The Lady Claimers

Chapter 34

The warm sun was streaming in through the gap in the curtains. Milton woke up and reached for his glasses. He couldn't see much without them. After rolling around to the other side of the bed he finally located them on top of the bedside table next to an empty wine glass. The other side of the bed was cold. Hex was already long gone. She woke up everyday at what Milton considered to be a rather ungodly hour, so she could get down to the barn and take care of the horses.

Milton was enjoying his new life much more than he ever suspected that he would. When Katie and her group had come to rescue Andrea, he had only left with them because he was afraid of what the governor might do to him if he stayed. He had been terrified the entire bus ride from Woodbury to the compound, not knowing what to expect when he arrived. The first thing that had shocked him was how many women lived in this place. There had to be at least five or ten to every man. Milton wasn't a fool. He knew many men would love to be in that position. But he never had much luck with women. He didn't really understand them. Having so many of them around made him nervous and anxious.

He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. For something terrible to happen. But so far everything was as it seemed. The work that Katie had asked him to do suited him. He organized all the garden seeds for her and made lists of what they had saved, what they needed to save. Once he was done with that, Milton started to get more involved with organizing the gardens themselves. Katie gave him every book she had on the subject and he spent most of his time pouring over them. Figuring out what to plant where and keeping lists of things that needed to be done. He showed his charts to Katie's sister Mandy and the woman must have been impressed with them. Because after that everyone on the gardening team started asking him for advice on what he thought they should be doing.

For the first time in his life, Milton felt like he had made some friends. He liked Katie's giant red haired uncle a lot. Once Tom found out he had a background in science, he started inviting Milton down to the brewery to help them brew beer and wine. This always involved a lot of necessary taste testing. Which led to lots of story telling. Tom was not someone that Milton ever would have even spoken to back in his old life. But he found he enjoyed the man's brash company. The other men on Tom's work team were much nicer to Milton than he expected. They simply accepted him as just one more member of their large mixed up family. Everyone here had a job to do. And none of them treated him as less of a man because he organized seeds and they built fences, the way some of the men in Woodbury had.

The person he felt most confused about was the woman he was sleeping with. Hex was an attractive woman. But not the sort he was usually attracted to. Milton never got many dates, but the ones he had gone on were always with other educated professionals. He remembered them by the jobs they had, since that was the only subject he had really spoken to them about. One was a college professor that taught history, another was a probate lawyer and the only woman he had ever had any sort of official relationship with was a tax accountant.

None of them had darkly tanned skin from working outside in the sun all day. Or saddle sores and bruises from breaking in and training horses. Those women did not come home smelling like fresh hay with dirt under their fingernails. They did not have tattoos on their collarbones or long dark wavy hair that fell down over their shoulders in a wild unbrushed tumble. Those women never tracked horse turd and dirt though the house because they were in such a rush to wrap their arms around him that they forgot to kick their boots off.

Milton pulled himself out of bed and poked around for his clothes, thinking about the night before. He and Hex stayed up late, drinking a bottle of red wine that one of the girls that went on the run with Katie brought back for her. Well for him really, he was the one that liked red wine. Hex drank beer or whiskey over ice. She had asked the girls to get her that wine. For him. Just another thing she did that he had no idea how to respond to.

They sat out on the porch after dinner instead of going for a horse ride, drinking the wine and talking. Having a friendly debate about different types of government and what sort they thought they were living under now.

After that they had gone into her bedroom. Well he supposed it was his bedroom too now. She had asked him if he wanted to move his things in. Milton had not really been so sure about that. He had never lived with a woman before, unless he counted his mother. But he liked Hex and thought her feelings might be hurt if he said no, so over his things came to be tucked away in the drawers she had cleaned out for him. She and her roommate fixed up their spare room for him too. With a desk and big corkboards on the walls. Hex came in with some boards and an electric drill and built him some shelves. Now he had an office.

Milton found his pants sticking out from under one side of the bed. He pulled them on and tried to straighten his hair up in the small mirror that was hanging on the wall. Turning his head to the side, he noticed there was a large purple mark on the left side of his neck, slightly below his ear. He moved closer to the mirror to get a better look and noticed there was not only one mark, there was a trail of them that led down into the collar of his shirt. He started trying to remember when he had hurt himself in that spot. Then he almost started laughing at himself.

