Curative

By Kaimaler

Alright, so now they're on their way to camp, but Rick suspects something about Laura. Just a little though, so we'll see how that goes. :D

Let's just see where that leads us, huh? :D

I love all y'all, those who fav, alert, and/or review. Thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy this next chapter! :3

Aww, I only have one review. :'( I love all reviews, long or short! I want to know what people are thinking about this story. :D

Also, I've written all these chapters while dramatically ill. My temperature reached 103.6 today with an average of 100.6 WOOOO! xD

"Laura, wake up." Rick tried to talk her awake, but she had never fallen asleep. She hadn't felt the need to sleep since she was cured, but she pretended. Moaning as if she'd just woken from a nap, Rick nodded up ahead of them. "We're here." Laura yawned as convincingly as she could.

Finally, she thought, she'd be able to analyze these people and see if she wanted to stay with them. It wouldn't be too difficult of a decision, if they were rude or cruel, she'd leave, if they were welcoming and kind, she'd stay until they changed or discovered her. There was more to it though, she knew as much, Merle was part of this group and he had a brother that wasn't much different then him; with any luck, he'd just ignore her unlike Merle had.

The truck stopped beside the red car Glenn had used to distract the walkers in the city, it was no longer wailing and looked no worse for wear. Glenn was standing with the group he told her about, there were quite a few of them who seemed anxious to see their members returned to them.

Andrea practically flew out of the truck when she saw someone she knew, clearly related, Andrea and this younger girl hugged so tightly it looked like they would meld together into one sentient being. Laura smiled, it was such a loving embrace, the two woman crying as they held onto each other for dear life.

The man had gone off to greet what Laura assumed to either be his wife and kids or relatives of some form or another, who were laughing in joy at his safe return.

Then, she stepped out of the truck with Rick, she wanted to stay close to him. Rick, Glenn, and T-Dog were gentle people, so willing to welcome her into their group with open arms.

And the single greatest thing happened, something Laura could never have predicted, she knew Rick was searching for his wife and son, but she figured his search would be fruitless. There were so many signs in Atlanta that were messages to loved ones, telling them where they were and what was happening. To never lose hope.

Rick never did lost hope and was rewarded for his perseverance. He was speechless, staring at his own son who cried out to him.

Laura stood on the side lines, watching the man collapse as he hugged his son in sheer relief at the sight of his family being safe, alive. He was crying loudly, not even caring who was watching them reunite; the display made her tear up a little too.

Why couldn't she have a father like Rick? That would've made life so much easier.

He stood up, carrying his son with him as he ran into his wifes' arms, her eyes were as wide as saucers she was in such shock. When close enough, she latched onto him as if she were to let him go, he would disappear.

She smiled for so long that her cheeks began to hurt, seeing Rick finding his family her happy. He was a good person and deserved to find his wife and son, rather then the families of undead she'd seen wandering the streets of Atlanta.

When they pulled away, words of love and worry just fell from the woman's mouth, she couldn't believe he was in front of her, she didn't know if she was imagining things or not.

A man walked up to them, a dark haired man wielding a shotgun just greeted him with a firm handshake. Rick knew him, he called him Shane. He was his friend and that made her all the more happy. He got his wife and son back, even his friend. The odds of that happening were so dreadfully low, yet, here they were, all enjoying the reunion of this husband, wife and son.

The man from earlier, the one who she never got the name of, approached her with his arm across the shoulders of a woman, a little girl in his other arm and a little boy in the woman's arms. "We never got to talk back there and I just wanted to say thank you for helping us get out of the city. My name is Morales." He offered his hand, which she accepted happily. "This is my wife Miranda, my son Louis, and my daughter Eliza." He bounced the little girl in his arms and kissed the forehead of his wife.

She just bowed a little, humbled by the strong love these people had for each other in the face of the apocalypse. "I'm L-Laura. It's a p-p-pleas-sure to m-meet you a-all." The two young children both shied away, hiding their faces in their parents shoulders. Laura couldn't help but giggle at them.

