Daryl smirked as he watched over the women. They had all agreed he was the 'most qualified' to keep an eye out while they all bathed in the lake. He explained that just because he was gay didn't mean he stopped liking the sight of tits. Tyrese and Kevin had given him a look and he sighed. He feigned disgust for the female form and Peaches pulled him after her as they headed for the lake. He'd never mention it out loud but Sasha did have a really nice body. Michone too, even though looking at her for more than five seconds would get his dick cut off. Andrea had nice little perky tits – He had seen what Lucy and Lily had… they couldn't hold a candle. To any of them. He glanced at all their bras and panties on the other end of the dock he was sitting on – he knew immediately what belonged to whom.

"Damn, no wonder he can't get over you." Daryl blurted out. They all stopped washing up and looked at him and he was staring at Peaches' ass – which was only half submerge in the water.

"Eyes on the perimeter, Daryl!" Peaches yelled. "Stop being creepy." He rolled his eyes and went back to watching the tree line. He smiled when Peaches started humming a song. After a few bars she started saying the words.

"That girl thinks that she's so bad…She'll change my tears from joy to sad…She says she keeps the upper hand…'Cause she can please her man…" Katherine smiled and joined in. They hadn't sung together in so long. "She doesn't use her love to make him weak, she uses love to keep him strong…And inside me there's no room for doubt…That it won't be too long—"

"Before I tell her that I love her! That my mind, soul and body needs her. Tell her that I'd love to, that I want to…that I need to do all that I have to, to be in her love…" Sasha and Andrea joined in. Daryl snorted at the look on Michone's face. She looked a little lost by their sudden musical interlude but he could see her lips moving to the words. Peaches smiled at her, letting her know it was okay to relax just a little. Sasha seemed overjoyed by it. Three songs later they were finally done.

"I've never heard those before." Daryl admitted.

"How have you not heard Stevie Wonder?" Sasha asked as she tied up her damp curls.

"Is he black?" Daryl asked flatly.

"Yeah." Sasha answered a little warily.

"That's how." Peaches knew she shouldn't laugh at his stunted view of the world but his dry humor about his former prejudices was funny.

"We'll get you educated, proper Daryl. Don't you worry." She said.


It was decided that Peaches was best suited to watch out for the men as they took their turn in the lake. Michone was considered but her aversion to everyone left them to believe she wouldn't give a damn if something snuck up on them. Sasha didn't want to see her brother naked and Katherine thought it was too soon to see Kevin in his birthday suit. Bruce complained – claiming he didn't need a 'nigger nanny'. Peaches just shoved him in the water and stated what he did need was a damn bath. He growled as he moved as far in to the water and away from her as he could.

"Should've warned you man – it's what you get when you pop off." Merle said. Peaches noticed Daryl's sly grin as he soaked a towel in the water. She hid her smile as he snuck up behind Merle and snapped the towel against his ass. He let out a very high pitched yelp – both from the loud noise it made and the pain that it caused. "You little shit!" He chased Daryl around the water. Both of them falling over and splashing everyone in their attempt to wrestle. Merle held Daryl under the water playfully until he wiggled out of his grip. Merle got him in a head lock and gave him a noogy.

"Ah!" Daryl groaned. "You gonna make me bald like you. Glenn help me out here. Tag out, tag out!" He waved his arms around and Glenn snorted.

"I'm not getting anywhere near that." He said as he lathered up his hair. Peaches chuckled. Daryl managed to suplex Merle into the water and got away while he could. Carl froze when Daryl took to hiding behind him.

"Hiding behind your new boyfriend?" Merle asked as he gave up the chase to examine the red welt forming on his left butt cheek. Peaches smiled a little, watching him rub it before she went back to scanning the surroundings.

"Hey!" Carl chirped.

"Sorry kid. That was more of an insult towards you." Merle quipped. Daryl shot him the bird until Carl glanced at him. When he wouldn't stop glaring at him Daryl used his palms to squirt water in his face. Carl laughed and chased after Daryl to get him back. "Yeah you just love it when the boys chase you."

"Jealous." Daryl said and snorted when Carl splashed him right in the face.

"Heads up guys." Andrea called out, as she got closer. They all sank at least waist deep in the water. "Injured man on the field."

"T-dog!" Rick said as he swam over. "You're awake."

"Yeah, and I feel like a crusty crap bag." T-dog growled as he settled on the dock next to Peaches. She handed the riffle to Andrea and let her keep watch as she helped T-dog get undressed. "Peach, not that I don't appreciate it but…I gotta learn." He said as he held up his stump. She smiled and nodded and let him get used to only working with one hand. His arm was much shorter than Merle's – the walker had bitten him right on the forearm so everything below his elbow had to be hacked off by Rick.

