In Another Life

Andrea sat in the car for a long time, stewing in her anger, debating over whether she wanted to go back into the house or not. A cigarette hung from her hand. She'd given up the habit while she'd been pregnant, but lately, with Penny being so fussy, she'd lapsed back into the habit and they seemed to be all she could indulge in that would calm her down enough to cope with her daughters incessant screams. She'd been stood beside the car for a while, earlier, and she could still hear Penny screaming until, eventually, she must have fallen asleep. She had no doubt, though, that by the next morning she'd be back to her screaming self, and she'd probably be up for seven.

She wasn't expected in for work until ten, and after tonight, she'd be exhausted but she knew there was no way she was going to sleep tonight, with nerves and anger chasing eachother around her stomach. She hadn't even met her client yet, but she'd looked him up and she'd gone over the evidence she'd been given a few times, in between settling Penny and trying to keep her house tidy, the way a good wife should, and from what she could see, he wasn't guilty. Sure, this Dixon guy had commited a fair few crimes, but most of them were minor offences; theft, carrying weapons on his person. Her guess was he was having the finger pointed at him because the people accusing him had sent his brother down the year before.

Merle Dixon was a well known criminal and he was inside for every offence you could think of. If any of the Dixons deserved to be inside, it was him. His brother, however, seemed tamer. She was certainly looking forward to meeting him tomorrow, however.

Knowing she wasn't going to calm down, and now even more awake after thinking about the case, Andrea took the last drag of her cigarette and put it out in the ashtray inside the car before rolling down the window and starting the engine.

Rick was no stranger to this bar. It was a 24-hour bar, situated not two blocks away from his house and it had come in quite handy whenever he and Lori had one of their famous spats, such as tonights little party. He sighed and knocked back the last of his pint, ordering another form the barman.

"You wanna watch what you're drinking, Rick," Tony, the barman, told him. "Sun'll be up soon."

"I'll take that under advisement." He told him, and Tony smirked back at him.

Rick heard the door swing open and thought nothing of it, his eyes on the floor. It was only when the scent of perfume wafted his way that he glanced up. She'd sat two stools down from him and once he spotted her, he didn't know if it was the drink or her sheer beauty, but he couldn't take his eyes off her. She ordered a vodka-lemonade and her eyes flickered in his direction for a milisecond, and he noticed that they were a beautiful, almost transparent, green colour.

Tony put the glass in front of her and she thanked him with a slight, almost nonexistant smile. Rick still didn't look away. Eventually, his staring seemed to annoy her and she couldn't keep her comments to herself anymore.

"Can I help you?" She asked him, rather forcefully, looking directly at him. From the corner of his eye, Rick saw Tony glance between them before laughing gruffly and wondering through into the back of the bar. It was then that Rick realized there was no one else in the bar.

"Sorry." He said, moving up a stool. She didn't look particularly pleased as he closed the distance between them slightly, but made no comment about it. "It's a bit late for you to be out alone."

Coming from anyone else, Andrea probably would have found that comment quite creepy, but regardless of the glass in front of him, he seemed to be rather sober and he was in a police uniform so she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Tilting her glass in his direciton, she spoke.

"Rough day."

"I'd guessed." He replied and she raised her eyebrows, questioningly.

"Well...usually the only women in bars at this time are...well, prostitutes and clearly you're not-" She raised her eyebrows even further and his sentence trailed off quietly, turning into a slightly crooked smile. "I'm sorry," He said, laughing awkwardly and holding out his right hand, "Rick Grimes."

"Andrea Blake." She replied, taking the hand he offered her. "And no, I am not a prostitute. I'm a lawyer."

"Really?" He replied, "I'm a police officer."

She raised her glass in his direction. "To the law." She commented, sarcastically, and he joined her in the toast. They lapsed into a moment of silence and Rick found that, though they were complete strangers, it was hardly as awkward as silence with Lori was at the moment.

"So, I'm guessing I'm not the only one who had a rough day?" She said, placing her glass back down on the bar. Rick shook his head.

"You are not. Rough day. Rough life."

"Ha." She let out a burst of sarcastic laughter, "You think your life is rough. Try having a year-old baby who wont sleep."

"I went through that with my son," He said, "You should try singing."

She looked at him, blankly. "Gee, thanks. That did not once cross my mind." She told him, dryly.

He laughed and she rolled her eyes. Clearing his throat, he changed the subject. "So, why did you go into Law?"

"I like control." She told him, looking at him. He found himself mesmerized by her eyes. It might be the drink, intoxicating him, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. She didn't seem to be able to pull her eyes away, either, because for a long moment, neither of them spoke and he found himself slowly leaning into her.

As soon as their lips met, something inside Ricks mind screamed at him. Lori. But this wasn't Lori. This was someone new. Someone exciting. Someone he didn't know, but wanted to know.

She felt guilt rise in her chest as Ricks lips caught her own, but she couldn't bring herself to push him away. Why should she? Because you're married, a voice in her head told her. That voice, however, was all too easy to ignore. She kissed him back, excited by the unfamiliarality and the sheer difference in the way he kissed. Philip rarely kissed her these days, and there was no passion there. This man, however, practically radiated passion.

Eventually, they broke apart and she found herself gasping for air. He was looking at her with eyes blue enough to drown in and she smiled, giggling nervously. He smiled back, crookedly. As her laughter faded, so did his smile and suddenly, her passion was replaced by a feeling of suffocating guilt.

"This was so wrong." She said, quietly. She slowly pushed herself to her feet, one hand over her lips as if to shield them from him. He looked at her in surprise and she glanced towards the bar, towards her drink. As she did, she spotted his hand, which rested next to his glass. There was a glint from the ring on his finger. A wedding ring. "So wrong. I've gotta go." She said, before hurrying towards the door.

"Andrea-" He said, his voice ringing with shock, but she was gone before he could say more than her name.