RULE THE WORLD | D.DIXON

068

"You're pregnant? I'm having a niece or nephew." Carl gushed, glancing back at the picture.

"Yeah, I'm 8 weeks or so. 2 to 3 months along." Matilda conformed, shifting her sister on her hip. "The doctor at Hilltop, Jesus's home, said it was too early to see the gender, but we heard the heartbeat, Carl, Lee. I wish you were there, it was so soft. Like music to my ears."

"What do want it to be? I'm hoping for a girl." Carl says, handing back the picture.

"I hope it's a boy. Boys ran in the Grimes family." Lee said, hugging his sisters.

Something flashed in Matilda's eyes before disappearing but Carl had caught it.

"I really don't care as long as they're healthy." She said, wrapping her free arm around the teen.

"Did you tell dad and Michonne?" Carl asked, hugging his sister when his brother pulled away.

"Not yet. I will when the time is right. Dad has a lot of his plate right now." She said as a knock on the door startled them. Carl stood up and open the door, revealing Daryl.

"You told them?" Daryl asked, looking at his wife.

Tilly nodded, swaying foot to foot as Judith played with her hair. " Yeah. I want them after you but Jesus, Maggie, and Glenn know already. I need to tell Michonne and dad. Did you tell anyone?"

"Yeah, Carol. She's surprised but happy." Daryl says. "Rick wants us in the church."

Matilda nodded and the siblings walked down the stairs before heading out the house and towards the church.
Walking in the church, she stood in the back with Judith and her son as her brothers sat in the front the front.

"We can work with the Hilltop. Maggie hammered down a deal. We're getting food--eggs, butter, fresh vegetables. But they're not just giving it away. These Saviors, they almost killed Sasha, Kelly, Daryl, and Abraham on the road. Now, sooner or later, they would've found us, just like those Wolves did, just like Jesus did. They woulda killed someone of some of us. And then they would try to own us. And we would try to stop them. But by then, in that kind of fight, low of food, we could lose. This is the only way to be sure, as sure as we can get, that we win."

Rick speaks confidently in front of everyone, he would glance around the group as he speaking again.

"And we have to win. We do this for Hilltop, it's how we keep this place. It's how we feed this place. This needs to be a group decision. If anybody objects, here's your chance to say your piece."

The room was quiet, except for Judith's babbling. Everyone turned towards the only person to speak out against Rick.

Morgan stands, in the back of the church. "You're sure we can do it? We can beat them?"

Rick nods. "What this group had done, what we've learned, what we've become, all of us—yes, I'm sure."

"Then all we have to do is just tell them that." Morgan countered.

"Well, they don't compromise." Rick argues.

Morgan closed his eyes and held up a hand. "This isn't a compromise. It's a choice you give them. It's a way out, for them and for us."