A/N: To Guest: Ahahaha, that's my reaction to Negan too.
Alex's hands warmed with Kaylee's blood as he applied pressure to her wound. Steph analyzed her condition and said something Alex failed to hear over Gareth and Theresa's shouting match. He tried to tune the two out, wanting to avoid a conflict between his wife and brother.
Kaylee let out a weak whine. Blood seeped out from beneath Alex's hands and he pressed harder. It was impossible to find a smidgen of malice in his heart for the girl. In earnest, he never had any. Had he been hurt and angry? Yes. But he never had a desire to hurt her and see her hurt.
And it looked like neither had Theresa.
"It's peach's decision, hot stuff," Negan's voice broke through his thoughts.
Alex pressed his lips together. He didn't appreciate strange violent men giving his wife cute nicknames and flirty looks.
Gareth ignored the leader. "Theresa, please don't waste this favor on her. Get supplies!"
"Like he said, it's my decision!" Theresa countered. "I'm not letting her die. I don't care what she did. You don't know... you never made an attempt to know her!"
"What happened to this being a democracy? Voting on everything? You know what they convinced me not to do while you and Martin were gone? Something I know he and you would've agreed to."
Theresa huffed and turned to Negan. "If my friends and I voted on it—"
"No fucking way," Negan replied, pointing a dirtied Lucille at her. "I made up my mind, you get the request regardless of anyone else. Eye for an eye, not an eye for a damn vote."
"My hands are tied here." Theresa said to Gareth before stalking off to Kaylee and Alex.
"Big mistake!" Gareth yelled.
Theresa crouched down by Alex. "How is she?"
"We'll need to get her over to the van," Steph replied and stood up. "Preston! Someone else—I don't care who—get over here!" She glanced down. "Albert, you can let us take over now."
"I'm Alex," he corrected. "The youngest one is Albert."
"Whatever," she said as Preston and a younger man arrived. The latter nudged Alex aside and took his place covering Kaylee's wound. Steph and Preston then lifted Kaylee and headed back to one of their vehicles. Theresa started after them when Steph shouted, "Stay there! Don't get in our way and we'll work faster."
Alex wiped Kaylee's blood off on his pants when Theresa flung her arms around him and nearly toppled him over.
"Don't worry about her blood," she said, nuzzling his neck. "Hold me."
He gripped her tight, hands sticking to her back from the combined moisture of blood and sweat. Though none of it mattered, her warm body against his was all he had dreamed of the past three days.
Three days? Was that all? It seemed like weeks.
"I missed you so much, princess," he said, peering over her shoulder in search of Negan or Gareth but seeing neither. By the chance Negan could see them, Alex gave Theresa a kiss with an amount of tongue he would normally only use in private.
She returned the kiss in full before their slicked lips parted. "Where's um, where's Gina?"
"I don't know, um... Oh, there she is."
Theresa whirled around to Gina making her way past Mark's corpse.
Gina raised her hands. "I'm gonna request no hug—" Theresa tackled her into the same tight embrace she had Alex. "Damnit, girl..." She gave in and hugged her back.
"Thank you," Theresa said. "Without you..."
She pulled away. "It's no problem."
The two women exchanged laughs and kind words in opposition to their prickly relationship at Terminus. One that hit its breaking point when Theresa became a busybody over Gina's infidelity.
Alex recalled his wife's deep offense when he called her out on it.
Though time had healed many wounds.
Negan stated The Saviors were staying a few hours to collect 'whatever the fuck they needed.' Though Steph wished to treat Kaylee in town, her leader declared it pointless as they would be leaving soon and their makeshift outdoor establishment was suitable.
Alex held Theresa from behind while they watched from afar as Saviors operated on Kaylee. He filled her in on the happenings since they'd been apart—Gabby's death, Lucy coming clean, leaving Naz behind, and the fact they were in Roanoke instead of Charleston. A tactic used to confuse those who might escape. Yet none of it appeared to make an impression as Theresa gave only mere nods while her vision remained on Kaylee.
Martin and the other two injured Saviors rested on shoddy cots near Kaylee's. Alex started to express his sympathies to Martin when Theresa stopped him, saying it would only worsen things.
Gareth stood a ways away leaning against their van from Sipsey. His arms were crossed and his gaze vacant.
Alex knew he was pissed.
