Chapter 15: Merle

"How's his leg?" Daryl asked, bringing Carol a fresh towel to replace the bloody one she'd been using.

"Well, it's not bleeding anymore. I'm no doctor, but I think I stitched it up pretty good." Carol worried her lip between her teeth as she wiped the rest of the blood off from around the jagged stitches. She nodded toward the pink scar on Merle's calf. "Looks like someone else shot him recently."

"Must be why he was limpin'. It don't surprise me."

"You didn't have to knock him out, Daryl."

"Yeah I did. You don't know my brother like I do." He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hell, maybe I don't know my brother anymore. It's been almost a year since I seen him. Don't know what he musta thought when they left him up on that roof."

"That wasn't your fault. I'm sure Merle knows that," Carol said gently. She poured some peroxide over Merle's wound, patted it dry and then used a cotton swab to put some ointment on it. She gently placed some thick gauze over the wound and used medical tape to hold it into place.

"Ain't takin' no chances. Not with you and Lydia here."

"How is she?"

"Still sleepin'. Dog's standin' watch at her crib." Carol smiled a little at that, and she lifted Merle's mangled arm up, wincing at the crude scars from where he'd cut off his own hand. He had fashioned some sort of prosthetic metal arm with a knife sticking out of it, which Carol had promptly removed for cleaning. His good hand was currently tied with a rope to the bedpost.

"It's a wonder he didn't bleed out," Carol murmured.

"He's tough. Always been though. Swear to God, he shoulda died a dozen times over, but ain't nothin' killed him yet. Can't tell ya how many times I sat with him in the emergency room while they pumped the pills outta his stomach." He eyed his brother, watching the way his brow creased and he muttered something in his sleep. "I'll take over. Go get yourself cleaned up. Probably better if it's just me here when he wakes up."

"Alright." Carol stood then, wiping the blood off her hands with the towel Daryl had given her. She leaned in and kissed him softly before tugging the blanket over Merle's lower half. She made a mental note to find him a new pair of pants, since the ones he was currently wearing were ripped halfway up the thigh on one side. "You'll be alright?"

"M'good," he promised. She grabbed up all the bloodied towels and the first aid kit and took them away. She tossed the towels into the fireplace and washed her hands with warm, soapy water and then hand sanitizer for good measure.

Daryl slid a chair up by the bed in what used to be his room. After they'd cleaned up the mess created by the chimney issue, they'd turned it back into a useable bedroom. Now, it seemed, Merle was going to be their first guest.

Daryl grabbed the pack Merle had been carrying on his back and opened it up. He started going through it, finding a couple of hunting knives, some rope, a bag filled with jerky and some crackers. Underneath all that was a handful of bottles, mostly antibiotics and painkillers. Daryl sat them on the bedside table, and he kept looking.

There were three books. Moby Dick. Frankenstein. Of Mice and Men. Daryl smirked and tossed a skeptical look in his unconscious brother's direction. In all of their lives, he'd never so much as seen his brother pick up a book, let alone read, well, anything. Daryl started flipping through the books to pass the time, and he got through the first two pages of Moby Dick before he shut it and tossed it aside. A lot of those big words were lost on him, so he wondered how the hell Merle made heads or tails out of it.

"It's all I had time to grab." Merle's hoarse voice snapped Daryl's attention back to his brother. "When Officer Friendly and his merry band of misfits lost the prison, they came knocking at Woodbury. That's the place I was at. The Governor torched the place. This is all I could grab."

"You saw Rick?" Daryl asked, sitting forward in his chair.

"That any way to greet your brother?" Merle grunted, trying to sit up in bed but failing thanks to the wound in his thigh and the angle at which his arm was tied to the bedpost. "What the hell is this?"

"Didn't know what kinda mood you'd be in when you woke up," Daryl bit out, narrowing his eyes at his brother. "You saw Rick?"

"Yeah, I saw Rick. And the rest of them. Well, give or take a few faces." He snorted. "Where you been, baby brother?"

"Here," Daryl said quietly. "Another farm before."

"Yeah. The old man's farm. Rick told me all about it. Sounded like a goddamn fairy tale."

"It was real," Daryl insisted. "We got separated. Been on our own since then."

"Who's we? Didn't quite make out who was calling your name 'fore you knocked my lights out."

"Carol."

"Carol? Carol. What? The little slip of thing that walked around afraid of her own shadow?" Merle asked. "She's still alive? Damn, I thought she'd have been food for the wolves by now." Daryl huffed out a breath and shook his head.

"Surprised to see you alive, too, bro. You didn't come back to the camp. Where'd you go?"

"Damn near died," Merle recalled. "Took some box truck I found with the keys still in the ignition. Made it about a half mile outta Atlanta when I passed out and wrecked. Woke up in the back of a pickup truck. Passed out again. Next thing I know, I'm wakin' up safe. There's walls, electricity, food, hot water. Christ, it took me a few minutes to realize the world was still fucked up." He chuckled. "Yeah, The Governor saved me, gave me a place to sleep and a job to do, and I thought about comin' back to look for you. Took a team to the quarry, but you was already gone. Left a hell of a mess and a trail of corpses halfway down the hill. Didn't know where to look for you after that." Daryl leaned back in his chair and studied his brother.

"Where is everybody?"

"Who? Rick? The rest of 'em?"

"Yeah. T-Dog. Carl. Lori."

"T-Dog. Son of a bitch that dropped the key," Merle laughed. "Didn't see him. Guess he's dead." He shrugged.

"Where are they?"

"Scattered. Don't know. 'Ole Merle ain't exactly their favorite person. See, I was on the wrong side of the wall when the prison fell."

