Daryl was pacing the length of the common room. It was noon the day after Rick, Michonne and Mara had walked off into the sunset to do some sabotaging.

They should have been back by now even if they got delayed by walkers.

Carol watched him pace soberly but didn't try to stop him. If he didn't get the frustrated energy out some way he was likely to walk off in the forest to find them.

Nathan was getting antsy too. He had stayed calm for a few hours but now his composed exterior was starting to chip away with worry.

Hershel was sitting next to Beth who was holding a silent Judith. It was like even the baby could sense the mood of the room.

It was Elias who eventually broke the hush. "Something's gone wrong," he said simply.

Nathan nodded.

"What do we do?" Maggie asked.

"It's obvious, we go get 'em," Daryl snapped.

He waited for Nathan to argue but the sergeant didn't. "Yussuf, Christine, Carl and Glenn are outside watching for them. Let's give them another hour and then we'll go see what happened."

"An hour!" Daryl protested. He knew he was taking his anger out on Nathan but he couldn't keep it under control.

"Yes, an hour. Then I'll take my team and we'll go looking for them."

"I'm not stayin' behind this time!"

"What Rick said is still true. This prison needs someone to protect it."

Daryl shook his head. He wasn't being left house sitting this time. Not with his friends captured. Not with Mara in the hands of the Governor. "I'm goin'."

"Fine, but I need you to keep your head. We need to get a grasp of the situation and not just rush in. Getting killed won't help Rick, Michonne or Mara."

Nathan's casual tone was gone and he was commanding. The message was clear: You come with me, you're one of mine and you fall in line.

Daryl processed what the sergeant was saying through his rage and panic and Daryl knew he was right. They needed to be smart about this.

That didn't stop him stalking off to clear his head. Carol found him leaning against a fence staring daggers into the distance as if his eyes alone could hunt down and kill the Governor.

Daryl didn't wait for her to start the conversation. "You gonna tell me not t'go too?"

"Would I tell you what to do?" Carol asked innocently.

The expression on her face made Daryl laugh gruffly. "We must be thinkin' of different Carols then."

"I think it's good that you care so much," Carol said softly.

Daryl sighed. "Rick trusts me. Ain't nobody put his trust in me the way Rick did."

"I did," Carol pointed out.

"You don't count."

"Oh really?" Carol plastered an offended look on her face.

Daryl wasn't fooled. Carol was used to his clumsy way of expressing himself. "I mean lookin' to me t'lead and givin' me responsibilities."

"You earned your place here, Daryl Dixon. You're a good man. Mara sees it too." Carol threw Mara's name in there with a sly look.

"We ain't talking 'bout Mara."

"It's ok to admit you care about a new person, Daryl."

"I don't-"

"Don't you argue with me," Carol said swiftly.

"Would I argue with you?"

Carol's expression was wry. "We must be thinkin' of different Daryls then."

Daryl smiled at her dry tone but it slipped in to a frown quickly. "Every time I care 'bout someone new it's a new opportunity to get hurt and lose them."

Carol grabbed his hand. "We can't go through life alone. Not the old life and not this life either. Life is pain but it's the good bits that make it worth livin'."

Carol gave his hand one last squeeze before leaving him to his thoughts. He knew she was right as always but what if he was too scared to listen to her?

Christine found him some time later and if he thought she was distant and blunt at the best of times it was nothing compared to what she was like when she was worried.

"Let's go," was all she said.

Daryl was okay with the lack of conversation. The silence suited his mood as they headed off toward the prison. Even Yussuf was unusually terse today. They were feeling the loss of Mara keenly, like an important cog in their machine was missing and they didn't function properly without it.

The Australians had scary, intense looks on their faces that Daryl would have found intimidating if he wasn't sure that it was reflected on his own.

Nathan let him take the lead once they reached the wood line. They didn't have time to engage with walkers so they were going to avoid them as much as possible.

Daryl moved fast and the soldiers kept pace with him.

They reached the place where Daryl had originally seen the army. It looked like a large public square and Daryl thought it was as good a place as any to scope out the grounds.

With hushed whispers Nathan sent Christine up with him and Daryl got some insight into why Yussuf constantly called her 'my little tree monkey.' Christine shot up the tree faster than a squirrel and Daryl was left in her wake admiring her speed.

