A/N: Hey everyone! I know it's been too long, like 8 days since I uploaded but honestly nothing keeps you busy like uni does :( But as promised I am keeping to doing it once a week and I have the second half of the episode for you in this chapter! It's slow-paced but I wanted to build relationships and have more emotions and dialogue. And I wanted to include as many of Morgan lines as possible because his acting in these scenes were phenomenal, props to Lennie James! I hate being that person to ask for reviews, but they really do motivate me to write chapters quicker and upload quicker, so if anyone else could leave time to review even just a small comment I'd love it!
Thanks to everyone to reads and supports my story! Thanks to the people who have followed and favourited: shiki ryuusaki, omalsa04, jllum, Dark Goddess of Chaos, KrystalDiaz19 and Cece 12! There's a lot of you :) And to my lovely reviewers:
FnafAnimeGirl109: Omg that is honestly goals, to have you reading my story in the car! I love you awesome reviewer! and yes I couldn't help have that fluff, there's more fluff in this chapter. Hope you enjoy x
jllum: Hey! Sorry I couldn't upload this chapter any faster, but your comment motivated me a little and It kinda makes me happy my story stressed you out xD it gives me some twisted form of pleasure so thank you for taking the time to read my story!
Ryane: Haha! Honestly you don't understand how much I want to stuff them together and be done with it, but no. It will be tantalising and I've already planned the exact moment it'll happen. It won't be for a while, so please don't give up on me :3
Disclaimer: I do not own the walking dead or any affiliated characters and storylines, only my OC and plotlines!
- Angels and Douchebags.
Turns out the man that was shooting at us, was a man Rick had known back in Atlanta. He told us his name was Morgan and that he had actually helped him escape from the Walkers and get into the city. So why was he shooting at us?
After sitting down for a bit, Rick insisted on standing up and going inside the building to checkout where he had been holding up. We were standing at the entrance, one of my hands wavering behind his back in case he collapsed. He was still looking pale and in pain but he seemed to be okay.
Michonne studied the doorway and began to walk through before Rick pulled her arm back slightly.
"Keep an eye for booby traps. Looks like he's got pretty creative so far." Rick said studying the long sharpened wooden branches sticking out towards us.
"You know it's not a half bad idea." I said appraisingly looking at the defence.
"Rick if you knew this guy, and he helped you, Why was he trying to kill us?" I looked up at him then checked his shoulder to make sure it wasn't bleeding.
"I don't know. People change, so we gotta be careful." He stated looking into the building.
"I thought we were just gonna get in and get the hell out of here." Michonne narrowed her eyes at the back of Rick's head.
We only came into town to get the guns then quickly get it, this was slowing down our task. But if he woke up and decided to start shouting at us again? Well we wouldn't last.
"He might have guns." I suggested.
"I know but look I know you said he helped you-" Michonne started but Rick cut her off.
"He saved my life. He wasn't like this then." He turned around to her abruptly then winced.
"Rick, careful." I said looking at his shoulder.
"Okay," Michonne conceded.
"Look if you're not up for this, you stay out there with Carl and keep an eye on him." I gestured over to where he tied the man up and Carl was pointing a gun towards his unconscious body.
"Me and Michonne can handle it." I said. Rick looked back thoughtfully at Carl then at me.
"No I can do this." He stated.
"Rick," I warned.
"If I couldn't I'd tell ya. But I can handle it." He said firmly.
"Would you?" I raised my eyebrows at him as he nodded in response.
"Pinky promise." I narrowed my eyes at him.
"What?" Rick asked surprised.
"Pinky promise it, that if it's too much you'll say and you'll listen to what I say." I held out my right hand with the pinky stretched towards him. Rick was smiling looking amused as he began moving his hand out towards me.
"Before you promise know that I take this promise seriously." I said.
"I fully know the risks of this Pinky promise." Rick said with a serious face making Michonne scoff behind him.
"Don't mock me grimes." Rick held out his pinky finger and locked it with mine as we shook.
"Good man."
"Jesus." Rick said after a minute looking back at Carl.
"What?"
"He has a son." Rick said and I immediately felt a pang if sympathy for the man.
