Shane sat on the couch and read one of the survival guides that they had found. It had been two days since their water fight. Lilli rested her back against his side as she stretched her body across the couch, completely filling it up.
They were in the lounge which had changed since Shane had first gotten to the inn. In the four and a half weeks they had changed the front and dining room, taking out the windows and putting in drywall instead. The two glass front doors had been replaced by wooden double doors. It gave everyone a better sense of security that there was more than glass protecting them from being seen by the undead.
Lilli was pretending to read and he knew it. She hadn't moved any of the pages since she sat down next to him.
Shane moved and caught her as she fell back. She let out a shriek in surprise and looked up at him. "What's wrong?" he asked
"Why is something wrong?" she asked him.
"You've been stuck on the same page for an hour," he replied.
Lilli sighed and pushed herself up. "It's nothing," she told him.
He forced her to look at him. "I've been completely honest with you," he told her. It was true. He had first told her about his relationship with Lori. And then she was present when he and Lori told Rick. She was there for moral support which he needed. He hated himself for the hurt that was on his friend's face, but at the same time both he and Lori thought Rick was dead.
Lilli let out another sigh then smiled at him. "Okay," she said as she sat up. "I was just thinking. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I mean, I guess it used to be a big deal, but now…" She paused. "We are safe but at the same time."
"You're rambling," Shane said softly.
Lilli chuckled. "Yeah. Okay so today… Sara," she said as she spotted the little girl behind Shane.
"Lilli?" Sara shyly asked as she made her way over to them.
Lilli smiled and placed her feet on the ground. "Aren't you supposed to be studying?" she teased.
Sara nodded her head. "I decided not to today," she stated.
Shane laughed, shaking his head. "Hard to skip school when there is nowhere else to go," he said.
Lilli jabbed his side, but laughed with him. "You don't have to study today if you don't want to," Lilli said.
"Like hell she doesn't," Georgia's voice caught them all off guard. The older woman stood at the end of the lounge where the two hallways were at. She had her hands on her hips and looked furious.
Sara rushed over to Lilli as the young woman stood up. Shane quickly stood up as well. He didn't know why Georgia was pissed, but he was going to make sure that things didn't get out of hand.
"Georgia," he started then stopped when the woman glared at him.
"If she doesn't want to study today then she's not going to," Lilli stated matter-of-factly.
"Are you purposefully trying to make her stupid?" the older woman snapped back.
"I don't need to learn about no dumb Johnny Appleseed," Sara quipped.
Lilli gave her a quick glance before crossing her arms and widening her stance. It was clear that she wasn't going to let Georgia get her way. "She doesn't want to learn today," Lilli stated.
"You are teaching her bad manners!" Georgia snarled. "That little girl needs to learn respect. She openly defied my authority in class, interrupting what I'm trying to teach. The children need to learn about our history. Someday this…" she waved her hands over her head. "Mess will be all gone. And…"
"Don't be stupid," Lilli interrupted. "Just because she chooses one day to not learn won't make her a dummy. You're not her mother or her boss."
"And who are you?" Georgia challenged. "You just found her and are taking care of her. You don't really care about her. She's only a convenience for you. If you really cared for her then you would stay here and be safe. Not hare off on dangerous adventures and nearly get yourself killed. Who will take care of her when you die? Me!"
"Calm down," Shane said as he went in-between the two women. "I think we should take this…"
Sara shook her head. "She ain't gonna die. And my daddy will be here soon to take care of me," she snapped. "He will find me. Lilli has been leaving messages for him to find us. Haven't you?" She looked up at Lilli who looked down at her.
"Of course I have," Lilli said.
Georgia snorted. "He won't come," she said.
"He will!" Sara said stubbornly. "My daddy always keeps his promises. He promised that he would find me. And Lilli promised to leave him signs. He may be slow but he will come."
Georgia's eyes narrowed. "He won't come!" she said firmly.
"You know nothing," Lilli said as she turned her back on the woman and ushered Sara toward the dining room. It was clear that she was done with the conversation.
"He won't come because he is dead!" Georgia's voice seemed to echo through the entire inn.
Rick and Lori had just stepped out of the dining room and looked at Georgia in surprise. Lilli stopped mid-step then slowly turned and looked at the woman.
"What did you say?" she asked in a deadly voice.
