Faith

It only took a few hours into Merle and Daryl's trek through the forest for Daryl to realize he made a mistake.

He forgot how much he hated his brother.

How he nit-picked apart his suggestions of scavenging a house, ("Is that what your new friends taught ya? Hmm? How to loot for booty?")

How it didn't matter what Daryl said, Merle always had a smart-ass remark about how he'd gone soft during his time with "Officer Friendly."

How when he suggested that going back to prison wouldn't be a bad idea, Merle told him that the Governor was probably burying their bodies and throwing a party. That they were all dead.

How everything had to be a damn competition- Daryl didn't wanna make a stupid bet over who would find a river first.

Daryl's excitement and relief to found out his brother was alive was replaced with self-doubt. He almost thought that in his time away from Merle that he could be a better person. But none of that mattered now, because he fell right back into being Merle's lackey.

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Beth didn't have a lot of time to dwell on how betrayed she felt by Daryl.

Rick had spiraled out of control quickly after meeting Tyresse's group. He was delusional, screaming and telling them to get out. The group was terrified and left.

Maggie was hurting. Something bad happened to her while she was being held captive, and she wasn't ready to talk to Beth about it. Beth was trying her best to be there for her sister.

Beth walked over to Maggie's cell block, carrying Judith and a bottle. Maggie's face was blank. Beth's stomach churned with worry.

"She's hungry," Beth told her sister, rocking the baby in her arms. Maggie didn't look up or acknowledge her sister.

"Would you help me feed her? I wanna make Daddy somethin' to eat." Maggie said nothing, but held her arms out to hold the baby. Beth sat next to her and handed her the baby bottle once she was situated. Beth showed her how to hold the bottle and Maggie was set. Beth squeezed her older sister's hand in reassurance, earning a sad smile from Maggie.

"I'm here whenever you wanna talk, Mags," Beth told her as she stood up. "Oh, here's this," she mumbled, placing a towel on her shoulder for when Maggie burped Judith.

She went and sat at one of the tables in the common room and put her head in her hands. Everyone was falling apart and she didn't know what to do about it.

After a few minutes passed, she decided to go outside, hoping some fresh air would clear her head. She spotted Carl and jogged over to him.

"Hey Beth." He sounded a little out of it himself. "Where's Judy?"

"Maggie's feedin' her. Do you, uh, know where your dad went?" Everyone was worried about Rick. He ran off. No one followed him this time.

"I think I see him by the fence, by your dad." He pointed out towards the fence, the one that had the creek, and she nodded.

"I'm sure my daddy will talk to him and get him back," She reassured him. He didn't say anything.

Carl looked up at Beth. "Y'know, if Daryl hadn't ditched us, he'd be out there after my dad. Dad would listen to Daryl."

Beth didn't have a chance to give her two cents on Daryl's disappearance because a single gunshot rang through the air, and when she looked over, Axel had slumped to the ground in front of a mortified Carol.

_____________________________________________________________

Daryl and Merle ran through the forest, almost to the opening in front of the prison. He managed to convince Merle to go back to the prison- just in time for the two of them to hear dozens of gunshots.

Finally in the clearing, he spotted Rick struggling to keep three walkers off him. Crossbow in hand, he quickly sent an arrow through one walkers skull while Merle ran right in and used his weaponized arm, giving Rick enough time to take down two walkers, clearing their area.

Rick looked worn out. Rick met his eyes and gave him a swift nod which Daryl returned. That was enough for Daryl to know he was more than welcome back home.

_____________________________________________________________

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after Axel went down. Shots were fired in all directions, luckily with no more casualties, but the Governor flooded the yard with more walkers than they could handle.

Once the commotion died down, everyone gathered in the cell block to figure out what was going on.

Beth hadn't noticed Daryl and his brother walking into the cell block with Rick, she rushed to Judith as soon as she went inside and huddled by Carol.

"Oh, Christ." Carol muttered under her breath, earning a puzzled look from Beth.

Merle Dixon approached the two woman with a sweet whistle. "My my my, you're sight for sore eyes. Miss me, darlin'?"

Carol didn't bother to respond, but Merle had already moved on to Beth.

