A/N(1): Hey thanks for your reviews on the last chapter. And look! I got you a nice new one so soon. Gasp! Lol. I hope you enjoy this. I wanted to say in regards to Lori in 10, I love how some people can feel a bit for her, while others could give a damn. It should be complicated. What I was trying to convey is that she is complex and she did make bad choices. Some insane, nonsensical choices no less, but at the bare bones of it all there were things that happened to her that changed who she was, who she thought she was, and what her plans for her life were. She did not just wake up one morning vindictive because she was unhappy. I was trying to illustrate that it was a gradual process until there was point where, I think a lot of people can relate, is when you just stop caring. Now everything she does after that, even the way she reacts to her predicaments is all on her. I love your input, please keep it coming, and enjoy this next chapter.

'Knock! Knock! Knock!'

'Bang! Bang! Bang!'

"Who the fuck is knocking on the door like that?" Shane pulled his arm from under Lori and swung his legs off the bed to stand up.

"Shane wait..." Lori warned, reaching for the sheets to cover her naked body.

'Bang! Bang! Bang!'

He pulled up his jeans and grabbed his beretta from the nightstand. "Stay here. I'm just going to check and see who it is."

Lori sat up in the bed, a nauseating feeling overcoming her as she reached for her satin robe.

A Few Hours Earlier:

"...and so she just called me, said she wanted to meet up." The last few words choked out of his mouth. "I only brought Andre because I knew once she met him she would love him. Then maybe... me."

Rick's head was spinning. This tall tale about his wife allegedly having this alternate guise, an affair lasting months with a man while they were still married. It all felt foreign to him and hard to process. It made the case of mistaken identity all the more rational. There was no way Lori would go through all of that just for a quick fling. There was no way she would put her reputation on the line. Lastly, there was no way he was completely oblivious to it all. He knew her better than that. He hoped he did.

Listening to Mike tell the story like a love sick puppy done wrong made him furious. It all was a bunch of bullshit. It had to be, or Rick Grimes was the biggest idiot in King County.

"Mike...I" Rick started.

"You don't believe me? I can prove it!" Mike pleaded. "I can pull up her profile on the dating site."

Rick stared at the man across from him. He did not want to entertain this any longer, but decided to call his bluff. If it was true he would have the necessary proof. In the back of his mind he hoped he did not have the proof, but it did not stop his palms from getting clammy. Rick rolled his chair to the side, allowing Mike access to his desktop. Mike pulled the internet browser up and typed in the address for the site, logging in with his username and password.

He searched through his list of contacts looking for Jenny's name. Mike sighed in frustration as her name was not showing up where it usually was. "I don't..." He continued to click through his pages and pages of contacts. "She must have deleted it." Rick let out a long breath he did not realize he was holding. The tension began to slowly subside. There was no proof.

Noticing the frantic state he was in looking for the profile, Rick stood from his chair and placed his hand on the man's shoulder to calm him down. "Mike..."

"No." He said, jerking himself away from Rick. "She must have deleted her profile."

"Just sit." Rick motioned to him.

"No! You think I 'm lying, but I'm not lying! I can prove it, please!" Mike begged. He closed the site and opened a new internet window. "I still have our emails, all of our correspondence. I did not delete that." Mike desperately opened his email account and typed in the first few letters of Jenny's email in the search bar. Dozens of mail began to load, and a small smirk of victory formed on Mike's face as they popped up. "She said getting through to her via email was better than text." He explained.

Rick leaned closer to the computer monitor to see what Mike had pulled up. Sure enough there were loads of back and forth, intimate details about their time together, but still he did not recognize the email address, nor were there any photos that would specifically identify Lori as being this Jenny.

"This could be anyone." He said matter of factly, taking a seat back in his chair. "How am I supposed to believe that this is my wi- the woman in that picture."

Mike rolled his eyes at Rick and went back to the emails on the screen, scrolling down to some of their earlier communications. When he found the email he was looking for, he opened it. He clicked on one of the attachments and immediately Rick's heart fell to his stomach. There she was, a smiling Lori laying down on her bed, posing for the camera. No, not just her bed. Their bed. Their marriage bed. The bed they conceived two children in. He recognized the sheets because he complained to Lori about how ridiculously expensive they were. Rick held back the sting of tears that threatened to fall from his face. It was all true. He swallowed hard to keep the contents of his stomach from rising up. Rick felt absolutely sick. Mike was not lying. No one else would be able to get that picture. Even he never even seen that picture before, but there was no doubting that it was her. It was indeed Lori.

Mike stepped away from the computer now, understanding that Rick finally got the realization that he was telling the truth, just based on how pale he looked.

After a moment of semi-collecting his thoughts, he ordered Mike to follow him. He arranged for one of his officers to take Mike back to his hotel room and keep and eye on him. It was not that Rick thought he would run away or anything of that nature, but this case had just gotten disgustingly messy and it was only going to get worse. Without Shane around, there was no one here he could trust with the new information about his wife.

