A/N Thank you so much. Some of you are angry with Rick. Some of you are angry with Beth. I'm ready to give them both a talking to. And now Carl's at her door. What could possibly happen next?

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She shook his hand and smiled, "It's so nice to meet you Carl, yes of course, come in and have a seat. Can I offer you something to eat or drink?"

"Yes please, do you have coke?"

It seemed early for coke but he was a special guest, and he was 10. "I do and I have some chips, would you like some?"

"Sure, I mean if it's not too much trouble. Can I help?" Just like she thought he would be, Carl Grimes was the perfect little gentleman.

"No, I've got it thanks."

She was dying to know why he was there. Had Rick sent him? Please no. There were a million questions, but she tried to act nonchalant. She waited to ask until she'd set the snacks on the coffee table in front of him, then sat herself down on the couch, "So Carl, how do you know who I am and where I live?"

"Gosh thanks Beth, I just knew you were going to be nice. How do I know?" His ears got a little pink but he tried acting like it was no big deal when he answered, "I did some things I shouldn't. Man, when my Dad finds out I'm going to be grounded until I'm 50."

She kept her voice calm and a small smile on her lips, "I see, well that sounds pretty rough. What did you do?"

"I've been spying, but gosh it's not like my Dad doesn't spy on me. He thinks I don't know about it, but I do. He also thinks I can't tell when you've been at our house, but I can. You know how you get a weird feeling and you can just tell something and you're not sure how? I knew the first time you were there, I mean the house even smelled different. I think it's your perfume." He smiled and shook his head, "Anyway, I just came right out and asked him, 'did you have someone over?' It was pretty funny cuz he was like soooo nervous and guilty looking, and I could soooo tell he was lying when he said 'no.' That's how I knew for sure."

"Anyway, I waited until he was in the shower that night and I snuck in his room. His phone was right on the dresser and I checked it out. I saw your name and number and then I saw texts he wrote you and that you wrote him. I read them all. Sorry." She was trying desperately to remember if they'd ever said anything a 10 year old boy shouldn't be reading.

"It was great for me though, you know, when he started sneaking around with you. I never saw my Dad act that happy." He let out a little laugh, "He had his big stupid smile back and everything. The other good part was he wasn't smothering me. Man, when it's just him and me it's like I'm his only friend in the world. I use to have to beg to do a sleepover or even just hang out with my friends on Saturday afternoon. He almost always said no. But when he started seeing you all the sudden he couldn't say yes fast enough."

As much as she was enjoying listening to him she was starting to worry that maybe he thought she was still his Dad's girlfriend and he just wanted to meet her. "Carl, maybe you don't know but your Dad and I aren't seeing each other anymore."

"Oh yeah I know. I could tell that right away too." He took a swallow of his coke and stuffed a handful of chips in his mouth, seeming to swallow them whole, then started talking again. "My Dad's been a big fat mess since you broke up with him. I mean I figure it was your idea because duh, he's a big fat mess. Man, you should see him. He doesn't think I know but I do, he cries in his room at night. Oh yeah, and when he cooks, geez, at first I thought it was onions or something, but no, he's just all sad and everything. Anyway, he thinks I don't notice but I'm not stupid Beth."

She hated that she felt so bad for Rick. Why should she feel sorry for him just because he was crying himself to sleep at night? She was doing the same thing nearly every night. But right now she had a very interesting guest, one she'd been waiting to meet for quite a while. There were so many questions, "I certainly don't think you're stupid Carl. In fact I think you're a pretty smart cookie. So how did you find out where I live?"

"My Dad. He forgets stuff works two ways, you know? He got me a phone a couple of years ago, mostly so he could call me like a thousand times a day and check up on me. Anyway, he put one of those tracking device things on it so he'd know where I was every minute. Well guess what? All I had to do was check his phone and I knew where he'd been too." He gave her the sweetest and most devilish little grin.

"You're quite clever, aren't you Carl? I can see that if we're going to be friends I'm going to have to keep these things in mind. I'll need to get a lot more sneaky."

"I want to be your friend Beth, but I really want you to be my Dad's friend again."

He was bright and he was sweet and she gave him exactly what he deserved, honesty. "I'm so sorry Carl, I loved your Dad, I do love your Dad, but there were some problems. He had trouble telling me about his feelings and I should have insisted that he needed to. I wanted to meet you but your Dad was afraid you might get too close to me. He worried that if I broke up with him later, or it didn't work out for whatever reason, you'd be hurt. His heart was in the right place though Carl, he loves you and he was just trying to protect you."

"See what I mean Beth? Why is he that way? I mean for gosh sake, I know about break ups. Susie Kramer was my girlfriend for three whole weeks and then one day at recess she just tells me she likes Sam Gilmore better than me. Just like that. It's life right?"

