Chapter 14: Leave

The morning after Maggie learned about Beth and Rick she still felt as livid as she was when she first found out. Before all this she kind of suspected Beth had a crush on the man but to think Rick actually reciprocated instead of putting a stop to it infuriated her. She already had to cut open Rick's wife she refused to do it again to her only sister. Of course she wanted Beth to be happy but it wasn't fair for Rick to use someone so young for company bothered her.

When she walked out of the cellblock that morning her first intention was to talk to Rick. She knew Beth wouldn't budge but maybe she could reason with Rick. She found him in the yard talking to Tyreese. "Rick," She called getting his attention. "Can I talk to you?"

Glancing at Tyreese Rick nodded. Placing his hands on his hips he followed Maggie towards the cellblocks. With each step he felt anxious, he had no idea what Maggie was gonna say or do. He could tell she was still angry about the situation and he had a feeling this conversation couldn't go well. "What's going on?" He asked.

"You know damn well what's going on." Maggie snapped. "I didn't say this last night but what makes you think you can take advantage of an eighteen year old? I know you're lonely, Rick, but that doesn't give you the right to do this. Beth would go to the ends of the earth for everyone here, how could you do this to her?"

Rick tried his best to keep calm but with all the accusations Maggie was making it hard on him. He expected her to be angry but to accuse him to taking advantage of Beth and her feelings came out of left field. "Maggie, you've got the wrong idea." He started, his voice deeper than usual. "I wish I could give you clear explanation why..."

"Is it because she takes care of Judith? You see her with your daughter and wish you could have one big happy family?"

"No, its has nothing to do with that." He sighed running his hand over his face he kept going. "What me and Beth have...I can't explain it. She's a great girl and I have no intentions of taking advantage of that. I know its hard to understand but in this world a lot of things are hard to understand right now. I do know Beth makes me happy, she's the only one that helped me really get passed Lori's death. She got me out of real dark place and has kept me from going back there. I'm sorry we lied about it for this long but I'm not sorry for having feelings for your sister. I'm not perfect but I will try to be for her."

Maggie frowned. "And you promise to keep her safe?"

"I'll do my best."

Looking into his eyes she saw how sincere he was. "I still don't like this but all I want is for Beth to be happy and if you can do that then I won't stand in the way."

"Thank you, Maggie. I know all Beth wants is your's and Hershel's approval."

"Yeah well I don't know you have total approval but...just take care of her ok?"

"I will," He promised.

Now Rick felt better. With his talk with Maggie over he was ready to continue with his day but first he needed to see Beth. As if she was reading his mind he saw her leave the cellblock with Judith on her hip. "I saw Maggie come out here, did she find you?" She asked.

"Yeah, and she terrified me at first," He chuckled but when she didn't laugh he sighed. "Its ok, I think she's coming around."

"Really?"

"Yeah, don't worry, now I just have to talk to Carl."

"Are you gonna do it today?"

"I think that will be best. It will be better for both of us when we don't have to sneak around. As soon as he knows the rest of the group can find out as well."

"Ok." She agreed, nodding her head.

"So what are you two doing today?" He questioned running a hand over Judith's hair.

"I don't know, Daddy and Michonne are gonna go take care of corpses and Carol has watch duty with Daryl."

"Well want to take a walk with me if you have the time that is?" He smiled finally getting her to laugh.

"I think I can squeeze you in," She chuckled.

Reaching over he took Judith into his arms with ease. In silence they started walking around the prison. It was much better than the previous walk Beth went on. She stole a few quick glances at Rick as he interacted with Judith. The baby was grinning while her father tickled her stomach. Everyone knew there was a possibility that Judith wasn't his but watching him with her Beth could never see anyone else as Judith's father.

When Beth wasn't talking Rick turned his head to see her smiling at him and Judith. "What are you grinning about?" He asked with a smile of his own on his face.

Beth blushed. "I love you," She blurted.

Suddenly Rick stopped. He didn't expect her to say that and by the look on her face he could tell she didn't mean to say it as well. "Beth...I," He mumbled.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry," She stammered reaching over she grabbed Judith. "I gotta go." As she hurried away she couldn't believe she had said it out loud. She had been thinking it in her head since the previous night but she always stopped herself from saying it. 'Oh my God, what did I just do?' She thought as she headed to her cell.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Rick had been meaning to talk to Carl but his son had been strangely absent the entire afternoon. He wanted to spend time with Beth but he knew by her reaction earlier that morning she probably wouldn't want to see him. When she said those three words he had to admit he was taken back at first, its always surprising to hear that phrase the first time, but when the original shock wore off he realized he was ok with her saying it. Maybe he wasn't ready to say it back but that didn't mean Beth had to. He truly did care for her and he knew at some point he would love her but he wanted to be absolutely sure when he told her he loved her. She deserved that much.

After checking on the former sick ward of the prison he was walking into the yard when he spotted Glenn and Maggie. "Is your dad back yet?" He asked Maggie.

"No, I didn't think they would be gone this long," Maggie answered.

"Well there were only two of them that volunteered to go, its gonna be a while." Glenn told his fiance trying to calm her down.

"Yeah well if they're not back in an hour I'm going after them." She said placing her hands on her hips.

"Rick!" They heard someone yell from the guard tower ending their conversation. Looking up they said Carol pointing outside the gates.

Running towards the fence Rick came to a sudden stop seeing the Governor standing on top of a tank with several cars surrounding them. "What the hell is he doing here?" He heard Glenn gasp.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good. Let everyone know what's going on and be prepared for anything," Rick commanded.

Beth was sitting in her cell writing in her journal when she saw Lizzie and Mika walk by. "Hey Beth," They smiled. "We just came by to see Judith."

