Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, ect., are the property of their respective owners.  The original character and plot are the property of the author.  The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.  No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: When the world ended the only thing Birdie Grimes wanted to do was to get home to her family.  When she finds her sister-in-law and best friend on the outskirts of Atlanta, will she finally get the chance to tell him how she really feels?  Will love blossom?  *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 Walsh x Birdie Grimes

Chapter Seven

 

Later that evening Rick regaled us with his story of waking up in the hospital and the quest to find his family. 

Shane sat beside me, his thick arm draped around me as we cuddled with Trusty under the army blanket.  He was quieter than usual but he had a smile on his face that lit up his dark eyes like sun—and that was alright with me and it made me smile too. 

“Mom said you were dead.”  Carl said, his confused eyes looking to Lori for answers. 

“And she had every right to believe that.  Don’t you doubt that for a minute.”  Rick replied, holding Carl closer to his chest. 

Shane tensed beside me and I knew he was playing the blame game in his head again.  Faster than a snake, I pinched the inside of his thigh and he growled. 

“Ya gotta quit doin’ that, Birdie.” 

My eyes narrowed in confusion, not understanding why he got so upset about a little pinch—Hell, I know I’ve pinched him harder than that in the past, but as I tilted my head upward to look at him—it dawned on me. 

His eyes were boring into mine as he regarded me with a look of desire, nearly setting me on fire where I sat.   I gulped heavily and nodded, promising without words to behave.  I had no doubts that if I prodded the bull too much I was gonna get a lesson after lights out that I’d never forget—which would be swell if we weren’t playing baby-sitter this evening.

Trying to ignore the tingling sensation growing in my abdomen, I scratched behind Trusty’s ears, my eyes darting around the camp fire for a distraction and met my brother’s gaze as he stared back at me with wide eyes.  He looked down to Lori who was also staring with a sly smirk on her face and then back to me, then Shane, then me, before smiling widely and shaking his head. 

Hmm…something tells me my brother just lost a bet of some kind. 

“Shane,” Rick said suddenly, making me jump.  “I can’t thank you enough for getting my family out and to safety.  I owe you.”  He said, his eyes pointedly jumping to me before resting back on Shane. 

Shane smiled next to me, a truly genuine smile as he caught on to Rick’s meaning.  Rick wasn’t gonna make a big deal out of the flirty eyes Shane had been giving me—thank God—I don’t think I could handle big brother acting like, well, a big brother this late in the game. 

Suddenly the sound of wood cracking and fire popping startled me into looking towards the Peletier family fire—where Ed had just dropped another log.  That fat pig of a man knew the rules—and yet, here he was breaking them and practically rubbing it in Shane’s face. 

“You wanna rethink that log, Ed?”  He asked calmly, as he rubbed my arm soothingly.  Trusty’s head popped up at suddenly different tone in Shane’s voice but he didn’t growl or get up.

“It’s cold,” Ed replied, shrugging his shoulders as if to say “That’s that.”

My blood boiled as I watched him reclaim his comfortable camping chair while his wife and daughter sat on the cold ground.  It was freezing out here tonight.  So cold in fact, that almost all of us had on some kind of winter clothes and were wrapped in several blankets.  Hell, even Shane was wearing a jacket and that jack-ass never got cold. 

“What a pig,” I growled quietly next to Shane, itching to get up and give Ed Peletier a piece of my mind.  If he wasn’t careful, he’d get the whole thing.

“You know the rules.  We keep are fires low so we can’t be seen from a distance,” Shane said with a little more bite. 

Ed scoffed, kicking at the rocks around their pit, “Why don’t you mind yer own business for once?”  Trusty growled at his threatening tone and I had to grab on to his collar before he made a nice snack out of Ed—You don’t mess with Papa Walsh or Mama Grimes, Trusty will bite you. 

Shane—however—lost his patience with that snotty remark and jumped to his feet, striding over to Ed with purpose.  Lori and Rick looked to me like “Why didn’t you grab him?” and I just shrugged, feigning innocence.  Why would I stop him from scaring the shit out of a chauvinistic pig? 

The conversation was lost to me as Dale spoke up about Daryl Dixon and his brother, but I winced when I saw Carol rise and pick up the warm log bare-handed, before going back to sit by Ed dejectedly. 

Shane looked about as pissed off as I’d ever seen him when he huffed back down into the dirt beside me, his eyes cold and narrowed and looking straight at Ed. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my brother getting a bit more—snuggly—with Lori and I figured it was about that time. 

“Hey Ricky,” I said, waiting for him to meet my eye.  “Shane and I were hoping Carl would bunk with us tonight.  What do ya say?”

Rick chuckled, throwing me a pointed glare as Lori blushed and tucked her head into Rick’s shoulder.  Carl on the other hand, had a different plan entirely. 

“But Mom,” he whined, giving Rick the dreaded puppy eyes.  “Dad just got here—

“Dale let me borrow the Walkman…”  I sang, taunting the small child with the promise of music that Lori said would rot his brain.”  He didn’t look quite ready to take the bait so I added… “And…I found Slipnot Cd in the semi.” 

“Yes!”  He hissed, doing a little happy dance in his mother’s lap, causing Rick and Shane to laugh while Lori glared daggers at me. 

“Hey,” I said defending myself.  “Shane’s tent is right next to yours, I needed something loud enough.” 

“Loud enough for what?”  Carl asked.

“Nothing.”  Rick, Lori and I all replied at once and the rest of our fireside companions laughed at the failed attempt to brush off my nephew’s question. 

Lori continued to glare, but suddenly a smile worked its way onto her face.  Uh-oh.  “You sure it’ll be loud enough with you two right there?” 

My mouth fell open in surprised and Shane coughed loudly, choking on his water that he had been trying to sip on. 

“Lori!”  Rick scolded, swatting at her leg. 

She just shrugged not looking sorry in the least.

“Huh?”  Carl said, looking confused, before he gave up and shook his head.  “Adults are weird.”

Of course that sent the rest of back into another round of laughter. 

Blushing like a mad woman, I stood up, brushing the debris from my backside as I spoke.  “And that’s the Bat signal to call it a night.  Come on, Little Grimes, let’s go tell not ghost stories.  Come on, Tru.” 

Trusty groaned and stood with me as did Carl, still shaking his head but making his way towards me and the protection of my flashlight. 

Shane’s hand gripped mine from where he still sat on the ground.  “I’ll see you in a little while, alright?” 

My face grew hotter as I nodded shyly.  “Yeah.” 

“Goodnight,” Lori called sarcastically as Carl and I made our way towards her. 

So, good-naturedly as I was, I popped her on the back of the head as I passed, calling out over my shoulder.  “Not one more word.”