I don't own anything to do with Rick or any character from the Walking Dead. I own the OC's however, and I love 'em! :)

NOTES** Hope you guys like the new chapter! I can't wait to hear your reviews! Thanks for your patience and love, you know I adore you guys!

Rick-

He didn't sleep much more than his newborn son that night. The farm had seemed to suck all his time and attention whether he liked it or not. He kept trying to get back to Ruby, but someone always needed something.

Whit, blessedly, had stepped up and most people, especially the ones from town, had gone to him first, so he was able to be a liaison of sorts for Rick. He'd meet up with him occasionally as he went back and forth between the houses, settling things back down. Of course, the two main issues were Disco and Benny, and poor Noell going back and forth like a walker herself before the night was through.

Rick saw her long after the sun had set, the moon high on the horizon, going toward the men's house. Her normally high shoulders were sagging slightly, her gait not nearly as quick as he was used to. He didn't even have to jog to catch up with her. She didn't hear him, as was clear when she jumped, startled by his greeting as he stepped up behind her. She spun a little, saw him, and looked a little disappointed for a second before she wiped it from her face.

"Hey Rick." She sighed, wiping her face with a weary hand, her doctor bag lagging in her other hand like it weighed a hundred pounds.

"Can I get that for you?" He offered and she handed the bag to him gratefully. "Were you hoping to see someone else?"

"No." She said quickly. A little too quickly. "That's a weird question, why would you ask that?"

"I don't know, I just. You looked... what?"

They looked at each other uncomfortably for a moment, Rick absolutely lost. "I'm sorry." She finally said, and he shook his head rapidly, a hand out.

"No, I get it, of course. You look exhausted."

"And not nearly done. Spent the last two hours with Disco. I don't know how she's still alive, Rick, except that Jimmy..." She sighed. "He's just not letting her go."

He frowned, sad for the young man. "She still bleeding out?"

She nodded. "She would have been gone hours ago if not for him. He's got the grip of an anaconda, he won't move from her side, he knows he's just holding her together at this point."

"He loves her. I'd do the same thing." He said, and a door from the men's house startled them both. They looked over to see Merle lazily coming down the stairs, a rag in his teeth wrapping around his one hand, the shadow of blood in the moonlight evident on his skin.

"How is he?" Noell asked as the man got closer.

"Not your problem anymore." He answered when he realized the fabric in his mouth and dropped his hand.

Noell raised her eyebrows and sighed, her head tilted a little. "Not shocked. He lasted longer than I thought he would, too."

"Funny how the fucker tend to do that, huh?" Merle flicked his eyebrow up a little and almost grinned. "You sayin the cheerleader kicked it too?"

"No, Disco is still holding on." She corrected him quickly and began to turn to go back the way she'd gone.

"Don't you want to rest a little first? You just left her." Rick called out and she paused, looking back.

"Jimmy won't understand. If she dies and he finds out I could have been there... he didn't even want me to leave to check on Benny."

A sudden, sharp cry from the main house and a clatter of doors and voices drew all three's attention just then. Eddie was coming out backward from the house, trying to stop a red faced Jimmy and Noell's eyes opened wide.

"Oh god." She whispered, and they ran to the two men from where they were.

"Jimmy, just stop, man." Eddie was trying to get through to his friend, but they were all surprised when Jimmy pulled his gun and aimed it between Eddie's eyes. As if it weren't enough, Lola came bounding out of the house screaming for him to stop and Rick jumped into action.

The group now gathered in front of the houses was a mess of shouting voices, irrationality taken complete control and Rick could not get a word in edgeways. It wasn't until he physically stepped in front of Jimmy's gun that he saw a flicker in the young man's eyes.

"Rick, get out of my way. I'm gonna go kill that cocksucker."

"You don't have to. Benny's dead, Jimmy, just put down the gun." Rick's hands were up and Jimmy furrowed his eyebrows in frustration.

"What?"

"He's dead, cowboy. Now put it down!" Merle hollered loudly and Jimmy swung his gun toward Noell, surprisingly.

"Then where the fuck were you? You just let her die, where were you? You said you would be there!"

Rick grabbed her shoulder and she went down to one knee behind him with a yank as he covered her. They'd drawn attention from the whole farm at that point, and Rick saw behind Jimmy that Whit and a still slightly unsteady Satch were behind him, armed to the teeth as well. This was not good.

