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The World We Live In

Coming Together

"Me and you, we do what we gotta do
We only want to have a good life
It's tough, we don't see each other enough
And sometime the going gets rough
Still we keep pushing on through"
— Styx



Rick continued to sit there in the dark of his and Georgie’s room for a few moments, staring up at Michonne as he tried to comprehend what she had just told him while his mind was still waking up. When the weight of her words finally hit him, his sleepy blue eyes widened and his heart nearly leapt as quickly out of his chest as he did to his feet. Never in his entire life could he remember getting out of bed and throwing on a shirt so fast. He nearly stumbled and Michonne chuckled a little as he regained his footing.

“How long?” he asked. “How long’s he been up?”

“About ten minutes.”

“Is he—is he alert? Does he remember…?”

Michonne shrugged. “I dunno. Tara just showed up a couple of minutes ago and woke me up to come get you.”

As he shoved a foot into one of his boots, Rick looked up at Michonne through his eyebrows. “Why didn’t she just come get me herself?”

“Well, you took a swing at me when I just woke you up. That’s at least one reservation she might’ve had.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that.”

“You missed anyway.”

Holding her eye contact, Rick merely smirked. “It was a just a reflex. Not like I was actually aiming.”

“Oh, so if you were aiming you think you could’ve taken me down?”

Standing up, Rick shook his head. “I don’t hit women.” Cocking his head to the side slightly, he added, “Unless they’re already dead or trying to kill me or my family.”

Michonne simply smirked back at him. As she stepped back to let him walk out of the bedroom first before following after him down the hallway and down the stairwell. Neither of them bothered with jackets of any kind, despite the slight chill in the night air. They were both anxious to get to the infirmary and see Carl. Tara was waiting in the living room and smiled at Rick as he approached.

“Thanks for coming to get me,” Rick nodded at her.

“Georgie was there with Carl when he woke. She ran upstairs to get Denise and Georgie wasn’t looking like she was about to leave Carl’s side anytime soon, so I figured it was dispensable.”

“I thought you were heading home after we talked earlier tonight?” Rick questioned as the three of them headed outside.

“I, uh…I kinda moved in with Denise.”

Rick raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you two were together.”

“It happened recently.”

Smiling, Rick placed a hand on the young brunette’s shoulder. “As long as you’re happy.”

Tara smiled back up at him as they headed up the road together. “I am,” she replied with her hands shoved into the pockets of her hoodie.

Barely two minutes later, the three of them were walking into the infirmary and Rick wasted no time darting into the recovery room on the left where he was instantly greeted by the sight of his son sitting up in bed as Denise hovered over him, checking his vitals. Georgie was still in the bedside chair, holding onto Carl’s right hand and the boy didn’t seem as if he planned on letting go anytime soon. It was obvious he found comfort in her being there and that meant so much to Rick, as he was sure it meant a lot to Georgie, given recent events.

“Dad,” Carl greeted; his voice a bit raspy from being comatose and not having spoken in two days. Ironically, ‘dad’ was the last thing the teen had said to him before he fell over on the street. It was almost poetic that it was the first thing he said to his father upon waking up. Like bookends.

“Carl.” Rick’s heart swelled and happy tears began to burn at his tired eyes as he moved to sit down on the left side of his son’s bed, facing him. “How’re you feeling?”

“Like I have the worst headache ever,” he answered. His speech was a bit slow and his reaction time was delayed as he turned to look up at his father. “Denise told me what happened…to me. I forgot.”

“Do you remember anything from that night?” Rick asked, taking his son’s left hand in his.

Carl nodded slowly. “I don’t remember getting shot. I don’t think I felt it, but I knew something happened. I couldn’t see right. And then I think that’s when I passed out. That’s all I remember until now. I woke up and Georgie was here with me.”

As the teen turned his attention to the redhead at his right, he smiled a little and she smiled back.

“Nowhere else I’d rather be,” she insisted, giving his right hand a gentle squeeze.

“I’m…sorry,” he muttered.

Rick knitted his brow together. “What for?”

“That afternoon when the tower knocked the wall down, but before that; Tristan came with me…to visit Mikey again, but he gave me the slip. I—I didn’t realize he’d left. I don’t know how…but I think…I think that’s when he snuck off and found a gun. I didn’t know he had it back at the other house. I didn’t see it on him then…I’m sorry…”

Georgie shook her head adamantly. “That is not your fault. It was not your responsibility. I’m his mother. He was my responsibility and I failed him…and you…” Her chin quivered as she lifted one of her hands up to brush some hair off his face. “I’m sorry he did this to you.”

“He shot you, too.”

Georgie shrugged as she brought her gaze briefly toward Rick, and then back to Carl. “And you saved my life by grabbing at him. I could be dead, but I’m not. I would’ve gladly died, though, if it meant you not having to get shot.”

“No, we need you,” Carl remarked, causing Georgie to bite her lips to hold back the sob rising in her throat. “I’ll live.”

“Yeah, you will,” Rick insisted with a nod and then leaned forward to kiss his son’s forehead. “I’ve been worried sick for days. You have no idea how happy I am to see you awake…and talking.”

“Well, he shouldn’t stay up much longer,” Denise finally piped up, having stepped aside to let the boy converse a bit with his father and Georgie. “He still has a lot of healing to do and sleeping as much as possible will help. The fact that he woke up already is a good sign though. The damage is mostly superficial.”

Rick snapped his head around and scowled. “How can say losing his eye is superficial?”

Denise clammed up almost immediately. “I mean that—”

“The bullet didn’t go through his head and damage his brain,” Michonne commented from the back of the room. She walked up and stood at the foot of the bed with her arms folded across her chest. “It struck the side of his head and shattered the eye, but he can still see and he will get stronger. He’ll be able to function normally in no time at all.” With a small smile, she reached down and gave the boy’s foot a squeeze over the blanket covering it.

Carl smirked back at her and then yawned. “I’ll be fine, dad. I’m just…tired.”

Lifting his hand from Carl’s, Rick patted his son on the shoulder. “It’s okay. Just get some rest. Sleep as long as you want. If you want, I’ll bring you some of your comic books to read, when you’re ready to.”

Carl nodded and smiled. “I should get shot more often if it means lying in bed all day, reading comics,” he tried to joke, but it didn’t go over well. The teen’s smile faded and he shrugged. “I guess I can use this downtime to work on my jokes, too.”

“You just focus on your recovery,” Georgie remarked. “You can focus on your career as a standup comedian once Denise’s given you a clean bill of health.”

With a nod and a slight smirk, Carl looked between her and his father and then shifted so lay back against his pillow. Standing up, Georgie leaned forward and placed a kiss on the top of his head and then took her leave of the room while Rick still remained. With one more squeeze to his foot, Michonne then left as well; joining Georgie out in the infirmary where Tara was also. It also allowed Rick to talk to his son a bit longer and also with Denise about what would be happening next in regard to Carl’s recovery and rehabilitation.

Folding her arms across her chest, Georgie exhaled a deep breath through her nostrils and glanced up at the other woman. “A part of me was worried he might not wake up,” she admitted. “It’s like such a huge weight off my shoulders now; that fear. I couldn’t lose him, too.”

As tears stung her eyes and then dripped down her face without warning, Georgie looked over at the kitchen island, wanting to avoid anyone seeing her cry. Understanding her plight, Michonne stepped forward and hugged Georgie.

“We don’t have to worry about that now,” Michonne muttered.

When Georgie felt something wet on her shoulder, she realized Michonne was crying, too. Pulling back, she held the other woman at arm’s length and both just looked ruefully at each other. Neither felt the need to say anything more on the subject since both had experienced the same losses and felt the same attachment for the boy in the other room. They’d lost their own children, same as Carol, and had Rick’s to love instead. Although, Georgie’s latest lost had only just occurred to nights prior and it was still too painful to get past just yet.

Wiping the tears from her face, Georgie glanced briefly at Tara and then back at Michonne. “When they’re done in there, I’ll go back in and continue to sit with Carl,” she remarked.

Michonne shook her head. “You look exhausted. You’re still healing from your wound and I know you overworked yourself during the day and it’s already the middle of the night. The sun will be up in a couple hours and you still haven’t been to sleep,” she spoke, placing her hands on her hips. “Go home. Go to sleep, and sleep in.”

