A/N: I've got some ideas rattling around in my head...and I'm fighting hard not make things move too fast where certain pairings are concerned..so please be patient! Thanks for all the reviews, they do make me one happy bunny!
Hershel sat at the dining room table with Daryl and T-Dog playing cards, trying to drown out the sound of the screaming that came from upstairs. Rick and Lori had retreated to their room in a ridiculous attempt to keep their argument from being known to the others in the house. Carol had decided to take Carl out for a stroll around the colony, Beth had retreated to the front porch to draw with some supplies Mitchell had given her, Maggie and Glenn had volunteered for watch duty when they'd heard a couple of people were ill and unable to take their shifts.
"Screw this!" Daryl tossed his cards down and got to his feet, nearly knocking his chair over as he got up.
"Where you goin'?" Hershel asked as he followed, leaving T-Dog to look at their cards.
"Out, for a walk.." Daryl opened the door, glancing over to Beth who had dragged a chair out to sit in while she drew. "I'm just sick and tired of listenin' to those two at each other's damn throats."
"I know." Hershel. "Somethin's gotta be done."
"Got some duct tape?" the younger man asked. "I'm outta here."
"I'm gonna go for a walk, too." Hershel announced. "Bethy, you okay here?" he asked, hating the fact that his daughters were having to listen to Rick and Lori's problems.
"Fine as could be." she smiled sweetly. "Especially if I keep these cotton balls stuffed in my ears." she held up two wads of cotton.
"Okay then." he smiled fondly. "I'll be back in a bit."
"'Kay, daddy." she looked over and found Daryl staring at her. "It's that kind of thing, isn't it?" she asked, her smile fading a bit.
"Yeah." he nodded. "I'm gonna go for a walk 'round the place, you can come if you want." he shrugged.
"You want company?" she asked, rather surprised.
"It's a walk, we're not gonna be doin' a lot of bondin' or nothin'" he glanced at her as she fell into pace beside him. "And walks don't need a lot of yappin' either."
"Point taken." she smiled. "Someone's startin' to like me." she said quietly in a soft voice, looking away when he glared at her.
Hershel knocked on the door and waited impatiently for an answer. As he was about to knock again, the door opened and Christie stared at him, rather confused at his appearance on her doorstep.
"Hello." she said.
"I need to talk to you." he said. "I need you to separate Rick and Lori."
Christie leaned against the open door and sighed. "You're sick of them fighting, too, huh?" she asked. "Come on in." she moved aside.
"Someone else from our house has come to talk to ya?" he asked as he followed her into her dining room, noting all the papers spread everywhere.
"Not from your house, no." she shook her head as she sat down. "Some of the other people on the street, yes."
Hershel watched as the young woman gathered the papers and stacked them neatly off to the side before sitting down. "It's gettin' bad." he sighed.
"I know." she grabbed a coffee up and headed into the kitchen. "Do you want some?" she called out. "This could be a long chat."
"Yeah, I'll take some if you're offerin'." he sat back in the chair and looked around. Floral print everywhere. It was obvious that an older person had lived there once. It was just as obvious that it didn't seem to fit the current owner at all. "Nasty bruises." he nodded to her face as she came back in.
"Slipped and fell getting out of the shower." she shrugged. "Can't say it's the first time." she laughed. "Coffee will be done soon."
Hershel just looked at her and nodded, knowing full well she was lying about the origin of the bruises, but didn't press the matter. "So, others have been knockin' at your door complainin' about 'em, eh?"
"Yes." she grabbed one of the papers from the stack. "I was working on housing assignments, I figured Rick, Lori and Carl would stay at the house you're in now, Daryl and T-Dog in another, you and Beth in one and Maggie and Glenn would get their own space."
"What about Carol?" he asked, noting the absence of the other woman.
"That's where I was getting stuck." she made a face. "I wasn't sure if she'd wanna share a house with a couple of guys or have a place of her own." she put the paper down. "I felt kind of bad putting her by herself when everyone else would be with family."
"Not sure if she's ever had a nice place of her own." he replied as she got up and retrieved the coffee. "Then again, I'm not sure how she likes bein' alone."