"We need to put down the gun, Jimmy. You don't want to do this. Noell just found out, she just got out here for god's sake." Rick reasoned with the boy and he watched for a reaction. Jimmy looked hard at him for a few moments, the only change being his shoulders. He had almost been holding his breath, now they were heaving. His eyes flicked to Noell and he seemed to break somewhere inside. He gave a small gasp, and nodded slightly.

"Yeah. Yeah..." His breathing increased, he was starting to hyperventilate, but was obviously still crazed with grief. He dropped his gun and it clattered into the dust at his feet. With that, everyone else disarmed and Eddie's arm went up around his friend as he began to go down. Others went to help and Eddie waved them away.

"I got him. Just let him be." He hissed gently and Lola followed the two men back into the house, that look of horror never leaving her face. The group outside was left, suddenly silent and hearts slowing from the rush of adrenaline.

"Everybody back in. Get some sleep." Whit gave out an order that was both soft in volume and sharp in authority. His people turned immediately and left for the their house, and Rick nodded to him and Satch. Whit gave him a sympathetic look and half salute before turning and following is people back inside. Merle had taken off right after Jimmy had gone, and Rick could see him and Abe dragging Benny's sheet draped body around the house and out of sight.

"You ok?" He put a hand on Noell's shoulder and she nodded, still not moving from where she's been dragged behind him to safety. "I can't believe he-"

"He wouldn't have hurt you." Rick said quickly. "He was crazed. You've seen it."

"I know. I just, uh... I guess-" She frowned and looked up at him. "Thank you."

He gave a little nod. "'Course." He tightened his hand on her shoulder and then let go. "You think you can sleep now?"

"I think I have a few nightmares waiting for me, but, uh, yeah." She sighed. He watched her go back into her house and he stood there in the now stunning silence of the farm, looking out into the fields beyond the yard. He could see figures of walkers moving about in the distance, probably drawn by the breezes carrying their scent, by their voices, who knew. At that point, who cared. The new moon above let out just enough light to see the shapes, but no detail, and he thought about how apropos that was right then. Walkers hadn't been the thing they'd been running from for a while. It was them, the living, the ones who provided the real threat to his family, his home, his happiness. He was turning to go inside when he saw Daryl appear at the front door. The hunter let the screen door clatter behind him as he raced across the yard and into the men's house. Rick was too tired to see what that was about, and decided instead to lock up, and spend some well deserved and needed time with his family.

-Merle-

Merle flipped off the kitchen faucet and dried his clean hand against the rag on the counter. Abe had bid goodnight just after they'd taken Benny's stinking body outside, and he was turning off the light when he saw his brother dart in and up the stairs.

"Hey man, you wanna-" He began to call up after Daryl, but paused when he realized his brother had completely skipped his own room and was now clattering loudly back toward Noell's door. He heard her door slam behind Daryl, the lock slam shut behind him, and a cut off female's voice just a split second long.

"Well, well." Merle grinned, chuckling to himself and continuing to close up the house. He was still shaking his head in amusement when he let himself down onto the couch in the living room and closed his eyes. From the noises occasionally filtering out upstairs, he knew his own room, right below Noell's, would not be fit for sleep tonight. "Finally, little brother." He murmured as he drifted off to sleep. "Git some fer me."

-Daryl-

Daryl's internal clock had long ago set itself to alert him to the rising sun, and despite the long day he'd had- well, they'd all had- the day before, he was watching with an eagle's eye for the first first rays of sunlight to break the horizon. The only other sounds were a single bluejay somewhere outside the window and the slow, deep breathing of the girl lying next to him. For the first time since opening his eyes, he'd ventured a glance at her. He'd nearly been afraid to before, satisfying himself with the sound of her rather than the actual visual. It was like if he actually looked, she'd be gone and he'd realize that he's been dreaming. Dreaming like he'd done so many times before. He'd lost count of the times he'd caressed her sweet, soft skin, kissed her lips, and when he'd open his eyes he'd see nothing but a wrinkled pillowcase and the loss of the memory of her scent.

His heart leapt when he saw the reality this morning, though. There she was, real as the bed beneath them and the scent he'd breath in when she's waft by him at the kitchen table or in the hallway was as real as his own flesh. He breathed it in deeply, letting the soft warmth of it soothe his beating heart. He was suddenly terrified she's wake up then and realize what had happened, that she was undressed in bed with him, that they'd spent the night together doing things he'd only dreamed of. Not gutteral, disgusting things, but satisfying, sweet things you do with a woman you cared about, a woman you wanted to be there the next morning instead of an empty bed stained with eyeliner and cheap perfume. That fear paralyzed him, and he couldn't move just then. He ran a dry tongue over rough lips and sat back against her headboard, trying not to panic. What if she regretted it? What if he'd moved too fast? For god's sake he'd only first kissed her that afternoon, but then when he'd heard that Jimmy had aimed his gun at her out there and he'd not been there... well, he'd lost it. He didn't even remember the trek from the main house to her room, he just remembered getting into her room and seeing her, startled to death, a towel over her chest as she'd prepared to go shower the long day off and he hadn't cared. It had only taken a moment between their eyes to satisfy both of them that they'd wanted to be there, and that it was what both of them wanted.

