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RHatch89- Thanks!

Guest- Gah, this made my day- nay, my week! You are too kind. I'm just gonna crawl back into my writer's hole and melt into some good vibes thanks to you.

Nine weeks later.

"Just jump!"

"I can't..."

"Rhys..."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I'll drown, you dumbass!"

"I'm not gonna let you drown!"

I look off the edge of the small pier, Alexandria's lake seeming so much deeper when it's about to swallow you whole. Despite the fact we finished clearing the walkers from it a month ago, I still worry... worry that we missed one. I hesitate.

"Mikey... I don't know."

Mikey splashes me from the lake where he's treading water like a pro, ripples exploding where his hand re-enters the glassy depth. "Just do it! Leap of faith!"

Enid is doing laps of the lake already, making her way towards us on a backstroke. "Told you he'd chicken out," she says like it was inevitable.

"Yeah," Mikey sighs an overly dramatic puff. "I guess he's just a... chicken!"

"Guys," I frown. "That's not gonna work on me."

"Woah," Mikey laughs, "I didn't know chickens could talk!"

I try to grab him, but he swims out of reach from the short pier, splashing me again.

"They can't!" Enid grins. "He must be some kind of hybrid!"

"Like a cyborg chicken!" Mikey says excitedly.

I try to reason with them, but they just start making chicken noises at me, clucking over my words.

"Fuck it..."

I curl my toes on the edge of the wooden pier, holding my breath and leaping at the two. First, it's cold. Then it's freezing. Suddenly my whole body's tensing as the t-shirt and shorts I'm wearing soak up the water and cling to my goosebump covered skin.

Mikey and Enid erupt with cheers. Mikey grabs my arms when I start thrashing violently against the quicksand water.

"It's all in your head! Just kick with your feet."

"All my head..." I gasp. "Kick my feet."

"Cyborg chickens can swim!" Enid giggles.

When the lesson finishes, I hop down the street, leaving wet footprints off my bare feet on the sizzling road, a towel around my shoulders as I wave goodbye to Mikey and Enid.

Enid still lives with Olivia, enjoying having all the food in the same house as her. Mikey heads back to his brownstone house, which he and his brother live in alone now. Mikey often complains that it feels too big.

I go home, climbing the steps of 99. Since the battle against the dead, only Maggie, Glenn, and I live in 99 now. It's just like Maggie offered all those months ago on the road to Alexandria. Everyone else has moved elsewhere- Gabriel got given the house connected to his old church garage since O'hara, the previous owner, died when the wall fell. Eugene has moved into a house with Rosita and Abraham- he didn't even tell us when he left at first, and when we finally realised and asked why, Eugene told us that he didn't care for the drama. Tara fell on the complete opposite side of that scale. It felt like my big sister was leaving for college, only she moved into the infirmary with Denise instead, the two now officially dating.

Glenn's sitting at the kitchen island when I walk in.

"Good swim?" he asks, biting into an apple as he writes up the weekly guard rotation.

"I wouldn't call it 'swimming'," I smirk, getting a glass of water from the tap. "More like thrashing."

"Good... thrash?" Glenn rephrases his question, raising a dark eyebrow.

I nod. "Luckily, cyborg chickens don't drown."

Glenn looks amused somewhere in his confusion.

I go into the fridge, looking for the leftovers of a pie I made for our dessert last night, only to find a plate made up of crumbs. I ask where Maggie is, knowing she's the culprit.

"In her office..." Glenn rolls his eyes like it's a dumb question, which I guess it is since Maggie's always in her office now.

And her office is exactly where I find her. The room used to be the guest room- Gabriel's old room -but since Maggie's pretty much taken over when it comes to planning the expansion, we changed things around.

"How are the plan's going?" I ask Maggie from the doorway. The room smells of lavender, and I spot the flowers in a teal vase in the corner.

She huffs, looking over her desk at me. "Slow. How are the swimming lessons going?"

"Slow," I answer back, sipping my water. I spot the plate of guilty crumbs on her little desk.

"Did you really eat all of it?" I frown, feeling hungry as my stomach croaks. "There was enough for three people still!"

Maggie holds her belly defensively. "Don't you forget I'm eatin' for two."

"There was enough for three!" I repeat, laughing.

"What can I say?" She grins. "The baby likes your pecan pie."

I chuckle, deciding I'll just make myself another tonight.

"You gonna go see Carl?" Maggie asks after a significant pause, biting on the end of her pen and gauging my face.

I nod, taking another sip to avoid talking.

Maggie nods her head slowly, bobbing it back and forth thoughtfully as she does. "Go have a shower and change first."

"Yes, ma'am."

Into mid-may, the weather is still boiling. I put on Carl's stetson before I leave since it helps keep the sun out of my eyes. Wearing it is something I've been doing for about a week now. I thought it looked lonely. I walk straight past 101, the house that only Rick, Michonne, and Judith live in now. I proceed to the infirmary, saying hi to Dennise and Tara when I wander in, both of them eating breakfast at the kitchen table. Both knowing why I'm here. I pass by them the same way I have every day, three times a day, for the last nine weeks, heading to the same room at the back of the house, reaching for the same handle, placing my hand on the cold metal and twisting.

Two months ago, when things slowly calmed down and people finally started going back to normal, Dennise had sat Rick, Michonne, and me down to talk about Carl.

