Here's the next one. Not as long of a wait as last time. But the next few chapters will be pretty much written from scratch since my outline has taken a different turn. Thank you for your patience. Not that there's much of a choice ;P

If there are any help fun critiques please let me know. I'm always happy to have a helping hand. :) Enjoy.


1st PPOV

The first full day of Chester's stay was the best we'd ever see from him. Now he's blatantly sexist, racist and he prowls the farm looking for trouble and leering at us women. He's not ignorant, he's well aware of our thoughts. He'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to realise; we're not making it subtle.

Hershel doesn't let his people anywhere near the man, especially Beth. She's still fragile. Amy's started considering herself a Greene. The arguments she and Andrea have are loud. I've done my best not to eavesdrop, but its hard. The further Amy pulls away the tighter Andrea clings to us.

"It's just not fair." Amy's whining catches my attention.

Sitting in my usual spot, foot alleviated, I scan the front yard hoping to find someone in need of help. Anything is better then having to listen to this. Her disregard of us is getting ridiculous.

"Amy." Jimmy sighs sympathetically.

He's not helping, only making it worse. Perhaps saving her had been wrong.

"They don't care about me. They never see how I'm doing." Her thick voice and rather large sniff tells me she's in tears. Or faking well.

"People change Amy, this sickness has brought real personalities out."

Scoffing softly, while shaking my head, it astounds me how her mind seems to work. Her thoughts are based on the attention she's given. I'd never have saved her if I didn't care. Andrea wouldn't be protecting her, plus the elder sister is morally and emotionally obligated. There's also Dale, he brought them along when the outbreak began. He didn't have to, but he did. Why? Because he cares.

I'd say she has histrionic Personality Disorder, but I'm not sure that's quite right. If she does, it's got to be a very mild case. It's something to do with having to be centre of attention, how those suffering from it have their self worth wrapped up in the amount they receive. There's also something about inappropriate seductive behaviour.

It's times like these that I miss my phone. How easy was it to Google whatever you needed?

This apocalypse sucks.

Not that there's any type that wouldn't. Being the end of the world and all.

But I digress.

The point is, Amy has some sort of mental problem that's not going to be solved by a swift smack to the face. Though I would love to give it a try. I've caught her and Jimmy necking. Swapping spit. Eating each other's faces. Whatever you want to call it.

But I'll focus on anything that's not Rick. He's had a couple of conversations with Lori. Plus it's not like the world has righted itself, despite not having seen Walkers since the barn incident a few days ago, the world's still crawling with them. This is no time to get distracted by the opposite sex.

I've finally had enough with being idle. As far as I'm concerned my foot's healed. I can handle the ache, my focus now is on keeping the kids away from Chester. The two have continued climbing; they're getting confident and fast. Sophia's more enthusiastic about it since she knows how it saved our lives. Carl's still male and can't handle getting shown up by a girl. Even if it's one he's trying to impress.

Which is adorable.

"Well, well, well." A voice sneers from behind.

I stiffen and eye the kids carefully, they're both high enough in the tree to be fine. Though if Chester gets violent there's no guarantee they'll stay. Carl's protective of those he loves, as is Sophia; especially after killing those walkers. She's coming out of her shell nicely.

"What do you want?" I ask turning around and gripping the large thick stick Carl found for me.

I said I've had enough idleness, not that I was going to be stupid about it.

"You give me too much lip," he sneers. "Gonna teach ya yer place, bitch."

I cross my arms over my chess and lean my weight on my good foot. "Oh? Here I thought it was the 20th Century and chauvinistic pigs were dying out."

He takes a step forward; his nostrils flaring, breathing heavily and cold hard eyes drilling into me. "This is your own fault." He raises a fist.

Carl's suddenly there. "Leave her alone!"

I pull Carl back just as the first swing is taken. The force of the momentum has Chester stumbling to the side. Sophia appears next to me, and I push them towards camp. "Go, go get someone."

Sophia takes off, but Carl stays putting himself between Chester and I. "Bugger off!"

