I don't own anything to do with Rick or any character from the Walking Dead. I own the OC character, Ruby, however, and I adore her.

Summary: Shane's been killed by Rick and the group doesn't trust him anymore. So what does Rick do? Snap. He finds a girl in the woods and takes out his aggression.

Yes, I know if you've read my other stuff you know that I am a Shane girl, but Rick is awesome, too. So I decided to play with him a little.

Rate and comment if you like! Thanks, and please, no flames. They are... unhelpful.

They went to the living room and dug through a couple bags together until he came up with a new clip for her 9mm. He gave it back to her and she tucked it away in the waistband of her blue jeans. Lori came from upstairs while they were at the dining room table cleaning the weapons and Ruby casually scooted a little closer to Rick, reaching across him for a wire brush. From the corner of his eye he saw Lori shoot them both a repulsed look, and he stifled a grin. It felt good, knowing he had somebody in his corner, and he took the time to watch Ruby as she worked. She had a calm focus on her lovely features, and he noticed she would bite her lip when she was going over the small parts of her gun. It was adorable.

"I bet those clothes are dry now." She said when they'd finished and the two of them went outside and started off around the house. She put her hand up to shade her eyes in the bright sunlight. "I usually hate winter but I'm actually looking forward to it this year."

"I hear that." He said, rubbing sweat from the back of his neck. They got to the clothesline and she started pulling clothes down and stuffing them under her arm. He reached for a pair of her underwear and she snatched it out of his hand and glared at him. He laughed and gathered the pants and shirts closest to him.

Rick and Ruby were heading for the back bedroom with their arms full when Beth bounded down the stairs. "Hey Rick. It was so uncomfortable in Dad's room yesterday and I don't want to sleep with Maggie and Glen." She made a disgusted face. "Lori said I could bunk, but I didn't want to surprise you."

He looked up at her from the bottom of the steps as she came close. "Go ahead. I'm not sleepin' there."

"Oh." She looked at him, slightly surprised. "Ok. Thanks." She bounded off and they continued on to the back bedroom, Ruby grabbing the last candle left on the dining room table.

"Why did she seemed surprised?" Ruby asked as he pulled the door almost closed behind them. She dumped the clothes in her arms on the bed and he added the ones he was carrying.

"We've been keeping up appearances." He said, not knowing any other answer.

She shook her head. "With what I've seen of her so far I think you may be a saint." She spoke softly as she folded the clothes neatly.

"That's funny." He looked up at her slyly from under his brow. "You didn't look delusional." He said jokingly and grabbed the pair of pants she'd given him in the ice house and folded them slowly.

She grinned at him. "All I'm saying is that you must be very patient. Anyway, what was Lori's point? Does she think we're sleeping together or something? Because that seems to be her focus."

"There's no guessing what's running through her head right now. " He said wearily, stepping back and crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll fix it."

She looked up at him and tilted her head to the side, running her eyes over him. She shook her head and finished folding the clothes on her bed. "Nah. It's fine."

"What?" He chuckled.

She looked back up at him. "Believe me, it wouldn't be the worst thing people have thought about me. Besides, you're actually kinda cute. Now, if it was Daryl or something, then I'd have a problem." He laughed and she grinned. "Plus, bonus, it'll annoy the hell out of Lori, so... win win."

"You're somethin' else." He mused.

"I'm gonna take these to Carol." She said, grabbing a few folded articles of clothing. He watched her walk out the door and he went and sat down on her bed, moving the rumpled covers back and thinking about their conversation. She was special, and obviously she didn't hold his actions against her because all she wanted to do was help him now. He wondered how he could have almost screwed up the best thing that had come into his life in ages so badly.

She came back in and didn't seem surprised to see him still there. She pushed the door to and saw him rubbing the back of his neck again. "That cot really did a number on you, didn't it?"

"Yeah." He sighed, twisting his head around on his neck.

