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Summary:  Part 2 of the Lil’ Bird Series.  With the hope of CDC lost, the Grimes and the Walsh families are on the road to Ft. Benning.  What will Birdie find along the way?  Will Birdie and Shane remain side by side wherever the road might lead?  *No evil Shane* 

Warning:  This fan-fiction is rated Mature for Language, Gore and Adult Situations.  Readers under the age of 18 are strongly discouraged from reading.

Pairing: Shane & Birdie Walsh

Chapter Five

 

The next morning was met with dramatic fanfare.  We knew that we’d all be out for the day looking for Carol’s husband, but waking up at the crack-ass of dawn after sleeping on the hard roof of Dale R.V. all night didn’t exactly put me in a gracious mood.  By the look of the scowl on Shane’s face when Ricky woke us this morning—I’d say that we were in agreement.  Who fuckin’ cared about Ed?

“Please remind me why we’re doin’ this again,” I groaned to Shane as we got changed in the sleeper. 

It was already blazing hot this morning and I had no desire to put on the jeans I knew I had to wear.  Beyond not wanting to be torn alive by mosquitos, snakes in Georgia were also a very real problem and I had no idea how dense these woods would be.

Shane’s muffled laughed followed my complaint as he threw on a black t-shirt, “’Cause your brother thinks he’s Wyatt Earp.”  He replied sarcastically.  “Come on, little darlin’, let’s get this shit over with.” 

The sun was already high in the sky by the time we made to the convening area around Ed’s Cherokee and of course Ricky was already there, giving me and Shane reproachful looks for being the last ones to arrive. 

Flipping him the bird, I leaned against the shaded siding of Dale’s motorhome next to my husband—who kissed the top of my head and sighed, waiting for whatever words of wisdom my brother was sure to spout. 

Giving me one last hard stare, Ricky tossed the bag of logging tools onto the hood of the jeep, unraveling it before he began to speak.  “Everybody takes a weapon—

Of course before Ricky got a chance to say anything else, Andrea who had been standing next to him, had to interrupt, putting in her two cents.  Shane sighed next to me; I guess he knew as well as I did where she was gonna go with this.

“These aren’t the kind of weapons we need.”  She said, eyeing the knives with distaste.  “What about the guns?”

Shane growled next to me.  “We’ve been over that.  Only Rick, Birdie and I are carryin’.  We don’t need people poppin’ off rounds every time a tree rustles—

And again she interrupted.  “It’s not the trees I’m worried about.” 

Peeking at Shane out of the corner of my eye, I could tell he was just about fed up with this argument.   His face was clearly exasperated and if Andrea wasn’t careful she was gonna get to see the bad side of my husband’s temper—and he was gonna end up embarrassing the hell out of her. 

“Say somebody fires at the wrong moment and another herd happens to be passin’ by.  Then it’s game over for all of us.  So you just need to get over it.”  And with that he hoisted his pack onto his back and walked off. 

Daryl—who had been snorting into his hand—looked up and decided it was his turn to talk while the rest of us grabbed some form of knife from Carl’s “arsenal”.  I also had my rifle and one of Shane’s pistols on my hip.  As I checked my ammo count and the sights on my scope I could feel Andrea’s eyes burning holes through my skull as Daryl spoke.  That woman was gonna be trouble today, I could just feel it.

“The idea is to take the creek up ‘bout five miles, turn around and com’ back here.  Chances are…she’ll be by the creek; it’s her only landmark.” 

Ricky nodded to Daryl, patting him on the back before he took the floor once again.  “Stay quiet and stay sharp,” he told us, looking to each and every one of us.  “Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other…

Shane walked back to me, handing me another full clip for my pistol.  “You stay close to me out there, baby.  You hear me?  I want you close at all times.” 

Stuffing the extra magazine into designated space for extra ammo on my holster, I nodded.  “I promise.” 

“I love you.”  He told me, kissing my lips sweetly. 

“I love you, too.” 

He smiled at me before turning to the others in our group.  “Let’s assemble the packs.”

Ricky turned towards Dale as Shane grabbed the pack from my back and headed for our provisions that were lined up against an old, white Mustang.  “Dale, I need you to get on those repairs.  We need to get this R.V. ready to move.” 

Dale nodded, and wished us luck. 

“Keep an eye on Carl while were gone?”  Rick asked, patting the old man on the arm. 

Apparently though, my little nephew had other ideas and I had to throw a hand over my mouth to hide my smile from my brother.  The littlest Grimes sure could spit some good game when it came to expressing his opinions—and I hate to point fingers…but it was my brother that he took after so much.  Ricky could sell cow shit to a cattle rancher—even as a child.  Big brother had no one to blame for Carl’s debate skills but himself. 