"I don't want him going anywhere." Rick told the officer. "No calling anyone. No phones, no internet. No contact. Nothing."

The officer nodded and escorted Mike away.

Rick phone vibrated again, this time notifying him of a voicemail. He ignored it.

Rick exited the station, grabbing Officer Duane on his way to accompany him. Hurriedly they entered his squad car, Rick turned the ignition, and speedily drove out the lot. Only one destination to go.

Present:

Rick pulled up to the outside of Lori's home. The home was dark, save for a dim light coming through from the living room window. There were so many emotions streaming through his body. Confusion and hurt, sadness and disgust, but the strongest was just pure anger. Mike had been telling the truth about their relationship and what angered him the most, was she just let it go on. Had him playing the fool instead of just telling him straight up that she moved on. Months of false hope he held on to that they would be able to make it work again. He did mess up. He dropped the ball on being a good husband but he never doubted his love for his wife. He never entertained the idea of stepping out on him. Hell, he waited so long to even kiss Michonne because he was trying to honor his vow. He felt like the biggest idiot in the world. To make matters even worse, the idea that she could somehow be involved with a plot to murder just enraged him more. Who was this woman he married?

Rick departed from his vehicle and scanned the area. His eyes immediately landed on the car that sat in Lori's driveway. A car he recognized very well. The owner of the car he had been trying to call all evening. The hair on the back of his neck stood at attention. Rick swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in his throat. There was a dull pain in his chest as he made his way to the front door. It felt like someone stabbed him with a sharp knife and decided to just leave it there. He rapped on the door.

'Knock! Knock! Knock'

There was no answer. Well at least not one fast enough for him. He looked at Duane who was standing on his right side. A worried expression on his face. Rick flared his nose then balled his hand into a tight fist and struck the door with all his might.

'Bang! Bang! Bang!'

Shane looked through the peephole, shocked at who he saw standing there. He rested his forehead against the door. "Shit."

There was no escaping this. He knew it was going to come sooner or later. He just hoped it would be a later that would never come. Or at least one in which he had on a shirt and was not in such a compromising position.

"Open the door!" He heard his best friend of twenty five years yell from the other side.

"Fuck." He mumbled underneath his breath. Shane looked around the house, hoping for some exit to magically appear that would save him from having to deal with this confrontation right now, but alas there was none. He tucked his beretta in the back of his waistband and reluctantly turned the lock. Before Shane could open the door, Rick pushed his way in and past him. Heading straight for the bedroom.

"Rick!"

Rick ignored Shane's call for him and made his way to his wife's bedroom. She stood resolutely in her satin robe, her arms crossed over her body, glaring at Rick in the doorway. Not necessarily shocked to see him there, Lori just understood it was the chickens coming home to roost.

"Where are my kids?" He asked. His face was hard and his voice was steady, not showing a hint of emotion.

"My parents." She answered, just as deadpanned.

"Get dressed." He ordered.

"What? Why?" She queried.

"Lori, GET dressed." He reiterated louder. "I know about Mike. Did you think I... Forget it." Rick closed his eyes and composed himself. "Get dressed. I'm taking you into the station for questioning. Do not make me slap the cuffs on you."

In that moment her arms fell from her body and her resolved faltered. A sole tear fell down her cheek, her breathing heightened and her palms were sweaty. "Rick...?" Her voice quivered as she called his name. He turned away from her disgusted. He could no longer even look in her face.

"Rick, what the hell is going on man?! Why are you here with another officer?"

A bare chested Shane confronted Rick as he left the bedroom and made his way to the living area. Rick ignored him and went to Duane.

"She's in the bedroom getting dressed. When she's done, we'll take her back to the station. I want her to go straight into one of the interrogation rooms. No questions asked. No one hears about this until I'm ready, understand?"

Officer Duane nodded in understanding and walked back toward the bedroom to retrieve Lori. Rick tredded back outside into the night air. The house was stifling. He let out a groan of frustration. All this new information hitting him at once and he did not know how to process it all. His solitude did not last but a minute when Shane came outside after him.

Shane cautiously placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Rick..."

There was no more holding back. Rick jerked his body away from Shane. Spinning around, he cocked his right arm back, punching Shane square on the left side of his jaw sending him backwards on the grass. Wasting no time, Rick was on top of him, pummeling his face further and further into the ground with his face. He could hear Shane's nose crack under the strike of his hand, but he did not care. He continued wailing on him even after hearing Lori's distant screams in the background.

"Rick! Stop it!"

He did not stop though. He did not want to. The pain in his right hand did nothing to dull the pain of Shane's betrayal, so instead he just switched and started punching him with his left. Duane left Lori in the doorway and ran over to pull Rick off of Shane. With the newfound space between the two, Shane leaned forward and whipped his beretta from the back of his waistband. His face was bloody, his hands shaky.

"Shane!" Lori cried out.

