Newly Revised

Tea had gotten busy as soon as she had gotten to the meeting spot, assessing the place to see what she could do. She had driven the bike close enough to the meeting spot to be able to run to it when the Governor's men showed up, but far enough away not to be noticed. She'd avoided any and all buildings just in case the man had scouts and even traveled off road for a bit. Even though the bike wasn't necessarily meant to go off road, it managed to handle the terrain relatively well. She parked it under a copse that had low hanging branches and some overgrown ferns. It wasn't entirely camouflaged, but no one would find it unless they were looking. As she made her way to the meeting site, she considered how she was going to set the traps to make the biggest effect. Trip wire and grenades, obviously, but that would only be so effective and she'd only grabbed a couple dozen or so. To maximize their effectiveness, she'd need to pile shrapnel around the grenades and/or carefully plan and place the damn things in an order where if one was tripped, several others were as well. Perhaps doing both in various places would be the most effective way to set the trap for the Governor. If she could find some zombies and bring them close to the explosions, there was a chance that she could do damage that way in the form of turning some of the Governor's men. How effective that would be, she wasn't sure, but it was definitely something she had to think about as she looked around.

She wormed around the silos and double checked to see if there was a guard or lookout around, not noticing anyone and allowing her to work in relative peace. Carefully making her way into the building where the meeting was held, she got to work setting up a few traps inside the building itself. She managed to find a bunch of scrap metal in the old storage shed to carefully construct what would essentially be a shrapnel bomb. If someone tripped the wire, it'd pull the pin from the grenade which would then explode and send the metal in every direction. She did this a couple more places within the meeting building before entering the smaller storage shed. In there, she set two more shrapnel bombs up and wished she had the time to set tiger pits up. Silently working as the morning wore on, Tea managed to set traps up by the silos, a few hidden inconspicuously throughout the area where small piles of junk could easily hide the grenade and the grass was long enough to cover the string. If there had been a way to trap the grass area efficiently, so the inconspicuous traps would have to do.

She was humming happily to a few of the tunes in her head when she heard what sounded like loud rock music. Quickly moving to hide, she watched a car being followed by walkers showed up just as she finished setting a trap. Tea looked on in horror as Merle tucked and rolled out of it and ran right through the silos, thankfully missing the snares. He went right into the main building of the meeting place and the only thing she could do about it was hope that he didn't hit any of the trip wires. Before the walkers could reach her, she ran after him and prayed she could get him out of there in time. If those walkers tripped any of the traps, they were dead and no one from the prison would know about it. She couldn't believe her ears as she ran faster, getting into the shack just as the Governor's men came into view.

~x~

As Merle was making his quick escape through the tombs, he found Michonne doing some walker clearing, "Might wanna steer clear of Rick, chika."

"Oh? And why's that?" the woman asked coolly.

"Governor made him an offer, you for safety. Ani didn't want to take it, Rick does. Asked me to take ya. Pretty much givin' 'im the big middle finger by tellin' ya. But, if I'm followin' anyone's orders anymore, it'll be that little girl's."

"You sure do have a thing for Parker, don't you?" she asked.

"Don't fuckin' call her that! If you gotta call her a last name, call her Dixon. Otherwise call her Ani," he growled at her. "She's my little sister. Spent the last ten months listenin' to stories about her and thinkin' 'bout what I would do if I had a little sister. Now I got one thanks to my brother bonin' her."

"Goes deeper than just boning," commented Michonne.

"Don't matter. She's gone and I'm goin' after her," Merle said. "You stay here and keep an eye out for Rick. Don't tell him 'til I'm long gone, ya hear?"

