Daryl tries to leave Alexandria but meets resistance at the gates. Carol and Erin are subject to more of Negan's eccentric behavior when he supervises her medical check.
"Aura Lee," written in 1861, is a Civil War era song which was popular with soldiers in the southern states. Its tune was borrowed for the Elvis Presley song "Love me Tender." Its verses run through the seasons that a man is away from the woman that he loves, her constancy through the cold winter rewarded with blissful reunion in the spring when he returns. It seemed fitting for the Caryl separations, both in this story and on TWD.
In thy blush the rose was born
In thy blush the rose was born,
music when you spake.
Through thine azure eyes the morn
sparkling seemed to break.
- Lyrics from "Aura Lee" by W.W. Fosdick & G.R. Poulton
"Until we can get the gate repaired I think it's the best option." Rick sighed from where he stood in front of the bus that was filling the gap in the wall created when Negan had destroyed the gate. Jesus, Abraham, Claire, Eric, Eugene and Olivia were arrayed around him surveying the damage.
"I agree—there's plenty of room—not nice houses like you have here, but the trailers are safe and dry. You'll need to bring as much food as you can though." Jesus said thoughtfully. "We can work with my people there on a rescue plan for the ones Negan has."
"All right—we'll get packed up today and leave for Hilltop first light tomorrow." Rick nodded. "For now let's shore up the barrier with more cars and double the perimeter patrols to keep any walkers away from the breach."
"What about Daryl?" Abe asked. Sidelined with his badly broken arm, the former military man's frustration at being unable to go along on any rescue mission was apparent.
"He'll get with the program." Rick said flatly. "Has to see it's a better idea when we explain it to him." Rick wasn't about to acknowledge Daryl's insubordination in front of the others.
"Well, here's your chance." Abe said, raising his free hand and pointing behind Rick.
Daryl was walking down the street, jam tight, head held high, back pack and bow over his shoulders, Rick's Colt holstered at his hip. About a half a block behind him were Aaron, Michonne and Morgan, also dressed in jackets, packing weapons and supplies to go outside the walls.
Rick shook his head angrily and strode down the street followed by Eric, Abe and Jesus. He stopped right in front of Daryl who gave him a dismissive grunt and side stepped around him to keep walking towards the gate.
"We're leaving in the morning—taking everyone to Hilltop." Rick announced, turning to call after Daryl who ignored him and continued walking, ending up by Claire, Olivia and Eugene at the gate.
Aaron stopped to greet Eric and Michonne and Morgan halted in front of Rick.
"I'm not letting him go out there alone." Aaron said to Eric, who nodded in understanding. "He runs into trouble we're not leaving him in there to die."
"It's Carl, Rick." Michonne said quietly, "And Carol..." she looked over at Abe and Eugene, "Rosita, Tara, Enid...they're family."
"And if Daryl can get inside and find the ones Negan took, he'll need help getting them home." Morgan added. "We're his back up. Extraction team, whatever you want to call us."
"What can four of you do against what Negan has?" Rick asked. "Jesus says Hilltop will back us—we have to be smart about this—give us the best chance to get them all back safely."
"You can't win. Even with Jesus' group you don't have the numbers." Morgan disagreed.
"There's others—other communities he takes tribute from—we can bring them in now too." Jesus said, looking at Rick, "We just needed a strong leader to rally them behind."
"We can do this—we just all need to stick together, follow my lead." Rick said persuasively.
"Fine." Aaron said, shaking his head at Rick's arrogance. "While you're off playing general, Daryl's joining the Saviors."
"Inside man?" Jesus said, rubbing his chin, impressed, "Not a bad idea..." he looked over at Daryl who was glowering at all of them. "I'd wait until you have cover of night to head out though—Negan's probably left look outs to keep track of comings and goings." He looked at the rest of the group, "There another way out of this place? Something that empties out into the woods?"
"Drainage culvert—runs under the walls—there is a locked gate at the other end of it near the back of the compound." Eugene said, making everyone look at him, dumbfounded at this news.
Daryl grabbed him by the shirt front and shoved him back up against the side of the bus. Claire stepped up to try and calm Daryl, but he ignored her quiet entreaties.
"Why the hell is this the first time we're hearing about it?" Daryl growled incredulously. Something like that would've been invaluable during the Wolves attack.
"Just found it when I was going through the zoning and infrastructure plans for this place trying to see if there was any kind of underground electric lines that ran near the new back walls by the gardens to put in more lighting." Eugene said, ducking his head, "I do apologize that it slipped my mind in light of recent horrific events."
"Reg would've known about it." Olivia said sadly, making everyone pause, reminding them how much they lost every time someone with invaluable knowledge was taken from them.
"That should work. Head out tonight after midnight... but If he's gonna pull this off they have to see Daryl as a lone wolf." Jesus advised, "I'll draw you a map—show you all a couple good rendezvous spots near their base—but then you three need to travel separately from him."
Daryl continued to hold Eugene against the bus, staring at him, seething.
"Daryl?" Aaron said, approaching the other man carefully, holding his hands out in supplication.
