Summary: Rick and his group have found a permanent home, and he loves the beautiful girl by his side. In the old world, that would have been it. He could live happy. But "happy" is an strange thing when the dead roam the earth and the people that are left want you dead.
This is a sequel! PLEASE- if you have not read Rick's Ruby, you are most likely gonna be lost, so read it first! Due to overwhelming response to the first Rick's Ruby this was inevitable.
Rick/OC, no slash, rated R for graphic lovin' and ass kickery.
++++I'm evil, I know. I was so afraid I was going to drive people away with these cliffhangers, but it's just too much damn fun and you guys don't seem to mind! A special thanks to Ladey Jezzabella in addition to my devoted regulars (you know who you are) for your kind words. They are, no joking, my fuel to continue, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Now, carry on to find out what happened to Ruby. Poor girl has been through the wringer, hasn't she? One of my characters is seriously just going to keel over from a heart attack if I don't give them a break soon. :)
"Click"
Ruby didn't realize she'd closed her eyes until she heard that sound, and she blinked up at Tom in astonishment. He was just as shocked and his eyes widened as he looked up and an arrow whizzed over her head, planting itself in his already broken and injured left shoulder.
He let out a strangled cry and fell back into the water, and Ruby let out the breath she was holding. A pair of arms wrapped around her tightly and pulled her up and back, turning her around, and she found herself looking into Rick's frantic eyes. Paul was beside him, his hands on her face, his lips moving soundlessly to her. Jimmy was on the other side, Daryl behind her as he stood over Tom. A sob escaped her throat and she threw her limp arms around Rick's neck, burying her face in him. There wasn't an inch of skin showing that didn't look ripped and painfully cut or bruised. Rick felt a strength he didn't know he had flood through him when he held her, and scooped her up out of the water, bridal style, her near to bare body scarily cold against him. Jimmy whipped off the light jacket he wore and tucked it around her in Rick's arms before turning back to the wounded Tom on the creek bed.
Daryl reloaded, keeping his eye on the still softly wailing man in the stream. He took a step forward and shot again, pegging him in the other shoulder, prompting a whole new stream of cries and curses. Paul put a hand on Ruby's back, keeping it there as he stepped forward, and he, Jimmy, and Daryl looked down at the man, the fury in their faces making them look almost inhuman.
"My turn." Paul growled and aimed his gun at Tom's face.
Tom winced, and would have put his arms up to cover his face but they were useless by his side. "I didn't touch her, I didn't! Stop, please."
Paul fired a shot into the man's leg and his speech was clipped and bitter. "Look at her! The hell you didn't."
"It was the wreck, I swear. Ask her!"
"We should drag his ass back." Jimmy said, and Tom paled, but nodded his head.
"Yeah, take me back. Don't leave me here." He looked around, scanning the area for walkers, but Paul clicked his gun and Tom's head whipped back at him in terror.
"Fuck that. Bastard's dead now. Getting off easy too." Daryl hissed and fired again, hitting Tom's last good limb, and the man screamed.
Ruby choked back her tears and peered back at Paul over Rick's shoulder. He looked back at her and she met his eyes. As exhausted, hurt, and near delirious as she was at the moment, she blinked at him, clearly close to unconsciousness.
He looked back down at Tom, and shook his head. "You should have listened to her." He said through clenched teeth and raised his gun. Tom's eyes widened one last time, and Paul fired, putting his bullet right where Rick had said earlier. Between the man's eyes. Tom jerked and fell back, instantly still, his eyes open under the rushing water that now covered his face.
She was still bleeding, and it was now soaking through her wet clothes and down the front of Rick. Paul had gone to the other side and was standing with his face pressed into her wet hair. Ruby raised her head and kissed his face, letting out another wracking breath. Daryl pushed forward and looked down at her stomach. He reached in between them and pulled Jimmy's jacket and her shirt up a little, seeing the cut from the glass.
"Put her down here, Rick. Now." He ordered, and Rick whipped her over to the bank, and the three of them knelt down around her. Daryl looked around, then down at his own shirt. He ripped it off and tore it lengthwise in his hands. "Can you hold on till we get back, Rub?"
