22 ☞ s. walsh

49

"Thanks for the hat, Aunt Nat," Carl said, standing up.

"You got it, bud," Natalie said with a small smile.

Carl got up and left with Dale.

"Everything okay?" Natalie whispered to Lori who was still in a shocked trance.

"He said he would've shot Sophia," Lori said blankly, staring at the ground in front of her.

"That doesn't make him bad. That makes him strong," Natalie said firmly.

"How do you know?" Lori asked.

"Because his father did it-- and Rick Grimes is one of the strongest men I know," Natalie said with a reassuring smile.

Lori nodded, tears slipping from her eyes.

A part of Natalie wanted to reach out and comfort her, but she wasn't ready to. She was still so hurt and so betrayed.

"Why'd you try and protect us today, Nat?" Lori asked quietly.

"Because no matter what-- even when I hate you-- you're family. Carl is family. Rick is family. Sisters fight. They'll always make up in the end-- years could go by, but in the end, family is forever. I'm not ready to forgive you. I don't know when I will be, but you will always be my family. And I will stop at nothing to protect my family," Natalie said firmly.

Lori's frown turned into a half smile.

Rick, Andrea, Jimmy, and T-Dog walked into the field.

Shane followed closely behind them, still looking pissed off-- that wasn't new, though. It seemed like Shane was pissed off all the time.

T-Dog put a gentle hand on Natalie's shoulder.

She reached up and patted his hand kindly.

Shane stared at her, not doing a great job of hiding his anger.

"Want us to start burying?" T-Dog asked Rick.

Natalie stood up quickly, wiping the dirt off the back of her jeans.

"We should have a service. Carol would want that," Andrea interjected.

"We all want that," T-Dog interjected.

"Everyone deserves a funeral. I didn't know Annette or Shaun. But I do know that their lives had value. And that value deserves to be honored. And little Sophia-- she was so pure and innocent. She gave our group hope for a future-- hope that we would find her-- hope that we would find something out in this world worth searching for," Natalie said, a strong look in her bright green eyes.

Everyone stood still, taking in her words.

"We're giving them a service," Natalie declared firmly.

"Let's dig a grave for Sophia-- and Annette and Shaun," Lori chimed in slowly, seeming unsure about what to say.

"We'll need a truck to move these bodies," Natalie said.