“Okay…” Ricky sighed.  “Alright, but you always stay in our sights, no exceptions.” 

If I didn’t think Ricky would have rung my skinny neck, I would have high-fived Carl for his ingenious attack on my brother’s soft conscience; he really was good for a 12 year old. 

Even though I didn’t get to high-five him, as soon as Ricky’s back was turned Dale winked at him and I ruffled his hair.  “Come on, smooth talker.  Let’s go see what Uncle Shane’s got for us.” 

“What was all that about?”  Shane asked with a smirk as he looked at Carl.  My little nephew looked about as smug as a person could get. 

“Oh,” I said feigning nonchalance, “our littlest Grimes here just talked Rick out of makin’ him stay behind…it was fabulous.” 

Shane laughed and balled up his fist in the manly bro-code greeting.  Carl’s grin widened, looking at Shane like he had just given him the Golden Ticket to the Chocolate Factory, and obliged his fist bump.

Not even a second later all of us turned when we heard Dale and Andrea arguing…she was bitching about her gun again. 

Arrrgggghhh, I growled internally.  That woman was already on my last nerve and we hadn’t even started searching yet. 

Rick and Shane looked over, both of them looking exasperated.  Lori just sighed next to me and Carl, well he cracked us all up when he looked up to me and whined.  “Again?”

Yeah, little dude, I thought to myself with an audible snort, Again.

By the time she started bitching at Dale for saving her at the CDC, she had everyone’s attention even though we were all trying our best not to act like we were paying attention.  I heard Daryl mutter “bitch” under his breath as she stormed off, but we all followed, Shane and I taking up the rear. 

We had been walking for probably about fifteen minutes when Carl rushed forward, practically yelling. 

“Shane look!” He exclaimed loudly, showing him a small hunting knife.  “Dad said I could keep it and Mom—

“Keep it down.”  Shane snapped.  “We’re lookin’ for Ed…we need to focus on the task.” 

My eyes widened as Carl looked down at his feet, obviously hurt by the way Shane had jumped on him.  My blood was boiling even before Lori caught on and shooed my nephew up towards the front of the line.

“What the fuck was that, Shane!”  I hissed at him, all but ready to bash his face in with the butt of my rifle.  What the fuck was his problem?  He’d been actin’ funny since he and Rick fought last night. 

He hung his head and breathed deeply.  “I’m sorry, Birdie—

“What is wrong with you?  He’s a little kid and you just jumped all over his ass like that.  Does this have somethin’ to do with that bruise on my brother’s jaw?”

“Look,” he said with a sigh.  “I said something’s last night that I had no business sayin’.  He’s your brother’s kid…not ours.  Your brother made that perfectly clear.” 

“What?”  I asked, my eyebrows darting into my hairline with surprise.  “What are you talkin’ about?” 

“He just…”  He started, rubbing a hand furiously through his black locks, tugging on them in frustration.  “I just told him something’s he didn’t wanna hear and he got pissed off…told me to stop worryin’ so much about his family…because it was his family.” 

“Jesus baby,” I said, walking forward and tugging on his arm to get him to stop.  Even as a teenager, I hated it when those two fought…it always ate both of them up so bad.  “Why didn’t you say anything?” 

His eyes narrowed and his lips quirked up into a sly grin, as if to say “really?”  He knew better than anybody that if he would have told me that last night, my brother would probably be sporting a matching bruise on the other side of his jaw. 

“I’m sorry,” I said, pulling him close for a hug.  “I’ll speak to him about it later.” 

Warm fingers tilted my chin upwards until I met his dark eyes and he shook his head.  “No, babe.  Leave it be, it’s over now…but I guess I was still pissed.  I shouldn’t have taken it out on Carl.” 

“No,” I agreed as I reached out of cup his cheek.  “No, you shouldn’t have, but I’m sure I’ll find a way for you to make it up to him.” 

His nose wrinkled as he groaned.  “You’re not gonna make me do somethin’ embarrasin’, are you?” 

“Maybe,” I told him with a smirk.  “Why?  You’re not gonna go denying your wife the right to watch her husband kissing ass to a 12 year old, are you?” 

He shook his head, snorting as he leaned down to capture my lips with his.  “Anythin’ for you, Mrs. Walsh.” 

“Mmmm,” I told him as we resumed our walk, picking up the pace to catch up with the others.  “I like the sound of that.” 

“Me too,” he told me as he took my free hand in his. 

~

A little while later, we came upon a small camp.  It was just a tent and some trash in the middle of nowhere…not a soul in sight, but we all crept quietly anyways. 

Shane positioned himself in front of me as we drew nearer, halting my movements and I bit my lip as I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his overprotectiveness. 

As my brother motioned for us all to get low, Shane walked up behind him, standing tall.  “Think she could be in there.” 

