Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead. Well here is Better Angels. Hope you guys our enjoying this half as much as I have been writing it.

Old chapter nine: 2,515 words. New chapter nine: 2,864 words.

"Dale could get under your skin." Rick started talking, while we all stand around Dale's grave, where we buried him next to Sophia. "He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind, how he felt." I pull Anna closer to me, the girls are asleep in the stroller. The sun just barely came up, none of us have been to sleep yet, we just couldn't.

"That kind of honesty is rare… and brave. Whenever I made a decision, I'd look at Dale. He would look back at me with that look he had." Memories of the last few months passing by so quickly, making me feel faint. "We all have seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him but he could read us. He saw people for who they were." I couldn't cry any more, the tears all dried up.

"He knew things about us, the truth, who we really are. In the end he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group is broken." I looked around at everyone, most just as stunned and shocked and drained as me.

"The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together. Stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives… our safety… our future." I look down at Anna, her face hidden behind her hair, her shoulders shaking from her sobbing, Jack stands still next to us just looking at the four graves.

"We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on were gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale." Rick finished talking and stands up, we all just stand there for a while, before any of us moved away and back to camp.

"We will be heading out in a few minutes." Daryl said to me after I got the girls and Carl into my tent. I nod my head and then wrap my arms around him. He, Shane, Andrea and T-dog will be going out and checking the fields and the surrounding farms for walkers. We all got too comfortable here on the farm, almost forgetting about the dangers that are just past the fences.

While they are gone, Lori and I sit with the kids in my tent, reading, playing some card game or with some toys, waiting for them to get back. We even stayed in the tent while we ate our breakfast.

When Daryl and the others get back, Rick and Hershel gather all of us and tell us that we will be moving up into the house. So we all start packing up the camp to move to the house, we will be staying in there from now on.

After I packed everything up in the bags I set them outside the tent, so I can put them in my car. I step out of the tent and look around the camp, seeing everyone is almost done packing as well. I turn back around and start taking down the tent.

Once all that is done I walk over to the car and open the door, to see that both of the girls were waking up from their nap. I climb up and sit down in the car, shutting the door behind me.

I start telling them about Dale, how he went to heaven, Gracie is still too young to understand, Haylee did though. I hold them both and rocked them, singing to them softly. After Haylee stopped crying, I open the door and climb out. I help Haylee down and grab Gracie, holding her on my hip before making my way to the others holding Haylee's hand.

I feed the girls some lunch, before I start helping the others pack up. Anna, Carl and the girls sit on the blanket, just sitting there, as Jack and I pack up our stuff into my car. Once we were done putting our stuff away, Jack and I start helping the others pack their stuff and moving it to the truck or RV.

After Carol said that see will watch the girls, I make my way to Daryl's camp. When I walk up I see him throwing the walker ears into the fire and watching them burn. I walk pass him and into his tent and start packing his clothes up, rolling my eyes, I can't tell which ones are clean or not. I bring out the bags and set them outside. He walks up to me and stands there for a moment.

"I'm going with Rick, later today, to set Randall loose somewhere." He tells me, I shake my head and stare at him. "What?" I ask him, not really hearing him. "I'm leaving, I'm going with…" but all I could hear was I'm leaving. It got so hard to breath and before I realized it, I slap him.

He looks so stunned, not looking at me but at the ground. "I… umm…" Gasping for breath I stare at him before turning and running away. I stop before reaching the others covering my face, trying to get my breathing under control. How could I do that, why did I do that?

"It's gonna be tight, nineteen people living in one house." Rick said to Hershel as I put a box into the back of the truck. "Don't worry about that, with the swamp hardening and the creek drying up…" Hershel started saying. "The fifty head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing the damn dinner bell." Maggie said interrupting him, looking around at us.

"She's right. We should've moved you in a while ago." Hershel told us. I turn around to see Daryl, who is staring at me, I look to the ground, my bottom lip, quivering. "Alright let's move the vehicles near each of the doors, facing out towards the road." Rick starts saying while I walk off, to make sure everything is in the car and to get away from Daryl.

