I don't own the Walking Dead or characters, seriously. Because let's face it, that season finale was total shite, and if you want to follow the comics, I'll show you how to follow that stupid comic, AMC. In fact, I'll show you how to fix your big mess!

Blackbird Singing

Chapter 13

They didn't get to sleep in, unfortunately, but having the early morning hours together in itself was comforting. Rick woke up early to the smell of a woman, soft and comforting, Beth's blonde tresses tickling at his nose. She was vanilla and spice, with that scent that made Beth uniquely her, all rolled into one.

The night had been comfortable. They had stayed up late making love several more times, only to sleep for a few hours, and even though exhausted, both were fully sated. They both felt whole and wanted and loved, and it was all anyone could really ever ask for.

The sun did not wake them, but Rick's alarm at 5:30 in the morning did. The simple beeping, an increasing and decreasing wave of scales was not as jarring as expected. He had opened his eyes and he was just awake. There was no grogginess, just a bit of soreness in his limbs, but a satisfying soreness, nonetheless. She gave a small groan next to him, curling into herself slightly before stretching out, hands unconsciously feeling for him. He grabbed one gently, kissing her fingers with reverence and smiling when her eyes slowly opened to see him.

"Morning," she rasped. Her voice was low, quiet, throat fogged with sleep. Her other hand stroked his bare arm, goosebumps trailing in its wake. "What time is it?"

"Little after five thirty," he replied. She groaned again. "I'm sorry, I have to get to work and drop you off at your car."

"I wish we weren't responsible and could play hooky." She smiled once more, and he felt his heart hammering in his chest, his stomach doing flip flops.

She was so goddamn beautiful.

"Guess I'll get up," she said. Then she sat up, arms going wide and above her head to release the knots. Her hair was a wild, tangled mess, in every direction and golden in the darkness of the bedroom. Her pert breasts were inviting to him, beckoning him back to the gray, to the comforting evening, to stay rolled up forever with her. Forever and ever. "Something the matter?"

He leaned over and kissed her, firmly and with purpose.

"Nah, just thinking how lucky I am," he whispered. She blushed then, ducking her head as if in embarrassment. He tucked the curtain of hair that had fallen to cover her face behind her ear. "I'm serious. Nothing wrong with saying it."

She laughed. "I know, it just makes me feel giddy, so happy I might jump out of my skin." She ducked into him as he wrapped an arm around her. Their fingers intertwined and it just felt right. "You make me happy, Rick."

It was 5:45 in the morning, he had to be at work by 6:30, but he didn't care. It wouldn't kill him to be late just one day.

"I'd like to make you happier again, just real quick."

He kissed her neck and she melted against him, boneless and ready. Her nipples pebbled, hardened under that touch without being touched. His hands ghosted over her flesh, and she felt her body ready itself for him again. She was tight and sore, but the warmth and the need was a palpable pain that needed to be taken care, demanded to be acknowledged.

"Show me," she challenged.

He grinned, happy to accept.

Two months.

Two months and eight days, to be exact.

It seemed to go by in blur, really, compared to the time before they allowed this, before they allowed themselves to be happy.

They had been dating for a little over two months now, and things were going fine. Better than fine, actually. It was amazing, incredible, and hard to not be caught up in each other. Any time that they both had off where Rick didn't have Carl for a weekend was spent together.

They went to a movie or two, she cooked for him (multiple times, he loved her cooking, couldn't stop raving about it), and they took walks in the afternoons they had a chance to, while it was still warm, before the chill of fall settled in for good. He even held a fire in his backyard for her one night, drinking heavily spiked hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows, cuddling under a blanket and falling deeper in love.

They had nights where they ordered pizza and ate it in her bed, legs comfortably (and cast-free now!) entwined with each other, naked skin touching and watching shows, but mostly distracted and exploring. They spent those evenings getting to know each other, what made the other howl with need and pleasure.

Beth found that Rick's toes would curl when she sucked on him with just the right amount of pressure and scraped her nails on his inner thigh while she did so at the same time. Rick made Beth moan and buck when he'd blow on her clit and barely touch her pussy lips with his fingers. Missionary was great, but he loved when she rode him and he could grip her ass and control the pace while she tweaked and pinched at her breasts with no shame.

That was the best part. Beth had no shame about herself when with him. At first, she had been a little shy, especially when he'd go down on her and want nothing in return, but because he never called her out on any strange noises, or how she looked when they made love, he quickly found she had no shame during their sexual couplings. She made the most beautiful faces and sounds, and he coaxed and loved each and every one.

