A/N: See if you can find the LOST reference in here ;)

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After getting her clothes from Beth, Annie set about fixing up her tent with the others. Carol was the only one around, however, so the woman helped her out. She didn't talk to Annie at all while she did so, however, and it left her wondering if the other woman still blamed her. Annie thanked her once it was all set up but Carol didn't even acknowledge her with more than a hum. Moving inside the tent, Annie set out her sleeping bag before dragging the cot inside. T-Dog had Jacqui's tent, cot and sleeping bag that she'd left behind in the RV and told Annie she was welcome to use them. Initially, she'd worried that it would be weird to use the deceased woman's things, worried that everyone would be upset or awkward about it. T-Dog assured her that Jacqui would want them put to good use, and Annie was the one person in their group who didn't have sleeping arrangements. He was okay with it, and that mattered more to her than anything else considering he had been closest to the woman.

Once her bed was set, she took the two things that Dale had set aside for her inside. The lamp ran on a battery, so it looked like she was adding that to her list of supplies to watch for, and she hung it up from a cable at the top of the tent. The little folding chair did nothing to offer comfort but he thought it might make things seem more "homey". He even loaned her a pile of books, not that any of them looked very interesting, which he apologized for. Once everything was set, she went back outside and looked around. Noticing the roof of the RV was suspiciously empty.

Walking over to Carol, Annie asked, "Where's Dale? Isn't he supposed to be on watch?" Carol glanced at the RV and shrugged, slapping out another shirt from her pile and began to fold it.

"He said something to Shane about one of the wells. The others went over to check it out."

"'Kay. Thanks. I'll just..." She gestured towards the others and waited a moment, watching for some kind of reaction out of Carol. Nothing. She just nodded and kept folding her laundry, didn't even bother to spare Annie a glance. Yes, Annie surmised, she was still mad at her.

Walking toward the far end of the farm, Annie put a hand up to block the sunlight. Someone was scooting their way into the well. What the hell? Picking up her pace, Annie spotted a Maggie but that didn't make sense. She was supposed to be running into town with Glenn. Annie did a quick headcount: Shane, Dale, T-Dog, Lori and Maggie were at this well. Carol was in the camp. Carl was in the house with Beth, Jimmy and Patricia. Rick was out with Hershel. Where the hell was Glenn? As she got closer, a pipe suddenly uprooted and the group of five started to panic. That was when it hit her. Glenn was with Maggie, but just not on the surface. He was in fucking the well! Why the fuck was he in the well? Breaking into a sprint, Annie slide to a stop and started pulling on the pipe, which T-Dog was straining to hold onto.

"What the hell's going on?!"

"Walker!" Shane shouted.

"What?!"

"There's a walker in the well!"

"So you sent Glenn down to fish it out?" she shrieked. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"Just shut up and pull!" the cop ordered, pulling at the rope. Annie let out a curse and started pulling on the rope as well, Glenn's screams for them to get him out pushing her.

As soon as T-Dog and the pipe were pulled back far enough, the others having dragged the man, Shane got to his feet and started pulling back the rope. Annie ran to the edge of the well and started pulling at the rope there. She saw Glenn and he looked unharmed but he was clearly scared and panicked, the bloated walker below him trying to reach out for him. Annie yelled at them to keep pulling and, the moment Glenn's hands were in reach, she grabbed onto them. He gripped her hands and reached up, frantic to get a firm grip on his friend. She could practically feel his fingernails digging into her skin, but she kept pulling into he was out of the well and back on solid ground. Glenn collapsed and buried his head between his knees. Annie scrambled over to him and gripped his shoulder, trying to check him but he refused to move from his position.

"Are you okay?!" He didn't answer. "Glenn! Are you all right?" Glenn nodded and Annie nearly sobbed in relief, pressing her head against his as she hugged him.

"Back to the drawing board," Dale said. Glenn looked up at him and smiled. He stumbled to his feet, bringing Annie with him.

"Says you," the Korean remarked with a triumphant smile. He dropped a rope in Dale's hand and walked away. While the others looked back in the well, Annie followed Glenn and collapsed against the wooden fence. Panting, he looked at her and asked, "So! How's your day going?"

"Don't even," she warned. Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, she tugged him close and slapped his chest. "Why the hell would you do that?"

"I'm the guy whose "fast on his feet" and "knows how to get in and out"," he responded with a scoff. Annie shook her head and slapped him upside his head for his cheek.

