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This is new. Ain’t never seen someone so damn worked up over the sniffles. N’ Fact, I don’t think anyone’s ever so much as handed me a Kleenex much less doted on me like I’s dyin’. Thought I was dyin’ for a day or so too the way Rick looked at me, terrified. He was a worryin’ mess, buzzin’ around me. Pickin’ up my dirty kleenex’s, feedin’ me Tylenol, refillin’ my water, bringin’ me hot soup. An’ everytime he comes into the cell he sits by me and puts the back of his hand to my forehead and bites nervously at his bottom lip.
“Feels warm,” he’ll say.
“It’s August in Georgia,” I answer. But he don’t think it’s funny. He makes Hershel check on me every damn day. An’ I can see the old man is just humorin’ him. He checks everything… ears, nose, throat, eyes. An’ he tells Rick the same thing. “It’s a summer cold, Rick,” he’s gonna be fine.
I know I’m gonna be fine. And Hershel knows I’m gonna be fine. But Rick’s a nervous wreck. Worse part a any of it is not bein’ able ta kiss. Contagious. Don’t wanna get my lover sick. I say lover now. Ever since we been married. I tried husband but I didn’t like it. Then I tried partner but that wasn’t special ‘nough. Then I thought a’ lover. And the first time I said it, I could tell by the way Rick’s pupils blew out, that I’d use that word a lot. I liked what it did to him.
I try tellin’ Rick I’m fine and not ta worry, but he don’t listen sometimes. Stubborn. Tell him to go out and work the fences or somethin’ and not ta spend all his time in this germy cell ‘fore he catches my cold. Told ‘im he should sleep down the hall ‘probly. But he wouldn’t hear a’ that at all. Kinda glad secretly, cause I don’t remember how to curl up to sleep all alone. Only know how to do it against Rick’s body. Lost now without his body ‘gainst me.
He’s feedin’ me soup on the fifth day a’ my summer cold. The snot’s gone away a bit and the headache ain’t as bad. But the coughs still there and It sounds worse than it is. He won’t let me spoon the soup myself cause he insists I’m too weak and I’ll spill it when I slip inta coughin’ fits. I just go ahead and let ‘im baby me. I don’t mind really. It means he loves me and I like bein’ reminded a’ that.
“Can’t stand not kissing you,” Rick says to me as he’s blowin’ on a spoonful a’ my soup.
“Same here,” I said. “But I’m feelin’ better. I can ‘probly take a short shift at the fences later. Give Axel a break.” Axel and me’s friends now. I ain’t punched him in months. And as long as he’s makin’ my Carol smile, I ‘probly won’t punch him again. I slipped into more coughs after my offer to work the wall and Rick put the soup on the table and rubbed my back.
“Are you crazy? That cough of yours is gonna draw walkers for miles. You are staying right here. Me too. Found a ipad that we charged up on the generator. Had a couple movies downloaded to it. Gonna watch one together. Then a foot rub. Then I’ll take ya down for a cool shower to help you sleep."
“‘S this a date?” I asked. My voice was still rough and prickly on account a’ the cold. Rick grinned at me and handed me water and my next dose a’ Tylenol. Then he crawled inta bed behind me with the ipad and had me lean onto his chest. There were three movies ta choose from. A cartoon, the original Star Wars and The Fifth Element. Neither of us seen tha’ last one so that’s what we picked. Rick propped the ipad up on a pillow and we watched as he ran fingers through my sweat-damp hair. I still love his fingers in my hair. And he knows that. And he likes making me feel happy.
Mostly I just laid there likin’ the feel of Rick’s chest against my back, his fingers pettin’ in my hair, his breath on my ear. I’s mostly focused on Rick behind me cause I’m always focused on Rick. But I started payin’ a little ‘tention to tha movie when a blue lady started singing. I like ta hear singing sometimes. And it sounded nice, kinda mesmerizing and I felt nice hearin’ it in Rick’s arms. But then the lady got shot and died. And it didn’t feel magical anymore. It felt like the front yard of the prison. People gettin’ shot and dyin’. I’s gonna blame it on the summer cold, but I started snifflin’ cause I don’t never like ta see people die. And I suddenly feel sad and I hate feelin’ sad.
I can tell Rick is snickering behind me. He’s not really laughin’ at me though. He’s just thinkin’ I’m cute. I know cause that happens a lot where he laughs at somethin’ and for a minute I think he’s makin’ fun but it’s not.
“You ok, sweetheart?” he asks me when I grab a kleenex and start blowin’ my nose.
“I don’t like when people die,” I pouted. Without askin’ or anythin’ Rick stopped the movie cause he knew I wasn’t likin’ it. And he put on the cartoon. It was a Scooby Doo cartoon and I liked it a lot better. Ironic’ly, it was an episode ‘bout zombies. But it was made funny and they weren’t really zombies in the end anyways.
After the movie, Rick didn’t even forget ‘bout the foot rub he promised. Didn’t really need one. Hadn’t been on my feet for days. But he’d started doin’ that… rubbin’ my feet in the evenin’s... if I been gone long huntin’ and he knows I kinda like it and for whatever reason, he always likes doin’ it.
