Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. I also have no claim on any pop culture references that I may use throughout my writings. I only own my OCs. Enjoy the read.

[309]

0o0o0 Daryl 0o0o0

Daryl looked around, peeking through his hair at the angry crowd. His own brother to the left of him, staring him down with a grimace on his face. The so-called Governor stood off to the side, a bandage over his eye with a cloth wrapped around his head to hold it there. Whatever happened in the prison group trying to break out of Woodbury's small town got the Governor good.

Daryl hid his smirk and returned his attention to the problem at hand. His breathing was heavy as it all was sinking in. His hands tied behind his back. He might not make it out alive. Daryl turned around, seeing another man holding his crossbow. His weapon. What Daryl would give to knock him over the head and take it back.

The Governor walked a circle around the Dixon brothers, almost as if he were hunting them down as a lion would.

Daryl glanced at his brother, and their eyes met.

A blond head of hair broke from the crowd, heading towards the governor, but she was stopped with arms clasped around her waist.

Daryl studied the figure, who looked to be fighting for his cause. Is that Andrea? He thought. Holy shit.

"Let him go, Philip!"

Another man with a gun went over to Andrea, pointing it at her to stop her fighting. "Stay out of this," the man said.

"He's my friend." Andrea spat back in his face.

The Governor didn't even look in her direction. "It's not up to me anymore."

The man said the words, and Daryl believed him. With the angry crowd around them chanting the phrase 'kill them,' Daryl thought that he would be killed, one way or another.

The Governor turned to Andrea finally. "The people have spoken."

"What?" She questioned with a furrowed brow.

The Governor turned his attention back to the Dixon Brothers as Daryl felt his hands go slack, the bindings being cut. The Governor pointed at Merle. "I asked you where your loyalties lie. You said here. Well, prove it. Prove it to us all." The governor glanced at Daryl. "Brother against brother."

The crowd erupted into cheers. It was what they wanted.

"Winner goes free." The man walked forward, bypassing Merle. "A fight to the death!"

Daryl wondered for a moment what this town really did with the arena they were standing in, and he knew it could have been far off from what was about to happen inside the circle.

"Philip, please! Don't do this!" Andrea begged, shouting over the crowd. "Don't do this!"

Merle took his attention from the Governor. He stared Daryl down, debating his options. None of them were good. Merle raised his good hand in the air. "Y'all know me."

The crowd gawked at Merle's baiting.

It was Merle's turn to walk circles around the arena. "I'm gonna do whatever I got to do to prove…" Without warning, the elder Dixon turned harshly, slamming his fist into his brother's gut, making Daryl fall to the dirt ground. "...That my loyalty…" The word punctured with a kick to the chest. "...Is to this town!" Merle continued to lay into his brother. He kept hitting him until the walkers were brought out. He hesitated, but only for a moment.

Daryl knew the sound. He couldn't see them coming up, but he knew they were, and they were coming for him. He had to fight back. While Merle hesitated, Daryl swung his arm hard, knocking Merle back so that Daryl could try getting to his feet.

Merle was quick though, he recovered quickly and grabbed his little brother. He put Daryl's back to the ground again, fists wrapped around his vest.

Daryl reached up, holding his hands around Merle's neck. "You really think this asshole's gonna let you go?"

Merle, his voice strained from the pressure on his neck, let out a few words. "Just follow my lead, little brother. "We're gettin' outta this right now." Merle used his advantage over Daryl to pull him up to his feet as the walkers and onlookers circled them, providing no escape. The two Dixon Brothers stood back to back, trying to find a way out. They fought the walkers being pushed towards them, managing to kill a couple with their bare hands.

Finally, Daryl heard the shots of a rifle. The group had come back for him. They were getting out of Woodbury, alive. And he was getting his crossbow back.