They were hickeys. His first. After the wine, Hex led him into the bedroom and started pulling at his clothes. Telling him the same thing she always said, to leave his glasses on because she thought they were sexy. He didn't remember when she sucked at his neck, but he was confident that he enjoyed it while it was happening. He enjoyed everything she did to him. Sometimes it was all a little overwhelming. The tax accountant girlfriend had been a little overweight. She wouldn't have sex with the lights on and even in the dark she refused to take her shirt off. Hex walked around the house in her underpants even if her roommate was there. She slept naked with one long leg draped over him. The only thing she was self concious about was the twin scars that snaked up the length of her wrists. He made it a point not to ask about those.

There was already water in the teapot, and the pot was sitting on the little hot plate. All Milton had to do was turn it on. He reminded himself to thank Hex later. She was so gracious about all the little things she did for him, never making a big deal out of any of it. He tried to make it a point not to take her for granted. Once the water was almost boiling, Milton poured it into his travel thermos along with the tea bags he had picked out of the large box full that had suddenly appeared on the counter one day along with all the other tea making equiptment he needed to make tea. He had casually mentioned to Hex that he missed making tea in the morning and didn't want to make it at the main kitchen because the place was always so crazy busy in the morning. Whenever he went into that place he felt like he was getting in about fifteen people's way at once. A few days later the hot plate, tea kettle, tea bags and thermos had just been there sitting on the counter waiting for him to wake up like they had been there all along.

He thought about going down to the barn, but his growling stomach propelled him towards the main outdoor dining area instead. Milton pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose and took a careful sip of his tea. He looked over the food and filled a bowl with what looked most appealing to him. Some thick greek style yogurt, a big scoop of fresh sliced peaches and some homemade granola. He pinned his thermos against his side with his arm and took a big slice of ripe watermelon in his other hand. Then he turned and started looking for somewhere to sit. Looking for a table always reminded him a bit of the high school cafeteria. Back then he would have taken one of the empty tables and sat by himself. But lately he had been trying to broaden his horizons.

First he looked around for any of the barn girls that worked with Hex. They were always nice to him. But they must have all eaten and left already. Next he looked for Tom. The giant man was easy to spot, and Milton headed in his direction. He paused a moment when he realized the man was sitting at a table with Merle and Martinez. People Milton had been actively avoiding since he got here. But there was an empty seat at the table and the lid of his thermos was getting uncomfortably hot against the skin of his arm. So he headed for the open chair and set his food down in front of it.

Tom was sitting next to one of the amish girls that had come in not so long ago. She had red hair also, but not as bright as Tom's. She smiled at him. Her little sister was sitting next to her. Martinez was sitting with one of the women that had robbed Woodbury all those months ago. From the looks of her, it had been almost nine months ago. She was leaning back in her seat, scratching at her swollen belly. Her daughter was sitting between them. Merle and his silent brother rounded out the group. Merle was pushed back from the table smoking while his brother was working his way through a ridiculously overfilled plate of food. Stuffing so much in his mouth at a time it was a wonder he didn't choke.

Martinez gave him a little nod of welcome, which surprised Milton. The man had never been particularly friendly to him back at Woodbury. And in an even more shocking turn of events, Merle lifted up the hand he was holding his cigar in and gave him a little wave. Tom whacked him on the back, asking him how in the hell he was doing.

"Must not be too bad," Tom remarked, always quick to answer his own questions, "got love bites all over yer neck!" The man followed this remark up with a heart belly laugh.

"Mom!," the young hispanic girl squeaked. She pointed at Milton. "I want watermelon!"

"Well go on and go get some," Martinez teased the girl, "your legs ain't broke." Her mother laughed and nodded her approval. Angie and the younger amish girl got up and ran off, leaving their dishes and cups behind for someone else to take care of. Milton watched them as they each grabbed a large slice of melon and took off running for the area where some other children were playing a loosely organized game of soccer.

Tom laughed after them before he turned his nosy attentions back to Milton.

"So how'd you get the hickeys?," he asked, elbowing the man a bit in the ribs, "got anymore we can't see?"

"How do you think he got them Tom?," Maria asked, a playful smile on her face, "Not everyone uses the vaccum cleaner like you do." Tom pointed at her, trying to look angry.

"That was ten years ago and I was trying to make Tommy's mom jealous," he reminded the woman. This brought on a round of laughter from everyone at the table. Including Milton, who was having a hard time not laughing at the mental image of a grown man sucking at his own neck with the hose on a vaccum.

