It had been three months since they had won the fight against The Governor. Everything seemed to be at peace. The prison and the people inside were flourishing. There was minimal incidents, only small accidents that occurred from carelessness.
Rick had began to settle down, his anger, stress and frustration subsiding. He spent more time with Carl, trying to help him work through his aggression.
Amanda played a role in the counsel as well as was one of the leads on the medical team. She taught first aid to the new people as well as helped some of the younger kids learn self defense. Amanda was currently on a walk with Judith around the prison. Amanda was pushing her in a stroller, while a young german shepard followed behind. Amanda was wearing a short, flowy brown dress and a white t shirt underneath. Since there was stability at the prison, amanda had been more in touch with her feminine side. She wore dresses that made her feel beautiful, she looked to be the embodiment of ethereal beauty.
She stopped by the garden and picked a strawberry. She rinsed it off quickly with her water bottle before taking a bite. She kneeled down in front of Judith and let her teethe on the fruit, since she was 5 months already.
Rick smiled as he walked over to Amanda, "Excuse me, ma'am, are you picking from my garden?" He asked her playfully
"Oh, who, me? No, not me. I think she is, though." Amanda said, pointing at Judith who was already making a mess with the fruit.
Rick laughed as he leaned in, giving Amanda a loving kiss, "I feel like i haven't seen you all day." He admitted
"Because you haven't, you left while I was asleep to tend to the garden." Amanda frowned, "But, I wanted to talk to you about something." Amanda said shifting awkwardly, "The counsel met.." She began, "You need to start carrying your gun with you, when you go outside the fence. I know, I know, you don't want to because of Carl. But, if you're around Walkers, you're going to need more than your knife." Amanda explained, taking the gun out of a bag and handing it to him, carefully
Rick looked at Amanda, sighing softly as he took the gun and tucked it into his waistband, "Fine." he said softly, shaking his head, "Carls not gonna be happy." He said
"He's gonna be even more upset if you die and your death was easily preventable." Amanda said
Rick nodded, "okay." He sighed again, "What's on your agenda for today?"
"I actually don't have much today." Amanda said, "I might go over and help Carol cook lunch. I think Daryl got another deer so he's cleaning it up right now."
"Okay." Rick smiled, leaning in and giving her a kiss. He leaned down, giving Judith a kiss on the head, "I'll meet you over in a few, I'm just going to wrap up some things over here."
Amanda nodded as she pushed the stroller back up to the prison, the dog following behind her. While on a run, Amanda had encountered a sick dog. After crying to Rick for half an hour, Rick let her take the dog back to the prison with her. Since then, the dog became glued to her side.
Amanda walked inside the prison, smiling as she saw Beth, "Hi, honey." She said, "How're you?" She asked
"Good! There's a new boy named Zack here. I think he likes me." Beth grinned happily
"He definitely does. He'd be crazy not to, look at those big blue eyes." Amanda smiled, stroking her cheek, "Do you think you can watch Judith for a bit? I'm gonna help Carol make lunch." She smiled
"Of course, I was just coming to find you anyway to ask if you needed me to watch her. Perfect timing." Beth grinned as she took the stroller, "Let's go to the library." She exclaimed to Judith, leading her down the hallway.
Amanda smiled as she walked outside. She hummed quietly as she put a bandana in her hair to keep the sun out of her eyes. Amanda walked over to Carol, "Hi! How can i help?" She smiled
"You can chop some veggies." Carol grinned as she handed Amanda a bowl of vegetables and a cooking knife.
Amanda smiled softly as she sat at a picnic table and began cutting up carrots. She heard someone behind her and she turned around, seeing a gentleman behind her she hadn't seen before. He had dark blonde hair and dark green eyes. He was wearing black jeans and a maroon t shirt. He had tattoos covering his arms and parts of his hand as well. The young man looked over and locked eyes with Amanda. He grinned as he walked over, flashing his dimples at her, "Hi, I'm Aiden." He smiled, "Mind if i sit down?" He questioned
Amanda shook her head, "go ahead." She smiled as she watched him sit across from her, "you new?" She asked
"No, actually, I've been here about a month." Aiden laughed, looking at Amanda curiously, "you've never seen me before?" He asked
Amanda shook her head, "No, I'm sorry." She said sheepishly
Aiden laughed as he shook his head, "It's okay. We're here together right now, so that's all that matters, right?" He asked
Amanda ignored his comment as she cut the carrot, taking the slice and eating it quietly, "Rick is a really good farmer." She said, trying to find an excuse to talk about Rick
"Yeah, he's alright. Seems to be more farmer than anything else." Aiden said
Amanda opened her mouth to respond but stopped seeing Rick, his arms crossed, "I think I also make a pretty good husband to my wife." He said, looking down at Aiden, "I'm glad we could all be here together right now." Rick said, sitting besides Amanda
Aiden put his hands up in surrender, "Sorry." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, "How long have you guys known each other?" He asked
"Years." Rick said matter of factly
"Ah." Aiden said quietly
Amanda took a slice of carrot, feeding it to the dog, "Merle said he wants to cook one of the pigs." Amanda said, trying to make the situation less awkward.