"Hey girls, she's sleeping but she should be waking up soon." Beth explained closing her journal and putting in her back pocket.

Sitting on the edge of her bunk she saw the girls gaze at the baby. Both of them loved spending time with the little girl with the exception of changing diapers. Beth thought it would be good for when Judith got older she would have kids around to play with. Mika had already said she would teach Judith how to play hopscotch and jump rope. 'Maybe if I go on another run I can find them some chalk.' Beth thought.

"Is she gonna call you mommy?" Mika asked surprising the older girl.

Beth's mouth fell open. "U-uh, I don't expect her to, why?"

"Because you always take care of her. And you love her." Mika smiled, her innocence made Beth want to hug her and keep her away from the awful things in the world.

Just as Beth was about to answer she heard Maggie call her name. "Maggie, what is it?"

"The Governor is outside," Maggie said quickly. "Girls, you go back to your cellblock and wait. If something happens we need to get out of here fast."

"Wait," Beth commanded grabbing Judith's car seat and gently placing the sleeping baby in it. "Take her with you, make sure to keep an eye on her at all times, ok?"

Lizzie and Mika nodded before lifting up the seat, careful not to disturb Judith too much. When they were gone Beth turned to her sister. "What does he want?" Beth asked Maggie as they headed back outside.

"I don't know, Rick just told us to let everyone know."

Outside they saw Tyreese, Bob, Daryl, Carol, Glenn and Carl standing around the fence. "Where's Rick?" Beth questioned surprising them.

The Greene girls saw them exchange a few worried looks before Daryl spoke up. "Come see for yourself."

When they stepped aside Beth and Maggie cautiously approached the fence. First they saw Rick standing in the yard, his hand resting just above his gun just in case. Then they saw their father on his knees, his hands tied behind his back with the Governor standing beside him to his right and Michonne in the same position to his left. "Oh my God," Maggie whispered.

Beth couldn't hear anything, she was focused on her father in the hands of a madman. Her fingers gripped the fence, she needed to help somehow but one wrong move and both of them could die. She couldn't hear anything Rick was saying but by the look on the Governor's face it wasn't what he wanted to hear. Feeling something cool on her arm she looked over to see Daryl handing her a gun. "Just in case," He mumbled as she took it.

Nodding her head she held it tight. It was the first time she held a powerful weapon but she knew what she had to do if the time came. "We need to get the bus ready," She could hear Glenn and Daryl talking but she only cared about the scene in front of her.

To her horror she saw the Governor jump off the tank and someone handed him Michonne's kantana. Holding her gun with one hand she gripped the fence again. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the Governor hold the sword to Hershel's neck. 'No, no, no please don't do this,' She thought her eyes jumping from Rick to her dad. 'This can't be real.'

Beth kept thinking this was some horrible dream. She wished she could wake up and walk into the dining area to see her father reading the Bible and greet him with a kiss on his head. Then she saw the Governor bring the sword down, slicing Hershel's neck giving her a cruel reminder this wasn't a dream and she now had to face the man who just murdered her father. Crying out she and the others lifted their guns and shot through the fence. She tried her best to keep the tears at bay but they blocked her vision making her unable to aim properly. "They're coming! Everyone take cover!" She heard before she felt herself get dragged away by someone.

Rick sat behind the bus clutching his leg, blood oozed out of his gunshot wound staining his jeans. This was the last thing he thought would happen when he woke up that morning. When he saw that sword cut Hershel's neck he saw red. Firing the first shot he wasn't sure he hit anyone but now his concern was to get back to the group. He knew they were outnumbered and they had to get away. Catching his breath he listened to the fences fall from the other side of the bus. The home he spent so much time building this place to be their home just to watch it fall in a matter of minutes. Flattening his back to the cool metal of the bus he waited for the first person to cross his path. Seeing a black leather jacket he jumped out of his hiding spot determined to end the fight as fast as possible.

Avoiding gunshots as best she could Beth followed Maggie to the waiting school bus. She could faintly hear what she was saying but with everything happening Beth found it hard to focus. "I'll be right back," Maggie yelled.

"What if you're not?!" Beth screamed but it was too late her sister was already running away.

Gripping her gun she knew what she had to do. She left Judith with Lizzie and Mika, she had to make sure they made it onto the bus first before she did anything else. Running towards the cellblocks she shot at whatever stood in her way. Hearing the shouts of the Governor's soldiers behind her she kept going, narrowly avoided getting shot. Entering the Woodbury cellblock she called the girl's names but she heard no one. It was empty. "Oh no," She mumbled looking into each cell but no sign of the blonde girls or Judith.

Running back outside she headed to where she left Maggie but the bus was gone and there was no sign of her sister. Hearing a loud explosion she ran towards it and saw Daryl shoot a guy with his crossbow. Panting she told him what she was trying to do.

"We gotta go, Beth," He told her. "We gotta go."

Reluctantly she followed him to the woods. When they felt like it was safe enough they stopped to catch their breath. Turning around she saw the home she grew to love fall, just like the farm. "I gotta go back," She panted.

"You can't, its over, we need to get movin.'" She heard Daryl say from behind her.

"You don't understand I have to find Rick...and Judith. I told Lizzie and Mika to watch her but I never found them. What if they didn't make it out?" Tears blurred her vision thinking about Judith sitting in her car seat surrounded by a bunch of walkers. And then there was Rick. When the Govornor killed Hershel she heard Rick yell and fire a few shots but after that she had no idea what happened to him. Their last conversation hadn't gone the way she wanted it to and now she worried that would be the last time she would talk to him.

Looking back at the prison she saw walkers start to cross over the fallen fences. It really was over and she had no idea where the people she loved most were. Or if they were even alive.

I know I'm followed the show very closely with this chapter but it will be very different in the next few chapters.