I Just Started Watching Buffy For The First Time.

Me posting on tumblr:

reader pronouns: she/her

“Not everything can be solved with a knife,” Maggie said, watching you throw gear into your pack.

You stopped and looked at her. “I know. That’s why I always carry two,” you said, pulling both of your knives from their sheaths at your hips.

Daryl, standing in the doorway and watching the discussion, couldn’t stifle a gruff laugh in time despite the tense atmosphere. Maggie rounded on him, looking exasperated. “Daryl,” she pleaded, in hopes he could perhaps stop you.

He straightened up. “She needs to do this Maggie. But I’ll go with. Ya think I’d let her go off alone? Nah. Despite the two knives…” he said, one corner of his mouth twitching up.

Holy crap. This is so good.

Nighthawk

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader

Summary: After your lusty, short-lived relationship with a certain archer goes south, you decide to bring Spencer to the neighborhood Halloween bash to take your mind off things. Daryl isn't so easily convinced of your intentions and decides there's no better place than his motorcycle to show you just how much he misses you.

Warnings: NSFW. Unprotected p-in-v, semi-public fucking on Daryl’s bike and hints of exhibitionism, generally rough, jealous sex. Age gap. Assplay. Angst.

One swig of the witches’ cocktail brew, a couple candy corn jell-o shots, and several spiked seltzers in, and you were starting to have serious doubts about your decision to come out tonight.

You clutched your stomach in one hand and Spencer’s arm in the other. The man guiding you inside tried his best to stifle a chuckle.

“You good?” he asked, nudging you with his elbow.

“Great,” you lied through your teeth.

The two of you were weaving through a swarm of partygoers in the entryway now. A sea of masked faces and shredded costumes came dimly into view, and with the sight of the first goblin ensemble drenched in fake blood, you wanted to vomit. You’d think a community of people plagued with nightmarish walkers year-round would lay off the theatrics when it came to Halloween attire as gruesome and grisly as that, but no. Spencer laughed and clapped the ghoul on the shoulder.

“Abraham, my man!” he greeted, “You’re a vision in red.”

Abraham lifted his mask just slightly to heave a sigh.

“It’s hotter’n H-E-double hockey sticks in this sick contraption. I’m sweatin’ like a hog,” he scowled.

When his eyes had adjusted to the light and he caught a glimpse of you, practically green in hue, his face softened considerably.

“You alright, darlin’? You look ready to blow chunks.”

He wasn’t far off the mark. Your stomach was busy doing somersaults up and down your body, and your brain was on the fritz with a new wave of nausea.

“Need a little water is all,” you managed meekly.

Your red-haired companion nodded and started off down the hallway without another word, beckoning you and Spencer to follow. You passed through the rest of the house with relative ease, amazed at how much Alexandria appeared to have grown and how many of those people were here, in Deanna’s house, for some seemingly inconsequential Halloween celebration. You barely recognized half the faces.

Spencer grinned as he sensed those same people were all turning their heads to follow your path. It was his first time parading Officer Friendly’s daughter around a public gathering—the first time you’d agreed to make it known you two were a tentative “thing” since the messy conclusion of your last relationship—and he was pleasantly surprised to see the effect you had on others.

Never mind the fact you were wearing a white lacy bodice, miniskirt, garter belt and stockings. Paired with the makeshift halo and wings, breasts practically bursting at the seams of your costume, it seemed you garnered more attention than you knew what to do with. You were hot, and you were his, Spencer thought with a superficial sense of pride. He squeezed your hand a little tighter and secretly hoped you’d cross paths with everyone he knew in town, so he’d get his chance to prove it.

The three of you descended the few short steps into the garage, where it seemed most of the music, booze, and bodies had congregated. A smoke machine supplied a thick white mist about the room, and alongside the near-blinding white and purple strobe lights, you had only to cling to Spencer’s side and hope he was still following Abraham.

Suddenly, a red solo cup was thrust in your direction, and you smiled at the sight of water spilling over its edges.

“You’re an angel,” you beamed, standing on tip-toes to place a quick kiss on Abraham’s cheek.

Abraham opened his mouth to speak but was presently cut off by a louder, shouting voice:

“Quit your loose-lipped lolly-gaggin’ with the lady and get your ass over here!”

Eugene was drunk. So very, very drunk. You could tell by the sound of his voice alone.

“Kiss my freckled ass,” Abraham yelled back, baring a toothy smile at his friend as he started to make his way over. Tugging you and Spencer to follow suit.

You shot a worried look over your shoulder.

“Spence, I don’t think I—”

“Sure you can, sweetheart,” Spencer interrupted, already eyeing the white table at the center of the room, “Just drink your water, and you’ll be good to go in no time.”

You doubted you would but downed the liquid nonetheless. With each step ahead, it seemed you were only growing sicker, so you got to guzzling the water fast and just hoped you would be able to keep it together.

Unsurprisingly, the folding table was already crowded with plastic cups. Eugene and Aaron making sloppy pours across the tops with cans of Busch Light cradled in their arms and cracking up at every spill they made. You quickly scanned the group for any unknown, or unwanted, faces and felt relieved not to see Rick, your father, or Daryl, his best friend—and your ex-boyfriend.

That last part your dad still didn’t know about. You wanted to keep it that way.

Today marked six months since you and Daryl had started your ill-conceived affair and two weeks since you decided to call it quits—you know, after one too many occasions where Rick had almost caught you two boning on the sofa and Daryl swore left and right he was going to tell your dad everything, while you begged him not to. You sensed any such admission would be guaranteed to destroy your dad and Daryl’s friendship, so you made him promise not to tell.

Begrudgingly, Daryl had agreed, but he’d hated every minute of it. You knew it was only a matter of time before the whole thing blew up in your face, and eventually, it did.

Fourteen days after you’d broken the man’s heart, here you were, waltzing into a party on Spencer Monroe’s arm. Six long months after you’d kept Daryl your dirty secret, you were flaunting this fabrication of a relationship for all to see.

You knew he’d hate you for it. You needed him to. There was just no other way you could shake his affections—and consequently protect his friendship with your father, along with any last shred of unity in your group—unless Daryl despised you. You knew no surer bet than Deanna’s shitbrained son to accomplish that goal.

At present, Spencer pressed a beer-sodden pair of lips to yours, and you almost recoiled.

“You in, baby?” Nodding toward the drinking game still being set up before you.

You shook your head no.

“She’s in!” Spencer announced anyway. Then, quietly, he leaned in closer to you and said, “Quit bein’ a pussy.”

Defying all logic, he kissed you again. Harder. You reluctantly accepted his tongue in your mouth and feigned a smile when the rest of your group cheered their drunken, congratulatory encouragement around you.

When you pulled apart, you felt you wanted to puke again, this time for reasons unrelated to the alcohol. Then, as if on cue, your eyes fell on a previously undetected member of your party.

Daryl stood across the table now, gaze locked on yours with a look that could’ve killed you twenty times over.

To your horror, Spencer extended his arm across the way to shake his hand. Clearly trying too hard to ingratiate himself with a man who looked like he wanted him dead.

“Daryl Dixon!” he cried, smiling too wide for anyone even half as happy.

Your archer shook his hand and hardly seemed to see him. Disinterest painted plain across his features.

Spencer turned to you next, and you wanted to melt into the floor as he gestured toward Daryl, stupidly:

“Have you two met—”

“Your girl’s too young to play.”

Daryl didn’t even deign to grace you with a look. Spencer forced a laugh.

“You kidding? She’s practically a pro at rage cage,” he returned, pinching you playfully.

Somehow, you sensed Daryl wanted Spencer to shut up even more than you did. The stoic, tight-lipped frown with a set of deadened eyes sealed it for you.

At length, he chanced a look in your direction, and his expression didn’t change.

“Doubt it,” Daryl scoffed, “Better let her sit this one out before her daddy comes and gets her.”

He sure had been singing a different tune when he’d had his cock crammed down your throat a couple weeks ago. Didn’t seem too worried about Rick’s intrusion back then, you thought to yourself.

Before Spencer could respond, the whole table shook beneath you. Eugene was beating his fists against the surface, sending solo cups shaking every which way.

“Hear ye, hear ye—”

“Someone please cut him off,” Rosita grumbled behind you.

“This is the last—I repeat last—chance any one of you gets to join this game of rage cage right here,” Eugene declared, the end of his sentence punctuated by a hiccup.

One of Deanna’s goodie bags went sliding across the table to you. You looked at Daryl, confused.

“This one’s already itchin’ to pull trig,” he said to Eugene, “She better sit this out.”

Daryl then nodded toward the plastic baggie as if to suggest you go ahead and puke, but you flung the thing back at him fast.

“I am not,” you countered defiantly.

“Prove it,” Spencer interjected, useless as a screen door on a submarine.

You turned and saw him smiling ear to ear, oblivious to just how badly you wanted to rock his shit.

“Leave her be, chucklefuck.” Abraham boomed overhead.

“Well now, nobody has to prove—” Eugene paused to hiccup again, “—anything.”

In spite of your friends’ words of support, you felt a twist in your stomach and a familiar heat rise to your cheeks. You were blushing, you knew it, but you simply couldn’t lose out in the face of such a challenge. No matter how drunk and disoriented you were, you wouldn’t let Daryl, much less Daryl and Spencer, make a fool of you now.

You glanced at the handle of Everclear in Maggie’s hands just as she started to mix herself a drink.

“I can take a pull to prove it,” you said, motioning to the bottle.

Everyone who’d heard your suggestion and spared a look to the bottom shelf bottle of liquor made a face. Though piss-poor spirits were certainly no anomaly for your group, it was hardly anyone’s inclination to start chugging stuff close to 190 proof—least of all for folks who didn’t have a death wish or a liver made of steel.

“Fuck no,” Maggie and Daryl said in unison.

