Quinn, Hilltop's ruins

I didn't see anything from the smoke, yet I tried to stumble my way out.

I ran into a walker, I got startled, but I quickly pushed it away from me and stabbed it in the head.

Someone grabbed my arm, I held my knife up, to defend myself.

"Quinn, come on!" Carol yelled at me and pulled me out of the smoke. I was coughing a little, then my breathing got back to normal as we were running away. Henry was with her.

"There you are! I was looking for you!" I told Henry as we were running into the woods.

"Sorry, I lost you in the crowd," said Henry, he was really gloomy again.

"Where's Lydia?" I asked.

"She disappeared in the crowd too," said Carol. When we got between the trees we slowed down.

"Quinn!" Eugene called my name, I got flinched.

"Eugene…" I breathed out slowly, then I hugged him. I was so tired and I was shaking, it reminded me of the night when Eugene went missing, our first encounter with the whisperers... I got chills, in a bad sense.

"Are you alright?" asked Eugene.

"Sure. Sorry," I said and let him go quickly. "I'm just happy to see you," I smiled. Eugene smiled at me too. Then I noticed Yumiko and Magna behind him. I nodded to them. So Magna got out of the cave? Maybe Connie too?

"Heyl," Yumiko greeted me, but Magna seemed really out of it, she was so weary, barely able to stand.

"Magna! Are you alright?" I asked.

She nodded silently, but she didn't look good at all.

We walked deep into the woods for a while without saying a word, when Yumiko stopped.

"We should take a break. Magna's barely able to walk," she said and helped her to a fallen tree to sit down. Eugene packed out the remains of the radio and started tinkering with it.

"I'm sure Lydia got out," I whispered to Henry when I saw his face. He looked at me.

"I lost her again," he said.

"We will find her, she must be around here somewhere."

Henry nodded and exhaled sharply. He sat down too.

Magna started to recount what happened to her and Connie. Carol and I were listening.

Of course, almost immediately Yumiko confronted Carol.

"Yumiko, please, stop," I asked her.

"You shut up! You are defending her because you are besties, but this woman here killed Connie! And almost killed Magna, too!" she said very angrily then stepped to Carol and continued with her monologue, then punched Carol in the face. Henry sprang to his feet.

"Mom!" he said and hurried to her side. Carol turned around and left, Henry following her. I was staring, speechless. I'm not proud of it, but I just froze. Unfortunately, Yumiko was right… I exchanged glances with Eugene.

"Magna… can I do anything for you?" I asked politely.

"Yeah, you can leave her alone," answered a very angry Yumiko instead.

"No, thanks," said Magna calmly, sincerely. I nodded and left them there. I headed after Carol. Eugene followed me.

Carol was sitting on a fallen tree with Henry.

"Let me see it," said Henry, referring to the wound on her lower lip which Yumiko's punch created.

"No, it's fine," said Carol. Eugene sat next to her and I was standing a little away.

Eugene managed to brighten up Carol's mood a little. He told her about his date. He was so adorable, he must be really in love. I smiled to myself as I was listening to him.

After we rested for a little while, Carol turned to me.

"We have to go," she said. "We need to look for Lydia. Eugene, can you go with Magna and Yumiko? So, it wouldn't be just the two of them alone."

"That's really kind of you," I said honestly. Carol shook her head, she felt so much guilt.

"Despite the fact how much I would rather go with Quinn, I will do as you say, because that is the logical thing to do now," said Eugene, disappointed. I nodded.

"Thank you, Eugene," I hugged him. We said farewell and headed deeper into the woods.

"You are marching like you have an aim," I told Carol after I examined her for a couple of minutes.

"There's a house nearby. Lydia might have gone there, to find shelter," she said.

"She was limping last time I saw her, I don't think she would go that far," said Henry.

"Let's check it, go for sure," I said. Henry nodded and we continued with our journey. Suddenly we heard some noise, we stopped dead, all of us. Carol raised her hand to indicate not to move.

"Relax, it's just me," said Daryl, approaching us. We all let out a huge sigh. He glanced at Carol, I thought he is going to hug her like he always does, but he didn't move, he stayed where he was.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"Looking for survivors," he said.

"Yeah, what else you would do," I said, half-mocking him.

"I'm not much into pajama parties," he said, referring to the safe house where everyone was supposed to meet.

"I know," I said.

"And what are you doing here?" asked Daryl.

"We're looking for Lydia. Have you seen her?" asked Henry, concerned.

"No. But I'll help. Let's split up, we'll find her faster," he said. I think he wanted to escape Carol.

"Alright. Be careful," I said. Daryl nodded and left us.

I didn't think we should split up, because of the whisperers, but I didn't want to step into the drama between Carol and Daryl. And I was right about that.

Carol was just staring at him. We couldn't talk about what happened, because I didn't want Henry to hear about his mom being in love with another man, who's not his father.

So, we just continued our journey to the house in silence.

As we were approaching the field, where Alpha marked the border, Carol indicated to stop and wait for her. She headed away from us, pulled out her binoculars, and searched the field for possible threats. Henry and I were hiding behind a tree, glancing at Carol from time to time. Carol came back to us in a hurry.

"I'll come back in a second, I'll check something," she said whispering, then left us.

"What is she doing?" I asked, frowning my eyebrows, staring at Carol's back as she walked away.

"Dunno," said Henry.

