Ch. 16

"We got any whisky?" Merle asked as he walked into the dining area. "Hell, I'd even drink vodka."

"Go to hell, Merle," Carol told him without looking up from what she was doing. "Are you with us?"

"Sure," he shrugged.

"I'm not talking about occupying the same space," she finished loading a revolver and spun the cylinder. "Are you with us?"

"I'm here for my brother," Sam nodded at the answer. It wasn't something a man like Merle would lie about. Anything else was up for debate, but family? No, that was sacred to him

"Well he's here for us. It's not time to do shots, it's time to pick a damn side."

He laughed. "You ain't like you was back in the camp. A little mouse runnin' around, scared of her own shadow."

"It wasn't my shadow, it was my husband's," Sam felt a bit uncomfortable listening in on their conversation.

"Well you don't seem scared of nothin' anymore."

"I'm not."

"You're a late bloomer."

"Maybe you are, too."

"You, Paddy! I don't remember you."

"You shouldn't. I didn't meet up with the group until the farm," Sam explained.

Merle nodded. "You know, after the fighting had died down a little. Andrea told everyone about you. How she saw you. How she managed to clip you in the shoulder. But most of all, she told up about what you'd done. People were real angry about that. Wanted your blood as much as me an' my brothers. What she said about you, people don't forget that kinda shit easy, you understand?"

Sam raised an eyebrow but just nodded slowly, instead of saying anything.

Sam felt groggy when he woke up. His head was pounding and the light was too bright. The sound of a motor running let him know that he was at least safe from Walkers and on the move. But it still didn't answer where he was.

"Well lookie here Michonne! Looks like sleeping beauty's waking up!" Is that Merle?

"What the bloody hell?" Sam slurred, his head pounding as he sat up. "Where am I?"

He heard Merle laugh and someone scoffed. "Take it easy kid. I slipped some pills in yer drink, should wear off soon."

"What the fuck, why?"

"Governor wants you and Michonne. This man, brutal and damn psychotic as he is, sure s smart."

"Why does he want Sam," he recognized the voice as Michonne.

"Cause of Andrea. She didn't waste any time in telling people what kinda man he was. They think he was behind the whole thing. So, he gets to publicly execute him, and do whatever he wants to you."

Well shit, Sam thought as he tried to move his hands, only to find them bound together with cable.

"Why you bring us to him then?" Sam asked, trying to buy time so he could loosen the cable.

"Cause Rick won't. Shit he thought about it, he said so himself, but he's weak, he won't go through with it. The Old Man, Hershel, said no as soon as yer name came up, he must like you or somethin'," Merle laughed as he swerved out of the way of a Walker.

"Makes sense," Sam said as he finally felt the drugs wear off. "I suppose this was part of a peace pact? It was, and you deliver us to The Governor? You do? Well I for one, never took you for an idiot Merle."

"What do you mean?" He growled out.

"You really think he'll let you live. Even if he paints me as the mastermind, he's still gonna kill you. You, made him look weak, you undermined him, he's not gonna let that go. In my group Michael killed people for less. You think this psychopaths gonna let you go?" Merle stayed quiet, and then Michonne began to speak.

"You said you killed 16 men since this thing started? You ever kill anyone before?"

"No," Merle replied.

"And how about before Woodbury? Before you met him?" Merle shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. "Huh. So, he saved your life, cleaned you up, fed you a line of bullshit. Why would you kill somebody else for him? You know, we can go back."

Merle chuckled. "Ain't happenin'."

"All of us." She explained. "We can just go back." She was trying to sound brave, and for the most part succeeded, but Sam could hear the underlying desperation.

Merle's face dropped a little and he viciously shook his head before he spoke. "I can't go back; don't you understand that? I can't."

She frowned, her eyes never leaving his busy ones. "Why?" She asked him before he slammed his foot on the brakes, bringing the car to a stop.

He leaned over to her and cut off the wire that bounded her hands before doing the same for Sam. "Go back. The two of ya'. Get ready for what's next. I got somethin' I gotta do on my own."

"No." Sam said. Merle and Michonne both looked his way in confusion. "You're coming with us. A rifle, a silencer. It's a suicide mission isn' it? Don't do it. You wanna kill the Governor, you wanna, destroy him? You don't do that by putting a bullet in him, or shoving a piece of glass in his eye. You destroy all that he's built, and when he's nothin' that's when you kill him. Anything else is jus' helping him along. It's just getting his people ready for war, to kill us. And we don't need that. Come with us Merle, help us, bring that son of a bitch down"

Sam led the way, swinging his machete to clear the brush for them. The high fences and stone structures of the Prison loomed just over the trees. He could practically feel his back relax on his bed. But then the cruel reality of it all came back to him. He still needed to get inside the prison, avoid all of the sentries and get into the recently repaired front gate. Son of a Bitch.

"Almost there," he said. "Try not to kill any of the Walkers if you can avoid it."

"Why?" Michonne asked as she drew her sword.

"Why do ya' think? These dead bastards are our vanguard," Merle said as he rested his rifle on his shoulder. "People from Woodbury aren' very accustomed to seeing the abominations, so havin' them around will help us out some."

"Exactly, but they won't do much psychological warfare if their fucking dead, will they?" Sam said as they neared the outer gate, a few Walkers taking notice.

