The chapter is long, so my author note will be short ~ read. enjoy. review! Thanks!

"Wake up sunshine."

Andrea heard the voice from far away in the thin veil of a dream she was dreaming, but when she rolled her head back and forth on the soft pillow, she fought opening her eyes.

"Sleep." She murmured. That voice sounds familiar. She thought, her mind racing as she tried to place it.

Her eyes snapped open and there he was – in her room, Merle, looking blurry, wavering like a mirage, but there. Springing up off the bed, she intended to yell, but he swung his stump around her waist, nearly knocking the wind out of her and clapped his left hand over her mouth faster than she could draw the breath in to scream.

"Now, you're gonna listen and listen good sweet tits. Ya ain't tellin' the Gov nothin' about my brother or the others ya hear?"

Her eyes went wide as he wrenched his arm to the side, moving the stump out from around her belly. There was a click and he waved it in front of her face. There she saw the long, sharp knife attached to the bayonet. "We already danced this dance, didn't we?" He asked her, grunting to keep her steady against him. "Now, I'm gonna letcha go but I hear a peep and that scratch on your arm'll seem like a wee bitty kitten scratch compared to the pumpkin carvin' number I do on you if ya cut loose. Ya hear?"

She nodded, her blood boiling because she'd felt safe enough not to lock her door, pissed at herself for not being strong enough to fight him. He was just so huge, muscular and virile. Nothing like the uncoordinated, drug-hazed, out of shape ass he'd been in Atlanta.

Slowly he let her go and she sat down on the edge of the bed feeling woozy. "What do you want?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "I just told ya, are ya deaf?"

"That's it? You're threatening my life so I won't tell Philip where they are?"

"So you lied. You lied to him?"

Andrea stood, planting her hands on her hips watching him wave the knife in circles. "Could you stop waving that thing around?"

Merle steeled his feet on the ground. She took everything in, the military issue boots, the thick canvas pants, and the tank top. He'd really gotten himself straightened out.

"I told him what I'll tell you. I was separated from them – for long while. When we met back up, Michonne and I left and wound up here."

Merle was quiet for a moment, working his jaw back and forth. He held his stump up in front of his eyes, not really looking at her. "Lucky for you. So you do know they was headed for that prison."

Her head snapped up. "Leave them alone Merle. You don't know what they did for y - "

Merle stepped up in a flash grabbing a fist full of her hair at the side of her head, locking into it with fury. The musky scent of his aftershave filled her nostrils as the knife came so close to her nose that the shape blurred. She glanced past it to Merle, who wasn't ready to listen to reason.

"You have no idea what it was like." He drawled, his tone edgy and unpredictable.

She knew what he meant without him elaborating. Her mouth felt dry and was open, ready to tell him they'd come back for him - Daryl, Rick, T-Dog, Glenn, but a sharp knock on her door made him jumpy enough to let her go and step back. He was fast; she had to admit because the knife was back in his sheath before the Governor stepped across the threshold.

Everything Michonne had said broke through her fear of Merle and standing there with the two of them – one eyeing her suspiciously, and one giving her the evil eye – she knew she had to be cautious.

"Everything alright?" Philip asked, giving Merle a sideways glance.

She didn't want it to look like they were arguing; she wanted Merle to understand what he obviously didn't. More than that she wanted to know for certain that he hadn't harmed the group.

"Fine. We were just having a little discussion." She said, crossing her arms over her breasts, wishing she had a bra on.

Merle stared at her hard, his stormy eyes daring her to keep talking.

"Left over business from the quarry." He added.

Quickly she glanced at Philip hoping he bought it. He seemed vaguely amused but didn't question the subject further.

"Did she invite you in here Merle?" That was his only inquiry and it was the first time she noticed any hint of nervousness cross Merle's face. It was a quirk of his mouth, a small twitch.

"I did." She told him, growing more irritated with each passing second. She hadn't invited either one of them in, and it was obvious as she was still dressed in her night shirt and sweat pants. "I was going to get some water and he was coming down the hallway."

"I was comin' up to see if she wanted some breakfast." Merle drawled, jutting his jaw out.

Cocky son of a bitch. She thought.

Philip put his hands in his pockets. "Got it waiting for her at the town hall. I was hoping you felt more up to eating today."

