Die For You

Previously…

Instead of bashing in Daryl's skull, Negan stopped just short. Even with my outburst, Daryl didn't flinch. "Wow!" Negan exclaimed, "You don't scare easy." He chuckled darkly, "I love that." He took a step back, "Now Lucille, well, it kinda pisses her off. She finds it to be disrespectful." He held the bat up near Daryl's face. "Lucky for you, she's not feeling too thirsty today." Then he whispered,"But I am." with a sneer. "So," He sighed, "I'm gonna go comfort your probably very traumatized girlfriend over there and get me a drink!" He chuckled cheerfully, giving Daryl a knowing wink. He turned away from Daryl, leaving the circle of men with a flourish. He came straight for me.

"All done with the good doctor, sweet cheeks?" He asked, "Why don't you join me for that drink." He put his arm around me, shouldered Lucille, and let out a signature Savior whistle.

Chapter 6

Sanctuary

"Sorry you had to see that, Roz." Negan sighed, settling on the couch in his private quarters. All the women had been dismissed, and we were alone. "Daryl just isn't ready to get on board yet, 's all." He leaned forward and tucked a stray hair behind my ear, fingers lingering on my jaw. "Don't worry your pretty head about it, he'll come around."

"I wouldn't bet on it." I murmured, shifting slightly so his hand fell away.

Negan chuckled darkly. "If he doesn't then he'll be a slave to the system." He sighed. "He won't get you back."

There it was. The threat of keeping us apart. Little did Negan know, Daryl wouldn't compromise his honor for anyone, including me, no matter how much he cared for me. "I told you that you can't break him, and I stand by it." I shrugged, "If you think threatening him with our eternal separation will do anything, you're wrong." I picked up the glass of amber liquid he'd set on the coffee table before me. I took a swig and looked out the window over his left shoulder.

Negan regarded me for a moment before taking a quick breath. "Jesus," He smirked. "You're serious."

"As a heart attack, baby." I deadpanned, taking another swig of bourbon.

"Well," Negan barked a laugh in disbelief. "From what you've told me so far, I wouldn't be so sure." He chuckled darkly, "Unless," he scoffed. "Unless he's holding out for you."

I scoffed. "Why in the world would he do that?" I set my glass down. "You've offered him a great deal. He's just used to being his own man 's all." I shrugged, biting my lip.

"Hmmm." Negan seemed to relax at that, or he just figured we'd keep going round and round in circles so he dropped it. "So," He sighed. "Why don't we grab a bite and you tell me another story." He tossed back his drink and stood up from the couch, offering me his hand. I took it against my better judgement and he pulled me up from the couch, almost into his arms. He grinned crookedly down at me. "I could ask you the question." He murmured.

My breath caught. "Ask away." I whispered as his hands settled on my shoulders.

Negan's eyes widened and he laughed. "Really, sweet cheeks?" He shook his head and cleared his throat. "Okay." He looked deep into my eyes. "Who are you?"

I swallowed against the lump in my throat. Daryl would be so proud of me in this moment. Before I could answer, the door to Negan's private chambers swung open. Dwight stood in the doorway holding Daryl by the collar. Negan held up his hand and looked down at me expectantly. "Awww don't be shy, Roz." He grinned wolfishly, "Who are you?"

I squared my shoulders and took a step back from Negan, extending my hand to him in a mock greeting, "Rosalind Rhodes, medic, on loan to the Sanctuary from Alexandria."

Negan threw his head back and laughed. "Wow." He scoffed, "You had me going, Roz. Hmmm." He chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "I thought maybe, just maybe, you were going to jump the fence."

I shrugged, crossing my arms. "I think it's best I stick with Rick and Alexandria. I know you value loyalty, so that shouldn't bother you a bit." I sighed, "Plus, giving me the private tour of this place will help me coax Rick to toe your proverbial line, right?"

Negan's eyebrows rose as his smile grew. "Riiiight." He agreed nodding. "You are one hell of a woman, Rosalind Rhodes." He chuckled deeply. "I can see why dear Daryl here is head over heels for you." He waved Dwight forward and he deposited Daryl in the third chair at the table. "Leave us." Negan ordered and Dwight made himself scarce. He motioned for me to sit.