I walked slowly and lightly around the wooden sticks as Michonne and Rick followed just as light footed. I bent down and looked at the welcome mat about to put my foot down before moving it back. Booby traps.
I lifted the mat and there was a hole carved in the concrete with multiple sharp objects pointing back up at us.
"Let's just get him inside." Michonne said. Rick walked in front of us keeping an eye out for booby traps with Carl keeping guard at the back.
Michonne and I had the lovely task of hauling the man's body all through the building. Considering my size and stature, let's just say it took a while. We manouvered him around the house with great difficulty until we came to stairs. He had signs up all over the building warning us not to go further but of course we ignored them.
We dragged him up the stairs until we came to a plastic curtain, about to step through it before Rick stopped us and pointed down. There was a trip wire Michonne's boots were about to go through. Finally we hauled his unconscious body Through the plastic curtain as I bumped into Rick's back.
In front of him was a bloody axe pointed straight in our direction. We walked around the chains and the axe hauling the body.
"Carl, watch the wire." Rick called out.
We walked through into a room with knocked over furniture and a few packs resting on the other side. An archway led onto another room and we stopped in our tracks.
There were dozens upon dozens of rifles, hand guns, machine guns, some grenades all over the room along with a small bed in the corner.
"Holy shit!" I exclaimed.
"I saw this in the evidence locker last year." Rick said.
"All of it?" Michonne asked incredulously.
"Not even half, he's been busy." Rick pointed out.
"Put him over there on the cot." Rick said as we walked over with the man putting him onto the rusty looking bed. We arranged him on the bed before Michonne and Carl each got packs and started filling them with bullets, guns and weapons. I was looking at the man and then on the writings all over the wall.
I followed where Rick was bending over a box staring at the Walkie talkie in his hand. He pressed it to his head and closed his eyes rubbing his hands over his face in frustration.
"What's up Sheriff?" I asked standing over him. He looked towards me then back at the radio in his hand.
"Remember I used to talk into my Walkie all the time?" He asked and I nodded.
"It was this guy, Morgan I was talking to. We said we'd meet up again and I'd let him know what was safe. I stopped doin' that after a while but he kept his." Rick said looking up to the wall before standing up.
"It's not your fault Rick, you left him messages in the beginning and he didn't respond. You were never gonna know if he was alive." I reasoned.
"Yeah, I know. It's gonna bother me." He said scratching his head. Something caught his eye on the wall as he stood up slowly and walked over to it. In big red letters were the words:
DUANE TURNED
"Don't tell me Duane was his son?" I asked sadly already knowing the answer. Rick gulped and nodded slowly, my heart tugged at the thought this man had been on his own this whole time, with his son who was now dead. No wonder he was shooting at us.
"Stop." Rick turned around slowly to Michonne and Carl who were packing the guns into the bags. They stopped before looking at Rick as if he had grown two heads.
"We're gonna wait for him to wake up. Make sure he's ok." Rick stated firmly.
"He tried to kill us." Michonne defended.
"He told us to go. He didn't know who we were." Rick argued.
"Besides the point, this guy's been through a lot. But if he shot at us before, who's to stop him from doing it again? We should take some of the guns and leave him with the rest of his stuff and go quickly. This wasn't supposed to be complicated." I wiped my hand over my forehead looking between Rick and Michonne.
"He's not dead and he didn't get eaten by Walkers. He's had a good day and Pol's right he doesn't need half of these guns. We do." Michonne said assertively.
"We're waiting for him to wake up that's it." Rick said not leaving any room for argument.
"Have you taken a look around at this place? The axe? The spikes? The walls? He's dangerous." Michonne said annoyed.
"I know him." Rick said.
"Look this end of the world thing has changed people. He's not the same as he was before." I sided with Michonne but tried to be diplomatic, things were already tense and I could see Rick and Michonne were going to butt heads a lot.
"He's been through a lot that's all I know, but maybe we should take what we need and go, he doesn't need half of these guns." I said looking back at Rick, he thought for a moment before answering.
"We're waiting for him to wake up." Rick repeated before picking up a few plastic tags and walking over to the cot to restrain Morgan on the bed.
"Stubborn man." I muttered shooting a glare at Rick. Carl walked over to the other room as Rick followed him. I stood by Michonne over the cot looking at Morgan who was still knocked out.
