The Familiar Taste of Poison

by The Great Wicked

Some romances burn so hot that they threaten everyone around them, some burn fast and hard, others smolder perfectly. This isn't a smoldering story, nor is it a quick fire. They both knew that their fire wasn't meant to survive this world, that it could set the world on fire, that they would burn themselves, but the burn was too tempting for it to only happen once. Shane/OFC

The Familiar Taste of Poison

The Great Wicked

Summary: Some romances burn so hot that they threaten everyone around them, some burn fast and hard, others smolder perfectly. This isn't a smoldering story, nor is it a quick fire. They both knew that their fire wasn't meant to survive this world, that it could set the world on fire, that they would burn themselves, but the burn was too tempting for it to only happen once. Shane/OFC

AN: Story occurs before the zombie-apocalypse, Shane and my OC are late twenties. Title taken from Halestorm if you're looking for the feel of the story.

When something unforgettable happens in a small town, it burns into the memory of everyone involved, and the story lives on in infamy. Shane and Austin's story wasn't one of those, it was a well kept secret that only three people knew, Shane and Austin, and Rick Grimes. In a small town everyone knows everyones business and if secrets are had then they aren't kept long, the fact that Shane and Austin's secret had been so closely guarded that only three people knew was something of a marvel for Kings County. Some things truly are no one else business, some things are so sensational and salacious that they must be guarded and hidden. No one knew that in the summer after high school graduation Shane Walsh, the local rebel and football star was very tangled up in the arms of Austin Walker, the chief of Police's daughter.

On the surface, Austin would never have given him the time of day, insisting that she was always trying to get out of her small town and away from the prying eyes of it's inhabitants. And Shane was far too much of a playboy to ever be tied down to one girl, it was a facade that he held up well and only one person knew it was all bullshit. Rick Grimes. Shane's best friend, the only one who ever saw the longing in Shane's eyes whenever Austin was near, the only one who knew that the two of them were perfect for each other and yet polar opposites. Four years of high school football games, baseball games, homecomings, spring formals, finals and spring breaks worth of pent up tension between Shane and Austin, two people who only shared two or three classes together, it was almost unbearable. Four years saw their share of relationships and flings and each one was a step further away from what both of them wanted, and the only person who was there to relay what neither of them would say was Rick.

So the summer before Austin left for college and Shane joined the police academy saw a secret wildfire that no one else was privy to. Hot nights spent on the football field long after everyone had long since gone to bed, sneaking out windows and stepping on toes so as not to make a sound. Hurried kisses and fervent touches in the bed of Shane's pick up truck, no judging them or saying that one was a bad influence or that the other could do better. Nights under the stars talking about anything and everything, but nothing too serious, hot nights spent cooling off in the lake on someone else's property, no silly promises of being together forever, just passion and secrets that were theirs.

Then the hardest part of growing up, happened, the summer ended and it was time to move on. Austin left for college in New York and Shane joined the academy with Rick, no promises to meet again or even that they ever would. But thats the thing about fire, it's it's own spirit and their kind of fire was so potent, so hot, so dynamic that it could never happen only once, but neither of them knew that.

OOO

To any of the police officers who worked for him, Police Chief Jim 'Whip' Walker was not a man to cross. He had no time for nonsense or other peoples bullshit, he was a hard man from a hard time and expected nothing short of perfection from anyone who worked for him. At times, somewhat humorless and usually wore an hard expression, hopefully devoid of emotion, if not then he was usually angry or at least annoyed. When you earned his respect you had it until you abused it, very few people did.

And there was only one person who had him wrapped around her finger, his daughter Austin. Austin Cherie Walker. Only Austin could make him smile instantly no matter how angry he was, especially after her mother left and her brother died overseas. Seeing her go off to college killed him, seeing that his baby girl was growing up. It meant that he had become a spectator and worst of all he wasn't able to watch her play ball. A full ride for a baseball scholarship was something he was especially proud of, and he bragged to anyone who would hear him, even if he'd already said to before.

