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— PART ONE of THREE —
WHEN THE DEAD COME KNOCKING
"SO YOU'RE BATMAN?" RICK GRIMES CHUCKLED.
"The one and only." Emerson told him. "Emerson Scott."
"Rick Grimes. Nice to meet you." He began. "I-uh. . . I can't thank you enough for what you did– and have done, for Carl."
Emerson shrugged. "He's a good kid. He keeps me on my toes, honestly."
"Carl told me you were a detective." Rick said, breaking the silence.
Emerson nods. "Special Victims. I worked with homicide for a short while before I found myself back to SVU. What about you, Lucky?"
Rick nodded in reply, laughing at the nickname. "Always dreamed of being a detective. Then my wife fell pregnant with Carl and didn't want to move to Atlanta."
"Sounds like a basket case to me." Emerson told him. "Oh. Sorry, I-. . . Carl just mentioned sometimes how she could be– Ya know what? I should really stop talking. I don't think before I say things and they just come out. I've got a bad case of mush mouth."
"That's alright." He chuckled. "She could be a basket case sometimes. Do you, uh, do you know what happened to her?"
Emerson shook her head. "Shane doesn't talk about it and I never asked Carl. When he wants to talk about it, he knows I'm here for him."
"I should get back to Carl." Rick responded and with that, the two parted ways.
Emerson was shocked to say the least. It had been three months since the apocalypse began and suddenly, a coma patient wakes up and just so happens to find his son?
He was lucky. Literally and figuratively.
Emerson didn't believe in fate. If fate was real, her mother would have left her father and found a good father and role model for Silas and her. Instead, she stayed with him and left her children to suffer at his hand.
Despite her messy past, Emerson was happy that Carl had his dad back.
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"She ran off." Carl answered.
Rick nodded. He asked his son about Lori Grimes, the boy's mother, but all he had to say was that she ran off. She ran off.
Maybe Lori really was a basket case.
Rick suddenly felt angry. He was in disbelief that Lori would leave their son like that. He had a million questions, but the only answer was a simple, three letter word.
She ran off.
She ran off.
She ran off.
"She just. . . Ran off?"
Carl nodded.
The two of them were sitting in a tent that Shane had given them. Carl stayed with Shane in his tent, but spent a few nights here and there with Emerson and Silas. Now, he had one of his own with his father.
"Mom said you died." Carl expressed to his father. "Did you really?"
Rick was quiet. "I don't remember. Let's call it a miracle and hit the hay."
Carl laughed. "We're not sleeping on hay, dad. We're sleeping on the ground."
Rick just smiled and ruffled his son's hair. "Night, bud. I love you."
"Love you too."
With that, Rick was left to his thoughts and Carl was sound asleep.
The next morning, Carl was out of the tent by the time Rick woke up. He noticed a pile of clothes sitting on his right side. He quickly changed into the jeans and white t-shirt before heading out of the tent.
"Never thought you were gonna wake up." Emerson told him when Rick approached her and Carl. "We figured you already slept enough to last a lifetime."
Carl snickered to which Rick just rolled his eyes. "Very funny." He smiled at Emerson, who just grinned in response.
"Carol's ironing your shirt, Lucky. I think your pants had to dry a little longer."
"Why do you call him Lucky?" Carl whispered as Rick nodded and walked away.
"Because," Emerson began, "He's lucky, isn't he? He found you, and the rest of the group."
Carl didn't reply. It didn't make much sense to him, but he didn't really mind either.
"Can I go play with Sophia now?"
"Uh," Emerson mumbled. She looked at Rick, who was talking, "Sure. Just stay in my sight."
"Aye, aye, captain." Carl saluted.
When Carl walked away, Silas emerged from the tent and made his way over to his sister.
"So Merle Dixon, huh? Just left him behind."
Silas faced Emerson, "Emmy, you shoulda been there. Guy was off the hook. I've lost all respect for the guy."
Before she could reply, Rick walked over with two plates. He handed one to Silas and then began eating the food on the other.
"Where's mine?"
"Oh, I didn't realize. I can go and get you–"
"She's fucking with you, man." Silas laughed. "Emmy normally doesn't eat breakfast."
Rick laughed awkwardly and nodded it off. "So, I was thinking about going back."
"Back into a coma?" Emmy asked him. Rick raised his eyebrow. He still couldn't tell if she was joking. He didn't really understand her sarcasm, but Rick secretly hoped he would learn to.
"No, smarty pants. Back to Atlanta, for Merle."
It was Emerson's turn to laugh. "Sorry, I just. . . Merle Dixon wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were in Hell. You know how many stories I've heard about him?"
Rick edged her to continue. "Back in Atlanta, one of the detectives I worked with arrested Merle on numerous occasions when he was a street cop. Guy is nuts, Rick."
"He's still a human being." Rick responded.
Silas didn't have any comment on the matter. Merle had said disgusting things to and about Silas, and since then, he didn't care whether the eldest Dixon was alive or dead.
"I want you two to come with." Rick told them. "Wouldn't you want someone to come back for you?"
Emerson and Silas stayed quiet. "I won't go back for him." Silas replied. "You heard what he called me. I won't go back for that scum."
Silas then stormed off to set his plate in the bin.
"What about you?" Rick asked, looking at Emerson.
"I don't know. Carl hates when I leave and if we're being honest, I hate leaving him. But you're right. Merle's human, and I'd want someone to come back for me, so I'll think about it." She replied.
Before Rick could say anything else, a loud shriek came from the woods. Emerson immediately jolted up and threw a shovel to Rick that was laying nearby. The two of them ran off, a crowd behind them.
"Go, go!" Emerson shoved Rick on, as she stopped Carl who was in tears. "What happened? Are you alright? Any bites, scratches?"
Carl's lip quivered, but he shook his head. "I'm-I'm sorry I didn't stay where you could see me." He blubbered.
"It's okay, sweetie." She told him and hugged him.
"You're not mad at me?" He asked.
Emerson sighed, but didn't reply. Instead, she walked him back to camp.
Not a minute later, Daryl emerged from the woods. Silas, Rick, and Shane were close behind him.
"This should be interesting." Emerson mumbled.
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