When Del awoke, she found herself on a couch in a bright room. She sat up, her eyes darting around the area, seeing her bags sitting by the door. She couldn't recognize where she was, but for a moment, she felt comfortable being somewhere other than the pharmacy. Rubbing her hands over her face, she tossed the blanket form her legs, and stood from the couch.
As she felt her legs shudder beneath her, she recalled having the same feeling in the RV before everything went black. She figured she had passed out, and the others brought her into the CDC to rest. With a quiet groan, she carefully made her way out of the room, into a long, dark hallway. She could hear the voices of the others coming from down the hall, and slowly followed the sounds.
"Look who's up!" Rick announced as Del shuffled into the dining room.
"How long was I out?" she inquired, as she headed towards the group.
"Two hours, maybe," Glenn replied. "You passed out." Del studied the table where everyone sat, noting the various trays of food and bottles of wine splayed across it.
"You should eat something to get your strength up." Del looked to the man who spoke, realizing he was not one of the group that had saved her.
"You a doctor?" she asked, sitting down next to Dale.
"Edwin Jenner," he responded with a nod.
"Thanks," Del said, accepting the plate of food that Dale offered to her, and began to eat slowly. As she tasted the food, she felt immediately comforted. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, smiling. "Oh, man," she mumbled, swallowing her food. "This is so fucking good."
"How long has it been since you've eaten?" Lori asked.
"Can't remember," Del responded. "Days, maybe more than a week. I don't know." She began eating even faster, feeling how starving she was for the first time. She heard the others laughing at how quickly she was shoveling the food into her mouth, but she ignored them.
"Glenn said you're a cop," Dale stated. Del looked up at him, nodding her head while she attempted to swallow the mouthful of food she had chewed. "In Boston. Is that right?"
"Trooper," she answered. "About five years now. Greatest job in the world."
"They let you be a cop with all those tattoos?" Sophia asked, as she and Carl both studied the ink on the girl's arms.
"Most of my superiors didn't mind much," Del responded. "It didn't hinder my ability as a Statie. I worked my ass off to get where I was, and I wasn't going to let anything stand in my way."
"Here you go, sweetie," Carol said, holding a glass of wine out to Del. The girl shook her head and looked back down at her plate.
"No, thanks," she spoke. "Try not to drink the stuff. You got any tonic?"
"Is that kinda like soda?" Glenn asked, slowly.
"Yah, exactly like soda," she replied. As Glenn grabbed her a glass of soda, Dale dished another helping of pasta onto her plate. She smiled graciously at both of the men, and continued to eat.
"Well, now that you seem to be in better spirits," Shane began. "Wanna tell us how it is you ended up all the way down here?" Del scowled at the man, still not finding him trustworthy.
"I drove here," she spat. He smirked at her, relaxing into his seat as he propped his hands behind his head. "Lookit, I came down here to survive," she answered. "I lost my family, my friends, and my town. I just drove until I got tired of seeing corpses coming at my car. I was sitting in that pharmacy for two months before you guys came along."
"Well, I'm glad we did," Rick spoke, smiling at the girl.
The rest of the meal continued on with everyone laughing and celebrating their rescue by Jenner. Del stayed silent, eyeing up the survivors, and learning each of their names as they spoke to one another. It was strange for Del, being surrounded by people she had only met that day, and having them treat her as if they were lifelong friends.
Once everyone finished eating, Jenner offered to show everyone to their rooms. Del went back to the room where she was sleeping before, and began to dig through her belongings looking for clean clothes. Satisfied with what she had gathered, she made her way back down the hallway heading towards where Jenner had mentioned the showers to be.
Along the way, she approached a room where one of the other survivors was, one that she hadn't spoken to yet. From what she could tell during dinner, the man's name was Daryl, and he tended to seclude himself from the others, though Carol made mention of his attempt to be social. Del slowed her walking, peering in at the man who sat on his couch, cleaning his crossbow. Del watched him as he stopped to take a long swig of his wine.
"You gon' stand there and stare all day or what?" he spoke, looking up to the young woman standing in his doorway. She shrugged her shoulders, and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Not much for pleasantries?" she asked.
"I don't like no one starin' at me like I'm a caged animal," he said.
"So don't I," Del replied.
"And you don't seem to like people talkin' to you neither." Del nodded her head noticing that he was barely paying attention to her He continued to work on his crossbow. "If you got somethin' to say, then say it," he added.
"I don't have anything to say," she replied, walking into his room, and picking up the bottle of wine that sat at his feet. "Just trying to figure you out." She took a long drink of the alcohol, before setting it back down on the ground.
"Thought you didn't drink," he mumbled.
"I'm Irish, brah," she laughed, turning and heading out of the room. "Of course I fuckin' drink."
After Del showered, she slipped into an shirt and shorts, and immediately headed back to her room. When she entered, she was greeted by Shane, who stood shirtless in the center of the room, digging through a bag.
