Gareth's POV

Sadie became significantly more quiet for the remainder of the time spent clearing out dead ones, loading the guns and supplies into the van, and then eventually for a good part of the start of our trip back to Alexandria where we'd then leave with the others to return to meet again with Jadis and her people.

I sighed as I looked back over at her from the passenger side, the slightly more dirtied up bandage around her hand clearly visible as she gripped the steering wheel, clearly deep in her train of thought.

"...You know, I don't mind taking over the driving if- " I finally started to say.

"If what, Gareth?!" She interrupted. "If I need a break? If I need to take it easy again?"

She sort of scoffed under her breath. "...What I need is to clear my head after….." Her face got a little more sullen again as her change in tone made it even clearer how hard she was trying to keep it all together.

"...after that….." She finally continued. "...driving's always been good for that, you know that."

"I do…." I sighed again. "...I do, but would you at least stop the car for a minute? Five, max?"

She looked over at me, glanced back at the road, then looked back to me again.

"Fine….." She agreed, somewhat defeated, as she turned to park near the side of the road.

"...Five minutes." She repeated back.

She turned to look at me again, with a similar expression as just before, like it was hard for her to do now, and turned away again to bring her good hand toward her face to wipe it.

She sounded as if she were starting to sniffle too, but more quietly as if not to worry me anymore than I clearly already was.

"Sadie….." I spoke gently, rubbing my hand across her shoulder in my attempt to comfort her. "...Sadie, I said I was sorry….and anyway, I'm right here. I'm fine, everything's okay."

She gently picked my hand back up and moved it away from her shoulder as she shook her head.

"What the hell were you even doing climbing up that Ferris wheel, anyway?" She eventually asked.

"I'm gonna go ahead and assume you're not looking to hear how it seemed like a good idea at the time." I joked.

"Smart boy." She half joked back.

"Well then, what do you want me to say, Sade? It didn't seem like a bad idea. I just thought that I could get a better aim at them from higher up, maybe even spot some more guns that we missed." I sort of chuckled. "Hey, if anything, why don't you blame that bitch, Jadis. She's why we're out here anyway, right?"

"That bitch will take whatever we bring her, ESPECIALLY after this!" She practically threw her bandaged up right hand in front of her. "...you don't have to go risking your life for her sake."

"...kind of like you're doing for Maggie's sake?" I pointed out…..instantly regretting it when I saw the look on her face.

THAT did it.

"Gareth, that is an ENTIRELY different thing, and you know it."

"No, I don't know it. I mean, it's all part of it, isn't it?" I suggested. "...you going back and forth from the hilltop, these guns, the food…"

"And only part of it." She added. " ….My ultimate priority is putting that asshole, Negan, and his little goons in the ground…..for all of us and YEAH, Maggie is part of that."

"Why though?" I asked, half knowing the answer already. "Why her, specifically?"

She just shook her head to herself and got more quiet again before she spoke.

"...Because I still have nightmares about that night, Gar." She sort of scoffed. "Two fuckin years later."

"What ni- …" I stopped myself mid sentence as I started to piece together what she was getting at

"Yeah…" She somewhat scoffed. "...plays out the exact same way almost every damn time, only…."

"...only?"

She sighed. "...only I don't get to you in time. All I can do is watch, until…."

"Until what?"

"...until I wake up." She sighed again, but half smiled this time. "...usually by you, but the point is I do get to wake up from it, Gareth, she doesn't, she was there when it happened, when Negan- What I'm saying is that I could've just as easily been her…..and that if she doesn't deserve justice for it, then I don't know who does."

I nodded, reaching my hand back over toward her and stroking gently against her thigh which, this time, got a little bit of a smile from her as she met it with her own and picked it back up to kiss it.

"...So, we bring the guns back…..and the supplies, we get Jadis and her people to fight with us, we essentially put Negan in the ground, as you say- "

"And his goons." She added.

"...and his goons." I chuckled. "...and then what?"

