(no subject)

[wednesday_whimsy]

# 15. CONSTANT VIGILANCE

"I don't think I can do this, Shawn," Gus said when Lassiter closed the bathroom door behind him. "Is this how life is going to be from now on?"

Shawn sat down on the edge of the bed next to him and nodded. "Yeah, probably it is."

Gus's face twisted up on horror. "What kind of motivational speech is that?"

"An honest one?" Shawn said with a shrug. "This is The Walking Dead now. Life has become that thing we always joked about." He sighed and rubbed his face. "It's really not that funny. Unlike The Walking Dead."

"No," Gus said. "It's not funny."

"We've been in bad situations before," Shawn pointed out. "And we survived because we're smart. We can get through this."

"We survived," Gus corrected, "Because Lassie and Jules always turn up on the nick of time to save us."

Shawn smiled. "Then aren't you glad they came along?"

"Shawn..."

"I don't know, okay? I don't know what we're going to do. I don't know how this is going to turn out." Shawn stood and and started pacing the room. "Two weeks ago everything was fine and now it's all gone to hell."

"Shawn..."

Shawn ignored Gus's gentler tone and grabbed his gun from the dresser, where he'd set it down.

"Lassie needs sleep," he said, checking the clip. "I'll do the watch tonight."

"We need to talk about this, Shawn," Gus tried again, but Shawn shook his head.

"Not now," he said, but meant not ever. "Just try to sleep. We're safe for a while."

Gus watched Shawn carefully until the bathroom door clicked open and Juliet emerged followed by Lassiter.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking between them. "Are you okay?"

Shawn nodded curtly. "I'm on watch. You three rest." Lassiter looked ready to argue, so Shawn turned away and went to sit by the window. "Just this once, could you all trust that I know what I'm talking about?"

Gus lay down on the bed and pulled a blanket over himself. Juliet climbed onto the other bed and tugged at Carlton's hand.

Lassiter didn't move.

"Shawn," he said quietly.

Gus closed his eyes. Juliet slipped under the covers and turned her head away.

"Not now, Lassie," Shawn said to Carlton's reflection in the window. "Sleep now."

~

Carlton was dreaming.

He knew he was dreaming because he was warm and safe and though he couldn't quite remember why, he knew that had to be a dream.

The sand was soft under his hands as he leaned back and watched the sunset. The sea stretched out in front of him and he smiled, breathing in the clean, salty air.

"This is my best memory," he thought.

"No, it's not," Juliet answered aloud, and he turned his head to the left look at her. She was shaping the sand in front of her into a fort.

"How do you know?" Carlton frowned. He moved his head to see the dimming sun bouncing off her golden hair. "It's perfect."

"Well this never happened," Shawn said from his right. He was sucking some frozen yellow goop through a straw.

Gus sat on his other side, licking at an ice-cream. "It's not a memory if it never happened."

Carlton looked back out at the sea. "It feels real," he said. "I can smell the sea. I can smell that pineapple juice thing."

He looked back at Juliet. The fort was complete and featured tiny horses and people. She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Lassie," Shawn said, starting to rub his arm. "Lassie, it's time to wake up."

"No," Carlton said, sliding an arm around Juliet's waist. "It's perfect here."

"No, now, Lass," Shawn said, sounding more urgent. "Wake up!"

~

Carlton came awake in a rush, opening his eyes to find Shawn leaning over him. Juliet was ticked against his side, asleep with her head on his shoulder. She mumbled a little, starting to wake.

"We have to go," Shawn said. "They're outside."

Carlton was out of bed in seconds and parted the curtains just enough to peer out of the window to find the parking lot swarming with zombies.

"Where the hell did they come from?" he hissed.

Shawn shook Juliet awake and held his fingers to lips. "Sorry," he mouthed.

"It doesn't matter where they came from," Gus said, sliding on his backpack. "How are we going to get to the car?"

Juliet and Shawn joined them at the window, trying not to create too much movement for fear of any of them noticing. Quick, sudden movements drew as much attention as their smell or the noise they made. Shawn knew from experience that if you ran, they ran too.

"We need a diversion," Shawn said. "If they went after one of us, the rest of us could escape."

