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SLEEPING SOUNDLY THE ENTIRE NIGHT, Rick wakes before both his alarm and Josephine. He stays a moment relishing in the contrast of the cool morning air and the warmth of her body wrapped around him.
She's much more than a comforting feeling to wake beside every morning these past few months; Josephine has become one of the three reasons he continues to live. She, Carl, and Judith are his motivation to keep breathing, but, specifically, loving her fills his heart with hope for the future in which he has the confidence and security to look her in the eyes and confesses that she is everything he ever needs and wants. He can't envision anything else, every path he sees with himself involves her, and loving her. Without her, he'll succumb to the creature this world is waiting for him to turn into.
Josephine loosens her grip on him when she feels him scoot out of the small bunk. Rick smiles at her after she hums in delight and stretches across to lie on her stomach, comfortably.
A soft babble from the crib notifies him of his babygirl. Quietly, he steps over to pick her up. In the process, Judith drops her crocheted duckie. Keeping her by his side with one arm, he crouches down to retrieve her favorite plushie before she convulses into a fit of tears.
He lingers in his kneeling position beside Josephine's face, swaying to the right to keep Judith from pulling the hair out of Josephine's braids.
"I love you," He breathes, so softly the words barely reach his ears.
He spends the next hour with Judith until his alarm rings. Clicking it off, he spins around and resumes feeding Judy her bottle only to find Josephine stretching her arms and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Aw, can you make me breakfast, too?" She teases with a sleepy smile.
"Sure," He chuckles at her in return. "What do you want?"
She hums and stares at the top bunk in thought before facing him again. "A giant, fully loaded breakfast burrito."
"With scrambled eggs?" He jokes and takes a step toward her.
"Yes, please." She grins.
"Bacon or Sausage?" Another step closer.
"Mmm, both." She sits up and leans over the edge
"And onions, tomatoes, and cilantro?" He stands in front of her. It would be so easy to dip down and kiss her.
"Ugh!" She laughs and pushes him to take a step back. "I'm going to leave before you make me hungrier."
She wraps the quilted blanket over her figure and stands, but before exiting she leans down to shake Judith's leg, "I'll see you later, baby."
Rick's heart swells with the pure warmth of love. Small moments such as these remind him he's alive, and how eternally grateful he is to have Josephine at his side.
