Author's Note:
Hey guys! Another chapter is finished! YAY! This chapter in particular was very much a collaboration piece. Dino-SOAR and I really went back and forth on this one trying to make it work. For some odd reason, this chapter just didn't seem to want to be born. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy and please don't hesitate to tell us what you think. The more you guys review, the happier we are to write more so keep 'em comin'!
Nostrils and Toe Hairs,
herUSMCdream & Dino-SOAR
Victoria POV -
"Fuck Shane and his stupid fuckin' ideas where I only get four hours of sleep," I mumble to myself, as I stomp up the old painted black, metal stairs leading to the rooftop, so I can take my rightful position next to Daryl.
"Hey," I mumble to him as I finally reach the top of the stairs, leading to the top of the building. He turns to face me and groans out his response, awkwardly shifting in his spot near the edge of the roof when he notices that it's me. I walk over to him slowly, plopping my ass down to the right of him and for once I'm actually happy that my partner could care less whether or not I feel like talking.
I inhale deeply and look up at the sky to see there are billions of stars that can be seen, the moon huge and bright, making it easier to see what's around us. To the left of the beat down motel is a forest that spans most of the highway, with only a couple of areas of large acreage that is completely open. To the right of the motel is a strip of rundown buildings, and a small gas station that only holds two pumps. We'd all definitely have to go there sometime before we leave if we're going to make it to Fort Benning without having to make any extra pit stops.
"Nice night, don't yah' think?" I eventually ask Daryl, trying to make some conversation so that I didn't end up falling asleep.
The only answer I receive is another grunt.
"Man of few words, eh? No wonder Hayley is interested in you. She must like the whole mysterious thing you have going on." I say, playfully wagging my eyebrows up and down when he looks over at me from the corner of his eyes, his face turning a slight pink-ish color. How fuckin' cute. Big, bad, redneck might also have an interest in the midget. Well, well, well, this could be very interesting.
"You know, Hayley isn't all that bad once you get to know her. She has her weird quirks, awkward moments, and obnoxious personality at times but she really does mean well." I continue when he awkwardly shifts again, and grin because of his reaction. "She's also really pretty. Her last boyfriend was a dick though. You better treat her right or I'll chop your balls off."
"I ain't interested in anybody." He finally says gruffly, turning to glare at me.
"Just remember what I said," I reply, smiling at him.
He doesn't say anything after that, and turns his attention to the dark woods. I sigh, giving up on trying to give him a hard time about my best friend and turn my own attention back to the open road and notice a figure walking towards us.
"Walker!" I whisper harshly to Daryl and see him quickly jump to his feet, drawing his crossbow, squinting his eyes at the shapeless silhouette.
"Ain't no walker." He mumbles. "Go back inside." He orders.
"No! I can handle myself." I insist, scrambling up to stand next to him. He glares at me, but says nothing as he starts to descend down the stairs, crossbow wielded.
"I'm gonna' go get the others." I say as we reach the bottom step, running around him as he approaches the man, who is now raising up his arms in surrender.
Who the fuck in their right mind would walk alone at night? Then again, I did want to explore earlier this morning and would've if it weren't for the walkers that decided to overrun our makeshift camp ground.
I run towards Shane, Lori and Carl's room, my fists pounding on the door when I reach it. A bare chested, pissed off Shane opens it, Lori and Carl standing sleepily behind him, and I can tell that he's about to ream me a new one when he sees my face. "What's wrong?"
"There's a person walking towards the motel."
"A person?" He asks, his face showing his disbelief as he grabs a navy blue T-shirt that is hanging off the ratty chair in their room and throws it on.
I roll my eyes at him. "That's what I just said, isn't it? Daryl went to -"
I'm cut off by a loud grunt and spin to see Daryl holding the back of some man's brown police shirt. The man stands about two inches taller than Daryl and has curly brown-ish hair. A sharp gasp comes from behind me when Daryl pushes the man, making him trip into a patch of light, and I whirl around again to see Lori with her hand covering her mouth, a wide-eyed Shane and a slack jawed Carl beside between them.
"Dad!" Carl screams suddenly, running towards the man with his arms reached wide so that he can wrap them around his father's waist when he reaches him.
