CHAPTER TWELVE,
brawl in the streets.

Aiden laid on the couch, resting her eyes when Carol walked into the house. She opened her eyes slightly and saw Rick still sitting at the kitchen island.

"Pete's hitting Jessie. Maybe Sam, too." Carol said suddenly.

"You know this how? Sam tell you?" Rick asked her.

"He didn't have to." Carol replied.

"Rick, people who's been through shit like this recognize it quickly and easily. That son of a bitch gives off sketchy vibes. There's no doubt he's abusing his wife," Aiden said from where she slowly sat up on the couch.

Rick walked off. "Rick. I know how this is gonna go with Pete. There's only one was it can go." Carol said and Rick looked at her. "You're gonna have to kill him."

"I'll do it myself." Aiden shrugged.

»

"Noah's dead."

Aiden laid in her and Daryl's, a small cry moving past her lips. She was so, so tired of losing people she loved.

Aiden and Noah had grown close. Everyone knew Aiden had some sort of maternal, protective sense over the teen and Noah didn't seem to mind. He gravitated towards the mother-to-be.

Noah.

The boy Beth Greene had trusted and evidently died for.

All for fucking nothing.

She just saw him and his smile only a couple hours ago. "I'll see you later, Noah."

"I'll be back, Aid." Noah said back to her. She smiled at the boy.

"You sure as hell will."

He didn't come back.

Aiden heard the door open. She didn't bother to look up when someone sat beside her feet.

"Aiden," Glenn.

She sighed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She glanced up at him and he frowned down at her.

"Are you hungry? You need anything?" He asked her.

"I should be askin' you that, Glenn. You're the one that witnessed it." She took his hand in hers. "Are you okay, Glenn?"

He shook his head and gripped her hand back, "gotta be, don't I? Don't all of us?"

"It's okay to fall apart a little, Glenn. Everyone would understand if you took the day off for yourself."

"I can't," he replied. Her eyes scanned over his face with concern. "Can't stop fighting, Aid."

"Who ever said something about stop fighting? That's what this group does. We fight like hell."

»

She woke the next morning and stared at her ceiling. It took her a couple minutes before she rolled out of bed. She put on her uniform and walked into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and left the bathroom. She grabbed her holsters and weapons and strapped them to her body and left down stairs.

She walked down the sidewalk and of course, Pete Anderson approached her. "Hey, Aiden."

Aiden just kept walking. She bumped shoulders with the man. "Stay they hell away from me." She hissed.

She kept walking and entered the infirmary. Eugene was sitting by Tara's unconscious body. "How is she?" Aiden asked him.

"She's still here." Eugene replied. Aiden nodded.

"It's a good thing you got her outta there. Without you she wouldn't have made it out of there," her hand dropped on his shoulder, "so, Eugene, you saved her life." Aiden said. "Thank you."

Eugene nodded and wiped his eyes.

"I'll come back later. See ya later, alligator." Aiden said to Eugene.

"After while, crocodile." He replied with a small smile. She walked out of the infirmary just in time to see Rick and Pete fly through the window of the Anderson home.

"Holy shit!" She shouted as glass scattered at her feet.

People began to crowd around as the two men fought. "Rick, stop it!" Aiden yelled. She went to step forward to pull the two men apart but Nathaniel quickly grabbed her arm.

"No, you'll get hurt." He said to her.

"Stop it! Stop it, right now." Deanna said calmly as she ran to the scene. "Damnit, Rick! I said stop!" She yelled.

Glenn, Nicholas, and a man named Tobin all stepped forward but Rick pulled out a gun. He aimed it towards Nicholas and Tobin. "Or what? You gonna kick me out?"

He moved his gun towards Reg, Spencer, and Deanna, "put that gun down, Rick." Deanna said calmly.

"You still don't get it. None of you do!" Rick yelled. "We know what needs to be done and we do it. We're the ones who live. You, you just sit and plan and hesitate. You pretend like you know but when you don't. You wish things weren't what they are. Well, you want to live? You want this place to stay standing? Your way of doing things is done! Things don't get better because you- you want them to. Starting right now, we have to live in the real world. We have to control who lives here."

