September 5, 2010
The absolute shit eating grin on Maggie's face when Shane opens his cabin door tells him someone's finally managed to win the bet. He props the door open to let the breeze cross through since he's finished dressing after his shower, even as she steps inside the screen door.
"Who figured it out finally?" he asks, curious as hell. The bet was a mixed one. Shane bet it was going to be one of the guys, Maggie one of the ladies, and Quinn hedged that it would be specifically Dale who noticed first, after Shane conceded to allow Dale separate from his own bet. The teens had all been excluded quickly as contenders, since most of them started running amused interference in the adults taking notice.
"Jacqui. Except she only has half the story, because she took me aside to ask if me living with you so soon after you and Quinn split was a smart idea."
"Jesus. That wasn't quite what I expected anyone to think." Do they really think he's that shallow? He supposes the indications are there, with the 'relationship' with Quinn following Rick's return and Shane's eviction from Lori's good graces. And Jacqui missed that Maggie has her own place somehow.
"I set her straight and sent her to Quinn for confirmation, but you gotta pay up." She wriggles her fingers at him greedily.
Shane grumbles, more because it's expected that he fuss about losing than any real ire about it. "This is probably gonna restart Jacqui thinking we're living together, you know."
But he steps into his bedroom and returns with one of the two police caps he still has from his time with the sheriff's department. He never liked the big stetson hats, and thank goodness, the Sheriff never got so fixated on public impression to require them as part of the uniform. Honestly, he still thinks Rick wearing his makes him look like Woody from Toy Story, but he has to admit that impression made for good interaction with the kids when they did presentations at the elementary school back home.
Maggie takes the cap with a cry of triumph, grinning as she tucks her hair up under it. "Think I could pass muster?"
"Pretty sure the Sheriff would write you up for about six dress code violations," Shane tells her. Considering she's in cutoff jean shorts only an inch too long to miss being Daisy Dukes, a sunshine yellow halter top over a black bikini, and sparkly flip flops, yeah, a simple cap isn't going to pass anyone's muster.
That just makes Maggie laugh, and she leaves the cap planted on her head. He has no idea why she and Quinn both bet against one of his caps, but it was an easy enough sacrifice. "I really thought Glenn would be the first to notice."
"If Glenn had a lick of interest in me, maybe he would have, but you've overlooked that our sweet little Glenn has been ensnared by a pretty, headstrong teenage blonde."
Well, shit. After that talk back when the Greene girls first joined them, Shane didn't even think about the Korean looking twice at Beth. Amy, maybe, but not Beth. "He's not the first male to lose his observation skills with a pretty girl around, I suppose."
Today's a rest day, more or less, declared by Jacqui last night when she announced all her little hunter gatherers had met the quotas she felt they needed for now. She's not exactly a harsh taskmistress, but the last week has been a long grind of clearing the marinas around the lake. Shane's spent as much time on Alabama soil as Georgia. "You going down to the beach today?"
Maggie shrugs. "Thinking about it. Unless you want to take the canoe out again."
Since she got the brace off, Maggie's been going through a host of activities to strengthen muscles gone a bit lax during her recovery period. She took him up on that canoeing offer, and they've gone out every evening before supper for half an hour or so. For a gal that never bothered with canoes or kayaks before, she's gotten it down pat quickly. "You don't really need more lessons, you know. Could take someone else along."
That gets him a frown and a slight narrowing of green eyes. "You telling me I'm being a pest, Shane?"
He sighs, running a hand over his hair as he leans against the kitchen counter. "That was not my intention, Maggie. I'm not bothered by spending time with you. But what Jacqui brought up? She's not going to be the only one thinking that."
She huffs, hands planting firmly on her hips. It is an image that would try the limits of even a saintly man, Shane thinks distractedly. "Any busybodies can damn well stick it where the sun don't shine. They don't get to dictate whether we do or don't sleep together. That's our choice."
That snaps his attention back, remembering the thoughts he's had repeatedly when Maggie slips a little flirtation by him. "Maggie, I don't exactly have the best reputation…"
It's a little hard to finish the sentence with her hand clapped across his mouth. She arches her brow, obviously questioning whether or not he'll stay shushed if she removes her hand. Gently, he takes her wrist and lowers her hand. "Maggie."
"I know exactly what you've done. You told me yourself. Quinn was also happy to fill in the blanks with a little less self-judgement than you had. If you actually had been sleeping with Quinn, I could see some point to your argument, but you weren't." Maggie smiles, a sly but inviting thing. "Have you not wisened up to the matchmaking yet?"
As a matter of fact, yes, Shane had taken note that Quinn assigning him the duplex cabin that shares a wall with Maggie's was likely deliberate. She seems to have this idea about him and Maggie that he suspects Maggie either shares or at least thinks amusing enough to test out a bit. "I am twelve years older than you."
