Daryl woke with a start. He felt too hot and there was a weight on his chest. His eyes were bleary, his mouth was dry and his head was throbbing. He groaned. He was hung over.

Feeling suffocated, Daryl tried to move and saw there was a person's head in the middle of his chest. He froze. Mara was using his bare chest as a pillow. Her breath was tickling his skin and he could feel the rise and fall of her breathing against his body.

He frantically ran through what had happened last night. It came back to him in a rush. They hadn't done anything except kiss so where was his shirt?

Mara was still wearing her clothes. He knew why she was sprawled on top of him too. He had his arm wrapped around her waist drawing her into him.

He had to get out from under her. He slowly slid out from under her; he got his feet under him. The cell floor was cold under his bare feet. He was lucky to still be wearing pants at this point.

He scanned the floor quickly looking for his shirt.

"Looking for something?" a sleepy voice asked.

Daryl snapped upright, keeping his back to the wall.

"Yeah, my shirt. Y'know where it went?"

Mara half shrugged, her eyes lidded. She wasn't looking at him like she knew anything. "You took it off sometime in the night. Said you were hot."

Mara rolled over to face Daryl and slid her hands under her cheek. The movement caused the blankets to slip and Daryl could see the line of one of her legs.

But even Mara's bare skin couldn't distract him. He spotted the shirt on the ground and squatted to pick it up. He put it on before standing up. If Mara thought that was strange she didn't show it.

She was still looking at him half dazed and he could tell she just wanted to go back to sleep. There was no pity in her eyes and Daryl let himself relax a little. If she had seen his back she would have said something.

"I'm gonna check out the permitter."

Mara nodded and closed her eyes. She quickly stretched out into the space Daryl had occupied. Daryl grabbed his shoes and high tailed it out of her cell. His heart was pounding in his chest at how close she'd come to seeing the extent of Daryl's damage.

He shoved his feet into his shoes and grabbed his crossbow. The air outside was cold and there was still a hint of fog rolling over the ground.

Daryl felt better outside in the open spaces of the prison. In that cell he had felt trapped. And yet he also couldn't shake the image of Mara relaxed and sprawled in a bed he'd just left. Her golden skin had looked almost luminous against the white of the sheets.

Daryl shook his head, disgusted at the poetic images in his head. It was the remaining booze in his system making him think that way he convinced himself.

He tipped his crossbow to Elias in the guard tower, who nodded back. Nathan was closer to the gate.

"Where you going?" he asked as Daryl opened the gate.

"Out."

"I'd advise against it."

"Good thing you ain't my sergeant then," Daryl snapped back.

Nathan didn't look bothered by Daryl's aggressive tone and stood back to let Daryl pass without another word.

Daryl wandered through the woods distracted. He didn't fall easily into his tracking mode like he usually did. He was looking without really seeing; his mind still caught up with the events from this morning.

Daryl had been drunk enough to abandon some of his inhibitions but not drunk enough that he could forget what he'd done and said. Seized by a moment of liquor infused boldness he had kissed Mara. Then he had tried to follow up on what Mara had initially suggested.

Only problem was whatever madness had possessed Mara to want him that way had obviously faded because she had rejected him. That gave him pause. He wasn't rejected in the traditional sense. Hell, Mara had said another time if he still wanted to when he was sober. But that was the problem. That was probably just Mara's way of politely rejecting him, knowing he would never have the guts to approach her stone cold sober.

Daryl cursed his own shyness. Merle had never had any problems approaching women. Despite the fact Merle had never been nice to women; they seemed to flock to him. It was his confidence, that arrogance that seemed to say if the ladies were lucky he'd maybe decide to spend an evening with them but don't expect romance or a phone call in the morning.

Merle would never have tried with a woman like Mara though. Merle would find Mara pushy and snobby and mouthy. Merle only liked strong women if he thought he could break them. Mara would have liked Merle even less.

Daryl was so caught in his own thoughts that he had wandered dangerously far from the prison. He couldn't even pretend that he was hunting any more. His angry stomping would have sent any quarry scurrying off in the opposite direction.

He was still mad about how close Mara had come to seeing his back. Daryl might like Mara and trust her even but his business was his business and he certainly wasn't comfortable sharing his life story with her. And wouldn't that be unavoidable if it got physical between them? Could she see the scars and not ask? He was definitely not ready to be that vulnerable with Mara.

Daryl began to take notice of his surroundings with a start, realising that he'd gone much further than he'd intended. The angry energy had pushed him on and he recognised that he was actually close to Woodbury.

