Okay so I know I said somewhere before that this wouldn't be a fluffy story, but there's some fluff in here. It's not outlandish or anything, I just think that before shit starts to hit the fan again that there should be some fluff. I think it will kind of help further their relationship as well.

11/16/16 - edits

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I had never had the privilege of being in a morgue before that night. Privilege is probably the worst fucking description I could use for what it felt like being in there. I don't know how else to explain how miserable it was. Hansen and I sat in the waiting room area while Shane was in the back with Paul. We were both covered in blood. Tiffany died. The men who attacked them were dead and they both had the virus. The light in Hansen's eyes was gone. He was hunched over, his elbows resting on his knees, his eyes staring straight ahead at something I couldn't see. I jumped when Tim barged through the front door of Paul's cramped office, his face more serious than I had ever seen it. He was wearing a sweat suit that I was assuming he had just thrown on before leaving the house. It was almost midnight. "Where the fuck are they?" he yelled at me, looking down the open door that lead to the morgue. Paul assured all of us that this was a typical stage in the way the disease worked, that Tiffany was legally dead at the moment until she 'reanimated' as the sick version of herself. It was all really fucked up. Reanimated? Dead? He promised us he would explain it later in better detail, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know how it worked. It was hard enough to watch.

"In the back," I muttered. I couldn't handle seeing their bodies. It was too fucking much. Shane appeared in the doorway where Tim was staring and waved him to the back. We made brief eye contact and he disappeared again. It was quiet for a moment before Tim started shouting again. I swallowed and rubbed my hands down my legs, unsure of what to do. Hansen glanced over in my direction and sighed. "I can drive you home if you want. We don't need to sit out here and listen to that." Tim shouted again and there was a crash. I scrambled to stand up and listened to the familiar growling come from the back room. At this point I was running down the short hallway to the large room where Shane, Tim, and Paul stood, watching Tiffany, who was supposed to be dead, struggle to rise up from the gurney she was strapped to. Paul said this would happen, but to actually see it? There were no words to describe it. I swallowed hard, the spit getting stuck in my throat. She started to make a sickening chomping sound with her teeth, her eyes darting between the four of us. I grabbed Shane's hand and squeezed. Paul took a step closer to her and Tim shouted at him.

"Don't be fuckin' stupid," Shane quipped as Paul took another step towards her. Paul had warned us how it was spread. By being bitten or scratched by someone who was infected. Like a sophisticated form of rabies. Tiffany's arms flailed out in his direction. He spoke calmly to her, his palms facing her. She continued to chomp at him, the audible snap of her teeth clanking together filled the entire room. Tim yelled out another order for Paul to stop. Shane's grip on my hand tightened. I wanted to look up to him for security, but couldn't take my eyes away from Tiffany. Anxiety wrecked my nerves, I reached down for my gun and before I could wrap my fingers around it, there was a loud bang and Tiffany went silent. Hansen stood in the doorway behind us, his gun raised, the blank expression still on his face. He lowered his gun, a broken sob escaping his mouth as he holstered his gun.

"That illness is spreading, isn't it?" Hansen asked, borderline hysterical. He was crying, fumbling to snap the holster closed around his gun. "That shit followed me here."

"Hey, now, this wasn't your doin'," Shane spoke, taking a step towards Hansen. "Ain't nothin' that done this but that illness. You didn't do shit." Hansen shook his head and rubbed his face, grimacing as he looked at Tiffany's body.

"I can't stay here," he muttered, turning on his heel to stalk out of the morgue. Shane turned to follow him and I stayed with Paul and Tim, the three of us not daring to look at each other. I had no idea what to say. It was one thing to have an isolated incident, but to have two guys attack at once... I think we all knew it was a lot more serious than the Governor was trying to let on. Hansen came back to work to try and help us out and just after settling back into patrols, he had to shoot his partner. I couldn't even imagine having to shoot Casey or Shane in the head. I would cut my own fucking arm off first. There was no way to fix this. No words were going to make this okay. Tiffany didn't have a family that I knew of, but it didn't matter. Someone needed to know. Someone had to tell someone. I folded my arms across my chest and tried to focus. There was still the matter of the security of the town, that was more important right now. If this didn't get handled there would be even more deaths and even more people that needed to hear bad news and I didn't need that...