She wanted to laugh but she had way too much respect for this young boy, "You're right, it is life. But I think this goes a little deeper. Let's think about it. Suppose your Dad and I got so serious about each other that he and I decided I should live with you two?"

"Like get married, yeah?"

She didn't argue that point, "Yes, like that. You and I might get pretty attached to each other, we'd be like a family."

"Yeah, you'd be my step mom, my friend Patrick has a step mom."

This matter-of-fact kid who just kept speaking truth, munching on chips and sucking down coke had won her over, "Yes, that's right. I'd hope that you would love me and I would love you and we'd be close."

"Okay, Patrick loves his step mom, she's really nice."

"Well what if one day I said, 'I don't want to be married anymore. I'm moving out.' How do you think you'd feel?

"I'd be piss…, oops, sorry, I'd be mad at my Dad. I'm sure it would be all his fault cuz I can already tell how nice you are."

She smiled at the freckle-faced boy, "For arguments' sake let's just say it was no one's fault, it just happened. Would you be sad?"

"Heck yes I'd be sad, it would be awful. But what if that didn't happen? What if you married my Dad and you never got sick and tired of him? What if you stayed in love and what if you loved me and what if we were all happy? Shouldn't we all just take a chance?"

She was already falling in love with this kid and she told him, "I'm pretty sure I already love you Carl. And I do think it's a chance worth taking, but your Dad didn't want to trust quite yet and I wasn't willing to wait any longer. It seemed like then or never, you know? So I broke up with him."

"No offense or anything Beth, but grownups can be so dumb."

"You're right, we should have acted like smarter grownups and talked things over. I'm sorry Carl, I wish you and I could have had a chance to get to know each other better."

"Me too. Too bad my Dad wants to be such a dummy."

"Carl you know better, your Dad is no dummy and he loves you so much. I always felt that, how much he loves you. That's why he's overprotective. He's not trying to ruin your life. He just wants to keep you from getting hurt."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Oh man, do you know what time it is?"

"It's 10:15."

"Shoot, I have to get to the ballpark right away, he's coming back to get me and he's going to be piss... mad as heck."

"I can drive you, but I thought he always stayed and watched your practice."

"He does, but today right as we were pulling up to the practice field he got a call from the desk sergeant. He had to hurry to the station about something or other. Anyway, he's going to kill me when he finds out I ditched practice, but I had to. It was my only chance to sneak over here and talk to you."

"Well I'm sure he won't kill you. Scold you maybe, and now you'll probably be grounded until you're 60, but he won't kill you."

"You're funny Beth.

"You're funnier Carl."

She pulled the car up to the curb and he pointed and asked, "I'm supposed to meet him right up there, ya wanna wait with me?"

She'd done such a good job avoiding Rick but she couldn't say no to this little boy. "Okay, sure."

They were standing there waiting and talking about baseball when Carl looked over his shoulder and then quickly took her hand. He held it, still looking over his shoulder. She was a little stunned but it was so sweet and she smiled down at him, then looked over her shoulder. She saw several boys about his age walking off the field with mitts and bats. He kept his voice low as he explained, "Practice is over and the guys are coming this way. They're gonna poop their pants when they see me holding your hand."

She willed herself not to laugh, then had a thought, "Shame on you Carl. But here, let me sweeten the deal," She leaned down and kissed his cheek.

"You're the best Beth!"

That's when they noticed the sheriff had pulled up to the curb and was watching them. Carl's little shoulders slumped as he sighed, "Well shoot, I guess I have to go now and face the firing squad. Wish me luck."

"I'm just sure it won't be that bad Carl, I'll say a prayer for you."

"Bye Beth. Thanks for the coke and stuff."

"Bye Carl, I hope I get to see you again sometime."

He turned to start walking that way, and then he turned back around. His arms wrapped around her waist and he squeezed hard, "I wish you and my Dad were still together. Bye Beth."

She rubbed her hand over his head, "I'm sorry Carl, I wish it could have worked out too."

"K," he was wiping at his eyes as he hurried off and Beth felt her own eyes fill with tears.

As he ran towards his Dad's Wrangler she hurried toward her own car, trying so hard not to let herself look at Rick Grimes.

She only drove as far as the park, she needed to walk around and breath some fresh air. She needed to think.

It was almost like an adrenaline rush of emotion; her heart was palpitating and she could swear she was shaking. And her thoughts, they were all over the place and mostly they were weighing heavy. These past three weeks had been so miserable for her and now she knew they'd been just as tough on Rick. And although she'd loved every minute of the time she spent with Carl, having spent that time with him made her think about how things could have been for all of them. That only made the pain worse.

She kept going over it all in her mind, how it had been with her and Rick. Most of it had been wonderful. He was always sweet and thoughtful and they had so many things in common, books, music, art. There was no denying the chemistry.

