This Night

Chapter 222

Author's Note: I have a photo bucket page that I try to update with pictures of my cast and the cast that was in the Walking Dead. The red shirts this season is killing me! I had five last night that I added to the Alexandria Safe Zone. Seriously, guys, let's stay away from named red shirts for a while! Geez, I think the red shirts brought up Alexandria's total (with my OC's) to almost what team family has been in the 6 years. Have I said I'm a bit obsessive when it comes to my stories? LOL. Doesn't everyone have a character board with faces and names of OC's and how they work into the story? You know what…on second thought, don't answer. Please review.

Group POV:

Jewel took a breath as she took the knife off of Merle's make shift prosthetic and started sharpening it. "A weapon is a weapon, he would have wanted us to use it."

Mar gave a small laugh. "He would have. He would have enjoyed the fact that he was still fighting after he was gone."

Rick gave Jewel a small nod. "They think they're in control. We're in here and they could be anywhere. But we know exactly where they are," he told the group.

"Plans got stones, I'll give you that," Abraham complimented Rick.

"Make our move before they do," Glenn said.

Rick nodded. "That's right. They're not counting on us thinking straight," he said.

"Are we? I'm just making sure, it's a big play," Rosita pointed out.

"What else can we do? Just sit here and wait to become food? Watch them as they tear us apart one by one?" Summer asked. "Do you want to be the last one alive while you watched them kill all of us?" she demanded.

"Summer," Jewel said softly.

Rick stood up and put his hand on Summer's shoulder as he looked at Rosita. "Remember what these people are capable of."

Jes nodded. "Bob said there was only five of them, we should go two separate ways, in two different groups. They'll think they have the upper hand, they'll come in here. That prick Gareth is to stupid to be anything but think he's in control. He won't admit failure until there's a bullet in his head."

"Or a red handled machete," Jewel said as she looked at Rick.

"So, I know I'm a newbie and all, but whose staying back?" David asked.

Jes looked at Jewel then Rick. "Jewel for sure, she's not 100%, plus she's got the baby and Judith. Mika can help. She can also watch over Bob. Carl, Lexi, and Mitch, they all are good shots. Father Gabriel and Eugene, for obvious reasons, and Rosita to provide some backup."

"Summer should stay, to help her mother," Joey said as he worked on some weapons.

Summer looked up. "Carl's here. There isn't a chance in hell I'm not going to be out there."

Rick glanced at Jewel who stood. "She's going," she said as she put the knife from Merle's makeshift hand into Summer's hand.

"Tyreese?" Rick asked.

"Yeah?" Ty responded

"Are you up for this?" Rick asked.

Sasha came out of the room. "I'm coming with you."

"You should stay with Bob," Tyreese told her.

"He's right Sash, Bob needs you to be there," Summer told her friend.

"No, I want to be out there, I want to be part of this," Sasha said as she went back to the room.

Tyreese followed her and glanced over at Lexi. "Can you please help me talk sense into our sister?"

"Don't you think I've tried?" Lexi questioned.

"I know how it feels. But this right here, the time you could have with him, don't throw that away," Tyreese told her. "I wish I had it with Karen."

Sasha turned and looked at him. "Do you remember how you felt? What you wanted to do?"

"Yeah," Ty answered. "It made it so I couldn't see it. Forgiveness, that's facing it," Ty answered.

Sasha looked at him. "Forgive them? For hurting him? For trying to kill us? The next person it could be is Lexi. How would you feel if our baby sister was lying here missing a leg because we could have killed them when we had a chance?" she asked.

"I know that if I was the one fighting for my life, I'd want the person closest to me around," Lexi pointed out. "What if he dies while you're out there? How are you going to feel then?"

"What the hell is wrong with the two of you? You think we have a choice?" Sasha asked.

"Not all of us, just you. When he opens his eyes, the only thing he is gonna want to see is your face," Tyreese told her.

Sasha put a knife in his hand. "Take it."

"Sasha, it should be you," Lexi told her.

"If he stops breathing, you put it through his temple. That's what Bob would want," Sasha told him as she squeezed Lexi's hand before kissing the top of Bob's head.

Jewel and Rick's POV:

Rick kissed the top of Hope's head as he handed her to Mika. "I need to talk to Jewel before I go. Take Hope in the room with the others," he instructed.

