Just going to say thank you for the reviews. This chapter is kind of short, but I was rather passionate about how I wanted this chapter to go down. Also, I didn't want to go too far into the episode to combine it with this content, so the chapter is a bit short. I'll post a proper chapter tomorrow...Thanks for reading!

The sun was rising over the horizon when Glenn came out to find Rick, "She's fine. A few stab wounds that needed stitching up, but Hershel says it was exhaustion more than blood loss that made her pass out. Well, that and lack of food. Daryl gave her a transfusion anyway, though."

"She told me I'd regret it," he muttered.

"We couldn't be sure," Glenn muttered, feeling a little bad for the guy. "I mean, Maggie and I had our moments."

"She told us. You all trusted her. You all agreed and acted like her, and I fought against y'all," Rick said quietly.

"You know, she's awake and wants to talk to you," he told Rick.

Rick looked down and put his head in his hands, elbows on his knees, "I can't. She was right. I took a stranger's word over hers. I...I thought...Maybe if I could...if I could reunite her with her family, that things might be okay. That Lori would..."

"Rick," Glenn said, putting his hand on the older man's shoulder. "Tea already told us Chrystal played on your grief. She doesn't blame you. Told us Chrystal was a master manipulator and knew you were the easiest to crack. That we shouldn't blame you or even mention it. Merle, on the other hand."

Even though he left the sentence open, they both knew Merle would be on the warpath. "Daryl?" Rick asked.

"He hasn't left her side," Glenn said. "He hasn't really spoken, either, though, aside from telling Merle to shut up."

Rick stood up and followed Glenn into the prison. No one gave him a second glance or even said anything to him. Merle had not only told Tea to fuck off for telling him not to blame Rick but also aired the fact that Chrystal had convinced her a few times to attempt suicide, which effectively backed her statements about Chrystal's manipulation tactics up. Daryl had been unusually quiet; even though he'd already been told that, he wasn't happy Merle was telling everyone her business. On top of that, he wasn't sure how to feel about Rick after all this.

Rick had become like a brother to Daryl, had promised to help protect Ania, and instead was the reason she was laid up with three different stab wounds. He'd trusted a stranger over Ania, had waited until he knew Ania was alone to let the stranger get to her, and now she was laying on the bed wounded. The only thing that made him feel better was the fact that none of the wounds had been serious; all solely muscle wounds and not deep enough to do any real damage. She'd be up and about in no time so long as she took it slow. It did little to assuage his anger.

"You're lucky," Hershel told her. "If the knife had been any bigger and you didn't have so much muscle, things would have been worse. She got along your clavicle; the bone and muscle will be sore for a long time. We'd be in trouble if it was your right shoulder," he joked.

"Ya ain' kiddin' there! I'd be reduced ta handguns! I'd be fuckin' useless!" Tea laughed, entwining her fingers with Daryl's as the man sat looking constipated. "Penny for ya thoughts, D?"

"S'nothin'," he said, looking down and away, not reciprocating her hand as Hershel walked out.

"It's somethin'," she goaded.

"Leave it alone," he snarled at her, making her eyes widen; he was angry, and rightfully so, but why was he angry at her?

"How you feeling?" Rick asked quietly.

"How's she feelin'?" Daryl growled.

"D," Tea warned.

"No!" he yelled, all but throwing her hand away. "You can be as understandin' as you want." He walked right up to Rick and shoved him against the wall. "You said you'd keep an eye on 'er. Said you'd help me keep her safe! You delivered her to that bitch! She'd made her life a livin' hell and you handed Ania to her on a silver fuckin' platter!"

When he went to throw a punch at Rick, he found his fist blocked by a much smaller arm, "It ain' his fault, D."

"The hell it ain't!" Daryl yelled at her, pushing her hand away, getting angrier that she'd gotten out of bed and was still calm. "You coulda died 'cause he don't have his head on straight, Ania! You had to kill your fuckin' sister because of him! And you're just sitting there laughing like you don't even care!" he roared, the entire group hearing his words.

Tea raised her hand, almost slapping him at his accusation, the deafening silence that ensued after her action broken only by her cracking voice, "Don' tell me I don' care."

She lowered her hand and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before she walked away, pulling Rick with her and using him as support so she didn't put too much pressure on her leg. Really, she wasn't supposed to be up and moving, but she couldn't stay in the cell with Daryl at the moment. He was too angry over everything; angry over her past, angry over Chrystal, angry at Rick, and angry at her for being too understanding. But that was the thing, Rick had been emotionally manipulated during a time when he was extremely vulnerable. She'd gotten the details of her absence and knew he was suffering still. Chrystal had made things worse, as always.

