Hey y'all! I hope everyone's having a good night! Kind of a lazy day here for me! As soon as I got started on this chapter though, I found that I couldn't stop typing! I didn't think I had all this in me, LOL! Anyways, y'all are the ones who get to reap the benefits yet again. ;-) I hope you enjoy yet another chapter of Meth angst!

Merle sat on the tailgate of one of the trucks and fiddled with a carburetor that he had taken off of one of the vehicles they no longer used. It wasn't his turn on watch and he wasn't about to go sit inside of that prison in some small ass cell especially with the girl around. So far he had managed to avoid all contact with her for the past four days. He looked down at the part in his hand with a sigh. He missed working on vehicles like he had before all the world had went to shit. It didn't do him much good to work on them now. If a vehicle messed up, you just went and picked yourself out another one these days.

One of the pieces to the carburetor kept coming loose and it was aggravating his already short temper. It was hard to do anything with just one hand and a useless nub for a second. The piece popped loose again and he picked up the carb angrily and flung it against the wall of the prison where it split into several chunks that littered the concrete floor.

"What's eatin' you?" Daryl's voice spoke from behind him.

Merle turned and scowled at him, but remained quiet. Daryl hopped up onto the back of the tailgate next to him, placing his crossbow behind them in the bed of the truck. He watched as his brother fished into his jacket pocket for his pack of cigarettes and lit one up, taking a long draw from it. Merle had never gotten into smoking cigarettes. He had tried them before, but it wasn't something he craved and he could pick them up or put them down at any time without trouble. Not his brother though. Daryl was a chain smoker. Merle had never understood how the man could smoke that much. It pure out made him sick just thinking about it.

"Ya jus' gon' sit here or is ya got somethin' ta say?" Merle finally asked.

Daryl shrugged, "Why? Can't sit here?"

"Hmph. Ya only seek me out when ya got somethin' on ya mind or ya wanna tell me how ta live my life. Which one is it today?"

Daryl cut his eyes at him, "Can't sit out here with my brother now? What kinda shit is that?"

Merle gritted his teeth, "Beth told me ya told 'er ta stay away from me," He commented.

Daryl was silent for several minutes and then he nodded slightly, "Ain't gonna deny it. Wanted ta make sure tha girl knows what she's gettin' into."

"Don't recall askin' ya fer ya input," Merle said carefully.

"Ya need ta do somethin' Merle. Tha girl's mopin' all 'round tha prison. Either stand up an' make it work or back tha fuck down an' let her get on with her life," Daryl said.

Merle hopped off of the back of the tailgate and faced his brother, "That's a lotta big talk fer someone who still ain't made tha decision ta sink or swim with tha mouse. What's it been now brotha? A year?"

Daryl blew out a cloud of smoke before tossing the rest of the cigarette to the ground and standing down from the tailgate, crushing the butt underneath his boot. Merle stood tensely, wondering if his brother was going to hit him. He was itching for a fight, but he couldn't quite judge his brother's mood. Daryl stopped directly in front of Merle and flicked his eyes toward the prison before looking back up at him.

"Just fix yer shit Merle before someone else fixes it for ya," Daryl said in a low voice and he grabbed his bow, brushing past Merle as he made his way back towards the front of the prison.

Merle stood there looking after him, "What tha hell's that s'posed ta mean?" Merle called after him, but Daryl ignored him and kept on walking leaving Merle standing there still staring after him.

Beth hummed to herself as she scrubbed the pieces of clothing one at a time on the washboard that Carol or somebody had found on a run once. She was trying to keep herself occupied with various chores around the prison in an effort to keep her mind off of the fact that Merle had effectively ignored her for the past four days.

She dunked the shirt into the water and scrubbed it back and forth over the hard ridges of the board. It wasn't the most pleasant of chores by any means, but it needed to be done just like everything else.

"Damn senorita, that how you all have to do clothes around here?" Martinez's voice spoke from just behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and gave him a small smile, "Know of a better way?" She asked.