Georgie was about to say something, to insist against what Michonne was telling her, but she couldn’t deny how absolutely tired she was. It had been an absolute struggle to keep her eyes open just before Carl had woken up, and then Carl waking up had given her a boost of adrenaline. She couldn’t fight exhaustion any longer.

“Alright,” Georgie nodded, though she was still hesitant to leave, wondering who would sit with Carl.

Sensing the ginger’s plight, Michonne smirked. “I’ll sit with Carl so Denise can go back and get some sleep before she starts her day. We need our only doctor as rested as possible if she’s gonna be able to provide our boy with the best possible medical attention.”

Georgie nodded again. “Okay. Thanks. I’m sure Rick will appreciate someone staying with his son.”

Giving Georgie a meaningful look, Michonne patted her on the arm. “Go home,” she repeated with a smile.

“Yes, ma’am,” Georgie mock saluted.

With a nod goodbye to Tara, Georgie exited the infirmary and made her way home.



After Carl had fallen back asleep, Rick and Denise had further discussed the boy’s condition and what lay ahead for him. She went over the course of action she planned on taking to help rehabilitate the boy as he healed, starting with minor sight exercises to strengthen his left eye. She also wanted him to stay at the infirmary for at least two weeks so she could watch him more closely.

Despite Michonne offering to sit with Carl, Rick had decided to do stay at his son’s beside instead; telling Michonne she could go home, but that he appreciated the offer regardless.

Barely an hour after sunup, Denise reappeared after getting a bit more sleep, although not much. She commented about taking a nap sometime during the afternoon if Carl wasn’t in immediate need of her. She knew someone would be on hand to sit with the teen to get Denise in case anything happened. Rick took his leave then, tired due to not sleeping much that night, and walked home as he saw several Alexandrians already beginning to leave their homes to start their day and continue with further cleanup, or with the wall issue.

Once home, he found Carol up as well; holding Judith on her hip as she prepared breakfast for the infant. Rick briefly caught the woman up to speed on Carl, and then kissed his daughter’s head before making his way upstairs to get some more sleep.

Upon opening the bedroom door, he was pleasantly surprised to find Georgie there, lying on her side and out cold. Her snoring was light and gentle, and it was comforting for Rick to hear. Just having her back in the same bed was wonderful enough. So, as not to wake her, he quietly slipped off his boots but didn’t bother changing out of his clothes. Shutting the door to drown out any sounds from elsewhere in the house, Rick crept around to his side of the bed and gently sank down onto the mattress.

Like in the graveyard, he curled up beside her, finding comfort as he draped an arm around her waist and pulled her close against him. And, again; sensing him in her sleep, and feeling that same comfort, Georgie reached for his hand and squeezed it as she played the little spoon to his big spoon.



He wasn’t sure when it happened in the hours he was asleep but, when he woke up, Rick found Georgie still in his arms, with a hand upon his chest and her head resting on his shoulder. His was on his back with his legs sprawled out while one of hers was draped between his. As he blinked sleep away, and realized she was still there, a small smile crept onto his lips. Lifting his right hand, he brought it down to cover her which lay on his chest and he turned his face to peer at hers as best as he could without waking her.

Rick had missed this level of comfort and closeness between them, even if it had only been two three days since they’d shared a bed together like this. It made him happy, and things — as horrible as they’d been recently — seemed to be looking up.

It had taken the community becoming overrun, but everyone had come together as one group. It wasn’t just Rick’s group and the Alexandrians anymore. They were all Alexandrians now. They’d all fought for this place and they would continue to. Carl received a permanent, life-altering wound but the outlook was good and he would live and, more importantly, have a life. Judith was fine, Maggie was pregnant, and Georgie was in his arms again.

Life was going on, as it should.

Letting out a sated sigh, Rick almost immediately cursed himself for it when it seemed to stir Georgie awake and broke into his peaceful reverie.

Rather abruptly she lifted her head and looked around at her surroundings; forgetting for a moment where she was. When she brought her attention to Rick, she found him smiling a little up at her and, for a moment, she also forgot all the bad things that had happened; most importantly losing her son. Georgie smiled back, but just as she lowered her face down to his, she stopped. The memory of her son getting mauled to death by walkers and then her shooting him in the head popped immediately into her mind and she backed away; a slight hitch in her breath.

Rick could the change as it happened.

The sparkle in her bright eyes almost instantly faded. The short-lived joy in seeing him gave way to heartache and he knew why.

Reaching a hand up to console her, Rick watched how she shied away and turned from him. Tossing her legs over the edge of the bed and planting her feet firmly on the floor, Georgie gripped the mattress and pushed herself up.

“Georgie,” Rick called to her.

She didn’t respond right away. She went over to their shared dresser and pulled out some fresh clothes and then made a beeline for the door as Rick sat up in bed. “I’m gonna take a shower,” she muttered before disappearing from the room.

Rick frowned. A different sigh escaped his lips as he mimicked her movements by sitting upon the edge of the bed. Rick, however, didn’t get right up. He turned his head, glancing at the bedside clock and saw it was nearly noon. He’d get back on a better sleep schedule soon enough, but that wasn’t what bothered him at the moment. Hunching forward with his elbows resting upon his knees and with his head in his hands, all that clouded his mind was wondering about how he could help Georgie through one of the most difficult times of her life.

“Rick?”

For half a second, Rick perked up; thinking it was Georgie. But, before he even turned around, he knew it wasn’t. For one, the voice belonged to a man.

Standing up, Rick threw a look toward the door and saw Glenn leaning against the frame.

“What’s up?” Rick asked nonchalantly; walking slowly around the bed. Then, with a bit more concern, asked, “Is it Carl?”

“What—no. And, oh, I’m glad to hear he’s awake and gonna be okay. I’ll probably stop by the infirmary a bit later to see him. But, yeah…no, it’s not about Carl. It’s Aaron. He was suggesting we gather up a few of us to discuss some future supply runs. With the streets clear, and with cleanup and the wall getting fixed underway, we’re gonna need to restock plenty of our supplies that got ruined in the, uh…during everything.”

Rick nodded. “Yeah,” agreed, reaching for his boots. “We’re coming together as a community now. We need to work together and make it stronger, don’t we?”

Glenn smiled. “Yeah, we do.”

With a small smirk as he slipped on a boot, Rick looked up at the younger man through his eyebrows. “I don’t think I mentioned it yet, but congratulations.” Off Glenn’s brighter smile, Rick snickered. “So you successfully knocked up the farmer’s daughter.”

A hearty laugh slipped from between Glenn’s lips as he nodded. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

Without another word, he took his leave from Rick and Georgie’s bedroom as Rick finished putting on his boots. Then, as Rick stood there alone, he looked around and placed his hands on his narrow hips. Casting his eyes downward, he listened carefully and could hear water running from the bathroom.

Knowing Georgie would return to the bedroom to brush through her hair, he walked over to the mirror in their room and picked up the tube of lipstick she had brought with her back from Jake’s house. It was a shade he remembered her wearing the night of Deanna’s party but hadn’t worn again since. After all, there hadn’t really been occasion for any of the ladies to don makeup. Removing the cap, he twisted the tube until the lipstick rose up and he brought it to the mirror to write a brief message.

I love you.

It was simple, true, and he hoped it gave her something to smile about at least once more that day.



For three long weeks, Rick and Georgie were like ships in the night with each other. Her grief was something she was still having a difficult time with and to distract herself from it, she focused her energies on Judith or the expansion of Alexandria that the construction crew now had underway to include a proper church and two, half-finished homes, as well as space for growing crops down the line. The days were tiresome, and she worked herself hard, no matter what the task, but when she was overtired at the end of the day, she was able to fall asleep so quickly and soundly that she more often than not wound up with dreamless nights. That meant no nightmares of revisiting the last moments of her son’s life, which sometimes jogged up the memory of her daughter’s death as well.

As for Rick, he found himself so caught up in the whirlwind of strengthening Alexandria, inside and out, along with Carl’s continuing recovery, that he usually had a moment for himself. When he did, it was mostly in the evening and he was just as tired as most everyone was and liked to usually just lie on the couch and watch whatever Disney DVD was playing to keep Judith entertained before she was put up to bed for the night.

