Set during 6x09 "No Way Out" and the beginning of 6x10 "The Next World."

This fire won't go out

Though just a flicker it may be

Shifting through the shadows

To a vision we can't see
Hold fast to one another

We still stand stranger to brother

We are one

We carry on

"We Carry On" – The Phantoms

Chapter 9 – We Carry On

"All right, new plan," Rick said after pulling the group to the side. He glanced at Mia and squeezed her hand lightly. She met his gaze and forced a weak smile, but quickly returned her eyes to the floor. Rick cleared his throat as he looked away from her before continuing. "Flares from a few guns aren't enough. Too many walkers, too spread out. We're not going to the armory. We need our vehicles back at the quarry. All of us drive. We'll need to round 'em up. We leave, we come back."

"Okay," Jessie said. "But Judith… to the quarry and back, I—"

"I'll take her," Father Gabriel volunteered. "Keep her safe in my church until you all lead the walkers away."

"Can you do this?" Michonne questioned.

"I'm supposed to. I have to," Father Gabriel responded. He looked back at Rick. "I will."

"All right," Carl sighed as he transferred Judith to Father Gabriel.

"Take Sam," Jessie said.

"No," the young boy retorted.

"Yes, Sam, it'll be safe," Jessie told him.

"I'm not leaving you," Sam said.

"Sam—" Jessie sighed.

"Mom, I'm not," Sam said. "I can keep going."

"Sam—"

"I can keep going," Sam told her. "Please. Please. Let's just go."

"Okay," Jessie said after a few seconds of silence.

Father Gabriel glanced at Rick, who met his gaze. "I'm going to keep her safe."

"Thank you," Rick said. Mia inhaled slowly as she looked up at him. He was watching Father Gabriel walk away with Judith. She could see the concern and worry written in his expression and squeezed his hand softly to get his attention.

"Hey. He's going to make it," Mia told him. "They'll be okay."

Rick nodded and Mia forced another smile. She turned to Sam, who was standing in front her, and held out her hand. "Sam."

They had been walking for a while, slowly making their way towards the gate. Rick was leading the group, followed by Mia, Sam, Jessie, Carl, Ron, and Michonne. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of walkers snarling. They were moving slowly so they didn't draw attention, making their journey long, but safe. Mia was just beginning to think that they were in the clear when she felt Sam tug on her arm. She looked over her shoulder at the young boy to see that he had stopped walking completely and was looking rather petrified at something in the distance. He let go of her hand and stepped back a couple feet. Mia shared a worried look with Rick before turning back to Sam.

"Sam. Sam?" Jessie said, trying to get her son's attention. "Come on. Come on."

"Sam, you're okay," Mia tried. "They're not going to hurt you."

"Sweetheart? Sam?" Jessie said

"You can do it," Rick told him. "You can do it."

"Yes, you can," Jessie said. "Sam? Sam, come on."

"Come on, Sam," Mia said as encouragingly as she could.

"Sam, come on," Rick said.

"Sam," Jessie repeated. "Sam?"

"Sam. Hey, you can do this," Ron said. "Sam, just look at mom."

"Honey, you can do it," Jessie said. When that didn't work she tried again. "Sam, you're gonna get— Sam, honey, I need you to come with me."

Mia swallowed hard when Sam began to cry, whimpering softly. She knew the noise might draw the attention of any one of the walkers surrounding them.

"Sam," Ron said.

"I need you to come with me," Jessie said.

"I want to," Sam whimpered.

"I need you to be strong," Jessie told him.

"Sam—" Ron started, but it was too late.

Two walkers descended on Sam. One came up beside him, biting his shoulder while the other came from behind and grabbed his face, biting into his forehead. Mia squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and sighed sadly when Sam let out a long scream.

"Mom!" He screamed loudly. "Mom!"

Mia looked to Jessie, who was still holding onto Sam's hand. She let out an ear-piercing scream as she stared at the feeding frenzy.

"Jessie," Mia said as she stepped closer to the woman. She could hear Carl and Rick trying to get her attention as well. "Jessie, come on. I know it hurts, but we have to move."

"Come with us," Carl told her. "Come on. We have to go."