Daryl—who was at the front—started to move forward, still crouching low as he whispered sarcastically.  “Could be a whole bunch of things in there.” 

Rick and Shane followed Daryl as the rest of us held Carol and Sophia back as they both looked like they wanted to charge forward.  A few seconds later Ricky called Carol over to the tent and told her to quietly call out to Ed. 

No noise was made, but Rick and Shane were both gagging by the entrance—it wasn’t a good sign. 

“Daryl?” Carol called out in a frightened voice and Lori was forced to renew her grip on Sophia’s body. 

Daryl said nothing, but emerged from the tent covering his nose and mouth with his forearm.  “It ain’t him.” 

Carol and Sophia collectively sighed in relief as Andrea asked the obvious question.  “What’s in there?” 

“Some guy, did what Jenner said…opted out.” Daryl said, panting as he checked his crossbow and slung it over his shoulder.  “Ain’t that what he called it?” 

As soon as the words were out of his mouth Shane, Rick and Daryl all jumped to alertness as the sound of bells met our ears.  Trusty barked lowly and took off in the direction of the sound and the rest of us started running to follow him. 

Trusty already had a good sniff of one of Ed’s recently worn shirts…so I had high hopes that Trusty had picked up his scent.  After being introduced to another suicide victim…I was more than ready to get the fuck out of these woods. 

As we neared the sound it became apparent that it was Church Bells that we were hearing.  We all stopped panting for breath. 

“Which direction?”  Shane asked as the rest of us looked around, trying to get our bearings. 

I had a fairly good sense of direction—a gift I had kind of picked up over the years of hunting with my brother and father—but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. A few minutes later Trusty came barreling at of the brush and ran to me, yipping lightly before turning back around and heading in the direction I had first thought. 

“This way!”  I yelled over my shoulder, taking the lead as I ran to catch up with my boy. 

“Goddamnit, Birdie,” I heard Shane growl from behind me as he fought to keep up.  Boy, was I gonna tease him for that later.  Big bad Papa Walsh—King County’s finest—couldn’t keep up with his own tiny wife.  Oh yeah, go me. 

It wasn’t long before I could see a light from a clearing up ahead and ended up coming out of the trees in a graveyard.   Against the backdrop was an old southern style white chapel that looked like it could have been standing there for a hundred years or better.  I skidded to a halt at the first headstone to wait for the others, nearly tripping over Trusty who was still underfoot.  Ricky and Shane would have beat my ass blue if I would have continued on without them—apparently Trusty knew this as well.

They emerged behind me a few seconds later, all panting and looking at me with scorn.  Ooops, perhaps I should have slowed down back there. 

“That can’t be it…ain’t got no steeple.”  Shane said as he approached me and grabbed my elbow with a scowl. 

I had noticed this as well, but Trusty’s nose was rarely wrong.  Knowing this, I broke from Shane’s grip and started after my bloodhound. 

“Birdie—

But I wasn’t listening, and neither was my brother as he started out in a run next to me.  We ran silently until we reached the red front doors to the Southern Baptist Church of Holy Light.  The men took the lead, my brother reaching the doors first followed by Daryl, Shane and Glenn. 

“Birdie, stay with the women.”  Ricky told me in a hushed tone. 

I nodded, pushing Carol and Sophia back towards Lori, Carl and Andrea, watching as Ricky hushed the others before pushing the doors open.  It had already been my plan to hang back with the women and children seeing as I was the only one of my sex with a loaded weapon.

It was quiet as the rest of us slowly made our way up the concrete steps.  The guys were like a wall of protection as they stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking us from whatever they were seeing.  Seeing as I was the shortest female among us—other than Sophia, who would probably gain ground on me in a couple of years—I had no choice but to take Lori’s horrified gasp as a bad thing as she stared wide eyed over her husband’s shoulder. 

She still looked terrified as she removed the glisten machete from its sheath and handed it to Ricky, opening a hole just big enough for me to see what was goin’ on.  Then it was my turn to be sickened.  Sitting in the pews like a group of regular Church goers on Sunday morning were three walkers, who instantly turned to stare at us like they were welcoming us to mass.  In some disturbing way—I guess they were. 

Ricky moved first, taking on the old man in overalls with swing of his blade, followed by Shane and Daryl as they advanced on the other two walkers—taking them out with a relative quickness and ease.  I had to admit, our group was getting rather good at this.  Though, Lori and I both bit back a snort at Daryl’s little dance backwards when the female walker he had slain fell towards him; he looked thoroughly grossed out. 

“Ed!”  Daryl and Carol started to scream, looking around the room for anywhere tubby might have hidden. 

We all trickled in, looking around the room with the same hopeless look.  If Ed was here he surely would have run away when he saw the walkers…it was kind of his M.O. and we all knew it. 