Plenty of attempts had been made by him to talk with Georgie about how she was doing, as well as eventually trying to figure out how to find their footing with each other again. It had just been a rough few weeks of everyone finding their footing in the new Alexandria Safe Zone, and Georgie was the one person he wanted to be able to talk to about it at the end of every night, but they weren’t even talking.

It’s not that they were fighting either. There was just this awkward silence stuck between them and, after a while Rick couldn’t understand why it was so difficult for them to find their way back to each other. He understood losing her son was difficult, but he didn’t understand why she was pushing him away. All he had wanted was to be there for her and he couldn’t even do that.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t spoken a word to each other in all that time. They had. But it was pointless conversations; like small talk about the weather or the community. They would briefly discuss Judith or Carl; specifically how Carl was doing great with each passing day. One sore subject seemed to be talking about Maggie’s pregnancy and Rick couldn’t wrap his head around that one at the moment. Not Maggie being pregnant, but why Georgie would visibly shut down when he brought it up. She would find something else of interest to her and excuse herself from his presence.

After a while, the others, and not just in their immediate household, but within the community, could also sense the relationship between Rick and Georgie was getting rocky. The relationship was still young, and its official start date could easily be determined as the night Rick openly kissed Georgie in full view of the others while they rode out that storm in the barn. Even though Georgie had only been part of Team Family for nine weeks and officially with Rick as his girlfriend for nearly six, she had taken up such a dominant position within the group as the lady at his side and with her history of leading two previous groups. The others knew something was off with their leader and his lady, and that it stemmed, for the most part, from her loss, and they found themselves walking on egg shells whenever talking to either Rick or Georgie and mentioning their significant other. It made for plenty of secondhand tension.

At the beginning of one particularly uneventful day, Rick and Georgie’s moods seemed to emulate the sky; dark, grey and stormy. The last time it had rained was during the night a few weeks before and now it seemed the sky was about to open up and drown anything at any given moment. And they sky wasn’t the only thing about to open up.

For Rick, the day started out with old injuries and his joints aching. He contributed it to the weather and cursed under his breath as he moved around the house and especially so when he realized there was no aspirin left in any of the medicine cabinets in the house. When Carol asked if he was already, he snapped at her without realizing he’d done it and stormed out of the house to head to the infirmary to see if Denise could spare a bottle or, at the very least, a couple pills for the time being.

On his way there, for whatever reason, he felt the urge to turn around and glanced over his shoulder to see Georgie was walking out of the house with Judith on her hip. Faltering in his pace, Rick turned back to face forward and grumbled to himself, wondering where Georgie was going with Judith when they sky could open up on them at any moment. As he neared the infirmary, he looked back again, but no longer saw his girlfriend or his daughter and frowned; wondering where they’d disappeared to.

For Georgie, her day started out rather okay, but that was until she’d consulted a calendar kept in the kitchen of the main house to know what day it was. When she saw the date, her heart began to ache and the only thing that seemed to help in the slightest was getting Judith and holding the little girl tight. She had been upstairs in her surrogate daughter’s bedroom, changing her diaper and putting her in a cute little dress when she heard Rick bark something at someone downstairs. He was already out the door when she made it down to the kitchen with Judith, where she found Carol sighing heavily.

When Georgie asked if she was alright, Carol nodded she was and then plastered on a forced smile as she came over to kiss Judith’s cheek before disappearing out of the kitchen toward the laundry room. Looking at Judith, Georgie smirked as the little girl looked back at her with a bright little smile and then walked out of the house with her on her hip. As she made her way onto the sidewalk, she noticed Rick looking back at her but she had turned her attention to Judith instead. After he turned away, she went up to the porch of their group’s second home and walked right in, as they all did between the two houses.

Inside, Rosita was hunched over at the kitchen island, stirring a spoon into a coffee mug and Abraham was just walking behind her as he slapped her ass right at the moment Georgie entered. The couple glanced up and smiled their initial greeting.

“To what do we owe this visit, Little Red?” Abraham inquired.

Despite the ache in her heart, Georgie found amusement in Abraham’s words. He’d taken to calling her Little Red recently when she began helping with the construction crew. When she had asked him why that name, he replied simply that he was also ginger and bigger than her, so he was quite obviously Big Red to her Little Red.

“I actually needed Rosita,” Georgie replied.

“I get it,” Abraham sniffed. “Girly shit. Gonna talk about your periods or something?”

“Yes, because that’s what women do,” Rosita muttered sarcastically with a roll of her eyes before grinning over at Georgie.

“I haven’t had a period in exactly five years, so, no. No period talk,” Georgie retorted, sauntering up to the island as Abraham grimaced and chose that very moment to make himself scarce.

“Why’s that?” came Eugene’s inquisitive voice as he entered the kitchen from the back hallway.

Eugene,” Rosita chastised, shaking her head. “Barriers, dude.”

“Sorry. Was just curious why a woman of your general youth and vitality wouldn’t still have a menstrual cycle to contend with every month.”

“It’s okay,” Georgie assured, eyeing Rosita and shifting Judith from one hip to the other. “I was hemorrhaging excessively after giving birth to my daughter. Doctor tried a few things to stop it before having to resort to a peripartum hysterectomy. Therefore, no more periods; which is the only good thing that came out of it.”

“So…” Rosita began, her lips parting as a thought bubble formed in her head. “Exactly five years ago that happened?”

Georgie nodded sadly, and when tears began to fall down her face, Rosita knitted her brow together and hurried around the island to throw her arms around her fellow female.

Eugene, for all the intelligence he had, was inept at understanding what was going on or what Georgie and Rosita were both alluding to.

“I’m so sorry,” Rosita muttered as Judith squirmed between both women.

“So, you can’t have any more kids?” Eugene was slowly starting to grasp. “Is that why your sad?”

Georgie shook her head, wiping her tears with one hand as Rosita stepped back. “No, I’ve come to terms with that. Although, it still sucks.”

“Then…” The wheels in Eugene’s head kept spinning. “Why are you sad? Is it Rick? I saw him walking up the street from my bedroom window a few minutes ago and he seemed to be in a right mood.”

Rosita turned and practically glared at him. “Seriously, Eugene; can you just…not?”

“I had my hysterectomy five years ago, today; the day my daughter was born,” Georgie answered, letting out a shaky sigh. “Today’s my daughter’s fifth birthday.”

“Oh,” Eugene muttered lamely. “My apologies.”

Georgie shrugged, focusing on the twenty-something Latina. “This is something I just couldn’t talk to Carol or Michonne about, because they’re in the same boat, having lost their children, too. I needed someone who doesn’t understand to talk to about it.”

Rosita nodded sympathetically and then glanced over at Eugene. “Eugene, why don’t you go take a walk or something?” It wasn’t a suggestion, and he easily understood that. He quickly made a beeline for the front door and, as soon as he disappeared outside, Rosita pulled Georgie over to the kitchen table for her to sit down. “Alright, let’s talk. I’m all ears.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not keeping you from a shift at the infirmary, am I?”

Rosita waved it off and smirked. “Denise will be okay. And Tara’s there twenty-four seven now, so I can take be as late as I want.”

As Judith leaned forward and rested her head down upon Georgie’s chest, Georgie couldn’t help but take comfort in the gesture. “I’m not…I’m not over it. I try to be. I keep trying to get past it, and I’m thankful I have Judith and Carl in my life to transfer these feelings to. I mean, I’m not using their presence in my life as a substitute for my kids. I love Rick’s kids as my own and I would die for them just the same. To me, they are my kids. Hell, Judith even calls me ‘mama’ now.”

“Aww,” Rosita smiled, reaching a hand out to brush her fingers against the blonde tufts of Judith’s hair.

“Yeah,” Georgie agreed to the sentiment. “It means a lot to hear when she says it. It makes up for not being able to have any more kids of my own flesh and blood. Something I would’ve loved to be able to have with Rick in the future.” She shrugged and looked down at the top of Judith’s head. “I feel a bit bad, though. I mean, Carol, Michonne and Maggie have been in her life longer. You, Tara and I all came together with the others on the same day pretty much. I feel like if she should be calling anyone ‘mama’ it should be one of them.”