"Look at you! Pretty as a spring daisy. That your baby?" Beth gawked at the man she had only heard stories about. He hadn't introduced himself, but the fact that one of his arms was amputated and had a large blade made it easy to guess this was the notorious Merle Dixon.

Daryl finally made his appearance after Merle spoke to Beth. "Leave'm alone, Merle," he grunted, giving Carol an apologetic look. He hadn't managed to look at Beth yet.

"What's the matter, Darylina? Worried I might steal your women?" Merle laughed. "I always have been the better looking brother. Baby brother here couldn't get a piece of tail if it wa-"

Rick's voice boomed out, "Merle! This way," he sounded like he wasn't in the mood to deal with Merle Dixon. Merle put his hand(s) up and retreated towards Rick, who locked him up in a second story cell.

"Merle doesn't seem to have changed a bit," Carol commented passively. Daryl grunted in agreement.

Beth looked up at Daryl, very aware that he was avoiding her gaze. It wasn't until Judith made a little gurgle that he looked her way- at Judith, then at Beth.

"How's she been?" He asked her quietly.

"A little fussy," Beth admitted, "I think she can tell that everyone's upset, so she's upset, too."

Everyone started settling down and gathered around the stairwell. Before Daryl could walk away, she grabbed his wrist for a moment.

"How could you leave us?" Beth asked, and the look in her eyes made Daryl want to kick himself. He couldn't talk to her right now.

"We'll catch up later on." He grunted, turning away from her and walking towards Rick.

_____________________________________________________________

After the failed attempt of coming up with a plan earlier in the afternoon, Daryl sat in his bunk for a while, fiddling with an arrow.

He looked up as Carol peaked her head in the cell. "I haven't had a chance to say I'm glad you came back."

Daryl huffed. "To what? All this?"

Carol moved from the doorway and took a seat in the chair next to him. "This is our home."

Daryl looked down and shook his head in disagreement. "This is a tomb."

Carol looked up and shrugged. "That's what T-Dog called it. Thought he was right." She turned to look at him and smiled, "Till you found me." Daryl smiled for a moment before messing with his arrow again.

"You know I understand why you left. I get it. He's your brother. You still feel like you owe him everything," Carol told him. "But he's no good for you. Don't let him bring you down."

Daryl shrugged, knowing she was right.

"Have you talked to Beth?" Carol asked. Daryl shot her a guilty glance.

"Dunno what I'd say," he muttered. "Don't even know how to talk to her."

"You could always start with an apology for leaving." Carol advised. "I think she's pretty angry at you abandoning us."

Daryl scoffed and muttered, "Why's it matter if she's pissed or not?"

Carol rolled her eyes. "Because you care." Before Daryl could open his mouth to object, Carol continued, "Rick told me what you asked him to tell her, what you said about her. And coming from you, that means a lot. You don't exactly give a lot of high praise, but seems like lately all you do is speak highly of Beth."

Daryl's ignored his burning ears. He sat up in his bunk and grumbled, "Why's this matter to you anyway?"

"I can't sit back and let you miss out on the little bit of life that's still worth living. You've come so far from the Daryl Dixon I met way back when the world ended. You deserve some happiness."

Daryl rubbed his face. "Christ, Carol, you sound like a damn romance novel. Quit bein' so dramatic."

Carol stood up and brushed off her pants. "That's all I've got, anyway. You should talk to her. She's probably in her cell with Judith."

Daryl cursed under his breath as his friend walked out. After a minute of contemplating, he finally stood up and made his way to the downstairs cell block.

_____________________________________________________________

Rick and Carl had taken Judith for the night, leaving Beth alone in her bunk. She was on her stomach in bed with two candles lit so she could see what she was writing in her journal. The vanilla candles were almost too sickeningly sweet to bear nowadays, and she wondered when she became more accustom to smelling walker guts than perfume.

She scribbled down a few things about what happened today: Axel getting murdered, the Governor releasing walkers everywhere, the Dixon brothers showing up, daddy yelling at Rick.

Daryl hovered outside Beth's cell door before clearing his throat to get her attention.

"Come on in," Beth said. As upset as she was over Daryl leaving, she was really glad to see him again.

Daryl stood awkwardly inside the door, unsure if he should stand or sit. Beth pulled herself up and sat cross legged in her bed and pat the bed next to her.

