The Way Things Are (A Rarl Fanfiction)

Chapter Four

It had been a few days since the boys had their escapade on the roof of the church. It was quiet in Alexandria. There had been relatively few walkers around the perimeter. Diana had assigned each of the new group members a job by now. It was good... Until it wasn't. Rick had had his last straw with Pete. Rick had seen the signs. Carol knew. She was the one who told Rick that Pete was hitting Jessie. She knew the signs all too well. Her husband, Ed, was the same before he was torn apart by walkers. Ron knew something had to be done about his abusive father.

What Ron didn't expect was Rick, Carl's dad, to beat the holy hell out of HIS dad. Ron was not exactly sure what happened, but he heard his mom, dad, and Rick screaming from downstairs. By the time he had walked to the bottom of the stairs, Rick had thrown Pete out the window. Literally. Ron's mom was bawling. The window laid in broken shards all over the kitchen floor. Rick and Pete were having it out on the front porch.

Ron didn't know what to do. He ran outside to watch what happened. The fight drew the attention of the other community members quickly. Rick and Pete had made it into the middle of the street. Rick kept beating him. He was clearly winning. Pete's blood spattered the surrounding pavement. Rick kept hitting and hitting. Diana showed up and screamed for Rick to stop. He eventually did, but that didn't stop Rick from screaming back. So, there Rick was, screaming to everyone that Alexandria was going to change. No more of this being all "happy inside the walls" shit. It's gonna change. It's time to change. They needed to learn what the outside world was like. According to Rick, anyway.

Then, before Rick could keep going, Michonne hit him over the head. Rick crumpled to the ground on top of Pete's bloody body and that was the end of that.

Carl couldn't process what his dad had done. His dad may have been right about things changing, but it could've been handled another way. A better way. He just wanted to be there for Ron. He knew what it was like to be in the position of watching your parents get hurt. Carl made his way over to Ron.

"Are you okay?" Carl asked cautiously. Carl was scared of Ron's reaction. If he was angry it could be bad. Anger could make a person do regrettable things. Ron looked at Carl with tears in his eyes and some streaming down his face. Carl walked over to him and enveloped him in a hug. Ron wrapped his arms around Carl and leaned his head on Carl's shoulder. "I'm sorry about my dad."

Ron leaned back and looked at Carl in the eyes. "Don't be. I'm not crying over him. He deserved what he got. I'm crying for my mother. She doesn't deserve this. Neither does Sam."

"And neither do you, Ron. Go over to your mother. Comfort her. She needs you more than I do," Carl said, a small, short smile on his lips. He leaned forward and kissed Ron. "I love you."

Carl turned and walked away from Ron, leaving him in shock. Ron went to his mother and held her while she cried.

Rick was put into the cell that served as Alexandria's "jail." Carl went and saw Rick for part of the next day, but it was pointless. Rick was asleep, healing from the cuts he got on his face from Pete and the glass from the broken window. So, Carl stayed home most of the day and took care of his sister, Judith. Babies were weird. Judith was weird. The whole idea of Judith was weird.

She was born AFTER the end. She wouldn't know the world that Carl got to know. One with school, friends, and safety. She would know a world of weapons, walkers, and death. One that she didn't deserve. None of them deserved any of this. Carl couldn't help thinking of Ron. Ron was born before the end, of course, but he had been behind these walls while most of it played out.

All of this was new to Ron. The Alexandrians were beginning to realize that walkers are not the only threat. People are just as dangerous. Pete had been given his own house away from Jessie, Ron, and Sam. Carl couldn't be happier. Pete had only been moved out today, but Carl could already see the effects on the family. As if a light had been shone into the darkness. A weight lifted from their shoulders. It made Carl so happy to see Ron happy. Not that Ron was never happy before. It's just now he is different. Carl couldn't explain it, but it was a good different.

Michonne came home for lunch during the day. She gave Carl a quick update on Rick. "He is still asleep. He's just healing. They are going to have a meeting tonight to decide on what to do about him. You're not mad at me for what I did, are you, Carl?"

Carl looked up at Michonne, a woman he had grown to love and trust. "Not at all. He deserved it. He can get a little high on himself sometimes, as we all know, but he was right. Everything he said was right. He could have just said it in a better way than beating up Ron's dad. I just hope the people of Alexandria can see that."

"I agree. Do you want me to stay and watch Judith?" Michonne asked Carl while opening a can of food.

"No, but when you leave can you send Ron over? I want to see how he is doing. I also want someone else here other than just Judith. She isn't exactly the best person to talk to," Carl exclaimed with a small laugh. Judith giggled in reply. A sound that brought smiles to the lips of both Michonne and Carl.

"Yeah, no problem. You guys are too cute. Just don't forget that you are watching the baby," Michonne said with a wink. Carl blushed.

He wouldn't forget he was watching the baby, but that didn't mean he still couldn't have fun. He figured Ron needed to be around him. After everything that had gone wrong, the least Carl could do was give a blow job to the boy he loved.