"Jessie, please," Mia said, trying once more to just distract her from what was happening to her son.

Amelia grimaced when several walkers caught Jessie in their grasps, biting her all at once. She screamed as even more walkers descended upon her.

"Dad!" Carl exclaimed quietly as he tried to pull his hand free from Jessie's. "Dad!"

Mia watched as Rick freed his axe from his belt and used it to chop Jessie's arm off. It took several tries, but eventually it came off, allowing Carl to free his hand. He fell to the floor and Mia hurried to help him up. She froze when she saw Ron pointing a gun in her direction. Carl turned to look at the boy when he cocked the gun. Mia realized quickly that Ron wasn't pointing the gun at her, but rather Rick.

"You," Ron said as he stared at Rick. "You."

Suddenly, Michonne's sword appeared through Ron's chest. Mia flinched when a gunshot ran through the air. Ron fell dead to the floor the moment Michonne pulled her sword out and walkers were on him a few seconds later. Mia looked at Rick, smiling softly when she saw that he was okay.

"Dad?" Carl's voice reached Mia's ears, causing her to turn towards the boy. She gasped when she saw that he had been shot through the eye. He fell to the floor, unconscious, and his father hurried to scoop him up in his arms.

Mia pulled the machete from her belt and helped Michonne clear a path for Rick. They moved quickly through the crowd of walkers all the way to the infirmary. Denise opened the door for them and they filed into the house. Rick placed his son down on the gurney and stepped back. Mia wanted to comfort him, but she knew her time would be used better treating Carl.

"It was a gunshot. Handgun. Close range," Mia informed Denise as she took her spot on the other side of the gurney.

"Please save him," Rick said. "Please."

Mia glanced over her shoulder at him and nodded before turning her attention back to Carl. Denise turned on the light as Mia started to clear away the blood from around Carl's eye.

"That's gonna draw them here," Spencer noted about the lights.

"We need it, Spence," Mia told him. She looked up at Denise. "Put pressure on the wound while I go in and sew up any lacerations. Just keep following me with the towel."

"What—what are you doing?" Michonne asked, causing Mia to look up and over at where Rick had been standing. Except he was no longer standing there. He was standing with one foot out the open door.

"Rick!" Mia called out, but he didn't turn around. "Rick!"

She took a deep, steadying breath before turning back to Carl. Mia wanted to go after him, but she had to save Carl first.

"Michonne, go after him," Mia said as she started stitching up Carl's wound. "Help him."

"You don't need help?" Michonne asked as she started towards the door.

"No. I have this," Mia told her. "Just get out there and help him."

"He's taking them all on," Aaron said. "We have to go get him."

"What?" Spencer asked.

"We have to," Heath told him. "This is it."

Michonne kissed Carl's forehead before running to the front door and swinging it open. Aaron and Heath walked out of the house behind her. Mia looked up to see Spencer start towards the door.

"Spencer!" Mia shouted as quietly as she could.

"This is my chance, Mia," he said.

Mia gritted her teeth as she glanced down at Carl and back up at her brother. "Fine. Just promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise," Spencer said before running out of the house.

"Go," Denise told her. When Mia looked at her she nodded. "I got this. Go help them."

"I need to finish. Just one more suture," Mia said and turned her attention back to Carl's wound. She quickly laid one last stitch and cut the string. She looked up at Denise. "Can you dress the wound?"

"Yes. Now, go," Denise said.

Mia grabbed her machete off the table behind her and ran out of the house as quickly as she could. She hurried through the crowd, taking down quite a few walkers as she went. Soon enough she caught up with Rick, Michonne, Spencer, Aaron, and Heath.

"Knock 'em away," Rick shouted. "Drive 'em down."

Mia paused when she saw Olivia and Eric hurrying to join them. They each had their own weapons and were using them against the walkers.

"We can beat 'em!" Rick shouted. "We can beat 'em!"

The group continued to take down the walkers in their path as more and more people joined them until nearly the whole community was out there with them. They continued to move towards one of the walls, taking down as many walkers as they could. Eventually, they were pushed back against the wall.