"And now, if I have to separate those two..." she handed a cup to the old man. "Telling them should be fun."
"You'll do it then?" he asked. "If for no other reason than to give us a bit of a break."
"And some time to themselves wouldn't be bad, give them time to cool down and think things over." she made some notes. "It could also explain why their kid acts the way he does."
"It's not healthy for a child to hear his folks fightin' like that." Hershel took a sip of his coffee, wishing it were stronger.
"No, it's not." she shook her head, thinking back to her own parents fighting. "I'll talk to them, and to Carol."
"If they're split for a while, she might wanna stick around Lori...keep an eye on her." he offered. "She's a kind woman like that."
"I hate feeling like a control freak." Christie put her pen down and sipped at her own coffee.
"If they act like children, they must be treated as such." he smiled.
"I could make them wear cone hats, let everyone know they've been naughty." she laughed.
"With the fights they've been havin', I think everyone on our street knows that already."
"I don't see why we have to be here." Lori stood on Christie's doorstep, arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping impatiently as they waited for an answer to their knock.
"She said she had some news about housing assignments."
"And we're the only ones who had to come...and had to come to her place." she rolled her eyes. "She seems lazy."
"Lori, don't start." Rick groaned, wishing Christie would just open the door already.
"Sorry, don't wanna insult your girlfriend."
"You sound like a spoiled child!" he hissed.
"You..." Lori began but was cut off by Christie opening the door, giving them both a look that shut them up quickly.
"Get in here." she stepped aside, wanting to smack them both at the sound of their arguing.
"You said you had housing assignments?" Rick said as he took a seat at the end of the sofa, Lori sitting on the opposite side.
"I need to ask a couple of questions." she replied as she noticed the gap between the two. "Rick, would you prefer to have a place of your own, or would you wanna share a place with Daryl and T-Dog?"
"Excuse me?" he asked, totally lost. "Why would I have a place of my own?" he and Lori glanced at each other.
"I'm gonna split you two up...for a while at least." she explained.
"What?" Lori asked, thinking she knew why this was happening.
"I'm sick and tired of getting people complaining about you two and your fights." she explained.
"They should mind their own business!" Lori was starting to become annoyed. "What happens in our house..."
"At least one person from your house has come to me." Christie cut her off. She wasn't going to reveal who, not wanting either of the pair unfairly going after Hershel. "You two have gotten so bad I can hear you screaming down the street if I have my windows open."
"Close your windows." Lori said matter-of-factly.
"I'm not gonna die of heat because you two can't shut up for five seconds." Christie clutched the pen she'd picked up. "This isn't open for debate." she looked over to Rick who hadn't said a word, the expression on his face was one of surprise and if she didn't know better, relief. "I'm assigning places, and I need to know where to put you, Rick."
Rick looked up at her and shook his head. "I don't know..."
"You don't know?" Lori asked. "You don't know?!" she stared at him in disbelief. "She wants to break us up, and all you can say is you don't know?"
"I'm not trying to break anyone up!" Christie was quick to defend herself. "You two just need to take some time apart, calm down and figure things out. Your fighting isn't good for anyone, especially not Carl."
"Like you give a damn about our son." Lori spat at her.
"His attitude is lousy, but I think I've got a good idea where it's coming from." Christie was trying hard to keep her calm. She and Lori didn't like one another and they each knew it.
"Place of my own." Rick finally said.
"What?" Lori looked at him, hurt and confused.
"We're about to kill each other, Lori." he looked at her. "You know that as well as I do. We need to do something before we destroy each other. Destroy our marriage."
"Fine then." she said as she got to her feet. "You go, live on your own."
"Lori!" Rick got up and tried to follow her, but the look she shot him as she got to the door stopped him in his tracks.
"I'm sorry." Christie said as she put a hand on his shoulder. "But you two have to figure things out, and it's not gonna happen with you fighting all the time."
"I know." he said as he glanced down at her. "Where do I stay tonight? I don't think I'm gonna be welcome back at the house."
"We'll figure something out." she promised.