"Tanner..."

"Tanner...!"

"TANNER!"

I snap from my daze and snap my head around to see who is calling my name.

Oh yeah... It's just Michonne.

"Sorry," I reply to her, shaking my head free of the fog that has been clouding it all morning. "Just... thinking about something."

The look she gives me is nothing short of concerned. Perhaps I should back up and explain how we got to be here. After waking up this morning, Rick had decided to set out and teach Carl how to trap game. Michonne volunteered to take me on a supply run in the meantime, to see if we could find anything useful. Our collective plan was to remain at our camp for the rest of today and then finish our journey to Terminus tomorrow. Somewhere along the way through the woods, my thoughts became clouded with what Carl and I had talked about the night before. I guess I never noticed how dazed I had become, because it too Michonne practically shouting for me to snap me out of the thick clout of thoughts.

"Are you okay?" she is saying.

"Fine." I reply.

We push through another segment of bushes as we continue further into the woods. I have to admit, I have become very accustom to Carl being at my side in the past week. We've gone on separate runs before, but it has been awhile, and something just doesn't feel... I don't know. It just doesn't feel right without him around to keep me company with his witty remarks, jokes, or hardheadedness. In a way, it bothers me that I'm bothered by that feeling. Several times I've considered turning around heading back to camp to find him, but so far I've done good to resist that feeling. Michonne seems to pick up on the fact that I've become unusually quiet again and, ever the persistent person that she is, continues to press me for more.

"You don't seem fine." she observes bluntly.

I bite my lower lip in frustration.

Truth be told, I want to talk to her about it. She always understands me when I bear my soul to her. In fact, outside of Carl, I was beginning to consider her one of my best friends. That, in and of itself, was a strange feeling. She was nearly twice my age and yet I consider her closer than even some of the friends I had prior to the end of the world. Still, I suppose, now more than ever, age is just a number. So, I sigh aloud, turn on the ball of my foot and face her. Her concerned expression has worsened and she is now observing me carefully, quietly, hands on both hips, waiting for an explanation she knows is coming. I always tell her eventually.

"I just have a lot on my mind." I reply truthfully without divulging too much.

"Want to talk about it?" she offers without hesitation.

I glance off, averting her gaze.

Yes. I think to myself. I just don't know how to put it into words.

"Are you and Carl alright?"

Its amazing how perceptive she is. Of course, I suppose it is just common sense that one of the only things that can bother me to this degree these days is the person I have the greatest attachment to. Nevertheless, I chuckle slightly at the way she says it. If she had any idea what we were doing just a little while ago, under the cover of the moonlight, she wouldn't even bother asking that question. But I'm not about to get on that topic with her. Or anyone for that matter.

"Yes, we're fine." I return my gaze to her.

"Then what is it?"

I'm genuinely touched by her concern. In a way, she almost appears motherly. Her posture, the worry that is clear in her brown eyes, and everything in her facial expression reminds me of my mother. She used to do the exact same thing whenever I would become distant or upset. There are other ways Michonne reminds me of my mom. I was particularly close to my mom, told her everything, in stark contrast to my father, whom I did everything I could to avoid whenever I could. These memories soften my disposition and so I open my mouth and spill what's on my mind.

"Its related." I explain. "Carl and I... talked about something last night. Been on my mind every since."

She suddenly grimaces, "Am I going to need to sit down for this one?" she asks almost sarcastically.

This makes me genuinely laugh.

"No, no." I reassure her. "Nothing like that."

She eyes me suspiciously, "Go on, then." she replies.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts. In the meantime, she leans up against a skinny tree behind her, taking up her signature folded-arm posture as she waits for my answer.

"He asked me if he and I were going to end up like his parents and Glenn and Maggie." I say.

She shoots me a perplexed look, my cue to go further in depth.

"Marriage."

I fully expect Michonne to burst into hysterical laughter, because, were I in her shoes, that's exactly what I would have done when presented with this situation. Instead, her expression changes from concern to that of understanding. Not even the slightest joking grin. It is another trait of hers that I like. She knows when to lighten the mood with joking and also when the situation calls for a more serious, tempered response. At first she says nothing. In fact, she begins to swivel her head around, as if searching for something among the underbrush. Eventually, she nods in the direction of a fallen tree trunk, indicating for me to take a seat next to her over there. So I follow her over and plop down beside her. She thinks for a moment, but then meets my gaze, and huffs.

"And," she begins. "What did you say when he asked you that?"

"I told him we should talk about it when we, both of us, are older." I reply truthfully.