Rosita frowned. “They’re not the ones sharing a bed with Rick. You’re more or less his common law wife now, if you think about. He’s Carl and Judith’s father, so the woman in his life would be the mother. The rest of us lucky ladies get to be aunts.” Then, after a shrug, Rosita stared off toward the front of the house and when saw Eugene pacing on the porch, clearly unsure what to do with himself today. “Maybe someday I’ll get to be a mom, too, and then you get to be an aunt.”

Georgie smirked and embraced Judith a bit tighter. “That’d be nice. Been a while since I was an aunt, too.”

“You have siblings in the old world?”

“A sister and a brother,” Georgie answered. “My sister was the only other one in the family with kids, though. A boy and a girl like me. What about you?”

“I had a brother and a nephew. They’re gone.”

“Yeah. Sucks ass, don’t it?”

Rosita nodded in agreement. “Yep.” Tapping her fingernails on the table’s surface, she bit her lips together in contemplation and then glanced over into the kitchen. “No wallowing today, okay? You and Carol are both crafty when it comes to make good, edible food out of barely anything. I’m sure you and I can whip up something close to a birthday cake in honor of your daughter. How’s that sound?”

Georgie nodded. “I’d really like that.”

Standing up, Rosita scurried over to the front door and stuck her head outside. She muttered something to Eugene who then came back inside and smiled a shy smile and then reached his hands out for Judith, much to Georgie’s confusion.

“Eugene will keep an eye on Judith here in the living room while we putter in the kitchen,” Rosita explained, and then gestured toward the couch. “Eugene: lay a blanket down or something for her to sit on. We got some plastic cups in the cupboards she can play with.”

As Eugene went about “babysitting”, Rosita and Georgie went through the supplies in the second house’s kitchen to see what they could use; settling on a box of cornbread mix, a bag of stale marshmallows and a can of sweetened condensed milk.

“This’ll be interesting,” Rosita remarked with a laugh.

Georgie simply smiled a small smile without saying anything in return. She just hoped baking a “cake” would help ease today’s new, elevated grief.



Rick had successfully acquired a new bottle of aspirin from Denise and simultaneously checked in on Carl, who was up and around, working on his depth perception skills. Despite being given the clear to come home by the end of the week by Denise, Rick’s mood kept him from being as excited as he wanted to be. Yes, of course, he was beyond elated to have his some come home. It was the best news he’d had in a while, but other things were bogging him down.

He was aware that supplies in the community were gradually thinning, and they would need to start making trips outside the walls again to scavenge. He’d have to work out who would be taking those runs, when and where. Plus there was the situation of getting crops planted, but they couldn’t really do that until the wall expansion was complete because they were currently lacking in space needed for crops. A few times the solar panel grids had shorted but luckily Eugene had the know-how to fix the problem with whatever they had within the community, but it had still been a headache because some of their food stock that required refrigeration had gone bad in the day the power had been down. A small handful of the original Alexandrians had complained about that to Rick as if he could just snap his fingers and make it better and, even though he appeased them with assuring words, it got under his skin all the same and he would’ve rather figuratively bitten their heads off.

Then there was the matter of Georgie. Her grief had been arduous on him, just as much as it had been on her. His love for her hadn’t changed, but he was just aggravated in the distance she kept him at. Because of it, he became a bit petty. Whenever he had tried talking to her, she barely responded or seemed to avoid him, so he just busied himself and kept his distance, figuring if she wanted him, then she could come to him. He understood she was having a hard time of it, but she wasn’t letting him in to help her and that pissed him off. Maybe he didn’t have a right to be pissed off like that or maybe he did. Either way, he was.

And today he just felt so beyond aggravated. Every stupid little thing that he could normally ignore or brush off was grating on his nerves and his fuse was getting shorter and shorter. Whenever he would finally go off, he wondered who the unlucky soul would be to receive the brunt of his aggression. Heaven help whoever it ended up being.

Leaving the infirmary, he had been so clouded with grumpy thoughts that he hadn’t been paying attention to what he was doing and tripped while stepping down from the porch. His reflexes were quick enough and he stopped himself from falling forward, but it didn’t stop him from barking out a few choice expletives and kicking childishly at the pavement.

Aggravated, and now flustered, Rick stalked off down the road to head back home. With the sky the way it was, the construction crew had chosen to sit the day out with working on the wall, which Rick seemed to take issue with now. In his already irritated mind, he saw it as wasted opportunity. After all, it wasn’t raining yet, and that time could’ve been spent working on expanding the wall to get Alexandria closer to being able to plant those damned crops already so they can depend less on supply runs for their own food and instead on themselves.

Spying Abraham standing in the gazebo with Sasha, while nursing what looked to be a cup of coffee, Rick practically sneered.

“Enjoying your day off?” He shouted out sarcastically.

Abraham didn’t register the anger in Rick’s voice right away and responded with a nod and a smile while holding his coffee cup up as a sort of hello. After a moment, the ginger man knitted his brow together in somewhat of a scowl and then looked away from Rick to Sasha, who seemed confused.

Rick didn’t wait for any sort of response. He kept on walking.

Once he was home, he found the downstairs living space empty. Carol wasn’t in the kitchen where he’d last seen her, he knew Michonne was on watch and, last he remembered, Georgie was upstairs with Judith. Part of him almost assumed Carl was home, upstairs in his room with comics, but then remembered he was still at the infirmary. For half a second he even forgot Tristan wasn’t home either. Part of him considered maybe the boy would be upstairs as well, but then remembered he was dead. He remembered it was his plan for all of them to make a metaphoric run for it outside the walls to reach the vehicles they’d left behind at the quarry was what contributed to Tristan’s death and Carl’s injury.

Clenching his jaw, Rick went over to the kitchen counter and grabbed a glass from a cupboard, filled it with water from the tap and then removed the aspirin bottle from his pocket. Taking out two, little while pills, he tossed them into his mouth and then knocked them down his throat with a healthy gulp of water.

Thinking on everything that had fallen apart and everything he couldn’t seem to fix, Rick clenched his jaw and, without realizing it, he was clenching the glass a bit too hard. When it shattered under his grasp, the sound jolted him out of her reverie and he cursed himself at the sight of broken glass on the counter and on the floor and the considerable cut in the palm of his hand as blood dripped from it.

“Hey, what was that?” Carol questioned, quickly darting into the kitchen.

Rick looked up at her and shook his head. “I…I broke a glass.”

“You obliterated it, by the looks of it,” she quipped with a raise of her eyebrow, looking at the mess. “What did it do?”

“Nothing,” Rick bit out. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

Carol immediately reached for a dustpan and brush kept in the hall closet and crouched down to sweep up the glass. “Is it that time of the month? Because you’re sure in a ripe mood today.”

Rick sighed and reached for a towel to press into the palm of his hand to stop the bleeding. “Sorry about that,” he muttered, remembering how he barked at her earlier. “Just having a bad day.”

“Yeah,” Carol nodded, standing up and dumping the broken glass out of the dustpan and into the garbage bin hidden in the cupboard under the sink. “No shit.” Setting the dustpan on the counter, she turned and reached for a rag, which dampened with cold water and then grabbed for Rick’s hand. When she removed the towel he was using, she replaced it with the wet rag. Watching him wince slightly, she looked up at his face and almost smirked. “It’s barely past noon. How can the day be that bad already?”

Rick shrugged. “Just a bunch of things finally coming together to rub me the wrong way, I guess.”

“Well, maybe you should take some time for yourself and rub things the right way like the rest of us.”

Immediately narrowing his gaze, Rick raised an eyebrow. “Did you mean that the way it sounded or was that unintentional?”

It was Carol’s turn to shrug. “Take it however you want it to mean,” she replied coyly. Stepping back, she walked over to the far end of the counter nearest the double doors leading onto the front porch and grabbed the small First Aid kit. Opening it up, she removed a tube of generic antibiotic ointment and a gauze bandage to help him with tending to his wound. “I get that it’s been a tough few weeks for you, but it’s been tough on all of us. It doesn’t mean you take it out on everyone. This place is finally starting to work. The people here, the ones that were here before us, are finally upping their game. They’ve seen what it takes to survive now, and they understand it. The night Tristan…” Carol sighed, removing the wet rag, plopping it down into the sink and then dabbing some of the ointment around Rick’s cut. “The night Tristan…the night he died…the people here came together with us and we fought for this place together. So, if that’s something you’re still worrying about, you can stop.”

