A/N: There's a line from the comics in here, which I don't own. Originally, Andrea says it to Rick. See if you can spot it, comic readers ;)

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Annie woke with a deep sigh. The weight around her waist and steady stream of breath behind her let her know that Rick was still with her, as he had been every night the past week. She grinned like an idiot as she ran her hand through her mess of tangled hair. Slowly extracting herself from Rick, Annie eased herself from the cot and began dressing. She still couldn't fully believe that she was in a relationship with Rick. Well, she thought of it as a relationship but they'd never actually discussed it and they hadn't really broadcasted it to the camp. After all, he was still married. Much as Annie loved and adored Carl, she wasn't sure how he'd take to his father having an affair. And then there was Lori although, to be fair, she'd had an affair first and the proof of that could very well have been growing inside of her. Of course, they'd never know with any certainty who the baby's father actually was. But a relationship, however quiet and personal it was, was what Annie thought she had with Rick.

At night, he would sneak into her tent after Carl fell asleep to be with her and, most of the time, he stayed till morning. If not, he would briefly wake her to tell her he was leaving and do so with a kiss. It wasn't always sex. Sometimes it was just laying there, holding each other. Annie liked that best, laying her head on Rick chest and falling asleep to the feel of his fingers running through her hair. Every night they spent together was oh so perfect and, more than that, it felt right. Being with him, despite the short amount of time, felt right. More right than anything else in her life ever had. Carl, too. She'd never thought of having kids before, never had the time but, with Carl, there was no need to force anything. He was a great kid, a little unruly at times, but what kid wasn't at his age? Carl was great and Annie genuinely liked him, cared for him in a deeply motherly fashion that had unexpectedly snuck up on her. If anything happened to Carl, she knew she'd be inconsolable and heartbroken. Annie couldn't explain how it had happened but she loved both the Grimes men. As that thought crossed her mind, she looked over her shoulder as she pulled her jeans on to check on Rick. She found him sitting up, watching her with a smile that turned into a grin when she caught him staring. Pulling out a button down, Annie threw it on before sitting down next to him.

"Good morning," she said and he smiled back at her.

"Morning. Where you off to?"

"Perimeter search," she reminded him. For the past week, it had been their pattern and, sometimes, they'd take Carl with them. The boy had told her in confidence that he thought his mother was angry with him because she wasn't spending any time with him, so he was happy to be with someone who wanted him. Annie and Rick had both assured the boy though that his mother was not cross with him in any way. Neither had the heart to tell him that the real reason was probably the fact he was spending time with Rick and Annie. Annie, more specifically. Lori knew what was going on, simple as that.

Rick nodded and brushed her hair out of her face. "I'll go with you."

"Much as I'd love the company, you have to take care of Randall today."

Groaning, he ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "I almost forgot."

"Where are you gonna take him anyway?"

"Not sure yet. Hershel knows the area best so I asked him to pick a place. It'll be a couple miles out though," he explained. Concerned, she asked if he was going alone or wanted her with him when he dropped the kid off. "Shane's going with me." Annie stared at him, not saying what she desperately wanted to. Spotting that look, he calmly told her, "Don't worry."

"How can I not?" she returned with a slight scoff. "You sure going with him is a good idea?"

Over the past week, whenever they were alone, she'd broach the subjects of Lori and Shane. The woman was still his wife and mother of his son, and she definitely knew that Rick had at least partially moved into Annie's tent. He only set foot into Lori's tent to put Carl to bed and stay till he was asleep before leaving. Whether everyone in the camp knew, neither knew but Annie certainly didn't like the title of being the "other woman". Rick always assured her that she was the farthest thing from that, considering the circumstances. Rick always told her that while Lori was his wife, he didn't exactly love her anymore. He felt an obligation to her, because she was pregnant, because she was Carl's mother, but that wasn't love. As for Shane, Annie would speak to him about how odd he'd been acting. She'd always been suspicious of the other cop, since the first day she met him at the quarry. Rick assured her that he had known about Shane and Lori for a while. He said he'd figured it out pretty quickly and really wanted to break Shane's jaw, let him choke on his teeth. When she'd asked him why he didn't do it, he didn't have a definite answer.

"Annie..."

"I don't wanna start a fight about this, but you know how I feel about him." She didn't trust him, plain and simple.

"Then we won't. We'll fight about your perimeter check today," he remarked with a crooked smile. Annie shook her head and chuckled; honestly, the man was so ridiculous sometimes. "I don't want you out there alone."

"Then I'll take Dale with me. He's been trying to talk to me about something for a few days now anyway." Blushing, she sheepishly added, "I've been avoiding him in favor of others."