Daryl sat down, unsure of what to say. "Where's Asskicker?"

"Rick and Carl have her for the night. Family bonding, I hope. You know, they named her Judith, right? Carl picked it out."

"Judith, huh?" Daryl smirked. "Cute. She's gettin' big real fast," he muttered.

Beth nodded before biting her lip to say, "Daryl, why'd you leave? How could you leave us?"

Daryl shifted and looked down at his hands. "You had the pleasure of meeting Merle today. He ain't really a stand up guy." He paused, trying to think of what he wanted to say. "But he's my brother. My blood. Always been there, no matter what. Never thought I'd see'm again. He helped us get out of Woodbury.

"Most of our group hate'm. Reckon it's all good reason, too. They didn't want Merle back here, and Merle and I are a package deal. So I picked Merle because followin' Merle is what I know best."

Beth was quiet for a few moments. "Daryl, aren't we your family, too?"

He hesitated. "'Course."

"We need you here," Beth confessed. "We really could've used you when Rick was in a bad place. He listens to you. He's your brother, too."

Daryl leaned back against the cell wall, not sure of what to say. He knew Rick was his brother. It wasn't somethin' that was discussed, it was just a known fact.

"I know that you were so mean to me about not going to Woodbury was because you didn't want me to get hurt." Her voice was soft but steady and sure. "You were right. I was in over my head to think I could go do that with y'all,"

Daryl grunted. "Shows what I know. I ended up gettin' caught. Real glad you didn't tag along."

"I'm really glad you're okay, Daryl. When you didn't come back with Rick I- I figured I lost you." Beth was tracing circles on her blanket as she spoke. "And then you just- up and left with your brother, like everythin' we went through together meant nothin'."

Daryl looked over at Beth for the first time since he entered her cell. The candle glow illuminated half her face, making her blue eyes shine in the dark.

"Shit, Beth, it ain't like that. Ain't like that at all." Beth studied Daryl's face, she could see the conflict and confusion written all over it. Daryl could be hard to read if you didn't know him, but once you knew what to look for, it was easy to see how he was feeling. It's hard not to pick up on the little things like that when you spend every day with someone for over a year.

"'m sorry I left. Spent the whole damn time I was out there with Merle tryna convince him to come back here," he admitted. His voice dropped into a murmur when he said, "Didn't wat to leave Rick and Carol and Asskicker and you behind."

Beth looked down and smiled at the end of his sentence, extremely surprised that he said that to her. "I knew you were just a big softie with a heart of gold."

"You've been spendin' too much time with Carol." He chuckled, earning a giggle in response.

"Maybe," Beth agreed. "Just happy your home, is all."

Daryl grunted and stood up to leave. He gave her once last glance and her eyes were on his, smile bright on her face. "'Night Beth."

"Goodnight, Daryl."

_____________________________________________________________

The next day, the tension of uncertainty that clouded everyone's mind only got worse when Andrea paid them a visit. Beth stayed in the cell block for the majority of the other woman's visit, her feelings mixed about her. Living on the farm felt like another life, but she didn't forget that Andrea told her to just give up. Beth fiddled with the bracelets that covered her wrist, glancing at the puckered scar.

When Andrea left, though, Beth did come out and give the other blonde a hug. They gave each other well wishes and Andrea told her to eat more, that she was too skinny.

After the sun went down, no one was hiding in their cell. It seemed like everyone wanted to be together that night.

Beth sat on the ground next to Carol, a lantern on the ground in front of them. Beth looked to the top of the stairs and saw Rick carrying Judith. Across the floor, her father and Daryl leaned against wall.

So, Beth started singin'.

"They, hung a sign up in our town..."

Rick made his way down the stairs with Judith and stood next to her father. Every glance she made at Carol earned her a heartwarming smile. Merle even came out after he heard Beth's voice playing through the prison, watching the girl for a moment before walking over to his brother.

Beth kept at it, glancing at Daryl, who's eyes were glued to the floor.

"Baby brother," Merle whispered to Daryl, giving the younger brother a reason to look up. "That one's mighty fine peach, ain't she," he mused. "And she sings pretty damn well, too!"

Daryl just shot him a glance and grunted back.

