"You alright?" Daryl asked Louie as she let go of the Hershel's zombie wife. Shane had brought a massacre on the Greene property by breaking the barn's lock and opening fire on all the walkers. Sophia was one of them including Hershel's wife and step-son. His blonde daughter, hysterical, had run to the corpse to mourn over her body unsuspecting her to reanimate and try to eat her. In a frenzy everyone jumped to rescue the blonde; Rick and Shane pulling the living girl off and Louie managing to hold the dead woman's arms to redirect its hunger. The walker started going after Louie, gripping right back onto her until Andrea jammed a scythe right through its head. Louie, shocked and breathless, let go of the body and stepped back unharmed when Daryl reached her.
"I'm okay," she breathed and looked at him. "Go," she said patting his arm shakily. Carol had ripped out of his arms and trapped herself in the RV right after the execution of Sophia. Louie knew that Daryl, the most dedicated to finding her little girl, would be able to offer comfort if any. Daryl looked solemnly at her unmoving but Louie grabbed the back of his neck and pressed a forceful kiss to his forehead. The notion gave him strength to leave her and head towards the RV.
The Greene family, stricken with grief retreated to the house in tears and shock. Shane in anger followed them, throwing blames and accusations that frankly could have been discussed at any other time. Rick naturally followed trying to deter Shane from harming anyone and Glenn joined out of pure concern for Maggie. Lori sat on the ground with her son talking in hushed voices, no doubt trying to console the child on the death of his dear friend. T-Dog, Andrea, Dale and Louie were left with the bodies. Andrea emerged from the barn, making sure no walker was left behind alive and came out with a blanket approaching Louie and Sophia's body. Louie outstretched her hand and helped Andrea cover the little girl's body, carefully tucking her hands and head as if she were sleeping. Andrea looked to Louie with glassy eyes, but unwilling to cry. Louie cast down her gaze, remembering Andrea's pain of losing a kin. Louie stood up and helped T-Dog double check to make sure all the walkers had a bullet clean through the forehead so that they wouldn't have to worry about the dead rising again.
Shane was storming back to the barn with Rick, just a few yards away. Lori asked Dale to take Carl inside to rest and he complied. Rick came surveying the carnage that their sacrifices had led to with a forlorn look. Louie watched his soulless eyes and watched the broken man try to make sense of a world where little girls had to die twice.
"Want us to start burying?" T-Dog asked him.
"We need a service," Andrea sighed. "Carol would want that."
"Yeah we all want that," T-Dog muttered and looked down. Louie and the others looked at Rick who was despondent and distant.
"Let's uh, let's dig a grave for Sophia. A-and Hershel's wife and son," Louie pitched in, finding her voice shaky. Rick still looked calculating and hurt.
"Over by those trees," Lori added pointing to a shady spot close to the barn. "And we'll need a truck to move the bodies." Shane immediately stepped in and went to get the truck whereas the boy from Hershel's clan asked about the other bodies. He worried about the amount of digging.
"We bury the ones we love," Andrea echoed Glenn's angry words to Daryl when they faced a massacre similar to this at the quarry. "We burn the rest."
"Let's get to work," Lori prodded and everyone dispersed. Louie and Andrea went in the barn to retrieve a few shovels, leading the boy and T-Dog to the spot under the trees.
"What's your name?" Louie asked the tall boy with the cowboy hat.
"Jimmy," he replied softly and courteously.
"You're doing good, Jimmy," Louie said patting his shoulder tenderly and he seemed to find purpose when they started digging. Louie and Andrea worked on one hole, T-Dog one and Jimmy another. When Shane brought the truck around, he altered holes helping everyone. Quietly for a little over an hour, three large graves were dug. Everyone jumped out of their respective holes except for Louie who lingered a little.
"Louie?" she looked up to see Shane staring at her inquisitively.
"I can't help but think if anyone will do this for me when I go," she said distantly. She finally blinked a few times before grabbing hold of his outstretched hand.
