meanstreak
rick grimes 𝘹 fem!𝘰𝘤
© WANDARYEN ──── 2024

"I couldn't reach the car fast enough, they were gone before I could even get the chance to see who was in it." I slowly shook my head, afraid of the possibility she would be disappointed – a natural fear I was still working on getting over.

I felt her hand on my back then my shoulder, causing me to turn and meet her gaze. "We'll find her," she promised softly. "You did everything you could. You and Daryl kept alive — that's what matters and she's strong. We have to trust that she'll find her way."

I exhaled heavily. "I just don't understand how someone could just take her." I began shaking my head, lifting my hand to create a visual of my frustration before creating a fist. "She fought against them — I know she did. And yet they still took her against her will."

"The worst kind of people," Maggie added. "The ones that don't care about the kind of pain they inflict on others."

"Yeah well, I'm going to make sure they regret it." I focus my gaze on the group ahead — everyone in a sprinkle of different topics amongst each other. "If she doesn't kick their ass then I will."

Whoever took Beth clearly isn't aware of the family she had coming after her. The things we've seen and the things we've been through the past couple of months — it's only made our dedication to remain together that much stronger. I've already lost my father — I wasn't about to lose either of my sisters as well.

Maggie's laughter pulled me out of my thoughts and I quickly turned to meet her large smile. Hand raising to cover her mouth with a small shake of her head.

"What is so funny?" I scolded her with my eyebrow arched.

"Nothing — it's not, it's just — " She coughed in between bits of laughter while waving off the comment. "You think our baby sister Beth is going to turn mainstream fighter overnight and you have completely changed since the farm — someone who used to be so quiet is now ready to kick down doors and ask questions later. It truly makes me realize how much good Rick has done for you because if this is a second personality you've been keeping a secret all this time then Steven never really stood a chance." She burst into laughter again, causing me to stop abruptly in my tracks while I watched her try to contain herself.

"I'm really glad you find this amusing," I tilted my head to the side, calmly watching my sister try to gain self control. "I would like to think I've turned into a serious independent woman."

Her laughter came through her whole chest and it was the first time in a long time I've heard her laugh this way. We teased each other often when we were younger, especially teenagers. This was nothing but playful sibling banter but the fact she was absolutely losing her mind over it had me in disbelief.

She didn't stop, not for a second, even when Glenn came over trying to laugh with her although he had no idea what was going on. "Uhm, what are we laughing about?" His hand hovered over Maggie's shoulder.

I narrowed my eyes at my sister, forcing myself to hold back the smile forcing to appear before turning to Glenn but still gesturing towards Maggie. "That's your wife."

He pressed his lips in a firm line, ushering my sister to keep walking. "Sure is."

"Uh-huh," I rolled my eyes with a small shake of my head, only smiling when her back was turned to me.

Someone pulled me directly into their chest from behind before reaching for my hand with a gentle squeeze. I quickly looked up and met Rick's blue gaze before he raised our hands and kissed the back of mine. Happiness bloomed in my chest once he leaned down and pressed a kiss on my forehead.

"She alright?" He nodded towards my sister who managed to travel towards the front of the group.

I cheekily shook my head with a grin. "Oh, she's peachy."

"Think she's just happy to be reunited with her older sister." He swung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to his body while we walked. "Did I ever tell you how much I appreciate you?"

I pursed my lips, my grin stretching into a wide smile. "No, I don't think you did. In fact I think you should remind me for the rest of the day."

His chest shook with laughter. "I appreciate you so much. Everything you do, everything you've become — I don't think we could've gotten this far without you." I shook my head as I laughed, turning my attention back towards the woods. "You should be saying that to Daryl —  I'm not much help. I just try to do what I think is right."

"Hey." Our steps faltered before stopping completely when he pulled me directly into his chest. His hands cradled my face and I lifted my chin to meet his gaze. "You're just as much help as the others. You do a lot for this group — for our family."

"You also once called me a good asset," I reminded him teasingly.

His gaze flickered upwards, his eyebrows furrowing at the memory before he shrugged his shoulders with acceptance. "You made me nervous. I was also trying to conjure up the courage to tell you how I felt — remember that?"

I had no doubt my face was turning a bright shade of red and not just from the heat. "Okay, touché." My cheeks swelled with happiness and I suddenly felt too shy to keep my eyes locked on his.