"Right," Carlton agreed. "I'll draw them away, you get to the car."

"Exactly," Shawn said. "Except, I'm going to do the drawing and you are going to drive."

"Spencer, this is not up for discussion," Carlton said using his best Head Detective voice.

Shawn smiled. "No, it's not." He held up his gun. "You and your kickass pursuit driving skills can catch me up."

"Shawn," Juliet said, "this is a crazy plan. You're both insane. There has to be another way. What are they going to do, come knock on the door and find us? We can wait it out."

“If they do find us in here, even by accident, we’re dead,” Shawn said, motioning around the room. There was only one door leading out and one window, each facing the same direction. “We don’t have food in here. Even if they just stay for a week, we’re still dead.”

"They're getting closer," Gus said. "Shawn..."

"Lassie's going to save me, Gus," Shawn said. "That's what Lassie does." He held out his hand and Gus bumped his fist. "You are going to save me aren't you, Lassieface?"

"Would it kill you to call me Carlton just once?"

"It might," Shawn said and grinned a little, bouncing nervously. He grabbed Juliet around the waist and kissed her.

"Shawn..."

"Just needed something to keep me going," he said. "Get ready."

~

Shawn threw the door open and ran, screaming and waving his arms, towards the centre of the group before veering off and disappearing around the corner.

"I'm going to kill him," Lassiter muttered. "Guster, have you got everything?"

Gus nodded and started taking slow deep breaths. No matter how many times they did this, it would never get any easier. Henry had once told him that when he felt nervous he should visualise something he liked and breathe deeply. He'd been doing it a lot lately.

"It's okay, Gus," Juliet said, in an overly calm way. She looked terrified.

"I know," Gus said, trying to reassure her for once instead of the other way round. "It's Shawn. Shawn can get through anything."

"I'm still going to kill him," Lassiter said. "O'Hara?"

"Ready."

The door swung open and Lassiter and Juliet started shooting before they'd even stepped outside. They stayed huddled together in a group as they made their way to the car; Lassiter slightly ahead and Gus sandwiched between him and Juliet.

"Get in the car," Lassiter shouted once they'd cleared the area on one side enough to get by. Gus hated having to step around the rotting corpses, as he always worried they might not be completely dead, but Lassiter grabbed him after the first tentative step and pushed him into the car. Juliet clambered in behind him and then over the seats to start the car.

Lassiter was still shooting, trying to kill as many as he could before they got too close.

"Carlton!" Juliet shouted, which made him stop and slide into the car, slamming the door closed just as a bloody greying hand hit the window.

"Drive!"

Juliet backed up and swung the car around in one swift motion, then followed the route Shawn had taken away from the motel.

~

Shawn thought he'd probably done more exercise in the last two weeks than in the last ten years of his life. It was times like these that he really hated his former self. Adrenaline only got you so far and he'd never really liked running, even when his life depended on it.

The problem with zombies, he considered, (apart from the evil flesh eating part) was that they were really persistant. Yes you could run, but you couldn't run forever. Apparently they didn't have that problem with walking.

The screech of tires behind him made him grin and he forced himself to keep going. The car was alongside him a minute later and he glanced across in time to see Lassiter lean over and push open the passenger side door.

"What took you so long?" Shawn laughed as jumped inside and slammed the door closed.

Juliet rolled her eyes and put her foot down, putting as much distance as possible between them and the motel.

"I'm going to kill you," Lassiter said, his hand still fisted in Shawn's shirt where he'd grabbed him to help pull him inside. "I'm going to kill you with my bare hands."

Shawn put his hand over Lassiter's and squeezed.

"I was worried about you too."

~

"Juliet!" Shawn shouted, banging on the door of her apartment. "Juliet, open the door."

Gus rounded corner at the end of corridor and jogged up to Shawn.

"Where's Lassie?" Shawn demanded. Gus pointed back the way he'd came just as Lassiter appeared.

"Keep your panties on, Spencer, I'm right here."

Shawn nodded and started to bang on the door again. "Juliet!"

