Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead, nor the storylines. And of course, I don't make any money out of this (although I really wish I did). I will be following very closely the storylines from the first 4 seasons (with some modifications, of course).

I do, however, own Becca.

Chapter forty-four

It was morning by the time they made their way back to their cars. Noticing that no one seemed to hear them, Rick called out the Asian's name.

"We got a problem here, I need you to back up" the ex-sheriff kept on going as Glenn and the katana-yielding lady made their way to them.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Glenn questioned.

"He tried to kill me!" she exclaimed over Daryl's request to stop.

"He helped us get outta there" Daryl explained as Rick talked to the newcomer.

"Right after he beat the shit out of you!" Rick exclaimed, turning to the younger Dixon.

"Hey!" Merle defended himself "We both took our licks man!"

"Wait 'till I get my hands on you" Becca exclaimed starting for Merle. She sighed and calmed down as she felt Daryl holding her back and walked away as Daryl insulted his brother.

"Hey! Shut up!" Merle threatened his brother before Rick tried to stop the bickering. Merle turned to the ex-sheriff and asked if he would be cuffed.

"Looks like ya gone native brother" Merle laughed as Daryl defended him.

"No more than you hangin' 'round that psycho back there"

"Oh ya man, he is a charmer, I gotta tell ya…" Merle stated before turning to face the newest member of the group. "Been puttin' the wood you ya girlfriend Andrea big time" he continued before finally confirming Michonne's name.

"Andrea's in Woodbury?" Glenn questioned, eyes landing on Becca.

"Right next to the Governor" she confirmed.

"I told you to drop that!" Rick said to Michonne. "You know Andrea?"

When no answer came from Michonne, Rick asked a second time.

"Yup! She does" Merle answered for her, earning a glare. "Her body spent all winter cuddling up in the forest." He then went on to describe the two "pet walkers".

"Shut up Merle!" Daryl exclaimed.

"Hey man, we snag them outta the woods, Andrea was close to dying"

"Is that why she's with him?" Becca questioned Merle.

"Ya… snug as two little bugs"

"Will you stop it with the fucking sex innuendos!" Becca exclaimed.

"Why? Haven't had sex recently?" Merle then turned to his brother. "Come on baby brother… ya gotta keep the lady happy… especially when she's pregnant"

"Fuck off Merle" Daryl said.

"I lost the baby before you brought us to Woodbury, in an attack that I WISH I could blame on you" Becca explained to the redneck, who then turned to Rick.

"What you gonna do now sheriff, huh? Travelling with a bunch of liars, cowards and thugs" Merle said, earning a demand to shut up from the former.

"Oh man… look at this. Pathetic! All these guns and no bullets in them?" Merle laughed.

"Shut up!" Daryl re-enforced.

"YOU shut up, you bunch of pussies" Merle stated before being knocked unconscious by Rick.

TWDTWDTWDTWD

They had been debating of whether or not Merle should join them back at the prison, and it seemed no one could agree on what, or what not to do.

"It won't work" the ex-sheriff stated once more.

"It gotta" Daryl stated.

"He'll stir things up"

"The Governor's probably on his way to the prison right now. Merle knows how he thinks, and we could use some muscle."

"I'm not comfortable having him at the prison" Maggie protested.

"Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Carol or Beth?" Glenn added, knowing that other than Becca, the two women mentioned had become dear to the archer.

"He ain't no rapist" Daryl defended his brother.

"Well, his buddy is" Glenn countered.

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

"There's no way Merle can live with us, without putting everybody at each other's throats" Rick stated.

"So you gonna cut Merle loose, but bring the last samurai with us?" Daryl questioned.

"She's not coming back" Rick stated.

"She's not in a state to be on her own" Becca defended Michonne.

"She did bring you guys to us" Glenn added.

"And then ditched us" Rick countered.

"At least let my dad stitch her up" Maggie offered.

"She's too unpredictable" Rick continued.

"That's right… we don't know who she is, but Merle…. Merle's blood" Daryl stated.

"No, Merle is your blood" Glenn denied. "My blood, my family is standing right here, and waiting for us back at the prison"

"And you're part of that family… he's not" Rick agreed with the Asian.

"Man, y'all… I dunno" Daryl said as both he and Becca noticed Merle waking up in the distance. "Fine, we'll fend for ourselves"

Becca couldn't believe what she had just heard. After both of them nearly being killed, and after she had read his apology in his eyes, he was choosing his brother over her.

Not wanted to hear how this was going to turn out, Becca left the group and walked towards the motorcycle.

"Hey, sugartits, that's mine" Merle stated, effectively getting everyone's attention on him and Becca.

"I dare you to take another step, or even say another word" Becca stated, gun pointed at the older redneck.

"Woah, woah… easy there" Merle said, hand in the air and backing up a few steps.

"I will be driving this bike, whether you like it or not" Becca continued.

"My baby's never had a lady drive her" Merle said.

"Well, there's a first time for everything ain't there" Becca retorded. "Now back the hell up!"

Merle backed up a bit more, surprising everyone but Daryl and all of them watched as she started the bike and drove off without saying a word to anyone else.

TWDTWDTWDTWD

Once Becca got back to the prison, Carol and Beth welcomed her back "home", but Becca could easily see that they were disappointed that she was the only one who had come back.

"Daryl left with Merle" Becca stated, angry tears on her cheeks. "Glenn and Maggie are ok, and will be back shortly."

Becca saw the look of relief, followed by a look of disappointment on both of their faces. Becca smiled weakly, nodding and then headed over to Sophia's and Lori's graves, barely noticing the 4 newcomers digging their own grave.

It was only a few minutes before Becca felt a presence beside her, who sat on the ground next to her.

"She gets left with you twice, and you save her. I have her once and I get her killed." Carol said after a few minutes of silence.

"Don't be like that… It's wasn't your fault" Becca said, turning around to face Carol.

"Ed was right… I couldn't take care of my daughter" Carol started before being interrupted by Becca.

"That is NOT true Carol. You took care of your daughter of well as you could. I lost Ben, remember?"

Carol nodded. She then noticed that Becca had seen the 4 newcomers.

"They lost someone in the toombs" Carol said. She then added that the toombs were populated with walkers once more when she saw Becca's questioning look.

Becca nodded and got up, making it her mission to get to know the 4 newcomers, before noticing they had made their way back in the prison, and the group had arrived back at the prison.

Following kissing Rick on the cheek for bringing her sister back home, Beth took Maggie's hand and brought her inside. Rick then turned to Becca, studying her intently. Becca nodded, hoping to convey that she was strong, and would prove that Daryl missed out on something good. Becca's facial features slightly faltered as she realized that she didn't even know if he was still alive.

"You came through, like always" Hershel stated, bringing Becca back to reality. "Sounds like we have a new problem on our hands."

"Ya" Rick said, still looking at Becca.

"You got a good look at him?" Hershel asked. Rick shook his head at the same time Becca nodded.

"He had Daryl and Merle pitted against each other, crowd cheering for them to fight to the death and forced Becca to watch. What kind of sick mind does that?"

"The kind this world creates" Hershel answered before becoming serious.

"What's wrong?" Rick questioned. "The baby?"

"No, the baby's healthy… eats like a horse, sleeps like a rock"

"So… what is it?"

"While we were all gone, there's a group of newcomers that got in" Becca explained. "They look to be harmless"

"We can't risk it" Rick stated.

"We lost Daryl" Becca said, getting Rick's attention "We need more people with us". Remembering what Carol had said, Becca added on that they had been through rough times.

Rick pondered his options for a few minutes before stating he wanted to see Judith before doing anything else.

Let me know what you think!

Tasha