New chapter!There wasn't much Daryl, hell nothing much happening during the first 30 mins of "Better Angels" so I tried my best to make something out of it. So we have a bit of chitchat, a bit of Connor healing and getting better, a bit of Daryl being nicer. Let's call it the calm before the storm. Obviously. Because shit's about to hit the fan. With Shane going bonkers and the grrreat big finale. The last 2 chapters are coming closer and closer. Gah. I don't want it to end.
I don't want all of this to happen. *cries* I hope I'm not boring you! But this part of the episode was rather hard to write.

setting: episode 12 "Better Angels"

Salvation

Chapter 33 - Repairs

Daryl and Connor were asked to join Andrea and Shane on a car trip to the boundaries of Herschel's farm to check on the fences. They still hadn't spoken much since Dale's burial, simply because Daryl couldn't really tell how Connor was. He hadn't meant to see that very private moment when the Irishman had said goodbye to his brother but part of him was glad he'd witnessed it. He knew that this moment had special meaning. Not only for Connor but also for their relationship. The Irishman was moving on. So was he. So were they. It had been over a month since they'd found Connor in that church. And it had taken them a month to come to terms with their complicated friendship.

They were sitting on the back of Herschel's blue farm truck. Driving past the farmer's vast fields. Now that the hunter thought about it he came to the conclusion that he was the luckiest bastard of them all. Because they were on a farm just like the one he'd grown up on. He was used to this sort of isolation. Living with nothing but a few animals and family. No television. No busy streets. No traffic jams. No big city life. Many members of the group had grown up in towns and cities. He could tell by how uncomfortable they always felt. How they talked. What they missed about their old lives. Truth was that he didn't miss a single damn thing. He had everything he needed. Everything he had wished for.

He turned his head to look at Connor who was sitting next to him. The Irishman was looking at something on the other side of the field. He still looked a bit upset, but there was something about him that made Daryl feel that he was getting better now. He had everything he had wished for. Farm life without his abusive father. Nothing but nature surrounding them. A group that accepted him and put him to work, made him do what he could do best. That, and a family. Kind of. He had always needed a brother. Especially after Merle had disappeared. And it looked like his prayers for a new brother had been heard.

They reached the first big fence after 15 minutes of driving. It didn't need much repairing except for a couple of holes. They found one walker by the corner. Some decomposing woman that had managed to get herself stuck in the iron wires. When Daryl was just about to shoot her with his crossbow, Connor placed a hand on his shoulder and started walking.

"Lemme do this fer once" he said and walked over to her.

She started growling and snarling when Connor came closer.

"I don' think yah should waste yer ammo like that.." Daryl said but Connor ignored him.

He grabbed a knife instead and stabbed the walker in the head.
He used the hem of her dress to wipe the blood off his blade and when he turned around and looked at Daryl the latter snorted.

"Yah got a thing for walkers now, the way yah grabbed the chick's dress?"

Connor snickered.

"Fuck ye. If someone's that fucked up, it's gotta be you. I don't do dead chicks."

They spent the entire morning repairing fences and killing a few walkers every now and then. They found a bigger group of seven walkers just by the lake and once they got there they started slaughtering them. Everyone except for Daryl, who had his crossbow, used shovels and pitchforks to kill them. Even hands and feet. Connor killed two of the walkers himself. He stabbed them with Murphy's bowie knife. Since nobody was looking and everyone was busy kicking one of the walkers to death he kept stabbing the walker although it was long since dead. He was quite surprised how good it felt to slaughter them like that. Although he knew it was sick and brutal. He just couldn't fight his anger and frustration any longer. Now that he had buried his brother and said goodbye there was a massive hole in his chest. It had been filled with sorrow and grief most of the time, but now that those emotions were gone he could feel how other emotions filled it. Anger. Madness. Frustration. Wrath. The same sort of wrath that had filled their bellies when he and Murphy had started killing mobsters. The wrath he had inherited from his father.

Daryl had just killed the last walker when he turned around to see how Connor kept stabbing one that wasn't even moving any more. He shook his head.

"What's the matter with that fella?" he heard Shane say and Daryl growled.

"Shut yer hole."