"Dixon," she hissed down the tree, "hurry up! Something's happening."

Daryl doubled his speed until he was in the branch next to Christine. It looked like the whole of Woodbury was out in the square and they were baying for blood. They couldn't hear the words but Daryl recognised the sounds of an angry mob. It wasn't so long ago that he'd been paraded in front of them and they'd called for his death like it was entertainment.

"This ain't good," Daryl breathed. Christine was still as stone beside him. The Governor appeared in front of the crowd. Daryl's fingers curled around the strap of his cross bow wishing he could shoot him from here.

The Governors men pushed two figures wearing hoods in front of the crowd. The hoods were pulled off and Michonne and Rick were revealed. Daryl's heart raced in his chest. Christine snapped to attention next to him and Daryl knew she was posed for action. What action she could take he had no idea.

The Governor was talking now. The crowd was cheering and then the hoods were back on and Rick and Michonne were being escorted away.

"What the fuck was that?"

"It looked like an execution," Christine responded, eyes glued on the scene.

"Well thank god it wasn't! Where was Mara?"

Christine shook her head. "No idea." She exchanged a look with Daryl, neither one of them wanting to say the most obvious option – that Mara was already dead. Daryl refused to allow that kind of thinking for himself but his stomach felt like it was full of lead.

They climbed down and recounted what they had seen.

"Tomorrow night. We get them out!" Nathan said it.

"Tomorrow night?" Daryl was shocked. They could be dead by then.

"They'll be watching them closely tonight and we can't risk going in during the daylight. Rick wouldn't want us to die for him," Nathan said.

Daryl wanted to punch the sergeant even though he knew he was speaking the truth. Rick wouldn't want anyone to suffer in his place. Daryl didn't want to go back to the prison. He wanted to be right here in case an opportunity presented itself and he could help Rick, Michonne or Mara. He wanted to stay to find any evidence that Mara was alright.

"We need to tell everyone what's happened. Get us home Daryl," Yussuf said quietly. Daryl was grateful to have a purpose, even a meaningless one. The Australian's could get back just fine on their own but he needed something to do other than focus on how powerless he was.

Half way back he was sure he was hearing something. It was hard to tell over the sound of five sets of feet but it was there in the background.

Keeping his voice low he said, "in five seconds, stop dead still." The Australians didn't react visibly but Nathan whispered out the count and on five they stopped. Daryl could hear it then. A few footsteps and then silence.

"We're bein' followed," Daryl stated simply, his hand going to the hilt of his knife.

The Australians were scanning the area. Nathan looked at Christine significantly and pointed up the nearest tree. Christine nodded and for the second time today she climbed up out of reach.

Daryl figured what Nathan had worked out. If they couldn't see their stalker then most likely they had a poor view of them.

Daryl started walking again and the soldiers followed suit. Daryl hoped the person following them was too hyped on adrenalin and keeping enough of a distance that they didn't notice that the fifth member of the group had gone missing.

They had gone maybe fifty meters when they heard a crash and a feminine grunt. They whirled around and back tracked to the tangle of limbs on the ground. The soldiers had their guns trained on the person under Christine.

Daryl was incredulous as he swung his crossbow up.

"Andrea? I almost made you a pin cushion."

"Andrea?" Yussuf asked, having heard plenty of stories about the blonde woman.

"Do you mind?" Andrea croaked out. For such a small person, apparently Christine made quite an impact when she jumped out of trees.

"Why are you following us?" Nathan asked and Daryl noted the sergeant hadn't stopped aiming his gun at her.

Andrea pushed herself to her feet, seemingly oblivious to the weapons pointing in her direction.

"I came to help."

"Really?" Daryl sounded surprised. "I thought you'd picked y'side." He knew he was being accusatory but he didn't care.

Andrea had the grace to look embarrassed. "I'm not gonna stand by and let Michonne and Rick die."

"Put a bullet in his head, that'll stop it," Daryl said.

"I'm not killing Phillip!" the protest shot out of Andrea's mouth before she could stop it.

"Phillip?" Elias spoke up for the first time. Daryl could read the conflicting thoughts flashing over Andrea's face. She didn't want to see Michonne or Rick executed but despite everything she had feelings for the Governor.

