Sarah made her way downstairs to relieve Christy for the night while Rick stepped outside to check on those keeping watch. She stepped into the room to see Christy reading a book on the window seat.

"How's he doing?" she asked as Christy sat up and put the book down, then stretched her arms over her head.

"He's good. Still stirring like he wants to wake up. Vitals look good. Incision looks a little weepy on the ends, but I've been treating with antibiotic ointment and just replenished his IV antibiotics."

Sarah nodded as she leaned over and checked Carl's pulse using her watch for timing. "Good. How's everything else? I feel like I haven't talked to you in days..." She grabbed the pad of paper and pen where they had been recording Carl's vitals and walked over and sat next to her.

"Everything's good," Christy replied. "Your mom has been cooking up some good food for everyone. It's been a nice change from cold spaghetti o's, stale chips, and pop tarts."

Sarah grinned. "Mom's awesome like that. She and Carol are enjoying the big kitchen." Christy nodded her approval. "How about Daryl?" she asked as she wrote down Carl's pulse information with the time she got from her watch.

"We're good there too. Very good, indeed," she responded with a wink.

"Good. I'm happy for you, Chris." Christy smiled and sat back with a yawn.

Sarah had a strange sense of deja'vu, sitting with her in a room at a child's bedside. "Christy?" she asked as she thought back to a few days ago when Jim was bit and the look on Christy's face when Jim talked about his family. "So about what happened when Jim was bit, when everyone was talking with him about his life...I saw how upset it made you. How are you?"

Christy looked at her and gave her a small smile. "I'm okay. When he was talking about his family, it did bring back memories of Dan and Evan, but - " she took a deep breath, "I'm okay...I'm good." Sarah nodded and reached over to squeeze her leg briefly. Christy looked away out the window.

Christy's husband, Dan, and 8 year old son, Evan, were hit by a drunk driver just over a year ago while she was at work and Dan was taking Evan to a movie. Sarah happened to be in the OR assisting a surgery with Dr. Jones when they were brought in. Sarah remember it like it was yesterday: she had run down to Labor and Delivery, brought Christy up to the OR where the police and doctor were waiting for her, then sat with Christy on the floor of the ICU room where Evan was laying unconscious, holding her tightly as she sobbed. Dan had died at the scene and Evan died three days later in the ICU. It still affected Christy whenever she heard about a drunk driver or a car accident and therefore affected Sarah just the same.

Christy sighed and stretched her arms over her head again as Sarah was brought back to the present.

"So how are you feeling about the farm?" Sarah asked as she tucked her feet under her and changed the subject.

"It's nice. Peaceful...a little strange considering what's going on out there." Sarah nodded in agreement. "Hershel sure is nice, but he seems a little - how do I put this?" she tilted her head in thought. "Out of touch with reality?"

Sarah was intrigued, not having spent much time with Hershel, just with his daughters. "How so?"

"Just the comments he's made about the walkers..." she said, shrugging. "He is definitely very religious. He doesn't like that we've talked about killing walkers. He says they're just sick people. He thinks there will be a cure one day."

Sarah was shocked. "Really?" She shook her head. "Did you tell him about Jim? Amy? Sophia?"

"Yeah, but he said that we didn't have the resources to help them," she replied, giving Sarah a look. "He thinks we just need to wait for the government to help out...and pray to God."

Sarah gave her a look. "Interesting...I'll have to let Rick know about that too. He'll want to know about that for sure."

Christy nodded, a bright smile coming to her face. "How are you and Mr. Grimes doing?"

"We're good," Sarah replied, quickly feeling the need to change the subject. "He wanted us to put a list together for the run tomorrow. They have groups going to the hospital and pharmacy. What are you thinking we might need?"

"Hmmm...well from the hospital we need more IV antibiotics, saline bags, stitch kits, gauze..." she and Christy brainstormed and wrote down all the things they though they could possibly need for Carl and for anything catastrophic in the future that could fit in the back of Otis' truck.

"What about the pharmacy?" Sarah asked as she started a new page.

"Aspirin, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, cold meds, any prescription pain meds, toiletries, condoms..."