He told her how beautiful she was when she made those faces, he told her how he loved her sounds during lovemaking, how incredible she was, and it made her a bold woman in the bedroom. Fearless. Delightful.

It was glorious.

He loved the way her pupils would explode when he would cup her face and let his thumb rest on her lip. He loved how she'd lightly bite that thumb, how there'd be a bit of a smile to her lips as she did it. He loved how she tasted in the kiss afterwards, how her small hands would cling to him like a lifeline. He honestly just loved every bit about Beth Greene that there was to love, and more.

In all his years, Rick Grimes had never felt more alive and more hopeful.

It was amazing.

It was incredible.

Then, one day, something not alright happened.

Beth had suspected it, for quite awhile now. There were a few inconsistencies, the way he kept to himself when asked about who he was seeing. She didn't know him as well as Rick did, but she knew Shane well enough to know when something was up, and it had been, for some time now.

And then, she found out why that one unnamed sense was tingling. She found exactly the reason why she felt a weird churning in her gut every time Shane shifted his eyes between her and Rick, why he was quick to duck out sometimes when Rick and him were eating at the Final Go Round, and why he just seemed nervous whenever you-know-who was mentioned.

How do you tell your boyfriend that his best friend is sleeping with his ex-wife? Or at the very least, he's canoodling with her at the little hole-in-the wall Thai food place in Atlanta, where you grabbed some takeout for on the way home to heat up later that evening?

She had run in because it was raining outside, and hurried to the counter that was at the front of the little restaurant. She had been on the phone with Rick, talking to him about her day in the city. It had been a bit of a last-minute decision, but she had been saving some money and decided to go into Atlanta for some recording equipment. She had never been a fan of online shopping, preferring to see what she was buying in person. So, mustering up the courage, she had bought some essentials, like a proper microphone, pop filter, and mic stand, along with some new strings for her guitar, and an appropriate amp.

Hopefully, the money she spent today would pay in sometime in the future. She had a plan, she just wasn't sure how good of a plan it was.

Since the trip had taken the better part of the day, she had decided to order from a little family-run Thai place she knew about when younger, calling in an order of some curry, fried rice, spring rolls, dumplings, and even a bahn mi for the next day. It was a lot of food, it always was whenever her family had gotten food from here, but the leftovers were just as delicious, and she just didn't want to pass it up.

"Okay. I gotta go now. I'll drop by your place when I get back. Okay. Bye. Hi. I called an order in earlier. Last name is Greene," she politely told the cashier at the front.

The cashier disappeared into the back room to grab her order, and upon that, heard someone sputtering, like they had 'water go down the wrong pipe,' the coughing violent and harsh, a soothing voice attempting to dissuade the violence.

"You okay, Shane?" a familiar voice asked.

Beth's head whipped around at almost whiplash speed, honing in on a couple sitting in a booth towards the back of the small restaurant. Shane Walsh had his head bowed over a glass of pop, still coughing, face bright red, though the coughing had eased. However, the look of panic on his face was palpable. Lori sat next to him, rubbing soothing circles on his back as the coughing finally subsided, leaning to kiss him on the cheek lovingly.

Just as quick, Beth looked away and was thankful to be wearing a hoodie underneath her light jacket. She pulled the hood up and over her head as fast as possible. When the cashier came out with her food, she thrust him the cash, mumbling to keep the change (aware that she also should have probably gotten some change, but oh well if they got a sizable tip tonight), and nearly stumbled out of the door in an attempt to get the hell out of there.

Run. Run. Run away!

She was out to her car within moments, but already partially drenched, and placed the food carefully in the passenger seat of her car. She was thankful for the rain as she not so surreptitiously peered into the windows of the restaurant after starting the car.

Through the swish-swish of her windshield wipers, her suspicions and fears(?) became true. It wasn't her imagination, it was Shane. It was Lori. They were seeing each other, and she somehow felt sick to her stomach, because she didn't know what to do.

Lori got up and disappeared, probably to use the restroom.

There was a ding the indicated a text message, coming from her phone.

Shane: We should talk. - 6:37 PM

Beth: Yeah. We should. - 6:40 PM

She drove away then, loathsome to be anywhere near the two, a sour taste in her mouth. She normally would have never cared about such a thing. After all, she was dating a man that had a good twelve years on her. But she felt that what Shane and Lori had was wrong, in the pit of her stomach.

In no way did Rick want Lori back, in no way. However, it was a code. You didn't fuck your best friend's ex-wife. It seemed wrong.

