Chapter 20: Stay or Go?

Early the next morning Rick found himself already awake and unable to go back to sleep. Laying on the makeshift bed he and Beth made he saw sunshine streaming through the boarded up windows. It was a new day and they were going to have to figure out their next move. Knowing they had to go back on the road didn't stress him out as much as it had in the previous weeks and he knew why. She was laying right beside him. Turning his head he saw Beth cuddled up to his side facing him. During the night they were always touching somehow, whether it be their legs or her resting on his chest. It was like they needed the comfort of each other after everything they had been through the previous night.

Reaching over he gently brushed some hair that had fallen in her face. His touch must have woken her because he watched her eyes open slowly. Covering her mouth she yawned before moving closer to him. "Mornin,'" She muttered.

"Mornin,' sleep good?"

"I woke up a few times...I kept seeing his face above me."

Wrapping his arm around her Rick held her firm to him trying his best to comfort her. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry you went through that."

"Please don't blame yourself for it."

Sighing to himself Rick stared into her blue eyes. "I promised your dad I would keep you safe."

"And you did." She whispered clutching onto his hand. "You saved me."

"I scared you...I scared myself last night. I just saw what that man was doing and heard Joe say what they were going to do and I...I just saw red."

"Rick you did what any other man would do in that situation. You did what you had to do...and you didn't scare me. I have never seen that side of you, sure, but I know you would never do anything to hurt me. I'm sure daddy would say the same thing."

Talking about Hershel brought tears to her eyes. The whole time she was on the road with Daryl she had never taken the time to process what had happened at the prison. She hadn't grieved yet but in the stillness of the morning the feelings she had tried to keep at bay seemed to crash all at once. Burying her face in Rick's chest she let herself cry. When she felt his hands run up and down her back she looked back up at him. "Sorry..."

"Don't apologize," He told her leaning up to kiss her forehead. "Let it out, he was your father, I understand."

Wiping her eyes she laid her head back down. "Where are we gonna go now? We still have to find Maggie and Glenn, I mean we have to find everyone from the prison."

"I'm sure they got out, its just a matter of figuring out where they went when they left. When Morgan and Daryl wake up we'll look over the map and go for supplies."

"How did you find me?"

"Honestly it was luck and intuition." He chuckled. "We found a camp in the woods and then..." Digging around in his pocket he pulled out her necklace. "I found this on a tree. I knew you were alive and I knew I had to find you."

Smiling from ear to ear she took it from him. "I didn't know if you were close...I just had to take the chance and hope you were out there somewhere looking for me."

"I was hoping the same thing."

Beth grinned, raising up from her spot she leaned up to kiss him on the lips. Gently Rick deepened the kiss, not to try to take things to the next level, he just needed to have this moment with her. Hearing Morgan groan from the recliner beside them instantly broke them apart. "Man...what time is it?" Morgan yawned stretching his arms in the air.

"A little past dawn," Rick answered, his head falling back on his pillow.

Rising from his seat Morgan took a look around. "You two look cozy."

Beth could feel herself blush while Rick just shook his head. Untangling herself from him Beth got out of their bed. "I'm gonna see what we have for breakfast."

As she walked away she saw Morgan stand close to Rick. When she was out of earshot Morgan started talking. "I wasn't gonna say anythin' last night but you two...are you?"

"Yeah," Rick said without hesitation.

Rick's answer didn't surprise him but honestly he didn't see Rick Grimes, the former Sheriff deputy who had been so determined to find his wife to move on with such a young girl. He wasn't going to judge though, it wasn't his place and he knew all too well people had to find some kind of happiness in this world. Placing his hand on his friend's shoulder he smiled. "You have a good one, I can tell."

"She is." Rick replied glancing towards Beth in the kitchen.

By the time Carl and Daryl woke up Beth came back with bowls of oatmeal. "We were in luck, an unopened box was in the cabinet." She explained.

