Merle was panting by the time they arrived at the camp and he lowered Sophia to her feet.
"Move!" Rick said as he pointed to the gate and he, Carl, Glenn, T-Dog and Andrea ran for the gate. Rick turned to see Daryl and Sophia standing next to Merle and Rick frowned. "Daryl, come on!"
"No," Daryl said.
"Guess he wants to stay here," Merle said with a grin.
"That ain't it. If they came here in the SUV, there ain't room fer all of us," he said as Daryl pointed to Glenn, Andrea and T-Dog.
"He's right," Glenn said.
"Go! We'll find another way home!"
Rick knew Daryl was right. He nodded as they ran off and Daryl looked at Sophia. Merle saw how scared Sophia looked as he sighed then he looked to his left.
"Let's go" Merle said. Daryl looked at what he was pointing at as he blinked his eyes a few times and Merle grinned.
The town
The SUV came to a stop as Rick got out of the SUV and he looked down the street. He placed his hands on his hips as he tried to figure out what he was going to tell Carol about what happened and he lightly shook his head.
"Rick, we have to go!" Glenn said.
"Yeah," Rick said when a red truck came down the street and he titled his head to one side. The truck came to a stop as Jimmy and Otis got out of the truck and Rick walked to them. "Hey."
"Hey. Where have all of you been? We were getting worried," Otis said.
Rick filled them in as Otis frowned and Jimmy looked down the road.
"We need to go get them back!" Jimmy said.
The sudden sound of a motorcycle made Rick turn around when he saw a motorcycle moving down the road and he frowned. Daryl was steering the motorcycle while Sophia held onto his waist and Merle was sitting with his feet draped over the top of the sidecar. Daryl stopped the motorcycle near Rick and Merle noticed the angry look in Rick's eyes.
"What is he doing here?" Rick asked.
"Did you really think he'd leave me behind?" Merle asked.
"Yeah, I did."
"Look, can this wait until later? We have to go," Andrea said.
"We can't bring him with us," Glenn said.
"Yeah, you can," Merle said.
"Merle…," Daryl warned and Merle sighed.
Glenn pointed to the store across the street as Rick nodded and Rick, Glenn, Andrea, Otis, Jimmy and T-Dog walked away. They stood near the storefront as Rick looked at Merle and Rick scratched the back of his head.
"I know we all don't want Merle to go with us…," Rick said.
"You got that right," Glenn said.
"But Daryl might not go back to the farm if he doesn't."
"I thought Daryl didn't give a shit about him anymore," T-Dog said.
"He's Daryl's brother. Of course, he gives a shit."
"Can we trust him?" Otis asked, looking at Merle.
"No. He'd soon rob us then do anything to help us," Andrea said.
"Yeah. He wanted us to pay him for food from a truck he and Daryl found," Glenn added.
"What about his gang? If any of them survived, they would come looking for him," T-Dog said.
"Did you see the size of that horde? I don't think any of them survived," Rick said.
"Then I think it would be best to just leave him behind," Otis said.
Over by the SUV, Merle was leaning against the side of the SUV while he watched them talking and Daryl, Carl and Sophia had gone back in the store to get a few things. They walked out of the store when Daryl saw the look on his brother's face and Daryl motioned with his left hand for the kids to stay where they were.
"They ain't gonna let me go with you," Merle said in a soft voice.
"Don't matter," Daryl said.
"It does matter. Sheriff Friendly is in charge. Whatever he says goes. If he doesn't want me around, I ain't gonna be."
"Don't care."
"Are you willin' to give all this up to hit the road with me?"
"You mean give up Carol, Sophia an' Henry?"
"Who's Henry?"
"My son."
"Hold on! I have a niece an' a nephew!?"
"Yeah."
"An' you named him "Henry"?"
"It's Carol's dad's name."
"Oh. Well, are you willin' to give them up?"
"No."
"Then what'll you do? Go get 'em then we'd head out?"
"Yeah," Daryl said with a nod.
