Got another one out for you. Short and sweet and my attempt at humor. Once again, reviews are dead low...kind of a bummer. So, just sayin, if you're reading this...drop me a line... Also, hoping for some input here...wondering if you're all wanting this story to hit a conclusion or if y'are all liking this kind of slow approach. Anyhow...read and enjoy...and REVIEW :)

The Run

It was three of them doing rounds that day. The dark warrior had joined the two brothers, as they walked the fence line, clearing as many walkers as they could before they headed out on their run.

Emotions were running high at the prison. Ever since Merle Dixon had come into their lives, it seemed like everyone had been turned inside out.

No one knew what was brewing at Woodberry. The governor had been killed yes, and so had many of his top men, but Woodberry had remained standing. There was no way of knowing what kind of retaliation may be being planned by the people there.

And then there was the prison, place was a piece of shit. T-dog had been right about the place, it was a fuckin tomb. They weren't livin there; they were surviving, just barely. And the way them walkers were pilin' up at the fence line, always howling and moaning, pushing down hard on the fences. Just best to have another place lined up…just best to have a backup.

The trio hadn't even rounded the first bend when the bickering between the brothers began.

"Thought we was goin' on a run brother…." Merle began, gathering a wad of spit and letting fly through the fence on the quickly gathering crowd of walkers.

Daryl shrugged, "Rick said it aint a good time…"

"Rick said….." Merle mocked, stopping to turn and face his brother, "do you even own a pair of balls brother….are they even still attached?"

"Shut up Merle," Daryl scoffed, tossing a quick sideways glance at Michonne before, walking ahead. He'd made a place in this group, worked hard to become who he was, and he wasn't going to be demoted to little brother again. "Aint nuthin we need worth the trouble"

"Hell," Merle huffed sarcastically cutting him off, "Plenty I need worth the trouble, change of clothes for starters, some whiskey would be nice….and Christ sake rubbers, if that aint worth the trouble…."

Michonne ducked her head, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, and Daryl gave her a nasty sideways glance before glaring at his brother. "Aint funny Merle," he snapped turning around to give his brother a hard shove.

"Fuck brother," Merle grumbled under his breath, "Aint tryin' to be funny….I don't get my hands on some of them things soon, I think my balls are gonna fall off."

"Christ Merle!" Daryl sputtered, as Michonne doubled over laughing. "Aint nuthin fuckin private to ya?"

"You're my brother," Merle answered, "we aint got no secrets."

"Michonne ya brother too?" Daryl asked, jogging to keep up with Merle's rapid pace. "I thought ya was gonna keep yer mouth shut about this."

Merle stopped abruptly, causing Daryl to skid to a stop to avoid walking into him, "Aint got no secrets from Brown Sugar neither…" he said softly, his eyes pinned so hard on hers, she felt her breath catch in her throat. "Hell, baby brother," he said with a smirk, "she killed a man for me."

"I killed a man for me!" Michonne corrected, stepping between them, "And I still think you're an ass…"

Daryl looked at his brother and smirked, "But for the record…." Michonne added quickly, before ducking away, "I'm all for this…thing with Beth…"

"Aint no thang." Merle mumbled, as he picked up pace behind her, shaking his head gently from side to side. Last thing he needed was to be a fucking thang with an eighteen year old. Hell he hadn't been a fucking thang to a woman in so long he forgot how that shit even worked.

"Yeah well," Daryl muttered, "aint that great….yer fuckin seal of approval ta do somethin' that's gonna get him a bullet in the ass."

"I don't think it will." Michonne shrugged as she paused at an area of the fence that had a particularly heavy concentration of walkers and started picking them off one by one thought the fence. "I mean granted he's not the perfect choice but…."

"Perfect?" Daryl scoffed, "yer kidding right? He's about as far from as ya can get…." He muttered stepping in besides her and pulling out his heavy hunting knife, so he could dig in as well.

"He pretty much saved everyone's ass here," she said between clenched teeth, her blade digging in again and again

"Weren't you the one pulled the trigger?" Daryl answered, as his blade sunk into another skull.

"And besides," Michonne continued, working her blade hard against the fence line, "It's obvious he cares about her."

Daryl scoffed, working up a sweat besides the woman. "How are you so dam sure?'

"I know men." She grimaced as the blade went in again.

"Pfft," Daryl smirked, "ya don't know Merle…." He shook his head, and leaned off the fence a minute, looking at her….why in the heck was she defending Merle all of a sudden anyways?

"I know enough…" she continued with a wry smile, "And I think Beth's lucky." Michonne answered quickly, turning around to give Merle Dixon a quick wink of her own.

"Lucky?!" Daryl practically shouted. "Wasn't more than a few weeks ago this fucker shot ya and you wanted him dead in return….and now all of a sudden Beth's lucky?"

