» Time Is Dancing « | » Carl Grimes «

» HOSTILES AND CALAMITIES «

When Did I Get So Busy?

"What if we stayed here for a while?" Carl muttered, his face buried in the pillow as I got dressed.

"I wish." I chuckled, pushing against him until he finally looked at me. "I'm going to the infirmary, I'll see you later." I placed a lingering kiss on his cheek, feeling it heat up in the very spot before I left.

The first thing I did when I got there was tackle Tara into a hug, burying my face into her shoulder as she embraced me just as tightly. I sighed with content when I realised she had come back for good. I pulled away, smiling sadly when I saw what she had been doing. On the shelf of the infirmary, between the tubs and packets and wrappers, was a bobble head figure dressed as a doctor. She must've found it on her run.

"I miss her." I mumbled as I gazed at it, watching the head move up and down on the spring. I had no idea how difficult it would be in the future without her.

"Yeah, me too." Tara agreed. It broke my heart that the new couple wouldn't get to spend more time together, and it only made me hate this world more. And Dwight. "I wish I made it back in time."

I couldn't help the guilt settling in my chest. In my mind, I knew it wasn't my fault Denise was gone. But a small part of me would always think I could've prevented it if only I went with them.

"You found this?" I took the model doctor in my hand, feeling the heavy weight and fine details on my fingertips.

Tara hummed in agreement. "I actually found something for you, too." She rummaged in her jeans pocket, tugging out a woven string of pink and green. Attached to the string was a tiny metal flower, it's gleaming petals coloured purple. "I remembered you collected them, right? I just found it in a gift shop somewhere..." She trailed off with an uncertain tone.

I held my wrist out towards her, allowing her fingers to nimbly tie the bracelet in a secure knot. "I love it. Thank you." I assured her, admiring the new piece of jewelry. It was perfect for me.

Tara nodded, gesturing to the door. "I should probably go, I told Rick I'd babysit."

Once she was out the building, I smiled softly. We all had promised to Rick, and I intended to keep mine.

I pulled a thick book from the shelf, brushing off the dust coating the cover. It looked like it had been sitting there for a while. I remembered it belonged to Reg, Deanna's husband, and then gifted to Noah as he expressed his eagerness to learn architecture. There were many unfinished plans and sheets inside the book, most of them just drawings and doodles with a few notes. But I had a few ideas of my own.

"You busy?" Carl asked when he wandered into the infirmary a while later, sitting beside me as I scribbled in the book. My tongue poked between my lips in focus, barely noticing he was there until I put the pencil down.

I placed a finger against my chin, deep in thought. "If we knocked down these empty houses here," I pointed to a map of Alexandria, "then we would have the materials to build up the wall over here." I dragged a finger along the edge of the community.

"And we could turn this space into fields and expand the gardens, plant more crops. If we found some more glass panels we could even set up a greenhouse by the church." I kept my eyes on the page as I scanned the area, figuring out whether it could work. We might need some help from the Hilltop in terms of work forces, but we could sort out a new trade deal.

"I think you should show my dad." Carl nodded in agreement. "Tell him there's a new sheriff in town." He joked.

I scoffed with an exaggerated eye roll, finally leaning back in my chair. "Yeah, right. I just think it's time to start acting like this place is gonna be around in fifty years."

"And fifty years from now, you could be leading this place." He countered, his eyebrows raised. I folded the sheets up, filing them between the pages of the book and tucking it under my arm, pushing my chair in.

"I'm gonna make an inventory of the pantry." I ignored his comment, stepping out the door and pacing to the other building.

"Will you at least talk to my dad?" Carl insisted as he followed me into the pantry, trying to meet my eyes as I scanned the shelves. There wasn't a lot, at least, not enough for the whole community.

I picked up a can of beans, inspecting the tin. "Ten cans of beans and six of soup, some dry pasta packets in these boxes and a few vegetables left from Hilltop." My mind whirred, adding up the numbers in my head. "If we rationed we could stretch it for maybe-" I cut myself off, shutting my eyes to visualise the total. I bit my lip as I focused before Carl helped me out.

"A week and a half?" He suggested, and I nodded disappointedly.

"I don't know how long Rick and Michonne are gonna be, we might have to send a group out." I tried to organise a team in my head of possible runners, coming up with almost nothing. "We could ask the Hilltop, but I don't think Gregory would go for another deal." I mumbled, my eyebrows furrowed in thought. We couldn't ask the Kingdom, we had nothing to trade in return.

"We've still got some time to figure it out." Carl assured me, and I agreed before stepping into the next room, the armoury. It was stripped of all guns, only a few smaller melee weapons remaining.

I set the few knives and tools out, jotting down how many we had before Carl crossed my line of view. "You're good at keeping track of things. Making sure this place is still running." He observed.

I sighed with frustration, dropping the sheet and pencil on the table and meeting his gaze. "I can barely add two numbers together, Carl." I dismissed his ideas, seeing his optimistic expression drop. "Besides, I don't wanna do it. Not while there's someone else who can. I've gotta run the infirmary, I gotta go back to the Hilltop at some point, I'm too busy."

He bit his cheek in disappointment, looking at his feet. I frowned sadly. I didn't want him to feel bad about suggesting it, I just couldn't take on such a role right now. "But...I'll show your dad the plans, I promise."

His lips perked up in a light smile of triumph, his fingers linking through mine as we left the armoury.

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I was startled awake the next morning when Carl gently shut the door, clambering under the sheet again as silently as possible.

"Where'd you go?" I sleepily mumbled, rubbing my eyes as I faced him.

"It was just my dad, don't worry about it." He dismissed, tucking the blanket to his chest as he started drifting off again.

"They're back?" My eyes shot open as I leaned back on my elbows. "Did they find anything?"

He held back a sigh as he met my curious gaze. "They found a lot of guns and a lot of food. They're going soon, but they won't be long. We're gonna be okay, so go back to sleep."

I grinned widely, curling up to his side as his breathing steadied. He said we would be okay, and I believed every word.

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Hello again
I've just been doing a couple of filler chapters before the big finale, but sure enough it's coming