So this is my take on what to expect in Season Six. I really hope all of you like this.

Thanks!

Chapter Eleven

Deanna still clung to her dead husband, sobbing quietly as she rocked him in her arms. Dani wanted to comfort her, but after all she said tonight, about how Deanna couldn't effectively lead her people, she kept her distance. She knew it was the last thing Deanna wanted. She saw Michonne leaning over her, whispering that they must make sure Reg doesn't turn. More tears flowed from her eyes as she clenched her mouth and nodded. This had to be done. Michonne took her knife and slowly forced it through Reg's temple.

Carol walked up to Dani, patting her shoulder, asking her if she was all right. Dani looked at her incredulously.

"I'm not all right, Carol. I'm far from it. Look at what happened! I'm such a jerk." She began to walk away, but not before pausing to look at Deanna, still clutching Reg and crying. Deanna scornfully looked at her, and Dani felt that was deserved. She continued on her way, as Carol called out to her. She didn't want to listen; she didn't want to talk to her or anyone. She wanted to hide herself, at least for a while.

…

"Rick, what the fuck happened here," Daryl asked as he walked towards him. Rick patted Morgan's shoulder and turned to Daryl, exhausted from stress and relief.

"Pete and I got into a fight," he said, his voice shaky. "They were deciding to have me exiled."

"What? They were going to do that again," Aaron exclaimed, raising his hands in confusion. "Why weren't we told about this? Why wasn't anyone sent for us?"

"Deanna said no," Eric spoke up as he limped over on his crutches towards him. "Dani and I wanted to go get you, but Deanna wouldn't allow it." He then glanced over at Deanna sobbing, allowing the men of the community to carry Reg inside her house. "And I don't think it's a good idea to speak to her right now. Pete just killed Reg."

"Pete killed Reg," Aaron asked, stunned. "Oh my God."

"He tried to kill Rick, but ended up killing Reg instead. This was such a disaster."

Aaron reached over and took his lover in his arms, whispering to him how sorry he was. Eric kissed him. "I'm just so glad you're back. I was so worried about you."

Daryl walked over to Carol, who merely shook her head at him. "Daryl," she said. "So much has happened here. I don't know where to begin."

Daryl looked around the people, and saw them walking out like sheep out of a pen. Deanna walked up the balcony steps with Jessie, who herself was grieving. He was only gone one day, and the community fell apart. This was not good.

"So, they wanted to get rid of Rick," he asked. "Just like that? For a fight?"

Carol nodded. "He found out Pete was beating his wife and children. Rick tried to get him to leave, and Pete started the fight." Carol exhaled. "Rick lost it. It had to happen, but he lost it. He waved his gun around everyone." She then touched Daryl's arm. "We were all deciding what to do here tonight. Deanna…Daryl, I'm worried now."

"Don't worry. After what just happened, they ain't gonna let Rick go. He shown 'em he's right!"

Carol shook her head. "I know that, Daryl. But I'm more worried about Dani."

Daryl gave her a puzzled look. "Dani? What does she got to do with this?"

Carol looked up at him sadly and began to lead him away from the yard. "I'm afraid she may have put herself in danger, Daryl."

Suddenly, Glenn burst in, helping a badly beaten Nicholas stagger in, Spencer following behind them. Glenn yelled he had to speak to Deanna.

Abraham walked up to them. "What the horseshit is this?" Glenn shook his head.

"Nicholas admitted it," he intoned. He then turned his face to Nicholas, who appeared sullen and guilty. "Tell them what really happened to Aiden and Noah!"

"What the fuck happened to Noah," Daryl exclaimed as he approached them, his eyes locked on Nicholas. "Where the fuck is he?" Nicholas remained silent. Daryl slapped him. "What the fuck happened? You better tell me now, asshole!"

"Daryl," Rick tried to stop him. "I'm sorry. Noah….."

"What are you tellin' me, Rick? That Noah…" He then looked over at Carol who gave him a very solemn look. He knew it then that Noah was gone. He turned his attention to Nicholas, his nostrils flaring, his eyes beginning to see red. "And this piece of shit let him die? Is that what you're tellin' me?" He turned to Glenn, who sadly looked down.

