Chapter 29

Gwen slept for two days...waking up just long enough to take medicine, eat then go to the bathroom. Merle went about his daily duties but often stopped by on his breaks to check on her.

Gwen opened her eyes and struggled to sit up. The warm glow of the last rays of sunlight filled the hotel room. She pulled back the blanket to look at her ankle. It was still swollen and discolored but the pain had settled to a constant dull ache. She swung both legs over the side of the bed and slowly stepped onto the floor. Putting weight onto her foot sent a sharp pain through her leg but she took a deep breath and breathed through it. You can't stay in bed forever...time to get back on your feet. Gwen slowly staggered her way to the bathroom.

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Merle entered the room and was surprised to see the bed empty. He heard the shower running as he sat next to the window and took his boots off. He sat there for a moment as he listened to the water shut off, soon followed by the bathroom door opening and Gwen stepping out in only a towel. She flinched when she saw Merle sitting next to the window just staring at her.

"I didn't know you were back..." She remarked as she made her way back to the bed and sat on the edge. She had laid her clothes out on the dresser but her ankle wouldn't let her make her way all the way over to retrieve them. "Do you mind?" Gwen asked as she pointed to the clothing.

Merle slowly got up and walked over to the dresser and picked up the small pile of clothes. He walked over to the bed and handed them to her as he sat next to her on the bed.

"Ya up on yer own...that's good...yer gettin' better." Merle remarked.

"Yeah...well...I feel like I could probably sleep for an entire week if ya let me." Gwen remarked as she smiled slightly at Merle.

"I wanted to come for ya...kinda hard to do though with five men sittin' on me...Gov wouldn't have it none..." Merle told her.

"I know you would have...you did get me the rest of the way in...Even though I was close I don't think I would've made it another step." Gwen remarked.

"Ya remember that?" Merle asked.

What Gwen remembered the most was how he kissed her. His first kiss had no doubt been arousing and passionate but the second kiss was different, it wasn't for show like the other had been and she knew it. It was genuine and intense. It made her see him fully in a new light. Gwen smiled as she lowered her head and blushed a little as she touched her own cheek in attempt to hide it.

He got up and started to walk back to the window seat but Gwen grabbed hold of his hand to stop him. She looked up at Merle but didn't speak. Her black and blue marks on her face from her ordeal with Andrew were beginning to heal and slightly fade. She pulled Merle closer and started to unbutton his shirt. Merle's breathing became heavier as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders. He was never one to be nervous around women but he felt a tightness in his chest that he wasn't accustomed to as he breathed more deeply. Merle gently grabbed her wrist to stop her as she undid his pants.

"What are ya doin'? Yer sure ya feelin' alright?" Merle asked, surprised by her boldness.

Gwen cut her eyes up towards him and gave him a sly smile as she pulled away from his grip and pushed his pants down his hips. "Let's not do any talkin' Merle."

Gwen raised her knee and with her good foot pushed herself back further onto the bed allowing room for Merle to climb on top of her, settling between her legs. Quickly, Merle dove into her neck with his mouth and tongue as he worked his way down towards her collar bone. Feeling his mouth running along her body sent a shiver through her. It had been so long since she had been with anyone. The thought of Merle, as he pressed his hips against her, thrilled and frightened her at the same time. Merle felt her body jerk and hesitated for moment and looked into her eyes to make sure she was alright. Gwen cupped his face in her hands and leaned up, covering his mouth with hers, reassuring him she knew what she wanted. Slipping her tongue into his, she caused a moan to escape from his throat from the sensation. As his mouth explored hers more deeply, he thrust his hips into hers and she raised up to meet his rhythm. She could feel how ready he was to take her by the thick buldge trapped in his boxers as he grinded against her. Merle grabbed roughly at her breast as he made his way towards it with his mouth, pulling the towel from between them and tossing it to the floor. The warmth of her skin against his made him crazy with desire as he gently bit her breast. She gasped and arched her back as she slipped her hand into his waist band and started to shove off his underwear but a knock at the door stopped them both.

They both looked up towards the door, hoping whoever it was would go away without knocking again. Merle decided to ignore it as he grabbed the back of her thigh, holding it tightly against his hip as he slowly grinded against her...not wanting the moment to be spoiled. Gwen kissed him again but quickly moved to his jaw and down his neck as she clung to him firmly, eager to feel more of him.

The knocking continued.

"Dammit..." Merle whispered. He stopped for a moment and yelled towards the door. "GO AWAY NANCY...WE'RE BUSY..."

Gwen giggled a little but the smile quickly dissipated from her face when she heard the voice, surprised it wasn't Nancy.

"MERLE...GOVERNOR WANTS TO TALK TO BOTH OF YA..." Lincoln's voice came from the other side of the door.