In his highly agitated state the Archer was unpredictable, his ability to make decisions compromised by his emotions, the opposite of the calm careful tracker he was known to be. Of all of them there, only Rick had seen him act this way before, when the ex-sheriff had left Merle chained to a roof in Atlanta and again when he'd told him about banishing Carol...
"We use the culvert—get us out of here and right into the woods."Aaron explained.
Daryl's eyes narrowed and he seemed to contemplate this, his head slowly swinging around to look at Aaron.
"Just a couple of hours Daryl—till it's full dark—then we go." Michonne said reassuringly.
"Ain't no trick?" Daryl asked Aaron, who looked touched that he was the one Daryl seemed to trust to tell him the truth.
"No Daryl, no trick." Aaron said, nodding, "We're going with your plan."
"How about we head to our house and get some dinner into you while you're waiting?" Eric volunteered, attempting an easy cheer that fell a bit flat.
Daryl stared them all down, trying to decide if he really could trust what they were telling him. The thought of Carol in the hands of such evil made his heart race and his head feel like it was going to explode if he didn't get the fuck out of here right now...
"Ah right." Daryl finally mumbled, releasing Eugene who almost collapsed in relief.
"Good." Rick said with a too bright smile, coming over to Daryl, "We can talk about the rest of the plans for—"
"You ain't invited." Daryl brushed past Rick, heading for Aaron and Eric's house, leaving the rest behind.
Aaron gave Rick a raised eyebrow look and shrugged, then he and Eric, Morgan and Michonne followed after Daryl.
"I suppose I should go." Jesus said quietly, "They'll need the intel on the Saviors I have."
Rick nodded, a look of sadness and regret darkening his face. He watched them all go down the street and then turned to the psychologist with a questioning look.
"I can talk to him, but I can't make him listen." Claire sighed, knowing what he wanted from her. Rick knew both Carol and Daryl had come to her for counseling. She was his last chance to talk Daryl out of leaving.
"Just try—s'all I ask." Rick said before turning to walk in the opposite direction from where the others had gone.
Eugene, Olivia and Abraham lowered their eyes, wondering how serious the break between Rick and Daryl was and what effect that might have on the future of the community. If someone so close to him could lose faith, what hope did Rick have of rallying others behind him?
"How are you feeling, besides gorgeous?" Negan asked Carol with a big smile as he watched Dr. Carson prepare to administer a sonogram to check on the progress of her pregnancy.
Erin was in the room as well, insisting as primary care physician she needed to be present for all tests and medical procedures. Regardless, she would never leave Carol alone with the men after what she'd witnessed in their first twenty-four hours here.
There was a veneer of civilization in the place that there hadn't been with the Wolves, but somehow that made their behavior ever worse. She'd been given a lecture on "The Rules" authored by the dictator himself, and the essence boiled down to three things:
If you wanted the Saviors' protection, you had to give yourself over to them, body, mind and soul.
Anything you had of value, (including your body, mind and soul), was currency and could be traded for said protection.
Once you traded it, it belonged to Negan and he didn't share.
Sex was a commodity, but had to be given willingly, in essence legalized prostitution: Quid pro quo. The most sought after positions for women were that of Negan's wives because they brought the most perks for both the woman and her people. Kayla, for example, had a cousin and a brother who now ranked very high in the hierarchy of the Saviors and she lived in protected comfort.
If you were unwilling to trade your body, you better have some other skill of service that had value. A trade, whether auto mechanic, seamstress, a cook or walker slayer bought you food, shelter and protection.
Justice? Crime? Stealing was punishable by maiming for the first offense, usually the loss of a hand, and death for the second. Likewise rape was considered a form of stealing and was punishable by castration and death. Murder was stealing another's life and was also punishable by death. The dead from these punishments became part of the cordon of walkers wired to the outside fences to repel others, both the living and the dead.
Carol had the best of all commodities, the thing of highest value to Negan, the child growing inside her.
That the same man capable of the callous viciousness of Glenn's murder was acting the doting husband and expectant father to Carol, told both she and Erin that he was a sociopath, able to justify any action that brought him what he believed he deserved. It made him dangerous and unpredictable but at the same time, once he was set on a certain course, very easy to manipulate.
"I'm a bit tired, but that's normal." Carol responded to Negan's flattery mildly, "Thank you for asking."
Dr. Carson lifted the sheet over Carol so that her abdomen was exposed and squirted the jelly that would help the sonogram device work well onto it.
"After this if you're feeling up to it perhaps you'd like to take a walk with me in the courtyard gardens; so we can look at the flowers?" Negan said watching her face carefully, assessing her. "I'd like to have you choose the ones for the arrangements in the wives' quarters."
Carol smiled and nodded, though inwardly her stomach did a flip at his inadvertent reminder of the phrase she so associated with the terrible events at the pecan grove.
"Heart rate shot up a little there..." Carson said, sounding puzzled as he looked at the monitors, pausing before he touched her with the sonogram wand, "Nothing to be nervous about...this can't harm the baby in any way." He told her reassuringly.
"Sorry—I never had one of these with my daughter." Carol said, truthfully. She'd been young and healthy so had the bare minimum of care. Ed thought health insurance was for suckers.
