"Safer than Sorry"

Rachel thought that this was her chance to fix everything in her new life that was wrong in her old one. Sure she was a single mother struggling to make ends meet on a Deputy Sheriffs salary but her son was more than worth it. She had the whole world in the palm of her hand. Then she fell into a coma and woke up in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. SI/OC!Fem!Rick Grimes

I drew this inspiration from many other genres of fiction, but I really liked the idea. I couldn't find anything like it in the Walking Dead. Basically, its the concept of a woman dying before her time and reborn into the body of a female rick grimes. Now, while she does know a rough idea of the walking dead from her previous life, she doesn't know she is IN the world of 'The Walking Dead' because in the beginning, this world is so similar to ours. All the "coincidences" in her life, just seem to line up with the movie she dismisses as weird quirks.

-.-.-

"Out here, it's better safe than sorry, because generally speaking, too much of the time sorry means you're dead." Patricia C. Wrede

-.-.-

Rachel's hands dragged the soapy yellow sponge across the dirty breakfast plate.

"Carl!" she called up the stairs, "Hurry up or you'll miss the bus!"

"I'm coming mom!" Her son called down the stairs, his voice tinged with a little exasperation.

"That's what you said ten minutes ago!" She yelled back as she put the last plate in the dishwasher and turned the machine on. It whirled to life with a noisy beep as she dried her hands off with a nearby hand towel. She surveyed the clean countertops with a small smidge of pride, living with a 12 year old boy was a struggle when little boys were more inclined towards entropy. Any order in the house was a cause to be celebrated in her book.

The pancake fiasco lask week was an example, when her son had thrown a handful of flour her way and she retaliated with a handful of her own. Soon the whole kitchen was a warfield of flour and pancake batter. But she had made a good dozen of chocolate chip muffins for Carl and his friends before he went off for his last day of school. It was more of a formality than anything, Carl had already finished all of his tests and was waiting on his results. Today would be an easy day for him, and it would be a chance to say goodbye to his friends for the summer. Then she and Carl was going to hit the road.

Rachel had arranged at work a two weeks leave to go on a fly fishing camping trip with her son. She had all the camping gear packed the tents, fishing lines and reels all packed up ready to go. They were going to try to fish on the Jupiter Inlet in Florida, something that both Carl and her were excited about. In a way, today was the last day for both of them to unwind before the trip.

Rachel was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the pattering of tiny feet running down the stairs and chuckled, "You might want to slow down there before you trip darlin'" she greeted her son.

Carl rolled his eyes, "I never trip mom" he said as tossed his head as he threw his shoes and coat on.

"With that attitude you'll break an ankle" She admonished gently.

"I'll be fine" Carl said one side of his mouth curled up, one hand on the doorway.

"Be safe," Rachel called and waved as the yellow bus rolled up and her son disappeared with a "Bye, mom!" down the driveway. She shook her head as she watched her boy wave to her in the window. "That boy is going to give me some early grey hairs" she muttered fondly with a grin.

-.-.-

The day Rachel died the first time, it was raining. Coming down in buckets upon buckets of rain. She had forgotten her umbrella that day, and she had been late to work at the precinct. So Rachel (though her name was not Rachel then, it was a different name) had lifted her jacket over her head in a futile attempt to keep the rain of her back as she hurried along the sloshed streets. This was why she didn't see the bus before it sent her sailing across the street. It was stereotypical end. The next thing she knew she was staring down at her body when the paramedics announced her dead at the scene.

Rachel did not remember much of what happened afterwards, just grayness, a sense of peace. Like drifting through a fog. It was as sweet as strawberry ice cream melting in the summer sun. Then she remembers being shook and jolted and being ripped from all of that. Sudden cold had gripped her heart, like the way the icy breeze hugs winter. Then she was free. The world slid into a blurry focus and she was staring up at giants who swaddled her in blankets and cocooned her in loving words.

Then came the stages of grief. Denial. Isolation from her new parents, reincarnation did not exist. Anger, what had she done to deserve this? Ripped from her family, her home, her future and thrust into a new world. Bargaining, if she died again would she join her loved ones or be lost in the void she was before? Depression over how she would never see anyone she loved ever again.