He chuckled and knelt down on one knee beside her, his eyes roaming the fences around them, "Yeah. Just steal new shit," He laughed.

Beth stared at him for several moments and then she burst out laughing too, startling herself. She realized she hadn't laughed in quite some time and that's why the sound had startled her so.

Rick had come to the decision to let Martinez out of his cell earlier this morning. Daryl had insisted that if something went down, they would need Martinez to help them if he was willing. It wouldn't do for the man to be locked up when the Governor came back around. There would be no time to waste trying to free him then and the others had deemed him to be relatively sincere in his confessions about leaving the Governor in the past four days. Daryl and Rick both were keeping a close eye on the man though and he wasn't to be given any weapons for the time being until they decided that it was safe to do so.

Beth was pretty sure Merle didn't know about these recent developments since he was making himself scarce lately. She wondered how he would feel about it all. She had been serious about what she had said to him. Since he hadn't spoken to her or come around her lately then she could only assume that they weren't together anymore. He had obviously made his decision and she wasn't it. It was hard for her to wrap her head around that and she knew that a part of her still held out hope that he would come strolling through with a changed mind. It was far fetched, but she couldn't stop herself from hoping.

"That's much better. You look better wearing a smile instead of that sour face you had a few minutes ago," Martinez said.

Beth sighed, "I've got a lot on my mind," She said.

"Trouble in paradise?" He asked with a serious expression.

She wasn't sure she was comfortable talking to Martinez about her problems since she hardly knew the man. She shrugged, "It's nothing."

He nodded as if he understood her reluctance to talk, "The only thing I know to tell you, chica, is that stubborness must be a Dixon family trait because the other Dixon is stubborn as hell. I've been observing the dance that Caro and Double D have been doing around each other and I almost want to shoot myself in the foot at the tension between them," He said.

She shook her head with a smile, "Caro and Double D?" She asked with a giggle. He smiled and for a few seconds she thought he had a real nice smile. If the other Dixon hadn't stolen her heart so completely, she might have actually crushed on Martinez.

"Those are the names I made up for them in my head and they've just kind of stuck I suppose. Didn't have much else to do being stuck in that tiny ass cell for the past four days. Don't judge," He joked with a chuckle.

She wrung out the last shirt and Martinez stood and reached out a hand to help her to her feet. She smiled at him in thanks and placed her small hand in his large warm one. He had barely hauled her to her feet when they both turned to find Merle standing just behind Martinez, his face a mask of barely controlled anger.

"Cozy?" Merle asked in his deadly quiet voice and Beth swallowed.

Martinez went to speak and Beth placed her hand on his arm, not once taking her eyes off of Merle. She didn't miss the barely there spark of anger flash in his eyes at the touch either.

"Would you mind taking this basket of clothes to Carol for me? I'll be along in just a bit," Beth said to Martinez.

Martinez glanced down at her and then at Merle before he nodded, "Sure thing." He picked up the basket, but Merle made no attempts to move out of his way, forcing Martinez to walk around the other direction before they were left alone.

"We need ta talk," Merle growled.

Beth shrugged, barely glancing at him, "So talk."

"Not here," He replied.

Beth shook her head, "No. If you've got something to say then just say it here. There's no one close enough that will hear," She said.

Merle grabbed her hand all of a sudden and tugged her behind him up the small set of steps that led to the boiler room. Once inside, he slammed the door shut behind them. She waited with her hands on her hips for him to say what he needed to say.

It took several minutes before he finally began to speak, "I don't want no relationship," He began and she threw her hands up in frustration and turned on her heel to leave the room. His hand darted out and he wrapped his fingers around her wrist, pushing her back up against the wall and pinning her in place with his body. "Ain't finished yet so don't be gettin' yer panties in a twist sugah," He drawled softly.

Her chest heaved beneath him as she fought to get her emotions under control, "Talk," She whispered.

