Part 2 - Disunity

16 - He's Dangerous

Alice woke up to the jostling of the car and the brightness of the sunrise coming through the windscreen. She jerked up, having slept through the ride home, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. They were pulling up the path to the farm, members of the group already gathered for their arrival. The Hyundai was parked with its boot open and full with supplies for a short run.

"Looks like they were just about to come looking for us," Rick brought the car to a stop, "Hershel, I need you to get Randall in surgery as quickly as possible."

"Of course," the older man said, unbuckling his seatbelt in preparation to move, "I'll do what I can but to do that, I need Patricia to be calm."

Alice missed what Rick said in return because her ears were ringing with Hershel's voice from another night. We say nothing to Patricia. Not till after; I need her.

Rick got out first, leaping from the driver's seat and sprinting to hug Lori and Carl. Every time the man came back it was like that day when he first found them, back in the quarry. Alice was slower, pausing halfway out of the car to watch the Grimes' reunion before stumbling to her feet, slamming the door behind herself and covering her mouth as she yawned and searched the group for a man wielding a crossbow.

"Y'all good?" Shane got to her first, checking her for wounds before wrapping his arms around her and ruffling her hair, "What happened out there?"

"Just-" Alice paused, hearing snippets of what Rick and Lori were saying besides them, and slipped out of Shane's loose grasp.

"Accident? How?"

"I went lookin' for you," Lori told Rick. Alice pursed her lips.

"She went out there on her own. I brought her back," Shane said, and Alice looked between the two before pressing her knuckles against her lips. Lori had gone out there, on her own, and gotten into a car accident? On empty roads? She was pregnant; she shouldn't be doing that shit. And Shane had been the one to bring her back. None of this was in any way good. Playing the hero wasn't going to help him move on. Alice took a deep breath and tried not to say anything.

"Who the hell is that?" T-Dog called, and Alice followed his outstretched arm to the open window of the red car they'd returned in.

"That's Randall," Glenn said, and Alice shared in his annoyance as he looked away.

"He's one of the guys who shot at us," Alice scowled, and instead turned her attention to finding Daryl. He was stood leaning against a tree under it's shade, legs crossed as he observed the scene. She joined him silently, looking back on the brewing chaos around the red car. Around Randall.

"You mean to tell me that this guy shot at you an' you brought him back here, that right?" Alice saw Shane and Rick exchange a long look, but she just couldn't be bothered.

"Daryl, mind if I come looking for Sophia with you? I slept on the way back," Alice felt her cheeks grow red at the hunter's disbelieving look, "I can be quiet, and maybe I could learn how to track."

"Alrigh'," he shrugged, "Ain't you leaving'?"

Alice looked towards Rick, currently talking in low tones to Shane, "Rick talked Hershel out of it, but he thinks I don't know yet."

Daryl nodded but Alice didn't know if he was nodding to her staying or nodding to her coming out with him. They were studying the conversation between the two officers just like Alice was. Shane was tense but Rick just looked exhausted, like Glenn, Hershel, and Alice. Hershel was currently attempting to get Randall from the car, Patricia nowhere in sight and likely preparing somewhere for him to be treated. Alice narrowed her eyes at the old man.

"We're all gonna have a nice little meetin' inside, now," Shane announced, striding off towards the house before anyone else could even start to move. Alice took a deep breath, knowing today was going to be a shitty hell of a day.

"We couldn't just leave him behind; he woulda bled out," Rick said, one foot up on the chair at the head of the table. Alice was perched on the windowsill between Shane and Andrea, wondering where Daryl had gone.

"It's gotten bad in town," Glenn said. He was sat around the long dining table with the others. Alice had a twisting feeling in her gut that this wouldn't be the last time they'd all be gathered like this, discussing something like this.

"What do you propose we do with him?" Andrea asked, and Alice found herself nodding along with the woman. She didn't think Rick should have brought him back. Not someone who'd shot at them. And they definitely shouldn't be wasting their medical supplies on him.

"I repaired his calf muscle as best as I can, but he'll probably have nerve damage. Won't be on his feet for at least a week," Hershel wiped his hands on a cloth as he stood behind Rick, having just slipped into the house moments earlier after the group had been waiting for him.

"When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way, "

"Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" Andrea asked.

"Or for him to get back to his group," Alice pointed out, "I'm not comfortable with playing savior to someone who wanted to kill us."

"See that's a valid point, Rick, we just gonna let him go when he knows where we are?" Shane rubbed his palm down his forehead. Daryl silently slipped through the door and took up against the wall near it. Alice flashed him a small smile in greeting.

