Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead

Chapter One - Carl and Kona

Rick Grimes sighed as he made his journey home in his police car. The air conditioning was on full blast due to the sweltering heat, and while it was usually hot in Georgia, it was particularly scorching today. Rick was focusing on the road, one hand on the steering wheel, as he made his journey home. He let out another tired sigh; he wasn't particularly excited about going home and immediately he felt guilty for thinking it. He just didn't want to have to deal with another argument with his wife, Lori.

The arguments were almost constant lately; over literally anything that could possibly be thought of. And his son, poor Carl was trapped in the middle of it all. Carl always put on a brave face, pretended that he didn't hear their screaming match the night before while he was trying to sleep. But Rick could tell that it was bothering him greatly.

A high pitched bark drove his attention from the road momentarily to the passenger seat. Sitting in the seat beside him, attempting to escape the confines of the seat belt and the car seat, was a small puppy. The small dog was a tan brown colour, with a large amount of black coating its back and tail as well as its slightly floppy ears. The dog still had the collar on from before that stated it's name. It was a little loose on the dog and hung low on it's chest. Innocent bright, honey coloured eyes stared back at him, letting out another bark followed by a tilt of the head.

Rick chuckled and shook his head at the German Shepherd puppy. The puppy was an impulse decision on his part; he thought it'd be a nice surprise for Carl. The boy had been begging for a dog for years, and while he and Lori were still undecided on the matter, Rick figured that this would more than make up for it for now to Carl. Lori may not be happy about it but it was time to start putting their son first now instead of just seeing eachothers problems.

Rick reached over and patted the dog gently on the head. The puppy seemed to enjoy the attention as he could see it's little tail starting to bob up and down in happiness at getting some attention. Rick finally pulled into his street and then parked in the driveway in front of his house.

He rubbed his hand over his eyes, he just wanted to lay down and sleep for a good few days. He heard a whine from the dog but didn't acknowledge it until he felt something soft nudge his right hand on his lap. He opened his eyes looked down towards the puppy; it had managed to wriggle its way out of the seatbelt. The dog who started to lick his hand while glancing up at him every now and then. Rick lifted one side of his mouth into a halfhearted smile. He scratched the dog behind the ears and undead his seat belt. Letting out a breath, he reached down to pick the puppy up, "C'mon, girl. Let's go meet Carl."

Rick opened the car door, all the while the puppy kept attempting to lick his face. He leaned back slightly, chuckling at the puppy's excited behaviour, "Yeah, yeah, okay. I know, I know." He patted it's head to try and calm it but it just seemed to make the dog more excited. Rick announced his presence when he entered his home. He walked into the living room, finding Lori sitting on the sofa watching what appeared to be the news on the TV. He saw a headline say something about a strange virus spreading, but then Lori switched the TV off.

She made to greet him as she turned to him, but stopped when she saw what Rick was carrying. "Rick, what is that?" She asked, eyeing the dog in his arms.

Just by the tone of her voice, Rick could tell that she wasn't happy. But he simply shrugged his shoulders, this time allowing the puppy to lick his face, "A dog, Lori."

Lori stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, her lips formed a straight line as she pressed them together in disapproval. "Yes, I can see that, Rick. I mean, what is it doing here? Why do you have it?"

Rick went to explain, but the sound of Carl coming down the stairs interrupted him as the boy came into the living room. "Hey, dad-"

Carl stopped when he saw the puppy in his father's arms. The dog had stopped in its attempts to lick Rick's face and turned its attention to Carl. The dog tilted its head back and forth for a moment, watching him with interested honey eyes.

"A dog?!" Carl exclaimed in excitement. "You got a dog!"

Rick grinned at the happiness that his son showed at just the sight of the dog. Even Lori didn't say anything. "Yeah, a dog. She's gonna be staying with us from now on." He told Carl he beamed at him. Lori lowered her head at this statement but Rick ignored it and instead crouched down to lower the dog to the floor. He continued to address his son. "I want you to look after her, Carl," Rick told his son seriously. "She's your responsibility," He said seriously before releasing the dog, who was leaning forward in his grasp towards Carl, eagerly sniffing the air.

Carl nodded his head diligently, "Yeah, dad! I'll take great care of her!" He broke eye contact with the puppy, looking at his father instead. Rick could see that he was determined to prove that he could take care of the puppy. Rick nodded his head proudly at his son. Carl grinned again and looked back to the dog, "We'll be best friends!"

It was Lori who chuckled at this, while Rick nodded in approval. Rick then properly placed the dog on the floor and then released her. As soon as he let go of her, she made a beeline for Carl. Carl let out a loud laugh as she skidded to a stop in front of his feet as Carl sat on the floor in front of the dog. He let his hands stay out in front of him, and she immediately began sniffing his hands loudly. Her wet nose tickled his hands and caused his grin to grow even more. She seemed to determine that she liked him as she straight away began licking his hands, her tail becoming a blur with how fast it was wagging.

The dog then pushed her way passed Carl's hands and jumped into his lap. Carl let out another loud laugh, almost falling backward at the puppy's eagerness to greet Carl. The boy quickly began showing affection for the puppy; stroking her soft fur, scratching behind her ears, allowing her to lick the entirety of his face. This was the happiest he had felt in a long time.

Lori and Rick continued to watch their son's happiness grow as he cuddled the dog. While she wasn't very happy that Rick had brought a dog home, especially without consulting her first, she couldn't deny how good it felt to finally see a genuine smile and their son's face.

