Merle and Daryl watched the Excursion pull up behind their F250. The older Dixon jerked his head toward the back of the house and without a word the younger brother headed down. Merle had lifted the window enough to prop the barrel of his rifle and took aim at the newly arrived vehicle.

An armed man exited the vehicle and snuck up on the empty truck, pointed his gun in the window. Finding no one, he then put his hand on the hood. "Clear, boss, but the engine's still warm."

The rear passenger door opened and a man with an automatic rifle jumped out and headed to the back of the house followed by another heading around the other way. No worries there, Merle smirked, knowing his brother would be waiting and could handle both easily.

Daryl waited until the first man came through the back door. Not giving the man's eyes time to adjust, he grabbed him by the hair and stuck a knife through his eye, killing him dead with no chance of rising again. He eased the corpse to the floor and was dragging it into the kitchen when he heard another set of footsteps approaching. The hunter backed into the shadows and waited for the other man to step into his lair.

Carl crept quietly down the corridor toward the muffled voices. It was definitely human. His hands began to sweat and he tried to calm himself. You can do this, he told himself bravely. With his back up against the wall, he moved slowly to the corner. The voices were slightly louder but not clear enough to understand the words. He braced himself, took a deep breath and jumped around the corner Beretta aimed straight ahead.

Nothing. No one. Not even a walker. Carl didn't lower his gun though. Always keep your guard up. That's what his dad said. He moved toward the first doorway, listened, hearing nothing, he jumped into the doorway, arms extended gun ready. Nothing.

He stepped out.

"Hey kid! Boy, are we glad…"

Carl turned and squeezed the trigger.

A woman screamed and a large man fell to the ground. "Don't shoot!" the woman screamed again, dropping a pipe with a loud clang. "We're not armed."

The man on the ground groaned as he tried to struggle to his feet. "We're not gonna hurt you, kid," he said holding his left arm against his chest.

No shit, thought Carl smugly as he trained his Berretta on the intruders. "I ain't a kid," he said standing up straighter, trying to keep his hands from shaking.

"Carl!" The sound of running footsteps behind him came to abrupt stop as Glenn skidded around the corner, his own weapon in one hand and a 3-foot piece of rebar in the other. "Shit!" he exclaimed when he saw Carl's two 'hostages' in front of him.

"Please help my brother," the woman pleaded, holding onto the man beside her.

He stepped out from the driver's seat holding his hands in the air. "Hello? Whoever's in the house, we mean you no harm."

The Governor's smarmy drawl made Merle's blood boil. He carefully aimed, crosshairs lined up right between the man's eyes. All he had to do was pull the trigger. This is too fuckin' easy, he thought. He at least wanted the mother fucker to know who was going to kill him first.

Rick rubbed his temples and stared at the two fugitives/hostages that Glenn and Carl brought to the infirmary. "Let me get this straight," he said. "You and your sister were at a town called Woodbury and decided to leave. Now their 'governor' has sent his people to kill you. And you came in through a hole in the fence that you made by tearing out the patch with your hammer?" Rick had sent Glenn to repair the patch as soon as the man told him the first time. Hopefully, no walkers followed the brother and sister through.

"That's it," the large African American man, named Tyreese, answered. He winced as Hershel stitched up the gunshot wound in his upper arm.

"And you led the Governor's men here." Shit. It was worse than Rick thought. His group was down two men, three if he counted Martinez because he still hadn't returned…and the entire area was probably crawling with soldiers from Woodbury.

"I can still fight," the man said. "Give me a gun; we'll help defend this place."

"No," said the woman.

Rick, Hershel, and even Carl, turned to look at her with surprise.

"What I mean is, my brother can't hit the side of a barn; he's better at hand-to-hand fighting. I can shoot, though," she explained.

The big man shrugged and winced again at the pain in his arm. Luckily for him, Carl's aim was uncharacteristically off and the bullet just passed through the large muscle of his upper arm causing little damage. "Sasha's right."

