After waking up from a three-year coma Lori had to endure two months of grueling and intense physical and speech therapy to heal from the trauma of her ordeal.

Michonne Anthony, her occupational therapist, stood by her side as she tried to regain muscle mass by lifting five pound free weights.

With help, she swung her legs to the edge of the mattress and was told to just sit for a minute before she stood. That gave Rick a chance to lovingly slip socks on her feet so she wouldn't be cold. Her legs were shaky when she stood for the first time in three years, and with encouragement she could walk half way down the hallway before she needed to stop. Rick had his arm around her, his hand resting on her hip and holding her tightly, his other hand encompassed her own. He and Michonne walked her back and helped her sit in a wooden chair, rather than the bed she was in for three years.

Years of sponge baths can only do so much, and Lori was overjoyed when she could take a shower for the first time since the morning of the incident. Michonne stood by her side as the water poured over her, washing away what Lori hoped would be the last remnants of her nightmare. The therapist helped as Lori preformed the delicate task of using a razor to shave her long legs and underarms.

Lori wanted to quit when her arms started hurting as she washed her hair and body, but she was encouraged to keep going.

xxxxx

As the weeks went by, Lori became stronger with her physical therapy and was able to walk the hallways, Rick always at her side. When the two returned to her room, Lori smiled when she saw her mother. There was no shortage of tears every time her mother came to visit, but when the woman showed up by herself for the third time, Lori's gut clenched.

"Where's Daddy? Connie?" She tried to say, which came out a jumbled mashup of words. Everything she wanted to say was in her mind, but getting the words out…she was just stuck.

Rick helped Lori walk to a chair and sit down, then gave her a kiss on the lips and a quick peck on the cheek to his mother-in-law and left the room. This is a time for mother and daughter.

Janette Wilson held her daughter's hand as she explained that two weeks after she slipped into the coma James Wilson had a massive, stress-induced stroke. Although he was in the hospital at the time, and Rick immediately started CPR. He was gone when he hit the floor.

Connie, Lori's only sibling, was died two years ago. Her mother didn't give additional information. The mother anticipated her question and told her that Amy, Connie's young daughter, was taken in by Rick and later adopted as a Grimes.

The two women, mother and daughter, held each other as they cried over their losses…loved ones and time. So much time gone.

xxxxx

When the doctors decided she was in proper psychological condition, Rick was able to explain the situation, dodging her questions for weeks. Psychiatrist Dale Horvath sat in the corner to help with any reaction or if Lori needed help.

Three years ago, they had an argument in the morning. Lori slowly nodded her head when she remembered the words "sometimes I wonder if you even care about us at all." In anger and frustration, he left the house without kissing her goodbye, something he never did. Hours later he and Shane heard a call over the radio about high speed chase in progress.

The two lawmen set out spike strips and waited, along with officers Bassett and Everett. The speeding car flipped, and two men were taken down after exchanging gunfire. A third, who was unnoticed at first, emerged from the overturned vehicle and aimed his weapon at Rick, getting off one shot before Shane took the man down with a shotgun.

He was shot in the gut, but the Kevlar vest stopped it. Shane took down the other man, and after a quick checkup at the hospital, department policy for an officer involved shooting, the two continued their shift.

Rick's eyes became misty and he held her hand a little tighter when he said that another call came over the radio…a carjacking, shots fired, citizen down. He wiped away a few tears when he described arriving at the scene and seeing the paramedics work on his wife.

Witnesses said she tried some self-defense moves, the ones that Rick taught her, but the thug had a gun. She was shot on the side, close to the left armpit before being physically thrown the ground, face first. She broke her left wrist, her nose and her jaw, and the bullet caused internal damage and punctured her left lung.

"You coded three times. I was never so scared in my life." He said, his crystal blue eyes teaming with tears. "I was in the chopper with you when we flew to Atlanta Trauma." Although he was usually good at hiding his emotions, Rick's pained expression told her how much he missed her.

During emergency surgery, routine bloodwork produced a surprise…she was pregnant. The operation went well, but she eventually slipped into the coma. He told her about the media firestorm that followed. Rick was heavily criticized for turning his wife into nothing more than an incubator. He was the top story for months on a cable news show with a loudmouth anchor with a thick southern drawl who dubbed Lori "coma mom."

After the publicity faded and the twenty-four hour a day news vans left their house, he had to juggle constant visits to his wife, work, keeping Carl calm and running a household. Then he adopted Amy and shortly after that Judith was born.

