Carol sat up as an unknown man entered the infirmary and smiled at her. She smiled back, though it faltered some when Virgil greeted him.
"Negan. Did you need something?" Virgil asked.
Negan tore his eyes off of Carol and faced Virgil. Doc Virgil was someone he put in the category of his having heard a lot of shit about him, from other people, and thought it was fine to treat him in a less then friendly way. There were others here, like Lydia, who had made up their own minds from just getting to know him.
What Negan really suspected though was that his non-hearing wife, Connie, had written something on that pad of hers about him.
"Doc," Negan said in a level tone, "I'm just here to visit my friend, Carol."
"I did not realize Carol and you were friends." was Virgil's answer.
"And I didn't realize you were in asshole. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Carol alone."
"Carol is suffering memory loss and wouldn't know who you were. Now please lea…"
At that moment, Ezekiel came in coughing loudly! Negan had heard he was sick but didn't bother to ask what was wrong with the former 'King'. Virgil wisely went to him and shooed him out of the room. Ezekiel had probably wanted to see Carol and force her to remember their former relationship. That wouldn't do. At least it wouldn't do for Negan and what he had planned.
It was just him and Carol now and Negan pulled up a chair and sat down beside her bed.
"How are you feeling?" Negan asked.
Carol was on her guard immediately. The doctor here didn't like this man, and the shit eating grin he was giving her was less then trust worthy.
"Fine except that I can't remember anything. Who are you?" Carol asked.
"My name is Negan. I'm not in with the clique's around here. Do you remember anyone here?"
Carol shrugged.
"Just Maggie and Darryl so far."
Negan's grin grew even wider as he began to lie…
"So you remember your husband. At least that's a start." he said casually. Carol lifted a brow.
"My husband? My husband, Ed, died when this whole thing started."
"I don't know anything about your first husband, Carol. I'm talking about Darryl. You remember marrying up with him, right?"
Carol now sat up.
"No." she said carefully. "I'm married to Darryl? He said nothing about that."
"He probably assumed you remembered. Darryl and I aren't close so I can't even begin to guess what's going on in his mind with regards to you. I know you both went through a hard time after losing your son…Henry."
Carol blinked.
"I had a child by him? Why are you telling me all of this stuff, Negan? Why isn't Darryl here or even Maggie?"
Negan held up his hands in gesture of surrender, just as Virgil returned. He looked at Negan with suspicion.
"What's going on here?" Virgil asked. Carol spoke up.
"Was anyone planning on telling me about my life here? I've been lying in this bed, wondering how I went from living on a farm and mourning my little girl, to this place, years later. Now I find out I'm married and had a son that died."
Virgil eyed Negan before answering.
"Yes. You were with someone…I didn't know you were married to him and your son died. I have not been in Alexandria very long." Virgil said before addressing Negan.
"We should talk outside." Virgil said to him.
Negan shrugged before smiling at Carol and getting up out of the chair. He ambled behind Virgil, following him outside and waiting for him to close the door, before waiting for Virgil to speak his peace.
"It was decided that information about Carol's life, would be told to her slowly. I don't know what you did in there but if it keeps her from remembering her life…" Virgil began.
But Negan interrupted.
"I don't get how telling her nothing about her life, will actually help her remember?" Negan interrupted.
"She was almost strangled to death, Negan. She needs time to heal. I also don't have to explain anything to you about this." Virgil told him.
"Alright, Doc, let's put our shit on the table then, shall we? You think you're somehow better than me, even though you kidnapped Michonne and some other people, drugged her and then told her some horseshit about Rick being alive, and I know it was you that did it."
"I never knew Rick. I didn't even know who Michonne was looking for. But she found some boots and a phone with her picture on it. Hers and a child. A little girl. And again, I don't owe you any explanations. Stay away from my patient." Virgil ordered in a stout sounding voice. Negan said no more and walked off—towards the home Rosita and Father Gabriel lived in.
Michonne did not know what to think.
Darryl had broken off their kiss and she still did not know what to think.
Darryl could see that and didn't know how to quite take it.
"I'm sorry," he grumbled, "I shouldn't have done that."
"No, Darryl, don't apologize. I guess I could have never guessed that you wanted to kiss me. Ever."
"Why?" he asked.
"I just…I don't know. I guess I never thought about it."
"And are you thinking about it now? About what it would be like if I kissed you again?" Darryl asked as his mouth moved towards Michonne's and…
Maggie burst in and slammed the door, forcing them apart! Maggie could see that she had interrupted what Darryl had wanted for awhile now, and felt like dirt! But this was an emergency!
"Maggie? What is it?" Michonne asked. But somehow she knew.
Maggie decided to omit the part about finding Herschel and RJ outside of Alexandria.
