Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

Chapter 47

Author's Note: Oh Shane being a dead man is coming closer. Rubbing hand's together! Keep reviewing! It gives me love. Forty Eight people have made a favorite of this. And 83 followers. I'm looking forward to 100!

Jewel's POV:

Jewel sat on the porch rail and checked off her list and looked up as Shane started to come over. "Shane looks determined to talk to you. I'll leave."

"No stay," Rick told her. "Shane you need something?"

"Yeah, I need to talk about Carl," Shane told him. "Jewel need a minute alone with Rick."

Jewel stood. "It's about your son, I'm going to give you the privacy," she told Rick as she kissed him.

"Stay," Rick said. "Go ahead Shane. No secrets."

Shane sighed. "Look, I caught him and Summer arguing," he said.

"You said this was about Carl, now you said that Summer and him was arguing? This definitely involves me," Jewel said as she crossed her arms.

Shane sighed again. "It wasn't anything bad, he went to Summer to give her Daryl's gun. He told her something, she got angry. And, rightly so. He asked us not to say anything but he was out in the swamps yesterday and he came across a walker stuck in the mud. He got scared, ran off," he told them.

Jewel looked at Shane. "He stole Daryl's gun? The walker, please…don't tell me," she said as she looked at Rick.

"The same walker that killed Dale?" Rick asked as he glanced at Jewel.

"That's the one," Shane answered truthfully.

"I'll have Lori talk to him," Rick told the other man.

"Look, man, I think- I think he wants to talk to his father," Shane implored him.

Jewel looked between the two men. She didn't like Shane but in this instance he was trying to do the right thing.

"Well, I need this Randall thing done already," Rick said.

"Man, that needs to wait, okay?" Shane told the other man.

"It's my call," Rick said firmly.

Shane looked at Jewel then at Rick. "How about I ride out with Daryl? Good for us to spend a little time together," he suggested.

Jewel tried not to laugh. "He'd be comin' back alone."

"Nah, I need you here," Rick said, silently agreeing with Jewel.

"Don't think I'll handle it right, huh?" Shane asked.

"Rick…look as much as it pains me to say this, but Shane's right. Carl needs you. I'll go out with Daryl, take Randal out," Jewel suggested. "You know with the two of us we aren't going to argue, and we will take care of it, the way we agreed."

Shane looked at her and nodded. "Come on Rick, you know, your son- he gave Summer the gun. He feels responsible for Dale's death but if you think you should get that back to Daryl, go ahead. Freeing that prisoner more important to you than Carl?" he asked.

"Shane," Jewel warned as she put her hand on Rick's shoulder. "We got this. Go take care of your son. Have Lori take over the coming and going list," she told him as she kissed him. "Hey Daryl, change of plans, I'm going with you to drop off the package."

Daryl looked up. "This have something' to do with Carl havin' my gun?"

Jewel looked at him. "Summer give it back to you?"

"She tried, I had her keep it," Daryl said.

"Yeah has something' to do with that. Finish getting the supplies in the car," Jewel ordered.

Rick's POV:

Rick climbed up on the loft. "Mom said you'd be here."

"Told her I would stand lookout. I got tired of helping around the house," Carl told him.

Rick held out Dale's gun. "This was Dales. Take it. What happened to Dale had nothing to do with you," he told him.

Carl looked at him. "He- he died, dad."

"Yeah," Rick said.

"Yeah," Carl said.

Rick sighed. "Feels like there's a lot of that going around. That's why I need you. No more kid stuff. I wish you could have the childhood I had, but that's not gonna happen. People are gonna die. I'm gonna die. Mom. Shane. Jewel. Summer. Mitch. There's no way you can ever be ready for it. I try to be, but I can't. The best we can do now is avoid it as long as we can, keep one step ahead. That's why Jewel has everyone packing a bag, keeping it in the car. I wish I had something better to say, something- Something more profound. My father was good like that. But I'm tired, son. Please take it," Rick begged.

Carl took it and looked at him. "You left last night. Shane said you ran away."

Rick took a breath as he sighed. "No, Carl. I didn't run away. Jewel never grieved for her friend Jane or Luke. What happened last night with Dale, she couldn't stay and be around everyone. She needed to get away. I couldn't let her go alone. I told your mom…she agreed. We can't do this alone anymore. You know I wouldn't have ran away."

Carl nodded. "I know you care about Jewel…I should tell her I'm sorry. I mean….if it wasn't for me he'd still be here.

Rick hugged him. "No, Carl. It wasn't your fault. I told you that. And, I do care for Jewel. I love her. And she loves me. Which means she loves you. We have to live like it's our last day out here, because it may be. So are we good?"

Carl nodded. "We're good."

Jewel's POV:

Jewel held up her hand as she got near the barn and bent down.

T Dog looked at her. "Why did you stop? What's going on?"

Jewel looked up at the barn then back to the tracks. "Something's not right…." she said. "Go that way, don't muck up the trail."

"Is that a Dixon word?" T Dog asked as he went the way she told him. "Mind sharing what's going on?"

"Last time I came down here to check on Randal, and yes I've been making periodic trips just to peek in, I cleared the trail of all footsteps. It's a hunting trick to make other trackers' think that no one's been there but get to there prey and it's already gone," Jewel explained.

"And now there's tracks? Maybe someone else came down here?" T Dog suggested.

Jewel shook her head. "We've been keeping track of everyone….and there's two sets. Go check," she said.

"Lock's secure," T Dog said. "Yo, Randy. Governor called. You're off the hook," he said as he used the key. "Oh, hell no," he said.

Jewel turned and looked at T Dog and walked in. "The cuffs are still secured. There's no way he could slip out," she said as she walked out of the barn.

"Please tell me it's not one of our people that would do this," T Dog told her.

"One person," Jewel said as she shook her head. "They're back," she said as she saw two cars start coming up. "Make sure the three of them are alright. Go back on patrol, help them get the cars secured," she said as she started to walk away.

"What are you going to do?" T Dog called after her.

"Kill someone," she mumbled. "Let Rick and Daryl know what's going on," Jewel answered aloud. "Rick! Daryl! Need to see you now!"

"What's going on? I thought you were getting' the piece of shit for us to take," Daryl said.

Rick walked out. "Jewel? Where's Randal?"

"Better question is where's Shane?" Jewel asked her voice low. "T and I went to the barn, there were tracks, two sets, the door was secured from the outside, the cuffs were still secured but Randal was gone."

Daryl looked at her then at Rick. "Son of a Bitch."

"You don't think Shane would do something like that do you?" Rick asked.

Jewel looked at him. "Stop thinking' about the man you knew as your friend Rick. Think about the man that wants what you have, that's scared that you are going to take Lori back, the man who wants to be father to Carl, wants to be a leader of this group. The man who beat the living shit out of you and would have left you for dead," she told him.

"She's right Rick," Daryl said.

Rick took a breath. "Shit."