Sarah woke up the next morning to a conversation going on between Rick and Olivia.

"Noah never wants to tell me why Mama and Daddy are not living together...I know he knows why...and Mama just says that she and Daddy didn't want to be married anymore..."

"Well," replied Rick, "I am Carl's dad and Lori is his mom, but we don't live together; we didn't want to be married anymore. Sometimes that just happens sweetie. But it doesn't mean that we don't love Carl. And I know your Mama and Daddy love you and Noah very much."

Sarah squinted her eyes open not wanting them to see that she was awake and listening. Olivia was laying between Rick and herself facing Rick with her arm folded under her head. Sarah almost smiled at how grown up she looked.

"But sometimes mommies and daddies find other people to live with and marry - Lori lives with John and they're married now," he explained.

"That's right! And John is Carl's step daddy," she replied. Rick nodded, smiling at her. "So...Does that mean you are going to be my new step daddy?"

Sarah held her breath, wondering how Rick was going to handle that question. He laughed softly and smoothed her hair back from her face and composed himself before he answered her question.

"You know baby girl...I'm not sure. What I do know is that I care about you, Noah, and your mommy an awful lot and I'm going to be here for the three of you, no matter what."

Sarah released the breath she was holding, her heart fluttering.

"I care a lot about you too Ricky," Olivia responded, sitting up and throwing her arms around his neck to snuggle. Rick folded her into his arms and rubbed her back.

He looked over at Sarah and raised his eyebrows. She started to grin knowing she had been caught. She opened her eyes and stared at his blue ones.

'Good morning,' he mouthed to her, his blue eyes twinkling in the semi-darkness of the room.

'Morning,' she mouthed back feeling warmth come over her thinking about what had transpired the night before.

"Good morning, you two," she said out loud. Olivia spun around and smiled at her mom.

"Morning, Mama!" She scooted over and hugged Sarah. Rick laid his head down in the pillow watching them, a smile on his handsome face.

Sarah yawned. "What time is it?"

Rick looked at his watch. "Five-thirty am." Sarah rolled her eyes and groaned, making Rick laugh softly. Her daughter was worse than a rooster always waking up way before dawn.

"Mama I'm hungry. Do you think the doctor has something for breakfast?"

"I'm sure he does baby girl," she replied, sitting up and stretching her arms over her head. Sarah saw Rick's blue eyes darken as he watched her breasts push out as she stretched. Her stomach did a flip as she lowered her arms. He looked up to her face into her eyes, his eyes blazing. They stared at each other both thinking about their activities in the shower.

Olivia jumped up and down on the bed, interrupting their intense gaze. "Come on Mama and Ricky! Let's go get some breakfast!"

"Ok, ok!" Sarah said, laughing at her little ball of energy. "Why don't you go sit on the couch and read a book to Bunny while we get dressed? Then I'll get you ready and we'll find some breakfast."

"Sure thing, Mama!" she jumped out of bed and to the floor.

Sarah smiled at Rick then got out of bed. Olivia grabbed Bunny and went and sat on the couch, picking up the book Rick was reading to her the night before.

Rick walked around to the other side of the bed and stood in front of Sarah, his pajama pants low on his hips, his white t-shirt tight over his chest and his hair disheveled. He looked sexy, she thought to herself, remembering what it felt like to be in his arms last night, pushed against the wall, his hands all over her...her face turned red at the memory…

Rick smiled and kissed her forehead. "I'm going to take a quick shower," he told her, running his hands lightly down her arms, looking down at her.

"Yeah, you didn't really shower last night, per se..." she replied, turning her head up to look into his eyes, putting her hands on his waist. He stepped closer to her, their bottom halves almost touching, his hands resting on her hips. Her heart was racing.

"No, I sure didn't," he smiled. He lowered his voice, "But, I'd happily take last night over a shower any day," he whispered so Olivia didn't overhear. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that…" he moved his head down, pushed her hair to the side and placed a kiss on her neck.

"Really?" she asked quietly, shivering from his kiss and stifling a moan. He nuzzled her neck, kissing from her collarbone to behind her ear, causing goosebumps to rise all over her body. She fisted his shirt in both hands, completely turned on and trying to hide it.

"Yes, ma'am..." he whispered, pulling his head back to look at her. "But seeing as Liv is right across the room," he stood up straight, and kissed her forehead, "I probably shouldn't elaborate on what else I want to do..."

He put his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes and leaned against him, catching her breath and unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Mama, do you think he has pancakes?" Olivia asked.

She leaned back, his arms still around her waist, placing her hands on his biceps and smiled at him, then turned to Olivia. "I sure hope so baby girl."

"I'll meet you in the kitchen for breakfast?" Rick asked, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly. She nodded against his chest, smiling to herself.

