"Negan," Rosie said, standing straight across from him. He wasn't listening to her. He needed to. He really, really needed to listen to her, but he just wouldn't.

They were getting ready to go back to the Reapers' outpost. The plan was for them to wear walker skins and blend in with a herd, like the Whisperers had. They'd lead the herd to the Reapers and sneak inside the compound. Then they'd find Daryl, get their food, and get the hell out.

The problem with that was that Liam was there, and he made a promise to Ian and Rosie. Not a promise they wanted to hear, but a promise indeed.

"If Liam sees you, he's gonna kill you. He doesn't give a shit what anyone says. He wants you dead. Your people killed his momma," Rosie tried to explain, her mind moving faster than her mouth, causing her to stumble over a few of the words.

"I heard you the first fifty-thousand times, Rosie. But I'm telling you, I don't care. I'm going with you guys. That was the whole damn point of me coming along on this trip," Negan insisted, pressing his fingers into his eyes.

"I think he should come," Ian chimed, bumping his arm against Rosie's.

"Shut up, Ian," Rosie sighed, rolling her eyes at him.

"Just saying. Would it really be so bad if Liam..."

"Shut up, Ian," Rosie said for a second time, giving him a mean glare.

"I admire your honesty, Ian," Negan joked, a small, humorous smile on his face.

"Shut up. Liam will go out of his way to kill you. I'm not kiddin'. You have to stay back," Rosie huffed, her arms crossed over her chest.

"If anyone should be staying back, it should be you two," Negan said, gesturing to both Ian and Rosie. Their faces were now clean, but the dark cuts and bruises stood out against the pale color of their skin. A grim reminder of what had happened. Of who had done what. "You guys are already banged up enough. There's no point in you going back there," Negan went on.

"Yes, there is. We can help, first of all, and second of all, we can show you the best way in," Rosie insisted, raising her eyebrows to emphasize her point. Really, she just wanted to see Daryl again as quickly as she could, so she could tell him that she was ok and she didn't blame him.

"We don't know if our way out was the best way in. It was the only way we knew," Ian pointed her, scrunching his face up with confusion.

"Ian, shut up," Rosie spat, growing more and more irritated.

"I don't know how you liked it in there, Rosie, but I fucking hated it. I'm not looking to go back there," Ian said, his tone tense and frustrated. Of course, he wanted to help, too, but if he had learned anything from this trip, it was that they were kids. Kids who weren't built to fight. Kids who should have been back where it was safe.

"We have to go back! The more people, the better. If we go with 'em, we have a higher chance at winnin' this fight," Rosie argued.

"Both of you shut up for a second," Negan interjected, holding his hands out between them. Rosie gave Ian one more glare before turning her attention back to Negan. "Rosie, you just proved my point. If we all go, we have a higher chance of getting what we want. So, if I'm staying back, so are you two. You're hurting and he was shot less than 24 hours ago. Either we all go, or none of us do."

"What about Liam?"

"If Liam kills me, he kills me. I deserve it, ok? He has every right to be pissed at me," Negan replied.

"No. Fuck Liam. He's killed people, too. He ain't any better than you," Rosie spat without thinking.

"Jesus, Rosie, listen to yourself for a second," Ian interjected, grabbing her upper arm and turning her to look at him. She ripped her arm out of his grip furiously. Before she could argue with him, though, he went on. "Negan is a grown man! He knows the difference between right and wrong, and he did horrible, shitty things! He killed Glenn and he killed Abraham, and he killed Liam's mom."

"So what?! Liam's done shitty things, too! You forget what he did to my brother's hoodie?" Rosie asked.

"He was twelve! He was a little kid! He still is a kid!" Ian shouted. He didn't think what Liam did was right, either. He didn't even like the kid much at all, but he didn't think he deserved to be compared to someone as monstrous as Negan. Negan killed Glenn and Ian would never forgive him for that. He could try to move on, like everybody else, but he couldn't forgive him.

"It's not- I just don't want him to-!"

"It's bullshit, comparing Liam to Negan, and you know it."

"Just stop it! You know what I mean! He can't die! He can't!"

"And why the hell is that? Because he coached you when you were nine?"

"You don't get it!"

"Ok, both of you, calm the hell down. You're sure as shit not working anything out by screaming at each other, calling for the dead. Take a beat, chill the hell out, and we can all get ready to go. We're not arguing about this anymore. We're all going," Negan interrupted the two teens once again, using his body as a physical barrier between them.

