All Nightmare Long

Chapter 396

Author's Note: That last episode with Oceanside gave me all kind of ideas for Jewel. She kept inserting herself in scenes. I'm excited about that particular episode, I even took notes so I don't forget about it. Yay! Please review

Quinn and Jewel's POV:

Quinn walked up to where Jewel had finished giving her knife class. "I want to thank you," Quinn said.

Jewel looked up as she put the knives in the box. "You don't have to thank me for teaching people to defend themselves," she said.

"No, not that," Quinn said. "You let mom hold Hope, and I know you wouldn't have done that just because you wanted to prove something."

Jewel stood up and looked at her. "You and I both know that this place isn't going to make it, that we aren't going to make it, if we don't work together. And working together means trusting each other," she said.

"Rick seems to be having a problem with that," Quinn told her.

"We've been through a lot," Jewel told her. "It changed all of us. But if he didn't care, he would have let Spenser die and he would take advantage of the distraction, but he didn't."

"But he yelled at Tara," Quinn pointed out.

"So Rick can be an asshole at times, so can I, so can anybody. Aiden sure the hell was, he was a self proclaimed douche bag. My oldest brother was too. My point is that we can all be idiots and say things at times that we immediately regret. Rick's not perfect, but you still knew that he was what Alexandria needed," Jewel told her. "Are you regretting that decision?"

"No, I'm still behind him," Quinn said. "Do you think we're ready? For whatever happens?"

"As prepared as we can be. We're getting people skilled on weapons, we have people walking around with weapons. Hopefully no one shoots there foot off, or stabs someone," Jewel said. "Bri did pretty good on knife training, Chloe too."

"They were excited to learn, makes them feel important that they are at least doing something," Quinn said as she turned her head toward the sounds of the moaning. "Do you ever get used to the sounds?"

"No, you don't get used to it. But, it becomes a comfort after awhile," Jewel said.

"A comfort?" Quinn questioned.

"Yeah, it means we are still alive to hear it, it means that we managed to keep the people we love alive. It reminds us that there's a reason to keep fighting," Jewel said. "As long as we keep hearing those sounds, we are still fighting," she said as she squeezed the other woman's shoulder as she walked away.

Axel POV:

Axel looked back at the two women who was walking with him. He stopped and looked around. "We'll stop here for a few minutes," he told them.

"Shouldn't we keep going? Alexandria isn't that far away," Emma said.

Axel glanced back at Nikki who had rested against a tree. He took hold of her elbow and moved her away. "She needs a break, she's trying not to complain or slow us down."

"I'm not leaving her," Emily said.

"I'm not suggesting leaving her, I'm not leaving either one of you," Axel said.

"David left," Emily pointed out.

"I'm not David," Axel said. "We don't leave people behind, that's not what we do. We misjudged David, maybe because he was Joey's brother. You know whose going to take that betrayal the hardest? It isn't going to be Joey, it's going to be Rick and Jewel. Do you know why?" he asked.

Emily looked at him. "Why?"

"Because we are a family. So this is going to be a betrayal to them, a betrayal to all of us. Especially if something's happened to Summer, and if he had something to do with it," Axel said.

"Rick won't be to disappointed if you get back there alone," Nikki said as she walked up.

"That's not going to happen," Axel said. "You good?"

Nikki nodded. "Yeah, thanks," she said.

Axel nodded. "We work together, we get back to Alexandria."

"Do you think it's still standing?" Nikki asked.

"It's going to be still standing," Emily said. "So how did you get to be with Rick's group?" she asked.

Axel looked at them as he started walking. "I was in the prison, I was one of the five inmates that was in a room in the cafeteria. Rick and his group, it wasn't as big as it is now, Judith wasn't born yet, took over the prison. Things happened, the others died, I was left. I proved myself to Rick and the group. I guess you think differently of me now because I was in prison."

"Did you tell Deanna?" Emily questioned.

"I told her, in the interview. I told her that I was arrested because of a fake gun. I didn't even know how to hold a gun before this," Axel responded.