Sarah laughed. "Got it." She blushed for a minute, thinking about hers and Rick's recent activities, and was immediately thankful for her inability to have more children, though at the time of the news years ago, she was totally and completely devastated. She looked at her best friend and was suddenly feeling somber. "Christy...Is it bad that I am thankful for not being able to get pregnant?"

Christy stopped smiling and reached over to grab her hand. "Oh sweetie..." Sarah smiled sadly and put her hand over her stomach. "I know what you mean...I know you were so upset before, but you're right. Now is a terrible time to get pregnant." Sarah took a deep breath. "Hang on a minute," Christy said, "If you're worried, then that means...SHUT UP!" She dropped Sarah's hand and playfully slapped her leg. "You and Rick?! Hell yeah!" she squealed.

Sarah's stomach leapt with embarrassment. "SHH! I don't want anyone else to know!" She laughed at Christy, who was grinning and jumping around in her seat.

"Oh come on, Sarah! No one is here and Carl is still out!" she whispered, her brown eyes sparking with amusement. "When? How was it?"

Sarah lowered her voice too, her face burning red, but knew that Christy would want details and that she would drag it out of her anyway. "The hotel was the first time...and in the upstairs bathroom...twice...and Christy...it was amazing..." Sarah grinned, her face and chest still red.

Christy looked at her and covered her mouth to smother her squeal. "You are such a hussy!" Christy whispered to her, playfully slapping her on the leg repeatedly. Sarah laughed, happy to feel like she was having a normal conversation with her best friend. "I am so happy for you! And seriously...it's about damn time! I've only known you for the past five years, so I can't attest to you and Rick 'the early years,'" she said as she made quotation marks with her fingers, "but I have seen enough of the secret looks and sexual tension to be completely thankful you finally had sex!" They both giggled like school girls as Christy started pressing for details, Sarah happily obliging.

She was in the middle of telling her about the shower when the door opened and they looked up to see Rick coming into the room. Sarah's heart leapt and her stomach filled with butterflies. Christy started laughing harder as Sarah looked totally mortified.

"Ladies," Rick said, grinning at them as though he knew what they were talking about.

Sarah smiled back at him as Christy stood up. She leaned over to kiss Sarah on the top of her head. "I'm going to bed," she said, turning to Rick and smiling at him. "Y'all be good...and remember...there's a child in the room so try and keep it PG."

Sarah closed her eyes and shook her head with embarrassment while Christy and Rick both laughed. She opened her eyes to see Christy wink at her as she shut the door.

"How's Carl?" he asked as he made his way over to the chair next to the bedside.

Sarah stood and walked over to the other side of the bed to check the IV bags and his site. "He's good; heart rate is good and strong, blood pressure is near perfect, and his wound is looking much better. Should be awake any day now." She went to the end of the bed, pulled the covers back and proceeded to do manual muscle pumps of his left foot and leg, making sure the blood continued to pump since he hadn't moved them himself in close to 48 hours. Rick moved next to her and grabbed the right, mimicking her movements.

"Good job, officer," she joked.

He grinned at her. "I have a good teacher."

She chuckled as they continued for another minute. She gestured to him as they each placed his leg back down and gently covered both of them, tucking him in so he would be warm. She walked around to the head of the bed again and pulled the covers up to cover his shoulders before leaning over and kissing his forehead, then smoothing his hair back. She reached over to the bedside table and flipped the light off, leaving the room draped in soft light from the bathroom in the corner and the moonlight coming through the window.

She turned around to see Rick right behind her. With no words spoken, he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and upper back and tucked her against his chest. She sighed happily and closed her eyes as she placed her arms around his waist and rested her face against his warmth. She listened to his heart beat against his chest, savoring every moment she had in his arms.

They stood there for several minutes.

"Thank you," he whispered softly, breaking the silence.

She pulled back and looked up at his face. He looked down at her, his blue eyes bright. "For?" she asked, confused.

"For taking care of Carl and loving him like your own." She nodded once, emotions clogging her throat. "And for loving me too." Her heart skipped a beat as he dipped his head down and gently kissed her lips.

"Always have, always will," she replied as he pulled back and smiled sweetly at her.