"Negan," Rosie said.

"I'll be careful, Rosie. I'll keep an eye out. I won't die," Negan insisted, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"You don't know that."

"I can't know that, but I'm taking the risk for our people, ok?"

Our people. Bold words coming out of Negan's mouth.

After a long beat of silence, Rosie let out a sigh. "Fine. Ok," she huffed.

"Ok. No more arguing. Maggie's waiting for us. Let's keep moving," Negan said, giving each kid a pat on the back.

Rosie glared at Ian behind Negan's back. "You're s'posed to be on my side, asshole," she whispered.

Ian rolled his eyes and flipped her off in return.

"Hey. What did I say?" Negan said, looking back at them. "No more arguing."

•

Rosie hated every part of this. She hated going back to the Reapers. She hated that Negan was on his way to being killed by Liam. She hated that her brain felt like it had a heartbeat and the cuts on her face stung. She hated especially that the damn walker skin she was wearing was rank. And she really hated that she was walking amongst the dead, like Alpha once had.

But this is what they had to do. Their whole reason for leaving Alexandria was to get the food and bring it back to everyone who needed it. Judith needed it. RJ needed it. Gracie. Kids and adults alike. Plus, they needed to find Daryl. So they needed to go through with this. They had other choices, of course, but this was the only reasonable option for them.

So, with her shoulders slumped low and a dead woman's face over her own, Rosie dragged her feet against the ground, blending in with the herd of walkers. She could see the Reapers' compound already.

It was weird leading the dead. They were like an army. An unstoppable, unkillable army. No wonder Alpha's ego was so big. She was probably on some sort of power trip, feeling like she ruled all of those walkers. Like she was some sort of God or something.

The compound was surrounded by extremely tall walls, just like every other intelligent community left standing in the world. At the top of those walls, Rosie could see some of the people looking out at the herd. She was pretty sure she could spot Liam's light hair, and maybe even Pope's weird-looking hat. But she was positive she could see Daryl up there. He was probably biting his nails and trying to hide his anxiety, Rosie would have to guess. He did that a lot.

From far away, though, they all looked like little ants. It was funny to think how powerful and dangerous they could be when they looked so small. But, Rosie supposed, the walkers probably looked the same way from all the way up on the wall. Which was probably why they had no problem sending a man down from that wall, out into the field, and at the front of the herd to lead them the opposite way.

That plan might have worked on any normal herd, but it wasn't going to work on this one.

Rosie looked to her right, where Negan was walking.

"We can lead half the herd the other way, swing around, and go at him from two different angles," Negan whispered to the rest of the group.

They all nodded and began to work on splitting the herd. Ian and Rosie went with Negan, leading their half of the herd through the woods while Maggie, Gabriel, and Elijah continued with the rest of the walkers, following after the bate the Reapers had sent out.

It was a while before Rosie and Negan were able to get their half around to meet the other half, but they managed to do it. When they got around to him, the guy the Reapers sent was killing off several walkers by stabbing them in their skulls. Negan made his way to the front of the herd and waited for the Reaper to get to him. When the Reaper tried to stab him in the head, Negan dodged the swipe and sent his knife into the man's stomach.

He didn't feel bad. Not even in the slightest. When he used to kill people when he was the leader of the Saviors, he almost always at least felt some sort of guilt, whether it was like a whispering in the back of his brain or an intense and overwhelming screaming that rang in his ears. But he didn't feel any of that while killing this man. His brain was silent.

All he had to do was remind himself of the terrified looks on Rosie's and Ian's bruises faces, and that was enough for him to kill all of the Reapers ruthlessly and heartlessly.

What was better, though, was a slow, painful, and grueling death of his flesh being torn off of his bones, ending his life as food for the dead.

After the swipe from Negan, the Reaper stumbled back against Rosie, and she stuck her knife in and out of his shoulder.

The walkers did the rest for them.

"Wells, do you copy?" The voice came from the radio in the Reaper's hand, which dropped to the dirt moments after he was tackled to the ground by a particularly strong walker. It was Leah's voice.

Rosie really, really hated Leah. To be fair, Rosie hated her before she even knew who she was- for, first, being Daryl's secret girlfriend, and then second, breaking his fragile heart- but now it seemed Rosie had a fair enough reason to wish death upon her.

