Daryl

As Daryl slowly walks back to the camp of survivors from Atlanta, his mind wanders to his brother, Merle. Merle had gone with a group to Atlanta for supplies, and they are due back today. Daryl has been hunting since the group left, but he didn't get very much. Once Daryl walks out of the woods and into the camp, he starts looking for his brother, but he doesn't see Merle anywhere.

"Daryl, we need to talk to you," Shane says, following Daryl to his and Merle's camp site. Daryl quickly checks around and in their camp site, but he still cannot find Merle. "Daryl," Shane says again.

"Is he dead?" Daryl asks, setting his crossbow down.

"Hard to say," Shane says. Daryl turns to look at Shane, and that is when he sees the whole group watching, including a new guy Daryl doesn't recognize.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Daryl asks.

"Your brother is handcuffed to the roof of a building in Atlanta," the mystery man says, stepping towards Daryl.

"What? Who are ya anyways?" Daryl asks, stepping away from the man, which just makes the man step closer again.

"My names Rick Grimes, Lori's husband. Your brother was putting everyone in danger, so I handcuffed him to a piece of metal. When we went to leave, the key was lost, and your brother is still there," Rick says soothingly. Daryl doesn't know why, but he kind of likes how Rick talks soothingly to him, which makes Daryl all that much angrier.

"Ya left my brother in the middle of a Walker infested town, locked to the roof of a building?" Daryl yells, throwing his string of squirrels at Rick, who dodges. Daryl then lunges at Rick, trying to punch him, but Shane quickly shoves Daryl away. Daryl has never liked Shane, so having a reason to fight him doesn't help him not hurt Shane. Daryl quickly grabs his knife and lunges at Rick and Shane. Shane dodges Daryl and steps behind Daryl, putting Daryl in a choke hold.

"Drop the knife," Shane hisses in Daryl's ear. When Daryl starts to feel himself lose consciousness, he drops the knife, and Shane drops him. Daryl instantly starts coughing and gasping for air, but he suddenly hits the ground unconscious.

Rick

As Rick drives the truck to where the Atlanta group of survivors are, all he can think about is the man he handcuffed to the roof of a building and left behind. Rick is extremely happy to see his son again once they arrived at the camp. His wife is there too, but he and Lori have not been on good terms for some time now.

"Where is Merle?" Shane asks once all the greetings are done.

"Trapped in Atlanta," Andrea says.

"How?" Shane asks.

"I handcuffed him to the roof of a building to protect everyone from him. He was risking everyone's lives by being reckless," Rick says.

"I am going to hate to tell Daryl," Shane says. Rick is instantly confused, and Dale quickly explains.

"Merle is... was Daryl's brother," Dale says, looking worried.

"I'll tell him. I was the one that handcuffed him and left him," Rick says. A rustle in the forest line draws Rick's attention.

"Here comes Daryl," Shane says as Rick and he walked towards the forest line.

Rick is expecting a real rough looking redneck to walk out, but he is surprised at how Daryl really looks. Rick cannot help but admire Daryl's small but well-built bod and dark brown hair that falls into Daryl's bright blue eyes.

"Daryl, we need to talk to you," Shane says, which snaps Rick out of his thoughts. Rick slowly walks with Shane, following Daryl. "Daryl," Shane says again, which makes Daryl turn around after he sets his crossbow down.

"Is he dead?" Daryl asks, which makes Rick's heart squeeze because of the sadness in those bright blue eyes.

"Hard to say," Shane says. Daryl turns and looks at Shane and then at Rick, which makes Rick feel very self-conscious of how he looks. Daryl's eyes linger on Rick for a good bit of time.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Daryl asks.

"Your brother is handcuffed to the roof of a building in Atlanta," Rick said, stepping towards Daryl. Rick is dying to wrap his arms around Daryl and comfort the hurting man.

"What? Who the hell are ya anyways?" Daryl says, stepping away from Rick, which just makes Rick step closer again.

"My names Rick Grimes, Lori's husband. Your brother was putting everyone in danger, so I handcuffed him to a piece of metal. When we went to leave, the key was lost, and your brother is still there," Rick says, trying to calm Daryl down Rick can see that Daryl is getting extremely angry.

"Ya left my brother in the middle of a Walker infested town, locked to the roof of a building?" Daryl yells. Rick just barely dodges the string of squirrels Daryl throws at his head, but when Daryl lunges at him, he knows he won't be able to dodge him. Rick is thankful but mad at Shane for shoving Daryl to the ground. Rick goes into cop mode when he sees Daryl grab his knife and lunges at him and Shane. Rick stands ready to attack, but Shane dodges Daryl's lunge and locks Daryl in a choke hold. Rick is shocked and just freezes at seeing Daryl choked.

"Drop the knife," Rick hears Shane hiss in Daryl's ear. Rick lets out the breath he didn't know he was holding when Daryl drops the knife and Shane lets Daryl go. Rick feels worry shot through him when Daryl starts gasping and coughing. When Daryl drops to the ground, out cold, Rick drops down next to him and quickly and checks his pulse. "Damn Shane. Did you have to choke him that hard?" Rick asks when he sees the bruising forming on Daryl's neck.

"Is he ok?" Dale asks suddenly, which makes Rick jump.

"I think so. He just passed out from lack of oxygen, and he's going to have some bruises," Rick says, brushing Daryl's bangs from his face. "Looks like he's beginning to wake up."