#on his way to fix twd virus

[entertwinedsewntogether]

bill nye?

[bookqueenrules]

With the debate on how bad, or not, DD season 2’s ratings are and the anniversary of the most watched episode ever of TWD, No Sanctuary, I want to share some thoughts on what is working and what is not with the spin-offs.

The 6 Episode Format:

One of the most obvious things that is NOT working is the 6-episode format.  Without a doubt, TOWL has been the most successful spin-off. However, many were left dissatisfied by the ending.  If they would have spent a couple more episodes with Rick and Michonne in the CRM learning their secrets and how to take it down, it would have felt more satisfying to the viewers.  With both DC and DD, the six episodes format did not allow viewers to make any deep connections with the new characters.  For example, I don’t hate Laurent or Isabelle, but I don’t care for their survival like I would just about any character on the flagship.  This makes the deaths and relationships(i.e. Darabelle) far less compelling. 

Fix: Move to an 8-episode season.

The Stagnation and Reversal of Character Arcs:

TOWL is the exception here. Rick completed his arc by accomplishing his original goal of reuniting with his family. Michonne completed her arc by creating a family with a man willing to do anything for his children. While this is wonderful and satisfying, it creates a problem moving forward.  Andrew Lincoln gave a recent interview where he said he would like to see TWDU get back to the smaller survival stories of the past.  I think he is right.  Some variation of that will be what it is needed now that Rick and Michonne’s original arcs are complete.

DC and DD have done the opposite.  It appears that all four main characters have regressed, or at least not progressed, in their arcs.

The themes are clear. DD is about Daryl’s happy ending.  Daryl’s arc, really from day 1, has been about overcoming his upbringing and the trauma of his childhood. The only way to complete his arc is for him to create a healthy family of his own.  Daryl must have a wife and kids to complete that arc.  Rushing Daryl into becoming “ Laurent’s Daddy” is in no way satisfying this arc.  We need to see what Daryl’s happy ending is going to look like even if it takes several seasons( and it should) to be completely realized.  The spin-off needs to stop playing coy and show its hand.  The audience has been waiting 14 years already.  Time for that happy ending to at least be on the horizon. Yes, this means a real romantic love interest and eventually Dixson children.  Daryl needs to realize that Dixsons are not inherently bad or defective in some way.

Don’t get me started on the rehashing Carol’s dead children arc. That arc was completed with Ezekiel and Henry and the loving family she created with them. I am not sure why they can’t move Carol forward into a new story arc.  I truly hope this season puts it to rest, and she can move forward. 

The same is true for Maggie. Since Glen’s death, she has not been able to move forward.  This arc with Negan is at least a little less stale than Daryl’s but has still been going for years.  Maggie must come to some kind of acceptance of Glen's death and move forward.

Fix: Complete these years long character arcs and move the universe forward. The found family arc will only be completed when the OG remaining cast members are reunited. Dragging out the Daryl, Carol, and Maggie arcs has become tiresome, repetitive, and uninteresting.  Wrap those up. Then, reunite the found family.

Moving the TWDU Story Forward as a Whole:

The DD spin-off in particular was teased as having at least some answers to the origins of the virus.  I have seen the entire season, and we learned nothing.  Walkers on steroids are not that interesting.  We wanted to learn more about the scientists who originally created the virus and why.  Give the viewer some pay-off.  The audience you have now has been with you all these years.  Stringing them along with little pay-off is not working.

DC at least is showing that there is a new power source and is somewhat moving the universe forward.  They will need to continue with that story arc. Negan and Lucille 2.0 will not be enough of a story to attract, or even keep viewers. What happens in DC needs to affect the entire universe.

Fix: Pay-off for at least part of the origin story started in TWD season 1 is needed quickly.  The universe itself needs to be regenerated and eventually moved to the next generation of characters with the support of our OGs. 

[ficnation]

Chapter 2

Series: The Cockroach

Word count: 2,2k+

Pairings: Negan Smith x Reader; Lucille Smith x Reader; Negan Smith x Lucille Smith

Warnings: usual twd themes

A/n: Let me know what you think about this series! I really hope you enjoyed the first two chapters ☺️

If you're not on the taglist but would like to be tagged let me know!

☁️ Main Masterlist ☁️

☁️ “The Cockroach” Masterlist ☁️

PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

“This is your emergency broadcast system announcing a message from the government,” the feminine voice on the radio spoke, making your ears perk up. “As of two hours ago, the President of the United States of America has declared a state of emergency, and we ask that all residents be ready for evacuation at any time.”

You resisted the urge to continue slurping the burning hot tea in order to hear the mysterious announcement. In your mind, you tried to guess what the fuss was all about.

“A curfew will shortly begin. If you have not been evacuated by midnight, all citizens are to report immediately to their homes, no matter what.”

The man beside you looked up at the radio sitting on the wooden surface of the countertop right by the broken stove that he promised to fix exactly four months ago. He wore a pair of shorts and an oversized t-shirt that you were fairly certain belonged to you. The nail clippers he held tightly between his long fingers fell to the floor with a clank. Your attention snapped to your blue-eyed friend, and his foot propped up on your kitchen island.

“Have I already told you that you’re disgusting?” You spun around to face him, curling up your legs and resting them on the swivel chair you sat on.

“Yeah, like a hundred times. I just like disrespecting you in your own apartment. It’s fun,” he said with smugness in his voice as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the back of the stool.

At his words, you kicked out your legs and jabbed your sock-clad toes into his side in an unsuccessful attempt to push him off the chair. But the fucker has seen it coming and caught your lower limbs in a tight grip, hugging them to his chest like a newborn baby.

You tried to get your legs out of his grasp, but your attempts remained unsuccessful. In fact, the more you thrashed around and struggled, the tighter he gripped them. You huffed and gave up, trying to free yourself from his hold. A small smile spread across his lips when you ceased your efforts.

“I hate you,” you mumbled out, crossing your arms over your chest with a huff.

He simply chuckled and patted one of your legs. “I know you do, honeypie,” he said way too sweetly.

After he noticed your expression darken slightly, he puckered up his lips, sending you an air kiss, and you patted his stubbled cheek in response, perhaps a little too harshly, twisting your torso in the direction of the radio. The room went unusually quiet, except for the static noise of the device.

When you started doubting ever hearing an emergency message, the announcement lady spoke up once more, “Due to an unknown virus, some civilians are attacking animals and people. Please avoid contact with others and evacuate from big cities immediately. If you are unable to do that, stay indoors and barricade yourself.”

Your eyes widened slightly before you glanced over at your friend, whose brows were furrowed in thought. His gaze drifted up to meet yours. “I’m betting fifty bucks that it’s a cannibal cult.”

“Whatever you say.”

The man beside you reached out for the pink utensil in front of you, the one filled with your precious field berry tea. Before his fingers could even graze it, you stuck out your tongue and dipped it in the liquid. The painful burning made you immediately regret that action, but you swallowed down the burn, keeping your face stoic despite the pain. You knew that if you showed even a bit of discomfort, your friend would burst out laughing. His grin left his face, and you knew this was another battle won.

“Alright, alright! I’m not touching it,” he said, throwing his hands in the air in an act of surrender. His little demonstration wasn’t enough for you.

You slurped the tasty beverage loudly, eyeing him from the corner of your eye. You lifted your head away from the mug. “I don’t trust you, Murphy.”

Murphy’s hand shot out again to steal your tea, but you slapped it away, stopping it inches from the cup. “What did I do to deserve this treatment?” he whined as he rubbed his injured hand.

“You’re lucky I’m nice or I’d beat your ass, old man,” you mumbled out, sending him a warning glance.

“You wound me, dollface.”

The radio went silent before crackling loudly. The noise ate up a chunk of the government’s emergency message before it stopped, and the stoic voice of the reporter echoed through the room once again, “A person infected by the virus can be recognized by unhealthy pale skin and loud growling. It’s nearly impossible to physically restrain the infected, so if you happen to come across one, get as far away from them as you can. We repeat: this is an emergency broadcast system. Please proceed with caution.” The voice switched to static before fading out completely, and the apartment was eerily silent for a few moments.

You licked away stray drops of the tea from your lips with the tip of your tongue. “That’s it?” you asked, raising your eyebrow in suspicion.

Murphy shrugged in reply. “Sounds like a joke to me.”

You rolled your eyes, knowing full well he wasn’t even thinking about the government’s message, his mind probably preoccupied with the most random dumb thought a human could muster up. Murphy let your legs fall from his grasp before bending down to pick up the nail clippers off the floor. He propped his left foot back on the counter, getting ready to attack his poor toenails, but you took the torture device from his hand before he could even start.

“I was in the middle of some-” His protest was cut short by the loud banging on the door. Murphy met your wide eyes, confusion written all over his face. “Did you order pizza?”

“No, I don’t think so. Maybe it’s one of the neighbors.”

When you moved to get up from the chair and answer the door, he pushed you back into the seat. You protested loudly with a groan and a swat to his arm. If the radio announcement was a joke like he thought, then you had no reason to be afraid to open that damn door.

“Listen, what if the lady was telling the truth? Maybe we have some apocalyptic situation going on.”

You let out a snort before jumping off the chair and letting your legs lead you toward the door. “It’s too early for anything bad to be happening. I’ll just go see what they want,” you said while heading towards the exit without waiting for a reply from the man behind you.

You opened the door, expecting a frantic neighbor or maybe an angry cop looking for you for trespassing or other bullshit things you did the day before. You didn’t expect to find a stranger on the other side of the door. The sickly-looking man with shaggy hair stood there with a panicked expression painted all over his pale face.

“Can I help you?” you asked calmly as you took a step forward, blocking his vision of the inside of the apartment.

Your eyes tried to maintain contact with his, but he didn’t make it easy, darting his sunken orbs from left to right. You blinked, puzzled, scrunching your nose a little bit annoyed. Maybe it was just a random junkie that got the wrong door. You raised your hand and snapped your fingers right in front of his face.

Only then did the man finally look at you with wide eyes, his mouth opening, and closing as he stuttered in fear. He looked like a deer caught in headlights, which only served to increase your growing annoyance and unsettlement. He looked like he didn’t know at all why he was standing right in front of your door.

“Sir, please tell me what you need and I can take care of it. What’s your name?” you added, placing your hands on your hips. You looked the man up and down, noting that his left arm had bloody bite marks on it. “Do you want me to call 911?”

His breathing quickened as his body began trembling slightly. You weren’t sure if he reacted this way because of your words or something entirely else. You waited patiently, but nothing else came out of his mouth for several minutes. His silence made your hands shake.

You had a bad feeling about this situation but couldn’t force yourself to close the door right in front of his face. What if he really needed help but was mute or in shock? You would feel like a total asshole if it was the case.

Murphy called your name from inside the apartment, and when he didn’t receive any response because you were too busy having a stare-off competition with the stranger, he rushed over, cursing under his nose. When he crossed the corner and saw you, he sighed with relief.

“Who is that?” he asked, standing behind you and throwing the stranger a mean look. He took note of the bite marks and the state the unknown man was in. It was all pretty suspicious.

“I have no idea. I think he might need help,” you replied, shrugging your shoulders, pretending that the whole situation didn’t creep you out at all. Murphy has known you for years, so he quickly saw through your bluff. He gently pushed you backward, stepping in front of you to shield you away.

“Do you need us to call 911, man?” His voice turned defensive while he stared off the other man. Damn, he was not going to play into some nice guy, helpful citizen bullshit just because that creepy dude was injured.

It took you by surprise when the stranger finally opened his mouth to speak.

“I… I got bit. I’m going to die. I’m going to turn into one of those monsters, right?” he mumbled out, barely comprehensible. When he didn’t get a verbal response, just two pairs of eyes staring at him dumbfounded, he yelled, “Right?! No one can help me now!” He yanked Murphy by his shirt, screaming and crying.

“Hey man, get your fucking hands off me!”

You panicked, taking a few steps back. What the fuck was that guy talking about? The bite marks on his arm didn’t look lethal; they weren’t even bleeding much anymore. Why did he think he would die? You decided he must’ve been on some strong shit that made him hallucinate, or maybe he was just off his rocker. No other explanation came to your mind.

Murphy pushed the stranger away with a sneer. That guy definitely went too far, and it resulted in the door slamming shut right in his face. It was deserved; he scared you half to death. You decided to call 911 because somebody had to do something about this man. It wouldn’t be very “neighborly” of you to just let him roam around the building, scaring people.

Your friend locked the door tightly, ushering you out of the corridor before following you back to the kitchen. Concern was written across his bearded face. You sat down on the swivel chair, taking a slow deep breath of relief. Lucille crossed your mind. You wondered if she was safe.

The brunet walked up to the counter, standing on the other side, right across from you. He also breathed in deeply, leaning his elbows on the counter and running his hands down his face in exasperation.

“Shit, why did you even open that door?!” he mumbled out quite aggressively, probably more to himself than to you. His eyes met your wide ones, and he groaned out loud.

“I didn’t look through the peephole,” you admitted quietly, taking your pink mug back into your trembling hands. The cup was empty, but you couldn’t find the strength to acknowledge that fact. You knew you should have been more careful.

Usually, you’d get Murphy in a headlock all pissed off for raising his voice at you and ready to make him apologize, but that stranger really did a number on you. You put the cup down and made your way toward the sink to get yourself a glass of water in hopes that it’d calm you down a little bit.

“That’s just plainly dumb. What if he attacked you?” He stared holes into the back of your head. The blue-eyed man was really concerned for you. The possibility that someone could’ve tried to harm you and he wouldn’t even be standing by your side to protect you didn’t sit well with him.

“But he didn’t,” you noticed before taking a sip of the cold water.

“But he could,” he argued, staring at you, but you wouldn’t face him. Murphy walked up to you and embraced you from behind, circling his arms around your waist and pulling you close to his chest. He sighed loudly before continuing, “I know you’re like a damn cockroach, but be more careful for me, yeah?”

“I will try, I promise,” you assured him, your face softening at his concern. He just wanted you to be safe; you couldn’t be mad at him for that. It wouldn’t be fair.

You put the glass down and turned around so you could crane your head to leave a kiss on the underside of your jaw. Murphy looked down to meet your gentle gaze and peck your forehead, his scratchy stubble making you giggle.

“You know I’m gonna hold you to this promise, you little shit?”

@whiskeypowder @hopefulatrocity @witheringblooddemon @humanmistakes @yttricuz @twdeadlysins @donttelltheelff @spidergirla5 @sexyseabass @sweetpotatospock @witchygagirl @tuttifuckinfruttifriday @missbeeentertainment

[akajustmerry]

Merryana, please, talk about Joel and Rick and bad comparisons 👉🏼👈🏼

alright, we're doing it. I've just taken a headache pill I'm lying under a fan - let's go.

so a lot of what I hate about these twd/tlou bad faith analysis and comparison has to do with a larger trend in social media discourse where things are discussed in tropes.

Prioritising short form media on socials means less time, less nuance and reducing things to their lowest common denominator because in a 10 second tiktok it's just quicker to say something is enemies to lovers than explain the actual premise. And I've been watching this reductive style of media discourse reshape how we discuss complex concepts and stories in real time and it fucking SUCKS.

A lot of the bad faith comparison of TWD and TLOU is built on the reduction of both these shows to Zombie Shows™ and Rick and Joel to Apocalypse Dads™. But describing them this way is kinda like saying that a shark and a puffer fish are both fish because they live in the ocean, but you've decided the puffer fish is better at being in the ocean and then high fiving yourself as if you made some poignant observation.

Starting with some basics, my guy Rickles is a literally a cop. The great irony of his character is that he's trying desperately to reclaim order in a world that has none and how this morality is constantly tested by an inherently lawless world. Joel is working class, a contractor with next to no moral claim on the world and that claim becomes zero when Sarah dies.

Reducing Joel and Rick into apocalypse Dads in the zombie shows flatten both characters into a vague concept rather than whole characters with very different worlds to navigate with very different motives. This kind of flattening of tlou and twd into zombie shows also ignores the very different world building in both shows. For one, there is no cure in TWD because everyone already has the virus and it activates when you're dead - no fuss, no muss and no hope for a fix. On the other hand, tlou is predicated on the question of whether a cure is worth it's cost. This is not even a question in TWD, so the shows are working from fundamentally different ideas. Not to mention, TWD is a show motivated by community building, tlou is.... Made by Zionists.

But I think probably the most egregious way I've seen the shows compared is culture writers comparing their first seasons (as if twd doesn't have another 10 seasons after that too). I can see why, obviously. At a surface level here's 2 shows that end their first season with "no cure" bombshells, but it's literally just surface!!! The journey the shows take to get there is so different, even in terms of time! Twd s1 is all at the start of the outbreak where Everyone is on the same page. Season 1 of tlou establishes that Joel has been living post-outbreak for 20 years. Yet another point of incomparable difference between the characters and the world of the shows.

I'm sorry but I'm just over it!! I'm over this obsession with reducing narratives to their tropes. It's bad marketing disguised as psuedo analysis! it's boring and does no justice to these stories. Like, people can just say they like tlou more than twd, you don't have to psuedo-intellectualise that opinion by copying and pasting bullet points from tvtropes.com.

There's also an element of... Gentrification to this comparison too in that tlou has a much higher budget production value and prestige marketing that, yes, means it looks a lot sleeker than TWD but also.....kinda makes it look the same as any other high budget scifi. Like the fact ppl have made parallels to the Mandolorian and Stranger Things just shows the total lack of character in the show's aesthetics itself. Its got the same gentrified scifi horror look that's become standard since about 2017. Say what you will about TWD but that make up department were forced to invent whole new techniques in practical make up because the show's low budget meant they couldn't use a lot of CGI and their innovation made the show LOOK and feel DIFFERENT.

The ONLY thing twd and tlou truly have in common is that they're both weak adaptations of their source materials. Beyond that, comparing them is just giving psy-op levels of incoherence and displaying disastrous levels of media illiteracy. Besides we all know that in a just world where TWD wasn't written by conspiracy weirdos and TLOU wasn't made by Zionists, Joel and Rick would be husbands 🥰

[twdmusicboxmystery]

I’m kinda still side eyeing and growing at the synopsis for the DD spinoff… ‘Daryl washes ashore in France and struggles to piece together how he got there and why. The series tracks his journey across a broken but resilient France as he hopes to find a way back home. As he makes the journey, though, the connections he forms along the way complicate his ultimate plan.’

Daryl making connections and things getting complicated is not a new thing for Daryl. It sounds like Daryl - as he seems known to do now - gets webbed into big things happening in France and makes some friends that he doesn’t want to abandon in the middle of their situation… Again, fairly common of Daryl I’d say. I’m trying just trying to piece together what the big discovery/big thing will be for Daryl’s spin off. With TWD it was literally the virus and surviving and not “becoming the walking dead” and connections you make. Daryl making connections isn’t a new big theme… one of the spin offs has to explore the cure route. I think France was where the CDC dude (forgot his name) said they were working on stuff for a cure. I kind of WANT Daryl to be in the cure arc of the spin offs. I feel like he’s the best choice for it besides Judith (I still believe kids born during the downfall of humanity are born with some kind of immunity but idk if that’s been touched on in the other spin offs). So much to think about. So many possibilities running through my little TD brain

Agreed. They're being very hush-hush about what the big hook, the big thing he'll be dealing with for the spinoff is. There has to be a villain of some kind. And sure, you could assume it's going to be a minor French villain--another Governor or Gareth, say--that Isabelle and her group are already dealing with. But if that's the case, why not use it in the promotion?

No, I keep going back to Diverged, which is where the writers tried to show us that things were changing, and that Daryl and Carol would not be together in the spinoff. They would go their separate ways. While out on his own (presumably a foreshadow of him being in France without any other current members of TF) he fixed his bike (we think that's indicative of Beth, because he also "fixed" the music box) ran into some military walkers (code for CRM soldiers) and heard wolves howling in the distance (there's gonna be a party when the wolf comes home).

So, I do believe the spinoff will involve Beth, but I also think it will heavily involve the CRM and the cure arc/immunity arc.

Remember, there are also ties to the coda of the World Beyond finale, because those characters were speaking French. And that was ALSO all about the CRM and cure/immunity arc. So, I think it's all connected. Even if Daryl isn't heavily involved with the CRM or said cure in the spinoff, I think this is still where he finally becomes really aware of them, comes face to face with them, and will eventually take that information back to TF to gear up for the CRM war.

And THAT, Nonny, is why I cannot wait for the spinoff to air. ;D

Xoxo! 🍀💖

[daryl-dixon-daydreams]

Words: 2,698 Daryl Dixon x Reader Reader pronouns: she/her Era: the prison Warnings: Language, typical TWD stuff Requested by: Anonymous

Your name: submit What is this?

Daryl was frozen. In all their time fighting side by side, Rick had never seen the archer freeze. But there wasn’t time. There wasn’t time for anything. There wasn’t time for a murmur of reassurance or an argument or a second to fully grasp the reality of what was about to happen and the potential consequences. Rick took one final glance at your face, which was pale as freshly fallen snow and eerily calm. How were you so calm when you knew what was about to happen? Rick raised the blade.

Rick was suddenly in his face and although Daryl could see that he was yelling he couldn’t hear anything but a high-pitched ringing in his ears, until finally Rick reached out and grabbed Daryl’s shoulders. It was like someone suddenly turned the volume back on and time sped up from the grindingly slow pace it had been crawling at.

Daryl raised his crossbow and turned, his expression pure agony, but he snapped into action and helped clear the way back to the cell block. He couldn’t really even remember the trip back or getting you inside or what Hershel had done next, what Rick had said to him, how they had moved you onto one of the beds… All he knew was that it had been chaos and now he was sitting at the side of your bunk, staring at the beads of sweat on your brow and how pale your lips looked and how your left forearm just was… gone.

Daryl sensed someone standing in the doorway and looked up to see Hershel there. Hershel had never seen Daryl look so poorly… Daryl couldn’t even come up with the right question to ask, but the veterinarian turned doctor seemed to know what was on his mind.

“We won’t know for a while. I think the amputation was fast enough, but even if we averted that crisis, she still has a lot to overcome. Succumbing to the trauma of shock or blood loss or an infection are the biggest fears now.” Daryl turned back to look at your still form and his eyes continually hitched on the stump where your left forearm should have been.

Rick appeared over Hershel’s shoulder just in time to see Daryl gently take your right hand in his. “How is she doin’?” he asked quietly. Hershel glanced over at him.

“No signs of fever so far. But we need more clean dressings, an IV, antibiotics,” Hershel murmured. “Without them I’m afraid even if she survives the shock, she’ll die of a blood infection.”

Rick nodded gravely. “Time we go find the infirmary then.” Maggie and Glenn, who were waiting nearby, stepped forward.

“We’ll go too. And if the infirmary doesn’t have what she needs, we’ll get it somewhere else,” Glenn said. Maggie nodded.

“Whatever she needs,” Maggie agreed. She glanced in at the archer and her heart ached. He was slumped over beside you, holding your hand in his like it was a lifeline.

“I’ll make you a list,” Hershel said, nodding at Rick.

Rick hesitated for a moment and then produced his handcuffs from his back pocket. Daryl looked up at the sound of the metallic clinking. He straightened up as he saw them.

“The hell are those for?” he growled.

“Daryl, we just need to be safe—”

“Nah. Ya ain’t puttin’ those on her,” he snapped.

“It’s just in case—”

“I said no!” he roared, standing up abruptly. “She ain’t turnin’! And I ain’t leavin’ her side. So, keep your damn cuffs. We don’t need ‘em.” He sank down into his chair again heavily, trembling slightly. Hershel glanced back at Rick.

“It’s alright. She’s in good hands here. Let’s get that list made up so you can go find those supplies,” Hershel said softly.

Daryl pressed your hand between his palms. It felt so small, fragile, between his own. He stared at your face for any sign of you waking but it was still. Your breathing was slow but a little shallow. He reached up and stroked his fingers gently through your hair and then rubbed your hand between his again to warm it. You felt a little cold.

He moved forward and laid his head down on his arms, your hand still clutched in his. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to go to pieces, barely containing the torrent of emotions swelling in his chest. If he’d been faster… if he’d paid more attention… this shouldn’t have happened to you. His only job was to keep you safe and he had failed. What if you never woke up? What if—Daryl’s face contorted as he could no longer stop the tears from flowing out. His shoulders shook as he gasped in heaving breaths. It was his fault this had happened to you. It was his fault.

“Daryl.” Carol’s voice was gentle and soft from the doorway and the archer hastily wiped the tears from his face and glanced up at her. “It’s not your fault,” she said. She knew he was blaming himself.

“Ya weren’t there,” he said, sniffling a little and glancing back at your still and silent form again, giving your hand a gentle squeeze. “I should have been able to protect her. It is my fault.”

“These things just happen. It’s no one’s fault,” she said, watching the tortured expression on his face. Carol’s heart sank. If you didn’t wake up, she didn’t know what would happen to Daryl. The thought scared her as much as losing you did. He was so in love with you. Carol wasn’t sure he’d come back from it if you didn’t make it.

Just then there was a commotion in the room outside the cells and Carol turned to see Rick, Maggie, and Glenn rushing back with full bags slung over their shoulders. Hershel met them at the door. “We got everything on the list,” Rick said, setting his duffel bag down on the table. “And then some.”

Hershel heaved a sigh of relief. “Good. We need to get antibiotics and fluids into her system as soon as we can. She lost a lot of blood.”

Glenn pulled a big bottle out of his bag and handed it to Hershel. “Here. Some serious painkillers.”

Hershel nodded. “Good. I’ll mix up a cocktail for her right away,” he said.

Soon Hershel had you on an IV drip and he reached over and pressed a hand to your forehead. “Still no fever,” he said, catching Daryl’s blue eyes. “I think we’re in the clear from the virus. The amputation worked.” He patted Daryl on the shoulder kindly. “She’s strong. She’ll fight.”

Daryl gave your hand another gentle squeeze and raised it to his lips, pressing a kiss to it and holding it there, his eyes fixed back on your face. “How long—how long before you think she should be waking up?” he asked, his voice thick and heavy with gravel.

Hershel looked back at you on the bunk. “It’s hard to say. She’s experienced significant trauma so her body may just need to be out for a while. And the painkillers I put in her IV will make her sleepy. It isn’t time to worry yet,” he said.

Daryl scoffed. “It’s been time to worry since I met her,” he growled, squeezing your hand gently.

Hershel gave him a sad smile. “It’s okay she’s still unconscious, son. Look,” he said nodding toward you again. “Some of the color is coming back to her face. That’s a good sign.”

Daryl studied the pinkness that was back in your lips and your cheeks and stroked a hand through your hair again. He nodded, clutching more tightly to your hand.

“You come get me if anything changes, alright?” Hershel said. And then he left Daryl alone with you again.

