AN: Thank you for the fantastic comments on the last chapter! You all are amazing! I hope this chapter keeps up the momentum and doesn't disappoint. It's another long one for you all :) I'm going a different direction than I normally do with Lori, I do actually like her (well, mostly the actress), and hopefully you all enjoy! :3

Warnings: Just in case someone has made it this far and missed it... Underage romance!

Chapter Thirteen

"You guys took the prison? The whole prison?" T-Dog wore a perfect expression of awe as he looked around the cement walls like they were a rare masterpiece. Glenn stood at his side with an identical look on his face.

"Not the whole prison," Sasha corrected as she came to stand on T-Dog's other side. "Just this cell block, the boiler room, and the hallways we've traversed. But those fill back up. There's a giant hole out back that we came in through."

"Hole? I guess Daryl didn't scout the whole thing," Glenn muttered and shot a glance over his shoulder at the Dixons up on the catwalk.

"I still don't like this, Rick, we're in a prison and it feels like a prison." Shane said in a low, irritated voice at Rick's side. Rick refrained from rolling his eyes. Shane had always been a sore loser, even back in the days of board games Shane would knock over the board if he was losing badly. Shane had never grown out of tantrums and sulking, as he was demonstrating now.

Shane's original plan was to take the yard and only the yard. They could pop tents, maybe build lean-tos, but he had thought the prison couldn't be taken. He was a bit put out to learn Rick had taken the prison with only three other people, to put it mildly. He had then argued that his group should stay in the yard, that the prison would be too cramped and dank. He was quickly outvoted by his group, whom were eager to be behind walls, not just fences.

Rick had kept his triumphant smirk to himself, he knew gloating would send Shane over the edge. "Shane, we've got thick, concrete walls and metal bars. We're secure from not only walkers but other people that are out there," Rick reasoned.

"Do you want your son growing up in a prison? I sure as shit don't want my baby to," Shane began the argument anew and Rick did his best not to sigh. It felt like Shane was trying to pick a fight, lord knows why, Rick thought he was doing a remarkable job of behaving all things considered.

"Shane, this is the best we've had it in a long time, no one cares that it's a prison," Lori interrupted. Lori had her hands still wrapped around her belly protectively but Rick was happy to see the smile on her face as she looked around.

Shane's look was murderous that Lori was taking Rick's side but he only nodded in response, "Fine."

Rick nodded, glad for the reprieve from Shane. No doubt Shane would find something new to bitch about sooner rather than later. So Rick took a moment to enjoy the cheerful atmosphere and watched his son. Introducing the boys had gone very well, as Rick had always imagined. Carl was shy at first, shyer than Rick remembered him being from Before, but Duane was exuberant as always and soon had Carl in a discussion regarding the comics Duane had collected along the way. Rick had encouraged Duane to take Carl to show off the cell block and the boys had run off, Carl with a huge grin. Letting Carl out of Lori's sight had started Shane's rant against going inside the prison. But now Carl and Duane were laughing and running from cell to cell, "Hey, do you want to share with me?" Duane asked.

Carl nodded enthusiastically, "Hey dad! Can I share with Duane?" Rick didn't miss the look of pain that flashed Lori's face that Carl was still ignoring her. Rick turned to check with Morgan, who nodded his consent. Morgan was clearly happy that his son finally had a companion his own age to be a kid with. "It's all right with me," Rick responded. Carl and Duane whooped and ran up the stairs to choose a 'better' cell.

"Bethy, do you want to share with me?" Beth's father, Hershel Greene, turned to face her while he asked. Beth was still firmly ensconced between her father and sister. Rick was less than ten feet away from them and he could clearly see Beth's panicked expression. Rick couldn't help but mirror the sentiment. He needed to talk with Beth. Rick didn't want to hide his relationship with Beth, that would only be disastrous. But there was a correct time and place to break the news to their families and now was not the time.

"Uh…" Beth clearly didn't know how to respond to her father's request, and she was eyeing her shared cell with Rick.

"Sir, if you don't mind, Beth and I are sharing," Sasha came up and put an arm around Beth's shoulders. "Us girls gotta stick together."

"That sounds fine," Hershel nodded. Rick let out a low breath at the crisis averted.

"Rick?" Lori's touch on his elbow brought her focus back to her. Rick didn't miss Shane's dark look at Lori's touch. "Can we talk? Just the three of us?"

