» Time Is Dancing « | » Carl Grimes «

» A YEAR LATER PT.1 «

Batman And Robin And Their Children, Too

"Please, stop drawing on the wall." I pleaded with my daughter as she scribbled blue crayon on the wallpaper, Maggie's office becoming far more colourful than necessary. Hershel squirmed in my arms as I got to my feet, my hand wrapping around Heather's arm in an attempt to drag her away.

"Blue!" She squealed, tugging herself from my grip and scrawling something that looked like a flower.

"Yeah, it's pretty." I sighed with exasperation. "But I bet it would look even prettier on paper." I was a good parent most days, always watching out for my daughter and taking care of her. But when a second child was thrown into the mix it was all so suddenly overwhelming.

I let out a relieved groan when Maggie wandered into the room, her eyebrows raised in curiosity. She must've heard all the commotion and felt it necessary to check on me.

"I've got her." She wrapped her arms around Heather's wriggling figure, the restless child eventually giving up and dropping the blue crayon.

"Man, I love these kids." I grinned, my exhaustion and sarcasm clear in my eyes. "Everything okay?"

Maggie smiled as she settled Heather in the crib, Hershel following soon after. "When was the last time you went out?" She asked, and I knew immediately what she was referring to. I was always a big part of trading between the communities, opting to visit the Kingdom and Alexandria to deliver supplies. I thought it was important for Heather to get to know her family in these place.

I shrugged dismissively, hiding my sadness. "A while. I was at the Kingdom a couple months ago, and Alexandria..." Michonne had changed a lot in the past year, but no one could blame her. Rick's death hit us all extremely hard, but since it became public news that the woman was pregnant with his child, it only made it worse. That, and an incident involving a group of outsiders that I didn't know much about. Since then, Alexandria had pretty much cut themselves off. Even the trade was slowing down, and I had a feeling this could be the end of it.

I had never met RJ, and it had been a long time since I saw Judith, too. I had so many friends and family- Siddiq, Rosita, Tara. I assumed Daryl was there, seeing as he wasn't here at the Hilltop.

"There's some wheat and corn that needs to be delivered. The Kingdom has some scrap metal to trade, I don't know about Alexandria." Maggie relayed the information to me. "You up for it?"

I mentally figured out my plan. I would have to go to the Kingdom first, seeing as it was closer. If I went to Alexandria to do the exchange and then return to the Kingdom, it would take a day or two before I returned home.

"Sure, I'll leave tomorrow." I agreed. "I'll take Heather. She'll wanna see Henry again."

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"You tagging along?" I grinned as Jesus tossed a bag into the wagon, clipping the straps down before facing me.

"I thought you were the one 'tagging along'." He returned the gesture as I tied the horses reins to the wagon, lifting Heather into the seat and getting in beside her. Jesus was next to me, steering the horses out of the gates and onto the road. I couldn't see much over the crates of food, but I could hear a series of clopping hooves and whinnies as more Hilltop residents travelled with us.

"Blue!" Heather bounced in my lap as she pointed to the grass stretching alongside the path.

"That's green, baby." I muttered, her lips forming the unfamiliar word with a struggle.

Jesus chuckled quietly, his head shaking with amusement. He wasn't the type of person to babysit the children, usually sticking to his own world inside his trailer. But Heather loved him all the same and it was difficult to resist the feeling.