CHEROKEE ROSE (D. DIXON)

22.

The crisp chill of fall cuts through the morning air, and I shiver.

We have been moving our things into the house since dawn.

Lori and Hershel bicker politely over who will take the bed, and T-Dog rolls his eyes at me good naturedly.

I smile, turning to look at Shane on the windmill, building a crow's nest out of scraps of wood.

Hesitantly, I walk over to the windmill and climb up.

"What're you doing?" He asks, pausing his hammering.

"You looked like you needed help." I remark gruffly, sliding another plank into place.

"I wanted..." I look up at him. An angry bruise covers most of his eye. "I wanted to say sorry. About that night... The CDC."

I swallow. "Ts' okay." I hammer the nail in a few times more until I'm satisfied, holding out my hammer to Shane expectantly. He takes it, and I hold the plank in place while he hammers his side.

"I was drunk." He looks up at me with deceivingly remorseful brown eyes.

I shrug. "I can handle myself."

He gives me a small smile. "I can see that."

"What are you going to do with Randall?" I question after a few minutes.

"Not me, them." Shane replies shortly. I stop hammering, glancing up expectantly. "Looks like your boyfriend is Rick's new man."

I feel my cheeks get hot, and hope Shane doesn't notice. "He's not my boyfriend. They probably just need you on other things." I try to reason.

"Yeah, like building a lookout with a little girl." He growls.

I roll my eyes.

"Sorry, that's not what I meant."

"It's fine."

"Shane. Can I talk to you a minute?" Lori calls from below.

Shane looks at me briefly and I nod. He defends down the windmill, hopping to the ground.

"Oh, brother." I mutter.

The two talk at what they must think is a low level, but I can still hear them clearly. I hammer quietly, ears straining to pick up the conversation.

"I made a mess of things. I put you and Rick at odds." Lori admits. "I don't even know whose baby this is."

I bring the hammer down on my thumb, yelping.

"Is she listening?" Lori questions.

"You okay up there?" Shane and Lori turn to look at me.

"What?" I pretend not to hear, and suck on my thumb.

"Anyways, I can't imagine how hard this is on you." Lori goes on. "You lead us out of Atlanta without a thought for yourself."

What is she doing? I wonder. This was only going to stir up trouble. I shake my head. Leave it to Lori.

"Do you remember that night?" She goes on, getting teary.  I find myself irritated with the whole thing and climb down.

"Going to the bathroom." I mutter without looking up at either of them. Baby?

I wander into the farmhouse, nearly colliding with Maggie.