Better Days

Chapter 383

Author's Note: I hate bottleneck episodes, really hate them. Now that I've complained, back to the show. Carl and Jewel need some bonding time, so this first scene came from. This scene took different starting points, I think I'm finally happy with it. If the rumors are true and Sasha dies at the end of the season, Lexi is going to be going through hell. Of course we are going to ignore Carl and Enid or we may have a teenaage love triangle. LOL Please review, or PM, let me know that you guys are still interested. It means a lot!

Carl and Jewel's POV:

Jewel gave a small smile as she fed Judith her carrots. "Those are good aren't they?Just a little spit out.

"Sum, sum," Judith babbled in between bites.

Jewel let her smile drop for a moment before smiling again. "Big sister isn't here right now, but I'm sure she's on her way back, and I bet she's missing you too," she said as she fed her another bite of food.

"Mom?" Carl asked as he came inside. "Is everything alright? I thought you'd be out with dad," he said. "Do you need me to take over feeding Judith?"

"No, I've got it," Jewel assured him. "Where's Lexi?"

Carl sat down. "I think she went outside the gates, she might have followed Enid."

Jewel glanced at him as she fed Judith. "I'm going to kill both of them," she said. "You aren't going out to follow them," she said.

"How did you know that I wanted to go after them?" Carl questioned.

"Sum, Sum," Judith babbled.

Jewel smiled as she fed some more carrots. "You are just like your dad, a very good man. Of course you want to go after Lexi and Enid. I want to do the same thing, and it's taking all I have not to run out there and go after them. But, I have responsibilities, and so do you. I also already have a child out there outside the walls, and a brother, plus people that we consider family. I have enough people to worry about without having to worry about you. I can handle a lot of things, Carl, but I don't know how much more I can handle," she told him.

Carl hugged her. "I won't go out," he told her. "You know they'll be alright," he told her as he picked Judith up. "I'll clean Judith up, you go find dad. I think he's on the overlook watching for Summer and the others. Where's Hope and Mika?" he asked.

"Mar took them along with Mitch and Jenny to go check on Jessie and Sam. Sam won't come downstairs," Jewel said as she kissed the top of Judith's head. "Carol should be back soon," Jewel told him. "I love you," she told Carl.

"I love you to mom," Carl said. "So does Judy, don't you Judy?" he asked as he tickled her.

Jewel smiled as she kissed both of them goodbye.

Quinn, Mika , Mitch and Mar's POV:

Mar saw Jessie on the steps of a house and watched a walker rush at the window. She recognized the woman as Betsy, the wife of one of the men that didn't make it back. She grabbed her knife and placed Jenny's hand in Mika's, ready to go up to the house. She watched Jessie open the door cautiously and stabbed the walker in the head. She watched as Jessie turned and looked at the crowd.

"I used to not want to see the way things are. It's not that I couldn't, it's that I didn't want to. But this is what life looks like now, we have to see it, we have to fight it, if we don't fight we die," Jessie said.

Quinn came from the crowd, and looked at everyone as she stepped up on the porch with Jessie. "She's right. We've been living behind those walls, pretending like nothing could hurt us, that was out there wouldn't come in here, but we were wrong. We had two good years, two years that other people didn't have, that Rick, Jewel, Mar and the others' didn't have. But we're lucky, because they did have those two years, and they are here and maybe just maybe we can survive. I know you're all scared, so am I, but we have to step up to the plate, and we have to learn, we have to be able to help them. It can't be just them helping Alexandria, it's not a you vs. them, it has to be us or we are never going to survive," she informed the crowd.

"It wasn't us that took a lot of losses, it was the original Alexandrians'," Barbara reminded them.

"Because it was you all freaked,"Mitch said.

"Excuse me?" another woman from the crowd asked. "You're just a kid," she said.

"Hey leave Mitch alone," Mika said. "We aren't ordinary ten and eleven year olds, we aren't like the kids, your, kids, Mika said.

"She's right,"Jessie said. "I saw it, Sam was freaking about me leaving him when I had to go look for Ron, but Mitch remained calm, had his weapon and was ready to take down anyone that came in. Mika didn't back down when Carter held a gun to her and Eugene. If they can handle this, then we can. We have too," Jessie said.

"We all have work to do, we need to help Rick and his people to protect our town, protect our children and we can't stand around here and judge what needs to be done,"Quinn said. "Rick and his people know how to deal with this, they are in charge of giving orders," she said as she walked away.

Rick and Jewel's POV:

Rick turned when he heard someone coming up the steps He reached his hand out to help Jewel up. "Hey," he greeted as he kissed her.

"Hey, any word from them?" she asked as she looked down at the walkers.

Rick shook his head. "I keep trying every few minutes," he said as he kissed her shoulder. "They'll be back, all of them," Rick assured her.