"Dad?" I ask, my brows furrowing as I look in between Shane and Lori, confused as fuck to what is going on. I thought that Carl was Shane's kid. I turn again to see the man now down on his knees, hugging Carl tightly as he cries, Daryl standing awkwardly behind the pair as they reunite.
"Lori." The tall man says all of a sudden as he lifts his head to look over his son. A sob is heard from behind me and then a blur of a thin body is running past me and into the arms of the man, her own arms going around his neck and hugging him close to her chest.
What the hell is going on?! I look over to Daryl again and see he has the same confused face as I do.
"What's going on?" I hear Hayley ask sleepily, a snort erupting from her nose as she comes out of our room, and turn to my right to see her hair sticking up all over the place as she tries to rub the sleep from her eyes. I look behind her to see that Glenn, Sasha and Tyreese aren't too far behind; clearly they too had heard some of the ruckus and came to make sure everything was okay.
"Carl's dad is here." I whisper to her, as she comes to stand next to me, questioning myself even as I say it to her.
"But I thought –" she begins and then stops; looking towards Shane who has been frozen in the same spot since he first saw the man.
"Yeah, I know," I deadpan.
"Anyone want to explain what's going on?" Sasha asks suddenly.
The man is the one to answer the question, and I watch as he stands to his full height, his arms going around both Carl and Lori. "I'm Rick." He says, letting the arm that is around Lori's shoulders to extend towards her.
I look over to Shane once again, to see that he is now glaring at Rick but smoothes his face into an expressionless mask when he notices I've been staring.
"Ok Rick, that explains absolutely nothing." I sarcastically retort, as Sasha shakes his hand tenderly, a small smile on her face.
"Rick is my dad." Carl interjects, looking up at his father proudly, a huge grin on his face. I watch as Rick looks down at him, tugging him closer to his body as he smiles back at his son.
"And my husband." Lori says, with love in her voice and unshed tears in her eyes. I notice Shane clench and unclench his fists at Lori's added comment, his lips in a thin line as his eyes scan the trio.
"Wait – what?" Hayley asks, sleep still in her voice. "But you and Shane-" She starts but is stopped short by the glare that is thrown her way by Shane. I lightly jab her in the ribs and shake my head back and forth slowly, getting the hint that there is a lot more to the story that we both don't know about. When I turn to look back at Rick, I notice Daryl shooting daggers at Shane from across the way, and I can't help but think that maybe he has more feelings for our little Maltzy than even I realized.
"Tits and hoes all over the place!" Merle shouts, lifting himself up from the bed of the truck as he laughs loudly at himself, before dropping back down to pass back out again. I chuckle lightly, shaking my head at his stupidity.
"How did you survive?" Glenn asks, ignoring Merle, clearly knowing the story behind all this.
"I don't know. A miracle, maybe." Rick says, his voice smooth and the southern drawl is a comforting change. I see a small smile playing on his lips before he leans over and kisses Lori on the cheek, love and devotion written all over his face. I hear a slight growl coming from the left of me and am not surprised to see Shane stepping forward as if he was going to hit Rick before he stops himself and takes a deep inhale, closing his eyes for a moment as if to get himself under control.
"Rick, man, how did you get out of there? There was no way…" Shane trails off, feigning shock as he finally walks towards the man in question and brings what I'm assuming is his old friend, into a tight hug.
"Thank you so much, Shane." He says as they step back from their embrace. "You saved my family, and I will never be able to repay you enough for that." They never seem to break eye contact with each other and I see Shane slightly nod his head at the silent conversation they're having.
"Where did you come from?" Tyreese asks, breaking the silence.
"I got separated from a group I was with." Rick says, wrapping his arm around Lori to draw her close to him as his voice takes on a melancholy edge. "Two of the men got into a fight, and caused a few of the dead to sneak up on us. People died. But others ran, and I've been trying to find them. I got separated in the process. I've been trying to find my way back for a few hours now."
"And instead you found us." Lori says, smiling softly as she wraps both her long arms around his waist.
"It's more than I could have ever hoped for." He returns the smile, rubbing the top of Carl's head. There's a feeling of happiness in the air for a minute or two, a feeling that's welcome after the long few days it's been.
