7 – He Can Only Hold Her For So Long

Sasha could hear the hum of an engine running before her eyes even opened. She knew she was riding somewhere, and that she must have been taken against her will, as she couldn't recall anything before that. So she was hesitant to open her eyes, just in case someone was watching. She couldn't show her hand. So she continued to listen.

If she had to guess, they were probably driving about 60mph. The roads weren't clear enough to go so fast, so they had to be on a highway. She needed to open her eyes and figure out where the hell she was.

She began with a squint, immediately noting two people dressed as police officers in the two front seats – a man and a woman, seemingly oblivious to her presence at the moment. She could feel another person to her right, and craned her neck ever-so-slightly, fully opening her eyes to find that it was Beth. The teen was slumped towards the door, probably knocked out in the same manner she had been. What the hell happened, Sasha wondered.

She knew they had been kidnapped. But why? Why were these two people dressed as cops pulling two women into a vehicle with a medical cross painted on its back? And where was Daryl? Had they taken him too? Was he dead? She needed answers.

"What the hell is goin' on," she decided to come right out and demand.

"Oh, you're awake," the male kidnapper replied as if he'd been waiting for her to ask that very question. "That's good. We weren't sure you'd make it."

"What?"

"You were getting overrun by those rotters. Then when we came in to help, you got knocked out. Thought you'd be out the whole trip."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Officer O'Donnell, this is Officer Shepherd," he introduced himself and his female companion. "We saved you."

"Bullshit. You took me and my friend against our will."

"Ma'am, you were being overrun," Shepherd interjected. "We saved you."

"I didn't need saving."

"You were in the middle of the road without any kind of supplies. No food. No water. Not even any guns. We're doing you a favor."

"And what does that translate to?"

"We're taking you back to our camp in Atlanta," O'Donnell replied. "Trust me, you'll be thanking us soon."

"Atlanta?"

"The capital of this great state of Georgia. Maybe you've heard of it."

Sasha sat up quickly, ignoring the pain searing through her lower body. "I don't wanna go to Atlanta."

"What you got against it?"

"Let me out of this car." She said it as calmly as her emotions would allow, but inside, she was screaming. "Please."

Shepherd turned to look at her, moved by the obvious anxiety written all over her face. "Ma'am, just calm down."

"Please don't tell me to calm down when I'm already calm."

"Well just relax. We'll be there soon enough."

"Let me out of this car," she said louder this time. Loud enough to stir Beth from her unconsciousness.

Beth felt comforted by the fact that she was still with Sasha, but the alarm in her voice was obvious. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew she needed to be on the same page as her. She subtly got her attention by wiggling her fingers along the car seat until Sasha noticed and rested her hand over hers.

"Listen," Sasha stated softly. "I understand that you're trying to help, but our family is back where you picked us up. And I'd appreciate it if you would let us go back."

"I hate to break it to you," O'Donnell chuckled, "but there was nothin' back there, darlin'. Nothin' but rotters."

"What difference does it make to you?"

"We help you, you help us," he explained simply. "And we need the help."

Beth squeezed Sasha's hand, willing her to not lose her temper. If she did, it could easily get them killed, and she knew it. "Just take me," Beth offered, hoping to keep the peace. "Let Sasha go and you can take me."

"No," Sasha inserted forcefully.

"It's a compromise," she whispered to her companion.

"It's not an option."

"Now wait a minute," O'Donnell offered. The smirk on his face was so smug, it was filling the car. "We may be able to work somethin' out."

"No."

"Sasha, we're obviously not both getting out of here. Just let me go, and you find Daryl and the others."

"Your sister would kill me," she hissed back at Beth. "No!"

"Sasha."

"Come on, Sasha," Shepherd jumped in. "This way, we all get something we want."

"I don't want this," she replied emphatically. Beth's bright blue eyes begged her to focus on the bigger picture and the fact that one of them needed to get out of there if both of them couldn't. She hated to accept this prospect, but it was certainly better than both of them heading off to Atlanta for god knows what. "We're not splitting up," she mouthed to the teenager. She then turned to the officers and offered her surrender. "Fine, stop the car."

The two officers glanced at one another before pulling off to the side of the road. "Are you sure you can walk?" Shepherd asked. "It's a good twenty miles back to Senoia."

"I'll be fine," Sasha answered tersely, knowing she had no plans on walking anywhere. She inconspicuously pulled her knife from her boot as O'Donnell made his way out of the car to let her out. "Beth, you take care of yourself," she told her friend cryptically.

"I will," she promised, seeing that Sasha obviously had some kind of plan in place. She had no idea what it was, but she would follow her lead like her life depended on it. Because it did.

