The Walking Dead: Shower Time

"Oh my god." She said suddenly, noticing three large scratch marks on the left side of his neck, tinged red with blood. She dropped her stuff and walked over to him.

"What?" He asked.

Lina gripped his chin with her fingers and turned his head to the side so she could get a better look. They were each about two inches long, spaced evenly apart. The first scratch was just above his jaw line on his cheek, the second just underneath his jaw, and the third in the middle of his neck. Lina couldn't help but giggle slightly, realizing that she was the one who had scratched him.

"What?" He asked again. He pulled away from her and walked into the bathroom, flipping on the light switch.

She followed him into the bathroom, standing in the doorway. She crossed one arm around her waist and rest her elbow on it, one clenched hand covering the smile she was unable to subdue. Shane leaned over the sink towards the mirror, examining his injury.

"God damn, woman." He said, incredulous. His eyes met hers from the reflection in the mirror.

"Look what you did to me." Lina giggled again.

He turned and walked towards her.

"You maimed me and you're laughing?" He asked as he approached.

He seemed serious, but she noticed the twinkle in his eyes and the corners of his lips twitch upwards into a sly smile, before he regained composure. He was just giving her shit.

didn't maim you." She retorted. He simply stared at her. "I thought you were going to drop me, I got scared."

"Kitty's got claws." He said, snorting. "I wasn't going to drop you."

"I didn't mean to." She giggled again.

"That an apology?" He asked.

"Yes. That's an apology. I'm sorry I scratched you." She said.

"Hmmm." He responded, narrowing his eyes at her as he considered the sincerity of her apology. "Apology accepted."

"Does it hurt?"

"It's agony." He responded.

Lina rolled her eyes at him again and playfully shoved him back, but smiled, nonetheless. He could be such a smartass sometimes. Lina had learned over the years that there were exactly three sides to Shane Walsh: asshole, smartass, and sweetheart. Smartass was specifically reserved for friends and family. Sweetheart was primarily for women he intended to charm and his grandmother, with some allocations for those who needed it. Asshole was for basically everyone else.

Lina heard voices coming from the hallway as they passed by the room.

"Well, I should probably..." she trailed off, her head motioning to the door.

"Yeah," He said, nodding.

"But this was fun." She added.

"It was." He agreed, following her as she gathered her things and headed towards the door.

She opened it, stuck her head out, and glanced in either direction of the hallway, to see if the coast was clear. She felt somewhat like a naughty teenager, sneaking out of her boyfriend's -- or ex-boyfriend's, rather -- room. It was clear, so she stepped out, then turned back to face Shane. He held the door open just enough for him to stand in it, his left hand on the handle, his forearm, above his head on the frame as he leaned on it. She admired him for one final moment, a half smile on her lips. She wasn't sure how their relationship status would be affected, due to their indiscretion, come morning. However - and still due to feeling the effects of the wine - she figured one more wouldn't change anything too significantly. She checked either end of the hallway again, still clear. She stepped towards him and touched her lips to his once more. Their mouths moved together for two final, lingering kisses, before she pulled away from him.

"Goodnight." She said.

"G'night." He replied. He stood there and watched as she walked down the hallway towards her room, willing herself not to look back.

***

Lina sat at the end of the table the next morning in the cafeteria. Lori sat on her right, a chair in between them for Rick; Glenn on her left, his elbows on the table, his head in his hands. She sipped her coffee. It was both bitter and weak, and left an odd, almost stale aftertaste in her mouth, but it was hot and still the best cup of coffee she'd had in a while.

"Morning." Rick said to the group, coming up beside her and pulling out the empty chair next to her.

Carl, who was seated on Lori's right, looked up from his cereal at him, "Are you hungover?" He asked, "Mom said you'd be." Lori looked over at Carl, Lina chuckled.

"Mom, is right." Rick confirmed as he sat down.

"Mom has that annoying habit." Lori added, glancing over at Rick as she broke her bacon into pieces.

"Eggs!" T-dogg announced, coming over towards the table where the group was seated, frying pan and spatula in hand, "Powdered, but I do 'em good! Bet'cha can't tell." Glenn groaned in response. Karen came up behind him and began rubbing his shoulders.

"Protein helps the hangover." T-Dogg said, serving Glenn a healthy portion of eggs. He then turned to Lina's plate, serving her some. She thanked him and he nodded at her, before moving down along the line to Rick.

"Don't ever, ever, ever let me drink again." Glenn said, still groaning. He looked at the eggs T-Dogg had just placed on his plate, his face practically turning green.

"If you're gonna hurl, please face the other way." Lina said, eyeing him suspiciously. She heard an announcing "hey" behind her, knowing immediately who it was.

"Hey." Rick responded.

Lina sipped her coffee again, glancing up at Shane as he appeared beside her, walking along the side of the table towards the coffee in the back. She watched him, her eyes on his back as he poured himself a cup.

"Do you feel as bad as I do?" Rick called.

"I feel fine." Shane answered.

"I don't know how." Rick said.

"Yeah, well, you never could hold your liquor." Shane quipped, sipping his coffee as he turned around.

Lina turned her attention to the eggs on her plate, placing a forkful into her mouth. They weren't bad, actually.

"The hell happened to you?" T-Dogg questioned. After a moment of silence, he added "Your neck."

At that, Lina immediately looked up at Shane. She'd almost forgotten about that. T-Dogg was staring at him.

"Must'a done it in my sleep," he said, nonchalantly, looking over at T-Dogg as he sat in the chair opposite Lina at the other end of the table. He sipped his coffee. She could feel the corners of her mouth wanting to curl up into a grin, still finding the incident humorous, but was determined to remain as casual as he was.

"Never seen you do that before." Rick stated.

"Me neither." Shane started, and then, his eyes locking on Lina's, finished with, "Not like me at all."

She broke his gaze, directing her attention back down to her eggs. She pursed her lips together in an effort to maintain her composure. To no avail; she giggled anyway. She looked up from her plate, all eyes were on her. She looked back at Shane.

"You must've slept well." She said, still smiling, but hopeful her comment would come off as casually as his had.

"I slept great." He responded; his face indifferent. "How'd you sleep?" He asked. His poker face was outstanding.

"Good." She answered.

She looked away from him, at Lori, who's eyes were the only ones still on her. She looked skeptical.

"What?" Lina asked.

Lori shook her head, but glanced between Shane and Lina once more, before turning back to her bacon.