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The New Resident

Chapter 32

What had seemed to be a regular, run of the mill disagreement between friends had escalated without warning, the whole thing taking Rick by surprise. Standing on the front porch with Carrie he’d watched the two teenagers arguing over something, but had fully expected it to blow over, for one of them to blow the other off and then head home. What he hadn’t been expected was to see Ron shoving Carl hard enough to make him stumble, nor his son retaliating without so much as a second thought. Well rehearsed in the matter, though never practiced in real life Carl had come back swinging, throwing a well executed punch that would have made Rick proud in any other situation.

By the time Rick reached the pavement, the shove and subsequent punch had escalated into a full blown brawl, the two teens fighting and grappling at one another. Fists and elbows were thrown, heavy kicks were landed, and though Ron was taller, Carl managed to hold him off just enough to protect himself and land a few blows of his own. Racing up the street, Rick yelled at them furiously, his hand automatically drifting to the capsicum spray on his duty belt, though he knew he’d never use it on them. But in the seconds it took for him to get halfway there it seemed a brief impasse had been reached, Carl managing to push Ron far away enough to use distance as a defence.

Stopping in his tracks Rick fell silent, cautiously hopeful that this was the end, that the two of them would reach the conclusion all on their own. For a moment it certainly seemed like that would be the case, the two boys standing a few yards apart, their fists clenched and their chests heaving for breath. Just as Rick had been about to step in and demand an explanation Ron made another move, a stupid one at that. Completely losing the element of surprise, he gave an angry yell as he advanced on Carl and took an almighty swing at him. Having practiced this manoeuvre with Daryl again and again Carl simply stepped back as Ron swung at him, and his own momentum simply spun him around and exposed his back.

Carl acted quickly and seized him from behind, wrapping his arms around Ron’s chest and restraining him. They grappled for a moment, and Ron’s display of aggression horrified Rick to see, having not expected to see a teenager trying to head butt his best friend. As Ron managed to throw his elbow back and strike Carl in the stomach, Rick reached them before any more injuries could be sustained. Seizing Ron’s forearms, he looked Carl in the eye and spoke firmly.

“Back off, now.”

Carl obeyed, letting go and stepping back. Turning his attention to Ron now, Rick looked him in the eye and told him to calm down, but Ron was unwilling to listen. As other residents began flocking towards the fight, the sound of Jessie’s outraged shouting able to be heard, Ron looked over his shoulder at Carl.

“Don’t fucking do it, Carl,” he growled. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

Carl’s eyes widened in outrage. “Me? You’re the one who doesn’t know!” he shouted. “You’re dumb as fuck if you thi-”

“Enough,” Rick snapped, glaring at the two of them. “That is enough, you hear me?”

The boys fell silent, though it seemed both of them still had a lot to say. “Let me go,” Ron said a moment later, trying to yank his arms out of Rick’s hands. Though his grip was not tight, it was restrictive.

“Look me in the eye,” he requested calmly, waiting until Ron did so. “I need you to tell me that you’re calm. I need you to say the words.”

There was a short pause, Ron’s face twisted into a scowl that made him look a little too much like Pete. But a moment later Rick felt the muscles in his arms relaxing, his fists unclenching. “I’m calm.”

Holding him a moment longer, Rick slowly released his arms, a gentle nudge making him back up a few steps. There was an eerie sense of calm now, the two boys glaring at each other as silence fell. Looking back and forth between the two boys, Rick tried to figure out who had been the antagonist in the argument that had preceded the fight, seeking the root cause. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, to recollect his thoughts, he quickly glanced around and took stock of who else was there, glad to see Michonne hovering near by, always appearing out of no where when she was needed. Standing on the pavement was Jessie and Sam, while Pete was making his way over from the Infirmary.

“Would you like to explain yourselves?” Rick began, this being more of a command rather than an offer.

To his surprise it was Carl who spoke first. “Yeah, we would,” he answered, still glaring at his friend. “Ron?”

“What?” he said in a deadpan voice.

“Seriously man, come on.”

Ron just shook his head, his mouth twitching. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Getting frustrated, Carl stepped towards Rick, looking him in the eye and lowering his voice. “Dad, he-”

Jessie quickly intervened, cutting him off. “Carl, it’s fine,” she said urgently. “It’s just a misunderstanding, honestly.”

“Either way,” Rick began slowly, trying to gauge the many different emotions being displayed right now. “I’d like an explanation.”

Jessie sighed, looking rather pained as she glanced up through the crowd, making eye contact with Pete before she answered. “This morning, Carl overheard something that he may have misund-”

Jessie didn’t get to finish, her explanation cut short as Ron lunged for Carl again, the attack too quick for Rick to grab him. There were loud gasps of horror as the two teenagers began brawling again, Ron laying into Carl again and again until he raised his arms to protect himself exactly like Rick had taught him to do only a week ago. Doing the only thing he could, Carl threw all of his weight around Ron’s middle and pushed him to the ground, gaining the advantage, and now it was no longer a matter of self defence. Losing his temper, Carl returned the favour and began punching, his jaw clenched as he clumsily prevented Ron from pushing him off.

