𝐷𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑇𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑀𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑏𝑦𝑒 | 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑑 （𝑇𝑊𝐷）

chapter 12

Enid
It's been a couple days since Carl's family arrived back at Hilltop, and they will be leaving soon. We haven't told Judith yet, but before they leave back to Alexandria, we are going to celebrate her sixth birthday on their last day at Hilltop- aka her birthday.

She's going to be so excited. Over the years, i've come to love the little girl as if she was my own baby sister. We had such a great bond, and I love her so much. I really want to make her birthday special for her.

We were going to have a huge picnic in the front yard if Barrington House. We're going to have all of her favorite foods, and as an extra special surprise, Carol and Ezekiel are even coming for a visit for the day.

Hersey is in the living room playing with Judy, while the rest of us are scurrying around Hilltop, getting things ready for tomorrow.

As usual, I was in charge of preparing the fruits and vegetables. Maggie and I have been finding all sorts of different ways to plant fruits and vegetables.

I was filling my basket up with bananas, apples, oranges, berries, cantelopes, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, and even mangos. On a run about a year ago, Jesus came across mango pits in an old run down department store, along with a bunch of other seeds for various fruits and vegetables.

Perfect timing. I grabbed a handful of ripe mangos and carried the heavy basket through the back door that led to the Barrington kitchen.

I was met by Michonne who was washing some potatoes in the sink for dinner. I place the basket on the island and wipe my hands off. She notices my presence and smiles at me, waving my over to wash the basket full of crops.

"Looks like a nice batch. I haven't seen a mango since before the world went to hell." She smiles, admiring the fruit in her hands, under the rubbing water.

"Yeah, me neither. I'm excited to see what Judy will think of it." I smile. I like Michonne. She was always very kind to me, and made sure that I knew that she considered me a part of 'team family'.

"I bet she'll like it. Poor thing. There's lots of things that she doesn't get to experience since she was only born after everything happened." She shook her head, placing the clean mango into the fruit bowl, and grabbing another to clean.

"I want to help her experience as many things as she can. I remember how excited she looked when I told her about picnics. Just because the world went to shit, doesn't mean her world has to be shit too. We can do better for her." I smile down to myself. Michonne nods, smiling.

"I'm glad that she has someone like you in her life. I may not be her biological mother, but I am her mother none the less. I couldn't be more grateful that she has so many amazing people to love her." I stop what I was doing and look up at her. I couldn't help but start beaming a smile like a helpless idiot.

"She's easy to love." I look back down to the apple in my hand, placing it aside into the fruit bowl and grab another.

"You know," She nudges my side. "You'd make a wonderful mother someday." She smiles.

Wait. Did I hear that correctly?! Did my boyfriend's step mother- aka the katana wielding badass warrior just say that i'd make a wonderful mother?!

I can tell that my face is as red as the fruit in my hands.

"W-what?" I stutter, not able to make out a coherent sentence.

"Don't tell me you've never thought of it before. You guys are getting older, and the world won't repopulate itself." She smirks.

To be honest, I have thought about it. I'd never admit it, but there have been a handful of times that I just stood in front of the bathroom mirror, imagining what it would be like to be pregnant with Carl's baby.