Chapter 14:

Scouting Time

The morning sunlight danced across Morgan's face as he raised a weary hand to block it out, he felt dreary and heavy as he forced himself up to look around him. He, Duane and Fred had elected to use the guest bedroom so Hannah, Jamie and Billy could sleep more peacefully but he woke to see Fred had gone, probably on his shift doing watch duty, Morgan had taken it until 10 then woken Hannah for the night shift which she had volunteered.

Duane still slept in the bed opposite Morgan but Morgan decided not to wake him, he looked so peaceful in his sleep and Morgan hated the kid when he was grumpy.

As he opened the door he saw Fred in the study with the rifle looking out the window, he didn't acknowledge Morgan since his back was turned so Morgan carried on, 'best let a worrying man worry away' they used to say.

As he continued down the stairs Morgan noticed quiet talking coming from the living room, as he walked in he found Paula and Jamie sat next to each other.

"Morning." He greeted slightly surprised by the croak in his throat.

"Morning. Sleep well?" Paula asked as Morgan took a seat opposite them, Paula looked as worn as Morgan felt, he could tell under all that stress she was a beautiful woman but the weeks of evading the dead had put years on her face. What was obviously once a casual plaid shirt and white pants had now been dirtied and ruffled.

"Not too bad actually. I think jogging from one house to another really wears a person out. What time is it?" he asked looking for his watch before realising he took it off before going to sleep.

"9:17." Jamie answered, she looked slightly guilty and Morgan knew that she was regretting shouting at her mother. Duane wore it every time he walked into the same room as Morgan after they had argued.

"Damn I slept in… Usually up by 7. Then again Fred was on watch so…" Morgan found he was unable to finish sentences, every muscle in his body was begging him to go back to bed.

"How is he?" Paula asked.

"He's just worried about his wife is all. He'll be fine once she makes it over here." Morgan said, the plan was for them to come to the Drake's since the house was bigger and Paula's group had fewer kids. Shane had argued that Morgan's group should come to them since they had more adults and weapons but Morgan was insistent because of the space and the fact they had that RV which would be handy if they needed to make a quick getaway.

"I hope they make it here okay. I checked this morning for any walkers but this street is still clean." Paula said and Jamie nodded.

"I haven't seen one all week. Kinda wish I could get out of the house." She said quietly.

"Careful what you wish for kiddo, can't count the number of times I wished for something like that only to have it bite me on the butt." Morgan said and Paula chuckled as Jamie bit her lip.

"Mom said she would let me out for a bit today if the group came. If we are going to the police station I want to go out with her." Jamie said and Morgan was slightly taken aback, wasn't this the same Jamie who was scared of walkers?

"When did she say that?" Morgan asked in a curious tone, that didn't sound like Hannah.

"Last night. She said she was sorry she treated me like a child and told me that if she was going on the scout to the station then I could go with her." She said and Morgan looked to Paula for support but saw she was wearing an accepting look. Jamie probably told her before Morgan came down.

"If she is going I wanna go to." A strong voice came from the staircase. Morgan turned so fast he heard his neck crick as he saw his son standing at the bottom of the stairs in the same jeans and orange t-shirt he had been wearing for the last 3 days.

"No." Morgan said as Duane walked towards him.

"But Dad…"

"I said no Duane."

"Come on! Jamie's going! If she can go why can't I?" Duane said loudly folding his arms.

"It hasn't been decided whether she is going yet." Morgan countered but Jamie spoke up.

"Mom said I could."

"Well we have to talk about that."

"Why?" Jamie asked loudly as Duane began to speak Paula spoke over all of them.

"Shush! We don't even know if we are going to the station yet so let's wait for the others to get here before we make any hasty decisions." She said calmly diffusing the conversation; both kids gave him angry looks as they both sat back down.

What followed next was surely the most awkward silence of Morgan's life (including the 30 seconds after he proposed to Jenny where she did nothing but stare at the ring with a shocked expression). Paula excused herself during minute 4 saying something about breakfast, the tense silence only finished when Hannah walked down the stairs.

"Good morning!" she said brightly as Morgan turned around.

"Thank God… Morning. Paula's on breakfast so you can come and sit and talk to us. Please?" Morgan nearly begged, Hannah chuckled and sat down next to them.

"Where's Billy?" Jamie asked and Hannah's face went from cheery to a glummer look.

"He's still sleeping. He kept waking up in the night crying so I had to nurse him back to sleep, I had about 3 hours myself." She complained and Morgan saw Jamie look down guiltily as though this was her own fault.