"Yo, Serpico!" Del snapped, throwing her dirty clothes onto the floor near her bags. "The fuck are you doing in my room?" He turned and looked at the girl, an angered look on his face.
"Ain't no more rooms left," he replied. "I'm stayin' here the night, then find somewhere else tomorrow." Del opened her mouth to speak but Shane cut her off. "I ain't gonna try nothin' on you, girl," he added. "I'm gonna be sleepin' on the floor." He picked up a button up shirt, and slipped it on his arms, grabbing the bottle of wine off of the table. Without another word, he stormed from the room and out of Del's sight.
Sighing, Del collapsed onto the couch and pulled her blanket over her body. She knew that Glenn, Rick, and the others meant well, but there was something about Shane that didn't sit right with her. She felt like he was always on the attack, and he had an explosive temper.
"Maybe I'm wrong," she mumbled to herself, as she turned onto her side to get comfortable, and soon began to drift to sleep.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she was awoken by the sound of Shane stumbling into the room. She stayed still for a few moments, listening to him mumbling under his breath.
"Fuckin' bitch," he breathed, before there was a slam. Del jumped, rolling over to see what caused the sound. Shane was sitting on the table, with his back towards Del, rubbing his hands over his face. "Stupid, ungrateful..." he continued to mumble.
"Dude, the fuck?" Del asked. Shane looked over his shoulder at the girl, the frustration in his eyes apparent. "Are you okay?" she questioned, quietly. Del watched as Shane stood from the table, and moved to pick up the things he had kicked over when he entered the room. As he did this, Del noticed scratch marks on his neck. "Holy shit, come here," she said, tossing the covers from her legs, and hurrying towards him.
"I'm fine," he assured, avoiding her grasp.
"You're not fuckin' fine," Del snapped, grasping his face with both hands and turning his head towards her. "Jesus, what happened?" she asked. She let go of Shane, and headed towards her bag, rifling through it.
"Nothin'," Shane growled. Del could tell he was still drunk, but couldn't figure out how exactly he attained the scratches. Once Del located her the alcohol wipes she was looking for, she took Shane's wrist and tugged him towards the table. She forced him to kneel down in front of her as she sat on the couch.
"Now why dontcha tell me who decided to fuck your shit up like this?" Del offered, as she opened one of the wipes.
"Just a communication that's all," Shane rasped. "Ain't nothin' to worry about, girl." Del frowned at Shane, narrowing her eyes.
"Call me 'girl' again, ya'hear," she spat. "I'll throw you a beatin'." She grasped his chin, and turned his face away from her, not before she noticed the smug smirk on his lips. "I've spent my whole life avoidin' people like you," she mumbled, as she tended to Shane's cuts. "And now I'm stuck with yah."
"Well, that accent sure gets thicker when you're pissed," Shane quipped.
"Yah, I know," Del responded, clearing her throat and getting herself in check. "I try not to let it get too wild, but sometimes I can't help it. Sorry."
"I figured you didn't like me much," he spoke. "Why are you so eager to help me with a couple of scratches?"
"Just my nature, I s'pose," Del answered. "Don't have anything to do with liking you or not. I help people that need help. That's why I loved being a cop."
As she finished cleaning Shane's wounds, he suddenly placed his hands on her thighs. Del froze, staring Shane directly in his eyes. He didn't speak to her, just let his rough hands gently slip up her thighs.
"I don't know what you think you're doing," she began, carefully. "But you need to stop it." Shane's fingers grasped her thighs, roughly tugging her body towards his. He leaned forward, attempting to press himself further between her legs. "Brah," Del said, pushing him away. "You're wicked drunk right now, so I'm not gonna clock you...but seriously, fuckin' quit it."
"C'mon now, Lori," he rasped, moving back in. "Don't think about it, baby. It'll be just like before."
"Fuckin' Lori?" Del fumed. "Are you seriously drunk enough to think I'm Rick's wife?" At the mention of his best friend's name, Shane recoiled, looking into Del's eyes as if he was trying to figure out who she was. "Dude, you're fuckin' hammered," Del said, quietly. "Go to sleep."
Shane stood from the floor, beginning to mumble under his breath again, before he took his shirt off and pitched it across the room. Del watched him, utterly confused by his actions. After a moment, Shane turned the light off in the room, and settled onto the floor in his makeshift bed, without another word to Del.
Del stared at his back, puzzled and indignant at the same time. She knew Shane was drunk, which would explain his actions, but she couldn't overlook how he continued to force himself onto her when she denied his advances. It only made her feel more suspicious of him.
A/N: Little introduction of Daryl there, not much but it's something! Haha, anyway, very drunk!Shane not knowing what he's doing, always fun. I'll be writing some more tonight, and hopefully will have it up by tomorrow. It's starting out as a slow-burn kinda thing, but once I get this going, you're in for a ride. lol, I really hope you guys like it.