"He was blindfolded the whole way here, he's not a threat," Rick said, but Alice scoffed, inadvertently drawing the attention to herself.

"Dave and Tony figured out we were on a farm pretty quickly - it won't take him too long for him and his group to find this place."

Rick tilted his head towards her, his gaze burning into Alice, begging her not to go against him - but Alice didn't care for his following excuse, "There are dozens of farms around here, there is no way that they'd find us just-"

"Most of the farms around here are full of walkers or burnt down," Maggie had an arm twined with Glenn's on the table, "We ain't far off the highway.""

"You know what?" Shane propelled himself off the wall, "I'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy," Shane scoffed as he went, slapping the top of his head, "Look at this folks, we back in fantasy land."

"You know, we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet," Hershel raised his voice, "Let me make the perfectly clear, once and for all. This is my farm. Now, I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So do us both a favor and keep your mouth shut." Shane left without a word, angrily closing the door so that it shook on its hinges.

"We're staying, then?" Andrea asked, looking between Rick and Hershel. Alice stormed past Hershel, stopping in the doorway at Andrea's question.

"Not if Rick's trying to get us shot and raped," Alice slammed the door as she left, vaguely aware that of Andrea following her out soon after.

"You still think we should leave?" the blonde asked, "We're better with the numbers here."

"I know, but I just - I don't have a good feeling about the farm anymore," Alice stopped at the fire pit, preparing for a coffee to wash the taste of liquor and fatigue from her mouth, "I've seen what groups like that do. What Rick didn't talk about in his little speech is how his people were asking if we had cooze."

"If he leads his people here then we'll have a war on our hands."

"Rick doesn't seem to want to consider what other than being shot will happen to his wife and child if and when we lose that war," Alice watched as the water started to bubble, perched on the log next to Andrea, "They mentioned having a guy from Fort Benning - that's gone, so we can't go there. How are a bunch of kids and people supposed to fight trained military?"

"If we have to fight then we can," Andrea said, "What do you suggest we do?"

"Execute him," Alice's voice was cold, her eyes were glued to the floor as to not betray the way she winced at her words, "I don't intent to let anything like what his kind of group does to people happen to anyone, not again."

"You really think we can convince them to do it?"

"No," Alice put the instant coffee into her cup, remembering that they needed more sugar soon, "We can speak to Rick, but whatever you do, don't get Shane to do anything. I don't know if he can live with that."

"Can you?" Andrea shifted on the log to face Alice, "We need to deal with this."

"We- I don't know. We'll figure this out later." Alice slowly stirred the coffee as what Andrea was proposing sank in, "Tell Shane I'm going out with Daryl so I can't take a watch."

"Of course," the blonde stood, "Looks like he's already on his way."

The brunette looked up from her steaming black coffee, squinting at the sun behind Shane that offset his silhouette against the light, leaving him covered in shadow as he approached them.

"We still leavin' or what?" he crouched before the women, prompting Andrea to sit back down on the log. Shane ran both hands over his head, fingers interlocked, then rested his chin on them as he spoke, "Us three are the only ones with any damn inclination as to what's gonna come if they do this, send him out there with a care package. They're gonna wait around for it, but we can see it, so we just gotta go."

"Rick's pitch to Hershel to let you stay was convincing," Alice said, blowing on the hot liquid as the scent of coffee overtook the smell of the fields, "What if the three of us run into Randall's group out there?"

Alice wanted to get far away. Her skin was crawling at the idea of Randall's group ending up here, leering at her like Tony had - and doing worse to all of them. Going out there alone was equally terrifying, but Shane and Andrea were good at surviving - but they had a huge chance of walking right into one of those groups like they had in town, and who knew if Shane and Andrea were as quickdraws as Rick?

"Have you ever thought about using a lighter touch?" Andrea asked the man, "Abandoning the search for Sophia, taking out the walkers in the barn, lying to Lori last night, those were all the right calls - it's your presentation that leaves something to be desired."

"What about Lori?" Alice furrowed her brows, sipping at the scalding coffee. It must have had something to do with Lori crashing a car last night.

"Told her Rick was already safe. Woman decided walkin' all the way to town in the dead of night with one gun after a car accident was the right choice," Shane ran his hand over his nose, looking down at the mention of Rick's wife. Alice wanted to slap Lori, honestly. Some selfish part of her wondered if, after destroying Rick and Shane at first, it would save their friendship and Shane's mind if she was gone.