Daryl sat stiffly in his chair, gaze carefully diverted from either of us as we joined him at the table. I could tell he was nervous. He looked spooked, like Dwight had been playing mind games with him. My stomach rolled at the thought. Dwight's days were definitely numbered.

The meal brought in was simple, but I wondered if Negan had planned this all along and Daryl's escape attempt just made it that much more torturous. I took a bite of chicken, chancing another glance at Daryl. He wasn't moving, just sitting there with his head down. I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder. "You can eat, Ace." I murmured encouragingly.

"She's right, Daryl." Negan smirked. "You can eat, hell, I'd love to see you enjoy yourself for once, maybe get a taste of what life could be like, eh?" He waggled his eyebrows as he poured us some wine.

Daryl still didn't move. I focused my attention back to Negan and the task at hand. He wanted another story, I was going to deliver.

"Things didn't progress between us because when we returned to the prison, an outbreak of a deadly flu ravaged our ranks." I sighed, "Then after that, the Governor showed up and everything really went to hell." I explained, sitting back in my chair.

Negan clicked his tongue. "You really should write this shit down." He smiled at my uncomfortable frown. "I mean it!' He exclaimed. Then he sighed, digging into his meal, "Alright, the prison has fallen…"

Woods surrounding Terminus complex

When the prison fell, I got separated from Daryl. I had to find baby Judith, we couldn't lose that baby, not after everything we'd been through. "I gotta find Judith!" I shouted to Daryl over the gunfire. He pulled me to him, our foreheads resting against each other. Before I could pull away he caught my mouth in a hard, desperate kiss. "I'll find you." I promised before pulling away and running back into the burning building.

But I didn't. I found baby Judith, Tyreese had grabbed her, along with sisters Lizzie and Mika. I couldn't find anyone else at the prison before we were forced to flee in order to protect the children.

Carol saved us. Rick exiled her for killing Karen and David when the outbreak began. He told Daryl, who'd exploded at me when we were away from the prison on a hunt, expressing his frustration about not being able to say goodbye. Instinct must have told her to stick around the area because she came running when the prison was attacked. Tyreese went off to investigate screams coming from the railroad tracks and left me with the girls. I was holding baby Judith when a dozen walkers came at us. I handed Judith to Lizzie and did my best. I managed to kill all of them but two. Carol materialized out of the brush and saved my ass.

We stuck to the rail lines, the higher grade made it easier to defend against walkers that crossed our path. We found the signs for Terminus almost immediately. We decided to head in that direction, figuring everyone else would head that way too. We got a little sidetracked at a cottage, but we eventually kept moving. Losing the sisters was hard, but with Lizzie the way she was, there really was no other option. Her belief that Walkers were our friends was just too unshakable. I wish I'd been able to save Mika, she was smart and braver than she realized.

We'd almost reached Terminus when gunfire made us recoil and take a few steps back. Judith was pretty quiet and content, despite our uncertain surroundings. I took lead, handing off Judith to Tyreese. He was still struggling with doing what was necessary to survive, so I needed both hands free. We crept through the woods and came upon a small clearing that had a tiny cabin on the edge of it. I could just barely make out the fences of the train depot from the vantage point.

A young man in a baseball cap knelt over fireworks, getting ready to set them off. He spoke into a walkie talkie. "I knew the chick with the sword was bad news, like a weapon with a weapon." He chuckled to himself. "I told Albert, I want the kid's hat after they bleed 'em out." Carol was already out of the woods upon hearing 'chick with the sword', heading straight for the young man. I caught Tyreese's eye and motioned for him stay behind me.

"Take your finger off the button and drop it." Carol ordered holding a pistol close to his head, cocking it.

"Listen, ya'll don't have to to do this." The man dropped the walkie, hands coming up in a surrender gesture. Smart move. "Whatever you want, we've got a place where everyone's welcome."

"Shut up, man." Tyreese scoffed, shifting Judith to his other arm.

I stepped forward, "We're friends of the chick with the sword and the kid in the hat." I spat, aiming my rifle, nodding to Carol.

