Rick Grimes.
Rae looked him up and down, mid wash denim shirt, jeans a few shades darker and a pair of cowboy boots that matched his southern drawl. She'd never heard the name, nor had she ever seen him before but if he wanted her trust then hopefully he wasn't here to hurt her. The idea didn't offer much comfort, being held at gunpoint had a way of making a person feel the opposite of safe and relaxed.
When her gaze flicked from Rick's boots to his eyes he nodded to his friends, "the man with the crossbow is Daryl, the other is Jesus."
Rae glanced over her shoulder. Daryl looked like the kind of man that could win a fist fight with a grizzly bear. Jesus looked like… Jesus. She might have laughed if her throat wasn't dry with fear. Instead she looked away, her eyes settling on Tim who was avoiding looking at her as he slowly stood from where she'd kneed him to the floor. "He's Tim," she said, her voice flat as it forced out his name, "and you already know who I am."
"Is he gonna be a problem?" Daryl spat, surging forward in several aggressive strides while keeping his crossbow aimed directly at Tim's head
Tim looked at her now. A mix of fear and regret pooling in his eyes as it seemed his life hung in the balance of her decision. Rae didn't pity him and she wasn't sure she'd ever trust him again but she couldn't hate him. She couldn't ignore all the good that he'd done for her family over the past few years even if his actions in the past few minutes seemed to have unravelled most of the good. She wasn't sure what would happen with Tim but it couldn't happen in front of these strangers and it would be her decision. "He's not a problem."
Tim's gaze fell to the floor, his chest puffing down in a sigh of relief. She wanted to tell him, 'I don't forgive you, this isn't over,' but she bit her tongue, watching as Daryl hitched his crossbow on his shoulder and squared up to Tim until their faces were inches apart. "I see ya layin' hands on a woman again an' Imma have a problem, asshole."
Rae felt her cheeks heating even though she had nothing to be ashamed about. It was Tim that had attacked her but she didn't want these men to think of her as some silly victim that needed saving or a person that could be easily controlled. She ignored the embarrassment written all over her face and held her head high like she wasn't feeling vulnerable for about a hundred reasons, "I don't need you sorting out the problems I took care of on my own."
Daryl glanced at her, his eyes narrowing as he looked her up and down like he could see right to her core, right to the place where her insides were crumbling away with nerves as she wished Negan was here to protect her from whatever it was they had planned. The way he snorted when he finished scrutinizing her reminded her of Miguel and any confidence she hoped to muster deflated away.
"Check them for any concealed weapons," Rick instructed and Daryl didn't hesitate as he manhandled Tim against the wall, his hands rough and forceful as they frisked over Tim's clothes to find nothing but a box of matches.
When it was her turn Daryl approached her with hesitation, not quite looking her in the eye as his hands slipped into the pockets of her coat before smoothing over her torso, sliding all the way along her legs as gingerly as possible while still being thorough enough to find the pocket knife she had tucked in her boot.
When he pulled it free he brushed his thumb over the outer shell with a soft snort before shoving it in his pocket and mumbling, "they're clean."
"There's a staffroom though here, it'd be a good place to talk," Jesus motioned to the room he'd appeared from and Rae didn't put up a fight. With no weapons or back up she was at their mercy. The idea sent a cold chill down her spine, they'd said a friend had sent them here but he didn't say if it was her friend.
The staff room was painted sky blue and kitted out like an ikea show room with modern build it yourself furniture that was as brightly coloured as it was new. On one wall were inspirational disney quotes printed on coloured paper and hung in a mishmash of frames. One of them read 'Giving up is for rookies' and she filed the advice away in the back if her mind as she took a seat in one of the green plastic chairs that surrounded a long table.
Tim sat besides her like he always did except this time she didn't take comfort in his presence. In fact she found herself shuffling in her chair so she was as far away from him as possible. Jesus and Rick sat opposite while Daryl paced the floor like he was waiting for trouble.
The silence that began to build had Rae's foot tapping a nervous beat on the lino while her sweaty palms crushed against her knees like she was holding on for life. The steady rhythm of Daryl's pacing only made her heart race harder, as if it was trying to block out the noise so she could close her eyes and pretend she was home.
Rick leaned forward, his hands down flat on the table in a way that was unthreatening yet instinct had her leaning back in the chair as he began to speak. "Several weeks ago you met a man named Mark."
Rae kept her face straight, she might not have had control over her pounding pulse or the way her stomach was churning but she could keep eye contact with Rick who was scrutinizing her every blink. She remembered Mark. There weren't many people left in this world so when she met a survivor it wasn't hard to remember their name. He'd given her a stun gun, helped dig Mary's grave and on Negan's orders refused to share a cigarette with her. She wouldn't have called him her friend but then, she looked at Tim, what did she know about friends? Besides, Rae hadn't seen Mark since the Saviors had fought Jacob for her. But thanks to Negan's heavy hand she'd been unconscious and hadn't seen much of anything.
Rick took her silence for confusion or a bad memory, "he was part of a group that call themselves the Saviors, their leader is a man named Negan."
She hesitated again. She was curious about what they were going to say but she didn't trust these people and she certainly didn't trust what they would do if she said 'yes' to any of their questions.
Apparently Tim did trust them or at least he hated Negan enough to not care about the consequences. "Yeah we know that asshole and his men."
Rae's grip on her knees tightened painfully as she glared at Tim, hoping to give him a look that explained exactly how she was feeling but he ignored her, his eyes fixed on Rick like they were potential new best friends.
