The walk out of Dr. Jenner's computer station was a solo journey that she hated to take alone. If someone had been there to ramble on, it'd have given her distraction from thoughts that frightened her. She was too old to be a teen mom, but it still felt that way when faced with the reality.
Dr. Jenner said her blood showed her pregnant. The earliest stages.
She refused to accept it. He took her blood again after her insistence, to test a second time, for only her benefit as the result came out the same. Hormone detected. The very start of a pregnancy.
It was all a blessing to not have to face her father and relay the information. How embarrassing it would have felt to admit that despite all the information and options of birth control, she managed to misuse them wrong and find herself impregnated by a man she didn't know the middle name of.
God, it was divine justice that she be the one to wind up pregnant when she was the only one of her siblings uncertain on the idea of becoming a parent in the first place. The commitment of another human being was serious. Legally. That was too much pressure to commit to something she'd never done before. Now it stared her straight in the face like a fucking shotgun.
The door to the rec room was closed. Odd.
She touched the knob. It was latched full in the seat.
Sounds came from the other side. She recognized one – the flat grating voice of Lori. Yes, it grew in volume as she pressed her ear to the frame to hear better.
"Jesus, Shane. You couldn't have picked a more delightful person to saddle us with."
Laini bristled at that condescending tone. So, she finally was to learn about what the fuck those two talked about in private when they thought she didn't notice.
She heard loud footsteps she assumed were Shane's. "Don't do that Lori. Don't do this now. You're embarrassing yourself."
An awkward scoff sounded through the rec room. "I am not." There was a gentle clink of glass at it set against the bar top. "It is you who is embarrassing yourself. I mean, a college coed. Really, Shane? I thought you were more mature than that."
"You haven't even given her chance. The day you showed up at the house, she was nothing but welcoming. And all you've done is just push her, back and forth. Picking at her. Undercutting her in front of everyone. Man, it drives me up a wall how you do that." Laini listened to Shane's voice harder than before. She rose to her tiptoes to hear harder. "I know Lain sees it. What the hell you think Rick is gonna do when he sees it, hm? He's going to start asking questions."
What questions. Questions that even Rick didn't know.
His anger in the woods about mentioning Rick made sense now. There was something there.
Whatever the drama was between Lori and Shane, Laini had a right to know. What sick history that was done behind Rick's back with his wife and best friend involved her and she should know.
Though, a piece of her did not want to hear it from Lori's mouth. It was owed to her by Shane. No one else.
Laini pretended to just stumble upon the closed door, footsteps audible from the other side, and gripped the door tightly so that they heard. Their eyes were wide when she entered the room. "Oh," she said. "Didn't interrupt anything, did I?"
It was an attempt to be indifferent.
"Hey, baby girl. I was looking for you." Shane approached her quick and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Where'd you get off to?"
"The doctor. He was out there working so I thought I'd thank him for sharing with us."
Half of his brow lifted with a single squinted eye. "The doctor." He glanced over his shoulder back the way she came. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah." Her eyes glanced over at Lori. The woman had long wet hair swirled into a wet bun piled atop her head. She sucked her teeth as she stared. An empty wine glass sat on the bar next to her. "Everything alright in here?" She asked with a lighthearted tone.
Shane exchanged a swift glance at Lori. Lori gave no change in her demeanor. That dour frown remained intact.
He forced an indifferent scoff, but not with much strength. "Yeah. All good in here."
She slipped to hand down to his hand. Her fingers laced in between his. "Good. Come to bed, lover." She pulled him toward their room. "Good night, Lori."
The look on Shane's face was too delicious as was the devoid statement of "Night" after them.
His lips were on her the second they were behind their door. The smile was glued to his face. She felt it through the press of their lips. When she tried to pull away, he was desperate to keep it up.
"One more baby. Come on. One more." He begged.
"Alright." She chuckled. She gave him another deep long kiss. "You fiend."
The couch was made up into a makeshift bed. Shane had dragged in one of the cots from storage that Dr. Jenner mentioned. She looked at it curiously. "Umm."
"Thought you'd want some space. Get a good nights sleep that way," he replied. "You aint gotta worry about me hugging you all night long."
