What baffled her the most was the fact that out of all the places and people in this world, they had met in such a dysfunctional setting —- - did they really need the apocalypse to realize that they were better as a family…? Jess could feel the rotting sense of disappointment boiling inside of her stomach. If Rick would scold her for leaving, then she would accept every bitter word he had to say. The female barely visited when Rick married Lori, and rarely seen Carl —- - such a young, delicate little boy, the last time Jess had seen him.
“ We’re huggin’ in a bunch o’ dead walkers. “ Jess merely points out, trying to laugh, yet horribly fails. “ Knew that you were romantic an’ sappy. “ The female gently rubs the beads of tears which threatened to roll down her cheeks. God, how she missed Rick and the entire shebang. What she wouldn’t give to pause in this moment —- - Jess felt so secure when Rick was around. Being that kid with a limp when she was younger, Jess was pushed around, and only her brother was there to defend her. Right now, she wanted to repay that debt.
—- - “ I - It’s my fault, Rick. I - I… l - left, without a f - final decision t - that I was permanently… gone. I th - thought I’d be d - dead —- … but I’m not. I thought I c - could survive on my own… but I can’t. Not without you, Rick. “
Rick had rarely spoken to his sister after he married Lori, after Carl was brought into the world. She would visit occasionally but she seemed to go out of her way to avoid those visits as much as she could. It was a shame, he’d missed his sister being around for quite some time but was soon occupied with his own life, with raising his boy and keeping his town safe. It was only until now that he realised he missed her dearly, that with her not being around, he had lost the part of himself that remembered his past before Lori. It had died when Shane had.
Rick glanced down at the walkers that had previously tried to eat him and chuckled. God, it was all so messed up. "They ain’t going anywhere,” he spoke, closing his eyes again and holding on to the moment, holding on to her with everything he had. The protectiveness he had felt when they had been young soon returned, he felt the need to get her to safety, to get her back to the prison immediately. Much like Carl, he did not want her to be outside anymore, where it was dangerous. Rick pulled away from the hug, not much, but enough so that he could stare into her tearful eyes. They’d always looked somewhat alike, people would always comment on their similarities.
“You don’t have to survive by yourself anymore,” he reassured her, excited to tell her about the home they had made for themselves, how it was safe. “We can go home now.”
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