Daring Dixon (A Daryl Dixon fanfiction)

Chapter 43

"Rick," I breathed, flinging myself at him, hugging him tightly. He stood there stiffly, not knowing what to do. I moved away quickly. I didn't want to start talk. I was just really happy to see him. If he was here, the rest of the group was too, and that meant Andrea, Dale, Glenn, and Jordan.

Rick turned on his heel and began to fire again at the walkers that were approaching. I noticed now that some of the others were also firing from various other places in the general vicinity. I gave a sigh of relief. We were back with the group. We'd be fine.

The last shot rang out, and I bounded off the porch, looking for everyone else. I spotted Glenn first.

"Glenn!" I yelled happily, giving him a big hug as well. I felt a presence behind me and I turned to see Daryl was standing behind me. He didn't look mad, which was good.

"Where's Dale?" I asked of Glenn. He looked down at his feet. "Glenn!" I demanded, my voice shaky now, as I was fearing the worse.

"We lost him, Rosaline," Glenn said softly.

"How?" I demanded.

"Our group... We were at an old abandoned house and we got attacked.... Dale was behind the ret of us.... I went back to try to help him but it was too late. He was surrounded. I couldn't do anything for him," Glenn told me. I nodded. I understood.

The others crowded around Daryl and I, expressing how glad they were to have us back. I spotted Jordan a little ways from the rest of us leaning against Carol's Cherokee. I approached him.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"They told me you two were dead. It's just strange, seeing you here. That's all," Jordan told me. I nodded. "I'm sorry about Dale," Jordan said.

"He was a good man," I managed. I was trying to fight off the tears.

"He was. It's a shame that he had to die that way," Jordan said.

"Yes it is," I said to him.

"Where's Andrea?" I asked Jordan. He blushed a little, and I recalled the conversations we had before all this had happened.

"After Dale died, she disappeared into the night. We haven't seen her since," Jordan told me.

"Only two of the people I was looking forward to seeing are actually here," I said with a small chuckle. I wasn't really in the mood for talking anymore.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around to see a very pregnant Lori standing in front of me. "Jeez! How are you doing?" I asked her. She blushed a bit.

"I'm okay. You look good. Well fed, at least," she said with a smile. I looked down to see that I couldn't say the same for her.

"And you've got that motherly glow," I said to her. She gave a bit of a forced smile.

"Thank you," she told me, although I could tell that she wasn't exactly happy about it.

"I'm glad to see you all again," I told them. And I truly meant it.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Rick asked.

"I vote we stay here for the time being. Clear the walkers and then burn. Have someone keep watch at all times and if another problem arises, we can leave at a moments notice," I said.

"We all were popping off rounds. Any walkers that were close enough to hear are heading our way now. We should get out of the area," Rick reasoned.

"With all do respect, sir, that's the first major attack we've ever had. If there are any walkers left in the area, I'd be surprised," Chris said.

"Who are you?" Rick demanded.

"I own this place. Who are you?" Chris asked back in the same tone as Rick.

"I'm the leader of this group," Rick spat.

"Whoa, boys, settle down. This isn't a contest of who can be the biggest macho man. We all need to work together. First off, Chris, can we get at least two cabins for them to stay in?" I asked him.

"We never agreed to stay the night," Rick pointed out.

"Well where are you going to go then, huh?" I demanded. He didn't say anything, so I looked at Chris expectantly.

"Two is fine. But I don't want to hear a single complaint from him," Chris said, eyeing Rick.

"You won't. Rick, you and the rest of the group only unpack what is necessary, in case we need to make a run for it in the night," I told him. Rick nodded. "Good, now that everything is settled, I'm off to find Lilly," I said, realizing she was nowhere to be found.

"I'm here," she said.

"Okay, I was just making sure you were okay. Let's everyone get settled and then we can all get some much needed rest," I said. I turned around and retreated to the cabin.

I didn't realize Daryl was behind me until I went to close my door to the cabin and felt a resistance. I paused, looking at him for a moment, and then sighed, going to sit on the couch. I put my head in my hands and then I felt the first tears fall.

"What's wrong?" Daryl asked.

"If I had been there.... If I hadn't been stupid and tried to get those bags.... I could've saved Dale and he'd still be here," I managed in between sobs.

"Listen to yourself! Do you honestly think Dale would want to hear you like this?" Daryl demanded. I looked up at him, surprised by his sudden outburst.

"No," I managed to croak, now a bit guilty.

"Exactly. Dale would want you to celebrate his memory and laugh about the good times. He wouldn't want to see you like this," Daryl reasoned. "Besides, I think leaving is the best thing that could've happened. You just took charge of all them men. You wouldn't have done that before. You wouldn't have met Lilly, or Rose, or Leslie and Chris if we hadn't been off by ourselves. You've changed. You're stronger now than you were before."

I let what Daryl said sank in a moment before I joked back. "You don't even like Leslie and Chris," I said.

"Chris has given us a nice place to stay for the time being. That's worth a lot in my book," Daryl replied. I nodded.

"Get some rest. I'm going to talk to Rick and see what our next plan of action is," I told him.

"Nah, we're both going to bed now. It's been a long day. Besides, I think Rick plans on making a run to a nearby town tomorrow, which means-"

"Which means I'll be going?" I asked hopefully.

"We'll talk to Rick in the morning," Daryl said with a sigh.

"Fine. I'm ready for bed," I told him, getting off the couch and making my way towards the bedroom. Daryl followed, but stood in the doorway awkwardly. I motioned for him to come in, and I saw him relax.

I changed into some pajamas, then crawled into bed and covered up. Daryl crawled in soon after, then wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer.

"Night," I said.

"Night," he managed, but he was almost already fast asleep.

Hello readers! I hope you like this chapter! I know I was killing some of you with the last cliff hanger there! ;-)

So, I don't know if any of you have seen, but I have started a new fanfic called Georgia on my mind about a girl name Melissa. It is a Shane fanfic, although it will not contain any romantic relationships between Shane and Melissa. (You'll have to wait and see what happens!) It has two chapters so far but I am working on the next so it should be up later today. Check it out! 

What do you guys think? Now that Rick and the others are back, do you think there will be some conflict between Rick and Chris? Will Rosaline play a bigger role in the leading of the group? What about Andrea? Will we see her anytime soon? Let me know what you think in the comments!

And, of course, don't forget to vote, comment, and fan!