He took the opportunity to start pressing linger kisses around my face once I looked away. Laughter bubbled in my throat and I gripped the front of his shirt, trying to put distance between us when his kisses grew more sloppy but all he did was pull me closer.

"Hey love birds! Try not to put on a show for us singles." Tyreese shouted back to us.

I quickly pulled away from Rick the moment he raised his head — shoving at his chest playfully. We laughed happily together before he took his hand in mine and we continued our walk as a group.

"Help! Help me! Someone please!"

The laughter amongst the whole group died and we slowly stopped in our tracks when we heard the sound of a man desperately calling out.

With my hand still in Ricks, I spun around towards the call for help and listened closely until it was spoken again. Carl ran towards us, grabbing Rick's arm then gesturing towards where the scream was coming from.

"Dad, come on!" Carl nudged him. "Come on!" He ordered.

Rick gave in and quickly ran past Carl with myself following close behind, my rifle now in hand as the group followed.

We came up to a large rock where a man sat, kicking at the walkers that had their arms stretched out towards him. I flipped the rifle around and used the butt to hit a walker on the side of the head. Carl shot one walker as Rick and Michonne helped take down the others. I beat the walkers head in with my boot before swinging my rifle over my shoulder.

"Clear," Rick spoke out towards the group. "Keep watch."

I took a few steps back in between both Rick and Carl, looking up at the frightened man on the rock. "Come on down," Rick ordered and the man followed through, jumping down to the ground. "You okay?"

The man held up his finger before turning his head and puking up onto the ground. I averted my gaze, my eyebrow raising slightly. He clearly didn't have a strong stomach.

"Sorry," he awkwardly smiled as he turned back to us. "Thank you, I'm Gabriel."

"Do you have any weapons on you?" Rick questioned, shifting on his feet as he eyed the man closely.

Gabriel let out a sarcastic chuckle before gesturing towards his figure. "Does it look like I have any weapons on me?"

"We don't give two short and curlies what it looks like." Abraham spoke.

I watched as Gabriel eyed the entire group carefully, "I have no weapons of any kind. The word of God is the only protection I need."

"Even then — I'm sure he wouldn't mind it during times like these," I stated.

The man nodded, lifting his hands with a short shrug. "I called for help. Help came. Do you have-have any food? Whatever I had left, it just hit the ground."

Carl pulled something from his pocket and held out his hand towards Gabriel. "We've got some pecans."

He took them into his own hand and smiled. "Thank you." I watched Gabriel's eyes shift towards something behind me, making me turn my head to see Judith in Tyreese's arms. "That's a beautiful child." I looked back at the stranger before slowly taking a step in front of Judith to block his gaze from lingering any longer.

Gabriel noticed my tension and gave a smile, "do you have a camp?"

"No. Do you?" Rick spoke bluntly.

"I have a church."

He nodded, "hold your hands above your head." Gabriel did as Rick ordered and raised his arms up. "How many walkers have you killed?" He asked, patting down Gabriel's arms then sides. "Not any, actually."

"Turn around." Gabriel did as told, turning around as Rick kept checking. "How many people have you killed?" He asked before stepping away when Gabriel turned back around. "None."

I raised my chin slightly in the direction of the man. "Why?"

"Because the Lord abhors violence." He gave me a lopsided smile and Rick continued badgering him with questions. "What have you done?"

"We've all done something. I'm a sinner. I sin almost every day. But those sins, I confess them to God, not strangers."

"You said you had a church?" I piped up, cutting the conversation between Rick and Gabriel.

The man nodded once more, "follow me."

If he really did have a place to stay then that meant we had somewhere to sit down and relax while we still could. We could have Judith rest and have something to eat. Just somewhere for us to lay low for a while.

The walk through the woods was silent between the group except Rick who was still speaking with Gabriel.

I walked alongside Michonne with my arms by my side, my gaze focused on the bald priest ahead of us. "I don't know if I trust this guy," I mumbled.

Michonne looked at me with a smile. "Aren't you supposed to be the reasonable one? You and Carl are supposed to be changing Rick's mind when we run into problems."

I inhaled heavily with a small shake of my head. "I know, I'm just saying. What we went through with the prison and Terminus — it's going to take a lot to earn my trust. Granted I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but," I bit down on my lower lip before shrugging. "I don't know."

