Chapter 21: Come on Brooke

It was the next morning and Brook went to sleep pretty late the last night. It was late in the morning and she had missed breakfast. She couldn't believe that Shane was actually threatening her. He was the one who promised he would protect her. Her cheeks were sticky with tears and the skins under her eyes were puffy. She wanted the Shane she knew back in her life. She didn't want this jealous monster. She wanted the Shane that was over protective of her back, the one that always looked after her, and the one that would never betray Rick. She got up and got ready for the day. She wore an emerald green, button-up, shirt, with skinny jeans, and her dark brown combat boots. She pulled her hair half-back into a bun. She sighed and exited the tent. She rubbed her hands down her face and pulled herself together. She saw Daryl and the rest of the group sitting around eating lunch.

"Morning sleepin' beauty!" Rick greeted unaware of what had happened. She grumbled a good morning and grabbed a plate. She saw Glenn coming from the house and he was shaking. Dale nodded and he continued.

"Guys, um, the barn's full of walkers." He announced. Shane leapt up and ran to the barn. His jaw clenched and Brooke knew he was about to snap.

"We have to leave, now!" he said. Brooke, Daryl, Carol, and Brooke all agreed against him.

"We have to find Sophia!" Carol said. "She's still out there!"

"I just found her doll a couple of days ago!" Daryl yelled.

"Yeah man you found a doll!" Shane kind of chuckled. "She probably saw you with that ear necklace and took off runnin'!" Daryl lunged towards Shane. Rick held Shane back and Brooke stepped in front of Daryl.

"Daryl, please calm down." She cooed. He huffed and turned away towards the stables. Rick continued to talk to Shane.

"Are you not going to go after him?" Carol asked.

"No, when Dixon is pissed off you leave him alone for just a little bit." She said but Carol didn't listen. She ran off to the stables after him.

"Listen, you and I both know that girl is dead." Shane said.

"We don't know that!" Brooke said. "She could still be alive, Shane. Besides, she isn't your daughter she's Carols." Shane sighed and ran his hand over his head. He walked away and that left Brooke and Rick alone.

"I need to go talk to Herschel." He said.

"We can't kill them." She said. "Herschel has them locked up for a reason and they've known about it. They maybe family and we can't kill them. If we're going to stay here we have to respect Herschel's decisions."

"I know but Shane is just…I don't even know anymore about him." Rick said and walked into the house. Brooke sighed and walked over to see Daryl grabbing their things.

"Daryl, what are you doing?" She asked. They'd already spaced themselves from the others but he seemed to be moving even further away.

"I don't want to deal with that jack-ass anymore." Daryl grumbled referring to Shane. He expected Brooke to protest but she grabbed some of their things.

"Where are we moving?" she asked and he pointed over to a place with a rotting fire place. She nodded and walked over there. To be honest, Brooke was relieved they were moving away. Maybe that meant dealing with Shane less. They settled in. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked and Daryl stayed silent. It was still too early. Brooke sighed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You need to rest." She said quietly.

"Come here." He said and pulled her down. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she leaned back into him. "I'm fine." He said and gave her a quick kiss on the neck.

"I was just wondering and Daryl?" she began.

"Mhm."

"We're not going to stop looking for her." She said. "Don't listen to Shane, all of us outnumber his opinion and I personally don't want to deal with that jack-ass either." She could fell Daryl smile against her collar bone.

"Damn, I love you." He sighed and she chuckled.

"I love you too." She said and turned around. She gave him a kiss on the lips and walked out of the tent. She sighed when she saw Shane walking away from Lori. He directed his path towards her with a fire in his eyes.

"Did you know?" he asked roughly.

"Know what?" she asked.

"That Lori is pregnant?" he huffed. She sighed.

"Yes, I knew."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he barked.

"Same reason why I didn't tell anyone what really happened at the high school. It isn't my story to tell." She replied. Shane shifted his weight and gave her a cold glare. "You can look at me all you want but you know it's the truth."

"Don't you think that the baby could be mine?" he asked.

"Yes but I know Lori. She's going to the grave swearing it's Ricks." She said. "Also, we aren't going to stop looking for Sophia, she's still out there."

"Don't you think that she could be-"

"Yes, but I want to find her dead or alive." She snarled. "All of us want to find her alive but I know that she may be dead. Even if she is she deserves a proper burial."

"So, that's it! You're gonna keep on searchin' for a girl that's most likely dead?" he asked.

"Yes and you know why?" she snapped back.

"Why?"

"Because I would do the same for you and I know you would do the same for me." She said and Shane got deadly quiet. He rolled his eyes and walked away into the woods. Brooke sighed and rubbed her temples. She walked out after him and saw Dale pointing a gun a Shane's head.

"This is where you belong, Shane." Dale said.

"How's that Dale?" Shane asked.

"This world. What it is now, this is where you belong. And I may not have what it takes to last for long, but that's okay." Dale lowered his gun and Shane smirked. ""Cause I can at least say when the world goes to shit, I didn't let it take me down with it."

"Fair enough." Shane said and grabbed the weapons. He obviously didn't get the message. As he turned around she hid back up in the tree. He passed and she breathed again. She climbed down from the tree and ran back to the farm. Everyone was outside. Rick and Herschel had two walkers captured and Shane was in front of the barn door where the walkers were staying. Shane had a gun and he had completely snapped.

"These things ain't sick! They're not people! They're dead! Ain't nothin' for them 'cause all they do, they kill! These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy. They killed Otis! They're gonna kill all of us!" By this time Rudy wasn't about to pounce on the walkers but on Shane. "Hey Herschel, man, let me ask you somethin'. Can a living, breathing person, could they walk away from this?" He asked and shot the walker in the chest.

"No stop it!" Rick yelled.