To me, being in a place of worship was a little awkward.  Ricky and Lori attended Church regularly enough, but I hadn’t been since I had fallen off that roof—with the exception of Celia’s funeral, Rick’s wedding and the day Carl was Baptized—and no amount of arguing or begging with my mother would change my mind.  It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in God, I just couldn’t stand the pitying stares of our local congregation.  Everyone wanted to feel sorry for the little girl who would never bear her husband a child and it pissed me off. 

Shane made his way over to me and Rick, “It’s gotta be the wrong Church, man…there ain’t no steeple—

The loud ringing of Church bells interrupted Shane and I curved the overpowering urge to stick my tongue out at my husband and childishly taunt him with “I told you so.”  Instead, I hauled ass after the others back outside to try and discern the origins of the bells.  

Daryl darted forward through the rest of us, nearly elbowing me in the face as he brushed past me and down the steps.  “Watch it, Dixon.”  I spat, scowling at his backside as he rounded the corner. 

My rifle was raised as the rest of us turned the corner of the building and seen Glenn cutting the wires to a power-box.

“Timer,” Daryl panted as he turned around to face us, raising his forearm to wipe the sweat from his eyes.  “It’s on a timer.” 

Carol was all choked up as she turned to my brother and announced that she was gonna go back in for a bit. 

“Birdie, can I talk to you a minute.”  Ricky asked, as he ruffled Carl’s hair and sent him inside with Carol, Sophia and Daryl.  “I’ll just be a minute.” 

Even though I knew this wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have with him right now, I nodded.  “Yeah,” I looked to Shane.  “I’ll be back in a minute.” 

Shane looked to me, nodding his head before his eyes cut to my brother and narrowed.  “Yeah, I’ll be inside.” 

Following Ricky to a shaded area of headstones, I crossed my arms and waited. 

“Well?”  I asked after a few minutes of tense silence.  “What do you want, Ricky?”

“You can’t leave.”  He blurted, his eyes rising up from the ground to meet mine.  He looked frantic…desperate, pleading. 

I had no fucking idea what he was talking about. 

“Excuse me?”  I asked, shocked that he would even think that I had it in me to ditch my family.  “Ricky, what in the fuck are you talkin’ about?  You’re not makin’ any sense.” 

He bowed his head, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he sighed.  “I told you last night that we were good…but, Shane…he said somethin’ about leavin’, takin’ care of his own family—

“Oh, and I wonder why he’d say somethin’ like that,” I said, surprising myself with the amount of venom coloring my tone.  “I wonder why Shane—your best friend—my husband—would think he had to say somethin’ like that, huh Ricky?  Perhaps it was because he no longer felt welcome—

“Look, I know I said some things that were a little harsh—

“A little harsh!”  I growled, pointing a finger in his face.  “A little harsh would be callin’ him a protective prick…Ricky, you broke his heart.  You told him not to worry about your family.  We guess what, Big Brother, it is his family.  He’s my husband and he’s been a part of this family for the last 30 years…

“What is wrong with you?  Since you came back, you’ve had your head in the clouds or up Lori’s ass—

“Now wait just a goddamn minute—

“No Ricky, I’ve always listened to you, I’ve always respected your word, but you’re gonna listen to me now.  Shane told me some of the things you talked about last night and for the most part, he was right.  You gotta stop thinking like a cop and start worrying about what’s yours.  You gotta stop concerning yourself with everything little thing that happens in this group.  Ed is a piece of shit and you know it…and the way you dressed me down yesterday for defending you…God, Ricky, Shane had every right to be pissed off...”  I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself so I wouldn’t cry, but it was a failed attempt. 

“Shane may have a shitty way of expressing his feelings but he was right.  Carl, Lori…those two need to be your main priorities in this new life.  Jesus, he was just tryin’ to help you and you go around sayin’ hurtful things like that to him—the man who fought to keep your wife and your son safe.   I have half a mind to smack the shit out of you, Ricky!”

He went to open his mouth—either to apologize or protest I didn’t know.  Not that I really gave a shit at the moment. 

“Save it.  We’re not leavin’.  He said it in anger—I can guarantee it, so save your breath.  In fact, don’t bother talkin’ to me until you get your head on straight…then you can apologize to my husband for whatever idiotic, heartless comment you made.” 

“Birdie—

“No.  Just don’t.”  I told him, brushing off the hand that landed on my shoulder.  “Leave me alone, Ricky, or I’ll give your jaw a matching set of purple.” 

With my fire still flowing through my veins, I stormed away…trying to fight back the sting of tears that threatened to engulf me.  I wanted to done with this drama…because this bullshit between two of the men I loved most in the world was gonna drive me up the fuckin’ wall if I let it…