Daryl walked down the stairs while he watched Michonne practicing with her katana and he went to sit on the table. The sunlight shimmered off the long blade as she sliced the air and Daryl admitted he was impressed.
"Do you need something?" she asked as she spun and sliced the air.
"No," he said with a shake of his head as he placed the crossbow against the bench.
"Then why are you staring at me?"
"I ain't starin'. I'm observin'."
Michonne stopped as she placed the katana in the scabbard on her back and he placed his hands on his knees.
"Mind if I take a look?" he asked as he pointed to the katana.
She reached back for the handle then paused and he arched his eyebrows up. She slowly removed the katana from the scabbard when she walked to him then she held out the katana and he took hold of the handle. He carefully held the blade as he looked at the sunlight shimmering on the metal and he moved his head side-to-side.
"How long did it take you to learn how to use this?" he asked.
"Not long," she said. Michonne watched him stand as he walked over to where she was standing and he held the katana to his right side. She sat on the table as he raised the katana and he started swinging. "You need to keep your arms closer to your body."
"You mean like this?" he said, tucking his arms a bit.
"Yes," she said. Michonne watched him practice as she gave him some pointers and she admitted he wasn't half bad. "Hmmmm…."
"What?"
"Not bad."
"It's just like usin' a knife."
"Not really."
"Still cool," he said while he walked to the table, straightened his right arm and he pointed the tip of the blade at her throat.
"Lower it or I will kick you in the balls."
He lowered the katana then he handed the katana back to her and Michonne placed the katana back in the scabbard.
"Don't know if you're stayin' after all this is over. If you do, I wouldn't mind you guardin' my back," Daryl said while she got off the table and he picked up the crossbow.
"I thought you didn't trust me," Michonne said.
"Changed my mind," he said as he looked at the Walkers near the outer fence. "Wanna go kill some Walkers?"
"Sure," she said and they headed for the inner gate. She glanced at him as she tried to read his face and Daryl glanced at him.
"What?" Daryl asked.
"Just so you know. If I do stay, I wouldn't mind you guarding my back."
Nodding, Daryl adjusted the strap over his right shoulder and they headed for the outer fence.
Days later, neither Rick nor Daryl knew what to do when Andrea arrived at the prison. Rick had allowed her to enter the yard, but Daryl saw the look on her face when Rick frisked her for weapons. They brought her inside the prison as she looked at the others and she seemed upset when she found out about Lori, Dale, Patricia, Jimmy, T-Dog and Shane's deaths.
Daryl listened to Rick talking with her while Daryl sat on the steps and his forearms rested on his legs.
"You better be telling us the truth," Rick said.
"I am," Andrea said.
"I really want to believe you."
"You can. Please. What do I have to do to get you to believe me?"
"Kill the Governor," Merle said while leaning on the doorframe to his cell.
"Shut up," Rick said.
"He's right," Michonne said as they looked at her. "The only way to stop the Governor is to kill him."
"He wouldn't've even known you all were here if Princess over there hadn't poked his eye out with that large knife of hers," Merle said.
"Will someone shut him up?!" Glenn asked with a snarl.
"Hey. Just tellin' it like it is."
"Merle," Daryl warned and Merle nodded, going to sit on the cot.
"Look," Rick said as he leaned over to go face-to-face with Andrea. "He wants the prison and he is willing to kill for it. That isn't going to happen. If he wants a war, he'll get one."
"He has an army. You have…"
"We have enough people to defend what's ours."
"Let me go talk to him."
"Andrea, it's the only way. Go back, sleep with him then kill him in his sleep," Carol said and Andrea's eyes widened. She knew Carol was always the voice of reason, but she never thought Carol could be so cruel.
Daryl looked at Rick as Rick tried to figure out what to do and he pointed to Andrea then to the door. She followed him as they headed up the stairs and Carol walked to Daryl. He slid his left arm around her waist while she leaned into him and she placed her right arm over his back.
the Farm Store
Rick was surprised to receive word a few days later from Andrea. The Governor wanted to meet with him at the Farm Store. Rick brought Hershel and Daryl with him and he walked into barn. He held the Colt Python in his right hand as he looked around then stopped when he heard footsteps. The Governor seemed to come out of the shadows and Rick admitted he was repulsed by the grin on the Governor's face.
Outside, Daryl paced while talking with Hershel then he saw a SUV approaching. The SUV came to a stop as Andrea and some men got out and Andrea walked to Daryl.
"Where's Rick?" she asked.
"He's inside with the Governor," Daryl said.
"The Governor's here!?"
"Yeah."
He watched her going inside the barn as he looked at the men and one of them introduced himself as Milton.
