"You can always find a distraction if you're looking for one." – Tom Kite

After Beth died, and the initial shock had worn off for the group, the grief and despair set in. Making it worse was finding out Eugene had lied about a cure. Everyone was dealing their new situation in their own way. Maggie seemed inconsolable. Glenn did what he could to be there for her but sometimes he had to leave his wife to mourn alone. Daryl got angry, kicking shit around and practically seeking out walkers to kill, merely to get his frustrations out. Sasha was still hurting over Bob and with Beth's demise so fresh, she was burying her grief deeper down until someday when she would just blow a gasket.

After burying and having a funeral for her, which was presided over by Gabriel, Rick led a supply run with Glenn, Daryl, Georgie and Sasha before night fell. Georgie wanted to come simply because the mourning atmosphere was too much, and she felt awkward, not having known Beth to begin with. They made camp outside the city, built a fire to keep warm and hunkered down in their caravan of vehicles for the night. After Judith was laid down to sleep in a cardboard box lined with someone's shirt, the adults lowered their voices when they chose to talk. Waking the baby would mean she might wake up crying and they didn't know what exactly was out there in the trees. They didn't need extra attention drawn to them right now.

Carol and Georgie sat side by side in front of the fire, with Georgie asking what it had been like in the hospital. Carol couldn't give a good account of her short time there because she had been unconscious during most of it. She said that Dawn had seemed decent enough from what very little she had seen and heard of her. Carol, like everyone else there, hadn't been expecting what happened to happen. It had been the last thing from her mind.

As most began to tuck away to sleep for the night, Daryl maintained his position on the perimeters of their temporary camp, keeping watch alongside Abraham and Tara. Rick, who had been talking to Noah, got up and walked to another edge of their camp with his hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket.

Georgie noticed him out the corner of her eye and got to her feet to go join him.

"What's the plan now?"

Rick looked at her and sighed. "Noah said Beth was gonna go with him to where he's from, to Richmond."

"Virginia?"

"Yeah," Rick nodded. "He says it was secured when he left. There were walls, and it was home to twenty people. I know it's far away, but it's an option and it's what Beth wanted to do. I think we owe her to at least go check it out. It could be a place for all of us to lay our heads and call home for as long as possible."

"We were planning on going to DC," Georgie remarked. "Richmond is closer than DC. I think it's a good idea."

"Yeah? Even though your son—"

"My son is probably dead, Rick. If I haven't found him by now, I don't think there is any hope of finding him anymore," she interrupted. "I think my husband was right. I need to face reality and just move on. I need to face the fact that my son died during that camping trip when the outbreak happened. He probably turned into a walker and wandered deep into the woods with the others, that's why I never saw his body with most of the boys at their campsite."

Rick turned and furrowed his brow at her. "What about having hope? Just because there was no body, doesn't mean he's dead."

"Just because there was no body, doesn't mean he's alive, either."

"You can't—we can't think like that. Even though Eugene lied about there being a cure, I'm starting to think getting away from Atlanta is the better option," Rick commented. "We need to see if there's anything more out there. Hell, maybe DC is still an option in some way. We don't know and we won't until we see for ourselves."

Georgie shrugged. They both turned and looked silently out toward the darkness within the trees. The crackle of the fire behind them offered a comforting din of sound to compensate for the lack of actual conversation in their camp. And, to be honest, it was nice to just stand there. Everything was calm and quiet. There were no walkers attacking, there were no guns firing and there were no screams of pain and sadness.

Rick stole a glance at Georgie out the corner of his eye, studying the curve of her jaw and shape of her nose and the way her upper lip looked slightly puffier than her bottom lip. Her ginger curls were down around her shoulders and rather buoyant, and they practically glowed like gold from the firelight reflecting on the back of her head. When Rick began to wonder what holding her tight and smelling her skin would be like, his mind snapped him out of his daydream and he looked forward again; mentally chastising himself.

Now was not the time for thinking such things.

Then again, he'd never had the time to think about anything like that in regard to anyone since before Lori died. Her body had been in the ground barely a year, which made him feel guilty about entertaining thoughts of another woman in his head, even if things between him and Lori had been rough long before she died. Not saying he didn't love his wife. He did, with all his heart. It was just felt more like a chore than a marriage sometimes; at least more than was normal for a marriage.

