Thank you all for reading! Happy to see other's enjoying my ramblings.

Sam was frustrated with Merle's attitude toward her. She was obviously thankful for him getting her out of Woodbury. Sam had no delusions of what she was facing with that sadistic bastard. Her steel shut jaw was pissing him off but she just couldn't get herself tell him anything. It felt like she was weak if she did. Being weak was not something Sam was comfortable with. She'd spent time in prison. Weakness was not something you could risk while locked up. It spelled certain death.

Now?

Now it was just the same. There was no room for weakness in the new world of walking dead cannibals, crazed murderers and mad men with torture rooms.

When Merle flipped out about her not sleeping all she could do was stare at first. It was confusing to her that he cared about her sleeping habits. He didn't seem the type to give a shit about anyone but himself and probably his brother to some extent. So why the concern? Sam didn't know but the amount of anger he had towards her just enraged her in return.

'It wasn't like I stayed up all night braiding my fucking hair for Christsakes.' She ranted inwardly.

She had lain down and as soon as she closed her eyes she was in that metal room again. The belt cracking on her skin, the sick bastard tearing off clothing, biting her. Every move she made caused flames to lick across her the skin on her back. So she tossed and turned painfully until morning.

After the disastrous breakfast she wandered the prison a bit. Rick tracked her down to see what she was doing though. He didn't seem to trust her, which Sam understood. She was a stranger brought in by a guy that seemed to hate him. What else would they do besides associate her with Merle? Rick walked her back to the cellblock and she tried to extend an olive branch by offering to work around the prison. It was at that point his son, Carl, came running in stating the fence was packed with walkers. Sam jumped on the opportunity to help out. She needed to vent anyways and killing corpses always seemed to work.

They handed her a crowbar and showed her their standard procedure and she got to work. The monotony of it was pleasant. She got a rhythm of stabbing and pulling her weapon and the day passed quickly. The burn from her back hurt but it also felt good in some disturbed masochistic way.

'How Emo Sam.' She had thought wryly as she stretched her shoulder again, the new scabs pulling.

Merle showed up and she prepared for another argument. She was half expecting him to bitch about the work hurting her and how she wasn't taking advantage of resting. When he didn't pursue it she breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was another argument with the man.

If she was honest she liked Merle in a weird way for his cranky and crass personality. He definitely told you what was on his mind with no thought to if it was polite or politically correct. He didn't even apologize for it once it was pointed out to him as being improper conduct.

'Cranky ass redneck.' She thought with a smirk.

When he told her he wasn't a good man she wanted to slap him and say 'Duh'. Sam could tell he wasn't some knight in shining armor but he did help out someone who needed it. It was not like Sam was that great of a woman.

She'd spent ten years in prison for doing a lot of illegal shit. Most of which she felt no remorse for. So what? She liked stealing and she definitely liked the money that came from drug trafficking. Why not make the money for driving a car from point A to point B? Now the armed robbery was kind of over the line but no one was hurt. No harm no foul… right?

Leaving Merle in the courtyard, Sam went to wash all of the walker gore and dirt off. She was standing in the bathroom pulling off her t-shirt when Michonne came in. Pausing for a moment she could see Michonne looking at the giant wounds on her back. They were scabbing up but were still bloody. Hershel had bandaged the worst of them but there was still speckled blood on her shirt from the scabs breaking open. Sam knew she over did it on the fence but still felt it was necessary to show Rick she could be useful. Hershel would have to look at them again after dinner.

"The Governor did that?" she asked her face blank but her eyes tight and calculating.

Sam chewed her lip and then nodded. Michonne's eyes narrowed and she walked closer. Sam's body went stiff. It was then she realized other people getting close made her nervous but Merle hadn't bothered her. He'd thrown an arm over her shoulders and it hadn't fazed her.

'Hmph.' She thought with a shake of her head.

"Sorry," Michonne murmured when she noticed Sam's tension. Backing up a few steps she said, "How long were you there?"

