Better Days

Chapter 345

Author's Note: I will be leaving on a trip on Saturday and not returning until Thursday. So let's see how far I can get. I still want Sasha to talk to Jessie but can't make it fit anywhere. Grr. Please review, they make me thrive.

Glenn and Quinn's POV:

Quinn started to go to the graveyard early in the morning carrying a shovel. She couldn't sleep and needed to start digging her fathers' grave.

"Quinn?" Glenn called out.

Quinn turned around. "Glenn. I need to go," she said as she started to turn around again.

"Hey, wait, alright? You don't need to dig your fathers grave, there's plenty of other people that can do that," Glenn told her.

"I just couldn't sit around anymore, I needed to try to do something," Quinn told him as she looked at him. "What happened to you last night? You weren't at the meeting."

"It doesn't matter Quinn, what matters right now is you. Come on to the house," Glenn told her.

"I don't think I can do this," Quinn told him.

"You don't think you can come back to the house?" Glenn asked.

"Don't play dumb, Glenn, it doesn't suit you," Quinn told her.

"I want to hear you say what you mean," Glenn challenged her.

Quinn sighed. "This, this world. By the grace of God, we've been lucky so far, and for that I'm thankful. It was just a matter of time that the outside world caught up to us, and I'm glad that Aaron, Phoebe and Eric brought you all in. I'm glad that you all can be here to help us," she said. "But, I think Jewel's wrong, that your wrong, about me making it, because I don't know how to just move on from death, just bury them or leaving them behind like we had to do with Noah and Aiden. Is there something I'm missing Glenn?"

"Do you think it's easy for any of us to do what we've done? We've got bodies buried from the Quarry to here. The first attack on the quarry, I was the one that stood up to everybody and told them that we bury the ones we love. I wasn't strong or had confidence, but it was the right thing to do. Yes we've kept moving, and we've kept fighting, because that's what they'd want us to do, Quinn," Glenn told her.

"Do you think about them?" Quinn asked.

"Every single day," Glenn told her. "Everyone we lost, they stay with me, with all of us, because we live for them. On the way here, the RV broke down," he told her.

"Phoebe told me, she said that you knew how to fix it," Quinn told him.

"That's because of Dale, he was with us at the quarry, he died at Maggie and Beth's family farm. He was like a father figure to all of us, and he taught me. Your father seemed like a great man, and I know he taught you things. I also know that the last thing he would want you to do is give up, is to think that you can't make it. If anyone in your family can, it's you. I'm not going to tell you that it's easy because it's not. But you are strong, so you can and you will do this," Glenn told her. "But you don't have to do it alone," he told her.

Gus and Tobin stopped when they saw them. "I was looking for you, you were gone before I even woke up," Gus told her as he kissed her cheek. "I thought you'd be at your mothers," he informed her.

"Is everything alright here?" Tobin questioned.

"Glenn was just checking on me. I do need to go check on mom and Spenser. I should have talked with Chloe and Bri this morning," Quinn told them.

"They both are still asleep. They were up late last night after Bri got home. I figured both of them needed it," Gus told her.

"Were you going to go dig the graves?" Tobin questioned.

"She was, but I told her it wasn't necessary, that there were other people that could do it. She doesn't have to do it alone," Glenn told her.

Tobin took the shovel. "He's right, Quinn. If we've learned anything from Rick's group so far, is that we can't do anything alone. Reg and Pete are part of this community and you aren't the only one who can dig a grave. I've got this," Tobin told her.

"I'll help," Gus said as he kissed her. "Go check on your mom, she's going to need you," he told her.

"Listen to them, Quinn," Glenn told her. "Let us help."

Quinn nodded. "Alright," she said as she walked away from the group.

Lexi and Mika's POV:

Lexi walked into the room where Mika was playing with Jenny. "Mika," Lexi called quietly.

"I'll be right back," Mika told Jenny as she went over to the older girl.

"How is she?" Lexi asked.

"She was talking a lot before breakfast, but got quiet. She was crying earlier," Mika told her.

Lexi nodded as they both went over to Jenny. Lexi sat down next to her. "I'm Lexi, do you remember me from last night Jenny?"

"Yes," Jenny answered quietly.

"Did you sleep alright? I know the first night we got here, none of us really slept at all, took a while to get over sleeping with one eye open," Lexi told her.

"I slept alright," Jenny told her. "Can I see Morgan soon?"

Mika smiled. "We can take a walk and look for him," she told the younger girl.

"He's familiar, huh? You don't know us, so you want Morgan. We understand, we get it. My brother's name was Tyreese, he was a gentle giant. He was really good with Judith and Hope. He took care of Judith when we were all separated and got her back to Rick and Jewel. He got bit about a month or so before we got here. I still think about him. I wish he could have made it here, he would have liked it. He would have liked to know that we were alright. I'm sure your big brother would feel the same. What was his name?" Lexi asked.

"Chris," Jenny answered.

"My sisters name was Lizzie. We lost our dad to the flu at the prison where we all lived. Lizzie was older, but sometimes she needed me to help her. She got angry easily, and had trouble understanding that the walkers' weren't alive but she was still my sister and I still loved her," Mika told the younger girl. "But I still have Lexi and Summer as older sisters now, Carl is my older brother, Mitch is like my twin, and I'm an older sister to Judy and Hope," Mika explained. "You can miss your brother, Jenny. But we're here to listen, and to help you. This life takes away a lot of things, a lot of people, but it also gives. It gave Lexi and I other family, and now you're part of that. Morgan will still be watching after you, but sometimes when he's busy, we can watch you too."