"Looks like he's having fun over there" the cop snickered and Daryl narrowed his eyes.

"He's having a tough time" he muttered and approached the Irishman.

He placed a hand on Connor's shoulder which made his friend stop.

"Filthy bastard's dead. Yah can stop now."

His friend was panting already and wiped the blood and sweat off his face.

"Aye."

Daryl patted his shoulder and helped him to get up. He frowned when he saw how his friend wiped the blood off his hands.

"What, now yer really turning into some sorta psycho?"

Connor snorted and put his knife away. He grabbed a smoke and shrugged.

"Just needed a bit af stress release. And I've missed killing those shitheads."

They returned to the farmhouse by noon. The rest of the group was busy getting their things together.
Daryl and Connor got the tools, shovels and pitchforks out of the truck.
Rick came out of his tent to talk to Herschel and Maggie who were helping the others with their bags.

"It'll be tight, 15 people in one house" the policeman said and Herschel waved it off.

"Don't worry about that. With the swamp hardening and the creek drying up..."

"With 50 head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell" Maggie finished the sentence for him.

"She's right. We should've moved you in a while ago" Herschel said and Rick nodded.

"All right, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors.. facing out toward the road. We'll build a look out in the windmill, another in the barn loft.
That should give us sight lines both sides of the property. T-Dog you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going."

T-Dog looked at Rick with a frown.

"What about standing guard?"

"Daryl and Connor will take care of that."

They both looked up and nodded. Connor turned around to help Daryl with the iron wires.

"I'll stock the basement with food and water. Enough that we can all survive there a few days if need be" Herschel informed them and placed a big box on his truck.

"What about patrols?" Andrea asked then and Rick looked at her.

"Let's get this area locked down first. After that Shane'll assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall off site and cut him loose."

Daryl frowned but didn't say anything. He didn't like the idea of going anywhere near that kid again.
When he looked at Connor it looked like his friend didn't like it either.

"We're back to that now?" Shane asked and everyone looked at Rick. The policeman just looked at his friend and nodded.

"It was the right plan first time around. Poor execution."

Shane snorted.

"Yeah that's a slight understatement."

Connor chuckled and looked at Daryl when they shifted the shovels.

"Houston, we've got another problem, I'm sensing fist fights" he muttered and Daryl snickered.

"Shut up, this is some serious shit here" the hunter answered and they both tried not to laugh.

"You don't agree but this is what's happening. Swallow it. Move on" Rick said and Connor looked at Daryl with his mouth wide open.

He shook his head and giggled once more.

"Now that hit home."

Daryl threw one of the blankets at him and Connor ducked down. He was laughing all the way through.

"You know that Dale's death and the prisoner, that's two separate things, right? You wanna take Daryl as your wing man, be my guest" Shane said and shook his head.

Lori looked at him in surprise. Rick just stared him down. Connor got back up and bent over the truck in order to nudge Daryl.

"Looks like ye got a new boyfriend now" he said and Daryl growled.

"Shut up."

"So what about us? You want me ta get our stuff? We moving in as well?"

Daryl shrugged.

"Guess so."

He pointed a finger at him and growled.

"But yah get yer stupid ass away from me. There's enough rooms in there."

Connor laughed.

"Aye, you can share a room with yer new boyfriend Rick."

"Shut up!" Daryl growled and turned around to get his bike.

No matter how many times Daryl told Connor to go away and get his stuff someplace else the Irishman wouldn't listen and put his stuff right next to his in the corner of the living room. After yelling at each other for a couple of minutes and Daryl throwing Connor's stuff all the way across the living room the Irishman ended up winning their fight. Not because Daryl was weaker than him, but because he wouldn't put a hand on Connor. Not after almost choking him, hurting his leg and knocking him out with a plank. He gave in after a couple of minutes and the Irishman celebrated his victory by letting everyone know and teasing Daryl until the latter really considered forgetting about his resolutions. Their argument was interrupted by Rick who asked them to secure the shed.

They were nailing planks onto the shed for over an hour now and Daryl was quite surprised because Connor hadn't said much yet.
He looked at his friend from time to time until he sighed.

