Duel Forces (Merle, Aubrey and Woodbury)

Merle looked around the area constantly as they made their way into the outskirts of the small town, looking for any good shops that hadn't already been looted. Groaning a bit in annoyance when he noticed that there was yet another 7/11 that had been picked clean, he waved Aubrey over to where he was standing,

"Tis plac' is really star'in' te grat' on mah nerv's lil petunia." he joked a little bit as he gestured around them, "Te whol' area loo' lik' it's dun' gun' bee' pic'd clean! Yer thin' ther's lik' a bigg'r grou' roun' tes par's?"

Shrugging a little bit, he lead her around the corner cautiously. Seeing that there were no Walkers around, Merle was getting really rather edgy. There were always Walkers. The only way there wasn't was if someone had managed to get them all. He frowned a little bit before moving over to another 7/11 across the street. He grinned a little bit and turned back to Aubrey,

"Hey looki' wha' I foun'!" he encouraged her with a little chuckle, "Loo's lik' we'v don' foun' te only plac' lef' in tis dam' plac'!"

He chuckled a little bit and turned back to the store, only for his eyes to widen when he realised that he now had a shotgun pointed at his head. There was three men, all three of them armed with shotguns and massive backpacks. The men themselves were like the beginning of a racial joke; a black guy, an asian guy and a mexican guy. The black guy was holding the shotgun,

"Who the fuck you supposed to be?" he demanded on Merle with a raised eyebrow, "President of the Rednecks of America club or some shit? And you... girl... what the hell you two doing here?"

Merle snorted, "Ain' non'a yer dam' busin's."

The black man cocked the shotgun while still aiming it at Merle. He glanced to Aubrey,

"I asked the girl. I'll ask again... what the hell you two doing round here huh?"

Aubrey had a lot of fun in the cabin house with Merle, she had gotten to know him a lot more, although there were still some things that she didn't know and didn't expect to know right away she accepted that, and realised that if he wanted to tell her then Merle would do so in his own time. But...she also had to admit that she was developing feelings for him of a non friendly nature...

How could she not? They slept in the same bed together!

Snapping her head back into the task, she hummed softly and picked out some of the cars left in the 7/11 forecourt and when she couldn't find anything merely pouted and shut the door to the car quietly. This place had been picked clean! Running her hands through her long blue hair she had let down today, she looked over to where Merle was in the shop on the other side of the gas station.

"You found something?" she asked with a happy smile, hopping across the road swiftly "Oh that's awesome, I thought we were going to have to go to further afeild to find stuff."

Gasping softly when she saw the men, armed and carrying what looked like a third of the stuff in the shop each, Aubrey pulled out her own weapon, a rather large machette and she looked at them cautiously her heart hammering in her chest as she wondered what they were going to do. Provoking them didn't seem to be a good thing to do...

"We're just looking for some supplies, we don't want any trouble so please, you don't need to use your gun..." she stated with a small voice, obviously very nervous.

Merle had to admit that looking at a black man over the barrel of a gun was a sight that was not uncommon to him, much to the dismay of his mother when she had been alive. He still didn't like the odds that they were currently facing though. Usually he'd had a gun or at least some of his gang to fall back on, people who would be willing to shoot the fucker before he himself lost his head to a freaking shotgun blast. He raised an eyebrow,

"Yer sur' yer wan'a be poin'in tha' thin' at me boy?" he growled dangerously at the black man, "Thin' yer so toug' jus' cus yer go' a shotgu' huh? Well put tha' dow' an' we'll see who te real man her' is yer limp dic' shi'!"

The black man's eyes narrowed and his finger twitched closer to the trigger. He listened to what Aubrey had to say and growled a little bit. Now both the asian guy and the mexican guy were glaring at Aubrey. Apparently she'd said precisely the wrong thing,

"Just looking for supplies huh?" he spat at the ground by her feet, "Just like that other group? The one that's been bleeding this area dry? I don't think so bitch!"

Merle spat at the black man, catching him in the eye with the shot. The black man wiped his eye clean as Merle smirked at him and raised his arms out to the sides,

"Yer threa'nin' mah girl'... Ima fuc' yer up." he threatened the black man before her remembered the shotgun just as the black man pumped it, "Ah shi'' tha' ain' fair."

A loud gunshot rang out, followed very quickly by two more, and the black man, the asian man and the mexican man all fell to the ground dead. Merle grabbed Aubrey and hid her behind him, wanting to shield her with his body. Before they could say anything a small group of men and women emerged from behind some cars on the opposite end of the street. The lead man, a white man with only a little bit of stubble and a white shirt, put his rifle on his back,

"Nasty business what with all these bandits." he acknowledged in greeting to them before offering a hand with a smile, "Name's Phillip but around here folks call me The Governor. I've got myself a lovely little group and a little town just down the road. You can rest up and resupply there if you want and if you like we'd love you to stay. Always need good people."

Merle blinked a few times, not taking the hand. To his credit, The Governor didn't react to this rudeness at all. Merle turned to Aubrey, "Yer call on tis one..."

Aubrey shook her head at Merle when he threatened the guy with the shotgun, oh this was not going to end well she wanted to be able to fix this but there was nothing that she could do now, seeing the guy pump his shotgun her hand gripped the handle of her machete tighter she would need to act before they could hurt Merle, even though it was his fault that they were probably going to be shot now anyway.

