22 ☞ s. walsh

22

Natalie reached into the back seat and pulled out Nick's baby blanket. She didn't know why she brought it. When she was packing up their house, she just figured they would need extra blankets. She held it close to her chest, crying softly into it.

Seeing her like that made Shane feel emotional again. He was getting better at hiding his emotions, but seeing all of Nick's stuff in his backseat brought tears to his eyes.

They drove silently towards the CDC.

Shane broke the silence halfway through the trip.

"You said you wanted to try. Is that still true?" Shane asked, looking over at Natalie.

"I wanted to try for Nicky. And now thanks to you and your whore, we don't have to worry about that any more," Natalie snapped quietly.

"If Rick hadn't left--" Shane started angrily.

"We both need to stop playing the blame game," Natalie said, cutting him off.

Shane stayed quiet. He didn't want to get angry with Natalie. They were both so distraught. He didn't want to say anything he'd regret.

They were silent for the rest of the trip.

Suddenly, the RV came to a screeching halt.

"What the hell?" Shane said quietly, getting out of the car.

Natalie couldn't bring herself to get up. She just held on to Nick's blanket.

"Come on. I'm not leaving you alone," Shane said, leaning against the car, giving her a small smile.

He knew he couldn't look at her with sad eyes. She hated that. He thought about the day that her father passed away. Everyone was looking at her with sad eyes. She couldn't stand it. She just wanted everyone to treat her normally. That was the only way she could deal with loss.

She slowly put Nick's blanket in the backseat and climbed out of the car.

Shane went to put his hand on her back comfortingly, but she slapped it away.

"I don't need you to comfort me, Shane," Natalie snapped.

He threw his hands up in surrender.

The couple walked towards the group, which was gathered by the front of the RV.

"What's going on?" Shane asked.

"Engine's shot," Dale sighed.

"Can you fix it?" Shane asked.

Natalie tuned out the rest of their conversation. She thought back to the days before the world ended.

"Mom! Dad!" Nick called out excitedly as he ran towards his parent's open arms.

Natalie and Shane pulled their son into a tight group hug.

They had just gotten back from a trip they'd taken for their anniversary. Their skin was dark and sun kissed, as they had gone to the Bahamas. They had big smiles on their faces.

"I missed you, baby," Natalie said, kissing her son's head.

"Thanks for letting me borrow her for a couple days, son," Shane joked, ruffling his son's hair and winking at his wife.