Ever since they were children, Gareth would throw a fit if displeased, and then go stoic and silent. Despite Alex agreeing with Theresa's decision to save Kaylee, he felt Gareth had received the very short end of a very long stick.
"Hey, I'm gonna go talk to Gareth," Alex said into Theresa's ear.
She made a light noise. "Okay."
He let go of her. "Sorry."
"No, it's fine, he's sulking so you need to." She turned to him. "Hey, what was the thing he had you vote on he thinks I would've agreed to?"
"Oh... that um, he wanted to have a lunch of Lucy's walker."
She gave a knowing nod. "And he thought I'd say yes?"
He furrowed his brow. "Wouldn't you have?"
She took a deep breath. "Walkers taste like shit. What did you say?"
"That I didn't care, I just wanted to find you." She smiled and squeezed his hand. He glanced to the van to see Gareth gone. "Where'd he go?"
"Probably to our house," Martin chimed in from his cot.
Theresa frowned. "Did you tell him where it was?"
"He asked, so yeah. Ain't like they're still gonna be there."
"Well, you want to see the place?" she asked Alex.
"Only if they have runnin' water."
"Albert and Cynthia didn't just go in to get away from Gareth's mood."
"Good, 'cause I'm ripe."
"I know, I've been pressed up against you."
He let out a low chuckle. "I still think I need to go alone. Just 'cause he's—"
"Yeah, you do. I want to stay with Kaylee anyway." She proceeded to give him directions to their former house that he repeated in order to remember them.
The streets of the neon-colored town were empty as he strolled through them. An eerie sight as he felt it had bustled with life hours before. Painting their society in clown colors and forcing their people into happiness was an interesting idea. And if the colors didn't represent such a twisted idea, Alex might have enjoyed their artistry.
Part of him began to feel bad for their leader's horrific death and their community's crumble, but those people abducted his wife and Martin, and beat the latter until his rib cracked. There was no doubt they would have assaulted Theresa too had they the time.
Their pain and loss wasn't his problem. They brought it on themselves.
Arriving at what he hoped was the correct address since he had forgotten the exact directions, he approached the impressive home's front door to see it ajar.
Gareth sat inside on the living room's crimson sofa, a leg resting on his knee. "Didn't think they'd be here," he said. "It was a long shot anyway." He glimpsed behind Alex. "Where's your angrier half?"
Alex suppressed a sigh. "I came alone."
"Of course, can't leave precious Kaylee's side."
"Listen man, I'm sorry. I really am." He glided to the rectangle coffee table and sat down across from Gareth.
He leaned forward. "Because of her, we have to stay with them until at least Kaylee's able to get up and walk. And I don't need your sympathy."
Something in Alex snapped loose. "Well too fucking bad, because you're getting it." Gareth's brow quirked up. "I'm sorry you've gotten nothin' you want lately. Not Sipsey, not to take a bite outta Lucy, not to show her walker to her daddy. And to have Negan and Tess shoot you down like that? And Gina bein' more loyal to him than you? And now Beth and Tyreese slippin' through your fingers?
"I mean, you know I think at the end of the day, devoting that much time revenge is a waste, but that don't mean I'm not sorry you couldn't have it. Or that you've had to cow toe to Gabby and Lucy and now Negan. And none of us have given you any sort of support for what you've had to deal with lately. And we should've even though we might not agree."
His face relaxed and a warm smile spread across his face, a sight unseen since Sipsey. "Should've known I was due a sharing and caring moment with you."
"Yep."
He was silent a moment. "It's been insult to injury to insult to injury to kick in the groin."
"We'll figure this out, man. We've been in worse spots before."
"Yeah." He breathed a laugh. "And to top it off, Martin told me to go fuck myself sideways and never touch him again."
He fidgeted. "Really? Well, he seems so... out of himself maybe he's just in one of his classic moods. Or Gina's screwin' him up in the head."
"Yeah, maybe. Shame she didn't pretend to be having his 'caramel baby.'"
"Guess she figured he deserved a break." He fiddled with his hands. "Man, you know what I wanna do right now more than anything?"
"Hm?"
"Burn one."
Gareth cracked-up. "I actually wouldn't mind getting good and stoned. Think Theresa would join us?"
"Heh, I'd hope so."
He gave a dismissive wave. "You can go back to her now."
"No, she can take care of herself. I'm stayin' right here for as long as you are."
"You don't have to—"
"Yeah, I do. I should've been doin' it anyway. You don't deserve this. And I never got a chance to apologize for what I said back at Sipsey. I know you put us first."