When the man spat at her and the otheres glared, she bit her lip and her face turned a little bit paler, she hadn't said anything to upset them she didn't think, she had only tried to tell them what they were genuinely here to do. Although her heart beat faster and faster when she heard Merle calling her 'His girl' she even blushed a little bit at the thought.

Crying out as she heard a gun shot she crunched up into herself because she thought it was the bandits shooting at her and Merle, but, she gasped softly as she was pushed behind Merle, hugging her arms around his chest she nuzzled her head against his back, how sweet that he was going to protect her from a bullet but it would leave her all alone.

"W-what?" she asked softly as she felt herself being completely fine, and Merle too, peeking her head around she bit her lip as she saw the other guy, he was really quite handsome and she blushed a little bit, he'd saved them!

Taking his hand, she shook it softly with a small smile;

"I'm not sure about that, we have our own place around these parts...but, I guess it's couldn't hurt to have a look around right Merle?" she asked with a happy smile "We could see what it's like, it's always nice to be around more people too."

Merle had to admit that he would have rather enjoyed having Aubrey hugging him from behind under any other circumstance but when he was preparing to take a bullet (or several) for her then the romance of it dimmed a little in his mind. And probably increased in other people's, he admitted, since he was so willing to sacrifice himself for her.

The Governor guy seemed nice enough to Merle but that was the probably. No one in this shit-sack of a world was this nice without expecting something in return. And with how nice this guy was acting, Merle wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that The Governor wanted them to swear loyalty to his cause and do whatever he asked of them.

Merle was nobody's enforcer.

At least not since he left his gang for the last time. He also noted hos much Aubrey was blushing and instantly he realised he hated this Governor guy. So that was his plan eh? Act like a knight in shining armour and then creep his way into Aubrey's heart until she would dance like a puppet on a strong for his sick little pleasure? Oh he would have to put a stop to that quick!

Meanwhile The Governor smiled a little bit wider when Aubrey shook his hand,

"Ah right! I'm going to guess it's out of town itself since we haven't run into each other before. I'd remember a pretty face like yours after all." he told her with a wink before grinning, "Yeah come and have a look Merle! Just like... I'm sorry Darling, I don't believe I've gotten your name."

Merle wanted to growl but Aubrey had accepted the invitation now and there was nothing he could do about it. He nodded a little bit towards Aubrey,

"Tha's Aubrey." he told The Governor a little bit bluntly before wrapping an arm around Aubrey's shoulders and grinning at her, "Me an' Aubrey go quit' a bi' bac' by today's stand'ds. Sav'd ma' lif' an' I've been in her debt ev'r sinc."

The Governor clapped his hands a little bit and grinned at the both of them,

"Nice work there Aubrey!" he congratulated her brightly before waving for them to follow him and his group as they began to walk, "Come on guys, this way. It's our sixth month anniversary right about now so we've got good food."

If only for the good food Merle was willing to check it out. Realising that their current position was... close, Merle blushed slightly and instead held his hand out for Aubrey to take, not wanting to run the risk of that silmy Governor taking her hand,

"Yer wan'a escor' me inte' te lion's den?" he teased her with a wink, "No on'I'd rat'r go wit' tan yer."

Aubrey could tell that Merle didn't really like the man who had saved them and she really didn't get why, he would have been dead if it hadn't have been for him. The least that they could do was to check out their little town, it would be nice to maybe make some friends and if something did go wrong they would be able to depend on them for help, maybe even move into their town if their home became overrun or the supplies dried up.

When the Governor complimented her she blushed a little more and laughed softly, oh she could tell that he was a charmer alright but, the way that Merle called her 'lil blueberry' made her heart pound and her knees weaken so...she was pretty sure that she wasn't interested in this Governor guy at all. Although he was a typical 'pretty' man, and it was her type before all this, Aubrey had become attached in a big way to her older rugged counterpart.

"Well thank you Philip, but you don't have to compliment me like that." she whispered softly, touching her pink cheeks lightly "Yeah I'm Aubrey, Aubrey Kipling. I'm pleased to meet you."

Letting her hand drop from his handshake, Aubrey gasped a little bit when Merle pulled her close to him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, blushing even more she looked up into his cheeky grin and grinned right back, he was so nice to her, and she really didn't expect anything from him. Although she had helped him get off the roof, he'd helped her so much too.

"Hey, I wish you would stop mentioning that, makes me seem a lot tougher than I am." she grinned, poking his cheek good naturely "And you know I dont expect anything."

Almost pouting when Merle let go of her, she slipped her fingers through his as she held his hand and she smiled lightly as they walked down the street, the wind was pleasant and the heat was just right. Sighing softly she looked up at the sky;

"I think today might be our lucky day, you shouldn't be so skeptical Merle, Philip seems really nice." she whispered softly "But, I think I would much rather stay in our cabin just the two of us..."

Merle was definately on high alert for this fucker. All these compliments? The bright and friendly attitude? It was all lies, all lies he would swear on Daryl's life! The man was too good, too fake, for this to be how he really felt. But right now they had the guns and they blocked the escape route for him and his little blueberry. He was certain that he'd be able to make it to their little cabin even if they followed and even if they started firing but he wasn't sure if the same was ture for Aubrey and he wasn't about to push to find out. So he would play along with the little game The Governor was playing.

For now.

