Survival Guide: To Surviving the Living Dead 101

Rule #19

Blood isn’t Always Thicker than Water

No matter what anyone says blood is not always thicker than water. Sometimes the people who aren't your family, are just better for you than your actual family. That was the case with Daryl. Merle wasn't good for him. But he had drilled it into Daryl's head that he was the only one that would ever care about him. That he was the only person in this world he had.

That just wasn't true. Everyone in our group cares about Daryl. We're more than just a group, we're family. And Merle might be Daryl's brother but he wasn't his family. Merle didn't give a shit about anyone else. Sometimes I even questioned if he cared about Daryl. He was always putting him down in some kind of way. And that pissed me off.

After we were inside I moved away from them. We had to hold Glenn back when he went to go after Merle. And of course Merle only laughed. After everyone calmed down and it was decided that Merle would not be allowed in the actual cell block but would need to stay out in the cell that was in the common area, I went straight to my cell.

I didn't need to hear all the arguing that was going on. I did know that we would need to take care of this Governor guy. We needed to find out what the fuck his problem is and why he attacked us. I needed to know why Daryl came back. He was so set on leaving with Merle, not wanting to leave his brother. But now he's back. Why?

And maybe I am a little hurt that he left because I have feelings for him that I don't want to admit. The problem is that even if I did want to admit my feelings, I wouldn't be able to. Daryl doesn't do feelings. And there is no way he had the same feelings for me. It would just scare him off.

"Are you okay?" I looked up to see Rick walking into the cell. I sat up, "yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay? What were you doing out there?" I asked. He walked over and sat down beside me. "I saw her. I saw Lori. That's why I was out there," he told me. I nodded my head, "I thought so. Maybe you should take a step down for a little while, Rick. You put too much on yourself."

"Maybe you're right. But I can't do that just yet. Not with this Governor guy around." I laughed a scoff, shaking my head. "We will never get a break will we? There will always be something we need to fight and survive. The living are more dangerous than the dead." Rick cleared his throat, "we'll get everything out of Merle. Don't you worry about it." He kissed my temple and then left. Not long after he left Beth showed up with the baby in her arms. “Hey,” she said, smiling.

Beth was always the light in our group. She was always thinking positive and always smiling even when things were going wrong. She would sing to the baby at night while rocking her back and forth in her arms. She was so young and shouldn’t have to be dealing with any of this. The same with Carl. That poor kid watched as his mother died and then shot her himself to make sure she didn’t come back.

“Hey. Everything okay?” I asked. She came over and sat down beside me. “Yeah. I just thought you’d like to see your niece. And I wanted to make sure you were okay,” she said. I gently took the little girl from her arms and looked down at her. “Yeah. I’m fine. I’m just tired. I wish we could get a break from all this.” someone cleared their throat and we looked up.

"I'll give you some privacy," Beth said. We both stood up and I handed her the baby but only after I leaned down to give the little girl a small gentle kiss. Beth walked past Daryl and down the stairs. "What's up?" I asked, looking at him. "Wanted to talk to ya," he said, shifting from one foot to the other. "About what?" I asked, sitting back down. "About why I left and why I came back."

I nodded my head for him to continue. "He's my brother. He's my only family I have left. The only family I ever had. I couldn't just leave him again. But while out there we came along a family that was stuck on a bridge. They were surrounded by walkers. Merle was more worried about stealin' from 'em then helping."

"So you did the right thing and helped them?" I asked. He nodded. Daryl talked to me like he's known me all his life. There were times he got frustrated and would push away from me but there were times words just spewed out of his mouth like vomit. He's been a lot better without Merle around.

"You know, Daryl, you've been better since Merle disappeared. You became a part of this group. You're important to all of us. He's not the only family you have. You have the group. You have me. Blood isn't always thicker than water. It never has been and never will be. Especially in this new world. Merle has done nothing but drag you down your whole life. He puts you down all the time and you just take it. Also you were wrong. I wouldn't have done what you did.

"If it was me and Rick, and he treated me like Merle treats you, I wouldn't have gone with him. I would have left with you. This group is my family. You're my family Daryl but Merle is not. He's not a part of this group and he never will be. He can't play by the rules and just causes problems."

Daryl sat down beside me and put his head down. "M'sorry I left. It was a mistake but I came back. And just in time too. Merle can help us with that asshole. We can figure out what he wants and then take him down."