"It's bleeding! It's bleeding!" Jude was screaming, pointing at the bright red blood soaking through the walker's arm.
"Oh my God it's alive!" Judith gasped, grabbing hold of her mother's arm and trying to pull her away from the bleeding man who was groaning in front of them. "Help me pull her back to the wagon!" she directed her brother.
"Found you…" the man whispered incoherently from the ground, grasping at his bleeding arm. Judith's bullet had grazed him. A few more inches higher and she might have hit him in the head.
Judith and Jude dragged their unresponsive mother backwards. Judith grabbed Michonne underneath her arms, and Jude took her feet, and together they hauled her up inside of the wagon.
"Is she okay? What do we do?" Jude asked his sister.
"I… I don't know!" Judith admitted, looking at the man who was still clutching his arm but lying still on the ground with his eyes closed.
"Is he dead?" Jude asked.
"No, I thought he was a walker, but he's bleeding. Walkers don't bleed."
"No, I mean is he dead now?" Jude questioned. Judith looked back at the man who seemingly passed out as well.
"Just great," Judith muttered under her breath.
"Do we leave him here?" Jude asked. "Should we? What are we supposed to do?"
"You try to wake Mom up," Judith directed, "I'll tie him up."
She reached into the wagon and got a few inches of twine. She approached the man cautiously with her gun drawn. He didn't move an inch. She leaned in slightly just to check that he was still breathing. He was.
Quickly, she wrapped his arms around his back and tied his wrists together with the twine. She patted down the pockets of his filthy clothing and found a book of matches, a small knife, a map, and a small smoked fish that had been stuffed into a plastic bag.
"Is she waking up?" Judith called to her brother, who was furiously shaking Michonne.
"No!" Jude yelled, panic starting to set in.
"Come help me!" Judith demanded, "We're taking him too."
"Taking him where?" Jude asked.
"Home," she replied.
It was safer to turn around and take the hour journey back to Alexandria than it was to continue on the two hour journey to the Kingdom.
It had taken a massive effort to get the much larger man into the back of the wagon. They had dropped him beside Michonne, and Jude rode in the back to keep an eye on both of them, while Judith steered the horses home.
Jude began examining the man's meager belongings. He studied the knife that was old and rusted and looked like it had been scavenged from an abandoned house. He then unfolded the map. Map reading was a skill emphasized in school, and he quickly searched the map to see what it was a map of.
"He has a map of Washington D.C," Jude yelled to his sister. He then squinted and stared at the map. "Alexandria is on here too. He… he circled it."
"What?" Judith asked, turning around to look at him.
"He circled Alexandria. Like he was trying to go there."
Michonne let out a deep breath, blinked a few times, and opened her eyes. She was staring up at blue sky, but trees were steadily moving past her. She was immediately confused, and it hit her. She'd seen Rick. Or… a walker of Rick.
She shot up from her seated position so quickly Jude leaped out of her way.
"Where… where is he?" Michonne asked, turning her head wildly, looking for Rick. She had to make sure it was him. She didn't trust herself.
"Whoa, calm down Mom," Jude said, placing his hand on her arm. It couldn't be healthy for her to just jump up like that after passing out.
"Where?" she asked, ignoring her son.
"He's right here," Jude said, pointing to Rick who was still unconscious and bleeding, and half covered by a tarp.
Michonne crawled over to Rick, stopping when she got close enough to see his face. His hair had grown long, far past his shoulders, but it didn't look healthy like she remembered, it was stringy and clumped together, and plastered to his face making it hard to see him clearly. She reached out a hand and gently wiped the dirty hair away. The only parts of his face she could clearly see was his forehead, eyes, and nose. His cheeks and chin were completely shrouded by a white mustache and beard that put the beard he'd grown while they'd been on the road to Alexandria to shame.
Jude noticed the tender way that Michonne touched this man, and the mesmerized look on her face. He had never seen Michonne touch a man like that in his life.
"You know him?" Jude asked.
"Mom's awake?" Judith asked from the front of the wagon.
Michonne continued to stare at him, not believing her eyes. It was him, after all these years. He was alive. How was he alive and lying right in front of her? Where did he go? How did he come back? Why did he stay away so long?
