Hi everyone! I hope you are excited for the new update!

Happy Reading!!!

<><><><><>

Daryl

I led the way down the ditch to the overturned Humvee. Smoke was rising from it, but I didn't know if it was just the engine settling or if a fire had started. If it was a fire it was a guess how long we had until the fire hit the gas tank. 

"Hey, give me a hand with this," Rick called, heading towards the back where the guns and supplies had been.

"Yep," I responded stepping up and the two of us lifted an overturned wooden crate out of the back.

"Got it," Rick cracked open the crate. It was full of dynamite.

I stared down at it and drew in a breath. "We can use these," I said and I swung my backpack around and started loading it. A plan slowly began forming in my head. I could use this to clear the walkers away from the trailer Jo was stuck in and take out what was left of the saviors. 

"What?" Rick asked in confusion as he watched me gather as much dynamite as my pack could hold.

"Well think about it. There ain't no kingdom no more," I said grimly. It was a huge loss for us. The kingdom's group had been the largest, without their numbers we couldn't go head to head with The Sanctuary, even if Rick's last plan for the scavengers did work. 

"Yeah..." Rick agreed cautiously.

"We know what we got to do," I told him resolutely. "We blow open The Sanctuary and let the walkers flood in. They'll surrender. We'd be done. Hell, we could end this by sundown," I said. I shook my backpack, settling the dynamite already in there so I could fit more. 

Rick went very still and looked from the dynamite to my face as though he couldn't believe I was considering this. "They have workers in there, right? Families too aren't there?" he asked like he didn't already know. He didn't get to be self-righteous now. He was the one who started this. He was the one who risked our family for his war. I wasn't going to let him risk any more of our people to save them. 

I pressed my lips together. I wasn't actually asking for permission. "We'll hit the south side of the main building. The workers live on the north side. They'll be up the stairs before the walkers even get in."

"What if they don't?" Rick challenged. "There are people in there who aren't fighters. Doing this could change that. Make them pick up guns and stand by the Saviors. And if The Saviors don't surrender maybe everyone fights us. And like you said, we don't have the kingdom no more. We can't take the risk. We're not doing this."

We stared each other down. In other words he wasn't willing to take the risk for Jo. But I sure as hell was going to do whatever I had to do to get her out of there. I wouldn't risk Negan getting his hands on her, no matter what Rick said. 

I wasn't asking for permission. 

"Naw, you ain't doing this," I said and I turned to head back towards my bike, my backpack over one shoulder. Rick reached out and grabbed my shoulder. I whipped around to face him, my free hand curling into a fist. I'd had enough.

"There's a plan," he said, working to keep his voice calm and level. "And everyone's going to stick to it." 

And he pointed his finger in my face.

I slapped his hand out of my face. "Not everyone Rick," I growled stepping into his space. "Was it part of the plan for you to leave Jo behind so that asshole could get a hold of her? Huh? Was that part of your plan? You swore to me man, you swore you wouldn't let anything happen to her and you left her behind."

Rick looked like I had slapped him. He took a step back.

"Things change. Negan and that other group? This is on them. If people die, it's their fault. Not ours," I growled. 

Rick was shaking his head. He wasn't even listening. He had it so set in his mind that he knew how this was going to go he wouldn't consider changing. "Daryl we can't do this."

"We got our own people to look after," I muttered as I turned away from him and stalked towards my bike.

"We're not doing this," Rick called from behind me. "Hey! I'm not letting you do this." 

He reached out and grabbed me again, spinning me around to face him. I was done. I let him turn me and I used his momentum so when I came around I slammed my fist into his jaw. He cried out in surprise and hit the ground at my feet.

I stood over him, my hands still clenched into fists, waiting to see if he was going to fight back. "This ain't your choice," I snarled. Rick just stared up at me stunned, like he couldn't believe I wasn't just falling in line like I normally did. 

Well this wasn't normal. There was a good chance Jo was still out there, I couldn't let myself consider the alternative. I turned away from Rick and bent down to pick up my bag. 

The coward tackled me when my back was turned and I lost it. I rolled with it and came up in a crouch. It had been a long time since Rick and I mixed it up and he wasn't sure how serious this was. Before he could decide what to do next, I jumped him. I knocked him flat on his back and crouched over him. I punched straight down at his face but he moved at the last second and my fist slammed into the dirt. Pain ran up my arm to my shoulder and I gnashed my teeth together. Rick threw me off of him and grabbed for my bag. He jerked it away from me and tossed it back away from me.