The group soon set about pulling the water out of the well. Of course, pulling it out actually didn't do any good. It got stuck when it was about halfway out of the well, and ended up ripping in half from the force of the groups pulling. Its lower extremities fell back into the well, contaminating it. Apparently the objective had been to pull it out to avoid killing it inside, which would certainly have contaminated it. T-Dog blew off some steam, bashing the walkers head in until it was nothing left but a pile of mush. What a waste of an afternoon.

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Annie walked over to the house later that night, intent on seeing Carl, and found Rick there. The moment she was close enough, he smiled and pulled her into a deep hug. He told her the good news: Hershel was going to reconsider letting their people stay, so long as they followed the rules he set for them. It took some time to convince him, even going so far as to plainly state that Hershel owed it to them after the debt Otis paid. They had his word he would reconsider, that was enough for the moment. Rick also assured her that he'd had Hershel look at his wound and gave him a clean bill of health. He asked her how her day had gone and she just told him that Glenn and Maggie had managed to restock her first aid kit. He didn't need to know about the well walker and, way she figured, Shane or Lori had probably already filled him in.

Annie left him to get a quick drink of clean water before following after him to Carl's room. Before she settled in for the night outside, Annie wanted to check on Carl. She had yet to see the boy awake and, despite everyone telling her that he had been in and out of consciousness, that he would be just fine, she wouldn't be convinced of that until she saw it for herself. She almost felt like a parent and wondered if this was how her father had felt whenever she and Paul had been sick as children. It was a strange feeling, but how else was she meant to describe fearing for and hoping a child she genuinely cared about would live? Eventually, he did stir into consciousness and smiled at his dad. She wandered through the house, quiet so as not to disturb anyone, and made her way towards Carl's temporary room. Hearing voices, she hovered in the hall.

"Do you think we'll find her?" he asked.

"I know we will." Rick paused and Annie heard him sigh heavily, regretfully. "Well, I don't...know, but...I truly believe it."

"You look tired," his son observed.

"I am tired," he agreed with a chuckle. Annie cautiously peeked around the corner and lightly rapped her knuckles on the wall. "Hey, looks like you got a visitor." Carl looked at the doorway and grinned as his father waved her in. Annie cleared her throat and rubbed her hands nervously against her jeans. Putting a smile on her face, she hesitantly walked into the room.

"How you doing?"

"Better," he replied. Carl looked at Annie a moment before blurting out, "You look tired, too."

Annie just smiled and said, "I'm fine now that you're awake. You gave me quite a scare."

"Mom, too," he noted, laughing a little. Carl realized something and looked towards his father. "Hey, I'm like you now. We've both been shot. Isn't that weird?"

"I think your mother would rather hear we got the same eyes, so let's keep that between us," Rick chuckled, his son smiling.

"Don't let him spoil it for you, Carl," Annie chimed with a grin. "You got a cool scar now, and cool story to go with it."

"Don't encourage him," Rick warned playfully and she grinned at him. Turning back to his son, Rick held up his hat. "But, since you're in the club now, you get to wear the hat. Didn't you know?" Carl smiled at his father, beaming as the Sheriff's hat was placed on his head. The trio had a good laugh at how big it was on his, but Rick told him they'd pad the rim the following day to make it fit him better. Carl asked him if he would miss it. "Maybe you'll let me borrow it from time to time. Sleep now."

"Okay." Rick reached over to tuck his son in when he suddenly turned to look at Annie. "Annie, could you come sit with me tomorrow? Maybe we can read that book...?" Rick looked at Annie and smirked, as if to say 'I told you so'.

"Absolutely. I'd love that." She'd never been great with kids but Annie found herself wanting to spend time with Carl. When she said she'd loved to sit around and read to him, she was surprised to find she genuinely meant it. "You like it so far?"

"It's a little confusing," he admitted sheepishly. "Hey, I know Dad didn't go today, but did you go look for Sophia?"

Annie sighed quietly and admitted, "No. I was kind of on bed rest but Shane went back to the highway with Carol and Andrea. And I know Daryl backtracked to the creek." Carl nodded solemnly. Before he could ask why she was on bed rest, Annie assured him, "We're gonna find her, Carl."

"I know." Annie looked at Rick, who smiled and subtly nodded approvingly to her. Carl tipped his new hat at her, promising, "I'm the new Sheriff. I'm gonna keep everyone safe."