"Better watch yer mouth, Sunshine," Daryl said after Milton got smug with him then Daryl walked off. He patrolled the area when he had the sudden urge to smoke and he removed the beat-up pack of cigarettes Merle had given him. He removed a cigarette then he used the lighter to light the cigarette and he took a long drag. One of the other men had followed him as they talked and he offered the man a cigarette. Neither of them talked while they scanned the area for Walkers and Daryl wondered if Rick would convince the Governor to leave them alone.
the Prison
Merle leaned against the doorframe to the cell when he saw Sophia walking closer and he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Hey there," he said. She stopped as she looked at him and Merle noticed the suspicious look in her eyes. "Looks like they warned you about me, hunh?"
"Mom says I shouldn't talk to you," Sophia said.
"Yeah. Well. Yer mom doesn't like me."
"Because you keep lying to Daddy."
"I ain't never lied to him."
"Then why do you keep leaving him?"
"I… I have my reasons."
"I remember what you were like back at the quarry. You weren't that nice to the others, but you were nice to me and Daddy."
"That's because you're family."
"Daddy told me that, but Mom's family, too."
"I told you. She doesn't like me."
"Are you gonna stay?"
"That's up to Sheriff Rick," he said then he made a deep sigh. "He doesn't like me either."
"Are you still angry with him for leaving you up on that roof?"
"He left me there to die," he said with a growl.
"Daddy told me Uncle Rick felt guilty about it. That's why he and Daddy went to get you."
"Yeah. Yer dad told me that he came back fer me."
"Uh, I know this sounds dumb, but did cutting off your hand hurt?"
"Hurt like hell, but I had no other choice."
"You took their van," she said with a frown. "If you hadn't've done that, Amy and the others would still be alive."
"What are you talkin' about?"
"Daddy, Uncle Rick, Glenn and T-Dog had to find a car to get back to camp. But the car ran outta gas and they had to walk the rest of the way. By the time they got back, we were overrun by Walkers. Amy got killed. Mister Jim got bit. And we had to leave."
"You're blamin' that on me?!"
"Yeah."
Merle looked at her for a few seconds while his mind absorbed what she had said and he frowned.
"The problem is, I don't see how Sheriff Rick and I could get along. We're just too different."
"Both of you would have kept that man away from me and Mom."
"You mean Ed?"
"Yeah," she said with a nod. "And you would've made Shane leave Daddy alone."
"He was still messin' with yer dad?"
"Sometimes. Most of the time he was trying to hurt Uncle Rick. That's why Uncle Rick had to kill him."
"Huh."
"And you could've helped Daddy find me when I got lost."
"When did you get lost?"
Sophia told him what happened as his eyes widened at the thought of Daryl nearly dying twice and him calling Daryl a pet redneck freak.
"I would never call him that," Merle thought.
"Well, I will tell you this," Merle said as he pointed his left index finger. "I may not have done it fer yer dad, but I swear I would've gone lookin' fer you."
"What about Andrea?"
"You mean when she shot him? Hell, she wouldn't have seen it comin'."
"You would've killed her?"
"Yeah. If she had killed him. Seein' that she didn't, I would have roughed her up a little. To teach her a lesson."
He saw the fear in Sophia's eyes as he sighed and he shook his head.
"Sorry. I shouldn't've said that."
"If Uncle Rick makes you leave, Daddy says he might go with you."
"Only if you and yer mom go with him."
"But you'd leave if he said no, right?"
"Maybe," Merle said as he walked to her, knelt down on his haunches and they locked eyes. "I need you to understand somethin'. I would never ask yer dad to do somethin' he doesn't really want to do. That's why I didn't take him with me when he was a kid. He had gotten a new family and, fer the first time in his life, he was happy. I mean really happy. And me comin' and goin'? I just needed to know he was still happy. If he wasn't then, yeah, I would've taken him with me. When you and yer mom came along? I decided it was time to cut bait. He didn't need me anymore."
"Yeah, he does."
"Not as much as he needs you two."
Nodding, Sophia watched him stand then he walked to the cell and he turned to look at her.
"You best get goin'. Yer mom won't like it if she sees you talkin' to me."
Before he could move, Sophia ran to him as she gave him a hug and he looked down at her. He felt guilt moving through him as he held her and he gave her a small smile.
"Did yer dad ever tell you I wanted to hold you when you were a baby? I would've if that son of a bitch Shane hadn't've shown up. He's another reason I wasn't around so much."
"I wish you had been around. Maybe you would've stopped that man from hurting Daddy," she said with a sigh.
"Damn right, I would have," he said as he gave her a sad look. "You wanna know somethin'? You're one hell of a kid."
