DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of The Walking Dead. This is for entertainment purposes only.

A/N: I've finally come to the conclusion that there are so many characters it's hard to try and incorporate everyone. I'll work on that little by little.

Now or Never.

Since Skyler and Leah made Daryl stay put, refusing to leave the room and pushing him back down if he tried to get up, he gave in. He ended up drifting off to sleep. He figured that's what they wanted anyway.

But when he woke up from the nap, he could hear screaming off in the distance. He quickly realized that Skyler and Leah were gone as he rolled over onto his back and tried to pinpoint the voice. It was definitely Shane. He was apparently stirring shit up again, not willing to leave the barn alone. When Daryl could hear a few gunshots ring out, he didn't think twice about rolling off the bed and jumping to his feet.

As he made his way through the house, he noticed everyone was missing. That only made his heart race that much faster, ignoring the pain in his side. All he could think was that Shane had really gone off the deep end, that he had shot Rick or someone else. Or maybe it had something to do with walkers.

Daryl quickly pushed his way through the front door and stopped on the porch when he saw Skyler and Leah standing on the steps looking over towards the barn. They were okay.

"Daryl—" Skyler looked back and noticed him at the sound of the screen door slamming behind him.

"What's going on?" Daryl walked down the few steps and passed them, squinting his eyes to try and see exactly what was happening over in front of the barn. He could tell that Shane was the one who had fired the gun, still yelling at Rick and now Hershel. It looked like Rick had a hold of a walker like it was a damn dog on a leash.

"I don't know…" Skyler shook her head. "Everyone was going to go out and look for Sophia again, but Rick had left with Hershel and Jimmy a couple hours ago. They just now came back with walkers. Then Shane started shooting."

Once they could tell Shane was banging against the barn door, hitting at it with a pick ax to try and rip the bolt off the door, Leah let out a small whimper. She joined Daryl's side as he glanced down at her and squeezed her shoulder.

"Make him stop… Shane needs to stop…" Leah whispered.

"Ain't nothing gonna happen to ya. He's just gonna get the barn open and they're gonna take care of the walkers, that's it," Daryl explained. "I wouldn't ever let anything happen to ya."

Shane had now succeeded in ripping the bolt off the doors as they opened as far as the chain would allow. And the walkers began to file out in a straight line at first, the group being able to take them out one at a time as they hit the ground where they stood. But more and more just seemed to crawl out from the rickety structure, spacing themselves out.

Daryl bent down and held Leah close as they watched the bodies fall, gunshots filling the air. It only lasted a couple minutes before everything fell silent again. Daryl turned to Leah and pushed her bangs back, kissing her on the forehead before he stood back up.

"Stay here," he warned before he started walking across the field to the barn. He was half way there before he could hear two sets of footsteps running to catch up with him.

"I thought I told you—"

"We're not staying back there by ourselves," Skyler defended her and Leah.

Daryl hesitated but he let it slide. It was in that moment that he knew he was going to take them out later to practice shooting. How he looked at it, it was now or never. They needed to learn how to use a gun and protect themselves—from Shane or walkers or anyone else that could pose as a threat.

They came to a halt just on the outskirts of the group. Lori was sitting on the ground with Carl pulled into her lap, Carl's face glistening with a few tears. Lucas kept Amy back, hugging her to his chest so she didn't have to watch. Hershel had collapsed to his knees with Maggie at his side, crying. Jimmy held Beth in his arms as she tried to pull away from him, succeeding, and making her way over towards the pile of walkers.

"Mom—" Beth sniffled, falling to her knees in front of a couple of bodies. She threw one of them off of the other and carefully reached down to touch her mother's face.

The group was just now beginning to relax before there was a sudden growl and Beth screamed. It was as if everyone had just forgotten about all of the other bodies that could possibly reanimate had they not been properly killed as everyone lunged towards Beth. Her mother's dead body had reached up and grabbed her by her long blonde hair, tearing her down towards her snapping jaw. Ultimately, Shane had been the one to rip her out of her mother's grasp and pulled her back to her feet as Andrew put a bullet through the walker's head.

Daryl looked over towards Skyler and Leah and noticed they both had tears in their eyes. It was a scene neither of them really needed to see—especially Leah. He could only imagine what was going through her mind as she bit her trembling bottom lip. Daryl pulled her close and wrapped her in a hug, forcing her to look away from it.

"…Are you happy now?" Rick snapped at Shane. His voice was so quiet compared to the previous events of nothing but gunfire.

Shane ran his hands over his head and huffed, pacing back and forth. He seemed none too apologetic for his actions and the grief he had caused half of the group, if not everyone.

