Every Step

Jay brought up the tail end of the group that Rick had become a part of the night before, her hand always on the hilt of the hunting knife that she had told him belonged to her boyfriend as well. She had promised herself that she would return it to him as soon as she met up with him again, because now she had a reason beyond love to find him. She looked around the empty halls of the stations house for walkers that might be making their way on by, but so far everything had been clear for them.

Duane reached up to grab the front of her shirt, drawing her attention to where Rick was unlocking the doors. The lights were out inside, leaving everything darker than night. The darkness was unsettling for them all; in the darkness you couldn't see what was there right in front of you. They couldn't hear a single noise from inside, but that didn't offer near as much reassurance as they would have wished for. Rick shined a flashlight down the entrance hall, illuminating a fire extinguisher on the wall, coffee makers and food on the counters.

Rick entered first with his flashlight, shining around every corner that they passed, Morgan following up behind him with one of the lanterns that he had brought with him. Duane was sandwiched between his father and Jay, the only woman of the group stepping backward to make sure nothing caught them by surprise.

They headed straight for the change rooms and showers.

"Will the water actually work?" Jay asked as she closed the door behind them, making sure that it was completely shut and locking it. They guys all moved over to where the rows of showers were located, leaving Jay to linger behind. Rick began turning the nob of one of the showers, the water hesitating before blasting out into the tile flooring.

"The gas lines have been down for…maybe a month," Morgan starting, looking over to Rick. No one wanted to have a cold shower, it wasn't that hot outside.

"Station's got its own propane system," Rick started, holding his hand out to the water. The warm liquid ran along his arm, leaving him to revel in it for a moment before he turned his attention to the older man across from him. "It's still on."

"If you're joking, that is very cruel," Jay said from behind them, looking longingly at the water. As the only woman, she had the longest hair which meant the most body oils that were being stored up inside and on the strands.

"You can shower up first," Morgan said, motioning to her. "You've deserved that much. Just because the world ended doesn't mean we've got to be rude about it and forget our manners," Morgan said as he stepped away, guiding his son toward the locker area so that Jay would have some privacy.

"There were quite a couple of women on the force, I could find you some clothes to change into if you'd like?" Rick offered, moving to follow the other two men out. Jay was still watching the falling water with longing eyes, nodding her head half-heartedly when Rick stood waiting for a reply. He laughed softly to himself before leaving her alone. "I'll leave a towel on the hook."

Jay didn't hesitate to pull her soiled white tank top over her head, throwing it to the floor before repeating the action with her bra, pants and underwear, stowing her knife in her bag. Standing without a stitch of material, she pulled her hair carefully from the tie that she had put it in, sliding the band around her wrist for later use. She could still hear the guys as they spoke on the other side of the lockers, but she didn't worry about any of them peaking.

As soon as the water touched her skin, her tense muscles seemed to just dissolve away. She smiled to herself and ducked her head under the warm stream, groaning in pleasure as her fingers began to run through the dampening strands, parting them and allowing water the wash through. Arching her neck every which way, she let herself be caressed by the gentle pressure; she moved her body about in a passion of memories as the water washed away her worries, her fears.

Collecting the soap that sat on the small shelf in every shower, she quickly lathered herself up with the bar, making sure that every patch of skin was covered, not a single pore was left unclaimed. She spent more time than she ever remembered scrubbing at her arms, legs, chest, back, feet, face, hair. She was sure that her skin was red raw before she finally began to let the water wash away the soap. She found a couple of shave blades in one of the other showers and used one to quickly deal with her legs and underarms, having neglected them for a fair while.

Then the process of washing repeated.

Knowing that the men were waiting, she rinsed herself off for the last time, taking one final moment to stand under the warm current before she spun the knobs to turn off the shower. A towel was waiting on the hook, just as Rick had assured, and she wrapped the large blanket of material around her body before she collected her things and rounded the corner. They guys had finished collecting their own clothes to change into and were speaking dreamily about the showers.

