Thanks again for all the supportive reviews and encouragement given about this story. I appreciate all the positivity!
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Michonne was in a panic. She knew Rick and Carl were about to die, and even with her katana strapped to her back, there was only so much she could do. She couldn't believe that after all she'd been through, the death of her son and boyfriend, wandering through the woods alone, the Governor trying to kill her, losing their home in the prison, wandering around with Carl and Rick, almost being eaten at Terminus, reaching rock bottom on the road... and then finding Alexandria, and hope, and love... after all of that... it would end with her son and boyfriend being killed in front of her... again. She wouldn't survive it again. She couldn't.
Negan slowly walked over to Carl who was kneeling, with a guard holding onto his shoulders. Carl was shaking badly and a tear ran down his face. "Finally, some emotion from the kid!" Negan laughed "I was starting to think you were a psychopath". Negan leaned down closer to Carl. "You know kid, I really don't want to shoot you. I'm not for shooting the innocent and such. But then again, you were on that roof shooting at my men." Negan looked over at Rick who's fists were clenched so hard they were white. "And I made your dad a promise".
"No!" Rick screamed "Please... please... It was me, I'm in charge. I made the decisions, if you shoot anyone it should be me".
"Oh you'll get your turn" Negan said, raising his gun to Carl's head. Rick leaped from his spot on the ground but was immediately tackled by 3 guards.
"Stop! Please!" Michonne screamed "Please don't shoot him". Negan turned to look at her. "Please..." she said softly.
Negan seemed to be waiting. "Why shouldn't I?" he replied softly.
Michonne gulped. She knew he knew what she was going to do. She slowly and painfully got up from the ground and walked over to Negan. She could see the confused look on Rick's face as he lay on the ground with 3 guards still sitting on top of him. She stopped in front of Negan and painfully got to her knees again.
"I'll do it. I'll be your wife. If you spare both of them." she whispered, bowing her head.
Carl's eyes widened and he looked to Rick. Rick was shaking uncontrollably in confusion and rage. He didn't understand what was happening.
Negan smiled and was quiet for a minute. He reached out and put his hand under Michonne's chin, lifting her head back up to look at him. He could see the tears rolling from her eyes. She tried her best not to pull away from his touch.
"Do you want to be my wife?" Negan asked. Michonne couldn't believe what he was asking. Of course she didn't. "When I choose a wife the process is completely voluntary, it's an honor to be with me. But it comes with a price... Complete devotion." Negan emphasized, looking directly at Rick.
Michonne didn't know what to say. Everyone watching this knew that she didn't want this, but she could sense that Negan needed her to choose him, so he could justify whatever he was going to do to her later. He also knew that her choosing him over Rick would break Rick, no matter what the circumstances were. She wasn't going to pretend she wanted this to make Negan feel better. She gulped again and then spoke. "I don't want this, but I'll do it if you let them live".
Negan seemed thoughtful for a minute, and then, as if a switch had been turned on, he was suddenly satisfied. "OK! its a fucking deal!" he said happily, snatching Michonne's elbow and pulling her to her feet.
"Michonne!" Rick yelled, struggling with the men who were holding him down "Get off of her! Michonne!". Rick was fighting the guards with everything that he had, causing the guards to punch him viciously to keep him on the ground.
Carl was struggling too, trying to get out of the grip of the man who held his shoulders. The man holding Carl pushed him on to the ground hard.
"Stop!" Michonne yelled. She looked at Negan, "We have a deal, they get hurt and it's off". Negan could tell she was serious. He turned to Rick. "My men will let you and your boy go if you stay there and don't try to come after us. We are taking the truck with the supplies as compensation for all my men your people shot today".
"If you hurt her I'm going to fucking kill you!" Rick screamed, with more venom than Carl or Michonne had ever heard before.
"Yea, you'll probably try" Negan said thoughtfully. As one of his men got into the supply truck to drive it away, Negan signaled for the others to shoot out the tires of all the remaining cars in Alexandria. Negan then sauntered out the front gate of Alexandria, still holding on to Michonne's elbow.
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Jesus laid on the roof of the supply truck. He had been up there for what seemed like hours, waiting for Negan's men to drive the truck back to wherever their headquarters were. Rick had asked him to tag along with the supplies so they could finally figure out where Negan's base was. The plan was that Negan would bring back Michonne, Rick would give Negan the truck with the supplies with Jesus on the top, and Jesus would get off the truck when he had the opportunity to, racing back to Alexandria to give Rick the location. Simple.
Spencer had destroyed that plan, and Jesus was at a loss as to what he should do. When the bullets started flying, he clung to the top of the truck, debating if he should shoot back. He knew that firing would immediately give away his location, and any hope of tracking Negan, but his friends were in danger. As much as he wanted to help, he knew this may be the only opportunity to find Negan's secret location. He had to lay there and listen as Carl and Rick were almost shot, and as Michonne offered herself to Negan to save them.
