It Has To Be

After having a bite to eat, Rick and Michonne went to the infirmary. They met Denise there. She changed Carl's bandages.

"How is he?", Rick asked when he joined Denise standing by his son's bed.

He looked down at him lying motionless. Denise looked at Carl too.

"Well, the good news is that the swelling on his brain has gone down some. His blood pressure and heart rate has increased slightly. It is still on the low side but not dangerously low. I have given him another round of antibiotics in his IV to stave off any infections. I don't know how much trauma he received to his eye, but, there is a possibility that he will lose sight in it.", Denise reported.

Rick took a chair and sat down next to the bed. He picked up his son's hand and held it. He let what Denise said sink in. He could see that the skin under the edges of Carl's bandages had turned black and blue. Standing next to him was Michonne holding a couple of Carl's favorite comics.

"How soon do you think he'll wake up?", Michonne asked speaking up. She knew Rick was not ready to talk. But, she was certain that Carl was going to pull through. She believed that it was a matter of when, not if, he was going to wake up. She told herself, It has to be. Denise turned to her and met her eyes and said,

"It could be in days or in weeks. It depends on how quickly the swelling completely goes away. He is young and strong and from what everyone has been saying, he is a lot like his dad. Determined. He is already showing signs of improvement. Give him time.", Denise said and gave a small smile. Her tone was more positive than when she first saw him.

"Is there anything that we can do to help things along?", Michonne asked and rested a supportive hand on Rick's shoulder.

"Massages help. Moving his arms and legs at least every two hours will help with the circulation.", Denise advised. She then went about showing them how to bend his arms and legs.

"Thank you. You've been ...", Rick broke off and looked away. He was not able to complete his sentence.

"I saw you guys out there. If it weren't for your group, we'd be dead and this place would be gone. Letting you guys in was the best thing Deanna did. Thank you.", Denise said looking at both Rick and Michonne. She looked down at the comics in Michonne's hands and said,

"Read to him. He may actually be listening right now. Hey, I haven't had a shower, so, I'm going back to my place for a while. I you need me, you know where to find me."

She turned and left them. Just as she was about to close the front door behind her, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Rick looking up at Michonne. He smiled and put his hand on top of hers.

**~~OooO~~**

For the remainder of the day, Michonne stayed behind massaging and exercising Carl's limbs and reading to him. Rations were low and so Rick and a few others, Glenn, Heath, Rosita, and, Tara, went on a supply run. After reviewing the map, they made two major stops. One of the places they stopped at was a clinic which was about five miles north of home. A few walkers that were there, were easily taken down before they went about emptying the storage rooms there. Much needed hospital bed linen, bandages, syringes, needles, antibiotics and antiseptic were taken. Splints, dressing, pain killers, and other medicines were also found. An ultra sound machine that looked to be in pristine order was taken too. They had to make several trips to and from their van in order to load up on these supplies. On their final sweep, they passed a family planning office along the way. Tara and Rosita were in front with their weapons locked and loaded. Close behind were Glenn and Rick. They too were armed and ready.

"I'm sure there is stuff in here we could use.", Rosita said. She and Tara went inside and left Rick and Glenn in the hallway.

"How's Carl?", Glenn asked standing next to Rick. Holding an M-16 automatic, he peered down the hall then back at Rick.

"Denise said he is making good progress.", Rick replied. He carried an assault rifle and his red-handled machete. He looked up the dark hallway.

"Oh, that's good.", Glenn said. His face lit up on hearing the good news about Carl's condition. Rick could hear the gladness in his voice.

"I left Michonne reading to him.", Rick added. He looked down at his feet and smiled. Though he was happy to learn of his son's improvements, it was the very thought of Michonne that put an instant smile on his face. He reflected on the night before, how she cradled him in her arms and hummed to him. He remembered how safe and how happy he felt.

In the poor lighting, Glenn could manage to make out not only Rick's smile, but the color of his cheeks. He noticed that they had turned a slight tinge of pink. He realized his friend and leader was actually blushing. He quickly made the connection between the shy smile, the blush and mention of Michonne's name. He knew something between them had happened. He was tempted to drill him but he decided on doing it later. Just then, the two women appeared taking with them garbage bags filled with items they deemed useful. Rosita the first to walk out and make her way down the hall towards the exit. She was joined by Glenn. Next was Tara and closely behind her was Rick. One by one, they exited the building and squinted when the bright sunlight met them. Rosita and Glenn walked ahead and hopped into the van. Lingering behind was Rick and Tara.

"Found anything useful?", Rick asked Tara while standing next to the van. The side door was open and Rosita was already sitting in the back seat. Behind her were boxes of canned foods they found at the stop before coming to the clinic. He knew perfectly well what they would find in the family planning office. He just was making idle conversation.

Tara smiled and handed him a box of condoms before hopping in. Looking on, Rosita and Glenn quietly grinned from ear to ear.

**~~OooO~~**

When they returned, they were greeted by Maggie and Michonne at the gate. They opened it and allowed them to drive in. Once they were inside, Rick stopped the van and Glenn hopped out. He hugged and kissed Maggie and helped her secure the gate. Meanwhile Michonne ran up to the driver's side. Watching her round the front of the van, his heart raced. From the way she moved, he could tell something had happend. Immediately he thought of Carl. Quickly engaging the hand brakes, he flung the door open and hopped out. He walked up to Michonne who met him half way. She said,

"Carl's awake."

A huge wave of happiness washed over Rick. His mouth fell open, no words escaped it. He wrapped his arms around Michonne and hugged her tightly. She didn't expect it, but, she hugged him right back. They both broke off and hopped into the van. Maggie and Glenn hopped in too and they all drove down to the infirmary with Tara and Rosita wooing and cheering in the back.

When they got to the infirmary, Rick parked in front. All six of them jumped out and went inside. Rick was the first to enter, followed by Michonne. As she stood next to him, he held her hand while the others filed in.

Standing around the bed were Carol and Judith, Sasha, Eugene, Morgan and Abe. They all had huge smiles on their faces. Some had tears rolling down their faces. He couldn't see Carl as Denise was standing directly in front, blocking his view. She too was smiling. She stepped aside. Now, Rick could see his son. He'd finally woken up. Sitting straight up with a huge smile on his face, he said, raspily,

"Dad."

**OooxxxooO**