"You bringing your girl to the wedding tomorrow?," Martinez asked Milton in an obvious attempt to change the subject. He couldn't remember the woman's name but he had seen her around a few times, usually leading a trail of horses through camp. She was good looking, and not someone he would have pictured with Milton. The man was doing well for himself.

"I don't know," Milton said. He had heard some talk about a wedding, but nothing concrete. "She didn't tell me yet," he added. This brought on more laughter, especially from Merle, who spoke up to announce that Milton must be 'seriously pussywhipped' if he let his woman tell him what to do.

Maria crossed her arms over her large round stomach and pursed up her lips, looking over at Merle. She raised her eyebrows at the big buffoon.

"You want to call him whipped?," she asked, "Katie told you that you were taking her to the wedding and she told you what to wear." And she was making him go to family dinner with her tonight and Maria heard him grumbling about not wanting to go to his brother and then telling Katie a big line of bullshit. Of course sugar we can eat anywhere ya want to. Maria did not bring that last bit up, but it still made her giggle. Ceaser pulled her close and kissed her on her forehead, shaking with laughter.

"She's right," Daryl announced through another large mouthful of food, "Yer whooped." Not that he blamed the man, Katie was a hot piece of ass. But he had never seen Merle act so funny over a girl. Not even when they were younger. Daryl didn't really mind it though. It was all for the best if it kept Merle from acting like Merle.

"Katie picked yer clothes out for ya too Darylina," Merle announced, "So shuddup." This brought on another round of laughter. It died down and some more coversation about the wedding started up. As he ate his food, Milton found himself smiling and chatting along with everyone else. There was some good natured teasing about weddings in general and who was going to be the next to have one. Instead of feeling like he was on the outside, he found he was included in the jokes. He had never given much thought to marriage or a wedding, but it didn't sound like an altogether unappealing idea.

"How did you know when it was time to start talking about marriage?," Milton asked, directing his question towards Tom and Martinez. The two men that he knew had been married before. Martinez kept his mouth shut. He was still mourning the wife and family he lost during the outbreak, and he didn't want Maria to catch onto how much he missed them. She was sensitive in the way that came along with being uncomfortably pregnant, and he didn't want to upset her. Some genuine affection was building between them, but it was still far from the relationship he had with his wife. She had been his first love and his best friend. He liked Maria but they weren't into love and forever territory yet. He was having a hard time letting himself get that attached to her after losing his family. Martinez was relieved when Tom spoke up and saved him from the verbal blundering that was sure to pour from his mouth.

"Don't worry," Tom assured Milton, "She'll tell you when it's time."

TWD

Katie came home from the main kitchen with her small son in tow. His face and arms were covered in sticky white frosting. The boy was happy to announce that he had been 'helping' to make the wedding cake for papa Hershel. It looked like he had been doing a lot more eating than helping but Merle gave the boy a hearty pat on the back before Katie whisked him away upstairs to plunk him into the bathtub.

Merle had nothing better to do, so he got up from the kitchen table and put the gun he had been cleaning away in the safe. Then he followed behind them up the stairs. He could already hear the boy's loud complaining about not wanting to be bathed. The same exact scene went on several times a week. Once the bubbles and the little rubber duckies came out Bash would climb right in. Then he would start up whining and crying again once Katie made him get out. Merle leaned against the frame of the bathroom door, watching them. Katie was leaning over, trying to scrub behind the boy's ears and he was laughing and splashing water at her.

"How did you get frosting in your hair?," Katie asked the boy. He splashed some water in her face and made her squeal. When that got boring, he balled up his fist and started pouding the little rubber duckies that were floating in his tub. Laughing when they popped right back up from under the water. Katie must have decided he was clean enough, because she got up from the tub and headed in Merle's direction.

She leaned in, not caring if she got him wet with bathwater when she leaned up against him. She smelled like sugar and vanilla frosting. When she kissed him, Merle could taste the sugar on her lips. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him and deepening the kiss. She hummed a little against him and then yanked quickly away, ducking behind him to avoid the wet and soapy rubber duckie that was being launched in their direction. It smacked into the door frame near Merle's head and splashed him with suds and drips of water.

Bash was still sittting in the tub, looking rather pleased with himself. He had another rubber duckie in his hand, his arm cocked back, aiming carefully to be sure he didn't miss again.