Rick didn't think the group was desperate enough to trust strangers with their welfare, at least not yet. "Carl, stay here with Hershel and keep guard. I'll be back."

Amanda was in a near panic when she found Grimes headed on his way out of the prison. "Rick!" she called out as she grabbed a hold of his arm. "Is it really true? What Glenn said? Are those people from Woodbury? Is the Governor out there?" If fugitives from Woodbury found their way inside the prison, that meant that the Governor's soldiers could too.

"Mandy…" he started in his oh-so-irritating calm-down-I'm-a-cop voice.

"Is it true?" she demanded again.

"Give me a chance to speak," he said, removing her hand from his arm.

"Oh God, it is true. He's coming here." Amanda was visibly shaken at the thought of the Governor being nearby.

Rick put his hands on her shoulders, "We don't know that for sure."

"I do," she said, fearfully. "He will come after them. He sent men after us when we left."

He could see the fear in her eyes, hear it in her voice. He gave her shoulders what he hoped was a comforting squeeze. "Honey, you need to calm down."

She wasn't hearing his words. "And Caesar isn't back, or Daddy or Daryl…what if he found them? What if he…"

"Mandy!" Rick's voice rose as he tried to cut through her panic. She was shaking. He pulled her into his arms in an unyielding hug. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"You can't promise that," she said as she tried to free herself.

"Amanda! Listen to me!" he loosened his grip slightly when she stopped her struggles. "Get a hold of yourself, honey. You can't fall apart now. I need everybody to be strong."

She nodded but the look on her face showed little confidence in her ability to do what he asked. "Beth! Rowan!" he called out of her head.

Rowan came quickly at the urgency in his voice. "Beth is getting Judith to sleep. Is something wrong?"

"Mandy, hon, Rowan's going to take you to stay with Beth while I make sure everything is okay outside."

Amanda jerked away from him. "I'm not a child. I don't need a sitter."

Rick sighed impatiently. "You're right. I just don't think you should be alone right now."

"What do you think I'm going to do?" She stood with her hands on her hips as Rowan looked on helplessly.

Rick shook his head, clearly aggravated. "Mandy, I don't have time for this right now."

"Don't worry about it, Rick. I don't need you. I can find the way myself," she retorted and stalked off.

"What's going on, Rick," Rowan asked.

"Carl found two people on the lower level who said they were running from the Governor," he explained.

Her brown eyes grew wide with realization. "That's why Amanda's upset."

"Yeah." Rick looked at the raven-haired woman thoughtfully, and said, "Rowan, I want you to talk to them. Besides Amanda, you're the only one here that's been to Woodbury. Get any information you can from them like how many soldiers, civilians are there, anything you think might help us, but don't tell them a thing about us."

"I can do that," she replied, eager to help.

"Thank you. They're in the infirmary with Hershel and Carl."

Amanda sat on Rick's bunk while Beth sang a soothing lullaby to Judith. The young girl's voice was magical and even Amanda began to relax. She lay down and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath to calm herself only to inhale Rick's familiar scent from his pillow. Fuck, she muttered to herself sitting back up. Beth looked at her curiously but kept singing.

Amanda wished Caesar was here. His steady presence never failed to ease her mind. But he had been gone for hours and she was worried about him. What would the governor do to Caesar if he found him? She shuddered at the thought. She was sure he would be dealt with as harshly as her daddy would be if he was caught. She was worried about her daddy and uncle too. Hopefully the Dixons were almost back to the prison or far enough away that the governor couldn't find them. She just needed for them to be safe.

As soon as Merle started to pull the trigger, a shot split the air and shattered the glass of the window. "Fuck," he yelled as shards of glass cut his face. He fucking missed one. Must've been a third guy in the back seat. He opened his eyes slowly; he could still see. What a bit a fuckin' luck that was. Merle leaned his head back against the wall and took a deep breath. That was too damn close. He had to get his head back in the game.

"Got one on the second floor, Governor. Think he was aiming at you."