0o0o0 Isabell 0o0o0

Isabell kept to herself back at the prison. She'd spent most of her time in the breezeway off of the cellblock where she'd last talked to Lori. While it was her turn to look after Judith so the others could get some sleep, she set herself up to carry the baby in a wrap around her, with Judith's little head peeking out as she slept. Isabell kept a hand on the back of the baby's head, stroking her tiny bit of the girl's hair.

Isabell couldn't wait for this little girl to grow up so she could braid her hair as she used to Harley's. It had been one of Isabell's treasured memories with her daughter. While Isabell's fingers waved through the brown hair, Harley would be telling her mother anything that came to her mind. It was the time Harley would be the most honest with her, and she craved that time. Isabell never had that while she was a child. Her mother was hardly around, and when she was, they avoided each other like the plague. Isabell never felt inclined to tell her mother her deepest, darkest secrets, and Isabell counted herself lucky that Harley could do that with her.

As Isabell watched the dirt road that led to the prison, she hoped Rick, Oscar, and Daryl would make it back safely; Maggie and Glenn in tow. Michonne, too. Isabell had a good feeling about the woman. Still, she worried that something would have gone wrong, and that was their reasoning for coming back so late. Isabell hadn't expected them to be back to the prison in an hour like it was a grocery run, but it was problematic that sunrise was in a couple of hours, and she hadn't seen at least one person come through the tree line.

Isabell looked down at the baby wrapped tightly to her chest. She bent her head forward to leave a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Yer pops will be home, AK. I'm sure of it."

0o0o0 Daryl 0o0o0

As they approached the familiar vehicle, Daryl noticed Glenn sitting on the pavement. Rick called up to Glenn.

"Rick?" He asked, getting up from the ground. "Rick? Oh, thank god." He said as he laid eyes on his girlfriend.

Rick held out a calming hand to the young man. "Now, we got a problem here. I need you to back up."

Glenn pulled out his gun quickly, aiming it at Merle, who had tagged along during their escape. "What the hell is he doing here?"

Michonne was just as fast, pulling her sword from its home on her back and pointing it in Merle's direction. Both Daryl and Rick stood between the two weapons to stop them from killing each other.

Rick tried to back down Michonne by pulling out his weapon in an attempt to stop her. "Whoa!"

Michonne seethed, anger clear on her face. "He tried to kill me!"

"Drop the sword!"

Glenn screamed at Daryl. "If it wasn't for him - !"

"He helped us get out of there!" Daryl shouted back.

"Yeah, right about he bit the shit outta you." Rick reminded him.

Merle scoffed. "Hey, we both took our licks, man."

Daryl rolled his eyes at his brother. "Jackass."

"Hey, shut up!"

Rick turned around to face Merle. "Enough!"

With Rick's back turned, Michonne saw an opening to take a couple more steps towards Merle, her sword still drawn.

"Put that down now!" Rick ordered.

"Get that thing outta my face!" Daryl shouted at Glenn in regards to his gun.

Merle laughed at the sight. "Man, looks like you've gone native, brother."

Daryl turned back to Merle. "No more than you hanging out with that psycho back there. He was just as fed up with his brother as anyone else was, but still, he was family."

"Ph, yeah, man. He is a charmer; I gotta tell you that. Been putting the wood to your girlfriend, Andrea." He said, looking at Michonne. "Big time, baby." He said, grossly licking his lips.

Michonne dropped her sword, but her eyes were still trained on the stupid hick.

"What?" Glenn looked between the others. "Andrea's in Woodbury?"

"Right next to the Governor."

At the words, Michonne tried to charge Merle again, but everyone stopped her from doing so.

Rick stepped up to her. "I told you to drop that." He took a breath. "You know Andrea?" The sheriff asked, but it looked like Michonne couldn't be bothered with the question, so Rick repeated himself. "Hey, do you know Andrea?"

"Yup, she does," Merle said, leaning against a tree. "Her and blondie spent all winter cuddling up in the forest. Merle was very suggestive with the story he was telling, but something told Rick that it wasn't how it went down. "My Nubian queen, here, had two pet walkers. No arms, cut off the jaws, kept them in chains. Kind of ironic, now that I think about it."