Throwing the bag cost him seconds that he took his eyes off me and I grabbed him from behind in a choke hold. He went limp, trying to force me let him go, but I followed him to the ground. He reached up pulling at my hair and face, but I held on. 

The fire behind us flared.

"Daryl!" Rick gasped pounding against my arm to get my attention. "Daryl!" 

I was finally able to think past my rage enough to realize he had thrown the bag into the smoking humvee. I let him go. "Get up!" I yelled and I grabbed his shoulder dragging him away.  

We ran twenty feet before the explosion threw us to the ground. We laid in the dirt side by side and watched as the dynamite, guns and bullets continued to explode. It was an impressive amount of firepower, and even from this distance I could feel the heat like a weight against my skin.  

Once it was done we both walked away from one another without a word. I headed towards my bike while he walked back towards his jeep. 

The few minutes to myself helped me cool down. And while I thought about just leaving his ass without saying anything more, I couldn't just leave it like that. I drove over to where he had left his jeep. He was trying to get it to start but the engine block had taken a direct hit from the .50 cal. He was wasting his time. 

Rick slammed his fist against the wheel and climbed out of the jeep. He walked towards me, his rifle slung over one shoulder. He stopped next to my bike but he wouldn't look me in the eye. "Look, I understand how you feel about her," Rick started to say and I clenched my teeth to keep myself from going off on his right there. 

Rick sighed. "But there's a plan. We gotta see it through."d he said and he sounded tired.

"I gotta get her out of there." I said and I tried to keep my voice from sounding as desperate as I was feeling. I couldn't just leave her there. Rick might be willing to risk Jo being able to get herself out of there, but I couldn't take the risk that Negan would get to her first. "I can't leave her behind."  

"We gotta win..." he shifted his weight uncomfortably as he tried to hold onto his control without making me more mad. "Choke holds illegal asshole," he said glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. 

I nodded. "Mmm hmm. It sure is," I replied unapologetically. 

"Looks like I'm walking," he said looking down the road towards the garbage dump.

I nodded, I wasn't wasting any more time. "Yep," I said briskly as I settled myself back on my bike. 

He sighed. "Look, we aren't going to leave her. We'll go back after a few days like we planned, we can get the walkers away from the trailer when Sanctuary surrenders. Just like we planned. When Jo would expect the help if she hasn't already gotten herself out. You should head back to Alexandria and see if she's back. I'll meet you when I'm done with the last play," his voice was strong again, sure of himself and me falling in line and following orders. 

"You sure about doing it?" I asked, jerking my chin towards the dump. I knew he was, and as long as he went there it would give me time to act. With Rick gone, no one in Alexandria would stop me. Hell I could think of a few people I could recruit.  

"Yeah, I am," Rick said stubbornly, and he turned and started walking away from me down the road. 

I gunned the bike and sped back towards Alexandria. I didn't have dynamite, but I would come up with something. I couldn't just leave her there. 

<><><><><>

Jo

"Negan," I told him, forcing him to hold my gaze. "We don't have time for this. We have to get out of here." It felt a little like I was making a deal with the devil, but I wouldn't be able to get Gabriel and I out of this alone.

Negan lifted an eyebrow sardonically. "If you have any ideas Hot Friend, I am all ears."

I licked my lips and looked over the three of us trying to come up with a plan. I was willing to lose Negan but not Gabriel. Despite all that had happened we were still in this together. I had never actually seen Negan fight, so I didn't know what he was capable of. Gabriel however was prone to panic and while he was an okay shot, we really couldn't risk him panicking and either wasting the bullets we had or worse freezing up.

I turned to Gabriel. "Did your congregation have a softball team by chance?"

Negan barked out a laugh which only made Gabriel look more confused. "Tell me again Hot Friend how you aren't a leader?"

I turned to Negan, ignoring his question. He would never understand. "And how many knives do you have?"

"Four of your's, onse of mine," Negan reported and pulled his knife.

I scoffed when I saw it. The blade was longer than my forearm. It was a 15 inch Bowie knife that was clearly more for show than function. "That's useless," I snapped. "Compensating?" I challenged because my nerves were on edge and I was getting tired of him picking at me.

A slow smirk drew itself across Negan's face and his eyes gleamed in amusement, "I assure you Hot Friend, that is not that case," and he winked at me.

I sighed, too exhausted by the day to have the patience to deal with this. I should have known better than to say anything more to him than I had to.

"Your little plan here seems to hinge on me handing over all this hardware into your delicate but deadly hands. And I don't trust you not to plant one of these knives in my back while we make our great escape," Negan gestured at me with the gun as he spoke. "And I would let that creepy bastard." He said motioning towards Gabriel with the gun. "Bang one of my wives before I will let him get his greasy, Jesus-loving hands on my Lucille."