"Mom!" Jude called, concerned that his mother didn't seem responsive. He didn't want her to pass out a second time.
"Rick," Michonne said softly, "It's Rick."
"His name is Rick?" Jude asked. "So you do know him?"
"She knows him?" Judith called from the front of the wagon, turning around to see what was going on in the back.
Michonne wiped at the dirt covering his face, revealing pale colored skin. He looked sickly. She pressed her hand to his warm cheeks, and then trailed her fingers up to his forehead which was also warm.
"His name is Rick Grimes," Michonne said, not believing the words coming from her own mouth. "He's your father."
"What?" Jude and Judith said simultaneously. The wagon came to a complete halt.
"This is your father," Michonne repeated, tears coming to her eyes. "He's alive… he… he's alive."
Jude knelt down in front of Rick and leaned in closer. Judith climbed into the back of the wagon and joined the other two.
"Daddy's dead," Judith said in confusion. "He's dead. This can't… He's not Daddy."
"He's alive," Michonne said, her voice breaking. "Oh my God."
She examined the gunshot on Rick's arm. "He's alive but we need to get him help. Judith, you have to run the horses back home. We need to get back there now and get this wound closed."
"You said Daddy was in heaven," Judith continued, her brow wrinkled in confusion. "This can't be Daddy."
"I thought… everyone thought he was dead," Michonne explained, stroking Rick's dirty hair. "He made it somehow. But this is your Daddy."
"How?" Jude asked.
"I don't know, but we need to get him back home now. Please Judith, we have to go," Michonne said. Her eyes pleading with Judith to get the wagon started.
Judith stared at the man for a few more seconds before turning and urging the horses forwards at a gallop.
Jude knelt down next to Michonne and stared at the man's face.
"This is my Dad?" he asked in disbelief. It was hard to tell if he and the stranger resembled each other at all. All Jude could really see was the beard that was covering half of his face.
Michonne held the man's hand and stroked his dirty fingers gently. He looked so frail and fragile, yet he seemed to have come from so far away. Knowing Rick, it might have been miles upon miles.
"This is your Dad," Michonne repeated, shaking her head as tears flowed from her eyes. "This is your Dad."
Once in the gates of Alexandria, they headed straight to the infirmary in a panic. When Michonne revealed who was in the back of their wagon, there was a few seconds of silence before all hell broke loose.
"Rick? Is that Rick?"
"Where was he?"
"Michonne where did you find him?"
"He's dead!"
"Help him!" Michonne screamed at them, she, Judith, and Jude already taking position to slide him out the wagon.
Hearing Michonne's stern and desperate tone, others joined in, helping to carry him into the infirmary and placing him on a bed.
"Wait here," Michonne said to her children, before entering the room where Siddiq was desperately trying to remove Rick's dirty clothing.
Michonne could tell Siddiq was as shocked as everyone else, but the sternness on Michonne's face let him know that now was not the time to ask questions.
He quickly cleaned and bandaged Rick's gunshot wound before peeling off the rest of his clothing with Michonne's help. Michonne gasped at the sight of the many bruises, lesions, and wounds that littered his skin. Siddiq took a quick inventory of Rick's ravaged body.
"He's got ticks," Siddiq said, "I'm gonna remove those carefully so it doesn't get infected. I'm not sure what these scars are from, but he's got them all over his arms and legs. This one," Siddiq said, pointing to a large wound, "continues out through his back. I think something actually went through him, and looking at the way it's healed so neatly, he's definitely had professional medical attention. It's been stitched."
Michonne's eyes widened at the news that Rick might've seen a doctor. Maybe even been to a hospital. That would explain how he was still alive, but how did he get there?
"Right before the bridge blew up, he was holding his side. There was blood everywhere. I think this wound is from what injured him."
Siddiq nodded. "Maybe something metallic, or even a tree branch could've done this."
He lifted one of Rick's arms and turned it palm up. On his forearm there was a rectangular wound where the skin was a different color than the skin around it.
"This is from a skin scrape," Siddiq said, studying the scar. "They actually removed a layer of skin from this area, that's why it's a different color. Once again, professionally done."