"He admitted it. We were on a run and….."

"Motherfucker!" Daryl got right up to Nicholas' face, wanting to punch his face in until he reached the back of his skull. "You know what you done, you fucking cocksucker? You know what you done to that kid? I am gonna…."

Carol stopped him. "Stop it, Daryl! Just stop it! Not now!"

Daryl stepped back, his lower lip trembling, his eyes began to water. "I shoulda listened to you both," he said, his voice cracking. "I wanted to trust 'em! I wanted to… and they just….FUCK!" He stormed away. Carol followed him.

Rick turned his attention to Nicholas, who still looked down in guilt. "Did you try to kill Glenn tonight?" Nicholas looked up at him.

"Maybe," he replied. "He was after me. He…."

"Is this yours," Glenn asked, handing him the gun that Rick had hidden outside the walls before they entered the community. "He had it on him." Rick took back his gun, and glared furiously at Nicholas.

Rick looked towards Abraham, who nodded at him, letting him know he's with him on anything he decides. Michonne nodded in silence as well.

Aaron turned to Rick. "Whatever happened here tonight, I believe we can't make too many hasty decisions without resting on it. We just got back, we watched you execute Pete, and Deanna can't handle this right now. She just lost her son, and now her husband." Aaron grabbed his shoulder. "Rick, I am very glad we brought you here." He then turned to Eric and they both began to walk home.

"Abraham," Rick commanded. Abraham came to his attention. "I want you to put Nicholas in the same room I was in. Only he is not to leave that room under any circumstances. You guard him for now, and I will send someone in a few hours take over for you."

Abraham nodded. "You got it, Rick." He grabbed Nicholas and led him away. "C'mon you son of a dick," he intoned to him.

Spencer, unsure of what happened, walked up to Rick. "Where's my mom," he asked looking very confused. "Is the meeting over?"

Rick sadly turned to him. "You better go see her. She's in the house. With your father."

Spencer started to shake. "What happened?" He looked around as people watched him, unsure of what to say to him. "Please, tell me."

"Spencer," Aaron turned to face him. "Your father is dead." Spencer shook his head, and his twisted in anguish. He then ran up the stairs to see his mother. And to see his father. He opened the door, calling out for his mother. They soon heard him shout "No!" The rest of the group remained silent for a bit.

Rick then walked up the steps to Deanna's house and knocked on her door. Jessie answered the door, her face red from crying. "Rick, now is not a good time," she told him.

Rick nodded. "I know, Jessie. I just want you to know…."

"What? That you're sorry? That tonight, you killed my husband?"

Rick looked down, defeated. "If it meant to keep you safe," he replied. "I don't regret it. You saw what happened. It would have happened anyway, even if I never came here." He proceeded to walk away.

"Rick," she called out to him. He stopped to look at her. "I'm glad you did it," she said, a tear streaking down her face. She then gave him a weak smile. He returned it and walked back to the yard.

He walked down the stairs and found Morgan who gave him a concerned look. "Despite everything, it is good to see you, Rick." Rick nodded.

"I know how this looks," Rick began. "But Pete was dangerous. He killed a man tonight and tried to kill me. I had to do it."

Morgan shook his head. "Rick, all life is precious," he told him. "He didn't have to die."

Rick's eyes glared at him. "So what are you saying? That I should have let him live so he could kill more people? Do you know that guy was beating his family? Terrorizing his children? And you're saying he should've lived?" He stared back at him in disbelief. Morgan looked back at him calmly. "What happened to you, Morgan? The last time I saw you, you were willing to kill anyone who approached you! Hell, you nearly killed my friend and my son! Remember?"

Morgan nodded. "Yes, Rick. I remember. I also remember how I wasn't in my right frame of mind." He looked down sadly for a moment and then looked up towards the sky. "Losing my family, my wife, Duane, it killed me. I didn't care about life anymore for I had none left of it myself. You saw me at my worst moment, when I didn't even care about who came near, whether it would be friend or foe, for I believed it didn't matter because in the end, we all end up the same.