"If you want to cry Jenny, it's alright, I'm sure Chris would understand," Lexi offered.

"Chris was killed, by the men with W's on there heads. Morgan didn't kill them, he let them go. Chris wouldn't have let them live, he would have killed them. Morgan said that all life is precious, but Chris' life was precious too, wasn't it?" Jenny asked.

Mika and Lexi exchanged glances. "Have you talked with Morgan about it?" Lexi questioned.

"No, just when it happened," Jenny admitted as she wiped the tears that was threatening to come.

"Well, in this family, we talk about what's bothering us," Mika told her.

"I'm not part of this family," Jenny said as she looked up at her.

"Yes you are, we adopted you as our sister," Lexi told her. "Let's go find Morgan, let you see that he's alright," she said as she extended her hand to the younger girl.

Quinn and Daryl's POV:

Quinn stopped in front of Jessie's house and took a breath. It wasn't Jessie's fault for what happened, she had lost someone too. "Jessie?" Quinn called out as she went to the garage.

"Quinn…how are you? I mean I know that's a dumb question," Jessie said.

"I could be asking you the same dumb question," Quinn told her. "There isn't really a good way to ask each other that."

"How's your mom? I wanted to go see how she was but I didn't know if she'd appreciate a visit from me," Jessie told her.

"Jessie, Pete killed Reg, not you. You had nothing to do with this. If anything, we should be asking your forgiveness for ignoring what was happening," Quinn told her. "How are Ron and Sam?"

"Sam hasn't said much," Jessie answered.

"Ron?" Quinn asked.

Jessie sighed. "He's being a teenager, rebelling," she stated.

"How?" Quinn asked.

"There was a problem with Lexi last night, he kissed her, Daryl saw it, got made sent him home. Carl confronted him on the street, and Sasha came by and talked to me. I mean he just lost his father," Jessie explained.

Quinn looked at her. "That sounds a lot more then rebelling, Jessie. That sounds like he's entering dangerous territory, and it sounds like your making excuses for him, just like you did for Pete."

Jessie sighed. "I'm not making excuses, Quinn. He's a teenager and he just lost his father. He's going to rebel."

"Rebel, yes, but kiss a girl who didn't want to be kissed? That's teetering on dangerous territory, Jessie. Territory that I don't even want to think about," Quinn told her.

"I'll handle Ron," Jessie told her.

"Just like you handled Pete?" Quinn asked as she put a hand over her mouth. "Jessie…I'm…I didn't mean it like that."

"How did you mean it?" Jessie asked.

Quinn looked at her. "Ron is looking for someone to blame, the easiest outlet for his anger is going to be you, but he won't do that because he saw what Pete did for you. The second outlet is Rick's group. I'm not saying that he did anything wrong per say, but I wasn't there, neither were you. Daryl was present, and it obviously wasn't something that Lexi wanted, so Daryl did what he needed to do to take care of her. Maybe you're right, maybe he's just rebelling, but that's not the right way. You can not over look that behavior Jessie. You need to sit him down and talk with him, make him see that was wrong."

"Do you really think Ron would do something like that? Pete kissed me a lot of times when I didn't want him too," Jessie told the other woman.

"That's not much of a winning argument Jessie," Quinn told her.

"I just can't see Ron doing anything more then just kissing," Jessie told her.

"Why don't we ask Daryl what happened? He was there, you want to hear it from someone who witnessed it? Well come on, he's working on his motorcycle," Quinn told her. She looked at her as the other woman didn't move. "What's wrong Jessie? Are you afraid what you may find out? Did you watch Jewel's tape?"

"No," Jessie answered.

"She was raped, when she was fifteen, about Lexi's age. Daryl is going to take something like Ron or any other person making an unwanted advances, even if it's just a kiss, very serious. You need to talk with Ron, Jessie. Maybe he was just being a teenage boy, but maybe it was more. Do you really want to risk that? As a mother of teenage girls, I really don't want you to risk that," Quinn said as she walked out of the garage.

Daryl looked up from the motorcycle as she passed to go to her mother's house. "She not taking what Ron did serious, huh?"

"How did you know what we were talking about Daryl?" Quinn asked.

"Wasn't hard to figure out," Daryl told her as he stood up. "You and Jewel, you both are momma bears, don't matter if it's your cubs or not, you're both going to be protective. Plus, saw you looking over here."

"She's just coughing it up to Ron being a teenage boy," Quinn responded.

"Teenage boys can be rapist too," Daryl told her. "Look I would have went to your mother," he started to say.

"But, with everything that happened, and the way that she's been treating Summer and some of the others, you didn't think that she'd take you seriously. Plus with what happened with dad last night, you didn't want to intrude. I get it," Quinn told him. "Did Lexi tell him to stop?"

"Twice," Daryl answered. "Kid wasn't moving, said maybe he wanted more. Kid's lucky that he can still stand. I should have put my foot in his ass when I had a chance," he told her.

Quinn sighed. "I'm not going to let Jessie ignore this."

"You got enough on your plate, with your dad and everything," Daryl told her.

"I've also got two teenage girls," Quinn told him as she walked away.