Chapter 9
(Next day; Episode 2)
I wake up to the sound of my alarm. I turn over to reach for it on my nightstand to turn it off; it's 8 o'clock in the morning, my usual time to wake up. I open my eyes and stare up in brief thought. I get up out of my bed and put my black combat boots on. I walk over to the shelf on the wall and grab my grey long sleeve shirt and slip it over my black tank top. My dimly lit cell is quiet as I grab my holster with my gun in it and strap it around my waist, over my black jeans. I then make my way through the curtain over the doorway of my cell and head for the metal staircase. Glancing down at the bottom floor, I see Rick holding Judith in his arms as he walks around a bit, bouncing her in his arms.
"She's up early," I say out loud as I reach the bottom of the staircase and walk toward Rick.
He turns to me in surprise and smiles.
"I guess she woke up hungry earlier today," he responds.
I smile as I reach my hand out and caress Judith's hair.
"Well, she looks happy now that she's well fed," I say smiling at Rick. "Thanks to her father."
Rick laughs lightly and smiles back.
"How'd you sleep?" Rick asks.
"Pretty well, actually," I reply stretching my arms out. "Now that I've made a fully recovery and everything…I can sleep soundly."
"But you do know you're not goin' on any supply runs anytime soon, though, right?"
Stretching my left arm over my chest, I give Rick a smirk.
"You and Hershel have talked about that, huh?" I ask as I stretch my right arm over my chest.
"Yeah…yeah we have," Rick says with a guilty smile as he holds Judith's hand.
"I thank you both for caring," I say, glancing at Rick. "But I'm not going to hesitate to go on a supply run when the time comes."
Rick stares at me for a bit, with a half-smile, and nods. An alarm clock then rings in one of the cells in front of us.
"Time for Carl to get up," Rick says as he walks over to the cell and peeks through the curtain over the doorway as the alarm is shutoff from inside. "Carl…" he calls out into the cell softly. "Carl…come on."
Rick turns back and walks over to me, caressing Judith's hair.
"Carl having a hard time waking up?" I say as I look through the items laying on the table against the wall.
Rick smiles a bit and nods.
"Don' look at me," I say with an innocent smile. "I didn't get the chance to stay up with him and read comics…Hershel's tea knocked me out pretty early last night."
He chuckles. Carl walks out of the cell, all ready to go for the day, rubbing his eyes.
"Rise and shine, young cowboy," I say as I smile at Carl.
Carl laughs a bit and stretches his arms out.
"Morning, Michelle. Morning, dad," he says as he walks over to us, leaning to kiss Judith on the forehead. "Morning, Judith."
"Ready to start the day?" Rick asks Carl.
"Like always," Carl says with a yawn.
"You might want to control yourself with those comics," I say to Carl. "Soon, you won' be getting up from bed in the mornings."
"I'll keep that in mind," Carl says with a slight laugh.
I gaze at Carl and give him a warm smile, and he returns it. We turn and see Beth come out of her cell.
"Morning, Beth," I say with a smile.
"Morning, everyone," Beth says as she walks over to us. "Want me to take her for now?" she asks Rick as she holds her hands out to Judith.
Rick smiles at Judith and plants a kiss on her cheek before handing her to Beth. Beth walks over toward her cell, but I walk over next to her.
"Beth…" I say to her in a low voice, placing my hand on her shoulder. "How are you doing after finding out about Zach?"
"I'm fine…" Beth says looking up at me with a smile.
"Are you sure?" I ask giving her a questionable look. "You know I'm here if you want to talk."
"Thank you, Michelle…" Beth says as she bounces Judith a bit in her arms.
I gaze into Beth's eyes as I rub her shoulder gently and give her a warm smile.
"Take care of that angel for me," I say to her as I lightly pinch Judith's cheek.
Beth laughs as Judith smiles up at me and begins to fling my hand back and forth in excitement.
"Ready, Michelle?" I hear Rick call out to me.