"Don't you do it," Katie warned him. Of course this only served to make the boy take aim at her, hurling the small rubber duck with as much force as he could muster. Katie caught the duckie in her hand and threw it back, bouncing it off the top of her son's head. "Keep the rest of them in there or I'm gone let the water out," Katie warned. Bash knew she meant that, so he gave his momma a big smile and went back to his play. Merle had to dart out of the room so the kid wouldn't see him laughing. He noticed that a few seconds later, Katie did the same thing. She was shaking her head at herself.

"I try, but he's so funny," she giggled. Her gran was always telling her if she didn't stop laughing at Bash whenever he was bad that she would never be able to make him behave. But she couldn't help it. He was so funny. She crossed the doorway quickly and poked around in her bedside table until she pulled out the half joint that she had hidden there the day before.

"You want to have a smoke before dinner?," she asked, holding up the joint. Merle nodded and followed her out onto the porch. She left the door open so she could listen for her son. Merle doubted the boy was going to drown in a few inches of water, but Katie called out to the boy every so often anyway, making sure he was alright in there. Merle figured it must be a mom thing.

Once they were done smoking, Bash was forcibly removed from the tub and wranged into a pair of cotton overalls. Katie disappeared into her closet to change out of her wet clothes. She came out in a long soft cotton dress and a pair of sandals, swiping at her damp hair. The dress hugged the curves of her body, making her waist look smaller and her hips bigger than they looked when she was in jeans and a looser fitting top.

"Don't look at me like that or you are going to make us late," she warned, noticing the rather wolfy grin she was getting from Merle, who was lounging on the bed. He had a book in his hands, pretending to read like he was waiting hours for her to get ready instead of only a few minutes. Her son was plopped down next to the man, looking at a picture book. Aside from destroying everything he could get his hands on, Bash's new favorite hobby was to follow Merle around and imitate him. If he could manage to get someone to give him a toilet paper roll to put over one hand, it made the game that much more fun for the boy. Katie tried to pretend she didn't notice, but really she thought it was about the cutest thing she had ever seen.

Merle, Katie and her son rode up to the main house with Tom. They were about the last people to arrive, and Katie hurried in to help Beth and Maggie set up the table. Merle was left in the living room with the men that were going to be attending the dinner. Tom, Tom's son Tommy, Katie's brothers, plus Hershel and Glenn. Except for the run they all went on together when they had picked up the Amish girls and all those animals, Merle had not seen the Asian man much. He figured things were still going to be awkward and tense between them, but it wasn't as bad as he expected. The half a joint he smoked with Katie before coming here had helped. But really, whatever animosity Glenn had been holding onto towards him seemed to have dissipated.

"What is he doing here?," Mandy hissed at her sister once she had passed through the living room and seen Merle's hulking form on the couch next to her brothers. "This is a family dinner."

"Fuck you," Katie hissed back. Momma D said she could bring Merle and this was her dinner, not Mandy's. She was just being a nosy little bitch. Clearly the fight they had before Katie left to go on the last run was not over. Not by a long shot.

"Kaitlyn," her grandmother chided, "language." Then she pointed at Mandy and told the elder of her two granddaughters to butt out and mind her own business. She knew Katie had been spending a lot less time with her sister than she had before she had a man to occupy her time, but that was no reason for Mandy to direct her anger at Katie's boyfriend. Mandy had been the same way with Bash's father Davis. Acting jealous of him and always saying Katie could do better. In the end, some of what Mandy said about the man turned out to be true, but he had been a good husband to Katie for many years before the end of the world came and screwed him up in the head.

"We are going to talk about this later," Mandy hissed, hanging onto Katie by the elbow. Katie jerked her arm away and ignored her, heading over to chat Maggie up about her pregancy. Lexi and Beth were putting forks by all the plates, trying to pretend that they had not heard the rather awkward conversation between Katie and Lexi's mom that was going on a few feet away from them.

"After all the wedding crazy is over, we should go out to one of the cabins for a girls weekend," Katie suggested. She liked Beth and Maggie and wanted to make better friends with them now that they were all going to be family soon. Beth smiled at the suggestion, while Maggie looked a little more hesitant.

"Or maybe we could just go for the afternoon," Katie offered, smiling at the other woman. Maggie smiled back and said she would like that. She felt weird about this woman, since she was involved with Merle, but Maggie reminded herself that not only did Katie have nothing to do with the events that happened in Woodbury before she arrived, she didn't even know about them. And she seemed so sincere about wanting to be friends. Maggie knew that Glenn wouldn't like her going off by herself. He had been hovering around her like a helicopter since he found out she was pregnant. But she decided he could deal with her absence for one afternoon.