"You think he went to a hospital?" Michonne asked.
"Maybe, or a doctor who still had sterile medical supplies found him. These black and blue bruises along his arms, fingers, and legs are from Intravenous lines. He was hooked up to IVs many times and for long periods of time. When they blew out a vein they had to stick him again."
"Oh my God," Michonne whispered, placing her hand to her mouth.
"I'm sorry to upset you Michonne, but it looks like he's had some serious medical procedures done to him. Like someone used him as a pin-cushion. I need to know what was done and why in order to help him."
Michonne touched Rick's hand, and then gently squeezed it. "When he was in the cart he felt warm on his cheeks and forehead. I think he might…," Michonne took a deep breath to swallow down the horror she felt rising inside of her.
"I think he might have a fever. Can you… can you check it?"
Siddiq nodded and placed a thermometer into Rick's mouth. While they waited, Siddiq continued his examination of Rick's body, checking for bites.
Michonne watched with bated breath as Siddiq searched for a possible source of Rick's warmness. After a few minutes he removed the thermometer.
"100 degrees. He does have a low-grade fever, but I don't see any signs of recent scratches or bites. What has me worried is the ticks. Fever could be a sign of Lyme disease, or some other internal infection. It seems like the man's been in the woods for a long time, God knows what he could've picked up."
"Is he… is he going to die?" she asked.
"He's lost a lot of blood from that gunshot wound. He was already weak and malnourished before he got shot, and I'm not sure how he's gonna do with blood loss too. I want to be hopeful, but it's a possibility."
Michonne felt weak again. Trying not to pass out a second time, she felt for a chair situated next to the hospital bed, and sat down in it.
Siddiq, still mesmerized himself by the idea of a man who'd been presumed dead for 11 years suddenly arriving at his hospital, missed Michonne's reaction.
"What happened? How did you… where did you find him?"
"He was just… walking down the road. I thought he was a walker. When I saw his shoes I just… I froze, I fainted, and Judith… she was protecting me. She shot him. Thank God she didn't kill him. Please tell me he'll wake up."
"I think he passed out from pain and exhaustion. His body has been through so much, that gun wound even though it was just a graze was the straw that broke the camel's back. He needs rest and nutrients. I'm hoping with that he'll come around. I bet he has a hell of a story to tell."
Michonne nodded at Siddiq but her eyes never left Rick's. She was afraid that if she stepped away from him for just a second he'd disappear again.
"Did he say anything? When you found him? Did you get to talk to him before he got shot?" Siddiq asked.
"He just said… I found you," Michonne repeated.
Siddiq noticed Michonne's inability to take her eyes off of Rick's face.
"I um… I'm gonna let you be alone with him for a while. What do you want me to tell the kids?" Siddiq asked.
Michonne, still entranced with Rick, said "tell them their Daddy will be okay, and I'll come get them in a minute."
"Michonne, if I was betting on someone surviving, it'd always be Rick," Siddiq added before backing out of the room.
Michonne brought Rick's hand over to her mouth and placed a soft kiss on the back of it, closing her eyes and appreciating the fact that she was actually flesh to flesh with him again.
He looked so battered, he'd lost so much weight, and she still couldn't see his face completely through the hair, but he'd come back. After all these years he'd come back to her.
Michonne let out a sob and stood so her face was directly over Rick's.
"Rick," she croaked, stroking his face. "Rick can you hear me? You made it back home, don't you dare die now. You hear me? Don't you dare. Wake up!"
Rick's whole body jolted awake suddenly, startling Michonne. His eyes were wild in fear, and on pure instinct he grabbed her wrist that was holding his hand. His grip was so strong he was hurting her.
"Rick!" Michonne gasped, pulling her wrist from his grip.
As soon as his eyes focused on her, his face relaxed and his breathing slowed. Tears welled up in his eyes and a sob escaped from him.
"Michonne," he whispered.
"Rick?" she asked, touching his hand again now that he'd calmed down.
His fingers wrapped around hers.
"Michonne," he said again, "I found you. I did. I did it."
He began to cry, shaking his head from side to side in disbelief.
"I tried to get away, I tried every day to come back to you. I had to let you know I didn't mean to go. I didn't want to go. I tried… I tried every day."