Not needing to spare any more than a glance for each other, Rick and Michonne seamlessly stepped into action. Seizing Carl around the chest he hauled him up and off of Ron, his own anger growing when Carl didn’t give up, still desperately trying to land a kick as he was pulled away. His yelling incomprehensible, Carl’s incessant struggling made Rick stumble and lose his footing, the two of them falling backwards. Protecting his son, he twisted and made sure he bore the brunt of the fall, but even the shock of hitting the ground didn’t stop Carl, not that he could blame him when he saw Ron lunging for the both of them. Blinded by anger and adrenaline, Ron acted stupidly and tried to attack them again, Michonne swiftly stepping in and restraining him with little effort.

“You’re so fucking stupid!” Carl was screaming, apparently not done either. He pushed himself back up to his feet, forcing Rick to follow suit. “You’re-”

“Stop,” Rick said firmly, seizing him and pulling him close. In front of them, Michonne manoeuvred Ron down to his knees and held him there. “Carl! Stop, now!”

Refusing, Carl roughly tried to get out of Rick’s embrace, yelling at him now, demanding he be released. Holding tight, he braced himself to endure, knowing that soon enough Carl would either give up or wear himself out. But mere seconds later he fell silent, his body going still the very moment Pete stepped through the crowd of onlookers and approached his son. Furiously demanding that Michonne release him, Pete swooped down and hauled Ron to his feet, Rick watching the interaction with growing concern. Somewhat perturbed, Michonne slowly backed away, sharing a brief glance with him.

“Ron?” Pete asked slowly, his hand clenched in the collar of his son’s shirt. “What’s going on?”

Watching carefully, Rick slowly released his grip around Carl’s chest and arms, feeling how still he had become at Pete’s arrival. Keeping a hand on Carl’s shoulder to remind him to behave, Rick looked at Pete critically. Though clenching his son’s shirt was an effective way of restraining him, for some reason it raised Rick’s hackles, making him feel strangely protective of the teen who had just attacked his own son.

Sniffling, Ron used his sleeve to wipe up a stream of blood coming from his nostril. “Nothing,” he answered, his voice deadpanned. He looked at Carl now, his pointed expression indicating that he too should speak.

“Yeah,” Carl said shortly. “Nothing.”

Rick looked at him in surprise, stepped around beside him to look his son in the eye. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” he repeated, never taking his eyes off Ron. “Just a misunderstanding.”

Roughly tugging his shirt down, Carl pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, stemming the blood that was running over his bottom lip and dribbling down his chin. Apparently having nothing more to say, he started walking away, but not if Rick had anything to do with it.

“Don’t take another step,” he said firmly. Still looking between Ron and Pete, he watched from the corner of his eye as Carl came to a stop, giving a long sigh of frustration. Clearing his throat, he looked around at the crowd of people, needing them to dissipate. “Everyone go home, please.”

Their faces a mixture of concern and disappointment, the crowd began to disperse, people like Michonne and Glenn stepping up and hurrying people to leave. As he waited, Rick looked at Carl, frustrated when his son refused to meet his eye. Something was going on here. Right up until Pete’s arrival, Carl had been ready to spill everything, desperate to. Now, it was all just a misunderstanding? Rick smelled bullshit, and he was not prepared to let it fly.

“Take a seat,” he said to Ron, indicating to the front steps of his house. “Carl? You too.”

There was an awkward pause, both of the teenagers delaying what they had been instructed to do for as long as they could. Making the first move, Ron yanked his shirt out of Pete’s hands and turned away, his demeanour petulant as he sat down and brushed off Jessie’s concern.

“Go inside, Sweet Heart,” Pete told her, giving her what seemed to be a reassuring nod. “We’ll take care of this.”

Rick watched on as Jessie did what she was asked to do, albeit hesitantly. She looked at Carl apologetically, and it looked as though she was going to say something to him until Pete spoke again, repeating his instructions. Taking Sam by the hand, she led him up the steps and into the house and as she closed the front door she looked out at Rick, but he was unable to read her expression. Increasingly worried, he sighed and turned to Carl.

“Do not make me ask you again,” he warned.

Receiving a gentle nudge, Carl bent down and picked up his fallen hat, holding it tightly as he trudged over and sat down next to Ron, the two teenagers sitting as far apart as physically possible. Turning his attention to Pete now, Rick wondered how this was going to go, keenly remembering what had happened between the two of them a week ago, the day of the failed supply run. Drunk, Pete had all but barged into his house and threatened to tell Carl about he and Carrie, to tell him about Judith’s paternity. Words had been exchanged, threats made, but with everything that had happened since then there had been no other interaction between the two of them other than discussing Tara’s recovery. With all that in mind, Rick was not optimistic about how the two of them were going to work together to sort out the problem between their sons.