"But," she sputtered, still shocked, "I like the hugging."
It was the only way she could sleep now: arms curled around her tummy, one hand clutched at her breast, hard breaths on the verge of snores right behind her head.
Shane walked up and slid the cot away. "Well thank fuck. I hated setting that thing up just knowing I might be sleeping on it alone."
He grinned like a fiend in his approach. His arms smothering her in an embrace. The touch of his warm chest against her cheek.
These moments. With him. They felt right.
There was nothing wrong. No doubts, no hesitation.
"Shane," she whispered.
"Hm?"
Did she know what she meant to say before she opened her mouth? Not exactly. There were many things she wanted to say to him. So many things to say, like what the hell was going on between him and Lori. There was the ounce of humility she'd have to express if she admitted her intense feelings, and then there were her doubts about him. Of course, the minor truth of being pregnant was a large thing to say, too.
She leaned into his hug, allowing it to cradle her tight against his protection. A deep breath had her falling away from all those sour emotions into more of what she felt when she'd first woken up in his bed, in his house, to a boxer-clad Shane making toast and coffee for her that morning. He fed her and entertained her that day without hint of irritation at her presence. A want of her, always shown.
"What would things have been like before all this?" She asked.
His chin tilted downward; arms loosened around her. "What's that now?"
She eased off his chest to find his deepening gaze. It pulled her back into her feelings more than her thoughts could keep her afraid.
"I mean, would I have ever made it to meet your parents? Or would I have been on permanent rotation in your bed?"
Half of his brow quirked high. "Rotation?"
She shrugged. "I only came around on weekends. There could have been a work-week team I don't know about. We never said we were exclusive."
That was the wrong thing to say. He stepped away, mouth open in surprise. "Oh, we weren't, were we?"
Her heart twinged a little. It was devious, the way she toyed with him.
How was he so easy to play with? Why did she delight in his twisting uncertainty? The breakdown of his confidence was a tasty treat, in all things, that wasn't lost to the devastation of humanity.
"You could have had young fillies trotting through your barn doors every day of the week for all I know. And here we are now. Stuck with the Saturday-Sunday relief team for all eternity."
"Now hold o-."
He tried to grab her wrists, but she playfully kept them out of reach, turning and twisting to his advances. She grinned. The chase was a thrill. Him, chasing her, was better than any other. He never ceased to want to.
"Or, was it more like B squad during the week and A squad when you needed to let loose? Hm? What was it, Shane?" She chuckled as he was breathing against her neck, playfully wrestling her around the room. "Knowing you couldn't go more than a day without it and you weren't in any rush when I came over."
His body stilled.
The room was sucked clear of the fun teasing. Air became a heavy burden in her chest like the tension became smoke to a fire she'd been trying to spark without reason.
His breath ceased to pant in her ear. "I'm with who I'm fuckin', remember?"
Her body was slowly released. Chill came to her wrists after being released from his fiery grip. Their bodies parted.
She thought he'd be angry the argument rehashed, the same ole thing they debated in the woods over Lori. Him having to – yet again – reassure her that she was the only one on his mind.
The expression was something else. It was not anger. Not exactly. It had the same appearance, but the shift of his body spoke of anxiety, nerves, uncertainty.
He stared at her with dark eyes narrowed in that unreadable emotion. "And you?" He asked her.
"Me?"
"You weren't with no one else," he swallowed, "right?"
Pride went to the back of her throat demanding its release. It bayed want to humble Shane. Hell, it was her that wanted to show she wasn't hung up on him like some lovesick 'college coed'. However, lying was not her style. She'd been untethered when she met Shane, and between school and him, she hadn't the energy to entertain another.
Shane took in the moment with exaggerated tension. His two palms reached out and grasped the sides of her face. He brought her close. "Go on, baby girl. Just say it. I know you want to."
Warmth swirled within her skin. The deep command of his voice ignited pleasure, whether he meant to or not. She responded.
"Just you, Shane."
"Mhmm." That sly smirk crossed his lips. "That's my girl."
He pressed his lips into hers, hard and deep, kissing away whatever thoughts she had to continue taunting his jealousy.
