Nox: This chapter turned out exactly how I wanted it too. I hope I whip you all and tear you in two with these feels. And thank you, for your constant support, reviews, favorites and alerts. You all make me love coming back here every day.

Edit: Thanks to Kipcha for pointing out some very basic flaws. When I first wrote this, characters were influenced by my emotions. Therefore, Glenn (haha) has been changed a little.

Disclaimer: TWD belongs to Kirkman and AMC

Always

"Daryl?" He didn't respond. Didn't blink. Not even the twitch of a muscle.

That scared her. She approached him slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements. She'd managed to keep Rick and Glenn back, but they both watched her nervously. That did nothing to help her.

She tried to make a wide berth around him, keeping herself within his vision, but she wasn't sure he was actually seein' her.

Kneelin' on the ground, hands left hanging at his sides uselessly, face empty of any emotion, she wasn't sure Daryl was actually there.

"Daryl?" She asked again, louder this time. She went closer, hand stretched out in front of her, and touched his shoulder, gently.

But he just kept on staring.

Merle shoved him away with his only hand, his grip so tight, he thought he was bruisin', his body followin' after, barrelin' inta him.

He could feel himself fallin', body thrown off balance. But before he dropped, he whipped up the crossbow and fired, the soft chink of the release of the arrow the sweetest sound he'd heard all night.

And they all fell, crashin' to the ground. A sharp pain shot up his hip, an ache already spreadin' across the whole side of his body. He hadn't realized how much he hurt.

Daryl rolled to the side and jumped to his feet, crossbow pointed uselessly at the Mexican, but the false security it gave him still made it necessary.

He was breathin' hard, his chest expandin' fast as he waited for the Mexican to make any sudden moves.

But he didn't. And then, Daryl could just make out the arrow, clean through his left eye.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Merle?" He looked down to his left, where Merle had fallen. "Time ta go Merle, fuckin' spic's down."

But Merle didn't move. He heard him struggle to breath then, cough, and then attempt to stand.

"Merle?" He crouched down next to him and reached out a hand to touch his shoulder.

"Fuckin' touch me!" Merle smacked his hand away, his voice rough and garbled.

But Daryl wasn't gonna sit by this time. He reached out again and gripped Merle by the shirt.

And his hands got wet, the shit on Merle's shirt warm and thick. He pulled his hands back and stared long and hard at them.

It was blood.

It must have taken Daryl a moment to process Carol's presence because she started talking to him, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder. He was still as stone, even though his knees musta been killing him.

And then, he wasn't anymore.

"MERLE!" He jumped to his feet, scaring the hell out of Carol, knocking her back.

"Where the fuck are you Merle!" He started pacing, eyes frantically searching the shadows around them.

"Don't you fuckin' leave me again! I'll fuckin' kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!" He stopped, stared long at hard at one spot, watching it intently.

"I ain't fuckin' leavin' you Merle." And then it became apparent what had been happening all this time. What had happened to Merle.

"Don't you fuckin' leave me Merle," he begged, the whisper drifting across the wind, his voice breaking with each syllable.

Rick and Glenn stood stunned, unable to move, to do anything. How did they fix this? How did they make this better? But they knew the answer before they had even thought it.

There was nothing.

Glenn dipped his head, unable to do anything but watch. Part of this felt like it was his fault. If he had brought Merle back with them, none of this might have happened. But Merle had made a choice. Made that choice to take them back to Woodbury, to torture him, to subject Maggie to the Governor, and to bring this on himself.

And now, Daryl would have to live with that for the rest of his life.

Rick knew that this was a grief you had to ride out, that you had to let pass. There wasn't a thing they were going to be able to do about it, especially not for Daryl. But Carol was there.

Maybe she would be able to do something for him, like she was always doing for them all.

"Git the fuck…outta here…brother." He couldn't leave him. Not fuckin' again. He weren't gonna do it. It was him 'n Merle.

"I ain't fuckin' leavin' you Merle." Merle chuckled, blood drippin' down the side of his chin. Same ol' smirk, cocky and full a shit.

"You always was the bleedin' heart." He coughed, blood flyin'. Daryl propped him up against the tree, his body weak, unable to protest Daryl's handling.

But he still tried to push his arm away. "Dun botha." He couldn't watch this happen. All because some fuckin' freaks thought they were the fuckin' righteous. All coz some fuckin' wetback was a fuckin' trigger happy fuckin' dog.

"Don't you fuckin' leave me Merle." He grabbed him by the arm, the crossbow forgotten at his side. "Don't ya leave me 'gain," he begged. Merle smiled, reachin' up, rufflin' his hair. That was a gesture he hadn't long felt since he were a kid.

"Dun need me no more baby brother." His hand fell to the ground, too heavy for him to hold up now. Merle's blue-gray eyes were growin' dim and Daryl felt the panic startin' to rise in his chest.

This weren't the way shit were 'sposed to be!

"Don't you fuckin' leave me!"

And then he heard it. The groanin. The moanin'. The careless fumblin' through the underbrush. It was the goddamn walkers.

"Gotta go brotha." Merle pushed his leg, weakly.

"Merle I-"

"Yes you fuckin' can!" He flinched, Merle's voice echoin' round him. His chest heaved with effort of yellin', his face gaunt.

"You git. Take care a yurself. Survive brotha." His breathe rattled in his chest.

Daryl couldn't leave him. He could fuckin' take on Woodbury, take on the Gov'nor, take on walkers, he could sure as hell drag Merle all the way back to the prison.

