The crops at the Sanctuary were done, and Daryl knew Angel was trying to make it work. Rosita being there helped her out some, a familiar face, she still had some issues with Eugune at first, but they were good now. It'd been two months. He knew that it was time for him to leave now. He couldn't do anything more as the old Saviors were still trying to string up walkers to use as diversions and scare tactics for the birds.
Angel was getting ready to go on the run into the city, Daryl had told her that Anne knew of a place that might help. She looked at her map and it wasn't a building she'd cleared and that the area hadn't been full of the dead, so they decided it was worth the run. He came up behind her as she hooked her machete on her belt, wrapping his arms around her, "Imma tell Rick today."
"Really?" She looked over her shoulder, she hadn't brought it up, it up even though they'd been there longer than he said.
He nodded kissing her shoulder, "We should go to Hilltop, Rosita said Maggie misses you and that you should see how Herschel's grown."
"I'd like that." She smiled leaning into him. "You going to let me on that bike today?"
"Yes ma'am." He gave her a kiss, "Finally got it good for two."
"About damn time." She turned in his arms, kissing him sweetly. It'd been nice, seeing him every day, not worrying about how long it'd be until she saw him again. She still hated it there though. She felt his thumbs run over her stomach and she laughed, "Give it time."
"I don like waitin." He kissed her again, "Thought I probably did enough that first day."
"I should have my period in a week or so." She muttered on his lips, "Or hopefully I won't."
Just the thought of her pregnant made him smile, a chance for them to have a family, for him to have an actual nice, caring family who didn't treat each other like shit. He kissed her one last time, "C'mon, the quicker we get there the quicker we can leave here."
"Right." She said following him out the door.
As they pulled up to the museum, she pulled the bandana off her face. Daryl turned and saw her eyeing Rick, he put his hand on her arm, "Be nice."
"I will." She sighed. The man hadn't come to Sanctuary once since she'd been there. Hell, she didn't know when the last time he'd gone there was. But she was going to do what her husband asked, it was his best friend.
They walked inside and after the one walker at the door was taken care of, she saw hands coming over a desk and Carol stopped beside her to watch as the walker pulled itself up. Angel looked back at her friend, "You think she would know which exhibit we're looking for?"
Carol rolled her eyes with a smile and Rick watched as she unsheathed her machete, killing the walker in one swift move. She shrugged, "Shame, I enjoyed guided tours."
Moving on to the next room she fell in next to Maggie who looked at the tents on the ground, "How long do you think it's been empty?"
"A year at least." Angel told her, "Probably a few months after the beginning though. We barely lasted in Atlanta and here they seemed to have twice the population flocking from what I've seen throughout the city."
Maggie just shook her head at what that probably meant for most of the people. Angel clasped her shoulder, "Just because this is still here doesn't mean they didn't get out."
Her friend nodded as they made their way through to the main hall, Angel trying not to roll her eyes at Rick giving orders to them. Maggie smiled as they walked into hall seeing the list of exhibits, but her smile fell as she looked down under the glass seeing all the walkers below it. Her eyes went to Angel who just shrugged apologetically. Everyone noticed the walkers and stopped before walking on it too look. Angel looked up to Daryl who was looking down then back up to her.
She just gave him a smile, she knew he would be even more worried about her than normal because she might be pregnant, but she still just shook her head, walking over the glass like it was cement. She mouthed to him, "It's fine."
Maggie smiled between the two of them, happy that they were back together and doing okay since her long trip. She'd found Hilltop some good stuff, they would have to venture into the city more, especially with how well the museum was going to work for them.
Angel went on with Carol, Maggie, and Michonne. Tension was there, between her and Michonne, but Maggie broke it up telling them about the election Gregory had called and how she'd won it.
"The rebirth of democracy…by that guy." Michonne said after Maggie told them everything. Angel couldn't help but let out a laugh, slightly surprising Michonne. But they had been friends for so long, it was hard to not laugh at a decent ironic observation.
