AN: Here is the next chapter. While watching Season 9, I had to determine which parts would go to Carl and what to do with the other characters.
It had been a month since Gregory was hanged for using Earl to kill Maggie, and Earl was still in prison. Meanwhile, back in Alexandria in the Grimes house, Rick and Judith were fast asleep in their beds. However, a wide-awake Michonne could hear the pacing around in Carl's room, and through her closed bedroom door, she noticed the hall light was on.
She stumbled out of bed, trying not to wake up Rick, and then walked toward the door to open it, noticing that Carl's bedroom door was open. She could see Carl pacing around in his room as he packed up the stuff in his room.
At the special dinner tonight that was held for Carl where all of Alexandria was invited, Rick was in tears as he toasted his son, ugly-crying happy tears about his son being all grown-up before telling a long story about how his own father cried when he helped him move into his dorm at Georgia Central. Michonne, on the other hand, just smiled with no tears...until right now.
She tried to hold them back as she watched Carl pack up. As she walked closer toward Carl's door, Michonne figured this was probably how her own parents felt the night before she was going to leave for Georgia State.
"Everything okay?" She asked, prompting Carl to turn around and sigh. "Nervous?"
"Not at all," exhaled Carl, running his hand through his hair as he shoved a shirt in one of the two duffel bags on his bed. "It's just...it's weird. I never thought I'd have enough stuff to fill two duffel bags."
"Don't feel like you have to take everything. It's not like we need this room," reassured Michonne, walking in to place a hand on her stepson's shoulder.
"Unless you and Dad have more children," rebutted Carl, laughing a little.
"We are nowhere near that," chuckled Michonne, shocked that Carl would bring that up. "Also, you might come back someday once you have your own family."
Carl smiled and then hugged his stepmother.
The next morning, while Michonne was at the Hilltop speaking with Maggie, citizens from all four communities of the Coalition (including some of the ex-Saviors who were trying to rebuild the Sanctuary as their own) were working on rebuilding the broken bridge together. The bridge was going to be a vital part in connecting the communities of the Coalition.
Enid and Siddiq had set up a medical tent to take care of any injuries. Carl would sometimes sneak away from his duties with Aaron and Daryl to talk to Enid (Rick often telling him to get back to work). The same thing was happening with Jerry and Nabila and Carol and Ezekiel.
Other than that, they also had to worry about a herd and figure out how to redirect them. In other news, many Saviors had been disappearing at an alarming rate.
"So, how is your head, Carl?" Enid asked Carl with slight jest as Siddiq watched her stitch Cyndie's hand from a minor scrape with a rock.
"It's fine," chuckled Carl, who was breaking away from his duties once again. "May I kiss you?"
Before Enid could answer or even kiss, Siddiq scolded her playfully. "No making out with the patients or in front of them."
"Yeah, please," scoffed Cyndie.
"How is the star student doing?" Rick asked as he came across the medical tent with Eugene, where he noticed Carl visiting Enid. "Carl?"
"Yes, Dad?"
"Get back to work, please," Rick said for the umpteenth time as Carl groaned and walked away. "Anyway, how is she doing?"
"She is ready to take on anything," Siddiq said with confidence.
"Good, because she's going to get her chance," said Rick. "There is a bug going around back home. You're going to need to come back."
"Alright," nodded Siddiq. "I'll head out with the next escort."
"Wait. He's leaving?" Enid suddenly stopped stitching Cyndie's hand and then jerked to the side. She had been trained a lot by Dr. Carson, Siddiq, and Brooke (one of Negan's workers who was a registered nurse before all this and now resided in the Kingdom) but she still wasn't sure if she was qualified to handle all the complex medical cases.
"Ow!" Cyndie yelped as a needle poked her.
"Sorry," apologized Enid before turning back to Rick. Sometimes, speaking to him or Michonne felt awkward since they caught them in bed. She couldn't help but find Rick intimidating some moments, given that he used to be a cop and also the scene he made when he beat up Pete not long after he first arrived in Alexandria. She would never forget his stern words after he and Michonne caught her and Carl doing the nasty.