Negan picked up the walkie-talkie off of the ground and they walked away, continuing on with whatever walkers that weren't preoccupied with the Reaper.

Ian made his way over to Rosie's side. They limped, side by side.

"Do you ever feel bad?" Ian whispered, glancing over at her.

Rosie furrowed her eyebrows beneath her mask. "About what?" she asked.

"Killing," Ian clarified. "Or having people kill for you."

Frowning, Rosie looked back at her feet. "Sometimes. Not always," she replied.

"When?"

"Don't know. Sometimes I feel like they deserve, and sometimes I feel like they deserve a second chance. Like the- the, uh, guys I met after the prison. Watchin' Rick and Daryl kill 'em... I didn't feel bad. At all. They deserved it. But when me and Maggie and Carol got taken by some Saviors, Maggie killed every single one of 'em. And I don't think all of 'em deserved it. Some of 'em were good people, I think, on the inside. Just misguided. Or somethin'. I don't know."

"What about these people?" Ian asked, his heart aching in his chest. He always felt guilty killing or having people kill for him. Every time. But, for whatever reason, he didn't feel it this time. He didn't feel sorry for that Reaper while it was being torn apart. He felt nothing at all.

"They deserve it," Rosie answered quickly.

"You know?"

"I hope."

They continued on walking and hoping.

By nightfall, it seemed the Reapers had come up with a new approach to taking out the walkers. In fact, every couple of minutes, and new blast of dirt and walker bits erupted into the air, shaking the ground ever so slightly. Rosie's heart raced, wondering when one would hit the wrong spot and a living person would be dead. She hoped that if it were to happen to any of them, it would happen to her.

Daryl had to be doing something in there to stop it, Rosie thought. Or hoped, rather.

Rosie wasn't sure if the Reapers had figured out that they were in with the herd, or out there at all, but she hoped that they were none the wiser. The chances of that were lower than the chances they already knew, though.

Those people had shown that they were smart. They were at least smart enough to have survived all this time. They were smart enough to set off a shit ton of explosions. And, unless they found them, they had to be smart enough to make those explosions.

A blast went off to Rosie's right, making her jump. She looked around her. She could see Negan and Elijah, but she couldn't see Maggie, Ian, or Gabriel. Elijah was grasping at his leg and limping. The explosion must have sent something into his leg.

"How much longer you think we can stay out here?" Rosie whispered to Negan, who was to her right.

"As long as it takes, kid," Negan whispered in return.

"Sure we'll make it that long?" Elijah added in, his voice strained and in pain.

"No. I'm not sure," Negan huffed, keeping his focus on the land ahead of them.

•

Daryl stood on the roof of the compound, Leah right by his side. His hands shook ever so slightly at his sides, anxious beyond his control. He stared at Leah as Pope's voice spoke over the radio, giving the go-ahead to set off the explosions that would take out the rest of the walkers- the walkers that included his living family.

Leah turned to light the fuse and Daryl's arm lashed out, grabbing onto her arm to stop her. "Hey, hey," he whispered, stepping closer to her. She turned around to look at him, her eyebrows slightly pinched together with confusion. "I have to tell you somethin'," he said, his heart beating fast and hard in his chest.

"What?" Leah asked, confused by his behavior. She never saw him act so terrified over nothing.

Daryl swallowed, tapping each of his fingers together at his side. "There's people down there walking with the dead," he spoke, his voice low and quiet. Leah's expression stayed confused, but he could sense a hint of anger from her. It was nothing compared to how she would feel after he revealed the real secret. "My people."

"What?" Leah breathed out, her heart dropping into her stomach.

"They're here for the food that Pope took from 'em. They'll starve without it, and they're good people. They got families," Daryl explained in a rushed, panicky manner. If Leah didn't make the decision he needed her to, he would have to kill her. And he didn't want to kill her. Not yet, anyway. "They don't know what's about to happen to them. Please. You can't let them die like this."

"Daryl-" Leah tried to speak, her anger growing stronger than her shock and surprise.

"My daughter's down there, Leah," Daryl interjected, a devastatingly desperate look on his face.

For a moment, all there was was silence as Leah processed his words. "Daughter?" she asked, her eyes wide. Daughter. No. No, Daryl didn't have a daughter. He would have told her if he had a daughter. She would have met the girl before. She couldn't have just not known. He couldn't have just been lying to her all this time, could he?

