All Nightmare Long

Chapter 401

Author's Note: Are we over that death last chapter? I'm not sure I am, I killed one of my babies. I don't know how the writers do it week after week! The fight with Carl and Ron won't be shown, but it'll be heard and Jewel is there so that'll be fun. Review please.

Jessie's House Group POV:

Joey leaned against the wall outside the bedroom Deanna was staying in He looked at Jessie then glanced at the closed door behind him. "So you plan on doing something about that?" he asked as he nodded to the door behind him.

"What do you mean?" Jessie questioned.

Joey sighed. "Um, Sam? You told him to pretend he's not afraid. Don't you think that maybe is the wrong advice?"

Jessie looked at him. "He's afraid. It was the only way to keep him calm."

"Look Jessie, I know that you or your sons haven't had to deal with what is outside the walls before. I also know that what went on with Pete was wrong. But Pete is gone, and what was outside the walls are now in them. You have one son who is scared to death of his shadow, and another one who is blaming everyone but his father for his problems. Usually, I wouldn't give a damn about either one of them because they shouldn't be alive right now, but because my family, because I'm here, it's my concern."

"Joey, you really don't have the right to say anything about how I raise my children," Jessie said.

"Considering that I'm in the house with them, I think I do," Joey said. "Mika was outside with you, shooting a gun."

Jewel and Rick came outside and closed the bedroom door Deanna was in. "What's going on?" Jewel asked.

"Joey doesn't agree with what I told Sam about pretending that he isn't scared," Jessie said.

Jewel and Rick exchanged glances before Jewel spoke. "Jessie, you're where Rick and I were when this all started. We didn't want our children to have to face the horrors of this world, do the things that had to be done to survive. We would have done anything to keep them safe like Ron and Sam was, but that didn't happen. We all, including Joey, forget what it's like to be innocent, or not have to think about things like this. We all want to survive, we want everyone to survive, so we may say things a little harsher than they need to be said," she said as she shot Joey a Dixon glare. "It's alright for Sam to be scared, I'm scared, it's normal, it's what makes us human, but Sam needs to understand that he needs to be as strong as he can," she said.

Jessie didn't have a chance to say anything before they heard a crash from downstairs.

"What was that?" Rick asked.

Jewel didn't take time to respond before she took Hope off her chest and handed her to Joey and ran down the stairs. "Carl!" she yelled as she got to the garage.

Rick tried the door to the garage. "Carl!" he yelled as they heard fighting.

"Ron!" Jessie yelled.

"Why is the door locked?" Jewel yelled. "I swear to God if you two don't open this door right now, the walkers' are going to be the least of your worries!"

"Open the door!"Rick yelled.

"Ron open this door right now!" Jessie yelled.

Jewel looked at Rick as they heard a crash. "Do it," she told him as he took out his hatchet.

"Back up," Rick ordered both of them.

Jewel took out her gun ready to shoot anything that came through the door other than Carl and Ron. Though she was tempted to shoot Ron and Carl in the foot. Jewel took a breath as Rick finally got through the door, seeing walkers' streaming in. Ron and Carl both ran out, Rick closing the door behind them just as the walkers' got to it. Jewel ran and held the door shut along with Ron, Jessie and Carl. She glared at Carl. "What went on in there?"she demanded as Rick and Gabriel brought over a couch.

Carl didn't have a chance to respond before Rick came to help hold the couch. "We need more and we need to be quiet," Rick told them.

"I'll help," Gabrielle said.

"Me too," Michonne said as she nodded to Quinn.

"I got it," Carl said as he went to help with the couch from Gabrielle.

Rick looked over at him. "Hey, hey what happened in there?"

"I'd like to know that too," Jewel hissed.

"We were looking for tools and knocked over a shelf," Carl answered.

Jewel looked at him as to say, "Seriously?"

"We heard yelling," Jessie told them.

"Yeah, Ron saw them break through the gates, we had to move. That's what happened," Carl told them.

"That's what you want us to believe?" Jewel hissed.

"It's what happened," Ron said. "Carl's there's nightstands in my mom's room. We can brace the couch with them," he said.

"Hey it sounded like you were fighting," Jessie told Ron.

"Yeah, we were fighting them," Ron told her.

"Carl, it's OK?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, it's OK,"Carl said as he turned to go upstairs.

"Carl, are you sure you don't have anything else to add?" she questioned.

Carl looked at her. "Everything's fine," he said as he went upstairs with Ron.

Jewel glanced upstairs then at Rick. "You got this?"

"Yeah, I got this," Rick said as he kissed her. "Go on," he told her.

Carl and Jewel's POV:

Carl followed Ron into the bedroom and closed the door.

"Listen I..." Ron started to say.

Carl points his gun at him. "Hand me that gun, grip first," he demanded.

"Carl, I'm sorry," Ron said.

"Yeah, I know. Now give me the gun," Carl demanded as Ron did it. "Look man, I get it, my dad killed your dad but you need to know something, you're dad was an asshole," he told him.

