The Walking Dead- Easy Way Out- By: Rancoroftheheart
Chapter- Thinking Ahead
AN: Still inspired by Gotye's Easy Way Out song! Give it a listen! KK! Thanks Anatomicalheart for giving me the ego boost after you read the first chappy! Love you! Xoxo! I hope everyone that read the first part is interested enough to keep reading! Please enjoy this new chapter and leave me reviews guys! Also, I am sorry about not updating often!
Lori and Maggie jump up from their sitting position on the porch as they see the truck coming down the road, "Their back!"
Beth, Carol, Patricia, Carl, T-Dog, and Jimmy all joined the two women who were now waiting in the yard.
Hershel pulled the truck into the yard and put it in park. As he climbed out he was greeted by a relieved Maggie who then made a beeline for Glenn. Hershel pretended to not notice for now.
Lori greeted Rick as she got out of the passenger side of the truck, she gave him a kiss and looked over as Tess and Andrea jumped out of the back of the truck with Daryl and Shane.
Andrea was saying something to Tess that had her laughing and had put Shane in a foul mood.
Lori walked up to Tess and held out her hand, "Tess, I'm Lori. It's nice to meet you."
Tess took the woman's hand without hesitation and shook it with a grin on her face, "It's nice to meet you too Lori!"
Shane mumbled something about not getting enough respect and walked to the porch to cool his temper.
Carol watched and wondered sadly if this newcomer would distract everyone's search for her baby.
Carl watched the woman with wide eyes as he stood next to his dad.
Tess went around and exchanged 'Hellos' with everyone. She was cheery up till the last one. Carol. She was pleasant but Tess could tell something was wrong.
"Carol, I'm sorry but are you alright? Did I upset you?"
Carol fingered the top of her shirt collar out of nervous habit and shook her head. She frowned and looked away embarrassed and upset.
Daryl scratched the back of his neck, "Naw, you didn't say nothing wrong or anything. Carol's little girl has been missing for a few days now."
"Oh. I'm so sorry. I saw the searching- If I had known you were searching for a child-."
Hershel frowned, "You've been watching us?"
Tess nodded solemnly, "Yes. I didn't want to rush in…some groups aren't worth meeting."
Rick had his arm over Carl's shoulder, "You've come across other groups?"
"Yes, some I wish I hadn't."
Andrea knew something was up; the woman seemed to want to withdraw from the conversation. Maggie and Lori picked up on it too. Rick was about to ask something but Lori interrupted, "Well, everyone come inside and eat then you can organize another search for Sophia."
R
Everyone was at the dinner table except for Tess. Small talk was exchanged but Andrea sat there and played with her food, wondering where her new friend was.
"I'm going to go check her. Be right back."
Shane stood up, "I'll do it."
Andrea stopped and looked at him, "Sit back down Shane," she said through gritted teeth and she left the room and climbed the stairs.
She reached the bathroom door but didn't hear anything on the other side of it, "Tess?"
There was no response so she tried the door handle, it didn't turn, "Tess? Are you okay in there?"
Tess was sitting on the bathroom floor leaning against the tub when she heard footsteps approach and Andrea's voice.
She rubbed her face and eyes, trying to get rid of signs that she had been crying.
"Tess? Please open the door?"
She stood, sighed, and opened the door, "Hey."
Andrea frowned at the woman when she saw her red eyes and nose, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just… let's go eat." As she passed the blonde she grabbed her elbow, "No, Tess, tell me what's wrong." She gently pulled her inside the bathroom.
Tess pulled away and leaned against the wall, refusing to look Andrea in the eyes; she pulled her hair free from her hair tie and walked to the sink. She turned on the faucet and scrubbed her face. She turned to look at the concerned woman staring her down through the mirror. Tess leaned against the sink and closed her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I'm just overwhelmed. I have not been around kind people in a while. I'm just…emotional right now."
Andrea nodded and walked up to the woman, "It's alright. Come here." Andrea tucked a strand of the woman's long dark hair behind her ear and pulled her into a warm hug. "It's okay."
Tess closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around the woman, she nuzzled her hair and sighed, "Thank you."
