For You // R.G.

Chapter 62

"Max... It's been a week." I tried to reason with her, she was standing away from me against the wall on the other side of the room. I've been trying to get her to sleep in the same bed as me but she still thinks she's infected.

"What if I still have it-"

"You don't! Sena and Hershel tested you." I was getting a little frustrated but I could understand why she was so worried; I would be if I had it. I just missed her laying next to me.

"Rick, it's not a big deal." She tried to reason with me. Her eyes showed how sad she was,

"Max, I haven't touched you in a week-"

"Wow, you're that needy?" She asked in a shameful tone, I sighed,

"No, that's not what I..." I paused, I looked into her eyes and licked my bottom lip, "I love you, and you love me, so when two people love each other... We gotta hug and kiss and sleep in the same bed. " I was trying my hardest to make her break and to just get in the bed. She looked up at me, I could see that what I said appealed to her but she tried to mask it the best she could with a straight face.

"Come on, I didn't mean that I wanted to just have sex, I just.. I miss you." And the cheesiness kept coming. But it worked like a charm because before I knew it, she was walking over to me and leaned against me so I could hug her. I kissed her forehead, I could smell her lavender shampoo and I couldn't believe a person could miss the scent of someone so bad.

"That was some good persuasion." She says, I chuckle. I then felt her lips on the bottom of my jawline, she started to kiss my jaw and cheek. I gently guided her face with my hand and kissed her sweetly.

...

I woke up to see that max was out of bed, I sat up, propped up by my hands behind my back. I saw all of our clothes thrown on the ground from last night. I left the bed and got dressed, knowing max has Judith and probably Jamie since they were gone from their cell too. I passed by Carl's cell, he was reading a comic book,

"Good morning."

He was still a little sour about max and I but I made it up to him when he got to shoot a machine gun last week. He nodded, a way to tell me hi in a silent way. I kept walking down the cellblock, it was sad because most of the cells were now empty. The flu had wiped almost half of the people, all being the governor's people. It was just Glenn and max that got sick and they both recovered a few days ago.

"Hey." I greeted max when I saw her back turned against me while she was waiting in line for food. We got rid of the pigs and stopped using the part of the yard where the pen was. For now everyone was living on vegetables, occasionally chicken and some deer that Daryl would shoot.

"Hi." Max draws out in a quiet but satisfied tone, after last night she was in a much better mood and was herself again. I wrapped my arms around her as she was holding Judith.

"Oh, yeah, I wanted tell you," she says, she turns around and gives me Judith for me to hold. I bounced her gently, I kissed her cheek, waiting for max to say what she wanted to say, "Hershel and I are planning on going and burning the..." She stopped talking, not wanting to say the rest of the sentence. I nodded, knowing she was talking about burning the corpses.

"Okay, do you want me to come?" I offered. She shook her head,

"No, you should stay here with Carl and the girls, we had enough time together last night.." She comes up to my face and kisses my lips. She separates from me and locks eyes with me, I smiled at her,

"Did you notice that I'm actually okay with you going without me?" I teased, but it was actually the first time she's left somewhere without me there. She smiles and nods,

"I'm a grown woman." She points out, I smirk at her, she left me with Judith to go get ready.

...

Max's POV

"You don't think that we should keep a cadaver for research?" I asked as I pulled one of the last walkers to the bonfire. My sweat was soaking through the back of my shirt with the Georgia heat and the hot fire behind me.

"I don't think there's a cure, maybe it's just god's mess for us to try and clean up." Hershel says, he was picking out more leaves he used for the herbal tea that cured Glenn and I and a few others.

"But how do we clean it up if we just let people turn?" I asked, not getting the point. He got up and looked over at me, once I was done dragging the body to the fire I rested for a moment, my muscles ached and I was breathing heavily.

"I think it's just supposed to be this way." He says, I smirk while getting another walker,

"How are you in medicine and you still are a strong believer?" I asked him.

I looked at him once I kicked the walker in the fire. He shrugged,

"I can't be the only religious veterinarian." He says,

"I didn't mean that people in medicine shouldn't believe, but I just think that it would be hard- at least for me it was." I explained. I was about to grab another walker when he started talking again,

"Faith is a necessity... Especially in the world we live in now. A sad soul kills as much as a gun."

I nodded, I was about to say something else as I turned around from the fire to look back at him but when I did I saw him in a headlock by the governor. I stood there, frozen in shock. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Follow me and I won't kill him." He states while never taking his eyes off of me, giving me the idea that I wasn't going to be able to get out of this one without Hershel or myself getting killed. I dropped the walker, I was shocked to see him alive and well. He watched me as I slowly stood up from the walker. I looked at Hershel and saw him look at me with an expression saying to obey the governor. I had to since Hershel would probably die if I didn't. I then started to walk towards him, the governor cocked his gun and aimed it at me,

"Get in the truck."