Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize. Although I don't know a fangirl out there that wouldn't love their own personal Daryl Dixon.
AN: Sorry I didn't have this up during the weekend but it was a busy weekend. So I am officially a ball of stress where TWD is concerned. If any of you who read this has been watching the show every Sunday, you completely understand. So here is chapter 35 and I hope this puts all of your minds at ease.
P.S. On a more personal note I want to thank everyone who has reviewed. I don't demand reviews so I'm always happy when I get one.
Chapter 35
Adrian had done a number on some of the walkers in the yard but Rick had called her back. It was when she had turned to yell at Rick to 'Fuck off' that she noticed who was with him. Merle. And Daryl.
Adrian didn't know how to feel at him being back. She knew that she was both happy and royally pissed but she didn't know what else to feel. So she did what she did best in a personal crisis. She shut down.
They had all met up in the cell block, Adrian not even so much as breathing in Daryl's direction. Merle had been locked outside the block and given the empty cage out there to sleep in. Adrian thought it was them being too nice to the prick but she was also one to hold a grudge.
Everyone was gathered in the block to dicuss what to do. Daryl, Carol, and Beth were on the second floor looking over the rails. Maggie, Carl, Glenn, Rick, and Michonne
were down stairs. Hershel, Adrian, and Kale were sitting on the stairs. Rick held the case that they were going to stay and defend the prison. Hershel held the case that they should leave.
Rick and Glenn said that they weren't leaving. Then Merle started to say about how they should have left the night before so they could live to fight another day. He then went on to say how The Governor could blow them all away.
Daryl then told Merle that they weren't afraid of The Governor. Merle said they should be. And Adrian agreed with him. Which in turn made her want to take a shower.
Daryl agreed with Merle too, which just blackened her mood even more. Adrian was in her own thoughts when she noticed Rick walking away. "Get back here!" yelled Hershel, which made Adrian jump. She had never heard Hershel yell at anyone before.
"You're slippin' Rick. We all know it and we all know why. But now is not the time. You once said that this was now a dictatorship, now you have to own up to it. I put my family's life in your hands." Hershel told him.
"We all did Rick. Now it's time to man up or turn in your Dictator card." Adrian said to him. "Like you did after you thought he was dead?" Rick said pointing to Kale.
"I didn't go out looking for shit that could get me killed in walker infested territory. I shut down but I still did my job." she said to him in the same calm tone, which was what made everyone a little nervous. It was almost the same calm she had after the farm and nobody liked that.
Rick turned and left the cell block. Everyone went on with their business after that. Adrian got up to go to her cell and heard Kale walking behind her. Beth and Carol had already wondered downstairs to she, Kale, and Daryl were the only ones up there.
"Kale, go do something. I wanna be alone for a while." Adrian said as she slammed the cell door shut inches from his face.
Kale looked as she threw herself into bed and turned to face the wall. Kale then looked at Daryl who was a few cells down and then walked off. Adrian heard Kale walk away and down the steps, which she was grateful for.
What she wasn't grateful for was when she heard Daryl's footsteps stop outside of her cell. "I said I want to be alone. That means especially from you." she said, still facing the wall.
About an hour or so later Adrian left her cell. She was starting to feel the pain in her ribs again but didn't want to run through her medicine too fast. There was an argument going on at the foot of the stairs about Merle still being allowed to live at the prison.
Daryl stormed up the stairs and past her to go and hide in a cell for a while. Adrian was walking down the stairs when she heard Glenn and Rick. "I wouldn't ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you." Glenn said to Rick.
"Merle has military experience. He may be unpredictable but don't take his loyalty to Daryl lightly." Hershel said to Glenn. "What if we solve both problems? Give Merle to The Governor. Give him his traitor, maybe he'll back off." Glenn said.
"As if that would work with a man like The Governor." Adrian said just above them on the stairs. "I've known men like him. He has tunnel vision and no matter what you dangle in front of him to make him back off it won't matter. He'll tell you what you want to hear and then turn around and put a bullet in your back." she said.
"Daryl's back, it's what we all wanted. For him to come back. But the condition for him staying is his brother being here as well. So get used to it Glenn." Adrian said to him in a matter of fact tone. Glenn then rounded on her. "How can you be so calm about this?!" Glenn demanded. "After everything he did to you, you still want him to stay here!?" Glenn demanded.