"You two, get dressed and come downstairs. Now!"
"Um, it's fine," she chuckled nervously. "I've got this."
"Yeah," chuckled Rick. "I know. It's one of the other reasons why I like you."
The next morning, while Michonne was at the Hilltop speaking with Maggie, citizens from all four communities of the Coalition (including some of the ex-Saviors who were trying to rebuild the Sanctuary as their own) were working on rebuilding the broken bridge together. The bridge was going to be a vital part in connecting the communities of the Coalition.
Enid and Siddiq had set up a medical tent to take care of any injuries while Henry was giving out water to everybody. Rosita, Jerry, Arat were using a lot of methods to lead the herds away. Tara was on lookout duty.
Carl would sometimes sneak away from his duties with Aaron and Daryl to talk to Enid (Rick often telling him to get back to work). The same thing was happening with Jerry and Nabila and Carol and Ezekiel.
Other than that, they also had to worry about a herd and figure out how to redirect them. In other news, many Saviors had been disappearing at an alarming rate.
"So, how is your head, Carl?" Enid asked Carl with slight jest as Siddiq watched her stitch Cyndie's hand from a minor scrape with a rock.
"It's fine," chuckled Carl, who was breaking away from his duties once again. "May I kiss you?"
Before Enid could answer or even kiss, Siddiq scolded her playfully. "No making out with the patients or in front of them."
"Yeah, please," scoffed Cyndie.
"How is the star student doing?" Rick asked as he came across the medical tent with Eugene, where he noticed Carl visiting Enid. "Carl?"
"Yes, Dad?"
"Get back to work, please," Rick said for the umpteenth time as Carl groaned and walked away. "Anyway, how is she doing?"
"She is ready to take on anything," Siddiq said with confidence.
"Good, because she's going to get her chance," said Rick. "There is a bug going around back home. You're going to need to come back."
"Alright," nodded Siddiq. "I'll head out with the next escort."
"Wait. He's leaving?" Enid suddenly stopped stitching Cyndie's hand and then jerked to the side. She had been trained a lot by Dr. Carson and Siddiq, but she still wasn't sure if she was qualified to handle all the complex medical cases.
"Ow!" Cyndie yelped as a needle poked her.
"Sorry," apologized Enid before turning back to Rick. Sometimes, speaking to him or Michonne felt awkward since they caught them in bed. She would never forget his stern words after he caught them.
"You two, get dressed and come downstairs. Now!"
"Um, it's fine," she chuckled nervously. "I've got this."
"Yeah," chuckled Rick. "I know. It's one of the other reasons why I like you."
The bridge was starting to look as good as new with all the effort the Coalition was putting into rebuilding it across both ends.
"So, I go in after her nap and pick her up...and the diaper just explodes all over me," shared Aaron about his experience with Gracie as he, Carl, and Daryl put down a piece of wood and nailed it down.
"Judith peed on me and Dad a lot of times when we were on the road," added Carl. "We just had to deal with it because we didn't have enough diapers. Good times," he tittered sarcastically.
"Oh, the best. It makes it all worth it, though," chuckled Aaron as he started pounding the hammer down onto the nail. "You'll see."
"What?" Carl raised his eyebrow, remembering how Denise mentioned to him that Pete said that when Carl and the rest of the group first arrived, they were in the poorest health when he examined them. Heck, Judith arrived with the worst case of diaper rash they had ever seen. "Because I doubt that dealing with a cranky baby sitting in the same diaper for days is something I would call worth it."
"I meant that you would be a great dad, and that despite moments like those, being a parent is worth it," Aaron further clarified. "You were always good with Judith and Gracie."
"Oh, Enid and I are nowhere near that yet," asserted Carl with a small smile.
He and Enid were currently on the fence about having children. They did kind of want children, but due to what happened to his mother and also the possibility of enemy attacks and losing their home, he and Enid kept swinging back and forth on the spectrum. They also couldn't stand the thought of losing a child.