"Except Kaylee?"
"Well, you don't consider her one of us."
He sighed. "You really think I should let bygones be bygones?"
"I'm didn't come here to tell you what to feel."
"Ah, going Switzerland, huh?"
"Yep. I have to."
"Actually, I was going to take a shower with that lovely running water. I'd sort of like to do that alone."
"Heh, yeah, okay. Well, I owe you one, alright?"
"Right."
"Fuckity fuck!" Negan's aggravating voice tore through the makeshift infirmary.
Alex let out a sharp sigh as he and Theresa sat on a crate of medical supplies by Kaylee.
Negan burst into the tent. "Looks like some asshole shot my sedan's tires out. Fucking fantastic! Now we're stuck in this rainbow puke-fest a little longer." His vision glossed over those congregated inside before stopping on Theresa, his tense face softening a tad.
"Please let me help," Martin said, swinging his legs off the cot. "I'm not an invalid."
"Martin," Theresa began, "you need your rest."
"Peach has a point," Negan agreed.
Alex held back a growl.
Steph moved from the two injured Saviors to Martin's side. "It'd take a load off my mind. He's a terrible, whiny patient. Just making sure the Chinese girl doesn't die is killing me."
Martin clenched the edge of the cot. "You're the fucking one whining. And she's Vietnamese."
Negan stepped forward and raised a brow at Steph. "What I tell you about being a racist, whiny, piece of shit, Steph?"
Steph's aging features stiffened. "I'm sorry, sir. You're—you're right. He needs to stay."
Sir?
And Alex thought Gareth had an ego.
"I want you to do your fucking job with a big stupid smile on your face," Negan ordered. Steph forced a smile and began to busy herself. He looked Martin up and down. "And you, I'm not wasting my supplies on some inbred redneck trash who goes and makes himself worse just to prove his fucking dick isn't limp."
Martin's eye twitched.
"Don't talk to him like that," Theresa barked. "He took down a guy who was aiming at your people, you know."
"I can fight my own battles, Theresa," Martin protested.
"Whoa," Negan said. "Well sor-ry, peach, didn't know I was supposed to address you humanitarians like royalty."
The guy had the audacity to both mentally undress and demean her? Homicidal maniac or not, what kind of man would Alex be if he sat by and let him treat his wife like that?
Alex started to tell him off when Gina entered through the tent, a hand raised. "Let me chat with Martin, sir," she said. "Haven't gotten a chance to catch up yet."
"Oh? Shouldn't you be trying to rack up more points? Don't want to sleep in a garbage heap tonight, do you?"
"It can wait a few minutes. You know I'm good for it."
Negan threw his hands up. "Alright, knock your fucking self out." He exited the tent and passed over the now-cleaned spot he had bludgeoned Mark.
Gina slunk over to Martin sat down next to him, rubbing his shoulder.
He nudged her away. "That's too hard, stop it."
"Aw, sorry. How about a little lighter?" She traced her hands up and down his back and he rolled his eyes.
Alex wasn't about to endure that though he thought Martin's peeved reaction odd. Regardless, he leaned in to Theresa and asked, "Can we go somewhere private to talk? Just for a few minutes."
Her eyes lingered on Kaylee. "Uh, sure. Like where?"
"Um..." They both rose to their feet. "We can see if our van's empty." She nodded and they began out under the oncoming dusk sky.
The couple found their van parked among the Saviors' vehicles with its back doors wide open. Settling inside, they shut the door behind them. Alex clicked on the overhead lights.
"Okay, you're scaring me," Theresa said. "What's this about?" Her tear-swollen eyes and red splotchy face became clear in the artificial light.
Alex had half a mind to omit what he needed to say, but pressed on. "Oh, no don't worry, nothin' real bad. Just some things I didn't wanna not say 'cause you wanna know about things even if it gets you upset."
"I do. So, what is it?"
"Well, Lucy... I almost ruined everything, or thought I might've. I mean, it's weird, she was leadin' us the wrong way anyway so it didn't matter in the end. Also weird 'cause if she hadn't pointed us that direction we wouldn't have run into The Saviors and—"
"You're rambling."
"Sorry. Lucy... when we had her tied up in here, she was hurlin' all kinds of insults and this and that. And she'd apparently gotten Beth to tell her everything about when she was with us. She said Beth'd said she heard us havin' sex one night in some house and saw Albert with his ear pressed to the wall of the room we were in."