"So I hear you promised Jamie a trip to the police station." Morgan bought up, Hannah looked up and looked at him with an uncertain eye. She sighed and sat back fiddling with her shirt, it was one of Jenny's old shirts, a light purple one that was tight on her but fitting on Hannah, Morgan always remembered it because Jenny would wear it when she was doing housework (something the green paint stains would attest to).

"I said if I went she could come with me, I don't want to keep them cooped up in the house for too long." She reasoned folding her arms.

"Well why don't you take Billy out as well then?" Morgan asked folding his too; Hannah looked at him like he was crazy.

"I am not going to expose him to that kind of danger. At least with Jamie I can trust she will do what she is told, won't you?" she turned to her daughter who nodded vigorously.

"Well if she is going I wanna go to." Duane said firmly looking at Hannah, Hannah did a double take and looked at Morgan.

"It's your call Morgan." She said but Morgan declined the offer.

"Let's just wait for the other group to get here before we make any rash decisions." He said firmly before standing up, he walked through to the kitchen to find Paula emptying the last of the beans into the frying pan over the camping stove.

"When did the kids start growing up so quickly?" Morgan asked exasperated as Paula stirred the beans, she chuckled slightly as she stirred.

"I don't know. Want some advice?" she asked.

"Depends if I like it."

"You might do."

"Then hit me."

Paula smiled as she carried on stirring. She looked up to Morgan and made eye contact.

"You can't protect Duane forever, I know you want to it's only natural but with us needing all the help we can get and people being spread thin I think at least giving him minimal exposure would help out a great deal. Besides he looks like a nice boy and he listens to you. You have no idea how lucky you are with him…" she started choking up on the last few words and Morgan saw the tears fill her eyes as she looked away, she had told him about how she had lost her husband and young daughter and had watched them die. Morgan respected her for carrying on.

"Hey, don't think about that… and you're right. I can't protect Duane forever… Maybe I should take him out later." He wondered as Paula wiped the tears away, she looked at the beans which were nearly cooked.

"Looks like breakfast is served. Mind getting everyone?" she asked and Morgan nodded, as he passed through the living room he saw Hannah reading another magazine as Duane and Jamie sat in silence as Duane fiddled with Billy's ball-and-cup.

"Breakfast is ready." He said as they all looked up, Duane and Jamie smiled as Hannah put down the magazine and walked towards the stairs.

"Gonna get Billy." She explained as she mounted the stairs. Morgan watched as she climbed the stairs thinking about how lucky he was to find these people, not just Hannah and Fred and Jamie but people like Paula who are bringing their friends with them. Morgan always believed in the saying 'In numbers there is safety.'

He smiled to himself as he realised his luck in this unlucky world before turning to join the others for breakfast.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lori climbed into the RV behind Carl and sat next to Shane in the passenger seat, she had been sad to say goodbye to her home, mainly because she and Rick had put so much of their time and money into it. Then again time and money meant nothing now.

She had done what she did just before leaving a house for the last time. She walked around every room and took a moment to remember each one, knowing she would probably never be back there again. She had shed a tear in private before leaving surprising herself… everything seemed to be upsetting lately.

Behind her the usual childish babbled ensued with Carl and Sophia. Lori knew she could silence them by just saying their names but decide to let them carry on. She knew when her boy liked someone and it was pretty obvious, he did the same thing all men did and tried to be mature and often ended up just staring at her. Hard to believe something so cute and innocent could be happening in a world like this.

Cindy and Carol were chatting amongst themselves; everything was surprisingly relaxed in the car at the moment. Lori had the shotgun in her lap and Cindy had her own gun holstered and ready, even Carol had her hand on the machete that Morgan and Paula forgot to take with them. Cindy looked different from when Lori last saw her; she had this aura about her that washed away what used to be a form of elegant classiness.

Carol was still the same, looking over her shoulder every minute to make sure Sophia is still there, Lori knew she just wanted to make sure her daughter was safe but it bugged her slightly, then again she was sure she did the same thing with Carl.

Lori was afraid of having nothing to do, even for the shortest amount of time, these days. Whenever she did images of people she had probably lost reeled in her mind. Her mother was always first, Lori had been on the phone for the first few days trying to get her, or her dad followed closely by Rick… she had even tried to reach her Uncle Nicolas but hadn't made it through either. She could only deduce they were gone but a part of her still hoped even after seeing that Paula's hope in her family's safety was misplaced.

Summoning the last of her waning mental strength she repressed the images and tried to focus on the now. She looked over as Shane with a mixture of admiration and fear, the admiration because he was keeping the group safe, the fear because he was getting angrier and angrier. She had been surprised by Shane and Paula's argument the night before, Paula was usually a nice and polite person but it seems Tom and Freya's fates had unhinged her somewhat, she had become reckless these last few weeks.