I was ready to argue with him, but paused remembering Gabriel's tactic of throwing Negan off balance. "Why is your bat called Lucille?" I asked suddenly.

And I had him.

Negan's whole face shut down in an instant. He paled and looked away, absolutely refusing to answer my question. "So...We'll wait a little bit longer. See if my people can pull their shit together," Negan said trying to change the subject.

Gabriel lifted his eyebrows, meeting my gaze and I nodded encouraging. Between the two of us, if we could keep Negan off balance we stood a chance at beating him. I wanted to kill him, but I wasn't willing to risk my life or Gabriel's life for the chance. Neither Daryl nor I were willing to sacrifice the other just to see Negan dead. It wasn't worth it. Especially when Negan was only half the problem.

"You said everyone is weak," Gabriel observed thoughtfully. "Why are you weak?"

"Wrong question," Negan's voice was sharper but he wasn't willing to admit we had shaken him. "It's how am I weak. You see the thing is, I am also strong. Everyone is a mix," he said with a shrug. He was composing himself again before my eyes. I wanted to catch Gabriel's eye to somehow make him understand we needed a new tactic, but I was afraid Negan would see and pick up on what we were trying to do.

Negan cleared his throat. "You can use your weakness to drive your strength. Look at that magnificent creature over there." he chuckled jerking his chin towards me. "That is a prime example of how to turn a frown upside down. When life gave my Hot Friend lemons she stabbed it in the goddamn throat. I love that shit. That is what I do. See, obviously I am strong as shit. I took this place and it was a damn free-for-all, a loose confederation of assholes, an army made up of gangs of animals and I brought it all together. The last guy that was in charge, he wasn't in charge of shit. He allowed people to be weak. I don't. I make them strong, which makes this world strong." Negan's eyes cut over to me. "Unlike Rick. Rick who makes strong people out to be the bad guys. Rick who hangs his strongest fighters out to dry because he knows he can't control them."

"He-he doesn't do that, you don't know him," Gabriel stammered.

Negan lifted his brows and looked over at me. "Have you asked Mrs. Dixon about that? How about my man Daryl? Cause I didn't see Rick launching a rescue operation to get my Hot Friend's old man outta that piece of shit cell I kept him caged in. And wasn't it Rick who left my Hot Friend here to catch a ride with your self-sacrificing ass? Doesn't really see like old Rick is taking time out of his day to protect his assets."

Gabriel looked back and forth between Negan and I. I opened my mouth once to argue, but I honestly had nothing to say. Negan cut his eyes to me and chuckled as he looked at me triumphantly.

"You're gonna learn Gabey. See, I'm gonna make you my new special project. Gonna make you nice and strong. Gonna find your special purpose. Hell yes, we are," Negan promised.

"We aren't staying," I growled out the words resolutely. I didn't fully understand what all went on in Negan's head, what all he had convinced himself of, but I would not leave any room for doubt on this. I was going to get us out of here and then I was going to kill Negan.

Gabriel's eyes were a little wide around the edges. Negan's words didn't bother me, they were just words, but Gabriel didn't look as convinced. "I-I'm strong. I-I've killed," he stammered out. "I was at the satellite station, I was a part of that!" Gabriel snapped his voice rising with stress.

"Oh, you killed my people while they were sleeping. Well look at you, swinging your dick. Sure Gabe, that's strong, but that's not what I'm talking about." Negan said shaking his head.

Gabriel crossed his hands over his chest. "Jo was there too," he said lifting his chin. "We are all strong because we're united. We're a family."

"Oh! I'm sorry I was confused. I didn't realize mercilessly slaughtering my people in their sleep was a family outing!" Negan responded sarcastically.

"Your people were at fault as well. They kidnapped Jo! Threatened to kill her!" Gabriel's voice rose defensively. He didn't seem to understand I was working to keep Negan's interest away from me.

"Is that so?" Negan asked curiously.

I exhaled. I needed to end this right now. I had scared plenty of people, I just needed Negan to see the truth. I turned to fully face Negan. I slowly let the dark places from the back of my mind, the ones I always worked so hard to hide, come to the front. I let myself really feel all the things that had happened to me. All the things I had survived. I let myself hear the herd pounding on the walls around us and I let myself really think about the fact that I was unarmed.

I met Negan's eyes. "I was captured by your people," I confirmed and my voice was absolutely emotionless. "They're all dead now." I cocked my head to the side ever so slightly. It felt like someone else was remembering what had happened in that warehouse. "I burned most of them alive."

