How is this my life?

Misdirected Anger

Merle was much more patient than anyone could have guessed. He was still pissed that his brother went to the city with the man who handcuffed him to the roof but he was long gone by the time he woke up to children clumsily wrapping his arms in strips of ripped towel. Michonne stood directly behind them giving him a stern look so he made a very put upon sigh while he bore the indignity.

"Careful of his wrist, it's still raw." The woman said absently, soothing a cranky Braden. Andre and Emma were out for the count in another bed so everyone was very quiet.

"How did you get out of the handcuffs?" Billy asked eagerly, looking up at Merle with adoration. His sister rolled her eyes, looking back and forth between her wrapping and the open first aid book to see where she went wrong.

"'Cause your Momma." Merle grunted, squinting his eyes at the harsh sunlight. They gave him something for the pain and nausea hours ago but it did little for his problem of sobering up. "She put a tool in those handy lil' bags. Plumb forgot I even had it before I almost sawed off ma own hand."

"She's not our Mom." Jamie told him sternly, feeling her throat tighten at the thought of their own mother.

"Woman feeds ya, clothes ya, loves ya." The old man disagreed with a fierce scowl.

"Mom died." Billy whispered sadly, bandages forgotten.

"You don't have to call Amy anything but her name." Michonne said softly, glaring at Merle reproachfully.

"A name don't stop her from being their Momma." He disagreed before laying back with his eyes closed. "Let me alone for a bit. Ol' Merle needs some shut eye."

It didn't help that Braden's first word was Mama and his favorite. Repeating it over and over again when he spotted Amy. Emma never spoke of her parents beyond what she first told Amy and Andrea. When she cried at night it wasn't for her mother it was for Amy. The older children still missed their parents fiercely and wished they could be there with them but didn't know how they would have survived without Amy and Michonne.

When the sisters came back there was only an hour or two of sunlight left but Daryl and the other guys had not come back. Most were getting very nervous, it should not have taken more than two hours to pick up the bag and come back. Even with Shane assuring them they were just scavenging for more supplies, it did nothing to lessen their concerns. Jim losing his mind to heat stroke probably didn't help much.

"Come have a fish fry with us!" Dale begged after the sisters finished cleaning the fish with Miranda and Carol. "The kids will love it!"

"Sorry, Dale." Amy disagreed immediately, not feeling bad at all. She set up a perimeter months ago and there were plenty of guns in the camp to defend themselves. Those kids only had an illusion of safety but she would do everything in her power to keep it up.

"C'mon, Amy!" Andrea joined in with a bright smile. They spent all afternoon just the two of them, the older blonde wanted to be selfish for just a little longer.

"Sorry, guys. Kids come first and it's too dangerous out here at night." Amy explained gently, taking her own cleaned fish with her. "We will be with you in spirit. Just you know, probably watching Megamind again."

"Well, I'm staying out here." Andrea crossed her arms over her chest and literally pouted at her sister.

"Don't you want to see how Merle is doing, sister?"

"You brat!"

Merle was passed out when Michonne brought the children out to meet Amy. They were all very proud of their first aid skills, especially Emma who didn't even wake Merle when she wrapped his head. It was quite crowded in her bus with all the kids at the table watching Amy and Michonne cook dinner on the small stove. Max was laying in the shower, watching them through the open door, waiting for any morsels to fall on the floor. Andre and Braden played with his activity center, squealing in broken baby language.