Ch:1

Hey there! So this is one of the new stories I've been working on. The formatting is better than in Survival Of The Fittest, so if that's something you're concerned about, don't worry. This is an AU fic, so no apocalypse. There is mention of abuse and other mature themes like that so if you don't like that sort of stuff, I suggest not reading this. For anyone who does read it, I hope you enjoy!

I do not own The Walking Dead or it's characters

Rick Grimes was making his daily patrols around town- as he always did, and that's when he noticed it. He noticed that everyday, everything was always… the same. Monotonous, if you will. It was always get up early, make some coffee, read the paper, drop Carl off at school (if it was his week), head to work, and patrol all day. He wanted something different to happen, but nothing like that happened in the little town that he lived in- until one day. He was making his morning rounds, and walked into the small diner on the corner like he normally did. He noticed that everything was the same as every morning. But wait, this morning something was different. There was a blonde woman who he had never seen before, sitting at one of the tables, sipping on coffee and looking through a newspaper add. As sheriff of the town, he deemed it important to know who everyone was. He grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the table, across from the woman. She didn't even notice that he was there until he cleared his throat to get her attention. She looked up from the newspaper and flinched.

"Woah sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He said to her in his southern accent.

She gave him a small smile, "It's okay. I'm just… jumpy right now, sorry." She replied

For a reason he wasn't quite sure of, Rick was curious as to why she was so nervous, but he pushed the though away and introduced himself.

"I'm Rick Grimes. I'm the sheriff around here," he said.

He stuck out his hand across the table.

"I'm Andrea," she said, taking his hand and shaking it.

When she shook his hand, he felt a jolt of electricity shoot up his arm. It wasn't a bad jolt, it was a jolt that made him want to hold onto her hand. He hadn't felt like that with anyone since he and Lori divorced. He let go of her hand, but he didn't leave just yet. He wanted to keep talking to the new girl in town, who he now knew as Andrea.

"So, uh, where'd you come from?" He asked, trying to make conversation.

She gave him a shy look, and answered, "A small city a few miles away from here."

There were only a few cities around the tiny town, so he had a rough idea of where she was from.

"If you don't mind my asking, why would you leave a city to come to a crummy little town like this?" He asked.

She flashed him a smile, "You sure do ask a lot of questions. But if you must know," she paused, unaware if she should lie, or tell him the truth. He was the sheriff so she figured she could trust him.

"I came here because...because I'm trying to get away from my ex-boyfriend."

Rick's face fell, and there was a look of concern in his eyes.

"Trying to get away? Was he hurting you? What happened?" He asked frantically.

She managed a half-smile at his concern. "Well, his name is Phillip. He was drinking a lot, and I told him if he didn't stop, I was going to leave. He never did, and whenever I tried to leave, he stopped me."

To explain what she meant by 'stopped me' she rolled up one of her shirt sleeves to reveal various scars and bruises. Rick's jaw clenched with anger, and he figured, that by the way she presented herself and from the fact that he's a cop, that this guy did a lot more than just hurt her.

"So he's been hurting you? Why didn't you call the police?" He pried.

She looked down, clearly shy about the subject, but continued.

"I couldn't. He smashed my cell phone and he didn't keep a house phone. The only reason I got out was because I broke out of the closet he locked me in and smashed a window when he wasn't home." She said it with shyness in her voice, obviously uncomfortable about the topic.

Rick didn't even know this asshole, but he knew that if he ever happened to find Andrea, he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"Well don't worry, you're safe here." He replied.

She nodded her head and took another sip of her coffee.

"Have you found a place to stay yet?" Rick asked.

"No, not yet. I'll probably just stay at a motel or something until I can find a job," she replied with a shrug.

Rick didn't like the idea of her staying at one of the small, roach infested motels in town, so he thought of a better offer.

"You could stay at my place if you like. The motels are pretty gross here." He said.

She looked at him with a half-shocked expression on her face. "Thank you , but I couldn't ask you to do that."

He smiled at her selflessness.

"First of all, call me Rick. Second, it's not a problem. I have a spare bedroom that you can use, and I don't mind the company." He said.

Andrea thought about it for a minute, and agreed.

"Alright, I'll stay. But only until I find my own place," she said sternly.

Rick gave a smile that was a little too big considering the fact that they barely new each other. He gave her his address and told her to meet him there at 5:30, when he got off work.

He left the diner to finish his patrols and his thoughts for the rest of the day were filled with blonde hair and blue-green eyes.

Thank you for reading, and reviews are greatly appreciated!