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Light filtered through the bedroom, casting deep yellows onto the pale skin that slept under the covers beside Lauren. Biting her lip, she couldn't help but admire how still he looked when he was sleeping. His hair was tousled in front of his face, and he laid on his stomach, but as Lauren's hand brushed along his hair--revealing his recovering wound--he began to stir, fluttering his eyes open. Noticing who was beside him, a grin stretched across his face.
Carl couldn't help but snuggle closer towards the girl who laid beside him, feeling her warm hand brush up and down his back. He hadn't realized how much he had missed her familiar touch.
Their silence hung in the air, as if it was inching for somebody to grasp at it and replace it with words. Carl decided to do so.
"It's not gonna be easy, but...I'm willing to work on this because I want you back in my life again."
Lauren gulped, feeling as if her thoughts could slip off her tongue at any moment.
"I want you too. All of you, even your silly cowboy hat and dumb remarks. I'm still...very, very, not okay. But...I'm glad you're here to help me with that. We've always helped each other, and I'm not letting that stop anytime soon."
The conversation drifted away, leaving the two to lay silently in each other's company.
➸ ➸ ➸
Even with everything that had happened to the Grimes' family, they still stood strong, and kept their humanity. Lauren could see that when Carl, Rick, Michonne, Judith and her had breakfast together, talking and smiling like any other family. Because of the recent deaths a tense feeling hung in the air, but it didn't bother them as much as it used to.
There were times in the next few days that Lauren didn't even have the urge to get out of bed. But Carl always stood--or laid--by her side, knowing that they would work together to heal each other. They needed to be together more than ever in this dark time. Knowing her mother was at the Sanctuary made Lauren's blood boil. Was she being held prisoner? What had they done to her?
Lauren had explained the plan to Carl hundreds of times to make sure it had zero flaws. It might have been dangerous, but what would Negan do if he had caught them and hurt them? They knew Negan didn't want to anger Rick even more; they knew he wanted to keep this trade deal going. All they had to do was sneak in, and sneak out with one other person.
"You sure you're up for this?" Carl questioned one night, making sure she was ready to risk her safety for her mother.
