Three Empty Words

Epilogue

"I've watched those eyes light up with a smile. River in the not good times. Oh, you taught me all that I know. I've seen your soul grow just like a rose. Made it through all of those thorns. Girl into the woman I know." ~  Lauve (Breathe)

***

Thea's PoV

I had followed Rick to the infirmary with Michonne in his arms. There were a couple beds set up, but there were more dead than injured. Rick covered her up and pulled up a chair. Next to Michonne's bed, lied Rosita with Tara next to her. I didn't know what happened to have her landed in here, but it didn't surprise me as much as the boy that was sitting in a wooden chair getting his arm wrapped up.

"What happened to you?" I asked him, slowly approaching his sitting form. The Alexandrian woman that was working on him gave me a smile, but it faded when she saw my face. She poked and prodded my bruised face, making sure nothing was broken. I winced slightly as she smeared some clear gel on a cut that I didn't even know I had, then slapped a band-aid over it. Once she was satisfied with the way we looked, she turned her attention to Rick and Michonne.

"A bullet just grazed me. No big deal," he shrugged and looked me over. "You?" I could smile at what happened now that I knew that everyone was safe and everything played out okay.

"Just got into another fist fight. Almost scrapped with Negan again. No big deal," I repeated him, waving off our injuries. He gave me a smile and stood up, his height seeming to tower over mine. I knew he was taller than Carl, which almost made me feel like a dwarf in comparison to him. "You feel up to a patrol? Make sure no one is staying behind?"

"You've just pretty much gone through hell, and you're all ready gearing up for more work. You are something, Thea Lawley," he scoffed, shaking his head in amusement. I gave him a wink and headed towards the exit.

"So, are you coming or what?" I asked over my shoulder. He chuckled and caught up with me. The two of us headed out of the building and towards the edge of Alexandria where there was a loose panel of metal we could slip out of to scout the outer edges of the community. When we got there, I wasn't the only that brought a plus one.

Enid was standing there next to Carl with a blank face. It was just the four of us: Carl, Mikey, Enid, and I.  Almost immediately I could feel tension rise in the air. We all haven't been together like this in ages. I knew that each of us has had our own disputes with each other, but we've been through too much. We couldn't let whatever we had left fall apart because of arguments and relationships. We were pretty much the last teenagers on Earth. Besides Maggie's baby, we were the future. I felt like we all needed to put our differences aside and stick together. I decided to go first.

"I want us all to start over," I started, looking around quickly to see all of their expressions. "The four of us need to stick together. No matter what. We should over look what has happened in the past and look more into what the future asks of us." I felt amazing after getting that off my chest.

I looked to see that Carl had a proud look on his face that I was taking this initiative. I held out my hand specifically to Enid, knowing she was the one that I needed to reconcile with. She was hesitant to take my hand, but once she did, I could tell a huge weight was lifted off our shoulders.

"I miss talking to a girl my age," she admitted sheepishly. It almost made me want to laugh out loud in relief.

"Me too," I agreed, letting her hand go. "I've only had Carl and the occasional Mikey, plus the adults. It's been rough." We all shared a good laugh at that one. I saw Carl give Mikey a nod, before the four of us left the walls and began to scout the surrounding area.

***

After coming back from our patrol, the four of us split off into pairs to help start putting Alexandria back in order. Enid and Mikey went off somewhere, while Carl and I were finally alone. I knew there was still quite a lot that needed said between us, but it seemed that none of that really mattered. We were both alive and still had each other. In the distance I could see people putting together a makeshift platform in the center of Alexandria, which meant we were most likely going to have a meeting soon.

"I meant what I said earlier. Even if we don't work out in the end. I don't want us to split up for good," I told him, stopping a good distance away from all the commotion, but still keeping them in earshot.

"So you still want us?" he asked hesitantly. I laughed at how nervous he looked. He just stared death in the face, but here he was, worried over whether or not we were breaking up.

"Of course I do," I giggled, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "You know. I thought I lost you today." His face fell a bit, and he moved closer to grab both of my hands.

"I didn't care that I was going to die, to be honest. As long as I knew you were safe, it was going to be okay. Daryl and the others would still be there for you. You'd still have a life ahead of you. I knew that I did everything I could to protect you in this world," he admitted in a low voice, his cheeks getting a pink tint to them. I could already feel my own cheeks heating up at his sweet words.

"I'm supposed to be the sappy one," I smirked. He let out a little huff of air. "But thank you. For looking after me, even though I wanted nothing to do with you when we first met. Although, please cut down on the amount of times you try to get yourself killed."

"Right back at you, Thee," he chuckled. I rolled my eyes and pulled my hands from his. I grabbed a hold of each flap of his flannel and pulled him closer. Standing on my tippy-toes, I brought my lips to his. The kiss was so full of love it almost made me want to cry. After everything we've been through, I felt like this moment was here to finalize that we actually won against Negan. This battle anyways.

"Carl! Thea! We're startin'. Get your asses over here!" Daryl yelled from somewhere far off. My lips pulled into a smile against Carl's. I slowly slid down, my eyes still closed. I figured he could see us, so I raised my hand over Carl's shoulder, flipping the air off in his general direction, hoping he would get the message.

"C'mon, Cowboy. Don't want to keep them waiting," I grinned. He shook his head, and the two of us made our way to the platform that was being built earlier. On top of it stood Rick, Ezekiel, and Maggie. Shiva lied down calmly on the ground off to her owner's right. The people from the three different groups spread out below them, waiting to hear what they would say.

The three of them lied out the events that would unfold in the future. We were all allies now. We demonstrated that we could hold our own, now we just had to keep doing that. Everything would be changing from now on. With the last push against the Saviors, this land would return to all of us. We would be safe. I just hated the fact that so many had to die before we got to this point, although I couldn't be prouder with how far we've come. I could finally say that I was satisfied with the world that we were living in and the people that stuck with me.