Chapter 136-A New Hope
Carl's P.O.V
Carl walked out of the bathroom and into his room. Enid was sitting up on the bed, breathing heavily as he came over in worry. "Carl" Enid says. "I need to go to the infirmary. My water broke."
"Alright, come up." Carl froze then said hastily as he helps his wife up, and they slowly walk down the stairs. They get outside, and Carl sees Gabriel walking down the street to hic church. "Gabriel!" Gabriel looks at the couple and runs over to them, and clearly saw Enid's face so he knew what was going on.
"We need to get her to the infirmary." Gabriel says.
"I know," Carl says. They walk steadily, Enid groaning in pain, until they get to the infirmary, and Carl pushes the door open. "Siddiq!"
Siddiq comes out of his room and looks at them confused, then stopped as he saw Enid's red panting face. "She's in labor." Gabriel tells him.
"Get her on the bed." Siddiq says as they set Enid on it, already rushing to put gloves on.
"I'm going to fucking kill you after this." Enid growls while looking at Carl.
"I'm going to go get Dad and have him radio the others. Stay with her," Carl tells Gabriel, who nods, and Carl runs out of the infirmary as the sun starts to rise. He ran through the streets of Alexandria until he got to Rick's house. Running inside, he saw his father hunched over a table over a large map of the region. His Father looked up at his son at the sudden entrance. "Enid's in labor. I need you to radio the others," Carl tells him.
Rick stares at him for a moment before he nods, already running to the radio. Carl runs down the stairs and back towards the infirmary.
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl was putting his boots on when his door flew open, and Arya ran in. "What the fuck are you doing? Knock." Daryl says as he stands up.
"No! Fuck...Uncle Daryl..." Arya said through pants of breath. "My Mom is in labor. We need to get to Alexandria." Arya says.
Daryl nods as he puts his vest on and grabs his crossbow. Alicia was already saying calmly. "Daryl, take her on the bike. We'll meet you there." Daryl nods as he leads Arya outside and towards his bike. He climbs on the back of the bike and motions for Arya to get on. Arya climbs on the bike, and Daryl starts it, and Amanda pulls the gate open, and he drives out of the Campgrounds.
Rick's P.O.V
Rick walked towards the infirmary and saw Carl sitting on the steps outside. "Did they kick you out?" Rick asks his son with an amused smile.
"Enid was ready to stab me with her knife. She said my pacing was driving her crazy." Carl says as Rick sits down.
"That sounds familiar." Rick teased "I think your mother and Michonne said the same thing."
Carl huffed an amused breath, but still clenched his fists.
"You nervous?" Rick asks.
"Can't be any harder than Arya, right?" Carl asks, making Rick chuckle.
"Arya was already a teenager and more then capable. She was a handful, but this is an entire new ballgame. Now you have to deal with the diapers and the crying and the sleepless nights." Rick paused in reflection then said to Carl softly. "The second week after we brought you home from the hospital, you wouldn't stop crying. I had to call off work, so your Mom could get some sleep. So she's sleeping, and I'm downstairs with you having no idea what to do. I tried everything I could and I finally got you to stop crying, and you stared up at me and wrapped your tiny hand around my finger, and I knew that if you died, I wouldn't want to live anymore. When you have children, your life seems so small to you."
"I've felt like that for a while." Carl said softly. "I would rather die than watch any of you die."
"Let's just do our best to avoid death for now, huh?" Rick asks with a smile, and Carl nods as they heard vehicles and footsteps. They turned to see Arya runs towards the infirmary.
"Is she in there?" Arya asks Carl, who nods as Arya pushes past her father and runs inside, and Carl looks at Daryl as he walks up to him and hugs him.
"Congrats, man." Daryl says before he lets Carl go and hugs Rick. "But don't ever have another kid. She would not shut up and kept panicking she was going to miss it."
"Where is everybody else?" Carl asks after a chuckle.
"They'll be here soon. I brought her here on my bike."
"Thanks, Daryl. After the baby is born, Enid and I want to talk with you and Alicia," Carl tells Daryl, who nods. "I'm going to go check on her. When Maggie gets here, send her in." Carl says before he heads inside.