He began to sob hysterically, clinging to her hand, rubbing his face and beard against the back of it.
He pulled her closer so that he could reach her.
"I found you. I found you," he whispered, and Michonne was sobbing now too.
"I never thought you were dead," she cried, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "I know I was supposed to, I let people think that I did, but I never believed it. But I didn't understand what could've happened. I didn't know how you could be away for so long. After the explosion I... I'm sorry Rick, I'm so sorry. I should've looked harder."
"No," he said, grabbing her cheeks and pulling her face in front of his. "No, I'm sorry. You couldn't have found me, I was so far away. They took me so far away on a helicopter, I couldn't stop it. They wouldn't let me come back."
"A helicopter?" Michonne asked, amazed. "Who took you Rick? Why?"
"I… I'll talk about that later," Rick said. "Are you okay? Is Judith? Where… where's Judith?"
Michonne smiled. "She's outside waiting to come in. She's the one that shot you."
"That… that was Judith?" Rick asked in total shock.
"It was," Michonne said. "She thought you were a walker. She was trying to protect me. With your gun."
"Judith…" Rick said, tears coming to his eyes. "My baby girl shot me? She has good aim," Rick said with a smile.
"Actually, she missed. She was aiming for your head," Michonne explained.
"There was a boy there too," Rick said.
"Jude. Our son… he can't wait to meet you…"
"You had a son?" Rick interrupted. He looked slightly shocked. "I should've known… I knew eleven years was too long… I… I'm so happy for you Michonne. You deserve that."
Michonne squeezed Rick's hand tighter to get his attention.
"I said he's our son. He's your son, Rick."
Rick froze. "How is that possible?"
"I was pregnant with him when you left. I found out a month after… everything. You have a son, Rick."
Rick stared at Michonne with an unreadable expression.
"His name is Jude Richard Grimes. Judith named him. He's 11 years old."
Rick blinked back tears and looked away for a moment.
"I have a son?" he asked, still in disbelief.
"You do," Michonne confirmed. "Would you like to see your children?"
"Yes," Rick said, with a nod of his head. "Yes, I would. But… not like this. Let me clean up first. Let me bathe and shave. I don't want them to think their Daddy is a wild man."
Michonne smiled and nodded. "Okay. Let me help you."
***can08writer***
Rick shaved and washed the dirt from his hair and skin with Michonne and Siddiq's help. Michonne was captivated as Rick shaved. When he removed what looked like years worth of hair growth from his face, underneath was the same handsome man she'd known from 11 years ago. He'd aged, and so had she, but it was startling how much he looked like himself. She had to stop herself from reaching out and running her fingers down his smooth face. Siddiq had tried to ask him all kinds of questions, but Rick refused to answer until after he met his children.
Rick was propped up on a few pillows as he was still weak, and he turned to look as Judith entered the room with her mother at her side.
The smile on his face was radiant when he saw her for the first time in 11 years.
"My God," he said softly.
Judith looked at him nervously.
"You've grown up so much," Rick said, shaking his head. "You're such a beautiful young lady."
Judith looked at Michonne and then back at Rick.
"I'm sorry for shooting you," she offered.
Rick laughed.
"It's not the first time I've been shot, and it probably won't be the last."
Judith smiled, and Rick could see Lori in her smile.
"I know this is…"
"Awkward?" Judith volunteered.
"I was goin' for difficult, but awkward probably fits in there too. I remember exactly what you looked like the last time I saw you, and now here you are, almost an adult. I am so sorry I missed so much of your life Judith."
Rick wiped away a tear. "There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about you. That I didn't want to come back to you. I love you so much. I've loved you since the first time I held you. I just want you to know that."
Judith looked at Michonne again, and then took a step forward. "I don't really remember what you looked like," she said, "but I remember some things. I remember how you made me feel. I remember crawling on the floor and racing you in the hallway of our house. I remember being happy when you picked me up and swung me around, and I remember you reading 'The Wizard of Oz' to me. That's still my favorite book to this day."