Rick exchanged a quick glance with Morgan and Michonne, they both nodded at the silent command to keep watch. Michonne had yet to let the Dixon brothers out of her sight and Rick knew that was unlikely to change anytime soon. "Sure, back outside?" Rick asked and Lori nodded gratefully. Shane stalked after them, and Rick could feel Shane gearing up for another argument.

"I just wanted to clear the air, without an audience," Lori spoke as soon as they were in the courtyard again. She settled at the picnic table and Rick sat next to her on the bench. Shane remained standing, arms crossed as he stared out over the grounds.

"I'm glad you're safe and… mostly well," Rick started. The whole situation felt so surreal. Rick had imagined this reunion a hundred different ways and he never expected to feel so disconnected from Lori. There was no joyful reunion, no happy tears or declarations of love. And Rick was strangely relieved.

Lori cracked a small smile before it vanished, "If I had known you were alive, that there was even the slightest chance, I never would have—"

Rick waved Lori's words away as he shook his head. It was one thing to think that, but it was another to live it. A year ago, Rick would have sworn on his mother's grave that he never would cheat on Lori. But here he was, trying to find a way to break it to his wife that that he had cheated. That their marriage was done. Too much time had passed and too much had happened. Irrevocably broken. "You don't have to say that. I know what it's like to be lonely. It'll soon be a year since I was shot. I don't blame you two for doing this. For moving on."

Lori studied him intently before speaking, "You're with someone. That's why you're so… okay with this."

Rick ducked his head and scratched the back on his neck, avoiding eye contact with his wife. Lori had always complained that she never knew what Rick was thinking, but she was able to easily read him. "Yeah," he nodded.

"Is it Sasha? She's very pretty." Lori nudged Rick with her shoulder.

Rick looked up at her, she was smiling and looking relieved. Rick could imagine how guilty Lori must have felt since this morning, learning her husband was alive while she had moved on. Rick smiled back at her, he was hopeful they could be amicable, friends even. He still cared about her but his heart had moved on. "It's not Sasha..." Rick started slowly.

"The scary one with the sword? Rick, she's not your type at all!" Lori teased. It felt good, to be joking with Lori. Shane was still watching them with a glare but Rick didn't acknowledge him.

"Strike two," Rick replied.

Lori's eyes widened as she thought about his other options. "Oh," She exclaimed before a mischievous smile overtook her features. "That girl's daddy is going to kill you. Isn't she sixteen?"

Rick smiled ruefully, "She's seventeen."

"So here you are, givin' us a hard time while you're fuckin' a child?" Shane finally snapped.

"I don't think I've been givin' either of you a hard time." Rick looked at Lori for confirmation. "I should have broken your jaw the second you told me."

Lori rolled her eyes, "Stop it, both of you. Shane, what the hell is your problem?"

"My problem? MY problem? I've kept you and Carl safe all this time, and Rick's been here for five goddamn minutes and you've taken his side on everything."

"Shane, your plan is to stay in the yard and camp there. Rick's plan is to take the prison, get a solid four walls and a roof. Of course I agree with his plan. I want every layer of protection I can get between my children and those things out there." Lori huffed and stood. "I'll leave you two to bicker, I've got to see Hershel and Andrea about my new birthing plan." She leveled a glare at each of them, which Rick felt was unwarranted on his part, before angrily waddling back to the prison.

"I'm not gonna stop you and Lori bein' together. So you're gonna stop gettin' in my face about it," Rick turned to confront Shane the instant the door shut behind Lori.

"Lori and me… we're not, well, we are—look, it's not like we're the pizza kid and the farmer's daughter," Shane glared mulishly at Rick.

Rick had no idea what Shane meant and they spent a few moments glaring before it finally dawned on Rick. Shane was threatened by Rick because Shane and Lori weren't specifically together. Rick couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, you're the one that always told me to just talk to Lori when we were fighin', so take your own damn advice," Rick retorted before heading back to the prison and leaving Shane behind. Rick was going to take Shane's advice for once. He had to talk with Beth.

Rick didn't want to interrupt Beth's family surrounding her, her father certainly didn't look ready to have Beth leave his sight. So instead Rick nodded to Beth when she glanced in his direction and moved on to collect his son along with a few of his own people plus Shane's people and headed back out to the yard.