And then she hated herself for even considering someone's death as a good solution. Lori was pregnant and she'd do whatever she had to to keep the stupid woman safe.

"Andrea's right, though," Alice changed the topic, "You make the right calls but being a little more gentle might work more in your favor."

"That's what none of y'all seem to get, this world ain't gentle," Shane shifted his hands from under his jaw to clasp over his mouth.

"And that's why we should try to be," Andrea said. They fucked each other with their eyes for a moment and Alice rolled hers, "I see you pushing everyone away and for what?"

"I'll always be the odd man out, same as you," Shane turned to Alice, "You're doing alright for yourself, what with Dixon under ya thumb and Rick listenin' to some of the shit you say? Think you ought to share your secrets with us, girl."

"Sure, Shane," she forced out a sarcastic drawl, ignoring the twist in her chest at his words. Alice saw the hunter in question moving towards the main camp, and figured she didn't have very long before they went out, "We should try and deal with Randall, see if it isn't safe to stay. There's food here." There was Daryl here.

"Man, we wasn't ever gonna leave, huh?" Shane buried his face in his hands before springing to his feet, "I shoulda left with y'all when I had the chance."

Alice wondered if that was because then he never would have had to find out about his baby, "You two should go be alone together," she smirked, climbing to her feet and checking the ax in her belt before grabbing her backpack from the space outside her and Shane's tent.

"I-"

"Andrea, I totally know, least of all 'cause Shane is as readable as a book," Alice downed the rest of her coffee and put the cup with the other dirty dishes, swinging her backpack on, "I approve - go forth and be fruitful, except use a condom."

While Andrea just awkwardly laughed, even Shane had pink tinges on his face, and Alice grinned because it felt nice to get revenge on Shane's crude humor.

As she walked away, she heard Andrea say, "We should check the perimeter for walkers," and Alice let out a loud barked laugh and looked back. Shane flashed her a smirk as they strode off in step with one another, heading straight for the woods in the opposite direction that Alice was going.

Alice had to stop to retie her boots, unknowingly besides the Grimes' tent, and heard the last snippets of the conversation inside.

"You killed the living to protect what's yours?" Lori asked, and Alice heard the rustling of fabric. She paused mid-way through the bow in her lacing. This sounded like a private conversation and she knew she should tie her lace quickly and go, but nosey bastard that she was, she was compelled to listen.

"That's right," Rick said, sounding hesitant.

What Lori said next was a whisper, and Alice wasn't sure she made it out properly, "Shane thinks I'm his."

Alice swallowed and shook her head. She'd misheard - "And he says you can't protect us. You're gonna get us killed. He's dangerous, Rick, and he won't stop."

Alice finished tying her boots, hands shaking, hurrying away before she heard anymore. What the fuck was Lori playing at? She had to have misheard. Lori wasn't - Lori couldn't be. Some part of her wanted to turn around and yell at Lori, but Rick wouldn't. He wouldn't kill Shane. He wouldn't believe Lori's bullshit.

"We should start searching in the opposite direction to wherever those two rabbits are going," she gave the hunter a fake smile as she gestured back in the direction of Shane and Andrea, still trying to understand what she'd heard. Daryl raised an eyebrow but just grunted, gesturing for her to follow him.

They emerged from the woods and into the large field, the big emerald farmhouse in the distance.

"She could be on this farm," Alice suggested, walking side by side with Daryl now that they weren't following tracks through the woods.

"Wouldn' touch this ugly ass house with a ten-foot pole," Daryl adjusted his grip on his crossbow as they got closer, "What kinda rich 'n' stupid you gotta be to paint ya house green in the middle of a damn farm?"

"They probably wore floral floor-length skirts and jackets with tassels too," Alice nodded to the white pickup parked up front. It had pink flowers painted around it. Daryl smirked as he yanked open the door.

"Keys are in 'ere but there's no fuel," he said, "Might be some of these assholes left inside."

Alice pulled her ax from her belt as they approached the porch. Daryl banged on the door, waiting with his crossbow raised and peering through the window.

"What are you doing?"

"Bringin' 'em to us, saves 'em jumpin' us inside," after another minute, Daryl swung open the door, and immediately grimaced. Alice could smell the rot from where she was, and kept her ax raised though the lack of sound had her figuring it was just a corpse.

"Look," Daryl gestured to the ground, and Alice swallowed at the tracks of footsteps in the dust. They were a few days old, if that.

