Chapter 39 - Better the Devil You Know

The Prison

Michonne, Rick and Carl left early the next morning in the Tucson before most people had finished breakfast. Tess thought about asking to go with, just to get away from the prison for a while but didn't have the energy to start that discussion, let alone finish it.

She didn't sleep well last night. The threat of bad dreams and her thoughts surrounding Daryl kept her from falling asleep. Judith had been fussing for most of the morning and Merle's incessant grumbling and Glenn's irritability was starting to wear her down.

"Would you shut up?" Glenn hissed angrily from the other side of the closed gate from where Merle had eventually been segregated.

"Tell that damn baby to shut it." Merle snapped back at him, "Ain't nobody sleep in around here?"

"Sleep in?" Glenn seethed, jumping to his feet. "This isn't a day spa. You want peace and quiet? Leave. No ones gonna stop you."

"Sounds like you're the one in need of a spa. Kick your feet up short-round, get the missus to rub'em toes for ya'."

Merle chuckled darkly to himself, quite enjoying the rise he got from Glenn. Tess sighed to herself, it was too early for this.

"Glenn… just ignore him." She advised him but it fell on deaf ears. He was still upset with her.

"Don't talk about her. Don't even look at her." Glenn warned the older Dixon brother, the tops of his ears starting to turn red with anger. Merle barked out a laugh, unphased and entertained.

"Whatcha gon' do 'bout it, huh?"

"Merle, stop it." Daryl cautioned his brother tersely, just as tired as Tess was.

"What? I ain't doin' nothin'. Ain't my fault the China-man can't take-"

"Enough!" Tess shouted, cutting Merle and Glenn off as he began to protest.

She rose from the table and approached the door dividing them from Merle. He lounged lazily against the bars and gave her a smug look: one which she was fully prepared to wipe off.

"Back up. Now." She demanded and he feigned offense.

"I thought you were on my side?" A falsely disappointed look barely hid the smirk that crossed his face.

"Then you're dumber than you look."

Tess unlatched the door and before Merle could react she'd shoved it open, causing him to stumble backwards. As he staggered, Tess quickly grabbed him by the shirt collar and swept his legs out from under him, dropping him to the ground. With one deft motion, she'd unhitched her knife from her belt and pressed it into the side of his neck, hard enough to draw blood but not maim.

"That's for cutting me. If Glenn wants to beat your ass, I'd let him at it too."

The metal gate behind her creaked open as Daryl stormed into the room. Tess felt him grab her elbow and she yanked her arm away.

"Tess. Stop it." Daryl hissed through gritted teeth.

"Suit yourself." She grumbled and finally let go of Merle.

Tess rose to her feet and stormed out of the prison without acknowledging Daryl and further.

Daryl scowled at his brother fiercely but offered him his hand nonetheless. Merle swatted at it, insulted and got to his feet on his own while Daryl seethed,

"The fuck is wrong with you." He growled at his older brother before shoving him in the chest and following Tess out of the prison.

"Why you gotta do that?" Daryl complained when he met Tess outside.

"Do what? Stand up for the people I care about or stand up for myself?" She snapped back, refusing to look at him.

"You told me he never hurt you."

"I didn't tell you that. I said he wasn't the one to beat me half to death."

"What did he do?"

"He cut me. That's it. Otherwise he wouldn't be getting off so easily."

"What happened at Woodbury?" Daryl pressed further and she couldn't help but send him a look of irritation.

"What does it matter?" She decried, facing him now. "Don't start feeling sorry for me now. When it actually mattered, you weren't there."

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

"How about once! You haven't apologized for shit! Like, at all!"

"I'm trying to say I'm sorry."

"Then say it." Tess gawked at him like a mad-woman, beyond exasperated. Daryl remained silent and she breathed a deep, frustrated sigh, composing herself. "Or better yet, don't. At this point, I kinda don't wanna hear it."

Tess turned away from him again and looked out into their greenspace which was still sprawling with walkers. They needed to do something about it before more found their way in. Tess could feel Daryl lingering behind her. Tense waves emanated from them both and crashed together in a way that was palpable and jarring. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, as if to protect herself and began chewing at her bottom lip.