Instead of backing away or looking scared Negan just smiled at me like I was the cutest thing he had ever seen. I had spent a lot of time wondering if something in me had been irrevocably broken by this world. Clearly Negan didn't worry about that. When Negan looked at me it was with veneration. He looked at me like I had won, like this was some great accomplishment instead of the tragedy it was.

"So you're what happened to Paula's crew...she was a tough bitch," Negan's voice was full of admiration. "I should be mad...but I'm just impressed. I know I've said this before, but Jo...you're a Savior. You belong here. You and Daryl. You wouldn't have to be the only ones fighting, here you both would be safe. Hell, you would never have to fight again if you didn't want to. You could push a goddamn broom or wash dishes."

I didn't waste my breath responding. It was never a question. We would never leave our family. Besides Daryl and I had killed too many of his men for him to do anything but lock us up, no matter how badly he wanted to turn us into his little soldiers.

I settled back against the wall and crossed my arms over my chest, wondering if I was fast enough to get the gun away from him before he could shoot me.

Gabriel glanced back and forth between the two of us. I had always seemed to make Gabriel a little uneasy, and this wasn't going to endear him to me. He cleared his throat and looked to Negan, doing his best to take Negan's focus off of me. "Tell me how you're weak. We might be dead soon. You might be dead. Don't you want to confess before that happens?" Gabriel leaned in towards Negan, forcing Negan to acknowledge him. Negan didn't back down, but he was grimacing at how close Gabriel was to him. "Wouldn't you want absolution before that? Forgiveness? It costs you nothing more than saying the truth aloud. You don't think you have anything to confess? People you've killed?"

Negan shook his head. "I haven't killed anyone who didn't need it."

Gabriel looked profoundly disappointed. I had a feeling this was his 'priest' face. I didn't like it, but it wasn't directed at me so I didn't care. "What about the workers you treat like slaves?"

Negan shrugged unapologetically. "It's an economy. Some people win, some people lose. But no one's a slave. No one is going hungry and you couldn't say that before all this," Negan said stabbing his finger towards Gabriel.

Gabriel nodded sagely. He was close enough now he could make a grab for the gun. I wanted to rock up into a crouch, but I didn't want Negan to notice, so I was stuck sitting on my butt. I tensed, preparing myself in case Gabriel went for it. "Carl told us about your wives. Women pressured into marrying you."

Negan's jaw tightened and he paced away from Gabriel. His eyes landed on mine and I did my best to conceal the disappointment I felt over Gabriel losing his chance to get the gun. I didn't want Negan to misread my reaction either. "Every one of those ladies made the choice. They chose safety and security. Never having to worry again that someone will hurt them, never wondering where their next meal will come from," Negan's eyes landed on me again and he held my gaze.

I wouldn't be the first to look away. I wasn't willing to let him see anymore weakness than he had already witnessed. "Is that a proposal?" I challenged.

Negan snorted. "Hell yeah Hot Friend! If I thought you would leave Daryl for a second...but you won't. I've seen you both. You are the power couple of the apocalypse and I am jealous as shit. But I couldn't ever trust you. Even if you said you had changed your mind. Even if you begged me to take you," Negan shook his head in disgust and kicked the wall angrily. He whirled back to face me and pointed the gun at my chest.

I stared back up at him impassively, waiting to see if he was going to pull the trigger. I wasn't afraid. I didn't honestly think he would, but if he decided to I was too far away to do anything about it. Indecision warred in his eyes.

Gabriel surprised me by stepping between me and the gun. "Jo is married," he said pointedly as though that mattered.

Negan let out a bark of unexpected laughter. "Though shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, right Gabey?" Negan laughed and lowered the gun so it hung loosely at his side.

Gabriel lifted his chin bravely. "Were you married? Was there a first? One before all this? A wife you promised to have and to hold, forsaking all others? One you told that lie to?"

Negan's head snapped towards Gabriel with hate blazing in his eyes. "Lucille, give me strength," he growled and he reached for Gabriel, grabbing him by the jacket. I jumped to my feet, but it cost me seconds we didn't have. Negan slung Gabriel away from him. Gabriel cried out, but he raised only one hand to shield his face. I slammed into Negan, tackling him to the ground.

I heard the gun skitter away from us across the floor, but I couldn't lose focus on Negan. Negan was quicker than I anticipated and while I was reaching for a knife he slammed a fist into my stomach. My fingers grazed across the smooth handle of his knife, but I missed. I grunted as the air was knocked out of my lungs and I lay on the floor temporarily stunned.