"Left here Shane." Lori pointed remembering the way.

"I remember don't worry." Shane said irritably and Lori decided to leave him in charge, even if Shane was an angry person he was a smart one. He knew what he was doing and Lori trusted him. The RV rounded the corner and Lori was delighted that there were no walkers in the Drake's street, they had passed one on their street but it had just lumbered after them uselessly, on the off chance if found their home one of the men would surely deal with it.

"Here we are." Shane said and Lori came back to the present. The RV began to pull up near the Drake's, Lori looked and saw movement by the drapes, she knew they had the right place and people were in there. She turned and spoke to everyone.

"Gather your things we're gonna be quick about this." She said and everyone started scrambling trying to get their things together. She and Carl had chosen better clothes, Shane had taken some of Rick's and Carol and Paula had taken some of Lori's. Paula hadn't wanted to go back to her house and in truth neither did Lori. She could still remember Thanksgiving from the year before, it had been just the Grimes and Paula's family, her Mom had flown in from Boston and Shane had even come. It had been one of the best Thanksgiving's she had ever had even though she and Rick had had a fight earlier.

Lori was first out the door; she jogged with Carl, Sophia and Carol right beside her towards the door. It opened and a tall blonde woman stepped out holding a handgun.

"Inside quick!" She shouted as Lori ran past her, she turned in the doorway as she guided Carl inside as Carol and Sophia followed, Cindy was close behind them as Shane bought up the rear holding the shotgun, as he ran inside Lori stepped back as the woman closed the door behind them and began locking the various locks on the door.

Lori put her bags down and looked around the crowded living room; it seemed that everyone was here. Paula walked over to Lori and hugged her taking her by surprise, a pleasant surprise nonetheless. Lori looked over her shoulder and saw a large variety of people.

First off she noticed the blonde woman again, she was tucking her gun into the rear of her waistband as she said something to what looked a lot like her daughter, a smaller version of her who was maybe a bit older than Carl. Next she saw Morgan and who must be Duane next to him and behind them she saw Fred and Cindy hugging tightly.

Paula broke away and greeted Carol as Lori stood next to Shane, he had dropped his bag full of clothes and food and his shotgun and was eyeing up the group. Lori wished he wouldn't do it but she had decided to just leave him to it and let him bring on his own consequences. In the talk they had had after his and Paula's argument he had expressed regret about it, he was a good guy but just lacks… finesse.

"Excuse me… Do you have a bathroom?" Carol asked Cindy who smiled and gestured up stairs, Carol smiled and made her way up the stairs smiling at Sophia who stood next to Carl somewhat awkwardly.

"Everyone here?" A strong voice rang out as Lori realised that Morgan was talking to everyone in the room.

"We didn't lose nobody." Shane said standing up assuming the typical authority pose.

"Wait…" Sophia said timidly and everyone turned to face her, this immediately made her quieten and turn red. She was a shy girl and rarely spoke around adults… It must be important.

"What is it sweetie?" Lori asked looking to her, Sophia looked back at her and spoke in a rather timid but vocal voice.

"Um… earlier you said there was going to be 13 of us." She said in a quiet voice again, where was she going with this?

"Yes?"

"I've only seen 12 people." She announced, Lori looked around and did a quick head count. She counted 11, then she remembered Carol was upstairs so that made 12.

"She's right. You sure all your people are here?" Shane said turning to Morgan but the blonde woman answered.

"Hey I'm Hannah, um my son is upstairs. He didn't sleep to well so he is still sleeping." The blonde woman said stepping forward, she looked like a strong person, Morgan had given them a quick brief description of the people and the name Hannah came back to her. According to Morgan this woman was strong and smart and was responsible for Morgan and Duane being here now, but apparently Morgan had saved her life or something.

"Oh is he okay?" Lori asked and Hannah shook her head.

"I kinda broke the news his father is dead last night. He'll get over it but until then I just want him to rest." As she said this Carol came back down the stairs, Hannah looked at her and introduced herself as the hubbub resumed.

"Hello Hannah. Might want to let you know that I heard crying coming from one of the rooms." She said and Hannah sighed.

"Dammit." She said covering her head with her hands; Lori knew parental stress when she saw it.

"I'll check him." The daughter said walking past her glumly, her posture hanging loosely. Lori was shocked by this, girls her age aren't usually that responsible.

"Thanks Jamie, come get me if anything is wrong." Hannah said backing away slowly as the young girl trotted up the stairs and out of sight, she turned and Lori saw the unmistakeable look of being overwhelmed splash across her face.

"Gosh she's very mature. How old is she?" Lori asked.