"Thank you so much Laura, for helping my husband and the others." Miranda took her hand and shook it. "We are so grateful to you and Rick for returning our people back to us."

"D-d-don't worry ab-bout it." Laura felt bashful, she'd never been thanked like this before. People were gathering around, everyone so ecstatic that their friends and family members had made it back safely.

"If you need anything Laura, don't hesitate to ask. We owe you and Rick." Morales smiled at her while Miranda looked so preoccupied with holding her husband like Andrea was holding that other girl and Rick held his family, like letting go would kill them. They were at a seating area in the camp and bathed one another in affections, Laura felt like she was witnessing something only they should be privy to.

She stood there awkwardly, she didn't know where to go or where she was allowed to go. If she was honest with herself, she really felt like finding the furthest corner and hiding away. Laura hadn't felt human anymore, it was like she changed into another creature altogether when she was cured.

Too deep in thought, she didn't notice Rick had turned around and had left the embrace of his wife for a few seconds just to get Laura's attention. Rick came up beside her, "Laura?" She jumped, she hadn't heard him approach her. "Y-yes, Rick?" He gestured for her to follow him and she did so with a certain amount of relief, she didn't want to stand around camp like an idiot.

"This is my family." Rick brought her to meet his family, Laura found herself in the same position she had been in with with Morales and his family.

"I'm Lori and this is our son, Carl." The brunette woman put her hand on the young boys head, "Rick tells me you popped out of the blue and helped save our members, who were complete strangers to you. Thank you." She hadn't stopped running her hand through her son's hair, her stress was making her restless.

Laura held her hands up and shook her head, "No t-t-thanks needed." Shrugging, Laura twirled a piece of her hair in between her fingers, "I only d-did what I f-f-felt was r-right."

Rick let out a chuckle, "She walked through a herd of walkers to save us, you most certainly deserve our thanks. That was a brave thing to do." He patted her shoulder.

Lori nodded, her shock at seeing her husband alive hadn't subsided yet, she kept glancing to his face to see if he was still there. Laura had seen this and assumed Rick did to, it was most endearing to see his wife so worried. "I can't begin to thank you enough, I thought my husband was dead and, maybe, without you that would have been true."

"I don't know where you came from, but I'm glad you showed up when you did." Lori managed to show a relieved smile. "I just want to... catch up with my husband for now, if that's alright with you."

"Oh n-no, go a-a-head." Laura stepped back, "You m-must have a l-lot of c-catchin' up to d-d-do."

Rick put his arm around his wife, "Thank you, again Laura."

With that, the happy family turned to leave, heading into a rather spacious tent she assumed was Lori and Carl's.

Looking around the camp, she realized there was more people then she thought and it made her quite nervous to be around so many strangers, not knowing their thoughts or intentions. A dark thought popped into her head that wondered if the group tricked her into coming here, that they planned something nefarious.

The second it popped into her head, she smashed it like the stupid idea it was. She was smarter then that. Rick was so gentle with her, Glenn had been so happy to see her and T-Dog talked to her like she was a close friend of his. Morales had been stressed out back in the city when they were cornered, but now that they were out of harms way, she could see he was a very caring man. Though Andrea seemed melodramatic to her, Laura knew she meant no harm and that she was just fearful she would die out there.

Laura felt like she was waiting for something or someone, she hadn't a clue why, but when she felt a hand tap her shoulder she was so startled she jumped back from the hand and made a particularly sad squeak.

The man held his hands up in defense, "Whoa, it's alright. I was just comin' to check up on ya'." It was the man Rick had called Shane who she overheard Rick referring to him as his friend. She put a hand on her heart and calmed herself, any friend of Rick's was a friend of hers. "Name's Shane Walsh, I'm an old friend of Rick's."

