Open Range

"Field's filled with walkers. I didn't see any snipers out there, but we'll keep Maggie on watch" Rick said and approached Daryl, Armageddon, Michonne, Hershel and Glenn, who were standing nearby.

"I'll get up in the guard tower" Daryl suggested. "Take out these walkers, while you guys fix the fence."

"Or we use some of the guards to put the bus back in place" Michonne said.

"We can't access the field without burning through our bullets" Hershel said somberly.

"So, we're trapped in here" Glenn said despairingly. "There's barely any food or ammo."

"Been here before, we'll be all right" Daryl said and shrugged casually.

"That's back when it was just us. Before there was a snake in the nest."

"Man, you wanna go through this again?" Daryl asked him and raised his brows. "Look, Merle's stayin' here. He's with us now. Get used to it, all y'all."

After that he stormed away and Armageddon watched him go with a frown on her face. He went to their cell and she knew he was going to tend to Von. She really wished things could be easier, that they weren't trapped inside that prison; that they weren't going to go to war with some lunatics; that more than half the group wanted Merle gone.

"Seriously, Rick, I don't think Merle living here is gonna fly" Glenn said to Rick.

"I can't kick him out!" Rick told him and sounded like he hated this as much as Glenn did.

"I wouldn't ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you!"

"Calm down, Glenn" Armageddon said and got in the middle of them. "No one is asking you to socialize with him-"

"That's not-"

"Let me finish" She said and stopped him. "I know him being here is tough for both you and Maggie, but saying that in front of Daryl is like telling Maggie that you don't want Beth around. I know there's a huge difference between the two, but they're still brothers and he's still Von's only living relative besides me and Daryl."

"Merle has military experience" Hershel said, chiming in. "He may be erratic, but don't underestimate his loyalty to his brother. Or to his niece." He met Armageddon's eyes. "I've seen how he is with her, he'd take down the whole world for her if he had to."

"What if we solve both problems at once?" Glenn said. "Deliver Merle to the Governor as a bargaining chip. Give him his traitor, maybe declare a truce."

"Hold up!" Armageddon said and waved her hands around. "So, you'll sell Merle out and send him to his death, and call a truce with the guy who almost raped your girlfriend? Merle deserves death in your eyes, but the Governor is all good?"

"You said it yourself, we can't go to war!" He exclaimed. "I'm ready to do anything to avoid it."

Armageddon scoffed and had enough. "Hypocrite" She said under her breath before joining Daryl upstairs in their cell. He was holding Von, humming something softly and stopped immediately when she came in. "Bunch of fuckin' hypocrites" She spat.

"I know" He mumbled and kept his eyes on his adopted daughter.

"Maybe we should just leave" She said and sat down beside him on their cot. "The four of us, just take off and get off their backs like they so desire."

"They only want Merle gone" He commented and met her eyes. "They can't lose us, Rick all but said it."

"I know, but we're a package deal" She told him in a matter of fact. He pursed his lips and nodded.

"Yeah."

Word came around that Andrea was back and that sent everyone to their feet, armed to the teeth and running outside to greet her with hostility. She was with Woodbury and Armageddon had no clue if she was there to kill them or call a truce, and she was not ready to risk her daughter's life by letting her come any closer. She knew Rick felt the exact same way with his daughter.

"Are you alone?" He called out to her as he approached her quickly.

"Open the gate!" She answered and held tightly to a tether that held a walker with no hands and no teeth in check.

"Are you alone?" He repeated.

"Rick!" She cried out.

Rick tossed the keys to Daryl, who opened the gate for her, before making her turn around and face the fence with her hands up in the air like she was under arrest. When a walker came at her from the other side of the gate, Rick threw her onto the ground and made her get on her knees, still with her hands in the air, as he searched her for any weapons. "I asked if you were alone."

"I am" She said under her breath.

"Get up" He said before leading her inside.

The first thing Andrea saw when she came inside was Beth holding a baby. Rick's baby. She turned to Armageddon with a bright smile. "She's beautiful" She told her sincerely.

"She's not mine."

Her face lost all color as she processed her words. "Did you lose it?"

"No, I had it" She told her indifferently.

"Did it... die?" She asked hesitantly.

