Rick Grimes was not having a good day.

It'd started out since the moment he'd woken up.

Or, before that, if one wanted to be very technical about it.

Judith had been going through a tough bout of colic and she'd kept him and Lori up every night this week, crying her little lungs out with a force he'd never been aware a one month-old could possess. When, after an hour of bouncing her and fervently begging and pleading and using every trick they could think of to soothe her and the infant still refused to go down, Rick had sent his exhausted wife back to bed, staying in his baby girl's nursery to rock her to sleep and fully resigning himself to another night without rest. It'd been past three in the morning when he'd finally gotten her to settle down, her soft little coos and deep breaths confirming that she was finally fast asleep.

It was about the same time he thanked all his lucky stars that they'd have some much-needed and appreciated help come morning.

Lori's pregnancy had been a tentative and high-risk one. She'd been going through an enormous amount of stress right before she'd gotten pregnant, what, with him being in a coma after a gunshot wound at work and all that, and after he'd woken up and began to recover they'd both been so overwhelmed and overjoyed that they'd been more than a little lax when it came to using adequate protection during their intimacy.

Judith had been on her way quickly after.

Quickly, being the key word.

So quickly, in fact, that she had not been positioned correctly when Lori's water broke, causing all sorts of complications during the labor that'd put them through the most terrifying times Rick had ever faced. Lori had coded, gone from the world for a few seconds that had felt like an eternity in the sheriff's mind. He's not ashamed to admit that he still woke up scared sometimes, nearly jumping out of their bed in a haste to verify that she was still there; still peacefully lying beside him while their baby slept in her nursery and their son slept in the next room down.

She'd been the same tough and strong woman he'd fallen in love with: the same one that he knew would never let anything stand in the way of their family, and she had pulled through for all of them, just like he knew she would.

But that didn't mean she didn't need a little help, which came in the shape of a petite young woman with a love for music and books.

Now, Beth Greene was a godsend.

She'd knocked on their door the week that Judith and Lori returned from the hospital and Rick had been shocked to find a blonde girl he'd never seen before in his life waiting patiently on his front porch. She had her long hair pulled back into a ponytail and her eyes were wide and blue. She was wearing a white sundress with lilac roses on it and well-worn pair of boots, and even though there was absolutely nothing about this girl that seemed dangerous, his instincts as a sheriff with over a decade of experience under his belt had kicked in and he'd been quick to scan her and her surroundings for any signs of a threat that she might spot.

Which was right about the time his gaze had landed on his son, standing right behind the girl with a grin on his face the size of Georgia.

"Hey Dad, did you forget something?" Carl had teased him without malice, passing through the door and inviting the pretty blonde in as well.

"I don't mean to intrude," she'd began to explain, lifting a hand to smooth down a few wayward curls that'd slipped out of her ponytail. "It's just that your son had been sitting outside the music store I work in for a couple of hours already, waiting to be picked up, and I offered to bring him home after my shift ended."

Realization dawned on him, and Rick had wanted to bang his head against the wall. That's right; he was supposed to have picked up Carl from the comic book store hours ago and he'd been so overwhelmed that he'd completely blanked out.

"Oh, Dear Lord," he'd groaned out, embarrassment flourishing as a deep blush on his cheeks. "Thank you for your kindness, Miss…?"

"Beth," she'd filled in. "Beth Greene."

"Miss Greene," he'd confirmed, before attempting to explain how he, the sheriff deputy in charge protecting and serving his community, had managed to forget his own teenage son out in the middle of town. "I know it's no excuse, but my wife and I just had a little girl and it's been harder than we imagined getting back into the synch of caring for a newborn."

Rick was half-expecting her to scoff at his excuse, Lord knew he'd done it to his fair share of people over the years, but instead a wide smile blooms on her face at the mention of a baby. "It's okay, Mr. Grimes, I completely understand. My sister, Maggie, had her son a year ago and he made his presence known when they went to stay at the farm for a few days after he was born. Her husband, Glenn, he looked very much like you do at this particular moment."

Rick cringed.