He held out his hand and she took it, he shook her hand gently making a personal note that her hands looked and felt very thin and frail. "So, Glenn tells me you just fell from the sky when he'd gone to help out Rick." Shane smiled to her, one hand on his shotgun that was resting on his shoulder and the other on his hip.

She nodded a little, slightly nervous around the man with the gun."Laura," She would spare a few seconds here or there to see where his shotgun was, "I t-t-thought I'd l-lend a ha-hand, t-that's a-all."

"From what I hear, you were a great help." He flicked his thumb on his nose and looked out to the camp before turning his head back to her, "You look a little lost, been a while since you've seen a group?" Shane wouldn't say anything, but he found her nervousness and little amusing.

Laura, however, thought it anything but amusing.

She remembered the four men, one carrying her into the abyss of the building, the others carrying out merciless acts on her. She was still sore, still ached. Then her mind went to her father, the time spent in his lab, the tests, the pain and hunger. It hadn't been long since she saw a group, it'd just been a long while since no one intended on harming her and she still wasn't sure about them.

"C-could say that." Her reply was barely above a whisper, Shane almost didn't pick it up. He raised a brow in question, but left it alone.

"Well, I tell you what, how about we go set you up a tent and introduce you to the folk around here, so you can feel a little bit more comfortable." He stepped back and nodded at her to follow him, to which she obliged.

He stopped at a small bare spot and told her to wait there for him, she sat on the dirt and pulled at the grass, it was so weird being with people again that she didn't know what to say and do. She listened to whatever people told her, at least, she would when they asked things of her, but she was still so wary of them; she hoped that was just her being overly cautious.

When Shane came back he was carrying something in his hands and he when he unrolled it, Laura had watched with curious eyes as he began to situate the pieces of what she thought looked like a disassembled tent.

An hour passed by filled with Shane cursing at the tent, Laura giggling when the tent would pop out of place and Shane would just step back, clench his jaw, and try again. Finally, the tent had been put up successfully and she was able to have privacy again.

"T-thanks, h-happy to b-be s-s-sleeping with s-s-something around m-me for once." She was overjoyed when she looked at the tent. Her tent. Shane just chuckled and licked his bottom lip. He was sweating now, his previous struggle with the tent over, he felt pride at his work.

"You have any questions, just come find me. I'm usually around camp. If you can't find me, go to him, his name is Dale." He pointed to an older man sitting atop the RV. "If you really need me, he'll be able to get me." He winked at her, "I got a few things to do right now, but I'll take you around the camp and introduce you to people later, alright?"

"Alright, S-S-Shane." She smiled brightly at him and ducked into her tent, marveling at the space, it wasn't actually very large, but to her it was perfection.

The flimsy shelter it was made her feel safer then she ever had in the past, of which she was so thankful for. This place was lovely, so far, but she wasn't going to be a victim again. Her spirits were lifted, but the Voice was in the back of her head, telling her that people can play nice.

There was a light rapping on her tent and she turned around, one of the woman who was with them in Atlanta had come in her tent with some kind of roll in her hand. She greeting Laura with such a sweet smile that made her relax.

"Hello, honey, my name is Jacqui." She had the kindest eyes and most mother-like smile Laura had ever seen, it made her so calm. "I just came by to drop this off for you, Shane said he forgot to give it to you when he set your tent up."

The kind woman whipped out the roll, which Laura saw was was bedroll. "If you get cold at night, just say somethin', we got plenty of sheets and quilts to go around."

Laura nodded, Jacqui saw her staring at the bedroll, then the tent, like she'd never seen them before.

"Dear, are you alright?" She reached out and rested a light hand on the girl's shoulder, the touch startled her and made her jump back just as she had done when Shane had tapped her. Jacqui removed her hand, wondering if she touched a sensitive spot. "What's wrong, honey? You can tell me."

Laura sat on the floor, mindful of her brace and ran her hands down the bedroll, over the tent, and finally looked back to Jacqui, her hoodie covering her eyes. "Jus-s-st not u-used to a-all this." She raised her arms to gesture to everything around her.