"I can guarantee, when you kick the bucket as an old woman," he said as pulled her up. "Daryl will build a goddamn temple for you, girl," he joked half-heartedly. It brought little light to her heart and she smiled slightly. She helped lower the smallest corpse gently into the hole whereas the men and Andrea took the larger bodies. Soon, everybody started trickling in towards the graves ready to pay their respects. Daryl came with Lori and stood slightly distant from everyone else. He gave Louie a hard stare that seemed to beckon her. She obliged and stood by his side dutifully, not daring to touch him as he solemnly looked at the three graves. Everyone stood silently for ten minutes before Shane parted the group going straight to the truck. There was work to be done. Andrea and T-Dog followed. Daryl lifted his crossbow and headed to the tent. She would leave him alone for now. She was needed with the others. But the guilt finally won as she worked.
"You guys got this?" Louie asked almost ashamedly to the men.
"We'll be fine," Andrea nodded to her when the final body was stacked on the truck. She nodded and headed back to the campsite and was alarmed to see her tent gone. Missing completely. She heard a buzz and looked to see yelling coming from the brick tower where she was bathing Daryl not but hours ago. As she saw Daryl sit back down with a knife and sharp stick in his hands, she noticed the tent was there and Lori looking dejected.
"Lori?" Louie asked as the woman stomped past her. Lori wordlessly, jaw clenched waved her hand in anger retreating back to the house. "What was that? And why is our shit out here?"
"Got a fucking problem? Go take it to somebody else. I'm done helping," he sneered at her. She raised her eyebrows.
"Daryl fucking Dixon, do not use that tone with me,"
"Shut up," he dismissed her and she became livid.
"Listen here, asshole," she said snatching the knife out of his hands and tossing it away to stir him. "You may have failed to find that girl but I have her blood on my hands right now, you understand? So don't fucking tell me that I've got a problem that needs to go to somewhere else,"
"I'm sick n' tired of all of y'all dumb women coming to me to fix your shit!" he yelled pointing an aggressive finger at her.
"Fine!" she screamed. "Fuck you! You don't have to worry about anybody coming to you again!" she made it a few large strides away before Daryl grabbed her arm.
"Where you goin'?" he snarled. She froze staying still before dangerously looking at him.
"Let. Go. Of me. Right now," her voice became deep and disturbed.
"You're always on my goddamn case about- shit!" he cussed as Louie quickly struck her head forward and head-butt his face. He quickly let go of her and raised a hand to his eyebrow. Before Louie could get far, he sprinted and tackled her, lifting her and dragging her back to their campsite. She flailed and screamed; Daryl used his other hand to cover her mouth but only managed to push her up against a tree that was blocked by the brick tower.
"Calm down," he growled as they both struggled with each other trying to dominate the other's strength. Daryl was obviously winning but both stopped, breathing heavily when he had her pinned.
"Why is it always my fault?" she whispered shakily before her face contorted and tears started to fall. Daryl looked at her disgustedly.
"What're you talkin' about?" he asked letting her go. She remained leaning against the tree for stability.
"Every time something goes wrong," she sobbed. "You get angry and I have to suffer like it was my fault,"
"Hey," he said harshly and brought her chin in his hand to lift her face up. "I take care of you plenty. Got it? N' you do the same for me," he said and she looked at him tearfully. "That's the way it works."
"Then why do you keep pushing me out?" She asked him, her lip quivering. "I can't do this by myself Daryl. I can't," she stopped for a moment before looking at him seriously. Her voice became stony, "And neither can Carol." He looked at her confused. "It's me or her Daryl,"
"You jealous?" he asked incredulously.
"Of course not," she cried. "I know you're not sticking your tongue down her throat. I know that. But she's alone. And she's been through what I've been through. And you… you're good at saving people," she said slowly. "But you can't save both of us," she whispered. He looked at her, his face slowly falling into realization. And when he didn't say anything she went to move away.
"It's you, okay?" he coaxed her, grabbing her arms and bringing her back gently. "It's you n' me Lou. Just us," he muttered smoothing her hair down. A few more tears fell before she nodded and buried her face in his neck. She lifted her face and brought his mouth to hers in urgency.
"Show me," she whispered. Staring at her with determination, he bent down and scooped her in his arms and carried her to the tent.