“So, who’s going to start?” Rick asked, looping his thumb through his duty belt as he stood there before the two teens. They sat silently, their eyes trained on the ground in front of them.

“Start what?” Ron asked, never looking up.

“You’re explanation,” Rick said impatiently. “I want to hear it. Now.”

“Yes,” Pete chimed in. Taking a few steps closer, he leant his hand on the top of the steps’ railing, and Rick couldn’t help but notice how he seemed to be towering over his son. “I’m very interested to hear this, Ron.”

“It was nothing,” Ron said blankly.

“Carl?” Pete asked now, looking at him expectantly. “Do you have anything to add?”

Raising his head, Carl looked up at Pete, his expression taking Rick by surprise. Carl looked like he was barely restraining himself, his jaw clenched in anger. Refusing to answer him, he looked at Pete as though challenging him, unafraid of his authority. Breaking eye contact first, Pete turned back to his own son, relaying the question again. Watching on in silence, Rick knew that his instincts were right, that something was seriously wrong. He couldn’t help but feel as though Pete was trying to intimidate Ron, that he was towering over him for a reason. Though his behaviour was restrained, and was well within his rights as a parent, it made Rick rather uncomfortable to watch. There was a difference between exerting authority and being intimidating to your own child.

“Carl?” Pete asked again. “Anything at all?”

Rick knew he had to put a stop to this, with or without an explanation. It was clear to him that Carl was holding back, that he wanted to tell Rick what was wrong, but he couldn’t. As soon as Pete had stepped in, Carl had clammed up, suddenly changing his story and agreeing with Ron that nothing was wrong. Taking into account the whole situation, he knew he had to give Carl the opportunity to speak to him alone, to someone he trusted…that was the only way Rick was going to learn anything.

“Carl, go home. Now.”

Pete looked up abruptly, as if only just remembering Rick was there. His face softened, concern showing. “No, I should check him over. I should…” he trailed off, watching as Carl got to his feet and walked away without another word. “Rick, I should really check his leg.”

Watching his son leaving the situation, Rick turned back to Pete. “No, thank you,” he said stiffly.

Without another word, he ignored Pete’s insistence and set off after Carl. As he fully expected she would, Michonne fell into step right by his side, patiently awaiting him to tell her what he needed. “Something’s going on,” he said quietly. “Stick close to Pete for me.”

“Got it,” she said shortly, this being all the information she needed. “I’ll have Abraham back me up.”

Thanking her, Rick continued on his way, briefly sparing a glance for Carrie as he passed her on the street. In that moment he remembered what they had been planning to do, that they had been ready to tell Carl about their relationship, but those plans would have to be set aside. Clearly understanding this, Carrie didn’t try to stop him to talk, merely wishing him luck as he passed her by. He breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he stepped through the front door of his house, knowing that he would now get to the bottom of this.

“Carl,” he called out, hearing his footsteps racing up the stairs. “Come back down, please.”

The footsteps slowed, and there was a long pause before they started again, this time much slower. As Carl came back down the stairs and entered the short hallway he looked at Rick apprehensively, perhaps thinking he was going to be in trouble, that Rick was about to start yelling. While he felt that need, the desire to yell at his son and punish him for brawling in the street, he did not, knowing that Carl was caught in the middle of something he didn’t know how to handle. Yelling at him would not achieve anything, least of all the trust he would need to tell him what was going on.

“Is your leg okay?” he asked, addressing the biggest concern first. The gunshot injury had been sustained three months ago, and though it had healed well Rick was still concerned, particularly if Pete had expressed a desire to check it over.

“It doesn’t hurt.” Slowly entering the living area, he looked particularly glum.

Relieved to hear it, he gestured to the dining room table. “Then take a seat.”

Waiting until Carl did as he was told, Rick headed into the kitchen. Collecting a glass of water and the first aid kit, he took a moment to collect his thoughts, to wearily rub the bridge of his nose while he took stock of his own injuries. Carl had kept struggling when Rick pulled him off Ron, his movements making them both fall backwards. He’d grazed his right elbow, and his shoulder was aching like hell, but he would deal with that later. Taking the seat adjacent to his son, he handed him the glass of water and then opened the first aid kit. Attending to the blood first, he looked at the cut inside Carl’s lip, the area already beginning to swell. Seeing that he had bitten his inner lip, Rick pressed a swab against the cut and then told him to hold it there, turning his attention elsewhere. The left side of his face had borne the brunt of Ron’s blows, his eye and cheekbone showing signs of swelling and tenderness. Fetching him an ice pack for it, he gently dabbed at a few cuts and scrapes on his knuckles and arms, then tended to a graze on his side.

Carl winced as Rick dabbed at it, apologising as he tried to clean out the debris. Judging by the location it had occurred when they’d fallen backwards together, when they had landed on the road. The bleeding was minimal, but it was clearly rather painful. Nevertheless Rick had to continue, trying to be as gentle as possible. Finding a dressing large enough, he had Carl hold his shirt up while he applied it, smoothing down the edges and protecting it.