She nods, "Mature of you." she comments. "Most kids your age rush into things like that without thinking or talking it out. How do you feel about it though? Truthfully."

As if I'd ever lie to her in the first place.

"I like the idea." I reply, smiling unconsciously at the thought.

She finally allows herself to snicker a bit.

"What?!" I exclaim, wondering why she found what I said to be so funny.

"Nothing, its just," she continues. "You two remind me of Glenn and Maggie back at the prison. Always glued to each other's side, talking about their future, and all these plans they had. In particular though, they always snuck off when they thought nobody was aware of it, to do God knows what."

My face is suddenly on fire, and it quickly spreads to my ears. Had she been awake last night?! Not that I think she would've heard us; we had gone a considerable distance downstream. But she would've been aware of us leaving and coming back to camp. Michonne notices my embarrassed expression, which only widens her grin further. I quickly attempt to change the subject.

"That's the other thing." I stutter. "Glenn and Maggie... they got separated. And we don't even know if they found each other, or if either of them are alive. I don't know how I'd be able to handle that, if something similar were to happen to us. And I wouldn't want to put Carl through it, either."

She sighs again, expression becoming serious, "Sometimes you have to take risks. Nothing is certain in this world anymore, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do something just because something might happen. Especially when it involves someone you love."

"You know an awful lot about this stuff." I interject, raising an eyebrow at her.

She smiles, this time softly, "I was in love... once."

Well, I certainly didn't know that.

Michonne keeps her past under tight wraps. She has never really spoken to me much about it, though I suspect Carl may know a bit more than I do, but chooses to keep it tight lipped for her sake. In fact, the only real detail about her past that I know of is her involvement with the prison and her friendship with Andrea. I have to admit, I'm curious, but I know Michonne won't delve up the details of her past so easily. Nevertheless, I decide to give it a try, and ask her what is on my mind.

"Did you go through any of this?" I ask her.

She purses her lips, as if deciding if she really wants to go there with me at this point.

"Some of it." Her answer is vague, but that is to be expected. "Enough to know how you feel."

She is visibly uncomfortable talking about it, so I decide not to press her further. She's explained herself well enough, anyways, so there was no need to continue digging for answers. When she is ready to talk to me about it - if she is ready to tell me about it - she will. And not before then. At the very least, I was happy she was the one I was having this conversation with and not Rick. The awkwardness of that situation would prevent me from pushing for any meaningful answer.

"Listen," she continues. "You really care about Carl. Everyone can see that, including him. Follow this," she pats her fist against the portion of her chest where her heart is. "And don't let this world change that."

I nod slowly, "Thanks."

She lays one of her hands on my shoulder, right above the scar I received from Nat's sword, causing it to twinge slightly, but nothing too painful.

"Try not to let it bother you too much." she pats me twice and then stands up. "Come on, let's get moving."

I pick my weapon up, strapping it across my back where I usually keep it, and lift myself up off the log. Carl and I are definitely going to need to talk about this, one on one, at some point, before I feel completely better. Nevertheless, Michonne has managed to reassure me. And so, I start off into the woods after her...

####

An hour passes.

Michonne and I find ourselves sitting outside an old convenient store, just on the outside of the woods, a couple miles from camp. We've hit the proverbial jackpot; food, water, and more importantly... candy. Lots of it. I fill an entire pocket in my backpack to take back to Carl later, knowing he'll want some. As for now, the two of us are tearing into some Snickers bars we managed to grab. I'm not sure what is up with Michonne and candy, but I'm glad that she likes it so much. Rick never has shown much concern for the simple things in this new world, but Michonne never passes up an opportunity to. The sun is just now peaking to its full afternoon height in the sky, raining Georgia heat down upon us.

"Terminus tomorrow." I say, breaking the silence at last, as I stuff the last piece of my chocolate bar into my mouth. "How do you feel about it?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full." she scolds me in jest, grinning in the process.

I make quick work of the candy in my mouth, swallowing it, before trying again, "Well?"

She shakes her head at me and then becomes serious, "I'm hopeful."

"Yeah?" I say, tossing the wrapper aside. "Me too. Haven't been in a large group for over a year now. Its going to be... different..."

"You'll get used to it," she assures me. "I did."

"You were alone before the prison?" I ask, genuinely shocked by this.

She nods, "Just me and the two walkers I kept chained up. Even when I met Andrea, it was just the two of us. Carl took me in."