"I think about a day. There weren't any windows." Sam said while washing down her arms. She left her bra on because it partially hid the bite mark on her chest. The bandage had peeled off from getting sweaty leaving the skin exposed and raw. Truthfully the back didn't bother her as much as the bite mark. She knew it was going to scar and it was in a place that she would see it.

Michonne was sitting on a bench looking at the floor. Sam glanced at her out of the corner of her eye waiting for her to talk or leave but the woman just sat there for a few minutes silently.

"My friend Andrea is there… She's with him." Michonne finally said looking up at Sam. She turned to face Michonne, her washcloth poised above her arm.

"Like being held there?" Sam asked with a look of horror. She knew he had other people in the rooms next to her. Their screams and begging added to the stressfulness of the situation. It caused a physically painful anticipation as she wanted for her turn.

"No, like fucking him." She responded blandly, her head cocked to the side. Sam could tell she was looking at the wound on her chest now. Having been so flabbergasted by the statement about her friend, Sam hadn't kept it hidden.

"Is that.." she started but saw Sam's pale face.

Sam swallowed and turned slightly to keep it out of sight. Without responding to her statement Sam finished washing and changed into a gray button up shirt before fleeing the bathroom. The thought that a woman was sleeping voluntarily with the man made her stomach hurt. He was a monster. How could anyone not see it? His eyes were dead. Black and dead.

She went to her cell and brushed her hair out and braided it. Looking in the tiny metal mirror she could see how bad the bruises were on her face and neck. They were grotesque. Sam hoped that they would disappear fast but by the look of how dark they were she didn't have much hope for it. Finally deciding she could stomach food after the bathroom confessional she headed to the dining room for dinner.

Woodbury

"How did they get in?" the Governor asked Martinez as they sat in his apartment. He sat next to Phillip as Milton cleaned the wound. The man squirmed in his seat seeing the gore left from the jagged shard of glass.

"We found a loose panel in the wall. I think they escaped through it and let them in." Martinez tells the Governor his hypothesis on the evening before walker invasion. The governor growled at the information. "How many people did we loose?" he asked his face ticking at the pain from his bloody eye socket.

"Three." Martinez told him uncomfortably.

"So. Where are they? I asked for their heads." Philip sneered, his lip curled up.

"We injured Michonne but didn't catch her. We know where they are though." He told the governor carefully knowing the man was not going to be pleased.

He growled his hands gripping the chair's arms as blood leaked from his eye. "So bring them back. What the fucks the problem?"

"We tracked Michonne to a prison. Saw Merle there and we're assuming the blonde is there also." He replied, cringing as the doctor wiped blood from the Governor's cheek. He began packing the wound. Martinez swallowed acidic bile as he tried to quell his nausea.

At that moment Andrea walked into the apartment to see Phillip. She had heard he'd been hurt but wasn't sure how bad. As she walked in she overheard Martinez saying, "Looks like Merle found his brother and his other people. They're all staying together in a prison not far from here. We'll need a plan, it's a secure location."

A knock on the doorframe alerted them to Andrea's presence. When they looked up they saw her looking surprised. She asked Martinez, "Merle found his brother Daryl? And their people? Those were my friends. What prison?" When Martinez didn't answer she looked over at Philip and his eye. "Oh, my God. I just heard. Are you all right? Your eye, is it- What happened to you?" She spoke quickly.

He looked at her blandly, "I was attacked."

Andrea's brow is furrowed when she asked, "By who?"

"You're friend Michonne." He replied as Milton applied tape to the giant gauze pad over his eye.

"Why would she do that?" Andrea asked her head tilted and her eyes narrowed.

"She broke in to steal her weapon and when I tried to stop her, she attacked me. Destroyed some important… research of Milton's also." He responded coolly.

"What kind of research?" Andrea asked looking at Milton. Milton avoided her eyes and packed his supplies up.

The Governor glared at her, "That isn't important right now. We know where and who she's with. We can't let people like them roam, they're a threat to the town."

"Michonne wouldn't just attack you for no reason." Andrea said with a suspicious expression.

"Well she did and I find it insulting that you're siding with someone who stuck a shard of glass into my eye socket." He growled standing from his spot. Andrea leaned back away from his imposing height.