“Anything else?”

Carl shook his head, but his eyes darted to one of his fingers, making Rick look too. The fourth finger on his right hand was red and swollen, and while at first he thought it might be broken, he looked closer and saw that the nail’s cuticle had split through to his skin. Rifling through the medical kit, he wondered what would be best to use, finding some butterfly strips and deciding on those. Needing to get close to the wound, he pulled on some gloves before applying a damp swab to the area, cleaning off the dried blood.

“You can tell me what’s going on now.” When Carl didn’t reply for almost thirty seconds, Rick looked up at him. “You seem to be under the impression that you have the right to remain silent…I don’t feel the Fifth Amendment applies. Is this about Enid?” he enquired, starting with something unlikely to prompt Carl into answering.

Carl scoffed at this, finally speaking. “Come on, give me some credit.”

“Then tell me what’s going on.”

Again, Carl hesitated. Knowing he would speak when he was ready, Rick let him be, not nagging him to answer, though he wanted to. Drying off the skin on his finger, he carefully applied some butterfly strips and pulled the skin back together, going slowly and apologising when Carl flinched. Glancing up at him, he watched as he took a breath and then lowered the ice pack from his face.

“This morning when I went to school, I stopped at Ron’s house to walk with him. Jessie always tells me I don’t have to knock, that I should just come straight in…so I did.”

“Alright,” he said, indicating that he was following.

“I went in, and I could hear them arguing…Jessie and Pete. Their bedroom is downstairs.” Pausing, Carl sighed before he continued, and now the words came tumbling out of his mouth. “I thought I could hear him hitting her…like I could hear bumps, and then something smashed I think. I didn’t know what to do, so I just knocked on their door and interrupted them.”

Rick’s heart sank, and as Carl continued to explain, a few things began falling into place.

“Pete and Jessie came out, and everything seemed normal. I didn’t know what to do, so I just asked where Ron was, and then Pete got really weird with me…like he was angry at me for something.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“No,” he said hastily. “But he seemed mad…he told me to go away, so I had to.” There was a short pause, Carl looking at him apprehensively. “Dad?”

“Keep going,” he requested. “What started the fight with Ron?”

“I knew he could hear what happened, his bedroom is right above theirs. But he said nothing was wrong. I tried to talk to him, but he just wanted to go to school, so I had to let it go.”

“Why didn’t you come and talk to me?” he asked in concern, trying not to make Carl feel bad.

Carl’s voice was soft when he answered, his tone apologetic. “I didn’t know if I was being stupid or not. I didn’t actually see anything…I thought if I just asked Ron, I could figure it out. I finally got him to tell me when we took a break in class, but he didn’t seem worried about it.”

“But you were?”

He nodded, starting to look frustrated. “We were coming home, and I tried to convince him to tell you. I told him you’d help, but he just kept telling me to butt out, that it was none of my business.”

“What started the fight?”

“He started it,” Carl said defensively. “He shoved me first, and then he said th…” Trailing off, he scratched the back of his neck. “It doesn’t matter. I threw the first punch.”

“What did he say?” he pressed, wanting to know everything.

Watching as Rick gently applied a waterproof dressing around his finger, trimming the edges to size, Carl answered dejectedly. “We started arguing, I got mad at him because he didn’t seem to care about his mom. Then he said that because I killed my mom, I’m not allowed to care about his.”

“Ouch,” Rick commiserated, finally understanding.

“I shouldn’t have let him get to me…he was just being an asshole.”

“Yes, he was. Doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt to hear that.”

Finished with the first aid kit, Rick removed the gloves and started piling everything back in, trying to collect his thoughts. When he’d awoken that morning, the last thing he’d expected to be doing was handling a punch up between teenagers and reports of domestic violence…hell, he was meant to be sitting on the porch with Carrie and Carl, telling him about their relationship.

“You okay?” Rick asked his son, concerned about more than just his physical health. Showing him a blister pack, he cracked two Tylenol pills into his palm.

Carl nodded dejectedly, pulling a face as he swallowed the pills and chased them with some water. “You know Ron can’t lift his arm higher than his head? He said that was from an accident.”

“You don’t think it was?” he enquired, already drawing his own conclusions.

“No. I think Pete hurts them too. Sam has a lock inside his cupboard,” he added. “I noticed it ages ago when I was helping him with something…I thought it was for Walkers.”

“What else do you know?” Rick pressed, hoping that Carl had further insight. When he didn’t answer, he went more specific. “Do you know if Pete has a gun in the house?”

“If I’d seen one I would have told you already. Do you think he might?”

“I don’t know. I’d rather be sure though.”

“We should check the armoury,” Carl suggested urgently. “Make sure there’re none missing.”

