A/N: Ah, finally some action for Rick and Alice! Anyway, only two more chapters left! Finally!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead, if I did, I'd be the coolest person ever.

The morning had begun well for Alice. Andrea had been up and out of the room before she had even woken up. This gave her more than enough time to take another long, hot shower. Since it was such a luxury and one could never know when another shower would come, Alice washed her hair for the second day in a row.

As she stood in front of the mirror in her white, fuzzy towel, she gently combed her wet hair. Alice began to hum a tone she recalled hearing in church a few times and swaying softly to it. Slowly, she stopped and began to stare at her reflection. It had been a while since she danced. Even slightly swaying filled her with joy she had long forgotten. But something else also had made her happy.

Rick.

She ceased moving and humming, letting her fingers trace her slightly parted lips. He had kissed those lips. She could still taste his wine coated lips and feel his stubbly chin against her smooth face.

Ricks kiss had not been rushed nor too wet or forceful. It was… Alice had no real way to explain other than it was a kiss that was uniquely Ricks.

Her smile dropped when her eyes landed on her wedding band. What they had done was wrong. They were both married and although their respected partners had been unfaithful together, that didn't grant them permission to kiss.

She wasn't in love with Shane any more, but she knew Rick was still in love with Lori. Rick hadn't kissed her because he liked or wanted to be with her. He had been drinking. The thought of her and Rick together had never crossed her mind, but the kiss they shared felt right. It was wrong to kiss in the first place, but that didn't stop Alice from realizing she had always wanted Rick. Long before she knew Shane, it was Rick. Long after she married Shane, it was Rick. It had always been Rick that she wanted to be with, but Alice had always known it couldn't happen. He was a friendly guy and wanted to help people. Of course he was nice to her and would listen to her problems with Shane. He was just being a friend, nothing more.

Their kiss had been a mistake. Rick would never know the strong feelings his kiss awoke in her. He didn't need to know. He was stressed enough and she cared too much about him to be selfish and tell him.

Alice felt her eyes begin to water. She wished she could to be selfish for once.

For a moment, her mind flashed back to the night in the hospital after he had been shot. She had been contemplating kissing him, but convinced herself not to. After going home, she didn't allow herself to think of that moment anymore.

What had she been thinking in that room with him? She couldn't remember, but what she did recall was how his face felt under her fingers. She had figured the urge to kiss him came from her lack of real affection from Shane. Rick was always there for her, he always comforted her. Rick always gave her attention when he was around. Why wouldn't she want to kiss him? It wasn't because she loved him or liked him as more than just a friend. It was just because he was there for her. It didn't make much sense, but it made enough to Alice for her to accept it at the time.

But now she knew. She probably knew even then.

She could never see Rick Grimes as just a friend again, but she would have to force herself to not think about her feelings for the man. Things were stressful enough.

Alice could feel Ricks eyes following her as she got a cup of coffee and some bacon and eggs T-dog whipped up. Even though she was sure he was giving her an apologetic look, she didn't want to see it. As much as she hated to admit it, a small part of her held on to the hope that he wasn't sorry for what he did. She wanted him to want her.

She sat down and sipped her coffee. For a moment she wanted to cry. It had been so long since she had coffee with sugar. It tasted amazing.

Everyone but Shane and the doctor was seated at the cafeteria table eating.

Glenn groaned as he cradled his head. It felt heavy. He wanted to throw up then lay by the toilet in a fetal position. Glenn wasn't really a drinker and he knew that, but Daryl got to him. He couldn't let the redneck be right about how he couldn't hold his liquor. The redneck ended up being right and Glenn had to deal with a nasty hangover. He picked his head up when he saw a cup slid in front of him. Alice smiled, also pushing giving him her plate.

"You need to eat. If I gotta force feed you, I will." She playfully threatened.

"Alice, please, don't ever let me drink again." He begged before forcing himself to sip the coffee. He gagged. When he gagged, his head started to pound even harder. Today was going to suck

"Where are you going Rick?" Lori asked as her husband started to stand from his seat.

"To get Alice some coffee." He held up his empty mug. "I was going to get myself some more anyway."

"Oh… Alright." Lori spoke before eating her food.

Alice wanted to tell him it was fine, but she couldn't even bring herself to look at him. He placed the mug in front of her. He tried to make eye contact with her, but she avoided him.

"Three sugars, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks." She wouldn't look at him. He let his eyes linger on her for a moment before sitting down.

Rick sat back down, feeling regret in his gut. Did he really believe that he would kiss her and things would go back to normal? He started to message his temples. Not only did he feel sick from Alice avoiding him, he was also hung over from drinking more once she left the rec room. He knew he shouldn't have drunk more, but he desperately wanted to numb himself of all his problems for a while.

"Here," Lori smiled while digging into her jean pocket. She pulled out an aspirin bottle and handed it to him. "Figured you might need it."

Rick thanked his wife as he opened the bottle. His wife. He had a wife that he loved. He knew he loved Lori, she and Carl were all he could think about when he had first woke up. Things had been tense between them, but that didn't make what he did right. If he forced himself to admit it, he did always have a small crush on Alice, but his heart belonged to Lori, right? His stomach started to tighten. He kissed a woman that wasn't Lori, he kept having thoughts about a woman that wasn't Lori. What was happening?

"Oh thank God!" Glenn held his pale hand out, waiting for the cure to his pain.

Lori laughed a little at him, but stopped instantly when Shane walked in. He didn't look at her, but went straight for the coffee. She could feel Alice looking at her, so she looked down at her plate of food instead.

"You feel as bad as I do?" Rick asked Shane, trying to seem as normal as possible. Things were already edgy between them, he didn't want to risk making it worse.

"Yeah." Shane flatly answered as he poured a cup of coffee for himself. "You need anything Alice?"

The blonde looked up, surprised he had noticed she was there. "No, I'm good. Thanks."

"What the hell happened to you?" T-dog questioned. Alice looked at her husband and frowned when she saw.

"Huh?"

"Your neck." T-dog pointed to three long scratches that went from his neck up to his cheek.

"Must have done it in my sleep"

Rick gave him a strange look. "I ain't never seen you do that before."

"Me neither." He glanced at Lori, but she quickly shoved food into her mouth and looked away. "That ain't like me at all."

"You should have come to me this morning Shane." He took a seat next to Alice as she continued speaking. "You could get an infection like that." She gently grabbed his face and inspected the scratches. "They're not too deep luckily"

"It's fine Alice. I took care of it already. Thanks." Shane grabbed her hand and kissed it affectionately. She tried to pull away without him or anyone else noticing, but he held on tighter. Rick watched from the corner of his eyes, but remained silent. He saw how uncomfortable Alice had been as Shane held her hand. No one else seemed to notice, but he definitely did. Shane felt her give a slight struggle to get her hand back, but he wasn't going to let go.

Lori rejected him the night before. Maybe it was the alcohol that made him do it, but he didn't mean to try and force himself onto her. He just wanted her to know he loved her and that he knew she loved him. She had to. What happened between them wasn't a mistake, it was love. She just had to see it.

Now that Rick was back, Lori wanted nothing to do with him and Alice was avoiding him. Shane wondered if she knew he had been sleeping with Lori. Even if she did, it wouldn't explain her behavior towards him. It wasn't like it was the first time he cheated. She always took him back as if nothing happened. What had changed?

Dr. Jenner walked in and said good morning as he walked over to the coffee maker.

Dale cleared his throat before starting to speak. "Doc, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing in the morning…"

"But you will anyway." Jenner said as he made his coffee.

"We didn't come here for eggs." Andrea spoke for the first time that morning.

"I figured. Follow me then."