AN: Finally this chapter is up. It did not want to help me with the writing, but thankfully, a six-hour overnight stay at the Copenhagen Airport helped me finish it. Warning to anyone who has not already noticed this: I am going to start f*cking with canon to the max. Things will be moved, events will be changed and stuff may just surprise you. REMEMBER: READ, REVIEW, REPEAT!

Chapter 26

The next few days were tense. Rick still had not come to a decision about Merle and Glenn spent as much time out of the cellblock as he could, which of course meant that Reece went with him. Daryl couldn't blame him so he tried to accompany his lover as much as he could, helping him with chores and taking turns on their daytime watches so Glenn could rest and they could pass their daughter between them. T-Dog, hoping to gain Glenn's trust again, was often with them, silently watching and cooing over her whenever he got the chance.

Those days were quiet, just them and the rest of their group silently going about their jobs while they waited for one of the two shoes to drop: either Merle or the Governor. Glenn hoped it was Merle first. He didn't want to have to deal with him when the Governor struck again.

He was contemplating this very thing when he heard Daryl stir and the click of his crossbow as it was raised. With a final glance down at Reece, who was leaned up against T-Dog's stomach, he stood up, peaking over their makeshift battlements. His dark eyes scanned the furthest fence, searching for a change.

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

"Someone's out there, beyond the fence. Two of 'em, black, both of 'em," Daryl replied.

"Men or women?"

"One of each, I think. One of them is definitely a man."

Glenn quickly spotted her, standing on the other side of the outer fence. She seemed to be clinging to the fence, fingers laced through the chains, hair past her shoulders and white blond.

"And not a walker?"

"I don't think so."

"Here," T-Dog quickly said, motioning to Reece. "Take her and I'll go find Rick. He'll want to know."

Sitting back down, Glenn took his daughter in hand clutched her to his chest. He was prepared for anything, including gunfire. Beside him, Daryl was completely still, crossbow raised and unflinching.

"Woodbury?" Glenn asked.

"Likely."

"Why only two then?"

"Sneak up on us maybe."

Glenn watched as the main cellblock door opened and everyone else came racing out guns at the ready. Lance and Tasha took up positions near the main door while Rick, Anna and Avi continued to the first gate. Michonne and Andrea stood between them, Andrea with her gun raised and pointed while the samurai beside her looked as calm as she ever could be. No one moved for several minutes, eyes fixed on the two people beyond the gate. Finally, after a tense moment, Rick stepped through the first gate and into the outer yard, slowly pacing towards the woman with his Colt raised. Avi was close behind, leaving Anna where she was.

"Drop your weapons!" Rick shouted.

Glenn, still holding Reece tightly to him, slid up onto the feet, crouching behind the wood. Glancing up and over the battlement, he noted the two people at the fence. They had their hands in the air, stepping up as close to the fence as they could. He watched as they exchanged words with Rick, who paced back and forth in front of them like a caged animal, his wavy hair slicked back with grease and sweat. Despite the older man's clear agitation, the talk seemed to be going all right, if the seemingly calm pair outside the fence were anything to base his opinion on.

Finally, after much postulating, Rick opened the main gate and let them through, leading the pair of newcomers up along the path of the outer courtyard. Glenn relaxed along with the others, standing up completely to follow Daryl down into the inner courtyard. They all gathered in a semicircle, waiting for Rick as he approached. Glenn spotted the two new assault rifles that were slung over one shoulder and the bloodied hammer that was held in his right hand.

Glancing over at Andrea, he saw the clear annoyance on her pale face, blond hair falling in her eyes. She huffed as Rick grew closer, not lowering her shotgun as much as Glenn would have liked. It seemed that Daryl noticed this as well for he moved to stand between the blond and his family, scowling at the woman.

"Newcomers," Rick muttered as they came through the inner gate, stepping into the center of the semicircle.

"We can see that," Andrea snapped. "What are they doing here?"

"We just need some help," the man said.

"Help!" Andrea cried.

"Andrea, they've asked us for a asylum," Rick explained.

"We just came from a place, a very bad place," the man explained.

