A/N: I'm sorta leaving Andrea out of this because I dislike her. I know she was with the Governor by this point.
Ch. 6
Daryl was sitting underneath the shade of a tree, head once again resting on Carol's lap. She was playing with his hair, joking about how it was about time that he'd gotten it cut and telling him how much better he looked, not that he had looked bad before.
Daryl smiled at the comment.
He told Carol how he hadn't been feeling well lately, knowing that she wouldn't think less of him for it. And he was right - once Carol heard about his illness, she quietly began to comfort him, moving her hand down his shoulder and gently rubbing his side, telling him that he was going to be okay.
A warm breeze blew over them, and after a few minutes of silence, the sound of Carl and Beth's voices came about.
The two came running by, Beth holding Rick's baby girl in her arms. The two seemed to be playing some type of 'house' game, where Carl was the dad and Beth was the mom. It seemed a little weird to Daryl, but he was too content to question it.
Carol seemed to think it was cute. He looked up to see her smiling at the children. For a brief second, he wondered if she would ever want another one, maybe with him. Was she even able to have another one? He wasn't entirely sure how old she was. It might be nice, though. To have some little ass-kicker protege to raise. To teach to track, hunt and fight. If he and Carol had a kid together, it would probably be pretty awesome. Now, Daryl was really smiling.
Then he yet heard another voice.
"Daryl?"
It was a male's voice, but he couldn't place it.
"Daryl?" It asked again. "Daryl, wake up."
Daryl opened his eyes to see David standing over him.
"Fuck," he whispered. That was a goddamn awesome dream.
"Sorry to wake you. The Governor wants me to make sure that you eat something before going back to bed."
Daryl sighed.
"'Not hungry." Had the kid really woken him up for this?
"Yeah, okay. Do you need to use the bathroom?"
"No."
"Feel sick at all?"
"No. What's with the twenty questions? You're gonna do whatever it is he tells you to do anyway."
"I suppose you're right. Let's get you up, then."
00
Daryl sat at the kitchen table next to David, who was working very hard at trying to get him to eat some more soup.
In between sips, David tried to make small talk.
"Is Carol your wife?"
Daryl raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected that question.
"No. How do you know about her?" She hadn't come along on the mission to rescue Glenn and Maggie. As far as Daryl knew, the Governor hadn't heard of her. Unless, maybe Merle had said something.
David smirked.
"You kept saying her name when you were sleeping."
"Oh." Daryl felt himself blush.
"You seemed happy. Like, you looked content, if that makes any sense. I guess everyone is content when they're sleeping, but you looked better than usual. Wow, that sounds creepy…" David trailed off.
Daryl laughed.
"It kinda does, yeah. Carol's a nice girl. We're not… ya know… together or nothin' though."
"Ah."
"Yeah." Daryl looked down at the bowl of soup. There was about half of it left. He felt embarrassed that he was already beginning to feel uncomfortable.
"Do I have to finish this? Can't you just tell him I did?"
David looked at the remaining food.
"What the hell." He stood up, and dumped the rest of the soup into the sink, then washed it down the drain.
"Thanks."
David shrugged.
"It's no big deal."
After that, David led Daryl to the bathroom then back to the bedroom. After strapping Daryl down, David held out his hand, showing Daryl the two pills that he had.
"You gonna fight me this time?"
"There's no point."
"Good. Open your mouth."
Daryl did as instructed and allowed David to drug him once again. It wasn't so bad going back to dreamland anyway. Not if Carol and Carl and the others were there.
00
The following day, the Governor woke Daryl up early and demanded that he get dressed. He'd had a gun pressed to his head while he tried to put on the clothes that were provided - the same outfit that he'd worn so many weeks prior when he had been captured.
His arms tingled because of the nerve damage from the weeks of being in handcuffs, but he was able to get the clothing on if only because of how loose it was on him. The weeks of near starvation had taken their toll.
The Governor looked him over and shook his head, but let him be. Instead of handcuffs, the Governor wrapped a chain around Daryl's waist, then led him out of the room. They walked into the living room area, where Merle was sitting.
Daryl was stunned by the sight. He hadn't expected to see his brother until much later on.
