Lori Grimes

## Before 2010

Lori lived and grew up in King County, Georgia. In high school, Lori met Rick Grimes, a fellow student. She also became friends with Rick's best friend, Shane Walsh. Eventually, Lori and Rick fell in love with each other and became married. Together, they had a son named Carl. They lived as a typical suburban family in King County, Georgia. On Sundays, she made pancakes, despite the fact that she knew they were awful.
Over time, their marriage became increasingly strained with Rick distancing himself from her. His unwillingness to talk about his feelings and their problems resulted in fights, where harsh words were spoken by Lori. It had even reached the point where she began to question his love for her and Carl. Days before the apocalypse, Lori confided in a friend, Paula, to ease the stress and seek advice. Shortly after, Lori was told through Shane about Rick being shot and shared the news with Carl.

## 2010

"Days Gone Bye"
In a camp outside the city, a group of survivors, among them Shane, Lori and Carl, receive Rick's transmission. However, Lori and Shane don't recognize Rick's voice over the garbled transmission. Amy runs to the CB, but can't get a reply. By the time Shane takes over the CB controls and introduces himself, Rick has left the emergency broadcast channel.

Lori voices that she's been saying for a week that they should put signs up on the highway warning people away from the city, and volunteers to go on her own, but Dale and Shane argue that venturing out is too risky. Lori walks off and Shane goes after her. *"You can be pissed at me all you want, it's not gonna change anything,"* he tells her. Inside her tent, Shane tells Lori that she needs to keep it together for Carl, who has lost so much already. Lori agrees and they kiss passionately, before Carl interrupts them, not seeing them kissing. Lori promises him she's not going anywhere and tells her son to go finish his chores, watching him run off smiling.

"Guts"
In the camp, Lori sits by a fire pit when Amy walks over carrying a red pail with a few mushrooms inside. She asks her how to tell if the mushrooms are poisonous, to which Lori replies they would have to eat one to know. Amy, unsatisfied with that method, tells Lori to ask Shane when he gets back. Lori nods, before she excuses herself to look for more mushrooms in the forest. She tells Carl, who's playing in the dirt, to stay where Dale can see him. *"Yes, mom,"* says Carl. Dale also tells Lori not to go too far, either.

Lori heads into the forest alone, unnerved by the sounds of snapping branches and moving brush, while she bends down to search for more mushrooms. Suddenly, Shane sneaks up behind her, puts his hand over her mouth, and pulls her down to the ground. *"How much time do we have?"* he asks, kissing her. "*Enough,"* Lori replies, and the two begin to undress. They stop momentarily when Lori notices Rick's wedding ring, which she's attached to her necklace. She takes the locket off and lays it on the grass. The two then proceed to have sex.

Later that day, Lori's doing laundry as Shane teaches Carl to tie knots. Suddenly, the radio crackles and squeaks, and T-Dog's garbled transmission comes through, explaining that they're trapped in the department store, surrounded by hundreds of walkers. Dale responds to the transmission but only radio silence follows. *"We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group,"* Shane insists. Amy argues that Andrea's life is at risk, but Shane tells her she's gone. Amy is furious, exclaiming *"That's my sister, you son-of-a-bitch!"* and storms off. Lori follows to comfort her.

"Tell It to the Frogs"
In the camp, Lori gives Carl a haircut while Shane promises him that they will catch frogs at the quarry, so they can eat their legs. Lori expresses her disgust at the thought, while Shane tells her she'll be begging for more once she tastes them, then smiles while telling Carl, *"We'll be heroes, son. Shane and Carl, spoken of in song and legend."* Their moment is interrupted by the approach of Glenn's Challenger alarm blaring.

The rest of the group then arrives. Andrea and Amy tearfully reunite, as do Morales with his family. Carl becomes emotional and Lori leads him away. Rick emerges and recognizes Shane. The two trade stunned glances as Carl spots Rick and runs into his open arms. Lori stares at Rick, but she tearfully embraces her husband and son. She looks up at Shane, while she cries into Rick's shoulder.

In the night, around a campfire, Rick describes the disorientation he felt waking up alone in the hospital. Lori explains she was told Rick would be brought over to Atlanta, but it never happened. *"Mom said you died,"* Carl comments. *"She had every reason to believe that,"* Rick replies. He then expresses immense gratitude to Shane for saving and taking care of his family. He then volunteers to deliver the news to Daryl Dixon about his brother, as does T-Dog, who is wracked with guilt for dropping the key.

Later on, in their tent, Rick says goodnight to Carl and then takes Lori's hand as he crawls into bed with her. He tells her he knew she and Carl were alive because their photo albums were gone when he returned to their house. Lori smiles and pulls one open. *"I told you so,"* says Rick, and Lori jokingly accuses him of getting cocky as he grabs for the family photo in his jacket pocket. They reflect on their past mistakes and are grateful for the second chance that they have been given. *"Not many people get that,"* Rick says. Lori returns Rick's wedding ring, which had been removed when he was in the hospital, and the two discretely have sex.

The next morning, Lori is doing the laundry when Rick tells her he keeps thinking about leaving Merle behind and he plans to return to Atlanta. Lori is shocked, but their discussion is interrupted by screams. Lori runs to Carl and protects him. Later, Lori announces to Daryl that Rick's going back to rescue Merle.