I knew that much, at least. Carl had saved her from walkers after seeing her outside the fences of the prison. It was also Carl who declared that she belonged with his group at the prison. Carl had told me all of this a month ago, not long after the two of us had first met back in that neighborhood. It was yet another thing Michonne and I had in common. Carl had taken me in as well, though begrudgingly, at first. Sometimes, I wonder if Rick ever gives him credit for that. Were it not for him, it would just be the two of them out here alone. No Michonne, no me. Just them. I can only imagine how lonely that would've been for them, especially given Carl's sometimes playful and mischievous behavior quirks.

"Is it wrong of me to hope we can stay there?" I return to the original subject.

"No." she replies. "I think we're all tired of moving."

Movement catches my attention, out of the corner of my eye, and I jolt around to see several walkers making their way down the street. Michonne spots them at the same time and we both, simultaneously, leap to our feet, weapons in hand. One, two, three, four, five... six. Six in all. They do not seem to have noticed us just yet. Michonne pats me on the shoulder and motions towards a patch of trees behind the convenience store and we silently, bags in tow, sneak into the coverage of the trees. It is a close call, but we manage to make a circle around them and get back onto the game trail leading back to our camp without alerting the walkers.

"Phew," I sigh when we're clear. "I thought that was the herd coming back, for a moment."

"Nah," she denies. "We're outside the red zones at this point. There shouldn't be any big herd build ups."

Soon, I can hear the familiar sounds of the brook in the distance. By following that, we should be able to make it back to camp in no time flat.

"Do you think I should talk to Rick about what we spoke about earlier?" I ask her out of nowhere.

Unfortunately for me, I just couldn't let this issue go today.

"Later," is her response. "He's only just gotten used to the idea of you two being in any sort of romantic relationship. Throw that in his face and it may just be too much for him to handle."

She has a point. Not that I am looking forward to telling him either way. Hopefully Carl will be the one to do that. It is his dad after all. Regardless, I let the topic drop once again, and we continue to follow the brook back towards camp. I can't wait to be there. To be with Carl again. I have severely missed him all morning, so I intend to stick close to him for the rest of the day, barring Rick having any extra plans for his son later this evening. The walk drags on, until, eventually, I begin to smell the strong odor of the smoke from our campfire. And once I can see the flicker of the flames, I pick up my pace.

I'm almost there...

####

I arrive at camp moments later and it seems that our timing couldn't have been more perfect. Just as we break through the shrubs surrounding our camp, Rick and Carl break through the trees on the opposite side, carrying extra firewood for the campfire they've started. Carl looks dirty and muddy in an entirely handsome way. He has dirt on his cheeks, covering up some of his patches of freckles. His hair is matted by sweat and excess dirt, hat sitting awkwardly on top of it. His hands are in a similar condition. In fact, it almost looks like he's been working in a saw mill all day. Rick greets us by waving, but Carl runs over, after dropping his wood in the fire, and I greet him with a hug. A tight, longing, "I've-missed-you" type of hug. He even smells like he's been in a saw mill all day, mixed with the aroma of the smoke from the fire, and the dirt clinging to his clothes. He was definitely in need of a bath. I'd have to see to that later.

"Any luck?" he asks me, before looking over to Michonne to imply the same question.

"We found plenty." Michonne replies with a smile, dropping her bag to the ground.

"Brought you something back." I declare, dropping my own bag.

Carl looks at me expectantly, so I kneel down and open the pouch on the side of my backpack, revealing the pocket full of candy I had brought back to him. Immediately his eyes bulge and he snatches a Big Cat bar, go figure, out of the pocket and begins to unwrap it. I half expect Rick to protest, given that we are probably about to make dinner, but he instead just chuckles and shakes his head. Carl leans up, standing on his toes, and presses a grateful kiss to my cheek, which, being in front of everyone, causes my face to turn all different shades of red.

"Carl," Rick speaks up as he begins to go through Michonne and I's plunder. "You should probably go wash up before we eat."

Carl nods and starts trotting off in the direction of the stream, candy still in his hand. I want to follow him, but with Rick right there, I didn't know if that was the best idea.

"You too, Tanner." Its Michonne to the rescue.

I glance once at Rick, to gauge his reaction, but he's far too focused on the task at hand. I mouth a "thank you" to Michonne, who merely grins at me, before I take off in the direction Carl had disappeared in, snatching a change of clothes for us both before I completely leave the camp. I catch up to him easily and hand him his change of clothes. I suppose he anticipated that I would follow after him, as he doesn't seem too surprised when I come up alongside him. The two of us travel down the brook several yards to the small clearing where we had our late night skinny dipping session the night prior, make short work of our filthy clothing, and dive into the water one after the other. The water is much warmer today, perhaps having been heated by the afternoon sun. It is definitely a nice change from the frigid temperatures of last night.