I give Beth a smile and nod before walking over to Rick and Carl.
"Let's go get some shit done," I say with a smile as I walk past them to exit the cell block.
We exit out of the cell block to the outside. I look up at the sky with a slight squint and see that the sun is weak today.
"Looks like the garden won't be getting much sunlight today again," I say to Rick as we continue walking.
"No worries," Rick replies. "We'll step our game up. Right, Carl?" he says as he turns to him.
Carl smiles and nods. We turn to see Michonne walking toward us and we meet up with her.
"All ready for your search run?" I ask her as we begin to walk together.
"Yeah. I got everything I need with me to go out and continue looking for any sign of the Governor's trail," she responds.
"Be careful out there," Rick says to Michonne.
"Always am," she responds. "Any requests? Books, comics? Some stale M&M's?"
"You're the one that likes stale M&M's," Carl jokes with Michonne.
"I'll definitely be looking for some," Michonne says with a laugh and sheepish smile. "I'll look for some stuff Michelle and Rick like, too."
Rick and I turn to smile at her. She takes Flame by the reigns and heads toward the main gates to leave.
"Why don't you wear your hat anymore?" Michonne calls out to Carl.
"It's not a farming hat," Carl calls out in response. "See ya soon?"
"Pretty soon," Michonne responds as she continues to head toward the main gates with Flame.
Rick, Carl and I continue to walk toward the farm. We reach the pig pen and Carl opens the gate to head in first.
"I'll be heading to the fences to help take out some of the walkers," I say as I walk close behind Rick. "I need some excitement in my life."
"You sure you don't want to help Carl and I feed the pigs?" Rick asks as we stop and stand in front of each other.
"Nah…I don't do so well with worms," I answer with a smile.
"Alright…" Rick says as he looks down at the ground, looking a bit disappointed.
"Maybe I can help you later with the garden or something," I say trying to cheer him up. "Good luck," I say as I pat him on the shoulder and turn to leave.
"Hey," Rick says as he grabs my arm gently and pulls me toward him a bit. "You be careful."
I'm a bit surprised as gaze up at him and then nod.
"I will," I reply with a smile.
He gazes at me for a moment before letting go of my arm and nods. I turn and walk away to head to the fences and Rick watches after me before heading into the garden toward Carl. I walk some ten feet away from the pig pen and gaze down at the ground as I walk. I take a moment and think about how Rick pulled me toward him just now.
"Snap out of it, Michelle," I say to myself as I shake my head. "Maybe it's not a good idea to think about that right now…"
Suddenly, there's a loud gun shot from inside one of the cell blocks. I stop in my tracks in surprise and I snap out of thoughts.
"What the hell was that?" I ask myself out loud as another shot follows.
"The hell is going on?" I hear Rick call out to me as he and Carl quickly walk after me.
"I don't know," I answer as I begin to walk a few feet ahead of them.
"The cell blocks?" We hear Maggie yell out from the watch tower.
"I don't know!" Rick yells back, clueless as well. "Get in the tower with Maggie," he says to Carl. "Don't argue! Go!"
Carl listens and heads to the tower. Rick and I sprint our way toward the cell blocks.
"Walkers in D!" Glen yells out as he runs toward cell block D.
"What about C?!" Rick asks in a panic, thinking about Judith and causing me to worry as well.
"Clear!" Sasha answers as she runs out from a cell block with Daryl and Tyreese behind her with weapons ready in their hands. "We locked the gates to them too. Hershel's on guard."
"It ain't a break!" Daryl says as he continues to run to cell block D with Sasha and Tyreese.
"We follow the plan!" Sasha calls out.
Rick and I run with the three of them toward cell block D. Rick is frustrated that he doesn't have his gun on him. We arrive inside cell block D and see the residents running and screaming. The snarling of some walkers is also mixed in. Daryl takes a rifle from one of the residents and hands it to Rick.
"Go! Get outta here!" Rick yells at some of the residents and motions for them to run out the exit.