Merle leaned back against the inside fence and watched as those two killed walkers and bickered back and forth about him. There was somethin' about Michonne. Somethin he'd never seen before, sure he'd never spent much time tryin to get to know her, but she seemed as if I giant weight had been lifted off her. She seemed as if she had suddenly started living. And Daryl, Christ sake the way his brother bickered back and forth, reminded him of the way he used to get when they were kids. Granted the little fucker wasn't standin up for him, but still, it had been a good long time since he'd seen Daryl act this way stone sober. Usually the boy had his head hung down and his mouth sewed up tight.

"Y'all forget I was here?" he called out, His muscular arms crossing against his broad chest, "didn't know we was out here ta discuss my sex life…" He stopped for a moment then crossed the distance between himself and his brother with two quick steps before reaching out quickly to cuff him on the head. "And by the way brother…" he grumbled, "thanks for singin my praises…"

Daryl stopped and rubbed at his head, before spitting on the ground. "Ya got praises?" He asked, with a smirk, his head still hangin low.

Michonne laughed softly, she hadn't been around something like this in so long, something that wasn't walkers and death and survival and pain. She shook her head and looked up at Merle. "You've got some praises." She whispered.

Merle smiled and nodded his head, "All right, all right Brown Sugar take it easy. Now normally, if I wasn't in a ….thang…I'd be real eager ta take ya up on yer offer…."

"That wasn't an offer." She snapped, wiping her sword on her pant leg before re-sheathing it, "just an observation. And if you two can stop bickering like ladies….maybe we can go and talk to Rick…"

"Maybe," Merle started as he jogged up to keep step besides Michonne "my baby brother should grow a set, and tell Rick the way it's gonna be….aint'cha his second " he asked Daryl over his shoulder.

Daryl shook his head, wasn't it just like Merle ta rile shit up. "I aint no second…and Rick thinks we need all hands on deck here…ya heard him."

"What if me and 'Chonne go alone," Merle grumbled. "That way officer friendly don't have ta worry 'bout risking one of his…."

"You are one of ours." Daryl stressed, he knew the others didn't feel that way, but hell, Merle was family… blood. "And 'sides," Daryl continued, "ya aint riskin yer life for a box of rubbers and a new set of skivvies…fuck's sake Merle."

"Now come on baby brother," Merle continued, "ya know that aint why I'm goin', we gotta take a look around, see what all's brewin' out there…"

"Aint nuthin brewin' yet," Daryl said quietly, "Ya aint gotta be….stirrin no waters."

"Now I aint talkin about stirrin nuthin," Merle said quietly, "me an' Chonne here could zip in an out… ya won't even know we're missin…"

"Nah-uh" Daryl shook his head. "Aint gonna happen brother, it's me an you."

"Don't be such a damn pussy." Merle grumbled, tryin' to convince him to stay back. If shit went bad out there, he didn't want his baby brother anywhere near the mix. "Everything's gonna be fine…ya needed here."

"Aint letting ya outta my sight," Daryl muttered shaking his head. "Damn near lost ya both times we was split up…" he leaned forward and grasped Merle's shoulder hard and tight, in front of Michonne, "I just got ya back." He finished, still gripped on. "Aint ready ta let ya go again."

"Christ sake," Merle scoffed, shoving his brother away, "get off!"

"Awww," Michonne laughed, "come on Dixon," she smiled at the elder brother, "he loves you… don't be so damn mean…"

"Aint mean…Christ sake," Merle shook his head and reached a hand out to give Daryl a gentle shove, "just aint no pussy's all…" he paused for a moment catching his brother's eyes, his mouth pressed together in a thin line before he nodded, ducking his head to look away.

Michonne thought she'd never seen so much emotion pass through such a silent gesture. She could have sworn his eyes had softened, opened up for a mere fraction of a second, almost misted over and then slam…years of external defense mechanisms had locked into place. The older Dixon had turned his head and walked away, leaving Daryl looking so much like a little boy she'd had to fight the urge to pull him in her arms for a hug.

"Come on," he'd called out over his shoulder as he headed towards the cell block, "You two stop diddly-dickin and lets go find Officer Friendly, maybe one of us can talk some sense into him."

Finally Rick had folded; he was willing to let two of them go, but not all three. He was worried, defenses were down at the prison and he wasn't willing to let three of his top warriors go.

Merle and Daryl had argued back and forth until it had almost come to blows. The younger Dixon didn't want his brother leaving his sight, not yet. And Merle didn't want his brother tagging along, not while he was all emotional, with his head stuffed up his ass. But in the end, Michonne had stayed behind, and it had been a true Dixon brother outing.