Well, this is it. The last chapter. I hope this is what all of you expected to happen. Merle is very soft in this chapter, well towards Maggie that is and I hope all of you don't mind that. I, for one, like writing a softer Merle sometimes. It's refreshing.

Please forgive me for the major character death in the beginning, but it had to be done.

Now, I hope you all enjoy!

Part 8

The damp earth was soaking through the knees of her jeans, but she didn't care. She also didn't care that the sun was now just peeking over the horizon and she had been out there for hours. She kept her vigil at the silent grave before her.

The name Glenn was etched on the old wooden cross and had began fading over time. Two years ago, today, he had lost his life on a supply run gone badly. The walker had come out of nowhere and secured itself to his shoulder. There was nothing anyone could do. There was no way anyone could have saved him.

Merle had been with them, along with his brother, and he had been the one to pick up the bleeding Glenn and carry him back to the truck.

She had been in hysterics, begging God and whoever would listen, to please let him be all right. It was useless, though. Her prayers went unheard and only an hour after they had rushed him back to the prison, Glenn took his last breath.

She had been the one to do it. To shoot him. Merle, who had been constantly by her side through the whole thing, had offered to do it for her but she had snapped, grabbed the gun from his outstretched hand and ordered him to leave. She had made everyone leave. The few minutes before she pulled the trigger were spent crying by his bedside. The man she had loved was dead.

Wiping away her tears, she finally stood, placed the barrel of the gun to his forehead and fired. The shot echoed through the prison walls and everyone winced with the sound.

They had lost another family member to the undead.

The first to greet her when she walked out that cell had been her sister, who had clung to her and cried in her shoulder. Glenn had been like a big brother to her. Her father crutched over to his two grieving daughters and gathered them both in his arms. No one bothered the mourning Greene family.

The Dixon brothers had quietly edged past the sobbing family and had been the ones to wrap up Glenn's body. Carol, Carl, Michonne and Rick had met them out in the yard, shovels firmly in their hands.

Daryl stole a look at Carol as they shoveled. Now, there was only five of the original Atlanta group left.

The Greene family had ventured out to the yard, just as Rick announced that the hole was deep enough to place the body. Daryl and Merle had moved to pick it up, but Maggie stopped them.

"I want to help put him in. Please." The last word came out as a sob and her shoulders began to shake with her silent tears.

Merle gave his brother a look from his spot near Glenn's head and Daryl stepped away and let Maggie replace him.

"Are ya ready, Maggie?" It wasn't often he called her by her real name, but 'woman' and 'girlie' were not appropriate names for her right now.

She nodded and lifted up the shoulders as he picked up the Glenn's legs and together they gently placed him in freshly dug grave. Maggie refused to look down at the body of her lover wrapped in a dingy sheet; instead, her eyes went to the redneck across from her. The same redneck who had become a good friend to her over the past several months. Much to everyone's surprise.

After they situated the body nicely, Merle climbed out first and offered her a hand once he was on secure ground. She took it and this time was refusing to look at him.

Things were still...confusing between them.

"Maggie, honey." Her father crutched over to her. "Would you like me so say a few words once he gets buried?"

She nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks.

The rest of the group made quick work of filling the grave and Maggie looked on with watery eyes. That morning when she had woken up beside him, smiling as he kissed her before hopping out of bed, she never thought that that was the last time she would ever wake up with him. The kiss he had given her before they had run into the drugstore they were looting had been the last kiss he would ever give her.

That night in the in the watchtower a few nights ago would be the last time he was inside her. The last time he would make love to her.

Every thing was happening in a blur. She didn't know who had made the cross that now stood at the head of his grave and the words her daddy spoke might as well had been in a different language for all she cared. She wasn't listening.

"Is there anything you want to say, Maggie?" Rick asked from his position next to his son, whom he had a protective arm around.

She shook her head. She'd say her words later, when no one was around to hear them.

That night her bed was cold, the mattress was like concrete and she couldn't sleep. The day had been long and tear-filled, but she needed her sleep. Needed the strength to go on the rest of her life without Glenn by her side.

She should have known, that in this world, nothing was guaranteed.

Climbing out of bed, she hissed when her bare feet hit the cool concrete below her but she didn't move to slip on her boots. The long sleeve shirt hanging on the end of her bed remained untouched as she made her way out of the cell in only a tank top and shorts.

The cell next to hers was filled with snores as her father slept. Beth had taken the top bunk and Maggie wondered how she could stand sleeping in the same cell as their daddy with the racket he made at night.

As she passed each cell, she looked inside and checked up on each member of her family. Rick lay dozing on his bunk with baby Judith sound asleep on his chest, one arm wrapped snuggly around her and Carl slept on the bunk above.