He knew you it was never good etiquette to speak ill of the dead, and he was sure thinking ill of the dead was probably looked down on, too, so Rick tried thinking back to Richmond and the group and his children.

"I think I'll tell everyone about Richmond first thing in the morning, so we can get on the road, bright and early; make the most of daylight, y'know?" he said aloud to Georgie who still stood there beside him.

"Sounds good," Georgie nodded.

The pair turned and looked at each other again and Rick immediately felt a pang of guilt when he did so. Georgie really did look something pretty in the glow of firelight. Subconsciously, Rick touched his hand to her wrist before she walked away without bothering to say goodnight. It was something that didn't need saying.

Rick turned back toward the camp, at everyone either taking refuge beside the fire or in the array of vehicles to sleep; those that weren't keeping watch that is. Digging at the ground with the heel of his right cowboy boot, he gave a quiet sigh.

Ideally, the group could've gotten to Richmond in just under eight hours. However, there were too many factors to take into account. Gas for the vehicles was a rare commodity and they often ran out and had to go off and find other vehicles to syphon from. Also, their route was occasionally blocked off by abandoned vehicles or herd of walkers, which meant taking detours which got them lost once or twice. They also stopped to sleep or go on runs for extra supplies. Then there was the issue of everyone still dealing with their grief and Eugene's lie. Their moods were down and their hopes all seemed dashed. There was no real ambition for going to Richmond, but it had been something Beth wanted, and Rick wanted to see it through. That's what he kept telling people and it seemed enough to keep them going.

They had made it out of Georgia, which felt a little surreal at first, then through South Carolina and most of North Carolina when their fuel ran out on a rather deserted road. It was the wee hours of the morning and they were somewhere outside Greensboro, North Carolina. Up the road about a hundred yards there seemed to be some sort of side street that branched off the main road and Rick thought maybe it led somewhere that might have some vehicles they could once again syphon gas from.

Rick, Daryl, Sasha and Abraham went off to inspect.

They weren't gone twenty minutes when they returned with empty fuel cans but smiles.

Georgie hopped out of the white, '89 GMC Suburban she had been riding in with Rick, Tyreese, Sasha, Carl and Judith. She held onto the door and looked at the foursome approaching with curiosity.

"Everybody, grab your things," Rick announced.

"What—why?" Rosita asked from another vehicle behind.

"We found someplace to stay for a while until we can gather up enough fuel and more supplies," Abraham replied, his rifle resting over his shoulder by its strap.

The group all seemed to look at one another with hesitation before finally conceding. Gathering up their belongings, they followed Rick, who had taken lead as was usual and expected, on foot. When they turned onto the side street, which was quite overgrown, everyone's guards were up tenfold, just waiting for the off chance of walkers coming out from the trees. On one side of the road was what looked to be a driveway; it was blocked by two cars which seemed to have crashed into one another at some point. Each car had a walker in the driver's seat and both were clawing at their rolled up windows when they sensed movement on the road.

The group ignored those walkers and continued to follow Rick who brought them to the end of the road. It was a short wall, gated, and beyond the gate was a long driveway that led up to a very large house.

"It's a damn McMansion," Tara remarked at the sight. "Holy shit," she added as she peered through the gate.

"Is it open?" Michonne wondered, holding Judith, and referring to the security gate.

Rick turned and smiled at her. "Yeah." He reached out and pulled the gate open. It creaked slightly. "When we're able to get fuel for the vehicles, we'll pull them in here," he informed as they all began to walk up the long driveway. "There's plenty of open space to park them."

The grass in the front yard was considerably overgrown and the driveway was littered with old, fallen leaves from the autumn before, but it was one of those driveways that circled around directly in front of the house and even had a fountain there, although it no longer ran. The front doors were tall and made of solid wood. The first floor windows seemed to go from floor to ceiling. The outside was a greyish-white brick and the landscaping was just as overgrown as the grass.

Twisting the doorknob, Rick pushed the door open and walked right in without bothering the pull his gun from out of its holster. If he didn't feel the need to be armed then neither did anyone else. Even Daryl stepped inside with his crossbow slung over his back.