“Hell yes,” Spencer supplied just as fast.

So the matter was settled.

Maggie eyed you with an incredulous look when you reached for the bottle but knew better than to stop you after you’d made up your mind. Before you knew it, you were holding the thing by the neck and struggling, at length, to ignore Rosita and Abraham’s pleas over your shoulder.

“Don’t be stupid.”

“You’d be better off swallowing a bag of dicks dipped in Drano, darlin’.”

Even Daryl was watching you with wide, desperate eyes, silently pleading with you not to take the pull.

You would’ve gladly relented then, dropped the handle back on the table and stepped away without another word, but there was something in your brain telling you you needed to see this through. Whether it was self-sabotage or simple, drunken stupidity, you couldn’t be sure, but you probably wouldn’t care much longer.

You tipped your head back and flooded your mouth full of the grain alcohol.

Shortly after, a spasm in your stomach told you, without a shadow of a doubt, you wouldn’t be swallowing any of it.

You dropped the bottle and bolted out the door. Before you’d made it one step outside, you were already spraying a cloud of Everclear in the air, along with every food content and bodily fluid residing in your stomach. You dropped to your hands and knees in the grass and hurled like you never had before.

You closed your eyes and dug your fingers deep into the dirt below, desperately wishing you weren't wearing white. Convulsed in your tight corset and hoped this process wouldn’t be too painful to endure.

When you felt someone’s hands start to gather your hair in a ponytail behind you, you surmised you might not be so lucky. You spit on the ground and tried to shake them off.

“Get fucked, Spence,” you hissed.

The hands didn’t flinch from your hair and instead pulled it tighter between them.

“I said, get—” you struggled at the last, trying in vain to buck off whoever was above you. You cursed under your breath when it seemed clear they weren’t planning on budging.

“If this is how ye treat yer boyfriend, I’m glad ye dumped me,” a voice said with some amusement.

You groaned into the grass below you, eyes squeezing shut in disbelief,

“You don’t know the half of it.”

Daryl loosened one hand from your hair to start rubbing circles in your back. When you retched again, he moved his palm even more softly.

“I think I know ye well enough to say ya shouldn’t be chugging Everclear to prove a point,” Daryl said.

You didn’t have anything to say to that. He was right.

After one more pitiful heave, you started to struggle to get upright and eventually onto your feet. Daryl looped an arm around your waist and helped you up.

Your mind was reeling and your stomach was steeling itself against another potential onslaught of convulsions. When Daryl turned you around and steadied you in front of him, though, all concern for your current predicament ebbed gently from your mind. His blue eyes seemed to study every inch of you.

“Do you hate me now?” you asked abruptly.

You felt stupid for asking as soon as you said it. But then, to your surprise, Daryl smiled. He placed a hand on either side of your head and tilted it up to his.

“Do I look like I hate ye?” he asked.

Perhaps owing to your state of intoxication or the way Daryl made you feel when there was little more between you than a few inches and ample opportunity, you actually looked him up and down. Trying to detect any trace of hatred or the least bit of annoyance there but coming up with nothing. He started stroking your cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

The memories and the feelings all came flooding back faster than you would’ve liked, but there they were, and there he was, standing tall and tame and perfectly blameless in this situation you wished you hadn’t shot to shit two weeks ago. You suspected if he’d been looking at you any differently that night, it was simply an act of self-preservation on his part; no number of dirty looks or disparaging jabs could mask the fact that he couldn’t hate you if he tried. One warm look from those wide, placid eyes turned your stomach inside out and made you ashamed you ever left him in the first place.

You weren’t sure who started it, but your lips were back together in seconds, placing hot, frantic kisses all over the other.

“Did you miss me?” you mumbled against his mouth, in between a barrage of kisses.

Daryl’s hands traveled down your back and squeezed your ass, prompting you to jump and wrap your legs around his waist.

“More than you fuckin' know,” he groaned as he slid his tongue between your lips.

Quick came the mind-numbing rush of intimacy in secret, that lovely, electrifying feeling of doing something you shouldn’t. It took no time at all to get reacquainted with that addictive sensation—you felt yourself lean into it even more this time around. You slipped out of his arms and back onto your feet, ready for more of him.

“We can’t—” Daryl started, out of breath already, “—keep doin’ this, honey.”

“Yes, we can,” you returned quickly. Reaching for his belt while your pupils widened with lust.

You made the few familiar maneuvers to undo his buckle, button, and fly, and when you palmed him over his boxers, he moaned.

“What happens when your daddy finds out, hm?” Daryl managed through gritted teeth.

“If he does,” you corrected him.

“When he does.”

You sighed, frustrated. Daryl sure wasn’t making things easier on you.

“What do you want me to say, D? That I—I can just come clean and tell him his best friend’s been bangin’ me for the past six months? You know he’d skin you alive,” you said, your voice a little less kind than you intended.

It was the truth, though.

Like clockwork, Daryl took you back in his arms and carried you clear across Deanna’s yard, toward a tiny shed in the back. You snuck a look over your shoulder and saw his old, trusted motorcycle propped up against its siding.

When he placed you on the wide leather seat, you knew this fight was far from over. You kissed again, anyway.

“I’ll tell him myself then.” Daryl pulled off of you and ran his hands up your stocking-covered legs.

He rubbed them up and down and up again until his fingers faltered at the edge of your garter belt, secured snugly across the tops of your thighs.

“Or we can tell him. Together,” he rejoined, calmly dropping a hand between your legs.

Your breath caught in your throat. You were already so sensitive, soaked through your panties and ready to take him whole. You whined when he swept his thumb over your clothed heat and clamped your thighs in defiance when he started to rub you up and down.

“I need you now,” you moaned.

Daryl didn’t bother concealing his smirk and just reached back to readjust himself—toying with your attention while you waited for him to take his cock out fully.

“No foreplay, huh?” he mused aloud as he eased his boxers down, “Must’ve been missin’ this cock somethin’ awful.”

You nodded without a second thought.

You were physically salivating at the sight of him. Watching him pump himself firm in one hand and brush your cheek with the knuckles of his other in a gentle touch.

“My baby won’t mind gettin’ stretched out again?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Promise not to cry?”

“Uh-huh.”

He was teasing you now. He’d seen your wide, listless eyes drink in the sight of him and couldn’t resist.

When he told you to bend over the seat of his bike, you obeyed in an instant. You planted your palms on the cushion, stuck your ass in the air, and practically wiggled it for him there.

“Like a bitch in heat,” Daryl growled just loud enough for you to hear.

He took your ass in both hands and spread yourself just wide enough so he could see the leaking, dripping mess along the slit of your panties. You sighed when he pried your underwear off a second later.

Daryl’s idea of “skipping” foreplay still wouldn’t be complete if he didn’t tease you to the point of orgasm at least once or twice.

True to form, he leaned in and placed a kiss over your unclothed core, and your knees almost buckled. He pushed his tongue up your slit, circled your clit, and dragged it all the way down past your pussy to the point he was nearly veering into uncharted territory for you both.

You gripped the bike below you and moaned out loud.

“Daryl, baby,” you pleaded with no motive in particular. You didn’t know what he was doing, you just wanted him to keep doing it.

“Want me here?” Daryl asked, his thumb sliding to that same delicate spot.

You pushed your hips back into him in a wordless but enthusiastic answer in the affirmative. Daryl grew even harder.

He knew you weren’t ready for that just yet, knew he wanted to make that first-time experience in your other hole a little more sentimental than taking you over his bike with little to no lubrication—but the thought of the future endeavor excited him nonetheless. He peppered a couple more gentle kisses between your legs before standing up.

You whimpered at the loss of contact and almost turned around to say as much when he reappeared behind you, this time pressing the head of his cock between your folds.

“How bou’ here, honey? Can I fuck ya here?” he asked, all sweet words and civility when it came time to fuck you stupid.

“Y-yes, Daryl, yes,” you supplied your consent in a second.

“Then be good for me while ye take it, okay, doll?”

Before you could answer, Daryl’s cock was already starting to split you open. Soft, slow, and tender, with a stretch that made it feel like your first all over again, you both moaned at the feeling and rolled your bodies into one another.

Two weeks apart and you were all but fiending for an orgasm like he hadn’t been inside you for a year or more. Judging by the sounds Daryl made when he bottomed out, he was right there with you.

He dragged himself out to the tip and plunged back in, gripping your hips like they were the last thing holding him to earth. Then dropped his head back and groaned when you pushed yourself back to start meeting his thrusts.

“Ye feel too fuckin’ good,” he grunted, relishing the sounds of his balls slapping your ass with each bounce.

Your nose was buried somewhere between the seat and your own trembling fingers, scarcely breathing more than you could manage between each moan of his name. He loved you like this, all bent out of shape with your brain devoid of any other thought but his cock. He ran a finger over the pale, feathered wings of your costume—the ones that mirrored those emblazoned on the back of his vest—and couldn’t help but smile.

Just when you clenched and sensed you were dangerously close, Daryl hoisted you back onto your feet. Pulling out for a moment to switch positions and take you in his lap, now straddling him over his bike.

You sighed at the new sensation and smiled now that you could see him face-to-face. Daryl grinned right back and took your lips in his for a couple quick kisses.

“M’perfect girl,” he hummed, sponging kiss after kiss across your skin in sloppy, haphazard fashion.

You tipped your chin back and reveled in his gentle affections, moving your hips over him a little faster now.

“Gonna cum f’me? Show me just how good I’m making ye feel?” Daryl prodded, eyes alight with lust.

You pressed your forehead to his and nodded. Breaths coming out more ragged and strained than ever, you felt Daryl lift his hips and start fucking into you a little sharper, grip your sides a little less gently and just start giving it to you hard and fast and senseless so you’d be spilling over him in no time at all.