“I will,” he agreed thoughtfully, though he didn’t expect to find discrepancies.

Like every other adult, Pete had the access code to their general use armoury, which consisted of their hand guns and a few of the easier to use rifles. It would be easy enough to check that everything was accounted for, to make sure that all weapons carried by people were accounted for too, but he suspected Pete was smarter than that. If he had taken a gun, he would have done it long before Rick enforced the new armoury system. Prior to that, handguns and ammunitions were stored without being catalogued, making it possible for people like Rick and Carol to steal a few. Though Pete had never shown an interest in having a handgun kept at home, Rick knew better than to take this on face value.

“Dad, what do we do now?”

Looking at his son and seeing the compassion and worry on his face, Rick felt a surge of pride for him, while simultaneously feeling guilty. Carl was mature beyond his years, already worried about a domestic violence situation at fourteen years old. Even with the world as it was, Rick still wanted to protect him from things like that, for him to not become hardened or cynical…he wondered how long that would last.

“If anyone asks why you and Ron were fighting, tell them it’s none of their business. I don’t care if you have to be rude, tell them to butt out. For now, we keep this to ourselves, alright?”

“But, what are you going to do about it?”

“I will handle it.”

“You should make Jessie kick him out,” Carl insisted angrily. “Kick him out of Alexandria!”

Taking a breath, Rick tried to remember who he was talking to, to take into account his lack of understanding. “It’s not as simple as that.”

“Yes, it is. He’s hurting her.”

“I know,” he assured him. “The situation is simple to you and I…but it’s not simple for Jessie.”

“He’s hur-”

“I need you to trust me, okay?”

Looking away in frustration, Carl readjusted the ice pack on his eye, looking as though he was barely restraining himself from a tirade of venting. Knowing his thought process, Rick understood what he was feeling, what it was like to be unable to do anything about someone in trouble, someone who needed his help. He’d been through this type of situation many times before, attending many domestic violence call outs as a police officer, but even back then there was only so much he could do in some situations. Thinking things through, he knew Carl was going to need an explanation, something to satisfy his rightful frustration.

“If this is really happening to Jessie and her boys, it’s not a simple problem for her,” he began to explain. “To us, he should be made to leave, or she should leave him.”

“Yes,” Carl agreed lowly.

“Jessie won’t see it like that. There’re many dimensions to this situation that make it hard for her. I doubt that she wants to leave him. He’s her husband, she loves him.”

“How could she love him?” Carl questioned, outraged by the mere thought.

“Because she does. Same goes for Ron and Sam…he’s their dad. Do you understand what I mean when I say that to us it’s simple, but to them it’s not?”

There was a long pause, but then very slowly Carl nodded. With a long sigh, he looked up at Rick. “We can’t let him keep doing it.”

“I need you to let me handle it.”

“What are you going to do?” he asked again.

Taking a breath, Rick knew that Carl needed solid answers, but he couldn’t give them to him just yet. “I don’t know yet, but I will handle it.”

Carl nodded, getting the hint. “What can I do?” he asked, needing to help.

Closing the first aid kit, Rick got up and returned it to the kitchen cupboard, answering as he went. “You’re not going to want to hear this, but Ron’s going to need a friend.” As he expected he might, Carl scoffed in derision, but he trailed off with a sigh. “I know you don’t like him very much, neither do I for that matter. But he’s having a tough time…he’s going to need a friend to be there for him.”

“That’s all?” Carl questioned skeptically, clearly feeling as though he was being brushed off.

“That will make all the difference. Trust me.”

Though he seemed generally dissatisfied with not knowing what would happen next, Carl slowly nodded. Trusting that he would do as he was told, that he would follow his lead, Rick prepared to leave. Removing the child lock from the front cupboard, he took out his knife and machete before opening the gun safe for his Colt.

“I want you to stay home, keep that ice pack on,” he instructed, opening the chamber and checking the rounds like he always did. Securing it in his holster and checking the spare rounds in his duty belt, he continued. “Lock the door behind me, the side door too. If Pete, Jessie or Ron come over, don’t let them in. Even if they’re here to apologise.”

“Do you think they know that I’ve told you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think he might be-”

“Hurting her now? No,” he assured him, though this was only a presumption. “If he thinks we’re looking at him, he’ll be husband of the year. Michonne and Abraham are close by, just in case. Either way, you’re not to let them in. Lock the side door too,” he reminded him.

“Where are you going?” Carl asked now, following him to the front door.

“To do rounds, and then see about a few things. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“Okay,” he agreed, though he sounded reluctant. “Thanks, Dad.”

Halfway across the front porch, Rick stopped in his tracks and then turned back. Proud of his son, he returned to him and gently pulled him into an embrace, careful not to aggravate any bruises that might be developing. “I’m very proud of you,” he told him, reminding himself to say this more often.

“Even though I threw the first punch?” he asked skeptically.

“You also tried to walk away,” Rick commented, letting him go now. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that. You tried to do the right thing, you were trying to help. Besides…he did deserve it a little.”