He made his way out of the tombs and into the woods as quickly as he could to find that damn spitfire that had wormed her way into his life. There was no way he would be able to catch up to her if she left as soon as she found out, but he could potentially help her if he got there fast enough. He desperately needed to find a vehicle as quickly as possible, but the first thing he had to do was hightail it out of the area. Walkers were close enough that if he wasn't careful, he'd be spotted and turned into walker chow before he ever got close to the place. He didn't plan on dying today unless his life meant saving hers; if he went back to the prison without her, Daryl would be pissed. He managed to find a relatively empty looking motel parking lot with a few cars sitting there abandoned. Attempting to hot wire the car with one hand ended up making the alarm go off, bringing numerous walkers out of the woodwork. He worked furiously to get the car started and the alarm off, but all he managed to do was work his way through the different alarm sounds. In the end, he had to fight off one of the walkers and shot several others before jumping in the now silent and running car and got his ass out of there.

He'd only gotten a few miles down the road when he spotted a bar he decided to stop at so he could grab a bottle of liquor before he turned on the car's stereo. The thing had an old cassette in it that he could rock out to until he could form a real plan of action to get Ani back safe and sound. Drinking from the bottle and rolling the windows down just a little while blasting the radio, he gathered and led a large group of walkers to the meeting sight. He was worried as all hell as he rolled out of the vehicle and ran like a bat out of hell to the storage shed hoping the walkers wouldn't follow him. He carefully made his way around to the biggest shack while the Governor's men ran towards his vehicle.

The men opened fire on the walkers as he watched, Merle starting to fire on the Governor's men as soon as they did. As far as he could tell, Ani wasn't even here, which meant either she never made it, was already gone, or had already been captured. None of those options were viable in his opinion and no matter what he did he was going to find out what happened to her. The walkers were now moving towards the soldiers of Woodbury, many of whom being taken down in the process. He watched the carnage and managed to take another few of the enemy before a walker came out of nowhere. It didn't even manage to touch him before the hilt of a dagger he knew was sticking out of it's head. Ani came into the room looking frantic and grabbed the dagger before pulling him with her and running away from the window.

"We gotta book it!" she told him in a quiet yet somehow yelling voice. "I've got the place rigged and it's only-" A very loud boom and the sounds of screaming stopped her and got both of them running. "Watch the wire, Merle!" she yelled at him as she jumped over it, him hot on her heels and following the action.

Following her footsteps, they managed to make it to the trees just as a bullet flew into the tree next to Ani's head. They ran like crazy as another bullet skimmed past his leg and another explosion went off behind them. The explosions and screaming continued for a while as they ran, making Ani grin like a Cheshire cat before laughing uncontrollably while she lead him through the woods. He couldn't believe what he was hearing and what was happening back at the meeting sight. She had managed to make the entire place a huge trap for the Governor's men by herself that made his walker parade look like child's play. It took about forty minutes to get to the bike, Merle hooting in triumph when he saw it well hidden and away from the road.

"When the hell did Daryl teach you how to ride?" he asked around his smile.

"Every time 'e rode it," she answered. "Rememba? I learn by watchin'. Watched 'im do it 'nough times I jus' followed the same steps 'e does."

"So, you learned how to operate a deadly piece of machinery by sittin' and starin' at my brother's back?"

"Yeah, kinda, and?"

"Damn, Ani, is there anythin' you can't do?"

"Lots a stuff; socializin', handlin' my anga, sewin' ta name a few," she told him with a shrug as they took a few to catch their breath, the sound of explosions having stopped off in the distance. "Not so good at dealin' with people. Literally called the Governa a psychopath ta his face! I got nah fuckin' filta!"

"You know, I had him in my sites. A boy stepped in front of him or he'd be dead," Merle said.

"Ya shouldn' a followed me. Why'd ya come?" she asked. "Hell, how'd ya know I was gone? Or was this jus' coincidence?"

"Carol seems to trust me. Told me you'd left and packed a bag of weapons for me. Caught Michonne on the way out and told her to lay low. I ain't Rick's bitch," he said, hoping on the bike. "Get on."

"Get off, let me get on, and then get on," she replied with a smile.

"Ain't no way in hell I'm ridin' bitch," he growled. "Especially not behind a little thing like you."

"Merle, my man, ya forgettin' one supa important detail for ridin' a bike," she said cheekily.

"Yeah? And what's that?" he shot back.