Daryl refused to eat or drink as day turned to night, refused to sleep, refused to leave your side for a second. He sat watch over you, his stomach churning with every passing minute you lay there still. He hung his head and pressed his lips to the back of your hand again, shutting his eyes. “Please, wake up, Y/N. Please. I need ya. I need ya…” he whispered to you, hoping with his entire being. And then he felt something. You had squeezed his hand back. His eyes shot up and he fell forward onto his knees beside you, the chair clattering back behind him. Your eyes were open and they met his.

Tears immediately filled his blue eyes. “Y/N!” he stroked your cheek with one hand and held more tightly to you with the other. “You’re awake. I’m—I’m right here. It’s okay. I’m here.”

He watched in disbelief as your lips curved slightly in a small smile as you looked up at him. “I know, babe,” you whispered.

“What do ya—how are ya feeling?”

You blinked a few times like you were thinking hard about the question. “I think I’m high,” you said, your brow furrowing slightly. Daryl’s eyes narrowed at your answer. “Am I on some good painkillers?” you asked.

Daryl nodded. “Ya. I’m glad they’re working.” He stroked his fingers through your hair again and watched with apprehension as you turned and looked at the bandages on your left arm. He watched a shadow grow on your face and your brow furrow. Daryl felt like a bubble that had been expanding in his chest burst suddenly. Tears poured out onto his cheeks again. “Y/N, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t keep ya safe. It’s my fault. I’m so sorry.” He hung his head again, trying to gasp in a breath.

You looked back over at him in shock. “Hey.” You squeezed his hand again when he wouldn’t look at you. “Daryl. Look at me.” You waited until he lifted his blue eyes again. “There is no way in hell that this is your fault.” He tried to look away again but you tugged on his hand. “I mean it. It just happened. You don’t get to claim any blame for it. None. Okay?” He sniffled but he held your eyes.

A few more tears leaked out of his eyes and he anxiously chewed his bottom lip. “I—I thought I was gonna lose ya,” he whispered, pressing your hand between his palms again. He looked down at it and smoothed his fingers over the soft skin on the back of your hand. “I thought—” he broke off, unable to even speak the horrible thoughts that had consumed him since you were bitten.

“I’m not going anywhere,” you whispered. “You’re stuck with me.”

Daryl was amazed at the small smile on your lips again and his heart hammered like it was trying to get to you. He leaned forward, cupping your face gently, and pressed a kiss to that little smile. He rested his forehead against yours for a brief moment. You sighed and shut your eyes, breathing in his familiar smell, loving the safety of his closeness. The archer finally pulled back and righted his chair beside your bed again. “Rest,” he said softly. “I’m gonna tell Hershel you’re awake.” He got up to find him, but you squeezed his hand again and he glanced back at you.

“You have to promise me that you will try to let go of the guilt,” you said. The smile was gone and there was concern on your face. You were lying in a bed missing half your arm and you were concerned about him. How the hell did he deserve you? He was almost overwhelmed with emotion again, but he nodded.

“I promise,” he said. “I’ll try.” He leaned over you and captured your lips in another kiss. “Rest, alright? I’ll be right back.”

You released his hand and turned your eyes to the bandages again. It had all happened so fast, and none of it felt real yet. It was like you were in a dream and would wake up at any second. The implications weren’t even occurring to you yet. Daryl was in the forefront of your mind. You knew he was likely to torture himself over this, despite the fact that it could have happened to anyone. It was just a risk of living in the world now. You felt lucky that the only thing you had lost was your arm, and yet at the same time you knew you would need to grieve it. But for now, you needed to know that Daryl wouldn’t blame himself.

He returned with Hershel, who immediately smiled at you when he saw your eyes open. He came and sat at your bedside while Daryl lingered in the doorway, chewing his bottom lip as was his anxious habit. “How are you feeling? How is the pain?” Hershel asked you.

“Pain is fine,” you said. “I’m just tired.”

Hershel put a kind hand on your shoulder. “I think we’ve turned the corner,” he said. “But you’re going to need to rest and give yourself time to heal. I don’t want you up and about for another day or two. You lost a lot of blood, and we need to make sure we keep that are infection free.” You nodded.

“Where’s Rick?” you asked, glancing at Daryl in the doorway.

The familiar drawl answered. “Right here,” he said, appearing over Daryl’s shoulder. You looked up at the lean man and saw he looked completely exhausted.

Your brow furrowed. “You look like shit,” you said, causing everyone to chuckle, even Daryl. “Thanks. For what you did,” you said quietly. “For saving my life or whatever,” you said with a small smile. Your eyelids were starting to droop a little, sleep waiting to take hold.

Rick patted Daryl on the shoulder and nodded at you. “Anything for you and Daryl. Anything.”

“Alright, she needs rest now,” Hershel said, getting up and motioning for Rick to clear out with him. “Get some sleep.”

Daryl moved back to your bedside as Hershel and Rick left and sank down onto the chair, immediately taking your hand between his again.

“What are you doing over there?” you asked him. He gave you a questioning look.

“How am I supposed to sleep with you so far away?” You turned onto your side, wincing a little as you moved your injured arm, but you cleared space beside you and looked up at the archer with a look he couldn’t resist, even if he had wanted to.

He carefully climbed onto the bed beside you, moving a strand of hair out of your eyes and stroking his thumb lightly over your cheek. You were facing each other and he could see you studying his face. You smiled at him, just a small, sleepy one. “Now I can sleep,” you whispered.

He pressed a kiss to your lips and tried to put everything he was thinking and feeling into it. When he drew back, your eyes flitted open again. “We’re gonna be just fine. You always take care of me,” you murmured to him.

He nodded. “And I always will.” And with that reassurance, you drifted off to sleep with your favorite person in the world beside you.

[trumpetnista]

CMW2/Trumpetnista: Harvest

Summary from FFN: UNABASHEDLY CARNID!;"Things break but they can grow again"-H.G.: In this Season 5B-6A AU, 17 year old Enid Mackenzie has put down literal and figurative roots in the ASZ but feelings of sadness and isolation still plague her. Enter Carl Grimes; Rated for language, TWD typical & potentially triggering gore towards the end, & first relationship tenderness;3rd in my 2018 SSS Project

Words from the Hooded Walker Stalker:  I am no stranger to showrunners fucking up. I'm not. Calling them out is a big part of my brand recognition but what Scott Gimple did? That is on some next level shit. I never thought anyone could fuck up worse than the folks at SCANDAL and Sleepy Hollow but I was wrong. I give TWD another full season, maybe 2 before it's gone and that is both tragic and excellent karma. Everyone talked a big game about how killing off Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Carol, Glenn would be the coup de grace for TWD but it was killing Carl Grimes that did it. "The annoying kid that should've BEEN gone" was the shatterpoint to the show and for someone who has adored Carl from GO, the karma is so damned gorgeous. 

It's not enough to ease the pain but at least I and other fans have company in our misery. Honestly, they've been playing Russian Roulette with the show since Season 5 but the introduction of Negan, the deviation from both Comic and TV canon in 8x08? It's over. The Walking Dead is coming to an end too soon yet not soon enough. Does that make sense? I think it does and so do a lot of other people out there. Seriously, it's over. It's DONE. 

Anyway, I am just gonna use my stories to NOPE all that fucking bullshit. As far as I'm concerned, Carl Grimes is alive and well and kicking evil's ass and he's gonna get to be happy with his family and his Enid. Carl and Enid didn't get nearly enough time together. We were robbed of 3 more years of Carl Grimes (Gimple did Chandler so fucking dirty, y'all!) and of seeing Carl and Enid really get to be happy together. They're gonna get to be happy together here and in all the rest of my TWD stories, Carnid and also when I eventually expand into writing for Mom and Dad AKA Richonne. That's how it's gonna be. When a Fave gets done dirty, whether by bullshit death or character ruination, it's up to the fic writers to fix things. Feel free to join me in my delusional world and enjoy the latest! 

Disclaimer: “Honestly, it’s not mine!”

"...you've been through a lot, haven't you? Spencer said that you were walking alone out there. Is there anyone looking for you now?"

She shook her head no, keeping a tight grip on her bag and her gaze down. Ingrained manners had her wanting to take her boots off but she undid the double knots instead. The red jacket she had salvaged from the snarling car Chomper was unzipped and the house was elegantly cozy. It looked like one of the places featured in Architectural Digest. Her father loved that magazine. Her mother preferred to read Cosmopolitan and both of them loved cars. It made perfect sense given where they were from and...

"How old are you?"

"...15. No, 16. My birthday was June 11th. It's not summer anymore. The heat feels different."

"It's September 15th. We kept track of time. How long have you been on your own?"

She shrugged and watched warily as a man exited the kitchen, holding a pitcher of water.

"That's my husband, Reg. He was an architect and he designed the Walls. Spencer is our youngest son who is our Gatekeeper and Aiden is our oldest. He's on a Run with his Crew right now but he should be back soon. I'm Deanna Monroe. I was a Congressperson from Ohio. Are you from around here?"

She shook her head and glanced towards the camera, scooting further away from it.

"Where are you from?"

"...Michigan...what used to be Michigan..."

"Upper or Lower Peninsula?"

Instead of replying verbally, she slowly turned her hands around the represent the state before pointing to the fleshy part underneath her right thumb.

"Southeastern Michigan. What city did you live in? Detroit? Warren? Flint?"

"...Novi. I had friends in Hazel Park, Royal Oak, and Warren because of band, parkour, and ballet but they're probably all dead now. My parents are dead. They got swarmed and Chomped."

"I'm sorry to hear that...you were a musician?"

Partially unzipping her bag but still holding it close to her chest, she showed one of her most prized possessions. The black case was decorated with shiny stickers and various felt flowers, mainly sunflowers in bloom.

"That's a clarinet case. You played?"

"First chair. I did color guard with the upperclassmen, too. My clarinet was my mom's. My knife was my mom's, too. I still have daddy's Zippo lighter and-"

Her face crumpled and instinctively, her hands came up to muffle her sobs. She felt the urge to flee. Why she had decided to return to the large Gate was anyone's guess, really. It seemed to be the right thing to do at the time, the most logical thing but now, she wasn't sure. The Walls were decent, the homes beautiful, but the people inside them were weak.

They were sheltered. They were complacent.

They didn't know what it was like to be hungry. They didn't know what it was like to be thirsty. They didn't know what it was like to be cold and wet at night or baked from the sun during the day. They didn't know anything! They didn't understand just how cruel the world had become. They had put up Walls to keep out The Dead but they were still very vulnerable to The Living. They had the Walls, a Gate, and guard posts but they were mainly empty. Anyone who could climb or had a vehicle to ram the gate could easily get in.

The place was big, way too big. There were blind spots and they had running water? That meant a sewer system. Anyone who could find a way to get down there would have free reign up top. There had to be some people who knew how to fight or shoot a gun but likely not well. It was very rare that a few people could take down a pack of assholes, especially if they were organized.

The Living were far more dangerous than The Dead.

The place she was in right now was supposed to be her salvation. She should be ecstatic to have found it and that it was being ran by decent people. However, there was a feeling of impending doom in her gut that wouldn't go away. When the doom came, it would be catastrophic. Where it would come from, she wasn't sure. Threats were everywhere. No place, no direction that a person went in was ever safe. It was even possible that a threat would come from within the Walls themselves and when it did...

The kind eyed woman stood up, moving as if to hug her but she was faster, putting the chair between them. Her zipped bag returned to its rightful place on her back. If either of them came any closer, she would unsheathe her mother's knife. She didn't have a gun with her. Guns and ammo were getting harder to find. Somebody out there was starting to hoard them and she really didn't want to know why. Also, without a silencer, guns made way too much noise. She preferred to use blades and blunt objects like bricks. She preferred to make traps or use vehicles when she could find one that worked.

The Monroes needed to back off. They needed to turn the fucking camera off and let her leave, if not The Walled Place altogether then at least leave their house. She didn't feel right being there. Everything felt so wrong. Everything was wrong and would never be right again.

The global spread of the Virus and the Walking Dead that it produced saw to that.

"...it's okay...you don't have to be scared anymore. You're in a safe place, now..."

But for how long, she wanted to shout at Deanna but couldn't. Her voice was lost to tears. Some landed on the back of the recliner she was hiding behind, staining it with more dirt. It likely wasn't the first time it had happened. It wouldn't be the last and eventually, the stains on the chair would be blood. Blood, brains, and so many other disgusting, horrible, terrible things.

"Deanna, I think you've gotten enough for now. She needs to rest. Olivia will be able to get her some supplies, a hot meal, and Denise is a psychologist. She may be able to help her."

She doubted it.

"You're right, love. I'm sorry, young lady. Sometimes, I get so focused on the big picture that I forget about the present. Luckily, I have Reg here to remind me. Can you tell us your name?"

"...Enid."

She wouldn't tell them her last name. They didn't need to know. They didn't need to know that she was The Last Mackenzie. They just needed to know that she was orphaned and nobody was looking for her. Enid had been tempted to give them a fake name but that would've been problematic later on. She didn't want them to become suspicious of her. She was just a girl...a woman on her own, trying to make it from sun up to sun down.

Could she be dangerous? If the situation warranted it, absolutely.

Enid wouldn't hesitate to defend herself or the resources she found. Nobody else was going do it. Even if someone offered to, she wouldn't let them. After what happened to her parents, she didn't want that on her conscience. Most of all, Enid didn't want to owe anyone anything. Having people think that she owed them something led to all sorts of problems...

"Hello, Enid. Welcome to the Alexandria Safe Zone."

The camera was turned off after that sentence and she sat back down, picking up the pitcher of water to drink deeply. The water was cool and crisp, free of debris. It tasted so good!

What a name for the place: The Alexandria Safe Zone. The bitch of it was that they really believed it. They really believed that they were in a safe zone. They really believed that they had everything under control. They really believed that they could handle every crisis that erupted and everything would be okay. They were wrong, tragically wrong because this couple were genuinely good people. Deanna and Reg Monroe were genuinely good people. Enid knew that. She also knew that genuinely good people were among the first ones to be killed when evil came knocking, if not the first. That was just how things worked now. It had been like that in the Beforetime, too.

If Enid tried to warn them, would they listen? If she tried to warn anyone here, would they listen? Would they change their ways? Would they add more guards to the Gate and platforms? Would they add more layers and reinforcement to the Walls? Would they learn how to fight? Would they even be willing to try? Probably not. If they didn't succumb to despair immediately, they just would dismiss her as a traumatized, paranoid little girl. They'd try to hug her and pat her head, saying that everything would be all right. She was just a baby scared of the monster in the closet, that's all. If she calmed down and trusted the Walls, everything would be hunky-fucking-dory...

Hell, even if she were grown, they still wouldn't listen to her until it was too late.

Something and someone horrifying on all levels would have to make them see truth.

Even after that happened, they likely wouldn't change. They'd just give up and die painfully.

Enid knew that she was being unfair. She knew that these Alexandrians deserved the benefit of the doubt but her gut instincts rarely steered her wrong. She knew what time it was and what time it would be sooner rather than later. It was the calm before the storm. The East wind was blowing. Clouds were on the horizon and with their arrival would come pain and bloodshed.

The bubble was going to pop.

Did she want to be around to see it? Did she want to risk being hurt or killed because of these Alexandrians' ignorance and inevitable cowardice? Were the resources inside these Walls worth it? Her parents had laid down their lives to keep her safe. Enid owed it to them and everyone else like them to not squander that sacrifice but at the same time...

Looking at the letters she had traced onto the back of her hand, she made her decision.

JSS

Just Survive Somehow.

Staying the Alexandria Safe Zone and in the LEADER's good graces was her best chance of survival at the moment.

And as awful and lonely as The Fucked New World was, Enid wasn't ready to die. Not yet.

She would stay. She'd keep her guard up and sharpen her skills so she would be ready. Just because these Alexandrians were weak didn't mean that she had to be weak, too. She would rest before finding something productive to do while waiting for evil to come knocking. When it did, Enid would fight to win or go down swinging.

When Alexandria and its people Fell, either to The Dead, The Living, or a delightful combination of the two, Enid would do her best to be one of the last ones standing, if not the last.

On her parents' graves, she swore it.

10 Months Later...

"What are you doing?"

"Plants need to breathe just like we do. I'm drilling holes in the bottom of this kiddie pool so it'll be easier for them later. I'm going to put holes in the others and then place them all at the same time. Once they're set up in the backyard, I'll take my nap before filling them with soil, fertilizer, mulch, and water. I'll give them a day to chill out before I start planting."

"What are you gonna put in them?"

"I don't know. It depends on what I feel like dealing with and what seeds we've got left."

"...my brother says that what you're doing is stupid. He says that you're stupid."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I heard him talking to Mikey about you while they were shooting pool yesterday. He says that you shouldn't be spending so much time doing this because in the end, it won't matter."

"It's funny that he says that while happily stuffing his face with the food grown here. Asshole."

"Ron's always been like that. Is he right, though? This doesn't matter? Nothing we do matters?"

"Sam, your brother is wrong. Everything that a person does in this world, whether they're behind Walls or not matters. Every. Single. Thing. And you know what? Someday, Runs aren't going to happen anymore. Everything that can be found will go bad or be found first by someone who will say no and start shooting if they're asked to share. We have to be strong. We have to be smart. We have to be willing to fight to live. We have to be able to make and grow what's needed to keep this place going like the Monroes want it to. What I'm doing here will help make sure that people will be able to have healthy and enough food to eat no matter what or who happens. Having Walls doesn't mean a goddamned fucking thing if the people behind them could end up starving to death. Your brother is very wrong and very rude. Don't listen to him."

"I'll tell him all of that next time he says you're stupid. You're not stupid, Enid. You're smart."

"I am. Tell Ron the truth but don't say the Fuck word to him. You're too young for that shit."

It wasn't just nihilism that had Ron Anderson dismissing her efforts and insulting her. Enid knew for a fact that he was holding a torch for her. With her luck, he probably fancied himself in love with her. He wanted her and saw all of her activities as a roadblock to getting close to her. That hadn't been her plan but it certainly came in handy. If Ron or anyone else tried to get her to hang around longer, Enid always had a solid reason for going away. She always had more work to do.

Since what Enid did was important for the ASZ, nobody could complain when she decided to throw herself into doing it for weeks at a time. Many were actually grateful. She was stepping up. She was fitting in. In their eyes, she had made the ASZ her home and that was good. She was a valuable resource. Enid produced whatever she could and what she produced was awesome.

To go along with her diligent work behind the Walls, her solo supply Runs and foraging/hunting trips in the forest were consistently successful. Interfering with her business would be stupid. She had found something to do and didn't cause trouble so they left her in peace. She could stand to be a little nicer when she talked to people but overall, she was a good girl doing good things.

Enid had free reign to come and go as she pleased, which she adored.

She had the best of both worlds now: freedom and (relative) safety.

Ron would just have to stay mad about it because Enid wasn't interested in romance.

Why bother setting herself up for heartbreak and disappointment? Why open herself up to the possibility of being betrayed and abandoned later? The closest ones to you could and would become the biggest threat under pressure. It would be a very bad idea to get emotionally/physically attached to anyone with the world being as cruel it was now.

It would be an even worse idea to get emotionally/physically attached to Ron.

He was book smart, funny on occasion, and decent looking but he was just so damned weak. God, he was fucking pathetic! Ron was one of the weakest Alexandrians she knew, even weaker than some of the elderly and little kids! It was hilarious and horrifying all at the same time.

If (and it was a very big if...) Enid ever got into a relationship, she wanted a companion that she wouldn't have to constantly protect. She wanted someone who stood a fighting chance against The Fucked New World instead of just a running one. She wanted someone who had a backbone and was adaptable. She wanted someone who didn't spend more time complaining than solving problems. Ron didn't fit any of that criteria. Even if he changed for the better tomorrow, she still wouldn't want to be with him because he and his family were dangerously sick in the head.

Enid wanted to stay as far away from them as possible. The Anderson family was going to self-destruct any day now. They were a ticking time bomb and when the clock hit zero, it would be horrible. Every single Anderson had problems. Ron was full of anger and angst. When he wasn't faking a smile, he was lashing out before shutting down. Enid didn't need that aggravation. She didn't have the patience for it. Dealing with her own anger and angst was enough.

Pete and Jessie were far from a loving couple. People learned how to be in relationships from the ones around them. Enid didn't want to be in a relationship where Ron had learned from his parents' example, even if mustered up enough gumption to do the opposite. Pete and Jessie Anderson were a textbook case of domestic violence and the vicious cycle of abuse. Pete was the bully and Jessie was the punching bag. They were a toxic pair. They were a desperately unhappy pair. Their marriage was as dead as the endless mass of Chompers that roamed over and rotted underneath the earth. They were a walking Murder-Suicide pretending to be in love and Sam?

Honestly, he was the best of the bunch.

Sam Anderson was very immature for his age. He acted more like a 5-year-old than the 10-year-old he actually was but he wasn't a bad person. He was just emotionally stunted from being stuck with people who were too caught up in their own misery to look after him properly. The End had exacerbated the issues they all had and things got worse for them every day.

Jessie tried her best. She really did but it wasn't enough. Between constantly taking Pete's abuse and dealing with Ron's various issues, the blonde was at her breaking point. She was weak and desperate for someone, anyone to save her. She refused to save herself because she honestly felt like she couldn't. Pete had drilled that idea into her head over the years. He had broken her spirit.

It made sense given that he had certainly broken at least a third of her bones over the years.

Jessie babysat the Community's kids with Shelly Neidermeyer, who ran the ASZ's school. She threw herself into being the Den mother for Alexandria and as perfect of a housewife as she could be. Jessie also threw herself into making unique (ugly!) owl themed sculptures to cope with her misery so her youngest son slipped through the cracks.

Sam was very much on his own so he started seeking validation and protection from other Community residents with mixed results. Some coddled him and others told him to go away fast. Enid was one of the main people Sam reached out to. She didn't mind indulging him. She even let him help her out sometimes. Not for very long, because Sam could be a whining pain in the ass after a while, which she had little to no patience for, but he was a good kid who deserved better.

Enid couldn't save Sam from the absolute clusterfuck that his family was but she could be kind.

She could teach him about how The Fucked New World worked.

That was the best thing Enid could do for him. Knowledge was Power.

Ignorance may be bliss but it led to painful death nowadays. It couldn't be allowed.

Deanna and Reg knew all about the Andersons' ugly situation. Due to Pete being the only Alexandrian with full medical training, they decided to turn a blind eye for the sake of the Greater Good. That decision disgusted Enid to the Core. It made her sick! Having an alcoholic surgeon was worse than having no surgeon at all! Having an alcoholic surgeon who mistreated the family he was lucky enough to still have was completely unacceptable! What the hell were they thinking?

Fortunately for the sloppy, ungrateful son of a bitch, Enid wasn't the one in charge of the ASZ.

If she was, then Pete would've been sent packing or just shot dead like the dog he was ages ago.

Overall, her assessment of The Monroes being genuinely good people in charge of things still stood but Enid would never trust them fully. Their permissive attitude towards Pete's bullshit set an unspoken Community rule that she took full advantage of: If someone had a skill that nobody else had, they could do whatever they wanted, sans murder, without getting kicked out.

With that in mind, Enid had taken the time to become Alexandria's main farmer and sole beekeeper. Now, they couldn't kick her out. She could still leave if she wanted to, though.

The beekeeping had been an accident. Enid had stumbled upon four large hives while cleaning out the house she had moved into after healing physically. The Monroes had tried to convince her to keep living above the Pantry but she wanted her own space. She wanted and deserved to have some privacy. Olivia was a nice person. Really, she was and she was easy to live with. However, Enid didn't want or need a babysitter. Enid could take care of herself and those around her easily. She didn't need a babysitter nor did she need another obstacle to get past when she had to make a run for it. Always having a clear escape route was critical to survival.

Instead of killing all of the bees, Enid had decided to relocate and nurture them. Not only was it a practical choice, it was a way to remember her father. Liam Mackenzie had been utterly fascinated by bees. He would always bring home fresh honey, beeswax, and royal jelly when he could. Bees made those and after harvesting them, the products could be used to help in so many ways. Bees were worth their weight in bullets. Finding the hives was good luck that needed to be capitalized on. Along with her fond memories, a Run to a library had given Enid the information she needed to do it right and three more to various hardware stores had given her the supplies to get started.

After building and connecting five large sheds, Enid had transferred the bees into the hives she had assembled. It had taken a while (and lots of stings! So many stings!), but Alexandria's Apiary was stable and starting to thrive. There were currently eight hives with both in and outdoor plants to support them. According to Enid's research, the best time to harvest was between late July and up to the middle of September so soon, she would begin to reap the rewards of her hard work.

The apiary was her domain. Nobody else was brave enough to try to help her out with it, not that she would've let them. Beekeeping was her way of meditating, her special quiet time. Enid didn't want that sense of serenity ruined nor did she want her work destroyed by ignorance or malice.

The farming had started as a way to remember her mother.

Madeline Mackenzie used to grow herbs, flowers, fruit, and vegetables for farmer's markets. Enid used to help her out all the time and make local deliveries. She had never forgotten the lessons she had been taught. Enid had started out with fresh herbs to help with Olivia's pickling and smoking efforts while planting flowers to help the bees produce what was needed. After finding a gardening book in the Monroe House filled with detailed instructions for large scale agricultural projects, Enid had decided to go All In. Crops needed to be planted sooner rather than later.

So much time had been wasted. The Alexandrians should have started planting as soon as the Walls were up. Someone had to step up and get it done. Enid had enlisted Reg Monroe's help in designing the garden's layout. After settling on it and choosing the best place for it in the Community (smack dab in the middle), the construction crew had helped her with fencing and plowing rows.

Other Community members would pitch in for easy parts, like building boxes, pulling weeds or watering plants but like the apiary, the garden was her responsibility at the end of the day.

Enid had asked Heath and his Crew to bring her the things she needed to keep going and they did. She still made solo Runs on occasion. Olivia would help her out with maintenance after she was done working in the Pantry. Aaron and Eric Raleigh would help between their Recruiting trips.

Of all of the Alexandrians she had to live with, Enid liked Aaron and Eric best. They were smart and kind. They weren't weak. They were still a bit naïve but they weren't weak. They were strong and they were an excellent couple, despite the shit people gave them for being so openly loving.

Some of the Alexandrians were hateful and stupid. The sort of ideas they spewed like bloody diarrhea had carried over from The Old World. Homophobia, Racism, Classism, Sexism...none of it should matter anymore. It hadn't mattered to sensible people before The End but it certainly shouldn't matter to anyone now.

They had much bigger fish to fry. All that mattered at the end of the day was who was Strong and who was Weak, who was Useful and who was Chomper Chow.

Most of all, it was critical to know who was an asshole and who wasn't.

Other than how to take down Chompers, knowing that was the most important information.