"Take my hand, I'm standin' right here, gotta hold on…" Beth finished

Words of praise were spoken towards Beth and she just smiled and mumbled a thank you.

"Beautiful voice, little miss," Merle told her from across the room.

Beth just smiled and managed to make out, "Thank you, Mr. Dixon."

Merle chuckled, shaking his head. "Polite, too." In a lower voice, he spoke only to Daryl. "If the Governor gets his hands on her, we ain't gonna be able to go in gun blazin' to get her back next time."

"Ain't gonna let that happen." Daryl responded with a growl. "Ain't no way in hell."

Merle smirked, wanting tease Daryl at his sudden sense of protection. "Well, alrighty then, little brother." He clapped his brother on the back.

Beth stood up from the ground and walked towards the men who surrounded her father. She gave her daddy a kiss on the cheek and whispered goodnight when Daryl finally gave his praise.

"Hey Beth," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "Real nice song."

Beth's face lit up as she grinned at Daryl, happy that the room was so dim that he wouldn't be able to see the pink flooding her cheeks. She leaned over and kissed Daryl on the cheek, too, and said, "That's real sweet of you, Daryl. Goodnight, you guys." She turned quickly and went into her cell, disappearing from view.

Next to Daryl, Merle had clapped Daryl on the back. "Darylina, you mind tellin' me what's going on?"

Daryl's face was hot as he snapped at his brother, "Ain't nothin'!"

Merle dog whistled at Daryl, calling him a several feet away from Hershel.

"Little brother, are you shackin' up with that man's daughter?" Merle was astonished, he couldn't believe his Darylina had it in him!

"I said, it ain't nothin', Merle!" Daryl bit back.

"No wonder you wanted to come back here so bad, huh, baby brother," Merle mused quietly. "I guess if I had a woman to come home to this place would be a lot better!"

"Goddammit, Merle, it ain't like that." He said in a hushed town. "She ain't mine or nothin' like that!"

Merle shook his head. "I think we must have a different understanding of what is goin' on here. Maybe one day I'll explain it to ya,"

"Fuck off," Daryl muttered, turning away from his brother. He instinctively headed towards the door to go out for the night, hunt, distract himself, but the yard was full of walkers. Cursing again under his breath, he turned and headed for his cell.

_____________________________________________________________

The next few days past by with a blur, Beth on baby duty with Rick bein' gone and Daryl making plans with Glenn to fortify the prison. Today, Rick, her father, and Daryl left to officially meet the Governor.

It wasn't until she heard Merle yellin' from the common room that she put Judith down and peaked her head out of the cell block. Sounded like Merle was worried about Daryl.

And then she heard the men fall down the stairs, and by the time she was in the common room, Maggie and Michonne where trying to pry Merle off of Glenn, his blade dangerously close to his face.

Beth rose her arm in the air and let out a single round, breaking up the fight.

_____________________________________________________________

"Merle, what did you do?" Carol sighed, looking at the red neck. He was pacing back and forth.

"Got in a fight with the Asian boy. Little miss broke it up with a gun shot," Merle said in sing-song voice.

Carol raised her eyebrows. "Haven't you beaten Glenn enough? Give it a rest." Merle spat on the floor. "Who shot at you?"

"She didn't shoot iat/ime. Shot straight up in the air." He explained. "You know, the little blonde. Gave us our own little concert a few nights ago."

"Beth did that?" Carol asked, pleased with her young friend.

"Maggie's baby sister. Beth her name?" He scratched his chin.

"Yeah. Merle, don't pull any stunts with her." Carol warned. Merle shook his head with a barking laugh.

"I don't think I'm the Dixon brother she wants," He retorted. "After her little song the other night, Daryl said three words to the girl and she practically jumped him. You wouldn't happen to know anythan' about that, would you? My baby brother's holding out on the dirty details."

"There are no dirty details, Merle." Carol said, crossing her arms. "They care about each other. Been through a lot together since we the Greene's on the farm."

Merle rolled his eyes. "Anybody with half a mind and lived this long has been through a lot. Didn't realize Daryl become the sentimental type. Little pussy," he muttered at the end. "Does he even know how to make a move?"

