Author's Note: Thank you jedi-stark, Lila-Renee, and transf0rmer for the lovely reviews. I appreciate them so much, you are little rays of sunshine!(:
Thank you to anyone new who has subscribed or added this story to their favorites.(:
Okayyy, Merle is making an appearance in this chapter and he's kind of an a-hole. He won't be like that forever, just keep this in mind as you read him being a total jerk. Thanks to a certain Lila-Renee who has pulled me onto the Merle fanwagon.(;
Enjoy, xoxo

CHAPTER TWENTY.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN.

Taylor huffed indignantly after stabbing an especially decayed biter. She stepped back and gulped a breath of air, trying to calm her nerves after it had surprise attacked her. She adjusted her backpack and began on her trek to nowhere again, she only made it a few feet when a hand covered her mouth and she was pulled back flush against a body.

"Ah-!" She couldn't even scream for help, not that anyone would hear her anyway, but the strong hand tightened against her face.

"Na' it would do ya sum real goot to shut ya trap." She knew that voice, that deep southern drawl anywhere. He let his hand fall and spun her around, smirking at her once she was fully facing him. "Liddle blondie."

"Merle?! What the hell are you doing out here?" Taylor tried to back up, make an escape, but he caught her arm and gripped it like a vice.

"I followed tis road out frum tha highway. Yer sheriff buddy left ta note fer some Morgan fella." He paused, looking into her eyes with his dark glare. "I'm jist lookin' for muh baby brother. I knows you seen 'em." Merle's smirk deviated into a snarl as she squirmed to get out of his tight-knit grasp.

"I'm out here by myself, as you can see." She finally gave up trying to get away realizing that Merle was the equivalent of a pitbull.

"Tat's a lie if I eva heard one!" Merle glanced around both in front of and behind them. "He's round here sumwhere, huntin' or sumthin'."

"No, he's really not." She glanced down at her arm noticing that her hand was turning stark white from no circulation. "If you let me go I won't run."

"N' trust yew?" Merle snorted loudly, shaking his head at her. "Liddle banshee yew are, no way."

"Please, you're really hurting me Merle," Taylor turned her tone softer, figuring that going head to head with him was not the best of all ideas.

"Shuddup," he began to drag her along the road, back the way she had just come from.

"He doesn't need you!" She shrieked at him.

"Shuddup or yew'll bring da geeks at us!" He twisted her arm, and of course it was the injured one. She cried out in pain as a red-hot, searing sensation ripped through her, triggering the memory of when it happened. "Whatda mean he don't need me?"

"You think he needs you to survive but he doesn't. He does just fine on his own." She dragged her feet as he pulled her along, the closer they got back to the farm, the worse the feeling in the pit of her stomach got. She couldn't go back, not after she abandoned them.

"Yew don't know whatchur talkin' 'bout!" She sat down on the ground now, being a dead weight, she decided she could definitely not go back. "Git up! I'll carry yer ass."

"Go straight down this road, nine or ten miles... you'll see the mailbox with Greene Farm on it. That's it." Her eyes dropped to the asphalt, "that's where he is."

"Yew tellin' da truth?" He eyed her suspiciously, not sure if she was just trying to get herself home free.

"Yes. But you have to promise you won't hurt Rick, or T-Dog." She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "I know you're still holding everything against them."

"Tank yew ma'am." He knelt down in front of her, grabbing her arm before she could pull away. He rolled her sleeve up and saw the bandage, he knew there was something wrong from the first time he twisted it. Merle's giant hand wrapped around the wound and held as tightly as possible until blood began to soak through the bandage. Taylor screamed out in agony, knowing that the stitches had to have busted. Suddenly, Bailey sprang from the bushes, immediately clamping onto Merle's leg. The dog desperately tried to save his owner, biting down as hard as his jaw could manage.

"Git tis mutt off muh leg!" He let her arm fall to the ground as she suffered in outright pain. He took out his knife and reared himself to stab the dog that was currently chomping on his ankle. Taylor looked up from tending to her fresh wound and saw what Merle was about to do.

"Bailey! Come!" Hearing her call he let loose and raced back towards her, sitting down beside her with a small whimper. He looked back at Merle and growled, his gleaming white teeth showing through.

"Lucky I don't kill yew both," he began to walk away, turning back to grin viciously at his work, "n' I can't make any promises 'bout dat sheriff n' nigger!"

