—  EVERYTHING HAD HAPPENED SO QUICKLY, ONE minute, Zoe and Nate were running through the streets of Woodbury, shooting back at their attackers, and the next, they were outside of the gates, realising that they were three people down from when they had entered in the first place. The girl didn't have a clue about what was going on, but she was just glad to be out of that hell hole, for good, and she never wanted to return to that dreaded place. She thought that she wouldn't be able to even look at Nate after what the Governor had done to her, but when Nate finally came up to her, she didn't hesitate to grab his hand and run with him out of the town - she didn't want to let go until they were finally out of there, and when they were out, she couldn't be more happy. She took a huge breath of relief when she jumped down off of the wall, before Nate quickly followed suit, landing next to her and ushering her to get behind the car and hide. Glenn was struggling a lot with keeping up with the group, but with Maggies help, he managed.

Zoe still felt awful that Glenn had received most of the beatings and was in this condition, whereas hers was mostly physiological pain, at least she could still walk properly. The only person not with them now, was Daryl, and they couldn't do much to find him without getting caught, as the guards had all of their lights on them, looking for any movement. But what gained her dad's attention, was a dark skinned woman with a sword coming towards them quietly, "Where the hell were you? Put your hands up." Rick demanded, holding his loaded gun up at her head. The woman raised her hands in surrender, "Turn around." Rick ordered, as Maggie and Nate followed his movements, holding up their own guns whilst Zoe stayed with Glenn to help him keep upright. Glenn still couldn't look at his best friend without feelings heaps of guilt at what had happened with the Governor, he wished he could go back and change it all..
Rick snatched the woman's sword, "Get what you came for?" He sneered, annoyed that she had gone off and left them to do god knows what. They could have lost people in there because of her, and he wouldn't have forgiven her for that.

"Where are the rest of your people?" She asked, standing down as everyone had their guns pointed at her, all but Zoe, who seemed to be too weak to even move.

"They got Oscar." Glenn snapped back, holding his own gun at her.

"Daryl's missing." Maggie also said, as Nate stiffened at her words - he couldn't imagine it if he lost his brother, he would be lost without Daryl. "You didn't see him?" She asked, also worried for the man she had become close to since the farm.

"If anything happens to him.." Rick began, only for Michonne to interrupt him.

"I brought you here to save them." Michonne said, glaring at Rick - none of this was her fault, the deal was to get them here, not to save their asses when they got in some trouble from the inside.

"Thanks for the help." Rick replied sarcastically. To Zoe, Michonne looked like she had been through a lot; she looked tired, she was bleeding a lot, and she even looked at her dad pleadingly, like she needed help..

"You'll need help to get them back to the prison." Michonne said, hoping that Rick would let her go back with them; after Andrea had chosen the Govorner over her, she had nowhere else to go. She had no one. "Or to go back in there for Daryl. Either way, you need me." She told him.

Zoe didn't really listen into what happened next, all she knew, was that they had to go back into the town and find Daryl, and bring him back. Glenn had protested at first for the girl going, but she had given him a look as to tell him to keep his mouth shut about what happened back in there, and the boy instantly got it, keeping his mouth shut as he then watched her leave with the others, him having to stay back due to the fact he had been injured to high hell and could barely walk. Zoe didn't want everyone knowing what had happened between herself and the Governor, especially not her dad or Nate, as they would take it worse than the others. In fact, the girl just wanted to forget about it, and never think about the horrible man again, letting the memory fade from her mind.
The girl was terrified that Merle would come back with them, why wouldn't he? He had found his two brothers again, after them believing he was dead, he was bound to want to follow them back to the prison, but will her dad let him? What would Daryl and Nate do if he wasn't allowed? Would Nate leave her? She couldn't think about that right now, not when she had to be on edge, looking for every single person that could be around the corner and ready to shoot.

