𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 | 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴

Falling

Rick is a happily married man with a child. He's kind, selfless, brave, and our group's leader. Yet all I can think about when I'm around him is how I desperately want him to be mine.

It's gotten worse lately. He's stopped wearing his sheriff's uniform but is instead wearing different, usually dark t-shirts or button-ups. He's also started to grow out his stubble and God, does Rick look good with facial hair.

I bring a hand to my mouth, trying to contain myself and those thoughts swirling around my brain accompanied by the frustrating feeling of dissatisfaction. Quickly running a brush through my hair, I decide I'm ready, unzipping the tent and stepping out only to be met with the sight of Rick giving Lori a kiss.

Faltering, my heart sinks at the sight in front of me. It's ridiculous how just one small kiss can hurt so much.

The longing in my chest is almost painful as Rick turns around and spots me, walking over and greeting me with a smile.

"Ready?" He asks and I nod, giving Lori a wave before Rick and I head over to the farmhouse.

Carl's sutures should be healed properly by now. Rick and I have been working on getting him out of bed and getting his body gradually used to exercise again to avoid any complications. We started out just helping him get out of bed safely, then walking from the bed to the other side of the room, gradually moving the distance farther and farther.

He's doing much better.

Before we reach the farmhouse, Glenn and Maggie stop us, informing us that they are heading to the pharmacy later and checking in case we need anything. I tell them getting any antibiotics, disinfectants, and painkillers would be great. Rick doesn't have any requests but says they should ask the others, just in case.

Maggie and Glenn nod, waving goodbye as they head to the camp to ask the rest. I watch them for a moment, definitely not noticing how close they're walking together. Maggie finally admitted to me the other day that she and Glenn have a thing going on, but swore me to secrecy due to Herschel and the fact he would most likely not be happy about it. Still, they are so cute together.

"So, Cass, what level are we taking Carl today?" Rick questions me as we head up the steps of the porch.

I ignore the butterflies swarming in my stomach just from hearing him say my nickname. I turn to him with a hopeful smile.

"If today goes well, it might just be a discharge day," I grin, making Rick smile widely.

"I hope so," he responds, opening the door for me.

We get into Carl's room to find him awake, playing chess with Sophia. These two have gotten super into both board and card games in the past week and are getting pretty good.

Rick and I take the two of them outside to get Carl moving as I assess his movements and watch for any pain. He and Rick play a loose game of soccer, Sophia and Shane joining in.

Even Daryl stops by to watch the game, talking to Carol a little bit. I watch them all with a grateful smile.

We haven't had any walker incidents all week, it's been so peaceful.

As the soccer game continues, I force myself to track Carl the whole time, not only to make sure he's okay but to make sure my eyes won't drift back to Rick. That way I don't notice how attractive his genuine grin is as he plays with his son or the fact that his black t-shirt is starting to stick to his torso with sweat. No. I definitely don't notice that.

Carl is moving normally, running and jumping, seeming perfectly fine. It's incredible, he has had an exponential recovery.

I wanted to be extra safe with these strange circumstances, but he's doing great. I smile with pride and gratitude. My first patient of the apocalypse is officially discharged.