What the hell is this? (Rick and Roisin)

Rick had been all for the idea of helping this woman lost in the woods because he had seen in her the same thing that would have happened to him. But it hadn't happened to him. Not yet anyway. The insanity hadn't become stronger so he was reasonably sure that he was still himself.

Sighing with a little shake of his hands, he tried to control himself as best he could.

It was like he was back to being a little crazy whenever he looked at her. But at the same time his instincts were screaming at him to be very fucking careful. There was just something about the way she was walking, and the way she was talking, that made him want to back the fuck away.

Gripping his pistol gently with a hand, he immediately drew it when they reached the clearing she had made her camp in.

There, tied up right next to the head of what was obviously a 'living' Walker, was a young woman about the same age as Carl. As soon as he tried to go to her, the woman slashed at him with a knife,

"What is you problem woman?" he demanded with a growl, "What the actual hell?! That's a young woman and you're going to sacrifice her to a Walker?!"

The woman opened her mouth to warn him away and that was all the distraction he needed. With only a little hesitation he smacked the woman round the head with the but of his gun, knocking her out. Rushing over to the girl, he began to free her from the ropes tied to her,

"Are you alright?"

Roisin had been left here by her mother, or what she thought was her mother, she had been knocked out and when she had come to she had been tied to this pole in the middle of the ground and her fathers decapitated head was crawling towards her at a slow pace. It was getting closer and closer, all she could seemingly hear were the growls coming from him, all of the sound of the world died away apart from that.

Although she was worried about other things apart from the head of her father trying to bite her, she had kicked it away she didn't know how many times! She could just keep kicking it she supposed until her mother came back but she had been working how to get out of her ties. Hopefully she could manage it before her mother came back and stopped her from kicking her fathers head away.

One of the other things she was worried about was the fact that she was tied up here with no weapon and walkers could be coming by her any second! How could she defend herself from them? They wouldn't just go away for a few minutes when you kicked them.

Hearing someone coming through the forest beside their little camp, Roisin whimpered a little bit when she saw it was her mother, this was surely the end for her now! Although, she was with another man, where she had found him she didn't know but he was saving her! He was coming to untie her and he was saving her.

Roisin's relief was immense and she cried softly onto the shoulder of the man, simply because she had not allowed herself to lose it while she had been so incapacitated.

"Yes, yes I am alright." she sobbed "Thank you so much for saving me!"

Rick had to admit that right now all he wanted to do was blow the deranged 'mother' to pieces with his pistol. Growling in annoyance, he just shook his head slightly as he tried to come up with a slightly less violent way for him to deal with the Irish woman. Maybe tying her up and letting her be eaten alive was the punishment best suited to her?

It would certainly be ironic.

As he cut through the ties that held the young woman down he noticed the decapitated head of a Walker trying to get closer. Without a second's hesitation he stabbed it in the forehead with his knife. After cleaning the blood from it, he proceeded to finish cutting the young girl free with only a few quick movements,

"Alright... it's alright... you're safe now." he assured her as he picked her up and carried her with one arm, leaving his other free to hold his pistol tightly in his hand as he looked around the area, "Come on... what's your name?"

As he began to leave the clearing he paused and glanced at the Irish woman who was still out cold. He waited and though... before he just shook his head and let towards the prison,

"What happened back there?"

Roisin felt a lot happier now that this man was here, her mother had become very sick when her father had been bitten by the zombie a few days ago. Now she was like this she didn't think that she was going to be able to stay with her, she was just going to keep trying to hurt her, and hurt herself. Roisin couldn't defend herself all on her own so she would have to go with this man, if he would let her that was.

Trying to calm herself down, Roisin rubbed at her eyes to stop herself from crying so much, but she was just so relieved, so hungry, so happy, and so sad all at the same time.

"M-my name is Roisin." she stated with a little wobble to her voice "What's your name?"

Now that her father, or what was left of her father was dead, and her mother was out cold on the floor and it didn't look like they were going to be saving her. It was the last look she was going to get of her parents and she just hoped that she would be able to remember them as they were in the past. Before they went crazy.

"My daddy got bitten a few days ago...and my mammy just went crazy when he died, she didn't believe that he was dead." she stated with a little sniffle "Then I don't know what happened, she wanted to feed me to him to...to keep him alive."

Rubbing at her eyes, Roisin realised she didn't have any of her things!

