Red River Blue

Chapter 13

Rick tied his horse off near the water trough, nodding gratefully to Maggie. She assured him she would walk the animal out to the pasture to graze once it was done drinking. Then she pointed Rick in the direction of the infirmary, wondering why the man was worked up into such a panic over River's daughter. Harley wasn't hurt. She was just dehydrated and exhausted. Her own parents didn't seem overly concerned. So Maggie wasn't sure why Rick was so upset. And she didn't have time to ask him about it either, the way he was moving. Maggie shrugged it off for now, calling Axel and Hershel over to help her with Rick's horse.

Rick wanted to just run full force all the way to Hilltop's infirmary. But even if he wasn't exhausted from the ride, the sight of someone running for their lives was sure to stir up panic. So he forced himself to walk. He walked quickly. But he walked. It felt like he was walking forever by the time he pushed the door of the medical trailer open and stepped inside.

"Is someone hurt?," Dr. Carson asked. Rick shook his head.

"Where's Harley?," he asked. The doctor pointed him towards the room he set up for the girl, smiling a little to himself. For a person that had been sleeping soundly since about ten minutes after she arrived, Harley had quite the colorful array of visitors. He had to kick a few of them out, they were being so noisy. And now Rick was here. The man earned quite the reputation for himself during the war with the saviors. Dr. Carson hadn't seen him in several years. But he still recognized him. Rick was the man that took down Negan by forming an alliance between all the other communities. An alliance that was still in effect all these years later.

Rick paused in the doorway, raking his hand through his hair. Harley was curled up on her side, covered in a yellow crochet blanket. An IV stand was next to her bedside, the long plastic tubing snaking down from it to the spot where it was taped to her arm. Rick checked the bag of fluid, feeling a rush of relief when he saw that all she was getting were fluids. Harley looked so small and helpless lying there. Much younger and more delicate than she actually was. Rick sat down on the edge of the bed and took her hand in his, rubbing his fingers over her calloused palm. He brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. Then he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Rick glanced behind him towards the infirmary, wondering what the doctor would think of him if he got into bed and lay down with Harley while she slept. If they were in Alexandria, no one would care. On the contrary, it would be encouraged. But their head doctor was actually a psychologist before the turn. And she believed that physical touch from loved ones sped up the healing process. It had something to do with certain hormones or chemicals being released in the brain. Rick wasn't sure about the particulars. He took one more glance over his shoulder before he decided that he didn't care what Dr. Carson thought. It's not like he was going to strip Harley naked or violate her in any way. Rick just wanted to hold her. There was nothing wrong with that. He eased himself onto the bed, gently lifting Harley's head until he was lying back with his head on the pillow and her head was resting on his chest.

Rick rubbed his hand over her back in slow circles. Like he feared, the doctor did eventually appear in the doorway of the small room to check on them. But he didn't seem shocked by what was happening. He simply checked on Harley's IV drip and shut the curtain behind him on his way out. Rick wasn't sure how long he was lying there holding her, but it was long enough that he dozed off. When he woke up, River was there, gently shaking him awake.

"Hey sleepin' beauty," she teased, "...Maggie wrapped up some dinner for ya. And the doctor said we should wake Harley up and get her to eat somethin'." Rick nodded, scrubbing his face with his hand. He shifted his body carefully, not wanting to jostle Harley around more than necessary. Using his palms, he pushed himself up so that he was leaning back against the headboard and Harley's head was resting in his lap instead of against his chest. River rubbed her hand over her daughter's back. Then she gripped Harley's shoulder and gently shook her.
"Wake up sweetie," River said, "...time for dinner." Harley groaned and grumbled. But after a little more encouragement from her mother, she eventually blinked her eyes open. She looked up, surprised to see Rick was present. And not only present, he was in bed with her, probably doing some of Denise's weird touch healing bullcrap. Harley hated that woman's bullcrap.

"Ugh," Harley groaned. "Where am I? Where's Monroe?"

"Monroe's safe. She's home with Wren. Yer at Hilltop," River explained. "Tyreese found ya up in a tree. Yer dad and Glenn went out lookin' fer Eugene."

Rick felt the change in Harley's body posture immediately. At the mention of Eugene, her body went completely stiff. Harley bolted upright and started pulling at her IV, trying to get the tape off so she could rip the needle from her arm.

"Hey! Just slow down there," Rick said, grabbing Harley's hand and holding it away from her IV line. She thrashed against his hold. But he was bigger than her. And she was still not in top fighting shape after staying up for a day and a half with nothing to drink for most of that time.

"Lemme go," she demanded. "My dad's out there! You don't understand! That herd, they're not normal walkers." River leaned in, quickly removing the IV from her daughter's arm before Harley could hurt herself trying to rip it out.

"What do ya mean?," River asked. She felt a pang of worry in her gut. Not only was her husband out there. Her niece and nephew were also in potential danger.

"We heard them talking, whispering to each other," Harley said.

"Walkers can't talk," Rick argued, Harley yanked her hand from his grip. He quickly slid out of the bed and took a step back. Before she had the chance to ball her hand up into a fist and aim it at him.

"I know they can't talk," Harley spit back, "I'm not a fuckin' tard Rick!" Rick let out a heavy sigh and gestured for her to continue. "There's people in with the walkers. Camouflaged to look like 'em. They're controlling the herd. They were using the walkers to chase us down."

"How many of them did you see?," Rick asked.

"It was hard to pick them out of the herd. If I had to guess, at least two dozen. But they were probably part of a larger group." Rick started cursing under his breath. Harley was already tossing the blankets off, looking ready to join the search party.

"Oh no!," River said, pushing Harley back down onto the bed. She turned to Rick. "That goes fer you too! I'm gonna go tell Daryl what's goin' on. Yer both about to sit right fuckin' here and eat dinner. Before ya both pass out." Rick glanced at Harley. Then he plopped down in a chair next to her bed, hoping that if he was willing to listen to River and eat dinner before he went charging off, that Harley might do the same. Harley mumbled a few choice words under her breath before she leaned back against the headboard and glared at her mother. River handed them each a plate before she hurried from the room to go alert everyone to the new threat. Harley pulled the lid off her plate and started eating, grabbing for the large hunk of bread first. While she stuffed her face she narrowed her eyes at Rick, giving him her signature scowl.

"Just 'cause we're eatin' dinner together twice in a row, that doesn't mean I like you," she announced. Rick chuckled as he forked another bite of potatoes into his mouth. Then he said what he decided was the only acceptable response to Harley's constant prickly behavior.

"Harley, I love you," Rick told her, trying not to laugh when she wrinkled her nose up at him. She sighed before she responded to him.

"I guess yer alright sometimes."