All Nightmare Long

Chapter 503

Author's Note: Rick staying in the story is winning by a landslide, so if you want a vote, please vote on the poll ion the fanfiction site. I hope everyone had a good holiday, those of you in America. I started my holiday a day early, putting my back out. It wasn't fun. One of the reasons I hadn't written, because I wasn't at home and couldn't sit up. I've got a lot of people to check on, and pieces to move before Daryl and everyone can get to Alexandria. I'm alternating the episodes the Well, The Cell and Go Getters with our people mixed in, plus seeing Alexandria. And, I'm really not in the mood to deal with Negan right now, so we're checking on our girls up at Hilltop. Please review.

Beth and Maggie's POV:

Beth sat next to Maggie's bed, holding her hand, saying silent prayers, with her eyes closed as she heard the Doctor's voice.

"She's waking up," Doctor Carson told her.

"Maggie?" Beth asked as she stood up.

"Welcome back," the Doctor said as Maggie turned to look at them. "Do you remember me? I'm Doctor Carson, here at Hilltop Colony, you've ben asleep for a while. You suffered from the condition of abruptio placentae, it's a separation of the placenta from the uterus. It's unusual this early but uh, could be caused by the trauma, possibly the bruises on your abdomen," he explained.

Beth rubbed her hair as she kissed the top of her head. "He's taken good care of you, I haven't left your side."

Maggie took a breath. "Did I...I lose.."

Beth squeezed her hand. "No, Maggie, the baby is fine," she assured her.

"She's right, the babies heartbeat is normal," Doctor Carson told her. "Listen," he said as he put a stethoscope on her stomach. "There it is," he said.

Beth smiled. "See, the baby is fine," Beth assured her as she kissed the top of her head.

"You need to take it easy for a few days You don't want to exacerbate the separation anymore. And, I really think you need to stay here for the duration of your pregnancy. If anything else happens, I can take care of it," the doctor told her.

"He's already talked to me about it, and I totally agree with it. It's what's best for you and the baby, and we'll do everything we can. Just like we did for Lori and Jewel when they were pregnant," Beth assured her as she kissed the side of her head

Carson gave a smile. "Do you have any questions?"

Maggie started to sit up.

"Hey, no Mag's, lay down," Beth told her.

"Woah, easy, easy, she's right, you should lay back down," Carson told her.

"Can you say that again?" Maggie asked.

"What?" Carson questioned as he looked at Beth than her.

"Everything you just said," Maggie told him.

Carson repeated everything and looked at her.

"Thank you," Maggie told him. "Where is Summer and Sasha?"

"I'll leave you two for a bit, take it easy, but you can walk around, after you eat. You'll make sure she eats something?" he asked Beth.

"Of course," Beth said as he walked away.

"Where is Summer and Sasha? Are they OK?" Maggie asked as she sat back.

"Summer hasn't moved from the grave sites in over 14 hours, Sasha and I both have tried to get her to leave, tried to get her to eat something, but she won't move. She won't leave them alone, even when Sasha said she'd stay, she told her to come check on you," Beth told her.

"Did she get her hand taken care of?" Maggie asked as she sat up further.

"I stitched it up for her. After she went to see Gregory, she came back and sat by the graves, and wouldn't move. Sasha and I told her that you'd want her to be taken care of too," Beth said as she cut up an apple for her.

"I want to go see them, I want to talk to Summer," Maggie told her sister.

"You will, after you eat," Beth said. "But you are taking it easy, you heard Dr. Carson," she said as she kissed the top of her head. "I don't know what to say...about Glenn."

Maggie squeezed her hand. "You don't have to say anything, I know," she said as she leaned into her.

Summer's POV:

Summer closed her eyes taking a breath as she heard footsteps. She opened her eyes as she blocked the sun out of her eyes.

"You stayed out here again, and didn't eat," Raina told her. "You should come to the house, take a shower, eat something. Your friend's are worried about you," she told her as she sat down beside her.

