All Nightmare Long

Chapter 413

Author's Note: So I was going to start the series of original chapters with the Saviors and Negan but thought that we had some reunions and explaining to do. Of course I won't do every day of the two month jump but some. Jewel is going to be struggling with keeping her sobriety. I mean she's dealing with a lot. But that'll be down the line during the two months. Plus other things will be happening, that's the fun of fan fiction, isn't it? Review please.

Quinn's POV:

Quinn searched Gus out of the crowd and hugged him. "Where are the girls?" she questioned as she hugged him.

"At the church," Gus answered. "Are you alright?" he asked as he checked her over.

"Yes, mom, she got bit, she's gone. I need to tell Spenser," Quinn replied.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Gus asked. "Your mom was amazing, just like you, don't forget that," Gus said as he kissed her

"She thought the world of you too," Quinn said. "Go get the girls, take them back to the house, make sure they are alright. I'm going to go talk with Spense, he needs to hear it from me," she told him as she squeezed his hand and went to find Spenser. "Spense, we need to talk, in private,"she said as she hugged Aaron who was sitting next to him.

Spenser got up and looked at her. "Have you seen mom?" he asked.

"That's what I need to talk to you about," Quinn said as she moved out of the way of the others. "Mom got bit," Quinn told him. "Rick got a letter for you from her, I don't know what it says," she told him.

Spenser looked at her. "Were you there when she died?" he asked.

"Not exactly," Quinn answered. "She wanted to die by her own hand," she explained.

"You left her?" Spenser asked.

"The house was overran by the dead, I didn't have a choice if I wanted to live. Mom knew that," Quinn explained. "If it wasn't for Rick and Jewel, I wouldn't be alive now. None of us would have thought of the trick with the dead ones. Everyone in Jessie's house would have been dead if Rick, Jewel and the others wasn't in that house."

"If it wasn't for Rick and Jewel, mom, Aiden, and dad," Spencer started

"Don't finish that thought, Spencer. None of this isn't there fault, and I am not going to stand by and let you talk bad about them. Mom got bit by going back and helping Rick after the wall fell, she got bit because she believed in what Rick stood for. He was the first one out here fighting with the dead ones, by himself. He brought us all together because he had the courage to fight," Quinn informed him.

"So we're in charge of Alexandria now?" Spencer asked.

Quinn ran a dirty hand over her face and sighed. "Not we, Spence. Rick, Jewel and myself," she informed him. "It's what mom requested, and I'm going to grant her dying wish."

"I'm her son, I helped build this place," Spencer said.

"That attitude is exactly why mom didn't put you in charge. This isn't about you, Spencer, it's about the whole community. Can you really tell me that you think you have what it takes to lead this place Spencer?" Quinn asked.

"Do you think you do?" Spencer questioned.

"Not alone, no. That's why I'm willing to work with Jewel and Rick, not against them. And for Alexandria's sake, I hope you do too," she said as she hugged him. "I'm going to see my girls, I need to hold them tonight. If you don't want to be in the house alone, come by,"she told him as she walked away.

Daryl, Mar, Mitch, Rick and Jewel's POV:

Jewel kissed Carl's cheek as he slept and squeezed Rick's shoulder. "We should make a schedule to sit with him,"Jewel told him. "I know that you want to be here with him, so do I, but we both won't do him, ourselves, or anyone else any good if we don't take care of ourselves. We've got plenty of family to help watch him and the kids. And, Alexandria isn't that big that we can't be yelled for," she assured him.

Rick nodded and looked up at her and squeezed her hand. "I just don't want him to wake up and one of us not be here," he said.

"One of us will be here, one of our family, and that's important. You know Michonne and Daryl will be more than willing to help. It does take a village," Jewel said as she kissed him.

Mitch chose that moment to run in and look at them. "You didn't see me," he said as he ran and hid in the closet.

Jewel and Rick exchanged glances as Mar came in. "Where is he?"

"Daryl? He went outside after Denise stitched him up," Jewel said, playing dumb.