"TELL 'EM WE'RE BUSY...CATCH HIM LATER..." Merle met his mouth with Gwen's again but this time he could feel the tension throughout her whole body just from hearing mention of the Governor.

"HE WANTS TO SEE YA BOTH NOW...BEFORE DINNER...SO YA BETTER COME ON..." Lincoln hollared back.

Merle sighed deeply as he caught his breath.

"I don't think he's gonna leave without us..." Gwen remarked.

Merle grunted and kissed Gwen on the shoulder before he got off her and grabbed his pants off the floor. Gwen reached for her clothing from the end of the bed and got dressed. Merle struggled with his fastening his pants and belt, something he had seemed to have mastered one handed by now on previous days.

"Do you need me to help?" Gwen asked, noticing how flustered Merle was.

"I think you've helped plenty already..." Merle remarked, also mumbling something about "blue balls" that Gwen couldn't quite make out as he roughly adjusted himself and finished getting dressed.

Merle helped Gwen get her boots on and watched as she struggled to walk towards the door.

"Shouldn't be walking just yet...all that runnin' and jumpin' around ya did...you done fucked yourself up..." Merle remarked.

"I'll be fine..." Gwen reassured him.

Merle opened the door to find Lincoln standing there.

"What's this about?" Merle asked.

"Fuck if I know Merle...Gov just said he wanted to speak with ya right away..." Lincoln remarked as he turned and headed down the hallway.

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Slowly they started to make their way across the street when Merle stopped and gently grabbed Gwen by the arm.

"This is stupid...can't let ya keep tryin' to walk on it...besides...it'll take ya fuckin' ten years just to get there." Merle remarked as he scooped her up in his arms and began to carry her.

"MERLE!" Gwen was startled by his actions and a little embarrassed. "Ya just goin' to carry me everywhere now?"

"If I have ta!...Besides...sooner we get there...sooner we can get back to what we was doin'" Merle smiled.

Gwen waited for Merle to make eye contact with her as she wrapped her arms around his neck but he didn't. He just looked straight ahead with a "shit ass" grin on his face.

"What if I ain't in the mood once we get back?" Gwen asked playfully.

"I'm sure I can fix that..." Merle quickly replied.

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Both Gwen and Merle waited anxiously in the Governor's office as Lincoln went to get him. Nervously, Gwen began chewin' on her thumbnail.

"Damn...you 'bout as bad as Daryl with that...gonna gnaw you're own thumb off if ya keep that up." Merle stated.

Gwen lowered her hand to her lap, not even realizing she had started doing it in the first place. "What do ya think he wants now?"

Merle could see how nervous she was...her "outing" the other day had shaken her up bad but she had yet to really speak about it. She was never one to overly talk about her feelings. It was one of the things Merle really liked about her. She kept it to herself...she didn't whine about things even if she earned the right to.

The Governor walked into the office and Gwen kept her eyes fixated on him the whole way to the other side of his desk.

"I'm terribly sorry to keep you both waiting...I would've spoken to you both sooner but I figured you needed the rest Gwen..." The Governor addressed Gwen first.

"What's this all about?" Merle figited as he asked.

"Well...for starters, I've been thinking...Gwen I know the last time you were in here you remarked how you weren't afraid of me...you were bold and matter of fact about it but not in an arrogant way. I knew right then that I would like you...I don't want people to fear me, I want to be clear about that...but I do want people to abide by what I've set forth in this town...I want to keep this town a pleasant and peaceful place in the midst of these difficult and troubled times...an oasis you might say...and that's why I've made the rules that I have and strictly enforce them...But Gwen...I do realize I owe you my most sincerest apology...it was too soon, or I should've just kept you close to me...I put a great deal of pressure on you for your first scavenge and I was wrong to have done that..." The Governor told her as both she and Merle quietly listened.

The Governor paused for a moment almost as if he expected some kind of response from Gwen.

"Um...I don't...know what to say..." She said softly.

"That's quite alright...you don't have to say anything...you've been through a lot the last few days but one thing it has shown me is that I can trust you and I can't tell you how valuable that is to me... and how much I appreciate that. I know right now your faith may be a little shaken but I do hope one day you will feel as if you can equally trust me the same...it also shows me your dedication to this man..." The Governor pointed at Merle. " You could've taken that gun I gave you and gone elsewhere...found others or just your own place...but instead you came back here...you wanted to come back and I know that part is sitting right next to you."

Gwen glanced over at Merle and he was biting his lip as he intensley stared at the Governor.