"I...I don't have any of my things with me!" she squeaked.

Rick was beginning to see that this little girl was going to be a lovely addition to the prison camp. The older men and women would love her for her cute appeal, of that he had absolutely no doubt, and the younger for pretty much the same reason. He just hoped that she wasn't going to grow up to be a heartbreaker on top of that too,

"Well nice to meet you Roisin." he told her with a small smile before deciding to give the answer that calmed most people down, "I'm officer Rick Grimes, I'm a police officer from down the road aways, here to protect my son and my group."

When she explained what had happened he shuddered a little bit.

That had been very close to being him and that's what he hated more than anything else about it that was for damn sure. Shaking his head a little bit at what he was hearing, he despaired for the woman he had knocked out,

"Well don't worry Roisin, I'll take you back to my group if you answer three questions." he assured her with a smile, "We've got thick walls, lots of other kids and lots of food. All that kind of good stuff, even some games."

When she squeaked about her things he paused before nodding and setting her down as he began tying the mother's hands up behind her back with some rope he'd cut off Roisin,

"Alright well be quick yeah?" he advised her with a small smile, " We have to get a move on soon you know."

Roisin blinked a little bit when she heard that the man was called Rick Grimes, and that he was a police man. That meant that he had to be a good person right? It meant that he was going to take care of her in a situation like this and he knew how to take care of her as well, obviously, seeing as he had a whole group back where he was taking her, including his son!

"Nice to meet you too...I was always told to find a police officer if I was ever in trouble." she whispered softly, with a small shy smile "I guess I was lucky to find one so quickly. Thank you, again for you know...saving me."

She didn't hold it against him that he had stabbed her dad through his head, it wasn't her dad after all, if anything he had put him to rest and she hoped the same thing would happen to her mother as they weren't going to be taking her with them.

"O-okay mister, I'll answer your questions." she grinned "I want to be able to go back with you and make lots of new friends, maybe have something to eat too..." Roisin stated with a shy blush, her cheeks were quite strained, her complexion was pale and she hadn't been eating for days on end now it was taking a toll.

Now she was down on the floor Roisin wobbled over to the tent and picked up her backpack, she always kept her things packed in case she needed to leave quickly. Picking up her stuffed toy she shoved it in her bag and zipped it up again.

"I'm ready sir." she smiled lightly, although she wouldn't ask him, she was hoping he would pick her up again, it made her feel so safe and secure.

Rick could see that having been a police officer some time ago was still something that a lot of people liked and trusted about him. They liked the idea that even after the fall of civilization... they had somebody who was still willing to do whatever it took to keep them safe. To do the things that they were either unwilling or unable to do.

He smiled at her comfortingly,

"Yes well this time the police officer found you." he teased her with a sly wink before grinning faintly and waving her thanks away, "Don't mention it... I'm just glad you aren't going to end up as Walker-bait you know?"

He could see that she was a little bit nervous around him and due to him stabbing her father in the head he could hardly blame the girl for being a little bit nervous about being around him. He ruffled her hair a little bit,

"You can have as much to eat as you like when you get back to the prison; we have fresh roast pork for tonight's dinner and everything from fries to veg." he assured her before nodding to her, "So... how many walkers have you killed Roisin? Just be honest."

With the mother now secure and still out cold, he sighed and continued to check their surroundings. Seeing her coming out of the tend with a backpack he glanced up at the sky. It was going to be getting dark by the time they got back if she was walking. Taking the backpack, he strapped it securely to his back before picking up Roisin again and beginning to carry her,

"Just call me Rick alright Roisin? None of that 'sir' stuff." he assured her before smirking slightly, "So who was the little stuffed guy I saw you stuff into the bag?"

Roisin blushed softly when she saw Rick winking at her, it made her feel a little bit hot under the collar but then again she might actually be a little bit ill from lack of sleep, being tied to a pole for the best part of a day and then also being malnourished for a rather long time. They didn't find much food, they couldn't catch many animals either so they hadn't eaten anything healthy or not rotted for a long time.

"I'm glad I'm not going to end up like that either, I was pretty scared, I didn't know what I would do if another walker came and tried to eat me...I couldn't do anything tied to that pole. Poor Mammy...I hope she manages okay." she whispered softly, hugging her arms around her chest.

When she felt Rick ruffling her hair Roisin loved the comforting gesture and she warmed to him even more, how could she not do? He was the first kind person she had come across, and she was going to make sure she stuck with him and proved she was a good asset to the group too.

