A/N: Yes, yes I know it's Friday evening. But it's technically still Friday, so happy update day! I literally, literally just finished writing the chapter. Like right now, it's a bit filler-y but it's the rest of 5.02, big decisions to be made here. and some reservations. And we get a snapshot of how Rickaris (can't decide if that works as a ship name xD), work and fight as a couple. Hope you enjoy!
Thanks for the follows and faves: Vines of Blasphemy (love your name!), .9! And to my reviewers:
Purplepecky: Thank you! enjoy this one.
Ryane: Aww thanks! I didn't wanna write them overly sappy, but I still wanted plenty of fluff. I hope this chapter delivers in that department too. Haha I personally love mountain-man Rick like honestly, when I was watching and writing this episode I was just checking out Rick the entire time because he looked so damn good xD. But his beard will have to go, I've got a good scene to go with it though (when I write it!)
If you guys noticed, I finished this chapter early because it was already so long. But I'll cover the events that happen at the end of the episode in the next chapter.
- Angels and Douchebags
"Sleep if you're tired." Rick bent down to plant a kiss on my forehead as I put my legs up, sitting down.
"No, if you guys are awake so am I." I shook my head stubbornly, yawning.
"Pol." Rick sighed.
"Don't think I haven't noticed you sneaking off,, super early super early in the morning." I scolded him.
Rick had always been an early riser, even in the prison he was up before everyone. Being more productive in the early hours than I was all day.
"I like to check the perimeter. And I was on watch last night." He defended.
"I just can't sleep out there." Rick leaned forward on his elbows over the chair to talk.
"I know." I patted his arm.
"Hopefully you'll get more sleep here." I looked at him worriedly.
I was suddenly distracted, my eyes raked over the thin material of the T-shirt I hadn't noticed he was wearing. My lips curled upwards into a smile.
I was suddenly distracted, my eyes raked over the thin material of the T-shirt he was wearing.
"What?" Rick raised his eyebrows.
"Just admiring the goods." I clicked my teeth together as Rick suppressed a smile.
"I'm serious sheriff." I let my eyes roam over his form again.
"I'm feelin' a little violated." Rick said admittedly as I grinned.
"Well, you look pretty." He said after a while.
"Are you kidding? I look a mess." I smiled at his attempts to flirt.
"Its good you got me already, you're a terrible flirt." I joked as Rick rolled his eyes.
"You always look beautiful to me." His thumb rubbed soft circles on my hands, his gaze transfixed on mine. I could feel my heart melt as his touch, his sincerity astounded me sometimes. The simplest things he did and I was purely at his mercy.
"But in all seriousness, I won't sleep until you promise you will. Tonight." I said firmly, looking at the bags under his eyes as Rick sighed.
"Okay, I won't go on watch tonight." Rick relented as I smiled, walking away.
My eyes followed down to Rick's backside, the shape of it visible through his jeans. I whistled lowly causing him to turn around and narrow his eyes at me.
"He does have a nice ass." Tara followed my line of sight, settling down in the row in front of me.
"Tell me about it." I smirked.
He walked over to Father Gabriel, as the rest of us waited to hear what he would say.
"How did you survive out here? Where did your supplies come from?" Rick asked as I sunk down further into the chairs.
"Luck." Father Gabriel smiled.
"Our annual canned food drive. Things fell apart right after we finished it." The priest smiled slightly.
Wow, that was sheer dumb luck. I shook my head, if only others were just as lucky. Carl took Judith from Rick as he sat down in the row behind me.
"The food lasted a long time and then I started scavenging. I've cleaned out a place nearby, except for one." He finished.
I sat up straighter in my chair, glancing at Michonne who also looked more alert. An un-scavenged place near could mean a vast array of supplies, food, water, clothes, things we need for shelter. It could turn our situation from drastic to comfortable.
"What kept you from it?" Rick asked, holding the rifle across his body.
"It's overrun." Gabriel replied. I sat down with a groan, grumbling under my breath. Of course there had to be a catch.
"How many?"
"A dozen or so, maybe more." He answered.
A dozen? We could handle that easily and only a few of us would be needed.
"We can handle that." Rick echoed my thoughts.
"Bob and I will go with you. Tyreese should stay here, help keep Judith safe." Sasha spoke up, flashing her brother a comforting smile.
"You okay with that?" Rick asked Tyreese who smiled.
"You need anything for her, I'll be there." Tyreese stated.
