AN: Ok, here's a little something for you. I wanted to give a little warning that Michonne…this Michonne…may seem a little OOC, especially if we flashback to Season 3 Michonne. However, like with most of the characters, I'm making her my own, so she is what she is…just like the plot, the characters are subject to change.

I hope you enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think!

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To say that the prison was a little off kilter would be an understatement. Daryl, Rick, Michonne, and Alice had left as the sun was going down. Carol had finally gotten Judith to sleep, but it had taken a good deal of pacing around the prison with her and passing her off to Hershel now and again to finally soothe the little girl.

They'd also forced Carl to bed, somewhat against the boy's will, but they were the only two to sleep all night.

No one knew what to expect from this Woodbury place. They didn't know how dangerous it was and they didn't know whether or not Daryl or any of the other ran the risk of getting captured in the plan, that was seen as foolish by many, to go and get Merle.

So they'd stayed up, silently brooding…no one wanting to admit what was on their mind and no one wanting to discuss what they should do in the chance that their group members not return.

Finally they had returned, though, well after the sun had come up. Carol had been on watch and had come out the tower as quickly as possible, Hershel close by, to let them pass through the prison gates. Everyone else, it seemed, took the opportunity to retire to bed because they had vanished by the time they made it inside.

They'd found Merle and he'd more than made an entrance, but he'd been somewhat subdued by Daryl and Rick who rushed him off to a cell that they'd prepared for him and locked him away, dropping a privacy sheet over the front of the cell almost as though they were covering a parrot that they hoped to keep quiet and out of mind for a while.

Carol had seen Merle, but she hadn't actually spoken to him and Daryl vanished with Rick not long after they'd rushed the man off to the cell they'd prepared for him.

She was happy to see that Alice had apparently found Melodye…Mel…her partner, but the story wasn't one that was told to them immediately. Alice had quickly directed the woman to her cell without saying much to anyone and then she'd taken Michonne down to her office since the light of day had shown that the woman had suffered some injuries during their trip to the so called town.

And once she'd been patched up, Alice had vanished. Carol passed through to her cell a few moments, finding the prison pretty much a ghost town all of a sudden, but even when she lie on her bunk she knew she wasn't going to sleep. She was far too wound up and she had far too much going on in her mind.

Merle was back and he was in the prison with people he'd tried to kill…good people…their people. How was that going to play out? Was it even reasonable to think that Merle Dixon could learn to play well with others?

How was this Governor man…this madman or whoever he was that ran this little town…going to feel about Merle's departure? Furthermore, Carol wanted to know what happened. How exactly had Daryl found Merle? How had they gotten out? Had anything else happened?

And now they had Alice's partner here. For all intents and purposes, Carol had figured the woman to be dead, and she knew that Alice had figured it as well. How was that going to change things around the prison? She didn't know anything about the woman except from stories that Alice had told her, and Carol knew that stories that you told about your deceased loved ones could differ greatly from the truth of who the person had really been and what they'd really been like when their memory wasn't painted gold by the sadness of their passing.

She didn't know, either, how Alice's risen-from-the-dead partner was going to come into play with Michonne. She knew that Alice said they were just friends, but she didn't know if Michonne knew that, and she didn't know if the partner knew anything about Michonne.

Above everything else though, as the brain has a way of being selfish, Carol wondered how everything around her was going to affect her. How was Daryl going to act now that he was back under the thumb of his older brother? How was he going to be with her?

Sadly, Carol imagined that whatever had happened with her and Daryl…whatever she'd hoped he'd felt or thought he'd felt was probably over now. She didn't imagine that she would fit any kind of image Merle might have of what his brother deserved in a woman and she couldn't see Daryl doing anything to upset Merle.

Carol wrestled her way out of her bunk, her chest aching at the thought. At least…at least there'd been something. At least she'd had the little bit of time with him that she had shared with him before Merle came back from the dead.

As Carol wandered in the prison she found it abandoned. Everyone was probably sleeping off the night before. It had been a long night for everyone…those inside the prison and those that had ventured out.

Carol made her way outside as quietly as possible so as to not wake anyone else. There was no one on guard because of exhaustion and with this possible madman in their backyard that might not be the best idea they'd ever had. At least if she couldn't sleep, and she couldn't focus on anything else except what was left of her heart breaking, she could keep watch while the others slept, their lives much less altered by Merle's return than her own…most of them probably completely unaware of what had even happened between her and Daryl.

Carol made her way up to the guard tower slowly and let herself inside. She was surprised, and even jumped a little, to find another warm body up there.

