Chapter Text
It’s a strange but not unwanted sensation to be awoken by the sun streaming in through the gap in the curtains instead of the gurgles and moans of the once dead. Rick takes the time to stretch out, arching back against the sheets on his bed and just enjoying that now he’s able to start his day at a leisurely pace. There is no rush anymore and though there’s still work to be done and everyone pulls their weight, it’s not as desperate all the time. At the prison there was a constant need to be on guard and make sure every part that they did not have secure wasn’t hiding anything unwanted on the other side.
Woodbury was much easy to defend if only because they knew what to expect from it. The prison was new ground for all of them and though Rick had a basic knowledge of the layout, it was nothing like the natural ease that came to moving around a street of houses and gardens. Everyone had settled in easy, taking their own houses and getting comfortable. Beds were now something they all had and enjoyed every night, they had vegetable gardens, room to breathe and the lack of grey prison walls seemed to have breathed more life into everybody.
The previous citizens of Woodbury had been on edge at first of course, but as soon as they displayed their prowess with ridding any linger walkers and spent their time and energy giving medical aid and hunting for them all, they soon warmed up to them. The town had taken a while to get to a decent state and the walls had been rebuilt as well as a few surrounding boundaries and stakes to keep the walkers at bay. It worked and it worked well for everyone involved.
Though he was no longer the leader of everyone, he was still considered to be one of the more respected members of the new group and as soon as it was decided to have a council, he was given a chair. Andrea had helped a lot those first few weeks, showing them all around and easing the Woodbury folks to their presence and giving them more information about what they had done for her before they got separated.
Closing his eyes for a moment Rick knows there won’t be any repercussions for taking his time and actually being able to enjoy himself without the worry of something happening in the meantime. His family were here in the walls of Woodbury and were safe without him having to be constantly on guard for them. He knew he’d made the right choice in bringing them here to settle in, after the battle the prison was just so much harder to repair and fortify whereas Woodbury was set to go after the necessary repairs had been made. There had been no sign of the Governor returning and though he still made sure to keep someone on watch, there’s never been more to report than the odd small herd to deal with.
Standing up Rick actually finds pleasure in the little things he’d hated before, shaving and brushing his teeth used to be chores whereas now it was something he treasured being able to do. He hasn’t looked this healthy since before he got shot and even he can see the good it’s done to be here, his face looked fuller and there were no more deep dark bags beneath his eyes. He actually looks human again.
Everyone else was certainly enjoying having the luxuries of power again after their time on the run and in the prison with none at all. It took work to keep the generators going but Milton has it under control and he’s been working on new plans for hunting down solar panels and attaching them to give them a renewable source instead of using up more of the gas. It had been a burst of life to have everything they hadn’t had before suddenly available to them and he knew everyone loved feeling normal again.
Maggie and Glenn were married now, and even discussing the possibilities of starting a family of their own if everything stays like this. Hershel had given his blessing and found his place in the community helping in their small medical centre as well as teaching everyone about farming and maintaining it. Beth had even been helping making plans for adding a small farm to the edge of the town, maybe using the old arena as a starting point and the walker holds as a makeshift barn for the animals. It seemed rather feasible and Rick was hopeful this could really be the perfect place to stay.
The others had found their places as well, Carol taking up a role as a teacher to the children and younger teens, not only helping with their basic education but with survival aspects as well with the help of Andrea and Michonne. Though the latter two women much preferred going on runs and getting rid of any herds, they had formed a bond with Carol and Sasha, sharing a home with them both and managing to make them smile once more. They were good for each other, mixing and matching in the perfect way, accentuating the strengths in each other.
Tyreese had settled with one of Woodbury woman, a lady named Karen who had taken a shine to him immediately. He’d settled in with her and helped out with any chore that needed doing, the handyman of the town and just as good using the hammer to make things as he was using it to destroy walkers. The street was getting full, bedrooms being called for and soon enough all the houses were completely in use. Until they begin adding more houses or making more space, everyone was just having to enjoy living in each other’s pockets.
