If We Could Only Undo

I stood to the right of Daryl, watching him grow more frustrated with us by the second. Rick will not allow Merle to get anywhere near the prison. We discussed our next plan of action out in the middle of the road, Michonne waiting by our car patiently and Merle still passed out in the woods with Lincoln and Boston watching him.

"It's not gonna work," Rick spoke softly to Daryl. He didn't want to get angry with him, he knew Daryl was a good guy, but at the moment he was following his heart and not his head.

"It's gotta," Daryl snapped back.

"It'll stir things up."

"Look, the Governor's probably on the way to the prison right now. Merle knows how he thinks and we could use the muscle," Daryl vouched for him, trying anything to convince Rick.

"I'm not having him at the prison," Maggie said.

"He put a gun to our heads. Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Carol or Beth?" Glenn also rejected the idea.

At the moment I kept myself quiet, as much as I hated Merle, I didn't want to fight with Daryl over his own brother. Although, the more he defended him and the more Daryl tried to ignore what Merle had done to us less than 24 hours prior to now was starting to get under my skin.

"He ain't a predator," said Daryl.

"Well, his buddy is--"

"They ain't buddies no more. Not after last night."

"There's no way Merle is gonna live there without putting everyone at each other's throats," Rick silenced the bickering. That set Daryl off. I watched him yell at Rick like the first day they met each other back on that mountainside campsite. Then, what I had never seen before, Daryl turning on me.

"So Red's brother and some guy we don't even know gets a free pass to the prison and yer' gonna cut Merle loose?" Daryl shouted, swinging his arms towards me and where my brother stood in the woods.

I was done keeping my thoughts to myself now, "Lincoln and that guy got you to me!" I stepped in Daryl's face. He still seemed to tower over me, I looked up at him fuming. "Your brother was the one who brought me there! Daryl, look at my face. Merle didn't do this, but he may as well have 'cause we all would not be in this situation if it weren't for him!" My chest rose heavily as I tried to catch my breath, my heart was beating rapidly from how upset I was. I wanted him to know that, I wanted him to understand what position he'd be putting us all in if we had to bring Merle back.

He stared down at my face, his blue eyes boring into the slash across my cheek. His brows were furrowed before he relaxed the tension in his face, some guilt washing over him.

"Merle's blood," Daryl murmured. I stepped back from him, running my hands through my hair in frustration, walking a few steps away from the group to calm myself down. I knew where this conversation was heading, Daryl refused to abandon his brother.

"No, Merle's your blood. My blood, my family is standing right here and back at the prison," said Glenn.

"And you're part of that family," Rick reassured him, "But he's not. He's not."

I turned my head glancing back at Daryl, he already had his eyes on me. I could see him thinking, deciding what he wanted to do. "Fine," he said taking a long pause, still not breaking eye contact with me, "We'll fend for ourselves."

"That's not what I was saying," Glenn said like he was regretting how he spoke to him.

Daryl responded to Glenn, but it was like he was talking to me, still staring straight at me from beyond the group, "No him, no me."

I sighed, shaking my head. The last thing I wanted was for him to leave, but we simply could not have Merle at the prison with us.

"Daryl you don't have to do this."

"We started something last night. You realize that huh? There's gotta be another way," Rick attempted to stop him.

"Don't ask me to leave him. I already did that once. No him, no me. That's all I can say," Daryl made up his mind. He walked out of the circle, brushing past me as he went to retrieve his things from the car. "Take care of yourself," was all he said, no longer being able to look at me.

My eyes trailed after him, regretting everything I just said to him. But he was already gone.

------

Rick pulled the car to a stop after rolling the car up to an old abandoned truck just on the shoulder of the road, a fallen tree blocked off the remaining pavement. The six of us got out of the car to move it, Maggie and I standing watch for trailing walkers.

"Get the breaks," Rick ordered Glenn as Lincoln and Boston walked around the backside to push.

Glenn swung open the driver's side door, a walker lunging at him from inside. The walker screeched as it reached for him when he grabbed it by the shoulders and threw it onto the pavement. We all reacted, raising our guns to kill it for him knowing he was in no shape. Instead, Glenn stomped down on the walker's head, huffing as he repetitively crushed its skull into the ground well after it was already dead. The wrath and resentment rushing out of him with each stomp.

Rick walked around to him once he finally stopped, looking at him with concern. Rick couldn't understand why Glenn was so mad when he was able to get us all out of there alive.

"You didn't kill him," Glenn murmured, disappointed.

"That's not why we went back," Rick tried to explain.

"No. That's right. You went back for Daryl. And now he's gone again and the Governor's still alive," he spat in disgust.

"Daryl was the priority."

"I should have been there with you!" Glenn raised his voice.

"You were in no condition."

"But Scar was? She was beaten too! And Maggie, they--"

"Glenn, this isn't about us," Maggie cut him off from his outburst. That didn't help the situation anymore though.