"How did trap setting go?" I ask Carl as we finally settle in.

"It was cool." he replies, briefly sinking under the water afterwards to soak his hair. "Dad hasn't taught me anything like that since... well... before everything. How about the run?"

I snort, recalling Michonne and I's earlier conversations, "As to be expected with anything involving Michonne, it was interesting."

Carl began to scrub the dirt and grime from the day off of his body while I sit back and soak in the water. There is something about water that I absolutely love. The way it sounds when its running, especially when its raining, can soothe me on even the worst of nights. When I'm in water I feel as though I can think more clearly. Perhaps its just me being weird, but that's how I always have seen it. Watching Carl bathe himself is an added bonus, though, I will admit that I have rather enjoyed seeing him all dirty and sweaty from a hard day's work. It made him look older; more mature.

"You not going to wash?" he asks when he catches me staring.

I sigh and flash him a grin, "I suppose."

I swim out to where he is and quickly swim under the surface to get my hair wet again. When I surface, he tosses me the bar of soap he has been using, and I join him in scrubbing off the filth of the day.

"Tanner?"

I look up at him. He's not looking at me, instead focusing on a splotch of dirt on his shoulder, though I notice his eyes occasionally darting to see what I am doing. Finally, he stops scrubbing, and focuses those eyes of his - those perfect pools of azure - directly on mine.

"Yes?" I reply to him when he still says nothing.

"I missed you today."

My heart melts. Seems I wasn't the only one feeling a little bit of separation anxiety after we had gone our separate ways earlier this morning. I swiftly close the gap between us, swimming up behind him, and slip my arms around his bare waist, pulling him back into my embrace. The water droplets clinging to his exposed skin, shaken by the sudden movement, drip onto mine and then back into the water from which they came. I nuzzle his still-somewhat-soapy hair affectionately and take in the sweet scent of his freshly washed hair. Its a heavenly aroma, almost intoxicating in its potency. I soak up the moment to just hold him tightly to me. Truth be told, if I could have things my way, we would stay like this and I would never let go. I feel the flame in my heart leap and jump at the simple touch of his skin against mine.

"I missed you too, bud." I whisper to him, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"We'll be there tomorrow." he declares, the tone in his voice perking up. "If they made it... we'll know tomorrow."

"Yeah," I smile and squeeze him tightly. "Its been quite an adventure, huh?"

"If you could even call it that." he chuckles. "I can't wait for you to meet them."

I, on the other hand, am nervous as fuck about meeting any former group members of Carl's. I can't deny my curiosity, however, especially given the number of stories I have heard about them all. It really is surreal. For the past month we've struggled, suffered, and persevered to reach this point. Terminus. At some points, it really felt like we would never make it here. As the sun begins to set, Carl and I hop out of the stream and dry off, changing into our fresh new clothes. We carry our dirty clothes back to camp and find Rick and Michonne already preparing to hand out the rations for tonight. It appears to be some sort of canned noodles, likely something Michonne grabbed from the convenient store on our run earlier. With any luck, the traps Rick and Carl set out will have something other than walkers in them tomorrow, and we can have a real meal before setting off for Terminus. Rick is eager to talk about that, as I soon find out. No sooner have Carl and I taken our seats and begun to eat, he begins to speak.

"Tomorrow," he says. "We go to the end of the line. Be prepared for anything. As Michonne mentioned yesterday, we don't know what is there. Could be what we're looking for, could be overrun. Just be ready, either way."

"What are we going to do," Carl speaks up. "If we find the others?"

Rick's expression hardens.

Part of me believes he's still skeptical that any of them are alive, whether they made it out of the prison or not, but just doesn't say so outright for Carl's sake. After all, the hope that his friends are still out there has kept Carl moving through some pretty rough patches in the last month. When I found him, back in that neighborhood, he was a big ball of anger and frustration at the thought of having lost them. Discovering Daryl's arrows and Maggie's sign had worked wonders in releasing some of that pent up frustration. I really hate to entertain the thought of them not being there. Carl would, no doubt, be devastated again and I want to prevent that more than anything.

"Dad?" Carl tries to grab Rick's attention.

"We'll cross that bridge when we reach it." Rick replies calmly.