"Which would mean more if I were some sixteen year old, and you a near thirty grown man. I am no innocent teenager, Shane. I sowed my wild oats when I hit college and probably made sure my daddy lost a good portion of what hair didn't go snow white in those college years."
Shane still has ahold of her wrist, and she looks down, so he lets go. "Or is it because you think I'm something fragile that will break because of what happened in that pharmacy? Or damaged?"
The way her voice changes then, becoming hesitant in a way that makes him wonder what dwells in her nightmares, claws into something deep within Shane's chest. "Hell, no, Maggie. If either of us is damaged, it would be me, not you."
He blames the inaction on that hesitant note in her voice when Maggie grabs the lapels of his shirt and kisses him, the cap slipping off her head to fall to the floor. There's no hesitation in the contact on her part, and Shane responds to the enthusiasm quickly despite his better intentions. Trapped between Maggie and the counter, he gives in to the delight of the contact and slips his hands onto her hips drawing her close instinctively.
There's still a part of his mind urging caution. Shane lets her lead, keeping his touch light as he brushes his hands against her hips and sides. The rest of his mind is thrilling at being kissed with such enthusiasm.
"Maybe I should have brought popcorn."
Quinn's voice startles them just enough to end the kiss, but Maggie hangs on to his shirt as if he might escape. "That would start an entirely new set of rumors," she says over her shoulder, making Quinn laugh.
Shane looks at Quinn grinning through the screen door and shakes his head at her. He presses a kiss to the top of Maggie's head as he gives her a loose hug. There's still a talk they need to have, but it can wait for now. "You just coming by to play peeping tom?"
"Thought I would make sure you paid up, too." Quinn holds up the leather vest she bet, one that Shane suspects she intended to give Maggie either way. It's not the same as the biker vests that Merle and Daryl have, not exactly. It is, however, a nice concealed carry garment, with side laces to adjust the fit and two deep pockets that he watches Quinn slip her little SIG Sauer P238 .380 into all the time.
Maggie pulls away with a wistful smile as Quinn opens the screen door to come inside. She's not just carrying the vest, because she also has a portable gun safe with her. Setting that on the table, she passes Maggie a set of keys. "Open it."
When the brunette opens the gun safe, inside is a gun nearly identical to Quinn's, except that the barrel is a rainbow titanium with rosewood grips instead of the gun being completely black. "Figured you've healed enough to start taking lessons," Quinn tells her. "Most of the men carry nine milimeters, but it splits our ammo better if we don't all use the same. Plus this will fit your hand a lot better when you're learning."
"This is what you carry?" Maggie asks, trailing her fingers across the compact little gun.
"Since they came out last year, yeah. Had a standing order for Merle and Daryl to collect these if they come across them. They found two, last trip. Kept one for teaching Harper and Beth, but you get this one. Shane can sign you out the appropriate ammo when he teaches you, but you don't get to keep ammo on hand until he certifies you."
As possessive as Quinn is about her gun, it was one of the clues about how adopted Glenn was by the woman when he realized she'd taught the Korean to shoot and even loaned him her gun on at least one occasion. She owns at least two other handguns, but the SIG is definitely her favorite, her choice for everyday carry. It's an emotional attachment, a gift from her late paramedic partner.
"I'll show you several guns," Shane offers, indicating his own Glock settled on the kitchen counter. He's been slowly unlearning old world habits of instantly putting his gun in a gun safe, since that delay was dangerous as hell with the world gone to hell. Quinn's put enough fear of herself and respect for guns in general into all of the kids that Shane doesn't expect any of them to try to play with one. "If you find that you like a different one better, we'll work harder with that, but this is a good one to start with."
"Shane's the certified instructor," Quinn adds. "I'm going to have him start teaching everyone to shoot that can't already, even the kids."
"You got the parents to go along with it?" he asks, curious. Eliza and Louis aren't so young he feels uncomfortable teaching them, but he honestly would have expected to hear Lori screeching all the way to the Alabama side of things if Quinn approached her today.
"Backed Lori into a bit of a corner, because I got her to admit that she learned to shoot by the time she was Carl's age."
Shane laughs, shaking his head. "Caught that, too?"
"Seriously, Carl's a cop's kid. Can you imagine how weird it would seem if people back home ever caught on that he wasn't even allowed to own a BB gun? I get that she didn't want him growing up redneck style, which I start to suspect she did and is trying to forget ever happened, but there's shedding the unneeded parts of your past and there's being stupid."
Shane smirks as Maggie looks back and forth between them. "Lori also owns one of these, Maggie," he tells her. "Not that she's brought it out of the gun safe she has hidden in the bottom of her keepsakes, but Rick bought her one when they came out last year to replace an older revolver she had for years for home protection. No cop would ever have a wife home alone who couldn't shoot at least something if she had to."