Rick noticed how upset Daryl looked after he turned to look at Daryl and Merle and Rick frowned, shaking his head.
"We have to take Merle with us," Rick said with a sigh.
"Ok. But we can't let him see where we live," Andrea said.
"Which is why we're going to blindfold him."
Looking at Daryl, Rick signaled for Daryl to go over to him and Daryl walked closer.
"What's up?" Daryl asked.
"We're willing to let Merle go with us, but we have to blindfold him," Rick explained.
"You gonna keep him blindfolded the whole time?"
"Only until we know we can trust him."
Daryl gave him a blank look as he squinted his eyes then he snorted a breath of air.
"How come it was so easy fer you to trust me? To let me in? But you can't do the same when it comes to my brother?" Daryl asked with a glare.
Rick knew Daryl was going on the defensive as he held up his right hand to stop Glenn from saying anything and Daryl lightly bounced on the balls of his feet.
"Do you want me to be honest with you?" Rick asked and Daryl nodded. "Back before everything went to shit, I used to see guys like Merle coming and going in my precinct. True, no one really got to know them. But most of them….? Most of them turned their lives around. The rest…? They ended up either in jail for the rest of their lives or dead. That's what I saw when I first met him. When I first met you? When you came out of that bush and bitched about a dead deer? You reminded me of some of the other guys I've seen come and go in my precinct. Someone who acted tough, but, inside, they were a good person. They just needed a chance. So, I gave you time to show me the real you. And you did. You have proven time and again who and what you really are."
"Carol said I've earned my place," Daryl grumbled.
"And that's what I want for Merle. If we do give Merle a chance, and he really wants to change, then he can join us again."
Daryl looked from Rick to Merle then back then Daryl snorted a breath of air. Daryl walked back to Merle as Merle frowned and Daryl looked down at his feet.
"Rick said you can go with us, but there has to be some changes," Daryl said.
"Like what?" Merle asked.
"Like everything," Daryl said as he looked at his brother. "No more cons. No more lies. No more treating everyone like shit. You pull yer weight an' do what you're told. If you have a beef, you talk to Rick. He ain't that bad once you get to know him. Or you talk to me an' I'll tell him what's up. An' you got to respect Hershel."
"Who the fuck is that?"
"He's the guy who's really in charge. He didn't have to let us stay where we're at. But he did. Hell, he even saved my ass when I got hurt."
Daryl quickly told him about what happened after he fell off the cliff and Merle's eyes widened when Daryl told him what Dream Merle had told him.
"I would… I would never say somethin' like that to you," Merle said.
"Then you're gonna behave?" Daryl asked.
"Hell yeah!"
"Rick!" Daryl called out and Rick ran to him.
"What's wrong?" Rick asked.
"Merle agrees to behave. Can we go now?"
"We have to blindfold him first."
"Fair's fair," Merle said with a small grin. Daryl removed the clean handkerchief from his pocket as he handed the handkerchief to Rick and Rick blindfolded Merle. Daryl led Merle to the motorcycle as he helped Merle into the sidecar then Daryl motioned with his hand for Sophia to come to him.
"Hey, Daryl, hold up!" Glenn called out. Daryl wasn't sure what he wanted as Glenn ran to him, stopped, reached into the pocket of his jeans then he removed Daryl's wedding ring. Smiling, Daryl put the wedding ring back on as he nodded and Glenn ran to the SUV.
After everyone got into their vehicles, the engines started and the vehicles headed down the road.
The Greene Farm
Carol stood on the porch while she held Henry in her arms and she looked toward the gate. Hershel was a little angry about Otis and Jimmy going off to find the others, but Carol had a feeling everything was going to be alright. She heard the sound of a motorcycle as she walked down the stairs and the screen doors opened. Hershel, Beth, Maggie and Patricia walked outside as they headed down the stairs and Dale and Lori walked close. Lori and Maggie were holding Little Hershel and Judith and they smiled when they saw the SUV moving up the road.