"We should go." Michonne re-iterated in a lower voice.
"I know, we're not safe." I agreed.
"Rick has to see that." Michonne emphasised.
"He won't be able to, he's still blinded by grief for Lori. He couldn't save her so I guess he wants to save this guy he knew, or give him a fair chance. Look I'm not saying I agree with his decision but I understand the reasons behind it." I explained to her.
"Since when did you become a shrink?" Michonne raised an eyebrow at me.
"I'm just very perceptive. Part of my multiple talents." I grinned at her.
I wandered around the room looking for fresh linens to re-wrap Rick's wounds if he'd let me. I walked over to a box which was filled with photographs and picked a few up. There was one of the man, his wife and what looked like to be his son. I smiled looking at the happy faces in the picture. In the box next to it where long strips of white cloth which might be used as a bandage, I picked a few and folded them into my hand walking back over and sitting by Michonne on one of the chairs.
"Enjoying that?" I asked as she took a bite of her apple.
"We're eating his food now?" Rick asked incredulously walking past her.
"Mat said, Welcome." She shrugged and continued eating. Carl was in the other room looking up at the wall that has markings on it. After a few minutes he walked back towards us where Rick was looking through boxes.
"I'm going on a run." Carl said decidedly. I looked up at him with raised eyebrows.
"Where?" Rick turned around.
"I thought maybe the one thing people didn't loot was cribs. And there's that baby's place mom's friend Sarah ran. It's just around the corner." Carl made it sound so easy, but I knew there was no way Rick would let Carl go by himself.
"Carl," Rick sighed.
"Dad, it's just around the corner. And there's all those walker traps." He argued.
"How you gonna bring the crib back by yourself?" I asked him as he turned to face me. Michonne handed me half of the apple as I beamed at her enjoying the juiciness and sweetness of the fruit.
"Huh?" He said.
"You're gonna need help carrying the box." Michonne stated.
"What?" Carl looked at Michonne narrowing his eyes.
"Well kid, if you're gonna get the crib-" I started.
"-You're gonna need the box. It's big and heavy." Michonne finished.
"You're gonna need help, I'll come with you." I looked back at Rick who looked slightly surprised.
"Really?" Carl asked slightly shocked.
"You need to be here, change Rick's bandages just in case. You've got more medical expertise than me, what if something goes wrong?" Michonne asked.
"That's a good point." I agreed.
"I'll go with him." Michonne tilted her head back towards Rick. He was looking at her in mild shock before straight up to Carl.
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Right there, that's the deal." Rick stood up looking at Carl who's blue eyes widened slightly.
"Okay." Carl said. Michonne picked up her katana and followed Carl outside the room before leaving the building.
"You sure this is a good idea?" Rick asked as I stood up next to him looking in the direction they left.
"Yeah, definitely. It'll give them a chance to bond." I smirked sheepishly.
"Alright you, sit down." I turned around to face him.
"Why?"
"You got shot, if you overexert yourself you'll start bleeding again and then I'm not going to let you hold a gun." I said firmly glaring at him. Rick put his hands up and sat down on one of the boxes.
"You're pushy." He noted.
"When I need to be." I shot back. I walked around the room looking at the writing on the walls, man this guy really had been through it all. There were various lines talking about what parts of the town were still safe, how many people had come through his defences, which people had died. I knew exactly what this was like, being alone for this long. It did things to your mind, made you unhinged, made you go crazy. I traced the red words written on one of the pillars.
EVERYONE TURNS
Damn ain't that the truth. I sighed walking over to the shelves. He had first aid kits, antiseptics, bandages, painkillers, stuff I could really use for Rick right now. I found antiseptic, some clothes and a first aid kit and brought it over and sat down on the chair in front of Rick.
"Why am I getting a bad feeling about this?" Rick quirked an eyebrow at me as I opened up the pack finding gauzes, bandages and a sewing needle and thread.
"Look, I don't know how long it's going to be until we get back and I don't want to take any chances." I said pushing the thread through the needle before tying it off.
"You ever done this before?" Rick said uneasily looking at the needle. I rubbed antiseptic on the needle until there was enough then looked back at him.