"I meant someday, not right now," furthered Aaron. "When you first arrived in Alexandria, when Eric first saw you with Judith, he told me that he hoped you weren't her father."
"He really thought that?" Carl chortled.
"Yes, he did," sniffed Aaron, who was still grieving Eric since he died in one of the shootouts.
"Well, to be fair, Carl was kind of like another parent to Judith," teased Daryl, who was a foot away. "Me, I never wanted kids. I'm fine being the cool uncle."
All of a sudden, the image of Justin, one of the former Saviors, pushing Henry down for not giving him extra water and mocking him followed by the youngster fighting back with his stick, caught Carl in his left peripheral. Seeing that bastard hurt that kid pissed him off so much, he couldn't help but want to kick his ass.
"Hey, leave him alone!" Carl marched over toward Justin, putting himself between him and Henry. There was no way he was going to let this grown man hurt this boy. "He's just doing his job."
"What are you going to do about it? Tell your daddy? Maybe you should get back to work," hissed Justin. "You're not my babysitter anymore, so I don't need your people telling me what to do."
It took only five seconds for Justin to take a swing at Carl, but Carl dodged his swing and ended up punching him in the face, which kind of felt satisfying as he watched the man fall against the sand, panting.
Unfortunately, Justin fought back once more as he grabbed a fistful of sand and then threw it into Carl's face, some of it getting into his socket as some bits made their way past the lens of his glasses.
"God! That hurt!" The young man cursed as he felt the sand sting his left eye and feel grits and gravel get into his eye, burning and stinging. "You son of a bitch!"
Carl instantly lunged forward toward Justin, tackling him to the ground and then pinning him down as Justin grabbed after him and punched him; his glasses falling off his face. He could hear the other Saviors start shouting with amusement as if they were watching a Gladiator fight.
Jed tried to join in to beat Carl up, but Aaron and Daryl instantly held him back.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for Rick to come by and notice.
"Hey! Break it up!" He shouted as he got between Carl and Justin, holding his arms out to stop them from hitting each other. "I said enough! I said enough!"
"Aw, looks like Daddy came to the rescue," mocked Justin, Jed laughing behind him.
"Fuck you!" Carl yelled back at him, holding up his finger to flip him off.
"Carl, I said enough," Rick, now with a calmer tone, slowly raised his arm toward Carl before gently grabbing his shoulder. "You come with me. Everyone else, get back to work."
Rick had taken Carl to one of the tents to calm down and take a breather. He was pissed that Justin insulted his son's eye like that and appalled at what he did to Henry, but he knew they were trying to transition from survival of the fittest to a civilized world, so beating him to death wasn't the answer.
"Son, look," Rick sighed as he felt Carl was ready to talk; Carol in their presence. "You can't get be getting into fights. I don't ever want you to be incarcerated."
"He was the one who started it. He pushed Henry, wasted water, and called me a cyclops!" Carl defended venomously as he put his glasses back on. "I had to stop him from hurting Henry."
"And I'm proud of you for that, but..." Rick exhaled as he rubbed the back of his head and put his hand over his son's shoulders. Ever since Gregory's hanging, his son has changed his tune since that incident. "We need the Saviors to help build the bridge. And you can't punch someone just because they said something you don't like. Justified or not."
"Why does that dickhead get a free pass?" Carl shouted, firmly planting his hands on his hips.
"It's just a few more days," assured Rick. "I don't like it either, but we're in a rush to get that work done and we sometimes have to work with people we don't like. The Saviors are over half the workforce and we've had too many go AWOL already."
"You really think they care? Are we really all on the same side?" Carl scoffed, rolling his eye and folding his arms. "They aren't all going to fall in line just because you said so. You said the Sanctuary still has Negan sympathizers."
"He has a point," Carol, whose arms were folded, shook her head. Carl was actually shocked that she agreed with him. "These people have never had to live together. And we can't expect them to just forget what's happened."
"I know it hasn't been easy," murmured Rick as Carl paced back and forth in the tent, blatantly not buying a lot of the bullshit that all the Saviors would want to be allies. "It won't be easy for a while, but it's not about forgetting. It's about moving ahead. All of us, together. They'll see we are all on the same side if we keep doing that."
