Savior

Two Steps Back

Rick laid in bed for hours, tossing and turning, trying to go to sleep. Every little noise would rattle him awake, as he was on the verge of falling asleep. Whether it was the house creaking, or even sirens in the distance, which was rare to hear;especially at night.

All Rick could think about is Negan. They hadn't spent a night without each other in weeks. Feeling that Negan wasn't beside him, made Rick feel odd. Like he was empty without him. He imagined as if Negan was there, curling up behind Rick, holding him close. He loves this man, though he's yet to admit it.

After more tossing and turning, and thinking about Negan, Rick finally faded to sleep. Even without the presence of his lover.

What seemed to only be seconds later, Rick's phone went off. His first thought was its Negan, but once he picked it up and looked at the number, he hesitated to answer it;probably just a spam call. He stared at it for a few more seconds, then picked it up, "Hello?" Rick's voice was low and groggy. "Hi is this Rick? I'm calling from Wilson hospital." A somewhat high pitched voice said through the phone, Rick wasn't sure if it was a man or woman. "Yeah, that's me." He stuttered, unsure of what was about to come out of the other persons mouth. There was a small moment of silence.

"I'm assuming you know a man by the name of Negan Smith?" The voice asked slowly.

Rick's stomach twisted within seconds, his ears began ringing, his whole body went numb. "Yeah what's wrong?" He blurted out so quickly that he didn't even register what he said. The person on the other end of the phone took a deep breath, audible to Rick. "Unfortunately he's just come into the hospital from an overdose, from multiple prescribed medications. We have him somewhat stabilized now, but we're really not sure how things are going to turn out. So if you're able to, I would recommend that you come see him." They said in a calm, sympathetic tone.

It was almost like Rick's world stopped, like everything around him froze. He felt like he couldn't breath, that there was pressure on his chest. "I-I'm...I'll be there soon." Rick's voice cracked throughout his words as his face began to heat up. The doctor was reading off floor numbers and room numbers, but Rick was too distracted to even listen. Once they stopped talking he hung up the phone and grabbed any piece of clothing he could, slipping it on.

Running to Carl's room, he almost slammed through the door, instantly waking up Carl. "I gotta go I...Negan's in the hospital, stay here with Judith, i'll text you later." He was still fumbling through his words, speaking too fast his mind couldn't keep up. Carl stood up, eyes practically bulging out of his head. "What? I'm going with you." He argued firmly, scrambling for clothes. "No, just stay here Carl!" Rick protested loudly, almost making Carl jump. "Ok" He sighed, sitting back down on his bed.

Rick left the room and ran downstairs, grabbing his keys as he slipped his boots on. He got to his car, putting the key into the ignition as his hands shook uncontrollably. Flying out of the driveway, he sped off towards the hospital, tires screeching.

He almost felt like he was on auto-pilot while driving, his mind wasn't fully there.

He arrived at the hospital, quickly looking for a parking spot. He pulled into a spot, probably crooked, but he could care less.

Once he stepped foot inside, he somehow instantly remembered the room number and floor that the doctor told him on the phone;even though he wasn't paying attention at the time. His steps toward the elevator were shaky, feeling like he was gonna collapse at any moment.

Arriving at the correct floor, he sped off searching for the room number. 373, 374, 375;he stopped in front of the glass door, the curtain was covering the room from the inside, impossible to see what was happening. A doctor caught his attention as they approached him. "Hi, i'm Doctor Ridge. You're Rick?" He caught their eyes, staring at them for a few seconds, trying to speak. "Yes" He mumbled, voice still scratchy.