"...w-what's going on?"

Enid turned off the electric drill she was using and saw people looking towards the Gate. Some braver ones were already walking towards it and she could hear vehicles entering Alexandria slowly. Had Aaron and Eric finally made it back? Were they hurt? Did they find new people to bring in? They had been gone for almost a week and after the nasty but needed thunderstorm that had blown through, Enid had been ready to go looking for them. Had someone found them? If so, were the someones good or bad? Had they been taken hostage? Were they Turned and roaming around? If they were, they needed to Put Down and not everyone had the skill or stomach to do it. Aaron and Eric were genuinely good people. They didn't deserve to roam...

Enid set the drill down and took off running. Her mother's knife was sheathed on her right thigh. A small machete was sheathed at the small of her back and she wore brass knuckles on her gloved hands. Sam followed until she stopped abruptly at the T-shaped intersection 5 blocks away, making him run into the back of her. Enid steadied him before turning him to the right, giving him a light shove to get him moving.

"Enid?"

"Go home. Hide there and keep quiet until we know what's going on. Find your mom."

"But, Enid..."

"I said go home and hide, Sam. Do not follow me."

The last thing Enid needed was someone getting in her way if there was a threat to be handled. Although she had laid both literal and figurative roots in Alexandria, Enid hadn't forgotten the Vow she made. She was still ready. Enid was still strong and if she had to fight, she would win.

She would win or take the threat with her.

Stopping in an alleyway, Enid watched as Aaron and Eric led a group of exhausted people towards the Monroe House. There were 14 of them of various ages and races and was that a baby?

They had a baby with them!

The baby was napping in the arms of a man who looked like Moses. There was a gorgeous black woman with long dreadlocks walking next to Moses. She was helping a tall black boy with a hurt ankle walk and she had an actual fucking katana on her back. She was a Samurai! Was she Moses' wife? His lover? His best friend? She was definitely his Second in Command, rightfully so.

The brunette supermodel and the Asian man behind them were definitely married. Their left hands were entwined and they had wedding rings on. Making up the rest of the new Group were a man with a mullet, a Hell's Angel with a crossbow, a BAMF grandma with a Joan Jett haircut, a Nirvana fan complete with a flannel shirt, an Army Barbie, an Army Sniper, a Priest in all black, a big red giant that looked straight out of The Hurt Locker and...

A boy in an actual fucking cowboy hat stopped in the middle of the street and tensed. Who wore cowboy hats outside of what used to be Texas? What the hell was that all about? Enid's pounding heart slammed into the back of her throat as his head started to turn towards the alley and she moved just in time. None of the others had noticed her but he had. Why?

"Carl? You okay?"

"...yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

The boy continued on but Enid knew that he was glancing back at her hiding place. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she found the loose far corner panel and nudged it aside just enough for her to slip through. She needed to clear her head before taking her afternoon nap.

Running would do that.

/

"I found this in the house. Is it yours?"

"No, that's Enid's."

"Who's Enid?"

"She's our age. She came in last September. She didn't talk for a month but now, she farms and does stuff with bees. She'll show up looking for it and the rest of her stuff soon. Just keep it."

"I can take it to her. It sounds like she's busy."

"She always is. If you want to go and bug her, be my guest. I'm gonna go get some lemonade. Mikey, you want anything while I'm downstairs?"

"No, I'm good."

16-year-old Carl Grimes' brow furrowed as Ron left the room, stomping down the stairs. Apparently, he had just said something wrong. Either that or these Alexandrians were even weirder than he thought. No, that wasn't fair. The Alexandrians weren't weird. They were just normal. It was like the world had never changed for them. Most, if not all of them, had been behind the Walls from the beginning and it definitely showed. They weren't scared. They felt totally secure behind their Walls and Carl both envied and pitied them for it.

They were in for a very rude awakening.

A part of him wanted to be the one to wake them up, to make them see, but a larger part was just happy that Alexandria was real. It didn't feel like Terminus. Deanna and Reg Monroe weren't like The Governor. There were actual houses with running water. There was food and weapons here. When he had turned in his gun to follow the rule, he had glimpsed one hell of an arsenal. Carl didn't agree with the 'no guns behind the Walls' rule. At least they could keep their blades but he still didn't like it.

Yes, knives and other blades could work well. Michonne and her katana had proven that fact tenfold. It was still a really bad idea to cut people off from their best defense, even in the name of order. Although, what happened at The Prison proved that even guns could be useless if the people attacking were strong enough, ruthless enough, evil enough...

"Don't mind him. Ron's just...he likes Enid. A lot. A really whole lot but she's not into him. He knows that and he's pissed off about it. Ron wants her to change for him, which is bullshit. Enid's doing fine as she is. She still doesn't talk to a lot of people and when she hangs with us or with the others, she doesn't stay for long unless she's reading one of her books."

"How come?"

"She usually says that she has work to do but she was all by herself when she came up to the Gate last year. No parents or Group so she's been through hell. Maybe she feels like she shouldn't get close to anyone because it would hurt too much if she lost them. That makes sense, doesn't it?"

"It does. I'm gonna go now. I need to check on my sister."

"Okay. It was nice to meet you, Carl. I hope you and your family get to stay here."

"So do I. See you later."

"Bye."

Carl left the Anderson house and heaved a big sigh of relief as he got away. Jessie, Ron, and Sam were all right but Pete made his skin crawl. There was something more to the man, something sinister like The Governor. Even when he laughed and joked around, his eyes stayed dead. Carl also smelled alcohol fumes coming from his skin despite it being pretty early in the day. He remembered the scent being on Bob during his early days at The Prison and on Shane towards the end of their time on The Farm. Abraham had started to smell like it while they were on the journey towards D.C. The smell only showed up when people chugged booze like water on the regular.

But wasn't Pete supposed to be the Community's doctor? Eric said that he was and he kept a fully stocked Red Cross duffel bag in his living room. Why the fuck was Pete chugging booze like water if he was the Community's doctor? That wasn't good. Also, the way that his family looked at him? The way that they flinched before and after he touched them? That wasn't good at all.

Carl's gut instincts were screaming at him to get away from the Andersons and to keep Judith far away from them. Pete may be the bad one but the others were too weak and sheltered to look after her. They couldn't even take care of themselves properly. They would definitely get her killed.

Jessie had offered to babysit but Carl would make sure that his dad didn't let her or any other Alexandrians do so. All of them were too weak and naïve. Until they got stronger (or were killed), Carl would continue to watch Judith or let one of their Group members do it. People like Maggie or Daryl. That way he could be sure that Judith would be as safe as the world allowed her to be.

Just because they were behind Walls now didn't mean that they didn't need to be careful.

Noah's Community had been behind Walls. The Prison had Walls and Fences but...

Carl's dreams were haunted by the sight of his sister's empty and bloody pink carrier. He was still tortured by that feeling of certain loss. His sister had been blown apart by the tank or Devoured by Walkers because he hadn't been there to protect her. Along with that lingering demon, Carl had nightmares about Gareth and the Termites eating her like they did to Bob's leg. All of his nightmares involved his sister, father, Michonne, his whole Group dying painfully and him being helpless to do anything to help them.

They had lost Amy, Jim, and Jacqui. They had lost Dale, Patricia, Merle, and Andrea. Shane had gone crazy and had to be killed so his father and the rest of the Group could keep living. His mother had died in childbirth and Carl had to be the one to Put Her Down. The Governor had murdered Axel and Oscar. They had lost Hershel right in front of their eyes, cruelly executed by The Governor. All of the Woodbury Citizens they had taken in were dead, lost either to the mass sickness that had infected the Prison or to The Governor's Last Stand. They had lost the Kids of the Prison like Luke, Molly, and Lizzie and Mika Samuels. They had just lost Bob, Beth, and Tyreese back to back to back, unable to help any of them.

So many people were Gone!

Carl didn't want to lose anyone else.

With the world being like it was now, Carl knew that death could and would return to his Group. It was inevitable but couldn't they have a break for a while? He was sick of burying people he loved. He was sick of having funerals and then having to go kill the assholes, Living or Dead, who had taken his friends away. He was sick of the world always trying to destroy them, destroy his sister...

Judith was alive. They had found her. Carol and Tyreese had kept her alive. Against all the odds, Judith was still alive and Carl was determined to be a better big brother to her. He wasn't going to let other people take care of and protect her like he used to. She deserved way better than that. Judith deserved to have a big brother who she could count on to always be there to protect her, especially when the shit hit the fan. She deserved to not just Survive but to Live.

Judith deserved to have a chance to grow up and be happy, just like he used to be. She deserved to have birthday parties and pizza and to have an actual childhood. His dad would hold his hand and walk with him when he was a toddler. When he did so, Carl felt like nothing could hurt him because his dad was right there. He felt safe and like he could do anything, be anything.

Carl wanted that feeling of safety for Judith.

He wanted to give that gift to her more than anything.

Helping Michonne and Aaron convince his dad to come here was a good first step but...

His dad was holding Michonne's hand.

They were sitting on their new house's porch swing. Judith was playing with a new pair of Dixie cups in Michonne's lap and Rick Grimes was holding her hand. He had shaved his beard off and taken a shower while waiting for Michonne to finish her Interview with Deanna Monroe. Carl met him on the sidewalk and he had seen the way they looked at each other when Michonne came outside. Judith had immediately reached for her and Michonne had taken her, kissing her brow tenderly before drawing him into a tight hug. Carl had been grateful for it.

His Interview had gone well but left him feeling raw. Talking about what they had been through lately, telling Deanna about what happened to his mom...he had needed the hug badly. His dad had removed his Hat and kissed the crown of his head before putting his arms around all of them.

Nearby Alexandrians and their Group had watched them and Carl knew what they were seeing.

In their eyes, the four of them looked like a family. They certainly felt like one.

Lately, his dad followed Michonne like he was her shadow and vice versa. They were talking about something right now and Michonne's smile was soft. His dad blushed and smiled back at her, twining their fingers together. Michonne looked down at their hands and nodded to herself before giving the swing a nudge to put it back in motion, making Judith squeal happily.

Were they...if they were, that would be amazing! After everything that happened with his mother and Shane, his dad and Michonne getting together would be perfect. Michonne was awesome. She was his best friend and kept his dad mostly sane. She kept all of them mostly sane. She came up with the best ideas to keep them on track and somewhat happy.

Michonne was the heart of The Group after Glenn. She would be perfect for anyone who wanted her but Carl was hoping that she would choose his dad to be her boyfriend. They made sense. Not to mention that if she made his dad her boyfriend, it would make them an official family.

In his heart, Carl had considered Michonne to be a part of the Grimes family for a long time. Everything that happened after The Prison cinched it. She was his stepmom and best friend. Judith knew her as her mother. Michonne held them all together. The four of them were good together, stronger and happier. Maybe his dad was catching up with the facts. He hoped so.

Knowing his dad and Michonne, if they thought he wouldn't be okay with them being a couple, then they wouldn't even bother trying so Carl would have to set the record straight with them.

He would take care of that before the end of the day. Right now, he had a comic to return.

Carl was really glad that he wasn't seeing ghosts like his dad used to after Lori Grimes passed away. When they were walking into the Community, he had felt someone watching them from an alleyway. They had been well hidden but Carl was hyperaware of his surroundings, despite being bone tired. He had to be. Before he could get a good look at them, they slipped away. Tara had asked if he was okay before he could follow and not wanting to alarm anyone, he had said yes.

The someone had probably been Enid.

Turning a corner, Carl stopped. In front of him was large fenced yard with an open gate. The tall fence was made of wrought iron and sheet metal panels. The open gate was made of the same tarp covered chain link fencing and heavy metal that the main Gate was. Entering, Carl was reminded of the garden that had been at the Prison, only much, much bigger.

There were wooden boxes of vegetables and fruits in various stages of growth. A plot of dirt was surrounded by white picket fencing and a large sign read: 'PUMPKIN PATCH COMING SOON...HOPEFULLY', making him snort. Carl could see cabbage, lettuce, and the tops of carrots in some boxes. He smelled onions and garlic, along with lavender and mint. Apples trees were blooming and in the sunniest areas there were lemon trees in large pots. Tomatoes and sugar snap peas climbed trellises. There were strawberries growing in large wicker containers, their leaves spilling out in every direction. The garden was amazing. Had Enid put it together all by herself? Likely not but Carl was sure that the lion's share of the work had been done by her.

Behind the yellow single-story with a basement house's backyard were 4 plowed and fenced off fields with their own heavy, tarp covered gates. A small tractor-plow and a green pickup truck were parked nearby. Each gate had a sign with a picture labelling what they were. If he had to guess, two of the fields were corn and potatoes. Carl wasn't sure what the rest were. The grain in the ground looked like wheat but it was too dark. Maggie and Eugene would definitely know. He would ask them later. Bunches of lavender were hanging to dry on the enclosed porch and there was another porch swing wedged in the left corner. Porch swings were everywhere, it seemed.

Reassuring Carl was the red boxing bag hanging on the right side and the jump rope draped over a weightlifting bench. Barbells, several free weights and a bright pink medicine ball was next to it. There was also a chin up bar that could be attached to wherever she wanted it to be. Carl recognized all of the equipment because his dad and Shane used to work out in the garage together before everything changed. Enid wasn't just a farmer and a beekeeper. She was a fighter. She had taught herself how to fight and kept herself ready for anything. That was good.

She was one less Alexandrian that they would have to protect and teach things to.

Walking further, Carl saw all sorts of pretty flowers in bloom and heard the buzzing of bees. A few of them were hovering near the sunflowers and roses. A large rolling container full of farming tools was next to a white wooden bench. There were several stacks of fertilizer, mulch, and wooden pallets behind them. Five sheds like he used to see at hardware stores were the furthest away, shaded by oak trees. They had their own fence and tarp covered gate. The five sheds been connected into one. Was that where the bees were kept? Was that where the honey was?

Looking around and not seeing any sign of human life, Carl decided to try the house.

The bottom stair creaked underneath his foot and Enid was immediately in the doorway, ready to defend herself. Her raised fists were covered by black leather fingerless gloves and brass knuckles, even as she napped. She also slept with a knife. Carl ignored the urge to smile at her. He didn't know if doing so would make her attack him. Everybody had their Triggers and a smile could be one for her. He didn't know if that was true in her case but Carl did know that had respect for her already. Enid was definitely someone who knew how to survive with and without Walls.

"Who the hell are you? Why are you here? What do you want from me?"

Her voice was soft with the promise of power and she sounded like she was from the Midwest.

"Hi, Enid. I'm sorry for waking you up."

"That's mine."

She was pointing at the comic and he held it out to her immediately.

"I found it in the house. Ron and Mikey told me it was yours so I wanted to give it back."

"...thanks. Did you like it?"

"It was really good. Kind of confusing in places but really good."

"It's the ninth one in a series of 20. I have them all. You gotta read the rest so you can get it."

Enid came outside and sat down on the top step, sizing him up. She had celery colored eyes and she squinted against the sunlight before yawning loudly. Her gray combat boots were dirt stained with doubled knotted black laces. She had on a pair of dark wash jeans and one of those blue sleeveless button-up tops that his mother used to wear all the time. A large red bowling jacket was tied around her waist and her honey colored hair was pulled into a low side ponytail. Slowly, Enid took her knife and stabbed it deep into the railing. The blade left a crack in the white wood and Carl was impressed by the detail on the hilt as she twisted it slowly.

"Cool knife."

She flipped it into the palm of her hand and sighed wistfully as she looked down at it.

"It was my mom's. Pass me my comic book, please. Thank you. You got a name, Scarecrow?"

"My name is Carl. Carl Grimes."

"Hello, Carl Grimes. You already know my name. How old are you?"

"I'm 16. How old are you?"

"I turned 17 last month. It's July 19th."

"It is?"

"According to Olivia and Spencer's calendars, yeah."

"Then I'm 17, too. My birthday was on June 27th."

"June 11th. I'm from what used to be Michigan. I hear Deep South in your voice."

"You should because I'm from what used to be Georgia."

"Are you for real?"

"Most of my Group lived in and around Atlanta before everything went to shit. Noah's from around here. Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene are from Texas. Houston, I think."

"Wow. Most folks nowadays can't even make it across the street safely much less all the way up here from Georgia and Texas. Good job, Sport. If I had a gold star handy, I would give it to you."

Carl chuckled and her lips curved upwards in the faintest of smiles. He had made her smile!

After stretching and yawning again, Enid grabbed her things and headed for the front door.

"...you knew my first name already because you were in the alley watching us. I saw you."

She froze in the doorway but didn't turn back around.

"I saw you, Enid. You were there. You were. Don't lie to me."

"...I was there because I had to make sure that your Group weren't a bunch of assholes."

"What do you think of us so far?"

"The jury's still out. You just got here, after all. Go on home and make yourself look spiffy. The Monroes are gonna be hosting a welcome party for you guys tonight. Any excuse to get everyone crammed in a room like sardines together and they'll take it with both hands. I guess it's part of how they cope with how fucked everything is. The food will be good. The music will suck dick."

"Will you be there, too?"

Her reply was a hastily slammed and locked door. Carl laughed and walked away, shaking his head. Enid wasn't as nice as the rest of the Alexandrians he had met so far. A strong case could made for her being downright rude, especially with the nickname she had chosen for him, but she was real. What she said was what she meant. What you saw was what you got.

He liked that.

/

"Do you want something to drink? Are you hungry?"

"No. Where's Carl?"

"Who?"

"Carl Grimes. New kid. Southern, skinny, nice with questionable taste in headgear? Where is he?"

"Why do you want to know where he is? What's going on?"

"Ron, do you know where he is or not? If not, can you go get someone who does?"

"...he's in the guest room watching his little sister. She just learned how to crawl."

"Thank you. Try the salad. It's really good. The squirrel jerky gives it a nice kick. Sup, Mikey?"

"Hi, Enid. Come on, man. Aiden brought back more games. He's got the PS2 on downstairs."

"No, thanks. I'm gonna go check on my mom and Sam. See if they're ready to go yet."

Enid rolled her eyes after Ron left the kitchen in a snit. She hadn't been to one of the Monroe parties since she found the gardening book. Now, she remembered why. Being surrounded by so many people, people who had absolutely no clue about what the world was really like now had been like listening to nails being scratched on a thousand chalkboards.

Who cared if someone needed their braces off? Who cared about pasta makers or mostly dead cellphones? What did any of that matter when they were surrounded by danger? The naivety was just too much, not to mention all of the looks she got, the sad whispers in her wake. Poor little orphan girl, all by herself and so angry. God, it was like she was made of ice. She would look at you and let you see just how disgusted she was. She didn't even say hello when approached. It was always 'what do you want?' or even just 'what?'

It was such a shame because she was really pretty and damned good at farming. If she would just learn to relax and open up, then maybe she would be able to have a good life like they did.

All of them could take their "concern" and fuck right off!

Enid didn't want or need their pity and judgement. They were the ones who needed to be pitied. They were the ones who needed to be judged. Just about every person in Alexandria was nothing but a sheep waiting to be slaughtered. It was only a matter of time and...

"Be careful, Enid."

"Why?"

"Because of Ron. He's my friend, don't get me wrong, but there is something that's just not right inside of him. He's on the edge and I don't want him to come after you when he loses it."

"I'm not his mom and he's not his piece of shit sperm donor. No one hurts me and gets to walk away. When it hits the fan and splatters everywhere, I'll be fine or I'll go down swinging."

"I know you will. I just wanted to warn you anyway because you're my friend, too."

"...you're good, Mikey. Don't let The Fucked New World and this place's bullshit ruin that."

"I'll try."

The Monroe House's guest room was upstairs at the end of the hallway. When Enid stopped in the doorway, she felt what was left of her heart soften. Carl's sister was speed crawling now, babbling joyfully. She had on a pink dress, black tights, and a pair of gray Mary Janes that matched her hooded teddy bear sweater. Carl was on the carpeted floor playing with her, following her closely without interfering with her progress. His Stetson was off and his mahogany hair was falling into his eyes, eyes that were the same color of his flannel shirt.

The periwinkle flannel was layered over the gray thermal he had been wearing earlier and he had on different jeans than before, black instead of dark wash. His brown boots were tied tightly but Enid could tell that they were two different shoes. There was also duct tape in strategic places but the soles were solid. He really could use a new pair of shoes, though...

The baby was heading straight for the door and Enid immediately sat down to block her exit. She didn't want to risk the baby falling down the stairs. That wouldn't be good. Enid set aside the gray document pouch she held just in time. A surprised huff of laughter escaped her as the baby boldly crawled into her lap. She didn't even hesitate.

Not only that but the baby grabbed two fistfuls of her beige sweater and leveraged herself up, getting right in her face. Big hazel eyes looked at her with no fear and her triumphant grin was broad, showing off a few teeth and nubs that would be teeth.

Before she could stop herself, Enid returned the gesture and gave the happy baby a squeeze. She smelled like soap, applesauce, and baby powder. Carl's little sister was absolutely fucking precious. She looked like the Gerber baby or a little blonde cherub come to life. She was also a very good sign regarding the Grimes Group's overall dynamic. Bad Groups never took good care of babies, kids, the injured, or the elderly. Even if they were blood family, in a bad Group, anyone who was seen as a burden was left behind or sacrificed as soon as possible.

The Grimes Group wasn't like that. They were good people. They were strong and smart.

"Judith, come back here."

The baby's response was fascinated cooing and gentle tugging at Enid's necklace.

"Judith..."

"Don't worry about it, Carl. She's fine where she is."

"Are you sure? I can take her if you need me to."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Hi, Judith. You're mobile now, huh? You gonna help fuck some shit up?"

"Probably. Her nickname is actually Lil' Asskicker."

"Are you for real?"

"Yeah. Daryl came up with it when we were at The Prison."

A Prison? They had been in a Prison? How had they gotten in without being killed and why did they leave? Who and what had made them leave such a good stronghold?

"I like it. It gives her a good goal to strive for...yeah, so I was looking for you downstairs."

"Why?"

"I told you earlier. You read the ninth one. There's 20 so you have to read all of them. I'm re-reading the other half but I brought you the first half so you can like it and understand it. Here."

Enid nudged the document pouch forward with her boot and Carl accepted it shyly, making her purse her lips against another smile. Apparently, Judith didn't have a monopoly on being precious.

That was both good and bad to know.

"Thank you."

"Don't lose any of them and don't bend the corners while you read. That's the worst."

"I know, right? Michonne likes comics, too. Is it okay if I share these with her?"

"She's the pretty lady with the katana, right?"

"Yeah. She's awesome. She's my best friend and Judith loves her."

"Is she your stepmom?"

"She asked my dad to be her boyfriend earlier and he said yes so I think she will be eventually."

"Cool. I think Judith wants to get moving again. I'll guard the door. You two have fun."

"...thank you, Enid."

"You're welcome."

/

The Next Morning...

"We just got here and Slim already has himself a girlfriend. That's some good work right there."

"Who?"

"The angry farmer girl. She showed up to last night's festivities looking like a walking middle finger but after she spent some time with your boy and Lil' Asskicker upstairs, she was glowing like a firefly. Plus, she shared her comic books with him. That's as huge as horse dick."

Everyone looked at him expectantly but Carl continued feeding Judith. She needed to eat and the oatmeal that Carol had made was delicious, which was saying something. Carl hated oatmeal. He always had but after being so hungry On the Road, having it to eat was amazing. Having oatmeal and options that weren't dog or rain water was amazing.

He was sharing a bowl with Judith but made sure that she got most of it. His sister needed the food more than he did. She was crawling like a champ already and with crawling came walking, then running. She needed all the nutrition and energy she could get and...

"Carl?"

He sighed and replied, "Enid was just being nice."

"Scuttlebutt says that nice ain't a part of her DNA. She's more like Wednesday Addams than Strawberry Shortcake so you must've made a hell of a good impression on her. I'm proud of you, kid. Do you need The Talk? Some rubbers from the Infirmary?"

"Anybody getting The Talk from you needs to do the exact opposite, you big red pendejo."

"You wound me deeply, Ms. Espinosa!"

"Not deep enough. You're still talking."

Carl grinned as Rosita and Abraham continued their playful bickering, thankful that she had stepped in. One of the problems in their Group was the lack of privacy. Being so close was key to Survival but sometimes, there needed to be boundaries. He didn't really mind the teasing but he knew that eventually his dad, Michonne, or someone close to him like Glenn would be looking for answers. Carl didn't have them yet and he deserved the time needed to figure things out.

How did he feel about Enid?

Obviously, he liked her. Carl knew when he had a crush on someone. He had felt those feelings for Sophia, Beth, and Lizzie before it became clear that she was the bad kind of crazy. He was definitely feeling that but in a deeper way. There was something about Enid that drew him in. She was strong, stronger than the majority of the Alexandrians, but she was fragile.

There was deep hurt inside of her, a hurt that he recognized in himself. Bad things had happened to her, too. If anything, whatever happened to her was worse than what happened to him because she had been all alone during and after the trouble. At least he hadn't been alone. Even when things were at their absolute worst, Carl had someone with him to protect him and to help him heal. Not Enid. What had happened to her?

Who had happened to her?

Carl wouldn't ask, no matter how much he wanted to. The hurt Enid felt was too big to put into words right now. He understood so he wouldn't push her. She would talk about it when she was ready to talk about it and not a second before. Besides, Carl knew full and damned well that if he pushed her, she would definitely push back and it would hurt like a bitch.

Firm knocking on the yellow side door broke through his reverie and everybody tensed up. A lot of Alexandrians had shown up to drop off supplies and to introduce themselves but it was instinct to tense. Just because they were behind Walls now didn't mean that assholes couldn't get inside of them or weren't already living inside of them. Pete Anderson was a good example of that. Seeing his dad, Daryl and Michonne move, he stood up to join them. They fought best together and...

"Enid?"

Carl stepped forward and opened the door for her, blocking her way inside.

"Good morning, Carl. Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Grimes. Sup, Hell's Angel. Here."

A large shoebox was thrust into his arms and Carl looked between it and her with wide eyes.

"If you don't like them, pay them forward and I'll find you a better pair when I go out again."

"You didn't have to do this."

"I don't do anything that I don't want to do. You need new boots for winter because if your feet aren't protected right, you end up dead faster. Carl, your parents need you to live. Judith needs you to live. Your whole Group needs you to live so quit arguing with me, take the goddamned fucking boots, and say thank you, Enid."

Usually, if someone spoke to him in such a bossy tone of voice and swore at him outside of a crisis, he wouldn't listen. He would shut down or he would do the exact opposite of what they wanted but in this case? Carl just shrugged and obediently tucked the black shoebox under his arm. It wasn't like she was wrong and like when she shared her comic collection, Enid was being nice to him in her own way. To ignore her reaching out to him would be rude and stupid.

If he didn't open up, then she wouldn't either and Carl didn't want that to happen.

