Hey guys! I'm back after some time to think about what to do next! Thank you so much for checking out my second story! This is a sequel to my first story, Their King County Past. If you haven't read that then I really encourage you read that first. I always love hearing from you so don't be shy to leave a review. Thank you and as always, happy reading!

Chapter 1: A While

Carol and Daryl were on the highway waiting for everyone else. All the commotion in the field attracted a horde of walkers and they were forced to leave. Daryl didn't know where Brooke was and he was as hopeless as he was at the quarry.

"I'm sure she made it, Daryl." Carol said.

"She trapped herself in a burning barn." He barked. Carol's lips twitched to the side and she stood next to him.

"She probably saved most of the group." She said.

"You should've never listened to her." He said and they saw some of the group coming from the distance. The stupid mutt had made it of course but he didn't see Brooke.

Back at the farm not too long ago

"Everyone get back to the farm!" Rick yelled.

"We'll meet out on the highway!" Daryl yelled and pulled Brooke with him. They ran back. Herschel decided to protect his farm and everyone else tried to help him. Some just couldn't and left. Brooke ran over to Carol when the horde was officially on the farm.

"Carol I have a plan!" she said. "I need you to do something for me!" she filled Carol in.

"No, I can't do that!" she cried.

"You have to! I'll be fine!" Brooke told her and gave her the materials. Brooke ran into the middle of everything. Everyone was being attacked by walkers. "Hey!" she yelled but none of them were interested. "Hey!" she yelled louder. She had the same fate. She sighed and knew she would have to lose her voice. She took a deep breath and screamed like she was in a horror movie. Everything went silent and all those glossy, dead eyes were on her. The moved towards her and she was glad Daryl didn't see her mission. "Shit!" she cursed and ran towards the barn. About half of the walkers that were on the farm followed. Carol stood behind the barn door so hopefully none of them would eat her. Brooke ran in and the rest weren't far behind. Carol did as she was told and shut the doors, not before throwing a match into the barn that was covered in gas.

Brooke had climbed the ladder in the barn and was above the burning sons of bitches. Some actually screeched from being burned. The fire was engulfing everything in its path. Brooke ran to the back door up at the top. She held on to the handle and closed one of the doors. She moved her foot and slammed the one shut. She didn't want to be flailing in the air so she removed one hand. She lifted her white v-neck that was covered with a cropped leather jacket. She pulled off her leather belt and put it around the handle's. She tightened it and she was now only holding on to the belt. She was steady but she knew she couldn't hold on much longer. She saw the RV making its way toward her. Jimmy was coming to her rescue. She jumped and landed at the top of the RV with a thud. She thanked Jimmy loudly and rolled off the RV. She hit the ground like a cat, feet first and took off running. She called for Rudy but she didn't hear him. She saw Patricia being bit and sighed. Lori and most of the women got into a car with T-Dog. They took off and she began to run over to her car. She knew they didn't have anywhere to go after this and drove to her tent. She grabbed her two bags and the squirrel that Daryl had caught. She saw she might be able to take some tents. She looked around and she was fine for now. She quickly tore down the other tents and slammed them into her car. She looked back and the barn was now burnt down to ash. She sighed and quickly figured out she was the only one left on the farm. She went into her car and man, was she thankful this car was fuel efficient. She drove onto the road and didn't have a plan. She knew they would be on the highway but she didn't know where. The sun was rising and she knew it would be a long drive. She sighed and everything hit her at once. Shane, her brother, had tried to kill her because of Lori. Brooke had always thought that Lori wasn't worth the throne both boys had put her on. She said it the first day at the quarry and she'd say it again. If she had kept her legs closed for five seconds after Rick's "death" none of this shit would've happened. Shane would be sane and he would be alive.