"Ya need two hands."

The look on his face was so priceless and hilarious that she burst into another fit of uncontrollable laughter, holding her stomach and tearing up. Eventually, he resigned to his fate, not wanting to risk getting caught if the Governor or his men managed to make it out of her little trap. Of course, what he thought was going to happen simply didn't as he expected her to head straight to the prison. She didn't even bat an eye as she turned the bike towards the road that led to the place they'd just come from. Merle felt awkward as hell riding behind the little thing, and she was little; he could see clear over her head, though he kept his hands off. The last thing he needed when they did make it back to the prison was his brother getting jealous of him touching his girl. The boy could be rather possessive when he found something he actually gave a damn about.

"Got ta see if we got 'im or not," she shouted back at him when she turned. "I got ta know."

~x~

Daryl ran as fast as he could to the place the exchange was supposed to be made. He was anxious as he heard what sounded like explosions off in the distance and continued to get louder the closer her got. Ani really does think this is a fuckin' action flick, he thought to himself as he pushed himself to go faster. His legs were burning and his lungs were on fire as the smoke in the distance billowed into the sky. He didn't know what he had been expecting when he got to the place, but it certainly wasn't what he found. Between the walkers that were stumbling around on fire, the blown out buildings, the walkers eating the Governor's dead men, and the overall sight of it all ended up putting him in a state of shock. He heard the sound of his motorcycle closing in and turned towards the sound, bringing his bow up, only to damn near pass out from everything he was witnessing in the moment. His girl and his brother were just fine, sitting on the back of his bike, his brother sitting behind Ani with a permanent scowl that only deepened when he saw Daryl. Daryl dropped his bow as he fell to his knees, not knowing what the hell to think or feel. All he could do was stare at the pair as she slowed and parked the bike, both getting off to walk to him. Neither said a word to him, just stood on either side, admiring her handiwork and the fact that she had caused so much destruction.

"Damn, Ani. Did a mighty fine job here," Merle praised her.

"Would a been betta if we'd a gotten the Governa, but 'e ain' 'ere. The cars are gone," she noticed, pointing to a spot by one of the buildings and the obvious track where the man's truck had sped away.

Daryl finally managed to have a reaction at the fact that they seemed to be ignoring him when he was right between the two. The anger at their level of stupidity and at Rick for even thinking this deal could work, making him doubt Ani's judgment, was crushing. He felt guilty for almost betraying her but also betrayed by how she hadn't even told him what she was doing or that she was leaving. She'd risked herself without letting anyone know where she was going and might as well have destroyed a small town with how much damage had been done. The buildings looked like they had been blown out and collapsed on themselves after the explosions. The silos were misshapen and two had completely fallen over while one would before the winter was over with how leaned over it was. There were several large holes in the ground, all with severed limbs and blood scattered around them; at least two were fresh. He turned to them shoved Merle back before rounding on Ania.

"What the fuck were you thinkin'?!" he shouted at her, grabbing her biceps and shaking her. "You could have died, Ania! You don't even know how to operate the damn bike and you just take it?! And what the hell is this! This ain't a damn action flick! This ain't the time to try to play hero, Ania!"

She brought her forearms up and used the side of her hands with force on his elbows until he was forced to release her and she could take a step back and shouted right back, "I could ask ya the same damn thing, Daryl! Goin' behind my back with Rick! I told ya nah! Told ya he'd kill ya when ya showed up! Jus' a good thing I got 'ere long 'fore 'e did and had the place rigged! Damn near had a heart attack when Merle rolled through and barely fuckin' missed my traps but bringin' a shite load of walkas with 'im! That worked ta our advantage, too! Yet ya were goin' ta walk right inta a damn trap thanks ta listenin' ta that fuck-face!"

Anger clouded his judgment for a moment as he grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her back up to him, getting in her face and all but snarling, "Dammit, Ania! When the fuck are you goin' to get it together?! This ain't a fuckin' game!"