Shane helped with watching Carl, but he was distracted when he finally settled down and got engaged to a cute, perky blonde named Jessie. She was divorced and had two young children, Ronald, who was Carl's age, and Samuel, a few years younger.

When the time arrived, she had a C-section and gave birth to a healthy baby girl. There was just a few minutes about the birth on the news, internet articles and the occasional news clipping some still said Rick was selfish…keeping his comatose wife alive just to have a child. He went from the top headline on every newscast and received death threats, but eventually the publicity faded and he became a memory.

xxxxx

When Rick gave the okay for Lori to have company, Shane dropped Carl off at school and stopped by the hospital with Judith and Amy. Lori became terrified when she saw Rick's lifelong friend. Her mind was foggy, and she had a difficult time remembering the Shane who would throw the football around with Carl and be at their home whenever they needed help. She pictured the demonic Shane who tried to rape her in the CDC and attempted to kill her husband.

The first time Shane saw his best friend's wife he bent down for a quick hug. She looked at the left side of his neck…no scars from being scratched.

The physical therapy was working well, and Lori had enough upper body strength to lift her daughter. The first meeting brought her to tears…Judith screamed and wanted to get away from the stranger who was holding her. She scooted across the bed to the waiting arms of her father, who held her tightly. He moved closer and sat right next to Lori, who tried to say "my baby girl. My baby girl."

Rick saw the heartbreak in her eyes, and tried to encourage Judy to go to her mother. Amy crawled onto the mattress and gave her "mom" an embrace, but Judith was doing everything to avoid any contact with the she didn't know.

xxxxx

The day came when Lori was finally given the approval to go home. Her physical therapists, Michonne Anthony and Jacqui Douglas, would continue home visits for as long as she needed it. Carol Pelitier, her speech therapist, would do the same.

She was embarrassed when the nurse wheeled her out to the new minivan, and she was reminded of the time she and Rick were leaving the hospital with newborn Carl. Her boy. He's healthy, and alive.

Rick drove with one hand on the steering wheel and the other hand holding Lori's their fingers entwined. He asked her if she was doing alright, and rather than answer she just smiled and nodded. She was afraid that if she tried to speak she'd break down in tears.

He pulled into the garage, cut the engine, and hopped out of his side to run over and open Lori's door. He helped her out of her seat, treating her as though she would break.

"I gotcha, baby." He said, carefully wrapping his arm around her waist.

Rick reached over and twisted the doorknob, pushing open the door. He held her closely as her still wobbly legs carried up the three steps leading into the house, and her senses were bombarded with the sights of a place she thought she'd never see again.

A familiar aroma made her heart warm. Rick had arranged a small welcome home party. His mother, Judith, was there, along with Janette, his brother, Jeff and his family…wife Maggie and their three children, David, Anthony and Sophia, and a new, furry face, a two-year-old golden retriever Carl named Oscar.

Rick had vases of pink flowers, her favorite, all over the house. Carl, who was at this point as tall as his mother, ran over and enveloped her into a hug. Two-year-old Judy was wobbly walking towards her father, who picked her up and leaned closer to Lori. The little girl held onto her daddy as she slowly warmed up to her mother, whom she only knew from pictures and the occasional hospital visit.

The large family sat around the table, eating comfortably and overjoyed to have Lori home. She was eating her mother's and mother-in-law's home cooked dinners and looking around the table to the people she thought she lost forever. A few times she was overcome by emotion, but did her best to put on a brave face. She chuckled when Rick told Carl, again, not to feed Oscar from the table.

After three years in a coma she was not able to speak the way she wanted, which was ripping her apart because she wanted Rick to know how much she was scared. She felt as though she was watching a movie when the nightmare she had still lingered in her mind. Everyone whom she thought was dead was sitting in a safe home, eating unlimited amounts of food and embiding on wine and didn't have to worry about running from the undead. Then she realized how ludicrous, but still vivid, her dream was. She looked at her mother, who was smiling when she was surrounded by her family and grandchildren. She tried to fight the images that came flooding back…the last time she saw her parents they were both torn apart. But her mother is alive and well, but she never got to say goodbye to her father. Or Connie.

Lori excused herself and slowly walked to the powder room off the kitchen. She thought she was going crazy. She didn't know what was real or not. Her hands were shaking when she turned on the faucet, cupping her hands and splashing cold water on her face. She was home. A place she never wanted to leave, and she was home.

She hoped that her soft sobs were going unheard, until there was a light knock at the door. As he always does, Rick opened the door as he rapped his knuckles, then closed it behind him when he saw how upset she was.

