Danni2016, thank you so much for that review!
I also love JDM as Negan, and I'm so happy he's still on the show. Although, I truly believe the Boston Twins would never have allowed him to live after what he's done. So, he won't get to have his redemption arc here (that's kind of the problem with killing people, imo...). I tried to portray him as scary as he was in the beginning, but still hinting at what he could have become in other circumstances. I hope I remained faithful to the character (and to the twins' characters as well)!
Now, here's a pretty long one to make up for that loss...
It's not my hundredth chapter but it's the hundredth post for this story! This is crazy!
EPISODE 97 – Time for After
When I try to open my eyelids, they're so heavy I barely manage. I still witness Negan's body lying face down on the ground, having lost all of his superb, with two bloody holes in the back of his head. I cannot feel anything but distress. I don't understand why. And my vision becomes blurry as the dizziness increases. I'm holding Arley, asleep from exhaustion despite the pain he must be experiencing, although my grip is starting to loosen. And I fear what's going to happen to him when I completely lose consciousness. Any second now.
"Murphy..." I weakly call for help.
When he leaps by my side and begins to wrap his arms around me, I hastily stop him to practically shove the bundled up baby in his arms. And, as soon as he's holding him, the ground disappears from under my feet. I confusedly feel Connor catching my fall. Then darkness enfolds me.
…
…
"He's hungry, I think..." Did Connor's worried voice pull me back or was it my son's cry?
"We can't ask her to feed him, she's barely strong enough to hold on..." Murphy sounds distraught; I can't remember why he should. However, both their voices ignite a warmth inside my chest I hadn't felt in a long time.
"Her body has stopped producing milk anyway." And that one I don't know...
Then, the wailing pauses. I breathe better; it's daunting not to be able to calm my own baby down.
"How the fuck did ye do that?"
"He's just suckling my little finger..."
I'm slowly coming back to my senses, but the hint of glee in Connor's tone prompts me to open my eyes. I catch a glimpse of his adorably proud and awestruck smile. I'm lying on a cot bed I think. That's weird. Murphy is sitting next to me, while Connor is pacing on the other side, cradling Arley.
"That might calm him down for a while, but we need to find a solution fast." I turn my attention to the one I don't know. He's a handsome young middle-eastern man with a stethoscope around his neck. I guess new people arrived while I wasn't there. He seems concerned, but he quickly needs to leave our side in order to care for someone coming in with a head wound.
I've got the time to realise I'm in a tent, that has been transformed into a makeshift hospital, probably for the attack on the Sanctuary, before a drape falls back and gives us privacy.
Murphy is twitching on his seat, unable to stay still but unwilling to stand. It takes me a minute to understand why his arm is connected to a crimson tube, slithering up to a machine. He's giving me blood.
Their focus remains on Arley for a moment, so they don't notice I'm awake. I can also spot a Band-Aid on Connor's arm, and his skin a little paler than usual, from when he donated as well. Of course, these two sweethearts are universal donors; they've told me they had found that out at the prison's hospital back when they'd been arrested.
"How... How is he?" My voice is a croaked murmur.
Murphy sighs deeply as his worry settles. "Hey Tine!"
"Welcome back, love. He's doing fine; the doc says he's small but healthy."
"How do ye feel, lass?"
"Hem... Better I guess. I don't know..." I feel stronger, but the pain in my stomach got more acute. "What about his ear?"
"He'll live," Connor cringes a little. "He's got a pierced eardrum. But it should heal fine."
"Well, his earring might be impaired a bit, it's too soon to tell, but he'll be okay," Murphy clarifies.
"Ye want to hold him? We'll go find him some milk, okay?"
"Wait-" My brain is gradually regaining its bearings. "What about Sive? Where is she?"
"Don't worry, Tin', we left her at Alexandria. She's fine."
"What- No! She came to warn me about the attack. She was there, at the factory!" I'm starting to panic. I don't know how long it's been.
"What are ye saying, lass? We left this morning before she woke up-"
"Ye didn't. She'd left during the night; she snuck in there to find me. But when I started bleeding, I had to part with her..."
"Ye got to be kidding me." Murphy stares at me, bewildered. And Connor's expression can't hide how terrified he truly is.
"I'm sorry, I was hoping Daryl would get her out, but I have no idea..."