He wanted them to be equals.

He wanted them to be friends.

"Thank you, Enid."

"You're welcome. Anybody in your Group who knows how to farm or wants to learn how should come over to my place around noon to help out with planting, watering, and weeding. Normally, I'd do it myself but it's time to start getting product out of the hives. I have to harvest, strain, and jar everything so I can start making stuff like soap and candles. I need help."

"Maggie knows how to farm. My dad does, too. He used to do it at the Prison."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Cool. Later, Scarecrow. Merry Christmas."

"Wait!"

"What do you want?"

"Are you hungry? Carol made oatmeal and it's really good."

"...I could eat."

/

The plan had been to drop the boots off and get gone.

It was simple. Carl needed new shoes. Enid had seen the sizes on his mismatched pair, realized that they wore the same size and had decided to give him one of hers. It wasn't a loss at all. Enid had another pair of combat boots, a pair of green floral print high heeled boots she would likely never wear, and two pairs of black Converse high tops to go along with her current boots.

Feet were one of the most important body parts to protect from getting hurt, right up there with eyes and hands. If a person's feet weren't properly protected, if their shoes didn't have enough traction...Carl deserved better than to go out or get hurt like that. He was a good person and Enid wanted to help him stick around.

Carl Grimes was a genuinely good person.

Him not being in the world anymore would make it even more fucked than it already was.

Why she felt that way so soon after meeting him was anyone's guess.

Anyway, a task that had been supposed to take 5 minutes, maybe 10 at the most, had turned into 45 minutes and counting of her explaining just how she got the garden and apiary started while stuffing her face with the most amazing oatmeal. What did Carol put in it, magic?

It had also led to her getting vital information about Alexandria's new residents.

Rick and Michonne Grimes were definitely the LEADERs of their Group but they were far from tyrants. Everyone got a say in decisions and everyone was important. Yes, Carl and Judith were their top priorities, rightfully so since they were their blood and step family, but Enid knew that every member of their Group was considered to be part of a whole. They were in this world together for the long haul. Rick and Michonne were strong, the strongest of them all, but the same organic type of goodness that she sensed in Carl came from them. Enid liked them.

Maggie was the brunette supermodel who could farm and Glenn was her husband. Both of them were genuinely kind and Glenn's optimism was refreshing to hear. They were good people and an excellent couple. Mullet Man's name was Eugene and he was pretty much a mad scientist. He was easily one of the most awkward people she had ever met but he was intelligent, making him more of an asset than a liability in the long term, even with his lingering cowardice.

Carol who had made the glorious oatmeal was the BAMF grandma of the Group or more like the BAMF aunt. Stress and lots of sadness made her look older than she actually was. She wasn't to be fucked with, though. Underneath that shiny happy homemaker exterior was a Warrior. She had been through hell and back again but she was still standing tall. She hadn't given up yet.

Enid already respected her.

Hell's Angel's name was Daryl. He was gruff but warm and he knew how to hunt well. Enid would show him the main routes local game took at a later time, if he didn't figure them out on his own. His crossbow and various foraging skills had gotten the Grimes Group through many a jam. Army Barbie's name was Rosita and Big Red's name was Abraham. They were more than capable and provided a lot of comic relief, especially Big Red. Some of the phrases that came out of his mouth would've fit right in on an HBO stand-up comedy stage.

The Priest who had left after a particularly vivid word picture's name was Gabriel and he reeked of cowardice. He wasn't malicious but he was definitely scared and carrying a lot of guilt inside of him. Why? Enid didn't know but she was sure that a crisis of Faith was at the center of his inner turmoil. Gabriel was weak like many of the Alexandrians but if he had managed to survive after being On the Road for so long, then there was hope for him yet.

The Army Sniper who had headed for the Gate after cleaning her dish's name was Sasha and she was heartbroken, almost spirit broken. She had lost someone recently, likely more than one someone who had meant the world to her. While she was legitimately angry and prone to lashing out at people, Enid knew the truth about her. She lived that truth every day.

The same deep heartbreak was felt by Noah with the healing ankle. Carl mentioned that he was from around the area and he was only a year older than them. The fact that he wasn't with his family right now spoke volumes. They were either missing or Gone already. Nirvana fan's name was Tara. Like the rest of the Group, there was sadness inside of her but like Glenn, she had a refreshing sense of optimism and she was fucking hilarious. Tara did Runs with Glenn, Daryl and Noah. That was good. Enid had been thinking about joining a Crew or forming her own long before the Grimes Group arrived but her options had been less than ideal, to say the least.

Aaron and Eric could definitely get it done but they were already swamped.

Heath and his Crew were capable but they were a little too naïve for her tastes. They wouldn't get her killed or anything like that but she would have to spend a lot of time explaining The Order of Things. Doing so with Sam was one thing. He was 10 and on his own. Doing it with adults who should know better by now was not her cup of tea. Enid knew that she didn't have the patience and the last thing she wanted was to hurt their feelings. They were the Crew that got things done.

Aiden and Nicholas got people killed or injured. There had been 4 people lost on one Run recently and usually, somebody would come back hurt. The world they lived in was unpredictable and dangerous. Enid called it The Fucked New World for good reason. Any and everything bad could happen but there was only so much blame that the world could take on. Aiden Monroe was bold, brash, and more than a little stupid. Nicholas was the typical Yes Man and they were a recipe for disaster. Not to mention the way that Aiden looked at her sometimes made her skin crawl.

He was likely counting the days until she turned 18, if he even cared about that anymore.

Enid knew that she was the only viable option for pussy in his eyes. Everyone else in Alexandria was already taken, too old, too young, not pretty enough to be considered or related to him. That was a big part of Ron's fixation on her, too. Ron and his awful sperm donor...

"Do you guys have a doctor in your Group?"

"We used to. Why?"

"Because Pete's a piece of shit drunk bastard that's gonna drink himself to death or get stabbed before winter, that's why. Denise has medical training but she's a shrink, not a surgeon. She's also really shy. When she comes out to get more books to read, Pete makes sure to keep her away from the Infirmary and talk down to her because he's a dickhead. Having a drunk surgeon is worse than having no surgeon at all. You'd be better off letting a Chomper patch you up but the Monroes haven't accepted that yet. I hope they do before it's too late. We've got Denise and I know how to cut off limbs, do small stitches, fish out bullets, and catch a baby but if someone ever ends up needing real surgery, they're screwed. How are the boots, Carl? Are they okay?"

"They're awesome."

"Good. Thanks for breakfast everybody but I've got a lot of work to do."

"Hang on. I'll walk you home."

"I don't need you to do that."

"...I know. Dad, Michonne, I'm going out."

"All right. Be safe and have fun."

"Keep your guard up and be back before sundown."

"Okay, Dad."

/

"I had a bad feeling about Pete but I thought I was just being paranoid."

"Not this time, Sport. He's bad. Stay away from him."

"Does he...I know he drinks too much but is his family...does he hurt them?"

"All the time. It sucks but since he's the only doctor, he gets away with it. It's not fair."

"Carol's husband was like that. His name was Ed and he used to hit her and Sophia all the time."

"Sophia?"

"Carol's daughter. She was my best friend. We met after everything changed."

"How did she die? Was it Chompers or Humans?"

"Walkers. She got separated from us when a Herd came through the highway we were on. We tried to find her alive, we really did but she was Bit and she Turned. Dad had to Put Her Down."

"I'm sorry that happened to her."

"Me too. She deserved better."

"People will always die but that doesn't mean that it ever stops hurting."

"I wish it did."

"...Chompers ate my parents. They were trying to fix our SUV and two swarms came out of nowhere. Before I could even finish warning them, they were Gone. I couldn't help them."

Carl nodded solemnly and stretched his legs out, still relishing the feel of his new boots. They were camo green and steel toed with plenty of room. The black rubber soles were thick and had great traction. He could no longer feel every pebble, root, and twig try to poke through the bottom of his feet. Mud wasn't an issue, anymore. The laces were dark brown and the insides of the boots even had special massaging supporting insoles, making him feel as if he were walking on cushions.

Instead of going back to her place, Enid had decided to walk around the ASZ for a while. Carl had stopped briefly but when she gave him a confused look over her shoulder, he jogged to catch up with her. After about an hour, Enid had led him across an overgrown field of grass and had calmly pulled two pieces of L-shaped piping out of her backpack.

To his amazement, she began to use them as a moving ladder to scale the Walls. She slid the pipes inside of the columns and pulled herself up with ease. When Enid got to the top, she gave him another look before abruptly sliding out of sight.

Carl's heart had stopped at the sight and it took every bit of his control not to call out to her. Enid obviously knew what she was doing. She wouldn't have lasted an hour by herself if she didn't. He just needed to calm down and wait. Plus, if she landed wrong, Carl would've known by the ugly sound of breaking bones. Sure enough, after about 10 seconds, Enid started directing him towards a weak spot in the Walls via tapping. Once he had found the place, he had carefully slipped through and she had been waiting for him.

They walked and ran through the woods together, Enid leading the way. She had shown him a grove of trees with the leaves already turning in places. There was a barn similar to the one that Aaron found them by a small but deep river. Using an egg timer, they had baited several Walkers and she had taken one out with her mother's knife, thrown over her shoulder without looking.

The longer Carl knew her, the more convinced that Enid was a badass with a heart of gold.

God, she was so fucking cool!

The day had heated up and he tied his jacket around his waist, resisting the urge to offer it to her. After playing Follow the Leader for a while, he fell into step beside her and Enid's free hand brushed against his questioningly. Surprised but pleased, Carl accepted it immediately and twined their fingers together. Once the breeze picked up, he put his jacket back on. Once he was set, they had started running again afterwards, side by side with the wind blowing her hair everywhere.

Running with her was so much fun. It had been a long time since he felt so free and happy.

Enid wasn't wearing a pair of gloves or brass knuckles at the moment so he could feel just how soft her hands were. Even with the calluses from farming, they were still so soft. Enid's hand could fit in his with room to spare. Both of them could probably fit and Carl was struck by just how small she really was. Not to say that he was a giant but Enid had a personality and aura that felt much larger than she actually was.

Turning his head, Carl saw that she was watching him closely but he didn't feel uncomfortable. Enid was looking at him with curiosity, not judgement. There was a maple leaf caught in her hair and he gently removed it, passing it to her shyly. She accepted it and the lingering sadness in her verdant gaze, the raw heartbreak...

"What else happened to you? Before you got here?"

Carl had told himself not to push her earlier but he couldn't help it.

He wanted to know why she was so sad and if anything could be done to make her feel better.

He wanted to be her friend. Enid needed friends.

She was all alone, even behind Alexandria's Walls, and that just wasn't right.

"...it doesn't matter. Not anymore."

"It does. I know. Bad things have happened to me, too."

"Bad people, too?"

"Bad people first. Some of the worst people in the world."

"The Living are more dangerous than The Dead. Chompers will just eat or Turn you and go away. Humans will stay and have so much fun hurting you that you would let yourself get Eaten just to make the pain stop. It's not right or fair but it's how things are."

"Enid..."

The all too familiar sound of snarling wet moans had them on their feet, looking around warily.

"We need to go. It sounds like a lot."

It smelled like a lot, too. Walkers always smelled awful but when many would roam together, their combined scent was choking. Walkers smelled like every bad thing anyone could imagine.

Enid led him to a nearby hollow tree and they got inside of it quickly. Carl had to take his Hat off so he could fit better and she shifted closer to him. Her mother's knife was in her hand and she was shaking slightly as Walkers began to appear. Again, Carl felt the urge to give her his jacket but he ignored it in favor of watching the passing Herd closely. As long as they were quiet, it was likely that they would be ignored by the Walkers but Carl knew better than to drop his guard. It only took half a second for things to go wrong. One wrong step or decision and...

"It's their World. We're just living in it."

Although Enid's words were bitter, the wistfulness when she told him about her mother's knife was present. Looking at her, Carl could see tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. She was shaking harder and he wasn't sure if it was because of their close call or from something else. Slowly, Carl pulled her into a hug, giving her plenty of time to pull away if she wanted to. Shocking him to the bone, Enid immediately buried her face in his chest and held onto him.

It was like after his Interview with Deanna. Enid needed to feel safe. She was feeling raw and exposed. She was strong but she was still 17. She was only 17 and she had been through hell. A lot of people forgot that about her. Enid wanted people to forget that about her but he couldn't.

Carl couldn't forget anything about her if he tried.

Why he felt that way about her so soon after meeting her, he couldn't say but it was the truth.

The truth was still something to be cherished, even when it turned out to be sad and ugly.

After a minute, he tried to pull away but Enid held on tighter, shaking her head.

"Don't let go."

Nodding, he carefully moved them backwards and when the tree held his weight, relaxed.

They would be there for a while and that didn't bother him at all.

Carl was willing to hug Enid for as long as it took for her to start feeling better.

She needed it.

When was the last time someone had hugged her?

When was the last time someone had listened to her feelings without judging her?

Her trembling fingers slid through his hair and he leaned into the touch, wanting more of it.

Enid made him feel better, too. She helped remind him that there was still good in the world.

"You're gonna be okay, Enid."

"...you don't know that. No one knows that."

"I hope you'll be okay."

A long beat of silence and then, "I hope you'll be okay, too, Carl. You deserve that."

/

Two Weeks Later...

Fear was an emotion that she was used to feeling now.

Fear had kept her alive and smart.

Fear was something to push through to make her stronger, to keep her ready for anything.

Anything except for Carl Grimes, apparently.

"Damn it."

Enid sighed and turned onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. Instead of using the rooms on the main level, Enid used the basement as her living space. The basement was finished. It had a kitchenette with a large bathroom attached. There was also a second exit that led directly to the backyard that she barricaded. She used the main level for her projects, indoor workouts, and for her afternoon naps. Once she and Carl had gotten back safe, Enid had told him that she had work to do, wanting to get away from him. He had looked at her for a long time before his lips quirked in something that looked like a smile but wasn't.

He had simply nodded and headed home, leaving her staring after him.

Her heart had screamed at her to follow him but she ignored it.

She needed to stay away from him. She needed get her mind right.

Carl didn't push her when he saw her. They saw each other at The Pantry or by the gazebo that he liked to sit on top of. He didn't bring up what had happened between them. He didn't tell any of his Group members or his parents about it. Enid knew that because none of them had confronted her about it. Carl didn't ask what their interlude meant. He didn't try to convince her to hang out or to let him save her. He gave her all the space she needed, the hug that she...

Giving up on going back to sleep, Enid swung her legs over the side of her bed and went upstairs. She didn't need to turn any lights on or light a candle to get around. She could get by on her own.

After all the shit that happened to her, she had no choice but to learn how do so.

Enid hadn't been hugged by anyone since before her parents died. She had spent so much time on her own afterwards that she had become fiercely protective of her personal space. Anyone could be hiding a weapon on them. Anyone could be waiting to knock her out, stab her, or gun her down to take what little resources she had. Anyone could be looking to cop a feel or to try and force themselves on her. Pretty Young Thing, all by herself, no parents or Group in sight? To some out there and inside of Alexandria, it made her the ripest, juiciest target.

After all, the world needed to be repopulated. She should be willing to do her part and god knows with that shitty attitude of hers, she could use a good, hard...

Shaking her head, Enid sat down in the grass, gazing up at the night sky.

Even though it was partially covered by clouds, the full moon was still bright and beautiful.

Carl treated her like she was a person, not a conquest or a lost soul that needed saving.

He had been shy while reaching for her. He touched her like she was made of glass. He didn't want anything from her. He just wanted to try and make her feel better. They had been talking about heavy things before the Chompers came. Enid had said more than she meant to. He knew that. Carl understood her so letting him hug her, letting him touch her felt good. It felt right. Interacting with Carl and his Group felt right. Enid wasn't sure what to think about that. She was definitely scared, though. She knew that for sure. Carl scared the living shit out of her. What he represented, how he already made her feel scared her and now, she had a decision to make.

Would she face the fear or would she run away?

Nothing was really keeping her in Alexandria. Yes, she was a farmer and a beekeeper but that could be done anywhere. She had made connections with people but none deep enough for her to miss them when they were gone. There were more humans around. There were other Communities out there. There had to be. She could join them. They would be lucky to have her. Not only could she fight, she could grow things. That made her invaluable.

If joining another Community or Group didn't work out, she could go back to being nomadic. Her survival skills were top shelf. She could make it on her own.

However, Enid had created an identity for herself by being strong. Enid was known to take nobody's shit and to never ever back down from a challenge. Would she really let herself be culled by Feelings? After facing down Chompers and various kinds of assholes with little to no fear, would she really let a teenage crush make her run away like a coward? Having a crush on Carl could prove to be a problem but it wasn't the end of the world. Why was she acting like it was? Why was she being so melodramatic and...

The garden's locked gate rattled and she unsheathed her mother's knife. What the fuck? It was past 3 in the morning. What the hell was anyone doing up and walking around at 3 in the morning? The gate rattled harder and Enid stood as the sound of someone about to scale the fence replaced it. What was going on? Coming to the fence, she watched as a pink bedsheet rope was thrown over and as soon as the person landed heavily on the ground, Enid made her move.

She grabbed the intruder by the throat and the moonlight revealed their identity.

Sam Anderson was looking at her with wide eyes that were already spilling over with tears.

Not only was he terrified because she was pointing a blade in his face but because he had dropped his duffel bag of tools. Enid saw a lighter, cans of spray paint, toilet paper and a crowbar inside of it. Rage burned like acid in her veins. Going after his mother's sculptures was one thing. The owls were ugly and made way too much noise when the wind blew. Were they supposed to be wind chimes? If they were, then they didn't work because the racket they made wasn't even close to pretty. The owls were truly awful and Sam destroying them was honestly a public service.

Whatever he planned to do to the garden, to the bees? Was unacceptable. It was unforgiveable. Sam would damage or destroy one of Alexandria's primary sources of food. A person, a Community, couldn't survive without food. It had taken so much time and effort to get everything right. Enid had worked too hard for too damned long for his bullshit to ruin everything. Okay, Sam's actions were actually a cry for help and attention but in the current context, it was bullshit.

Having something happen to the crops and bees because of outside invaders or a drought would suck but it would be okay in the end. She could adapt to those situations easily. Enid wasn't sure if this would be okay in the end. She was not only angry at the attempted sabotage but very hurt. Of all the people that Sam could've lashed out at, people who actually deserved it, why did he pick her? Had his older brother put him up to it? That sounded like something Ron would do. Ron or another Alexandrian who was weak and petty like him...

Disgusted, Enid released him and Sam grasped the sleeve of her robe, trying to keep her from walking away. She swatted his hand away and the look she gave him when he reached for her again could have felled a red oak.

"Enid, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you really are. Leave and don't ever come back. You come back here and you're dead."

"But..."

"Take your sorry ass home, Sam. Now."

"Enid, please..."

"Leave!"

Sam ran off crying but Enid didn't care about his hurt feelings. Not anymore. Grabbing the bag of evidence, she stalked back to the porch. She threw her mother's knife into one of the porch's columns before going back inside. Sam's bag of tricks was slammed onto the plush floral print couch. The main level was still dark and Enid knew that she was shaking too much to get back to the basement safely. With that in mind, Enid sat down in the furthest corner of the living room and grabbed the gray duffel bag she always kept ready to go.

Moving aside her clarinet case, she pulled out a large gray stuffed cat. His name was Chairman Meow and she had kept him from the age of 2.

Holding him to her chest, Enid buried her face in the plush and started sobbing.

/

"Hey."

"...hey."

"Can I come in?"

"Sure. Close the door behind you."

Carl came to her and watched as she fiddled with the long silver necklace she was wearing. The ASZ had been rocked by the news of Sam Anderson's failed raid on the garden. Enid had shown up to the Anderson House as soon as the sun was up with his duffel bag. The yelling from Pete had woken everyone up. Jessie had taken Sam into her arms to protect him and Ron had just stood there. Eventually, his dad, Michonne, Maggie, and Deanna had gone over there to calm things down but Carl doubted that anything would change quickly. Pete was the only doctor around and that gave him, as well as his family, some protection from consequences.

Something needed to be done, though. There was only so much bullshit that could be ignored, even for the sake of the Greater Good. The Anderson family, Pete in particular, was starting to become far more trouble than they were worth. All of them were unstable and it would only take one big crisis for them to buckle under pressure. None of them needed that happening.

"...he didn't get to do anything. I stopped him before he could but I'm still mad."

"Walls don't mean anything if the people behind them don't have anything to eat. You're trying to help and Sam wanted to mess that up. That's not right. He's not right."

"I know why he did it. His family sucks and he can't do anything about it so he wrecks shit."

"My dad and Michonne are gonna to talk to the Monroes. See if they can make things better."

"It won't work."

"It will."

"The only thing that's gonna stop Pete is a bullet to the head. The Monroes won't go for that."

"They can make Pete move out and threaten to kick him out of here if he doesn't leave them alone. Just because he's the only doctor around doesn't mean that he can treat his family like shit. He wouldn't last an hour out there and he knows it. He'll stay in line to save his ass."

"Doing stuff like that didn't work Before. You think it'll work now?"

"Probably not but we still have to try. Enid, we can't just leave it."

"I know. I'm sorry. I know that I sound like a heartless bitch but I've been here for a while, Carl. I know exactly how this place works. Nothing is going really to change until someone and something fucked up happens. The best thing you can do is keep yourself, Judith, and your Group in one piece when it does. You guys are really cool. You've already survived so much and you don't deserve to die or get hurt because of these people's weakness and bullshit."

"These people?"

"These people. I may grow the food and keep the bees around here but Alexandria isn't my home and most of the people here aren't worth the time or effort of giving a damn about. I'm not going to pretend that they are."

"I get it. I don't like it but I get it."

"Just as long as you get it."

Enid let go of her necklace and started drawing 3 familiar letters on one of the windows.

"What do they mean? The letters? You put them everywhere."

"...Just Survive Somehow."

"You came up with that after your parents died, didn't you?"

"I did. What happened to your mom?"

"Her name was Lori. She went into labor with Judith while the Prison was under attack from Walkers. An inmate got mad at us for coming in and set off all the alarms to try and kill everyone, including his friends. Well, that and my dad beat his ass but he had it coming, I swear."

"I believe you. Scorched Earth Play: if I can't have it, then you can't either. Fuck you."

"I don't remember his name. I just remember him being an asshole that we should've made sure was dead but didn't. It cost us big. We lost a good man named T-Dogg because he got Bit while trying to close the fences. He saved Carol from getting Eaten, too. While we were looking for someplace safe to hide, we got separated from our doctor. His name was Hershel. He was Maggie's dad and awesome. Anyway, me, Maggie, and Mom ended up stuck in the Boiler Room and Judith was on the way. Mom tried to push her out but she couldn't so Maggie had to do a C-Section. She went into shock from losing so much blood and...I shot her in the head. I killed my mom in cold blood."

"No. She was already Gone so you did what had to be done. If you love someone, you don't let them Turn. You don't let them roam. You free them. You let them have peace. You did good."

"My brain knows all of that but my heart?"

"I get it."

"God, I was so fucking mad at her before it happened. I wanted to hate her but I couldn't."

"Why were you mad at her? What did she do?"

"She cheated on Dad with his best friend. She thought he was dead because he was in a coma before everything changed..."

"Seriously? How the hell did that happen?"

"He was a Sheriff's deputy and got shot in the line of duty after a high speed chase."

"I figured that he was in some kind of law enforcement. Deanna wouldn't have made him Constable if he didn't have the skills to do it right. So, your mom hooked up with his best friend afterwards, thinking that he was Gone but he really wasn't? There was a triangle?"

"Yeah. It was a huge mess. Shane lost it when mom chose dad over him so dad had to kill him. I had to Put Him Down afterwards and all the noise from it drew a huge passing Herd from Atlanta so we had to leave The Farm. That's how we ended up at The Prison."

"Fuck."

"Judith is probably my half-sister but I don't care about any of that DNA bullshit. No matter what, she's a Grimes and she's my heart. After The Governor's tank destroyed The Prison, I found her carrier. It was covered in blood and I thought she was Gone. I thought that she had been blown up, shot, or Eaten and everything just..."

Carl swallowed thickly and looked down at his boots. Reliving that moment, both in his dreams and waking thoughts, always took the wind out of him. Looking at the empty pink car seat, he had felt like a complete failure. His little sister had been depending on him to keep her safe and what did he do? He went off playing soldier and it had been for nothing. The Prison still ended up lost to The Governor's madness and his sister, his sweet and innocent sister...

Enid's hand rested on his shoulder and Carl shuddered, refusing to look at her.

"It's okay."

"No, it's not! I should've been there for her and..."

"Carl, Judith's alive. She's not dead and you can be here for her from now on. You're a good big brother. She loves and trusts you. Your parents and your Group love and trust you so you're not a useless piece of shit. You're a good person. You're strong and kind and good. You're too good for this Fucked New World, to be honest and that's why you..."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit. What?"

"...you scare the hell out of me."

He looked at her and Carl's hurt was immediately replaced with understanding. Enid wasn't scared of him because she thought he was an asshole that would end up hurting her. Enid was scared of him because she was afraid to get close to people. She had lost her parents and all of her friends from Before. Unlike him, she had been all alone or surrounded by assholes afterwards so she had to come up with a way to keep going. Just Survive Somehow had come from that as did her way of speaking to people and dealing with them.

Enid was harsh so people would stay away from her. They wouldn't try to get close to her therefore she wouldn't have to open herself up to more pain. It was an elegant solution but a lonely one. Enid was hurt and lonely. She wanted to be included. She wanted to belong somewhere but...

"I get it."

"Do you?"

"Yeah, I do and if you want me to leave you alone from now on..."

"I don't want that."

"Then what do you want?"

"...can you hug me again? Please?"

/

Enid wasn't sure which one of them was more surprised by her request.

She stood her ground, though. The fear she felt around Carl was starting to become a challenge to conquer instead of a huge crisis, which made her happy. She already had so much to worry about. Carl didn't deserve to be lumped in with all of her nightmare fuel. He was too good for that.

The soft yet confused look he had given her when they returned to Alexandria was back in full force. Seeing it again was good. Enid wasn't the only one feeling something between them. Carl didn't see her like she saw most males. She wasn't a nuisance or a potential threat. She met him halfway and hid her face in his chest again. Carl smelled like soap, grass, and something uniquely him, something that made her feel safe. He was also very warm. He was a lot stronger than he looked, too.

Carl's left hand rested on the nape of her neck and his right was where her bra band was. Enid was wearing a pair of black overalls and a long-sleeved gray top. She still had the beige gloves she used while handling bees on but her safety googles were tucked in the front pocket. Her hair was down. After finishing her collecting for the day, Enid had added a bit of lavender to the smoker so she knew that she smelled like it. Like she had in the tree, Enid let her fingertips slide into his long brown hair. He liked it when she did that. Enid still marveled at how nice his hair was, how soft and thick. Carl had Disney Princess hair during the Apocalypse and it was hilarious.