Finally she'd had enough. "If you would both excuse me, I need to get around for the day. I'll meet up with Michonne and we'll be over for breakfast in say, ten to fifteen minutes?"

Philip seemed to relax with that, though he still gave Merle another wayward glance.

It wasn't that she wanted to protect Merle, but their discussion wasn't over. She was going to catch him at a better time – in a safer place and get the answers she wanted. She wouldn't be able to do that if Philip reprimanded him. So far to her and Michonne, he'd been an impeccable host in Woodbury, but it was looking more and more like Merle was one of his minions.

It went against everything she wanted, but she took steps toward Merle and put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll talk later, thanks for coming in."

He wasn't as good of an actor apparently because his eyes followed her hand to where she touched him. It was a slight movement but he pulled back a millimeter. Before Philip noticed she put her other arm around his stiff shoulders and escorted him to the door forcing them both out into the hallway. Faking a smile, she gave each a wave. "I'll be out shortly." And looking at Philip, "I am feeling much better today." She said as her stomach lurched.

As she watched them go through the slit of her door, she knew she had less of a reason to trust Merle than the Governor, but something about the way he was keeping an eye on her had begun to creep her out. She needed to wake Michonne.

It was an even bigger fight clearing the third section but they were almost in. A few nights of camping in the large grassy area near the gate and a day or more of combat with the dead after they opened the door they all could see to Cell Block C. The strategy, Rick said was to open the door and let the dead from inside come out a few at a time. They'd be easier to deal with that way. Cell Block C would be theirs soon enough.

The closer Carol got to the prison the more conflicted she felt. She'd mentioned it to Lori and then they'd both talked to Rick and Daryl about it, the possibility of people inside the prison. Live people holed up in there, but so far if there were any they may as well be invisible, and her intuition about it, nothing more than a hunch.

They'd all heard about her defying Rick and taking off the night before. The only three that hadn't been avoiding her were Daryl, Lori and T-Dog, and that was whenever he could squeeze past Daryl to get a word in with her.

"I don't wanna cause trouble. I just wanted to check on ya." He whispered during one of the breaks the group had taken from fighting.

She was too small and hidden by his bulk to see Daryl behind him when she whispered back her answer. "It's fine. I meant to tell you it was nice of you to offer to say we went out there together, I think though that it would've caused even more problems. How ya holdin up in there?" When she reached around to pat his arm, that's when Daryl came into her line of vision and she froze, her heart beat racing. The feeling was familiar because of Ed, but it was different with Daryl. She didn't want to hurt him, though she feared it was a wee bit too late for that judging by the squint he gave her despite the shade around the guard shack.

T-Dog saw the expression on her face change, turned his head and knew he'd heard. "Hey man, I just - "

"Ya just thought I'd put a beatin' on her like her bastard husband, right?"

Daryl stepped back when she gasped and walked away, eyes burning. Lori looked over from the boxes of canned goods she was going through as Carol sank against the wall of the guard shack hugging her knees.

"I'm fine." She told Lori when she glanced up from the task. "Just give me a minute."

Lori raised an eyebrow going back to the box, but kept silent and it wasn't a minute later Carol was out with it. "I don't know how he could be so insensitive."

She heard Lori's sniff and looked over to see the brunette smile. "Who Daryl? You could have it the other way. You could be invisible. Everything else and everyone else could take precedence over you. If it came down to the group or you, Daryl would choose you. No doubt. Same with Glenn and Maggie."

Carol felt like she'd been the one who'd been insensitive to Lori. She crooked a finger and wiggled one of Judith's toes that was sticking out of the sling. "You don't know for sure."

"Oh yes I do. It was where we were having problems in our marriage before all this began." She scanned the walls of the prison ahead of them.

When you stopped talking the moans and snarls of the dead filled the air. It was never quiet here.

"All I ever wanted was someone who'd put us first. I had it for a little while - and now." She stopped short gripping the edge of the box. Lori rarely mentioned Shane and because Carol had been grieving her beautiful Sophia, she'd only heard bits and pieces from the others.

"Hey." Carol said. "We'll get through this. We've gotten this far, haven't we?" Somehow talking to Lori made her feel both better and worse.

Lori poked Judith's foot back inside the sling. "Let's make sure they eat, focus on something we can do rather than things we can't change."