"Are we really all on the same side? Like we thought Gregory was?" Carl scoffed before storming out of the tent. He remembered people like Shane, the Governor, the Claimers, the Terminus cannibals, the Wolves, and Gregory. For most of those people, the damage was done despite his father trying to talk some sense into them. Same with the Saviors, it was clear that many of these former Saviors were still brainwashed by Negan.
Aaron, Carl (who had finally calmed down from his fight with Justin), and Daryl were leading a group that was pulling giant chopped-down logs together. Jed was lowering a log with a rope, Aaron and Carl were lowering them down from the bottom, and Daryl was keeping an eye out for walkers.
All of a sudden, the mules were spooked by something. When everyone turned their head, they heard growling and noticed a couple of walkers approaching. Without hesitation, Daryl immediately grabbed a stick to finish them off while everyone else kept working.
Unfortunately, once he killed the last one, he noticed that there were more approaching.
"A herd is comin'!" Daryl warned. "Butt out now!"
Aaron and Carl were holding the log when Jed panicked, immediately jumping off the log pile and running, letting go of the rigging rope.
Carl felt Aaron jerk him away from the falling log before he saw the man's arm pinned down by it, screaming and groaning in agony.
"Jed, help!" Carl cried out, grabbing one end of the log and shouting orders while Daryl got rid of the walkers. "Get the mules out of here, Reese!"
Jed didn't do anything, but Daryl rushed over to help the process of pulling the log off of Aaron.
"Just go and leave me," Aaron yelled gutturally.
"No, Gracie needs her dad," Carl grunted as her attempted to lift the log, determined to free Aaron with the help of Daryl and Jed.
When the log was lifted off, Aaron pulled himself out, revealing his ghastly, damaged arm. Bone and muscle were visible.
Carl was no doctor, but he had read the medical books with Enid during her studies...and this arm was not going to survive.
It was difficult for Carl and Daryl to fight off walkers while carrying Aaron upright. Thankfully, Beatrice, Kathy, and the other members of the Coalition helped fight them off so they could escort Aaron to the medical tent.
"Where is Siddiq?" Carl asked, panic-stricken as he and Daryl carried Aaron into the medical tent, Enid opening the curtain to let them in so they could lower him on the cot.
"He's gone. It's just me," said Enid as Aaron continued to grimace.
Daryl left the tent to help Rick and the others deal with the walkers and also figure out who was responsible for not taking care of leading the herd away while Carl stayed behind, making himself useful by grabbing anything that Enid was possibly going to need while she unwrapped the cloth from Aaron's arm, revealing his nasty injury - bone, muscle, vessels, and nerves exposed.
Carl could see the panic in Enid's eyes as she saw it and let out a heavy breath.
There is no way we can salvage that arm with a crush injury like that, she thought. So, she knew what she had to do, and it was the only option they could do.
"We have to amputate," Enid concluded without any hesitation.
"What?" Aaron warbled as Carl immediately grabbed Aaron's hand. "There isn't any other way?"
"The only way to stop the bleeding is to amputate and then cauterize the wound," exemplified Enid as she grabbed one of the medical textbooks, flipping through pages. "By the looks of it, infection is setting in quickly."
"Oh, god," Aaron whimpered, the sight of his mangled flesh making him want to vomit.
"It will be okay," reassured Carl as he looked into his friend's eyes with reassurance. He understood the shock and trauma of losing a body part, the process it took to adjust to the injury, and the self-consciousness one could have. Even though phantom pain was something explained to him after Hershel lost his leg, he relearned it again when he experienced what Denise described as phantom eye pain. Deep down, Carl was already welcoming Aaron to the club. "We can get through this."
Aaron did feel more at ease and relaxed when Carl told him that, remembering the moment when Negan forced Rick to cut off Carl's arm. Compared to him and how he reacted, he couldn't help but admire how calm and brave Carl was during the scary moment. His respect for the teenager has been increasing this past year.
