Better Days
Chapter 328
Author's Note: Reviews make me motivated! I'm dreading season six. Oh I have ideas, oh I have wicked ideas. Muwaha! Yep evil laughter should scare you all. But I'm doing all the flash back in episodes one in a couple chapters, then go from there. That would make me dizzy. It made me dizzy when the show did it. Review please.
Beth and Maggie's POV:
Maggie looked out the window and saw Gabriel taking down laundry. "Hypocrite," she said under her breath.
"One problem at a time, Maggie. That's what daddy would have said," she reminded her sister.
"Maggie, Beth she's out on the porch," Reg told them.
Deanna turned. "Hello Beth, Maggie. What did you need to talk to me about?"
"The meeting tonight," Maggie told her.
"Maggie, Beth, if we could talk about…" Reg started to say before Deanna interrupted him.
"I want to talk to everyone about what happened and what we need to do about it," Deanna said.
"If it includes sending Rick away, it's not gonna work," Maggie told her.
"Tell me what that means," Deanna told them.
"You let Rick in, you let us all in. You talked to us, you decided. Now you want to put that decision on a group of very frightened people who may not have the whole story," Maggie told them. "That's not leadership."
Beth was about to say something when Reg jumped in. "Tonight's just a forum, it's just so people to say their peace," Reg said.
"They've had no problem saying there peace up to this point. No one's held back their feelings or thoughts," Beth told them.
"Neither have any of your group, Beth," Deanna reminded her. "I'll make the decision as I've always have," she said.
"He was frustrated. The things he's seen. The things he's lost, the things we have all lost," Maggie told her.
"The things you've lost?" Deanna asked.
"We're real sorry about Aiden, we know what it's like. We watched our daddy get his head cut off by the Governor, and there was not a thing we could do about it. That was barley two months ago, not to mention everyone we lost when the prison fell. Jewel, Daryl, Sasha, Lexi, and Mika have all lost siblings in less than a month and half. We lost Bob. Riley, a girl that risked her life for me at the hospital so Noah and I could go home to our family. Now Noah. That takes a toll on a person, especially a person like Rick," Beth told her.
"Rick took a gun and he pointed it at people," Deanna told them.
"He didn't pull the trigger," Maggie told him.
"That's the metric? That he didn't pull the trigger?" Deanna questioned.
"Yes, it is. Considering Pete had put his hands on his daughter and was beating the crap out of Jewel. He kept that gun for one reason, Deanna and that is to make sure all of us were safe," Beth told her. "If you spent a week out there, saw the things we did, did the things we had to do to survive, you'd have a total different view of things. You'd understand," she told the other woman.
"Michonne stopped him, Deanna. Michonne did," Reg told his wife.
"I'm going to do what I have to do, Maggie, Beth," Deanna told them.
"Why are you even having this meeting? You're going to throw him out, that means we're all going with him, Deanna. Daddy always told us that hiding behind other people so you can make the decision you always were going to make, is cowardly. You don't need to have this meeting, you want to have this meeting because you don't want to admit you're wrong. That you've been wrong about not listening to people, your own people, from the beginning," Beth informed her.
"Rick isn't the only who is going to answer for what he did, Deanna. Jewel is going to make sure, again, that you are held responsible for everything. It all leads back to all the decisions that you've made. You can't blame us for Aiden's death without taking responsibility for your part in it. We don't sugar coat anything Deanna, and Jewel, one of her children got hurt, and she's going to call out the person who let that happen. You want transparency? Well, then transparency is what you're going to get. Come on Bethie," Maggie told her sister.
"Maggie, Beth," Reg called after them. "Maggie! Beth!" he called as he followed down the steps. Both turned around and looked at him. "The cavemen, they were all nomads, and they all died. Then we evolved into this and we lived. Civilization starts when we stop running. When we live together. When we stop sending people away from the world and from each other. That's what I'm going to tell her. That's what I'm going to tell everyone," Reg told them.
Maggie nodded as Beth spoke. "Thank you," she said as they turned to leave.
Quinn's POV:
Quinn walked up the porch after seeing Maggie and Beth leave. "Dad."