"They're back!" Lori said, waving her arm.
"Where did Daryl get the motorcycle?" Carol asked, watching the motorcycle coming closer. She could just see Sophia on the back of the motorcycle, but it was Merle wearing a blindfold while sitting in the sidecar which caused a cold chill to move through her. Daryl stopped the motorcycle near the RV when he placed the kickstand down, turned the engine off, got off the motorcycle and he helped Sophia off the motorcycle.
"Mom!" Sophia called out. She ran to Carol as Carol gave her a sideways hug and Carol saw the fear in her daughter's eyes. She watched Daryl remove Merle from the sidecar as he helped Merle walk to Rick and Rick nodded. Rick led Merle away as Daryl walked to Carol and she noticed the bruise on Daryl's face and the scabbing over cut on his lower lip.
"What happened?" Carol asked.
"Merle hit me," Daryl said then he explained what happened and anger shimmered in her eyes.
"And you brought him here?"
"It was that or I come get you an' Henry then we go with him."
Carol saw the seriousness in his eyes as he lowered his head and she sighed.
"Let's go get you cleaned up," she said, lightly touching his right upper arm.
"Why do I have a feelin' I am gonna have to sleep on the couch for a long time?" Daryl asked and she lightly laughed.
"Maybe just for a night or two."
Smiling at the playfulness of her parents, Sophia followed Carol, Daryl and Henry while they headed for the house and Carol slid her left hand into Daryl's right hand. Daryl wrapped their fingers together as he gave Carol a small grin and she gently swung their hands back and forth.
The farmhouse
Merle wasn't sure if he liked the idea of Hershel examining him. The scars and needle tracks from his drug use dotted his body and the urge to run moved through him like a wild current.
"Rick told me how you lost this," Hershel said after he removed the brace over the stump where Merle's right hand used to be. He noticed the look on Merle's face as Hershel sighed and lightly shook his head. "Not the first time I've see something like this. One of my neighbor's got his hand crushed while he was working at the lumberyard. They had to cut his hand off to free him. He told me quite a few times he felt like his hand was still there."
"Yeah. I keep wantin' to wiggle my fingers then I remember I ain't got a hand anymore," Merle said with a shrug. He watched Hershel examining him when Merle sighed and he looked toward the door. "Daryl told me how you saved his life."
"I was worried about the wound on his side and the scratch on his chest. Even though the water around here is drinkable, there still could be bacteria in it and the wounds could have become infected. And he had Walker blood on his face and neck. If that had gotten into the wounds…"
Nodding, Merle looked up at the ceiling when there was a knock on the door and Hershel saw Daryl standing in the doorway.
"He bein' good?" Daryl asked.
"Yes," Hershel said then he noticed the bruise on his face and the scabbed over cut on Daryl's lower lip. "How did that happen?"
"I punched him," Merle said.
"Why?"
"If I hadn't, he would have been killed."
"You would've been killed, too, right?" Daryl asked as he leaned against the wall and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Those guys you were with. You really weren't their leader, were you?"
"Oh, I was their leader alright. Had been ever since their old one was killed."
"How was he killed?" Hershel asked.
"One of those Biters got him."
"You mean a Walker?" Daryl asked.
"Whatever," Merle said as he scrunched up his face. "What you have to understand is… These guys…. They were scum even before everythin' went to shit. If you weren't tough, you died. Which is why I was glad you weren't there. They would have eaten you alive."
"I can handle myself."
"Not with them. I had to fight all of them before they realized who was boss. But there was always someone who wanted to take over. Looked for an openin' to take me down."
Merle became quiet as Hershel looked at Daryl and Daryl looked at the floor.
"Aww… Knock it off with the pity looks," Merle said.
Nodding, Daryl watched Hershel leave the room then Daryl walked to the bed and he sat on the edge of the bed. Merle noticed how much Daryl had changed and Daryl sighed, lightly shaking his head.
"You got somethin' you wanna say to me?" Merle asked.