'But something happened to me, Rick. Something incredible. I was given a great gift, to remember who I was before and who I am now. And that all of us, all living beings on earth are precious and need to remember they are not gone yet."

Rick scoffed. "Morgan, would you say that to a group of cannibals hunting you, or psycho cops who beat you? Because those people…they had a choice and they chose to hurt people."

Michonne, who had been listening from a few feet away, stepped up towards them. "So what you're saying, Morgan, is that we have to see the good in people, even the ones who try to kill us?"

Morgan turned to her giving her a hopeful look. "Those good people are still in there. They weren't all bad at first. The world just hurt them bad. But what is important is that you do not become the ones who hurt you. You have to be better than that."

Rick looked at Michonne apprehensively. She returned the look. After all they had been through, this was the strangest thing they ever heard. He wanted to say more, because he found it almost ridiculous. But he was still happy inside to see his old friend who had helped him in the early days of the apocalypse. He didn't want to start a fight, not when he came all this way from Georgia to be here. He nudged his shoulder. "You know, Morgan? It's still great to see you again."

Morgan humbly smiled. "Tell you the truth, how I came here was fate. I came across this church in Georgia and found this." He took out a map and handed it to him. "Honestly, I never thought I would see you again. But when I found this, I knew it wasn't just a coincidence."

Rick looked at the map and looked up at him in awe. It was the map that Abraham had given him before he, Maggie, Glenn, Rosita and Tara left with Eugene for D.C. Abraham's message was written on the bottom. He smiled at the last statement; 'the world is going to need Rick Grimes.'

"See, Rick? There are no such things as coincidences."

Rick looked at Michonne, who in turn cracked a smile at him. Rick then guided Morgan by the shoulder. "I want you to come with us," he told him as Morgan walked with him with Michonne by his side. "You remember Carl. I want you to meet my daughter."

…

Carol sat on the bench as she watched Daryl furiously pace around the platform overlooking the pond. He hated that she wouldn't let him alone. Ever since Beth, she always wanted to make sure he was all right. As if that would be possible now, given the circumstances! What raced through his mind at that moment was how he could have let Beth down. How he told her to go outside and she gets taken. How he went with Tyreese's idea about dealing with these psychos instead of just storming in and killing every one of those rapist, murdering, abusing psychos and making them pay for what they did! That image of Beth getting shot through the head, collapsing right in front of him, played over and over again in his head. Beth died for Noah. She couldn't stand him being taken back by that bitch Dawn, knowing full well what would happen to him. Noah would later tell him what went on in there; the beatings, the rapes and Dawn not giving a flying fuck about it.

And now Noah is dead. He's dead because of some prick wanted to save his own skin. It meant that Beth's death was all for nothing. That she had died for nothing! Noah was dead and so was Beth. He could almost hear that bitch Dawn laughing from Hell, saying, "I told you so!"

"Daryl, Noah chose to go out there with the group," she told him. He turned to her frustrated.

"You mean it's his fault," he asked her incredulously. "He went with them, so it's his fault he got killed?"

"No, Daryl. Listen to me. What I meant was it's not your fault he got killed."

Daryl stopped in his tracks and stared at her like a deer in headlights. "Whad'ya mean it ain't my fault? Why'd ya think I'd…."

Carol stood up and walked over to him, putting his fingers to his lips to silence him, her eyes showing compassion and kindness. "All of it isn't your fault. Noah isn't your fault. Merle isn't your fault. Beth isn't your fault." She then took his face in her hands. "None of that was your fault.

Daryl tried to turn away from her. He didn't want her to see him fall apart. He had to remain tough, he told himself. He can't allow himself to feel. It just hurt too much. He let everyone down, he kept telling himself over and over again. But Carol maintained a full grasp on his face, and smoothed out his hair like a mother comforting her sobbing child.

"Your mother wasn't your fault, either," she whispered to him.