"Fuckin' Lori." Brooke cursed and pulled to the side of the road. She'd only said the f-word one other time in her life but she thought this occasion deserved the word. She broke down and cried. She cried for Shane, about Shane, and because of Shane. Even though he tried to kill her, she still loved him. No matter what he did, he was her brother. That crazy son of a bitch was her brother. She thought she may have lost everyone. She saw Andrea taking off in the woods, most of the women took off in a car, and she had no idea where Rick or Carl was, her dog, and Daryl. She set her head against the steering wheel in the thought of Daryl. Was he alive? Was he bit? Brooke chuckled. "He's a Dixon, he's alive." She laughed hysterically and turned her car on again. She continued driving on the straight road.

On the highway

"Is that everyone?" Maggie asked holding her family.

"Everyone who's left." Rick said. Daryl took a deep breath and could feel Carol's eyes on him. He bit the inside of his cheek begging his body not to cry. He had lost her, and this time, for real. Rudy trotted over and licked his hand. He smirked and patted his head.

"You stupid mutt." He whispered. Carol put a hand on his back.

"Wait, do y'all hear that?" T-Dog asked and they all listened. It sounded like another car. They weren't able to see it because it parked behind the other cars. They heard the car door slam and heard the gravel being moved. Brooke walked up to the group but was picked up by Daryl. She closed her eyes and gripped the back of his vest. A set of paws jumped on her thigh and she bent down to hug her canine companion. Rick crashed into her and so did Carl.

"Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again, Little Walsh!" Rick said. Most of the group had witnessed the barn being burnt to a crisp. She didn't even bother with Lori. Hell, that bitch could just go and die in a hole for all that she cared. She didn't see Andrea and she sighed. She and Brooke had become very close. In fact, they had become close before she and Shane did it in the soccer mom car.

"Hey, it killed most of those things didn't it?" She replied. Lori tried to go over to greet her with one of her uncomfortable hugs but Brooke went over to Daryl before she could. "I brought our tents, our medi-kits, the bags in y'alls tents, and I grabbed all the squirrel." She said and people looked at her in awe.

"You were able to grab all of that?" Carol asked.

"All the walkers had walked over to the barn. Light attracts them too. I saw some roaming around on fire before I left. By the time I left, all that was left of the barn and most of the walkers were ashes." She explained. "We can camp out for a while but not for very long. We don't have that much squirrel but I did find about three cases of water."

"I can see why it took you so long." Daryl smirked and kissed her temple. He saw the 22 on her necklace and sighed. He wondered if she was even the least bit mad at him for killing Shane. He saw emptiness in her eyes. "Where can we go though? It's almost winter and we got nowhere to go."

"I think we should just rest before we get into any major decisions." Rick said and everyone else agreed. Brooke was asked to bring her car to their little camping area and she did. They were able to set up their tents. Brooke went into the tent soon after they set it up. Lori had tried to come to her once again. The damn woman couldn't take a hint. She sighed and laid down on the cot. Her entire body was sore and she knew she had done all the things she could've done for the group in that moment.

Daryl was hanging up the squirrel so that it was high enough that Rudy couldn't get it. He was a good dog and knew when he was not supposed to do something but he didn't want to chance it. He looked back in the car and she had packed the arrows he had made. "She really didn't forget anything." He mumbled. Lori stood there in the middle of the camp with her arms crossed. He saw the flap of his tent being zipped up. "Yo, Olive Oyl!" he called.

"What?" Lori sighed.

"I think you should help out instead of jus' standin' there." He said and walked into the tent. Brooke was lying on their cot with her hands on her head. "Hey darlin'." He greeted.

"Hey." She said and lifted herself up. "I smell like an over burnt marshmallow." She said and he smirked.

"I looked over and I saw the barn on fire. I didn't expect that you were on a suicide mission." He said and sat on the opposite end of the cot.

"It wasn't a suicide mission, I knew what I was doing." She said. She still had that look in her eyes. They weren't that dark blue that they usually were, they were almost black. "I probably got rid of 85% of those walkers with the fire."

"Just try not to pull anymore stunts like that, okay?" he asked.

"No promises." She mumbled and laid back down. He knew she was worn out so he kissed her and left the tent. The look in her eyes haunted him. It was the same exact look from her mother's funeral.