"And, on behalf of the others..." he trailed off, pulling her into a short kiss, making her smile against his mouth. Damn, she loved the way he kissed. "Just stay close to the property," he warned.

"I always do." Annie stood up, buttoning her shirt as she went. Reaching down, she picked up his pants and playfully chucked them at him.

"I feel like I should just move in," he commented.

"That's pretty forward of you," she joked, thinking he wasn't serious.

"I'm not joking." Rick stood up and pulled on his pants, buckling them. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, hugging her from behind and kissing her cheek. "I'm not saying right now but...soon? Test the waters a bit more. See how winter goes and how Carl feels about...us." Annie contentedly leaned in and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. The past week, it had been heaven. Perfection.

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"Annie!" The woman stopped in her trek outside the camp with Dale as Carl ran up to her. "Are you busy?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.

"I'm about to go search the perimeter with Dale." Carl deflated and nodded slowly. At his defeated look, she asked, "Why?"

"Nothing," he answered and looked at the ground. He started to walk back to camp, looking rather sad and pathetic, lonely even. Annie let out a sigh and looked at Dale. The older man nodded and gave her a pat on the back, telling her he'd meet her at the fence. The moment he started to walk away, Annie jogged after Carl and pulled him to a stop.

"I can tell something's bothering you," she said. He instantly tried to deny it and brush it off, but she just gave him the same look she always gave Paul when she knew he was lying to her. Carl sighed heavily and submitted, nodding. "What's up, buddy?"

"Do..." Carl licked his lips and sighed, frustrated. "Do you think my dad likes me?" Annie gaped at him.

Completely stunned, she asked, "Why would you say something like that?" Carl just shrugged.

"I'm not sure that he does." Annie shook her head and knelt down, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Of course your dad likes you – he loves you!"

"But he keeps leaving," he protested. Annie let out a quiet sigh, feeling a swell of pity for the little boy. "He tells me he's not going to leave again and then he does. Mom cries at night when he's not here. It keeps me awake sometimes." She closed her eyes a moment and tried to compose herself. She didn't want to dwell on the fact that, if Lori kept Carl awake at night, then Carl was aware that his father hadn't been sleeping with them the past week. She also didn't want to dwell on whether or not Lori crying had something to do with Rick and Annie's relationship or Shane or hormones or whatever. She just didn't.

"Carl, have you talked to your mom about this?"

"No. She has enough to worry about, with the baby. I don't wanna bug her." She couldn't help but smile a little at his compassion. "If Dad loved us, my mom and me, he wouldn't leave so much, right?" Annie took a deep breath and gently squeezed the little boy's shoulders.

"You listen to me, Carl. Your dad loves you very much." He scoffed under his breath and she chided him. "He does!" she insisted. "He's a good man. When he leaves, he's doing it to protect you and your mother – all of us." Carl nodded, quietly muttering that he guessed that made sense. "Your dad is a great man. He holds this group together, even when he's not here. Everyone looks to him for leadership, and it's a terrible burden on him. Your dad does what he has to do – no matter what it is – for the good of all of us. Understand?"

"I...I think so."

"I think if your dad could never leave you, he would." Jokingly, she added, "But you'd get sick and tired of seeing him every second, wouldn't you?"

Carl laughed, "Probably."

"That's what I thought. Now I have to do a quick perimeter check with Dale but, later on, when your dad gets back, you are gonna talk to him about this. Okay?" Carl grimaced.

"Do I have to?" he whined.

"Yes, you have to. This is serious. Trust me," she told him, "he'll want to know. Okay?" Carl nodded and she smiled at him. "Now, in the mean time, I think you have some chores to do." Carl rolled his eyes at her.

"How did you know?" he groaned.

Chuckling, she answered, "I didn't." Rubbing his head affectionately, and messing up his hair, she sent him on his way. Shaking her head, Annie knew she was going to give Rick a heads up about what his son had shared with her. She wouldn't give him specifics, that was for Carl to do, but he at least needed to know his son was feeling neglected.

"Everything okay?" Dale asked, concerned.

Nodding, she told him, "He'll be fine. Just needs to talk to his dad." Dale nodded and the two started their check in silence. However, the silence didn't last long.

"You and Rick, you're close, right?" the older man asked. Annie stumbled; the last thing she expected when she'd asked him to join her on her perimeter search that morning was that question. Looking at him, she waited for an explanation. "Well, I mean, you've been together since the start of things," he clarified. "You helped him lead the search for Sophia. I know you must've had a hand in helping him convince Hershel to let us stay, and you went with him to bring Hershel back – even Carl! You helped save his son!"

"You gonna make a point soon here, Dale?" she asked uncomfortably and embarrassed.

"My point," he continued, "is that I was hoping you could talk to him about Shane."