Nate didn't exactly want Zoe to come back either, he wanted the girl to stay with Glenn and heal from their past attack, but he also knew that no one could control the girl, and because of that, he hadn't even bothered voicing his thoughts about making her stay behind. So that's why he stuck close to the girl, keeping her by his side in case something were to happen - he let the others go first, and he stayed behind Zoe, watching her back, ready to keep her safe. He didn't like this place, and he wanted to get Daryl and Merle and get the hell out of here and never come back.
The group rounded a corner, but what they saw surprised them; it was Daryl and Merle, in a fighting ring, fighting each other whilst the crowd went wild in excitement. The man furrowed his brows at the sight of his two brothers, wondering why they were doing that, before Rick had given them all a signal, and he had shot the light above the Governor, making the lot dark, allowing them to attack. Zoe kneeled behind cover with Nate as they shot into the opening, aiming only for the guards, whilst the girl kept her eye out for the man who had violated her, wanting nothing but to shoot him and make sure he couldn't do it to anyone else again.

Rick had thrown in a smoke grenade, and Nate had told Zoe to stay put and wait for him so he could go and get his brothers, but all she could do was keep her aim in the distance, hoping to god that the Governor would walk into her line of fire. The girl held her breathe, seeing the man with an eyepatch now around one of his eyes, but as she was about to take the shot, without a second thought, Nate came back, with Daryl and Merle, and before she knew it, he had pulled her away from the cover, and they were all now running away from the town, back into the woods behind the walls. Zoe didn't know if she actually would have shot the man - she had only killed a few people, but would that have made her feel better? Murdering a man in cold blood? She didn't even know. But she couldn't dwell on the subject as she ran, keeping up with the rest of the group, ignoring the fact that Merle was currently with them, believing that her dad was just going to forget about everything he had done, and the fact that he had taken herself and Glenn hostage.. However, when Rick tried to refuse his help, Merle told him it wasn't worth it, and they needed him to get out, which they did, so eventually, they all followed.

Zoe stuck near Maggie as they ran out, taking down the walkers in the road as they ran onwards, and then into the woods, trying to put it past them that Merle was with them again.. Before they all knew it, it was daylight - they had been running through the woods all night until the sun had finally come up, and they could finally see again, and were now back at the car. But Zoe was holding her breathe about what was to come when Glenn would see that Merle had come back with them; the man that had beaten the shit out of him and had let the Governor force himself onto Zoe. And she was right, the second Glenn saw Merle, along with Michonne, everyone started arguing, Daryl and Nate defending their brother, Glenn, Maggie and Michonne arguing that Merle had tried to kill her and hurt Glenn and Zoe, and the poor girl was standing by the side, not knowing wether to back up her boyfriend, or her best friend.

"No, he helped us get out of there!" Daryl defended Merle, as Glenn was about to argue about the fact the Governor could have done a lot more to Zoe because of him, because he hadn't stopped him. He didn't care that Merle had beaten the shit out of him, he just cared that he let the man into the cell with Zoe, and he let him do terrible things that the girl was never going to be able to forget.

"Yeah, right after he beat the shot out of you." Rick argued, having seen Merle beat up Daryl like he didn't care it was his brother. He had seen it with his own eyes, and it disgusted him.

"Hey, we both took our licks, man." Merle finally spoke up, from his place behind Daryl and Nate, leaning on a tree like he had no care in the world at what was going on right now.

"Shut up, Merle." Nate told him, pointing a finger at his older brother before he aimed back at Michonne, who was holding her sword towards him to get to the man in question.

"Everyone stop!" Zoe yelled, hating the fact that everyone was shouting over each other and aiming all of their guns at each others faces, but no one seemed to listen, as Daryl had gotten fed up at the fact that Glenn and Maggie had their guns aimed at his head, and he didn't appreciate it one bit.

"Get that damn thing outta my face!" Daryl shouted at Glenn, glaring at the boy who dared squared up to him.

Nate looked over at Zoe, who seemed to be deep in thought again, but when he saw where she was, she had stood behind Maggie and Glenn, and it showed just who's side she was on. "Man, look like you gone native, brother." Merle laughed at Daryl, who didn't seem like he was in the mood for his jokes.

"No more than you, hanging out with that psycho back there!" Daryl argued, as Nate kept his eyes on Zoe, as she directed hers at the ground, unable to look him in the eyes.

