A/N: this is a work of fan fiction and not meant to infringe upon the properties of Kirkman/Moore/Aldard/AMC/Image Comics.
Now that I have caught up with the show, I am taking the lead from the comics. I am hoping to skew it in just the right way that no one will be truly spoiled :). If you'd like to listen to the Redemption Playlist, you can find it by searching for Leah Pensotti on YouTube :) it features songs and artists mentioned in the story as well as chapter titles :) it was last updated on 5/28/15.
Redemption (The Road to Alexandria)
By Leah Pensotti
Chapter 38: Kingdom Come
The next morning, Rick gathered Michonne, Daryl and Jesus for their trip to "The Sanctuary"...or whatever the Wolves call it. He wouldn't allow Anna to go, and she worried about him and Carl.
"I'll get him back. And I will be home. Once this is all over, we will live comfortably and raise the kids. All of them."
With everything going on, he had not had a chance to speak with Enid, but it seems her first night at their home had served her well, because she smiled when she held Judith and didn't seem nearly as sullen.
Anna threw her arms around him...he hated this. He hated leaving her. He hated making her worry, but it was necessary to get his son back.
"I love you." Anna whispered sadly and he kissed her goodbye.
"I love you, too. Take care of our girls, ok?"
Anna smiled briefly when she heard him say "our girls."
Once the van was loaded and they were on their way, Michonne turned to Rick and asked him lowly, "You sure about this?"
Rick nodded, " I am."
"You're really gonna go knock on his door?" Daryl said with a look that suggested that he was not opposed to a fight.
"Negan wants us submissive. If I politely knock on his door, he will see a man in line with what he wants...but he will also be on notice because we know where he his."
Jesus suddenly stopped the van and commented, "I don't think we're gonna have to do any of that."
He pointed out the window and Rick followed his hand. Negan's large, deadly truck had blocked their way, it was swarming with his Wolves. Rick and the others filed out, as Negan emerged with the dreaded Lucille perched over his shoulder.
"Holy shit! What a coincidence! We were just on the way to see you!"
Rick felt his shoulders tense and his hands curl into fists, "My son is missing. We were looking for him."
Negan swaggered closer to Rick, "Yeah. That little fucker of yours killed six of my men with a machine gun. I had to punish him properly. But wait til you see what I've done to him..."
Before Negan could finish, Rick lunged at him, the rage coursing through his veins. Between punches, Rick growled, "If you laid one hand on Carl I will end you...here!"
They grappled a bit longer and Negan managed to get out of his grasp and had the gall to laugh, "Woah easy...you're gonna be sorry...boys! Bring him out!"
Rick pulled himself up to see men bringing an unscathed Carl out of the truck, being held tightly by the arms. Carl broke free of the Wolves and ran to him, "Dad! Dad! I'm so sorry!"
Rick embraced his son, feeling the slightest bit of relief.
Negan sighed, "I was just fucking with you, man. I wanted to see you get riled up. I've done many horrible things, but I'm not gonna hurt a fucking kid. Not even one as scary as yours. I'm not an unreasonable man, Rick. Just do what I ask and everything will be fine. We'll see you in two weeks."
Rick held Carl close and watched as the wolves left. Negan waved to them with a shit eating grin. He heard Michonne sheath her sword and sigh, "He really expects us to believe that? That he is reasonable?"
Rick shrugged and said, "Let's go home."
On the way back to Alexandria, Carl filled them all in on what happened over the days he was with Negan.
"He has five or six wives. None of them wear much clothing. He told me I can look at them all I want, because all the women in Alexandria dress like elderly lesbians...except for Anna. He said some things about her I wanted to kill him for."
Rick wanted to kill him, too, for even thinking about her...thinking he could coerce her with lingere and pretty things to submit to him and being apart of his brothel.
Carl continued, "They have a point system to buy things. The wives can have whatever they want. Some of them used to be married to other men, if they cheat on him, the man gets punished. Some guy got an iron to the side of the face. His skin melted. His wife is now one of Negan's wives. But the women can leave at any time, but they have to go back to the point system. "
Rick couldn't believe what he was hearing...what his son had been exposed to. Negan was depraved, but had seemed to treat Carl well.
