Author's Note: I'm so sorry it took forever for this update. I was busy with work, Christmas shopping, and a little bit of writer's block. I'm hoping the fact that it's a pretty long chapter will make up for the time gap(: Oh and there is a little bit of steamyyy love in this chapter, it doesn't get too bad though! This is rated T after all :P Oh! Oh! And some more fluff at the end. ;)
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: the guests, bigtimerushlover101, padme4000, ohlove103, and fabsch1.
You guys are my sunshineee, my only sunshineee, you make me happy, when skies are grey. Haa. :D
(I'm hyper right now, could you tell?)
Thank you also to everyone who started to follow this story, or follow it!

Disclaimer: I don't own any Walking Dead characters.
And there are lines in this chapter taken directly from Season 1 Episode 6.
^I don't own those lines.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.
PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME.

After an emotionally draining goodbye to Jim the gang was more than ready to make it to the CDC. As they drew closer they attempted to push away the depressing thoughts of one of their own being by himself when he finally passed. No one dared speak it, but it was well known that he would eventually turn into one of the lifeless walkers. The only thing that was even remotely comforting about the whole ordeal was the fact that he had made the decision himself, it was his last wish and at the very least he would be in a peaceful place when it happened. It didn't brighten their gloomy moods though nor did it make it easier to drive away.

The Winnebago was forced to come to an abrupt stop at the blockade that was put in place by the military. The line of cars behind it had come to a full stop as well. The numerous bodies and overwhelming stench that was attached to them made it obvious that the barricade had been compromised. It seemed like nowhere was safe at this point. There was too much death to take in, too many corpses to count, and hope was quickly fading. The whole group carried along huddled together as they approached the intimidating, massive building that reflected the city in its windows.

There were coughs and gags abound as the overpowering smell made their stomachs curl and their throats tighten. Most had covered their faces with their hands while others braved along only breathing through their mouths- which wasn't a lot of help regardless. The view alone was agonizing, add in the disturbing odor and they were better off inhaling poisonous gas.

Everyone hastily gathered in front of the steel metal doors that were securely tightened into the ground. Many exchanged confused glances wondering what was happening. Rick and Shane took turns trying in vain to open them but were both unsuccessful.

"There's nobody here," T-Dog spoke up from the back, calling out a phrase that nobody really wanted to hear.

"Than why are these shutters down?" Rick continued to look for a way around the matter, another door, window, anything really. He refused to give up when they had put all of their faith and effort into finding the Center for Disease Control in the first place. Everyone was banking on this and he wasn't planning on give up so easily because of it.

The focus was pulled from the doors to behind them when true threats began to make their way over. The dead bodies had been horrible to look at and smell but real walkers were much worse to deal with and the numbers were startling. They started to crawl and walk from all sides, cornering the little group where they stood.

"Walkers!" Daryl yelped as he swung around and shot an oncoming biter right between the eyes.

Carl turned to his mother and sobbed into her shirt as the helplessness set in for all of them. Lori held him tight and kissed the top of his head whispering 'it will be okay' over and over in an attempt to console him.

"This place might as well be a graveyard!" Daryl turned his anger to Rick when all else had failed.

"He made a call!"

"It was the wrong damn call," he lunged towards him in a fit of rage which always seemed to be his solution. He couldn't really help himself, violence was all he ever knew. What made him the most angry was that everyone was going to suffer over one wrong choice. Daryl was immediately stopped by Shane who shoved him back. Cassidy grabbed him the by the shoulder and held him away from the fight he was about to place himself in the center of.

"Shut up, you hear me?! Shut up!" He shot back with equal hostility and gave another push for good measure. Everyone fighting was not going to solve the problem at hand. Shane knew as well as anybody that bickering with each other was not going to get them out of the messy situation that they were in. They were surrounded by walkers and the CDC appeared to be abandoned. Shit has hit the fan and we need to work together to get through this, Shane took a deep breathe and tried to remember that he needed to convey that to the group.

"Rick this is a dead end…" He returned back to his ex best friend and implored with him to have reason. Rick had always been stubborn and Shane had a bad feeling that things hadn't changed.