TWD

Daryl was on his own for the night. Addy still wasn't speaking to him. And Merle was gone to some stupid family wedding dinner with Katie up at the main house. Daryl felt like he was more Hershel's family than Merle was, but didn't bother to point that out since he had no interest in being roped into going to some dumb dinner in the first place.

He walked down to the main dining area and sat at a table with Carl and some of the other kids while he stuffed his face with swordfish and green beans until his stomach hurt. Daryl fit right in, since the kids were all hogging down their food in a hurry, ready to run off and play whatever game they had planned. They often played soccer after dinner, but tonight was friday so they were going out into the woods near the big lake to play capture the flag. From the sounds of it, they were staying the night out there in a few of the larger cabins. Daryl thought it sounded like fun. Something he would have loved doing when he was Carl's age. He was happy for the boy, and that he was getting to have a chance to be a kid again.

Once the kids ran off, Rick joined Daryl at the table, sipping a beer and holding another one out for Daryl. He had Judith in his arms, but only for a few moments. She was quickly whisked away by one of the hooded women that took care of her. Rick smiled after the woman.

Daryl took the beer gratefully, swallowing down half of it right away in a few long gulps. He leaned back in his chair, trying to decide if he could pack anymore food away and deciding he better quit while he was ahead. His stomach already felt full. As he looked around, he picked a few of his people out from the small groups that were scattered about.

Michonne and Andrea were at a table with some other women, drinking wine and getting giggly. Michonne had her arm around the other woman, but it seemed more friendly then sexual. Carol was sitting with Rick's neighbor Rich and his kids, holding his daughter's baby so the girl could eat in peace. It was the first time he had seen her looking happy since they got here.

"How are thangs?," Rick asked him. Daryl shrugged. "That good?," Rick asked with a laugh. Like Carol, he seemed happy. Daryl guessed that was due to the pretty and very large breasted head of the security team that he had seen Rick talking and eating with lately. Roberta. She was a big step up from old Olive Oil that was for certain. Better looking and she could handle herself. She wasn't a weak woman that needed Rick for protection.

Everyone seemed to be paring off like a flock of geese. Even Merle. Leaving Daryl by himself as the odd man out. He had been thinking more and more about taking Andrew up on his offer. Living on a boat for a while, out on the open ocean. Getting away from here. It was sounding more and more appealing to him. Especially after the mess he made out of whatever he had going on with Addy. Relationships weren't really his thing. He felt like he wanted to get away and get a chance to clear his head.

"You still fighting with Addy?," Rick asked, pressing the silent man just a little more. Daryl's eyebrows knitted together and he tipped his beer back, chugging the rest of it down. "Sorry," Rick said, "She and Roberta are friends. Women talk."

"She's pissed off," Daryl said, finally speaking up. He wasn't sure how he felt about Addy. At first it felt like a relief, but then he started feeling lonely in a way that he hadn't before he started up with her.

"You try apologizing to her yet?," Rick asked. Daryl shook his head.

"Didn't do nuttin' wrong," Daryl insisted. He didn't see what he had to apologize for. Addy was the one acting crazy. All he did was give Beth a guitar. Not like he fucked her or anything.

"You hurt her feelins," Rick explained, "Just say sorry for that." He had been married long enough to know. It was best to just apologize no matter who was right or wrong. Daryl looked mildly interested in this idea, like it was a totally new concept for him that he had never considered before. It almost made Rick laugh.

"Does that work?," Daryl asked, feeling a little skeptical. At this point he figured it couln't make things worse. And all he had to do was say he was sorry for hurting her feelings. Which he supposed he was. He had not done it on purpose. Rick nodded.

"Have another beer first," he suggested to his friend. Daryl nodded like he had made up his mind.

Daryl chatted with Rick a little while longer and then he took the man's advice. He walked out to the brewery. Angel, the guy that was going to do his tattoo was out there, with a few other men that Daryl knew casually from around the compound. He had a drink with them. Then he had another drink. And then he had a few more shots. By the time he was on his way to Addy's cabin, he was so drunk he was staggering.