"It's not that Phillip. I'm just trying to understand what happened. So she's with Merle? And he found his brother?" she asked changing the subject.

"Merle is a traitor. He betrayed me by helping Michonne escape and taking another dangerous prisoner with him. The walkers who got in were their fault. They left the wall compromised. They got people killed. Now all three are holed up together. I have reason to believe they are working together to destroy our town." He said walking over to his desk and sitting down.

Andrea stood and crossed her arms, "If it is Daryl and the group I was with they aren't a threat. I can't speak for Merle but the others are just like us. I can go talk and see if they wanna join the town. We could pool our resources?"

"Maybe but for now I want you to run the town while I recover." He drawled and leaned back in his chair.

"Me? Why me?" Andrea seemed confused but also flattered.

Smirking he responded, "I saw you speaking to them. You handled the crowd well."

The Governor knew exactly how to control the blonde. She had such a huge ego. By giving her control of the day-to-day bullshit he could go take the prison, kill Merle, capture Michonne and the little blonde. He had some special ideas for the two women and how to enjoy their return. Thoughts of slowly feeding parts of Merle to walkers while he watched made him smile. The Governor's anger flared as he thought about Merle.

'No one steals for me.' He thought with a snarl. Merle betrayal cut him deep and he planned on returning the favor. Deep long cuts.

Michonne not only blinded him in one eye but also killed his little girl. She would pay dearly and he would enjoy every moment of it. The blonde was a pretty little thing that he had not gotten the chance to break in. He had just begun with her when Merle stole her. The thought of her pale back bleeding made him hard. He felt giddy thinking about the possibility of getting her back. Adjusting himself to hide his arousal he explained his need for Andrea to keep people calm and working to secure the town.

He finally got Andrea to leave the apartment with a promise to go over plans to communicate with the people in the prison. Once she left Martinez walked back inside and sat down. The Governor sat with his hands steepled in front of him, his elbows resting on the desktop.

The Governor let a slow sadistic smile spread across his face. "Let's prepare a welcome to the neighborhood gift basket shall we?"

Martinez smirked. "Usual wrapping sir?"

"Of course." He drawled a saccharine grin on his face.

"When should I schedule the delivery," Martinez asked while picking at his nails.

"One week. I want to round up a lot of fresh biters, you draw the layout for me. I want that prison and I want those women back." The Governor said with a loud pound to his desk. "I want them all alive. I wanna hear them scream before I turn them."

Prison

Merle sat down next to Daryl with a plate of venison and instant potatoes. They ate quietly and mumbled "S'good," to each other before shoveling more meat in. The sound of someone sitting down in front of them brought their heads up. Sam sat down with her plate and started digging in. She had just washed up and her hair hung wet but braided, over her shoulder. The gray button up shirt she was wearing was too big and hung open at the neckline, her bruises on display. The fingerprints wrapping her neck and the large thumb prints on her collarbones. When Merle raised his eyes he saw the dark ring of a black eye, the white of the eye still blood red. The stitches in her lip looked harsh against the soft pink skin. Merle thought about the giant cuts on her back and how they must hurt terribly. The extreme workout she did killing walkers all day couldn't have been pleasant.

'Don't forget the fucking bite mark.' He growled to himself causing his fist to clench around his fork.

She ate for a moment before looking up apparently feeling him stare at her.

"Wha?" she mumbled through a mouthful of food, wiping her face with the back of her hand self-consciously.

Merle narrowed his eyes at her and ground his teeth together. For some reason the sight of the bruises pissed him off even more. After thinking all those tangled thoughts outside, the sight of them turned his stomach.

'Shoulda stopped it way before the sound.' He thought while burning holes into the woman in front of him. Daryl elbowed him while giving him a confused expression.

"What?" Merle snapped at him.

"He's worried you're having a stroke old man. You're staring at me like I kicked you dog." She said with an eyebrow raised. "Soooo what's up?"

Merle glared at her and pushed his plate back. "Tha fuck should I tell y'all for? Huh?" Standing up he stalked out of the dining hall. He stomped up to his cell and pulled the curtain closed. Sitting heavily on his bed he scrubbed his face.