He pulled away in shock, unable to handle what she said. He walked over to the ledge of the railing, looking down into the dark, murky waters of the pond. He saw his reflection in the water, and he saw his own sadness staring right back at him. He then felt Carol's hands on his upper arms, her forehead leaning on his shoulder blade.

"You kept this all inside you for so long. I know your father blamed you for what happened to your mother. I heard you talk in your sleep sometimes, when we were out on the road."

He turned to look away from her, not wanting her to see the tears forming. He didn't close his eyes, for he didn't want her to see the tears fall. He became ashamed of himself, for not being able to keep his dreams secret. He had no idea he did that. He wondered what she had heard. How in his dreams he's a young boy again, crouching down on the floor, protecting his head from his father's vicious blows with his belt, hearing him scream, "It's your fault your mamma's dead, you little fucker!" He remembers how he screams, "I'm sorry, dad! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it I didn't mean to let momma die!" And the blows keep coming, and his skin shreds open, the blood flows and his fathers' voice grows meaner and nastier. "IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU!"

"Your father was wrong, Daryl," she whispered gently to him. "He was wrong to blame you, and he was wrong to hurt you. You didn't deserve what he did to you. And you didn't deserve to grow up thinking you were a bad boy. You're not a bad boy." She then peered over his shoulder to get him to look at her. She softly turned his chin towards her with her fingers. And to his astonishment, he saw tears in her eyes. "You are a man of honor, Daryl. A good man. A man this world needs. I saw that when you looked for my Sophia and never gave up. I know you blamed yourself for not finding her safe, but as I've told you, you did more for her than Ed ever did." She brushed his long hair across his forehead and sighed. "But you can't keep doing this to yourself, sweetheart. You can't keep blaming yourself for things you couldn't control. We need you now more than ever."

He started to shake, and the tears fell. She immediately embraced him in her arms, crying softly with him. "Oh, pookie," she consoled him as he sobbed loudly into her arms. "My sweet boy." He held her tighter, wishing all of this horror could go away. Wishing that everyone he lost, everyone he cared for, would come back. He cried for them even harder, for they were good people. And these good people were good to him. Even Dale had told him he was a good, decent man, even though he didn't believe it. Hershel always treated him with the outmost respect and kindness. He really did miss that man.

And Beth. Sweet, beautiful, kind hearted Beth, whose voice was like an angel from up high. Every time things looked bad, she would break out into a sweet song, and even if he didn't want to admit it, it made him feel a little better.

I never sang like everything was fun!

He stopped sobbing, and remembered the horrible words he told that sweet girl.

I never cut my wrists for attention!

The shame swept over him life a cursed blanket. The horrible things he said to her. It wasn't leaving him. How could he have been such an asshole? Especially to Herschel's daughter? To Maggie's own little sister?

I know you look at me and you just see another dead girl! But I made it and you don't get to treat me like crap just because you're afraid!

He wanted to pull away from Carol. He wanted to walk away and hide like he did when he was little, when his father would come home and he would sneak out of the house and hide in the woods. But Carol held him tighter, not letting him go.

You were made for this world, Daryl.

Her words echoed through his mind like a harp. Her smile and the twinkling of her blue eyes never leaving him.

You've got to be the last man standing. You're going to make it.

You are going to miss me so much when I'm gone, Daryl Dixon.

He did miss her. But at that moment, in Carol's motherly embrace, he decided. He will try and prove Beth Greene right. He will become the last man standing in this world gone to hell.

He gently pulled himself away from Carol, and touched her cheek. With a tiny smile and a sniffle, he said, "I'm going to be the last man standing, Carol. I hafta be. For them."

She smiled widely at him, letting a tear fall from her eye. "I know you will be," she responded as she leaned his head down to kiss her forehead. He then put his arm around her, and kissed the top of her head. He didn't understand why, but he felt a little better, at ease with himself. With Carol, he didn't have to pretend to be so hardhearted. She cared for him like his mother did. It was good to feel that again, to be nurtured a little. They began to walk off the platform and onto the street. He took his arm off her and walked with his hands down his sides, his head up. Carol smiled at him.

"I told you, you had to feel it," she said to him, patting his back. "It's the only way to overcome it."