You were a mystery to him in many ways, but this realm was not one of them. Daryl knew just the right angle to take your soft, sensitive spot—strike it over and over and over again so you were clenching tight around him, begging him not to stop—and in a matter of seconds, you both got what you desperately wanted.

With one final squeeze around his member, you reached your peak and screamed his name, fucking him back with every vicious thrust he gave you. Then, try as he might to hold it in, Daryl grew just as oversexed and sensitive, shooting his load in you moments later.

The two of you rutted and moaned and clutched each other tight as you trembled through your highs. With Daryl’s warmth spreading deep inside you, you would’ve liked to stay this way forever—maybe rest in each other’s arms long enough to rally for rounds two, three, and four, if not more. But at present, you were content just to hold him.

A dull thump of music echoed from Deanna’s house. Daryl eyed you up and down, seemed set on asking if you’d like to go again, but took you by surprise with another question entirely.

He pulled you tight in his lap so his lips were close to yours. Sank his fingers into the flesh of your sides and said, ever casually:

“Ready to tell Rick?”

I watched this movie for the first time today, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to think about anything else for the foreseeable future.

Please watch it as soon as possible - La Belle et la Bête 2014.

Look for the Light - 4

Masterlist

Summary: Four years ago, Joel saved you from certain death. In return, you followed him faithfully. Always ready to do and give him whatever he asked, despite the hurt it inflicted on you, body and soul. Agreeing to go with him to deliver Ellie to the Fireflies… this would be the last time you’d follow him… After this, your debt would be paid.

Relationships: Reader x Joel Miller, Joel Miller & Ellie, Reader & Ellie

Warnings: Like AO3, I choose to give none. Read at your own risk. 18+ (So excited to share this with you. So much to come folks! 🙊😍)

Series Masterlist - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Joel stared at you for some time. His mouth opened and closed as he processed what you'd just told him.

"Joel?"

"Where did you find a pregnancy test?" He asked and you rolled your eyes.

"Does it really matter where I found them?" You asked and he shook his head.

"How did this happen?" He asked and you shook your head.

"Pulling out isn't exactly 100 per cent effective but I guess we've not been that careful."

"What do you mean?" He asked you you sighed before answering.

"I don't think that night... the night we got pissed on whiskey... I um..."

"You what?"

"I don't think you pulled out." You finished and he groaned.

"Shit." He breathed as he leaned back against the tree behind him.

"I know this is not ideal but-"

"Ideal?" Joel blanched "This is a fuckin' nightmare."

You shrunk back at his statement, hand resting on your belly as you waited for him to say something.

"Those tests must be nearly twenty years out of date." He continued "What if it's a false positive?"

"Unlikely. Besides, they're both positive." You stated as you pulled the second test from your pocket.

"Shit." Joel gasped as he looked at the stick of plastic in your hand "This can't be happening." He said, shaking his head and you felt years prick at your eyes "There'll be a doctor somewhere that can fix this!"

"What do you mean, fix it?" You growled and he looked up at you with teary eyes.

"Terminate it." He answered as he reached out to put his hand on top of yours but you shrank back "Wha...." His eyes widened at your reaction and his stomach twisted "You're not seriously thinking we should keep it?"

"We... don't have to do anything!" You scoffed "I want to!... If you don't want to do this with me then that's fine. I'll find somewhere safe to raise them on my own."

"Come on, you can't be serious darlin'? This world is no place for a baby!"

"And it never will be." You growled "Yet life has to go on." You finished before snatching the tests back and stuffing them into your pocket "Good to know how you feel about all this." You grumbled as you stood and quietly made your way back to your sleeping bag.

That was that then!... you were in this alone.

Joel didn't move from his seat on the forest floor. His eyes were glued to you as he watched your shoulders silently shake... knowing you were sobbing to yourself about his reaction to the news you were carrying his child.

Truth be told, he'd never imagined he would have the chance to be a father again after he'd lost Sarah. His wife had died just a few years after she was born and then, on that fateful day, his world had ground to a halt. Not for one second in the twenty years that followed had he allowed himself to hope that perhaps one day, he might get the chance to be a dad again.

Now he was going to be and he wasn't sure he wanted to be.

Morning came and you and Joel spoke all but one word to each other.

"Coffee?"

"Sure."

Ellie watched the two of you with what looked like an exasperated expression but you dared not push her for why. You didn't want to think about anything more than getting back on the road and finding somewhere to settle.

"This seriously how shit's going to be between you two?" She finally piped up when the tension became too much to handle.

Joel was finishing packing the truck whilst you washed the tins clean of the breakfast the three of you had finished consuming.

"What?" You grumbled as you proceeded to stack the tins and stuff them in the pack you'd originally pulled them from, eye not leaving the task at hand.

"Well, I'd hoped after being woken up to you two boning behind that tree over there that you'd at least worked your shit out." She grumbled and both you and Joel stopped dead in your tracks "What happened? He blow his load too quickly?" She chuckled and you felt your face burn with embarrassment.

"Ellie." Joel warned but the teenager ignored him "Clearly, the news that you two are having a baby together really got your motor running huh?"

"She knew?" Joel expelled and that's what pulled your gaze back to your two companions.

"Joel-"

"Ohhhh..." Ellie trailed off, her eyes widening as the realisation hit her "You weren't fucking cus of the baby news."

"Ellie!" Joel snapped but your head was swimming, eyes filling with tears as you looked down and noted the tests were still stuffed in your pocket.

"We had differing opinions on the baby." You piped up, finally rendering the child speechless "So the next town or QZ that we find is where we'll be parting ways." You stated, turning your attention to the teenager.

"No!" She choked, shaking her head and you gave her a weak smile.

"It's for the best!" You stated plainly "Joel will get you to where you need to be." You finished as you slung your pack over your shoulder and walked to the truck, climbing into the back without a word.

Ellie and Joel watched you as you climbed into the car and slammed the door shut behind you. Then the teenager's eyes were burning into the older man as she glared at him.

"The fuck you say to her?" She growled and Joel scoffed at her before tossing the last of their supplies into the truck bed "Joel?"

"None of your business." He grumbled and that set the girl off, her eyes burning as she stomped up to him.

"Like fuck it isn't!" She snapped "What did you do? Accuse her of fucking someone else? Tell her to get sell it?... Was obviously bad because-"

"I told her we need to terminate it." He barked and Ellie stared at him slackjawed "I told her we should get rid of it." He sighed as he scraped a hand over his tired features "It's for the best."

"For who?" Ellie scoffed "Her?... Or you?"

She didn't wait for the man to reply. Just jumped into the front seat and sat in the car with you. Waiting for him to get them back on the road and en route. He glanced up and caught you smiling at Ellie, your eyes sparkling as you laughed at no doubt a joke from that damned pun book the kid was carrying around with her. His heart ached at the knowledge that he'd hurt you. He never wanted to do that but he honestly couldn't see how keeping this baby would end any way other than badly. He also knew that changing your mind was futile.

He was gonna be a father again... If you let him.

Ellie pushed the door to an abandoned office open as you and Joel stepped in behind her. The events of that day had caught up with both of you. Ellie had had to shoot a kid to save Joel and you had been able to do nothing but watch through the small hole in the wall that Joel had made you both climb through. You'd felt so helpless, watching his legs kick as the kid strangled him within an inch of his life, that you hadn't even noticed Ellie pull out a gun she'd stolen from Bill's and slip through the larger hole in the wall. The three of you had then hidden out in an old bar and waited for a chance to slip into the shadows and avoid the search party that was currently occupying the streets.

So when you had all managed to make it to the building you were now taking refuge in, you'd breathed a small sigh of relief, your hand resting on your stomach as you caught your breath.

"Holy shit." Ellie breathed as her eyes scanned the dark room you all now occupied.

"Yeah." Joel panted as he slip down the wall, his age getting the better of him.

"Thirty-three floors. That's good." Ellie enthused and you chuckled at her condescending tone.

"It's gonna have to be." Joel grumbled as he squeezed his eyes shut and willed his heart to slow.

"Come on." Ellie called out as she motioned for him to get up but Joel simply shook his head.

"Gimme a minute."

"Get up, you lazy ass." Ellie chuckled and Joel grunted in reply.

"Lazy ass." He scoffed as he allowed the teenager to help him to his feet

"Fifty-six years old, you little shit."

You smirked at his statement before turning and walking further into the room, eyes scanning for anything that could be turned into a bed for the night. Nausea had taken up permanent residence and you noted what looked like a small cloakroom. You slipped off silently, hoping no one would notice before emptying little contents of your stomach into the toilet bowl.

Ellie had, however, noticed you disappear and her gaze drifted to Joel before shrugging off her bag and placing it onto the stained, twenty-year-old, carpet.

"She's not going to be safe here." She stated simply and Joel nodded.

"I know." He replied simply, his eyes looking off in the direction he knew you were.

"We can't let her go." Ellie pushed "She's safer with us."

"What about when the baby comes?' Joel grumbled, "What... you gonna help babysit?"

"We'll have found the fireflies long before then." Ellie scoffed but Joel shook his head.

"You don't know that for sure."

"Joel-"

"We don't have a truck." He continued "We can't expect her to keep walking when she's heavily pregnant with my kid."

"So you admit that it's your kid?" Ellie needled and Joel sighed.

"We need to find somewhere safe for her and then continue on." He finished, ignoring the teen's question.

"Then what?" Ellie grumbled "She raises that baby on her own?"

"I don't know Ellie." Joel barked and the girl's mouth snapped shut "I don't know what to do okay?" He choked and Ellie's expression softened "I love her and I wanna do right by her but I don't know if I can do it again." He confessed, his voice wobbling "I don't know if I want to."

Ellie's brow furrowed at his statement but didn't push him for more. She knew the man wasn't one for sharing his past and just the fact he'd admitted to her that he loved you, was enough for her.