"They say that the rules are important, because the rules keep them alive."
Daryl looked disgusted, "What a bunch of bullshit."
Rick agreed, "Anything else, Carl?"
Carl looked down at his hands, "He made me sing Lucille a song as my punishment. She likes to be sung to more than bashing in heads. Then he asked me about mom...and Anna."
Rick felt the fury boil in his lungs. Negan was a madman. He wanted to kill him. For Carl, for Lori, for Judith, for Morgan, for Abraham and for Anna. He didn't want Negan to utter Lori or Anna's names ever again.
Anna could hardly contain herself at the relief she felt when Rick and the others had returned home with Carl...and in less than a day.
Before she even greeted Rick, she pulled Carl to her in a massive hug, happy tears running down her cheeks.
"Don't you dare do that to me or your father again, ok? We were worried sick. But I'm so glad you are home."
Carl hugged her tight and nodded, "I'm so sorry. I was just so angry about Abraham and Morgan. I wanted revenge."
Anna ushered everyone inside and put an arm around Carl's shoulder, "We've got some news, Carl. I think you'll like it."
As everyone filed in the house, Rick pulled her back on the porch with him and wrapped her up in an embrace. He buried his head in her hair and circled his arms around her waist. He didn't say anything, but she knew what he was feeling.
Once again he returned to her bruised, bloodied and worse for wear. He had his son home, but he was thinking of revenge. She knew that there was a long fight ahead of them, if they ever wanted to be free of Negan's tyrrany.
Anna held his face in her hands and kissed him lovingly, wanting to give him strength, "I'm glad you're home, baby. I know something happened. I know you are planning. But tonight...let's be a family...ok?"
He nodded and kissed her again before they both went inside.
Anna made coffee and tea and Jesus, Daryl, Michonne, Rick and Carl told her, Enid and Judith about all that he saw.
She was sickened by the tales of Negan's harem. How he had coerced women away from their husbands and into his sexual service. How he dressed them. Even if they were free to leave, it was still disgusting and reprehensible.
Carl looked up from his meal of oatmeal, "You said you had news? That I'd like?"
Anna snapped out of her reverie and nodded, "Your dad and I asked Enid to stay with us. Be apart of our family."
Carl's eyes grew wide, "She's my sister now?"
Enid made a face, "Ew, no."
Everyone at the table laughed at the response and Anna shook her head, "No...family doesn't have to be defined so strictly. I just want Enid to have a home and people who love her. She deserves that."
Enid hung her head and blushed and Daryl spoke up, "Well thanks for the coffee...I am gonna go check in with Carol and Aaron."
Soon, Michonne and Jesus had followed Daryl out. Anna heard Jesus say to Rick that he would be by in the morning, that he thought it was time he knew some things, but it could wait until the next day.
Rick locked the door behind them and they all spent time together as a family. Rick played with Judith, who was on the verge of walking on her own, while Anna, Carl and Enid read from "The Lord of the Rings" anthology that Spencer had dropped by the night before.
As the night progressed, Enid excused herself to bed, Carl went up to shower, Anna cleaned up the dishes and Rick put Judith down for the evening. Once she had finished in the kitchen Anna sneaked upstairs and checked in on both Carl and Enid, and they were both passed out.
She lit a candle in the now empty bathroom and ran a hot bath. Rick popped his head in and raised his eyebrows, "Gonna take a bath?"
Anna pulled him in quickly and locked the door, "Yes. The both of us. We need to relax a bit."
She unbuckled his holster and put his gun on the sink, then unbuttoned his shirt as he chuckled beneath his breath, "Christ woman, you know I can't relax when you do stuff like this."
Anna smiled sadly, "You need rest. Let me take care of you. Just for tonight. Go on, get in the tub."