"Everybody, back up!" Rick shouted and everyone obeyed. Mia took her spot next to him and they continued to kill walkers together.

Suddenly, flames erupted from the center of the safe-zone, drawing the attention of every nearby walker. They dead ones slowly started away from the group, towards the flames.

"Don't let up!" Rick instructed.

The group started to fan out, killing the walkers that had turned their backs to them. They continued to fight even as the crowd started to thin. Night turned into day and every walker was either in the pond or lying dead on the floor.

Once they were done, they returned to the infirmary. Mia waited with Judith outside the bedroom that Denise had put Carl in while Rick went inside to sit with him. She wanted to give them some privacy, but she could still hear what Rick was saying.

"I was wrong. I thought after living behind these walls for so long that… maybe they couldn't learn. But today… I saw what they could do, what we could do, if we work together. We'll rebuild the walls. We'll expand the walls. There will be more. There's gotta be more. Everything Deanna was talking about… is possible. It's all possible. I see that now. When I was out there… with them… when it was over… when I knew we had this place again… I had this feeling. It took me a while to remember what it was… because I haven't felt it since before I woke up in that hospital bed," Rick explained to his son, crying softly. "I want to show you the new world, Carl. I want to make it a reality for you. Please, Carl. Let me show you. Plea—please, son, don't die."

Mia smiled to herself as she placed a short kiss on top of Judith's head. She was relieved that Rick was finally able to see Alexandria as home and the people there as his own. She always knew it would happen someday. She was just happy it was that day.

"Mia!" Rick called out. She didn't hesitate to enter the bedroom, surveying the room quickly.

"What is it? What happened?" She asked as he stood from the bed.

"He squeezed my hand," Rick told her. He walked over to her and pulled her into a short kiss before taking Judith from her. Mia smiled at him before walking over to the bed. She checked Carl's vitals before checking his pupil response. When he seemed to be okay she turned back to Rick.

"He's okay," Mia said. "He'll probably wake up soon. I can give him something for the pain."

"Thank you, Mia," Rick said and kissed her again.

"I'm just glad he's okay," Mia admitted. She dropped her gaze to the floor for a couple seconds and looked back up at Rick. "I haven't told Spencer about our mom yet. I think he already knows, but it'll probably help to hear it from me."

Rick pursed his lips lightly as he stared down at Mia. He smoothed some hair out of her face and caressed her cheek softly. "It'll be hard for him either way, but it will sound better coming from you. Here."

Mia looked down and saw that he was holding one of the folded pieces of paper that her mother had given to him before she died. She didn't have to be told that it was the one meant for Spencer.

"Thanks," Mia sighed as she took the paper from his hand.

"How are you holding up?" Rick asked as he transferred Judith to his other hip.

Mia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She met Rick's gaze and shrugged softly. "My mom died. I'm never going to be able to talk to her again or hear her laugh. So, I'm not holding up too great, but I can't tell you how happy I am that I have you and Spencer."

"I'll be with you as long as I live," Rick told her. When he saw the tears welling up in her eyes he ran his thumb across her cheek. "Hey. Hey. Hey. It'll get easier. I promise."

Mia pressed her lips into a thin line as she dropped her head, sniffling softly. She took a shaky breath as she raised her gaze to meet Rick's. "My mom's dead, Rick. She died and I don't know how to exist in a world where she doesn't."

"Yeah, that part never really changes," Rick said. He wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her close to him, allowing her to lean her head on his shoulder. He held her until she was ready to talk to Spencer.

She found her brother outside the infirmary with the others. She was quick to pull him aside, telling him everything that had happened. Mia gave him the note once she was finished and left him to read it on his own.

Michonne found her shortly after she had gone off on her own. The older woman sat down beside her and handed her an apple.

"I figured you had forgotten to eat today," Michonne explained as Mia took the apple from her.

"Thanks," Mia murmured.

"I never got a chance to say that I'm sorry for your loss," Michonne said. "Deanna was a smart, kind woman. She'll be missed around here."

Mia turned her head to look at Michonne. "Thank you."

"Denise said that you were the reason that Carl lived," Michonne told her. "So, I also owe you a thank you. Thank you for saving him."

