Chapter Nine

"How'd you get those scars on your face?"

The entire group paled and his brother's lover tightened his grip on the hunter's hand.

When he spoke, it was in a hoarse, shattered whisper. It was only one word, a name, but it was spoken with so much fear and hatred that every non-time traveler in the room recoiled.

"Negan."

As one the time-travelers in the room snarled at the name, and Adrian stared at Paul stunned at the vicious look on his face. In the entire time he'd known the other man he'd never seen such a look on his face and he was torn between flinching away from him or hugging him to wipe it away.

Daryl's father frowned.

"Negan?"

Rick held up a hand. "Carl, take Judy upstairs. Judy, don't come back down here until, your Daryl comes to get you okay. The grown-ups are gonna talk." The little girl scowled, looking eerily similar to Paul's lover.

"Wanna stay wit' 'Aryl."

All the time-travelers barring the man in question snickered.

"Uh-oh, Rick. She's got Daryl's 'you-can't-make-me' face on." The young Asian man said snickering and the deputy sighed looking over at Daryl, who smirked.

A silent conversation passed between the two, before the scarred man rolled his eyes and barked out a laugh.

"C'mon, Lil Asskicker. Let's go upstairs. I'll show ya how to fletch the bolts I made."

Judy beamed, and Adrian was slightly horrified that they all seemed okay with the two-year-old being allowed to play with the weapon so early. Evidently, Lori shared the same sentiment because she opened her mouth to protest only for Rick to cut her off before she could speak.

"Don't." He said curtly, and his companions nodded.

"There are many things you can criticize Daryl about but not Judy. Never Judy. She's more his child than mine and I'm her father. He's only showing her right now, she's not allowed to learn until she's five, that was the agreement."

Dixon Sr. nodded having done the same with his sons when they were younger. Instead he focused on Daryl's answer to Merle's question.

"Who is Negan?" He asked, bringing the conversation back on track. "And what did he do to my son?"

Paul sighed. "Like we said earlier, in our world there is now police, no law. You scavenge, you hunt, and you survive. Groups last longer and most of the time the bigger groups tried to either absorb the smaller ones or kill them for their resources. Rick and his group we're in charge of a compound called Alexandria, they didn't cause trouble and kept to themselves. I lived in a compound a small way away called The Hilltop. Well, I say lived there, but I was gone more than I was there. Anyways, we were being forced to work for a group called the Saviors, Negan was their leader. The saviors were the biggest group in the area we were in, over five hundred men strong and Negan is a fucking sociopath. He doesn't care who he hurts or how as long as they pander to his illusions of grandeur."

He paused and smiled. "Anyways, me, Rick and Daryl all met while scavenging in the same area. I stole their truck, leading to one of the most comical chases I've ever been involved in. And on top of that, neither of our groups got to leave with the truck because it sunk in the lake… after knocking me out with the door. I believe Daryl wanted to tie me up and leave me in a tree?"

Rick snorted. "He told you that?"

Paul nodded. "Said at the time since I was acting like a damn monkey with all my "fancy jumpin' around", I could live in a tree like one. Anyways, after a series of events, I managed to convince Rick and his group to help me take out the Saviors, especially after they'd already killed some of them. We miscalculated and attacked what we thought was their compound but it was just an outpost. Negan cornered Rick's group a short while later, while they were trying to get to hilltop to help Maggie."

He stopped closing his eyes as his mind was bombarded with the sounds of Daryl's screams, the coppery scent of his blood invading his nose and coating his throat until it felt like it was choking him. Thankfully, Rick took over the explanation, rage lowering his voice until it made even Dixon Sr.'s blood chill.

"They captured us and forced us to our knees. Made it a game, picking which one of us would be punished for the sins of the group. Daryl was chosen, and Negan beat him within an inch of his life with that goddamn bat! And I plan to return the favor if we ever meet again. I'm going to crush his fucking skull with it and see how he likes it." He snarled and Adrian stepped back when all the other time-travelers' eyes flashed with grim satisfaction. Dixon Sr.'s mercury eyes darkened as did his older son's both of their teeth bared in a vicious lupine expression.

"We'll help." The two promised and the doctor shuddered, sharing a glance with Lori and Shane. Somehow, they had a feeling that they'd just stepped into something there was absolutely no getting out of.

And they had no idea if that was a good thing or not.

*/*

Shane wasn't sure what to think.

He'd imagined multiple different scenarios of what would happen if- when Rick woke from his coma but this hadn't been one of them.