Smiling, she hugged him again and he watched her walking away.
"Maybe it ain't too late," he whispered and he went back into his cell.
After Rick, Daryl and Hershel returned, Daryl listened to Rick telling the others what happened and Daryl glared at Michonne.
"I knew she wouldn't do it," Michonne said.
"What do we do now?" Beth asked.
"We have to turn Michonne over to him," Rick said.
"Finally! The voice of reason!" Merle said.
"No one asked you," Glenn said.
"How do we know he won't attack us even if we do give her over to him?" Hershel asked.
"We don't," Rick said while he looked at Michonne and he sighed.
The next day, Rick talked to Daryl about using Merle to help take Michonne to the Governor. Daryl wasn't sure if Merle would help them as he went to locate his brother and he found Merle trashing a cell.
"Lookin' fer somethin'?" Daryl asked.
"Always found the best shit in mattress when I was in prison," Merle said while he tore into the mattress.
"We need to talk."
"Thought we were talkin'."
"Merle…"
"Ok. Ok," Merle said as he stood up then he leaned against the doorframe of the cell. "What's up?"
"Rick needs yer help."
"Let me guess. He wants me to help him bring that bitch to the Governor."
"Yeah."
"What if I don't wanna?"
"Merle…"
"Look. The Governor's gonna kill that bitch fer what she did to him."
"You know what happened?"
"Didn't she tell you? She's the one who took his eye."
"But why? Why did she do that?"
"From what he's told me, she attacked him in his office after she killed his kid."
"Wait! He had a kid?!"
Merle knew that would get Daryl's attention as he grinned and he crossed one ankle over the other.
"Rumor has it the kid was his daughter. Poor little thing. Heard he was keepin' her under lock and key because she had been turned into a Walker."
Daryl felt an ice-cold ball forming in his chest as his mind recalled Carol's nightmare of Sophia as a Walker and Merle gave him a puzzled look.
"Somethin' wrong?" Merle asked.
"Just rememberin' somethin'," Daryl said. "Are you gonna help us?"
"And get myself killed? No."
Daryl watched Merle walk by him when he went to follow him and they ended up in a storage room.
"Why are you bein' so fuckin' selfish?!" Daryl demanded while Merle looked for drugs then Merle turned to look at him.
"I'm the selfish one?!"
"Yeah!"
"Well, at least I ain't soft!"
"Are we goin' through this again!? What you are is a piece of shit!"
"And you are a fucked-up kid! Shit! When the hell are you gonna grow up!?"
"I am grown up!"
"Then when are yer balls gonna drop?! Hell. You'd think after all those things I taught you, they'd've done that by now!"
"Look, I am tired of fightin' with you. You ain't never gonna change. And that's sad. Because all I ever wanted…," Daryl said then he paused to calm down. "I just want my brother back."
Merle watched Daryl walk out of the room and Merle frowned.
Daryl walked down the hallway when he saw Carol feeding the baby and she saw the anger in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Carol asked.
"Rick gonna turn Michonne over to the Governor today," Daryl said.
"Oh."
"And he wants Merle's help."
"What's Merle supposed to do?"
"Merle knows his way around Woodbury. Maybe he could get close enough to kill the Governor, rescue Michonne and bring her back."
"Do you think he'll do all that?"
"No, he ain't gonna do shit."
She noticed he was shutting down as she handed the baby to him and Daryl held the baby in his arms. He placed the baby against his right shoulder then he rubbed the baby's back and the baby burped.
"Good girl," Daryl said, rocking the baby and the baby yawned.
"Looks like someone's ready for a nap."
Nodding, Daryl headed into the cellblock when he went upstairs then he walked into Rick's cell. He looked at the plastic container when he knelt down next to the plastic container and he placed the baby inside. He went to sit next to the bunk while he watched the baby drift off to sleep and he placed his wrists on his knees.
Outside the Prison
"What do you mean he took her?!" Daryl asked after Rick told him Merle had taken Michonne.
"He took her," Rick said.
"Shit," Daryl said while he started pacing. "How is he gonna get her there?"
"He took one of the cars."
"I have to go after him."
"Daryl…"
"They only have a small head start. If I find him, I'll make him bring her back."
"He might kill her if he sees you following him on your motorcycle."
"That's why I'm gonna walk. I remember how to get there."
Nodding, Rick watched Daryl walk away, but something told Rick Daryl wasn't going to like what he finds when he does catch up with Merle.
Near the Farm Store
"Where's my brother?" Daryl asked after he saw Michonne walking to him.
"He went to the meeting place," Michonne said.
"Without you?"
"He let me go."
"Why?"
"I don't know. All I know is he was going to take me to the Governor then he changed his mind."
