Hey guys, I'm back. I was on a trip and had no chance to update. But I still wrote on :o)
I'm starting with a little flashback. I love those to remind me of the former characters and their development.
I hope you like how this story continues/develops. Have fun reading, tell me what you think!
Will update pretty soon ^^

Daryl's POV – Before Merle, Michonne and Ella disappeared from the prison

I went looking for Merle everywhere. "Merle!" I finally found him in of the rooms that looked like a workshop.

"Hey, little brother." He said, one hand behind his back.

The grin on his face wasn't real. "What the hell!"

"I was just about to holler back at ya." Merle faked. Something was odd.

I looked around. "What are ya doin' down here?" He stepped sideways when I did. Was he hiding something from me? What was he really doing here?

"Just lookin' for a little crystal meth." Sure he was looking for drugs. I would never forget the first time he had tried to talk me into taking crystal meth too. I sniffed. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Shouldn't mess my life up when everything is going so sweet, right?" Merle chuckled. I started to walk around, looking into every corner of the damn room, but found nothing. "Ya won't find that hottie here."

I immediately turned back to him. "What the fuck Merle."

"Ah … still sensitive to that bad ass." What was that all about?

"What's your problem Merle?" I stated angrily. I didn't want him to know I was angry about him talking about her and tried to calm myself down.

"Ya two even had sex yet?" Merle just tried to work me up. "I bet she tastes like milk and honey." Before I could slap him verbally, he went on. "Heard the governor has a little thang for our girl. He likes her ass the most. But ya will keep her safe, will ya?" I didn't answer, I was still trying not to punch him. "Cause he always gets what he wants. Nubian queen is not enough."

What was that about?

"Oh … did I nail it?!" He spat. "Seem your best bud didn't tell ya everything."

Governor didn't only want Michonne … he wanted Ella too!? Rage boiled in me. Anger and hate seethed in my body, not only because of the fuckin' governor but of Rick too. I looked at Merle again. Was he talking the truth or just playing games? Did he just want to provoke me? But I realized he had spoken to Rick, he knew some facts. "Ya talked to Rick yet?" I said coldly, not wanting to show how much I felt betrayed. Breathing in deeply, I tried to focus. Why should Rick lie to me?

"Yeah. Oh, yeah. I'm in." Merle was tensed. "But he ain't got the stomach for it. He's gonna buckle, you know that, right?"

Merle got a point. "Yeah. If he does, he does." Better to speak of this than Ella. This was what I heard, deliver Michonne and live in peace.

"Do ya want him to?"

Since when was Merle asking me for an opinion? I hesitated to answer. Merle was still my bigger brother, always had been us. "Whatever he says goes." I finally said, knowing we had to do something to give us time to prepare. To have at least a chance to stand the army of that governor. To save us, to save Ella. I wanted her to have a chance to get away from that man.

"Man." Merle scoffed. "Do ya even possess a pair of balls, little brother?" The mockery was normal, I was used to it a long time ago. But since he had been away, I had felt more freedom. "Are they even attached?" He went on. "I mean if they are, do they belong to you? Or does ya little girlfriend own them now?"

"Leave her out of this shit." I grabbed my crossbow tighter to not clench my fists. I hated him talking of Ella. What was that feeling inside gnawing at my heart?

"If I were you, I would keep her close baby brother. If ya can't keep her safe here, maybe ya should take her away." What was he talking about? I turned away. I thought he had changed now, that he felt sorry for what he had done … maybe I was just fooling myself. "You used to call people like that sheep." He was mad. "What happened to ya?"

"What happened with you and Glenn and Maggie?"

"I've done worse." He looked down on me. "Ya need to grow up. Things are different now." Somehow his mood changed. Merle's eyes were kind of wet. "You people look at me like I'm the devil." Was he on the edge of crying? "Grabbing those lovebirds like that, huh? Now y'all want to do the same damn thing I did."

He was right … we weren't better.

"Snatch someone up and deliver them to the Governor. Just like me." He was talking in his silent voice which should cow someone down. "Ya even worse. Just handing over chocolate and leaving vanilla unsuspecting …" He clicked his tongue and shook his head slightly. "People do what they got to do or they die."

"You can't do things without people any more man." We shouldn't hand anyone over … that was all wrong, right? Why was I still feeling betrayed? Why did Merle talk as if he should not only deliver Michonne?

Merle just scuffed at me. "Maybe these people need somebody like me around, huh? Do their dirty work. The bad guy." I looked at him blankly. Is this how he saw himself? "Yeah, maybe that's how it is now, huh? How does that hit ya?"

He wasn't the bad guy. He was my brother. Deep down, he still was the one who stood in front of me to take all of our father's beatings. The bigger brother who sheltered me. "I just want my brother back."

"Get out of here man." He screamed at me. Was there still a big brother who would back me up?

Daryl's POV – present day

I had checked the cell block more than twice, there were no walkers left. The new people could live here, a new home. Maybe not as good as their precious little Woodbury, but a home with a roof was better than nothing. Making my last round, checking the cells again, I went out. The sun was high up, Rick must be back any minute and I wanted to go check on Ella. I hoped she would be up soon. She had been unconscious a long time. Luckily Hershel had known what he had to be done and Merle still had some painkillers. This small girl had shown more balls than anyone I knew. She had taken on the governor almost alone, had faced her fears while this governor had needed an army to face us small folks.