"I'm anything but calm at this moment Glenn. My life has been turned upside down by some asshole who doesn't like us being here and I'm a short breath away from beating the shit out of whomever I believe is in need of said asskicking." she said glaring at him to get her point across.
They all knew her temper and Glenn had no doubt that even with all of her injuries that she would still mop the floor with his face.
"We need Daryl, and as much as it pains me to say it, we need Merle right now. You don't like it but you're going to get over it. The Governor is much more important than Merle right now." Adrian said to him.
"Seriously?!" Glenn asked. "Yes!" she hissed at him. "If I recall correctly Merle beat the shit out of me much more than he did you. Am I okay with it? No. Far from it. But right now I'm not worried about the asshole that beat on me two days ago. I'm more worried about the jackoff and his friends that tried to kill me today. Once The Governor is taken care of, then I will worry about getting payback on Merle. So if I can stand for him to be here, then you better well strap on your big girl panties and deal with it." she said walking back up the stairs.
A while later Adrian decided to try and make peace. She had decided to let go of her anger towards Daryl for now. They had too many things to worry about for her to be more focused on her anger towards her boyfriend than the threat marching towards their door coming to kill them all. So she decided to start with the easy one first. Merle.
Adrian walked up to the door of his cage and just stood there for a moment. "Jesus, I sure did do a number on you, didn't I?" Merle said looking at her bruised up face. "Don't worry yourself there, redneck. I'll be sure to pay you back with interest after all this is over." she said pulling up her tank top to show him the mess of bruises. Merle gave a whistle at how much damage he had actually caused.
"Got some nice pain killers though." she said. She and Merle just starred at each other for a minute before she spoke again.
"I understand why he did it. I don't like it, I especially don't like that it was because of you that he left not only the group but me as well." she told him.
"So you're what to my baby brother, exactly?" Merle asked her.
"Girlfriend. Been that way for a while now." she told him.
"Girlfriend." Merle scoffed. "Don't believe my baby brother has ever had a girlfriend before. Didn't know he knew what to do with one." he said.
"Well he does. He knows how to handle me better than anyone here. It could be because we are so much alike but I doubt it. Daryl knows me better than anyone. So let me let you in on a little secret." she said to him.
"I don't like you overly much, but then again you haven't given me much of a reason to. I am willing to call a truce with you because you are Daryl's brother and he loves you. And even though he was willing to leave me for you, I still love him. So this is my warning. Betray Daryl, betray Rick, betray any of us, and I will put an end to you. Do we understand each other?" Adrian said looking him straight in the face.
Merle smirked. "I like you girl. You got lots of fire and spirit in you. Stubbornness and attitude too. You've got what it takes to take care of my brother." Merle told her.
"Do we understand each other, Merle?" she asked again. "Understood." Merle said. Adrian turned to walk away but then turned back to Merle.
"And I don't have to take care of Daryl. He is more than capable of taking care of himself. But I am there when he needs me." she said. She then turned and walked back to the cell block so she could go and confront Daryl.
Adrian was walking to Daryl's cell when she heard Carol softly speaking to him. "Haven't had a chance to say I'm glad you're back yet." Carol said. "To what? All this?" Daryl said.
"This is our home now." Carol told him. Daryl was quiet for a second. "This is a tomb. Not a home." Daryl told her softly.
"That's what T-Dog called it. Thought he was right until you found me." Carol told him. Daryl didn't say anything back. Then Adrian heard Carol speak again.
"He's your brother, but he's not good for you." she told him. "After all, look how far you've come." she told him again after he didn't say anything. Then Adrian heard Daryl and Carol laugh at her last comment.
Shortly after Carol walked passed Adrian who was hiding the the cell next to Daryl's. After Carol walked down the stairs and out of the cell block Adrian left her hiding place. Adrian took a deep breath and walked to the door of his cell.
Adrian waited until he took notice that she was there, which was the second she walked to the door. "Can I come in?" she asked softly. Daryl pointed in the direction of the stool by the door but instead she took a place by the foot of the bed.
"Still pissed at me for leavin'?" he asked her. "Pissed? No. I decided to let my anger go because we have more important things to worry about then how you hurt me. Forgiving what you did, however, that I can't do quite so easily." she told him. "You know why I left. He's my brother." Daryl told her.
"And I understand that. I do. I can even forgive that you left us to stay with your brother. You're only blood family left in this world." she sighed and looked down at her hands in her lap. "What I can't forgive so easily is you walking away from me. From us, from what we have." she said, turning to him.