Daryl and Rick walked side by side along the train tracks, Rick with Judith in his arms, as they approached yet another sign for the mysterious land of Terminus. They'd been seeing them nonstop ever since the Grimes faction came across Daryl sitting beneath one of them. It didn't take long for them to decide that would be the most likely place for them to find the others. The more they saw the signs, the more they believed this to be true.

"It's crazy that the four of y'all managed to get out together," Daryl commented, referring to Rick, Michonne, and the kids.

Rick watched Carl and Michonne a few feet ahead of them, playing some game where they were balancing along the tracks. He smiled at the sight. "We didn't get out together," he finally explained to his friend. "She found the kids, and I found her."

"Shit."

"Yeah," he nodded, taking a look down at his daughter, making sure she was still all right. "By the time I was done with The Governor and made my way inside, everyone was gone."

"I got out with Sasha and Beth," he mumbled quietly. He didn't want Michonne to hear. "I lost 'em, though."

Rick frowned at this information, unsure of how to take it. It's pretty difficult to just lose someone, and Daryl was the type to say they were dead if they were dead. "Lost?"

"They were taken," he shrugged, hoisting Michonne's huge duffel bag further onto his shoulder. "I dunno."

"You weren't there?"

"I was bein' too much of an asshole to take care of 'em. I shoulda been with 'em, but I wasn't."

Rick could understand that sentiment more than he cared to admit. "But they're still alive?"

"Assumin' so."

Rick nodded, softly running his hands over Judith's blonde hair. Her forehead was warm, and damp with sweat. "Michonne," he called out, wanting her to put a pause on their little game.

"A little busy here, Senior Grimes," she called back, still trying to keep her balance.

"Well I need water for Baby Grimes, if you don't mind."

"Oh fine," she stopped in her tracks on the tracks and turned for Carl. "Time out, Junior Grimes."

"I thought we didn't get any time outs," he narrowed his eyes at her playfully. "No fair."

"You're really gonna make me forfeit so I can save your sister?"

"Yep."

"That's cold," she grinned at her younger friend before turning for his father. She searched their food supply for the opened bottle of water and handed it over to Rick. "She okay?" she eyed him carefully and then the infant. She was so deep in her sleep, she looked unconscious.

"Yeah, just runnin' a little hot," he nodded, accepting a bandana from Daryl. "I think we oughta start looking for somewhere to settle down for the night."

She nodded. "There's gotta be some houses around here somewhere."

"I hope so. I need a bed."

She smirked at him, but immediately reminded herself that Daryl was there. "You okay over there, Mr. Dixon?"

"I'm all right," he nodded. "Even with this heavy ass bag."

"Thank you for carrying it."

"You took all this from the prison?"

"Found it," Rick inserted with a small yawn. "Just sittin' in an empty house."

"That's some kinda luck."

"About time, isn't it," Michonne smiled softly. She refocused on Rick and Judith as she returned their water to her bag. "You want me to take her for a while?"

"Nah, we're all right," he offered a discreet wink and a small grin. "You two can continue your game."

"Your kid made me forfeit. I'm not so sure I wanna keep playing."

"He's a man of honor," Rick shrugged jokingly. "Can't hold that against him."

"Like father like son," she agreed, turning back for Carl and their balancing act.

Daryl looked to Rick, noting the goofy grin on his friend's face, causing him to chuckle quietly. He was glad to see someone somewhat happy, in spite of all the disaster surrounding them. "So I guess this past week has been good to y'all."

"How do you mean?" Rick looked over to him.

"Y'all turned into a family all of a sudden."

He smirked at the idea, but he knew that had been true for a long time. "Isn't that what we all are? Hershel was like a father. You're my brother…"

Daryl nodded in agreement, but didn't know how to respond to that. He was never the best at expressing or even accepting feelings. "So that would make Michonne your… wife?"

"I don't know about all that," Rick chuckled quietly. "She's good with the kids."

"So was Carol. Never seen you look at her like you do Michonne."

His face immediately began to turn a bright red, not far from the shade of the bandana draped over Judith's head. "I have no idea what you're talkin' about."

Daryl chuckled at the fact that he'd made his friend blush, but he couldn't figure out why he was being so bashful. From what he could tell, the feelings were mutual, at least. "All right, man. Have it your way."

As darkness fell, the five of them came across what would have to make due as their homes for the night – a couple of abandoned cars. After a small debate, Carl and Judith slept in a large blue SUV, where Rick would join them after his shift taking watch. Daryl took to an old red Tercel parked about half a mile away, promising he would be fine until his turn on duty.

