Disarm ⋙ Shane Walsh ⋙ The Walking Dead

Father and Daughter ⋙ f o u r

Katherine couldn't believe her eyes. Shane looked just as shocked as Kat was. Shane crept forward, almost as if Rick wasn't real. Lori and Carl had also noticed him at this point. "Dad!" Carl yelled as he ran towards the man. Lori ran up as well but Kat and Shane stayed back. Kat was shellshocked and was left speechless. She shot a glance at Shane who, truth be told, didn't look as happy as he should. Rick let go of his wife and son and walked over to his daughter and his best friend. Rick wrapped Katherine up in a hug and she gingerly hugged back. Kat was scared that if she held him too tight he would disappear. "Hi Dad." Kat mumbled as he let go. Rick smiled at her. "Hey Baby." Kat felt tears well up in her eyes. Rick then walked over to Shane and wrapped him in a bear hug. Kat felt anxiety setting in and she knew she needed to escape for a moment. "Um, I'm going to go to the lake. I'll be back later." Lori was obviously confused. Why would her daughter want to leave this reunion? Before anyone could say anything, Katherine was gone.

About half an hour passed and Kat was sitting on a ledge overlooking the lake. She knew that she looked unhappy, but she wasn't. She was just confused. Shane told me he was dead. Katherine had tears pouring down her flushed cheeks. Kat heard a branch crack behind her, but she knew it wasn't a walker due to the fact there was no grunting. She soon heard a familiar voice. "I'm gonna watch you shine, I'm gonna watch you grow. I'm gonna paint the sign so you always know that as long as one and one is two..." It was her daddy. He had made his way over and sat down next to his daughter. "... there could never be a father who loves his daughter more than I love you." Tears were still streaming down Katherine's face at this point, but she couldn't keep herself from laughing a bit. "Dad you still can't sing worth a damn." She giggled out as she wiped tears from her face. "Give me a break, Kid. I was in a coma for a while." Kat laughed again. "That's what I like to see. Do you remember that song?" Kat nodded. "Yes sir. Sure do."

Katherine was 8 years old when Lori was pregnant with Carl and to be quite frank, Kat wasn't handling it well. She didn't want a brother. She wanted to be the only child, but most importantly, she wanted to be Rick's favorite. Kat had started to act out in class and at home. It put a ton of stress on Lori, so the duty to control it fell to Rick. 

Kat woke up one friday morning to sun beaming through her windows. She instantly became nervous. She assumed she had missed her bus and Lori was going to lose her mind. She shot out of bed and ran out of her room in her pjs to the kitchen. She skidded to a halt when she saw her daddy sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. "Daddy I missed the bus I'm so sorry please don't be mad." The little Grimes blurted in one breath. Rick suppressed a chuckle. "No honey. I let you sleep. I have something special planned for us today. Your mom is out and about right now, so get dressed and lets get going. An excited Kat ran back to her room and quickly dressed. Excitement pulsed through her. She loved to spend time with her dad with no interruptions.

A while later, Katherine found herself and Rick at a lake by their house. They were sitting in the bed of Rick's truck fishing and laughing while a stereo blasted the hits of the year. "So Kat, do you want to tell me why you've been acting like you have?" Kat's eyes fell. She knew she was being a bad child and she knew that Rick was disappointed in her. "Daddy I don't want you to love me less than you love the baby." Rick frowned and turned to his little girl. "Katherine Rae Grimes. I will love you for eternity. I will never stop being proud to be your father. Do you understand?" Kat nodded her head. Soon the radio announcer took a commercial break. When he came back Rick looked at Katherine. "Kat I have a surprise for you. Listen real close to the radio." Rick leaned over and cranked up the volume on the little stereo. "Now earlier today, I got a special request from a man named Rick Grimes. He wanted to dedicate this song to his daughter, Katherine. So Rick and Katherine, this one is for you." Katherine's eyes lit up when she heard this. Soon the song Father and Daughter by Paul Simon began to play. About halfway through the song, Rick hopped down off the bed of his truck and stuck his hand out for Kat. She grabbed it and jumped down. Her daddy began to twirl her around and sing along to her. "I'm gonna watch you shine, I'm gonna watch you grow. I'm gonna paint the sign so you always know that as long as one and one is two, there will never be a father who loves his daughter more than I love you."

"Honey it's getting dark. We should head back to camp and get ready to eat." Kat nodded and wiped the few remaining tears from her face. The two stood and Kat turned to her dad. She wrapped him up in a big hug. "I love you. Please don't leave me again." 

xxx

When Rick and Kat made it back to camp, they were welcomed into the circle around the fire. Everyone was chatting about the day's events and just catching up. Katherine sat down in-between Rick and Shane and just listened. She didn't have much to contribute. She was snapped back into reality when she heard her daddy start to talk. "Disoriented. I guess that comes closest. Disoriented. Fear, confusion... all those things but... Disoriented comes closest." Dale soon responded with: "Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short." Kat just glanced up at her daddy, waiting for a response. "I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever." Katherine couldn't even begin to imagine what Rick had been through and she didn't want to. She never wanted her dad to suffer like he did. Carl, Lori, and Rick all talked a little more when Kat caught something out of the corner of her eye. Ed had put another log in his fire. She felt Shane give her hand a quick squeeze before he stated: "Hey Ed, want to rethink that log?" Ed retorted with "It's cold, man." Shane scowled. "The cold don't change the rules, does it? Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?" "I said it's cold. You should mind your own business for once." Shane got up and stomped over to Ed. Shit. Here we go. "Hey, Ed... Are you sure you want to have this conversation, man?" "Go on. Pull the damn thing out. Go on!" Kat rolled her eyes. She hated Ed almost as much as she hated Merle. Before Shane could do anything, Carol pulled the log out. Katherine winced. "Christ." Shane mumbled as he caught sight of Sophia watching this exchange. Poor little girl. A few apologies escaped from Carol's mouth but Shane quickly let her know that they were not necessary. Shane made his way back to the main group and reclaimed his spot next to Katherine. The group had now started talking about Katherine's mortal enemy, Merle. There was a quick debate on what to do about Daryl and who should break the news to him. 

xxx

After a while everyone went their separate directions. Rick, Lori, and Carl went to the tent and Shane and Katherine went to the RV for watch. The two climbed up to the top and sat in silence for a while. The silence was broken by a low moan coming from the family tent. "Oh god, gross." Kat said with a groan. Shane let out a low laugh. "I'm not sleeping in there anymore." Shane cocked a brow. "Oh yeah? Where are you going to sleep then." Kat sighed. "I don't know. On the damn ground away from them." Shane was fighting to keep his laughter quiet at this point. He threw an arm around Katherine and pulled her in close. "Grab your sleeping bag. I've got some extra room." Kat's eyes lit up. "Really? Thanks Shane!" She tossed her arms around the man and placed her head on his shoulder. "You're the best!" The Grimes child exclaimed as she planted a kiss on his cheek.