"Oh yeah, man. He is a charmer, I gotta tell you that. Been putting the wood to your girlfriend Andrea big time, baby." Merle told Michonne, as Zoe cringed at the fact he was talking about the man so calmly, after everything he had done..

"Andrea's in Woodbury?" Glenn asked, having not expected to hear that.

"Right next to the Governor." Daryl confirmed, as Zoe scoffed in disbelief, pulling her hair away from her face as she turned away from the group, feeling like she was going to puke. Andrea was a good person, why was she with someone like him? The girl started breathing heavily as she felt the bile rise up to her throat, but before she couldn't physically be sick, she felt a hand softly stroke her back, and she could tell in an instant that it was Nate, so she didn't pull away, the thought of anyone else touching her besides the man besides her right now, repulsed her, and the idea that Andrea was with the Governor freely, made her want to puke all of her guts up.

Merle looked over at the two of them, and saw how his brother looked at the blonde girl; he sighed, knowing that the two of them together, and that's when he realised he was screwed with him. "So, what you going to do now, Sheriff, huh?" He asked, looking back at Rick as he was the leader - it looked like he didn't know about Zoe and the Governor yet, or he would have been punching Merle to death at this point for allowing his little girl to get hurt. "Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs and cowards." He continued.

"Shut up." Rick finally snapped, having had enough of his voice. When Merle began to slant them all again, the man had enough, and slammed his gun onto the back of his head, sending him out cold onto the forest floor, finally silencing everyone as they watched. Zoe looked at the man on the floor and couldn't help but scowl at him, hating the fact he was friends with the Governor so freely, knowing what he was capable of. It was mostly the fact that Merle had sent the man to her, to question her, that made her dislike him the most; she already disliked him from their camp outside of Atlanta purely because of who he was, but now and hated him even more. She sighed, before she walked away from the group, following Glenn back to the car as the two of them stormed off, Nate watching her go with a sigh of his own, not knowing why she was acting so differently towards him. Surely the girl wouldn't be treating him differently because of Merle? That wasn't the kind of girl she was, she didn't judge people due to their family..

"It won't work." Rick told the group as they stood in a circle by the car, talking about wether or not they wanted to bring Merle back to the prison with them, or leave them here. Nate stayed silent, not knowing what to do - by the looks of Glenn's face, he knew that Merle wasn't going to have a chance back at the prison with them, and the fact that Rick also hated his brother - he couldn't leave his brother out there alone, but he also couldn't leave Zoe, his other half.

"Look, the Governor's probably on the way to the prison right now. Merle knows how he thinks, and we can use the muscle." Daryl tried to convince Rick, knowing that he couldn't rely on either Nate nor Merle right now with trying to convince their leader. He knew that Nate was probably going to take the girls side with this decision, hell, the boy was completely whipped with her, there was no way he was going to go against what she thought.

"I'm not having him at the prison." Maggie spoke up. The woman could tell from the looks on Zoe's face what had happened back there at the town - she had known it since they rescued the two of them, and even if nothing much had happened, it still happened, and Maggie could see the mental scars on the young girl.

"Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Carol and Beth?" Glenn spoke up, as Zoe directed a glare at the boy, knowing what he was implying, and if he dared to tell them all what had happened, she was going to kill him.

"He ain't a rapist." Daryl snapped, not knowing why Glenn was implying that in the first place.

"Well, his buddy is." Glenn told him, as Zoe closed her eyes in annoyance at his words, knowing that he was bound to leg something slip at some point, and her worst fear was that Nate would catch on, and she was right, he had.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nate asked Glenn, as Rick and Daryl carried on negotiating for Merle to come back to the prison.

"He meant nothing by it. Did you, Glenn?" Zoe interrupted them, looking at Glenn with a raised brow, giving him a knowing look that said to shut his mouth. This wasn't his decision to tell everyone what happened, it was hers, and she was going to tell her boyfriend when she was ready. Now was not that time.

Glenn looked away from Zoe and Nate with a guilty look, knowing that he had said too much, and he turned back towards Rick, sensing Nate's eyes on the side of his face. Nate was just wondering what Glenn had meant by that, and why he had said it, but he didn't want to push Zoe to say anything if she didn't want to. But that didn't mean he didn't want to know.. If he finds out that that man had done anything to his girl, he was going to kill him - he clenched his hands into fists at the mere thought of it.
"There's no way Merle's going to live there without putting everyone at each others throats." Rick said, not knowing any ways that Merle could come back with them. It just wouldn't work out, as much as he wanted Daryl and Nate to have their brother back.

