind spots for signs of danger. Finding everything quiet, he pulled his truck to the back of the store next to where he had parked the suburban earlier. Effortlessly backed it, trailer and all in front of the small loading dock where they were blocked from the view of the road.

Then he proceeded to take everything out of both trucks before repacking them more efficiently into just the one. When he was done, a few boxes needed to be loaded onto the trailer, where he placed them around his bike, taking extra time to make sure that nothing would put a scratch on his baby. In the end there was more than a few items that both of them deemed replaceable or not needed. Deciding that maybe someone else might be able to use them, they placed them against the back wall protected in the small covered bay where they would be out of the sun and the rain but easily accessible. Beth was happy to be rid of them, as most of the items had belonged to the Claimers long before they had met her.

He was puzzled when he pulled out a dog crate from the back seat, "What happened to ya' dog? The Geeks get'em?" He asked as he turned to look at them.

"No." Beth replied her voice sharp and hard. "Len used it to keep Dexy in. He didn't like kids, and he treated Dexy like an animal."

Merle's eyes snapped angrily to hers, before looking down at the little boy whose eyes were watching him guardedly, and in that moment he was looking at 4 year old Daryl again. He could read the shame and humiliation that were mixed with the tears in the boys eyes. And the anger came swiftly, making his vision go red, and his breathing labored and difficult.

"Fuck!" He barked, making Beth and Dexy jump in alarm.

He grabbed the cage and threw it as hard as he could against the wall, a loud crack split the air and bounced off all the concrete like a blast from a gun as the cage collapsed. It was damaged beyond repair, and could never be used to hold anything, or anyone again. But that wasn't enough for him, stalking over he proceed to stomp on it until it was nothing but a pile of broken plastic and bent metal.

Once he was done, he took a moment to steady his breathing and get his anger under control, before he walked over to stand in front the frightened boy. He hesitantly reached out for him and after a short pause Dexy went willingly if shyly into his arms. Merle lifted him to his chest, and putting his finger under Dexy's chin he lifted it until he made eye contact with him, "Never again, I promise. I won't let anyone hurt you or ya' Mama." And recalling the boys words from the first day that they had met, he repeated them back to him, "Those bad men are gone. No more Bad Len. No more bad Dan. No more Bad Joe. No more cage for Dexy...Ever. And no more back rooms for your Mama, I promise."

Dexy's lip poked out and fat tears started to roll down his face. Merle could hear Beth's heavy breathing as she stepped up and put her head against Dexy's back. Dexy ducked his head into Merles chest and cried, his arms tightening around his neck painfully, but Merle allowed it as they stood that way for a few minutes allowing everyone to gather themselves.

Once Merle finished with his rearranging, he very carefully and lovingly attached the bike trailer to the back of the Suburban. "Desperate for supplies, huh?" Beth said blandly as she shook her head in amazement at the bounty he had managed to stuff into every available space.

He glanced up at her and gave her an unrepentant grin, "I just wanted to make sure you were safe before I left. If it makes you feel any better, I really was planning on watching you drive away after I filled up your tank. And technically I was getting desperate... fuckin' desperate for cigarettes and liquor." he told her sincerely.

The whole time that Merle was packing he had been setting weapons that he pulled out of his truck aside. When he was done, he took a few moments to study each one as he picked out a few guns and knives that he thought would be acceptable for training the girl and her boy.

Beth had stood there holding Dexy's hand as she had watched Merle bring out his weapons for inspection, her eyes growing bigger and bigger as he kept adding to the pile. Somewhat shocked by the small arsenal that he had in his possession, she couldn't help but wonder how many of them he had collected on the road, and how many he had started his journey with.

When he was satisfied he proceeded to make sure that there was a weapon next to every door in the Suburban and a few in each of their backpacks, a few in the saddlebags on his bike. He even rolled one up inside of his sleeping bag so that he was prepared for anything even in his sleep.