She walked toward him and around to the back of the bed. He felt her get up on it and come up behind him. She put her hands on his shoulders and started to rub them firmly. "When we were on tour we'd pull 12 hours on stage sometimes and then go sleep on a tiny ass tour bus. You ever been in one of the beds on those things?"

He shook his head, unable to speak with her touch. His breath was short in his throat.

"You want to talk cramped. My god. Anyway, we have a touch therapist with us, this amazing lady named Rose. She was old, but she had the strongest hands. We'd get a rub down everyday before shows. She taught me a few things." She spoke softly, her hands working magic on his tense and sore muscles. He closed his eyes as she moved downward to his shoulder blades, then up and down his spine. "It's all about pressure points, you know."

He had a major pressure point growing in his lap, he realized, and his eyes flew open and he sat forward a little. She felt the change and pulled her hands away. "Is that better?"

"Yeah, thanks." He said quickly. She was amazing, she felt like she had ten hands and they had been all over him. He found himself thinking that if she put half that effort into sex he'd last all of five minutes. "I need to go check on T-Dog and Daryl. Make sure the walkers are staying away. I'll see you in a bit."

He didn't turn all the way around to see her face as he left, he was too concerned she would see how much he had been affected by her touch. Once outside, he calmed himself quickly and went to find T-Dog, spending the rest of the day patrolling the woods with him and Daryl.

He came back tired and sweaty just before dark, but he wanted to see Ruby after running away from her like that earlier. Her door was ajar and he poked his head in. She had filled the glass washbowl from the top of the dresser with water and was splashing it on her face. When he stepped in she grabbed a towel and dabbed at her face.

"Hey." She said cheerfully. "You're back."

"Checking the woods." He came to lean against the wall, his hands jammed into his pockets.

"You find anything?" She asked, going to her bed and brushing out her hair.

"More walkers, but Daryl used his crossbow so we didn't draw the others." He said, watching her. "What did you do?"

"Got the rest of the canned food out of the cellar with Maggie, talked to carol for a while. And, uh, made lunch with her and Lori." She said, biting her lip and he raised his eyebrows.

"Really? How was that?"

"Quiet." She said and made a face at him. "A few dirty looks and a couple remarks, but otherwise she pretty much left me alone."

"I'm sorry about all that."

"Don't worry about it. Not the first time I've been the odd man out. I'm a big girl, I can handle Lori." She grinned and twisted her hair back in that messy bun she favored.

"Believe me, you're no man." He said, not believing it came out of his mouth but she just gave him an amused look. He recovered quickly. "You're 19. How'd you get to be smarter than most people twice your age?" He asked with a smile and she shrugged.

"I had to grow up fast. For every amazing place I've been there was a trash motel in a bad part of town. And for every stunning dress I got to wear there was a pair of shoes with holes in the bottom. Makes you put things in perspective, you know? Find out what you can and can't deal with."

Her face took on a thoughtful quality and she quickly changed the subject. "You guys didn't get a chance to really get your stuff from the farm, did you? I noticed none of you have very much."

He shook his head. "The herd surprised us, we had to leave most of it."

She looked through one of the big packs on her bed. "Do you need anything? I have a few extras here. How about a toothbrush or a razor?" She held up the items and he raised his eyebrows, reaching for them.

"Hey, thanks." He was grateful. His beard was actually a beard now, instead of the 5'o clock shadow he wore when he'd been up too long.

"You can shave there if you want." She said, pointing to the washbowl she had been using on the vanity. "I only washed my face but you can change the water if you want." She bent over a little and lit a candle on her nightstand.

"It'll be fine." He said and went to stand in front of the mirror. He splashed a little water on his face and wet the razor, and suddenly realized he didn't have any shaving cream or anything. He turned and found her standing behind him, bottle in hand.

"Use this. It's better than anything you've ever tried. But you will smell like a flower, so fair warning." She joked and he took the bottle from her hand.

"Anything's better than how I am at the moment." He said, turning toward the mirror and putting some of the gel into his hands. He lathered up and watched her from the mirror, behind him on the bed. She leaned back against the headboard and grabbed a pillow, putting it on her lap and hugging it tightly. She looked thoughtful and a little sad.