"Let's get some rest," he said, leading her to the futon. He fluffed the pillows, laid on his back and gestured for her to join him. She smiled as she climbed over him, laying on her side with her back against the back of the futon, placing her head on his warm chest, her arm around his abdomen, and slid her leg between his. He chuckled lightly as he put his arm around her and pulled her tight against him. "I could definitely get used to this," he whispered against her hair as he rested his chin on the top of her head and interlaced their fingers over his stomach.

She smiled and snuggled closer to him. "Same here, officer."

He squeezed her tight and they fell peacefully to sleep.

The next morning, Sarah was checking Carl's vitals while Rick entertained Olivia and Noah, who had both come downstairs five minutes before and woken him. Sarah looked over and winked at him as Olivia sat in his lap and Noah sat tucked into his side as they talked about the horses. She yawned with sleepiness as Rick smiled back at her.

Sarah was up and down all night, checking on Carl's IVs and wound, since they didn't have a pump with alarms for the IV. The futon was small but comfortable she had decided, and she actually enjoyed the small space she was forced to share with Rick. She smiled at the thought of the few cat naps she caught, laying on her side with her leg and arm slung across Rick, his arm tight around her waist. Nope...She didn't mind it one bit, she thought with a smile.

Sarah looked up and saw Lori, John, and her mom come into the room with coffee and plates of breakfast. She put the stethoscope and blood pressure cuff down on the table, marked her numbers with the time, and turned to Lori while John made his way over to sit next to Rick and Lisa gathered Noah and Olivia to take them to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Here's some breakfast," Lori said, handing Sarah the plate and coffee.

"Thanks," she replied, yawning again and putting the coffee down on the table.

"How's our boy?" Lori looked down at Carl.

"He's doing great," she replied, smiling at her cousin. Lori nodded and made her way to the chair next to his bed, sitting down and grabbing his hand. Sarah took a few bites of breakfast, grabbed her coffee and walked over to sit next to Rick on the futon. She balanced her plate on her lap and listened to their conversation as she took a sip of coffee and finished her breakfast. Her heart sank a little as she heard them discussing their upcoming run.

"So if you don't mind...head out and gather everyone by the trucks and we'll meet one last time before we leave," Rick said to John as he took his last bite of eggs. "We'll leave right after we ensure everyone is on the same page." John nodded. He walked over to Lori and kissed the top of her head and squatted down next to her while they had a brief quiet discussion. Lori stood when he rose to kiss Carl on the forehead. He turned and pulled Lori in for a tight hug, kissed her lightly on the lips and headed out the door.

Rick turned to Sarah and smiled, lifting his coffee to his lips to finish it off.

"I know what you're thinking," she said to him as he looked at her curiously. "Too bad we don't have donuts..." she joked as he snickered into his cup. She laughed from behind her own coffee mug, taking another sip as she heard Lori chuckle from across the room.

"So mean to the cop!" he joked. He reached over and grabbed the plate from Sarah's lap and sat hers on top. She took them from him as he stood up, grabbing his gun belt from the window seat and securing it around his waist. Her good mood was instantly gone, worry filling the void it left behind. Her heart sank a little more. She glanced over at Lori who had the same look of worry on her face. Rick turned back to them. "Hey...what's with the long faces?" he asked, looking from Sarah to Lori and back.

Sarah's words stuck in her throat. "We're just worried," Lori spoke up. She stood up and walked over to stand in front of him. "Please take care of John and yourself...be careful out there...Like I told John...come back to us." He nodded and gave her a brief hug. Lori smiled at him as they parted and squeezed his upper arms before dropping them and walking over to her seat next to the bed.

Rick looked at Sarah. "Walk me out?" he asked. She nodded, her breath still stuck in her throat, as she stood up to follow him out of the room, giving Lori a small nod as they shared a brief look of worry.

They walked together to the kitchen where Carol took the plates from her hand and they headed to the front door. Rick opened it and ushered Sarah through first. Sarah stepped up to the railing of the beautiful wrap around porch as Rick came up behind her, putting his arms around her waist and leaning down to rest his chin on her right shoulder. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Hey sweet girl," he whispered, rubbing his nose against the shell of her ear, causing a shiver to run up her spine. "It's going to be okay."

She sighed and opened her eyes, turning to face him, leaning against the railing as she reached out to fiddle with the button on his blue plaid shirt. "I know. I'm sorry. I just have a bad feeling about this run."

