Still being early, it was obvious now, in the pale light of dawn, that the majority of the residents of Alexandria were still tucked up in their beds.

But this morning, by contrast, Tara certainly wasn't asleep. And with a determined look etched upon her face, and with teeth gritted, she arrived at Rick's porch knowing now what she had to do.

There was time for delay now, no time for Rick to drag his sorry butt out here in a few hours time. For it was now that Tara needed to speak with him after her run in with Rosita and Sahas over the road.

The dark-haired woman hammered her fist against the door once, but received no answer.

Giving it a few long second she tried again….and again and again….

Until finally, a good two or three minutes since she had arrived here, the door was finally torn open by a sleepy looking Michonne who looked more than a little disgruntled by the disturbance

"T-Tara what are you doing, it's not even 6am yet-"said the tall black woman, staring up at Tara with a bleary-eyed look.

But Tara merely pushed past her, heading into the house and gazing around.

"Is Rick here? I need to speak to him," she said, trying to sound as cool and collected as she could be, but inside her heart was racing.

The house Rick and Michonne shared was almost pristine, akin to most of the other houses on the block. But the only telling hint that it was Rick lived here, were the small collection of Judith's toys that littered the expensive living room just off to the right.

But obviously sensing her distress and urgency, Michonne stepped around Tara suddenly.

"Rick's not here, he's out on a run with Aaron. He probably won't be back until tomorrow…" the black woman said, shaking her head. "Is everything ok?"

But this was not what Tara wanted to hear, staring about, feeling flustered at the news.

"Tara, you can talk to me, what's wrong?" said Michonne touching Tara's forearm gently and guiding her over to the sleek couch on the far side of the room, which the dark-haired woman quickly slumped down onto, placing her head into her hands.

Shit. This wasn't supposed to happen. Rick was supposed to be here.

But here and now, her plan slightly scuppered, Tara felt a wave of worry flood over her.

What if Rick, rather than see this as something Rosita should be punished for, instead took this as an opportunity?

What if he found some way of using this against Negan? Attacking while he was vulnerable? And as much as Tara had wanted to see Negan pay for what he had done, she knew that Blake would be affected in the fallout. And even if it was Negan that was killed, Tara knew first hand what it was like to lose someone she loved. And she couldn't wish that on Blake, she just couldn't.

So was telling Rick the trusth really worth that risk?

Tara was torn, as she stared up and into Michonne's imploring eyes.

"Did something happen?" Michonne asked again. "I thought you just went to the Hilltop?"

But a tearful and exhausted Tara just shook her head.

"No….I-" but she couldn't finish.

How could she explain to Michonne where she had been without her being suspicious as to why Tara had gone there in the first place.

People didn't just make house calls on the Saviours, and Michonne would ultimately question why they had let Tara go. Maybe try to use her as leverage with Blake.

But before Tara could make up an excuse, Michonne spoke, her words low and quiet now in the early morning hours.

"You went to see her didn't you?" she whispered, her voice soft and sad sounding.

And it was then that Tara's brown eyes drifted up to Michonne's dark ones, realising that she had guessed the truth.

God. Was she really that transparent?

But maybe it wasnt that...maybe the bond between the two women had been obvious. And after Negan had burst into Alexandria, angry and pissed, it had been blatant that someone had hurt Blake in some way.

Tara gave a nod, dragging her eyes down into her lap, but don't say a word.

For what could she say now? That she had risked everything they had built by going there? For that fact was obvious now.

But Michonne spoke again before Tara could utter anything.

"And Blake…..she's ok? You saw her?" she asked, touching Tara's hand gently, drawing her tearful eyes up towards her.

But Tara gave a hard gulp now and slowly shook her head.

"She got shot…" she mumbled.

She felt Michonne squeeze her hand a little harder.

"But she's alive?" asked Michonne sounding like she was clinging on to that shred of hope.

And Tara found herself nodding instantly, but her gaze flickered down to her lap once again.

"Yeah but she was pregnant, Michonne, and the baby..." she said trailing off, the words hurting even to say now. "W-We didn't even know…"

She shook her head desperately as Michonne frowned hard.

"We?" said Michonne quickly, as Tara stared up wide-eyed at the woman before her.

But Tara merely gaped, tears clinging to her cheeks.

She knew what was going to happen if Michonne or Rick found out who was responsible.

