Status: Sequel will be coming soon. :)

Keep Holding On

Gun Training

Angela and Layla were helping around the farm, tending to the animals. Layla had heard something about gun training while Angela was with Daryl the day before and now she was drilling Angela with questions. Pleading Angela to let her go and learn to shoot.

"Angela why won't you let me learn?!" Layla asked pausing from her work to look at her sister.

"Because you're ten Layla. You're not supposed to know how to use a gun, not supposed to need one." Angela argued as she finished up her work.

"But I do need one, Angie!"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Finish up here then go to the RV and see if Carol could use your help." Angela stated walking off. She heard Layla scream, but she continued walking wishing her baby sister would drop the subject, but the truth was Layla was right.

Returning to the camp, Angela was lost in thought until she ran into someone. She looked up to see Glen holding a basket.

"Sorry Glen, what's up?"

"Nothing why do you ask?" He questioned becoming really nervous.

"It was just a question Glen, calm down. Why are you so jumpy, is this still about Maggie?"

"Something like that." Glen answered. Angela just shrugged.

"Not gunna press for answers. So what's in the basket?"

"Peaches."

"Never been a fan of them, but need to eat something right." Angela said grabbing one of the fruit. "Has everyone else gotten some too?"

"Everyone except Layla and Daryl, oh and Andrea, but she's with Daryl." Glen said trailing off.

"Sounds like something's wrong with Daryl." Angela confronted.

"No, no, it's just he kind of scares me sometimes." Glen admitted and Angela couldn't help the laugh that escaped. "It's not funny, he's got a temper and he's about twice my size, he could easily kick my butt."

"Sorry, just wasn't expecting you to say that." Angela chuckled then reached for the basket. "Here I'll go see if the big bad Dixon would like a peach, and can you do me a favor and grab one in case you run into Layla?"

"Only if you do me a favor in return." Glen countered, handing over the basket.

"What's that?"

"Don't tell anyone what I just told you." Glen said sheepishly.

"Deal, no one will know that you're afraid of Daryl." Angela smiled as Glen said his thanks and took the fruit, before heading towards Daryl's tent.

She saw Andrea leaving Daryl's tent, but stopped when his voice called out that 'if she ever shot him again, she best pray he's dead' and began walking away again.

"Andrea!" Angela said stopping the woman again.

"Hey Angela." Andrea said walking over and looking at the basket. "Glen leave you to take care of the food instead?"

"I took it off his hands. Andrea I wanted to apologize for yelling at you when Daryl got shot."

"Don't worry about it, you were scared and worried, there's nothing to be sorry about." Andrea said taking a peach and walking off with an odd smile. Angela stood there for a moment staring after her until she heard Layla yell her name, and she slipped into Daryl's tent.

"Hey." Angela said siting down beside him and placing the basket in front of her. "Thought you might want something to eat, hope you like peaches."

"Thanks." Daryl said discarding the arrow he had and grabbing one of the fruit. Angela kept gazing around, stealing glances outside of the tent, her eyes never settling on one place for very long. "You alrigh'?" Her eyes fell on him.

"Yeah, just trying to stay away from Layla for a bit."

"That's weird, usually you don't want her ta leave your sight." Daryl noted, taking a bite out of the peach.

"I know, I just need time to think."

"'Bout wha'?"

"Gun training." Angela stated running a hand through her hair. "She wants to learn how to use a gun, and I just can't stand it."

"Why not, she needs to learn, needs to know how to protect herself if she gets caught alone like she was when I found her." Daryl stated what Angela didn't want to be reminded of.

"I know, I want her to be safe and I know I can't always be there to protect her. God I hate what the world's become." Angela said her voice cracking towards the end. "I guess I should let her learn, but I just can't get the fact that she's my little sister out of my head."

"When did you learn?"

"I wasn't much older than her, but it's different; it's not an animal or target she's learning to shoot for, it's creatures that used to be human." She said staring at the floor of the tent.

"Angel," she looked up at him again. "The world's gone to shit and we can't change that, she needs to learn." Daryl said.

"You're right Daryl. She needs to know, I still don't like it, but she's got to learn." Angela agreed. The tent fell quiet for a moment, it was a comfortable silence, but it didn't last long when Layla appeared through the entrance I the tent and crossed her arms, giving Angela her best glare.

"Carl gets to learn to shoot, I want to as well." She stated and Angela nodded.

"And you will." Layla's glare turned to a look of shock.

"Really?" When Angela replied 'yes' Layla hugged her sister quickly with a smile warming her face.

"You have to understand that, it's not a toy and will only be used for emergencies only." Angela order. "You have to be serious and mature."

"Of course, you don't have to worry Angie, I will be. Thank you."

There was quite a group of people at the area they traveled to. Not only did Rick's group go for gun training but some of Hershel's people joined the crew as well. Shane explained that when you point a gun at someone, you've got to mean it as well as some other important gun training tips and instructions. Then he allowed the first shot to be fired.