Your heart thundered in your chest as his confession swirled around in yours. On the one hand. He has confessed to sharing the same feelings you felt for him. On the other, he admitted that he wasn't sure he wanted this baby. You were filled with conflicted feelings and you weren't sure what to do. When you were sure that they wouldn't be suspicious of you eavesdropping on their conversation, you made your way back out into the room, noting the makeshift cots that Ellie had started to put together. She gave you a smile when she noticed you enter and you returned it before glancing at Joel, finding your heart twisting in your chest as you allowed what he'd said to consume your every thought.

"JOEL!"

The older man rolled over and froze when he saw a child pointing a gun at him. Hands raised, he looked to his right and saw you and Ellie standing with your hands behind your head whilst a nervous-looking kid pointed his gun at you both.

"Eyes on me. Eyes on me." The kid ordered and Joel complied, his expression a difficult one to pinpoint as you studied him "You don't have to worry about what to say. We don't wanna hurt you. We wanna help you." He rambled as his hun switched between you and Ellie "Okay. Okay, um... I don't know what the next step is with something like this, but if I lower my gun... we didn't hurt you... so you don't hurt us... right?"

"That's right." Joel replied and you wanted to groan at the manner in which he spoke.

"That's a weird fսck¡n' tone, man." The kid replied nervously and Ellie's eyes widened.

"That's just the way he sounds. He has an asshоlе voice." Ellie snapped as she looked directly at the older man "Joel, tell him he's okay."

"Everything is great."

"Dude." Ellie grumbled and you shot him a warning look.

"Fսck!"

The kid was growing more and more nervous, the longer he and the child with him had their weapons trained on the three of you. It was clear that he was new at this and that helped you feel a little less worried about this situation. You truly believed they didn't want to hurt you.

"Okay... listen... I'm gonna trust you." He said as he lowered his weapon "Yes. But if any of you guys try anything... yeah? Yeah?"

"Yeah." You replied, nodding your head as you glared at Joel again.

"Can I sit up?" Joel asked as he looked over at the kid again

"Yeah. Slow. Get up slow."

"Who are you?" Joel asked as his eyes drifted from the Kid, back to the older one.

"My name's Henry. That's my brother, Sam." You looked at the child before sharing a silent stare with Joel.

Your eyes pleading for him to not do anything stupid.

"I'm the most wanted man in Kansas City. Although right now... my guess is you're running a close second." This grabbed Joel's attention and his back straightened as he leaned forward a little more "Why do they want you?"

"Long story." Henry replied "You got any food? My brother's hungry."

"Yeah." You replied softly, hoping to relax the situation a little more. "We got some food."

Henry's face seemed to light up at his and he watched as you make your way over to your pack, pulling out some rations you'd portioned up for the morning and splitting it into five small shares. It wasn't much but it was something.

You then all sat and ate in tense silence, Joel's eyes never leaving Henry.

"Where'd you get these?" Henry asked, breaking the silence.

"From Bill." Ellie answered, "He's dead."

Your head shot up when you saw Joel move from the corner of your eye, your heart softening when you saw him give the little boy the last of his meal. Despite his hard, gruff, exterior, the man could be soft when he wanted to be. The boy signed his thanks and you smiled warmly.

"He says thank you." Henry said, noting that your companions likely wouldn't know ASL "I'm guessing you don't have much, so... this means a lot."

"How old is he?" Ellie asked as she grinned at the younger boy, watching closely when Henry signed her question "He's eight."

"Cool." The child gushed, bouncing with excitement at being around another kid "I'm Ellie." She finished before looking over at you, smiling when you gave the brothers your name also.

You both stared at Joel, eyes wide and expectant and the man rolled his eyes before growling.

"I'm Joel. Look, you ate, we didn't kill each other, let's call this a win-win and move on."

You smirked at your companion's response before looking at the older brother again.

"Well, I'm betting... that y'all came up here to get a view of the city and plan a way out. And when the sun's up... I'll show you one."

"You can do that?" You asked and Henry nodded.

"Sure can."

"You can get us out of this city safely?" You pushed, your hand resting on your tummy again.

"She's pregnant-" Ellie piped up and your eyes flew open.

"Ellie-"

"She needs to get out of this shit show city as soon as possible!"

"Congratulations." Henry started and you gave him a small nod "I will do my best to help you get out of the city safely." He continued "But I'll need your help.

You and Joel stood at the window and looked out at what had once been a bustling city.

"Welcome to Killa City."

"No FEDRA?" Joel asked and Henry shook his head.

"Not as of 10 days ago, no."

"We always heard KC FEDRA was... Monsters? Savages?" You piped up, pulling Joel's gaze to you for a moment.

"Yeah, you heard right. Raped and tortured and murdered people for 20 years. And you know what happens when you do that to people?" You both stood and waited for him to continue, your stomach twisting in knots at the information you were learning "The moment they get a chance, they do it right back to you."

"But you're not FEDRA?" Joel pushed.

"No... worse." Henry signed and you both gave him a bemused look, waiting for him to elaborate "I'm a collaborator."

"I don't work with rats." Joel spat, glancing at you a moment.

"Yeah, you fucking do." The older brother all but ordered "Today you do... 'cause I live here and you don't." He stated plainly, rendering you both speechless "That's how I followed you here. I know this city, and that's how I'm gonna help you get out."

"Why help us?" You asked.

"I saw what you did... the way you killed those men." He paused, studying Joel's face a moment before continuing "Now, I know where to go but I don't know how to make it through alive, not if it's just me and Sam."

"You seem capable enough." Joel scoffed "You're armed."

"You're wrong and wrong." Henry argued "Never killed anyone. And pointing an unloaded gun at you was the closest I've ever

come to being violent." He confessed, eyes drifting to you "So that's the deal. I show the way... you clear the way."

The sound of laughing dragged your attention over to the table where Sam and Ellie saw, looking through the girl's joke book and completely unaware of what the three of you were speaking about.

"Haven't heard that in a long time," Henry said wistfully, as he looked over his shoulder at his brother.

"So how are we gettin' out?" You asked.

Henry started to draw out a small map and you watched as he marked out certain areas before explaining.

"Highways... Downtown. Us." He circled the area where your building sat "This whole area belongs to Kathleen."

"She's in charge?" Joel asked and Henry nodded.

"Leader of the resistance." He confirmed before looking down at his rough map again "You can see the way we're bounded by highways!" He continued as he pointed at each one "They got people posted all

around the inside perimeter. If we get close, we get caught... No question."

"So how do we get across?" You asked and he glanced at you a moment before drawing a tunnel.

"Boom."

"Kansas City has a subway?" Joel asked, brows pulled together and forming a tight frown.

"No, but they do have maintenance tunnels." Henry clarified "There's a bunch of buildings all put up by the same developers. And they share these tunnels, including... a bank building here." He said as he drew where the building sat "So we enter the tunnels here... travel underground, and pop up here." He circled the area again before looking up at you and Joel "Westside North. Residential. There's an embankment on

the other side of the houses... We head down, pedestrian bridge over the river... free as a bird."

"You're right. It's a great plan." Joel replied sarcastically "So what do you need me for?"

"You noticed anything strange about this city?" Henry asked, eyes flitting between you and Joel "I mean, other than the strange shit you've already seen?"

"No Infected?" Ellie piped up and you look to your right, noting how she and Sam had now joined you.

"Oh, there's Infected." Henry replied "Just not on the surface." He paused to let you both take that in "FEDRA drove them underground 15 years ago, and never let them come back up. It's the only good thing those fascist motherfuckers ever did."

"So you want us goin' into a tunnel?" Joel snorts and glanced at him a moment, heart racing as you wait for Henry to answer.

"Everyone thinks that it's full of Infected, including Kathleen, which means that we're not gonna be running into any of her people.

"But you see, what I know is... it's empty."

"You've been down there?" You asked, heart, thumping against your ribcage.

"No, but the FEDRA guy that I worked with told me that it's clean, completely clean... They cleared it out. All of it."

"When?"

"Like... three years ago."

Joel scoffed.

"Okay, maybe, there's one or two, but you handle it." Henry urged, eyes pleading with you.

"What if there's more?" Joel asked.

"Or one of those blind ones that sees like a bat?" Ellie added.

"Wait, you... you ran into a Clicker?"

"Two of 'em," Ellie answered.

"And you're still alive." Henry pointed out "You see? You're the right people... If it gets bad down there, we turn around, and run right back out the same way we came."

"Oh, that's your great plan?"

"No, that's my dicey-as-fuck plan." Henry growled "But as far as I can tell... it's our only shot."

Sam asked something, just out of your line of sight and you watched as the older brother answered his concerned sibling.

"They're saying they're going to help us escape." he signed back, giving his brother a firm nod "Right?"

Joel let out a sigh before glancing at you, silently willing you to give him some sort of guidance. Despite how tense things were between you both right now, he still looked at you to help him keep his footing. He relied on you to steer him straight at this was no exception.

"Right." You replied surely as you gave Joel a small nod before looking at Henry "We'll help you get out."

"Do you know where we are?" You asked Henry as your eyes scanned the area, gun firmly in hand.

"Yep." Henry replied, a grin painting his features "The other side."

"No. No one is here." Ellie pointed out pulling a face when you tried to hush her.

"No one's gonna be here because... my plan worked." Henry boasted, grinning at the teenager.

"So much goddamn talkin'." Joel grumbled and you smirked at his statement before returning to surveying your surroundings.

"I'm just saying... I delivered." Henry stated, "Make this right, go down the street, embankment behind the last house... and we're out."

"So we cross the river and then what?" You asked, "Where ya gonna go?"

"Don't know yet." The younger man replied, shrugging as he glanced at his brother.

"Well, we're goin' to Wyoming." Ellie announced, pulling a face when Joel glared back at her "What? It's a huge state. It can fit two more people."