"What's wrong?" He asked, dragging the blade across his cheek.

She shook her head. "I was thinking about Sarah and Paul. Do you think they're still alive?"

"I wish I could tell you. But the way you talk about Paul I would imagine they are. He kept you safe for a long time, didn't he?"

"I mean, we lost people, but yeah, he did."

"Then I'm sure he's holed up somewhere waiting it out." Rick said, trying to sound comforting.

She nodded, biting her lip. "He won't know where to find me even if he is. We passed this place up, didn't think we could keep it secure with just the three of us. Why would he come back here?"

"If he can get back, I bet he'll check this place out anyway. I would."

She looked a little relieved. "Really?"

"Really." He said and she nodded, staring ahead at the wall again, lost in thought. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking at himself in the mirror. "What are you gonna do if he does?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

"Are you going to take off if he shows up? You said you were considering the prison." He felt is stomach knot up at the thought she would leave.

She paused and looked at him in the mirror, meeting his eyes. "I hadn't thought that far ahead. I guess I'm just trying to take it one thing at a time."

He didn't want to press the issue, and continued tentatively. "If he does, the both of them, you're all welcome to stay. I hope you do, it's safer for everybody."

"Thanks." She said, giving him a grateful smile. She didn't pick up on the fact that he actually had become attached. He was glad he'd managed to stay subtle on that front.

"I just want you to know it's an option. Besides, it's actually kind of nice to have somebody here that didn't know Shane, and doesn't look at me like a murderous bastard."

"Just a kidnapper." She said and his eyes snapped over to her. She was kidding, he realized. A wide grin showing perfect white teeth graced her face.

"There is always that." He responded lightly, wiping the last of the gel from his face and hanging the towel on the mirror.

"You missed dinner, but maybe Carol saved you something." She said, yawning and stretching.

"That's ok, not really hungry. I'm gonna go shower, though." He said, turning for the door. She waved at him and he went to his cot, grabbing a clean set of clothes and a towel. The doors upstairs were shut again when he got up there, so he ducked into the bathroom and turned the icy water on full blast. He showered quickly, the cold making his breath catch in his chest, and when he got out he actually enjoyed the heat trapped in the bathroom. He toweled off quickly and got dressed, going back downstairs.

T-Dog and Daryl were back in the living room again, in the same positions as last night. "T, you got watch tonight, right?" Rick said from the doorway, running his hand through his wet hair. The big guy lifted his arm from his eyes.

"I got it." He said and Rick nodded and walked away, throwing his almost dirty clothes in a pile next to his cot. The house had shut down for the night, but he could still see candlelight coming from the partially open door to Ruby's room. He got up and poked his head in, and saw her laying across her bed upside down, an Ipod on her chest and headphones in her ears.

She spotted him and took one of the headphones out of her ear, turning to look at him. "Feel better?"

"Yeah." He said, stepping in and pushing the door to. "What are you listening to?"

"Sneaker Pimps. You like them?"

"Never heard of 'em." He said, leaning against the wall.

"Then you've been missing out, man. Come here." She sat up and crossed her legs under her. He walked across the room and sat down on her bed, facing her. She handed him a headphone and kept one in her own ear as he put it in his. It was a deep, catchy beat, kind of trance-like in a way. The female singers voice was beautiful and smooth, but Rick liked the way Ruby had sung for them at dinner better.

"What do you think?" she asked as the song ended and he pulled the headphone away from his ear.

"I like it." He nodded and she tilted her head a little.

"What kind of music do you like?"

He raised his eyebrows, thinking. He'd never listened to much. He's always been so busy, and his patrol car needed to be kept quiet.

"Rick! We got company." T-Dog called out from the dining room and the door to Ruby's room flew open as Rick stood. He glanced back at Ruby and she had a terrified expression on her face as she looked back at him.

"Walkers?"

T-Dog shook his head. "People."