Carl doesn't push the subject and lets it drop.

Carl and I finish our rations first and he's quick to retrieve the remnants of the candy bar he'd gotten earlier and finish it off along with dinner. The sun is now low in the sky, but Carl and I go ahead and make our way to our sleeping bags, laying on top of them, rather than in them, for the current time. He gets comfortable, folding both of his hands behind his head, knees up facing the sky. After a moment's consideration, I scoot over and rest the back of my head on his chest, staring upwards at the coming twilight with him, while folding my hands across my chest. A peaceful silence billows over us, leaving me with nothing but the sound of his beating heart beneath me to fill my ears. Its the first time I've really listened to his heartbeat. Its an almost musical sound; music to my ears at least. It meant he was alive. He was okay. And even though I could deduce both those things just by looking at him, there is an odd sense of comfort that comes along with hearing the beat itself.

A powerful gust of wind tears through the camp, blowing both Carl and I's freshly dried hair along with it.

There is a chill to it.

And for some reason, with that chill, comes an ominous feeling of dread.

Its too peaceful.

Everytime I start to settle down and think things will work themselves out, something bad happens, and that is just the vibe I am getting at this precise moment. I roll over onto my side, so that my left ear is pressed into Carl's chest, and look at him. He's lost in his thoughts, probably thinking about tomorrow, staring blankly at the sky. He doesn't even notice me watching him. And as I watch him, the sense of dread grows. Whispers inside my head that tell me that if Terminus turns out to be a bad place, rather than a good one, that something could happen to Carl. Why wouldn't it? After all, nearly a month ago, he had almost been raped by several bandits on the highway. Then there was the incident with Nat. And then the flu. And even when he was held by that lunatic in the basement of the funeral home. Bad things always happen when we start getting settled. I unconsciously reach up and grab his hand, almost frightfully. It startles him and he looks down at me in dazed confusion.

"You alright?" he murmurs in his low, baritone voice.

"Yeah," I lie, slight quiver to my voice as I trying to shove aside the anxiety. "I'm fine."

And even as I close my eyes and cuddle myself into him for comfort, which he unknowingly aids by draping his arm around me, I can feel the ominous premonition creeping through my veins like cold ice. And then, Rick's words echo through my skull:

"Just be ready."

I think that by at least having the suspicion that something could go wrong, I'd be ready in case it did.

How wrong I was.

What came next, there was no preparing for...

A/N: A little ominous foreshadowing for the next chapter. I was debating on whether to write this chapter, or just wait until Sunday to write the chapter on the season finale, but I decided I needed one more "nice" chapter before shit officially hits the fan. Yes, the next chapter will be Terminus, at long last. That being said, I'm going to wait to post it until after Sunday's episode. Its a three day wait, I realize, and I hate to make you all wait that long, but I want to make sure I get every last detail of the season finale into the chapter. Plus you guys have waiting long enough for Terminus. That brings me to another announcement I have: I will be breaking off from the TV plot after the next chapter, so not 26 which will be about Terminus, but 27. Reason being is obvious. Season 5 doesn't begin until October and I have my own direction that I want to take with this story. If you guys have any suggestions or comments on this, please, please, please, leave it in your review or PM me. Like I said, I have a direction and I know how the story ends, but I like getting input from everyone. A couple chapters have already had input some of my reviewers have given me in PMs put into them, so your suggestions do get heard and considered! So, don't be afraid to speak up!

Now, as promised, the reviews I wanted to answer:

HunterArk: Yeah, I felt I skimped out on the smut in "The Cabin", as it was sort of a short scene, so I included another xD Plus, given what's about to happen, in-story, there won't be time for smut again for awhile, so I wanted everyone to have their fix. Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for the comment :)

HeadedCoffee: Thanks :) When I first saw this review, I was confused, so I looked up the new trailers... and my heart leaped into my throat. I KNEW they were going to bring in that scene from the comics at somepoint. Looks like it will be in the next episode. But, I anticipated this, and luckily, the marauders I introduced in both Chapters 8 and 22 were OC's. I have a plan to tie them back to Joe's group so that it makes sense for them to appear in the next chapter, so don't you worry! Glad to see you have stuck with me this long. This story is a little over a month old and its nice to see people still have a genuine interest in its going-ons. Hope you continue to enjoy and stick around! Thanks for your comments and review :)

50 reviews guys and nearly 7,000 views. Words can't express how thankful I am to you all for your continued readership and dedication! Keep 'em coming and I'll see you guys on Sunday!

Later.