Pulling on his sheriff’s uniform he enjoys burying his nose in the collar, smelling the freshness of actual clean fabric, with real soap powder instead of crappy washboards and cold water. Rick knows he has plenty of other clothes to wear but this was still a part of his life, something he still wanted to hang on to despite everything that had happened. He and Carl had settled into a two-bedroomed place on the edge of town, not wanting to have the Governor’s lavish property to themselves when others could make a better use of it. Judith didn’t take up much space, her crib was set at the end of his bed but as usual he’d woken up to find it empty. Fastening the last button he heads downstairs, used to the lack of panic at finding his daughter missing.
“Wait wait! Where’s my guy? What colour am I again?”
“You’re Tails, the orange fox, you have to keep up with Sonic because you’re the second player.”
Laughing to himself Rick glances over to find Daryl and Carl sitting on the floor in front of the television, barely three feet away and tapping at the controllers. They’d found the console in an old store and though he had no idea how in the hell to set it up, Glenn had it running in seconds and now each run looked for games as well. It’s something so small but for them it’s huge and it’s become Carl’s priority to teach Daryl how to play properly.
Honestly when they’d first arrived at Woodbury, Daryl had been the one he’d worried about most. The other man had been held hostage here, forced to fight for his life, been ridiculed and spat on by some of these very residents. The first week Daryl had spent a lot of time hunting, staying out of the way and not finding his place. The man would skip from house to house, couch jumping and not settling anywhere until he’d turned up on their doorstep one night.
Rick had forced him to stay, made him bring his stuff over and park Merle’s motorbike outside as a definite symbol of his permanent residence. Daryl had been reluctant at first, and Rick could tell the sudden changes and new way of living had put him on edge but it had worked and over time he had settled into his new role in this house. Rick never pushed him to do any of it, but Daryl had become his domestic partner, keeping the house together, watching Judith more often than not and keeping an eye on Carl when he was busy with the council and solving problems.
The weeks had passed and Daryl had gotten more comfortable, helping out around the town, interacting with others and it got to the point where coming home and finding Daryl had taken care of everything else became the norm. It reminded Rick of how things were before and though everything was a little different, the routine of daily life was similar and very comforting. There were days when he’d come in and expect to see Lori smiling, coming over to welcome him home and wrap her arms about his neck, tipping back his hat and unbuttoning his shirt with a whisper of Carl being at soccer practise.
It wasn’t quite that perfect, but the routine and the easiness of it all was something he’d missed and something he was instinctively falling back into. Heading to the kitchen table he finds his breakfast already set out for him, powdered egg on toast with a mug of tea just the way he liked it on the side. Diving in he enjoys his meal whilst listening to Carl and Daryl in the other room.
“This game makes no sense at all.” Daryl’s getting frustrated, but the playful kind that won’t end up with something being broken and him storming off. “Why are there robot wasps and fish?”
When Carl answers he sounds exasperated, as if he cannot believe that someone doesn’t know the basics of Sonic the Hedgehog and had managed to survive this long. “Because they’re the baddies, Robotnik built them and they’ve got all the creatures of the homeworld trapped inside of them.” He explains, and Rick finished his eggs before heading over with his tea, leaning on the back of the couch to watch the two of them play.
“Holy shit what just happened?”
His son snickers, pointing to the screen and explaining slowly, as if Daryl were younger than him. “Yeah your guy can fly by spinning his tails like a propeller.”
“So I’m a flying fox?” The confusion in Daryl’s voice makes Rick laugh a little and the fact that his son is trying to teach him something so useless as a video game makes him feel more at home here than usual. It’s not something he needs to know, it’s something Carl wants to know and share with the other man. At no point will this help with survival, it’s just fun and it’s wonderful to see his son having that again.
“Yup and I’m a hedgehog that can run at the speed of light.” Carl laughs, not turning his head to look but clearly able to feel the look Daryl is giving him as they continue pressing buttons and making their characters hop around the screen. “I know it is weird but try not to think about it too much, just enjoy the game.”