"You don't have to be scared of me."

"I don't want to be but I am. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"I meant what I said, Carl. You're a good person. Don't let this world fuck you up."

"It's a little too late for that."

"Don't let this world fuck you up and make you into an asshole. That would suck."

"I'll do my best. So, how does all of this work? The bees?"

Grateful for the change of subject, Enid stepped back and knocked on the nearest hive's lid.

"All of these boxes are hives. There are 8 boxes with 5 slots in each and the bottom two are where the Queen is. She lives there with the pollen and all the larvae. The rest of the hive is where the honey is and I harvest from the top. One hive can give more than enough stuff for everyone around here. If I don't mess things up, there can be up to 60 pounds of product in one. I have to collect from all of them so mold doesn't set in and ruin everything but the main one I get stuff from will be changed every season, provided that this place is still standing and I'm not dead, of course. You follow me so far?"

"Mm-hm. So, there's the Queen Bee..."

"Then, the worker bees. They're all girls. They do the collecting, the pollinating, the storing, the stinging, and all the good stuff. Boy bees? They're called drones and they don't do shit."

Carl's laughter was loud, warm, and wheezy. Hearing it made her grin. There was a constant soft rasp in his breathing and Enid wondered why. Did he have asthma or something?

"Okay, they have one very important job."

"Which is?"

"They get to bang the Queen and then they die right after they're done with her."

"They're living a pretty good life, then."

Enid looked at him incredulously and he grinned at her, actually making her laugh.

When was the last time she had really laughed? It had to be before The End...

"No, but they really do help keep things going. You see, the more boy bees that get at the Queen, the more diverse the gene pool is going to be later on and the better health the hive has. The lion's share of the work in a colony is done by girls. Girls run this bitch from pollination to harvesting."

"The best moves happen when girls take control of things. Trust me, I know. Michonne pushed for us to keep heading towards DC after we couldn't get Noah back home and now, we're here."

"Mm. So, there's honey and then there's the wax they use to seal the comb and if you're careful, you can score some royal jelly but you've got to be careful or you'll screw the Queen over because that's what she feeds on. If the Queen dies or leaves, the bees lose it until a new one comes."

"That makes sense. Why the smoke? What does it do?"

"Using the smoker is the best way to make the hive chill out. You're going to get stung regardless but the smoke stops their pheromones from realizing that there's a threat all at once and it makes things a lot easier."

"What happens after you get all the stuff out?"

"I put it in one of these big buckets and everything gets separated and jarred in the kitchen. After getting the honey where I want it to be, I start making soap, candles, candy, and booze."

"How?"

"I'll show you. Come on."

Enid opened the apiary's sliding door and came to a startled halt in the doorway.

"Ron? What are you doing here?"

How long had he been standing there waiting for her to come out?

Had he seen anything? Heard anything? It was doubtful that he had seen anything. The way she had built the apiary had most of the windows facing the house. The rest were shooter's nests. All of the windows had dark blue blinds that she kept tilted in a way that she could see outside but nobody could see in. As for hearing things...

"I just wanted to say sorry for what Sam tried to do yesterday. He shouldn't have done it."

"No, he really shouldn't have."

"You're doing good things here and he could've ruined everything like he always does."

That statement was telling. Enid knew that Ron was full of anger and angst but apparently, there was resentment festering inside of him, too. The 6 year age difference between Sam and Ron meant that he may have been a surprise. Ron had been an only child for a long time and apparently, he wasn't happy to have to share Pete and Jessie with another kid. With Sam's constant neediness and tendency to whine in play? It was yet another ugly element in the Anderson family.

Also, him saying that she was doing good things when she knew for a fact that he felt otherwise rankled. Ron was a liar. He was a liar and a manipulator. He was trying to get in her good books so he could get in her pants later. He may have convinced himself that he was in love with her and maybe he was in his own way but Enid knew what his goal was.

His goal was pussy. He wanted to get inside of her and claim her like she was a prize.

Ron wasn't getting in her pussy.

She didn't want him there.

She would never want him there.

Enid wasn't a carnival prize to be won and gloated about. She was a person with valid feelings.

She deserved to have a mature and rational companion, one who would try to understand her.

She deserved to be respected fully and cared for properly. She deserved to be nurtured.

Ron would never be able to do that. His upbringing and angst had ruined any chance of that.

"Sam didn't ruin anything because I stopped him before he could. It's cool."

"I'm still sorry."

"Apology accepted. Come on out, Carl. Everything's okay."

"What's he doing in there with you?"

"I was showing him how the bees work and how I harvest. You can hang out if you want."

"...no."

"Fine. Tell Olivia that I'm bringing more comb and candles over later. The soap isn't done yet."

Ron looked between her and Carl suspiciously before leaving. He slammed the gate as hard as he could behind him. Enid jumped at the loud noise and pinched the bridge of her nose. Word would spread about her and Carl being alone together within the hour, probably less than that. Juicy gossip was always appreciated, especially in The Fucked New World.

Unfortunately, some things never changed.

She and Carl becoming friends quickly definitely counted as juicy, especially given her reputation for being a cold hard bitch. Knowing how the Anderson "men" worked, there would be a lot of innuendo woven in Ron's words. Hopefully, The Grimes Group wouldn't get pissed off at her because of them. They were very protective of Carl, rightfully so. They didn't know her from Adam, Eve, or Steve. They could see her as trying to take advantage of him and that would suck.

"Enid..."

"He's not my boyfriend but he acts super jealous over me and I don't like it."

"I know. Mikey told me all about it when I first got here."

"I don't want to be Ron's girlfriend. His family is bad and he doesn't...it just wouldn't work out."

"You don't have to explain."

"Will you please tell your Group and parents the truth? Ron's gonna twist shit and I don't want them to get mad at me. They'll say that we shouldn't be friends anymore and I don't want that."

"We're friends now?"

"I really fucking hope so."

"We are."

Enid gave him a shaky but genuine smile, one that he readily returned.

"Come on. I'll show you how I make everything and you can take some stuff home with you."

"I'd like that. Thank you, Enid."

"You're welcome."

/

Later That Night...

"Carl?"

"Hey, Dad."

"Can you stop reading for a second? I need to talk to you."

Carl slid the Princess Daisy bookmark he had found in place before sitting up. He was halfway through the twelfth comic in the series and Enid had been right. Now that he understood every plotline and recognized all of the characters, reading the comics was so much better. He looked forward to finishing up the series. Finishing the series would give him something good to talk about with her. Plus, if they kept doing the comic book swap, Carl would get to see her more often. Seeing Enid was a high point in his day and it had taken lot of patience not to seek her out.

Their talk in the woods and what happened in the tree had changed things between them.

Enid needed time. She needed space. Enid hurt like he hurt and Carl knew that she was reeling. Leaving her alone was the best course of action. He didn't want to pressure her or spook her further. He had to think before doing, just like his dad had told him when they were on The Farm.

Still, Carl couldn't help but feel grateful to Sam Anderson.

If he hadn't done what he done, then Carl would have eventually had to come up with an excuse to go see her. That wouldn't have worked. He was a good liar, an excellent one when things got intense, but Enid could see right through him already and...

"Michonne told me that us coming this way was our best option. Heading for DC meant that we would have a chance to have real lives and to be happy again. She was right."

"As usual."

His dad laughed and nodded in agreement as he sat at the foot of his bed.

"...yeah, as usual. Anyway, part of having a real life is making new connections with people."

"Like you and Michonne?"

"And like you and Enid."

"Me and Enid are just friends, Dad. Really."

"I believe you when you tell me that but there's something deeper there for you, isn't there?"

"Yeah but she's been hurt a lot and I don't want to make it worse. She needs a friend, not a boyfriend. I mean, if she ever wants me to be her boyfriend, I'll do it but right now? We're just friends. She said that we're friends and that's cool. Enid's awesome."

"That's the best attitude to have."

"I like her because she's honest. She's a hard worker. She's smart as hell and she's funny. She knows how to make it and she was on her own for a long time. She could've stopped and given up. She probably wanted to a few times but she didn't. She pushed through and kept fighting. That means that she's strong. I respect her and she's more than a little scary. She could totally kill me but that's okay. That just means that she can take care of herself. That's good. That's really good..."

Carl looked down at his socks shyly, knowing that his face was beet red. Said face went completely pale as his dad tentatively put something on his bed. He looked between the item and his dad's embarrassed grimace before burying his face in his hands with a pained groan.

Goddamn it.

"Dad!"

"Look, I know that I am in no position to lecture anyone since I have a baby sleeping down the hall right now but you're my son. You're a man now and what you're feeling for Enid is..."

"I get it. Please stop. For the love of God, stop!"

Could someone actually die from embarrassment? Was that even possible? Fucking hell...

"Be smart. Always keep your guard up and if things go further between you and Enid or with someone else later, please use these."

"Why did you get such a big box, though? There's like 100 in there!"

"72."

"What the fuck, Dad?!"

"Hey!"

"Sorry. But, seriously, why did you do this?"

"You have to be safe and I'm too damned young to be somebody's grandfather right now."

"No, you're not."

"...yeah, well, Michonne is definitely too damned young to be somebody's grandmother."

Carl snatched the giant box of condoms up and threw it into his nightstand, slamming the drawer firmly. Instead of looking at his dad again, he laid down and hid his face behind his pillow.

"Did you get a box for you, too? Judith's not potty trained yet and I know how things work. You and Michonne are boyfriend and girlfriend now so that means you're going to be..."

"I know what we're going to be doing, Carl. It's all handled. I promise."

"Good. Oh, my god. Why?"

"I don't know, son."

Both of them laughed and Carl threw his pillow at his dad, laughing harder after he hit the floor. Nearly everyone else on the receiving end of Rick Grimes' annoyed glare would be cowering but Carl just kept laughing. It was great to laugh again. His dad stood up and Carl caught the pillow, putting it back behind his head.

"Need anything else?"

"I need you to stay close to Judith while we handle things with the Andersons. Pete isn't gonna go quietly. He's dangerous and I don't want him trying anything with either of you."

"Enid said that the only thing that's going to stop him from being bad to his family is a bullet to the head. I think she's right. Do you remember what Ed was like? If he hadn't gotten Bit..."

"I remember. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"I got Judith. I'll make sure that she'll be okay. I promise."

"I know you will. Good night, Carl."

"Good night, Dad."

/

5 Days Later...

"Enid..."

"Everyone can see that I just got back from a Run, Spencer and aren't you supposed to be guarding the Gate right now instead of watching this train wreck? It was wide open when I got back. I killed all of the Chompers before they could get in but still...come on, man."

"You won't shoot me, Little Girl! You don't have the guts!"

The gathered Alexandrians screamed as the light fixture exploded precariously close to Pete Anderson's big fat head. If it came down to it, Enid would definitely shoot him. She would take him down, let him Turn, and not lose a wink of sleep over it. As much as Enid hated to use guns, she knew that they were the best weapons available outside of grenades or other explosives like dynamite. Her Glock 19 was well taken care of and always silenced to keep The Dead away. Enid was a decent shot, an excellent one when it counted, and Pete deserved to be pumped full of lead. He deserved to be humiliated and scared for his life because he was just so damned cruel.

Not only was he cruel, he was stupid. He was so fucking stupid!

"He used to be a Sheriff. His wife is a literal Samurai. He and his Group managed to get all the way up here from Georgia and frickin' Texas. What did you think was gonna happen?"

Before going out, Enid had heard about Pete being moved to a house at the back of the ASZ. Jessie had finally given him the boot with the help of the Monroes, Daryl, and Carl's parents. Mercifully, his new place wasn't near her turf and his sons would stay, which was good.

Of the two of them, Jessie was the better parent to Ron and Sam. They would be better off staying with her. Pete had been surprisingly agreeable to the divorce-custody arrangement but instead of being relieved like almost everyone else, Enid had been waiting for his true colors to show.

For once, Pete didn't disappoint.

Not only did he lash out, he lashed out in a big way.

The metal bat that Pete had tried to swing at Rick Grimes' back was currently laying in the grass.

Pete's nose was bleeding everywhere and he was wheezing from being punched in the kidneys.

"He's trying to steal my family! He and his People wants to take over this place and..."

"Mr. Grimes doesn't want to steal your family. Nobody in their right or wrong mind would want to steal your family. Everybody knows what you've been doing to them. Everybody's seen and heard about it and The Powers that Be are finally gonna make it stop. Better late than never."

"You can't stand there and judge me like you're some goddamned saint! You're not a saint or a Princess! You're just an angry little orphan bitch that looks down on everyone around here!"

"Really, Pete? What the hell, man?!"

"Don't even worry about it, Aaron. Is that the best you can do? Ooh, she's an orphan. Ooh, she's a bitch. She doesn't deserve to be a part of this Community. She doesn't care enough...meanwhile, I'm one of the main reasons that there's usually enough food to eat around here. You're an asshole and you are getting way more mercy than you deserve right now. If I were running this place, doctor or not, I would have kicked you out months ago and made sure that you got ripped apart by Chompers. You deserve to die that way. You really deserve to die that way because you allowed booze to be more important than your job. And worse of all? You still have your family after everything that's happened and you hurt them. You're supposed to protect and love them and all you do is hurt them. You suck."

Another bullet was loaded in the chamber and almost everybody started backing up. Aaron, Eric, and The Monroes didn't. Glenn, Noah, Sasha, and Daryl stayed by The Grimes' sides and surprising her, Eugene held fast, flanked by Abraham and Rosita. Maybe he was braver than she was giving him credit for.

Everyone else was on the verge of bolting. If she could land a shot so close to Pete's head, she could do it to anyone, they figured. Her aim was very good and she was apparently that done with everyone's bullshit. They figured right but unlike Pete, the Alexandrians as a whole hadn't done anything to deserve bullet wounds.

Yes, they were still weak and sheltered but their deaths wouldn't come from her hands.

"I tried to tell that idiot boy of mine to stop rubbing himself raw over you but-"

His alcohol and vitriol fueled tirade abruptly ended at the sound of a katana being unsheathed.

Pete wasn't saying anything that Enid hadn't heard hissed behind her back before.

He wasn't saying anything worth listening to at all, really.

He was beaten and he knew it. Now, he was just trying to save face and play the victim.

If he really wanted to be a victim, Enid knew that the ASZ's constables would be happy to oblige.

Pete blanched at the amount of rage in Michonne's usually serene amber gaze. Enid grinned as the big bad bully immediately lost all of his machismo like the sniveling little rat he truly was. He looked like he was about to start blubbering in front of everyone. He had been exposed for the monster he was and he couldn't handle the consequences. It was his own fault.

He should've treated his family right and just what did he expect to gain from attacking Rick other than embarrassment and a stomping anyways?

Rick Grimes was very precious to every member of his Group. He was a genuinely good man, father, and LEADER. Messing with him meant messing with his whole family. If anyone messed with Rick, they would promptly rise up and unleash hell, especially his wife.

Pete should count himself lucky that Michonne didn't decapitate him on the spot. Enid would have. Either that or she would have stabbed him through the heart so he could drown in his own blood before Turning. Pete deserved to be in pain when he was inevitably killed because of all the physical, mental and emotional hurt he had inflicted on his family and others over the years.

It was only fair.

"Shut up and walk. Rick, are you okay?"

"I'm all right."

"Good. Walk, Pete. I won't tell you again."

Rick picked the bat up and the pair of them quickly took the idiot away, followed by their People. Once they were out of sight, Enid holstered her Glock and walked back to the green pickup truck she had claimed for herself. Inside of its hold were 10 out of 20 coils of barbed wire. She had dropped half of them off with the Wall Crew and the rest were for her. There would not be another raid on the garden and bees without the hostile getting cut to shreds for their trouble.

The only things more important than food were water, weapons, and transportation. Everything needed to be done to protect those things.

Enid was going to do her part and do it well, no matter who got pissed off about her methods.

Somebody was going to get pissed off about the barbed wire. Somebody always had something to say about her. There was always judgement to pass and the verdict never went in her favor. The Court of Public Opinion had spoken and she would be forever known as Not Normal.

She was too damned cold.

She was too damned mean.

She had gone insane from being alone out there for so long.

She was a ticking time bomb that would snap and kill them all!

Enid chuckled as she watched Jessie sweep up the remains of the light fixture from inside the truck's cab. Her actions against Pete had been right but they would definitely add more fuel to that particular dumpster fire.

With a melancholy sigh, she turned the truck back on and the crowd parted for her immediately.

Enid could feel their gazes on her as she drove. The gossip was starting and it would soon be followed by warnings to stay away from her unless it was absolutely necessary.

So, nothing new, really.

At least no one stupid, evil, and weak would be bugging her anyone.

Only the genuinely good and brave people in Alexandria would come near her now.

Hopefully.

/

"...I'm just saying that maybe Pete had a point earlier."

"About what?"

"All the new people...Enid..."

"Carter, don't go there."

"Somebody has to!"

"Rick and his Group are nice and Enid hasn't done anything bad. What's your problem?"

"Carter, if Abraham hadn't stepped up when he did, Francine would've been Eaten last week and that would've been on us, on me. Glenn, Tara, Eugene, and Noah found the parts we needed without anyone getting hurt or killed. Daryl's teaching people how to hunt. Rosita and Sasha are teaching people how to fight. Rick and Michonne have done more for Jessie in less than a month than any of us. Maggie's helping with basically everything and...Rick's Group has good people in it who can make this place better than ever. They're earning their keep and yeah, Enid is definitely mean as hell but she's not going to go after anyone who doesn't deserve it. Pete deserved to get shot at and you know it so leave it alone. Leave them alone."

"Did you see how happy that girl looked to be using that gun? Did you hear what she said to Pete? She's sick! And as for Rick's perfect Group, The Priest doesn't trust them. How can you say that they're good people when their own fucking Priest doesn't trust them? He's terrified of them."

"I can use my eyes and my brain to make my own judgements. You should do the same."

"Leave them alone, Carter. Don't do anything stupid. It's not worth it."

"You don't get it! They're gonna take over and then what's gonna happen to all of us? Huh?"

"We'll live."

"All right! All right, fine! Be that way but when they start shooting us like dogs in the streets later on, don't say that nobody tried to warn you..."

Disgusted by what he just heard, Carl turned to leave but he tripped on a snag in the rug, falling down. He recovered just in time for Carter to try and grab him but he juked, unsheathing his Bowie knife to stop him in his tracks. If he had to, he could and would stab him. Carl had no intention of letting Carter hurt him or anyone that he cared about.

He had to warn everyone as soon as possible.

More Alexandrians weren't happy about them being behind the Walls with them. Pete wasn't the only one with a problem. They still needed to watch their backs and apparently, someone needed to keep a close eye on Gabriel. The cowardly Priest had been looking at them all differently since they dealt with The Termites. He was jumpy. He would disappear for hours and Carl swore that if the man did anything to endanger their safety in Alexandria like he had at the Church, he'd...

"Stop it! Carter, you stop it, right now!"

"Leave him alone, Carter! Trying to beat up on a teenager...what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Olivia and Tobin. Olivia ran The Pantry, inventoried the weapons and smoked meats, mainly boar. Enid liked her like she liked Aaron and Eric. Tobin was now a senior member of the Wall Crew instead of the Foreman. He had willingly stepped down so Abraham could run it after Walkers invaded the main site and he panicked. He was open to learning how to Survive and Enid had spoken well of him, too. Both of them just stood up for The Group and Carl would remember their loyalty. They were good people, more than a little sheltered and naïve but good all the same.

"He was spying on us, goddamn it!"

Carter wasn't worth the time or effort of stabbing. He really wasn't. Putting his knife away eased some of the room's tension and Carl stared the man down until he looked away shamefaced. It didn't take long for him to do so. He remembered Enid's declaration in the apiary. He still didn't like it or her overall attitude regarding Alexandrians but Carter? Carter was definitely someone not worth giving a damn about. He was a waste of space and resources. Who else was like him besides Pete? Who else was scared and ridiculous? Who else's issues would they have to deal with?

"I came here to get more red cups and clove oil for my sister just in time to hear you talking shit. If you've got a problem, then why don't you come say it to our faces? To my dad's face?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you! You're just a kid and I'm not afraid of your damned dad!"

"Okay. Prove it. Go and say what you were just saying to him. I can take you to him right now."

Carter looked like he was either going to pee his pants or start crying. Carl wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that if the man got anywhere near his dad, he would pass out or run away screaming. How Carter had lasted as long as he did was anyone's guess, even with Alexandria's Walls and resources in play. His mind was still stuck in the Old World and its ways of doing things. When things happened that didn't fit that mindset, he panicked and lashed out.

Like it or not, everything had changed. The world was completely different now. The Virus and The End had wiped the slate clean. Instead of accepting the truth, Carter and many other Alexandrians had built themselves a comfortable bubble of denial. Bubbles popped eventually, though. Carl knew that when Alexandria's did, it would be fucking awful.

It wouldn't even be a popping bubble. It would be a lanced boil.

Carter left The Pantry as quick as he could without running and Carl felt the urge to go after him. He wanted to take the spineless bastard to his dad. No, he wanted to just punch his lights out. Who gave him the right to judge his family so harshly? Who gave him the right to judge Enid so harshly? He didn't know shit about them or anything else for that matter! He was useless! Carl wanted to make Carter swallow his teeth and puke them out. He wanted to break his jaw and...

"Carl, he doesn't speak for all of us, all right? Neither does Pete."

"I know. Thanks for sticking up for me, Tobin. You too, Olivia. Can I have the stuff for Judith?"

"Sure. Coming right up."

The night was cool and breezy, which helped him calm down faster. Beating the hell out of Carter, as satisfying as it would be, wouldn't do anyone any good. In fact, it would make his and Pete's rants against them seem justified. It would put The Group in danger of being kicked out of the ASZ and that was the absolute last thing that Carl wanted to happen. They had to stay put. They had to rest, heal, and Live again. On the Road, they had been Surviving and barely at that.

If the scorching heat and Walkers hadn't done them in, then sadness would've gotten them. Even the strongest people broke down eventually. Aaron's arrival to the Barn had saved them. Carl didn't want to be the one to ruin things. He didn't want to be the stupid Dead Kid Walking that caused nothing but problems. He had been that way before and it had led to so much pain.

He had to think before doing. He had to be smart.

The smart thing to do would be to let his dad and Michonne know what was going on. They would fill the rest of the Group in and then, they would all figure out how to make things work.

Carter could still go fuck himself, though. Him and every other person who thought like him.

Returning to the house, Carl was pleasantly surprised to see Enid standing by the porch swing.

After what went down with Pete earlier, he had been expecting her to be hiding again.

He was glad to be wrong.

Carl had spotted her on the way out early that morning. She had been guiding her pickup truck forward with it put in neutral and with a guiding rope. That made sense. Every drop of gas was precious. Instead of her usual clothes, she had been dressed in all black. Black cargos, tank top, boots, and a large zip up hoodie. Her hair had been in two long braids and she had her gloves on. Like Michonne's katana, she carried a Grim Reaper's scythe sheathed on her back, its blade catching the first rays of dawn. Her knapsack was full and in the passenger's seat, along with a wooly blanket and large gray duffel bag. She had been ready to go out there and kick some ass.

She had been a woman on a Mission and it would be accomplished, come Hell or high water.

Enid yawned softly and stretched her arms above her head. She was still in her tank top but a pair of beige sweatpants replaced her cargos. She was still wearing her boots and her pink bathrobe's sash blew in the breeze. How long had she been standing there waiting? Why hadn't she knocked on the door? His dad, Michonne, and Daryl liked her. They would've let her in.

"Hey."

"...hey."

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you."

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Let me put this stuff in the kitchen and I'll be right back."

"I'll be right here."

Before returning, Carl turned the porch light on. Enid made room for him to sit next to her and he did so happily. Quick nudges from their boots put the swing in motion. She was still wearing her gloves but her brass knuckles were in her front pocket. He could see their outline above her knife sheath. Her hair was down now and was that lipstick? And eyeliner? It was!

Why was Enid wearing lipstick and eyeliner?

The thick liner was black and slightly smeared, reminding him of Joan Jett. His mom had loved Joan Jett. Madonna, too. Her lipstick was a deep shade of red. The color reminded him of apples and strawberries. She looked good with the makeup on but why was it there in the first place? Enid didn't strike him as the type of woman to want to wear makeup outside of very special occasions but people had layers. He had only known her for a little while. There was still so much that he didn't know about her but he was willing to learn.

Hopefully, Enid would let him learn. So far, so good...

She pulled a compact out and checked to see if she still looked the way she wanted to.

Nodding once in approval, she put it back in her robe's left pocket before turning to face him.

"When I know that I'm gonna be out there for a while or if I have time before I have to fuck some shit up, I put it on. It's my war paint and if I end up dead or Turned, I want whoever finds me to be like: "awww, she was pretty" before they deal with what's left of me. Dumb, huh?"

"No."

"Speaking of dumb things, you missed one heck of a show earlier."

"Noah told me. He says you should be a sniper like Sasha. My Dad and Eugene think so, too."

"I should've shot Pete in the head when I had the chance. If I had, it would be over. It's not over."

"Losing his kids and his job could make him stop drinking and start being a man."

"Carl..."

"It could."

"He's not going to change. He's going to keep getting blitzed and being a jerk until he decides to blow his brains out. He'll try and take his family with him but I'm pretty sure they'll be okay."

"Are you?"

"They're just as dead as he is, even if he keeps his bullets to himself. It's only a matter of time."

"Goddamn it, Enid..."

"You asked for what I thought and I told you. Sometimes, the truth is ugly."

"It is but would it kill you to try being positive every once in a while?"

"I'm pretty sure it would. Sorry."

"No, you're not."

"I'm really not. I don't give a fuck."

Carl rolled his eyes and Enid shrugged before looking up at all the stars. One of the few good things left in the world nowadays was how easy it was to see the stars. Everything else had changed but the stars hadn't. Carl could still find all of the constellations he used to look at for hours with his telescope in King's County. No matter where he went, he could see them and take comfort from them.

"I put barbed wire on the garden and apiary fences. People are gonna be mad at me when they see it. They're going to say that it's ugly and unnecessary because of the Walls. They'll tell me to take it down and I'll tell them kiss my ass. The food needs to be protected no matter what and if somebody else wants to try and pull a Sam, they're going to have to bleed for it first. You know I actually promised to kill him after I caught him?"

"That doesn't surprise me at all."

"He's 10 years old and he's been dragged through a lot of shit. I get that he's sad but there are lines that you just can't cross. He could've screwed a lot of people over. The only things more important than food are water and having something to keep the assholes away. He was wrong."

"...no more kid's stuff."

"What?"

