A/N: That's all, folks. This will be the last chapter. It pretty much finishes wrapping things up. I'm giving up multi-chaps in a bid for a new story with some one-shots. I'm much better at one-shots than trying to drag out a plot. Also, with life the way it's been going and not having time to write and update regularly it's probably easier if you don't have to remember what I wrote a week ago. Anyway, here it is. I expect to start posting the new story within the next week or so.

Read and Review, pretty please.

I still own nothing, especially not the conversation at the end.

TWD

The next day was a blur of activity. Despite having been awakened in the middle of the night, most of the prison inhabitants were up and moving not long after sun up. The damage to the prison and its fences was minimal, but anything that wasn't anchored down had been thrown. Large piles of debris that the group had cleaned up were now strewn about the yard once more.

Daryl had gone out hunting in hopes of bringing back a deer to supplement the other supplies they'd picked up. He was dragging the deer back to camp when he noticed a commotion at the gates. Afraid that a hostile group may have found them, he dropped the deer and sprinted toward the fence. When he got there, he was greeted with the same surprise the rest of the group had just received.

Andrea was alive. And she'd brought a woman named Michonne with her.

He came back just as Andrea was spilling about the town she and her friend had found. And about all the terrible things the town's leader had done. Daryl had never really cared for Andrea. That dislike only intensified when she shot at him. So when she showed up again, and with another mouth to feed, Daryl found that he really wasn't all that interested in what she had to say. With that in mind he started back out toward the gate to get his momentarily forgotten deer.

"Merle was there." Andrea called out as Daryl started to walk away.

"The fuck you talking about?" He spat as he spun around to face her.

"Merle. He's like the Governor's right hand man."

Well, that didn't really surprise Daryl. Merle was a manipulative ass even under the best of circumstances. So the fact that he'd wormed his way into a position of power wasn't much of a shock. What was a shock was that Merle was still alive. Despite his "only a Merle can kill Merle" rant, as time went on Daryl wasn't all that certain that his brother was still alive.

"We gotta go get him!" Daryl turned toward Rick.

"Whoa. If he's this Governor's right hand man the last thing we want is Merle to lead that guy here." Glen nearly yelled.

Rick scrubbed his hands over his face. "Glen's got a point. We can't endanger our group."

"Fuck all ya'll then." Daryl yelled. "He's my brother and I ain't leavin' him there."

Carol reached out for Daryl as she addressed Rick. "He's right. We can't just leave Merle there. He's Daryl's family. He's one of us."

Rick and Glen shook their heads. Hershel looked between the pairs squaring off about Merle and then at Andrea and her companion. "Is there some way we can get to Merle without leading this other man back to us?" Hershel offered.

"Unlikely." Michonne offered, speaking to the group for the first time.

"If Merle's not with the Governor he's under direct orders." Andrea clarified.

"And currently those orders include killing us." Michonne added.

Daryl stormed off toward the gate with Carol hot on his trail. For lack of a better outlet he started stabbing walkers through the fence while the others discussed what they should do.

"Why should we even bother?" Glenn asked. "He'll probably kill us for leaving him on that roof."

"Carol's got a point." Hershel argued. "He's Daryl's family. We wouldn't leave anyone else behind."

"You never met Merle." Andrea deadpanned.

"We have to go get him." Rick sighed. "We at least have to try."

"No!" Glen yelled. "It's suicide. If Merle doesn't kill us this Governor guy will."

"He's right." Andrea agreed. "If Phillip finds out about any of us or the prison it'll all be over."

"And how are we to know you didn't lead him here." Hershel asked.

"We didn't even know this was here." Andrea yelled. "I thought I'd lost you guys for good. Imagine my surprise when you turn up here while I've been on the run."

"She's right." Rick offered. "She wouldn't knowingly lead the group into danger."

"So what do we do about this Merle guy?" Beth asked.

"I guess Daryl and I go after him." Rick sighed.

"Dad, no." Carl spoke up. "You can't leave again. Not after mom…"

"I won't be gone long, son." Rick addressed his son. "We'll go tonight and be back tomorrow or the next day."

Rick squeezed his son's shoulder and trotted off in Daryl's direction.

"You come to tell me ya'll decided it was better if we just leave Merle? Like ya'll did in Atlanta?" Daryl spat.

"Nope. Came to tell ya that you and I are gonna go find Merle tonight. Andrea'll tell us where to find him. She says the wall is guarded, but there are breaches and unguarded areas where we can get in. We'll head in when it gets dark and see what we can do."