"Sweetheart," he greeted as he kissed the side of her cheek.
"Mom," Quinn greeted.
"If you are here to talk to me about the meeting tonight, I'm going to make the decision that I think is best for us," Deanna told her daughter.
"That means you think kicking Rick out," Quinn told her.
"Quinn, your mother hasn't made her decision yet," Reg told her.
"Have you even tried to talk to Jewel? Or apologize to Summer for your actions regarding what happened yesterday? This could have been prevented if you acted like a leader, if you didn't ask some idiotic question to save face," Quinn told her mother.
"Quincy, don't talk to your mother like that. She's going through grief of Aiden," Reg told her.
"This happened before we even knew about Aiden. Tobin stepped down as head of the construction crew, and had you put Abraham in charge. You felt like more of Rick's group was taking over. You had to face the fact that maybe you aren't up to leading this town the way it needed to be, and that scared you. You wanted Summer to say that it was someone in her group who did this, because you knew Rick and Jewel was going to be pissed that you knew about Pete and didn't do anything. You had a teenager call you out, and you knew that Rick wasn't going drop it. Then we came back, Aiden and Noah was dead, Tara was hurt. You had Nicholas lying to you, me telling you exactly what the truth was. But you wanted to have someone to blame and Rick's group was it. But, I would be dead if it hadn't been for Glenn. He saved my life. Noah, Tara, and him were the only people out there that knew what needed to be done. Eugene got the courage when it was needed. Aiden admitted it was him and Nicholas that got the other group killed because they were cowards. You need to face the truth, mom, that your actions led to this," Quinn told her.
"Did my actions lead to Rick stealing a gun and pointing it at people?" Deanna asked.
"Mom, you're the one who taught me how to debate, you're the one who always told me to look at the whole picture. You're also the one who told me never back down from what I know is right, no matter how hard it is. The moment you didn't do anything to Pete when he grabbed Summer, you set this in motion. Have you seen Jewel's neck? Pete could have killed her. Luckily, unlike most of the women in this place, she knows how to take care of herself. You're so focused on what Rick did, that you haven't even brought up what Pete did. What are you going to do about him? He's not our only doctor now, not the only surgeon, so you can't use that excuse anymore. He's more dangerous to Jessie and the boys then Rick and his group is to this town. You interviewed them, you knew this town needed them. Nothing has changed, we need them more now then ever. Yes, Rick taking the gun was wrong, but I understand why he did it," Quinn told her.
"They've been out there a long time Deanna. It's going to take them time to adjust. And maybe we pushed this on them to fast," Reg told Deanna.
"Others haven't pointed a gun at people. Other's haven't suggested that we kill someone," Deanna told her husband and daughter.
Quinn looked at her. "Other people weren't protecting children," she said. "If someone grabbed Chloe or Bri, I would do anything to protect them. And if that meant killing that person, I'd do it. Out there, it's not the walkers' you have to worry about, it's the people. I was only out there for a little while, but I saw the downfall of civilization happening. The people that we had to send out….that was just the start. Have you actually sat down and watched there tapes again? Listen to the stories? Jewel cut her hand on a can of baby food because Stacey was running her big mouth about how we should have taken the kids and turned them out. I was there when she said it, and I saw Jewel's reaction. She wasn't here, she was back there in that place. A place where she could have been dinner, where her baby could have been dinner. She was reliving every single moment of being back there. But she didn't come to you, she handled it on her own. I wouldn't have blamed her if she had pulled a knife on Stacey, because to her it wasn't Stacey but a crazy woman at Terminus who was threatening her. Now a month later, this so called community we have, it's being shook up. We aren't living behind the gates pretending we'll be alright, we can't."
"Quinn, are you saying you agree with Rick's methods?" Reg asked.
"I'm saying that if Rick is thrown out, Gus, the girls and I will be going with his group. Mom, you can't keep this community going, not like it was before. You need to listen to Rick and Jewel. We can't be them vs. us, not anymore. If you see Rick as a threat, then why haven't you saw Pete as a threat?" Quinn asked as she started to walk down the steps. "Mom, make this right."