He and I begin to point to the exit to the residents so that they can escape. Rick hands the rifle to one of them for protection, so I decide to stay beside him and cover him, my gun ready in my hands. He takes a little girl into his arms and carries her.
"Cover me!" Rick calls out to me as he heads for one of the exits with the little girl in his arms.
I first turn to check on the rest to make sure they're doing fine with the walkers and then run with Rick and the little girl in his arms. He hands her to another resident and we quickly make our way back to the cell that's been overrun by walkers.
"Are we clear down here?!" Rick yells out to Sasha and Tyreese.
"Yeah!" Tyreese yells back.
"Follow me," Rick tells me as he runs up one of the staircases after Daryl.
I follow him and we stop inside one of the spaces upstairs and see a dead resident lying on the floor. Glen is about to check inside one of the cells, but a walker suddenly jumps at him out from behind the curtain.
"Get down!" Daryl yells at Glen as he aims his crossbow.
Glen listens and kneels down while pushing the walker off from him. Daryl takes the shot and the arrow pierces through the walker's skull, causing it to collapse on the floor. Rick and I make our way past them to check on the other cells.
"Thanks," Glen says as Rick helps him up from the floor.
Rick signals to me that he's about to push the curtain open to check the cell so that I can cover him. I nod and hold my gun out. He pushes the curtain open, and we see a resident who's been bitten, laying unconscious on the floor. We then gaze down at the walker that tried to attack Glen.
"Ooh, it's Patrick…" Daryl says in a low voice as we all gaze down.
The four of us glance around the cell block at the dead walkers laying everywhere.
"That's all of'em…" Daryl says.
The four of us breathe heavily as we stand around Patrick's body, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Daryl then enters the cell and walks toward the bitten unconscious resident on the floor.
"I got it…" he says as he takes an arrow out and shoots it through unconscious resident's head.
Rick and I look at each other and nod, making sure we're good. Hershel and the rest come into the cell block and inspect it. Rick and I head down to a cell on the upper level and he pushes the curtain away to look inside it. He takes out his knife to stab a bitten unconscious resident in the head. Glen and Daryl walk past us, giving us a look of question and despair. We continue to breathe heavily as we try to process what just occurred. I look at Daryl as he reloads his crossbow. He turns to look at me with a look of disbelief. I shake my head slowly at him in sorrow and then gaze down at the floor.
"He had been sick last night," Daryl says to us. "You think that must've had somethin' to do with this?"
"He might have had a flu that caused him to die…" I say gazing at the ground as I place my gun in my holster. "Turned into a walker and attacked the cell block."
"That's a possibility," Rick says as he glances at the floor, placing his hand on his hip.
We stand there in a moment of silence, still rattled at what just happened. We then make our way down the staircase to the bottom level. Daryl heads over to check in with Hershel and the others while Rick and I walk outside to go check on Carl. We walk out of the cell block's door toward the cell block gates and see Carl helping Maggie hold up Michonne who's been injured. Carl lets go of Michonne and runs over to us.
"Hey," Rick says to him while pointing his finger at him. "You might want to stay back…Carl!"
Carl ignores Rick's words and runs into him with a hug, relieved to see his father is all right.
"Dad, I'm sorry…" Carl begins to say in a scared tone. "I didn't see you come out…."
I gaze them and try not to tear up a bit.
"It's okay, I'm here…" Rick comforts Carl as he embraces him closely. "I'm fine…Now back away…" Rick says as he pushes Carl away from him.
"I had to use one of the guns by the gate…" Carl says in despair. "I swear I didn't want to…"
"I was coming back," Michonne says from behind Carl, standing with Maggie's help. "I fell. They came out and helped me."
"You all right?" Rick asks Michonne.
Michonne nods.
"What happened in there?" Maggie asks us.
Rick and I look at one another and then at the ground. We then turn to see a girl walk out of the cell block, crying. Rick turns back to them and shakes his head a bit.