Carl was right, they were dumb. They let fear, doubt, denial and avoidance ruin their chance at happiness. So much of what went wrong between she and Rick could have been avoided if they would have just agreed to sit down and really talk. For two people who were so physically intimate, maybe being emotionally intimate should have come easier.

She should have told him how she felt weeks before she walked out on him in Savannah; and he should have come clean with her about why he was scared to have her meet Carl. If they would have both been upfront and had pushed for honesty from each other, maybe they could have talked about it. Really talked about it, and maybe they could have worked everything out.

It was his fault and it was her fault, that was just it. There was more than enough blame to go around. And Carl, the one they both wanted to protect was hurting now too.

She wished she had listened to what Rick had to say, oh not right away. After a couple of days, when they'd both cooled down she should have answered his call and let him say what he needed to say. She'd give it some thought overnight, maybe she'd call him Sunday.

In the meantime she went home and got her journal, sat on the couch and wrote about her day, about her feelings and about what she'd lost.

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Rick was in a state of shock while at the same time his heart was breaking all over again. Beth.

But for now he had to deal with Carl and find out exactly what the hell was going on. When Carl first got in the Wrangler all Rick could do was look at him, he was too stunned to speak. As he regained a little composure he tried to keep his voice calm when he asked, "How? How long have you known about Beth? How did you meet her? The minute we get home I expect you to tell me everything Carl, understand?"

Carl was hurt and angry and his voice and demeanor reflected that, "Yeah I understand and don't worry because I'm not going to be like you, I'm not keeping secrets. That doesn't work out with people, does it Dad? I'm going to tell you everything and you can just go ahead and ground me til I'm 80!"

They rode the rest of the way in silence, both stomping into the house. Then Rick paused, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he needed to be the adult. "Get in the kitchen Carl." Carl did as he was told, plopping himself down hard at the big farmhouse table and waiting for the worst. He watched as his Dad opened the fridge and grabbed him a juice, then got himself a bottle of water before sitting down with him. He was surprised how his Dad seemed almost calm, "Okay, how do you know about Beth and how long have you been visiting with her?"

His son was honest, just like he'd been with Beth. He told his Dad about the snooping and even how he could tell by the changes in his Dad that something was different, that he was happier. "Beth gave you your smile back Dad."

Rick felt the emotion grip him, he knew it was true. Beth had given him back his smile. "I just couldn't take a chance Carl, I was afraid. I was afraid I'd get hurt, and even though I did honestly worry you could get hurt too, I was selfish. I put it all on your shoulders and used you as my excuse. I'm so sorry for that."

"Okay well you can kill me if you want to but I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Beth, grownups are dumb. Okay so we could get hurt, all of us, but gosh Dad, we could also all be happy ya know. I'd be willing to try that even if it meant Beth might leave someday and I'd be sad."

"I can't be the only one in your life, it's a lot of pressure Dad and well I mean I love you and all, but I want to hang out with my friends and stuff too. I always feel guilty cuz when I do and you're all by yourself."

Shame went through Rick, how could he have laid so much on his son, "Oh my God Carl, I never looked at it that way. I'm so sorry. I put you in a terrible spot."

"Well don't get all guilty, let's just quit doing that stuff, okay?"

Rick and Carl opened up to each other that day and not just about Beth, about so many things, including everything that happened with Carl's mother. Rick got a whole new insight into his son, and Carl had a much better understanding of his Dad.

In the end they agreed to be more open with each other.

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Her stomach growled and she looked at her watch, almost five o'clock and she hadn't even had lunch. No wonder she was starving. She'd just gotten up when there was a knock on the door. She didn't even try to guess who it could be and when she opened it she couldn't have been more surprised, there stood Rick and Carl. Carl was by far the more animated, "Hi Beth, I'm already back to see you again!"

In spite of her sudden anxiety he made her smile, "Well I'm happy to see you again so soon."

Rick cleared his throat and tried to sound casual, "Carl decided it had been way too long since we went out for pizza, and that we desperately needed to do that right now. We both decided it would be a lot more fun if you'd join us. Would you Beth? Please?"

She kept thinking of what Carl said, wasn't it worth taking a chance? "I haven't had pizza in forever, that does sound good, let me get my purse."

On the way to the restaurant she turned in her seat and asked, "So Carl, how long a prison sentence did you get?"

"Not bad, just two weeks."

"Are you kidding me? That's all? If you spied on me I'd give you at least two months, and about a million other consequences."

"Yeah but I wouldn't have done it to you Beth."

For the first time in three weeks Rick felt himself really smile.

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A/N Kids, they never miss anything. Except shoes and socks, they can never see those. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it as our couple seems to be making a little progress, with a lot of help from Carl. Please leave a comment / review. If you'd like to see the chapter photo it's posted to my tumblr blogs gneebee and bethylmethbrick. I hope to see you all back here next Tuesday for more of Just Playin'. Until then remember, I love ya large! xo gneebee