Guts || TWD

27. And Executioner.

The Greene Homestead, morning time...

Elle stood carefully on the same bumpy earth they stood upon only two weeks earlier. Her beaten converse crunched on the rocks beneath her as she rolled on her heels then up to the balls of her feet.

She couldn't sit still, she felt like she might puke and if it weren't for the eleven year old boy leaning against her she might've spiraled out into some mental breakdown.

Lucky for everyone in the area, Carl was leaned against Elle's chest with her arms thrown over his shoulders. Slowly rocking them back and forth as Rick spoke out, leading a sermon of sorts for the long missed elderly man.

"Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking at me with that look he had, we've all seen it one time or another." The sheriff began, looking at the dirt before timidly gazing up to his people.

Andrea sat with silent tears streaming down her face, wrapped in the arms of her sister. Sure, her and Dale had been fighting on and off since they'd met, but he saved her. Multiple times, he cared for her and Amy when they thought they were alone... and now he was gone. Just like that.

"I couldn't always read him, but he could read me. He saw people for who they were, not just what they brought to the table. He knew things about us, the truth, who we really are." Rick continued, taking a deep breath. "In the end he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken and the best way to honor him is to 'unbreak' it. To set aside our differences and pull together."

Elle's eyes flitted up to Rick before she noticed Daryl looking at her. He nodded to her before looking back to Rick.

The blonde shied at his insinuation, she knew what she needed to do but now was not the time. Eleanor didn't know if there would ever be a good time anymore. The world had seemed arguably more shitty as of late, if that was even possible.

"Gotta stop feeling sorry for ourselves, take control of our lives, our safety, our future. We're not broken, just a little bent, and we're gonna prove him wrong. From now on, we do it his way. That is how we honor Dale" Rick finished, walking up to the freshly turned dirt and placing his stone on the grave.

"Come on," Elle whispered to Carl, urging him forward. They walked up hand in hand and placed their stones next to the others. Each member going up to say goodbye to everyone's grandfather.

Finally as Andrea walked up to the grave, she placed down a bouquet of wildflowers. She and Rory had picked them from the field beside the pond. Elle had remembered appreciating their beauty when she and Beth sat talking by the pond all those days ago.

God that seemed like ages ago, it was probably only a week or so.

"Thank you all for coming out, it means a lot to us." Rick looked out upon the Greene family who had joined them for Dale's service.