To his surprise, Carl actually managed a small smile at this. “I’ll lock the side door,” he assured him. “Be safe out there.”

Watching as Carl closed the door and turned the lock, he waited until he disappeared down the hallway to lock the side door, and only when he reappeared with a thumbs up did Rick depart. Mentally drained, and with an aching shoulder to boot, Rick set off up the street, knowing that to start helping Jessie, he himself would need help. He wouldn’t be able to help her on his own. There were people to needed to talk to first, information he needed from people like Deanna…but first on his list was someone a little closer to home.

“How’s Rocky?”

Glancing up at the second house as he passed it by, Rick was unsurprised to note that Tara had been the one to ask that question. She and Carrie were side by side on the front porch, Tara laying back with her legs stretched across Carrie’s lap. Still recovering from her head injury, she was resting with a damp cloth over her face, probably trying to soothe her headache while getting some fresh air. With Tara unable to actually see him, he exchanged a glance with Carrie, seeing that she looked a little more concerned rather than entertained like Tara.

“He’s still swinging,” he assured them.

“Was it about Enid?” Tara enquired, lifting the cloth enough to take a peak at him. “Please tell me there’s a love triangle, I have a foot rub wagered on this.”

Knowing he should have expected this, Rick chuckled to himself. “Feel better soon, Tara.”

Leaving it at that, he looked at Carrie apologetically, feeling bad that their plans had been derailed, but she showed no signs of being upset, not that he had expected she would. She’d be disappointed of course, the two of them having been nervously excited about taking the step of telling Carl about their relationship, but he knew she’d be more concerned about Carl’s well being and what had started the fight.

Continuing on his way, Rick made a point of looking over Pete and Jessie’s house, pleased to see Michonne seated on the grass below the main bedroom window. He exchanged a short wave with her, but his lack of further conversation told her to stay put, to keep going as she was. Reaching the intersection, he looked up the road and found Abraham and Glenn side by side outside the dining room, standing watch. They didn’t know what was happening, though they likely suspected, but for now they trusted Rick enough to follow his lead, to do as he had asked and keep an eye on the place. Grateful for the trust he and his people had with one another, he turned right and headed down towards the gates, but he wasn’t going out alone.

As he approached Natalie and Bob’s house, he was unsurprised to find them sitting out the front in the company of Carol, the latter clearly having been waiting for him to arrive. Putting on a pleasant facade, he smiled and raised his hand in a polite wave.

“Hi Bob,” he greeted them pleasantly. “Natalie.”

“Rick,” Bob nodded, looking concerned. “I hope your boy’s alright…I saw what happened.”

“He’s fine, thanks.”

“He’s a good boy, don’t you think, Robert?” Natalie mused, looking at her husband. “He’s always here cutting our grass…he knows you can’t do it anymore.” She turned to Rick now, continuing. “And, he cleaned my windows for me too. Oh, just the downstairs ones, I wouldn’t let him up the ladder, but he…”

Letting Natalie prattle on, Rick shared a glance with Carol, not needing words to tell her that something was wrong, that it was serious. Knowing Natalie and Bob well, Carol managed to gently pry the conversation back for just a moment.

“I’ve been nagging Rick to take me outside the walls for a while,” she apologised as she got to her feet.

Bob and Natalie seemed genuinely disappointed to see her go, and they thanked her profusely for her company like they always did. With the assurance that she’d bring Judith with her next time she came to visit, she promptly cleared away the empty pot of tea and cups before departing. Seeing Holly near by, Rick called her over to take gate duty for a short while, and when he and Carol emerged into the world outside they fell into step beside one another. As they began making their way around the walls, they wasted no time in addressing the issue.

“If you’re coming to me,” Carol began perceptively. “Then it’s what I think it is, right?”

Neither of them needing to clarify what it was she was talking about. “Yeah.”

As they passed by the first lot of spikes with Walkers on them, Carol sighed and swore under her breath. “How bad is it?”

“I don’t know yet, but bad enough.”

They walked in silence for about a minute, the two of them exchanging glances as they went, both knowing exactly what the other was thinking. They knew how one another worked, and more importantly they knew how the world worked…there was only one solution they would be satisfied with.

“We need to talk to Deanna,” Carol started thinking aloud. “Remember when we got back from the supply run, and we had that bug in her living room? She mentioned that they dealt with Pete, that there was some kind of problem they fixed…maybe it was this.”

Rick sighed, trying to think. “If Deanna knew, she wouldn’t let this go on,” he reasoned. “She wouldn’t let Jessie and her kids live with a man who abused them.”

“She would if she thought she fixed the problem.”

“No, she’s not that stupid. She can’t fix Pete.”

“Come on, Rick. We both know Deanna has her heart in the right place, but that she’s complacent. What we over heard Carrie saying to her after the party? Carrie was right. Deanna buries her head in the sand just as much as everyone else does. She’s living a delusion too.”