Summer laughed. "I'm sure your would love me being in the big house, messing up the perfect white walls."

"He's not asking you, I am. You are important to your friends, they are worried about you, just like you are about them. Beth and Sasha have been eating, and resting. Beth hasn't left her sister's side but she still is taking care of herself," Raina said. She nodded toward the graves. "They wouldn't have wanted you to starve yourself either," she told her.

Summer glared at her. " Don't! You didn't know them, so don't even try to tell me what they would or wouldn't want me to do. You couldn't possibly even come close to knowing that," she said.

"You aren't the only one who lost someone because of Negan. You saw what he did, and there was one before that," Raina told her.

"You know what I see when I look at these two graves?" Summer asked without a trace of emotion in her voice.

"Your friends?" Raina asked.

"Yes, Glenn and Abraham are in there, but it could have been my mother," Summer told her.

"It could have been you, or Maggie, or Beth or Sasha or anyone else," Raina reminded her.

"It could have been, but it wasn't. But mom, she volunteered, so it wouldn't be any of us. She volunteered so no one of die," Summer told her. She turned her attention to Raina. "With two of her children on either side of her, she volunteered so we wouldn't be in danger, or her brother, or her husband, or any of her family. Would your uncle do that? Would he offer himself up to save you? I think you know the answer," she said.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Raina told her as she stood up to leave.

Maggie, Beth and Sasha's POV:

Beth opened the door and helped Maggie come out of the steps.

Sasha stood up and looked at her. "You, are you ok?"

Maggie gave a small smile. "Where is he? Where are they both?"she asked.

Sasha nodded. "Did Beth tell you that Summer wouldn't leave?" she asked as she walked with them.

"She's handeling grief in her own way, just like we all are," Maggie said.

Summer stood up as she saw Maggie approach. "Maggie..." she said as she stumbled toward her. "You're...you're OK?"

Maggie reached out and embraced her. "You watched over him until I was able to. You watched both of them. But you need to be looked at properly, I can't lose you too. Let me..." Maggie said before looking at the graves. "Then we will go see Dr. Carson together. Beth and Sasha will stay with them, just let me.."

Summer nodded as she let go of Maggie's hand, letting Maggie go to the grave. Maggie put her hand on her stomach and looked down at the grave and bent down.

Sasha went into her pocket and bent down. "It was in Glenn's pocket, all Abraham had was a cigar," Sasha said as she handed her the watch.

Maggie looked at Beth then at the pocket watch and kissed it before she laid it down on the grave. Beth squeezed Maggie's shoulder.

Sasha took a breath as she looked around then at Maggie. "It feels like everything is wrong."

Maggie looked at her. "Not everything."

Summer bent down and sat next to her. "I feel like everything is over, that any hope we ever had is gone."

"There's still hope, it isn't the end," Maggie said as she squeezed her hand.

"You still have hope? Even after this?" Summer asked.

"We still have each other," Maggie told her.

Sasha nodded. "He told me you're gonna be alright, he says you're just gonna have to take it easy for the next few days," she told her.

"He told me we have to stay, he says it's better that we're close just in case, til the baby is born," Maggie said.

"Then we'll stay," Sasha told her.

"All of us, we'll all stay," Beth told her.

"I'm still thinking about it," Maggie said.

"What is there to think about? You're staying," Beth said.

"She's right, you're staying, and so are we," Sasha said.

"I'll stay for a while, but I need to get to Alexandria..." Summer told her.

"Right now, we're staying, all of us," Beth said.

"It's nice to see you up," Jesus said as he walked up carrying flowers.

"Flowers, it was you," Maggie said.

"The ones on your bed too," Sasha said.

"He's been making sure they are fresh," Beth said.

"I read somewhere that blue flowers inspire strength and calming," Jesus told her.

"What's green?" Maggie asked.

