𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀

𝗜𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗔 𝗙𝗘𝗪 hours since Enid, Ivy, and Aaron returned to The Hilltop. Ivy had been waiting patiently on a crate for those many hours, awaiting the return of the people of Alexandria— or, someone at least. The Saviors attacked again, and The Kingdom came to Hilltop, so Alexandria would, too.

Ivy held Enids hand tight as the two waited. Their attention was turned to the gate that was now opening. Ivy shoot up, letting go of Enids hand. Carol and her happily ran up to the gate.

Daryl led the group, Judith in his arms. Rosita, Tara, and a few other Alexandrians followed. Ivy furrowed her eyebrows as she looked around. She couldn't spot the boy she the loved the most.

At this point, Maggie had ran up to the group. They all had somber looks on their faces. Ivy didn't expect them to look happy after the attack on Alexandria, but the way they all looked at her...

Daryl looked like he had been crying— a lot. So had Tara and Rosita, and Ivy's heart dropped. She also had noticed Rick and Michonne weren't there.

Ivy just knew. She knew. That was her gut feeling telling her something was wrong. She felt tears fill her eyes, and the salty liquid slid quickly down her face. She felt herself fall to the ground, her knees giving in.

Enid was quick to fall next to the girl, wrapping her arms around her. Tears filled Enid eyes and she let out gentle sobs of her own. Carol even started crying hard. She had knew the boy the longest out of everyone.

Maggie quickly ran up to Daryl. "A—Are you sure?" Maggie asked, tears threatening to spill. "Daryl, answer me."

Daryl looked up at Maggie and frowned as he began to cry. "H—He was out there when Negan attacked. He didn't follow us into the sewers... We pretty sure he's gone. There—" Daryl couldn't even finish his sentence. He hushed his tone as he spoke the last words. "There ain't no way... he, um made it."

Maggie's hand reached her mouth as she began crying. "No. He— He can't..." Maggie trailed off as she looked to the sobbing Ivy. Those sobs were different from any other cries shes ever let out. That was true pain. "My god... No, Daryl."

" 'm sorry." Daryl cried as he ducked his head down. Maggie's cries picked up as she looked around.

"I— I need to sit..." Maggie breathed out as she crouched down on the ground. She moved closer to two crying girls. "Ivy..."

Ivy looked up at Maggie and began crying even more. "M—Mom?" Ivy stammered out. Maggie closed her eyes tightly as she took Ivy into a hug.

"I'm right here, baby..." Maggie assured her. Everyone walked away, even Enid, trying to give the girls space.

Ivy's sobs were heard from all over. She just wanted to scream. And, just... crumble. Ivy was experiencing pain that's she's never felt. She lost her one true love. The one person that really got her. The one person that didn't have to love her, but did. The person that chose to love her.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Ivy managed out. Maggie nodded and pulled back the girls hair. Ivy threw up on the ground in front of her. She felt ill and weak. Mentally and physically.

Maggie tried to pull the girl up, but her body just wouldn't budge. "No, I'm fine... I— I can do it myself." Ivy sobbed. Maggie felt her heart being crushed into a million pieces as she watched her daughter stand up on her own.

Maggie clawed at the gravel as her weak body tried to stand. She sat next to a pile of blood and brains that once belonged to Abraham. Her sobs had slowed at this point only due to the fact that she was in shock.

"Maggie. Maggie." Rick spoke, standing up as well. "Maggie... you need to sit down. Maggie."

"No." Was the only word the woman could manage out.

Rick tried to grab onto her hand, but she pulled it away. "We need to get you to the The Hilltop." Rick told her.

"You need to go get ready." Maggie said.

"For what?" Rick asked. Everyone's heart hurt as they watched the hunched over, pale widow standing over her husbands dead body

"To fight them."

Ivy had made her way into The Barrington house not to long ago. Nobody knew what she was doing in there, and they didn't bother to check because they knew she needed space.

Everyone's heads snapped towards the sound of the door opening. All noises stopped, the only thing anyone could hear was the sound of the door creaking open.

They all watched as Ivy stepped out. Her legs were weak, and she walked with a stumble. She was wrapped in Carls flannel and tears streamed down her face as she walked. As she went to walk down the small porch steps, someone grabbed her arm and steadied her.

"Easy does it." The unfamiliar man cooed. Ivy was taken aback by the man she did not recognized, but allowed him to help her anyways.

As they got to the bottom of the stairs, Ivy turned to him. "W—W— Who are you?" Ivy asked, her voice breaking as she spoke. She wobbled slightly, and the man grabbed onto her waist to keep her up.