"You know why he wants to talk with us?" Daryl asks.
"No clue." Rick says before he pats his shoulder and headed inside the waiting area for his eventual grandchild's birth.
Negan's P.O.V
Negan stepped out of the wagon and walked towards the infirmary. He stopped at the door for a moment, looking at it as he heard soft voices inside...he heard Carl's voice, Enid's grunting, Arya's encouragement and...
Maggie who was softly assuring Enid that the worst was past.
Shit, he knew things were...ok, but being here at her granddaughter's birth? But Negan steeled himself and knocked loudly on the door
"Come in!" He hears Carl say.
Negan pushes the door open with a bang, causing everyone to look at him as he came in putting his grin on arms wide "Well damn kid, looks like I came just in the knick of time, Mama Bear how you doing you look amazing!"
Enid just growled at him, as she layed back in the bed "This is his fault!"
Negan chuckled "Well not his fault he's so damn sexy. It's the badass eye isn't it?"
Carl rolled his eyes but smirked "Yeah that's the reason."
"Fair enough," Negan says as he looks at the girls and nodded "...Maggie." He then paused, confused "Wait where's Al?"
"She...couldn't make it." Maggie looked away, back at Enid rubbing her shoulder.
"You guys have any idea how much longer this is going to take?" Negan asks, deciding to drop the subject.
"Siddiq said she should be ready to start pushing in about an hour," Arya tells him with a grin "And just think your gonna be here in just a little while."
"Don't remind me, Kate will probably stab me. Or geld me."
Carl added "Or Both."
"Shut up. I'll be outside!" He chuckled as he headed out shaking his head.
He leaves the building and shuts the door, and walks to the steps, looking out to the far off gate to see more cars arriving. He smirked, knowing they were here for the boy who he knew would change this world for the better. He looks behind him when he hears the door open, thinking Carl was going to tell him where to wait, but instead saw it was Maggie.
For a moment, there was some silence, strained as he came to accept as they both looked out to where the people were arriving, then she broke it "He's glad you're here. It means a lot to him."
"Everything I have now is because of Carl. I'd go to the other side of the world and I'd do the same for his kid." Negan tells the woman, who nods once.
"I'm going to tell Hershel." Maggie tells him. "After the winter, About...you."
Negan nods, and he can feel dread in his stomach at the notion. After a minute of silence between them he confessed. "If he comes after me, I won't stop him. Hell maybe it's karma, I leave a kid fatherless and my kid fatherless, we'll be square."
"He won't come after you because I know my son, and he won't take another child's parent as you did him." Maggie says, her tone had a hint of anger, but she took a deep breath. "Sorry."
"No, you're right." Negan shrugged. "You're all better than I am, Maggie. I know that."
"You should tell the others as well. Better it comes from you." Maggie says after a moment.
"Shit." He muttered to himself, closing his eyes as his fear for the last few years since Regina took off came back in full "...Your right. I will."
"You're..." Negan stops and looks at her as she turned to the doorway...then finished. "There are people worse than you." With that she headed back inside, and Negan stared after her before sitting down on the steps, hands clenched tight in worry.
Carl's P.O.V
The sound of a crying baby filled the infirmary as Siddiq held the baby boy in his arms. Siddiq smiled as he handed the baby to Enid, who smiled at her son covered in sweat and exhaustion. "I'll get the others." Maggie says as she leaves, kissing Enid's cheek in assurance next to her and Carl kisses Enid's head.
"You did great."
"Never again." Enid says with a smile. "We have a son."
"Good, now we can give Arya to Daryl." Carl says as he looks at his daughter, who frowns at him.
"I would throw something, but I'm worried I'll hit the baby, who I already like more than you." Arya growls before she sticks her tongue out at him.
"God, I feel bad for Lydia."
"I feel bad for Mom."
"Alright, enough, you two," Enid chastised weakly, but enough to get them to stop. "Here, go to Daddy," Enid says as she hands the baby to Carl, who slowly takes it. The door opens, and Maggie comes in with Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Alicia, Negan, Shane, Beth, Rosita, Morgan, Gabriel, and Aaron.
