Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a few days - been having friend and family problems that's been keeping me from writing. That and I got the newest True Blood season, so I've been watching that and catching up :)

This is primarily a Daryl centered chapter, taking place during the Chupacabra episode, which, I'm pretty sure if everyone's favorite episode from season two and it does stay pretty close to the episode, so its not really AU. It was also pretty hard to write in the beginning.

Not to mention, yay, a longer chapter! :)


Favorite Line(s):

(SOOO many good parts – I narrowed it down to these two and then couldn't make up my mind):

Both of their worlds had almost come to a screeching halt the previous day and they needed something to bond them together again – something that had them clawing at each other like animals and as exhausted afterwards as an old coon-dog on a warm winter night with his belly full.


Tessa was the only one who looked at the scars that littered his body and didn't immediately say 'ugly'. She was the only one who wasn't frightened off by them or was sickened by the sight of them. She called them his 'war wounds' and when you realize that your whole entire life had been nothing but one big war for survival, he found himself realizing that she was once again speaking the truth.

Tessa awoke that morning, earlier than usual, only to find Daryl already up and getting dressed, trying to be as quiet as he could. "Where are you going?" She asked him groggily, and Daryl glanced at her before nodding to the group of people surrounding the hood of the Cherokee.

"I'm going out to look for Sophia again. I wanna stay hot on the trail that me and Ethan found yesterday." He answered her as he pulled on one of his numerous tanks. She nodded and rubbed at her eyes tiredly as she sat up. The sheet fell down to her waist, baring her nudity to him and he felt himself quirk an amused smile. He adored her total lack of modesty whenever they were alone.

Still smiling, he moved over to her and sat down on her side of the mattress. She moved her legs slightly to give him room and he pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Sorry I woke ya." She shook her head.

"You didn't wake me; I guess I needed to get up anyway. And besides, once I wake up, it's nearly impossible for me to go back to sleep anyway." She smiled a small smile in return. "When are you leaving out?" He shrugged and glanced towards the tent entrance.

"I gotta go touch base with tha others and then I'll prolly be off."

"Are you taking Ethan?" Daryl shook his head.

"I don' think I am this time. I want him 'round ya today, Tess. I still don' trust Shane and at least with Ethan here, ya have a damn good shot with ya!" She nodded but still held a slightly skeptical look on her face, one that Daryl scowled slightly at. He slid his hand behind her neck and planted a loving kiss on her lips. She returned his kiss and when they broke apart, he shook his head. "Ethan's ma son, Tess. I will never doubt tha' and me not takin' him along today has nothin' to do with yesterday. I really jus' want him here with ya today, tha's all!"

She nodded, her look of skepticism disappearing in favor of a relieved one. She held him close for a moment, reveling in the fact that she still had him after almost losing him and it was then that the fact that there would always be hardships between them, struck home. Merle would always be a hardship between them – one that the both of them doubted they would ever fully get rid of, especially if and when the fucker decided to pop up.

He slowly broke apart from her and got to his feet, where he stooped to pick up an overshirt lying by their bags. "I gotta go touch base," He turned around and a slightly hesitant look appeared in his eyes. "I don' know when I'll be back, exactly – I'm gonna follow tha trail as much as I can. But don' be alarmed if I don' come back 'till tomorrow 'kay?" Tessa nodded although he was slightly nervous. She knew the reason that Daryl wanted Ethan with her – if he wasn't back until morning, for whatever reason, he wanted someone with her who would be able to protect her in his stead.

With a soft smile, she got to her feet then and moved over to him, where she gently drug him down to her. She planted a loving kiss on his cheek as his hands wrapped around her bare back, the callused flesh of his palms warming at the smoothness of her dark skin as he brought her against him in an embrace.

"You just be careful, okay?" She told him quietly, not even trying to mask the sound of worry in her voice, and he nodded.

"Ya know I will be. I'll do anythin' to get back to ya – ya have ma word, Tess!" She continued to smile as they parted again, Daryl ducking out through the tent entrance, picking up his crossbow as he went. He moved over to the group of people, still feeling himself wake up a little bit more as he did so. He had a Hell of a yesterday and was amazed that he was even up and on his feet and not still reeling from the news that Tessa chose to smack him with, especially when he had come so close to thinking his life as he had now come to know and cherish was officially and cruelly over. Thank God it wasn't – that Ethan was his son instead of Merle's, but he was still slightly reeling and it took him a moment to realize that maybe him and Tessa's lovemaking the previous night hadn't necessarily a good thing. He needed one Hell of a good sleep after the previous last few days of excitement, not sex. However, once he thought about it, he realized that the two of them hadn't cared last night and that they wouldn't regret it now. Both of their worlds had almost come to a screeching halt the previous day and they needed something to bond them together again – something that had them clawing at each other like animals and as exhausted afterwards as an old coon-dog on a warm winter night with his belly full.