“I’m not worried about that,” Rick insisted, watching Carol’s face; especially when she brought up Tristan and seeing the heartbreak that momentarily flashed upon it. “I’m worried about the expansion, and the gradually depleting food supply in this community. I’m worried about Carl, and how he’ll mentally adapt to his new condition and not just how he’s physically adapting. I’m worried about Maggie, that I hope her pregnancy ends better than it did for Lori, and…”

When Rick let his thought process stall, it wasn’t because he forgot what he wanted to say; he merely hated feeling that pang of longing deep in his chest when he thought about it.

“Georgie?” Carol muttered, saying the word for him.

Rick nodded, casting his eyes down at his hand she was now bandaging up. “Yeah,” he admitted. “She won’t talk to me. It’s like pulling teeth when I try to talk to her. I know she’s having a rough go of it, and I just want her to be able to talk to me about it. I mean, when she thought she’d lost Tristan before, back in Greensboro, she was able to accept it and move forward for the sake of the group after a few days. Now…”

Carol frowned. “Greensboro was an entirely different situation from what happened here, Rick,” she remarked, almost chastising. “In Greensboro, all there’d been was decayed body of a boy who might’ve been her son. She never saw that death and there was no positive way to determine that really had been her son aside from the fact that boy also had blonde hair, wore the same Cub Scout uniform and Tristan’s drawing was in the house. We know now, whoever those boys we found were, they were simply friends of Tristan and one happened to also have blonde hair. Georgie was able to move on because there still that sliver of a chance her son wasn’t the dead blonde kid in that room. There was a chance he was still alive and that kept her going, even though the likelihood of Tristan being dead outweighed the likelihood of him being alive.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Rick agreed, pulling his bandaged hand back from Carol.

“Not to mention, we were all on the road then. Living hand to mouth with walkers literally at our backs. Georgie couldn’t afford to focus on her loss anymore when she was helping to keep your kids alive as well as fighting for her own,” Carol continued, leaning her hip against the counter as she folded her arms across her chest. “Losing Tristan that night the wall came down was different. She saw him getting attacked right in front of her and she made the tough decision to kill him to spare him further pain and prevent him from coming back. She killed her own child, Rick. She’s had to put a bullet in both her children’s head. Honestly, I think she’s doing pretty damn well, all things considered. She went right to work helping the construction crew and taking care of Judith and sitting with Carl, and I know why, because I do the same.”

“And what’s that?”

“She’s gotta keep moving. She’s gotta keep herself active and distracted, because if she stops for one minute, and she’s left alone with her thoughts for too long, she’ll only be able to focus on her grief and it’ll eat her up. By doing what she’s doing, by not talking about it with you, while maybe not ideal, she’s moving on the best way she can right now.” Carol shrugged. “There’s no timetable for grief. She’ll might get better soon enough and then have days where she’s inconsolable. Just…if you love her, just be there for her.”

“Of course I love her,” Rick barked, again not meaning to do it. His features immediately and apologetically softened.

“Then just tell her you love her. Remind her randomly, do little things to show you’re there for her and you’re not going anywhere.” Pushing away from the counter, Carol dropped her hands to her sides. “Just don’t rush her to get past this.”

Sighing, Rick shook his head. “It’s not her grief I’m upset with, or how long it’s taking her. You saw me when I lost Lori, and how long it took me to get to a better place. Hershel had to take me aside and tell me I couldn’t just check out. I had people who cared about me. I had children who needed me. I had a group to protect. I couldn’t afford to only wallow in my grief and distract myself with other things when we had pressing issues to attend to.”

“And what pressing issues does Georgie need to tend to that aren’t already being taken care of?”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Rick commented gruffly, pressing his fingers to his chest. “That’s what I did and what I couldn’t do. I know Georgie’s grief isn’t gonna be something she’s just gonna get over at any moment; I just don’t think the distractions are helping her. They won’t help her move on. They won’t help her accept Tristan’s gone because she’s in the denial stage. Avoiding thinking about his death, not talking about it, doing anything else to keep herself constantly on the go isn’t doing her any favors.”

“What do you want her to do then?” Carol was genuinely curious.

“I don’t want her to hold it all in. I watch her every day; the way she goes, and goes and goes. She keeps herself busy as a bee and when she gets home at night she passes right out and then starts all over again the next day. Rinse and repeat. It’s not healthy. I know you’ve seen it, too.”

Carol nodded. “I have.”

“She doesn’t smile anymore, Carol. Not even when she’s holding Judith. Or, if she does, it’s faint; just enough to pass as doing fine when she’s actually not. She holding it all in and it’s eating at her and she won’t talk to me. When I try to ask her how she’s doing any particular day, she either ignores me or walks away. I feel like I’m being punished, like she blames me for Tristan being dead and I don’t know what else to fucking do.”

Carol looked Rick in the eye, but his gaze was quick to avert. His jaw was clenched, his lips pressed firmly together and his breathing was heavy as it expelled from his flaring nostrils. He was angry; not at himself or Georgie, but just with the situation they’d found themselves stuck in.

His eyes looked tired, and a little sad.

After a moment, Carol furrowed her brow when she saw Rick’s eyes were starting to water and that his chin was quivering. In that moment, he looked like a hurt, little boy and all she could do was offer a sympathetic smile as she lifted her hands to rest upon the sides of his scruffy face.

“Oh, sunshine.”

“I just want her to talk to me,” he whispered.

Before Carol could respond, the sound of footsteps coming up the front steps caught both their attention, followed by the sound of Judith babbling incoherently along with a random ‘mama’ thrown in here and there.

Turning away from each other, Rick brought his non-wounded hand up to his face and wiped his eyes before the tears could fall and Carol stepped forward toward the door just as Georgie walked into the house with Judith on one hip and a pan with some sort of cake in her free hand.

“Hey there, whatcha got?” Carol asked, craning to see what food Georgie had come home with.

Georgie looked somewhat surprised to see both Rick and Carol standing there. For whatever reason she thought Rick was still out and about after leaving the house earlier that morning. Shifting Judith around, she kicked the door closed with the heel of her boot and then moved forward to set the pan down on the kitchen island.

“It’s a cake,” she replied simply.

“What kind of cake?”

“It’s just cornbread. It’s all Rosita could find next door. The frosting is sweetened condensed milk and melted marshmallows.”

Carol touched a finger down upon one corner of the frosting and then brought a tiny dollop to her lips to taste. “Not bad.”

“What’s the occasion?” Rick asked.

Georgie brought her focus up to him and held his gaze for a second before looking toward the cake. “Do I need an occasion to make a cake?”

Rick frowned. “It’s just a question, Georgie. I’m just curious is all.”

Somehow sensing the tension building, Carol stepped around to reach for Judith. “Let’s see if this one needs a diaper change, shall we?” Successfully scooping the little girl into her arms, Carol was quick to depart from the kitchen and head upstairs.

Rick moved his weight from one leg to the other as he maintained his gaze on Georgie even though she was still looking toward the cake. “Should I guess, if you don’t wanna tell me? Denise said Carl can come home by the end of the week. Though, she only just told me that about an hour ago, so I doubt this is a ‘welcome home’ cake for him.”

Biting her lips together, Georgie placed her hands on her hips and looked up at him. “It’s a birthday cake,” she revealed.

“Is it someone’s birthday? You were with Rosita, but I saw Abraham at the gazebo with Sasha. Is it Abraham’s birthday? Did you bring the cake here so he wouldn’t find it next door until later?”

“It’s my daughter’s birthday, Rick,” she admitted. “Avery would be five today.”

Before she could say anything else on the matter, or before Rick could respond, Georgie was crying. Rick instantly felt like such an asshole, but as soon as he made the move to walk around the kitchen island to console her, she threw her hands up and took off for the stairs with her unruly ginger curls flopping around behind her.

A mixture of frustration and sadness filled Rick’s chest like a helium balloon, propelling him forward as he took off after Georgie. She had already rounded the middle landing by the time he was at the bottom step.

“Georgie,” he called after her, continuing to follow her up the stairs.

The weather not hindering her movements the way they were his, she was easily able to make her way to the upper floor, through the hallway and straight into the room before he reached the top step. When he didn’t he noticed Carol discreetly looking out into the hallway as soon as he walked by Judith’s room. He didn’t focus on her, though, since he was making a beeline for Georgie.

