Newly Revised

Ani woke up with a content sigh in the morning, snuggling back deeper into the unique heat and scent that was Daryl while turning in his arms. They'd fallen asleep holding each other after they finished talking to each other and reassuring each other that they were okay. It took a while, but with the cats happily purring as they draped themselves over their legs, both Dixons were able to sleep through the night for the first time since they'd been taken to the Sanctuary. The warmth and comfort of having the other in their arms had made them both relax entirely and she wasn't even sure when they had passed out. Ani was thankful that Daryl was still sleeping as she looked up at his sleeping face where she could see just how exhausted he really was. He was snoring softly, his jaw slack, as he slept half on his stomach, half on top of her, pulling her in closer when she moved in his arms. She was so comfortable that Ani ended up falling back to sleep with her cheek pressed against his chest, his heartbeat lulling her back to the land of dreams. A knock on the door sometime later brought both of them to a startled sense of wakefulness, Daryl rolling over to get Ani under him in both of their momentary fear. Rick called out that Richard was there, making them both groan as they hung their heads and tried to calm down. As soon as both their breathing and heartrates calmed down, Daryl captured Ani's lips for a moment before throwing the covers back and grabbing his shirt with Ani quickly to follow suit, though only after she'd stretched and cracked her back. She turned around and wrapped her arms around Daryl's neck, pulling him down for their first real kiss, having been too caught up in everything to have taken the time. He was all too happy to return it before they left the room, Abraham and Sasha being the last to follow as Abraham looked a bit miffed and Sasha was desperately trying to get her hair righted.

"Get interrupted?" Ani asked with a smirk, Sasha's blush making her laugh even as Abraham grumbled under his breath.

"The King is ready to see you," Richard informed them all. "I'll take you to him."

They followed along the man as they traveled through the Kingdom where, even though the sun was barely risen above the buildings, there were many people already up and working. Some were running laps while others were practicing with bows and arrows, and even more were working the plots. Ani had to give it to the King; he knew how to keep his people safe and well taken care of. Even the young children were practicing with the bow, taking turns in aiming at the hay bale targets they were using. It had Ani wondering how young a child could start learning to defend themselves as she walked hand in hand with Daryl, her other hand coming to rest on her stomach again. She was so fascinated by the thought of having a human being growing in her belly and couldn't wait until she could feel the baby more than just the weird bubbles that happened every once in a while. However, when she started really looking at the instructors, she could tell that the Kingdom had come at quite the cost as several were missing limbs and there were more children and teens than there were adults.

"This is life here," Ezekiel said as their group walked up to the target area he was supervising. "Every day. But it came at a cost. And I wanted more of this. I wanted to expand. Create more places like this. Men and women lost their limbs, children lost their parents because I sent them into a battle against the wasted when I did not need to."

"This is different," Rick told him, taking a few steps closer.

"It isn't," the King countered.

"It is," Rick insisted. "The dead don't rule us. The world doesn't look like this outside your walls. People don't have it as good. Some people don't have it good at all."

"I have to worry about my people," Ezekiel told him softly.

"You call yourself a damn king," Daryl growled out. "You sure as hell don't act like one."

"All of this," Ezekiel said as he walked up to Daryl and looked him square in the eye, "came at a cost. It was lives, arms, legs," he said pointing to his people before walking back over to Rick. "The peace we have with the Saviors is uneasy. But it is peace. I have to hold onto it. I have to try. Although the Kingdom cannot offer you the aid you desire," he said loud enough for everyone to hear, "the King is sympathetic to your plight. I offer our friends the Dixons asylum for as long as they require it. They will be safe here. The Saviors do not set foot inside our walls."

"How long you think that's gonna last?" Daryl asked him before pulling Ani away, the others following behind.

