Die For You

Previously…

Daryl smirked against my lips. "Not bad for an old man, eh?"

I laughed softly. I loved this side of him. Sure he was ornery and moody as hell most of the time, but times like this is where I was treated to the man Daryl had blossomed into. It felt so special to be able to share this part of him. "You're incredible." I murmured back. "Did you?" I asked, pulling back to look at him.

Daryl shook his head. "Not yet," He drawled, wrapping his arms around me, pressing his lips to my ear. "Get on all fours." He nibbled my ear lobe. "I'm not done with ya yet."

Chapter 13

I wandered over to the outdoor kitchen, very reminiscent of the one we had at the prison, and helped myself to steaming mug of coffee. I'd left Daryl asleep in our bed. Our bed. Hell, it sounded too good to be true just thinking it, let alone saying it outloud. He didn't run away when I'd pushed him, trying to figure out what this thing was between us. It seemed my display of loyalty and self sacrifice really had cemented our partnership.

I glanced up at the guardpost to find Maggie standing up there, spear in hand. That woman never stopped. It wasn't even eight in the morning yet and she was up and ready to go. I took a second cup of coffee and refilled my bowl for Daryl. As I went back to the house I waved to Maggie who was watching me with a stupid grin on her face. I could tell she was happy for us, it was nice to have the support of our family. I couldn't wait to see Rick and the others back in Alexandria. We'd have to arrange a place to meet or something, away from the prying eyes of the Saviors.

Maggie lifted her binoculars. She turned back to the settlement and shouted, "Sasha! Enid!" She looked absolutely elated with whatever or whoever she saw coming up to the gate. "Roz! Go get Daryl, Rick's here!" She shouted to me, dropping her gear so she could climb down the ladder.

"Be right down!" I shouted back, picking up my pace. It was hard with the mug of coffee in my hand, but I made it back upstairs taking them two at a time.

I burst back into the bedroom to find Daryl still sound asleep in the bed. I set the dishes down on the dresser and knelt beside his sleeping form. I was so excited I could barely contain myself. "Daryl." I whispered urgently. He stirred a little. I placed my hand on his cheek, smoothing his hair out his eyes. "C'mon babe," I murmured, "Rick's here."

Daryl's eyelids fluttered. "Rick's 'ere?" He mumbled, slowly sitting up.

"Here." I nodded and pressed the mug of coffee into his hands. He took a couple of sips. "Oatmeal?" I offered the bowl to him. He just grunted and took it from me. I bent over and picked up his discarded clothes, smoothing his button down shirt the best I could. Once he'd scarfed down the food he quickly got dressed. I finger combed his hair, smoothing his beard a little.

We emerged from the house to find Rick and company embracing Maggie just inside the gate. "You were right," Rick told Maggie, "Right from the start. You told us to get ready to fight." He sighed, "I didn't listen, I couldn't." He shook his head a little. "I can now." He nodded. Rick looked over Maggie's shoulder, finding us striding towards them. I could see the disbelief and joy shining in his eyes. He released Maggie and strode over to Daryl. I was careful not to touch Daryl when we'd emerged from the house in front of our friends. To my astonishment, He'd taken my hand, given it a squeeze and released it when Rick came towards us.

Rick and Daryl exchanged manly nods before Daryl broke down, ducking his head. Rick immediately stepped forward and embraced him, letting Daryl cry on his shoulder for a moment. They gripped each other tightly and I could feel my heart swell with the significance of this moment. Tara stepped forward next to hug Daryl. Then Michonne embraced him and kissed his cheek. I hoped he felt at least a fraction of the love and devotion these people had for him in this moment. It was amazing to witness them embracing Daryl like he was family.

Rick pulled me in for a hug after Tara and Michonne. "You did it." He murmured in my ear. "Thank you." I just smiled and nodded through my sudden rush of tears.

Carl was next. "I'm so glad you're safe, Roz." He drawled, pulling me in for a fierce hug.

"Thanks, kid." I murmured back, tapping his hat at little so he had to readjust it.

Daryl pulled out Rick's Colt Python from his waistband and offered it to him by the barrel. Rick scoffed with a grin and took the piece. He checked to see how many bullets were left and the revolver was full. He snapped it shut and slid it home into his holster.

We all gathered in Gregory's office to discuss banding together to fight the Saviors. Now that we knew the Saviors were bigger than that one outpost, we needed help. Gregory was being his usual, cowardly self. "Rhetorical! Okay!" Gregory exclaimed in a sing song voice. "I don't want to know. An' and I don't want to hear another word about any of it, ever." He concluded as if he was offering a decree.