"So you're gonna cut Merle loose and bring the last samurai home with us?" Daryl asked the man, motioning to Michonne, who still stood by the car, waiting for them to come back.

Nate shook his head, taking Zoe's hand and pulling her back and away from the group so he could have a private word with the girl. "What did Glenn mean by that?" He asked her, when they had walked away from the others slightly, wanting to get a private word in with her. Zoe looked nervous at his question, not wanting to answer, at least, not yet, anyway.

Zoe bit her lip, before she tutted, "You're asking me this, but you're not gonna want to know the answer to it." She eventually told the boy, finally looking up at her with tears in her eyes, threatening to fall, but she closed them, breathing in to stop them from falling down.

Nate grunted in frustration, knowing that something terrible had gone down with the Governor, he knew that much - Glenn had pretty much confirmed it just now, and he could tell by the look on his girls face that the man had done something to her, also, the fact she was wearing Glenn's shirt right now also gave him a suspicion. He clenched both of his hands into fists again, as Zoe pulled them into her hold and stroked them, trying to calm him down; he had never felt so angry in his life, he wanted to take both of his hands and strangle the man who dared to touch Zoe. The love of his life. There was another worry at the back of his mind, something he didn't know if he wanted to find out.. "Did my brother have anything to do with it?" The boy asked, wanting to know now if Merle could have stopped this from happening.

Zoe sighed, "Nate, he's your family.." She said, calmly, before Nate shook his head, interrupting her.

"Could he have stopped the Governor?" Nate asked her, saying the man's name in disgust. Zoe knew that he would find out eventually, and she believed that he should know everything before he made his decision to either go with Merle, or stay with her. She nodded.

Nate walked away from her, heading towards Merle who held a smile at the sight of his youngest brother, happy that he had decided to come with him and Daryl, but when his brothers face finally came into view, his smile faded, and he held his hands up in surrender. "Calm down little brother.." Merle begun, until Nate had swung his fist straight at the man's face, Zoe watching in shock as she had joined Glenn and Maggie, who also watched in shock.

"You disgust me." Nate spat, glaring his brother down as he wiped the blood away from his nose.

"I guess I deserved that one.." Merle muttered, looking back up at Nate who still looked angry.

"You deserve a lot more." Nate told him.

"So you're with little blondie then?" Merle asked him, motioning towards Zoe as she watched the two of them, "Your picking some ass over your own family?" He asked, now judging his brother.

"She is my family." Nate defended her, "She has treated me better than you ever have." He said, remembering how Merle had moved out and left him with their abusive father without a care of what would happen to him. Zoe was his family now, and he was never going to leave her. And with that, he stormed away from the older man, leaving him glaring at his back, and he headed straight for Daryl, who had grabbed their bags from the car. "I'm not going with you." He revealed, as Daryl tilted his head in confusion, "You're my brother. I love you, and I always will. And we will meet again, but for now, I gotta stick with my girl." He explained, as Daryl actually nodded in understanding, having felt like Nate wouldn't actually come with them.

Daryl reached out and pulled his younger brother in for a hug. "Take care, baby bro." He said, as they both hugged, saying their goodbyes. Of course he was devastated that he may not see his brother again, but the apocalypse had changed them all, and he had partly expected this from him. He was a better man than him and Merle could ever be, and he couldn't be more proud of him.

"Take care." Nate repeated, as Daryl finally pulled away and gave him one last smile, before walking towards Merle, who began smiling at the fact that one of his brothers was coming with him. The next second, he felt arms around his waist, recognising them as Zoe's, who held onto him tight, glad that he hadn't left her.

"You didn't leave." She stated, as he turned around and grabbed her face, placing his hands either side of her face.

"I'll never leave you." Nate told her, knowing for a fact that he was going to marry the girl in front of him, and live the rest of his life with her, happily.

Zoe Grimes was his life now.