Carl steadily grew weaker through the hours, as the houses of Alexandria burned above them. While he was awake, everyone who was hiding in the sewers with the Grimes family got an opportunity to say goodbye to him. They told him how sorry they were, and that he'd always be missed and remembered. Even the Alexandrians who he'd barely talked to thanked him for saving their lives, and coming up with the plan that saved them from the Saviors' wrath.

Rick had sat by his side the entire time, holding his hand, stroking his hair, pouring water into his mouth, and doing any other little thing that might take away some of the pain his only son was feeling. Michonne felt like her whole world was crumbling around her, but although tears occasionally dripped from his eyes, Rick stared silently at his son without much expression on his face. She was shocked that Rick hadn't broken down. He sat close to his son, offering reassurance any way he could, but it was like he'd shut off his own feelings. He wasn't allowing himself to feel this. He was numb.

Michonne watched as Rick told Carl how much he loved him, and that he was so proud of him and what he'd done, and who he'd grown to be. Rick spoke and listened to Carl, yet he didn't break. He stayed strong as he watched the life slowly drain from his son. His red rimmed eyes trained on his son's every breath. Daryl brought Judith over so that Carl could talk to her, and Michonne took the opportunity to call Rick away briefly so she could talk to him.

She placed her hand on the side of his face, knowing that there was nothing she could say to comfort or console him. She wiped a tear from his cheek with her thumb and he closed his eyes briefly. His lip began to tremble, but he abruptly pulled away from her and turned his back.

"I can't" he stated.

Michonne nodded, even though he wasn't facing her. "I know" she said softly. "Rick, when it happens, you shouldn't have to do it."

Rick continued to face away from her. "Neither should you" he responded.

"Rick, let me do it. He and I… we had a promise. We talked about this before. I told him I would."

"The two of you talked about… about this?" Rick emphasized gesturing around himself.

"It came up. After Spencer put Deanna down. He said he'd do it for me if something ever happened, and I told him I'd do it for him too."

Rick's hands were trembling, but he pressed his thumb against his eye, pressing away tears that were building up behind his lids.

"I'm his father. I should do this. I have to do this" Rick said.

"I've… done this before. I didn't have a choice, you do. You don't have to do this. It changes you, forever. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Please Rick, let me do it so you don't have to. You shouldn't have to put down your son."

"He's your son too" Rick said hoarsely.

"He is. But I promised him." Michonne said determinedly. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around Rick and cry into his chest, but this wasn't the time, and she could tell something as small as a touch would cause him to collapse into an immovable puddle on the floor.

Rick wiped his hands across his red rimmed eyes and then nodded. He had already said his goodbyes to Carl, and the boy probably wouldn't survive the next hour. There wasn't much left to do but wait.

"When I do it, stay here" Michonne ordered. Rick's eyes shot up at her, narrowing.

"I have to be in there. I have to be there for him."

"You are" Michonne said nodding. "He knows you're here. You can see him from here. He knows you love him, but you don't have to see it happen."

"Stop trying to protect me!" Rick said angrily, his voice raising as he fought back tears. "I have to be in there."

"Rick" Michonne said softly, placing a hand on his chest. "You're here for him. But I… I can't do it if you're in there. It's too much. Please? Stay back." Michonne's lips were trembling as much as Rick's hands, and he wanted to hold her so much, but he nodded. He would be nearby, but he wouldn't be right there when she had to finish Carl.

Michonne blinked a few times and then wiped her eyes and nose in her shirt before turning around and heading back over to Carl. Judith gave Carl a kiss on the cheek before Daryl picked her up and carried her over to where Rick was leaning against the sewer wall, staring at his dying son.

Michonne crouched down next to Carl's cot and placed one hand on his hot forehead as the other interlaced her fingers with his.

"I'm not scared... you know?" Carl asked groggily, struggling to keep his eye open through his shallow breaths. Michonne had a death grip on his hand, as though her hold on him was the only thing keeping him in this world. She was staring at him, not wanting to miss any flutter of his eyes, or tremble of his lips. She needed to constantly confirm that he was still with her.