"Remember when we met? I had to do it on myself." I stated.
"Now, Mr. Grimes. Take off your shirt." I tried to say the line with as straight of a face as possible and even Rick looked embarrassed. He undid the buttons on the brown shirt slowly and took the sleeves off leaving me sitting two inches away in front of a shirtless Rick Grimes.
I kind of stopped breathing seeing his bare body in front of me and tried not to gulp. I knew he was a police officer and that required some form of physical fitness, so I knew Rick was fit but man. He had a very nicely sculpted body. There were also scars there too. I realised I had spent too much time looking at Rick's body and when I looked back up to his face he was studying me curiously. I tried not to blush but I could feel the heat coming to my cheeks.
"Right." I said more to myself than to Rick. I began undoing the leather jacket I had wrapped around his shoulder until there was nothing covering the wound, the leather had done a good job soaking up the blood and was completely ruined.
"You owe me a new jacket." I glared at him moving my chair closer.
"I know, I know." He rolled his eyes. I placed my hand on his shoulder making him jerk slightly.
"What?" My eyes flickered up to him.
"Your hands are cold." Rick pointed out.
"Oh, sorry." I smiled apologetically.
I ran my finger across the top part of his chest and could feel the muscle there.
"The good news is the leather did a good job soaking up the blood, but you still bled out." I said inspecting the bullet hole.
"I'm going to need to pull the bullet out." I looked up at Rick who's face contorted in unease.
"Just make it quick." He nodded closing his eyes. I placed my left hand on his shoulder before picking up the tongs.
"It's going to hurt." I warned him. I looked into the hole and placed the tongs in there until I had a grasp on the bullet and pulled it out and Rick groaned from the pain, his hand wrapped around my forearm and squeezed it.
"Sorry, sorry." I said placing the gauze on there. I put his hand onto the gauze holding it in place whilst I got the needle ready.
"Ready for this part?" He opened his eyes and was panting lightly looking at the needle before nodding. It wasn't a big hole and probably wouldn't need as many stitches. I pushed the needle through his skin glancing up at him but he only flinched slightly which told me he had done this before. I finished sewing up the bullet hole and placed fresh linens around his shoulder coming across under his armpit before tying it off.
"There." I said with a self-satisfied smile.
"Not bad." Rick said moving his arm forwards and backwards. Now that it was cloth and not leather he could actually move it if he needed to.
"Thank you." Rick looked at me with a small smile on his face that made my heart flutter.
"Yeah." I grinned goofily fully not in control of the effect his smile was having on me. And the fact he was shirtless. We were both looking in each other's general direction but no one was saying anything or doing anything.
"Oh, here." I handed the brown shirt back to him and averted my eyes as he put it back on his body. I didn't understand Rick. Sometimes I feel like, he does like me, with the way he acts and sometimes he flirts. And we kissed. Twice. But then he doesn't say anything or do anything. But when I look into his eyes, I feel like there's something there.
I busied myself with tidying up the first aid kit before I heard a crash to the floor. I turned around behind me to see the man Morgan on the floor and Rick over him.
"Do you know who I am? Do you see who I am?" Rick said desperately to the man on the ground.
"People wearing dead people's faces!" Morgan shouted holding a knife in his hand. I undid the holster and whipped out the gun pointing it in his direction, Morgan looked at me with anger and shock before his wide eyes turned to Rick.
"I don't know you." Morgan said.
"Yes you do. You know me, look at me." Rick stated. He looked back at me and gestured for me to lower the gun, I began putting it away before Morgan shoved Rick against the wall on his bad shoulder. I reacted in time and began to go push Morgan off before Rick flipped their positions so he held him against the wall.
"Look at me." Rick said but the man wasn't going to be convinced. He punched Rick who fell to the ground as I pointed the gun on Morgan who was over Rick with a knife in his hand.
"Stop!" I shouted making him look at me.
"Go ahead. Shoot me." Morgan dared, but in his eyes I could see he had lost all hope.
"Pol don't." Rick said from the floor struggling under his grip. I put the gun away and went behind Morgan trying to hold his arms and pull him off but he threw me back as my head hit the ground. I felt a wave of pain as my eyes closed then opened feeling hazy and disoriented. I sat up rubbing my head seeing Morgan still over Rick.