"Before we had to leave The Farm, my dad sat with me in the hayloft and explained how things work. One day, he'll die. My Group members will either die or make a home somewhere else. One day, I'll be on my own. One day, I'll have my own Group and family to take care of and I have to be able to Survive. I have to know how to keep them safe. I have to know what to do and when to do it. I couldn't always depend on other people to get me to sundown. I had to learn."

"So, you did it. You started learning. You know how to Survive."

"For the most part. I still mess up sometimes."

"Everyone does. You're still here and you're still human. You did good."

Hearing praise from Enid made Carl feel 20 feet tall. She called it like she saw it. No matter who got pissed off or hurt by her words, she spoke her mind. When she said that she was impressed, that he did good, Carl knew that she meant it. Enid had told him that he was strong, kind, and good. She wasn't the first person to say that to him and hearing it always helped him keep going.

His mother had told him to be good before she died and he wanted to honor that wish as best he could. He wanted to be a good son, older brother, and person.

It was so hard to be a good person. It had been hard Before but in The Fucked New World? It was always an uphill battle. Situations and morals changed by the minute, by the second in some cases. All of the Rules and Laws of the Land were gone. Humans were making things up as they went now. What was right? What was wrong? What was overkill? What was justice? The best way to handle things was to take it a moment at a time. Things would still go wrong. Bad calls would be made with the consequences felt but the struggle was better than just giving in.

Carl didn't want to give into the darkness that lingered in his spirit. He didn't want to let the ruthlessness he had become capable of over time to take full control of him. There was a time and place to be ruthless. With Walkers? It was always time. Walkers needed to be destroyed by any means necessary. The less Walkers around, the less of a chance there was to be Bit or ripped apart. Less Walkers meant less Herds to overrun Communities and Camps.

When dealing with twisted people like The Governor, The Claimers, Dawn, or Gareth, being ruthless was the only way to handle things. Evil and crazy like that couldn't stick around because people would always be in danger from it. Those types of people didn't deserve to live. Their cruel ways and selfish decisions just made things worse than they were already were. They had to go.

However, there were still times to show mercy and kindness. Not every person was a piece of shit. There were still good people in the world who needed help. They just needed a friend or a Group to get by. If a person could help, they should. One didn't have to be cruel to be a Survivor, even in times of trouble. Carl had forgotten that after The Governor's first attack on the Prison.

He had gone cold but had managed to come back in the end. With the help of his family and friends, he had come back before it was too late.

Carl didn't want to lose the ability to come back.

If he did, he would willingly eat a bullet or slice all of his veins open.

Staying alive wasn't worth it if you ended up becoming a monster in human skin to do so.

"Carter was trying to recruit Tobin and Olivia. He thinks Pete is right about you and my Group."

"They're cut from the same cloth of scared shitless stupid. I should've shot him, too."

Carl snorted ruefully at that. If Enid shot every idiot that came across her path, both inside and outside of Alexandria's Walls, she would run out of bullets before the sun came up.

"I'm scared that they'll try to fuck things up for us with Deanna. Get us all kicked out."

"Don't be. You're a good Group and you're giving to this place, not just taking. She sees that."

"It's getting worse out there, Enid. If Aaron and Eric hadn't found us when they did..."

"You guys are in a safe place, now."

"But for how long?"

"I can't tell you that. All you can do is enjoy the safety now and be ready to fight to get it back."

"We thought we were ready at The Prison. We weren't and a lot of people died. Good people."

"You can come up with good plans. You can have the right skills and people to pull off miracles. You can have back up plans ready to go when things don't work. You can do everything right and still end up getting screwed over. It was like that Before. It's just worse now."

"I know. I hate it."

"You should. It sucks dick but there are still plenty of good things in this Fucked New World. You just got to know how to see them. The good helps you get through the bad times. After the bad times happen, you bury your dead, stop crying, patch yourself up, find whoever's still standing and keep moving. You can't ever stop moving and you can't spend all of your time looking back and regretting. Doing that will kill you faster than a Chomper, bullet, or blade."

She understood.

She understood.

Carl was used to people his age not getting it. He was used to having to protect and teach them. He was used to having to Lead but he didn't have to with Enid. She understood what life was like better than he did. She wasn't weak. She wasn't a damsel in distress. She was smart. She thought before doing and then some. She was her own Leader and just...

Her hand slid into his again.

Immediately, Carl twined their fingers together and squeezed. Turning his head, he saw that Enid was staring like when they were in the woods. There was a look in her eyes that he didn't recognize. It was an odd look. It wasn't a mean one but he was still confused. Why was she looking at him like that? What did she want? Did she want another hug? He hoped so. Carl liked hugging her. Hugs made her feel better and she always smelled good...

Enid shifted closer to him and her gaze lingered on his lips, making his heart go into double time. It was pounding like it did when he had to flee or fight for his life. The world sped up and slowed down around him as she bit her lower lip. What was she doing? What did she want? Did she want what his instincts were saying she did? Carl didn't want to assume anything.

Slowly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. Both of her hands went to his shoulders and his went to her waist, drawing her even closer to him.

Their lips met and immediate warmth tunneled through him, as well as a healthy dose of shock.

Enid was kissing him. Enid was letting him kiss her. She tasted like honey and he could feel her lipstick smearing on his face. Carl cupped the back of her head and followed her lead, matching her pressure for pressure. The tip of her tongue traced his lips and he parted them immediately, letting her in. The honey flavor of her lips mixed with mint, walnuts, and something else that was spicy-tangy-sweet. She was so soft and warm. If he wasn't mistaken, she was smiling into their kisses and that made him feel like the King of Everything. He had made her smile again!

A sharp gasp escaped her as he bit her lower lip and Carl pulled away immediately.

"I'm sorry!"

"Don't be."

"Enid, I'm sorry..."

"Shh...I'm okay. Better than okay, actually."

"I've never kissed anyone before."

"I didn't want to kiss anyone until I met you."

"I was okay?"

"You did good. Really fucking good."

"Th-thank you. Are...are you sure you're okay? I didn't hurt you? I didn't force you?"

Enid kissed his forehead and cupped his cheeks, making him look deep into her eyes.

"I don't do anything that I don't want to do. Ever."

After one last peck, she was on the move, leaving him reeling in the best way. Enid just let him kiss her. He was her first kiss and Carl wanted more. He didn't just want to be her first kiss. He wanted all of her kisses but that decision was up to her. Whatever Enid wanted next, he would follow her lead. Carl didn't want to make her feel trapped. He didn't want her to feel like she owed him something. He didn't want to take her choice away. The Claimers had tried to do that to him and Michonne. Thankfully, that hadn't happened but Carl still remembered feeling dirty and ashamed. He remembered feeling angry and disgusting. Enid didn't deserve those bad feelings.

He didn't want to hurt her.

She had already been hurt enough.

Standing, Carl cleared his throat and looked out at the neighborhood only to see Sam Anderson standing across the street. How long he had been there was anyone's guess but judging by the panicked look on the kid's face, he had seen what just happened. Carl started walking towards him and he took off, heading home. Sam would tell someone what he just saw, most likely his mom. Word would spread and with that word would come even more problems from the Alexandrians.

He wasn't worried about The Group or his parents. His dad had made himself very clear. He was cool with whatever went on with Enid as long as he stayed smart about it. Michonne was in the same boat and his growing bond with Enid had become a nice inside joke with everyone. They were in his corner, just like always, and that was awesome. Their Group was a good Group, even after all of the shit they had seen. Hopefully, Enid would be willing to become a part of it, regardless of if they stayed together or not. Were they even together? Just because she had let him kiss her didn't mean that she was open to letting him be her boyfriend.

Of course, the Alexandrians wouldn't see it that way. All they would see is their resident Angry Farmer Girl hooking up with the New Kid after less than 3 months of knowing him. They would judge her. They would call her all sorts of awful names and the rage that he felt in the Pantry threatened to return at the very idea. Carl never liked bullies and Enid was surrounded by them.

Alexandria was supposed to be a big, loving Community but they kept her on the sidelines. She said that she didn't give a fuck but Carl knew better. Not everyone was like that, though. Aaron, Eric, and Olivia were good to her. Tobin obviously respected her, as did Deanna and Reg, but the rest of them were bullies. They had their cliques and their gossip and...

Shaking his head, Carl put a pin in that train of thought and went inside, turning off the porch light. The Alexandrians didn't matter. The gossip that would come didn't matter. What mattered was that Enid trusted him. She kept reaching out to him. She put faith in him and Carl didn't want to let her down. He would do everything in his power to not let her down.

Getting to the bathroom, he looked in the mirror and couldn't help but laugh. As he had felt earlier, his lips and cheeks were covered with lipstick. There was also a perfect print on his forehead. Part of him wanted to just leave it but he knew it would be best to clean his face. Explaining what was going on was going to be uncomfortable enough without adding fuel to the fire.

Still, he didn't throw away the baby wipes he used. It felt than a little weird to hold onto them but he wanted to have a physical reminder of what happened. After securing them in a small Ziploc bag, Carl put them in his nightstand and laid down, turning off the lamp.

Enid had kissed him.

She had kissed him with tongue and given him one of the softest smiles he had ever seen in his life. Of all the people she could've chosen to kiss and smile at, she had picked him. Him!

Wow.

He fell asleep with a huge smile on his face.

/

4 Days Later...

"Mrs. Anderson? Wait, are you still an Anderson or did you go back to your maiden name?"

"I'm a Miller again but... you can just call me Jessie. It's less confusing that way."

"Okay, then. What's up? Do you need more honey? I just took some jars to Olivia so..."

"No, nothing like that. I need to talk to you if you have a minute."

"All right. Come on in."

Enid knew exactly why Jessie was approaching her. She had noticed Sam lurking by the Neidermeyer House while waiting for Carl. He kept his distance from her now, which was bittersweet. He was still a good kid that deserved better but Enid wanted nothing more to do with him. What he had tried to do burned that bridge. Why Sam was spying on the Grimes House was anyone's guess. Was he spying on just the Grimes' or the whole Grimes Group? What did he want from them? Was he jealous like his dad and Carter or was he just looking for someone new to latch on to? Regardless of his motives, he had been there and he had seen everything.

Sam told his mom. Did Ron know? Would he be showing up next? Would he try to start some shit with Carl later on? Most likely, yes and she was not looking forward to that.

Enid had absolutely no regrets about kissing Carl Grimes. He was a good, strong person. He fit all of her criteria for a companion and then some. He had good parents and an excellent Group. He saw her. He got her and he was damned nice to look at. Most of all, he was kind. Even after all the shit he had started and ended, he was still so sweet. He was gentle and loving. He would be good to her and she would try her best to be good to him.

"What are you making?"

"Sauerkraut and lemon marmalade. They'll be ready soon and it's time to start harvesting the fields. The sorghum and potatoes are fine but I'm not too sure about the corn and barley. I'm going to have to ask Maggie and Mr. Grimes to take a look. Even if they are dead, they're still useful. The barley can be excellent mulch and the corn can be used to make gasoline. Well, ethanol."

"That's good. You've built something really good here, Enid."

"I didn't do it by myself. Jessie, why are you here? What do you want?"

The blonde looked uncomfortable but Enid didn't give an inch. She just continued turning and burping the sauerkraut jars. The burping process was important during fermentation. If too much gas built up, then the containers would explode. The marmalade had cooled off enough to be jarred so she put it in the fridge for safekeeping. After she took her nap, Enid would spend the rest of the day making batches of lavender and mint oil for the Infirmary, along with poppy syrup. The oils could be used for treating muscle strains and the syrup could be an anesthetic when the time came.

Denise mentioned that they were running low on painkillers and while finding more on Runs was still possible, it was good to have other options. Maybe Eugene could make them some Ether or Chloroform. He definitely had the smarts to pull it off and...

"I know about you kissing Rick's son."

"We kissed each other. His name is Carl, by the way. His little sister's name is Judith."

"I know that and I just want to make sure that you're being smart about things."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you just met him. What do you really know about him?"

"I know enough about him to let him be my boyfriend."

"So, he is your boyfriend?"

"I hope so. I have to talk to him about it. Do you think he'll treat me like Pete treated you?"

"No! Of course not! He's a good kid."

"Then, what's the problem here? Who do you really want to protect me from?"

"...please don't make me say it."

"Oh, I'm going to. Who do you really want to protect me from, Jessie?"

Jessie's eyes welled with tears and Enid sighed before tossing her a striped kitchen towel.

"I'm not interested in Ron. I never was, even before Carl and his family got up here."

"I know that but..."

"But what? You want me to fake feelings? Do you really think that would do him any good?"

"He's so much like his father..."

"...and you want to put me in a situation like you were in?"

"No! I thought that maybe if he had someone, he'd feel better. He's a good kid but he's sad and just so damned angry all the time. It's like..."

"I can't fix him."

"I'm not asking you to do that. I'm just asking you to consider..."

Jessie trailed off and her eyes wouldn't meet hers. As a matter of fact, Jessie hadn't really looked her in the eye at all. She was jumpy, shaky, and reeking of guilt. Why? She and Jessie had barely said 50 words to each other during her time in the ASZ. Was she feeling guilty because of Sam? She should but only to a point. Sam was 10 years old. Even with his emotional stunting, he was still smart and old enough to make his own decisions. Plus, he had snuck out at 3AM when everyone with sense was sleeping if they weren't on Watch. She couldn't be everywhere.

As for Ron? Well, Ron was Ron. Jessie couldn't stop him from being the way he was. All she could do was show him love and try her best to find a way to make him happy. If he was happy, then...

It dawned on her and Enid pointedly put the cleaver she had been using earlier far out of reach.

"...you want me to fuck him. That's why you're here. That's the solution you've come up with."

The shame and desperation on the blonde's face said it all. Now, Enid just felt disgusted. There was pity and anger in the mix, too but mostly disgust. So much disgust. The absolute gall!

"You have got to be shitting me right now."

"Enid, it doesn't have to be a big deal. I know that you and Carl are already close so..."

"This is not a cathouse and I am not a whore. Stop talking to me like I am."

"Enid..."

"Carl was my first kiss. I haven't been with anyone else, not for a lack of trying on some people's parts. They didn't like me saying 'no' so they tried to change my answer to a 'yes'. Violently."

"Oh God, I didn't know...Enid, I'm so sorry!"

If she never heard an apology from an Anderson again, she would be ecstatic.

"Don't even worry about it. I handled them in the way that they needed to be handled and they won't get to hurt someone else. Jessie, I am not going to fuck your son. I don't want to. I don't see him that way and all that faking those feelings for him would do is hurt him more in the long run. Not to mention that it would end up putting me in a place that none of us need me to be in."

"What are you saying?"

"You just told me that Ron is a lot like Pete, right? Okay. That makes sense. Boys usually learn how to be men from their dads. Say I went along with your idea. What do you think would happen to him when tried to put his hands on me? You know he would."

"Ron would never..."

"Don't even finish telling that lie. What happens next, Jessie?"

"...you would kill him."

"And I would make sure that it would hurt the whole time. Do you want to lose him like that?"

"No, but...I think...I think I've already lost him. I think me and Pete ruined him. Him and Sam!"

Enid wholeheartedly agreed with her on that but she wouldn't say so out loud, even now. Jessie was already in enough pain. It would be cruel to add to it. Although Pete was finally away from her, the wounds he left behind lingered and festered. Everyone knew that she had been a battered wife. Everyone had seen the end of her marriage. Her oldest son was known for being sullen and the youngest one was known for being annoying.

Sam was still catching hell for what he tried to do to the garden so that meant that Jessie caught hell, too. After all, if she had been a better mother, then her sons wouldn't be such bad seeds. She was surrounded by people who judged her and found her to be lacking, including her ex-husband. She was still looking for someone to save her and make all of her problems disappear.

Jessie coming to her this way, as disrespectful and tone deaf as it was, made sense.

Enid waited until the woman composed herself before asking the critical question.

"Does anybody outside of his Group and you two know about me and Carl?"

"...not that I know of. Sam told me while I was tucking him in and Ron had his music on so..."

"Right. It's not a secret but I'd like it if you and Sam could keep it to yourselves for as long as possible. Our relationship is very new and neither of us deserve to be judged while we figure things out. His family won't do that. Everybody else will."

"I understand. I'll let Sam know."

"Good. Go away. We're done here."

"I really am sorry, Enid."

"You're trying to help your son as best you can. I get it. Now, go away. Go far away."

There was only so much patience Enid had left. The longer Jessie stayed, the more tempting it was to pick up the cleaver and go to town. Once the door closed behind the blonde, she took several deep breaths and let them out slowly, mentally counting down from 20.

It had been part of band, learning how to regulate her breathing, but the various exercises also came in handy for reeling in her temper. Just because she understood where Jessie was coming from didn't mean that she wasn't angry. Honestly, Enid was more hurt than angry. The fact that Jessie assumed that she was so detached from her humanity stung. Just because she played her cards close to the vest didn't mean she was a robot. It just meant that she was smart.

Letting just anyone see the real her could lead to trouble. Enid didn't want to be taken advantage of. She didn't want to be used and she didn't want to do that to someone else. It wouldn't be right. The world operated in many shades of gray but there were some things that a person just didn't do, even in the name of "saving" them.

Having sex with Ron wouldn't save him. Being his girlfriend wouldn't save him. No sort of romantic relationship with her or anyone else would save him. Not even sending his scumbag sperm donor to hell where he belonged would save him at this point. The only person who could save Ron Anderson from his demons and angst was himself. It was up to him and Jessie just couldn't see it. Either that or she didn't want to accept the truth, which was so much worse.

Living in Denial could only work for so long, especially with the teeming mass of Dead ambling around and most humans being assholes now. Most humans. Not all of them.

There were still good people.

They were outnumbered 10,000 to 1 by Chompers and 100 to 1 by dickheads but they existed.

That made her feel better.

Deciding to leave her next project for the morning, Enid exited the kitchen and headed for the laundry room. Opening the silver dryer, she put her clothes in the basket to fold later before pulling out the best item she had picked up on her Run.

While looking through the office of the auto shop that she had found the barbed wire in (why a mechanic had kept so much barbed wire on hand was anyone's guess but she was grateful for it...), in the bottom drawer of the desk had been a large stuffed elephant. It had been covered with cobwebs but still very soft, still viable. All it needed was a good wash and a couple of stitches and it could be used again. It could be loved again.

Enid knew the perfect person for the job.

/

"Every kid needs a stuffed animal, especially now. I saw him while I was out scavenging and I just...I grabbed him and some new storybooks for Judith. I already named him but you guys can change it if you want. He's Harry Elephante. You know like the musician? I-I played the clarinet before things changed. I still have it actually and I like puns. I named my stuffed cat Chairman Meow when I was 6 and...do you think she'll like it?"

"Let's find out."

It was taking all of his strength to play it cool.

Just because Enid had let him kiss her didn't mean that she wanted him to be her boyfriend. Just because she had shown up with a basket of food and gifts for Judith didn't mean that...god, she smelled good. She always smelled good but she had put some kind of perfume on before coming over. It was flowery and mixed up with the usual scent of honey that lingered around her and...

Carl pushed Judith's bedroom door open and was pleased to see that she was still napping. His sister was finishing teething and it was rough on her. She was drooly, feverish, and cranky. All the teething rings had been a godsend. They kept a bunch of them in the freezer door. Everyone carried at least two with them in case they had to take her. Judith didn't cry anymore. She had learned that crying was dangerous but her whimpers broke his heart every time he heard them.

The last thing Judith deserved was to be in pain.

As had become habit, Carl gently checked her pulse and smiled as a loud snore escaped her. Judith was sprawled out on her side and had her knuckles in her mouth to suck on. She would still take a pacifier but her knuckles were her favorite.

"She's beautiful."

"She is."

Carefully, Enid set Harry Elephante in the crib and both of them held their breath as Judith shifted. She wrapped her arms around the plushie and slept on, sighing happily. As Carl put the storybooks on the bottom shelf, Enid carefully pulled Judith's pink blanket back over her. His heart threatened to burst out of his chest at the sight. Enid was anything but cold. Once you got past her shields, she was one of the warmest, kindest people around and seeing her be so tender with Judith? Damn.

She would be an excellent mother.

Carl quickly slammed the brakes on that train of thought. He still didn't know for sure if they were together and if they were, it was way too soon to be thinking about that stuff! They had only kissed for the first time 4 days ago. Neither of them was ready for more than that. Plus, they were only 17 and did Enid even want kids? Carl was open to the idea. He knew how to take care of a baby.

He was also scared of the idea because of what happened to his mother.

Every woman was different.

Every pregnancy was different but the very idea of losing his girl because of something he was responsible for was unbearable.

Enid may not want kids. Or maybe she did. That didn't mean that she would want his kids in particular, though. She could be with anyone she wanted and tomorrow was never promised. Something bad could happen to him. He could end up captured or dead. If that happened, then he hoped that she would be able to be happy again with someone else. She deserved that. Enid deserved a family, a Community, and every good thing that the Fucked New World had left.

"Are you hungry?"

"Huh?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Come on. We'll make some food and then we'll talk."

"Okay."

Other than Judith, the house was empty. His parents were walking the Perimeter. Daryl was out in the woods and Carol had disappeared again. Something was going on with her. Carl knew why his dad had made her leave The Prison. Everyone had tried to keep the facts from him but he knew. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. What Carol had done to Karen and David had been brutal but Carl could understand why she had done it. The sickness had started ruining the Prison and she had tried to get rid of what she thought was the source. She had been trying to protect all of them.

She had tried to protect Lizzie and Mika on the road to Terminus but obviously, something had gone very wrong. Carol had lost Sophia before all of that happened. He would never forget the sight of his best friend coming out of that Barn. He would never forget the way that Carol screamed and cried. Everyone, even Shane, had been heartbroken at the sight of what was left of Sophia: the Bite on her neck, her blue rainbow shirt covered with dried mud and blood.

His dad had to Put Her Down. His mom had told him not to look but he had still heard.

Carol was hurting badly. She knew how to put up a brave front but...maybe Michonne could talk to her. Michonne and Daryl and Glenn, too. Carl would try to do it but he wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want to make her pain worse like he had on The Farm. He still felt like shit for that, even though Carol had obviously forgiven him.

Sasha had lost Bob and Tyreese back to back. Her brother had been her best friend in the world from childhood and not only did he die, she hadn't even been able to say goodbye. She had been able to say goodbye to Bob but he had suffered so much. He had been Bit and then Gareth and the rest of his twisted followers had eaten his leg. Sasha was a Protector. She was a Planner and she hadn't been able to save them. She was alive and they weren't. On the surface, she was pissed off but the hurt? Carl wanted to help her but he didn't know how. He didn't know how to help Carol and Maggie? Jesus God.

Her whole family was Gone. Hershel had been murdered right in front of her and Beth had almost made it. She had been so close to making it but Dawn had stolen her from everyone. Maggie had lost her home, her mom, her brother, Jimmy, Patricia and Otis, almost everyone she ever loved was Gone. Thank God Glenn was still standing. Thank God she still had the rest of the Group but that didn't make the hurt go away, just bearable.

It wasn't enough for them to be someplace safe. They had to start healing, too. Carol was hurting. Maggie was hurting. Sasha was completely devastated and...

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Try again."

"...Carol's in a bad place. Sasha and Maggie, too. I'm worried about them."

"They've lost people, haven't they? People who meant everything to them?"

"Yeah. I want to help them feel better but I don't know where to start."

"All you can do is be there for them. It's always gonna hurt but with time and with people who give a damn about them around? They'll get better. You'll see."

"I hope so. What do you need me to do?"

"See if there's a cast iron skillet around here and get the venison. Are you allergic to anything?"

"Walkers."

"Fuckin' A. Anything else?"

"Bullshit."

She giggled and shook her head while pulling things out of the picnic basket.

"I brought some honeycomb, tomatoes, mushrooms, and sauerkraut and Olivia made more bread for toast. I'm thinking that we could make Philly cheesesteaks without the cheese and then have the honeycomb for dessert, maybe with some applesauce to dip it in. What do you think?"

"Sounds good. Definitely better than dog and rainwater."

"You ate dog?"

"Yeah. Dog food, too before we found The Prison."

"I've eaten turtle, snake, possum, and cat. Turtle actually tastes pretty good. Cat, not so much. Better than starving but if I've got a choice? Never again. You chop, I cook, and if you steal any of my ingredients, I may or may not cut you."

Carl laughed and after washing his hands, got to work beside her. Enid had on her usual jeans and boots but a different kind of shirt. It reminded him of the shirts that Beth used to wear. It was dark green with little gray butterflies printed on it. The sleeves went to her elbows and every time she leaned forward, he made sure to keep his eyes up. He had only slipped once and the sight of white lace made his mouth go bone dry.

Was she trying to kill him? If she was, he would die happy!

He also felt like a huge asshole for looking. What the hell was wrong with him?

Women were supposed to be respected. Women weren't objects to claim or to drool over. Plus, he was pretty sure that Enid wouldn't appreciate him looking at her breasts. They were really nice breasts but still, it wasn't right to look at them without permission. He was supposed to be a gentleman and...

"I don't mind if you look at them."

"What?"

"My boobs. I don't mind if you look at them. That's why I put this shirt and bra on in the first place. I wanted them to look their best for you. I guess it worked."

His face was almost as hot as the pan on the stove and Carl knew that Enid was enjoying making him feel uncomfortable. He could hear laughter in her voice and it was a sign of how far gone he was that he wasn't even mad. A happy Enid was always good, even if she was laughing at him.

Looking at her, she grinned and Carl rolled his eyes, even as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm not going to look at your...um, woman parts until we talk about us."

"...and that right there is part of the reason why there is an 'us' to talk about. I guess the Southern Gentleman isn't a myth after all. Get the applesauce out of the fridge, grab two waters and sit at the table. Don't forget the baby monitor."

They ate in warm silence and Carl appreciated how Enid kept glancing at the baby monitor between bites. She also looked towards the street every once in a while. She had her mother's knife with her, her brass knuckles were on, and he had spotted a larger blade sheathed at the small of her back. Enid was ready to protect herself and those around her at all times. Just because things were calm and quiet now didn't mean it would stay like that forever.

Her gun holster was empty but that would be changing soon. There were more Walkers roaming around and 19 had gotten inside 2 nights ago. Somebody had left the Gate open again. It had been Gabriel, which pissed a lot of people off, especially his parents. What good was having Walls and a Gate if they weren't used right? Amazingly, nobody had been hurt by the Pack but there had been a cry for guns to be allowed behind the Walls, a cry that Deanna had listened to since one of the Walkers almost gotten Reg. Noah had taken care of it and Deanna had nearly broken him in two with a hug before latching onto her shaken but still alive husband.