"You remember that?" Rick asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I do. Those are the good times I remember. I also remember Mom crying over you at night, and people talking about you being dead. Adults would talk about you when they thought I wasn't listening, but I was. You said you didn't want to leave us, but you owe us a damn good explanation of where you were."
Judith shook her head in anger. "Mom, she didn't deserve to be alone all this time."
Rick opened his mouth and then closed it. "You're right, she didn't. And I'm so sorry to both of you. I swear to you Judith, if I could've come back I would have. You and your Mama were always my first priority."
Judith nodded and crossed her arms. "And Jude, he's wanted a Dad since forever. He's always been told that his Dad is dead. I don't need a Dad anymore, but he does. If you should be apologizing to anyone it should be Mom and Jude."
"Judith I… you're right, everything you said is right, but I just found out about Jude. I'm gonna talk to him too, I can't wait to meet him."
"Well that's who you should focus on. Nice to meet you Dad, but I don't need you."
"Judith!" Michonne said, shocked.
"Can I go now?" Judith asked Michonne.
"No. Apologize."
"She… she doesn't have to if that's how she feels…" Rick said.
"Yes she does. That is not how you speak to your father," Michonne said.
"Sorry. Can I go now?" Judith asked Michonne.
Michonne looked at Rick and then back to Judith. "Go," she said.
"Jude! Come talk to your Dad," Judith called to her brother as she left the room.
Michonne moved closer to Rick's bed. "I'm sorry, she's not usually like that."
"It's okay," Rick said with a small smile. "I like her, she reminds me of Carl."
Michonne chuckled. "Yea, actually, she does."
Jude walked into the room and stopped at the threshold, unsure about coming in.
"Come on in," Michonne encouraged him, "he won't bite."
Rick stared at his son in wonder. His skin was a caramel brown color. He had hair that made tight curls on the top of his head, and his eyes were beautiful hazel color. Rick couldn't help but notice how much he resembled Carl. He smiled when the boy came over and held out his hand for Rick to shake.
"Hi. I'm Jude," he said.
Rick smiled and shook the boy's hand.
"Hi Jude, I'm your Dad, Rick."
Jude studied Rick's face. "You look much better without all that hair on your face."
Rick laughed. Both of his kids definitely had a sense of humor. They must've gotten it from Michonne.
"Yea, I've been traveling for a long time. There was nowhere for me to shave."
Jude continued to stare at Rick but didn't say anything more.
"Jude. I know this must be hard for you. When I got hurt, when I got taken, I didn't know you existed. Neither did your Mama. I know you don't know me, but I would never leave your Mama and your sister willingly. You gotta know that Jude. I thought about them every day. They got me through it all. They're the reason I came back. I traveled across states to come back here. And if I knew you existed, I would've fought even harder. You're my boy. You're so beautiful. You've got your mama's eyes. You look just like your brother too, Carl."
"People say I look like you. My nose."
Rick smiled. "Yea well, I'm sorry about that."
Rick and Jude both snickered.
"This is weird."
"How so?" Rick asked, tilting his head to the side.
"I've never had a Dad before."
Rick made a sound that was a mix between a chuckle and a sob. Tears came to his eyes and he didn't bother to wipe them away.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry son, that you had to grow up without a Dad. I should've been there. God I wish I was. I wished I was every day. I should've been there for you and your sister and your Mama. I fought hard to come back as soon as I could."
"Where were you?"
Rick's eyes got dark and he wiped the tears from them. "I… I've gotta talk to your Mama about that first, okay? I can't tell you right now, but I will, okay? And I'm not going anywhere. I'm gonna be here for you for now on. I promise you that Jude. Okay son?"
Jude looked into Rick's eyes, assessing if he believed this man who was basically a stranger. He seemed sincere.
"Okay… Dad?" Jude asked, as if trying the word on for size.
Rick smiled and another tear ran down his face.
"Yea, Dad. You can call me that whenever you want."
Jude nodded and turned to leave.
"Hey, can I… do you mind if I give you a hug?" Rick asked.
Jude came back over to Rick's bedside and reached out to his father. Rick wrapped his arms around his son for the first time, pulling him close. An unbelievable warmth flowed through Rick's body. He was still in shock that he had a biological child, but a wave of dread ran through him.
Jude was in danger.