"Yeah... maybe we just call this one a success and say our fond farewells." Henry chuckled.

"No, he'll change his mind. Trust me." Ellie upheld "This is how it goes... He's like, 'No, Ellie. Never, ever, ever happening.'..." The girl started, lowering her tone in an attempt to mimic Joel "And then I'm like, 'I'm gonna ask you a million more times...And he's like-"

Ellie didn't get to finish. Bullets started to ping off the car beside them.

"Move, move!" Joel ordered "Go!" He barked, the five of you ducking for cover.

"The fuck is that comin' from?"

"Shut up." The older man yelled. "- Fuck."

"Let's move. Let's go." Henry shouted as he nudged his brother to move.

"What are you doin'?!" You almost screamed, watching in horror as the two young boys attempted to escape.

"Gettin' the fuck outta here!" Henry replied before throwing himself back when bullets reigned down on him "Oh shit, oh shit!"

"What do we do?" Ellie asked as she turned to look at Joel, eyes shining with fear.

"All right." Joel stated, as he noted the house the shots were coming from "Stay here."

"What?" Ellie squeaked.

"If you don't move, he's not gonna hit you." The older man stated, "I'm gonna go around, try to get in the house through the back, and then I'll take him out."

"But if you go out there, he's gonna kill you." She choked, holding onto Joel for dear life.

"It's dark, and he has shit aim." Joel replied, trying to lighten her mood a little "Nobody's gonna kill me."

"Then he's gonna kill us." She argued.

"Do you trust me?" He asked and Ellie nodded "Take care of them all! He ordered, giving the girl a small smile "That includes my baby!"

Your eyes widened at his statement, something Joel spotted when he glanced at you a moment before sneaking off. You both shared a workless conversation before he went off to take out their attacker. The look said, "We will get through this."

And you believed him.

So you watched as he snuck off and you all remained where you were, waiting for it to be safe to move. Ellie huddled close to you, hand gripping yours tightly as you gave her a reassuring smile.

"We're going to be okay." You whispered to her and she nodded.

"Us and the baby yeah?" She asked and your heart swelled at the mention of the tiny being inside of you.

"Us and the baby."

A gunshot echoed in the air and you all looked up, hoping that it was Joel taking out the target and not the other way around. Ellie looked at your frantically, eyes wide and wet and then you heard shouting.

Shouting that sounded a lot like RUN

Headlights illuminated the abandoned street and large vehicles stormed through the abandoned cars that littered their path.

RUN

You did as Joel told you, running for your life and you and Ellie fired upon the vehicles as they came surging towards you. Joel fired upon the vehicles as you all continued to sprint and took out the driver of the lead vehicle, it veered into one of the ramshackle houses before exploding. The blast throwing you and Ellie to the ground.

Henry was at your side, helping you and Ellie back to your feet again.

"You okay?" He asked and you both nodded.

"Yeah."

"He's up there," Henry stated as he pointed to the window where Joel was situated and you gave him a small nod before sprinting for cover beside another truck.

The flames from the burning house at your rear threw off a heat that reached you all from across the street. The clicking sounds the fire made mingled with your heavy breathing and you all prayed that Joel would be able to give you enough cover to run for safety when the time came.

"Dead end, Henry." Came a soft voice... the voice you assumed belonged to Kathleen "Gonna step on out? Save us some time?"

You all looked at each other, wondering what to do and coming up empty.

"No?" She continued, her tone high and whiny.

Not the voice you'd expect from someone so terrifying.

"That's all right. Doesn't matter."

"I'll come out!" Henry called out, shaking his head when you pleaded for him not to go "Just let the kids go!"

"No." She replied "Sorry... The girl is with the man who killed Bryan. And Sam... well, Sam's with you."

"You don't understand!"

"But I do." She interjected, taking on a mocking manner "I know why you did what you did... But did you ever stop to think that maybe he was supposed to die?"

"He's just a fucking kid!" Henry yelled, his anger rising to the surface.

"Well, kids die, Henry." She replied, the statement making your stomach twist "They die all the time... You think the whole world revolves around him?" She scoffed "That he's worth... everything?"

Henry looked at you and then Ellie, silently communicating that he was okay with whatever happened next.

"Well, this is what happens when you fuck with fate." Kathleen finished, her voice wobbling a little.

"Get ready to take him and run." Henry stated as he put Sam's hand in Ellies "Yes." He urged when she shook her head. "Do it."

"It's time, Henry." She called and then the man stood, hands above his head

"Enough!" He called out, stepping out into her line of site.

Your eyes drifted up to Joel who was watching you from above. Your body ached from the fall and your heart thundered in your chest. You weren't sure you were going to make it out of this one but you were going to do all you could to try.

For Ellie... And for the baby in your belly.

"It ends the way it ends."

Groaning cut Kathleen off and you all turned your heads to look over at the crashed truck, watching as it sunk into the ground. Then...

Chaos.

The next however many minutes of your life became a fight to survive. You managed to take cover beneath a car, your eyes locking with Henry and Sam who had done something similar. You fired upon any infected that tried to come near you but some were taken out by an invisible force yet you knew who it was... Joel.

As soon as an opening showed itself to you, you were running towards Joel who was standing just outside the house he'd been shooting from, grabbing Ellie's hand as Joel urged you to run.

"Come on, come on!" He ordered, nudging you in the direction of the bridge just visible in the distance "Go, go!"

"Stop!" Kathleen's voice had you all stopping dead in your tracks, turning slowly towards her with your hands raised.

Then, your eyes all widened collectively as you noticed the infected child creeping up on her and she turned just in time to see her doom before it pounced on her. Screaming as it slashed her to ribbons.

"This way now! Move!" Joel ordered as he motioned for you all to run, his eyes locking with yours a moment before you all run for your lives.

Leaving the burning and blood chaos behind you.

The adrenaline was starting to wear off by the time you found an empty motel to squat in for the night. Ellie and Sam were given the twin bedroom and you the master. Joel and Henry opted to make themselves comfortable in the lounge area of the suite.

You could hear Joel and Henry talking between themselves, Joel's voice sounding wearing as the adrenaline from the evening's events wore off. You were glad of the chance to have some time to yourself, your own body sore and bruised. Your back ached and you rubbed as you eased yourself down onto the bed. Hoping a good night's sleep would help.

You were asleep in minutes.

...

You weren't sure if you'd been woken by the screaming, or the pain, but both of them had made you almost fall from your bed. Your hands shook as you looked down, the sight making you let out a sound that you'd never heard leave your mouth.

"Henry, no!" Joel's voice travelled through the thin door and then...

BANG

...

Joel stood in shock, eyes staring at the lifeless bodies of two boys much too young to have met such fates. Ellie's eyes were trained on Sam, the blood that was pooling beneath his head.

She'd failed him.

She had promised to stay awake with him and she hadn't...

As the gravity of the situation started to settle, Joel looked over to Ellie again, eyes glittering with tears as the tried to inspect the child for any signs of injury.

"Ellie?" He whispered, almost pleading for the girl to look at him and she did, tears falling freely down her cheeks.

Joel didn't hear the door open behind him... He was too focused on Ellie. But when the teenager's eyes flicked to something behind him and widened, he allowed himself to shift his focus.

"Joel." You choked and he turned to look at you, stomach dropping at what greeted him "Something's wrong." You finished as you held out your bloody hand "Something's very wrong."

Next

Taglist form

Michonne: I dare you to kiss the next person who walks into this room.

Y/N: Screw that, I’m not kissing any of you.

*Rick walks in*

Y/N: Fine, I’ll do it. Rules are rules you know

Yours truly,

Seriously. All yours. Truly.

Like or reblog if you would send a love letter to Snape

7+8=15, 15+40=55

What in the world are these answers?? 😅

The End Will Justify It All - Chapter 3

A Negan Series

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Warnings - not too much in this one. Adult themes and some language.

Feedback is always welcome! This series is challenging me for sure, and I'm loving it. Every time I work on it it gets a little longer and starts heading a direction that was unexpected even to me. I hope you'll hang in with me! I think it'll be worth it in the end.

Three days. That’s how long she’d been here. Three days of watching, waiting, learning. Three exhausting days of pretending to want to be one of them and taking advantage of every second alone to search for Daryl, which hadn’t been many. Between the dinners with Negan, and being stuck in the wives’ room, she had only had a few hours yesteday and today to explore. Three damn days in the enemy’s home and all she had to show for it was a wedding ring. Married to a monster.

She had searched every hall she could reasonably claim that she’d gotten lost in while looking her room, or the bathroom, or the kitchen, or whatever else she could think of. After three days, that excuse was losing merit - she should be more familiar with this place by now. Her heart was racing as she tiptoed, barefoot, down another empty hall of closed doors, quietly trying each doorknob. Locked. Locked. Locked. Leaning her ear against the doors, she couldn’t hear anything or anyone inside.

She tried the next. Another locked door. She was starting to lose heart; this hall was yet again a dead end. Would she ever find where they were keeping him? She twisted the next knob – locked. She sighed, glancing at the next door, when something caught her eye. Light. Two doors down at the corner of the corridor, streaming into the hall from…an open door? She flattened herself against the door in front of her, quieting her breath and listening for any sound of someone in the open room. After several minutes frozen there, she tiptoed closer, stopping every few steps to listen again. As she approached, she noticed a red chair against the opposite wall. It sat empty, facing the open door. Flattened against the wall at the edge of the door she paused one last time, before slowly creeping around to peer in.

The apartment before her was small. There was a sink and counters against one wall, a single bed, a chair, and a metal rack of clothes – mostly flannel button down shirts. No people. She ducked inside to get a better look. The apartment was well stocked. A toaster oven, a tv, lamps, a bookcase full of books, and she noticed a few potted plants. The furniture was well used, but slightly dusty. There was no evidence of anything personal in this room, nothing bought or collected like the other rooms she’d snuck into. No evidence anyone had been here recently. This room was waiting for an inhabitant, she realized. She was about to turn and leave when she heard footsteps coming around the corner. Low voices, male, were growing closer.

