"I see them," said Maggie. "Daryl, I see them!"

Daryl came out onto the balcony taking up Maggie's out stretched binoculars. A black car was pulling up to the gate with two figures inside, one of them being Rick and the other Jesus. Daryl sighed.

"About damn time," he said.

"I hope they have something good for us," Maggie whispered. "Rick's note was so vague."

A message had arrived for them two days prior after a month had gone by with hardly a word from anyone. Daryl had been climbing up the stairs, sore and achy after a long day of PT with Dr. Carson, when a young man walked past him, waving.

"Special delivery," he said, slipping a note into Daryl's hand. Daryl was so startled by this, he nearly punched the kid in the face, but the young man kept on walking, not looking back. Confused, he opened the note and read the words on the paper.

Jesus and I are coming for you soon. We have a plan. Keep this just between you and Maggie. We'll need her help, too.

—Rick

When he had shown the note to Maggie, the two had debated long and hard over what kind of plan Rick had in mind. Today would be the day they would find out, it seemed.

Daryl and Maggie reached the stairs just as Rick and Jesus came walking through the doors. Rick looked thinner and shabbier than usual, Daryl noticed. His face was lined and tired, and he carried himself as though the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. Things back home must be worse than he thought, and that made Daryl's blood boil. He was done sitting on the sidelines. If Rick had a plan ready, then he was going to be a part of it. He wasn't going to let the others face this threat alone anymore.

He and Maggie were on their way to greet Rick when Gregory came out of the study, bumping into Jesus.

"Jesus, there you are!" he said. "And..."

Gregory's face fell instantly at the sight of Rick. His whole demeanor changed, becoming nervous and tense. He recovered fast, however, forcing on a smile.

"Oh, it's you! Welcome back. And, uh... what is it that brings you here this time?"

Daryl and Maggie's presence seemed to register with him then and he turned around. He glanced from Daryl, to Rick, to Daryl again, before it finally clicked. He looked relieved.

"Ah! You're here to pick up your man, I see! Well, I return him to you as good as new. How fortunate for you that I've graciously allowed your people to take advantage of our meager medical supplies. But that is the kind of man I am. Always willing to help those in need."

The magnanimous airs the man put on was cringe inducing. Jesus rolled his eyes. Rick glared at him. Daryl and Maggie remained stoic. Gregory's smile faltered somewhat when his gaze fell on Maggie. He turned back towards Rick and Jesus, almost pouting. "Oh, come now. I do hope you're not planning on taking Madeline away, too. She has been an absolute delight! I would hate to lose her so soon."

"No, I'm staying here," said Maggie smoothly, not bothering to correct the man. "It's best if I remain with Dr. Carson for now. For the baby's sake, at least."

"I've offered to help Rick get Daryl packed up," Jesus cut in. "They have a long journey back. If you'll excuse us..."

Jesus, Rick, Maggie and Daryl headed up the stairs one at a time, ignoring the slighted look on Gregory's face. They reached Daryl's room and entered inside, Maggie quickly shutting the door behind her. She whirled on Rick then, her eyes heated.

"Before we start, I want to know right now— are we going after that son of a bitch?"

Daryl saw the tired, burdened Rick from down stairs suddenly vanish. The man now radiated confidence and resolve, and he gave Maggie a determined nod.

"We're taking Negan down," he said.

A wide smile spread over Maggie's lips and tears of joy pooled in her eyes. She beamed at Daryl, who nodded back, and for the first time in a long time, the old Maggie was shining through. She began to laugh.

In the days since Glenn's death, Alexandria had submitted fully to the Saviors, doing everything Negan and his men asked of them, no matter how unreasonable or humiliating. They really had no choice. They were out manned and out gunned. Negan's extortion had gotten to the point where they had barley anything left to give, and although the compensation for Alexandria's cooperation was the Saviors promise not to hurt anyone, people were turning up dead. Most recently, Spencer.

"Deanna's son?" said Daryl.

"Yeah," Rick sighed.

Daryl swore under his breath, biting the nail on his thumb.

"So what's the plan, Rick?" said Maggie. "What are you up to?"

"We're devising an assault on Negan, but we're going to need some help. Jesus knows someone who might be willing to lend a hand."

Jesus nodded, looking at the group at large. "I think it's time for me to introduce you to Ezekiel," he said.

Maggie and Daryl exchanged looks. "Ezekiel," echoed Daryl. "Who's this?"

"He's the leader of another likeminded community, and he has his own history with the Saviors," Jesus explained. "And trust me, he hates them just as much as we do. I think he's always wanted to make a move against Negan, but the opportunity never presented itself. I think if we show him that we're willing to take a stand, he'll gladly join forces with us."

"So Alexandria, the Hilltop, and this Ezekiel guy all teaming up on Negan?"

"That's the plan."

"And Gregory agreed to that?" questioned Maggie, quietly. "Somehow I can't imagine him making that deal."

"And you would be right." Jesus sighed then, looking down at his feet and shaking his head. "Gregory doesn't know anything about it. In fact, no one does."

Daryl squinted at him as Maggie looked to Rick. Rick put his hands on his hips.

"We're keeping this quiet for now," he said. "We don't want too many people in on it just yet. The only one's who know about the plan are me, Michonne, Jesus, and the two of you."

"Why's that?" asked Daryl.

Jesus crossed his arms, looking solemn. "We think we might have a spy."

Stunned silence fell over the room. Maggie stared at them, horrified. "At Alexandria?" she breathed.