"What's the matter with yah prick now?"

Connor smirked.

"What are you talking about, I'm just busy."

Daryl put another plank on the window and snorted.

"Since when can yah shut yer hole more than a couple of minutes without startin yer moping crap?"

"Since I'm done moping."

Daryl sniffed and frowned.

"Really?"

"Really."

They both adjusted one of the planks and grabbed a few nails.

"How come yah did that this morning?" Daryl asked casually and Connor grabbed the hammer.

"Cos Rick's speech made me think about all that shit."

"And?"

Connor stopped hammering then and sighed. He sat down on the roof and grabbed a smoke. Daryl sat down next to him after a moment and grabbed one as well.
For a while they just enjoyed the view until Connor spoke.

"Well all the things he said...just reminded me of what I used ta be. How Murphy wanted me ta be. What he made me promise. He's been dead fer months now.
I just...Felt it in me guts, y'know. That it's time...First I was thinking about leaving, but now? All this shit here. This farm, this group, these friendships...
That's the closest we can get ta peace now. And once we got rid of that little fucker here.." he said and patted the roof to show that he meant Randall.
"I think living on now really isn't so bad any more. "

Daryl sighed and nodded.

"Good."

They didn't speak for a while because they didn't want to destroy the moment.

"What about ye?" Connor asked once he had finished his smoke. Daryl shrugged.

"Yer pretty much right. I don't need much. Never did. Got everything I need. Nothing much's changed for me anyway."

His friend sighed and nodded.

"Aye."

"I'm glad yer done moping and tryin t'get yerself killed. And it's good t'hear that yer staying with us" Daryl murmured and Connor looked at him in surprise.

Suddenly the hunter got up and grabbed the hammer.

"Come on now, yah prick. We need t'finish this. Haven't got time for this stupid chick flick stuff. Stop bein such a pussy."

Connor just sat there for a moment and started grinning. He saw how Daryl grabbed a whole bunch of planks and put some nails in his mouth to resume their work. He knew that his friend could hardly ever say something nice but whenever he did, he meant it. He assumed that Daryl never really had the chance to say things like that before because of his brother and father, but now that he was all on his own it looked like he was starting to explore things like that. He was far from being good at this but it was a start. And Connor was glad and proud of himself that he was playing a big part there. That he obviously helped Daryl change for the better.

"Get yer lazy ass up here and start workin, prick! Ain't gonna do it all by myself!" Daryl yelled and Connor snickered.

He threw his cigarette away and got up to help him.

Once they were done securing the shed they went back to the farmhouse to help the Greene family with their windows.
Daryl was securing the windows alone because Connor was needed somewhere else. Rick came out of the farmhouse after a while.
He had a map in his hand and when he saw Daryl he nodded.

"Hey Daryl, come over here for a minute, let's talk this through."

The hunter nodded and put the hammer away to join Rick. The policeman lay the map on the railing of the porch.

"I think we should take him out to Senoia. Hour there, hour back, give or take. We may lose the light, but we'll be halfway home by then."

They both looked up at the sky and Daryl nodded.

"This little pain in the ass will be a distant memory. Good riddance" he said and sat down on the railing.

"Carol's putting together some provisions for him, enough to last a few days" Rick went on and looked up when they heard a car.

Shane was driving down the road. Rick put his hands on his hips and sighed.

"That thing you did last night-" He didn't finish the sentence. He paused and Daryl nodded.

"Ain't no reason you should do all the heavy lifting" he just said and Rick nodded.

Daryl knew that he wouldn't get much of a thank you from him right now but he didn't need it anyway. He and Rick had come to terms a long time ago.
Simply because Daryl accepted him as a leader. Respected him even. And because Rick had never really said anything against him either.
Shane stepped out of the car and approached them.

"So you good with all this?" Rick asked and pointed at the map.

Daryl shrugged.

"I don't see you and I trading haymakers on the side of the road. Nobody'd win that fight."

He took the map to have another look but when he saw that Shane was getting close he threw the map at Rick.
There was no way he was staying to hear them bitching over Lori all over again.

"I'm gonna take a piss" he said and left them to their never-ending fight over Lori and leadership abilities.