"Hold up." Rick stalked up the steps of the church, standing in front of Gabriel. "Can we take a look around first?" He held out his hand towards Gabriel, gesturing towards the key to the front doors of the church. "We just want to hold onto our squirrels."

Once he gave Rick the key, Rick himself, Michonne, Glenn, Carol, and Daryl were the ones to step inside the church to take a look around.

Gabriel came down from the small porch and took a stand beside me while I had my arms crossed over my chest. "I know this has to be a normal routine for you guys, but I usually just keep to myself. Would you believe me if I said I only keep to myself?"

My eyes squinted slightly from the sun pouring over us from above as I shifted on my feet, looking over at the man. "Well, we were almost eaten by other humans. The word 'trust' isn't exactly in our vocabulary right now."

The man opened his mouth to speak but then quickly shut it. I gave him a slow nod confirming my statement. "Don't judge us for our choices and we won't judge you for yours."

"Are you a woman of faith, uhm, — "

"Sienna," I answered. "And yes, I was — or still am, maybe a little on the fence." I admitted truthfully before flickering my gaze towards Gabriel. "My father was a good Christian man. My sister and I try to remain as such but ever since we lost him — it's gotten a lot harder."

"Maybe you'll take our paths crossing as a sign from him directly."

I purposely remained silent after his statement — allowing the time to pass and his words to sink into my bones. But I feared I wasn't going to believe in much of anything until we got Beth back.

Rick came out after a few minutes and dropped the keys into Gabriel's hand.

He smiled, "I spent months here without stepping out the front door. If you found someone inside, well, it would have been surprising."

Rick didn't speak, although I felt his fingers graze my hand before linking a few fingers with mine as he took his place beside me. He silently stared at Gabriel, which caused the man to shift uncomfortably on his foot until Carl walked up and smiled with Judith in his arms. "Thanks for this."

"We found a short bus out back. It don't run, but I bet we could fix that in less than a day or two." Abraham suddenly appeared after coming around from the back of the church. "Mind if we have it for ourselves?" He asked Gabriel and the man shook his head. "Looks like we found ourselves some transport." I looked up at the red haired man while Rick used his free hand to brush Judith's hair from her face. "You understand what's at stake here, right?" He pressed.

"Yes, I do." Rick sighed.

"Now that we can take a breath — " I spoke with a raised eyebrow but Abraham cut me off. "We take a breath, we slow down, shit inevitably goes down."

I nodded my head, "we need supplies no matter what we do next. Let's just get some rest before we start planning our next move. I'm not going anywhere until I know she's good to go," I jutted my chin towards Judith.

"That's right. Water, food, ammunition. We need a plan." Rick leaned forward and kissed the top of Judith's head. "But our daughter needs to eat first." He tugged on my fingers, directing me to follow him inside the church but his words struck me like lightning.

Our daughter.

Once we settled inside the church, dropping our gear and equipment on the ground and the benches, Rick and I stood with Gabriel to continue our conversation from earlier.
Carl passed Judith off into Rick's arms and I occasionally reached over to stroke her back or scrunch my nose to make her laugh. Our daughter. It had to have been a fluke — something he said without even thinking but I would be lying if I said it didn't spark euphoria in my chest.

"How'd you survive here for so long? Where did your supplies come from?" Rick asked.

Gabriel, standing in his tight knit suit with his hands crossed in front of him, only shrugged a shoulder. "Luck. Our annual canned food drive. Things fell apart right after we finished it. It was just me."

"You are lucky," I acknowledged with a nod. "It's getting harder to come across supplies these days. Don't take it for granted." I felt the men gazing at me while I reached for Judith in Rick's arms, smiling wide with anticipation to hold her.

"Come here, baby." I spoke softly as my hands went under her arms, picking her up from Ricks and holding her into my own with her bottom resting on my hip.

I walked away from the two and over to Judith's bag that rested on a bench. I pulled out a small stuffed animal that was shaped as a bunny, holding it in front of her with a smile. Watching her small hands grab onto the toy with a toothless smile made my heart leap against my chest.

I sat down with her on the bench, placing her on my lap with her body facing mine. "You are just one happy little girl, aren't you?" I whispered gently while she put one of the rabbit's fluffy ears into her mouth.

"I don't think you understand the diseases that are lingering in this world," I muttered playfully before lifting her up so her chubby feet would be standing on my thighs. "No idea, hm?"
Judith stared down at me, blinking several times at my words before bobbing her head sporadically with a wide smile.
"Hey," Rick greeted as he walked over. "I'm going on a run for supplies." He kneeled down beside Judith and I, reaching over to stroke her short blonde hair.