Despite missing his daughter, he knew she was in a good place to do great things, so it was a surprise when she showed up at the police station out of the blue with a rucksack song over her shoulder. But it was nothing compared to the shock of seeing what happened to her, he felt his breath still in his chest and panic fill him.

The paperwork that he'd been holding fluttered to the floor devoid of purpose now, she'd never disappointed him, not once, and yet here she was looking as though she was in trouble.

Her normally pretty face was marred with bruises, a healing black eye, several stitches on her forehead and upper lip, and countless scratches. For a moment he couldn't speak, all the breath had been pulled from him at seeing his Austin looking like she'd been in the fight of her life. "Who did this?" He hadn't realized that he'd shouted it across the station office, drawing the attention of everyone in the area. She'd been hoping for a discreet meeting but no such luck now, she'd guessed that within the hour everyone in town would not only know that she was back in town but that she'd looked like she'd gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. "Austin?"

"Hey daddy." Despite the shame in her eyes, she forced a weak smile and nodded towards his office. "Can we talk?"

What was said next behind closed doors was hard to tell, but what wasn't hard to tell was that it was a horrible story that brought the normally iron-willed police chief to tears. Even the most hardened police officer who had been with the station longer than most had never seen something so heart wrenching as the police chief crying and hugging his battered daughter.

OOO

"So, I was thinking, if it's ok with you, that maybe I could stay home for a while and rest, you know? My boss said I have some time saved up and said it might be good for me. Hadley said I could stay with her anytime too, so if it's too short of notice-" He cut her off with a single finger in the air and shaking his head furiously.

"Absolutely not, you're coming home with me." He hugged her tightly but not too tight as to hurt her. "Don't you ever think otherwise, you understand me, young lady?" She nodded, feeling her chest shake from within and tears burning in the corners of her eyes.

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, give me your bag and I'll take you home." There was no arguing that she could get a ride with one of his officers or take a cab, because police chief or not, work be damned, he was taking his daughter home safe and sound.

OOO

Several days had passed since Austins surprise visit to the police station and by now whispers were circulating of what had happened to her, only theories. And each one pissed him off more than the last, an abusive boyfriend, a bar fight, a mugging, an assault. He thought he knew a side of Austin that no one else had, and despite their short time together, he knew that Austin was many things; a victim was not one of them. Hell, victim wasn't really even something that was in her repertoire. Their time had come and gone and he fought the urge to race over to his police chiefs house and demand to know what had happened to her. He had't even seen her, hell, he'd avoided any possible chance meeting, much to the chagrin of his partner, Rick.

The hot Georgia sun beat down on the squad car as they sat on the side of the road, watching drivers, checking for speeders and reckless drivers, listening to the CB. The humidity wasn't normally so bad, but when they were in their full police uniforms it was downright hellish. All they could think of was a cold shower, changing over to more comfortable clothes and a cold beer. Their normally sportive banter had been so distant, no topic seemed to stick, not sports, not weather, not work, nothing because they both knew what was really on Shane's mind, no matter how he tried to ignore it. Until Rick could take it no more.

"You gonna be this way the whole damn time?" He finally asked, sick of dancing around the subject, "Shane."

Looking out at nothing, Shane blinked and looked over to the passenger side where Rick sat wearing an irritated expression. "The hell are you on about, Rick?"

Rick scoffed, "Come on, don't be such a school girl about it. You know damn well what I'm talking about." Shane rolled his eyes, trying hard to pretend that he didn't care what Rick was getting at. "You jus' gonna hope you don't see her at all?"

"Who, Leslie?"

Shane wasn't always as eloquent with words as Rick was but he knew what he was getting at, trying got act all calm and cool even though he could see the turmoil in Shane's demeanor. "You're some kinda idiot. You know that?"

"Why this time?" It wasn't uncommon for Rick to call shane an idiot. "What'd I do?"

