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

Chapter 33-Ghosts in the Night

"Can you see anyone?" Tyreese whispered to Abraham. Abraham dropped his binoculars.

"Can't see any movement that way." He pointed to the three walkers slowly ambling towards the Woodbury wall. "They never used to let biters get that close. Somethin's up." Staying crouched down, he made his way carefully towards the gate. Suddenly, he ducked down behind one of the abandoned cars and motioned for the others to keep down as well.

"Someone's on watch." Taylor carefully crawled closer.

"Who is it? Baylor? Miguel?" Abraham looked through the binoculars and shook his head.

"It's Dave Saunders." Abraham said, shocked. Taylor's jaw dropped.

"But he's almost eighty!" Abraham frowned at him.

"Would you keep it down?" He turned back to Tyreese and Michonne and motioned them forward. "Usually, there's three guys right there," Abraham whispered, pointing to where one obviously elderly man stood with a rifle. "There's another three on either side and then two at the other end. That side is so wide open, it's impossible to sneak up on but this end is more vulnerable." Michonne stared at the wall without reaction.

"Yeah, I know." Abraham glanced at her and then remembered that she had broken into Woodbury twice. Taylor picked up the binoculars and moved closer to get a better view of the wall.

"Be careful!" hissed Abraham. Taylor ignored him. As he got around the car, being careful to stay behind the other abandoned vehicles, he could see a clearer view of the wall.

"Abraham!" he hissed. "Saunders is the only one on watch!" As they watched, the three biters reached the wall underneath Dave Saunders and began slapping the wall, reaching for the older man. He just looked at them, not reacting in any way to take them out. Taylor turned back to Abraham.

"I think they're low on ammo. Don't want to waste it on walkers." Tyreese nodded.

"I think that's a good sign. The Governor probably took off and left a few of these people here to fend for themselves." Michonne adjusted her sword and looked behind them.

"I'm going around to the side, see if I can get in over there." Abraham stopped her before she could leave.

"And what are you going to do? Just walk up to someone and say 'Hey I was just in the neighborhood. So what's going on?'" She shrugged.

"Sounds like a plan." Michonne darted off around the cars heading in the direction of the side wall. Abraham turned to Tyreese who shrugged.

"What can I say? She does her own thing." Abraham shook his head.

"She's going to get killed." He froze as he heard the sound of a shotgun round being chambered behind him.

"Hello Abraham." Abraham raised his hands and turned towards the woman's voice.

"Janet! What in the hell is going on?" The woman lowered the shotgun slightly but didn't relax her grip completely.

"I should ask you the same question Abraham. What are you doing back here?" She nodded at Taylor. "Thought you all took off a couple of months ago, never to return. Isn't that what you and Bill said when you tried to get the rest of us to leave with you?" Abraham took a step towards he and she raised her gun. "Just don't move, alright?"

"Janet, we just came back to see if the Governor was still here. Is he?" Janet shook her head.

"He's gone. Took what was left of his crew and high tailed it out of here not long after you all left. A bunch of people took off but the rest of us stayed. There are people here that couldn't be moved, you know, like the older people and the people that are just too scared to set foot beyond the wall. Someone needed to take care of them. So I stayed and Dave stayed and a bunch of other able bodied people who could have left stayed to take care of the others until the Governor decided to come back or other help arrives." Abraham frowned.

"Janet, I'm sorry. If the Governor's left you, then we're the only help you're going to get. Let us come in and see what we can do." He took two steps and she shoved the shotgun in his face.

"Why should I trust you? You left. You left us, Abraham. Without Bill to keep an eye on the wall, we've missed weak spots. People have died when those things got in. We've had to make do with what supplies we have stored because no one feels safe going on a run. We're hanging on by a thread. This would be a perfect time for that army at the prison to attack us." Tyreese looked incredulous.

"They're not an army. They're regular people, just like you folks. They didn't attack Woodbury. The Governor's men kidnapped their people." Janet glanced at him.