Slipping right into their room, he took the doorknob in hand and pushed it so the door shut loudly; not slammed, but enough to give them both a jolt. In all honesty, he hadn’t intended to shut it like that. He’d simply meant to give them privacy, but apparently he didn’t know his own strength anymore.

“Georgie, you gotta stop ignoring me,” he muttered. He watched the way she stood at the window with her back to him and her arms folded across her chest. “I know you’re having a rough time since Tristan died and I know you’re doing a lot to take your mind off it, but ignoring me when I just want to talk to you isn’t the way to go about it.”

“I’m not ignoring you.”

“Not talking to me or walking away when I try is pretty much the same thing.” Taking a few steps forward, he placed his hands on her arms and stood close enough where he could brush the tip of his nose to her hair if he wanted to. “I’m sorry about what today is. I didn’t know, but then again you ain’t exactly sharing anything with me lately.” Even though his tone was gentle, she still jerked herself away from him. “Georgie…”

She turned slightly, looking over her shoulder at him. “I’m not ignoring you,” she maintained. “I’m not talking to you because I don’t want to talk to you; it’s because I don’t know what to say. I’m just…there’s just a lot of things I’m feeling and I’m processing it all as best as I can, and sometimes it’s just too much and I want to stop everything. I don’t want to talk, I wanna do.”

“Is that why you keep going nonstop from morning to night with the wall expansion or the kids?”

Georgie nodded. “Newton’s First Law of Motion: an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.” She lifted her eyes and held onto his gaze. “If I stop moving, I’ll get knocked off my feet, and thinking about Tristan, about what I did, it hurts too much. I want to put it behind me and ignore it. I wanna pretend I never found him here. I think maybe never knowing what happened to him would’ve been so much easier to stomach than actually seeing what happened.”

“But what you did was necessary,” he insisted.

“It doesn’t make it any easier, Rick. I killed my son.” She looked away, shaking her head. “He was getting the flesh ripped from his face. And there was so much blood…and his screams…oh God.” Sinking down onto the edge of the bed, Georgie leaned forward with her face in her hands. “I can still hear him screaming. I still see the blood as clear as I still see the blood gushing from Avery’s neck after my brother bit her. I can see hear her trying to cry for me, but choking on the blood as she laid there limp in my arms. I can still feel her in my arms.” As Georgie wrapped her arms around her waist, she hunched forward more and Rick sank down onto the mattress behind her. He wrapped his arms around her as well and rested his head down upon her shoulder. “I killed my babies,” she cried.

“You didn’t kill them,” Rick countered. “You stopped their suffering.”

“Same difference,” she remarked, leaning her head up. “They shouldn’t have had to suffer like that. It should’ve been me.”

“Georgie, what happened was beyond horrible, but you can’t blame yourself for it. This world is a mess, there’s no doubt about that, and there are terrible, scary things out there and it’ll always be that way.”

“Way to sugarcoat it,” Georgie muttered sarcastically.

“I’m not trying to sugarcoat it. It’s the truth, and the truth hurts. If I could change what happened I would. Maybe we should’ve stayed in the other house a little longer. Maybe I should’ve backed you when you initially suggested Tristan go with Gabriel and Judith to the church, but I didn’t. I let him come with us as much as you did. If we gotta place blame on it, I share that equally with you. We should’ve done things differently, but hindsight is 20/20 and we thought we were doing the right thing. We had no idea what Tristan was gonna do. We had no idea he had a gun and would shoot you and Carl. What happened was his fault, too, and that’s an unfortunate reality because he was so young and confused. And, as for what today is, and how your daughter died, I wish I had known you sooner so I could’ve helped you protect her.”

“Could you just…”

“Could I what?”

Georgie huffed out a breath and turned around, causing him to lean back as she looked at him. With pursed lips, she almost seemed to be scowling. “My son was messed up and he almost killed your son, even if that shot was accidental on Tristan’s part or not. Either way, Carl lost an eye. He’s half blind because of it. The right side of his head was disfigured and it’ll change a lot for him. I wish you’d be angry at me because of it. For all your talk about just wanting to talk, I’ve been watching you just as much as I know you’ve been watching me. You want to talk but you’re internalizing a lot. I know you’re angry about what happened to Carl and I want to stop pretending you’re not. Every time I sit with him or talk with him, he insists he’s okay, but then I see you coming to see him when I’m leaving, or you leaving when I’m coming, and I feel so guilty.”

“You want me to yell at you for something that you didn’t do?”

“I just want you to stop acting like I’m some delicate flower that’s gonna break if you say the wrong thing.” Georgie slumped her shoulders and stood up. “I lost my daughter, I lost my son. I’m breaking into a million pieces every time I think of them, but you tiptoeing around me is so aggravating. Every damn morning you ask me how I’m feeling, and I appreciate it. I really do. But please, for the love of God, just stop. I’m hurting, I’m sad, I’m angry, and I’m scared, but I have you and I have Carl, and Judith. My children are dead, but I have yours still. I promised you I would devote my life to protecting them and loving them as my own, and I have. I love you, Rick, but I need you to just stop avoiding conflict with me.”

“You think that’s what I’ve been doing? Avoiding you?”

“Not me. Conflict with me. You don’t want to rock the boat. I know I’ve given you the cold shoulder, and I didn’t mean that. I said I haven’t wanted to talk because I don’t know what to say, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to talk. I’ve don’t want to go through this grief alone, and because you haven’t wanted to risk a fight with me over it, because you don’t want to argue with a mother grieving the loss of her son because you think it’ll make you an asshole, you’ve busied yourself with other things to.” Georgie gestured between them with both her hands. “We’re locking ourselves into this unhealthy cycle of avoidance and mincing words. Just shout, get angry with me; yell at me if it helps. I’m scared that if we don’t hash it out, that we’re gonna pull too far apart from each other we won’t be able to find our way back to each other and I can’t lose you too.”

“So you want me to yell and shout? Throw things around and make myself look like an asshole?” Rick was a little confused. He stood up and took a step closer to her as he placed his hands on his hips. “You want me to force a conversation out of you?”

“Yes,” she blurted as if she’d just won five hundred dollars on a scratch off ticket. “I know it sounds idiotic, and maybe it doesn’t seem to make the most sense, that I’m all over the place with the point I’m trying to make but my feelings are all over the place.”

Chewing the inside of his lip, Rick looked around the room. “You want me to yell at you about how I’m feeling.”

“Jake and I went to therapy once; literally one time, just after Avery was born. I was suffering post-partum depression and he agreed we should try it to get us back on track. During that first and only session, the doctor had us yell at each other about what was bothering us. It seemed crazy for a first session, and I think maybe that’s why we never went back for a second, but I think it actually worked enough to help us refocus on ourselves and our marriage. Obviously, an apocalypse isn’t something our marriage could survive and we know how that ended.”

Lifting a hand, Rick brushed his right thumb over her left shoulder where her gunshot wound was. She’d had the stitches removed a little over a week ago and it looked to be healing well. However, she tensed when his thumb grazed the young scar so he knew it was still sore, even three and a half weeks after she’d received the wound.

Despite her insisting they should shout and yell, he didn’t know what to shout and yell about specifically. Throwing things actually felt more therapeutic. Eyeing the bookshelf next to one of the windows, Rick picked up a book, letting the weight force his hand to droop slightly. He lifted his gaze from the book up to Georgie’s face and found her looking at him curiously.

He almost wanted to smirk, but instead steeled his gaze. After all, this was supposed to be serious. Giving the book a grip, Rick turned and tossed it at the wall with a hard thud. The book flopped open, its pages creasing in all the wrong places as it fell to the ground with a secondary thud. Grabbing a second book, he repeated the process, which got the blood in the veins pumping.

“I’m angry that my son lost his eye,” he barked, grabbing a third book. “I’m furious I couldn’t prevent it.” Rick threw the book, accidentally knocking the lamp off the nightstand on his side of the bed. The lamp fell to the ground, the shade popped off, but the bulb somehow didn’t shatter. “I’m terrified how Carl’s partial blindness will hinder him in this world, of how vulnerable it’ll make him!” Turning back toward Georgie, he shouted that part.

