Red River Blue

Chapter 83

"Just tell Deanna that you took the gun to protect Jessie because you were scared of Pete and you knew he was hitting her," Carol suggested. River snorted in disbelief, the small towel full of ice resting in her lap instead of against her split lip where it ought to be.

"Like fuck!," Merle hollered, already starting to rise from the couch. Carol put her hand on his shoulder and pushed him down, adjusting the ice pack she already forced on him back onto his swollen eye socket. Merle put up with her mother henning the first time around, but this time he shoved her away, smacking at her hands. Daryl grabbed Carol around the waist, pulling her back and putting his body between hers and his brother's.

"Don't you fuckin' smack at 'er like that! Unless you want to get knocked right the fuck back out!," Daryl hollered.

"She was the one fuckin' touchin' me!," Merle spit back. "Already tole her nosy ass ta leave me alone!" River groaned, moving the ice towel to her forehead. They were giving her a headache.

"Stop fighting or I'll beat both your asses," Michonne announced from the floor. Her body was lax and she was resting her head on a pillow with another ice pack stuffed up under her hair. She didn't look ready to beat anyone's ass at the moment. But that didn't stop Merle from hollering a few choice obscenities at her.

"Come on you guys," Glenn said, trying to play peacemaker for what felt like the tenth time at least. "Fighting each other isn't gonna help." He already separated Merle and Daryl twice. And got his foot stepped on for his efforts. If they went at it again, he was just going to let it happen in the hope that they might knock some sense into each other.

"You just have to tell Deanna a story that she can believe," Carol said, hoping to steer the conversation away from who was going to beat who's ass next and back to the topic at hand. "It's what I've been doing since we got here." Daryl narrowed his eyes at her. It had not escaped him that since their arrival in Alexandria, Carol had been acting like a wholly different person when she was outside their house. He assumed it was just because she didn't trust these people. But now he wasn't sure.

"Why are ya doing that?," Daryl asked.

"Because these people are children. And children like stories," Carol answered. Daryl shrugged and nodded his head, satisfied with her answer.

"I'm not afraid of that prick," Merle hollered. "Next time I see him, I'll finish the job. And I don't need a gun fer that either!" River pulled her ice rag away from her face, glancing at her husband with a look of irritation. She smacked at Merle's leg to make sure she had his attention. Then she pointed her finger at him.

"It was fine you whaled on that asshole a little. But ya took it too far. Ya made a fuckin' mess. And now yer gonna hafta clean it up," River said, trying to keep her tone firm. When Merle gave her the same irritated look he was giving Carol a moment before, she added, "You'll do what Carol's fuckin' tellin' ya to do and you'll like it. Just 'pologize an give the gun back, we got plenty more." River squeezed his thigh, attempting to soften the blow of her harsh words. Merle really didn't do anything that wrong. If this incident happened at the prison, it wouldn't have been turned into such a dramatic problem. But Deanna and the rest of these people were still living in a world of make believe. The world that existed before the turn. They didn't understand yet that the rules from that world didn't apply anymore. It was kill or be killed now. And Pete was of the be killed variety. For now, Merle just needed to lay low and keep himself under control. Two things that he wasn't exactly good at.

"FINE!," Merle hollered. "I'll 'pologize fer takin' the gun but I'm not gonna say that I'm scared of that asshole." River glanced at Carol to make sure she was agreeable to Merle's bargain. She gave a subtle nod of her head.

The door swung open. Everyone relaxed when Rick entered the house by himself and not with any extra company. He told them Deanna wanted to have a town meeting about what happened, but that she seemed to be focused mainly on what she should do about Pete. She wanted to speak to Merle before the meeting. And she told Rick that anyone else who took a gun without permission better put it back. Rick had a feeling that part of her leniency towards Merle was due to Spencer and Harley's relationship. But he didn't mention that. Merle grunted and cursed as he wrangled himself up off the couch, grumbling about how he might as well get it over with now. Rick was relieved when River got up and left the house with him. He didn't think Merle would stir up any further problems with Deanna. But if River was there, that made the possibility even less likely.

"Sorry 'bout what I said before. We just need to make it work here," River said, wrapping her arm around Merle's waist. He slung his bad arm around her shoulders, tucking her into his side as they walked. She didn't think they were in any real danger of being banished from this place. And if it ever came down to that, they would take the town before they let these people force them out. But River didn't want it to come to that. She was hoping for some sort of chance at normalcy here. What that meant now she wasn't totally sure. But she was sure it didn't mean her husband beating some asshole to death in the street in front of a crowd of frightened onlookers. Even if the asshole did deserve it.

"I know," Merle told her, pressing a kiss into her hair. His favorite thing about this place was that River's hair smelled like baked goods again. The way she smelled before the turn. He wasn't sure if this was their forever home. But it would be a good place to hunker down for now. Especially since River was pregnant. "M'sorry too," he said, sincere about his apology to his wife even if he didn't mean the apology he was about to make to Deanna. "When I saw that prick hit ya, all I could see after that was red."