"That's not walkers, or Sophia's shoe size," Alice glanced up the stairs and to the landing, "They were a few hours walk away from us."

"They're gone now," Daryl shrugged, "See if there's anythin' left in here."

They cleared the house, but there wasn't anything left of importance. Some fabrics, knitting and sewing supplies, and feminine hygiene supplies upstairs which Alice took. Whatever group had been here either didn't have women or didn't care and that was more concerning than all of the supplies being gone.

"Find anything useful?" she asked Daryl as they sat on the porch for a break and a replan. They'd found no signs of Sophia, and the group that had been here wasn't a comforting thought. They could have gotten to the little girl first, being so close to the farm, and if it was Dave and Tony's people…

"Nawh, only thing worth shit is that truck and they already siphoned the gas from it," Daryl shrugged, taking the smoke from her fingers as she gave him the last half, "Gonna circle back closer to the highway an' the creek, see if we can't figure out which direction this little girl went in from there."

"You cut the search grid in half by finding her doll," Alice said, fiddling with the empty protein bar wrapper in her hand, "I still don't even know how you survived all that."

"Told ya before, ain't no one can kill a Dixon but a Dixon," Daryl raised one knee up to his chest as he smoked. Alice found herself tugging at her jacket, even after all the walking still feeling the chill in the air. It really was getting late in the year.

Alice was going to comment on it being about Merle but bit her lip. They were already searching for one missing person, and without thinking she blurted out what had been on her mind since they left the farm, "I think Lori is trying to turn Rick against Shane."

"He's a piece 'a shit," Daryl shrugged, taking a drag of the smoke, "Pro'lly tellin' him the damn truth."

"He isn't - They were talking about Rick killing people or something to protect what's his, and she said - she said that Shane thinks she's his," Alice bit her nail, waiting for Daryl to respond. The silence was dragged out and Alice worried he wouldn't respond.

"This group is broken," he shrugged, "Can't imagine officer shitstain is much better'n this group a people ya so scared of."

"What?"

"Didn' ya see them scratches on his neck back at the CDC?" Daryl scoffed, "Like I told ya, observant. Mrs Grimes did that to 'im and I ain't sure it was durin' a fuck neither. He did somethin' to 'er."

"He wouldn't - I've been sharing a tent with him. If he was like that then…" Alice shook her head, standing, "We should keep searching for Sophia."

"Be careful aroun' that asshole," Daryl said, launching the cigarette butt to the ground as he followed her, "Keep on payin' attention; you ain't half bad at trackin' for a city girl."

Alice muttered that she would, too conflicted to quip back. Daryl was wrong. He had to be.

"What actually happened to your neck?"

"I told you-"

"Cut the shit. Lori got super quiet when T-Dog mentioned it."

"It ain't your business."

Shane hadn't - he hadn't done something to Lori, had he? Alice couldn't help but question everything he'd told her about Otis, about Lori, and worry about him with Andrea. But he wouldn't… he wasn't like that.

"Hey, you listenin'?" Daryl called, and Alice looked up. He was ahead of her by a few steps, looking back impatiently.

"Um,"

"Was tellin' ya bout this deer trail 'ere. 'S headin' the way we wanna go, 'best see if we cant get us some dinner."

lice felt exhaustion in all of her limbs, causing her to be reluctant to move from where she was curled up in her sleeping bag, yet her eyes wouldn't stay closed and her mind wouldn't shut off. She was terrified. Of outsiders, of the walkers, maybe even of Shane. Alice was glad for the empty tent right then. She hadn't wanted things to be normal so badly since that first day after Delia died. She tried to push it away, but it kept on coming back. The memories of that night. She regret it, more than anything. She should be dead rather than here, draining the group's resources.

"Are you?" Alice pressed her palms into her eyes and didn't look, didn't look because she knew what she'd see - or think she saw, "You are a silly girl, ma amour."

"You're not real," Alice hissed, "I was lonely before so I spoke to you - but I'm not, I'm not alone now so fuck off."

"You did not shoot those men today. You did not shoot those men who raped and murdered me and now you share a tent with a monster."

"He's not a monster," Alice peered through her fingers and caught a glimpse of a white sneaker and covered her eyes with her palms again, rubbing at them, "He's the only one smart enough to know what to do in this world. Daryl might have all the skills - but - but Shane knows what it has to be like."

"Unlike you. You are a coward," her voice was musical and as she laughed it sounded like strange chimes, "You are no better than one of those braindead demons out there."