Lori pleas with Rick not to risk his life for a man like Merle. Rick explains to her that he also needs to collect his walkie-talkie from the bag so he can warn Morgan Jones away from the city. He claims he owes them his life. He also explains to her that there are several guns and bullets in that bag that will help them an the people at the camp. Lori gives up arguing, and Carl tells Rick he's okay with his reasons for going back to Atlanta. In their tent, Lori frets about Rick. *"I'm not worried,"* Carl assures her, taking his mother's hand. *"Think about it, Mom. Everything that's happened to him so far; nothing's killed him yet."*

Later on, Lori looks for Carl around the camp. Dale tells her he should be down at the quarry catching frogs. She heads down to the quarry where Shane is teaching Carl to catch frogs. Lori orders Carl to return to camp. After he leaves, Shane tells her not to take it out on him, and Lori warns him to stay away from her family. *"I think we should talk,"* Shane says, but Lori snaps, *"You can tell that to the frogs."* Shane asks Lori if she thinks he's not happy about Rick's return. "*Why would you be? You're the one that told me that he died."* Lori responds, storming off.

"Vatos"
Lori congratulates Andrea and Amy when they return to camp with several caught fish. Amy volunteers to teach Carl about knots and fishing, and Lori allows her to. When Jim is seen digging holes on top of the nearby hill, the group of survivors, including Lori, go to confront him. Later, Lori is seen teaching school lessons to Carl and Sophia, while Jim is tied up nearby to prevent him from harming himself. At night, Lori joins the others for supper to eat the cooked fish. As they all chat, they soon are attacked by a group of walkers. Lori originally takes cover behind Shane, however when Rick returns from his city mission with Glenn, Daryl and T-Dog, Lori and Carl rush to embrace him instead. Shane is visibly annoyed. Lori watches in horror as Andrea cradles Amy, who was killed by walkers.

"Wildfire"
Distraught over the previous night's events, Lori is against Rick's idea of leaving the quarry to go to the CDC over Fort Benning (100 miles in the other direction), to find a cure for the now bitten and infected Jim. Rick asks Lori if she blames him for not being there when the camp was attacked, and to support his decision to head for the CDC. She doesn't blame him, but she doesn't know if she can follow him to the CDC on blind faith. When she asks for any kind of certainty on Rick's part, he tells her, "I love you. That's all I got." Later, Lori is confronted by Shane about Rick's decision. He asks her to convince him that his idea is a bad one and goes on to tell her that trying to repair her troubled marriage with Rick does not supersede the safety of the group. Lori, still angry with him for lying to her, replies that the group can make up their minds about where to go without bringing her marriage into the situation. Afterward, Lori agrees to follow Rick to the CDC and the decision is made to depart in the morning. When the RV breaks down, Jim asks to be left to die and Lori, along with Dale, agree that his request should be respected despite Rick's belief that their friend is delirious.

When the group arrives at the CDC, they find that the complex has been completely closed off by shutters. When they receive no answer to their calls, they all agree to leave the area before it gets too dark. Rick is insistent that someone is still alive in the complex after seeing the security camera move. Rick begins to yell at the security camera, demanding that whoever is inside let them in. Lori and the others become increasingly panicked as walkers steadily approach. Frantically, Lori tries to get Rick to stop yelling and leave with them, but he ignores her and becomes hysterical. As Rick is finally pulled away screaming by Shane and Lori, the shutter doors open.

"TS-19"
Lori and the other survivors enjoy a short reprieve from mortal danger after Dr. Edwin Jenner takes them inside the CDC, under the condition that they all submit to blood tests. When Andrea shows signs of pain, Jenner finds out none of them have eaten in days. The group then celebrates a hot meal and wine. Lori allows Carl to try wine for the first time. When questioned about the lack of other people, Dr Jenner explains that he's the only person still alive in the complex because most fled to be with their families and others committed suicide after a certain period of time. Afterward, Lori and Rick enjoy a hot shower together. Lori later finds Carl in the recreational room with Carol and Sophia, reading books.

Carl leaves with Carol and Sophia to sleep, while Lori browses the library. She is startled by a drunken Shane, who was watching her from his adjoining room. He slams a door to alert her, before he insists that she listen to his side of the story regarding Rick still being alive. Angry, Lori attempts to leave the room, but is cut off by Shane. He tries to plead his case to her, telling her that he believed Rick was dead, that he didn't hear or feel a heartbeat, and that if he hadn't lied to her she would've died trying to get to Rick. When Lori continues to refuse to listen to him, Shane becomes physically aggressive and attempts to rape her, shoving his hand down her shorts. Lori struggles and eventually scratches him across the neck. Bleeding, Shane flees the room, leaving a frightened Lori to herself. Later, an equally drunk Rick returns to their bedroom and assures the crying Lori that they have nothing to be afraid of anymore, not realizing what she is actually upset about. At breakfast, Lori avoids eye contact with Shane when Rick notices the scratch mark on his neck. Shane lies and says he did it in his sleep and Rick says that's unusual behavior for Shane, but doesn't push the issue. Later, Jenner shows the group how the mysterious disease affects the human brain via "TS-19" (Test Subject 19), explaining that it only reactivated the brain stem, not the parts that make a person human. He also admits that he doesn't know how to treat the disease and that he has lost contact with other CDC facilities.

When it is revealed the CDC complex has been rigged to self-destruct, Lori implores Jenner to allow them to escape, telling him that they wish to survive for as long as they can. Jenner eventually allows them to leave, while choosing to remain behind with Jacqui. With the use of Rick's grenade that Carol had stashed in her backpack, the survivors manage to reach their vehicles just as the CDC building explodes.