Tessa was the only one who looked at the scars that littered his body and didn't immediately say 'ugly'. She was the only one who wasn't frightened off by them or was sickened by them. She called them his 'war wounds' and when you realize that your whole entire life had been nothing but one big war for survival, he found himself realizing that she was once again speaking the truth.

Rick was in the middle of talking as he finally joined them and he nodded at Daryl when he finally did, a nod that Daryl returned, much to Shane's chagrin. The man scowled and looked away.

"If she made it as far as the farmhouse that Daryl and Ethan found, she might have gone further east that we've been so far -"

"I'd like to help . . ."

They found themselves recoiling somewhat in surprise as one of Hershel's people, a kid Daryl would place anywhere from fifteen to seventeen, stepped forward. Slightly nervous, Daryl doubted he knew how to properly shoot a gun and found himself somewhat regretting not bringing Ethan alone. He had a few good quips that were going unheard right now.

"I know the area pretty well and stuff," He began as Daryl began pulling on his overshirt. Rick turned a slightly skeptical gaze onto him.

"Hershel is okay with this?" The boy nodded.

"Yeah, he said I should ask you, though." Rick nodded and Daryl immediately found himself shaking his mental head at Rick. Guy needed to know when people were lying through their teeth and dammit it all if this kid wasn't playing Rick for an utter fool! But ah well, it wasn't his problem.

"Well, all right then - thanks!" He returned and the kid nodded in return as Shane moved towards them.

"Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me, I'm sorry," He admitted "Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse."

"Anybody includes her, right?" Andrea returned and Daryl shook his head.

"Whoever slept in tha' pantry was no bigger than yay-high," He spoke, his eyes boring holes into Shane's back as he held his hand out to the side of him, to better measure how tall Sophia was. Rick and Andrea nodded as he returned to buttoning up his shirt. Tessa ruined the one he had last night – his favorite - by tearing it open, causing all the buttons to pop off in her haste to get him naked. He hated this one 'cause it was his old man's but what the Hell, you used what you had.

"It's a good lead." Andrea told him and Rick nodded in agreement.

"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again." He added, a hopeful tone to his voice, and Daryl nodded in agreement before leaning over the map to get a better look.

"Well there's no maybe 'bout it! I'm gonna borrow a horse and head up to this ridge right here – take a bird's eye view of the whole grid." He told him, tracing out the path he was going to take for good measure and they nodded again, looks of approval on their faces. "If she's up there, I'll spot her for sure." T-Dog nodded in approval as well as he ran over the path once more with his eyes.

"Good idea, man. Maybe you'll see your Chupacabra up there, too." He said, his tone teasing and it was then that Daryl noticed Tessa ducking out from the tent, fully clothed and hair impeccably done up with its signature clip. The necklace he found her yesterday in the farmhouse hung alongside her grandmother's and . . .

Wait a tick . . . was she wearing one of his shirts?

Right around the time the thought popped into his head, her eyebrows had already furrowed in interest at T-Dog's words, causing her to move to join them. He found himself immediately gazing down at her, eyes unabashedly raking over her curvaceous frame for a moment before he realized that she was. It hung big on her but nonetheless did little to mask the killer curves she had underneath.

Damn it looked good on her!

The boy smiled and nodded in greeting when she joined them, a slight blush appearing on his face as he did so. Daryl wanted to let out a bark of a laugh as he slid his arm around her waist and brought her snugly against his side. It figured that the kid had a crush on Tessa. In fact, it was . . . almost kinda cute to Daryl. He planted a kiss on her forehead and the kid looked away at the motion, opting to turn an amused gaze onto T-Dog as he did so.

"What's this I hear about a chupacabra?" She asked with a snort of amusement as she turned a look of amusement onto Daryl, and Dale laughed and nodded.

"I can't believe you've never heard this one, Tess!" He remarked and Daryl shook his head as Dale laughed again.

"Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time he went squirrel hunting and saw a chupacabra," He told them as he laid a rifle on the hood of the car in front of them, Daryl letting out a confident nod as he did so. Tessa couldn't help but laugh and so did the kid. While Daryl ignored Tessa's, he pinned the kid with a testy look, one that immediately had Tessa's hand fisting warningly into the side of his shirt.

"What'cha ya brayin' at, jackass?" He asked snappishly and the kid laughed again and shrugged.

"So you believe in a blood-sucking dog?" He asked and Daryl shot him a condescending look.

"Do ya believe dead people are walkin' around?" He returned and Tessa rolled her eyes and slapped him on the chest as the kid looked away again. He reached for the rifle on the hood of the truck and Rick immediately leapt forward to place his hand on his.

"Hey, hey, wait a minute! Have you ever fired one of these before?" He asked as he took the rifle for himself and the kid shrugged again.

"Well, if I'm going out, I want one." He replied and Daryl rolled his eyes as he shouldered his crossbow, taking Tessa's hand as he did so.

"Yeah, short shit, and people in Hell want Slurpee's!" He cracked back as he moved towards the tent that Ethan had ducked out of. The thirteen-year-old saw Glenn standing watch by the Winnebago with some binoculars and immediately grinned and moved to join his best friend. Tessa moved alongside him as the kid reddened slightly at his words. Daryl shook his head as he suddenly stopped and twirled Tessa around to stand in front of him. He grinned as he arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her close to him, taking her slightly off of her feet.

"Did I give ya permission to wear ma shirt, tease?" He joked and she shook her head as she bit down on her bottom lip.

"Well, I figured that maybe if I was wearing one of your shirts, you wouldn't be so quick to tear it off me like you did mine!" She grinned in return and his eyes twinkled as he bent down and kissed her, passionately and breathlessly. Ever since she finally got everything off her chest – everything she had been keeping from him, Tessa felt like a load had been taken off of her shoulders. She felt like the Tessa that Daryl knew and loved again – the Tessa that he and everyone else didn't have to walk on eggshells around anymore. It felt amazing.

"Ya jus' wait 'til I get back, Nightrun! Ya think one of ma shirts is gonna keep me offa ya? And besides . . . tha' was payback for mine!" He let out a laugh then and Tessa shook her head as she returned his kiss.

"Not if I jump you first!" She shot back challengingly and one of Daryl's eyebrows cocked in amusement. He opened his mouth to say something, however, Tessa interrupted him by wrapping her arms around his neck, careful of the crossbow strapped behind him, and planted another kiss on his lips – a slower, sweeter kiss. When they broke apart, his arms were wrapped around her back, bringing her closer to him. "And by the way, jackass, it's not 'Nightrun' anymore. From now on out, it's 'Dixon', ya understand!"

She smiled then and released him. He numbly allowed her to go and she turned around and walked off towards Lori and Carol hanging clothes on the line, shooting him a coy look over her shoulder as she did so. He watched her go for a moment, still numb with shock and it took him a moment to realize what she had said.

Tessa . . . Tessa Dixon . . . it had a nice ring to it, he had to admit . . .


"You and Daryl seem to be getting along better than you were!" Lori spoke as she moved to join Tessa by the cooking fire. Her friend was sitting in one of the chairs, Daryl's shirt in her hand as well as a sowing kit and quite a few buttons in her lap. Everything that needed to be done that day was done and they could now sit and rest their feet for a while before starting on dinner.

Everyone could rest except for Tessa, however. She was about to sow every single minute button back onto Daryl's shirt. They had very few clothes and needed to take care of the ones they had which was the only reason she had gotten down on all fours in their tent and painstakingly picked up every tiny white button she had found. You're welcome, Daryl.

Tessa nodded and glanced up at her, a smile quirking her features as she did so. "Yeah . . . yeah we are."

"Did you tell him?" She nodded again as Lori pulled up a chair beside her.

"Yeah, I did – last evening when he and Ethan first came back. He was, uh . . . he was apprehensive at first - angry when I brought up Jenner and the paternity test. But afterwards, he was so relieved that I had told him. He was so relieved to know that Ethan is his and not Merle's and that the real reason I left him had nothing to do with him like he had thought!" She told her and Lori nodded and grinned.

"I told you, didn't I? I told you that he would -!"

"Walker!"