At the farm , Merle parked by the back door and out of sight from the front driveway, they pulled what they would need and put it into the house, Beth was going to set up the kitchen and make them lunch. While Merle took Dexy and they set to barricading the house. The little boy happy that Merle allowed him to use the hammer to hit the nails one last time, before them moved on to the next one.

Having decided that the next thing that they needed to learn was some knife skills, they would work on some target practice tomorrow with the BB guns that he had picked up the day before. If they had any time left he would add in a little hand-to-hand just to help her be well rounded. After all, it wouldn't hurt for the girl to know how to throw a punch without breaking her thumb in the process.

There was a lot that he wanted to teach them, but for now he would keep it simple. Getting them started on those things, would be a start in the right direction. He could at least teach them the things that would be most beneficial for their survival when they parted ways or if they somehow got separated earlier than planned.

Merle decided he would teach Dexy a little more about knives in the other room. And Beth decided to only interrupt if she felt necessary, and decided to search the already cleared rooms. The man had a lot of good skills to teach them, and Dexy needed to be around a man who wouldn't hurt him, someone that he could learn to trust. She could already see him starting to lose a little bit of that haunted look that he had been wearing since the arrival of the claimers into their lives.

Merle might not be perfect...in fact he was far from perfect. But maybe that was better, would she really trust someone who appeared anywhere close to perfect at this point?

No, no she would not. And to her surprise it had only been a short time before Dexy started to lose a little of his fear, and actually wanted to be around Merle. She could see the way that his eyes followed the mans every move, like he was afraid to take his eyes off him for fear that he would disappear. Dexy was already growing attached.

She just hadn't fully decided if that was a good thing or not. But then she could hear her Daddy's voice quoting, "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."

Only the good Lord knew if Merle Dixon was one of his Angels, and she had some serious doubts where that man was concerned. But on the off chance that he was...then he was a rude, foulmouthed highly sexed Angel. She couldn't help but to smile at the image that popped into her head of Merle with a pair of wings and a tarnished halo...if that man had a halo, she thought it would be undoubtedly held up by a pair of horns.

Daddy always said that God had a strange sense of humor.

Watching Merle walk away from them this morning had been hard on Dexy. Beth watched as every moment that Merle Dixon had been away from them, was one where Dexy lost a little bit of his confidence. And just in the few hours that he had been away from them, Dexy had already started to slip back into his previous fearful state.

Merle Dixon was all sharp lines and casual bigotry. His foul mouthed remarks left you no doubt of where he stood at any given moment. But he never raised a hand in their direction, and he never aimed any of his cutting words towards Dexy. The man was as thoughtless as the day was long and she had no doubt that if provoked that he could be intentionally cruel. She also had no doubt that he could break Dexy...or herself with very little effort and only a few well-placed words. But when he talked about his brother, she could see that he wasn't totally without the ability to love. No, in fact she was sure that Merle Dixon despite all his faults, was someone who loved fiercely, and would do anything for the ones he loved.

And she could see it in the way he looked at Dexy, with the same soft eyes that he got whenever he talked about his baby brother. She could feel it in her bones, that Dexy would be safe with him despite his rough exterior.

But would she be?

Dexy was already bonding with this man, there wasn't a lot she could do about it now. She would just have to accept that Dexy would be learning some very colorful words in his lessons with Merle. But if Merle Dixon could make Dexy lose that fearful expression that had been etched on his face for the last few months, well then, it was a small price to pay. If she heard her little boy cussing like a sailor, Ana Hagen would roll over in her grave, that is if she was one of the lucky few who had someone left that loved you enough to stop and dig a hole for them, Beth thought gloomily.

Dexy tentatively went to pick up one of the knives that Merle had sitting on the low coffee table, "You bes' not touch them until I tell you to touch! Don't mess around...they aint Goddamned toys!" Merle growled, "My guns and knives can hurt you, or someone else. So you do NOT touch one unless I tell you to. Do you understand me Boy," He demanded.

