Disclaimer: AMC owns the story and characters of The Walking Dead, I own the plot and original characters of this story.
Author's note: We are in Alexandria?! I can barely believe it! (okay, at this point and after publishing the story in now three sites, I believe that I reached Alexandria, but welp, the note was already there, LOL)
After
Alexandria, VA.
Tory refused to leave while Pete Anderson worked on her Dad.
The man seemed surprised at the disobedience she showed, and she bit her tongue so she wouldn't tell him she didn't trust him. Which Tory did not.
There was no military presence in Alexandria, excepting Aiden Monroe, contrary to what she had been told by Ben, that alone was sort of suspicious, also, everyone was so damn…nice and clean.
The notion of these people never venturing outside passed through her mind and she cringed thinking about it. What were they thinking?
"If you are uncomfortable with the blood, you can wait in the other room." Pete suggested sternly.
"I'm not." Tory expressed flatly. "I'm just thinking."
Pete shrugged and kept stitching her father's forehead. After a long silence, the surgeon spoke up.
"How bad was it for you…out there?"
Tory blinked a couple of times and shrugged, not really sure how to answer Pete Anderson. It was bad, but not worse than what happened at the start, now that they knew what to do and how to fight back against the dead. The people was the problem.
"It could be worse." She compromised.
"You're not uncomfortable about any of the procedures, most people turn their heads away." He commented with a bit of admiration.
"Blood is a part of life." Tory stated simply. "I would be dead if I cringed at the sight of blood."
Pete made some snide comment about someone named Denise and kept on working.
Once finished, the surgeon gave her the play-by-play of what he had done. "Your father should be fine, I just gave him a strong pain killer and antibiotic shot." Pete concluded as he dried his hands. He had been through with washing them.
"Thank you, Dr. Anderson." Tory said. "I'm sorry we gave you so much trouble."
After giving her a creepy smile, Pete nodded and left Tory with her Dad.
She only had a few minutes of silence before someone else arrived. Tory saw the shadow of the woman and turn her head to her.
A short woman with a very neat haircut was watching her, her hazel eyes studying her and Tom. Her mouth was set in a stern line, but her expression was still kind, as was her disposition.
"Can I help you?" Tory asked, keeping the volume of her voice down, so she wouldn't disturb her dad.
"I hoped to welcome you to our community, in other…circumstances." The woman said gently. "I'm Deanna Monroe."
The Sanctuary, VA.
I did unspeakable things and I want them to stay that way.
Negan read the words and proceeded to ignore them, as he had conditioned himself to do so many years ago. Dwight and Simon were looking at him, though, so he turned his eyes to the map they had on the table.
The scouting they had done returned good results, at least four communities surrounded The Sanctuary, most of them little places that had been secured by some people and where now refuges for whatever straggler turned up at their door. Oceanside, the Hilltop, Doveport and the trash-people-place. The outpost manning and supplying was already on motion, as well as evacuation plans.
As Negan had acquired more power, resources and experience, he also became warier, sneakier and more manipulative. He had gotten this far using little personal mottos and limits. Mind you, his limits were far from the norm and his morals were slightly askew, but that was what kept his people alive.
Protect the weak, because they aren't ready for what is out there.
Don't rape, because that is not civilized and women owe you no shit.
Civilization means rules, follow the rules, keep on living.
His personal favorite was nothing matters if you're dead, which he applied brutally. Second chances were a very rare thing for Negan.
This all went through his mind as he discussed the tribute system with Simon, agreeing that asking for half the stuff of a community couldn't be that bad. As the Sanctuary had gotten older, it had acquired more population, hence the need for outposts and tribute in the shitty weather.
"If they give us half their shit, we make it?" Negan asked Simon, who was more familiarized with supplies lately, as Negan managed scouting.
Simon pulled on the corners of his mouth in a 'not bad' gesture and shrugged. "We can work with that."
Dwight grunted his approval, even if he crossed his arms.
All of them agreed.
"Then we start this next week, when everyone's ready." Negan declared.
Alexandria, VA
Tory's eyes glared at the little plus sign in the pregnancy test.
She had been glaring at it for a while now, sitting on the edge of the tub.
She tried to think of solutions, being positive, but her mind kept drawing blanks. If this news had come a few days earlier, the difference would have been enormous. Henry would have still died, but she would have shared this moment with him.
Tory shut her eyes hard and hugged herself, clutching the test in her left hand and throwing her head back. She took a long, deep breath and released it slowly, opening her eyes at the same pace. Tory found that she didn't care much for the color of the ceiling, but dismissed it.
Her mouth opened once, twice, but no sound came out, so she pursed her lips as tears filled her eyes.
She wanted her questions answered, but Tory didn't even know what to ask. Not for a long while.
Her body was tense and her muscles in pain due to the stress and then, the right question exploded from inside her mind.
Still looking up, Tory sighed and opened her mouth, this time the words did came up, sounding rough.
"What do I do?"
What do I do?
Negan frowned and gave the question a thought.
His answer was clear, even if he didn't voice it.
You do whatever's necessary.