"We already checked for occupants," Rick called over his shoulder as the others followed him in. "Both living and not."

"Place is like a graveyard," Daryl quipped.

They entered into a large, two-story foyer. The staircase was one of those that split, two on opposite walls from each other but still leading to the same second story. To the right was an archway that led into a formal living room and to the left looked like a den or home office; something like that. Straight ahead, under the second story landing that connected the stairs, was a formal dining room.

"There's six bedrooms; upstairs, one down here," Rick informed. "We haven't checked to see if there's running water, but there's more than enough bathrooms, too." He turned and looked at the group who were a bit struck dumb by the grandeur of the interior. "It's big enough for all of us not to be on top of each other, it's clean, and it's safe. That fencing at the front gate goes all around the property. There's plenty of tree coverage, but even if there were walkers, it'd be real difficult for them to get over the fence; the thing is sturdy as all hell." He scanned everyone's faces. "I think we should stay here for a while."

"What about Richmond?" Noah asked from the back of the group.

Rick nodded, understanding the young man's concern. "We will go to Richmond, I promise, but we've just had a lot of shit happen to us recently and we haven't had a moment to breathe. We've been on the move nonstop and we need the time to process and regroup. We will go to Richmond. We will check it out and if it's still standing and, if it's safe, we'll settle there. If it's not, we'll come back here. Richmond's only about two hundred miles away. That's not too far."

"It's far when we don't have gas in our vehicles," Glenn remarked.

"Which is why we're gonna set up base in this house, and go for runs to collect everything it is we need before we continue on," Rick clarified. "We need this right now." After a moment, he added, "Why don't y'all go check the place out? We'll see what we can gather from here first before venturing out."

After a moment, the group began to disperse. A few went straight to the kitchen to search for food while most went upstairs to check out the bedroom and bathroom situations. Others merely poked around, looking at the interior as a whole and wondering who had been in the house last. There were signs that an indeterminate amount of people may have been living in the house approximately five to seven months before, judging by dirty dishes left in the sink and by the layers of dust coating most surfaces. Whether it was the home's original owners or a group like them, or both, no one knew. And no one knew where they'd gone or what happened to them.

Rick was right, though. The place seemed very safe, and there was plenty of room for everyone. They wouldn't be on top of each other if they didn't want to. While there wasn't heat or electric, there was running water, even if it was cold. There was even an upstairs pantry filled with clean towels, shampoo and bars of soap. They would all be able to get showers or baths and they were excited about that, even Maggie and Sasha who were still lost in their grief.

Carl was the most amusing to watch going throughout the house. He ran up and down the hallways, checking everything out. He'd found a few board games they could all play, and there were comic books in one of six bedrooms that had twin beds and clearly belonged to one or two boys around his age. There was even a closet full of clothes that Carl could fit into.

In fact, all the closets seemed to be full of clothes and shoes. It was going to be wonderful to get out of the clothes they had been wearing for what felt like forever, wash the stink and grime off and just feel fresh.

"There's a pool!" Carl squealed when he looked out the dining room window.

Pulling open the French doors to a backyard patio, the young teen hurried outside and stood at the edge of a long, in-ground pool which was covered by a dark blue vinyl cover, which was covered with countless dead leaves.

The others walked out onto the patio as well; all more amused by the look on Carl's face than by the fact there was an actual swimming pool. However, there was a bump in the center of the pool that moved and they all got leery, wondering if it was a walker that had somehow got trapped underneath and been unable to get out.

"Let's open it up," Carl suggested.

"Hold on, Carl," Rick said, holding up a hand. "There could be something under there." He gestured at Glenn to help him grab the vinyl cover and pull it off the water.

Slowly, the vinyl cover was removed, with some of the leaves falling into the water. As everyone waited with bated breath for the big reveal as to what the bump was, they held onto whatever weapons were still on their possession and that they hadn't already set down inside of the home. Then, when the cover was at about halfway off, with Rick and Glenn grunting over the weight of the damned thing, suddenly a soccer ball splashed out from underneath and glided across the surface of the water.

The group sighed breaths of relief and then looked at the pool with smiles.

