Author's Note

A story about what might happen if the Clark family were to go to Alexandria.

I'm a little upset and annoyed about season 8 *cough* Carl *cough*, so this is my take on the events that take place and how the season could play out differently.
Negan war, characters collide, Team Fam fic.

Carl and Rick walked along the abandoned street, guns in their holsters and gas cans clutched in their hands. Carl couldn't see his dad glancing at him from beside him but more so feel the glances snuck his way. They were out gathering supplies so his dad could plan his attack on the Sanctuary. He didn't know how this was all going to end, but it felt like there would be more left dead than alive.

It needed to happen, maybe it was even necessary, but the image of Judy dead in his arms haunted his dreams. Carl swallowed the lump in his throat and straightened his back, walking faster. If there was one thing he was certain, he wouldn't let that nightmare become true. He wondered if his dad was too caught up in Negan's blood in his hands to remember what they were fighting for.

"Carl," his dad said, briefly jogging to catch up. "What's on your mind?"

Carl let out a shaky breath and turned his head to the left to catch his dad's eye. He slowed his pace, realizing how much his feet ached.

"It's nice to be out here is all," he responded.

Rick nodded his head. "I know you can take care of yourself. You earned that," he said. "I just feel better knowing you're safe inside, with Judy."

Carl sighed and shook his head. "I'm never safe, dad. You said that. Remember?"

"I'm proud of you. You never did it. You never let your guard down, even when I wanted you to."

Rick was met with silence. "I want you home," he continued, "because I know I can trust you to protect it."

"So why am I here with you now?"

"Because I needed your help," Rick explained. "And maybe I wanted to check in with you after...everything." Flashes of Negan standing over Carl again, threatening his son's life made his blood boil.

"I survived. I'm here," he mumbled. "But I've been thinking…" Carl paused. Images of Judy clouded his brain once again. He didn't know why it was difficult to be open with his dad about his emotions. He wanted to be stronger and emotionless, but he knew his dad somehow just felt when something was wrong. "How does this all end, dad?"

"We win."

"But who's going to be alive when this shit's all over?"

" Carl ." Rick gave him a stern look. "I won't let anything happen to you or Judy. Once Negan's dead, we're the ones who live."

Carl nodded his head. He wanted to believe his dad, begged himself to find truth in his words, but how could they be sure of anything anymore? After he lost his eye, he was so angry. When his dad told him what the people of Alexandria came together to do, to fight against the walkers, his anger slowly faded. Maybe it was all unfair, but working together is what saved them in the end.

Carl's feet dragged until he stopped completely. "I'm scared for Judy, dad." His shoulders slumped as he faced his dad. "If this is all there is now, what kind of life is she going to have?"

Rick stared at him, opening his mouth as his eyes focused on the ground. He pressed his hand to his forehead.

"I barely remember before. It doesn't even feel real," Carl whispered. "Sometimes people need to die. I know that. But if all we do is kill and fight, does that make us any better?"

Rick reached out and squeezed Carl's shoulder. He lowered himself slightly to Carl's height and waited for their eyes to meet. "You remind me so much of your mom sometimes. When you were shot on the farm, she thought the same things. She wondered what kind of life this is going to be for you. She wasn't wrong and neither are you.

"Life is harder now. You know that." Rick placed his other hand behind Carl's neck. "We give up parts of ourselves just to survive, but life was always going to be hard. I couldn't protect you from the things you've had to do. But I knew it then and I still know it now. We do what we have to do and then we get to be alive . There's still a life worth living, Carl. The pain is just a part of it."

Rick pulled Carl's hat from his head and embraced him, feeling Carl's arms wrap around and pull him closer. A moment later Carl stepped back, the briefest glint of a smile upon his lips.

Rick flipped his old hat in his hand and plopped it onto his head, stepping farther from Carl.

"I missed this old thing." Rick crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back, posing as if out of a clothing catalogue. "How's it look?"

Carl snorted and stepped forward. "Like it belongs to me." He made a quick pass at his hat but Rick quickly stepped to the side and out of his reach.

"Dad, c'mon. You look like Woody from Toy Story!"

Rick laughed. Carl took advantage of the moment and quickly snatched his hat off his dad's head.

Carl smiled, placing the hat back where it belongs. "It looks better on me anyway."

Rick shot his son an amused look and began walking again. "I forgot about that movie. You must have made me watch it a hundred times."

"It was my favorite."

"My brother used to make me take him to see every new Star Wars. We must have went every weekend. He loved it."

"You didn't love it?"

"I loved spending time with him. Just like with you and your Toy Story," Rick explained. "Why'd you like it so much anyway?"

Carl shrugged his shoulders. "I guess he just reminded me of you."

With the ache in his feet completely forgotten, Carl walked easier beside his dad feeling lighter.

"We'll meet back at the intersection in twenty minutes. Anything happens, call me for me," Rick said.

As they parted ways, Carl glanced at the street before him. There was a few buildings and cars littering the streets. Everything looked like it had been picked clean a few times over. He sighed. Everything in this world was dead.

He thought he'd be used to the smell by now, but as he passed a corpse rotting in a car, flies still swarming around it, his stomach churned. He opened the door and nudged the body with his gun. When it didn't move he reached down and pulled the lever to the gas tank. He leaned against the car and tried to stifle some gas but was met with nothing.

What sounded like a light tapping against the pavement soon approached Carl. He quickly dropped stomach first against the street, glancing under the car. Clumsy footsteps slowly dragged against the pavement on the other side of the car. He pushed himself up, sneaking around the car with his gun raised. He peeked out and lined his sights in with his head, but something held him back from pulling the trigger.

It looked like a walker from behind. His ratty brown hair was slicked back in fresh walker blood that trailed down his entire body. His footsteps were clumsy but controlled and he walked straight, slowly swinging his arms like he was on an evening stroll. He definitely couldn't be a walker. Carl considered shooting anyway, thinking him likely to be one of Negan's men who would probably shoot Carl without a second thought. But this guy just seemed so casual, unlike any of Negan's people that he had encountered.

Carl raised his gun higher, holding his finger over the trigger.

"Hey!" he shouted.

The guy swung his body around. He looked only a few years older than Carl but it was hard to tell with his face covered in blood. He looked Carl up and down and slowly raised his hands above his head.

"Are you going to shoot me?"

"Don't know yet." Carl stepped around the car and approached him. "Depends who you are."

"My name is Nick." He lowered his hands. "I know I look...well, like this." He motioned the walker blood covering his body. "But I'm just looking for some supplies."

"Doesn't look like you'll find any here."

"I think you're probably ri-"

Gun shots rang in the air from a distance. Carl glanced at his gun in confusion. Who the hell is shooting?

Nick ducked down between the cars and snuck away. Carl watched him go and lowered his gun, stomping toward the shooter. Of course it was his dad.

"Dad!" He shouted. "He wasn't doing anything. Why'd you-"

"They were just warning shots." Rick approached Carl, holstering his gun. "He'll live."

"He needed help," he snapped. "We could take him back."

"We don't know him. He could be one of them ."

Carl glared at his dad. "Negan's guys are at the Sanctuary planning how to kill us right now. He could have helped."

"Maybe. But we can't take that chance. He looked-"

"He's covered in walker blood. He looked like he knows how to survive."

"Then he'll be fine." Rick grabbed the gas can that Carl left by the car and moved on to the next. When they finished, it was a silent walk back to Alexandria.