"And you Merle...I never had any question of trusting you before...I won't sugar coat it though...I've had my suspicions about both of you lately but your actions have calmed those concerns...before Gwen came in the picture I knew you were a strong...loyal man...maybe rough around the edges and someone who likes to push the limits but I knew...I KNEW...if a job needed to be done...regardless of what it was...you were the go to man...I should have more people like you Merle...you're fearless at times...you don't hesitate or second guess yourself when things get hectic. You thrive on it instead..." The Governor addressed Merle.

Gwen watched Merle's face as the Governor spoke...Merle didn't like to follow rules...he was difficult and hard headed but she could see in his face why it was different for him in Woodbury...in Woodbury, he was respected...The Governor seemed to put a faith in Merle that Merle never had before...suddenly everything about this town made more sense to her, she had wondered why Merle had been so "content" here for lack of a better word...he was finally appreciated for who he was and it was written all over his face...that sense of pride.

"You're behavior as far as Gwen has been unusual and out of character...even erratic in a sense but I've come to realize it's because she is probably one of the few people you truly care about...and there's nothing wrong with that Merle...we all have people we care about...we all do things for them that we wouldn't do under any other circumstances...I admire that in you Merle as well...I really do." The Governor told him.

"And as for the two of you...I know things have been difficult...I know we've had some hard feelings between each other...but I do want to put all of this behind us and start fresh...that is...if you are both willing..." The Governor waited for one of them to speak.

Merle cleared his throat and finally spoke up. "Ain't got no hard feelin's Gov..."

Gwen looked over at Merle as he spoke then back at the Governor. The Governor looked pleased as he smiled at Merle then directed his attention back to Gwen...she couldn't help but feel a little creeped out by the whole exchange. "No hard feelin's here either..." She said what she thought he wanted to hear even if she didn't fully mean it.

"Good...then it's settled...thank you both..." The Governor stood up and walked them both out. Once they were at the bottom of the steps, Merle was about to pick Gwen up to carry her back when Darlene stormed up.

"Well isn't this just cozy...saw ya bring her here...carryin' her like she's a crippled or somethin'..." Darlene started in on Merle when the Governor interupted.

"That's enough Darlene...this is none of your concern at the moment...go back to your bar..." He ordered as he started to raise his voice.

Merle felt his stomach turn...he hadn't said a word to Gwen about Darlene and her approach couldn't have come at a worse time. "Shut ya mouth Darlene..." Merle barked at her.

"Well you sure seemed to be eager for me to have it open the other day...when your dick was in my mouth..." Darlene said sharply as she smirked at Gwen.

Gwen's mouth dropped open and her face turned pale. "What?..."

"That's right honey...while you was out there strugglin' to stay alive, fightin' for your life, Merle was busy gettin' his rocks off with me..." Darlene quipped.

"YOU SHUT IT BITCH OR I'LL SHUT IT FOR YA!" Merle yelled as he lunged towards her but the Governor jumped in between them as Lincoln attempted to push Merle back. "GET THE FUCK OFF ME LINC!" Merle jerked away from him and turned his back as he tried to get ahold of his own anger. She had said exactly what he hoped she wouldn't...it was out and Gwen couldn't unhear it and he knew it.

Merle looked over at Gwen who stood there silent, just staring at him in disbelief. He didn't have any words for her at that moment. No clue in what to say or do. He stepped closer towards her and grabbed her arm "Come on let's go..."

Gwen jerked her arm away from him, almost throwing herself off balance. "Wait...that's all you have to say about this?...come on let's go?" Gwen kept repeating Darlene's words in her head. She almost couldn't believe it but with the look on Merle's face she knew it was the truth.

Merle just stared at Gwen...all she could see was anger in his eyes but he offered no excuse and no apology.

"Darlene...you're going to leave now!" The Governor ordered to Darlene. She hesitated for a moment, rolled her eyes, then turned and stomped off back to her bar.

Gwen just stared back at Merle and waited but he said nothing.

Merle couldn't help but close his eyes and turn his head when Gwen cracked him hard against the cheek with her palm. Gwen's hand felt like it was on fire after striking him and she knew without even looking back at it that it had left a mark on both of them. Merle still didn't say a word.

Gwen looked at him in disgust then suddenly realized the Governor and Lincoln were still there just staring at both of them. Gwen's eyes began to fill with tears as her gaze moved from Lincoln, the Governor then back to Merle. She didn't say another word but turned and started to limp back to the hotel. The adrenaline surging through her veins helped masked her own pain from her ankle but didn't mask the pain she felt in her heart. Suddenly she felt very stupid and foolish.

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Merle started to slowly follow after her when the Governor stopped him. "I think it might be best if you give her a chance to cool off...give her some time...but one thing is for sure brother...I don't envy you one bit at this moment..." The Governor patted Merle on the shoulder then went back inside.

Merle stood there and watched as Gwen faded from his sight.