When she sat down next to Rick she could feel Carl's eyes on her. Ever since they were reunited she hadn't talked to him once and it was going to be awkward when they go on the road. She knew she was going to have to talk to him eventually, she just didn't know what to say or when would be the right time.

After eating in silence Rick and Daryl volunteered to go look for supplies leaving everyone else behind in the apartment. Before he left Beth made sure to have a moment with Rick. "Be careful," She told him as she hugged him tight.

"We won't be gone long." He promised giving her a quick kiss.

When they were gone Morgan said he was going to stay on the fire escape to watch for them leaving Beth and Carl alone in the apartment. Carl sat on one side of the living room cleaning his gun while Beth cleaned up the breakfast dishes. Once everything was picked up she figured now was a good a time as any. Sitting down across from him Beth sighed. "Carl," She sat in silence for a few minutes before Carl looked up. "I'm...I'm glad you're ok."

Beth almost wanted to slap herself on the forehead. 'That's all you can come up with? Great job, Beth, now he'll come around.'

Putting his gun down Carl looked right at her. "Yeah...you too."

His words surprised her but she wasn't about to let this moment end right then. "I'm sorry," She muttered, playing with her bracelet. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner."

"Lets just forget it. We have bigger things to worry about." He said standing up. "You make him happy."

With that he walked away to join Morgan leaving Beth all alone. She sat in the same spot for what felt like hours before she moved. On the bright side Carl didn't hate her but now the reality of their situation was hitting her. They had to find the rest of their group and they had no idea where to start. She had Rick back but her sister was still out there, the only family she had left could be anywhere out there. Then a terrifying thought came to her. What if she never saw Maggie again? She knew there was a chance of that but she refused to accept it.

After packing her bag Beth joined the others out on the fire escape to wait for Rick and Daryl. She didn't know much about Morgan, other than he was the one that helped Rick when he first woke up in the hospital, but she knew enough to know Rick trusted him enough to stay with her and Carl. "Do we have any idea where we should go?" She asked the older man.

He seemed surprised when she started speaking to him. "I'm not sure yet, I think we're gonna talk about it when Rick gets back."

"What if we just stay here?" Carl questioned.

"Don't you want to find your people?"

"Yeah, of course, but...its safe here right? And the town is big enough for supplies so everything we need is here. Maybe we should just stay."

Morgan sighed, leaning against the rail he glanced at the boy. "We'll talk about it when your dad gets back."

Beth knew Carl had a point, Macon proved to be safe for the most part she just didn't like the idea of staying and not looking for her sister. They were going to have to discuss the pro's and con's and when it comes down to it they were going to have to do what was safest for their group.

After picking through a few stores Rick and Daryl had filled up a few bags of stuff they could use out on the road. As they entered what looked to be the remains of a small boutique he found a few items he knew Beth would appreciate. As he was stuffing a few shirts into a bag he heard Daryl chuckle. "She's got you whipped, huh?"

Laughing softly Rick glanced at him. "You would do the same for Carol." He teased.

Hearing Daryl scoff and walk away Rick continued what he was doing. Once he was finished he went off to find Daryl. As he walked through the store he saw the baby department making him frown. Blinking back tears he left the store finding Daryl leaning against the building. "You ready?"

"Yeah, lets head back, we'll need more hands if we get anything else." He told his friend.

They ran across a few walkers on their way back to the apartment but luckily they weren't in a big group. As they got closer Rick saw the others standing at the top of the fire escape. Dropped their bags on the group Daryl pulled the ladder down. "All right now how the hell are we gonna get the stuff up there?"

After several trips and many curses exchanged they managed to get all the bags up the ladder. Taking a seat on the floor Rick pulled out a few items while the others went through the other bags. Beth smiled to herself seeing a few articles of women's clothing in one of the bags. She knew Rick picked them out and she couldn't help but feel herself blush knowing he was thinking about her while they were out. When everything was sorted out in front of them Carl decided to speak up first. "Dad...why don't we just stay here?"