The door swung open, just as Shawn raised his hand to knock again. Juliet stood there, a vision in a short silky dressing gown. Shawn took in her bare legs and messed up hair and licked his lips. He rocked forward a little, unable to stop himself trying to catch a glimpse of her...

Gus hit him on the shoulder hard.

"What the hell is going on?" Juliet demanded. "I was on my way to bed."

"It's urgent," Shawn said. "Can we come in?"

Juliet stepped aside and Shawn managed a smile as they entered her apartment. "This is nice," he said. "Very you. I can't believe I've never been here before."

"Shawn," Juliet said, "what is this about?"

"I think you need to sit down," Lassiter said, locking the door behind him and fastening the chain. He grabbed her elbow and propelled her over to the sofa. "Sorry," he murmured as he let her go and went to check the windows.

"Carlton, you're scaring me now," Juliet said.

Shawn and Gus sat either side of her. Shawn took her hands in his. "You trust me, don't you Jules?"

Juliet nodded. "Of course I do. You know I do."

"And you know I'd never lie to you unless it was absolutely necessary."

Gus cleared his throat loudly. Lassiter snorted and shook his head. Juliet nodded again.

"Shawn," she said slowly, "you need to tell me what's going on, because you're really freaking me out."

Shawn looked at Lassiter, who nodded and sat down opposite her on the coffee table.

"There were zombies in the police morgue today."

Juliet looked at Shawn, then Lassiter, then Gus and sighed.

"Get out."

"No, really," Gus said. "I promise we haven't been drinking, or doing any drugs. Lassie saw them."

"Carlton..."

"Woody's dead," Lassiter said, gaining her full attention. "His throat had been ripped open. He tried to attack us. This isn't a joke, O'Hara. I know the word zombie is..." He shook his head. "It's really happening."

Juliet stared at him for a minute and then stood up, pushing past them. "You're crazy," she said. "You're all crazy. How can there be zombies? Zombies aren't real. They're made up, just like vampires and werewolves..."

"It could be a virus," Gus said. "Or an alien."

"These are just movies you've seen," Juliet snapped. "Carlton, tell them."

Lassiter fidgeted slightly but kept his eyes locked with hers. "It's happening," he said.

A loud crash outside made them all jump and Lassiter pulled back the blinds enough to see the street. Juliet ran over to join him.

A car had ploughed into a lampost right outside. Smoke was rising steadily from the hood. A few other cars had stopped and people were milling around on the street, some on cell phones, some taking photos. The car door was pulled open and the driver helped from the wreckage. His neck was bent at unnatural angle, his movements were spasmodic and slow. Once he stood, steady and unsupported, he grabbed his saviour by the arm and bit down on his shoulder

"Damn," Lassiter said, taking out his gun. "You three stay here. O'Hara, get dressed."

Shawn took out his own gun and moved to follow Lassiter.

"Spencer..."

"We've covered this," Shawn interrupted. "You go, I go. Like Titanic. You're Kate, I'm Leo."

"Leo dies," Gus pointed out.

"I'm Kate, you're Leo," Shawn corrected and patted Lassiter's shoulder. "I won't let you die though. We can take turns on the raft."

"Do you know you're still talking?" Lassiter asked. "O'Hara, get dressed, get armed and wait here until we get back. Guster lock the door and don't open it for anyone but us."

Gus nodded. "I wasn't going to."

"Be careful," Juliet called, still watching things unfold on the street. "I can't believe this is happening," she muttered. "I have to be dreaming."

Shawn paused in the hallway long enough to hear Gus lock the door and then ran after Lassiter.

"How are we just going to shoot someone in the street without making everyone panic?" he asked, as he and Lassiter stood watching the floors tick down in the elevator.

"I don't know," Lassiter said, tightly. "Do you have a suggestion?"

The elevator doors slid open and then stepped out together, guns raised as they made their way out into the street.

"Don't get bit?"

~

Juliet drove until they reached the outskirts of Medford then found a quiet looking gas station to fill up.

"I'll do it," she said, pushing open the door. "We should eat too."

Gus picked up his back pack and passed Carlton and Shawn a candy bar. Shawn held out his hand for another one.

"For Jules," Shawn explained as Gus reluctantly passed him another one.

