The Rest of your Life

Chapter 7

"Can we go now, Maggie?" Rory asked for the hundredth time in ten minutes.

"I told you, honey." Maggie laughed. "We can go look for you're daddy once Otis gets back, which should be soon."

Rory huffed and looked out to the field. The girl felt cleaner than she had in ages due to the Greene family allowing her to shower again. Maggie let her use a berry body wash and Rory decided it was better than the one she had used at the CDC. She was also happy to see that the bruise on her face from Ed was almost non existent anymore.

She squinted her eyes as she saw a figure running at the far end of the farm. "Maggie." Rory mumbled. "Maggie look, over there." She pointed.

Maggie grabbed her binoculars off of the ground and searched the field, breath coming shorter as she saw a man carrying a little boy.

"Dad!" Maggie yelled before they stood up. Maggies family all came out of the house and stood on the porch. Rory gasped as the figure came closer. It was Rick. He was carrying Carl. What happened to Carl?

"Rick?" Rory breathed out from behind Maggie.

"Was he bit?" Hershel questioned.

"Shot." Rick gasped, not spotting Rory. "By your man."

"Otis?"

"He said find Hershel. Is that you?" Rick trembled as the man nodded. "Help me. Help my boy." He cried.

"Get him inside." Hershel ordered. For a moment Rory was frozen. Feet stuck to the floor. Carl had been shot. Her best friend was shot. "Honey, go upstairs." Maggie said quietly.

"B-but he's my friend. I know him Maggie, he's my friend." Rory fumbled.

"Which is exactly why you shouldn't see... now go." Maggie explained softly. Rory ran to the top of the stairs waiting, listening. She let out a choked breath as she heard Herschel tell Rick that Carl was alive. She all but practically sprinted down the stairs as her dad came through the door, taking two steps at a time.

"Dad!" Rory cried, slamming into her fathers chest.

"Thank god. Thank god."

•••

After Shane and Rory's little reunion, Rory found out that Sophia was missing, and now they were in the room with Carl. Maggie kept glancing at Shane who held Rory to his chest like she was going to disappear, trying to keep her eyes off of Carl with no success.

"Lori dosent know." Rick stated. "My wife dosent know." His lip trembled and Rory's heart sunk. She had never seen Rick cry before and she decided there and then she never wanted to see it again. "My wife dosent know."

•••

"Why'd I let him come with us?" Rick whispered as he and Shane sat on a sofa, Rory calmly sleeping on her fathers lap. "I should have sent him with Lori."

"You know, you start that, you never get that monkey off your back." Shane breathed out as he played with his daughters hair.

"Little girls go missing, you look for them." Rick uttered. "Simple... you said call it, head back."

"Dosent matter what I said."

"Carl got shot because I wouldn't cut bait." Rick blamed. "It should be me in there."

"You've been there, partner." Shane chuckled grimly, momentarily pausing as Rory shifted. "Right? And you pulled through. So will he."

"Is that why I got out of that hospital?" Rick asked. "Found my family for it to end here like this? Is this some kind of sick joke?"