Negan grabbed for his bat and moved towards Gabriel, but Gabriel scrambled away from us through the doorway. The door slammed closed behind him. I was glad. If he wasn't going to help me fight Negan, the best option was for him to take himself out of the equation.

I kicked at the back of Negan's knee before he could go after Gabriel. Negan grunted in pain and dropped as the knee gave out. He turned towards me. I aimed a roundhouse kick at his head but he blocked it easily with his forearm. He brushed my leg back and came up and under my guard. He lifted me and slammed my back against the wall of the trailer.

Behind me I felt the herd slam against the thin wall, hard enough to jostle me back into Negan's chest. Negan caught me in his arms before I hit the floor. The metal and wood groaned ominously and both our heads snapped back towards the wall. It bowed in dangerously and we looked at one another. As much as I hated to admit it, a moment of understanding passed between the two of us. We had to get out of here, even if it meant working together.

Negan let go of me, putting me back on my feet.

"All right Gabe!" Negan hollered over his shoulder, though he didn't take his eyes off the part of the wall that was threatening to collapse. "We gotta do this now," he stooped down and picked up his bat from the floor. "No one is coming for us," he said and he slapped one of my knives into my palm.

I looked down at the knife in surprise and then back up at him. My emotions must have been all over my face.

He leaned down so he was speaking near my ear. "Even you wanna live more than you wanna kill me."

A deal with the devil.

I didn't have anything to say to that because it was true.

"What about Jo?" Gabriel called through the door. "Did you kill her?"

Negan barked out a laugh. "Don't you worry your pretty little head Gabey. She ain't the dying type," he assured Gabriel. "It will take someone more badass than me to take her down."

"Gabriel," I called so he would know I was fine. "We can't stay here any longer. It's time to go."

<><><><><>

Daryl

Rick had been right about one thing. I had to make sure she wasn't back. When I hadn't seen her standing at the fence waiting for me I knew she hadn't made it home. I didn't bother going to the house. She wouldn't be there. I drove straight over to Tara and Denise's house. No matter how long it had been since she died, I would always think of it as their house. I knocked on the door and stepped inside. It was busy. Our people who had been injured when we took the outpost were all here getting patched up. 

Tara looked up from the man she was helping bandage and caught my eye across the room. She frowned and her eyes ran over me. When she didn't see an obvious injury she stepped towards me. 

"You okay?" she asked.  

I nodded and then jerked my chin towards the door. "I gotta talk to ya...when you're done," I added. 

"Okay," she agreed. She looked over my shoulder and I knew she was looking for Jo. As far as Tara knew, Jo was supposed to be with me. "It'll just be another couple minutes," she promised, turning back towards her patient. 

"I'll wait outside," I offered and I stepped back out onto the porch. I couldn't breathe in there. I needed to be outside, I needed to be moving. I couldn't just sit around while Jo's future was uncertain. 

Ten minutes later the door opened and Tara stepped out. She scanned the front yard, taking in my bike and me leaning against the porch rail, tapping out an impatient rhythm with my hand. 

"Hey," she called. "You just get back?" 

"Yeah, I was looking for you. We need to talk," I said gruffly, trying to decide how to convince her to help me. Of everyone else here The Savior's had taken the most from her. She had been one of the few encouraging me to kill Dwight when he first showed. Plus she cared about Jo. But I wouldn't soft sell the fact that she would be going against Rick if she helped me. 

"I was looking for you too," she said and I frowned, pulling back slightly in confusion. She shoved her hands in her pockets. "I wanted to tell you that you were right. When you didn't kill Dwight. I know I said a lot of things I shouldn't have to you that night, but I was upset and I'm sorry. You were right, we wouldn't have gotten this far without him." 

I looked away, because I didn't think I was right. I had thought I should have killed him a dozen times over since that night. And now I was going to use him to get her to help me.  

"The thing is, I know what you said about him being able to live if his information was correct. But when all of this is over, I'm going to kill him," she said resolutely. "I don't care how much he has helped us, or how sorry he is...he deserves to die. And I want it to be me."

I stared hard into her face. "Maybe it could be you and me both," I offered. "And maybe we don't gotta wait so long." 

Her eyes widened for a moment and she nodded hesitantly. She went real still then and frowned. She looked around us again like she was waiting for Jo to step out and tell us we were being stupid. Like she just realized I was alone. 

"Daryl," she said, her voice rising with tension. "What happened? Where's Jo?"

<><><><><>

Hi everyone, I really hope you enjoyed the update. The pacing of this new season has been an interesting challenge to write. What do you guys think? Thank you as always for your continued support! Your comments and votes keep me writing!