I did it! I wrote a chapter for Dust to Dust and it only took me a month and four days. Okay, if there is anyone out there still reading this I have to say, I am so very sorry that I am totally bombing on this story. It isn't because I want too, believe me! I am going to try harder and get this thing finished. Surely there are a few of you left! Thanks so much for reading. Thanks Athlete Girl for the advice. It wasn't exactly what you had in mind but I'm getting there. It's something anyway! And sorry about any typos. I gave this a very quick once over and I am seriously doubting that I caught all of the mistakes. I'm excited to finally post this so that is my excuse.
Chapter Twenty One
Merle was used to playing the big brother when it came to Carol but this was beyond him. Truthfully he was half scared of her now days. His side still hurt like hell where she had pinched him and he had other things to do than get himself sucked into her and Buck's problems. She was on her own there. He could see both sides of the situation, really.
Buck knew who he needed to get certain jobs done and he thought he needed his boys on this stealth run. Merle couldn't see any fault in the old man's logic. He needed the best to go with him and Merle and Daryl was the best. On the other hand, Buck just dumped this assignment in their laps and even though Merle and Daryl both were pretty okay with it, Carol had been pretty caught off guard. She was scared to death and she was starting to adapt to doing things the Dixon way by lashing out. By finding weak spots in another person's armor and knifing it. That's why she had said the things she said to Buck.
He was just glad that he wasn't his brother. He didn't have to deal with any bullshit like that. Beth was suppose to have been free to go on to their apartment that morning so that was the first place he was going to look for her.
Right as he got to the door it opened up and Hershel stepped out. That didn't surprise him none. Hershel was there a lot. He was Beth's daddy. It was expected. But Hershel carrying a suitcase was a bit off. The man stopped and met his eyes.
With his free hand he put it on Merle's shoulder and offered him a sympathetic smile. "I don't much envy you at the moment, son," he said before he dropped his hand, glanced over his shoulder and then stepped around Merle. Merle watched him go. What the hell was going on here?
He walked in and went straight to their room, expecting to find her there. He did but she wasn't lying down like he thought she would be doing. He figured she needed to take it easy. She was bandaged up and they had pills to kill the worst of the pain but she still didn't need to be up and about like she was.
He frowned when he saw her. "What the hell are you doin'?"
She looked up from the stack of clothes that she was shoving into the other suitcase with one hand. Her other arm was in a sling. "I think it would be a good idea if I moved in with daddy for now," she said in a level voice.
He frowned. "What? What the fuck for?"
She didn't look up again. She just shook her head slightly and continued on with what she was doing.
"Beth!" He nearly shouted, causing her to flinch.
Her head shot up sharply and he was surprised to see that she most definitely was pissed off about something. He tried to come up with any reason she would be so pissed off but he couldn't think of one. She didn't give away any hints either. She just stood there and stared at him.
"What the fuck are you pissed off about?" he asked, coming around the bed so he was closer to her.
Her lips formed a thin line and her eyes narrowed on him. "Where were you this mornin'?" she finally asked.
He shrugged. "I was over at my brother's place helpin' Carol with some..."
"Exactly," she said with a nod as she started stuffing clothes in the suitcase again.
He was confused and getting pretty pissed off himself. "You're movin' out on me for goin' to my brother's?"
With a deep sigh she let the shirt she was holding fall out of her hand. "When I woke up last night the first thing I see is you and Carol, Merle. You standin' there with your arms around her while I'm lyin' there lucky to be alive. And you know somethin'? I didn't even care. I'm used to it. I was happy to see her. I know that the things the two of you do don't mean nothin'. I don't think the two of you are havin' some secret affair..."
He put his hands on his hips and grimaced.
She held up a hand before he could say anything. "Let me finish, okay. We've done been through this before. I know you love her. By now everybody knows you love her. Not the same as you do me..."
"Then what the fuck is your problem?"
"I woke up last night and you were standing six feet away from what could have been my deathbed, Merle. With your arms around another woman. I was okay with that. I know you. I know you don't really think things through before you do'em. But I wake up this mornin' and you ain't even there."
"She needed help with somethin'! She's pregnant, you ain't. I thought I could help her out and then be back before you got up."