Dexy's lip poked out, but he managed not to cry, just. He just nodded his head as he put his hands behind him.

"First off ya' need to hold the knife the right way, if you don't then sooner or later you're gunna get end up gettin' cut. Always keep your knife in your dominant hand, with your thumb up...for all of us will have it in our right hands. Dexy, show me your right hand." Merle demanded, and pursed his lips in displeasure as the little boy raised both hands and looked perplexed as he he looked back and forth between them as he tried to remember his right from his left.

They were stuck on this lesson for quite awhile, until Beth sensing that Merle's frustration was just about to get the best of him, made them stop for lunch. After she had finished, she spent some time rifling through the drawers in the kitchen until she found a black sharpie.

"Come here Dex." she called to him. And then she bent down and took his right hand in hers and drew a happy face on his right thumbnail.

"There you go, when you hold the knife you need to make sure that you can see the happy face...then you will know that you are doing it right." She told him encouragingly, as he smiled up at her. "After awhile the knife will just feel comfortable in that hand, and you will just know that it's you knife hand. Just like you don't have to think about what hand to use when you pick up a crayon or use a pair of scissors, soon it will be the same with a knife or a gun." She said as she give him a kiss on the top of his head.

He threw his arms around her slim hips, "Fank's Mama, and the happy face means that Merle will be happy too, right?" He asked her softly while looking hopefully up at the big man.

"Yeah" he told the little boy gruffly, "Yeah...that will make me happy."

Beth had Dexy lay down for a small rest, and despite the boys protests that he wasn't tired, he was out within minutes. "Shoulda' waited to put the Sharpie on his thumb 'til after his nap, he's prolly' gunna just suck it clean off'" Merle observed looking down at the boy who had his thumb already shoved in his mouth and was sucking on it furiously.

While the boy slept, Merle pushed all the furniture in the living room up against the walls, giving them enough space to at least get started.

Getting right into it, he showed Beth about how to hold a knife properly. He wanted to make sure that she would have enough experience with the knives so that she wouldn't end up cutting herself the first time she was called to use one.

Then he went into lecture mode, voice firm telling her, "If you can run, then run. If you can get away without getting near one of the Dead then do it. But if you can't, then you need to be ready to defend ya'self and the boy." Beth nodded in agreement, remembering what he said to Dexy, she held herself back from picking one up until told to do so.

"Use a knife when you can, guns make too much noise and will bring you too much attention. It will call more of the Dead towards the sound, ones that may have passed you by but came to investigate the noise. It will also alert any of the living that you are near. Ya' gotta be quite, gotta try not to attract any attention if you can. The dead are easy, we know what they want...the living? The living are an unknown, and they can be just as deadly, just as dangerous as the dead. Especially to a pretty little thing with a small child, but you already know that." He said, bending to look into her eyes. Her cheeks paled, but she managed to hold eye contact with the intimidating man.

He kept looking at her, but seemed happy with what he found in her eyes. So he continued the lesson, pointing to the coffee table where he had a selection of knives laid out. "Make sure you have the right knife...pick one out." he demanded.

Beth looked at the table and reached out and tentatively picked up one of the smaller knives.

"Nope." he said taking it from her, "look, see how short the blade is." he pointed at the knife in his hand. "You could stab someone and it may not even get any of their organs...ya need a longer blade to do any real damage."

She picked up another one, "Nope" and he plucked that one from her fingers. "Even tho' the blade is about right, you'd still be better with a standard knife if you have the choice. " See how this one folds?" He said as he folded it in half closing it. "A knife like this could fold on you right in the middle of a fight. They might look cool but you don't want to have to deal with having to reopen it in the middle of a fight, especially if your fingers are already covered in blood." He informed her as he placed it back down on the table top.

He reached over and picked one up. "This is the kind of knife you would do the best with. See the length? Long enough to puncture any origin, and go into a Dead Ones brain if you was stabbin' up under the chin." He lay the knife along slide his face, showing her how far it would penetrate from under his chin.