"I wish there were more we could spare." She told the two men she'd walked away from awhile ago. They seemed to be getting along fine, or at least their body language told her so. She handed them their plates of canned venison over diced tomatoes and noodles, and left them each a canteen of water.

They both told her thanks and Daryl looked like he wanted to say more but her stare back told him later. He didn't think he could read her well but he could, better than he thought. It was time to get back to the task at hand.

Herschel sat out near the guard shack with the kids and the baby while Lori and Carol joined the group. Some weapons had been dropped during battles from months ago and the walkers were stumbling around the loaded guns that could be used. Maggie lunged past a particularly ghastly looking walker for a box of ammo that was turned on its lid on near the prison wall. After tossing that to Rick, she had to make a quick stab at the creature as it lurched to a halt pinning her against the concrete.

Pushing up with her knee she sprung off to the side, in fighting stance with her knife aimed, giving a blood curdling scream as she went at the thing with ferocity that Carol had seen before. She took protecting hers seriously. Rick took the ammunition and passed it around. Guns were loaded and the dead went down quicker now.

Carol had been going at them with the bat for awhile and her arms were growing weak. Once Daryl and Rick closed off a faulty section of fence where more kept pouring through, she was handed an AK-47 similar to the gun she'd practiced with only a few weeks ago. Steadying her hands, she backed up against the wall and began covering those fighting without guns. Lori stood along with her blasting off head shots one by one. Once Carol got going each 'kill' felt less and less like 'killing' and more like protecting. They weren't people anymore. It wasn't anything she'd ever enjoy doing, but it was something to make her feel proud – helping protect her people.

Daryl made eye contact with her more than once, giving her an occasional nod. Everyone was growing more grimy and smelly by the second.

By the time the last walker was down, the sun was also heading in the same direction. Wearily, they stacked the bodies outside the gate, intending on hauling them off in the morning. The sky was gray and gloomy with clouds racing in from the east.

Maggie shielded her eyes. "Looks like rain."

"It'll make it easier to wash up." Glenn muttered, rubbing his forearm across his forehead.

They scrubbed their hands as best they could and made dinner of leftovers from lunch and a few other cans, all leaning on the guard shack waiting for the storm to blow in.

Carol marveled at the feel of the cool breeze on her skin and pondered how different life had become for all of them. If she could only block out the groans and snarls from the things behind the fences, she could imagine life at least halfway normal again.

She gave Lori a sidelong smile. "If we get a good rain like last night, we might be able to wash up under the eaves trough." She pointed to the corner of the building.

They'd set all their tents up earlier so she and a few of the others grabbed enough towels, clothing and soap for everyone and waited. They all wreaked of death. Rolling in with the warm breeze, the distant rumbles of thunder finally reached their ears. The lightning had been brightening the sky past the tree line all through dinner.

Maggie and Beth huddled near the corner of the guard shack ready to make a run for it when the first rain drops hit and when they did, Maggie held her sisters hands out laughing, watching the grime slowly wash away with each pelt of water. They took off on a run for the building and waited there. The rain would come and it would last for sure. The clouds were swollen with moisture, an angry blue-gray with a hint of purple as the sun sunk deep into the western sky.

When the downpour came, each of them washed, came back to the guard shack, dried off, dressed and waited. It was the only area large enough to hold all of them for the time being. Once the storm blew over, Rick planned on building a fire and after going over the agenda for the next day they would all file off into their tents.

Daryl hung back and an unspoken agreement that they'd take their turn together kept her waiting there with him. Rick came back and handed them each a wet towel to take with them. Once they made it back to inside the guard shack, they'd trade for dry ones.

There was no shame at this point, no hiding, but Carol knew he'd waited everyone else out hoping it would get dark enough so that when he dressed he wouldn't have to deal with their stares.

Slowly they walked through the heavy sheets of cool rain to the eaves trough. Most of the glop rinsed off on the sixty yard walk over. She ran her hands down her arms watching it disappear with each new droplet of water, clean, goose pimpled skin showing through.