Aside from what leaves had fallen in, the pool was clean and clear, although probably cold as all hell.

Rick and Glenn walked back toward the group after bunching the cover up at the opposite edge of the pool from where they had started. Rick scratched at his head and then put his hands on his hips before looking at Georgie.

"I told you we might find a pool along the way," he smiled.

Georgie nodded and smiled back. "That you did."

Off to the side, Carl looked antsy; barely able to contain his excitement. Looking up at his dad, he asked, "Can I?"

Rick just smirked and waved at the pool. "Go right ahead."

Grinning from ear to ear, Carl took a few steps back and then ran, jumping right into the pool, but not before shouting out, "Cannonball!"

The splash ricocheted back at the group who laughed. Carl popped back up, reaching for his father's sheriff's hat that had floated off him and then shivered.

"Cold, buddy?" Abraham asked.

"Oh yeah," Carl confirmed, his teeth chattering. "But it's awesome."

Noah looked at the others, and then to Carl before grinning. "Ah, what the hell…" he remarked before jumping in beside Carl.

Both teens laughed and began splashing each other in the face with the cold water. Though, considering how warm it had been and how dirty they were, it must've felt refreshing, even with all their clothes still on.

The adults just kept watching the pair as Tara jumped in, sinking under the surface and popping back up moments later; squealing from the cold when she did. Rosita slapped Abraham on the chest, and then she jumped into the pool. Eugene walked up to the edge of the pool and looked down at the water, a few feet away from where the other four were. Looking over his shoulder at the group, who didn't seem that engrossed in what he was doing, Eugene jumped in as well, to somewhat of a surprise to the others. The group began to look among each other, wondering who would jump in next.

Maggie and Sasha seemed to not care about the pool at all; too depressed to find any joy. They wandered back inside the house while Abraham looked over at Rick.

"You know what?" he asked rhetorically. "Fuck it."

With that, Abraham jumped into the pool, whipping his head up as he resurfaced and then swam over to Rosita to pick her up and toss her over his shoulder. Gabriel smiled and took a seat at a patio set while Tyreese, Daryl and Carol remained on the sidelines, with Carol holding Judith; neither feeling in the 'festive pool party' kind of mood. Glenn and Michonne were next, jumping in at the same time and that left Rick and Georgie.

"You're the one who wanted the pool," he commented. "Yet, here you stand."

"I know, I think I'm enjoying watching everyone else enjoy it."

"Bad excuse," Rick remarked, giving her a push.

However, just as she fell forward, Georgie was able to hook her hand around his wrist, as her body turned slightly, and pull him into the pool with her. Both of them crashed under the surface and it felt like a million ice picks jabbing their bodies. The water soaking their clothes made them sink slightly and it was hard to move from the added weight once they came back up for air. They looked right at each other, water rolling down their faces, and smiled.

Despite Daryl's own depression he was still feeling in regard to losing Beth, he was the only one – between him, Maggie and Sasha – to find amusement in the others in the pool. He crouched down at the edge, pulling off his boots and socks, and then rolling up his pant legs before sticking his feet in the water.

"Damn, this shit's colder than a witch's tit in January." Pulling out a pack of cigarettes he had found at some earlier point, he stuck one between his lips and lit it while he watched the others splashing around. When Carl came near him, threatening to splash him, Daryl removed the cigarette from his mouth and pointed it at the boy. "You splash me and I'll put you down in your sleep."

Carl smirked and moved along, instead splashing his father.

Eventually a few games of 'Chicken' were played. Georgie lost both times she participated. The first time she was on Glenn's shoulders and they had been up against Abraham and Rosita. Her second time, she was on Eugene's shoulders and was up against Rick and Michonne. The longer they were in the water, the more their body temperatures acclimated to the cold and it felt a little better. It also helped take their minds off the storm of shit their lives had been for too long, even if just for a little while.

After about an hour and a half, most began to clamor out of the pool, walking across the patio, feeling as if they weighed a thousand tons from their water-logged clothing. If they had layers that could be peeled away without revealing their intimates, they removed them. The men could get away with going shirtless.

