the walking dead: the wife

chapter viii: heartbreak

Shane and Sierra arrived at the farm visibly relaxed, in stark contrast with the blood on their clothing and covering other parts of their bodies (like Sierra's hands, or where they had come in contact on Shane's body). All the blood made everyone in the survivor group worry, and ran to them expectant of the whatever news they brought, silently hoping that they were good. But, according to the couple, nothing really happened. Just a whole lotta walkers, that's all they said basically in unison – both of them silently agreeing to keep the whole incident with the three men to themselves, and specially not a word to Hershel nor Rick.

Fortunately, they were able to avoid any kind of interrogation by the leaders thanks to a certain small survivor who had already recovered from his recent surgery. Carl Grimes was holding his mother's hand as they walked around the farm grounds, hoping to speed up the healing process of the small wounds on his abdomen. The little boy stopped dead on his tracks when he saw the blonde woman next to his uncle (took him a second to recognize his uncle with a shaved head), focusing his eyes on her until he finally recognized his aunt Sierra – so he let go of his mother's hand and ran towards the blonde woman as best as he could with the tight skin on his abdomen, but still with the enthusiasm that characterized eleven-year-olds.

"Careful there, buddy!" she wrapped her arms gently around his tiny frame "You don't want to pop your stitches now, do ya?"

The kid had a bit of an emotional moment with his aunt, hugging her tightly and not wanting to let her go. Which obviously caught the attention of the majority of the people out there, as they stopped whatever they were doing to watch the adorable scene with smiles on their faces, while others just kept doing their task and could only see impending betrayal. Although maybe that was just Hershel. 

If the end of the world had taught something to the old man, it was not to trust strangers that kept secrets. So, if Sierra was not really a trust-worthy member for the old guy for being a "stranger", then he did not trust her at all after finding out that she was not all that honest with his family. She had never mentioned friends nor family left alive, which was one of the reason why he let her stay in the first place: she was alone, but the arrival of Rick's group proved she was not. And how could the situation get worse? If Sierra went on runs with the newcomers and brought nothing, or if she went alone and did not "find" what she was looking for – which had already happened. 

So Sierra's stay at the farm hung by a thread.

Although that was not one of her main concerns at the time, one way or another she would end up leaving the farm. Especially now that she had found the little family she had left, despite the fact that the relationship between them was not at their best, she was very clear that she was not going to leave them now. Even if her relationship with Shane eventually ended, or if Hershel directly kicked her out, Sierra wasn't going to give up on them.

Either way, Rick didn't seem to feel the same unconditional support for her. His narrowed eyes clearly conveyed more than just assurance and leadership to the couple, they were barely hiding his aggressive demeanor. But no one dared to call him out on it for fear of starting a fight in front of his son.

"You two should rest" Lori advised the couple in a rather awkward manner, clearly trying to get everyone out of that uncomfortable situation "I bet it must have been tiring"

Now it was the couple's turn to be awkward, both fearful that they might somehow know what had happened before they arrived and be judged for it. It had been irresponsible on their part. A lack of respect for the mother who put her trust in them to find her little one.

"Right?" the woman insisted.

"Yeah, yeah, uhmm..." Shane started talking, but quickly regretted it as he did not know exactly what to say.