His hands are warm on my feet. It makes me feel comfy but I coughed some more as I laid back on the bed. Rick stopped massagin’ and came to situate my pillows. An’ he told me ta stay elevated. He’s like a pretend doctor the way he buzzes around. And I think a’ how good a daddy he is ta his kids and how many times in the before-world he musta taken care a’ Carl like this. Rick is good at takin’ care a’ people. He gave me some cough medicine and went back to rubbin’ my feet.
After we got back from takin’ a cool shower (which was the most boring shower ever cause we didn’t do anything but get hard and dry off), we crawled back in bed. I’s feelin’ better after tha’ shower and my headache was all gone. And I hadn’t even coughed in a while. Rick wrapped his arms around me and I laid my head on his chest.
“Y’know I think you’re getting better,” he said as he lazily trailed his fingers up and down my back. “Think you aren’t contagious any more. Hershel said the contagious time is at the beginning.” I knew what he was hintin’ at cause I ain’t dumb.
“Don’t wanna get you sick, love,” I said. An’ I shouldn’t a’. Cause I know he loves it when I say things like that with pet names and callin’ him love and stuff. He rolled me over and hovered his lips over mine for seconds that felt like long hours. Like he was trying to tell himself he shouldn’t cause I might still be contagious but he wanted me so bad. I just looked up, breathin’ through my mouth cause my nose was still a little stuffy and he decided the kiss hadta happen. His lips felt so nice after five whole days. They were soft and warm and familiar and mine. And I didn't even care that I could barely breathe.
I was lost in him. Couldn't 'member which way was up cause his body and hands were everywhere. All 'round me. Hands and thighs. His mouth on my neck and the feel of his hip bone pressin’ inta mine. And I’m willin’ myself not ta cough, cause I know him and he’ll stop what he’s doin’ to check on me and fix my pillows and get me water and I don’t want none a’ that stuff. I just want him ‘gainst me like this. Wantin’ me and needin’ me. I hadn’t felt his body like this in a week. Hadn’t felt his hands grabbin’ on parts a’ me. Hadn’t felt his breath ‘gainst my chest as he’s kissin’ his way from my neck ta my belly.
My body was buzzin’ and my worries was just meltin’ away like they always do and I don’t even care ‘bout that movie anymore where that blue alien lady got killed and I don’t care ‘bout bein’ sick or who’s workin’ the fence. I care ‘bout one thing. An’ one thing only. Rick. Rick touchin’ me and tastin’ me and lovin’ me. And when he got to the center a’ everythin’, where I’s strainin’ ‘gainst my underwear, I gasped and it turned into a cough that doubled me over.
Rick stopped immediately. “Fuck,” I managed to mumble between coughs. Rick situated my pillows and got a wash rag that was sittin’ in a bowl of cooled water and wrung it out. He put it on my head and felt my cheeks with the back a’ his hand. “I’m sorry, baby,” he murmured ‘gainst my ear. “Shouldn’t have done that.”
“Shouldn’t have stopped,” I said with a cough interruptin’ ‘bout half way through.
“When you feel better,” Rick said as he rubbed at my thigh. I don’t get mad often. Not at Rick. Cause I love him. But I was getting a little frustrated cause by this point, I didn’t wanna be babied anymore. My cock was burstin ‘gainst my underwear and I was desperate for some release. I grabbed Rick’s hand and moved it to my crotch.
“Rick,” I said. “I need you. Now. Not later. Now.” I breathed in slow long breaths to try to keep from coughing and I kept my eyes to his, speaking to him in my gaze. Tellin’ him. Tellin’ him that I needed it. Rick says his weakness is when I get a li’l aggressive like that. When I say what I want. Rick says he likes it cause it shows that I’m confident ‘bout his love. So I know when I’m tellin’ him ‘now’ and I’m telling him ‘need’ that he will give me what I want. Because Rick always gives me what I want.
The wet rag slipped from my forehead as Rick’s focus changed. He stood and pulled off his boxers and then tugged down my underwear and he climbed on top of me. “Jesus, Daryl. You are so fucking sexy telling me what you want. You know how much I fucking love that.” He held my head in his hands and kissed me. Short quick kisses so that I could breathe in between and he moved his hips, slipping a hand between us. He gripped both of us, pre-cum coating us and he used his hand to work us both into a frenzy. My cock was hard and hot against his. His hand was tight and calloused and I bucked up with him, tryin’ so hard not to cough. Tryin’ ta breath. Tryin’ ta feel Rick takin’ me away. Bringin’ me up away from the world to float a li’l bit, just him an’ me. Nothin’ else. Just feelin’ it. Feelin’ each other and I heard the sounds I know so well spillin’ from his lips. His purr that turns into a groan that turns into a gasp and I know he’s almost there and I’m almost there. I hear my own sounds, gasps more like wheezes cause a’ my cold, and I cough just a bit but then the wave comes over me and I’m pulsing hard between us, feelin’ the warm sticky come from both of us spread across my belly.
And then I’m boneless and meltin’ into the bed. “Thank you,” I tell him. Ain’t gonna forget my manners just cause we’s married now. Rick took the cool cloth and wiped the mixture of our come off my stomach.
“Think I’m gonna be all better in tha mornin’,” I tell ‘im as he curls me up to him, my head back on his chest. And just as I’m dozin’ off, he sneezes.