"She's all beaten to hell and you're sittin' here pretending that it ain't eating you up inside wanting to know who put their hands on her. Just as thick as you were in high school. Wandering around four years not even seeing that she had a thing for you."

"Jesus, Rick, it was a fling. Last little bit of summer fun before the academy, weren't ever anything more serious then that." He paused, trying to think his way into believing his own bullshit. "Besides, ain't nobody would've had the balls to lay hands on her, she'd kill them first. Austin ain't some helpless girl."

Rick had to chuckle at that, that much he knew was true, Austin was the farthest thing from a victim, she once beat a guy with a baseball bat because he grabbed her ass on the field. Austin had a special spirit all about her, one that seemed to keep most guys at bay. "Yeah, I'll give you that. Don't make what I said any less true. It's killing you not knowing why she's all beaten." Eventually he'd wear Shane down, being the best friend gave him the power to know Shane well enough to know which buttons to push him to action. "I seen her m'self." Shane snapped his head to Rick as soon as the words registered. "I'd hate to see the other guy."

He gripped the steering wheel a little harder now, something about the thought of Austin having to fight hard was a thought that made his blood boil. "So, what'm I supposed to do? Go to Police Chief Walkers place and tell her to let me beat up the bastard who bloodied her up? Do I ask her to marry me after that?" Voice dripping with frustration and distain.

"How about you go over when your shift is over and her daddy ain't home and see her before going on a rampage? Start small, Casanova." He cracked his knuckles absentmindedly as an uncomfortable silence fell over the car, "No one ever got to you like she did. I saw you two that summer, like something outta some damn sappy, chick flick."

Shane now said nothing but looked to his watch, looking like he was seriously considering Ricks suggestion and if he looked like it was tearing him up inside then it wouldn't be long until he acted on it. In harassing him Rick had done his job as his best friend, what he didn't know was that despite the distance Shane had kept thus far, he'd driven by Austins house every night when he got off work.

OOO

Well past ten o'clock when a heavy fist was banging on the front door, drawing Austin from a fit of restlessness, several lights flickered on as she made her way downstairs, but that didn't stop the heavy fist from trying to break down the door.

When she finally got the door open, she was surprised to find someone that she didn't expect to see at all, Shane Walsh. He looked a mess, restless himself, irritated, like something was dancing on his last nerve, and a look on his face that said he was in no mood for questions. He didn't wait for an invitation before he barged right in, looking more like a mad dog than a sheriffs deputy. "Wha's his name?" He finally demanded to know, "I want his name and where he lives."

"No, come inside, Shane. Please." She responded completely ignoring his demands.

"I'm serious, Austin. You tell me where I can find the sonofa bitch who put his hands on you." She'd never seen him so angry before, or so uncontrolled, it was both unsettling and exciting. "I'ma teach that bastard what happens when you hit a woman." While Shane Walsh may have been a womanizer and a flaky guy to have in a relationship, there was one thing that could not be debated, he did not tolerate a man ever laying hands on a woman. Having seen far too much of it in his house growing up, but then again, Austin was one of the few people who knew that.

"No, you're not." She replied, making her way to the kitchen, his dumbfounded look, immediately halted his blood frenzy. "Coffee?" Like a confused puppy, he followed waiting for an explanation. "There's no guy."

"What'n the hell you mean theres no guy? You just looked like a losing prize fighter by accident?"

"No, I mean that no one hurt me." Shane was beginning to loose what little patience he had, "I was in an accident three weeks ago."

"What kinda accident?"

"The kind involving cars that run red rights, doing twenty over the speed limit." For the moment his rage was quieted at having finally had an answer, but it was still bubbling at the surface.

"I thought-" She named him a cup of coffee, remembering that he liked it black with no sugar.

