Daryl

Despite Michonne and Rick returning I was still on edge. I caught myself pacing around the common area before anyone else said anything. The group was gathered around Rick, Carl and Michonne, anxiously listening to the story of their trip.

I hadn't seen her for a few hours. Not that it mattered, she hadn't left the prison, I made sure of that. But she was hiding somewhere. Beth knew where, I was just finishing up my meal when she slipped outside with an extra plate. She was gone for a while and seemed pretty pleased with herself when she came back.

It wasn't my night to keep watch and Rick was back so she wasn't my responsibility anymore. Only Merle was. And he was sitting on his cot pleasant as could be when Rick returned. I started pacing another line before I realized it and Carol reached out and caught my arm. She frowned at me, asking what was wrong. I gently pulled my arm away and shook my head. I turned around and stalked back towards the cell block.

I was laying on my mattress staring up at the ceiling when I heard the outside door open. There was no greeting called so I assumed it was Jo. Glenn would still be on watch for another couple hours. Even from here, above the quiet buzz of the group I could hear her washing her dishes. The quiet clank of the plate and silverware against the side of the large tin basin echoed through the cell block. Then nothing. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the sounds I was hearing. She had been right, she wasn't my business, wasn't my problem. I did my part. I owed her and I got her out and brought her back here. My debt was repaid. I didn't need to feel guilty anymore, I didn't need to feel anything.

I was surprised when I heard the quiet tread on the metal stairs. It wasn't Carol, she wasn't able to move that quietly. The footsteps continued passed my cell and I couldn't resist opening my eyes. She didn't look my way as she walked passed with her nearly empty backpack slung over her shoulder. I hadn't expected her to stay in the cell block so soon.

Beth came padding up the stairs a short time later with an arm load of clothes. She gave me a small smile as she passed my cell on her way down to Jo. She returned a short time later empty handed and humming softly to herself.

"Beth," I called in a quiet voice.

She looked startled but paused, leaning her head into my cell. I licked my lips and jerked my head back down the cell block towards Jo's cell. "Thanks."

Beth frowned at me and nodded slowly as she worked out what exactly I was thanking her for. When I didn't say anything more she continued on her way looking even more confused. To be honest I didn't know what I was thanking her for either. I shook my head and closed my eyes.

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Jo

I tossed and turned in the cell for hours. The door was wide open and I didn't feel like I was having a panic attack but I couldn't settle. I was still worked up from the day and no matter what I tried I couldn't quiet my mind. I knew everyone was sleeping and every time I rolled over the bed squeaked. Finally giving up I pulled my boots on and padded quietly out of my cell.

I glanced down the cat walk towards the stairs and was almost positive I stood no chance of slipping by Daryl without waking him. The catwalk was only eight feet high. I swung myself over and lowered myself down until I was dangling from the catwalk by my fingers. It was a little less than a three foot drop and I landed almost silently on the balls of my feet. The cell block door was open and so the only remaining obstacle was opening the main door. But it was fairly silent and I went slow, glancing at Merle's sleeping form. He was by far the closest and when he didn't wake I knew I was home free.

It was chillier than I expected and I shivered as I pulled Daryl's flannel tighter around me. I would have to give it back, I had other clothes from Beth now and it was his, but I was glad I had it tonight. I glanced over towards the cage and spotted Rick. I hadn't spoken to him since he came back. He waved at me and I lifted my chin. I glanced over around the corner where I had spent most of my day but that felt a little shut in. So I made my way back to the guard tower. The door was still unlocked and though the stairs were dark I was able to make my way to the top without too much trouble. I slipped out onto the deck and lay down on my back, my arms crossed behind my head.

I was still mad at Daryl and his high handed treatment but for right now laying here reminded me of him and last night and I was able to close my eyes and relax.

Sleep didn't come as easily as the night before but it did come and when I woke at dawn the next morning I felt even better. The chill was what woke me. There was a fine layer of dew covering everything and I shivered. I stood and stretched before making my way down. Maggie was on watch now but she didn't notice me. I slipped back into the cell block to my cell before anyone else was awake.

I cleaned up with a small bowl of water and changed. Beth's clothes were all a little tight but I found a pair of skinny jeans and a black tank top that weren't too bad. I brought the remaining clothes back down to Beth's cell.

"Thank you for loaning these to me," I said with a smile. "It really makes a difference. I will get them back to you as soon as I get out to scavenge some of my own stuff."

Beth just smiled and waved me off, assuring me it was no trouble and not to worry about it.