Rick nodded, his eyes never leaving Aiden, "Yeah, that's fine." He said, watching as Daryl walked over
"Hey dude, thank you for catching dinner." Aiden said, reaching over to shake Daryl's hand
Daryl looked at Rick, who looked irritated. Daryl sucked on his fingers before shaking Aidens hand, "y'all alright?" He asked
"Perfect." Aiden said in disgust, "I gotta go wash my hands before lunch." he said, standing up and walking towards the prison
Amanda laughed softly, "No fair, Rick. When we first got together, you had a wife and I was your mistress. Am i not granted the same entitlements?"
"Not funny." Rick said, his voice booming with jealousy
Amanda laughed as she kissed him lovingly, "I'm joking." She said
"We gotta go on a run later, if one of y'all wants to come. Leaving in an hour." Daryl said
"I'd like to come." Amanda smiled nodding, "I'd need to change first." She said
"You can run in a dress, probably have more leeway." Daryl laughed as he ate some of the carrot slices amanda had chopped
Rick laughed as he placed a soft kiss on Amanda's arm, "Date night tonight?" He asked her hopefully. Every so often, Rick and Amanda liked to dress up and have a picnic together. It was their way of having some sort of normalcy in the world that was constantly wreaking havoc.
Amanda nodded, "Deal." She said as she pushed away the plate, closer to Daryl so he can keep eating, "I'm gonna go change." Amanda said, standing up and brushing her hands off on her dress. She walked inside, making small talk with some of the new members of the group. She managed to burn about 45 minutes before she started changing.
Once she finished, she walked outside, squinting at the sunlight. She hadn't been on a run in almost a month. She had gotten accustomed to wearing dresses and pretty clothes. She walked over to Daryl, wearing black skinny jeans and a long sleeve black t shirt with a v neck, part of her cleavage showing. She had a knife tucked into her belt and her gun holster wrapped around her thigh with Ricks python inside of it. She leaned down and tied her black boots when she heard footsteps come towards her. She stood up, smiling as she saw Rick, "Hi." She said, putting her long brown hair into a ponytail, pulling out a few pieces in the front to frame her face.
Rick whistled, "I forgot how good you look in skinny jeans." He admitted, leaning in and kissing her, "Little GI Jane." He teased her. He took her hand, kissing her engagement ring, "Come back to me." Rick smiled as he kissed her again, cupping her bum in his hands
Amanda smiled as she kissed him deeply, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Mm, always." She mumbled against his lips before pulling away, "I'll see you soon." She promised, holding his hands before letting go and jogging over to Daryl. She climbed on the back of his motorcycle, blowing him a kiss they roared off, an SUV following in the rear.
After riding for about 45 minutes, they pulled up near a military instillation. Amanda hopped off the bike, stretching her arms carefully. She locked eyes with Sasha and smiled at her kindly. She looked over at Zack and Bob before turning back to Daryl, "You're on point." She nodded at him
Daryl nodded, "There's a store on base that probably hasn't been picked. We go in, stick to the list and leave." He explained
Amanda nodded as she looked at the hole in the fence, "looks pretty empty inside." She said
"I came by a few days ago and cleared it out." Sasha said, "turned on a speaker and drew them out."
"That was a great idea, good thinking." Amanda encouraged, smiling kindly. She walked over to the store, knocking on the window, looking up as a few walkers crept their way over, "I see... four? Five? We can take four or five." Amanda said, "I'll let them out one at a time." Amanda said. She stood besides the door and opened it carefully before pushing it shut.
Daryl shot the walked with an arrow, "next." He said.