"All yours," She said as she leaned against the cold metal of the lockers. Duane immediately took off running to the showers—whooping and cheering—while the two men couldn't help but to pause at the sight of a clean Jay. They could perfectly see the tan lines of a halter top, the rest of her skin covered in a golden hue from the sun. Her legs, smooth and hairless now, were defined by a strong amount of muscle, from before or after the end of the world they didn't know.

"I picked out some clothes for you, some pants and shirts," Rick started, turning around to pick up a small pile of clothes that had been sitting on the bench behind him. "The pants are uniform, but the shirts are just undershirts."

"That's fine, clean is clean," Jay said as she stepped forward and took the clothes from him, dropping her bag onto the bench. "Thank you."

"No problem," Rick said with a nod before he moved to follow after the other two. He glanced back once to see the tattoo on her back, but her long hair was covering it up.

Only when Jay heard the showers all start up did she look through the clothes that Rick had gotten for her. She was surprised to find that there were even undergarments there, although the underwear was slightly too small, the sports bra looked like it would fit well. Dressing quickly, she smiled at the feeling of unworn clothing on clean skin, instead of dirty clothes on equally dirty skin. She hadn't worn clean clothes in a fair amount of time, so she couldn't be happier than in that moment.

Pulling on her boots and strapping her knife back onto her thigh, she could hear Duane start singing from the showers, causing her to smirk to herself, shaking her head. She tucked the extra shirt and pants into her bag for another time, bringing out her hair brush to try and remove the knots that had accumulated through her shower time. There hadn't been conditioner in the shower, and her long hair was nearly impossible without conditioner.

She was still tugging out knots when the showers stopped and the guys began to get changed on the other side of the locker. She fell quiet as she listened to Rick and Morgan speak, Duane having gone to change in a separate room. She listened to Morgan speak about Atlanta, and how they had originally been intending to go there before there was a mass panic.

"What about Jamie?" Rick asked softly, out of the blue, probably assuming she couldn't hear them. She let her hands fall to her lap, her half brushed hair forgotten as she listened to them.

"She found us," Morgan started, equally as soft as Rick, "We were looking for supplies in the abandoned stores when a walker blocked us in. I didn't have my gun in reach, I'd put it down on a counter, and there was nothing else there to use. Jamie came up behind it and put her hunting knife through the back it its skull. I had panicked, and it nearly got us killed."

"So you asked her to stay?"

"Yea, she knows a lot more about those things than we do. She's travelled quite a bit, killed plenty walkers if I'm guessing correct. You should," Morgan hesitated in continuing, the sound of material shirting about as he continued to get dressed. "You should ask her to go with you. I know enough to keep myself and Duane safe, but you're new to this. Besides, she's looking for her man, she needs to get out there and move, not hide away like Duane and myself."

Jay looked over to the lockers that separated her from Morgan and Rick, her heart pounding in her chest. She knew that he was right; she couldn't stay hiding away for much longer. She would never get anywhere if she didn't start moving again soon. Rick was looking for someone just like she was; he understood why it was so important that he go to Atlanta. His family was probably there.

"I'll talk to her," Rick promised quietly, the conversation between the two men falling quiet as they finished getting dressed. Jay pulled at the remaining knots in her hair harshly, trying to make the job go by faster, before she threw her brush into her bag and rose to her full 5'7'' height.

"Jamie, you all set?" Ricked asked from around the corner, waiting for an answer just encase he walked in while she was still getting dressed.

"All set," Jay confirmed, silently wondering why he had switched to calling her by her full name all of a sudden. "Wish I had had some conditioner or something, though," She teased gently as she stepped alone the lockers, seeing Rick look around the corner for her. "What's next?"

"Guns."

Jay followed Rick to the gun locker, seeing that there was still a lot missing from the racks, Rick voicing the same thing. He began pulling guns off the shelves and holders, checking them over to see if they were okay to fire. Jay pulled a sniper off the gun rack, looking it over carefully. She passed it over to Morgan after a moment, turning to examine all of the remaining weapons.

"Daddy, can I learn to shoot?" Duane asked as he looked up to his father with hope in his eyes. Jay glanced at Morgan's face, knowing that he wouldn't deny his son. "I'm old enough."

