A short time later, Rick and Michonne slowly stepped over the bodies when Rick saw Daryl lying on the ground and he quickly headed for him. Daryl had his eyes closed, but he looked like he was breathing. Rick saw the bloody screwdriver next to Daryl's right hand while he knelt down next to Daryl and he started shaking him.
"Daryl!" he said while Michonne walked to them and she looked down at Daryl.
"Is he alive?" she asked. He saw her fingers lightly rubbing the handle of the katana and he shook Daryl one more time.
"Yes, he's alive," Rick said. Daryl's eyes opened while he moved his eyes to look at Rick and Rick saw how red the rims of Daryl's eyes looked. Daryl's eyes moved to look at Michonne when he saw she had the tip of the long blade pointed at his head and he blinked.
"We should've killed you," Daryl grumbled. He tried to sit up, but his body refused to move and he moaned.
"Are you hurt?" Rick asked. He had noticed the blood on Daryl's clothes as he started checking him for bites or scratches and Daryl sighed.
"If I had been bit or scratched, I'd be a Walker by now," Daryl said while looking up at the sky. "Which sounds like a good idea right now."
"Don't say that."
"At least Merle wouldn't be alone."
"Merle?!"
Daryl slowly lifted his right arm as he pointed to Merle and Rick stood. He walked to Merle as he looked down at Merle's smashed in face then Rick looked at Daryl.
"Shit," he said. Rick then noticed the Walkers hadn't noticed them and he walked to Daryl. He knelt down on his haunches while Daryl looked at him and Rick sighed. "You had to do it."
"Doesn't make me feel better," Daryl said. Rick watched Michonne walk toward the Walkers as she spun the katana in circles and the Walkers growled. Rick watched her kill the Walkers then she wiped the long blade with a cloth and she slid the katana into the scabbard.
"We need to get going," Michonne said, looking at them.
"Not until we clean this up," Rick said then he looked at Daryl. "Do you know what happened to Merle?"
"I think the Governor killed him. I found some of his fingers in one of the buildings. Looks like he put up one hell of a fight," Daryl said.
"Which building?" Rick asked. Daryl slowly sat up as he looked around and he pointed to the building to his left. Rick ran for the building when he went inside, found the fingers lying on the floor and he placed the fingers in the clean cloth he removed from the pocket of his jeans. He walked outside when he walked to Daryl and he showed Daryl the fingers.
"Are we going to do this or not?" Michonne asked. Rick glared at her as he walked closer and he placed the clean cloth in the pocket of his jeans.
Daryl watched them pile the bodies one on top of the other when Michonne reached for Merle and Rick placed his right hand on her left shoulder.
"Go get the tarp out of the truck," Rick said.
"Why?" she asked.
"We're taking Merle back to the prison."
She gave him a disgusted look while Daryl rose to his feet, picked up the crossbow and he walked to them.
"You heard him. Move," Daryl said, pointing the crossbow at her head.
"Fine," Michonne said as she walked off and Daryl lowered the crossbow. Rick walked to him as the crossbow fell to the ground and Rick pulled Daryl into a hug. Rick felt the tears rolling down his neck as he cupped the back of Daryl's head in his right hand and Daryl held him tighter.
"Easy," Rick whispered. He tried to think what to say when he saw the truck pulling up next to them and Michonne got out of the truck after she turned off the engine. Daryl moved back as he sniffed and he blinked the tears out of his eyes. Michonne hopped into the bed of the truck when she tossed the tarp onto the ground and Rick looked at Daryl. "Do you want to do this?"
'Yeah," Daryl said with a nod. They watched Daryl carefully wrap Merle's body in the tarp as Rick handed him the clean cloth with Merle's fingers inside and Daryl tucked the clean cloth under Merle's hand. "I… I burned Merle's hand when we were at the farm."
When Daryl was done, they carefully slid the tarp into the bed of the truck as Daryl closed the back of the truck and he headed for the cab of the truck. Michonne was standing next to the tarp as she watched Rick get into the cab of the truck and she fell onto her bottom when Rick started the engine, put the truck in gear then drove off.
the Prison
It was dark by the time the truck returned to the prison and Glenn opened the inner gate then the outer gate. The truck came to a stop as Michonne hopped out of the bed of the truck and she headed for the prison. Glenn walked closer as Rick opened the door and he got out of the truck.
"Go get Carol," Rick said. Nodding, Glenn ran off while Rick opened the bed of the truck and he could barely see the tarp.
"Rick?!" Carol called out as she ran to him then she looked at the tarp. "No!"
"That's Merle."
"Merle!?"
"Yeah."
"Where's Daryl?" she asked. He pointed to the cab of the truck as she walked to the door and she saw Daryl with his head leaning against the glass. "Is he alright?"