She folded up his clothes and placed them on the sink and watched him ease into the tub. He had been beaten...again. Bruises were forming on his arms and shoulders, and his eye.
Anna undressed, tied her hair up and eased in behind Rick in the bathtub. She washed his back and hair and massaged his neck and shoulders. The stress and tension had formed hard knots between his shoulder blades.
Rick groaned with pleasure, "I can't believe I've never thought to ask you to do this."
She laughed, "You hardly ever sit down, Rick. I've never had a chance..."
"Well then, I should probably start cashing in on it."
Anna continued to massage out his knots and thought to herself about a time in the future that perhaps her husband wouldn't come home so damaged. Maybe he could sleep. Maybe he could lead and not have to fight.
She would be fine never seeing him covered in blood...his own or anyone else's...ever again.
Suddenly, he caught her left hand and motioned for her to stop, "I want to kill him, Anna. I want to ruin him. For all he has done, and all he continues to do. I won't let him reign over my family with fear or terror."
She hugged his back to her chest and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and whispered in his ear, "Not if I kill him first, baby."
Anna wanted Negan dead more than anything. That man was standing in the way of their progress.
Plus, he had killed their friends.
"Jesus, Anna, the weirdest things about you turn me on."
She laughed, "I figured as much."
"All I want is for Negan to go away. I want to build up Alexandria. I want to raise our kids. I don't want them in danger everyday. Jesus, I want to spend all day in bed with you, making you blush sometimes."
Anna admired Rick's passion...he was a great leader. But sometimes at the expense of his own peace of mind and well-being, and that was what concerned her.
A little while later, they got out of the tub, bundled up in towels, extinguished the candle and carried their clothes back into the bedroom. Anna heard the room door lock behind her and she turned and smiled, "Are you gonna make me blush?"
"God, I hope so."
With that, the towels were dropped and they fell into bed in a tangle of arms and legs. Rick's hands explored every inch of her body and she kissed him deeply. She turned the tables on him, spinning him beneath her. As she hovered above him, Anna felt a wicked smile wash across her lips, knowing she was driving him crazy.
Rick awoke the next morning with images of the night before. The way Anna looked in the candlelight and the feel of her breasts against his back. Her hands milking the tension from his shoulders. Watching her on top of him...
Negan must not have had a woman as good as her, because if he did, he wouldn't have the need for five wives.
And knowing what he knows now, if Negan even looks at Anna the wrong way...he would kill him.
Rick dressed and buckled his holster around his hip and made his way downstairs where Anna was making breakfast and Enid, Carl and Jesus all sat around the kitchen table. Jesus was holding Judith on his lap and she was beaming.
"Day-ee!"
He smiled and walked over and patted her head, "Hi Pumpkin."
Anna kissed him, "Morning, Constable."
He took a seat beside Jesus and Anna put a mug of coffee in front of him, "So...Jesus...what did you want me to know?"
Judith turned and patted Jesus on the face, but he managed to talk, "I have talked to Carl about the Sanctuary. Now that we know more about Negan, I think it's time you met Ezekiel."
Rick looked confused, "Ezekiel?"
"He's the leader of one of the communities that Negan terrorizes. He calls it The Kingdom. We've been looking for someone like you for awhile now, Rick. A leader to overturn Negan."
Rick and Anna met eyes and Jesus called over his shoulder, "Anna, do you mind if I take your old man for a short trip?"
He saw the hesitant look on his wife's face, "It depends. Is this gonna make Negan dead?"
Jesus smiled, "I believe so. If not dead, we will at least leave him powerless."
Anna smiled, "Just don't bring my old man home bruised and beaten again. He's gonna need his strength."
Enid sighed and looked to Carl, "Gross. Are they always like this?"
His son nodded, "Yeah, yeah they are."
A/N: hello my lovelies! I love seeing the numbers on the traffic graph! Thank ALL of you for reading! Thanks for favoriting and following along on Anna's journey!
Next up: The Kingdom...more Spencer and a prelude to war.
Shout outs to May85 and Guest! Love you for reviewing!
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