He nodded. And then he remembered something. It was about Dani, about what Carol had said to him when they walked in on Rick shooting Pete. He stopped and faced her. "You said somethin' about Dani. 'Bout her bein' in trouble before. Whad'ya mean, Carol?"

She gave him a very troubled look. "Daryl, there was a lot you missed while you were gone."

…..

Tara still couldn't sit up, her head still ached. Rosita gently held her hand and told her she was going to be all right. Tara merely smiled at her.

Eugene walked up to her, smiling at her. She smiled right back at him. He was relieved that she was going to make it.

….

Morgan was shown to his room in Rick's house. They were all too tired to talk about what had happened and what Morgan had been through these last few months. As Morgan sat on his bed, he smiled to himself, for it was the first time in a long time since he slept in a bed.

And he thought of his friend, Julius. The man who had saved his live twice. The man who had given him his conscious back.

He knew it was time for him to pay it forward. He would pay it forward to Rick, for he needs it.

…..

…

Rick spoke with Carl in his room about what could possible happen now, and how they have to prepare for it. Carl agreed.

"If this doesn't wake them up, Dad, I don't know what will."

Rick hugged his son and said goodnight to him before leaving his room. He entered his own room and found little Judith asleep in her crib. He gently caressed her little wisps of hair and smiled.

She was his daughter. And no matter what, he will always be her daddy.

…

Nicolas laid on the mattress while Abraham kept watch over him, standing tall, his arm crossed against his chest. He didn't sit on the chair, for that would make him tired. He couldn't afford to be tired. He had to watch this shitbird and make sure he doesn't do his mother dick way and bail out like he always did.

He even thought to himself that pricks like this shouldn't live, while the good ones, the ones who try to save their own, are always the one who ends up between the walker's teeth.

….

After cleaning her katana, Michonne put it back in it's sheath, and slung it's belt over her. Even though she hated this sword, she missed it all the same.

…

After Father Gabriel, Sasha and Maggie finished praying, he looked at both of them with guilt and shame. Glenn was standing by, watching them pray all together. He didn't join them; he didn't feel ready. It reminded him too much of his father-in-law.

"I owe you an apology," he said. "What I told Deanna was what I thought was the truth. I thought you were bad people. And not just what I saw you do." He exhaled. "I overhead Rick talk about taking this place. And I worried. I worried that this good place will be lost, because I thought you were as bad as the people who hurt you."

Maggie nodded. "We're not, Father," she replied. "Rick didn't mean it like that. He meant that he would help them to become stronger and teach them to fight."

Sasha sighed and got up. She faced Gabriel one last time before she left. "You say you left those people to die, and it eats you up," she replied. "You better make it up to them. By making it up to us."

Father Gabriel nodded. "I promise," he spoke. "I'll tell Deanna the first thing tomorrow, that I was wrong. That you are to be trusted and that you are what she needs."

"It's no good, Gabriel," Glenn said. "Pete killed Reg tonight."

Maggie stood up in shock and faced her husband. Sasha looked worried. Gabriel stood up and sighed, a relief came upon his face.

"So then, the Devil was already here," he replied. "We didn't bring him with us."

….

After Carol had told Daryl about Dani and what she had told them, he sat there in brooding silence at the counter. He never expected to hear what she really did. It was frightening, but then again, the fucking psycho and his sheep killed her husband and hurt her and her brother bad. It wasn't right what happened to her. It wasn't right for her to lose everyone she loved. It wasn't right at all. Carol went on about how Dani made a serious accusation against Deanna during the meeting, that she is indifferent to everyone's problems.

"She's right," he said in Dani's defense. "If Deanna allowed Pete the dick to beat his family and did nothin' 'bout it, she was right. Hell, Rick was right too. That's what I like about him. He don't let anyone just get away with being a dick. He did that with Shane, but he learned quick." He leaned over and sipped his whiskey.

"Still, with what happened tonight, with Pete killing Reg, and now Nicholas confessing to leaving Noah and her son to die, I don't know what will happen. I can sense she's a very stubborn woman." She sipped her glass. "And so is Dani."

