Deals
The next day, Rick was going off to negotiate with the Governor.
They didn't know what would come of it, but it was worth a shot.
Katie helped Rick pack up all of his things.
As he was about to walk past her to grab his holster, he ran right into her.
He grabbed her arms to steady her from falling.
"Sorry!" Rick exclaimed.
Katie smiled lightly.
"You're fine," she said with a small laugh.
He tried to go around her but they both moved the same way.
They did this twice.
"Sorry!" Katie said, laughing.
Rick laughed too.
"You ready for this?" Katie asked, suddenly stopping her laughter.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Rick replied, sighing.
Katie sighed.
She placed her hand on his arm.
"Promise you'll be careful," she said.
"Promise. Take care of Carl and Judith while I'm gone," he said with a small smile.
Her hand stayed on his arm for a second longer than it should have.
She quickly pulled it away, trying to hide her blushing face.
He smiled at her quickly.
His skin felt warm where her hand once was.
All Rick wanted was for her hand to lay there again.
He shook off the feeling and then he was off to meet the Governor.
Herschel and Daryl went with him.
Katie sighed.
She didn't like this idea.
She also hated herself for kind of being in love with Rick.
She still was confused about how she felt.
She couldn't tell anyone about her confusion or her feelings. She needed to keep them private.
It would just cause awkwardness among the group if anyone found out.
If people knew about it, it would be because they figured it out themselves, like Herschel and Carol.
"What the hell are you doing, Katie? Putting your hand on him like that. Idiot," she mumbled to herself.
"Katie!" Maggie called.
Katie walked into Maggie's cell.
"We haven't talked in a while. Let's just be normal for a minute. Pretend there isn't a war going on. Let's just catch up," Maggie said, patting the space on the bed next to her.
Katie sat down on the thin mattress.
"Okay. Uhm. What's new in Glaggie-land?" Katie asked.
"Glaggie?" Maggie asked.
"Glenn and Maggie. I thought it was clever, but whatever. Moving on," Katie said with a small laugh.
"Nothing's really new. We're doing fine, Maggie said.
"I'm glad that you guys worked everything out," Katie said patting Maggie's thigh gently.
"What about you?" Maggie asked her.
"Nothing's going on with me. I'm pretty boring," Katie said with a laugh.
"It seems like you and Rick are getting along well," Maggie said, a smirk crawling onto her lips.
"What do you mean?" Katie asked quickly.
"You've been talking a lot more lately. And I may or may not have seen that exchange a couple of minutes ago," Maggie said, trying to stifle a giggle.
"What do you think is going on? Because I honestly have no idea," Katie asked, shaking her head.
"I think that you have feelings for Rick. I think that Rick had feelings for you. I think that you are both too oblivious to realize that the other is crazy about you and so you just go on ignoring your feelings. Sound about right?" Maggie asked.
Katie's eyes were wide. Her jaw was almost touching the ground.
"Like I said. Oblivious," Maggie laughed.
Katie had a hard time just sitting around and waiting for Rick to come back.
The Governor was unpredictable.
His men were unpredictable.
She didn't like the fact that just Rick, Daryl, and Herschel were out there.
She sighed and leaned her head against Maggie's shoulder, praying they were all okay.
Out in the courtyard, Rick got into the car with Herschel and Daryl.
"You and Katie?" Daryl said gruffly.
"What are you talking about?" Rick asked.
Herschel laughed in the back seat.
"What?" Rick asked again.
"If you hurt her, I will have to put an arrow in your skull," Daryl said gruffly.
Rick was silent.
He hadn't really thought about how he felt about Katie.
"What are you going to do Rick?" Herschel asked.
"Right now, I'm going to talk to the Governor," Rick answered, attempting to avoid the subject of his love life.
"Rick," Herschel pressed.
"It's not the right time," Rick sighed.
"The timing is never going to be perfect, Rick. You just have to make the best of it," Herschel said.
Rick sighed.
"She deserves better than what I can give her," Rick sighed quietly.
"If you think that you have nothing to give, you must be dumber than a pile of sticks," Herschel said, his laughter bellowing through the car.
Back at the prison, Katie was sitting with Carol in her cell.
"I should be out there," Katie sighed.
She was worried about the negotiations.
"Rick needs you to be here," Carol said gently.
Katie sighed.
"He trusts you to look after this place," Carol added.
Katie knew she was right.
She gave Carol a small smile and went to find Carl and Judith, who were still in the cell.
"Good morning sunshines!" Katie said in a sing song voice.
"Hey, Katie," Carl said.
He stood up and handed Judith to her.
The baby cooed happily.
"Hi sweetheart!" Katie said to the baby softly.
She took Judith for a walk around the prison. It was good for the baby to be outside instead of trapped in the confines of a prison cell all of the time.
Katie walked her through the courtyard.
It had been hours since Rick, Daryl, and Herschel had left.
Katie tried her best to suppress her worries.
"They'll be back soon," she reassured herself out loud.
A couple minutes later, she heard cars pulling up to the prison.
She ran to open the gate.
She felt as though a weight had been lifted off of her chest.
Rick put the car in park and got out quickly.
He walked briskly over to Katie and Judith.
"Hi sweetheart!" Rick exclaimed, scooping the baby up in his strong arms.
Judith reached up her chubby little arm and touched Rick's face.
He smiled.
Katie laughed.
"You had me worried, sheriff," Katie teased, a smirk playing on her lips.
Rick sighed, chuckling slightly.
"How did it go out there?" Katie asked seriously.
"Get ready for war, Katie," Rick said.
• • •