"That's not me anymore," Alice fumbled for the tent zipper with her eyes closed. Don't look. Don't look. She grabbed her boots and shoved her feet into them unlaced, glad to be in her sweatpants and t-shirt, and stumbled out of the tent.

Against her better judgment, glanced back. One of Shane's vaguely white shirts was on the ground. Not her shoes, then. Alice saw the man himself perched on the RV, police cap on his head and his shotgun lay across his lap. She crawled up the ladder, wondering how to approach it.

"Girl, it's nearly midnight by Dale's time. You should be sleepin."

"I guess that means it's still the 20th if we're before midnight," Alice pulled the card from behind her back, smiling, "I meant to give it to you earlier, but… you know. Happy birthday."

"It's my birthday?" Shane raised an eyebrow, but he was smiling. Alice unfolded one of the spare chairs and sat beside him. She thought she'd have been happier right then, but instead, she was just torn up inside because she didn't know if all of this was just for someone who didn't deserve shit anymore.

"I asked Maggie for the date. They think it's the 20th today, so maybe it is," Shane ran a hand over his jaw, trying to contain the grin there, "You were on watch back to back, first the shed and now here, so I kinda gave up waiting for you to sleep."

Shane used a small keychain light to illuminate the card as he read it, smirking, "I see you got Andrea an' Carl to sign it."

"Carl also gave you one of his comics. It's in the tent," Alice said, "I can imagine what Andrea gave you. I did only tell them both about it this evening, though, while you were busy on watch."

"Means a lot, girl," He smiled, shaking his head to himself, and gently tucked the card back inside it's envelope, "Birthday's don't matter so much now."

"I thought that we should start trying," Alice said, "I want to find out everyone's birthdays, and get a load of cards in. We can do stuff to keep morale up."

"Pretty soon we'll be having' twenty-firsts for Beth an' Jimmy an' hopin' the old man don't chase us with a shotgun for giving them liquor, huh?"

"You really think we'll still be here in five years?"

"I reckon y'all will be livin' that long. Just gotta keep it safe here, ya hear me?" Shane surveyed the area, hands tight on his shotgun, making sure that there was no one around. If Alice squinted, she swore she could see a figure stood in the darkness, but by Shane's lack of reaction, she knew there was no one really there, "What had you lookin' like you were gonna cry when you came out here? You sure ain't that excited to give me a card."

"Just thinking about things," now that she was here, Alice didn't know how to breach the subject. Lori is basically telling Rick to kill you, and Daryl thinks you raped her, is that true? That wasn't going to exactly go down well, "I, um, I'm gonna go."

Alice didn't want to go back to their tent, though, not with those thoughts in her head. She didn't want to be alone. She wondered if Daryl was still awake, mentally fought about how wrong it would be to wake him up, and decided to head out to his tent. Shane didn't say anything as she crawled down the ladder and moved away from the RV. Worst that could happen would be Daryl getting annoyed, right?

"Alice, where ya goin'?" she heard Shane call, and she turned to see him stood, watching her. Not wanting to wake everyone, but not wanting him to worry about why she'd walked past their tent, she pointed to Daryl's camp and mimed shooting a bow and arrow before continuing on her way. It was hard to see in the dark though, and Alice found herself unable to see much more than what was close to her. The darkness was thick and impossible out here, and the moonlight was low because the moon was just a sliver, a waxing crescent that would slowly become a full moon.

"Alice, ya can't walk out here into the night without a weapon," she heard the loud voice, and turned to see Shane storming up to her, "Go on back to bed now."

"Don't order me around like that," Alice spun back, "I don't know what to believe about you right now."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"What did you do to Lori at the CDC? Did you - did you force yourself on her?" There was silence, and somewhere Alice heard crickets chirping. Shane took a step back and ran a hand along his head, his other hand loosely clutching at his shotgun. In the darkness, she could only just see the reflection of the moonlight and stars in his eyes when he looked up.

"I- I was drunk, outta my mind. Tried to kiss 'er an' be with her, didn' even know she was tryin' ta stop me until she clawed me. I didn't hurt 'er though, I didn' do it," Shane paced back and forth, "Just thought she'd come back to me, she'd see that I love 'er,"

"What the fuck," Alice yelled louder than she should have, "You talk this big game about Randall being a danger, and you're no better than him!"