"I know what you thought. I know what people have been saying, haven't left this house hardly at all since I've been home but Hadley's been keeping me posted on what everyone's been saying." When Shane wanted to know something he often sat down or stood in front of you until you told him whatever it was he wanted to know, his unwavering penetrating gaze had many a young criminal cracking within minutes under it. "Was heading back to the apartment after a night of celebrating, I was passenger side with three friends and when we pulled out a truck ran the light and smashed into us." She was keeping the details to a minimum fairly certain that she didn't want to envision it in any more detail than she had to. "Car rolled four times and I was the only one who pulled through. Drivers blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. He died on impact." The coffee forgotten in his hands was beginning to cool, his eyes wider than usual at the simplicity of the situation, it was a car accident. That was it, no one was after her, no one had beat her, just an accident. But it didn't make him feel any better. "You honestly thought I'd let a guy get in a hit on me?" She scoffed, "Mama always said, keep your standards and heels high. Haven't met anyone who made my standards since, well, you."

"You saying' you ain't been with no one since, us?"

"Something like that." Shane looked hard at her face, finding it difficult to look at the bruises and stitches for longer than a few seconds, "If you think I look bad, you outta see my Camero." She joked trying to ease the tension.

"That ain't funny, Austin." He didn't like how she was trying to make light of what had happened, just couldn't see any humor in it at all.

"Why are you really here, Shane?" He wasn't rightly sure himself, he knew in all honesty that he wasn't going to drive up to New York and beat up some fictional guy who hit her, he didn't expect to show up and hear her say that she missed him and wanted him. So, why was he here?

He exhaled deeply, then just shook his head. He didn't entirely know why he was there but he knew what he wanted to do, but it probably wasn't a good idea. Then again, Shane was kinda known for that. He set down the cooling cup of coffee and grabbed Austin's arms, pulled her forward and kissed her. Was it coincidence that she hadn't had a real relationship since their summer fling? He didn't know but what he did know was that he was too tired to make up excuses as to why he was there.

The fire that had existed between them in the bed of Shane's pick up truck had never diminished, it had never burned out. Austin had never really let him go, and it seemed that he hadn't let her go either. This much was apparent when she kissed him back, with no hesitation. The warmth of his hands on her, soothed the many bruises that littered her skin and the pain was gone, replaced only by passion. Her hands acting on their own accord tugging on the sleeves of his crisp uniform shirt, wrinkling the material slightly, seizing his lower lip between her teeth. There was a distinct groan of approval from Shane, who spun them around and lifted her up onto the kitchen counter. The tiniest scratching sensation from the minuscule stubble burned in a pleasurable way as he made his way down down her jaw and along her heck and collar.

The sound of heavy breathing in his ear, and the perfume that she wore, oranges and ginger was as good as any narcotic and it worked him up into a frenzy. Desperate for skin on skin contact, not satisfied with only the skin that her shorts permitted him to touch, he wanted more. Austin did too and found herself grasping at his belt, straining to take a breath when she felt him, already hard as iron through his uniform. Forgetting the belt for the moment, she pressed her hand against him, feeling his hips buck involuntarily against her and a deep, gravelly groan was torn from his throat.

Somewhere in the back of her mind Austin knew she should stop what they were doing, at least for the moment. She wanted Shane, wanted him bad but not necessarily on the kitchen counter of her fathers house. Before she could make any suggestion that they move their tryst to a more private location there was a sound that made their blood run cold, a car pulling into the driveway.

"Shit!" Immediately they separated, knowing full and well who it was that had returned home. Suddenly feeling like two teenagers caught out past curfew they straightened out their clothes and fixed their appearances as quickly as they could.

"I came here to check on you." He said suddenly all business again, as Austin straightened her hair and poured another cup of coffee, she nodded in agreement. "You invited me in and offered me coffee." There was little Shane could do about the raging hard on he hand aside from adjust his uniform and seconds later the front door opened and Austins father came inside, somewhat surprised to see his deputy in his house.

"Walsh?" He asked stepping into the kitchen, relieved to see several feet worth of distance between his office and his daughter.

"Hey, daddy." He turned sharply to see Austin holding out a fresh cup of coffee for him. "How was work?"

