Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with The Walking Dead that includes its characters, titles, yada yada. You get the drift?
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews x UPDATE 7/27/13 - This chapter has been edited! Feel free to reread!
Description: Piper Bell's leaned on one, equine, companion since the outbreak, a Quarter Horse named Leroy - depending on him to keep her safe and doing the same in return. However, in a turn of events, she's reunited with someone she believed to be dead - her best friend, Shane Walsh. And now, with him, Rick Grimes, and the rest of the group, she's just trying to survive.
A Twisted Sense of Humor
"How long has he had these shoes on for?" Maggie's father, Hershel, a man in his sixties asked sizing up Leroy. The Quarter Horse was hooked up to the cross ties in the horse barn taking in the smell of the other horses and clearly enjoying his surroundings.
"Oh Jeez," Piper squinted her eyes trying to remember, "I think he was last shod three weeks before, uh, stuff happened. You're not a farrier too, are you?" Piper joked, although she desperately wanted it to be true.
Hershel took his attention away from Leroy and looked at Piper, "No miss, I'm sorry I'm not. But I'll give him the once over, and standard check up."
Piper nodded her head slowly and leaned up against one of the stalls doors watching Hershel get to work. He didn't get his hand halfway down Leroy's back right leg until he stopped and gestured for Piper to join him. The woman left her spot and squatted down next to Hershel by Leroy's backside.
"He's got swelling in his back leg," Hershel ran his hand over what Piper knew as the cannon bone, "Right here it's warm." The man made a motion for Piper to check it out for herself.
Piper extended her arm and felt Leroy's leg - it was definitely warm, definitely swollen.
"Do you have any idea what may have caused this?" Hershel questioned.
Piper frowned a bit and wracked her brain. Leroy's legs were his best asset, she had tried her best to take care of them, "No, I don't. I've been as careful as I possibly can," Piper looked at the ground mentally kicking herself for her negligence.
Hershel nodded slowly, "Well, I'm going to have to take an ex-ray, see if there's a problem," he stood up wiping off his pants, Piper followed, "He's going to have to stay here - at least until his leg is healed. And you're going to have to soak it, at least three times a day. That'll help the swelling."
"Do you have any wraps or anything like that?" Piper asked - she wasn't completely stupid about proper horse care, after all.
Hershel disappeared into a small tack room and came out with a medical wrap. He handed it to Piper and just as she turned to get to work, she stopped, "Thank you," she gave the older man a smile.
She meant it.
Piper liked the Greene farm. Hershel had been kind enough to look at Leroy, as well as treat him, she'd become quite fond of Maggie, as well as her younger sister, Beth, the couple that lived with the Greene's, Otis and Patricia were genuine people, as well as Jimmy, who wasn't Hershel's family, but Beth's boyfriend. Piper had settled in quite nicely - although, she was unsure if the arrangement was permanent or not. Maggie had offered her the extra bed in her room - of course, it was either that or the horse barn. Maggie, despite having a gun pointed to her head at their first meeting, seemed to be all for the new guests staying. Piper agreed wholeheartedly - after all, the extra bed and stall seemed to have had Piper and Leroy's names on them.
And so it was settled, although, Piper thought it was more of Hershel, who was a man that cared about animals, thinking she couldn't take care of her horse and not her persuasion that prompted him to let them stay. If it wasn't for the fact that she was so thankful, she would have been insulted.
She hadn't been at the farm for very long, but Piper had settled in nicely and even developed a routine.
"Patricia, seriously, I'm no good at this stuff!" Piper held up her hands. Kitchen work had never been her strong-suit.
"You can't make stew?" Beth snorted from her spot at the sink.
Piper rolled her eyes, so she wasn't Martha Stewart, "Hey, I do wonders with Captain Crunch!"
Beth shook her head, but turned her focus back on the dirty dishes.
"Dad!" the three women looked up. Suddenly, Maggie came running into the house, "Dad! There's someone outside! Come out!"
The three woman looked at each other and before Piper could react, Beth and Patricia hurried out of the kitchen. Piper, unsure of what was going on, followed seconds later.
"Was he bit?" Piper heard Hershel's voice coming from outside. She exited out of the open screen door, joining everyone else on the porch.
"Shot!" a man's voice sounded desperate, "By your man."
"Otis?" Patricia questioned, surprised.
Hershel made his way down the steps and everyone but Piper started to follow until she heard the voice again.
"He said to find Hershel, that you?" the man asked.
Piper froze on the porch. She had heard the voice too many times not to recognize it. And, as the man pleaded for Hershel's help, Piper looked up. There, in his Sheriff's uniform, with a look of desperation on his face, son in his arms was Rick Grimes. Piper blinked a few times. Rick was still there. Before Piper could say something, Rick hurried past her. She kicked herself - of course he wouldn't care about seeing her alive, his son had been shot. The brunette stood on the porch as Hershel began barking out orders to everyone in the house. Piper was at a loss for what to do. It wasn't right for her to barge in a tell her friend that she was thankful he was alive and well - not with Carl the way he was. But, on the other hand, Piper was concerned. It was Carl, after all. She'd known the kid his whole life. She wanted to go inside and comfort Rick and see Carl, but going inside didn't feel right to her. So, she pace. It was her thing; pacing. She remembered how Rick and Shane always found it irritating, but it was how she worked. She paced when she was nervous, she paced when she was worried, paced when she was excited, or when she just had some pent up energy. She heard the commotion going on inside and shuddered. She wasn't sure what the veterinarian was doing to the twelve year old, but it sounded bad. She hated the sound of someone she loved in pain. She hated the idea of Carl laying on the bed bleeding. The thought of it made her want to throw up. Piper inhaled deeply and exhaled trying to block out her thoughts. When she was calmer, she had a realization.