She gave him a humorless smile and then shoved the shirt she had dropped back into the suitcase. "I ain't pregnant. You're right. I was shot. I almost died. But I ain't pregnant. I guess I need to apologize."
"Goddamn it, Beth! You're actin' like a fuckin' kid."
"You're actin' like a jerk," she said angrily, eyes flashing now.
"What the fuck you want me to do? You want me to act like I don't give a shit about her?"
"No, I want you to stop actin' like you don't give a shit about me," the tone of her voice was calm, which somehow worsened the impact of her words.
All he could think about was how much he had worried the night before. How scared he had been at the thought of her not waking up. And now she was accusing him of not giving a shit? She was crazy. Bug shit nuts! He grabbed her arm, a little too roughly and stopped her from putting anything else in the suitcase. "That's bullshit," he growled.
When she met his eyes there were tears in hers and he instantly let go of her arm. "You weren't there when I woke up," she said in a quiet voice.
He shook his head. What the hell was wrong with the women around here? The Dixon men's women anyway. Buck was beat up. Daryl never knew what the fuck was going to set Carol's crazy ass off and now Beth was acting just as crazy as them. And all this time he had been sure he was the lucky one.
He wasn't any good at this part. The talking and making up shit was beyond him. Really, he didn't see what her argument really was. He would have been there but it wasn't like she was dying. She was injured, sure, but she was out of the woods. What the hell was wrong with him not being there?
"You don't get it. I didn't expect you too," she shut the suitcase and latched it.
"I'm leavin' in about an hour. Me and my brother are goin' with Buck to take out whatever sentries Philip has wanderin' about so they can't warn the others once the rest of the men get there." He saw the change in her face then. She looked up sharply.
"Just the three of you?" she asked, worry overriding the earlier anger.
He nodded. "It's gonna be easy. All three of us are pretty good at all that stealth shit."
"And you choose right now to tell me this?" she said, her voice laced through with panic.
He shrugged. "Just found out about it myself. I would have told ya last night if I knew."
She opened her mouth like she was going to say something but shut it, looking down at the suitcase.
She was worried now and he knew it. It was a good thing really because it at least meant that she still cared. "Hey, we're good at this shit. Ain't no need in worryin' over us. This is gonna be easy."
She nodded slightly and then threw down the shirt she had been about to stuff in with the other ones. She didn't look up.
"You done givin' me shit so we can actually spend my last hour not fightin'?" he asked hesitantly.
When she met his eyes he could tell there was still anger brewing inside of her but she was at least willing to set it aside for now. There wasn't enough time to fight and he didn't see the point in it anyway. He hated that he had made her feel bad but there wasn't anything he could do about any of that right now.
"And you have to go? You ain't got a choice?" she asked finally.
He shook his head. "Ain't got no choice. The three of us are goin'."
"What did Carol and Andrea have to say about that?" She asked, maybe hoping that one of them could have called this thing off.
"Buck has a black eye so I don't think Andrea liked the idea very much and Carol threw herself a screamin' fit in the middle of the meetin'. Buck wants us to go so we go."
She took a deep breath and her chin went up a few inches but a second later her face fell. He was in front of her before he even told himself to move, pulling her head towards his chest, careful not to touch her injured shoulder. They stood there like that, one hand pressed against the back of her head as the other came around her waist. He knew she was crying but it was quiet.
He bent down and breathed in the scent of her hair. "You gonna unpack now or are ya really gonna leave me just cause I'm an insensitive asshole? Which ya knew was one of my biggest traits when you decided to settle down with me to begin with."
She took a deep breath and shook her head against his chest. He wasn't sure how the fuck a head shake was an answer to his question but she wasn't yelling or trying to make him leave her alone so he took that as a good sign. When her head finally came up and her lips met his he felt himself relax further. They were going to be okay.
"Don't act like this is an easy mission, Merle. You could die today," she whispered when her mouth left his and drifted to his ear.
He wasn't having the easiest time focusing on the conversation. "Any of us could die any day, don't mean we ain't gotta do our jobs." He moved his hand from the back of her head down to her side and then pulled her a little closer until the only thing separating them was the arm she had cradled to her chest in the sling.
"You remember that once I'm out of this sling and it's my shift on that wall," she countered when she pulled back from him again.
