Edited 9/6/2015: This story has a few grammar errors in the firsts chapters. As said below, english is not my first language, but it got better with the time, so you will read a very bad english in the beginning, but it gets better with the time. Thank you for reading this.
A/N: Hi! I wanted to say some things before you start reading my story. This is a Merle OC; just because I'm still super pissed he got cut off from the show. Also, because I'm obsessed with him. Seriously, I love him so much. Anyway, I tried to keep him in character but, God, it's SO hard. So I'm slowly going to change his personality because⦠Well, you'll see. All I can say is that this is going to be a long story (maybe not too long, but whatever), so please have patience with me. I like reading fanfics that have longs chapters, so mine is going to be the same. Thank you so much for choosing my story (it's my first one published, omg). This chapter is slightly shorter than the others, but I hope you enjoy!
I also made some Parks and Recreation references; they're very subtle, however. Let me know if you caught them, or not! Haha
Oh, I forgot to mention⦠I'm Brazilian. So if you see some grammar mistake or any kind of mistake, I'm so sorry, I tried my best to write in English (also let me know in the reviews or PM me).
Have a good day!
~oOo~
"Lena, help me carrying him." Morgan said to the brunette girl who was staring at the unconscious man.
"Lena!" Morgan said, snapping his fingers in front of her.
"What?" She said, coming back to reality.
"Help me carrying him!" He repeated.
"Oh, okay." She said, grabbing the stranger's wrists. Morgan grabbed his ankles, and together, they carried the man to the house they were staying at the night. Duane followed them, the shovel still in his hand, the adrenaline still rushing in his body.
"Let's put him in one of the bedrooms." Morgan said, going upstairs and entering in one of the rooms. They laid the man in the bed and Lena couldn't help but think she knew the man from somewhere.
"You think he got bit?" Duane asked.
The girl sighed. "Only one way to find out." She sat on the chair next to the bed and started removing the bandage of his torso. Dried blood was covering the wound and an odd smell invaded the room.
"It's stinking!" Duane exclaimed.
"Oh, my God." Lena said, after smelling the wound. With her hands in her face, she approached to examine it better. "I don't think this is a bite... Duane, get me the first aid kit from downstairs."
"Wait!" Morgan ordered. "I'm not wasting anything with him."
"He's not bitten." Lena said, looking the men in the eye.
"How can you be so sure?"
"He would be dead by now. And look at this!" She pointed to the tiny points in his wounds. "That's professional. Needle and thread. Whatever made this, it wasn't a walker."
Morgan sighed, giving up. He had to admit it, the girl was smarter than him. She was observant. She knew everything. The men told his son to get the first aid kit, and then began to tie the stranger's wrist on the bed.
"Why are you doing this?!" Lena asked, incredulously.
"Just making sure." He answered. The girl rolled her eyes, as the boy entered the bedroom with the kit. Morgan was finishing tying the men, when Lena began cleaning the wound.
A few minutes later, he was brand new. Now we just have to wait until he wakes up. She thought, putting the needle, the thread and the alcohol on the first aid kit bag. Morgan went downstairs, to prepare some dinner for Duane. In the quiet of the room, she started to think about what just happened. They just found a new person, someone that she could swear she knew from somewhere. This could be her escape. She wanted to separate from Morgan and his son for a few weeks now. She just couldn't handle the cowardice of both of them. The men couldn't even shot his own dead wife. Hell, she had to shoot her dead grandmother. And not a single tear was shed. She needed a new place. She wouldn't mind being all by herself, she just needed to get away of that family. Lena sighed as she untied her shoes, kicking them off and pulling her legs close to her chest. She rested her chin on her knee, and sighed again.
A few moments of silence later, she heard the man moaning and grumbling, and she knew he was waking up. The girl got up and called Morgan from the bedroom. Quickly, she was in the men's side, looking at his face waiting for him to open his eyes. She wanted to know who he was; she wanted to end the mental torture her head was. She knew this guy from somewhere.
Morgan came running into the room, and so did Duane, with a baseball bat in his hands. The stranger suddenly opened his blues eyes and met Lena's brown ones. Rick Grimes. Morgan pointed the gun to him, and Lena protested,
"Is that really necessary?"
"Yes." The man answered, still looking at the guest in the bed. "What was it? The wound."
Rick swallowed before answering. "Gunshot."
"Gunshot?" Morgan repeated. "What else, anything?"
"Gunshot ain't enough?"
"Look, I ask, you answer, okay?" Morgan leaned closer to him. "Did. You. Get. Bit?"
