Set during 6x03 "First Time Again" and 6x05 "Now"
This medicine is wearing thin now
We're bullet proof until we bleed out
And even though we always try to hide our instincts by our pride
In our struggle to survive, we keep the warpath by our side
We strike the sky until the sun bows
And fly until our feathers burn out
All our lives we've been apart
A vicious cycle from the start
In our struggle to survive, we keep the warpath by our side
"The Warpath" – Conner Youngblood
Chapter 6: Part 2 – Warpath
The horn was still blowing as they ran through the forest. They had met up with Glenn's group not long after realizing the noise was coming from Alexandria. They needed to keep moving in order to stay in front of the horde of walkers behind them, but they paused every once and a while to try to reach Tobin and his team over the walkie-talkie.
"Try again," Glenn panted as they came to another stop.
"Tobin, it's not stopping. Light it up! You hear me?" Rick commanded over the walkie. There was radio silence after that. "Tobin?!"
Mia shared a look with Michonne when no one replied. Rick and Glenn broke into a run, while Mia took down a lone walker with her knife. She caught up to Rick a moment later and continued to run by his side.
She could hear the other Alexandrians complaining behind her, but she ignored it. She did glance back to make sure they were okay, though.
"Rick!" Daryl's voice came in over the walkie-talkie.
"I'm here!" Rick replied as they continued to run towards home.
"What's going on back there?"
"Half of 'em broke off. They're going towards Alexandria," Rick answered.
"Towards you?" Abraham radioed in.
"We ran ahead. There's a horn or something, coming from the east. It's not stopping," Rick informed them quickly.
"I'm gonna gas it up, turn back!" Daryl told them.
"We have it! You keep going!" Rick responded.
"They're gonna need our help," Daryl said.
"Gotta keep the herd moving!" Rick said as he spared a glance in Mia's direction. He'd continued to make sure she was by his side as they ran.
"Not if it's going down, we don't."
"The rest of that herd turns around, the bad back there gets worse," Rick reminded him. The walkie went silent for a moment. "Daryl?!"
"Yeah, I heard you," Daryl answered.
They continued to hurry along after that, weaving through the trees and jumping over large rocks and raised tree roots. Mia stopped when one of the Alexandrians tripped and hurt her ankle. Glenn got the woman to her feet and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. He became a crutch for her as they continued on their way.
"Mia!" Rick shouted and she ran to catch up to him.
"I'm right here," she told him between heavy breaths. "I'm right here."
He placed a hand against her cheek and smiled weakly. "We're here."
Rick dropped his hand into hers as the rest of their group caught up to them and looked at the others.
"All right, listen up. Here's the new plan," Rick said. "I go back, get the RV, circle around the woods on Redding. I'll get in front of them before they get there. I can lead them away again."
"RV's a mile back," Mia said, pulling on his arm lightly. "I'll go with you."
"I'll handle it," Rick said as he looked at her. "Just get home. They're gonna need you there."
"Mia, Glenn, Michonne," Rick said as he nodded his head away from the group. They followed him willingly to a spot where the others wouldn't be able to hear what they said.
"If something's in front of you, you kill it," Rick instructed and let go of Mia's hand. "No hiding, no waiting. You keep going."
"I'm going with you," Mia said, determined. "You're not doing this on your own."
"Mia, I can do this," Rick told her. "You need to get home to your family."
"You are my family," Mia responded. "All of these people are."
"You need to help me," Michonne said to the younger woman. "We've got to get these people back."
"You need to help her," Rick agreed. "But they aren't all going to make it."
"Rick," Michonne said.
"You try to save them, you try," Rick said. "But they can't keep up, you keep going. You have to. You make sure you get back."
"We need a moment," Mia said to Glenn and Michonne and they obliged, leaving her alone with Rick.
"I don't want you to do this by yourself," Mia said to him.
"We don't have a choice," Rick told her. He placed his hand on her cheek again. "I have to do this."
"I know," Mia nodded weakly. "But I still don't want you to."
"I love you, Mia.," Rick sighed. "And I'll see you back in Alexandria."
"Rick, I—"
She was cut off by the sound of a scream and the snarl of a walker. Both Rick and Mia went running towards the sounds.
They found one of the Alexandrians being bitten by a walker across the neck. Glenn and Rick pulled the walker off the man, but it was obvious that he was going to die soon. His neck continued to bleed until he lost consciousness and then he was gone. The horn stopped as he died.