I slipped into Daryl's cell and laid the flannel shirt across the foot of his bed where he would find it. It was harder than I thought it would be, giving it back, but it didn't feel right keeping it. Especially now with things so off between us.

"Everyone get out here!" Rick's voice echoed through the cell block. I ran out of Daryl's cell and followed the others as they made their way out into the court yard in the same formation as before. I followed behind Michonne, Daryl's gun gripped in my hand and pointed at the ground in front of me.

The car they sent Andrea away with two days ago was parked on the opposite side of the field halfway through the broke gate. Our whole group was tight and tense, their guns pointed at the car. The drivers side window rolled down and a white shirt was waved by a male hand. The passenger side window came down and Andrea leaned her head out.

"Rick it's me!" She called. "We want to talk."

Rick looked down the line of us all. Andrea's call attracted the attention of the remaining walkers in the field and they began a slow shamble towards the parked car.

"Who's with you?" Rick called loudly. "We want to see his face."

The driver rolled down their window and stuck their head out. I recognized Milton even from this distance. His glasses reflected the light but I could see how tense he was. I had only ever had limited interaction with Milton and it was mainly while I was locked in my cage. I had seen him in the crowds at the fights as well. 

"He ain't no threat," Merle was already reporting, though he didn't lift his head from staring down the scope of his rifle.

Rick nodded and glanced over to me, raising an eyebrow. "Jo?" He asked. "What do you  think?"

I licked my lips and let out the breath I had been holding. "Merle's right, Milton's a scientist."

Daryl snorted from down the line. "So are you," his voice rasped.

I hadn't thought of it like that and was surprised Daryl remembered that from the first day we met. I nodded in concession. "He isn't me," I finally said. "He isn't a threat. But I wouldn't let him in either. He's The Governor's left hand, his advisor sorta. He will be reporting back everything he sees."

The walkers were back to shambling around as they became increasingly confused by which way to go. About half began to head towards our line at the fence, snarling and clicking their teeth as they came closer. I pulled out my knife and killed two through the fence.

Rick nodded as he considered my words.

"Rick!" Andrea yelled as the Walkers came closer and closer to the car.

He stepped up close to the fence. "Meet us in the dog run!" he yelled so Andrea could hear him. She nodded and glanced over her shoulder. They put the car in reverse so they only had to hop out of the car and jump into the dog run. I looked around. I could see nearly two dozen walkers between us and them. They had the easy part, we had to get across the field.

Rick looked at us all thoughtfully rubbing at the stubble growing on his cheeks. "Daryl, Jo, Michonne with me," Rick growled, he waited for a moment to see if any of us objected. "Merle get the gate."

Daryl glanced once from me to Rick and nodded. Michonne stepped up close to Rick which left me with Daryl. He stepped up to me. He looked me up and down and I watched him make note of the knives I had and his handgun I had tucked in the back of my jeans. We moved though the gate as one. My and Daryl's shoulders brushed against each other as we fought our way towards the car.

My heart started to pound as the first walker approached me, not because I was afraid of it but because I wasn't sure how I was going to handle this. But when I swung the knife towards the first ones head I settled into the rhythm of fighting with Daryl. I kicked the second one back and planted the blade through it's temple. My whole focus narrowed to getting us across the field. I could hear and feel Daryl fighting at my shoulder. The walkers were swarming the car and I heard Andrea yell but it was just background noise as I struck the next one.

Two more came up behind us with a snarl. I heard Rick shout and turned in time to see Daryl stumble. My mind went completely blank as I sucked in a breath, terrified he had been bitten.

"Daryl!" I yelled and threw one of my knives without a second thought for myself. It sunk into the forehead of the Walker and Daryl managed to get clear before the walker fell to the ground. Then the two from behind me were on me. I jumped forward trying to get away but they were too close and I stumbled a step forward. I heard the thwack of Daryl's crossbow and the one closest to me fell. Daryl was there, grabbing my arm and swinging me around behind him giving me a moment to recover. He slammed the butt of his crossbow into it's face and it stumbled back. I leaped forward plunging my remaining knife into the top of it's head. Daryl and I pressed our backs against each other and faced out. Michonne and Rick had managed to keep the rest off of us and we had an opening.

"Come on!" Rick yelled and we made a run for it.

We were all breathing heavily as we skidded through the gravel up to the gate to the dog run. I could hear the snarls of the Walkers behind us and knew in that second that if Andrea was here to trick us we would lose at least one of us if she didn't let us through the gate. But she did. She threw open the gate and yelled.