"You're keeping this child's hope up for seeing her father. When you and I both know that he was infect." Georgia looked triumphant in her statement. "I followed you into that building. I hid and watched as you took the little girl out. I thought something was wrong with you. You were so worried before then and suddenly you were happy. You and Sara were practically skipping down the street. I went into the room he was in. I saw him lying there. I saw the wound on his forearm. I knew he had been bit. He saw me. I shot him before he could say anything. Even if I hadn't shot him in the head he would have been undead. I'm sorry Sara, but he would never have come back for you."
No one moved even when she finished talking. Shane couldn't help but stare at her in surprise. Without warning Lilli shrieked and flew at Georgia. Shane couldn't stop her as she slammed Georgia into the wall and punched her.
"Murderer!" Lilli screamed as she punched her again.
Georgia screamed in pain and tried to fight back but she couldn't.
Shane grabbed Lilli, but her strength was incredible. The rush of adrenaline made her stronger than he had expected. Rick ran to help him and then Daryl. The three men were having a hard time keeping Lilli off of Georgia.
"You fucking idiot!" Lilli shrieked as she pulled, slashed and kicked at the air.
Shane couldn't believe her strength. He didn't want to hurt her, but he was afraid someone would break her arm or arms. She was fighting so hard against them. But it was clear that she was ready to murder Georgia with her bare hands. They couldn't afford to let her go.
Lori ran over to Georgia as did Lucy.
"You don't know what you did!" Lilli shrieked. She pushed herself back and the men released her. The three men stood between the two women and watched Lilli. She started to pace as she put one hand through her hair. She mumbled words to herself, shaking her head.
"I want her arrested!" Georgia yelled. Her nose had been broken, and her face was already swelling up. It was clear that her face was going to be a swollen black and blue mess for a long while.
"And detained where?" Shane snapped. "From where I'm standing you deserve it."
"Shane!" Rick hissed.
"He was still alive!" Lilli hissed. "He may have been bit and it may have turned him, but when you shot him he was still alive. He didn't get to ask you to. You just did it because."
Georgia allowed Lucy to help her stand. "I saved who knows how many people from him," she spat back.
The front door was thrown open. "Sara!" Lilli called out as the little girl ran outside. Lilli quickly followed after her with the three men hot on her heels. Lilli grabbed the girl and collapsed into the middle of the parking lot.
"Let me go!" Sara screamed as she struggled.
Lilli wrapped her arms around the girl's body and forced her to the ground. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"He promised," Sara shouted. "He promised he would come. It's not fair. It's his birthday today!" She buried her head in Lilli's chest and broke down.
Lilli held her and ran her fingers through the little girl's hair. Shane didn't bother looking at the other men as he walked over to the two and sat down next to them. He didn't say a word and neither spoke or looked at him.
Rick and Daryl quietly went back into the inn.
Shane's eyes narrowed when he spotted her knuckles. They were bloody from the pounding she gave Georgia and there were scratches on her neck and face. "I'll be right back," he whispered as he went back inside to get the first aid kit.
"We can't have that happening again." Shane heard Lori saying as soon as he entered. Everyone but Georgia and Lucy huddled in the lobby.
"What are we going to do, Lori?" Shane snapped. "Arrest her and put her in jail? Isolate her from everyone else? Fuck, what if we have to leave in a hurry?"
"Old bitch deserved it," Daryl stated as he shrugged. "She ain't dead. She'll live and it ain't like she's an important member of our group. She does nothin' for us."
"Christ," Rick said, shaking his head. "We can't look at people that way. We can't look at people like they're objects. We're all a family here. I understand that that's never happened with her before. But…"
"That aggression caught us all off-guard," Lori said. "What if she snapped on one of the kids?"
Shane glared at the two. "It's been a month since we've been with the four. She's done everything she could to be of use to us. And now you're questionin' her?" He shook with anger. "Yeah, she lost her temper. That old bitch just told a little girl that she killed her father. Don't know if you notice, but the two are extremely close. Yeah, Lilli doesn't act like a conventional mother, but that don't mean that she don't care. She loves that little girl as if she were family."
Rick nodded. "But she nearly murdered a woman."
"A woman who didn't know her place. What if that had been one of you?" Shane hissed. "What if she had told you, Lori, or you, Rick, in front of Carl that she killed one of you? Even if you were bitten, and kept that a secret all this time."
Lori shook her head. "I would never have lied and said that he would be coming back," she pointed out. "If Rick had been bitten I wouldn't have allowed Carl to carry the false hope that he was still alive. When I thought Rick was dead I told Carl that he was."
Shane looked at everyone. He realized that no one was on Lilli's side. He didn't bother replying as he turned and walked back outside.
