Zayla made her way down to the lower level of cells and found Merle at the doors of the courtyard, watching Daryl and Rick at the gates killing Walkers on the fence in the distance.

"Figured you wanted this back." She held his biker vest out for him to claim. "We came back for you. We almost killed Rick when he said they left you up there. We tried…we saw your…we looked for you, we did everything we could-"

She was cut off by Merle closing the space between them and pulling her in for a hug. He smirked at her, but didn't take the vest back because he wanted her to keep it. "I know, girlie, I know. But do you know Carol's one intimidatin' mother now?"

"She can be when something tries to mess with her family. I'd hate to be on her bad side." Zayla smirked before slipping the vest back on, looking out at the gates. "Rick's probably talkin' to him."

"He's always been the sweet one, my baby brother." Merle said with a shake of his head. "I couldn't tell ya' where the hell he got that damn heart from, but you're the reason it's still thumpin'."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He loves you, girlie." He calmly informed her. "You're the reason why he's been wakin' up every day, not me or that baby or anybody else. Daryl is here and livin' because of you, has been since the day he knew your name."

It was a rare sight, but Merle caught Zayla blushing as she tripped over her words, trying to find the right ones to say. "He doesn't love me, Merle. At least, not in the way you think. He loves me like he loves Maggie or Carol."

"Bullshit." He disagreed. " 'Member that day I picked you up from work and we got into a little mess on the bike?"

"The day my Dad handed your ass to you on a golden platter? Of course."

"Soon as Daryl found out, he kicked my ass." He told her and she huffed at him, making him shake his head. "I'm serious, Z. He's never been stronger than me and I've never been afraid of him, but he beat my ass into the ground that day. He was only a few hits away from takin' my damn life. He told me if I ever did somethin' stupid like that again, if I ever endangered your life, he'd stab me to death with the same needle I got high with. Boy ain't never had the balls to say somethin' like that to me."

….

It was time for action and everyone involved was getting ready to leave the Prison. Merle was going off on his own back to Woodbury while Rick, Zayla, Daryl and Glenn were going to wait at an abandoned shed a few miles out from their home for Merle to bring Woodbury's leader, the Governor, to negotiate. They didn't want to risk having any of their people go to Woodbury for fear of them not returning or being held hostage, but Merle had no problems about going back on his own, knowing that if anything, the Governor would want Michonne.

The group was still waiting for Merle to come back with the Governor, but they were all alert and equipped to deal with whatever heat was brought on them. Zayla and Daryl were pacing in font of their truck while Glenn was standing on the bed as lookout and Rick was leaning on the abandoned building, waiting. It took a few more minutes of patience before they heard another car approach. Merle exited the passenger seat with a tall, brunet man wearing an eyepatch, a shorter man with glasses and a Hispanic, army man. The man with the eyepatch was introduced to Rick, so the rest of the group pegged him as the Governor as the two went inside the building to strike up a deal.

The Hispanic man kept his distance, but introduced himself as Martinez and began smoking a cigarette, the same brand that Daryl liked. The Hunter had his crossbow in his hand as he asked to bum one and Martinez gave him a fresh pack, stating that Woodbury took care of its people. Zayla was listening in on the men talk when Merle came behind her and pulled her to the side.

"Andrea's in Woodbury." He informed her and her eyes went wide at the name. Andrea's been separated from the group since they fled Hersehl's farm and everyone thought she was dead, but she was alive. "If I know Philip, he'll probably wanna make a trade: Andrea for Michonne."

"Why does he want Michonne?"

"They came there together, but she escaped and gave him that cut on his eye before she did. Y'all hand over lil' Miss Bon-Bon and he's gonna skin her. He's gonna use all his little toys on her and he'll keep at it fer days, maybe weeks, just 'til he gets bored. He gets off on that shit, he's a sadist."

The faint growling of Walkers brought their attention to Daryl and Martinez shooitng them down and the men seemed to have made a game about it for another pack of cigarettes. If Zayla knew Rick, she knew that once this meeting was over, they were all going to have a vote on what their next step would be and she was against having Woodbury as their 'friendly' neighbors because there was something about the Governor that she couldn't trust. Michonne didn't look like the type that went looking for a fight wherever she could, but something happened that made her want to escape Woodbury and have people sent after her. And Merle's warning about not giving her to the Governor because he'd torture her was another red flag. All that was reason enough to keep her in their circle and away from that strange man.

Without warning, the Governor exited the building and got into the car he came in with the other men following suit while Merle sent a parting glance to his little brother. The discussion seemed to be over as the group watched the Woodbury party leave and Rick explained to them what the Governor wanted. The man gave them the next two days to think about surrendering Michonne to him and getting in Woodbury's good graces. If not, they would become enemies and that reeked of bloodshed.

….

Before he left, Merle had efficiently drawn a map of Woodbury for the group to study and he knew how often the shifts changed as well as where the guards were posted. Their best bet was taking out the watch first, then going after the Governor while the citizens were panicking. Daryl, Zayla and Michonne were the sneakiest, so they were assigned that job while Merle, Rick and Glenn were making their way inside through the back where there were some loose metal sheets for them to slip into the town undetected. If they overpowered the Governor, they'd be able to take him down much more easily than one-on-one.

Carl, Sophia, Carol, Axel and Oscar were staying back with Hershel, so they were making barricades in the courtyard while the others were plotting in the library.