Chapter Text
It had begun as they were making their escape through the dimly light trees that surrounded the prison. Carl’s smaller body was tucked into Rick’s right side serving as a makeshift crutch. Pain racked the elder’s body but he continued to shuffle along as best he could. The smell of burning flesh and gunfire still lingered in his nose and he wished to god it would dissipate soon.
Gone. It was all gone. As an alpha, Rick keenly felt the loss of his territory, his offspring, and his family. It had all been an illusion. Yet even now, Rick knew he couldn’t focus on the past. Too many things lay ahead.
They needed food, water, shelter. Things that he once took for granted. As they limped along, Rick became keenly aware of his son’s warmth soaking through his side. He gripped Carl’s arm tighter, unwilling to lose the feel of heated skin beneath his hands.
Eventually they had traveled several hours and the alpha could feel the throb in his leg causing agony with each step.
“Let’s rest for a minute,” Rick wheezed. There was a clump of trees that provided some cover. Carl helped ease his father down to the dirt then took out his gun to stand watch.
Despite feeling the jagged brush of the bark against his back, Rick had sense enough to pull strips off from his, already ripped, shirt and wrap up the gunshot wound on his leg. Amazingly it had missed anything vital, or so he assumed, as the bleeding hadn’t been too bad. As he tightened his makeshift bandage a spasm shot up his hip and the alpha did all he could to suppress a whine.
Thankfully there seemed to be no walkers in the vicinity though that probably wouldn’t last for long. Time slipped by unheeded. The alpha began to take deep breaths through his nose though his chest still burned with every gasp. He had to filter through many scents including the smell of the dirt, the wood smell of the tree he sat against, and the sharp tang of his own blood.
“I think I’ll be able to get by on my own now. If you’ll help me up, we’ll see what we can find up ahead,” Rick rasped to his son.
The boy only nodded in response. Skinny arms wrapped around the older man’s shoulder and pulled, causing the alpha to pitch forward. For a brief moment the alpha’s face was pressed into his son’s neck
In that instant Rick had inhaled in his son’s scent.
On unsteady feet, the alpha thanked his son. His outward appearance showed calm but internally he was screaming. Carl had finally presented his dynamic.
Omega.
Before Carl’s scent had been an earthy dirt scent that was always mixed with sweat. Now it was a sweet lavender smell. It reminded Rick of the omega secretary who use to work at the police station. She had a similar sweet smell she liked to try to cover up with foul smelling perfume.
Without being told to Carl began to walk ahead and Rick allowed it. It gave him a chance to sort through the tangled mess of thoughts in his head.
What the hell am I gonna do now?
Truth be told, he had been worried for the past few months that Carl still hadn’t presented. Years of schooling had taught him that neglected or mistreated children often presented their dynamics later in puberty.
As a cop he had seen a few cases where the child was taken into protective custody with no dynamic listed. Rick had hoped in the past six months things were getting better. True their food stores had never been overflowing, but more often than not there had been enough for everyone to eat.
Every so often Rick would sneak larger portions for Carl and took less to keep it even. Carol had a sixth sense though and would always approach him later with a frown etched on her face. She would scold him for doing and the alpha would always make the empty promise that he wouldn’t do it again.
The sound of their steps became synchronized. Carl’s steady and sure steps were echoed by the step, drag of Rick limping with his injured leg. Walking directly behind his son, Rick was able to keep the omega’s scent in his nose. A small sense of calm filled him, knowing that omega was close.
As they walked, Rick slowly began to realize that his son’s sweet scent had shifted into something sour and definitely not pleasing to Rick’s alpha senses. Carl was angry and after everything that had happened, Rick couldn’t fault his son for that anger.
He did have to suppress the urge to call the omega back. Instinct demanded the omega stay by his side so his alpha could keep watch. All omega’s needed to have an alpha look after them.
"Carl, slow down. Carl, stop!” The omega finally paused. “We need to stay together. We got to find a place with food, supplies," Rick continued. The now growing itch gnawed at him. The omega was ignoring his commands.