"Unfortunately, there are no anesthetics," pitied Enid as she searched the tent for something Aaron could bite down on. "We're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. Carl, I'm going to need you to make a tourniquet and hold him down."
Using his belt, Carl tightly wrapped it around Aaron's arm. Every time it tightened, he shouted in pain. "I'm sorry," he apologized profusely."
Enid walked over, handing Carl a cloth that reeked of some kind of alcohol. Sometimes, when they had no medical antiseptics, booze was sometimes used to sterilize tools.
"Carl, give it to him," she instructed. "Aaron, bite down on this."
Aaron nodded while still groaning loudly, bravely accepting his fate as Enid grabbed sharp tools.
"I need you to hold him down for me," she commanded.
"Okay," nodded Carl, instantly putting his body over Aaron's to keep him from moving as Enid panted apprehensively, slowly grabbing the knife and bringing it to Aaron's arm, hesitating to bring it down.
"On the count of three," she exhaled, allowing Aaron to nod, signaling to her that he was ready. "One, two, three."
Enid let the blade come down to the top of Aaron's lower arm. As the blade cut through his flesh, she and Carl could hear his muffled screams and groans.
Night had fallen and Aaron was asleep, but his odds were good thanks to the bandage on his stump. Afterward, when Carl learned that Justin was responsible for the herd invasion that led to Aaron losing his arm, Carl instantly marched over to him, punched him in the face, and whacked him with a frying pan, to which Carol and Daryl had to pull the teenager off and end the fight, putting them both in the medical tent, where they both thought Carl would be better off for the rest of the day.
Justin, who only needed stitches, was going to be banished at Rick's decision after he reprimanded his son once again about impulse control.
"We'll deal with him, but not like this," his father scolded, looking disappointed. "In the old world, you would have been arrested and charged with assault."
Carol also told him that Henry looked up to and admired him, which was a further wake-up call for him to set a better example and not be so reactive...as the boy did watch Carl hit Justin with a frying pan.
Enid and Carl sat together as they eyed both the patients, Aaron and Justin.
Exhausted from the amputating, disinfecting, and wrapping up Cyndie's wound, Enid wiped the sweat from her forehead when she felt Carl grip her hand. When she turned around, she noticed that he was smiling at her.
"I think you did awesome," he complimented. "You'll be a good doctor, and it's great because we need more."
Enid giggled as she pulled Carl in for a kiss. "You know, when I heard you hit Justin with a frying pan, I was pretty satisfied."
"Really?" Carl chuckled.
"Yeah, I don't condone violence, but..." muttered Enid. "When I was stitching him, he started making remarks about my body, which made me very uncomfortable. So, I'm glad he is being banished."
Before Carl or Enid could continue making out or say anything, Rick walked into the tent. They immediately pulled away from each other.
"Hey," he gruffed, his face looking serious as he took a glance at Enid and then clapped her on the back. "Well done, Enid. Good work."
Enid was touched and shocked by what Rick told her, as was Carl. "Thanks," she stammered.
"I'm also glad my son is dating a medic," chuckled Rick. "It kind of makes me feel better about you being far from us. Will Aaron be alright?" he asked, hoping that the answer was yes. He already killed Gracie's biological father at an outpost during the war, and she couldn't lose her parent again.
"Yeah," nodded Enid before giving a pessimistic answer. "If we can keep the wound from getting infected."
"He's also still in a lot of pain," added Carl, who was sitting back in the chair next to Aaron's bed. "He's holding on, though."
"Damn right, I am," Aaron's murmured voice startled all of them, as nobody knew he was awake.
"Thank goodness you're awake," chuckled Enid.
Carl got up from the chair, allowing his father to take his place so he could talk to Aaron, apologizing for what happened and breaking the news to him that Justin had been banished.
"I put this project first, and you paid the price," Rick sighed remorsefully.