She nodded, swallowing hard. Seeing the four of them around her was akin to heaven, and all she could see were their faces, feel their hands on her.
"He told me you were dead." She whispered, looking up at Rick as Daryl balled up part of the shirt and pressed it against her wound. He wound the rest of the garment around her waist to hold it and began to tie it off tightly. She winced, and it made him wince back, hating that he was hurting her.
"I'd never leave you." Rick looked down into her eyes and shook his head. "Never."
"We gotta go. I'll take her." Paul said, and Rick shook his head. "Ok, fine. But move, now." He raised his gun and fired. A walker that had been drawn to them had wandered into view and was coming right at them. Ruby grunted in pain as they began to jog back through the trees, occasional gunshots firing around her and Rick loudly.
"Is everybody else ok?" She managed to ask through gritted teeth.
"Yes. They're fine." Rick said between shots. "Just breath, don't try to talk."
She felt relief course through her body as she relaxed against him. They moved too quickly to continue talking, she simply didn't have the strength to raise her voice enough to be heard. They'd found her, Tom was gone, and the others were safe. Above all, Rick was alive, and that thought made her heart fly despite her intense pain.
They got to the truck, and Rick handed Ruby up to Paul, scrambling up behind them. Paul sat her down on his lap, his back pressed to the cab. Rick moved to her head, and she relaxed against him, his arms cradling the top half of her body as Paul pulled the jacket back around her as tightly as he dared.
"You're drivin'." Daryl got the keys from Rick and tossed them to Jimmy, who slid behind the wheel, Daryl sinking down near the wheel well in relief and exhaustion. The wind whizzed over them, and he realized he should be feeling the cold intensely since he'd removed his shirt to bandage her, but he couldn't feel it at all. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and rubbed them hard with his finger and thumb, jumping a little when a cold hand touched him. He looked up and saw Ruby's reached out and wrapped her small, bloody fingers around his hand. Rick had tears running freely over his cheeks, and even Paul looked choked up, but he just swallowed hard and wrapped his hand around hers, holding it tightly. It was both the longest and shortest ride in the history of the world.
The bridge was still down, and Jimmy knew he'd have to do a sweep of the farm before too long. But the house had been secured and that was what was important. Glenn came out on the porch when they heard the roar of the truck, and before they were stopped, orders were being shouted out.
"Glenn, get the gate closed!"
"Get Maggie and Beth upstairs now, keep the kids away!"
"Hand her to me, I'll get her upstairs."
"Somebody get out front, shoot anything that comes anywhere close!"
Rick had Ruby in his arms and was racing her up the stairs as she tried to fight the growing fatigue threatening to put her out. Doors slammed, voices melted together, the cold wind replaced by the comfortable smell of the house around her.
"Don't fall asleep, baby." Rick whispered to her as he laid her gently on her bed. Paul grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her, then sat down on the other side of her, taking a free hand in his.
"Rick?" Maggie's voice came from the door and she stepped in tentatively, Beth behind her closely. The girl paled when she saw Ruby in bed, and Beth let out a gasp, both rushing to the bedside. Rick got up and moved for them, and they began to take stock of her injuries quickly.
"Beth, go down and get Daddy's bag, we need to get her something for the pain." Maggie ordered, and Paul nodded his gratitude when the blonde dashed out of the room quickly. "Ruby, you stay awake ok? I have to get your shirt off."
Paul went to the top of the bed, so Ruby's private parts were below him and out of sight, and when Maggie pulled her shirt off, he kept his eyes pinned on hers. Her eyes were blinking slowly, she was so tired she could hardly keep them open. That she had gotten a rather large bump on the head was evident, though, not only by the blood caking her hair. Her forehead, as dirty as it was, was already brilliant shades of purple and blue, and a large gash coming down out of her hairline was painful to look at. Paul stroked her cheek with his large thumb, and talked to her in whispers.
"You gotta start singin' again, Starlet. I miss it. You don't do it enough, you know. And you've got such a beautiful voice." He just talked, and she didn't care what it was about. Even through her dizziness she just loved the sound of his voice, and she smiled softly at him.
"Oh, Rick." Maggie breathed, looking at the large, jagged cut under Ruby's ribs. "I need water and towels."