If it was in any other situation I'd flick his ear for that kind of language. However, this is something else entirely. It's worse than being attacked by a zombie. They're dumb instinctive creatures. They don't think, they act. It's never that hard to get away, a human being has active cognitive thoughts.

Chester lunges for us. I stumble back and move Carl behind me. The brute trips and goes down, snarling with a red face. Keeping on my feet is imperative. I won't get up till Chester's finished with me otherwise.

Adrenaline spikes causing my hands to tremble and my heart racing; like it's about to explode. It seems to take Chester forever to stagger to his feet. Carl tenses and I immediately push him back further. He's a boy of the now, he doesn't give much thought to consequences.

It'll get him in trouble.

"Bitch!" Chester's beefy hands wrap around my neck, squeezing and slamming me against a tree.

I can't breathe.

"Let her go!"

Carl kicks Chester in the knee causing his leg to buckle. He shoves Carl who then stumbles back and onto his ass. Chester tightens his hold. Black spots dance in my vision. Pressure builds behind my eyes. I kick hard at his crotch and he falls like a sack of potatoes. I go down too, on my hands and knees, sucking in as much air as I can.

"DAD!" Carl cries.

Rick's at my side, helping me to my feet while Merle's hauling Chester up with cold, icy eyes. Sure makes me glad I've never been on the end of that look. He roughly, painfully, handles my attacker and drags him away with Daryl and Shane following.

"Lauren."

Sagging against Rick, and wrapping my arms around his waist I listen to his racing heart. "I'm fine." I wheeze; my head aching and throat burning.

There's a numb feeling in my chest when pulling away. Tears prick my eyes, causing me to avoid eye contact. I just want to sleep. To hide away. No, what I really want is to curl up with Rick. Of course that's not going to happen. Instead I head for the house staring at my feet with my hand gently massaging my neck.

"Loz." D whispers as she takes my hand.

I clutch it tightly, a painful lump in my throat that adds to the burn. The trek to the house never seemed so long before. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Rick Reach for me.

"Rick." Lori calls desperately.

"Come on." Maggie helps D guide me to the house.

Carl and Sophia join my entourage. No one talks or laughs. I can feel eyes on me, but ignore everything. I'm more focused on getting my emotions under control. Never has anyone attacked me before. The damage to my mental and emotional state is devastating. I pride myself on being a pillar of strength.

Once we're back in my room I head straight for the bed and curl up. This won't be making the kids feel alright, but these few moments is important.

"Loz?" Carl asks carefully, rubbing my back.

"I'm just really tired," I shift so that he can crawl onto the bed with me. Sophia follows. "My foot's sore. It's been awhile since I've done any sort of exercise. You have to start really slow with foot injuries." At least it sounds about right.

"You promise?" Sophia asks as she grips her hands, eyes darting from Carl to me.

"I know what happened was scary and that you're worried about me." I give them both a squeeze. "But, I'm fine. I'm exhausted and need a bit of a rest. I'm old like that." I wink, causing them to giggle.

"So you're going to be here for the rest of the day?" Carl pouts.

"No, just until my foot feels a little better, than I'll be out."

D clears her throat and looks between the two. "Why don't we hang out today? I thought I saw some board games in the RV."

"Sure." They nod and crawl off the bed.

I wait a moment to make sure they're really gone before breaking down. Hugging a pillow to my chest to burry my face into it I barely register Rick arriving. The comfort he bring by holding me is…more than enough. It's warm, it's caring and above everything it gives me strength. When I finally pull back, to put a bit more distance between us, he doesn't let me.

He holds me still and gazes into my eyes. "Stop." His jaw clenches and he runs a hand through his hair then scrubs his face. "I'm done with you pulling away. It's honourable that you would step aside and let Lori and I reconcile…if that's what I wanted."

I blink at him and wipe tears away.

"Lori just wants familiar. I don't. I want you. I want to come to you at the end of the day. I want your comfort." He hesitates briefly, then leans in pressing his lips against mine.

