I may be posting one more chapter later tonight, if I happen to have the chance to finish writing it up. I'd like to though because it'll be a very eventful chapter to leave you all with for the next couple of days while I'm away. I'm a wedding photographer and I've got the biggest wedding of my career to cover literally all day tomorrow in Chicago so it may be a few days until I can update with all of the craziness. But I still appreciate all the love from new followers to reviews while I'm gone!

Galwidanatitud: It's funny that you say that because I've always felt he's had the strongest moral compass that's stayed pretty much true throughout the entire show.

Lady-Finwe: Here's your update :P

Guest 1: Thank you! Glad to hear it!

Guest 2: I'm glad you're enjoying it! I usually try to reread each chapter at least once to fix any errors or awkward wording before I post it. I know how distracting that can be when reading!

I couldn't be anywhere near the farmhouse or the barn. Daryl, Shane, and Rick had all three made their way straight there when they'd left the house and I knew exactly what was going to happen. I had walked and kept on walking, climbing over the waist high fence marking Hershel's property until I was maybe ten feet from the forest. I kept pacing parallel to the line of trees, every shadow and movement causing me to jump. I was dreading the sound of gunshot.

In my mind I kept repeating over and over that I needed to be strong for the others and for Sarah, just like Daryl had said. I had to keep myself together. I didn't have another choice.

I didn't know how long I had been pacing back and forth by the trees, it had felt like nearly an hour, before I saw a figure emerging from the direction of the farmhouse. I stopped mid-step and stared, squinting through the darkness. It was awhile until they were close enough for me to see who it was.

Daryl.

I stared at him in confusion as he approached me. I hadn't heard a gunshot.

"Rick is keeping him captive for a while longer," Daryl told me as he got closer. "Carl tried to watch."

"Are you kidding me?" I asked him, feeling rather disturbed. "That little boy wanted to watch his father kill someone?"

Daryl said nothing in response, just eyed me.

I ran a hand down my face, trying to calm down. I was still trying to come to terms with justifying murder, I didn't need to start worrying about the affect this world was having on children growing up in it now, too.

"So now what?" I asked him.

Before Daryl could answer, a sound not too far away caught both of our attention. Someone was screaming.

Daryl was sprinting towards the sound without a second's delay once the noise had registered with him. Instinct took over and I was racing towards the scream, too.

We came upon two bodies on the ground—Dale pinned under a walker. Daryl had his hunting knife in his hand and he rushed forward, tackling the walker to the ground. Dale continued to scream as I saw Daryl grab the walker by the neck and stab it straight through the top of its head.

I rushed to Dale's side and I already felt the tears pouring down my face. The walker had literally torn his stomach open, a few organs almost looked to be spilling out of him. I bit back the urge to throw up as Dale stared up at me in pain.

Daryl rushed over to the two of us, took in the sight, and immediately began waving to the group that must have been drawn by Dale's shouts.

"Help! Over here!" Daryl called out to them.

"Who is it?" Andrea's voice rang out.

Rick and Shane were the first to reach us.

"We have to do something!" I screamed at the pair. "Get Hershel!"

Andrea was kneeling down on Dale's other side, her voice straining to remain even as she tried to calm him down. His eyes were wide and bulging as he stared up at her.

It felt like an eternity before Hershel finally appeared. I stood up and moved out of the way so he could do what he needed to.

I looked down to see my hands covered in Dale's blood. More tears forced themselves out and I was sobbing violently without a sound as I watched everyone crowding around him.

"Can we move him?" Rick asked.

"He won't make the trip," Hershel told him.

"Then we've got to do the operation here!"

"Rick!" Hershel said loudly, trying to catch his attention as Rick began to give orders. "Rick, there's nothing I can do."

An explosion of sobs and screams of anger erupted among the night around us, drowning out Dale's weak groans of pain.

"He's suffering," Andrea cried out. "Do something!"

Rick pulled his revolver out of its holster and stepped forward beside Dale. His aim wasn't steady and he seemed to be struggling to pull the trigger. He stood there, holding the gun pointed at Dale's head, but the more Dale was groaning in pain, the more Rick hesitated.

