Didn't See That Coming | The Walking Dead(1)

Part 43 (Andrea Pays a Visit)

Rick came back inside after being on watch for a few hours and sent Maggie out to take over for him. "Field's filled with walkers," he announced as everyone came out to gather. "I didn't see any snipers out there, but we'll keep Maggie on watch."

"Could get up in the guard tower. Take out half them walkers, give these guys a chance to fix the fence," Daryl suggested as he came down the stairs to join the group.

"Or use some of the cars to put the bus in place," Michonne added.

"We can't access the field without burning through our bullets," Hershel shook his head.

"So, we're trapped in here," Glenn huffed. "Alright, there's barely any food or ammo."

"We've been here before," Daryl shrugged. "We'll be alright."

"That's when it was just us," Glenn shot back and Daryl slowly turned to face him. "Before there was a snake in the nest."

"Man, we gonna go through this again?" Daryl asked. "Look, Merle's stayin' here. He's with us now. Get used to it, all y'all."

Daryl made his way back upstairs, refusing to discuss the whole merle situation again. CJ watched him go worriedly and saw him glance back down at her before walking away.

"Seriously Rick, I don't think Merle living here is gonna is really gonna fly," Glenn said quietly.

"We can't just kick him out," Rick replied.

"I wouldn't ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you," Glenn argued angrily.

"Merle has military experience," Hershel pointed out. "He may be erratic, but don't underestimate his loyalty to his brother."

"What if we solve both problems at once?" Glenn suggested. "Deliver Merle to the Governor. A bargaining chip. Give him his traitor, maybe he'll declare a truce."

"You think that'd work?" CJ asked sceptically, her arms folded. "It wouldn't. You think Daryl would just let you hand his brother over to a man that wants to kill him? We've already seen what happens when we send Merle away."

"He can't stay here," Glenn shook his head.

"He already is," CJ shot back, not missing a beat. "Trust me, I don't like it either. But we're just gonna have to put up with it."

The group separated after that, all of them going back to their various chores and planning. CJ spent some time taking care of Judith, having not done much the last couple of days. After a couple of hours, Beth came to take over and CJ went to get some lunch for herself, realising she hadn't really eaten since before the Governor's attack yesterday.

She finished eating and glanced over to Merle, who had made a bed up for himself in the cage outside the cell block. She made him a small bowl of oatmeal and filled a cup of water and took them over to him.

When she stood by the door of the cage, he was lying on his back, resting his head on his hand. She cleared her throat and he turned to look at her, sitting up with a smirk.

"CJ Jefferson... still looking good."

"Merle Dixon... still an asshole," she deadpanned. "Brought you food. Figured you'd be hungry."

"Thanks," he took the tray from her and put it on the bench. He then gestured for her to sit down, and she did.

"It's not much but, given what we've had it's a lot," she sighed.

"I appreciate it. Although I gotta say, I'm surprised it's comin' from you of all people."

CJ chuckled. "Yeah well, I surprise myself too."