"No."
Carol lightly tapped on the glass as Daryl turned his head to look at her and she placed the palm of her left hand on the glass. He placed his right hand against the glass while he sat up and she opened the door. She helped him out of the truck as she led him to the prison and Daryl swallowed the lump in his throat.
Rick watched them go inside as he looked at the tarp and he sat on the bed of the truck. He removed the Colt Python from the holster as he sighed and he held the gun tightly in his hands.
Inside, Carol led Daryl down the stairs while the others looked at him and Daryl felt his mind retreating. He didn't see the walls as much as he felt pain moving through him and he held tighter onto Carol.
"Daddy?" Sophia asked, walking to him. "Michonne…"
"Where is she?!" Daryl asked through clenched teeth.
"She went to her cell," Beth said.
"Don't," Carol whispered when she felt him moving and he looked at her. He made a soft whimper as she led him into the cellblock and they headed for the cell she shared with Sophia. Sophia was behind them as they went inside and Carol helped Daryl undress. Sophia took the clothes and boots outside while Carol slid Daryl onto the bunk and she covered him with the blanket.
"Excuse me," Hershel said while he entered the cell and she got out of the way. Daryl knew he just wanted to make sure he was alright as he looked at the top of the bunk and Hershel looked at Carol. "He's fine."
"Thank you," she said. Nodding, Herschel left the cell while Carol watched Daryl roll onto his right side and she went to settle down next to him. She moved her fingers over his left shoulder as Daryl sniffed and he went to chew on the cuticle of his left index finger. He had stopped doing that years ago and Carol lightly moved his hand down. "Talk to me."
"What do you want me to say?" Daryl asked.
"Are you going after the Governor?"
"We have to stop him."
"Are you going after him?" she repeated while lightly poking him in the chest.
"I want to. But this was somethin' Merle wanted to do. He wanted to prove himself. Not just to me, but to Rick. To all of you. And that's somethin' Merle usually doesn't do."
"Which is why it hurts so much. You can't tell him how much you appreciate what he did or how proud you are."
"Yeah," he said with a nod. "I also wanna tell him I'm sorry about what I said before he left."
"He knows," she said while she rubbed his left shoulder again as he yawned and she watched his eyelids close. He moved closer as she kissed the tip of his nose and he gave her a tiny smile. Once she was sure he was asleep, she got off the bunk and she stood in the cell doorway.
"How's he doing?" made her turn to see Michonne walking closer and Carol glared at her.
"Why do you care?" Carol asked.
"I don't. But you… All of you… You do care about him. And that's dangerous."
"No, that's what being a part of a family is all about. You care for each other. You worry about each other. Maybe you would know that if you had a family."
Michonne watched her walked to the bunk then Carol sat next to Daryl and Michonne walked away.
"I did have a family," Michonne said, softly, while memories of her old life with Mike and her son moved through her head and she balled her hands into fists.
The next morning
Daryl walked toward the others while his eyes locked on the tarp lying on the ground and the opening to what was going to be Merle's grave. He noticed the grave was next to the one they had made when they thought Carol was dead and he stopped. He had placed a Cherokee rose on her grave and he walked to the grave, picked up the flower and he saw some of the petals had dried up. He pulled off the dead petals as he walked to Carol and he handed the flower to her.
"Thank you," she whispered. He nodded then he took hold of her left hand and he looked at Hershel.
"It's time," Hershel said.
Daryl listened to the service, but he didn't take his eyes off the tarp. He knew what was inside the tarp wasn't Merle, but the pain of loss was still there. He was slightly startled when Rick placed his left hand on Daryl's right shoulder and Daryl reached up, placing his right hand over Rick's hand.
After the funeral, Daryl helped place the tarp in the grave then he and Rick filled in the hole and Carl handed Daryl the cross. Daryl looked at Merle's name on the cross as he nodded and he place the cross in the ground at the head of the grave. He walked to Carol and Sophia as they headed to the prison and Rick looked at the cross.
"Are we going after the Governor now?" Michonne said.
"We just buried someone," Rick said with a curt tone.
"Doesn't matter. The longer we wait…"
"Not now!"
She watched him walk away as she looked at the grave and she folded her arms over her stomach.
The next day, Rick had decided to separate the group in case the Governor attacked the prison and he watched Daryl, Carol and Sophia walking to the motorcycle and the car. Carol was holding the baby and Sophia had a quiver on her back and a bow in her right hand.
"Be safe," Daryl said and Carol looked at Sophia then at the baby.
"Nine lives, remember?" Carol teased and he leaned in for a kiss.
"Daddy, Carl told me the baby has a new name," Sophia said.
"What was wrong with Little Ass Kicker?" Daryl asked and Carol lightly tapped his left upper arm. "Ok. What's her name?"