He brought them to her in a moment and she dabbed the cut free of blood, then felt for Ruby's ribs. She would occasionally give Rick an increasingly hopeless look, and he knew she felt totally out her element. Her father was the doctor, vet or not, not her. He stayed right beside Maggie, helping any way he could.
"This needs to be stitched, but I've never done it." She said, and a knock came at the door before it opened, and Daryl pushed his head in. If Ruby hadn't been wearing a bra, she would have died, Rick knew, and Rick leaned over her to cover her best as he could. Maggie perked up though. "Daryl! I saw you do your own stitches, you know how, don't you?"
He nodded and held up the bag Beth had gone down for, but she came in behind him anyway and worked her way around Paul, wiping a spot clean on Ruby's arm and pushing a needle into her skin. Pain medicine, Rick figured, and it was a good thing too. There's wasn't a single part of Ruby that didn't look like it hurt like a bitch. Beth finished and grabbed the towels and water, beginning to clean Ruby's face and head to check the extent of the damage.
"I got it. Move." Daryl said, but his voice didn't hold the sharpness it normally did. His face had gone a shade paler when he'd seen her in that bed with all the lights on. She looked almost dead. He dropped to the edge of the bed on his knees, and Rick could see his hands had been washed well. He had been planning on doing this the moment he'd seen the gash there. While he prepped the stitches on the sheet over Ruby's legs, Maggie cleaned the wound with antiseptic, and Ruby sucked in a harsh breath.
"Rub, you hear me?" Daryl said, his eyes flicking up to her when she didn't answer. "Ruby!"
"Yes." Ruby turned from staring into Paul's face and looked at him, her voice small.
"Ok, then. I want you to answer me, you hear me? You got a nasty bump on that head a yours and there's no goin' to sleep for a while." He put the needle against her skin, let out a breath, and pushed it in. He worked quickly, hating every wince she made, but truthfully she barely registered the stitching he was doing.
"The wreck." She said, looking back at Paul. "He told me he killed Rick and I lost it." She looked at Rick, just past Daryl. "I thought you were dead and I grabbed the wheel. I wanted to kill him."
"So did I." He answered, squeezing her foot, and she shook her head.
"Why did he say he did? I don't understand."
"Tell her Rick." Daryl said, and Rick knew what he was doing. Keep her awake, engage her, and take her mind off the pain.
"He snuck up while I was on watch, and I came down to see what he was. He clocked me pretty good from behind, I thought it was a walker. I'm so sorry, Ruby. I should have been more careful. We suspected he might try something after he got kicked off Eddie's farm. Rick knelt down at Ruby's feet and hugged them to his chest, wanting nothing more than just to stay there and touch her.
The medicine was working. She relaxed under their constant touch, and shook her head at Rick. "Are you ok? They should be looking at you, too."
He grinned. "I'm fine, now you're back." Rick's smile faded, and he couldn't stop himself. "Ruby, did he hurt you?"
"Not really. He had plenty of chances, but he didn't 'cause he said he could sell me if he got sick of me."
They all froze at that, and Daryl's fingers started to tremble as he continued to stitch. Focus on that, not how much you want to go back out there and get the bastard's body, tie it to the back of his bike, and drag it till there was nothing left.
"I'm almost done." He whispered, and Beth looked over.
"Her head's gonna need to be done, too." She wiped away the last of the dirt on Ruby's neck and shoulders, and gazed down at the large streaks of purple against her once smooth skin. Paul felt his stomach turn in anger and grief when he saw them, and fought the urge to get up and punch something. Beth moved to Ruby's left arm, Maggie on her right, and they tended to the cuts there.
"Might need three here." Maggie whispered, uncovering a particularly violent cut on her upper arm.
"Alright. Keep talkin' Ruby." Daryl said softly, clipping his stitches on her stomach and feeling along her ribs. "I need to know how bad this hurts."
She actually giggled at that and he smiled up at her. She was a tough cookie, that was for sure. But then she hissed when he got to a bad spot, and he nodded. "There's not a lot we can do for broken ribs, girl. I'm gonna wrap 'em when I'm done and you gotta take it easy."
