Chapter 26
Two weeks after Emma and Daryl talked about Merle, everything was still status quo with them. Morgan and Carol had not yet returned to Alexandria. Maggie and Glenn continued to stay at Hilltop and Daryl was still taking a lot of cold showers and he was about at the end of his rope.
He hadn't pushed Emma about the non-sexual aspect relationship at all and he was finding this to be extremely hard and frustrating. All they ever did was kiss and cuddle, and while that was nice he needed it to go further. He wanted back the relationship they had before the world crashed down on them.
He was going to have to talk to Emma about it tonight when they were alone. He wasn't looking forward to it and knew he'd probably fumble over his words and screw it up, but he had to try. This wasn't normal and he had to get to the bottom of this, but he had Alexandria business to take care of first today.
Daryl was on his way to meet Rick at the supply pantry. Heath and Tara had just come back from their long run. It should have been a two week stint, but it lasted closer to three. It was good to finally have them back safely. However, neither knew what had happened in their absence. Tara had to be told that Denise was dead. No one was looking forward to doing that.
Having Carol or Maggie here would have helped. Females tend to need each other in devastating circumstances. Daryl hoped that Rick at least had Michonne there when they told Tara. He really didn't want to have to do this.
Daryl was striding up the street when Rosita caught up with him. "I hear their back," she said.
"Yep. I'm headed here to meet Rick so we can talk to Tara. I sure as hell ain't looking forward to this," Daryl told her. "Was my fault that Denise died."
Rosita grabbed his arm and made him stop walking. "It was not your fault Daryl. She wanted to go and she knew it was dangerous. If anyone is to blame it's Dwight's fault. He shot her, not you."
"He was aiming at me! And it was my fuckin' crossbow. How could it not be my fault?" he argued.
"It wasn't your fault, so stop being so hardnosed about it. Yes, we were both there, but that freak Dwight shot the bolt, not you," Rosita explained. She knew what he was feeling, because she felt the same way. "Hey, I know you feel guilty…I do too, we were both there and we were the experienced ones. We should have kept her safe, but shit happens in this world now and there was no way to know the Saviors where there. It was just bad luck."
No one knew how much blame Rosita was putting on herself, not even Daryl. It had been her idea to cut through using the train tracks, but Daryl said no. So she had to do it anyway and beat them to the intersection wit
h a smile. That convinced Daryl to go that way and that's what killed Denise. If she hadn't done it, then Daryl wouldn't have considered it and Denise would be alive today.
Rosita wasn't sure what her place was in this group anymore. After Abraham broke up with her for Sasha, she felt lost. Training the Alexandrian's to fight and defend themselves was not enough for her. She wanted to prove to the group that she was worthy of being there without Abraham. Taking the tracks made sense, but Daryl knew bad things happened to them along the train tracks, so he took the other way. Her desire to prove herself worthy cost Denise her life and Alexandria their only doctor. This was Rosita's fault…completely.
"I'm coming with you to talk to Tara," Rosita told him as they started to head down the quiet street again. "I was there too and I know what loss is like, so she'll need someone like me to help her."
" 'kay," was all Daryl said. He was glad that Rosita was with him. She would be a help and she understood. Just as they reached the pantry, he turned to her, "Thanks Rosita. Rick and me were going to do this alone, but having you here will be a big help."
Rosita flashed him a sad smile and they went in to find Rick so they could break the devastating news to Tara.
Emma had found her niche in Alexandria. After talking to Rick and Daryl, it was decided that she would take over cooking duties for the house and people who couldn't cook or themselves. She was her own version of Meal on Wheels as she used an old child's wagon to carry the food around in. She had taken the time to talk to those she had to cook for and try to find out what they liked and didn't like. Emma had always enjoyed cooking so this was a fun job for her.
The creativeness she needed to have with the unique ingredients in the pantry had her coming up with some unusual combination that usually worked. With the people back from an extended supply run, Emma was looking forward to seeing what they brought in. It was good timing, as their supplies were getting quite low.
Suddenly Daryl, burst through the front door out of breath. "They're here. The Saviors. Fuckin' hide, Em. Now!"
Everyone had expected the Saviors to come for their share of the supplies much sooner than this. It was over two weeks since that horrible night that Negan had laid down the law. Rick, Michonne and Daryl had discussed what would happen when they did. The one thing that Daryl was adamant on was that they could never see Emma. If anyone recognized her it would put her in jeopardy and there was no way Daryl was going to do that.
Emma quickly turned off everything on the stove and threw it down the garbage disposal. If it looked like someone was cooking and they weren't around, it would raise suspicions. She piled the pots in the sink as dirty dishes meant nothing.
"Hurry!" Daryl shouted at her as he kept on eye out the window. He could see Rick and Michonne talking to about a dozen men.
"I am! I am!" she told her heart beating so hard it was about to jump out of her chest. Then they both ran down the hallway and up the stairs to their room.
Daryl and Tobin had built a hiding spot for her in their closet, just like the one they found in Sam's room, but it was bigger to accommodate one person. Daryl got to the room first and had the panel off, so Emma could just slide right in. The latch was on the inside with her, so she had control of it. Before he closed her in, Daryl kissed her deeply on the lips.
"I'll be back as soon as I can to let you know it's safe," he told her.
"You stay safe and don't do anything stupid," she said. He could be impulsive and that was the last thing she wanted.
Daryl didn't respond, but put the panel back in place. "Daryl promise me you want to do anything stupid!" she yelled through the panel. "Daryl!"
"Can't promise nuthin'," he finally answered. "Lock the fuckin' panel, Em. Now!"