"Don't get your bandages wet – there are too many enzymes in the lake water. They need to be changed when you get out." Peaches said as she gave his arm a quick look. He nodded and eased into the water with a grunt. Rick gave him a deeply apologetic look but T-dog just gave him a weak smile. He glanced at Merle – he didn't have his cuff on and without it you could see the scar tissue from where he cut his hand off and the old knife wounds inflicted by Angelica. He and Daryl were already littered with scars from their hard lives. Rick and Carl had old gun shot wounds. He couldn't see Bruce's skin but he was certain it was in the same condition. All at once they all focused on Glenn – who looked like he had been bathing in milk this whole time. He was whistling to himself as he cleaned behind his ears until he noticed their attention.

"I'm starting a rumor he's made of actual China." Daryl said and everyone laughed. Glenn just pouted and rolled his eyes.

"It's good to see you up, T." Rick said and patted him on the shoulder.

"Thanks." He said before he started to scrub off week old blood and dirt.


By the end of the week every one was settled into separate rooms in the rectory. It was a little odd not sleeping all together but they were thankful for the new found privacy. Most of the couches folded out and they found little mattresses in a storage room – probably for Sunday school kids to take naps or if a homeless member needed a place to sleep for the night. Getting real mattresses took a back seat to securing the church. They boarded up the main entrance to the cathedral – exclusively using the back and side emergency exits. Daryl started his 'bunny farm' again and they used the grass field between the lake and the trees to start a farm. It was the perfect time to plant – it rained nearly every night. In just a few days the beans, radishes and lettuce were already starting to sprout. The tomatoes, strawberries and potatoes would take a bit more time.

"That rabbit I caught is already knocked up." Daryl said as he came into the room he shared with Glenn. It used to be the Deacon's office – they had packed up his personal effects and put them in the basement. Now the office had a large palette of blankets and sheets on the floor with the pillows from his non-folding couch. His pictures had been replaced with squirrel pelts – the far wall was where Daryl tested his new arrows and was littered with holes. The deacon's left over vestments and robes were used as curtains even though the windows had blinds. "Felt her up and she's got at least six babies coming in the litter. Figure I release two – they find the wild females. By the time the babies are weaned they'll be tons of the little bastards."

"Ahem." Glenn said deliberately so Daryl wound notice him. Daryl stopped short when he noticed Glenn had one of his plaid shirts on and nothing else. He was sprawled on their make shift bed with his knees bent. He let them drop open and smiled when Daryl's face lit up red. "You wanna christen our new place…or spend the night talking about bunnies?"

"They're actually jack rabbits… did you cut your hair?" Daryl asked as he slowly got undressed.

"I had Katherine shape up the back." Glenn said as he rolled over. He pulled the shirt down his shoulders so Daryl could see his neck. "Like it—Daryl!" He yelped when the other man suddenly pounced on him. Licking and sucking his neck until Glenn was arching into him.

"Oh man I hope these walls are solid." Daryl breathed as he pulled Glenn up on to his knees.

"The offices…Unh! Oh God—they double as the confessionals. Jesus! It was in the welcome pamphlets—right there! Right there! Yes!" Glenn moaned breathlessly as Daryl's ran his hands all over. Those rough finger tips rubbing his nipples. Glenn moved to take off the shirt but Daryl stopped him.

"Keep it on." He growled before he licked his way down Glenn's crevasse.


Peaches looked up for a second when she heard a muffled yelp. After a second it was followed by the rumble of a deep voice. She smiled. She was used to hearing Daryl and Glenn – they shared a wall at the motel too but those walls had been thinner. She sighed thinking about their time at the motel. This time of night she'd be washing up for bed and waiting for Merle to come in from watch duty. Since the rectory was in the back of a well secluded area they didn't have the night watch anymore. All the doors were solid and the locks worked – so once they were in for the night they locked everything down and went to their rooms. It was doubtful that any walkers would be able to get through two sets of doors before anyone noticed. All the same they tied cans to the knobs as a makeshift alarm system. She had taken up residence in the secretary's office. She looked at the door when there was knock.

"Come in." She said before she went back to making her 'bed'. She heard the door open and close before something hit her in the back of the head. She fell forward on to her palette and fought against passing out. The person grabbed her hands and bound them behind her back with a rough twine.

"Dumb bitch." She recognized the voice and made out pale skin as she looked over her shoulder. "Thought I wouldn't see what you did? Thought I would just sit back and take your shit forever?"

"Bruce…" She groaned when he kicked her on to her side. "What are you doing? What are you talking abo—" He punched her hard in the face. Moments later she tasted blood in her mouth.

"You killed Lucy. She was hurt and you just picked her off. Because of that I dropped my bike and had to leave it." He said as he stood over her.

