when Dallas arrived to Daryl's small little campsite, he was silent. both sat by the fire, staring into the flames with nothing to say.
Daryl took out a cigarette, lit it, and passed it to Dallas. they sat in a comforting silence, smoking and passing it back and forth.
ten minutes later, Carol was approaching. neither of them looked up when she spoke.
"we can't find Lori," she was slightly out of breath. "and the others aren't back yet either."
"dumb bitch must have gone out looking for them," Daryl replied, using a stick to move around the logs in the fire pit.
"what?"
"yeah. she asked me to go. told her i was done being an errand boy," he told Carol, focused more on the fire than the conversation.
"and you didn't say anything?" Daryl didn't reply, and she started to walk off.
she stopped when she saw his tent. she turned and walked back in front of him.
"don't do this. please," she stared at him but he said nothing. "i already lost my girl."
"that wasn't my problem neither," Daryl snapped at her. she turned and walked back to the group.
Daryl stared at the fire, his eyes narrowed.
"she didn't do anything," Dallas told him. "try not to yell at her."
Daryl looked at him, and leaned against the stick. he stood up, and threw it down, anger crossing his face once again.
"you're a real piece of work for tellin' me what to do."
"don't start yelling me," Dallas spoke. "you're angry, and i get that. Sophia was a tough loss-"
"why don't you just go? i don't want you here," Daryl cut him off. he stood up, but didn't turn to leave.
"don't separate yourself from this group, Daryl," Dallas spoke, taking a step closer. "stop getting angry and just talk shit out-"
"talk shit out huh?" he scoffed. "if you spent half your time talkin' with your mom before she died instead of following me around, maybe you'd have less to fucking say."
Dallas looked at him with a blank expression.
"Sophia wasn't mine!" Daryl yelled when Dallas gave him no reaction. he stopped yelling after he took a step forward and Dallas flinched slightly.
for a moment, they just stared at one another. Daryl looked him up and down before turning and storming off to his tent.
Dallas walked back to the house, feeling nothing but numb. he said nothing to the people inside as he snuck back into the room his sedated brother had been in.
he laid his head down on the bed, resting against his arms. he couldn't focus on anything but the racing thoughts in his head. how he was devastated over his mother, yet almost relieved she went the way she did.
"Dallas," he heard Maggie speak once again. he looked up, and she held a tray of food. he shook his head and laid it back down.
he heard her set the tray on the bedside table next to him, and sit on the bed.
"you haven't eaten all day," she told him. "come on now."
"i'm not hungry," he responded. it was true; he wasn't. he had no appetite after he found out his mother had passed.
"and if you continue to not eat, you'll feel like shit tomorrow," she spoke. he just shrugged and closed his eyes. Maggie sighed, and stood up. "i'll leave it here for you."
—
with Tyler waking up and refusing to speak to anybody, Dallas decided to force himself to go on the run to retrieve Hershel, Rick, and Glenn. apparently they had left the day before and still hadn't returned.
when he saw Daryl standing by the car with a flask, he chose to just keep his distance. Daryl glanced at him, then back down to his flask in hand.
T-Dog was loading the car when Andrea spoke up, and pointed. everyone turned, watching a familiar red truck start driving up.
they pulled up close to the house, and everyone walked outside. Carl and Lori all but ran up to Rick. Maggie ran past her father, and hugged Glenn. Dallas noticed the blood on Hershel's shirt.
"Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery," Hershel instructed, walking into the house.
Lori and Rick started to talk, but T-Dog cut them off.
"who the hell is that?" he asked. everyone turned to look at the car.
"that's Randell," Glenn answered. a younger boy sat in the backseat, probably Tyler's age. he had a red cloth over his eyes and he seemed to be asleep.
as everyone walked towards the car, Dallas did not miss the look Shane gave Rick.
as Hershel and Patricia started to do the surgery, Rick called a meeting.
"we couldn't just leave him behind," he spoke, leaning against the chair. "he would have bled out. if he lived that long."
"what do we do with him?" Andrea asked. Shane looked up, curious as to what Rick would answer with.
"i repaired his calf muscle the best i can, but he'll probably have nerve damage," Hershel stepped into the room, wiping his hands on a green towel. "he won't be on his feet for at least a week."
"when he is, we give him a canteen. take him out to the main road, send him on his way."
"isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" Andrea butted in.
Daryl walked in, and Dallas glanced at him. he gave a small nod and a half smile. Dallas returned the gesture.
"you're just going to let him go? he knows where we are," Shane interjected. he reminded Dallas of Tyler, always having something to say.
"he was blindfolded the whole way here, he's not a threat," Rick told him, raising an eyebrow. you could tell by his voice he was getting really tired of Shane's constant arguing.
"how many were there again? you killed three of their men, you took one of them hostage, but they just ain't gonna come lookin' for-"
"they left him for dead. no one is looking," Rick emphasized.
"we should still post a guard," T-Dog spoke up.
"he's out cold. will be for hours," Hershel said.
"you know what, i'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy," Shane smiled, throwing a hand in the air and storming off. "look at this folks. we're back to fantasy land."
"you know, we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet," Hershel quickly took a few steps towards Shane as he stopped walking. "let me make this perfectly clear once and for all. this is my farm. now i wanted you gone, but Rick talked me out of it. that doesn't mean i have to like it. so do us both a favor; keep your mouth shut."
Shane looked around the room, shook his head in disbelief, scoffed, and walked out of the house without another word. he slammed open the screen door and left the main door open as he left.
"we aren't going to do anything about it today. let's just cool off," Rick spoke. without another word, Andrea walked after Shane.
Glenn had been looking shaken up every since they got back.
Hershel gave a Rick an approving nod, and walked off. Lori walked into Ricks arms.
Daryl stood by the door, until Dallas got close. Daryl gave him a small nod, opened the door and walked out.
"you comin'?" Daryl asked when Dallas stood still on the porch. he raised an eyebrow, and followed him.
