AS THE WORLD FALLS DOWN I RICK GRIMES

Under Lock & Key

Under Lock & Key

"Hey."

Alexis glanced up from her hands, startled to see Rick, having hidden herself behind Deanna's house, where she was nursing her bruised knuckles, the pain now making itself felt as her anger at Aidan faded, leaving a dazed shock in its place. "Hey," she said uneasily, hastily hiding her hands behind her back.

"That was some right hook," Rick said, quiet amusement making his blue eyes twinkle uncharacteristically.

"Don't," Alexis said, turning away from him, only for Rick to grab her arm, forcing her to face him.

"Hey," he repeated quietly, "it's okay."

"Yeah, everything is oakly-doakly," Alexis snapped, "perfectly peachy."

"Can I see your hand?" Rick said abruptly, startling her again.

"No," Alexis said pettishly.

"Why not?"

"Because it's my hand," Alexis retorted. "Now go and arrest someone."

"Officer Grimes," Rick said wryly, letting go of her, "never thought I would hear that again."

Alexis just dropped her gaze to the ground, feeling like a recalcitrant schoolgirl. Dealing with Deanna always made her feel like that, like some truculent teenager.

"Let me see your hand," Rick said again, making Alexis glance up at him. Exhaling sharply, she held her hand up, Rick taking it, turning it over, before examining her reddened knuckles, raising an eyebrow at how swollen they were.

"I can get Denise to take a look at it," Alexis explained tiredly, "she went to medical school before switching to psychiatry."

Rick just nodded, hiding his interest at Alexis's information. Without a word, he held her gaze as he pressed his lips to her knuckles, before letting go, Alexis watching him turn and leave, her heart thudding strangely in her chest, ignoring the warning of its drumbeat.

You're looking for a way out, I can feel it
Come on, show me where it hurts, maybe I can heal it...

~*~

Rick came up the porch steps, his new shoes squeaking as he moved, making him wince slightly. Daryl exhaled a long column of smoke, before tipping his ash over the side of the railing, eyes narrowing into slits. "So you're a cop again?" he said gruffly, glancing at Rick's new uniform.

Rick rammed his hands into the pockets of his black bomber jacket, shoulders hunching slightly, feeling like a fool. It was like playing dress-up. But this wasn't a game, this was life and death, and Deanna didn't seem to grasp that the old world was extinct and a new order existed. "Just tryin' it on for size," he said awkwardly, looking up as Carol came out onto the porch, quietly closing the kitchen door behind her.

"I heard about your promotion," she said, taking in Rick's new appearance with a swift assessing glance, "so does that mean we're staying?"

Rick's eyes narrowed, taking on a distant expression. "I... I think we can start sleepin' in our own homes," he said slowly, his thoughts unwillingly turning to Alexis, "settle in, start puttin' down roots."

Carol studied him for a long moment. "This sudden desire for domesticity doesn't have anything to do with a certain blonde, does it?" she said suddenly, folding her arms across her chest.

"If you're talkin' about Alexis, no," Rick said from between gritted teeth. "I just think it's time we put the past behind us. We can start again here, build a life for Carl and Judith, for all of us."