Jewel turned and looked at him. "I'm telling myself the same thing."

"I'm not giving up on any of them, are you?" Rick questioned as he kissed her.

Jewel gave a small sigh. "I know if anyone is going to survive this, it's going to be our family," she said.

"But?" Rick asked.

"It's different, Summer is out there. I'm worried about everyone, of course, but..."She started to say.

"But this is your daughter, our daughter,"Rick said as he put his forehead against hers. "I keep telling myself that she's a Dixon, that if anyone can get back here it is her. She knows how to survive, and remember she isn't alone, David is with her. They'll be back, they all will."

"I would feel more comfortable if Joey was with her,"Jewel admitted softly.

"So would I, but he isn't, but his brother is. We've got to trust that they are both looking out for each other and making there way back here," Rick said as he kissed her.

"Lexington and Enid may be out there,"Jewel told him.

"What?"Rick asked.

"Carl told me that he hasn't seen them and that it's more than likely that Enid went over the wall and that Lexi followed her,"Jewel told him. "I'm going to kill both of them when I see them,"Jewel told him.

"I'll help you,"Rick assured her as he kissed her. "I'm going to try them again,"he said as he held up the walkie talkie. "Daryl, Sasha, Abraham, Summer, David, Jes, Axel, you copy?"he asked as he looked at Jewel, receiving nothing but static.

Jewel turned when she heard a noise on the ladder, sighing when she saw it was Ron. "Ron,"she greeted.

"Jewel,"Ron greeted back. "Rick?Can I come up?" he asked.

Rick glanced at Jewel. "Yeah," he said as Ron joined them and he looked over the wall taking a breath. "You haven't seen it,"he said.

"No, Enid she uh...she used to sneak over the walls, spend time out there. You know, I don't know why, she just wanted to," Ron explained.

Jewel crossed her arms and looked at him. "Because she felt free out there, in here she felt like a caged animal. She knew that this was just a facade and that you all were living in a fairy tale and fairy tale ends," she said as looked at him.

Ron looked at her, not knowing how to respond. He turned his attention back to Rick. "But um, I think she went out there after the attack," he told Rick.

"Jewel just told me, and that Lexi probably went after her,"Rick informed him.

"You talked with Carl?" Ron asked a bit surprised.

"Of course, I talked with Carl, he's my son.," Jewel said as she looked at him. "Why did you come up here Ron?"

"Um, Enid and Lexi they know how to take care of themselves and well we can't go out there. Carl wanted to try, I stopped him, I told him I'd tell you if he did. And then, um, I don't know I just though I'd tell you," Ron said.

"So you thought that you'd try to get Carl in trouble?" Jewel asked giving him the Dixon glare. "I've already talked with Carl, and he promised me he wasn't going over the wall,"Jewel told him.

"How do you know that he'll keep that promise?" Ron questioned.

"Ron," Rick said in a warning tone.

"I know that he'll keep his promise because he's an honorable man,"Jewel told him as she stepped closer to him. "Because out there, you have to learn to live by your word, that's how you survive. I Iooked into my sons eyes and he told me that he wasn't going to go after them, that he wasn't going to make me worry about another one of my children. So, if your objective was to come and tattle on Carl and get him in trouble, then you failed. Is there anything else Ron?" Jewel asked in a no nonsense tone.

"Kids lie to there parents all the time," Ron pointed out.

"Kids lie, Carl isn't a kid, Ron. You two may be the same age, but you are no where the person Carl is. You are up here, trying to get my son in trouble. My son is at home watching his sister, being dependable. You should be with your mom and brother, your brother won't even go down the stairs because of the monsters. You are the man of the house now," she told him.

Ron looked at her then at Rick. "If the two of you want to go check on him, just to make sure he is staying at the house, I can keep watch," he offered.

"If Carl told Jewel that he's not going after them, he's not going to go after them. Down there,"Rick said as he nodded to the walkers, "they're guarding the place now. This is just about keeping an eye out for the others, for Summer, that aren't back yet. Looking for a sign from Glenn and Summer," he said.

"All right," Ron answered.

"You should go check on Sam," Jewel said firmly.

"I was thinking about what you said back at the quarry, and uh I mean you're both right, I need to know how to protect my mom and brother, this place. So can you teach me how to shoot?" Ron asked.

"We usually start people, especially kids, with knives, a hammer, something less dangerous than a gun," Jewel told him. "But since you are up here, go ahead,"she said as she took out the bullets, and handed it to him. "You didn't think I'd give you a gun with bullets do you? That wouldn't be very responsible of me," she said.

Rick looked at Ron. "There you go," he said as Ron pointed the weapon. "There's your target, just relax," he instructed as he looked at Ron.