Emily looked at Nikki then at Axel. "We aren't our pasts, not anymore," Emily said.

Nikki went over the hill where she could see Alexandria. "Um, guys," she said as she nodded toward the walkers'. "There's no way that we're going to get into Alexandria."

Emily looked at them. "They can't get out, they are trapped," she said. "What's the plan?"

"We get closer," Axel told them as they walked.

Rick, Jewel, and Tara's POV:

Jewel had stopped at the house to get two glasses of ice water and walked to the gate. "Thought you two could use these," she told Tobin and Rick.

"Thank you," Tobin said as he took the glass.

Rick kissed her. "Thank you," he said.

"How's it coming?" Jewel asked.

"It'll hold," Rick answered. "Tobin's been a big help," he said. "Of course we would have been further along if we didn't have to rescue Spenser," he said.

"What Spenser did was stupid," Tobin said.

"Extremely stupid," Rick said.

"But it's over, and we're moving past it," Jewel said as she kissed Rick.

"Thank you for the water," Tobin said as he handed her the glass.

"No problem," Jewel said as Tara passed.

"Hey seen Denise?" Tara questioned.

"No," Rick answered as Tara started to walk away.

Jewel looked at him and tilted her head toward Tara.

Rick sighed as he looked at Tobin. "I'll be right back," he told Tobin as he started to jog after Tara. "Hey," he said as he caught up with her. Jewel stepping up beside him. "Look I'm sorry about before I was just..." he said as he started to explain but was cut off by Tara.

"You were stupid, that we know," Tara said.

Jewel gave a smirk. "I basically told him the same thing."

Rick nodded. "Yeah she did. I just meant what you did for him, you didn't have too," Rick told her.

"I know," Tara said.

"You could have died," Rick told her.

"I would like to say I was thinking about it, but I wasn't," Tara said.

Jewel looked at her. "You did what you thought was right, and we can appreciate that. But we don't want to lose you," she told her.

Rick nodded. "Is that why you did it, because you weren't thinking about it?"

"No, that's how it works with us. We're stuck with each other right?" Tara said.

"And we wouldn't have it any other way," Jewel told her.

Deanna walked up to them. "Rick you saved my son, thank you," she said.

Rick shrugged. "Thank Tara."

"I already did," Deanna said as Tara walked off and squeezed Deanna's shoulder. "Now, I'm thanking you and Jewel."

"You're welcome," Jewel said.

"What Spencer did was stupid," Rick told her.

"Ican't argue with that, least he tried," Deanna said.

Jewel cringed knowing that was the wrong thing to say to Rick. She put her hand on his shoulder. "He should have came to us, you, Rick and me."

"I agree he should have, but he didn't think you would listen," Deanna said.

"That's not the point, I could have tried, there was a chance," Rick said.

"How's that?" Deanna asked.

"Rick," Jewel warned.

"When the walkers were going after him, it made a gap, I could have jumped down, ran, made it out, could have gotten a car, used it to lead the walkers' away. I could have done that and Spenser would be dead," Rick informed him.

Jewel sighed as she looked at Rick. "But he didn't," she reminded him.

"She's right, but you didn't do that. Why?" Deanna asked.

"I helped save him because he's your son," Rick told her.

"Wrong answer," Deanna said.

Jewel looked at her. "He saved him because it was the right thing to do," Jewel told her. "It's not because he was your son, or he was Quinn's brother, we would have done it for anybody. Because if he did go over that wall and get that car and let him die, then it would be on his conscious. And he's to good of a man to do that," she said. She looked up and saw a bunch of green balloons passing by. "Rick," she said.

Everyone started noticing the balloons as Maggie started running toward them. "It's Glenn, that's Glenn," Maggie told them.

Rick nodded as he turned to the sound of a building falling and breaking down the fence. He grabbed Jewel's arm and started pulling her. "Get inside!" he started yelling at everyone. Rick fell as the building fully collapsed.