"What?"

"They didn't just lose the prison. The Governor tried to take it from 'em. I was with him."

"You attacked them? Our people?"

"Ain't my people. Ain't been my people in a long time, little brother." Merle looked away. "Thing is, Rick said you was gone. Said you may not have even made it off that farm. Guess they didn't look too hard, did they?" Daryl flinched at that, and Merle looked him right in the eye. "How long you spend lookin' for him? Bet you been lookin' for 'em all this time, and they was settin' down roots about twenty miles from here in a big old prison. From the looks of it, you got the better end of the deal. Nice place. Warm."

"Did you see where they went?"

"The walls came down at Woodbury. People died on both sides. Didn't see who fell. Last thing I seen before the dead came was Rick puttin' a bullet in The Governor's head."

"You didn't see where they went?"

"Wasn't gonna stick around to see if Rick had another bullet for me," Merle snorted.

"How long ago?"

"A week. Two weeks ago," Merle muttered.

"Where?" Daryl got up out of his chair.

"What?"

"Can ya take me back there? Show me where you last saw 'em?"

"You really wanna go lookin' for a bunch of people that gave up lookin' for you?"

"You don't know him," Daryl spat out. "He had a wife and a kid and a baby on the way to think about. He had people to keep alive." He looked toward the stairs. "So did I."

"Even if I could take you back there, who knows where the hell they run off to? Could be anywhere." Daryl ran his fingers through his hair and started pacing, and Merle shook his head. "Look at you. Still trying to be the hero."

"Shut up." He heard footsteps overhead, and he looked back to Merle. "Me and Rick? We went back for you. Glenn and T-Dog, too. You was already gone. Nothin' left but your hand."

"Damage was done. Too little, too late."

"So ya joined up with your Governor buddy? Started shootin' at women and kids?" Daryl growled.

"It weren't like that," Merle snapped. "Didn't know what he was really about 'til it was too late. When he killed the old man, that was it for me. I didn't fire a shot. Hmm. Too little, too late."

"The old man? He killed Hershel?"

"Old man with one leg. Wasn't much of a threat. He killed him anyway. You knew him?"

"Yeah. He was a good man. Decent."

"Then m'sorry for yer loss, brother." He sat up a little on the bed. "You wanna untie me, already?"

"You gonna behave yourself?"

"What the fuck am I gonna do?" Merle snorted. "I got one hand, and you fucked up my already fucked up leg. I ain't doin' shit for at least a week." Daryl eyed him before reaching up to loosen the restraint and untie him. If he'd had his other hand, he would've rubbed his aching wrist like the criminals in movies always did when the handcuffs were removed. Instead, he scratched his stubble-covered jaw. "So it's just you and her, huh? The housewife? Always thought she had a great ass."

"Don't talk about her," Daryl snapped.

"Ooh, I hit a sore spot? You hitting that?"

"Fuck off, Merle, 'fore I change my mind about the rope."

"Oh, baby brother. M'proud of ya. Was startin' to think maybe you swung the other direction. Know what I mean?"

"I think the dead know what you mean," Daryl muttered.

"She any good?" Merle asked with a grin, licking his lips. "C'mon. Been a while since I had a woman. You think she'd…" Daryl lunged toward Merle and grabbed him by the shirt.

"Told you not to fuckin' talk about her," he growled. Merle raised his hand and his stump in surrender.

"Alright. Alright. Didn't mean nothin' by it. She your girlfriend or somethin'?"

"No." Daryl let go of Merle's shirt and started out of the room. "She's my wife."

...

Carol lay on her side on the bed, while Lydia sat in the center, reaching for her favorite toys. She brought a rattle to her mouth and gummed at it, while Carol gently stroked her fingers through the curls at the nape of Lydia's neck.

She looked toward the door when she heard footsteps in the hall, and in a moment, Daryl opened the door and stepped inside.

"How is he?" Carol asked softly. Lydia looked toward Daryl and squealed, holding her arms out for him.

"Da! Da da da!" Daryl sat down on the bed and pulled Lydia into his lap, kissing the top of her head.

"He's awake. He's…Merle."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Depends on the day, I guess," Daryl snorted. He looked at her. "He saw Rick and the others." Carol's eyes widened, and she sat up.

"When? Where?"

"Couple weeks ago he saw 'em last. Said they were holed up at a prison. Merle was followin' somebody who called himself The Governor, and I guess they got into it with Rick. Said the prison fell, so Rick and the group went to the place Merle and The Governor were at. Guess it fell, too. Merle's been on his own since. Said it was just a couple weeks ago. They were just about twenty miles from here, Merle said."

"You want to look for them," Carol said quietly.

"I want Merle to take me where he saw 'em last. They could still be…"

"They could still be there. Or they could be miles away." Carol sighed heavily.

"But we could find 'em."

"I want to find them too. Just as much as you do. I just don't want you risking your life." Daryl leaned in and pressed his lips against hers.

"I'll be careful. Promise," he murmured. "Won't be 'til Merle's feelin' up to it."

"I know you have to do this," Carol whispered. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I gotta try," he murmured. "You know that, right?"

"I know. It's one of the many reasons I love you. You always try. And I know you won't forgive yourself if you don't." He kissed her again, and when he pulled away, she brushed her hand against his cheek.

"Please watch your back out there. I know he's your brother, but he's not good for you."

"I can handle Merle," he insisted. "But first I gotta convince him to take me out there."

"Well, does he really even have a choice?"

"With Merle, there's the right choice and then there's the choice that works best for Merle. Guess I'm just gonna have to make sure he makes the choice that's best for all of us."

Author's Note: Feedback is always appreciated! Please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!