Jesus had immediately recognized the deep love between Rick and Michonne. The day he met them he had assumed they were already a couple, not realizing that they had just admitted their love for each other that very day. It had been Jesus who had accidentally spilled the beans about their relationship to Carl. Jesus knew that Rick would stop at nothing to get Michonne back, and seeing as though every car in Alexandria had been disabled, Jesus knew he was their only hope.
He clung to the top of the truck for an hour and a half as it sped down abandoned roads, cleared highways, and rural streets. He carefully looked for landmarks so that he could find his way back. He took note of street names and routes and repeated them over and over until he memorized the route by heart.
His hands were getting tired, holding on to the makeshift straps that he and Rick had fastened to the top of the truck. He was thirsty and hungry, but he was determined.
At the two hour mark, which was around midday, the truck started to slow down. Jesus could see they were pulling up to a large factory. The factory was surrounded by gates on all sides. Jesus noticed that walkers were chained to the outside of the gates, and skewered on pikes as an undead barrier.
It will be difficult to attack this place on foot he thought to himself.
As they got closer to the factory, Jesus realized that if he didn't get off the truck soon he may be trapped inside the walker gates. The convoy reached a checkpoint where they had to stop so that guards could open the gates. As the truck slowed down Jesus silently slipped off the side, taking care not to alert the truck driver or the cars following behind the truck. Instead of running into the woods, he made sure to stumble erratically so anyone on guard would mistake him for a walker.
Once Jesus made it into the woods, he stayed for a little while to do recon. He saw the cars pull into a large yard. He saw the car that Negan was in stop by the doors to the factory. Negan got out the front passenger side, and he waited while a guard helped Michonne out of the car. She seemed to be in more pain than she was earlier in the day. Negan then held out his arm for her and she reluctantly hooked her own arm around it to steady herself.
"I need to get back now" Jesus thought to himself. He turned around and started running in the direction of Alexandria.
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Rick was the angriest he had ever been in his life. He was done being scared. He was done being defeated, broken, helpless. Negan had just took the one woman who ever really understood him. The woman who became a best friend and mother to his son, and the only mother his daughter had ever known. Michonne was the only woman he ever really loved.
The realization of that hit Rick like a ton of bricks. He thought he loved Lori. He provided for her, protected her, cared for her. In the past, he thought that was love. But he never had a connection to her anywhere near what he had with Michonne. She had been there for every major event in his life for the past year. His highest highs, when he thought the world was his and he could do anything, and his lowest lows, when he was barely conscious after being beaten almost to death by the Governor and had his pride and home stripped away.
Michonne never judged him, even when he deserved to be judged. Even when he hurt her by practically ignoring her when they came to Alexandria and kissing another woman, while Michonne was living in his house and caring for his children. When he got to Alexandria he had lied to her for the first time, about stealing guns from the armory. He had pushed her away. And she still stayed. She still took care of his kids. She still took care of him.
Tears almost came to Rick eyes as he thought about how much he must have hurt her. He had never really apologized, but she didn't ask him to, or even blame him. He really didn't deserve her. And now he didn't have her.
In that minute Rick made a decision.
She is my wife. She has been my wife for a long time. I will never call her anything else again.
Rick made the decision that he was going to get Michonne and he was going to marry her. And nothing else in heaven or hell would stop him.
Rick was snapped out of his thoughts when Father Gabriel who was on guard duty yelled "People on horseback!". Rick jumped up and ran to the gates preparing for another attack from Negan. He was shocked to see Morgan trotting up to the gates on a horse, with 30 other horsemen behind him.
"Open the gates!" Rick yelled, and Morgan trotted inside with the other horsemen before the gates closed again. "Hey Rick!" Morgan said cheerfully as he climbed off the horse's back. "Morgan did you find Carol?" Rick asked. "I sure did. She was badly injured by Negan's men, they shot her three times, but these men helped me take her back to their community. She's recovering there, but she's alive". "Their community?" Rick asked "you mean Hilltop?". "No" Morgan smiled "They're from a place called the Kingdom. This is their leader, Ezekiel" Morgan said, gesturing to a large black man with locs.
Like Michonne's Rick thought involuntarily. He must've been in his late 50's to 60's as his locs were pure white.
I wonder if hers will get that color too when we get older Rick thought, and he had to purposefully redirect his mind to focus on what was happening in front of him.
"Morgan has told us that your people have successfully attacked Negan" Ezekiel boomed in a cheery voice "We would like to offer you assistance in your fight against him. He has been shaking our people down for supplies for months and we've had enough".
Rick looked down. He didn't know how to explain to Ezekiel how things had gone so wrong. His body language alone alerted Morgan.
"Rick, are you ok?" Morgan asked. Morgan then realized that Michonne wasn't around. "Where's Michonne?'
"Negan took her" Rick said. "His men shot up our cars so we can't follow. Jesus was hiding on one of the trucks so he could find out where their compound is, but even once he comes back we'll have to walk there. It might take days..."
She might be with them for days Rick thought. Who knew what they did to her the first time she was there, his heart hurt to think of what would happen now that she agreed to be Negan's wife.
"Perhaps we can help, my friend." said Ezekiel. "We have plenty of horses at the Kingdom".