06; DIDN'T YOU GET THE MEMO? (season one, episode three)
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RICK GRIMES WAS gone once more. This time voluntarily. It was who he was and Freya loved him for it, but that didn't mean that she was okay with it. The odds of him surviving the shooting atall were slim, let alone surviving by himself for two months in a city infested with thousands of walkers and finding his way back to his family. Going back out there and risking his life for someone like Merle Dixon felt like he was tempting fate. But, that wasn't how he saw it, and as much as she hated to admit it — she'd inherited his stubbornness, so she knew firsthand that he wasn't going to let his ideologies go. She wouldn't either.
"Hey," Lori said softly, crouching down in front of Freya who was sitting on the ground outside their tent, deep in thought as always. "How're you holding up?"
Freya shrugged. "I'd feel better if Shane had gone too. Glenn's awesome but he delivered pizzas. He's not used to wielding guns and knives around, not like Dad or Daryl."
"Well, T-Dog's there too," Lori reminded her.
"And he dropped the key," Freya stated, a sigh following her words. "Clumsy gets you killed. It's why we don't let Carl out of our sight."
Lori chuckled softly. "T-Dog's a grown man. I'm sure he can take care of himself."
"Hey, Mom?" Freya took a deep breath. "I've been meaning to ask but I guess I don't really know how to. . . well, how to ask it."
Lori's eyes widened a little. "W-what about?"
"Shane."
"Wha-what about Shane?"
"Why'd he lie to us?" Freya asked, watching her Mother carefully. "I mean he specifically said 'He's dead. I got there and he was already gone.' I heard him. I was on the stairs."
Lori sunk down beside Freya. "You know what, sweetheart? I've been asking myself the same damn thing and I can't come up with any good reason for it."
Freya nodded slowly. It all made sense now. The look of guilt on her mother's face wasn't guilt at all — it was confusion. She didn't understand why or how Shane could ever lie about something like that. "I think we should tell Dad exactly what he told us."
"Your Dad will say he did the right thing, that getting us out of there was the priority and it didn't matter what he had to say to achieve that," Lori responded, shaking her head. "But I don't know how to be okay with it."
"I'm not okay with it," Freya told her, glaring over at the RV where Shane was conversing with Dale. "I don't care if he wanted us safe. I mourned Dad for two months. Carl mourned him. He left him not even knowing if he'd make it or not."