"The horn stopped," Rick paused, "good."
Rick went around the body and picked off a knife and a gun before looking up at Mia and the rest of the group.
"Get back safe," Rick told Mia before he got up and walked off.
And she did get back safe.
Annie, Sturgess, and David were dead, though, and Scott was hurt and Glenn and Nicholas were missing. The only ones who made it back beside Amelia and Scott were Michonne and Heath. Rick was right, Mia thought, not everyone made it.
Rick hadn't made it back either, which only made Mia more concerned. She needed him to be okay.
She was speaking with Maggie about Glenn when they heard the shouting.
"Open the gate!"
Mia immediately recognized it as Rick's voice.
She ran with the others to the gate and opened it, having her knife and gun ready. Mia breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Rick running towards them with a horde of walkers trailing behind him. He was alive. She had never felt rush of emotions she did at that moment.
When he reached them, they closed the gate just as the walkers reached the walls. Mia went straight to Rick, though. She gave him a quick glance to make sure he wasn't hurt and saw that his hand was bleeding.
"What happened?" Mia asked as she grabbed his hand. She turned it over and saw that it wasn't a bite. It was a deep laceration, though. She tore off a piece of her shirt and wound it around the cut tightly.
"I'm fine," Rick panted. "I'm okay now."
"Now?" Mia looked up and met his blue eyes.
"Now," Rick said as he took her hand in his.
Mia glanced down at their hands and smiled. She looked up at Rick and nodded. "Now."
She didn't hesitate to cup her hand around the back of Rick's neck and pull him down towards her. Mia went up on her toes and met his lips with hers. She pushed herself against him, the blood rushing through her body. His hand fell upon her cheek, and the smell of sweat and blood surrounded her. He put his other hand around her back, giving her the sense of protection and calmness she craved. At that moment, Mia felt as if they were the only two people on earth and that nothing else mattered. Not the walkers or the Alexandrians. They were it.
"I love you too," Mia breathed as they parted. "I love you too, Rick Grimes."
"Sit still," Mia said with a playful smile as she pressed a bandage over Rick's cut on his forehead.
"I'm trying," Rick said as he placed his hand on her hips. "But it's hard when your girlfriend is standing so close and you can't kiss her."
"Girlfriend, huh?" Mia said. She sighed. "I like the sound of it."
"Me too," Rick said as he smiled up at her.
"You can kiss me when I'm done, Rick," she told him as she finished cleaning the blood around the wound.
"Sounds like a plan," Rick said quietly and let her finish her work in peace.
Mia pressed her lips together as she sat down in front of him. She took a deep, calming breath and let it out slowly. "My mom wants me to be the doctor here now that Pete's gone."
"Do you think you're ready?" Rick asked her.
"No," Mia shook her head. "I'm not a doctor. I told her to find someone else."
"Is there anyone else that could do it?" Rick asked.
"There is someone, but I don't think she's ready either," Mia sighed. She dropped her head into her hands.
Rick reached across and pulled them away from her face so she was looking at him. "You can do it together."
"It's just that I don't want to be stuck here being the doctor. I want to be able to go out there and be who I am. I need to be able to go out there," Mia explained tiredly.
"You will," Rick promised. "You'll be able to go out there whenever you want, but promise me that you won't go without me."
"Why?" Mia asked with a quirk of her eyebrow. "Afraid I'll get myself killed, Sheriff?"
"No," Rick sighed with a smile. "I just want to be with you… in here and out there."
"You will be," Mia promised as she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. She pulled away a second later and smiled wide. "You're all patched up. Now, we just have to worry about the horde of walkers outside our walls."
"Sounds fun," Rick joked.
"Oh, super fun," Mia smirked.
He took her hand with his unhurt one and they walked out to the other Alexandrians together.
They slowed when they saw everyone gathered around the part of the wall that had been hit by the truck.
"You have this, Rick," Mia told him as he faced her. "You're really good at inspirational speeches… sort of."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Rick sighed and glanced at the Alexandrians and his people. He looked back at Mia and cupped one side of her face. "You're right. I have this, but only because you're here. You're my person, Mia, and I need you. Are you with me?"
"I'm with you," Mia agreed with a curt nod. "I'll be with you for as long as I live."
"Let's go, then," Rick said as he dropped his hand into hers. Hand in hand they walked over to their people.