Remembering her, it was my fault she walked away again. After I had found Michonne on the road I had asked her where my brother was or if she had killed him. Her answer had been a slap, she had almost hit me again, had screamed at me for being such a selfish asshole. Ella was the one I should call for. That's when I had realized I had pushed Ella away. I just couldn't understand why this woman wanted me … even I had accepted it when we had been hunting together, I just couldn't believe it. She had kissed me first and I couldn't held myself back and kissed her too. To feel her in my arms, her skin, and her lips on mine … it was the best thing that had happened to me and I didn't mean just in the apocalypse. It had felt right.

When I had talked to Merle and had told him about the deal, he had made some comments about Ella. Of course Rick hadn't told me the governor had wanted Ella, but Merle had. Now that I remembered our conversation, he might have tried to talk me into watching her closely. He had tried to safe her by talking me into leaving with her. He had wanted to avoid Ella following him by talking me into saving her. I had been so blind … Instead I had went wild and shut everybody out, even her. I hadn't known how to deal with all the things and shutting out had been so easy. Emotions had never been my specialty.

I couldn't stand the thought of Ella being torn away from me, couldn't stand the thought of Merle and Ella being in a room together … I had never been so jealous and afraid at the same time in my life; had never known how to handle my feelings. I had wanted to talk to her, but when I saw her I couldn't open up. I had pushed her away with my behavior and she had somehow accepted it and had offered me friendship. It had hurt more than my father's beatings, but it had been my own fault. It had hurt she wanted to be just friends and forget about the intimacy we had shared before.

If Ella had known about the governor's demands, she wouldn't have hesitated to go. I had tried to avoid that, but in the end she had went off anyways. Not telling her had made her go and behaving like an asshole had made it even worse. When I had been running after Ella and Merle, running for the meeting point, I had been afraid she was dead. It had been obvious the governor wanted revenge, had wanted to kill the women. I would have lost her forever, knowing she would never return like she had done before. The fear I had felt that moment had made me scared of myself. It had shown how much I really cared and depended on her. But how could a piece of shit like me possibly deserve a girl like her … did I even deserve to be happy?

I reached for the door and excited the dark prison, leaving my thoughts behind. Ella was alive, she had survived this man again. When I had seen her pinned to the wall, looking like a puppet on strings, my heart had shattered. But she hadn't been dead and that's when I finally had realized there was more. I wanted this girl all for myself, wanted her to be safe forever … with me. I knew there wouldn't be sunshine and smiles all the time, but I had the strength to protect her from all the bad things that might come. I would never behave like an idiot again, never leave her out of my sight ever again.

When I looked up to the sun, something moved on the edge of my vision. Someone stood in the yard all alone. Taking a closer look, Ella stood there in a close distance. Was I hallucinating? Could she be already up? Hershel had given her strong meds and hadn't known when she would be conscious again.

But there she stood, a little shaky, on her own feet. She was looking my direction too, as if she had been looking for me. I began to walk, happy and afraid at the same time. She was up meant she was alive. She walked by herself meant she was fine. Yet I had been a complete idiot. Did she even want to talk to me? Even after I had shut her out? I needed to find out. When I was almost at her side, she mumbled my name and apologized. Her voice sounded broken and far away. But she had never been more beautiful.

The last steps I almost ran up to her, pulling her into me. "Ya up!" I wanted to kiss her, but instead I just looked into this green bright eyes. "Stop apologizing!" I couldn't stand her apologizing, it was me who needed to apologize. "You scared the fuck out of me."

"Thought you would bite my head off." Ella said cautiously. She still thought I was mad at her, but I had been mad at myself for letting someone come so close. I had been afraid to get hurt, but it had been the other way around: I had hurt her.

Where was that open girl bad-ass-attitude? She seemed so fragile with all the bandages. "I told you we are in this together." I said, trying to sound comforting. I wanted her so badly, but didn't know how to form the words. Didn't know where to touch her to not hurt her.

"I thought you would never talk to me again … you had been pretty mad …" She averted her eyes.

"I hadn't been mad at you." Why were apologizing words so hard to find? Was it that easy to say just sorry? "I couldn't handle the thought of you getting hurt or killed. I had never let anyone close 'cause of a reason …" Well there were several reasons, but they were my past-problems. "And when you suggested to be just friends … it killed me Ella." I pulled away. I had never opened up to a women. Now I felt vulnerable and didn't like it at all.

Somehow this small half-broken person pulled me back and buried her face into my chest. I put my arms around her. "You said my name …" I felt her smiling into me. I felt a little uncomfortable, standing in the open where everybody could watch us. But my inner demon couldn't wait no longer. When she looked up to me, I crushed my lips on hers. Holding her head in both of my hands and kissing her like there wasn't zombie-land outside, felt better than anything else. Her hands were on my back, pulling me into her. Where did she get that strength from? I smiled into her lips. That was the Ella I had fallen for in the woods.

With my right arm on her back I pulled her more into me, to feel all of her. When I did it, a yelp escaped her lips. I made a step back, but she grabbed my wrist with a smile. "You will not back off now Daryl Dixon."

How will this work out? :o)
R&R and have a nice weekend!