"What, not used to sleeping in a tent?" She reached out again, only this time Laura was more prepared and though she tensed up, she allowed Jacqui to touch her. Her hands were so gentle that even when her hand ran over her bruises she felt no pain, like the kind woman's hands worked magic on her body.

"N-no, been in l-l-lotsa' t-tents, I meant..." Laura tried to take a deep breath, her throat was so sore and swollen now that it hurt to do anything but breathing. Swallowing was so very painful, the soreness felt like someone had punched her in the back of the throat. If that wasn't enough, her black eye started to throb. Damn Merle. "I m-meant people bein' n-n-nice to me, n-not tryin' to h-hurt me."

Jacqui was shocked, how long had this young girl been out there? What traumas had she faced that made her jump out of her skin when someone touched her. She felt the need to be delicate with this subject and cautiously scooted closer to Laura. "Honey, have people hurt you before?"

The older woman was hoping that Laura would shake her head and tell her that no one had harmed her, just that she hadn't been with people in a long time, but alas, she nodded solemnly. Jacqui pulled Laura into a hug that she sat still as the kind woman held her.

The girl didn't make a sound and Jacqui leaned back from the hug. "Baby, what happened? Maybe you'll feel better if you talk about it." She was offering to carry Laura's burden, but the young girl felt compelled to keep her own secrets.

"N-nothin', forget I s-said anyt-t-thing." Laura whispered, her head down in embarrassment.

Jacqui gave Laura a concerned look, but she couldn't force the topic. "If you ever want to talk, about anything at all, I'm more then happy to listen." She gave Laura another one of her motherly smiles, "My tent is the blue one nearest to the RV, stop by whenever you want."

Laura barely nodded as her reply and Jacqui could tell she wanted to be left alone now, Laura wasn't acknowledging Jacqui anymore. She hadn't told her much, but she was very uncomfortable with telling Jacqui that little bit of information.

After Jacqui left, Laura stood up and made sure her hoodie was on right. She wanted to meet people like Shane said and she knew where to start.

She walked up to the RV nervously and slowly climbed the ladder on the end of it. Once she reached the top of the RV, the man Shane said was called Dale instantly greeted her with a joyful smile and a wave of his hand.

"Well hello there, newcomer. Care to join me?" He welcomed her on top of the RV and she took a seat a few feet from him, he sounded nice enough, but she wanted to be careful, just in case.

"J-just thought I w-w-would meet p-people." She answered, she really did want to meet the people in the camp, Dale understood and looked around the camp.

"Hmm, well, most of the women are down at the quarry doing laundry, some others are out and about. May not be able to meet a lot of people right now, sorry." He rubbed his white beard thoughtfully. "But you're most welcome to stay up here with me if you like."

She looked up to Dale and offered a thankful crooked smile. Laura had a good view of the camp from on top of the RV, it was really something. The people she could see were functioning like this was normal for them. She envied their ability to adapt so well, she still wished to be back at school studying her days away.

Laura stayed on top the RV, sitting contently on the roof as she watched the camp bristle with life. Dale enjoyed the company, even if she was quiet as a mouse. It wasn't until Rick had reemerged from his tent that she actually snapped her attention from the camp and to Rick.

"Hey Laura?" He stood in front of the RV. "I wanna take a look at that bruise if ya' don't mind, see if we can't take care of it."

Dale furrowed his brows, "Bruise?" She flicked her eyes to Dale before nodding. If Rick saw her face, her features, then he would know. Not only that, but her bite marks weren't exactly hidden well. She only had her jacket and full clothing to cover them up, she had three bites in total. The one that turned her initially where her neck met her collarbone on the right side of her neck, one on her right side, just a few inches from her spine, and the last one was in between her shoulder blades.

She didn't want Rick to know, she didn't want anyone to know, she'd just gotten there; she didn't want to be forced to leave, or killed, so soon.