Amanda continued the action until all walkers had been terminated. Amanda helped Daryl clean off his arrows before handing them back. Amanda walked inside the store, looking around. She filled her bag with supplies for Judith, some comics for Carl and a disposable camera for her. Amanda grabbed some more small items, looking up when she heard a loud crash. She ran over to the source of the noise and gasped, seeing Bobs ankle crushed under a shelf, with bottles of alcohol shattered all around him.
"Walkers!" Daryl shouted, watching as one fell through the ceiling, following after multiple other ones.
Amanda exhaled deeply as she bent over and picked up the shelf, "Bob, you gotta crawl out!" Amanda shouted at him.
"I-I can't!" Bob said
Zack ran over, pulling Bob out. While Zack was distracted picking up Bob, a walker came and bit his ankle, drawing blood. Zack yelled in pain, dropping Bob on the ground.
"No!" Daryl yelled angrily as he shot the walker down, "We gotta go!" He yelled
Amanda and Sasha were standing back to back, shooting walkers who kept coming from all directions, "They keep coming!" Sasha yelled, pressing her back closer to Amanda for some sort of comfort
"We gotta make a run!" Amanda yelled. She looked over and saw Bob putting two bottles of wine in his bag. Amanda looked at him in disbelief, "Sash! We gotta go!" Amanda yelled, "Just start walking backwards, keep your back to mine!" Amanda yelled, pushing a walker away from her, stomping on its skull, "Daryl, grab Bob! Where's Zack?" She shouted
"He's gone!" Bob yelled as he leaned against Daryl for support, using his hand gun to clear a small path
"I'm out!" Sasha yelled to Amanda, using her knife to take out any walkers that came nearby
"Make a run for Bob!" Amanda encouraged her, "Daryl will cover you. Switch out, He's still got bullets!" Amanda said, watching as Sasha take over, helping Bob outside.
Amanda and Daryl were the last ones to leave the building. Amanda closed the door, pushing her back against it, "Someone go get the car!" She yelled
Daryl pushed against the door as well, providing support. He watched as Sasha made a run for the car, driving it through the fence
Amanda nodded at Daryl as she ran inside the car, poking her head out the window to provide cover for Daryl as he ran. Bullets wizzed past his head, taking out walkers who got too close. Daryl climbed in the passengers seat, "I'll be damned if I'm leaving my bike!" Daryl shouted
Sasha sighed as she pulled the car over by his bike, watching as he and Amanda climbed out of the car.
Amanda got on the back of the bike, watching in anticipation as Daryl started the bike, roaring off quickly after Sasha.
~*~
Rick was sitting in the garden, waiting for Amanda's arrival. Rick jogged over to the gate, opening it up for the group to come in.
Amanda climbed off the bike, rubbing her face. She had blood splattered on her face and chest, a look of anger on her face.
Rick walked over, "you okay?" He asked her
"No." Amanda said, watching as Bob limped out the car, "You!" Amanda shouted, "You almost got us killed!" She shouted angrily
"Me? I know, I'm sorry, I bumped into the shelf and it knocked over." Bob sighed, telling only the partial truth
"Yeah? Is that true? Like how when Zack got BIT trying to save you, because you were too scared to crawl! To crawl! My daughter can crawl!" Amanda yelled, "Open your bag!" She shouted
"Amanda, what's going on?" Rick asked worriedly, glancing back at Daryl.
Daryl had a look of curiosity on his face but he remained quiet.
"No." Bob said shortly
"Open it." Sasha said quietly.
Bob opened his bag, revealing only two singular bottles of wine.
"He got Zack killed. Over wine. WINE!" Amanda shouted, walking over and pushing Bob. Since his ankle was twisted, he lost his center of gravity very easily and toppled over.
Bob looked up at Amanda, "I-I... I didn't want anyone to die. I just wanted a drink." He said
"You decided having two bottles of wine was more important than that 16 year old boy. You're disgusting." Amanda said, walking off towards the building
Rick jogged after Amanda, "What happened? Full story, please." Rick said as he trailed behind her
"I don't even know." Amanda said, "We're all inside, getting stuff and next thing I know Bob is crushed under a shelf, alcohol and glass all around him. I picked up the shelf and he refused to crawl out. Zack dragged him and got bit. After Zack got bit, I caught him putting bottles of wine in his bag while everyone else was trying to stay alive." Amanda said, "I'm just.. angry." She said as she walked into the shower room, "I'm gonna take a shower then meet you for our date. Sound good?" Amanda asked with a soft smile
Rick processed her story, nodding slowly before he kissed her carefully, "I'll come grab you from our cell in 20 minutes." he said, running out of the shower room.
