I would take a whisper if that's all you had to give

Lori sat on her bunk attempting to mimic what Hershel had done days earlier to get the baby to move. She was satisfied in knowing that the baby was still alive but it still bothered her that he or she wouldn't move. She poked and prodded her belly to no avail. She was busy concentrating on her task when she caught movement in her peripheral vision. Assuming it was Carol returning to their cell, she didn't bother lifting her head until she realized the figure hadn't moved from the cell entryway.

She finally looked up to find Rick standing there, frowning. Her heart fluttered with nerves momentarily. Ever since the day Hershel almost died their interactions had gotten better but she still feared that he would shut her out again or get angry with her about something. She was starting to wonder what she could have done that upset him until she followed his gaze and realized he was watching her prod her belly.

He raised his eyes to meet hers and nodded in the direction of her large bump, "Everything alright?"

"Oh…yeah," Lori laughed, part relieved and part nervous. "I was just trying to get the baby to move. Been real quiet lately but Hershel checked the other day. Everything still seems good. Makes me nervous though…"

She drifted off, wondering how much of that kind of talk Rick wanted to hear. He did, after all, tell her she should talk to Hershel if she had concerns about the baby. But that was before things had improved slightly. Still, she was curious what brought him up to her cell in the first place.

"Something goin' on down there?" She asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"Just…making rounds. Checkin' if anyone needs anything." Lori nodded nonchalantly, but despite their strained relationship, she still knew her husband well. She could tell by the way he paused and shifted his feet that the rounds reason wasn't entirely true. She felt nervous in a different way at that thought, the same way she had felt when he touched her shoulder to say the group was grateful for what she did for Hershel.

"Well, I'm okay up here, but don't mind the company if you want to sit," she ventured, hoping her assumption was correct that there was more to his reason for coming to see her.

He only hesitated a couple of seconds before stepping into the room and sitting beside her on the bunk, still keeping a comfortable distance between them.

"You should be ready to deliver real soon right? Maybe the baby just doesn't have any more room in there," Rick suggested, mostly keeping his eyes on the wall across from them.

"That's true," Lori agreed, watching her husband carefully. He had both hands on his knees, thrumming his fingers against them. She wanted to laugh at how silly they must look. Like two teenagers who were unsure how to talk to each other. "Still," she continued, "I'm just not used to the stillness I guess. Carl didn't stop moving up until he came out."

Rick chuckled, which in turn made Lori smile. "If I recall correctly, that's because he constantly had the hiccups. Looked like he was tryin' to break out all the time."

"Yeah, maybe this one can tell life's much better in there so it might as well stay as long as possible," she mused, surprised when he finally stopped thrumming his fingers and reached over to place his hand lightly on her hard belly.

He turned his face from the wall to make eye contact with her, "we'll figure out a way to give this baby a good life."

She smiled, trying to hold back the emotion that welled up in her, just as it had when he last touched her. Slowly but surely he was coming around and perhaps when the baby was born they'd have a chance to work on rebuilding their family. The spark of hope that she felt days ago on the catwalk started to grow.

Lori started when the baby gave a solid thump with it's foot against her side where Rick's hand was still resting until he pulled it back, also surprised. She couldn't help the joyful laugh that bubbled up through her.

"Thought you said the baby wasn't moving?" He asked, amusement in his voice.

"It wasn't," Lori insisted, "maybe it only moves to greet other people…sick of me I guess." She tried to keep her tone lighthearted, but the idea that yet another family member of hers didn't want to be in her presence sobered her and she lost the hopefulness she was feeling previously. She noticed Rick shift in his spot in the bunk, indicating that he saw the change in her.

"Nah," he shook his head for emphasis, "I think it's what you said, life's better in that cozy place you got set up, probably just tryin' not to make a fuss so you won't kick em out."

Despite the unlikeliness of his statement, Lori smiled. The fact that he was even trying to make her feel better was enough to bring her hope back.

"Besides, maybe I'm the one who should be offended, it did kick me after all," he smirked.

Lori laughed, noting that the conversation was the most lighthearted she had seen Rick in months. Before she could reply again Carol walked into the cell, looking between the two of them curiously.

Rick greeted Carol and stood up, saying something about needing to continue his rounds and check on Carl. As he walked out of the cell Carol turned to Lori, quirking her eyebrow and silently asking what that was all about.

Lori shrugged casually and tried to keep her smile minimal. She didn't want to share her hopes with anyone else just yet. She patted her belly, thanking the baby for helping her out with that one and to her surprise received a tap in response. If the past few minutes were any indication of the future, this baby was going to keep them on their toes.

xx

Lori smiled softly as she watched Hershel maneuver successfully on his crutches. She had to agree with his sentiment that the prison was quickly becoming a place they could actually live. Carl was also being warmer to her that morning. All in all things were starting to look brighter.

She noticed the rest of the group who were out and about had stopped what they were doing to watch Hershel. Her eyes zeroed in on Rick who had come up to the fence across the way, holding the gate with his hand. Their eyes locked from across the way and she couldn't help but smile as she pushed her hair back out of her face. It seemed as if a bunch of butterflies were let loose inside of her, reminding her again of being a giddy teenager and falling in love for the first time. She felt a little silly for reacting that way, but also proud that both times it was the same man who had elicited that response in her.

She held his gaze for another moment until the baby decided to greet her again with a little wiggle, causing her to glance down and cradle her belly, still with a smile on her face. It was good to enjoy some happier moments again. For the first time in quite a while, Lori felt calm and peaceful.

A/N: The title of this one-shot and the snippet of lyrics in the beginning comes from the song "Echo" by Jason Walker. I think those lyrics fit perfectly with the scene from 3x04 that I referenced to in the end and created a video to the whole song that you can find on that popular video site that starts with you and ends with tube (this site won't let me even write the word!). Just paste this link in after the site homepage address: watch/v=0N75czcpHkM