"Negan told me that he thinks RJ is his son. No, correction, he is acting as if it's a fact! Did he tell you this already?" Maggie asked. Darryl stood up.
"Michonne told me. Negan is full of shit and he's up to something. I say we take him on our hunt for Beta and leave him out in the elements." Darryl advised. Maggie nodded but Michonne struggled to stand in that moment. She did and held on to the back of the couch for support.
"Negan is many things. But he's not stupid. I think he thinks it's true." Michonne admitted reluctantly. "I can't remember anything past Siddiq giving me some pills to help me sleep."
"Of course you can't!" Maggie snapped. "You were out like a light almost as soon as you swallowed them. I sat with you awhile before leaving. Aaron took care of Judith."
"So I was alone?"
"You were asleep, Michonne. Siddiq checked on you." Maggie said.
"But you had left, Maggie! Darryl left…Aaron was taking care of Judith and Siddiq went back to the infirmary. Negan had a pair of underwear that he swears I wore when I came to him. He handed it to me and I just felt like I was looking at something that I had not seen in years. I need to know the truth."
"There is no truth." Darryl said, his eyes falling on the telltale pair of underwear that Negan had brought in this house, "because he's a lying sack of shit. All of this shit he's talking has come up after you came back without Rick, and Siddiq was safely dead."
Maggie nodded.
"Darryl's right. Look, why don't you let me fix you something to eat? You all were almost killed and I need to talk to you about something." Maggie said in a way that made Michonne realize she did not want Darryl to hear.
"Okay." she said and Maggie helped her hop into the kitchen. Once they were gone, Darryl snatched up the green thong underwear and left the house in search of Negan.
Rosita opened her door to Negan and stood in the doorway.
"What?"
Negan peered around her. Eugene was inside, tending to Cocoa. Father Gabriel was probably asleep upstairs someplace.
"I need to talk to you. Out here on the porch." Negan said, motioning with his head.
"I can't." she said and slammed the door! Negan clenched his jaw and then began knocking and knocking and knocking, until Rosita whipped open the door again!
"What. Do. You. Want?"
"First of all, there is going to come a time when you realize that it isn't smart to slam a door in my face."
Rosita grinned!
"When would that be, murdering asshole? Huh? Get the hell off of my porch!"
"Oh I'm the only murdering asshole around here? Could you just shut the door and come out here and talk to me. Please?"
Rosita sniffed, then glanced back at Eugene, who was staring at them. She closed the door and folded her arms.
"What?" she asked again.
"I need to know what Siddiq told you about the day Rick died."
Rosita eyed him.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"I specifically need to know what he told you about that night. He gave Michonne some pills to help her sleep. Did he say anything about that?" Negan asked.
He got his answer when Rosita gave him a funny look.
"No. Now I have to get back inside…"
"The hell he didn't! He told you about finding Michonne on top of me!"
Rosita scoffed!
"You rapist fuck! That is not what he said! He said Michonne was out of it and you were making her call you 'Rick'! She thought you were Rick!"
Negan rolled his eyes!
"Okay. That's sort of right. But our dead doctor gave her some shit, mixed with Jack Daniels and suddenly, I had company in my cell!"
"And Michonne was lucid enough to grab the key and go in your cell?" Rosita asked knowingly.
Negan thought about his answer.
"Sort of. Look, I brought this up to Michonne, who doesn't remember shit about it. I need for you to refresh her memory."
Rosita shook her head and looked him up and down!
"You are unbelievable. Why would I tell her something twisted like that? Why? Siddiq was so horrified!"
"Yeah, he watched for like two minutes before he did anything." Negan said wryly. "The point is, our Michonne got pregnant after she was with me. RJ is my son and I need for her to understand that before we tell him together."
Darryl suddenly appeared with Michonne's underwear.
"You're not telling RJ anything." he said calmly. Rosita gave Darryl a triumphant look as Negan slowly turned and looked at Darryl. He then spotted the underwear in his hand.
"Give that to me." Negan said, holding out his hand.
Darryl tilted his head.
"Oh you want this?"
"That and more Davy Crockett…though my calling you that is probably an insult to old Davy himself. Give me that fucking underwear!"
Darryl pulled out a lighter and began to set the underwear on fire! Negan leaped on Darryl and they both fell into the street, punching each other, while rolling over and over! Several men came out of their houses and from other places, to break them up, as the one piece of evidence from Negan and Michonne's long ago encounter, began to burn to ashes.
Meanwhile, Beta walked into yet another two story cabin, went up the stairs and walked into a room. It was filled with monster masks, and like all the other cabins and and campsites around here, the inhabitants had been killed by him. Beta hung up his Whisperer mask on the wall next to a Frankenstein and Wolf Man one, and laid down on the bed. He would wait for the intruders to return. The intruders that had crossed into Whisperer land and destroyed what he and Alpha had built.