"Where's Otis?" she thought aloud. Just as she did, she heard the creaking of the door as Rick emerged from the house, distraught, and two men came up to the steps. She had been so busy pacing, hadn't even noticed them coming toward the house. She turned toward the three men. Immediately her eyes widened, her stomach did flip flops, and her heart began to race. Shane Walsh was standing in front of her. Her best friend, Shane Walsh. The Shane Walsh she thought was dead. The Shane Walsh she missed and loved and had known her whole life.
"He's alive?" Otis asked, "Is he still alive?"
Piper was speechless, all she could do was watch the scene unfold. Rick hadn't responded to Otis' question, instead, he wiped his bloody hand on his forehead in a daze. Shane, as loving as ever, grabbed a rag from his bag and wiped the blood off as best he could reassuring Rick that everything would be alright. And, just as soon as he appeared, Shane disappeared into the house with Rick and Otis.
"Leroy, man, I seriously don't know what to do," she let out a deep sigh as her horse nibbled contently on the green grass just outside the house.
He snorted.
"Carl's lying in there, shot. God knows if he'll make it out of this," she picked at the blades of grass surrounding her, "I don't even know how he's doing," Piper felt a lump in her throat, "I don't know if the bullet was clean, if it broke, what. What if Hershel can't fix him?" the woman bit her lip.
Leroy continued to eat, swishing his tail at any flies that dared go near it.
Piper dropped the lead rope, letting it rest in her lap and put her head in her hands, "And then, how do I let my best friend know I'm alive without sounding selfish?" she groaned, "This is absolutely ridiculous. I think fate or destiny has a twisted sense of humor," Piper shook her head back and forth, "As much as I want to see how Carl's doing, I feel like I can't because they don't need me intruding on dealing with it themselves" Piper chuffed, "Does that even make sense? You know how I ramble."
Piper looked at the chestnut. He was so simple. He was so lucky.
"Yeah, you just chomp away at that grass, chubs."
Leroy raised his head up and shook it his tail continuing to swish.
Piper let herself fall back, laying down on the ground, "Squirrel cheeks."
The chestnut began to walk away, dragging the lead rope with him.
"Sweet," Piper rolled her eyes.
The inside of the house was a welcome change to the beating sun outdoors. As Piper made her way to the kitchen for a glass of water, she heard voices. Rick and Shane. It seemed to be just the two of them. She slowly walked down the hallway until she spotted the two men.
Face it; you won't get them alone again. Just tell them you're happy they're alright and that you're alright. Be there for Rick and then catch up later! Piper mentally coaxed herself closer to Rick and Shane.
"Is that why I got out of that hospital? Found my family for it to end here, like this? " Rick asked Shane as Piper approached the men. She stopped. The stairs were still an option. She considered dashing up the stairs, but thought against it, sitting on them instead, "Is this some kind of sick joke?"
There was a pause, "You know, I've been asking myself that ever since you got here," Piper interrupted from her point on the stairs.
At the same time, Rick and Shane turned to see who had spoken. They looked surprised to see the brunette. She gave them a half smile from her spot on the staircase.
Piper bit her lip before speaking again, "I thought, 'Well, my best friend's gone, I know my other friend's been shot. Parents gone...' You get it, right? And then I make my way to this farm - completely by accident. And then you show up. And it's weird because when you see someone you thought was dead, you're supposed to be happy. You know? And I am, but the circumstances - someone's got a twisted sense of humor," she looked up..
Before they could say anything, Maggie called for Rick. Carl needed blood. Rick followed Maggie into the bedroom and Shane stood up. He looked at Piper and his brown eyes told her what needed to be said.
I missed you.
The woman gave him a quick smile.
I know. Me too.
"Dad!" Piper heard Carl cry inside the bedroom as Shane made his way too the doorway.
"You! Hold him down!" Hershel ordered.
Piper, who had remained on the stairs, held her head in her hands as Carl screamed.
"You're killing him!" Rick yelled.
She was going to be sick. Or faint. Either of the two. She suspected both, however. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the screaming stopped and Piper got herself together. She waited ten minutes before knocking on the bedroom door. Maggie opened it and let her in. Her eyes went to the bed; Carl lay there, passed out, his stomach bandaged. Hershel was taking his blood pressure while Patricia gave him a blood transfusion. Piper walked slowly over to the window where Shane was leaning up against the dresser.
"Hi," she said quietly.
"Hey," he whispered, looking down at her, "S'good to see you."
Piper nodded.
It was good to see Shane, despite the circumstances. Fate had a sick, sick sense of humor, but part of Piper was glad it played a joke on her.
