Chapter Thirty-Eight

It was still early morning when Daryl crossed the field, Carl and Sophia on either side, each with a brace of rabbits. It would be enough to feed them for breakfast and still provide enough for a hearty stew for their dinner if he could convince Carol to make it. He had to fight to keep the smile from his face as he remembered last night and their passionate joining. It meant more than he could say that she'd allowed him to help her get over the last of her fears. Ed had scarred her so deeply … soul deep. Much as Jackson had done to him. Now, he could only hope Carol could continue to heal and put the bastard behind her for good. His woman had suffered enough. She deserved to be happy.

He waved to her as she watched them approach, and she beamed that special smile she always reserved just for him. His heart swelled with love as she spoke a few words to Lori and ran out to meet them. He held his arms open to her and she gave him a warm hug before turning to the children and greeting them. "Wow, you must have taken them out before sun up if you're already back."

"That's the best time, Mom. Look!" Sophia held up the rope holding two rabbits. "I got two all by myself. So did Carl. Dad got three, though."

Carl nodded sagely. "That's because he's the best hunter around these parts. Even Otis said so after that last buck Daryl bagged."

Daryl glared at the boy. It wasn't good to mention things which could rile Carol up. So what if he'd slipped out and gone hunting before Hershel had wanted him to? They needed to eat. Stiches or no.

Carol chuckled and let Daryl tuck her into his side for the walk back. "Seems like you have quite the following, O mighty hunter."

"Stahp," he said, feeling his ears go red under their praise. "Somebody's gotta keep y'all fed." He pulled Carol closer and leaned down so only she could hear. "Y' feelin' ok this mornin'?"

"I'm wonderful," she breathed, leaning up to kiss his scruffy cheek. "And so are you."

Sophia giggled. "Y'all are ridiculous," she said, shaking her head. "But cute. Mama, want to watch us clean the rabbits? Dad said he was going to show us how. And then he's going to teach us how to properly tan the hides and use them to make useful stuff."

"No, baby. I need to get breakfast going. Lori's not feeling that great this morning."

"I'll just bet she isn't," Daryl said snidely. Carol slapped his chest gently in admonishment and left him and the children to carry out their task.

It wasn't long before Sophia brought the first two rabbits to her to put on the spit over the fire. Rick had sent his wife back to their tent after she'd lost her stomach more than once. He too looked rather green around the gills, and she could only wonder if her friend had shared the news of their impending arrival with him. When Shane joined the rest of them for coffee and Rick began shooting daggers at him, her suspicions were confirmed. Oh, those two had a long way to go if they were going to salvage their friendship. Her mouth dropped open as Andrea crawled out of Shane's tent and made her way over to Carol with her mug.

The blonde grinned and filled her cup. "So, how'd you sleep, Carol?" she asked, sitting in the vacant camp chair next to her. "There was an awful lot of noise coming from that direction last night. Racoons, maybe?"

She felt her cheeks heat under Andrea's scrutinizing gaze. "Yeah, that must've been it," she mumbled. "Or maybe it was just an echo from your own tent."

Andrea chuckled and sipped the strong dark brew.

"Getting cozy with the good deputy?" Carol asked, peeking over at her discreetly.

"He's nice," she stated simply. "And he's going through a rough time right now. Rick will barely say two words to him, Lori is pretending he doesn't exist, and Carl very rarely leaves Daryl's side nowadays. He doesn't know if he should leave or try to smooth things over."

"Leave? No! He pulled this group together, Andrea. He has every right to be here," Carol protested, basting the rabbits with a paste of seasonings and margarine from her supplies. "We need to stick together."

"That's what I've been trying to tell him." She leaned forward, bracing her forearms on her knees as she looked down into her mug. "I kissed him."

Well, that wasn't surprising, seeing as how they'd been chatting like old friends the night before. "Did you?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, but I made it quite clear to him I wasn't going to be his rebound girl. New rules for a new world. I told him I'd be his friend, but he was going to have to show me he was over Lori before I let it go any farther. For now, we're just friends."

Andrea was too smart to let a man walk all over her, so Carol merely smiled. "I have every faith he'll come around sooner or later."

"Me too. I think I'm going to grab my stuff and see if Maggie will let me use their shower," she said, climbing to her feet.

Carol watched her go and then waved up at T-Dog atop the RV taking his shift at watch. Camp was quiet with Daryl distracting the kids at the edge of the field, but she couldn't help but let her gaze drift over each of their party. Dale was tense and kept giving Glenn an undecipherable look, and the boy seemed uncomfortable in his own skin as his gaze flickered between his mentor and Maggie where she stood glaring at him from the porch of the old farmhouse. Something was definitely going on.