"It was worth it, though," gasped Aaron followed by a sigh, giving a speech in a weak voice. "When the dead started to rise, I thought I was seeing the end of everything. But you changed all that, Rick. It's not the end of the world anymore. It's the start of a whole new one." Aaron paused so he could sharply exhale, breathing through the pain. "I'll always be glad I was here to be a part of that."
Rick pulled Carl out of the tent for a while to talk to him, leaving Enid and Aaron alone.
In other places in the camp, Gabriel and Anne were sitting on one of the wagons admiring the stars. Henry was playing a game with Jerry and Nabila. Tara, Rosita, Eugene, and Dianne were sitting around the fire, laughing and talking. Ezekiel was getting down on one knee and pulling out a ring, probably proposing to Carol. She reacted by crying tears of joy and letting him slide it onto her finger, throwing herself onto him to hug him.
Rick and Carl smiled as they watched Carol and Ezekiel get engaged. They couldn't hear them, but they could conclude that was what happened. When all of this started, Carol was not in a good place given that she was in an abusive marriage and then later lost her daughter.
Rick had no idea of Ed's true colors until after the camp was overrun and then heard that Shane had beaten him up. Carl, who was only 12 at the time, didn't realize at the moment that Ed was a wife-beater or someone who inappropriately touched his daughter until Sophia told him at the CDC, but he was afraid of Ed during their time in the camp in Atlanta. It was no wonder Sophia felt safer with Carl or Eliza and Louis Morales.
After everything Carol has gone through, she deserved to be happy.
"Carl, um," Rick hesitated before finally spilling it out. "You're a good man, but you need to be less reactive towards people. Remember that. As adults, it's our job to be good examples to children."
"I know, I need to set a better example for Judith," sighed Carl, reflecting on how his impulses had been out of control lately. Gracie, Hershel, Rachel, Henry, Alice, Jenny, Joshua, Jonah, Marcus, and others. Some of these kids were actually from the Sanctuary and the outposts, and it was crucial for them to learn right from wrong.
"And Henry," added Rick. "He looks up to you, you know."
"I know," nodded Carl. "Carol told me."
"I'm going to miss you when you leave," sniffed Rick, trying to hold back a tear.
"I'll miss you, too, Dad," said Carl, reaching in to hug his father.
The project for rebuilding the bridge was done for the day, and while most people stayed behind in their tents, Carl and Rick returned home to Alexandria to finish packing his things so they could be ready to go to the Hilltop. First thing in the morning, they would be leaving.
However, before hitting the hay, Carl decided to grab a lit candle and pay a visit to a prisoner one more time even though he didn't want to. He didn't understand why he admired him so much.
"I'm leaving for the Hilltop tomorrow," smirked Carl as he took a seat on the stool, staring at the prisoner, whose hair had grown as long as his own along with his facial, looking like a sasquatch. "I have a new job as a blacksmith. That will get me away from you."
The prisoner chuckled and clapped his hands in one beat. "Wow, you are such a big boy. You're moving there to be closer to Enid, aren't you?
"No," corrected Carl hesitantly, always regretting telling the prisoner that he and Enid had sex because he thought the man talked about penises and vaginas way too much, and it made him uncomfortable. "Yes, too. Earl offered the opportunity to me."
Carl didn't want to share with the prisoner that Earl was in jail for assaulting him. He did forgive the man, though.
"I also want to be closer to Alden," added Carl. "He's my friend."
"Alden?" The prisoner cackled. "You're friends with one of my guys?"
"He always hated you from the start. He only joined you because he needed a place to stay," Carl pointed out. "What you did to my friends and other people before that and after, he did not agree with you."
"Huh," grunted the prisoner.
"What did you do before all this? Were you a major league baseball player? Why did you name your bat?" Carl asked curiously. "I'm sure whoever Lucille was, she would not approve of everything you have done."
"Holy shit, you are right about that. She was my wife," sighed the prisoner, holding back tears. "When all of this started, she had been diagnosed with cancer. Our marriage was on the rocks because I had been having an affair with her friend. Before that, I lost my job as a gym teacher for assaulting someone."
"You cheated on your sick wife and you beat someone up?" Carl raised his eyebrow, knowing that no sob story from this man was going to make him like him. He still seemed like a piece of shit.