“I’m doing my best but my glamorous assistant here keeps button bashing.” Daryl sighs, and Rick can hear his daughter in Daryl’s lap, babbling happily and smacking her chubby hands over Daryl’s fingers and causing him to hit buttons at the wrong time. Once again his character does a mix between jumping, flying and running, before hitting something and losing another life.
Taking a sip of his tea Rick finally feels awake and alert enough to interact with the world. “Judith stop it, you’ll make Daryl lose and he sucks bad enough as it is.”
“Hey I don’t suck, I’m just still learning how to play is all.” The other man complains, trying to wrestle Judith’s fingers off his controller until Rick takes pity on him and goes over to take her from his lap, giving his daughter a morning kiss and enjoying when she squeals happily to him.
Rocking her lightly he fusses over her, enjoying her smiles and how she tries to copy him when he pokes out his tongue at her. “How long you guys been on it?” He doesn’t mean to be a spoilsport but they have limits for a reason, having fun was fine but they needed the generators for other things too.
“Our half hour’s nearly up dad, we’ve got the timer on don’t worry.” Carl nods to the kitchen timer on the television, ticking down the minutes until the console needs to be turned off.
“Yeah we can’t play later because Carl’s going to go hang out with Patrick, Zach and the other kids.” Daryl explains why their daily ritual of playing games after dinner had been thrown out the window.
It’s sounds like a great reason to him and Rick is pleased to hear that Carl is actually taking the initiative to hang around with other kids, even if they are a few years older than him. It’s still a step in the right direction and though having Daryl here has made Carl a lot more like his old self, Daryl was still an adult and there was a big difference there. “What you boys gonna get up to?” He doesn’t want to sound like the worried parent, but he was used to knowing exactly where Carl was at all times.
Shrugging a little Carl continues watching the screen, easily making his character bounce off of bad guys and outrun Daryl’s until the orange blob is off-screen. “Not much. We got a football we can throw around and a dartboard, we were thinking maybe we could set up our own game room, like our own mini club house you know?” He doesn’t sound brilliantly excited, and Rick can see when he glances over at Daryl, as if trying to apologise for doing something so normal.
Rick focuses on throwing Judith into the air and catching her, getting her to giggle and squeal as Daryl answers, making Rick even more sure bringing the other man into the house was a good idea. “Sounds pretty cool.” He can practically feel the way Carl relaxes at the other man’s acceptance. “I could teach you how to play poker if you want.”
“We haven’t got any cards Daryl.” Carl sounds put out and when the timer goes off he dutifully turns off the console, looking disappointed.
“I’ll find you some, or we can make some, it’s not hard to do.” Daryl shrugs as if it’s no big deal, getting up from the floor and moving to grab Judith’s teething blanket, passing it over before the baby can start fussing over her sore gums.
“Cool, you could teach me first and then I’ll teach the guys.” Carl nods, and Rick can’t help but smile since he can tell his son wants to be the one to teach them something so cool and adult. He knew Carl was enjoying having some people more his age, but there was still a few years difference and though Carl acted more mature in many ways, he still felt the need to prove himself.
Daryl nods, passing Carl his jacket and flicking at the brim of his hat, making the boy huff in annoyance before setting it straight again. “All right, tonight then.” Holding out a fist Rick smirks as Carl bumps Daryl’s automatically, their version of a promise and he figures Carl is getting too old for words of being safe and careful.
“Cool, I’ll see you later dad.” Carl offers him a fist bump of his own and Rick has to laugh as he gives in. It’s sad but he never wanted to be the uncool dad that wasn’t with the times. “Be good Judith.” Leaning up Carl holds his sister’s wrist steady and bumps her hand gently before heading out the door, waving over his shoulder. “Can’t wait for later Daryl!”
Judith chews on her blanket before resting on his shoulder, content to just lay there and drool over his clean shirt as he continues getting ready for the day. The run is only for more supplies, there was a batch of warehouses down the way that they hadn’t tried yet, and though they were all latched Rick knew they could get into them anyway and hopefully find a lot of things they could use. It would be a long day but unlike before at the prison, he feels prepared for it now, especially after having such an easy wake up.