"13, I'm lucky I didn't get some spoiled brat, she cares about Billy so much… I'm thankful to have a daughter like her."

"You should be, she seems like a lovely kid." Lori complimented and Hannah smiled, she was about to reply when Shane poke over her and everyone else.

"I suppose we have a plan then? Cause I don't think this place can hold a dozen or so people." He said and Lori wanted to chastise him, must he always focus on the negatives?

"Well we actually do have a plan. Guessing by that uniform you're gonna like it." She said looking at Shane, he frowned as Fred and Cindy finally parted.

"What are you talking about?" he asked and everyone turned to face Hannah but Fred was the one who answered.

"Hannah seems to think our best shot is the police station." He said in an equally sceptical voice as Shane, boy those two are gonna get along just fine…

"The police station?" Lori asked turning to Hannah who nodded.

"Think about it. Secure, filled with food and weapons and with enough room for all of us." She reasoned and Lori saw her logic, plus Shane knew that place inside out.

"Seems like a good idea, but what if it is overrun? Last time I saw it it was packed with people." Shane asked and Lori half expected Hannah to back down under his look; however she was surprised when she stood her ground.

"Well that's why I propose a scout, a handful of us go up there and check it out, if it is overrun it's overrun and we think of a new place to camp out. If it is empty and not demolished we might just make it there." She proposed, Lori saw Shane consider it along with the others; Lori herself thought it was risky… What if the place was overrun and the walkers follow them back?

"I dunno…" Lori said quietly drawing a few looks but Shane spoke up.

"Okay if that's the plan, we do it quietly, we will need 3 or 4 people…"

"Five, five people." Hannah said over him drawing an angry look.

"Why?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"If you think about it we need to check the whole pace before we let some people in. Then there is the matter of having 1 or two people on lookout to make sure a group of those things don't corner us while we search." She reasoned, she sounded like she had already planned it.

"Fair enough, 5 people it is. 3 for the inside and 2 for the outside. I'll go, I know where the back-up keys are kept… And I want Morgan and you."

"I'm up for it." Morgan said from the back of the room.

"Me too." Hannah said firmly showing the strength that was protecting her family.

"I'm in too." Fred said but Hannah spoke over him immediately.

"No. You've got the rifle and this is your house, I want you and Cindy here in case anything spots you guys. I don't want too many people here unguarded. I want Paula to stay here as well just in case." She said firmly, Lori was counting the people off on her fingers.

"You want me and Carol there?" Lori asked but Hannah shook her heads.

"No, I want some parents to stay behind, plus I heard you can use a gun." She said and Lori nodded cautiously, however she didn't like where this was headed.

"Well that's pretty much everybody." Shane said.

"Not exactly." Hannah said as her daughter walked down the stairs with a young boy in tow, he wore a typical red shirt, blue jeans outfit like any other boy; he looked younger than Carl and had very red eyes.

He must be Billy.

There was a moment of silence as the thought sank in.

"You were serious about that weren't you?" Paula said from next to Lori looking at Hannah dead on, her face replicating Lori's feelings.

"Absolutely." She said.

"You'd endanger your kid's lives like that?" Lori asked outraged, was this woman nuts.

"I'm not endangering their lives. Plus I am only insinuating I take Jamie, I just need someone to watch my back and I don't want too many adults out of the house leaving the kids unprotected." Hannah tried to reason but Lori wasn't seeing the part where this was a good idea.

"So the alternative is to thrust them outside where the walkers are instead?"

"I just don't want my daughter to be cooped up in this house too much, plus she can take orders can't you sweetie?" she turned to her daughter who nodded and spoke in a surprisingly firm voice.

"I'm not a kid okay? I can do this just give me a chance." She reasoned looking at Lori, she didn't know what to make of it but was drawn away by Morgan speaking up.

"Hannah, Duane wants to go too." He said and he saw the blonde smile slightly.

"He's welcome." She said but Morgan didn't look so sure.

"I don't know how I feel about this." He said echoing Lori's concerns, not just one kid now but two? She could see the concerned parent inside of him as the dark-skinned kid behind him spoke up as well.

"If Jamie goes I go, I am older than her anyway." He said proudly but this earned a scoff from the young blonde.

"By 2 months!" she said loudly putting her hands on her hips.

"It still counts!" Duane said folding his arms.

"As if!" she countered.

"Quiet." Morgan and Hannah said at the same time and both kids fell silent, Lori remained unconvinced and judging by the look on her face so did Carol as she clutched Sophia on the shoulder in the usual protective gesture.

Shane was quiet for a few seconds before speaking directly to Hannah.

"So you propose this… Me, you, Morgan, Duane and your daughter…"

"Jamie."

