A/N: this story uses the characters from my "Redemption" fic, but in an AU setting, so if you haven't read that fic, you can still read this one without missing anything. However, if you'd like to read it, it is complete! I only own Anna, the rest belongs to AMC and Robert Kirkman. No infringement intended.

Simple Twists of Fate

By Leah Pensotti

"So, let me get this straight...you guys haven't used any sort of birth control...at all?"

Gwen was looking at Anna like she had three heads and a tail. Anna shook her head, "He's not asked, and I'm not worried. I was unsuccessful at getting pregnant my entire marriage. Now at 35, I'm thinking that ship has sailed."

"I think you should tell him, Anna, about the miscarriage and all of this. And just because you haven't won't mean you won't. Bodies are weird, you of all people know that after a year and a half of nursing school."

Anna looked down at the coffee in her hands, they had been sitting outside between classes and Gwen began questioning her about how serious things had become. Anna knew it was serious, and it had become serious really quickly. She didn't want to have that conversation with Rick, but knew at some point she had to. She wasn't sure if he wanted any more children, but if he did...well, then she couldn't help him with it.

"I mean, if it did happen...I think I'd be happy...and he would, too."

Gwen shrugged, "You should still make sure, have a talk with him. If he is as nuts about you as you are him, then it shouldn't be hard. Can or can't shouldn't be an issue."

Anna spent most of the rest of the day considering what Gwen said. Somewhere in the back of her brain, she knew her friend was right.

Bob spent most of Thursday pumping Rick for information regarding meeting Anna's parents the night before. Rick told him about Sonja's disapproval of Anna's work and going back to school, while he extolled the virtues of her father, who had offered help reversing the custody agreement with Carl.

"You gonna take Daddy Callahan up on the offer?"

Rick shrugged, ultimately, he would love to...but with work and the distance from Lori...Rick would hate it if his son ended up another angry latch key kid. The kind of kids they ran into getting into trouble every day in Atlanta.

Bob shrugged, "I mean, what if this thing with you and Anna takes off...what if she was around to help with Carl?"

"Maybe. I wouldn't want her to feel like that's the only reason I'd want to live with her or anything."

"Does she want kids?"

It was Rick's turn to shrug, "She hasn't really talked about it. I know she likes kids. She and Carl got along instantly...and she wants to be a delivery nurse."

Bob smiled, "What about you? Do you want more kids?"

Suddenly, Rick remembered going through my the paternity testing for Lori's baby. Part of him hoped it had been his...but the baby was Shane's. Not that Rick being the father would've saved their marriage, it was pretty well broken by then. He liked being a father, and Carl had been an awesome kid. They had always been each other's best buddies.

"Maybe. I haven't really thought about it."

"I'm kind of surprised, you guys have been moving pretty quickly. I thought you all already had a five year plan." Bob smiled at Rick facetiously, and Rick shook his head.

He and Anna had moved quickly, but they never really discussed futures...they'd been having way too much fun in the present. However, now Rick was curious.

Friday after work, Rick picked up Anna and together they were going to "The McDonald's in the Middle" to pick up Carl for the weekend. She was beside herself about having to meet Lori and Shane, but they had said they wanted to meet her if Carl was to be spending whole weekends with her.

She decided on dark jeans, boots and a black sweater under her navy pea coat. Anna had curled her long hair and wore her toboggan. The palms of her hands were sweating thanks to nerves. Rick reassured her the whole way, "They just want to put a face to a name. Shake their hands, and we'll be on our way."

"I feel like I'm going to be judged in some sort of competition."

Rick smiled, "Evidently, Carl couldn't stop talking about you. I guess Lori wants to size you up. Don't let her intimidate you. She's nothing close to your mother...but she isn't as tactful. She may try to be backhanded or passive-aggressive, just let her be that way. Let her stew in her own juice."

Anna scrunched her nose up at his metaphor, "I've never been too good at letting people walk over me...unless it's my mother. I apologize before hand if I get sassy."

Rick chuckled, "I'm sure it will all be fine."