He knows what a spectacle he must have looked like. He'd been wearing a pair of old gray sweatpants and his once white t-shirt was marred with half a dozen questionable stains. He hadn't had the will to muster up the effort to run a comb through his hair all day and he knew there was a heavy stubble on his face and jaw from his lack of shaving in the past two weeks. His eyes had more than likely been bloodshot from the lack of sleep and everything about him yelled out his exhaustion.

But her ribbing had been good-natured and there's something so familiar about the way her eyes sparkle with joy and mischief when she smiles that Rick can't help but question how tired he must be to not have realized who this girl was the moment she'd introduced herself. Images of the older farmer with two young daughters and a son who lived about an hour outside of town had flooded his mind and he knew that his suspicions would be proven true.

"Beth, is Hershel Greene your father, by any chance?"

She'd nodded. "That's my Daddy."

"He's a good man, and a friend of mine. God, the last time I saw you, you were still a little girl running around in the back yard. I didn't know that both his daughters had moved out of home already."

A blush makes its way up her cheeks, and Rick doesn't miss the way she shyly averts her gaze a little, as if embarrassed by the subject of conversation. "My daddy said the same about you, sir. He told me to be sure to contact you if I ever ran into any trouble when I moved here a couple of months ago, but everything has thankfully been working out in my favor."

Rick had invited her to stay for dinner then, feeling he owed the girl at least a warm meal after she'd taken the time and kindness of bringing his son home, a feeling which was only reaffirmed when he remembered how this woman was the same little girl who would run out to offer him a glass of lemonade back when he was a brand new officer and her daddy's farm had fallen under his jurisdiction. She'd agreed, but asked to be excused as she made a phone call to inform her boyfriend that she would be out later than anticipated.

After dinner Beth had offered to pass by to help out in the mornings, noticing the way that his wife struggled to move around and the even more blatant way that Rick seemed to be going out of his mind. She'd explained that she had a lot of experience caring for babies and that she didn't mind spending her free time anywhere that she was needed, specially not if she managed to help out one of her family's friends along the way.

Lori had been instantly taken with her.

Beth was the epitome of a southern belle, born and raised. She was polite and well-mannered, always willing to offer a helping hand and not afraid to get dirty. She was bright and never dull and she had a teasing sense of humor that was always used in good taste and managed to leave them all shocked with how witty and full of spirit the girl really was underneath all the sweetness.

Carl, after knowing her for two weeks, swore he was in love with her.

He'd happily sit on the kitchen counter for hours on end, making conversation with the girl and staring at her as she'd moved around helping to cook dinner or fixing something for Judith. His parents had also noted that the boy had suddenly developed an intense desire to exceed in school, demanding help on every subject, and self-assigning Beth as his personal tutor.

Rick, for his part, had never been so happy to have someone new come into his life. He was set to return to work a month after Judith was born and he'd spent the entire time worrying that it would turn out to be impossible. Lori was struggling and he knew it tore her down to not be able to physically move and take care of her children at times. He'd returned from the store on more than one occasion to find his wife with tears of sadness and frustration streaming down her cheeks as Judith cried from her spot safe in her cradle.

But Beth was there now, and everybody in the Grimes household was aware that she'd been wrapped around his daughter's tiny finger the moment the blonde had laid eyes on her. She'd been absolutely engrossed with the little girl and Rick knew that Beth would never let or cause any harm to his daughter. He could go back to work and start providing for his family again while being reassured that they'd be safe and looked after.

Which is why he can't understand why now, on what had turned out to be an admittedly horrible and stressful first day back at work, his partner decided to shake his shoulder hard enough to nearly dislocate it the moment they'd pull into the driveway to his home and they'd spotted Beth making her way back inside.

"What the hell, Shane!"

The man in question ignores him, though, scrunching his eyes as if he were trying to figure out a complicated puzzle. "Who was that girl that just went into your house?"

"Her name is Beth," Rick answers, narrowing his eyes at his partner but having known him long enough to know that it's best to pick his battles when it came to dealing with his best friend. "She's been helping us out with Judith and a couple of things around the house."

The grin that flashes across Shane's face, full of glee and humor and disbelief, is enough to put Rick on edge.