"Too much? We didn't want to overwhelm you. We all missed you so much." He said, as he held her tightly. She buried her face in his chest, soaking up his masculine, musky scent. He rubbed her back as she trembled from heart wrenching sobs.

"Just relax. It's okay. You're home. I love you so much, baby."

xxxxx

Almost everyone understood her emotional reaction to being completely overwhelmed. Her mother and mother-in-law became very concerned, but Shane looked annoyed.

When Rick shut the door, there was silence, and Lori gladly accepted her husband's hand while he led her to the couch.

"So tall" she said when looking at Carl. She looked at Amy, who was only one year old when the incident happened. Her beloved niece was now her adopted daughter. "Looks like Connie" she whispered, with a halfhearted smile.

Rick watched as she pursed her fingers together and moved them as though she was using a pen. He got the unsaid message and stood up, went to the kitchen island and grabbed a pen and pad of paper. She nodded in thanks and started to write some questions. Her fine motor skills were rusty, so she had some difficulty.

"Connie?" She wrote, then showed him the paper.

"Not now." He whispered, as he quickly rubbed her back.

She nodded again and wrote "I missed three years."

"We did, baby. We missed you so much." He put his arm around her and moved closer, his forehead meeting hers. He was on the verge of tears, so he cleared his throat and changed the conversation.

The family of five sat in the living room, Carl happy to have his mom back, Amy and Judy slowly warming up the new person in the house.

After an hour of time spent together, just the five, no television, cell phones or IPad, Lori gave Carl a tight embrace when he said he was going to bed. She had a quick memory of standing over his grave at Hershel's farm, desperately digging at the dirt to see her boy one more time, and held on closer, her tears pooling in her eyes.

It was just a dream. She reassured herself.

"Mom, I'm okay." Carl said, as his mother tightened her embrace and he could feel the tears dampen his shirt.

He broke the hug, still overwhelmed with his own grief, leaned back and gave his mom a kiss on the forehead.

Rick, who witnessed the entire scene, rubbed Lori's back before adding, "I'll get the girls ready for bed." Rick said, standing up but never breaking their gaze. "Your job is to just sit and rest."

Lori sat on the sofa and looked around the room, all the memories of a different life flowing back. She missed being in the house she loved, with the man she loved, raising her family. The last time she was in the kitchen was when she had an argument with Rick over trivial matters, things she doesn't even remember today.

She heard the splashing of the water and the giggling of little girls and wanted to run up the stairs. This was HER family. She needed to be with them.

She thought about her dream. It was so realistic. Several long looks at her left wrist showed a scar from the surgery to fix the broken bone, by no suicide attempt. She closed her eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger, trying to remember details. She broke her wrist in her dream, which may have been her remembering the injury she sustained during the fight. Hershel died of a massive stroke, just as her father did. She was never so confused. She knew she should hear and feel everything when she was unconscious, but wasn't able to say anything. She could hear Rick crying and begging for her to wake up. She remembered the familiar feeling of a pregnancy, and the absolutely horrible day when she had her C-section. The doctors thought that she was in a coma so the pain medication wasn't needed. They were wrong…

"Hon? Baby?"

Rick's booming voice snapped her back to reality.

"Yeah?" She was able to say out loud.

"Just wanted to make sure you're okay down there. I'll be down in a few."

She cleared her throat and answered "alright." Then looked around her home. It was the exact same way she remembered it the morning she left. But she was struck with a strong feeling of dread. She sat for a few minutes, trying to calm herself down from the precipice of a major panic attack. Her feelings danced between grief, fear, and emotionally drained.

Oscar sauntered over to her, his tail wagging. He put his front paws on her knees and lifted himself up, sniffing around her head before licking her cheek.

She smiled and responded by rubbing the dog's head before he jumped onto the couch and curled onto her lap.

Well, at least you accept me. My girls don't.

xxxxx

Rick stood right behind her with one hand on her back as she slowly took the fourteen stairs up to the second floor. He refastened the safety gate behind them.

She pointed to what was the guest room, the door at the other end of the hall from the master bedroom. When she opened it to say goodnight to the girls she looked at the walls, painted a light shade of pink and one wall had a large poster of Elsa from the movie "Frozen."

She walked over to the two toddler beds, Connie still awake but holding her worn teddy bear. Lori leaned forward and gave her new daughter a kiss before walking a few steps over to Judith. "Baby girl." She said, feeling a tear fall onto her cheek.