"What do you want to do, Tim?" I asked, finally bringing myself to look at him.

"Curfew. We're gonna start a curfew tomorrow. Nobody on the streets after 6pm except for officers. All stores that are open for 24 hours will be closed. We're puttin' this city on lock down. If we can't get any answers, we're gonna go off the grid," Tim answered.

"What about Linden County?"

"What about them?" he scoffed.

"Have they had any of this?" I asked, gesturing to Tiffany and the two body bags on tables beside her.

"I don't fuckin' care. An' I don't want to know. We have this town to protect. As of right now all officers are active duty. I don't care if they don't even know what proper protocols are. We're passed that now." I nodded and moved to help Paul cover up Tiffany's body with a clean white sheet that I knew didn't have a snowball's chance in hell in staying that white. The second it touched her wounds, the blood seeped into the cloth. Tim ran his hands through his hair and shook his head. "No one leaves or comes into this city without my approval."

"That's about impossible to control, Tim. We don't have enough people to post at every street that leads into town," I spoke after a moment. It was awkward to be doing my job without my utility belt. I went to place my hands there and felt a strange sense of anxiety when my hands met my hips instead. It took me a second to remember that I was in street clothes still. Tim's face screwed up as we made eye contact. I really didn't want to argue, but I knew that his plan wasn't feasible, even if we had everyone in the precinct out doing what he wanted. There were too many streets and too many ways for people to still get into town.

"I want a blockade coming in off the highway and one on the route from Linden County. I want everyone inspected and approved by me, a list of who comes in and leaves." I ran a hand down my face, already knowing what the stress of the next week was going to bring. It was going to be hell. There were going to be so many questions from everyone about what was going on. Chaos. Just complete and utter fucking chaos. Terry was going to have to wait on the roof work for another few days. There wouldn't be enough time to jam it into my schedule. "I'll call you and Shane in the mornin'. I'm goin' the fuck back to bed," he snapped, turning on his heel to leave. I followed him outside through the morgue to the short stretch of sidewalk where Shane and Hansen side by side, elbows resting on their knees. It was still raining like mad, but the small awning in front of the building was able to stave off most of the rain on the sidewalk.

"He said he'd call us in the morning," Jennifer spoke as she plopped down beside Shane. He gave her a short, tight lipped smile when he felt her snuggle into his side a little closer. Unable to resist, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Hansen pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it up instantly. "I didn't know you smoked," she stated, peering past Shane to look at him.

"I don't," he replied, sucking in as much of it as he could at once. "I just started," he coughed, smoking billowing out of his mouth. Jennifer knew all too much about resorting to unusual habits during grief. She couldn't even imagine having Shane die in front of her. Hansen coughed through another inhale of his cigarette, keeping his head low. "This fucking year sucks," he mumbled, staring at the bright orange tip of his new coping device.

"It's been pretty fucked up," Shane agreed. He was ready to do whatever the universe wanted him to in order for it to stop. He wanted it to just wait. He had just gotten Jennifer. Was it so wrong for him to want time to spend with her? After all it had taken him just to get through to her, it seemed like it was one disaster after another. Jennifer laid her head on his shoulder and watched the rain pick up again, thunder rumbled in the distance. So much for their night off, spending it on the porch watching the storm with a glass of whiskey. They had it all planned out and now, they were spending it with Hansen in front of the morgue.

"Do you guys mind taking over on calls tonight? I just don't think I can do it," said Hansen, looking over at him and Jennifer. Shane nodded to him, clapping him on the shoulder once with his free hand. Hansen smirked and looked at the couple beside him. "It's about fucking time you two got your heads out of your asses. May I be the first one to say that?" Hansen teased, releasing a steady stream of smoke from his mouth. "Tiffany and I both knew it was bound to happen at some point. Just a matter of time." Jennifer narrowed her eyes at him, giving him the look he expected when he said something she didn't like. "Both of you were so damn miserable. You don't look like that anymore." Jennifer exhaled and relaxed herself against Shane again, reveling in how it felt to feel safe and protected… cared for. She wasn't familiar with how any of it.

"What does Tim want us to do?" Shane asked, resting his chin against the top of her head.

