NOWHERE KIDS | ONE SHOTS

Bittersweet (Raggie)

Ship: Rick/Maggie
Fandom: The Walking Dead
Word Count: 1,189

XX

Rick watched her fall to the ground, sobbing immediately after she saw her sister's body. He saw how helpless she was, how devastated.

And at that moment, he knew exactly how she felt. She thought she was coming out here to see her sister, but a nasty surprise greeted her. Beth was dead.

He knew exactly how she felt. It had happened to him, with his wife a while ago. She was right there, and then she was gone in a matter if minutes. Or hours. Or seconds. Whatever it was, it too short of a time period. He didn't even get to say goodbye to her.

Maggie didn't get to either. He thought it was funny how in a matter if seconds, everything could change. People that were near and dear to you could be gone the second you turn your back.

She didn't even waste her time asking what had happened to Beth. She really didn't want to hear it. And he didn't blame her. Not at all.

He watched her husband, Glenn, get down and sit beside her, trying to comfort her. But he wasn't doing such a great job. Sure, he was trying, but he didn't what to do. But it wasn't totally his fault. He didn't know how she felt. He didn't know the pain she was going through, the devastation she felt.

He ran a hand through his overly long dark hair, and looked over towards his wingman, Daryl, who was holding Beth's limp body like he had no idea what to do with it.

Maggie kept sobbing, and Glenn was holding her close, but she was pulling away.

"Beth... Beth... Beth..." She sobbed, attempting really hard to break free from her husband.

Rick wanted to go up to her, and comfort her. He wasn't going to tell her it was all going to be alright, that would be a complete and total lie. He felt that since he knew how she was feeling right now, he could connect with her easier. He would make her fell better.

"Ssssh... It's ok." Rick heard Glenn tell Maggie, and that near pissed him off. Glenn didn't understand, did he? The woman was grieving. Telling her it would be ok wouldn't do anything. Nothing at all. Beth was all she had, and now she was gone. She was probably clueless on what she would do now. Sure, she had Glenn, but she had completely no blood family left. That made Rick sympathize with her more, because he himself did have a family member left, his son.

Maggie broke free of her husband's grasp, and ran towards Daryl. Glenn got up to chase after her, but then decided against it, sitting back down on the ground.

"Beth... Beth... Put 'er down!" She yelled, even though she was still sobbing her eyes out. "Put 'er down."

Daryl laid the body on the ground, and turned around to give the grieving Maggie some privacy. Everyone else moved away, going wherever. Rick really didn't care. He knew they'd be back, they were doing this just to give Maggie a little privacy, a little time to grieve alone. But she shouldn't have to do this alone. Even Glenn was going. Rick thought it was actually pretty good of him, giving his wife a little time to say goodbye to her sister. But that didn't change the fact that HE wanted to comfort her.

"Beth... I'm sorry... I didn't even get to say bye..." She began to sob again. Daryl looked at Rick, nodding to indicate that they should move, and go wherever the hell the others were going. But Rick waved him off, indicating he would stay here for a second, maybe even a minute or two. Daryl gave him a strange look, and then walked away.

He waited with his back turned for a few moments, listening to her sobbing and saying goodbye. He couldn't stop thinking about how he knew exactly what she felt. He knew how her heart throbbed, how it felt to sob non-stop.

He waited a bit more, deciding he shouldn't just approach get out of nowhere, and probably scare the shit out of her. He wanted to make her feel better, not worse.

He waited, waited, and waited, until her sobs turned into only sniffles and coughing.

He approached her slowly. She was holding her sister's hand, and putting it up to her cheek.

He say down beside her, not saying a word.

"What do ya want?" She asked harshly, her voice still cracking. It was only a matter of time before she began to sob again.

"Nothing... It's just.." He began.

"Are ya here ya tell me it's going to be alright? Because ya know what? It's not. I'm the last one in my family, I've got completely nobody except Glenn. And even he's tellin' me I'll be fine. But that's just a lie. It's not easy, ya know."

"I know. That's not what I was going to tell you. I..."

"You what?" She asked sharply.

"I know exactly how you feel. Exactly." He said, feeling the pain of the day that his wife died.

"Yeah I know... Lori..." She said, looking back down at her sister's body. Then she looked back up at him, locking eyes. "Sorry. I hope you didn't mind me mentioning that..." She said, feeling sorry for Rick for a short second. So this is how he felt...

"No... It's fine. I'm sorry for your loss." He said quietly.

At this, Maggie began crying again. He felt terrible about this. Was it his fault that she was crying again? He had come here to make things better, only to make her feel like shit again.

"Ssssssh." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. Then, something overcame him, and he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

She stared at him in shock. "The hell was that for?" She asked, giving him a slight shove so that his body flew away from hers.

"I'm married. My sister just died. And you're out here kissin' me? What is wrong with you?" She asked, still staring at him. He could see the anger in her eyes. He had messed up big time.

"I'm sorry..." Was all he could say. He sat back up, going beside her again. "I'm sorry." He said again.

Then, all of a sudden, she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. Rick stared at her, baffled. Why would she do that, after going off about him doing the same thing?

Even though there were tears in her eyes, he could see a slight smile forming on her lips. He was still confused.

She stared straight into his eyes. "Don't tell Glenn." She giggle-whispered, like a child. Just for a moment, she felt a pang of happiness inside of her heart.

He laughed. "Oh, I won't." He said back.

She might never get over the death of Beth, her sister, but with people like Rick, things might just be a hell of a lot easier for Maggie.