Sarah and Olivia quickly dressed and made their way across the hall to Noah and Carl's room. They were both waking up as Sarah cracked open the door.

"Morning you two," Sarah said, turning on the light.

Noah sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as Carl sat up and stretched, yawning.

"We are headed to the kitchen for breakfast - wanna join us?"

"Yeah," Carl said. "Do you think there are pancakes?"

Sarah smiled. "Let's go check!" Noah climbed down from his top bunk as Carl slid down from his. Noah came over and hugged his mom. She loved how he still showed her affection despite being eight years old and fiercely independent. Olivia threw her arms around her her brother's waist and he hugged her back. Her heart melted.

When they arrived in the kitchen, they saw John, Glenn, TDog and Lisa were already there. TDog was making powdered eggs and Lisa was working on coffee.

"Good morning, Jenkins Family!" TDog greeted them, a bright smile on his face.

"Morning, TDog!" Olivia replied. Sarah smiled and directed her to a seat next to John. Noah sat next to her and Carl sat across the table.

Sarah greeted John who gave her a big shit-eating grin. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing at all," he replied. She smirked at him, turning around to head to the cabinets to search for pancake mix.

When she found a box, a bowl, and a frying pan, she went about mixing the batter and making the kids pancakes.

One by one, the rest of their group came to the room. Christy and Lori both looked hung over and immediately went for the powdered eggs and coffee. She laughed at them; Lori smiled at her.

Sarah was just flipping the last pancake over when she felt a hand skim across the back of her neck, moving her long hair to the side, and soft lips kiss behind her ear, while another hand grabbed her hip and squeezed tightly.

She almost dropped the spatula and looked over her shoulder to see Rick. She blushed and smiled at him. He smiled as he kissed her cheek and patted her hip, grabbing the plate of pancakes to take to the table.

When he moved, she saw Shane sitting across the room, staring hard at her.

Her stomach dropped, fear creeping up on her. Her heart thudded in her chest, redness creeping up her face.

She heard Rick's voice in her head: 'Show no fear. You are strong and no one can make you feel inferior…especially Shane.'

She stared back at him, challenging him to speak up.

After a few seconds he looked away.

She felt a small victory. But she knew it wasn't over.

She turned back to the stove and took a deep breath, brought the last pancake to the table and plopped it on Noah's plate, Olivia already had two Rick had given her. She smiled at her children and took the seat between Noah and Rick.

They all settled in, enjoying each other's company and the delicious breakfast in front of them.

Sarah felt grateful for Dr. Jenner and his hospitality...however long it would last.

"So, Jenner," Shane started after breakfast was finished, "you gonna tell us anything at all?" Sarah saw several eye rolls around the table, but noticed Rick looked interested.

Jenner smiled sadly. "Once everyone is dressed and ready, I'll take you to the pit and we'll talk."

Everyone dispersed, but seeing as Lori, Christy, and Sarah were already dressed, they stayed behind to clean the kitchen, while Rick and John took the kids to the rec room. Daryl went to shower and get dressed.

"We hooked up last night," Christy burst out as soon as Daryl left the room after nodding at her.

"What?! You and Daryl?" Lori said, almost dropping the plate she was washing.

"No…me and Dale," she joked. "YES! Me and Daryl!" They all laughed. "Y'all - it's been over a year since I've had sex…but I'm telling you…it was amazing!" Sarah laughed at her BFF. "And it was on the pool table - a place that was on my bucket list!" They all died laughing, Christy continuing to gush about her experience.

"I just hope he doesn't get weird about it," she continued. "He's not very…verbose...or open about well...anything. But he's really sweet when he does talk to me."

"I hope it all works out for you…he seems like a really nice guy under that sexy, redneck exterior…" Sarah told her. Christy nodded, her smile wide.

"We'll see, I guess!" Christy replied. Sarah grinned at her best friend, happy for her.

"What about you, missy?" Lori asked, turning to Sarah.

"What?" she asked, ducking her head and turning away.

"Don't 'what' me!" Lori replied, snapping her with the dish towel. "The walls in this place are mighty thin...John and I heard quite a commotion last night."

Sarah's face turned bright red. "You're shittin' me. Y-y'all did not hear - " Lori started dying laughing, Christy looking at her inquisitively.

"YOU TWO HAD SEX?!" Christy almost yelled, jumping up and down like a kid at Christmas.

"Will you shut up?" Sarah replied, completely mortified as Lori continued to laugh. "NO. We didn't have sex. We...damn you two..." They all laughed, Sarah included. "I really hate you both."

"What did you do?" Christy asked, she and Lori both sitting down at the table as Sarah dried a plate, her hands a little shaky from embarrassment.