"Deanna must be rolling in her grave." Angel said with a smirk, the others smiling at it too, "She'd have chewed him up and spit him back out, all with that damn grin on her face."
"Please, imagine what she'd do if she found out I live with a king." Carol smirked back at her.
"But it works right?" Maggie asked her.
"People seem to like it." Carol shrugged.
They found the plow they were hoping for to take back to Hilltop and Angel took one handle of it, Carol the other and Michonne the other end, Maggie helping and leading them as they went back to the main staircase.
As they made it back to the stairwell Daryl saw her carrying the plow and he rushed over taking the handles from her and Carol. She rolled her eyes at him with a smile. He wasn't sure how long he was going to get away with this, but he was going to do it as long as he could.
They tied ropes around their waists to carry the stuff down the stairs and he went to hand her the end of his but instead she took the one Saddiq handed her and tied it around her own waist, looking at him like Go ahead, try and stop me. He bit his lip, this is apparently as far as she would let it go.
After they got the wagon down, they worked quickly with the smaller stuff, Ezekiel and Carol the last two coming across and the glass was audibly cracking now. Rick yelled and the plow handles went up as Ezekiel went through the floor, Carol getting pushed back.
Angel went into action, all of this feeling second nature to her. She caught Carol, pushing the woman to the side as she slid, lying down on a beam. She saw him getting grabbed by walkers just barely and tried reaching down to him. He was too far away for her to grab as the others pulled on the ropes trying to get him back up. She saw the rope getting frayed on the glass and she slid her arm under it, protecting it while Carol laid a blanket down next to her. She could feel the sting of the glass cutting her skin but at least it wasn't cutting the ropes as Daryl came up behind her, shooting walkers that got to close to biting the man hanging for his life.
She managed to get a grip on the rope with her bloody hand, allowing her other hand to grab it too and she yelled back to the others, "PULL!"
They all pulled together, and the man started getting lifted up. Once he was high enough, he grabbed the blanket and Carol grabbed the back of his shirt, Angel letting go of the rope helping her and once the man's knees were on the ground she was grabbed by the waist, getting pulled off the glass by Daryl.
He backed up to a pillar, his breathing heavy in her ear as he said, "Idiot."
"Love you too." She breathed back, turning to look at him, "I'm fine. It's okay."
He nodded, he knew even if she was pregnant, what she just didn't wouldn't affect her enough to hurt whatever was in her stomach. She'd read the books more than him, she knew what she was capable of. Saddiq came over to them and looked at her arm, it was scrapped up, but he smiled at her, "I somehow think you don't need stitches."
She laughed and looked back to Daryl, "See, told you it's okay."
He rolled his eyes at her, shoving her away as he went to get everything else out of the museum while Saddiq bandaged her arm. Ezekiel and Carol gave her a nod of thanks as they began helping too. Rick came over to her, a small smile on his face, "Quick thinking Angel."
"Thanks." Her tone was flat.
"You still mad at me?" He asked, "I'm sorry, I had to do it. You know I did. You're family Angel. I didn't want to."
"Nope, but you did." She gave him a sarcastic smile, "So yeah, I'm still mad at you. I was just told to play nice."
She felt Saddiq pat her arm and she went headed back towards the group and Rick let out a sigh. Saddiq just shrugged, "At least she spoke to you?"
"Yeah, yeah." Rick waved him off. He did feel horrible, she'd taken care of his family, his son, she'd carried both his kids to safety at one point or another, and it took him a while in his anger to see what he'd done to her. He watched as she used one arm to help lift a plow up and outside and shook his head, they were both as stubborn as the other.
They got back to the Sanctuary, Rick and Michonne and a few others with them, Rick getting praises as he walked by and Angel tried not to roll her eyes. Daryl snapped on Laura when she told him to tell the people what they'd done. Angel put a hand on his back, it'd been a while since they lost someone. He sighed and apologized to Laura, "It's a bad time, we just lost someone out there."