When two-year-old Judy started to squirm, Rick, who was standing in the threshold to give Lori privacy, walked over to her daughter and said, "Judy, this is your mama. Can you give her a hug?"

Judy's eyes went from her mother to her father before landing back on her mom, then she sat up in bed and quickly wrapped her arms around Lori's neck. She was still weak, but held onto her child…the child who was buried at the West Georgia Correctional Facility was now in her arms. Lori planted several kisses on her daughter's face before the girl squirmed away and laid back down, letting her mom cover her with the blankets.

After a quick stop at Carl's room to say goodnight one more time, she noticed the room was completely different. The Star Wars posters on the wall were gone, along with figurines on his dresser. She kissed her son good night one more time, then shut the door.

xxxxx

Getting to their bedroom, she noticed everything was exactly the same. It needed some cleaning and dusting, but nothing was different.

"Love to take a shower." She said. Looking at her husband. Rick smiled and agreed. "Five minutes." She asked, needing some privacy before she had company.

When she quickly glanced around the familiar bathroom she noticed that everything was the same. Rick didn't touch anything on her sink in the double vanity. Even her hairbrush was in the same place. She peeled off her clothes but refused to look in the mirror to see her scars. She was told by the doctor that she was not limited to any activities, and she yearned to be with her husband again.

She let the hot water pelt her skin and saw the exact same bottles of shampoo were in the shower caddy. It was almost as though time had stopped in the house. She heard the shower curtain pull back and Rick stepped into the tub. He stepped forward and gently kissed her shoulder. His hands moved over the naked, slick skin of her back, gliding and massaging. A shaky moan escaped her throat when he pulled her against him. Her heart fluttered when she felt him behind her, and his hardness against her the back of her thigh. She bent forward and grabbed onto the towel rack as Rick gently held her hips and entered her from behind. Their bodies were sealed tight, and the primal need they had for each other came rushing back.

xxxxx

Rick stepped out of the tub first, Lori saying she wanted to stay under the water a little longer. When she finished, and dried herself off, for the first time she looked at herself in the mirror over the sink. She was taken aback when she saw how emaciated she became. Her ribs and hip bones were visible through her skin, and her overall muscle tone was extremely atrophied.

She saw the faded scar that ran from just below her chin to right above her navel. Her C-section scar was prominent, as was a large scar below her left armpit and marks from chest tubes and further surgeries. Her hair was tinged with grey, and dark circles remain under her eyes.

She felt the tears form when she saw how ashen and grey her skin was. She didn't know who was looking back at her.

Rick became concerned when she was taking too long drying off and opened the door while gently knocking. He found her wrapped in a towel, her collarbones visible.

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, leaving a trail of kisses from her shoulder to her cheek.

"You look beautiful." He told her.

"Like a walker." She whispered, as tears started to flow out of her eyes. She thought she had the same sunken, pale look that haunted her dream for the past three years.

"Like a what? Baby, you're beautiful. I love you so much. You have no idea how much I love you."

"Three years, gone." She replied, as her voice cracked.

She put her hands over her face and started softly crying, then turned around and buried her face into Rick's bare chest. He rubbed her back and held her tightly and enveloped her into a hug. He tried to contain his own emotions, but was losing the battle.

"I missed you so much, baby, I can't tell you how much I love you."

When she calmed down, he gently said, "Let's go to bed."

xxxxx

He walked her over to her dresser, and everything was exactly where she remembered it. She slid on a pair of panties and a pajama shirt. While standing in front of the dresser she noticed that everything…the few books in the corner, the teddy bear she kept when Rick won it for her at a carnival when they were teenagers, were still in place.

It took her a few moments to say, "Everything's the same."

"Of course, it is, baby." Rick said, taking the towel she used to dry her hair and throwing it in the bathroom hamper. He quickly walked back to the bed and slid under the covers, immediately taking his wife in his arms.

He held her tightly and was desperate to claim his wife again.

xxxxx

Moments later, Rick was completely covering his wife. He propped himself up on his bent elbows which rested on either side of her head. He alternated between deeply kissing her mouth to dipping his head to suck on her nipple. Every thrust made her body tremble.

They laid together, basking in the afterglow of a much-needed reunion. He took a deep breath and said "Shane took care of Carl. It took me over a week to get home. I stayed with you until they brought you from Trauma to Grady. I didn't touch anything. It took me almost a month before I washed your coffee mug. I was lost. I guess the old saying is right, 'you don't' know what you have until it's gone.' Baby, I was never so scared in my life."

Lori didn't say anything. She heard him say those words before.

What the hell is going on?