"There's no way to tell what damage it's done," she had told us.

I remember Michonne crying after that.

"He might not remember anything recent... anyone."

I remember Rick holding his head in his hands.

"He might forget what happened to the world..."

I remember feeling broken and empty.

"He may be in this coma for months."

I remember all of us feeling broken after that.

"Morning," I hum, crossing the room and opening the curtains. Carl doesn't respond from the bed. He never does. He just keeps breathing gently with his eye closed, the other covered.

I sit down in my chair with my legs crossed, next to the bed he hasn't left since he was put in it nine weeks ago.

"Remember that pie I told you about yesterday? Yeah, the one I was super proud of... I mean, I might have stolen the recipe from Carol, but I was still super proud."

I leave a pause for him to make a joke.

"Well, Maggie ate it... like, all of it."

I leave a pause for him to laugh.

"But I guess I don't mind if it's for the baby."

I leave a pause for him to agree.

I stand up, moving to fetch an extra blanket for him, smoothing it over the thin sheets. Denise said it's important to keep him warm, despite the weather. So that's what I'm doing.

I sit back down.

"Mikey and Enid started teaching me how to swim today," I scrunch up my face, glad he can't see how hard what I just said hit me. "I know you're probably annoyed at me since you told me that you'd teach me back in that car park, but they kinda insisted. Sorry I didn't wait for you."

I crack my knuckles, apologising because I know he hates the sound. I lean back in my chair, blowing heavy air out my cheeks. "I was thinking about Ron earlier." I frown at myself, fiddling with the strap holding the watch on my wrist. "Not sure why, really. Guess the lake just reminds me of him. I wish he had a grave... I mean, a real grave, not just the names in the graveyard. I wish we'd had something to bury. I actually saw Carol leave a cookie on Sam's grave the other day... she probably feels bad about threatening him... which she should." I pause. "Wish I knew why I felt bad." I crack the knuckles on my other hand, apologising again. "I think it's because I kissed him. No one I've kissed has died before," I shrug, "probably because I've only kissed two people properly." I watch him breathe for a moment, staring at his chest, not looking at his face. "I don't even know if you know that I kissed him... you were so drunk that night." I make myself laugh. "So was I."

The room suddenly goes too quiet, so I decide to keep talking.

"So my ear's healing better," I tell him. I say it abruptly because I get the feeling that Carl wants me to change the subject. "Still wearing a bandage, but it doesn't look like a gross hole in my head anymore..." I glance at Carl's bandaged eye. "...Sorry."

I take his hand atop the sheets, gently thumbing at his open palm to no response. "Also... I haven't told you yet, but I've been wearing your hat... I know you won't mind, but I didn't tell you because... well, I don't actually know... I think I was just worried that you'd think it had replaced you."

I suddenly remember something.

"Oh, almost forgot!" I take out a bracelet made from guitar strings, slipping it onto his wrist. "I noticed the strings were getting loose, so I took it off you last night... fixed it, so here you go. All better. I gave my one to Judy... not forever. just figured she needed something to remind her of you." I grin at his hand, still not looking at his face, not looking at his eye. "She's gotten so much bigger, man. You're mind's gonna be blown when you see her..." I glance at his bandaged eye again. "...Sorry."

I fish my brain for things to say, avoiding something in particular, something I've avoided a lot today. I find something else to say. "The wall's finished... for the expansion. So now we've got that massive church inside the walls... which Gabriel's happy about." I pause. "Eugene keeps complaining that it should be a game room," I chuckle. "We've also got six more houses inside the walls and tons of land for crops... just need to, you know, find the crops..." I trail off, still holding Carl's unresponsive hand. I take a long breath. I hold it. Then I ask, "Can you come back, please?" I whisper it so low I'm not sure he could have heard me even if he can hear. "Just for a minute? I want to tell you something..." I wait, but nothing changes. I lean back, pinching the bridge of my nose and letting out a long breath. Then I look at his face. "It's my birthday today," I whisper, loud enough that if he can hear me, he will. "I haven't told anyone, though... promise. I don't want you to miss it, so we'll just do it when you wake up, yeah?"

I've gotten good at not crying in this room. I used to do it all the time. Every time I came to see Carl, I'd get a few words out before the tears would take over. Looking at his face still gets me, though, but luckily I've also gotten good at not looking.

"I'll see you for lunch. I'll try and bring my guitar."

A/N

It's almost midnight... but I'm still counting it as getting this out on time! Go me, whoo!

So, yeah, Carl's in a coma for the moment, which I took from the comic instead of going the show route, just because I thought it was more interesting!

Writing Rhys' conversation with himself at the end was somehow really fun, really hard, and really sad, all at the same time.

Also... there was an intense and epic internal struggle not to call this chapter Cyborg Chicken... but I guess I'll call it the stupid title that's dumb and emotional and relates to something that matters... grumble grumble. Whatever.

If you don't remember Carl saying that he'd teach Rhys to swim, it's back in chapter 31... I enjoyed going back to that chapter if not just to revisit poor Tyreese.

Also-Also-Also, Happy Holidays to those that celebrate! To those that don't, I hope you had a beautiful couple of weeks regardless! Oh, happy new year, too!

Thanks for reading :)