"Just fine, what're you doing here, Walsh?" One thing Shane had learned early on was always to look his chief in the eye, best way to allay suspicion was to act as though there was nothing keeping you from eye contact.

"Heard Austin was back in town and something had happened." Shane started in, probably being very honest in what his original intentions were, although he left out the part where he'd wanted to beat up a fictional man. "Just wanted to stop by and say hi, see if everything was alright." Whip nodded, seemingly satisfied with the explanation and his deputy's intentions, he didn't say anything else. "Well, I'll be off now, you alright, Austin?"

"Yeah, I'm good now, thanks for stopping by Shane."

"Thanks for the coffee. Have a good evening, Austin," He nodded towards Austin then her father. "Sir."

"I'll walk you out." Austin set down the coffee cup and followed Shane to the front door, she mouthed a 'phew' exclamation.

Before Shane left, he looked back to see if Whip was looking their way, he wasn't and Shane whispered something to Austin. "My place, two hours." That said he got into his squad car and drove off to finish his patrol.

Austin made one of the quickest phone calls she'd ever made to her friend Hadley.

"Had, hey I need you to meet me at Docs in half an hour."

OOO

Half an hour later, Austin mentioned spending the evening at her friend, Hadley's place. Ten minutes later she was out, walking towards the local coffee shop to meet Hadley. Dusk was just settling over the horizon when she sat down in the booth across from her lifelong friend, exhaling a deep breath.

"So, you've been back in town for almost a week and this is the first I'm seeing of you after the accident. Should i even ask, what gives?"

Austin groaned and laid her head down on the table briefly, "Hadley, I'm sorry I haven't made my way out to see you, things have been crazy as hell and I-"

Hadley chuckled at Austin's frustration before placing her hand on Austin's head, brushing her hair out of her face, "Relax, it's ok. I know it's been crazy for you lately, you were just in a huge accident and the only reason you're home is because your boss made you take time off. I knew I'd see you eventually, that's not whats matters here, so, tell me whats really going on?"

Austin gave a weak smile, grateful to have such a good friend, "I have two things to tell you and you have to promise that you will not say a word, to anyone." Hadley tilted her head in a expression that said 'are you serious?' Not that she doubted Austin needed discretion but that she would even question her friends trust. "Ok," Austin looked around to see who all was nearby and could be eavesdropping. "The summer we graduated high school I did something I never told you about," Hadley leaned forward "I hooked up with Shane Walsh before going off to college and before he went to the police academy."

Hadley's jaw dropped and she stared blankly for a few minutes, blinking not even once. "Wha-, I, -How did? Wait, what?"

Austin rolled her eyes and repeated what she had just said. "Shane Walsh and I hooked up for the summer before I left for college." Hadley continued to stare blankly. "Hello? Hads?" Austin waved her hand over her friends face, she then shook her head and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, ok, I'm you." Hadley held up a finger and waited a moment, "How did this happen?"

"It was the day after finals and I found out about my scholarship, I was with you on the bleachers watching the guys play football?" Hadley nodded, remembering the day she was talking about, "You left with your boyfriend after he finished playing and after you left, Rick Grimes came up to me and said hi, asked me how finals went, just small talk." Hadley nodded, now on the edge of her seat, "Asked if I was watching anyone specific and I said no, I started packing up my stuff to leave and he suggested that maybe I should stick around for a few minutes, no reason just, cause. He turned around and left and I just kinda hung out for a few minutes then I got up to leave, as I left Shane was just standing there. He'd just come off the field, just, staring at me."

"And?"

Austin rolled her eyes, "I was just gonna walk around him and write it off as a weird moment and when I walked past him, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, and," She shrugged and finished the story, "He kissed me."

"He kissed you?" Hadley near screamed, like a excited high school girl. Austin ducked down and looked back to see if they had drawn any attention, no one seemed to really care what they were saying. "What happened next?"