"Yeah," Daryl said with a nod. "Even if the others feel different, I am glad you're still alive. I…"
"You miss me?"
Daryl nodded.
"Hell, I missed you, too."
"Then why didn't you go looking fer me?"
"I was busy tryin' not to die an' turn into one of those Biters or Walkers or whatever the hell you call 'em."
Daryl stared at his brother when they both broke out laughing and Merle lightly shoved him.
"Hello," came from the doorway when Daryl saw Carol standing there and she held Henry in her arms.
"Hey there!" Merle said with a grin. Carol walked to Daryl when he reached for the baby and Merle watched how Daryl looked with a baby in his arms. Carol saw the sadness in Merle's eyes when she remembered what Daryl had told her and Daryl felt Carol needed to tell Merle something in private.
"Uh… I'll be right back," Daryl said as he carefully stood and he left the room.
Carol frowned when she walked out into the hallway and she watched him go around the corner. She walked back in the room when she noticed Mere was watching her and she sat down on the chair near the bed. They sat in silence when Carol shifted on the chair and Merle cleared his throat.
"Looks like you're no longer a scared little mouse," Merle said.
"No, I'm not," Carol said.
"Daryl said Ed's no longer 'round."
"Ed was killed by a Walker then I put him down."
Merle's eyes slightly widened at the thought of her taking her frustrations out on Ed and he nodded his head.
"Must've felt good," Merle grumbled.
"In a weird way, yeah," she said with a nod.
"How long did it take fer my baby brother to finally tell you how he felt?"
"You knew he liked me?"
"Hell yeah. He was moonin' over you like some lovesick bull," he said with a soft laugh. "Told him time an' again to tell you, but he just brushed me off."
"He wasn't' ready."
"That's his problem. He was never ready," Merle said as he looked at her with a pleased look. "Guess he was lookin' fer the right woman."
"He said that the Merle in his head kept telling him he wasn't worthy of me and the only family he'd ever have is you.'
"I used to tell him I was the only family he had, but I'd never stand in his way if he found a woman to settle down with,"
"So, you're alright with us being together?"
"Yes," Merle said, slightly widening his eyes and she smiled. She saw he was shutting down as Merle sighed and he looked at the far wall. "Are you…? Are you gonna let me be a part of the family?"
She realized Merle had the same insecurities as Daryl did and he was surprised when she reached over, took hold of his left hand and she wrapped their fingers together.
"Yes," she said then he saw the seriousness in her eyes. "But, if you do anything to cause Daryl pain in any way, I will kill you in your sleep."
"Right," he said with a nod of his head.
"Hey," made Carol look at the door when Daryl walked back in the room and he held the baby against his chest.
"Where'd you go?"
"Henry needed a clean diaper," Daryl said. Carol looked over at the stake of diapers sitting on the dresser when she nodded and Daryl went to stand next to her. "You being good?"
"Good as gold," Merle said, looking at the doorway. "So…. Am I gonna stay in the house with you or is Sheriff Friendly gonna lock me up somewhere an' throw away the key?"
"Dunno."
Rick appeared in the doorway as he looked at them and he noticed the slightly worried look on Merle's face.
'How is he?" Rick asked, looking at Merle.
"I'm fine. Thank you fer asking," Merle said.
"Is he allowed to stay?" Daryl asked.
"Yeah, he can stay."
"Where we're going to put him?" Carol asked, standing.
"Well…," Rick said while he walked to Daryl and Daryl adjusted his hold on the baby. "I thought of putting him in one the sheds with a guard. Glenn suggested putting him in the barn."
He saw the anger flash in Daryl's eyes and Henry made a little whimper. Rick noticed how Henry was aware of Daryl's moods and Daryl hushed the baby while gently rubbing his son's back.
"We finally decided to use the spare bedroom in the ranch house."
"You mean our old room?" Daryl asked, looking at Carol.
"Yeah."
"With a guard?" Carol asked.
"No. The door has a lock."
