I apologize for the length just trying to feel out the story a bit. No Lori in this one which in turn means no Carl or Judith either. Let me know what you think.

Russian Roulette

Rain pelted the ground, her hair plastered to the side of her face as she ran. She had to get as far away from that house as she could. The image of the knife sticking out of his chest, his lifeless eyes locked on her, as he body laid on the floor in a pool of his own blood was ingrained in her mind. It was an image she wasn't sure would ever leave and time seemed to stand still for a moment until a crack of thunder snapped her back to reality. She didn't even have a destination in mind when she had started running but when she got to his door she didn't hesitate to knock. It took a few minutes for the porch light to turn on and for him to open the door but when he finally did there was no hiding the shock on his face.

"Jenna?" Her chest heaved with each ragged breath and she glanced over her shoulder as if the nightmare would be chasing her through the storm. "Hey, hey," Rick stepped out on the porch and put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention causing her to jump. "Are you alright?"

Her whole body trembled under his hand and he ushered her inside without a second though, making a mental note that her car was no where in sight. It wasn't until Jenna was in the living room that she noticed Rick had been in a pair of sleep pants and a white tee. Glancing up at the old clock on the wall, she ran a shaky hand through her wet hair. "Didn't realize it was so late. I'm sorry I shouldn't have bothered you. I don't even know why I'm here."

"It's fine," Rick brushed the apology off and watched as she numbly sat on the couch, keeping her gaze on her shoes. He cautiously sat next to her never having seen her this way before. "Jen, what's going on?"

There was fire in her eyes and blood on her hands but all she wanted to do was sleep. Drift off to a place where she would be able to dream forever and not have to deal with the harsh realities of the world around her. It had been self defense, a moment of kill or be killed, but it didn't change the fact that she had just murdered someone. It didn't change the fact that she was still nervous about telling the cop sitting next to her. A part of her worried that he would slap the cuffs on her right then and there but another part, a much larger part, needed him to be the calm in the middle of this storm. She needed him to soothe her fears, to quiet the voices in her head that were screaming at her saying that she was just a few words away from ending up behind bars- again, but most of all she needed him to just be Rick.

"I…" killed him was what her mind was telling her to answer but she couldn't get the words to pass her lips. "I…" she tried again and Rick placed a comforting hand on the small of her back, leaning in to catch her line of sight. "I just had a bad night."

It wasn't the first time she had lied to protect him and she was sure it wouldn't be the last but it was the first time she had struggled to. Jenna wanted him to tell her everything she was trying to convince herself. She needed to hear that she had no choice and if she hadn't done what she did that she could very well be the one dead right now. There was that chance though that he wouldn't see it that way and that terrified her. She had no one else to turn to, no one else she trusted, and she could only hope he wouldn't interrogate her. She had the urge to run again but out of fear shoved it down.

Rick wasn't buying it for a second but knew if he pressed her for the truth she would only retreat further into herself. "Alright, okay, why don't you go take a shower and clean up a bit. I'll see if I can't find you some dry clothes."

Not trusting her voice at the moment she simply nodded and headed toward the bathroom. Rick knew by the vacant expression on her face and blood on her shirt that something had happened he just wasn't sure what that something was. Whatever it was it was big enough to bring Jenna to his doorstep at three in the morning a year after they had thrown in the white towel for their relationship. He waited a few minutes after he heard the shower running to crack the door and place clean clothes on the sink for when she was done. He gathered up her wet clothes and threw them in the washing machine, stopping and thinking for a moment that he could be destroying evidence but this was his Jenna. Sure, they hadn't spoken much recently and he was working his way through the force but his need to protect her won out as he added the laundry detergent, starting the machine as soon as he heard the shower cut off.

He dug the teapot out of the cabinet above the stove and filled it with water before setting it on the burner. He closed his eyes as scenario after scenario ran through his mind on what could have happened. Jenna hadn't been the most law abiding citizen growing up but she wasn't a teenager anymore and he knew that at least the darkest parts of her past had stayed in the past or so he hoped.

Jenna joined him in the kitchen as he put a teabag in the mug. "Please, don't bother. It's late and you have to work in the morning. I shouldn't have just showed up here."

"I don't mind," Rick assured as the pot whistled, steam pouring from its spout. "You're always welcome here. Now, we have to warm you up before you catch cold from being out in the rain."

"That's a myth," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest trying to silently close herself off to him as she leaned against the archway.

He smiled on the inside that she had been so easily baited into conversation but he feigned innocence. "Oh? So you're not cold?"

"I just want to lay down for awhile."

Rick stared at her for a moment before nodding, "Alright, you know where the bed is."

"Oh no," she shook her head, "The couch is fine."

"I'm not sleeping in a perfectly good bed while you are on the couch. Get some sleep, Jen. Everything will be better in the morning, you'll see."

It felt weird crawling into his bed after all this time but she couldn't deny that his scent was a comfort as she hugged his pillow to her body. She wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen once morning came but for now she was going to attempt to sleep because as far as she knew tomorrow she would be wanted for murder.

X-X-X

Rick groaned as he woke up the next morning, his muscles protesting from having slept on the couch after he was sure Jenna had dozed off. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, hoping that in the daylight everything wouldn't seem as bad as it was the night before. He finally pushed himself off the couch so he could use the bathroom and out of habit from when they lived together he peered into the bedroom. He expected Jenna to be fast asleep but when he saw the bed empty, sheets perfectly made, and no trace of her he began to worry. He immediately dialed her cell phone number and nearly slammed the phone back on the cradle when it went to voicemail.

The phone rang a few seconds later and he answered it with a rushed, "Jen?"

There was a chuckle on the other end of the line. "So that's what you've been dreaming about, huh? Man, I got to tell you it's time to let that one go. She's nothing but trouble." He wanted to correct Shane but he wasn't given the opportunity. "Call came in this morning they found a body over on Academy Street."