My eyes flutter close as the pressure intensifies. His lips are soft as he expertly coerces mine to move in sync. One of his hands comes to rest on my waist. The other cups my check. Slowly, as if in a dream, one of mine slides up his arm and clutches his bicep while the other is on his neck. Warmth radiates throughout my body and my heart races; drumming in my chest.

We pull back slowly, breathing heavily. My body's wracked with shivers and my lips tingle pleasantly. My eyes open to him staring affectionately at me. I can only imagine what I must look like; flushed cheeks and wide glowing eyes.

"There is no one but you." He whispers, caressing my face. "Please don't shut me out."

"I didn't want to come between a family…"

He leans in for another, shorter kiss. "It's wonderful that you would do that, but don't."

I take another kiss, my eyes fluttering close on their on accord. He smiles and I do the same. We pull away and laugh. Shifting so I'm curled at his side, my head rests on his chest. He takes my hand and rubs his thumb on the back of it, the other wraps around my back.

This moment won't last, he has things to deal with, but for now all my problems disappear. There's no apocalypse, Chester's attack never happened and Amy's ridiculous behaviour doesn't exist. It's just Rick and I, our new relationship and the peace we bring each other.

I sigh and cling to him a tighter, "As much as I'd love to stay here forever, you have things to do and I have people to reassure."

"You can stay in here, I'll tell…"

"No," I shake my head pulling back and place a chaste kiss on his lips. "I'm never going to get tired of doing that."

He chuckles cupping my face and kisses me again. It's sensual, but sweet, our lips moving together. A first kiss is amazing. It's an unforgettable, magical experience that can bring warmth and comfort. Or at least, that's how I feel. This first kiss beats out all the others I've had. There's only been one other, but that's not the point.

With great effort we leave the peace of the room and he leads me to my chair outside. "Do try to stay here."

I pout and point my finger at him. "I will have you know I've been very good thank you very much."

He smiles, his eyes alit with laughter, "Of course, there's been no running off or anything."

My pout deepens, "You're mean."

He takes my hand and places a chaste kiss on the pointer finger. "I apologise."

My face feels like it's going to split with all the smiling I've been doing. "No you don't."

"No," He smirks, rocking back on his heels, "I don't."

A full blown belly laugh escapes as I shake my head. "And people wonder where Carl gets his mischievousness from."

He stifles a grin and places a kiss on my forehead. "I'll be back later."

He's about to walk off when a niggling thought pushes its way in. "Rick."

"Yeah?"

A flush creeps along my cheeks, "This is going to sound…high school-ish," my feet scuff the wooden floor. "But are we…" I clear my throat, "you know…" I trail off.

He leans against the post in front of me. "Are we what?" There's a sparkle in his eyes that I see every day in Carl.

I make a face. "You're going to make me say it aren't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

I huff as I try to come up with a better of asking if we're official. "We're exclusive right?" I don't look at him. "I mean, I'm not going to find you with someone else am I?"

He crouches down in front of me, forcing me to look at him. There's a serious expression on his face that is already reassuring. "There's no one but you."

"Really?" I perk up at this.

He reaches for my hand. "Really, you have nothing to worry about."

"Thank you. I…" My stare is on his hand and I cover it with mine. "I really needed to hear it."

"I'll tell you again and again if you need it."

My head lifts and a loving smile sent his way. He's the most amazing man I've ever met. "No, just this once was fine." I lean forward and place a quick kiss on his lips. "Now, you have duties to attend to. Shoo."

He raises an eyebrow as he stands. "I see how it's going to be."

"Yup," I nod and lean back getting comfortable. "You roll with my rules now, Chief."

He nods, tipping his hat. "As mi'lady wishes."

He walks off and as I'm ogling, D and Maggie rush over. It takes effort for me to tear my eyes away. This is a man I'd do anything for.

"Okay, spill."

"I don't know what to tell you," I sniff delicately.

