Author's Note: Thank you to every single person that has written me a review for any of my stories. I appreciate you all and value hearing from you.

It took another day for Negan to find a good time to make his escape. The Family was everywhere, guarding the gates and the Alexandrians. They were free to move about their own town, but no one was permitted to leave. They still hadn't been told what the deal between their communities was, or what Michonne's status was, but The Family pretty much left them alone as long as they didn't congregate together in groups too large. But, the guards were helping themselves to Alexandria's food stores, much to the chagrin of the residents.

One night Negan saw his opportunity when the guards were distracted, to climb up the supports on Alexandria's high fences, and get out unseen. Since he was alone he moved quickly, dashing into the woods around the town.

Staying in the woods for cover, he made his way down the road leading away from Alexandria, going for a few miles. When the sun began to rise, he enacted his plan.

He made as much noise as he dared to make without alerting lookouts from Alexandria, singing and whistling loudly. Walkers in the nearby area were attracted to the noise, and he easily took them out with a baseball bat he'd found in a backyard in Alexandria. He began piling their bodies by the side of the road. It was well into the morning when he had enough to satisfy him.

He dragged the corpses across the road, piling them next to each other creating a road block, and then he waited. The sun beat down on him through the cracks between the leaves as he lurked in the forest for hours, giving him time to think.

While he was waiting, his bored mind turned to Michonne. She'd been with these people for three days already and they'd heard no news from or about her. He thought that Rick would come to Alexandria, pick out what he wanted, and demand that they trade for it. Negan was surprised and worried that Rick had been silent for so long. He'd tried to ask some of The Family that were in Alexandria, but they'd told him that Rick would contact the Alexandrians about the deal when he was ready. And all this time Michonne was their prisoner.

Michonne had changed the trajectory of his life after the fall. His wife, Lucille, had gotten bitten early on, and after her death he didn't see the point of living. He had wandered through the woods, trying to avoid walkers and other people. He'd gotten good at it, going so deep into survival mode that he'd managed to avoid others for weeks before he'd found Michonne. He was seriously considering putting an end to it all before he'd found her, and if she had told him she didn't want his help, if she'd said she'd rather him let her die, he probably would've ended himself right along with her. But she didn't. She had wanted to live. She let him help her, and by doing that he'd helped himself. He'd never told her, but in finding and saving her, she had saved him too, and he owed her for that.

He had to get her out of there.

Suddenly, Negan heard the sound of a car approaching. The car drove up to the bodies making the blockade and then paused, it's front bumper inches from the first walker. The driver stayed in the vehicle and stared for a minute. They then put the car in park and climbed out, gun drawn. It was a woman with blond hair tied back in a ponytail. She looked scrappy, and had a barcode tattoo on the side of her neck.

She scanned her surroundings, missing Negan who was hiding behind two trees close to the road. The woman knew something was up. She slowly approached the walkers, kicking one with the side of her shoe.

"What the fuck?" she asked herself softly.

She bent down a little to take a closer look at the walker's bashed in head, when Negan came up behind her and knocked her gun out of her hand with his baseball bat. It went skidding across the concrete. She dove for it, but Negan landed on top of her with a thud, pressing her into the ground.

"You wanna live? I'd suggest you stop fighting me" he declared, holding his bat over her head. The woman narrowed her eyes at him, but relaxed her arms.

"You're one of those Alexandrians aren't you? I remember you. I told Rick he had to be crazy to make a deal with you people after you attacked us and I was right. You people are fucking animals" she growled.

"You're breaking my fucking heart" Negan said, climbing off the woman and pulling her to her feet. He spotted a knife strapped to her side, and snatched it before she could make a move. He motioned that she should stay where she was, and he quickly bent to retrieve her gun. He pointed the gun at her and forced her into the driver's side of the car as he simultaneously got into the passenger side.

"Take me to Rick" he demanded.