And now she was angry and feeding off his anger. She'd almost slapped him, the thought hitting her gut like a hit from a baseball bat. I almost hit 'im, her mind replayed the imagery over and over again until it felt and looked like she actually had gone through with the action instead of simply raising her hand. Her head hung low as she left the cell block and walked into the commons, shame overwhelming the anger.

"Thanks for helpin' me outta there," Tea told Rick as they sat down.

"Not sure I should have. You really shouldn't be walking around," Rick said, gauging her face.

"Eh, a little sting and pull, sore muscles. Nothin' I haven' dealt with 'fore. Jus' not so deep and all at once, ta be honest. Should a neva let 'er get the drop on me. Was too caught up in me own head ta hear 'er," Tea told him, voice still barely audible and monotone.

"It's my fault. I should have never let her come back. You were right."

"When am I wrong?" she joked before saying, "Don' answa that. If I'd a been 'ere 'stead a runnin' off, we might a had more people. Might not a lost Axel. Would a neva brought Chrys back, that's for sure. Might a jus' killed the bitch in the woods, ta be honest. I jus', I couldn' handle everyone knowin'."

"No one really knows more than what Chrystal told us. Merle took Daryl away to tell him."

"Did he, now? That was nice a him," Tea mused before letting her shoulders slump. "Do ya wanna know?"

"I thought I did, but now? I think I'll just take your word for it," Rick said. "How can you think any of it is your fault?"

"Well, like I said, if I'd a jus' quit bein' a pussy and not run away, she'd a neva been here and ya wouldn't a thrown Tyreese and the othas out."

"Yeah, about that. Apparently, Sophia told them to come back around in a day or two," Rick told her.

"Really now? Awesome sauce!" Tea laughed before turning serious. "Ya gotta know I don' blame ya Rick. Shite happens and she played ya. She was good at that. And I'm not sure what all she's told ya, but yeah, I got a lot in me past that's even got Daryl shaken up. Hell, he jus'...what he said..."

She couldn't continue as the gravity of it all started hitting her. Daryl's words stung more than the wounds she'd suffered. Of course she cared that she had just killed her sister. Of course she was struggling to come to terms with that. But she didn't have time to wallow in self pity, did she? The Governor had declared war, the tombs were full, and the field was over run all over again. What time was there for her to sit down and have a cry over what she'd done? Let alone how the hell was she supposed to tell him that she'd partly done it for him? About Chrystal's threats against him? Exactly what expression, what feeling, was she supposed to be portraying right now so that he knew just how much she was struggling with what she'd done when everyone was scared and she had to lead? Tea wasn't crying, she was simply looking down with a defeated look as Rick watched her.

"He's angry with me for not bein' mad at ya. Angry that I let it go so easily. He jus' don' get it. He don' get why I ain' angry when even I know I should be. But I can' 'cause I get it and I know what happened. I jus' can' be angry at ya knowin' she played ya. Hell, I ain' even angry at me parents 'cause I get the cycle a abuse. Don' mean I want 'em 'round, jus' that I ain' angry at 'em. Eva meet 'em, he's gonna be pissed 'bout that too. I can' win for losin' with 'im sometimes 'cause I'm a fuckin' versie," Tea sighed, neither of them noticed as Merle moved away from where he was listening to them. "Come on, we gotta get a strategy tagetha. Let's get back in there and jus' deal with it."

They'd spent yesterday afternoon just taking stock of the situation in the prison and the damage done outside, no real planning being done as Tea and Rick had been at odds the entire time. Now was the time to actually come up with a plan as to how to deal with the Governor. Tea had a few ideas, but most involved taking the fight to them or attempting to negotiate. However, negotiating with a man like the Governor was not something she was willing to risk. Taking the fight to Woodbury was also a bad idea because they would be out-gunned.

Sitting on the stairs beside Hershel and holding Judith, Tea listened to everyone's arguments about why they should stay or leave before speaking up. "We can' leave. Ya know when we were out there, we heard a baby cryin'. It was practically ringin' the dinna bell. I ain' takin' that risk with Judith. Let alone the fact that Hershel can' run. We got no choice but ta stay and fortify and defend."

"What if there's another sniper?" Maggie asked. "A wood pallet won't stop one of those rounds."

"Nah, but the tables from the cafeteria are made a material thick 'nough ta do the trick. That plus the pallets, whammo bammo, hidin' spot," Tea said, having already thought of that scenario.

