Disclaimer—I don't own or make claim to the characters from The Walking Dead. I only own my original characters

A/N So, this is a follow-up chapter. Fair warning, there is more smut in this one, but that's not exactly the focus. There is a specific reason for it, I guess you could say.

I feel the sun on my face. I smile as the warmth feels so good. I'm completely relaxed, I haven't felt this rested in forever. The sun is obviously shining, life is good. I start to stretch and bump into something with my hand. I explore with my hand, wondering what it is, and feel something firm with...hair? I open my eyes to see Rick's incredibly blue eyes staring back at me. I glance down and see my hand resting on his bare chest. Oh, that was the obstacle...suddenly the whole night comes rushing back to me. Rick and I, last night, three times?

Wait. I'm naked and completely exposed above the waist where the blankets have been pushed. I start to pull back self-consciously when he murmurs, "Good Morning Beautiful," and leans down and kisses me. The attraction kicks up immediately and I am overwhelmed with feelings. The feel of his lips on mine, the feel of his chest hair brushing my breasts now, the feel of his erection growing against my hip under the blankets. I know what he can do with that, the incredible feelings he can summon in me with it and the intensity rises a few more notches. He starts to push the blankets away and that's when I realize that it's complete daylight now and he can see everything and begin to panic. I was much more comfortable with all of this under the cover of darkness. I wasn't kidding when I told him before that my body was well-used and bore witness to my weight struggles, four pregnancies with accompanying stretch marks and everything else my body has been through.

I pull back and say, "Wait!" as I clamp my hand down on the blankets with one hand while trying to cover my chest with the other. He looks confused as I drag the blankets up to my neck to provide cover after I realize that my hand is basically worthless when it comes to covering anything.

He brings his hand up to my face, cupping it, and says, "What's wrong?" I close my eyes, realizing that he's going to demand answers, he's not going to let me get away without explanations. "Sandi? Talk to me." He smooths my hair back and I can hear the concern in his voice. I sigh, and open my eyes. He's staring intently at me with nothing but concern in his eyes. As I meet his eyes, I see doubt creep into his eyes to join the concern. "Do you regret what happened last night? I know we've moved really fast, I knew you wanted to slow down, I'm sorry. I should have..." I cut him off by placing my hand on his lips. No. I couldn't let him think he talked me into something I didn't want. "No, Rick. I don't regret anything. I was right there with you last night. In fact, you stopped to check with me every step of the way, there's nothing to regret there."

He lets out a sigh of relief and I can see the confusion enter his eyes now. "Then what's wrong?" I try to shrug it off, "Nothing..." Now he interrupts me. "No. There's something. You promised me honesty and especially here, in bed, I need that from you. Did I do something wrong, did I hurt you?" I shake my head. There's no help for it now. "No, nothing like that."

"Then what is it?" he asks. I glance up at the window and he follows my gaze. I look back into his eyes and I huff out a deep breath. "It's very bright in here and..." I trail off at a loss for words to explain without making me sound pathetic. Comprehension enters his eyes and he says, "You were more comfortable in the dark?" I nod, glad he gets it without me having to explain. He leans down, kissing my lips gently, helping me to get lost in his kiss so I'm not as hyper aware of everything else. He puts his hands up to either side of my head as he pulls back and looks me in the eyes. "This is about what you told me before, isn't it?" He kisses me again. "About how you believe your body is well-used and you didn't know if you'd show it to anyone ever again?" He stares at me, waiting for an answer this time. I finally say, "Yeah."

He shakes his head. "I told you before Sandi, you're beautiful. If it takes me the rest of my life, I'll convince you of that. Do you really think that even in the dark last night, I couldn't see you? Every bit of you?" I blush, thinking of what he could possibly have seen in the dark. Then again, we looked each other in the eyes last night and I could see his eyes so clearly. We communicated through our eyes a lot then, so obviously he could see more than I thought he could. As if he can read my mind he continues, "I saw your eyes." He drops a kiss on each of my eyelids, soft, sweet kisses. "I saw your nose." Another kiss lands awkwardly on the side of my nose and makes me giggle. He smiles, saying, "I most definitely saw your lips." His lips touch my mine and his tongue comes out to trace them until I open them and he sinks into a deep, open-mouthed kiss with me. Several minutes later, we emerge from that deep, fantastic kiss. He resumes without missing a beat, as if we both didn't just lose our breath with that kiss. "I saw your chin and your neck." Soon, he is dropping kisses on my chin and down my neck. He nudges the blankets out of the way, pushing them down just above my breasts and I let him. He nibbles and sucks his way down my neck to the edge of the blankets and then says, "I most definitely saw your breasts." He nudges the blankets down further, exposing my breasts. "They're perfect and react to my every touch." His hands join his lips in peppering my breasts with touches and nibbles and kisses. The heat is rising and my body is responding. He knows just exactly where to touch and nip to have me sparking with intense feelings all over my body. After giving my breasts plenty of attention, he looks up at me and I freeze in the suspense of him pushing the blankets down further.

