Work Text:
The large fence that once protected the community of Alexandria was demolished in one place, completely destroyed by the events that happened weeks before. The truck, the tower, the invasion, all of it. It all took the once safe utopia and turned it into a dystopia filled with the familiar groans of the undead as well as the danger that you had once faced in your day to day life. So, with the problem solved, the group had to quickly rebuild the fence that kept everyone safe. People worked at intervals to help fortify. You got a chance to work alongside Carol that day.
You and Carol were always well connected. She was really easy to talk to, especially since she was by your side the entire time and seemed very protective of you. This protective instinct seemed to happen sometime after she found her daughter in the barn. You were there for it. It was horrible and hearing her sob in Daryl’s arm and chest made your heart clench tightly. Even the sight of Sophia, who you have gotten to know quite well since the beginning of the whole apocalypse, made you feel like emptying the food that you ate earlier and cry until your tear ducts were empty. But that was all in the past, and it was something you tried to forget. You gotta put your past behind you.
“Carol, help me with this beam, please?” You asked as you picked up one end of the long wooden beam.
Carol rushed to the other side of the wood and picked it up. With either of you on each side of the thick wooden beam, you carried it over to the fence under construction. Once you got close enough, you lifted the wood up and onto two steel poles, pressing the wood against the metal fence. Once you let go of the wood, you brushed your hands against one another. You then placed your hands on your waist and smiled.
“Thanks.” You said, flashing Carol a small smile.
Carol gave you a wider one of her own. “You're welcome (Y/N).” She said as she examined the beam. She glanced around and cursed under her breath. “Sweetie, can you go get me the drill?” She asked.
You looked up at Carol and nodded. “Sure.” You said with a smile. You turned and ran down the street towards the storage room.
You entered the medium sized room and looked around, humming. Your eyes moved from object to object, not seeing the item that you were searching for. You heard the door open behind you and you glanced back. You smiled as you saw Carl.
“Hey.” You said as you turned your attention back to the supplies. “Where the….fuck is the drill?” You asked your friend.
“Um…” You heard Carl draw out behind you. “I think I have an idea.” He stated and bit his lip.
You smiled. “Great!” You exclaimed and turned around. “Because I could use-Oh.” You froze as you saw Rick standing next to Carl, drill in hand, brows raised. You slowly smiled nervously. “Hey, Ri-”
“Watch your mouth.” He stated and gave you an unamused glance.
“Gotcha.” You said and nodded. You walked over to Rick and grabbed the drill from his hand quickly before dashing out, drill in your hand tightly. Carol was leaning against the structure that was starting to come along quite well. You held out the tool to her. “Here you go.” You said.
Carol smiled and took it. “Thank you.” She said and turned back towards the wall, turning the instrument on.
“You're welcome, mom.” The words fell out of your mouth without it even crossing your mind. You turned away and went to grab some other tools nearby to assist her.
Carol stopped in her spot and turned towards you. Her face was full of surprise. “What did you call me?” Her voice was heavy with bewilderment.
You slowly looked over at Carol. Once you realized your mistake, you closed your eyes tightly and hissed. You covered your face with one hand. “I'm sorry.” You let your arm fall to your side. “I…”
“Don't ever call me that again.” She told you with a sterner voice than you are used to from her. “You're not my daughter. And I am most certainly not your mother.” She said, her jaw clenched as she turned away from you and drilled.
You stared at her with a surprised and saddened expression. “I…” You swallowed thickly and nodded. You looked down at the other supplies and just stared, her tone running through your ears. You placed your hands casually into your pockets and began to back away from Carol. “I'm just going to...um...go take a break.”
Carol nodded without looking your way. “Yeah.” She said. “You go do that.”
You said nothing further, only nodded as he turned around and made your way to the house you shared with the Grimes family. You felt tears of embarrassment and shame flood your eyes as you walked through the door and to the kitchen. You plopped down on the chair next to the dining table and covered your face with your hands.