He put his hands on her cheeks and tilted her face up to his. She gathered his shirt in both fists as he stepped closer to her. "I will come back to you." He looked as serious as she had ever seen him. "I promise."

He dropped his forehead to rest on hers and she took another deep breath. "You'd better, officer," she tried to joke.

He smiled and put his finger under her chin, tilting her mouth up to meet his. He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips and her heart skipped a beat as it always did in his presence, and she closed her eyes, pushing closer to him as she wrapped her arms around his waist and he gathered her hair in his hands at the back of her head, deepening the kiss.

A throat cleared behind her.

"We're ready," she heard Shane say.

Her eyes shot open and Rick pulled back, keeping their bodies close as he kept his eyes trained on hers.

"Thanks. I'll be right over," he said to Shane, never looking away from her. He smiled as he smoothed her hair back and put his hands on her cheeks again. "I love you," he whispered against her mouth, dropping a quick kiss to her lips again.

She smiled. "I love you, too," she whispered back.

He pulled her in for a quick hug and stepped back, heading for the steps. She turned with him and leaned her elbows on the railing, watching as he followed Shane to the meeting of the minds by the truck.

The bad feeling returned as she watched them talk and then head to three separate trucks.

She saw Daryl go over to Christy and drop a kiss to her forehead before heading toward the woods, while Andrea and Dale walked to their posts for watch. Maggie and Glen jumped into Maggie's green pickup. Otis climbed into the driver seat of his truck and Shane headed to the passenger door. He stopped for a minute and looked over at her. She stared back. He sneered and got into the truck, slamming the door and she rolled her eyes, remembering Rick's comment about him being a jealous ex-husband.

Rick and John climbed into Hershel's red truck. Rick turned to look at her and winked. She smiled back, trying to ease the feeling of dread as she watched all three vehicles leave, kicking up dust in the drive.

She sighed as she turned and went back inside the house.

Later that evening...

"Mama! You landed on Park Place and I got a hotel, so you owe me big!" She held out her hand. "Now - show me the money!" Olivia yelled out and nodded emphatically, her hand out to her mother.

"Show you the money, huh? Where did you learn that?!" she asked, laughing at her daughter, joined by Lisa and Christy, who were playing Monopoly with them, trying to keep their minds off the run and absence of their loved ones.

"T-Dog! We played this morning with Noah and Carol! He kept yelling it every time someone landed on his prodperty."

She looked over at T-Dog who was playing cards with Noah. He grinned at her and she smiled back, laughing. She turned back to Liv. "Well, first of all, it's 'property,' not 'prodperty.' And secondly, I will show you the money...after I tickle you!" she pulled her daughter into her lap and tickled her ribs as she squealed with laughter, squirming and trying to get away.

"Okay...now here's your money!" Sarah joked as she sat her upright on her lap and reached for her monopoly cash.

Dale suddenly appeared in the living room. "They're back!" he said and ran back out.

Sarah's heart leapt.

"Stay with Nana," she told her kids as she put Olivia down and gestured for Lisa to take her as she and Christy ran out the front door followed by Carol and T-Dog.

Upon reaching the porch, she could see two of the three trucks driving up to the house and she eagerly tried to make out faces through the wind shields, the evening sun making it impossible much to her chagrin.

Her heart raced as she saw that Maggie/Glenn and Rick/John's trucks parked and she began to take note of who returned: Maggie and Glen were first to get out, both of them appearing fine. Beth and Hershel ran down to them and both enveloped Maggie in a group hug.

Rick and John both exited the car and Sarah felt relieved as Lori walked out of the house behind her and ran past her down the stairs and into John's open arms. Sarah walked down the stairs, her eyes now resting solely on Rick as she visually checked him out for any wounds. He smiled at her and met her halfway and pulled her into a tight hug. She sighed in relief as Rick held her close and closed her eyes tight, thanking whatever higher power there was for bringing him back safely.

"I have a surprise for you, sweet girl," he said quietly in her ear.

She opened her eyes and glanced over his shoulder as the backdoor to their truck opened and a familiar face made an appearance.

"Sarah!" the voice called as she stared in disbelief.