It's like he knows what I'm thinking and he suddenly declares, "Oops, I forgot your arms, I definitely saw your arms and they left an impression!" He begins kissing and nibbling down one arm and I giggle as he hits a ticklish spot. He ends with my fingers and then starts on my other arm. He's successfully distracted me and I don't realize he's pushed the blankets down further until he moves over and nibbles on my stomach. I flinch as I realize the blankets have been moved and he smooths his hands over my stomach in a calming motion and leans up and gives me a quick kiss on the lips. After I relax, he leans back down and continues moving over my tummy. He says, "Yes, you have stretch marks, I saw them." He kisses down a stretch mark and up another one. "They're badges of honor, they show me how dedicated you were to growing your babies here." He goes lower, down to my c-section scar and kisses all along it. "Here as well, this is a token of courage, showing all you would sacrifice for your kids." He lays his head down on my tummy for a moment, staring up into my eyes. "I felt the softness, a special place I can lay my head and gaze into your eyes." I roll my eyes back at him at his corniness and he smiles and turns his head to place more kisses on my tummy. He truly doesn't seem to care or be fazed by the wiggliness in my stomach though. My confidence starts to rise a small bit.

Tricky man, as soon as I'm not looking, he sweeps the blankets off across the bed leaving me completely naked and exposed. I immediately tense up and he crawls up my body, leaning down and kissing me. "There is no part of you that I didn't see last night," he murmurs against my lips, "and I loved it all. You need to get used to being bare with me because you're beautiful and I intend on spending lots of quality time with you, naked, making sure you know it." He kisses me deeply this time, distracting me with his lips and luring me into a deep open kiss. After a few minutes of this he pulls back again. "You have fabulous legs." He slides down and kisses down one leg until he reaches my feet. "I adore your feet." I giggle at this, who adores feet? He kisses one foot and then the other and makes his way nibbling up my other leg. He glances up at me, mischievously, and suddenly flips me over onto my stomach. I bounce with a squeak. "Rick! What the hell?" He laughs and I feel him straddle my back from behind and lean down to nibble my neck. "I didn't want to leave out an entire side of your body. For example, your whole back is delicious." He nuzzles and nibbles his way from my neck, down my back to my waist. "And your buttocks are divine." I smile against the pillow at his absurdity as he places kisses on both butt cheeks. "Then there's the back of your legs. Yes, I saw those too last night, they are just as fabulous as the front." He slides down my body placing strategic kisses all down both legs, alternating between them. He then climbs up between my legs, I feel his bare legs brush against mine as he sits back and places his hands on either side of my hips. He begins to lift me up, urging me onto my knees. I comply, curious to know where he's going with this. Once he has me where he wants me, he shuffles forward and I feel his erection brushing between my legs. "You may think I neglected an area, but no! I just saved the best for last. I completely, absolutely, worship you right here." As he says the word 'here' he plunges into me from behind. I whimper, as he slides in, deeper than he has ever been. He pulls back and slides deep again causing me to moan out his name, "Rick!" He leans over my back as he thrusts, saying, "Maybe you'll believe me now. I'll spend a lifetime convincing you if I need to. You are ravishing. And you're mine. As I'm yours." His thrusting speeds up, I'm rapidly approaching the edge. "We belong together." At this we fly off the edge together, one last time. I make a breathy noise as I fly into the sensations waiting for me. I hear him grunt as he joins me. We collapse back onto the bed in a mass of tangled limbs. I don't know where I end and he begins, I just know that we seem to belong together. He's right, he's mine and I'm his.

After several minutes of laying there recovering, Rick moves to the side and rolls me over to my side facing him. He brushes my hair back off my face, gives me a gentle kiss and asks, "Alright?" I'm acutely aware of my nakedness in front of him, but keep reminding myself that there is most definitely nothing he hasn't seen now. Not only has he seen it, but he's kissed it and told me through words and actions that he likes it. I hesitate and then nod back at him. "Yeah. Alright." He looks relieved and pulls me into his arms, his hands brushing along my back, petting and calming me. He affirms, "Yeah, alright. We're gonna be alright." We lay there for several minutes as he runs his hands down my body, not sexually, but in calming motions. He must sense that I'm still a bit skittish, but his ministering hands do help me to stay calm and try to adjust to this new reality.

Suddenly he jerks. I pull back and look at him. I'm immediately worried, as I see terror in his eyes. "What is it, Rick?" He closes his eyes and grips me tightly as if he's worried I'll be ripped away. "Rick!" I repeat. "Tell me, what is it?" He still doesn't respond. "Rick, you're scaring me. Honesty, remember? It goes both ways." At this he opens his eyes and looks into mine. He shakes his head at me. "I'm so sorry, Sandi." I look at him, confused. "Sorry for what? There's nothing to be sorry for Rick, I made these choices just as much as you did." He shakes his head again. "No, not for that, never for that. I'll never regret sleeping with you, being with you. But I didn't protect you. I can't believe I didn't remember. It's been a long time, but that's no excuse. I'm a dumbass, I should have been prepared."