Murphy gets on his feet. They exchange a look, sharing one of their telepathic agreements, only I can guess they're leaving to look for her. I can't help thinking I failed to protect her. Perhaps I should have kept her with me. Sending her on her own had to be a mistake. At the time, it had seemed like the wisest choice to me, although, right now, I feel like a fool.
Murphy hesitates, however, to tear away the IV linking him to me. While Connor looks around for somewhere to put down Arley, since I'm too weak to trust my own arms yet.
That's when Rick shyly peeks his head inside.
"Aideen? God, are you alright? What happened?"
I'm breathless just from failing to straighten up. "Rick! I'm so glad to see ye! Have ye seen Daryl? Is Sive with him?" I still manage to pant.
"What? No, I haven't seen either. I was hoping you'd tell me what happened to him..."
"The fighting over, lad?" Murphy inquires, gathering info before leaving.
"It seems to be. Ezekiel has suffered heavy losses but they're done. Most Saviors have laid down their weapons now. The problem is we can't find Negan anywhere. Like I told you, I wanted to make an example out of him, lock him up for good. Can't do that if he's at large..."
Connor and Murphy glance at each other, before Connor answers:
"Well, he's not at large, at least."
"But ye won't be able to lock him in yer little jail, though."
"Ye'll find his body in a meadow, a little east of the Sanctuary," my twins explain.
Their tone is just sheepish enough that I know it wasn't the plan. However, they're not the slightest bit sorry.
"Shit, guys! You knew why I wanted him alive!"
"Aye, we knew." – "Doesn't mean we agreed."
Rick grits his teeth, although, before he can think of berating them:
"Da?" Our daughter's little voice asks from behind the curtains.
All three of us jump and glimpse at each other with astounded eyes. Connor hurries to open the drape with his one free arm.
"Sive? What the fuck are ye doing here?" That's the first time I see him angry at her, although we all know it's only from the fright.
She flinches at his unusually harsh tone. "I'm okay, Da, nothing bad happened."
"Ye can't-" But she cuts him:
"You said you wished you could warn Ma, so I did! I knew you wouldn't let me if I asked, but that's because you still think I'm a baby that can't do anything! I'm the one that got Daryl out! Well…he's the one that protected me when we saw that big guy, but I found a way to escape and-"
Connor finally interrupts her rant: "Okay! Okay. I guess ye did good, hun, but I'm still not happy ye left without saying anything."
"C'mere kid," Murphy extends a hand, as he can't go to her with his arm still being pumped for blood. She begrudgingly accepts the hug. "We're just saying that if we'd known ye were in there, we would have been able to protect ye. I mean, as it was, we weren't even looking…"
"I'm okay… I didn't want you to worry… Is Ma alright too?"
"I'm fine, baby. Ye did so good."
She sighs in relief. Then, she struts to Connor and the baby in his arm. He lowers himself to show her.
"So that's my little brother? He's cute I guess. He's tiny." She shrugs, not as impressed as the adults in the room.
"Is Daryl here as well?" I manage to quietly ask with an anxious shiver.
"Sure!" Sive happily exclaims.
Then, she promptly opens the curtain to call him over. The thought of seeing him again, free at last, after all we've been through, with everything we couldn't tell each other, is suddenly making me nervous.
He strangely seems as apprehensive as I am. He takes the few steps to peer at my overall state without daring to get too close. He looks okay, despite the scars from the last beatings still mangling his face; his shoulders remain hunched from months spent keeping his head low; however, he's got his angel wings leather vest back from that bastard Dwight.
"Come on in, lad! It's good to see ye." I'm surprised to hear Murphy tell him.
Daryl's guarded eyes glance from me to the twins, to Arley, then Rick. And Rick is the one to wordlessly enfold him in his arms.
I'm so emotional I finally let a few tears fall. Everything has been happening so fast. I can't believe we've made it out. Even though I never lost my faith in the twins, part of me had come to think the both of us would remain prisoners forever. Miserable forever. Seeing him here, hugging his friend tight, after months of abuse, allowing himself to revel in the long-awaited respite, it finally makes things real.
When the two men let go of each other, Daryl turns to me yet doesn't come closer.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Ya alright?" he asks in a soft low voice.
We both feel awkward as fuck. We've witnessed each other's suffering from afar for so long, we still don't feel like we're allowed to talk.