And so getting swiftly to her feet, she shook her head.

"F-Forget I said anything, ok…" she muttered, making for the door, but Michonne was quicker than that, grabbing ahold of her arm and stopping her in her tracks.

"Hey, hey, it's ok, its ok," Michonne muttererd reassuringly, her eyes honest now, as Tara shook her head.

"It wasn't me I swear. I love Blake, you know I do, and I wouldn't...I would never-" she said pleading with Michonne now.

But Michonne brushed her hand down Tara's cheek, wiping away the tears that clung there.

"Shh, its ok," she repeated. "I know. Look, Tara, what Blake went through, it was a tragedy, it was, but if people here have guns then we need to know about it. That's what Rick's out there doing right now, finding guns to finish all this. So if you or anyone else here have weapons we can use for the cause-"

But Tara suddenly pulled away from Michonne looking bewildered.

What had she just said?

After all that….after confessing that Blake had been shot...that she had lost the baby….THIS was really all Michonne cared about? Guns?!

Tara pulled herself away, stumbling backwards shaking her head, but couldn't even speak now. Too disgusted for words.

Why the hell did Michonne think she was going to help these people attack and kill her friend? After everything they'd already put her through.

For it hit Tara now like a brick wall. The truth.

First it had been all that stuff with David. For Blake had been abused here for months right under all their noses and not one person had noticed. And even Tara too was guilty of that.

And even when Blake had returned back here from the Sanctuary all those many months ago, safe, Rick and Michonne, barely even feigning friendship or loyalty, had put her house arrest, not caring about the trauma she had been through. And why? All because they had thought she had information on Negan that could be useful to them.

It was obvious now that all these people had done was use Blake. They had never cared about her, and for a time Tara had been blinded by this herself. Made to think that the most important thing here was winning, when actually, the Saviours had been far more loyal and welcoming to Blake than Rick and the people here had ever been.

For Tara had seen it with her own eyes.

Negan loved Blake, she could tell that, she had seen it in his gaze, felt the warmth emanating between them. And knew despite what she, Rick and the others had thought of him and the Saviours, Negan had been the one to protect Blake, make her happy, even in amongst the endless darkness of this world.

And so Tara's face slowly twisted up in a deep scowl, and breathing hard, she shot Michonne one last look of pure hatred and disbelief before leaving the house, slamming the front door behind her as she left, not caring who she woke up now.

For Tara had now seen what these people, her own people, prioritised. Not the welfare of their friends, but how they could get one up on Negan.

And despite the dark-haired woman knowing what it felt like to lose the person you were utterly in love with, by the hands of Saviour, she realised now that perhaps Negan and his people weren't the only villains here.

For maybe she was living amongst the true dictators, the ones determined to win this, pretending that they were doing it for the likes of Glenn and Abraham and Denise...when at the end of the day they were only doing it for themselves.

Tara reached her porch steps, leading up to her empty house, clinging onto the white railing for support as she hovered there, eyes searching the ground, unsure of what to do or who to turn to now.

For who could she trust here anymore?

Fuck.

She needed to talk to Blake, wishing that she had told her more...told her what was coming. That Rick and the likes of Rosita were planning an attack.

But maybe it wasn't too late.

Maybe if she went back there to the Sanctuary, she might have time.

It would certainly take Rick and the others a while to gather all the guns they'd need. Weeks...maybe months even.

And as much as Tara didn't want to be giving the Saviours a heads up and a chance to retaliate, she knew she needed to give Blake a warning and plead with her to get her ass out of there before it was too late.

But as Tara turned on her heel, determined now to head back out there….she stopped in her tracks, blinking a couple of times to see someone stood in her way now…

...someone she certainly hadn't been expecting to see here standing between her and the way out.

But the person took a step towards her, face tinged with a sadness and a hope now, as they suddenly spoke, their voice quiet and clear.

"Hey," they uttered out gently. "...we need to talk…..…"

Ooh who is it?

More coming soon…

Sorry we've been lacking Negan and Blake for a couple of chapters now, but I'm glad I'm expanding this story out a little. Gosh, I feel almost like a writer on the show. ;)

Thanks to LJH, angelvoice15, CLTex, Moonwolf27, BlueBloodsSVUOrder, Elizabeth, AkanthaTheron, stacey40 and Guest.

Please review! :)