Chapter Three - Rick

Rick saw the pain on Daryl's face as he stomped away. Turning back to Beth, scrubbing a hand over his face, "Any suggestions?"

Beth stepped closer, reaching up to take his face in her hands, "Tell him the truth. Tell him you're confused and don't know what to do. Tell him you're thinking about it."

Shocked, he stared down at her, this tiny woman, so wise, was such a solid rock in the middle of this insane trio of rolling stones he'd found himself embroiled in. She knew. She knew he wanted this. The understanding on her face had him releasing the trapped breath in his chest, blowing back the loose hair framing her beautiful face, "You're really okay with the idea? What will we say? How will I explain it to Carl? To any of them?"

"We'll cross those bridges when we get to them." He understood, it could be at least a week before they reached Carl and the others, a week or even more before that giant herd cleared out. Once again, he was thankful they'd left everyone in that fortified house, full of stored food and water.

When the priest had told them about the hospital, had told them Beth's probable fate, he and Daryl had immediately left for the city, leaving the rest of the group behind in that utopia the priest had created. Father Gabriel had been collecting food and water since the ZA began, and there was more than enough for the whole group to hole up through the winter, if necessary.

About a half a day from Father Gabriel's house, Rick, Beth, and Daryl had come across a herd larger than Rick could have imagined existed. They'd stood at the top of a hill, looking down at an ocean of the dead. Daryl's estimate was 50 thousand, but to Rick, there had seemed twice that number, endless shuffling walkers, aimlessly following one another. They were slowly leaving the city, a massive wave of death, straight toward the priest's heavily fortified home. As long as the group stayed hidden and didn't attract the herd's notice, it would simply flow around the house, as they seemed to do with all structures in their path.

So Rick, Beth, and Daryl had found another way out of the city, but since all the walkers they saw seemed to be headed in the direction of the herd, they'd have to wait to reunite with the rest of the group. For now, they'd paused in heavily wooded area, hoping to catch a few rabbits, before finding a suitable structure to spend a few days.

Rick's hands cupped Beth's face, "I'm just so confused."

"Tell him," she whispered, gently tugging his face to hers, "I want this more than anything in the world." Her lips, so much softer than Daryl's, lightly touched Rick's. Her eyes were liquid pools of heat, and he wanted to grab her, fit her tiny frame to his own, and lose himself in the fire of her loving, but he stepped back.

"I've never done anything like this before."

"I know, silly, it will be a new experience for all three of us." The love and humor in her eyes was his undoing, and he grabbed her, roughly molding their bodies together.

"You are so beautiful, we don't deserve you," he said into her hair, as she rolled her hips. As he lifted her, her long legs wrapped tightly around his waist, and she ground herself against him.

"Go get Daryl. Let's get somewhere safe," her body continued to grind against his and he almost lost his footing. He watched in amazement as she tossed her head back and stiffened against him, obviously in the throes of an orgasm. His raging hard-on begged for relief, too, but he ignored it, waiting for her to come back from her high. The satisfied little grin on her face suddenly made him laugh in sheer joy, and as he set her back on her feet, he couldn't help cupping one of her small breasts in his hand and whispering, "Stay right here. Fire one shot at the sign of any trouble, we'll be here in a jiffy."

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