Anything - Carl Grimes

xxvi. 'cause or for

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Going to talk it out with the Governor was a stupid idea in Dottie's opinion. In her eyes, there's nothing to be solved with him. Not after he did to her, Carmen, Maggie, and Daryl. She wondered if they thought they could talk their way out of the war. Either the Governor dies, or they do. There's nothing in between.

"Hey," Daryl walked over to where she was standing by the gates, smoking a cigar. He took her packet of cigarettes from the wooden palette and lit one up.

"Ain't ya leavin' soon?" She asked, wondering if they're gonna leave soon.

"Yeah. Later," Daryl told her. They stood there in silence, both of them smoking their cigarettes and looking outside the gates. "That night, back at Woodbury..." Daryl started, trailing off slightly. "You sure he didn't hurt ya?"

Dottie gave him questioning eyes before looking away. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Daryl exhaled the smoke, glancing at her. "You know what that means." Dottie stayed silent, ignoring his question. "I know it ain't easy to talk about bu-"

"He came in, touched me, then left," Dottie confessed, avoiding eye contact. "He didn't take it too far, but that was still far enough." Daryl felt the need to apologize for not being able to help her, and it made him feel even worse about leaving afterward and not being there for her, but he didn't say anything. Dottie dropped the filter of the cigar and stepped on it. "You ain't gonna sort anything out with the Governor. People like him, who do things like he does, touch you, put you in a pit to fight for death, hold the tanks of dead people's heads, they ain't never gonna change."

"Ain't no one believes we'll sort this out," He shrugged. "We're goin' there outta pure curiosity of why he called us there."

"Good," Dottie nodded. "'Cause I ain't gonna hesitate to kill 'im the next time I see 'im. My kids ain't dyin' 'cause or for anybody."

...

"Carl, come here," The group that stayed at the prison was preparing the guns for the battle if the Governor arrived. "You stash these at the loading dock. Alright? Beth put more up on the catwalk." Glenn handed Beth and Carl boxes of ammo. "If anyone gets pinned down, we need to ensure they have plenty of ammo. I'll go work on the cage outside."

"What we should be doin' is loadin' some of this firepower in a truck and payin' a visit to the Governor," Merle suggested, making Carmen, who was loading guns and snipers with Maggie and Dottie, roll her eyes. "We know where he is right now."

"Are you suggesting that we just go in and kill him?" Glenn asked aggressively.

"Yeah, I am," Merle said.

"We told Rick and Daryl that we'd stay put," Michonne told him.

"I've changed my mind, sweetheart. Bein' on the sideline with my brother out there ain't sittin' right with me," Merle shook his head.

"Three of them are right in the middle of it," Dottie spoke, her voice snappy. "They ain't got no idea we're comin'. They could get taken hostage or killed. A thousand things could go wrong."

"And they will," Merle told her, making her bite the inside of her cheek and glared at him.

"My dad can take care of himself," Carl raised his voice.

"Sorry, son, but your dad's head could be on a pike real soon," Carmen turned around to look at Merle as he spoke to Carl, who was walking up the stairs.

"Don't say that to 'im," Carmen warned, her glare matching Dottie's.

"It's not the right move," Glenn spoke up before anyone else could say anything or before a fight could start. "Not now. Can't take the risk of putting them in the crossfire. That's my decision. It's final."