"Yea?" she asked, her shaky voice barely audible.

"Just tired. It's like… I can finally… rest" he said. It hurt her that he sounded like an old man that had lived a long, hard, life and had seen so many things. In reality, at his young age of 16 he had lived a short, hard life, and had seen so many horrible things that it was no wonder he just wanted to rest and be done with it. His eye closed for a brief moment, causing Michonne's heart to beat against her chest.

"Carl?" she asked sharply, and his eye fluttered open once again.

"I'm… here" he said, a hint of a smile crossing his lips. He focused in on Michonne's face, struggling to stay awake. It was getting harder to stay awake.

"Don't leave me, please?" Michonne asked, leaning in closer to him.

"Can't help it" Carl whispered, the effort of speaking causing him to take in multiple shallow breaths.

"Carl I… I just want to thank you, for everything. For going to get me that day when I showed up at the prison gates. For letting me… for letting me in. For letting me be a mom again. For letting me be your mom. You didn't have to let me in, you had no reason to but you did."

"We had… common… interests" Carl said, his single blue eye rolling to meet Michonne's. Michonne let out a laugh that was a mix between a chuckle and a sob.

"What am I gonna do without you?" Michonne asked him, tears flowing down her cheeks continuously. She stared at him through watery eyes, the soft light of the lanterns that surrounded them in the sewers reflecting off the puddles, making her eyes seem to glow.

Michonne took in how pale he was, how his shirt was soaked in sweat as if a fire was burning him from the inside out. The only thing he could really move now was his eye and his lips, everything else took too much out of him. How could he be so calm? So wise? Michonne felt like she was a child losing her parent instead of the other way around. She couldn't see a future past this. She couldn't see a tomorrow. Carl was the future and it was all over. It was all for nothing.

Carl, despite his exhaustion and his struggle to stay awake and conscious could sense what Michonne was thinking. He put his effort into speaking, making sure she heard him.

"There's more… after… this. You know that. You have... more to do. You have Judy and dad. You can't go back. Only… forward. You gotta win. That's… what I want."

Michonne gripped Carl's hand tighter, and her face contorted into a forced smile. She knew Carl was right, but that made her cry even harder. She did have more after this, and it hurt that he didn't.

"Remember our secret?" Carl asked with a twinkle in his eye. Michonne sniffled in an attempt to stop herself from bawling. She was trying to be strong for him now while he was still alive. Once he died she could bawl all she wanted.

"Yea" she croaked, wiping her free hand across her eyes and then running it through his wild hair.

"I'll take care of him" Carl whispered faintly. "I'll tell him… about his mom. You just take care of… Judith… okay?"

"Okay Carl" Michonne said, leaning down to kiss his forehead.

"And… you don't… have to do it" Carl said, his words now becoming even more of a struggle. She noticed he could barely keep his eye open.

"Do what honey?" Michonne asked, willing him to hold on for a few minutes more, or hours, or days if he could.

"End it… you don't… it's okay…" Carl said, his voice fading.

"Oh Carl" Michonne gasped, pressing her cheek against his. She couldn't believe in his dying moments he was trying to protect her from having to put him down. "I love you, you're my family. I'll do it for you. I promise."

She squeezed him closer, not wanting to let him go, willing him to be the one person in the world who could beat this virus.

She leaned in close and kissed his forehead and cheek, and cleared his hair from his face before she realized that he wasn't moving anymore. Afraid to check, afraid to look, Michonne froze, praying it wasn't what she thought.

"Carl?" she whispered shakily. The absolute silence coming from him was the only answer she needed. Michonne squeezed her eyes shut, unprepared and unwilling to see another dead son. She had only had a few hours to prepare herself for this, for everything happening around her. She was still in shock and denial. She couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"Carl?!" Michonne wailed, clutching him to her. He was dead weight, hanging limply in her arms.

"Carl!" Michonne screamed loudly, her voice echoing through the sewers. Rick stood stock still and stared at the scene.

