So yes I'm still alive, sorry you've had to wait this long for the next chapter ''

The sound of his own breathing was the only thing that Shane could hear. A branch scraped his arm, but he barely noticed. He should be around here. If that fucker lied about this... Then he noticed something lying on the ground, Daryl's crossbow. He stopped to pick it up and scanned his surroundings more, trying to see Daryl drew his hand trough his hair, cursing under his breath. He continued ahead, whipping his head left and right trying to spot hi-

He could only see half of his legs but Shane could feel his heart shattering to tiny pieces. That monster. That fucking monster didn't even bother to pull his pants up. This was the second time when he really wanted to shoot someone in the face. The man who shot Rick was his first. Shane needed to take a deep breath before he could even move. He stumbled towards Daryl, finally passing the bush that had covered the rest of his friend and his heart skipped a beat. Oh God he can't be dead, he can't be. Shane quickly knelt next to him.

"Daryl." He shook the other man from his shoulder and winced as Daryl jumped.

"Hey, hey," Shane started to talk soothingly as the other man started to breath heavily, eyes darting. "It's okay. It's alright." He kept his hand still on Daryl's shoulder as he waited for a while for him to calm down.

"I'm going to take this belt off your wrists now, okay?" Shane waited until he got a slight nod from the other man and moved slowly while he freed his hands. Both of the hunters wrists had violent bruises on them and Shane didn't want to even think of the pins and needles the other was going to have. However one glance at Daryl's face was enough to tell that that wasn't the biggest issue here.

"Do you, uh, do you think you can move?" Shane vaguely gestured at Daryl's half naked body that he very pointedly did not look at. Daryl blinked twice before trying to get up only to collapse back down with a pained hiss. Shane's impulse was to hold him but instead he balled his fists.

"I-" Daryl croaks and frowns "I think I broke a rib." His voice was even more hoarse than normally and then Shane noticed the flaming red bruises on his neck. Shane silenced himself with pressing his palm over his mouth. Oh I'm gonna make that bastard suffer.

"Okay then, um I need you to move as little as possible. I'm going to pull up your pants, alright?" Daryl shut his eyes but nodded. Shane tried to stare at the woods to give the other man some privacy. Slightly fumbling but finally getting the pants up Shane ran his hand trough his hair. That just might be the awkwardest thing I've done so far. Or not.

"Daryl, I think we need to clean you up." Daryl started to shake his head but winced and stopped. He still had his eyes closed.

"I don't wanna go to the lake."

"Right. Right, of course." The women would be doing some washing there probably. Shane rubbed his eyes and tried to think. "There's another lake, but it's not in the walking distance with your condition. But we- we could drive there if we get you in a car. I could help you to the side of the road and get the car there. Sound good?" Daryl finally opened his eyes and nodded.

"Alright. Let's get you up then." He tried to give an encouraging smile but wasn't sure if he pulled it off.

Somehow, very slowly and carefully, they got beside the road. Shane had pretty much carried Daryl there, walking was painful and aggravated his wounds. Shane gently lowered Daryl to sit by a tree. He winced as he settled down but didn't say anything.

"Alright then," Shane knelt next to him and took the hunter's bow from around his shoulder and gave it to it's owner. "You better shoot everything that comes at you that isn't me, OK?"

"You don't have to tell me that." Daryl offered a tiny smile and took a better grip of his bow. Shane smiled back and nodded before he left for the camp. Daryl watched as Shane headed off and when he no longer heard his footsteps he took a count of his injuries. His ribs were throbbing like hell. At least one of them was broken, or maybe a few. His throat ached and his ass... he thinks he's bleeding. Daryl really didn't want to think about it. He just wanted to clean himself and get some sleep.

Daryl snapped awake, realizing he'd fallen asleep. Slightly angry at himself, he groaned as he changed his position slightly. At least the small nap had cleared his brain from the drug Merle had injected him with. A flash of restlessness surges trough him as he thinks of his brother. He can still feel Merle's tight grip around his throat, and he has to touch it to make sure that his hands aren't still there. He felt restless, and decided to test his feet. Daryl scrambled up and images of what he went trough flash inside of his mind. His veins started to pump with bitterness that has been withheld for years. He thought of his scumbag father that never cared of him, he thought of Merle who made him feel like he was indebted to him, deserving his abuse for all these years. His anger grows with every thought he had, and he felt as he was about to burst.

Daryl started to pace without noticing. He thought of the sharp lashes of the belt, a stick or what ever was close hitting his back, leaving the scars there forever. He thought of the first time Merle crawled in to his bunk stinking of alcohol and the accusative "you own me this" and being confused and hurt and not knowing how to defend himself. Thick bitterness clouded his mind when he thinks but I can't even defend myself from him now.