"You don't clear man. You turn. You just die!" Morgan shouted.
"You know me!" Rick shouted.
"I don't know anyone anymore!" He called out. I crawled to the side of Morgan and pushed him pulling the knife out of his hand. Rick pulled Morgan down by his hands and bashed his head against his own.
"You know me! You crazy son of a bitch." Rick shouted now looking equally as deranged, whilst Morgan crawled over to the wall.
"Please. Please kill me." Morgan cried pulling the gun down towards his mouth.
I stood on the side looking between Rick and Morgan as Rick backed off towards the other side of the room, Morgan still on the ground. I sat Morgan up and tied his arms to one of the poles behind his back in case he tried something again.
"Kill me. Please just kill me." Morgan pleaded.
"Not going to happen." I said looking at him before sitting on the cot my finger over the gun.
"You found me, last year in my front yard. You told me what's happening. You saved me. My name is Rick Grimes and you know me. I'm not wearing a dead man's face." Rick kneeled down in front of Morgan who wasn't looking at him.
"I gave you this, I said, I turn it on every day at dawn so you can find me." Rick held the walkie talkie up to his face as tears streamed down Morgan's face. He had a face of realisation and looked up into Rick's face. I walked over standing on the side observing them.
"Rick? I know you. Oh man, I know you. I know who you are. You said you'd turn yours on. At dawn." Morgan had a softer look on his face but he was still crying.
"Okay that's promising." I said to myself sitting on a box near them.
"I turned mine own, at first there was static but then nothing and more nothing. You said you would turn on your radio every day at dawn. And you were not there." Morgan's voice intensified until he shouted the last words leaving me speechless.
"I did." Rick whispered looking down before back at Morgan.
"I kept getting, pushed further out. I had to, I didn't have a choice. I had people I had to keep safe. I got pushed back further into the country. I swear I found my wife and son." Rick explained.
"You can have your radio back. Because looks like I found you." Morgan said kicking the walkie talkie back to him.
"Your wife, did she turn?" Morgan asked, I looked at Rick and that same look of grief and pain passed over his face.
"No, she just died." Rick said quietly.
"So you didn't have to see that then. Course not." Morgan chuckled sadly.
"Not like me, not like my wife. You remember what happened to her?" He looked up at Rick who nodded slowly. This conversation, it wasn't meant for me, these two men would have to sort it out for themselves.
"I'm gonna go scout the building and check around the house, set a perimeter. You guys will be alright?" I checked with Rick.
"I'll be fine. We'll be fine. Go." Rick outstretched an arm onto my shoulder before I nodded taking the rifle with me.
I left the rooms and reached a hallway, I passed the building slowly and carefully for more of Morgan's booby traps. It looked like he had cleared the entire building. I came to another room and found some old tin cans of soup and tomatoes, I placed them into my pack then moved on to the next rooms.
There was blood on the floor, the walls and ceiling with broken furniture and boarded up windows. I managed to find a couple of knives but no more guns, just in case Morgan wouldn't let us take any of his.
I came out of the room and found the stairwell leading to the roof. Keeping the rifle out I walked up the stairs and opened the door to the roof. It was empty but you could see a good part of the neighbourhood from up here.
There were burned down houses down one street but mostly the cars were abandoned and there were Walkers stuck in the pikes that Morgan made of his defences. Keeping the silencer on the rifle I shot the walkers that were stuck and came back down the stairs.
I followed the same route to go outside the building avoiding the trip wire and axe until I came to the welcome mat. I stepped over it and looked outside the building spotting two Walkers nearby. Slinging the rifle over my shoulder I took out my machete and made quick work of them in the head as they fell to the ground. I cleared the area outside the building and by the time I was done I was sweaty and out of breath. I walked back inside and carefully past the traps until I came back into the room.
"You're taking a lot of guns Rick, why do you need the guns?" I came inside to see Morgan untied and standing up talking to Rick. I reached for my gun before Rick put his hand out walking over to me.
"You okay? You look a mess?" Rick gestured to the dirt and blood on my face.
"Oh that's not mine." I wiped the walker blood and looked at it in disgust.
"Because if you've got something good, that just means there's someone who wants to take it. Right?" Morgan asked.