Shaking himself from that line of thought, Rick tried to comfort his son. “"Hey. We're gonna be...” but the look from Carl stopped him cold. The elder man watched his son walk away and hobbled after him.
Even as they followed empty road, hopefully towards a town, Rick was weighed down by his worries. How was he going to protect Carl from interested alphas? What about his heats? Carl was already undernourished and there was no telling what effect that would have on his heats. Eventually he would have one and any living alpha would be enticed by that alluring scent. What about birth control?
The thought of a strange alpha forcing themselves on his vulnerable son made Rick’s blood boil. Humanity being as it was, Rick wasn’t sure he would ever find an alpha he could trust with his son, his only remaining child in the world.
Not that Carl can’t take care of himself when the occasion calls for it, he thought. The kid was getting as good as he was with a gun. He no longer wasted shots trying to take walkers down. The night the walkers broke through the prison fence was proof of that. The alpha could still recall the sense of pride that surged through him as his son mowed down walkers with deadly efficiency.
Carl continued to walk ahead and Rick struggled to keep up. More memories of lessons about omegas brought forward the reminder that Carl’s body was going to go through the same changes every newly presented omega went through. It would be painful and the boy would need rest and food in order to make the transition smoother.
After what seemed like hours there was a break in the road and they came across a small roadside restaurant. Rick’s first impulse was to check the place out himself. “Wait outside, okay? Keep watch.”
He wasn’t expecting Carl to snap back, “You keep watch. You can barely stand. I’m not gonna let you go in there alone.”
“Excuse me?” Rick growled at the impudent omega.
"We've done this before. I'm gonna help you clear it. You should just let me do it myself," Carl made no attempt to hide his rude thoughts. Rick almost scolded the omega for not obeying his alpha before reminding himself that this was his son and he did have a valid point. Not that Rick was very happy about being reminded that he was in a weakened state.
"Let's go," he ordered. He went in first and he heard Carl follow. His eyes darted around each room making sure there were no surprises. In the main dining room, he began to hear the tell-tale snarling of a walker from behind a barricade of chairs and tables.
Quickly deciding to take care of the large walker himself, the alpha pulled out his axe with his good hand and prepared to take it on. The first whack didn’t go deep enough and soon he was embroiled in a struggle. He made sure to order Carl to not shoot.
Crack!
The gunshot almost took him by surprise which swiftly turned into anger.
"I said not to," he yelled.
"You couldn't do it with the ax!" Carl spat back.
"What if you needed that one later?” Rick did his best to restrain his own temper. “See what you can find. Then let's move on." He needed to make sure his omega was fed. After grabbing what small amount of supplies he could scrounge up, he held up his bag towards his son. “Kitchen wasn't empty after all. My haul. You?”
Carl’s darker blue eyes held the alpha’s stare and Rick chaffed at the challenge that stare promised.
“I win,” Carl declared. Rick’s fingers twitched with the desire to grab the boy’s bony shoulders and shake him. Instead he gathered the bags and walked out the door. Once again Carl walked ahead and once again, Rick let out a huff of frustration that the omega wouldn’t stay by his side.
What am I going to do Lori? Rick thought to himself. If he continues to challenge my authority, I don’t know if I can control myself. I shouldn’t feel these urges to make him submit to my influence. Yet with every step Rick could feel the desire to force the petulant omega to obey.
Prior to this Rick had never had a problem controlling his alpha impulses. Even struggling with Shane, he still managed to keep himself in check. He tried to turn his thoughts to their immediate needs.
As the daylight shifted into the grey light of evening, Rick did his best to keep an eye out for a place to camp. A real roof was necessary to protect them both, especially given the alpha’s weakened state. He had to call out several times to get Carl to stop.
“That one’s a good as any,” He said stopping them in front of a large white house with a substantial porch.
With their guns up they started the process of checking the house, but Rick didn’t want the teenager to go into any rooms by himself. Carl, however, was once again moving ahead on his own.
“Carl,” Rick whispered loudly.
"I got it. All the doors down here are open," Carl said as he headed towards an open door. Rick couldn't believe that his omega was disobeying him again.
"Just stop!" The alpha shouted.