He felt such rage. Daryl felt like he's going to rip to pieces, and then he took the first swing at the tree next to him. He thinks he yelled in the midst of it all, his mind was clouded in deep red outrage. He didn't even stop when he felt a touch on his shoulder, he just turned quickly and attacked whomever was there, he got a punch in the gut, but the person didn't bulge, and he kept on going, and -

"-ryl! Stop, it's alright, stop it please!" He recognized Shane's voice, and when he froze for a second Shane took a hold of his wrists. He struggled the hold and beat his fists on Shane's chest.

"No, fuck that!" He distantly heard himself yelling. "I am done. I'm so fucking done, Shane." Shane kept his grip, but didn't do anything else.

"I'm done with Merle. I'm-" he took short breaths and still fought Shane, "he has always gotten under my skin! I've never been able to defy him, ever since I was twelve he has-" his rant was cut off by a sob and he didn't even know what he was trying to say but he still continued.

"He said he's been there for me all these years, Shane." He laughs hollowly. "He said he practically had raised my ass." He took a deep shaky breath and had stopped resisting Shane's hold. He looked straight in his face.

"I'm done with him. I want to kill him, Shane. I want to shoot an arrow trough his brain. I want to gut that bastard." Daryl spits the last words and Shane responded with a shaky smirk.

"Good that we agree on that. Now come here." He pulled Daryl into a tight hug, and Daryl blinked uselessly a few times before he hugged him back just as tight. He closed his eyes and tried to level his breathing with Shane's.

They stood there for a while, until Daryl had calmed down. When Shane stepped away he offered him a smile.

Shane sat in the car as Daryl washed himself at the lake. They secured the area before he was comfortable to leave his friend there. He felt the bruise on his stomach where Daryl had punched him. Damn he knows how to throw a punch. He thought of the hunters words from before, and wondered what was going to happen when Merle came back. His inner cop frowned on the violent plans he has restored for the man. He decided to leave everything 'Merle' for later and concentrated on what was happening right now. Shane saw Daryl walking up to the car, so he got out to meet him. He had clean clothes and looked a bit better. Shane helped him batch up his bloody knuckles and put same bandages on his face. After that they ate in that comfortable silence they usually spent time in. When they got to the camp Shane shook Daryl awake and he sneaked to their tent.

It wasn't even afternoon yet but Shane felt beat. He needed to find Lori. He asked around and heard that she went to pick berries. He headed to the forest, knowing the spot where he's going to find her. They've met each other there before. He sees her, and for a second he just stared at Lori. She's humming quietly while she picks the berries and places them in the bucket. The light that gets trough the thick leaves dance on her hair. She looked absolutely stunning. Shane feels warmth in his chest as he looks at the sight in front of him. She sees him and startles, hand flying to her chest.

"Shane! You scared me." She laughed lightly and something squeezed inside Shane as an image of Daryl getting ambushed in the woods flashed in his mind.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." He walked to her and Lori got up to meet him halfway. Shane wrapped his arms around her and held on tight.

"Hey, hey..." Lori rubbed circles on his shoulders. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. I just need something real right now." He murmured and kissed her hair. She pulled slightly away and smiled wickedly.

"Well I assure you I'm very real." She pulled him down for a kiss and Shane melted down. He deepened the kiss and Lori's fingers tangled in his hair. Shane broke the kiss for air and just leaned his forehead against Lori's. She smiled warmly and hummed happily.

"I think I'm in love with you woman." Shane smiled anxiously, not knowing how Lori would react. She drew her head away and her face got serious as she searched something in his eyes. Shane swallowed nervously. Whatever she was searching for she seemed to find it, because before Shane noticed it, he was getting pushed to the ground and Lori was tugging at his clothes. And for a few minutes the world doesn't seem so dark.

In the evening Shane brought Daryl food in the tent. The hunter was asleep on his sleeping bag.

"Daryl, hey man time to wake up." He kicks the hunters feet slightly and Daryl snaps awake, blinking furiously.

"Brought you some food." Shane offers the warm plate to Daryl and he takes it in his hands after sitting up slowly. Shane eyed the other man. The bruises on his neck were raging red colour and looked painful.

"How you feeling man?" Shane questioned and took a mouthful of food. Daryl shrugged but winced at the movement.

"'M okay." His voice was hoarse and he tried to clear it. "Have ya heard anythin' from the other group?" The scavenger group had taken a few walkie-talkies with them that should be able to broadcast to the base camp's radio.

"Nah, and that can mean either two things." They fell in silence, both wondering if Merle was breaking havoc in the city. Just then there was lively chatter coming outside and Lori's head popped inside the tent. She froze for a sec when she saw Daryl there, but turned to Shane.

"You better come and listen to this." He glanced at Daryl who nodded for him to leave. Together with Lori they walked to Dale's RV. Other people from the camp had gathered around to listen what T-Dog was saying.

"We're trapped in the department store." A faint voice came from the radio before a beep. People gathered closer and Shane stopped next to Amy.

"Did he say they were trapped?" Shane asked Dale but T-Dog spoke again.

"The geeks are all over the place, hundreds of them. We're surrounded by them." The speech was almost covered by the static. Dale tried to find a better line and asked for T to repeat. After that there was no more noise from the other line. Shane drew his hand trough his hair and tried to think.