I'm not following. I look at him, confused at what has him so upset. How has he not protected me? If anything he has overprotected me at times. He finally calms down enough to see the confusion in my face. He pulls me closer, looking me in the eyes. "Sandi, I didn't use protection last night. I didn't even think about it, I got so caught up in you that it didn't even cross my mind. I didn't even pull out, not that that works well. I came inside you, four times." His hand drifts down over my stomach now. "I may have gotten you pregnant." His hand drifts lower, traces my c-section scar. "You've already had four c-sections, I don't even know if it's possible to have a c-section in this world and survive. Maybe Dr. Carson at the HIlltop..." he trails off and shakes his head. "Even if it's possible, I just put your life in danger. I'll never forgive myself." He lowers his forehead to mine, shaking. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

OK, I finally understand what he's saying. Crazy man. I brush my fingers through his curls and try to comfort him. "Oh, Rick." I don't get any response other than his shuddering in shame. "Rick, look at me," I insist. Finally he brings his head up and tentatively meets my eyes. His are bright and awash in unshed tears. I lean forward and kiss his lips, trying to calm him down.

I pull back and look at him again and sigh. "Stop. This is why it really helps to get to know one another first. I know you tried, and I don't know that the spark would have given us much more time, but had we taken more time to become friends, to date, then I think you would have learned more about me before we reached this point."

He's listening, that's a good sign at least. I brush back his curls that have fallen into his face again. "Rick, you haven't put my life in any danger at all." He looks confused, saying, "But..." I put my fingers over his lips. "Shhh, just listen. Had we gotten to know one another better, you would already know some things about me and not be putting yourself through this. You'd have already known I had four c-sections, that wouldn't have been news to you last night. And you'd know that you don't need to use protection with me, I can't get pregnant." He looks up at me at this, startled. I continue, "That's probably something you should have known before taking a step like last night with me. I don't know if you wanted more children, but I can't give them to you."

He starts shaking his head, saying emphatically, "No! I don't need more children. We have six children already, don't you think that's more than enough?" I laugh at this, relieved he isn't disappointed. Touched that he's already counting all of our children as belonging to both of us. I say, "Well, yes, I thought so, but some men like to have children of their own with a new partner..." I trail off as he leans over and kisses me fiercely. He leans back, looks me firmly in the eyes and says, "I don't need to give you a child to know that you're mine. I'm just thankful I didn't screw this up, that I didn't put your life in danger. I don't know what I'd do without you. I didn't expect to find you, but now that I have..." He kisses me deeply again, I can feel his gratitude in his kiss. Then he shifts us again. He sits up a bit, up against the pillows and pulls me up into his arms. He even reaches down and grabs a blanket to throw over us. He's not dumb, he knows I'm still struggling with being so exposed. He looks at me and asks, "Why can't you have any more children?"

I sigh. "Well, I was always a high risk pregnancy." His arms squeeze around me at this, as if he's worried about me being high risk, about what has already happened in the past. "When I had Kayla, I developed something called preeclampsia. It makes your blood pressure rise and you have great risk of seizures. She had to be born by c-section 10 weeks early because of it and spent 6 weeks in the NICU. With Annie, I had gallstones and ended up getting my gallbladder removed two weeks after delivery. With Kira, my blood pressure began to rise again, so they took her early too, although it was just a week early with her. But with Jordan, I thought I was going crazy." He brushes his hand through my hair and asks, "What was happening to make you think you were going crazy?"

"I couldn't sleep, and when I did sleep I woke up panicked. It felt like I couldn't breathe. He sat up very high and never dropped down. In retrospect, I think he was pressing on my lungs or something and I woke up panicked because I actually couldn't breathe." He rubs his hand up and down my back comfortingly.

"Even though my last pregnancy was the least complicated physically, it was the hardest on me. I was overweight, he was up high, I just couldn't breathe or sleep well. I was also 36 and a little old to be pregnant. When it was time to deliver there was no question in my mind that he was our last child. With the others I always had this feeling there was another child to come, with him I knew we were done. I also knew I wouldn't survive another pregnancy. So, I had them tie my tubes right after they did the c-section to deliver him." I look at him. "He's 11 now and I didn't get pregnant again afterwards, so I think it's safe to say it worked."

A/N Even though they finally came together physically last chapter, there were still a few things to work through. There was a lot that Rick still didn't know about Sandi and her past. Luckily there are no consequences of them getting carried away--in this world that could be a death sentence. Yeah, there won't be any more babies, but they are both OK with that and are happy with the kids they have. What did you think? Did you like how he reassured her about her body image? Nobody commented on how they thought the last chapter was, so I guess I'll just move forward with it assuming you all liked it?

Thanks for reading, I really appreciate you all coming back for more. If you liked this chapter I would love some feedback!