He'd imagined him never waking, being on life support until they were forced to take him off.

Imagined him waking and being perfectly fine other than mild weakness and exhaustion from his body healing itself, ignorant of his and Lori's affair but alive and happy.

Imagined him waking and being furious about his and Lori's affair, but unwilling to leave his wife because of their son.

Time-travel had never crossed his mind.

Listening to the fantastical tale woven first by Rick then by the long-haired kid Carl had called "Jesus", he felt everything he knew being turned on its head. Zombies, time travel, the apocalypse, it all sounded like something from a bad sci-fi horror flick and yet the emotion in their eyes, the fluidity of their movements said otherwise.

Just two weeks ago, Rick, Carl and Lori had been his only family, his parents long dead, and now it was like overnight both his nephew and his brother had gained a whole new family. One that he wasn't a part of, if the guarded looks being sent his way were anything to go by. The darkest of those looks came from the scar-faced hick and the woman with dreads, but he'd have to be blind to see that both the Asian man and his wife were sending him odd looks as well. They were wary of him, and he wanted to know why, but he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to handle anymore life-changing discoveries.

All the same, it nagged in his mind, as well as the fact that the little girl, Judy looked like a toddler version of his mother with a few changes, instead of like Rick, who claimed to be her father.

It was painting a picture he dreaded to recognize and he knew soon he would have to talk to Rick about it. Carl glanced at him, single eye dark and suspicious, the other hidden beneath the bandages he'd yet to take off.

Yeah, him and Rick needed to talk very soon.

*/*

"Its been two weeks since we arrived in the past. That gives us more or less a month to get everything we need and start training them. Any ideas?"

Three hours had passed since their non-time traveling members had gone to bed, and since they'd all snuck downstairs into the kitchen to start planning.

"Pa, Merle, an' I brought guns, knives, food, and medical supplies. Got ten duffels in the truck besides our clothes an shit. And the one Pa had earlier."

Rick nodded. "I've gotten some weapons as well, and some dry foods. All of it is in the family SUV and my personal car."

"Daddy said we could stay on the farm, at least until things start. Its isolated and we don't have to worry about complaints for the gunfire and noise. Plus, theres space for Daryl to hunt and us to train, while teaching them what they need to survive this time. Me and glen bought tents, between the two of us we bought about five of them."

"I have six as well." Michonne added.

"And I brought about eight." Abraham said frowning. "So that takes care of sleepin' arrangements and weapons. What are y'all planning on doing in the long run?"

Rick pursed his lips. Of the places, they'd called home in the past few years the prison was the most secure. Alexandria was a close second but he didn't want to force his family to travel all the way to Virginia again. In addition, the prison was closer to resources like the river and good farmland, and had enough forestry that they'd be able to get fresh meat when needed. He'd also rather face the governor again that be at Negan's mercy.

"The prison." He replied and a small smile crossed Daryl's face as he pulled three maps from his vest pocket. He placed on the table, his messy scrawl in the corner labelling it as a map to the prison, black markings marking areas they'd gone through the first time around, including the CDC.

"Made on for Alexandria, the prison, and Terminus. Wasn't sure which you'd wanna head to."

"Why not Alexandria?" Abraham asked, intrigued. He, like most of their group, had no doubt Daryl was an intelligent man, but it was rare for the hunter to show it in this manner. He preferred to plan as he went than sit through long sessions of planning for things when it always went to shit anyways. However, the other was patient when the situation called for it and this was just an example of how that patience paid off in spades when he put his mind to it.

The map was hand drawn and comprehensive, the hunter's spidery handwriting noting anything of significance along all their trails.

"Negan. However, our arrival in Alexandria led to a lot of conflict that could've been avoided. In addition, the prison is more secure and had more resources. I plane to reinforce the fencing as soon as its ours. With all of us working together it shouldn't take more than a week to reinforce it."

"When can we head to the farm?" Michonne asked.

"Tomorrow, sound alright?"

They all nodded and Rick smiled warmly at them.

"Good. Go rest. Daryl, you and I have first watch."

His brother nodded, refolding the map and placing it back in his vest with the others.

The rest of them said good night, each of them happy with the warmth flooding them at the sight of their family safe and nearly whole again. They just had to find a way to get their missing members and their family would be whole.

And this time they planned to keep it that way, whether it was facing the walkers or facing down sociopaths like Negan.

TBC…

A/N: Should Negan be brought back in time too? I'm seriously thinking about it, but…meh?