Turning to his son Rick sighed. "Well I...do you want to?"

Carl shrugged. "Its safe and isn't that what we need? Its getting colder and maybe we should just stay. For the winter at least."

Glancing at everyone Rick asked. "What do y'all think?"

Putting his crossbow down Daryl said. "Kid's got a point. Its not a good idea for us to be out there at night here soon. We'll freeze to death."

"I think its the best bet for right now." Morgan agreed.

Sighing Rick nodded his head. "Then I guess that's what we're gonna do. For right now we'll stay. We're gonna have to make a list of things we're gonna need here in the next few weeks. Daryl why don't you take watch while we put everything away?"

Daryl nodded stepping out onto the fire escape letting them figure out where to put their supplies. "Hey Carl," Rick called to his son reaching into one of the leftover bags. "Found these for you."

When Carl saw the comic books his eyes instantly lit up. "Thanks." He grinned.

"You can go read them, Beth and I will finish up here."

Seeing how happy Carl was made Beth smile. "I haven't seen him that giddy in a long time." She whispered stepping closer to Rick.

"Yeah, I'm glad to see it again, that's for sure." He sighed. "How are you feeling? Are you ok with staying here? I know I didn't talk to you beforehand..."

"Its ok, I know its best for right now." She tried to hide her sadness but he saw it anyway.

Placing his hand on her shoulder he urged her to look up at him. "Hey, its only for a little while, ok? And you never know maybe she'll pass through here someday."

"I hope so." She muttered.

As the day passed Beth helped prepare dinner for their little group in silence. A part of her felt guilty for not pushing to go out and find Maggie but then again with winter approaching walkers wouldn't be the only dangerous thing they would encounter. Sleeping outside in the dead of winter wasn't ideal for anyone. She knew their little group couldn't handle it. Eventually they would have decided to settle in one spot, maybe it was a good thing they already found spot safe enough.

Pushing away negative thoughts she tried her best to appear ok with their decision to stay. She knew it was the best thing to do for the entire group. When the supper dishes were clean and put away she found herself sitting out on the fire escape. The sun had already set and the stars were out shining brighter than she had seen them in a long time. Wrapping her sweater tighter around her she looked up at them, it reminded her of that night in the guard tower with Rick. Even though it ended too soon for her liking, and what happened afterwards wasn't how she pictured, she would still remember it as the night they kissed for the first time. "What are you doing out here?" She heard Rick's voice from the window.

"Just thinking." She answered feeling him step up behind her, her back pressed up against his chest.

"About what?" He asked wrapping his arms around her.

"About Maggie...about us...everything I guess." She murmured resting her hands on top of his.

Kissing the back of her head he said. "I wish I could promise you everything would be ok, I really do, but nowadays everything is so unpredictable."

"I know, but I wouldn't want you to make promises you can't keep. I much rather you be honest than tell me what I want to hear."

"I will tell you this." He told her, turning her around so he could look into her eyes. "I will do my best to take care of you. I will do my best to remind you each day I love you and that I'm here for you. I know we've lost a lot but I'm right here and I won't let you go that easily."

Feeling tears brim her eyes she stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him. It was the first time she heard him talk to her like that, his voice full of emotion and she knew he meant every word. Breaking the kiss she leaned her forehead on his. "I love you too, and I'm not going anywhere." She promised hugging him tight.

Even though the future was not certain and they knew they were going to have to fight to keep their happiness, Beth knew she could do it because she had the man she loved beside her. The man that made her feel safe, that helped her forget her hardships for just a few hours. It might be hard in the next few months but on that fire escape that was enough for both of them.

So that's it for this story. I really am so happy with all the support and love I've gotten for this story. I'm already planning a new one, not a sequel for this particular story but a completely new one with a Rick/Beth pairing so keep a look out for that one. Thank you so much for all the reviews and I hope you like the new one as well :)