When she reached Carol's cell, she was surprised to see two figures crammed into the small bunk. One of the bodies was Carol and the other was Daryl, who had his arms wrapped protectively around her. She knew that Daryl and Carol were together, but she didn't know they had taken to sharing the same bed. In fact, Daryl still shared a cell with Merle.

But if Daryl was in here, then no one was with Merle. So, with quiet footsteps she made her way to the last cell in the row.

She was so empty inside. She needed to feel something. Something other than hurt and anguish. Merle would help her feel something.

Merle sat at the edge of his bunk. Sleep was eluding him. Every time he had closed his eyes, images of Glenn being bit by that walker came to mind. He could have saved the Korean. If his back hadn't been turned to pick up a fuckin' box of Band-Aids, he would have seen the Walker zone in on them. He would have been able to shove his blade through the son of bitch's head and no one would have gotten hurt. No one would have died.

And Maggie would still be happy.

The minutes he spent thinking about that woman was getting out of hand. She was another man's lover.

Like that ever stopped ya before.

He ignored the voice in his hand. Maggie was different from any woman he had known. There was a fire in her, she wouldn't put up with any of his shit and would meet him toe to toe in every argument. It took him to the end of the world to finally find the woman God intended for him.

Too bad, she had been someone else's.

Had been. The voice in his head, sneered. She's a single woman now. What's stopping' ya from gettin' in her pants?

The blade attachment to his arm looked mighty promising. All he wanted to do was shove it through his skull to stop his damn thoughts. She was in mourning and would be for a long time. The last thing she needed was a stupid redneck like him following her around.

A sound from the doorway to his cell grabbed his attention and took him away from his thoughts.

Maggie stood there.

The moonlight coming through the prison's windows was casting an eerie shadow on her. The whiteness of the clothes she wore shimmered while her face remained dark.

"Is there somethin' ya want, Maggie?"

When she didn't answer, he moved to stand up so he could get a good look at her face. But the moment he began to stand, she moved and was suddenly straddling his lap.

"Maggie-" He was cut off when she grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him fiercely. How many nights had he laid awake in his bed and dreamed of her kissing him like this?

"Please, Merle." She begged, her hands never leaving his face. "I need this. I need you."

God, it was like she knew the exact words to bring down his defenses. How many times had he hoped that she would say those words to him one day?

"Please." She begged again and this time ground her hips into his as she spoke.

"Maggie, we can-" Another searing kiss stole the words from his mouth. It was clear that she didn't want him to reject her.

Her hands left his face and began to trail down his sides until they reached the hem of his shirt. Breaking away from him, she began to tug his shirt up and over his head. He let her.

She flung the piece of clothing behind her and made quick work of her own. To his surprise, she wore nothing under her tank top.

"Maggie-" He tried stopping her again, but to no avail.

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. She was supposed to come to him because she wanted him, not because she wanted to feel something other than pain. Because he knew, that's what she was doing. Using him.

When one of her hands unbuttoned his jeans and slipped into his underwear, he knew he had to stop her. So, as gently as he could, he shoved her off his lap.

Lucky for her, she had known what he was doing and had managed to not fall on her ass. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks once she stood up straight.

"Damn you, Merle Dixon." She had hissed to him and he had never seen her that angry before.

"I'm sorry, girl." He sighed. "We can't do this. Your man was jus' buried today and you're already tryin' to fuck someone else."

She slapped him hard across the face and he tasted blood. He knew he had deserved it. Had even counted on it. Now, at least there something in her eyes besides emptiness.

"I thought you were my friend." The anger was fading and sadness was taking over her features.

"I am your friend, Maggie." He stood and picked her shirt off the ground to hand it to her. "But fuckin' me ain't gonna make ya feel any better. Even though I am damn good in bed." He smirked and hoped to get a smile out of her.

He did. Even if it was just a small one.

"I'm sorry." She slipped her tank top over head. "I just-"

"I understand." With a hand on the small of her back, he led her to the bed. "So, for tonight ya can sleep with me, a'right? Nothin' more."

With a nod, she slid under the sheets first and made room for his much larger body. The bed shifted slightly as he settled in.

"Ya better not be a cover hog, 'cause I'll kick your ass outta this bed if ya are."

Every night for three months, she had shared Merle's bed but not once did she try to kiss him. Every night, she curled into his side and felt safer than she had in a long time. But lying in bed with him did nothing for the guilt. The terrible guilt that ate at her everyday.

One night, she couldn't take it anymore. She slipped out of bed with Merle and made her way back to her cell. The guilt lessened slightly, but she felt lonely.