I didn't realize Daryl had been beside me until I saw him step forward beside Rick. He took the gun from Rick's unsteady hand and aimed it at Dale's head. I could see Dale's bulging eyes staring up at him.

"Sorry brother."

Unlike Rick, Daryl managed to pull the trigger.

"Dale could get under your skin," Rick said solemnly as he stood over the freshly dug grave. "He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought or how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare. And brave." Rick paused, staring down at Dale's final resting place. "Whenever I had to make a decision, I'd look at Dale and he'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it, one time or another." He paused again, fighting back emotion as he did. "I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were."

We stood in silence as a group around the five graves that stared back up at us, everyone intent on Rick's words. My eyes scanned over my parents' grave, then Sophia's, my cousin's stepmom, and Otis' grave. So many deaths.

A comforting arm was wrapped around my shoulder and I glanced over to see Sarah staring at each grave in turn, her eyes just as red and puffy from crying as mine.

"He said this group is broken," Rick continued. "The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together. Stop feeling sorry for ourselves. Take control of our lives, our safety, our future. We're not broken. We're going to prove him wrong."

After Rick's words had long died out, the group slowly began to head back to the house. Eventually Sarah's arm fell from off my shoulder and she began making her way back with the others. Today was the day Hershel was going to find a way to move everyone into the house. It was getting to be too cold at night and after Dale's death, it wasn't very safe.

Before the funeral this morning, Daryl, T-Dog, Shane, and Andrea had gone out and checked the fences, repairing any damages they found. They'd stumbled on some stray walkers since I had noticed they'd come back splattered with blood.

I turned, intending to head back to the house and help tear down the tents and clear room in the house for everyone, but I stopped when I saw Daryl still standing there staring at Dale's grave. He wasn't crying, but he looked torn and it was obvious he was struggling with what had happened last night. That was the first time Daryl had killed a man, even if it was to end his suffering.

Hesitantly, I made my way towards him.

"You did the right thing," I assured him.

Daryl said nothing, his stare still locked on the grave.

I wiped the sleeve of the flannel shirt I was wearing across my face, drying off the tears that had fallen. When I had finished wiping my cheeks, I saw Daryl finally looking at me. Pain was apparent behind his eyes. Without a second thought I had crossed the space between us and pulled Daryl into a tight embrace. He was rigid for a moment, not comfortable with the contact at first, but he eventually relaxed into it, though he never raised his arms to return the hug. I could smell the leather from his vest where my face was buried in it. I didn't want to let go, but when I felt Daryl tensing up beneath my arms, I figured I was drawing the gesture out too long for his comfort. I pulled back and looked up at him. He didn't say anything, just quietly nodded to me in what I assumed was meant to be a sort of thanks before he made his way back to the house. Wordlessly, I followed after him.

"Let's move the vehicles up towards the house, near each of the doors, and facing out towards the road," I heard Rick telling the group crowded around him. "We'll post a lookout in the windmill and another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines for both sides of the property."

Rick gestured at T-Dog and Daryl, drawing them to him. I heard him mention something about checking the perimeter before Maggie tossed me the keys to Hershel's truck. I watched as she headed towards a car that had been here since I'd arrived; I'd assumed it was either hers or Sarah's.

I climbed into the truck and started it up. I sat for a few moments as Andrea directed everyone where to pull up the vehicles. If she hadn't have been doing that I'm sure this whole thing would have been an aggravating mess of cars. Finally, I was parked by the back door, the front of the car facing towards the road as Rick had ordered. I climbed out and made my way to Andrea who was collecting the car keys.

"I'll go help Lori and Carol finish tearing down all of the tents," I told Andrea.

She nodded in response and began directing Glenn in the Jeep where to park beside Hershel's truck.

Rick stopped me when I was at the front of the house. Daryl was standing just nearby, his crossbow slung over his shoulder as usual.

