There was snow in the air and Rick watched his son carefully. Carl had turned his face up to the sky, letting the small white flakes float down into his eyelashes and slip against his cheek. They had never experience much snow in Georgia. They had plenty of cold in winter, but little snow, and when it did fall it usually melted before it hit the ground. Now that they were further north it actually stuck around for weeks if not months.
It still felt a little magical when it was first falling though, and Rick was enjoying the look of winder on Carl's face. He hadn't seen that look in a very long time. He hoped that one day Judith would be able to have that look too. This wasn't a world for children any longer; there was no time for childhood when they had to learn how to survive as soon as they could walk. He shook his head, thinking, as a Deputy he had seen a lot of things to suggest that the world was never a safe place for anyone, but it had still been better before.
Before. Back then a baby could cry and while it might annoy people, it wasn't going to attract an insatiable monster. Back then a child had time to grow up, and even if their life wasn't perfect, they probably had more than what was available now. At least his kids had more, or would have had more. Rick could imagine what life would have been like if Judith had been born in that world; Lori would have still been a part of it if they had proper medical care like they did at Carl's birth. They would have grown up happy, in their little house, going to school and out on dates, and hopefully to college one day. One day they might have had kids themselves and he would have been so proud to be a grandfather, but now?
Now he had to savor those moments when he could look at his son and still see the boy who could experience a moment of beauty.