You and Me (Daryl Dixon x Reader {Ricks Sister})

Chapter 22 - New Beginnings

I wasn't able to sleep all night, but who can blame me?

I sat awake all night in our tent, getting out every now and again to make sure everyone was ok in their camps.

The third time I came back in our tent from checking up on everyone, Daryl was sitting up and looked at me.

"Lady, ya gotta get some rest."

"Daryl I.. I can't. Dale he.. If a walker had been so close then.. What if.." I sighed, my words all jumbling together.

He nodded, and pulled me close to him, kissing the top of my head, "I know y/n." He said gently, holding me close.

"I'm sorry you had to do it.. Put him out of his misery."

"It had to be done, Rick wasn't able to do it, we both know that." He replied, and I nodded. "But hey, like you said, we will beat this. Together."

"Together."

----

The next morning Daryl left with Shane, Andrea, and T-dog to go and fix the fence wherever the walker got in.

But before that, we had our funeral for Dale, and burried him.

Rick was giving his speech, and it was beautiful.

"Dale could.. He could get under your skin. He sure got under mine," he took a deep breath, "cause he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought. How he felt. That kind of honesty is rare. And brave."

My lip trembled as he gave his speech, and I gently took Daryl's hand in mine.

"I'd look at Dale, " Rick continues, "and he'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him but.. He could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us. The truth. Who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken."

I felt Daryl squeeze my hand once Rick said this.

"The best way to honor him, is to unbreak it." Rick said, and I squeezed Daryl's hand back. "Set aside our differences, and pull together. Stop feeling sorry for ourselves, take control of our lives. Our safety." He looked around us all, "Our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on, we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale."

I looked up at Daryl, and he looked down at me.

We knew this group could be put back together again.

----

"You sure your ok with this?" I asked, Rick to my side as we stood in front of Maggie and Hershel.

"Yeah, it's gonna be tight, 15 people in one house." Rick said looking at Hershel, who had just offered us to move in.

"Don't worry about that." Hershel said, and I felt Daryl move to stand behind me. "With the swamp hardening, the creek drying up.." Hershel continued.

"With 50 head of cattle on the property, might as well have been ringing a damn diner bell." Maggie finished.

"She's right. We should've moved you in a while ago." Hershel nodded

"Alright, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors." Rick instructed. "Facing out toward the road. We'll build a look out in the windmill, another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines of both sides of the property." He looked at T. "T-Dog, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going."

"What about standing guard?" He asked.

"I need you and Daryl on double duty." He said, nodding over to Daryl.