Leadership of the ASZ had officially gone to his dad, who quickly put a Council together like he had at The Prison. That was good. Trying to do everything by himself had led to nothing but trouble in the past. Along with Deanna and Reg, Tobin, Denise, Aaron, and Olivia were a part of it. The rest of the spots were filled by Maggie, Michonne, Daryl, Sasha, and Glenn. It worked out. The Council was split equally between the Group and Alexandrians. While his dad (and Michonne) had final say for Big Moves, everybody got to share ideas. Everybody had a voice.

There was still an Us and Them mentality but it was getting better. Things were looking up.

Of course, with the Gun Ban gone came the need for shooting lessons but that was being handled well enough. His dad had asked him to help with them and Carl didn't mind doing it. The Walls were being reinforced every day. Walker traps were being built outside of them like they had at The Prison and more Watch shifts had been added. Anybody over 18 (or who had the right skills) was added to the schedule and if their talk went as well as he hoped, Carl would make sure that most, if not all of his lookout shifts would be with Enid.

"Enid, I..."

"We kissed 4 days ago and it was great. I would like to keep doing it."

"Me too."

"I also like talking to you. You get me and you keep me from being too much of a bitch."

"Please don't call yourself that."

"I'll try not to but facts are facts. Are you okay with us being together?"

"More than okay. I really like you, Enid. I want to see where this thing between us goes."

"I want that too but us hooking up is gonna cause a lot of drama. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready and don't worry. The drama won't come from my family. They like you."

"They like me as Enid the Person but what about Enid the Girlfriend? What about your parents? I really like you, Carl but not enough to get shot in the face or my fucking head chopped off."

"My dad and Michonne are cool with us."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. He uh...the same day we talked in the apiary, we talked about girls and he gave me a really big box of...goddamn it..."

"Trojan?"

"He gave me a giant box. There's like 100 in there!"

"That must've been hilarious..."

"Not really, no."

"I drink Queen Anne's Lace tea. The seeds work like the Pill but it's good that you're covered."

"My dad's his own man but for Big Moves, he always talks to Michonne first. He wouldn't have given me the protection if she was worried that we'd be a bad idea."

"Good. I-I'm not ready to have sex with anyone yet but..."

"I'm not ready to do it either but when I am, I-I would like it to be with you, if that's what you want. It's okay if you don't. Kissing and hugging you is great."

She nodded and sighed softly, looking troubled.

"What's the matter?"

"I have to tell you something."

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine but Jessie showed up at my place earlier. She asked me to fuck Ron."

"...are you serious? You can't be serious."

"I wish I wasn't but I am."

"What is wrong with her? How could she come to you like that? Did you tell someone? Deanna? My dad? Michonne?"

"No."

"This is bullshit. She can't just do that and walk away. Where is she now?"

"Probably off crying in the corner someplace. I shut her down, Carl so don't be mad, okay?"

"How can you ask me not to be mad when she came to you like you were some kind of hooker?"

"Because it doesn't matter."

"It does matter, Enid! You matter!"

"I'm really glad that you want to stick up for me but Judith is still napping. Chill out."

Carl let out a loud breath through gritted teeth and lowered his voice. The nerve of Jessie! Carl understood that she was hurting. He felt for her, he really did. She was sad and beaten down. Her two kids were even worse off. Pete had spent years bullying them and putting them through hell. Jessie making crazy choices made a lot of sense but still! Still!

"What was she thinking? Did she tell you?"

"I figured it out. Ron's miserable and Jessie is trying her best to find a way to make him feel better so he doesn't off himself. He wants me so she decided to go for it. Any parent worth a damn will do anything to keep their kid alive, no matter how ridiculously fucked up it is."

"The only person that can fix Ron is Ron, not you or anyone else and you have the right to choose who you want to be with. Nobody should take that choice away from anyone. It's not right."

"I know that."

"Somebody...after we lost The Prison, my dad, Michonne, and me were on the road heading for Terminus and one night, we ran into a Group of guys that called themselves The Claimers. Daryl was rolling with them but he didn't know what kind of assholes they really were until it was too late. Dad killed one of their guys who attacked him earlier so they wanted payback before killing him. Me and Michonne were supposed to be payback."

"D-Did they...you weren't..."

"Almost. Dad bit the Leader's throat out and gutted the guy that wanted to do it. Michonne and Daryl took care of the rest of them. They're dead and they won't get to hurt anyone else."

"Good. I'm sorry that happened to you."

"I'm fine, now. Michonne helped me get through it but the idea of that happening to anyone pisses me off. Let me know if Jessie or Ron try anymore bullshit with you, okay?"

"I can take care of myself, Carl."

"I know. Let me know if Jessie or Ron try anymore bullshit with you, okay?"

"...okay."

He stood up and Enid watched warily as he approached her. He wasn't mad at her. Even if he was, Carl would never, ever put his hands on her. Men who did that to women and children weren't men. They were monsters. Carefully, Carl rested a hand on the nape of her neck and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Relaxing, Enid leaned into him and he hugged her, burying his face in her hair.

"You smell really good. Like flowers."

"I found perfume in the back of the Pantry. It's supposed to smell like Elizabeth Taylor."

"She smelled good."

Carl cringed at that but her fond sigh chased away any embarrassment.

"...you're weird."

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Don't be. I don't mind."

Enid stood up and yawned, stretching like she had the first time they met. Unlike that time, she pressed a kiss to his cheek before giving him the softest smile again. Carl knew that if he were a cartoon, big pink hearts would be floating above his head right now. Hell, he was tempted to check for them anyway. Enid was his girlfriend, now. She had chosen him to be her boyfriend. As long as he didn't fuck up, he would get all of her kisses and most of her smiles from now on.

"I usually take a nap around this time but there's a mess and..."

"I got it. If you want, you can nap here. You don't have to go home yet."

"...all right, then."

Instead of going for the couch like he figured she would, Enid went upstairs. Was she really going to...she wouldn't, would she? Carl hoped that she would but...

After cleaning up, Carl grabbed the baby monitor and headed for his room. Sure enough, Enid was curled up in his bed. His favorite pillow was under her head and she had made a nest out of the blankets. Her mother's knife was centimeters away from her left hand and he knew that if she felt the need to throw it, it would fly true. She was in his bed. She was so pretty and in his bed and...

"Come lay down."

/

Usually her afternoon naps only lasted for about an hour but when she woke up, it was dusk.

Enid blinked once, twice before sitting up slowly. Carl was gone but she could hear music and voices downstairs. She could also smell more food cooking and her stomach let out a loud roar. Checking the clock, she saw that she had been sleeping for 5 hours. Getting up, she put the blankets back in place and lowered the hem of her shirt. Carl had spooned up behind her and his hands ended up on her abdomen, stroking gently. Instead of pulling away, Enid had shifted as close as she could get to him and relaxed. Carl wouldn't hurt her. He wouldn't take advantage of her. She was in a safe place with a safe person so she slept with no bad dreams.

Turning on the bathroom sink, Enid splashed some water on her face before taking a deep drink from the spigot. Few things tasted better than cold, clean water. Enid was all too aware of how much of a luxury it was. After drying her hands thoroughly, she headed for the stairs and conversations stopped as she came into view. Carl's whole Group was there for dinner.

They had moved to different houses after settling in but they still made sure to stay connected. That was good. That was smart. Just because they were someplace safe now didn't mean that they were going to be safe forever. They had to keep their family and friend ties strong. It was possible to make it alone in the world. Sometimes, doing so was necessary but it was a lot harder, a lot sadder...

"Hey. You're awake."

"I am. Hi, everybody."

"Come sit down. We're about to eat. Carol and Maggie made dinner."

"Okay."

As soon as she sat next to Carl, Judith reached for her. Enid took her immediately, smiling at the sight of Harry Elephante on the table. His upraised trunk was a little damp. Once Judith was comfortable, she grabbed the plushie and continued gnawing at it happily.

"Did you get that for her?"

"Yes, sir. Every kid needs a stuffed animal."

"Thank you. You can call me Rick, if you'd like."

"Can I stick with Mr. Grimes for now?"

"You can."

Dinner was boar noodle soup, salad, and toast with honey for dessert. There was a pitcher of lemonade on the table and Enid chopped up some of her food to share with Judith. The baby had turned so her head rested on her shoulder and her free fingers played with her necklace. Carl also shared his food with his sister and Enid could feel everyone watching them. He must have let them know what was going on. Not like she had given him much of a choice since that she had taken over his bed like Goldilocks earlier.

Enid wasn't uncomfortable with the knowing looks and smiles, though.

Carl's family wouldn't hurt her unless she tried to hurt them first. She and Carl were a couple now. She wasn't ashamed about that. Neither was he. They had talked about their feelings and decided to move forward together. What would happen? Who would happen? Neither of them could say for sure but Enid knew that she had made the right choice today.

As much as Carl still scared her, being friends and more with him was a good idea. Not only had she gained a companion, she had met a whole Group full of genuinely good and strong people. They accepted her. If they didn't, they wouldn't have let her within 10 feet of Carl or Judith. For the first time in a very long time, she felt like she belonged someplace. She felt like she could let her guard down, just for a little while, and nothing bad would happen to her. She...she...

"Enid? Are you okay?"

She could feel the hot pressure building behind her eyes. Someone took a now sleeping Judith off of her lap as they shut tightly. Her face crumpled and the tears came out like an erupting volcano. Loud, body wracking sobs took her voice away. She put her hands over her mouth to muffle herself as she sank to her knees by her seat. As sad as she was, she still had to be careful. She couldn't make too much noise. Too much noise made The Dead come and when The Dead came, bad things happened.

Why was she even crying right now? It didn't make any sense.

Crying didn't solve anything. Crying took up too much energy and wasted precious bodily fluids. She was secure in a sturdy shelter. She had a good hot meal in her stomach and she wasn't thirsty at all. She wasn't injured. Assholes weren't trying to rob or kill her. Chompers weren't in Alexandria's Walls anymore or if they were, they weren't near her. Even if they were behind the Walls, she knew how to get rid of them. She wasn't helpless. She wasn't useless. She was doing fine right now, better than fine, so why was she crying? Why couldn't she stop crying?

Warmth engulfed her from behind and she collapsed into it. Carl. Carl was hugging her again. Enid liked it when he hugged her. When Carl hugged her, she didn't hurt. But she had just knocked him on his ass so maybe he was hurt. Honestly, Carl didn't have much of an ass to be knocked on but still, she wasn't exactly petite. She was a goddamned fucking mess. She was being a big crybaby in front of his whole Group and parents. She was being clingy and now, she messing up his shirts with all her blubbering. That wasn't good. She needed to stop crying right now!

"...I-I'm sorry..."

"I got you."

"I'm sorry..."

"I got you."

/

He didn't know what to do other than hold her.

Dinner had ended after Enid started crying. Most of the Group left but Glenn, Maggie, and his parents had stayed. That was good. If he couldn't find a way to make her feel better, then Carl knew they could. Maggie and Enid had gotten really close, bonding while helping the garden, so maybe they could talk about things. Carl was more than willing to listen but there were some things that he just wouldn't understand. Woman things and the type of loss she felt. Carl had lost loved ones and friends but compared to Enid, who had lost everything? He just...god, he was glad that she had stopped crying. The fact that she felt safe enough to cry in front of him was good but hearing her in pain, seeing her on the floor?

He wished he had a target. A human threat, a Walker, anything that he could take on so Enid wouldn't hurt anymore. She was in pain and it wasn't right. He had to do something. He had to help her feel better. He wouldn't feel right until he did and was that what being a serious boyfriend, being a husband felt like? Did Glenn feel like this all the time with Maggie? Did Abraham feel it towards Rosita? Aaron to Eric? His dad with his mom and now with Michonne?

Carl would have to ask him about it later.

He would know. He would help him.

His dad always helped him.

Slowly, Enid turned around, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I got you. I'm right here."

She nodded.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

She shook her head.

"Okay. Are you ready to go home?"

Enid nodded quickly and they got off the floor. Carl's arm was wrapped around her waist and she wouldn't look up from her boots. He understood. Enid was known for being a strong woman. She was known to take no one's shit. She felt bad for crying in front of everyone. He had felt embarrassed that way before and after The End so he wouldn't judge her.

"Would you like someone to stay with you for a while?"

She nodded.

"Maggie? Glenn? Do you want me to go get Aaron?"

She shook her head.

"Me?"

Her face twisted and she moved away from him, scuffing the floor with the toe of her boot.

"Enid, do you want me to stay with you?"

"Yeah, but I just finished crying all over you. I'll be fine if you want to stay here."

"If you want me to stay, I will. You shouldn't be by yourself right now."

"...go check on Judith first. Are you done with the comics yet?"

"Yeah. I'll grab them and we'll go."

"Don't bend the corners."

"I won't. I promise."

"I believe you. Hurry up."

/

"I didn't start crying earlier because something was wrong. It happened because for the first time in a long time: everything felt right. I know that sounds dumb but..."

"It doesn't. I get it."

"...you do, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"I gotta get used to that."

As they walked through Alexandria, clouds rolled in. The storm arrived just after they got inside. The wind was howling and the rain was driving. Even if she wanted Carl to drop her off, it would've been impossible for him to get home without getting drenched. If that happened, he risked getting sick. Getting sick wasn't a good idea. Denise had officially taken over as the ASZ's doctor and she was doing a great job but it wasn't like Before. Everybody's immune system was different now and Enid didn't want to risk losing him already. She had just gotten him, damn it.

More importantly, she just wasn't ready for Carl to go home yet.

Enid had eaten some honeycomb, wiped her face, and headed for the basement door. Carl being Carl had stayed still, making her sigh with fond exasperation. It was a good thing that he never assumed anything. It was wonderful that he didn't feel entitled to her at all times but sometimes, he could be fucking oblivious. Patiently, she had come to him and grasped his wrist, leading the way.

A part of her had cringed that the mental image of her tugging him all over the place like some of the girls used to back home. The boys rarely looked happy when they did that. They looked embarrassed at best and at worst? Well, that was what led to tears falling, juice boxes being thrown, and teachers having to call home. Looking over her shoulder, the nerves drained away. Carl looked surprised. He looked like he could've been knocked over with a feather but he wasn't embarrassed. He wasn't trying to flee. After the surprised look came one that was happy and more than a little grateful. Carl really wanted to stay with her. He had said so earlier and meant it.

Currently, they were resting in the lounge area of the basement. She was laying on her back and he was on his side. There had been couches and chairs but Enid had used them to help barricade the second exit. The door was always locked and she had put a trip line trap there to send anyone or thing breaking in tumbling. Whatever furniture that wasn't absolutely mandatory went to that staircase. If things got hairy, the staircase could still be used as an escape route but really, there was only one way in and out. That was for the best.

The lounge area now had several rugs, faux furs, blankets, cushions, and beanbags that she had scavenged. Her old room had a big nest, too. She used to spend hours reading, drawing, and playing puzzle games on the internet. She had also had an entertainment system, which the house she had now did as well. It was filled mainly with books and comics but there were DVDs. VCR tapes, too with the machines to run them. Did he want to watch something? Read something? She should've offered him some dessert or maybe some tea...

"I'm fine, Enid."

"...you reading my mind, now?"

"Just a lucky guess."

Enid nodded and stood, looking at him. Having learned his lesson, Carl got up and followed her to bed. It was a Queen size bed with a wrought iron frame high enough off the ground for a person to comfortably hide underneath. Soft sheets, thick blankets and faux fur covered the bed's surface, along with several pillows. Enid had taken off her boots and changed into pajamas in the bathroom. Now, she had on a pair of red basketball shorts, a black t-shirt, and a pair of pink fleece ankle socks. Carl had put his boots next to hers, took off his flannel of the day (brown plaid with white detail), and underneath his beige thermal was a white undershirt.

The nightstand on his side of the bed soon held his Hat, Bowie Knife, and Beretta.

The other one had her Glock 19, alarm clock, and a desk lamp. The flowery perfume she had put on earlier was next to a bottle of cucumber scented lotion. Her mother's knife was underneath her favorite pillow and she got into bed. Instead of cocooning herself, she immediately made room for Carl. After swallowing thickly, he climbed in. He had changed into gray sweatpants before dinner so she knew that if he felt uncomfortable, it was because of how intimate they'd been already.

There had been hugging. They had held hands before hugging. Their first kisses had only been days before and now they were sharing beds? They weren't going to have sex in the beds but still! They were going at warp speed. Was it inappropriate? Were they being inappropriate?

She couldn't speak for Carl but Enid honestly didn't give a fuck if they were. Not anymore.

Life was far too short and fragile for bullshit, especially when it came to good things.

Good things were rare. She and Carl were a good thing. They were a damned good thing that neither of them had seen coming. Enid wouldn't ruin it. She would make sure that Carl wouldn't ruin it and she would be damned if she let anyone else do it. Things happened. Sometimes, relationships didn't work but if she and Carl couldn't manage to stay together as a couple, she would make sure that they would stay friends. Friends were hard to come by and...

"...is it okay if I hold you?"

She nodded and smiled as he kissed her brow again, listening to the driving rain and thunder.

"Will everything be okay with the plants and bees?"

"Rain always helps and if something does go wrong out there, between me, Maggie, and your dad, we'll be just fine. I like Maggie."

"She likes you, too. So does Glenn."

"They're perfect together. Like soulmates. Did they know each other before The End?"

"No. They met on The Farm after I got shot."

"Wait, what? Somebody shot you? Why? What happened?"

"It was an accident. A man named Otis was hunting near where we were looking for Sophia and the bullet went through the baby deer and into me. That's how we met the Greenes."

"Oh, my God."

"Getting shot didn't really hurt after the first 10 seconds. It was like BOOM and all the breath got knocked out of me before I hit the ground. The last thing I remember before waking up for the first time was my dad screaming and a lot of blood in my mouth. The blast got me in the chest and left a bunch of bullet fragments in me. Hershel took them all out and dad gave me blood transfusions until I could get better. He gave me his Hat after I woke up for good. He said that we were part of a Club now and that I was the new Sheriff in town."

"That's why...I thought you had asthma because there's always a rasp when you breathe but...oh, my God, how are you alive right now? I'm glad you are but Jesus Christ..."

"Luck. Just plain luck. We found the right people in the right place who knew how to help at the right time. That, and I guess I just wasn't ready to go yet."

Enid squeezed him and after a second, scooted away from him. Opening the second drawer of her nightstand, she pulled out something that made him grin broadly.

"Seriously?"

"Hell, yeah. I got a bunch for the school but I kept a few sheets for me."

Carefully, Enid peeled off a shiny gold star sticker and put it on the bridge of Carl's nose. His periwinkle eyes crossed as he tried to look at it and she smiled, ducking her head shyly.

"Good job, Sport."

"Thank you. How do I get more?"

"Keep living and keep kissing me. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Good. Bedtime."

/

"...so, how was it?"

Turning slowly, Carl took in the sight of Ron standing in the street, smirking at him.

"What?"

"Enid...you were at her place all night, weren't you? She's always hanging around your Group now and Sam told me that he saw you two making out. He didn't want to but I made him."

"Ron..."

"How was it, man? Was she good? I bet she was..."

"It's not like that and even if it was, it's none of your business."

"Bullshit!"

"What? What's bullshit?"

"This whole thing! Her and you. Why you?"

"I don't know."

"She...she had to know how I feel about her. She had to see it but...she barely knows you but she picked you like it was nothing. I've been right here in front of her since she got here but she just...I don't fucking get it. What did you do? What did you say?"

"I don't know."

"You have to know!"

Carl met Ron on the sidewalk, blocking him from getting closer to the house. Judith was already up. He could see Michonne and his dad in her room. Daryl would be coming out to take his guard shift soon. If Ron was going to start acting like Pete, then he wouldn't get anywhere near his family. Carl wouldn't let him. He didn't like Ron's body language or his tone of voice right now. He looked like he was going to explode at any second and the look in his eyes? God, it was so...

"Don't look at me like that! Everybody looks at me like I'm just like that asshole and it's not fair!"

When Ron made to rush him, Carl did one of the tackles Tyreese had taught him at The Prison to stop him. It was best to get someone coming at him off of their feet by going for their middle to use their speed against them. If a tackle was done right, 9 times out of 10, the asshole would go flying. If they didn't go flying, it would definitely slow them down long enough for Carl or whoever was with him to take them down for good. Waiting to see what he would do next, Carl saw that Ron was looking at up him with shocked fear.

"I'm sorry, man."

A noise that was between a scoff and laugh escaped Ron. Instead of anger or fear, there was nothing now and Carl was more unnerved by that than anything. Was Ron crazy like Lizzie?

"You're not sorry at all. You don't give a fuck about me or my family. No one in this place does. We're on our own and as soon as something bad happens, we're gonna be the first ones left behind or killed. I know what everyone says: the washed up, wasted surgeon, his weak little ex-wife who needed a Group to save her instead of doing it herself, and their two fucking demon kids making life harder for everyone. It's cool, though. See, we're all dead already. We're just not buried, yet."

Ron was definitely crazy like Lizzie but in a different way. She had thought that Walkers were alive and misunderstood. Ron just...he wasn't sure what Ron was but Carl knew he was wrong.

"It doesn't have to be like that."

"Yeah...right. Whatever."

Carl kept a close eye on Ron until he was gone and adjusted the brim of his Hat. Even with Ron's raised voice and the small scuffle, nobody had come out to gawk at them. That was good. There was less chance of people getting hurt that way. Also, he was sick of being watched like he was in some sort of soap opera. He was sick of his Group being judged and found lacking. What did they know about anything? Things were getting better but the Alexandrians as a whole still had a long way to go before they could really make it in The Fucked New World.

One thing for sure: he was definitely going to have to watch his back around Ron from now on.

Not only was Ron jealous about his relationship with Enid, he was jealous of his family. Jealous feelings could become deadly actions. Shane had proven that on The Farm and the assholes who attacked The Prison had, too. Good and dumb luck could only last for so long. Eventually, Carl knew that he'd end up dead but he would be damned if he went out without a fight first!

And Ron definitely seemed like the kind of person to try and take him out with his back turned. Either that or he'd get someone to do it for him or he'd trap him with too many Walkers around.

Ron Anderson could talk all the shit but he wasn't brave enough to back it up.

A big part of that attitude was because of Pete's bullying so Carl felt for him but only to a point. Ron was far from the first person to have a fucked up childhood and family. He didn't need to get over it but he didn't get to keep being a brooding brat because of his trauma.

The Andersons continued to be a problem, even after things changed.

Pete was still drunk and angry, despite him keeping to himself now. Jessie was still depressed and desperate. While he still felt sorry for her, Carl was still angry at what she asked Enid to do. Sam was a hermit like his dad and Ron? Goddamn it.

Honestly, every Anderson just needed to stay away from him and his family. They would get his family members hurt or killed in a crisis or during their breakdowns and if that happened? Carl wasn't sure how much mercy he would be able to show them. Probably none...

The front door opened and Michonne came out in her Constable uniform. He knew that he should stand up from the wicker chair or at least say good morning but his mind wouldn't stop racing.

"Carl? You okay?"

"...no."

She was in the chair next to him immediately and Carl looked up from his boots.

"What's the matter?"

"I've got a bad feeling about Ron. I don't want him to hurt any of us."

"You think he would?"

"I think he would try. Michonne, he's not right. A lot of it is because of his dad being an asshole but there's something else there. Something..."

"I know. All of us see it. Deanna, Denise, and Maggie are trying to figure out a way to help him."

"I don't want him to hurt Enid. I know that she can take care of herself but..."

"If something happens, we'll make sure that she'll be all right. She's one of us, now."

"She is?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

/

9 Days Later...

"The next one's going in your head. Come out with your hands up. Nice and slow."

The stranger was dressed in black and gray: most notably a leather duster and gray winter's hat. He had a white bandana covering half his face. His hair was the same shade of brown as hers and shoulder length. Even with a gun pointed at him, his crystalline eyes were kind, amused even, and that added to her wariness. He was clean, armed with a gun but he wasn't carrying anything with him. Did that mean he had a friend nearby? A vehicle or maybe a horse? He was definitely from a Camp or Community. Was he a part of a good one or was he a spy for assholes?

What did he want?

"Go inside and get Mr. Grimes. Hurry up."

Glenn and Eric quickly ushered the students away. Daryl had his crossbow up and Carl came up next to her, pointing his Beretta right in between the stranger's eyes. When neither of them said anything, Enid realized that she had been picked to take point. That made sense. She was the one who discovered the potential threat, after all. Enid lowered her gun but kept it unholstered, just in case the stranger tried anything stupid.

"Who the hell are you? Why are you watching us?"

"I'm a friend."

"Friends don't lurk in the woods watching people like a creep for the last 2 days."

"You noticed me?"

"Yep. You got a name, Friend?"

"Jesus."

"Your parents didn't name you Jesus. They loved you. Try again."

The stranger laughed and clarified, "My name is Paul Rovia. My friends call me Jesus."

"I can see why. Aren't you hot? You're wearing a ton of leather and black..."

"I'm used to it. You want to tell me your name? Your friends' names?"

"Not yet."

"Fair enough. That was a nice shot. You almost got me."

"If I wanted to get you, I would've. I didn't want to."

The sound of running didn't make her turn but her eyes widened as Rick Grimes' Colt Python slammed into the stranger's temple, knocking him out cold. Carl chuckled and rolled his eyes fondly before holstering his gun.

"Really, dad? Again?"

"Hush."

"...I don't think he's an asshole, Mr. Grimes. You-you didn't have to hit him so hard."

"Better safe than sorry. Good job spotting him, Enid. Daryl, help me with him. He's not coming in the Walls. Glenn, Sasha, go and check where he was. See if you can find anything. Michonne?"

"I got them."

Them meaning her and Carl. Seeing that Carl was about to protest, Enid grabbed his clenched fist and squeezed. After a couple of seconds, he placed his hand in hers. She gave him a pleading look as they walked behind Michonne. No, they weren't helpless. No, they weren't useless and no, they didn't need to be coddled but appearances could be deceiving. If this Jesus fellow turned out to be an asshole, the best thing they could do was to get inside. They knew how to defend themselves and protect others. If the need arose, Enid knew several hiding places inside, underneath, and around the ASZ. They would get answers later. Protecting the Community came first.

An expression that was precariously close to a pout crossed his face before he nodded.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. What do you think he wants from us?"

"I'm not sure. He doesn't look like he's been living rough. He's clean, he's got at least one gun, and he kinda sounds like an ambassador."

"There have to be other Communities and Camps out there. Maybe he's from one of them."

"I hope he's not an asshole. He really doesn't look like it."

"Looks can be deceiving."

"True."

"He was right about one thing though: that shot was sick."

"I do what I can. You're a good shot, too. Of course, you have to be. You're the Sheriff's son."