"Would we be better off without the Saviors? Yes, or no?" Rick asked, extending his hand to Gregory who was still seated behind his desk.

"Yeah, sure, okay." Gregory admitted nonchalantly, clearly done with this conversation.

"So," Michonne cut in. "What will you do to fix the problem?"

"I didn't say we had a problem, you did." Gregory pointed in her direction. "And what happens outside of my purview, is outside of my purview." He turned away from her, spinning in his chair.

Daryl had had enough. "What the hell man!" He growled. "You're either with us, or ya ain't." He sighed. "Your sitting over there, talking outta both sides of yer mouth."

Gregory stood, resting his hands on the desk. "I think I've made my position, very clear." He sighed, looking around at the gathered group. "I want to thank all of you for, not being here today. And not having this meeting with me or being seen on your way out." He pursed his lips. "In other words, go out the back."

Rick turned to nod at all of us, signaling for us to leave Gregory's office. We'd obviously overstayed our welcome. "We don't need him anyway." Daryl growled as he exited the room.

Rick nodded with a grin. "Yeah, we don't. We've got Maggie, Sasha and Jesus here."

"Oh, Ms. Rhodes!" Gregory sang from his chair.

I grit my teeth. Daryl shot me a look that said he wanted to gut the bastard. I had half a mind to let him. Rick cocked an eyebrow at me. I just shrugged. I guess I just had that kind of a face. Maggie had it too. She'd just been around longer and was able to put Gregory more firmly in his place. "Be right there Gregory." I called back. "See you two gents outside, yeah?" I winked before I spinning on my heel and reentering Gregory's office.

"Close the door, would ya?" He asked.

I pursed my lips and shut the door in a very surly archer's face. I knew he would stay right there and would burst in the moment things went too far. As much as I appreciated the gesture, I could take care of myself.

"You've made your position quite clear, Gregory." I sighed, "What could you possibly want now?"

Gregory smirked. "You didn't say anything during the meeting." He leaned back in his chair. "I wanted to hear your opinion."

"My opinion?" I scoffed. "Geez Gregory, no you really don't." I assured him, toying with the end of my braid.

Gregory sighed, "Aww, c'mon." He grinned. "Indulge me." Apparently he thought his little gesture of hospitality would earn some brownie points with me. Yeah, no dice, bucko.

I licked my lips and crossed my arms. "Alright." I ground out. "You're a fucking coward."

"E-excuse me?" Gregory stammered in disbelief, standing to his feet.

"You heard me." I murmured. "We started this, together, with the Saviors and you're just gonna go and bury your sorry little head in the sand?!" I jabbed his chest with my pointer finger. "Just like a fucking coward."

Gregory turned an interesting shade of red. "Rosalind, if N-Negan-"

"What?" I cut in, "If Negan finds out, then you're toast?" He just blinked. "I know, Gregory." I sighed. "You forget I was there with him at the Sanctuary?"

Gregory shook his head, "T-then you know, w-what he's capable of." He stammered.

"Yeah, you bet your sorry ass, I do." I sneered. "When he finds out you've helped us, he'll do more than just that walker stunt Simon pulled a few nights ago."

Gregory just looked at me, mouth gaping like a fish. I spun on my heel and wrenched the doors open. What a complete waste of time. Did he really thing I would agree with him, feel sorry for him? What a delusional, cowardly prick.

"He still in one piece?" Daryl asked falling into step beside me as I crossed the foyer.

"For now." I quipped, eyes sliding sideways to meet his. He looked concerned, but mostly glad I'd emerged unharmed.

I was blinded for a moment by the light of the climbing sun when we emerged from the house. I blinked a few times and clomped down the steps just in time to hear Jesus announce, "You don't have to get back." He pulled a black walkie talkie out of his pocket. "Not yet." He held it up. "It's one of theirs. Long range." He shrugged, "We can listen in, keep track of them."

"So if we're not going back, what're we doing then?" Michonne asked. I nodded, agreeing with her. We needed to be proactive when it came to the Saviors. We all knew they'd come looking for Daryl and me, it was only a matter of time.

Jesus sighed, "I think it's time I introduced you to Ezekiel. King, Ezekiel."

I sort of listened but I was so distracted by Daryl that I had a hard time focusing on what Jesus was telling Rick about the Kingdom and the Saviors. I could see red hot rage, boiling just below his cool, calm collected exterior. I knew bringing up our quasi victory at the Outpost was going to be difficult. We'd been so confident that we'd taken care of the threat, we'd never dreamed Negan was literally legion. Now paired with the torture Daryl had endured, he was ready to annihilate every last one of them, and I couldn't blame him.