For all her faults, he knows that when she chooses to be, Lori is a damned good shot. Rick taking her to the range, where all the local law enforcement shared a facility and brought their families to train, it always sparked her competitive streak. The woman actually held the range record for non-officers on anything nine millimeter or smaller caliber.
"Maybe you should make her demonstrate," Maggie suggests. When Quinn looks thoughtful, Shane has a feeling that Lori is about to be ganged up on.
"If y'all can get her to join in, I'm happy to try. I've been planning on lessons on one of the islands. The water will disburse sound without drawing anything right to where we're living."
Quinn nods. "I'll tell Jacqui tomorrow is a training day, so no one loses their well earned rest day today." Then she smiles at them both. "Especially you two. Keep the door shut next time," she teases, as if she wouldn't have knocked and interrupted unknowingly.
"I'm going to go change. Shane promised me to go canoeing, and beach gear isn't the best for that." Maggie gathers up her loot from the bet and the gun safe, patting the metal case like it's a special present. "Be right back."
Once she disappears, Quinn turns to look at him, expression solemn. "You don't look all that happy for a man who just got kissed rather thoroughly by a pretty girl."
"You know how complicated it is, and she is a lot younger than I am."
That gets him a swat on the shoulder, along with a mock glare from much paler green eyes than Maggie's. "Honey, I'm a lot older than her, too, and I promise you, if she had an inkling of interest in the ladies, I would give you a run for your money there. She's gorgeous."
"You're only nine years older…" he starts, and it must be his damned day for being hushed by women, because Quinn doesn't even complete the motion with her hand before he zips it.
"Nine versus twelve, who the hell cares in this day and age. It's not like you're eyeing up Beth." Quinn sighs deeply. "She trusts you, both as her friend and as someone who spent his life defending people against men like those that attacked her. Christ, Shane, you were one of the ones there to take those two down, and maybe everyone else doesn't know how that fire started, but Maggie does, remember?"
It doesn't feel like he did as much in that pharmacy, between Glenn swinging that bat so hard he scrambled the one guy's brains and Quinn tasing the other asshole in the nuts, but he can connect the dots anyway. He sighs. "I don't know how…"
The smile he receives is so sweetly gentle that he thinks, not for the first time, that life would have been so much easier if he could have really been a couple with her. She hugs him, the embrace firm and welcome as always. When she pulls away, Quinn looks thoughtful.
"Don't box her in, especially with your size and weight. Make sure she's always got an easy way to halt anything you're doing. Let her take the lead, as long as you're ready for that step, whether that's slow as molasses or tonight. Eventually, it probably won't matter as much, but you know there could be flashback episodes for years."
Decades, Shane knows, because it's been well over a decade since Quinn escaped her ex-husband, and she still has quirks that trace back to that bastard. Quinn always seemed to find his size comforting lying together at night, but she's used to men like him and years beyond her trauma. He suspects she's telling him something from long ago as she recovered, because she did date men for a few years before deciding she was tired of trying to be something she wasn't.
"You seem so assured that it's mutual," he says, teasing just a little as he settles the advice into his mind.
"Please, sweetie, you have a type. Lori may be trying to act like some little mousy housewife now because she thinks it erases the mistakes she made before Rick was shot and things that happened after, but eventually even Rick is going to get tired of that and demand she act like a normal person instead of a Stepford Wife. I'll bet my own SIG that if I asked Rick, you've got a trail of bossy ladies going years back."
Shane has to admit she's mostly right. The women who lasted more than a date or two were always ones most men would label pushy or bitchy, because they were at least interesting when he wasn't in bed with them. Nothing ever worked out, mostly because the women who can tolerate a cop's lifestyle are a unique breed, and Shane had never really felt himself in any real hurry to settle down.
So he smiles, and Quinn leaves with a reminder that he's supposed to play scout leader to the younger kids after supper, before she leaves him to his thoughts in the cabin.
Saying no to Maggie solely on what everyone else might think isn't how he ever would have been, before the guilt that covered the entire relationship with Lori. Just like Lori will eventually have to return to her normal self before she drives everyone crazy, it's time that he brought back more of the old Shane, too. Grabbing his things for the canoe trip, he eyes that light switch by the door and wonders how funny Maggie would find that sermon he once gave Rick.
Maybe he'll try it this afternoon and find out.
A/N: You all knew Maggie would have to make the first move, right? :)
A little inkling of the backstory I am building for Lori for my stories, of a girl from the way wrong side of the tracks who tried very very very very hard to forget where she came from in light of in-law snobbery. Watching the show with BetaDaughter (her first time being old enough to watch it), she pointed out that Lori's personality change when Rick returns is really creepy, and if it were anyone else that the Show's Hero, she would think he was a guy like Ed. Out of the mouth of babes, sometimes, and it really got me thinking on her background.