July 24, 2010
Clearing out the retreat property is almost anticlimactic. Quinn's prediction that it would be evacuated proves true, because behind the double set of gates that allow access to the fenced off peninsula is nothing but animals turned loose to fend for themselves. Xander's keen sense of smell leads them to follow the German Shepherd to the only humanoid remains on the property.
Based on his uniform shirt, the skeletal remains in the fenced area around the equipment shed are those of the maintenance man Quinn said lived full time on the property. They'll never be able to tell if he was sick or bitten before he ended things on his own terms, not with the level of decay assisted along by the Georgia summer. Quinn directs Merle and Micah to dig the man a grave, leaving the pair to work while the rest wait on the caravan to arrive.
"What are we going to do about all the loose livestock?" Shane asks, watching as a goat blissfully eats the lower branches off a willow tree near the water line.
"I guess he turned them loose of the paddocks up near the gates, but I'm not sure I like the idea of them being near the entrance. I think maybe we relocate the paddocks down this way, between the bunkhouses and the first set of cabins."
Shane scans the open area and nods. Having something at the entrance that could attract walkers due to natural noise making seems like a bad idea. The goats and sheep don't seem to be making a racket now, but that could change.
"We should probably prioritize that," he says, pointing to a pile of goat droppings. "I can't imagine anyone is going to want to dodge that on the paths."
Quinn laughs. "Might teach them better situational awareness."
"Not sure that idea would float with most of the ladies. They might stage a coup."
"Who's going to stage a coup?" Andrea inquires as she returns from opening doors and windows in a line of the duplex cabins to let them air out. All the buildings have the musty smell common to any uninhabited dwelling in summer heat.
"The ladies of camp if we leave the goats and sheep loose to poop at will." Quinn's reply makes the blonde laugh.
"That will be the one time I agree with girly squeamishness."
The caravan of vehicles pulls into sight, driving down the big circular loop and coming to a halt nearest the tip of the peninsula where the duplex cabins shift to the larger four bedroom ones. Sorting out quarters draws Quinn's attention away, and Shane joins Daryl's crew to see how to rig up temporary paddocks for the livestock. The kids are set free to capture fat white rabbits and return them to the rabbitry, now that they'll have people to feed them again. The poultry gets to stay on roam, since they were always free ranged.
By the time Daryl's team of livestock wranglers is done convincing goats and sheep into their temporary enclosure, Shane is hot, sweaty, and wondering if the potential for milk and dairy products is worth the little assholes. His right hip is going to be a mass of bruises where a goat headbutted him, and the damned thing doesn't even have horns.
"I tossed your duffel into our room," Quinn tells him quietly. "For some reason counselors got full sized beds. That still good?"
It takes him a minute to process the concern. They have only shared a bed, of sorts, the one night he got wound up about the fire. "That's fine."
He doesn't mind sleeping close to Quinn, although it's been a long time since he shared a bed with anyone. The relationships he's had the last few years didn't trend toward overnight stays, even if he did joke with Rick about women and light switches. The woman who inspired that particular speech was three years ago.
"Alright. We're in the middle bunkhouse, and when I assigned Beth and Jimmy there, Maggie followed."
Although a little old for bunking with the kids, he understands Maggie's need to stay near her sister since she convinced her to leave home. Shane imagines the young woman's protective instincts are going to run high toward her sister for a while.
"That gives us how many?"
"My three and the three Greenes. Sophia and Carl are a bit fussed about not being included, so I anticipate some overnights being requested. I put the Morales family in one of the mini-lodges, but Rick wants your help swapping out the twin beds in one of the duplexes for a full bed from the unused mini-lodge."
Shane grins. "Guess they don't want to go all fifties sitcom and keep the twins?"
"I offered them the other mini-lodge, but they declined."
"I doubt Lori would like the idea it's meant to be shared if there was a need."
"Possibly. We have enough space now that I spread folks out a bit, only filling one half of a duplex in most cases except Andrea and her sister. They preferred to be close, but not actively in the same lodgings."
She opens a sketchpad where she's drawn a crude map of the buildings, walking him through where everyone is assigned to sleep. The twelve duplex cabins are split on two sides of the peninsula, with the mini-lodges separating the two sets of duplexes. The actual lodge mirrors the bunkhouse placement, with the accessory buildings inside the circular road.
"Did you assign cabins or did they pick?" He asks, amused. The fact that Merle is lodged about as opposite as possible from Andrea seems like something that might not happen by accident.
"I assigned. I actually considered sending Merle over to the staff house, but he doesn't cope well with isolation."
Shane shifts his weight. "Is he going to be okay without everyone underfoot?" From everything he's gathered, Merle hasn't lived alone in more than a decade.
Quinn looks around, glancing between where Merle is helping Daryl with a bed switch out like she suggested for Rick and Lori. "Micah is almost eighteen. Maybe he should have his own space."
She calls her brother over when he's making a trip back from carrying food supplies into the community kitchen. The older teen has always reminded Shane of Merle, more so than Daryl does. He guesses they ended up with a stronger dose of Dixon genes than Daryl did. Only his eyes really vary from the Merle resemblance, the same green as Quinn's.
"Have you unloaded yours and Xander's stuff yet?" The teen shakes his head. "I'm shifting you to stay with Merle. Figured you might appreciate a room of your own for the first time."