Perhaps he knew the power he had over her.
Whatever it was, it was lost to exhaustion. They slipped onto the soft pillow top of the couch and sank into its comfort with seldom more than a minute before sleeps sweet grasp pulled them under. Shane curled into her back, sleeping on his side, with both arms wrapped around her. The underground air was chilly. It helped ease the frightful heat of his body.
Morning came too soon. The most restful sleep had to end with a violent urge to pee. She unlatched from Shane's hold in slow motion to keep him in peaceful slumber. It was his habit to wake early. Not the other way around.
The protection of the CDC gave him a chance to catch up on sleep. He was too diligent with protection. His mind refused to cease preparation. There were days where he was up before dawn and then did last check of the night.
Delaney dressed quietly. She forwent the shower. A moist cloth cleaned the round of her face, down the length of her neck across her collarbones down her arms to her hands. The sensation of soap and water was a delight. It was reminiscent of her morning routine back in the dormitory. A routine of keeping the room quiet for her roommates since their classes were later in the day.
She exited their shared bedroom and traipsed down to the kitchen where only a few were.
Carol and Sophia were snuggled together reading a book from the rec room. Their voices, no matter how hushed, carried through the empty hollow expanse. Shivers went down her spine.
It was so unnatural. She couldn't revoke the sensation of needing to check behind her back.
"Good morning, girls."
Carol's eyes lifted off the page. "Hello Delaney."
"Morning," Sophia's little voice called.
Glenn pressed his forehead to the table with his upper half sprawled out. T-Dog emerged from the kitchen with a steaming pan in his hand. Pale eggs spilled from its side onto Glenn's plate. Jacqui poured him a glass of water. Both encouraged him to eat, drink.
"It'll help the hangover," he said to Glenn.
The man caught her stare. "Come on, Laini. There's plenty. Eggs are hot. Powdered, but the best I could do."
She shifted. "I can always go for some powdered eggs."
It was a lie; the idea that powdered eggs even existed surprised her.
The texture was rubbery, strange. Their taste was much the same as a scrambled egg. Her body groaned in hunger too loud to care what it was.
The plate was near bare when she stopped mid-bite, feeling overwhelmed by the sensation atop her tongue. The jiggly chewy mouthful filled her mind with total focus she could not escape. The eggs became eggs, and she was done.
Her hand pushed the plate away to give it distance.
"You gave it a warrior's try," Dale assured her. He sipped from a mug. The black coffee was a luxury they did not receive often.
Andrea had her own mug that steamed up her nostrils.
"She's braver than you," T-Dog teased.
"Won't you give them a taste?" Jacqui asked. "We could all use the food."
"Oh no." Dale shook his head. His eyes stared at the discarded limp scrambled eggs. "I'm set with coffee."
A boy suddenly rushed around the table. His brown hair a blur. Carl's beaming smile was a ray of sunshine in their depressing bunker.
The light was promptly chased at the emergence of his mother and father. The dead eyes faked a smile for the rest of the table all while they pretended to have a piece of pleasantness behind them.
"Mornin'," drawled from the tired mouth of the sheriff. Little hairs at the top of his head stuck up in every direction. A darkening was beneath his eyes.
If she cared to see a mask, she'd have scanned Lori for signs of hangover that she knew had to be there. She'd drank how many glasses of wine the night prior. The fact she confronted Shane with wine in her hand said she must have been feeling some effect of it.
Laini gave a small smile. "Man. Look at you two. You look so tired. Dr. Jenner brought out some aspirin for your heads. I can't imagine how awful you feel."
Rick dipped his head. "Thanks, Lain." Lori's brow twitched at the sound of her nickname that only Shane used. If she knew that Carl used it as well, the poor woman's eyes would pop out of her head. "I will take a couple. My head's a poundin'."
They took their seats after they wrangled Carl back to the table for a breakfast of eggs and whatever else they found in the kitchen. Shane a while later. He poured a full mug of coffee before he settled in alongside Laini.
He pressed a chaste kiss against her cheek. "Why didn't you wake me?"
"You could use the sleep."
A pair of eyes burned against her face from across the table. Laini restrained her smile at Lori's growing anger.