"I'll be fine."
Connor comes to affectionately pat his back, and Daryl get a first peek at a fussing baby Arley. I open my mouth to tell him what I've been wanting to say since I first learned I was pregnant with his child, though now that I can, I choke. A sob escapes me instead.
Connor glances at me with a raised eyebrow, and he can read in my eyes the cry for help. So, he addresses little Arley who's groaning with impatience now.
"C'mere, boy, it's time to say 'hi' to yer daddy." With that, he marches toward Daryl to delicately, but decidedly, deposit the baby in his arms.
I can decipher from the man's expression that the information hasn't settled in. He frowns as he clumsily receives the bundle that starts fussing again.
"What did ya say?"
Connor turns to me with a pointed look. But Murphy's the one that expands: "Congratulations, lad! Now, yer first order of business is to find him some milk if ye don't want to get an earful!"
I guess neither decided to handle the matter with tact.
Rick is the first to peer at me with both a confused frown and an amused smile. Then, Daryl's brain finally clicks and he glares at me with disbelief.
"Ya got it wrong, it wasn't-... It was..."
He doesn't dare tell them that the father is Negan, as far as he knows, maybe because he thinks I've lied to the twins.
"I wish I could have told ye sooner..." I finally manage to utter. "I lied to Negan so he would protect him. But there is no doubt. He's yer son."
His eyes widen, his mouth agape, as he stares at me, speechless. Rick lays a hand on his shoulder to peek at the baby in his arm, with a broad grin.
"Damn, Daryl... Congrats. He's really cute."
"I'm sorry..." I urgently add, seeing his lack of reaction. "I know ye didn't have a say in this, and I'm the one who decided to keep him. I didn't give ye a choice. Ye don't have to say anything, it was my decision and I'll take my responsibility for it. I'm sorry to put ye in that position..." It's Murphy that stops my ranting. He squeezes my shoulder tenderly, and gives me a stern look:
"Hey, it takes two people to make a baby, lass. Ye were put in an impossible position as well."
Daryl still doesn't say a word but gazes at the child he's holding with an unfathomable look. That's when Arley finally decides that he's too hungry to wait another second.
Rick takes action first, reassuring his friend that looks completely stupefied: "I'll take care of it; I'll find some milk for him. That's the least I can do."
I'm suddenly thrown back to when Judith was born. At the time, Rick was the one that couldn't react, and Daryl had taken the matter into his own hands.
Although, this was a long time ago; the problem is that now: "Ye can't give him powdered milk, though! I mean, it's been made clear to me that expiration dates are important. If it's the case for condoms, I can imagine it's worse in that case..."
Daryl's eyes shoot up to me as he figures out what happened at once. I guess understanding might help him come to term with this.
"I'll see what I can do. Don't worry about it," Rick answers before stepping out.
I'm left alone with Connor, Murphy, Daryl, the bawling baby, and, thankfully, Sive who slumps on the side of my bed, because she needs to feel me close – as I need to feel her presence as well – but without appearing to.
"What's his name?" she asks above his cries.
Once again, I glance at Daryl, a little apprehensive. "Em… I call him Arley, but, I guess, if ye want to give him another name, ye could choose," I tell him.
His gaze was lost on his son's face, gently rocking him, when it peeks back up to me. "Huh, no. I don't know. I guess it's okay. Whatever."
"Just, think about it."
"No. What did ya say? Arley?"
I grin fondly, despite myself. I've been thinking of our child as 'Arley' for several weeks already, so I can't help loving the sound of it by now. Particularly hearing it said in Daryl's low drawl. "I thought that if I called him Archer, or Hunter, it might be a little obvious… Especially if he looked like ye."
He softly snorts.
"He does too," I add.
"Nah, he looks like ya. He got ya' hair." That lights a spark in his eyes, warming my heart.
"And yer eyes," I counter.
"Arley's good."
I spy the hint of a smile on his lips, before I lie back on the cot. Exhausted.
Connor nods: "Aye, it is. It's sweet and strong."
Murphy's hand lands on my forehead, checking for a fever, and I close my eyes at his touch, taking the first deep breath in a year, it seems.
"Get some rest, Tin'. Then, we'll get ye back home."
"Home…" I'm not sure what that word means any more, though it sounds like heaven. I'm out in seconds and only wake up the next day.