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THEY DID NOT HAVE A DESTINATION, only a direction, north. Along the way, they will figure it out, right now all they need is to survive. They couldn't bear losing another one of each other.
But they could do without Matthew, Rick quipped in his mind. If he knew one thing, his presence was neither a joy nor a comfort to his Jo. She wore his clothes, she had him as a protective barrier, but love was not something she could return.
A noise in the woods alerts everyone. Matthew places himself in front of Josephine, and Josephine plants herself to shield Maggie. The danger is nothing more than Daryl. With a sigh they continue.
A quick conversation with the hunter, then Rick whistles to the group to close the gaps in their tread. As she passes by him, Rick touches her arm with two fingers.
"Can I talk to you?" Josephine nods, but when she turns to Matthew still here, she gives a command and allows her dog off the leash.
Once a distance is put between them and the group, they continue walking at a slower pace.
"I wanted to give this back to you."
Out of his jeans pocket, he pulls out an object and she lays her open palm to receive. The cold metal of Matthew's dog tags, her eyebrows lower, having almost forgotten of their existence.
"Oh," She laughs, not sure what to do with them now, and opts to keep them in her back pocket. "Uh, Thank you."
"Hey, you all right?" Rick tilts his head closer to hers, his voice gentle and exclusively for her.
"Yeah, I'm good." She smiles and barely makes eye contact with him.
"So you and. . ." Rick nods his head in Matthew's direction, not wanting to say his name aloud or say the phrase your husband. "You two doing okay?"
"It's weird." She finally faces him to give him her complete attention. Once they lock eyes, Jo can't help but wonder if this ache in her gut is the same feeling Lori had when she found out her husband lived after thinking the opposite. "I cried for him, I grieved, and I moved on. Now he's here. But—"
She doesn't know how many of her thoughts she wants to share with him. Up until this point, everything was fair game, but how could she disclose to him that she can't find it in her heart to start loving her husband again when her soul has been healed by another? She can't place that burden on him or put Rick in that awkward position.
(At the same time, Rick hopes that's exactly what she says. Every moment matters now, and she cannot continue with this unfair union. Ricks loves her, and he's sure she loves him. The only thing standing in their way is the man who keeps glancing behind him spying on their conversation. If he wasn't here, Rick and Josephine would be as jubilee as Bob and Sasha, as Glenn and Maggie; Rick would have his soul complete, able to touch her, able to kiss her, certain that nothing could take her away from him and call her his. He can't stand knowing their limited time on this earth is being robbed by a man who should have died long ago.)
