Part IV

For the next week or so, Stewie went along with Brian's game, using Mara's love of children as a way of getting closer to her, which resulted in Mara and Brian ending up spending a large amount of their time together, and it didn't take long for things to take a romantic turn, which seemed to upset her brother. The dog just chose to ignore him, though. It got to the point where Brian was convinced that he was in love with the woman. He believed that they had a special connection, and whenever he was around her, he was almost able to forget about his sick feelings for Stewie. In his mind, he'd finally found his female Stewie. Even with all of this going on, the dog still made sure to spend a good amount of time with his little friend. Most of that time consisted of him reading Sherlock Holmes novels to the tyke, usually at night before bed. It was the least he could do for the child, considering what the kid was putting up with, but really, it was silly to complain about anything at this point. He was cultivating a new and strong relationship, and the mall provided everything he and Stewie could ever need. After a day or so of wandering around the mall and collecting things, the two of them had set up a nice little living area of their own. There was even a room, that used to serve as the employee showers, that they were allowed to use to wash up whenever they felt they needed to, and that's where Brian was now, enjoying the soothing warm water as he thought of the love of his life, Mara.

She really is the perfect girl for me.

The dog smiled, but his thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like footsteps coming from the entrance to the shower room. He stopped a moment and waited to confirm he had heard correctly. Sure enough, he could hear the footsteps getting closer.

"Hello?"

Nobody answered.

Huh. That's strange. Why wouldn't they…

Before he could finish his thought he felt a pair of arms grabbing him from behind. His first response was to panic, but he stopped once he heard the familiar chuckle of Mara. He looked up at the woman who was currently naked with him in the shower. He liked where this was going.

"Holy shit, Mara. You scared the crap out of me."

The woman leaned down and gave the dog a kiss on the lips. Brian returned the kiss but pulled away before things got too heated.

"What are you doing in here?"

Mara rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to be blunt about this, Brian. I like you…a lot. Before, the whole zombie invasion thing, I was never too interested in a committed relationship. I still dated and whatnot, but I never had any intentions of starting something serious."

She turned the dog around so they could better face each other.

"After seeing firsthand how the world had gone to shit and seeing how easily life could be taken from me, I came to the conclusion that I did want somebody I could give my all to, but the odds of finding somebody like that seemed slim once we got situated in the mall."

Mara knelt down so that she was face to face with the dog.

"Then, you and Stewie showed up, and after hearing about how you took care of him through all this, I wanted to get to know you better. It turned out that you were a really great guy that I really enjoyed being around and was actually rather attracted to. I've been thinking about that for the past couple of days, and I've decided, I don't want to wait. The old rules don't apply. People you care about could wind up dead at any moment, so it's best that we not waste any time."

She wrapped her arms around the canine's neck and pressed her forehead against his.

"I want to be with you, Brian because, right now, no one else will do."

Up until this point the dog had been thrilled by the sudden turn of events, but after hearing those last five words, he couldn't help but be reminded of the day Stewie had confessed his feelings to him, and that was all it took for his own feelings for the child to begin bubbling to the surface. A minute ago he had been excited, but now all he could feel was guilt.

Damn it, Brian. This is it. Mara is practically giving herself to you. Why the hell are you thinking about him?

The woman leaned in and gave him another kiss, but this time they went further than they had before as she pushed her tongue past his lips. The dog closed his eyes and returned the kiss. For a moment he felt nothing at all, but then the image of Stewie began to appear before him and he found himself putting as much passion behind it as he could.

No!

He yanked away. It was happening again. No matter what he did, he couldn't bring himself to not think about the kid. He looked down and saw that he was getting stiff. Mara noticed too and smirked, obviously believing that hardness was because of her. But it wasn't because of her. It was because of Stewie, and it would be wrong to allow this to continue. The woman reached out toward his length, but Brian stopped her by grabbing her arm. He sighed.

"Mara, stop."

The woman looked at the dog, confused.

"What's the matter?"

Brian shook his head at how silly this was and just knew he was going to hate himself for it later.

"I can't do this. I like you. I really do. You're smart and funny and sexy, but…"

He gulped.

"I'm in love with somebody else."

The woman frowned but didn't say anything.