"No, I'm talking about Mitch, the young man who thought it was a good idea to volunteer to go outside with a horde of walkers and a crazed man holding Denise hostage," Mar said. "And it would be a lot better for him to explain himself and not keep hiding from me, especially with Daryl looking for you too," she said as Daryl came in.

"Come on out Mitch," Jewel said.

"You either explain it once, or you're going to have to explain it to each of us separately," Rick said, as he glanced at the closet.

"Be a man," Daryl said as he crossed his arms.

Mitch sighed as he came out of the closet and looked at the four of them. "I'm fine and I did help out when Carl was brought in. And, we don't let people do things alone, right? Denise was scared, and the man was holding her by the neck. I volunteered to be his hostage instead of her, but he decided to take both of us,"he said

Mar looked at him. "You did what?"

Jewel placed her hand on Mar's shoulder. "Mitch, sweetheart, it was incredibly brave of you but you do realize how dangerous it was, right?" she asked.

"Yes," Mitch answered. "But, I'm not going to apologize for it. If I did, then Rick, Daryl and you would have to say sorry," he said.

"You better start explaining what you mean by that," Daryl said.

"You all could have left me alone after my brothers' died, Glenn could have left me on my own at the prison. But you all didn't, and because of that I'm stronger than I was and I am still alive. I saw myself in Denise and I couldn't let Denise be alone, even if it meant that I would be alone. She wasn't strong enough, not yet."

All four adults looked at each other before Rick spoke. "Spoken like a true Dixon," he said with a smirk.

Mar signed but glared at Rick then turned her attention to Mitch then hugged him. "You ever scare me like that again, you and I are going to be having a much more serious talk, got it?"

"Got it," Mitch answered.

"Go on back to the house and help Mika with the babies," Daryl said as he hugged him. He went out the door before Daryl turned his attention to Carl. "How's he doing?"

"He's doing good, he's a Grimes, he's a fighter,"Jewel said as she kissed Rick.

"We'll take turns sitting with him, he's family," Daryl told him.

Jewel smirked as she looked at Rick. "We were just talking about that," she said. "I'm going to go back to the house, it's almost time to put Judith down, and Hope will want to be fed," she said.

"I'll walk back to the house with you," Daryl told her. "Then, I'll be back and sit with Carl for the night. All right brother?" he asked Rick.

"Yeah, thanks brother," Rick said.

"We're family," Daryl simply said as Jewel squeezed Rick's shoulder and kissed his cheek. Daryl waited for Jewel as they walked out. He looked over at her. "How are you doing?"

Jewel looked around at the destruction and the walkers on the floor. "It could have ended a whole lot different," she answered.

"That didn't answer the question," Daryl told her.

"I'm tired, I'm worried about two of my children, one that is laying in the infirmary, and one that I have no idea where she is, even if she's alive," Jewel answered, fighting back the obvious tears.

Daryl waited until they got into the house then pulled her into a hug. He laid his chin on on top of her head. "Summer's smart, you know that. Between what Merle, you and me taught her, she's a fighter. She's probably held up somewhere, waiting it out. I'll take a few people out, in a day or two if she doesn't show up," he assured her. "I'd go out right now if it was safe, but we need to find out where she was last seen,"he said as he kissed the top of her head.

"I can help with that," Jes said as she came in.

"You were with her when she was got separated?" Jewel asked as she turned around and looked at her.

"Not exactly," Jes said. "David was, he came back with a story about someone took a shot at them, and he was shot then they got separated. But something didn't sound right, his body language was off, he wouldn't let me look at the wound. Then there is the fact that he robbed Axel, Nikki and Emily when they held up that night. Took the car, most of the supplies."

Jewel moved toward her. "You think David did something to her? That he hurt her? Maybe even...no, I'm not even going to think that. Why would he do that? To his brothers girlfriend? Make me understand," she begged.

"That's all I know," Jes told her. "But an innocent man doesn't run. I'll be out looking for both of them, because no one messes with my family," she assured the other woman.