"We can't even go outside," Beth said.

"Not in the daylight," Carol added.

"Why not?" Tea asked. "They ain' gonna be sittin' there waitin' ta pick us off one by one. That man, if he's as sick as Merle says he is, he'll leave us ta stew and sit in our fear and worry 'til we can' think straight 'nough ta defend. We ain' sittin' with our thumbs up our asses waitin' for 'em ta return. We clear the field again, we fix the fence, we take out the walkas in the tombs. Absolutely nothin's changed 'bout what has ta be done here. We're not leavin'."

"If Tea says we're not running, we're not running," Glenn spoke up.

"No, better to live like rats," Merle quipped.

"You got a better idea?" Rick asked him.

"Yeah, we should a slid outta here last night and lived to fight another day. But we lost that window, didn't we? I'm sure he's got scouts on every road outta this place by now."

"We ain't scared of that prick," Daryl said, refusing to look at Ania as she sat calmly next to Hershel, watching his every move.

"Y'all should be," Merle shot back. "That truck through the fence thing, that's just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the guns and the numbers. And if he takes the high ground around this place, shoot, he could just starve us out if he wanted to."

"Let's put him in another cell block so we can plan in peace," Maggie said, wringing her hands.

"No, he's got a point," Daryl said.

"What's it matter? What do we do?" Beth asked.

"I said we should leave," Hershel said. "Now Axel's dead. We can't just sit here, Rick."

Rick looked at him and realized that they didn't know he was no longer in charge, "Ask Tea."

He walked off only for Hershel to stand up and holler, "Get back here!"

"No, let 'im go. He ain' in charge no more," Tea told him. "There's been a change in leadaship."

"No fuckin' way," Merle said a little heated. "I ain't followin' some little girl."

"Some little girl who could still beat ya ass even with me injuries," she shot back at him.

"So what do you say we do, then, girly?"

"Like I jus' said, we fortify the cages usin' the tables from the cafeteria. We go for a run for more ammo and supplies; there's gotta be a place 'round the area we haven' checked yet, even maybe a little furtha out. For now, we gear up ta go inta the tombs ta clear out what walkas we can."

"We?" Hershel said. "You're not going anywhere but back to bed, young lady. Lead you might be able to do, but you need to stay off that leg for the rest of the day. Your arm needs a couple days to heal before you can really use it and that wound to your abdomen needs even more time. You've got to take it easy for the next couple of days. You can start helping more than directing tomorrow, but today, you need to rest."

"Alright, alright, here, Beth, can you take her?" she asked, handing Judith over before carefully standing up and using the guard rails to hop up the stairs and over to Daryl, who was standing alone and watching Beth and Judith, still adamantly not looking at her. "D?"

He turned around and walked away, into the cell they had been sharing. Daryl wasn't sure what he was doing, just that she'd almost slapped him. He'd once said that he wished she'd just smack him around, but now that she had actually almost hit him, it stung more than just his pride. And the worst thing was that she'd walked away afterwards, as if it didn't affect her at all what she'd just done. But then again, why would it? She'd just killed her sister and that didn't have an affect on her. What would leaving him mean to her? He didn't even realize he'd started packing his things until he heard her strangled gasp as she got to the doorway.

"Wh-what are ya—D, what?" she couldn't finish the sentence as she slumped against the frame of the cell. He stilled his movements, frowning at the sight of his bag half full, her voice so broken it hurt his heart. "If it's 'cause a earlia, I know, I was wrong ta even raise me hand ta ya. Ya said I don' care, Daryl! Ya got no fuckin' clue how I'm feelin' right now."

"Then why don't you fuckin' tell me 'stead of just standin' 'round tellin' us all not to be angry at Rick? Hmm? Why fuckin' laugh like nothin's wrong?! Just move on like nothin' matters!" his voice raising once again as he threw the bag into the corner of the cell. He didn't want to be fighting with her, but he couldn't understand how she was still going with everything she'd been through and how she wasn't angry at Rick. He was misplacing all the rage from the last couple of days onto her and he knew it, but he couldn't stop himself either. "Why the hell you go 'round actin' like it ain't botherin' you? Hell, is that what I am to you too? Somethin' you won't miss even if we-"

"What the hell do ya want from me?!" Tea roared, cutting him off and moving to stand right in front of him, feeling the stitches in her stomach pulling roughly. "Ya want me ta cry? Ta scream? I ain' got fuckin' time for that shite right now, Daryl!"