"You can hear it," Rick said as they neared the others. They all turned to look at him and Mia. "Some of you saw it. It got back here; half of them… still enough to surround us twenty deep."
He continued after a glancing at Mia. "Look I know you're scared. You haven't seen anything like this. You haven't been through anything like this. But we're safe, for now. The panel the truck hit seems intact. We reinforced it just in case. Either way, the wall's gonna hold together. Can you?"
"The others are gonna be back," Mia said after a short silence.
"They're gonna be back," Rosita agreed with a nod.
"Daryl, Abraham, Sasha, they have vehicles," Rick said to the large group as Mia held his hand in hers. "They're gonna lead them away just like the others. And Glenn and Nicholas are gonna walk through the front gate after them. They know what they're doing! And we know what we need to do!"
He softened his tone slightly. "We keep noise to a minimum. Pull our blinds at night—even better, keep the lights out. We try to make this place as quiet as a graveyard. See if they move on."
"This place is a graveyard," one of the Alexandrians said.
Rick looked at the woman and nodded softly. Mia pinned her lips together as she dropped her gaze to the floor and gripped Rick's hand tighter. Her thoughts couldn't stop from going back to the night her father died. The blood was what always came first to her. Then his eyes and how they lost the life in them as he died.
"The quarry broke open and those walkers were heading this way," Aaron said. "All of them. The plan that Rick put into place stopped that from happening. He got half of them away!" He paused for a moment. "I was out there recruiting with Daryl. I wanted to try to get into a cannery and scavenge, and Daryl wanted to keep looking for people. We did what I wanted... and we wound up in a trap set by those people. And I lost my pack. They must've followed our tracks. Those people who attacked us... they found their way back here because of me."
Mia looked to Rick, who looked back at her. He turned his gaze to Aaron. "There'll be more to talk about."
"Mom?" Mia asked when she saw her mother start to walk away. "Mom!"
"Deanna?" Tobin asked as well, but the woman responded to neither of them.
"Go," Rick said when Mia looked at him. She kissed him on the cheek and ran after her mother
"Mom," Mia said as she entered her father's office. She had followed her to their house, but debated for a moment before following her inside.
"Amelia," her mother sighed. "You know that your father was the one who chose that name for you. It ran in his family for a while and he wanted to bring it back."
"I love my name," Mia admitted as she sat down on the other side of the desk. "I think dad knew I would."
"He did," her mom said with a nod. "He knew a lot of things. He was so smart."
"He was," Mia agreed quietly. She found it hard to talk to her mom about her dad, but she forced herself to do it. Especially if it made her mom feel better. She and Spencer were the only family Mia had left and she would do anything for them. "My father was smart, strong, and so kind, and I miss him everyday. But I know he wouldn't want us to dwell on his death. He'd want us to use it to push us forward—to make us want to fight even harder to keep each other alive."
"I know," her mother said as tears began to fill her eyes. "But I loved him too much to let him go."
"You didn't love him too much, mom," Mia told her. "You loved him just enough, and none of are over his death yet. That's why we have to stick together. We have to push through it together."
Deanna reached across the table and took Mia's hand in hers. She smiled at her daughter. "I love you, Mia. I need you to know that and remember it."
"You'll be here to remind me," Mia responded immediately. "You'll be here."
"You don't know that," Deanna murmured.
Mia leaned forward. "I will do everything in my power to make sure you survive all of this. I can't lose you too. I just can't."
"You're stronger than you think, Mia," Deanna said with a small smile. "I've seen your scars. You were strong enough to endure that much pain. You'll be able to endure my death if it comes."
"Stop," Mia begged. "Stop talking like this. You're here, now. That's all that matters."
"I just needed to tell you, my love," Deanna said as she squeezed her daughter's hand.
"I know, mom," Mia said. "I know."
Mia had been walking for a bit when Dean found her. He had been with the group earlier, but he hadn't bothered to say anything.
"Hey," Dean sighed. "How's your mom?"
"She's… she's hanging in there," Mia decided with a glance in his direction.
"That's good," he said. "We never really got the chance to talk about everything."
"Yeah, sorry," Mia sighed.
"So, I saw you with Rick earlier," Dean started. "How long has that been going on?"
Mia glanced at him with narrowed eyes for a moment before turning forward again. "It just started practically."
"How long have you been here, again?" Dean asked.
"Not long at all. Why?" Mia asked as she looked at him.
