𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐋 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 [ 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬 ] ✘

Unconventional Thanksgiving

Note: A surprise one shot in honor of the holidays! I hope y'all like it! Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a wonderful one spent with your families and friends! ^_^

"I got it!" Daryl said, slamming the dead turkey down onto the counter with a loud thunk.

I jumped in my seat, startled at the sudden noise and smell of decay wafting up from the large bird carcass.

My eyes met Daryl's and I frowned, "Why is there a dead bird on the table?"

"Said you wanted to celebrate Thanksgivin' this year," he said with a shrug, gesturing to the dead animal in front of me, "So I got a turkey for ya,"

But before I could reply, I heard Carl's booted footsteps walk into the kitchen.

"Hey, babe, I'm home," he said with a smile, pecking my cheek.

He crinkled his nose then and his blue orb widened at the sight of the bird - feathers splayed at all angles and blood dripping down the cabinets. His eye went to a smiling Daryl then and he mustered a smile back.

"Ah, um...thanks for this, Daryl...um...she will go cook it...now," he stumbled over his words, smiling politely.

I arched an eyebrow at my boyfriend of 2 years, placing a hand on my hip.

"She will? I think you mean we will," I countered, glaring at him menacingly.

One look at me and he gulped before nodding, "Right! I mean we."

With one final grunt and nod, Daryl stalked out of the house, leaving just the two of us in the little house we shared next to Rick and Michonne. When we'd both turned 18, Rick had granted us permission to move in together...with the coaxing of Michonne, of course. To be honest, I think Rick was a little bit relieved though at having us out of his hair - now it was just Judith he had to raise. Not that we didn't come visit every day but it was nice to be alone for once and not have our kisses be interrupted by the clearing of a throat. So in honor of our newfound living arrangements, we'd decided to celebrate Thanksgiving this year. Alexandria had seen several Thanksgivings already but none of our group had yet.

So with Rick's permission, we'd made the decision to be the ones to start off the holiday. If only we'd known then that it was going to be so much trouble before we'd started out. Within just a couple of hours, all of the food was done...except the turkey. Or rather, the turkey was done, just...overdone. Smoke filled the house and the smoke alarm was going off like crazy. Carl dashed around underneath my feet as I stood on a stool, poking the alarm with a broom I'd found in the pantry.

Smoke was filling my lungs and I coughed, unintentionally breathing it in. Finally, Carl had found a towel and began to waft it at the flames that licked their way outside the oven, enveloping the poor turkey completely. When it was finally over, I stepped down from the stool with the sound still echoing in my ears even after it was gone. Carl had opened a window and the smoke had found its way out into the wind. But it was much too late for the turkey. It looked like one big, blackened blob as it sat in the middle of the pan in front of us.

I groaned, shaking my head sadly as Carl came up behind me. His arms wrapped around my frame, his chin resting on my shoulder as he placed butterfly kisses on my neck in an attempt to comfort me.

"What are we gonna do now?! That was our only turkey!" I whined, feeling hopeless.

He stayed silent a moment before I felt him smirk against my skin, "I think I got an idea!"

An hour later, we were being welcomed into the Grimes house with open arms. Everyone had come - Rosita, Daryl, Maggie, Gabriel, Jesus, Carol, Aaron, Morgan, Tara, Ezekiel, and even Enid. Daryl and Carol sat together of course while everyone else found their own spots at the table. All the food was laid out on the table with a large empty spot in the middle reserved for the turkey. Rick sat at the head with Michonne to his left, his eyes flicking down the table to his son.

"Um...Carl, where's the turkey? I thought y'all were gonna cook it this year," he asked, his ice blue eyes mirroring confusion.

I shifted uncomfortably beside my boyfriend and I felt him rest a hand on my thigh gently under the table to reassure me.

"Well...about that. There were some...unforeseen issues with the turkey," he blushed under his father's scrutiny.

"What kind of issues?" he asked, arching an eyebrow quizzically.

"The kind of issues where...it burned to death," Carl mumbled, looking down at his lap.

Rick's eyebrows shot to his hairline but he said nothing as I got up from my chair and brought over the gift bag that Carl and I had brought in with us.

"But not to worry!" I said, putting up a hand when Enid started to complain, "We're still having a main course,"

And with those words, I took something out of the bag and placed it in the middle of the table. All eyes went to the morsel in silence. No one said a word. But then, almost as suddenly as the silence had began, Rick started to laugh. A great big, booming laugh that reverberated off the walls of the dining room. Soon, everyone else had joined in - Carl and I included.

I glanced down at it with a grin. Beady black eyes stared back at me from a yellow sugar-covered body.

It wasn't a turkey but hey, a Peep was still a bird, right?