"Merle!" She called after him but continued to sit in the same spot, writhing in pain and nursing her arm. As soon as he wasn't even a speck on the horizon she stood up, staring conspicuously at the dog. It had crossed her mind that Daryl had brought Bailey out to find her; that couldn't be right though.

"How'd you get out here anyway?" She stood up and dusted herself off with the good arm. "Probably tracked me. Lucky they got Daryl doped up on morphine or he'd be able to track me too." Her mind momentarily fluttered back to the farm, wondering if anyone had even noticed that she was gone yet. It was now well into the day after all.

As she walked along the thought progressed, what if Merle tried to extract revenge against T-Dog and Rick? That would be all on her, and she immediately regretted her decision to tell him. But what could she do now? How could she stop Merle? He just taken her down with one arm, she was clearly no match for him. She stopped walking, the thoughts jarring her to a complete stop. Bailey followed suit and stood beside her, looking in all directions for anything out of the ordinary.

She hovered in her thoughts, why would she go back anyway? She couldn't stop Merle, and even if he didn't do anything bad, she knew he would give Daryl an ultimatum: him or her. Taylor knew who he'd choose, blood was blood and Merle would always be his brother; she would always be just a girl. Right as she had talked herself out of a return to the farm a car zoomed up behind her, coming to a screeching halt.

"Taylor?!" Glenn jumped out of the driver's seat to be sure it was her. "Jesus, you scared the hell out of me!"

"Glenn?" She spun around, instantly recognizing the voice. "What are you talking about?"

"You just bailed on us!"

"Oh..." she started to walk towards him, "is anyone else out looking?"

"No," her heart sank at his words, but his continuance make her feel a little better, "nobody else knows that you're gone."

"Then how did you-"

"I was looking for you," he cut her off, already knowing the question. "I couldn't find you anywhere. I figured you had to have bailed, your backpack was gone... and Daryl and Jackson were by themselves in the room." She furrowed her eyebrows at his words, making him feel like he needed to elaborate further. "I knew if you weren't there, you were gone."

"What about Uncle Hershel?" Taylor knew he would have had to question her whereabouts when she wasn't hovering over Daryl like she had been the entire day before.

"He doesn't know. Like I said, no one does. People started asking so I told them you were already in the car, we were going on a town run." He fixed his ball cap, the sun beginning to beam down on them uncomfortably.

"Okay, well have fun with that..." She started to turn again when his words made her stop.

"You're coming with me. Then we're going back to the farm." Glenn's tone had changed from soft and understanding to downright demanding. He was not going to let Taylor walk away and get killed, which he knew was exactly what would happen. She couldn't take care of herself out here, it was too harsh, too cruel. He knew she wouldn't make it.

"No, no I'm not." She protested, folding her arms across her chest.

"You're just going to leave everyone? Maggie, Beth, your uncle, Jackson?" He paused briefly knowing the last one would get her, "Daryl?"

"He's the reason I left," she whispered, suddenly embarrassed by her decision.

"What? Why?"

"Andrea..." Glenn sighed, he knew this would be good. "She told me that I was a burden to everyone, him mostly."

"What? Burden my ass, you saved him. And Andrea's a bitch!" He laughed, thinking about her appearance that morning that she tried to cover up with loose hair, "she's just mad you gave her a black eye and busted lip."

"Hmph," she frowned, annoyed that Glenn was changing her mind for her. "Oh... okay." She finally relented, still unsure if it was the right thing to do. She got into the passenger seat of the car, letting Bailey jump up onto her lap. They drove a few miles in silence until Taylor felt her head pounding with remorse of giving them up to Merle.

"I have to tell you something," she said slowly.

"Shoot."

"I, uh... I ran into Merle out here," Glenn peered over at her as if he didn't believe it. "I ended up telling him where we're staying." She grimaced, bracing herself for a berating from him, he only sighed.

"One thing at a time. I have to go to the pharmacy for something. We'll do that, then worry about Merle," the way he spoke his name made her feel like he was definitely not buying her story, like he was a figment of her imagination.

"You don't seem too worried about him."

"Well, I mean, I didn't even see him when I came up here looking for you. Maybe he got turned around somewhere," he suggested lightly, though the tone said something different entirely.

"Do you think I'm bullshitting you?"

"No!" He quickly defended himself, as he really didn't think she was lying, just maybe confused. "I just think, I don't know, you were in a pretty traumatic situation yesterday, you were hurt, you've been walking for miles..." He took a quick breath, trying to keep his words careful and steady, he knew she was going to take it personally. "Maybe you thought you saw him."