"I thought this could work. Hell, I really wanted it to, but I can't do this with you because if I do, it won't be you I'll be thinking about. It will be that other person."

Mara stood up, disappointed.

"I'm…sorry to hear that."

She didn't seem angry, and that helped the dog feel a little better about turning her down like he had. He still felt like a total idiot, though. He knew it would be a long time before another opportunity like this arose. The woman turned to leave but stopped to say one more thing.

"If you really love this person, you shouldn't have bothered with me at all. I don't know what the situation is, but it's still like I said. If this person is still alive, you need to tell them how you feel. Otherwise, you'll regret never doing so."

With that she left, leaving Brian to ponder her parting words and finish himself off in the shower. It didn't take long. A quick fantasy of Stewie was all it took to relieve himself. He finished bathing, cut off the water, and stepped out of the shower to dry himself off.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

That was a question he would continue to ask himself for a good long while.

After the incident in the shower, things pretty much went back to normal. The only difference was the absence of Mara, which Stewie seemed to take great joy in. Still, Brian was extremely worried about how strong his feelings for the child had gotten since that day. All he ever found himself really thinking about was whether or not he should come out to the boy about how he felt. Mara had been right. The normal rules no longer applied, but did that really follow when the recipient of his affections was barely a toddler? He was so confused. Everything about he and Stewie being together was putrid and wrong, so why did the simple idea of it just feel so…right. His time with Stewie began to get more uncomfortable as it became harder and harder to keep his emotions in check, and he knew things would come to a head soon if he didn't find some way of releasing these pent up urges. So here he was, in the middle of the night, staring at the child as he slept next to him, inches away from his face and pondering whether or not to kiss him. He was fighting his desires tooth and nail, but he had to know what it was like. Sure, he had kissed the child before, but this was different. This time he would be acknowledging how he truly felt. He wanted to feel the baby's lips pressed against his more than he had ever wanted anything, and he hated himself for it. He felt his face getting closer as a force beyond his control willed him to make contact. This was going to happen. Hopefully, Stewie wouldn't wake up. He pressed his lips to the child's for a brief moment and quickly pulled away at the wonderful sensations it brought to him. It was unlike anything he had ever felt. A small smile formed on the infant's lips, and Brian couldn't help but feel proud about it. He leaned in again, this time more comfortable, and kissed the boy longer. He dared not go any further than just simple smooching, for fear of waking the boy up, but in the end, it didn't matter because the child began to respond to the kiss even through his sleep induced state. The dog knew he was pressing his luck, but he couldn't bring himself to pull away. The baby opened his mouth against his, and Brian took the opportunity to push his tongue into the toddler's mouth. He was in heaven. He kissed the boy, and the boy kissed back. This was so wrong, but for this small moment, it didn't matter. This is what it felt like to have Stewie, and it was wonderful. After awhile, he pulled away, satisfied. There was a large grin plastered on the boy's face and it made the dog smile in return. A part of him felt bad about taking advantage of the sleeping child, but he didn't let that bother him. He pulled the boy closer and kissed the top of his head.

"I love you, Stewie."

It was the first time he had said it out loud, and it felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He closed his eyes and fell into a content sleep. In his dreams, they were together.

It had been difficult to keep proper track of time during the days he and Stewie had stayed in his apartment, but that wasn't the case at the mall. As it got further into the month of December, Brian was actually surprised to find out that the survivors were planning on celebrating Christmas. In a way, it made sense. It would be a way of keeping normality in what had become a far from normal world. Stewie was especially excited about the announcement, and that was enough for Brian to be happy about it as well. He wanted to make it special for the kid. Ever since the night he had kissed the boy, he had found himself more comfortable around the child. He wasn't about to tell the infant how he felt, but he had come to terms with his feelings. He loved Stewie. There was no arguing that fact anymore, but it was still for the best that he kept that information to himself, at least for now. However, just because he wouldn't say it to the boy, that didn't mean he couldn't do his best to show it to him, and this Christmas celebration was the perfect opportunity. He immediately knew what he wanted to give Stewie for a present, and he was sure it would mean a lot to the tyke. Brian had asked Barry to keep an eye on the child as he got things ready. There was no wrapping paper, but the newspapers that David and the others had handed out made a fine substitute. It didn't take him long to wrap the present and hide it away. The plan was to give it to the boy on Christmas Eve as soon as the group celebration was over. The day finally came, and Brian could feel himself getting incredibly excited. His eagerness to get on with the day made it seem like time had slowed down, causing his excitement to eventually turn to anxiousness. At last the celebration got underway. Everyone was there except for Michael. There was caroling and a brief exchange of gifts. Mara got Stewie a rattle, which the boy rolled his eyes at upon opening, and Barry gave Brian his very own copy of A Study in Scarlet, which the dog appreciated a great deal. Once the exchange was done everyone went their separate ways for the night. Brian and Stewie made it back to their living area and settled in. Stewie tossed his rattle to the ground and Brian placed his new book with the others in his bag. After that, he went to join Stewie on the couch.