Taking in what she had to say, Rick reluctantly agreed, remembering what they had overheard Carrie saying. Deanna was a politician, and that was both her strength and weakness…she tended to give people what they wanted, not what they needed. He imagined Jessie coming to her for help, and Deanna simply smoothing it all over. She would have made a token effort to help Jessie, perhaps she even confronted Pete and told him to stop…she would have done enough to let herself sleep at night, but nothing actually effective.

“Carol, what was it that you needed?” he asked, the two of them close enough that he could bring up such a sensitive subject. “When you were with Ed, when you left him again and again, only to go back. What did you need someone to do to help you?”

She answered without hesitation. “I needed him gone. I needed no opportunity for him to follow me, or for me to go back to him, because I always did.”

“Why did you?”

“Because I didn’t think I deserved better. Because I had no choice. I had no family or friends, no money, no credit history, not even a driver’s licence…and Sophia. I needed Ed gone from our lives…gone all together.”

Walking past the new walls for a second time, Rick cast his eyes over them, pleased by their progress. They had almost completed the first phase of the expansion that would encompass some new houses and the church, and the only thing holding them up with the installation of a second gate. They didn’t have the right materials to construct it properly. Abraham would be organising some extra runs with Glenn and Heath, runs Rick wished were not necessary.

“If you want to protect Jessie, you’re going to have to kill Pete,” Carol stated as fact.

“Yes.”

“Thing is…you can’t.”

“Why not?” he asked, wanting her perspective.

“We can’t keep winning their trust and then throwing it away,” she said, referring to the Alexandrians. “We barely recovered after the Wolf, the Walker and Carter. Now with the supply run and two deaths? You kill their doctor, you’ll lose them forever. It will be straight back to the days of people getting stupid ideas in their heads…one way or another, they’ll kill you eventually.”

“We might have to take that risk. It’s the only way we’ll be able to protect Jessie.”

Carol shook her head. “We can’t.”

Looking at her, Rick got the feeling that Carol was holding something back. “What is it?” he asked bluntly, needing her to be straightforward. “Carol? Why can’t we kill him?”

There was hesitation on her part, a short sigh that indicated she didn’t want to tell him. “With what happened to Noah and Aidan, they asked me not to say anything just yet.”

“Who?”

“Maggie and Glenn.”

The mention of their names alone was enough to remind Rick of what else what at stake here. “Is everything alright with the baby?”

Carol nodded reassuringly, but quickly elaborated. “Her blood pressure’s elevated, there’s protein in her urine, and she has a family history of pre-eclampsia. Twenty six weeks is prime time for this diagnosis.”

Rick closed his eyes for a moment, trying to absorb the news. “Shit,” he muttered. “How bad is it?”

“She’s fine right now, in all likelihood she’ll continue to be fine. But when Maggie and Shaun were born, Josephine Greene was on bedrest in the last months. We don’t know how this will turn out.”

“If she does get sick from this, what’s the treatment?”

“Deliver the baby.”

“Oh,” he muttered, looping his thumb around his duty belt and looking around, checking their surroundings. “That’s not ideal.”

“Pete will monitor her as much as she needs him to, but we won’t know if she actually needs him or not until she actually needs him. If we want to help Jessie without compromising Maggie, we need to take this slowly…we need to talk to Deanna.”

Nothing Carol said was what he wanted to hear right now, and the news of Maggie’s health only made their situation worse. When he saw a Walker approaching he headed over to it and plunged his knife into the skull, using more force than necessary, immensely satisfied when it slumped down to the ground without fuss. The situation with Pete that had started a week ago was getting complicated. Standing there with blood dripping down the length of the blade he braced himself before speaking, knowing that once he said this, it was no longer just his problem. By telling her, he would be making this Carol’s problem too, he’d be getting her involved.

“Pete has been…causing problems for me.”

“How so?”

Wiping his knife clean on the Walker’s shirt, he folded it and slipped it back into his pocket before he turned back to her, the two of them resuming their walk around the walls. “He came around last week, drunk. Made all sorts of threats, about Carl and Carrie…and Judith.”

Carol took a sharp intake of breath, immediately understanding what he was getting at, what Pete had been threatening. There was a short pause as she thought about this, slowly coming to a conclusion of sorts. “You know what’s at stake here,” she began, referring to more than just his children, but Maggie too. “Do whatever you have to do to protect your kids…but if you have to kill him for them, not for Jessie, make it look like an accident. You can’t afford to lose trust.”

He gave a bitter laugh at this. “Trust me, it’s crossed my mind,” he muttered, looking at the ground as he walked. The complications in his life never stopped…first Carl and Judith, then Jessie, now Maggie. Looking up and checking their surroundings, he too came to a conclusion of sorts. “Let’s talk to Deanna…now.”

“Take Michonne….not me,” she said, the two of them speeding up their pace. “She’s your fellow Constable. I’m just Carol.”

