Chapter 9

Hannah stared out one of the large front windows of the main lodge. It was late afternoon and the rain was pouring steadily down. It had started about 2 hours ago as a light drizzle but quickly turned into a downpour. Despite the rain, most of the men, as well as Tonya, Amelia and Maggie, were still working on building the new blinds.

She rubbed her bottom lip absentmindedly as Carol joined her. There was a noticeable scrape across her lip and Carol frowned, "I meant to ask you at breakfast - what did you do to your lip Hannah?"

Hannah shrugged, "I must have bit it while I was sleeping."

Ellie pulled on Hannah's shirt, "Hey Hannah, come play with us." She pointed to Jacob who was standing by the fireplace, waiting patiently.

Hannah hesitated, playing with the kids would be a good distraction but as silly as it was, she wanted to stay at the window and keep watch for them to return. Keep watch for Rick to return, her inner voice corrected her immediately. She muzzled the voice as Ellie tugged on her shirt again.

"Hannah?"

"Honey, why don't you help Nikki with Selena. You and Jacob can hold her hands and help her walk around." Carol pointed to the far side of the room where Nikki was carefully following a tottering Selena.

"Okay mama." Ellie said agreeably. She waved to Jacob who followed her over to Nikki and Selena. The little boy frowned but took Selena's hand when Ellie prompted him to. The two children began to lead the toddler around the room as Nikki watched.

"I don't think I've told you how happy I am that you're back Hannah." Carol said softly.

Hannah smiled at her, "Thanks Carol. I've missed everyone."

"Everyone missed you too." Carol wrapped her sweater tighter around her thin frame.

"Yeah, I don't think everyone missed me." Hannah said lightly.

Carol glanced at her, "She's not a bad person you know. She's just scared."

"I know." Hannah sighed, "She's not in the wrong here - I am. It's why I left in the first place. I should never have started a relationship with Rick, even if his wife wanted nothing to do with him."

Carol hesitated, "Hannah – Lori wants him back."

"Does she want him back because she loves him or because she doesn't want anyone else to have him?"

"I don't know. I think she's frightened and confused and doesn't know either." Carol admitted.

Hannah shrugged, "I left because I wanted Rick to have the chance to reconcile with his wife without his emotions being clouded by sex with me. If she truly loves him I hope it works out for her. He should be with his family."

Carol reached out and took Hannah's chin, forcing her to look at her. "Hannah, I've seen the way you look at Rick."

Hannah jerked away from her. "So what?" she said harshly, "What does it matter how I look at him? Jesus, I'm so tired of people butting in on my personal life. It's one of the reasons I left in the first place – it's like a goddamn soap opera around here. You don't know anything about me Carol and I'd appreciate it if you kept your opinions on my love life to yourself."

Carol recoiled, her face paling, "Hannah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to –"

"Forget it Carol. Just do me a favour and keep your opinions to yourself okay?" Hannah said sourly.

"Of course – I really am sorry." Carol said apologetically.

Hannah nodded, "Yeah, I know. Excuse me – I think I'll visit with Sara for a while."

Amelia sat down beside Hannah and rested her head on her shoulder. "Hey."

"Hey."

Amelia looked around the room; the group had just finished dinner and with the exception of Allan and David who were on watch, the entire group was milling about the lodge.

"Good God, there's a lot of us now." Amelia said.

"Thanks Captain Obvious." Hannah said sarcastically.

"Shut it!" Amelia laughed. "You've been cranky since we came in from the blind building, what's up with you?"

"There's nothing wrong." Hannah answered. "How did that go by the way?"

"Cold and wet. But we've reinforced the current blind and the other blind just needs a roof over it. Not sure if we'll have enough picnic tables to put the roof over the entire thing though."

"That's good." Hannah said absently. She watched as Nathan spoke with Ethan for a few minutes then quietly slipped out of the lodge as Ethan went into the kitchen.

"Seriously Hannah – are you okay?" Amelia gave her a worried look.

"I'm fine, stop worrying." Hannah replied crossly.