"Nope, she's alive."

"Can I see her?"

Armageddon met Daryl's eyes and they shared a look before ignoring her question. Neither one of them liked that idea at that moment.

Carol took Andrea into her arms and embraced her when they saw each other. "After you saved me, I thought you were dead" She said quietly and her vice broke.

"Hershel, oh my god" Andrea gasped when she let Carol go and saw Hershel standing with only one leg. "I can't believe this" She said under her breath and looked around. "Where's Shane?"

Rick shook his head and looked away.

"And Lori?"

He remained silent and Hershel answered for him. "She had a girl" He said.

"Was that the baby I saw?" She asked and looked from him to Armageddon, who nodded.

"She didn't survive" Hershel continued.

"Neither did T-Dog" Maggie added.

"I'm so sorry" She said sincerely and a lone tear ran down her cheek. "Carl..." She said and she wanted to say something reassuring to him, but Carl looked away. "Rick..." She said again, but again she couldn't bring herself to say anything. "You all live here?"

"Here in the cell block" Glenn answered.

"There?" She asked and pointed towards cell block C. "Can I go in?"

"Not a chance" Armageddon answered quickly.

"I won't allow that" Rick said and got in Andrea's way as she was about to approach the cell block.

"I'm not your enemy."

"We had a field, a courtyard, until your boyfriend came and shot us all up" Rick told her in a matter of fact tone.

"He said you fired first" She said and looked confused.

Armageddon nudged Daryl before leaning in and whispering to his ear. "She really is fuckin' him."

He nodded before whispering back to her. "She ain't comin' anywhere near our baby."

"He's lying" Rick told her.

"He killed an inmate that survived in here" Hershel said.

"We liked him, he was one of us" Daryl told her.

"I didn't know anything about that" She told them all and shook her head.

"What did you know about?" Armageddon asked and furrowed her brows. "Did you know that your boyfriend was kidnapping people and torturing them? That he wants everyone surviving around him and your precious town dead? Did you know all of that?"

"No" She answered and shook her head. "I had no idea!"

"But, now you clearly do, since you come here with questions and statements about the previous attack on us" Armageddon commented and crossed her arms over her chest. "Did you sanction it? By the sound of how you said things earlier made it seem like you were a part of the planning team."

"I'm not!"

"But, you knew he was going to attack us?"

"No! I only knew that he was going to find the people that shot up Woodbury and have a talk with them."

"Some talk" Armageddon scoffed.

"I didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shootout!" She said and looked from her and to everyone else.

"That was days ago" Glenn commented and frowned.

"I told you, I came as soon as I could."

She turned around and met Michonne's eyes, who did not seem very pleased to have her old friend back. "What have you told them?"

"Nothing" Michonne answered.

"I don't get it. I left Atlanta with you people and now I'm the odd man out?" She exclaimed in confusion.

"We don't take so kindly to people shacking up with the enemy" Armageddon told her in a matter of fact tone.

"He almost killed Michonne and he would have killed us" Glenn added.

"With his finger on the trigger!" She exclaimed and pointed at Merle. "Isn't he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you?" She said and ran a hand through her hair, calming herself. "Look, I cannot explain or excuse what Philip has done. But, I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out."

"There's nothing to work out" Rick told her and shook his head. "We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when, but we will."

Armageddon furrowed her brows at Rick before looking at Daryl, who refused to meet her eyes, which meant only one thing; he agreed with Rick.

"We can settle this" Andrea said rationally. "There is room in Woodbury for all of you."

Merle chuckled. "You know better than that."

"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate?" Hershel asked her and raised a brow. "Did he say that?"

"No."

"Then why did you come here?" Rick asked.

"Because he's gearing up for war. The people are terrified, they see you guys as killers. They're training to attack!"

"I'll tell you what," Daryl said and captured her attention. "The next time you see Philip, you tell him I'mma take his other eye."

"We've taken shit for too long. If he wants a war, he's got one" Glenn told her soberly.

"Rick," Andrea said and turned to him. "If you don't sit down and figure out a solution, I don't know what's gonna happen. He's got a whole town." When Rick chose not to say anything after that, she decided to continue. "Look at you. You've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore."