Shawn got of the car and hurried round to Juliet, holding out the candy. She thanked him and tore the wrapper open.

"Where are we going, Shawn?" she asked once she'd eaten half the bar. "We can't drive forever."

"Last I heard from her she was in Seattle," he said. "If she's not there..."

"We get in a boat," Juliet said. "And go south."

Shawn looked away, across the empty street, towards the empty buildings. He would never get used to this, even if he lived to be a hundred, though the likelihood of that was diminishing by the hour.

"I miss noise," he said. "I never realised how much it made everything in my head quiet." He looked back at Juliet. "I'm sorry."

"We didn't have to come, Shawn," Juliet said, topping up the tank. "We could have gone our own way. It wasn't up to you."

"You're here to protect me, because I'm selfish," Shawn argued.

Juliet stepped closer and hugged him. "No, we're here because we're your friends. And I'd rather spend the last days I have with you and Carlton and Gus, than alone in a rainforest, or whatever the plan is. And I know Carlton feels that way and Gus too."

Shawn closed his eyes and hugged her back, tightly. "My dad told me to help you," he said and felt Juliet stiffen slightly then tighten her arms. He hadn't mentioned Henry since it had happened. He wasn't ready to mention him now, but he forged ahead in a rush. "And I'm just putting you in danger. He would be so disappointed in me."

Juliet pulled back enough that Shawn could see her face, then shook him.

"Your dad would never be disappointed in you," she said firmly. "He'd be proud you were trying to save your mom."

"You have parents too," Shawn murmured and saw the pain flicker in her eyes before she masked it.

"Well then I guess we're headed to Florida after this," she said, pushing Shawn back towards the passenger door. "Zombie apocalypses are good for road trips."

She climbed into the driver's seat and smiled over her shoulder at Carlton and Gus.

"Seattle, then Miami," she said. "Any objections?"

Carlton looked like he was about to make several, so Shawn laughed and pushed at Juliet's shoulder.

"Let's go."

~

"I'd say a couple of weeks," Gus said as they sat huddled around Carlton's desk. "I don't know how long the incubation period is, but it can't be long. With Woody it couldn't have been longer than six hours."

Everyone else in the station was carrying on as normal. There'd been a slightly increased call out rate from the average Tuesday morning, no reports of hoards of reanimated dead bodies roaming the streets. No reports of any in fact.

"What do we do?" Juliet asked Carlton, drawing everyone's attention away from Gus, for which he was extremely grateful.

"We have a job to do," Carlton told her and she straightened her shoulders and nodded. "You two need to get out of town. Get your parents. Get on a plane..."

"A plane where, Lassie?" Shawn asked. "You don't get to stay here and have all the fun without us."

Gus really wanted to argue in Lassie's favor on that point. Juliet spoke first, and saved him from doing so.

"Carlton's right, Shawn," she said, which earned her the snort Shawn always made at those words. "Our job is to protect the public. You're civillians."

"And you're our friends," Shawn argued. "We can't just get on a plane and leave you here to fight zombies alone. Right, Gus?"

Gus stayed quiet.

"Can we please not call them that," Lassiter said. "I'm having a hard enough time without having to hear that word every five minutes."

"What would you like us to call them?" Shawn asked? "The Living Dead?"

"The Walking Dead?" Gus offered.

"The Evil Dead?"

"Resident Evil?"

"Inferi?"

"The Borg?"

"The... Wait, The Borg, Gus?" Shawn asked. "You're seriously offering The Borg as an example of zombies?"

"You said Inferi," Gus said.

"Because they're dead and they're reanimated by dark magic," Shawn argued. "The Borg aren't dead."

"They have a hive mind," Gus said. "No independent thought, only basic instincts, an undead appearance..."

Shawn shook his head. "I can't even talk to you when you're like this."

"You know I'm right, Shawn."

"Shut the hell up," Lassiter snapped and for once they both did as they were told.

Juliet was rubbing her temples. Gus fished some aspirin out of his pocket and offered her one.

"Spencer, you go find Henry. Guster, tell your parents to get of town."

"What will you be doing?" Shawn asked, watching Juliet's hands shake as she tossed back the pills.

