The Wolf You Feed

Chapter 90

Rick tossed his bag down the moment he stepped inside his front door. Michonne had their small son in her arms, covering him with what seemed like an excessive amount of kisses. The little guy didn't seem to mind the overload of affection. He had a death grip on her, his slim arms wrapped around her neck. She kept him in her arms when she flopped down on the couch and put her feet up. To say they were both exhausted would be the understatement of the year. Rick shuffled into the kitchen to get Michonne a glass of water. He was debating if he wanted to make them something to eat. Or just go upstairs and crash.

Tony was sitting at his kitchen table. The man straightened up like he had something important to discuss. Rick sighed. He knew hoping for even a small break was probably too much to ask for. Now he could only hope that whatever Tony wanted could wait until after he had some sleep. When Rick grabbed the water pitcher and turned around, noticing Tony was not alone at the table. Rick quickly backed up, placing the water pitched on the counter and reaching for his gun. But the man at the table was quick to lift his hands up, displaying his palms to Rick to show that he meant no harm.

"We offered you safe haven," Rick hissed, "...and you led the devil here to our doorstep."

Dwight sighed. He knew this wasn't going to be easy. And what Rick said was partly true. After speaking to Tony, Dwight figured out that the kid that came to him and Sherry in the infirmary, telling him that Rick was going to kill him, was lying. He must have had some other ulterior motive. Dwight wasn't sure what. Maybe to blame someone else for their escape. It didn't matter now. What was done was done. There was no point in dwelling on what happened. Or on who was to blame. They could only move forward from here if they wanted to take down the real enemy. Negan.

Tony held out a partially crumpled piece of paper for Rick to take. There was a note written at the top in a language Rick couldn't decipher. But he recognized some of the symbols drawn under it. Under that there was a list of information. Thankfully that was in English.

"This is from Rowan?," Rick asked. Tony nodded. "What does it say?"

"It says Angry Hawk is on our side. And that we should listen to him," Tony said, ticking his head towards Dwight. "It says he helped Grey Wolf and Carol escape."

"Angry Hawk?," Dwight repeated, his mouth turning up into a hint of a grin. Tony nodded. He didn't say, but he knew if Hekaza gave this wasichu a tribe name it meant she must like him. And Hekaza could see inside people. If she trusted this man, that was enough for Tony. But he also knew Rick might not agree.

"What's the rest of this?," Rick asked. There was a list of names that had locations and numbers underneath. Two of them were circled.

"The rest of the note is from me," Dwight said. "It's the locations of all Negan's outposts. How many soldiers are at each one, but sometimes that changes. The ones circled are where I think the bigger armories are."

Rick raised his eyebrows and read the note over again, this time understanding the information he was receiving. If this man was telling the truth, then they were getting invaluable information. A plan was starting to form in his mind. They could take out the outposts one by one. This would leave them better equipped after each attack. And when they were strong enough, they could take out the Sanctuary itself.

"There's more that's not in that note," Dwight added. Rick looked up, gesturing for him to continue. "You got a hole you need to plug up." RIck's eyes widened.

"What the hell do you mean by that?," Rick asked.

"I mean Negan knows. He knows you've been stirring up other communities to fight against him. Someone's been passing information. If you're not ready then you better get ready. Because he's coming. My guess is you have two days. If you can't fight, you better be ready to run."

"We aren't gonna run," Rick told him. Dwight nodded. That was the answer he was hoping for. Negan might have an informant. But now they had one too. And that evened things up.

"There's one more thing. Your friend wanted me to tell you that he made it. Daryl's inside the Sanctuary," Dwight said. Rick's face lit up at the mention of his friend's name. "He got picked up by the leader of an outpost. They don't know who he is. He's using some other name."

"He's probably already on his way back with Rowan," Rick said, the corners of his mouth starting to turn up into a grin. Then he caught the look on Dwight's face. The man shook his head.

"There's no way he's getting Rowan out of there," Dwight said. Rick gave him a skeptical look. Clearly this man didn't know Daryl very well. Grey Wolf and Carol managed to escape. And that was without Daryl's help. "Negan's having her guarded any time he's not with her. If she's gone for even a minute, he'll have every soldier in that place out after her."

"Why?," Rick asked, "...because she's his only hostage now?"

"Because he took her as his wife. Negan's obsessed with her."

Rick's eyes widened as he took in this new bit of information. He wasn't sure what to say. And he felt sick to his stomach at the thought of Rowan with that disgusting man. He imagined Michonne in her place but had to quickly push those thoughts from his mind before they drove him insane with rage. He didn't want to even think about what Daryl was going through. They needed to end this war. And soon.

"Thank you for the information," Rick said, holding up the note. "When he comes, we'll be ready." Dwight nodded. When he rose from the table, Tony followed. The two men headed out the back door together. Tony was going to drive Dwight back, as close to the Sanctuary as they could get without arousing suspicion. They would use the drive to coordinate on how they were going to pass messages between them going forward.

Rick finally poured a glass of water and took it into the living room for Michonne. He expected to find the woman already asleep. But instead she was leaning back against the couch, wiping her eyes. Rick set the water down on the small table in front of her before he lowered himself onto the couch next to her. He knew by now that she heard the conversation that he had with Dwight in the kitchen. Rick wished he had some words of comfort to offer her. But nothing was coming to mind. Michonne was never open with her emotions. Seeing her visibly upset was unsettling. Unsettling but not totally unwelcome. He could tell she needed him. And that felt good. Rick wrapped his arm around Michonne and tucked the woman into his side.

"I can't lose him," she whispered, clutching their small son protectively against her chest. "I don't have it in me to live through another loss like that."

"That's not going to happen," Rick assured her, his arms wrapping around both her and their baby. He knew this was not Michonne's first child. She lost her other son at the beginning of the outbreak. But she almost never spoke about him. Rick didn't even know the boy's full name. Rick felt a shudder ripple through Michonne's body. He caught her gently under the chin, tilting her head back so they were making eye contact.

"Look at me," he whispered. Then he repeated his words, the conviction strong in his voice. "That's not going to happen. I will never let anything happen to either of you."

With those words, he felt Michonne finally relax into his side. She wiped at her eyes a few more times as he rubbed his hands over the thick ropes of her hair and down her arms. Michonne was many things to him. The mother of his child. His partner. His lover. His friend. He couldn't wish for a better person to weather the end of the world with. But in the rare tender moment he was sharing with her now, he realized he also had deeper feelings for the woman. They weren't always there. Rick realized they must have been slowly building over time without him realizing it. And Michonne must have felt the same because as he pulled her closer she leaned in and whispered three quiet words to him for the first time in their relationship.

"I love you."