The young man snickered as I hauled him up and pushed him towards the cabin, keeping my rifle snug against his back. After tying him up, I wondered if I should gag him too. Carol shook her head no as if she read my thoughts. I wondered sometimes if we were functioning on the same wavelength or something. I didn't just kill him outright because I knew Tyreese would have lost it.

"They attacked us, we're just holding them." The young man blatantly lied, guess he hadn't realized we'd heard his entire conversation.

"I don't believe you." Carol spat, getting ready to head to Terminus.

"Who else do you have? Do you know their names?" Tyreece asked as I rummaged around the cabin to find a safe place to lay Judith down.

"We just have the boy and the samurai, that's it." The young man insisted, "We're just protecting ourselves."

Carol scoffed again, "I don't believe you." I nodded in agreement. I could feel it in my gut, our people were there.

"There's a bunch of us out there. In six different directions." The young man ground out, getting desperate, "There was a lot of gunfire back home. We need to set off our charges all at the same time to confuse the dead ones with!" He exclaimed, "It's good for you too-"

"No, it isn't." Carol cut him off, "There's a herd heading towards Terminus right now. We don't want to confuse them away, I'm gonna need their help."

"It's a compound, they'll see you coming." The young man shook his head, "If you even make it that far with all the cold bodies heading over."

"Carol," Tyreese stopped her. "How're you gonna do this?"

"I'm gonna kill people." She answered simply. Tyreese looked like he was going to protest, but I spoke before he could.

"This will work." I dusted off a large cooler and put a few blankets in it. Tyreese nodded, letting Carol go. He gently laid Judith down in the makeshift crib.

"I'm gonna to scout the area, make sure we don't get caught with our panties down." I informed Tyreese, following Carol out the door.

"Carol." I stopped her from simply disappearing into the woods. She was colder than she had been at the prison, being on her own probably had a hand in that. I pulled her in for a quick hug, squeezing her for a moment then letting go. "Kick some ass, yeah?" I offered with a smile. There was no use in telling her to be careful, she'd just scowl at me.

She smirked. "You too," She pursed her lips. "I'll be back." I nodded and gave a single wave as she turned away and started towards Terminus.

I held my rifle at the ready and stalked through the forest, sweeping to the left first. I wanted to make sure there weren't any other dipshits setting off fireworks in the general vicinity. I only encountered two walkers during my sweep which set me on edge. At first glance it might have been a blessing, but I began to worry there might be some ahead of me, already at the cabin.

Suddenly a large explosion shook the earth beneath my feet. My heart stopped. I silently prayed that Carol was giving 'em hell and not the other way around. I kept moving, silently like Daryl had taught me, working my way through the underbrush. I could hear Judith's cries echoing through the forest as I swept back around behind the cabin. I emerged from the woods and broke into a run.

There were three walkers already on the porch when I got to it. I took out two who were on the approach and readied myself to take out the others on the porch. Before I could fire, the door opened and Tyreese stepped outside and shut the door, complicating my shot. I planted my feet and took a deep breath, and on the exhale I fired, taking down the walker he was fighting with a clean shot to the head. Tyreese shoved the walker off him, crashing into the other walker on his left, impaling it on a broken tree trunk. I shot that walker in the head to silence it as Tyreese shoved the third walker off the porch. It hit the ground and its head exploded conveniently on a large rock. He nodded his thanks. Then without missing a beat, he squared his shoulders and wrenched open the door, charging at the young man.

Tyreese was in full attack mode. He tacked the young man to the ground and began punching him in the face. I didn't have the heart to stop him or find out why he had chosen to step up and do what we should have done in the first place. I stepped over him and went straight for baby Judith who was crying her little eyes out.

"Shhhhh." I soothed, "It's okay baby girl." I held her close to my chest, bouncing up and down while rocking back and forth.

Tyreese stood up, wiping his bloody fist on his pants. "He had his hands around her neck." He explained and my breath caught. "I couldn't-"

"You did the right thing." I assured him, smiling at the now peacefully sleeping babe. "She's everything." I sighed. If we lost Judith, I didn't know how I'd handle it. She embodied everything that I still believed in. Without her, I'd be lost.

