"Aren't ya gonna let me in?"
Daryl stared in disbelief at his brother. It couldn't be.
"I saw you- you- they shot at-" Daryl couldn't get his words out.
"I'm alive an' kickin' here, baby bro," Merle said. "Well… not completely." He glanced down at his shoulder that had a bloody hole in it. "So as ya can see, I'm in a bit of a bad state. Wanna invite me in?"
Daryl shook his head. He was confused. There was no way Merle would be gracefully invited back into the prison. Not after what had happened to Glenn. The inner conflict rattled around his brain.
"Hey, ya listenin', Darylena?"
Daryl nodded.
"Well then… unlock these damn gates and let me in!"
Daryl shook his head.
"Why the hell not?" Merle asked angrily.
"Did ya see what you did t' Glenn?" he asked. Finally there were words forming on his tongue.
Merle looked at Daryl through the gate. "Course I did. I was under orders! I had t' do it!"
Daryl still wasn't convinced and he still didn't want to open the gate. He knew it was his brother but he worried. Worried because of the group's- who he now considered like family- reactions to Merle.
"It don't matter," Daryl said quietly. "You ain't gonna be welcome here."
Merle stared at him incredulously. "I'm you're blood! Ain't nothing thicker than blood, little brother!" He paused. "An' if we ain't gonna be welcome here then we gotta go. You saw 'em back at Woodbury. They're plannin' somethin'."
"I know, I jus-"
"You jus' nothin'!" Merle spat. "C' mon. We gotta go!"
Daryl sighed. "I can't."
"The hell you mean you-"
At that moment, a walker appeared out of nowhere but Daryl aimed and killed it with his crossbow.
…
Carol had seen the oncoming walker from afar but, having no gun, it was a problem. She saw Daryl staring at the other person behind the gate but couldn't stretch enough to hear. Having seen the walker, she started barreling down the stairs as fast as she could. When she reached the bottom, she saw Daryl take out the walker. She breathed a sigh of relief then noticed the man he was speaking to. Her heart caught in her throat. It couldn't be. At that moment, the man noticed her and they locked eyes.
"Hey, ya got the keys t' unlock this gate?" he shouted to her.
Carol could only stare. Surely Daryl hadn't… No… Of course he hadn't… He couldn't have invited Merle Dixon in. Then she saw Daryl staring wide-eyed at her and she realised he was just as scared and uncertain as she was. She crossed over to him quickly, avoiding physical contact whilst Merle was watching.
"Go get Rick," he said quickly, not even looking her in the eyes.
She nodded and took off running as best as she could towards the cell block. Once there, Rick instantly noticed how out of breath she was and stood up, handing Judith to Carl.
"What happened? Are you okay?" Rick said, one hand on her shoulder.
Carol shook her head and drew a breath. "Go outside. Daryl's near the gate. You better hurry."
Rick drew his gun from its holster and took off out of the cell block, slamming the door behind him. Carol moved to go after him but then thought again. She would only be in the way and they probably wouldn't want her there. So, she waited.
…
Daryl was pacing in front of the gate, keeping an eye on the surrounding area to make sure no walkers were near, when he saw Rick racing down the hill towards him. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Merle.
"He can't be here!" Rick spat, pushing past Daryl and holding his gun up in front of Merle from the other side of the fence. "You need to go."
Merle held his hands up, causing him to wince as a burst of pain shot through his shoulder. "Look, man, I'm tryin' t' help ya!"
"The only thing you've done is help drive one of our people into a near coma. You need t' go."
"Sure," Merle said with a smirk. "I'll jus' go back t' Woodbury and let 'em know that I've finally found the famous prison!"
Rick bared his teeth and kneaded his eyes with the heels of his hands. "Like they'll welcome you back after you've been accused of bein' a traitor!"
"They might if I let 'em know about this," Merle said, still gripping the fence.
Rick was angry now. Daryl could tell. He didn't have an option. So far, Woodbury knew they were in a prison. They didn't know which but it wouldn't take a genius to know it was the closest.
"Fine," Rick said through gritted teeth, motioning to Daryl. "Let him in."
Daryl was surprised at Rick's resolve but he finally opened the gate. When Merle entered and Daryl had locked it behind him, he noticed Rick was already halfway back to the cell block probably alerting the others.
…
Carol was feeding Judith when Rick came bursting through the doors looking angrier than he normally did.
"What's the matter?" Carol asked, already worried.
Rick stared at her. "He threatened to go back to Woodbury… I had to let him in or else they would have found us."
Her heart had dropped. She was hoping he had been sent away… Something that would mean their group was better protected. She remembered Merle clearly and they were not fond memories. Minutes after Rick had taken off to Glenn's cell, Daryl and Merle walked through the door. Merle looked as though he was drilling something into Daryl as he was pointing his finger in his face. Daryl noticed her and looked at her for a brief second before he walked off in search of Rick.
"So who here's gonna clean these for me?"
Hershel was looking after Glenn with Maggie and Beth was with Carl and Judith somewhere. She knew it had to be her. Swallowing, she went to get the first aid kit, some water and a bandage. When she returned, Merle was already sat with his shirt off with just his vest on and he was looking at her.
"You jus' gonna stand there?" he asked.
It wasn't aggressive but she jumped all the same and wished Daryl was here with her. She nodded and stood next to him, cleaning the wound and making sure no shrapnel was infecting the wound. He would occasionally wince and grip the table and Carol fought off a smile. Doing this was like provoking a bear.
Merle looked up at her. "Oh shit! You're the woman who used to get beatin's off ya husband!"
The way he had reminded her of Ed made her blink and, as she was stitching his wound, she pulled too tight. He yelped and moved back.
"I'm sorry!" she said frantically, trying to steady him.
He gripped her wrist and she froze. She shut her eyes and waited for a beating. However, that never happened. In that second, Daryl had appeared and he rushed over.
"The hell are you doing?" he asked hurriedly, making Merle freeze.
The question was more for Merle but Carol answered anyway.
"I jumped and pulled too hard- I'm- I'm really sorry," she said, looking at the floor and trying not to cry.
"What the hell did you say?" he asked Merle who was flicking his eyes between the pair.
"Hey, don't look at me! She's the one who-"
Turning to Carol, he said, "I'll get Hershel. Go back to your cell."
She nodded and left Merle and Daryl together.
"Why the hell d'ya care about that old bitch?" she heard Merle say.
Blinking back tears, she made her way back to her cell.