"Denise could have saved him. It wasn't that hard," Mia responded.

"But you were the one that did it," Michonne said.

Mia nodded slowly. "I think he'll make it. I hope he does, at least."

"He will," Michonne said. "Because of you, he will."

"What happens now?" Mia asked quietly.

"We rebuild and expand just like your mom wanted," Michonne said.

"I just wish she were here to see it," Mia whispered.

"She knew it would happen eventually," Michonne said. "That's why she made those plans in the first place."

"And now we get to use them," Mia said, nodding. "It's what she wanted so I'll make sure it happens."

"I know you will," Michonne said. "You have the same drive as her."

"My father used to say it was endearing," Mia said, laughing quietly. "My mother's perseverance helped because of her job and my dad said it would someday come in handy with mine."

"You always wanted to be a doctor?" Michonne asked.

"No," Mia answered. "When I was really young I dreamed normally. I wanted to be a princess and a vet, but when I was about ten I was in a car accident with my dad. No one was hurt too badly, but we had to go to the hospital. I had to get some stitches and a cast on my arm. I just remember my doctor being so kind and smart. Even though I was young I knew she got to help people and save lives. I realized that I wanted to do exactly that someday. From then on whenever anyone would ask me about what I wanted to be I would tell them that I wanted to be a doctor."

"Your parents must have been proud," Michonne said.

"They were," Mia said. "At least I'm pretty sure they were."

"They were," Michonne said. "That I'm sure of."

"Thank you for talking to me," Mia told her. "It was a good distraction."

"You're welcome," Michonne said as Mia stood up. "And if you ever need to talk I'm here."

"Thanks, Michonne," Mia said. She turned and walked back to the infirmary.

She went into Carl's room and sat down beside Rick. He took her hand and she leaned forward against his arm. With a heavy sigh, she relaxed and shut her eyes, hoping sleep would come quickly.

Two Months Later…

Amelia woke with a heavy sigh. The weight around her waist and the breath on her ear told her that Rick was still asleep beside her. Mia had made the choice to move in with Rick a few weeks back. There wasn't always sex. Most of the time, they would just hold each other as they fell asleep. She liked that part the most. Rick would run his fingers through her hair and she would rest her head on his chest. It was peaceful. Every night they spent together felt so right. Being with him, no matter how short their time together had been, felt more right than anything in her life.

Carl and Judith too. She had always wanted kids, but after the world fell to pieces she lost hope that it could ever happen. With Carl and Judith, she didn't have to force it. He was a great kid and she was an amazing baby girl. Mia genuinely cared for them in a deeply motherly fashion that had snuck up on her rather suddenly. If something happened to either of them, she would be devastated and heartbroken.

Mia smiled to herself as she ran her fingers through her hair. Slowly, she slid off the bed and dressed herself. She looked over her shoulder as she pulled on her jeans to check on Rick. He was sitting up, watching her with a smile that turned into a grin when she caught him staring. Pulling out a black t-shirt, Mia threw it on before sitting down next to him.

"Good morning," Amelia said with a smile and he smiled back at her.

"Morning," Rick said. "Are you getting ready for the run?"

"Yeah," Mia said. She took hold of his hand and brought it to her lips. She pressed a short kiss to the back of his hand and sighed quietly.

"What's wrong?" Rick asked as he stared at her. "Did you have another nightmare?"

"Of course I did," Mia said, forcing a weak smile.

"What was it about?" Rick questioned.

Amelia took a deep breath and pursed her lips lightly. "I was lucky. When I was out there I was never alone for too long. When I was alone, it sucked big time. There was no one there to watch my back while I slept or went to the bathroom. So, I was glad that I managed to run into several groups. I got lucky with the first few groups I was with. Well, there was the slaughter with Mal, but up until that point everything was good. Then I met Sam and Dean and they were good people. It ended badly, but it started good. When I fell in with the next group, it clicked. Once again, I had found good people."

"But then you met another group," Rick finished for her. Mia nodded slowly.

"They called themselves the Outcasts," Mia told him. "There were mostly men in the group, but there were a few women. Right off the bat I bonded with this guy named Matt. He reminded me a lot of Spencer."

