A/N: This was another suggested idea. Hope you guys like it!
It has been a week since Carl's talked to Negan and he has been doing a lot better since then. He still wouldn't eat or sleep occasionally but only if it was really necessary. He still had Enid to help him out which was a plus. But that wasn't enough him. Well, at least in Daryl's opinion. He remembered everything that has happened as if it was only yesterday...
Flashback to ten months ago...
It was early in the morning, everything was normal except for one thing, Michonne had gone missing! Everyone has been asking each other many questions if they knew anything about her, they've all been asking Carl many questions too, it wasn't until Carl got up onto a ladder and climbed it to the place where Rick and Michonne would usually go on to see who was at the gates, Carl then spoke up so everyone could hear him,
"Can I have everyone's attention, please?" everyone then stopped talking and looked up at Carl, "Look, I know you all have many questions about what's going on but, I'm here to explain about it. One thing I want to get out of the way. Michonne left, and she's not coming back for a long time." everyone was confused and nervous about the shocking news, "Don't worry, she's not dead, that's what I'm going to explain next." everyone sighed in relief, happy that she wasn't dead, "Michonne left because we found out something about my father, he's not dead, he was taken away in a helicopter, we don't know when they'll be back, but Michonne said she's gonna return someday wether it's with my dad or not." Carl told everyone.
That's when Daryl spoke up, "Wait, if she's gonna be gone for a long time then who's gonna be ruling Alexandria?" he asked,
"Michonne and I talked about this, I'm gonna be leading until she returns." everyone was shocked that this was happening, why would Michonne leave a kid in charge of a whole community? "I know what you guys are thinking, but don't worry, I'll be fine I can do it, don't worry."
With that, everyone nodded, even though they didn't one-hundred percent agree with Carl taking over for his family at such a young age, especially Daryl Dixon...
End of flashback...
Daryl was pissed off that Michonne left leaving Carl in charge. He understood that Michonne just wanted to find Rick so she could bring him home but it still wasn't right to leave Carl incharge by himself, he was just a kid! He knew Carl was a great leader in all but all the stress being put on a kid wasn't fair at all. Although, Enid maybe helping him out now but she was still a kid as well. Just imagine two teenagers taking care of two kids, not just that, a whole community by themselves! That's when Daryl had enough of it. Ten months had gone by and Carl was still struggling. Yes, he may have been doing better but it wasn't enough. That's when he came up with an idea. He had invited over Carl and Enid to a meeting to talk about all of this, maybe he could help them out, and maybe some of the others could too.
Daryl was lost in his mind about everything until he heard a familiar voice, "Hey Daryl." It was Carl, and he was with Enid.
"Hey, look, I wanna talk to you guys about a few things." He said,
"Why?" Enid asked, "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything's good." Daryl answered, "Just about you two leading Alexandria alone."
"What's wrong with it?" Carl asked,
"You two are just kids, you can't do this by yourselves." He told them, "Look, I know that Michonne left leaving you in charge Carl and you're getting the help you need but you really need to think about it. Two kids ruling over a community by themselves must not be easy now, is it?"
Carl just shook his head, "No, it's not." He admitted,
"It is really stressful." Enid added, "But we'll be fine-!"
"Bullshit." Daryl said, interrupting her, "You two can't do this on your own, you need others to help you out. Maybe you can hire others to be like second-commands and other stuff." He offered.
Enid liked the idea Daryl had, But Carl on the other hand did not agree with it. He was left in charge of Alexandria, he didn't want any co-leaders to do his job.
"I like that idea." Enid said, she then looked at Carl, "What do you think?" She asked him,
"No." Carl refused, "It's not your guys responsibility, it's mine."
Daryl and Enid looked at each other and then back at Carl,
"Just think about it Carl!" Enid suggested,
"Besides," Daryl added, "Imagine what your father would've wanted you to do if he left you in charge. He would've wanted you to get the help of you really needed it-!"
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT MY FATHER!" Carl snapped at Daryl, he then sighed, he didn't mean to get so angry like that at him, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't of over reacted like that, I just really miss him." he apologized, "But you're right, he would've wanted me to get the help I need right now." he then admitted, "Michonne would too."
Daryl nodded, "I can always help you guys out if you need it." he offered. "How about tomorrow you guys can announcement that you're hiring new people for co-leaders, does that sound like a plan?
Enid nodded, "Sounds like a good plan." she agreed and then looked back at Carl, "What do you think?"
"That sounds good." he said, "We'll see you tomorrow, Daryl." he and Enid left while Daryl waved goodbye to them.
Right as they left, Daryl got back to thinking to himself, 'Carl, I really hope things work out for you and the kids. You're doing such a great job, kid.'
Back at home with Enid and Carl...
Carl and Enid had finally arrived back home, they had left Alden to watch the kids along with Aaron's daughter, Gracie.
"Thank you for watching them while we were out." Carl thanked Alden,
"Anytime," he said, picking up Gracie, "I'd better go drop Gracie off with Aaron, I'll see you guys tomorrow." with that, he and Gracie left,
"I'm not gonna lie, Alden's kinda cute." Enid joked, trying to make Carl jealous.
(A/N: ((Spoiler Alert for the actual show)): Reference to season 9 when Enid got together with him after Carl died. Not gonna happen in my story, don't worry! XD)
"Don't you dare go leaving me too." Carl teased, Enid punched his arm playfully and the two of them started laughing. They're laughing continued until they heard a little voice,
"Carl! Enid!" little Judith pleaded, trotting fastly over to them, happy to see them back home.