"I need to talk to you for a second," Rick told me.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"Daryl and I are going to check the property lines. While I'm gone, I need someone I trust to keep an eye on Shane," he said.

"You mean like…babysit him all day?" I asked him skeptically.

"Not exactly. Just make sure that while I'm gone all hell doesn't break loose," he answered. "I just need you to occasionally look in on what he's doing, make sure it's nothing that's going to be…problematic."

"I can keep an eye on him, that's no problem. But I really don't think Shane will listen to me if I try to stop him from doing something," I told Rick. "It's not like he really listens to anyone."

"Do whatever you need to. Glenn and T-Dog would help if you need them."

"Maybe you shouldn't be askin' this of her," Daryl spoke up. "Shane's not exactly stable."

Rick glanced over his shoulder at Daryl. "I wouldn't ask this of her if I thought Shane would do anything to hurt her."

"I'll try to keep an eye on him," I assured Rick. "But I can't make any promises about stopping him if he does anything.'

Rick nodded slowly in response before gesturing at Daryl. I watched as they made their way past me towards the fence line.

I turned my attention towards Lori and Carol, who had managed to take down Carol's tent and were now struggling with the large tent that Lori, Carl, and Rick shared. I made my way over and offered them a hand. Lori appeared grateful for the help the most as she sent me a large smile.

"This big tent's a little trickier than the smaller ones," she told me.

It had taken us probably an hour to tear down all of the tents, fold them up, and find a place to store them in the house. Lori, Carol, and I then started working on moving furniture around to make space for everyone in the house. It was Lori's idea to separate the men and women. We had moved the dining table up against the wall and made space in that room for the men. The women would be staying in the living room just next door.

"This is going to be an interesting arrangement from now on," I said as I helped Carol lift the coffee table.

"I hope their snoring isn't as bad as I'm imagining it to be," Carol said half-jokingly.

We set the coffee table down and eyed the room. There was open space now in the center of the room; all of the furniture was pushed up against one wall or another. There were two couches in the living room and I figured Carol and Andrea could have them. I didn't mind sleeping on the floor if I had a few blankets. Lori would be sleeping with Rick and Carl in the extra third bedroom upstairs. Patricia would be staying in the bedroom with Beth, Maggie, and Sarah—an offer which I had refused. If something happened at night I wanted to be downstairs and ready to handle the situation, not upstairs and unaware.

Glenn and Jimmy walked in carrying some backpacks in their hands.

"Where should we put our things?" Glenn asked.

"The men are sleeping in the dining room," Carol explained to him. "Women are in here."

Glenn nodded and made his way into the next room, Jimmy following quietly behind him.

T-Dog entered into the living room next, carrying a large container full of blankets and a few sleeping bags.

"I can take those," I told him. "I'll start setting up beds for everyone."

T-Dog nodded and exited outside again, grabbing more things to bring into the house.

"It's getting crazy in here," Beth said, suddenly beside me.

I sent the young girl a smile. "I have a feeling this is going to be the worst co-ed sleepover ever."

She laughed as she knelt beside me and began digging into the container. "I can help you set up the beds."

It was late in the afternoon by the time we had managed to move everything into the house and set up spaces for beds. We didn't even stop to have lunch like we did most days because of all of the work that needed to get finished before sundown. Rick and Daryl had come back from their perimeter check a little while back, and I'd stopped taking peeks out the window to see what Shane was up to. That was until something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.

Two figures were making their way out towards the woods. I recognized Shane but I couldn't place the other beside him. Something felt wrong about the situation though.

"Hey Carol, I'm going to step outside for a minute and see if Shane needs some help," I said as I double checked that my knife was still at my side.

Carol shot me a curious look as she was chopping up carrots. "Sure, just don't be too long. Dinner will be ready soon."

Without another word I was making my way outside. Shane had already reached the tree line and was nearly out of sight. I picked up my pace and started into a jog to try to catch up, running across the open grass towards the forest. The bad feeling in my gut only grew.

Maybe I should have told Carol to get Rick before I'd just ran off...