"He tried to break my arm!" She rolled her sleeve back up and revealed the bandage that was now soaked through with fresh blood, and an obvious, large hand print was beginning to bruise.

"Ouch," he glanced over quickly before turning back to the road. He could say he almost certainly believed her now.

"So what's this thing you have to go to the pharmacy for?" She decided to change the topic when she realized that Glenn was uncomfortable with the original one. She rolled her sleeve back down carefully as she awaited his answer.

"It's just something... someone asked me to get." He didn't seem too keen on talking about it, but that wouldn't stop her from prying.

"Who is it for?"

"I don't think I should really say anything," his grip on the steering wheel tightened and she knew he was trying to fight the urge to tell her. Apparently it was a big secret that she was not welcomed in on.

"Glenn," she whined like a child, "just tell me. I won't say anything." Taylor stopped for a second, thinking about a way to get him to spill the beans. "I'll find out what it is anyway when we get there."

"Fine," he grunted when he realized that she was not going to stop hounding him about it. "It's for Lori."

"Oh?" Her interest peaked at this, what would she need so badly from the pharmacy? That's when it clicked. "Oh my god... she's pregnant?"

"Shut up!" He hissed, still upset with himself that he'd said anything at all. "You can't say anything." His warning was firm and she knew he was serious.

"Okay, okay. I won't." She let out a low whistle, wondering if the baby was Shane's. That's who she had been with pretty much the whole time, but there was a brief period when Rick had initially returned that they were 'sort of' together again. "Holy shit though."

"I know," Glenn nodded in agreement, still a little shocked himself.

"So what are we getting? Multi-vitamins, baby stuff-"

"Abortion pills," he solemnly cut her off, still not happy with the thought. There was nothing he could do about that though, it wasn't his choice.

"What?" She stared over at him in shock, he couldn't possibly be serious. Lori was going to get rid of the baby? "Are you serious?"

"Is that really something to joke about?" Before she could respond he pulled in front of the pharmacy, shutting the car off and swiping the keys into his pocket. "Let's go."

They both exited the car quickly, their guns drawn and their senses on high alert. Taylor had decided to leave Bailey in the car, she didn't want him getting them into any extra trouble. There didn't seem to be any walkers around at the moment, but that didn't mean they couldn't appear out of nowhere. They ran in, being as quiet as the could manage, before each taking a side of the pharmacy to check. They were alone.

"I'll get the stuff for her." Taylor whispered, knowing that it would be easier for her than for him. Glenn nodded silently, agreeing with her decision to take that mission over and heading off to get some other medical necessities. She stood in front of the section with dread in the pit of her stomach. Her and Lori may have not been best friends, but she really wished that she'd reconsider her decision. After a long moment of quiet contemplation she reached forward, plucking the pills off the shelf and shoving them into her bag.

"Maybe..." she thought aloud, grabbing a two pack of little pacifiers with a sun and moon on them, throwing them in the bag as well. She really hoped those would be what Lori really needed instead of the first item she picked up. Taylor glanced around the aisle, grabbing a pregnancy test, and a few boxes of condoms. Hey, if Lori was already pregnant than she figured everybody else, namely Cassidy, should be a little more careful. She couldn't even imagine Cassidy as a mother, or what would happen to Glenn if he accidentally got her cousin pregnant.

"Alright, are you ready?" He came over holding up a bag of medicinal items to show her that he was done.

"Yeah, I'm good." She walked down the aisle and grabbed one last thing on the shelf that caught her eye, a small teddy bear for Jackson. She smiled and stuffed it into the very top of the bag, closing it up and following Glenn out. She was headed back to the farm.

Once her feet fell against the gravely road, her heart jumped up into her throat. She immediately spotted Daryl through the window, searching outside, for what though, she wasn't sure. She had a sinking feeling that he noticed she'd left. Which in turn meant that Jackson also knew that she'd abandoned them, even for a short amount of time, how could they trust her?

"Come on," Glenn coaxed, noticing that she seemed to be glued to the spot.

"I uh, I'll be just a minute." It took everything in her just to move her feet a mere three steps. Taylor stopped and rifled through her bag when she spotted Lori across the way, hanging laundry up. She was alone so she knew it was the prime time to give her the 'things' she needed. She dug past the bear and grabbed the pregnancy test, pills, and condoms out, hiding the latter two in the box of the first. She began to make her way over when she was quickly stopped by an ever curious Cassidy.

