As Glenn, T Dogg, Daryl and Rick prepare for going back to the city to rescue Merle, Brie walks over to Shane who is talking to Rick's wife, Lori.
"Do you think this is a good idea? He has only just got back and now he wants to risk his life for Merles?" Lori exclaimed to Shane who already looked stressed.
"Yeah I think he's an idiot for going back there, he only just made it out but nothing is gonna stop him Lori, not even you so might as well just leave it. No point arguing about it when he has already made up his mind" Shane looks to side as he watches Brie walking up towards them. He smiles as she approaches.
"Hi sorry to intrude but Shane is it?" She asks as she claps her hands together.
"Yeah it is darlin. You are Brie right?" He asks with a smile on his face.
"Yeah thats right but I don't appreciate being called darlin if thats alright with you" she sassed as Lori looked down on the floor and smirked. "But anyways can I steel him for you real quick?" She asked Lori.
"Of course I'll go check on Carl" Lori nodded as she left to go find her son.
"What can I do you for?" Shane asks as he leans his arm on the truck.
"I wanna know why you volunteered me to stay? I am capable enough of taking care of myself and other people. I could help them get them in and out the city" she explains her case.
"Listen, I know you were there with Rick and the others back there but you's just made it out without anyone getting hurt. Why would you risk your life for an asshole like Merle?" Shane questioned, crossing his arms.
"Me and my brother are the reason he's stuck there. Yeah Rick cuffed him to the pipe but T dropped the key and I left him, running to save myself. It's only fair I help them rescue him"
Shane's face brightens up "Wait your brother? T Dogg is your brother?"
Brie nodded as she shrugged her shoulders "Yeah thats right? Why?"
"Oh, I thought you's were together" he says feeling pretty stupid as she starts laughing.
"Me and T together?" She questions as she burst out laughing again as Shane puts his hands in his pockets as he watches her continue to laugh. "Aww your funny" she chuckles again "No brother and sister. But anyways besides the point. I should be going there with them"
"We need you here. To protect the camp. Me and you are the only ones here who can handle a gun. Rick's taking all our muscle with him. So without you here we will be screwed cause I can't defend the camp alone. So your staying"
Brie folds her arms against her chest "Who are you to tell me what I can or can't do?"
Shane ignores her comment "Your staying end of" Shane walks off as she stands there looking disbelief that he's now barking orders at her even though she opinion still stands he's hot but an asshole like Merle.
After arguing with Shane about going back to the roof top to help find Merle, she decided to give up on the argument as she wasn't going to win so she decided to stay and help protect the camp. She was taking a stroll, kicking any stone that was in the way before coming across a upset mini Rick.
"Carl is it?" She asks as the little boy looks up and gives her a small nod before putting his head on his hands, sulking. "I'm Brie" she introduced as he still didn't say much. She looks about to see where his mum is but she couldn't see her in sight. She turns back to Carl "Are you lost? Do you want me to help you find your mum?" She asked, all she got was silence again. She sighs as she looks like she wasn't going anywhere with this kid. She takes a seat next to him as she looks around about her, taking in her surroundings. "Whats wrong? You worried about your dad?"
By this point Carl looks up at her and nods again, maybe she was going to get somewhere with his kid "We just got him back, and now he's leaving us again"
"He's not leaving you Carl. He is just wanting to do whats right and bring back that asshole's brother" her eyes widened as she basically just swore to a 12 year old boy. "Oh my god I am so sorry, I didn't mean to swear, fuck" she face plants "Shit sorry, oh god I'm going to stop talking now"
Carl starts to laugh at Brie "You're funny"
Brie smiles as her word vomit has obviously cheered him up "Promise you won't tell you mum?" She asks as she puts her pink out. He pink promises as he wraps his finger around hers. "Anyways about your dad, he will be back in no time. By the time he comes back you'll probably have forgotten that he was gone"
Carl shrugs his shoulders "I guess"
"Good" Brie stands up before putting her hands on her hips "Now what are you doing here by yourself? Shouldn't you be out playing with Sophia?"
"I was waiting for Shane. He was meant to be teaching me how to catch frogs, but I don't know where he is"
"You checked everywhere?" She asks as she knows how kids exaggerate at that kind of stuff.