"Let me ask you somethin'," Shane shouted, "You have any idea what bein' alone really is? Look at you, comin' on over here to Dixon, goin' off with Glenn on runs like it's fun, you really think you can tell me about bein' alone? I got those supplies to save Carl's life, I opened up that barn, I kept that quarry safe, that wasn't Daryl, that wasn't Rick, that was me! But no one gets it. What's that word you used, a pariah? Yeah. I'm a pariah. More than Andrea, more than you, more than Dixon is tryna be. So you don't tell me 'bout me."

"Otis, the barn, you know I'm with you, Shane, but I can't be okay with what you did to Lori," Alice all but screamed at him, "That's unforgivable."

"I didn' do more'n try ta kiss 'er n touch her an' I stopped. I apologized to her, I did, I- I- regret that. I regret it every day, just like everythin' else I undoubtedly fuck up," Shane scoffed, pacing back and forth before stopping before Alice and stooping down low, slapping the side of his head before speaking, "Don't you think I know I'm a piece of shit? See, I done things I regret an' I done things I knew I couldn't live with but had to, for Carl, for Lori, for my brother, but not one of those people get that I am keeping them alive, day to day. You don't figure that out an' you're gonna end up dead jus' like Sophia!"

The slap echoed through the air. Shane paused for a moment, and Alice tried to ignore the tingling of her palm from the slap before he laughed.

"C'mon girl, I taught you better'n that. Get a good hit in, come on," he goaded, "Let me ask you somethin', if it came down to it and your life was on the line, could you pull the trigger?"

"You know-" His eyes were wide like he wasn't really himself, and if Alice didn't know better she might think he was on some kind of drug.

"Nawh, I don't know. See, I'm startin' to think that maybe you couldn't. You would not pull that trigger," Shane shoved his shotgun towards her, the handle of the Mossberg smacking into her hand, but she backed off, "You have no idea what it's like to live with it, what I live with. There ain't one person on this farm that could do what I did, what I would do again to keep you, an' Lori, an' Carl, an' the baby alive. To keep this group alive. You think you can, that right? Go on, take the damn gun and shoot me here if I'm such a threat."

Alice stared at him for a long moment before he leaned in closer. If she hadn't been so full of fear and anger she might have thought about how shot Shane's mental state was right then. Instead, she yelled, and grabbed at his arm, knocking the Mossberg from his grasp, and kicked for his leg, trying to bring him to the floor.

Shane grabbed her forearms and shoved. Alice stumbled and landed on her back, and for a moment she was scared he'd use that to his advantage.

"I ain't gonna fight a woman," he said to himself, rubbed his face, and offered Alice a hand up. She just stared at him, moving to adjust the unlaced boot that had partially slipped from her foot. She loosely tied them instead of taking his hand.

"Man, you best get the hell outta here now," Alice turned to see that Daryl, having heard the commotion from the tent, had approached them. He had his crossbow pointed right at Shane's head.

"We doin' this again, Dixon?" Shane opened and closed his jaw, a snarl on his face, "C'mon man, you're gonna have to make me. Piece a trash like you couldn't-"

Daryl growled and dropped his crossbow, swinging a fist for Shane's face. It connected with a sickening crunch and they devolved into chaos. Shane swung back for Daryl. Daryl tried to take Shane down, grabbed his shirt, swung more punches in. Shane let out a guttural yell and drove the man to the ground. Shane was punching down at Daryl, over and over. Daryl managed to flip them over.

Alice scrambled to her feet, "Daryl, fuck, stop, stop!" She yelled. Shane grabbed Daryl by his shirt, headbutted him, and flung him off himself. Then both men were stood again, swinging limbs. Alice heard something crunch and shoved herself between them. A stray limb caught her arm but it didn't hurt too bad. Shane backed up, wiping the blood that was running from his nose with the back of his hand, and Alice turned to see that Daryl had unattended blood running from his bust lip.

"You wanna keep on goin', ya piece a shit?" Daryl spat, blood and spittle flying off his lip to the ground.

"Just fucking go back to watch, Shane. Before everyone wakes up," Alice lowered her voice, pressing one hand against Daryl's chest who backed up from her palm but stayed away from Shane. "You're on your last warning so let's hope that Hershel doesn't count a brawl as warning-worthy."

"This-"

Alice interrupted Shane, "I don't care. Go."

"Whatever man," Shane snarled, walking away. Alice thought maybe he'd wanted to fight just about anyone, feel something other than whatever was in his head, but she was still too pissed off with him to go to him.

"Ya ain't goin' back to him tonight," Daryl scowled, "Ya stayin' in 'ere. I'll get ya shit."