He was about to say something but she started pushing his coat off his shoulders with one hand. He let her but he stopped her hand from wondering up his shirt. A few seconds later someone was clearing their throat in the doorway.
Beth took a step back and Merle looked up. Glenn was standing there awkwardly with Maggie next to him, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyebrows raised. "Daddy sent us up here to see if you were ready for us to bring your stuff back up."
Beth's face reddened but Merle couldn't help but grin. Maggie had really come around these last few months. He hated to admit it but he actually liked the girl. Even if she was a huge pain in the ass sometimes.
"What makes y'all think I changed my mind?" Beth grumbled.
Maggie just stared at her and finally Beth sighed. "Bring it back up."
Maggie and Glenn both reached down and hauled in a box and another suit case and left it by the bed. Merle scowled.
"You really was hell bent on leavin' me, wasn't you?"
She gave him a sheepish smile and then nodded.
~H~
Guillermo and his men were no where to be seen. They had a lot to discuss before it was their turn to head out and Buck figured that they were preparing everyone for the fight ahead. His own group however were all present, standing out by the gates to see them off. A few looked concerned but most of them just looked determined. He hated to admit it but he was proud of all of them.
"You sure about this?" Andrea asked for the ten thousandth time.
He looked down at the top of her head and heaved a heavy sigh. "How many times do I gotta tell ya? If I thought for a minute that neither one of my boys would get out of this then we wouldn't be here right now."
"And what about you?" She asked, not for the first time.
He looked up at the heavy clouds. "If I can survive your bitchin' groanin' mouth for all this time then I can sure as hell survive offin' a couple of military wannabe's in the woods. I would probably have better luck with them, actually."
She elbowed him in the stomach and then looked up, her eyes narrowed on him. "Sorry about your eye." That was something else that she had said a lot since last night.
He bit the inside of his jaw and shrugged. "It didn't hurt," he said again. "You hit like a bitch anyway."
Everyone looked towards them when she laughed. "Why do I bother with you? You know that you make me sick eighty percent of the time?" she tilted her head, a small smile playing around the corners of her mouth.
He draped a heavy arm over her shoulders and then leaned down so his mouth was close to his ear. "You bother cause the other twenty percent of the time, you're climbin' me like a tree."
She laughed again and then turned quickly and caught his lips with her own. She was good at playing it cool but the way she was kissing him now had a desperate edge to it that was laced with fear. He hated leaving her and then he hated himself for giving a damn. He had to freeze himself back up. He was getting soft and sentimental and that could get people killed.
Merle and Daryl looked as ready as they were going to get. Carol still looked pretty ashamed of the way she had acted earlier. She was standing next to Daryl with her chin up. He knew the worry was eating her up inside but it didn't show.
No one said goodbye. They all opted to just tell them that they would see them later. That sounded better anyway. He knew that he should have been more nervous about all of this but he was fairly certain that this was going to be a breeze compared to what they were all going to set out tonight. He hadn't told the boys or Andrea but once the guards were taken care of he wasn't coming back with them. Someone had to stay there just in case one of Philips men realized what had happened. He had to keep an eye on Woodbury until his own people came. They couldn't afford for Philip to bring his men and attack them here. There was too much at stake.
The three of them piled into the truck. Merle was the one to question why Blue was in the back. Buck hadn't told them about that either. It sounded stupid but the damn dog was some sort of dog genius or something and it wouldn't hurt to bring him along. Not only that but he was a great walker herder. If they ran into a lot at once then Blue knew what to do to dispatch them.
They would drive most of the way there. They had guns just in case they were spotted on the road by anyone that could have been heading their way from Woodbury. Everyone had seemed to be confident that Philip would wait a little longer to make his move but he had to know by now that the group he sent out weren't coming back and he had to know what that meant.
"Carol really laid into your ass, Buck," Merle said from the window seat.
He sighed. "She had reason too I spose."
Daryl, who somehow got stuck in the middle decided he was going to try to rib him a little too. "So, I know you ain't fought with any of our men. When did Andrea give ya that shiner?"
Buck could hear the smile in his youngest son's voice. Him and Merle didn't seem to be too upset with being blindsided by this trip and for that he was thankful. He had fucked up when it came to his boys but he had to admit that they were a strong pair because of it. "She got pissed off and socked me right in the eye. Then she did it again when I laughed at her for it."
he listened to the two of them laugh at him and found himself joining in. How the three of them could sit in that truck, knowing that they could very well be dead in less than an hour, laughing, was beyond him.