"He was harassing Lucille," defended the man. "After that, I became lazy, reckless, and careless. However, once shit hit the fan, I decided to become a dedicated husband when we took shelter in our basement. During the time, I taught myself to administer chemotherapy and scavenged for it. However, the last of it was ruined when I forgot to turn the damn generator back on. She killed herself later."
That was a sad story, and Carl still felt slightly bad for the guy, but what he did to Glenn and Abraham was unforgivable...and no sob story was going to change his mind about the guy.
"I want you to know, kid. I really do appreciate our little talks. It really helps me break up my days and keep track of time," the prisoner said. "I think they're good for you, having someone to talk to."
Carl rolled his eyes at the man. "Dad says you will never be released. The Coalition and the Sanctuary are thriving without you. Life goes on without you, Negan."
"He's just getting things ready for me," snickered Negan. "You both know I won't be in here forever. I already can't wait to see what kind of babies you and Enid have."
"You will die behind bars," frowned Carl, using his remaining eye to give Negan the stink-eye. "You murdered dozens of people. My dad said that is a sentence to life without any chance of parole. You will always be a pathetic sack of shit."
Carl got up from his stool and grabbed the candle, desperately needing to get some shut-eye so he could have enough energy to say goodbye to his parents and Judith tomorrow morning.
"Wait, before you go," Negan called to a halt as Carl made two steps up the stairs.
"Yeah?"
"After all this time, all these talks, the things we shared...do you still want to kill me?"
"Yes, Negan," Carl said with stoic pride. "You know I do."
The next morning around 11:00 am, Rick and Michonne (and Judith with some help) were helping Carl load his things into the wagon. Both of them tried to hold back tears.
Judith bawled when she was told that she wouldn't be coming with Carl, but Carl reassured her that he and Enid would come to visit them and they would come to visit them sometimes.
"Stay out of trouble, okay?" Michonne bid as she hugged Carl. "Follow Maggie's rules and take care of Enid. Tell her and Maggie we said hi."
"I will, Mom. I love you," said Carl.
"I love you, too," Michonne choked back tears.
Carl then kneeled down to Judith's level, spreading his arms out for her to run into them. He immediately wrapped his arms around his sister, hugging her tightly. "You be good for Mom and Dad, okay?"
"Okay," babbled Judith as Michonne picked her up. The little girl was still pouting, mad that she couldn't live with her brother and his girlfriend.
"Climb up, Carl," demanded Rick as he patted the seat of the wagon. "We're wasting daylight."
Carl immediately climbed up and then sat next to Rick on the left, grabbing the ropes of the wagon.
"It'll be a few days," Rick reassured Michonne and Judith. "I'll stay and help him get situated."
"We won't worry," cooed Michonne as she bounced Judith in her arms. "Take your time."
Once Carl was settled with Enid at the Hilltop, Rick returned to Alexandria three days later.
He woke up next to Michonne and heard the birds chirping outside. He planted a kiss on Michonne's shoulder before leaving the bedroom to go downstairs for a morning walk.
He heard Judith cough before he got to the stairs, so he walked into her room to check on her. When he walked in, she was fast asleep in her toddler bed. Before he left, Rick ran his hand over her forehead, which didn't feel warm to the touch.
When he walked by Carl's room, where the door was ajar, he noticed how empty it was. The posters, some of his comics, and the dartboard were still here. Even from afar, he could see the holes in the wall from the darts. He was missing his son already.
When Rick returned to the bedroom, he noticed that Michonne was already up, sitting upright in bed as she reviewed a large paper of the charter plan.
"How did you sleep?" Rick asked, creaking the door closed.
Michonne just sighed as Rick walked closer toward the bed, taking a seat on it. "My mind won't shut off."
"You?"
"Not bad," exhaled Rick as he pulled his boots off.
"You're going to have this charter thing squared by supper," said Rick as turned over onto his side to where he was facing Michonne.
"Yeah," Michonne chuckled. "Nope."