The significance doesn't go unnoticed, but Micah doesn't comment, either. "Not sure a bachelor pad in the apocalypse counts the same, but sure. Xander will be happy to stick around Merle."
Considering the dog is laying in the shade cast by Daryl and Carol's cabin, watching Merle, Shane suspects that's true enough. He's honestly not entirely sure who the dog officially belongs to, since he's seen him with Merle and Micah fairly equally.
"That's settled, but I need to borrow you to help me shift medical supplies. I'm going to set up the bunkhouse between ours and the old staff house as the infirmary."
"Want me to conscript a couple of the kids?"
"Sure, as long as Jacqui doesn't need them for the kitchens."
Micah jaunts off, and Quinn scrawls 'Infirmary' over what was Bunkhouse A. "Hopefully, we never need that much space, but it's better than stealing away one of the public rooms of the lodge or cramming into a duplex cabin."
Shane agrees with Quinn completely. Having a paramedic is better than relying solely on his and Rick's limited first responder training, but as she likes to emphasize, she's not a doctor or even a nurse. He makes a mental note they should probably find some textbooks of Quinn's willing to learn more.
Getting things nominally set up keeps everyone on their toes until supper. The novelty of sitting in a dining room with proper chairs and electricity really boosts morale. Spirits are as high as Shane's ever seen them.
Rick takes a seat with a laden plate of food. Months of unsupervised chickens resulted in several roosters that Jacqui appropriated for supper. He's surprised to see the woman's helpers include Merle and T-Dog, until Quinn also joins them.
"That a good idea?" he asks softly, nodding toward where Jacqui is finally ushering her helpers to get their own plates of food.
Quinn follows his line of sight and smiles. "Jacqui can boss him around easily now that she knows he'll listen. It's Andrea and Lori that piss him off."
"Why's that?" Rick asks. Lori hasn't joined them yet, procrastinating by fluttering around the kids at a separate table as if they don't have their own parents and most are old enough to serve themselves.
"Why would he behave for Jacqui and not the white ladies?" The smirk Quinn directs Rick's way makes his brother squirm a little before he nods. "It's not about race. It's personality. Jacqui stands up for herself without implying he's trash in the process."
Having seen Quinn conversing privately with Jacqui a few times since the confrontation on the roof, Shane thinks he might ask Quinn if she's been trying to make sure there's another person capable of anchoring Merle when he slips into a flashback. Jacqui seems like an odd choice until you ignore skin color and consider personality instead.
Soothing irritated nerves is definitely not Lori or Andrea's best skill. It's not Shane's either, which is why having Rick and Quinn around him is always a good idea.
"Okay, that maybe makes sense, but what about T-Dog?" Shane queries, genuinely curious. The two men aren't exactly friendly, but their body language exudes tolerance, at least.
"Both men can cook, better than any of the women except Carol or Jacqui, so might as well give them some common ground. That fried chicken? That's Merle's recipe. The biscuits are T-Dog's, and he's a little worried because he's never used goat butter."
Shane picks up one of the fluffy biscuits and takes a bite, chewing thoughtfully. "Can't say I don't notice a little difference, but it's not a bad one. Who made butter?"
"It was in the freezer. Whole kitchen was up and running still off solar power. They hadn't stocked for the summer season yet, but their local products were still useful."
One of the reasons their 'biscuits' at the quarry were basic, barely passable drop biscuits was the lack of butter. Fresh dairy is definitely worth the poop that had to be cleared from various areas of the property.
"Did they leave instructions? Because I will figure out how to milk goats if it keeps us in butter," he declares.
"Yeah. They wrote these little homemade, spiral bound books on all the skills taught here. If you're serious about learning to milk, Maggie can teach you."
"Not a skill you can pass on?" Shane teases, opting to try the chicken next and making a noise that doesn't belong at the supper table. Quinn and Rick both eye him with amused expressions. "Can he cook more than fried chicken?"
That makes Quinn laugh outright. "Yeah, he was the primary cook back home. He did a training course back in juvie. Not going to end up with tiramisu or tikka masala, but basic Southern cuisine he's got down pat. You do realize he did most of our cooking back at camp, right?"
Honestly, Shane didn't notice who did the cooking. He supposes he just assumed it was Quinn and then Carol. He shakes his head, opting for another bite instead.
"Maybe we'll shake things up and assign him to the kitchens more here. Probably better for him than supply runs, anyway."
Shane actually likes the idea, because it keeps Merle away from stronger triggers and keeps a good fighter at home base just in case. He says as much to Quinn, watching as Rick nods in agreement. Considering his initial introduction to Merle, the agreement is significant.
"I'll talk it over with him. It's not like there isn't plenty for him to do here."
"Are we still going to make the run to Fort Benning?" Shane has been debating that goal ever since they found the abandoned military equipment so close to Columbus.
"I think we should, considering knowing for certain is better than assuming. We might access more equipment, too."
More military supplies is something he certainly won't say no to. "Let's give it a week. Let everyone settle down and rest a bit after everything."
They're joined by Lori at last, with Merle trailing along to take the empty seat next to Quinn. Shane's never been more glad of Rick's sweeter nature than when the man instantly compliments the big redneck on the meal. Merle's surprised smile might be the first time Shane's seen the man turn the rare gentle expression on anyone older than Micah.
Everything finally seems to be falling into place.