"You hurt me." Tess admitted quietly, the words slipping from her mouth as soon as the thought entered her brain, "I don't know if I can forgive you for that."

"I'm sorry." Daryl apologized and it sounded genuine. In fact, he'd never sounded more genuine than he did right now. He'd also never sounded so distressed.

If Tess were less stubborn, less selfish, then perhaps it would've been enough. But she wasn't and she wouldn't allow herself to forgive and forget as easily as everyone else. If she had to suffer in order to stand by what she thought was right, then so be it.

"So am I." She granted him, albeit unkindly.

Daryl didn't need her to elaborate in order for him to know what she was sorry for - sorry for ever trusting him. The deeper he stared into the abyss, the further it seemed to go and the more difficult it was to escape. He'd hurt her far more than he could ever have imagined, he realized that now. He was in an abyss of his own making.

"Tess, can I talk to you?" Glenn called out from behind them both, neither of them having noticed his approach. Tess looked over her shoulder at him, painfully ignoring Daryl and nodded. Reluctantly, Daryl stepped away as Tess met with Glenn.

"I gotta talk to you about this situation with Merle." Glenn began but Tess was already ahead of him,

"I'm sorry for how I spoke to you yesterday. I was out of line. You have every right to want him gone, I fully understand that."

"So why did you defend him?" He countered, causing her to sigh.

"That wasn't my intention, really. Honestly, I did it for myself. Merle gets us a step closer to The Governor. I was being selfish because of what I wanted."

"Revenge."

"Precisely. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Or at least for the time being."

"But you think I'm guilty for leaving him on that roof?"

"I think… I think people will always have motivation for what they do. I didn't know Merle then but if he was anything like he is now, I can't say I blame any of you for not caring that he got left behind. But then you can't exactly blame him for wanting payback."

"If I had to cut my hand off, I'd be pretty angry too." Glenn reluctantly acquiesced.

"That is pretty fucked up." Tess agreed, thankful that Glenn was willing to heed her wisdom.

"If you ever want to kick the shit out of him, though, I'll hold him down for you." She offered, completely serious and Glenn started to laugh.

"Thanks, I'll think about it."

"Have you spoken with Maggie about… that day?" Tess inquired, dancing around the subject, not wanting to be too direct.

"I have and I know she's okay."

"Good. I'm glad."

"How are you doing? With Daryl being back?"

Tess pondered on the question for a while, unsure how to answer.

"I was throwing books at a wall yesterday." She confessed, feeling like it was the best way to explain herself.

"So not good then?"

"No, not good."

"If it's any consolation, I do think he feels bad."

"I had to practically beg him for an apology. That doesn't exactly make me think he feels bad."

"He's a bit repressed though."

"Now who's coming to whose defense?"

"I'm just saying."

Tess heaved a heavy sigh. She knew Glenn had a point. Daryl had never been very good at expressing himself but she thought he was past that; at least with her.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I should just let it go. I don't know."

"Is being angry really worth it?"

"Ditto."

"I'm not thinking about sleeping with Merle." Glenn retorted haughtily and Tess groaned.

"Leave me alone, okay? I'm miserable enough as it is." She complained as he laughed at her. Normally, she'd find it irritating but at least he wasn't angry with her anymore, so she'd take in on the chin.

"I suppose we should do something about those walkers, huh?"

Tess and Glenn returned to the prison where they gathered the troops to deal with the walkers. Begrudgingly, Glenn enlisted Merle's help as well and Tess was surprised to see that he accepted without fuss and she wondered if Daryl had spoken to him. Hopefully this meant that they were taking a step forward in the right direction.

They played it safe, drawing the walkers to the fence and stabbing at them through the chain link. There was more than there had been originally. Others had stumbled in through the broken gate, which was in a serious state of disrepair. They clawed at the fencing, pressing their faces into the metal as they starved for them, making them easy targets. It didn't take long to deal with them all and when the stabbing stopped, the only noise they could hear was the sound of their own heavy breathing.

But the work wasn't done. The walkers had to be removed from the field and something had to be done about the gate. It was warped and bent and had been pulled from its railing. Further down the fence, weak spots in the chain link had also broken, opening up holes that would become a problem if they weren't dealt with soon.