"Like I was sayin' a minute ago, I ain't lookin' fer no relationship, but maybe we can work somethin' else out," He said.

"Like what Merle?" She asked.

"Hell I don't know! I ain't wantin' ta give ya up, but I ain't no good at relationships," He lowered his head so that his eyes were level with hers. "We're good togetha girlie. Why we gotta mess with a good thang?" He lowered his lips to her neck and softly sucked at the skin there, making her head spin.

"Because it's not right...Merle," His name left her lips on a whimper and she knew he was trying to distract her, the bastard, but she couldn't form coherent thoughts when he was kissing her like that and he knew it.

"That's right darlin'...Merle," He growled against her neck. His thumb stroked across her nipple through her clothing and she shivered.

His tongue trailed over her pulse that throbbed at her throat as he pressed himself against her. She made one last weak attempt to push him away and then only ended up gripping his shoulders as he covered her mouth with his own. She moaned into his mouth and he murmured his approval as he pulled away. He rested his forehead against hers while he moved his hand to unbutton her pants. He unzipped them and worked them down her legs with his hand until they rested around her ankles. He stared at her with eyes clouded with passion before bending down to his knees in front of her. He leaned forward and pressed his face between her legs and she closed her eyes as she felt his warm breath fan over her.

"Merle," She trembled and he stared up at her, his eyes locking onto hers. Something clenched deep inside of her and she knew in that moment that she would let him do whatever he wanted. Her heart belonged solely to him and she couldn't resist him.

He hooked one finger into her panties and glided them down her legs slowly, his tongue leaving a wet trail down her leg after them. He nudged her legs as far apart as the jeans around her ankles would allow and then he pressed his face into her again, lapping at her with his tongue. She bucked against him and he chuckled, the vibrations down below making her more wet. He took his time licking and stroking her with his tongue. He used his hand to spread her lips and teased her small nub until she struggled to remain upright, her legs threatening to give beneath her. She braced herself with her hands on his shoulders and she closed her eyes as the sensations built within her. He increased the speed and pressure of his tongue until she was panting and her fingers were fisted into the material of his shirt.

He pulled back slightly to stare at her as his finger replaced his tongue, "Give it up fer me," He said raggedly. "Let me know yer mine," He growled and his eyes flashed with possession and something else that she didn't recognize.

She whimpered and thrashed her head back and forth as she began to tip over the edge into oblivion. She bucked beneath his hand as the sensations shook her body. She was vaguely aware of him moving back to lap at her juices with his mouth and then she was sliding down the wall, his hand helping to guide her down to the floor.

She fought to gain control of her breathing as he moved to lean his back against the wall next to her. She still had no idea where they stood as far as having any sort of relationship and her mind was still reeling from the orgasm he had just given her. She shifted to her feet and pulled up her clothes without looking at him.

"So we're back to square one again?" She asked softly.

He looked up at her sharply, "What tha fuck ya mean by that?" He asked.

She shrugged, "This is beginning to be a pattern of sorts for us. We end up doing something intimate instead of talking this out," She said.

He sucked his teeth, "Talkin's overrated," He said and stood up in front of her. "I jus' gave ya a fuckin' orgasm an' ya want ta talk?" He sighed and moved to stare out of the tiny barred window that barely provided any light into the room. "I don't know what tha fuck I can give ya. Maybe that's all tha hell I'm good at. Ya ever think o' that?" He asked with barely laced anger.

She stared at him, trying to understand why he would think that. "That's not all you're good at," She insisted.

He snorted and turned to look at her, "Name somethin' else then," He challenged.

She scrambled for an answer that he might find acceptable, "You're good at hunting and weapons. Teaching people," She said.

He smirked and walked over to the door shaking his head softly. He paused with his hand on the doorknob before walking out, "Ain't none o' them things got nothin' ta do with you though do it?" The sound of the door closing behind him made her jump slightly and then she was alone. Again.

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