"Patrolling," Lassiter said. "You have a gun. Take a radio. Go, stay together and come back. Understand?"

"You're the boss, boss," Shawn said and grabbed the radio Lassie was offering. "We won't be long."

~

A bump in the road jostled Shawn awake. It was night now but Lassiter had insisted they keep driving. Shawn glanced behind him to see Gus and Juliet were also asleep, curled together in the darkness.

“You’re awake.”

Lassiter’s voice was low enough not to disturb Gus and Juliet, but it still made Shawn jump.

“Are you trying to kill me?” Shawn asked, settling back in his seat. “I see your observational skills are top notch, as ever.”

“Shut up, Spencer,” Lassiter hissed back. “You’ve just been asleep a long time.”

“I was dreaming,” Shawn said. “About my dad.”

He watched as Carlton’s hands tightened on the steering wheel.

“Did you like my dad?” Shawn asked, and smiled a little when Lassiter gave him a look. “Eyes on the road, cowboy. I’m not asking if you wanted to shack up and start adopting kids with him. Just, as a person, did you like him?”

Because Lassie was Lassie that obviously required some thought, so Shawn pulled his half eaten Snickers out of his jacket pocket while he waited and took a bite.

“Henry was a good man,” Lassiter said at length and Shawn turned his head to watch him speak. It was odd, he thought, how different Lassiter looked now. Another one of the many things Shawn knew had changed forever. “He was a good detective and -”

Shawn shook his head. “Lassie, I know my dad was good at his job. That’s not what I’m asking.”

Carlton’s mouth twisted a little and he sighed. “Henry was a pain in the ass, much like you. He and I argued a lot. He was stubborn. He had a really short temper. He always thought he was right. Much like you.”

They turned off the highway and the moonlight shifted so Shawn could see the curve of Lassiter’s mouth.

“Yeah, I liked him,” Carlton said. “He was very brave. You should be proud of him.”

“I am,” Shawn said. “He saved us. Me and Gus. We’d be dead if it wasn’t for him and I... I killed him.”

“You didn’t kill him,” Carlton said firmly. “The bite killed him. He knew that.”

“I should have been able to stop it,” Shawn said. “I couldn’t save him. It’s my fault.”

“Shawn, listen to me,” Carlton said, using a tone Shawn had only heard him use once before, “you are not responsible for what happened to Henry and you cannot keep blaming yourself. You’re making yourself ill. We’ve all noticed. We’re all worried about you.”

This was an odd moment, Shawn thought, to realise that Carlton Lassiter actually cared about him.

“I like you too, Lassie.”

Shawn could see his mouth curve again. He looked more relaxed somehow.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Shawn didn’t. “You know there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” he said instead, glancing out into the darkness and then back at Lassiter’s profile. He smiled, wishing he had a camera to record the moment. “I’m not psychic.”

“Uh huh,” Carlton said, making Shawn frown. “So how do you do it?”

“Wait,” Shawn said, turning fully in his seat to watch him. “What do you mean, ‘uh huh’?”

“I’ve been saying that for five years, Spencer, what do you want?” Lassiter glanced at him. “Oh my God,” he said in overly exaggerated surprise. “I’m so shocked. No wait, how about, I told you so?” He snorted and shook his head. “How do you do it?”

“I can’t believe you’re not going to make a big deal about it,” Shawn said, feeling vaguely disappointed. “This is huge.”

“No,” Lassiter said, “it’s not huge. Of the four of us, only Juliet believed you. She’s going to kick your ass.”

“This is the apocalypse’s fault. If this was a normal day and we were at the station, you’d have been making a huge scene right now.”

“No, I’d be claiming the hundred Juliet owes me. And the fifty McNab owes me. And the fifty...”

“That’s a huge scene,” Shawn insisted. “You’d have cuffed me and dragged me in to see the Chief.”

“I can cuff you now if it would make you feel better.”

“It would make you feel better is what you’re trying to say.”

“No,” Lassiter said. “What would make me feel better is gagging you.”

“Kinky,” Shawn said. “Don’t you think you should buy me dinner first?”