"Patrick got sick last night," Rick finally answers. "Some kind of flu. It moves fast. We think he died and attacked the cell block."
I see Carl's shocked expression upon hearing that Patrick has died.
"Look, I know, I know he was your friend…" Rick says gazes down at Carl, trying to comfort him. "He was a good kid….We lost a lot of good people…"
He then looks over at Maggie.
"Glen and your dad are okay," Rick reassures her. "But they, they were in there…You shouldn't get too close to anyone that might have been exposed. At least for a little while."
Carl moves back to help Michonne with Maggie.
"Carl…" Rick calls out to him. "I owe you."
Carl nods and helps Maggie lead Michonne into cell block C. Rick and I stand there and watch as they go in. I study Rick and see that he's staring at the ground in deep thought. I know he's bothered at what just happened and about Carl's concern of using a gun.
"Rick…" I say as I place my hand on his arm. "It's okay…"
Rick turns and gazes at me with concern.
"I'm fine…" he says. "Are you okay?"
"Just a bit rattled in disbelief at what the hell happened in there…" I answer in a sad tone, gazing away. "So many good people died…just like that…"
"Hey…" he says as he moves closer to me and gazes into my eyes with a reassuring expression in them. "There's nothing we could've done. We saved some that we could…that counts."
I look up at him and nod. He notices that I'm still bothered by something as I gaze away, my lips trembling a bit.
"What's wrong?" he asks in concern.
"I was afraid…" I answer in a low voice.
He looks at me in surprise and confusion.
"You went in there…without a gun…" I continue, not looking up at him. "What if a walker jumped on you and you couldn't defend yourself? What if…"
"Hey…look at me…" he says as he gently grabs my chin and lifts my head up to look at him. "I'm here…"
I look into his comforting, blue eyes and nod. He feels more at ease at seeing my reassured face.
"We can't be around Judith…" I add. "That's another thing that's killing me…"
"I know…" Rick says gazing at the ground. "Until we know what we're dealin' with and it gets dealt with…we have to stay away from Judith and Carl…we can't risk it."
"I understand," I say. "What are we going to do until then?"
"The Council will discuss the majority of that," he answers as he rubs his nose. "Which, by the way, you never explained to me why you didn't join it."
"I'd just prefer not to…" I say honestly. "It's not my style. Though, I do pop in every now and then to add my input."
"That's good enough," Rick says with a slight smile.
"So what are we going to do now?" I ask as I cross my arms. "Since we're not going to discuss this with the Council, what do we do to make the situation better?"
"We continue to do our daily tasks. We make the situation better like that," Rick answers.
I sigh and nod at his point.
"Very well…I guess I'll go back to killing off the walkers at the gates…"
"No…" Rick interrupts me. "After what just happened…I'd prefer you come help me out with the farm."
"But Rick, the walkers are pushing down the gates…"
"You can do that later," Rick continues to argue. "It's also good that you learn some more farming skills so that we have more people who can farm besides me."
I sigh heavily, knowing that he has a point. He stares at me for a moment, waiting for me to answer.
"I'll help you out on the farm," I finally say. "But that's not all I'm going to do here…That's not all you can do either, Rick."
He gazes at me with pensive eyes and then nods.
"Alright…let's go get some farmin' done," he says as he begins to walk.
I stand there for a moment in thought before I follow him.
Rick and I have worked on the farm for over an hour or two now. At first, he could sense the tension from me towards him because I was a bit mad at him for not letting me kill some walkers at the gates. I understand that he worries about me and wants me to be safe, but I just want to make sure the group is safe by doing my duties. Eventually, Rick managed to ease the tension by playfully throwing dirt at me a few times as we worked in the garden. He acted like it wasn't him who did it, so I decided to throw a pebble at him; I acted like I didn't do it.
I make my way with Rick to Daryl who is out in the fields of the prison, burying the bodies of the dead residents. We figured we could help him out. There are wooden crosses stuck into the ground. Daryl sees us but continues to shovel out dirt to form a hole.