Laura nodded and looked to Angel who nodded back at her. Angel actually didn't dislike the woman, in a different time she could see them shooting pool at a bar together, but it'd take a while for them to get to that point.
"Daryl, Angel." Michonne called them, then pointed to the wall where Saviors Save Us – We are sill Negan was spray painted on the wall. They both moved over to her as she asked, "Does this happen often?"
"You'd know if you were here." Angel looked at her with a cold stare, she turned to Rick as he walked up, "I told you, it doesn't matter if he's alive or dead. They still whisper his name."
Daryl ordered Justin to paint over it as Angel walked away from them, heading up the stairs. Michonne followed her once it was taken care of and Rick started telling the people there what they'd done. Angel scoffed, leaning in the corner as Rick got applause. Michonne came and leaned on the railing, "Angel, what's going on. It's not like you…to go this long with a grudge."
"I held on to a promise for how long and you're surprised I can hold on to a grudge?" Angel laughed in disbelief.
"What is going on with you? What's wrong? We used to be friends and we haven't spoken in almost a year." Michonne tried not to sound hurt.
"Really? You point a sword at me and expect it to be fine the next day?"
"You had a knife to Ricks throat." Michonne hissed at her.
"And what do you think he's got to Daryl's?" Angel stepped towards her, "What do you think being in this place does to him? Waking up every morning in the place where he was fed dog food, beaten, paraded around like an animal? Having to walk these halls like he did back then? You think that isn't just as bad as having a knife to your throat when every day you remember the shittiest time of your life?"
"He could tell-"
"He could tell you what? That he doesn't want to be here anymore? He has, he told Rick after he kicked me out of Alexandria that he didn't want to be here, that he wanted to go and be with me or go to Hilltop, anywhere but here." Angel snapped on her, "And you know what Rick said? That these people needed him. You don't see him getting an applause when he gets back do you? No, you heard the shit tone Justin took with him, that's the level of respect he gets every damn day. And you know why he still puts up with it? Because his best friend, his brother asked him too. Now tell me, that kind of situation he's in, does that brother sound more like Rick, or like Merle?"
"Don't you dare say that." Michonnes eyes widened.
"What? That Rick is using Daryl because he doesn't want to be here?" Angel crossed her arms.
"Rick asked him to be here because he trusts Daryl, and he know Daryl is strong enough to handle it here." Michonne tried to reason with her.
Angel shook her head, a light laugh escaping her, "Tell me, if he wanted someone strong, someone he trusted, why didn't he ask you to keep an eye on the place?"
"Be…Because…" Michonne tried to figure out the answer other than the obvious one.
"If you thought of it, and can't think of anything else, then that's the answer." Angel told her, "He wanted you with him. Just like Daryl wants me with him, but you know what we have to do to keep this place somewhat running without depleting the resources from everywhere else? I have to go on runs, I went out on a two and a half month run to the city to get supplies for this place. Would Rick have been willing to make that sacrifice for these people?"
"You went out alone? For two and a half months?" Michonne couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, all because I knew that Daryl would never tell Rick he wanted to leave this place until it was a place, he was able to leave without it falling to pieces." Angel leaned against the wall again, "You and Rick don't actually know what's wrong with this place. It's not just the crops! They still try to string up walkers, they aren't changing, and they wont ever change if they're here, they wont ever change under someone that they used to spit on. If Rick wants this place to succeed, then he needs to be here. Period, the end. He needs to be willing to make sacrifices if he wants them to survive without Negan and Negan to still be alive. He can't have Negan breathing and have them being led by someone Negan used to subject to his shit."
Michonne didn't know what to say, everything she said made sense. Angel didn't give her time to think, "Do you think Negan should still be alive after everything that he did? Do you think his death would make a difference to them? Do you think if he were dead, they'd be any worse off?"
"I…I don't know." Michonne answered honestly.
"Well figure it out. Because it's not on us anymore." Angel said seeing Rick and Daryl talking. She pushed off the wall and began to head to their room.
A/N: Woo! Into Season 9! Let me know what you guys think! ;)
