AN: Merry Christmas my dear Brick fans! It's Christmas Eve and my gift to you is a new chapter of Bedroom Hymns! I'm sorry I went so long without an update, my I lost my desire to write for awhile and started a new job but now I'm hopefully back at full capacity. Anywho, this story is much shorter than Breath of Life, and we've reached the midpoint!

Warnings: Language, drinking, and no sex. :(


Chapter Four


The next six weeks pass quickly. Beth loves Christmas time and the Greene Family celebrates from Thanksgiving to Three Kings Day with tons of good food and cheer. Beth is only able to sneak away to Rick's place twice her entire Christmas break. Rick's house is barren of any Christmas decorations and Beth tries to ignore how lonely his house feels and the bottle of scotch at Rick's bedside. Rick only makes it to the Greene's for an advent dinner and works double shifts on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

When Beth is back in school she is able to sneak away to Rick's easier under the guise of studying or cheer practice. It's a cold Sunday when Rick finds out the results of Lori's paternity test. Beth spends the day with Tara, Beth working on college application essays while Tara researches requirements on becoming a police officer.

"I could be the next Rick Grimes, and maybe some young girl will want to get into my pants," Tara jokes and waggles her eye brows at Beth.

"You'll be the first crush of little lesbians everywhere," Beth giggles. She spends longer than she intended with Tara, she has about an hour before her parents expect her home and a drive by Rick's house confirms he's home even though he doesn't answer her call. So she parks and knocks on the door. There's no response but lights are on. She tries the door and it's unlocked so she lets herself in. At this point she's worried more than horny.

"Rick?" She calls out.

"Beth?" she hears from the family room and Rick is sitting on the floor between the couch and the coffee table with a glass in one hand and a mostly empty bottle on the coffee table.

"Rick, what's wrong?" Beth asks cautiously, she's barely in the room and can smell the alcohol.

"It's mine."

"What's yours?"

Rick is gesturing to a letter also on the table and Beth picks it up. Her eyes widen as she reads. "Yup. My whore ex-wife's baby is mine."

Beth heard the rumor that Lori already had the baby, how she had a bad case of preeclampsia and gave birth early. She and the baby were still in the hospital, still under watch and that was over a week ago. And the letter reads that subject two, Rick Grimes, is the father of that baby.

"Holy shit," Beth whispers.

"I never would have gone after this, gotten this damn test, if they hadn't insisted. Even if that baby had mine and Carl's blue eyes, I wouldn't have pursued this."

Beth sinks to the floor next to Rick. What can she say? She has no idea how to comfort Rick. Last time she used sex but Rick is three sheets to the wind and angry.

"This baby isn't going to know me. I only get Carl two weekends a month, how the fuck is this baby going to know me? I'm a deadbeat dad."

"No, you're not."

"Fuck. I am though. I worked sixty hour work weeks when Carl was born, why do you think we never had more kids? I hardly was around for Carl. She used to bitch about it all the time. She's not gonna let me see this baby. And if by some miracle the judge grants me some custody I won't know how to take care of an infant."

Rick's grasp on the glass is loose and Beth takes it from him and places it on the table. She crawls into his lap and pulls Rick's head to rest on her shoulder. Rick clutches her to his chest, grip firm on her hips, and Beth runs her fingers through his curls soothingly. "Rick, things will work out. A judge is going to let you see this baby, especially after all the drama they went through to make sure it isn't yours. And I'll help you."

"You'll help?" Rick's tone is so lost and Beth's heart aches for the despair that's clear in his voice.

"I'm one of the most sought after babysitters in this town. I help out in the church nursery whenever they are short handed. And I love babies. I'll help you through this."

Rick pulls away just enough to look into her eyes, they're red and dry but he looks at her like she's an angel. "I don't deserve this." And then he leans in for a kiss. It's sloppy, and Beth thinks she might get a buzz off just his breath, but it's not full of lust, just Rick seeking comfort.

And they stay on the floor in each other's arms, exchanging soft kisses until Beth's phone beeps, it's a warning alarm that Beth only has fifteen minutes to get home. Rick lets her go, whispering thank you in Beth's hair before he lets her leave. And it's the hardest thing she's ever done, leaving Rick Grimes while he's in such pain, her only consolation is the look in his eyes isn't as scary as it was when she arrived.


Lori Grimes has a strong case, and she makes a very sympathetic mother figure but Rick Grimes is widely considered the best deputy in the county. And Lori can't prove Rick's heavy drinking in court, Rick paid cash for his liquor so there are no bank records for evidence. The Judge doesn't care for Lori's waterworks in the courtroom, as Beth hears it, and Rick is given the same custody of Judith Walsh Grimes as he has over Carl. Two weekends a month.

Rick tells Hershel, Annette and Beth about the custody deal while he's at a Greene family dinner. "Oh Rick, Beth will help you!" Both Rick and Beth stare at Annette in shock. Her mother beat them to the punch, which was better for them and their secret dalliances. "Beth loves babies. But she knows she can't have any until she's married, right?"

"Right, Momma," Beth nods with a blush.

"I don't want to impose, Annette, your family is already too good to me." Rick doesn't want to seem to desperate for Beth's help.

"Please, Rick, you're practically family," Hershel confirms. "As long as Beth is okay with it."

"Of course! You're right, I do love babies," Beth tries not to sound too eager. Annette is too excited to think on why Beth would be so eager, she immediately starts telling Rick what baby supplies they still have, that they have been saving for grandchildren and that Rick can take whatever he needs.