"Well…that was fun, huh."

Stewie scoffed.

"Can you believe that woman. A rattle? A fucking rattle? What the hell am I supposed to do with a rattle!"

The dog laughed at this and decided now was as good a time as any to give Stewie his present. He reached under the couch and retrieved the package. Stewie looked over with a gleam in his eye.

"What's ya got there?"

Brian handed the present to Stewie with a big smile on his face.

"Merry Christmas, Stewie."

The baby took the package eagerly and wasted no time in tearing through the newspaper. When he saw what the present was he gasped.

"Brian, is this…"

He finished unwrapping what he could now see was a book, but it wasn't just any book. Stewie knew full well how important this book was.

"That's my first edition copy of David Copperfield. I want you to have it."

The infant marveled at the book.

"I…I can't take this from you. You love this book."

The dog could barely stop from saying what he was thinking.

Not as much as I love you.

Instead, he kept that to himself.

"I do love that book, Stewie, but I want you to have it as a reminder of how much I care about you. I made a terrible mistake leaving you those many months ago, and this is my way of showing you that I'll never make that mistake again."

The boy looked over at him with a look of pure adoration.

"Thank you, Brian. I…I'll cherish this forever."

Brian's heart swelled upon hearing that. It took everything in him to not lean over and kiss the child right there. Stewie placed the book to the side and chuckled.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to top that. My present is pretty poor in comparison."

The dog's brow rose in curiosity.

"You got me something?"

The baby nodded and ran over to one of the bags he was using to keep his stuff in. He pulled out a piece of paper, ran back over to the dog, and handed it to him.

"It's not much. I had no way of going out on my own, seeing as everyone around this place sees me as nothing but a helpless infant, but I was able to talk Mara into getting me some craft supplies. I guess that wench is good for something after all."

The dog looked at his present, which he now realized was a Christmas card with a crayon drawing of him and Stewie on it. The drawing was on a regular piece of white paper, which was glued to a sheet of red construction paper, which was framed by an even bigger piece of green construction paper. At the top, the card read "Merry Christmas, Bry!" and at bottom was written "From: Your Friend, Stewie". Both of these messages were written in green crayon on the red construction paper. Brian loved it.

"This is great, Stewie."

He set the card down and hugged the boy.

"Thank you so much."

They continued hugging for several more seconds before pulling themselves away from each other. Stewie hopped back up on the couch and scooched himself as close as he could to Brian. He picked up the book and gave it to the dog.

"Read it to me again."

The boy laid his head in Brian's lap as the dog began reading from the tome. It gave them both a feeling of déjà vu that they both reveled in. Before Brian had finished the first chapter, Stewie was out like a light. He closed the book and placed it snuggly into the child's arms before lying down behind the boy and wrapping his own arms around him protectively. For a while, he just laid there, taking in the cozy feeling of snuggling against the object of his affections, before finally closing his eyes and letting sleep take him away to his fantasies.

Brian had convinced himself that he and Stewie no longer had to worry about the zombie threat, but that conviction was proven false when David and his friends got all the survivors together to inform them about something that was almost too horrible to believe, which was really saying something when they were living in a true to life zombie apocalypse. Upon hearing the news, everyone began to panic, except for Michael who just sat up to show that he had heard and was paying attention. Cries of "This can't be true." and "How could they do this." rang throughout the store. Brian and Stewie didn't say anything. David addressed the panicked group.

"I wish it wasn't true, but I saw it on the news with my own two eyes. The military is planning a series of bombings on Road Island, in order to wipe out the zombies. These bombings will commence sometime within the next forty-two hours. They have the entire state sectioned off from the rest of the country in hopes of containing the zombie threat."