"Judith."
Daryl looked at the baby when he lightly brushed his right hand over the top of the baby's head and he smiled.
"I like it," Daryl said. He got on the motorcycle when he moved the kickstand up and he headed toward Rick.
"Ready to go?" Rick asked.
"Yeah."
"I just need your word that you will not go after the Governor."
"I promise."
Nodding, Rick got into the car as Daryl started the engine and they headed for the inner gate. Maggie opened then closed the gate after the vehicles moved by and she silently hoped they would be alright.
Woodbury
Daryl followed Rick as they headed down the hallway and Daryl held the crossbow tightly in his hands. He scanned their surroundings with his eyes when they stopped at the door and Rick held his hand up. He carefully opened the door when he saw Milton's body lying on the floor and he frowned. They entered the room when they found Andrea sitting on the floor near the door and Michonne knelt down next to her.
"Shit," Daryl whispered. Andrea looked at him then the others when she told them what happened and Daryl looked down at his feet.
"No one can make it alone now," Andrea said while she looked at him and Daryl understood what she was saying.
"Never could," Daryl said with a small shrug. They both knew they were not only saying goodbye, but forgiving each other and he saw her sad smile.
He followed the others out of the room after Rick placed the gun in Andrea's right hand and Rick closed the door. They waited until they heard gunfire and Daryl closed his eyes, saying a small prayer.
"Let's go," Rick said.
"What about the Governor?" Michonne asked. He didn't answer her as they headed down the hallway and she sighed, following them.
the Prison
The breeze moved through his hair while Daryl looked at Carol's grave then Merle's grave and he had his hands in the pocket of his jeans. The crossbow leaned against his left leg while memories of his times with Merle moved through his head and he blinked his eyes a few times.
"Hey," caused him to turn when he saw Rick walking closer and he had Judith in his arms.
"Hey," Daryl said, looking back at the grave. Rick stood next to him while Judith smiled and she held onto his shirt. "Someone's happy."
"Yeah," Rick said with a nod. "How are you doing?"
"Not so good."
"I'm not doing so good myself."
Daryl sighed as he looked at the grave then he looked at Rick.
"Back at the farm store, I really did want to die. Why not? I'm the last Dixon. Then I thought about Sophia and what Merle told me about blood. Family. I ain't the last and she ain't either. Someday, she might find someone. They'll have kids and the blood goes on."
"Yeah, it does."
"Then I thought about you. Sure, we ain't blood, but that never mattered. What mattered is how you were there when I needed you. Not matter what. Merle told me you were his replacement, but I never thought of it that way. When my friends or one of the women in my life asked me if I had brothers or sisters, I would tell them I have a bratty little sister, an asshole fer a little brother and two, cool older brothers. Sure, one of them ain't there all the time, but the other one is and he's gotten me through some really rough shit. He also saved my ass more times than I can count. He's my best friend and I'm his."
"You are," Rick assured him and Daryl lightly kicked the ground. "As for the rest of the family, I remember my mother talking to this saleslady. When she asked my mother about her sons, Mom talked about what Jeffery was doing, what I was doing then she talked about you. You should have seen her face when the saleslady said you weren't her son. She told her it was true that you weren't formally adopted, but you were most definitely her son,"
"I never did get why they never adopted me."
"I did, too. So, I did a little digging. Turns out Miss Carter refused to summit any application for adoption."
"I guess she was just protectin' you."
"From what?"
"From my father. Maybe she thought he would kill you if he found out."
"I thought that might be the reason. Then I found out the truth."
"What truth?"
"It bugged me how your father and uncle found out exactly where you were. No one knew except my family, Merle…."
"Mere would have never told him where I was."
"Right. That leaves….?!"
"Miss Carter."
"Yep."
"How'd you find out she was involved?"
"I found her. Well, I found her body. Turns out your father killed her. When I searched her room, I found a letter. It was addressed to you. In the letter, she wrote how she met your father in a bar…"
"Why didn't she call the cops?"
"She wrote there had never been an updated photo of him, so she didn't recognize him. They dated for a while then he told her about his missing son. She said they were drunk and she didn't mean to tell him. She hoped you'd forgive her because she couldn't forgive herself."
"Why didn't you give me the letter?"
"I tried."
Daryl frowned while his mind replayed the attack then his eyes widened.
King Count Memorial Hospital
"Hey," Rick said while he walked in the room and Daryl glanced at him.
"Hey," Daryl said.
"How're you doing?"
"I'm ok."
"I got something for you."
"What is it?"
"It's a confession."
"A confession?"
"Yeah."
"From who?"
"From the person who told your father where you were."
"I don't want it."
"Daryl…."
"I don't want it!"