"Go tell Rick," Daryl said while he walked away and Michonne frowned. Sighing, she headed off down the road and she flexed her fingers in and out.
the Prison
Rick stood on the catwalk of the guard tower as he used the binoculars to search for some sign of Daryl, Merle and Michonne and he frowned. He lowered the binoculars after he saw Michonne walking by the trees, but Daryl and Merle weren't with her. He left the guard tower when he headed for the gate to the inner fence and he opened the gate. He ran to the gate to the outer fence when he opened the gate and Michonne walked by him.
"Where are they?!" Rick demanded as he closed the outer gate.
"If you're talking about Merle, he went to the meeting place," Michonne said.
"Why didn't he take you with him?"
'I have no idea. All I know is we talked, he stopped the car, told me to get out and that he had some business to do."
"Where's Daryl?"
"He went after him once he found me."
"And you let him go off on his own?!"
"He can take care of himself."
Rick glared at her then he looked at the white truck and he headed for the inner gate.
"We're going after him," Rick said.
"What do you mean we? I'm…," Michonne said then she became silent when he pointed the Colt Python at her head.
"Get in the damn truck."
Nodding, she followed him by the inner gate as they headed for the truck and Rick saw Carol, Sophia, Carl and Maggie running to them.
"What is she doing back here?" Maggie asked, looking at Michonne.
"Merle let me go then he went to meet with the Governor," Michonne said.
"Where's Daryl?" Carol asked.
"He went after Merle."
"He what?!"
"Carol, relax. We're going to the meeting place. Hopefully, we can stop Daryl and Merle from doing something stupid," Rick said. Rick and Michonne got into the truck as Carl and Sophia ran to the outer gate and Rick started the engine. He put the truck in gear then he drove off and Maggie stood next to Carol. They watched the truck going by the gates as Carl and Sophia closed the outer gate after the truck moved by and Maggie looked at Carol.
"Daryl's going to be ok," Maggie said. Carol nodded her head, but the feeling something was horribly wrong caused a cold chill to move through her.
The Farm Store
Daryl cautiously walked by the buildings and silos as he searched for any sign of Merle and he held the crossbow in his hands. He saw the car parked near the silo when he moved closer and he looked in the car. The strong scent of whiskey and cigarette smoke filled his nose and he moved back.
"Merle," Daryl whispered. He walked on as he looked at the dead bodies on the ground and he spotted a few bullet casings. He looked at the buildings as he carefully walked inside the building to his left and he scanned his surroundings. He saw the blood on the floor when he saw the severed fingers and he knelt down on his haunches. He placed the crossbow on his back when he picked up one of the severed fingers and he frowned. Suddenly, memories of Merle's hands moved through his mind and the severed finger fell to the floor. "Merle!"
He knew he shouldn't have shouted as he left the building and he looked around. He stepped over a few bodies when he heard a familiar sound and he saw the Walkers eating the bodies.
"Shit," he said, pointing the crossbow at the Walkers. They didn't seem to notice him as he walked closer and he felt his heart clutching in his chest when a Walker raised its head to look at him.
The Walker was Merle.
Daryl looked at the blood on Merle's face. He looked at the white film over Merle's eyes. He saw the blood on Merle's shirt and the dark bullet hole in the center of his chest.
"No," Daryl whispered, dropping the crossbow to the ground.
He watched the thing which was once his older brother slowly get to its feet and Daryl breathing hard and fast through his nose.
"No no no."
He didn't care if he was starting to cry.
He didn't care if his legs were starting to give out.
He didn't care if he was feeling like a scared, little boy.
All he wanted was to wake up because what he was seeing could not be real.
Merle stumbled toward him as Daryl shook his head and he moved backwards.
"Don't move, Boy. It will only make things worse."
Daryl watched Merle moving toward him, but he noticed Merle wasn't attacking him.
"What is he doing?" Daryl thought as he pushed Merle back and Merle grunted. They locked eyes as Merle came at him again, but Daryl pushed him back. "Please, God, don't make me do this!"
A part of him now understood what Andrea was going through when she had to kill Amy as he pushed Merle back a third time and Merle growled.
He then heard the silent conversation behind Merle's eyes.
Merle was begging him to end it.
That he was the only one who could.
That he needed to man up and just do it.
"Nobody can kill Merle, but Merle," Daryl thought while Merle came at him one more time.
With a roar, Daryl tackled Merle onto his back when Daryl picked up the screwdriver lying on the ground and he slammed the screwdriver into Merle's face and forehead. Once Daryl was done, he crawled backwards while the tears poured down his face and he shook his head. Panting, he went onto his back as he cried and he pounded his fists on the ground.