Carol thumped his large arm with the back of her hand. "Don't be like that. Daryl's not exactly that type of guy. Since I've met him I've never seen him show any interest in anyone. And Beth is a sweet girl. She does everything she can to try and keep us all sane. Don't be a jerk to her."

Merle grunted in a familiar Dixon fashion. "He's never been the sort to seek out a lady.

Carol, c'mon now. You know me better than that. I'm not gonna be rude to that peach. She's always got the baby in her arms, anyhow. If anyone was mean to her while holding a baby I'd probably knock their teeth out for her," He sat down at the table nearby, resting his prosthetic arm on his leg. "Never dreamed baby brother's type is a sweet girl who grew up on a farm, our old man must be spinnin' in his grave. But, I will admit, Daryl always has had a better sense of judgement than I have," he continued, "which means there must be a reason he takes so kindly to her. She's okay in my book. Is she able to take care of herself when the Governor comes knocking at our door?"

"She's pretty good with a gun, and has no problem taking out walkers one at a time. She's hasn't had to kill anybody yet." Carol told him.

"Well, I guess I gotta do my civic duty and teach her a thing or two, then." Carol rolled her eyes. She was sure Hershel would be less than enthusiastic to Merle teaching Beth how to fight dirty.

Neither of them spoke for a few moments until Merle finally said, "Andrea told me about what happened to your daughter. She was a sweet kid. I'm real sorry you lost her."

Carol pursed her lips, her face falling. Everyone in the group had already said their condolences on Carol's daughter. It wasn't something anyone went out of their way to talk about. Carl would sometimes share a memory of Sophia was Carol, and those moments were bittersweet.

"I ain't sorry about Ed. Hated that fucker," Merle spat on the ground. "And look at you now that he's gone. Not the scared little bird I remember, not at all."

"I've done what I've had to. I stepped up. Turns out I'm a pretty tough cookie," Carol mused.

"Always thought you were pretty tough to put up with that asshole in the beginning of it all," Merle told her, "Just wish Shane woulda let me knock some sense into him myself," Carol smiled weakly at Merle and gave his arm a squeeze in appreciation.

_____________________________________________________________
Later that day, before the others who left came back to the prison, Beth went up the stairwell with Judith in her arms and peaked in each cell, seeking out the older Dixon brother.

She found him near the end of the row, removing duct tape from his prosthetic arm.

"Hi, Mr. Dixon." Beth spoke. Merle snapped his head up and smirked.

"My my! What do I owe this pleasure?" Merle asked. "You ain't gotta call me Mr. Dixon. Merle's just fine. You call my little brother Mr. Dixon?"

Beth stood in the doorway and shook her head. "Only sometimes." She giggled before saying, "Call him 'Pookie', sometimes. He goes beet red. Carol call's him that, mostly."

Merle snickered, shaking his head as he laughed. The duct tape was off his prosthetic and he began to take out the blade.

"You and my baby brother, huh?" Merle asked, peering up at Beth. Her face flushed.

"I-I-" Beth stammered, thinking of what to say. "Daryl means a lot to us,"

"No use lyin' to me, girl. I see you two, all googly eyes, given him kisses. Even talked to Carol about it." Merle laughed. "It's written all over your face, like a little lovestuck teenager,"

Beth opened her mouth to say something, but had no words. Was she that obvious? Merle had only been here a few days and noticed how she felt about Daryl.

"I ain't gonna give you any shit, relax," Merle said, rolling his shoulders back. "Dixon men are fine for the pickin'," he mused. "Carol and I even had a little sewin' circle earlier, talkin' about you two."

Beth cleared her throat and took advantage of changing the subject. "Has it been nice seeing Carol again?"

Merle laughed. "She's probably not as glad to have me around again, but I will admit, it is nice seein' her face around again. Carol's a good woman. Known her since the start of this whole thing, back when Daryl and I were off the road aways from Atlanta." He scratched his chin with his good hand while he talked.

"She is. She's the strongest women I think I know," Beth admitted, and Merle nodded in agreement.

"Her husband was a prick. Had her and her little girl scared stupid." He shook his head, disguised. "Us Dixon boys, we ain't too kind to wife beaters.

Our mama, may she rest in peace, had to deal with the wrath of a drunk Dixon man every day."