The Governor grinned wider still when he heard Aubrey's name. It wasn't because he knew who she was from before the Walkers. No it wasn't that. It was because he recognised the name though. He had some books in his study to that effect,

"Kipling you say?" he teased her with a gentle smile and a wink, "No relation to the author I assume? Althought maybe sweet enough to be related to those lovely little cakes."

Merle smiled a little bit when Aubrey gasped at him holding her close. She was blushing up a storm and he had to admit that it made her look even more attractive than she normally was,

"Ah but yer'v bee' maki' yersel' inte a real toug' on' hav'nt yer?" he mentioned with a little grin. He had been teaching her some tricks after all. He stuck his tongue out at her jokingly, "Tha' is par'a te reas'n why yer ge' som'thin'."

Holding her hand, Merle had to admit that it was nice to just be able to enjoy wandering down a street with a beautiful woman holding his hand. When she spoke he chuckled a little bit. It might be their lucky day but it could also be one hell of a trap... the fun was in figuring out which on it was. He smirked when she said she would rather stay in their cabin. The Governor gave them an odd look, as if he had heard them despite the whispering. Merle waved at him before whispering back to Aubrey,

"I thin' thi' guy is tal'in a loa'a shi'. He's too nic' te be rea'." he told her honestly before smirking a little bit and winking at her, "Anyon'd thin' yer wer' tryin' te ge' me alon'..."

Aubrey really wasn't used to men complimenting her this much and she wondered what she was going to do about it, to be honest, she did like it, but she would much rather have the compliments coming from Merle, in his own little way. She didn't really have a right to complain about it though, it was quite pleasant really, being in the zombie apocalypse tended to make you feel like you were asexual half the time and ugly the rest of the time!

"Haha no!" she laughed "No relation to the author at all, although, when I was in college I was saving money up to open my own Cupcake Shop! So I suppose the link with cakes is true." Aubrey admitted with a little cheeky wink of her own.

When Merle told her that she had been working hard to make herself tougher, Aubrey was glad that he was realising how hard she was working to pick up his little tips and tricks that he was teaching her. Aubrey didnt want to be a liability to Merle, she could tell that she had been when they had first travelled together but, hopefully now he would see her as better.

"I have been trying, you have to make sure that you can take care of yourself in a world like this, like just then...you aren't up against walkers all of the time, sometimes humans can cause problems too." Aubrey stated with a happy but firm expression "I'm thankful that I have such a great teacher."

Spotting the odd look that they were given by the Governor she giggled a little bit, she felt like she was being told off by the teacher on a school feild trip, she didn;t know why but now that she was with these guys she was a lot more relaxed than she had been before, probably because of their guns and there were more of them now.

"Awwww Merle you dont know that though." Aubrey whispered in return with a small pout "The least we can do is have a look around the place, we can always leave if we dont like it." when he mentioned the fact it seemed she wanted to get him alone Aubrey blushed brightly and she shook her head "W-well no, it's not just that at all!"

Merle had to admit the whole "The Governor flirting with Aubrey" thing was not good in his mind. After all, what was the point of all of these compliments? Was it to lull her into a false sense of security around the sneaky man? Or, worse, was it to try and have Aubrey for himself? If it was the second Merle made sure to remind himself his mental promise from much earlier.

Anyone tries to take Aubrey - Beat them to death with their own internal organs!

The Governor chuckled a little bit when she said that she was no relation to the author, it was too much to hope for that his new town might have links to someone related to such a literary giant after all. He smiled a little bit when she mentioned opening a cupcake shop though,

"I take it you've not been doing much baking since all this started huh?" he commented before smirking a little bit, "You would love it at Woodbury. We've got our own supply of flour and milk and eggs... along with a large supply of sugar. I'm sure you'd be able to make as many cupcakes as you want. Lord knows how much I'd love to take a big old bite out of a cupcake!"

Merle grinned a little bit when she seemed happy with her progress so far. She was coming along as she was doing very well considering that they had very little time or opportunity to train in real life situations without it being massively dangerous,

"Yer lear'in te righ' less'ns quic' I mus' say." he told her as he affectionately ruffled her hair before grinning a little bit at her, giving her a sly wink, "An' I hav' on hell'a a studen'."

The Governor decided that it was better to just lead the way it seemed to Merle because he didn't turn back around at all. Merle smirked a little bit before shaking his head with a little sigh. He supposed that they would have to get a look around,

"Alrigh' alrigh' we can tak'a loo' roun' don' worry bou' it." he assured her before smirking wider at her blush and what she had said, "Not jus' tha' huh? So yer do wan' me all te yersel'... woul' yer kee' me in te bedroo' I wond'r?"

Aubrey's eyes lit up and she almost squeaked in excitement when Philip told her that they had equipment for her to make cupcakes in Woodbury, she would love to make some cakes for her and Merle, of course other people could have some too and she would be more than happy to share them with all of the people in Woodbury. Although she did wonder just how big the little town was, but didn't think it appropriate to ask.

"Oh my that would be amazing!" she laughed happily "I wouldn't want to take your supplies though...I know you probably have more important things to do with them but...I wouldn't mind making some cakes for your anniversary celebrations today, if you'll let me."

The thought of getting back into the kitchen, was making her beyond happy, cooking pasta and things was all well and good but she was really happy to be able to bake, with fresh eggs no less! Sighing softly she swung her hand that was clasped with Merle's, she was just so happy, but a part of her did agree with Merle this seemed all too perfect.