"Hey, Maggie ya ready to go?" A voice startled her out of her thoughts and it was a voice she knew well.

Standing up, she brushed the dirt from her pants and looked over at the older Dixon brother. Her best friend.

Not a day went by where she didn't miss Glenn. He had been the first man she had ever loved, but a year after his death, the pain that came with missing him started to fade. Now, two years later, it wasn't there at all.

Two years had seen the older Dixon boy and the older Greene girl getting closer. With others, he was still the same Merle. Rude, crude and mean. He was still like that with her, but he was also very soft with her. They would take watches together and talk.

He would talk about life growing up with his good for nothin' Daddy and she would tell him the many adventures she had growing up on her farm. They never mentioned the night she had come to him in hopes of feeling something besides loss and heartbreak or the times they had kissed before Glenn's death.

There friendship had started with a blank state after Glenn was lowered to the ground and now, they were inseparable. Just like Carl and Beth were nowadays.

Maggie suspected there was more than just friendship going on with those two. Carl was sixteen now and stood taller than Beth. He was a handsome boy and she couldn't help but notice the way Beth blushed every time he looked at her.

Plus, just the other day, Merle had told him that he had caught them kissing against the watchtower. As long as they weren't sneaking into the watchtowers at night, she was fine with it. Carl Grimes was a good boy, man, and Maggie knew that he would treat her little sister right.

"Did ya hear me, woman?" He growled, as he got closer and then noticed whose grave she had been kneeling at. "Oh. Sorry."

"It's okay," she said. "I was just saying my final goodbyes. Is everyone else ready to go?"

They were leaving the prison. The place they had called home for almost three years. It was starting to get a little glum and Rick wanted his daughter to live somewhere where there wasn't so much concrete and bars.

Daryl and Merle had found the perfect farmhouse, much like her old home, which would comfortably fit all ten of them.

Over the past two years, the number of Walkers that had made it's way to their fences had began to dwindle and Merle had told her that him and his brother had started to encounter less and less when they went hunting.

The Governor was gone, the Walkers were becoming fewer and Rick had declared it was time to put the prison behind them. No one had objected.

"So, I told Daryl I was gonna be sharin' a room wit' ya." Merle said conversationally as they headed towards the rest of their group who were waiting beside their vehicles. "Figured I tell him that so he wouldn't feel guilty about sharin' with his woman."

"That's fine." She smiled. "How many rooms are there again?"

"Four and it has a nice little attic that could easily become another. Michonne has that' one though. Your daddy didn't want Carl and Beth sharin', so it's gonna be him and your sister, Carl is gonna stay with his daddy and his sister. Daryl is sharin' wit' Carol and that' jus' leaves me and ya."

"Okay." She nudged him in the side. "You got the floor."

"Hell no!" He argued. "Me and my brother cleared all the biters from that place, so I get a say in where I sleep and I'm gettin' the fuckin' bed!"

"Fine." She smirked. "We'll share."

Merle liked that idea.

In the year since she had finally accepted the fact Glenn was gone, she found herself developing feelings for the redneck. It was a matter of time, she supposed. She had always been attracted to him, even while she was with Glenn. The thought caused guilt to stab through her. She didn't have feelings for Merle while she was with Glenn; there was just something about him.

She didn't like to dwell on the past.

"Hurry the fuck up, bro!" Daryl yelled from his seat on the motorcycle. Carol perched behind him with her arms wrapped around his waist.

"Hold your damn horses!" Merle yelled back. "Jesus Christ, ya act like the damn house is gonna up and disappear if we don't leave this second." The last part was muttered and Maggie laughed when she heard it.

Finally, the two of them made their way to the truck Rick was driving and sat in the back. Carl sat next to his dad and little Judith sat talking away between them. She was two, now and quite the handful.

They reached the farmhouse just before sunset and since all the beds and stuff were set and ready for them, the group decided that they would unload in the morning and get some rest now.

"Our room is upstairs. It's across the hall from my brother." He said to her as they made their way inside.

The house was huge and was made up of three stories. The first floor held two bedrooms, one was the Grimes's and the other was the Greene's, it also had a large living room, a large kitchen and a huge pantry that was mostly stocked. They had hit the jackpot here. The second floor had two bedrooms, one being the master bedroom, which Merle had claimed, two storage closets and a bathroom. The third level was the attic, which had been the first place Michonne had gone off too.

Maggie had been the only one who wanted to take a look around. The rest of the group had gone to their rooms to sleep. Merle waited patiently at the bottom of the stairs for her and watched in amusement as she went from room to room. It all reminded her of home.

"Ya ready?" Merle asked when she walked up to him.

She nodded.