"Jovan?!" she asked as Rick backed up, but still held her arms. She looked from Rick and back to Jovan. She grinned as Rick smiled and let her go. She ran to her friend, enveloping him in a huge hug, completely shocked to see him there. "How? Where?" They let go of each other and backed up as she held onto his arms. She saw another figure move in the back of the truck and looked up as his wife Ashleigh climbed out and made her way to them. "Ashleigh!" she exclaimed as she approached and Sarah wrapped her in a tight hug.

"We ran across each other on the highway. Rick said you were here and had a safe camp," Jovan replied, gesturing to Rick who nodded back at him.

"Yeah, we do. I can't believe you're here! Where's Max?" she asked about their 6 year old son as she looked toward the truck, dread rising in her throat as she saw it was empty.

Jovan's head dropped and Ashleigh burst into tears. Sarah's heart broke.

"Come on, come sit up here on the porch." She put her arm around Ashleigh and led them to the chairs on the porch as the rest of the group started to unload the two trucks. Christy went into the house and returned with water for them. Sarah stood with her back against the railing, Rick next to her.

"What happened?" she asked as she searched both of their faces.

"Max...he's...missing..." Jovan said. Ashleigh put her head down in her hands and cried silently. Christy walked over and knelt down next to her, rubbing her back.

"H-how?" she asked as she felt her knees get weak.

"We were with a larger group and we had a camp across the highway not far from here," Jovan started. "There were about 20 of us with a campsite in the woods. And one night, we got overrun by some of the walkers, and in the midst of the chaos, Max ran off with one of the older girls, Bekah. We've...we've been trying to f-find them, but..." he trailed off. Daryl joined them on the porch and Rick nodded to him. "The rest of our group scattered and Ashleigh and I have been searching for him..."

"How long has it been?" Rick asked.

"Two days - less than 48 hours," Jovan answered. Sarah's stomach clenched, thinking about how hard it had been when Noah was lost for a few hours.

"How far from here?" Daryl asked. "Can ya lead me to yer old camp?"

Jovan nodded. "Yeah. It's not far from here at all."

"Okay," Rick said as he and Daryl looked at each other. "We will organize search groups. It's gonna get dark soon, so we will plan tonight and leave early tomorrow morning." Daryl nodded.

"Come inside and get cleaned up," Christy said to Ashleigh. "Get some food, get some rest." Ashleigh allowed herself to be lead inside while Jovan began giving Daryl more information about Max and Bekah.

Sarah turned around to look at the yard and the rest of the group as they emptied the trucks.

"You okay?" Rick asked, putting his hand on her lower back.

She nodded. "Yeah...I'm just worried about little Max. He's only 6."

"Yeah...Daryl is a good tracker though...we'll find them."

"Where are Shane and Otis?" she asked. "Shouldn't they be back?"

Rick looked out too. "Yeah. We all said we'd be back by now. Something must have held them up. I'm sure they're fine, though."

"I'm going to go in and check on the kids, Carl, and Ashleigh." Rick nodded and kissed her cheek.

She walked in and saw Lisa putting dinner down in front of the kids at the table and smiled at her. "Thanks," she mouthed. Her mom smiled at her.

She went to check on Carl, Lori back by his side with Hershel hanging another saline bag. She went about checking his vitals when John and Rick entered the room. They sat quietly talking about Jovan, Ashleigh, and Max, with John and Rick discussing search teams while Lori and Sarah sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

It got darker in the room, signaling night fall when Hershel returned to the room.

"Shane and Otis are back!"

Rick and Sarah rushed from the room after Hershel, John hot on their heels while Lori stayed behind.

They got to the porch to see Shane climb from the driver's seat, limping on his right foot and blood dripping down the side of his head.

Otis was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Otis?" Hershel asked, fear plain in his voice as Patricia made her way from the house.

Shane put his head down and Patricia fell to the ground. "No," she whispered loudly, covering her mouth as tears fell.

"Shane?" Rick asked, stepping to him and putting his hand on his shoulder. "What happened?"

"Otis...he-he didn't make it," he said, shaking his head as Patricia sobbed loudly and Sarah dropped to her knees beside her and hugged her close. "We got overrun. I tried...I tried to help him, man...but there were too many..." he faded off.

Patricia wailed as Sarah rocked her back and forth. She looked at Rick and he looked back at her.

Her bad feeling hadn't been far off at all...