Andrea hugged her tighter before letting go, "Anytime. Now let's go eat huh?" Andrea had a feeling Tess's reasons for being upset may have had to do with other things too but she understood being emotional considering all the shit any survivor has gone through.
"Yeah." Tess pulled her hair back into a ponytail as they made their way down to the dining room.
Hershel took a sip of water, "Everything alright Miss Hollander?"
"Yes, I'm feeling better now."
Lori and Maggie exchanged looks as the women sat down. Tess is sitting between Andrea and Shane. He leans in and whispers in her ear. Whatever it was that he said to her caused her to stare at him quite a bit throughout the meal and earn curious looks from several of the survivors. The stare she had been sending his way wasn't one of curiosity or attraction but like she didn't know what to make of the man.
R
Most everyone retires to either their room within the house or to their shelters in the front yard. Tess had insisted she do the kitchen cleaning since she is new and as a way to express her thanks for the wonderful meal and temporary shelter.
She absent mindedly dried a few more dishes when she heard someone walking into the kitchen, "Hey."
She dried the dish faster when she heard Shane's voice call to her. When she heard the door shut and faint footsteps she had hope it was Andrea.
"Hi Shane." She heard someone else come in behind him and stay really quiet and judging by how Shane was acting he hadn't heard anything other than her washing and drying dishes.
He smirked and stood next to her, leaning against the kitchen counter, "So? You wanna sleep in my tent tonight?"
She picked up another plate to dry and looked over at him, "I was planning on setting up my own tent. I have extra gear stashed by the road."
"Why you got it stashed there?"
"I put it there last night when I realized Andrea wasn't coming back till morning. It was my backup if I wasn't let onto the farm."
"Why didn't you grab it when we picked you up?"
"I wanted to make sure Hershel didn't change his mind."
He leaned in closer, "I like that. You're a smart woman. You think ahead."
Andrea had followed Shane into the house when she saw him sneak out of his tent and towards the house. She just knew he'd be bothering Tess and it worked out because she needed to discuss sleeping arrangements with her anyway. Till then she was content on listening in.
"Thanks."
Shane lifted his hand and touched her hip, he looped his finger with her belt and pulled her to him, "I can help you set up your tent another night, but for now I'd like for you to stay with me."
She turned her face when he tried to kiss her and she put the last dish away to her side, "I'm not interested."
"Kay so I know you were 'plannin' on staying in your tent but I think I can change your mind."
She pulled his hand away from her hip and walked away, "Hey. Come on now," he murmured to her.
She turned around, "Goodnight Shane."
He grabbed her arm, he wasn't rough but she flinched a bit, not that he noticed, "Tess. It's not like I want a relationship I just want a couple of good fucks." He pulled her closer, "I can make you forget about all the shit out there. Even if it's for a few nights."
She pushed him away with a tight lipped smile and hoped it hadn't been her imagination that someone had come in behind her…she could really use someone as a distraction right about now, "Thanks for the offer but I'll pass."
Andrea took that as her moment to walk in, "Hey! What offer?"
Shane growled, "Nothing," And walked out of the kitchen and house with heavy treads.
Andrea walked up to Tess, "You alright?"
"Mmmhmm."
Andrea nodded, "Good, so,… where are you sleeping tonight? There's the RV if you want…with Dale, Glenn, and me." She ended it with an award winning smile.
They were on the porch when she finished speaking, Tess smiled at her, "Thank you but I have a tent of my own, I just have to grab it from by the road. It's nice of you to offer." She leaned in and kissed Andrea gently on the cheek before making her way from the porch and heading towards the road.
Andrea hugged herself and smiled the whole way back to the RV to get some sleep.
Tess crossed made her way down the drive, Dale watched her, and she watched Andrea climb into the RV. She sighed to herself and sang softly, "Putting on a brave face, trying not to listen to the voices in the back of my head…"
R
AN: KK! I wanted to type more but I think that's a pretty good place to transition to the next chapter. Which I've already started btw, there will be more funny interactions between A and T in this one. Sorry to Shane lovers but he's gonna be a douche for a while.
Please leave reviews and comments! Thanks to those who have so far and for the private messages regarding the ff. Love feedback!