((And here is where I split from the show. Our group is not going to Alexandria in this story. Mostly, it's because I want them to literally go in a different direction eventually, but also because Alexandria just feels very awkward to me, especially from a Richonne shipper's perspective. And I don't want to have to deal with Jessie. Pretty much everything that happens before they head to Richmond happens, like Beth and Bob's deaths. Sorry. But our characters won't have that hope of civilization to bring them through that, so, let's just see what happens.))

Tears Chapter 9

"Terminus," Carl said, looking at the sign on the train car. "Do you think it's somewhere safe?"

"I don't know," Michonne said, taking a seat on the platform. "The name doesn't make it sound like a happy place."

Rick stared at the map, trying to figure out if they should go there or not. The signs could be from years ago, and the place could be overrun. Or, it could be a trap to steal supplies from other survivors. However, he knew that they needed to find a safe place to stay. Michonne would start getting bigger soon, and they wouldn't be able to travel as quickly once she was a few months into her pregnancy. And they couldn't be out in the middle of the woods when she gave birth.

"We should go," he said after a couple of minutes. "We need to get to someplace safe, and we need to give it a chance. If any of the others saw these signs, they would follow it."

Michonne nodded slightly, knowing what he was doing. But she still felt guilty. If this place wasn't a sanctuary like it said and one of them got hurt, she would never forgive herself. Rick was only leading them there because of her pregnancy. He was desperate to find a haven for them.

"We'll go, then," she said, standing up.

"It might not be safe," Carl said, looking at his father. "I mean, safe places wouldn't advertise like this. That's asking to be attacked."

"Your dad's just trying to protect us," Michonne said.

"But this isn't protecting us. This is putting all of us in danger. Why are you ready to go to someplace without anything big that says it's safe?"

Rick looked at his son, surprised again that he was so grown up. Every once in a while, Carl would say or do something that reminded him that even though he was only a teenager, he had the mind of an adult. Because of that, Rick knew he couldn't keep secrets from him. His son knew the dangers of this world and had adapted to them better than any of the adults. He'd understand whatever was thrown at him.

"We're going there because Michonne is pregnant," Rick said, looking straight at his son. He didn't know if his partner would be okay with telling the news, but Carl had a right to know. After all, this would be his little brother or sister.

"What?" Carl asked, his eyes wide. He turned to look at Michonne, not believing what he just heard. "Is that true?"

"Yeah," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"But...how? Wait, don't explain, I already know how, just, I didn't even know you were with anyone."

"Your dad and I have been together for months," she said, figuring it would be best to be blunt. "We think I'm about two months along."

Carl looked between the two adults, trying to figure everything out. He was upset that they didn't tell him about their relationship, but he decided that it wasn't important now. All that mattered was finding somewhere for Michonne to have the baby. He just hoped that this didn't turn out the way his mom's pregnancy did.

"We should get going, then," the teenager said, starting to walk along the train tracks.

Michonne glanced at Rick, confused by Carl's reaction. She'd expected him to be upset or worried, but the teenager almost seemed unaffected by the news. Rick just gave a shrug and followed after his son.

...

*** one week later***

"I don't want you to go."

Rick turned to see Michonne sitting up on the bed, watching him. He paused in putting on his shirt and sat next to her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. The past few days, she'd been extremely emotional. He figured it was because of all the hormones, although the stress didn't help, either.

"We'll be back tomorrow," he said, trying to reassure her. "We're going to clear out that warehouse and make sure it's safe. Then, we'll be right back."

"I want to come with you," she said, her voice hoarse. They'd been up for hours, Michonne vomiting every few minutes, and Rick holding her as she tried to relax afterwards.

"You can't. You'd be in too much danger."

"I'm not helpless, Rick!" She said, then covered her mouth and looked over where Judith was sleeping on the bed. Her voice hadn't disturbed the baby at all.

Rick walked over to where she sat and kneeled in front of her. He took her hands in his and kissed her palms.

"I know you're not helpless," he said. "That's part of why you're here protecting the people who can't fight. 'Chonne, you're the greatest fighter we've got, but do you think you could handle dozens of walkers while throwing up every few minutes? Besides, putting that much strain on yourself would hurt the baby."