Carl grumbled at her cheeky reply and put a hand at the small of her back to guide her through the Gate. She liked it when he did that. It felt good. They waved to Michonne as she headed back to help Rick before making sure the Gate was shut behind them. Eugene would be there to take his Gatekeeper shift soon so Enid sat down to wait for him. Even though David and Betsey, Scott, and Bruce were on Watch, it was never a good idea to leave the Gate unattended for too long.

"What else are you doing today?"

"Maggie's finishing up the harvest so I was going to hang out at the Infirmary with Denise. You?"

"Playing with Judith, folding some laundry, and then I've got Watch tonight from 10 to 6."

"You want me to keep you company?"

"You don't have to."

"Carl, do you want me to keep you company?"

"Yeah."

"All right, then. I'll show up around midnight."

"Cool. Here come Eugene and Tara. Walk me home?"

"Sure."

While passing Tara, Enid accepted her fist bump before giving the Vulcan salute to Eugene with her free hand. Her other hand was in Carl's and she grinned at Tara's wolf whistle at the now common sight. The more time passed, the more open the Grimes Group became with her, even Carol. They exchanged a recipe nearly every day and Enid could tell that the woman genuinely liked her. She was still fighting off her demons but she was getting better or at least she wasn't on the verge of breaking anymore.

Sasha liked to read in the garden and when Enid had shyly asked her to help with her shooting, she had agreed. That was why she was able to spot Jesus in the woods so easily. Sasha was one of the sweetest people around and Enid was glad that she was finally starting to settle into Alexandria.

How much that settling in had to do with Abraham, she didn't want to dwell on. As far as she knew, Abraham and Rosita were still together as a couple but...well, it wouldn't a normal life without a bit of drama, would it? Whatever happened, Enid hoped that it would be okay in the end. Rosita deserved to be happy just as much as Sasha did and she swore if Big Red handled things wrong, she would stomp him. Not too hard because that was for Sasha and Rosita to do but still!

"Carl, I..."

Whatever she was going to say was lost to the all too familiar sound of gunshots.

They looked at each other with alarm and took off running down the street.

They met Aaron on the way and he looked very grim.

"Where did they come from?"

"Pete's."

Enid blew out a breath and nodded, unholstering her gun again. After his fall from grace, Pete put himself on House Arrest. He decided that if he couldn't have his job in the ASZ anymore, then he didn't want to be a part of the Community at all. He wanted people to feel sorry for hm and to be sad that he was gone. Instead, things kept going without him, adding to his foul attitude.

Carter would bring him supplies every week and Ron would visit him every day. It was a cause for concern but nobody had stopped him from doing it. If Ron wanted to see his sperm donor, that was his choice. Why, Enid didn't understand. Jessie and Sam, as miserable as they still were, wanted nothing more to do with the bastard, much to his displeasure. In Pete's eyes, everything was just a misunderstanding and...

"Hi, guys."

"Ron, what did you do? Where's Pete?"

An eerie smile was his reply but given that his face was splattered with blood, Enid could connect the dots. Ron was still holding the gun and she backed away slowly, bringing Carl with her.

"What's the matter, Enid? Are you scared of me?"

"Right now? Yeah. You just killed your dad, didn't you?"

"He had it coming for being such an asshole. Don't worry. I shot him in the head so he won't Turn. When I pulled out the gun, he started laughing at me. He said that I didn't have the guts to do it. He said that I was weak and useless just like my Mom but he was wrong. I'm strong and now, he's gone forever. I did my job and took care of my family. Aren't you proud of me?"

No, she really wasn't. Yes, Pete Anderson being dead was a good thing. It was one less threat to Alexandria's future. One of the biggest sources of nay-saying and potential rebellion was gone. No more resources would be wasted on him. Denise would no longer wince every time the Infirmary door opened. Sam and Jessie would no longer have to worry about the Boogeyman coming back to get them but it seemed that Ron had taken on the mantle. His smile was bright but his eyes were as dead as his dad. Enid knew that he had been teetering on the edge for a long time. Him losing his shit was inevitable but she had expected him to kill himself, not this!

"Ron, please give me the gun."

"How come, Aaron? Everyone else has guns, now. Why can't I have one?"

"Ron?!"

"Hi, Mom. Where's Sam? Still hiding in his room listening to that stupid fucking Tulip song?"

"Baby, are you okay? What did you do? Whose blood is that?"

"I did what I had to do. You wanna see?"

"In a minute. Listen, Deanna and Reg want to talk to you. You're not in trouble but..."

"I better not be. They knew what he was doing to us but they wouldn't do shit, not until Saint Rick made them. Where is he at, anyways? He's supposed to be in charge, isn't he? That's why you like him so much. You dream about him and give him Bambi eyes but it's not gonna happen. He's with Michonne so it's never gonna happen just like me and Enid because she's with Carl. Typical."

"I'm so sorry."

"You should be. It's your fault that she doesn't want me. Yours and Pete's. You both ruined me."

"If I could do it all again..."

"Save it."

The eerie smile was gone and the gun was up again, now pointing directly at Jessie's face. The blonde cringed at the sight of it but stood firm. More people were coming to help. Enid could hear them running and Carl put his arms around her, shielding her with his body. His pulse was pounding in his neck and she patted his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

"You're not gonna say anything? You're not gonna try to stop me?"

"If...if it's what you feel like you have to do, then okay. I just want you to be happy. That's all I've ever wanted and I kept fucking up. I should've been stronger. I should've left him a long time ago but I was too scared to do it. I was a coward and you and Sam paid the price for it. I'm sorry."

"...me too."

Everyone screamed as another shot rang out but instead of Jessie's, Ron's brain took the bullet. Enid heard the body hit the ground and retched. As if released from a puppeteer's strings, Jessie went to her knees. The guttural wail she let out was heart wrenching and Carol knelt with her, hugging her from the side. Enid was shaking and everything was just so bad, terrible...

"Go. Carl, take her and go. Now."

Rick. That was Rick's voice. He was back inside the Walls. Deanna and Reg were with him, too. They were crying. Everyone was crying. Where was Jesus or Paul or whatever he called himself? Where had he come from? Was he an asshole or a good person? Was anyone going to tend to Ron's body? Pete wasn't worth more than the bare minimum but even with all of his issues, Ron didn't deserve to just lay there like roadkill or a downed Chomper. That wouldn't be right.

What was going to happen to the ASZ? What was going to happen to Jessie and Sam? Why had it come to this? Knowing that something bad happening was inevitable didn't make it any easier to endure. It just made it hurt more and...and...

Was she a terrible person for being relieved that Ron was dead?

The situation was beyond fucked up. It should've never happened but Enid knew that it could've been much worse. More people could've been hurt or killed if he continued his rampage. Ron would've come after her next. In his mind, she had broken his heart, after all. If not her, then definitely Carl or another member of his family would've been targeted. Now that Ron was dead, those fears had been put to rest. She had said that she was willing to kill him if he tried to do anything to hurt her and she hadn't been lying at the time but...oh, god...

"Carl?"

"I'm right here."

They were at the Grimes House. Carl had taken her home with him. They were actually in his bedroom. When had they gotten there? Had she been that out of it?

"He...he..."

"I know. I saw him do it."

"You made sure that I didn't."

"Yeah."

"...thank you..."

"I'm gonna take care of you as long as I can, Enid. That's how this works."

"I-I wanna take care of you, too."

"You do. Every day. Stay here, I need to check on Judith."

"There's still the stranger to worry about. Jesus or Paul or whatever the hell his name is..."

"I'll be right back."

"I'll be right here."

"...you promise?"

She nodded.

A part of her wanted to run away and never look back but what good would it do? It wouldn't make the pain stop. Running away would actually hurt her more than staying. Alexandria was home base, now. There were people who she would miss terribly behind its Walls. People like Maggie, Glenn, and Aaron. And Carl. She didn't want to leave him behind. Also, Enid knew for a fact that if she ran away, he would chase her to the ends of what was left of the Earth. There would be a whole search party put together, which would waste resources and time. She didn't want to cause trouble. She didn't want to put anyone in unnecessary danger and...

More tears spilled out of her eyes as the bed shifted and Carl spooned up behind her. He buried his face in her shoulder and Enid could feel him crying, too. They laid there for a long while, trying to process what had happened. The day had started out so normally and now it was a huge tragic mess, all before noon. Christ, it wasn't even noon yet! Slowly, she turned around and he held her tighter, rolling onto his back. Reaching, she found the pulse point in his wrist and he found the one at her collarbone. Ron was dead but they weren't. They were still breathing and...

"Why did he do it?"

"Sometimes, the sadness is just too much."

"No, that I get. I just want to know why he did it like that. Why did he make everybody watch? Why did he make his mom watch? What...was it supposed to be like one last 'up yours' to everyone? A 'look what you made me do' type of thing? And as fucked up as it is, I can't help but be glad that he just went after Pete before doing it. He could've done way worse."

"We're both fucked up because I feel the same way. I thought...I've been scared he was gonna come after you. I had dreams, nightmares of him coming after you."

"Same. I was scared that he'd hurt you or your dad or even Judith."

"Someone needs to go check on Sam."

"Someone needs to stay with Jessie. I was pissed at her for asking me to use my pussy as a band-aid. I really was but she meant well. She just wanted everyone to be okay. She tried."

"She did."

"...life can be a real bitch, sometimes."

"Yeah."

/

The Next Evening...

It wasn't the first and unfortunately, it would be far from the last sunrise funeral he had been to.

The rest of the day had been spent in near silence. Everyone that had a job to do still did it but there was so much gloom in the air. Carl knew the feeling all too well. It had been at The Camp after the Walker attack, on the road from the destroyed CDC, The Farm after Sophia, The Prison...it only made sense that it would come to Alexandria. Bad things happened. Bad people happened and it couldn't be avoided.

Still, the pointlessness of it burned. Knowing in his mind that Pete and Ron had made their own choices didn't stop his heart from screaming for a better answer. It didn't stop him from feeling guilty for not trying harder to get through to Ron. Yes, the only person that could've saved Ron was Ron at the end of the day but could he have said something, done something differently? Half of a family was Gone and given how they looked during the service, the other half didn't have much longer to stay. Jessie had laid down on Ron's grave and Sam was mute, staring but seeing nothing. Carol and Denise were staying with them but the sadness...god, the sadness...

"He spoke well. Gabriel."

Enid was standing by the pond near the gazebo and he jumped down to join her.

"Giving a good eulogy's the least he can do after the shit he tried to pull."

Maggie had overheard him talking to Deanna, calling the Group nothing but monsters and sinners that the ASZ needed to be protected from. Thankfully, Deanna hadn't listened but the damage was done. Gabriel was persona non grata among them and it would be a long time before Carl forgave him, much less his dad. It had taken a lot but Michonne had stopped everyone from ending him. If they did, it would prove him right and risk their place in Alexandria. The best thing to do was to keep showing Deanna that they were good people and to let Gabriel stew in his own juices. If he saw them as monsters, then he could go back to being on his own or look to the Alexandrians for protection and friends. To the man's credit, he at least seemed genuinely sorry now.

"Jesus isn't an asshole. He's from a place called The Hilltop 10 miles West from here. It was a museum before The End. Now, it's a Walled Place like here. There's a big brick house, lots of FEMA trailers, a doctor, livestock, blacksmiths, and tons of crops. Way more than I can grow, even with your dad and Maggie helping me for years. He wants to take a squad to his Leader to make a trading and protection deal. They've got another one with a place called The Kingdom about 8 miles North of there and it's working out. You were right about more Communities. There are definitely assholes out there that we'll have to deal with but right now? We found new friends."

"Wow."

"Yeah. The Council's going to let everyone know tomorrow morning and get on the road. Your dad told me what's going on now because he wants me to come with them. I'm the main farmer and the beekeeper so I guess that means I'm important."

"You are. I'm going to stay behind with Judith if he asks me to come with you guys. I want to see the other Communities and meet new people but I...I'm not ready to be far away from her yet."

"I get it. Maybe one day we can go on a Run together or something. A road trip would be fun."

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

"After we get the deal done, I hope we can bring back a cow. I fucking love cows."

Carl laughed at that and she punched him in the shoulder, thankfully without her brass knuckles.

"Shut up, cows are great and oh my god, we're gonna have cheese again! And real eggs and milk, too. I'm gonna make you and Judith grilled cheese. I make the best grilled cheese..."

Even if it tasted awful, Carl would love it because she made it for him. He still felt the gloom but Enid was making it better. She always did. Talking to her, listening to her, just holding her hand helped him remember the good before the bad. She was like Michonne, Judith, his dad, all the people he was close to. He wanted to live. That was plain truth. He was willing to fight to live but having people close to his heart, people who wanted and needed him to stay alive? It kept him from giving into the lingering demons inside of him. Everyone had their demons. Everyone had their monsters and not everybody could hold them off. Ron, Pete, and so many others had proven that. But, for the time being and hopefully well into the future, Carl could.

And Enid should be a part of that future. He really wanted her to be part of it.

/

"Olivia helped me put it together. It's a Best of Alexandria box. It should make the negotiations go faster and every road trip needs snacks, you know?"

"I do. Good job, Enid."

Hearing praise from Michonne Grimes made her feel 20 feet tall. Her and her husband, not just because they were Carl's parents but because they were the Best. Rick and Michonne were what every Survivor should strive to be, every LEADER. They knew what to do and when to do it so if they said that someone was on the right track, they were.

"Carl's not coming with us."

"I know. He told me yesterday. He wants to stay close to Judith. He's a good big brother."

"He's a good man in general."

"Just like his dad. That's why we're with them."

"...that and they're cute."

Enid laughed and Michonne beamed at her before climbing into the RV. Carefully setting the crate down, she watched as Rick and Carl talked on the porch. The two of them hugged tightly before Rick got in the RV with Michonne and Jesus. Abraham and Tara were putting the last of the gas in the RV. With Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, Abraham, and Michonne all being part of the delegation, Carl was going to be in charge of the Grimes Group. If need be, he would also be the one in charge of the ASZ's defense and a voice on the Council with Sasha. Deanna and Reg would visit The Hilltop and The Kingdom after everything was set. For now, both Monroes would stay behind and continue concentrating on expanding the ASZ's territory.

With the addition of livestock and horses would come the need to clear more area before building more of the Walls. More solar panels had been found and were already being installed in people's yards, as well as the common areas. Deanna also wanted to build a playground and Enid was already planning her Run to help. That would be the Run she would take Carl with her on. Carl was creative, resourceful, and just the idea of getting to spend so much time with him without adults? Yeah. It was happening. Maybe not before spring but it would happen and it would be...

Carl carefully passed a drowsy Judith to Olivia and headed right for her. Passing the crate of goods to Tara, she met him halfway. Gathering her in his arms, he pressed a deep kiss to her lips. Surprised but pleased, Enid immediately responded, standing on her tiptoes and embracing him tenderly. Dimly, she registered catcalling and a couple of honks from the RV's horn but she could barely hear it over the pounding of her heart.

When had Carl gotten so bold? Who or what had inspired him and how could Enid thank them?

Her eyes drifted open and Carl kept cupping her face, looking at her as if were memorizing her.

"You come back home to me, all right?"

His voice was husky, filled with more Deep South than ever, and it made her knees wobble, as did the fierce look in his periwinkle gaze. Carl Grimes may be precious and adorable like his sister. He may be a sweet Southern Gentlemen with a heart of gold but he was very much a grown man, now. Enid wouldn't be forgetting that fact anytime soon and neither would anyone else.

"I'll do my best."

"Then, I'm not worried. Stay close to my parents and get it done. I know you can. "

"I'm gonna bring us home a cow and some chickens, Scarecrow. Just you wait."

"Hell, yeah. Go, so you can come back and I want that grilled cheese. You promised."

"I did. I gotta go. Everyone's waiting..."

"Come back to me."

"I will. I...never mind..."

"Say it."

"It's too soon."

"No, it's not. Say it. Please say it?"

"...I love you. I love you, Carl. So fucking much."

"I love you, too. Go."

Carl pecked her lips, gave her behind a quick squeeze, and headed back to the porch. Once Judith was back in his arms, he used the giggling toddler's hand to wave to her. Enid smiled as she waved back, getting into the RV.

That was her future. Everything that had just happened was what she wanted her future to be. She wanted to be a part of a Community. She wanted to be part of a family and she wanted it with Carl Grimes. Anything could happen. Anything and anyone bad could happen at any time. Tomorrow was never promised. Hell, with The Dead roaming around, the next hour was never promised but if Enid had a choice, she would fight to stay as long as she could.

After losing her parents, Enid never thought that she would feel happy again. She never thought that she would feel like she belonged anywhere. As time passed behind Alexandria's Walls, she had resigned herself to the fact that she would be alone for the rest of her life. She wouldn't have friends or family again, both by choice and by circumstance. She would always be too hurt to try and nobody would be brave or patient enough to try.

She had been wrong.

The Virus, The Spread, and The End had changed everything, broken everything.

But just because things were broken didn't mean that they couldn't grow again.

All it took was time, patience, and a bit of luck.

All it took was someone to care.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

The Dominant Template in TWD

Hey Everyone! This is a very over-arching pattern that I pinned down after 10x17 aired. So I reference that episode several times. But I reference plenty of others as well. Hope you enjoy it. It’s a new pattern you can look for!

Let’s just say that watching 10x17 and thinking about how Hershel Jr.’s arc is like Beth’s sent me down a rabbit hole and this is the result.

We’ve seen this template so often, I really think this is the dominant template they use to plan arcs on the show, from minor characters that only last a few episodes to full-season arcs to Beth’s multi-season arc.

And once again, this isn’t super groundbreaking. We’ve definitely identified pieces of this before. I’m just kind of seeing it in a new light.

In each example of this template, these are the step I’ve identified as always present or present most of the time. (And maybe they’re always present but I just can’t think of how in every case.)

Basic Template:

1. New threat to the community arises.

2. TF attempts a preliminary fix to the new threat.

3. It doesn’t work, everything goes wrong, people die, and often, the community itself falls.

4. The group splits into smaller groups for various reasons.

5. These smaller groups include the splitting up of both romantic couples and more platonic relationships.

6. Not sure if this is always the case, but often two people end up in a group together who will soon become love interests.

7. More often than not, in the chaos, someone goes missing and is presumed dead, but they aren’t, and they return at some point.

8. Romantic Reunions – eventually the entire group will come back together to face the threat, but the romantic reunions always happen PRIOR to this.

9. The group solidifies again, coming back together to face the threat.

10. Any familial or platonic reunions that haven’t happened yet happen at this point.

So, let’s look at some examples. It gets complicated and wordy to go through every example of this, and I struggle with the best way to explain it. There are kind of two examples in each season (think of it as one for every 8 episodes, roughly) but they also tend to be related, so you could think of them as Part A and Part B.

S4. The first big threat is actually the virus. So not bad people. But let’s focus on the second big threat: the Governor. This example is better for what I’m trying to explain.

Governor’s Arc:

1. The threat is the Gov trying to take over the prison. The secondary threat that brings the group back together will be Terminus. In this case, they’re pretty much two different threats, but in most other seasons, they’re related.

2. Preliminary attempt could be seen as what they did to defeat the Gov in S3, which ultimately didn’t work. You could also see Rick trying to negotiate as the preliminary action that doesn’t work.

3. It doesn’t work. Everything goes wrong. Hershel dies. The prison falls.

4. The group splits into smaller groups, not by choice but because of circumstances.

5. Romantic couples that split: Glaggie, Richonne (They weren’t canon yet, but I think this was purposeful because the writers knew someday they would be.) Platonic splits: Rick/Judith, Sasha/Tyreese, Maggie/Beth, Daryl/Carol, Michonne/Carl.

6. Obviously the two who will become love interests are Beth and Daryl, but there’s also Sasha/Bob to consider.

7. Missing and Presumed Dead: Baby Judith

8. Romantic reunions before the entire group comes back together: Richonne in 4x09 and Glaggie in 4x15.

9. They all come back together at Terminus.

10. Platonic reunions after Terminus: Sasha/Bob and Rick&Carl/Judith.

I’m gonna skip S5 for a minute. You can use this template as something self-contained within season 5. 5b is a little weird because the “separations” are emotional rather than literal/physical, but it still works. But of course Beth’s arc that follows this template starts in S5 and will end up going between 5 and 10 seasons, just depending on how you look at it and how long it takes to get us to the CRM war, so I’ll come back to this.

Let me give you a couple of other examples first.

Season 6:

1. The threat: the walkers at the quarry. (So the threat is usually a bad person or group, but here it’s walkers, and in 4a it was a virus, just so you can see different ways they do this.) The group will come back together in 6x09, pull together, and eliminate the walker threat.

2. Preliminary action: Well, it goes wrong right at first because the truck falls off the ledge and they have to start before planned. But all of Operation Lead the Walkers Away could be seen as the preliminary action that goes bad.

3. It all goes wrong when the wolves show up and blow the horn. The person that dies is Emery. I don’t think tptb wanted to kill off any main characters in this sequence, so they created his character specifically to adhere to this template.

4. The group splits again, though not by choice. Michonne and co to pet shop, Rick…running, Daryl/Sasha/Abraham, etc.

5. Romantic couples that split: Glaggie again, Richonne, Tara/Denise, you might even count David and Betsy. Platonic splits: uh, you know, anyone who’s not romantic.

6. Romantic reunions before the final battle: Richonne early on when Rick gets back to Alexandria (6x05, I think?) Tara and Denise briefly, before Creepy Wolf Dude takes her. And then Glaggie when Glenn returns and they get Maggie off the scaffold.

7. Missing and presumed dead: Glenn, obviously.

8. Two in same group who later become love interests: Sasha and Abraham. Also Carl and Enid, who are both at Alexandria. Clearly the writers use these sorts of situations to forge relationships.

9. They all reunite at Alexandria, Daryl sets lake on fire, they fight the walkers.

10.   Platonic reunions after: they don’t focus on these in a big way in this season, but we see everyone standing together on the porch afterward, Michonne holding baby Judith, and of course Rick talking to Carl.

Saviors Arc:

I’ll focus on S7 here, as I think we see this template several times throughout S7 and S8, but the Saviors arc really spans like 2.5 seasons, so I’ll keep this brief.

1. Threat = The Saviors

2. Preliminary action: attacking the satellite station in 6x13. They thought that took care of the problem.

3. It goes wrong even though they don’t know it right away. Leads directly to Glenn and Abraham’s deaths.

4. The group splits, not by choice, but because Negan makes them. Rick trying to get supplies for the Saviors, Daryl at Sanctuary, Maggie/Sasha at Hilltop, Michonne on her own, etc.

5. Other than Rick and Michonne not being on the same page, there’s not major romantic splittage here. Glenn and Abraham die of course, but in this template, it’s always that the couple comes back together again, so death doesn’t count. We do have Carl and Enid splitting briefly when he goes to the Sanctuary in 7x07. Platonic splits: again, just everyone in different groups who isn’t romantic. So, Daryl/Rick, Rick/Maggie, etc.

6. Romantic Reunions: Carnid, Richonne when they got on the same page.

7. Missing and presumed dead: I think this would be Daryl. It’s a small thing, but when Negan took him, Rick really didn’t know if Negan planned to kill him.

8. Two who become love interests: Again, maybe Carl and Enid outside the walls together? Just not a huge emphasis on the romance here. Though possibly we could consider Sherry and Dwight too.

9. Again, this depends on how you want to see it. You could see the final battle as the end of AOW in 8x16, but if you want to stick with 7a, then it’s when they all reunite at Hilltop and hug in 7x08. See what I mean about how they use this for both big and small arcs?

10. Platonic reunions in 7x08: Maggie/Rick, Daryl/Rick, Daryl/Everyone, etc.

Okay, I’ll stop there with the examples. This took me a long time because you can go through every single season, even every 8 episodes, and see this same thing. There’s so much going on AOW, I didn’t even want to try to pin this down for S8, but I’m sure it’s there. In S9, this works first for Rick’s death and then for the Whisperers. Whisperers, preliminary action = giving Lydia back, but that leads to pike victims. Hilltop falls. You can fill in the other details. S10 is the Whisperers continued, but the first threat was the satellite falling and the fire it caused. You get the idea.

And I think in this episode (10x17) they’re setting up this same template with the Reapers. What we see in this episode might qualify as the preliminary action. It’s very small, but it might. So we might be seeing steps 1 and 2 of the template, using the Reapers as the threat.

So, back to Beth. I guess the main reason this got me all excited is that it simply backs up other things we’ve already theorized. If you think of this template in an extremely long-game sort of way (many seasons), it makes perfect sense.

Beth/CRM Arc:

1. First threat: Grady/CRM. Because we believe Grady was entangled with them.

2. Preliminary Action: the prisoner exchange at Grady to stop the conflict.

3. It goes wrong. Beth “dies.”

4. Group splits. This one is interesting because the group has obviously split and come back together many times over the seasons. But this has to be on a bigger scale than that. So, not just characters coming back together a few episodes later. It has to be more epic than that. Like, having them separated for several seasons? 

So think of it this way: the only people still alive who knew Beth in S4/S5 are Rick, Michonne, Daryl, Carol, Maggie, and Judith. And who is separated from the group right now and for the foreseeable future? Rick and Michonne. 

We also know Daryl and Carol will leave together at the end of S11. I’m assuming Maggie stays behind then, though we can’t know for sure yet. But if things work out the way I think they will based on other templates (like TWB) then at some point Daryl and Carol will split up, too. So, the splits are definitely there, but it’s much more epic in this case. The splits happen over multiple seasons, rather than all at once. Rick in S9. Michonne roughly a season later. Daryl and Carol a season after that, etc.

5. Romantic splits: well, things may change but as of right now, Richonne, Bethyl, Carzekiel are all split up. Platonic splits: Daryl/Rick, Daryl/Michonne, Daryl/Carol, Michonne/Daryl, perhaps Judith from all of these, etc.

6. Romantic reunions: we don’t know exactly how they’ll play out, but I’m assuming Michonne will find Rick BEFORE the final CRM conflict. Assuming Ezekiel has a death fakeout, I think he and Carol will reunite before the main CRM battle. And of course you know I think Daryl will meet Beth on his way to Rick. The romantic reunions always happen BEFORE the big, final conflict. :D

7.  Missing and presumed dead: right now it’s both Rick and Beth, though Zeke may join at some point.

8.  Two in group who become love interests? I have no idea who this will be. Might possibly even be characters we haven’t met yet. Eugene/Stephanie? Kelly/Elijah?

9.  Final conflict is war with CRM.

10. Platonic reunions afterward: Possibly Beth/Maggie, Judith/Various people, main characters with those back at Alexandria, so like Daryl/Aaron, Rick/Maggie, etc.

I was going to give you the rundown for how this template plays out in 10x17. After reading this though, you’ll probably recognize it right away. There’s a part where Daryl and Maggie’s group splits into two to follow two paths. That’s what got me thinking about this to begin with.

Thoughts?