Shaking her head, she remained on the RV's roof.

Her reply didn't please Rick, he was concerned about her, the punch Merle knocked her down with would've been painful, but allowing the bruise to fester and swell. He wouldn't allow it.

"Come now, Laura. You need to get it checked." Laura pulled her knees up to her chest. "I-I'm fine, h-honest."

Dale reached out to her like Jacqui had done. She flinched when his hand touched her shoulder. "You should listen to Rick, it could get bad. If you don't stop the inflammation, it'll feel worse later on."

"I'm fine." She insisted, wrapping her arms around her legs and held them tightly to her chest.

Rick sighed, hands on his hips, and shook his head. "Laura, ya' took a really bad hit, at least let someone look at it." He looked back up to her, he was hoping she'd give in and let him deal with it. He hadn't known the girl long, but he'd been in situations where women as shy as her got hurt, they always refused help and tried to tell everyone they were fine.

She stubbornly shook her head.

Dale and Rick both looked at her oddly, like they were waiting for her to offer some kind of explanation. All she did was repeat herself. "I'm fine."

Rick wanted to take care of her, he felt the force of Merle's punch, it nearly knocked him out and he was rather used to getting hit. Laura wasn't, he thought she wasn't, but she didn't really make a reaction after Merle had hit her. In fact, he distinctly remembered she did absolutely nothing, didn't even favor that side of her face.

"Laura, please. I can get one of the women here to help you with it if you want." She shook her head again, "But you need to have it checked."

"No, I'm a-alright. R-really Rick." She winced at the sound of her voice, it was little more then the squeak she'd let out earlier.

Rick contemplated reasons why she wouldn't want anyone to even look at the black eye that had to been hurting by now. Understanding what was stopping her from accepting help could make it easier for him to get her help without making her uncomfortable. He remembered how she didn't like people touching her, like just a few moments ago when Dale had simply put a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, how 'bout this?" He tried to make a deal with her, anything to get her help. "I won't touch you, at all. All you have to do is pull up your hood, just a little bit, so I can see if there is any serious damage. If there isn't, I'll leave you alone and not bother you 'bout it again. If there is a problem, real damage done, then you can pick out anyone you want to help you."

Again, Laura refused. She sunk her head into her arms, her face barely visible from his position.

He got it then, right then, she wore that hoodie to hide herself. She didn't want people looking at her, Rick couldn't think why in the world she'd be so worried about her appearance, but many domestic abuse victims would often react this why when they'd been hurt.

"Laura." He spoke quietly, "Can we at least talk about this?"

He waited to hear her answer, but she never replied, only stood up and headed over to the ladder of the RV to get down. He took that as a yes, she was willing to talk, but still wouldn't accept help.

She kneeled down and put a foot on the ladder, swung her braced leg off the edge. She had to move carefully, couldn't risk making her leg any worse then it already was.

Like he did in Atlanta when he noticed her having trouble with the stairs, Rick climbed up the ladder partially, wrapped an arm around her thighs high enough to allow her to sit on his shoulder. He got down easily and set her down on the ground without a complication.

Laura went straight to her tent and Rick was right behind her, they both fit in the tent just barely.

She sat down on the far side of the tent and faced the exit of the tent, Rick kneeled down in front of her. Laura's head was down, Rick could only see her mouth which was pulled into a tight frown.

"Will you let anyone look at it? See if there is any serious damage?" He asked calmly, Rick had convinced people before to come forward about their issues, but at the end of the world, walkers eating people, he wasn't so confident he could actually identify why she was so adamant about this.

A few silent minutes passed before she nodded, yes, she would let someone look. He was relieved, he hated the idea of leaving her alone to deal with it by herself. Past experience taught him that that was possibly the worst thing to do.

"Who? I'm sure they'll be happy to help." Rick tilted his head to the side, he was worried about her.

She lifted her head a little, he could see only part of her face. "You."

