Broken Road »» Rick Grimes (TWD)

Chapter 23

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I threw the covers off of me, hearing Judith wailing from Rick's room. After a few seconds of listening to her cry, I quickly left my room and glanced into Rick's room finding him gone.

"Hi, baby girl." I greeted Judith as I picked her up from her crib.

"It's okay." I whispered, swaying side to side as she cried.

"Where's your daddy, huh?" I muttered, sitting down on the bed. I glanced to the clock on the wall, finding that it's two in the morning.

After a few minutes of rocking Judith back and forth and humming a lullaby, she began to calm down.

"You're okay." I whispered, rubbing her back as she adjusted her head on my chest.

I smiled after successfully calming her down and found myself just as sleepy as her. I slowly lied down with her lying on my chest and made myself as comfortable as I could get.

I cradled her head in my hand and gently ran my fingers through her short hair as she began to fall asleep again.

~

I slowly opened my eyes, feeling a blanket go over my legs.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Rick whispered, standing by the bed.

"You didn't. I was just dozing." I whispered, finding Judith still asleep on me.

"Want me to take her?" He asked.

"No, she's okay." I muttered.

"I stepped out for a bit. I'm sorry, I didn't hear her." He replied.

"It's not a problem. Here, I'll get up." I replied, watching as he grabbed Judith's blanket from the crib.

"No, it's okay. You both are comfortable. I'll go sleep on the couch." He muttered after placing Judith's blanket on top of her. I adjusted it and moved it away from his face as he circled around the bed and headed for the door.

"Hey, you can stay." I mumbled, watching as he hesitated.

He glanced to the spot beside me before turning around and approaching the bed again.

"Hope you don't kick in your sleep." He stated as he pulled the covers back.

"Not too hard." I joked as he lied down beside me.

I closed my eyes, feeling overwhelmingly peaceful— something I hadn't felt in a long time.

"You're good with her." He stated, turning on his side so he was facing us.

"She's a good baby." I replied, turning my head to look at him.

"Thanks for helping out. Not just with her, but Carl too." He replied.

"I don't really do anything." I replied.

"When we were out there, you would give your food to Carl. You'd go without just so he could have something in his belly. He told me. And you spend time with them, you give Carl advice, you protect them, you show them love, and you don't have to do any of that." He replied.

"It's really not something you should feel like you have to thank someone for. That's the bare minimum." I replied.

"Well, thank you anyway." He replied, placing a hand on my cheek.

My heart began racing from his gentle touch and I tried not to show my anxiousness on the outside.

"You're welcome." I muttered, staring into his incredible eyes.