Dead Man Walking || RICK GRIMES POV -SLOW UPDATES-

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Refer to chapters 2 and 3 of the first book for this part

The cube van came to a stop, prompting everyone inside to move. Well, almost everyone. As the faint buzz of families and friends reuniting hit Rick Grimes' ears, he was reminded of how painfully alone he is now. He had no clue if his wife and son were alive and didn't know where to start looking. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, sucking in a deep breath to try and calm himself. His eyes stung with tears that he tried to hold back, and his throat felt thick with emotion. In the safety of the van, he felt like he could allow himself to shed those tears he tried to keep at bay. But that thought immediately fled from his mind once a voice broke his silence.

"Hey! Helicopter boy! Come say hello!" Morales' voice carried through the stillness much louder than all the other voices. Blinking rapidly and swallowing thickly, Rick crawled out of the van, using the brief amount of time to recompose himself. He couldn't bring himself to look up yet as he circled towards the front.

"The guy's a cop, like you," Morales spoke again. The mention of another police officer piqued Rick's interest, forcing his eyes to finally lift. The sight before him smashed through his fragile and newly constructed wall with a sledgehammer, tearing up his stinging eyes. In complete disbelief, a choked sob escaped him before he started moving. Only able to make it a few steps, his quaking knees finally won, and he sunk to the ground, tears freely flowing from his eyes.

"Dad!" His boy's voice screamed out before the boy of twelve crashed into his father.

Father and son reunited tearfully while a gobsmacked Lori stood by, trying to process the sight in front of her. Only when her assumed dead husband's sharp blue eyes met her hazel ones was she faced with the reality of his survival and well-being and struck by how used and foolish she felt.

Rick embraced his family tightly, thanking whatever higher power there may be for bringing his family and him together. He shut his eyes again and buried his head between his wife and son, committing the moment to memory. He was positive that it was one of the best days of his life.

As the sun started to lower on the horizon, the onlooking group dispersed to prepare for their nightly gathering by a fire and eating what little they could. Rick held his family at arm's length and breathily chuckled, still shocked that he managed to find them. His eyes diverted to their left, gluing onto his best friend of nearly two decades, emotion swelling again.

"Thank you," He managed to speak, his voice thick and shaky. Rick rose to his feet, arms still tightly embracing his wife and son. Shane took a few strides forward, joining the family in their embrace, his beefy arm gently rounding Lori's shoulder.

Lori was the first to pull away, a tight smile spreading across her dry, cracked lips. Rick felt his lips pulling upwards, matching her smile to a T. Although he was over the moon to be reunited with his wife, he couldn't help the nagging voice in the back of his mind. Are they really going to pretend that everything that happened before all this never happened? They had issues that nearly tore their marriage apart. Could the end of the world be giving them a new beginning? Oh, how a man can hope.

Rick followed Lori forward as she started to drag him towards the low-lit fire that started to burn a few feet away from them by an R.V. He stayed content, happily cuddling his wife and son as everyone settled down, thanking his lucky stars to have them safe and sound. At that moment, Rick vowed never to let his family become separated again; whatever problems between him and his wife weren't important now. What's important is their survival.

"I'm curious," The familiar voice that belonged to the blonde, Andrea, tore him out of his cheerful daze. At first, he thought she was speaking to him, but her gaze diverted leftwards, proving him otherwise. "Who are you?"