Nodding, Georgie grabbed a book and pulled her arm back. Not bothering to hesitate, she flung it fast at the wall above their bed, which resulted in the artwork that hung there getting knocked off and landing onto the mattress. “I want my children back,” she muttered. Turning toward the dresser, she grabbed up a small jewelry box she never used and heaved it at the wall where the painting was, causing it to leave a serious dent in the plaster. “I want…I want…”

“What do you want?” Rick asked, seeing she was having a hard time spitting it out.

Turning to face him, Georgie’s shoulders slumped and she pouted while tipping her head to the right and throwing her arms up at her sides as if to shrug out an “I don’t know” at him. When her arms dropped back down, she released a shaky breath. “It’s something else I can’t get back, and wanting it makes me feel terrible.”

Rick mirrored her by cocking his head to the left as he took a step closer to her. “What is it?”

“I want so bad to be able to give you another child. I want to be a mom again, but I never can. I always wanted more than the two I had, and when I couldn’t, it broke me. I feel bad because my two should’ve been enough, and they were. But wanting another now, after losing the ones I had makes me feel horrible, as if I’m trying to replace them.” Her pout turned abruptly to a frown. “And I see Maggie and Glenn starting out with her pregnancy and I’m kinda jealous. I know I have Carl and Judith in my life and they can be enough for me, and know they can’t replace Tristan or Avery, but…life is going on. I wanted to create life again.”

Bringing his hands to the sides of her face, Rick let his fingers slide across her cheek and then pushed her hair back as he entwined them within her ginger locks. He didn’t say anything. He simply looked her in the eye and smiled at her with a mix of sadness and comfort.

“I feel like such a mess,” Georgie whispered, tears stinging her eyes. “I don’t want to be this person. I can’t just get over it all, but I don’t want to be constantly wallowing it in, and I don’t know what to do. I hate how this feels.”

“It’s not gonna feel good for a long while, but that’s because of how much you loved your kids and always will. But it can get better. It has to.”

“I hope so.”

“We just…we gotta think about the good things.”

“Like Carl coming home,” she muttered.

Rick nodded, his smile becoming less sad. “Exactly like that,” he agreed. “Judith is gonna take her first steps any day now. She’s already managing to stand up on her own before she falls back down onto her ass.”

As a smile reached Georgie’s lips, a small laugh escaped. “She faceplanted yesterday morning. She took half a step forward, teetered and went right down. I almost laughed but then she cried and I felt bad.”

“Is that where she got that red, rash-looking mark on her nose?” he inquired, looking back and forth from her right eye to her left, practically drinking in the sight of her. The fact that they were truly talking again just felt great and his love for her was so easily reaffirmed by simple conversation.

“Yeah,” Georgie nodded. “She was in here with me and I was looking for where—”

She didn’t get the chance to finish the sentence.

Rick had leaned in and pressed his lips against in a sudden and deep kiss. Georgie didn’t react at first; she just stood there, caught off guard for a moment, but only a moment. In a flurry of motion, Georgie’s hands grabbed for the material of the white T-shirt he wore and pulled his body flush against hers as she reciprocated the kiss. This closeness and intimate connection felt almost brand new. It had been since the morning after Tristan died that they had kissed each other, let alone anything else, and that was little over three weeks before. This kiss was three weeks overdue and, as cliché as it sounded, it was a breath of fresh air.

The second the managed to break apart, a loud clap of thunder echoed in the grey, afternoon sky. Looking each other in the eye, Rick and Georgie found themselves smiling at each other again. Her sadness and his worries weren’t gone, but they were figuring out a way to set them aside for the time being to remember what else was important in their lives, and that was each other.

Georgie’s children being gone wasn’t going to change, her inability to ever have more children, and Carl having only one eye along with an awkward road to recovery ahead of him wasn’t going to change. Rick and Georgie could rest easy in the knowledge that at least Carl and Judith were still alive and healthy. With the walls secured again and the expansion underway, everyone in the community stood a great chance of living normal lives again.

Life could definitely be better. Life had to go on.

“I love you,” Rick whispered, leaning in to brush his lips against hers once more.

Warmth spread all over Georgie’s body as she allowed herself to let his words seep into her every pore and encompass her completely. The last three and a half weeks since losing her son had been the absolute worse and, yes, she had pushed Rick away, but not because she was avoiding him and didn’t want him comforting her in her time of grief. She just didn’t know how to grieve such a loss because the last time she had suffered such a loss with her daughter, she had been alone then and forced to go it alone anyway. She wanted Rick close, but felt like she couldn’t get close. But Georgie didn’t want to go it alone anymore. Her going to Rosita that morning to talk about Avery was her first step of opening up and moving forward. She was ready to start working on moving on. Even though she would never truly get over her son’s death and what she had to do to spare him all that suffering, she couldn’t deny it would get easier in time and that she would be able to live with it the same way she’d been able to live with her daughter’s death. Obviously, it still hurt, as today being Avery’s birthday had anything to show for it, but she would be okay.

Releasing her grip on his shirt, Georgie dragged her fingers up from his chest and then up to the sides of his face. She smiled affectionately up at him. “I really lucked out with having you in my life.” The tears she blinked away weren’t sad tears anymore. They were happy, but she was done crying for the day and refused to let anymore fall. “I love you, too.”

Closing his eyes, Rick tipped his head forward and brushed the tip of his nose against hers before kissing her again. Hearing her say those words was a weight off his shoulder. He had been worried here and there that her grief and his worries would shove a wedge too far between them for them to come back together. But, everything they’d gone through together in the last two months and then some of knowing each other couldn’t keep them apart. If anything, it brought them closer. That first couple of days alone saw them go from strangers to great friends, and by the end of the month they were in love.

These days it didn’t take long to know what or who you wanted. With life the way it was, you had to enjoy every moment because you never knew if you’d get a tomorrow.

As their kiss deepened again, Rick’s arms snaked around Georgie’s waist and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Outside, overhead, thunder clapped loudly once more and the skies suddenly opened up to release heavy sheets of rain.

As the torrential rainstorm carried on outside, Rick and Georgie began to carry on inside their room.

Their hands began to roam each other’s bodies in a desperate attempt at playing catch up where the physical aspects of their relationship lie. Hastily, clothes were peeled off and tossed carelessly to the floor. As they dropped down onto the bed, Rick grabbed the painting that Georgie had knocked down onto the mattress and shoved it to the floor along with the jewelry box she had thrown. Both items gave a resounding thud, but were nowhere loud enough to match the booming of the thunder and lightning show raging outside.

With Georgie on her back, naked and vulnerable under his gaze, Rick kicked off his boots and shimmied his black jeans down off his hips until they pooled around his ankles. They were so flustered with each other and so anxious, neither could wait for him to remove his pants completely. She spread her legs wide enough for him to lay between them and then wrapped them around his waist to draw him in once he was positioned just so.

Disregarding any need either of them wouldn’t normally had for foreplay, Rick thrust into Georgie and the sound of gasp of delight she made was music to her ears. He buried his face into her shoulder, keeping his arms tightly wrapped around her back as he pounded deeply into her. His grunts and groans echoed off the bedroom walls, and his breath hitched occasionally when Georgie rolled her hips or thrust up to match his movements.

Running her fingernails down from his shoulders to his chest, Georgie palmed his pecs and gave him a slight shove so he wasn’t completely on top of her. Lifting his face to look at hers, he slowed his thrusts down and saw she was trying to shift from underneath him. Giving him a more coaxing shove, she successfully knocked him over so that he was lying on his back. In doing so, their bodies “disconnected” for a moment, but only long enough for her to climb on top and guide him back inside.

Placing his hands at the tops of her legs, he massaged her inner thighs with his thumbs while she hunched forward, letting her ginger curls fall in front of her face as the ends tickled his. He blew them out of the way and leaned his head back more into the mattress as she rocked against him, thrusting down as he matched her by thrusting up in time with her.

As Georgie began to sit up straighter, she reached behind her to rest her hands on his upper thighs, heaving her breasts forward as she arched her back in the process. Their movements weren’t as frenzied as when they first started, but they hadn’t quite slowed down either. Yet, at the same time, as he watched the way she bit down on her bottom lip and closed her eyes to focus on the sensation gradually beginning to build within her, Rick felt like time had slowed down around them.

Looking up at her, if felt like he was in one of those slow motion sex scenes from a movie.