"Where are we going to go?" Carol grabbed Sophia and mimicked Lori, holding the small girl close to her for protection. Everyone was on edge now.

"Do you hear me? No blame," Shane held his finger up making sure Rick's attention on him and not the steel doors that he was obsessed with trying to get into.

"She's right. We can't be this close to the city after dark," Lori's panicked voice was enough to make Shane realize that he was going to have to take control. Carl and Lori were terrified and it was his job to make it better. He momentarily wondered how Rick could forget about his weeping child behind him, but his gut feeling told him that his child was the whole reason he felt like he needed to get through those god damn doors.

"Fort Benning Rick, still an option." Rick ignored the pleading coming from Shane and stared down the building just praying that it would do them all a favor and magically open.

"On what? No food, no fuel, it's a hundred miles," Lori's voice was strong and stern but inside she was trembling in fear of everyone's safety. Her crying child stuck to her side was just another reason she had to remain strong and not break down.

"A hundred and twenty five, I searched the map." Glenn glanced over his shoulder to see the other dead beings making their way closer to them, drawing in on them like mice caught in a trap.

"Forget Fort Benning! We need answers tonight. Now!" Lori screamed out in a feeble attempt to get them to just listen to what she was actually saying instead of brushing her off.

"We'll think of something!"

"We don't have time to think of anything," Taylor had been quiet the entire time but she felt that she needed to finally open up. He wasn't listening to anyone's reason and the circumstances at hand were quickly becoming more dire.

"Let's go!" A chorus of pleas came out from almost every single person in the group.

"Please!"

"Come on, everybody back to the cars!"

"The camera… it moved." Rick held his hand out in a trivial effort to stop everyone from evacuating. He knew that someone had to be in there, watching them, contemplating on whether or not to let them enter. That was the only explanation he could come up with and he wasn't willing to walk away. Not now.

"You imagined it," Dale whispered while looking up at the identical camera he was speaking of.

"It moved…" He repeated quietly while making his way towards it in a cautious manner. "It moved."

"Rick, even if it did man, it's an automated device. It's cues, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on!" Shane grabbed him by the shirt and tried to force Rick's eyeline to meet with his. It was useless as the taller mans gaze was only fixated on the camera that he would be willing to swear on his departed mothers grave that it did indeed move. "Look around this place. It's dead, it's dead! You need to let go Rick!"

"I know you're in there! I know you can hear me!" Rick's frustration had spun out of control when he finally was forced to comprehend that the whole trip here was a waste. The gas, the food, the water, and everybody's energy was just wasted. He slammed his fists against the doors just to let out some of the fury that had quickly risen in his chest at the thought of turning away now after all this time. He would not let this go, it was his idea and he had dragged the group along with him. He couldn't let them down.

"Rick we have to go." Taylor stood by his side matching his motionless stance. Everyone had started to bail around them but she wouldn't just leave him for dead, even if he was being a little too tenacious and purposely refusing to accept the reality unfolding behind him.

"Keep your eyes open!" Shane called out behind him as he paced back and forth and watched the walkers gather around them. The smell had become so pungent that it was nearly suffocating them all. It was starting to look like there was no way out.

"Please! We're desperate. Please help us," he begged until his throat was hoarse from yelling. There had to be someone listening, there just had to be. In his mind he knew that if there was truly a god he would not let them go down like this. "We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left. Nowhere else to go. If you don't let us in-"

"Let's GO!" Shane couldn't stand by and let this go on any longer. It was being dragged out to an unbearable point. The whole entire group would be taken down if they didn't leave within a matter of minutes.

"You're killing us!" Shane grabbed Rick and used every ounce of strength he could muster up and dragged him back away from the shiny, apparently unoccupied building. There were yells and screams coming from every corner as the living dead surrounded them. They hadn't gotten more than a few feet when the most miraculous thing any of them had ever witnessed happened. The doors opened.

A blinding, white light spilled out onto the pavement in front of them like the tunnel to heaven many people had described seeing once they were on the brink of death. This truly would be heaven, a safe haven to escape the demolished world around them. Everyone stood frozen in place for a few brief moments, unsure if what they were seeing was real. The bright light illuminated them, making everybody almost melt together into one, unmoving mass. Rick started off with the group carefully following behind them, one step forward into the unknown white abyss.