"Ok." She looked back at Rick as Daryl rounded the bed and did a final clean of the gash at her head before beginning to stitch that as well. She gave him a sleepy smile, weak but full of love and gratitude that he was there, and he felt the tears he'd shed earlier come back with a vengance.
"You're gonna scar, Rub." He said, and she blinked at him.
"Where did you learn to do this?"
"Around. You get stitches enough, you pick it up." He spoke as he worked. "Good thing, too, huh?"
"Yeah." She closed her eyes tightly. Man, she thought she already hurt, but her head now felt like it was on fire. "Almost done?"
He chuckled. "Everything you been through tonight, this should be a piece a cake. Stay still for me, girl. Not much longer."
Maggie got up and squeezed Ruby's hand. "I'm gonna go down and let the others know how you're doing, ok?" She slipped from the room and Beth finished the arm she'd been working on, too.
"I'm going to get you some tea, Ruby. I know you have to be thirsty." She smiled and Ruby blinked a yes at her. If she moved her head, she'd mess Daryl up.
"Thank you." She said, and Beth left the room. The men fell silent around her, Paul's eyes still not leaving her face, and Rick strong touch on her sore feet. Daryl's even breathing as he sewed her forehead back together. "I know what you meant, by the way. And no, he didn't touch me. Not like that." She whispered, and all three of them let out a sharp breath.
"Thank god." Paul pushed her bloody hair back behind her ear. "God, Starlet. How did he get you out of here without us seeing? I just can't picture it, I was just right there with you."
"He said he snuck in sometime earlier, wanted to wait for us to go to sleep and just kill us all. That front door that was open, that was him." Daryl licked his lips and felt his heart thump painfully. The god damn door. She'd told him it was open and he hadn't paid attention.
"I'm sorry, Ruby." He whispered, and she frowned at him.
"It's not your fault. He was in here already, we couldn't have known."
"In... here here?" Paul balked. "Where?"
"Under the bed." She whispered.
"Oh God."
Rick stood up and paced along the back of the room like a caged tiger. That asshole had been in his girl's room all along, watching her. He wanted, like the others, to kill him all over again. And again. And again.
"What happened then, honey?" Paul whispered. Daryl finished her forehead and went back around to her arm Maggie had indicated. That one was small but deep, and he sighed.
"Ruby, did any walker blood get on you?" He had to ask, it was something that had crossed all their minds.
"Never got close enough. That's one thing he did, he put them down before they got to me." She said, and they felt their hopes rise. She wasn't infected, at least that way.
"Keep talkin'."
"Carried me across the back yard to the trench, and he'd brought a board to get across. Eddie had been talking about our place, that's how he knew where everything was."
"Fuckin blabbermouth. I'm gonna shoot his ass when I see him."
"He didn't know, Daryl. Tom bragged about it, how smart he was getting past everybody. He had a filthy mouth, said I was..." She didn't realize she'd brought it up till too late and flushed in embarrassment.
"What?" Rick shook his head at her, furrowing his brow, and she tightened her lips.
"He was under the impression I was a... shared commodity here." It was the most gentile way she could think to say it, and Paul balked at her.
"What? You mean, like, all of us?"
"That's the idea. Said you 'protected your property'." She looked over at Daryl, who turned pink and focused on her arm.
"Jackass was fuckin twisted." He brushed it off and finished her arm. "We need to wrap you up now. It's gonna hurt, Rub. I ain't gonna lie."
"Is it at all possible that I can wash up first?" She asked, and Daryl frowned.
"You move too much and you could puncture something."
"I'll make sure she doesn't. I'll take care of it." He said fast, and she looked at him in relief.
Daryl sighed, but stood up. "We'll wait outside."
"Thanks guys." Ruby murmured and watched them stand. Paul leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose, the only thing on her body that wasn't purple or bloody, and followed Daryl out the door, shutting it behind them. Rick went quickly into the bathroom and she heard him turn the water on. He was running her a bath. A moment later, he appeared at the door with a towel tossed over his shoulder. He came to her and gently put his arms under her, picking her up and taking her back to the white tiled bathroom quickly.
"Can you stand up, baby?" He asked, hesitating, and she nodded.