"I know," she said. "I've been pregnant before. I just wanted to help."

Rick kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her, holding her for a few moments.

"I love you," he said, letting her go. "Now, try and get some sleep, okay?"

She nodded slightly, the mere mention of sleep causing her to yawn. She laid back onto the bed and scooted a little closer to where Judith was sleeping.

Rick smiled at the sight and pressed a kiss to his daughter's cheek, then to Michonne's.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered, turning around and walking out, closing the door behind him.

...

Their whole group was together again, plus a few new members. Now, it seemed that they were becoming more than just a family of survivors. They were becoming a small close-knit community. But with so many people, staying on the road was becoming more difficult, and just holing up in a house wouldn't do. They needed to find somewhere big that they could secure, like the prison.

Their target was found on a supply run. Glenn, Tara, Abraham, and Rosita had stumbled across a large furniture warehouse that was completely surrounded by fences. Even though the fences at the prison hadn't lasted long, there was plenty of material they could use to make those fences into walls.

Rick followed Glenn to the warehouse. Behind them were Tara, Daryl, Eugene, Abraham, and Rosita. This was the group he'd decided would come in first, to help clear the building. They'd already checked the fences, finding no weak spots. They'd even set up a CD player and left it running to make sure there wasn't a herd inside. So far, only a few walkers had gathered around the player, but they seemed to have come out from the woods.

The group gathered at the front gate as Glenn cut the padlock off the chain, then they all went inside, securing the gate with wire. Everyone was on high alert, Rick, Daryl, and Glenn remembering what it was like when they had to clear out the prison. They stayed in a group as they walked around the outside of the building first, then ventured inside.

The ground floor of the warehouse was stocked with furniture, all of it unassembled and in boxes that were piled almost to the ceiling. With the piles stacked next to each other, they formed perfect aisles. The group split in two, one walking over to the other side, as the other stayed on the side they walked to. Then, they started walking towards the end of the building, looking down the aisles for any signs of walkers.

It was eerie how untouched the place was. There were no walkers on the ground floor, so the group started to walk upstairs.

Rick, who was at the front, paused in his step when he heard a noise coming from somewhere upstairs. He gestured for the group to stay still as he silently made his way up the stairs, peaking around the corner to see what made the noise.

The second floor of the warehouse seemed more open. There weren't any stacks of boxes, but there were a few offices at the end of the building. The place wasn't as empty as they thought, because Rick noticed sleeping bags arranged on the floor.

Motioning for the others to follow, Rick went into the room and immediately saw what had caused the noise. There were two walkers, hanging by their necks from the rafters, kicked over chairs at their feet. Their necks must not have snapped completely, because they still squirmed at the ends of the ropes, moreso when they saw living people approaching. Nearby, two smaller sleeping bags were laid on the floor, and it seemed that their occupants had never left them.

Rick went over to them, his gun drawn, but found that the two children were already dead, bullet holes in the sides of their heads. On the floor, nearby, was an empty revolver. Rick didn't bother checking it, he just kicked it away and covered the two dead children with another sleeping bag.

As Daryl put the hanging walkers out of their misery, then cut them down, Rick searched through their supplies. Inside was a crudely drawn map of the surrounding town with lines drawn through the stores and houses. On the map key on the side, he learned that those lines meant that the supplies were gone from those areas and he understood what had happened. The family had been trapped here and was starving.

The bodies of the children had only just started to bloat, so they hadn't been dead for very long. This must have happened only days ago. If the family had held out a few more days, they would have been saved.

Or would they? Rick wasn't sure if he'd be welcoming to the family if they'd found them alive. Sure, he'd give them food, but would he have allowed them to stay? He was beginning to feel like he may have kicked them out, just because he didn't know them.

He should feel ashamed of himself for even thinking that way, but he isn't. He's got two children and an unborn child to look after. Any danger that threatened his family needed to be eliminated.

"We'll bury these bodies," he said, looking around at his family. "Then we'll set up for tonight and see what we can get done today. Tomorrow, Glenn and I will go back to bring the others here, first thing in the morning."

That's all that was needed to be said. Everyone got to their jobs. Even Eugene went downstairs, helping bring the bodies outside.

Rick looked around and sighed. They would make this work.