"Oh yeah? They kidnapped one of our people too. Her little girl had died from pneumonia. She was distraught and weak and they took her. God knows what they've done to her, if she's even still alive." Abraham opened his mouth to speak when Taylor rose from his spot behind the other car. Janet almost pulled the trigger but hesitated.

"Janet, Danielle Robertson is fine. She wasn't kidnapped. I've seen her, she's ok." Janet looked from Abraham to Taylor to Tyreese and shook her head.

"No, the Governor told us…" Taylor cut her off.

"The Governor lied to all of us. He's the one we should be scared of." He walked towards Janet and took the shotgun from her. "Let us help you. Please." Janet nodded her head.

"Ok. We need to go around to the side. Follow me." Taylor followed behind her while Abraham and Tyreese stayed a little behind.

"What was that all about?" Tyreese asked. Abraham jerked his chin towards Taylor.

"He saved Janet when her car wrecked on the road and brought her to Woodbury about six, seven months ago. He tried to get her to leave with us but she was too afraid and trusted the Governor." Tyreese shook his head.

"Regular Jim Jones type wasn't he." Abraham nodded.

"Absolutely. And I drank the Kool-Aid along with everyone else. I'm just glad my eyes were opened." They got to the side gate where the guard opened the door in the wall to let them in. Michonne was waiting on the other side. Abraham was surprised to see her standing there.

"How did you get in?" She raised her eyebrow.

"I knocked."

Janet and Dave looked at each other after Abraham and Taylor explained to the fifteen remaining Woodbury residents about the prison. Dave nodded.

"We'd like to come with you." Janet began to protest and Dave held up his hand.

"We'll die if we stay here. You know the Governor's not coming back. We can't leave these people here to die when there's someplace we can safely move them to. We can get the remaining supplies loaded on the bus tonight and leave tomorrow." He looked at Abraham. "Will that be ok?" Abraham turned to Tyreese.

"Well, what do you think? You know Rick and the rest of the prison group better than any of us. Will they be accepting of more people?" Tyreese thought about it.

"Rick's a good man. We've got D block cleared out now, there's plenty of room. If we bring them in, I think there's a good chance Rick will let them stay. We'll get everyone ready tonight and leave in the morning. We can hitch a ride to the car and drive in ahead of the bus to clear the way." Dave nodded and turned to the crowd.

"Ok everyone. Let's get moving."

Dani lay her head on Daryl's chest, loving the feel of his sweat on her cheek and listening to his rapid breathing and heartbeat. She was out of breath too and still coming down off of what had been one of their wilder nights. Daryl twisted her hair through his fingers and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

"You keep that up woman and you're gonna kill me." His voice was teasing and she smiled, tracing her fingers over the tattoo on his chest. It was cooler tonight. At some point, they had kicked the sheet down around their legs and the air was quickly cooling their overheated skin. Dani shivered and Daryl reached down to pull the sheet up over her.

"Better?" Dani nodded and kissed his chest. Daryl tightened his arm around her. They both enjoyed this time, laying naked in each other's arms in the dark, forgetting where they were for a brief moment.

"Dani, can I ask you somethin'?"

"Of course." His fingers ran down her arm.

"If somethin' happens here, did you still want to head west to try and find your family?" Dani was surprised at his question. They hadn't talked about that for a while.

"I don't know. I would love to know if Jasper, Garrett, and Sam made it but I don't want to find them like those things, you know? Plus with the baby comin', I'd be afraid of gettin' stuck out on the road by ourselves when he decides to make his appearance." She heard Daryl chuckle.

"So you think it's gonna be a boy, huh?" Dani smiled and shrugged.

"Could be. If it is, we're namin' him after Granddad. I think Jesse goes good with Dixon, don't you think?" Daryl's arm tightened around her.

"I think that sounds nice." He was suddenly quiet. Dani propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him.