Rick, taken aback a little, raised his brows. "But... you don't want me to?" He could see that she was very reluctant to even show her face up to her nose, however, she would let Rick take a look at her black eye, so he didn't want to scare her.

He hadn't seen Merle knock her down, he was still reeling from when Merle clocked him. Rick had always hated people who hurt others just because they weren't as strong or tough as them. He felt a little responsible because of it, she tried to help T-Dog and only managed to get herself hurt.

He saw her fidget, whatever it was she wanted to tell him was making her very uncomfortable.

"You can tell me anything," Rick tried to calm her down. She raised her hands to her face and rubbed her nose and eyes, a sniffle made him very aware that she was starting to cry. "Hey, it's alright. I'm here, it's okay." He put his hands on her arms and rubbed them, he froze when he saw her face. All of it.

She looked a little like a walker. Her eyes were white, but there was a very faint green behind the white though, the sclera of her eyes was darker then her iris. Her skin was blueish, which he'd kind of saw before, but assumed was a trick of the eyes and her face, the thin gaunt look, she was staring straight at him and he was staring right back. Rick didn't move an inch when he saw her face, he didn't dare.

Laura had taken painful notice of his alarm. In her head she was pleading with him, to just let her explain. To give her a chance before he put a bullet in her head.

She felt her heart rate beginning to race, "R-Rick," Laura gulped, "I w-was a w-walker."

Rick stared at her as she pulled back her hood completely, her face wasn't dead, but it definitely wasn't normal. She was so very pale that if Rick thought about it long enough, he would've swore that she didn't have any blood coursing through her.

His hesitance to do anything made her terrified, which was the exact opposite of Rick had intended. There was just too many things rushing through his head that he couldn't control himself well enough to cover up his shock and that little bit of fear that was slowly creeping it's way into Rick's head.

"S-say s-s-something, p-please." She begged, reaching up to lightly hold his forearms. He looked down, he hadn't moved an inch since he saw her face. His hands were still on her arms.

Rick released her and leaned back, running a hand roughly through his hair, he hadn't a clue what to think of this. It was impossible right? To be a walker then to just, suddenly, not be a walker. As far as he knew walker's didn't work like that. Then again, he hadn't been part of this apocalyptic world for very long, with the way Laura was treating it, this wasn't a very common thing.

"I... don't know what to say." That only seemed to succeed in crushing her heart further, he winced when he saw this. Laura didn't know Rick well, or at all really, and she knew she was very gullible, but she had to tell someone and Rick was a very level headed person. He had been able to keep his head about him when faced with almost certain death. Laura had been paying attention when Rick had made all the plans, when he spoke he always got his point across.

She nodded, looking down and rubbing her eyes dry, tears still stung but she was able to keep her emotions in check. "A-ask me a-a-nythin' a-about it, I w-won't h-hold nothin' back."

He chewed his bottom lip, "Alright, you're not a walker anymore, how is that possible?"

"M-my father is a s-s-scientist, w-when I got b-bit, he u-u-used me to f-find a cure. He f-f-finally f-found a w-way to give b-back s-sentience." She answered as quickly as she could, she didn't want Rick doubting her. She said she wasn't going to hold back and she meant it.

"Your father made a cure?" Rick was actually quite hopeful about this, a cure meant a way to fight back against getting infected.

"As f-far as I k-know, the bes-st he could do w-was the o-one h-he used on me." She held a hand over where her heart was, feeling the heart beat faintly every few minutes. "B-but it d-doesn't r-return a w-walker b-back to n-normal, i-it just g-gives me b-back free w-will, I can t-think and f-feel again."

"Well, that's still good." Rick was both thrilled and disturbed by this news, the cure didn't make a walker human again, just gave them back morality. Which was the point he figured. "Where is your father now? Why aren't you with him?"

