Unexpected || Daryl Dixon

[23]: Better Angels

~Day 82~

There was a dark cloud hovering over the group, as they all stared down at a nearly dug grave where Dale was now lying, his body under the dirt and a cross on top of it. 

"Dale could get under your skin. He sure got under mine." Rick began to speak. "Because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look to Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another." 

Rebecca nodded as she thought back to the day when she first met Dale. Nobody in the group knew this, but the first night she spent at the camp, she spilled the beans to Dale about possibly taking Glenn and leaving this group behind because she felt like she was intruding in a group that already felt like family.

Dale gave her a look and told her that she was crazy for even thinking that. He told her that yes this group does feel like a family but they would have taken her and Glenn in no matter what. 

"We don't leave anyone behind. We start together and we finish together." he had told her.

"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 is broken."

Rebecca's eyes shifted over to Daryl who was already looking at her. Dale wasn't the one to have said that at first. It was Daryl and he was right, Rebecca thought. 

"The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives, our safety, our future." Rick explains to them, pausing as he let a breath loose. "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." Rick finishes, his eyes scanning over the group.

++++++

Later that day, everyone was busy as they were packing up all of their belongings because Hershel was letting them move into the farmhouse with him and his family.

"Gonna be tight, fifteen people in one house." Rick said to Hershel as Rebecca, Maggie, Beth and Shane stood around the two. "Don't worry about that. With the swamp hardening, the creek drying up..." "With fifty head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell." said Maggie.

"She's right. We should've moved you in a while ago." Hershel said as Daryl joined them and stood next to Rebecca. "Well thank you," said Rebecca. "We really appreciate you doing this for us." Hershel waved his hand at the girl. "Nonsense." he said as Rebecca smiled at the man.

"All right, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out toward the road." Rick said, explaining his plan. "We'll build a lookout in the windmill, another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines both sides of the property." 

Daryl and Rebecca nodded as they moved out to inform the group of Rick's plans. 

++++++

Later on during the day, Carl searched the farm high and low for the one person he knew he could tell anything to and breathed out a sigh of relief once he found that person.

"Hey, Rebecca?" 

Rebecca looked up and smiled at the young boy. "Hey, Carl. What's up?" she asked him as she picked up the wooden logs. "What are you doing, wandering around by yourself?" she asked them as she loaded the logs into the trunk of a car. 

"If, um-if I tell you something, will you promise not to tell my parents?" he asked her, making Rebecca look over at him. "Well...considering if what you want to tell me is good or bad news," she said to him as she picked up another log and loaded it into the trunk.