He stood staring at her for just a moment before scoffing, "Do you even care?"

"Of fuckin' course I care!" she yelled. "What do ya want from me, D? Ta tell ya I don' know how the fuck ta feel 'bout it all, cause I don'! That I'm happy? That I'm sad? That I'm scared? 'Cause I fuckin' am! I don' know how the fuck ta come ta terms with the fact that I kicked me own damn sista off the side of a guard towa and killed 'er! She fuckin' threatened ta carve ya up, Daryl! That's what set me off! That's what got me ta start attackin' 'er! She fuckin' threatened ya! The last thing I expected from ya was ta..ta..." her breathing was hard as she fought the emotions in her. "Last thing I thought would happen was for ya ta fuckin' leave," she said before laughing at herself scornfully. "Should a known I couldn' keep ya. Should a fuckin' known."

She didn't even look at him, just went and sat on their, her, bed and put her head in her hands. When she heard him leave, her walls broke completely as she laid back, eyes wide open and staring at the bottom of the top bunk. Well, they do say when the goin' gets tough, the tough get goin'. Jus' didn' think they meant it like that, she thought to herself as she willed the tears away. Will didn't work very well as the traitors slid down her cheeks and into her hair anyway. She closed her eyes and put her right arm over them in an attempt to block everything out, but it only heightened her senses. Footsteps and crutch-falls were heading toward the cell, but she didn't raise her arm.

"-is bleedin' again," she heard Daryl say as he and Hershel walked in.

"I told you to take it easy," Hershel said as he sat on the bed, looking at the trembling woman. "I can't fix the stitches until you calm down. I need you still, not shaking."

"Sorry," she mumbled, unable to do anything about it.

"Give us a few, Doc," Daryl said, watching as the man left the cell before turning to her. "Should a been more careful. You ripped your stitches."

"Don' matta."

"'Course it does," Daryl said as he sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at the cell wall.

"It don'. Jus' give me a knife and a fire and I'll take care a it. These'll cauterize jus' fine and then I don' gotta worry 'bout no damn stitches."

"You ain't burnin' yourself."

"Wouldn' be the first time."

"Dammit, Ania! Why are you bein' like this?" he said as he stood up and turned around, anger sprouting again.

"Like what?"

"Shut down."

"Ya leavin' me. So what's it matta?" she asked as she turned her back to him, not caring about her whether or not she was hurting herself in the process.

"I ain't leavin'," he said with a sigh. "Don't even really know why I was packin'. You didn't even do anything."

"Yeah, I did. I should a neva raised me hand ta ya like that. I should a neva," she said with a sob. "I'm sorry, Daryl. I'm so sorry," she cried as he gathered her into his arms. "I'll try not ta eva do that again."

Daryl huffed a laugh, "I'm glad you don't make promises you can't keep."

"I wish I could promise," she sobbed, angry at herself and her lack of control. "It ain' fair if I lose it and do that shite. It ain' fair and it ain' right."

"Thought when you lost it you went ape shit?"

"I do, that was. With ya, that was. Jus' raisin' me hand ta ya is wrong."

"I deserved to get hit, to be honest. Been pretty shitty to you all day. I'm sorry," Daryl murmured into her hair, making to stand up. "Gotta get them stitches dealt with."

"Jus' stay here. Please, D. I-I jus'," she begged as she wrapped her arms around his. "I need ya, D. Please."

~x~

Daryl came down the stairs a couple hours later. Ania was sleeping soundly now that she had exhausted herself with the fight between them. Before she fell asleep, she told him he was in charge while she was out of it, and that he was the only one she trusted to be able to take the lead when she couldn't. It had brought him a sense of pride that she trusted him so much, but also filled him with regret. He'd doubted her when she was just doing what she had to to cope; he wondered if he would ever stop doubting her simply because she was the way she was. Heaving a deep sigh, he walked over to Hershel and Michonne as Rick walked up.

"Field's filled with walkers. I didn't see any snipers out there, but we'll keep Maggie on watch," he told them.

"I'll get up in the guard tower," Daryl said. "Take out half them walkers, give these guys a chance to fix the fence."

"Or we could use some of the cars to push the bus in place," Michonne suggested.

"We can't access the field without burning through our bullets," Hershel said.

"So we're trapped in here," Glenn said. "There's barely any food or ammo."

"Been here before," Daryl answered. "We'll be alright."