Amanda was in their cell getting dressed when Rick walked inside. Amanda was wearing a short black dress that hugged the outline of her body. She put her necklace on and looked up at him as she slid on pumps with a small heel, "Hi you." Amanda said sweetly
"You look so gorgeous." Rick said as he chewed his lip. He was wearing black jeans with a black button up. He had trimmed up his beard a bit as well, "You look so beautiful in that dress." Rick said
"You should see what I have on underneath it." Amanda whispered softly
Rick exhaled deeply, "Let's go." He mumbled, taking her hand and leading her towards the front of the prison
"Oh! I almost forgot! I got you something while i was out today. Lemme go grab it." Amanda grinned as she turned around and walked back to their cell. She popped into the room, grabbing her bag. She walked out, closing the cell door and stopped when she saw Aiden standing on the stairwell
"You look beautiful tonight. Where are you headed? Room for one more?" Aiden asked, leaning against the railing
"Date night with Rick." Amanda smiled, "probably not." she laughed
"Mm, date night? What's that entail?" Aiden questioned
"Some alone time, mainly. We spend all day running around, it's nice to slow down for a moment and appreciate each other." Amanda said, "This is all Ricks idea. Out of the two of us, he's the better half." Amanda admitted, "He's the glue."
"How did y'all meet?" Aiden asked
"I was dating his best friend." Amanda laughed softly as she rubbed her arms, "What can i say? I'm a sucker for him. Since the moment i met him." Amanda smiled softly
Rick was standing in the entrance of the hallway, smiling as he listened to Amanda. He cleared his throat, "You ready, babe?"
Amanda turned around and smiled at him, "yup!" She smiled, "Have a nice night, Aiden." Amanda said as she took Ricks hand, walking out with him. Amanda sung their hands as she inhaled the crisp air, "I love this time of year. Hot in the day, cool at night, fireflies are out. It's gorgeous." Amanda said softly
Rick smiled at her, kissing her hand gently as he led her up one of the watch towers. He opened the door for her, revealing a small mattress, some blankets, candles, a picnic basket and flowers.
Amanda smiled happily, "I'm so lucky to have you." Amanda admitted as she kissed him softly before walking inside.
Rick lead her over to the blanket, helping her sit down, "how're you feeling after the run?" She questioned as he opened the picnic basket, pulling out some fruit
"Sore." Amanda admitted as she shifted, "Angry." She noted as well, "Poor Beth." She sighed as she played with the leaves on a strawberry. She looked up at him, "I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you. I would probably go crazy." Amanda admitted
Rick nodded in agreement, "I lost you and I cleared out what felt like hundreds of walkers." He said, "I was angry, i hated everyone. I didn't have anything keeping me going. I walked miles everyday looking for you."
Amanda squeezed his hand, "You found me." Amanda said quietly as she kissed his knuckles, "I love you."
Rick smiled as he played with her engagement ring, twirling the diamond around her finger, since the ring was slightly too big, "I wish we could have a real wedding. Something... nice." he said
"I like how things are." Amanda said, "We've made a life with each other in this new world. I love this." Amanda admitted, smiling softly as she kissed Rick lovingly, "I got you something." Amanda said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a disposable camera
Rick grinned as he examined the camera, "all i'm gonna do is take photos of you." he admitted
Amanda laughed as she kissed him lovingly, "Mm, that's fine." amanda said as she played with the heart on the necklace rick had gotten her in atlanta.
Rick smiled as he kissed her, rubbing her back gently as he leaned back onto the blanket, rubbing her hips carefully
Amanda smiled as she pulled her lips away, looking down at him. She laid down on the mattress, pulling Rick over besides her. Amanda stared at the ceiling in the guard tower, smiling softly. She held his hand as she curled up into his side, exhaling deeply as she rubbed his stomach under his shirt, "Tough guy, eh?" she asked, touching his faint abs
"I think it's from farming." Rick laughed as he rubbed her shoulder. He exhaled deeply, closing his eyes.
Amanda kissed him again, "goodnight, love." she said as she laid back besides him, dosing off