Fucking hell, it was a woman! Man must be getting desperate. He never included women on missions. Baby brother must still be okay. Ain't heard nothing to the contrary. He eased away from the broken window and moved to the one next to it. Peeking out, he saw no one but then he heard the screech of the front door hinges as the heavy-footed son of a bitch crossed the threshold. He wasn't even trying to hide his whereabouts. Damn that arrogant bastard!

Okay, Merle said to himself, two were down in the back, assuming Daryl didn't fuck up like he did. That meant three were in the house or on the porch. He stood with his back against the door, listening to the footsteps come up the stairs. He was ready.

As soon as the man stepped in the room, Merle came up behind him and cut off his airway before he could alert the others. "Don't fuckin' make a sound or I'll kill ya here and now. Understand?"

The man nodded and the older Dixon eased up on his windpipe just enough for the man to remain conscious. "Now, we're gonna take a little trip downstairs and have a talk with your boss."

"Sonny? He dead?" called the Governor.

"No he ain't dead," Merle answered. "Annie Oakley ain't a crack shot."

"Merle Dixon!" The Governor hid his surprise quickly with a grin. "Woodbury hasn't been the same without you."

"Shut the fuck up," he replied to the man's bullshit.

"Governor. Look what I found lurking around outside. " Annie Oakley came through the front door with her pistol pointed at the younger Dixon's head.

"Goddamn, Daryl!" Merle was really hoping for backup when he made his next move. He wished he had a Plan B.

The woman's head turned sharply at the familiar raspy voice and it took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the dim light of the room. "Merle Dixon? Is that you? I thought you were dead?"

'Ya ain't the only one, Karen," he answered never taking his eyes of the man he had waited too long to exact revenge on.

"Sorry, Karen. I thought it was best that the citizens of Woodbury not live in fear of the traitor returning," the Governor replied smoothly then he turned toward her hostage.

"Ain't no traitor! I gave fuckin' everythin' I had to Woodbury then you let Crowley almost kill my girl!"

The governor ignored Merle's rant and looked the younger Dixon up and down. "Daryl, huh? This is the infamous baby brother?" He raised a brow at the older man. "I must say, Merle, I'm…underwhelmed."

Karen stuttered, not quite understanding what was happening before her. "He, um, he killed Matthews and Ross."

The man shrugged. "Must be more to him than meets the eye, I guess."

"Fuck off, asshole," Daryl spat at the man's feet.

"Definitely a Dixon," he said with disgust as he backed up to a distance he hoped was out of range. "Say, Merle, how's that pretty daughter of yours? Is she, oh, how do I put this delicately…showing yet?"

"Shut the fuck up you cock sucking mother fuckin..."

"Ah, so she is." He smiled. "And are you perhaps staying at that prison, off the highway a few miles, the one you said couldn't be cleared of biters? I have men over there right now. Guess, I'll run by and pick her up myself, since you killed Martinez."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

The Governor smiled widely. He loved it. The idiot redneck was totally oblivious to the truth and it seems that his plan might have actually worked after all. He was going to enjoy every minute of telling it to Dixon. "If your daughter was pregnant, Martinez was supposed to bring her to me so she could have medical care during her pregnancy and give birth to my baby in the safety of Woodbury."

"Crowley raped her and Daryl killed him." Merle said slowly.

"That baby in your daughter is mine and I mean to have it."

Amanda threw herself at Martinez as soon as he walked in the prison just behind Rick. "Caesar! Thank God, you're safe!"

He held her tight for just a moment before gently pulling away. "Careful, I'm soaked, baby."

"I don't care," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I was worried! You were gone for so long!"

"Hey, what the hell happened?" he asked, reaching up to touch the wound on her forehead.

"I fell. It's nothing," she tried to assure him.

"Amanda…"

The concern in his voice touched her. She knew he cared about her but she felt so insecure since she found out that she was actually pregnant. Amanda thought that she was damaged beyond repair and still didn't understand why Caesar or anyone would want her. How could she put the trauma of being tortured and raped behind her when the repercussion of tragedy was growing inside her?How could he look past it or even accept her as she was when she couldn't even do it herself? So all she could say was, "I'm just worried about you right now."