Rick looked confused to Morgan and then to Lena. He licked his lips, and then asked.
"Bit?"
"Bit." Lena said. "Chewed-"
"Maybe scratched, anything like that?" Morgan interrupted her. The men looked at both with furrowed brows, looking more confused than ever.
"No, I got shot." He answered. "Just shot, as far as I know." Morgan lowered his gun, and Lena raised his hand, making the men flinch his head.
"Hey." She said. "Just let me check." She touched his forehead, to check if he had a fever. He was pretty normal. "Told you." She said looking to Morgan. "He's not infected. Fever would've killed you by now."
"I don't think I have one." The men answered.
Morgan sighed, and then untied the men's wrists. "I'm Morgan." He said. "This is my son Duane." He pointed to the boy, who was with a least scared look on his face.
"I'm Lena." The girl said.
"Rick." He answered rubbing his wrists. "Rick Grimes."
Lena gave him a light smile, nodding. She knew it. She knew him. Morgan began to walk away, getting out of the room. "Come out when you're ready." He said, pulling Duane with him. "C'mon, Lena give the men some time."
Lena got up and picked up her shoes from under the bed. "We'll find some clothes for you in the morning." She said, with a little smile and walked through the door.
In the living room, Morgan was serving some dinner for Duane, and Lena sat in the couch, near by the window, and began to put her belongings in her backpack, like she always did every night. When Rick came downstairs, with a blanket over his shoulder, everyone stopped what they were doing and observed the guy walk around, like he was lost. He looked at Morgan, Duane, and then to Lena. He looked at the mattresses on the floor, and said,
"This place... Fred and Cindy Drake's?"
"It was empty when got here." Morgan answered.
"They went to Atlanta." Lena explained. "For the refugee center, I suppose... I saw them." She looked away, and took a deep breath, thinking about her old neighbors. "Fred was already bitten." Rick looked confused to her; he didn't know what the hell she was talking about. He also had that strange feeling, he also could swear he know her from somewhere. He walked towards the windows, with the intention of removing the covers, but Morgan stopped him.
"Don't do this." He said. "They'll see the light. There's more them out there than usual. I never should have fired that gun today." He sighed and got back to his sit on the table.
"Told you to wear the baseball bat, but you didn't listen, did you." Lena said, now lacing her shoes. "Sounds draw them, and now they're all over the street."
"Stupid." Morgan said. Rick approached him.
"You shot that man today."
"Man?"
"It wasn't a man." Duane said.
"You shot him." The other man insisted. "Out there, in the street, a man."
"Friend." Morgan said. "You need glasses, that was a walker."
He looked confused, like had heard that word for the first time.
"Mister, do you even know what's going on?" Lena asked, looking at him.
"I woke up today." He answered. "In a hospital. Came home, that's all I know."
~oOo~
Lena ate her can of corns in silence, while she listened Morgan telling Rick, how was the outbreak, and the end of the world. After dinner, Morgan and Duane lay on the mattress, Rick sat in the armchair, and Lena was lying on the couch reading an old book. Rick looked at her, and felt that feeling again. He knew this girl, he just couldn't remember how. He looked at her brown hair, her pale skin, her short legs, her brown eyes, but he couldn't remember.
"I can't help but think I know you from somewhere." He confessed. She looked at him, and have him a fragile smile.
"You already arrested me." She answered. "You and that friend of yours... What was his name?"
"Shane Walsh?"
"Yes. Officer Walsh." She laughed under her breath.
"You were in the program, right?"
Lena looked away from him and answered quietly. "Yeah."
"Program?" Morgan asked, listening to the talking.
"I was in the Witness Protection Program." Lena said, without looking at him. God, why he'd want to know everything about her? It's not like he was her friend, they're only partners in this end of the world. Since four weeks ago, when they first met, he was trying to get close to her. But she was selfish; she didn't want to get close to Morgan. She wanted to survive. She wanted to not be hurt when someone dies. She concluded that the best way of doing that, is getting away from people.
"What's that?" Duane said, making Lena get back to reality. She looked at him.
"It's a program to protect someone who witnessed a murder, or anything like that." She answered.
"Have you?" The boy asked.
Lena got back to her book, before answering in a low sad voice.
"My parents."
The room fell in silence. Morgan was surprised; the only thing he knew from the girl was she was twenty years old, and was a little bit selfish. A few minutes after that, Rick spoke again.
"Do you know what happened to my wife and son?"
Lena looked at him again, furrowing brows. "Lori and Carl?" Rick tried again.