Sasha had every key they had run across so far in the prison and they set about seeing if any of the keys went to the front gates. Rick also talked about setting a watch schedule so they would always have someone posted in one of the guard towers. Andrea, the blonde woman from Shane's group, volunteered first watch and Sasha agreed to relieve her in a few hours. Rick enjoyed getting to know these new people without Shane glaring and hovering in the background. Glenn was the friendliest, he was dating Beth's older sister Maggie and he told Rick about several of the close calls he'd had thus far with 'geeks'. T-Dog was quick to point out when Glenn exaggerated too much and the two of them bickered good-naturedly. T-Dog seemed to share more than just his size with Tyreese, he also seemed to be a big softy underneath his tough looking exterior. Andrea was a no-nonsense, straight forward woman and reminded Rick of some of the district attorneys he had known, so he asked her if she used to be an attorney; she had.

They managed to get the gates open and pulled in the vehicles from Shane's group. Morgan and Rick agreed to wait another day or two before pulling their own in as already a few walkers were attracted to the fences with the noise they had made.

Rick carried Carl's possessions into the cellblock, which all fit in a single backpack, and helped his son set up in the cell he wanted to share with Duane. Rick found himself alone with his son in the cell, Duane off with Morgan. And Rick, who had never been good with words, settled in for a talk with his son.

"Carl, I'm not mad at your mother, and I don't think you should be either," Rick began as he sat on the bottom bunk next to his son.

Carl looked at him in disbelief, "you're not? But… Shane and mom!"

"She thought I was dead. The world has changed so much and all I care about is that Shane kept you and your mom safe."

Carl looked conflicted as he mulled over Rick's words, "You're really not mad? Even though they started sneaking off together only a few weeks after we left home?"

And that did sting. Rick knew that Shane and Lori had to have gotten together not long after his 'death' but to actually be confronted with it was a gut punch. He did his best to keep any anger off his face and out of his tone, "Nobody's perfect."

"So… Are you and mom gonna get back together?" Carl asked dubiously.

"Ah, no. Your mom and I… we've both moved on. We've changed too much. The world has changed too much. But all that matters is that we both still love you and that's never gonna change."

"Daaad," Carl rolled his eyes, embarrassed.

"Besides, do you remember what you told your third grade teacher? You had to write a report on what you wanted to be when you grew up and you said a big brother?" Rick reminded with a fond smile.

"She told me being a brother wasn't an occupation and she gave me a C," Carl pointed out.

"Well, now it is. You have to protect your mom and your little brother or sister. Right?"

"Right," Carl acknowledged thoughtfully.

"And I'm gonna make sure you can," Rick promised. Rick didn't tell Carl about Beth, he felt he should talk to Beth first. And then maybe they could both tell Carl together. Rick wanted Carl to like Beth and not feel betrayed like he did with Lori and Shane. So he brought Carl in for another hug, which Carl playfully avoided, and then took off to find Duane again.

Much later, as night was falling and the cells were darkening, did Beth and Rick finally get a chance to talk. The groups were pretty spread out, some turning in for the night eager to sleep in a bed, some chatting in the communal area, and a few people outside. Beth was in her and Sasha's cell separating her clothes from Rick's, she normally kept all their stuff packed together in one bag, when Rick entered. Beth had spent most of her day sandwiched between her sister and father while trying to keep the longing expression on her face whenever Rick was near. And she wanted more than anything to know what Rick had talked about with Shane and Lori earlier. Rick's nod at her after the talk did little to reveal what he was thinking.

"Hey," Rick's low voice startled Beth and her heart sped into overdrive at her panic for the upcoming 'talk'. She wanted it over with at the same time she wanted it never to happen.

"Hi," she greeted nonchalantly, doing her best to remain calm. "If you're looking for clean clothes I've got them here."

"Beth, I told Lori and Shane about you and me," Rick dove right into the conversation.

Beth stopped her busy work to finally look at Rick. He approached her slowly, his expression was difficult to make out in the low light. "About you and me?" She asked, breathless at Rick's abrupt news.

"I know we've never really talked about this, about what would happen. But I can't—I can't lose you," Rick, the strongest man she knew, had never looked so vulnerable.

Beth felt a few tears escape and she threw herself into Rick's arms, "Oh thank God, Rick, I can't either."

