Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

Chapter 133

Author's Note: Man, I dreaded the flu chapters, now they just won't stop! To much going on! And here I was thinking I may catch up to this season. Yeah, not anytime soon. Maybe during the summer! Which I have an AU story in mind if I do. Non Zombies with Rick and Jewel meeting. But that's only if I catch up with the episodes LOL. Oh and I finally found an actor for Mitch: Benjamin Stockham. I've got a picture of him and Glenn on my profile as well as a couple of Jewel and Rick. Please review.

Hershel, Dr. S, Mar, and Ronnie's POV:

Ronnie looked at Hershel as he handed the tea to Mar and Dr. S. "You shouldn't be in here Hershel," Ronnie told him.

"She's right, you weren't sick, Mar wasn't sick til she came in here. You two put yourselves in danger," Dr. S told them.

"You tell me that either one of you wouldn't do the same?" Hershel asked them. "How's everyone doing? Did you tell your group yet Ronnie?" he asked kindly.

Ronnie nodded. "Yeah, they took it hard. Taylor is the only one not sick, I'm hoping she's strong enough to keep this away."

"Glenn and Sasha are pushing themselves, helping out where they can," Mar said as she coughed.

"You are too, you need to rest," Ronnie told the other woman.

"I'm fine," Mar insisted. "I'm not as sick as some of the others. Hershel's going to need help."

Dr. S coughed. "He has me and Ronnie to help, you need to rest. Just because you aren't bad now, doesn't mean you won't get bad."

"I could say the same thing to you," Mar responded. "Daryl and the others will be back as they can possibly be. This tea should help until then."

"Go ahead and drink up, vet's orders," Hershel said with a small laugh. "You up to helping me check on the others Mar?"

Mar nodded. "Yeah, I'm not feeling to horribly bad," she answered.

"Mar!" Mitch yelled from the top of the steps. "Glenn you need to get up," he told the man.

Mar and Hershel went out of the cell, and up to where Glenn was. "Mitch go back to your cell and rest," Mar said.

"I'm alright, Mitch, just need to rest a bit, go on," Glenn assured him.

Mitch nodded as he glanced at them before going. Mar wet a cloth and put it on Glenn's forehead.

Glenn coughed and laughed a little. "This sucks. After everything we just get taken out by a glorified cold?" he asked.

"Don't say things like that, don't even think things like that," Hershel told him.

"All I can do is stop saying them," Glenn told them.

"You've got to be strong, Glenn," Mar told him.

"She's right," Hershel agreed with the nurse. We got this far somehow, you can believe somehow. Now we all have jobs to do, this ones yours," he told the other man.

"Drink the tea," Mar told Glenn.

Merle, Rick and Summer's POV:

Rick put the bag in the car and looked at Summer as she put the gas can in the car. "You don't have to do this Summer, you don't have to come with me."

Summer looked at him. "I do. I promised," she told him.

"Sweetheart, I'm letting you off that promise," Rick said as he kissed the top of her head. "This isn't on you," he told her.

"I'm not going to let you do this alone. This isn't how we do it anymore. If mom was here, she'd insist on going with you. Mom's not here, I'm here. You are not going to do this alone, dad. Even if you left without me, I'd follow. I'd get on the bike, and I'd follow you," Summer told him. Summer hated the bike, she'd never really do it but she was making a stand.

"Now, girl, you know better then to lie to family," Merle said as he came up.

"Uncle Merle," Summer said.

"Don't Uncle Merle me," Merle told her. "So, Officer Friendly, you want to tell me what's up with this sudden little road trip you are planning' with Summer and Carol?"

Rick looked at Summer then at Merle. "We just need to find some Tylenol, flu medicine, something to hold off the symptoms until Daryl and the others get back."

Merle looked at Summer with a smirk. "That's all it is, girl?"

Summer bit her lip and lowered her head but didn't answer.

Merle gave a small laugh. "She's been doing that since she was three when she's tryin' to avoid answerin' me. I call it the Uncle Merle bullshit detector."

"Sorry, Dad," Summer said as she looked at him. "That's just wrong, Uncle Merle."

"But it works. So, now Officer Friendly, since your takin' my niece out on this road trip, I want the truth," Merle told him.

"She's my daughter Merle, I don't want to risk her life out there anymore then you do. But she's a stubborn Dixon and won't let me leave without her," Rick told the other man.

"Summer, go give Maggie a hand on the gate," Merle told her.

"Uncle Merle…" Summer started to say.

Merle gave her the Dixon glare. "Now," he said.

Summer sighed. "Yes Uncle Merle," she said.

Merle looked at Rick. "Now, that's a lot of gas cans, and food, for three people who aren't even gonna be gone for the night. I've got a feelin' that you plan on leavin' one out there. Now I know you aint planning' to leave Summer, for one Jewel would kill you, and then I'd wait til you came back as a Walker and kill you again. I know you aren't planning' to stay out there your own self. So that tells me, that Carol ain't comin' back. Now, if you are planning' on leavin' Carol out there, one of the original Atlanta group, one of the old timers, then she must have done that to Ridge and Karen," he told him. "Now I aint kiddin' myself thinking' I was ever part of that group, hell first meetin' we had you handcuffed me to a damn roof," he reminded him.

Rick stood up straighter and approached Merle. "Have you just been waitin' til Daryl and Jewel aren't around to confront me about this? You just been biding your time to tell me off Merle? Is this what this is about?"

Merle huffed. "Yeah, Officer Friendly, I've just been bidin' my time until the whole damn prison got sick and my pregnant little sister had to be in quarantine, and my baby brother had to go out on a supply run," he answered sarcastically. "Truth is Officer Friendly, I couldn't stop thinking' about you in Woodbury, planning' what I'd do to your sorry ass if we ever saw each other again. Truth is, I did what I did to Glenn and goaded Jewel the way I did because I wanted to find you again, had a big ole grudge to settle. But, you did right by my family while I was gone, better then I ever did before. Showed Jewel she deserved to be loved. Yeah, you and I aint ever gonna be even, unless you know how to give me my hand back, but this isn't bout that."

Rick looked at him. "Then what is it about Merle?"

"You bein' able to do what needs to be done. I know Jewel killed Shane, cause he was endangerin' everyone, cause she wanted to save you from killin' your best friend. I took Michonne, was gonna turn her over to the Governor, cause you wouldn't do it. Now, you're thinking' about takin' Carol out there, leavin' her on her own. Thinkin' and doin' are two very different things. Not to mention Summer is demandin' to go with you. Do you think you are man enough to leave her out there, Officer Friendly? Cause if you got one doubt, if Summer has one doubt, then you need to let me do it. She burnt two people, weather or not it was right or not, she did it. You got to be ready to leave her out there, turn around and not look back. You got to be able to do it without feelin' guilty bout it. And, you got to be able to convince Summer it's the right thing to do if she starts to back out. Are you that kind of man now Officer Friendly? The kind of man that won't go back?" Merle asked.

Rick looked at him. "For the safety of my wife, my unborn baby, my children, yes I'm that type of man."

TBC (next chapter is the vet group!)