"I feel sorry for anyone that tries to mess with us," Annie remarked, walking over and kissing his forehead. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered, pulling back to smile at him.

The Grimes boys said they loved one another, bidding each other goodnight, and Annie followed Rick out of the room. When he went into his and Lori's, she lingered in the doorway, watching Rick take off his Sheriff uniform. He delicately placed both that and his badge in a drawer, looking at his wife in the mirror as she helped him take off his shirt. She couldn't hear their conversation but she saw him close the drawer and look up at the mirror. Lori was kissing his shoulder and Rick stared into the mirror. His eyes found Annie and he held her gaze a moment, watching her intently. What went through his mind as she stood there, watching him, she couldn't even begin to guess. Ducking her head, Annie left the doorway and walked outside. Luckily, everyone was already settled in for the night so no one stopped her as she went to her tent. The moment she was inside and the flap was zipped shut, Annie collapsed onto the cot. Her eyes burned and she clenched them shut, willing herself not to cry. What the hell was she doing?

He's married, she told herself, he's married, he's married, he's married...

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Annie woke up to find her clothes sitting neatly in the chair inside her tent. Maggie or her sister must've returned them. Even her belt, that had been soaked in Carl's blood, was clean. Making a mental note to thank them later, she changed back into her own clothes and stepped out of the tent with a sore back and an ache in her heart. She set about searching the perimeter and checking on everyone else, anything to keep her mind off her growing feelings for Rick. She'd checked in on Carl briefly, finding him sleeping peacefully before going back outside. Andrea was with T-Dog, cleaning Dale's tools while Dale worked on the RV some more. Glenn was sitting on the porch, fiddling with a guitar Dale had found for him on the highway. Carol had already started doing the laundry and happily took Maggie's clothes to clean up. When Annie asked her where her usual laundry partner was, it turned out that Lori was sleeping in. Annie couldn't help but shake her head and scoff when the woman finally emerged from her tent. Rick's wife did two things: cooked and laundry. Lori hadn't cooked that morning and the majority of the laundry was done already because she'd decided to sleep in. Everyone in the group had been having a rough time of it lately, but they still managed to be up and moving and doing their chores like always.

"Morning, guys. Let's get going. Got a lot of ground to cover." Annie sighed, trailing after Andrea and T-Dog as they joined Rick and Shane, hovering over the map Maggie had given them. "All right, everyone's getting new search grids today. If she made as far as the farm house Daryl found, she might've gone further east than we've been so far."

"I'd like to help." Everyone turned at looked at the young teen of Hershel's group, Jimmy, Beth's boyfriend. "I know the area pretty well and stuff." Rick, stunned at the offer, asked him if Hershel was okay with his helping them. "Yeah. Yeah, uh, he said I should ask you."

"All right then, thanks." Shane told them that the farm house Daryl had found didn't scream Sophia to him, that anybody could've been holed up in that farmhouse.

"Anybody includes Sophia," Annie remarked shortly, glaring at the back of his shaved head.

"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay high," Daryl added, motioning with his hand just how high. Sophia's height. Andrea told him that it was a good lead, Rick adding that they might be able to pick up her trail again. As Dale walked over, setting the duffel of guns on the hood, Daryl told them that he'd borrow a horse and get a birds eye view of the whole grid. "If she's up there, I'll spot her."

"Good idea," T-Dog told him. Looking at Daryl, he sardonically added, "Maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there, too." Confused, Rick echoed the word.

"Oh, you never heard this?" Dale asked offhandedly, looking through the duffel. "The first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time when he went squirrel hunting and he saw a chupacabra." Annie opened her mouth to say something but immediately shut it; best to just not say anything on that matter. Jimmy chuckled though and Daryl glared at him.

"What're you braying at, jackass?"

Jimmy just looked at Daryl as if Daryl was stupid and asked, "So you believe in a blood sucking dog?"

"You believe dead people walking around?" the redneck retorted with a sneer.

"Actually, Jimmy, a chupacabra's more like a reptile than a dog," Annie told him nonchalantly, taking back her Beretta from Dale with a smile.

"You believe in that kind of stuff?" Rick asked, quirking a smile at her.

"The dead are walking, why not chupacabras or Nessie?" she retorted, checking her mag before securing it in her waistband. Dale set a rifle on the hood and Jimmy immediately reached for it, but Rick stopped him.

"Whoa, you ever fire one before?" he asked the teen, taking it from him. Jimmy just told him that if he was going out with them that he wanted one. Obviously, the answer was no.