"No!" he wailed, his numbness melting like hot wax when he understood what had happened. He tore over to where Carl lay and threw himself on top of his son's body. "Oh noooo" he moaned, placing his head against Carl's chest.

"My boy, my boy, my boy" Rick chanted in a hoarse dirge as he wrapped himself around his son, as if someone were trying to pull him away.

Michonne couldn't see through the tears in her eyes, and Rick was making it worse. There was little privacy in the sewer tunnel, but most people had moved around a bend in the tunnel so that the Grimes' could have their own area at the end. Rick's cries were echoing off the walls, causing others to peak around the corner, unwitting voyeurs to the family's agonizing pain.

"Rick" Michonne gasped out. She stood behind Rick's prone body and leaned down, wrapping her arms around him from behind as he kneeled, his upper body splayed across Carl's. "Rick, I have to. I have to do it now."

"No" Rick moaned, and let out a heartbreaking sob.

"Please" Michonne managed, whispering in his ear. "I can't if you… I… I promised I would." Michonne placed her arms underneath the grieving father's armpits and hugged him tighter. "This is what Carl wanted".

Rick cleared his throat and took in a deep breath. "I'm not going anywhere" he muttered, turning his head towards his still son. He shimmied closer to Carl and stared at his pale face. "We'll do this together."

Michonne felt as though a weight had been lifted from the pit of her stomach. As much as she didn't want to carry out this next task, she was so grateful that Rick wanted to do this with her. This was a burden she never thought she'd have to carry, and Rick was right here with her, even though the weight was almost too much to bear.

Michonne carefully untangled her arms from Rick's back, and slowly sunk to her knees next to Rick, by Carl's head. She leaned over and planted one last kiss on his forehead, afterwards wiping away the tears that had flooded her eyes all over again.

"I'll… I'll hold his head" Rick spat out through his tears, and he reached out and placed one hand on Carl's chin, the other on his cheek. Rick slowly stroked Carl's hair, and Michonne removed a knife from her belt.

Michonne glanced over at Rick, almost asking for permission, but he continued to fixate on his son's face, his eyes dancing back to forth. "We love you Carl" Michonne whispered, before pushing the knife through his temple as gently as she could. When she pulled the knife out, she fell backwards onto the floor, as if all of her strength had been sapped with that one action. There was a deafening silence in the tunnel, as if everything living and dead was holding a moment of silence for the brave boy that had saved them all. Rick was still fixated on Carl's face, holding on to his son as if he would disappear soon. Michonne sat on the floor, the bloody knife discarded a few inches away. The stress of the past few hours drained her, and she finally emptied out, bringing her knees up to her chin and weeping into her hands. Michonne cried unashamedly, not even trying to control the noises and sobs she was making.

Rick was in a trance, his hand finding Carl's cold and clammy fingers. Rick squeezed them, remembering another time when he'd told his son that he wanted to show him the new world, and make it a reality for him. He'd failed his son. He never got a chance to show Carl a real life, where he didn't have to worry about danger, and walkers, and threats. Maybe that life didn't even exist anymore. Maybe he was a fool for thinking that it did. Rick couldn't tear his eyes away from his son. He couldn't move past this. Not this.

He gradually became aware of sniffling next to him. He tried to shut it out of his head, he tried to ignore anything else but his own pain, but it continued. Tearing his eyes from Carl, Rick turned to see Michonne sitting on the floor, weeping. His wife, his love, she was in pain too. She loved Carl just as deeply as he did, and her connection with him was even deeper than his own. She was hurting, and he couldn't ignore that.

He slowly loosened his grip on Carl's fingers, already losing their color and becoming pale and white. Rick turned around and sat on the dirty sewer floor next to Michonne. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and rested his head against the side of hers.

She didn't say a word, but her breathing gradually slowed, as did her sniffles. "I'm so sorry" she said, as she looked straight ahead at the dirty sewer wall across from them.

"We'll do this together" he whispered through his pain, holding her a smidge tighter against his body for comfort.

"It's what Carl wanted", Michonne replied.

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed it (as much as one can enjoy this situation), and please leave a review and tell me what you think. Thanks!