It slipped. It slipped. You couldn't believe that it slipped. You had thought about Carol as a mother since you lost yours and she and her daughter and husband found you. But, as the months and years went on, those feelings grew and it seemed like she was your biological mother. She sure seemed like she tried to act like it. But, you never expected the slip up to come. And you never expected her reaction. Damn, her reaction was harsh. Harsher than she had ever been towards you. Towards other people, she has been harsh before, but never to you. She was always nice and kind and protective towards you. Never mean. And that was how her voice sounded: mean.
As soon as your tears of shame halted to a stop and never showed again, you leaned against the kitchen table on your elbow, eyes trained on nothing but the floor. Your face was still and you were silent. You sat there and did nothing. Your eyes were glazed over and you did nothing.
You blinked out of it when you heard knocking on the door. How long had you been like that? You shook your head and stood. You stretched and groaned. There was another knock on the door.
“I'm coming.” You said with a sigh. You wandered to the door and opened it. You stopped when you saw Carol. The two of you looked at one another for a long period of time before you uncomfortably shifted, and looked down. “Hey, Carol.”
“Hey (Y/N).” She said, holding one hand with the other. She rubbed them together, keeping her eyes on you the entire time. “Would you mind if I came in?” She asked with a small smile.
“Sure.” You answered after some time of waiting for your heart to slow down. You stepped out of the way and she entered the house.
Carol walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. She patted the spot in front of her. “Sit.” She said.
You looked at her for a moment before you nodded and walked over to the spot. You pulled the chair out and sat. The two of you were silent again. Carol broke the silence after a while.
“(Y/N),” She began. You looked into her eyes. “I've had some time to think, and…”
“How long has it been?” You interrupted.
“About three hours. Why?”
Was I out for three hours? You asked yourself and looked at the ground. You shook your head. “Nothing.” You said. “Sorry.”
“It's alright.” Carol shook her head steadily, a small smile creeping onto the corners of her lips. “Um...anyway, I was just thinking about earlier and I wanted to apologize for snapping at you. No one has called me that since Sophia died.” She told you straightforward.
“A-and I'm sorry for saying that. It just slipped. And, well, this is gonna sound really sappy, but you've always been like a mother to me.” You told her, looking down at the table, messing with your fingernail. “Ever since the start of all of this, I trusted you the most. I still do.” You shrugged your shoulders casually. You rubbed the back of your head timidly and bit your lip. “I'm sorry.”
Carol shook her head slowly. “You don't have to be sorry.” She said. “You didn't do anything wrong. I was the one that was in the wrong. Not you.” Carol had that warm, motherly smile that you loved about her. You could have stared at that smile all day long if you had the chance to. “And, if I was being honest here, you have been like a daughter to me as well, especially after Sophia died.”
You looked up at her with a small smile on your face. “Really?” You asked and bit your lip.
Carol nodded. “Yeah.” She replied.
Your gaze moved to the floor as you sat up more. “So,” You looked up at her. “Is it alright if I call you ‘mom’? I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want me to. I completely understand if it…”
“I don’t mind.” Carol interrupted.
You stopped and stared into her motherly eyes. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
A large smile was plastered on your lips. You stood from the chair and walked over to Carol. You wrapped your arms around her and she immediately hugged you back. You felt tears of, not only relief, but joy as well form in the corners of your eyes. Both of the grips you had on one another were equally tight. Once you pulled away, you looked into her eyes and she looked into yours. Carol reached a hand up and wiped the tears away from your cheeks and then kissed your forehead.
“I love you, mom.” You told her as you wrapped your arms around her again and embraced her.
Carol’s smile grew. After the incident with Sophia, she felt like she had no one. Her husband was gone. Her daughter was gone. Everyone that she loved was gone. But not you. You were there along with the group. They supported her, loved her, and carried her through those times despite the fact that they may not have known her or her whole story. Hell, you still don't, but you feel the closest to her, and Carol could say the same about you. As time went on and she grew closer to the group as a family, she loved you the most. It had always been that way, and nothing was going to change that.
“I love you too (Y/N).”