"Yeah, and people in hell want Slurpees," Daryl scoffed, shouldering his crossbow and walking away. Shane rose to his feet, telling Jimmy that he could come with him and some of the others the next day for gun training, since he and Rick were both certified instructors.

"For now, he can come with us," Andrea told him, Shane replying that he was hers to babysit.

"Hey, Dale, where'd this come from?" she asked, holding up a rifle she'd never seen before. "You find it on the highway or something?"

"It's Otis'," Shane told her and walked away. Annie set the rifle down slowly, confused as to how the dead man's rifle got mixed up in their duffel.

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Annie was forced to go searching with Rick and Shane. Rick tried to make her stay behind, claiming she wasn't well enough to go yet but she'd shot that argument down immediately. If she wasn't fit to go, then neither was he -- especially since he'd given more blood than her. She even tried to convince Rick to let her go on her own, that she'd be just fine but he didn't want to risk it. Daryl got to go on his own, she'd argued, but Daryl was an experienced tracker had been his reply. Shane, surprisingly, had agreed that it wasn't a good idea, that there was no one to watch her back and, since T-Dog and Andrea had Jimmy, another group of three would make things even. So there she was, trekking through the woods with the two cops. Both were silent, the only sounds being their feet breaking twigs, crunching leaves and Shane hammering their red markers into trees. It was awkward, to say the least. Eventually, Rick started asking Shane about the waitress who worked at the Dairy Queen. Shane seemed to know where the conversation was heading but Annie had been confused, then ill, when Rick reminded his friend that he knew asking about all the women he'd slept with in high school was the only sure fire way to get him to talk.

"I'd really rather not hear all about Shane's exploits, if you don't mind," Anne stated, shaking her head as she walked ahead of them.

"Maryann," Shane answered with a smirk. "I told you about her?"

"In excruciating detail," was Rick's reply.

"Oh, my God," she muttered in disgust, rolling her eyes.

"Excruciating, my ass! You used to live for those details, back in the day!" Rick excused himself, claiming he was impressionable and may have been living vicariously through his friend. Annie had to admit, the idea greatly amused her. The idea of Rick needing to live vicariously through anyone was amusing, because she found him very interesting. Of course, she could have been biased, given how adventurous their time together had been. "Well, why wouldn't you, with my impressive list of accomplishments? I was an artist in his prime. A protégé."

"You mean prodigy," Rick corrected.

"Maybe. Prodigy what you call a young high school stud who bangs thirty year olds on the regular?" The two shared a laugh, Rick asking him, believing Shane was full of shit, just what thirty year old he'd been banging back in school. "PE teacher."

"Mr. Daniel?" Rick retorted sarcastically. Shane proudly told him that he meant Mrs. Kelly. "The girl's volleyball coach? Wasn't she married?" Shane just scoffed and laughed in response, Annie shaking her head at him; the man really had no shame. Shameless Shane Walsh. "You know what I just remembered? Why I never asked you about this stuff!" Rick laughed.

Sarcastically, Shane asked, "Why don't we talk about your high school love life then, huh?"

"Well, that's a short conversation. It may even already be over."

"That right? There was Holly, right? Nope! That was me, too!" The two men shared a hearty laugh and Annie gritted her teeth. Not out of jealousy; what did she have to be jealous about really? She'd be insane to be jealous over something over from maybe twenty years ago. No, what annoyed her was all the noise they were making. Seriously, in a city full of walkers, they'd be quiet as Helen Keller but in the woods? They acted like they were on an annual boys camping trip. "Then there was Sheila, that was one you lied to me about."

"I never lied about Sheila," Rick insisted. "I just, I just, I got mixed up about what the bases meant." He shuffled on, laughing in embarrassment as Shane patted hard on his gun, telling him that a home run was usually sexual intercourse. "Yeah, I realize that now," he replied sarcastically.

"I think what you did was a ground roll double or something," Shane teased.

"I'm aware of the judge's ruling."

"Can we focus on what we're out here for, please?" Annie snapped at them, scoffing and shaking her head as she went back to walking. "Christ, like a couple of children," she muttered.

"Oh, come on, Annie," Shane called after her. "You telling me you don't have any sordid stories from back in the day?"

"No!" she immediately threw over her shoulder, offended at Shane's insinuation. But then she bit her lip and looked at the ground. "Well, actually, there was one time." Shane laughed, telling her to tell them about it. She remained silent, letting that be her refusal, but he told her turnabout was fair play; she knew some of his and Rick's stories, only fair she shared.