Rick pulled her tightly into him. "Lori is…well, she accepted it."

"Wow," Beth felt so relieved, the huge, crushing weight that had settled upon her from the moment Shane uttered Lori's name left her chest at Rick's words. She tugged at Rick's neck to angle him for a much needed kiss. She parted her lips and drew Rick's tongue to twine with hers and he eagerly responded. She wanted to drag Rick next door to his—their—cell and burrow into his arms and never come out.

Rick broke off a moment later breathing deeply to clear his head. "Wait, Beth, your dad. And sister. Plus Carl." Her father was only a few cells away and Beth clearly hadn't said anything to her family. Right. Beth sighed and pulled back to flop onto the bottom bunk and their clean clothes.

"We'll tell them together," He assured her.

"My daddy isn't going to like this," Beth sighed. "He didn't approve of Maggie datin' a senior when she was a sophomore back Before." Maggie had been sixteen and the boy eighteen and her father had thrown a fit. She couldn't imagine how he'd react to this.

"If you want to stop this, we can," Rick said voice void of emotion.

"No!" Beth's denial came out louder than she meant. She shot back up to look Rick in the eyes, "No. I'm just… nervous. The others never cared about our age difference or your marital status, but I know my daddy won't be as understanding." She finished quietly.

Rick nodded, "why don't we wait a bit to tell 'em? Just until we get things settled here. We're gonna take a group further in tomorrow, see if we can find the infirmary or mess hall." Beth nodded. She would need to break this to her father slowly. It was best if he had a few days to observe Rick, see what a good man he was, before Beth just dropped a bombshell on him. It would lessen the damage if Rick wasn't a stranger to her father. Hopefully.

Hershel breathed in the fresh morning air as he watched the sun rise over the trees and the prison. The smell of death still lingered, the groups hadn't come to a decision about whether burning the bodies was a good idea, but the smell didn't bother him. He was too thankful and happy, he'd thought he'd never feel this way again. He had both his daughters back and they were in the most secure place they had been since his farm fell.

That had been the worst moment of his life, his farm overrun with the infected, Patricia and Otis torn apart in front of his eyes, and Jimmy and Beth disappearing. Only the sight of Maggie, his brave, stubborn Maggie crying and scared galvanized him into action and he had pulled her to his suburban and took off. He had seen the blue Taurus driving away earlier, hopefully with Jimmy and Beth inside, and had taken off in the same direction but he never found them. They had driven all the nearby roads for miles in each direction and never saw a sign of that blue car. They had then run into Shane and his crew on the highway. The group was camped on the side of the road looking for a little girl that had been spooked by walkers and had run into the woods a few days before. The group had just given up on the search for the missing girl when Hershel and Maggie arrived, they had been packing up after a memorial for the girl and were preparing to move on towards Fort Benning when Hershel found them.

From the beginning Shane had been hostile, he told them the only way they could join his group was if they were useful. Hershel told them he was a veterinarian and proved his worth by sewing up a man in the crew, T-Dog, who had cut his arm open on a piece of metal from the pile up on the highway. They had antibiotics for the infection but had merely wrapped up the wound so Hershel stitched the man up. It turned out that Shane's woman, Lori, was pregnant so Hershel's membership, and Maggie's by extension, was secured.

Shane wasn't just a strict leader, he had a mean streak in him, but with Merle backing Shane's orders and Daryl backing up Merle, no one dared to challenge them even though the group was fairly large. Most of the people were scared and didn't want to be alone and supposedly Shane had saved them when their previous camp outside Atlanta was overrun. Shane's only vocal opposition was Dale, an elderly man like Hershel that didn't approve of Shane's more brutal methods but then one night Dale's screams woke up the group. A walker had gotten him and was feasting on Dale's insides and Daryl put him out of his misery. Something about the situation had always struck Hershel as wrong. Dale had been out on watch with a rifle, the rifle had been found next to his body, so how had he been overtaken so easily? Hershel never voiced his suspicions but he always had a feeling that Shane had something to do with Dale's death. Without Dale no one opposed Shane's decisions and Andrea was the only one who ever spoke up with an opinion, but she usually supported Shane's decisions.