"Fuckin' pussy?" he growled under his breath. The damn woman's got him all twisted up.

"Anyone who puts their life is danger for a complete stranger can't be all bad."

It wasn't just what she said but the way she said it. It was so…. easy for her to say. Like she knew it was a fact. Shaking his head, he lay down, his forearm thrown over his eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out. A short knock on the doorframe caused him to growl.

"Fuck off Darylina. Don' need your shit right now." He grumbled while digging the heel of his hand into his eye.

"That's fine. How about my shit?" Sam asked.

Merle brought his arm down and sat up on his elbow. "Whaddya want?" he asked sounding exhausted.

"Just seeing if you were ok." She replied her shoulder leaning against the metal bars. Merle took in her tiny frame. The girl must only be five foot five, maybe a buck twenty. He'd seen that she was muscular, not some waif. She had run with him all night without complaint.

"Super. Now fuck off." Merle said flopping back on his bed, begging to all things holy that she'd leave him alone already. He didn't need to think about her or what saving her meant.

"Look Merle. I'm sorry that you got yourself mixed up in my problems. I… I'm sorry that you left a life back there behind and…. Just I'm sorry if it comes off like I don't appreciate it." She said while twisting the sleeve of her shirt in her fingers causing the collar of her shirt to open further. Merle growled and stalked over to her.

"Fix your shirt girl," he growled yanking the fabric over her shoulder cover the offending sight. The sight of them made him burn with guilt and rage. If he was able to he'd go burn the whole town of Woodbury down. He'd turn back time and kill the bastard before he set foot in that room with Sam. There were a lot of things Merle would do over if he could just turn back time.

Sam furrowed her brow and watched him scowl at her before returning to his seat. He could feel her staring at him and it was making his skin crawl. The urge to lash out and scream at her was strong. He held onto what little control he had over his rage. The tightness in his chest causing his breathing to shorten and speed up.

"It's the bruises?" she asked. "That's what's bothering you?"

"Fuck no. I've already seen 'em all or have ya forgotten I seen ya naked already?" he snapped. He let his eyes flare, the piercing blue burning holes into her confused face. Images of her bloody back, the raw bitten flesh on her chest and bruised neck shuffled through his mind. Biting his tongue to keep from screaming at her he tore his eyes away and stared at the floor.

Sam cleared her throat and sat on the bed next to him. Shifting away from her he grumbled, "Whatchya what from me girl? Go away." Her presence was unnerving and it made him antsy. The desire to run away pissed him off even more. He didn't run away from shit let alone a little girl.

"I don't want anything from you. You're obviously pissed about something. You helped me out, figured I repay the favor." She said leaning against the bed frame. Merle could tell she was exhausted. Overworking herself on the fences added to running for her life and not sleeping was taking it's toll on her.

"Didn't do it to get paid back." He grumbled while fiddled with the belt holding his apparatus. The whole conversation was making him uncomfortable.

"I know." She said picking at dried blood on her nails. "So why do the bruises piss you off so much? I know they're gross but I can't really wear a turtleneck."

"Ain't cuz they're gross, stupid. It's cuz it happened at all. Cuz I shoulda gone in that door earlier. Shouldna waited til I heard that sound and I sure as hell shouldna stayed in that place when I knew it was bad." He ranted while clenching his fist, aching to punch it through something.

"Well I'm glad you stayed there longer. You were there when I needed help. If you had left when you found out it was bad, I would still be there. No one else was gonna help." She replied her fingers plucking at a loose thread on his blanket. "So stop beating yourself up for stay there too long because it turned out to be a good thing. I'd be raped and dead by now."

Merle grunted and looked away from her. He didn't want to think about where she would be if he hadn't taken her. Raped and dead would've been the best possible outcome for her if she were still there. Flipping the idea over in his head that maybe he stayed so long because he was meant to help her.

'Nah that's pie in the sky born again Christian talk,' he scoffed inwardly. That wasn't real life and it wasn't Dixon logic that's for sure.

Still though.

Still.

Maybe just maybe there was a reason.