"I'm grateful for that, and everything else." Rick gave him one of his famous intense stares.
Rick, Sasha and Bob were enough for this run. But I knew he was running on fumes, he hadn't rested well like the rest of us and he had been giving up his rationed foods for others as well. There was no way I would let him go without me.
"I'm coming too." I spoke up, walking over to Rick.
"Are you sure?" Rick spoke lowly, looking down at me.
"Yeah." I flashed him a smile.
"I know you're tired, it's alright for you to rest if you want." Rick added.
"Nah. I get to spend more time with you." I said quietly so only he could hear, as he suppressed a smile.
"Besides, I don't want you to third-wheel these two." I nudged Sasha and Bob who grinned.
"We're not that bad." Sasha exclaimed.
"So it's settled, I'll draw you a map." Father Gabriel began to walk off.
"You don't need to, you're coming with us." Rick said to him, the tone in his voice making it clear there was no room for question.
"I'm not gonna be of any help. You saw me, I'm no good around those things." His voice wavered.
I felt a small pang of sympathy for the man. Sure he had shelter and a seemingly large food supply but he had survived this whole thing from the start on his own. I was lucky to have found the others, that loneliness must have driven him crazy. And I had to agree with him, I didn't think he would be of any help.
But Rick usually sensed something in people before the rest of us realised. So I knew he had a reason for bringing him along. And if I knew Rick, it would be to see if we could really trust Father Gabriel, and how he would handle desperate situations.
"You're coming with us." Rick emphasised again.
"The rest of us will fan out and split into groups." Rick announced to everyone else.
"Carol and Daryl, you guys go look for more water, check the roads for any cars that have supplies in the trunk." He instructed them.
"Tara, Glenn, Maggie - handle the gun store on the outset of town. See if we can scavenge some more weapons." Rick looked at the map, nodding at them.
...
I opened the chamber to the colt and checked the bullets. 4. There were 4 bullets left. I opened the rifle cartridge which was sufficiently stocked and we had more to spare. Hopefully we wouldn't have to use much of our ammo, we could make work of the walkers with our knives and machetes, but the guns were reserved for emergencies.
I laced up my boots and shrugged the leather jacket on, but immediately threw it back off. It was way too hot.
"Listen." I looked up as Rick and Carl walked in, Carl sitting in front of me. I leaned over the seats to listen to what he had to say.
"I don't trust this guy." He said.
"Why?" Carl interjected.
"Why do you trust him?" Rick asked inquisitively.
"Everybody can't be bad." Carl looked between the two of us as I cracked a smile.
"Well, I don't trust this guy. That's why I'm bringing him with me. He could have friends, so I need you to stay alert. Help Tyreese protect Judith. Okay?" He looked up at Carl, who nodded.
It was times like this I fully appreciated how Carl was still a kid, and that he had a huge responsibility in looking after the others in our group. But he never once complained or faltered. I had to admit I admired him.
"Now, I need you to hear what I'm about to say." Rick looked at Carl.
"You are not safe. No matter how many people are around, or how clear the area looks. No matter what anyone says, no matter what you think. You are not safe. It only takes one second. One second and it's over. Never let your guard down. Ever. I want you to promise me." Rick spoke lowly.
It had to be in reference to what had happened to Carl. He was less chatty than he had been in the past.
"I promise." Carl said seriously. I lifted his sheriff's hat and ruffled his hair, causing Carl to look at me in displeasure.
"Old habits. Stay safe." I grinned, tapping the necklace as he nodded.
Rick and I both stood up ready to leave before Carl called him back again.
"Dad. You're right I am strong. We both are. But we're strong enough that we can still help people, and we can handle ourselves when things go wrong. We're strong enough that we don't have to be afraid and we don't have to hide." Carl finished calmly.
I glanced at Rick, who had the words proud father plastered in his eyes and on his face.
"Well he's hiding something." Rick said as Carl nodded.
"I'll stay safe Dad." Carl reassured him.
...
"That kid of yours has a way with words." I glanced up at Rick.
"Yeah, he took after Lori in that." Rick looked in the distance as we walked off the path from the church.
I felt exposed in just my T-shirt and jeans. But with my colt, machete and the rifle at least we would be well prepared for attacks.
"You must miss Lori." I felt the guilt running through me, at the mention of his dead wife.
"Pol." Rick put his arm out to stop me walking. Sasha and Bob stopped in front of us as Rick gestured for them to keep walking. Michonne gave me a sideways glance, joining Father Gabriel at the head.