"Hey Judith." Carl greeted, picking her up, "What are you doing awake?" he then asked,
"Not sleepy," she answered and then began yawning,
"If you're not sleepy then why are you yawning silly?" Carl cooed. Judith kept yawning for a few more seconds and then drifted to sleep. "I'm gonna put her to bed." he told Enid. Enid nodded and walked upstairs to her and Carl's room. Carl went up to Judith's room and tucked her in bed. He left the room, walking by R.J's room to check on him, he was in his crib, sound asleep. He smiled at his baby brother, happy that he was asleep. (unlike little Judith) He then walked out of the room went into his room, he took off his clothes, put his pajamas on and got into his bed next to his girlfriend who he thought was asleep. His thoughts were swirling around his head about his father and Michonne.
Enid the looked at him, "Are you ok?" she asked, concerned about her boyfriend,
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." he lied, "Just lost in thought, nothing else."
"Tell me the truth." she demanded, not letting Carl get away with lying to her,
Carl then sighed "It's just..." he started, "I just wish my dad was still here..." he finally answered, "Things would be so much easier, seeing the explosion happen in front of my eyes, it crushed me. Then Michonne left after she gave birth to R.J..."
Carl was about to continue talking until Enid interrupted him, "Wait quick question, how come Michonne didn't leave sooner when it happened? Did she not find out till then or what?" she asked,
"I'm pretty sure she knew sooner," he admitted, "I heard a lot of people talk about how Michonne was planning on leaving sooner when she found out but she found out she was pregnant with my dads baby." he told her, honestly, "I mean, it's totally understandable, I know she wouldn't want to leave while she was pregnant and have R.J. be in danger."
Enid nodded, "I understand." she said, "We should go to sleep, we have a lot of important things to do by tomorrow."
"Yeah, we should." he agreed, lying down, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Carl," Enid responded, turning off the lights and went to sleep.
'Dad, Michonne, I hope you're proud of me. I'm really trying as hard as I can.' Carl thought to himself. He looked at Enid and saw she was asleep, he laid down next to her did the same thing.
The next day...
It was early in the morning, and Carl woke up, yawning and stretching his arms. He got out of bed, got dressed, brushed his teeth, and did his hair.
Enid woke up shortly after him, "Good morning, " she greeted,
"Morning." he responded, "You ready for today?" he then asked,
Enid nodded, "Yeah, are you?"
"Yeah," he said, not one-hundred percent sure about his response, "I think..."
"It's gonna be ok," Enid assured him, "You'll finally get more help."
"I know, I just hope it's enough." Carl admitted,
"It will be, trust me. Now come on, let's go!" Enid said, dragging Carl along with her. Carl just sighed and let his girlfriend drag him out of the house. They didn't have to worry about Judith and R.J. at the moment because it was too early for them to be waking up. Enid and Carl got outside, they got up onto a ladder and climbed it to the very top.
Carl helped Enid up before he got the chance to speak up, "Can I have everyone's attention please?" he called out. Everyone looked up at Carl and Enid, "Now, I know the past ten months have been difficult on us with Michonne leaving, but I want to talk to you guys about a few things, now about me being leader, I've come to realize that you guys were right, I can't do this on my own." Carl admitted.
"I may be helping him out but it's still stessful on me too." Enid spoke out to the crowd, "Carl and I talked to Daryl and made our final decision."
"We're still gonna lead but we need some help. Does anyone want to be a co-leader and help us out?" Carl asked, seeing if anyone wanted to help.
"I'll help out." Aaron volunteered,
"Ok, anyone else?" Enid asked, "We have a few more slots left."
"I will be glad to help you out." Siddiq spoke, "Carl's helped me out before, I will be glad to do the same for him."
"I'll help out too." Rosita said,
"Count me in as well." Father Gabriel stepped in, "You need all the help you can get."
"Ok, anyone else?" Carl asked, "Last call, we just need one more person." everyone was silent, "That's it-?"
Carl was then interrupted by Daryl, "I'll do it." he said, "Anything to help you guys out."
"Ok then." Enid said,
"Ok, thank you guys so much for the help, and a huge thanks to Daryl for the idea." Carl thanked his new co-workers, "We will have a meeting tomorrow just us and our new co-leaders to discuss about a few things."
"We hope everyone has a nice day and we just wanna thank you all again for the help." Enid added. She and Carl then climbed down the ladder and we're about to head back to their house until Carl felt someone touch his shoulder,
"Carl..." Carl turned around to see who it was, it was Daryl, "Promise me something, promise me you won't put so much stress on yourself like that again? You know Michonne and your father wouldn't want you doing that to yourself if they were here."
Carl nodded, "I promise." he said, Enid stood there, waiting for him, the two of them headed back to their house while everyone else continued to do what they were doing earlier. "I'm glad we're getting help now." Carl admitted,
"Says the one who wanted no help yesterday." Enid teased.
"Oh, shut up." Carl joked, rolling his eyes playfully at her. "Ok, for real though, " Carl said, seriously, "I'm actually glad that we're getting help."
"Yeah, me too." Enid admitted, "It's nice to get more help."
"Yeah, " he agreed, "I'm gonna make breakfast-!"
"I'll make breakfast." she offered, not caring that she interrupted Carl, "You can go rest."
"Ok," Carl said, walking upstairs to his room so Enid could make breakfast. He opened the door to Judith's room to check on her, was still asleep. Carl smiled softly and closed the door quietly, not wanting to wake up his little sister. He then opened the door to R.J.'s room to check up on him too, he was asleep, just like Judith. Carl again closed the door quietly so he wouldn't wake up his baby brother. He then walked into his room and started thinking to himself. 'Dad, Michonne, Daryl, I promise you guys I won't put too much stress on myself with leading Alexandria ever again.'
I promise...
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it! I'm only gonna do one more chapter for this so let me know if you've got any ideas for the last chapter (not anything to do with the time skip cause that will be in my "What if." story.) See ya!