"How's it going, Daryl?" I ask as Rick and I stand a few feet away from where he's digging.
"Not so bad," he says through the bandana he's using to cover the lower part of his face to avoid breathing in the dead bodies' odor. "Just diggin' and diggin'."
I nod and glance over at one of the crosses.
"I'm glad you were in there…" Daryl says to Rick as he continues to dig.
"Wasn't much use without my gun…" Rick answers.
"No, you were…" Daryl refutes as he pulls down the bandana from his face and stops digging, turning to Rick. "All this time you been takin' off…you earned it…We wouldn't be here without you," he continues to shovel.
"Nah, it was all of us…" Rick says as he and I pick up a shovel.
"Naw, it was you first," Daryl continues, turning to Rick. "So are you gonna help us figure this out?"
"I screwed up too many times," Rick says as he shakes his head. "Those calls you gotta make. I start down on that road…I almost lost my boy. Who he was…Whatever else this place needs, I'm here for it."
I stand there and recall the night Rick cried in my arms about Carl.
"Like I said, you earned it," Daryl says, shoveling dirt out of the hole. "For what it's worth, you see mistakes. I see when the shit hits…you standin' there with a shovel."
"Rick! Michelle! Daryl!" we hear Maggie yell from a far.
We turn to her and see her pointing at one of the gates. A cluster of walkers is pushing up against the gates, causing it to move inward.
"Aww, shit!" Rick mutters.
Daryl grabs his crossbow as Rick and I sprint to the gates. Maggie reaches the area first and grabs a crowbar and starts to kill walkers through the gates.
"Now this part is startin' to give!" Maggie yells out to us as she runs over to the part where the walkers are pushing though.
We make our way over, grab the crowbars and pipes hanging on one of the fences, and quickly begin to stab walkers through their skulls one by one that are standing outside the fence. Glen, Sasha and Tyreese run over to help us out. I spot one walker and drive my sharp crowbar into its skull, repeating this process quickly. Rick stands back and gazes at the gate, noticing that it's really starting to give. He then moves back toward the gate and continues to kill walkers. I continue to quickly kill some walkers, not being able to stop due to my frustration. I begin to remember the walker eating my daughter on the floor of her bedroom. Anger boils inside of me, and I begin to breathe heavily because of the pace I'm moving in. Rick notices and stops for a moment.
"Michelle…" he says as he grabs my arm, causing me to stop. "Take it easy."
I snap out of my thoughts and just turn back to continue killing the walkers. Sasha walks over a bit farther and gazes at the ground at rat remains that have been eaten by the walkers.
"Are you seeing this?!" she calls out.
Rick, Daryl and I turn our attention over to her. We stop and gaze over and see the remains of the rats, their blood splattered on the ground. Suddenly, the fence begins to fall inward more.
"This part of the fence, now!" Maggie yells.
We react and immediately attempt to push the fence back up.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Glen warns us as the fence lowers more.
"It's gonna give!" Rick yells as he lunges forward to push the fence up.
I lunge forward on his right and push the fence up with everyone else. The walkers just continue to push and push.
"Come on back! Back! Come on back, now!" Daryl yells.
We all back away to examine the inward falling gate.
"If the fence keeps bending in like that, those walkers are coming over it!" Sasha exclaims.
Rick turns toward the pig pen in thought. I gaze at him, trying to figure out what he's thinking. He looks at the ground then at me, rubbing his nose with his left hand in desperation. He's made a decision.
"Daryl, get the truck," he finally says. "I know what to do."
Daryl looks at him and nods. I gaze at Rick, wondering what he's planning on doing.
"I'm gonna have to use the pigs…" he whispers to me.
"What?" I ask in disbelief. "Are you sure about this?"
"It has to be done…" he answers. "Go open the entrance with Maggie."
