Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

Chapter 131

Author's Note: More reviews make me happy! Two days til the mid season premier of Walking Dead. I go on training for a week March 8th and all I can think of is, don't these people know I'm going to be missing the Walking Dead. Oh well it's for work. I am avoiding the letter M from now on if I have any more OC's that pop up. Ack! To many M's!

This is how I see Merle evolving if they hadn't killed him off. He can still be an ass, but people change. Review please.

Rick and Summer's POV:

Summer squeezed Joey's hand and kissed him before she wished him luck and walked over to where Rick was filling water buckets. "What?" she asked as she noticed him looking at her.

Rick shook his head and gave a small smile. "Shouldn't really be kissing with this flu going around. Actually, you shouldn't be kissing at all," he teased her.

Summer rolled her eyes. "Carl mad about going into quarantine?"

"Of course," Rick answered as he let his eyes follow Carol.

"Dad?" Summer questioned him.

"What?" Rick asked as he turned his attention back to Summer. "Your mom is hanging in there."

Summer nodded as she let her eyes go to where Rick had been looking. "Something up with Carol dad?"

"No, her and I are disagreeing about a couple things, nothing to be concerned about," Rick assured her. "So why aren't you going to the medical college? It's what you do," he asked.

Summer looked at him. "Dad, you're in an impossible situation here. Tyreese and Ronnie need answers to who did this. I'm not going to let you do it alone. That's not how we do things anymore. That's why a counsel was put together, so one person doesn't have to do it all alone. The counsel's a little busy, mom needs to stay away from us, Maggie is worried about Glenn, so guess what, you got me. And, you know us Dixon women, we are stubborn.

Rick nodded. "I forget that you aren't the same fifteen year old I met. Summer, I can't ask you to do something that I may do."

"You aren't asking, dad, I'm telling you that I am with you," she said as she glanced over to Carol. "Dad do you think Carol had something to do with this?"

Rick looked at her. "You and your mother scare me," he said.

"You do think Carol had something to do with this….but it's Carol," Summer told him.

"I don't have any proof yet. I don't want you to say anything to her or to anyone else. I was going to go down and see if I can find any clues or anything," Rick told her.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Summer asked.

Rick looked at her. "Summer," he started to say softly.

"No dad, don't Summer me! Whoever did this, we need to find them. Mitch is sick. Glenn, Sasha, Lizzie….Dr. S. They are sick with this thing, the flu, and we've got a murderer among us. I don't know if it's Carol, I don't know who it is, but as long as whoever is out there, everyone who is sick is in danger. What if mom gets this? Is someone going to decide that she needs to be burnt….and the baby. Judith? What if she gets sick? No dad, I need to find out who burnt two people and threw them out like trash. I need to look them in the eyes and ask them why," Summer told him.

Rick kissed the top of her head. "Let's go," he told her.

Daryl and Merle's POV:

Merle walked up to Daryl where he was working on the car. "You alright little brother?"

"Got to be," Daryl answered without looking up.

"Little brother, that's not what I asked. I asked if you were alright. I'll go, you stay here, in case something' happens to the boy," Merle told him.

Daryl stood up and punched Merle. "Nothing's gonna happen to Mitch! Don't ever say something like that again!"

Merle pulled Daryl into a hug. "Easy little brother. I don't want to think about it either, I'm kinda fond of the boy, but we got to face facts. He's sick, and he's a fighter, but….there's a chance. Mar may need you if the unthinkable happens, just think you need to stay here."

Daryl pulled back. "When did you become such a supporter of what is right and wrong?" he asked as he started back with the car.

"Since my little siblings' got stupid and fell in love," Merle answered.

"I can't stay, I need to be doin' something. If there's a chance, slim as it may be, I need to go and do it. Sittin' here, fortifying the fences, that would make me go crazy knowing Mitch and Mar were in there, and there was nothing' I can do to help them. This is something that I can do," Daryl insisted.

Merle nodded. "Then I guess I'm holding down the fort. Never thought I'd see the day that I'd be workin' with Officer Friendly without arguing' about it."

"We can't be doin' things like we used to, it doesn't work that way," Daryl told him. "Our sister is pregnant, if she gets this…" he started to say.

Merle put his hand on his shoulder. "We aint thinking' like that, alright? She's a Dixon, she's a fighter," he said as he shook his head. "You know Will Dixon is lookin' up from us in hell and shaking his head wonderin' how he raised a bunch of pussies."

Daryl let out a tired laugh. "Like he ever raised us. Everything we ever did, ever got, except for the scars on our backs, everything we are, we did it on our own."

"So you're sayin' I'm an ass because I chose to be that way?" Merle asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"You chose a way to protect yourself. This is the longest you've stayed around in a place, workin' with others instead of against," Daryl reminded him. "You even worked out your issues with Rick."

Merle snorted. "Let's not go that far, baby brother. Got a reminder every minute of my life about Officer Friendly's and my first meeting," he said as he raised his hand. "Now that being said, he kept you, Summer and Jewel alive. Hell, somewhere on the way, Jewel fell for him. I know how hard that must have been for her to let anyone in, figured he got to be something special to have Jewel Dixon break down barriers. I've got eyes, I see how the two of 'em look at each other, how much it is probably killin' both of them not to be able to rely on each other. I don't give a shit about Officer Friendly's happiness, but since Jewel's happiness depends on him, I kinda have to let the grudge down. If any of the three of us has the right to be happy, it's Jewel."