"Woodbury?" Michonne asked, taking a step forward.

A shudder ran through the pair of newcomers and the woman glanced down at her feet before nodding.

"We had to leave-"

"-And they let you?" Michonne snarled.

"They're on their way! The Governor, his army, everyone! They're armed and ready to kill you all. That's how we found out where you were. He said he was coming here," the man cried.

"And yet you got here before him?" Daryl asked, frowning.

"We left before they did, slipped out during all of the confusion," the woman replied calmly.

Daryl rocked back at this answer, blue eyes narrowing further as he studied the pair in front of him. As everyone else jumped in with questions, Glenn tapped his lover's arm lightly with his elbow, not even shifting Reece with his practiced ease. Daryl glanced down at him and Glenn shrugged, trying to silently communicate what he thought. The older man practically pulled his teeth back in a snarl before Glenn shot him a glare and shook his head violently once.

Grumbling under his breath, Daryl asked, "Why did yah come here? Just to warn us?"

"Look, we went there because we thought it would be safe. They have walls and everything. It seemed like a paradise," the man snarled, his desperation starting to rise to the surface, "But after we were there for a few days, he showed us stuff. Weird stuff, like pits full of walkers."

"There's tanks with walker heads in 'em, too," Michonne cut in.

"We knew about that. 'Bout his daughter too," the woman replied. "Someone killed the walker that she became."

"Me," Michonne answered.

"The Governor said that we needed to take revenge for what you did. You attacked Woodbury after-"

"Which could have been avoided if Merle had just left us alone!" Emrys cut in.

Sasha took a sigh, visibly fighting down her own anger and frustration. She set her hands on her hips and nodded.

"They said that you attacked Woodbury to steal supplies, but it was clear that it wasn't that. I snuck into the Governor's house after it all went down, trying to be helpful and clean it up. I found the tanks and the walker. I figured that it had to be something more than that," she said. "Then Merle didn't come back from that 'scouting' mission and I knew that something was up."

"Then they said we had to attack in full force!" the man beside her cried. "The Governor isn't in his right mind. We had to get out of there."

"But that doesn't understand what you're doing here," Andrea snarled, taking a threatening step forward.

Rick stepped between her and Sasha, his already narrowed eyes becoming slits as he stared her down. He seemed to rise from his hunched position, growing into a massive beast as he spit and growled like a rabid dog.

"Step back," he commanded.

Andrea gulped and scowled, but did as he said.

"Look, we just want to help," Sasha said. "We don't want anyone to die needlessly."

"Just because the Governor is crazy in the head?" Emrys asked skeptically.

"We couldn't just leave you all to rot. Before we got to Woodbury, we had a group of our own, but the walkers got 'em. We didn't want to put anyone up against a worse fate," the man said.

A collective glance went around the group, starting at T-Dog who stood at the far end all the way around to Lance who was at the other.

"Objections, anyone?" Emrys asked.

Daryl shot a look over at the new pair and asked, voice gruff, "How good of a shot are y'all?"

"I'm the better shot. Tyreese likes his hammer," Sasha said, motioning to the tool that Rick held in his hand.

"And would you be willing to kill anyone from Woodbury if it comes-"

"-When it comes to that," Rick corrected, turning to face the pair.

Sasha and Tyreese exchanged a silent look and both nodded as they turned back to look at the group.

"We'd rather not, but we also know that they're coming," Tyreese said.

Rick nodded to himself, slumping over with his weight of grief and fiddled with the Colt on his hip. The harsh lines on his face settled into the flesh as he said nothing and cut between Tyreese and Sasha. Everyone turned to watch as the older man walked out the first gate and into the field inside the outer fence, staring at the ground and seeming to wander without intentional direction.

Tyreese and Sasha looked back at Daryl and the others with perplexed faces.

"You're going to stay out here with the others and you're not allowed inside the cell block without someone's say so," Daryl said, shrugging to reposition the strap of his crossbow. "I don't say that I trust you, but more able weapons we have the better. If all goes well, you'll have a place here."

"Daryl, you can't just-"

"Andrea, just shut up," Glenn sighed.