Ani looked back at the King who was watching them with a look of contemplation, giving him a disappointed look and shaking her head before leaning into her husband. Sasha tried to start a conversation with Rosita only for the woman to walk off snidely, leaving Abraham to come up and drape an arm over her shoulders as well. Sophia was following Ani with Carl standing beside her, making Ani think about how they had both been to the Sanctuary. She already knew that she and Daryl had to stay here in the Kingdom, at least for a while, but if the Saviors went back to Alexandria and saw Sophia there, she would be in a lot of trouble herself. On top of that, Ani didn't want Sophia fighting in this war as the little girl was already too much of a soldier. She wanted to save her from whatever darkness would grow in her from fighting like she had and what that darkness had fated Carol with. She would rather do whatever she possibly could to protect the girl from that than see her fight in the coming war.

"How many people do we have?" Richard asked Rick. "To fight? I'll come with you."

"We don't even have enough to take on one outpost face-to-face yet," Rick informed him.

"So the Kingdom has to get involved or the Saviors will always be in charge," Richard surmised as they came to a stop in front of the gate. "It isn't about soldiers. We're making them stronger. The more food we give them, the more arms, every day any of us give them something, they become harder and harder to beat."

"Hey, open it up," Daryl told the guard. "We're gone."

"We're not," Ani said as the others started walking through. "Phia, ya stayin' too."

"What?" Daryl and Sophia asked at the same time.

"Phia was at the Sanctuary. Arat and Laura saw her. She goes back ta Alexandria, she'll only get everyone in trouble. Same goes for us."

"She's right," Rick said.

"I ain't stayin' here," Daryl told them.

"You have to. It's the smartest play. The safest for Ani, too, for your child," Rick tried to reason. "Besides, we need you here. Try to talk to Ezekiel. Or stare him into submission," he quipped as Daryl stared him down before looking over to Ani who was looking down. "Whatever it takes. We'll be back soon," he told him, putting his hand on Daryl's shoulder before leaving, the gate closing behind him as Daryl and Ani both looked on.

"Why the hell you got us stayin' here?" he turned on Ani as soon as the gate closed.

"'Cause I ain' takin' the risk. Neitha a ya. Not me or the baby. Ain' perfect, and don' got ta stay foreva, but ya know they're goin' ta be checkin' the Hilltop and Alexandria the next couple a days. Please, baby," she begged as she walked up to him and put one hand on his forearm, the other on his cheek. "Trust me and jus' stay 'ere 'til the day afta tamorrow. We can go back ta the Hilltop for Maggie afta that."

"You sure know how they think," he accused.

"I told ya I talked ta Negan a lot. He wanted ta get ta know me, but I learned more 'bout 'im than he did me," she admitted. "I ain' proud or happy ta say it, but I know 'nough 'bout the way Negan thinks ta keep a step ahead a him for now. Ya forget that that was my job 'fore all this. Knowin' people, figya'rin' out how they speak and what I can do ta see a step ahead a 'em. Can' promise I can keep it up foreva, but when it comes ta hidin' us? They ain' goin' ta expend resources lookin' for us if they don' know where we went. It ain' worth the effort ta Negan. That's why we only got ta stay for a couple days. But this...ya know it's the safest route we can go, for ya, for Phia, for the baby."

Daryl looked at and took a deep breath, slowly letting it out through his nose because the last thing he wanted was to be was stuck here in the Kingdom when everyone else they knew were fighting. He needed to be there, in the thick of it, to make sure Negan died for what he'd done to Glenn, to Maggie, what he'd made Ani do. Yet, here Ani was, seeming to actually understand the way that bastard thought and he couldn't help that his face grew dark. His mind raced back to what Dwight had said about Negan taking a liking to her and how had they talked a lot when she was alone. Exactly how much time had she spent alone together with him so that she understood how Negan thought? They hadn't even been there for an entire week but she was telling him what Negan would do to find them. How the hell was he supposed to accept that she suddenly seemed to understand the one person who had actively tried to make them turn on each other? Negan took a liking to her, something that had been weighing heavily on his mind since he'd been taken to Alexandria and what Negan had said after they got back. How the hell did the dick know what she looked like when she moved and what moves had he even been talking about? How the hell was Daryl supposed to know that she was being honest and hadn't cracked like Dwight said she had and wasn't setting them up for a trap? There were so many thoughts running through his head that he was scowling at her when both her hands went to his face and she stood on her tiptoes to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

"Don' think like that," she begged when she pulled back, making him look into her eyes and hoping she could show the truth in them, knowing the Saviors had filled his head with nonsense. "Ya know I can be quick on the uptake. Ya know I can learn fast. That man was an open book. He thought 'e hid 'imself well, but not ta me. Neva was anythin' more'n that."

