Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊✩°｡⋆˚⁺ the wolves
"YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD GET YOU ONE OF THESE."
Iris smiles softly at Carl as he breaks the peaceful silence, her loose curls falling over her forehead with more volume than she has ever been able to manage in the past. Since almost everyone capable of being outside was on the dry run with Rick, tracing through every single step of the plan before going through with it tomorrow, the streets are relatively barren except for the two of them and the kids. It is only midday, which usually comes with at least a little chatter and noise, but today, the only sound Iris could hear for miles is Bonnie's excited nattering about what she would play with her dad when he came home. Judith however, is sitting up in her pushchair with curious, wide eyes, silently looking out at the empty road ahead as Carl pushes her along. The pushchair was something of a new addition, something that Deanna had found once they had arrived, but it was made more for toddlers rather than newborns, so once Judith grew out of it, it wouldn't suit Iris for at least the next few years.
"I'll add it to the list." Iris replies, swinging her linked hand with Bonnie backwards and forwards. "Glenn's got a lot of shopping to get done before this baby arrives."
"I guess that's the one thing that hasn't changed since the end of the world." Carl gives her a bashful look, despite towering over her now. "Babies require a lot of effort."
"That they do." Iris runs her fingers over her baby bump, taking another look at Judith sitting calmly in her pushchair. "But it's worth the effort. Just to see their little faces light up when you walk in the room in the morning, because they are so full of love and light that the first thing they feel when they wake up is joy. They are the most innocent parts of us, and that makes every ounce of suffering to keep them safe worth it. And I never would've had the chance if it wasn't for Glenn. The end of the world... maybe it wasn't truly the end. Maybe for some of us, it was just the beginning."
She lets out a small chuckle of embarrassment as she finishes talking, but Carl doesn't give her anything but a proud smile. "It's nice to see you like this, Iris. I just wish you got to have it without all of this extra baggage."
"I know." Iris reaches over to pinch his cheeks. "But I'll be alright. I've got my practice. You know I practically helped raise you. I'm countin' on you for your help, okay?"
"You got it." Carl grins back at her, tightening his fingers around the handle of the pushchair.
"How much longer do we have to wait?" Bonnie tilts her head, skipping beside Iris as if she doesn't have a worry in the world, cutting into the conversation before Iris even realised she was listening that closely.
She hums in response, drawing Bonnie closer to her as they walk. She has never been around pregnancy before, an only child back in the old world and arriving in the prison shortly after Lori's untimely death, and she is bound to have questions. "A while yet, sweetheart. We have to wait patiently until the baby is strong enough, but I promise you'll get to meet them soon."