Confused, Annie stopped walking and made him stop as well. She made him look at her and asked, "What do you mean, Dale? And be very clear, okay? No more of this...beating around the bush shit."

Dale nodded and told her, "I don't know if you've noticed but Shane has been acting weird. For a long time now and I think...well, I think he killed Otis." Whatever Annie had been expecting him to say, it hadn't been that.

"That's a pretty serious accusation, Dale, and I'd watch who you go telling it to," she warned seriously. "Look," she continued, much more calm and friendly, "I don't like Shane either. But to insinuate that he killed Otis is something else entirely."

"He's been so vague about that night," he continued insistently, desperate. "You can't tell me don't find something off about his story?"

Biting her lip, Annie fidgeted a moment before revealing, "Otis' rifle. It was in our duffel." Dale stared at her in shock. "When we were still looking for Sophia, I found it in the bag and didn't recognize it, remember?" Dale nodded absently. "I know every gun in that back; I was there when Rick packed it. That rifle, it wasn't in there. Shane said it was Otis'."

"How'd a dead man's gun end up in that bag?" he asked. Annie sighed.

"Obviously he hadn't be covering Shane."

"You need to tell Rick," he told her and Annie started walking again, shaking her head. "You have to tell him! I've tried to keep Andrea away from him but she doesn't listen; she thinks he's done more for us than Rick! And Lori! I don't even know if I got through to her!"

"Lori will tell Rick." Under her breath, she added, "If she's smart." Which she wasn't, Annie thought mentally with a stab of bitterness. The woman had proved that plenty of times already. Seriously, only car on the road and she crashes? Had she even apologized to Maggie for wrecking her car?

"But will he listen to her?" Annie held her tongue. "I don't think he will. But I do think he'll listen to you."

"And why is that, Dale?" she asked pointedly, stopping to stare at him. Dale just blinked at her. Rolling her eyes, she shook her head and started walking again. "Christ, does everyone know?" she wondered.

"No! No! No, I don't think everyone knows," he assured her. "I mean, Lori, of course, and Shane undoubtedly. Glenn, too, he asked me something about you two—"

"He asked what?" she questioned agitatedly, whipping to face him once again.

"Just what was going on between you two," he answered with an innocent shrug.

"And you told him what exactly?"

"Nothing!" he assured her. "He already suspected and I just—"

"You just filled in the blanks, is that it?" she accused. Dale immediately denied it, trying to calm her down. "Look, whatever is going on with me and Rick, that is mine and Rick's business, not the camps!"

"Annie, please! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to come off as intruding and I'm not, believe me," he pleaded, hands raised in surrender. "But none of us are safe with Shane around. You know it and I know it. Rick needs to as well." A car driving towards the farm drew their attention. Rick and Shane were back, both looking bloody and worse for the wear.

Running a hand through her hair, Annie shouldered her rifle and said, "I'll talk to him."

"That's all I'm asking," Dale replied, mollified. The pair walked back into camp, watching in shock as Shane dragged Randall out of the trunk and toward barn. Curious, they walked over to Rick.

"What the hell happened?" Annie questioned. Rick looked at Dale a moment and the man took that as his cue to leave, making up some excuse about the RV before taking off. "Well?"

Looking down slightly, he confessed, "Shane tried to kill me."

"What?!" she gasped, reaching out and grabbing his arm. "Are you okay? What the hell happened out there?" Rick shushed her, calmed her down, and explained how Shane tried to kill Randall. Apparently, the kid had gone to school with Maggie. But that was a different problem. He told her that Shane went after him about Lori and Carl, how he couldn't protect them or the group, then the walkers showed up and they'd been separated.

"I went back for him. Obviously."

"Why?!" she exclaimed, utterly stunned. "Why would you do that after what he did? After everything he's done? Why would you risk your life for his?"

"I couldn't leave him for dead. I couldn't kill him either. He's my best friend," he justified. Annie mentally noted that Shane would probably disagree. She thought the other cop would find it very easy to leave someone for dead or kill, if her thoughts about Otis were correct. But she didn't tell Rick that. Instead, she listened while he told her how he set down the law to Shane. How, if he was going to stay with the group, he had to follow Rick's lead and trust him.

"And you honestly expect him to listen?"

"If he wants to stay, yes," he answered.

Annie sighed and muttered, "The way the world is now...guess we either live together or die alone." Looking him over, she shook her head and cracked a smile. "You look like shit." Rick laughed at her and she took his hand, tugging him towards her tent. Their tent. The idea of that still sent butterflies around her stomach. "Come on, I'll fix you up. You're no good to me half dead."