"The blonde girl. Rosie. That's my kid," Daryl told Leah. She shook her head, as if she didn't believe him at all. "My daughter's out there, Leah, and she can't die. Not yet. Not like this."

Not yet. He needed to see her again. He needed to hold her, to kiss her cheek, and to tell her that he was sorry. That he was so, so sorry and he would never lay a hand on her again. He needed to bring her back home and fill an icepack for her to hold against her bruises. He needed to sit by her side and listen to her tell him about dinosaurs or some other thing he didn't really care about, so that everything could be normal again. She couldn't die.

But, "You lied to me," was all Leah had to say. All she heard from him was that he lied. That he had betrayed her trust like it was nothing. "This whole time, you've been lying to me."

"To protect my family. I'm sure you can understand that," Daryl said honestly.

Tears flooded the rims of Leah's eyes. She didn't know what to do. "Carver told me not to trust you," she said, shaking her head. A lump formed in her throat, breaking her voice in half. "But I wanted to. So badly."

"I didn't think I could trust you either when I saw who you were with."

"You didn't trust me from the beginning," Leah argued. If he trusted her from the beginning, he would have let her meet his kid. He would have let her be a part of their family. Maybe they never would have left each other if he had just told her why he couldn't stay with her at the cabin or why she couldn't stay with him at his camp. But it was all because he had a five-foot-six-inch tall secret.

"I couldn't take any chances. Not with her," Daryl said.

"What do you think Pope is gonna do when he finds out you're with her?" Leah asked, her meaning Maggie.

"He doesn't have to know."

Leah almost wanted to scoff. Of course, Pope had to know. If she didn't tell him, he'd just figure it out himself. And things would be a lot more dangerous that way.

"You could come with me," Daryl offered. He was desperate. He didn't want to have to hurt Leah, but he couldn't let her do what she was about to do. "Just please let me stop him. Please. You gotta help me."

The door to the rooftop swung open with a squeal.

"It is time for our enemy to face their reckoning!" Pope shouted as he made his way over to Leah and Daryl. Daryl stepped back, away from Leah. "Oh, my. What were you two talkin' about?" he asked, sensing the tense atmosphere between the two.

Swallowing back the lump in her throat, Leah answered with, "Family."

Pope nodded. "Ain't nothin' more important. The only real that we got left in this world. Would you agree, Dixon?"

Daryl nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I would."

"When this is done... I want you to find that woman for me. Bring her to me, Dixon," Pope said, giving Daryl's shoulder a squeeze. Daryl nodded, but it meant nothing. "Good man." Pope went to look over the edge at where the walkers were making their way in. They were getting closer and closer. The explosions outside the walls clearly weren't enough. He turned to another Reaper who had just made his way onto the rooftop. "Aim into the courtyard and fire," he ordered.

"Sir?" the Reaper asked, his eyes wide.

"Uh-huh. You heard me. Now!" Pope shouted. His anger was just getting more intense as more and more walkers flooded in, past their walls.

The Reaper got to work, setting up the explosives for firing.

"Our people are out there," Leah said, rushing to Pope's side.

"I am aware of that."

"So, let's call 'em back in," Leah suggested.

"Alert the enemy? No. God will protect them," Pope insisted emotionlessly.

"And what if He doesn't?"

Pope turned to her, his face lacking any and all sympathy for any of the people he called his family. "Then it was their time to die," he said.

"Pope, we can win this another way."

"We will win this our way."

"You can't kill-"

"I can. I can!" Pope shouted in her face. Leah stared at him, her eyes wide. "The Lord speaks through me! You don't question the Lord! You don't question me! Light it up!"

Daryl stood off to the side, his hand on his knife as the Reaper set the fuse. He looked at Leah, waiting to see if she'd do anything. She didn't. Not yet, at least. Daryl pulled his knives out of their sheaths, ready to use them on Pope. But before he could get the chance, Leah stuck her own knife into the back of Pope's neck.

The other Reaper on the roof started to run towards Leah, but Daryl sent his knife into the man's chest, dropping him instantaneously. Leah began to sob, shocked by her own actions, as Daryl rushed to cut the fuse, stopping the spark from reaching the explosives.

Rosie was safe. At least, for now.