Rick walked over to Hershel and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry this had to happen. I'm sorry things had to be this way, but they weren't coming back. There is no cure…" he paused for a moment, "We'll give your wife and step-son a proper burial. As for the others… Well, we burn the rest."

Carol had been the first one to leave the scene, heading back towards the RV. Olivia didn't hesitate to take off after her to make sure she was okay. She was still upset over the loss of Sophia and that they apparently weren't any closer to finding her. As the days passed, it seemed pretty obvious that almost everyone was beginning to give up hope for the little girl. Shane's words were beginning to sink in. Maybe Sophia really was gone.

"Hey…" Daryl released Leah from the hug as she took a couple steps back to look at him. He wiped the couple tears from her face before he continued, "Why don't you and Skyler go see how Olivia and Carol are doing?"

Leah looked as though she were going to protest but Skyler spoke up, "I think that's a good idea. Come on, Leah. We'll let the guys take care of what needs to be taken care of." Skyler ushered Leah towards the RV, catching a quick glimpse back at Daryl and forcing a small smile as he gave her one in return. Leah didn't need to see them digging graves and burning bodies. She could come back with everyone once everything was all said and done.

Lori got back to her feet and led Carl back to the RV as well. Lucas offered Amy to go with Lori, and Maggie and Beth headed inside with Hershel and Patricia. By the time everyone had gotten situated going wherever they needed to go, it left Rick, Shane, Andrea, Dale, T-Dog, Glenn, Jimmy, Alex, Andrew, Lucas, and Daryl to help out. Of course there wasn't much Daryl could really do being injured and pretty much everyone made a point to tell him to join the others at the RV, to keep watch.

Daryl caught a glare from Shane before he started to head back. He supposed Rick had a point. It wouldn't do much good for Daryl to try hauling bodies off and digging holes. He'd most likely end up ripping the damn stitches out again. Besides, taking watch probably wasn't a bad idea with the way they had unloaded on the barn herd.

It probably took a couple hours but the task had finally been completed. The group had wrangled up all of the bodies into the back of Otis' truck and hauled them off to be burned, away from everyone's sight. There were also two fresh graves that contained Hershel's wife and step-son just off by the hill. Everyone crowded around and paid their respects, bowing their heads in silence. Hershel didn't say a single word the entire time.

When everything was all said and done, the group dispersed again. There were still a few hours left of daylight and Daryl took that as an opportunity. He managed to swipe the key to Otis' truck from T-Dog before he hunted Dale down.

"Now hang on a second. You're going to do what?" Dale furrowed his brows.

"I'm taking Leah and Skyler out to practice shooting. You gonna let me borrow a couple guns or not?" Daryl crossed his arms.

"You think that's such a good idea right now? Shane took everyone out yesterday."

"I didn't ask for your opinion, old man. And I don't want nothing to do with Shane. Don't trust the man. Sure as hell ain't gonna leave them with him." Daryl remarked.

"Okay… Fair enough. You can take a couple guns, just be sure to try and put them back when you're done. I've been trying to keep them all accounted for." Dale raised an eyebrow, "Let me be the first to say you're not alone on that one. I don't trust him either."

"I already have one gun I'm using. Was thinking about borrowing that Glock, unless Shane has it," Daryl nodded his head toward the bag of guns.

Dale shrugged, "It should be in there unless he took off with it without my knowledge. Help yourself."

Daryl unzipped the bag and sifted through all of the guns, picking up various pistols and revolvers, checking them over and setting them back down until he found what he was looking for. He didn't exactly have the luxury of having a smaller caliber pistol, but he figured it would have to work. He gave Dale a nod before he headed out, making sure to tuck the Glock into the waistband of his pants unnoticed. He didn't need someone giving him shit for running off. T-Dog and Dale both knew where he was headed and that's all that mattered. He was accounted for if anyone needed to know.

"Leah," Daryl waved her over. "You too, Skyler. C'mere." They were both talking to Lori and Carl as they excused themselves to listen to Daryl's request.

"What's wrong?" Skyler asked.

"Taking you two out to learn how to shoot," Daryl replied.

"Shoot guns? Are we really?" Between Leah's voice and the face she was making, Daryl couldn't quite tell if she was excited or nervous. Maybe it was a little bit of both.

Daryl nodded, dangling the truck key in his hand. "Go ahead and jump in. Just gotta grab the Browning and I'll be there."

Daryl parked the truck and led the way over towards an old wooden fence. There were still a few bottles and cans lined up on the posts, so Daryl assumed this was where everyone had practiced yesterday. It seemed like a good place to start.