Daryl stumbed and almost fell. A pair of teenage looking hispanic girls starting laughing at him from the porch of a nearby cabin. In his drunken state, Daryl took that as an invitation to say hello. He lurched over and almost fell again, sending the young women squealing into their house. And elderly woman came flinging out of the cabin and started shouting at him in spanish. He couldn't understand her but he guessed it broke down to get your drunk redneck ass the hell out of here. She was shaking a thick handled wooden cooking spoon at him.

"Hey Dixon!," a voice shouted from a few cabins down, "You lost?" There was some more laughter from behind the angry spoon weilding woman. The girls were peeking out the door, having another laugh at his expense.

"What'er ya thinkyer laughin'at," Daryl slurred at the girls, waving his arms. He took one more step in their direction before the woman on the porch leaned over the railing and gave him a good solid bonk on the head with her spoon. Daryl reached up with his arm, grabbing for the weapon. The woman increased her volume, yelling more spanish obscenities at him. Then Daryl felt an arm go around his waist, pulling him back.

He turned on the person, taking a swing. He was so drunk all he suceeded in doing was knocking himself flat on his face. He flopped over onto his back and looked up to find Andrea and Michonne staring down at him.

"That's whatcha get for taking a swing at me," Michonne told him. Her smile was friendlier than her words. And between the two women, they managed to haul him up onto his feet.

"How much have you had to drink?," Andrea asked him. His breath smelled like the bottom of a bottle of jack. And the rest of him didn't smell much better.

"Yer not my damn motha," Daryl slurred. This made both women laugh.

"Come one, we'll take you home," Andrea offered. The women each slung a muscled arm over their shoulders and started half walking and half dragging him along. He started dragging his feet harder on purpose. Like a damn toddler.

"Not goin' home," he hollered directly into Andrea's ear. She leaned her head away from him, squinting her eyes since she could tell he wasn't done making her go deaf yet. "Goin' to Addy's house," he yelled at top volume.

Michonne leaned back, giving Andrea a questioning look. Daryl was being a grade A dick, and she didn't like the idea of taking him to Addy's house. Particularly since she knew they were fighting. Then again, the idea sounded better then her and Andrea having to babysit his drunk ass until he passed out.

"We'll take you to Addy's," Michonne told him, flinching back from his hot breath when he turned and leaned into her. Addy's cabin was closer anyway, if they were going to take him all the way to Katie's place they were going to need to borrow a golf cart from someone. There was no way they were dragging Daryl that far, he was a lot heavier than he looked.

Addy's place was only about five cabins down. Michonne and Andrea walked as fast as their heavy and rather disgruntled load allowed. At one point Daryl stumbled and grabbed Andrea's breast and she wasn't totally convinced he had done it by accident. If it wasn't so ridiculous, she might had been angry. They dumped the man down on the steps of Addy's porch with a thump.

"Tole ya not ta take me home," he complained.

"You're not home," Andrea said, leaning forward to speak loudly into his face like he was a deaf retard, "This. Is. Addy's. House."

"Ya don't hafta yell at me," Daryl told the woman. Michonne had to turn her back so he wouldn't see her laughing.

"Well go on Romeo," Andrea encouraged, "You're here." She pointed up the steps towards the door, surprised that no one had come out to see what the noise was about yet. Daryl had flopped down so hard on the steps that it must have shaken the whole place. Plus they weren't exactly being quiet.

Daryl turned around and managed to get onto his feet, using his hands to push himself up off the stairs. He clambered up and started pounding on the door with his fist. When it suddenly swung open, he stumbled inside a step and then stumbled back, catching himself on the door frame.

Daryl was too drunk to immediately take in the situation, but Andrea's eye flew open and she sucked in her breath. This was about to go from funny to not so funny anymore real quick. Addy was clothed only in a men's tshirt, which it looked like she had quickly pulled over her head since her hair was caught inside of it. And the owner of the shirt was lurking behind her, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. Andrea recognized the young man. It was Mack, the blonde guy they had brought back from Seaside. Daryl had obviously interrupted the two of them having sex when he started pounding on the door.

After regaining his balance, Daryl focused his eyes on Addy, who was standing in front of him staring at him with her mouth hanging open.

"Came to talk to ya," he told the woman. He was slurring his words, and he looked almost ready to pass out, which at this point might be for the best. Mack stepped forward, edging closer to Addy. Andrea exchanged worried glances with Michonne. Daryl lifted his hand and pushed the younger man's chest. He was so drunk he almost made himself fall backwards with his efforts.