"I'm sure I can." She said, but she wasn't sure at all. And when her feet touched the ground she felt the familiar wave of pain induced nausea but tried to swallow it. Her knees were jelly, but she stayed steady long enough for him to remove her ruined bra and black shorts. Lifting her again, he placed her into the warm water and she hissed. Every cut stung like fire as she descended into the water, but whatever Beth had given her was working well and it faded quickly. Rick laid her back, and she licked her lips as she looked up at him, hating how tense and angry his face was.
"Are you angry with me?" She was confused. He looked positively furious.
It was replaced with wonder for a moment as he stopped and stared at her. "My god, Ruby. No, baby. It's just..." He put a hand out and she looked down at her unclothed body. She was a roadmap of cuts and large purple splotches. She looked like Sally had used her for colouring practice.
"Oh..." She breathed out. "If it helps, it looks worse than it is."
"It doesn't." He said through clenched teeth and laid her further back, letting the water start to uncongeal the blood in her hair. Grabbing a bottle of shampoo, he began to lather up her hair gently. "Tell me the rest, Ruby. I need to know."
She took a breath and tried to remember. "We drove for a while, him bragging about how slick he was. It made me sick. At first he wouldn't tell me if he hurt anyone, but then he said you were dead and I just lost it. That's when we got into the wreck."
"We saw the truck. What was left of it." Rick felt the bile rise in his throat when he remembered she'd been in that twisted hunk of metal.
"Yeah. Knocked us both out, but we couldn't have been out long. I woke up first but he caught me getting out, and after that, it was really just walking. A lot of walking, and him threatening to shoot me. I kept telling him it didn't matter, I didn't care."
He looked at her with wide eyes and kept rinsing her hair. "God, baby. Why?"
She spoke flatly, like it was so painfully obvious. "I thought you were dead, Rick. I didn't care what he did after that. If he killed me, at least I'd be with you again."
His face was hidden from her when his chin hit his chest and he paused his washing. Confused, she reached out and ran a hand through his hair. "Rick?" He didn't move for a moment, but when he looked back up, his face was covered in fallen tears and a shaky breath ripped from his chest. He pulled her to him, careful not to hurt her any further, and she buried her face in his shirt as he sobbed quietly against her. He sounded like his heart had broken, and soon her tears mixed with his. They clung to each other for how long, neither of them knew, but when he sighed deeply, she knew he'd gotten most of it out. He sniffed and quickly finished rinsing her long dark hair, and conditioned it just the way he knew she liked it. Using a washcloth, he took soap and carefully washed every trace of dirt and blood from her skin, stood her up slowly and wrapped her in a soft towel. Lifting her back up, he took her back to the bed and saw that while they'd been in the bathroom someone had come into the bedroom and changed the bloody sheets with clean, fresh ones, and sat a hot mug of tea right next to the bed on the table. He silently thanked Beth in his mind and sat her down before retrieving a clean bra, tank top, underwear and shorts for her. He helped her dress carefully, laid her back against the pillows.
Daryl and Paul were still waiting in the hallway when he opened the door and gestured for them to come in. Daryl took a wide roll of stiff bandages and Rick helped her sit up and left her tank so they could see her ribs. With rough, but careful hands, Daryl wrapped her tightly, and Ruby fought the painful scream that threatened to burst out of her chest at the sensation. When he was done, she was near to gasping for breath, and fell back against the pillows, a whole new wave of dizziness threatening to knock her out cold.
"Somebody is gonna be with you every minute for the next few days. That bump on your head is bad, and I don't wanna know just how bad 'cause you didn't wake up." Daryl said, going to the door.
"I'm first." Rick said, knowing he probably didn't even need to, but feeling the urge anyway. Daryl nodded and went for the doorknob. He was still so angry with Tom he could barely stand it, and knew he needed to get outside for a while.
"Thank you, Dar." She said softly behind him, and he paused. He hung his head for a moment, then spun on his heel and marched back to the bed. Leaning down, he kissed the top of her head and squeezed her hand tightly. He didn't speak, but left the room quickly and jetted down the stairs, everyone watching him as he went but he didn't care. Grabbing his crossbow from the front stairs and ordering the door locked behind him. They could see him out there for the next several hours, well into the following day after every single part of the farm had been checked three times, and every lock in the place had been reinforced.