Payback, bitch.
Dale suddenly jumped from the table.
"Morning," Dr. Jenner greeted. His hands, too, grabbed a mug before he turned to the coffee pot.
The attitude of the table changed. Their attention turned to Dale's questioning of the shy man like they were owed answers despite being guests of his generosity.
He roused some to follow him back to his lab. The computer stations were dark as they entered the room. Its doomed ceiling echoed their noises back at them, loud and thundering. Daryl's mumbling displeasure was echoed inside her own chest.
She did not expect any news the doctor had to change the world.
Not again, anyway.
Shane leaned against her as the lights dimmed. A large screen high on the wall lit with high contract images. Her eyes lingered. It was ridiculous to feel obligated to reveal her condition in such an inappropriate time, but there was the risk that Dr. Jenner might state it for him to hear, rather than she.
It was news that Shane deserved to know intimately. By her own lips.
"Shane," she whispered.
Conversation of the TS-19 passed by. Voices added into it. The doctor's voice a constant.
"Hold on, baby."
There was a flurry of motion. Shane and Daryl and Rick run off. Dale's hand pointed at the red numbers of the wall as they ticked downward in their countdown.
The rest of them filtered back into the bunker to await the return of whatever is discovered from the romp through the building. Andrea walked quickly to her room. She shut the down behind her with a resounding thud.
Laini did not know what to do. There was nothing to be done. Their fate rested somewhere other than her hands, and she fidgeted with the luxury of it like it was annoying.
She kept herself busy with Shane's belongings scattered across the floor. Her hands folded things neatly into their bags. Next she used the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair and stare at her glowing complexion in the mirror. It was buoyant.
The soap in the shower was only body wash but it was better than nothing. She lathered a cloth in its suds and washed her face and neck. A layer of lotion evened the texture. A piece of her former self returned to the reflection. It was more like the woman she knew in times previous.
A noise clicked behind her. She emerged from the bathroom to a sticky heat.
Then came the flicker of lights until they killed to total darkness. A line of light showed from below the door.
"The building is diverting power. It will slowly start to cut nonessential usage off," Dr. Jenner explained. Lori trailed behind with a demand in her tone. Her long legs kept an easy pace with the man as they moved through the hall into the computer station lab.
Carol flashed a worried glance at Delaney. "You don't think they'll get in, do you?"
She hadn't the heart to explain that she worried they'd be trapped in the ground forever more.
Thirty minutes to countdown. Thirty minutes until the haven of the CDC was no more.
….
"Cover your ears!" Shane yelled.
The gun in his arms fired over and over at the glass. Their cries were a loud echo to its defeated clunk against the window panes.
Delaney hoisted another bag atop her backpack. Her ears rang. The countdown clock all the way in the bunker still ticked in her head.
Ten, nine, eight.
"Why won't it break?"
Shane's face fell apart. "I don't know. It's- it's not shattering."
Poor Carol's hands pounded at the glass. Its surface was criss-crossed with webbing within the glass. An unbreakable barrier.
"Lord help us."
Rick approached the glass. He put a single hand against its surface. All the fighting they'd done to survive out there and now it was inside a secure building that they would be overcome. Not by the deadly makings of their own humanity, but the deadly makings of machine.
Her lips sloped. The back of her hand pressed against her mouth to hide the climbing sadness in her chest.
This was it. Their end.
Who'd have thought it would be with a small-town sheriff's deputy with the mouth of a sailor?
The brown eyes were narrowed. They scanned the room like there was a tunnel to freedom they hadn't noticed. But there was none.
"Shane," she said to him. His head turned back to look at her. "Hold me," she pleaded.
"Don't you do that, baby. Don't you give up."
Rick threw a round ball at the window – like that'd help. He held onto his cowboy hat as he ran, shouting "Get down! Get down!"
"Shit!"
The rifle clattered to the ground. Shane's arms looped around her and threw her down to the ground, covered her body with his, arms shielding their heads.
Stones of the floor vibrated. The walls quaked at the sheer power of the grenade.
All she heard through the chaos, rumbling and sheer agony inside her head was "Go, go, go."