"Lori was my wife, a part of me will miss her always." Rick put his hands on his hips.
"But you," He leaned in, whispering.
"You're here now. You're my present and my future, and I love you. So please don't compare yourself to Lori. Because I love you for who you are." He rubbed his thumb over my cheek as I leaned into his hand.
It was incredibly sweet what he had said. And it made me extremely hopeful for the future of our relationship.
"I can see where Carl got it from." I smirked as Rick cracked a smile.
"Come here." Rick bent down to my height and placed a chaste kiss on my lips which I eagerly returned. His lips were warm and welcoming and if it was my choice, I would continue kissing him in the woods right there.
"As much as I would love. To keep. Doing this." Rick said in-between kisses as I kept pulling his face in.
"We've got this pesky supply run to do." I groaned.
"Your beard is scratching me." I rubbed my chin, feeling the prickly sensation of his beard. We jogged to catch up with the others.
"I thought you liked my beard?" Rick asked.
"I love it. But ow." I stroked my chin.
"Here let me make it better." Rick placed soft kisses on my jaw before we re-joined the others.
"That's much better." I grinned at him.
Gabriel led us out of the woods and onto a small town road where there were houses ahead in the distance. We walked down the street which had abandoned cars, broken doors and windows of the houses were visible. The sun was shining and the heat was baring down on my neck.
I could feel the sweat gathering on my neck and face, a heavy layer of dirt and grime over us.
"Man I would kill for a shower." Sasha walked beside me at the back of our group, echoing my own thoughts.
"Urgh me too. Just imagine the hot water rolling over your shoulder blades." I shivered in pleasure at the thought. It had been so long since I had a decent shower - all the way back at the prison.
"You make it sound so erotic." Michonne smirked at me.
"Well you girls know I've got nothing to compare it to. So, hot shower? Or sex?" I looked at them.
"Hot shower." Sasha and Michonne glanced at each other as we all burst out laughing.
We reached the small town, there were a few shops that had already been cleaned out. Gabriel led us at the back of old buildings, until we came to metal links in a fence.
"Do you guys trust him?" I watched the priest in front of us who seemed to be relatively calm, considering the situation he was forced into. Sasha pointed her rifle up towards a broken in door beside us.
"I think we can." Michonne said, scanning the town.
"Yeah I agree. But I still think he's hidin' something." Sasha commented, glancing at the priest.
"We push ourselves to let things go. Pretty soon we can't get it back. Washington's gonna happen, Rick." My ears perked up at Bob's conversation with Rick.
"I haven't decided if we're going." Rick emphasised.
"Yeah I know and that's cool. But you seen Abraham in action. He's gonna get there and Eugene's gonna cure all this and you're gonna find yourself in a place where it's like how it used to be." Bob drawled.
I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. If we did go to Washington, I wanted to go for the right reasons. The chance that there was a better life waiting, more opportunities, to find a home, shelter, food and possibly people. Not on the minimal chance that Eugene was gonna cure us. Because that I called bullshit on.
I scoffed, causing Rick and Bob to turn around at the sound.
"You don't think we should go?" Bob asked, eager to hear my opinion.
"It's not that. As long as we go for the right reasons. As I said to Eugene, it's highly doubtful that there is a cure. It was such an aggressive viral strain and it spiralled out of control. If we go to find a better home, then I'm all for it." I explained.
"What if there's the slightest chance for a cure? You don't think it's worth it?" Bob questioned again.
I paused for a moment, not sure how to answer. He had a good point, isn't hope what all of us were clinging on to anyways?
"That's not for me to decide." I shared a look with Rick who looked pensive.
"If you let too much go along the way that's not gonna work. Cause you gonna be back in the real world." Bob looked at Rick.
"This is the real world Bob." Rick spoke.
"Naw, this is a nightmare. And nightmares end." Bob's words stayed with me, I wanted to believe that I really did. I never thought about this ending, I had only thought about my one instinct. Which was to survive.
"I'm sorry, I'm callin' it. Washington's gonna happen. You're gonna say yes." Bob said confidently as I smiled.
"There's too much momentum. You can't fight city hall." he finished as I chuckled, Rick shot him an amused look as Bob smiled at him further.
We came back up to the main road and found a white brick building.
"Here, this was the food bank. It served the whole county, all the cans at my church were gonna end up here." Gabriel explained as we surveyed the building.
