When the news came that little Carl had been shot, Serafina was quick to jump at the chance to help out with whatever she could with what little medical training she received from the Ground Forces.

She had gone to the farm with Glenn and T-Dog and while she was anxious to help Carl with whatever it is she could, her first priority was to stitch T-Dog's arm up. Daryl had given him antibiotics to take care of the infection, but those wouldn't do any good if the cut on his arm stayed open.

Maggie had introduced her to Patricia who agreed to lend her some medical supplies. "You're sure you don't want me to do it?" Patricia had asked and Serafina politely declined while T-Dog told the woman, "Ain't nothin' against you, ma'am, but I'd prefer if she did it."

Patricia gave the man a smile, assuring him that she was not offended and Serafina prepared the wound so she could stitch it up. "This will hurt." She told him and T-Dog laughed at her, coming to realize that it was hard for this woman to be anything, but straightforward and blunt.

It didn't take long for the wound to be closed up and T-Dog let out a sigh of relief when Serafina cut the extra string of the stitches. As she bandaged him up, she gave him clear instructions before sending him off to bed, knowing that this entire endeavor had taken a lot out of him.

After putting all of the medical supplies away, she peeked her head into the room where Carl and his parents were, seeing the couple broken up over the ordeal with their son. "Is there anything I can do?" She asked the older gentlemen who was busily prepping his equipment for surgery.

He offered the woman a kind smile. "I'm afraid there's not much else to be done."

Serafina nodded and her eyes strayed from Carl to his parents. "I am here if you need me." She told them. Lori gave a nod of her head as her hand wiped stray tears that fell from her eyes and Rick looked at the woman with gratitude. "Thank you." He said.

There was nothing more that could be done other than hope that time was on their side for once.

They sat next to each other on the porch steps of the farmhouse. Carl was away from danger now, thanks to Hershel, and all he needed was to rest up in the meantime. The sun had nearly rose and there was light peeking out from behind the trees.

Serafina spared Rick a glance from the corner of her eye, taking in the way the undersides of his eyes had darkened and how his overall appearance looked disheveled. This whole ordeal had not been easy on him or Lori who refused to leave Carl's side.

"I can't believe we almost lost him." Rick finally said and there were tears of relief that remained unshed in his eyes.

Serafina laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You did not though and that is a good thing."

"I've never felt more helpless in my life." He admitted. "I don't know what I would've done."

Serafina sighed. "Do not think such things. All is well."

Rick looked at her at last and said. "You're always so calm in these situations." He recalled how tense everyone had been at the CDC when they were sure it was the end for them and how Serafina did not let her anger get the best of her like Shane and Daryl did. "Is it a Russian thing?" He joked.

A snort erupted from Serafina. "I was not always this way." She told him and he looked surprised. "I used to have quite the temper. I hated authority. The military helped me sort out the authority problem."

"And the temper?"

In a complete change of subject or at least Rick thought so, she said. "I was married once."

This surprised him. "What happened?" Rick asked.

"He left me." She said and Rick suddenly felt sorry for her. "I had gotten pregnant about a year and a half into our marriage. He was so happy — we both were. He always had wanted to be a father." There was a wistful look on her face as she remembered how excited her husband and her had been when they found out the news. "I was seven months when I lost him." She murmured. "I was angry. I was so angry. Angry at everyone who tried to tell me it would be okay. Angry at the doctors who told me my chance of carrying a child to full term was zero to none. Angry at my body for betraying me in such a way. My husband could not bear the pain and he became withdrawn. It tore us apart." She was silent for a moment before he heard her suck in a breath. "I decided it was not worth it to be angry anymore. It wouldn't fix anything."

They sat for a while neither speaking and Serafina was sure she had made a mistake by telling him all of this and then Rick asked. "What did you name him?" Serafina gave him a look of surprise and in turn he looked at her, confused. "What is it?" He questioned when she didn't say anything and as he saw the tears fill her eyes he began to think that bringing up this subject was a bad idea.

"You are the first person to ask me that…" She mumbled, her voice shaking. "It is usually, 'Well, you can just try again' or 'Why do you not just adopt?'." She was quiet again. "Alexander. I named him Alexander." Her words cracked in her throat and she felt guilty for crying, especially after what had happened to his son. She felt she should not be the one crying. "I am sorry." She apologized. "It is very selfish of me to be here crying when it is your son that was injured."

Rick stared hard at the woman and for the first time he really took in her appearance from the slight way her nose turned up to the way her upper lip was thicker than her bottom. He had not considered this woman to be young before. Her face usually was hard and her jaw usually set giving the appearance of an older woman, but now she looked her age; a woman, not yet thirty, who had gone through an immense amount of loss and suffering within her life, more than he could probably even imagine.

His arm wound around her and he pulled her to him in a comforting manner. "Pain is pain." He told her.

It was a long while later that Serafina stood up, letting Rick's arm drop from her shoulder . "Thank you." She said earnestly. "You should go be with your wife and son, now."

Rick gave her a smile and a light pat on the back before turning and returning to the farmhouse and to his wife and child.

Here's a bit of a short chapter for you guys since I haven't updated in a while. We start to get a look into Serafina's past and things will start to liven up within the next few chapters :)

Thank you to everyone who's reviewed, favorited, and added this story to their story alerts, I really appreciate it!