She checked her lipgloss and made sure nothing was hanging out of her nose or caught in her teeth as they made the turn into the McDonald's parking lot. Rick pulled into a space not far from where they could make out Carl standing with two adults. Anna felt her eyes go wide and Rick squeezed her hand, "Just be you. You're so warm and sweet...just focus on Carl. He's what matters, okay?"

Anna agreed and stepped out of the car, and as she and Rick walked together, she gripped his hand for dear life. Lori caught sight of them and met eyes with Anna. Carl's mother was lithe, even willowy. She had long dark hair and had her arms wrapped around her for warmth and called to them, "Hey there!"

When they came to a halt, Rick looked at her and then to Lori, "Lori, this is Anna."

Lori stretched out her hand, "It's nice to meet you, finally. You're all Carl's been able to talk about."

Anna nodded, she thought Lori sounded polite enough, except there was this dark tinge, "That's so sweet, he's a great kid. You and Rick have done a wonderful job."

Lori looked like she wanted to laugh, "You sound like Scarlett O'Hara...or one of the Designing Women."

Anna didn't feel like anything was that particularly funny, but continued, "I'm from Savannah."

"Oh, Anna this is my husband, Shane."

Anna turned and looked to the man who was once Rick's best friend and tried to push back the overwhelming amounts of disdain. Shane was dark, brutish...if you liked that sort of thing. But he certainly could not hold a candle to Rick Grimes. She shook Shane's hand and exchanged pleasantries. Shane looked to Rick and smiled, "Rick says you're a nurse?"

Anna nodded, "Yeah, I mean, almost. I am in my last semester of nursing school, but I do clinical rotations. I'll graduate in the summer."

She felt Lori's eyes on her and when she turned to look at her, an indifferent smile was painted on the woman's face as she emphasized coldly, "You sound so busy. It's a good thing you don't have kids of your own. My only calling in life has been as a mother, it's the most rewarding job possible."

Anna felt like she had been punched in the gut, "A good thing?" She choked down her rage without so much a flinch. She would've traded everything for a family of her own, but she wasn't about to let Lori get the better of her, so she just smiled with a hint of coy malice, "Well you've done a wonderful job so far."

Lori just stared at her blankly when she realized just what Anna was trying to say. Rick helped Carl with his bag, and Anna just waved goodbye. She heard Rick promising to bring Carl back at six on Sunday while Anna fumed on the way back to the car. Carl followed after her, "Hey Anna..."

She turned and looked at him, his features soft, "I'm sorry about my mom."

Anna shrugged, "It's okay, I'm sorry about my mom, too. Let's just have a good weekend okay?"

He nodded and got in the car, Rick finally caught up and stopped her before she got in, "Hey...Hey...are you okay?"

She felt like crying, she didn't want to have to tell him why she felt so hurt, "It's fine. I'm fine."

"She knows nothing, Sweet Thing. She just feels threatened."

Anna rolled her eyes, "That's rich."

Rick watched Anna the rest of the night, this was the first time he had ever seen the wind out of her sails. They took Carl to dinner and to the movies, and as he held her hand in the theater, he thought about those moments before he caught up with Anna and Carl in the parking lot.

Lori was indignant, at best, "Rick, are you kidding me? With her?"

Rick put his hand out to caution her, "Seems like you started it Lori. She didn't deserve your attitude tonight...she stepped out of her comfort zone to come all this way to meet you...for Carl."

"She's a cut rate Scarlett O'Hara bimbo."

"She's important to me, and I want you to respect that. You don't have to like it because there are tons of things you've chosen that I don't like. But I do my best to respect you, for our son. Anna is a fantastic person with a huge heart and I am thankful to have her. "

When they had returned to his apartment from the movie theater, he sat on the bed and watched Anna get ready. Something had really bothered her tonight. As she pulled her hair up in a ponytail and attempted to get in bed, Rick took her by the hands and pulled her down next to him.

"Anna...I'm so sorry about tonight...Lori..."

He heard her inhale and saw tears glass over her eyes, "Rick it's okay...but, I've been thinking and it actually makes me want to tell you something I should have..."