"I can't believe you left your truck behind…" Leah mumbled as she followed his footsteps. She had been a bit bummed once she learned Daryl abandoned the old beater of a truck back at the CDC. He just told her that it had seen better days and they didn't have enough gas to keep it going along with the other vehicles so he ditched it for Merle's Triumph. Which was the truth.

"Have you shot a gun before?" Daryl looked over at Skyler.

"A little bit. Not saying I'm confident holding one," Skyler replied.

"Alright…" Daryl chewed on the corner of his mouth momentarily as he panned through his thoughts. "First rule of thumb when it comes to guns, you don't point 'em at anyone unless you're planning to shoot. Second, you wanna make sure the safety is on at all times when not in use. Leah, I'm giving you the Glock to test out so you won't have to worry about that. It's sort of… built in, if you will."

Leah nodded, hanging onto every word that came out of his mouth. Skyler listened contently. Daryl handed the Glock over to Leah, allowing her to grip the handle as he had his hand over top of the slide. She immediately pointed the barrel down at the ground and Daryl smiled.

"Good, you were listening," Daryl joked.

"I'm a good listener, thank you very much!" Leah stuck her tongue out at him.

"Okay, okay. On to business…" Daryl handed the Browning BDA pistol that he grabbed from the satchel on the Triumph over to Skyler. He had both of them walk up to the fence, standing back about 20 feet to start out. "Starting out, you definitely want to watch your stance. You especially, Leah. This gun's gonna have quite a bit of a kick to it for someone your size but I think you'll do fine."

Daryl walked behind Leah and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Now yer gonna want to move your legs apart, about at shoulders width. And bring your right foot back a bit." Daryl nudged her feet with his own to get her in the right position. "About like that. That way when you fire," Daryl pulled back on her shoulders as her weight shifted to her right foot, "You don't fall flat on your ass."

Daryl took a step back and glanced over at Skyler. She was trying to follow through with everything he was telling Leah as she flashed a nervous smile over at him.

"You think you got this so far?" Daryl questioned her.

"Yeah, I'm good," Skyler laughed. "I'll try not to fall on my ass."

Daryl shook his head, grinning, as he turned back to Leah. He took in her posture as she was raising the gun up in front of her, squinting her eyes down the sight.

"That's the next thing we're going to cover… You don't ever hold a gun with your arms locked at the elbow. You want to ease up a bit, bend your elbows and give yourself a little bit of room to work with. The more tense you are, the more it's just going to hurt later."

Leah bent her arms a bit, looking to Daryl and receiving a nod of approval. Daryl glanced back over at Skyler and noticed she was doing just fine with vocal instruction.

"You ready to shoot?" Daryl looked down at Leah.

"I guess so. I mean, that's all there is to it?" Leah lowered the gun in front of her.

"For the most part, yeah. We can worry about reloading some other time… That can be lesson two." Leah nodded in response as Daryl continued, "Now go ahead and raise it back up, get back in your stance. In order to prepare that first round, you're gonna want to grab the slide—the top of the gun—and pull that back towards you."

Leah gripped the slide and slightly fumbled with it before she was able to get it to pull back. It gave off a slight click as it set into place. She smiled up at Daryl once she got it. There was another little distinct click that let Daryl know that Skyler got hers to function.

"Now raise it back up in front of you. You wanna look down the sights. There should be a little white dot that you're looking for at the end of the barrel. That's what you want to line your target up with."

"Okay… Got it," Leah confirmed.

"Skyler?" Daryl glanced back.

"Yeah, got it," Skyler replied.

"You don't have to aim for anything with this first shot, alright? I just want you to get a feel for the gun before you actually start doing target practice."

"You said it's going to kick back? I'm not gonna hit myself in the face, am I?" Leah questioned.

Daryl shook his head, "Not at all. I'll help you for the first one but after that I want you to try it on your own." He walked behind her and placed his hands over top of hers on the gun. "Now just squeeze the trigger. It'll jerk back but like I said, I've got it this time…"

Leah nodded as she tilted her head to look down the sight. She hesitated for a moment before her finger pulled the trigger, the gun slightly jerking upward with a rather loud boom. Between the sound and the motion of the gun, Leah flinched.

"Don't be afraid of the gun. Can't do any harm to yourself with it unless you're purposely trying to," Daryl let go and backed up, taking her side.

"I don't know if I like this…" Leah pointed the gun back down at the ground. "It still kicked back even with you helping me."

"I wasn't holding it down fully. I wanted you to get a little bit of a feel for what it's going to be like without my help," Daryl admitted. "You'll get used to it. Don't worry about it."

Daryl glanced back down at Skyler again just as she pulled the trigger. The loud boom reverberated off of the trees as a smile slowly crept across her face.