Beth tried to keep her shock off her face while she listened to Merle talk, she hadn't expected him to be a talker. She had to hand it to Merle, he had a certain charisma when he spoke, and she was hanging on every word he said.

In her arms, Judith started to gurgle and fuss. "Oh, honey- I'm sorry, Mr… Merle. I think Judith can tell all of us are anxious about… everythin', 'cause she's been fussier than usual lately."

"Give her here," Merle instructed, and Beth gave him an unsure look. "Darlin', I've held a baby before. Hell, practically raised Daryl since he was in diapers. I got her," he said, convincing her.

Beth handed the baby over to Merle, helping him situate Judith in his arms with his lack of a hand. After a moment, he was rocking her gently and making tiny kissy noises at the fussy baby. He tucked the blanket she was in around her a little tighter and with his good hand, cradled her neck and caressed her cheek softly.

"Lori was a beautiful woman," Merle said as the baby began to relax. "Had a mouth on her, too. Wasn't afraid to put any of us in our place back in Atlanta,"

"Lori was real good to me. My momma got sick and turned at the start of this. And my Aunt Patricia was there for me, but then-" she sighed, and Merle nodded in understanding.

"C'mere, sit if you want." Beth nodded, sitting at the edge of the bed. Merle lifted the baby up, Judith's head under his nose, and inhaled deeply. Beth was so shocked she laughed.

"'M sorry, I'm sorry, I.." Beth cleared her throat. "I've heard a lotta stories about you. Mostly from Carl, so I take some of them with a grain of salt. Except, y'know, obviously you meeting Rick for the first time in Atlanta was true."

Merle snorted. "Yeah, Officer Friendly cuffed my ass to the goddamn roof, and that mother fucker dropped the key." He shook his head. "Dropped the fuckin' key."

What Merle said next sent Beth into a wave of wonder. "Doesn't mean I wanted him dead. Heard what he did for Carol. When it came down to it, he went out kickin' and screaming to save Carol." Merle cleared his throat. "That's what a real man does, little miss. Hell, ain't tryna be sexist, that's what good people do nowadays. Protect our own til our dying breath."

Beth nodded. "Daryl's like that, you know," she told him. "He'd do anything for us here, at the prison, for you, especially."

"Because Daryl and I are blood. Family means a lot to the Dixons," Merle told her. "Family's all we got left in this world. And, uh… Daryl's got family here, too." Merle looked up from the baby and gave Beth a hard look. "I've had a few chats with Darylina and Carol. I think it's a safe bet that you know I don't trust many people in this prison, but I see that fire in Carols eye's that wasn't there when I first met her- she's got some fight in her. Always liked her," he clicked his tongue a few times. "In my eyes, the only family I've got now is Daryl and Carol, and well, little miss, they've made it pretty clear that you are family, too."

Beth raised her eyebrows and smiled a little, unsure of how she should feel about how she should feel about being considered Merle Dixon's family.

Merle hummed quietly to the baby before speaking again. "So, little miss, how much do you know about one-on-one combat?"

_____________________________________________________________

"He wants to prison," Rick told everyone. "He wants us gone. Dead. He wants us dead… for what we did to Woodbury." Rick looked down for a moment and gazed at everyone in the room. "We're going to war."

Beth stood, arms crossed as Rick walked passed her, out of the cell block. Her father got up and followed him.

She looked around, everyone quiet with the news. She looked at Daryl and saw he was looking back at her.

"Now what?" She asked, looking at him, but asking anyone.

"Well, little miss," Merle called out from behind her. "I'd say it's 'bout time we start gettin' ready. My offer is still open,"

"Offer?" Maggie said, turning towards him. "What offer? Who says you're allowed to talk to my sister?" She spat, and Merle was unfazed.

"If we're goin' to war, I figured it would be good for her to know how to fight." Merle looked over at Daryl. "Wouldn't you agree, little brother?"

Daryl was dumbfounded by this news, he hadn't realized Merle and Beth had even had a chance to talk, let alone discuss that she be better at defending herself.

"Beth isn't gonna be fighting, she's gonna be somewhere safe with Judith." Maggie answered for everyone.

Beth wanted to protest, to argue that she should be allowed to help, but she didn't know what she could say. Someone had to stay with Judith and protect her, and that was Beth's place.