The car ride back to the prison is absolutely silent.
Rick drives. Y/N sits in the passenger seat.
Glenn and Maggie sit next to Michonne in the backseat.
Rick agreed to let Hershel patch her up.
The group makes it back to the prison and Carol and Carl open the gate for them.
Rick gets out and tells Maggie to drive the car up. Y/N gets out too and both quickly pull Carl into a hug.
They pull away. "Where's Hershel?" Rick asks.
"In the cell block."
Carol, who peeked into the car window before Maggie drove it up, speaks. "Where's Daryl?"
Y/N gently sets her hand on Carols shoulder. "He's alive. We ran into Merle."
Rick lowers his head. "They went off."
"He left?" Carol asks.
Y/N nods.
"And Oscar?" Carl asks.
"No." Rick says.
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Rick and Y/N enter the cell block to find four new people sitting at the tables.
A black man with a beanie, a black woman who looks related to him, a white man with a beard and a younger white man, presumably his son.
Rick walks right past them, into the section with the cells. Y/N eyes them as she walks by.
They enter the room and Beth immediately walks over with Judith in her hands.
Rick picks her up and cradles her gently.
Carol and Beth talk quietly on the perch.
Glenn gets tended to by Hershel.
Michonne is locked into a cell for 'precaution'. She falls asleep nearly instantly.
They spend some time recuperating from the events at Woodbury.
Rick nods at Y/N, deciding now is a good time to speak with the people in the other room.
He hands Judith to her before entering the room. She follows behind.
The entire rest of the group is right behind them.
The man with the beanie stands and holds out his hand to Rick. "I'm Tyreese."
Rick doesn't respond.
Hershel points his crutch at the other three. "Sasha, Allen, Ben."
Y/N nods at each of them.
Rick scratches his chin. "How'd you
get in?"
"Fire damage to the administrative part of the prison. Wall's down."
Rick cocks his head. "That side is overrun with walkers. How'd you get this far?"
Tyreese shakes his head sadly. "We didn't. We lost our friend Donna."
Carl stands stoically. "They were lost in the
gyms."
Suddenly Rick wheels around. "You brought them here?"
Hershel speaks up. "He had no choice."
Rick nods.
"I'm sorry about your friend. We know what that's like." Y/N tells them.
Tyreese purses his lips as he thinks. "Hershel said you could use some extra hands. We're no stranger to hard work. We'll go out and get our own food, stay out of your hair. You got a problem with another group, we'll help with that, too. Anything to contribute."
Rick shakes his head. "No."
"Rick." Y/N says.
"Dad!" Carl exclaims.
Sasha sighs. "Please. It's awful out there."
Rick shakes his head again. "No."
Hershel places his hand on Ricks shoulder. "Let's talk about this."
"We've been through this. With Tomas, Andrew.
Look what happened."
Carol speaks. "Axel and Oscar weren't like them."
"And where's Oscar now? I can't be responsible.
Rick counters.
Tyreese takes another small step. "You kick us out, you are responsible."
Hershel takes a deep breath as he speaks to Rick.
"You've done so much for us. I appreciate that.
We all do. We owe you our lives. We've done everything you asked without question. And I'm telling you, you're wrong on this. You've got to start giving people a chance."
Rick thinks for a moment before looking at the four strangers. "No. I'm sorry. Get out."
Glenn and Maggie look around in disbelief. Hershel sighs. Carol shakes her head. Beth runs a hand through her hair.
Tyreese nods. "Okay. Okay. We'll leave."
Carl suddenly grabs Y/N's arm. "Do something, please."
Y/N sighs. She holds out her arm to the new group. "Wait."
She turns to Rick. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
His eyebrows furrow.
"We need them. We need numbers. We lost Oscar. We lost T-Dog and Lori. Daryl left. Don't be stupid."
He lowers his voice. "We can't-"
Y/N cuts him off by slapping him across the face, with the hand not holding Judith. Everyone looks at her in shock.
"Listen to me. Stop pulling this shit, Rick. Trust somebody for gods sake." She says, hint of anger in her voice.
He nods after a minute. "Okay."
He turns to face the four. "You're welcome to stay. For now you'll need to be separated until we get to know you."
"Thank you." Tyreese tells Y/N.
————————————————————————
Later, Y/N sits in her shared cell with Rick.
He walks in and she sits up on the edge of the bed.
"I'm sorry." She says quickly.
He sits next to her, leaning down to kiss her gently.
She pulls away and looks at him. "I wasn't trying to take control it's just that we seriously need them. Our group will be so much stronger."
He kisses her again. "I know. I was wrong."
She leans her head against his shoulder. They sit quietly for a little bit before Y/N speaks.
"How are you doing?"
"What?"
"After everything... with Lori."
He takes a deep breath. "It's hard. I loved her."
"I know." She whispers.
"Before the world fell apart, our marriage was already on thin ice." He says. "We weren't getting along. Carl noticed it. I tried to keep the marriage together for him."
Y/N rests her hand on his back as he continues. "When I found you, I felt this spark. Something I hadn't felt with Lori in a long time. Then we found them and I was torn. I didn't know what to do."
She nods.
He keeps going. "When I found out about her and Shane, I wasn't surprised. She told me they'd been having an affair for months before I was shot."
Y/N shakes her head. "I'm so sorry."
He looks at her. "I'm not."
She looks at him in confusion. "Why?"
"It led me to you."
————————————————————————
YOU ARE READING
Sheriff's Lover ||| Rick Grimes x Reader (TWD x Reader)
Fanfiction32 year-old Y/N was all alone on the streets of Atlanta when a man in a sheriffs uniform trots down the road on top of a horse. She decides to join him on his journey to find his family because she doesn't want to be left behind. The two run into a...