"...And then we get back to making something of a life for ourselves, for everyone….for Alex, for Maggie….for her kid." She chuckled a little, herself. "...Hell, even that asshole's kid…..Carl, I think his name is….and his sister…..Negan reordered the world the way he wants it, at least for the time being. It's gonna be up to us re-reorder it the way it should be….and I'm still not trying to risk your life for it, matter of fact, I forbid it." She chuckled again at that. "...but there are things I will risk for it."

I smiled back at her. "Well, that all sounds pretty good to me."

"...as it should." She reaffirmed, starting the van back up. "...your five minutes are well beyond up, by the way."

"Fair enough." I chuckled.

Back at Jadis's scrapyard, I stood just behind Sadie as we…...along with the others, watched as Jadis checked over most of the guns from our haul.

"Operational? All?" She asked.

"To the best of our knowledge." Sadie answered firmly. "I am a woman of my word."

"Good." She replied, moving on to the next one.

"They might need some cleaning." I added.

"Expect us?" Another woman asked, clearly taken back.

"We cleaned some, we oiled some already." Sadie told them. "You can do the rest, if we're doing this together."

"Yes, but operational?"

"I already answered that." Sadie scoffed, increasingly more irritated. "..fire off a few for yourself, if you don't believe me."

"How many?" She asked, ignoring Sadie's remark, for the most part.

"63." Sadie replied. "We made an inventory."

"No." She stated, matter of factly.

Sadie took another step closer to her, practically right up in her face now. "No?'

"Not enough" Jadis elaborated coldly. "Need nearly twice."

I had to pull Sadie back, holding her before she could take the bandaged up fist she had already raised and put it through this bitch's skull.

"Sadie, Sadie- "

She managed to shake me away from her, but still opted against hitting her just yet, after all.

"Don't touch me!" She nearly growled before returning her attention back to Jadis.

"As for you, we'll just take these guns with us."

"No." Jadis repeated, as if she were deliberately tempting fate at this point.

"...Our guns to take, our deal still on."

Sadie glared back at her, seeming to compose herself before she started up again.

"...we'll keep ten for ourselves then, to find more."

"Five." Jadis argued."

"Ten."

"Six."

"Ten."

"Nine."

Sadie tilted her head, holding her glare still.

"Twenty to get you the guns, to fight together." Sadie insisted. "Say YES."

Jadis briefly returned the glare, but eventually agreed. "...Yes."

Sadie nodded with a scoff. "...That's what I thought."

I stopped Sadie, briefly, in her tracks to pull her aside before we made our way back to the car. "Hey…"

"What?" Her tone, slightly calmer now, but still just as irritated with Jadis.

I half smiled back at her as I took her hands into mine.

"...looks like we get another few days to ourselves now."

She considered this for another moment and then smirked at the thought.

"Silver lining, then."

"...bit of an understatement, the way I see it, but yeah." I chuckled.

"Indeed." She nodded, then paused for another moment as she considered this further. "...not just yet though….gotta stop in over at The Hilltop for a bit first."

"...right." I chuckled, recalling now how she'd mentioned something about it earlier in the day.

"We'll leave first thing in the morning." She promised, pulling me closer to kiss me before we parted ways.

"Yes, Ma'am." I called back out to her, teasingly.

Back at Alexandria, Tara…..I think her name was, managed to catch up with me just before I could walk in the door.

"Gareth?" Her voice, slightly nervous sounding, despite the fact that she….out of the others from….that group...had seemingly come around to making peace with us after…..well everything...considerably more willingly than them.

"Yeah?" I chuckled slightly as I turned back around. "...you're fine, I won't bite."

"Oh...I wasn't, I mean- " She chuckled, somewhat more nervously. "...I was actually hoping to catch you guys...Is uh, Sadie around?"

"Sheee is not, actually." I chuckled back, in considerable amusement. "...nah, she went up to stop in at The Hilltop for a while. She should be back tonight though, you want me to pass the message along?"

"Oh, it was just something I wanted to talk to her about. I can come by later."

I nodded. "That works too, I guess. I'll see you around then."

"Yeah, see ya."

I watched, somewhat curiously, as she walked back in the other direction...presumably back to her own place, but just shrugged it off as I continued back into the house.