Caesar cupped her face and planted a long kiss on her warm lips with his cold ones. "I'm fine baby, just a little wet."

Rick tried not to show his annoyance at their overt display of affection but he couldn't control the angry, jealous feeling that grew in the pit of his stomach. Enough was enough so he cleared his throat.

Amanda stepped back but brought Caesar's cold hands to her lips and blew on them, rubbing them briskly with her own hands to warm them. "We need to get you some dry clothes."

"Baby, I'm fine, really." He kissed her on the tip of the nose. "I need to talk with Rick first."

She nodded. "Okay."

Caesar sat down at the table but before she could sit too, Rick asked her for a favor. "Mandy, would you ask Hershel to come in here also?"

She shot him an aggravated look but complied with his request. She bent over to kiss Caesar again before she left and Rick wondered if she did that just to annoy him.

An animalistic roar welled up from inside Merle Dixon as a red haze blinded him. He shoved his human shield away and launched himself at the man who was Satan incarnate.

Daryl grabbed Annie Oakley's pistol and she squeezed the trigger, bullet skimming his head. He knocked her to the ground and her pistol skittered across the floor into a darkened corner. Several more shots rang out, and he didn't know who the hell was firing 'em but he hit the floor. "Merle!" he yelled. "Merle! Where the fuck are ya?" He felt around on the floor and found one of the automatic weapons the woman 'confiscated' from him.

A shadow crossed the doorway and he realized the governor was escaping. The slippery bastard rolled off the porch, crawled to the truck, and tore out of the yard in a hail of bullets from both Dixons.

Rick Grimes and Hershel Greene sat on one side of the table and Amanda sat close to Caesar, leaning against shoulder. His arm was wrapped protectively around her. Rick pondered the story the Martinez relayed to him. He couldn't see any obvious holes in it but his instincts told him the man was leaving some facts out. Important or not, Rick would feel better if he knew what Martinez was hiding.

He had arrived at the gate about thirty minutes early in a Land Rover, supplied with provisions and automatic weapons and ammo that he claimed to have taken from two Woodbury men that he killed about a mile out from the prison. Before that, Martinez said he had searched the woods, came across a man who he knew that told him the Governor was after two fugitives. The man led him to his buddies, who were unknown to Caesar, and he killed all of them. He surveyed the surrounding area and found the Land Rover with two other men, of which he killed both, took their weapons and vehicle but not before learning that they had tracked the fugitives to the prison. It all sounded a little too convenient for his liking but Rick had no way to disprove the story.

"Okay," Grimes said standing up. "We need to be extra vigilant. We have to assume the Governor is in the area and possibly on his way here.

"What do you suggest we do that we aren't already doing?" Hershel asked.

Rick rubbed the back of his neck. "There's not a whole we can do different until the Dixons get back."

"Do you think the Governor has them?" Amanda asked, fear clearly evident in her voice.

Caesar pulled her in closer and kissed her temple. "No, baby, your daddy and Daryl are too smart. They'll see him first."

"Fuck!" screamed Merle as he jumped into the truck. "Fuck! Get in, Daryl!"

Merle turned the key. Nothing. The engine didn't even turn over. "Fuckin hell!"

Daryl stumbled around to the front of the F250. His dream truck was riddled with bullet holes. His head was ringing, he couldn't hear out of his left ear. "It's shot to shit, Bro." His own voice sounded like he was talking underwater.

Merle banged his fist on the dash a few times before getting out and kicking the fenders in.

Daryl just realized his brother was covered in blood from head to toe. "You shot, Merle?"

"Don't fuckin' know but I stabbed that motherfucker," he growled, wiping his face with the back of his hand and cursing again. "Fuck! We need to get to the prison now."

"Ain't got a ride."

"Well ya better goddamn find one quick!"

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think!

Thanks to my editor, Siarh, for finding all the pesky typos and wonky parts. Your help is always appreciated!