Amelia frowned but didn't push the subject. Rick was standing just a few feet away talking with Daryl and Carl and every few minutes he would glance over at Hannah. If Hannah noticed, she was doing a damn good job of not staring back and Amelia hoped that Rick would learn to conceal his emotions better. If he pursued Hannah again she would leave the camp, Amelia was sure of it. She tucked her arm into Hannah's; maybe she would talk to Rick and ask him to cool it with Hannah.

Hannah grinned a little when she saw Nathan enter the lodge carrying a large shopping bag. Something bulky was tucked inside of it and her smile widened as she watched Ethan and Nathan meet in the corner of the lodge. They huddled together, hiding what they were doing so that when the first strains of music floated through the air, the rest of the group quieted and turned towards the corner where the music was coming from.

"Oh my God." Amelia whispered. "How?"

Hannah grinned, "Mattie found an old boom box at one of the houses we stayed in. He's been lugging it and a mess of CD's around ever since. Whenever we found batteries, we played music. Ethan must have grabbed some of the batteries we use for the flashlights."

Amelia closed her eyes and let the music wash over her. "It's so beautiful." She whispered.

Hannah nodded, "I know." She watched as the others all stood still and listened to the music drifting through the room. As the song ended and another started, this one with a familiar catchy beat, Matthew ran to Nikki. He pulled Selena from her arms and handed her to Hershel before grabbing Nikki's hands and tugging her from the couch.

"What song is this?" Amelia asked; she couldn't stop her feet from tapping on the floor.

"North Side Gal. It was a hit a few years ago." Hannah started to sing as Nathan ran across the room and slid to a stop in front of her.

"You know what I want HB." He winked at her.

She laughed and allowed him to yank her to her feet. He led her to the middle of the large living room and they began to jitterbug. Giggling and panting, Hannah twirled and twisted and popped her hips, trying hard to remember the steps that Nathan had taught her months ago.

"Too fast!" she laughed and with a grin, he grabbed her hand, spun her around and let her go. She spun across the room, stopped dizzily in front of Amelia and pulled her to her feet. "C'mon you!" she pulled Amelia to the dance floor and it wasn't long before most of the group joined them.

Hannah looked around as she danced. Nearly everyone was up and moving to the beat. Sara was sitting on the couch closest to the fireplace but she was tapping her feet and clapping her hands in time to the beat. Not surprisingly, Amelia couldn't convince Daryl to dance with her but he was standing against the wall next to Thomas grinning at her.

Thomas stood silently, a small smile on his lips, watching Nikki as Matthew dipped her then spun her in a circle. She laughed and playfully slapped his butt before dancing away. She took Beth's hands and they danced together before Beth collapsed giggling, on the couch beside Sara.

"Damn boy! You got some moves." T-Dog said admiringly as Glenn, his arm wrapped firmly around Maggie's waist danced by him.

Glenn grinned, "You haven't seen half my dance moves T."

There was a loud squeal of delight behind Hannah and she turned to see Rick, who had taken Selena from Hershel, dancing her around the room. She screeched again as Rick threw her up in the air and caught her gently. As he twirled her in a circle, he caught Hannah's eye and smiled at her. It was the first genuine smile he'd given her since she had returned and she quickly turned away before he could see her answering one.

"Paul honey, don't take this the wrong way but you are a spectacularly bad dancer." Hannah grinned at the Brit as he awkwardly moved across the floor.

"I know right?" He beamed at her and Aaron winced when he tromped on his foot. "Sorry baby!" Paul laughed and planted a kiss on him.

Scott picked up Ellie and danced like a maniac around the room with her. The little girl laughed hysterically as she clung to him before Jacob pulled on his pants leg, "My turn, my turn!" Scott set Ellie down and she ran to Ethan who took her hands, balanced her on his feet and danced around the room as Carol watched.

As song after song played, they danced together, smiling and laughing and switching partners. At one point Hannah found herself dancing with Glenn as Amelia attempted to quick step with T-Dog.

"T, I'm sorry!" Amelia apologized as she stepped on his foot.

