the walking dead || x reader one shots

babysitting - c.g. {♡}

request by: thebestusernametoeverexist on AO3

summary: You beg Rick to assign you a task, wanting to feel more useful in the Prison. But being a 14 year old girl, you're assigned to babysitting duty. At first you're annoyed, but when you realize you'll be working with his cute son Carl, you don't mind as much. The two of you grow closer as the day goes on, and you realize maybe babysitting duty isn't too bad...

You stare blankly at the grey concrete wall of your cell. It had been about 2 months since you'd moved to this prison from Woodbury, and you couldn't ignore how empty everything felt. Not just from the lack of outdoor BBQs and the decorated main street you had at Woodbury, but the lack of your parents. Brutally killed by the Governor just before you'd moved, you had lost your final pieces of familiarity. To try and fill the void, a young couple, Maggie and Glenn, had taken you in. They practically adopted you, and you loved spending time with them, but they weren't around often. They were apart of the main group that was running the prison, making them very busy. You begged and begged them to let you join. Not only were you bored out of your mind listening to Carol read to you in the library every day, but you wanted to contribute. You didn't want to be the girl who just moped around and leeched off the community after her parents died. You would want them to be proud of you, to step up and make a difference. So when you hear the tapping of Rick's boot stroll past your door, you immediately jump up off your bed and follow him. 

"Hey, Rick!" He stops in his tracks and turns to look at you.

"(y/n), how's it going?" he asks, his sweaty face looking down at you. 

"Not bad..I was just wondering if there was anything you needed? Anything I could do to help out?" Rick looks off into the distance to think. You were worried that maybe you were beginning to annoy him with your incessant asking. But he looks down at you, a grin on his face. 

"You know what. There actually is."

Rick leads you to a cell near the end of the block, parting the curtains to reveal Carl leaning over a bassinet. 

"Carl's never really babysat before and I heard you were quite the babysitter at Woodbury. Maybe you could teach him some thangs." At first you frown. You'd begrudgingly agreed to babysit at Woodbury, but it wasn't exactly your dream job. You slowly make your way to the bassinet, peering over to view Judith sleeping soundly. 

"You two have fun. I'll be around if you need me." Rick says before walking off. You look to Carl, a boy you hadn't spoken to much, but you observed him a lot. You told yourself it wasn't in a creepy stalker way, but you can't lie and say you didn't think he was cute. You watched him during reading time as he and Patrick quietly made fun the story in the back. You watched him help his dad outside with the pigs and the garden. And you watched him now, his pink face staring at you curiously. 

"H-hey. I'm Carl." He sticks out a clammy hand for you to shake. 

"I know. I met you before...once...a while ago." you sheepishly remark, accepting his handshake. 

"Right. You're (y/n). I remember you. I just didn't know if you remembered me." You blush, flattered that he actually remembered your name. You stare at each other in awkward silence. You're not sure why he seems so nervous. He was very talkative around Patrick and Lizzie and Mika...and especially Beth, who you suspected he had a crush on. Just then you hear a quiet coo from Judith as she rolls over in her bassinet. The two of you look down at her, and she looks up at you two. Without another second, she bursts into tears, screaming and crying, shattering both of your guys' eardrums. Quickly, you reach in and scoop her up, throwing her over your shoulder and trying to shush her. Carl just covers his ears, looking at his little sister in disgust.