"Sit down," the Governor ordered. He tied the end of the chain to the radiator.
Daryl looked at the Governor, then at Merle. Seeing the serious looks on both their faces, he quickly complied.
"Daryl, you've got a visitor."
"Merle…" Daryl said, softly. Just seeing his brother made him want to cry.
"Told you he's alright," the Governor said.
Merle looked his brother over, ignoring the pleading glances that Daryl was throwing his way.
"He looks like he's half starved," Merle commented.
The Governor rolled his eyes.
"He's fine. We all have to ration, you know. He's being treated quite nicely, all considering. Isn't he?" The Governor looked at Daryl, expecting a response.
"I… Uh…" Daryl started. He felt a mixture of fear and hope. What he said next could influence what would happen to him - whether he was going to be set free or not.
Before he could complete his answer, Merle spoke up.
"Overall he seems fine. I suppose you were telling the truth."
The Governor smiled, and Daryl felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. Was his brother really that blind?! He looked awful and he knew it! How could his brother not see it?
"I would never lie to one of my best men, Merle."
Merle forced a smile back.
"I shouldn't have doubted you. Now, do you happen ta have anything to drink? It was a long night - killed a bunch of walkers out by the wall."
"Of course." The Governor stood up, "I'll be back in a moment."
This was it, Daryl realized. It was probably the only chance he was going to get to talk to Merle without the Governor nearby. He had to take it! If Merle knew what was really happening, he would surely help!
"Merle," Daryl whispered.
Merle looked at him.
"Please, Merle… He's lyin'. Almost every day he…" Daryl trailed off. He didn't want to say it. Didn't want to tell his brother how he was being violated almost daily, and starved and beaten. He forced himself to only because of how necessary it seemed.
"...He violates me, Merle! And if I don't...If I don't listen then he… He…" Daryl felt the tears coming again, and this time he let them flow. Unable to speak clearly, he held up his hand, showing Merle his broken finger as a means of proof.
"He did that?" Merle asked. He looked somewhat concerned, but otherwise unmoved.
Daryl nodded and sniffed. He wondered if his brother thought less of him for crying . Crying was always a pussy thing to do, according to their old man. Merle had said as much himself as well.
Then again, maybe Merle was upset over having been abandoned on the rooftop.
"Please, Merle, I came lookin' for ya...I swear I did!" Now Daryl was shaking as well as crying. There was only so much that a man could take, and he'd never felt more humiliated or scared in his life.
Merle closed his eyes and frowned.
"Daryl…"
"Please," Daryl repeated.
"Daryl, brother… Ya shouldn't have attacked us! Now, I'm sorry that you're so upset, but ya have to admit that ya were wrong."
"But he's hurting me," Daryl pleaded. The Governor was walking back now, and he only had a few seconds more to spare. "Please…"
Merle sighed and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, brother, but ya… Ya deserve this. Maybe now you'll learn a lesson. Ya shoulda left that group a long time ago, especially after what they did ta me. Did ya think I liked that? Being abandoned?"
"I came back! I really did!"
Merle shook his head again. Right then, the Governor sat back down. He handed a glass of whiskey to Merle and looked Daryl over.
"Everything okay here?"
Merle nodded, "Yes, sir. Everything's okay."
00
Once Daryl started crying, he didn't stop, especially after Merle had abandoned him.
He felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. It was the worst pain that Daryl had ever felt.
The worst part of the evening, in Daryl's view, was the fact that he'd been made to sit there with Merle and the Governor for an entire hour after Merle had verbally punched him. Merle and the Governor got along real well, joking and laughing and not even paying attention while Daryl sat there sobbing. It was like he didn't exist, didn't deserve even a small amount of pity.
Now Daryl was back in the guest room, once again chained up. He had almost wished that the Governor had beaten him for his actions - maybe the pain would've taken his mind off of everything. Instead, the man had chained him up and left them there to wallow in misery.
Daryl continued to cry for hours, being unable to stop. He felt pathetic, angry, sad, hurt and like he wanted to die. What the hell had he done to deserve this?!
That question ran through Daryl's mind until he eventually cried himself to sleep.