Soon enough, everyone that was in the pool had made their way out of it and then back into the house to dry off or duck into one of the house's four bathrooms to shower off what the pool water didn't wash away. They had all been able to change into pajamas; actually something comfortable to sleep in. They then went searching throughout the house for food that would be stashed away, and all anyone could find was a box of stale crackers and a small can of mandarin oranges shoved way back in one of the cupboards. It wasn't enough to sate everyone's appetites. It literally worked out that each person only got one cracker and one mandarin orange to eat. There was plenty of running water, though, so there was that.

They tried not to think about their hunger by keeping themselves busy. They foraged the house for other supplies; batteries, weapons, first aid supplies. But those items were hard to come by as well. There were Band-Aids in one medicine cabinet upstairs, a bottle of Motrin and the knives in the kitchen where weapons were concerned. Disenchanted by their findings, they turned to figuring out the sleeping arrangements.

Carol suggested Rick take the master bedroom with his children. There were two generic bedrooms with queen-sized beds in them. Maggie and Glenn were offered one, as they were the married couple, and Abraham and Rosita claimed the other as the other couple within the group. A teen boys' bedroom with the twin beds was divvied to Tyreese and Sasha, while the fifth bedroom, which was a teen girl's room and had one queen-sized bed was taken by Carol and Georgie who agreed to share. The last bedroom, the sixth one, was on the main floor and had two full-sized beds which Michonne and Tara laid claim to. All that was left was Daryl, Eugene, Noah and Gabriel. There was plenty of couch space in both the living and family rooms, so Daryl and Noah claimed opposite ends of a wraparound couch in the living room while Eugene and Gabriel settled on taking the couch and loveseat in the family room.

Once everything was agreed upon, Maggie excused herself and went up to the room she was going to share with Glenn, who followed after her. Abraham and Rosita went to make the best of a nice bed, and Sasha disappeared upstairs as well. Whether any of them were going to be doing any sleeping was anyone's guess. The others remained downstairs, occupying themselves with card games or one of the board games Carl had found, like Monopoly and Candy Land.

By nightfall, the group had more or less dispersed to their rooms or couches, except for Daryl and Carol who chose to sit outside and talk. They all said goodnight to each other, nevertheless; all looking forward to the best night's sleep any of them had probably had in a long time.

In the middle of the night, Rick found himself staring up at the ceiling. Carl was on the opposite side of the bed and Judith was tucked carefully between them; both children fast asleep. Rick's mind was reeling with too many thoughts for him to be rendered unconscious. He wasn't even underneath the covers, as if he was expecting to need to jump up to his feet for a fight or to protect his family at a moment's notice.

It didn't help that he could hear Abraham and Rosita having sex in one room while Maggie was crying, presumably in her sleep, in another room while Glenn's muffled voice was obviously consoling her. Maggie was still very devastated by Beth's death, and her father's not too long before that and had been prone to bouts of sobbing quietly in the eleven days since Beth's death. Rick felt a pang of guilt, wishing and wondering if there was something he could've done. There were so many ifs, ands and buts but none of it could change the past now. What's done was done and he had to live with the decisions that had been made, the same as everyone else. They'd all done things they might not be proud of, but it meant they were all still alive to tell the tale.

That's all Rick wanted; to keep everyone alive.

But right now, he couldn't sleep.

Quietly and gently, he slung his legs off the edge of the bed and sat up, gripping the edge with his hands. He stared at the floor for a minute and then over his shoulder at his son and daughter before standing. Casually he strode over to a mirror and looked at his haggard reflection, but looked away when he didn't feel like looking himself in the eye. Instead, he exited the bedroom soundlessly and stepped through the upstairs hall.

He couldn't help but smirk and shake his head at how Abraham and Rosita still managed to be going at it. All the power to them, he figured. The sound of shuffling around downstairs pulled his attention away from the lovebirds, and Rick made his way to the first floor, gripping the railing of one of the two staircases as he went.

With the stealth of a cat in the dark, Rick made his way toward the kitchen where the sound was originating from. There was no weapon on him for him to grab, should he need it, but was relieved when he saw that it was only Georgie fiddling around at the sink.

She had her back to him and didn't seem to know he was approaching. Instead of making himself known just then, he chose to stand there quietly; watching her from behind.