"I'm Siddiq. The man your husband saved." The man explained. Ivy blinked back tears, stepping backwards slightly.

Ivy's frowned face turned into a soft smile. "He spent his last days helping someone?" Ivy inquired. Siddiq nodded. Ivy started crying even more and took the man into a hug. "Oh my..." Ivy removed herself from the hug and looked at everyone standing there.

"I ap—appreciate you all for... for caring. About me, and about Carl." Ivy stuttered out. "I... I don't know how to thank you all for it."

Everyone nodded at the girl. "He'd be, um, very happy to see that you all cared." Ivy spoke before waking off.

As Ivy began walking off, she stopped at the sound of Kals voice. "Open the gates! It's Rick!"

Ivy stopped dead in her tracks. She stepped in front of the gate. Tears fell as it seemed like the gate had been opening in slow motion.

As Rick and Ivy met eyes, Ivy quickly ran up to him and fell into his arms. Her legs completely gave out, and Rick could barely hold her up, so they both fell to their knees. Ivy sobbed into his neck.

"I—I—Is he really...?" Ivy sobbed. Rick nodded and Ivy cried even harder— if it was even possible.

Ivy felt completely broken. She had never felt so low in her whole life. She felt like she could just die. At this point, Ivy wished Cyndie had killed her. She wouldn't have to live without the love of her life.

Ivy let go of Rick and allowed him to stand up when he heard Judith. Ivy watched as Rick went up to his now only child and hold her in his arms. The girls sobs increased as she brought her knees to her chest. She looked up at Michonne who looked absolutely broken as well.

Enid and Maggie walked over to the girl. The two lifted her up onto her feet and began walking her to The Barrington house. The woman brought Ivy inside and into her room. They placed her down onto her bed, letting her rest.

"We're gonna kill him, right?" Ivy asked. Enid sat down beside her and moved hair out of the crying girls face. "He— he killed Abraham. He killed Glenn. And— and who knows... Maybe, he killed Carl..."

Maggie crossed her arms. "He's gonna pay for everything he's ever done, I promise."

Ivy sighed. "You can't promise anything anymore." Ivy ran her hands over her face.

"You know how many things Carl promised me?"

𝗡𝗢 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗗 Ivy to fight the saviors due to losing Carl just that day— and she didn't. She sat inside her small bedroom and sobbed as she listened to the sound of Simon and Maggie communicating not far from her.

Rick, Michonne, Enid, and Maggie did a full sweep of Ivy's room, eliminating all things she could potentially hurt herself with. Rosita made sure to to lock up her gun and knives, keeping them far away from her. Someone stood besides her door the whole day, some of the Alexandrians switching out and checking in on the girl.

Ivy looked outside her window, seeing that mostly everyone was outside. Ivy knocked on her door and didn't get an answer.

The girl pulled her hair up and retrieved some clothes from her closet. She pulled out a random assortment of clothes and threw them on.

She pulled on a pair of black cargo pants, and a tight fitted long black sleeved shirt. She slipped on Carls blue flannel, and then her black combat boots. She wrapped a white bandanna around her wrist and then walked over to her dresser.

Ivy reached into the bag Rick had given her and pulled something out. The beat up sheriff's hat came into view. The girl placed the hat on her head.

This was the night that she was going to avenge Carl, Glenn, and Abraham.

Ivy opened her door and was met by a familiar surprise. Avalyn stood there, an AK-47 in her hand that was almost bigger than her. The young girl passed the weapon the Ivy.

"It's fully loaded." Ava whispered. Ivy smiled slightly. "You have to do this. For Carl and Glenn. That's what my sister and Lacey said you should do."

Ivy bent down in front of the girl. "I'm not just doing it for me. I'm doing it for Maggie, and her baby. For Judith, and Rick, and Michonne. In honor of Sasha. Abraham. For Rosita" Ivy listed. "For you, and my sister. And Lacey. For you all to have better lives away from Negan."

"I would like that, a lot." Ava smiled. Ivy kissed the top of the girl's forehead and stood up. "Before you go, can I ask you a question?" Ivy nodded. "Do you, um... Do you know Henry?"

Ivy let out a stifled laugh. "Yeah, I do. He's with The Kingdom, right?" Ava nodded in response. "Seems like a nice kid. You like him, don't you?" Ava blushed. "I'll take that as a yes, kid."

Ivy went to hug Avalyn, but was quickly stopped by the sound of gunshots. "Yeah, um, speaking of Henry, you go with him now!" Ivy yelled. Ava nodded and Ivy ran out The Barrington house.

