A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed! It makes my day every time I read one =)
Disclaimer: I don't own the Walking Dead and yada yada
Daryl Dixon was beyond pissed. He was actually seeing red. To make matters worse, Shane had him in a headlock. When he first woke up, he thought he'd have a good day. He knew the deer he had been tracking was close. Boy, was he looking forward to some venison. Of course, that's not how his luck played out. A walker had gotten to his deer near the camp. To make matters worse, his brother was handcuffed on a roof in Atlanta with a bunch of walkers close by. T-dog tried to make him feel better by saying he had locked the roof door, but that didn't help. He knew Merle was unstable, he knew he was strung out on cocaine, but that was still his brother. He couldn't stand him sometimes either, but Merle was the only surviving family he had. Being handcuffed to a roof was no way to die.
"Let go of me pig! That's an illegal move!" Daryl hissed as he struggled against Shane.
"File a complaint."
"Look, I want to have a calm conversation about this. I know you're mad but you aint going about this the right way." Rick calmly spoke. Of course he was calm, it wasn't like he was in a headlock by Officer Asshole.
"You handcuffed my brother to a damn roof! How am I supposed to go about it asshole?!"
Rick let out a sigh before trying to reason with the man again. "Look, he's at the department store."
"Rick will show you where." Lori chimed in as she watched, holding her son close to her. She was frowning, knowing Rick was going to offer his services. It was like him to always try to do the right thing, even though he just barely made it to the camp alive the day before.
"Yeah…" Rick sounded unsure of Lori's tone. "I'll show you."
"Are you crazy?!" Shane released Daryl, shoving him roughly onto the ground. "You're gonna risk your life for Merle Dixon?! He wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst!"
"It's the right thing to do Shane. I handcuffed him there. I should go with Daryl."
"Oh, so you're gonna go with just this douche bag?"
"You best choose your words carefully!" Daryl warned, picking himself off the ground.
"I did. I said douche bag, I thought about what to call you." Shane shot back before turning his attention back to Rick. "You just got here. You got a death wish if you think you and him are gonna pull this off."
"It won't be just us." Rick looked to Glenn who groaned. "I know I'm asking too much of you, but please. We can't figure out an easier way there without you." Glenn pulled his cap over his eyes in annoyance but nodded.
"Oh so three men?!" Shane asked mockingly.
"Make it four." T-dog spoke as he walked over.
"Ya'll are putting us all in danger! We need you here! A walker made its way to the camp just this morning! Them things are running out of food in the city and are probably coming here! What if one got a hold of Carl? We need you here!"
Rick looked at his son before speaking. "Sounds like it's guns you need, not more man power."
"What you talking about Rick?"
"I emptied the armory at the deputy office before I left. 700 rounds Shane, just sitting in Atlanta."
"700?" Rick nodded. Lori rolled her eyes before speaking.
"You just got back Rick. I don't want you going."
"Me neither dad." Rick looked at his son, pain flashing across his face.
"I… I owe a debt. In that bag is a walky talky. I told a man and his son to use it to contact me when they got to Atlanta. I have to warn them about what waits for them. Without them I would have never found you and Carl, Lori."
Lori felt rage building in her chest as she looked at her husband. "You risked your life to find us! Now that you have, you're gonna just go back out there for Merle Dixon?!"
"I think he should go." Alice fingered a string at the edge of her tank top. She felt nervous voicing her opinions in front of everyone. Lori's eyes snapped to the blonde, disbelief written on her face.
"You can't be serious Alice! He just got back! You know what hell he went through to get here! You were there!"
Alice kept eyes glues to the string on her shirt as she spoke, afraid to meet anyone's eyes. "I mean it makes sense for him to go. Rick's gonna be fine, he's good at figuring stuff out in sticky situations. We could use more guns and save Merle." Rick looked at the woman, relieved that someone was on his side about going. "Besides, ya'll saw how close that walker came to the camp. What's to say one won't get closer the next time? We need the guns."
Shane rolled his eyes at his wife. "Not you too."
Alice looked at Shane, frowning. "I know Merle isn't the easiest to deal with, but he's still a person. No one deserves to die like that."
"Fine, fine. This is a mistake, but don't listen. Go ahead." Shane walked away from the group, clearly angry.
"I… I'd like to go too."
"Not happening Alice." Rick said as he walked over to Dale. She hurried behind him, ignoring the infuriated look Lori was giving her.
"I went to the department store yesterday and nothing happened to me. I want to help." She wanted to prove her worth to the group. She wanted to help.
"You can help by staying here."
"Rick!"
"No." he reached Dale and Jim, a man that was probably in his mid-forties. "I heard you're the man to go to for some clippers."
"I have a pair if that's what you mean. I hate lending out tools because I don't get them back, and yes I'm talking about you T-dog."
"We'll get your tools back. Think of it as an investment." Dale thought about it for a moment.
"I want one of those guns you bring back, my pick."
"No problem."
"Let's make the deal sweeter." Jim, a man a few years older than Alice, wiped his forehead, not moving from his seat on the RV's bumper. "We need a hose for this, so we can go if we need to and for a long time. Give us the one from the truck you drove here yesterday and you can use it."
"Fine. When we come back, you can do whatever you want to the thing."
"Deal."
"Rick."
"Alice I said no." he took the clippers from Dale and examined them. Daryl kicked the horn of the truck twice yelling for them to hurry up.
She frowned "But I can help! I know how to use the gun and-"
"No Alice. And you ain't never shot a gun at anything moving, this ain't the time for you to practice."
"It's not fair Rick! How come you guys can go, but I can't?" she tugged on his shirtsleeve like a little girl when she noticed he was trying to ignore her. "Rick! You best listen to me!"
Rick laughed a little at her weak attempt to sound threatening. "I said no Alice. It's dangerous out there, the last thing I need is to have you go out there and get bit or scratched."
"But I won't. I didn't yesterday." She reminded.
"Alice," Dale interrupted, placing his wrinkly hand on her bare shoulder. "why don't you stay with me and Jim. Help us with the RV." She frowned, but nodded. For some reason she couldn't say no to Dale. Rick gave her arm a little squeeze.
"Don't be mad. I just want to know you're here and safe. I can't focus if I'm always wondering if you're alright. I'd hate myself if anything happened to you under my care. What would Shane say?"
"Who cares." She mumbled, surprising herself.
"What?"
"I said you're right." She lied as she pulled away from his hand and walked into the RV in a huff.
"She'll be fine. She's just tired of being stuck at camp every day." Dale explained. "She gets bored always hanging around Glenn and me." Dale smiled slightly as he watched Glenn walk past his stripped sports car and mumbling about how no one respects fine cars.
Rick's eyebrows furrowed together in curiosity. "What about Shane? Doesn't she hang around him too?"
T-dog frowned. "Oh, he's always busy. He hardly spends time with her other than when we're around the fire." He shrugged before walking to the Truck. "We better go, Dixon's getting pissed."
Rick silently followed, wondering about his friends. He hadn't gotten a chance to really talk to Alice alone since he had been back. He had been so happy to see his family; he never once asked her how things had been going. Rick knew things were strained between Shane and Alice, but he had figured that the world going to shit would have made them closer. Guess he was wrong.