"I was just trying to figure out how long you were out there before you found this place," Dean said. Mia knew he wouldn't hide the truth from her. They were too close for that.
"I was out there for a long time after you left me," Mia said as she faced him and crossed her arms over her chest. "I found another group but they were murdered by a different group. I was the only to survive in the end. That's how I got all of these," Mia said as she showed him the scars on her arms and shoulders. "There's more that I could show you, but I have a boyfriend."
"I'm so sorry, Mia," Dean said as his gaze lingered on her arms.
"Yeah, me too," Mia responded. "But you leaving me and everything that happened afterwards are in the past. I want to leave it there."
"I do too," Dean admitted.
"Besides, I missed you too much to hate you for leaving me in the first place," Mia said with a shrug.
"Have you told Rick about Sam and I?"
"I've told him," Mia said. "He kind of hates you for choosing to leave me, but other than that, he's accepted it."
"He blames me," Dean registered.
"Kind of," Mia said. "But it's okay. I explained the whole Sam thing and he got it… I think."
"I think I'll have to accept that," Dean sighed.
"I think you will," Mia smirked slyly as they continued walking side by side.
"I missed you too by the way," Dean added and looked at Mia.
"I know," Mia said, looking at Dean. "But do you regret leaving?"
"I do," Dean nodded. "I regretted it everyday since. It just took me a while to get here."
"I get it," Mia said as she turned forward. "It took me a while longer than I expected too."
They walked in silence until Dean grabbed her arm, making her face him.
"I'm sorry that I left you," Dean said. "But the truth is that it was because I knew that if we stayed together, I would end up falling even deeper in love with you and I couldn't do that to Sam. It took me a while to realize that Sam was gone and he would've wanted us both to be happy." He paused to shake his head when he saw the look on Mia's face. It was pure shock. "I just wanted you to know that I do love you. I am in love with you, Mia, and I am going to do whatever it takes to win you back. I'm sorry if that makes you hate me, but I can't let go of you again. I won't let go of you ever again."
"I'm with Rick," Mia stuttered. "I love him, Dean, not you. I mean, I do love you, but I'm not in love with you. I'm in love with him."
"I know," Dean told her. "But I'm going to do everything in my power to win you over."
"Good luck with that," Mia scoffed before walking away.
She went straight to Rick's house and found him in his bedroom. He was changing into a different shirt, making Mia stop in the doorway. She struggled to find the words to warn him that she was there.
"Mia," Rick greeted casually as he turned to her and began buttoning up his shirt. Mia pressed her lips together as her gaze lingered on his bare chest. She shook her head lightly and forced herself to focus.
"Rick," Mia said and entered his room. She took a seat on his bed and patted the spot in front of her. Rick sat down facing her. "There's something I need to tell you, and I need you to promise you won't do anything without talking it through with me first."
"I promise," Rick said with some curiosity, but without hesitation.
"Dean… he's in love with me, and he wants win me over—like be with me and stuff," Mia stuttered. "He just told me that, but I kind of already knew that he had been in love with me when I was with him and his brother."
"While you were with his brother?" Rick asked.
"Yes," Mia said. "I know he was ashamed of it, but I didn't think he still loved me like that after what happened to Sam."
"So, he wants to be with you?" Rick asked.
"Yes," Mia said.
"Do you want to be with him?" Rick asked.
"No," Mia said without hesitation. "I'm with you, and I want to be with you. I want to be with you so much that it hurts to be apart from you."
Rick smiled lightly. "It hurts me too."
"You don't have to worry about Dean, so please don't try to hurt him or anything," Mia said with a breathless laugh.
"I won't try to hurt him, but I sure as hell won't wish him any luck," Rick sighed.
"I wouldn't expect you to," Mia said with a smirk.
Rick leaned forward and kissed her. She slid her arms around his neck and he placed his hands around her waist, guiding her down onto the pillows behind her. Rick ran a hand through her brown hair, fingers skimming down the back of her shirt. But it was only when he looked her in the eyes that he knew he should say it.
"I really do love you, Amelia Monroe."
Mia grazed his lips with her fingers. "I know. I love you too, Rick Grimes."
They continued to kiss until Rick pulled back and lied next to Mia, smoothing back her hair. She curled her arms around him and tucked her head under his chin. He kissed the top of her head and placed his arms around her back, holding her as close as he could.
He knew he would never let her go again.