"Release," Jesus told her as Maggie started to cry a little. Beth put her arma round her as Jesus squeezed her shoulder.

"Thank God you're finally awake," Gregory said as he walked up.

"You came outside? Aren't you afraid you may get dirty?" Summer questioned as she crossed her arms.

Gregory ignored her. "You people said you got them all."

"We thought we did, it was just an out post," Maggie said.

"How many of them were there?" Gregory questioned.

"There were a lot, maybe hundreds," Maggie said.

"I still think you knew that," Summer said.

"I'm not talking to you," Gregory told her. "Do they know the deal you made us take Marcia?"

"It's Maggie," Jesus corrected.

"Made you take?" Beth asked.

"No, and we didn't make you take the deal," Maggie told him.

"I'm happy we could patch you up, you need to go. You make sure you let Rich know what we did for you," Gregory told her as he went to leave.

"It's Rick," both Beth and Summer said.

"Doctor Carson said I should stay," Maggie told him.

Gregory turned and looked at her. "If he thinks he has the authority to make that decision, he's mistaken," he said. Sasha looked at him. "Don't look at me like that. She'd be safer with her own people, and we'll be safer without her," he said. "We'd be safer without them all. You need to keep your distance from Maggie and stay focused on your work here at Hilltop," he said as he looked at the graves. "Did you do this? We don't bury our dead, we burn them!"

Summer stepped forward. "They aren't your dead," she told him. "We bury ours."

"I did it, I don't live here," Sasha told Gregory.

"Gregory this is Sasha, and you know Summer, and this is Beth, Mggie's sister. They got Maggie here, they're all from Alexandria," Jesus said.

Gregory looked at him then at the four women. "I can't, I don't have time to keep track of everybody. I've been recovering too Jesus, from a stab wound," he reminded them.

"My mother helped patch you up," Summer reminded him.

"Maggie and Beth said her people could take care of the savior's. So far all they've done is put our community at risk. If they see you here, they'll think we colluded with you," Gregory told them.

We did," Sasha told him.

"I did not agree with this. If they think we helped attack there outpost, they'll do that to us. Jesus do you have any idea what plausible deniability is?" Gregory asked.

"Yes," Jesus told him.

"Then you know it's our way out. If they leave, we have plausible deniability," Gregory told him.

Summer waived her hand. "Um, I think that your plausible deniability went out the window when I was in the lineup."

"I can say that we helped you, didn't know what they were going to do."

"Gregory, it'll be night soon. It's not safe for them to leave now," Jesus said.

Gregory looked at them. "Look, I'm a good guy, stay the night, leave in the morning,"

Summer laughed. "Yeah, you're a good guy, you don't care about your people, you only care about your hide," she said.

Beth put her hand on her shoulder.

"We'll talk more about it tonight,"Jesus told him.

"No, I've made my decision," Gregory answered.

"I'm just saying," Jesus said.

"Do you want to go back with them?"Gregory asked.

"I'll take them back," Jesus offered.

"I meant," Gregory said.

"I know what you mean," Jesus said. "So it's settled,"Gregory said.

"No it's not," Beth and Sasha both said.

"Maggie is pregnant," Sasha told him.

Gregory threw up his hands. "Well, that's her mistake," he said.

Sasha and Summer both stepped forward.

"Wait,"Maggie said.

Summer looked at her then at Gregory. "Maggie's staying," she said as she walked up and grabbed his shoulder.

Gregory turned and looked at her. "She's leaving in the morning,"Gregory said.

Summer smirked. "She leaves, I'm going to park myself right at the road to Alexandria and wait for Negan. I'm going to tell him how you you made my family attack the outpost because you were holding me captive," she said.

"I didn't!" Gregory said.

"But who do you think he'd believe?"Summer asked.

"You would condemn all these people!" Gregory said.

"People that you don't even know the names of," Summer told him. "You and Jesus will talk tonight," Summer said as she walked back to her people.