"Of course I'll make sure to give you the biggest one." Aubrey smiled shyly at Merle "I'm looking forwards to you being able to taste my cooking, proper cooking, not reheating canned stuff."

Blushing even more when Merle picked up on what she said Aubrey pulled her hand from his and she waved them in the air as she tried to show just how much she wasn't really thinking about him in the bedroom with her, although, she really was. She didn't want him to share a bed with anyone but her.

"W-well no." she stuttered "I just get jealous when I think of anyone but me sharing a bed with you, so, I'd like to keep you all to myself!" she admitted with a large smile, giving him a little peck on the cheek before she resumed her walking.

Merle noticed how Aubrey's lit up when she was told about the whole cupcake supplies thing. It made Merle want to attack Phillip. He should be the only one to make her feel that way! He was the one who should be in her heart, no Philip The fucking Governor! He tried to bring himself under control but the little smug smirk that The Governor gave him when Aubrey wasn't looking was making that damned freaking hard. The Governor waved his hand a little bit,

"Oh those supplies are mostly just sitting around right now anyway. And if you'd be willing to give us our fair share of the product we'd be very happy to get you the supplies." he told her happily before smirking a little bit, "The anniversary celebrations would be a guaranteed success with any cupcakes you could provide us with. It's been months since some of the children have had the pleasure of such a treat! Not to mention the rest of us."

Merle was more than a little bit annoyed right now. The Governor had completely usurped this from him, this was a type of happiness that he was unable to give her but the damned Governor had given her back one of her life's greatest pleasures. He swallowed enough of his anger to be moving on with though and managed to chuckle a little bit,

"Yer'd giv' me te' bigg'st one? Yer kin' te me. Too kin' perh'ps." he told her with a little grin that was as close to shy as Merle ever really got, "I'll be sur' te enj'y it. I'm sur' tha' yer prop'r coo'd foo' will be ev'n bett'r tan wha' yer already mak' me."

He laughed a little bit when she slipped her out out of his own to wave her hands around frantically in a mad effort to assure him that she didn't see it that way. Which was a shame since he was liking that line of thought. He could see that she didn't actually mean what she was frantically signing too,

"Oh so yer' te possessiv' typ'a lov'r huh?" he teased her, grinning wider when she gave him a peck on the cheek. Deciding to raise her one, he walked after her and gave her ass a light pinch and whispered in her ear, "Goo' cus I am too... no on' els' will be touc'in' yer... jus' me."

Aubrey was so so happy that she was going to be able to cook for everyone again, hopefully they would like the things that she made because she was going to be a little bit rusty, having not made them for a really long time. She doubted that she could ever make a cake that turned out badly though, considering how many recipies she had remembered from the times she was gearing up to open her shop.

"Well then I would be so very happy to get to work." she grinned happily "Oh I'm so excited!"

Almost bouncing with excitement, Aubrey walked faster along the road wanting to get to this place already, but, a little niggling worry had taken place in her mind, she had been with Merle and Merle alone so long, she didn't want him to leave her when he got new friends in this Woodbury place.

Hearing he thought she was too kind to him, Aubrey bit her lip and she shook her head; "I could never be too kind to you Merle, so, don't think that. You are however free to think that my freshly baked cupcakes are the best thing you have tasted since the whole world went downhill!" Aubrey laughed happily.

Unable to do anything but blush softly when he told her that she was a posessive type of lover, Aubrey directed her gaze away from Merle, she couldn't deny it because she was, even though they hadn't really talked about their feelings before, it seemed that they both did have feelings for each other. Even if it was just being attracted to each other, then that was good enough for her.

"Oh!" she exclaimed when she was pinched, rubbing her ass with a small pout she blushed "You didn't have to do it so hard you know, I bruise easily!"

Giggling softly she wrapped her arm around Merle's as they walked and she hummed lightly, it was so nice to be able to hug him like this enjoy the sun together.

The Governor might be able to offer Aubrey cooking, Merle thought to himself with more than just a touch of jealousy, but only if Aubrey decided that she wanted to stay there. Most likely this 'Woodbury' place was going to be something like the tents and shit that the Atlanta group had had going for them before they moved on. And if that was the case then Merle was sure that she would much rather want to stay with him in the cabin than stay there.

Smirking a little bit, The Governor shook his head a little bit with a happy little grin. It was nice to him to see someone so interested in providing a service to the rest of the little community. So many members of the Woodbury community tried to get away with not pulling their weight but right now they were just too young for that kind of talk,

"Well we have taken over some important buildings for our little town." he told them with a proud smile, "One of them is actually the highschool here. The home ec room has over three dozen ovens and six fridges and freezers... not to mention all the pots and equipment. You'd feel right at home there with the baking kits I'm sure."

Merle smiled a little bit and looked her in the eyes when he replied, "Tha's swee'a yer te say. Bu' we bot' kno' tha' I'm a har' man te ge' alon' wit'. An' yer'v don' amazin' at it. Chanc's are darlin' tha' the'll be te bes' dam' thin's I ev'r tast'd befor' an' aft'r te worl' wen' weird!"

He smirked a little bit at her reaction to him pinching her ass like that. It wasn't, "don't do that" it was "do it lighter" and that made all the difference. Grinning a little bit to himself, he got himself a sneaky grope of the same cheek that he had pinched. He winked at her,

"Still see's perfec' te me." he purred to her before blinking a little bit as he caught sight of something at the end of the road, "Well dam'... thes' guys'a seri's."