"Back off boy," Merle told him, grabbing his wrist and removing his hold on the girl's shirt. "Take your anger out elsewhere."

"Fuck you, Merle!" Daryl yelled as he turned around, ready to deck his brother if he opened his mouth again. "You should've told me before you left! You knew she was gone and just went after her! Did you even think to tell me my girl was missin'?! No! Ya just fuckin' took off! Again!"

Merle thought about it for a minute, "You know, I don't think I did think about it. Was too busy thinkin' she was gonna get herself killed."

"You had time to stop and talk to Michonne!"

"A quick warnin' on my way out the door ain't exactly stoppin' and talkin', Daryl."

"Fuck the both of y'all!" Daryl said as he turned around and walked away.

Tea looked at the carnage and then back at Merle and gestured with her head for him to follow with the bike, but she needed to talk to Daryl alone. He felt betrayed by her choice to go it alone, she got that, but until last year, she'd always gone it alone. He was angry, she got that, too, but that was the whole reason she ended up out here herself. He was hurt and scared and that was all her fault, but that didn't mean that she wasn't feeling all of those things too. That lack of trust, agreeing with Rick's decision, it was worse than if he had smacked her. Hell, trust was the biggest thing that she believed in, and he didn't trust her. Then again, she hadn't done much to earn his trust with how many times she closed up or ran off.

"I'm not a very good partna, am I?" she asked him as she caught up to him.

"Fuck's that supposed to mean?" he asked angrily, marching on without giving her a second glance.

She scoffed, "Ain' done much ta earn ya trust. Always runnin' off on my own like this or shuttin' down on ya."

"What the hell were you thinkin'?!" he asked, finally turning on her, throwing his crossbow to the side as he gestured angrily.

"I was thinkin' my lova was goin' behind my back on a decision I already said wouldn' work! I was thinkin' my brotha was goin' ta be sent ta his death! I was thinkin' I could get ahead and get a handle on things 'fore shite got out a control! And I did!" she yelled at him. "Ya were goin' ta let Rick send ya brotha ta die! For what?! A chance ya didn' even know ya'd get?!"

"He wasn't gonna do it!" Daryl yelled back, knowing full well he hadn't been sure at the time but not wanting to admit blame. "You put him in danger coming out here on your own!"

"How the hell was I s'pposed ta know Rick'd bulk?! How the hell was I s'pposed ta know Merle wouldn' do it?! Tell me, did ya know Merle would tell Rick off, or did ya expect 'im ta gobble up Michonne and bring 'er?" she growled right back. "Which did you think would happen, Daryl? Ya tell me, if ya knew, then why didn' ya come right ta find me when Rick told ya, huh? Why did ya keep it from me 'stead a comin' ta look for me?! It's 'cause ya knew I'd stop it 'fore he could! Ya kept that from me, Daryl! Ya knew I'd react badly and decided ta make yaself scarce 'stead a comin' ta me!"

Daryl was still fuming, but completely silent as he watched her fall silent, those damn tears making the dirt on her face all the more noticeable by the trails they were making. She wasn't wrong; he had no idea Merle would change so much that he would side with Ani over Rick in the entire situation. He also had done what he needed to do to keep her safe and out of the entire situation, hoping Rick would cave. Daryl knew he should have gone to her, but she could have gone to him, too, instead of storming off on a suicide mission. She could have easily found him and told him off at the prison, made him tell her the truth. She could have gone to Merle and asked him herself if he was up to the task rather than putting all three of them in danger by being out in the open. There were so many things that she could have done differently that didn't require putting herself at risk like she had.

"You didn't come to me neither!"

"I was pissed off and not thinkin' straight!" she countered. "I was beyond rational thought, jus' actin' on impulse! I couldn' fuckin' help my reaction! What's ya excuse?!" Daryl stared down at her while she furiously wiped at her eyes before she started yelling again, "Dammit, D! I was so fuckin' stupid. I know I was. And when Merle pulled up in the car and almost tripped a wire, my heart jus' 'bout exploded. But ya goin' behind my back and Rick pullin' Merle inta it, I jus' wasn' fuckin' thinkin'. Jus' thought I could do somethin' ta keep 'im safe. Jus' tryin' ta keep 'im safe."