"You think it didn't hurt me to walk away from you? Think I didn't know the price I was paying walking away with Merle?" Daryl asked her.
"Did you?" she asked. Daryl was quiet for a minute before he said anything. "I tell myself that I came back for the group, even though The Governor is probably fixin' to blow us sky high. But the truth is, I needed you. Life ain't like it was when it was just me an' Merle." he told her.
Adrian couldn't take it anymore. She had held herself back long enough. She slid up the mattress between his already spread legs and kissed him like she was dying of thrust and he was a cold glass of water.
After finally admitting that she needed to either breath or pass out, Adrian backed off just enough so she could look him in the eyes.
"I love you, Daryl Dixon. And if you ever try to walk away from me again, I'll make damn sure that you won't be able to walk til long after you've changed your mind." she told him seriously.
Daryl just laughed and pulled her in so she could get comfortable on the bed with him.
He then wrapped his arms around her, kissed her on her still bruised temple and repeated the last five words he said to her before he had walked away with Merle.
"I love you, Adrian Hunter." he said softly in her ear.
Adrian was able to nap on Daryl for about an hour before Carl came in yelling that Andrea was walking up to the prison. Everybody jumped up and grabbed their weapons, thinking that it was some kind of trick.
They all ran outside to take different positions to help cover everybody in case there were more people than just Andrea. Carol and Glenn were covering them from above and behind while Carl was covering them from one of the small cages.
Everyone else was with Rick out in the courtyard. Merle called the all clear and Rick, Merle, and Daryl ran to the gate while Adrian and Beth stayed behind the truck for cover. Michonne and Kale ran for a set of metal bleachers to hide behind.
Rick let Andrea through the gate to the courtyard and immediately threw her up against a fence searching her for more weapons, demanding to know if she was there alone.
After a walker tried to attack her through the fence Rick put Andrea on the ground on her knees to finish his search. Only after Rick was finished and she confirmed that she was alone was she allowed to get up and be shown inside.
Everyone walked into the sitting area to see Andrea. Carol and Glenn walked in and Carol was the only one to show her relief that Andrea was alive and show her any affection. Everyone else was standing around the sitting area.
Daryl sat on the top of one of the tables close to where Rick was standing and Adrian decided that she was going to park her butt on the seat that one of Daryl's feet was on.
Adrian rested her head on his raised knee, still feeling a little tired but more physically tired than mentally. Adrian felt Daryl start to play with her hair which she gave a small, tired smile at. She always loved it when he would play with her hair.
After a minute of hugging Carol, Andrea started to look around at the rest of them. "Hershel." she said noticing his missing lower leg. She then looked around in disbelief at the prison. Then she asked where Shane and Lori were, noticing them missing among the group.
After being told they hadn't made it, alog with T-Dog, she looked genuinely sad. Everyone was still tense though, even Adrian in her tired state. Andrea looked around the room again, still in a state of disbelief. "You all live here?" she asked no one in particular.
"Here in the cell block." Glenn answered her. She tried to go into the cell block but Rick blocked her path. Clearly seeing Rick's defensive manner, Andrea told him that she wasn't his enemy.
Then Rick told her about how just a few days ago that the outter yard had been secured until The Governor had a truck full of walkers driven through the fence and everyone had been shot at.
"He said that you fired first." Andrea said. "Well he was wrong." Rick told her. "Clearly your Governor likes to spin a different tale for you folks back in Woodbury." Adrian said to her. "He killed an inmate who survived here." Hershel told her. "We like him." Daryl told her. Andrea seemed a little distressed at the news.
"I didn't know anything about that." she told Daryl. "I didn't even know about you three being in Woodbury until after the shootout." she told Glenn. "That was days ago." Glenn told her, clearly still a little angry about what had happened. "I came as soon as I could." she said.
Michonne and Kale had showed up and were leaning against the cage just behind Andrea. "What have you told them?" Andrea demanded. "Nothing." Michonne said to her.
"All we told them was that Merle had kidnapped Glenn, Maggie, and Adrian. They set a plan to go get them. Everything else they learned for themselves. You're the only one who can't see him for the two-faced, charming, liar that he is." Kale told her.
Andrea went on to try and explain how she had no knowledge of anything the The Governor had done, to them inside Woodbury and outside of it's walls. She told them that she was there to bring them together so no one would have to fight. That there was room for everyone in Woodbury. Merle scoffed at that.