"Why'd you ask about whether I'm still wantin' to go to Louisiana? What's goin' on?" He moved out from underneath her and turned on his side to face her.

"Bill was tellin' me about some place he worked on in Ohio..."

"Oh yeah, Coldwater Hills. He talked about it in Woodbury. I remember back when they had the hearings a few years ago about how public money got spent on a private development. Some Fort Knox for the super rich or somethin', right?"

"Yeah, that's what Bill said. He wants to keep that as an option if we have to leave the prison." Dani thought about it.

"I don't know. It sounds great as a backup but Ohio's so far away." She moved closer to him. "You know I'll go where you go, Dixon. I'm not leavin' you." Daryl kissed her, the kiss deepening as he moved over her. She wrapped her leg around his waist as he moved between her legs and pressed against her. "I take it you're not leavin' me either?" He didn't answer. Instead, he slowly pushed inside her, the connection drawing a moan from both of them. He entwined his fingers with hers as he gently rocked in and out of her. Dani arched her hips up to meet his and Daryl responded with a low growl in his throat as he nipped at her shoulder. He wasn't thrusting hard and fast like he had a few minutes before but was sliding in and out of her slowly and rhythmically, savoring the feel of her. His lips were on hers again and Dani freed one hand to entwine in his hair. It was so thick, long and wild and she loved running her fingers through it. He tightened his grip on her other hand and moved his lips down to her throat, the whiskers from his beard scraping the sensitive skin near her collarbone. She arched her back and tightened around him, drawing a moan from him that vibrated against her still chilled skin. His thrusts came faster and Dani brought her hips up to match his rhythm.

"Danielle." The word was barely audible through his ragged breathing as he cupped her ass in the palm of his hand and brought her hips up to meet his.

"Daryl. Yessss…" the word was drawn out as she felt her orgasm building. He was tensing inside her, holding back, waiting for her. She quickly jerked her hips up, grinding her pelvis against his, making him speed up, thrusting deep inside her, filling her. She arched her neck back and cried out as she rode the wave of her orgasm and smiled in satisfaction when she felt him come inside her. He collapsed on top of her, kissing the base of her throat before kissing her deeply on the mouth. He continued the kiss down her neck, across her breasts and finally stopped on her stomach. He ran his fingers slowly across her belly right below her naval before moving to lie next to her.

"We won't be able to do this in a little while," he said quietly. Dani ran her hand along his jaw.

"Not like earlier tonight, that's for sure. We should probably hold off on doin' that again until afterwards." Daryl laughed.

"Like I said, you do that every night you'll probably kill me." He kissed her softly and was serious again. "I just don't want to do anythin' to hurt you or hurt the baby. That's all I'm sayin'." Dani nodded.

"I don't worry about you hurtin' either one of us, ever." He pulled her into his arms and she rested her head on his chest.

"I love you Daryl." He flinched slightly as if he'd been hit and ran his hand through her hair and down her back. Dani was surprised at his reaction, especially since he'd already told her he loved her.

"I love you too." His voice was soft but there was a note of fear in those words. He meant them with all sincerity, that much Dani knew, but he sounded like the he had in the early part of their relationship when he had tensed up whenever she touched him. Frowning, Dani knew it wasn't the time or the place to have that conversation and instead closed her eyes. She'd talk to him about it tomorrow.

"Look at you little brother. You can't never stop surprisin' me." Daryl woke with a jerk and quickly reached over to turn on the lantern. Merle was leaning back against the door licking his lower lip as he grinned down at Dani lying there asleep, naked and uncovered, draped across Daryl's chest. Daryl slid out from under her, pulled the sheet up over her shoulder and grabbed his pants. Merle smirked and clucked his tongue in disappointment.

"I guess the big show's over then." Daryl drew in a sharp breath as he stood to pull his pants up. This had to be a dream. Merle was dead.

"What do want Merle?" Merle crossed his arms in front of him.