She looked perfect.

He loved her so much.

As a thought popped into his head, it renewed his vigor for her rather abruptly and he forced himself to sit up and wrap his arms around her waist to pull her chest against his. The movement caught her off guard, but she smiled at him nevertheless and reacted by cupping his face with her hands. When their lips met and their tongues slipped into each other’s mouths, their respective moans got louder as their bodies got nearer to the big finish.

When Rick came, he felt like he had gone temporarily blind. But, then, everything began to take shape again. As he spilled into her, his cock twitched and his entire body felt like it was tingling all over. His grip around her waist loosened and he fell back onto the mattress, letting a deep breath of elation escape while Georgie continued to ride out her approaching orgasm. When it arrived, she clenched her inner walls around him in such a delicious way it caused him to practically hiss. Her body shook, and her cry of completion sounded better to him than any song he’d ever listened to.

Gracelessly, she slumped down upon his chest and let out a content sigh; her hair falling around her shoulders in magnificent disarray. Georgie rested her face sideways, her cheek upon his shoulder so that the tip of her nose could nuzzle the scratchy underside of his jaw. Without having to be asked, Rick wrapped his arms around her upper body in an all-encompassing hug to keep her there with him as they both let their heartbeats return to a normal beat and so their breathing steadied.

Glancing at Georgie out the corner of his eye, Rick smirked. The storm outside seemed like it would be an all-day rager and that was fine with him. He had promised to check back in on Carl later and knew Carol was good with continuing to take care of Judith, so Rick took comfort in knowing he could stay right where he was with Georgie for as long as he needed. They didn’t need to get up out of bed anytime soon unless some terrible emergency arose.

At this rate, however, only one thing would rise again.

Lifting her head, Georgie peered at Rick until he turned his face a bit more to look back at her more properly. They both leaned in and kissed, and then smiled at each other.

“I love you so much,” she whispered, the rain pelting their windows providing the soundtrack to their post-coital afterglow. “No matter what I was feeling or what I’ve been going through, I shouldn’t have pushed you away like I was doing. You deserved better than that.”

“Bullshit,” he replied with an amused smile. “I deserve the best and I got the best.” Reaching a hand down, he squeezed her ass, causing her to giggle and bite down on her bottom lip.

“I’m serious though,” she pressed. “I’m sorry I pushed away at all.”

Rick leaned his head back. “I’m sorry you feel like you gotta apologize to me for how you’ve needed to grieve. I’m the one that should apologize to you for trying to force you into conversations you weren’t ready to have.”

“We’re both assholes, I guess.”

“Yeah, we are,” he remarked with a laugh. Turning his face toward her, he watched the way she dropped her head back down onto his shoulder and nuzzled his neck this time. “I came to a realization a few moments ago, about something kind of important.”

“You were able to have a deep thought while I was on your dick?” she questioned teasingly. “Damn, I’m off my game.”

Rick chuckled in response. Raising his left arm, he patted her back and gestured for her to move. When she sat up a bit and rolled off him, Rick scooted up and propped up a pillow behind his head. Georgie just laid there on her stomach, resting her elbows on the mattress and her chin in the palms of her hand as she stared back at him.

When he knew she was staring, he smiled and flashed the backside of his left hand on her. Then, without saying a word, he reached his right hand over and began to remove his wedding band from his ring finger.

Georgie just watched with an expression he couldn’t exactly place.

Holding the ring between his right thumb and index finger, Rick just stared at it.

After a moment, he handed it to Georgie.

“I don’t need it anymore,” he muttered. “Lori’s gone. I have you, and you’re who I want for the rest of my life.”

Taking the ring from him made her feel like Frodo taking the One Ring in order to dump it into the fiery pits of Mount Doom. Like the fictional ring, it too was precious and had a power that had lauded over him well after Lori’s death until now, and the symbolism of him giving the ring to her to do away with it was not lost on her.

Unlike her wedding ring, however, this couldn’t be destroyed or repurposed. His marriage, while it had been on the rocks, ended with him still very much in love with Lori and with having had a hard time of getting over that loss. Her marriage ended unofficially when Jake walked out nearly two years before, and after everything he’d done since and up until his death at Rick’s hand, her ring held no more significance to her other than becoming the conduit for his demise. Georgie had never known Lori, but knew Lori was not a monster like Jake was. Her son loved her and Judith would never know her.

Holding the ring in the palm of her hand, Georgie stared down at it. “I think there might’ve been a chain in that jewelry box I threw,” she remarked. “If not, I’ll find one. We’ll put the ring on the chain; give it to Judith when she’s older.”

Rick nodded, agreeing with the idea.

Stretching her arm out, Georgie set the ring down on the bedside table in the meantime for safekeeping.

“Later, though,” she continued, glancing back at him with a smile. Pulling herself back up on top of him, Georgie sat up and placed her hands on his taut stomach. “Right now, we need to make up for lost time.”

A pleased smile spread easily across Rick’s lips. Sitting up, he wrapped his arms around her waist to brace her as he twisted their bodies around and pinned her to the mattress underneath him. Georgie immediately let out a laugh of amusement before he playfully growled at her and buried his face into her neck to suckle her skin while simultaneously grinding his hips against hers. Taking the hint, she wrapped her legs around his waist and brought her hands up to the back of his head, running her fingers through his salt and peppered brown curls.

His lips looked perfectly puffy when he lifted his face to look down at her; staring warmly into her eyes. “I love you,” he muttered quietly, as a flash of lightning lit up the bedroom.

“I love you, too,” she replied as their lips slowly met in a kiss.



Outside the bedroom, in the hallway, Carol stood with Judith in her arms. The sounds of Rick and Georgie laughing, followed by eventual moaning, brought an amused grin to her face. As she looked at Judith, Judith looked back at her as if she somehow realized what was going on between her daddy and her new mommy.

“All’s well that ends well,” Carol remarked, placing a kiss on the top of the girl’s head. “Let’s go have some cake, shall we?”

As Judith babbled some incoherent response, Carol descended the stairwell and made her way into the kitchen, where she found Michonne seated on one of the stools at the island with Glenn and Maggie standing there, eyeing the cake with curiosity. That is, when they weren’t eyeing the ceiling. When she spotted Carol approaching with Judith, Glenn raised an eyebrow and pointed upwards.

“Is everything alright up there? It sounded like World War III for a bit?” he inquired with a hint of a smile on his lips.

“We came in to talk to Rick about some the plans Deanna left for us,” Maggie added. “And then we got distracted by whatever is going on up there. We were getting kinda worried there for a minute.”

“Oh, everything’s fine,” Carol assured. “Rick and Georgie are fine. They were arguing a little, but they’re kissing and making up right now.”

Letting out a snort of amusement, Michonne eyed the older woman and smirked as she stuck her finger into the cake’s frosting. “About damn time,” she muttered.

Notes

Okay, firstly, yeah, the chapter title is a bit tongue in cheek once you get to the end of the chapter [insert ugly laughter here]. Also, I had this entire chapter outlined and it went much differently. Rick and Georgie were meant to really fight it out and get loud about it, making the others in the house quite concerned, but then I got writing it, and I couldn't see either getting that angry. The situation didn't call for it and it didn't feel right. So, this was how it ended up instead. I'm more or less happy with it. This chapter was mostly filler, simply because (as Danai said a couple weeks ago on Talking Dead) two months have passed, even if other characters only mention a "month" or "a few weeks". I think Danai's timeframe fits better anyway. So yeah, anywho. Hope you enjoyed this regardless. The next chapter will be posted in probably a week or so only because I try and take turns writing chapters for both this story and my other, 'We Can Change'. The next chapter will get more on track with season 6 and follow the plot of "The Next World" with some notable "changes to the lineup", so to speak.

Comments

Completely understand. Thank you for sharing your talent with us all. Looking forward to your new story updates on Road Not Taken and the sequel to We Can Change.

Grimesgirl63 Grimesgirl63
1/7/19

Thanks for the update today!

Grimesgirl63 Grimesgirl63
8/26/18

Sorry to hear about your aunt.

Grimesgirl63 Grimesgirl63
3/31/18

Thanks for the update today!

Grimesgirl63 Grimesgirl63
7/29/17

Nicely done!!!

Grimesgirl63 Grimesgirl63
1/30/17