"Daryl, it's okay," Alice said.

"He threw ya on the floor, Alice, coulda done somethin' worse to ya. Ya don't fuckin' touch a woman," Daryl grabbed his crossbow from the ground, slinging it over his shoulder, "The fuck was ya over 'ere with him fer?"

"I was sort of hoping that you'd be awake so that I could speak to you," Alice fumbled for her cigs and realized that they were back in her tent, "I went for him first. He shoved me back - he wasn't attacking me."

"Ya still ain't goin' back there. Wait 'ere, I'll get ya shit," Daryl said, striding off before Alice could stop him. She realized that he was still fully dressed, and wondered if he so much as relaxed, ever.

When he came back, Alice was shivering in the cold, awkwardly pacing before his tent. She didn't want to invade his privacy. She was also torn about just storming back to her tent and telling Shane to fuck off out of it when he came back off of watch - she'd invited him to it, after all, and spending the night in Daryl's tent just looked like she'd run away with her tail between her legs. If Shane really was as bad as Daryl'd suggested, he'd love that.

But she wasn't so sure. His version of events was still bad, fucked up in a mostly unforgivable away, but they were understandable. The world was over, and the person that Shane at least believed he loved had tossed him aside without even acknowledging the situation. It didn't make it right - a woman could leave a man if she wanted and didn't deserve shit for it- but Alice knew first-hand that Lori could be a bitch, and her ill-treatment of Shane was beyond the justification of leaving him. She hadn't given any fucks about his feelings. They'd both fucked up here, though Shane had markedly more.

A figure appeared out of the darkness and Alice found herself grappling for her absent ax before recognizing the familiar gait.

"Get inside 'fore ya freeze ta death," Daryl dropped the bundle of her sleeping bag and backpack inside his tent before fumbling around and turning on the flashlight that hung from the roof of the tent. It was a smart stand-in for a camping lantern. Alice fished in her bag for her fleece, pulling it over her head, but stayed outside the tent despite the way her limbs involuntarily shook in her attempts to light a cig, trying to relieve the stress and fear.

"What are you doing?" Alice asked as Daryl grabbed his sleeping bag, dumping it outside of the tent, "Daryl-"

"I ain't creepin' around on you," Daryl laid out his sleeping bag but Alice used her free hand to grab the end of it and pull it back towards the tent, "I slept under the stars many a time, girl. Jus' get yaself some damn beauty sleep or somethin'."

"You don't have to do that Daryl, it's freezing out there," Alice said, taking a drag from the smoke. The orange light illuminated both of their faces, "Even if you did… I don't want to be alone."

He watched her for a long moment before nodding, and Alice held out the cig to him. He took it, having a few drags before handing it back.

"Do you… do you ever think you hear anyone who's gone? Or see them?"

"Why?" Daryl narrowed his eyes.

"I," Alice felt her chest tighten in fear, but she trusted Daryl, "I used to see Delia. Before I met Glenn. And I did - earlier. Again."

"Saw Merle that day in the creek," Daryl shrugged, "'nough of an asshole that it coulda been him in the flesh. He ain't dead though, jus' gone. I don't believe in ghosts or nothin', jus' ya mind playin' tricks is all."

"Oh," Alice passed the cig back over. She couldn't help but contain the small smile she had at not being alone in that, "I thought I was losing my mind. For awhile I thought ghosts were real, what with the dead already walking. Not a stretch."

"You ain't heard my story about the chupacabra I saw, huh?"

"A what?"

"Vampire dog," Daryl raised a hand to wipe at his bloody mouth. Alice searched in her backpack, pulling out an old rag, and the half-empty bottle of water from the day, and dampened the cloth before moving before Daryl.

"Let me," Daryl stared at her, head slightly shifted back from her, "Daryl, I don't bite. Tell me about that dog."

Daryl shrugged, took a pull of the cig, and took the cloth from her hand, wiping at his skin with a rough force that couldn't have felt good on his soon-to-be-bruising.

"I was huntin', an I see this deformed ass dog runnin' through the woods. Gets my damn deer and sucks its blood out. Musta been 'bout this big," he lifted his hands to show her the size, stretching his arms out, and Alice laughed, "Son of a bitch cost me dinner for a week. Merle reckoned it was the mushrooms, but I know what I saw."

"It was definitely the shrooms. I had pot a few times. I once decided I could see people's souls while I was high. Told my mum that her soul was that of a Nazi General when she bollocked me and my dad that he had to stay away from the evil cow. Not my finest moment. I'm just glad I'm not that asshole anymore."