"Just gonna take a look at how everything is going in there—take some measurements—okay?" Carson asked kindly.
"Okay." Carol said, taking a deep breath to relax.
"That's right—nothing's going to happen to you or that little one—daddy's here." Negan said in his best soothing voice, taking Carol's hand in his and patting it.
Carol's mouth curved into a tremulous smile and she closed her eyes to hide her revulsion. She felt the instrument touch her belly and slide around, searching for the child. At 25 weeks it should be about 12-13 inches long and only weighing in at one and a half pounds or so.
"Carol–look." Erin said softly, the smile in her voice apparent.
When she did, Carol saw the other doctor marking the small fuzzy grey image on the screen for measurement.
"He's mooning us." Carol said with a surprised chuckle. All they could see was the baby's back and a tiny ass pressed up against the side of the uterine wall.
Carol and Erin exchanged a smile, knowing they were each thinking the same thing—this was so Daryl Dixon's baby.
"Cheeky little bastard." Negan said, sounding entranced, leaning close to stare at the screen.
As they watched, the baby somersaulted away forcing Carson to reposition the wand to look for it. When he did, this time the face was visible in profile, the body in the well-known fetal curve, little arms curled inward and up, one hand at its mouth.
"Is that a dick?" Negan asked, excitedly pointing at the screen.
"Guess that begs the question as to whether you want to know the sex..." Carson said dryly.
Carol felt dazed, tears filling her eyes. They had a son...oh Daryl...we have a son...
"He looks like you." Negan said approvingly, grinning proudly down at Carol, surprised to see her tears. He took both her hands in his and leaned in close, speaking gently, "Don't dwell on how he came to be ours—just know that I'll be a good father to him, I promise you, sweetheart."
Choking back a sob, Carol nodded, not trusting herself to speak. To hear this monster speak so possessively about the baby felt like a knife slicing off pieces of her heart.
"He's a bit small—ten and a half inches, and comes in at about a pound, but we'll get your nutrition ramped up here too—you both need to put on a few pounds." Carson told her and then put down the sonogram wand so he could raise a cloth to clean the gel off of Carol's abdomen.
"I've been telling her that for weeks." Erin agreed.
"But he's healthy? No problems?" Negan asked a bit anxiously.
"I don't see any red flag warning signs, but we'll keep a close eye on them both." Carson explained.
"I had her on complete bed rest before..." Erin told the Saviors' doctor.
"Probably wise—she's obviously stressed and though nominally healthy her age and generally run down condition including the anemia, make this a higher risk pregnancy." Carson agreed.
"I'm afraid we'll have to postpone our look at the flowers." Carol said with a wistful sigh, looking up at Negan apologetically.
"I'll bring them to you—what's your favorite?" the solicitous monster said.
Carol just shook her head. Flowers were too fragile a subject to discuss.
"There are roses to match the blush of your cheek..." the monster told her, raising his hand to brush the backs of his fingers against it softly. "In thy blush the rose was born, music when you spake. Through thine azure eyes the morn, sparkling seemed to break."
It took a few seconds for Carol wrap her mind around the tenderness with which he recited the words. Her eyes wide she blinked up at him and frowned slightly before she forced herself to smile in a subtle imitation of chiding pleasure at his overt flattery.
"Is it a poem?" she asked him.
"A song—Aura Lee—from the Civil War era for my southern belle," Negan said with a contemplative small smile. He reached up and brushed an errant curl behind her ear. "Though her hair is golden in it, I find I much prefer your silver..." and then he leaned close and kissed her, his mouth moving over hers masterfully, his big hand sliding to cup the back of her skull.
Yang and Carson's eyes met, and she was heartened to see that the doctor looked as uncomfortable as she felt. It hurt to see Carol forced to allow another man such intimacies knowing how much she loved Daryl.
"Sunshine came along with thee and swallows in the air," Negan breathed against her lips, quoting the song lyrics again before giving her a last kiss and then releasing her.
Carol looked up at him, somehow making him believe the tears in her eyes were ones of happiness, gritting her teeth against the gorge rising in her throat from having his mouth on hers.
"I know you—what women like you want—a place for our son to be safe." Negan said, and placed a caressing hand onto her still bared abdomen, "You can have that here, protected from men like the ones that hurt you before. I take care of my wives, Carol, I know you'll be happy here."
And then Carol did smile, because he had no idea what she really was. She was no sweet spring's bushing maiden; she was death and justice and vengeance come for him, those "swallows in the air" carrying his soul down to hell...
In Stephen King's book The Dark Half he uses sparrows as "psychopomps," creatures that guide the souls of the dead to the afterlife. This idea is common in a lot of cultures, the Egyptians believed the god Anubis performed this function, Christians have St. Michael do it and for the Vikings it was the Valkyries.
Okay, Negan is even creeping me out with this shit. How he is behaving here is a parallel to what Claire and Felicia were afraid Daryl was doing when he helped them with things for their baby at the time Aaron and he first found them.
And oh yes! It's a boy;-)
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think if you have time.