"Really?" They both nodded. "Fine...We showered and...he...I...do I really need to continue?! This is weird!" They nodded again, both looking at her with sincere interest. "Damn it. Fine..." She put the plate down, threw a hand on her hip and faced them both. "He fingered me against the wall and gave me one of the bestorgasmsofmylife - arey'allhappy?!" she blurted out.

They were quiet for a half second before they both shrieked and high fived each other. Sarah threw down the towel, completely and utterly mortified but also laughing at her best friends' ridiculous reactions.

"Y'all are so stupid..." she said.

"We're just excited for you two because it's only been FOREVER since this should have happened!" Christy explained, wiping tears of laughter from her face. "Why didn't you 'go all the way?'" she asked, she and Lori dissolving into giggles again.

Sarah looked down. "Rick said he wants it to be...special...our first time..." she blushed.

Lori and Christy both stopped snickering. Sarah looked up and Lori and Christy both had real tears in their eyes. "I knew it," Lori said.

"What?" Sarah asked, suddenly scared of what she was going to say. "Lori - "

"He loves you...he always has," she replied. "I knew it when we started dating in high school...definitely after the divorce." Sarah moved and sat down next to her, looking alarmed, but Lori raised her hand and smiled as she reached out and grabbed Sarah's hand. "No...I mean that I've always known how he felt, but that man is one of the most honorable men I've ever known. He loved you...but he knew that you loved Shane, so he backed off and fell in love with me...but I don't think his feelings for you ever went away...they just changed and evolved as the years went by...but now that you are both in this place and getting to the same page, I can't help but feel emotional for you both. I am so happy for you and Rick."

Sarah let out a hiccup as tears fell down her face, grabbing Lori in a tight hug as Lori returned her affection. Christy grinned behind Lori and threw her arms around them both.

"Okay," Christy spoke up after a few seconds, "enough of the mushy shit. Let's go find the others and find out what this Jenner guy is all about." Lori squeezed Sarah's shoulders as they backed up from one another and kissed her forehead. Sarah smiled.

Ten minutes later, the adults, minus Carol who stayed in the rec room with the children, convened in the "pit," a large circular room with computers and work stations, all facing a huge screen.

"So, Dr. Jenner," Rick asked, standing in front of Sarah and Christy, who both sat on a counter, their legs dangling, "what happened here?"

"Well...a lot has happened in the last month." He took a deep breath. "We started getting reports from local hospitals and clinics about a superbug that was antibiotic-resistant and fast-acting. Our research team was all over it, but it started to spread faster than we could keep up...hence the reason it was named 'Wildfire.' People were getting sick and just dying, like no other pandemic we've dealt with in the modern world. And when we started getting confirmed cases of cannibalism - and from those who had already perished - everyone was baffled."

"So is it a virus?" Sarah asked, hopping down from the counter, putting her hand on Rick's arm for comfort and looking around him to Jenner.

"As far as we know. But it could be anything - virus, bacteria, fungal?"

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui spoke up. Lori put her arm around Jacqui's shoulders.

"Could be..." Jenner agreed. "I figure half the population are the infected cadavers by now, if not more, and for those of us that are alive - it's only a matter of time."

"How does it work?" Sarah asked, stepping around to stand in front of Rick. "I'm sorry - I'm a PA, so I know pathology and this blows my mind."

"I can show you the research on Test Subject 19, or TS-19."

Sarah nodded. "Please?"

Jenner turned to the computer and Rick slid his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his side.

"TS-19 was a doctor here. She volunteered to - " he broke off " - she volunteered to be infected to allow better research."

"She got bit?" Daryl asked, "On purpose?" Jenner nodded. "Tha's jus' crazy."

"No," Jenner replied sharply, "it's brave. She was always like that…" He took a deep breath. "She was the smartest, bravest person I've ever known." Sarah would detect incredible sadness in his voice.

He cleared his throat. "Here's the first scan," he said, pointing to the brain on the screen, the synapses firing on all cylinders. "She was alive here." Sarah moved out of Rick's embrace and stepped closer to the screen.

"Here's episode one - infection through skin contact via a bite from an infected cadaver." The brain quickly became darker, the lights on the screen disappearing before their eyes.

"Episode two - death," he continued as he flipped screens. The brain was black.

"And episode three..." he continued, showing them the last scan.

"It starts in the brain stem," Sarah said, seeing the red spread through the occipital region of the scan.

"That's the only part that reanimates," Jenner explained. "All the memories, the intelligence, the parts that make a human...human…are gone. All that's left is the basic human instinct."

"All the senses, but none of the sense," Sarah whispered. She turned to Jenner.

He shook his head. "Episode four." He pointed to the screen. They saw a flash as a bullett ripped through the brain, moving through the forehead and out though the brain stem.