Under the roof the darkness was blinding. She nearly missed his shoulder, groping for something to hold steady with as she stripped down to nothing. His hands came around her waist with one of the wash cloths and they helped one another scrub off. He was gentle but went quick making sure he covered her back, neck, shoulders. He paused and she took the cloth to finish with what she could reach. Her muscles ached in places she didn't realize existed. It was his turn next and she helped him in the same way, handing over the wash cloth when she finished his back, neck and shoulders. Walking out from under the water stream, he shook his head, barely an outline in the darkness, but she knew his hair was standing on end.

It was as good as a shower the way the water came gushing out; although she swore they'd all wind up with pneumonia with as cold as it was. Still they made sure they were good and clean before walking back, wet towels wrapped tightly around them. He threw his arm around her for good measure, following the concrete straight to the guard shack with their clothes in a huge, wet bundle.

"Fuck a duck its cold out there." He announced bursting in. She made a point to keep in front of him while he threw his shirt on over his head, but they were all good about giving them their privacy to dress.

The rain didn't let up for another hour, and with everyone exhausted they all slid down on the floor, Lori resting in the only chair with Judith. Despite being covered with a blanket, Carol got to shivering so badly, Daryl surprised her by calling T-Dog over and had him sit on the other side of her. "Body heat." He mumbled, tossing him a look.

Carol sighed deeply and laid her head on Daryl's bony shoulder. In no time she felt herself drifting off.

Rick already had the fire going by the time Daryl woke her. He practically had to drag her to the tent she was so exhausted. Her eyelids were heavy as she climbed under their covers. He hesitated.

"Aren't ya gonna lay down?" She asked, feeling just a wee bit more awake at the thought of sleeping without him.

"Takin' first watch. Get some rest." He said in that low gravelly voice he sometimes used when he felt bad about somethin'. "Sorry 'bout what I said today. I shouldn'ta brought him up."

She made a "Hmmm." Sound and touched her finger tips to his chin stubble as he knelt on one knee near her. "You're forgiven. We all say dumb stuff sometimes."

He slowly nodded his head as if unsure.

"You're nothin' like him. You hear me? Nothin'." Her hand moved up to his cheek and she came up on her elbow to give him a kiss. She felt him stiffen under her touch, but relax almost instantly as she pressed forward. Then he lost his balance, coming full force on top of her, catching himself with one arm.

"I don't wanna leave ya here." He mumbled against her chin.

"Get it over with and get back in quickly. Take a flannel with you so you don't catch your death."

He opted for a poncho they'd picked up somewhere along the way, maybe it'd been the mall. He seemed to have taken a liking to it. She thought it made him look like Clint Eastwood and she was the only person who could tease him about it and get away with it.

Daryl stepped out of the tent, crossbow cleaned and quiver full of arrows, knife wiped down and strapped to his belt and his gun in his waistband. God Damn, he felt like fuckin' Clint Eastwood. He remembered, vaguely watchin' those movies with his mama while she napped on the worn out living room sofa while daddy was at work.

He'd be tucked in by her belly and Merle would take the warm spot behind her legs. Losing her had blown a hole wide and deep into the peacefulness of their lives and all along Daryl had suspected, even at the young age of four that it wasn't meant to last for them. Whatever blackness lurked in their daddy was simmering just below the surface. His mama had been the only woman in the world who knew how to quell the rage inside him.

Merle had felt it too, only he'd been old enough to voice his concerns and Daryl's mama, she'd tried to get him to understand it'd be okay. He only ever half believed her. When she died, his brother didn't seem fazed, at least on the outside. Daddy had him beleivin' that showin' your feelings was wrong. His mama had fought him on making Merle grow up too quick, but it wasn't a day she was gone and he was doin' just what he wanted to do, things Merle had told him he'd done before Daryl's mama had come along.

Daryl walked along the fence watching for any movement in the trees. The leaves were in that phase where they were so new they'd taken on that fresh, bright green color. Walkers outside the fence he'd leave alone. They weren't getting in. Anyone living – that was his concern and not just Merle - whomever Merle had chummed up with. Maybe it was Randall's group, or maybe worse.

He turned toward the huge prison that was to be their safe refuge and he was already missing the smells and sounds of the outside. Carol's thoughts about people being in there could be right, but so far no one had bothered them. It couldn't be many and they'd all kept an eye on the towers. No one had come out. He wouldn't deny he felt it too, eyes on him everywhere but that could just be that Merle had him spooked. And he wasn't about to admit that to anyone, not even Carol.