Her heart racing, she quickly surveyed the room again, this time searching for the best hiding spot. Under the bed wasn’t an option, the mattress was laid on stacks of wood crates. There were not enough clothes on the rack to hide behind. The cabinets on the wall were too small for her to fold into. The footsteps were getting closer, she only had one option.

She ducked behind the solid door just as she heard a voice greet the approaching steps. “Dwighty boy” she heard, and dread filled her. That was Negan’s voice.  He instructed someone to leave so he could speak with Dwight, and she heard rustling of steps outside the door. She squeezed in close and peeked through the crack of the open hinged door. Her heart stopped.

There he was. Daryl. Three days, not even a hint or whisper of him, and now here he was, less than four feet away from her.

---

She’d hoped when Negan had agreed on her first night to let her try out for the Saviors that she’d be able to ask someone about Daryl. Or that she’d be able to talk to any of them at all, learn anything about the place. She’d had no such luck.

She awoke on her second day in the Sanctuary hopeful and eager to start exploring. She dressed in the most practical clothes she could find in her wardrobe, and even asked the guard at the wives’ door for some boots. He’d obtained them for her, just in time to dawn them before… sitting. And waiting. And waiting. She asked him if she’d been sent any instructions on where to go or who to meet with about training or a job. He told her that her orders would come. So, she’d continued to wait.

The wives had pulled her into different activities in the meantime. Scrabble was a favorite of Frankie’s, and they introduced her to their “spa day” ritual, which she gathered was every day. Homemade face masks, manicures, makeup before dinner. It seemed expected of them to be beautiful, and at least it was a way to pass the time. Her impatience grew, however, with every hour that passed. Each wife often left the dorm to walk around the compound, getting some movement and some air, or smoke a cigarette. They seemed to have unquestioned access to wherever they needed to go. She took advantage of that when it was obvious that she wouldn’t be missed. She’d come up empty handed on those brief searches, and each time she returned, she’d asked the guard if her orders had come. He’d just shook his head.

By the time the instructions came for her to join Negan for dinner a second night, she was fuming.

She stomped into his apartment with as much attitude as her high heels would allow, her arms crossed, demanding to know why she had been cooped up in that room all day when he’d agreed to let her be part of a Savior team.

Negan’s answering smile didn’t meet his eyes, and it made her uneasy.

“Good evening to you, too,” he drawled, holding out her chair at the table for her. “Would you like to eat before you continue to rip me a new asshole, or should we do this on empty stomachs?”

She huffed as she sat and began piling her plate with the potpie in front of her.

“We’ve only been married for a day and you’re already angry with me?” Negan teased her.

She willed herself calm and forced an apologetic smile on her face. She needed to stay on his good side, throwing a fit this early might raise questions or make him change his mind about her access. She needed Negan to trust her.

“I’m sorry,” she began, “I have always had a quick temper. I told you, I’m not great at sitting around. I got impatient. I apologize.”

Again, his answering smile didn’t meet his eyes, but he seemed satisfied with her apology.

“I’d like to play a game to start our evening,” he said after a quiet few minutes of eating. “To get to know one another a little better. We are married now, after all.”

“What game?” she asked around a mouthful.

“A drinking game,” he replied, standing and walking to his bar cart in the corner. When he returned, he brought two shot glasses and a decanter of an amber colored liquid.  “I’ll ask you a question, and if you answer - honestly - you get to ask me a question in return. If you don’t answer, or if I think your answer is unsatisfactory, you take a shot and I get to ask another question.”

“I see. And do the same rules apply to you?”

“Sure,” he replied, mischief dancing in his eyes. “I take the rules of games very seriously.”

This made her nervous. She had no way of knowing what he would ask. She could always skip the question if she didn't like it, but too many questions skipped would certainly raise suspicions. She steeled herself as she took her last few bites of food, preparing for the worst.

When she raised her head, she found Negan watching her. She nodded and plastered a smile to her face.

“Sounds sexy. Let’s play.”

He grinned as he poured two shot glasses of the drink and slid one across the table to her.

“My first question,” he said, “is how long were you part of Rick’s group?”

She silently released a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. She felt a little relief at how simple the question was. She recounted the basic story of coming upon Rick's group in a small church in Georgia several weeks before they found Alexandria, and traveling with them to Virginia, looking for the family of one of their guys.

“How did you all find Alexandria?” Negan asked as her short story came to an end.

“I think it’s my turn for a question,” she teased him, “unless you want to skip that do a shot?”

He grinned in response and gestured for her to ask her question.

This was more pressure than answering. It was a good opportunity to get information, maybe even find out where Daryl is, if she could ask casually enough... She would have to be very careful how she approached it. She decided to start slowly, not too eager to get telling information from him.

“How many communities do you have working for you?” She asked, after some contemplation. Maybe a train of questions that make her seem curious about his operation would seem less suspicious when she got to Daryl.

“A lot,” he answered proudly, “I won't waste time counting them all. It’s a lot though. It has to be, to feed all our people.” A lot. There were a lot of other communities nearby. Potential allies. She filed that information away for later.

“How did your group find Alexandria?” He asked again, now that it was his turn.

“They found us. Their scouts had been watching us on the road. All but starved to death, desperate, and nearly feral. They took us in and gave us jobs. Have you always been the leader of the Saviors?”

Negan’s dark eyes stared at his glass for a long minute. She wasn’t sure he was going to answer, when he finally said, “No, but the guy before me was weak, he didn’t know what he was doing. It’s been me for long enough, and we’re all better for it. You’ve seen what we’ve become. I got us here.”

There was a pause as she took in what he said. He wasn’t wrong. She didn't really want to be here, but she had to admit that it worked. People were safe and fed, and there was a sense of order. Had she found this before Rick’s group, she wouldn’t have hesitated to become part of it.

“If you only got there a month ago, how did Rick end up in charge?” Negan asked.

“Who said Rick was in charge?” she countered.

Negan gave her a pointed look.

“It wasn’t on purpose, necessarily. There was an attack from some crazy outside group – not your guys. A bunch of walkers got past the walls; lost a lot of people - including the town’s leader. Rick is just the sort of guy that others follow, so the natural option was for him to step into the role.”

She hesitated a moment. “What’s your plan for them?” she asked, risking the question. Hoping it felt like an organic follow up. Negan drained his shotglass, not giving anything away. Damn. “What’s your plan for Daryl?” she was risking even more, now, but she wasn’t sure she’d have an opening again.

“I lost a lot of good fighters,” he answered. “I need more, and I like his spirit. He’ll make a great Savior once I wear him down.” She buried the dread that rose in her at his words and willed her heart to stop pounding.

Now his turn, Negan asked her “Who is Rick’s secondhand man?”

Realization hit her like a slap to the face. She should have guessed sooner his purpose for playing this game. She’d been blind, too focused on her own agenda to bother considering his. She’d have to be more careful about her answers now. If she revealed too much about Rick or Alexandria, she could put her friends in even more danger.

“All these questions about Rick…” she said, with a raised eyebrow and a hint of seduction in her voice, “I’m starting to feel a little jealous…” She took her glass and threw the shot to the back of her throat. She coughed a little as she swallowed. Whiskey had always done that to her.

Negan searched her face before grinning and continuing, “I would hate to have my new wife feeling neglected this soon. Tell me, what did you do before the world fell?”

“That's more like it,” she said with a slight curl of her lip. “Although a little difficult to answer. I worked a lot of jobs; I was putting myself through grad school. Took as many part-time jobs as I could.  I had two semesters left, and was already working on my thesis when the outbreak began.”

“Psychology,” she added, as she saw him start to speak again. He confirmed that was his next question with a slight nod of his head. “Same question to you,” she asked, settling back in her chair to keep the room from spinning. She hadn’t done a shot in ages, and her time on the road left her smaller than she ever was during her college partying era. Another shot or two and she wasn’t sure she could trust herself to answer anymore questions.

“I worked with kids,” Negan responded. “Gym teacher and coach.”

She didn’t try to hide a look of surprise, which made Negan chuckle. “I get that a lot when I answer that question.” She would have to work through that information later, figure out what that said about him as a person. The types of people who chose teaching positions… well, it begged the question what had happened to form him into... this? She didn’t have time to flesh that thought out as Negan launched into his next inquiry.

“You studied psychology, and you spent some decent time with him… if you were me, what would your next move against Rick be?”

Shit. She walked right into that one. How was she so off her game tonight?

She searched his face for a minute, took the decanter of whiskey and filled her glass. She met his glare as she gulped the shot down, stifling her cough this time. As she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, she said, “I left their group to join you, but I don’t hate them. I’ll follow orders out there, but you can’t expect me to plot against them in here.”

Negan chewed his lip as he studied her, narrowing his eyes. She waited for his next question or her dismissal. She hoped for the latter.

“If you were me, what would your next move against Rick be?” he asked again, a malicious tone encroaching his voice.

She filled her glass again, but Negan’s hand appeared on its rim, pressing it to the table as she tried to lift it. “I’d like you to answer this one.” He said, threat in his voice despite the polite smile he wore.

As she made to protest, he cut her off. “You see, you asked to be more than just my wife - which stung a little, I won’t lie. But I am a generous husband, I like my wives to be happy. They always did say, ‘happy wife, happy life.’ I’m not one to argue with an age-old adage, but in order to do that for you, to make you happy… give you a job, if that’s really what you want… I gotta know what value you bring. I gotta know if you can do more than just take orders - I have enough obedient dogs out there. You’ve seen the way they bow to me. I don’t need another dog. What I need… is a wolf. A wolf, or a wife. The choice is yours.”