She didn't have time to worry about it, however. It was her duty to make sure the hungry members of their group had something to eat that morning. It made her feel useful, like she had a valuable skill to provide them … even if it was only cooking. She was just pulling the rabbits off the spit with Dale's help when Daryl dropped a bucket full of their freshly skinned kill at her feet and then lowered himself into a camp chair. Sophia was quick to pour him a cup of coffee before she and Carl sat down next to him on a log.

Carol quickly cut and plated the meat with some eggs she'd scrambled – thanks to Patricia's generosity – and began calling everyone to breakfast.

"So, what are we going to do today, Dad," Sophia asked around a mouthful of seared rabbit.

"Ain't y' got chores to help y' mama with?"

Shane pointed at the kids with his fork, his plate balanced on his lap. "Have you thought of putting them on watch duty? They both got sharp eyes and are skilled with those bows. I think it would do them some good to have a little more responsibility. Morning or afternoon watch would be perfect for them. What d'you think, Dixon?"

Sophia and Carl shared a wide-eyed look, surprised at Shane's nod at their skills. Daryl continued to eat. "I got every faith they could do it, but it ain't my call." He jerked his chin in Rick's direction. "Need t' talk t' Rick about that."

Shane flinched. "Thought I'd run it by you since it's your kid and all."

Rick ignored Shane and rubbed both hands over his face as he turned to meet Daryl's wary gaze. "I don't see how it would hurt to have them on watch. They could do it together … couple hours in the afternoon."

"Really?" Carl said, his excitement palpable. "You mean it, Dad?"

Their leader smiled at the children. "Sure, why not?"

Sophia felt her chest swell with pride with this new task to add to her list of chores. She felt the grown-ups were finally taking them seriously, and she wouldn't do anything to let her dad down. Neither would Carl. Besides, she'd been on watch before with Daryl, and knew how to handle herself.

Daryl tugged playfully on a strawberry blonde lock hanging next to her cheek. "Still gotta make sure your other chores are done first, Soph. They're important too."

"I will, Daddy." To prove she was serious, she gathered up empty plates from those who'd finished eating and carried them to the washtub to begin washing their morning dishes. Carl, not wanting to look bad, grabbed up a clean hand towel to dry and put them away.

Daryl leaned back in his chair to let his food settle. "Rick, I'm gonna take Carol an' th' kids out into th' field later an' start trainin' 'em in some hand t' hand. Guns'll only get 'em so far. They need t' know more about how t' take a geek down with only their knives."

"That's good thinking, Daryl. Would you mind if some of us joined you?" Rick asked, more than on board with this new idea.

"Yeah, I ain't gotta problem with that.":

Carol lowered her fork to her empty plate and frowned at Glenn. "Glenn, honey … you barely touched your food. Is something wrong?"

The boy blushed, his ears turning red as he stared down at his feet. "Um …"

"Glenn …" Dale said, giving him a pointed look.

Carol felt a prickle of unease raise the fine hairs along her nape.

Daryl narrowed his eyes. "What's up with you, Short Round? Maggie givin' y' th' cold shoulder or somethin'?"

He looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Tell them," Dale urged. "If you don't, I will."

Glenn went from fiery red to a rather sickly green as he felt the eyes of the group upon him. "There'swalkersinthebarn!" he blurted out in one long burst of sound.

Daryl gaped at him.

Rick looked sick.

Carol wanted to drag the kids off and zip them into the tent where she could guard over them.

And Shane slowly levered himself out of his chair, holding a hand over his wound which was still tender. "The fuck you just say?" he asked. He must have heard him wrong.

Glenn crossed his arm over his chest as he chewed nervously on his thumb. "There's walkers … in the barn. I was going to meet Maggie there the other night and –"

"Just happened to find out?" Rick asked, squinting at the boy, his hands on his hips. "And you're just now deciding to tell us? You should have come to us with this immediately!"

"And you knew?" Shane shouted accusingly at Dale. "He told you and then y'all kept it from the rest of us?"

"I already talked to Hershel," the old man responded, though he didn't look at all guilty about keeping it from them. "I figured one more day wouldn't hurt."

Daryl shook his head and reached for his crossbow. "Woman, get t' th' tent an' put your damn belt on … now!" He turned to Rick as she hurried to obey. He wasn't taking any chances with her safety. If she needed her gun, by damn she was going to have it on her. "Y' want me t' go check this out? Post a guard? What?"