"…Jamie, go inside and scout the place out? I assume the kids will be used for lookout?" he asked and Hannah nodded.

"You got it."

"Mom I don't wanna just sit outside the whole time…" Jamie said but Hannah stared her down.

"Hey you're lucky you're going out at all so appreciate it. When do you wanna go?" she asked Shane who picked up his shotgun from the couch.

"No time like the present." He said simply and Lori stared at him.

"You're gonna leave so soon?" she asked and everyone looked at her.

"We got plenty of sunlight Lori and I don't wanna wait until tomorrow to check it out. If all is well we should be back before nightfall and we can move in tomorrow, if we wait longer we won't have enough sunlight and we will have to do it tomorrow which means probably moving in in 2 days. I don't think we should stay put for that long Lor." He said firmly her; she merely nodded in defeat as Shane spoke to Hannah again.

"Well let's get moving." He said.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It had nearly crushed Hannah to say goodbye to Billy, she had been so protective of him and he was very fragile at the moment but Jamie wanted to go and Hannah wouldn't let her daughter go out by herself with strangers or even Morgan. She sat in the car next to Hannah, they had borrowed Fred's Ford Mondeo to make the journey which didn't seem to please him, he told Hannah to bring her back in one piece. Shane was driving with Morgan in the front seat; Hannah was wedged between the two kids checking the weapons mentally.

They had Shane's shotgun, Hannah pistol and Morgan revolver. Since the kids were on lookout only Shane suggested they climb on top of a tall vehicle (apparently there should be some at the station) and stay out the front, they would have the axe and a hatchet that Fred had produced from the garage. Hannah was nervous about the kids being alone but apparently Duane used to chop wood every weekend, he knows how to use an axe.

"Everybody okay back there?" Shane asked and there was a chorus of agreeable grunts. Hannah was sceptical about this man, over the breakfast of beans Paula had mentioned something about this man not being very open to compromise but he seemed perfectly willing this morning even when the Lori woman wasn't… well Hannah could respect her views she too had children and was worried about sending them out into the open air.

Hannah knew what she was doing, this one shred of responsibility and taste of the real world would at least help Jamie understand the pressure of being an adult. Hopefully.

Jamie shifted beside her as she looked out the window, they were taking all of the backstreets again so they don't run into crowds of walkers and it seemed to be working well, the most they came across at a time seemed to be 2 or 3, Jamie had gasped when Shane had nearly clipped a walker coming around a corner and had clung to her mother's arm before letting go looking slightly pink. Hannah knew she was trying to out-brave Duane after he put her down earlier.

"You ok sweetie?" Hannah asked putting a reassuring arm around her daughters quivering frame.

"I'm fine Mom really…" she said with a nervous smile before looking back out of the stained window; however her viewing was obstructed as the police station came into view.

"Here we are." Shane said as he turned the car round towards the rear of the station, it was still standing and even looked like it was still secure. The car came slowly to a stop and Hannah tightened her grip when she saw something in the rear-view mirror, a slow and sluggish movement that had slipped everyone else's attention.

"Walker." She said tentatively and she felt her daughter stiffen beside her.

"Where?" Shane asked shotgun at the ready.

"Behind us, just came out from those bushes." Hannah said pointing to the mesh of bushes behind the police station; she remembered being told by one of the officers that the station backed onto woodland that connected with the local park.

"I got it." Shane said motioning to Morgan to hand over the axe meant for one of the kids and got out of the car. Hannah kept an arm around Jamie as Shane marched over to the walker and, with minimal fuss, bought the axe down into its head, the walker slumped back as Shane withdrew the axe. He walked back over to the car and banged on the roof.

"Come on out! Hannah, Morgan don't be mad but the kids have gotta come in with us." He said as everyone exited the car, Morgan turned and faced the man as he handed him his shotgun.

"Why?" he asked in an irritated voice as Shane handed the axe back and Hannah handed the hatchet to Jamie.

"Because there is no safe watch point here, walkers can easily climb any of the vehicles here. Best bet we have is if I take them up to the roof where they can overlook from there." He said firmly but Hannah was sceptical, she wasn't sure how she felt about taking Jamie in with them… But Shane was right when he said there was nowhere safe in the car park.

"Fine." She said begrudgingly checking her ammo for the fifth time, just like the last time it was completely full.

"Then it's scouting time." Shane said pumping his shotgun and walking towards the station.

That was a long one! Sorry if the 'rate of production' has gone down recently but I have a lot of work on at the moment and this story isn't my number one priority. I will continue to update but not a frequently as before, maybe one every week or so, sorry for any unexpected long intervals :-/