"That's three rounds in the chest. Could someone who's alive survive that? Why is it still coming?" Shane shot the walker in the chest again. Brooke ran over and pulled on him.

"Shane! That's enough! You've proven your point! Please stop!" she begged.

"Yeah, you're right baby girl." He said and Brooke sighed in relief. "That is enough." He shot the walker in the head.

"No!" she yelled but Shane pushed her away.

"If you want to survive, you gotta fight for it!" Shane announced and opened the barn doors. People began to shoot the walkers as the Greene family cried in misery. After a long time of gun shots and moans, everything finally stopped. Shane looked at their accomplishment while everyone else stood in complete disgust. They heard a small moan and looked at the barn. A little girl in a rainbow t-shirt and dark green shorts limped out. She had blood on her face and her eyes were glossy. Carol cried and ran but Daryl caught her. Carl wept while both Brooke and Shane paled. Shane looked at the ground and looked back up in shock and remorse.

"Now they're people?" she thought. "Sophia." She said quietly. Rick walked up with his gun and looked over at Brooke. She nodded and he shot Sophia in the head. Carol wept even more and Rick went over to Herschel. Brooke looked at Daryl who had a mixed look of sadness and anger. Beth ran to her mother, who tried to bite her. Brooke ran and stabbed her in the head with a scythe. "I'm so sorry." Brooke said. Maggie ran over to Beth and pushed her over to their father.

"Thank you." Maggie said quietly. "For saving Beth and trying to stop him." Brooke nodded and Maggie walked away. Herschel walked to the house, Rick and Shane followed him. Shane wasn't thinking and blamed Herschel for everything. Maggie did what Brooke should've done and slapped him. Shane knew that the only person he could fight was Rick.

"You're so stupid for even believing that girl was alive!" Shane yelled and Rick was taken back. Brooke stepped out in front of Rick.

"The only one that's stupid is you!" Brooke yelled. Just like in those cheesy movies, everyone gasped and looked at the two. "None of us were in danger! It's not like the walkers could open the barn door! You opened it, you disobeyed the man who's taking us in, it was all you!" She followed Shane back to the barn yelling at him with every step. "The only one that made a stupid decision was you!"

"I would not say those things if I were you!" Shane warned.

"If you were me you wouldn't have done that stuff!" she said. "Seriously, why did you do all of that? Was it to prove that you were a man, or was it to prove how much of a bastard you've become?" she asked. Shane roared, grabbed her and slammed her against the barn, head first. She slumped to the ground with the rest of the walkers. She was knocked out cold. Shane gasped in horror of what he'd done and began to run to Brooke. He was tackled by Daryl before he could reach her.

"Daryl!" He grumbled in between punches. "Stop!" Daryl didn't stop and let out an inhumane roar of anger. He pulled out his knife but Rick stopped him. Rick gave him a look, a look of concern for him, and Daryl stopped. Shane groaned in pain. He would definitely have a black eye and he may even have a broken nose. Daryl crawled over to Brooke who laid limp in his arms.

"Come on Brooke." He whispered. Dale and T-Dog went over and picked up Brooke. They laid her in her tent so she could rest. Shane would need some time as well from the beating. She looked so peaceful except for the huge mark on her head. Daryl stayed with her for a very long time. His hand was sore and had red marks on the knuckles. He held her hand and one time, she actually squeezed it back which marked she would come back very soon. Rick and Glenn had left to go find Herschel not too long ago but they had been gone a long time. Lori walked over to Daryl who was working on making arrows while keeping an eye on Brooke.

"Listen, Beth's in some catatonic shock. We need Hershel." Lori said.

"Yeah, so what?" Daryl asked.

"So I need you to run into town real quick and get him, Rick, and Glenn." She replied. "Daryl?"

"Your bitch went window-shopping. You want him? Fetch him yourself. I got better things to do." Daryl said. "I've got to stay with Brooke."

"Why are you being so selfish?" Lori asked.

"Selfish? Listen to me, Olive Oyl. I was out there looking for that little girl every single day. I took an arrow and a bullet in the process. Don't you me about getting my hands dirty! You want those two idiots? Have a nice ride. I'm done looking for people." Daryl huffed. "I have to look after my girl! I'm the only one takin' care of her here! Don't call me selfish!" He yelled and Lori walked away. He was furious at everyone at the camp. "Did you hear that Brooke?" he asked. "Callin' me selfish!" he didn't get an answer so he just sat down next to her. He heard a whimper and she winced.

"Oh, my head." She groaned quietly. She felt arms attacking her and thought it was Shane. She screamed but soon held her head in pain.

"Sh, it's me." Daryl cooed and kissed her forehead. She sighed and he kissed her lips. She said she was really tired and just wanted to lie down so he joined her. He fell asleep before her but she stayed awake on purpose.

"If he's willing to hurt me, I know that he will hurt you." She whispered. "I can't put you in danger anymore." She kissed his cheek. "I love you so much, Daryl." She grabbed her things and quietly snuck out. She walked to her car and put her things in the trunk. She walked up to the car door but she was grabbed by the shoulders and turned around.

"What the hell are you doin'?" Daryl asked.

"I have to leave Daryl." She sighed on the verge of tears.

"Why, because of Shane?" he asked and she started to sob.

"He'll hurt you, Daryl." She cried. "I can't let him hurt you."

"Oh, don't worry about me." He said. "I beat him up so badly that he has to rest for the night. Darlin, did he threaten you?" he asked and she nodded. She spilled everything. "I'll kill him!" he tried not to yell.

"No don't!" she said. "I'll deal with him just please don't get into this!" she cried. Daryl sighed and nodded.

"I love you so much, Brooke." He said.

"I love you too, that's why I tried to leave." She wept. He kissed her tenderly and all of her worries melted away. She needed Daryl and he needed her.