Carl shakes his head "Maybe not everywhere, just his usual spots"
"Maybe I can teach you? If you want me to that is?" She offers. She used to catch frogs with her sister and her dad when they were younger so it was a walk in the park for her.
"You know how to catch frogs?" Carl look dumbfounded "But your a girl?"
Brie laughs a little "Sexist are we?" She joked "Well just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I don't like getting my hands dirty. Besides I used to catch frogs all the time when I was a kid, so you up for it?" Carl nods his head "Good lets go" she says as they both walk off to the nearest pond.
They spent about 15 minutes at the pond before Carl decided on giving up "I'm not getting anything" he huffed.
Brie looked in the pond "Yeah. Little suckers, know something's up. Looks like we going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. All right, look you are the key in all this, okay? All I'm gonna do is I'm gonna go after one of them, all right, scare the rest of them off. They're all gonna scatter. I'm gonna drive 'em your way, okay?" She looks up to see if he's getting the plan.
Carl nods "All right."
"What you need to do is you need to round up every frog you see, all right? Are you with me?"
"Yeah!" Carl shouts as he looks like he's getting excited about his first catch.
"Are you ready? Here we go" Carl laughs as Brie splashes around in the water. Andres can see a couple of frogs moving towards Carl "All right, they're coming your way. Catch them frogs. Cmon. Catch them frogs. Get that net in there and get them" She is still splashing a little to get the frogs moving as she watches Carl get his net in and tried to catch them.
"What do you got?" She says as she stops splashing.
Carl pulls the net out and searches the net but his face falls "Dirt" he says, not looking impressed.
Brie sighs "Oh boy" She stands up "All right, we've got to start over. Come on, let's find this bucket"
After finally catching frogs with Carl, she decides to go help Carol with some laundry as Carl runs off to play with Sophia. "Hey needing any help?" Brie asks as she sits down on the log next to Carol.
"Sure" she says with a big smile on her face. "I am just folding the laundry thats been drying off in the sun" she bends down to pick some up to give to Brie.
"Thanks" as she takes the pile off to Carol and puts them on the log next to her as she picks one up and starts folding it in her lap. "So how you finding it? Here in camp?" Brie says, trying to make conversation with the older women.
"Adjusting. But getting there" Carol says as she can hear Sophia giggling from a distance as she was playing on the field with Carl "I am just glad Sophia has someone her own age"
She smiles as she watches the two kids laughing "Yeah must be hard, when your a kid. Adjusting to this sorta life. How are you coping with it?"
"Fine." Carol shrugs a little "Just going by one day at a time. I am sure I'll adjust better as time goes on"
"Not the sorta life you want, especially when you have a kid to protect" Brie says as she finishes folding some trousers and puts them onto the neatly folded pile. As she sits up she notices a bruise on Carols wrist. "How are things with you and Ed" she asks still looking at her bruise.
Carol hesitates to answer "Fine. As well. Think he's coping better than I am"
"Carol I don't mean to pry but I am only asking because I notice a bruise on your wrist"
Carol quickly pulls her sleeve down to cover her wrist "Oh this thing, a walker did that to me when they grabbed me" she stutters "Was before you arrived at camp"
Brie didn't know whether to believe her or not but like she said she didn't want to pry so she left it, for now. She looks up and notices that Rick and T-Dog approach Dale and Jim. She over hears some of the conversation
"Rumour is you have bolt cutters." Rick was the first to make conversation
"Maybe" Dale responds.
"Yeah, we get to that roof, though, we'll need to cut that chain and the handcuffs"
Dale shakes his head "I never like lending tools. The last time I did" Dale looks at T Dog "And yes, I am talking about you… Let's just say your bag of guns wasn't the only bag that was dropped. My tools got left behind with Merle"
"We'll bring your tools back too" Rick promised "Think of the bolt cutters as an investment"
"Sounds like more of a gamble" Dale gives it to him. "What do I get in return?"
"What do you want?" Rick asks, knowing he will say yes to anything that Dale wants.
"How about one of those guns you bring back? My pick."
"Done." Rick seals the deal.
