So, it's been years. But I've never forgotten this story or this fanbase because you all rule! I really hope all of you wonderful TWD fans (especially those who took time out of their day to read and review this story) have been doing well with the pandemic and everything that has been happening. Reading your reviews was so inspirational for me, no matter what it was you wrote, and I sincerely hope you're all doing well out there!

I've moved on to writing my own fiction and kind of ... let my fanfics slip out of mind. :( But I couldn't forget about this story for some reason. I would write little notes about it and string together some scenes whenever I felt the inspiration over the years. Somehow, I managed to put together a scrappy story that has an ending!

I'll warn you that some of it was written in extrememly choppy, short phrases or was just summarized completely, especially here at the beginning. A lot of it was stream of consciousness, but you should still be able to get the gist of what's happening, even if I write like a madwoman... I hope! Later parts of the story turned into something resembling a actual novel. I also added credits songs if you're a fan of TWD sounding music (um duh Cerulean aren't we all)

I feel bad that I left so much hanging, but life happens! Still, I thought it would be nice to come back to this story and finish what I started, in some shape or fashion.

Juuust a little heads up... The story did up changing to be more of an OC x Negan fic. I'm so sorry I betrayed my fellow Merle Dixon fans D': But! Our favorite one-handed backwoods boy is still featured in the story, and there are definite Merle x OC moments!

Anyways, enough rambling! Ill try to get all of the summary parts out of the way quick so stay tuned if you're interested!

THE PIG FARMERS

When the hill base is overrun, Bree passes Merle on the roof and decides to help him out, even though he's already halfway through his arm. Despite his previous racist remarks and urge to see her dead and after mulling it over some, she pauses to set him free, help him to a safer area, and do what she can for his blood loss. He's out of it the whole time, still griping and rude, but toned down a bit because of the blood loss. When he's in a safe place, she decides to stake out on her own, even without fighting knowledge. Merle doesn't say thank you or anything as she leaves, and she's not surprised. During a close encounter with a Walker, Merle turns up and saves her, tells her he doesn't owe her anymore, but thinks it's best if they stay together to find people, mostly his brother. Bree begrudgingly agrees.

Bree stays quiet around him, only opening up to tell him to be quiet every now and then when he's being annoying and keeps her distance. Merle just finds it fun messing with her and trying to get a rile out of her. He thinks she's uptight and an annoying kid, she thinks he's a racist crappy human being. Basically, they can't stand the other person and find it hard to see how the other thinks.

The unlikely duo, dirty and scarred, find refuge on an old pig farm that's run out of livestock. Even with no pigs to be found, the farmers who live there have fresh racks of meat up and more appear throughout the few days they are there. Bree gets a strange feeling, and Merle's not too keen on them either, but doesn't want to pass up the free grub and shelter. In exchange for working on the cars, keeping their aging mother company and doing the laundry, Merle and Bree are allowed to stay on the farm. Bree hears the matron say the pigs got sick and died months ago, and Merle mentioned there not being large game in the area, so she's wondering where they are getting meat from.

Merle and Bree enjoy having beds to sleep in, friendly company, a moment of peace from the outside world full of dangers, and especially warm baths. Being in a good place brings out the best in both of them, and they're in a better mood around the other ... for once. They said they did good in finding this place and are positive they will find their group soon. They still gripe about the other's habits and having to share a room. Bree isn't comfortable with it, and he assures her that there's not a dang thing on her that he wants to touch. Her "blackness" might rub off on him.

At dinner that night, once Merle and Bree get showered and clean up, Merle gets a weird feeling looking at the meat. He knows something is up, and, even though he doesn't like her, he knows they'll have to work together to get out of here. He asks them what kind of meat this is, and that he's never seen anything like it before. Bree, after digging through her meat a bit, finds a long strand of blond hair that's attached to the skin. Merle notices it and they exchange looks. As the farming family quietly eats, Bree gets worried and tries to discreetly make an escape plan using their eyes and feet. When they notice they aren't eating, the family politely asks what the problem is. Weaponless and with two large men at the table, Bree acts as if they aren't hungry, while loud-mouthed Merle asks what the heck kind of meat this is?

Bree excuses herself to go to the bathroom, and as she gets up to run with the steak knife she pocketed, one of the farmers reaches for her ponytail. She tries to pull away, but he's strong and yanks her hard down on the table. The mother keeps daintily picking and taking large, grotesque bites from her disturbing dish, dentures locked deeply into the oozing meat, warning the boys not to kill her because she'd like to keep Bree as a companion and helper. Merle uses the boys' distraction and sinks his knife into the guy's forearm and grabs the other, yelling at Bree to get going. She makes a run for it, while one-handed, injured Merle gets knocked out. She hides outside of the farm and watches the men drag Merle into the slaughterhouse they showed her before. She is scared out of her mind but knows Merle is her best shot at survival and is shocked he put himself at risk to give her a chance to escape. She knows she's not going to leave him there to become their next meal, especially after he saved her.

Scared but determined, she sneaks back into the house and grabs one of their pistols from the mantle, then heads into the slaughterhouse. After throwing a few rocks to draw one of the men out, she shoots him in the leg and rushes in to find the other man trying to strap Merle to a table. Next to the table is a cooler full of discarded human parts. The brother swings his knife at her, which he was going to use to cut Merle's throat. He nicks her stomach, but she's able to shoot him in the neck, and he's down. She releases Merle and helps him down from the table. He snatches the pistol from her and sinks every last round into cannibal brothers, ensuring they won't harm anyone else. The bedraggled two limp off back into the woods after ransacking the home for goods as walkers, drawn by the gunshots, stumble towards the house.

In the woods, Merle is surprised that this young woman, the one he'd been so adamantly hateful of, saved his life, twice. He's starting to see her as more of a equal now, and he can hardly believe it. As they stumble away from the pealing screeches of the nightmare farm, he asks if she's ever shot a gun before. She says nope. He says so you ran and got a gun and just hoped for the best. She says yep. He likes the brave stupidity she has and asks if she wants to learn how to shoot. They find a muffler at a gun and hardware store and practice on a few practice dummies Bree sets up. She's horrible at it, but they have a good time and share a few celebratory drinks together for their survival. Bree wonders if anyone they knew had been used for food. Merle says not to think about it. Bree notes that people are getting crazier and crazier with each passing day—survival is starting to come at a cost no one thinks twice about paying. She says this is part of why she liked to travel alone. Merle says nothing wrong with that, but you got to take care that you can handle being alone.

They both open up a bit and start talking about themselves. Merle tells her how he and Daryl's family is dead, and now Daryl is all he's got. He's worried that Rick and Shane will kick him out after Merle acted up. Bree says she doesn't think Shane would do that. Merle says he didn't think they'd handcuff him and leave him on a roof either. Bree asks why'd they do that. Merle replies because they're jack-a's.. Bree snorts, knowing he probably did something to deserve it. That night, Merle begins working on his knife-arm while Bree, for the first time in a while, doesn't cry over her family.

End of Episode Song: Curs in the Weeds by Horse Feathers