At the first initial realization that the room wasn't empty, her heart had nearly leapt into her throat that it might be Daryl, but it wasn't Daryl. There, slumped against the wall, half on watch and half asleep perhaps, was Michonne.

Carol took a seat against the opposite wall and looked out at the foggy cold morning in front of them. She hadn't actually really had much of a conversation with the woman before and she wasn't sure that Michonne was going to be overly friendly to anyone in the prison besides Alice.

"Did they kick you out?" Carol asked softly, realizing that the woman had been bunking with Alice, but given that Alice's partner had returned that might change the dynamic a little.

Michonne rolled her head in Carol's direction and shrugged a little, licking her lips.

"No," she said softly. "I just thought they might want to be alone."

Carol nodded gently. Michonne stared off into space, almost at her shoes, and then chuckled slightly.

"They told me I could stay," she said. "Sitting there on the bunk like they were kids, you know? Being punished for something."

Michonne hummed a little.

"I figured that they might as well have this…might as well be alone for a bit," she said.

Carol nodded again.

"Daryl's with Merle?" Michonne asked after a moment. Carol glanced at her. She hadn't realized the woman would be this chatty. At first glance she appeared to be one of those people who's almost impenetrable. She only spoke when it seemed important, but at the moment that front didn't seem to be there. Her features were soft and relaxed. She almost seemed warm to Carol.

"I don't know where he is," Carol admitted. It was the truth. She didn't know if he was with Merle or if he was with Rick. He may even be alone, hiding out in his perch, for all she knew. What she did know was that he wasn't with her.

Michonne made a face that looked something like a soft smile she wasn't ready to commit to.

"How long have you been together?" Michonne asked.

Carol creased her brow at the woman.

"You and Daryl," Michonne offered, apparently thinking that Carol needed that as clarification when really what Carol wanted to know was how Michonne had become aware of the relationship that she thought was pretty well secret to the group.

Carol shook her head.

"We're not together," she said softly. "We're just friends."

Michonne raised her eyebrows.

"Oh," she said. "I thought…" she let her voice trail off.

Carol shook her head again.

"No…but it's fine. I thought you and Alice…" Carol started, hoping she hadn't just stepped in something the moment the words came out of her mouth.

Michonne snickered but didn't look at her.

"Mmm…" Michonne hummed. "No…not Alice."

Carol narrowed her eyes at the woman. If they were going to sit in a guard tower while everything around them was a little crazy, she might as well go all in. If there was anything she'd gotten from her friendship with Alice, it seemed that she'd gotten the trait of not giving a damn if she was prying for too much information. She almost laughed at herself.

"So…are you gay too?" Carol asked.

Michonne glanced at her and smiled slightly.

"Boy that's a question, isn't it?" Michonne asked.

Carol wasn't sure what it was supposed to mean.

"Are you?" Michonne asked.

Carol shook her head, realizing that Michonne hadn't actually responded. Michonne nodded slightly in response, humming a little in her throat.

"I wasn't…not before all this happened," Michonne said. She looked at Carol and cocked her head to the side. "Do you think you could do that, though? Not be gay…and then be gay…but it just happens for one person?"

Carol thought about it for a moment and remembered her wine induced decision making with Alice. If she reflected on it closely enough, she realized that she could have very well…if the circumstances had been different…gone over some kind of edge with Alice that night. And really there was no telling where she might have ended up if things had gone differently.

She shrugged finally, chuckling softly.

"I guess you could," she said. "Is that what happened?"

Michonne sucked her teeth, suddenly developing an interest in all the nothing that was happening in the prison yard below them.

"Guess you could say that," Michonne said. "Good lesson to me. Used to think that because my ex-husband was an asshole, all men were assholes. Now I'm pretty damn sure all women are assholes too."

She glanced back in Carol's direction, the soft smile returning to her face.

"What does that make me now?" She asked, her eyes trained on Carol.

Carol smiled at her.

"I'm not sure," Carol said honestly. "Jaded? Maybe just informed."

Michonne leaned her head back against the wall and sighed, glancing back at the fog filled yard or the Walker lined fences…it was difficult to tell.

"We're at the end of days, right?" She said. "And people still haven't changed…not one bit. Always looking to upgrade somehow."

Carol wasn't sure what the woman was talking about, but she'd let her talk. It wasn't like she had anywhere to go or anything to do and she didn't exactly feel the desire to go down and put her efforts into cooking and doing laundry and taking care of every little detail of life for everyone else in the prison. Besides, perhaps listening to someone else's problems would make hers seem a little less dramatic…for at least the time being.

Michonne faced Carol then.