***can08writer***

The woman reluctantly drove Negan back towards the factory, stopping a half mile away, but close enough that Negan could see the top of the tall building.

"That's it? That's where you live?" he asked.

"Obviously" the woman said rolling her eyes.

"Are there people on guard?" Negan asked.

"What do you think?" she asked sarcastically, tilting her head in Negan's direction.

Negan chuckled. "You know, you're a smartass. I like that."

"Glad I can make your day" the woman said, looking upwards at the car's roof. "Look, you gonna kill me now? 'Cuz I'd rather that happen then have to sit in the car with you any longer."

"Holy fuck" Negan said. "I like you like 50% more now. Was I really such a horrible road trip partner?"

"Look, I brought you where you wanted to go. What do you want from me?" the woman asked.

"Just tell me your name" Negan said.

"It's fucking Laura" she said with an attitude.

Negan gave her a smile. "Well thank you Laura. You've been a very helpful chauffeur. And because I like you so much, I'm not gonna kill ya. But I do need you to take a nap" he said, pistol whipping her on the back of the head and knocking her out cold.

Negan carefully dragged Laura from the driver's seat, and laid her in the back seat of the car. He then turned the car around and drove off to look for more walkers.

***can08writer***

As Rick promised, he'd found a place for Michonne to sleep. It was practically a closet with a cot, but it was better than the cage and she was grateful for that.

In the mornings Sasha or Rick himself would let her out of her "room" and take her to the cage where she was confined. Although these people weren't harming her or handcuffing her anymore, she was nowhere near free, and she was extremely bored.

Carl had made a habit of coming to visit her cage from time to time. Sometimes he'd stare at her while she did her morning exercises, other times he'd start a brief conversation, or bring her food.

"Do you have anything to read?" Michonne asked Carl.

"Like what?" he asked from his usual spot across from her cage.

"I don't know, anything. There's only so many push-ups I can do before I go crazy."

"Do you read comic books?" Carl asked.

"Yea sure. I love comic books" Michonne said.

Carl's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yea, why do you look so surprised?" Michonne said with a shrug.

"I've never met a grown-up that likes comic books" Carl said.

"Really? What's not to like? Action, adventure, cool characters..."

"Okay" Carl said with a smile. "I found some good ones a while ago. I read them all already, but you can read them. And maybe we can talk about it after?"

Michonne smiled at the boy's eagerness. "Sure, it's a date."

Carl nodded at Michonne. "Okay I'll go get them."

When he walked off, Michonne decided to get a few crunches in. She got on the floor and began her routine, when Merle walked by her cage and helped himself to a seat across from her.

"Smart to stay fit" Merle commented as he plopped himself down. "Don't leave out the cardio."

Michonne ignored him and continued with her crunches.

"Y'know, if we're gonna live under the same roof, we might as well clear the air. That whole hunting you down thing, it was just business. Carrying out orders."

Michonne paused in the middle of her crunch and scoffed sarcastically.

"Hmm. Like the Gestapo."

"Yeah. Exactly" Merle said, her sarcasm completely lost on him.

Michonne rolled her eyes and continued her workout.

"I've done a lot of things I ain't proud of. Before and after. I'm tryin' to make up for some of that now. But I guess you never can make up for it all, y'know?"

Merle sighed.

"Anyway, I hope we can get past it. Let bygones be bygones." Merle said, and then he walked off.

Michonne paused for a moment after he left. She couldn't believe Merle was giving her what amounted to an apology. She never thought she'd see the day.

Out of nowhere, Rick approached the front of the cage. She figured he'd heard the whole conversation between sheand Merle. She pulled herself to her feet but said nothing to him.

"Uh, here's your breakfast" he said, awkwardly sticking his hand through the cage bars to pass her a bowl. Michonne looked from his eyes to the bowl and back, and then slowly took the bowl from him.

"I… uh… I've decided to take you back to your community. Just so you can tell them the terms of our agreement. Then you'll come back here" Rick said.