"Man, shut up, bro," Daryl begged.

"Hey, man, we snagged them outta the woods. Andrea was close to dying."

Maggie, with a furrowed brow, looked between Michonne and Merle. "Is that why she's with him?"

"Yeah. Snug as two little bugs." Merle sighed. "So, what you gonna do now, Sheriff, huh? Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs, and cowards."

Rick turned around for a second toward Merle. "Shut up!"

Merle laughed. "Oh, man, look at this. Pathetic. All these guns and no bullets in them."

Daryl glared at his brother, same as Glenn and Maggie behind him. Merle never could shut his mouth, could he? "Merle, shut up!" he said in his brother's face.

"Shut up, yourself!" Merle shouted back, stepping away from his tree and towards his brother. "Bunch of pussies. You roll - "

Rick didn't hesitate when he saw his opening. He took a step and slammed the back of Merle's head with the butt of his gun. "Asshole." He said as the man fell to the floor. Daryl wasn't even mad about it. It had to be done.

0o0o0 Isabell 0o0o0

Morning came too slow. It seemed like Isabell hadn't slept at all during the night, still waiting for the others to return home. She kept guard over the cells and the cafeteria area of the cell block, sitting against the wall facing the rooms. Isabell had to make sure none of the new group was a danger to her family. She wasn't trusting them entirely just yet, so she wasn't about to let her guard down.

Carl had been moving around in his cell for a while, probably waking up for the day. It still surprised Isabell when he joined her on the floor. "You okay?" The boy asked.

Isabell nodded, picking at the fibers on Daryl's poncho that she was wearing to keep warm. She took a deep breath. "They should be back by now."

"They're coming. Daryl's strong."

"I know. So's your dad. It's the others that I'm worried about. Glenn and Maggie."

"They're strong, too."

Isabell nodded, looking down at the boy. "They're gonna be okay." The blonde let out a large breath. "Alright. Guess it's time to get up for the day. Help me."

Carl got up to his feet easier and faster than Isabell might have been able to. He grabbed Isabell's hands, helping her to her feet.

Isabell walked over to the door to the main area, peering through the bars at the new group. One of them was holding their shin, patting it down with a spare shirt, still wet with blood.

"What's wrong?" Carl asked from behind her.

"AK is gonna need to eat soon." Without another word, Isabell made her way over to the cell that Hershel and Beth shared and knocked on the doorway. "Mornin', Gramps."

Hershel chuckled to himself. "Mornin', Isabell."

"Can we borrow your stitchin' skills?"

"You okay?" He asked, immediately concerned.

"Not me. Them." Isabell gestured her head behind her. "One of 'em is hurt real bad."

"You think that's smart?"

Isabell shrugged. "They just lost someone. Looks like they've been through hell. We gotta get in there and get breakfast started anyhow. Better if we're not outnumbered." Isabell held her hand out to Carl. "Give me the keys and go get Axel and tell him he's on cookin' duty."

Carl hesitated.

"You can have 'em back. I'll leave them in the door for you."

Carl nodded, passing off the keys.

Isabell took them and helped Hershel up from his bed. The pair walked out after unlocking the door, and Isabell looked at the injured man. "Hey, you." She said to get his attention. "Hershel's gonna patch you up if it's alright with you."

The man looked surprised at the gesture.

Isabell heard the keys rattling in the door where he left them and gestured for Axel to come out. "Axel's gonna cook us up somethin' for breakfast, too. You're welcome to some."

The big man nodded his head, speaking for the others. "Thank you."

Hershel sat down at one of the tables, and the bigger man helped the injured man sit down at it.

Isabell looked at him. "'Course." Her eyes drifted to the small woman behind him. "I'm sorry about last night. I think we all got off on the wrong food. My name's Isabell."

0o0o0 Daryl 0o0o0

Daryl shook his head, not knowing what to do. Not really anyway. Things were becoming more and more complicated by the second, and he was sure that either outcome wasn't going to be a good one.

