All Nightmare Long
Chapter 558
Author's Note: As a parent, I hated how no one said anything to Carl about his reckless behavior. These writers must not be parents. I've planned for Jewel to have a long discussion with Carl, so I'm quite excited about this chapter. I'm hoping to get to Rick, Michonne and Jewel in this chapter too, with Michonne telling them about Negan's group. We need some Jick's time don't we? Michonne's speech to Rick has changed somewhat because she's not romantically involved with Rick. Please review.
Jewel and Carl's POV:
Jewel walked into the kitchen where Carl was washing the dishes and took a breath, taking the dish washing cloth out of his hand. "Sit down," she instructed.
"Mom," Carl started.
Jewel looked at him. "Sit down, Carl. This isn't the time for you to talk, this is the time for you to listen. And when I'm done talking, then you can respond. Understood?"
Carl nodded as he sat down. "I understand."
"I'm disappointed in you, Carl. You told your father and I that you were staying here to help watch your sisters, we believed you, we counted on you. You left Alexandria, unarmed, and somehow got yourself into a truck that belongs to Negan, and then shot at his people. You put yourself in danger. Did you even think of what could have happened? You could have been killed, you could have been captured, he could have made your disappeared and your father and I would have never known. Thankfully, for the first time in maybe his whole life, he did the right thing, and he did bring you home. But now two people are dead, because he was here. Spencer's and Olivia's death are because of your actions. When you look at Quinn, you are going to have to live with that," Jewel said as she walked over to him and kissed the top of his head. "Anything could have happened, Carl. Actions have consequences, and sometimes your dad and I can't protect you from them. What were you thinking?"
"Someone had to do something," Carl stated as he looked at her.
"That someone isn't you," Jewel informed him.
"Dad wasn't doing anything; he gave Negan all our guns. He's letting him walk all over him, and you are going along with him. Everyone is just going along with it," Carl told her.
"We're doing what we have to do, right now. We were all put in a bad place and your dad doesn't want to lose anyone else. His top priority, my top priority, is your safety and that safety of your sisters, then everyone else. Your dad has the weight of the world on his shoulders right now and doesn't know what to do. But it's not up to you to decide what is the right thing to do. Go help Gabrielle dig the graves, I'm going to go talk with you dad. And when you are done with Gabrielle, come back here and stay," Jewel instructed as she kissed the top of his head before walking outside and to the cell. "Hey," she said as she saw Rick stand up. They walked toward each other both reaching for each other. "It's not your fault, it's Negan's," she told him as she kissed the side of his face. "I talked with Carl, fight well talked at him, I think he knows what he did was wrong. We need to, you see that don't you?" she asked Rick.
"How?" Rick questioned.
"We may be able to help with that," Michonne said as she walked in with Mitch.
Jewel moved to Rick's side. "What do you mean?"
"I found what I was looking for," Michonne told them.
"And what was that?" Jewel asked.
"I had to go at it my way, and Mitch decided to follow me, couldn't leave him out there on his own, so he helped. I just realized I didn't want it to be my way, or just the two of us," Michonne explained. "I wanted it to be all of us, together, like it always has been. There's more of them, more then we even thought."
"Lot's more then what came in here," Mitch added.
"We are outnumbered, it's not even close," Michonne stated. "But Jewel is right, we need to fight, because we are still alive. So much has happened, so much that we shouldn't have lived through, in spite of it, maybe because of it, we did."
"And we did it together," Mitch said. "We lose people, but we fight for them, keep them alive by doing the right thing. You taught me that," he told Mitch.
Jewel gave a small smile. "How can you argue with that logic?" she asked.
"So how do we get through this? Because if I've learned anything, it's that you and Jewel can lead us through anything, and with Jes, Joey, Summer, everyone, and me, we get things done. We follow you, we're just waiting on you," Michonne said. "We're the ones who live, you said that Rick."
"And if we don't fight, then Carl thinks we're not doing anything. That's why he did what he did today, because we had taught him to fight for what's right, and he sees us not fighting. In his eyes, we're giving up, we're lying down, and that is the opposite of what we taught him. We aren't fighting for us," Jewel stated.
"We're fighting for Judith, for Hope, for Mitch, Mika, Jenny, Carl, Summer, all the kids here," Michonne added. "For Alexandria, for the Hilltop. For all of us. We can fight them Rick," Michonne told him.
"We have to Rick," Mitch said.
Jewel glanced at Michonne and Mitch. "Can you two leave us alone for a bit? We'll meet you upstairs. Michonne, can you check on the girls?"
"Yeah, come on Mitch," Michonne said as they left.
"I know you're scared, Mr. Grimes, so am I. I'm scared of losing more people, I'm scared of what he'll do to Daryl. But I'm more scared of what is going to happen if we don't do anything," Jewel said. "We can only do this if we are united, me and you, like it's been since Atlanta."
Rick nodded. "I know that now," he said as he kissed her. "I know that now, Mrs. Grimes."
Jewel put her arms around him kissing him. "We have a family meeting tonight; we leave for Hilltop tomorrow. We reunite our family, and we fight," she said as she kissed him.