The omega’s face was full of defiance as he turned around then started pounding on the wall. "Hey, asshole! Hey, shitface! Hey..."
Rick said the first thing that came to his mind, "Watch your mouth!" It only took him a second to realize how ridiculous he sounded but he did not back down from his command.
"Are you kidding me? If there's one of them down there, they would have come out," The teen turned and continued further into the house.
There it was again. The pulsing need to hold the omega still and look eye to eye to make him understand that the alpha needed to be obeyed. Why did he have to fight against Rick’s commands? Didn’t he understand that he was safer by the side of his alpha?
"Stop it Grimes," Rick muttered when he realized where his thoughts were going. "He's your son, not your omega." He repeated those words under his breath as he checked through the kitchen. He made especially sure to keep an eye out for medicine bottles.
Carl needed suppressants and he needed painkillers. Though it probably wasn’t healthy for a newly presented omega to be put on suppressants so soon, Rick couldn’t take any chances.
The creaking steps let him know that Carl was checking the upstairs. Despite that the alpha knew he would go back and re-check. Everything had to be secure.
I’ve got keep Carl safe. I can’t fail again.
But he had failed, first with Lori and now Judith. Rick knew that he wouldn’t be able to survive losing Carl.
When it finally got dark, they started preparing their sleeping arrangements. Despite Carl tying the door, Rick could feel insecurity itch at his brain. He slowly pushed the fall couch towards the door. His body ached in protest but he kept on pushing, even when his son turned to give him another disdainful look.
“I tied the door shut,” the omega explained.
"We don't need to take any chances," Rick responded. With the living or with the dead, he thought to himself. Carl’s scent was already becoming intoxicating to him. He knew it wouldn’t be long before other alphas recognized it for what it was; the scent of a ripe young omega.
"You don't think it'll hold?" The anger was clear in his son’s voice.
Carl," Rick started hoping to stop the fight that he knew had been building all day long.
"It's a strong knot," the teen argued. Rick wasn’t going to think about the shudder that went through his body when the omega said the word knot. He wasn’t.
"Clove hitch. Shane taught me. Remember him?" Carl’s blue eyes were full of accusation.
Rick's stomach clenched. He couldn't believe his son had brought Shane up.
"Yeah, I remember him. I remember him every day." Damn it. "There something else you want to say to me?" The alpha held his gaze steady.
He had been expecting Carl to say something else argumentative but instead his son simply met his stare then looked away. For a brief moment Rick felt triumphant. The omega should defer to him. That was the natural order of things.
“Help me move the couch,” there was no mistaking the alpha’s tone.
The set the couch up and Rick’s next thought was to make sure the omega ate something. He held out the bag to his son.
“You should eat,” Rick wheezed.
“We should save it,” Carl replied. Ignoring him, the alpha attempted to open the bag but struggled with his injured hand. The bag was abruptly ripped from him and opened then tossed back at him.
Rick managed one bite of the cracklins before he hobbled over to the omega.
"Hey," Rick whispered harshly.
“I don’t want any.”
"Eat it. Now." This order came with alpha influence behind it. Rick limped to the bathroom in order to see what he could do about his wounds. He made sure to check the whole bathroom for suppressants but found none.
I’ll have to check all the surrounding houses for some tomorrow.
When he came back into the front room, he was pleased to see that some of the food had been eaten from the bag. A part of him didn’t want to sleep in the same room as Carl. Their scents would mix in the night and it would be harder to remind himself of the familial taboo that existed between them.
Not only that but Rick hadn’t yet explained to Carl what was going on. His son was probably already feeling the pain of his body shifting and had no idea as to what it was. However the physical and emotional exhaustion of the day weighed too heavily on Rick.
In the morning. I’ll talk to him about it in the morning.
As the alpha began to settle on the couch he looked to see Carl laid spread out on a makeshift bed of couch pillows already fast asleep. Rick took in a deep breath and sighed, reveling in the warm sweetened scent of the omega.
Making sure to lay completely on the sofa, hoping his body weight would block any intruders, Rick began to drift into unconsciousness with one lingering thought.
Everything will be better in the morning.