Daryl actually sympathised. After what Merle had done to Glenn, Daryl knew he should hate him but it was easier said than done to turn your back on a sibling. Yes, Daryl sympathised but not enough to put the people he cared about in danger.

"What're you suggesting?" Nathan asked.

Andrea shot the sergeant a suspicious glance. The Australians were strangers and she didn't trust them and they clearly felt the same way about her. It was interesting that Daryl was the bridging link between the two parties.

"Y'wanna help, then talk!" Daryl interjected.

"He's planning on killin' them, two days time. Makin' it a big event. I'll help you sneak in during the gladiator flights at the start."

Christine narrowed her eyes. "Gladiator fights?"

"Two people fight surrounded by walkers. It's staged," Andrea hastened to add.

"What about you? Won't he know you helped him?" Elias asked Andrea.

Andrea shifted uncomfortably. "I'll deal with that when it happens."

"Where are they keeping Mara?" Nathan asked.

"Who's Mara?" Andrea was confused.

Daryl's heart sank.

...

Mara quickly learned the Hispanic man's name was Martinez and after those first two hits he had not raised a hand to her again. No, it was the Governor that was the real bastard. She was left in blessed solitude for only an hour before he returned to interrogate her.

How many people were in the prison? What was she doing here? How much weaponry did they have? Each question was punctuated with another hit. None of the blows were enough to knock her out but her lip was bloody and the last assault had torn open the skin on her cheek bone.

Mara was tapping into some resolve deep inside that she didn't know she had. After each strike Mara managed to lift her head up and smirk at the Governor. She expected it to infuriate him more than simple silence would have but he just smiled genially.

The first time he left the room, Mara let out a strangled gasp and her body slumped forward against her restraints.

Sometimes he didn't have any questions. He came into the room to tell her that Michonne and Rick would be executed. When the Governor had left the room, Martinez had given her some water, only a little but it was already breaking the rules.

"Just tell him what he wants," Martinez had advised her.

Mara shook her head, her lip too swollen to talk.

Martinez had pulled the seat out across from her. Sitting down, he regarding her seriously, "he didn't tell you everything just then."

Mara managed a grunt. It was all she could articulate but she wanted him to go on. She saw the way Martinez winced every time the Governor struck her.

"He's going to pardon Michonne, as a present for Andrea, then he's going to exile her." Martinez's voice was laden with disdain.

"But he's not is he," Mara rasped.

"No. He's going to keep her... for himself."

The pause told Mara all she needed to know. The Governor thought death was too quick for Michonne. He wanted to make her suffer the way he had. Martinez gave her a significant look when he saw she had figured it out and then left her.

Mara was starving at this point. They'd given her water but just enough to keep her alive. She had no way to judge the passing time in the windowless room. For all she knew two days had passed and Rick and Michonne were already dead.

The Governor could have marched on the prison and killed everyone she knew. In the empty room all she had were her thoughts and Mara found hers drifting more and more frequently to the darkest scenarios.

Mara couldn't sleep properly. With her head hanging forward and her eyes closed, Mara tried to gather her strength. She was still running through escape options in her head though the list kept getting shorter and more outlandish.

The next time the door opened Mara took in a deep breath before raising her head, preparing for a fresh onslaught.

Mara stared up at the Governor with bloodshot eyes and absurdly all she could think in that moment was that he was a tall man.

The Governor pulled out a chair across from her and sat down. He looked completely at ease with the situation. His legs were stretched out and his ankles hooked over each other. His scrutinising gaze was made no less intense by the eye patch.

"So you're still alive then," he observed casually. He could have been commenting on the weather.

As if the Governor's words had power, her cheek began to throb worse than ever. Mara eyed him steadily. Fear began to penetrate the numbness she had surrounded herself in.

The Governor rubbed his chin with his hand. "You were the one with Merle's brother when you crossed paths with my people in the woods."

Mara stayed silent. She wasn't sure what he wanted yet. Her eyes darted to Martinez but his face was blank. She would get no help from that quarter.

"I hear you made quite a memorable impression."

"You hear I killed them, you mean." Mara's first words were croaky.

Martinez tensed and he glared at Mara. Despite the fact he had helped her they weren't friends. A lazy hand wave from the Governor sent him back against the wall.

"Gonna hit me too, or you not allowed?" Mara asked him.