"Just wanted to offer my best wishes baby brother. I heard you done knocked up your little girlfriend there. I figured you was fuckin' her just didn't think you'd be dumb enough to do it with no rubber." Merle shook his head. "Damn shame too, gettin' stuck with a kid at a time like this with all them walkers out there and the Governor comin' back for y'all." Daryl's eyes narrowed and crossed his arms.

"What do you care? You're dead." Merle nodded.

"And I see you're still all tore up about it. Ruttin' there on that bed like a dog with a bitch in heat. This is a bad time to be thinkin' with your dick boy."

"Shut up." Merle hooted.

"Oooh I touched a nerve. While you're standin' there with your ass in the wind, the Governor is gettin' his army together. He's got tanks, bombs, enough fire power to send all y'all straight to hell, includin' you and your whore." Daryl pointed towards the door.

"Just go on and get the hell out of here Merle!" Merle held up his hands.

"Ok now ok. No need to be hostile. Since you want to keep the happy fairy tale alive let's talk about the little runt. You plan on tellin' him about his Uncle Merle? Or about how his grandpa whupped his daddy with a belt to turn him into a man or how his stupid drunk grandma burnt the damn house down with her in it? You can't run from your past boy. You know the second that little brat won't shut up, you're gonna do to him exactly what Daddy did to us." Daryl felt the anger building. He wanted to attack this dream or ghost or demon or whatever it was and make it stop talking but he was frozen in place. Merle was throwing every fear Daryl had dredged up in his mind since learning about the baby back into his face.

"I won't be nothin' like Dad. I won't beat my son, I sure as shit won't burn him with cigarettes and I'll do whatever I have to do to make sure he turns out nothin' like you!" Merle tilted his head to the side and did his best to look wounded but didn't bother to hide the sheer delight that he was getting under Daryl's skin again.

"I'm hurt Darlena, real hurt. You're just gonna forget your blood, your kin, where you come from just 'cuz you got yourself a hot piece of ass and a squallin' brat on the way? If I didn't know better, I'd think you was standin' there thinkin' you're better than me." Daryl's eyes flashed and the anger spilled out. He lunged forward, grabbed Merle by the collar and slammed him against the door.

"Hell yeah I'm better than you! I've always been better than you! I'm not the one who went to jail! I'm not the one that was so strung out I couldn't see straight half the time! That was you Merle, all you! I've never been like you! Even all the shit you dragged me into when we was kids, tryin' to make me just like you are, it didn't work cuz I knew better! Just leave, Merle and stay away from me and mine! That includes Dani, my kid and anyone else I care about! You got that? Go on back to hell where you belong and just leave us be!" Merle was silent for a moment and then nodded his head. The mocking look left his face and was replaced by a look of pride. When Merle spoke again, it was the kindest voice Daryl had ever heard him use in his entire life.

"Good job little brother. You finally become a man." The image of Merle faded and Daryl opened his eyes. The light was off and the only other sound in the room was Dani's rhythmic breathing. He tightened his arm around her and she moved closer to him. Daryl closed his eyes cautiously, afraid he'd see his brother's mocking face in front of him again but Merle was gone for good this time. Daryl opened his eyes and looked around the dark cell.

"Good-bye for good Merle." He whispered. "Don't ever come back."

A/N: So I've been kicking myself for awhile now for killing off Merle so early. Again, never thought I'd hit 30+ chapters so I guess that's what I get for writing on the fly without a plan. However, upon re-watching Chupacabra, I remembered that Merle was also Daryl's subconscious negative side. All the thoughts, all the doubts, worries, etc that Daryl has have been voiced by Merle in his head. And Dani being pregnant with his kid in the middle of the apocalypse with a potential war on the horizon is a pretty big worry/doubt/etc. that Daryl's definitely still trying to wrap his head around. So who better than Merle to show up and taunt Daryl about turning into their father, among other things? Whether this was a ghost or a dream, I'll leave up to you the reader.