A/N: Because I love you all, here is another chapter. This is pretty short, but I think it's full of the tension you have all been eager to see. I'm excited about them finally getting to the farm, because now I can reek havoc on them! Addie and the gang are in for a wild ride, I hope you'll join them for it! Please read and review to let me know what you think!~A.S.D
I'm not sure how long I stood on the porch staring out into the night sky before I saw headlights appear. My heart started racing but I dared not hope until I knew for sure. The truck came to a stop a few yards from the house and the door opened. A leg clad in dark jeans appeared and I walked to the steps. Shane climbed out with two bags on his shoulder. I gave a strangled cry and let go of a breath I didn't know I'd been holding and ran to him.
"Shane!" I cried and flung myself into his arms. He hugged me tightly but kept walking with me tucked under his arm. He was limping but looked okay otherwise. Rick and Lori were waiting for him at the front door with the doctor, Hershel.
"Carl?" Shane asked immediately.
"There's still a chance," Rick said as Herschel started taking the bags.
"Otis?" the older man asked. Otis must be the man who went with Shane. I noticed for the first time that my brother had come back alone.
"No," Shane said solemnly and Maggie let out a cry. I felt bad, but better him than Shane.
"We say nothing to Patricia. Not 'til after. I need her," Hershel said and tore off to the house. Rick gave Shane a hug as well. My brother looked traumatized and I wondered what happened at that school.
"They kept blocking us at every turn. We had nothing left. We were down to ten rounds. Then he-he said he'd cover me and that I should keep going. So that's what I did, I just… I kept going but I-I looked back and he-," Shane trailed off, pain evident in his eyes. I snuggled closer to his side, wrapping my arms around him. "I tried."
"He wanted to make it right," Rick said, seeing the tears in his eyes. Maggie was openly crying now and I felt a tear roll down my cheek as well. That tear wasn't for Otis though, it was tear of joy that it wasn't my brother who had died tonight. I felt horrible for thinking that way, but family is family and nothing can change that.
Maggie went in the house to see if she could help. Shane and I sat on the ground next to the truck, his ankle looking bad while Rick and Lori sat on the porch steps. We must have been out there for close to an hour and I was starting to doze off when the door opened and Hershel came out. We all stood up and waited.
"He seems to have stabilized," he said after a beat of silence. Rick hugged him and Lori was crying.
"I don't have words," she said, choking up.
"I don't either. Wish I did. How to I tell Patricia about Otis?" he asked and I looked at Shane. He was leaning on the truck for support, now that the adrenaline had worn off the pain had set in.
"You go to Carl. I'll go with Hershel," Rick said. They went inside, leaving us in the yard.
"Are you okay?" I asked him, the tears I had been fighting back starting to flow over.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me Addie. Where is everyone else?" He asked, deflecting my question as always.
"They're still on the highway. They wanted to stay there in case Sophia came back. They are supposed to be here in the morning," I told him with a smile.
"Why don't you and Glenn go let them know what's going on, let 'em know Carl's okay. I need to go see him, alone. Then I got to go get cleaned up," he said. I didn't want to leave him, but I knew he needed that time so I nodded.
I did something stupid though. Instead of going to get Glenn I climbed in Carol's car that we had driven up here with and headed back to where everyone else was. Luckily, I made it without incident and saw Daryl sitting on top of the RV.
"Whatcha doing back here?" He asked when I climbed out the car. I climbed up there with him and plopped down on the roof.
"Giving an update. Carl got shot in some freak accident, still not sure exactly how. Shane went with another guy from the farm to get medical supplies, almost died, then it was almost too late to help Carl, but Hershel, the doctor, was able to save the day," I said and Daryl smiled at my story telling. "Where is everyone else?" I asked him then.
"Inside sleeping," he said. "You look kinda pale, you alright?" he asked, glaring at me intensely.
"I guess I'm just getting over everything. I thought I'd lost Shane tonight. That scared the hell out of me," I told him. It felt easy to talk to Daryl for some reason, although I was still guarded around him, not sure how much I could truly trust him.
"He's tough, I'm not sure anything could take him out," he said and it was my turn to smile.
"He's all I have. I don't think I could handle loosing him," I was lying on my back now, gazing up at the stars.
"I know what you mean. It was always me and Merle before all of this, even though he's an asshole, he is my brother," I looked at him. That was probably the most I'd ever heard him say.
"Yeah, I can't imagine what it's like. I'm really sorry about that too. I never got to tell you that."
He shrugged. "You know, if something had happened to Shane, the rest of the group would have been here for you. Rick would take care of you," he said and I rolled my eyes.
"I don't need anyone to take care of me. I just love my brother," I said, feeling my guard go up again. I hated showing weakness and I definitely wouldn't do it in front of Daryl.
"Sorry, just trying to help," he murmured.
"I know," I said and he smiled. We lapsed into a comfortable silence after that, both looking at the sky, wondering what awaited us in the morning.