~

“I still can’t get through to your mom,” Henry told Shawn as they drove down to pier. The reports of violence had increased quickly in a few days. The infection, whatever it was, was spreading quickly. People were starting to panic.

Gus’s parents had agreed to go and stay with Joy, with little persuasion. It had taken longer to convince them that Gus had a reason to stay in Santa Barbara. The news reports however had made it clear that nowhere was safe. The infection was spreading nationwide. Canada and Mexico closed their borders. Flights were grounded. The military had been called out to all major cities to assist with evacuation and to curtail violence and looting. Santa Barbara was making do with their police force.

“She was in Seattle last I heard from her,” Henry continued. “She hasn’t been answering her phone.”

“She’ll be fine,” Shawn said, mostly to hear the words aloud himself. “It’s mom. She’s smart. Where do you think I get it from?”

Henry snorted and Shawn caught a glimpse of a slight smile on his face. Somehow it helped to ease the knot of terror coiled in his stomach.

There were people running in every direction when they arrived. A man was holding a screaming woman by the waist, preventing her from running back onto the pier.

“What’s going on?” Shawn shouted as they ran towards them. “What happened?”

“My daughter,” the woman sobbed. “She’s still there. We were separated trying to get away from... Please, help her.”

~

Lassiter was laughing. He was probably going to wake Gus and Juliet, but Shawn considered it was probably worth it. He could probably count the number of times he’d heard Lassie laugh on one hand. And three of those had to have been related to him falling down in some way.

“It’s not funny,” Shawn said, but he was laughing himself. “You have no idea how hard it was for me growing up. Eidetic memory and my dad testing me at every opportunity.”

“That’s how you scored a hundred on the detective’s exam,” Lassiter said, nodding. “Now it makes sense.”

“Maybe I’m just naturally gifted,” Shawn said and Lassiter laughed again.

“Of course you’re naturally gifted,” Lassiter said. “It’s incredible. Why didn’t you take five minutes to explain?”

“You wouldn’t have believed me,” Shawn said. “You were very confrontational that day.”

“I just wanted the truth, Shawn. Yes I know, sometimes I like the glory, but don’t try to pretend you don’t either. Mostly I just want the truth.”

~

Henry always stayed ahead of Shawn when they were patrolling, something which caused Shawn no end of irritation. Shawn was a better shot and had better reflexes than his dad. Henry was just being... Henry.

They stayed low as they ran onto the pier and ducked out of sight once they reached The Harbor Restaurant. There were two zombies feasting on a dead body about ten feet away.

“I’ll take them out,” Henry said. “You run past.”

“Dad, they move like... well, like dead bodies. Can’t you shoot them and then both of us run?”

“Do you have to argue with everything I say?” Henry asked. “Can’t you just run when I tell you to run?”

“Of course I’m going to argue when you’re being ridiculous,” Shawn said. “Oh great. Now they’ve spotted us.”

The zombies had turned and caught sight of Henry and Shawn. Shawn raised his gun and fired two shots. The bodies crumpled to the ground.

“You have to do everything your way, don’t you, Shawn?” Henry said and moved forward, keeping his back against the wall of the building.

“Oh that’s rich, coming from you,” Shawn hissed back. “Your middle name should be ‘control freak’.”

Henry shushed him and stopped moving. “I heard something.”

Shawn closed his eyes and concentrated, picking out a faint sobbing not too far away.

“It’s her,” he said. “She’s close.”

Henry nodded and they started forward again.

There was another group of zombies huddled around an unfortunate body, right in front of the steps that led up to the Longboard’s patio.

“Is she up there?” Henry asked and Shawn shook his head.

“I can’t tell. It’s possible.”

“Can you get to the main door, if I cover you?”

This time Shawn didn’t argue. “Probably. Think you can catch up in time if it’s locked?”

Henry grinned. “We’ll find out, won’t we.”

Shawn grinned back. “On three. One, two, three.”

Henry walked forward slowly, putting as much distance as her could between him and the group of zombies surrounding the door, before shouting, “Hey!” to draw their attention. They turned, snarling at the prospect of fresh meat, and began to shuffle towards him. Henry ran toward the other end of the pier, drawing them away, and Shawn had to fight against his instinct to stay and make sure Henry made it to the other side safely. Instead, he waited just long enough to ensure their backs were turned, before he bolted for the restaurant entrance.

