Better Days

Chapter 268

Author's Note: It's time for a Jick's chapter! Oh how I missed these. A little bit of random hair cut woman will be at the end. You all know this isn't going to go well, don't you? Carol is still going to get a gun out of the armory, since they won't know that Jewel was sneaky. Review please.

Rick and Jewel's POV:

Jewel went into the bedroom walking around touching furniture making sure it's real. Jewel glanced at Rick as he came and put his arms around her as she turned and put her head on his chest. "I can release the breath I was holding trying to be brave around Summer and Carl right?" she whispered.

"Come on," Rick told her as he guided her to the bed taking Hope. "It's only us right now, Mrs. Grimes. Well, Hope too, but I don't think she's going to tell," he said as he wrapped his arm around her.

Jewel caressed his face as she leaned against his chest. "I see how Sasha is taking Bob and Ty's death, and I wish I could feel like that for Merle, and Hershel, and the others. But, if I let the tears start, I'm afraid that they won't stop. I need to be strong…for the kids, the others, for you. But, I don't want to be Carol….not feeling anything."

Rick kissed the top of her head. "You and me, we can be strong together, we can be weak together. We have each other to hold the other one up when one of us needs to break down. I wouldn't have made it without you Mrs. Grimes. If you need to cry, lash out, I'm right here. I will be right here."

Jewel nodded. "I know Mr. Grimes. This place….I'd never even drive down a street in a neighborhood like this," she said. "Bet you and Lori used to look at houses like that."

"Yeah, yeah we did. Am I sensing self doubt Mrs. Grimes? After all we've been through, after everything?" Rick asked as he kissed the side of her head.

"First time I've had to stop and think, this isn't the prison, Mr. Grimes," Jewel told him. "You're stuck with me now," she said with a smile.

"Wouldn't have it any other way. Why don't you go get in the shower? I'll see if little Miss. Hope here will let me lay her down for a bit. You going to be a good girl for daddy sweetheart? Hmm?" Rick asked as he kissed the top of Hope's head.

"I don't even know if these close will come off on in one piece," Jewel said as she took off her boots. "I thought you might want this," she said as she held out a gun. "I couldn't…I was going to give it up, but the thought of us being in here, our children, our family, with only knives and bows, and a sword or two, I couldn't talk myself into it. I couldn't reach down and leave us empty handed. I couldn't let it be on my conscious if something happened because we didn't have a gun. I knew you wouldn't because they were all looking at you, all following you. But all I could see, all I could feel was that feeling of panic when I got when Jes told me what the people at Terminus was. I had kept a gun then. I'm a hypocrite, asking Jes to do something I couldn't do," she told him as she lifted her shirt over her head.

"You aren't a hypocrite," Rick told her as he stood up. "You gave birth in that hell hole, you had a crazy woman threatening to take Hope, you had to worry about Mika and Hope. Then on top of that, you were worried about what was happening with Carl, Summer, Lexi, Mitch, Judy, Daryl, Merle, me, and the others. I know what I was going through thinking Judith was dead, worrying about not being there for you, wondering if you went into labor, would you survive, would the baby survive. Who would be there for you? But the one thing that I knew, that Mar kept me telling me, was that if anyone was going to survive, it was going to be you, especially when one of your cubs were involved."

Jewel gave a small laugh. "I love how I've became momma bear," she said as she touched Hope's head. "So this is me being momma bear again?"

"Yes, and it's one of the things I love about you. You're standing there naked wants me to make love to you, but I think we'd both like to use that shower first. Go on, I'll join you if I can get this one down, if not, she might go visit a big brother or sister," Rick told her as he kissed her.

"You're getting rid of that thing on your face. I gave you a pass out on the road, but as long as we're here, that thing is going," Jewel told him as she walked into the bathroom. She opened the glass door and tentatively turned on the shower as she put her hand under it. "Hot water! You better hurry up before I use it all up!" she yelled back to the bedroom as she got into the water and took a long breath letting the water go over her.

"I think Hope and I are coming to an understanding," Rick called back.

Jewel barley heard him as she leaned into the water and grabbed the shampoo and immediately started washing it. She knew she was going to wash her hair more than once, the feeling of it being clean was one that she could barley remember. She closed her eyes as she washed her hair, and didn't even realize that Rick had joined her in the shower until she felt him kiss her shoulder. "Hope didn't fuss?"

"I got clever, I put her in the carrier and wrapped her with blankets, made her feel like she was being held. And I made sure that her face wasn't covered, and we will check on her as soon as we get out," Rick told her as he put her arms over her head and gently pushed her against the wall. "I don't need to tell you how much I want you right now do I?"

Jewel gave a small smile. "As much as I want you. But we should wait until we get out of the shower," she told him as she ran her hand down his chest. "If this is a dream," she told him.

"I don't want it to end," Rick finished her thought for her as he grabbed the soap and lathered her up. "I was your back you wash mine?" he asked with a small smile.