Georgie's ginger curls bounced around her shoulder and between her shoulder blades, almost as if each strand was dancing. She was wearing an oversized T-shirt and a pair of men's boxer shorts, and Rick wondered if all the available women's pajamas had run out and that was what she was left with when the other women in the group laid claim. He glimpsed at her bare legs and smirked, but then felt like a creepy voyeur for staring so he cleared his throat to alert her to his presence.

Whipping her head over her shoulder, Georgie jumped slightly, but when she realized it was just Rick, she smiled. "Oh, hey," she greeted. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"Nah," he shook his head and approached. Leaning his right hip against the counter, he locked eyes with her and then furrowed his brow when he grew curious as to what she was puttering around with in the sink. "What are you making?"

Georgie grinned as she looked into the sink at an old, gallon milk jug. "I found one Kool-Aid packet and half a cup of sugar in the pantry down the hall," she informed. "It's not much but I figure I could make some semblance of Kool-Aid for Carl and Noah. I mean, I think we all forget they're still just kids, even if Noah is, like, nineteen or whatever. I understand they need to be treated like adults in this world now, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't let them be kids once in a while, too, y'know?"

"Yeah, I do." He watched her place the cap on the jug and given it a shake to mix the contents of the Kool-Aid packet and sugar with the water. "What flavor is it?"

"Sharkleberry Fin, apparently," she chuckled.

Rick made a face. "Sounds…interesting."

"It won't taste like much. A jug this size should get two packets and two cups of sugar, but it's better than nothing."

"No, it's great. Thank you for doing this."

Georgie shrugged. "It's nothing."

Rick inched closer as she set the jug back down in the sink. "No, it's not nothing," he insisted. "You're finding a way to bring some stability into my kids' lives, to all our lives. It means a lot to me. And I know I keep saying thank you for these things you keep doing, like watching Judith, helping with those people from Terminus, going with us to get Beth and Carol, or even making Kool-Aid, but I mean it." He watched how Georgie shied away from his gratitude. "You're part of this family of mine now. You know that, right? You've become an extra maternal figure in Carl and Judith's lives and I just need you to know it's more than appreciated."

Georgie bit her lips together and tried to hide her grin. Rick inched closer again and she wasn't blind to it. She lifted a hand to grip the edge of the sink as she casually looked him in the face. She couldn't put a finger on it, but there was something there in his eyes that riled up some butterflies in her stomach. She could practically feel his body heat the closer he got to her. She watched as he tilted his head somewhat and then brought his own hand up to cover hers. Their fingers intertwined a little.

"I'm glad Carol found you," he reiterated a sentiment he had made to her at Gabriel's church. Then, "I'm more glad you stayed, especially after everything that's happened these last two weeks."

Georgie shrugged again. "I'm glad to be a part of your group."

Rick's hold on her hand softened as he moved his hand up her arm a little. Whether it was a subconscious gesture or not, she didn't know, nor did she apparently mind. She could feel the heat emanating off his body again and her skin felt like it was on fire the closer he seemed to get. She figured that had she been some teenage girl, her knees might've buckled from the attraction she was suddenly feeling for him in full force. Georgie was just glad it was dark enough in the kitchen that he couldn't see how badly she was probably blushing right then.

Just as he began to lean in toward her face with his own, Eugene appeared in the archway separating the kitchen from the family room. His mullet was in disarray from tossing and turning in his sleep. His presence caused Rick and Georgie to move apart from each other as they looked at the interloper.

"Sorry if I'm intruding on a private moment," Eugene muttered. "I just needed to drain the dragon."

Both Georgie and Rick made the same face, suggesting Eugene's comment was both too much information that they need as well as being amusing. When 'Mullet Man' – as Georgie still called him in her head – had gone off in search of the downstairs bathroom, Georgie and Rick looked back at one another.

"I should, uh…go back upstairs in case Judith wakes up and Carl wonders where I am," Rick excused himself. He offered her a smile, squeezed her hand and then walked off, leaving her alone in the kitchen.

When he knew he was out of eyesight, he gave a shake of his body as chill ran up his spine. It wasn't the chill felt when one was cold, it was a chill of…something else. Whatever it was he was feeling made him smile, though, like that of a teenage boy who almost got to first base.