"That's never been more clear to me than it is right now." Deanna said.

Aiden's eyes cut towards the woman. "You better not be talkin' 'bout-" Nathaniel quickly covered her mouth.

"Me? Me? You-" Rick laughed, "you mean- you mean me? Your way is gonna destroy this place. It's gonna get people killed. It's already gotten people killed. And I'm not gonna stand by and just let it happen. If you don't fight, you die. I'm not gonna stand by-" Rick was cut off by Michonne hitting him over the head.

"Go back to your houses, folks! Nothin' else to see here. Go back to your casseroles and your video games! Live in your fantasy land!" Aiden said to the people of Alexandria.

"Shut up, Aiden." Nathaniel hissed. Aiden rolled her eyes.

Aiden walked over and looked down at Pete, the man was starting to wake up. He opened his eyes and saw Aiden staring down at him. "You had it coming, shithead."

»

Aiden was currently sitting with Jessie in her home. Judith sat on the floor with a bunch of toys around her.

"Was it always like that?" Aiden asked her.

"It's only when he's drunk or when he's angry." The blonde replied.

"So it's been happening for years." Aiden nodded. "You should be glad Rick got to him before I did."

"Why?" Jessie asked her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Because I wouldn't have hesitated to kill him." Aiden replied.

"Why do you care so much?" Jessie quizzed.

"Because abuse is bullshit and no one should have to go through it." Aiden said.

"Were you abused?" Jessie asked her.

Aiden didn't respond.

Jessie nodded, "uh, it's getting late. I should head back to Sam and Ron." Jessie said and stood.

"Be careful. I'm here if you need something." Aiden said. "Bye, Jessie."

"Bye, Aiden." Jessie said and Aiden closed the door.

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Aiden?"

The woman whipped around and saw Carl looking at her. "I'm going to see dad."

"Okay, bud."

»

Aiden, Glenn, Carol, and Abraham all walked into the house Rick was being held in. "Where'd you get the gun?" Michonne asked him when they walked in.

"You took it, right? From the armory? That was stupid. Why did you do it?" Carol asked him and he stared at her.

"Just in case." Rick replied.

"Deanna's planning to have a meeting tonight. For anyone who wants to." Glenn informed them all.

"To kick Rick out?" Abraham asked.

"To try." Carol responded.

"We don't know that. Maggie's with Deanna right now. She's gonna find out what it is." Glenn said.

"At the meeting, you say you were worried about someone being abused and no one was doing anything about it. You say you took the gun just to be sure that Jessie was safe from a man who wound up attacking you. You say you'll do whatever they want you to. Just tell them a story that they want to hear. It's what I've been doing since I got here." Carol informed.

"Why?" Michonne asked her.

"Because these people are children and children like stories." Carol replied.

"What happens after all the nice words and they still try to kick him out?" Abraham asked.

"They're guarding the armory now. That's all we'll need against them." Carol said.

"Well, tonight at the meeting, if it looks like it's going bad, I whistle. Carol grabs Deanna, I take Spencer, you grab Reg, Glenn, Aiden, and Abraham cover us, watch the crowd." Rick said. Aiden stared at Rick in disbelief.

"We can talk to them, Rick. It doesn't have to end bloody like it always does." Aiden piped up, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Yeah, we will. If we can't get through, we take the three of them and we'll slit their throats." Rick said to them all.

"Like at Terminus?" Glenn asked and Aiden shuddered at the memory.

"No, we just tell 'em. They give us the armory and it's over." Rick replied.

"Did you want this?" Glenn asked Rick.

"No. I hit my limit. I- I screwed up. And here we are. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna sleep some more." Rick said as he laid back down.

Aiden scoffed and walked past Abraham and out of the door.

______________________________

word count: 1,519
episodes: spend, try, & conquer

and boom! another edited chapter.

one more chapter of act one!!! but so much happened this chapter. we lost noah, sadly. he could've been such a great character.

next chapter is ittttttt. the end of act one and then we get into the GOOD stuff. act two and season six. aka the saviors and negan.