There was really no way they could hide the truck. The snow was deep and anyone would be able to see the tracks so Buck just pulled off to the side of the road and hoped that it would start snowing again soon. If anyone was on their way to their town then hopefully the snow would obscure their tracks. If not then they would be easily followed by anyone.
"You assholes ready for this?" Buck asked before he opened his door.
Merle and Daryl both gave him a nod and then Merle climbed out. Blue joined them as they made their way into the relative safety of the woods. All he could do was hope that they didn't hesitate when the time came. He was pretty sure that they were both in the right mindset. This was a mission that was going to save the life of everyone that they cared about and if they messed up then it could cost them their lives and the lives of their group. The one that had the most to lose out of the three of them was Daryl. He was sure that Daryl understood how high the stakes were now and he wouldn't hesitate to do what needed to be done. Merle on the other hand, Merle wouldn't hesitate because Merle was enough like him to find a little enjoyment out of all of this. Buck wouldn't worry until they gave him a reason to worry.
Out of the three of them Daryl was the best at tracking but his skills weren't needed right now. If there had been anyone there then their tracks would be obvious to anyone and the snow was making it nearly impossible to keep silent. They managed as best they could, Blue bounding ahead of them and then stopping to look back over his shoulder as they caught up. Goddamn dog seemed to know exactly what they were doing. He led the way like he had been there a thousand times.
They made good time and Blue let them know when they were close because he stopped, one paw raised. All the hair on his back stood up and he became as still as stone. Daryl and Merle both looked up at him, questions in their eyes. This was game time and Buck was the one that had to call the shots. He pointed ahead but to the right and nodded towards Merle who wordlessly turned and headed in that direction. He sent Daryl to the left. They had to split up. Buck was going to make this kill. Maybe all of them if he could.
Blue looked back at him over his shoulder and then took a few hesitant steps forward. Buck followed the dog closely to the edge of the tree line. There was a man standing about fifteen yards away, looking bored as hell as he tracked back and forth in the snow that he had packed down with his boots. He carried a wicked looking rifle.
Buck was calm at first but when the man's head shot up and was looking intently in the direction that he had sent Daryl he felt the first pangs of fear. Surely Daryl hadn't fucked up already. The man raised the gun and Buck was just about to curse out loud and then show himself when the man lowered the weapon again. He placed one hand on his hip as the rifle dangled loosely from his other hand.
"What the fuck?" Buck breathed as he watched the man kneel down and chuckle. As quietly as he could Buck eased himself closer so he could get a look at whatever had caught the man's attention. He shook his head in astonishment. There was that damn dog. He pounced around in the snow with that goofy ass dog grin on his face and every now and then he would stop with his ass in the air, tail going nuts as he looked at the man like he wanted to play a game. Buck could hardly believe his eyes.
The dog really was a goddamn genius!
The man seemed to relax more as he let out a low whistle. He was probably used to things staying calm around these parts because he didn't have his guard up at all. Buck withdrew the large knife and looped around until he was directly behind the guy. Blue rolled over onto his back and then jumped up and kicked up snow all around as he ran in a tight circle. The man chuckled and then whistled again. Buck didn't have to worry about noise. The snow here was tightly packed and he walked on silent feet.
Once he was just a few feet away from the man Blue stopped his little act and sat down in the snow, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. He looked like he was waiting as Buck closed the distance.
As quickly as he had ever moved in his life Buck grabbed the man from behind, clamping one massive hand over his mouth as the knife slipped easily into his back, piercing all the way through to his heart. He wretched the knife out and then slid it into the base of his skull so he wouldn't turn and then dropped the body to the ground. When he looked up Blue was gone.
This was going to be easier than he thought. He picked up the body and slung it over his shoulder, kicking snow over the blood that had spilled there. There wasn't as much as one would think. He'd made sure to shove the knife into the man's heart to kill him quickly. He'd died instantly and the blood wasn't flowing like it would if he had just wounded him. He followed his tracks back into the woods to dump the guard. Merle and Daryl knew to meet him at this spot as soon as they did what they had to do.