Compared to Negan's sly glances, Albert's voyeurism was welcome.
Her face remained placid. "And you believed her?"
He gave a humorless laugh. "She quoted us."
"Oh."
"She was bein' such a fuckin' bitch that I got so mad, I grabbed by gun and pressed it to her head and pulled the trigger. Lucky me though 'cause I'd left the safety on."
Her brow furrowed. "Did you think I'd be mad? It sounds like something I'd do."
"About that, no not really, it's what I did after. I ran outta the car, Albert followed me, and I hit him."
"You... what?"
"What Lucy said, I don't know if it was true but I was so outta sorts, I hit him. I mean, Lucy said he'd had his pants undone while he was listenin' in on us. He swore he didn't, but Tess, I was so tired and I just wanted to find you and she... I still feel so bad for hittin' him. He didn't tell anyone 'cause no one saw from where we were. This is a damn good van for discreetness."
She buried her head in her hands. "Alex..."
He slouched. "I know. I'm so sorry."
She lifted her head. "I should talk to him."
"Uh, yeah, I really just wanted to put it behind us though."
"I know, but I need to. And you know I won't tell Gareth."
"I'm just... I'm sorry I disappointed you."
She scooted forward. "No, no, you didn't disappoint me. You know, if it'd been the other way around and it was like, Cynthia wanting an earful of you, I'd have probably pounded on her a little bit."
He smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure you would've."
"And I wasn't the best one to work with in there." She gestured toward the town. "When Martin and I were going to escape with Beth and Tyreese, they were cool as cucumbers next to us."
You'd think we were unstable people.
"God, I didn't have the heart to ask, what was... shackin' up with them like?"
"Ugh, I'd really rather not talk about it right now." She dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out a piece of jewelry. "I'd rather give you this." She placed a gold locket and chain in his palm. "I found it in my pocket earlier. Guess someone forgot it."
He ran his thumb over its oval rim. "Remind you of somethin'?"
"I thought it looked like the one you put on Priscilla's marker. And that... that one day we can put a picture of our kid in it."
His head jerked up. Did she say what he thought she did?
"Our kid?"
"One day."
Alex wanted to jump for joy. She wanted kids! They decided at Terminus it would be awful to bring a child into that kind of life. Though he would be lying if he said he hadn't thought of it since finding Sipsey.
He recalled how the candlelight illuminated her face that night in the church and how breathtaking she had looked. And though the van's light revealed darker than usual under eyes, redness from tears, and a few blemishes on her chin, he thought her even more gorgeous than she had been that night.
Alex brushed his fingers across her cheek. "You're really beautiful, you know."
Theresa blushed bright red. "Oh hush, you."
After all that time, he could still make her blush.
They shared a tender kiss. He ran a hand up her arm and over the pink strap of the Samaritan's shirt she wore.
His mouth nipped at the sprinkling of freckles on her shoulder and the heat from her skin elicited a purr from his throat. "I missed these so much."
She hummed in return, sliding her hands up his shirt and running them through his chest hair. A shudder coursed through him. He hadn't intended kissing her shoulder to be an erotic act, but he wasn't about to protest.
When his lips trailed up to behind her ear, she squeaked and pulled back a little. "Hey." She giggled. "That tickles a little too much." Her hands grazed his stomach and he winced from her revenge tickle.
He laughed against her neck. "Sorry. We even now?"
She nodded. "Mm-hm. Let's lock the doors first."
"You really wanna—"
"Yes. Just... I have to get my mind off everything for a little while."
While she scurried around and locked the passenger's doors and him the back, he had half a mind to say, "How about we just stop using protection and whatever happens happens? Could get pregnant right away or six months from now. You never know."
Yet he knew it would be a mistake since she had said 'one day' for a reason. He swallowed the urge as she settled back against him.
Theresa began unbuckling his pants. "So... what were the quotes Lucy gave you?"
"Huh? Oh, that..." He whispered them in her ear while he pushed her shirt down.
"Mmm, sweet little Beth got to hear how it's done, huh?" She moved down to his open fly and began doing something incredible with her tongue, making Alex whimper. "Now you can tell people this hot chick gave you head in the back of a sleazy van."
He tried to tease her back but it only came out as more whimpering.
She moved back up to his mouth and swept her lips across his. "Hey, I love you."
He exhaled a dizzy breath. "I love you too."