Roisin's eyes widened, and her mouth watered involuntarily; "F-fries? F-for true?" she asked, awestruck "But I uhm...I've never killed any walkers, my parents always just put me somewhere safe and they killed them. Sorry."

Wrapping her arms around Rick's neck when he picked her back up again, Roisin blushed brightly when she heard that he had seen her putting her toy into her backpack. Honestly it made her look so uncool and nerdy that was why she was trying not to show it to him.

"W-well...it's my plushie toy owl...his name is Winston." she admitted with a bright pink flush "I just picked him up on instinct when I packed to go on holiday, he helps me sleep better...that's all."

Rick could see that she was beginning to get a little bit flustered and decided to ease up a bit on the playfulness and the teasing. After all, he didn't want her little attraction to escalate beyond that because it would be a lost cause for her that would end up hurting her. That was just how it went and he knew this from personal experience with several women and young ladies he had saved in the line of duty.

"Don't worry about it alright? You're safe now and we have walls and strong guards to make sure that you stay safe." he assured her before feeling a stab of guilt before shaking his head slightly, "I left her knife beside her so don't worry. When she wakes up she will be able to free herself and defend herself."

He was wondering to be honest... was this what it was going to be like with his own daughter when she was older? Seeing how happy and hopeful she looked as he carried her, he couldn't help but hope it was. Of course her reaction to learning they had fries was both predictable and amusing to say the least,

"Oh yes... we've got lots of potatoes and we've managed to rig a fryer to work." he told her with a teasing wink before smiling softly, "That's alright, that's a good answer for someone your age. The other two questions aren't really important don't worry."

Carrying her closer to the prison, he began to keep an eye out for Walkers as they often went to the fences around the prison. He grinned a little bit at her when she explained about the owl plushie,

"Well that's a great reason to pick Winston up." he told her honestly before smiling a little bit softer, "Okay Roisin we're almost to the gates. They'll open them when we get close enough so don't worry about that. Just be aware... there might well be a lot of Walkers around okay? I'll need you to be strong and stay quiet and I'll carry you through alright? We'll only go when you're okay with it."

Roisin felt a lot better knowing that they had left the knife beside her mammy just in case she woke up and needed to defend herself but as long as she was quiet she didn't think many walkers were going to come up to that part of the forest. Smiling softly when she heard that she shouldn't worry about it, and that she was going to be safe in the prison, Roisin relaxed into Rick's chest and wanted to actually fall asleep now.

"Thanks Rick, I'm glad that she's going to be okay when she wakes up." she admitted with a small smile "She's still my mammy after all, she didn't mean to do what she did."

Almost giggling with happiness at the idea of hot food and something that wasn't rotten or uncooked when it really did need to be cooked. Chips were something she had missed and she hadn't even realised it to be honest, until the prospect of having them came up again.

"You know, when I was little I used to have cheesy chips." she whispered softly "I guess I never realised how much I missed them."

Nodding her head when Rick explained to her what was going to happen, Roisin was preparing herself to try and not be so scared of the walkers when they were coming near to her, which inevitably they would do. Biting her lip, she tried not to think about it, and instead focused her mind on the chips ahead.

"Alright, I promise to be quiet I wont say a word." she whispered gently "I'll even try not to breathe too loudly." with a firm nod, Roisin zipped her lips and looked instead of outwards to the scene ahead, into his chest, not wanting to see the walkers, and how many there were.

Rick didn't really want to be the one to tell Roisin that from the conversation he'd had with her mother... she was likely going to be killing herself with that knife he'd left her. Anyone who went that crazy over their lover was not going to be content to live while their loved one was dead. It was a harsh fact but her mother was dead one way or another.

But he would never hurt Roisin like that.

So instead he just grinned brightly and nodded in agreement, having learnt a long time ago, during police training, how to hide the feelings of guilt.

He chuckled a little bit at her reaction to having hot food and having chips in particular. It was the same reaction that everyone had had when he had decided to invest enough gas to actually heat up the fryers. The first night they'd had fries again had been a massive celebration and they'd continued to only have fries on good occasions.

Like when a new member arrived,

"Well I think we have some American cheese slices." he admitted with a small grin, "Those things never go out of date and since it was cheap and this was a prison... we've got thousands of them in packets."

When she gave him her promise he grinned at her,

"It'll all be okay don't worry."