"I don't know who or where they are exactly," Jesus explained, "but way too many coincidences have happened to make us think there must be someone leaking information from the inside. The Saviors know too much."

"Yeah, like what?" Daryl growled.

"Right now, just the small things," said Jesus. "Day to day stuff. But if anything like this gets leaked and Negan finds out, we're going to have a whole lot of shit on our hands."

"Thing is, we think there's more than one," Rick added. "Negan's spies are spread out. They could be anyone. Or be anywhere."

"That kid who gave me Rick's note," said Daryl to Jesus, suddenly paranoid, "you trust him?"

"I do," said Jesus. "I'm not ruling out the Hilltop, but the people I know here I trust with my life. To be honest... I wouldn't be surprised if it were Gregory to rat us out."

"That's where you come in, Maggie," Rick intoned.

Maggie looked up at them. "Me?"

"Gregory hates Ezekiel," said Jesus. "He says it's because he's arrogant, but the truth is, he's afraid of him. Ezekiel is no pushover when it comes to the Saviors. he's shown resistance in the past. Gregory doesn't want to be associated with Ezekiel, even though we trade with him. He thinks whatever defiant move Ezekiel might make on Negan, it will be reflected back on him. That coward would rather sit in this house and live like a slave than do anything that could put an end to all this. We can't trust Gregory. That's why we're going to need you, Maggie. We'll need you to keep an eye on him. Make sure he stays deep in the dark until we finally have everyone on board."

Maggie nodded. "I can do that. But he knows Rick is here with you now. Won't he be suspicious about that?"

"As far as he's concerned, I'm only here to pick Daryl up," answered Rick. "He has no idea we're heading out to meet this Ezekiel right now."

"Alright," said Daryl. "Ain't no sense in waiting around here then, let's go."

"Gregory can't see me leave," Jesus whispered. "I've got to talk to some of my people here, make sure they know to cover me. I'll sneak out after and meet you both by the car."

Jesus left the room and Maggie followed suit. Daryl was on his way out as well before Rick pulled him aside.

"Hey," said Rick. "How are you feeling? You up for this? You good?"

"All I do is sit on my ass, man, get me the hell out of here."

Rick laughed. "It's good to have you back, Daryl."

"Rick..." Daryl hesitated, his eyes beseeching. "Carol?"

Rick let out a slow sigh, planting his hands on his hips. He shook his head. "Nothing," he whispered. "Morgan's missing now, too. He... he didn't come back."

Daryl stared at him for a while, his face going ashen. He blinked a few times, nodded, then turned away.

"Look, Daryl... I know that with everything going on right now you must be—"

"Man, don't."

Daryl paced around a bit, biting his thumb nail as he stared at the hardwood floor. When he stopped, he looked to Rick, his voice softer. "You know, I've been thinking. Maybe this is for the best. Things ain't safe at home, from what you said. People are getting hurt. I mean, here we are, revving up to go to war, maybe... I dunno, maybe she's safe now, where she's at. Maybe she's better off. She... she don't have to be involved in this."

Rick could only stare back at him, his eyes sympathetic. "I'm sorry, Daryl," he said, and he meant it. Daryl nodded again, but didn't look at him. Rick lingered a while longer then left the room, with Daryl following soon after.

Rick was already out the front doors by the time Daryl made it down the stairs. He passed by several Hilltop people as he went, stopping when he saw Helen coming out from one the rooms. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Oh, hey," she greeted. "I thought that was Rick I saw earlier. You going home now?"

"Time to head back," said Daryl.

"Well, don't be a stranger. You're always welcome here, you know. Always."

"Hey, listen," Daryl fidgeted. "I, uh... I wanted to say thanks. To you and Dr. Carson. Having me as a patient, I doubt that was easy."

"It wasn't as hard as you think it was."

"Well," said Daryl, awkwardly. "I should go."

"You behave yourself," said Helen. "Just be careful out there, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded, and turned for the door.

"Hey, Daryl."

Daryl was two steps from the threshold when he stopped and looked back. Helen approached him, then. She smiled at him, leaned in, and kissed him gently on the cheek. Daryl froze.

"See you around," she chuckled, and she stepped away, turning back towards the stairs.

Daryl's face turned crimson. He definitely had not expected that. Slightly confused, he made to head out the door, only to find to his horror that Rick had been standing there, long enough to have witnessed those last few moments. They stared at each other.

Rick pointed after Helen. "Did she just kiss you?"

"...Yeah."

"What's that about?" Rick smirked.

Daryl shrugged. "Hell if I know, man."

Passing Rick, and ignoring the stupid grin on his face, Daryl marched towards the gate as Rick followed close behind. The guards opened the doors and they were both surprised to see Jesus already standing there, leaning against the car. As everyone got inside, with Jesus in the drivers seat, Daryl saw someone approach them. Maggie was there to bid them farewell and she bent down to Rick in the passenger window.

"Good luck," she said. "All of you."

"Same to you. And take care of that baby."

The car started up and soon, the three men were on the road again. Daryl sat in the back, gazing out the window. He didn't know what to expect, or what would happen, but he felt a nervous excitement bubbling inside him. For some reason, he had a positive feeling about all this. Maybe it was the fact he could be of use again, or because they were heading to a new place, that made him fired up with anticipation. Either way, they had a plan and they were taking action. Maybe this Ezekiel guy would help. Maybe he was exactly who they needed to see.

Hell, maybe some good might come their way, for a change.