"Once you get into a fight Ya' gotta be aggressive...can't be timid with a knife in your hand. Gotta let the person ya' fightin' know that you aint afraid to use it, If ya' don't they will just take it from ya', nothing worse than gettin' killed with ya' own fuckin' weapon." He declared.

"Keep ya body behind the knife," He altered his stance to show her how she would stand, "it doesn't do ya any good to have the knife behind ya. Ain't gunna give you that much more momentum than ya already have. And it gives whoever ya' fightin' with a couple extra seconds that ya' don't want them to have."

"If it's the dead always go for the head. If ya got ya'self a tall one, the if ya' need to you can hit 'em in the knees to bring 'em down." I'll give you some pointers for kicking out someone's knees as we go, he told her.

"If its a person that ya' fighting, just get 'em where ya' can, let them know ya' mean business. If they are reaching for ya', take off a finger or two it might make them keep their hands to themselves."

Oh, how she wished that she had this nugget of wisdom before she had run into Joe.

He continued with the lesson. "If ya' lose the knife or if they have ya' hands pinned ya' can use your teeth. You've seen what the Dead can do? Ya' teeth are just as deadly, we just don't normally use them that way. Ya' can take a man's thumb off just as easy as ya' can bite a carrot in half. Don't think...just do." He instructed.

"Someone got ya' around the shoulders, ya' bash their nose in with the back of ya' head. We got hard heads, ya can knock out their teeth, or hit them in the throat hard enough ya' can crush it ." He said as her turned her back to him and pulled her elbow back to his stomach. "Use ya' elbows or knees to do the same. If ya' get the chance ya' do damage to their balls. But if ya' gunna do it, do it hard enough to take em' down. No man takes kindly to a hit to the nuts. The longer he's down the more time ya' have to get away or bash his brains in...do it half heartedly and he will make ya' pay for it. Don't ever do anything by halves...ya' go all in or ya' run."

"Let's start with some hand-to-hand", he said putting the knives back down on the table.

After an hour of trying to land a kick or to get her elbow or her knee on any part of his body, Beth was red faced and sweating profusely. And she was more than a little upset that it looked like Merle hadn't even been winded. She could feel herself getting more and more frustrated and angry. How was she supposed to protect Dexy if she couldn't even take down someone who seemed intent on not hurting her?

He watched her walk away with tears in her eyes and wondered why he held back. He should have put her on her ass a dozen times or more. But she was so intent on following his instructions, he didn't have the strength to be mean to her, at least not in this moment. She had given it her all and that's all he could ask of her, at least today. Tomorrow, well tomorrow would be a different day, and it would be time to try his best to turn that little girl into a killing machine. And it was clear that she was a determined little thing, and that she would give it all she had, or die trying. She wasn't weak, despite being a bit broken he decided.

Dexy woke up, stretching and yawning and Merle declared their lesson over...for now. As Beth went to get Dexy up and moving.

And Merle said he would work with Dexy on the things that they just went over.

Throwing over his shoulder as she walked out of the room, "Why don't you go have a hot bath before your muscles start tightening up. Could be the last place we find for a while that has any hot water, might as well take advantage of it. Maybe if the bathwater ain't too dirty you can put the boy in after you."

Already moving on to work with Dexy, he failed to notice when she froze in the doorway or the way that the blood drained from her face.


I've been sick, sick, sick...so typing this last bit half asleep and without my contacts on...please look over any spelling and or typos!

This chapter just did not want to be...I struggled with it, I finally just gave up trying to make it something other than what it is. I hope that you enjoy it. Let me know if you liked it at all... because I have lost the ability to be objective!

As always thank you to Athlete Girl who makes this so much easier for me and for you! She edited this chapter, and then I had a tiny Aha moment and added a bit more, and she was nice enough to edit it a second time. If you get the chance go read her stuff, it's all good and she just updated both "Brand of Love" - one of my personal favorites and "Anniversaries"