I stare at him for a moment before I nod in understanding. He then runs over with Daryl to the truck. Tyreese, Sasha, and Glen stay at the fence to continue killing off some walkers. Maggie and I run over to the front entrance; she opens the sliding gate while I open the two large doors. Daryl is driving the jeep truck with Rick riding in the small trailer bed that's attached to it in the back. They pass through the gate and head over to where the fence that's bending in is. I close the two large doors and watch as they head over there. Rick is holding the four pigs in a large box that's sitting on the bed of the trailer. As soon as Daryl drives near the group of walkers that's bending the fence in, he stops the truck just some 25 feet behind them. The walkers turn around and see Rick, and they head over in his direction, getting away from the bending fence. Rick brings out one of the pigs and cuts its side with a blade, causing blood to gush out. I watch in worry as the walkers approach closer to Rick. He lets the pig go in front of the walkers and they grab and devour it. He signals Daryl to drive forward another 20 feet and takes another pig, cuts it, and lets it go into the grasp of the walkers. As the group of walkers is moving away from the bending gate, Glen, Sasha, and Tyreese begin to put the logs of wood up against it to hold it up. Daryl and Rick continue this until the last pig is given to the walkers, and they drive back to the entrance of the prison. I quickly pull the rope to open the two large front doors and they drive in. I close the two large doors again and Maggie closes the sliding gate. Daryl drives up the dirt pathway and parks the truck. I run over to Rick and see that his face and shirt are covered with some of the pigs' blood. The look on his face is full of despair. I walk up to him and he just gazes at the ground, his hand on his face.
"Rick…" I call to him.
"I'm sorry…" he begins to say in despair. "I had to give them up…I had to…to save the gate…"
He stands up off the bed of the trailer and walks to the side of the dirt pathway, covering his face with his hand.
"I had to…I gave them up…our source of food…" he continues to say while looking away.
"Rick, look at me…" I say as I gently grab his chin and make him gaze into my eyes. "You had to…There was no other choice…the pigs were sick anyway."
He stares at me in thought. I take a small cloth out of my pocket and begin to wipe the blood off his face.
"You made the right call…" I say to him with a reassuring smile.
He gazes at me as I continue to wipe his face clean. Once the last bit of blood is off his face, he stays quiet and finally nods.
"Thank you…" he whispers to me.
I smile at him. Daryl glances at us and nods and makes his way over to the rest by the bending gate.
"I'm going to take the pig pen down," he says as he begins to walk toward the farm's direction. "There's no point in having it now."
"I'll help you," I say as I run after him. "I'm sure you'll need help."
He looks at me as I walk beside him.
"Thank you, Michelle…" he says as we continue to walk. "I needed someone to tell me that what I did was right."
"It was," I say sternly. "We can always go out on supply runs to get more food…But we can't repair whatever damage those walkers can do if they were to get past the prison gates."
I grab his arm and gently squeeze it to comfort him. We make it to the now empty pig pen and walk inside.
"Just start taking the fences down," Rick says as he walks over and grabs a part of the 5-foot tall fence and begins to take it down.
"Yep," I say as I walk over to the other side of the pig pen and begin to take parts of the fence down.
We take the parts of the fence and pile them up on the side. We turn and see Carl walking over toward us.
"Not this time…" Rick says to Carl as he carries a board from the pig pen's fence and walks over to the pile.
"You think the pigs made'em sick?" Carl asks as he stands a few feet from the pile of fence parts in front of Rick.
"Or…" Rick says as he places the part of the fence on the pile. "We made the pigs sick…I think we should stay away from Judie a while…" Rick says as I toss another piece of fence on the pile. "Just in case."
"Agreed…" I nod at Rick's statement, standing next to them.
"Okay," Carl agrees.
"Michelle and I don't like it, but…"
"No, we have to protect her," Carl interrupts his father.
Rick and I give a proud gaze at Carl for his statement.
"Yes we do," Rick nods at Carl.
"Hey dad…"
"Yeah?" Rick says as he turns back to Carl.