He laughed in frustration, "I should have been there."

"Hey, hey, you didn't come with us 'cause you could barely walk," Rick attempted to settle him.

"What about her?" Glenn motioned to Maggie.

"What about me? I'm standin' right here!"

"Do you know what he did to her?" He shouted, the veins protruding from his neck and forehead. All this anger he had towards the Governor was now being taken out on Rick.

"Leave it alone, Glenn!" Maggie screamed at him. Rick looked at Maggie, no one knew exactly what had happened to Maggie in that room, but Glenn continuously poking at it didn't make it any better. "Let's go."

Glenn sighed, breathing heavily while he turned away from her. He looked back at Rick, speaking calmly again, "After all that effort, all the risk we took, Daryl just takes off with Merle?"

"Well, he had his reasons."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Rick. Doesn't change the fact that we're up to our necks in shit."

"You want me to turn the car around, beg him to come back?" Rick asked. "Throwdown a welcome mat for Merle? This is the hand we've been dealt!" Rick got in Glenn's face.

"Let's just get this out of here and get back. Get some rest, we can talk it out there," said Maggie.

"Nah, you guys do all the talking you want. I'm done."

Glenn had been broken.

-------

Returning back to the prison was bittersweet, it was relieving to be home but everything seemed to be in shambles now. Our moments of peace and comfort were slowly being diminished with each passing day. Rick had to break the news about Daryl, next to myself, Beth had actually taken it the hardest. Mostly because she wasn't there to see it happen, she couldn't wrap her head around Daryl up and leaving us.

Being reunited with Lincoln was the only thing keeping my spirits up. I finally felt real comfort once again, at least having him here back with me was enough.

I was seated on my cell bunk bed while Linc sat on a stool in front of me, dabbing a wet washcloth on my cheek to clean up the wound. I stared at him, taking in every feature I could in fear that it would be taken away from me. His dirty blond hair dishevelled and shaggier than it was before, his face had scruff on it now which was unusual to see him with, but I could still see his left dimple through the facial hair every time he grinned. He looked weaker now, but his persona still exuded that same old tough as nails older brother that I remembered.

"How did you end up in Woodbury?" I asked, breaking the comfortable silence that fell between us.

"After everything went down I tried to make it back to you guys, but things kept happening, people kept getting in the way… With the more time that had passed, I had lost hope in any of you still being alive," he dropped his head, disappointed in himself. "I seemed to just jump from group to group to get by until the last group I was with before Woodbury all got wiped out by a herd of walkers. Women, children, entire families. Only Mark and I survived. We were on our own for a long time before the Governor came across our path. He only took us in 'cause of our skills. And because it was only the two of us he knew we wouldn't be a threat." He explained, he looked almost sorrowful, like he knew exactly what the Governor was.

"Hey, I understand why you stayed," I said softly. I didn't blame him. "It was the safe place to be, out there, it changes a person."

He looked up at me, a small smile creeping onto my face as I was able to look into my brother's beautiful blue eyes. I missed him so much. He smiled back before it faded once again. He furrowed his brows like he was dreading something.

"Mom, dad? Are they--" he asked, but he couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence. I shook my head, hanging it low. I'm sure my facial expression was enough alone to answer him. "What about Roy and Ben?" He then asked, needing to know.

"I was there for both of them," my voice was low, barely even considered as a whisper.

He wrapped his arm around the back of my neck, kissing me on the forehead, "It's you and I, kid," he said softly. I smiled, knowing I had him back now.

"So, what now?" I could hear Beth ask from the foyer of our cell block, her small voice echoing through the empty room. Lincoln and I got up to join the group, all of them already stood out in the forey surrounding Rick. It was time to talk.

I walked down the steps from the upper level with Lincoln close behind me when I spotted her. I thought I was seeing things. I skipped down the stairs, running straight into her arms. "You made it?" I said, sinking into her brace around me.

She grabbed onto my shoulders after our hug, nodding her head as her warm smile lit up the room, "Daryl found me, brought me back." Carol responded. Finally something good.

"You think the Governor will retaliate?" Beth then asked again, bringing my moment of peace to an end. 

"Yes," Maggie answered from the door of her cell.

"Let him try," Glenn said, still carrying anger in his tone.

"Sounds like he's got a whole town. We're outnumbered and outgunned," Carol said, worryingly.

Rick looked shot, worn out, and stressed. He was racking his brain for what we should do. We had Lincoln and Mark to help now, but they were also the Governor's men. He'd be out to take them back.

"We could use some reinforcements," Herschel suggested to Rick.

Rick looked over at him, furrowing his brows, "Where do you suppose we find that?"

"While you were gone I found--" Carl spoke up before Herschel finished his sentence. Like he was trying to stop Carl from saying what he was going to say.

"We have guests."