"So I'm still your insurance" Michonne confirmed.

"Yea" Rick said, staring into her eyes. Michonne found herself staring back at his startling blue eyeballs. They were mesmerizing. She got so lost in them she was no longer blinking. When Michonne said nothing further, Rick cleared his throat.

"Uh, so we're going soon. Eat your breakfast and get ready" Rick ordered, although he had stopped blinking as well.

He couldn't stop looking at her toned body, her flawless skin, and her beautiful eyes. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he had been watching her morning exercises every morning that she'd been there. The strength that she had in her arms and legs was amazing. He was sure she could do more push-ups than he could, and the way she kicked Merle's ass while handcuffed was a testament to that.

The two of them stared for a while, neither one backing down, until the sound of Carl's sneakers pounding on the cement floor loudly made his presence known.

"So I've got two issues of Flashpoint, and I found the Punisher! This one is really…" Carl started talking before he could see the cage, and when he realized his father was there he paused with the comics in his hand, as if he'd been caught red handed.

"I was just keeping an eye on her, to make sure she didn't try anything and… she... she said she wanted something to read…" Carl began to explain.

Rick smiled briefly at his son. "It's okay. Thank you for keeping an eye on her" Rick humored, realizing his son was embarrassed about being nice to the prisoner. "You can give her the books, but after we come back. I'm taking her back to her community for a little while."

"You're letting her go?" Carl asked, looking concerned.

"No. She's coming back here" Rick said firmly, glancing at Michonne.

Carl looked at Michonne and then back at Rick. He nodded once and then turned around to leave, taking his comic books with him. As Carl walked away, Rick called him.

"Hey Carl, keep an eye…" Rick began.

"On Judith" Carl finished, "I know."

Carl was almost out of the room when all three of them heard yelling coming from outside.

"What the hell?" Rick asked, before turning and running out of the room. Carl followed behind his father, as did everyone else, leaving Michonne alone to wonder what was happening. Michonne could clearly hear shots being fired from outside, and a woman's voice yell "don't shoot! You're drawing more!"

Michonne paced back and forth in her cage, feeling like a trapped animal. She didn't like not knowing what was going on, and even if she did know, not being able to do anything about it. Soon she could hear the sounds of walkers moaning outside. It seemed like The Family was under attack. Practically everyone had run outside.

After a few minutes, Carl ran back into the large room where Michonne was being held.

"Hey, Carl! What's happening?" Michonne asked, desperate for information.

"There're walkers everywhere, they're pushing on the gates. Everyone is trying to kill them."

"Let me help" Michonne demanded, grabbing on to the cage door. "I can help you."

Carl stopped what he was doing and looked at Michonne. "I can't let you out."

"Look, if I wanted to get away I would. I'm here because I want a better future for my people. I'm not going anywhere. Let me help you with this."

Carl stared at Michonne suspiciously.

"You're a good judge of character. After you talked to me you didn't want to kill me anymore. You can tell if I'm good or bad. I'm telling you, I can help."

Carl gazed into Michonne's eyes, trying to read her intentions. He wasn't afraid of her, and he didn't think she would hurt him, or the others. He was willing to take a chance on her. He stepped forward and unlocked the storage locker, swinging the gate open.

"Come on" he said, turning towards the front door.

"I need my sword" Michonne said.

***can08writer***

"Cover the gates on the west side of the factory" Rick directed a small group. "Make sure we're not overrun over there too."

He was baffled as to how a sudden herd showed up at his door, but there were now dozens of walkers pushing and leaning on their fences. He and his people were desperately shoving knives and tools through the fence to kill the gnashing walkers. After shoving his knife through an especially decomposed walker's eye, he saw the door to the factory open and Carl come bounding out holding a long crowbar. When Rick saw Michonne exit behind Carl with her sword, he spun around and sprinted towards her, pulling his gun.