Her eyes fluttered and his breath caught in his throat. It was the moment of truth and he waited for it. She raised her head, rubbing her eyes with a tired hand, and when she pulled it away, he found her looking right at him. She didn't even pause, a smile swept over her face and she moved over, snuggling a bare shoulder down and into him. He felt his breath escape in a gasp of relief and pulled her tightly to him.

"Thank god..." He whispered to himself, never wanting to let her go.

"Morning." She whispered and kissed his hand, tucked up under her chin.

"Mm-hmm." He still couldn't bring himself to say words. Not physical ones anyway. He could do everything they'd done again, but he couldn't speak. Daryl Dixon, you are an idiot, he thought to himself.

"Ok." She chuckled, yawning. "So no morning chat. Cool by me, I'm still exhausted."

He actually smiled, his apprehension melting away into a slow burning desire. He ran his hand over her smooth shoulder and down under the sheet, and she looked up at him with a grin. Grabbing his neck, she pulled him down into a kiss and he closed his eyes just before the tears he felt rising spilled out onto his cheeks.

-Ruby-

"Thank god for you, Carl." Ruby said for the millionth time that day as she passed a sleeping Darick to his older brother. Carl was only too happy to help and cradled the child easily in his arms as he retreated to the couch in Ruby's room. She got up gently and let herself into the bathroom. Rick had left after sunrise to control the situation outside, just in case Jimmy got out of hand again. Carl had been reluctant to leave last night, and they had let him sleep on the couch near them. It had just seemed best somehow. Having them all together in one room made them all feel better.

"Do you think Jimmy will be ok?" Carl asked out loud and Ruby bit her lip as she stepped into the bath.

"I hope so." She said sadly. "Disco was all he had. I don't know how he's going to take it all."

"He has us. And Eddie, Lola." Carl said, rocking his brother.

"It's different, Carl. I don't know how to explain it." She said, that was a conversation for Rick to have with him, not her. She cleaned up quickly and came back out, tying up her hair into a knot on the back of her head. "You ready?" She asked with a sigh and Carl nodded. She took the infant from him, a small stir and cry but he didn't wake up, and they stepped out to find Rick.

"I don't see him." Carl said what she'd been thinking when they got to the middle of the yard and looked around. The tree where the other graves had been dug was already people by several of the townspeople who had come to pay their last respects to the girl soldier with the big smile. Jimmy was there too, but away from the others and clearly on purpose. His face was clouded and dark as he knelt on the ground and stared out into the field ahead. Disco lay covered near him and next to her open grave. Ruby wanted to go to him, but stopped. There was too big a wall around him, and she wasn't even sure how to go about getting around it.

Eddie was behind him a few feet, Lola holding Lilly tightly in her arms. Her demeanor since Jimmy's incident the night before was still hanging like a pallor about her pale face. Staring at the four of them, Ruby had the sudden thought that something was coming. Something had been begun with the raising of Jimmy's gun, and it wasn't over yet.

"It's time." Rick had come up behind her as she'd watched the scene at the tree and she jumped at little at the sound of his voice. "Sorry." He whispered and kissed her forehead, then Darick's, before leading them and Carl to the grave. The rest of the farm followed suit, joining the first comers at the tree, and they formed a circle around the open grave. There wasn't one for Benny, of course. If Jimmy had his say, the boy would have been put on a pike at the front gate for everyone to see.

Rick stepped forward and began to speak, but Ruby focused on watching Jimmy, and the others. A movement from her right about five or so minutes into the service caught her eye and she saw Noell and Daryl join the group. Funny, she hadn't even noticed that they'd not been there the whole time. Of course, with everything going on, that wasn't surprising. She caught Noell's eye and gave her a sad smile. The young doctor nodded slightly to her, her face flushed and carrying a different kind of look than Ruby could decipher. It was strange, but it was a strange day after all. Any time they lost one of their own, it was like all bets were off. Emotions could not be controlled or anticipated. Daryl had his hand on Noell's lower back in support, and Ruby smiled. It was sweet, seeing him being there for her then. She'd worked so damn hard and still lost both her patients in one day, that had to be hard.