"Were you together?" Rick asked calmly.

"No, nothing like that," Mia said. "He was my best friend."

"He died?" Rick questioned.

"He was murdered," Mia corrected sternly. She cleared her throat and met Rick's gaze. "The people in the group were just bad people. They would hunt other groups, slaughtering them in cold blood, for fun. They'd rape women and children because they could and torture the men for as long as they wanted. I stayed with them for four weeks before both Matt and I decided we had to leave. The only problem was that it was against the rules. We would have to take five innocent lives each in order to be able to leave, but we couldn't do it so we ran."

"They caught you," Rick concluded.

"They did. The leader of the Outcasts, Ian Wildgrave, decided that the only appropriate punishment would be for one of us to die," Mia told Rick. "I tried to call his bluff and Ian snapped Matt's neck right in front of me. Then he let me go. I reached Alexandria a couple weeks later."

"Did they ever hurt you?" Rick asked.

Mia sighed heavily. "About a week after I joined them, we ran into another group. My group did what they did best. They murdered and tortured and raped. Ian was about to rape a fourteen year old girl when I stepped in. He told me that the only way he would spare this young girl was if I took her place. So, I slept with him. It was consensual and afterwards, he let the girl go."

"You did it to save her," Rick said.

"I did, but that didn't make it feel good," Mia said. "I did the same thing a couple more times, but I couldn't save them all."

"It wasn't your job to save them," Rick told her.

"I had to try," Mia responded. "These girls were defenseless and I was able to help them so I had to."

Rick nodded slowly. "I get it. That's who you are."

Mia looked over her shoulder when she heard a knock at the door. She and Rick stood from the bed and she started towards the door while he put on a shirt. Mia waited until he was dressed to open the door. She smiled when she came face to face with Michonne.

"Hey, Michonne," Mia greeted.

"Do you have any toothpaste left?" Michonne asked. She was wearing a bathrobe and had her hair up in a towel. Judith was in her arms, babbling quietly.

"Uh…" Mia sighed as she looked over her shoulder at Rick.

"No," Rick answered. "Because someone's been borrowing it everyday for two weeks."

Mia smiled as she looked back at Michonne. She cocked her head to the side as she shrugged weakly. "Sorry."

"You want to take her?" Michonne asked as she gestured to Judith.

"Yeah," Mia said. She took Judith into her arms and went to sit on the bed. She watched Rick as he took his belt over to the dresser pushed up against the wall. Judith leaned against her chest, playing with her hair. Rick pulled out his knife and began to etch a new notch.

Mia looked up when she heard a thud against the wall. She smiled, knowing it was Carl doing his physical therapy. Denise had been the one to suggest it. Rick turned around to face Mia when he was finished with his belt. He slipped it on through his pants and placed his watch on his wrist. The thudding continued rhythmically in the background as Rick put on his gun holster.

"Carl!" Michonne called out and the thudding ceased.

"What?" Carl asked from the next room. "Denise said it's PT."

"I can't hear you," Rick said with his voice raised slightly. "Come on out."

Mia shifted Judith in her arms, causing the baby to fuss quietly.

"What?" Carl asked as he walked into view.

"Denise say's it's PT," Carl and Rick said at the same time, causing Mia and Michonne to smile.

"You heard me," Carl said.

"Yeah," Rick sighed as he shared a look with Mia.

"It's time to change your bandage," Michonne told the teenager, causing him to look at Mia

"Denise can do it this time since I'm leaving," Mia explained.

"And I need to borrow some toothpaste," Michonne added.

"Okay, but I'm out of toothpaste," Carl said. He tossed the tennis ball to his dad and walked down the hall out of view. "Bye, dad. Bye, Mia."

"I'll see you later," Rick responded. He walked over to Mia and gestured to take Judith. She handed her to him and stood from the bed. "Come on, Sweetheart."

"You two be good out there," Michonne told them as they walked into the hall.

"Yeah, we'll see," Rick said. "And thank you."

"Oh," Michonne sighed. "Spearmint and baking soda, that's my favorite."

"Soon as we get it, you'll have it," Mia said as Rick tossed the tennis ball to Michonne.