Daryl beeps on the horn "Come on, let's go!" He shouts as sticks his head out the truck. He rolls his eyes as he sticks his head back in. He can't believe they all left his brother handcuff to a pillar and let him defend for himself. If they don't help him bring Merle back alive, there was gonna be hell to pay. He starts tapping the steering wheel as he starts to get impatient with all the mucking about, if he had it his way he would of been out there looking for his brother ages ago.
Shane shakes his head over hears Daryl being inpatient. If it was up to him he would of left Merle to rot up on that roof. His attention diverts to Brie who was sitting on a log next to Carol. They were obviously in deep conversation cause neither of them looked up once. He still finds himself watching as Brie's dark hair sways softly in the wind. He watches every single detail to what she is doing from tucking her hair behind her ear, folding some clothes that were on her lap then getting off the log to bend over putting the pile of laundry next to all the other. Nice ass he thought. He slightly jumped, when the truck door slammed shut. He looked over at the car as Rick, T Dog and Glenn pilled into the truck. "Bout time" he could hear Daryl mumbled as he starts the engine. Brie looks up, breaking away from her conversation with Carol as she hears a car engine starting, she watches on as the guys pull away to start off their mission to bring back Merle Dixon. She kinda wishes that she had went with since it was partly her fault as well but Shane was right they needed protection here at camp to keep everyone safe as she was happy to stay behind for that reason.
Later on, Brie, Andrea, Carol, Jacqui, and Amy are doing the laundry. "I'm beginning to question the division of labor here" Jacqui says as Brie agrees "Can someone explain to me how the women wound up doing all the Hattie McDaniel work?"
"The world ended. Didn't you get the memo?" Ed watches the women washing the laundry from his vehicle.
There was a moment of silence as the girls continued doing laundry. Brie couldn't bare the silence so she asked the girls what they missed. Jacqui says she misses her coffee machine and Amy misses her computer and her phone basically. She knew her question had put a downer on things as she looked up at the girls who had sad looks on their faces, thinking about the luxuries they had and their life before the apocalypse. Brie thought of something that she missed that might brighten the mood.
"I miss my vibrator" Brie confessed trying to break the silence with a funny note as all the women start to laugh.
"Me too" Brie raises an eyebrow at Carol as girls continue to laugh. She couldn't believe that someone like Carol would have one.
Ed notices the girls laughing, he looks at them with an annoyed look on his face "What's so funny?" Brie glanced over her shoulder to find him walking towards the group of girls with cigarette dangling from his fingers as he stared at them.
"Just swapping war stories, Ed" Andrea says as she continues to wash some clothes. Brie rolls her eyes at Ed, from seeing Carol's bruises earlier she knew what he does to her and probably Sophia as well behind closed doors. Ed comes up to them. Andrea looked up at him "Problem, Ed?"
"Nothin' that concerns you. And you ought to focus on your work. This ain't no comedy club"
Brie scoffs as she has watched Ed sitting on his ass doing nothing the past couple of days that she been here. She was starting to get annoyed as he was complaining about how things were done around here but he sits there and does jack shit "Ed, tell you what, you don't like how your laundry is done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself. Here" She tosses a shirt at him and Ed throws it right back. "Oh!"
"Ain't my job, missy" Ed muttered.
Carol could tell Brie wasn't going to back down "Brie, don't"
Brie ignores Carol and continues her argument with Ed "What is your job, Ed? Sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes?"
Ed stands up "Well, it sure as hell ain't listening to some uppity smart-mouthed bitch. Come on. Let's go." Ed waves Carol to come to him but Brie puts a hand on her shoulder.
"I don't think she needs to go anywhere with you, Ed"
"And I say it's none of your business. Come on now. You heard me" Ed says as he is starting to look angrier than before. He motions for Carol to come over to him again.
Carol could hear Brie calling her name as looks at Brie with pleading eyes, she didn't want her knowing what her husband was capable "Brie, please. It doesn't matter"
Ed steps towards Brie and gets up in her face "Hey, don't think I won't knock you on your ass just 'cause you're some college-educated cooze All right?" Brie gasps as he has now threatened to lay a hand on her. Ed turns his attention towards Carol "Now you come on now or you gonna regret it later"
"So she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed? Yeah, we've seen them" Ed laughs and Shane notices all of this.