Once dinner was finished, Michonne and Rick decided to take watch together. They sat on the road, close to the kids, using a giant log as a back to their seats on the ground. "It's a really beautiful night," Michonne noted, staring up at the sky. She would've bet money she could count a thousand stars in that moment.

"Every night is beautiful with you sitting here." He knocked his boot against hers before looking over to see her reaction. She smiled brightly at the compliment.

"Why do you always do this?"

"Do what?"

"You leave me speechless. Constantly."

"There's nothin' wrong with not talkin'," he smirked. They were already sitting closely, but he moved in enough so that their legs were touching. He rested his hand on her thigh, waiting for her to take it.

She completed the action, immediately reveling in the sense of his touch again. His hands were rough and warm, as usual. "Almost forgot what this feels like."

"It hasn't been that long, has it?"

"Well it hasn't been a month or anything," she admitted, knowing she had been the reason for them being apart more often than not. "But a couple of weeks, which was unexpected."

"Well… here's to being alone for the first time since the last time," hr grinned. He immediately dove for her neck, licking at every crevice, and kissed his way up her chin until he found her lips.

"Rick..."

He didn't stop as he replied, "What?"

She wanted to pull away, say they couldn't do this there. Carl was just a few feet away. But his lips felt so good and the reality was, she didn't want to stop. She wanted everything right then and there, and didn't care who was there to see it. "Just hold on a sec," she finally managed to get out between kisses. She used the moment to hop on top of him, straddling his waist.

"There you are," he smirked, getting a full view of her gorgeous face. It really was nice to be this close, even if it was a bit torturous on his broken ribs. He held her face, gazing into her big chocolate orbs as if he'd never seen them before.

She suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable under his stare and looked down, resting her hands on his hips. She soon felt Rick harden against the underside of her thigh and she smirked back up at him. "And there you are."

With a small chuckle, he went in for another kiss as his hands roamed down her back until they rested on her perfect round ass. She giggled quietly into his mouth as he squeezed excitedly. She loved how every time was like the first time with him.

"We're just gonna do this out in the open like this, huh?"

"Why not," he shrugged, moving his hands around front to unbutton her shirt. His tongue moved across her cleavage as quickly as he uncovered it. Her skin was so warm and so soft, it was driving him insane.

"I want you all the time," she admitted to him softly, reveling in the feel of his kisses. "Even when I'm sad, even when I feel like crying, I think about this. With you."

He stopped for a moment to look up at her. It was an odd thing to say in the moment, made even weirder to him because he felt the same way. In the midst of all their highs and lows, he felt most comforted with her by his side. He wanted nothing more than to be with her all the time. Thoughts of what their lives would be like once this was all over often invaded his mind. But then he remembered that this would never be over, so he had to push it all back down. "I like you too," he replied simlply.

She gave him a small smile, running her hands through his hair as she continued their kiss. His fingers were on the verge of going down her pants when he felt the cold barrel of a gun flush against his temple.

"Oh deary me," a strange voice declared as he came into view under the moonlight. "Look what we have here."

Michonne looked up to see an older white man holding a gun to Rick's head and immediately moved to grab her katana. Instead, it was kicked out of her grasp, and some unknown entity pulled her from Rick's lap. Rick tried to hold onto her hand, and she did her best to not let go, but she was thrown to the ground, causing them to separate.

"Today is the day of reckoning, sir. Restitution. A balancing of the whole damn universe."

Soon, they were surrounded by five guys, all varying degrees of dirty and menacing. Rick held his hands up, but kept his eyes on Michonne and the kids' car to make sure nothing was happening to them. "Restitution for what," he asked hoarsely. He could understand being robbed, but he hadn't done anything warranting revenge.

"Don't add insult to injury and act like you don't know what I'm talkin' about," the man with his gun on Rick retorted. "Or maybe you're just used to stealing everything a man owns and expecting not to answer for it."

Rick frowned, knowing he hadn't stolen anything from anyone. And then he remembered the bag. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "We didn't know you'd be back for it-."

"And now you do."

"For all we knew, the owner was dead," Michonne inserted, her eyes darting to each of the men surrounding them. Guns everywhere.

"Listen, you can have your stuff back. Just take it and leave us alone," Rick suggested calmly. "No reason for this to escalate."

"Look, we're reasonable men. You take somethin' of ours, we simply take somethin' of yours." The man that was obviously the leader of the group let out a short whistle and immediately, one of his lackeys was pulling Michonne to her feet. "Now see, that right there is a nice consolation prize," he said, eyeing the length of her body. "Always did have a thing for sweet black pussy. I s'pose we got that in common," he chuckled patting Rick on the back.