Merle reached over, handed him the crossbow. "Dun lett'em take me," he whispered hoarsely. Daryl glanced round, takin' in the sight suddenly. Walkers were closin' in fast. He realized then that they'd been fuckin' loud, makin' all kinds of noise, and now they'd gone 'n attracted a small herd.

"Fuck." Merle smirked and smacked Daryl across the arm.

"Git." And there it was. Merle bein' a fuckin'…brother. He fuckin' hated it when he did that. When he decided to be somethin', to make Daryl proud to call him family.

And now he couldn't even save him. Couldn't save'im like he had always been doin' for him his whole fuckin' life. This time Merle was the one stayin' and he was goin'.

And he knew he had to. He had to go. He had to leave'im. Had to leave Merle again.

And for once there weren't nothin' heavy in those eyes. No regret, no hate, no shame, nothin' holdin' him back. Just Merle pushin' him forward. Pushin' him ta live.

He dropped to his knees, arms comin' up round Merle's shoulders. He don't know if he'd ever hugged Merle 'fore. Don't know if they'd ever been this close before unless they were fightin'.

"Merle…I…I l-" The word caught in his throat and he stuttered in embarrassment. Merle laughed softly, his shoulders shakin' against Daryl. He felt a hand settle against his shoulder, gently, as the other pulled the gun from the back of his pants. He grit his teeth, shoulda known what Merle had in mind, but didn't say nothin'. Coz this was what he wanted.

"I know baby brother. I know." And then Daryl pulled away quickly, picked the crossbow back up, and walked away. First only a few steps, and then a couple more. Then he turned to face Merle, his chest heavy.

"Ain't nobody can kill me but me," Merle muttered, broad smile on his face, eyes shinin' bright.

Daryl felt his eyes burn and his chest constrict painfully, but he forced it back.

Dixon's didn't cry.

He took one last look at his brother, and then turned.

"You 'n me, baby brother."

Bang

"You said it was always you 'n me!" His voice didn't carry far beyond the woods, swallowed up, disappearing in the shadows. He was drownin', drownin' in the pain of everythin' that had happened.

The hurt, the sadness, the constant picture of Merle just-

He screamed, lettin' all that emotion that he didn't know how to handle just go. And then he felt something fall on his shoulder and he reacted without lookin'.

He turned so fast his arms knocked the thing that had touched him and then he tackled it to the ground, pinnin' it. He could feel the struggle beneath him, heard the whimper, the frantic breathing, the panic. Saw somethin' that was familiar but didn't make sense. Shoulda made sense but it didn't matter.

Nothing mattered anymore.

He felt hands slam into chest and he jerked, the breath forced from his lungs.

"DARYL!" He blinked, slowly.

He felt the jerk again, against his chest. "Daryl!"

Who the fuck was hittin' him? Why was the voice so goddamn familiar?

Always knew she were a fighter, that one. Gotta watch out for those mousey ones Darylena. They's survivors they are.

He froze.

"Merle?"

Silence.

Nothing. No Merle, no voice, no brother waitin' to give him hell for being such a pussy.

He felt a hand settle on his arm, just a whisper of a touch. He turned so fast, he felt his neck protest with the effort.

And there she was, Carol, pinned beneath him, blood poolin' at the corner of her mouth, her eyes filled with worry. It was her hand restin' on his arm.

"Carol?" She didn't move, didn't respond, didn't take her hand from his arm. Just nodded, licking at her bottom lip where he could already see it startin' to swell.

He had done that.

"Where's Merle?"

She didn't ask where he'd been, didn't ask if he was okay, didn't want to know what was going on, didn't even hesitate over the harm he'd done her. She'd asked about him.

And he felt his chest breakin'. Felt everything inside a him dyin', like it weren't never gonna come back. He'd never felt this way 'fore, not never. Not even when his Ma had died.

He didn't know how to move, how to breathe, how to think bout nothin' but Merle.

He were the only Dixon left. Merle weren't here no more.

Now, he was gone. There weren't nothin' left a his in this world. Nothin' left for him 'cept walkers and emptiness and nothing.

He was gone. Merle was gone. Forever. Weren't no comin' back. Weren't no findin' him, someday, maybe. There weren't no possibility that they would just cross paths again. He weren't gonna find him at some fucked up town where everybody lived like the world revolved round them. No, Merle weren't comin' back ever.

And that was the fuckin' truth.

Daryl collapsed onto Carol, all the fight just gone outta him. He couldn't do it no more. Couldn't bear to stand, to think, to hold his head up, to hold in the goddamn tears that Merle would have called him a pussy for.

Couldn't breathe just thinkin' that thought.

He buried his face into her neck; sobs ripping through him, as it all came crashing down around him. His hands tearin' into the dirt at her sides.

Merle gone. Merle dead.

"Shoulda been me who died, not him," he croaked into her neck, the words throaty and barely coherent.

"All he ever did, his whole fuckin' life, was take care a me," and he broke into sobs again, the tears falling hot against Carol's skin.

She didn't know what to do. She was pinned beneath him, barely able to breath, all of his weight baring down on her and he was broken.

How would he come back from this? How could she help him come back?

Would she even be able to?

She felt the tears burn at her eyes, and then slide down her cheeks. His pain tore her heart in two. And she had no idea what to do about it.

So she did the only thing she did know how; she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against him, and cried silently.

He shuddered, the tears still falling against her shoulder and then he wrapped an arm around her, grippin' her tight, the other hand still diggin' deeper into the earth.

"Me 'n you," he choked.

Always baby brother.

A/N: This story killed me. I've grown to love Merle, through my many fics. And I fear that the new episode, titled "The Suicide King", will be torture on my soul. But, I want to know what you all think.

Thanks for being here in my Dead world.