I turned to him with a smile, "want me to come with?"

He pursed his lips for a moment then shook his head. "I'm bringing Gabriel with us. I need you to stay here —  watch Judith and Carl with Tyreese. See if you can find anything around here." He leaned up and placed a kiss on top of Judith's head before standing back up and leaning over to kiss my lips. "I'll be back."

I watched Rick walk away before turning back towards Judith. "Pray that your father doesn't get himself into trouble — he has a habit of doing that." I whispered the last bit jokingly while resting my forehead against hers.

She squealed happily, dropping the rabbit and reaching for my hair instantly. I winced when she pulled and tangled her little fingers into the strands but didn't find it in me to care that much.

"Hey, Sienna." Tyreese appeared with a gentle smile on his face. "Mind if I sit?"

I nodded eagerly, using one to pat the empty space beside me while scooching over. "Not at all. Thank you for staying back to watch over us — you're doing a lot for Judith and I wanted to thank you again for that."

He shook his head while resting his arm over the back of the bench. "After the troubles I caused back at the prison — I feel that it's the least I can do. I made mistakes and took a lot of my anger out on all of you, especially Rick and for that I'm deeply sorry."

I tilted my head at the man, a small smile spreading across my lips. "You protected Judith — you saved her life. I'd call us even."

He smiled happily when he reached over to rub the short hairs on the top of her little head. "Of course but — I just hope you can understand what I went through."

"I do," I promised. "A lot of us do. You saw how Rick was when you guys first came to the prison. It wasn't an easy time for him."

He nodded knowingly and his facial expression softened at the memory. "Would you mind me asking what happened?"

I tilted my head down towards Judith — a strong but quick hollow feeling forming in my chest when I remembered the visual of freeing her from Lori's body.

"Rick was married awhile ago," I started explaining softly. "Vowed his love to someone he's known since high school. They divorced, or so you'd put it, when his group collided with my family back on the farm where I lived. He expressed that their marriage had been over for a while — neither of them weren't sure how to end it until the time was right." My fingers caressed Judith's back while I watched her chew on the rabbit — seemingly in a trance by her own toy.

"She was pregnant with Judith when we stumbled upon the prison." I slowly lifted my gaze back up towards Tyreese — his eyebrows arching slightly. "I thought she — "

I shook my head, "no, she's not mine. But I helped deliver her, which ultimately was the reason Lori passed. Rick didn't get the chance to say goodbye and I think — " I swallowed the thick lump of anxiety down my throat. "I think not having the proper closure with her caused him a lot of dread and he didn't have a chance to fully recover. So on that very day, something in him snapped, and he needed time to grieve."

Silence immediately surrounded us, but Tyreese radiated comfort which truthfully eased my own thoughts.

"Karen meant a lot to me, she — " He spoke softly. "In a short amount of time she became very important to me. Losing her made me lose myself. But that's not how I am, I'm not that man you saw before — I'm much better than that."

I carefully settled Judith back down onto my lap and made sure she had her rabbit to keep her occupied. Tyreese' gaze finally found mine again and I offered another reassuring smile. "I don't define your character by the mistakes you've made, Ty, it's what you've done to make up for it is how I see you for what you truly are." I reached over and held his cheek in the palm of my hand. "You're one of us. You and Sasha — you're family now."

Fresh tears ghosted his vision and he nodded with acceptance before blinking repeatedly to keep himself from shedding any tears. "Mind if I hold her whenever you're ready?"

"Of course," I nodded quickly with my lips tipping upwards.
He got up from the bench, passing by Carl who suddenly took his spot beside me on the bench. We smiled at one another and he took off the sheriff hat, placing it on his lap with a quick sigh.

"Can we talk for a second?" He tilted his head upwards and his gaze locked with mine.

I briefly looked down at the baby, her head was tilted backwards against my chest with her bright eyes staring back at me. "We are just full of confessions today, aren't we Judith?" I widened my eyes at the little girl, flashing her a cheeky grin. "We might as well clock in for our shift."

Carl laughed softly, "sorry, I overheard your conversation with Tyreese and it just got me thinking."

