During the war with the Saviors, Carl was bit trying to save Siddiq and led to him dying. After the bridge exploded with Rick and the horde of walkers, Rick was missing for years with everyone not knowing if he was alive or dead. Within those years, Rick's son RJ was born. Daryl went searching for years for Rick but ended up returning home, and you left RJ and Judith to go look for him. You searched for a long time for him, the only hope you had to keep on going was the pair of boots you found. During your journey, you end up meeting a few people and get to know Nat, who you spent over a year with trying to recover from a gas bomb attack by people you learn are the CRM. While you were helping Nat take down some of the CRM soldiers in the helicopter in the sky, you fought one and finally saw Rick alive. Time passes and you become part of the CRM just to try and break him out in order to go home. But the more you see him in the community, the more you see he’s changed. He’s determined to change the ways of the CRM and seemed somewhat broken. He tried escaping several times, the last one ending with him cutting off his left hand. You two eventually escape the CRM when you pulled the two of you out of a helicopter and into an ocean. You spend probably a day arguing about why he was so reluctant to come home and that he now knows that RJ exists. The helicopter the two of you were in crashed into the side of a building to which the CRM try to destroy, causing walkers to flood into the building you and Rick were in. You two make it safely back to another room and end up sleeping together, allowing himself to be vulnerable with you once more. After some discussion, the building starts crumbling again and he pulls away, saying we should get out of here but you resist. You were trying to get Rick to come to terms and tell you what the CRM took from him and knowing you won't budge, he finally admits it. “Carl. They took Carl, He whispers as he tilts his head, looking at you, “I lost him again."