Beth felt herself panicking. Did she talk to Shane first or tell Rick? Was it her place to tell Rick about the situation? She honestly wasn't sure. Part of her wanted to go and run, screaming for the hills about it. She knew that wasn't right. Gossip was wrong, it was wrong to spread information that didn't have the whole story to. It was wrong to whisper of private matters to other, to spread the anger, spread the rage.

On the drive home, she resolved that she would talk to Shane first. It seemed the best course, in such an awkward situation. She'd allow the man to confront his best friend, to own up to seeing Lori for who knew how long, and to let Rick decide if there was war or forgiveness to be had.

"Thanks for meeting me here," Shane said as he slid into the booth. "I know it's out of the way, but not many people from King County come here, and I know Rick is busy with paperwork for at least another hour yet."

"Yeah. I get it," Beth murmured, her eyes ducking down to peer at her glass of iced tea.

It had been three days since the incident that had yet to be named. It had been three days that she let that information she knew wallow in her mind, build a lump in her throat. She allowed herself to keep a secret from Rick for three days, and it made her sick.

"So, talk. Why are you doing it?" she didn't want to beat around the bush.

Shane sighed, rubbing his head, a nervous tick she had noted quite some time ago. He had recently shaved his nice, thick curls, leaving an angry shadow atop his head that had made him look leaner, meaner. The compulsive head rub had been more apparent lately, and now...now it kind of made sense.

"Didn't mean for it to happen," his voice went low. "It just did. We had been friends since younger, the three of us. So, Rick and Lori had problems, for years, really. Only reason getting married in the first place was 'cause of Carl." His hand clenched. "I...I didn't mean for it to happen. He was gone a lot, working a lot of overtime to avoid having to go home and I just...it happened. Too much to drink one night, we were laughing and then kissing and...I did a terrible thing."

"But you kept doing it." Her iced tea didn't look appealing anymore. It was muddy and brown and dirty, just like Shane. "Lori and Rick may have been headed for a divorce, but you were the other man, weren't you?"

Shane's head flew up, his eyes piercing and angry. "What did he tell you?"

"He told me everything. Told me about the baby, the miscarriage. We decided the be honest with each other. We wanted to make things work from the get-go and not have anything bite us in the ass." The curse word spat from her mouth, more spiteful than she had planned, but now she was angry. She had honestly thought that Shane had started seeing Lori after the divorce, not while the two were still married, and she wanted to cry for all of them, because it just didn't seem right. "He's your best friend, Shane. You've known each other your whole lives. Why did you do that?"

Another rub of his head. "I don't fucking know why." He was suddenly hostile, angry instead of apologetic. "Things happen and things had been done a long fucking time. Shouldn't even matter, he has you."

"It does matter," she whispered fiercely. "You have to tell him. He has a right to know."

"I don't know if I can. That's my partner. If he never forgives me I-"

"It's not a choice," she interrupted. "This isn't a decision that's yours to make. You gave that up when you cheated on him. It wasn't just Lori doing the cheating, it was you too. He says you're like a brother. You betrayed your brother." She leaned back, signaled politely to the waitress for her check, and turned back to him. "I'll give you to the end of the week. But if you don't tell him, I will. He has a right to know. He has to know."

Her tone was firm, didn't allow for argument, and the conversation was over.

She left the diner after paying, ready to get back to work as fast as possible, and hope that Shane would see reasoning. Unfortunately, she did not see his anger peak, a sudden, irrational wind that was so strong he cracked the glass of iced tea he held in his hands.

Author Note: No excuses, really. Just life. Full-time student, mother, wife, full-time worker. I work at an accounting firm. I disappear January - April, especially. It's just too much. Unfortunately, my depression has been bad lately, like beyond bad, and I've had a hard time functioning in general. When I'm at my yearly appointment, I'm going to have to talk counseling with my doctor, because I am very afraid that I can no longer be a functioning member of society, or be good enough for my family anymore. So, with depression, sometimes comes the slipping of my muse. However, I had a bit of a spark today, and I ran with it. This is not proofread whatsoever. It burst from me and I handed it to you fresh and bloody, so I hope it makes sense. If it's horrible, please let me know. I know the tone might be totally different, I have a hard time focusing lately.

Just a really BIG side note. This story is taking a completely different turn from what I was expecting. It kind of hinged with this chapter and I have no idea where it's taking me. I can only hope you folks come along with me for the ride and enjoy it. Please let me know your thoughts. I apologize for this being on the short side. Love to all!