"Hey! Hey! Drop it!" Rick yelled, startling both Michonne and Carl. "Put it down right now."

Carol and Sasha were next to Rick within seconds with their guns trained on Michonne. Michonne's eyes widened, but she didn't put her sword down, she just lowered it to show she wasn't a threat.

"Dad, it's okay" Carl explained, "she's just helping us".

"Put it down. Now." Rick said.

"I'm trying to help" Michonne said, gazing into Rick's eyes. "If I wanted to hurt you or your son, I would've done it inside, or held him hostage. All of you have guns, I have a sword. I don't think it'll be a fair fight if I start something."

"She's lying" Carol said.

"I'm not. Look, you have a problem and it's getting worse as we stand here arguing. Please let me help you. It looks like you need all the help you can get, those walkers are weakening the fences. If you don't believe me, you can stand right behind me with the gun. If I do something suspicious, you know what to do."

Rick looked at Carol and Sasha, and then he turned to Carl. Carl seemed completely at ease with Michonne. He had let her out of the cage and given her her weapon back and she hadn't hurt him. Maybe they could give her this one chance.

Rick held up his hand for Carol and Sasha to lower their guns. "I'll watch her" Rick said to them. "Go over there, take that gate" Rick directed her, pointing to one side.

Michonne nodded and made her way over to the gate, getting dirty looks from the other residents who were outside. Only Carl moved to work next to her. As Rick pointed the gun at her, Michonne shoved her katana through the chain link fence, making short work of three walkers that were attempting to reach through. She was killing walkers twice as fast as anyone else at the gate, and Carl was so caught up in watching her use her katana that he was barely killing any walkers himself.

Rick was also intrigued. She moved so gracefully, yet it was obvious she knew how to use her weapon with deadly accuracy. To be honest, Rick didn't believe she had any intention of hurting them. Like she said, if she'd wanted to she had plenty of opportunity to do it, but for the sake of his people's piece of mind he held his gun on her. Carol and Sasha, and certainly Maggie, didn't trust her, and she was still an enemy.

Since Rick was behind Michonne, he took the opportunity to check her out. He couldn't help but feel like a stalker but her body was amazing, and watching the way her jeans fit snuggly around her behind was making his jeans feel embarrassingly tight. He took a moment to adjust himself discreetly.

Stop it. Stop looking.

He redirected himself to looking at Carl who had given up the pretense of killing walkers and was now just staring at Michonne as she took out walker after walker that was on her panel of gate. Carl certainly didn't see her as a threat, and Carl was not one to trust people easily. He had been through more than a child his age ever should, and he was very good at assessing the situation. Rick couldn't help but trust Carl's judgement, and his own.

Although Michonne's people had attacked them and killed Glenn and others, he felt that Michonne really wanted to broker a deal between their people.

***can08writer***

Negan rapidly scaled the side of the factory's fence. He couldn't believe how well his plan worked. The walkers had spread out nicely once he'd lured them to the factory with the car. He'd recklessly stashed the car in the woods with Laura still unconscious inside, and then ran to the gates as soon as the lookouts realized there was a herd coming.

They had all run to the front of the building, but they were in eyesight of where Negan was. Taking a chance, he'd climbed the fence even though they could've spotted him if they'd turned around, and quickly snipped a small section of barbed wire off the top so that he could throw himself over. He'd then dropped to the ground on the other side, just to get out of eyesight of the confused lookouts.

Once inside the gates, he'd stayed in the shadows. He didn't have much of this rescue operation planned out. He didn't know what the inside of this factory looked like, or what kind of security he was dealing with. All he knew was he had to get Michonne out.

A few minutes later, more people began to pour out of the factory with weapons that could fit through the gates, and they furiously began hacking at the growling walkers.

Negan hid behind a large barrel used to catch rainwater, as he calculated how far he had to run to get to the doors that led to the inside of the factory. He wondered if he'd be spotted if he made a run for it, but figured he probably would be with the large amount of people that were outside.