"I think that can be arranged. I think we're going to need more shampoo," Jewel told him as she took the soap from him and ran it over his body. "Hell's bells, Rick, your feet. Why didn't you say something about the blisters? Those look extremely painful," she told him as she went behind him and washed his back, letting her hands wonder. She kissed his shoulder.

"We were all suffering," Rick simply answered as he leaned into the shower.

"They could have got infected. Alright, you are going to take care of the forest on your face, I'm going to take care of the forest that's growing on my legs, sex, then I'm going to look at those blisters," Jewel told him.

Rick burst out laughing. "Well at least you have your priorities straight," he told her as he kissed her. He poured shampoo on his hand and washed her hair again. "I may not have any left for me," he teased.

"Your hair is long, but you've got curls, my hair is long and was in a braid for almost a month," Jewel told him as she ran her hand over his chest. They both looked at the door when they heard Hope fuss.

"Finish up, I'll go see if she wants to nurse and meet your back at the vanity," Jewel told him as she got out of the shower and grabbed a towel. "Oh are we ignoring you missy? You are going to take a bath tonight, in the sink downstairs. You are going to be clean and squeaky. It amazes me how dirty all of us are, and we managed to keep you and your sister clean as we have," she said as she picked her up. "Now, lets get that belly full and your diaper changed and see if you'll go back to sleep again," she told the baby. "She's really beginning to look like you and Carl. Well without that thing on your face," she called out.

Rick had gotten out of the shower and cleaned the steam off the mirror and looked at himself. "You still kissed me with this thing?"

"As you said we all were suffering," Jewel told him. "Rick, I don't think we should tell anyone about the gun, not yet."

Rick took the scissors and started cutting his beard. "I agree. If we ever get caught with it, I'll say I kept it."

"That's very nice of you, but I am more then willing to accept what I did Mr. Grimes," Jewel told him. "You were just a little bit hungry, huh?" she asked Hope as she burped her and laid her back down. "Yes that's my girl," she said as she got up and went into the bathroom area again. She gave a small smile as she took the shaving cream out of Rick's hands. "Let me," she told him.

Rick grabbed her and lifted her on the counter. "I could get used to this, you and me, in a room without everyone else being around. Of course, I'm not ready to trust this place yet."

"I kept a gun, that should tell you how I feel," Jewel told him as she lathered his face. "Hold still," she said as she shaved him. She looked at him. "What? You're staring," she told him. "And just caused me to knick you," she told him.

Rick didn't answer but took the razor out of her hand and put it on the counter, taking her face in to his hands and kissed her, letting it go from soft to hard.

Jewel immediately reacted as she lifted her hands to his hair and ran it through his curls. She deepened the kiss, both of there tongues battling for dominance. They both froze as they heard a knock on the door. "Ignore it, our people wouldn't knock," she said as she kissed him again running her hands down his chest.

Rick kissed her neck as the knock came again, a little louder, causing Hope to cry.

"Whoever that is, I don't like them," Jewel said into his shoulder. "I'm coming Hope," she said as Rick grabbed his jeans.

As Rick walked down the stairs, he saw a blond woman holding a laundry basket. He opened up the door.

"Hey, I work in the pantry. Deanna asked me to bring these over for you and your friends," she said as she handed him the laundry basket.

"Thank you," Rick said as he took it. "We were just cleaning up," he said.

"I can see that, you still have some shaving crème on your chin," she told him. "I'm Jessie," she introduced herself.

"Rick," he said. "Thank you for bringing this over," he told her. "Jewel, can you come down here for a minute, we have company," he said as he called his wife downstairs. He wanted this woman gone so he could continue what he had started before the house got full.

"Is Jewel a friend?" Jessie asked. "You know, I used to be a stylist. And twelve other things. I could give you a cut if you want," she said.

Jewel raised her eyebrow as she came downstairs wearing an oversized shirt and carrying Hope over her shoulder. "We might have been out of civilization so long that I forgot what it's like, but I'm pretty sure that I don't remember anyone coming and offering married men random hair cuts. I'm Jewel Grimes and you are?" she asked. "I'd offer to shake your hand but as you can see, it's kind of full."

"Jessie," she answered. "It just looks like Rick needed a haircut since he shaved."

"I actually shaved him, and I was going to cut his hair, after we were done with what we were doing. But a knock on the door woke up a baby, and she's now decided that she's up. There's a few others in our group that are in more desperate of a hair cut then Rick, maybe you can track them down. But I'll be sure to remember that you were offering hair cuts if I need any help in trimming Rick's. I'm sorry but I haven't spent any alone time with Rick since before this one was born, and before the house gets crowded with our family, I'd like too. It was nice meeting you," Jewel said as she closed the door and lowered the shade. "Oh did my Dixon side just show?"

Rick tried to keep a straight face. "You know I was pretty sure your eyes was blue, but they seem awful green to me right now," she said as he kissed her. "Come on, I'm going to try to get this baby back to sleep," he told her.

Author's Note: Ha random hair cut lady take that! Review please.