"He wants everyone in the precinct to be put into action. Everyone is going to patrol or have some other kind of job. He wants people at certain areas to monitor who is coming into town." She felt and heard him sigh. "I told him it wasn't doable, but he thinks it is."

"I don't know who the fuck he thinks we are," Shane muttered. Rick would stand up for them if he was awake. He wouldn't let Tim stretch out their resources like that. He wouldn't let his fellow officers suffer. "Some people in that office have never even held a fuckin' gun."

"I'll help you teach them tomorrow. Everyone is gonna know basic safety tips and how to fire before they're let loose on the street," Hansen added.

"It's nice to have you back, Hansen," Shane told him, sincere. It had been a rough couple of weeks and to have someone else in his corner was nice. It was nice to have someone to rely on with Rick gone. He didn't realize how much he truly depended on Rick until he wasn't able to do it anymore. Jennifer had been a nice replacement and now with Casey gone, he suspected she would need him even more than she had previously. And for the first time, he realized, he didn't actually mind feeling like someone needed him.

"It's fucking nice to be back." He snubbed his cigarette out on the sidewalk and smoothed the front of his uniform down. "I should get home to Becky. It was already all I could do to convince her to stay home alone tonight." Hansen was glad she hadn't been in the car when the attack happened. There was no telling what kind of shape she would be in after seeing that. Borderline mute is the most he could imagine. Not that she was far off from that now. He stood up and waved a hand at both of them before climbing in to the extra squad car Jennifer had picked up for him to drive home. The couple gave him a nod to bid their farewell to him. Shane kissed the top of her head as Hansen drove off, kicking up rain as he went.

"You wanna go home?" Shane asked, rubbing his hand down her back.

"It's kind of nice watching the rain," she admitted with a smile. "I've been waiting for it to storm."

"Yeah, ya have," he laughed, attempting to pull her even closer.

"Shane…" thoughts of what they had witnessed seemed to keep coming up, not allowing her to think of much else. It was a lot to take in. Tiffany was gone. There had been another attack. Casey wasn't there. What if something had happened to her and Shane was left to deal with it? He would have no one around to help him through it with Rick in the state he was in. She bit down on her lip and sat up, wanting to look Shane in the face. "If that happens to me, promise me you won't be sad."

"What're ya talkin' about?" he asked, pushing stray hair away from her face.

"If I die…" she paused. "Promise me you won't be sad."

"Why are you talkin' like this, Jen?"

"Hansen and Tiffany. I just. I just want to make sure you won't be sad."

"Jen, I don't know how I couldn't be sad."

"Whiskey," she told him with a smile and a short laugh. "Whiskey will help."

"I don't know if you can ask me not to be sad about that."

"Why?"

"Are you fuckin' kiddin' me right now?" he asked, seriousness starting to set into his expression, chasing the trails of grief that still remained. "What do ya mean, why?"

"Why would be so hard for you to not be sad?"

"You're my fuckin' partner, Jen. We've been through a lot together. We've done other things too, ya know? I mean, the list is pretty damn long, wouldn't you say so?" She felt guilt, it was a stupid question to ask, and the timing was just fucked. Their bodies were so close, she could feel his heat. The way he was talking to her… the smell of wood on his breath, she sighed and kissed him, unable to stop herself. He softened the minute their lips met. Pulling her to his chest, he kissed her back, taking her breath with the movement. His mouth parted and hers followed shortly after, the taste of him made her groan in frustration. She pulled back. "How could I not be sad?" he spoke, softly, her mouth just inches from his. His eyes searched hers for the answer, wanting to know how he was supposed to feel if she was gone. He wasn't sure if he could handle it so soon. There was still so much he wanted to do with her. He wanted her to meet his Grandma, he wanted to make her happy, he wanted her to know that he was stuck on her… Jennifer swallowed hard. He didn't know of a time when he wanted a woman to do those things with him.

"What did you say?" she replied.

"How could I not be sad?" he repeated, pushing imaginary hair from the side of her face. "Jen, I would be an absolute mess." She smiled, reaching up to run her hand through his thick, dark hair. No one had said anything to her in the ways he did. Maybe it was the rain or the way his hand seemed to melt through her clothes and seer her skin with his touch… but her soul felt free, actual happiness filling her bones with a warm gooey feeling. Resting her head against his shoulder, she wrapped her arms around his chest. Shane followed her motions, wrapping her in the same fashion, satisfied with the feeling of her weight flush against him. They sat in that position for a while, listening to the sounds of the rain hitting the concrete.