Brian was frozen in place, but Stewie pulled him to side and got his attention.

"Brian, we can't stay here."

The dog nodded his head in agreement.

"I know, but what are we supposed to do? There's no way we'll be able to make it out of the state in time with the zombies in the way, and after what happened last time, I'm not exactly comfortable with heading back into the streets. We've been here for weeks. There's no telling what it's like out there."

The child looked down at the ground. Brian could tell he was thinking hard. After a couple of minutes, the boy looked back up at him.

"I know where we can go."

Stewie had a plan. Brian felt a brief moment of relief.

"Where?"

The infant looked at him seriously.

"Home."

It took the dog a second to realize what "home" Stewie was referring to, and even when he did, it did nothing but aid his confusion at the child's suggestion.

"You mean in Quahog? But…why would we go there? I doubt that house will be able to withstand a military bombing."

Stewie had to raise his voice due to the sound of the others getting louder.

"Most of the house won't, but I know a section that might. There's no guarantee that it will, but it's our best bet, my secret room."

Brian thought about this. He knew the room Stewie was referring to. He had only seen it in passing a couple of times, but it was hard to forget something as amazing as that. As he thought about this plan, Stewie kept talking.

"The steel surrounding that section of the house should be enough to survive a couple of air strikes. Of course, that depends on what kind of air strikes we're talking about here. If their nuclear, then were screwed, but I highly doubt the U.S. military is planning to detonate nukes on their own soil"

The dog looked over at the others who were still in a panic.

"If we're going to do this. We have to take them too. We can't leave them to die."

The boy frowned but didn't protest.

"They better not get in our way. That's all I have to say."

Brian rushed over to where David was standing, still trying to calm down the crowd. He didn't seem to be having any luck, and it took several shouts before Brian was able to get everyone's attention.

"Hey, everyone! Listen! I know where we can go that's safe. It's just a city away in Quahog."

The dog went to explain more, but he was stopped by David.

"Quahog? What makes you think we'll be safe in Quahog? That's where this whole mess began in the first place! Going there is suicide."

He turned back to the crowd.

"Don't listen to this moron. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Who's gotten you this far? I have. Who saved your sorry asses and brought you here? I did. I've taken care of you for this long, and as long as you stick with me, I'll continue to take care of you."

The group seemed to respond positively to David's speech, and really, Brian couldn't blame them. David had kept them safe throughout the entire zombie invasion, so sticking with him would seem like the best choice in this situation. Still, Brian had to try and win them over or else all these people were going to die.

"I'm not trying to usurp you here, David, but can you honestly say that you have a plan for this situation? I'm telling the truth. I know a place that's safe."

David looked at him, annoyed.

"Oh, really? And where might this place be?"

The dog knew that telling them the full truth would make him sound like a raving lunatic, but he had to give them some kind of answer.

"There's a bunker back at my old home on Spooner St. It will shield us from the bomb strikes."

Upon hearing this, the group began talking amongst themselves, debating whether or not what Brian was saying was true. It was clear that David didn't like having the attention stolen from him, so the man continued to condescend Brian's plan.

"Even if this bunker exists, we'll never make it to Spooner St. alive."

He faced the crowd again.

"I say we all head for the bank and stay in the vault until after the bombs drop."

Brian couldn't believe this suggestion.

"Wh-What? You can't be serious! The vault may not even be open, and even if it is, how the hell do you plan on getting everyone out once it's closed?"

David rolled his eyes.

"Simple, we'll take enough food and water to last us awhile. As soon as the zombie threat is extinguished someone will come to retrieve the money and find us."

Moron!

He turned back to the group.

"What do you say? Follow me to a place you know will protect us, or trust this mutt and hope that we'll be able to survive the trip for something that might not even be there."

With those words, it became clear that David had won the others over. Brian went to argue the man's points, but was interrupted by the sound of Mara's voice.

"Hey, has anybody seen Michael?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around. Nobody knew where he was. David motioned for his men to come with him and everybody else followed them. They began searching the mall for Michael, calling out his name but receiving no response. Brian and Stewie followed along, too, but Stewie kept trying to convince Brian that they needed to just hurry up and leave because the others weren't going to listen to the dog.