"Ya daddy tell your mama ta let up on ya?"

"He threatened to kick me out," Alice swallowed, "I think the only reason they didn't was that they felt sorry for me after my friend died. I got so much worse after that. Drinking and drugs and being an idiot with guys - and later, girls - that only wanted me for my reputation of being easy."

"People are assholes."

"Amen," Alice said, kicking off her boots and crawling inside of the tent and into her sleeping bag, "Sleep in your tent, Daryl. If you're uncomfortable with me here, I'll go. Dale hates Shane, so he'll let me in the RV - or I'll just kick Shane out of the tent that Dale gave to me, anyway." She was rambling.

"Ya can stay here," Daryl stubbed out the cig on the closest tree, flattening out his sleeping bag and putting a blanket over the top before closing the tent door. In the harsh white light of the flashlight, Alice watched Daryl bed down on his sleeping bag in full clothes and boots.

She raised her brows, "You're that paranoid?"

"Gotta be careful," Daryl rolled over, facing away from her, and Alice frowned before reaching off to shut off the light. She hadn't meant to offend him.

"I sleep in these, just in case, too," she said, but by the silence following it, Daryl was already done talking. She turned over herself and hoped that she didn't snore. There were no voices or figures in the night after that, and she slept as soundly as someone wrought with nightmares about guns and rapists could.

"I need to know what happened last night," Rick was stood at Daryl's campsite, looking between the two for any signs of harm other than Daryl's bruised lip and cheek.

"I started a fight with Shane and Daryl stepped in," Alice sipped at her coffee. She hadn't slept well, again.

"Asshole threw 'er on the floor-"

"I slapped him, and then I tried to knock him to the floor, so he shoved me," Alice said, "You two should probably be talking about the fact he didn't hit me."

"You need to tell me if you think he's dangerous." Rick crouched down before Alice, his eyes pleading her for the truth. Alice remembered what Lori had told him, just the day before. He probably needed an excuse to go after Shane, or some sort of backing to her fear of him.

"No," Alice said, and Rick visibly relaxed, "But he is losing his mind. He needs his brother, Rick. No matter what."

Rick met her eyes and he nodded. He looked like he was about to say something else, but Shane himself strolled into the camp. He had swollen eye and a bruised but thankfully unbroken nose, "You comin' for training or what? We gotta work on that fighting, girl."

"Ya got some nerve comin' 'ere after last night," Daryl lunged to his feet but Rick put a hand against the younger man's chest.

"It's fine," Alice said, downing the rest of her lukewarm coffee, "I am. He's right; I can't fight for shit."

Rick didn't try to stop Alice as she strode away with Shane, and Shane didn't say anything until they were in that same field behind Hershel's house. Alice should have been scared of him, or angry, but she wasn't.

"I really didn' mean ta do anything to Lori," Shane's shoulders were hunched and his head was lowered like a schoolkid being told off, "Tried kissin' her an' touchin' her, but the moment I realized she didn't want me I stopped. I jus' wasn't in my right mind - an' I have apologized to her. I'm sorry about shovin' ya, and fightin' the redneck."

"Fighting people isn't a great way to deal with shit, but I sort of get it." Alice had one arm bent over her back to stretch it out.

"Neither's smoking," his mouth held the shadow of a hopeful smile.

"I still think you're an utter cunt, and I'm still disgusted with you, honestly I can't justify what you did to Lori assuming that I even believe you."

Shane nodded his lowered head, "I know, I can't ever take that back. Wish I could take it all back but I can't."

"We should start," Alice said, cutting off his monologue. She really did still think he was a rat, and if she didn't understand how fucked up your mind could get then she might have still hated him. Even without hatred, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes when she looked In his direction. Alice didn't know what Shane was capable of anymore. Part of her wanted to go back to Daryl and head out into the woods then and there, but that was for later. Right now, she needed to learn how to fight. She needed it and no one but Shane was offering to teach her.

A/N: Thank yous all for reading 3 it makes me so happy happy. So next chapter is going to deal with the plans for Randall's execution, but the one after is actually going to have a pretty big canon divergence and I'm really excited to see what you all think! I wanted to squish it all into one chapter but the next one is pretty long so we all just gotta wait : (. I am so excited to share it with you guys you have no ideaaa.

Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Bad/good? What about the changes in Alice - is she changing for worse or for better rn? Is Shane and Daryl's constant conflict going to have lasting consequences?