He aimed the flashlight at the nearest set of windows squinting, trying to get a feel for what was in store for them inside. There were dead in there, but their movements were predictable. Human movement would be easier to pick up on.

Waving the light around it fell on several walkers in the first three rows of windows. When he aimed the beam on the fourth row, a clanging behind him made him jump.

He turned around, expecting a walker and came face to face with his brother. Merle was already chuckling before Daryl stormed over and kicked the fence between them.

"Hey now little bro, don't shit ya self. What the hell's with the poncho?" He asked still smilin'. "Ain't ya happy to see your only livin' relation left on Earth? Didn't think you'd be takin' up first watch but seems I lucked out didn't I?"

Daryl's chest both ached and pounded with anger and fear - two deep rooted feelings that came the easiest to him. "What the hell is this Merle? What kinda game you playin'?"

"Game? I ain't playin' bro. This ain't no game." His smile went away as he held up his stump. "Now you tell me why you're with them." He demanded spit flying through the fence.

Daryl stood his ground. He was behind the fence. He had weapons. He didn't wanna hurt Merle for the life of him, he didn't wanna. He took a deep breath and stepped closer, getting as close to his brother as he could, taking in the familiar scent of his breath. Expecting the pungent odor of booze or beer to fill his nostrils, he found Merle sober, his pupils their normal size. He remembered this side of Merle, the side of Merle out from under the influence. If there was some way he could reason with him, surely he'd be thinkin' more clear now.

"We came back for ya, found what ya left behind." He said, eyeing the stump, feeling sick deep inside his ribs. The reaction he had on the roof hit him, remembering the extreme measure his only brother had taken to escape. Swallowing the acid in his throat, he looked him in the eyes. "Tracked ya as far as I could. I could ask you the same question; you knew where the hell I was." He hissed, starting to pace back and forth in front of him. He knew Merle would enjoy seein' him get riled up but he couldn't help it.

"And how far do ya think I got bro after I took tha' truck?" He asked slowly as if Daryl was too dumb to know. He leaned in, his nose touching the steel of the fence. "Now what the hell are ya doin' with them?"

"From what I heard, someone was actin' like an asshole that day. Did ya find somethin' good in the city or was it somethin' from your stash back at camp?"

Merle tensed his grip on the fence and Daryl knew he'd hit a nerve, but his blood had already reached a boilin' point.

"Ain't none of ya business. You grown some balls since I last saw ya boy? Huh? We could use a guy like you. Got me a place."

"Exactly where's that Merle? He only let you out at certain times? Keep you on a tight leash or what? You ain't the only one who can sneak up on people. Heard ya talkin' to your boss last night." He didn't tell him it was Carol who heard him but it didn't matter.

"You don't know what the hell you're talkin' 'bout." He said, but his eyes told Daryl different. "Why don'tcha man up and come outta here with me? Or are ya pissed enough to tangle asses? We can do that too." He motioned to him with his hand, steppin' back. "I can still kick yours one handed." He urged, the smile comin' back. Daryl turned his head once to see if anyone had woken up. The tents were far enough away but he still wanted to be sure no one had heard them. Merle took that as his answer - that his loyalties were with the group now.

The sound of Merle's fist hitting the fence made him turn back around. "It's cause of that little bitch ain't it? The one you's taken a shine to."

Daryl narrowed his eyes to slits, his fists balled tightly. He wouldn't touch her. "If you were gonna do anything to any of 'em, ya woulda before now."

"You underestimate me." He said gritting his teeth, holding his stump up once again. "They got you dipped in shit lil' bro. There ain't no way they'd come back for one guy, one they left for dead in the first place. I hear it was somethin' else they's after, maybe some guns? You's mainly concerned about me. You wanna stay? Fuckin' stay. But you best think about keepin' your bitch, your new best fuckin' friend and that crew a yours safe. It's gonna be a tough thing to do."

Daryl was ready to clock his brother in the face if he didn't shut the hell up. "What the fuck? Who told you that?" He asked mashing his own fist on the fence, drawing blood from his knuckles. But he followed the motion as Merle pointed with his hand up to that forth row of windows. Daryl shone the light up there catching a quick movement and when he turned back around to question him further the bastard had taken off.

Andrea and Michonne. He thought. "Fuck!" He swung around staring off into the trees.