Rick looked nervous, thinking this was it...she'd finally figured out what a mess he was and she was done.

Anna couldn't look a him, instead she looked at their hands entwined together, "I, uh, what got me so upset tonight was Lori saying that it was a good thing I didn't have kids of my own...and there's a reason for that. Phillip and I tried for ten years. When we moved here, I stayed at home to focus on making a family. I got pregnant...finally. It was the happiest time of my life...but I miscarried at thirteen weeks. I had to have surgery afterwards...and about six months later...Phillip was gone. What she said...hurt so badly. I should have a two year old."

Rick felt relieved and heartbroken all at the same time, Anna's hands were shaking and her head hung in despair, "Sweetheart...I'm so sorry."

Anna looked up at him, " I have to tell you, if you want more kids...then I'm probably not your girl. I've always had trouble and now I'm 35, it's just going to be harder. My body is poison."

Rick shook his head and took her head in his hands, "Anna...no. The only thing that matters to me is you..."

He pulled her close and let her cry into his chest. Rick stroked her hair and felt really awful for letting Lori get her digs in. He also felt awful because Anna had given him an out, thinking that if he wanted more children that that was his opportunity to leave.

The truth was, at that moment, he didn't want any of those things unless it involved Anna. She was what he hoped for in the future, and without her...none of it mattered.

She felt defeated. Though she managed to keep up a good face during the evening, Anna had fallen apart in front of Rick. It didn't seem fair that a woman like Lori could tear her family apart and throw away a perfectly wonderful husband and managed to have two healthy kids while she lost her baby and husband in a matter of months.

Anna sat up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and saw Rick looked worried, "I'm sorry. I really brought all of this down, didn't I?"

He shook his head, "Anna...I need you to know...all that matters is I have you. You're the best thing that's happened in my life in two years. I'm not looking for anything more than having you with me. Okay? You're all I want, and more than I've ever hoped for."

She nodded, tears still on her cheeks, "I , uh, should probably say that kids aren't impossible, just not likely. So if we ,uh, wanted to start using something to insure no kids, then I understand."

Rick shook his head, "I'm not worried about it, either way."

Anna was thankful that he was responding positively, effectively saving her from the most awkward conversation of her adult life. Rick took her face in his hands and kissed her lighty, "Let's get some rest, okay? Start fresh tomorrow. We'll have a really good day, the three of us."

She nodded and they climbed under the covers and laid forehead to forehead. Anna tried not to think about it anymore, but one thought just kept coming back to her...Lori was crazy to have pushed Rick aside, he was so forthright and kind. He was extremely easy on the eyes, too. Anna promised herself that she would treat him as he should be treated and even more so because of Lori's folly. One woman's loss is another woman's gain...and she wasn't letting go of him.

A/N: Hello my loves! Thank you for the wonderful response to this story, the follows, the favorites and the reviews just keep on growing! I am so pleased that you all have taken a liking to this version of Anna and Rick! Next up: a full day with Carl, Anna hangs out with Rick's coworkers, and soon a trip to Savannah for a weekend!

Special shout outs and love to my awesome reviewers: angelicedg (Anna's parents are a peice of cake in comparison to loose cannon Lori. I think Rick had it right about not having tact! Thanks for the review! :), natalie laukas (Sonja plays the long game, she is a silent predator. The opposite of Lori, lol:), CLTex (To me Gerald is this good old boy who has a soft side for his wife and daughter, even though the two of them butt heads, he is crazy about them both :), May85 (oh eventually, somebody's gonna give it to Sonja good! I'll be snooping around there this weekend! It seems like an interesting platform!), BlackNight86 (We'll soon find out that Lori will be doing some snooping and pumping Carl for info on Anna. She's gonna be so Jelly!), Angie B (RiAnna! They have a power couple name! I love it! This was first blood with Lori and Anna, there will be plenty more to come!) and ashiteru naru (Welcome to the fold! Here's the next chapter for you, thank you for your review! ;)

If you have read, liked or followed this story, please leave me a review. I would love to hear from everyone! Let me know what you think and how I'm doing :)

Thanks and Love,

Leah P!

xoxo