"I'm sorry," I quickly responded, unaware he was listening to me speak about his mother. "I would never talk about her so openly and make you or your father uncomfortable, he asked — "

"No, it's okay." Carl shook his head with a smile. "It's nice hearing her name. I liked listening to you talk about her." He inhaled slowly before exhaling it heavily. "A lot has changed with my dad after my mom died."

I purposely shifted my posture so Judith and I were facing Carl directly. "What do you mean?"

He propped his elbows up on his legs, a smile lingering on his lips. "He's happy. Not that he wasn't happy with my mom — it's just, he seems happier. I know I was harsh with you in the beginning but I appreciate everything you do for my dad, specially Judith. I just want you to know I'm really grateful you're here. You make him happy."

A soft sigh escaped my lips as tears formed in my eyes, but I quickly blinked them back and smiled at the boy. "Carl, you don't have to apologize for being exactly what you are — a kid." He rolled his eyes but continued to smile, so I playfully nudged him with my elbow. "Maybe a little bit cooler now that you have that scar on your stomach."

"Yeah but, I was kind of a douchebag to you for a while." We both laughed softly and I shook my head, mentally thanking Rick wasn't here to scold him. "I think I knew what was going on with my parents — I knew they were separating and then I lost her, so I didn't know where to put all that anger." I reached over and gently rubbed his back as he continued. "When it was just me and my dad — I did some shitty things. Said some awful things to him while he was sleeping. I thought I was losing him too and I was just so angry at the world."

"It's okay," I whispered softly, earning his full attention. "We do a lot of things we regret and most of the time it's not planned at all — we're not meant to be aware of what will happen in the future." He nodded knowingly while he folded his hands and leaned his cheek across his knuckles. "Carl to be honest with you — my fiance was abusive and I thought to stop the pain I had to kill him. It didn't make me feel any better — if there's any irony in that, but I'm making sure I spend every day making up for it by giving my love to you, Judith, and your dad. I was given so much of it that I didn't have anywhere to put it because Steven refused to accept it."

"All three of you are deserving of that love and it's where I want it to go." I straightened my shoulders with a strong inhale before quickly letting them lax forward. "Carl, I will never ever try to replace your mother. But I hope you know my love is unconditional for all of you."

He gave me a nod before wrapping his arms around me and hugging my waist tightly. "Thank you," I heard him whisper into my side.

I smiled down at him before returning the gesture — purposely hugging him tighter before we both stood up from the bench. "I want to check this place out some more. Want to come with?"
He shot his head up then quickly nodded with a smile. "Okay, cool."

I moved around the bench, my gaze flickering through the church before they finally settled on Ty who was speaking with Sasha and Bob. "Your turn, big guy!" I smiled wide while walking up to him and carefully handing Judith over — who was visibly more than happy to be in his arms.

"Would you hate me if I said I was her favorite?" He teased me with a grin.

"Keep dreaming," I laughed softly before kissing the side of her head.

By the time Rick and the others returned, Abraham was working on the bus and Carl and I did in fact find things that were interesting yet entirely disturbing.

We were standing at the side of the church, eyeing the markings on the walls with our hands on our hips.

"This is too weird," I mumbled, reaching up and letting my fingers graze against the knife marks on the window edge.

"Tell me about it," Carl agreed. "What do you think happened?" He turned to me with a questionable look.

I shrugged carefully, "looks like someone was trying to get it. Maybe. That's my best guess."

"Hey." Rick called out. "Tyreese said you two were out back. Come on in. We found food. A lot of it." He smiled proudly as he walked up to us.

I crossed my arms over my chest and pressed my lips into a firm line. Rick noticed and shifted on his feet, furrowing his eyebrows. "What is it?"

Carl dropped his hands from his hips and stepped forward, pointing at the marks on the wall. "Those scratches — they're deep. Like knives or something. Someone was trying to get in." He then nodded his head to the left of us. "We found something else."

I turned and followed behind Carl as he showed his dad the other marking we found as well. "I don't know what happened, but whatever it is, we can handle it. Doesn't mean Gabriel is a bad guy for sure, but it means something."

My gaze centered on the writing 'you'll burn for this.'

Rick rested his hand against the wall, his thumb rubbing against the marking. "Let's go eat," he spoke softly.

Nightfall arrived shortly after dinner was made and the church was filled with endless of laughter.

I made a plate for Rick and I — feeding Judith the extra food that was on my plate. Ricks back was against the one of the benches as we sat on the floor, his hands holding onto Judith as her small fist held up some food.