Everyone froze as Andrea called out the walker she currently had lined up in the scope of her rifle. As Rick shouted that Hershel wanted to be the one to deal with all the walkers that stumbled onto his land, Shane and T-Dog were already picking up weapons and making their way to the pasture the walker was shambling in from. Lori and Tessa got to their feet and Tessa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Ethan's did too as he moved to join his mother, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Something is wrong . . . I can feel it . . ." She murmured as her heart picked up a steady beat and Ethan nodded in agreement.

"It's like . . . is that even a walker?" He asked and Tessa shook her head in bemusement as she ran over to Dale and Andrea by the Winnebago.

"Dale, let me borrow those binoculars!" She called and Dale nodded as she took them from him and immediately looked through them. The walker was indeed hunched over but he wasn't shambling. In fact, he looked to be walking pretty normally and seemed to be dragging something along the ground. When did walkers ever have the motor functions to drag something along the ground, much less carry something?

Then, it slowly dawned on Tessa. Her eyes grew wide with horror as she took the binoculars away and glanced as Dale and Ethan standing beside her. "Oh my God . . . oh my God, Dale, that's Daryl -!"

She was interrupted by a gunshot splitting through the air and Daryl immediately flying backwards. Someone started screaming and it took Tessa a moment to realize that the screaming she had heard was coming from her.

It took even longer for her to realize that how quickly the three men hunched over Daryl lying on his back in the field was speeding towards her, could be attributed to how fast she was sprinting towards them. Tears blurred her vision as she ran full tilt, her eyes seeing Daryl and only Daryl. Andrea, Dale and Ethan were running as fast as they could behind her too but by no means were they catching up to her with all the adrenaline marching through her body like a damn army. She found herself praying to God that it was just a flesh wound – that it had just grazed him.

She found herself praying, as tears streaked down her cheeks, that Daryl Dixon was not dead.


Earlier that day . . .

He first saw the doll when he was up on the ridge. It was down in the creek, stuck against a log that had fallen over the water and he felt for sure that it was the doll that Morales's daughter had given her before they left – the doll that Sophia could not bare to be parted from but for a moment.

Damn doll had started it all too.

He hadn't rode in a while, which could have attributed to him not realizing that the horse was skiddish to begin with. He was also too absorbed in observing the surrounding tree line for any more signs of Sophia that he hadn't noticed the bigger than average rattler curled up in the horse's path. He hadn't rode in thirteen long damn years (ever since Tessa had horses when they were younger) or else he would have been able to keep his seat when the horse reared up at the sight and sound of the snake's rattle. But nope - he ended up going head over heels behind the horse and rolling like a damn ball down the side of the ridge.

He blacked out for a moment and when he came to, he found himself cussing himself out for not bringing Ethan along with him. Ethan would have seen the rattler curled up in their path and alerted him to it. His son could have saved him a Hell of a lot of grief.

He blacked out for a moment and when he came to he felt a piercing, white-hot pain in his side. He gritted his teeth against the pain as his hand immediately flew to whatever was causing it. He let out a very colorful, "Son a bitch!" when he felt the arrow that had pierced cleanly through his side. His head was also pounding from where he had hit it repeatedly on the rock and forest floor on the way down.

He was in a Hell of a lot of pain and was caught in one Hell of a shitstorm.

Holding his arrow-pierced side and gritting his teeth against the pain, he managed to slowly crawl his way to the shoreline. His head was bleeding from a cut on the side of his head as well, and as the seconds ticked by, he felt his headache grow fiercer and fiercer. He had tried to protect his head as much as he could have on the way down, but it had thumped rather hard against the ground and rock a couple of unavoidable times. He wouldn't be surprised if he had a concussion or a fractured skull although a concussion was much more likely in his state.

Making a last ditch burst of speed for the sandy bank, he fell to his knees when he reached it and immediately took out his knife, where he cut off the sleeves to his shirt. Tying them together, he wrapped them as a makeshift tourniquet around his middle, just above the arrow. It wasn't clean and it certainly wasn't pretty but it would have to do for what he needed at that moment. When he looked up at the ridge he was going to have to scale to get back to where he had been before he fell, he immediately felt his heart drop down into the pit of his stomach. He had fell from that height? How in the Hell was he still alive?

His heart pounded in his chest and he had no choice but to look down at the water slowing around his knees to keep his vision from narrowing any further. It wasn't just the arrow piercing cleanly through his side that kept his heart pounding so fast – it was the fact that he was in one Hell of a shitstorm and that – for once - he didn't know if he had the strength to make it back. He had promised Tessa that he would, but . . . he didn't know if he could. He was in a Hell of a lot of pain and just the thought of scaling anything made him wanted to vomit and his side to ache significantly worse than it already was.