"He said the department store." Lori said next to him.

"I heard it too." Dale confirmed. She turned to him.

"Shane?" She asked quietly. Shane shook his head.

"No way. We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group, you all know that." He needs to prioritize, he can't protect the people out of his reach, but he can help these people. Amy however had her sister in there.

"So are we going to just leave her there?" She sounded so shocked.

"Okay Amy, I know this is not easy..." Shane started softly, trying to calm her down.

"She volunteered to go." She interrupted. "To help the rest of us." Shane steps closer and nods.

"I know. I know. She knew the risks, right?" In moments like these he thinks of Rick. He always had away to handle these kinds of situations."See, if she's trapped, she's gone. We just have to deal with that. There's nothing we can do." Speaking the last words, he's not sure if he's talking of Andrea or Rick and his voice breaks down sightly. Amy stares at his face with disgust.

"She's my sister you son of bitch!" Amy stalks off and Shane huffs. He looks at Lori, wordlessly looking for approval of his actions. Lori nods her head and Shane let's out the breath he's been holding. The crowd dismantles and Lori goes after Amy. Carl is left standing there, looking confused. Shane takes in a deep breath and goes to him. He ruffled his hair and smiled at him.

"It's okay buddy. You got any chores?" Carl nodded at him and he tapped his shoulder. "Off you go little buddy." Shane watched him go before he went back to his tent.

"What's going on?" Daryl asked him even before he got in. He settled in before answering.

"It's the group. They're stuck in Atlanta." Daryl's eyebrows shot up.

"Do ya- do ya think it's Merle?" Shane shook his head and took his plate.

"No, I think they said geeks surrounded them. Don't know which option is worse though." Daryl gave a low hum and wiped his face with his red rag.

"Should I say something about the bruises to Lori?" He asked after a while with his soft voice. Shane frowned but shook his head again.

"Nah, she won't ask." It was a lie, but thought Daryl didn't have to deal with that.

"So what are you gonna do about the group? You think they can make it?" Shane didn't answer for a while. It was a though decision, but hey had spoken of this before the group had left to Atlanta. And it was the reason so few people had volunteered to go with Glenn.

"There's nothing we can do. It's not nice, but they've got to make it on their own." He sighed deeply. "There's nothing we can do." He said again and he could feel Daryl staring at him. Maybe he could sense a deeper story to his words but he didn't offer any explanation.

It was the next morning, he was sitting with Lori and Carl while cleaning his rifle. They were having one of those moments where Shane could maybe see them as a family in the future. The wailing noise was distant at first but it came closer and closer. Dale was on top of his RV, goggles in his hands.

"Talk to me Dale!" Shane yelled and rose up.

"Can't tell yet." Dale confessed, but he continued searching. Shane loaded the gun and walked up to the road. Amy walked beside him.

"Is it them?" She asked hopefully. "Are they back?" Dale was muttering something, informing that it was a stolen car making all that noise. The red Chevrolet took the last turn and for everybody's surprise Glenn emerged from inside, with a big ass grin on his face.

It was very chaotic after that, Amy demanding to know about her sister, Dale yelling Glenn to turn the car off and Shane trying to get Glenn to pop the hood. Glenn tried to answer to everybody while getting back in the car to open the hood. Shane did his magic and at least now the car wasn't screaming.

"-y didn't she come? Where is she? She's okay?" Amy asked a question after question.

"Yes!" Glenn interrupted her and glanced the gathered crowd. "Yeah, fine. Everybody is." He reassured. There was a relieved murmur around.

"Well..." Glen continued, "Merle not so much." Shane's face twitched at the mention of Merle but there were other things to speak of.

"Are you crazy driving this thing over here, you trying to draw every walker from miles?" He asked sternly, leaning on the car.

Dale shook his head."I think we're okay."

"You call being stupid okay?" Shane retorted.

"Well the alarm was going off all over these hills, hard to pinpoint the source." Dale calmly explained. Shane rose up and put hands on his hips, and Dale rose his arms.

"I'm not arguing, just saying. Wouldn't hurt you to think things trough more carefully the next time, would it?" Dale referred the last words to Glenn who apologized. A large moving van came around the corner and got everybody's attention.

"Amy!" Andrea emerged from the back and Amy ran to hug her. Morales family also ran to meet him and people who wasn't friends or relatives with the people coming from the car went back to their chores. Shane watched as Lori bent on her knee to tell something to Carl. Shane smiled as he looked at them. They were his family now.

His interest peaked at a mention of some new guy helping them out.

"Yeah, just some crazy guy who just got in the town." Morales answered his question about this mystery man. "Hey helicopter boy! Come say hello!" Morales yelled at the last emerging figure from the van. "The guy's a cop, like you." Shane raised his eyebrows and with real interest and tried to see this new guy.

His heart stopped. He had to take a step back, it felt like somebody had just kicked all the air from his lungs. Shane couldn't believe his eyes. It was Rick. Rick Grimes was alive. His best friend was alive.

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