Feeling defiant and reckless, Daryl decided to see what had been happening in Woodbury. He knew that Rick wanted them to keep far away from the town, not wanting to antagonise the Governor but Daryl disagreed. They needed to know what was going on.

Daryl felt relatively safe moving by himself. He could blend almost seamlessly into the woods if he needed to and he knew those people in the cosy town would never know their way around the forest like he did.

Daryl just needed some higher ground and some concealment. He wasn't stupid enough to try and go in the fortressed town. Not any more anyway. He just wanted to scout it out. The closer he got the more sounds of life he could hear.

He quickly figured out that the best view was to be had by climbing a tree. Daryl quickly found one that he thought would be high enough to give him a view over the back walls. Daryl wasn't as close as he liked but he didn't want to risk crossing the town lines and going amongst the buildings. He had no idea what the walker situation was down there, though he didn't imagine the Governor would suffer their existence.

Daryl scaled the tree with ease and was satisfied he was more or less shielded from anyone casting a casual glance at the tree line. He was still trying to work out what the sounds were that he was hearing from across the wall. It sounded like shouting and then a lot of movement.

Daryl finally saw over the wall and cold dread settled in his stomach. He curled his fingers into the bark because his first instinct was to be afraid. They may have a few soldiers at the prison but the Governor had an army.

Rick was perfectly still and calm. The prison was buzzing with the news Daryl had reported but Rick hadn't over reacted at all.

"We can't take him out head on. He has too much fire power," Rick mused out loud. They were the first words he had spoken and it silenced the rest of the people in the room.

Mara had been shocked by what Daryl had reported. She hadn't known what to expect of him when he came back after what had happened last night but it definitely had not been that.

Mara had taken note of the fact he barely looked at her when he came running in to the prison but as soon as he started frantically telling Nathan and Rick what he had seen Mara quickly conceded that this matter trumped all personal issues.

"What d'you have in mind?" Hershel asked.

"I'm thinkin' they haven't fought fair with us so why should we with them? A few of us can sneak in, sabotage their supplies and maybe steal some weapons."

Mara flicked her eyes to Nathan. Her sergeant had been very quiet so far and Mara wondered if this crossed his line of keeping the peace.

The survivors were nodding; faces grim and determined.

Rick was speaking emphatically and they hung on his every word. He was a leader in the truest sense of the word.

"I'll take Michonne. She knows the layout. Daryl and Glenn, I need you stay here in case anything happens to me. I know that between the two of you, the prison will be safe."

Daryl and Glenn both looked unhappy with the decision to be left behind but they didn't argue with Rick. They knew a big group couldn't be stealthy and Rick was right, all the best fighters couldn't leave.

"Nathan, I know how you feel about this issue so I'll leave your people out of this."

"With respect," Mara interrupted, "I'd like to volunteer." The words were out of her mouth before she had time to think. She didn't even know she was going to do it until she had. Daryl shot Mara a sharp look. Some impulse had flooded Mara's body and she wanted to hit the Governor where it hurt.

"Mara," Nathan began.

Mara cut him off. "Sarge, I know we're not supposed to take sides but the Governor's men would have killed me soon as looked at me. I'm in this fight."

Nathan fixed her with a long stare before nodding once. Mara wasn't sure what that meant for their dynamic but Nathan didn't look mad at least, more resigned.

Yussuf looked like he wanted to protest her involvement too but Mara knew that was from worry more than an internal ethical conflicts.

"When will you go?" Carol asked.

"Tonight." There were sounds of shock and protest but Rick held up his hand for silence. "We've waited too long and that was a mistake. He's been biding his time to assemble a force that could destroy us and we can't afford to waste another minute."

"You're right," Hershel agreed quietly.

Rick looked to Mara and Michonne. "I need you to go prepare now."

Mara nodded and left for her cell. She sensed a presence at the opening and turned to face them. She tried to not let the disappointment show on her face when it was Christine.

"Expecting someone else?"

"No." Expecting, no. Hoping? Certainly.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Christine asked.

Mara looked up at her friend. "Very sure. I really hate this asshole."

"You haven't even met him yet," Christine pointed out logically.

Mara scowled, "I know but I can feel his shadow hanging over everything these people do. It's oppressive."

"Are you looking to become one of these people?"

"Christine, we're already part of this group!"

Christine didn't have an answer to that. "Besides you didn't seem that surprised I volunteered," Mara pressed.

Christine smiled. "I know you, Mara. You have a hero complex."

"A hero complex?"

"Yeah. Yussuf and Nathan are here because of orders, Elias had nowhere else to go." Christine paused and it was with an obvious effort that she continued, "We all know why I'm here. But why are you here, Mara? You've got no ties to this place. At least you didn't."

