Y'all are going to kill me for taking so long to get this chapter out! I'm so so SO sorry this took so long! I never intended for it to be this long between the last chapter and this one, but things happened in real life that were out of my control and I couldn't get back to this one as quickly as I would have liked. I'm super sorry I left y'all hanging like that! I promise that the next chapter won't take as long to get out. I had half of this one written for a bit, but I just had to get the time to finish it. It's early here and I'm drinking coffee as I write so I hope I haven't missed anything as far as errors go. I'm surprised that a few of you haven't pm'ed me wanting to know what was going on, LOL! Anyways, enjoy this one and I'm fixing to start on the next to hopefully be out tomorrow! Thanks y'all!

Rain pounded against the walls of the prison and inside the group was scrambling around to find things to catch the water dripping down from leaks and try to remain calm. Merle noticed that those who were on guard duty had been called inside and there was a meeting of sorts going on in the kitchen now. Rick was pacing back and forth in front of a table where Morgan, Michonne, Glenn, and Maggie sat. Daryl was standing off to the side with his arms crossed, listening. Merle walked over and stood next to his brother.

"This don't sit right with me lil' brotha," Merle commented under his breath as he worked to sharpen his blade and check over his other weapons. He noticed that his brother was gnawing on his damn fingers again like some animal and he shook his head at his old habits.

Daryl nodded in agreement, "Me neither. I'm gon' kill that bastard if'n I find him in here. Shoot first, ask questions later," Daryl said.

Merle watched as the rest of the group slowly trickled in and huddled around the doorway to the cells. Beth's eyes met his and she boldly walked over to stand next to him despite several stares from the others as she did it. Merle smirked and briefly considered giving them all the finger, but decided against it as Rick began to speak. It wasn't the time nor place for any of that.

"Alright. Here's what's going on at the moment. Martinez is missing," There were murmurs from the group, but for the most part it appeared that everyone had already heard the news. "Daryl was the one to go check on him and discovered both the cell block door and the door to his cell wide open. Obviously someone had to let him out," Rick said.

"I don't feel like any of our group would have let him out though Rick," Hershel spoke up.

Rick shook his head, "I don't either. We don't have much and we've become a tight-knit group so I'm sure it's not one of our own."

"But who does that leave?" Carol asked.

"It wouldn't be hard I imagine for someone to find a set of keys lying around in this prison somewhere that might open that door. Which leaves me to think that maybe the Governor had a hand in this somewhere. Especially after those two men were caught here," Rick explained. "Obviously we're going to have to search the prison from top to bottom. This could take a while and I hate to do it, but I don't know any other way. We'll split into groups and mark off areas with these pieces of chalk as we clear them," Rick set several pieces of chalk onto a table.

"Someone's gotta stay behind an' watch out fer tha others," Merle said. "If he's got himself a key fer that one cell, then it's only natural ta assume he can get in here with tha rest o' our people. I ain't too keen with this idea. I think he's tryin' ta split us up, make us weaker before attackin'."

Rick sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "That very well could be the case, but we can't just sit here on that chance and wait to see. I want this bastard taken down any way we can," He said. "Okay, here's how we do it. Myself, Maggie and Glenn will take one section. Daryl, Carol, and Morgan can take another and Merle I need you to stay here with Michonne and keep a watch up front."

Merle scowled. He wanted to be back there with the others searching, but he knew that it was better for Beth if he were to stay behind and protect those that weren't as skilled. He realized that the Governor would be looking for Michonne as well and that meant that she could potentially cause harm to the rest of them just by being there. He watched as the two teams sorted through weapons and then he went over and selected out several more guns for the rest of them. He slipped Beth one of the smaller guns and she glanced up at him with worry.

"Ya remember what I taught ya?" He asked softly.

She nodded, "I remember."

"Don't hesitate ta shoot tha bastard," He said.

"I won't," She promised.

He sighed as another rumble of thunder sounded from outside of the prison. It seemed as if the storm was going to stick around for a bit and that made Merle even more convinced that the Governor was waiting in the wings somewhere for his chance. The storm would provide him with a good cover in the tombs as it would make it harder to hear when they were walking through. Merle caught his brother's eye and stepped away from Beth to talk to Daryl on the side.

"Keep yer eyes an' ears open. This ain't sittin' well with me. Tha storm's gonna make it easier fer tha bastard ta hide," Merle said.

Daryl murmured his agreement, "I got my end. Ya jus' make sure everyone in here's safe. Might wanna lock Lil' Asskicker an Hershel in a cell an' barricade 'em in somehow," He suggested.

Merle pursed his lips as he mulled it over, "I'll figure somethin' out. He wants tha ninja an' he'll do whatever he has ta do ta get 'er. She took his eye an' his lil' girl. He's gon' make 'er suffer."

"Yeah, well jus' keep yer eyes peeled an' I'll do tha same," Daryl left him then and walked over to where his little group was preparing themselves to head into the tombs.

Beth watched Merle as he talked to Daryl and she couldn't help the impending sense of doom that she was feeling at the moment. Gone was the relaxed expression Merle had worn just a while ago and in it's place was a tension that she was familiar with on his face. She couldn't figure out if it was something to actually worry about just yet or if it was just that the storm was setting that eerie mood. She had never liked storms. Even though she knew that they couldn't harm her inside the prison, they still made her a little jumpy all the same.

