I do not own anything except for my OC, June. TWD belongs to Robert Kirkman and AMC.

T-dog glances up from his sandwich when he notices me standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Looking around the room, I notice that no one is in the room besides he and I. I raise an eyebrow and send him an inquisitive look. Seeming to understand, he shrugs his shoulders and tells me that Maggie left after Glenn to go out to the porch and that Patricia was with Hershel and the Grime family. I nod at his words and sit across from him at the kitchen table. I glance at his arm, happy to see it stitched up. He seems to be feeling better already.

"Wanna bite?" he thrusts his sandwich towards me. I look at the content and shake my head, scowling. Mayonnaise with turkey? No thank you. Seeing my disgusted look, he continues, "what? You gotta problem with mayo?"

"No," I shake my head, "I have a problem with turkey."

He startles and drops his turkey sandwich, "What the hell do you eat on Thanksgiving then?"

"Ham," I tell him shrugging my shoulders," and a whole lot of macaroni."

T-dog shakes his head and mumbles something that I can't make out. Although, he has a small smile on his face, so I assume he isn't making fun of me.

T-dog and I talk of our other family traditions for the next half hour or so. I learn that he had a younger brother that he would always fight with on Christmas. (They both wanted to open the first gift.) And in return, I told him of how I would hide eggs for my little brother on Easter. He had never believed in the Easter bunny, but he absolutely loved finding those eggs. He finished his sandwich at some point listening to me go on about my brother's first Easter with us.

Our talk is interrupted by the Grime's scrambling towards the front door of the house. Getting up, T and I follow the others to the porch. A dark-haired man is getting out of a blue truck with a large bag. He stumbles towards Rick with a small limp and I catch the word that tumble out of his mouth. Carl. So, this must be Shane.

"Still a chance," Rick assures him. Shane hands the bag over to Hershel and the older man starts back towards the house only to stop. He glances back towards the truck again.

"Otis?" Hershel asks this almost as if he already knows the answer.

Otis? I don't remember the name from Sophia, so he must be one of Hershel's men. Actually, now that I think about it, I think I remember Patricia mentioning an Otis before she started stitching up T-dog's arm. Although, I wasn't paying too much attention.

Shane shakes his head

Hershel looks around at us all. He looks like a lost, frightened child right now.

"We say nothing to Patricia," the old man demands. He rushes back into the house quickly to get started on Carl.

Rick and Shane speak in hushed tones. Loud enough for everyone to hear, but low enough for everyone to know not to interrupt.

I turn to T-dog and whisper to him, "Who's Otis?"

He looks away from Shane and Rick and towards me, "He's the man who shot Carl. Patricia's husband"

My eyes widen at this. Patricia's husband is the one that shot the kid that is fighting for his life inside?

Seeming to see where my thoughts are going, T-dog is quick to clarify, "It was an accident. Shot a deer and the bullet went right through and hit Carl. Patricia explained everything while sticking a needle in me." It's almost creepy how well he can pick up on my thoughts.

I nod my head and join Lori who is watching her husband and Shane. She peers at me when she spots me walking towards her. She has a look in her eyes that says she's been through too much in the past 24 hours.

I think about asking her if she's okay, but she obviously isn't. Instead I point between her and Rick and ask," Do you need guys need anything?"

Her face twists in confusion and then, slowly, melts into a soft expression," No, we're okay, sweetheart. You've done more than enough for us already."

Now it's my turn for confusion. I shake my head in bafflement, "But I- What?"

She lets out a shaky laugh, "You brought Sophia back. If anything happened to her, Rick would have blamed himself forever. So, thank you."

I don't get why she's thanking me. I just did what anyone would have done.

"Sophia is smart. She would have gotten back to you without me."

Lori gives me a sad smile, "Intelligence doesn't insure that you'll make it. Did she tell you about the CDC?"

"She told me a little bit. She said she didn't like the scientist you met."

"Did she tell you that Dr. Jenner was the only one left alive?"

I stop for a moment. No, Sophia did not tell me that. I assumed there was more than just one person there. Wasn't the CDC supposed to be full of some of the smartest people alive? At least, that's what my father told me.

"See? Intelligence has nothing to do with it. Not anymore. Even some of the brightest people alive couldn't make it in this new world." She gives me a moment to ponder on this. I suppose she's right, "Sophia may be smart, but I have a feeling we wouldn't have seen her again had you not brought her back."