Maybe I'd have to let him work off some steam tonight. Bossing me around in the bedroom seemed to do wonders for his mood. He glanced sideways at me and I smiled at him reassuringly, trying to keep my own emotions in check. I was angry too. I knew that letting that anger motivate me was dangerous, probably would get me killed if I wasn't careful. Good thing I had something bigger than myself to live for, eh?

The SUV rolled to a stop and Rick and Jesus jumped out. I still couldn't believe we'd piled nine of us into one vehicle. Jesus said it was a little less than an half hour trek to the Kingdom. So Rick said we could pile in, three to a row. He and Michonne up front with Jesus. Daryl and I with Carl in the second row. The three remaining ladies took the back, Tara graciously taking the middle between Rosita and Sasha.

Daryl opened the door and popped up on the running board to shout at Rick, "Hey, what the hell we waitin' on?"

Jesus smirked. "Waiting for them." He pointed to two men on horseback, riding towards us.

The shorter of the two men cried out, "Who dares trespass on the sovereign land of the-" He stopped suddenly as they drew nearer. "Oh shit," He cursed. "Jesus? That you?" He asked incredulously.

Jesus just raised his hand in greeting. "Who are all these people, Paul?" The second man asked, reigning in his horse.

"Hi Richard," Jesus greeted him by name. "Nice to see you."

"Good to see you too." Richard replied. He took a quick breath. "Your friends, who are they?"

"This is Rick Grimes." Jesus motioned to Rick. "He's the leader of a like minded community." He turned to the SUV, "These are some of his people." He turned back to the patrol, "We would like to request an audience with King Ezekiel."

Richard dismounted his horse. "Get out of the car." He instructed. "You say they're a like minded community." He squinted. "Like minded how?"

Jesus smirked. "We live, we trade, we fight the dead." He looked Richard directly in the eye, "Sometimes others." Implying we had a common enemy. The Saviors.

"Line up." Richard instructed. Most of the group moved to form a line. Daryl, however was having none of it.

"Okay. This is a waste of time." He grunted. "C'mon let's go." I gently gripped his forearm to stop him from striding back to the SUV. He turned back around at the sound of Richard's voice.

"Maybe you're right." Richard offered. "The King is a busy man, and it's a dangerous world." He sighed. "We don't usually allow a pack of strangers to waltz through our door."

Michonne spoke up, "We want to make the world less dangerous and we are all here to show the King how serious we are about that."

Richard nodded. "The car stays outside." He held out his hand. "An' you gotta hand over your guns."

Rick gave a quick shrug, "We only have two." He unholstered his gun and Carl did the same, offering it by the barrel to Richard.

Richard took the guns and stepped back to his horse. "Okay, follow me."

The Kingdom was magnificent. Lush gardens, beautiful brick buildings and a crap ton of people to boot. A couple people from our group wondered if they could fight. From the squad of armored soldiers jogging around I ventured they would at least know the basics. We could train them further if need be.

"Morgan?" Tara said suddenly. Morgan Jones, the man responsible for bringing Rick to all of us in the first place stood next to Richard. Tara embraced him first. Then a few others stepped forward for a hug. I hung back. Morgan and I had never been close. His ideology never seemed to sit well with me. I knew he didn't kill for self preservation, but for heaven's sakes it was the goddamn apocalypse! People were going to die. Sometimes we were actually given the grace to choose which ones and keep our family alive by doing so. Morgan never seemed to get that part.

"The King will see you now." Richard announced. The group followed him towards what looked like it used to be an auditorium.

"Did you find Carol?" Rick asked Morgan once everyone had walked away.

"Yeah," Morgan nodded. "I did."

"Where is she?" Daryl asked, "Is she okay?"

"She was here, then she left." Morgan answered. "You know, she wasn't too happy, me following her." He sighed, "She wanted to get away from us, from everyone." He looked between the three of us. "But when I found her she was shot. Just a graze, I got her back here. They got doctors, they're good."

"Was it them?" I asked, feeling the anger I'd been shoving down inside me rear its ugly head.

Morgan nodded. "It was." He pursed his lips. "She had crossed with some of them and one of them followed her, tried to kill her, but I stopped him." My hand flew to my mouth to stifle a sob. Carol was ruthless, but she didn't deserve to be hunted. Morgan was quiet for a moment, shifting his weight. "I killed him." He confessed. "I had to." I grit my teeth, Daryl's hand on my shoulder stifled the smart ass remark in my throat. "Carol was here." Morgan summed up for us, "She got help, now she's gone."