As she ran outside, she saw Daryl on his bike making his way in. The school bus drove in front of one of The Saviors cars, making them crash.

"Now!" Ivy heard Maggie yelled. Ivy took that as a sign and cocked her gun and began shooting at The Saviors getting out of the car.

Maggie looked down from the balcony and saw Ivy firing shots at The Saviors. She let out a breathy laugh as she saw the hat rested upon her head.

Ivy ducked an arrow coming her way, which was extremely impressive. She felt someone grab her arm and pull her away. She was dragged behind a car. Ivy looked over and saw Siddiq holding onto her.

"Carl helped me honor my mom, now I'm gonna help honor Carl." Siddiq told the girl. "And, by honoring him, I need to keep you safe. You're gonna go to The Barrington house, no arguments, just go."

Ivy hesitated, but she thought about leaving Maggie, or Enid, Rick, Daryl, Michonne, Rosita, or Judith. Ivy nodded and began running back to the house. She shot at any Saviors in sight as she stepped into the house.

Ivy heard conversation from Maggie's office, so she quickly ran there. She stopped at the door of the office and looked in at all the prisoner Saviors.

Maggie stormed up to the girl. "Are you okay?" Maggie asked worriedly. She took the girl into a hug.

"Yes, mom, I'm fine." Ivy nodded. "Is it okay if I call you that." Maggie tried to stop herself from crying, but she kept strong.

"That's just fine, sweetheart." Maggie assured her.

Ivy stepped back as Maggie reached to turn off the light. "You didn't even know the plan and you still went out there." Maggie pointed out. Ivy looked around at the Saviors that filled the room.

"I had to do something." Ivy shrugged. Ivy walked past Alden, who reached his cuffed hand out and touched her arm. Ivy looked over at the man. "Hey, Alden."

"Look, I'm really sorry about your husband. And, your dad. You and Maggie get talked about a lot at The Sanctuary." Alden let out a breathy laugh. "Let me go and, I— I can help honor him."

Ivy frowned. "I believe you, but I can't take any chances." Ivy informed him. Alden nodded knowingly. Ivy turned to Maggie. "I'm gonna go with the kids, make sure they're all right. When I come back out, each Savior better be dead."

Maggie nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗥 a while. Gun shells were still on the ground, ashes were scattered across The Hilltop, blood was seen in each corner. But that wasn't what Ivy cared about. She sat in her room, on her bed, staring at the hat near the foot of the bed.

Ivy took a sharp breathe and dipped her head into her hands. "Fuck you, Carl. Seriously, fuck you." Ivy spat as she began to cry. "You made me leave you, a— and then you just leave? That isn't fair!" Ivy stood up and paced around her room.

"You don't get just be there for someone and leave! You were in my life, and I loved you more than anything!" Ivy began to yell. She didn't care who heard her at this point. She didn't even know if anybody could hear.

But, Rick could. He stood outside the door, tears filling his eyes. He pushed himself against the door and slid down it, bring a hand to his mouth.

"I loved you! And you just leave! You're an asshole, because I would never do that to you!" Ivy yelled. "I would never make all these promises and not fulfill them! You don't get to matter and then just disappear!"

Tears fell rapidly down her face as she slid down the door, completely oblivious to know Rick was on the other side.

All the memories Carl and Ivy made together all came flooding back.

Ivy walked down the halls of the prison, trying to clear her head of any negative thoughts. The girl was stopped as someone bumped into her. "S—Sorry." Ivy muttered before looking up at who it was. "Never mind."

"Really?" Carl asked. "Stop being such a brat."

"Fall down a flight of stairs, Grimes."

"You first, Castillo."

"You're so beautiful." Ivy complimented as she looked at her boyfriend. Carl blushed slightly and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm serious. My beautiful, handsome boy."

"My beautiful, gorgeous girl."

Ivy looked up at him. "I love you." She said as she looked into his eyes.

"I love you, too."

❝𝗚𝗢𝗗, 𝗜 𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗘 you so much. We were supposed to have a life together. Have kids, get married." Ivy listed. "But, no! Your selfish ass had to go and die on me!"

"But, you know what..." Ivy trailed off. "I don't think you're dead. I think your holed up somewhere, just trying to survive."

"And I think you think that, too, Rick."

Ivy stood up and opened the door, seeing Rick sitting beside it. She ushered him to come inside and he did. They both sat on her bed and Ivy turned to him. She inspected his tear filled eyes and hugged him.

