Hey guys! Just wanted to say thanks for all the reviews, views, follows, and favorites! This chapter gets pretty emotional, just a warning. You will see a little bit of Merle's backstory. PLEASE leave a review! Thanks and as always, happy reading!

Chapter 21

It had been a couple of days since Merle and Rick devised their plan. Daryl sat on the deck of the lake with his feet in the water. He stared straight ahead of him as he thought. The look from Reagan seemed emotionless but at the same time it looked like hurt. He heard someone walking on the deck and saw dark brown pants sit Indian style next to him.

"Hey." Rick greeted.

"Hey." Daryl grunted. Rick decided to be blunt at first, then get to his spiel.

"You have no idea how much I want to hurt you." Rick said and Daryl nodded.

"Go 'head and punch me." Daryl replied.

"I'm not gonna do that." Rick replied. They were silent for a little bit longer, the sounds of the lake were the only thing breaking it. "I remember when I found out Lori was pregnant with Carl. I was so happy it just blew my mind the mere thought of being a father. But, when I found out she was pregnant when we were here the first time, it was totally different. I had to think about how I was gonna be able to provide for her. How I was ever gonna be able to ensure that both of them would be safe. I'll admit something too, I was scared shitless." Daryl just nodded along. "You know, I knew that entire time that she had slept with Shane. I still loved her though, even though she hurt me in one of the worst ways possible. When I met her, I never thought I would be good enough for her. She was beautiful, smart, funny, responsible. I realized I was never gonna be as good as her, but I would the best I could possibly be to her. I never deserved her, I took that for granted. We had finally had a real talk a couple of days before she died. It was a small talk but, it did wonders. We looked at each other the way we had when we first met at that New Years Eve party." Daryl didn't look at Rick, he just nodded along. He wished the Rick would just leave him alone, he wanted time to think. "But then, she was taken away from me. My son had to shoot her. When I went back there, her body was gone. A walker had eaten her entire body. Her hair was still in it's teeth. I stabbed it more times than I could count. I wished that I could have her back, to tell her all the things I just told you. But, it was too late. Judith is mine, no matter what. Judith is the piece of my wife, along with Carl. They are the only things left of her. Before, you say anything. I know you may not have listened to a word I said, but let me tell you something. When Reagan is gone, and that baby is alive, you're gonna wish you had treated them the best you possibly could." Rick stood up and walked away from Daryl. Daryl stood up and walked over to his tent, hopefully to get some sleep.

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"Just close your eyes

The sun is goin' down

You'll be alright

No one can hurt you now

Come morning light

You and I'll be safe and sound." Reagan sang as she held Judith. She had just fed her and changed her diaper. Judith looked like her brother, except more feminine.

"Hey." A voice greeted. She turned a little and saw Merle in the doorway.

"Uh, hi Merle." She greeted softly. Judith was asleep so she laid her down in the makeshift crib. "Is everything okay? Is anyone giving you trouble?"

"No, thanks though." He replied. "Can I talk to ya down stairs?"

"Sure." She replied with a quick nod and walked downstairs. They stood in the hallway as Merle stood there awkwardly.

"I have to tell ya some things okay?" he began.

"Alright, shoot." She replied as she leaned against the wall.

"Daryl has always been fight or flight. It's the way we learned to live. I'm sure ya know about our past."

"I'm aware." She replied.

"He's scared. He goes into defense mode every time he gets scared." He said and took a deep breath. "I've only loved one woman in my entire life. She helped me quit drugs, quit everythin'. Her name was Sasha Hawthorne. She didn't push me away when I was difficult, when I was yellin' and screamin' for more drugs. She stayed with me through it all. Ya remind me a lot of her. I swear, yer like a fuckin' clone. The way ya act is just reminds me of her. She dealt with me even though I'm a difficult sonuvabitch. So is Daryl, but you stood by him. I know what he said was fuckin' bull shit. Ya would neva do that to him. But he didn't mean it. He loves ya so much. He went off to the creek just sayin' that ova and ova 'gain. Sayin' that he wished he hadn't said that to ya. He cares about that baby. He got scared and went back to what he knew best." Reagan listened intently to Merle's explanation. "He doesn't think he can fix it. I know y'all can. Ya've got to."

"He said that?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, I ain't lyin'. Not when it comes to these sort of things." Merle replied. "Ya'll hear it from him soon. I know ya will."

"Thanks for telling me." She said.

"He's not used to this. Yer the first woman that eva cared for him like ya do. He's lost, he's confused, the boy don't know what to do." He continued. "Don't just leave him like this. He'll come back, ya ain't got nothin' to apologize for. He was a fuckin' asshole, he said it himself. He loves ya, more than he could eva tell or show ya." Reagan stood there for a moment speechless. A simple talk with Daryl wouldn't fix everything, but it would sure do a lot. He hurt her too bad for that to fix everything. He needed to be there for her to fix everything. It was quite simple. But very difficult.