"Daryl, you and Merle go first, Michonne and I 'll follow. My heads still fucked up from those goddamn drugs. What the fuck did you give me?"

"Ambien," he told him, "I needed some help sleeping when I first got to Woodbury, had some left over."

"What you just carried 'em in your goddamn pockets?" Daryl asked as they neared the gate, Michonne swiped her sword and killed one of the Walkers.

"Didn't like my room. Felt trapped, so I needed to be able to sleep anywhere. So, I kept 'em with me."

They made it through the gates and ran for the inner yard. Maggie and Glenn were rushing to the gates as well. Glenn fumbled with the keys a bit but unlocked the gate and threw it open urging the group forward.

Sam pumped his legs avoiding the outreaching hands of the dead, as did the others. Michonne listened to Sam and Merle's advice and refrained from chopping off too many heads, although if Sam was completely honest, they would probably have their ranks refiled by the end of the night.

As soon as they were all through and Glenn had locked the gate the fur runners rested their hands on their knees and took deep breathes. Slowly Sam began to laugh, as he realized that he and the others had run through a field that was infested with Walkers and come out alive, without killing that many of them.

"We… we did it!" He laughed, standing up. "Oh fuck, that was pretty cool."

"I guess we did huh," Merle said as he chuckled a bit. "Man, it still wasn't as crazy as- "

Merle stopped talking when Glenn socked him in the face and sent him crashing to the floor.

"You son of a bitch!" Glenn shouted. "You tried to give Sam and Michonne to the Governor!"

"Glenn stop," Sam grabbed his shoulder, "He didn't."

"He was going to!"

"But he didn't! Look you want to try and kick his airse now, while we have a madman with an army on our doorstep, or do you want to deal with said madman and then beat the living shite out of each other?"

Sam stormed off, wanting to see Rick and Beth, preferably in that order. He wanted to yell at someone then spend time with the girl that he loved.

As if fate was on his side once, Rick was standing in the commissary area looking over a map of the prison. He was alone, which would make his little fit a bit more appropriate.

"Rick," Sam said as he walked down the stairs, his boots making loud thumps as he went down.

"Sam, look I couldn't— "

"Shut up," he snapped. "You couldn't go through with it? I'm not mad that you couldn't go through with-it Rick. I'm fucking pissed that you even considered it! That you didn't even think about the fact that he's a fucking mad man that would have executed me, and done god knows what to Michonne! I mean, Jaysus Rick! You thought about handing me over. Me! I've killed for this group, I've run into gunfire, I took a fucking bullet to save Oscar, and what? You would've just thrown me to the wolves? Fuck you."

Sam walked away, ignoring Rick shouting for him to come back so he could explain himself. But he would hear none of it. How could Rick claim to have the groups best interests in mind but he would have just handed Sam over to a complete psycho. A man that literally had heads in fish tanks.

Sam had thought that they stuck together, they had. All throughout the winter they had kept together, watching each other's backs. And now, first sign of trouble, Rick considers trading him. It was bullshit to him. He thought that he was considered a voluble member of the group. But apparently Rick thought he was expendable.

But another voice in his head told him a different story. It told him that Rick was simply considering the entire group, and he didn't actually go through with it. What would Sam have done if he was in charge and the entire group was at risk and if they sacrificed one two people in order to save the rest. would he have taken it? If Sophia, if Beth could survive? Maybe, but no to the Governor. Not to a complete psychopath,

Sam turned into his cell and Saw Beth sitting with Judith, her back to the entrance of the cell. He could hear her sniffling, and her hand moved to her face before coming away. He could see the faint wet stains. Judith fussed and Beth gently rocked the newborn, making soft shushing noises to calm her.

Sam took soft slow steps toward her. He dropped his weapon belt, as quietly as he could, making only a few soft clicking noises that were barely noticeable to her as she focused on Judith.

He walked behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. She tensed and gasped before turning around quickly. Her eyes were red and tear stains went down her cheeks.

"Hey, Beth," He said softly, a small smile playing on his face. "Sorry if I scared you a bit, Merle kinda kidnapped me."

Beth smiled and kissed him softly. She pulled back quickly and looked down at Judith. She stood up and walked out of the cell, leaving Sam there by himself, confused as to where she had gone. He heard Sophia shout 'Sure' and then quick footsteps.

He was about to go out of the cell and find Beth, when she reappeared in front of the cell entrance. She closed the curtain that she had put up and practically jumped on him, her lips crashing onto his. Sam leaned back onto the bad and Beth laid on top of him.

"I thought Merle gave you to the Governor," She whispered in between kisses.

"I talked him down," Sam told her. He kissed her once more, the two of them enjoying he feeling of the kiss, the simplicity and intimacy of the action something that the two of them enjoyed so much. "I love you."

Beth stopped and looked into Sam's eyes. She saw the truth behind the statement, the love in his eyes. Unlike when she had been with Jimmy. His eyes had been filled with only lust and were never matching hers. His eyes would always be on her chest, or lower still. But Sam's eyes met hers, there was lust, but there was also love, just like in her eyes.

Beth smiled and kissed him once more. "I love you too."

AN: Alright here is the next chapter, hope you guys enjoyed it. I wasn't exactly sure on what I should do for this chapter so I hope you guys can forgive any minor things or even the pacing, I thought it might have been a little off. Other than that please leave a review and the next chapter will be the battle for the prison. ~Pacco1