"It won't work." Rick insisted.

"It's gotta," Daryl said, practically begging.

"It'll stir things up."

Daryl shook his head. "Look, the Governor is probably on the way to the prison right now. Merle knows how he thinks, and we could use the muscle.

"I'm not having him at the prison," Maggie said matter-of-factly.

"Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Carol or Beth?" Glenn questioned.

Daryl furrowed his brow, taking the smallest of steps towards the other man. "He ain't a rapist."

"Well, his buddy is."

Maggie gave Glenn a wary look, and Daryl could tell there was more to that situation than they had time to deal with at the moment.

"They ain't buddies no more. Not after last night." Daryl insisted.

"There's no way Merle's gonna live there without putting everyone at each other's throats," Rick said.

"So, you're gonna cut Merle loose and bring the last samurai home with us?" Daryl asked.

"She's not comin' back."

"She's not in a state to be on her own," Maggie admitted, much to Rick's dismay.

"She did bring you guys to us." Glenn aided, speaking for the lonesome woman leaning against the car behind the group.

"And then ditched us." Rick reminded the group.

Maggie shrugged. "At least let my dad stitch her up."

"She's too unpredictable."

"That's right." Daryl agreed. "We don't know who she is. But Merle, Merle's blood."

Glenn shook his head. "No, Merle is your blood. My blood, my family, is standing right here and waiting for us back at the prison."

"And you're part of that family. But he's not." Rick insisted. "He's not."

Darul paused, looking at the three of them individually, working out his plan in his head. He shook his head slightly. "Man, y'all don't know." He let another moment pass before nodding once. "Fine. We'll fend for ourselves."

"That's not what I was saying," Glenn promised.

"No him, no me."

"Daryl, you can't do that." Maggie pleaded.

"It was always Merle and I before this."

"Don't."

"You're serious." Glenn realized.

Daryl turned to look at Rick, waiting for his two cents on the matter, but Daryl had to be making the right decision. He believed he was.

"You're just gonna leave like that?"

"You'd do the same thing."

"And what are we supposed to tell Isabell?"

Daryl hesitated, but he eventually nodded. "She'll understand." When no one else argued for him to stay, Daryl nodded again. He broke between the group and headed for the car for his bags. "Say goodbye to your Pops for me."

"Daryl, are you serious?" Glenn called after him, following. "Daryl!" He said, trying to get the man to stop.

Rick jogged a bit to catch up while Maggie and Glenn stopped. "Hey," The sheriff turned around, facing Daryl, and the pair stopped. "There's got to be another way."

"Don't ask me to leave him," Daryl begged. "I already did that once." He restarted his trek to his bag.

Rick followed after him again, taking a few steps before continuing his argument. "We started something last night. You realize that, huh?"

Daryl opened the trunk of the car and looked at Rick. "No him, no me. That's all I can say." Daryl dug through his backpack, making sure that he had everything. "Take care of yourself." He said to Rick. "Take care of lil' ass-kicker. Carl." Daryl slung his bag over his shoulder, finally looking at Rick's torn face. "He's one tough kid," Daryl admitted.

"And Isabell?" Rick asked. "What do I tell her?"

Daryl paused again, looking at his brother behind him.

"Daryl, I can't go back to her without you."

Daryl turned his focus back to Rick. Leaving was the best option. If Daryl left with Merle, at least Isabell wasn't alone. The archer nodded. "She's got y'all. Carol. She'll be okay. She's a fighter." With that, Daryl walked back towards his brother, ignoring the calls made for him to go back.

0o0o0 Isabell 0o0o0

Isabell laid down on the bottom bunk of the bed in Judith's cell. She had the baby laying down on her chest, moving her fingers softly along the baby's back. It was something Isabell used to do with Harley when she was a baby. The movements calmed the child, knowing someone was nearby. Isabell knew that she wasn't Judith's mother, not in the slightest, but they both needed the comfort from time to time.