She shook her head. "I don't. I was in Atlanta when the outbreak happened."
Rick nodded before talking. "We'll need more guns if we wanna survive. I know a place."
"Where?" Morgan asked.
"The police station." Rick answered. Lena chuckled.
"I thought I'd never put a feet in that place again." She said and Rick laughed.
"At least is for getting guns, right?" Morgan said, with a smile on his face. The room was silent again. Rick sighed.
"I gotta find my wife and son." He said, more to himself than to the others. "I just have to."
"They could be in Atlanta." Morgan said. Or dead. Lena thought. "Like Lena said, there was a refugee center up there."
Rick looked at her, and she shrugged. She never had the chance to meet Lori, only saw her from distance. She did understand that Rick wanted to find his family, but she knew that they could not be alive. Rick knew that too he just... Didn't want to believe it. But if Lena was right, if Lori and Carl were dead, she knew that Rick wasn't going to make it. His family meant everything in world for him. Wasn't this supposed to be with everyone? Family comes first in everything? But she didn't have family. Her family was taken away from her a long time ago. She suddenly realized that she didn't want Rick to suffer the same. She didn't want him to be alone in this world. It wasn't because Rick could be an escape for her, but because she really did care about him.
"I'll go with you." Lena heard the sound of her own voice.
"What?" Rick said.
"I'll go with you... To find your family."
~oOo~
"They're alive." Rick said, as he entered in his old house. Lena, Morgan and Duane were right after them. "My wife and son. At least they were when they left."
"How can you know?" Lena asked.
"I found empty drawers in the bedrooms. They packed some clothes. Not a lot. But enough to travel."
"You know anyone could've broken in here and stolen clothes, right?" Morgan said, looking around.
"You see the framed photos on the walls?" Rick pointed to the clean white walls. "Neither do I. Some random thief took those too, you think? My photo albums, family pictures, all gone."
Morgan started to sob, and Lena took a second to realize he was actually laughing and not crying.
"Photo albums..." He said, with a smile on his face. "My wife... Same thing... Here I am, packing survival gear and she's grabbing photo albums."
Lena looked at Morgan with an annoyed expression on her face. She was starting to get sick of his wife memories. Every night he would tell a story about her, everyday he would mention her name, and Lena was starting to lose her patience. She didn't care. She just wanted to survive. The brunette sighed out loud and said,
"Anyway, if they left, he could be in Atlanta. Maybe that refugee center is still there."
Rick walked towards the kitchen and grabbed a set of keys. "We're gonna need more guns, like I said yesterday. The police station is not far from here. There are some supplies, showers..."
"Gas and light have been down for maybe a month." Morgan pointed.
"Station got its own propane system." He answered. "Bet the pilot is still on."
"Okay, so enough talking and let's go." Lena interrupted their conversation, going to the front door and grabbing the baseball bat from the floor, where Rick had left it.
"I just..." Rick said. "Need a moment." Lena looked at him over the shoulder and saw him looking at the house. It was hard letting go of his home, the place where Carl was born, where he and Lori started their lives with a high expectation. "One second." He said, going upstairs. Lena rolled his eyes and sat on the porch's step. Upstairs Rick was on his son's bedroom, touching the blue walls, remembering all the moments he had in that place. He walked towards Carl's wardrobe and picked up some clothes from there. It wasn't much, but he thought it would fit Duane. After that, he went to his own bedroom. He found the king sized bed all messed up, with the white sheets on the floor and covers by the side of the bed. All the wardrobes doors were open, with a few clothes on the ground. He knelt to ground and closed his eyes. All he wanted was to be with his wife. His eyes started tearing up when he remembered the last time he had seen her. They had fought about something stupid, he even didn't remember anymore.
Rick heard steps and quickly wiped the tears on his face, standing up.
"Rick, we can't wait anymore." He said, stepping into the room. When he saw Rick's red eyes, he realized he had interrupted one private moment and stood silent. Rick was looking to the ground, and the awkward silence was on the air. "You should take some of your wife's shirts." Morgan said looking at the clothes on the floor. "And give it to Lena." Rick looked at Morgan, confused. "She doesn't have too many of them. In an entire month, we only saw her with two plaid shirts, and one top tank. Said she doesn't travel with much luggage to make the backpack lighter. She's determined to survive, not matter what, but... She needs some clothes."
Rick looked at the shirts all over the floor and picked up one. Lori's favorite. Rick sighed and said,
"I took some for your boy. Don't know if it will fit but-"
"Thank you." Morgan interrupted him and took the clothes from Rick's hands. "Now, let's get going, she's getting impatient."