The two had moved from sitting in the middle of the parking lot to leaning against the RV. Sara was on the ground and hugged Lilli fiercely. He went into the RV and got the spare first aid kit before sitting down next to her. Gently, he took her free hand and started to clean it.
"I would have killed her," Lilli finally said.
"Old bitch deserved it," Shane replied, not looking at her.
She shook her head.
"But she does!" Sara mumbled.
Lilli shook her head again. "What's going to happen, Shane?" she asked.
"They can't do anything to you," Sara said firmly. "If you leave then so do I."
Shane looked at Lilli then shook his head. "I don't know," he whispered. He was afraid. He couldn't lose her. Not now. Whatever happened next nothing would be the same. If she left then he would leave with her. But if she stayed there was no telling how the others would act around her. "Whatever happens," he finally said. "I will be by your side."
Lilli squeezed his hand, but didn't look at him. She kept a frown on her face as she thought.
Alexander sat at his desk and stared at the picture of his family. He was an older man in his sixties. His hair was brown and peppered with grey strands of hair. From everything that had happened it was a wonder that his hair wasn't completely grey. Numbly he picked up the picture frame and drew it closer to him.
Three children stood around him; a girl to his right and a boy and a girl to his left. The girl to his right wore a wedding dress. There was a true smile coming from all their faces. The girls had been so happy when their brother showed up for the wedding. It was the last photo that Alex had been able to have taken of the four of them together.
Alex shook his head. He couldn't believe that in the five years after the picture had been taken there was nothing new of the four of them together. It was always someone who wasn't able to make it to the special occasions.
He sighed as the clock struck six. He opened one of his desk drawers and produced a single box.
"I know it's a bit late," he said to the picture as he set down the wrapped box. "But I had a busy day today. So…" A sharp knock distracted him. He glared at the person who rudely entered the room. "Dr. Conner," he said, recognizing one of the members of his team.
The woman was younger than him by ten years, but she looked to be about his age because of the stress. Her eyes were wide with horror as she tentatively walked toward him. In her hands was a folder.
His eyes narrowed as she gave it to him.
"The results from Dr. Moreson's daughter," she whispered. "We found out who bite her."
They had found the little undead girl only two days before. It had been a month since Dr. Moreson had gone missing as well as them losing communication with Fort Benning. But during that time Alex and his group had been dealing with a completely different matter. Finally, he had been able to send a group out to see what had happened to Dr. Moreson as well as Fort Benning.
Of course, he was realistic in his views of hearing any good news. They had found the little undead girl in the crashed chopper. She was partly burnt, and her lower jaw and upper teeth had been taken out by the soldiers. It prevented her from biting them. Luck was on his side that her bite wound that turned her wasn't harmed. She was different from the other walkers, not only because of her orange eyes.
The soldiers had reported that she made it very difficult for them to take off her jaw and teeth. There was almost intelligence, but the sight of uncovered skin had been her undoing. Now she was in the hands of one of Alex's top scientists. The virus that coursed through her body was not pure, but it was the closest that they had. He knew that they wouldn't get a cure from her, but he couldn't help but be there as they examined her.
Alex grabbed the folder from Dr. Conner's hand and opened it. "Impossible," he whispered as he collapsed onto his chair.
"I'm afraid it's true," she responded. "We ran the test three times."
Alex rubbed his face before he looked back at the paper. "Get out," he said in a soft but deadly voice.
"It's possible that she's in Atlanta still. We need to send a team out there too…"
"I said get the fuck out!" Alex yelled as he slammed his fists on his desk.
She back up in surprise then hesitated before she left.
Alex fell back on his chair. His eyes no longer registered the paper as tears ran down his cheek. He had been so sure so sure that his children were all safe, and that they weren't part of the undead. He had prepared them for a world like this. His hand reached out and he touched the woman in the wedding dress.
"My Jessi," he whispered as he choked on his emotions. "My poor little Jessica."
A/N: Wow, so this chapter was a bit intense to write, but that scene was always in mind. In fact, major scenes in the next three chapters were all creature before the first chapter. And the new draft that I was going to post somehow got overwritten by the old draft. So I had to rewrite a lot of this *sigh*. Hope you continue to enjoy. Thanks for reviews/favs/alerts.
Shippolove844 - I haven't really liked any of the ladies in the show. At first I didn't really like Lori, but she's sort of redeemed herself the last episode. Never really cared for Andrea. I do like Maggie though. I like that she's pretty outspoken and especially when she told Lori off.