Both of them were breathing softly and slowly, going in and out of consciousness, still waiting for the others to return. It wasn't until both Carol and Beth appeared in the doorway of the cell that Isabell became slightly panicked. She sat up on an elbow, holding Judith in place with her free hand. "Hey, what's going on? Are they back?" Isabell whispered, not wanting to wake the baby.

Beth came in to take Judith from Isabell without saying a word.

"Beth?" Her brown eyes flashed to Carol when the girl didn't answer. Isabell stood, exiting the cell and going to the perch where she and Daryl slept. She swallowed, seeing Rick, Glenn, and Maggie had returned. Daryl wasn't with them. Isabell's heart dropped as she bounded quickly down the stairs, quickly stopping in front of Rick. "Is he dead?" She asked quickly.

Rick looked at her, defeat in his eyes. "No."

"Well, where is he?"

Rick held out a calming hand to her. "He's okay."

"Rick? Where is he?" Isabell asked, her voice getting loud with every unanswered question.

"Merle was there in the town. He's alive. I - I couldn't bring him back here. Not after what he did to Glenn. To Maggie."

Isabell's eyes moved to the pair. Glenn looked beaten to a pulp and was being looked over by Hershel. Maggie wasn't wearing the same shirt that she left in, but Glenn's. Her eyes flashed back to Rick. "You still haven't answered the hot question, Officer Friendly."

"He's gone."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!"

"I don't know," Rick admitted. "He chose to leave. Left with Merle."

"Bet you didn't give a choice, did you?" Isabell questioned.

"What was I supposed to do?"

Isabell stopped, letting it sink in. He left?

Rick nodded. "Iz, I'm sorry. I tried. I couldn't bring Merle back. You don't know - "

Isabell, floored by those words, took another step towards the man. "Don't tell me what I know, Rick! What I know is that you could have tried. You could have tried with Merle as you tried with them prisoners."

"It's not like that. Do you see what he did to Glenn?"

"Oh, yeah. I see. I also remember what you did to him. Handcuffin' him to a roof and leavin' him for dead."

"He left you for dead shortly after that." Rick reminded her, shaking his head at the accusation.

"But I would put up with him because of Daryl. I put up with him for thirty years! You couldn't even give him a chance?!"

Rick shook his head. "I couldn't."

"Daryl deserves to be here. He's been good to you. Good to this group. And you just let him leave because he comes with a little extra baggage? Well, guess what, Rick? You got baggage, too." Isabell said, trying to get control of herself. "I've been watchin' you, Rick. You got baggage up the ass and, here we are, standing behind you."

"I couldn't - "

"Save it," Isabell said, cutting him off and walking away. She stomped her way up the stairs, gathering her bags on the perch. Isabell could feel the eyes on her and the tears stinging her own, but she shook them away hard. She turned up to see Carol. "The hell do you want?"

"Isabell, I know - " Carol started.

"Do you?" Isabell stopped her. "Do you know how I feel?"

Carol took a few steps closer to Isabell, reaching for her.

Isabell pulled away from the woman's grasp. "Don't touch me!" She spat. "I'm fine!" Isabell said as she continued to pack. "He's comin' back. He wouldn't leave me behind."

Carol shook her head. "Izzy…"

"Stop!" Isabell shouted, pausing again and making Carol jump back. "He's comin' back. He's comin' to get me." She repeated, shoving the last bit into her bag. Isabell reached down into the bottom, grabbed an item, pulled it out, and held it in her fist. "I'm goin' to the guard tower. Gonna wait for him there." Isabell grabbed her bow and secured her other weapons before pulling both bags over her shoulders.

Isabell didn't look at anyone as she made her way out of the cellblock. It was barely light outside when she found herself up in the tower, facing the dirt road leading to the prison. Isabell dropped her bags and settled on the floor. She loosened the grip on her fist, revealing the chain. Isabell sighed, feeling the tears come to her eyes. She shook them away again and put the chair over her neck, hiding it under her shirt.