"Mark told us where to find you. He said you have a family and people that you care about, you don't want them involved in any trouble and I can understand that. I have a son, a daughter, I'd do anything to protect them. So I came here, to meet you. We watched your house all morning, saw you leave and followed you." Rick half smiled, gesturing with a nod of his head "he said to look for a redhead."
Rae's fingers began to reach for her hair but she stopped herself as even more worry began to pound across her head, "you're still not telling me why you're here."
Rick looked to Daryl, waiting for an unspoken signal before he began to speak. "Coming here was a leap of faith but I wanna believe I can trust you. I wanna believe that Mark was right."
Rae's worry didn't get any better, in fact it got far worse. In fact she was beginning to feel like she didn't want to hear what he was going to say. "Trust me with what?" she whispered, bracing herself for the answer.
Rick's voice was low, his eyes never leaving hers, "the Saviors are not who you think they are."
Her stomach plummeted, thinking of the worst and remembering the moment she'd realised Jacob wasn't who she thought he was. Suddenly she couldn't breath and the sound of Tim's chair scraping across the floor as he jumped from his seat was heart stoppingly shrill in the silence that surrounded Rick's words. "I knew it! Jesus Christ Rae. I knew we couldn't trust them," he shouted as he paced across the room to the window.
Rae pictured Negan and the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. She knew him. She knew his men. She knew they could kill and she knew that Negan might have even enjoyed killing his enemies but this was the end of the world and she'd accepted that. She wasn't going to sell them out based on the words of anyone. "I don't know anything about the Savior's except they helped us when we needed it. That's all. I don't know what Mark's told you but it has nothing to do with me."
Rick sat back in his chair, relaxed, like he had the upper hand, "I know Negan helped you and I know he still visits your people."
"He was here yesterday," Tim spat and this time he caught the glare she threw at him.
"Alone?" Daryl demanded.
"No, he'd never travel alone," Rae said before Tim had a chance to open his mouth.
"Look, I know what Negan has done for your people but he's not who you think he is. When he came to your home he was planning on taking everything. That's what the Saviors do. They find communities and turn them into slaves."
Rae scoffed, standing up from her own chair, "you're a liar and he didn't take anything."
"He did take from you," Jesus countered.
"He didn't," she insisted. She didn't know why they were saying these things or what they were trying to achieve but she wasn't going to listen to it. "I'm not interested in listening to this. I want my weapons and then…" she took a breath, keeping her voice even, "I'm going to leave."
Rick remained in his seat, complete confidence in every word he spoke, "the man the Saviors fought for you, Jacob. He had a warehouse stacked with supplies. Food, medicine, enough to last for months. Negan told his men to clear everything out for himself. He called it payment. He said that your people had nothing else to give."
Suddenly she didn't feel certain that Rick was lying. She remembered Negan telling her that Jacob had nothing. She remembered the exact conversation. Had he lied to her? Right to her face? She couldn't think, not with four sets of eyes all watching her, waiting for her to break and accept their words as gospel.
Rick hadn't finished and the look in his eyes wasn't relaxed anymore, "Negan killed my people, my friends. One of them, his name was Glenn, he saved my life after everything first happened. Negan smashed his skull into the dirt while his pregnant wife watched. While my son watched."
"God Rae, what they hell have you gotten us involved in this time?" Tim shouted, no doubt loving the idea that he was right and she'd made a terrible mistake.
Her temper began to bristle, it was easy for these people to throw accusations around when Negan wasn't here to defend them. And it was easy for Tim to hate Negan when he'd already got what he wanted. "Without Negan, Jacob would have killed us all, don't forget that!"
Tim pushed off the wall, his voice filled with venom, "because he wanted to fuck you and have everything for himself. When he gets bored of you then we'll get the same deal as everyone else. Surely you can see what's happening."
Her temper began to flare uncontrolled as she pointed at Rick, "I don't see anything but men who have us held at gunpoint while they tell us exactly what they want us to hear."
Rick stood now, his own patience waning, "why would we do that? Why would we risk coming here for a lie?"
Rae didn't back down. "You tell me. Why are you here? If Negan is what you say he is then what do you want me to do?"
"Sooner or later everyone has to choose what side they wanna stand on."
"How can I choose? How can I believe the accusations of a stranger? Maybe Negan did do some of these things but maybe you deserved it. I don't know you, any of you!"
"We can prove it," Daryl said, his voice low.
Her attention snapped to him, her own tone matching his, "how?"
"In three days he's comin' to collect, ya'll can see fer yourselves."
Rae laughed bitterly, "I'm supposed to follow you home? How do I know this isn't a trap?"
Daryl hitched his crossbow higher in his shoulder, "If we wanted to trap ya then we already have…"
Rae didn't say anything. He was right.
"You're not our prisoners, that's not why we came here today." Rick handed Rae her gun like a token of trust but she had no idea what that was anymore. If what these men were saying was true then Negan was a liar and once again she was a complete fool who'd put her faith in a monster.
Tears began to swell in her throat as the anger subsided, she felt so confused, so lost. She didn't know what to believe. There were a hundred reasons for Rick to lie but there was a part of her that heard truth in his words. More than ever she knew that she was in love with Negan, if she wasn't then her heart wouldn't have been hurting as painfully as it was.
"Coming with us is your choice, Rachel, but I'd wanna know the truth. I'd wanna know the kind of man I was letting into my home."
A/N- Thank you for reading! xoxo
Jofrench22- I never 'officially' name Rae's house in the story in the same way that ppl refer to Alexandria or the Kingdom because to Rae it would always just be 'Grandma's House'. It's also 'The Honey House' because its owned by Ellie Honey. Negan likes to call it the 'Matchstick Fort' because it reminds him of a cowboy fort he had as a kid. :)