"What do you suppose we do about the gate?" Maggie wondered, asking nobody in particular.

"We've just gotta get it closed for now and make sure the others can get through when they come back." Tess responded while she wiped the blood from her knife along her pant leg. "Best we pile those bodies in the truck and drive them out of here first though." She continued, pointing at the bread truck that had stormed their gates.

"Ok, Maggie and I will go check the armory and see if there's anything we could use to help fix the gate. You guys got the truck?"

Tess glowered at him openly. She knew what he was doing. Daryl and Merle stood behind her and she could feel herself growing tense at the thought of having to be alone with them both.

"We got it." Daryl confirmed for them all and she had to stop her hands from balling into fists, choosing to flex them instead.

While Glenn and Maggie returned indoors, Tess quickly departed down the run, ahead of the Dixons. Some friend Glenn was, stitching her up like this. The rear ramp to the truck was still down and she started piling bodies in the back before Merle or Daryl had stepped foot on the grass. She'd much rather be doing this on her own if her alternative was being around them. She gave them both a wide berth as they began hauling bodies into the truck alongside her and when Daryl helped her to lift a walker onto the truck bed, she refused to thank him.

"Don't suppose either of y'all have found the keys have ya'?" Merle called out to them from inside the cab.

"Hotwire it!" Tess shouted back, "I'm sure you know what you're doing."

"Alright, no need to get snarky with me lady."

"Tess, give me a hand with this." Daryl asked, indicating toward the ramp.

Tess wished she was petty enough to tell him to do it himself but no matter how angry she still was, she couldn't deny him if he needed help. Wordlessly, she crouched by the opposite side of the ramp and together they raised it from the ground and slammed it against the frame of the truck. While Merle ripped into the steering wheel compartment, Daryl and Tess securely locked the ramp into place so it wouldn't come loose when they drove away.

Satisfied, Tess tried to leave but Daryl's hand was on her arm, stopping her before she could. It was scalding and set her whole body alight and she tried to shrug free in fear that she might combust.

"Hold up a sec." Daryl petitioned her and she huffed but did as he requested. "I really am sorry. I shouldn't've gone."

"He's your brother." Tess shrugged, trying to remain apathetic.

"My brother's an asshole."

"So why'd you do it then?"

"I don't know."

"I don't know, isn't good enough."

"What am I supposed to say?"

"If it was a mistake, tell me why." Tess explained.

"I just told you why." Daryl replied and she shook her head so fast it nearly gave her whiplash.

"What? What the fuck is going on? Am I living in the Twilight Zone? Do you not get it?"

"Get what?"

"Tell me why! What made you decide it was the wrong decision? I need to hear it."

She could hear that she was begging but humiliation didn't seem to matter to her right now. She wanted answers. Closure. Something, anything, that would explain what he did and why. Daryl contemplated her intently. The reasons and his words trapped in his mouth like he didn't know how to say them. Beneath her desperate and woeful gaze, he felt impotent. He wanted her to know, it was the least she deserved but he continued to give her nothing. Slowly her expression grew more vacant and veiled and the brief opportunity that he'd had disappeared before his eyes.

At that moment, the truck stuttered to life. Tess stepped back from Daryl, out of reach and fixed him with a dour look.

"You better get going." She advised him and left him and Merle to deal with the truck and the bodies.

—

By late afternoon, the gate was fixed, or at least fixed as well as it could be. It opened and closed and would suffice for now. It would keep the walkers at bay and that was the main thing. As soon as she was no longer needed, Tess retreated to the safety of her cell where she could be alone and wouldn't have to worry about being ambushed again.

She was left bitterly disappointed by how things had gone down between her and Daryl. How much more could she spell it out for him? Tess didn't know what else she could say. She wasn't ready to explain how she felt about him, especially now because she was so uncertain about how he felt about her. She never thought herself to be a hopeless romantic and would irrefutably deny it if anyone ever called her out as such, but she was definitely beginning to draw comparisons the longer that she held onto hope for him.