Lori looks like she's on a warpath the first time she drops baby Judith off along with Carl for a weekend. She marches into the house, Shane on her heels with the baby carrier, both looking stern. Rick has shaved, he looks presentable, and he told Beth he hadn't had a single drink of hard liquor the whole previous week, just a couple of beers.

Lori stops short when she sees Beth standing beside Rick. Beth is wearing leggings and an oversized sweater, hair pulled back in a high bun and she wonders if Lori can sense that she's sleeping with her ex-husband.

"Beth Greene is here?" Lori asks cautiously.

"Hello Mrs.—Ms. … Lori," Beth stumbles, she has no idea how to address the older woman. She's technically still a Grimes as she and Shane aren't married yet and she didn't bother to get her maiden name back after the divorce. "I'm helping Rick out on his weekends with Judith and Carl." Beth says with a friendly, and what she hopes is innocent, smile.

"Oh," and suddenly Lori looks relieved, her posture relaxes and she actually smiles. "That's great. Thank you so much, Beth."

"It's no problem. I love children." Beth bends down to peek at the baby in the carrier. Judith is about six weeks old and the cutest baby Beth's ever seen. "Hi there, precious!" Beth coos.

"Beth will be here the whole time?"

"She's staying tonight and tomorrow night. She has cheer practice tomorrow for a couple of hours but otherwise she's here." Rick confirms.

"And we're going to my house for dinner tomorrow night with my family." Beth wants Lori to know everything that will be happening over the weekend. Well, everything involving Judith.

"Oh wow. This is… a relief. Thank you, Beth. I hope this isn't a burden for you, surely an eighteen year old like you had plans for the weekend."

"Oh it's no trouble at all. Momma and I worked this out the moment Rick mentioned the custody arrangement."

"Well, I know Lori will sleep much better tonight with you here, Beth." Shane offers with a smile.

And then Lori takes Beth aside and launches into a details concerning Judith, completely ignoring Rick. Beth takes Lori upstairs to show off the nursery, telling Lori how her mother went a bit overboard and insisted Rick take all the baby furniture they had saved. Rick and Shane follow them, silent and both looking uncomfortable as Lori discusses the breast milk she's pumped and the formula she brought. Carl is ignoring the adults, already parked in front of the TV.

And soon Lori is saying good-bye and placing tiny Judith in Beth's arms. They leave without much fuss, Rick had been expecting Lori to march back out with both Judith and Carl, cancelling the weekend, and he's a bit shell shocked that it went so easily once Lori realized Beth would be present nearly the whole time.

Rick and Beth are standing in the foyer, the TV a room away is the only noise. "Do you want to hold your daughter?" Beth asks softly. Judith is awake and looking at Beth with curious eyes. Rick takes her gently, being very careful, and then he's cradling his daughter for the first time. And Rick gives the baby a soft smile as he starts to cry.


Rick turns out to be better with Judith than Carl. It isn't Rick's fault, or Carl's, it seems Shane is doing a pretty good job of winning Carl over, Beth learns as Rick and his son argue over an R rated movie Shane let Carl watch before. Carl is eleven now, and his rebellious streak is already starting to show.

"Shane let's me watch whatever I want."

"I don't care what Shane does, I am your father, and you will not watch R rated movies in my house."

Beth is holding Judith, and her face is scrunching at the yelling around her, and Beth can tell she's about to start wailing so she intervenes. "Instead of watching a movie, how about some Halo?" Shane has also gotten Carl an Xbox One, so Carl's old Xbox now stays at Rick's house and Beth can see the line of Halo games on the shelf.

"It's no fun by yourself," Carl pouts, turning to Beth.

"You won't be playing by yourself. I'm going to school you in the art of sniping while jet packing."

Both Carl and Rick look surprised. "You play videogames?" Carl asks in disbelief.

"My last boyfriend is going to fail his second year in college if he doesn't stop playing videogames and start going to class. The only way to get him to stop playing was bribing him with se—um, ... sesame chicken?" Beth's save is rather pathetic.

"Sesame chicken?" Carl laughs. "That's the weirdest sex term I've ever heard."

"You shouldn't know any sex terms," Rick frowns.

"Dad, I'm eleven. Yeesh." Carl rolls his eyes.

But the argument is over, Judith never starts crying, and Rick cradles his daughter while Beth and Carl play Halo 3. Beth is terrible at the game, she's more of a hide in the corner, invisible, and stab whoever runs by player. Zach was very into gaming, and it was either play with him or watch him play for hours. But she and Carl have enough fun, Carl isn't as ruthless as Zach so its way more enjoyable, and she keeps an eye on Rick, who spends most of his time staring at Judith in his arms.

Rick successfully gives Judith a bottle, burps her and gets through changing a messy diaper but every strange noise Judith makes has Rick freezing in alarm. Rick even puts Judith to bed without Beth's help, and he has the baby monitor on so loud that they can hear each tiny snore Judith makes.

Beth and Carl play Halo until Rick sends Carl off to bed. Carl goes off far more cheerful than he was at the start of the evening. And Beth spends the rest of the night on the couch, making out with Rick. He's hard and even though Beth promises to be quiet he's too paranoid to go through with sex with Carl right upstairs.

"Rick, you did fine tonight. You hardly even needed me with Judith." Beth tells him while Rick nibbles on her ear.

"Fine? Without you Carl would have rioted and then Judith would have been screaming." Rick's blue eyes are so earnest and Beth feels her heart swelling at that look.

And Beth knows then she's in trouble. She's falling for Rick.


AN: Uh-oh Beth! What's she going to do about *feelings*? And how will Rick react?

Review please?