The Governor smirked a little bit and waved his hand in the direction of Woodbury. It wasn't quite done yet but what could be seen was impressive for something made after the world had ended. There was a massive wall surrounding the little settlement but it was made in sections so that it could be picked up and driven into the ground further up. So that it could expand when they wanted it to. He smiled at them,

"Isn't she beautiful?" he asked, gesturing to some children playing happily beyond the wall. He turned to Aubrey with a happy smile, "It's all worth it to see their happy little smiles."

Aubrey squeaked a little bit in happiness when she heard that there was a whole home ec room full of cookers and equipment, they were really going to be able to cook up a storm here and she would like to repay their kindess for saving them before, the least she could do was give them soem of her cooking for their little party that they were going to be having tonight. Who knows, maybe she could stay there for the party with Merle, it would be nice to relax with him here.

"Wow, you're so kind ot give me access to all of those places and all that equipment Philip, thank you so much!" she smiled broadly, Aubrey was just so happy.

To be honest, the Merle that she knew from the camp was completely different to this Merle, and although they had some rough days when he was having big withdrawals from his drugs, Aubrey liked to think that she had coped really well with them and was able to come out of the other side without having upset Merle too much.

"I know you haven't been the best person to get along with sometimes Merle but, I'm just glad that I got the chance to know you like this, now that I know the person under the mean and harsh exterior, it's worth getting shouted at a few times." she grinned, sticking out her tongue.

Gasping softly as she saw Woodbury for the first time, Aubrey thought that it was one of the best fortified places she had ever seen, and she bit her lip as she looked from the fences, to the children playing, to Philip, he had done such an amazing job, and the places to live in the town were actual houses! With rooms and...and beds and gardens! Safe gardens!

"Amazing..." she whispered softly "You've done the impossible, creating somewhere so safe in a time like this, I would love to have a closer look!"

Grinning happily Aubrey almost bounced towards the town tugging Merle happily with her.

Merle gritted his teeth to keep from shouting in anger. Oh come on! What the hell was this? Who the hell had the time and the inclination to make something this fucking huge when it was likely that people and Walkers had been trying to kill them the whole time they were building it? Dear god this was fucking rediculous. It was a very impressive achievement, he begrudgingly accepted, but honestly he was wondering just how The Governor had managed to get enough people to help him make this thing. He eyed The Governor critically... he had a feeling that saving people was one such recruitment method for this place.

The Governor grinned a little bit when Aubrey thanked him so happily for the access to the equipment. It was his pleasure to give said permission, especially when he was getting more and more certain that Aubrey would want to stay. Merle may or may not decide to stay but either way he would do so solely because of Aubrey. And if he chose not to then The Governor would have him killed quietly... he wanted Aubrey's skills though,

"Ah it's my pleasure!" he assured her with a grin, "You see a cook or baker... both, are artists! And what is an artist without being able to practice their artform eh? I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun in our kitchens and using out equipment!"

As they made their way closer to the walls of Woodbury Merle began to get the feeling that he was walking into a trap. But Aubrey had decided so he guessed that they were going to walk right into the potential trap. He chuckled a little bit,

"Awww well I'm gla' yer foun' som'thin' und'r all te lay'rs tha' yer can lik'." he teased her gently, only gently because he was being truthful. In the end he laughed a little bit and shook his head, "Don' go tellin' no on', ma' rep'll be ruin'd!"

Merle's eyes narrowed as Aubrey gushed over The Governor's accomplishment here with Woodbury. It was impressive, don't get him wrong, but it was hardly likely to be all down to The Governor. He was probably just the guy who commanded people top do this and do that, hardly worthy of the praise in Merle's book. The Governor just smiled happily,

"I'm just trying to help as many people as I can." he told her gently, smiling happily and friendily as he did so, "I want the people who're left to know that Woodbury is the shining beacon of hope... and we will guide them back to happiness."

Merle wanted to gag at that point but Aubrey tugged him ahead towards the gates, which began to slowly open upon The Governor's nod.

Aubrey thought that this guy was really really nice, he even appreciated the fact that she was an artist, she was used to making really great cupcakes with the icing that she had at home she would see if they had any but she doubted it who actually had icing in times like these? Not many people she had to say. As they approached Woodbury and the doors opened for them Aubrey looked around and felt so supremely happy as she did so.

This place was like it's own little neighbourhood, and though it needed some more work doing and it was quite small, Aubrey was sure that it would only grow and be able to house more and more people, which would be a great thing for the people left in this world. To have a place like this to come to.

Gently she squeezed Merle's hand and she smiled softly up at him, she could tell that there was something wrong, he definately wasn't as excited as she was to be here and she wondered why. Maybe it had something to do with what he had said about Philip? Aubrey thought that was probably it, after all, he didn't seem to like or trust him very much.

If Merle didn't like the place then she wouldn't stay here, because, she didn't want to force him to be somewhere that he didn't like.

"Isn't it lovely here Merle?" she asked softly "It's kind of like those perfect neighbourhoods you used to see on Desperate Housewives and shows like that...it's a little bit strange though, don't you think? That even though there are zombies all around there can still be places like this?"

Resting her head on his arm she smiled softly at the children who were playing and the mothers who were watching nearby, although, she did blush softly, everyone seemed to be looking at them, and Aubrey had never much liked being the center of attention, hiding behind her fringe, she directed her gaze to the floor, and held Merle's hand tighter.