It wasn't until later in the evening that she left her cell again. She hadn't felt like joining for dinner but Beth had kindly delivered food to her nonetheless, citing that she didn't recall the last time she'd seen her eat. Tess had graciously accepted it, the sight of it did make her hungry. Now that her plate was empty, she ventured downstairs to return it.

Michonne, Rick and Carl had returned during this time and Tess spotted Michonne sitting in her cell, quietly honing her sword, as she passed by. Perched on a small desk in the back was an abstract, multicolored cat statue. God, that thing is ugly, Tess thought to herself.

"Nice cat." She told Michonne, who smiled at her and then to the cat.

"I had to have it."

"How did it go today?"

"It was…" Michonne trailed off, unable to think of the right word to describe the day she'd had. "Successful."

"You sound unsure about that?"

"Well, we found the guns we needed. Except, they belonged to someone. Someone Rick knew. Morgan I think his name was."

"Morgan…?" Tess felt her heart stop, "Did he have a young boy with him? Duane?"

"Duane turned was written on the wall." Michonne murmured quietly, now realizing why the crazy man they'd met had been so unhinged. She could understand what it was like losing a child.

"Did you know them too?"

"Rick and I were with them for a short while when everything went to hell. Fuck… What happened? Where is he now?"

"Still there. I think Rick tried to convince him to come back with us but he didn't want to." Michonne shrugged, "He seemed… lost."

Tess nodded slowly, guilt and self-loathing rearing its ugly head again. She had so many questions she wanted to ask - How could they just leave him? Why didn't they try harder? How did they expect Morgan to survive on his own? Yet, she didn't ask any of them. It wasn't Michonne's fault what happened to Duane, it wasn't any of theirs, but Tess did wish she'd done more to insist that the father and son had come with her and Rick all that time ago.

"Do you know where Rick is?"

"Outside I think."

Distracted, Tess left without saying goodbye and Michonne regarded her curiously as she walked away. She discarded her plate on the first table she walked by and continued on outside where she found Rick standing with Hershel and Daryl. Her first instinct was to turn back around and run away but kept on as if he wasn't there. Whatever conversation the three of them were having came to a halt as she approached.

"Hey," Tess addressed Rick, "Michonne said you found Morgan?"

"We did." Rick confirmed, nodding somberly. "I tried to get him to come back with us but he wouldn't listen."

"Who's this Morgan?" Daryl inquired.

"We met him in Atlanta before the camp. He had a son then, Duane." Tess replied gravely and then when Rick looked at her surprised, explained, "Michonne mentioned the writing on the wall."

"He said the weak have inherited the Earth. I refuse to believe that."

"That's good. We can't afford to be weak. Not now."

"We spoke yesterday about this truce Andrea wanted us to make with The Governor."

"Yeah?"

"I want to give it a try."

"You can't be serious?"

"I am. The three of us will meet him tomorrow."

"So we kill him then." Tess debated, as if it were a no brainer.

"The three of us being myself, Daryl and Hershel."

"Sorry, what? And if shit hits the fan, what is Hershel going to do? No offense, Hershel."

"None taken. I hope it doesn't come to that." The old man replied, shrugging his one shoulder that wasn't propped up by a crutch.

"We have one chance at ending this without bloodshed-" Rick pointed out but Tess didn't want to hear it.

"The Governor deserves to die-"

"Which is why I can't have you there." Rick continued, ignoring her protest, "You'll lose your cool and then what? Is he worth dying over?"

"You know where I stand on this." Tess faltered through gritted teeth.

"I do and I'm telling you to sit this one out." Rick answered her evenly and she began to feel frustrated tears prickling in her eyes.

"No, you're asking me to just let everything slide."

"No more than you did with Glenn."

"This is not the same!" She shouted at him, her hands trembling in anger. "Merle didn't kill anybody!" She could feel Daryl's eyes on her, assessing her, trying to make sense of why she was so upset.

"I'm sorry, Tess, I am. But we have to try to end this peacefully. You go in there guns blazing and it's over."

"You're making a mistake."

"Maybe. But I have to try."

—

Daryl, Rick and Hershel left in the early hours of the morning to the agreed meeting spot to scope the area before The Governor arrived. Tess had woken with knots in her stomach and had listened to them preparing to leave but didn't leave her room to see them off. If she'd left her room, she would have only ended up arguing with Rick and she didn't have the strength to do that again. She would swallow her pride and do as she was told. Just this once.