"Well you got lucky." I shot the priest a sideways grin as he smiled slightly.
"Yeah," Rick said disbelievingly.
He gestured to Michonne as we readied our weapons. She swung the door open and Rick led us into the dark building, rifles up and on our guard.
It was silent, save for our footsteps as we walked past what used to be a reception area into a large open room. There were half broken shelves with boxes on them, hairs scattered around the room. Big windows letting light in. There were some jackets and clothes hung up against the wall with the majority of furniture scattered in pieces.
I kept the rifle steady in my arms as we heard a splashing noise. Rick placed his hand up as we stopped on the other side of the room. Following the splashing came snarling from a giant wooden hole in the ground.
We walked closer to where Rick was and was immediately hit by a foul smell. I buried my face into the sleeve and scrunched up my nose at the disgusting smell. It was a mixture of decaying, rotting flesh walkers moving around in sewer water.
"If a sewer could puke, this is what it'd smell like." Bob groaned.
The sounds of more snarling and movement began to fill the air. I snapped my head up, scanning the room but could find no walkers. Michonne pointed to the ceiling which had large holes, letting more light in from outside.
"Water's been coming here for a while, slimed this place up good." She said quietly.
We scanned the hole in the ground, there were five or six walkers in the water, with some broken shelves separating us.
"Of course the food has to be down there." I looked at the rotten luck of our situation.
"We can use the shelves to block 'em." Sasha said.
"Yeah, that's it, Sasha. There's our way. Down those shelves." We swung the rifles over our backs.
Rick looked at me as I nodded reassuringly. He slid down the shelf into the water, drawing the attention of a walker. The rest of us followed quickly, landing in the cold, dank water. The walkers became alert and began wading the water towards us.
"Go! Go!" Rick shouted. We backed up against the wall, lower body submerged in water and pulled the shelves around us to form a barrier.
"Sasha, Bob, you take right." Rick instructed.
"Pol, help me take this." We pulled the left shell towards us, barricading us in.
The walkers reached their arms over the holes in the shelf, trying to reach for us.
"I see three here!" me and Rick used our machetes to finish the ones closest to us.
I glanced at the nervous father Gabriel, who was looking anxious and twitchy. More walkers approached us as the other four got busy.
"Father!" I called out, watching as he whimpered and scrambled out of the shelves. I looked for Rick or Michonne but they were busy stabbing the walkers.
He managed to make his way to the opposite wall, trying to climb out back to the ground level but he stumbled.
"Come back here!" I called out, but he shook his head.
"Oh for fucks sake." I grumbled, wading through the water. I stuck my machete into a walker which stumbled towards me, it's entrails bobbing in the water.
I stood in front of the priest, killing the walkers that came our way.
"Rick!" I called his attention towards us, as he looked at us in disbelief and in alarm. There was a barely perceptible anger in his eyes.
I held off the walkers, but more were surrounding us and I couldn't rely on Gabriel's help.
"We have to help Pol. We gotta get Gabriel." Rick turned to Bob.
Out of the corner of my eye I found another walker which placed it hands on the priest's collar. He shouted as I shoved the walker away, chopping it's head off.
"A little help guys!" I said a little more urgently, seeing the sheer number of walkers coming towards us.
The four of them pushed one of the shelves down over the walkers they were battling and broke free of their barricade. I was breathing heavily from the exertion as another walker emerged from the shadows.
Rick came and made quick work of the walker lunging for Gabriel, coming to stand by us.
"You alright?" Rick placed his hands on my face and shoulders as I nodded.
"Yeah." I said.
"We are." I glanced at Gabriel who whimpered and held onto the wall.
We had cleared the walkers as Bob took one of the boxes, going over to the food, suddenly a walker lunged from the water and grabbed Bob. Sasha killed the walker quickly, hugging Bob.
Once we were sure that there were no more, we began loading whatever food we could find in crates and boxes. Not wanting to spend any more time, we left the food bank as Rick paused in the building whilst the rest waited outside.
"Rick I'm fine." I emphasised as he gently lifted my arms, checking my shoulders and neck for any bite marks. I lifted the bottom of my shirt slightly to re-iterate.
"You risked your life for him." I could see Rick's frustration showing through.
"He acted stupidly and he was in trouble." I shrugged slightly, keeping my tone even.
"We don't even know if we can trust him yet. I wish you waited." Rick sighed heavily.