"Hell yes, you're gunna learn," Morgan answered back right away, concentrating on his son as he rolled up the sleeves of his blue button up shirt. "But we got to do it carefully, teach you to respect the weapon."

"That's right," Rick threw in, passing a shotgun over to Jay, "It's not a toy. If you pull the trigger, you have to mean it. Always remember that, Duane."

"Yes, sir," Duane said, seeing the seriousness of the officer's face. Rick had turned to cop mode, all serious attitude and soft voice. He was in his element, he knew exactly what it was that he needed to do, and he was going to carry it out. He looked over to where Duane was packing ammo into the large black Sheriff's bag that he had laid out, Morgan was testing the scope on the sniper rifle and Jay was making sure the load on the shotgun hadn't jammed from lack of use of the time Rick had been in the hospital.

"Hey, Jay, can I talk to you?" Rick finally asked carefully, causing her to look up from her work. She didn't hesitate to nod and placed the shotgun into the bag of guns, turning to follow Rick out of the gun locker. He didn't move far, but out of earshot of Duane and Morgan. The elder man watched them move off, a knowing look in his eye. "Look, I've got something I need to ask you."

"Alright, shoot," Jay said, her voice serious as her eyes held onto his. The white uniform shirt that she was wearing looked blinding in the fluorescent lighting of the room, her skin appearing darker because of the contrast.

"I wanted to give you a choice. You can come with me to Atlanta, maybe your boyfriend's there or you can stay with Morgan and Duane. I've already spoken with Morgan, he thinks that it's best if you come with me because he knows that you…you'll be wanting to get back on the road and move," Rick said carefully, watching her eyes as he spoke. She never once looked away from him, nodding her head in understanding, instead.

"I would like that," She whispered softly. Rick could see the guilt in her eyes and knew that it was because of Duane. She had been there to help protect him for so long that it would strange just leaving him behind now.

"Well, alright then."

They finished loading up the guns and ammo quickly, making two separate bags. One had the majority, the other held a few for Morgan and Duane, and all but the boy held one on their person. Jay carried a sniper over her shoulders, the black strap pressed between her breasts as she jogged up the steps that led out of the station from the basement.

"Conserve your ammo, you never know how fast it goes until it's gone," Rick said as he moved up the short set of stairs, carrying the large bag of guns in one hand and a duffle bag in the other. "It goes real fast, especially at target practice," He said over his shoulder, looking down to Duane briefly. Jay helped Duane carry his and his father's things to the truck they had, popping the trunk open.

"Look, Duane, there's something I got to tell you," Jay said suddenly as the boy tossed a bag of clothing inside. He still for a moment before look over to her, seeing that she looked slightly upset. He could hear Rick talking calmly with his father and fell sullen.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm going with Rick," She explained softly, kneeling down to his height. "I need to find the man that I love, just like he needs to find his family. I can help teach him the ropes, too."

"We won't see you again?" Duane asked sadly, seeing the pain that entered her facial expression when he asked.

"I don't know. I hope that we do, sometime in the future," She said softly as she lifted her hand up to adjust his sweat shirt. "You take care, you hear? Do everything you're daddy tells you, right?" She said carefully, her voice nearly cracking. She had been with those two for so long, it was strange to be leaving them suddenly.

"I promise," Duane said softly, before he was pulled into a hug by the woman that had nearly come to be a second mother to him. She ran her hand over the short curls of his hair, smelling the soap on his skin. She closed her eyes to fight away tears before she pulled away, offering him one last smile before the both of them turned to head back over to the men. Jamie had a straight back, her shoulders squared, as she walked to the man that would become her new companion. Determination was set in each stride, strength in ever press of her feet on the pavement. Jamie refused to back down.

Second chapter! I had originally planned for these to be one chapter per episode, but I did not realize how long it would be until I started writing! They might get even longer through time, maybe. Anyway, I really hope to get some reviews for this, it'll be great to hear what you all have to say! The next chapter should be out tomorrow, I just need to edit it.