Mika nodded. "Be careful," she told him as she went into the other room.

"Come on," Rick told Jewel as he took her hand and led her to the small bathroom and closed the door. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. "I know you want to go out there," he told her.

"But I need to be in here," Jewel simply stated as she kissed him. "This is the right play, you are doing the right thing. Gareth thinks he can still win this, that he has the upper hand and the only way to stop him is to kill him."

Rick kissed her again. "This is why I love you Mrs. Grimes," he told her. "Hey, we're going to get through this."

"Just like we always do," she said as she took off his coat and handed it to him. "You'll need this," she told him. She leaned against the sink of the bathroom. "We try to be the good people, we try to keep our humanity, but every time we do, one of us winds up dead. We should have went back there, we should have hunted every one of those pricks down and we should have taken care of them. Merle would still be alive, Bob would still have his leg. I'm just tired of getting screwed for trying to do the right thing."

Rick kissed the top of her head. "We're taking care of this now. They won't take any more of us and they won't do it to anyone else. You remembered my promise to Gareth," he told her.

"That you'd use your red handled machete to kill him. Merle would have said you bein' married to me, that makes you a honorary Dixon, and Dixon's don't make promises," Jewel told him as she kissed him.

"I mean to keep that promise," Rick assured her. "I know what Gabriel is guilty of, he told us."

Jewel looked at him. "I'm not going to like this, am I?" she asked.

Rick shook his head as he caressed her face. "He had the church doors locked, his congregation was begging to be let in. Men, women, children, probably babies like Judith and Hope, he left them out there to die because he was a coward."

Jewel closed her eyes momentarily. "Hell's bells," she cursed. "You're telling me this in case he tries to be a coward again, and save himself. He's not going to endanger anyone else's lives, our children. If he makes a move, I'll put a knife in between his eyes," she said as she looked at Rick. "You need to go, Abraham will be pounding on the door. I'll see you when you get back," she said as she kissed him.

Rick nodded as he opened the door. "Go and shut the door behind you," he instructed as he kissed her. He watched her go behind the door and close it. "Let's go," Rick instructed.

Office group POV:

Jewel walked into the office and looked around. "Mika, Mitch, you two take Judith, get behind the desk," she said as she took Hope.

"I'll stand in front of them, with my gun aimed at the door," Carl said. "You should go behind there with them, with Hope," he told Jewel.

"I'll stand by Ty and Bob," Lexi said.

Jewel smiled as she touched his face. "I'm going to go sit right by the dear Father over there. I'll try and nurse Hope so she won't fuss. Rosita and I will provide cover if you need it," she said as she went over and sat down next to Gabriel. She lowered her voice. "I know what you did," she said as she started nursing Hope. She kept her knife on her lap as she eyed Gabriel. The only sound in the room that could be heard was Carl tapping his finger against his gun.

Jewel tensed slightly as she heard the breaking of the lock then a creek in the floorboard by someone stepping on it.

"Well, I guess you know we're here, and we know you're here. And we're armed. So there's really no point in hiding anymore. We've been watching you, we know who's here. There's Bob, unless you've put him out of his misery already. Mika and Mitch, And Eugene. Rosita. Martin's good friend Tyreese. Carl, Lexi, Judith, the baby. And, last but not least, Jewel. You know we thought Grayson was going to take care of you for us. Well, he did take care of one of your brothers for us. He seemed like he would have been a tough cookie. Rick and the rest walked out with a lot of your guns. There seemed to be another person with them, one we can't account for. Listen, we don't know where you all are, but this isn't a big place. So let's just stop this now before things get more painful than they need to be," Gareth said from outside the door. "Look, you're behind one of these two doors and we have more than enough firepower to take down both. Can't imagine that's what you all want," he told them. "How about the priest? Father, you help us wrap this up, we'll let you walk away from this. Just open the door and you can go. You can take both of the babies with you. What do you say?" he asked.

Jewel adjusted Hope in her arms and picked up her knife and held it to Gabriel's temple and mouthed. "Don't even think about it."

TBC

Author's Note: I know, I know a cliffhanger, sorry! Otherwise it was going to get to wordy. And I'm still deciding how to handle Beth's episode. Do I skip over it? Do I add an OC that'll die so we can see what she's up too? Review please.