Merle was beginning to contemplate just leaving right now. This Governor character was shady to say the very least. The man just happened to come across them when they were about to be killed? Really? It was too neat, too perfect and way too timed. He wasn't going to say that it was staged but he was very willing to go out on a limb and say that they had been planning to kill those guys anyway and that him and Aubrey being there just gave him something to hold over them.

But he would admit that this place was very nice. It was like the neighbourhoods that Merle had always been chased out of by the police when he was a child. The kind of neighbourhood where you could tell the wives were gold-diggers and were all off fucking the poolboy whenever their husbands didn't buy them a new mercedes or jaguar. But, he had to admit, they were the biggest houses so it made a heck of a lot more sense to turn these houses into a community than the houses of the poor. Besides, he doubted that any of those rich types had managed to survive this shit sack of a world.

The Governor could tell that Merle was still the one that he needed to convince but he was confident that if he showed them around, convinced them to stay the night, then Aubrey's love for the place would sway Merle over. Merle clicked his tongue a little bit,

"Woul't kno', nev'r really watc'd stuff lik' tha' yer kno'? Nev'r really aim'd'a me now was it?" he teased her a little bit before nodding, "Kno' wha' yer mean though... all te heav' hitt'rs in te tow' woul'a liv'd her' an' now tha' tey'r gon' it's bee' tak'n ov'r by anyon' who nee's it. Tis is te real 'occupy' movemen' righ' her' I say... an' le' it kee' goin'!"

Noticing that she was beginning to get a little uncomfortable with all the stares that she was getting, Merle wrapped an arm around her gently to help her lightly against him and to offer comfort. He also glared at any of the bored-housewife types who were whispering about them. The Governor noticed this and laughed a little bit as he lead them inside, into what was, ironically enough, a working starbucks,

"Pay them no mind." he told her with a smile before gesturing for them to sit down, "You want a latte or something? It's newly reopened... tastes even better than I remember."

Aubrey laughed softly at the idea of Merle staying in one night to catch up on Desperate Housewives while Daryl was off in the woods hunting, it was a completely odd thing to think about but it made her laugh, she saw that he was probably not the target market for Desperate Housewives or other programmes like that, but, she had watched them herself sometimes with the girls when they were having one of their sleepover nights.

"I guess that's true, I would be a little worried if you did come out of the closet as a secret day time tv fan." she teased softly "These houses look so nice, although, everyone seems to know everyone around here...I think that I would hate to live in a place like this...especially when nobody is my age."

Her cheeks were painted with a painfully red blush as she heard some of the comments about herself, and about Merle, and about them both together actually. Biting her lip she was all to happy to recieve the comfort that he provided for her, resting her head against his shoulder again, Aubrey swiftly walked into the house that the Governor was showing them into.

She had been too busy looking at the floor to realise the house was actually a Starbucks, and Aubrey looked up, blinked and then her mouth popped open in surpirse;

"Is this for real, a Starbucks coffee shop and...it still works?" she asked incredulously "Oh yes I would love one! If...if that's okay." Aubrey added with a small blush, there was something about Philip that made her want to check that he actually meant what he said, and wasn't just offering to be polite.

Taking a seat on one of the comfy chairs, Aubrey sighed happily and streched out in the sun like a cat, winding her long blue hair around a finger;

"I really do hate it when people look at me like that." she whispered quietly, more to herself than anyone else, but maybe Merle would catch it, him sitting opposite her.

Merle chuckled when she laughed, probably at the idea of him watching Desperate Housewives. Or, heaven forbid, one of its dozen regional spin-offs. To be honest the whole concept of it was rather offensive to him. It was about women who had too much time and too much money. He wasn't exactly going to aspire to that kind of life style since it was the complete opposite of his own before all the zombies. He had been a criminal in a gang a bit of a hunter before that. He wasn't exactly living the life of luxury off someone else's money and pretending he had problems,

"Yea' I din' ev'n own a tv until bou' '06. Nev'r saw muc' poin' in te dam' thin's yer kno'? I had a newspap'r an' I kne' tha' te sun woul' ris'. Tha' was all I nee'd bac' ten." he told her before chuckling a little bit, "Yea' well whe' yer tv fans los' ther' tv I guess tey realis' tha' peopl' exis' outsid' ter' doo' an' sudd'nly becom' rath'r social."

Merle had to admit that he liked some of the comments flying around about him and Aubrey. Who knew these bored housewives had such active imaginations? Someone had even caught onto the fact that Aubrey was walking with a slight sway to her hips when she was ahead of him... mmmm was Aubrey trying to tantilise and tease him like that? Mmmm yeah he liked the idea of that to sure. He raised an eyebrow when they walked into the starbucks,

"Dea' go'... Starbuc' surviv'd?" he muttered before shaking his head a little bit and holding Aubrey's hand. Smirking a little bit, he glanced at The Governor, "Tis is my firs' tim' takin' a beautif'l wom'n fer coffee... so ho' bou' yer let me pay fer te drin's? Espec'lly Aubrey's."

The Governor waved the idea off initially and came because three lattes. Before he could stop him, Merle placed a silver necklace in the man's hand. The Governor blinked once before accepting it. Precious metals and stones were still valuable even if money wasn't. Merle smirked a little bit and whispered into her ear,

"So do I... I don' wan' anyon' bu' me chec'in yer ou'." he told her with a purr before winking, "Te wom'n are all jus' jeal's of how ho' yer are."