"Loz, you will tell me what's going on, or…"

I lean forward and tell them. Though I do leave out a few things. Some of it is going to be for me only. It's special. But the kiss I share. Carl and Sophia end up joining us, and we ignore the fact that the men have gone to deal with Chester. I'm pretty sure that the decision about what to do with him is going to come down to who's going to actually kill him. I'm biased when it comes to the brute, he shouldn't be allowed to live.

My stomach starts churning and there's a tightening in my chest, the reason for it could be that there's no hesitation for his fate. If he stays, no one's safe. We have to worry about walkers, there's no need to have our 'home base' compromised by the living. On the other hand if we were to exile him, he could resent us. He probably already does. But he'd find another group to harass or stick around for revenge.

However, I won't heap more weight on Rick's shoulders. If it comes time for a vote, my lips are sealed. It's doubtful that Rick will want too much in put from everyone. He's been pulling back from a democracy and slowly entering into a dictatorship. It's subtle. Started with ignoring most of the females, then T-Dog and finally Glenn. If he does take any real council it's Daryl and Dale.

Andrea's the loudest against it. Angry that she's not listened to; that they don't give her responsibilities she deems worthy. Times like this it's easy to see how similar the siblings are.

I pick my battles. Rick was in a leadership position before the dead started walking, Daryl's a survivalist and Dale's the moral compass. If my opinion or suggestion would benefit them then they'd know it. I survived four days with a child to care for on no provisions or weapons.

I'm a bit more badass than Andrea.

At least I think so.

But for now my concentration is on keeping the kids out of trouble. And healing; can't forget that. We might need to head out at some point. This peace, the lack of walkers, can't last and it'd be nice to be able to run if it comes to it.

When evening falls everyone congregates around the fire. D, Maggie and I get the kids settled in the RV. The mother's don't want them around when the conversation turns serious. That may not be the best. Don't get me wrong that's no reason to throw the kids into the hard stuff. However, Carl will find out if he really wants to know. We can't keep treating them like fragile children. As long as we explain and help them understand what's happening, I think they can handle it. Leaving them out means they'll be unprepared. It was mentioned their mothers, but that didn't go down well.

We finish tucking the kids in and head out to the others. D slips in between Daryl and T-Dog, Glenn makes room between himself and Beth, while I take the slot in the middle of Shane and Rick. Merle's absent which probably means he's got first watch.

"Here's the deal," Rick begins. "Chester's locked in the barn, he's got Merle keeping a watch on him." His voice is low.

Amy frowns. "You're going to trust him?"

"He ain't gonna let that attack on Red slide." Daryl defends, shooting the young blonde a nasty glare.

Rick continues. "We have a choice; we let him go or we kill him."

"You just can't kill a man." Dale comments, looking around in horror. "Have we come so low that our option is to kill?"

Shane leans forward with a sneer. "Then do you suggest we let him go? Let him stalk us? Harm us?"

"I think we can come to a better decision then to just up and kill a man."

There are two sides. Most are for, whereas Dale and Amy are siding against outright killing Chester. In my opinion the only reason Amy's against it is because she's not content unless she's centre of attention.

"Enough."

I shiver at the command in his voice.

He makes eye contact with everyone, "Let's call it a night. This decision isn't going to be made now. I want you all to think on this, really think. Our lives are at stake."

They all depart and head off to their respective tents. Lori and Shane walk together, his arm wrapped around her waist and she's leaning into him. He looks pleased. I turn to see Rick gazing at me with a soft smile.

I blush and loop my arm with his. "Help me up to bed?"

"It would be my pleasure."

A comforting silence reigns between us as we step into my room. It continues while we sit and take in each other's presence; as well as all that's happened today.

"You were pretty quiet out there." He takes my hand in his and caresses the back of it with his thumb.

"There's pros and cons to everything."

"Talk to me."

Moving so that we're comfortable against the head board, my head rests on his shoulder. "If we let him go he could hang about waiting for revenge. He might go off and find others to help or another group to harass. They're worst case scenarios."

