A/N/ Sorry for the long wait from the last chapter but I was moving house and I've only just had an internet connection today. Hope you enjoy this chapter though :)

Chapter 4

"You weren't here man! I told you!" Shane yelled erratically at Rick, dead walkers surrounding his feet. "I was here! I saved your family again!"

It had all happened so fast Alison's brain was still processing what had happened; the walker had bitten Amy first, as she came out from the RV no one could have seen it coming and then they just kept coming. "Shane, enough. Please."

The first thing Shane had done after the walkers had been taken care of was lay into Rick for leaving for Atlanta, beside his Dad Carl's young face looked terrified and upset.

"Ali, he left his family again! He's only been here two seconds." Turning back to Rick, Shane lifted his right hand and pointed at Rick. "What if they'd got Carl?"

"But they didn't, they had you protecting them." Rick calmly countered, trying his best to subdue his friend.

Shane scoffed loudly, his arm dropping. "Yeah I was here." He said before disappearing into the nearby wooded area, the argument clearly over.

"I'll go get him." Alison sighed and followed in the direction Shane had wandered in. It was always down to her to defuse Shane, not that she minded too much, but with Lori and Rick there it seemed more fitting that the two people who had known him the longest should be settling the issue. Lori was quick enough to jump in the sack with him but she wanted to part in any other aspect that was part of a relationship. "Shane?" It was already dark at camp but in the heavily shaded woods the darkness seemed like a thick black smog that was impossible to see through. "Shane, this isn't funny!" Alison felt the cold trickle of panic begin to set it, only moments ago walkers had ransacked camp-killing people- and now alone in the forest Alison began to wonder if following Shane alone had been such a good idea. "Sha-" The scream that erupted from her stopped her before she could finish shouting Shane's name.

"Jesus Legs! Wanna scream any louder?" Shane exclaimed with humour still holding Alison where he'd grabbed her by the waist. "Someone 'll think I'm killin' yeh."

"Fuck you, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Alison admonished, slapping at his torso wildly. "Can you come back to camp please? We don't need anyone else becoming walker snacks tonight."

Shane let out a deep laugh, his large arm wrapping around Alison's shoulder. "Don' let the others hear you sayin' stuff like that, see I think it's funny. They won't."

Any positive feeling or uplifting energy had vanished from camp the moment the walkers had attacked, instead of being huddled around the warm glow of the camp fire people were gathering up the dead bodies and burning the remains. Alison's gaze fell upon Amy's lifeless body as Andrea craddled it, sobbing to herself. She would miss Amy, the two had been automatically drawn to each other being close in age and as time had began to pass they were really beginning to build a solid friendship, something that Alison was desperate for.

"Jim's been bit," Rick announed at Shane's return to camp. "We should head to the CDC, they might be able to help us."

Alison didn't need to even look at Shane to know his responce to Rick's idea. For weeks Shane had been running the idea of moving up to Fort Benning, he believed it would be a safer place to set up camp. And until Rick's return this had been the plan. Silently, she slipped her thin fingers between Shane's holding onto his hand and squeezing gently. He had a temper, Alison knew that -everyone knew that- but she'd learnt that with someone on his side he was far more mellow, but as Alison watched his dark features for a reaction she realised since Rick's arrival he'd been anything but mellow.

"Let's go scout the woods, make sure there's no more walkers about."

Shane nodded in response, shaking Alison's hold and followed Rick into the dark woods.

"Alison, we need to talk."

Alison audibly groaned at Lori's words. This was the last thing she needed right now, another joyous talking to from Lori forbidding her from telling anyone of the nasty things she and Shane got up to. "This is not the fucking time Lori." Hissed Alison in a low voice, the last thing anyone at camp needed was to accidently over hear about Lori's insignificant problems when their loved ones lay dead on the ground. In an attempt to end the conversation before it cold start, Alison walked past Lori to the tent she and Shane shared and grabbed his jacket.

"I swear Alison, if you keep disrespectin' me like this..."

Angrilly Alison spun to face Lori who had followed her undetered. "You'll what? There is nothing you can do to make my life any worse Lori." She briefly stopped to tie her long blonde hair into a messy ponytail. "I however can make your life very difficult. I don't think your husband would be too happy if he found out you had fucked his best friend." Again Alison paused, this time to slip her arms into Shane's warm jacket. "Multiple times in fact. So it wasn't exactly a one time mistake, was it?"

Lori's face scrunched in outrage. "You wouldn't do that 't Shane." The brunette reached out grasping Alison's bicep and pulled her in closer, her voice dropping. "We both know you're his little lap dog, there's no way you'd hurt him like that."

If it hadn't been for the walker attack Alison would have made Lori regret ever putting her hands on her, but people were in real distress and Alison just couldn't do that to them. Reaching deep within her self, she pulled the last shred of her self restraint and calmly removed Lori's hand one finger at a time. "If you ever touch me again I will tell your husband and your son exactly what kind of woman you are."

"You don't scare me Alison. I feel sorry for you, pining over Shane when he so clearly is in love with me. It's sad really it is."

"Please continue to give me more reasons to open my damn mouth and out you for the whore you are Lori!"

Lori's eyebrows raise indignantly, the horror that she'd been called a whore shocking her. "How dare you!"

"How dare I?" Alison laughed darkly. "You have strung Shane along the moment you thought your husband was dead, and now he doesn't suit you anymore you're treating him like a fucking cockroach!" She exhaled loudly trying to keep her temper in check, she needed to get away from Lori before she did something she'd regret. "Stay away from me." With out a second look in Lori's direction, Alison walked out into the forest to find Shane. He was the only friend she had now, especially with Amy gone, and she needed to vent regardless of whether Shane did have feelings for Lori or not.

As the pitch black of the woods surrounded her, Alison pulled the coat tighter around her body like a shield. This had been a bad idea, how was she ever going to find Shane, or even Rick? A stick cracked in two under her boot making her jump slightly. "Fuck!" It was eerily quiet, she couldn't hear even if the two men were near by. Shouting was not an option as far as Alison was concerned because if there was in fact still walkers around she did not want to alert them to her where abouts or towards camp. Of there own accord her feet picked up speed as she headed deeper into the trees, they followed a path Alison's mind wasn't even sure of it seemed that panic was just simply driving her forward. A loud rustle stopped her dead in her tracks, whipping her head left and then right Alison could see the unclear silhouette of Shane. His gun was raise and pointing steadily at a target. Rick. The breath caught in the back of Alison's throat as she took in what was unfolding in front of her, Shane was many things but a cold murderer wasn't one of them. With a new determind pace she sprinted over to where Shane was stood, hoping to God he didn't pull the trigger before she got to him. "What the fuck are you doing?!" The gun which had been aimed at Rick shot round to face her, the barrel milimeters from her face.

"Ali! I could 'ave killed yeh!"

"You mean like you were apparently going to do to Rick? Jesus Shane! What is going on with you?"

Inside his chest Shane's heart was pounding like a jack hammer. He didn't know what he'd been doing, it had just happened. "Ali if I'd shot you, I'd never forgive myself. What ever it is you think yeh saw it's nothin' I swear."

"Shane if someone had seen you-" Anything she was about to say was cut off by Shane pulling her tightly into his arms.

"Don' turn on me Ali. I can handle Lori, bu' not you. I promise I would never hurt anyone, 'specially Rick. He's like my brother. Promise me please. Promise."

Alison wanted nothing more than to keep the anger she had from seeing Shane's gun raised at an innocent man, but in the warmth of his arms and hearing the sadness in his voice her anger melted away almost instantly. "I promise."