Rick nodded. "Yeah … yeah, that would be best. We don't need them getting out and having them hurt one of the kids. Just stand watch for now, though, until I can talk to Hershel myself."

Dale shook his head. "You'll be wasting your breath. He doesn't see them as monsters, Rick, but as flesh and blood people who are just sick. He believes they can be cured. It's why he's housing them in the barn. He's keeping them there until the scientists can come up with a cure."

Shane raked his hand through his hair as Andrea reappeared at his side with his gun belt, his 9mm and an extra cartridge. Her own gun was already tucked into her waistband. "This is insane, Rick. You know it is," he hissed as he fastened his belt around his waist with a wince of pain.

Glenn rubbed at the knot of stress at his nape. "His wife and stepson … his friends, neighbors … they're in that barn."

"We can't just go out there shooting up the place," Rick said, at a loss as to what to do as opposed to what he wanted to do. "I need to talk to him, explain –"

"Yeah 'cause that's worked out really well so far," the deputy spat.

Rick shot him a look of disgust and held up a hand, calling for calm. "I'll handle this."

*.*.*

"Glenn said there's a lumber supply warehouse in town. We could take both the trucks and make a run … reinforce along here …"

Rick and Daryl were making a sweep around the perimeter of the barn, checking for weak spots before Rick brought his concerns to Hershel. Daryl was doing everything in his power not to totally lose his shit. To think his girls had been in danger this entire time, and they'd been clueless. Who the hell kept walkers in their barn? Shane had been right … it was batshit crazy! His anxiety, his worry for their safety, had that all too familiar itch humming beneath his skin, and he'd already chewed the inside of his lip bloody.

One of the walkers, having scented them, snarled against the planking as they passed. Daryl brought the crossbow up, ready should it find a way through. When it couldn't, he still didn't lower his weapon as he whirled on Rick. "Man, th' fuck are we doin'? We should be findin' a way up into that hayloft an' pickin' those suckers off one by one."

"You think I don't know that?" Rick sighed. "But we are guests here, Daryl. We go in there shooting the place up and Hershel is going to make sure we leave. We … we need to stay here. And I need you to be with me on that. I can't trust Shane not to say to hell with it and start a riot."

Daryl grunted, shaking his head. "Y'all need t' get over this shit between y'. He's your second in command, Rick," he sneered, "an' your communication skills suck! We ain't never gonna get nowhere with you two fightin' all th' damn time."

"I can't trust him, Daryl. Not like I can trust you. He shoots down every plan, every strategy I make. Not to mention him and …"

Daryl ducked his head and chewed on his lip. Rick trusted him? That was a first, and he didn't know how to feel about it. Did he even want the man's trust? His acceptance? He was beginning to wonder if he was getting in too deep with these people. "I don't really give a fuck about your personal issues, Rick. I'm here for Carol an' Sophia. They trust y' t' lead us. Not Shane. So, I'm with y' on whatever y' decide. But th' bickerin' … y' doubtin' your leadership abilities. That shit's gotta stop, man. Y' gotta work this out with him." He turned his fiery gaze on him. "Either lead, or fall back in line. That's your choices. But jus' so we're clear … Shane ain't no leader."

"Why don't you think so?" Rick asked curiously. He'd never had Daryl volunteer so much at once, and frankly he was taken aback by his blunt observations, yet pleased his little family were loyal to him.

"Because he's always gonna take th' easy path, th' one without any risks. Any good leader knows y' gotta take chances."

Daryl lengthened his stride and left Rick behind, needing to get a hold of himself if he were to keep his head. His Dixon temper didn't need to come into play. As soon as people started panicking, he'd be caught in the middle of it, and he had Carol and Sophia to think of. It didn't take long for both of them to round to the front of the building where they'd left Shane and Andrea.

"We good?" he asked Andrea, dropping to his haunches between the pair.

Andrea nodded. "I found a way in, and –"

"What?! Still got that death wish, Blondie?"

She rolled her eyes. "I found a way up into the loft. Walkers can't climb ladders. We found that out when we went to Atlanta. Anyway, from what I could see, I'm guessing we have a little more than a dozen in there."

The wooden double doors creaked, rotted fingers poking through the slats as the walkers inside reached for their prey. Shane inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring in anger as he rested his hand over his service piece. "I don't like this … not a bit. We need to set up a watch. I'd say two at a time. Rick? Whatcha think, man?"

The former friends refused to look at one another, but at least they were trying to come up with a plan. Before he could answer, Hershel came stalking down the path, and they could all see he was incensed. "What are you all doing out here? Get away from the barn!" he called, more than a little red in the face from his anger.