The next thing Merle knew, Reagan was hugging him. Merle patted her back gently as she did so.

"Thank you Merle." She said.

"Yer a good woman Rea, betta than the people left out there and alotta people that were here before." He said. She pulled away with a small smile.

"Your better than you think you are." She replied. "What happened to Sasha?"

"Uh… she died in a car accident. A drunk driver hit us. I made it out bruised but nothin' real bad. She died while held her hand. She was in a coma for a week before she finally passed. There was too much internal damage to fix. I started drugs and everythin' after her funeral." Merle admitted. He never talked about Sasha. "I found out when I woke up in the hospital, she had lost the baby."

"She was pregnant?" Reagan asked.

"Yuh, five months along. We were gonna have a boy, name him Jethro Dustin Dixon." Merle replied. "The last thing I saw was her smiling and rubbing her stomach." He tightened his lips and looked away.

"I'm sorry." She told him and cupped his cheek.

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Glenn ran outside to the group as he heard their conversation. The group was in the camp, Carl holding Judith while Rick and Daryl were nowhere to be found.

"Guys, there's something you should know." Glenn started.

"What is it?" Maggie asked. Glenn explained the entire conversation the Merle and Reagan had. "Wow." Maggie breathed.

"He… wow. I can't believe he did that for Reagan." Michonne said.

"Well, looks like he's part of the group." Herschel said.

"Agreed." Carol said. "He deserves it."

"So, she's pregnant?" Carl asked.

"Yeah." Glenn replied. "I know she may have wanted it secret but we can't just let it go. We need to help her. We need to get some stuff ready."

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"How did it go?" Rick asked.

"I think she understands." Merle replied. "I think she's ready. It's gonna take more than a talk but he'll be able to do it."

"If he does." Rick replied. "He didn't take what I said seriously."

"How can ya tell?" Merle asked.

"He didn't look at me, he just nodded, didn't ask me questions." He explained.

"Time for my method." Merle replied as he walked out towards the fence, knowing Daryl would be there eventually.

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"Daryl!" Reagan screamed. "Help, please!" A walked was coming close to her as she held a bundle of white blankets. "DARYL!"

"Reagan!" he turned around to see the walker eating everything he loved. Taking a bite out of Reagan's neck and blood spewing everywhere. Their baby wailed out as Reagan was being eaten. Daryl took down the walker with his bare fists. He crawled over to Reagan as she slipped away from him. "Reagan, no! Please don't leave me!" he wept. "Please!"

"Daryl….. I'll always be with…. You….." She said weakly as she closed her eyes and went limp in his arms. Their baby was still crying, blood staining the white blanket.

"Rea… please don't leave me." He wept. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" He felt Reagan start to breathe again and he pulled to look at her face. Her eyes opened and their bright blue shone lifelessly. They were glossy as she started to groan. Daryl pulled a gun that was three feet away and held it up to her forehead. "I love you." He sobbed. He pulled on the trigger and…"

Daryl woke up with his heart racing. He was sweating from head to toe. He felt pale and clammy. He looked at himself and found no blood. His chest was heaving and his mouth was dry as he panted. He threw the covers off of him and placed his hands on his forehead. He needed some fresh air. He pulled on his boots and grabbed his crossbow. He walked outside and towards the fence where he saw his brother.

"Hey Mer-" he didn't even get to finish.

"Alright, I want you to shut-up and listen!" Merle growled. "That woman in there is betta for ya than ya could eva dream! She would neva do the things you accused her of! I want ya to let this sink in and ya betta damn well be listenin' to me! Ya don't deserve her, but she loves ya more than anythin' in this whole fuckin' screwed up world. I lost the woman I loved and my child! Ya gonna let that slip away from ya? Huh? You betta get yer shit straight before ya lose the best thing that eva happened to ya! Ya saw what I went through! Why the fuck would ya want to go through that?" Merle lectured and stormed off, leaving his brother in the dust. Daryl hadn't heard Merle mention Sasha since her funeral. Reagan couldn't forgive him. She probably hated him.

"I still loved her though, even though she hurt me in one of the worst ways possible." Rick's words popped into his head.

Suddenly, it all became clear to him.

She still loved him. She still wanted to be with him. He loved her more than anything in this whole world. He needed her. He was never going to be good enough for her, but he could give her the best he could possibly give. That meant being for her, loving her, and loving the baby. All the things he wanted to do. He needed to talk to Reagan before he lost her completely.