Moments later, the happy reunion is ruined by a loud painful cry that is coming from inside one of the rooms. Jenny's scream, I conclude. Fuck, this can't be good. I watch as Daryl quickly wields his crossbow again, ready, as the rest of us turn our heads towards the outdated door that has the number '08' on it.
"What's happening?" Rick asks, to no one in particular.
"A kid was bit." Shane replies, "He hasn't been doin' so hot lately. We think he'll… pass soon." He says, a sharp edge in his voice as he speaks to Rick, his eyes glazing over Lori and Carl protectively. Jenny's loud heartbreaking sobs can be heard from where I'm standing about twenty feet away and I can tell that some of the people in the group are starting to get nervous. Carol, who I didn't even notice had joined us until now, quickly steers Sophia back into their room, closing the door quietly behind them.
"The noise is going to attract the walkers." I say, looking in the direction of Shane.
"Fuck." He curses, glaring at the door, his jaw clenched and hands balled into tight fists as he decides on what to do next.
"We're gonna have to put him down soon."
"I know!" he shouts at me, his head snapping around so that I am now the one getting his fierce glare. I meet his eyes, not backing down, but slightly startled by his hostility to me stating the obvious. This seems to piss him off more. I watch as he starts to head towards their door, Rick following suit.
"You can't just kill the kid." Rick says, grabbing Shane by the upper arm to stop him from walking further than he already has.
"Rick, I've been taking care of this group long enough and seen enough walkers to know what to do. That kid's been bit, and will turn soon. I won't lose anymore people just because the parent's didn't want to lose their already dead son." He snaps back, clearly stating whose boss while shaking his arm free from Rick's grasp.
"Shane!" Rick replies, but he doesn't stay long enough to listen.
"Morgan! Jenny!" Shane calls out, knocking on the door loudly, so that he can be heard over the sounds that are going on inside the room. "Open up!"
He knocks loudly on it again, when there is no answer, this time adding in a few good kicks for added effect. I am frozen in place as I see Rick walk over to him, standing close behind, as if getting ready to hold him back from doing something stupid, before he holds out one of his hands and places it on Shane's shoulder, the other going to his chest, making Shane stop immediately. Shane's body language changes quickly, clearly not liking how Rick is trying to take control of the situation.
The cries from inside grow louder as Rick squeezes past Shane and opens up the door slowly, peeking his head inside. He steps back a moment later and I see both Shane and Rick's eyes meet before Shane opens the door further.
I gasp loudly at the scene in front of me, a hand finding its way to my mouth. Morgan is desperately attempting CPR on Duane, tears pouring out of his eyes, and onto the bloody boy's body, Jenny on her knees next to them bawling her eyes out as she grips at her chest. I make a move to walk towards them but can't help but freeze in place as I realize I have no clue what I could do to help or even if they would want help.
Shane and Rick quickly walk through the archway and close the door firmly behind, the sounds of grunts and sobs dimming down to background noise once again. I turn to look around through blurry eyes and see Lori is wrapping her arms around Carl's shoulders, whispering comforting words into his ears as small tears fall from his eyes, while Sasha, Tyreese and Glenn are speaking in hushed whispers about what they had just witnessed. When I look over at Hayley, I notice that her eyes are wide and tears are slowly falling down her face. Daryl seems to have found his way next to her, as if to keep a close eye on, but not touching her.
"They have to put him down." I whisper to no one in particular, my eyes closing as tears threaten to fall over the edge. No one hears me. I hear more shouting coming from inside the room, mostly men's voices. The screaming increases, though I can't make out any of the words no matter how hard I try to. I hear something clearly made of glass smashing against one of the walls and not a moment later an echoing gunshot.
Shane storms out of the room, stopping only for a second to look at us all, the door closing quietly behind him. I step forward as if to walk over to him to see if he's alright, but am stopped in my tracks when he storms towards me with determination in his eyes. He's glances at Lori quickly as he storms towards me and I open my mouth to ask him what he's doing when he grabs the back of my head and crushes my mouth to his.
His lips are rough and soft all at once, but I don't have much time to process everything because just as suddenly as he started the kiss, he is breaking it.
I'm frozen in place as he walks away, the only sound that can be heard are footsteps stomping up the stairs and the sobs of Jenny through the door.