Hello! Welcome back from hiatus, I guess. I got a promotion at work that kept me busy, and then a vacation! Ahhh... Happy Holidays to all of you, and thanks for sticking with me!
Turns out you're all overwhelmingly perverts, though. Rating M it will be, starting next chapter. Enjoy!
Rick was angry. He knew Beth hadn't meant anything by it, but as he pushed out of the cabin into the cool air, he didn't care.
"What are you doing?" She had looked up at him with those big eyes, surprised at the harshness of his tone. She looked so confused as her eyes squinted around the room at what she had done.
"I was just tryin' to make it nice." She had said carefully. The room did look nice. She had cleaned, somehow. And she had picked some small white flowers that were now sitting on the small stove. It had made Rick furious.
"This isn't a vacation." He had leaned in towards her, as he felt his blood boil, and his fists tightened. "We aren't playing house. We are here because we have to be. I'm with you because I have to be. We are going to find Michonne. We are going to find my son."
She had nodded, her eyes wide and frightened. "I-I know." She had squeaked out. Then Rick turned and left.
Now Rick was stalking through the woods, checking his traps. He lunged at a nearby walker, almost recklessly, taking out his frustration on the walker's skull. He slammed his knife into its brain, and then repeated the motion more times than was necessary. He thought about dragging her out here. Reminding her that walkers were still a threat. But that wasn't Rick Grimes.
He had been too hard on her, he knew. But he needed his son. Rick wasn't stupid, he knew he wasn't mad at Beth, he was mad at himself. He was angry beacause his son was gone, not safe, and he was here playing house with Beth. And he liked it. He liked falling asleep next to her. He liked that she worried about him. Rick shook his head and sighed. She worried about him. That was a completely new sensation. Rick had always been the one to worry about Lori, Shane, and Carl. Then it had been his job to worry about the group. Honestly, it had never occurred to him that someone should be worrying about him, but now that someone was, he wondered how he had ever lived without it.
Rick exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding when he finally found a trap that had caught something. He moved the box slightly to see a rabbit trapped underneath it. Despite himself, he winced. The rabbit was alive, and he hated killing them. But they had to eat, he knew that. Rick's mind flashed back to the moment where he had to sacrifice all the pigs he had been raising at the prison. It had hurt him more than he could admit. He remembered going into his cell that night, and thinking that he couldn't even really be too upset, because that moment wasn't even the worst thing that had happened in the past year. Hell, it probably wasn't even in the top ten.
But Rick was grateful that Beth wasn't with him for this next part. He caught the rabbit in his hands, and closed his eyes. It struggled in his grip, and Rick knew from experience not to look into its eyes. He took a deep breath, and twisted his hands outwards in one smooth hard motion, breaking the rabbit's spine. He sighed heavily, panting as he warded off his emotions over this rabbit. It made him so angry that this was their life now. That he still had to kill the innocent just to survive. That's what he had loved about being a farmer, and not the leader of the prison. He brought life and sustenance instead of tearing it away. He missed it, and he shuddered knowing full well he would never have it again.
"I'm sorry." He whispered over the rabbit, before standing. He heard a crunch behind him, and he wheeled around. His eyes darted around, the rabbit dangling in his hands, as he searched for the source of the noise, be it walker, human, or animal. After several moments, he saw a bird flit from tree to tree, and decided it must have knocked over a stick.
Rick sighed, and began the trek back towards the cabin. He marveled about how quickly autumn had descended. It seemed like yesterday they were all complaining about the Georgia heat. But now the wind was whipping around him, and the sunshine was obscured behind a canopy of trees. Rick approached the cabin, with every intention of going in and apologizing to Beth. He even pictured it in his head. Beth 'm sorry for bein' a tool, here's a dead rabbit. But as he approached the cabin, his feet stopped him. Rick was proud, and he knew it. He didn't want to go face her. Not because she wouldn't forgive him, the exact opposite. He knew she would hug him and forgive him, and that would make him feel like an even bigger jerk, because he knew he didn't deserve to be forgiven.
Instead Rick sat down, his back against the side of the cabin. He pulled out his knife and began skinning the rabbit he had caught. His mind flitted back to him yelling at Beth; only, he hadn't yelled, he had whispered. It made him angry to think about how much he could have scared her. Beth was an adult, so she was probably fine, but Rick was still supposed to protect her. And now what, she'd be afraid of him too?
"Shit." Rick hadn't been paying attention, and he nicked the rabbit's artery. The blood spilled out over him, coating his arms and legs, soaking through his clothes. He groaned, and dropped the rabbit onto the ground. He grumbled to himself, as he walked down towards the river to clean himself off.
Rick scoffed, 'river.' It was more of a creek. It was tiny, and he couldn't even submerge himself in it. It came up to about his knees, but he figured it would have to do. He counted himself lucky that the water was even somewhat clear, instead of incredibly muddy. It wouldn't really clean him per se, but it would get the blood off of him, and that was damn well good enough.
Rick began stripping the clothes off of him, and he instantly regretted it. The cold air hit him briskly, and he began to really rethink this whole 'bathing' thing. But his mind, quite against his control, thought again of Beth. She probably didn't want to be cooped up with someone who smelled like blood and dirt. He peeled his pants off and was dismayed to see even his underwear had gotten blood on it. Cursing to himself, he peeled those off as well.
He waded carefully into the creek, and splashed the water over his body, and threw his clothes in as well. He was relieved to find the water fairly warm. The sun was beating through the trees and illuminated and warmed his body. He relaxed as he dunked his head under the water and ran his fingers through his hair. He laughed to himself. This felt amazing, much better than he had anticipated. As he washed his body, he inspected the bruises and cuts that the Governor had left. Most of them had healed nicely, to his surprise. Then he remembered Beth saying that she had boiled water to clean out his nasty gashes while he had slept.
Beth. He considered again, going to get her. He owed her at least a warm bath. Rick knew the sun wouldn't last too long, which meant cold water. But it didn't take much for him to remember that he was completely naked, and for her to bathe, she would have to be as well. If Rick wasn't warm already, the heat that shot up to his cheeks making him blush would have been enough. More concerning was the blood rushing other places as well.
Rick took that as his sign that his bath needed to be over. He hurriedly scrubbed at the remaining blood spots on his body, and stepped back onto the cool ground. He laid his clothes on a Rock, hoping they would dry quickly. He didn't need them completely dry, just the pants, really. He could lay his shirt over the stove without embarrassing Beth too much.
Rick felt completely refreshed, despite the fact that he was exposed completely to the elements. He'd prefer not to kill a walker completely naked, but he figured there was a first time for everything. Though he probably would have to bathe again. Rick sat on the rock carefully, given that he was completely nude. He sat gingerly, the coolness of the rock making him squeak a little. He wrung out his boxer-briefs, and flapped them in the air, hoping they would dry sooner, rather than later.
Sorry this chapter is a little shorter, and there's no break. Chapter 10 will be a companion chapter to this one, from Beth's POV. With any luck, I can get that one up by the end of the week. Its kind of a different format, and I will go back to the other way, but this is just how it fell out of me. Thanks again!