Standard Disclaimer: I don't own TOWL, TWD, or any of the characters referenced here.
Day 41
"Junior, can you do me a favor and go inside? I'll be in in a minute."
He watched as his son retreated into the house, the love and wonder nearly choking him.
He was their son.
Rubbing the back of his hand across his forehead, he returned his attention back to the dirt beneath him and continued patting the soil around newly planted shoots.
"Back so soon?" Rick asked his visitor, skipping the pleasantries and getting straight to the heart of the matter.
With the sun beating down on his back and the warm earth grounding him, he felt a bit steadier. That was always the case when he was outside. His return to Farmer Rick had been swift and welcome. It gave him a sense of peace and was the necessary counterbalance to all the stress and battles that had defined the last ten years. Most importantly it was something he could share with R.J., as he had with Carl before him.
"Things break," Hershel once told him, "but they still grow."
"I realized," Ezekiel began, breaking into his thoughts, "that there's something I didn't say when Aaron and I came by yesterday. Something that I should have."
Rick kept his eyes on the task at hand, letting the silence speak for him.
"Your leadership and your message helped keep us alive long enough to experience this..."
"But..." Rick prompted when he trailed off, finally looking up.
Ezekiel smiled. "Not 'but'—and. Your leadership and your message helped keep us alive long enough to experience this and there's still so much more you can do, if you wanted to. All I ask is that you take a moment to really consider it."
Rick took his time getting to his feet and brushed his hand on his jeans before looking past Ezekiel to the community behind him.
They had fought for this. From the farm to the prison to the space they stood in now, every single step had required a fight.
"I'm not ready," Rick said finally, looking at his friend. "I don't know if I'll ever be."
Ezekiel smiled again, his face bright as he patted Rick on the shoulder.
"Yesterday you weren't interested, today you're not ready. That's progress."
Rick found himself smiling despite himself. The man was as optimistic as ever.
"I'll see myself out," Ezekiel said. "And I'll see you next month."
Rick shook his head and crouched back down, picking up the trowel to continue tending his garden.
"These little bristles, they'll take root and we'll have a whole new plant."