Now that they'd gone, Tess felt like she could finally remove herself from the confines of her room. There was work to be done. There was no telling if today would be successful (although she highly doubted it), worst came to worst, they'd be going to war and The Governor would be bringing it straight to their door. They needed to make sure they were ready and there was still chinks in their armor that needed repairing.

"You're up bright and early." The distinctly gruff voice, full of condescension, announced as soon as she entered the common room. "I'm surprised I didn't see you heading out with the A-Team. You get sidelined?" Tess rolled her eyes at Merle's attempt to get a rise out of her.

"Come with me." She instructed him while she picked through a pile of equipment in the corner.

"Why?" His narrowed eyes watched her like a hawk.

"Cause you may as well be useful." She threw a flashlight at him and left the cell block into the hallways of the prison. Intrigued, Merle followed her into the dark.

"I know you've got the itch for some Dixon scratch but honey, I ain't interested."

"Honey, I'd rather fucking shoot myself." She retorted dryly, rolling her eyes but thankful for the darkness that hid her creeping blush.

"Woof, you kiss my brother with that mouth?"

"Just shut up would you? I'm doing you a favor here. Or would you rather be cooped up like some kind of hermit?"

"Hit a nerve, did I, Red? I wouldn't hold your breath. Darlina's about as frigid as Mother Teresa. Lord knows I tried setting him up with enough snatch."

"Sure. Woe is me." She droned disinterestedly, "Look, are you done trying to piss me off? Can we get to work now?" Merle shrugged, seeming to acknowledge that he had in fact had enough.

He followed behind her silently, the beam of his flashlight trailing the walls as he scoured his surroundings.

"What is this work anyway?"

"You and I both know this meeting today is pointless. The Governor's gonna come and wage his war whether we like it or not. It's up to us to make sure we're ready for that."

"So what? You want to booby trap the place, Velma?" Tess raised a surprised eyebrow at him over her shoulder and thought about asking him why he knew the names to the characters in Scooby-Doo but thought better of it.

"Not exactly but we can fortify this place. There's still gaps in our fence that need repairing." Tess opened the door to the armory and took stock of their increased weapons supply.

"Fat lot of good that's gon' do. The Gov'ners just gonna mow your defenses down. I reckon we should ambush 'em. Hit 'em while they're not looking."

Tess contemplated the idea of longer than she would have liked. It would benefit them to catch The Governor by surprise but it was too great a risk. She shook her head negatively,

"That's not happening. I won't risk their lives like that."

"Why not? We could take 'em out without them even knowing we were there. Them guns look mighty powerful enough. You've got anger in you. I can see it. You want payback."

Merle stalked towards her like a hyena, fierce and intent but also quite clearly enjoying the rise he was getting out of her. He was right. She did want payback. It was all she could think about. But not like this. Tess scowled at him, her hands balled into fists, and sneered,

"My anger isn't gonna be the reason our people wind up dead. It's not happening."

"So you wanna just sit here with our thumbs up our asses, then?"

"I'm doing something!" She shouted at him, reaching the end of her tether. "You wanna join me? Good. You don't? Then fuck off."

"You came to Merle for help, remember? Now you don't want my two cents?"

"I didn't come to you for help." Tess scoffed derisively, "This isn't about you. I'm making the effort for Daryl's sake. Not yours."

Tess stormed about the room like a whirlwind of fire, grabbing what she came for and then left. Her admission had caught herself off guard and she fled from the room like a bat out of hell. Merle remained standing by the doorway, dumbfounded and for the first time in his life, at a loss for words.

—

Daryl leant against the passenger door of the Tucson, staring up at the faded sign on the barn that read Verlin's Feed & Seed Co. He held his crossbow in one hand while resting it against his leg. Hershel sat quietly in the passenger seat behind him, carefully watching and assessing the stillness of the outside world. Rick was inside the barn with The Governor and Andrea, discussing and bargaining God knows what.

Right now, Daryl was preoccupied with something else. He hadn't expected his brother to be awake so early while they were leaving but he had been and Merle had pulled him aside before they left.

