A/N All characters belong to the writers and creators of The Walking Dead. Except those that arose from my own twisted imagination.

Chapter Two-Danielle's Story

Daryl's eyes narrowed.

"How did you know Merle?" Danielle ignored the question and looked over at Hershel.

"Can I get more water please? When I bugged out, I could only grab the weapons bag. My food and water weren't handy." Oscar answered before Hershel.

"I'll get it. You want somethin' to eat too?" She nodded.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Oscar nodded, turned and walked down the hall. Danielle looked up at Daryl. She smirked.

"You know you don't look like Merle at all. I'd never have known it if you hadn't said your last name. He only called you his baby brother. The way he talked about you, I figured you for a kid." Daryl holstered his gun.

"I ain't no kid." Danielle started to laugh which turned into a cough. She sat down on the cot and started dry heaving. Hershel moved as quickly as he could to sit next to her, patting her on the back.

"You're going to have to take it easy. When was the last time you ate or drank anything?" Danielle spit on the floor of the cell and rested her elbows on her knees. She started laughing again.

"My mother would have a shit fit if she saw me right now. Sitting here, surrounded by men and not a ladylike bone in my body. My daddy now…he'd be proud. He used to call me his Huckle Mary Finn." She spit again. "I've been in those woods for about two, maybe three nights. I got lost when I had to circle back to get around a pack of biters and I wanted to throw off my trail in case Merle and his boys decided to follow me and take me back." She shuddered. Oscar returned with a bowl of stew and a canteen of water. She took both gratefully. She ate a spoonful and frowned, glancing up at Oscar.

"It's squirrel. Daryl keeps us well stocked up on meat but it takes some getting' used to if you ain't already." Danielle smiled and drank from the canteen.

"I thought it tasted familiar. I haven't had squirrel since my daddy died. That's been a good twenty years." She glanced again at Daryl. "Thanks. It's good." Hershel patted her on the back again.

"You just eat slow. No sense in it coming right back up again." She set the bowl down on the floor, took another drink from the canteen and slowly got back to her feet.

"Do y'all mind if we go outside? I understand if you don't want me around your people but I can't sit in here. I have a thing about small places." Rick and Daryl exchanged a look. Both men stood aside as she walked out of the cell. She stumbled and Daryl caught her arm, keeping her on her feet. She looked up at him, for the first time looking him square in the eye. He didn't like that. When people did that, he always felt defensive, like they were challenging him. He let go of her arm and let her walk in front of him. Rick led the way back out into the yard. Danielle blinked in the Georgia sunlight and turned her head away from the brightness. She followed Rick over to the large picnic table they had dragged from the exercise yard to the shade. She sat down across from Rick and Hershel. Oscar and Axel kept walking towards the fence where Glenn and Maggie were taking out another group of walkers. Daryl wasn't about to sit. He didn't trust her and felt more comfortable on his feet. Rick watched her for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, now you've eaten. You've drank something and we've gotten introduced. So, why don't you tell us what happened." Danielle glanced up at Daryl, then at the two men sitting across from her. Instinct told her that it was fine but she was still uneasy. If Daryl was anything like Merle or if this Rick was like the Governor, she may have jumped from the frying pan straight into the fire. She bit her lip and looked down at the table. Everything that had happened over the past two weeks was racing through her head and she didn't know where to start.

"Right after everything started to go bad I decided that Abigail, my nine year old, and I needed to get out of Atlanta. My ex-husband wasn't too happy that I was violating the divorce agreement and taking her out of the city but I told him to try and push it through the courts while the world was going to hell. I thought we could head west. My daddy's family is from around Monroe Louisiana and my mother's originally from Mississippi so I figured I'd try to make it back there," she paused for a moment and took another sip from the canteen.

"We'd waited too long to get out. Interstate 20 was blocked off with all the traffic and the people leaving the city. What got me was the number of people trying to get in. I decided to head south to see if I could get on one of the state highways and cut around. I got on 85 and had almost a clear shot but there was so much chaos and road blocks, we just kept getting pushed south. Abigail and I stayed with a few different camps, the ones with families, and we all just kept heading south along 85, moving camp every few weeks or so whenever the biters moved in too close. Someone said they heard from a CB call to another camp that the army had set up a safe zone in Macon for the winter so we turned east. That's how we ended up in Woodbury." She paused and took another drink from the canteen.

