"Shawn?" Rick looked at Shawn.
"I met Sophia."
Shawn shrugged.
But just that one sentence made the lion, Rick, breathe a little faster.
Whether it was Shawn's illusion or not, he felt Rick's eyes were slightly red.
"Sophia."
Shawn called out towards the Camp behind him, and a few seconds later, Andrea led Sophia out.
"Rick!"
Sophia saw Rick again, her voice filled with joy as she sweetly called out.
Firstly, because she also relied on Rick, on the leader of the team; secondly, because if Rick was here, Carol wouldn't be far behind.
Steadying his breath, Rick walked up to Sophia, squatted down, and held her small hand, feeling the warmth radiating from it.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"Mm~" Sophia shook her head obediently: "Big Brother Shawn saved me in the woods."
After a day of rest at the Camp, Sophia had gone from her initial panic and timidity to being able to communicate normally with everyone.
Indeed, Rick had always been troubled by Sophia's death; though he didn't say it, it must have been so—this was the lion, Rick.
Seeing this scene, Shawn mused silently to himself.
Rick stood up, one hand on the revolver at his waist, the other patting Shawn's shoulder. As they passed each other, he said in a calm, slightly hoarse voice:
"Thanks, Shawn. I'll go call Carol and the others over now. Thanks..."
Rick walked away with his back to everyone, his figure looking a little lonely.
Sophia came to Shawn's side, holding his big hand, and whispered her guess.
"Did Uncle Rick cry?"
Shawn squatted down and whispered into Sophia's ear.
"Sophia, Uncle Rick isn't crying; it's just that sometimes when you want to say something but can't, it turns into tears that flow from your eyes."
"Really?" Sophia was startled: "Then Mom must often have a lot of things she can't say."
Looking at Sophia, Shawn sighed.
Carol marrying Ed was both a good thing and a bad thing.
The good thing was that with Ed, Carol had such a sensible and well-behaved daughter like Sophia.
The bad thing was that marrying Ed was unfair to both Carol and Sophia.
"What a scumbag."
Shawn narrowed his eyes, suddenly regretting letting Ed be bitten to death by a Walker; there would have been many opportunities to deal with Ed once they reached the Prison.
"Forget it."
Shawn shook his head. If they had to wait until the Prison was taken, Carol and Sophia would suffer who knows how much more.
Ed was a scumbag; if he died, he died. This team didn't need someone like him.
Holding Sophia's small hand, Shawn's eyes drooped slightly, revealing a hint of coldness.
People at the Farm began to gather; the Camp residents stood by Shawn, waiting, and even Hershel's family appeared not far away.
"What's going on?"
Hershel adjusted his demeanor, and when he walked over again, he had regained his usual composure.
"They were companions who lived together in the Camp before, but later separated for some reasons. I didn't expect them to come to the Farm as well."
Hershel was the owner of the Farm, and Shawn casually explained the past.
After thinking for a moment, Shawn added: "Sophia's mother is in their group."
Hershel looked at Shawn, then lowered his head and gave Sophia a gentle smile, wondering what he was thinking.
The two chatted on and off until several figures began to move at the edge of the Farm, their numbers gradually increasing to form a small group.
Suddenly.
One figure in the crowd gradually quickened her pace, leaving the others behind.
First, she walked quickly, then, as if confirming something, she began to jog, and finally, she ran desperately and intensely, arriving in front of Sophia with heavy gasps, pulling Sophia into her embrace.
"Mum~~" Sophia sweetly called out.
But as soon as Carol heard Sophia's voice, she hugged her even tighter, unwilling to let go for a long time.
Carol felt Sophia's body temperature, kissing Sophia's forehead and stroking her hair, while secretly relieved that her imagined scenario had not come to pass.
Carol's cheeks and eyes turned crimson, and tears flowed uncontrollably, far exceeding the grief she felt when burying Ed.
"Next time, don't run off by yourself again, okay?"
After a long while, Carol released Sophia, carefully scrutinizing her daughter as she quietly admonished her.
"Mm."
Sophia nodded.
Her gaze left Sophia and she looked at Shawn, her eyes filled with undisguised gratitude.
She opened her mouth to say something, but the figures behind her arrived at that moment, so Carol had to wipe her eyes and, holding Sophia's hand, stood to the side.
At this point, Carol's nature still didn't allow her to bare her heart in front of so many people.
Shawn's gaze swept over these figures.
Rick, Lori, Little Carl, Dale, Shane, Glenn, T-Dog, Jim, and finally Carol and Sophia.
"It seems like one person is missing from your group. Were they bitten?"
Shawn feigned a question, looking at Rick; the original black woman in their group was gone.
"She..." Rick hesitated, his gaze shifting elsewhere.
Jacqui had chosen to stay at the Centers for Disease Control and committed suicide with the doctor.
Seeing Rick's difficulty in speaking, Hershel stepped forward two paces.
"Why don't we get something to eat and drink first, and then talk slowly? Everyone looks exhausted."
Hershel, with a gentle smile on his face, extended an invitation.
Since these people were Shawn's former companions, Hershel chose to trust them as well.
After all, as Shawn said when he first arrived at the Farm—if they had ill intentions, they wouldn't have appeared so openly and would have already taken over the Farm.
Rick had been traveling tirelessly, chased by Walkers, hardly stopping.
At this moment, Rick's team and Shawn's companions looked almost like two different groups.
They were listless, their faces caked with dried mud, their clothes stained with blood, and a strange odor emanated from them.
In contrast, Daryl, Merle, Andrea, and Amy, who had been with Shawn, looked at least clean and tidy, with a healthy blush on their faces. The past few days at the Farm had been almost the best sleep they'd had since the apocalypse.
Rick saw all of this but said nothing, simply entering the Camp alongside Shawn... "You mean that woman chose to commit suicide?"
Merle, upon hearing the news of the black woman's suicide, chuckled like a scoundrel.
"She seemed quite brave when she gave me the middle finger back then."
Everyone couldn't help but frown at him, and even Shawn silently shook his head at him, unable to stop himself from complaining inwardly.
"Does Merle just naturally enjoy flirting with danger?"
"If he incurs everyone's wrath, he's going to have a hard time later."
Seeing everyone looking at him, and most importantly seeing Shawn's hint, Merle shrugged indifferently.
"OK, I'll shut up."