"He was about to become walker-bait, I couldn't stand by and let it happen. Especially since he's given us shelter." I narrowed my eyes slightly, crossing my arms over my chest.
"I know. But in situations like that, we need to do things together, make sure you have back-up when going into somethin' like that." Rick said in a low voice.
"Yeah, I know." I sighed. He was right, I had been rash. But I wasn't going to sit by and wait for a walker to eat Gabriel.
"I stand by my actions." I said firmly, looking Rick in the eye.
"Listen I know you're fully capable of looking after yourself, but I can't lose you." Rick pleaded holding my hand.
"I know." I gave him a reassuring smile.
"I'll make sure I have back up next time."
...
"You heathen." I knocked the fork out of Glenn's mouth causing Maggie and Tara to laugh at him.
We had opened some of the cans we found, it was now evening and for the first time we were enjoying food inside. Abraham poured large slops of the peas and carrots into the paper plate, licking the spoon as he put it back into the bowl.
"You uncultured swine." I gasped in horror as the ginger-haired man gave me a smirk.
"Sorry sweetheart, I'm a big man. I need more food. More energy to keep us alive. And other things." He sent a wink at Rosita.
"Ignore him." She shook her head and followed him.
I put food in my plate and joined Rick and Tyreese sitting against a wooden gate in the church. They were thoroughly entertained with Judith, who was sitting against his knees and putting her hands into Rick's mouth.
"Ahhh," Rick opened his mouth wide to entertain his daughter who babbled. She gave me a toothy smile as I sat next to Rick, reaching her arms out for me.
"How comes she smiles at you?" Rick complained as he took a sip from his glass of wine.
"Probably because I spent a month non-stop with her." I smirked, placing a fork of food into Rick's mouth. I handed him the plate and took Judith for a minute, cuddling and kissing her.
"Got you a plate. Babe." I grinned, handing him his food. Rick winced at the nickname as Tyreese smiled, shaking his head.
"So no to that pet name?" I joked, handing the baby back to him.
"Yeah, definite no." Rick laughed.
"I'd like to propose a toast." Abraham announced, holding his glass up. Everyone else settled down on the ground.
"I look around this room, I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title. To the survivors!" He held as glass up.
"Cheers!"
"Is that all you want to be?" Abraham asked as we paused our eating.
"Fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep with two eyes open. Rinse and repeat? Cause you can do that, you got the strength and the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do. That's just surrender." He continued.
He had a very good point. We were surviving, but we weren't really living. Not like the home we had at the prison.
"Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for this little road-trip." he smirked.
Rick looked at me. He knew how I felt about it, how I was sceptical of Eugene's plan to cure humanity of it's zombie problem.
"Eugene, what's in Washington?" Abraham asked, as we turned to face the scientist.
"Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this fubar magnitude. That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart." Eugene said simply.
"However this plays out, however long it takes for the restart button to kick in. You can stay there." Abraham looked directly at me.
And if there was a chance for a better home, why shouldn't we take it?
"Come with us. Save the world for that little one." He spoke to Rick. I looked at Rick who drummed his fingers against his knees, looking around at everyone.
I glanced at Michonne who was enamoured by his speech. I could see the rest of the group forming a resolve, making their minds up. I realised they all wanted to go. They believed in Abraham and in Eugene's promise.
I wasn't sure about Eugene, but Washington being the capital would be more secure. And it would be better than the sticky heat of Georgia.
"Save it for the people out there, who don't got nothing left to do but survive." Abraham's voice was softer.
Rick's gaze settled on me, as I took a deep breath and nodded. For survival, it was the right thing to do. He chuckled as Judith made a babbling noise.
"What was that?" Rick leaned in to his daughter.
"I think she knows what I'm about to say." He turned to Tyreese with a smile.
"She's in. If she's in, I'm in." Rick looked at Judith squeezing my hand. We laughed at the baby's antics.
"We're in."
Clapping and applause broke out at Rick's decision, the rest of the group smiling and laughing.
"You made the right decision." I pressed my lips to his cheek, as he stood up handing Judith off to Sasha.
A/N: So after this bit in the episode, we see Carol starting up a car to leave but Daryl stops here. Then they see a car with a white cross speeding off (it's the car that Beth got taken in). Daryl and Carol get in the car and go off to follow them. Bob is outside on watch, happy and smiling but then...
You'll find out! (This is all canon for you guys who haven't seen it yet, I'll touch on it in the next episode).
Thoughts?