I feel him nod, "I've thought of that."

"But if we kill him…will you be able to live with that?" My head turns to peer at him.

He in turn gazes down at me, "You're worried about me?"

I blush. "I've always been worried about you."

"I'll do anything to protect everyone…to protect you." He brushes my face then leans in.

My eyes flutter close as his lips touch mine. It's slow and careful, but there's a passion that starts to build. One of my hands runs up his chest, slipping around his neck. The other sits on his waist gripping his shirt. He moves so I'm laying under him.

We break for air. He smiles, his eyes sparkling, and leans in for another kiss. This one isn't as long. When he pulls back for the second time, he rolls onto his back and tugs me to his side.

I softly rub my head on his chest. "I think we got off topic."

"Are you complaining?" Amusement coats his words.

Shifting so that I'm resting my weight on my arm, my gaze roams his face. "No," his face lacks the stress lines that are prominent for most of the day, "but we haven't finished our conversation." His eyes hold a fire in them that causes shivers.

His smile fades, though hasn't completely dissipated. "It seems that in the end the decision is to kill him."

"Then that's the decision." I lean in and place a chaste kiss on his lips. "The only question is can you live with it?"

He sighs and catches my hand, bringing it to his mouth. "I couldn't handle it if someone else was to get hurt." He let's go, only to caressing my neck. "But to just straight up kill him…he could change…Merle…"

"No." I frown. "Listen to me Rick, Chester is not Merle. He is so far from Merle that to think it could compromise everything." I take a deep breath, "Merle has his own rules, he has his own honour system, Chester doesn't. He does what he likes, how he likes it with no thoughts of consequences."

"Then he's too dangerous to let go."

"There's a small chance that if we did let him go, he'd leave us alone, go away and we'd never see him again. But if he came across another group, those people would be in danger. The women especially."

"There's not much of a decision anymore is there?"

My gaze bores into his, searching, seeing his conflict. He's not the type of person who can coldly end the life of another. It sucks that it's been dumped on his shoulders. Everyone demands that he takes leadership and make the 'right' decisions. But what is right? No matter what someone chooses, there's always going to be a small voice in the back of their mind asking if it was not better to have gone the other way.

"Society rules no longer apply Rick, the only justice we get is going to be by our own hand. We choose the punishment." I caress his face. "No matter what you choose to do, I'm right behind you."

"What would you do?"

"He's too dangerous Rick," I pause, "I think the best course of action is to kill him."

"Alright." He nods, and pulls me towards him.

I place my head on his chest and for a few moments we seek comfort. Unfortunately he does have to go. If I was braver and not so nervous about us, then I'd have invited him to stay.

But it's too soon.

Sleep comes easily, there are nightmares, but Rick's s there to protect me. It's no longer me against everyone.

Whispered conversation is what wakes me. Carl and Sophia are sitting at the end of the bed, heads bent together. They're cute together.

My stretching gets their attention. "Morning T1 and T2."

"T1 and T2?" Carl frowns as they face me.

"Troublemaker 1 and troublemaker 2."

They pout, "We're not troublemakers."

"Oh, I beg to differ."

"Nah-uh." Carl scoffs.

"Yeah-huh."

"No way!" Sophia shakes her head.

"Oh yes."

"No! Attack!" Carl commands, and the two pounce.

Wheezing through laughter, as the two throw themselves at me, I topple Soph and pin her to the bed. Carl tackles and pushes me face first into the mattress. Rolling onto my back, I shove him off and use my weight to hold him down. However Soph's back up by now and tugging me off balance. Though we're all somewhat careful of my foot, we continue for like this until the two realise they're be better off working together.

Our good time is consuming and none of us hear Glenn or Maggie come in. The couple gets the drop on all of us when Carl's suddenly over Glenn's shoulder and Maggie has Sophie in her clutches. We blink at them bewildered which of course sets those two off.

While Carl and Soph entertain them with the epic story of how they bested me, I go for a shower. I speed though it and when I get back Carl's just finishing an exaggerated version.