~oOo~
Lena felt the hot water touching her skin and smiled. She hadn't felt this good since the outbreak. She ran her hands through her brown, long hair, slowly enjoying the moment. She knew she would not have the privilege of having a hot shower in a long time again, so she made it last like forever. When she turned off the shower, she heard nothing but silence. There was no one with her on the women's dressing room, and she appreciated that. Muttering a song that got stuck on her head, she stepped out of the shower and sat, completely wet, in one of the benches, beside the lockers and began to rub the white towel Rick gave her on her head, on an attempt of getting her hair dry. She looked over the other bench on her right and saw the shirt he had gave her a few minutes ago, just before she get in the shower. "It was my wife's favorite." He had said, handing the blue plaid shirt, with a half smile on his face. "Guess she was too busy getting the framed photos off the wall, and forgot picking it up."
Lena sighed. It wasn't right wearing his wife's favorite shirt when he was trying to find her. On the other side, she had only two more shirts, and both of them were stinky as hell. After several minutes, she got up, and got dressed; wearing Lori's shirt with no tank top underneath it. After buttoning it, she rolled the sleeves up, due to the hot weather outside. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the place once more. She could live there, with light and gas for a few days. But, then again, she thought of Rick. Lena didn't want to admit it, but she cared about him. They knew each other briefly in the past, and that was enough for her to want someone she knew with her. She just couldn't let him on his own, being so inexperience in this new world.
Brushing away those thoughts, Lena started to open the lockers in the room, searching for supplies. She didn't find much; a few tank tops, a toothbrush and some tampons. On the last locker she found a screwdriver and a pair of scissors. She ran the finger tips trough the blades of the scissors. She had thought about it a few times, she couldn't deny. She had seen the way walkers attacked people, it almost happened to her once. A walker had grabbed a hand fist full of her hair and brought her close. If it wasn't for Morgan, she would be dead by now.
"Lena?" Rick's voice coming from outside snapped her out of her thoughts. "You okay there?"
Lena opened the door and Rick stared at her. His gaze fell down to her chest, staring at the blue plaid shirt which once was from Lori.
"Yeah." She answered, smiling lightly. "But I need your help with something."
~oOo~
"You sure you wanna do this?" Rick asked, holding the scissors Lena had found. She sighed.
"Yes." The girl replied. "Just make sure you cut right after the shortest hair layer, which is just little bit after my shoulders." Rick ran his hand through Lena's hair and began searching for the hair layer. Her hands interrupted him. "Here, let me help you." She made a low ponytail with her hands and showed him where to cut it.
After Rick closed the scissors on her hair, she said goodbye to her long hair. Now she was just short hair Lena. She looked at Rick, running her hands through the new haircut.
"How do I look?" She asked.
Rick didn't know what to say. He wasn't actually intimate with the girl, so he just nodded and replied,
"Good."
Lena stood up and started to get her things together.
"You know how to shoot." Rick said suddenly. It was more of an affirmation than a question. She nodded and picked up her shoes. She sat on the bench again, put them and started to lace them. "Morgan told me. He said you have a good aim."
"My father taught me." She replied. "Before... Y'know."
An awkward silence fell down the room. Rick nodded and looked at the ground. Lena only now realized he was wearing his old police uniform. It was weird, knowing that his days he didn't need to wear this anymore. But it was a way to remind him who he was, and she would not interfere in this.
~oOo~
"So, I guess this is where we separate, right?" Lena said, looking at Morgan and Duane, outside the police station, right next to the police cars. The boy came running towards her and hugged her. She was a little uncomfortable and Rick noticed that. The girl smile briefly for him. "Take care of your daddy. He needs your protection, okay?"
Duane nodded and replied,
"And you take care of Rick." Lena laughed under her breath.
"Don't worry." She said. "I'll make sure he gets to his family safe and sound."
She looked over Morgan and nodded to him. He smiled lightly and looked to something over her shoulder. Rick and Lena followed his gaze and saw one walker trying to reach them over the fence.
"Leon Bassett?" Rick said, approaching the creature. "Didn't think too much of him. Careless, dumb... I can't leave him like this." He raised his gun to the walker.
"You know they'll hear the shot." Morgan said.
"Let's not be here when they show up." Rick replied. Lena got into the car and heard the loud shot gun. Rick got into the car as well and waved a goodbye to Morgan. Lena sighed.
Here goes to nothing.