"Shane," Rick warned. "Don't."

"What? You boys can talk about your conquests, but a girl can't talk about her own? That's a bit sexist."

"So, how 'bout it?" Shane egged.

"Shane!"

Annie stopped walking and whipped around to face them. "Boy's locker room," she answered easily. "In the showers. After ball practice." Neither man said anything for a moment and she quirked a brow at them. She guessed they didn't have any remarks about her exploit and, thinking that they would focus on the situation at hand, she turned and started walking again.

"I guess he knew what all the bases were." Behind her, Rick snorted with a small laugh at Shane's statement but quickly ducked his head when she glared at him. Shane, however, kept his eyes focused on her as he smirked in amusement. Both men's shoulders were shaking with laughter.

"Yes. He did," she stated. "James Ford, all-state, led us to the championships that year, best hitter in the county. Didn't last long though."

"Guess he didn't know that much after all," Shane muttered and Rick covered his mouth, covering up his sputtering laughter. Annie glared, mouth a firm line, unamused as Shane continued to smirk at her.

"The relationship, not the sex," she corrected. "The sex was fantastic but, I don't know, I guess he preferred a cheerleader's water bra to a girl who could throw a better curve ball than him. One he could never hit," she bragged, "I might add." Turning around, a satisfied smirk on her face, Annie continued on and she heard the men behind her.

"Shouldn't be talking about this stuff," Shane told them, solemnly. "That life, it's gone and everyone in it. Sheila, Maryann, Mrs. Kelly, James. We're like a bunch of old folk, all the people in our stories are dead."

Rick sighed and said, "Well, we can't just forget 'em."

"The hell we can't," Shane argued, shaking his head in frustration. "It's hard enough accepting what's happened without digging up the past. I'll tell you what it is, the nostalgia. It's like a drug, keeps you from seeing things the way they are and that's a danger. You got people depending on you."

"What, you think I don't know that?" From their previous conversation, Annie knew that Rick was all too aware of the fact that people depended on him. A little too much, in her opinion.

"I don't know. What are we doing?" he asked, making all of them stop and look at him. "Got every able body at your disposal out scouring these woods, looking for a little girl we both know is likely dead."

"How the hell can you say that?" Annie gasped, glaring at him while Rick asked him if he thought they should abandon the search.

"That's not my call, is it?" Shane posed, sounding a bit resentful, as he brushed past Annie.

"I'm asking," Rick said, hurrying after him. "I'm asking!"

"Survival, Rick. It means making hard decisions but you, you got this knack, man," he scoffed. "You spread us thinner and thinner. Trying to save lives here and you're out saving cats from trees!"

"Jesus Christ, Shane, just shut the hell up!" Annie shouted at him.

Rick shoved the other man a little, offended, asking, "Is that what you think Sophia is, a cat in a tree?"

"Hey, man, don't do that. Don't twist my words." Annie scoffed and shook her head, sneering at the man. There was no twist of words, not by her hearing at least. "How many times we get called up to look for a missing child, man? You got seventy-two hours. Seventy-two hours and, after that, you're looking for a body. And that was before! I mean, you honestly think we're just gonna find Sophia alive?" he asked skeptically.

"Are you that sure we won't?" Rick returned.

"We being completely honest?"

"Oh, I'm counting on you to be," he practically growled.

"It's math, man. Alive or not – Sophia, she only matters to the degree in which she don't drag the rest of us down." Annie shook her head and shoved past him as Rick looked at him in disgust. "Thought you wanted honesty?" Shane punched a tree and told Rick, "If we just moved on, man, we'd be halfway to Fort Benning right now and Carl wouldn't of gotten shot! And you said so yourself but we're out here, we're risking lives! Your own son almost died! Man, Otis, he paid that bill. What the hell are we still doing here?"

"If it was Carl missing, I bet you'd feel different," Annie accused and Shane stepped toward her but Rick pushed him away.

"I had her in my hands, Shane. She looked right into my eyes and she trusted me. I-I failed her. If I hadn't, she wouldn't be out here. I think she's still alive and I'm not gonna write her off." Shane scoffed at the both of them and looked to the left, shaking his head.

"That's blue," he said, nodding to the blue rag nailed to a tree. "That's Andrea and T-Dog."

"Looks like we wandered into their grid..."