When I shut the trunk, I can see his reflection walking towards me. He grabs my hips turning me around to face him. "Don't be mad at me. I want him gone, away from you, away from the girls… I don't …" I cover his mouth, shaking my head.

"I'm not mad and I'm so sorry about earlier. With everything happening with… with Dale and then you saying you were leaving. That's all I heard you say. I'm so sorry I slapped you, I didn't mean…" I tell him rubbing his cheek.

"I don't … I can't lose you." I said trying not to cry, he leans down and kisses me before leaning his forehead on mine. "Can't get rid of me that easy." He said smirking, before kissing me hard on the lips, licking my bottom lip, taking my breath away. He stops suddenly and just walks away, I glare at his back, kissing me like that and just walking off.

"Jerk." I whisper to myself, smiling as I set a go-bag on the floor of the backseat, before closing the door. I make my way to the front and climb behind the wheel. I start the car and I make my way to the house, backing up near the front porch.

I walk in the house to see the girls sitting in the living room, Anna looks up at me and smiles. I set down the girls' toy bag down by them, kissing them on their heads before I make my way back outside. I walk over to the shed where Daryl is.

He's boarding up the shed and when I see that he ran out of boards I pass him up another one. He looks down at me as I pass him another board. I stand there staring at him as he worked. When he's done he climbs down and throws an arm over my shoulder and we make our way back to the house.

Jack and I start boarding up the back windows, taking our time, wanting it to near perfect. I was on my second window when we started to run out of nails, I tell Jack to go and get some more. Hershel came walking up to me and just stood there and watched as I hammered in the last few nails that I had.

When I'm done, I turn and stare at him. "You and your girls can take Shawn's room. It's small but it has a bed." I stare at him speechless, all I could say was a simple thank you, not really able to say much else. He gives me a small smile, before walking back towards the front.

After Jack and I are finished with the back windows, we decide to take a small break before working on the side windows. He goes inside while I walk around the side of the house to see Rick and Daryl leaning over a map. I walk up and lean against the railing next to Daryl.

"We'll take him out to Senoia… hour there hour back, give or take. We may lose the light, but we'll be half way home by then." Rick says looking at the map, then over to Daryl and then to me. "This little pain in the ass will be a distant memory. Good riddance." Daryl said sitting down on the rail in front of me.

"Carol's putting together some provisions for him, enough to last a few days." Rick tells us, as I lean against Daryl, I could feel him relaxing a bit. "I'll pack you guys some stuff too. Some food, water and some gas, just in case." I tell them and Rick nods his head before looking back at the map.

I kiss the side of Daryl neck before walking into the house, grabbing an empty backpack and go to the kitchen and started packing them some stuff. I set the bag by the front door before making my way to the living room.

I walk in to see Gracie yawning, I smile at them when I pick her up and she leans her head on my shoulder, rubbing her face against me. "Come on, let's go to our room." I tell them and Anna looks up at me confused. "Hershel is letting us stay in Shawn's old room. When you see him, tell him thank you, ok." I said looking at them both.

The nod their heads and get up following behind me. We walk up the stairs passing Maggie, who tells us it is the room at the end of the hall. After thanking her we go to the room. Opening the door, I'm a little surprised at how clean it is.

I lay Gracie down on the bed and she went right out. Haylee smiles up at me and I pick her up and help her up on the bed, she crawls over to the pillows and starts sucking her thumb, still awake but closing her eyes to relax.

I leave the door open as Anna and I go back down stairs. "Keep an ear out for them ok." I said to her walking down the steps in front of her. "Don't worry." Anna joked looking down at me from the stairs. I stop at the bottom step looking back at her, smiling. "All I can do is worry hun." I tell her before walking outside to see both Beth and Jimmy are starting to board up the front windows.

Grabbing my gloves from my back pocket, I put them on before making my way to the side of the house. Jack hands out a hammer and I grab it from him before I start boarding up another window.