"We're going to win. We have a prison, we just need the guns to defend it." I spoke directly to Morgan who looked at me.
"You can be there, you can help." Rick said as we stood in front of him.
"You will be torn apart by teeth and bullets. You and your boy, your people. But not me!" Morgan pointed to himself.
"Living alone puts you at an even greater risk, no matter how extensive your defences." I pulled up the chair to sit in front of him.
"I did the whole surviving thing on my own, and I barely survived. In a group we protect each other, we care for each other. We can bring you in with open arms." I said trying to get him to understand.
"I can't, I can't watch that happen again." Morgan said.
"You take the guns." Morgan stood up walking over to the other side of the room.
"You know, you know there's a chance! We both started out in the same place, you're not seeing things right. They've been bad for you, they've been bad for me. You've got to be able to come back from this." Rick came up towards him speaking calmly.
"No!" Morgan said loudly.
"No," He repeated in a lower voice.
"I have to clear. That's why I didn't die today. I have to man. I have to. I have to clear." Morgan emphasised. Rick looked defeated and nodded his head before walking over to the other side of the room.
"Come on." He said looking sad. I followed him and picked up the other pack containing the guns as we carefully made our way out of the building. Morgan came out behind me soon after seeing the dead Walkers on the wooden spikes and the ground.
"Oh I uh, saw them when I was on the roof. Just thought it might be easier." I gestured rubbing my arm. I looked at Morgan who nodded.
"Thank you." He said quietly as he was putting Walkers on a gurney. I looked at Rick who was looking down at the other side of the street seeing Carl in his sheriff's hat with Michonne behind him as they were holding something.
"Well, well, look at you." I put my hands on my hips grinning at Carl who smiled, I looked at Michonne who was looking to be in a considerably better mood.
"Hey, I was just about to come look for you." Rick said.
"Sorry." Carl said.
"It's alright. You're here now." Rick's mood shifted to a happier one as he also looked at the flower crib they were holding between them. Rick was struggling with the pack but my hands were full, Michonne took the bag wordlessly from him and draped it over his shoulder.
"Thank you," He said to her as I walked beside him.
"See, bonding." I smiled as Carl and Michonne manoeuvred the crib around Morgan's defences.
"Maybe." Rick shrugged.
"He's okay." Michonne stated looking back at Morgan.
"No he's not." Rick said with his lips in a firm line walking ahead of us.
"Hey," Carl called out to Morgan.
"Carl," Rick said indicating for him to be quiet.
"I had to shoot you. You know I had to?" Carl checked as Morgan looked at him and nodded slowly.
"I'm sorry." Carl apologised.
"Son, don't ever be sorry." Morgan came away from the walkers to reply to Carl, he walked back over to the gurney with the Walkers and began hauling them away.
We loaded the cribs, our packs and the gun bags into the back of the silver car as Michonne got in the front.
"How was it?" I leaned over to the window side where Michonne was sitting in the car. I looked back over to where Carl and Rick were talking.
"I think he's warming up to me." Michonne said with a slight smile.
"Really?" I asked pleasantly surprised.
"Yeah." Michonne nodded.
"That's great, I'm happy for you." I smiled. I patted Carl's hat who ducked as he got in the car and came over where Rick was standing staring off into the distance.
"Rick, you seeing something?" I asked the man who snapped out of his thoughts and looked back at me.
"I know you've gotten better, but you can tell me if you're still seeing things." I said looking at him.
Rick said nothing but looked thoughtfully at the ground before nodding at me, he stretched his arms out and pulled me in for a surprise hug. I wrapped my arms around his back gently not to hurt his shoulder as I felt his chin on top of my head. He pulled out the keys and handed them to me as I couldn't stop smiling at him.
"What was that about?" I asked.
"For everything." Rick said.
"Wanna drive?" he asked, I raised my eyebrows at him quizzically.
"Yeah." I smiled
"Because I see things." He gave me a smirk before walking around to the passenger seat of the car. I got in and started the car, before long we were driving back through the desolate town and down the highway.
To go back home.
A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait! I hope I didn't lose any of you readers in the process. I also hope none of you are getting bored, but I did say this was slow burn. Thoughts?