AS THE WORLD FALLS DOWN I RICK GRIMES

It's A Long Way Down

It's A Long Way Down

Rick picked up one of the framed photographs, studying its subject with narrowed eyes, finally putting a face to the threat he'd been hunting. Pete Anderson, the epitome of the all American dream, with a beautiful wife and home, raising a family in an elite neighborhood at the end of the world. The bastard had got lucky, and now he was throwing it all away, all because he was getting away with it.

"Rick."

He turned around, expecting to see Alexis, only to see Jessie instead, balancing Judith on her hip, the sisters sounding uncannily alike. The rest of the morning had been a muted affair, Daryl disappearing after destroying Jessie's best carpet, Rick dragging Abraham outside and hosing him down, sobering him up fast, sending him home to Rosita for a rollicking, before going back inside and helping Jessie rig up refreshments for Eugene and the others in the dining room, a task quickly accomplished thanks to the various dishes brought over prior by Pamela and the rest of her coven.

The women had then returned to their own houses, whilst Rick, Carl and Judith had eaten the promised Philly Cheesesteak in the kitchen with Jessie and her sons, along with Olivia, Mikey, Enid and Eric, but of Alexis, nothing had been seen, Aaron not present either, reportedly out hunting rabbits. The food itself had been delicious, Jessie obviously a good cook, but the undercurrent of tension had marred the meal, Alexis's absence almost overbearingly conspicuous, a silent fuck you.

Eric and Jessie had laboured to carry the occasion off, making jokes and offering everyone second and third helpings, Rick consoled by the fact Carl seemed to be making friends, swapping strained opinions on comic books with Ron, Mikey nodding almost absentmindedly in agreement, Enid interjecting with oddly bitter observations. Olivia had busied herself with stuffing her face, Jessie's youngest son fervently following her example, shooting Rick curious glances from under his fringe.

"Sorry," Rick said, breaking the silence, hastily setting the photo down, "I'm a nosy son of a bitch."

"It's okay," Jessie smiled crookedly, Alexis's smile, making Rick's heart jolt oddly, "I just came up here to thank you for helping out today, and also to apologize for the carnival downstairs. My husband got the wrong end of the stick - he thought I was holding some sort of mixer, and spread the word. I didn't want to be rude when they turned up on the doorstep" -

- "Don't," Rick said abruptly, startling Jessie, "just... don't."

She stared at him, for a long moment, before exhaling sharply, finally understanding. "I guess Alex told you about my dirty little secret, then," she said with uncharacteristic bitterness, "that my husband batters me behind closed doors" -

- "No, she didn't," Rick snapped, "you can blame your so called friends for that." He turned away from her, running his hand across his stubbled cheek, remembering Carol's words, she's making it your problem. "Look, I don't know you," he said tiredly, facing her again, "and that I barely know your sister, but this," he gestured around him, "is a bomb ready to go off. I used to be a cop, and I saw shit like this all the time, whole families wiped out" -

- "You're right, you don't know me," Jessie snapped back, balancing Judith higher on her hip, "so you don't have the right to waltz in here, telling me how to live my life under my own roof, pawing through my pictures like you're working on some case, putting a face and a name to a suspect" -

- "Hey" -

- "Don't hey me!" Jessie retorted, jabbing her finger at him. "I only invited you over because I thought it was nice Alexis had made friends with you, that maybe she was moving on from what happened with Earle – so Pete's my problem, not yours, okay!?"

- "Pete is precisely my problem," Rick said dangerously, advancing on her, storing away this new mention of Earle, "I heard he's the only doctor around here. What happens if one of my kids gets sick? How do I know he isn't gonna hurt them?"

"He wouldn't!"

"Then how come your oldest boy can barely hold a fork?" Rick challenged, making Jessie turn away from him, the tears springing to her eyes. "Why are you puttin' your kids in danger, Jessie – why you askin' me to put my own kids' lives on the line!?"

"I've leaving him, okay!?"

"When?"

Jessie bit her lip, something in her face making Rick back down against his will, reminding him of Alexis at her most exposed.

"I made the decision to come to Alexandria against my better judgment," Rick then said tiredly, spreading his hands out, "I had my doubts about it, but I was caught between a rock and a hard place. I took a chance on your sister, but now I don't know whether I made the right gamble or not, whether we should have kept walkin' " –

- "Alexis said you held a gun to her head," Jessie said suddenly, startling him this time, "is that true?"

Rick hesitated, before nodding, not liking the look in her eyes.

"Then that makes you a hypocrite," Jessie said coldly, regaining her composure, "and us idiots, risking everything by even having you breathing within our walls" -

- "What" -

- "What kind of a man points a gun at a young girl's head after she tries to help him and his family" -

- "What kind of people threaten to rape my son in front of me!?" Rick yelled, making Jessie flinch. "What kind of people chop off one of my friends' legs and eat it!? What kind of people decapitate an old man and tear down everythin' he and his family built, forcin' them to hit the road, drivin' his youngest daughter to a death she didn't deserve!? What kind of people are we now, Jessie!? Tell me, cos I sure as hell don't know!"

To his own disgust, he was crying now, uglily and loudly, Jessie nervously putting her arm around his shoulders, trying to comfort both father and daughter as Judith began wailing, Rick burying his face in the crook of Jessie's neck, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair, finally finding home, except somehow it was Alexis who held him, understanding without understanding.

Open your arms in welcome
To people to your town
Look up look up look up now
It's a long way down...