"You shot her?" Andrea spoke up.

"It's the only way," Sarah said, as Jenner nodded. "You never found a cure?"

"No."

"And TS-19? Was she your wife?" Sarah asked him softly. He nodded. She gave him a compassionate look, understanding his incredible loss.

"So where is everyone else, doc?" Shane asked, stepping close to Sarah. "All the other researchers?" Sarah stepped closer to Rick and away from Shane.

"It was like nothing they had seen and it scared them," he said sadly.

"Wha'? Where'd they go?" Daryl asked, clearly frustrated with this information.

"Most of them went home to be with their families, to hunker down, to try and ride it out. Others," he continued, "opted out… once they knew it was hopeless. Committed suicide in the halls and labs."

"But you stayed?" Sarah asked as Rick put his arm around her waist. "Why?"

"I made a promise. I would stay until I either found a cure or…it was over."

"What does that mean?" Shane asked. "Over?"

Jenner didn't reply, just got up and turned the computers off.

"Dr. Jenner, what is the clock on the wall? What is counting down?" Dale asked. Sarah looked over to see 25 minutes on the clock.

"The end."

Sarah looked up at him, sheer panic coursing through her veins. "The end of what?" Rick asked, dropping his arm from Sarah's waist as he stepped forward menacingly.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS PLACE IS EXACTLY?" Jenner yelled at him. "We house the most dangerous viruses and bacteria - there's a reason we are all underground! It's a dangerous building! But I can't sustain it much longer! The whole place - the whole WORLD for that matter - runs off of fossil fuel! How stupid is that?!" Jenner's eyes were wide with craziness.

"What happens when the time hits zero?!" Rick asked, getting in Jenner's face.

"The whole place will blow..." They all gasped.

"Let us out," Rick growled. Sarah was starting to feel panicky.

"It will better this way," he pleaded. "Trust me. You don't want to live out there - bitten and turned…or torn to shreds - constantly looking over your shoulder." He turned to Sarah. "Your daughter," he said, "your son…It's better this way…quick. They'll never feel a thing."

Rick turned to the group. "Go get your stuff, we're leaving." He grabbed Sarah's face. "Get the kids," he kissed her on the mouth. "Lori, get Carl. Hurry!"

Sarah felt a panic attack coming on, but quickly swallowed it down as she turned and grabbed Lori's arm. "Quick, let's go."

They ran out as Rick, Shane, and Daryl started arguing with Jenner. The others ran to collect their things per Rick's order. Sarah ran to the rec room and quickly picked Olivia up.

"Come on, we have to hurry!" Sarah said, grabbing Noah's hand. They looked scared by Sarah's behavior, but complied with her order to grab their things and get ready to leave.

By the time everyone made it back to the pit, Daryl and Shane were hitting the metal door with axes and Rick was pleading with Jenner to open the door.

Jacqui sat down on the floor. Andrea joined her, appearing as though they were going along with Jenner's plan. TDog and Dale pleaded with them.

It was pandemonium as the time ticked down to 8 minutes - Rick stopped Shane from shooting Jenner and then Daryl from hitting him with an ax.

Olivia was crying hysterically in her arms, while Noah stood next to Sarah, his arms around her waist, his head buried in her side. Lori kneeled next to Carl, hugging him tightly.

Sarah had to do something.

Sarah ran up to Rick and Jenner. "Dr. Jenner, please. You have to let us out. I choose to live. I choose to fight." Jenner looked at her. She stared into his eyes, pleading silently.

"Fine, but you better hurry." He turned to the computer and punched in a code, the doors opening.

"Thank you," she said. Rick grabbed Noah, picking him up as Sarah handed him his backpack.

They ran like hell to the stairs - 5 flights later and her legs burning - they found themselves in the atrium. Jim held open the door as Shane, Daryl, Christy, and John cleared the way with their weapons to the cars. Sarah held on tightly to Olivia, her free hand carrying her knife tightly, just in case. Lisa ran just ahead of her.

When they made it to the caravan, Rick yelled for them to duck. They dropped to the ground behind their cars, Rick placing Noah in front of them as he shielded the four of them with his body.

The loudest explosion Sarah had ever heard rocked the earth around them. She could feel the heat and debris falling around them.

A few moments later, Rick lifted his head to the group and yelled for them to get in the cars; walkers were headed their way.

Rick picked up Noah and pushed him into Sarah's SUV and helped Olivia next. Lisa jumped in behind them and he closed her door. He jumped into the driver's seat as Sarah climbed into the passenger.

Sarah saw the rest of their group get into the other cars and RV - minus Jacqui - and they quickly followed John who was driving Rick's truck with Lori and Carl

Rick reached over and grabbed Sarah's hand.

They headed far away from the CDC, no destination in mind.