The group had returned back to the prison just a little before sun rise. Amanda fell asleep in Ricks room and slept through most of the following day.
At around 1pm, Amanda woke up. She crept out of the room quietly, looking around the hallway.
Carol smiled, "Ricks outside doing yard work. Let's get you a shower, yeah?" Carol smiled, leading Amanda to the shower rooms, "Heres some soap, some clothes and a towel. Holler if you need anything else." She smiled before walking out
Amanda smiled gratefully before she peeled off her clothes. She examined her battered and bruised body in the mirror, letting her fingers trail over a large burn mark on her hip. Amanda exhaled softly as she turned on the water and let it run over her face.
Rick knocked on the wall, standing in the hallway, "amanda?" He called, not wanting to disturb her privacy
"You can come in." Amanda said as she ran her hands over her face, clearing it of the water. She covered her breasts with her hands as she watched Rick walk in.
Rick sat down on the edge of the sink, looking at her body, "you guys have been through hell." Rick said softly
"I didn't have it as bad as Glenn." Amanda admitted softly, "The Governor liked me." Amanda said
"I noticed." Rick said, crossing his arms, "what's his deal?" He asked
"Can we just enjoy this moment? Just us?" Amanda asked softly, "Can you come in the water with me?"
Rick nodded as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt, laying it down on the sink. He exhaled deeply as he removed the rest of his clothes before climbing in the water alongside her.
Amanda laughed softly, "you're making the water all muddy!" she exclaimed
"I'm a hard working man, what did you expect?" Rick grinned as he leaned down, snaking his arms around her hips, "I've missed you." He said quietly, swaying her gently
Amanda placed her hands on his chest, relaxing in his touch. She hummed in agreement.
Rick looked down at her body, gently tracing a long burn that ran down her midsection to her hip. He examined her bruises and cuts, rubbing her back softly, "I'm going to kill this guy." Rick said, looking down into her eyes, "Promise." He said, noticing she had a cut on her lip. He leaned down, kissing her softly before he closed his eyes.
Amanda closed her eyes as she kissed him back softly, cupping his cheek as tears fell down her cheeks, but they were camouflaged by the water.
Rick pulled away slowly and put some shampoo in his hands and helped Amanda wash her long hair. He kissed her chin softly as he helped her rinse her hair. He turned off the water once they finished and he wrapped her up in a towel before doing the same for himself.
"I don't think I met some of the new people in the group." Amanda said, referring to the inmates
"That's Axel and Oscar." Rick said as he slid on his jeans, "They're alright." he admitted
Amanda nodded as she slid on her panties, unsure of how to react. She slid on her blouse before drying her hair off with her towel, "I..." Amanda said quietly, "I'd like to meet the baby." Amanda said softly
Rick let a smile creep up on his face, "yeah?" he asked, "Let's go." he said quietly, leading her down to where Beth and Hershel were
Amanda walked behind Rick, holding his hand as she felt her heart race pick up. She looked at the small baby, "Oh wow." Amanda said softly as she examined her face, "She looks like.. Lori." Amanda said, admiring the baby's big brown eyes
Hershel smiled at Amanda, "You're a sight for sore eyes." He said, using his crutches to stand up
"What happened?" Amanda asked in a panicked tone
"Rick here saved my life." Hershel smiled as he brought Amanda in for a hug, "A walker bite. He amputated my leg and saved me."
"Oh wow." Amanda said quietly, "how're you adjusting?" She asked curiously, her eyes
glued to the baby
"Just fine. My concern is how you're adjusting. You haven't blinked since ya got here." Hershel laughed
Amanda looked up from Judith, "I'm sorry." She said, being self conscious.
"Don't be sorry." Hershel said, "Whatever hell you guys went through, it's bound to leave you acting a little funny."
Beth nodded in agreement, "Would you like to hold her?" She asked Amanda
"No, thank you." Amanda said quietly. It wasn't due to the fact she didn't like Judith but more of the fact her hands were trembling
"Lets get some lunch in you." Rick told Amanda, nodding at Hershel and Beth before leading her over to the kitchen. Rick served her a bowl of macaroni elbows and pasta sauce, sliding it over to her.
"Thank you." Amanda said softly as she looked down at the food, unsure of what to say
"What happened out there?" Rick asked again, "I can't help if I don't know." Rick begged
Amanda exhaled deeply as she stared down at her plate, "We left early the next morning after we arrived." Amanda said quietly, "I was rude to you and lori, i was dismissive and i was isolating and you didn't deserve that. I was gonna go on a quick run to a baby store and see what stuff I could find. Glenn asked to tag along." Amanda said, using a spoon to play with her food, "Merle found us. He took us back to his compound and I met his boss.. Phillip." Amanda said, "For the first few days, they beat us, burned us, starved us and humiliated us. Glenn and I saw too much of each other." She admitted, "inside and out." she added, "The governor liked me. He said I was beautiful. He liked my strength." Amanda said, avoiding Ricks gaze as if he was the sun, "He wanted me to give him a baby. But he never.. We never.. you know." Amanda said, "He touched me but we never had actual intercourse. He said it would be wrong for a baby to be brought in that way. So he had some scientist try and do it artificially." Amanda said as tears streamed down her face. She cleared her throat, "The more I fought him on things, the more he beat Glenn. So, I stopped fighting. I stopped caring." Amanda said quietly, "They had Glenn doing odd jobs and The Governor kept me as his pet. He dressed me up, had people do my nails, my hair, all that unnecessary stuff." Amanda mumbled, "He introduced me to his daughter. She was the little girl sitting across from me when you found me. She got bit early on and he never killed her." Amanda said, "so i did."