After the brief introduction with Dr. Jenner, the only doctor left in the entire CDC, everyone had slowly started to become familiarized with what they thought would be their new home to ride out the apocalypse in. It had hit hard that he was the only person left there, but it was better than nothing. In all honesty it was far superior to being trapped outside where all hope had evaporated.

They walked down the everlasting hallway as Jenner explained about the rooms and facilities that they had available. It was hard for some to listen with so much alcohol running through their veins. Right before the tour they had a very filling dinner where the gracious doctor provided lots of delicious food and wine. Some had taken advantage of the latter.

"Every room has it's own bathroom, if you use the hot water please make limited use of it. Same with the electricity," Jenner stated simply while waving his hand in between the various rooms.

"Hot water?" Glenn whispered with a childish smirk. Almost everyone had smiled at the combination of the words hot and water. Bathing in freezing cold creeks and rivers got old very quickly.

"That's what the man said," Dale countered with an equally bright smile of his own. Dr. Jenner chuckled at everyone's reactions to such a simple thing which only made him wonder how truly awful it was on the outside.

"Some of the rooms have beds, others have cots, some just have couches. I guess you can divvy that up amongst yourselves." He looked down towards Carl and Sophia and smiled a little wider. "We have a rec room down the hall that I think you guys will like. Just don't plug in the games, okay?"

"Okay!" The two children called out in unison, making a sprint down the hall. They were pretty certain that they would find it even though they lacked the knowledge of where it was located.

"Sophia!" Carol gently pushed her way through everyone to chase after her rambunctious daughter. She let a few apologizes slip out as she squeezed past Jenner and the others.

The rest of the group split off to take claim to the rooms, and much to everyone's surprise the men let all the women have the rooms with actual beds. Shane and Lori had taken one room for them to share with Carl, which wasn't all that shocking everyone. No one had brought up the fact that they were all still in the dark and very confused about the Rick, Lori, and Shane situation; everyone had pretty much just let it roll of their shoulders since it wasn't really their business anyway.

"Thanks," Andrea tapped Jenner on the shoulder after the group had dispersed. "For all of this," she continued once he turned around to face her.

"Yeah," he rubbed the back of his neck nervously and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "It's not a big deal, really."

"I think it probably was," she retorted boldly. He gave her a disconcerting look prompting her to carry on. "If it wasn't a big deal you wouldn't have waited so long to let us in. I'm not blaming you or anything… I mean, you don't know us but I just wanted to say thanks anyway."

"You're welcome," he smiled at her and nodded his head absorbing what she had said. She was right, he was playing it off like nothing but he was still a little apprehensive about the rash decision he had made. He announced his retirement for the night to everyone who remained in the hall and headed off hurriedly towards his own little wing of the building.

Shane shut the door quietly behind him and tip-toed into his joint room. He looked around perplexed that the room was void of Lori. He glanced around a few more times before finally hearing the water running in the shower. He shook his head with a small chortle and made his way into the ridiculously hot, steam covered bathroom. He promptly stripped his clothes off and laid them in a pile next to her discarded ones.

"Hey babe," Shane slithered his way into the shower behind Lori with a mischievous grin. He ran a single hand over her slick shoulder as the water poured down on them both.

"Where's Carl?" She asked turning to face him with a dark gleam in her eye. She knew where this was headed but had also remembered leaving Shane in charge of her son.

"With Carol and Sophia, she said she'd watch him for a bit," he ran his hand down further, skimming his fingers against her back as they dropped lower.

"Mmmm." The brunettes legs began to feel like jelly. Her body followed along soon after and Shane could tell she was about to be unable to even support herself and he would be in control, like a knife going through hot butter.

He kissed the crook of her neck and trailed down along her shoulder until she was moaning, whining, and begging. She ran a hand through his hair and he instantaneously pinned her against the wall of the shower. He kissed her feverishly with an intensity that she hadn't seen from him in a long time.

"I… love… you," she whispered in between his heated open mouth kisses whenever he finally gave her the chance.