He couldn’t see anyone downstairs. The tables were upturned and there was blood pooling in various spots on the floor, but no movement. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and listened.

The faint sound of crying had him racing up the stairs a second later. He paused at the top to listen again, then crouched down to look under the tables on the patio. It was clear. He made his way further into the restaurant.

There was a muffled sob behind him and as he turned, a tray of glasses fell off the bar and crashed to the ground. He jumped forward, pushing himself up so he was lying half over the counter and smiled at the little girl hiding there.

"It's okay," Shawn said, holding out his hand when she screamed. "I'm not a zombie, really, I got these bags under my eyes from playing Mario Kart. Your mom sent me to get you." She sniffled, cowering in the corner. Shawn swung round and dropped down in front of her. “It’s okay.”

The girl launched herself at him and hugged him tightly. Shawn lifted her up and moved quickly out to the patio, looking over the glass to see if he could make out Henry. Most of the zombies were gathered around the end of the pier, and for a second Shawn felt his whole body tense up in fear, before he caught sight of the lone figure swimming back towards shore.

"Don't tell him I said this," Shawn said, mostly to himself. "But my dad's pretty smart."

The girl didn't raise her head from where it was buried against his neck.

"Can you swim?" he asked and she shook her head.

"Great," Shawn sighed, scanning the area again. There were still a few stragglers nearby, enough to cause a problem once they got down to the pier. And there were plenty of places Shawn couldn't see, where any number of zombies could still be hiding. "What's your name?" he asked, crouching low as he started down the stairs.

"Mary," the girl said, quietly, against his neck.

Shawn nodded and shifted to pull out his gun with his other hand. "I need you to be quiet, Mary. We're going to have to run, and there might be loud noises. Can you be brave for me?"

Mary hesitated, but nodded.

He set her down on the ground and knelt on front of her. "When I say run I need you to run all the way back down the pier to your mom, understand?"

Mary nodded again.

"Good girl. And don't look back. Not once. Promise?"

"Promise."

"You're really smart," Shawn said with a smile. He took hold of her hand and squeezed it. He drew in a sharp breath before walking out, trying his best to be quiet so as not to draw attention. There was one zombie a few yards away, but it seemed to be heading in the other direction. He could feel Mary's hand shaking in his, but he edged them further along the dock, until she stumbled, drawing the attention of two zombies nearby.

Shawn pushed her forward. "Now, Mary, run," he shouted. She ran off down the pier and Shawn turned to find the zombie almost on top of him. He hooked his foot around the thing’s legs and tripped it backwards, then fired once into its head. Blood splattered along the dock and onto Shawn's shirt, making him cringe, but he turned and ran, staying a step behind Mary. "Run faster!" he yelled to Mary as he watched her sprint towards the end of the pier. He could hear noises behind him, but didn’t dare look. He just had to go a little faster, a little further, and he'd be there. Ahead, he saw Henry pulling his truck up.

~

They’d fallen into a comfortable silence. Shawn was pleased that they hadn’t disturbed Gus and Juliet too much.

“I miss him,” he said, once the words had worked their way around his brain enough times.

Lassie, to his credit, didn’t say anything. He just sat and waited, a light tilt of his head in Shawn’s direction was the only indication he’d heard.

“I spent so much of my life mad at him,” Shawn said. “I don’t know that he knew that I...”

“He knew, Shawn,” Lassiter said quietly.

Shawn shrugged. “People always say that. But you don’t know. I never said it. Even then, I couldn’t say it.”

Lassiter sighed, but Shawn thought it sounded more thoughtful than irritated.

“Shawn, you know your dad loved you.”

Shawn nodded. “Yeah.”

“So he knew,” Carlton said.

“When did you get so smart?” Shawn asked a minute later. He suddenly felt very tired.

“I’ve always been smart,” Carlton said. “You just bring out the worst in me.”

Shawn smiled as his eyes started to droop. “That’s funny,” he said. “You bring out the best in me.”


Part 3