Daryl nodded. He sure as hell wasn't about to thank Rick. Daryl wasn't sure what had changed Rick's mind, but he was sure as hell pissed that it had, had to be changed. If it had been Lori or Carl or even another member of the group Rick would have been all over it. Hell, if he'd known Andrea was there he probably would have gone in guns blazing. But as soon as it was Merle that was in that town everyone suddenly got cold feet about going to get one of their own. Daryl kicked at the ground as Rick watched him.

"I'll talk to Andrea and get whatever information we need. We can leave after dinner." Rick felt like he was talking to a wall. Sure Daryl had a reason to be upset, but he could at least speak.

Daryl grunted an acknowledgement and went back to stabbing walkers through the fence while Carol followed after Rick.

"Just give him time. He's got every right to be upset. His brother essentially got left for dead in Atlanta and not one person in this group was willing to help Daryl go get him when Andrea told us he was alive. Merle's his brother, Rick. He may not be the best man, but he's all Daryl had for a long time."

"I know." Rick sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Just seems a lot of trouble to go through for someone who doesn't even like us."

Carol nodded her agreement. "Thank you."

"For what?" Rick asked.

"For supporting Daryl. If you two find Merle I imagine he'll need all the support he can get." She smiled.

"And what about you? You support him." He questioned.

"That's not the same and you know it." Carol gave his arm a squeeze before heading back to Daryl.

TWD

Carol watched as Daryl dispatched walker after walker along the fence. She knew that getting in the middle of it would only trigger a temper tantrum. So she stood guard as he blew off steam.

Eventually he'd run out of walkers along that stretch of fence and the others milling around a ways off seemed to know better than to come near him. He turned to face her and the look on his face nearly broke her heart.

"You done now?" She questioned gently.

Daryl nodded, afraid his voice would betray him. The truth was that he didn't really know how to feel about Merle being alive. Part of his wanted to be happy that his brother was okay. A bigger part of him knew how far he'd come once he was no longer under Merle's influence. He had Carol and he couldn't jeopardize that, but Merle was blood and he couldn't leave him out there. He was conflicted.

"Come on. You should go inside. You'll need to pack whatever supplies you need." Carol grabbed for his hand and tugged him toward the prison.

Once inside Daryl packed what supplies he'd need into a bag before heading back downstairs to eat. He sat down at one of the smaller tables and Carol joined him once meals were doled out. They didn't talk. Daryl wasn't in the mood to talk. It was a comfortable silence as their silences usually were.

Sooner than either would have liked, Rick approached the table to round up Daryl and get on the road. Promises of safety were made and Carol followed them outside for a moment alone with Daryl.

"We'll be gone two days maximum." Rick assured. "If we're gone any longer than that, Andrea, Michonne, and Glen will come after us." He headed off toward the truck to give Daryl and Carol a moment.

Carol nodded as she tried desperately to fight back tears. She knew Daryl needed to do this and tears certainly weren't going to help anything.

"None of that." Daryl whispered as he wiped away a stray tear. "We'll be back 'fore ya know it."

He kissed her and then held her tight to him. She could feel his body shaking, whether from fear or excitement she wasn't sure. Finally he pulled away with a kiss to her forehead.

"Stay safe." She whispered.

"Always do."

With that he headed off after Rick.

TWD

It had been a day and a half. Rick and Daryl still weren't back and Glen, Andrea, and Michonne were making plans to go get them. Carol was trying desperately, and mostly failing, to keep herself from worrying about him.

In an effort to keep herself occupied Carol had collected clothes off the line to fold. For lack of anything better to do, Beth joined Carol in folding.

"I don't see why he had to leave. Merle sounds like a jerk."

"Men like Merle get into your head. Make you feel like you deserve the abuse." Carol enlightened the young woman.

"E-even for Daryl?"

"I'm hardly the woman I was a year ago, but if Ed walked through that door right now, breathing, and told me to go with him, I'd like to think I'd tell him to go to hell."

"You would."

"It doesn't matter."

"We're weak without him."

"We'll get through this too."

"I'm pissed at him for leavin'." Beth mumbled.

"Don't be. Daryl has his code. This world needs men like that."

Beth seemed satisfied with that answer and the two finished folding the laundry in silence. As they put away the last of the clean clothes they heard a commotion outside. Beth ran to the door to see what was going on.

"They're back!" She alerted Carol. "And Merle looks…scary."

Carol chuckled. "That he does."

She could hear Glen and Merle yelling and then Daryl yelling at them to knock it off. She certainly hoped that Merle was more like Daryl than Daryl was like Merle. What she'd told Beth was true. Daryl had his code and he was a man of honor. She only hoped that code extended to Merle as well.