Safe haven | Rick Grimes

033. BEING PUT INTO ISOLATION

Chapter thirty three

"Being put into isolation."

The council had officially decided that the young children, being the most vulnerable, had to be moved out of the cell blocks and into the isolation of the administration building. Inside their cell, Scarlett worked quickly to pack, jamming her and Judith's essentials into a single canvas bag. Nearby, Judith sat playing with her wooden horse. Suddenly, the baby threw the toy onto the floor and burst into tears.

Scarlett turned around, her nerves already frayed. "What's wrong?" she asked softly. She stepped forward, picked up the wooden horse, and tossed it into the bag. Looking around the cramped space, she realized the plush bunny was missing. She let out a heavy breath. "Bunny. You don't want the horse, you want Bunny."

She began frantically looking for it, practically tearing the room apart. When it didn't turn up and Judith's crying grew louder, Scarlett ran her hands through her hair, shaking her head in defeat. "It doesn't matter..." she whispered to herself.

She turned to grab her packed bag, and her eyes caught a flash of grey fabric beneath it. The bunny was right there. Letting out a long breath of relief, she slung the bag over her shoulder and picked up the stuffed animal. She walked over to Judith and lifted the baby into her arms.

"Let's go," she told her.

As soon as Judith was settled against Scarlett's chest, clutching both her mom and her favorite bunny, she stopped crying. With a final look around the empty cell, Scarlett turned and walked out into the corridor.

As she stepped out into the corridor, she found Rick standing there, watching her with a deeply worried expression. Scarlett's eyes immediately tracked down to his waist—he finally had his holster strapped on. But her relief vanished when she noticed his knuckles were heavily wrapped, and a fresh, jagged cut split his cheek as if he had just been punched.

"What happened?" she asked, her heart dropping.

Rick shook his head quickly, brushing off the injury. "I... I heard her crying. I was worried about..." He motioned vaguely toward Judith, his voice trailing off.

"She wanted her bunny. I couldn't find it," Scarlett told him flatly, the exhausting tension of the last hour wearing her down.

Rick just nodded, his eyes locked on her face.

The proximity was too painful. "I should go," Scarlett whispered, stepping around him to walk off.

"Scar..." Rick called out, turning to face her back.

Scarlett stopped in her tracks. She turned around to look at him, the dam finally breaking. "Don't," she voiced, her tone trembling but fierce. "Because all I could think about when I heard those gunshots and screams was how you were gonna go running in there without your gun! And then when everything is finally over, I find out from Maggie that you can't even come near me because of this sickness. I knew right then you'd stay away from me until this was all over."

The tears began to blur her vision, her voice cracking under the weight of her hormones and fear. "And at first I hated it because I just wanted to know you were alive and safe. But now? Now I hate it because looking at you only makes me want to hold you and kiss you, and I can't!"

"I know. Believe me, I know," Rick told her, his own voice thick with emotion. He stood entirely still, fighting the overwhelming urge to cross the distance, wrap his arms around her, and press his lips to hers.

"I should go," Scarlett repeated. She couldn't bear to stand there under his gaze for another second. She turned on her heel and walked away down the corridor, leaving Rick alone to watch her disappear into the shadows.