"You're wasting your time Baby Brother. This pissing contest ain't gonna have no winner. The Governor gon' make sure of that." Merle had cautioned him lowly in the corner of the common room.

"So what? We gotta try, don't we?"

"Ain't worth nothin' but wasted time."

"What d'you know? You ain't got a responsibility to these people."

"You do? You really have gone soft."

"You may be my only blood but you ain't my only family no more."

Merle didn't let on but in the pits of his stomach, Daryl's words had cut deep. It was a sobering revelation that he had been ignoring since finding his brother again; one which he knew was undoubtedly true. Daryl wasn't the same feckless easy target any more. It left Merle feeling an odd dichotomy of pride and shame. Shame: because it had taken their estrangement for Daryl to become a better man.

"You want retribution for your family? Listen up, Brother. Wherever The Governor goes, Martinez follows along like a dog. Ex-military pissant with a taste for violence if you catch my drift."

Daryl's brooding expression narrowed further as he made sense of what Merle was telling him.

"Do ya' lady a favor and make things even."

Daryl didn't even flinch at the sound of Merle referring to Tess as his lady. Truthfully, he'd hardly even heard him. Rage and violence were the only things he could think of. Normally, Merle would think he'd have won some sort of unspoken challenge here but it was clear his brother wasn't listening to him anymore. Whatever relationship he had or didn't have with the red-head was clearly important enough to him for him to already be plotting moves.

So, there he was. Leaning against the car, plotting moves. He still didn't know which of The Governor's men here were Martinez (if any of them at all). All he had to go on was a name and that wasn't much at all. It wasn't enough for him to discern his target and despite all the horrific things he wanted to do to the man in question, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to bring himself to do anything at all. Not right now. If things were going smoothly in the barn between Rick and The Governor, then picking a fight with one of the Woodbury soldiers would surely fuck it all up. Was it really a risk he was willing to take?

Four men loitered around the tan Ford Excursion that The Governor had arrived in. The vehicle was fitted with a bull bar, and battery ram, winch and searchlights. It was an ominous warning of what they were capable of and how better equipped they were for a possible incursion. Daryl kept a watchful eye on the four men - one of them was considerably less threatening. He was smaller than the rest, wore studious glasses and kept his nose trapped in a small notebook which he continuously flicked through and jotted down notes in. He had been the only one to introduce himself - Milton Mamet, The Governor's Advisor. He looked incredibly out of place but then, so did Hershel. After an awkward conversation with their one-legged friend, where he'd tried to persuade Hershel to allow him to examine it, he had scurried back over to his people.

The other three men were definitely more like what Daryl had expected of the Woodbury army. They looked boorish and far too complacent. It was no wonder Merle had fit right in. Daryl liked to think his brother had the potential to be better but seeing the type of men that had been molded under his guidance, he struggled to believe that was true. We've all done shit we're not proud of, a voice of reason told him in the back of his head. Only thing was, Merle's list was particularly long.

There was a dull groan as the barn door swung open and then a loud bang as it slammed shut and Andrea stormed outside with a sour look on her face. She huffed to herself impatiently and the men by the Ford chuckled amongst themselves.

"Overstay your welcome?" One of them snickered at her.

"Shut up, Martinez." Andrea bit back through gritted teeth.

Daryl instinctively pushed himself upright and glowered at the man he was now able to put a name to. He could see faint bruising and scabs forming on his knuckles and it made his blood boil. His grip on his crossbow grew tighter and he could tell he was beginning to raise it but didn't feel the need to stop himself. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder that he paused. Hershel had reached out through the passenger window and was giving him a desperately concerned look.

"Not now." He warned him.

Hershel hadn't meant to overhear the conversation between the two brothers but he had and he felt he needed to be the cautionary voice here. Daryl spied him suspiciously and with frustration but didn't jerk away from the old man like he normally would have. He knew Hershel was right. Now was not the time or the place. Even if he did so desperately want to put an arrow right between Martinez's eyes.

The noise from the barn door slamming had caught the attention of some unwanted company. A small pack of walkers appeared among the silos, moaning and groaning and in search of prey. Milton ran to the back of the Ford in fright while Martinez laughed and picked up a titanium baseball bat. The two other men lackadaisically lingered behind as Martinez, Andrea and Daryl all jumped into action.