Without another word he took off running through the last of the trees towards the gate. He was running as fast as he could while still being stable enough to kick away any Walkers if needs be. As he approached the gate he whistled loudly. A Walker got close and Rick took the time to savagely kick it away just as the gates were opening. Rushing through the gates, he relaxed as they were closed behind them. He looked down at Roisin with a grin,

"Well now wasn't that just ninja-like?" he teased her with a grin, "You want me to set you down now?"

Roisin didn't even make on sound while she was in Rick's arms being carried towards the prison, she thought that it was best if she didn't look up, the sounds were enough to scare her without having to look up and see the things that were making them. It was strange because she hadn't ever done something like this before, been in the middle of a fight. She had always kind of been left to one side while her parents had done the work.

As he kicked the walkers away, she felt awesome, like although she wasn't actually doing something she had something to tell someone as a story about her in some badass situation. Like, remember that time Rick carried her through all of the zombies?

"Thanks Rick, I'm glad you're okay." she smiled softly before opening her eyes to look around the prison, it was amazing, there were animals and plants and vegetables here! "Y-yes please I would like to get down, I don't want people to think I'm like...a loser or anything."

Hopping down from Rick's arms, although she was still a little wobbly on her feet, Roisin looked around again, she could see on closer inspection that the animals were pigs and there were even some horses! Maybe she would be able to look after them? She would like to contribute! The gates were secure and there were two of them just in case.

"Wow this is amazing! T-thank you so much for bringing me here I mean...it looks so perfect." Roisin sniffled, wiping at her eyes.

Rick chuckled a little bit upon seeing her looking around the place with wide, questioning, eyes. It was nice to see that she was finding things she liked about this little prison. The gardens and the animals in particular seemed to have attracted her attention and that made him smile. Those always attracted the attention of the newcomers it had to be said and he liked that his hard work was being admired by others.

Setting her down at her cute little worry about being seen as a loser or something, he grinned a little bit and rustled her hair again,

"You aren't a loser and you wouldn't be even if I'd carried you." he assured her before winking at her, "You were like a ninja against those Walkers back there after all."

Leading her towards the main prison block that they were inhabiting, he grinned a little bit at her assessment of the place. He looked around and nodded, liking the place more and more each day himself,

"Thanks Roisin... I'm glad you like your new home." he told her with a gentle squeeze on her shoulder as he held the door open for her into the main common room before the cells began, "This is where we sleep... you get a cell to yourself as your room and covers to hang over the door for privacy don't worry."

Roisin enjoyed looking around the prison and she felt a lot better when she was inside than on the outside, partly because she wasn't able to hear the moans of the walkers that were trying to get into the prison. She felt even more secure inside where she knew there were no walkers and there was going to be a really secure cell she could sleep in and nothing could get in to hurt her.

When Rick said that she wasn't a loser, Roisin blushed softly and rubbed her hand up and down her arm in a shy motion;

"Well gee thanks Rick, you're being awfully nice to me. I don't know what I would have done without you, I wanna contribute and help the group as soon as I can I promise." she stated with a loud declaration.

His reassuring hand on her shoulder made Rick feel a little bit like the cool uncle that she had never had and she hoped that she would be able to hang around with him some more, she had no friends here and it was a little bit daunting.

"O-okay..." she nodded with a smile, looking at the cells they were going to be sleeping in "Is someone else in my cell or is it just me for now?" she asked, her arms hugging around her chest "And I'm guessing that you guys will let me know when its time for dinner... I don't want to miss it."

Rick could see that she liked the prison a lot more than being outside with the Walkers and he definitely could not blame her for that. The moaning alone was enough to drive most people to distraction, himself included.

"Well don't mention it to others, I have a reputation to keep up! I'm kidding... I just want you to be safe alright? You're around my son's age and I'd hate anyone so young to be in so much danger when I can help." he told her honestly before grinning a little, "I'll see what I can do."

When she asked if she'd have a cell mate he shrugged a little bit with a smile,

"The cellmate thing is up to you. There are two girls around your age living in the cells beside you but if you want we can find someone to share with you." he offered before nodding and rustling her hair again as he went to leave, "I'll call you for dinner don't worry. And I'll send Carl, my son, to collect you! He'd be happy to meet you... speak to you later Roisin, there's some clothes and other assorted things in the bag on the bed, have fun settling in!"