"Excuse me, but I'm afraid you have to leave."
"Why?"
"You're upsetting him."
Daryl blinked his eyes a few times when he lowered his head and Rick felt guilty for bringing up the past.
"I remember now. The nurse told you to leave because you upset me," Daryl said.
"Still don't know when she wrote it," Rick said.
"My father must've fallen asleep after they had sex. So, she got outta bed, wrote the letter, hid it then got into bed."
"Makes sense. The time of death was around ten in the morning."
"He must've woken up, remembered what she told him and he killed her to make sure she didn't talk."
They stood in silence when Daryl smelt something and he scrunched up his face,
"What's that smell?"
"It might be the Walkers," Rick said.
"No, this smells familiar," he said when he looked at Judith, leaned a little closer and a sour smell went up his nose. "Shit! Now I know what it is."
Rick frowned when he leaned Judith up then he smelt the sour smell and he coughed.
"Damn," Rick whispered.
"You really know how to ruin a moment, Little Ass Kicker," Daryl teased and Rick rolled his eyes.
"That's not her name."
"She'll always be Little Ass Kicker to me," he said and he removed the baby from Rick's arms. "Ain't that right, Sweetheart?"
They headed back to the prison when Rick lightly nudged him and Daryl glanced at him.
"I have told people you're my brother," Rick said.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't think you wanted me to."
"I did."
"Sorry."
"What's that sayin'? Better late than never?"
Daryl headed up the stairs with Rick following him and Daryl opened the door. They went inside when Daryl went down the stairs and he headed for Carol.
"Where's the baby stuff?" Daryl asked.
"Why?" Carol asked.
"Someone wet their diaper."
Smiling, Carol went to get the diaper bag then she handed the diaper bag to Daryl and he headed for the table. He placed the diaper bag on the table as Rick opened the diaper bag and he removed the changing pad.
"What's going on?" Carl asked as he and Sophia walked in the room.
"Your sister needs her diaper changed," Rick said, taking out the baby wipes container and a clean diaper. He put them near the changing pad while Daryl lowered the baby onto the changing pad and Carl frowned.
"This isn't gonna stink, is it?"
"Why don't you change her and find out?"
"No way!"
"Chicken!" Sophia said and Carl scowled at her.
"Am not!"
"That's enough," Carol scolded. They watched Daryl unsnapping the bottom of the onesie while the baby lightly kicked her legs and Daryl laughed.
"Yeah. Sure. Look all innocent. You know what you did," Daryl teased. Carol was enjoying seeing Daryl interacting with the baby when he moved the onesie back then he looked at Rick. "Yer turn."
"No thanks. You're doing fine," Rick said while holding his hands up.
"Chicken."
"Now I see where she gets it from," Rick teased while looking at Sophia.
Daryl stood back while Rick looked at Judith and Rick sighed. Daryl waited as Rick slowly move the tape back on one side of the diaper then the other side and Glenn, Maggie, Beth, Hershel and Michonne walked in the room.
"What's going on?" Glenn asked.
"Just changing Judith's diaper," Rick explained.
"Oh shit," Maggie said, moving back and she and Beth covered their mouths and noses with their left hands.
"What is so bad about changing…?" Michonne asked as Rick moved the diaper back and the sour smell filled her nose. "Damn!"
"Mind hurrying up? It really stinks," Beth said.
"Yeah, Dad, hurry up!" Carl said with a small cough.
Sighing, Rick cleaned off the baby then Daryl handed him the diaper and Rick placed the diaper on the baby. He moved the tape up on one side of the diaper then the other side and Judith gave him a big grin.
"See, that wasn't so hard," Daryl teased and Rick lightly nudged him. He and Daryl went to wash their hands after Carol lifted the baby off the changing pads and Rick dried his hands off with the towel.
Suddenly, he felt eyes on him as he slowly looked up at the catwalk and he expected to see Lori watching them.
Instead, he saw Merle.
Merle was leaning against the railing with his forearms folded over the top railing and Rick saw Merle had both his hands and all his fingers.
Grinning, Merle stood straighter when he gave Rick a thumbs up with both hands then he slowly disappeared.
"Whatcha lookin' at?" Daryl asked while he looked at catwalk.
"Nothing," Rick said and they headed for Carol. Rick took Judith from her as he held his daughter up in the air and Daryl slid his arms around Carol, placing his chin on her right shoulder. She turned her head to look at him and Daryl was smiling.
"What are you smiling at?" Carol asked.
"I'm smilin' at my brother playin' with his little girl," Daryl said, kissing the right side of her head and she softly laughed.
A/N: Thanks to all who read, favored, followed and reviewed this story. I know I should keep going, but I wanted to end it here because I only wanted to show Daryl's relationship with Rick and Merle.