Her shoulders fell, he assumed that meant he died, but she erased that thought. "Even a-after I was c-cured h-he kept e-experimenting o-on me, i-it h-hurt. W-when our house w-was overrun, w-we es-s-scaped and w-w-when I g-g-got the c-chance, I r-ran. I c-c-couldn't t-take the te-s-st's anymore, t-they only g-got wors-s-e a-and w-worse."

Rick felt a sharp pang of sympathy for the young woman, she hadn't tried to bite them or eat them, so she clearly lacked her walker instincts. At least, he hoped she had. But a father experimenting on his own daughter? That just wasn't right.

"Do you... eat people?" Her eyes snapped up to his, "Oh n-no, no! I w-would never!" Rick felt a great deal of relief at that, he just had a few more questions about her state.

"Laura, I really need you to be honest with me." He stared straight into her eyes. "If you scratch someone, or bite them like a walker would, can you turn other people?"

Weight was lifted from his shoulders when she shook her head quickly. "N-no, I c-c-cannot turn p-p-people."

"Well then, I guess... If you're telling the truth, you don't eat people like a walker, you can't turn someone, and you're completely human again... There isn't a problem." He tried to give her a reassuring grin, but it was half-hearted. He didn't want to think of this woman as one of them, but she just told him she had been.

"T-thank you, R-Rick." She smiled sadly, "I w-wasn't g-goin' ta' c-c-come here on a-a-account of m-my... p-previous i-infection, b-but I w-w-was k-kinda' t-tired of b-being a-a-alone."

He was still worried about it, found it a little hard to believe, but he wasn't going to argue over it. He was still so new to this whole walker infested world. "Does anyone else know?"

She just shook her head.

"Good, let's keep it that way as long as we can." Rick didn't want to keep this a secret, but he very much believed that no one else in the camp would be so open minded about it as he was. Possibly due to the fact that he'd only awoken from a coma into this apocalyptic world. "Is this why you stutter?"

"Y-yes, I d-d-don't h-heal n-normally. It t-t-takes m-much longer for m-me to r-r-recover." She gestured to her leg. "W-when I w-was first b-b-bit, I b-broke my leg, h-hence, the b-brace. It t-takes me l-longer to h-heal t-then it would you or a-anyone e-else."

"We should try to cover up your bite, with luck, no one will be able to notice it." Rick realized there are more ways for people to discover her, he wanted to help her. "Where were you bit?"

She unzipped her hoodie and shrugged it off. Pulling down the neck of her shirt, she revealed the bite. The wound was already scarred over, the teeth marks served as evidence of her infection.

"I w-w-was bit a f-few times a-a-actually." She turned around, her back to Rick, and pulled up her shirt so he could see her back, the bites there weren't as serious as the one on her neck.

He ran his thumb against the one on her shoulder blade and the moment he did she shot forward leaning away from him. Rick withdrew his hand and let her come back before he took a closer look at the bites. The one on her shoulder blade looked like the skin around it had been torn away when the bite happened. The scarred skin made him realize that it had healed on its own, it wasn't treated at any given point in time. It scarred in the same shape as the wound was, the teeth marks were very clear, the previously torn skin made him grimace. It must've been painful.

Rick had seen her do that before every time someone touched her without her consent or knowing about it beforehand, like shaking hands or when he had carried her down stairs.

"You seem to be very tense around people, are you okay?" The bites were already scarred over, he couldn't do anything about them. Maybe he could try to find some of Lori's makeup to try and hide them better, but that wouldn't help much.

He did, however, notice all the bruises on her. She was literally a plethora of rainbow bruises.

Laura looked over her shoulder, "I..." Rick glanced up to her face, she looked sad, like she was thinking about something that bothered her deeply. "I r-ran into b-bad p-people in the c-city. I'm j-just... not u-used to p-people being s-s-so nice to me. I f-feel like e-every t-time s-someone touches me, t-that they're j-just gonna' a-add to m-my i-injuries... I-if t-that makes a-any s-s-sense." Laura huffed sarcastically to herself, she felt dumb thinking that these people would snap and beat her up for no reason at all. Made her want to smack herself.