"We'll let the kids in soon." Rick assured as he looks at his grandson with a beaming smile as Michonne wrapped her hand in his, tears in both their eyes. "His name?"
"Robert." Carl says as his father grinned ear to ear in approval. "After Great Grandad...and his full name is Robert Lucille Grimes," Carl says to many stunned expressions, Aaron and Morgan even double taking as if not sure they heard right between the newborn and parents. Everybody looks at Negan, who smiles as tears swell up in his eyes.
"Damn, kid, this isn't even my kid, and you got me emotional." Negan wiping his eyes
"OK everyone you can meet the baby outside, leave them to rest." Siddiq informed sternly, cutting all comments off.
"I get to hold him when they wak3 up." Rick said in a tone that was not up for debate.
"Dad, Michonne, Daryl, Alicia, can you guys stay?" Carl asks.
"Hm? Sure" Daryl says as everybody leaves, Negan the last to leave staring at the baby a final time before closing the door. Only Enid, Carl, Daryl, Rick, Michonne, and Alicia were left in the room. Carl handed his son over to Rick, who happily held his grandson.
"Enid and I have talked about this a lot, and in the event that something happens to us, Robert would go to Dad and Michonne, but if something happens to them as well. We would like him to go live with you two. Daryl, you've been with me since the start. There are not a lot of people I trust more than you."
"We would like you two to be Robert's Godparents," Enid finished.
Daryl looks at Alicia, who nods. "We would be honored. Now get some rest," Daryl tells Enid.
"No kidding." Enid grumbled, her head already hitting the pillow.
Carl's P.O.V
Carl found Negan by the pond, looking at the water, figuring he was waiting for him. "Shouldn't you be with them?" Negan asks.
"Arya will get me, She wants to show Lydia." Carl says as he sits down.
"Why Lucille?" Negan asks after a minute of silence, as if trying to find the proper words.
"To everybody here, that name was connected to blood and a horrible world. From the stories that you have told me, I know that Lucille was a good woman. I wanted to honor her, give her name to something that was good and pure." He shifted a bit "Look if your upset-"
Negan looks at Carl and just wrapped an arm around him. "Trust me, I'm not. Thank you, Carl."
Lydia's P.O.V
Lydia was sitting against the side of the infirmary when she looked at Arya as she walked up to her. "You okay?" Arya asks her girlfriend, who nods.
"I am I...I didn't want to get in the way," Lydia tells her. Arya smiles as she grabs her hand and pulls her up.
"Come on." Arya says as she leads her inside, where the baby is sleeping beside an equally sleeping Enid in a crib. "That is Robert Lucille Grimes. I'm gonna call him Robb, though. It's shorter." Arya says with a cheeky smirk as she takes Lydia's hand. "You don't ever have to worry about being in the way, and this is your family as well."
Lydia nods as Arya kisses his cheek and for a moment, even with the threat of her mother, allowed herself to hope.
Carl's P.O.V
That night Carl walked into his house to get Enid some clothes, as mostly everybody had left to head home. Carl puts some clothes in a bag and looks at the picture of his Mom, him, and his father that he had gotten what felt like a lifetime ago. He walks into the infirmary and sees Arya and Lydia sleeping on a bed. Negan had decided to stay in Alexandria that night and head home tomorrow with the girls. Carl walks up to his son and wife and sees that Robert is awake, cooing and fussing in his crib next to the slumbering Enid. He sets the bag and pictures down and picks his son up. He looks at the picture and sits down, facing it. "That woman, there. She's your Grandmother. She's the woman who raised me and helped make me into the man I am today. She once told me that I was going to beat this world, and I am, and I know you will as well. I'll make sure of it. When you're older, I'm going to tell you everything I remember about your Grandmother. She would have loved you, and I will love you just twice as much." Carl says as he kisses his son's head and stares at the picture.
Thanks for reading. So the next chapter is going to be about the birth of Kate and Negan's child. I missed the timeline, and then we'll have a few chapters and then get back into the war. Stuff has happen in my life so for a week or two, there will only be uploads on Tuesday. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.