It was a rainy day in June and it was the day of Mrs. Gina's funeral. Everyone wore black and they even had black umbrellas. It was a closed casket because Brooke and the family believed she didn't die peacefully. Daryl sat next to Brooke along with Amber, Becky, and Rick. Brooke sat right next to Shane and her father. Shane looked a lot like their father and Brooke looked like their mother but they each had a little bit of both parents in their looks. Shane had already spoken about Mrs. Gina. Brooke told Amber and Becky that Shane wasn't very vocal and was really quiet during all this. Dr. Walsh gave a tearful speech and goodbye. He said that Mrs. Gina was the only one for her and he knew no one was ever going to be as good as her. He had told Brooke and Shane prior to the funeral that he would never remarry because he knew he could never find anyone near as great as Mrs. Gina. Mrs. Gina's brother and sister had spoken and so had her father. Brooke held Shane's hand and it was her turn to say her goodbye. She squeezed his hand and he motioned for her to go on. She shakily stood up and walked over to the podium. Daryl could see her swallow back her fear that most of the town that had arrived.

"I woke up this morning and I realized that I wasn't prepared to do this. I didn't want to write a speech because I didn't think it would mean as much to her if I had prepared it. She always told me to be spontaneous and say what I felt like she did. And so I'm am just going to be as spontaneous as I can be." She kind of laughed and so did her family. "I miss my mom. I miss her so much. She is such a big part of my life, she is my role model, and she wasn't just my mom, she was my best friend. I know that not all daughters can say that about their mothers but I know I can because she was the exact definition. She was kind, loyal, selfless, and she always knew how to cheer me up. Mom is the person I want to grow up to be. I wish to be as strong as her, as caring, and as determined. I know I can never be as great as her though." She took a deep breath and continued. "Mom… Mom is truly an angel and I know she's not suffering anymore. But I can't help but ask for more time. More time to be in the café with her. More time to help her create more recipe's in our kitchen. More time for us to have a girl's night with Becky and Amber." Becky and Amber were trying to keep quiet and buried their faces in their hands. Tissues were being passed around everywhere and even Daryl needed a tissue. He never liked Brooke to see him cry. He didn't want her to see him cry now because she needed someone that was strong. "All I want is just to call her name and she would just walk through the back door of the café with more coffee like she always did. Just smell her perfume as she walked by because she always put too much on. Maybe just see her smile one last time." Brooke's lip quivered but she continued. "She told me, when the leukemia got really bad, that she would make it to my high school graduation. The funny thing is she actually kept her promise. My last picture of her was just a picture of the two of us at my graduation. She told me how proud she was of me and Shane. The last night I saw her alive I had fallen asleep with my head on her lap. She told me a little rhyme that she used to tell me as a kid and she told me it the first time I had fallen asleep. With a butterfly kiss, and a ladybug hug, sleep tight little one, like a bug in a rug." She sighed and she started to cry. "Those were her first and last words to me. I love my mom so much and I wish so badly that she was here. I love you mom and I miss you." She walked off back to her seat. Dr. Walker gave her a kiss on the cheek. Shane did the same. She sat down and Daryl saw her mother's cross necklace around her neck. Her body shook with sobs.

Shane, Dr. Walker, Brooke's Grandpa, and her Uncle Charlie carried the casket over to the burial site. They sat the casket in the grave and said their final goodbyes. Most of the people left except for the family. Brooke stayed at the grave and looked at the tombstone. Daryl came next to her with a black umbrella and stood next to her. She was holding the small, golden cross and had blank eyes. They didn't gleam with dark blue, but they were a lifeless black. Daryl reached his hand over to grab hers. She squeezed it back and they walked back to the funeral home. They stopped halfway and Brooke attacked him with a tight hug. He dropped the umbrella in surprise as rain poured down on them. He hugged her back.

"Thank you." She said.

Daryl sighed and walked back over to the car to help Rick carry out some bags.

"How is she?" Rick asked.

"It's gonna take a while brother." He said and Rick nodded. "It's gonna take her a while."