He uncrossed his arms and grabbed one of her hands with his good one. This shocked her. He rarely touched her.

He led her up the stairs quietly and they passed one of the closets and bathroom. They reached the bedrooms. One of the doors was closed, which meant Daryl and Carol were both in bed. The other door was opened and Merle let her walk in first.

The room was huge. It held a large bed, a large dresser with a mirror over it and a large window that overlooked the backyard. Maggie fell in love.

"I knew ya would like it." Merle called out to her when she searched the bathroom that was joined with the room. It was huge too and all she wanted to do was sit in the large tub and have a nice hot bath.

When she walked out of the bathroom, she was surprised to see Merle dressed in only a pair of boxers and a tank top.

"Time for bed, huh?" She eyed the bed and then went back to him. "So, what side do you want to sleep on?"

Merle didn't say anything as he walked closer to her. There was something in his eyes that she couldn't read. With his one hand, he grabbed the hem of her shirt and began to pull it up.

She didn't stop him.

She didn't stop him when he unbuttoned her pants with one hand and pulled them down her thighs.

And she sure as hell didn't stop him when he buried his hand in her hair and kissed her like he had wanted to for the past two years.

Leading her to the bed, he didn't stop kissing her until her knees hit the side of the bed and they toppled backwards.

"Did you lock the door?" She asked against his mouth. Beth sometimes got nightmares and would seek her out. If her and Merle were finally going to do this, she didn't want anyone to interrupt them. Especially her little sister.

"No." He groaned and climbed off her to lock the door.

She fixed her body, so that her head was resting against the pillows and she waited for Merle to come back to bed.

When he did, he crawled on top of her, supported himself on his forearms and began kissing her neck.

"Do ya know how long I've wanted ya, Maggie?" Her name was followed by a nip to her shoulder and she whimpered.

"I've wanted you for a long time, too, Merle." She wrapped her legs around his waist and bucked her hips into his.

His lips began to leave a fiery trail down her neck and when he reached the cup of her bra, motioned for her to sit up and unclasped it. Soon, her chest was bare to him.

His eyes glanced down to her bare chest and then flicked back up to her eyes. "You're so beautiful, Maggie. Ya know that?"

She blushed.

His good hand cupped one of her breasts, while his mouth went to the other. She threw her head back and moaned in pleasure. God, it had been too long.

"You know, Merle." She gasped out. "I think you're a little too overdressed." She tugged at his shirt and with his help; it was soon lying on the floor with the rest of her clothes.

Her hands immediately began to caress his well-defined torso and occasionally one of her fingers would trace over a scar she found on his back. She didn't have to ask how he got them. She already knew.

His hand reached the waistband of her panties and she arched her hips of the bed so that he could pull them down her legs. Now, she was completely naked before him.

Sitting up with a wicked smile, she shoved his boxers down. Wrapping an arm around his neck, she dragged him down so that he was on top of her again.

He brushed against her and she had to close her eyes. All she wanted to do was feel him inside of her. Now.

"Merle." She begged, but he seemed frozen above her. His hips were so dangerously close to hers, but not close enough. It didn't look like he was going to move them either. Instead, he looked her straight in the eye.

"Tell me ya want this, Maggie." He demanded, softly. "Tell me ya want me."

Tears sprang to her eyes too fast for her to stop them. She knew where his mind was at. He was thinking of that day, over two years ago, when they had gone on that run and he had thought her dead.

It had all been in the heat of the moment, but when she finally realized what she had been doing, she had pushed him away. He had wanted her so badly and she had shoved him off her. Some nights she could still close her eyes and see his face in that moment. The immense hurt in his eyes.

She would never push him away again.

Cupping his cheeks, she gave him a bright smile. "I want you, Merle. I always will."

With a smile of his own, he leaned down his head and kissed her. Deeply. Then without another word spoken between them, he buried himself inside her.

"Ya feel so good." He whispered in her ear as his hips moved with hers. She could only whimper in response.

He kissed her and kept the rhythm slow and long. Merle Dixon wasn't fucking her; he was making love to her.

That morning, she woke up with the sun. It shone brightly through the window and basked the bed in light. Merle was snoring softly beside her on his side. The arm he held around her waist slid off when she climbed out of bed, still naked, and walked over to the window.

The view was magnificent. There was so much green. Trees, grass, flowers. This was such an improvement over the dull gray of the prison.

An arm suddenly wrapped itself around her and she found herself pressed against a strong chest. She hadn't even heard him get out of bed.

His chest rested on her shoulder and he kissed her cheek. "Do ya like it?"

She nodded. "It's beautiful."

"And it's gonna be our home now."

The End

I'm new at the smut, so if it's bad I apologize!

Thanks for reading!