She stared at him, working to keep the rage she felt from burning through her glare. Bastard.

“I’ll give you until dinner tomorrow. Come back with something good, and I do mean something impressive, or settle in as a stay home wife, dear. You asked what I’ll do with Daryl – I guess you get to make that decision. I’d like him to become one of us, but what I need is information, and if you don’t give it, then I’ll get it from him however I have to."

"You’re dismissed.”

---

She’d played that conversation over in her head too many times to count since returning to her room last night. She worked through all her options, even options that weren’t options. How could she live with herself if she gave him all her friends’ weaknesses? How could she live with herself if she didn’t?

Seeing Daryl now, slumped in that red chair, staring into the room she hid in - her heart broke. He was filthy, his hair a level of greasy that was bad even for Daryl. His eyes were cloudy, dark bags hanging under them like he hadn’t slept in days. She shuddered to think what could put him in such a state - her strong, tough Daryl. She knew he wasn’t breaking, but she couldn’t tell how much he had left in him. He was so ragged, so run down.

Her decision was made. She wouldn’t be the cause of more pain for him. She could never forgive herself for that. For him, she could turn into whatever she needed to be. For him, she could be a wolf.

They’d see just how much of a wolf she was.

Justified, pt. 2

The final piece of the Negan series.

Warnings - some language, implied smut, 18+ only.

It took me a long time to write this one - I kept going back and forth on who she was going to choose. I hope you all like the ending. As always, feedback is welcome! Thanks for reading along.

She hadn’t expected to see him here, in the Kingdom. But then, she did tell him not to go to Rick. She hadn’t known where he would end up, the Kingdom was as probable as any of the nearby settlements.

She didn’t know what they must have thought of her here, opening the gates to find her leading an army of their enemy, begging for help and shelter. It took a long time to convince them of her story. King Ezekiel finally conceded that while she might be telling the truth, they could not take in this many people. He did help them scout out a few buildings nearby, big enough to fit all the Saviors (ex-Saviors?) for a few days. He was gracious enough to provide them food for those few days too. The workers from the Sanctuary who had caught up with them later brought a big stash of food as well, so that took a little of the pressure off.

She’d wanted to ditch them all on their journey to the kingdom, and she thought seriously about doing it. She could easily just excuse herself to the woods to relieve herself and then just keep going. But convictions wouldn’t let her. She’d started this – she’d won their allegiance and their support enough to abandon their best chances at survival. She’d convinced them to turn against Negan and follow her. She was responsible for them now, no matter how much she did not want to be. The Kingdom was the only place she could think to take them, and she’d hoped she could pawn leadership of them off on Ezekiel, but he’d made it clear that would not happen.

Exiting his crown room – an old school theater – after a few long hours of arguing and planning with the helpful King, she paused to breathe. A heavy sigh escaped her as she pinched the bridge of her nose, frustrated that she would have to continue in this position of leadership for the time being.

“Heard you were here,” a deep voice grunted behind her. Surprised, she whirled to find the source of the familiar voice and found herself face to face with Daryl. He was leaning against the wall beside the door she’d just come out of. He looked as gorgeous as she’d ever seen him, muscular arms bare in his cut off sleeves, his hair recently washed, and his wounds from the Sanctuary healed. She didn’t move, but took in every inch of him, checking him for injuries or signs of anything wrong. Satisfied that he was unharmed, she half jumped to clear the space between them, embracing him so hard he would have fallen over had he not already been supported by the wall. He wrapped his arms around her too, hesitantly at first, and then tighter until she could barely breathe. She didn’t care.

The hug seemed to last for minutes, and she only let go enough to move her face to his, instinctively leaning toward his mouth with hers. Before the kiss landed, guilt dropped on her like a ton of bricks, and she found herself pulling away to search his face instead.

“You’re okay?” she asked, brushing hair from his face to see him better.

He met her eyes for only a second before looking at the ground and he responded, “yeh, I’m a’ight.”

There was a tense pause, she had so much she wanted to say to him, so much she wanted to explain, so much she knew would hurt him. She couldn’t find the words, and right now she didn’t have the time.

“I need to see Rick,” she told him, breaking the long silence. “Will you take me?”

“Yeh,” he responded with no hesitation, “I’ll get the bike ready and meet you at the gate in a few minutes.”

As she watched him walk away, her heart ached. She had given so much of herself to free him, and she would do it all again without question. But the stuff that came after… would he love her if he knew? Would she be able to let him? He deserved so much better.

She pushed the thoughts and the lump in her throat down as she walked to the gate to meet Daryl.

--------

Her hand touched the doorknob in front of her. She yanked it back, looking around her in confusion. She didn’t remember walking here. She had set out from the Grimes’ house for the infirmary to see if there were any tampons there - thanking whatever higher power had kindly prevented her from getting pregnant. She and Negan hadn’t exactly been careful about that. She must have gotten lost in thought, and now she was staring at the entrance to the basement where Negan was kept in a cell.

She’d been back in Alexandria for a few days and had effectively avoided getting within twenty yards of this door. She was confused and slightly irritated that she’d somehow ended up here without thinking. Shaking her head to clear it, she turned to resume her journey to the infirmary.

“I can see your shadow from the windows of the door,” she heard Negan call from inside. “I’m in a cage, you don’t have to be afraid to come in. I know you all want to spit in my face!”

She blew a deep breath out and opened the door. She knew nothing good could come of this, but something deep within her pushed her forward.

“Well, if it isn’t my lovely wife,” Negan cooed as she came into view. “I was wondering when my conjugal visits would begin.” He grinned that wicked Negan grin, and she forced herself not to return it – she’d grown to enjoy his dark sense of humor during their time together.

“I’m not your wife,” she replied curtly, “and definitely not here for that.”

“Well, your tune sure has changed,” Negan answered. “If you aren’t here to bang one out, why are you here?”

“Honestly,” she said hesitantly. She knew she shouldn’t continue, but that same thing that pushed her in here kept her talking, “I’m not sure. Maybe part of me wanted to taunt you, to see the fruits of all my labor.”

Negan looked her over for a long moment.

“Or,” he replied, his dark eyes surprisingly soft, “maybe part of you wanted to see if I was okay - if we were okay, after you put me in here. Maybe you’re lonely, and realizing you miss me a little. The reunion isn’t going quite how you hoped, is it?”

She studied his face. She found no trace of mocking, only a knowing look. Her days here had been harder than expected. Rick had welcomed her with a warm hug, and they’d been deliberating for days about what to do with the large group of Saviors now in need of a leader. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t quite trust her. In fact, there was a tension between her and everyone here. She seemed to find herself alone at mealtimes, the Grimes family having either just finished eating as she came in or eating at someone else’s home. They never invited her along. She offered help around the compound whenever she wasn’t in a meeting with Rick, but no one accepted it, claiming they had everything they needed. Maggie was the only one who didn’t seem to hate her. She’d wept when she saw Maggie, alive and well, and hugged her until Maggie complained she couldn’t breathe. They cried together for Glenn, and Maggie made her feel hopeful, like she was still one of them. But she had only seen her that one day, before Maggie returned to Hilltop. And Daryl… well, Daryl was a whole different heartache. They technically shared their previous bed, but he never joined her there at night. Most nights he was still out when she went to bed, and most mornings he was gone before she rose. There was a neat stack of blankets and a pillow on the couch downstairs that told her where he’d been sleeping.

Her face must have reflected these thoughts because when Negan spoke again, he was gentle.

“You don’t fit here as easily as you did before, right?” She met his eyes but didn’t respond.

“It’s because you don’t. You never did,” he continued, “it was a nice thought back then, right? A group of people who loved each other and made each other better? They even made you better… but those people didn’t love you. They loved what you could bring to the table. They loved what they could make you into, who they could change you to be and control you.”

“And I suppose you think you’re better for me, right?” her voice was quiet, but the anger building behind them was unmissable. “Am I supposed to believe you loved me?”

“I think you know the answer to that, y/n, or you wouldn’t be here,” he replied, less gentle now. “And I think you loved me, too. It felt good, right? To be seen for who you are, not who someone wants you to be? You didn’t have to work to be anyone but yourself. I have seen the real you, and the real you flourished with me. You know why? Because we are the same, you and me. We both know that.”

“No,” she said, louder this time, “we don’t. It was a mistake coming in here.” She turned to leave.

As she reached for the door Negan aimed his final shot, “you know once he knows you loved me it will be over. How could he love the girl who fell for the guy who killed his friends and put him through hell?” He hit his mark.

She forced her chin to remain high and her shoulders to refrain from slumping as she left and held that position until she reached her room in the Grimes’ home where she stayed until nightfall.

--------

That night didn’t bring much sleep. Negan’s words haunted her. He’d said she loved him. It echoed in her head louder than anything else. She didn’t love him, right? How could she, after all he’d done? But then, there was all she’d done, too… She’d seen a softer side to Negan, a glimmer of what he might have once been, before he embraced the monster in him.

When she did manage to drift off, her dreams were full of Negan, over and over she would find herself alone with him, in a lover’s embrace, and then suddenly he was a walker, biting her, taking her down with him. She would wake sweating and shaking.

She knew he was right…they were the same. She knew his monster because she had been fighting the same one in her since the world fell apart. Once Daryl knew the truth, he would never look at her the same. There was a good chance he would hate her. She wasn’t sure she didn’t hate herself.

After the third one of these dreams woke her, realizing the night would not bring rest, she sat up in bed rubbing her eyes.

“You a’ight?” She yelped and jumped at the sound of Daryl’s voice across the room. She turned on the bedside lamp to find him sitting in the armchair close to the door.

Her heart racing, she whispered, “I didn’t know you were in here.”

“Didn’t mean to scare ya,” he half-whispered, matching her volume. “I came to check on ya when I got in, you were tossin’ and turnin’ and hollerin’ some.”