Daryl looked at him. "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" he asked. "Merle…if Mitch does…die, it can't be Mar that puts him down."

Merle nodded. "I'll go into A block myself and do it baby brother. Now you be safe out there, don't get yourself killed. You got a kid to get back too," he said as he walked away.

Clinic group:

Jes put her bag in the car as she looked up to see Daryl walking up. "This sure is different then the first time we went out together," Jes teased.

Daryl gave a weak smile. "Like you a lot better now. Glad you're here."

"Where else would I be?" Jes asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Running off. You and Michonne, both of you run off anytime you feel like it," Daryl pointed out.

"Still got unfinished business, not going to be done until the One Eyed monster is gone," Jes told him. "But we're here now, that's all that should matter Daryl. You of all people should know what it's like to be a loner, not fit into a group. I can't speak for Michonne, I just can go by my reasons."

Daryl looked at her. "Those reasons probably run a lot deeper then the Governor," he said as he cast a glance at Merle.

Jes laughed. "You think I run off cause of Merle?"

"Maybe you're running off cause of your feelings for Merle, he's the same damn way," Daryl pointed out.

Jes shrugged. "Whatever it is between Merle and I, can't put a word to it. We tolerate each other, we get each other. But I don't keep going off because of Merle. I always have been a loner and at the end of the world, it kinda works for me now," she answered as she looked up and saw Axel walking toward them. "Axel."

"I want to go, to help. You need more bodies," Axel told them.

Daryl glanced at Jes before saying anything. "You sure?" he asked.

"I've gotten better at shooting and I feel like I should be doing more then the gate for all you guys have done for me. I haven't had a family in a long time, everyone I was in here with is gone. This is the only family I have, will probably ever have, I need to do this," Axel told them.

Daryl nodded. "Get your bag," he told the other man.

Axel nodded as he went to do it. Jes looked at Daryl. "You think that's a good idea? We don't know what we're going to find out there."

Daryl shrugged. "Same thing that's in here, and we need bodies, and he needs the practice," he answered.

Tyreese and Merle's POV:

Merle walked down to A cell block and leaned against the wall as he watched Tyreese standing by the window. "You just going to stand there and do nothing? Or you gonna get your ass upstairs and go try to find some medicine for your sister?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Tyreese told the other man, not turning around. "Someone needs to stand watch."

Merle walked up to him. "You don't think I want to find the person that did this to Karen and Ridge? Take my handy little knife here and slit there throats, maybe even set them on fire, make them feel the pain. I can't do that, this aint Woodbury, and we're not like the Governor. Whoever did that, they aren't gonna get away with it."

"Sasha's in there, I aint going nowhere," Tyreese told him.

"Yeah you stand there, you stand guard til you got to put a bullet in her head and then you got to go tell your littlest sister that she's dead," Merle told him.

Tyreese turned and looked at him. "She isn't gonna die," he told the other man.

"That's exactly what the hell she is going to do if you keep standin' your ass down here. You got the chance to help her and everyone else in there by goin' on that run for the medicine," Merle told him. "Now the old me would drag you up stairs, kickin' and screamin' and call you all the racist names I could think of while puttin' your ass in the car. But, I'm tryin' to turn over a new leaf. I'm tryin' to be the big brother to Daryl and Jewel that they always deserved, the big brother that you are to Sasha and Lexi. See the question you should be askin' yourself Tyreese, is are you gonna be able to stand yourself if Sasha dies and you could have maybe helped? Are you gonna be able to look at that little sister of yours and answer that question? I've been there, I've asked myself that question. Now most of the time, the answer was hell no, and that's why I started the drugs, the drinkin', the racist bullshit. I ran away when Daryl and Jewel needed me the most. You know what happened? Jewel hated me, resented me because I wasn't there. I was there big brother, and I didn't protect them. Now Lexi, she adores you. I wish Jewel and I could have laughed the way you two do when she was that age. But, you keep standin' here, to keep watch, and Sasha dies and Lexi finds out you had a chance to get her help, she's gonna hate you. She's gonna look at you the way Jewel did when I first came here. You don't want that, Tyreese. You don't ever want a siblin' to blame you for not doin' everythin' you could do in your damn power to protect them. You don't want to lose that trust. In this world you may not have years to earn it back, or try and repair the relationship."

Tyreese looked at him. "Don't ever think Lexi could hate anyone, she doesn't have a hateful bone in her body."

Merle looked at him. "You've met my sister, Jewel right? The one who worries bout everyone else? The one who will be the first one to fight for you? This is the first time in years, we've said a decent word to each other without cussin', or throwin' accusations at each other. I'm only now getting' used to her being able to look at me without that damn Dixon stare. You're Sasha's and Lexi's big brother, that comes with a whole lot of fuckin' responsibility, responsibility that I didn't realize until it was almost to late. You're also the first one Lexi's gonna blame if Sasha dies and you were down here. Now the car is near the gate, they're gassin' up. You think about what I said, I'll tell them to give you about ten minutes," he told him before he walked out leaving Ty with his thoughts.