Rick held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "Hershel, I was just coming to talk to you about that."

"I don't care. I've asked you to keep your people in their designated areas. This is my land and you'll follow my rules if you want to stay," he retorted, pointing a finger at Rick.

*.*.*

Carol dug through Daryl's hunting sack Sophia had dragged with them atop the RV and found his field glasses, using them to watch the drama unfolding at the barn. She thought the top of the Winnebago would be the safest place for the children until the issue could be resolved. "Damnit, I wish I could hear what they were saying."

"I'm sure Dad will tell us when he comes back, Mama. What do you see? I can't make out anything from here," Sophia complained. She smiled at Carl as he handed her the binoculars Dale kept up there for watch.

Carol frowned. "Hershel's out there now and he's arguing with Rick. Shane looks like he's about to pass out, and Andrea is hovering near him."

"What about Daryl?" Carl asked since he couldn't see what was going on now.

Sophia grinned. "He looks like he's watching everyone else to make sure he can jump in if a fight breaks out. And he doesn't look happy about it."

"He's trying, Sophia. You know this isn't easy for him, baby."

"Oh, shit!" the girl cried, using the binoculars to scan more than what was going down at the barn. "Mama, look! What the hell are they doing?"

"Sophia! Language," Carol admonished as she swung the field glasses in the direction her daughter was pointing. "Oh, shit!"

Carl would have giggled at the pair if Sophia hadn't thrust the binoculars at him, so he could see too. The boy paled. "Should we go get my mom and make her come up here with us?"

Carol groaned. "Not just yet. It's best to let her sleep for now … until we know if we're in danger."

*.*.*

Merle had always loved old black and white episodes of the Twilight Zone. Daryl felt as if he'd been thrust right into a bad remake. Fuckin' hell! He took a battle-ready stance as Otis and Jimmy came around the side of the barn, two walkers on leads before them, the poles straining under the weight.

"Oh, hell no!" Shane cried, pulling his weapon and pointing it at them. "Rick, what the hell, man?"

"Shane, no!" Rick demanded, not at all sure if his partner would even listen to him with such a direct threat so close.

Hershel looked as though he would've shot the man if he'd have had a weapon of his own. "Stand down, Mr. Walsh. This doesn't concern you. I will not have you murder anyone on this farm."

Daryl gaped at the man. "That ain't people!"

"He's right. They're dead. If they get loose, they'll be the ones murdering our group … your family, your daughters! They need to be put down."

"They're people. Good people. They're just sick," the farmer insisted. He would not be swayed no matter what Rick, or his group, had to say. "Now put down your weapons."

"Hershel, you said yourself you saw what happened on the news broadcasts," Rick tried to reason with him. "These people are not sick. The camera's stopped rolling a long time ago. Because the walkers … the dead were rising and eating the living! Please. You've got to understand. You're protected here. You don't know what it's like out there!"

"I do understand. We'll be able to help them when the doctors find a cure."

Shane lost it. His temper, his sanity, his soul, he didn't know. He just knew he had to make the man see through any means necessary. "They're not sick! They're dead! Lemme ask you something. Could a living, breathing person walk away from this?" He fired his gun, hitting the walker on Otis's lead. "Three rounds in the chest! Could someone who's alive, could they just take that?! Why is it still coming?" He fired another two rounds. "That's its heart, it's lungs … why is it still coming?"

Daryl's grip tightened on his crossbow as it swung between the two walkers, ready to fire if necessary. Rick was yelling for Shane to stop, Hershel looked as if he were ready to collapse, Andrea didn't know what to do, frozen as she was in horror. "Shane, man, stop! That's enough!" Rick shouted over him.

"You know, Rick, you're right. That is enough," Shane said, calm seeming to return to him as he raised his gun and fired one last time, directly to the head of the walker.

Silence reigned for a moment as everyone stared at the former deputy … right before the unthinkable happened. Otis let go of the lead, the dead walker falling to the dirt as the big man fought for breath, completely exerted from trying to fight the thing all the way from the creek. Jimmy still held his firm, staring in stunned disbelief at Shane. Snap! Daryl called out a warning as the lead Jimmy held broke and the walker – moments ago which had been secure – lurched forward and sank its teeth in the back of Otis's neck. The bolt shot out of the crossbow, embedding itself in the walker's skull in a heartbeat … but it wasn't quick enough. There was no coming back from this.

A/N: Next time: Rick & Glenn run into trouble in town. Carol has a chat with Hershel.