Jewel opened the door and walked in and closed it. "I agree with that statement," Jewel told them. She glared at both of them. "So one of you want to tell me what happened in the garage? Who locked the door?" she demanded.

"We didn't know that the door was locked. It must have gotten locked by accident," Ron said.

Jewel looked at Carl then at Ron. "Your mother may have believe that if you told her, but I am not your mother. There's no way that door got accidentally locked Ron, so don't even try that bullshit on me," she said. "I grew up with Merle and Daryl, I know what it sounds like when people have fights," she told both of them. "I also know that you wouldn't be stupid enough to start a fight with Walter's outside the door, Carl, so that leaves you," she said.

"Mom, it's alright, I handled it," Carl said.

"There's walkers in the garage, Carl, just inches away from getting inside where your baby sisters are, where your father is, where your family is. I don't call that handled, Carl, I call that the exact opposite of handled," Jewel told him.

Ron looked at her. "I don't have to stand here and listen to this," he said as he started to move past her.

Jewel grabbed his arm and glared at him. "Ron, you're lucky that you came out of that garage first, because if you had been behind Carl, I would have pushed you backwards and you'd be a walker snack right now. That crashing sound we heard, it wasn't a shelf, what was it? I better hear a truthful answer coming out of your mouth Ron, because I could still make you walker bait," she warned, her voice dangerously low.

Carl looked at Ron. "Just tell her, mom is a walking lie detector," he told the other teen.

Ron looked at her. "We were fighting, it was nothing," he said.

"Nothing? Seriously Ron?" Jewel asked. "When are you going to take responsibility for your actions? You started the fight, Ron, because you blame Rick for your father's death. Don't deny it, it's been evident since that night," she said. "Now there's things that need to be done to protect the people that we love, and I expect you both to be on your best behavior. Stay away from my son, Ron," she warned as Judith started to cry. "Go both of you," she said as she opened the door and waited for them to go outside.

Carl hesitated at the door and looked at her. "Mom, I'm sorry," he said.

"Carl, I know that none of this was your doing. You have more brains in your little pinky than he does in his whole body," Jewel said as she kissed the top of his head. "Go on, check on Mika for me," she said as he went outside the room. She met Rick on top of the stairs. "I was just going to get Judy," she said as she kissed him. "How is it going down there?"

"They knocked over the owl statue, the noise is drawing more," Rick said as he started to open the door to the room then he looked at the room where Deanna was supposed to be, seeing an empty bed. Rick glanced at Jewel. Jewel took out a long handled knife and Rick took out his hatchet both running down the hall. Jewel took a breath as she saw Deanna on her knees over Judith's playpen. Rick rushed over with his hatchet ready to bring it down.

Deanna quickly looked up. "It's still me," she told him.

Rick took a breath. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he apologized.

Jewel took a breath as she picked up Judith and kissed her forehead.

"I wanted to see her one last time, I thought I could make it, my legs had other plans," Deanna explained.

"Come here," Rick said as he helped Deanna and lifted her up and went to lay her on the bed. "You and your plans," he said.

Deanna chuckled. "They're. yours now," she told them.

"From now on, someone needs to be with you, it can't be her or Hope, or Mika," Rick said.

"Deanna shakes her head. "Yep," she agreed.

Jewel kissed the top of Judith's head. "You'll get tired of all the company you'll have," Jewel assured her.

"We'll find somewhere else to put her," Rick told Deanna.

"I'll keep you company," Jewel told her.

Deanna smiled and held up three letters. "Rick, I wrote something for Spencer, for Maggie, for Brianna. I said what needed to be said to Quinn."

"We'll make sure they get them," Rick said as he took them.

"Will you look out for Quinn? For Spencer? For all of them?" Deanna asked.

"I will," Rick answered.

"We will," Jewel assured her.

"Will you look out for him like you look out for your people? Guess what? They're all you people, Rick. They are, and Jewel knows it, don't you?" Deanna asked.

Jewel glanced at Rick. "Yeah, they are all our people," she agreed.

"We haven't had a chance to make it that far," Rick told her.

"But that's how it is. I didn't run over to help you out there because I like you or because I think you're a good father, a good husband, or that you can grow one hell of a beard," Deanna said as Jewel snickered into Judith's head. I ran over to help because you are one of us. That's the right answer," Deanna told him.

"Rick!" Jessie yelled.

Jewel handed Judith to Rick. "Go," she said as she kissed him before he ran out. Jewel sat down in the chair next to the bed. "He'll do the right thing, he always does."

"I think you are a big part of that," Deanna told her.

Jewel shook her head. "Rick has always done the right thing, it's who he is."

"You're a good part of him too. Aaron told me that you stood up for him out there. I've seen you stand up to him, see reason. He needs that, he needs you," Deanna said.

"He's got me, Deanna, I'm not going anywhere," Jewel assured her. "Alexandria is going to thrive, it's going to survive, and we are going to do it with Quinn's help, and Spencer if he wants. We aren't going to let what you started fail," she assured her with a small smile.