"Don't go blamin' me for this," Daryl spat at her, seeing her in the state she was doing nothing to help his anger. "You did this. You made the choice to come out here. Stole my bike."

"I'm not blamin' ya for anythin' ya shouldn' be! Ya should a come found me! Ya should a told me. But I was a complete idiot for what I did. I know it. I'm sorry, Daryl."

"How the hell'd you even manage to get out the gate?" he asked her after a pregnant pause, trying to get his anger under control.

"Carol and Phia," she answered honestly, voice completely defeated.

"You roped them into it too?" he spat at her, his only friend and the girl he'd so desperately looked for being involved as well. "What'd you do? Pull the leader card to make them help you?"

"I jus' told 'em the truth. Neitha a 'em once tried ta stop me. I jus' told 'em the gist a it and begged 'em ta let me go," she replied, realization dawning on her that they'd never once tried to stop her. "I was jus' throwin' shite in a bag when Carol came in and called me Ani and told me what Merle said 'bout 'Tea' and I was jus'. I was an idiot and I know it."

"Damn right you were! You could have gotten yourself killed, Ania! I could've lost both you and Merle in one go 'cause you were so stupid! What do you think I'd do if I lost you?!" he growled at her, glad she at least knew how stupid she was.

He was angry at Ani for what she'd done, but now he was angry at himself, too, mostly for not trusting her to make the right choice. He really should have just told her what was happening and accepted the responsibility for it from Rick. Daryl had known Ani wasn't going to take the situation very well, which was the entire reason he had kept it from her. But in doing so, he had hurt her deeply and broken her trust in him and, at the very least, he'd inadvertently told her that he didn't trust her either. That had been the last thing he wanted to do to her and it simply wasn't true that he didn't trust her. He'd just wanted to try to keep her safe and thought that maybe Rick's rational was the right way to do that. They were both hurting at the choices the other had made to try to protect each other and that hurt came out in anger on both sides.

Tea hadn't been thinking straight when she'd left the prison; she hadn't lied to Daryl about that. At one point, halfway to the meeting place, she'd even pulled over and contemplated going back to the prison. The anger she'd felt towards Rick had taken away her rationale when she thought about seeing him and she spent the entire time working cursing the man. It was all Rick's fault that she and Daryl were even having this fight when they'd already been fighting only two weeks ago. The man seemed to be the biggest reason they were having any problems right now and made her want to knock him out. She had done what she felt she'd had to do, what her mind had compelled her to do, when angered. It wasn't as if she had wanted to die or had even thought she would. She'd simply done what she thought was the right course of action regarding the problem at hand. Yet what Daryl had asked her and how she hadd told Daryl before about his death, her body felt like it had been doused in ice water.

"I'm sorry, D. I wasn' thinkin' and I was stupid for comin' out 'ere. I'm so sorry," she cried.

Daryl knew she meant it and could only sigh as he walked back up to her, her hands clutching at the back of his vest as he wrapped his arms around her. They were both to blame for what had happened and if they kept fighting, it would only make things worse for her and would make him angrier. There was nothing left for either of them to say now that she realized what she'd done and how much of an idiot she'd been. He might be a jackass at times and he was definitely still pissed at her, fully planning on tying her to the bed or locking her in a guard tower when they got back, but he wasn't going to keep hurting her. Anything he said to let that anger out now would only put her further into the tailspin she was going through at the moment. She'd already gone from anger to pride and was now in almost hysterics, not having realized she'd also gone through a bout of a different kind of hysterics between then and now. If he pushed her now, he didn't know how she would react when she had already gone through so many emotions in such a short amount of time.

"Don't you ever fuckin' pull a stunt like that again, you hear?" he growled into her hair, holding her tighter as Merle watched the pair.