Merle and River barely had time to sit down on Deanna's couch when the door was being swung back open again. Harley and Spencer entered, headed for the kitchen with a large pig swinging between them. Deanna suddenly became a lot less interested in Merle's indiscretions and a lot more interested in preventing her kitchen from becoming a total disaster.

Harley shrugged her jacket off, tossing it over the back of a chair. More blood seeped through the bandage on her arm than she expected. She forgot about the wound until her mom saw it and started making a fuss. A minute later Harley was seated at Deanna's kitchen table, wincing as her mother stitched the wound closed.

"Got winged by a ricochet while we were pig huntin'," Harley said, giving her mother a pointed glance and then ticking her head towards Deanna. River nodded, knowing Harley would tell her what really happened later. When there weren't so many listening ears around.

Deanna felt Reg's gentle hand on her back. And then he was handing her a glass of wine. She wasn't sure what was more disgusting. The large dead animal on her counter. The sink full of the animal's intestines. Or the minor surgical procedure that was happening at her kitchen table. Spencer was making a mess out of the kitchen, pulling all the cupboards open and poking through them for whatever particular item he was looking for. Finally he fished out a giant glass jar and held it up for Harley's inspection.

"Will this work?," he asked. Harley nodded. They were going to salt brine the belly of the pig in an attempt to make bacon. With her momentarily distracted, River used the opportunity to shove the needle through an area on Harley's arm that she knew was going to hurt worse than the rest. Harley jerked and cursed at her. River warned the girl, telling her if she couldn't hold still then someone was going to have to brace her arm while she finished. Harley swallowed down her objections. Mostly because she knew her mom was right. She had to hold still. Or someone would have to hold her arm down. And being held down was worse than being stitched up. At least in Harley's opinion. She braced her elbow on the table and held onto her arm with her other hand, keeping it still.

Deanna cringed and headed into the living room with the rest of her wine. It wasn't until River's husband sat down on the couch opposite her that she remembered what the purpose of his visit was. The man pulled the handgun he took out of his waistband and handed it to her. Deanna handled the weapon awkwardly, gripping it between her thumb and forefinger and setting it down quickly onto the tabletop.

"Sorry fer takin' the gun," Merle said, trying to sound as serious as he could even though he really thought the whole situation was full on stupid. He never thought he'd miss Phillip Blake. But even that psycho was smart enough to understand that he needed to protect his town with armed guards.

"Did Pete really throw Michonne through a window and slap your wife?," Deanna asked. Merle snorted. That wasn't where he was expecting this conversation to go. He was expecting a lecture of some kind.

"Yup," Merle replied. "He did." Deanna let out a heavy sigh. Then she polished off the rest of the wine in her glass. A loud bang echoed out from the kitchen. Deanna cringed at the noise. By now, she had come to the realization that Harley was going to be a continuous presence in her home. Deanna was slowly warming to the girl. It was hard not to when her son was so happy. But Deanna secretly wished the girl would take her dead animal kitchen projects back to her own house. Tucking her concerns for her kitchen away, Deanna turned her attention back to the more pressing matter.

"What would you do with him if you were me?," Deanna asked. Merle leaned back into the couch, considering the question.

"Tell everyone that you are banishing him for what he did," Merle said. "Then me and Rick will take him for a little country drive."

"You mean kill him?," Deanna asked. Rick already told her that banishing the man was a terrible idea. Even if they drove Pete far away, he could still find his way back and cause more problems. Or he might be picked up by the wrong sort of people, and then lead them back to Alexandria. They would either have to kill him. Or figure out another way to deal with him.

"He's our only doctor," Deanna lamented. Merle nodded, taking the man's possible worth into consideration. Merle would still rather kill him. But having a doctor around had its advantages. He hated to admit that he missed anyone, but he missed Hershel. That man had a certain way about him. Just his presence in the room was almost enough to make a person feel better. He deserved better than the violent end he got.

"Sorry," Merle huffed when he realized that Deanna was waiting to hear his opinion and he was just staring right through her, his mind completely somewhere else. "You could give 'im this one free pass. Set him up in another house, away from Jessie and the boys. If he does any more bullshit, we can always kill 'im later…" Deanna nodded. She was going to have to think about it a little more. But she was considering something similar to what Merle proposed. Merle tilted his head to the side, leaning in close to her like he had a secret to tell her. Deanna leaned forward, curious to hear what else he had to say. "If he ever comes near my wife again, he's dead."

"That's fair enough," Deanna admitted. She glanced at the gun on the table. Deanna paused for a moment. Then she reached forward and picked it up, handing it back to Merle. "Just hang onto it for now," she said, "...in case there's any more trouble at the meeting tonight."