The Governor coughed a little bit, smirking a little bit as he did so,

"Not to interrupt..." he teased them both before turning to Aubrey, "So... first reactions to the place?"

Aubrey, when she heard that Merle hadn't had a tv until quite late on, she blinked softly she didn't think that anyone hadn't not owned a tv by the time they had become readily available, but the type of lifestyle that Merle had would mean that he wasn't exactly the type of person to want to take a day to laze in front of the tv, he was more the type to relax taking his shotgun for a long hunt in the forest.

She prefered that thought of him walking among the forest than chilling in front of the tv if she was honest.

Giggling slightly when he mentioned the fact that Starbucks had survived everything, Aubrey had to admit that this place was pretty much as good as it got, she looked like she could be really happy here if she stayed away from the other people, the other gossiping people. Aubrey hated gossips, especially when they were gossiping about her!

"Ah Merle!" Aubrey protested with a small pout "You don't have to pay for it at all, I'm sure that it's just a friendly cup of coffee between new friends!"

But before she could say anything else it seemed he'd already paid for the coffee, pouting even more she took the cup from the Governor with a happy smile on her lips, sipping it softly she gave a happy little moan out, it had been such a long time since she'd had a coffee;

"Mmmmm this is so amazing..." she sighed happily "Thank you so much for inviting us here Philip, I really appreciate you being so friendly, and for saving us earlier...I don't know what had done if you hadn't have come in time."

She was so scared at the thought of losing Merle, which would have happened without his help. Blushing softly, when Merle whispered in her ear, Aubrey's heart pounded hard in her chest and she pressed her cool fingers to her cheeks; "I...I don't think that's the case, I-I mean I'm not really that sort of...uhm material."

When the Governor asked what she thought of the place Aubrey beamed; "Oh I love it! Absolutely love it! I wonder how you've managed it, you must have some great members of your group."

Merle had never understood the wonders of TV and had to admit that with things like desperate housewives (which he had originally thought was a porno) on the airwaves he was probably better off shooting shit and getting arrested. Was much more amusing than half the comedies on and such. He chuckled a little bit when he thought back to his disappointment upon finally getting a TV. Everything had sounded like porn but nothing was actually porn! It had been rather distressing at first.

When he paid for her coffee The Governor was giving a nod of approval and Merle had to actually thank TV for that one. Merle had never bought a coffee for a woman before actually. Whenever he had mentioned 'Coffee' to a woman before it had been code for 'wanna go upstairs and have a go then'. Not exactly romantic but it had worked. But with Aubrey he found himself wanting to be the perfect gentleman when it came to courting her,

"Ah well yer see I'v alrea'y pai'." he teased her a little bit before almost pouting a little bit. Jesus Christ... was she trying to friendzone him? He chuckled a little bit, "Yea'... jus' betwee' frien's I guess ten."

Sipping at the coffee, Merle glared at The Governor when Aubrey thanked him for inviting them here. Inviting them here... was that what that was? Honestly it had felt like they had been taken here by an armed escort. It wasn't like they could have said no to a group with guns after all. The Governor grinned a little bit,

"Ah don't worry about it, it's always nice to meet new people." he told her happily before chuckling a little bit and smirking slightly at Merle, "Oh I'm sure that Merle would have come up with something... he seems like the resourceful type."

Merle smirked right back, knowing that he was going to continue to whisper flirty things into her ear, to disrupt her conversation with The Governor as well as to enjoy flirting with her, "Oh I beg te diff'r... see te wom'n in te corn'r wit' her frien's? See wha' she's doin' wit' her han's? She's jeal'sa yer breas' siz'..."

The Governor beamed at Aubrey's praise for Woodbury and turned to look at Merle expectantly. The redneck blinked a few times before shrugging a little bit. The Governor chuckled a little bit,

"Well thank you for your honest opinions guys. Yes, Aubrey, we have a good group here but we're always looking to expand!" he told her, hinting none-to-subtly, "Well it's getting dark... dangerous out there at night. You could stay at the hotel here if you like?"

Aubrey blinked when she saw the look on Merle's face change a little bit, she wondered what she had said that would have made him upset but then she clicked, she knew that it was probably because she had said that it was a coffee between friends and she almost hit her head on the desk because of it. Oh no now he thought that she meant that he was a friend! When she didn't mean that at all, she just meant it as a coffee between them and Philip.

"Uhm Merle...You know I didn't mean that you were just a friend right?" she asked with a bright smile "We're much closer than that, so don't look so downtrodden okay?" Aubrey whispered softly, probably a good move seeing as Merle wouldn't want the fact he was sad to be broadcast to the Governor, he seemed to be having some sort of macho showdown with him half the time.

Nodding her head she threaded her fingers through Merle's;

"Oh he is, he is an amazing person, while we were making our way back from Atlanta, he totally saved my ass from doing stupid things while on the road, and made camping kinda bareable." she teased happily, as she sipped at her coffee slowly savouring it.

With a little gasp as Merle commented on the fact that the woman in the corner was commenting on her breasts she looked down and pulled her top up with a little blush on her cheeks, oh how embarrassing was this?! Very...;

"I-I'm sure that she was just talking about something else Merle, I don't like the way you keep pointing people out who are looking at me, it makes me embarrassed." she admitted with a cute blush on her cheeks, as she looked up at Merle, twirling her hair about her finger, in her trademark ultimate cute seductive look.