As Emma flicked the corner locks in place, she heard him messing up the shoes and clothes to make the closet looked lived in. Then there was silence and she knew he was gone.
Emma felt around the floor and found the flashlight they had stored there in preparation of her having to hide. She turned it on and looked around her small room and was grateful that she was not claustrophobic. It was literally the size of a large box. She had two blankets and pillow in there along with some food and water. Lastly there was a container if she had to go to the bathroom. She knew she'd use that only if she was desperate. Now all she could do was sit and wait, praying everything went okay with the Saviors.
Daryl walked up to where Rick, Michonne and a few other Alexandrians were talking to the men that had come. Everyone was armed. His sharp eyes hadn't missed a thing as he approached them. Dwight was talking directly to Rick and Daryl's hands clenched into fists as he joined them. Hatred radiated out of every pore as he stared at Dwight.
He hated making mistakes and that he hadn't killed the prick when he should have, had been a huge one. Daryl never took his eyes off Dwight once he joined the tense group. The still unloaded van full of supplies was nearby. The signal that the Saviors were approaching came as they were talking to Tara and Heath, so nothing had been able to be put away. They most likely would lose most if not all of that haul.
Rick and Dwight were arguing over what they were going to give the Saviors. Dwight wanted more than what Negan had told them. Daryl knew he was trying to show he was in charge, not Rick. All Daryl could do was glare at the ugly weasel's face trying to make him uncomfortable. That he had Daryl's crossbow slung across his back, was equal to him spitting in his face and it pissed him off completely. He'd like nothing more than to tackle him right there and beat the shit outta him, but that would definitely cause a bigger problem than they already had.
Someday….somehow…he'd get the crossbow back and Dwight would pay…with his life. That Daryl was one hundred percent sure about. At least he had his bike back. A week after he got back, he convinced Aaron to drive him out to where he hid the bike. Luckily, it was still there, and now it was safe inside Alexandria.
"I wanna see your supplies and weapons," Dwight demanded to Rick. "I got no reason to take your word on anything. We don't trust anyone,"
"We sure as hell ain't trusting you either," Daryl retorted. "We don't have to show you squat."
"No you don't," Dwight responded with an evil grin made even worse with his damaged face. "But if you don't, we'll just kill one of you. Simple as that. What do you say Rick, you gonna be stupid and listen to Daryl here or are you gonna show me what I want to see?"
Rick knew where Daryl was coming from, but he had to play the game for now. At some point when they were ready, they would get their revenge. Now was not the right time. Rick caught Daryl's furious eyes and silently told him to back off. They had fucked this up once, and he had no intention of doing it again.
"Follow me," Rick told him. When all of the Saviors took a step, Rick put up his hand. "No, not all of you. Just you and one other, that's it. You're just looking everything over first, and then we deal."
Dwight agreed and took one of the armed men with him. Daryl stayed watching the other men along with several of the guards they had on duty. Michonne went with Rick.
They went into the food pantry first. They were low on supplies and it showed. That was the truth.
Dwight walked around the shelves before stopping back at Rick. "It's pretty skimpy in here, Rick. Looks like that van full of supplies came back at the right time…for me. Let's see your weapons."
Rick would rather sacrifice food than weapons and they had the weapon room manipulated to help them. Empty racks had a light coating on dust in them, like they've been empty for a while. A fake sign out sheet said who took what weapon out that day so it would be another reason it looked empty. They had hid the good stuff and would bring them out only when they needed it.
Dwight crossed his arms as he surveyed the armory. "Either they do well with not a lot of firepower or something was up," he thought to himself. He wasn't sure which to believe.
"I expected more in here," he told Rick.
"So did I when I first got here," Rick said matter-of- factly. "For a community of this size they had a handful of weapons and barely any ammo. Hell, they didn't even have guards watching the perimeter. This place was so weak, I was surprised that they never had any problems. I'm in charge now, so we've been increasing the weapons, but it's still not near what I wanted," Rick lied to Dwight. He had to get him to believe that they were low on guns and ammo. Their existence counted on it.
"And I should just take your word on that? I'm not stupid." Dwight wanted to see what type of reaction he could get outta Rick.
"Listen, I only took over here a couple months ago and you know how hard it is to find any type of weapon anymore plus the ammunition that goes with it. We got what we could get, but there's been no time to stockpile. This plus what the guards have and our side arms, is all we got." Rick sent up a silent prayer that Dwight was dumb enough to buy it.
The Savior mulled it over briefly. Ultimately, he had to answer to Negan, but he was pretty sure he had plan that Negan could live with. "Fine, we take half of what's here including ammo and the entire van. Anything less means someone's gonna die."
Rick knew they could take these men out easily, but that would bring down the wrath of the entire Savior operation on them and he wasn't ready for that ...yet. He knew he had to agree even though it was the last thing he wanted to do.
Rick looked at Michonne first, before answering Dwight. They were as attuned to each other as Rick and Daryl were. Words weren't always necessary to say what they were thinking.
Michonne didn't want Rick to agree to the plan, but she knew he had to. They weren't ready to take them all on right now. She also knew that Daryl would not be happy either. His hate of Dwight and the Saviors went the deepest.
"Fine…for this one time only you get the van plus half here. Don't expect that next time," Rick told him.
Dwight just smirked at Rick thinking he pulled one over on him. It took all of Rick's will power not to shoot him where he stood as he watched Michonne load up a cart with the guns they were handing over. Soon, Rick would get his revenge on the Saviors. He just needed a fool proof plan first, and then he would personally make sure they all were dead.