But he'd do damn near anything to get back to her, though. They weren't just reunited weeks ago, only to be parted now - that shit wasn't about to happen! So, gritting his teeth against the pain, he got slowly to his feet.

But first, he had to find his crossbow.


Attempting to climb the side of that cliff had been agony – pure, unadulterated agony. With only Tessa's face in his mind to keep him going, he had pushed and pushed himself to continue to scale that cliff when all his body wanted to do was give up. Curse word after curse word flew from his lips like a prayer but he forced himself to keep going. Always, he forced himself to keep going.

But it had all be for naught, because now, he was lying on his back on the sandy bank of the creek after falling again, with Merle's beautiful fucking face leering above him. "Why don' ya pull tha' arrow out, dummy? Ya could bind ya wound better."

"Merle . . ." Daryl couldn't help but grin and the older man grinned too.

"What's goin' on here? Are ya takin' a siesta or somethin'?" Daryl numbly shook his head.

"It's jus' . . . jus' been a shitty day, bro." Merle adopted a look of fake sympathy.

"Ah, look at tha poor Darlina! Would ya like for me to get ya pillow for ya? Maybe rub ya feet?" His shook his head. "I ain' Tess, little brother, don' start thinkin' I am!"

"Fuck you!" Daryl spat back when everything started flooding back to him - everything having to do with Tessa and her leaving him . . . everything having to do with her and Merle. "Ya lucky ya able to show ya face to me right now!" Merle chuckled as he shook his head, his eyes lighting up in amusement.

"I don' think ya in tha position to be makin' any kind of threats, little brother! Ya tha one fucked from tha looks of it. All those years I spent tryin' to make a man outta ya and this is what I get in return? I mean, look at ya! Lying in tha dirt like those used rubbers tha' would appear on the barn floor whenever ya and ya squaw would spend tha night in tha barn. Ya gonna die out here little brother. Ya gonna die out here and ya gonna leave Tessa and tha' boy of ya's at tha hands of those people - and for what?"

"A girl . . ." Daryl answered back but swallowed before he continued, his dry throat keeping him from saying anything more. "They lost a little girl . . ." Merle adopted a slightly interested look on his face.

"Ya mean to tell me tha' ya still got Tessa shakin' tha' cute little ass in front of ya and ya like little girls now?"

"Shut up . . ."

"'Cause I noticed tha' ya ain't lookin' out for old Merle no more!"

"Tried like Hell to find ya, bro . . . tho' I ain' sure I wanna find ya now, speakin' I know what ya done to Tess."

"Like Hell ya did and since when did we ever let some gash get between us? Ya split, man, as soon as tha' little squaw and her brat came back into ya life. In fact, ya lit out tha first chance ya got!"

"Ya were the one who lit out," Daryl corrected him. "All ya had to do was wait up there for us. We went back for ya, Rick and I," He nodded his head. "We did right by ya. And then when . . ." He swallowed away the dryness again. "When Tessa and Ethan came, I had to watch over 'em . . . and make sure they stayed safe. They're ma family, bro . . ."

A look of curiosity appeared on Merle's face then. "Is this tha same Rick tha' cuffed me to tha rooftop in tha first place? Forced me to cut off ma own hand? Is this tha same Tessa tha' fucked ya and then walked out on ya in tha middle of tha night without a damn word when ya were done? Are ya their bitch now?" He asked and Daryl shot him a look.

"I ain' nobody's bitch but Tessa's!" He snapped back, his voice gaining strength. "And she left cause of what ya and Dennis did to her. It had nothin' to do with me!" Merle's face became slightly angry.

"Ya a joke, tha's what ya are – playing errand boy to a bunch of pansy-asses, niggers and democrats," He chuckled then. "I remember Tessa's pussy being good, but not good enough to where I'd allow her to lead me 'round by tha balls like ya allow her to!" He chuckled then. "Ya nothin' but a freak to them, baby brother – nothin' more than redneck trash. Tha's all ya always been and tha's all ya ever gonna be! And if Tessa wants to take ya last name like she's been wantin' to do, then she's dumber than I thought!" He nodded towards the general direction of the camp. "Hell, they're probably laughin' at ya behind ya back right now! Tha' son of ya's included!" When Daryl didn't answer him, he continued: "I got a little news for ya, son: one of these days, they're gonna scrape ya off their heels like ya were dogshit. Tessa's gonna leave ya and take tha' precious boy of ya's with her and she ain' ever gonna look back."