"We have to drop off Judith at Carol's then we can go," Rick said. They started down the stairs hand-in-hand and walked out of the house.

Mia leaned her head against the window as the car rolled down the street towards the front gate. Eugene opened the gate for them before coming to Daryl's window. He pulled a piece of paper out of his chest pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Daryl.

"I mapped out some of the agricultural supply places in the area. Even if they've been cleaned out, my bet is that the sorghum would be untouched," Eugene explained. "Now, that there is a criminally underrated grain that could change the game with our food situation from scary to hunky-dunky. I'm talking standability, drought tolerance, grain-to-stover ratio that is the envy of all corns. Think about it."

"Thanks," Daryl said.

"All right," Eugene said as he stood up straight and stepped away from the car. "Okay."

Rick put the car in drive and drove out of the community. Mia sat quietly in the backseat as Rick drove and Daryl acted as the navigator. They continued down several streets in silence before Rick spoke up.

"Today's the day," Rick said aloud.

"Uh-huh," Daryl grunted.

"We're gonna find food, maybe some people. The law of averages has gotta catch up," Rick continued.

"I don't know. We ain't seen nobody for weeks. Maybe we ain't gonna find nobody," Daryl said. "Maybe that's a good thing."

Mia laughed silently when she saw Rick reach for the CD in the center console. She knew Daryl hated the music.

"Don't. Don't," Daryl pleaded as Rick placed it in the player. "Please don't."

Mia smiled to herself when the music started playing. She laughed quietly again when Rick turned up the music.

"Draws 'em away from home!" Rick shouted above the music.

Mia sat up when they reached the first place Eugene had mapped out. She got out of the car and went with Rick to secure the area.

"Hey, hold up," Daryl called out to them. "It's best to be safe. You guys cover it?"

"Yeah," Rick and Mia answered as they each held up their guns, scanning the area. Daryl opened the door to the barn, revealing a large truck parked inside. Rick and Mia checked the room for walkers.

"Yeah, we're good," Rick said.

"Same here," Mia added.

"One more time?" Rick questioned as he gestured to the truck.

"It ain't locked," Daryl noted before opening the back of the truck.

Mia let out a sigh of relief when she saw the large store of supplies inside.

"Well, how about that?" Rick asked. Daryl stepped up inside the truck and picked around a little. "Law of averages."

"Yep," Daryl sighed and stepped back out of the truck. Rick stepped up in his place. Mia wanted to get a look as well, but she kept her guard up instead. They didn't need to be blindsided just when they found the supplies they needed.

"Let's get this thing going, grab our gear, come back for the car later," Rick instructed as he stepped out of the truck. "We'll take another way back. See what we can see."

Daryl stepped up to close the door to the truck. "Think it'll start?"

"Yeah, I do," Mia answered before Rick could.

"Sorghum," Rick sighed with a shake of his head.

Daryl shut the door and they piled into the truck cab after grabbing their stuff from the car. They did what Rick said and took a different way back. They went for a while without stopping, but decided to check out a run-down gas station. Mia waited with Rick while Daryl checked the door. When it didn't open he turned his attention to a tipped over vending machine.

"Yo, give me a hand with this," Daryl told Rick and Mia. They joined him by the machine. "Let's flip it over."

They tried to turn it over, but failed miserably.

"I don't think we got it," Rick said. Daryl walked to the other side of the machine and took the crowbar off the top.

"I got an idea," Daryl told them.

They tied a metal chain around the machine and then to the back of the truck. Mia sat with Rick in the cab of the truck and they drove forward until they heard Daryl whistle. Rick put the truck in park and they got out.

"It's soda and candy," Rick pointed out as he surveyed the machine. "Why the trouble?"

"It wasn't any trouble," Daryl responded.

Suddenly, someone crashed into Rick, causing him to hit the vending machine. Mia and Daryl pulled their guns as Rick straightened up. The stranger faced them, but had a bandana hiding the lower half of his face. He held up his hands and looked between the three of them.

"Hi."

Thanks for reading! Please review and favorite and follow if you liked the chapter! The next chapter should be up in a week!