Ricks jaw was clenched and he was holding onto the counter, as if he was looking for stability. His body was overwhelmed with emotions - frustration, anger, sadness, disgust - all running ramped through his body, making him nauseous. He looked down at Amanda, "I'm going to find him and I'm going to kill him." Rick said
Amanda shook her head, "It's pointless." She said, "They have guns and people.. We have nothing." Amanda said, "Let's just mind our P's and Q's and hope he doesn't come after us." Amanda said, "I don't want anything else. If we go after him again, he won't stop until everyone's dead." Amanda said quietly
Rick shook his head, "no, he does get to do stuff like that and get away with it!" Rick shouted, slamming his fist on the counter
Amanda jumped, flinching as she turned her head away from him. She let tears stream down her cheeks as she closed her eyes
"I'm sorry, I'm not.. I'm not angry at you." Rick promised, walking around the counter to Amanda. He reached out to grab her and chewed on his lip when she flinched away
"It's fine." Amanda promised, shaking her head. She looked over as two men walked in. She wrapped her arm around Ricks torso, signifying she was his. She looked up as they walked over to introduce themselves
"Hi, ma'am, I'm Axel. This here is my friend Oscar." The blonde man spoke
"Hi, nice to meet you." Amanda said, nodding at Axel before looking up at Oscar, "You came to rescue me from Woodbury.. I never got to thank you.. Thank you, I am indebted to you.. Anything you need, I'm your man." Amanda said
"I appreciate that, thank you. It was no problem at all." Oscar smiled down at her, his eyes beaming with kindness.
~*~
Days passed on slowly but Amanda and Glenn began to heal - mentally and physically.
Amanda was outside, sitting on the grass, reading a book while Rick dug up the garden. Amanda was laying on a blanket, humming quietly. She heard a soft rumble and she looked up. She looked at Rick with panicked eyes but he didn't notice due to having headphones in. Amanda's eyes widened as she saw trucks break through their gates, "RICK!" Amanda yelled, grabbing his arm and yanking him towards the prison
"I see you!" A familiar voice shouted, "Mr. Grimes!" The voice called, "I believe you have something i want!"
Rick ignored The Governers voice as he pulled Amanda inside
"Let's make a trade, yeah?" The Governor shouted, "You give me Amanda and I will give you guys another day to live." He offered
"Not a chance!" Rick yelled as he pushed Amanda behind him
"I was afraid you would say that!" The Governor sighed, "Martinez, open up!" He shouted, watching as the trunk of a van opened, releasing walkers into their field. The Governor grinned, "Amanda, I'll be seeing you soon!" He shouted as he honked his horn, pulling his car out of the field, the trucks following behind him.
Rick shut the gate that was the closest to the prison and he exhaled deeply, "What is this? A warning?" He asked as he looked at the field
"I can't stay here, Rick. I'm a liability." Amanda said as she looked up at him, "I love you too much to let you die for me. To let anyone here die for me." Amanda said
"There's no other option. I'm not going to let you go sacrifice yourself. He treated you poorly before, imagine how he would act now, now that you've killed his walker daughter!" Rick shouted, in frustration
Amanda shook her head as she watched Glenn and Maggie kill walkers through the fence, "I can't stay here, Rick." Amanda said again, "We have kids here. I can't just let them be in danger because of me." Amanda said
Rick walked over to her, "We've found a way to survive before, we will find a way again." Rick said, stroking her cheek, "Let's get you inside, God knows if he's got people posted outside." Rick said as he herded Amanda inside
Amanda sighed softly as she walked into her room, sinking down on the bed. She looked up at Rick, her eyes burning with rage
"I'm not afraid to be the bad guy in this situation." Rick said, "I don't want you going outside alone, especially without letting me know." Rick said with his arms crossed
Amanda exhaled deeply as she stared up at him, staying quiet
"Amanda, please, I just got you back. You're healing. I'm not letting you go again." Rick said as he sat down on the bed besides her. He rubbed her knee gently, "I can't do this without you." He said softly
Amanda nodded, "okay." She said, too tired to argue. She leaned up, giving him a delicate and reluctant kiss.
Rick returned the kiss, noting her hesitancy. He pulled away, "I love you." He reassured
Amanda nodded, "I love you too." Amanda said quietly, "I left my book outside and now some walker is probably reading it." She sighed
Rick laughed softly as he slid his boots off and helped Amanda take off her shoes. He laid her down gently in the bed, laying behind her as they squeezed into the bed, "We'll get you a new one." Rick promised, closing his eyes. He was unsure what to do, but he knew he couldn't lose Amanda. Since her arrival back to the prison, his visions of Lori dwindled down. But the voice of Shane kept creeping up into his mind, reminding him of how he couldn't keep Amanda safe. How he can't lead the group. He felt overwhelmed with emotion. He nuzzled his face into Amanda's neck, inhaling the smell of her fruity shampoo as he tried to ground himself, thinking of a plan on how to kill The Governor.