“Sorry,” she admitted, “bad dreams.”

“Yeh, I get those, too” he said as he rose and made towards the door.

“Daryl,” she said a little louder, longing in her voice. “Stay.” He paused with his hand on the knob.

“Please.”

He slowly turned and after removing his shoes climbed into bed and sat beside her. They didn’t touch, and she didn’t turn off the lights.

They sat in silence for what felt like an hour.

She finally worked up the nerve to speak. She needed to tell him, needed him to know who she’d become in Negan’s thrall, and needed to see his response. She knew it would be awful, but if she didn’t face this now, she would go insane in the tension.

“Daryl,” she started, but he cut her off.

“I don’t need to know, y/n.”

“What?”

“I don’t need to know what hapn’d in there. I know it was bad, it was bad for me, too. But I know ya did what ya did to save me, and then to survive. ‘sall I need to know about it.”

She didn’t know what to say. She grabbed his hand, expecting him to pull away, but he let her hold it. He closed his hand around hers in response and looked her in the eye.

“We all have summin’ dark in us,” he said, his eyes gleaming with memories of his own, “what makes us different from him is we fight it. ‘n we fight it together. I’ll help ya fight it if you’ll let me.”

Speechless, she reached up to cup his cheek with her free hand and stared into his eyes for a long moment. She hoped he could read in her eyes everything she wanted to say but couldn’t find the words.

When she leaned in to kiss him, he met her halfway. They shared a long, passionate kiss, until desire swept them both under its current and they found themselves naked, tangled up in one another, moving in rhythm until they were both spent. She felt new - refreshed somehow, even though she hadn’t slept.

She raised herself up on one arm to look at his face. He was gazing at her, lazily combing through her unbound hair with his fingers.

“Can we leave here?” she asked him, her face earnest.

He sat up at that.

“Leave this room?” he asked.

“Leave Alexandria. We can go to the Kingdom, or Hilltop with Maggie. We can still be part of this,” she said, waving her hand, “just not in Alexandria?”

He studied her face for a long moment before asking, “why? Wus wrong w’ Alexandria?”

“I think,” she said slowly, trying to find the right words, “our people may need to heal before they will let me in again. I don’t know if I can be the town pariah long-term.”

He waited for more. She sighed, knowing he knew her well enough to see right through that answer.

“I can’t be here while he’s here, Daryl,” she said, now pleading with her eyes. “He… Rick will never move him out of that cell. I have a lot of healing to do, a lot to work through. You and I have a lot of healing to do together. I don’t think we can do that when he’s two blocks away.”

Daryl didn’t answer immediately. After a long pause he said, not meeting her eyes, “Rick needs me here. ‘stoo much to plan. Too much to do. Can’t leave.”

Her heart shattered. She needed the chance to start fresh with him. Needed it to be somewhere far away from Negan and the impossible hold he had over her. She could tell from Daryl’s face there would be no changing his mind.

--------

Daryl awoke with a strange sense that something was… off. He tried to call to mind what could be causing the unease, but nothing came. Things with y/n had been better since their late-night talk three nights ago. He was glad for that, the tension upon their return to Alexandria had been eating him alive. He’d heard enough talk from the Saviors during his captivity to know what Negan required of his wives, and the night Dwight walked him back to his cell on a strange route would never stop ringing in his ears. Dwight stopped him outside of a room he hadn’t seen before, but quickly learned – as the savior posted outside the door relayed to Dwight that Negan was busy inside – it was Negan’s room. As they turned to leave, a familiar moan made its way to Dwight’s ears. His heart stopped and his breath caught as he recognized the pleasurable sounds of her – he’d know those noises anywhere. He’d certainly enticed them out of her enough. She had been behind that door, making them for Negan. Daryl’s fists instinctively clenched at the memory. Dwight had grinned wickedly at him as he locked him in his cell that night, not even playing that god-awful song he’d been torturing him with. He left Daryl in silence to replay what he’d heard over and over.

Daryl knew that hadn’t been the last time she’d been with Negan while she was in his Sanctuary. He’d had a lot of time to work through that and the emotions it brought with it before she got out. They all came flooding back the first time he saw her again, and the guilt she wore plain as day in her eyes didn’t help. He couldn’t stand it, couldn’t be around her without wanting to tear Negan’s throat out with his bare hands. So, he’d distanced himself. Until he saw how much she was struggling.

Everyone in Alexandria seemed to avoid her like she smelled bad. He watched as it wore her down, and even from a distance saw the demons she was battling. He’d been there before. He still had to fight demons and the person he’d been before all this. Merle had brought out the worst in him since childhood, and before his death it had been a constant battle not to slip into his old self. Daryl began to understand her struggle and found that each time he saw her slumped shoulders and haunted eyes, his heart ached for her more and more.

He’d forgiven her and was happy to move on. She’d seemed grateful enough for that the night they reconnected. Though things were better between them, she still seemed haunted. She tossed and turned beside him most nights, and when she did sleep almost always woke up shortly after, sweating or silently crying.

Daryl knew why. She’d told him. She’d all but begged him to leave with her so she could get away from Negan – be free of him for good. It stung like a blow to the face to realize Negan still affected her like that, and he’d told her no to spite her for it. He’d been regretting that since.

He turned over in bed to reach for her, wanting to hold her and smell her hair, the clean, light rose scent always calmed him – but the bed was empty. That wasn’t unusual, she often gave up trying to sleep sometime in the wee hours of the morning.

Still feeling somewhat uneasy, Daryl decided to find her. Maybe he just needed to talk to her to get his balance back.

An hour later he returned to their room, hopeful they’d just missed each other, and she was back in the house. Not finding her in their room or the attached bathroom, he moved downstairs to see if she was in any of the shared living spaces.

Daryl was returning to the kitchen from the back den when Rick bounded through the front door looking frenzied and angry. Daryl raised his eyebrows, silently questioning the sheriff.

“We got a problem,” Rick said, somewhat out of breath.

“What?” Daryl asked him audibly this time.

“Come with me,” was all Rick said before bolting back outside and down the steps of the porch. As Daryl moved to follow him, he saw something he hadn’t noticed earlier. Or rather, he didn’t see it – the bag and gun y/n hung from the mounted coat rack by the door was gone.

Daryl pushed that away to figure out later as he tried to catch up with Rick. He followed him straight to the basement that housed Negan in a cell. He braced himself for the worst as he pushed past Rick and through the door to investigate and saw – nothing.

Daryl cursed at the sight of the empty cell, the door swinging open, singing a taunting tune.

“Nothin’ was broken,” Rick said, “so someone had to let him out. Or he picked the lock somehow. But we are very careful about what goes into his cell with his food, someone would have had to help him either way.”

Daryl threw the cell door all the way open and stomped inside to look around. A yellow piece of paper folded and placed neatly on the cot caught his attention. He picked it up and carefully opened it, already certain what it would tell him.

I’m sorry. That was all it said.

“It was y/n,” Daryl said so softly Rick wasn’t sure he heard him right.  

“What? How do you know?”

Daryl handed him the note. “It’s her handwritin’.” The pen matched the note he’d found in his cell at the Sanctuary, and other little notes she’d left him around the house in their months before Negan.

At that moment, Michonne burst through the outer door. “Rick,” she managed to get out through her panting. They stared at her expectantly as she caught her breath.

“I was checking in on our supplies this morning,” she finally said once she could breathe. “There are a few guns missing, and a good bit of food. Enough for someone going on a run, but no one was scheduled to this week.”

Rick gave Daryl a knowing look.

“I ran to the front gate to see if Eugene knew anything. He told me Rosita had the night watch, but that y/n came out in the middle of the night and relieved her – told Rosita she couldn’t sleep anyway, she might as well be useful. When Eugene got to his post this morning, there was no one there. And a car is gone.”

Daryl stormed past them both and out the door, fuming. He was going to hunt them down. He’d kill Negan and be done with the evil bastard forever. And her. He didn’t know what he would do with her yet, but he knew he was done with her. This was twice she’d chosen him over Daryl – once when she snuck Daryl out and stayed behind. He watched her walk right to Negan like she belonged there. Now she’d not only let Negan out, but run off with him?

He didn’t notice Rick running up behind him until he spoke, “maybe you should let ‘em go, Daryl. She won’t let him come after us, anyway, she would never do that.”

“Naw,” Daryl huffed, “this is personal.” He reached his motorcycle and mounted it. He nearly peeled out as he left the house driveway and made for the gate of Alexandria. More of their people had gathered there, wanting to know what was going on.

He weaved past them on his bike and was about to shout at Eugene to open the gate when he noticed it was already half open, and someone was coming inside.

Daryl froze in confusion as he watched her walk inside. She’d come back. On foot? His heart was pounding in his chest, he didn’t know what to make of this.

She was sweaty and dirty, and had some walker blood on her, but he didn’t see any injuries on her as she walked past everyone’s questioning looks straight to Daryl on his bike.

“I guess y’all found my note,” she said with a smile that didn’t meet her eyes. He didn’t return her smile.

“I’m sorry, Daryl,” she said, tears filling her eyes now. “I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t stay with him here. But I couldn’t leave you, either. This was all I could think to do.”

Rick was beside them now. “You let him go?”

“Yes,” she said, not taking her eyes from Daryl’s. “I gave him food and a couple of weapons, blindfolded him, and drove as far away as possible, taking random turns and even backtracking, until the car ran out of gas. Then I told him to figure it out from there, but if I ever saw his face again, I’d shoot him on sight. I walked back. He didn’t follow me.”

Rick sighed heavily, then grasped her shoulder. “Well, then. That’s done.”

“Yes,” she said, smiling at little at Daryl now, “it is.” He nodded and couldn’t fight the returning smile creeping to the edges of his mouth.

She climbed on his bike, wrapped her arms more tightly around his waist than she needed to, and he drove them both home.