Love Quote #38 "You don't need me or anyone else to make you special; you already are."

"You already are…"

It was mid-afternoon and the sky was clear. Shane and Andrea had left their condominium—the Anchorage Tower—for their monthly outing to assess their surroundings, and of course, go on a supply run. They always went out during the day and made sure to return before the sun set. Although they had plenty of supplies in their new home, they still went out once a month. Sometimes the time was spent looking to see if there were other survivors. Other times, it was to find alternate places where they could pillage supplies such as pharmacies and grocery stores. Shane drove down a deserted main street in Baltimore when he suddenly stopped. Andrea was laying on the passenger side with the seat reclined when she sat up.

"Why'd you stop?" She looked around, shocked at where Shane had pulled over or rather into—a strip mall with a boarded up pizzeria, an empty check cashing location, and a clothing boutique that still had clothing on half of the models in their window display.

"Gonna do some shoppin', Drea." Shane's grin was devious. "Don'cha like shoppin'?"

Andrea frowned, uncertain of what direction Shane was going in. "What're you talking about?"

"I thought most women liked hoardin' shoes, handbags, an' clothes."

"Oh."

Andrea slumped in the passenger seat. She hadn't given much thought to clothing shopping (or in this case, going on a supply run for clothing) in a long time. Wearing the same five outfits on rotation since the outbreak seemed to work just fine and she had recently found more clothing that fit her in several of the condo units. She had learned to get by with the minimum.

Shane noticed Andrea's bored expression. "I wanna see you model some clothes." He got out of the Hyundai and watched as Andrea slowly exited on her side. She acted as though she were dragging her feet, not the least bit interested. "Damn, try to look excited!"

A slight smirk escaped from her and he caught it, pointing at her. "Calm down, Shane."

They approached the entrance with their guns drawn, prepared for any stray walkers that might be lingering in the area. So far, the coast was clear.

"Can't wait to see you model a thong—" Shane said, grinning widely.

"Absolutely not!"

"Why not? You act like I never seen your ass—"

Andrea's smile was sardonic. "Keep talking like that and you're gonna model a speedo."

Shane chuckled. "Glad I got you in the mood for this! Jus' you wait an' see—it's gonna be fun."

He banged on the door to see if it would draw out walkers. One lumbered over to the other side of the door—it appeared to be a woman wearing a red summer dress that had rips and holes. Her nametag had blackish mold over it and they were only able to read the first three letters of the dead woman's name: "Sta". Due to advanced composition, it was difficult to tell her race and ethnicity. The skin on her face had already worn away, revealing her skull underneath. She was a ghastly sight, but not one unfamiliar to Shane and Andrea. Without hesitation, Andrea pulled out a camping knife she had found in one of the condo units. She made eye contact with Shane, who nodded and pulled opened the door. The walker stumbled out and Andrea stabbed the walker's head. The dead woman froze and then collapsed to the ground, making a sickening thumping noise. They stared at the walker sprawled out on the ground and then at each other, sighing at the same time.

"I'll never get used to living like this," Andrea muttered, as she shoved the knife in her thigh holster.

Shane nodded, but didn't say anything, allowing her to express her frustration at the new world.

A faint entrance jingle sounded as they entered the clothing boutique. Andrea looked over the counter, checking to see if there were more stray walkers, while Shane used some rope he brought with him to secure the front door with a clove hitch knot. He also found a large board to block the door. He didn't want to draw attention to themselves. Running to the back, he saw there was an exit—just in case.

Now they could check out the boutique. They realized they were ridiculously lucky when they had found that grocery store some time ago. It had plenty of food and drink, whereas the boutique was sparse, as though people had ransacked it for clothing. Neither one mentioned the oddity of finding a grocery market still having enough supplies for them to scavenge, while the boutique had a handful of outfits left. Maybe the store employees took what they could get when the outbreak started. Stole from their own job to survive. It was one of those weird mysteries they would never know the answers to.

Still, Andrea didn't waste time choosing three outfits: a black ruched sweetheart neck velvet dress, a violet knee-length cocktail dress with an off the shoulder strap, and a turquoise faux wrap dress. She gathered the dresses and stepped into the dressing room. Shane whistled the Jeopardy gameshow theme as he cleared out a "runway" in the middle of the store for Andrea to walk.

"Be patient!" Andrea called out.

Shane chuckled and began whistling again, when the door opened and Andrea stepped out. She didn't have any shoes to wear with the dress, although if she had a choice, she would've went with silver pumps with ankle straps. Shane turned around just as she came out and he gasped in shock: Andrea was stunning. The black ruched sweetheart neck dress hugged her curves and showcased her sexiness in a manner that was both sleek and conservative. Andrea looked like she was going out to a nightclub. She just needed accessories: shoes, jewelry, and a matching hand purse. And of course, some make-up, a manicure, pedicure, and her hair styled in a classy updo.

"Click-click." Shane said, pretending to be a photographer. "C'mon, you gotta show your stuff! Go down the runway." He pointed at the small space he had cleared away for her to walk.

Andrea pretended to sashay down a model's runaway; which in this case, was a small amount of cleared area in the boutique six feet in length. Shane made clicking sounds as Andrea posed.

"That's it, Drea, strike a pose. Put your hands on your hips—yeah, there you go."

Andrea posed some more and then busted it out laughing. "I can't believe we're doing this, Shane!"

"Believe it, we're gonna get you a million dollar deal. You'll be on all the magazine covers. Everyone's gonna want a piece of Walsh and Harrison."

Andrea frowned. "You make it sound like a law firm, and besides," she said as she stepped over to Shane and grabbed his collar, pulling him close, "it's Harrison and Walsh—not the other way around. I'm bringing in the big bucks, so my name goes first."

Shane flashed a wide smile. He was glad to see Andrea get into it. Plus, he liked seeing her take charge. She had it in her to do so. "Fair enough, ladies first."

Andrea let him go, sending him a seductive smile and then went back into the dressing room. Moments later, she returned wearing the violet knee-length cocktail dress. After adjusting the single strap on her shoulder, she slowly walked up and down the "runway" while Shane pretended to take more pics.

"Lookin' good, Drea."

Andrea went back to the changing room to try on the last outfit. Shane waited patiently. It was good to see Andrea having fun. He had made this trip after Andrea told him the other night that her dream job was to own a boutique. Shane found that interesting, given that Andrea had been a lawyer before the outbreak. It wasn't a coincidence that he had found a boutique—he had done it with Andrea in mind, after remembering they had driven past it last month. He figured if she couldn't own the boutique, then she could at least model the outfits that had been sold there. He also wanted to cheer her up. Andrea had been moody for the last several days, but she didn't let on why. After she mentioned her dream job (his was to be a boxing coach), Shane realized she missed life as it used to be before the outbreak. Although they had adjusted to surviving in a world swarmed with walkers, he had to agree with her when she killed the boutique employee walker: I'll never get used to living like this.

"What do you think, Shane?" Andrea asked as she came over to him. She was wearing the turquoise faux wrap dress.

This time, Shane didn't pretend to be a photographer at a fashion show. He simply embraced Andrea.

"You're beautiful—you know that, right?"

If he didn't know better, he'd say that the light rose color on Andrea's cheeks indicated she was blushing.

"An' not jus' beautiful, but real special. You're always beautiful an' special, no matter what."

"You mean I don't have to sashay in a thong to excite you?" Her voice was stern, but her green eyes were lit with amusement.

"You don't need to do that an' you don't need me or anyone else to make you special, Drea; you already are," he paused as he held her close to him and her arms wrapped around his waist. "Always have been…an' always will be."