ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍ\\ ꜱʜᴀɴᴇ ᴡᴀʟꜱʜ

VIII

_________

Delilah went downstairs after she cleaned up and waited for Shane to come back with supplies like everyone else. She looked around the Greene's family farm and looked at family photos displayed on the walls. She wondered what it would have been to have a normal childhood, a normal family. Delilah considered herself lucky with her brothers. Her parents didn't ever care but her brothers did.

She remembered back when Daryl and Merle thought her how to use a crossbow and eventually her tomahawk. She remembered when Merle was gone into the military and she was alone with Daryl. Merle usually protected them from the chaos of whatever their parents would fight about each day and letting it out on their kids later. Delilah pushed those memories aside and only thought about the good ones.

Delilah peeked out the window when a vehicle pulled in front of the house. Rick, Lori, and Herschel both come down stairs and out the door to greet Shane and Delilah followed behind them.

"Carl?" Shane asked, limping towards Rick.

"There's still a chance." Rick said.

"Didn't you say he went with the guy who shot Carl?" Delilah asked noticing that only Shane came out of the truck.

"Otis?" Herschel asked Shane. Delilah noticed Shane was all shaken up. He was hurt and in some kind of shock.

"No." Shane said after a long pause.

"We say nothing to Patricia. Not until after. I need her." Herschel says before walking off in the house. Delilah steps back and watched Rick pull Shane into a hug. Delilah locked eyes with Shane when he hugged Rick back.

"They kept blocking us at every turn. We had nothing left. We were down to ten rounds. And he said—he'd cover me and that I should keep going. So that's what I did. I just...I kept going. But I—I looked back and he—I tried." Delilah heard the pain in Shane's voice. He scrambled to get words out and it came out in stutters.

"He wanted to make it right." Rick said putting his hand on his best friend's shoulder. Shane limped into the house and Delilah walked after him.

"Wait-" Delilah said and Shane stopped and had his back facing her still.

"What." He said a little harsh.

"I-never mind." Delilah sighed. Before she could turn away Shane hugged her unexpectedly. She flinched at the sudden move and stood there in his grasp. Delilah was mostly just confused but she relaxed in his grasp. She slowly wrapped her arms around him and pat his back slowly.

Shane let go of her and walked up the stairs and disappeared out of Delilah's sight. She stood there in the same spot. She slowly looked around and brushed off her clothes.

___

The next morning Carl woke up and the rest of the group found their way to the farm. Shane watched from afar as everyone reunited. Rick told everyone the good news about how Carl was okay. Shane watched Delilah's face light up as she saw her brother. She hugged him and he watched her smile. No one really acknowledged her or her brother that much but she was different in his eyes.

Everyone met up in the back of the farm to have a service for Otis. Herschel read from the Bible and everyone grabbed a rock and put it in a pile. Patricia insisted on Shane to say a few words since he was the last one with him.

"We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. "We've got to save the boy." See that's what he said. He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. "Run." He said. He said "I'll take the rear. I'll cover you." And when I looked back..." Shane paused and limped over to grab a rock.

"If not for Otis. I'd never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl, too. It was Otis. He saved us both...If any death ever had meaning, it was his." Shane said. He put his rock on the pile and everyone stood silently for a second.

___

"How long has this girl been lost?" Herschel asked.

"This is day three." Rick answered. Maggie walked up and put a map down on the hood of the truck they were gathered by. Delilah stood next to Daryl and Shane and examined the map.

"County survey map. Shows terrain and elevations." Maggie said, putting rocks on the map to pin it down.

"This is perfect. We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams." Rick explained.

"Not today. Not you. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out. And your ankle—push it now, you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody." Herschel pointed out Rick and Shane.

"Guess it's just me." Daryl said.

"Uh, and me." Delilah stepped up.

"Who said you're going? You're staying here, help feed the chickens or somethin'." Daryl joked making Delilah scoff jokingly.

"I'm gonna head back to the creek,work my way from there." Daryl explained.

"Only one of you go. I've got two horses and we need one of them to stay here." Herschel told Daryl and Delilah.

"I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back." Shane said and Rick nodded.

"All right, tomorrow then. We'll start doing this right." Rick says, determined.

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them." Shane suggested.

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp." Herschel said which triggered Delilah a little.

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here..." Shane started saying before Rick interrupted.

"We're guests here. This is your property and we will respect that." Rick said, putting his gun on the hood of the truck. Shane put his down and Delilah did too along with everyone else.

"First things first: set camp, find Sophia."

A/n
I love how awkward Delilah is though. I know everything is going kinda slow with but after season two it'll be a bit faster. Hope you guys had a good Christmas!