Disarm ⋙ Shane Walsh ⋙ The Walking Dead

Fear and Loathing ⋙ n i n e t e e n

Shane and Katherine were still tangled together. Kat felt like she was high. But with this being said, the ecstasy didn't last long. The pair heard Katherine's mother speak outside the tent. "I'm going to go help Kat finish packing." Katherine and Shane instantly pulled away from one another. Katherine turned and quickly started to pack again while Shane adjusted himself within his pants. Kat took a deep breath to try and calm herself. Shane rubbed his head and sighed. Kat heard the tent unzip and she knew it was her mother. 

"Kat, let me help yo- oh, Shane." "Hey, Mom." Lori smiled at her daughter. "Shane, what're you doing here?" Shane huffed. "Tryin' to get Kat to talk some sense into Rick." Lori furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?" "Well, since Kat isn't much help, I need you to help talk some sense into Rick. Look, this C.D.C. thing, Lori, it's a mistake. Are you gonna back him on this?" Lori wasn't having it, and Katherine really wasn't either. Kat knew that Shane had the group's best interest in mind, but so did her daddy. Shane was a fantastic leader, but Kat truly believed that her father was going to make a better decision. "What else would I do? He's my husband." Shane rolled his eyes and looked at Kat. "I couldn't get an answer out of you earlier, so what do you think, Baby?" Katherine's face flushed and she grew nervous. "Shane, I trust my dad." Shane couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Look, it may be time for y'all to play the dutiful family, but you can't tell me that fixing your marriage is worth putting people's lives at risk." 

The last part was directed at Lori. Kat thought it was a low blow. Shane turned to Katherine. "And you, you can't tell me that being a good daughter is more important than these people's lives!" Kat was a little annoyed to say the least. She didn't know how much of this was a show for Lori and it was getting to her. He had no right to talk about her relationship with Rick. Apparently Lori felt the same way. "I think folks around here can make up their minds without bringing my family into it. It's a habit you need to break." Shane rolled his eyes. "I guess I'll just add it to the list of habits that I'm breaking whether I like it or not." Kat heard the tent unzip again. Rick shoved himself into the cramped cramped space. Katherine wasn't sure how she made it this long without her own space. "What habits?" Shane rubbed his head before responding. "Just talking about my need for a plan, man. So what is it? Are we leaving or not? Maybe y'all just want to stay here. We could hang some more tin cans." 

Rick shook his head. "We can't stay here. We both know that." The two shared a tense look. Lori and Katherine glanced at one another. Lori just thought that the tension filling the tiny tent was about the camp and the decisions that had to be made. Katherine knew it was a combination of those things and her relationship with Shane. Lori spoke up to break the tension. "Katherine and I were just telling Shane that we think you should trust your gut." Rick nodded. "Thank god there are some reasonable people here." Shane glared at Rick then at Lori and Katherine. Kat was a little hurt to say the least. Shane sighed. "Let's go do our sweep." Rick nodded and the two men went to leave the tent. Before either one of them made it out, Lori stopped Shane. "Shane, what is that on your neck?" Kat's eyes were about the size of dinner plates and her face was beet red. A little bit of panic crossed Shane's face before he was able to respond. He rubbed his head and looked Katherine dead in the eyes. "Fuckin' mosquitos. That thing bit me real good." Kat could've passed out. "That looks miserable." Rick saw through everything and glared at his friend and daughter. "C'mon, Shane." The two men nodded at Lori and Katherine and left the tent. 

"God, Honey. I don't know whats going on between them?" Kat shook her head. "Who knows? We've seen them like this before." Lori nodded and crossed her arms. "Honey, we need to talk." "About?" "What do you want to do with the group?" Kat sighed. "I mean, I think Dad is right. This has been our home for a long time now, and I don't want to leave." Katherine took a breath, her voice was wavering and tears were filling her eyes. Lori felt tears well up in her eyes as well. "But, after that massacre, it isn't okay to stay here." Lori nodded. Kat began to cry openly. She had experienced a series of emotional highs and lows and it was finally getting to her. Lori wrapped her daughter into a hug and allowed her to cry. "No matter what, it is our duty to back your dad. He needs us more than ever now." "I know." "Mom, if nobody else leaves, what are we gonna do? The four of us can't survive on our own." "Honey, don't say things like that!" "Well, Mom, strength in numbers." "It wouldn't just be us. Shane would go to!" Kat shook her head. "I'm not too sure about that. He seemed to want to stay here pretty fucking bad." Lori scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Honey, Shane is part of this family. And despite that, he would follow you to the ends of the Earth like a lost puppy." Katherine's eyes could've popped out of her head at this point. "I know that something is going on. But I don't know what it is. Your father is pissed and I am not thrilled, but things are so different now. You'll talk when you're ready to." Katherine didn't know what to say. Normally Lori would have killed Katherine over something like this. "Mom, nothing is going on between us." Lori rolled her eyes. "Honey, something has been going on for a long time. Normally, I would beat your ass over this, but obviously things are different now. Plus, Shane kept you safe from that creep Merle. I owe him for that." Kat nodded. She was beyond embarrassed at this point. "Does Dad know that you know?" Lori shook her head. "No. We're gonna keep it that way too." Katherine nodded. Silence engulfed the tent and Lori sighed. "If you're going to be with someone, I want to know that they can keep you safe and that they have your best interest at heart. I know Shane does."

xxx

After Lori dropped the bomb that she knew about Shane and Katherine, the tent was awkward. Katherine and Lori had continued to pack up the mess in anticipation of leaving. Kat couldn't remember packing as much as she did, but damn was she exhausted. The Grimes women finished and sat back. They were tired now, but anxious for what was to come. Before either woman could get comfortable, Carl interrupted. "Guys, Dad and Shane are back with Dale!" Kat and Lori glanced at each other and crawled out of the tent to see the camp gathering around Rick and Shane. Shane caught Katherine's eye and her heart raced at the sight of him. Once everyone settled, Shane spoke. "I've been, uh... I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Now look, there are no... There are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning."