gestured to the baggy red zip-up jumper his daughter was wearing. She had unfortunately grown out of her favourite blue one, so Carol was kind enough to give Addy Sophia's old one.

"Carol, she said I could have it." Addy replied nonchalantly. Daryl squinted and nodded. Carol had been lurking around his daughter recently and the man wasn't sure why, but he was getting a couple guesses.

"Try stay away from her." It slipped out his mouth before he could stop it, and Addy's immediate frown almost had him feeling bad. Almost.

"Why? She's nice to me." Confusion was evident on her face and in her voice.

Daryl couldn't be bothered to explain why, he knew if he did it would just make his girl even more confused and ask lots of questions, and he didn't have the energy to deal with that. Therefore, he was grateful when Dale came along, even if it wasn't evident on his face.

"Whole point of us comin' out here was to get away from you people."

"Gonna take more than that." Dale gave a nod of greeting to Addy, which she returned with a smile.

"Carol send ya?" Daryl didn't look up from fiddling with his crossbow.

"Carol's not the only one that's concerned about you — your new role in the group." Dale looked for the right words to say to the hunter.

"Oh, man, I don' need my head shrunk. This groups broken. I'm better off fending for me and my girl."

"You act like you don't care." The old man frowned as Daryl grabbed his jacket with Merle's angel wings.

"Yeah, it's cause I don't." He grunted as he swung the jacket over his shoulders.

"So live or die, you don't care what happens to Randall?" Oh, here we go.

"Nope."

"Then why not stand with me — try to save the kid's life, if it really doesn't matter one way or the other?"

"I didn't peg you for a desperate son of a bitch."

"Your opinion makes a difference." Dale said, causing Daryl to scoff,

"Man, there ain't nobody lookin' to me for Nothin'." The man picked up his crossbow and kicked his daughters foot slightly as a signal to follow him.

"Addy is," Dale fired back quickly, "And — and I am, right now. And you obviously — you have Rick's ear."

"Rick just looks to Shane. Let him." Daryl turned around quickly to look at the older man before continuing on.

"You cared about what happened to Sophia — cared what it meant to the group. Torturing people? That isn't you. You're a decent man. So is Rick," Dale paused and the tone in his voice changed, "Shane is different."

"Why's that?" Daryl chewed on his bottom lip, "Cause he killed Otis?"

"He tell you that?" Dales face dropped and he moved closer to the Dixons.

The Dixon's had known all along it was Shane. Shane was the bad guy. No one needed to tell them anything to make them think — know that.

"He told some story, how Otis covered him, and saved his ass. He showed up with a dead guy's gun. Rick ain't stupid. He didn't figure that out, it's cause he didn't wanna. It's like I said — the groups broken."

And with no more said, the Dixon's walked away into the forest.

......................................................

The door creaked open and a dejected looking Carl walked in,

"You too, huh?"

The boy nodded and pressed his lips together. The two kids had been promptly told to got sit and wait in the other room while the adults decided the boy's — Randall's — fate.

Dale was the only one who didn't want for him to be executed, and Addy didn't understand why. Judging by what Daryl said he had at least watched his people do horrible things and didn't even bat an eye — so why should they keep him around if he was that kind of person? He was a full-grown man that knew right from wrong, and he sure as hell knew what he had witnessed was wrong.

It wasn't long before the group had discussed and decided what they wanted to do with him. Rick, Daryl and Shane had gone out to the barn to execute him, but Carl had gotten in the way and Rick couldn't find the nerve to pull the trigger with his son watching.

Speaking of — Addy was sitting next to the boy in his family's tent. Her father was off making sure Randall wasn't escaping — something like that — so the Dixon girl and the Grimes boy were sitting next to each other in a comfortable silence.

Until a scream ripped through the camp.

Everyone's action mode kicked in and Lori ordered the two kids to go up to the house and lock the door behind them. The two obeyed and Carl grabbed the girl's hand as they began to run, but somewhere along the way Carl pulled Addy's hand back and started running in the direction of the screams. Addy followed.

They were both out of breath when they arrived at the scene. It was worse than Addy thought. Dale was splayed out, blood seeping through his white vest and onto the grass below him. Andrea was sobbing at Rick to do something, but deep down they all knew — there was nothing that could be done to save Dale's life.

Addy's eyes stung with tears as Carl glanced at the Walker that caused the horrific scene, and in a second his body crashed into Addy's and the salty tears finally spilled over.

Dale's eyes were wide with fear as they darted around the various members of the group that stood over him. Addy sobbed and gripped the back of Carl's jumper even tighter. Carl didn't complain, he needed the comfort and condolence just as much as she did.

Dale groaned in utter pain as Rick raised his revolver to the man's head. He didn't want to — everyone knew that, even poor Dale. But it had to be done — Dale had to be put out of his misery as the pain was too unbearable.

Rick stood there, contemplating what to do. He didn't want to take the dying man's life, but he had too. Then, Daryl gently took the gun from the sheriff's hands, sensing he wasn't going to be able to do it.

Addy buried her head into Carl's shoulder. She couldn't watch the poor man be put out of his misery. Tears stained Carl's blue jumper — in any other situation he usually would have complained but he knew his best friend needed the comfort. He let her as tears dribbled down his trembling chin.

"Sorry, brother."