"You can't tell-"

"Everyone who agrees with Daryl raise their hands," Emrys cut in, gritting his teeth in annoyance. "I guess we will have to turn this into a fifth-grade indoor recess."

All of the hands, but Andrea's went up, silently accepting Daryl's leadership in placement of Rick's own. Emrys's obvious endorsement didn't hurt either.

"Well, since that's settled, everyone back to work. We have to make sure the defenses are tight," Emrys said. "Let's minimize the damage as much as we can. It's our home. We can't just let the Governor walk all over us because he thinks he can."

Everyone, but Andrea agreed with a series of nods and a chorus of yeses and other such affirmative noises. Slowly, they began to disperse, Lance, Anna and Tasha heading down towards the outer fence to check the defenses they had set up the day before. After a quiet word with Emrys, Avi and Michonne went to walk the inner fences, always wary and on the lookout.

When it was just Glenn, Emrys, T-Dog, and Daryl remaining, Sasha finally stole a glance at the baby that dozed against Glenn's chest.

"She yours?"

"Ours," Daryl snarled proudly.

When he noticed the confused looks on their faces, Emrys asked, "Are either of you immune?"

"Never got bit to test that out," Tyreese replied.

"Glenn and I," Emrys said, motioning between them, "Are. We also both have had babies, an ability that is a 'side effect' I guess you could say of our immunity. Reece is Glenn and Daryl's. Mine is inside, hopefully napping. There's another baby here too, but her mother, Rick's wife, died."

"Emrys, are you sure that you should be so open about this?" T-Dog asked quietly.

The blue eyes of the Welsh man hardened as he stared at the two newcomers, his mouth pulling back into a snarl as he said, "I'm telling you because I think I can trust you, but break that trust and allow us to fail, you need to die knowing what your failure will cause."

Glenn felt Daryl's arm wrap around his back and he tried hard not to push himself into the other man's side, wanting the slight comfort that it would offer.

"We understand," Sasha said with complete and clear conviction.

Emrys smiled and said, "Perfect. I'll show you where you'll need to when the Governor comes."

The blond flounced away with Sasha and Tyreese hard at his heels, leaving the three men alone with a sleeping baby. They all looked down at her as she shifted in her sleep, yawning and clenching her fists slowly.

"I'll take her inside. I'm sure Dale wouldn't mind watching her while we get ready," Glenn said slowly.

"I know yah-"

"No, Daryl. I don't want her near him, but it is unfortunately necessary. Dale and Logan will look after her just like the other two. If Merle even steps outside that cell, I will shoot him."

These last words were said with a snarl. T-Dog shot him a wide smile and a laugh before turning away to go about his own chores, leaving only the lovers remaining. Slowly, Glenn held Reece out to the other man, who took her easily in his arms, cradling the small body against his chest. He let out a small sigh as he watched her, relaxing for just a moment as the family enjoyed their quiet moment.

Both Glenn and Daryl knew that after the Governor arrived, they may never see her against. They didn't want to think it, but they both knew it. The coming fight would be dangerous, perhaps even more so than ever before, facing a possible army of those loyal to a madman that had caused them enough pain already. Although both men would give as much as they could, it was always possible that one of them might fall. So they took their hours, minutes, seconds with her that they could, basking in her smell and warmth while it was still there.

"I love yah both," Daryl said suddenly, quietly, almost as though he hoped Glenn wouldn't hear it.

Glenn simply glanced up at him and smiled.

"And we love you, too."

"Is it bad to be happy when stuff like this is going on?"

Glenn was surprised by the both simple and complex question, gazing at his lover's slightly blushing, nervous face. He found the image so endearing, so vulnerable that he almost forgot the manner in which he and Daryl had met, with scowling and snarling and condescension. Although much had changed since then, he still rarely saw Daryl this nervous.

"No. Of course not."

AN: So yes I did alter quite a bit of the canon timeline here. Tyreese and Sasha came from Woodbury rather than going to the prison first, did stay, but left during the time in the TV show where they are "guarding" Woodbury. Also, I haven't decided what to do with Merle yet so that is a mystery still waiting to be solved.