"She turned—AH!" She gasped when he grabbed her hair and hauled her up by it.

"What?"

"She was changing into a walker – she was already dead." Peaches said through grit teeth. He let go of her hair.

"Don't matter. Someone needs to put you in your place. You think you can just do whatever."

"I can." She chuckled. He hit her again.

"You're just a wild bitch – no one has ever had the balls to break you." She froze when she heard him unsnap his oversized belt buckle. She tried to kick when he pulled down her panties. He flipped her on to her back and grabbed her throat. "You disrespect me after this you'll need stitches. You tell anyone and I'll kill you." He gripped her chin hard and made her turned her head. "Look at me – I want to see the moment the fight fades from your eyes." She snatched away and he dug his elbow into her stomach. The pain knocked the air out of her and her attempt to get it back sounded like little sobs. "No bike, no Lucy – I need something new to ride and a new bitch. Two birds…" He spread her open and she tried to shut her legs. It earned her another elbow in the gut. It hurt so much that she could barely move. She felt disgusted when he spit on her – using his thumb to spread it inside her.

"No!" She rasped out – still unable to get much louder than a choked whisper. She tried to get her arms free until his pressed a knife to her throat.

"Behave or you'll regret it." He said before he cut her night shirt open down the middle. "I take nice care of my things – be good and I'll treat you right." She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. He roughly squeezed her breasts and bit the nipple on one until it left a clear imprint in her skin. "I'll even give you a baby if you want." She jumped when she felt his dick sliding against her thigh. He halted when the door suddenly opened. He looked over his shoulder and smirked. "Hey brother – you're just in time." Merle hesitated for a moment at the scene in front of him. "Shut the door just incase this little piggy squeals."

"Merle…" Peaches gasped when he stepped inside and shut the door calmly. Her eyes went wide at his blank expression. "Merle—Ah!" she yelped when Bruce slapped her.

"Don't be calling his name while I'm doing you." He growled.

"Hey…" Merle started quietly. He put his hand on Bruce's shoulder.

"Wait your turn – I won't tear her up too bad." Bruce said. "If you can't, just take her mouth – I wanna see what's so special about this black cunt." Bruce gave an indignant huff when Merle put his hand on his shoulder again. His stump dug into the side of his neck. "Look, I'm not into that so just wait—" He was cut off when Merle gripped his jaw. With a hard jerk his neck snapped with an audible 'crick' and his body went rag doll. Merle tossed him aside and he flopped to the ground. Peaches stared at him for a long moment – trying to wrap her mind around what just happened. Merle moved towards her and she shrieked.

"What…oh yeah." He pulled out his knife when Bruce started twitching. The infection making him start the reanimation process. Merle jabbed his knife down – having to take three hard strikes to break through Bruce's still solid skull. He went still again and Merle wiped his knife off on the back of Bruce's shirt before turning to Peaches. He tipped her over on her side to cut the twine. He grabbed a nearby blanket and used it to cover her nudity. He opened the door and called for Rick. The hall was crowded with everyone in mere seconds.

"What happened?" Rick asked. "Peaches are you okay?" She just hid her face in her hands.

"Bruce tried to rape her." Merle said. "Thought I'd want to be in on it…I snapped his neck." He continued like it was no big deal. Daryl stared at Merle for a second – the monotone was very unlike him. He was in some sort of shock. Rick looked over the scene – slipping back into 'police mode' in an instant. There was a morbid irony about the situation. Merle had been accused of the same exact crime and Peaches had defended him last time. His version of defending her was to kill a man.

"He blamed me for Lucy's death. I tried to tell him she had been bitten and changed but he just kept hitting me." Peaches said as she rubbed her aching abdomen. Katherine stepped forward and tentatively took her hand.

"Come on. Let's get you looked at." She ushered Peaches out the room and down the hall to the little kitchenette. Andrea followed them in and closed the door.

"What were you doing here?" Rick asked as he looked over the evidence. Bruce's knuckles were red from where he had punched Peaches in the face. And he couldn't help but notice his dick was still hanging out of his pants. He looked at Merle when he didn't answer. "Merle?" He sighed and reached in his back pocket. He pulled out his dog tags and looked them over.

"I came to talk to her." He said. "When I came in he didn't even hide what he was trying to do. He hit her right in front of me." He clinched his fist and for the first time since meeting him Rick actually believed him. He didn't have any marks on him – no indication he helped beat up Peaches. Besides the blood on his sleeve from stabbing Bruce's reanimated corpse Merle was clean. Bruce's head had been jerked to the left – same side as Merle's remaining hand proving he had in fact come up behind Bruce and killed him. There was no mystery here. He asked Tyrese and Daryl to get the body out the gate and moved Merle out the room when it looked like he would sit there all night. When they got back inside the church was locked down again and everyone went back to their rooms. Peaches was about to accept an offer to bunk with Rick and Carl for the night when she saw Merle walk into his room.