"Stay out of this. Now come on! You know what? This ain't none of y'all's business. You don't want to keep prodding the bull here, okay? Now I am done talking. Come on" Ed begins to pull Carol towards him.
Brie could see that Carol didn't want to go with him "No Carol, you don't have to"
"You don't tell me what! I tell you what!" Ed slaps Carol. Carol grabs her cheek as she starts to cry "You think you can" The girls start to protect Carol as Brie grabs onto Ed. Ed is too big and none of them can prevent Ed from continuing to grab at Carol. Brie with all her strength tries to push Ed away from the group.
"Trying to be a big girl huh" Ed squares up to Brie "Know your place" he yells in her face before forcing her on the ground with one slap to the face. The girls cried in shock as Ed grabs for Carol again "Come here! Come here!"
Shane looks like he's seen enough when he walks up and grabs Ed "Get off me!" Ed demands that Shane get off of him. Shane throws Ed to the ground and pummels his face multiple times. Ed's face gets bloody as Shane continues to punch him. The girls watch in horror as Shane mutilates Ed's face.
Brie gets up from the group, even though Ed deserves what he gets, she didn't want Carol watching her husband getting beaten to death "Shane, stop! That's enough !" She pleads, not going too near the fight.
Shane grabs Ed. "You put your hands on your wife, your little girl, Brie or anybody else in this camp one more time, I will not stop next time. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?!"
Ed grumbles as he's near unconscious "I'll beat you to death" Shane hits him one more time and then kicks him in the stomach.
"Oh God! No. God!" Carol bursts out in tears and kneels over him. "Ed, I'm sorry. Oh my God. Ed, I'm sorry" The other girls don't know how to react as Shane makes his way back to camp.
As she could hear Carol pleading Ed to forgive her, she chases after Shane. "Shane" she calls out but he doesn't seem to look back, he just keeps walking. "Hey!" She runs up in front of him "I'm talking to you"
Shane stops "What do you want?" He said sounding annoyed.
Brie raised an eyebrow as she didn't understand why he was so angry "What was that back there? Yeah i get that he deserved it but that was too much especially in front of his wife. Sophia could of been there"
"What no thank you for saving your ass back there?"
"Okay thank you, but" he scoffs as she continues to speak "My ass didn't need to be saved, he done the damage before you stepped in"
He presses his hand against her cheek as she flinched away a little. "Sorry" he apologised "But like you said he deserved it" Shane starts to walk off again but Brie grabs his wrist and pulls him back. "All I am doing is protecting the people in this camp. If people don't like the way I deal with things, they can get up and leave"
"That doesn't mean you get to frighten people cause of the way your run things around here. People are already scared. In camp they should at least feel somewhat safe but when you pull shit like that..."
Shane cuts her off "What do you want me to do just stand there and watch you and Carol get attacked by a low life piece of scum? That what you want me to do?!" Shane raises his voice, getting pissed off "Because if thats what you want me to do, then fine. I'll leave you's to get on it with it" Brie stands there in disbelief, Shane sighs "You say people want to feel somewhat safe around here, I am keeping people safe. I put that asshole in his place and if he somewhat puts a hand on you or anyone else in this camp, he's getting kicked out"
Brie nods her head, bold move she thought. "Well lets just hope he learns his lesson so that doesn't happen cause no one deserves to be left out alone in this world anymore. Not safe for anyone being on their own. I get why you did it but just tone it down a little cause the girl seem frightened by you now. Just a heads up" Brie says before she begins to walk away.
"Hey" Shane calls out as she looks over her shoulder "Stay out of trouble, darlin" he smirks as he watches her smile to herself.
"I will, but you need to promise you'll tone it down a little" she calls back without looking back.
"Anything for you princess" she could feel him smirking behind her back.
Brie chuckles and shakes her head before walking off "And stop with the nicknames they ain't working" of course she was lying to herself.
Lori from a distance watched their full conversation, picking up little bits as she was quite far away to hear the full conversation. She could feel a little bit of jealously inside of her. Did she like Shane in a way that she didn't before?