Daryl trailed behind Martinez, mostly watching and leaving him to messily deal with the walkers. Blood splattered the bat and the ground as he pitched it into the skulls of the dead with great force. It almost seemed like he was having fun. Daryl shot bolts into a few so as not to arouse suspicion but followed close behind Martinez as he stalked behind the barn and out of eyesight of the road. With only one walker left, Martinez took his time, swinging the bat around in his hand as he wound up the perfect hit. Daryl vehemently scowled at him and temptation forced his hands to line up the sight of his crossbow with the back of his head. His fingers itched to pull the trigger - it would be so easy.

The walker's skull burst open with a vicious crack! Blood flew through the air and sprayed the side of the barn as its body swung then folded in on itself. Martinez triumphantly spun the bat in his hand, spraying more blood into the air like he was wringing out a wet umbrella. Daryl strained to put his bow down and watched as Martinez knelt to rifle through the dead walker's pockets. He pulled out a crumbled box of cigarettes and sighed with satisfaction, rising to his feet again and offering Daryl one from the box.

Daryl simply glared at him. He wanted to say that he knew. I know what you did. But if he started down that road, he wasn't likely to stop. He ignored Martinez's inquisitorial look, continuing to glower at him silently until the other man shrugged.

"Suit yourself."

Daryl followed him back to the road again, picking up his bolts along the way.

—

Tess was in a significantly worse mood than she had been when she woke up this morning. She'd tried to do something nice by including Merle in aiding their group. If everyone could see him putting in the work to help them, then maybe they'd be more willingly welcoming of him. He continued to stay true to character though and was proving near impossible to change. It left her thinking about Daryl. All roads seemed to lead back to him.

It was obvious now that Daryl had been the way that he was way back when, because of Merle. She wondered if they'd ever be where they were now if Merle had never gotten stuck on that roof in Atlanta. Would Rick still have found her and brought her to the quarry? Would she have grown to have feelings for Daryl still or befriended him at all? It was some strange fortune that things had happened as they had, she supposed. Who's to say Daryl would still have become the man he is now if Merle had continued to play as the devil on his shoulder?

She patrolled the fence line of the prison, pulling at the rope that she'd looped through the two sides of the broken chain link until the metal met in the middle. She picked up the pliers from the ground while awkwardly holding the fence in place with her foot on the rope and attempting to wind the metal back together while keeping it taut. This would've been much easier with two sets of hands. It wasn't a particularly secure patch but it would do until they had the chance to better repair it. It would stop any more walkers from finding their way in at least.

"You look like you've got your hands full." Merle's grating voice rang out from behind her and she turned to see him sauntering down the run towards her, clouds of dust kicking up around his feet.

"Get bored of being a hermit, did you?" She threw back at him, displeased.

"Came to stretch my legs." He shrugged his shoulders theatrically.

Tess rolled her eyes and turned back to the fence. She rested on her haunches, pulling together the bottom of the fence and tying it back together like she had above. She could feel Merle watching her over her shoulder and she did her best to ignore him. If he wanted to stand and watch, fine, but she wasn't going to entertain him. She heard his feet scuff in the dirt and then suddenly the fence shook as Merle stepped up to hold it in place for her. Surprised, she looked up at him, a wordless thanks, and then quickly twisted the remaining chain link together.

"Don't know what the point of that was." Merle remarked, like he couldn't help himself from balancing his good deed with a bad one.

"It's delightful having you around, y'know that? You're such an optimist."

"Don't hate me for being the only realist around here." Tess felt a shiver run down her spine at the strange sense of deja-vu that prickled the back of her neck. She shook it off and smirked at him.

"Of course not, there's so many other reasons to hate you."

She expected Merle to glare at her, cuss at her maybe, but instead he gave her a hearty laugh which nearly caused her to jump. It was an usual sound to hear from him because it didn't sound sarcastic or malicious. It was genuine. He had genuinely appreciated her joke. It felt like a step forward in the right direction.