"You wanna make this right? Get us inside" Rick said and met her eyes once more.

"No."

"Then we got nothin' more to talk about" He said and walked away from her as she tried to explain that there were innocent people inside Woodbury along with all of those psychos.

Merle knocked on the bars in Armageddon's cell before walking in. He was about to speak up when he saw her breastfeeding Von, so he quickly turned on his heel and excused himself. "Didn't know you were busy" He said quickly. "I'll come back later."

"No, it's okay, I'm just finishing" Armageddon said and didn't feel self-conscious at all. Everyone in the group had seen her breasts after Von had been born because there wasn't much privacy on the road, and now, she just didn't care. She was merely feeding her daughter, nothing sexual about that. Von's lips let go of her nipple and she burped before Armageddon fixed her T-shirt and told Merle that the coast was clear. "What's up?"

"I've been meaning to talk to you" He told her and slowly approached her. "And now, seein' Andrea back brings back old memories."

She furrowed her brows at him and wondered where he was going with that before he spoke up again. "Daryl told me, back when it was just two of us" He said bluntly, never knowing anything but getting straight to the point. "About who the real father is."

Armageddon's friendly smile dropped and a shadow crossed over her face before looking away.

"I knew Mac was bad, but I had no idea he would do something like that. To you. And how you handled it, wow. I don't think anyone could do that, be as strong as you" He said sincerely and meant every word he said. "It didn't surprise me that Daryl decided to call her his. He's always loved you. He would have killed himself for you if you asked. But, seeing how he is with her, I don't think he's ever gonna love someone as much as he loves her."

"Did you know that I killed him?" She asked him and looked from her tranquil daughter and to Merle. "Mac. We were on a farm that got overrun and he threw himself at some walkers coming after us and told me to shoot him before it got too ugly."

"He knew you were worth saving. You and the baby."

She pursed her lips and nodded. "Maybe."

"You know, if you and Daryl ever need time alone, just for yourselves, I'm always up for babysittin'" He told her. "I mean, she's an angel, but you must want some free-time, maybe to..."

She snorted before laughing and shaking her head. "Thanks, you'll be the first one I'll ask if Daryl and I need some time off."

He flashed her a smile before patting her shoulder. "Let me take her" He said and stood up. "Let her spend some quality time with uncle Merle."

"Okay, but don't take her outside" Armageddon said and handed him her daughter, who squealed in happiness when she was handed to her beloved uncle. "Never know what's out there."

"I know" He said before turning on his heel in the doorway of the cell. "Say bye-bye to Mommy." He grabbed her tiny hand and helped her wave before leaving.

Daryl arrived barely a minute later. "Where's he goin'?" He asked and referenced to his brother, who was now babysitting their daughter.

"He's just gonna watch over her for a while" She told him casually. "Giving us a little break."

He nodded before sitting down beside her on the cot, on the exact same spot as Merle did. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it lightly. She could feel his chapped lips and hot breath on her skin and it made her tingle in a way that she would never admit aloud. She watched him do that and a part of her wished he would do more. She wanted to kiss him, she didn't know why, she had never wanted to kiss anyone but her husbands, but now, her feelings were all a bundled mess that she could not rationalize.

He looked from her hand and met her eyes and she could feel butterflies in her stomach for the first time in over ten years. They had often stared into each other's eyes, but never like this. Never did this feeling of anticipation or excitement burn inside her with lust and longing. She did not want to have sex with him, but she did not not want to either. He slowly let go of her hand before putting it on her face and leaned in close, taking his time like he was waiting for her to move away or stop him in some way. When she didn't, their lips met and he kissed her. It was a different kiss than the others, it felt planned and it was soft and gentle.

Carol interrupted them by knocking on their bars. She cleared her throat and seemed flustered. "Andrea's leaving" She said with a frown. "Everyone's saying goodbye."

They gave her a car and opened the gates for her. No one was really sad that she was leaving, except for Carol, and the atmosphere was pretty tense. Andrea met everyone's eyes and Armageddon could see how she was searching for someone to ask her to stay, and when no one did, she climbed in the car and left. Rick gave her a knife and a gun and told her to be careful before she left, a sign that said that he still cared even though they could not quite take her in.