"Not you," he slurred, "Came ta talk ta Addy." Somewhere in Daryl's alcohol ratted mind, the reality of the situation was starting to sink in. He knew something strange was going on, but he wasn't sure what.

"Maybe we should talk tomorrow," Addy suggested. Daryl held onto the doorframe with one hand and made a grab for her with the other, pulling her roughly against his chest.

"Got somefinn ta tellya," he insisted. His arm was wrapped around her waist, but then it slipped down, over the curve of her partially exposed backside.

"Why areya half nekkid?," Daryl asked.

Seeing the drunken man grope at Addy's ass was about the limit of what Mack was willing to put up with. He had just had his hands in the same spot a few moments before when she was straddling him naked on her bed. He charged forward and pulled the woman back. Then he shoved Daryl. Hard. Daryl lost his grip on the doorframe and went flying back onto his ass on the porch.

"Get your drunk ass outta here," the younger man hollered. Mack was angry. Who did this asshole think he was? Making Addy cry and ignoring her for days, then showing up here drunk and groping her. He wasn't going to let that slide.

Daryl rolled around on his back like an upside down turtle for a few seconds. Then he stopped and looked up at the two people leaning out of the doorway. They were both half dressed. And they looked sort of rumpled up. The man had his hand stuck out in front of Addy, keeping her inside the cabin. Both their mouths were smeared with Addy's red lipstick. They had been fucking when he showed up. Or getting ready to fuck at least. This was some serious bullshit.

The rage started rolling through him, cutting through the drunken fog like a razor. Daryl was suddenly on his feet, no longer weaving back and forth. He was locked onto the boy in the doorway like a bull on a red flag. Tunnel vision. All he could see was the other guy and nothing around him but red. A low growl emitted from him and the kid backed up, shoving Addy back into the cabin behind him. Daryl started to charge the kid but he only made it a few steps before he felt several sets of hands on him at once.

"Get inside and shut the door!" That was Rick's voice. Daryl started swinging at the people that were holding him, but they were ready for him. He was pulled down the steps and dragged further away from the cabin.

"Calm down." That was Rick's voice again. But Daryl couldn't see him. He only saw red, his vision still locked on the closed door. He tried shaking off the people that were holding him, but they were holding on tight. He heard someone else yell, "Go up to the main house and get his brother!" A voice Daryl couldn't place, but it sounded familiar to him. Then he felt a hand on his cheek. A gentle touch, unlike the hands that were holding him in place, fingers twisting into his arms like so many walkers. Daryl hated to be touched and he felt dangerously close to real panic.

"Daryl, look at me," Beth said. She spoke softly. Calm and quiet. "It's me, Beth."

Beth and Lexi had finished up dinner and let the twins and Tommy talk them into going out to play capture the flag. They were taking the long way through the cabin area to see if anyone else wanted to go with them when they stumbled upon Daryl being dragged away from Addy's cabin like a rabid animal. Thankfully Rick had been home and heard the commotion, since Andrea and Michonne might not have been able to hold the man back by themselves.

Beth smiled once she saw Daryl's eyes focus and lock onto her face. Once that happened, Daryl stopped struggling against the people that were holding him.

"Tell them to let me go," Daryl said. Beth nodded.

"Let him go," she ordered. Rick looked unsure. He let go, but he stayed close by in case he needed to grab the man again. Nothing too bad had happened yet, except for a little pushing and some drunken wrestling, and that was the way he wanted to keep it. If Daryl had gotten ahold of that boy and hurt him, it would have been worse. A lot worse.

Beth took Daryl by the hand, which he allowed, and led him over to the steps of Rick's porch. She sat with him until his brother showed up in a golf cart to collect him. Merle slid a finger under Daryl's chin, tilting his head back to look at his face. Then he turned to Rick.

"He didn't hurt anyone did'he?," Merle asked. Rick shook his head. Merle nodded his thanks to the man. Then he pulled Daryl up and loaded him into the golf cart. "Come on Derl, time to go little brother." He would have rather taken him home, but Katie said to take him to medical until he sobered up. Merle figured it was for the best. Katie and Maria's kids were at home, and they didn't need to see this shit. Plus he could tell by the smell that Daryl was about halfway to puke o'clock. So it was better if he was somewhere that would be easier to clean up once he started that shit.

Beth watched them drive away until they were gone. Then she let Gannon take her hand and lead her back the way they had been going before they stopped.