"You sure?" Rick asked in that way that made Peaches believe he was genuinely concerned about her.

"Yeah, I need to talk to him." Peaches said. "Rain check on the slumber party." She smiled at Carl and he returned it before he walked off with Rick. She went to Merle's room and found him sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. She closed the door and his head sprang up. For the first time since they met – hell probably for the first time in his life, Merle didn't have anything to say. Looking at her with wide, doe eyes. "Thank you." She said. "If you hadn't come along that would've ended badly for me."

"How could I do anything else." Merle said quietly. He looked at the floor – glancing at her bare feet for a second before he closed his eyes. "And don't thank me for killing a man."

"Merle—

"You were right." He interrupted her before she had a chance to placate him. "I see what you were talking about – the person I became in Woodbury. I could've fought him off – told him to hit the road and never come back but I killed him. And I did it because I knew I could…easily. My rage—

"Saved me." Peaches said as she moved to sit next to him. "I don't care about what happened in Woodbury anymore. It's a drop in the bucket of the numerous shitty things that has happened in the last two years." She cupped his chin with her three-finger hand and made him look at her. "But just like those shitty times I have you to thank for helping me through them. Believe me, you didn't do anything to Bruce that he didn't deserve." She leaned in to kiss him and he turned his head.

"We were friends." He admitted. "I've never had too many of those. Just guys to do coke with. Guys to work with. Never friends, just people of the moment. Bruce was my friend. We hunted together. Talked shit. Shared stupid stories and secrets like a pair of chicks. He kept me company and had my back…and I snapped his neck like he was nobody." Peaches was silent for a second. All this time she hadn't noticed how close they had become – she had other concerns at the time of their blossoming friendship. She thought they hung out together just so they wouldn't have to deal with minorities – thought their prejudices were the only things keeping them together. But from the sound of it Merle was really broken up about what just happened.

"He was going to rape me." Peaches stated. It seemed to remind Merle of what an asshole Bruce was. If there was one crime in the world that Merle found truly appalling it was rape. Stealing, assault, hell even murder could be justified in his mind but to him there was no excuse to force a woman – any woman into something she didn't want to do. Especially since a woman's attention could be purchased at any price before the dead started walking. Peaches assumed it came from his upbringing. His father probably used to smack around his mother – more than likely right in front of him and Merle despised the fact that he hadn't been able to stop it. Probably heard his mother saying 'no' to his father and saw him proceed with what ever he wanted to do to her any way. "You didn't hear the awful things he said to me."

"Wish I had got there sooner."

"I just feel so stupid. Given all the derelicts we've come across I had put such a thing out of my mind. I mean, who rapes someone when there's dead people walking around." She shrugged. "But without the law – without society and it's definition of right and wrong people will do what ever despicable thing they can think of to get the upper hand. Use sex as a weapon. Betray the people that they consider friends to get revenge." Merle was quiet – he seemed to be coming to grips with what he had to do. "So… why did you come to my room?"

"To try and convince you to take me back." He said and snorted at how ridiculous he souned. He leaned over and pulled the tags from his pocket again. "To beg, actually."

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been thinking about you too." She admitted. She reached for the tags.

"Don't feel like you have to because of what I did." Merle said – making her stop an inch away from his hand. "Take me or leave me I'd do it again, any day for you."

"You know I woke up the other day in a panic. I had forgotten I gave them back to you for a moment and was frantic to find them until I remembered." Peaches said. She slid her hand over his and gripped the ball chain. "I never want to feel that way again. I wanna wake up every morning with this around my neck…and you next to me." He looked at her for a long moment before he leaned forward and kissed her.

"Just like a woman to be all weepy about some jewelry." He said in his best 'asshole' voice.

"You think you can survive without me?"

"No ma'am."

"Then shut that smart mouth..." She grabbed his shirt like she was going to hit him. "Do something useful with it..." She kissed him back until her split lip made her whine. She pulled away and gingerly rubbed her face where Bruce had hit her. She'd be sore for days if not weeks. Merle took hold of the tags and looped the chain around her head. He eased it down over her ears and let it go. It dangled down to her breasts. He noticed she was still wearing her torn nightgown. He reached for his pile of clothes and handed her one of his shirts. She chuckled - truly amused he still had the old, tattered confederate flag t-shirt.

"Get changed. Let's get to bed." He said before he stood up. She tossed her gown and pulled his shirt on.

"Mind if I wear these?" She asked. He turned around from kicking off his boots to find she was holding a pair of her panties that he had 'acquired' a while ago. She thought she lost them – turned out Merle just 'held on to them' for her. He snorted and went about setting up their bed.