Mara ignored the obvious bait at the end. "I came to help people, Christine." Mara started shoving her weapons into a pile. "I came to kill monsters. I just didn't anticipate the monsters would be human."

Mara was deliberately not looking at Christine. She wanted to go with Rick tonight but that didn't mean she wasn't scared.

Christine grabbed Mara's shoulders and forced Mara to face her. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

Mara answered her by throwing her arms around Christine and pulling her into a tight hug.

Christine left her to get ready and as Mara was seeing her off she caught Daryl's eye from the perch where he slept. For a minute Mara thought he was going to come and talk to her, he looked like he wanted to, but he ended up disappearing down the stairs.

Mara felt her chest tighten at the sight of his retreating back. She could admit that she wanted him to say something to her, to take her mind off what she had to do. Mara berated herself, she should have realised that last night was alcohol and nothing more.

And what was worse was that now she knew what it was like to be pressed up against his body. She'd felt safe and comfortable and those lean muscles hadn't hurt either.

The rest of the group walked them to the gate. Carl's face was stoic. Rick bent down and spoke in a low voice so only Carl would hear before Rick clutched his son to his chest. He pressed a kiss to the top of Judith's head.

Michonne didn't have the same extensive goodbyes to be said. Mara had received stern talking to's about safety from all her team and now she was running through her selection of weapons. Her hand was shaking as she double checked that her gun was loaded and the safety was on. Her knife was in a sheath at her hip.

Her heart plummeted as Mara felt for her sword and found it gone. Mara felt stupid when she remembered she had put it on the ground so it didn't get in the way of all the farewell hugs.

Daryl was suddenly there, picking it up off the ground. Holding the sword in both his hands he approached Mara. He hesitated before slipping the strap over Mara's shoulder.

"Watch your back out there," he said gruffly. Coming from anyone else it would have seemed a curt and detached goodbye but Mara knew that was Daryl's way of acknowledging he cared whether she survived.

"I'm not gonna die. Who would save your ass if I did?" Mara joked.

Daryl's lips quirked into a smile. His eyes stayed serious though. He walked away from Mara with a slight backward glance. Rick clasped Daryl's forearm not having to exchange any words with him.

The walkers were snarling at the fence. Maggie, Beth and Carol went further up to draw them away with noise. As soon as the path was clear Michonne, Rick and Mara slipped out of the gates.

One walker broke away from the pack, dragging one broken foot behind it. The three humans ignored it. It was harmlessly slow.

Moving fast, they quickly left it behind.

"Maybe we should have taken the car?" Mara said when they paused to drink.

The sun had set and they all knew the spooks were more active at night.

Rick shook his head. "Couldn't risk it, he might have the roads watched."

"He definitely would," Michonne agreed.

"Michonne, we need to have a plan if Andrea is with them," Rick said.

"I'll do what needs to be done," Michonne bit out and it was obvious Andrea was her weakness. The two women had become best friends and Mara couldn't imagine ever being in a position where she might have to kill Christine. Because that was what Rick was saying without actually saying it. They might have to kill Andrea.

The spooks only bothered them once and it was a small group. They cut them down in seconds and not wasting much needed energy.

Woodbury loomed up in front of Mara. Maybe it was because Mara knew what was inside those walls but Mara found it ominous, lit up by torches in the dark. It struck her that it was like a medieval castle.

Michonne led the way and they skirted the shadows to the back of the town. The guards had doubled since the last time Rick and Michonne had come to rescue Maggie and Glenn. But Michonne still found a place where the fence was weak. It was out of direct sight of the guard and the torches didn't have quite the same reach as electric lighting.

They cut their way in and pulled the fence shut again. They didn't seal it because they wanted to have a quick getaway but they also didn't want a camp infested with spooks.

The guards were talking to each other and weren't keeping much of an eye on their watch zone. Mara scoffed. Amateurs. The Governor might have the numbers but he didn't have the training.

"Where would they keep the weapons, Michonne? If we could steal their ammo and their supplies that'll be a huge hit."

"You don't want the food?" Mara asked.

"We only have time for one and I want to make sure they have less to follow us with."

"I think I know a place," Michonne said. She took the lead and the others followed. Mara and Rick had both unholstered their guns and they were running low and quiet. Michonne was confident she knew where they were going and there were only two incidents when people on the street forced them to duck in to door jams.

Mara was finding their luck suspicious. The Governor hadn't struck her as so arrogant he wouldn't be wary. She could tell Rick felt it too, his shoulders were tense and he had a white knuckle grip on his gun.