"It's good you're leading this place," beamed Rick.
"With you," affirmed Michonne.
"Yeah, but I've been at the bridge," rebuked Rick, scratching his greying beard. "Here, you're the one who has been keeping this place safe and figuring out how to make it better. Also, this empty nest kind of makes me sad."
"The nest isn't empty yet. You know we still have Judith, right?" Michonne snorted, reaching a hand out to comfort her husband, understanding how Carl was Rick's only child for 13 years. "We still have years before she moves out."
"I know," sighed Rick, rubbing his face, trying not to let a tear fall. "It's just that, Carl was my first baby, and he was my only baby before all of this. Now, he is an adult with an adult girlfriend, living together in their own home."
"They are both still minors, though," reminded Michonne. "Enid is only 17 and Carl is only 16."
"In the old world, maybe," nodded Rick. "But they're adults in this new world. And even in the old world, I have seen people their age tried as adults. In a year or two, they'll probably be married. Then, they're probably going to have a baby in four years. I'm not ready for all that. I know, I'm probably getting ahead of myself."
"Speaking of kids," Michonne sighed, looking up at Rick. "Judith has a cough."
"Yeah, I already noticed and I checked," reassured Rick. "She has no fever, so it's probably just a cough."
Michonne's eyes narrowed into slits. "I'm going to take her to Siddiq just in case."
"I'll join you," agreed Rick. 'We're going to have to promise a visit to Carl and Enid just to get her to step foot in there. Carl was so much worse with doctors when he was that age. Lori and I had to hold him down for shots so he wouldn't bite, hit, or kick the doctor."
Michonne couldn't help but laugh as she pictured a younger Carl biting the doctor. "Aren't you headed back right away?"
"I can take the day. We can," suggested Rick. "From what I heard in the last report, things were good. Maggie will be there soon, thanks to you. She can hold down the fort for a while. Right?"
"It's just..." Michonne hesitated. "Maggie is trying. I know she is, but she is still pissed. So is Carl. And Daryl. Others are angry, too."
"Well, you want me to go?"
"I want to make it work."
"Oh, it will. It will. Even if everyone isn't all in yet, they'll get there," assured Rick as he hoisted himself up to get close to Michonne. "Just like we did."
"Yeah," Michonne nodded and breathed deeply, stroking her fingers through Rick's beard, her pencil still in her fingers.
"Thank you," acknowledged Rick.
Michonne looked at her husband with a playful smirk. "For what?"
"For everything you've done. For everything you're doing. For you," professed Rick.
Michonne teared up as Rick leaned in to kiss her. They pulled apart and then pulled back in for another one.
"Why don't you..." Rick began as he gently removed the book from Michonne's hands and tossed it aside. "Take a break?"
"You want me to stop working? To stop creating the foundations of a new civilization?" Michonne chuckled. "No way. I never wanted to be a housewife."
Rick slipped the pencil out of her hand and then flicked it away. "Uh, yeah...but only for a little while. You don't even have to pick one thing or the other. We may do many things the old-fashioned way, but not everything."
Michonne chuckled softly as she heard the pencil clatter to the floor, allowing Rick to run his hand through her dreads. "For the record, not every society in the old days believed women belonged in the kitchen," shared Michonne as she cackled. "I read that women in Ancient Mesopotamia were just like modern-day women."
"I know," chuckled Rick. "I read about it, too. I can also think of another way...to build for the future. It's something we would do together," he implied as he scooted closer. "And also help my semi-empty nest syndrome," he whispered as he leaned in to kiss Michonne.
Michonne then climbed on top of Rick, wrapping her legs around his waist. "Are you implying that we have a baby?"
"Yes, I am," nodded Rick.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Okay," Michonne whispered softly before kissing Rick. "For the future. But let's make one before Carl and Enid make us grandparents. You're not even 50 yet and you already look like you could be someone's grandfather."
"Don't worry. That's not happening for a long time," moaned Rick joyfully, kissing Michonne's neck passionately.
AN: I hope you all enjoyed. Please review and leave some feedback.