"Let's get our stuff together." I motioned to our packs by the door. "Carol will be back soon." He shouldered his and held out his arms for the baby so I could reload our weapons and prepare for departure. I got everything set, handing him my handgun before making another sweep of the surrounding woods. "I'll be right back, just want to make sure we're still in the clear." He nodded, holding Judith closer.

I returned to find Tyreese on the porch. He pointed to the road leading up to the cabin. I followed his finger and my heart stopped. Coming up over the ridge was Carol, leading Rick and a bunch of prison survivors behind her. Rick broke into a run when he saw Judith in Tyreese's arms. I scanned the group and found him. Daryl wasn't watching the tearful reunion between father and daughter. He was looking for something, or someone. His eyes settled on me and he stopped walking. He looked over at Carol. She nodded, smiling through her tears.

My hand flew to my mouth to contain my sob of relief. He was here, alive. He'd gotten out. I'd had the same nightmare for a solid week, that Daryl had sacrificed himself so we could all get away. He was always doing shit like that, looking out for everyone else, putting his ass on the line.

He started moving again, this time he wasn't just walking he was running towards me. I dropped my pack and unshouldered my rifle and tried to compose myself, jogging a few paces to meet him. He engulfed me in his arms and held me so close it was hard to breathe. I immediately burst into tears as I felt him break down against me. After a few moments we composed ourselves and I lifted my head from his neck to look him in the eyes. He stared down at me in disbelief. "Found you." I quipped, biting my lip, trying to contain my idiot smile. Oh, it was good to see him again.

He barked a laugh, pulling me to him, this time he held me tenderly and the gesture made me tear up again. He released me and I was quickly wrapped up in a hug by Michonne. Then Sasha, Rosita, Abraham, Glenn and finally Maggie.

Rick appeared beside me, holding Judith tightly. He gripped my shoulder. "Thank you." He breathed, eyes glistening.

I nodded, unable to speak. I knew protecting Judith was important. I had prayed for this moment since the prison fell. For the first time since we'd lost our home, I felt myself relax. I picked up my pack and shouldered my rifle. It was time to keep moving.

Sanctuary

I sighed, picking up my glass of wine. "Carol later recounted that she sprung a leak in the propane tank on the edge of Terminus. Then she fired a firework into the expelling propane and-"

"BOOM!" Negan exclaimed.

"Yep." I confirmed. "Then she covered a poncho in walker guts and snuck in the compound to help our group escape. She even managed to retrieve Daryl's crossbow, and Rick's wristwatch while she was at it." I laughed, taking a sip of wine.

"Gosh, I gotta meet this woman, too." He practically giggled. "She's an absolute badass." He sighed, "I get the feeling most of the women in your group are." He chuckled, elbowing Daryl's arm good naturedly. "C'mon Daryl. You can't tell me you haven't enjoyed this."

I pursed my lips to keep my anger in check. Daryl didn't speak, he just picked up his fork.

Negan chuckled. "I guess you'll have to keep going, Roz." He grinned, "Tell me about Alexandria, I'd like to surprise Rick with a visit tomorrow."

My breath caught. It had only been three days since He killed Abraham and Glenn. That was a ridiculous time table. I guess Negan was still trying to prove a point. "Hell of a short week." I scoffed, setting down my fork.

"Awww, Rick can handle it. 'Sides y'all have been accumulating shit for quite awhile now. No harm no foul, eh?" He smirked, refilling my glass.

I sighed, biting my lip to keep from saying anything I would regret. "Alright." I relented. I could talk about Alexandria, and having Daryl here was even more poignant. It would be nice to remind him what we had to fight for.

Dearest Readers,

Gah! I think I may have succeeded in keeping Carol the masterful badass she is. (sigh of relief) I'm also happy with how the story is progressing. Up next is a walk down memory lane for the couple in the room, then it's time for them to return with Negan to Alexandria. I haven't decided if Roz is staying or going back. I'm thinking she might stay, then return to Hilltop and meet up with Jesus. We'll see!

Thank you for your continued support. Y'all rock!

xoxo

Lumora The White