Daryl felt himself fading again – his vision growing blacker and he felt Merle slap him none-too-kindly to keep him conscious. "Hey! They ain' ya kin – ya blood! Hell, if ya had any nuts in that damn sack of ya's, ya'd go back there and shoot ya pal Rick in tha face for me! Now ya listen to me - ain' nobody gonna care 'bout ya 'cept me, little brother – ain' nobody ever will! Ya might think Tess does but she don'. She's only usin' ya like some damn sex toy like tha first time, and to protect her from the big bad walkers tha' would chew tha' pretty little face off. And tha' kid of ya's . . . he might be ya blood and he might look up to ya and see his hero, I'll give ya tha', but he's first and foremost a momma's boy – always has been! He'll do whatever tha' gash wants him to do and tha' includes getting' up and walkin' out on ya again!" He told him, his voice growing harder. "Now come on, get up on ya feet before I have to kick ya teeth in."

Daryl felt his vision narrow again and he felt Merle shoving and kicking him a couple of times, telling him to get up. However, when he came to, he realized that it wasn't Merle who was kicking him but a walker who was busy chewing on his boot. After kicking it in the face and beating his face in with the stick he had been using, he realized that another walker was making his steady, shambling way over to him. He rolled over and grunting in pain, pulled the arrow from his side before loading it in the crossbow and shooting it into the quickly approaching walker's head.

It was then, as he lay there catching his breath, that he knew he had to get back to Tessa.

And that he would do anything to accomplish that.


Merle had been right. Pulling that arrow out had worked. He could move better now, although every movement still sent a white-hot knife deep into his side. He was halfway up the side of the cliff again when he heard that voice again – Merle's voice. He looked up at the voice and let out a groan of irritation, one that Merle laughed at.

"What's tha matter, Darlina? Tha' all ya got in ya? If it is, then does poor Tessa ever get satisfied in bed?" He shook his head, his joking demeanor disappearing. "Now throw away tha' purse and climb!" Daryl shot him a mean look.

"I liked it better when ya were missin' . . .!" He shot up at him and Merle laughed.

"Now come on, don' be like tha'! I'm on ya side!"

"Oh yeah - since when? Was it when ya were rapin' ma girl in tha barn with tha' shit-ass friend of ya's? Or when ya told me she died in a car accident comin' back from Atlanta?"

"I only did tha' to show ya how much a whore she was, baby brother – coming on ma cock so sweetly!" He shook his head. "Ya were better off without tha' squaw and ya know it! Look at ya now – ya gone soft! Raisin' tha' kid is tha thing tha' has turned ya soft. And Hell, I've been lookin' out for ya since tha day ya were born, baby brother! Somebody had to look after ya worthless ass!"

"Ya never took care of me," Daryl snapped back as he struggling to gain an inch up the side of the cliff. "Ya talk a big game, but ya were never there! Hell, ya ain' here now. Some things never change."

"Well, I'll tell ya what – I'm as real as ya chupacabra!"

"I know what I saw."

Merle chuckled. "And I'm sure them shrooms ya ate had nothin' to do with it, right? Did ya tell Tess tha' too when Dale was tellin' her tha' story? Did ya tell her tha' ya ate a bunch of funky lookin' mushrooms and hallucinated up ya chupacabra? Hell, tha'll look really attractive to her!"

Daryl pinned him with an angry stare. "Ya best shut tha Hell up!"

"Or what?" Merle immediately replied, his voice taking on a sarcastically frightened tone. "Ya gonna come up here and shut ma mouth for me? Ya gonna come up here and teach me a lesson for what I done to Tess? Ya gonna take ma head back to her on a silver platter like ya promised?" Daryl was steadily making his way upwards the entire time. "Well come on up and do it then, if ya think ya man enough. Hey!" He gave him a stern look. "Kick off those damn high heels son, and climb!" He laughed then and Daryl gritted his teeth as he kept climbing. "Ya know what? If I were ya, I'd take a pause for tha cause, brother. 'Cause I jus' don' think ya gonna make it to tha top -"

His voice abruptly cut off when Daryl finally reached the top and painstakingly pulled himself up. Groaning in pain and exhaustion, he got to his feet, his chest heaving. He looked around him and noticed that Merle had completely disappeared again. He let out a huff of breath and shook his head.

"Don' worry Tessa, I'm comin', baby - I'm comin'!"