All Nightmare Long

Chapter 476

Author's Note: It's been a long two weeks. I had no time to write on vacation. I'm sitting on the ferry at Dry Tortugas National Park waiting for us to return to the Keys with no internet access. So what's better than write? I don't have my notebook in front of me with some of the net episode written so I'm going to go off script. Really me? Please review.

Jes POV:

Jes sighed as she sat in the back of the truck with Denise's body. "I'm sorry this happened to you," she said softly. "You were trying to prove yourself, and what did it get you? Nothing but an arrow in the eye, and us without a doctor. It wasn't worth the risk," she told the deceased. She looked out on the road and took a breath and pounded on the window. "Pull over," she ordered Tobin as she gathered her back pack and gun.

Gus opened the back window. "See something?"

"No," Jes answered. "Just pull over."

Tobin pulled over and stopped the vehicle. Him and Gus got out of the truck. "What's going on?"

"I'm going after Summer and Joey," Jes simply stated.

"Alone?" Tobin asked.

"Yes," Jes answered.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Gus asked. "What are we supposed to tell Rick and Jewel?"

"Tell them the truth," Jes responded. "Look, I shouldn't have let them go, I should have stopped them."

"We'll go with you," Tobin said.

"No, you won't. It won't do me any good to have two more people to worry about," Jes explained. "You take Denise back to Alexandria," she told them. "Tobin stay with Carol, Gus be with the girls of yours. Tell Jewel and Rick that I'll bring them back by the morning."

"If you don't?" Gus asked.

"Then they will come after us one way or another," Jes told him.

"You can't go alone," Tobin said.

"I won't be," Jes answered.

"What do you mean?" Tobin asked.

"I'm going to call on an old friend that I just ran into,"Jes said. "Get her back to Alexandria before nightfall, she deserves to be back home," she instructed them.

Lexi, Alexandria and Sasha's POV:

Lexi sat on the porch and saw Abraham walking up. She ran off the porch and hugged him. "I'm glad you're OK," she told him. "How's Eugene?"

Abraham hugged her back and kissed the top of her head. "I'm OK, Eugene just woke up," he said as Sasha came out of the porch.

"I just heard, you OK?" Sasha asked.

"I'm going to go see Eugene," Lexi told them. "Glad you're OK," she told him as she went to the infirmary.

"Subtle isn't she?"Abe asked.

"Yeah," Sasha said.

"You said I had choices, you have them too. It could be thirty years for us here, that's still to short," Abraham told her.

Sasha looked at her. "Come inside," she said as she held the door open.

Abraham nodded as he came in and bent down to kiss her.

Sasha returned the kiss and led him over to the couch. "Did you clear things up with Rosita? She's family," she said.

"I haven't talked to her since I moved out of our room," Abraham said. "I can't help that my feelings have changed."

"We all need to sit down and talk. We all are family, and Lexi likes her. I don't want us to be uncomfortable around each other," Sasha told him.

"Lexi feels the same,"Abraham said as he shook his head. "She's a special kid."

"Yeah she is," Sasha said. "When we first got here, I wasn't there for her like I should be. Rosita helped her decorate her room, watched over for her. I was to caught up in my own grief of Ty's and Bob's deaths. I can never make those few weeks up to her, but I have to make sure that I'm there for her from now on."

"I know she's part of this," Abraham told her. "I'm going to make sure that I'm there for her if she needs me. Ihad a wife, two kids before this,"he said.

Sasha looked at him. "You did?"

"Ellen was my wife, Becca and AJ were my kids. I did something that I shouldn't have, it scared Ellen, and she took the kids and ran away. I found them the net day," Abraham told her.

Sasha squeezed his hand. "It isn't your fault."

"I blamed myself for a long time. I had a gun in my mouth ready to end it all, then Eugene found me, told me we had an important mission. He saved me," Abraham told her. "I never told Rosita anything about my family, I never shared that part of my life with her. I know that I should have, but I didn't. But I need you to know that I'm going to do everything I can to keep you and Lexi safe. This is my second chance, you are my second chance," he told her as he kissed her.

Jes POV:

Jes walked up to Arlington spreading her arms out. "I know you are watching me, I need to talk to you," she said to no one in particular. She saw the door open, and took it as an invitation to walk in.

"We didn't expect you to be back so soon, or ever," the youngest member of the Arlington group, CeCe said.

"Cecelia, lets step back," Shaw told her. "She's right, thought you wouldn't be back here. You're alone, where are the two of your companions," he said.

"Look, I'm not here to beg you for anything, but I am here to ask you for help. Believe me, this isn't easy for me," Jes admitted.

"Why do you think that I would do anything to help?" Shaw asked.

"Because you're like me, you need a mission. It's the soldiers in us," Jes said. "I just need one or two people for a day."

Garza stood up for leaning against the door frame. "I'll go," he said.

"No, you won't," Shaw said.

"Look her coming here, asking for help, it's taking a lot for her to be here. She's swallowing her pride to be here, so I know that whatever is going on, is serious. Is this about the man you told us about?" Garza said.

"I don't know. Summer and Joey went off to go to another community, to confront someone. I shouldn't have let them go," Jes said. "After we left here, we came upon some of Negan's men, holding some of our people by gun point. They had killed our Doctor, injured one of us. We went out to get the Doc's body and Summer was being a typical Dixon and needed to go carry out a promise to someone. Joey went with her so she wouldn't be alone."

"Why do you need our help then?" Shaw asked.

"Because it would be stupid for me to goo out there alone with Negan's men," Jes said. "I jut need to have someone watch my back, just for a day. One thing I've learned from my group, my family is to ask for help because we can't do it alone."

Shaw looked at Garza. "You sure about this?"

"I'm sure sir," Garza answered.

"I'm only giving you him and you're only borrowing him," Shaw told her.

"Understood. I'm not looking to steal him away. Just like you don't trust me, I don't trust you to bring you into my family. Now can we go? Sooner we go, sooner we get back,"Jes told him.

TBC