Carl listened as Shane instructed him on how to shoot. Taking careful aim Carl shot, didn't quite hit his target but he still smiled at Shane and his parents who stood behind him.

Soon everyone was shooting at a variety of bottles and cans that rested on the fence in front of them. Angela smiled as she helped Layla hold pistol that was once their father's before allowing her to shoot. She looked away when she heard T-Dog say something to Jimmy, one of Hershel's people.

"Come on man, don't give me that gangster shit." He said watching as Jimmy tried shooting with the gun held sideways in one hand.

"T's right, you'll never hit your target holding the gun like that, and if you did it would be pure luck. You'll have better aim holding it with both hands." Angela said showing him how to hold it.

He shot again, knocking the can over and smiled his thanks at Angela, who returned it before going back to supervising Layla's practice.

"You might want to practice as well." Shane said coming up to Angela. "Especially after what happened the other day."

"Then shouldn't you practice as well, I mean you are the one that shot me rather than your target. I at least hit the walker I was aiming at, and that was with my bow that I missed its head, I did perfectly fine with my gun." That pissed Shane off, he pulled his gun and aimed it at one of the bottles, breaking it.

"See I can aim perfectly fine." Shane hissed ignoring the complains from Layla about him breaking the bottle she was trying to shoot.

"Yep, looks like you can hit your target just fine." Angela stated a dark undertone in her voice. Shane gave her a strange, slightly nervous look before continuing down the line.

Gun training went on for a while longer, Layla and Carl both doing extremely well for this being the first time they used a gun. Angela was proud of her little sister, though the thought of her having a gun made her uneasy, but she pushed it away focusing on the happy smile that was painted on her talkative little sister.

Layla wouldn't stop talking the whole drive back to the farm, and everyone in the car around her smiled and gave her encouraging words. Angela could see how much her young sister had grown in such a short amount if time. Though she was still innocent, she knew how to be mature and take things serious and Angela could only imagine her parents seeing Layla right now and hoped they'd be proud of her, of both of them.

Tears pricked her eyes as they pulled up to the familiar campsite. Layla ran off to go talk to Carl and a few of the other campers similar smiles on her's and Carl's faces. Angela smiled briefly at the two before wandering slowly through the tents, lost in her own thoughts, and a few tears falling down her cheeks.

"Angel." A gruff voice called out. Angela turned noticing she was walking right past Daryl's tent and his gorgeous blue eyes were trained on her. She wiped at her face before giving him a small smile and going to sit beside him in his tent.

"Hey hick." Angela said softly. "Enjoying your day of relaxing?" Daryl scoffed.

"Should be searching for Sophia not laying around here, but I'd rather not have the old man yell at me 'gain. Was fuckin' annoying."

"Well I did tell you we shouldn't have gone out there." Angela laughed lightly, her smile not as bright as usual.

"You alrigh'?" Daryl asked genuinely concerned.

"Yeah find just thinkin'."

"Layla do good today?" Angela was glad he dropped it, but also knew he probably didn't really like caring and listening to others problems.

"Yeah she did, Carl did as well. I think my parents would have been proud of Layla today."

"Yeah I'm sure. Ya miss 'em don' ya." Daryl stated more than asked.

"Yeah, I do." Angela said sadly but decided she didn't want to talk about that anymore. "How old are you Daryl?"

"Wha'?" Daryl asked confused at the sudden change of topic.

"Sorry, I know that was random, but how old are you?"

"Thirty five. You?" Daryl said starting to catch on to the topic change.

"Twenty six"

"God you're young." Daryl said a smirk pulling at his lips.

"Shut up! It's not that young!" Angela exclaimed hitting his arm and laughing some before looking down at the tent floor. "Ya know Daryl, you've changed."

"Wha d'ya mean?"

"You've become kind, you're not completely pushing me away anymore. It's nice." Angela said meeting his gaze.

"Yeah well ya tell anyone 'n' I won' be so nice anymore." Daryl warned.

"Yeah, yeah I know." Angela said with a wave of her hand and smiling at the redneck beside her that she was falling in love with.

The two spent the rest of the day talking and by the time dinner was over they were the last two to leave the campfire. Daryl walked with her to her tent where Angela reached up and kissed his cheek. He stiffened a bit, still not used to the affection, but nodded in her direction, bidding her goodnight, and walked back to his own tent. Angela smiled at his retreating back before slipping into her tent and going to sleep.
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Okay so no completely happy with how this turned out, but I was determined to get a new chapter up for you lovelies who are reading. I'm going to try and get another one done this weekend, but no promises. School has started back and it's a pain, I just don't feel like I belong there. It's weird, I don't know really. Sorry needed to vent.

Anyways hope you enjoy and I'll try to get another chapter written for you guys over the long brake, hopefully better written than this one. Let me know what y'all think, constructive criticism is always welcome. :)