"Leave her alone," Rick replied quietly but seriously.

"Oh, you don't wanna give her up?"

"Hey Joe," one of the others called out to the leader. "There's a kid up in this here truck."

"Even better," Joe smiled maliciously, his gun still aimed at Rick's head. "Two for the price of one."

"Don't you dare fuckin' touch him," Rick warned him.

"Now, now. You know nothing's free on this world... Even when you steal it." He fell silent as one of his comrades pulled a terrified Carl from the car, holding a knife to the boy's throat. "Tell you what. I'm in a generous mood tonight, so how about this. We'll only have one of them. You pick."

"You better let him go," Rick ignored his offer, seeing nothing but red as he realized the danger his son was in. Judith was crying now, which was like a cattle call for any walker within a few hundred yards. He needed to move quickly. "Let him go," he repeated more forcefully this time.

Michonne could see the wheels turning in Rick's head. This was a very different man from the one that had tried to talk The Governor off the ledge just a week ago. There was rage bubbling under the surface, and it was on the verge of erupting.

"You hear this?" Joe laughed, focusing his attention on Michonne. "He's willing to let us rape you just to save his little bastard son that'll probably be dead within a week anyway." He found this extremely insulting and therefore, extremely funny, cackling loudly in Rick's ear. "Hope you didn't think he was in love with you or any-" He was cut off mid sentence by a headbutt from Rick, causing him to accidentally shoot his gun into the ground before stumbling backwards.

Hearing the gunshot at such close range caused Rick to lose his bearings for just a moment, but he and Joe were in a fist fight before he knew it. He remembered throwing the first punch, but Joe had gone on a rampage, punching and kicking him in several spots where he was already injured. It was quickly turning into a losing battle.

"Dad!" Carl was screaming.

Over the ringing in his ears, he heard the sound of his son calling for help. It's a devastating thing to hear in any situation, but for one in which you feel nearly helpless, it was unbearable. He was doing his best to get to him, but Joe, throwing several punches his way, was making it impossible. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see both Carl and Michonne had been thrown to the ground and fighting off their attackers. It was time to kill or be killed.

Seeing that Rick's focus had been taken, Joe pulled him into a debilitating bear-hug, making sure he couldn't move a muscle. Amused by the man's powerlessness, he asked, "The hell you gonna do now, sport?"

Rick answered by taking a large bite out of his throat.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Michonne answered emphatically, keeping her eyes on the man that had just saved her life. Again.

"I'm okay." He told her for her sake, but he probably needed to say it out loud for himself. He'd done the only thing he could to save the people he loved, and that really was okay.

She offered a small smile, enjoying the fact the she already understood that. "I know."

"How?"

"Because I'm okay, too."

He took that in as they continued down the train tracks towards Terminus. Carl and Judith were a few feet ahead of them, and Daryl another few feet in front of them. It was most definitely a good feeling to go through some kind of turmoil and come out on the other side without having lost anyone.

"Hey," Michonne called out to him, seeing him lost in his thoughts. When he turned towards her, she held out her hand.

"What's this about?" he smirked.

She shook her head at his obliviousness and took his hand into hers, interlocking their fingers. "It's not about anything. I just wanna be close to you."

He remembered what she said the night before, about wanting him all the time. It echoed in his head, conjuring up feelings of joy and apprehension, because he knew he felt the same way, and that scared him. It was a distraction. It was the last thing he needed to focus on, yet it was the only thing he could focus on. He loved this woman.

"Maybe now isn't the best time," he whispered, releasing his hand from her grasp. "We should concentrate on getting to Terminus."

She frowned, finding his reaction a bit odd, but decided to let it go. Besides, he was right. The previous night had more than proven that they had no time to let their guards down. "Right," she nodded. "Okay."

"We're close," he went on to remind her as if she didn't know. "But we have no idea what's about to happen. We need our defenses up."

"I get it, Rick." She understood what he was saying probably even better than he did. The two of them were close – they were right on the cusp, in fact, of turning their mostly physical relationship into something real. But he obviously had his walls up now, and there was nothing she could do about that. "Not now."

"Right," he confirmed, just before leaving her to go catch up to Daryl. "Not now."

A/N: Hmm, did Joe's assault bring all those lovely feelings between Rick and Michonne to a halt? How is Carl handling all this? And what the hell happened with Beth and Sasha? Stay tuned!

Btw, to those of you reading The Other Woman, I will be updating that soon! I just didn't wanna be at the exact same spot in both stories, so I started moving this one along a little further since it'll have a lot more chapters. But I'll see you guys soon, I promise! -Ash