Rick did nothing but glare back at Shane, unfazed by the barrel pointing straight at his chest. He felt nothing but pure animosity for the man he once called his best friend. There was an indistinct click from the gun and for a moment it felt like all time had stopped. Shane's face turned from anger to shock. Rick turned to view Lori, who stared on with wide eyes. Her hand over her mouth.

Duane released Rick and ran over to Shane, toppling him over, rattling the gun from his hand. He wrestled him onto his stomach and cuffed his hands behind his back.

Rick put his hand to his chest. No blood, no pain. The gun had jammed.

Rick watched Duane escort Shane into the ambulance they called in. Rick did a number on his face, so bad he was sure there was more than a broken nose going on there. The fact that Shane just drew his gun on him and furthermore pulled the trigger, still seemed surreal. Rick never thought Shane would betray him in such a way. Everyday smiling in his office, hanging out, telling him he had his back and to be patient with Lori, when all the while he was screwing with her. Rick began to contemplate on his own role in this. Was he such a bad person? Was he that terrible of a husband and friend that he deserved to be betrayed by the people he loved the most? All he could think about was his children. What all of this would do to them. To Carl especially. He was old enough to understand the things going on around him. Rick began to wonder if he had any idea of what his mother was up to.

There was no way Rick was going to be able to keep this entire fiasco under wraps now. He just hoped there were not more surprises coming his way. Rick walked to his squad car where Lori sat in the back. Her head hung low, and she avoided his eyes as he slipped into the driver's seat. Rick was not sure what to say to her. He had a lot of questions, about Mike, about her potential role in his attempted murder. Questions that needed answers and he will get them, but there was one that was on the edge of his tongue that he had to ask.

"Why Shane?"

Lori viewed Rick through the rearview mirror. Their eyes connected in a way it had not since the day they were married.

"Because I love him."

Rick's eyes left hers in the mirror as he revved up the engine. He was not sure what to expect from her answer, but he definitely did not expect it to make him feel completely dejected as he did now.

"Officer Grimes!"

One of his fellow officers ran up to him as he closed the door on Lori in the interrogation room. He sighed, knowing it was likely more work for him to do as if he did not have enough on his plate already. "What is it?" He queried when the man reached him.

"We got a hit on Dixon."

Rick's eyes widened in surprise. Finally some good news.

"Where?"

"A convenience store 'bout 35/40 miles outside of the county. A Trooper spotted him riding on Route 52. I think he is coming back."

"Did they arrest him?"

"He was gone by the time the Trooper realized who it was."

Rick groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose."I want everyone we can spare out on patrol looking for him. He couldn't have gotten far. We have his brother. There is nothing else left here for him."

The officer left to go carry out his instructions. When he was gone, Rick stepped back into his office. He would make Lori wait a bit before asking her any questions. He was just so damn tired from the events of the evening and he needed to take a break to compose himself so he could do his job properly without emotions getting in the way. Rick closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair. It was all good this morning. He was content, happy, with Michonne.

Michonne.

Rick pulled out his cell phone remembering that Michonne called him earlier in the evening. It was probably best that he called her back now, she could be that calming voice that he needed. Also he needed to warn her about Dixon's whereabouts. He dialed her number and put the phone to his ear. After a few rings he was forwarded to her voicemail. She could just be sleeping right now. It was well after midnight. Rick tapped through his phone to check his one voicemail. It was from Michonne.

When he played it, he could hardly make out any words, but he could hear distant voices. The kind that sound you hear when you are submerged underwater. He began to feel uneasy. Who was she talking to? The incoherent message went on for 6 minutes until he heard someone yell. His blood ran cold.

Rick grabbed Duane once again and hurried to his car. This night was shaping up to be the worst in his life. He was no longer angry about Lori or Shane. He did not give a shit about Mike or the hit. All he was worried about was Michonne.

He was on route to Michonne's home when the dispatch blared.

'10-16 Shots Fired at Baldwin Road. 10-16 Shots Fired'

Baldwin road was where Michonne lived. Rick hit his sirens and stepped on the pedal. The speedometer gradually pushing 100.

When he arrived her house was still. Just like he had feared, a motorcycle bike was parked in the middle of her grass lawn.

Pulling his gun, Rick motioned for Duane to go check the back of the house, while he went through the front. Slowly and steadily, Rick traversed across the front yard. His right foot just landed on the first step of the porch when the front door opened. A bloody Michonne stood in the entrance. Her big brown eyes watery, expanded in shock. Her normally brilliant skin was flushed pale. She stood paralyzed at the door.

"Michonne? Baby?" He said, taking in her appearance There was blood all over her shirt and hands, the biggest pool on the left side of her neck and shoulder.

Her eyes finally landed on his.

"Rick?"

Before he could reach out for her, she collapsed on the floor.

A/N (2): Thanks for reading. Next Chapter, Michonne's house. Sorry I had to make up some weird street name for Michonne's home when I never mentioned it before. I did not realize I would be needing it in my story or else I would have stated it somewhere earlier. Apologies for that.