I hated to see him this worried. He just got Lydia back and now he lost her again. I didn't know what to say to him, so I just patted his shoulder. He smiled at me sadly.

We waited for a little while, when Carol finally came back, smiling.

"Come on Henry, I know where Lydia is," she said. Henry jumped to her side immediately. "Quinn… go to the spikes at the border. Someone's waiting for you" she said smiling and they left.

I felt like lightning struck me. My heart started to pound crazily even before my brain could figure it out.

Negan…

Negan's waiting at the spikes…

I heard my own heartbeat, I felt like I couldn't breathe for a moment. I exhaled slowly, then I put one foot after the other. I tried to regulate my breathing but to no avail.

The trees disappeared around me as I stepped out into the meadow. I saw Carol in the distance hurrying away with Henry.

Then I turned my gaze to the spikes and there he was.

He was standing with his back towards me, his hands in his pocket. He was wearing his old leather jacket.

I was scared I would faint at any moment. I was waiting for this for so long. My hands started to tremble, also my knees, butterflies in my stomach, in my chest. I felt like a teenager when they fall in love for the first time. My heart wanted to break out of me, stronger by every step I took towards him.

Thirty meters…

twenty-five…

twenty…

He heard my steps. Or maybe he heard my heartbeat because it was so loud. He turned around, I stopped dead.

Our eyes met.

He gasped.

"Quinn…" he said, his lips trembling.

He looked at me like he was seeing a ghost. And in a sense, he really was. We stared at each other for a long minute, tears started to sting my eyes. He took a step towards me and I did too. Fifteen meters… ten… five… three… two... one…

We finally stood face to face.

"You are not dead…" he said, laughing and crying at the same time. "I can't believe it… Is this real?" he asked and slowly touched my cheek with a trembling hand. I was crying and smiling at the same time too.

"Negan… I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left you…" I started but he instantly grabbed me and kissed my lips. I hugged him so strongly, I never wanted to let him go ever again. We were kissing for a long time, then we slowly backed away, but just an inch away. "I never want to be apart from you, ever again…" I breathed, while he was staring into my eyes, smiling widely.

"I can't believe you are here…" he said, but then, the thought struck him. His smile faded away at once. "That fucking piece of shit Dixon!" he said angrily, looking away.

"I know, I know he lied to you. I'm so sorry about it. I just found out recently, but please, let him be. It doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is we are together again," I said, trying to calm him down. He looked me in the eye again, confronted by his feelings. He was so happy to see me and yet so angry, because of Daryl.

"It does matter! Quinn… I thought you were…" he said, his voice was shaking. He took my hands. "I thought you were…"

"I know," I interrupted him. "I already hit him in the face for it."

"You hit him?" he asked, smiling again, frowning his eyebrows. "I wish I'd seen that…"

I was staring at him, I couldn't believe it, he was standing right in front of me. I hugged him as strong as I could. He hugged me back.

"I missed you so much…" I said, my tears still pouring. I buried my face into his chest. "I waited for this moment for so long…"

"I wish I could say the same thing, but I thought I'll never see you again," he said bitterly.

As we were talking, Alpha's head was growling louder and louder, that's when I realized it was even there. Negan glanced at it.

"Shut the fuck up," he said grumpily, but Alpha growled even more.

"You… you killed Alpha?" I asked, taken aback.

"Yep. Order completed. Just like Carol wanted."

"I can't believe it… You saved us!"

"I couldn't save Hilltop… I was too late. I should've done it earlier," he said grumpily, glancing at Alpha's head.

I was taken aback, he was here and he killed Alpha. I was staring at him, without being able to say another word.

"What?" he asked when he noticed.

"Nothing," I said quickly and turned my gaze away, felt my cheeks go burning hot. He stepped closer to me and hugged me once again. He was so tall. We stayed there for a little while, embracing each other, without saying a word. I could feel how he was trembling, just like me. We were both crying silently.

"We sh…" he cleared his throat, his voice was weak. "We should follow Carol."

"Right. Let's go," I said taking a deep breath while I backed away from him. He didn't let go of my hand as we headed towards the house.

"You have to tell me everything, what happened to you in these years," he said.

"Not much. I don't know what to say…" I admitted, chuckling embarrassed, while I quickly wiped away my tears.

"Did you really… try to commit suicide?" he asked. I glanced at him. His face was dusty and his tears made a streak. I stopped, he stopped. I slowly reached to his face and wiped away his tears. He let out a sigh. He wasn't crying anymore, he was just staring at me.

"I did…" I finally answered, looking him in the eye. "It's just… Daryl saved me. He took me to the Kingdom and Carol nursed me back to life. Daryl was blaming himself for what happened. He thought I tried to kill myself because he rejected me back then and because he separated me from you."

"I have no idea what you saw in him," Negan growled, grumpily. I smiled.

"We are friends now. He said he won't stop me again and I can be with you."

"How generous," said Negan, ironically. I kept smiling.

"Let's not talk about Daryl."

"Alright, so what happened next?" he asked as we continued our way to the house.

"Carol guarded me like a golden egg, she was afraid I might try to take away my own life again…"

He listened to me closely, watching me the whole time.

…

Author's notes: Listen to "I will be" by Avril Lavigne. Thank You for reading! ❤

FINALLY! I enjoyed writing this chapter so much! HAHA! ❤❤❤ Did you wait for it as much as I did? xD