"Not a troublemaker my ass." I scoff playfully, grabbing hold of the young Grimes and tickling his sides.

He squirms and laughs, breaking free and diving for the other side of the bed. Sophia sits on the edge of the bed laughing at Carl. He glares and lunges for her. Her eyes widen and a shriek escapes she runs out of the room. Carl's hot on her trail.

"Okay that's it," Maggie shakes her head, "they're adorable."

"I know right?" My grin matches hers.

Glenn scoffs. "Girls."

We raise an eyebrow at him.

He holds his head high and puffs out his chest. "I am a man…"

Maggie and I lung for the Asian. His eyes bulge comically and he runs out the door. We're close behind. He jumps down the stairs and heads for the door, while I use the railings as crutches to swing down them. Landing mostly on my good foot, my steps barely falter. Maggie's close and we both make it out the door in time to see him stumble down the porch and into Merle where he practically bounces off the burly redneck landing on his back. There's a pause then Maggie and I howl with laughter. Merle smirks at him but continues on his way. The two of us lean against the porch railings for balance.

"Not funny." Glenn croaks.

My giggles cease enough to help him up. "So funny."

Once we've calmed down and made our way over to D, I notice something dangling just out of Glenn's pocket. Pulling at it, a pocket watch comes out. "Hey, Glenn, where'd you get this?"

Maggie stares at it, then looks at Glenn in mild shock. "That's my dad's."

"What's going on?" D looks up from her seat in between the two Dixon's.

"Hershel gave me his pocket watch."

Merle looks up from the squirrel he's skinning. "Now why'd he go do that?" His tone isn't harsh, but it wasn't exactly comforting. It's his way of teasing.

Since reuniting with the group there's been a significant development to the man. He could hardly get along with anyone, now he's making an effort to keep the harsher comments to himself. He's not any nicer to the blonde sisters, but more so Amy then Andrea. There's a definite change when dealing with Carol. He watches her a bit more and gives her a hand when she needs it. However it's only her. He's still not too keen to help others and he avoids the kids like the plague. It's amusing.

"We're going to hang around the back, get away from people for a bit." I interrupt Merle poking fun. "Want to come?" My eyes land on D.

She stares at the rodents in her hands, untangling them from the cord that's wrapped around them and then at Daryl. "I think I'm good." She smiles softly at the Hunter. "I'm going to stay."

Frowning, trying to not feel hurt, I shrug. "Sure, catch you later." My attention goes to the brothers. "Gentlemen."

"Best be staying away from the barn, Red." Merle comments, taking the head of a squirrel off.

My posture stiffens from the act and causes me to gag a little. "Yeah? Why's that? Stashed your porn collection there?"

"Chester's in there."

My brows furrow and I shift uncomfortably. He would have killed me or at least caused damage without remorse. Not sure I'll ever be at ease when he's mentioned. "Oh."

"I saw Rick head that way earlier." D inputs.

"Gonna decide the f…"

"…Daryl!" D interrupts, a little red in the face.

"Ah, look Darlina. Your leash is being tugged."

I roll my eyes at him. "Now, now old man." I pat his head patronisingly. "Does the senior citizen need his midday nap?"

"Fuck off." He snarls, but there's a lack of hostility.

"We'll leave you lot to your torture of animal hides."

Glenn Maggie and I head off, going the opposite way of the barn. No need to test our luck. It would be my presence that caused Chester to fight free.

"You know, now that I think on it. Shane went in that direction this morning." Maggie comments thoughtfully.

"I haven't seen Dale either." Glenn adds.

"What do you suppose they're doing?" I frown as we get to the back fence. "It's not like talking to him will do much good."

Maggie hoists herself up. "Do you really think they're going to decide to kill him?"

"Dale's there. I don't see him condoning that." Glenn stands in between her legs, rubbing her thighs in comfort.