"We should get back home before Terry throws our food into the refrigerator. I don't like reheated meat," she whispered, her nose crunching up at her ending statement. He kissed the top of her head again before she rose up from his lap. Jennifer stretched, her hoodie raising up just enough to pull her shirt free from her skin. Biting down on his lip Shane rubbed the soft bit of skin there, sending an involuntary laugh from Jennifer's lips. Laughing she slapped his hand, jumping back of shock.

"I didn't know that you were ticklish here," he spoke through a grin, raising his hand to touch her again.

"Yes," she quipped, batting his hand away. "Extremely! Do! Not!" she warned, pointing at him as his eyebrow raised, hand still outstretched to touch her again.

"Aw, Jen," he pouted, pulling his hand back for a moment.

"Walsh! I will hurt you!" she screeched as he rose from his position. He laughed, chasing her to the back end of the concrete still beneath the awning. "Shane!" she whined, inches away from the rain at her back.

"What?" he teased, his face boyish and innocent.

"I don't like that look!" she whined. "It looks exactly like the kind of – " she screamed when he lunged for her, her legs carrying her out in the rain, away from Shane's searching hands. He chased her to the cruiser, her hands fumbling with the handle of the door as he snuck up behind her. She screeched again through a laugh, her hands slipping as she tried to jerk the door open again. He landed with a thud behind her, his hands on the car of the door on either side of her. Her hands wrapped around his waist as she turned, her face nuzzling the side of his jaw. Jennifer placed a kiss there and Shane sighed, unable to resist the urge to touch her any longer, he released one hand from the car, splaying the other one across her back to hold her in place. She kissed her way to his mouth, an involuntary sigh escaping when her lips met his.

"Exactly like the kinda what?" he whispered when she pulled away, shifting her weight so that he would release her just a little.

"What?" she whispered back.

"Ya didn't finish what you were yellin' about," he teased through a smirk.

"Oh, you look exactly like trouble," she murmured, blushing.

"Do I?" She bit down on her lip and nodded. She had never been more sure about it. Shane Walsh was definitely trouble. The kind of trouble you could see screaming down the street with sirens and lights so bright you could see them through your eyelids. The truck running straight for Jennifer had Shane's face on the hood, the driver had his head out of the window, screaming that the truck wasn't stopping and Jennifer made no attempt to get out of its way. She let it stay on its course, threatening to knock her straight on her ass. There would be no turning away now, she knew it.

"Yes." He smirked and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. He unlocked the car for her and helped opened the door. She slipped into the car, completely soaked from standing out in the rain. Shane fell into the seat next to her and started the engine. He drove them back to Terry's unable to hide the smirk on his face.

"What the hell is goin' on?!" Deputy Lawson yelled from the back of the precinct office. "This is bullshit! I don't wanna be on the street with fuckin' Jim Houston in accountin' knowin' that fuck ain't used a gun damn near ever!" The seasoned officers were not comfortable with knowing their fellow office workers were going to be on the streets with them for a long list of reasons. Shane stood in front of them with Tim and Jennifer. Jennifer held her hands on her utility belt, her face stern. Tim shook his head and thought about the flask in his suit jacket, wondering how inappropriate it would be to drink in front of everyone. Surely they had all seen worse?

"This is not negotiable!" Tim shouted at the crowded room of deputies and office workers. "This is serious! Somethin' is goin' on around the world, people! It's threatenin' us! Breathin' right down on our fuckin' necks! We gotta stop this now!"