I looked over at Rick and he nodded and gave a small shrug. At least now we knew. Now we had more pressing matters at hand, getting King Ezekiel to join us in fighting the Saviors. I bit my tongue and followed the men into the building where our group had disappeared into.

I was right. King Ezekiel held court in a modest high school auditorium. The stage was set with a throne, a man whom I presumed to be King Ezekiel, wore majestic dreadlocks and held a staff sat perched between its arms. Richard and the other border guard stood to his left. A jovial, potbelly man stood on far stage right with two other subjects between him and the King. The biggest surprise was the large animal stalking out from behind the throne. Its muscles rippled with power as it strode forward and sat next to the King.

"Yes, yes they are, your majesty." Jesus answer the King's greeting and turned back to us to introduce Rick. Everyone had stopped just inside the doorway. "Oh, right." He exclaimed lowering his voice. "I forgot to mention-"

"Yeah, a tiger." Rick finished for him. As if on cue the massive animal gave a roar in greeting.

I chuckled. As much as I'd seen things I never thought possible since the turn, seeing a King with a pet Tiger might have taken the cake.

"This is Rick Grimes, leader of Alexandria, and these are some of his people." Jesus informed the King, leading us down the aisle way. We all fanned out into different rows so we could see the King and each other clearly.

King Ezekiel smiled, "I welcome you all to the Kingdom, good travelers. Now what brings you to our fair land?" He spoke like a fairytale, like he was reading from a Shakespearean playbook. "Why do you seek an audience with the King?"

Rick told him that Alexandria, The Hilltop and The Kingdom, we all had something in common. We all serve the Saviors. The King then proceeded to chastise Jesus for breaking their confidence. Apparently, The Kingdom's deal with the Saviors was not known among its people. It made some sense to me to keep it quiet, probably improve moral and quality of life. Didn't the Savior's come to the Kingdom for tribute? How did the King manage to keep the Saviors a secret? I wracked my brain for possibilities. They must have a neutral meeting point and only the men present in this room were privy to its location and dealings.

Rick then told Ezekiel of our plan to confront the Saviors and take our communities back from their rule. Rosita then told Morgan about the people we lost and how Daryl and I were taken as prisoners. Morgan seemed to falter a bit. I got a little bit of satisfaction from seeing him reel a little with the emotion of losing our friends.

"I used to think the deal with something we could live with." Jesus divulged, "All of us did. But that's changing." He sighed, "So let's change the world, your majesty."

"I wanna be honest about what we're asking." Rick implored the King. "My people are strong, but there's not enough of us." The King looked intrigued. "We don't have guns, not enough at least. Not a lot of weapons, period."

Richard spoke up. "We have people. And weapons. If we strike first, we can beat them." He turned towards the King, "Your majesty, no more waiting for things to get worse, beyond what we can handle. We set things right." The looked at Rick. "The time is now."

"Morgan." Ezekiel said suddenly and my stomach dropped. "What say you?"

"Me?" Morgan asked in disbelief.

"Speak." The King demanded. No! My mind screamed. Morgan would never agree to fight the Saviors. He was always looking for another way. It figured this King trusted Morgan's point of view on things.

"People will die." Morgan drawled. "A lot of people and not just the saviors. If-" He bit his lip, shaking his head. "If we can find another way" My heart stopped. I knew it in my gut that our chances of King Ezekiel joining the fight were slim to none. "We have to. Maybe it's just about Negan, capturing him, holding him."

"The hour grows late." King Ezekiel stood, "Rick Grimes of Alexandria, you have given the King much to ponder."

Rick then told a childhood story about a rock in the road to the kingdom. I watched Daryl's face as Rick spoke and my spirits were lifted. Understanding flickered in his eyes and I could tell that even if we didn't have the Kingdom's support, Daryl was still on board to take out the Saviors by whatever means necessary.

The King invited us to have dinner with them, Rick almost refused, but when the King said he would deliver his decision in the morning, he relented.

Supper was a grand affair. Roasted chicken, potatoes and fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden. There was even cobbler.

"How long you been with the King?" I asked Jerry who was sitting next to me and Daryl at the long table. Rick sat next to the King across from us.

"Since the beginning." He smiled. "We've been through a lot."

"I bet." I smiled back, digging into my plate.