"Hate seenin' the bruises cuz it pisses me off." He said his eyes narrowed while thinking of a way to say what he was feeling without sounding like a little bitch. It was an odd idea. To share the inner workings of his tangled mind and he wasn't even sure why he was attempting it. It wasn't going to change anything. It wasn't going to make him or her feel better.

"Why?" she asked her head tilted to the side.

"Cuz the fuckin' bastard is still out there. Shoulda killed the asshole when I went in there. Shouldna let him live after what he done to ya." He told her leaning back against the wall, the cool cement feeling good on his overheated neck. Merle told himself he was hot from being angry not embarrassed. Merle Dixon didn't get embarrassed.

"Well. Maybe in the future we can go on a little huntin' trip of our own." She said with an arched eyebrow.

Merle smirked but let it spread into a full grin. "I'm likin' the way ya think Sugar." Sam laughed and shrugged a shoulder. "Way I figure we would be doing humanity a service to put that fucker down."

Merle grinned and nodded. "Well, well. Didn' know ya had a vengeance streak."

"There's a lot you don't know about me Merle." She responded her face solemn. Merle watched her eyes cloud over, her memories flashing through her mind. He didn't ask though because he'd had enough heart to hearts for the evening.

"Later then. Now git. Need my beauty sleep." He drawled shooing her out his cell.

Sam snorted and shook her head, "Fuckin' ain't enough sleep in the world to fix your ugly mug old man."

Merle glared, "Girl. If I'da known the mouth ya had on ya I'da left ya in the forest."

"Don't play coy Merle. You like my mouth." She smirked before waving as she left.

Merle flopped back on his bed, his mind pulling up visuals of her mouth. The black thread contrasting against her pink skin. The way the stiff stitches would feel against his lips. How he could kiss it gently to keep from hurting her. His mind imagined what she would sound like if he did kiss her. Maybe a gasping moan.

'Definitely be soft. Gentle-like.' He thought before squeezing his eyes shut.

He tried to force himself to not think of her like that. He was a dirty old man who didn't deserve to think of a pretty girl like that. Not to mention he just helped her escape a sicko. She didn't need to deal with some other man trying to touch her.

Rolling on his side he sighed loudly ending with a frustrated growl.

Hours later he woke to a strangled cry. He sat up and listened intently to the sounds in the prison. Another gasping sob sounded out, echoing in the tomb like structure. Merle climbed out of bed and stepped out onto the landing. He poked his head into Sam's cell and saw her twisted in blankets. Sweat was collecting on her forehead and her face was screwed up as if in pain. She mumbled 'no'.

Merle sighed and shook her shoulder. Whispering harshly, "Hey girl shuddup."

Sam's eyes snapped open and she grabbed his arm.

"Jus' me. Ya havin' a dream." He whispered.

Her chest was heaving as she gasped for air. She was hyperventilating.

"Come on now," he grumbled "Slow it down." She didn't show any sign of calming down and Merle got frustrated.

"Goddamnit girl breath normal." He growled then pulled her to sit up on the edge of her bunk. He pushed her head towards her knees and said firmly, "Take a deep breath and hold it for five seconds." With his hand on her shoulder Merle felt her take a shaky breath. Counting down to one he then told her, "Now let it out slowly." he said, "Again."

After a few rounds of slow breathing he could tell she'd stopped panicking. Her chest was rising normally and her body had stopped trembling.

"Now sleep. Stop wakin' me up with your blubberin'." He grumbled standing up.

Sam swallowed and nodded, her hands wiping her face. Merle stood above her looking at her red puffy face and her shaky hands. Sighing he sat back down next to her.

"Go on." He grunted. "Tell me."

Sam sniffed loudly and shrugged a shoulder, "Nothin to tell."

Scoffing lightly Merle said, "Come on. You're a woman. I know ya wanna gab about it."

"Just because I have a pussy doesn't make me a pussy." she sneered. Merle snorted and held his hands up, "Ok, Ok. Girl. I'll leave ya be. Try to not wake me up 'gain."

End Note:

Merle and Sam obviously escaped together but the Gov. believes Michonne was with him. They all escaped the same night but separately. Just thought I'd clear that up.

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