Lori sighed and looked at Rick, "Where did you get her from?" She asked him.

Rick rubbed the back of his head. Carl looked up then too, also interested in where the dog came from. Rick gestured to the happy dog, "She was a dog that was in training to be a police dog." Lori raised her eyebrows at this in surprise, while Carl grinned in approval of his dog. Of course his dog would be the coolest. Rick carried on though, "But her temperament wasn't right for the job so..." he trailed off for a moment, shrugging his shoulders, "they rejected her."

Carl frowned at this. He looked back down at the happy puppy. Her tongue was lolling out of the side of her mouth now as she gazed happily back at him. How could they reject her? She was so lovely and happy! Rick must have seen the questions building in Carl's eyes and began to explain, "A police dog needs to have certain traits. She started off good for a few weeks; always happy to meet new people and play, but she really wasn't interested in much else." Rick shrugged his shoulders. "She needed a home. I offered."

"Nice one, dad." Carl grinned. "She's the best!" He announced as he cuddled her some more.

"I got everything she needs in the car. Guys gave me everything back at the station." He gestured to outside where his car was parked.

"Cool! I'll go get it all!" Carl announced, placing the dog on the floor. He stood up quickly and patted his hands on his knees and grinning at the puppy, "C'mon, girl! Let's go check it out!" The dog barked in reply and then bounded after Carl clumsily.

"Make sure she doesn't go on the road, Carl!" Rick hollered after him. He rolled his eyes when he got no reply.

Lori cleared her throat. Rick closed his eyes and placed his hands on his hips as he bowed his head slightly, waiting for the beginnings of an argument. "Why didn't you talk to me about this?" She asked in a neutral tone.

Rick shook his head, "I did it for Carl. He needs this."

Lori scoffed, "Or just to get one up on me."

Rick looked towards her in annoyance, "One up on you on what, Lori?" He stepped towards her. "Anything I do isn't good enough anymore. I figured this one little thing wouldn't make that much of a difference!"

"What does that mean?" She demanded. Rick just shook his head and stepped away from her. He wished he was back in work. Lori chuckled humorlessly. "You never talk, Rick. You never say anything. Speak to me!"

"I try!" He exclaimed. He took a deep breath, quieting his voice. "I try. But whatever I say is never good enough."

Lori opened her mouth to reply but snapped it shut when Carl and the dog came barging back in. Carl was carrying her bed that had a few blankets and some of her toys in it. The puppy was right on his heal, looking up at him, eyes directly on him the whole time, tail wagging madly. And Carl's grin was wide and bright, all his teeth showing as he looked back at the dog. But it seemed like the dog could sense something amiss in the Grimes household, as she averted her gaze from Carl to his parents who were standing a few feet from eachother and turned away from one another. Her tail slowed to a slow back and forth swing, till it stopped completely.

Carl followed the dog's gaze, his smile frowning as he saw the tension both his parents were exhibiting. He sighed; they were fighting again. But rather than say anything about it, Carl turned and stomped up the stairs with his dog's items.

The puppy watched him go, glancing back at the boy's parents and then back to the stairs before quickly trotting after him. She struggled to get up the stairs, and stumbled and fell a few times before finally making it up all of them. The puppy glanced around, wondering where the boy had gone before sniffing the air and ground, following the boy's scent to a door that was slightly ajar.

The puppy tilted her head, seeing the boy sitting on the floor, her bed before him. But his knees were pulled to his chest and sobs could be heard. Without further motivation, the dog moved towards the room. She pushed her head through the gap, causing the door to squeak as she pushed it open more.

Carl wiped his tears quickly, expecting it to be his parents coming to check on him, but when he looked up it wasn't his parents that he saw, but his new pet. A breathless gasp escaped him and he sat up a bit more, turning towards her. Instead of running towards him in excitement of meeting someone new like she had minutes before, she stepped forward almost tentatively. Carl held a hand out towards her and she gently rested her cheek against his palm.

Carl smiled again, smaller than previously, but none the less happy and grateful that the puppy had come to see him all on her own accord. More confident now, she stepped closer to him, placing her front paws on his knees so that she could lean up and lick his face gently. Carl chuckled at her as she licked away his tears. He brought her into his lap and hugged her to his chest, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

He placed her in his lap and she gazed up at him, her tail starting to wag again. Carl scratched the back of her head and she leaned back into it, almost falling over making Carl laugh. When she nearly fell, Carl noticed that she had a collar on. He tilted his head at the black band around her and saw a tag dangling off of it. He picked it up, squinting his eyes at what was written on the metal.

Kona

"Kona..." The dog's floppy ears perked at this, head tilting and sitting up properly. "Hey, Kona, I'm Carl." She barked as if she were replying. Carl chuckled, "It's nice to meet you too." He picked up her right paw and shook it in his hand.

Kona looked down at what he was doing, watching intently. She then looked back up at him and then promptly jumped towards his face and began licking him again. Carl laughed again, catching Kona in his arms, hugging her too him.

He pulled her back slightly after she had calmed down, holding her up so that he could look into her bright eyes. There was almost like an understanding between them; they would be there for eachother now.

Carl brought her closer, bringing her forehead to his and closing his eyes.

Hello, and welcome to my new TWD story. This has been an idea that's been in my head for months now and it's something I'm really interested in doing. This will be a story that focuses mainly on Carl and his relationship with his dog through the apocalypse. I can't promise updating constantly, but I will update when I can.

Thanks for reading!