Rick got the idea, she seemed distant after she'd answered him, she didn't say anything specific and so long as it wasn't anything that compromised these people, he figured she didn't have to say anything she didn't want to.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore, these are good people." He met a few of them already, it was strange to see people surviving like this. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't happy about it all though. "These people will take care of you."

Laura accepted his words and Rick finished cleaning the angry bruises and cuts on her back. "You have any bruises or anything anywhere else? You said you had injuries."

She turned around, lifting her shirt up completely. At first, Rick adverted his eyes a little stunned at her, but he saw what she was showing him. There were bruises on her waist, some disappeared under the belt of her pants, the others... He was a cop once, before all this, and he was very familiar with the signs of sexual assault and he knew at that moment why she jumped whenever someone touched her, she was dealing with trauma. He closed his eyes, shook his head, and ran a hand over his face.

"When did it happen?" He asked her, trying his hardest not to sound like he was being forceful, but the idea that someone hurt this poor girl, like that, he growled at the thought. She was always so shy, nervous, and unsure around people and he understood why now. Laura seemed like such a nice girl, he hated that someone went and took advantage of her.

She didn't know if he'd figure it out, but his question told her he knew. "A f-f-few days ago. G-got ca-caught by s-some bad men." She pulled her shirt back down, "G-got more, but p-pants are h-hard to t-take off with t-the b-brace o-on."

He let out a deep breath he hadn't notice he was holding in. This girl hadn't just helped them, she'd gone against her better judgement and own fears in order to get them out of there. It was a bold move, something he didn't think much about before and now he saw the extent of her actual pain, he couldn't help but worry over her now.

Rick rested a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry that happened to you." He meant it, but Laura just nodded and looked away. She was facing her worst fears, taking a brave step in the right direction and she'd been doing it alone. "Listen, Laura. If you ever want to talk, I'm right here. I'm sure some of the other women in this camp would listen too and it does good to talk about it."

"D-don't wanna' t-t-talk a-about it." She almost whined.

"I know, trust me, I get it." He held her shoulder firmly to assure her. "But you can't just bottle it up, you need to let it out sometime. I'm not saying you have to tell anyone, just that you may find talking to someone comforting." He smiled at her and while she appreciated his advice, she wasn't ready to talk about it.

"O-okay, Rick." Laura gave him a sad smile, "D-do you know w-where I c-can get cleaned up? It's b-been a l-long w-while s-since I w-was clean."

He just nodded and pointed to her face, "I still have to check that bruise." She grinned, "Aw, w-was hopin' y-you'd f-forget a-a-all about i-it." Rick huffed, "You aren't so lucky."

Rick reached out slowly, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. He carefully prodded the sensitive skin there, checking her reaction to see if Merle's punch had fractured anything. It appeared that Merle only hit over her eye, while painful, isn't as bad as a broken nose or a hairline fracture. She would twitch when he pressed too hard, but other then that, the bruise didn't actually look so bad. Considering her other injuries that is.

He leaned back, "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Rick sent her a satisfied grin, "If you want to get cleaned up, you may want to ask Dale about that. I'm not sure where everything is here just quite yet."

"T-thanks a-again, Rick, f-for g-givin' me a c-chance." Laura rolled her shoulders, pulling her jacket back on and her hood over her face.

"Don't worry about it, kid. The way I see it, you helped us out there, I ain't doing anything but returning the favor." He stood up and nodded his goodbye before leaving her tent.

The moment he was gone Laura groaned, she had been so worried about saying anything she only focused on the bad outcomes and didn't even think for a second that Rick would actually be so kind to her even after she told him she was a walker at one point. He was actually a great father figure, someone she could definitely look up to.

In the span of a single day she had joined a group of humans, told someone that she was a walker, and made a few new friends.

She wondered how Glenn would react if she told him she was a walker. Laura snickered, he'd probably scream and run for the hills.

Now that would be amusing.