At the offer to stay here for the night, Aubrey bit her lip and looked sideways up at Merle, it was true it was dangerous at night and...a hotel sounded really romantic; "W-we can stay one night right Merle, please? And...a hotel sounds kind of sweet don't you think?"

Merle brightened up when she whispered to him that she saw him as more than a friend. That was good. That was very good! He had avoided the dreaded friendzone and all was right with the world again! Maybe even better when he realised that if he wasn't the friend then the friend in this case was actually The Governor. The Governor had also noticed it apparently since he had hung his head a little bit and refused to meet Aubrey's eyes. He didn't say anything to Aubrey, he just grinned a little bit and gave her hand a gentle squeeze with his own hand,

"Ah yer jus' givin' me too muc' credi'." he told her, chuckling a little bit even as his cheeks flushed slightly before snorting, "Bu' yer still coul't wai' unt'l we foun' a real bed fer yer te res' on."

The Governor chuckled a little bit at their little back and forth there. He raised an eyebrow though when Aubrey suddenly seemed to blush a heck of a lot more just from something that Merle was whispering to her. Merle smirked a little bit and shook his head,

"Nah she was tot'ly tal'in bou' how she din' thin' she matc'd up te yer." he assured her with a purr before getting a good look at her sexy little cute pose. He purred a little bit and licked his lips, "Well... can yer blam' em fer bein' jeal's when yer pull off sexy so well... an' mak' it loo' so easy?"

Merle raised an eyebrow at The Governor but Phillip just chuckled a little bit and stood up from his chair. He placed a small card, with a little address on it, on the table, "It's The Denver. Nice hotel, just around the corner. Tell them The Governor sent you and you might get the penthouse sweet!"

When The Governor had walked away Merle smirked a little bit and whispered huskily into Aubrey's ear,

"Yer sur' yer can trus' me te kee' mah han's wher' we bot' wan' em?" he teased her a little bit before taking her hand and standing up, "Let's ge' to tha' hot'l... I'm sudd'nly feelin' lik' I nee' a be'... how bou' yer?"

Aubrey stood up and thanked the Governor as she should do when he told them that they would get the penthouse suite, she shook his hand and gave him a little hug actually, he was being so kind to them when he really had no need to be kind to them at all! She liked him already but...one of her biggest flaws was being too trusting of people that she perhaps shouldn't, that was why even before coming here she'd had a soft spot for the Dixons.

"Thank you Philip, I appreciate it very much, if there's anything I can do bar baking cupcakes, you just let me know okay?" she asked with her happily cute expression on her lips, it was like she was radiating happiness, and to be honest she was, this was all so perfect.

Once the Governor had gone she went back over to Merle, finished her coffee quickly and nodded her head, she was all too ready to hit the hay after the day that they had, all that walking and that many surprises was making her eyes a little tired but, the coffee was kicking in. Blushing at the thought of what they could get up to in the hotel room, Aubrey picked up the card.

"Well considering we've shared a bed every night since we've been together and you've not tried anything, I think I trust you to keep that up." she smiled softly "Despite your appearance you're a true Southern Gent Merle, but, I might give you my permission to do something different tonight." Aubrey teased softly with a wink, pulling her tongue out a little.

Holding his hand again, she wandered down the street until they came across the hotel around the corner, as soon as they entered the lobby Aubrey found it all to be a little bit surreal...they were actually booking into a hotel...did they have to pay or...or what? Approaching the desk she told them that the Governor had sent them here and true enough the suite was theirs.

"Come on then Merle, let's get upstairs and check out the freebies!" Aubrey joked with a little laugh, dashing up the stairs "First one there gets dibs!"

Merle growled a little bit when Aubrey got up to say goodbye to The Governor and even gave him a little hug for his trouble. God damn it! Aubrey was supposed to have friend-zoned this guy! Why was it that the guy was now apparently out of the friend-zone far enough to get a hug? But it was only a quick one, thankfully, and then The Governor was gone. If that was the last that he saw of that guy before they left then he would be perfectly fine with that.

When she came back over to the table she was so very excited about sharing a hotel with him that Merle couldn't help but grin as well. It as like she was glowing with happiness right now and they hadn't even done anything glow-worthy! Yet. He chuckled a little bit when she said that they had shared a bed for a quite a few nights now and he had been a gentleman with where his hands and arms had gone. They had done some cuddling but that was as inappropriate as his touches had gotten,

"I guess I hav' bee' rath'r gentl'm'nlik'." he joked a little bit and gave her a little wink before purring a little bit and following her, "Don' mak' promis's yer can' kee' Aubrey... cus a promis' lik' tha' I'll hol' yer te! I wan' mah permiss'n te hav' lo'a fun..."

The walk to the hotel was brief but getting booked into the room was even briefer, leading him to believe that The Governor must have told the receptionist sometime earlier. After all, how else would the guy on the front desk have been expecting them? They clearly didn't get enough traffice through here to justify leaving a guy out on the front desk all the time after all.

Chasing her up to the room he let her win before unlocking the door and stepping inside. He whistled in appreciation at the room. It was more like a small flat than a hotel room he had to say. He closed the door and chuckled a little bit,

"Loo's lik' yer'v go' quit' te loa'a freebi's te gath'r." he joked with her, giving her a light pat on the ass, "Mmm wond'r if te bat' wor's... we coul' tak'a bat' togeth'r."