BETTER OFF ALONE

The explosions were rocking the ground beneath them and lighting up the skies above them like a burnt orange fireworks display, but it didn't stop the two of them from their kiss. His forehead pressed against hers and he stared into her eyes.

"It's gonna get real bad, isn't it, Shane?"

"Yeah." Shane mumbled huskily as he held her on his lap and looked into her eyes. "But you're gon be safe, okay? I'm gon make sure you're safe. No matter what. You and Carl, y'all don't need to be alone in all this."

This felt totally wrong, Rick was lying in a hospital in a coma and Shane's on again and off again relationship with her younger sister was somewhat on again and Lori suspected that Lana might even be pregnant currently, but somehow, even though she knew it was totally wrong, she didn't stop it from happening.

The gasp from the bushes shocked them both and Shane swore as he saw Lana's retreating back as she jogged away. He sprang up from the ground and chased after her, but when he stopped her, all she could do was slap him and just gape at him in shock.

"How long, Shane?"

"Hon..."

"Don't hon me you son of a bitch. Tell me how long this has been going on! I thought things were going to be different this time. I thought you really did love me. Guess I was stupid again, right? Not anymore. Go be with her!"

The others in their group were staring. Daryl normally didn't get involved in anything like this, but for some reason, he found himself watching Lana again like he seemed to a lot lately. He exhaled deeply, the plume of smoke slowly billowing upward into the night sky.

Lana tore past him, her bags thrown over her shoulders.

Daryl also wasn't exactly sure why he did it at the time, but he stopped her.

"Ain't smart, runnin off on yer own."

"Coming from the original loner." Lana studied the handsome but tough as nails redneck in curiousity. She nodded to Shane and Lori, both of who were calling her name and trying to stop her from leaving and she said quietly, "If I stay, Dixon, every time I see them it's gonna be like a knife stabbing me in the back. I think I'd rather brave leaving."

Daryl waved his hands and was going to leave it like that but something just wouldn't let him. Merle shook his head and grumbled in irritation as Daryl caught up to Lana again and nodded at Shane and Lori when she'd turned around. "If you leave though, princess… Ain't that like lettin 'em win?"

Lana mulled it over.

"Things are gonna get complicated, Dixon… If I stay, things are gonna get one hell of a lot more complicated than I want them to get. I already got enough staring me in the face, I just… I don't know how much more I can honestly take, okay? I'm not weak."

"Yet yer runnin'. Failin to see how that makes ya real strong, princess." Daryl exhaled the plume of smoke from his second cigarette in half an hour as he eyed her and then asked quietly, "You said thangs were gon be complicated..."

"You don't want to know that, okay? Look, I barely know you. I don't know why I told you as much as I did… But trust me, Dixon, it's complicated."

"How."

"Because I'm pregnant. And it's that asshole's kid, okay? And no matter what I do I know if I'm near him I will not stop loving him."

"Last thing you wanna do, girl, is leave. Especially if yer pregnant. Just stay, alright?" Daryl stated, not sure why he was butting into this whole thing.

Lately, no matter what he tried though, he couldn't help but be painfully aware of Lana almost. It annoyed the living hell out of him, but he also hated the way Shane had a decent girl and kept throwing it away.

The words hit a lingering Shane like a brick wall.

Lana was pregnant.

Lana loved him.

He'd really fucked it up this time.

He eyed Lori and then looked over at Lana and Daryl, growled quietly to himself and started to walk over.

He cleared his throat.

"We need ta talk, hon."

"I have absolutely nothing to say to you, Shane. Have a good life with her. Be good to her. Oh wait, I was the only one you had trouble being good to. I was the one it was so damn hard to just love and be happy with. I gave you everything, Shane. And every single time I turn around you're up my older sister's ass again. I can't take this anymore. I can't."

"Yeah, well… If what I heard ya tell Dick here."

"It's Dixon, asshole."

"Either way, I just heard you tell him that yer pregnant, hon."

"And I never said I'd stop you from being there for the kid. Just stay the god damn fuck away from me. I'm done. I'll stay with the group but I don't want you anywhere near me unless it concerns the baby. Tell Lori the same goes for her. That my sister is dead to me now."

"So yer not leavin?"

"No. But I'm done with your shit. The only right you have to me anymore, Shane, is our child. I want nothing more to do with you… Because that kiss is not just a kiss. I saw you with her, with Carl… I see the way you look at her when you think I'm not looking."

Daryl eyed the two of them and cleared his throat. "Ya could thank me, asshole. I kinda got 'er to stick close."

Shane eyed Daryl with a slightly less than thrilled look in his eye.

Lori rushed over to keep things from getting out of hand and Lana shook her head and then barely refrained from slapping her sister. "And you… I thought you'd finally just let us be happy. Should have known better. Have fun with him. Rick deserves so much better than you and I pray to God that if and when he wakes up, Lori, he leaves your slutty ass. Because if you two were kissing like that tonight then I'm pretty sure that was not the first time it happened." Lana barely managed to keep from screaming it.

She stormed into the RV and sat down at the table, hand in her hair, eyes down as she let the tears finally come.

"I'll be fine. I don't need Shane Walsh. I don't need anybody. Me and my baby will be just fine alone."

"Are you alright?" Dale asked, a concerned look on his face.

"Just purged all the poison outta my life. I'm hurtin like hell right now, sir, but I think I'll be okay again..." Lana answered quietly as she took a sip of water and sat there just sort of quietly planning out everything in her life from this moment forward.

But we all know one thing and that's nothing ever quite works how we plan it to…

CAVEAT LECTOR:

Okay, so I just watched the entirety of The Walking Dead and the opening lines came to me in a dream the night before last. However, I was not expecting angst and drama to pour out when I sat down to actually let the idea come and form and everything. And I have no idea what to do with this next? I love Shane, by the way, so writing this with him cast in that light was hard for me to do, it's probably the hardest thing I've ever actually written.

I want two things from you guys out there… It's obviously set in Season 1 before Rick comes back.

One, I want reviews if you think I should continue… And maybe in that review, you can cast a vote for Lana's potential pairing?

It's either Shane or Daryl, possibly Rick for this.