"Have you ever done something…so unlike yourself for someone?" Michonne asked.

Carol nodded. She could think of a few different examples, but she realized that the question only required that she show she could sympathize with where the woman might be coming from. It wasn't necessary that she offer any information about herself.

"Plucked her right out of the dirt…took care of her," Michonne said. She shook her head. "Hell…I've lost everything that meant anything to me anyway, thought maybe I'd at least found something in all this hell. And then just like that…she's done because of some asshole who offers her…" Michonne broke off for a second. "A warm bed? A hot shower?"

Michonne shook her head.

"I guess I won't know exactly what I got sold out for…doesn't matter anyway," she said. "Same difference. Lost my husband over a younger woman…I guess it's all the same."

"Someone you knew?" Carol asked. She wasn't sure who the woman was referring to, but she remembered Alice saying that she'd been in a lesbian relationship and the ex had apparently worked Michonne over in some way. They'd fought as she was leaving the town. Now Carol was beginning to understand a little of what might have happened there.

And it hurt to lose the person you loved because there was something new in their life…something they saw as better in some way.

Michonne nodded.

"Saw her last night," Michonne said. She smirked. "I went back to…" her voice broke off again. "I don't know why I went back. I wanted him exposed. I wanted everyone…especially her…to see him for what he was."

"Is that how you got hurt?" Carol asked. She wondered where the cuts and bruises came from and why the woman was the only one to have suffered any sort of injury in the little trip that they'd taken.

Michonne nodded in response.

"He had these tanks…fish tanks…full of heads," Michonne said. "Had a little girl…his daughter, I'm guessing…a Walker. All caged up too, tied up like a pet. He kept his own daughter like that."

Carol felt her breath catch.

The mention of anyone's child as a Walker sent her stomach into knots and reminded her of the horrible image burned into her mind of Sophia. She tried to keep her breathing steady though. She couldn't have imagined wanting to keep Sophia…as a Walker…as some kind of pet, but she hated to admit that part of her could see that being something a parent might do.

"It's hard to lose a child," Carol said softly.

Michonne shot her a look she didn't fully understand and wasn't entirely comfortable with. She reminded herself that she didn't really know this woman, no matter how quickly she felt like she could relate to her, at least on some level.

"I'm not saying it's right," Carol added softly.

Michonne glanced away from her then.

"I put the little girl out of her misery," Michonne said, her voice catching oddly. "We fought…he tried to kill me…I took his eye."

Carol was surprised at how calmly the woman in front her was recounting the details of what had happened to her in Woodbury…details that were probably important for Rick and Daryl to know as soon as possible if they didn't already know.

Michonne looked back at her.

"She showed up…pointed a gun at me," Michonne said. She chuckled. "Pointed a gun at me over him…no question about the Walker…no question about the heads…no question about my injuries. She pointed the gun right at me for him."

Carol swallowed.

On the one hand she could see that the woman in front of her was a deeply hurt person. She'd been hurt, apparently, before any of this had happened. There was no telling what she'd lost since the world had gone mad, and now there was clearly someone back at this Woodbury place that she'd cared deeply for and she felt betrayed.

The woman could very well be a ticking time bomb as far as emotions went. Or she may simply be a hurt person with all the good intentions in the world. It was difficult to tell these days.

Carol knew she didn't want to upset the woman, though. If anything she wanted to extend an olive branch…some comfort…anything she had to offer. And she needed to find out if Daryl and Rick were aware of what had taken place in case the madman might be searching for something…for some kind of revenge. If the man was crazy and evil enough to want Michonne and Alice both dead for simply leaving his little town, he probably wouldn't take kindly to losing Melodye and Merle as well. And he'd probably take even less kindly to the loss of his daughter, Walker or not, and his eye.

"I'm sorry," Carol offered. "I'm sorry that she did that to you."

She realized it was the weakest apology she could offer. They were the emptiest words of comfort imaginable. But that was all she had at the moment.

"Thank you," Michonne said softly. She nodded her head a little and sighed.

"Did you tell anyone else what happened?" Carol asked.

Michonne shook her head.

"I went on my own," she replied.

Carol cleared her throat, hoping to get rid of the knot that had been hanging there for some time now.

"Do you think he might…retaliate?" She asked, searching for her words. "Maybe we should tell the others…" She let her voice break off. She didn't want Michonne to think that she would betray her trust or confidence. "Not everything, I mean…just that he might…come here."

Michonne looked at her, her face the same stone façade that it had been before this little chat. The way that it had been most of the time since she'd gotten here.

"Oh…he'll come…" she said.