"I love you too, Mrs. Walsh," he murmured into her ear while placing a gentle kiss below it. She cooed and giggled and like that she was putty in his hands. She had momentarily forgotten about the fact that she accepted his marriage proposal and that technically she was already his wife. There was no one that could make the divorce or marriage legal, so far all intensive purposes she really was Mrs. Walsh.

She bit her lip and sucked in deep, her breathlessness made it apparent that she was trying to keep from screaming out. His masterful hands were proving to be too much for her to handle at the moment. He pulled away from her just to look in her eyes for a moment.

"Even with all of this shit going on…" He swept his hand over the hair blocking her face and let a smile spread across his lips. "I still have to be thankful that you're alive, and you're mine."

"Hey Taylor!" Cassidy leaned her body halfway in and out of the rooms door frame She had on her signature snake like smile. Taylor placed Bailey up on the bed and rolled her eyes to herself before turning around and displaying a fake smile towards her not so friendly visitor.

"Yes?" She tried her best not to sound exasperated, though the attempt itself was taxing.

"Listen, I wanna put all of this shit behind us. I can tell you don't like me."

"You don't say?"

"Come on," Cassidy appealed to with her bottom lip poked out and eyes wide. Taylor scoffed that she had the audacity to pull a puppy dog pout. That was her thing, and Cassidy didn't have an innocent bone in her body, it just didn't work. The blonde stopped over analyzing and listened to the rest of her speech. "I think we could honestly be great friends. Just come over to my room in like ten minutes so we can sit and chat. I snagged some of Jenner's wine," she said in a sing song tone before skipping back out.

"Ugh," she slapped her own forehead and ran the hand through her hair before plopping down on the bed with a theatrical sigh. "Is this a good idea?" She looked down at the pup who dropped his head onto his paws. He let out a little whimper and rolled onto his belly. "You're useless," she said rubbing his tummy lightly. "Cute, but useless. That's probably what they all think about me, huh?" She mused aloud to the fluffy dog who was too busy being in nirvana with all the belly scratching.

Bailey got up and crawled over to her lap sitting down neatly. He licked her hand and looked up at her in what she thought could only be his way of reassuring her. I'm sitting here talking to a dog, maybe having another friend wouldn't be so bad.

Taylor got up and changed into a fresh pair of clothes that had been in one of the drawers. There were three pairs of identical gray sweatpants and white tank tops, she figured borrowing one pair of them wouldn't hurt.

"Don't go wandering off," she called over to her shoulder to the dog laying sprawled out comfortably on the bed. He rolled over at her warning and covered his face with his paws. She could have sworn he was making fun of her, than again, maybe she was going crazy. She knocked on Cassidy's door a few times with no answer. She knocked once again a little louder and there was still no response.

"Cassidy?" She pulled the door open slowly and called out rather loudly to make sure she gave proper warning in case she was changing. "Cass?" She walked in and saw nothing but an empty bed and room. "Hello?" Taylor felt silly talking to nothing but the shadows on the wall. Suddenly a loud manly groan came from the bathroom and a smooth girly giggle followed after. She felt her stomach tighten at the prospect. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew what she was walking into, she knew what she was going to find. She held her hand out and let it hover over the doorknob unsure if she wanted to risk this invasion of privacy.

"Daryl!" The throaty shriek of pleasure made her step back and immediately retract her hand. Taylor swallowed the bile that had built up in her throat in an attempt to not choke on it. She closed her eyes and inhaled the deepest breath her lungs could manage and took a few steps backwards.

How dare she?! This was a set up. Cassidy wanted me to walk in on this and if I go barging in it will only be playing right into her plan. I have to go, I have to go…

After having an internal battle with herself Taylor bolted out of the room and ran back to her own. She collapsed on the bed face down with a little thud. Bailey jumped up quickly to avoid the oncoming intrusion and curled up next to his weeping owner.

Taylor balled her fist up and gave a few good punches to the bed with a loud screech that was masked by the blanket. She continued to cry for a few minutes before sitting up. Taylor wiped her face off with the back of her hands and shook her head at her own reaction; this was also exactly what Cassidy wanted. The little she devil wanted to get a rise out of her, light a fire under her, and that's exactly what she accomplished.