The others filed out of the room and headed into the tombs, the darkness seeming to swallow them up as the walked through the doorway. She followed the others back into the cell block and saw Carl and Michonne stop to talk with Merle. She couldn't hear what was being said, but they were speaking in low voices and Carl looked irritated. She knew that Carl wanted to be searching the tombs with the others. He was growing up and she thought he was trying to take on too much responsibility too soon. Her daddy was inside of Rick's cell rocking Judith slowly back to sleep and she smiled at the image the two of them presented as she observed them silently.

She turned as Merle and the others filed inside and she was caught off guard as Merle grabbed her arm and half dragged her down the walkway to her cell. She barely had time to keep up as he pushed her gently inside and closed the curtain. Beth frowned at him in concern, but before she could say anything at all he pressed her roughly against the wall and covered her lips with his own. Beth was startled at first and then she quickly surrendered to the kiss, letting his tongue take charge in her mouth. She didn't think she would ever get tired of being with him like this. He pressed his body fully against hers and she was shocked when his erection pressed against the juncture of her legs. She mewled into his mouth and seconds later he pulled away from her just as roughly. A part of her brain was telling her that this was the last thing they should be doing at a time like this, but her body had other ideas.

"What was that?" She asked breathily.

He wiped his arm across his mouth and stared at her heatedly, but he didn't respond. She could feel herself growing wet just from the look he was giving her and she wished that he would say something. Instead he reached out with his hand and unzipped her jeans, his eyes boring into hers. She watched him, her body too far gone in utter desire as he unbuttoned her pants and slid his fingers beneath the band of her panties. He bit back a groan as his fingers encountered her wet heat.

"Got us five minutes. Figure that's 'nough time ta finish what we started," He whispered near her ear.

She shivered as his warm breath caressed her skin and nodded eagerly, "Please," She breathed.

He left her momentarily to cross the room and dig into his bag before producing a condom. He stalked back over to her and began unzipping his pants, "Lower yer jeans," He demanded.

She complied and slid both her jeans and panties down to her ankles. Then she thought about it and pushed them all of the way off. She looked back up at him to see him sliding the condom onto his length, the wrapper between his teeth. Once he was done, he tossed the wrapper to the floor behind him and pulled her to him.

"Wrap ya legs 'round me. Gotta make this quick darlin'," He whispered.

She nodded and using the wall as leverage she lifted her legs, his arm curling beneath her ass to give her a boost and hold her up. He slid his length into her with a sigh and she rocked her hips against his. He bent his head and she felt his lips suckle at the sensitive flesh of her neck as he slid in and out of her quickly. Beth felt herself quiver around him and he growled softly, picking up the pace so that their flesh hit together with a slight slapping noise.

His mouth nibbled at her earlobe, "Give it up fer me sweetheart," He growled into her ear.

Beth didn't know if it was his words or if it was just the fact that they were doing this when they shouldn't be that made her body go over the edge. She clutched at his shoulders with her hands, her nails digging into him as her muscles clenched around him. He hummed his approval and a few thrusts later he followed suit, giving one last thrust as his cock pulsed inside of her. She leaned her head back against the wall and tried to control her breathing. He rested his forehead on her shoulder before slowly withdrawing from her and disposing of the condom.

Beth quickly pulled her clothes back on and fixed her hair so that it wasn't quite so obvious what they had been doing. Rapping on the bars of her cell startled her and she jumped before she heard Michonne's voice.

"Your five minutes are up Dixon," She called through the curtain.

"Be right out," Merle replied.

Beth stared at him questioningly, "You told Michonne?" She asked.

He frowned, "Hell no. She ain't stupid though. She knows what tha hell I wanted them five minutes fer. Who ya think we foolin' darlin'?" He asked.

She blushed, "No one I suppose. I just...it probably wasn't the best time for us to be doing that," She commented.

He zipped his pants and smirked at her, "Trust me. It's better this way. Now I can fuckin' concentrate on what needs ta be done. We both needed tha release," He said.

He lifted the curtain and then paused, looking back at her, "If somethin' goes wrong an' I tell ya ta run, ya run like hell an' don't come out 'til ya know it's safe, ya understand?" He asked.

Beth shook her head, "No, I'm no-"

Merle let go of the curtain and in two strides he was directly in front of her, his eyes boring into hers, "This ain't no time ta play hero darlin'. I tell ya ta run, ya fuckin' promise me ya will run. These men catch ya an' you'll be good as dead by tha time they get done usin' ya," His gaze swept down her body, letting her know without words exactly what those men would do.

She shivered and swallowed thickly, "Alright. I promise to run if you tell me," She said.

He nodded once, his expression carefully blank, "I'll hold ya to that," He said before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

She stood there against the wall for several more moments as she tried to gather her thoughts. She heard the voices of those who were left in the cell block talking quietly and she knew she needed to be out there, but she just couldn't move yet. Even though she had told Merle she would leave if he said to go, she wasn't sure that if the time came that her body would be able to run away and leave him behind to fend for himself. Another shiver ran through her body and she said a silent prayer that nothing bad would happen to any of them. Lightning flickered through the curtain from the windows high in the cell block and she hoped that it wasn't a sign of things to come.

Okay, so I know it's still somewhat of a cliffhanger, but the next chapter is going to probably be much longer and take much more thought. I tried to end it where it wasn't too bad of a spot, so I hope it's okay y'all!

Review me! :-)