Maggie adjusted to the group faster than Hershel did, she befriended Lori and Andrea, learned about putting walkers down, how to defend herself, and started a relationship with Glenn. Hershel hadn't been happy about his daughter's relationship with the Asian man at first, but it quickly became apparent that Glenn was one of the few good men in the group and Shane considered him vital to the group's survival for his ability to get in and out of dangerous areas unnoticed and unharmed.

Being essential in the group was the only way to ensure one's safety, and if someone weren't essential then they had to figure out how to be important to someone who was essential. This became especially apparent after one of the women, Jacqui, was left behind when they stumbled upon a herd one day and no one went back for her.

Shane had also left behind the lost little girl's mother after Hershel and Maggie had joined the group. The mother, Carol, had begged the group to stay and help find her daughter, refusing to give up hope. Her only supporter was Daryl, but his brother Merle had sneered at the pointlessness of the task and Daryl had fallen in line. They had left Carol on the roadside with a few cans of food. Hershel was safe given he was the only doctor, Maggie safe because she was his daughter and was with Glenn. Lori and her son were safe since she was Shane's woman even though her son Carl was clearly unhappy with their relationship. Andrea and T-Dog worked hard to become respected fighters in the group and earn their keep.

Hershel hadn't been happy, but his daughter was safe and that was all that mattered to him. Time rolled on, the group scavenged and moved from place to place avoiding herds. Fort Benning had been a bust. Hershel grew concerned for Lori as time marched on, she had Carl by cesarean section so Hershel was afraid he'd have to cut her open again for this baby. He began to train Andrea as his assistant in preparation of the surgery.

And then one day Daryl stumbled upon the prison while hunting. Shane with the others began to devise a plan to clean out the walkers in the yard. They could then set up camp in the prison yard surrounded by sturdy fencing and guard towers and then having a crying baby once Lori gave birth wouldn't be such a burden. Hershel even suggested they could plant some crops.

The group became hopeful and the next day Shane, Merle and Daryl set off with Andrea, Glenn and T-Dog to clear the prison yard of the geeks. Hardly any time had passed before Daryl and T-Dog returned with news that another group had cleaned out the prison yard and apparently was led by Lori's dead husband. Things moved quickly after that, Hershel's main focus was Lori and keeping her calm after the news of her husband and soon they were at the prison and Carl was reunited with his father.

Hershel wasn't paying attention to the new people, only Lori's condition so he was shocked to his very core when Maggie spotted Beth. His sweet Beth was alive and well, unharmed and happy to see them. But it quickly became clear that she wasn't 'daddy's little girl' anymore. She had matured and wasn't dependent on him anymore but at the same time part of her innocence remained. She was all smiles with the young boy of her group, Duane, she was close and laughed with the young woman Sasha, and she was confident and relaxed among the men of her group. Hershel was actually grateful that Beth had ended up with these people, even though she had been without her family, if Beth had been with Shane's group he didn't think she would still be so carefree.

Hershel turned to make his way back into the cellblock, not many others were awake this early, Maggie and Glenn were up in the guard tower and Hershel was fairly sure he did not want to know what they were doing up there, and Daryl was up cleaning his crossbow as Hershel walked through the communal area outside the rows of cells. He peeked into the cell Beth was sharing with Sasha, Sasha was on the bottom bunk asleep and he couldn't see a figure in the top bunk. Hershel frowned and tried not to worry. Beth had been an early riser back at the farm too, unlike Maggie who preferred to sleep in.

Hershel continued walking and glanced into the next cell and froze when a flash of blonde hair caught his eye. Beth, his seventeen year old daughter, was curled up on the bottom bunk with Rick, a man that was twice her age and married. They were both lying on their sides facing out, Rick with his back against the wall and his arm was curled tightly around Beth's waist and disappearing under Beth's loose shirt. Both their faces were relaxed in slumber.

Hershel slowly backed away his mind whirling. His first reaction was to charge in screaming and yelling but he had to be smart about this. Hershel had admired Rick the other day when he and Shane disagreed and Rick hadn't backed down. In fact, he got Shane to back down. Hershel had to treat this situation delicately. Had Rick forced Beth into a relationship? But Beth hadn't seemed submissive or skittish as a woman typically would in that situation. Had Beth given herself to Rick to ensure her own safety in her group? Either way, Beth was with her family now, so this was going to stop.

AN: Uh-oh! Hershel knows and is imaging all sorts of terrible things about Rick!

Review please!