Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

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I lounged across the pew with Judith napping on my chest, still reeling from the pleasure I had felt earlier in the day when Michonne came barging in, Daryl hot on her heels. Desperately trying not to wake up the sleeping baby, I slowly rose, my hand supporting the back of her head. My heart felt light and happy as Daryl looked around, his pale eyes landing on me. It took every fiber of my being not to jump up and wrap him in my arms, but with a sleeping baby on my chest, it made things harder. With great care, I slowly rose to my feet and walked toward him, cradling the little girl to me tightly. A small gasp of relief left my lips as Daryl walked over to me, his large, dirty arms wrapping around Judith and me. I knew he'd come back! But where's Carol?

"Carol?" I asked as I pulled away from the embrace. A small whimper escaped Judith's mouth as my chest vibrated beneath her. I shushed her and started to rock her gently, waiting to hear his response. Michonne wrapped her arms around her chest and looked at Daryl, nodding at him. Daryl turned towards the front door and whistled loudly. Rick came up to me, his hands on his hips as he was both elated to see Daryl and curious as to why Daryl was here alone. The church's front door creaked open, and in walked a scrawny kid. He easily towered over me, but he was limping heavily—he had to be around Beth's age. I looked at the kid and frowned, curious about what happened.

"This is Noah. We need his help getting Beth and Carol back." Judith fussed in my arms as I stared at Noah for a second before looking at Daryl.

"Tell us everything," I softly spoke, taking a seat on the pew as the rest of our group gathered around.

~*~

I stabbed the sharp metal pipes from the organ into the ground by the front of the church steps, fortifying our temporary home. Sweat dripped down my face as I grabbed another pipe and forced it into the Earth. Bangs from the side of the church filled the air as Rick, Michonne, Selena, and Carl boarded up the windows. Rick and I decided I would stay behind to watch Carl, Selena, Judith, and Gabriel while everyone else went to Atlanta to get Beth and Carol. We talked for hours on end, arguing back and forth over who will go and who will stay, but in the end, he won. Daryl came with more metal rods and threw them on the ground, his blue eyes squinting as the bright sun assaulted them.

"Will you also take the cross?" Gabriel asked, his voice filled with worry. Daryl and I turned to him and frowned.

"If we need it," Daryl answered. I pursed my lips at the holy man and resumed what I was doing, trying to finish quickly. Daryl went back inside the church and didn't come back out, leaving me alone with Gabriel.

"You know," I spoke up, wiping my brow, "I would appreciate the help." Gabriel frowned at me and shook his head, his eyes falling to the ground in shame. My eyes rolled as I grabbed the next rod and stabbed it into the ground next to all the others, annoyed with the fearful man. I finished setting up the front within an hour and am beyond tired. Sweat dripped from every pore in my body, and my arms ached with every move I made. Gabriel didn't help me; instead, he frowned as we 'ruined' his church. Currently, I stood near Carl and Selena, admiring Carl as he bounced Judith in his arms. Jacob, who had tripped and sprained his ankle earlier, was forced to stay behind under my watchful eye, and he was not happy about it at all. Rick kissed Carl and Judith's heads, pausing briefly as he approached Selena, unsure what to do. Selena closed the distance with a smile and wrapped her arms around Rick, whispering something to him before pulling away and accepting a kiss on the forehead from him.

"Take good care of them," Rick whispered as he grabbed my face with both hands, "Stay safe." I smiled at him and caressed the side of his scruffy face, my lips quickly pecking his.

"Be careful out there." I whispered, "Come back to us." Rick gave me a final kiss before retreating outside the church. We watched as they climbed into cars and drove away before I closed the front doors tightly. As soon as she realized Rick was gone, Judith started to wail. I held my arms out and grabbed her from Carl, gently patting her on the back to soothe her. It was like she knew that her dad was risking his life. Jacob grunted at me, his arms extended for me to hand the baby to him. I smiled at him gratefully and watched as he started to rock her, his green eyes brightening as she calmed down slowly. Carl and I sighed and grabbed the backing of a bench we had broken earlier and a handful of nails, boarding the front door up tightly. As Carl started to hammer the nail in with a broken pew leg, Judith began to wail again as the noise infiltrated the otherwise silent church. Once done, Judith calmed down and giggled as Jacob and Selena played peek-a-boo with her. Gabriel was scrubbing relentlessly at the altar, his grunts low but easily heard.