"That's when it was just us, before we had a baby to worry about and Hershel has two legs," Glenn said. "I hate to say it, but maybe if we give Merle to the Governor, maybe it'll solve the problem. Give him his traitor, maybe he'll call a truce."

"Not happenin'. I ain't doin' that to my brother, and Ania wouldn't allow it either," Daryl said before walking back to their cell.

"Merle has military experience," Hershel told Glenn, making ready to walk away. "We'll need that if we're going to make it out of this."

Walking to where Merle was duct taping a a sharpened piece of metal onto his stump, Hershel made his presence known. Merle simply looked at him before going back to what he was doing.

"You're the farmer? Hershel," he said.

"And you're the black sheep, Merle," Hershel responded in kind.

Merle simply smiled before looking at the man's missing leg, "How'd you lose it?"

"I was bit."

"Bit? Hack it off yourself?"

Hershel chuckled before sitting down, "No. Rick did."

"Awful kindly of him."

"Saved my life," Hershel told him. "Gave me more time with my girls. Gave you more time with your brother. Can't put a price on that."

"Can't put a price on anything these days," Merle told him. "'Sides, I think Tea had more to do with all a that than Rick."

"It was pretty equal for a long time. Only recently has Rick slipped," Hershel argued before pulling out his bible. "I found this," he said showing Merle, "in one of the cells. Lost more than the Good Book there fore a while. Lost my way. 'And if your right hand offends you, cut it off, cast it from you. For it is profitable that one of your members should perish-'"

"'And not that they whole body should be cast into hell,'" Merle finished for him. "Matthew 5: 29 and 30. Woodbury had a damn fine library. One of the only things I miss about it." He considered the old man for a moment before saying seriously, "When the Governor returns, he's gonna kill me first. Michonne, my brother, then you girls. Glenn, Carl, the baby, whoever else is left. He'll take Tea back and make her a play toy. He'll save Rick for last so he can watch his family and friends die ugly. Wait 'til he's forced him to watch what he does to Tea before he ends him. That's who you're dealing with."

~x~

Daryl was sat in a chair cleaning his arrows when Ania began to stir. He watched her face contort into a grimace as her breathing became shallow. For a moment, she was struggling with whatever was playing behind her eyelids until they were thrown wide open and she sat up harshly, hissing as she pulled the stitches again.

"Jesus, girl," Daryl said. "Are you tryin' to force me to cauterize the damn thing?"

"I jus', I jus'," she said in a voice he'd never heard from her.

She sounded completely terrified, and the look on her face matched the voice. Ania was pale as a sheet and shaking as she tried to calm her breathing. He stood up and quickly hopped up onto the bed, sitting down next to her.

"You okay?"

"Fuck, D," she whispered, a hand in her hair, the other holding her legs to her. "She pulled me ova. When she went, she pulled me ova."

Daryl grabbed her and brought her head to his chest, "Just a bad dream."

"I know, but fuck," she said as she started to calm.

"Are we interrupting?" Carol's voice came from the doorway.

Daryl kissed Ania's forehead before turning around. Tea crawled over to sit next to Daryl and looked at the woman, offering a small smile. She wasn't quite sure how to take everyone's attention on her now, but there was nothing she could do about it. They all knew she was a killer from an early age now; Chrystal had mentioned her trip to juvie and the reason, but not how she'd ended up in the situation. They knew she was abused thanks to both Merle and Chrystal. They knew a few other undesirable things about her past thanks to Chrystal, even though a lot of it was jumble and garbled together. She'd spent her life fighting to survive, and now that she had a reason to survive, it felt like she was on the verge of losing it all because of the pieces of her past that had been dug up.

"Haven't had the chance to say I'm glad you're back," Carol told them, smiling to herself at how Daryl's hand immediately grabbed Tea's when she sat next to him.

"To what? All this?" Daryl asked. "Should've stayed on the road like Merle wanted to."

"This is our home," Carol told him cheerfully.

"This is a tomb," Tea said quietly. "If we're not careful, this will be our tomb."

"That's what T-Dog called it," Carol said looking up at the ceiling. "Thought he was right 'til you found me," she said to Daryl. "She might've been your sister, but she was a monster, Tea. No one looks down on you for what you did. And he's your brother, but he's not good for you. Don't let him way you down. After all, look how far you've come."

The three of them looked around at the small prison cell and shared a laugh, "Yeah, I guess."

"Neither of you give yourselves enough credit," Carol said as they quieted down. "Seriously, you've kept us alive all this time with no thoughts for yourselves, only each other. Don't let Merle drag you down with him."

Updated 9/9/21