The man began crying. "I— I can't do this, V." Rick cried. Ivy nodded and released him from the hug. "A fathers job is to protect his son."

"You said that after he got shot." Ivy reminded him, letting out a breathy laugh. "He survived that." Rick laughed as well. "We can't just give up on him. That isn't fair."

Rick nodded. "You're right. He wouldn't give up on us." Rick stated. "Definitely not you." Ivy smiled slightly at the mans words. "He loves you... he was just talking to me the other day, saying that Negan needs to be killed, o—or put away so he can start a family with you."

"He said that to you?" Ivy asked. Rick let out a small laugh.

"Oh, yeah. We've had a lot of conversations..." Rick stated. "Always when you're sleeping, he'll come downstairs, talk to Michonne and I about the beautiful girl upstairs. He used to come down and just talk about you for hours."

Ivy grinned widely. "He's alive. I know he is."

𝗜𝗩𝗬 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗙𝗙 𝗛𝗔𝗧 in her hand tight, tears brimming as she looked at it. What if Carl wasn't alive? What if he was gone? What would she do then? Ivy couldn't live without Carl, and everyone knew it. But, she believed he was alive. And, she prayed to god that he was safe.

Ivy felt the bed shift a bit. The girl looked behind her and saw Enid sitting up. Enid had offered to keep Ivy company so she wasn't alone.

Enid looked over at the alarm clock beside Ivy's bed. "It's 3:30, what the hell are you doing up?" Enid asked. Ivy showed her the hat, and Enid frowned. "You think he's still out there, don't you?"

"No body." Ivy shrugged. "Maybe he is dead. But I won't believe it until i see a body."

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of a baby crying. Ivy stood up and grabbed Carls flannel, slipping it on over her tank top. Enid stood up as well in alert.

Enid passed Ivy a gun, and then took a knife from besides the bed. The two girls opened the door and stepped out. They heard something fall down the stairs and were quick to run to the noise.

The two girls gasped as they saw multiple walkers in the main room. Ivy shot at them, hitting a few in the head. The shots woke everybody, and everyone started screaming.

More walkers started coming in, and Ivy pushed Enid into Maggie's office. Enid protested, but Ivy didn't care.

Ivy ran outside and looked around at all the chaos. Everything seemed to be handled, except one thing.

"Henry!" Ivy yelled as she noticed the boy in the pen with the Saviors. She saw a walker come up from behind them and hit a Savior. Ivy raised her gun and aimed it at the walker, pressing on the trigger.

Click. That's all she heard. Ivy dropped the gun and ran towards the pen. "Henry!" She yelled again. Ivy watched the boy start shooting at The Saviors, and get tackled. Jared who was on top of the boy grabbed the gun. Ivy's blood boiled as she stepped next to the pen.

"Get the hell away from him."

Jared laughed in the girls face, but his smile quickly dropped when Ivy came charging at him. She tackled him into the ground. Nobody knew how this small girl could have so much power, but maybe it was just the adrenaline.

A Savior must of grabbed the gun, because Ivy felt a bullet lodge into her back. Her eyes fluttered open and shut as she fell on top of Jared. The man pushed her off and all the Saviors began running out, except Alden.

The Saviors trampled Ivy and Henry without a care in the world. Henry moved closer to the girl as Alden placed pressure on the wound.

"Is she dead?" Henry asked. Alden shook his head no.

"Nah, she ain't dead and she ain't dying." Alden mumbled as he picked up the girl, holding her bridal style. Henry furrowed his brows and Alden raised his voice. "We gotta get her to someone, dammit!"

Alden and Henry ran to The Barrington house, recognized the silence, not hearing anymore snarls or growls. The two boys stepped over dead bodies, tripping slightly.

They stepped into The Barrington house and saw nothing but dead bodies on the ground.

"Hey! Help! Please!" Alden yelled. Henry looked around for any sign of Morgan, King Ezekiel, or Carol— which he saw no one.

The group stepped outside Maggie's office and saw Alden carrying Ivy.

Everyone rushed to grab the girl. Alden looked down at his blood covered hands. Ivy lost a lot of blood, a worrying amount.

"Somebody get Maggie!" Enid ordered. Tara nodded and ran out the door. Rick held the girl in his arms.

"Where the hells Siddiq?" Rick yelled frustratedly. They ran into Maggie office and placed her on the desk.

Tears filled Ricks eyes. "Not you too, V. Not you!"

𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘
ok let's go
carl 'dies' and ivy gets shot in the same chapter yippee ki yay