Once again, he was intrigued by how the fight had died out before it started and everything seemed hunky dory once more. No matter how angry they were at each other, a few shouted words and the pair of hunters were right back in each other's arms. His brother had always been a right surly bastard but he had never been able to keep a hold of his anger for long periods of time. No, Daryl always solved his problems with his fists and then went right back to drinking like nothing had ever happened. With his girl, though, it seemed like words were his weapon of choice, although that wasn't surprising to Merle at all. He was quite surprised when he looked at his brother and saw tears streaming down his own face as they shifted positions. Daryl hadn't cried since their mom had died, and now he was practically sobbing while holding Ani so tightly Merle thought he was going to break her in half.

Tea stood there with her face buried in his neck with her arms wrapped around his shoulders muttering her apologies and 'I love you' over and over again. He'd picked her up, just making her dangle in his arms, one hand firmly in her hair, the other keeping her tight against him. His face was also crooned toward her neck as he told her they were both at fault and he loved her too, though only a couple times. He'd truly been afraid he'd lost the last bit of his real family when he'd found out they both were missing. Everything inside him was worried that he would find them dead or worse, he'd find them as walkers. Daryl kissed her hair when she apologized again and told her to stop and that it was over and done with. There was no point in apologizing for a mistake they'd both made thanks to an idiot who thought he was smarter than her. That earned him a snort from Ani before she moved away from his shoulder and into a heated kiss as Merle watched on with a roll of his eyes.

"Shit, you two are worse than a chick flick," he quipped, earning a sigh from Ani and a growl from Daryl to shut up.

"How the hell did you manage to make a damn scene out of an action movie happen?" Daryl asked as he put her down.

"Oh, jus' anotha thing I learned from watchin'. Loved my action, suspense, thrilla, and horra movies," she said. "Got hooked on 'em through Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. Got inta martial arts in a similar way. Jean Claude Van Damn, Steven Seagal, Chuck Norris," she chuckled before turning into an all out guffaw. "Guess I had a certain type a guy I was attracted ta," she said, eyeing Daryl up and down.

"Fuck's that supposed to mean?" he said, a strange expression across his face.

"Well, they're all badasses that kick ass, tend ta be surly and gloomy, hot as fuck bods. Sound like somebody we know?" she asked Merle.

Merle stared at Daryl for a few seconds before responding with a laugh, "Shit, you really do have a type!"

Daryl gave them both the stink eye before telling them both they were idiots and demanding his bike back. Walking with Ani in the middle with the brothers on each side down the road, Merle and Ani filled Daryl in on what had happened as far as they could tell. She wasn't sure how many of Woodbury's soldiers she'd managed to take out, but Merle was pretty sure they'd taken out at least eight. Whatever sizable army Woodbury had had before showing up to their ill-conceived attempt at an ambush was definitely in shambles now. Tea hoped the show of force would keep Woobury at bay, but she doubted the Governor would halt his plans just because she blew up the meeting spot. Other than calling them idiots every now and again, Daryl was silent, only responding with grunts the entire time they talked, making Tea watch him more than the road to make sure he wasn't getting angry again.

When they finally found a house with a car, Daryl helped Merle hot wire it before hoping on his bike. He didn't want to make any more walkers come towards them than they'd had to deal with so far after hearing how Merle had failed on his own. Tea had laughed her ass off when he told her and asked if that was how he'd gotten the walkers to the shack. They'd both told her to shut up, Daryl still in a bad mood and Merle not enjoying the joke at his expense. Tea wasn't sure what Daryl would want her to do when he hopped on his bike and Merle jumped in the car. She just stood staring at her feet with an overwhelming sense of guilt and sadness making her unable to bring her eyes up. She'd seriously pissed him off and while she knew he wouldn't be happy with her being in the car with Merle, but with how angry he was, she didn't know if he'd want her with him, either.

"You comin'?" Daryl said, although his voice was tight.

"Do ya want me ta?" she asked, stepping up to the bike.

"Need to feel you," Daryl told her, putting his fingers under her chin and forcing her to look up at him. "Let's go home."