"Carol's been…" Carl explains. "…teaching the kids how to use weapons…how to kill."
I glance at him in surprise. Rick turns to me and notices my surprised look.
"You didn't know?" Rick asks me.
"No," I reply in disbelief. "I only lead story time for a certain amount of time before I leave and tend to my other tasks…Carol took over when I left…I guess she did it as soon as I left."
"Their parents don't know and she doesn't want you to know," Carl says to Rick. "I think you should let her."
I am a bit surprised at Carl's words.
"I know you're gonna say it's not up to you," Carl continues to say to Rick. "But it can be."
Rick turns away in thought but then grabs the container of fuel and pours it over the pile of fence pieces. Carl and I step back as he continues to pour more over it, and we stare at Rick, waiting for him to say something.
"Dad?" Carl says.
"Thank you for telling me," Rick says as he walks past Carl to place the container of fuel a few feet away by the den.
"Yeah…" Carl says as he looks down in a bit of uncertainty.
I place my hand on Carl's shoulder and smile at him in reassurance. Rick walks back next to the pile of fence parts and stands there, gazing ahead. Carl and I wait for him to say something again.
"I won't stop her…" he finally says. "I won't say anything."
I'm a bit surprised at Rick's response as I watch him walk over to the pile and light a match up. He tosses it in the pile and it catches on fire slowly. We stand back and watch the fire gradually consume the pile of fence pieces. We stand in silence for a moment before Rick walks away to the supplies some feet to our right by the small shed, leaving Carl and I staring at the burning pile of fence pieces. I can see that Carl is a bit concerned.
"Carl…" Rick says as he kneels down in front of a blue toolbox.
Carl walks over to him and watches as his father takes out a gun from the toolbox and stands up. Rick cleans the gun with a cloth and hands it to Carl.
'He's doing it…' I say as I gaze Rick.
Rick crouches down to the toolbox again and takes out his belt holster, and he straps it around his hips. He then takes out his Colt Python from the tool box, loads it, and places it in its holster that's positioned at Rick's right side. He walks closer to Carl and caresses the side of Carl's head and neck. I smile in awe as I watch them. Carl then gives his father a nod before walking away. Rick walks over next to me, sighs, and scratches his forehead, closing his eyes in thought.
"You ought to clean yourself up," I say as I point at his bloodstained shirt.
He looks at the blood stains on his khaki shirt and nods. He begins to unbutton it, takes it off, and holds it in his hands, examining it. He then tosses the shirt into the burning pile of fence pieces.
"Did I do the right thing? Giving Carl his gun back?...takin' my gun back?" he asks me.
"I think it is," I answer as I take a gentle hold of Rick's left wrist.
Rick looks down at my hand for a moment, then flips his hand over mine, holding my hand in his. I am surprised at this and look up at him. He gazes into my eyes with those blue eyes of his with a small smile. I continue to stare at him in surprise, but a warm smile spreads across my face. We then turn our eyes to the fire in deep thought.
"So it's clear about how we feel towards one another…" I say.
"Yeah…Looks like it," Rick says with a small smile.
"I still want you to keep your wedding ring…"
Rick is surprised.
"I don't want the others finding out…I don't want Carl finding out…at least not yet," I explain as I gaze at the fire. "I hope you're okay with that."
"If that's what you want."
"I don't want everyone…I don't want Carl…thinking about this right now…Not while this is all happening…" I continue to say.
"I understand and respect that," he says with a nod. "I also think that's a better thing to do."
"Until things get better, let's just stay as friends…for now," I say with a half-smile as I slowly let go of his hand, causing him to look down in disappointment but understanding.
We continue to gaze at the fire for a moment, but our attention then turns to the groups of walkers that are gathering up on the gates. Rick and gaze at them with concern.
"We're gonna have to do something about it…" I say.
"Yeah…" Rick agrees as we gaze at the walkers. "And we gotta do it soon."