"Is that so?" he teased. Chuckling, the two went into their tent and she made Rick sit on the cot. Pulling out the first aid kit, she walked back over and sat next to him with a smile. Glenn had restocked the kit for her some time ago, she told him, and there was no point in bothering Hershel with something she could do just as easily. "Shane knows." Perplexed, Annie looked at him while cleaning the blood off his face. "About us," he clarified.

Annie nodded and replied, "So does Dale. And, according to him, so do Lori and Glenn."

"Have they said anything to you?" he asked urgently. Annie shook her head, knowing that what he really meant was if Lori had approached her.

"No. Why, did Shane say something?"

"Oh, he had plenty to say. Nothing I care to repeat," he told her, wincing as she cleaned the cut on his lip. "How were things here?"

"Um, quiet. No walkers on the land." Taking a breath, she hesitantly told him, "Dale thinks Shane killed Otis." Rick looked up at her. "And so do I. There's just too many—"

"I know." Annie stared at him and he sighed as she pulled away from him slightly. "Lori told me the same thing last week. So, when we were taking Randall out, I told him my suspicions and he didn't deny it. He shot Otis and made his escape, left him for dead."

"Jesus Christ," she breathed, knowing it would be best to not tell any of that to Hershel. Or Patricia. "And you're still sure he won't try anything?" Rick put his hands on her waist, gently kneading and assuring her that Shane wouldn't be a problem. Annie wasn't so sure she believed that but nodded regardless. "Well, then what are you gonna do about Randall?"

"Interrogate him. Me and Daryl." Annie nodded, not even bothering to comment on the fact that Shane wouldn't be involved in that interrogation. It was a no-brainer, really, after he'd tried to kill the kid.

"Good cop, bad cop? Not a bad plan," she admitted, going back to the wound on his temple. "I'd definitely talk if Daryl was in my face with that buck knife of his."

Mildly offended and curious, he asked, "You wouldn't talk to me?"

"Remember when he cut open that walker, the one that ate the woodchuck?" He nodded his head, unsure as to where she was going. "Well, if you were me and you'd seen that, wouldn't you be more scared of Daryl?" Rick laughed at her. "So I guess we'll have to wait a little longer for our trip, huh?" Rick sighed and nodded regretfully. He knew what it meant to her, for them to go retrieve Morgan and Duane. "Its okay. I understand why. We gotta deal with this first." She understood it, she really did. Didn't mean she liked it though. "What if..." Annie bit her bottom lip and hesitated.

""What if" what?" Annie shook her head, not wanting to worry him. But Rick gently squeezed her hip and asked, "Annie, what?"

"What if he tells you something really bad?" she questioned warily. "What if he's like Tony and Dave? What if we aren't safe?" Rick looked at the ground.

"With those men, I saw an opening and I took it. I've been thinking, maybe I ought to come clean and tell the others, but...I think they might prefer not to know just how savage we're going to have to be for just a little while longer. You understand, right?" Rick looked at her then, hoping for understanding, and that was exactly what he received with a simple nod. "Things have changed. The world has changed – and we're gonna have to change with it."

"Then we'll change," she assured him. "We'll evolve. We'll make new rules. We'll still be humane and kind and we'll still care for each other but..." It was a nice thought, that they could still be kind people in this cruel, miserable world they lived in. But that didn't change the fact that not everyone was nice. They weren't before the world went to hell and Annie was willing to bet they'd only gotten worse. "When it comes to outsiders, when it comes to people who try to hurt us—"

"When the time comes, we have to be prepared to do whatever it takes to keep us safe. Whatever it takes," he stressed. Annie nodded, somewhat solemn but relieved that her line of thinking wasn't far off from his. If they had to kill to keep their group and home safe, then that's what they'd have to do. It was just the way the world was. "I'll do whatever I have to do to keep us safe. Whatever it is, I'll do it." Rick stared at her a moment before answering her earlier question. "I'll kill him." Annie took a breath and nodded slowly. "Do you think that's the right thing?"

"Whatever it takes, right?" she echoed. "Besides, I've always believed that if a state has the death penalty, they ought to use it," she told him honestly. "Shane says Randall and his people are a danger to all of us and, much as I hate to admit it, I'm inclined to agree. He knows Maggie, Hershel, this farm. Honestly?" Annie shook her head and told him, "I wouldn't risk it." Rick looked away, quietly nodding his head. "Whatever happens, whatever decision you make, I'll support you. One hundred percent."

"Even if you don't agree?" he remarked.

Annie nodded and kissed him softly. "I'm with you, Sheriff. No matter what," she assured him. "I got your back."

Rick nodded his head and replied, "I know you do. You always do." The two shared a smile, Rick tucking her hair behind her ear before pulling her down to his lips.