"What exactly do you know about this girl?"

"She's Hershel Greene's daughter, you remember him? She just moved out here a couple of months ago. She's a sweet girl."

"Oh, yeah, real sweet," Shane agrees, his tone dripping with sarcasm but even then he can't keep the laughter out of his voice. "Have you ever asked her about the company she keeps? I mean, since she's basically part of the family now and all that."

Rick arches an eyebrow at that, leaning back against his seat to cast a more serious look at his partner. "Beth's a smart girl and she's free to be friends with whoever she wants. She mentioned she has a boyfriend but it's none of my business to scoop into her personal life. Now, where are you going with this?"

Shane imitates his post, leaning back against his seat and crossing his arms behind his head.

"See now, Rick, that's where you and I disagree. See I think you should most definitely find out everything you can about this girl, just in case you want to make sure that you're keeping all bad company away."

Sometimes, he was really tired of the way his partner could stir all this shit up out of nothing.

"Spit it out, Shane."

Shane pauses, apparently deciding it was finally the right time to gift him with his wisdom. "What do you know about her and the Dixons?"

Now that was a name Rick really hated hearing. Anywhere it went, trouble was sure as hell bound to follow. That family had been a thorn in the town's side for the past seventy years or so, each generation getting rougher and grittier and more criminal than the last. To hear Shane mention them so casually, especially in relation to someone as sweet and young and innocent as Beth was enough to send all kinds of warning bells blaring right through his brain.

And then he remembered one of the more disturbing tendencies of that family.

"Please don't tell me that she's complained about Merle Dixon bothering her already. I swear to God, one day I'm gonna find a reason to keep him in jail until the end of time."

Rick is not impressed by the bark of laughter that Shane lets out.

"That ain't the brother you have to worry about."

He frowns, remembering the younger Dixon. He finds it odd that Shane would even bring him up, although he knows there's no love lost between the two men. While Daryl had managed to stay out of trouble for the most part, Merle had not, and Shane had taken a particularly vicious glee out of making sure that both brothers knew they weren't welcomed in his town. They'd been bumping heads for the past fifteen years, each determined to one-up the other at every twist and turn.

"Daryl isn't one to be bothering any girls."

"That's because he ain't bothering her," Shane explains, and the glint is planted firmly back in his eyes. "It's kind of hard to be bothering her when he's too busy banging her instead."

What in the actual hell?

"Bullshit," Rick immediately calls out, grounding his teeth together. "Beth is about as good and pure as they come. You're bullshitting me right now. Not to even mention that she's nearly half his age."

But Shane will not let up, throwing back his head in laughter at the situation his partner now found himself in, no doubt waiting for the rain of headaches his theory is likely to bring down on him if proven to be true.

"That young and sweet as pie farmer's daughter you got in there? Yeah, she's all shacked up with her redneck biker boyfriend that we're always trying to arrest. Just in case you didn't know."

He's going to argue. He's going to tell Shane to take his bullshit stories and save them for the bar or for some rookie deputy who doesn't know about his tendency for telling tall-tales, but is interrupted when the loud roar of a motorcycle cuts through the air of his quiet and peaceful neighborhood, only to grow louder and louder as the seconds pass by.

Then there he is, Daryl Dixon, with his torn jeans and plaid shirt and leather vest; pulling up besides his police car and not bothering to get off his bike or even acknowledge the officers sitting inside of it as he stares at the door. It opens a few seconds later and out comes Beth Greene with her skinny jeans and her cowboy boots and the biggest smile Rick has ever seen her give anybody dedicated to the man waiting for her on his driveway.

And Rick knows that everything Shane just said, while probably embellished, is absolutely true.

God, he's gonna need a drink tonight.

AN: Hey all!

I hope you all liked the story! It's inspired by all the amazing ones I've been reading on here lately. I figured this week has been heartbreaking enough without adding more angst to the fire. This is going to stay light and fluffy and it's all about the happy endings.

Also, there just isn't a place in any reality where somebody could keep Beth and Judith away from each other.

Let me know if you like it, and I'll keep posting. Don't forget to review!