"How long you been with Rick?" Jerry asked. I felt Daryl stiffen next to me. I could tell he was uncomfortable with me mingling with the locals. He was also a little miffed by the phrasing of the question. I was with him, not Rick.

I swallowed my mouthful. "Hmmm." I thought for a moment. "Close to a year after the turn I joined Rick's group, or rather they joined me." I took a sip of water. "I was a prison guard and they broke in, saved my ass and helped make it into a thriving community."

"Nice." Jerry nodded, looking around at everyone enjoying the meal. "You guys seem like one big family."

"Yeah, " I chuckled. "We are." I squinted playfully at him. "You and the King are close, you think he'll take up arms with us?"

Jerry sighed, his face falling a little. "Uh, well the cost to build this place was almost too high." He sighed. "I'm not sure, we've got peace right now, so it's hard to put that aside considering how many people we have here."

"Mmmhmm." I agreed, taking a moment to look around. The Kingdom was definitely an idyllic community. They seemed self sustaining, which is where we were headed at Alexandria until Negan came swinging into our lives. I changed the subject. "What did you do before all this, Jerry?"

Jerry smirked. "I was an elementary music teacher."

"What?!" I exclaimed, "That's amazing."

Jerry laughed. "God, I miss it." He sighed, "So much simpler than all this."

I nodded. "Betcha never thought you'd say that." I mused, elbowing him good naturedly. "My mother was a teacher. She was always very glad when Friday or a holiday break came." I winked.

Jerry laughed. "Yeah, it had its moments, but I really enjoyed it."

"You teach music here, in the Kingdom?" I asked, finishing up my chicken.

Jerry's eyebrows rose. "Uh, well. I hadn't thought to, really."

"You should." I encouraged. "You guys seem to have a little of everything around here, I'm sure there are instruments."

"Yeah, actually there's a closet full in the auditorium." Jerry smiled, digging into his cobbler.

"See?" I smiled, "Just takes another set of eyes, well in this case ears." I chuckled. Jerry laughed.

"Imma take a walk." Daryl murmured to me, moving to get up from the table.

I swiveled a little in my seat to look at him. "Okay, I can come with you-"

"Nah." Daryl shook his head, nodding to my unfinished meal. "Finish your cobbler. It's good."

"I know, right?" Jerry exclaimed, totally oblivious to the hard look Daryl was giving him.

I smirked. "Yes, sir." My hand shot out to touch him before he was out of reach. He smirked at my eagerness and took my hand in his. He kissed my knuckles before letting go and disappearing into the surrounding darkness.

I turned back to the table and locked eyes with Rick. He was smiling from ear to ear, eyebrows raised. "Oh hush." I murmured, digging into my dessert.

"So," Jerry began, "You were a prison guard before all this?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, not really wanting to elaborate. Did these people need to know I was trained military? Would that make a difference? A moment of silence passed before I spoke up. "Actually I only did that for a year. I was a naval aviator right out of college."

"Whoa." Jerry exclaimed. "Wicked awesome."

"It was." I sighed, feeling wistful.

"Did you know, uh…" Jerry started to ask.

"Daryl?" I guessed by the blush creeping up his cheeks. "No," I smirked. "We met at the prison." Jerry's eyebrows shot up, mouth falling open a little. I laughed. "He was already Rick's right hand man."

"Oh." Jerry sighed in relief. "You had me going there for a minute there, Roz."

I finished my final spoonful of cobbler, pushing the plate away with a contented sigh. "I have a feeling we're going to be very good friends, Jerry."

"Yeah?" Jerry smiled. "Cool."

"Now, where do y'all keep that beautiful tiger?" I asked, getting up from my place at the table.

"Why?" Jerry asked, turning to look at me. I just raised an eyebrow and jerked my head in the direction Daryl disappeared in. "Ah." He nodded. "You think that's where Daryl went off to."

I smiled, placing a hand on Jerry's shoulder. "Exactly."

Dearest Readers,

This episode is a more dialogue heavy than I thought, but we made it! Plus, I wanted a chance for Roz and Jerry to meet. I love Jerry! He's awesome. I'm looking forward to having Roz and Jerry lighten things up for us as we're about to delve into some darker territory.

I would like to give a special shout out to Gryffindor Rat. She has been amazing! She took the time to review each chapter and we've been PM'ing back and forth about our stories. Please go check out her fic Born Nameless. It's also a DarylxOC story. Really awesome writing and OFC development!

Thank you for reading, let me know what you think!

Xoxo

Lumora The White