"When we first got there, it was nice. The Governor seemed like a nice enough guy and everyone really worked together to keep the place safe. I forget how many months we were there because we just seemed like one big family. Once they learned I was a pretty good shot with a bow and could handle a gun, they had me on the crew to run supplies in. We'd raid the cars on the road, houses, stores…whatever we could find and bring it back. It wasn't that bad of a deal. Sure we had the biters to deal with but they couldn't get into the town. Abigail was going back to school, had a few friends and I started to think that we could actually make it." Tears started to well up in her eyes and she wiped them away with the heel of her hand. Rick nodded at her when she appeared to regain her composure.

"If you felt so safe, what made it so bad that you had to leave?" Danielle's eyes flashed with anger and her face flamed red.

"Last month, Abigail got sick. We thought it was just a cold but there was a doctor there who said he heard fluid in her lungs and she needed antibiotics because it could be pneumonia. The only meds available were kept under lock and key by the Governor. I know now it was just another way of keeping us all dependent on him. I went to him and asked for penicillin for my little girl. He came to see her with this scientist, Milton, who everyone said was studying the biter virus to find a cure. After talking to Abigail and then to Milton, he said he'd be more than happy to give Abigail the medicine…for a price." She looked at all three men. Daryl shook his head in disgust.

"He made you pay on your back didn't he? Son of a bitch." He hit Rick's shoulder. "See, I told you we shoulda killed him! When we got Maggie and Glenn and we knew what he'd done to them, I told you that bastard had to die! But you were more worried about getting back here then you were doing what needed to get done." Rick didn't turn towards Daryl but raised his hand.

"Michonne told us he was too well guarded. It would have been a bloodbath and we were needed here. We barely got out as it is and we've been watching the roads for an ambush ever since." Daryl kicked at the dirt.

"That's a bullshit cop out and you know it. We got into Woodbury, grabbed Glenn and Maggie and only two people saw us!" He stopped when he saw Danielle glaring at him.

"What? You got something to say?"

"Yeah. You're welcome." She stood and walked slowly over to Daryl, glaring at him. "The reason why you were able to get in and out so quick without raising the alarm is because that night, your brother and his little gang were having a little party in his house and I was the favor." Daryl flinched but didn't look away. When he spoke, it was barely above a whisper.

"You're a liar. My brother ain't no rapist." Danielle moved closer, her fists clenched and both appeared to be squaring off to fight the other. Rick stood and put his hand on Danielle's arm. She jerked her arm away and he raised both hands.

"C'mon. Let's sit back down and finish this, ok? We just need to know what happened and know what's next." Danielle and Daryl kept glaring at each other, neither one backing down until Danielle turned her back on him and went back to her seat. Rick glanced up at Daryl who stood there thoroughly pissed off, shaking his head in disbelief. Danielle continued.

"That day was when I found out that what Milton and the Governor had planned and what they were doing to my daughter. For five days, she had been taking her medicine and she only seemed to be getting worse. I knew that there was another camp at the prison. We had talked about scoping the place out but were told it was too dangerous. I thought maybe I could take Abigail to you all and you might be able to help her. I even went so far as to get my weapons bag from the armory, the one I used for supply runs. I even packed another bag with some food and a few bottles of water. Then I asked the doctor if he could check on Abigail to see if she was strong enough to move. When he came over and saw her, that's when he looked at the medicine. He said it wasn't penicillin. He tasted it and said he was pretty sure that what Milton was giving my daughter was sugar water mixed with Pepto Bismol to make it look like the antibiotic. As he was leaving, Milton and the Governor arrived to check on Abigail. I confronted them with the medicine and Milton said what a great sacrifice I was making for the good of all mankind. That by allowing them to study her after she had died and turned, I was going to help them find a cure." She paused to steady her voice and tried to compose herself.

"The doctor tried to leave the house but the Governor had Merle, Cash, Tripp and two of the other leg breakers waiting outside. I think Merle slit the doctor's throat. By that time, Abigail was running such a high fever that she was delirious. Milton said he was going to watch her and that they would call me back when it was time so I could say goodbye. I told him I wasn't going anywhere and that's when Merle and his boys grabbed me, and dragged me out the back door. The Governor told them to keep me quiet for a few days, that it would be over soon. Cash took that as an opportunity to have his turn. And then Tripp. And then two of the others. I was just trying to block it out, like I did when I had to make my 'payments' to the Governor when I heard yelling. Merle came in and pulled whoever it was off of me and I honestly thought for one moment that he was going to put a stop to it but that wasn't why. He was screaming at all of them, telling them that while they were playing grab-ass, you all had waltzed in under their noses and made off with the prisoners. He was railing about the prison and that he just knew his baby brother wouldn't betray him like that. Then they left to go track you down and left me there. I think I passed out because when I came to, I was dressed and back in my living room. Milton was there and told me that it was time." Her voice hitched a bit and the tears started back. She clenched her jaw and shook her head.