“Just Carol?”

She nodded. “Yes. Deanna thinks I miss my sweet, sweet husband every day…she needs to keep thinking that.”

“Yes,” he agreed, knowing Carol’s usefulness as innocent Mrs Peletier was endless. “I’ll take Michonne. Sjit, this is…”

“Not going to be easy,” Carol concluded for him. “And Deanna’s just the start. The hard part is going to be Jessie.”

Rick swore again, all his experience with domestic violence cases coming straight back to him the more he thought about it. “She’ll have to cooperate…I won’t be giving her many options.”

“You’re going to play hard ball?”

“I might have to. Kick him out of your house, or I’ll kick him out all together.” He glanced at her, gauging her thoughts. “You don’t think that will work?”

“Kicking him out completely will be seen as an empty threat once words gets out about Maggie,” she said , lowering her voice as they returned to the gates. Knowing that Holly was waiting for them Carol raised her hand and knocked politely, keeping her voice low as they waited. “Whatever agreement you reach with Jessie, you’ll need to do it on her terms. Give her some time…give her some confidence and support to see for herself.”

“I don’t how much time she’ll have.”

“She’s safe for now,” Carol muttered, smiling cheerfully and thanking Holly when she let them in. “The best times in my marriage were always the first few weeks after coming back to Ed. Jessie’s going to be fine for now.”

“He’ll be husband of the year,” he agreed, remembering what he had told Carl. “I’m still going to have a watch on her place. There’s no point in hiding it, they both must know this is coming out.”

“Yes, they do.”

Reaching their street, they turned left and began heading home, but Rick slowed to a stop and looked between the second house and Jessie’s, seeing Michonne still sitting there keeping watch. Whistling to her lowly, he got her attention and then motioned for her to join him. As he waited for her to join them he turned back to Carol.

“We were going to tell Carl today.” He didn’t elaborate further, for though they hadn’t acknowledged their relationship to anyone yet, Carol seemed to see and hear a little of everything that went on. As he suspected, she didn’t seem surprised.

“Now’s probably not a great time,” she said bluntly.

“No,” he agreed, filled with immense disappointment. He had hoped that Carol might say something different, that her response wouldn’t be perfectly in line with what his gut was already telling him. But what had he been expecting to hear? Having a falling out with his best friend is no big deal. Go on, upheave his life a little more.

“Would you go home for me? Keep an eye on Carl?”

Carol nodded in agreement. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” he muttered, sighing as one woman left and another joined him. “Hey,” he greeted Michonne, glad to see she happened to be wearing her Constable uniform…Deanna would like that.

“Hey,” she replied shortly, looking as worried as he felt. She watched Carol as she departed, trying to make the connection between all of the interactions that day. “Everything sorted out?”

He shook his head, glancing first at Jessie’s house, and then at the second house where Carrie and Tara still sat on the porch. Though she seemed occupied, Rick could tell Carrie wanted to know what was going on, that she wanted an explanation as to what all the fuss was about. She was watching from afar, dutifully rubbing Tara’s feet and keeping her company. He wished he had the time to tell her what was going on.

“You and I need to talk to Deanna,” he told Michonne, starting off towards her townhouse.

Falling into step beside him, Michonne’s worry did not ease. “Is it what I think it is?” she enquired. “Pete’s abusing Jessie?”

“Yes,” he answered, unsurprised that she was as perceptive as Carol. “I don’t know the extent of it…but I think Deanna might.”

“You think she knows and hasn’t done anything?”

“Yes.”

Michonne swore uncharacteristically. “So, we’re going to confront her about knowing?”

He shook his head, though he’d very much like to. “No…we’re going to ask for information, what she does and doesn’t know…then, we confront her.”




Notes

Comments

@WalkerWalkerChick
No worries, I was just so happy to find it on the other site I read it there. There aren't too many Rick Grimes stories, and yours are among the best I have found. Really looking forward to your new story and the continuing journey of Rick and Carrie.

Grimesgirl63 Grimesgirl63
5/21/17

@Grimesgirl63
Thanks Grimesgirl63, that means a lot!

Sorry it took forever to update on this site! (to get the formatting right, the copy paste has to be done from a Word doc which I don't have on my laptop - this is why I fell so far behind posting on here).

In progress of posting first chapter of The New World as we speak - hopefully up in an hour or so. Happy reading :-)

This was a great ending to the story. Loved how you weaved in the elements of the series but made it your own. Looking forward to your new story!

Grimesgirl63 Grimesgirl63
5/21/17

Hi there - just wondering if you plan to update the story on this site. I noticed this story on another FF site and it was much further along. Either way,I started reading it over there. Thanks, it is getting really good.

Grimesgirl63 Grimesgirl63
5/10/17

Just wanted to let you know that I really enjoy this story. Thought the first one was good as well. Looking forward to the next chapter.

Grimesgirl63 Grimesgirl63
6/7/16