"They are FUCKING in the shower," her voice strained as she spoke down to the clueless dog beside her. "He really chose her over me?" She felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes again and she couldn't shrug them off like she was expecting. They poured out again as fresh new streaks took the place of the ones she had just wiped away. She gathered her knees up to her chest and held them there, quietly sobbing into them. A knock at the door broke her from the dismal reverie she was trapped in.

"Taylor?" Rick knocked a second time when no one answered. He let the door creep open leisurely until he saw her sitting on the bed huddled up into herself crying, then he flung it back shut quickly. Rick took long strides as he approached the melancholy blonde who seemed to be oblivious to him. He slowed down as he got closer taking cautious steps like she was an animal in the wild.

"Taylor?" Her head snapped up once she realized that he was next to her. She sniffled and dug the palms of her hands into her eyes to try and stop the flooding of tears. He sat down carefully next to her and rested a hand on her knee. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she whispered and turned away quickly to hid her puffy eyes.

"You are honestly the worst liar," he let a little chuckle slip out before moving his hand up and placing his fingers under her chin to redirect her eyes back to him. "What happened?"

"Cassidy- she… made it so… I… walked in on… something." She drew in ragged breathes in between the words as she tried to regain her composure.

"Oh," he shook his head and rubbed the stubble that had began to grow on his chin. "Why does that upset you?"

"Because! 'Cause he has known her for like two days and he knew me for months," she knew what Rick was getting at. She was overacting to something she shouldn't even care about but that didn't mean that she could just stop her emotions from happening. It tore her in half that she loved him and he wouldn't do anything with her; there was never any kissing and hugs were a rarity. "I wasn't good-"

"I hope you don't plan on finishing that sentence with enough. Taylor if you think you weren't good enough for him than you are dead wrong. He's the one that isn't good enough for you…" he grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap, letting her lay her head on his shoulder. She whimpered as he hugged her tight and continued, "You're beautiful, smart, funny, and caring. I wish you could see what I see."

"Thanks," she pulled away and looked into his icy blue orbs that were fixated on hers. "I feel better now."

"I just speak the truth," he smiled and leaned forward to plant a kiss on her forehead. He maneuvered around so she was back on the bed and he was standing before her. "You should probably get some sleep," he rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a crooked smile.

"Okay…" she crawled up to the top of the bed and sat Indian style in front of the pillows. "But I wanted a real goodnight kiss," she smirked impishly at him.

"I can fix that," he walked over to the side of the bed and waited as she propped herself up on her knees to lessen the height difference. Taylor stretched up as he bent down and their lips crashed together at the halfway point. He slid his hand behind her hair and rubbed the nape of her neck while her hand climbed up his chest underneath the clean white t-shirt. Just as their hands and tongues began to truly fumble he pulled away and winked at her.

"Okay, goodnight."

"Heeeyyy," she whined as she sat down with a pout and crossed arms. "That's not fair!"

"Life's not fair," he grinned at her before starting for the door.

"But!" She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, fluffing it in defeat. Taylor twiddled with her thumbs and looked dejectedly down towards her hands. "Can you just…" She whispered, making him turn around and wait for her to finish. "Please don't leave me."

He flicked the switch off leaving the room pitch black with the only illumination coming from the small clock on the nightstand. Rick lifted up the blanket startling Bailey enough to make him scoot towards the end of the bed. Once he was finally in the bed and situated he slid next to Taylor and slipped his arm over her stomach and pulled her closer to him. He leaned down to kiss her bare shoulder softly before relaxing his head back onto the pillow. A small smile formed when she relaxed into his form making them fit together like puzzle pieces.

Taylor suddenly mumbled something that was inaudible from Rick's side of the bed.

"What?" He asked groggily in a half-asleep, half-awake state.

"I said I wish I could sleep like this every night," her eyelids fluttered closed after the confession was poured out to him.

"Who said you can't?"

"So you will?"

"Of course," Rick snaked his other arm underneath the gap between her neck and the bed and kissed the small space in between her shoulder blades. "Whatever it takes to hold you in my arms, baby."