"Gimmie some," he smiled, opening his mouth wide as Judith tried to feed him what was in her hand.

I laughed softly, my chin resting on my arms with my knees pulled close to my chest. "She's so active tonight." I changed the position of my body and gathered a small amount of mashed potatoes onto a spoon. "Judith!" I softly called and her head immediately turned to me with a wide smile and drool running down her chin. "Mashed potatoes?" I spoke in a higher tone, laughing afterwards as I fed her the food. When I pulled the spoon back, she tasted the potatoes and smiled happily when she finished.

"Want to feed me some?" Rick asked while he tilted his head to the side.

"How about I give you a crisp high-five instead?" I grinned widely, causing him to shake his head with laughter. "You're going to feed her but not me?"

I placed my plate onto the floor then gently caressed Judith's cheek with my thumb. "She's a baby, she has to eat!" I leaned over and gently placed a kiss on her head.

Rick smiled while he adjusted her on his legs, his head titling to the side as he watched his daughter. "I think she likes you more than she loves me."

I scrunched my nose and tucked my hair to the side as I brought my knees to my chest. "Of course I do! She's my—" I quickly shut my mouth, keeping myself from saying anything further and focusing my gaze on the pattern of Judith's clothes.

What Rick said earlier — I continuously played it in my mind. His words echoed through my entire body and I immediately accepted it for what it was without communicating it with him first.

Embarrassment immediately over came me and before I knew it, Rick shifted beside me and I felt his right hand softly rest on the back of my neck, rubbing it to capture my attention.

I swallowed nervously and looked up at him, slightly smiling. His hand traveled up and rested against my cheek as Judith leaned against his chest quietly. "Daughter," he spoke softly. "She is our daughter."

I looked at Rick closely before slowly smiling, leaning forward and gently placing my lips against his. I felt Judith anxiously roll over into my arms and I quickly caught her in my own, pulling away from Rick to look down at her.

Judith looked up at me with wide and curious eyes, her small chubby hands reaching for my hair as she gave me a cheeky smile.

Rick placed a kiss on my temple and smiled, "think she agrees too."

I felt fresh tears forming quickly and I didn't bother shielding them or brushing them away. My smile grew wider when I leaned down to kiss her cheek softly before tucking my face into her shoulder.

With a quick nod of my head, I lifted my gaze back towards Rick and laughed. "Yeah."

"I'd like to propose a toast." Abraham's voice made me look up and Rick turned away from Judith and I while the chatter in the room slowly died down. "I look around this room — and I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title. To the survivors." He held up a cup towards the entire group and everyone cheered out with their cups raised as well.

"Survivors!"

"Cheers!"

"To the survivors!"

I happily bounced Judith on my lap with one arm secured protectively around her and the other holding up my drink. "To the survivor's," I agreed proudly.

"Survivors. Is that all you want to be?" Abraham continued. "Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, go to sleep at night with two eyes open, rinse and repeat? 'Cause you can do that. I mean, you got the strength. You got the skill. Thing is, for you people, for what you can do, that's just surrender. Now, we get Eugene to Washington and he will make the dead die and the living will have this world again. And that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip."

A soft noise from Judith made my eyes drop down to see her crawling into Rick's lap and pressing her head against his chest.

"Eugene, what's in DC?" Abraham then asked out loud, regaining my attention.

"Infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this fubar magnitude. That means food, fuel, refuge. Restart." Eugene explained from where he sat on a bench.

"However this plays out," Abraham spoke up, "however long it takes for the reset button to kick in, you can be safe there. Safer than you've been since this whole thing started." He turned to speak directly towards Rick now. "Come with us. Save the world for that little one. Save it for yourselves. Save it for the people out there — who don't got nothing left to do except survive."

I slowly looked over at Rick as he looked at me, a chuckle leaving his lips before another soft babble came from Judith which made us look down at her.

"What was that?" He questioned, making the others laugh. "I think she knows what I'm about to say." He slowly grinned, looking around the room then back down at Judith. "She's in. If she's in — I'm in. We're in."

Sudden cheers filled the room again and I quickly leaned forward, caressing Rick's cheek with my hand and pressing a firm but passionate kiss on his lips.

"Thank you," I whispered softly.

He tilted his head to the side, a smile still lingering. "What for?"

"Everything."