What Happens Next

The Memories

I laid in the infirmary as I looked at the screen in front of me. Dr. Carson stared at the screen as he looked for the baby. I looked to Carl and smile a bit with Rick standing next to Carl and Glenn standing in between the two.

"There it is." Carson says as I look forward an saw the growing baby. He moved it around more as I heard the heart beat. I smiled more as I held Carl's hand tighter.

He finished up and printed the picture as I sat up and looked at the baby and thanked him as we left. Michonne and Maggie smiled as I showed them the picture. I smile as I looked to Carl as Maggie looked up, "you truly have grown," she says softly as she smiles. I smile as I walk down the stairs and around the community. Life had truly brought us far.

I looked back at Maggie, her time to step down from the fight was approaching as she slowly entered her second trimester. My fight had barely began. I went into my trailer as I sat down as Carl came in, "Maggie said she's stepping down tomorrow," he says as he put his gun in his holster, "where are you going?" I ask standing up as I gently grabbed his hand, "I wanted to go on a run," he says looking to me, "let me come, I don't want any of the saviors to stop you." I say softly as he nodded, "ok." he agreed.

I lifted up his shirt and peeled the bandage back, "at least it's healing.." I say softly placing my finger on his abdomen. "Jess, don't worry about it, I'm alive, and that's not going to change anything. I'm going to be here for our little one." He says softly placing his hand on my stomach as he leaned over and kissed it and looked back to me, "I love you," he says smiling a bit, "I love you too." I say softly as I pecked his lips and put my gun in my holster as we left the Hilltop.

We walked down the street as we looked around, "Carl," I say softly, "yeah?" He asks looking to me, "are you scared?" I ask softly, "I'm scared of a lot of things Jess."
"About the baby?"
"Yeah. But I want this."
"If you don't-"
"Don't you dare say it." He looks to me and then forward, "this is our kid. Not some asshole who raped you." I looked to him and smiled a bit and looked forward.

We got to a neighborhood as we went in. I looked around and smiled a bit, "after the fight, this could be the new Alexandria." I smile a bit as I looked around. Carl looked to me and smiled a bit and then around, "a future for Judith. Maggie's baby." I say softly as I place my hand on his arm, "for our baby." We smile together as we kept walking and searched around.

I looked at a house as I looked up as I walked towards it, "Jess..?" Carl says softly and followed me. I pulled my gun out and made my way inside, "this was my dad's house," I say softly as I opened the door and walked through. I looked around and saw pictures of him and his dead wife on the walls. Carl followed me as he saw a picture, "so he was married. Yet she's not your mother?" He says confused. "Negan loved Lucille. He wanted to commit everything he had for her and married her. When he had other ideas. He screwed around and had sex with other women. Glenn's parents had just divorced and my mom and dad met and had sex. Mom didn't believe in abortions. She told him that she was pregnant and told him to never speak to him, that he wanted nothing to do with me. Then, before all this happens, he suddenly wants me. He'd come in my life every now and then." I say as I looked around and went into the backyard, "he brought me here once, that's how I knew about it. Last time I was on my way here, it was when the world was going to shit." I say softly as I saw a dead woman's body in the backyard. "Lucille.." I say softly as I walk to the body as I kneeled down next to her body, "she had cancer.." I say softly as I stood and looked to him. "Let's go.." he says softly.

We left the house as we continued to look around an filled up the bags on our back.

"Ready to head back?" He asks as I nod. We started walking when women came out from in between the houses and trees. We stopped as I looked to him, "put your hands up!" One of the women yelled as I looked at Carl as I put my hands up as Carl put up his. "Put your weapons down and put your hands together in front of you!" The woman says as we did as she said. A woman locked my hands together, "put them in the back of the truck."

We sat in the back with two other women in front of us, "You've should've stayed back.." Carl says softly. I shook my head, "for one of his people to take you and use you against us?" I looked to him, "Jess, this isn't even his people."
"Yeah, I know. But it still could've happened."
"Shut up." One of the women say and looked away at the road we left behind.