"You know better than that." Merle told her. "This Governor doesn't strike me as the type of guy that likes more than one leader in the pack. Or anybody who has a different view or opinion on things." Adrian told her. "You're gonna kill him." Rick told her.
"I came here to warn you. He's gearing up for war. The people are terrified and are being trained to attack." she told them. "Tell you what. Next time you see Phillip, you tell 'im I'ma take his other eye." Daryl told her. "Then tell him I'll be right behind Daryl to shoot him in the face." Adrian said.
Andrea tried to convince Rick to go to The Governor and talk it out but as far as they were concerned it was past the time for talking. "Look at you all. You've lost so much already. There's no sense in loosing more." Andrea told them.
"We know what we've lost. So far, to this Governor we've lost two group members and a field that we needed. And now he wants to come in here and evict us. Well we're calling his bluff and if he thinks his people are smarter than us when it comes to surviving, well numbers don't mean much against smarts anymore." she said looking at Andrea.
"You wanna help, get us inside." Rick told her. "No." she immediately replied. "Then we're done." Rick told her, walking back into the cell block.
"Come on." Daryl told her. "Let's get you in bed for a bit longer. Everybody's gonna need everthin' they got for when that bastard and his army shows up." he told her, forcing her to stand so he could help her back to her cell. She was starting to look pale again and he didn't like it.
Once Daryl got her tucked in and had almost forced half a pain pill down her throat, he gave her strict instructions to go to sleep until he woke her up later. She
wasn't really tired but the pain had gotten pretty bad over the last hour and she needed the rest.
A while later Adrian heard Carol talking to whom she assumed was Andrea. In truth Carol was the only one really glad to see her there. Andrea had been allowed to hold Judith and then asked what had happened to Lori and T-Dog. Then she asked about Shane.
"Rick killed him." Carol told her. Andrea didn't make a sound. Carol then told her about what Shane had done that night at the farm with Randal. "But Shane loved Rick." Andrea said to Carol. Carol hesitated. "Shane loved Lori." Carol corrected her.
"Rick's become cold. Unsteady." Andrea told her. "He has his reasons." Carol told her. Adrian understood what he meant. They all did. "Adrian doesn't seem much different though." Andrea said, unaware that she was just a few yards away from them.
"She's more different than you think." Carol told her. "I don't see it." Andrea told her. "That's just because you two have never liked each other. But she is." Carol said to her.
"The night we escaped from the farm, she ran all night to get back to the highway. If she hadn't shown up when she did, we would have left her, thinking she was dead too. Just like you and Kale. We told her that Kale hadn't shown up and we just all assumed that he was dead. She didn't take the news well." Carol told her.
"I know that Kale had been worried sick for weeks about her." Andrea told her. "She had, I guess, what you could call a minor breakdown about it. The actual reaction didn't last long. A day or two at most. But then she became cold and distant. None of us had ever seen her like that before and it scared us all. Honestly we expected her to just get up and leave one night and never come back." Carol said. Andrea said nothing.
"She would still go and hunt for food, fight against walkers, and protect the group. She was distant from everyone though. We were all really worried about her a few months after we had been on the road. The farther along Lori would get the more protective she would get of her. She would skip meals and give the food to Lori or Carl, which was causing her to loose weight at an alarming rate. And she didn't sleep much at all and when she did it wasn't for long periods at a time." Carol told her.
"That's ridiculous though." Andrea told her. "None of us knew why she was doing what she was. I think she may have told Daryl about what was going on though. One night they went to sleep in the truck and she managed to sleep for a few hours. More than we had seen her sleep in a long time. As time went on she and Daryl would spend more time together. Eventually she was back to normal but at the same time she was a little softer. Still tough but nicer to everyone. Especially Lori." Carol said that last part a little sadly.
"Her and Rick would get into it alot when Rick and Lori would fight. She had a thing about smacking him around when he needed it the most though." Carol said laughing a little. "But she was also the only know brave enough to tell Rick what she thought.
She was with Lori and Maggie and Carl when it happened. I guess you can't really tell the ways that she's changed if you haven't really been around to see the change." Carol said.
Carol then told Andrea what she should do about dealing with The Governor. Adrian agreed with Carol's method of getting him to drop his guard and then killing him. But she didn't hold high hopes for it ending that easily.