"I walked…upstairs. The Governor was sitting next to my daughter's bed, holding…her hand," she practically spit the words out. "Merle was leaning against the wall looking bored as he waited." Danielle stopped trying to fight the tears and they flowed down her face.

"My Abigail looked so small. She was pale and could barely breathe. She had sweat pouring off her face. Milton told me that I needed to say good-bye. I walked over to the bed and I held her hand. Her hand was ice cold." Rick had both hands covering his mouth, Hershel was shaking his head looking at the ground and Daryl had turned around and was watching her with a look of both suspicion and sympathy.

"I leaned over and I kissed her forehead. And I told her I was sorry I didn't do better and told her I'd make it right. And then she took one more breath and was gone. The Governor came around behind me and helped me to my feet, actually trying to comfort me!" Her eyes were hard again and her hands were shaking.

"He told Merle to take Abigail to Milton's lab. They duct taped her mouth and hands in case she turned on the way there, I guess. As they walked down the stairs, I heard Milton tell Merle to pull her teeth out before he put her in the cage. The Governor was still holding me, kissing my hair and telling me that I was so brave to let them do this. That the world would thank me one day after this research led to a cure. I pushed away from him and told him to get out. He said he understood that I needed time to grieve and that he would come by later to check on me." She paused and took another drink from the canteen.

"I think I cried for about an hour. I still didn't know what had happened. I let them kill my daughter and I was letting them use her as a lab rat. I knew she was going to turn and it sounded like they were just going to keep her…alive in that state forever while they did god knows what to her." I went downstairs and found Merle was sitting on my couch. He started smiling when he saw me." Daryl was leaning on the table, staring at her, his jaw set. When she mentioned Merle, Rick saw Daryl's fingers curl into fists. Rick didn't think Daryl would actually hit her but something was about to happen.

"'Well well well' he told me. 'Looks like it's just you and me now sugar'. I started past him to the door but he's so quick. He put me in a chokehold and I couldn't breathe. He kept shushing me and stroking my hair. 'That's right sugar. Just stay calm, it'll be alright. You just be a good girl and don't do nothing stupid now and everything will be alright.' I stopped fighting him and he let go of my neck but grabbed my hair instead. I know I cried out and he hit me. I knew I had to get out of there before he killed me. He forced me to my knees and unbuckled his pants. 'Now sugar, I ain't gonna do you like them other boys did but if you're just sweet to Merle for a little while, we'll be just fine.'" Daryl grabbed the canteen and threw it across the yard, pacing back and forth shaking his head. Rick jumped up quickly and tried to calm him down.

"Daryl, I know this is hard to hear but you can't be like this right now." Daryl shook his head and pointed to Danielle.

"You're talking like what she's sayin' is true. I know my brother and he's a lot of things but he doesn't rape women," Rick kept telling him to calm down, not realizing that Danielle had gotten to her feet and was right behind him until he saw Daryl glaring over his shoulder. Rick stood aside as Danielle reached up and touched Daryl's arm. He flinched and she pulled her hand back. Her eyes, though still angry, had softened a bit.

"You've been told your whole life that you and your brother are cut from the same cloth haven't you? You think that means whatever Merle did somehow comes back on you." Daryl shook his head.

"My brother wouldn't do this," he said but without the conviction of before.

"If it's any consolation, he didn't get to do anything. After I knocked him out, I grabbed my weapons bag and ran. I jumped the wall and made for the woods. I don't know if anyone saw me or if anyone said anything to me. I just ran." Danielle stopped and turned to Rick.

"Where are my weapons?" Glenn and Maggie, who had been standing back listening, brought the bag over and set it on the table. Danielle opened it and inspected the contents.

"Y'all didn't take anything did you?" Glenn shook his head.

"No, we didn't even open it." Danielle nodded and pulled the bag up on her shoulder.

"So, are you going to send me on my way or is there room in the big house for one more?" Rick frowned and shook his head.

"I think that's something that we need to discuss with the group…" He looked from Daryl to Hershel. Hershel started to speak when Daryl spoke up.

"She can stay." He turned and walked away, his head down. Rick looked from Danielle to Hershel and then caught up to Daryl, stopping him.

"Daryl, we need to talk about this. We've got too much too lose if she's lying to us." Daryl glanced back at her, looked at the ground and then back at Rick.

"Nah, she can stay. It's better we keep her here and keep an eye on her. I don't like what she's sayin' but that don't mean it ain't true." He looked back at Danielle and turned to walk the fence where another crowd of walkers was waiting. With a fury that surprised everyone, he began single handedly taking out every walker he saw.