"Down here," Michonne hissed. They were behind a shop and there were two discrete doors in the ground. Mara thought it looked like the tornado shelter from the Wizard of Oz but it was probably just a cellar. Mara suspected Michonne had gotten it wrong but closer inspection revealed it was padlocked. Rick slid the bolt cutters out of the bag they'd brought with them.

Mara kept a watch over her shoulder. She felt on edge at the moment and the sooner they got out of Woodbury the sooner she could breath properly again.

They lifted the doors silently to reveal the room below. It was larger than Mara had anticipated and was lit with a dull glow. They could see all the weapons from their vantage.

Rick breathed out a sigh of relief and took one step down. Michonne grabbed his arm. "I don't like this."

"I don't either," Rick hissed back, "but we've got no choice!"

Rick made his way down the stairs carefully with Mara and Michonne watching cautiously from the top.

"It's clear," he called quietly. Mara climbed in after him leaving Michonne on guard. Both of them hastily began filling bags with guns but primarily ammunition. Guns were just metal sticks without bullets.

Mara's pulse was still in her throat as she scanned the room for anything that would fit in the bag. She spotted some grenades and stuffed them in as well.

There was a shout and then the sounds of a fight. Rick ran up the stairs and Mara followed. Michonne was already standing there with her hands in the air. Her sword was by her feet on the ground. Her face was no longer stoic but shooting repulsed death stares at the men surrounding them. Not just men, women too. Mara even thought she saw a young teenager at the back.

There were fifteen people standing there pointing guns at them. Rick and Mara dropped their bag of weapons and raised their hands too. Rick was devastated and Mara was frightened.

"Well well, caught like rats in a trap," a smooth voice said. The group parted and a tall man with an eye patch walked through the gap. Mara recognised the Hispanic man behind him and her stomach curled when she realised he had led the attack on her and Daryl.

"You must be the Governor," Rick spat out.

"And you're Rick. It's nice to actually meet you."

The Governor's tone was light, friendly even but the look on his face struck Mara cold. She had no doubts she was looking at the most dangerous thing she'd seen so far.

"Michonne, didn't expect to see you again," he continued saying casually, like he was welcoming old friends to coffee.

Mara could see Michonne's fingers curl into a fist. Her hatred for this man in front of her was palpable. The Governor's gaze went to the bags on the ground and he tutted.

"We can't have that."

He signalled to his guards and they came forward. Mara submitted to the two men who pushed her hands behind her back. There were too many to fight free of.

"Take them away," The Governor growled, for the first time letting some anger into his voice.

They were pushed into the basement of a building and Mara was shoved into a room with a table and chairs. The door was slammed behind her and Mara was locked in the windowless room alone. She had no idea where they were taking Rick and Michonne or why they hadn't been slaughtered on sight.

Mara forced herself to take some steadying breaths. She needed to keep her cool and think of a way to get out of here without dying.

The room was Spartan, there was no chance of finding weapons there and the Governor had removed all of her own. There was just a metal chair and a metal table. The table was bolted to the ground and Mara didn't know what kind of damage she could do with a chair.

Before she really had time to think the chair attack plan through the door swung open. Mara considered fighting them hand to hand but three men walked in and they all had guns. They were confident and looked comfortable with their firearms.

One of the group was the Hispanic man from earlier. He was clearly something of a leader amongst this pack.

"Sit down," he instructed curtly. Mara chose to do what he said. She could pick her battles later.

They wrapped some rope around her arms, effectively binding her forearms to the chair.

As soon as she was secure Mara received a vicious backhand. Mara cried out. She could taste blood on her lower lip.

"That was for my friends," the man bit out.

Some insane part of Mara made her laugh. "Your friends shot at me. I'd kill them again."

There was another stinging blow but Mara was expecting it and didn't cry out. She thought there would be more abuse to come but they just walked out of the room. It didn't give her any relief. Mara knew there would be worse to come.

AN: Hello everyone. I've been rewriting later chapters to incorporate what I now know about where the finale is taking us. And I've also been writing a whole other story because when the muse hits, boy it hits hard. There has been an overwhelming response to that story because there are no OC's but I still love writing this story because it's a completely different set of characters – kind of.

Please review because it makes my heart sing, and rainbows come out and Norman Reedus to take off his shirt – ok the last two are not true.

As I mentioned on my other story, I am now on twitter EJWadePR, saying irrelevant things about other things (mostly TV) and it really has no connection to fanfic, I'm just throwing that out there if you happen to be on twitter because 10 followers is just sad at the moment.

Much love,

MD666