"Oh he is," the Governor said conversationally. "If we can have a civil conversation then he won't have to. You think we could manage that? I'm a friendly guy, we can talk amicably, right?"

The man was crazy. He'd been beating on her for the last few days and now he was acting like they had just been introduced. Mara met the Governor's stare and saw the coldness in its depths. Keeping her tone equally light she said, "if I had a hand free, I'd stab you in the throat."

The Governor chuckled and Mara managed a withering smile.

"Well aren't you feisty. You're like an alley cat."

"That's me," Mara said dryly. Her mouth felt like dust from the dehydration and fear.

"No wonder you're close with Merle's brother. If he's anything like Merle, that is. Not big on manners but useful and a bit feral. I'm going to kill them too you know," he said the last part nonchalantly.

Mara's eyes hardened and she felt a flush of anger. "You've done enough to Daryl," she snapped.

The Governor leaned forward interested. "Oh I hit a nerve there. What's the littlest Dixon to you, Alley cat?" Behind him, Martinez shook his head imperceptibly.

Mara didn't answer, refusing to be drawn in to revealing more information about herself.

"What I want to know is what an Australian is doing here?"

Mara looked surprised.

"I'd recognise that accent anywhere. You're military aren't you? What's your name, Alley cat?"

"Corporal Slater, Australian Armed forces."

The Governor sat back in his chair and crossed his arm, satisfied to have gotten a straight answer.

"The question is what to do with you, Alley cat?" The Governor sighed. His nickname for her set Mara's teeth on edge but she endured it. He could be inflicting a lot more damage on her.

"Why don't you kill me like Rick and Michonne?" Mara asked with a steady voice but inside her heart was banging in her chest.

"I'd prefer not to offend the only nation with a working military just yet."

Mara didn't tell him that they weren't the only nation or that their military was stretched so thin they could hardly go avenging one dead woman.

"Are you familiar with the concept of Stockholm Syndrome?"

Mara nodded wordlessly.

"Imagine how it would look if one of their own turned on them." The Governor was grinning maliciously. "All the nice things you could tell the Australian army about me. It would be good to have some powerful allies."

"You can't be kind enough to me to sway my loyalties."

"No but I can break you down so far that even giving you the most meagre of amenities that allow you to be a human being will seem like the greatest kindness on earth. When you're dying of dehydration, starving and suffering extreme sleep deprivation we'll see how much your ties to your friends mean to you."

Mara could see that he was crazy and evil. Maybe he hadn't always been that way and the southern gentleman charm had been just that and not a mask for a monster but not anymore. The power trip he was on had created a cruel maniac.

And in that moment Mara understood him better than she had before.

"I know why you didn't put me in that death parade before," Mara said quietly.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, you have these people believing your delusions. You can call Rick and Michonne the enemy, have them killed and that's a public service." Mara smiled and she could feel her cracked lips start to bleed again but she didn't stop talking.

"But me, I'd ruin that illusion. I remind them that you're not the almighty leader. You're just a man in a town. I know where you're government is. Your president is still alive. I could tell them that. I could give them something to believe in that isn't you. I could take away your power."

Mara half thought she was talking gibberish but the way the Governor got to his feet, slowly and dramatically let her know she had stumbled on to one of his fears. Losing this town and his status.

Mara grinned more, knowing she must have looked horrifying in her current state.

The Governor didn't speak for a moment and Mara could see the fine trembling rage in his body.

When he spoke his voice was even but it sounded forced. "I was going to give you something to eat but now I think I'll leave you with Martinez for more question time. I did ask you to be civil."

The Governor stood back and gestured Martinez forward. Martinez approached slowly, apology in his eyes. Martinez hit her with a ferocious back hand.

Mara's head snapped back with the force of it and her vision dimmed. The Governor looked satisfied with that hit.

He left the room curtly leaving Martinez and Mara alone. Mara could hear voices outside. It sounded like a woman was shouting at the Governor. But she couldn't focus on what was happening outside of this room.

"Martinez?" Mara said. She spat out some of her blood on the floor and turned back to face him. "You hit like a girl."

AN: I'm not a hundred percent sure how I feel about that interrogation scene. When I originally wrote it ages ago, Martinez was the abuser but then he had to go develop some character definition in later episodes and I had to rewrite. So I'm hoping the Governor didn't end up to caricature.

Please read and review. Makes my day.

MD666