"Forget them, Brian. If they want to follow that psycho to their deaths that's their decision. If we leave now, we'll make it to the house in plenty of time."

Brian knew the child was right, but a part of him wanted to make sure that the others found Michael first, so he made up an excuse, hoping the child would buy it.

"I'm still not too sure how you plan for us to make it all the way back through Quahog alive. If David is right about one thing it's that going home is a huge risk."

The boy heaved a sigh in aggravation.

"I'll think of something. Let's just get out of here before it's too late."

Before the dog could respond, he heard Pierce calling to everyone that he had found Michael. Everybody looked where he was pointing, and what they saw made them all freeze in terror. Michael was in the process of removing the barricades from the front doors that were being used to keep the zombies out. David shouted out to the man.

"Michael! What the hell are you doing, Man!"

The zombies were crowded together on the other side of the glass doors pounding and clawing. Michael went to unlock one of the doors, prompting David to raise his gun.

"Don't do it, Michael!"

The man turned and looked over his shoulder at David.

"We're all going to die anyway. What's the point in fighting the inevitable?"

With that, Michael unlocked the door. David fired his weapon, killing the man, but it was too late. The door was open, and the zombies were making their way inside. David turned to everyone else and began shouting orders.

"Everybody, follow me to the armory! We need to get out of here now!"

David began running towards the back of the building, and everybody else followed suit. The arsenal was located in the very back in a room that used to be the central security observation room. When they got there, David and his friends started handing out the weapons to everyone except for Stewie, but Brian managed to sneak a couple of pistols away and hand them to the boy. It wasn't like anybody was paying that much attention to them. After all, they had far more pressing matter to worry about. Brian was handed a semi-automatic rifle and a couple of belts of ammunition. One of David's friends quickly demonstrated how to use the gun before moving on to another person in the group. After making sure that everyone was armed and familiar with their weapons. David led everybody out the back exit and into the employee parking lot. The ground was covered in snow.

"This way to the bank!"

Stewie grabbed Brian's paw to stop him. The dog turned around and noticed the boy was pointing at a rather large truck.

"That's it, Brian! We can take that all the way to Spooner St. If any vehicle will get us there, it's that."

The dog saw Stewie's point. It was a large heavy duty truck built for off-road driving and withstanding severe impacts. It would get them home with no problem. They could just drive over any zombies that got in their way. He took a step towards the truck and stopped. He turned back to the others who were heading in the opposite direction. It would probably be pointless, but he had to try one last time to convince them to come with him and Stewie. He called out to them, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of gunfire. A large group of zombies had appeared around the corner. Not long after that, two more groups began coming out of the back exit and around the other corner. The parking lot was surrounded. Brian kept calling to them. Stewie grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the truck.

"They can't hear you! There's nothing we can do! Just break this damn window already so we can get in and so I can hotwire this thing!"

Stewie was right. Brian didn't like it, but the kid was right. He smashed the driver's side window with the butt of his gun and unlocked the door. As he hopped into the driver's seat and began familiarizing himself with the layout of the vehicle, Stewie got to work starting the car. In no time at all, Brian heard the roar of the powerful engine. Stewie climbed over into the passenger seat, and Brian shut his door before driving off and out of the parking lot. They hit several zombies on the way out, but they proved no problem for the powerful truck. As he drove down the street, the dog still made an effort to avoid as many zombies as he could, but now he didn't have to worry about totaling the vehicle from hitting too many. He took a quick glance into the rearview mirror and watched as the mall faded into the background.

"I hope they're able to make it out ok."

Stewie saw how upset he was about leaving the group and placed a reassuring hand on the dog's leg, causing the dog to tense up.

"They were packing some heavy weaponry. I'm sure they'll be fine."

Brian knew the odds of the survivors getting out of there alive were very slim, but he took solace in Stewie's reassuring words. After all, he had done everything he could, and he wasn't going to risk his and Stewie's lives just so he could save a bunch of people he had known for less than a month. With that in mind, he refocused his attention on his driving and the goal of reaching his old home. He'd never imagined he'd be going there ever again, but here he was driving like a bat out of hell in the biggest hurry of his life to get back home. He chuckled darkly. Things had a funny way of working out sometimes.