"I could always use the window if I wanna leave," Merle said.
"Nope. The window's broken an' doesn't open," Daryl said.
"Shit."
"No swearing in front of the baby," Carol warned with a small grin and Merle softly laughed.
"Sorry."
"You also have to help out around the farm," Rick said as he walked to the bed and he looked at Merle.
"Ain't much I can do with this."
Rick looked at the stump and the strong sense of guilt moved through him.
"Hershel said he'll think of something."
"You ok with all this?" Daryl asked and Merle looked at him. He then looked at Carol and Henry and Merle sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, seein' as I ain't got a lot of options, I guess it's fine," Merle said with a nod.
"Just stay away from the barn," Rick warned.
"What's in the barn?"
Rick became silent as he tried to decide if he should tell him when Rick sighed and he looked at Daryl and Carol. They barely nodded their heads as he looked at Merle then he explained. Merle nodded his head from time-to-time and he blinked his eyes.
"You sure they can't get out?" Merle asked.
"As far as we know? No, they can't," Rick said.
"No offense, but shouldn't we just kill 'em? It would be like shootin' fish in a barrel."
"You're right. But it's Hershel's farm and his decision about what's to be done with them."
Merle pressed his lips into a thin line as Rick left the room and Daryl adjusted his hold on the baby. He then noticed Henry was looking over at Merle. Daryl thought about if he should let Merle hold Henry and Daryl walked to the bed.
"What?" Merle asked, looking at him.
"I was gonna let you hold Henry, but you need a shower," Daryl said. Merle snorted a laugh as he shook his head and Carol smiled.
"Mind showin' me where the shower is?" he asked, looking at Carol.
"Follow me," Carol said.
Merle carefully got off the bed as they left the room and Daryl looked down at the baby.
Later that day, Merle was sitting on the couch with Henry sleeping peacefully on his chest and he held the baby with his left arm. He was surprised Henry hadn't burst into tears after Daryl had placed the baby on his chest and Merle lightly rubbed Henry's back.
"Kids don't like me," he told Daryl.
"Well, you, yer sister an' yer daddy like me," Merle said in a soft voice as he smiled. Suddenly, Merle's mind went back to Natalie as he sighed and Henry whimpered as the baby wiggled on his chest.
"Hey now. What's wrong?" Merle whispered, looking at the baby.
"He knows you're upset," Daryl said, sitting down next to his brother.
"He does?"
"Carol says it's because he hears your heart beating faster."
"Oh."
Merle took a few deep breaths to calm down and Henry yawned, flexing his tiny fingers. They sat in silence while Merle looked at the baby and Daryl noticed the look on his brother's face.
"You really forced Sheriff Friendly to go back fer me?" Merle asked in a soft voice.
"Yep," Daryl said with a nod.
"Uh…."
"What?"
"Did you find my hand?"
"It's in yer backpack."
"You kept it?!" he asked with a disgusted look.
"Only until I can find a place to bury it."
Merle snorted a laugh while Daryl shrugged his shoulders and Henry whimpered as he moved on Merle's chest.
"Now what's wrong?" Merle asked, looking at Henry.
"I think you woke him up," Daryl said.
"Sorry," Merle whispered over and over for a few seconds while he lightly rubbed Henry's back and Henry sniffed, shifted his position then went back to sleep. Merle glanced at Daryl when Merle sighed and he half-closed his eyes. "He was mine."
"What?" Daryl asked.
"Nat's kid. I lied. He was mine."
Daryl felt like he had been kicked in the chest.
"Wanna know somethin' else? I could never be a dad. Ain't go it in me. You, on the other hand, are a great dad. If anyone says otherwise, I'll shove this up their ass," Merle said, holding up the machete.
Reaching out with his right foot, Daryl moved the coffee table closer to the couch and. they placed their feet on top of the coffee table.
Outside, the growling and grumbling came from behind the door to the barn while tiny chips of wood fell to the ground and fingers appeared out of the holes in the wall.