"Whatcha got there Taylor?" Her voice was venomous and she knew Cassidy was not there to make small talk.

"Nothing," she quickly shifted her hands behind her back, but the box was ripped from her hands. She spun around and saw Rob standing behind her, his eyes going wide at the sight of the little purple box.

"Wow Parker," he whistled quietly and examined the box, opening it to let the condoms fall out and splatter against the ground. Cassidy giggled and covered her mouth at the sight, making Taylor's face burn red. She knew they thought it was all hers. "Getting busy are we?"

"And apparently getting knocked up too," Cassidy chided from behind her.

"It's not mine!" She snatched the box back out of his hands, bending down to collect the little packets that were a mess on the floor.

"Oh sure..." Rob rolled his eyes and walked around, slinging his arm around Cassidy in an attempt to make her jealous, or so Taylor thought. She wouldn't put it past him, especially now that he apparently thought she was an enormous slut. "That test there... you and the redneck havin' a little one?"

"NO!" She stood straight up, stuffing the packets into the box with a frustrated huff. "I'm not pregnant." Taylor turned to Cassidy now who was smirking devilishly. "So don't go around and start shit."

"Ohhh, so what if I do? Are you gonna give me a black eye like Andrea?" Her snide tone made Taylor grip the box tighter, her knuckles turning white in the process. "I can actually fight, unlike her, so I'd love to have a go with you." Rob's eyes seemed to light up at the prospect but she quickly shut the idea down.

"I'm not fighting anyone."

"That's right, you can't really fight in your state. Wouldn't want to hurt the baby!" Rob and Cassidy shared a laughing fit while Taylor tried with every ounce of patience in her body to not kill them both where they stood. She glanced over their shoulders and saw that Lori was gone, well so much for that. She shoved them back to the bottom of the bag while her counterparts eyes never left her movements.

"I thought you said they weren't yours?" The brunette's smirk wavered slightly as she tried to hold back more laughter.

"They're not."

"It's okay Taylor, really. You can have Daryl, he's just my sloppy seconds, that's all." Her laugh echoed through the land, the sound of a cackling witch was the only thing she could compare it to.

"Oh that's a shame Cass," Taylor picked up her bag and set it on the front of the truck. "Because seeing that I had Daryl first and Rick, and Rob, technically you're the one that's had three helpings of my sloppy seconds. Enjoy." She smiled sweetly and hooked her fingers through the top of the bag, sliding it off the car. Rob and Cassidy shared a stunned look at her outburst, watching her walk away with disdain in their eyes.

The thought had made her slightly nauseous, referring to her tryst with Rob as a good thing, but she held it together long enough to get away from the pair. She had been busying herself retrieving the teddy bear from the bag, ready to hand it over to Jackson and beg forgiveness once she was in the house. She had just pulled it out when she heard her name being called.

"Taylor!" She clutched the bear and spun around, seeing Rick running from the woods, Jackson in arms. She smiled brightly holding the bear up, until she saw Jackson's head bobbing unconsciously as he ran, blood spewed over them both. Taylor's feet were locked in place as the horror over took her, what was going on? Why was Jackson covered in blood?

"What...?" Rick approached her with a grimace, looking between her and Jackson only for a moment before yelling again.

"HERSHEL! Someone get Hershel!" He started to run towards the house when she caught his shoulder, the panic setting in and forcing her to move and speak.

"What happened?!"

"He... he went off..." Rick was struggling to talk in between his unsteady breathes from running so far so fast. "I chased after him... but it was too... late."

"What do you mean too late?" Taylor's voice was laced with panic now, none of this could have possibly been happening. Daryl had hobbled out onto the porch, watching the the commotion with a frown on his face.

"He... Taylor..." Rick's eyes were filled with anguish. He did not want to speak the words out loud, especially to her. Daryl came down now, his eyes widening at the scene. He had already figured out what happened, bracing Taylor's shoulders for the inevitable. "Jackson's been bit."

"Jackson!" She lunged for him, but Rick swooped him away from her, Daryl holding her back. Hershel had finally been tracked down, and he began stampeding down the steps to grab the small boy from Rick's bloodied arms. "Please!" The small brown bear fell to the ground with a small poof of dust rising above it.

Daryl released her long enough for her to process the words in her mind, and as her knees went weak she joined the bear, falling to her knees on the ground. The same words kept playing through her head until she finally whispered them out loud, still not sure if any of it was real.

"He's going to die."