"Would he really risk letting him go though?" Leaning against a post, my gaze goes towards the barn. "It's not like Chester's some kid stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time." I sigh and run a hand though my hair. "He deliberately hurt me. Would have turned on the kids. He's far too dangerous to let go."

"You do have a point." Glenn nods.

"I don't know." Maggie shifts, looking ill at ease and wraps her arms around the Asian.

"Either way, I'm behind Rick 100%."

"Same." Glenn declares confidently.

Maggie bites her lip. "From what I've seen, he's always had everyone's wellbeing in mind." She pauses, then nods. "So am I."

We chat a bit more before parting ways. The couple go off on their own while my feet take me to Carol and help with lunch. Afterwards Lori's stuck with laundry so I offer a hand. It's awkward at first, but not too long into it and we get chatting about nothing of importance, just the things we miss; dryers, dishwashers and all the fancy machines that made life easier.

Dale comes out of the barn, looking concerned. Daryl seems to appear out of nowhere and passes him, heading in. Glenn and Maggie stop by Dale, chat quietly before continuing on to the house. Dale for his part looks even more befuddled.

Wonder what's on his mind?

My feet start taking me in his direction when I spot the kids. They're racing out of the woods with anxious, pale faces. What have they been up to? I catch Carl's eye and stare hard at him, maybe he'll tell me what they've done. He avoids eye contact with me, something he's never done. Unless you count that time he scared the crap out of the girls and I, back when we were the Atlanta Survivors, moaning like a walker. I'd been so furious with that boy.

My instincts tell me to go after the kids. But it seems a little overbearing to me and no way will it be me hovering like a helicopter parent. Surely they're not going to be up to anything that could endanger us. And if it is that bad, they'd come to me, right? Or Rick?

I let it slide and head for D. We sit in silence, basking in the sun. Winters quickly approaching and soon it'll be too cold to just sit. Though how cold can it really get? It's not Canada.

A deep agonised scream interrupts the peace. D and I jump to our feet staring in the direction it came from. Soon everyone's rushing towards it. We come upon Daryl dispatching a large, overweight walker. Dale's prone, blood gushing from a wound on his neck. He cries through clenched teeth, a smeared bloody hand on his injury and eyes wet and glassy.

Hershel pushes his way through and looks Dale over. "I'm sorry, there's nothing that can be done." His tone sad and apologetic.

"Carl, Sophia, get back to the house." Lori yells, voice stricken with grief.

Both ignore her, Sophia clings to Carol and Carl seeks refuge with me. I pull him closer, holding him as he clings to my shirt. He gasps and buries his head into my stomach crying. Sophia shakes with sobs. I caress his hair with one hand, the other is gripping D's as tears run down our cheeks.

Rick says his goodbye and Daryl kneels by Dale's head to take the final shot. The Hunter's eyes are shining but his expression is hard. There's a slight tremble to his hand as he holds the gun to Dale's temple.

"It's…okay…" Dale gurgles.

To my astonishment Merle steps up and takes the gun from Daryl. "Outta the way little brother."

He crouches and stares solemnly at the older man. There's no sign of pleasure, no sneer, or anger. Merle's not doing this because he's a mean'ol redneck. It's because no one else can. He nods to Dale and pulls the trigger.

The night passes quiet and sombre. The kids especially. Carl hasn't left my side nor Sophia left her mother. Rick and Glenn dug a hole beside Hershel's lost family and in the morning when the grief has lessened, if only a little, we'll have a funeral.

I stay with Carl until he falls into a restless sleep, and then only brought out because Rick beckons me. We get to his tent, I hesitate, my chest tightens and my breathing accelerates, though continue and crawl inside. The bed is big enough that we both fit. Pulling him down so that he's lying with his head on my chest, we hold each other close.

He cries that night. There's nothing to say, no niceties, nothing to sooth his soul. Dale meant a lot to Rick, he was the conscious heart-warming man who had everyone's wellbeing in mind. I'll miss him so much. But right now I'll be their strength, even if it's only for a few days. I kiss Rick's forehead and caress his hair and watch over his sleep.