"It just kinda went on from there, we'd meet up, hang out, talk, grab food and"

"And?!"

"And what?"

"Did you…?" Austin just stared, knowing exactly what Hadley was asking, "Did you guys shack up?"

"Did you have to phrase that so crudely?"

"Thought I cleaned it up rather nicely for you…" She concluded, "So, did you?"

"Yeah." Hadley could barely contain her shock or excitement, she excitedly slapped her hands on Austins, "What?"

"Details?! How was it?"

"Hadley, thats only one of the things I have to tell you." This didn't dissuade Hadley from her question, "Yeah, it was pretty good." She finally caved, before looking down at nothing, thinking on the past, "Really good, actually." Hadley seemed satisfied with Austins answer but it was clear that she expected more details later.

"So, whats the other thing?"

"Shane just came over to my daddy's house and he kissed me again, and thing started to get kinda hot and heavy." Hadley's jaw dropped once more, "We didn't do anything this time, daddy came home and we told him that Shane heard I was in town and that I'd been in an accident and he just came by to check in on me."

"Did your daddy buy it? He aint' stupid, you know?"

"Seemed to, that's not the only thing, though." There was more? Hadley leaned in closer than before so she was leaning over half the table, "When I walked him outside, he told me to meet him at his place in two hours."

"When was that?" Austin looked at her phone.

"An hour a half ago." Austin now looked up like she was waiting for Hadley to freak out and have a conniption of sorts, but that wasn't what she did.

"So, I know this is private stuff but why were you so freaked out about keeping it secret. You know you can trust me?"

"Of course I do. I just didn't want to hear anything from anyone. How I could do better than a high school playboy or how he'd just break my heart and all that crap."

"Well, you have to admit there is some truth there, Shane is a heartbreaker, always has been. I never saw him so much as look at a girl unless he thought he could nail her."

"Thats exactly what I didn't want to hear back then, still don't. The thing is, it was nobody's business but our own. He never said he wanted to do a long distance thing, I never told him I wanted flowers or promise rings or all that crap. It was just this period of time where we just got to be alone, and it was pretty nice. Probably because I didn't want anything from him. He knew I was going off to college and I knew he was joining the police academy, I can't stand being in a small town and he'd never think of leaving it. Nothings changed in that regard."

"So, what're you gonna do?"

"Don't rightly know but I've got about half an hour to make up my mind." Austin groaned, setting her head down not he table again clenching her hand sin her hair. "So, what do I do?"

"You still into him?"

Austin thought back to their tryst in her dads kitchen. "Apparently."

"So, what does he want?" Austin raised an eyebrow at her, knowing there was probably only one thing Shane wanted.

"Well, I highly doubt he wants me to marry him and have 2.5 kids and live in a little house with a white picket fence."

"Ok, so sex. Probably?"

"Probably."

"And you don't want to see him?"

"I don't know."

Hadley shook her head. "Yes, you do. You already knew what you wanted when you sat down."

"So then why are we still talking about this?"

"That's a good question." Hadley paused, leaning back in her seat, "Austin, this may be the only time I can tell you something about yourself that you don't already know."

"So, what do I want to do?"

"He's under your skin, I've known you since we were both girl scouts and I ain't never seen a guy wind you up this much. Whatever happened between you and him that summer, clearly made an impression. So, I think the better question is, why on earth are you still sitting here in a shitty dinner, not drinking crap coffee, talkin' to me about what you don't know you want to do?" Austin cracked a grin, glad to know Hadley was looking out for her. "Austin, you have twenty minutes to get your ass over to his place. Get moving'"

Austin breathed out a shakey breath, "Do I look alright?"

"Bruises aside? Honey if I were Shane, I'd make sweet, sweet, freaky love to you right now on this table." Both women broke into a fit of giggles before Austin got up to leave the dinner. "Austin!"

"What?"

"I want FULL details later. Now get your butt moving."

OOO

Hope everyone likes it so far, let me know! Reviews make my day! Team Shane!

~GW