"Don't worry about it!" he grinned at her. He gathered her close, "Here, try it again."

"Watch your hands T-Dog." Daryl growled mockingly from his spot against the wall.

"You don't like it, get out here and dance with me." Amelia called to him.

He laughed and shook his head as Nathan and Tonya bumped into the back of Glenn.

"Oops, I'm sorry Glenn!" Tonya's eyes were sparkling and she flushed prettily when Nathan pulled her against him.

The song ended and another started; this one was soft and slow and Hannah smiled at Glenn. "Go dance with Maggie."

Amelia ran across the room and grabbed Daryl's arm. She tugged him away from the wall, "C'mon handsome, even you can sway to some music." She put her arms around his neck and flattened her body against his.

"Dance with me honey." She whispered into his ear. He put his hands on her hips and began to sway back and forth.

One by one they started to pair off; Hannah smiled a little when Matthew gave a small bow to Sara and helped her to her feet. He placed one of her trembling hands on his shoulder and gently held her other before sliding his free hand around her waist. He moved her slowly around the room as Sara smiled softly up at him.

"May I have this dance?" a deep voice said in Hannah's ear and she turned to see Thomas smiling down at her.

She shook her head, "Nope, but –" she grabbed Nikki's hand who was walking by her, "Nikki would love to."

She practically pushed Nikki into Thomas' arms, smiling happily when the young woman put her hand on his shoulder and took his hand in hers.

"Hello Thomas." She whispered shyly and Hannah slipped away.

She caught a glimpse of Lori dancing with Hershel but refused to acknowledge the small thread of relief that went through her. She was just about to the couch when she was tapped on the arm.

"Would you like to dance Hannah?"

She smiled at Carl. "I would love to."

He stood a little straighter and took her hand in his before placing his hand on her waist. She rested her hand on his shoulder and suppressed a grin when he began to take careful steps, his lips silently counting out the beat.

"You're a good dancer Carl."

He smiled at her, "My mom taught me."

"She taught you well."

He steered her carefully across the room; Amelia winked at her over Daryl's shoulder before closing her eyes and burying her face in his neck.

"I'm glad you're back Hannah." Carl said suddenly. He turned her in a slow circle as they danced in front of the fireplace.

"Thanks Carl. I'm happy to see everyone again."

He studied her in the glow of the fire. "Your hair looks real pretty." He blushed fiercely.

She gave him a gentle smile, "Thank you honey."

He nodded, his face red, and looked away. Hannah glanced around the room. Rick, holding a now-sleeping Selena in his arms was leaning against the wall watching her dance with Carl. Shadows criss-crossed his face and she wished that she could see his expression.

"On your left." T-Dog whispered to Carl and he moved Hannah out of the way as T-Dog and Melissa moved past them. T-Dog had actually picked the small redhead up and was holding her firmly against him as he danced. As Hannah watched, he kissed her and she mouthed the words "I love you" to him before running her hand affectionately over his head.

The song ended and the room grew quiet. Rick pushed away from the wall, "It's starting to get dark guys." He said regretfully.

"Thank you for the dance Carl." Hannah said to the young boy. He tipped his hat to her and moved to Lori who gave Hershel a warm hug before putting her arm around Carl's shoulders and squeezing affectionately.

Nikki took Selena from Rick, murmuring a soft thanks as the baby snorted sleepily and curled into her mother. "I'll walk you and Selena to your cabin." Thomas said. He held out his arm and Nikki put her hand in the crook of his elbow with another shy smile.

Lori and Carl stood in front of Rick, "Would you walk us to our cabin?" Lori smiled at Rick who nodded. Hannah ignored the pang of jealousy that went through her and joined Amelia and Daryl as they walked towards the front door.

In small pairs and groups they left the main lodge, talking quietly among themselves.

"Good night Hannah." Amelia squeezed her hand. She and Daryl headed to their cabin as Hannah closed the shutters to her own and entered her cabin. She sighed softly and leaned against the closed door for a moment before heading to bed.