Keeping Judith close he makes another cup of tea one handed, hooking out another mug for Daryl even though he knew the other man wasn’t exactly a fan of the brew. “You know most parents wouldn’t appreciate you teaching their thirteen year old how to gamble.”
Daryl shrugs from his spot at the table, already measuring the card and taking out a knife to start marking out points on it. “Most parents don’t teach their thirteen year olds how to shoot walkers in the head.” He points out and Rick has to admit that’s a good point. “Dunno what the big deal is, I knew how to play when I was his age, heck I knew how to cheat most of the guys in the local bar by his age. That’s how we paid the bills.” Rick sips at his tea before moving to pass Judith to Daryl and set the other man’s drink on the table in front of him.
Rick smirks at Daryl’s answer, able to imagine a thirteen year old Daryl cheating guys out of their money easily. Shaking his head at the image he clips on his holster, never wanting to be without it just in case. He knows Daryl had a rather hectic life before all this, but it was nice when the other man would sometimes let the good parts of it slip through.
Checking his side he finds his knife missing but before he can even ask about it, Daryl has produced it, passing it over with one hand whilst bouncing his daughter on his knee with the other. “Thanks.”
“It’s sharpened so don’t expect as much resistance as you’re used to.”
Nodding Rick slips the blade into its sheath, setting his hand onto the handle in a natural movement. He feels refreshed and ready for the day, not worried as much as he would be about going on a run. Of course they’ll still need to be careful, but he feels ready for anything. “Great, you going hunting today?”
“Planning to.” Daryl’s voice is muffled as Judith grabs at his mouth, giggling when he mouths at her fingers before pulling free. “Maggie and Carol said they’ll be coming over around lunch to watch Lil Asskicker, I’ll go for a few hours, check the snares and see what’s in the area.” He shrugs, keeping Judith occupied whilst he takes a sip of his tea, made with plenty of sugar to make it more bearable for him.
“All right.” Draining his own mug Rick places it on the side to be washed up later, catching a glance out the window at the bright street of Woodbury. There’s so much colour here, as if the rest of the world had been washed out over time. “You’ll be back before dinner though? You know she fusses when you’re not here.” Moving over he reaches to tickle at Judith’s chin, enjoying when she squirms and bats at his hand.
“Yeah I'll be back before then, got to keep the Princess happy.” As Rick moves to the door Daryl gets up from his seat, rocking Judith lightly as Rick pulls on his jacket. When Daryl reaches out to straighten the collar for him, Rick can’t help but smile, feeling the ease of it all and how there’s no more tension in either of their shoulders. “Now get going or Tyreese is going to go without you.” Daryl chastises playfully.
Everything is so different now. The days feel lighter and though there is always work to be done, it doesn’t feel so hard anymore. He’s finding that each day allows him to breathe a little easier, to share the burden and be who Rick Grimes was before all of this happened. It’s all getting better, Carl is happier, Judith is finally able to grow in a world with some stability and finally Rick’s beginning to see a future for all of them on the horizon. A future that’s got just enough reflections of the past to be safe and let him run on instinct alone.
“I’m going, I’m going.” He laughs, moving to kiss Judith’s forehead gently, enjoying the soft baby smell of her shampoo and just how alive and real she is. He doesn’t think anything of it when he leans up, cupping the back of Lori’s head to press a soft kiss to her lips, remembering when she’d been like this with a young Carl, smiling and leaning into his kiss with a small sigh. Sending him off to work with the promise of being there when he got back from a long day. “See you later you two.”
He can hear Judith giggling behind him as he makes his way down the path, the door closing gently and sealing behind the comfortable home life and releasing him into work mode. Rick climbs into the truck with Tyreese, leaning out the window as the other man drives and enjoying the gentle conversation he’s sharing with the other man and Michonne. It’s not until they’re halfway to the warehouses that he realises he hadn’t kissed Lori.
It’s not much later when he realises Daryl hadn’t pulled away.