Rachel had stressed her new parents out. By crying, throwing the most random tantrums, and finally sulking before she decided to play the hand that fate had given her. Rachel realized that after all she had lost she had gained one important new thing.

A second chance.

And acceptance, over her new reality. That this was her new life. She decided to embrace Rachel completely. Her life was now her own to live. Everything she had missed in her last life, she swore she would have in this one.

A second chance to do everything she ever wanted to do in the world and she would seize it wholeheartedly.

-.-.-

"This is not good" Shane said in lieu of a greeting as Rachel ducked into his patrol car that Friday morning. Technically Shane Walsh was Rachel's brother in law as well as her partner at the station. Shane had married her sister, Lori, just over a decade ago and they seemed to be pretty happy. Even though you were not supposed to have any connection to your partner outside the force, Kings was so small that regulation had to be bent a bit. In this town, everyone knew everyone. After the wedding, Rachel and Shane had grown to close friends when they were assigned as partners in Georgia.

"What?" She ducked into his car.

"Well, its Lori man," he shook his head, "She wants kids."

"That's great!" Rachel grinned, "I can just see it now, mommy and daddy Walsh" she teased.

Shane threw her a dry grin, "We'd make cute babies." He agreed. "But I'm not sure we are ready yet"

At Rachel's look, he asked another question, "What's the difference between men and women?"

"This a joke?" Rachel asked.

"I never met a woman who knew how to turn off a light. Born thinkin' that the switch only turns one way-On." Shane said. At Rachel's amused look he went on "I mean every woman, I ever let have a key I swear to God. It's like I come home, house is all lit up, and my job, you see, apparently because because my chromosomes happen to be different cause I then gotta walk through that house, turn off every single light this chick left on."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah, baby. I'm pretty sure it in your blood." Shane teased.

"She'll moan about global warming. That's when Reverend Shane wants to quote from the Guy Gospel and say "Um, darling?" "maybe you, and every other pair of legs on this planet just figured out that the light switch see, goes both ways," maybe we wouldn't have so much global warming."

"You say that?"

"The polite version. Still man, that that earns me this-This look and loathing you would not believe. 'You sound just like my damn father. Always, always yelling about the power bill,' 'telling me to turn off the damn lights.' I wanna say,"Lori, you mean to tell me you've been hearing this your entire life and you are still don't know to turn off a switch? You know I don't actually say that, though."

"That would be bad." Rachel laughed "Yeah, go with the polite version there - Very wise." The problem, Rachel reflected, with being friends with your brother in law was that you often had front row seats to all the petty fights between your sister and her husband. Lori and Shane, god knew that she loved them both, but every time she saw them she'd hear all about their drama. A drama that Lori and Shane seemed to thrive on.

" Yes, ma'am. You know-"

"All available units, high speed pursuit in progress Lincoln county units request local 18 south GTAAD W217 243. Proceed with extreme caution. Suspects are two male Caucasians. Be advised, they have fired on police Lincoln county officer is wounded."

Shane and Rachel sparred each other a grim glance, before Shane turned on the engine.

-.-.-

The candy lights of the patrol cars rotated red and blue and the sirens rang loud as Shane and Rachel sped down the highway in pursuit of the escapee.

Boom! The sound of a shotgun fired.

They swung towards the curb and ducked for cover, "I don't think he is from around here!" Shane cried.

"I think that's a safe bet," Rachel called back, "When we got that prison in Grant county I didn't think we'd be getting their run off!"

"I ain't going back, I'll die first!" They heard a yell from the escaped convict as he fired another shot.

"Damnit!" Rachel yelled, "Our back up is more then ten miles away! We are sitting ducks behind this car, cover me, I'm going to make a run for that ditch so we can surround him."

She ran for the ditch.

Boom!

Pain ripped through her side.

Her vision spun.

Her world faded to black.

So this is how I die a second time. Her son's face hovered in her mind just before she slipped into unconsciousness.