"You're okay, Red, you've got jokes." His grinning laugh faded into a thin line, "It's too bad I'm still right." Tess sighed at the short lived pleasantness. She didn't want to agree with him but knew none of this would matter if The Governor chose to simply mow down the fence again.

"You lot should seriously consider shutting up shop. Move on while you still can. Ain't no shame in admitting defeat." Merle mused, unusually cautionary.

Tess peered at him curiously. Why the sudden change of heart? Merle knew The Governor best of all. Perhaps it was best to heed his words.

"You seriously think he's going to kill us all, don't you?" She speculated nervously.

Merle didn't reply.

"You asked me before if I wanted your two cents. Answer this for me then, what does The Governor want? What's it going to take to make him stop?"

"You ain't gon' like it."

"Answer me, Merle."

"He wants what we all want. Revenge. Give him Michonne. You hand her over and I'm sure he'll back off. And if it were up to me, I reckon y'all should."

—

Later that afternoon, after Tess had had enough of trying to convince herself that she was being helpful, she sat in the common room stewing over Merle's advice. Beth sat beside her, bubbly Judith bouncing on her knee, and she was tutting to her happily. Tess' heartbeat was playing ping-pong too loudly between her ears for her to hear however. Her middle finger tapped rapidly against the table in an effort to focus her thoughts. Could they really hand over Michonne? No. No? No.

They may not have known her that long but Michonne was good people and they owed her a lot. If it weren't for Michonne, who knows what would have come of her, Maggie and Glenn in Woodbury. They owed her their lives. She didn't owe them hers. Maybe The Governor would back down if they surrendered her as a peace offering but what kind of people would that make them? No, they were better than that. They had to be.

Besides, Tess considered Michonne a friend. An ally. She was strong and it would only be to their detriment if they let her go. Merle might know The Governor well but even he couldn't be a hundred percent sure. A man like that was only going to become increasingly unhinged and unpredictable. Who's to say he wouldn't go back on his word after he got what he wanted?

Tess felt a tap on her shoulder,

"Hm?" She looked over at Beth with wide blinking eyes. She hadn't heard her.

"Do you mind?" Beth held Judith up in front of her, trying to hand her over. She had vomit running down her shoulder.

"Oh, sure!" Tess happily took the baby into her arms, allowing Beth to go clean herself up.

"Did you throw up on Beth?" Tess giggled quietly to Judith, "That's not very nice."

Baby Judith hiccuped and then gave her a big toothless smile. Tess' heart warmed at the sight of her so happy and unaware. She was so small and fragile and innocent. It was enough to make you forget about every bad thing that had ever happened.

"You are the cutest little baby I've ever seen." Tess cooed softly, allowing Judith's tiny hands to pull at her restless fingers.

She smiled down at her fondly as she lay in her lap trying to grasp at the strands of her hair. Tess pulled it free from its elastic and bobbed her head, allowing it to fall into her reach, eliciting the sweetest little tittering laugh from the baby. She continued to playfully nod and shake her head, smiling down at Judith as she tried to grasp the ends of her hair.

"You look like a chicken." Merle grumbled distastefully from his corner.

"Can it old man." Tess replied, keeping her tone light and cheerful, not wanting to disrupt Judith's happiness.

The door to Cell Block C creaked open and the tell-tale clicking sound of Hershel's crutches on the concrete floor echoed into the room. They were back. Tess stopped her playing and scooped Judith into her chest as she rose to her feet, waiting to set eyes on them all. Judith continued to try to tangle her fingers in her hair. The sound of their return had drawn the rest of the group into the room and they all congregated as Hershel, Rick and Daryl entered. Beth and Maggie swooped their father up in a hug before ushering him to sit down. Rick walked over to her - he looked exhausted - and reached for his daughter, craving the comfort of his child. Tess welcomed him back with a genial smile as she passed Judith over. Her eyes drifted over to Daryl. He looked tense and distracted. Something about today was clearly bothering him and she couldn't help but want to know.

"Rick, what happened?" Carol questioned him fretfully.

"Well, I met with this Governor. I talked to him for quite a long time."

"Just the two of you?"

"Yes. He wants the prison. He wants us gone. He wants us to die for what we did to Woodbury. We're going to war."