"I think this is similar to whatever Andrew has. He tried to show me how to shoot but I have to admit, he never went this much into detail. He just kind of handed me the gun and told me to shoot straight…" Skyler laughed.

"Sounds like you've had plenty of practice then," Daryl joked. He nodded his head toward the fence posts, "Try to hit one of those cans." He turned his attention back to Leah.

"Now what?" Leah asked.

"Try shooting on your own."

Leah bit her lip and slowly got back into her stance. Daryl noticed her hands were slightly shaking as she raised the pistol in front of her. She corrected herself when she realized she had locked her elbows again.

"You're fine. Just keep a firm grip on the gun and squeeze the trigger," Daryl reassured her.

He could see her grip tighten even more on the handle as her finger slowly pulled back on the trigger. She gave it a firm squeeze and the gun shot off. The kick back was about like he had imagined, jerking her hands up into the air quite a bit.

Leah quickly looked back at him, "I don't like it... How am I ever supposed to shoot something when I can barely keep the gun straight?"

Daryl took a couple steps forward, "Practice. You can't be afraid of it. Just remember everything I told you…" He paused, "Now try it again. Try not to tense up so much."

Daryl looked over at Skyler just as she nailed one of the cans on the fence, "There ya go. That's good."

"Thanks. I think I've got the hang of it," Skyler smiled.

"You're a natural, keep practicing. Try at least a few more shots," Daryl suggested.

Leah fired the gun again, this time stumbling back and shaking her head. "Daryl—I don't like it…"

"You're lettin' your emotions get the best of ya. You can't be scared and you can't get flustered. If I had a .22 for you to practice with first I'd start there. But I don't." Daryl encouraged her, "Just keep trying. You'll get it."

"But I am afraid of it. I can't imagine trying to shoot something, let alone a walker…" Leah mumbled.

Daryl rubbed the side of his face. "I don't know what to tell ya. You gotta get used to it at some point. Not today and probably not even tomorrow. But you're gonna have to get over your fear."

"I just don't like the kickback…" Leah confessed. "…Why are you so persistent for me to learn all this stuff?"

"I just want you to be prepared for when worse comes to worse. That's all. I think you should know how to manage a gun for your own safety," Daryl admitted.

"Yeah, but everything's fine now. And I have you," Leah smiled.

Daryl sighed, "That's not the point. Tomorrow may not be okay. You can't predict the future. Hell, I could die tomorrow. And what would you do then?"

Leah's eyes grew wide staring back at Daryl before she looked over to Skyler.

"Nobody is dying. Certainly not tomorrow and certainly not you," Skyler stated.

Daryl shrugged, "I'm just saying. You have to keep an open mind to the possibilities. Can't let your guard down."

Skyler took another shot, this time missing the bottle she was aiming for. Daryl could see her lips move as he guessed she was cursing under her breath. At least she seemed determined.

"Think you're up for trying again?" Daryl folded his arms looking back to Leah.

"I guess," Leah shrugged. She hesitantly turned back around to face the fence and got into her stance once more. Daryl noticed with each time she did this, she was already getting better at it—she was getting into that stance faster and more accurately with each shot that she took. He'd just have to work with her about getting over the initial fear.

Leah popped off another round keeping her feet planted this time. Her hands were shaking as she dropped the gun to her side and looked back at Daryl again.

"You're doing good. You've already improved since the first bullet you shot," Daryl encouraged her once more.

"I don't feel like I have," Leah frowned.

Daryl took a couple steps forward again. He refrained from stooping down as he knew it would only send the pain to flare up even more. "You know… I was probably about your age when I first learned how to shoot a gun."

Leah's face lit up, "Really?"

Daryl nodded, "Yeah. I don't remember how old I was exactly, but I do know that I used to be afraid too."

"You? Afraid?" Leah repeated. She looked doubtful. "How did you get over it then?"

"Practice," Daryl answered. And Merle breathing down his neck and pointing out every flaw he made, hitting him over the head numerous times until he got it right. But Leah didn't need to know that.

Leah now took her turn at sighing, "I thought that maybe you were going to teach me some neat trick or something…"

"This is just something you kinda have to learn on your own. Trial and error."

"Okay," Leah muttered. "But can we head back now? I'll try again tomorrow or whenever we come back here."

Daryl nodded, "Of course. You gave it your best, and you did good. I'm proud of ya."

Leah smiled, "That's only because I have the best teacher."

I know pretty much next to nothing about guns; I can reload them and shoot. That's about it. So if I was able to play this off like I knew what I was talking about then hooray! I feel accomplished! Haha.

Leave me some reviews. I want to hear from all of you out there. xoxo