"Get in!" And she jumped forward to try and stab the closest one in the forehead, but I had already slammed my knife home as I ran by. Another was coming and I turned towards it, but Daryl grabbed my bicep from behind and jerked me through the gate.

I stumbled into him and Andrea slammed the gate shut behind me. I shoved away from his chest glaring up at him angrily. He dropped his hand and took a step back shaking his head. I took a deep breath and centered myself as Rick stepped up between us and Andrea and Milton.

Milton was huddled behind Andrea as far from the fences as possible where the Walkers were lining up and snarling and pawing to try to get to us. He met my gaze and his eyes widened in surprise.

"What?" I snapped, "Don't recognize me outside a cage?"

Milton dropped his eyes and looked away uncomfortably. Andrea stepped up between us, protecting him.

"Rick," Andrea said.

"What are you doing here Andrea?" Rick asked. "Is he dead?"

Andrea took a step back away from his hostility. A new walker slammed into the fence near me and I turned and stabbed it through the chain link.

"No," she said in a quiet voice. "But I have spoken with him and he is willing to talk. I want you to meet and sit down together, at a neutral place."

I swung back around to face Andrea. "You can't trust her Rick," I muttered.

Both Milton and Andrea turned to me. "I want peace," Andrea snapped at me, taking a step in my direction. "If you could just see passed your anger for one moment.."

Daryl stepped between us. "Don't," he growled at Andrea. "You have no idea-" he started to say.

Rick held his hand up in both our directions. "Both of you," he said firmly. "So now he wants peace?" Rick asked suspiciously.

Andrea nodded. "He agreed to meet so we can all sit down together and work this out. No one wants more bloodshed."

Rick turned his head away from Andrea as he thought about it. His eyes flitted to me and to Michonne and finally settled on Daryl. Daryl only shrugged. Rick nodded and turned back to Andrea. "Where and when for the meeting?"

Andrea smiled and let out a sigh of relief.

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Daryl

I could feel Jo's anger radiating off of her as we waited for Andrea and Milton to leave. They drove off honking the horn and blaring the stereo. It worked to draw most of the Walkers away and out the gate.

"Alright," Rick said. "Let's go."

I waited until last, closing the gate behind Jo. She was pissed at me but despite that she still stayed close, her shoulder lightly brushing mine as we moved across the field in tight formation. I paused as we stepped across the Walker that nearly bit me. I reached down and pulled out the knife she had thrown, endangering herself. It was a clear walk the rest of the way and Rick and Michonne were strides ahead of us now. I jogged a couple steps to catch up to her. I reached down and grabbed her hand. She tried to jerk back, but I held on. She was glaring daggers at me. I slapped the knife into her palm.

"Don't do that again," I growled, my own temper rising to match hers.

"I think what you mean is thank you," She scoffed and whirled away from me, stalking towards the gate without me.

I sighed and followed behind her. When I finally stepped through the gate Rick was already explaining what had happened and that he had agreed to the meeting. He glanced over towards me. "I'm going to take Hershel, Daryl and Jo."

He couldn't be serious. Jo was barely back to normal and there was no way he could expect her to face that son of a bitch and keep things peaceful. "No," I growled, glaring at Rick. "Jo-" I started to say but Jo interrupted me.

"I'm in," Jo snapped, and though her words were meant for Rick she didn't look away from me.

Rick arched a brow and stepped towards us. "Is this going to be a problem?" He asked in a calm voice.

"No," Jo and I responded as one.

Rick nodded. "I want either Jo or Merle there. Jo, if you don't think you can handle this, we will take Merle."

"I can handle it," she said with certainty.

"Good," Rick said and he led the group back into the prison. "Then we need to get ready. The meeting is set for the day after tomorrow."

"Rick," Jo called after him.

Rick paused and turned to face her. "I need to make a run," she said calmly.

Rick frowned.

She chewed on her lip before continuing. "I need to get some stuff of my own."

"Stuff?" he asked, not following.

She nodded. "Yeah, I don't have things of my own."

Rick looked thoughtful for a moment and his eyes went first to me and then to Merle.

"Fine," he agreed. "There's a few places nearby we haven't hit yet. Take either Merle or Daryl with you, be back before dark." Then Rick walked away to catch up to the rest of the group.

Jo licked her lips and turned towards Merle but I already stepped in front of her. "Come on," I said in a quiet voice. "There's a few houses I wanted to check out." She stepped back away from me, prepared to argue but I let out an irritated sigh my temper gone. "Look," I snapped. "You can be as pissed as you want, but I know this area better than Merle. So quit being so damn combative and go get your shit."

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