'These people have numbers that's for sure', Negan thought.

While he was trying to work out a plan to get inside, the doors swung open and a kid burst out, followed by Michonne. Relief flooded Negan's body when he saw her, alive and looking well, and even holding on to her katana. She didn't look like she'd been harmed at all. As soon as Michonne walked out the door, Rick and two women pulled their guns on her. Negan froze and then clenched his fists in rage. If Rick hurt her he'd kill him.

He reached down and pulled the weapon he'd taken from Laura. There were only two bullets in it but he'd make it count if they came any closer to Michonne. Negan was so wrapped up in what was happening with Michonne, he didn't see a man approaching him from behind.

"Uh uh uh" a voice with a southern twang said from behind him. Startled, Negan spun around quickly and was eye to muzzle with a gun. "Mine is bigger than yours. Now drop it, nice and slow."

Negan was pissed with himself that he'd gotten so distracted he'd let someone walk right up behind him. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. He slowly lowered his arm, thinking he'd probably be shot, but before he finished his thought, the man knocked him over the head and everything faded to blackness.

***can08writer***

Michonne grunted as she took down walker after walker that pressed themselves against the gate panel she was responsible for. She and Carl were sharing a panel, while everyone else had their own, but she was slaying enough walkers for the both of them, and Carl seemed to be enjoying watching her take them down.

She knew Rick was watching her as well. She could always feel his eyes on her, even if she wasn't supposed to know he was there. She also was aware that he took to watching her as she exercised in the mornings, which is why she waited until she was in the cage to do it, rather than exercise in the private room with the cot.

She'd never say it out loud, but she didn't mind him watching. She actually thought it was funny that he didn't think she knew about him hiding behind some containers to catch her push-ups in the morning.

Michonne had just taken out a walker, when the person on the panel next to she and Carl yelled "look out!".

She turned her head to the left just in time to see the corner of the panel next to them cave in, sending three walkers toppling through the hole and landing on top of Carl and pinning him to the ground.

"No!" she heard Rick scream from behind her, and a bullet whizzed past her and into the skull of the walker that was furthest from Carl, but the other two were still on top of him, right in his face. In one skillful swipe, Michonne beheaded both of the walkers simultaneously, and they collapsed limply on top of him.

"Carl!" Rick screamed, dashing towards his son. Michonne pulled the top walker off and Rick dragged off the other two, scooping his son up in his arms.

"Are you okay? Are you bit? Carl, are you bit?" Rick asked in a panic, running his hands all over his son, checking for blood.

"No. I'm okay, I'm okay dad" Carl said, still in shock himself.

"Oh Jesus" Rick cried, crushing Carl to him.

The person whos gate panel had collapsed continued to kill walkers that were trying to push their way through the opening, but everyone else stopped to stared at Rick and Carl, and then at Michonne.

"Is he alright?" Carol asked, running over.

"I'm okay" Carl answered quickly. "Michonne saved me. Thank you Michonne."

Rick's head snapped up, realizing that what Carl said was true. He turned to her, his eyes locking in on hers, and she could feel the burn of his stare again.

"Th- thank you" he stuttered, still shaken up by the whole turn of events.

Michonne gave him and Carl a quick nod, and then continued clearing walkers from the hole in the gate. The others went back to their task as well, while Rick checked his son over one more time, just to make sure he was really okay.

"Carl, go back inside" Rick said.

"No dad, what happened was a freak accident. It doesn't mean I can't do this…"

"I know you can, son. Just, go back inside for me, please. I need you inside right now."

Carl, seeing that his father was even more upset than he was. decided to comply, and went back into the building. The close call had adrenaline running through Rick's body, and his hands were shaking, but he was grateful that it was only a close call, and he owed Michonne for that.

He turned back towards her to thank her once again, when he heard Merle's voice over the radio. "Rick, I caught me a rat."