I can see Daryl and T-dog packing up the truck, so that Rick and Daryl can leave. I look away taking a deep breath, trying not to think about all the possibilities of things that can go wrong. I go back to nailing the boards to the wall, to take my mind off of it.

I stop what I'm doing when I hear T-dog yelling, I look over at Jack and we set down our hammers and run over to the other said of the house with the others.

"What's wrong?" Maggie yells as she runs up beside me. "Randall's missing." Glenn tells all of us and I look over at Daryl who looks pissed as I walk over to him. "Missing? How?" I could hear Maggie ask behind me. "How long has he been gone?" Hershel asks, as Daryl pulls me to his side, wrapping an arm around my back.

"It's hard to say. The cuffs are still hooked, he must have slipped 'em." Rick said coming out of the shed. "Is that possible?" Carol asked him, as she looked into the shed at Andrea. "It is, if you have nothing to lose." Andrea said walking out of the door.

"The door was secured from the outside." Hershel said closing the door. "Then how the hell did he get out?" I ask them, they look just as confused as the rest of us. I turn and look at Daryl, who is looking right back at me. He leans his head against mine and I wrap both my arms around his waist.

"RICK! RICK!" We all turn hearing Shane shouting, he comes out of the bushes, his face all bloody. "What happened?" Lori yells to him. He comes storming up to us, yelling, "He's armed! He's got my gun!" We all looked at him in shock, Daryl pulls me closer to him. "Are you ok?" Carl asked him, as he got closer.

"I'm fine. The little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face." Shane said when he reaches us. "Alright Hershel, T-dog, get everyone back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us." Rick demands and I hesitantly let him go and watch as he loads up his crossbow.

"T, I'm gonna need that gun." Shane said pointing at T-dog. "Just let him go. That was the plan wasn't it, to let him go?" Carol asked them as they start to walk away.

"The plan was to let him loose far away from here. Not in our front step with a gun." Rick said turning around and looking at all of us, I grab Jack's wrist staring at them. "Get everyone back to the house. Lock all the doors and stay put!" Rick yelled before walking off.

Jack wraps an arm around me and starts pulling me back to the house, I walk backwards staring at Daryl, who looks back at me once, before walking through the trees and disappearing. I turn and walk back to the house, Jack having to help me the whole way.

After we all make sure the doors are locked, we all start milling around doing small things to keep our selves occupied until they get back. Jack stays down stairs trying to find a place where he will sleep, he wants to stay down stairs with the men, wanting to get away from staying in a room with all us girls. I went upstairs to go get the girls and bring them down to be with every else.

I pick Gracie up and put her on my hip and help Haylee down from the bed and leave the room, Anna following me to the stairs. As I start to pass Hershel's room, where Rick, Lori and Carl will be staying. I stop at the door, as Haylee and Anna make their way down the stairs.

"Why don't you come down stairs with me, it will be better than to stay in this room alone." I ask Carl, he just looks up from the binoculars that he was holding and looks at me. "No I'd rather stay here, ok." He said before moving over to the window and starts looking outside again. I look out the window to see that it is dark now, closing my eyes I try not to think about him.

I readjust Gracie, who is playing with my hair, I'll have to cut it again soon. I look at Carl one more time, before I making my way down stairs. Passing everyone in the living room, I make my way to the kitchen, to make the girls some food. I feed Gracie and Haylee some diner, while Anna just picks at some of their food, as we sat at the table waiting for the guys to get back.

I pull Gracie tighter towards me, when a gunshot rings through the house from outside. We all get real quite not moving. I look around at everyone and when Haylee starts whimpering, I pull her up on to my lap with Gracie, shushing and rocking them.

I jump when another gunshot goes off. The others run up to the windows, looking through the cracks, trying to see if they can see anything. While Lori start pacing, covering her mouth, I shush the girls, while I rocked them, praying nothing is wrong that they are fine, oh please be ok.

Tell me what you all think.

The next, last and longest chapter is next and then it's off to Cold as Ice, the seven months between the end of season two (Like a Moth to a Flame.) and the start of season three (Behind Iron Bars.)

Hope you like this and continue on following Emily and Daryl's story.