"'Course she is," he replied. "She wouldn't be breathin' if she weren't."

"Still, Rick has said she's part of our family now. And whatever happens, we will all help her, no matter what."

Daryl nodded and finished his drink. He felt so exhausted and his eyes were sore. It was hard for him to admit his feelings like he did. He knew if his brother were alive, he'd call him a pussy and that his balls had shriveled up. But he didn't care. Merle wasn't here anymore to tell him what do. And one thing he knew was true was he was in no way like Merle, or ever was to begin with. Fuck that prick, he thought. Don't need him.

"I hope you don't go out recruiting for a while," Carol told him. "The way things are around here now, we do need you."

"Even if these people don't like me," he asked in his low rough voice. "I know they're scared of me."

"All the more reason for them to like you, like everyone else did at the prison. Do you remember that?"

He nodded. He did remember people smiling at him and thanking him for all that he had done for them. The kids worshiped him, thinking he was something straight out of a comic book. It made him feel normal, like he belonged with them.

But when the Governor showed up and destroyed everything they had worked for, he felt as he always had felt like before the world went to shit; that he was nothing but a worthless redneck loser from a shit family, with an asshole father and a bigger asshole for a brother. Maybe that was why he offered himself in Rick's place when Joe tried to kill him. Because Rick, Carl and Michonne were good people, and he was white trash.

But the way Carol looked at him reminded him of the good that he had in himself. The good that Rick, Carol and the others had seen. He remembered the morning after they killed Joe and the fucking Claimers when Rick called him his brother. It was the first time he had ever felt such pride in his life. Even Aaron had told him that he had the ability to tell who the good people were from the bad ones. Maybe he wasn't so pathetic and worthless after all. And maybe, just maybe, the people of the safe zone will accept him.

"It's getting late," Carol mentioned as she was getting up from the counter. "We have to be prepared for tomorrow. Daryl stretched his arms out and got up himself.

"I gotta go get my bike," he said walking to the garage door. He opened the door and switched on the light. Dani's car was parked right there in front of him. He smirked a little a bit looking at that car. He did admire the fact that she had a great car. Maybe if she trusts him enough, she'd let him…..

He shook his head at that thought. No way she'd trust him. He's just a freak. He's….

He squeezed his eyes shut, putting that thought out of his head. He can't think like that anymore. Those thoughts would get the best of him, and his family needs him to be his best right now.

Just then, he saw some faint movement coming from the back of her car. He walked over and peeked inside the back seat and sighed. He then called Carol to come inside the garage. "I gotta show you somethin'," he called to her.

"What is it," she asked as she entered. He pointed towards the car and Carol went over to inspect it. There, in the back, was Dani curled up in a fetal position, fast asleep, her face dirty from dried tears. "Oh dear," Carol said as she bent over to look at her. "She wanted to avoid everyone, so she hid here to sleep." She sighed sadly to herself. "This was her brother's car. She wanted to be in a place to remember him by. She brought up so many horrible memories tonight." She was about to open her car door when Daryl stopped her, shaking his head.

"Just let her be," he told her. "She looks like she needs it."

"Oh, Daryl," Carol sighed. "We can't leave her here, in this garage."

"That's okay," Daryl replied. "I'll stay with her."

Carol gave him a suspicious look. "You'll stay with her? You can't do that, pookie."

"Yeah I can," he resisted. "And don't call me pookie." He then smirked at her.

Realizing that there was no way she could talk him out of it, she kissed his cheek and bid him good night. She then took one more glance at Dani before she left. Then she exited the garage, leaving him along with Dani.

He walked over and turned off the light. He then laid himself on the smooth concrete slab of the garage floor, placing his head over his forearm. All the tears he cried and all the pain he felt remembering Beth still exhausted him, and the whiskey was swimming in his veins. He felt himself getting drowsy, sleepy and relaxed.

Before he drifted to sleep, he looked over at Dani's car. He sighed to himself and closed his eyes.

Even an outdoor cat needs a home.

He chuckled and went to sleep.