The service was quick, but kind, a was Rick's usual way. Ruby swallowed hard, watching Jimmy's stone face as he stared down at the ground, at Disco's sheet draped body. He didn't move, didn't shed a tear, and when Rick was finished, he didn't even wait for the last of his words to echo away before he was marching back toward the house angrily. The others watched him go, and when Eddie started to follow, Lola grabbed his arm quickly and stopped him.

"No." Ruby heard her hiss sharply, and Eddie got down to her ear, responding so quietly it couldn't be heard. "No, Eddie. He nearly killed you last time, I'm not giving him a chance to do it again!" She said sharply, louder than before, and Eddie glanced up, his face reddening slightly. Taking a deep breath, he gave her a nod, and stayed where he was. The door to the house slammed behind Jimmy as he disappeared inside.

"Rick, I want to check on him. He shouldn't be alone." She whispered and he gave her a worried look.

"I don't think so. I should go. Least be sure he isn't armed this time."

She gave him a tired look. "Oh come on, he's not going to do that again. He was... out of control yesterday. He's had a little time, he's not going to hurt me, or anyone else."

"Lola should let Eddie go." Carl said sideways, close to her side. She glanced down at him before looking up at the couple, still close together and whispering, Lilly between them.

"Yeah, maybe. Regardless, I don't think she's going to change her mind." Ruby answered. She looked back at Carl. "Can you watch Darick?"

His face brightened slightly. "Sure. Come on, Ari."

"Ari?" She smiled, handing the baby to the young man. "Where'd that come from?"

He shrugged. "Well, it's not like we can call him Dar, 'cause you already call Daryl that." He said. "And we won't call him Rick, 'cause that's even more confusing. So, Ari." He pronounced the name 'Airy", and she nodded.

"Cute. Ari. Ok." She ruffled his hair and smiled, giving Rick an amused glance before following Jimmy's earlier steps to the house. No one else followed, but she had the sense that she wasn't going to be far from the others. Paul, Rick and Daryl were all watching her go with eagle eyes.

She climbed the stairs to Jimmy and Disco's room slowly, thinking of what she would say the whole time. This was the worst part, the part where you just felt lost. She reached the door and sighed before knocking quietly.

"Jimmy?" She said softly, and heard a thump from inside the room. He was so angry, she didn't want to push it. "Jimmy, it's Ruby." She waited, and finally heard him speak inside, his voice firm and quiet.

"Go away, Ruby."

"I know you're angry, but please don't let this turn inside, ok? Talk to me," She paused again and listened. She heard a loud thud, he'd punched or kicked something inside. He'd probably tear the room apart before it was all over. "I'm not going to push you, ok? I just want you to know I'm going to be here for you, if you want me to be."

"I got nobody, Ruby, She was it. She was my last chance at bein' happy." He said from inside the room and she felt tears spring to her eyes.

"No, Jimmy. No, you can't think that." She laid a hand on his door and leaned into it. "She would not want you to feel that way, you know that."

"How the hell do you know that?" He bit back. She wished he'd just open the door, this through the wood thing was getting tiring and the sound of moving furniture was weird. It made her skin crawl. What was he doing in there? "We swore to each other- It was like she knew somethin' was gonna happen to us. We were gonna die together."

Ruby furrowed her eyebrows. Well, that didn't sound right. What was Disco like in her personal life, anyway, that she would make Jimmy promise something like that? "What do you mean?" She asked slowly.

He didn't answer. She heard another thump and a sharp crack from inside, and then Jimmy made a gurgling noise. A noise he should not have been able to make unless...

"Jimmy? Jimmy!" She reached for the door and tried to turn it. It was locked. Pounding on the door, she began to yell. "Jimmy, open the door! Now! Don't do this, please!"

Paul reached her first. One look from her and she backed up, out of his way. Aiming with a good shoulder and he was through the door, splintering wood from the door frame shattering around his large frame and raining down on her as she followed. Ruby pushed to get around him, and he skidded to a stop, his hands automatically coming back to stop her. He tried, but she was quick, going one way when he thought she would go the other. Looking up, she found herself looking into Jimmy's now lifeless, bulging eyes as he hung from the ceiling by a long silver cord. His legs swung right to left from the kicking that had just come to stillness that was unnatural, wrong.

She couldn't speak, she couldn't breathe, she could only scream. It poured out of her, deafening, and didn't stop till her face was pressed into Rick's shoulder, his calm voice bringing her back from the edge of oblivion.