I'm taken off guard by the hug she suddenly gives me. I suppose I shouldn't be with all the hugs I've been given lately, but when you go from not seeing or talking to people for weeks to suddenly having full conversations and having physical contact with them, it can be slightly overwhelming.

Her hug, like Carol's, is a thank you, but Lori's feels like more. It feels like home. It reminds me of the times my father would lift me off the ground and squeeze me after he had a particularly bad day. Like he was reassuring both he and I that everything was going to be okay.

Tears spring to my eyes and I silently berate myself. I haven't cried in weeks and I don't plan to again just because one hug brought back some bad memories.

I give a quick sniff to keep the tears away and she releases me. She puts a motherly hand on my shoulder and tells me to go meet Shane. She tugs me along with her and Rick and Shane stop their conversation when they see us. Rick gives me a grin and Shane sends a confused frown my way. He glances at Lori in a questioning manner and she introduces me.

"This is June. She brought Sophia back to us, Shane."

His face lights up in surprise and he nods at me, uttering small thanks of gratitude. I shrug my shoulder in a sheepish manner, still not completely comfortable with everyone thanking me for returning a lost girl.

Rick, still dizzy from giving blood decides he needs to sit for a while. Lori leads him towards the steps, leaving me alone with Shane.

"They're lucky to have you," I tell him once he has re-positioned himself on the ground. He looks up at me perplexed, "Without you, Carl probably wouldn't have made it."

He looks me up and down. Not in a creepy way. It's more like he's assessing my worth.

He stares me down for several silent minutes and I start to wonder if I said something wrong. He eventually speaks up," He isn't out of the woods yet."

"Maybe, but you gave him a chance."

He gives me a grateful nod and readjusts his position. Shane lets out a small hiss of pain and glares down at his ankle. I'm about to offer him help when something catches my eye.

"Hey, Shane?"

"What?" his voice is harsh and irritated.

"What happened to your hair?" a small patch of dark hair is missing on his head. There are fresh specks of blood on his scalp leaving me to believe it was a relatively new development.

I don't expect the dark glare he gives me after my words, "None of your business"

Okay, he has anger issues….

I mutter a small sorry in his direction and start towards the house again when Hershel barges out the front door.

Carl is going to be okay.

I follow Rick and Hershel into the house, but stop in the living room. I head towards the couch and take a seat. I hear the door open, but I don't look up. Instead I close my eyes and wait for the inevitable cries for a lost lover.

Patricia's wails start and I know that even after they stop, the pain will stay.

I fall asleep to the older blonde's cries from the kitchen.

I was woken the next morning by a boy who was slightly younger than me. He told me that his name was Jimmy and that we were to gather rocks for Otis' funeral.

Glenn, T-dog, Shane, and I helped the Greene's prepare for the funeral while Lori and Rick stayed with their son. We had been outside for what seemed like hours with the sun beating down on us when we caught sight of the rest of the group. The rumbling of Daryl's motorcycle could be heard as they got closer. I laid down the rock in my hand and followed everyone as they made their way to greet the rest of the batch. T-dog ran inside to get the others while the rest of us waited for the group.

As soon as the gathering vehicles come to a stop, the others inside the house finally appear. The door to the RV shoots open and a small, freckled girl jumps onto the ground. Her head scans the crowd until she finds me and she's off like a bullet. She jumps right into my arms, hugging me around the waist.

"June!" Sophia knocks me to the ground and I'm starting to think that every time we meet up this kid is going to knock me on my ass.

I let out a grunt of pain and push her up off me, "Hey, kid."

"Sophia!" Carol's stern voice calls from the door of the RV. Sophia shoots me a panicked glance that says save me.

I shake my head, standing up and she scowls at me, "Traitor,"

I smirk at her. Glenn, standing next to me, snickers at our exchange.

She glances at Rick and Lori, "Is Carl okay?"

This gets everyone's attention. Carol and Dale look visibly worried, while Daryl and Andrea hide it much better. Rick and Lori calm everyone's fears and assures them that Carl is fine.

Hugs are given and Sophia asks to see her friend. Lori, Rick, and Carol take her to see Carl while Glenn, T-dog, and I make introductions and help the others get settled.

Although things are nice now, we have a funeral to get ready for soon.

AN: So sorry for the wait! Between work, school, and extracurricular activities, I haven't had much time to write. This is just sort of a short filler chapter to get my mojo back! I will be posting an author's note to explain my expectations for this fic and other things. Hopefully I will be able to keep a better upload schedule.