"What the hell are you talking about!?" another voice chimed in. Shane cast a glare to where he thought the voice came from. Jennifer continued to scan the group, staring down Hansen in the corner who was slumped over a desk with his aviators on, cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"This virus that they keep talkin' about on the news!" Tim yelled, holding his hands up to calm the round of random of shouting and chatter that ignited among the entire group. "I need y'all to shut your fuckin' mouths for a minute so I can please!" he yelled. The chatter continued and he stared among his officers, just as frustrated by the entire situation. If he had his way there wouldn't be any damn virus. There would be an actual Mayor that would do his goddamn job. "I can tell y'all if ya shut up!" His yelling ran through the group in a wave, sweeping silence across the room. "That illness on the news is hittin' at home, folks. It's serious. That's why I called this meetin'. Two infected men killed Deputy Mann last night. Deputy Hansen was with her." All eyes shifted to the usually smiling and cheerful Deputy Ryan Hansen, who's face was serious, eyes set on something off in the corner of the room. He yanked his aviators off and blinked, turning to look at the group.

"It's the truth," Hansen spoke, his eyes closing. "What they're talking about is true," he mumbled. "I was on patrol with her last night and we saw it. Two men were reported messing around near the street a few miles outside of town. Tiffany and I went out to inspect and they attacked us. They – fuckin – " he stopped for a moment, his jaw clenching to hold his tears back. "They fucking bit her on the neck." Whispers popped up between some of the officers. Hansen put his aviators back on and inhaled, quick and sharp, hoping to stop the tears. "She went to sleep an about an hour later and then she – " He stopped again and looked over at Jennifer. She made eye contact and gave him a nod, urging him to continue. "She woke up – really sick. She was going to bite the coroner." Tim nodded in his direction this time, turning his direction to some of the deputies standing closest to him.

"We need to act now. We need to put a curfew in place an' start keepin' track of who an' what is comin' into this town. We can't afford not to," Tim spoke. Questions rose in all directions, just an immediate stream of guessing. "I'll address you all tonight at the meetin'. I urge you to bring all of your families an' tell everyone you know," he shouted, waving his hands before stepping out into the hallway that lead to the garage. Jennifer broke away from the group with Shane as a crowd of people ascended on Hansen to ask him questions. Shane sighed and turned, keeping a watchful eye on anyone who threatened to come after Tim. Jennifer turned to watch as well, her shoulder in the way of Tim's path.

"We need to make a plan for what to do when shit gets out of control," Jennifer spoke, not looking at him.

"Not right now," Tim insisted, shaking his head.

"We need to think about it," she hissed.

"We need to think about how to get through this week, princess. One week at a time," he barked, pushing past her shoulder. Her eyes snapped over as he walked out the door, heading for his car. Jennifer stood in the doorway with Shane at her back, watching as he started his engine and pulled out of the garage.

"What are we supposed to do?" she asked, turning to look at her partner.

"We'll make a plan," he promised, raising her jaw to meet his face fully. "We will make it together without Tim."

"Shane – " he rubbed a thumb across the lower part of her chin and shook his head.

"Tim doesn't know what some of these men would do for me, regardless of his orders." She bit down on her lip and nodded, adjusting the belt around her hips.

"We need to get ready for safety class," she insisted, breaking her gaze to look down the hall behind Shane. The seasoned officers were to teach small groups of 5 at a time while Jennifer and Shane showed them how to fire their weapons in the gun range attached to the precinct. They were to teach them basic aiming techniques and stance. It was a lot more work than either one was expecting. Most of the people in the office had no idea that there was a certain way to stand when firing and that no, most guns are not fired while holding it sideways like in the movies. They spent the day doing this before assigning groups to the different patrol schedules and routes that they were to take. The first curfew was going to start that night and they were to make sure everyone was at the town hall meeting that Tim had scheduled. There was too much shit to do and not enough time...

The town hall meeting went terribly wrong. A lot of the people that showed up became panicked at the news and a small group left immediately after Tim told them what was happening. Jennifer hung her head as she listened to the panicked tones in the voices around her. The officers were standing in front of that stage that Tim was standing on, acting as a blockade against the crowd in case they got out of control. Shane was at her side, his hand wrapped firmly in hers, his eyes scanning the crowd, face serious, jaw set. Tim continued to speak and after a few hours passed, he called the meeting to a close. The officers escorted people from the hall, leaving Shane and Jennifer in the middle of the floor alone. He turned to look at her as Tim walked over to them.

"Well, that fuckin' sucked," Tim growled, shifting his weight as he stood before them.

"You think people are going to leave?" Jennifer asked.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. He was sure at least a small population would.

"What are we going to do if it gets worse?"

"I don't know," he repeated in a sadder tone.