"He took a likin' to you," he accused

"He took a likin' ta ya, too," she countered, putting her heels down and giving him the same look he was giving her. "Am I s'pposed ta start doubtin' ya if 'e took a likin' ta ya? What? Ya fuckin' trust Dwight ova me now? Trust whateva the fuck they told ya 'stead a me? Daryl, if 'e took a likin' ta me, it's 'cause a what I can do, jus' like it was for ya. The fightin', the medicine, the psych help I could a offa'd. He wanted me ta be a soldia or a commanda or somethin' like that for 'im, nothin' more'n that. If it were, who fuckin' cares? I told ya I'm ya's and I told 'im I'm only eva goin' ta be ya's. I can' control what anotha man thinks a me, D. All I can control is the fact that I neva want ta be with anotha man 'sides ya for the rest a my life. I don' even want ta be out a ya sight eva again. Don' eva doubt it, don' doubt us," she cried quietly, her head dropping to his chest. "Please, D...Please don' doubt me...Please," she begged as she looked up to meet his eyes again.

Daryl sighed and put his hands on her hips before leaning his forehead down onto hers, "I'm tryin'."

"What do ya need me ta do?" she whispered, closing her eyes and wrapping her hands around his neck.

"I don't know," Daryl admitted after another moment. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast."

Sophia was following the hunters as they headed back towards the cafeteria, only now realizing just how bad it was for them inside with how they were acting. They were both so guarded against the other as if they weren't sure what to believe about the other that she was afraid they would have a falling out. Daryl just pulled Ani under his shoulder as they walked after seeing her trying to inconspicuously wipe tears off her face after they'd gotten closer to the living area. He didn't want to believe what anyone other than Ani had said and knew that she had meant it when she said she was still his and would always be his. She was also right that she couldn't help what other people felt about her, only how she felt about others, and she'd already said Negan had to die. He kissed her hair as they entered the cafeteria and headed over to grab trays and food, where she was given generous portion of cobbler, but was skimped of her meat. Ani was a bit miffed at it until she tried a piece and her stomach immediately soured and she complained about how unfair it was because it tasted so good. Sophia laughed and mentioned how she had no problem eating squirrel, or possum or skunk or rabbit or deer, but now that she had pork, she couldn't eat it. Ani just scowled and dumped the meat onto Daryl's plate, taking his strawberries in the process while complaining the entire time. When they were done, they went back to the same common room they'd been in before, though Sophia had gone off to join in on target practice with the other kids her age, saying she could give them some pointers. Daryl and Ani sat in the commons as she began telling Daryl everything she had talked about with Negan when they were in the room and how they were never really alone since there was always another female present. She told him everything she had learned about Negan what she had done when he was in the room for him to comment on how she moved. She admitted that she hoped that telling him everything and laying it out on the line so he knew exactly what happened to her and what she'd been thinking would take away whatever nonsense they'd fed him about her. She told him about Regina and Laura, about her experience at the market, how she'd been treated by everyone, and what she'd said to Negan to get her face cut up. She left nothing unsaid, not a single moment of time she was in there save when she was sleeping, as she almost felt the clouds of doubt in his mind dissipating.

"Does it help? Knowin' all that?" she asked him when she was done.

"Yeah," Daryl said, taking it all in and realizing she never once doubted him or wavered in her loyalty. "I'm sorry, Ania."

"Don't be. I get it. If it had been the otha way 'round and someone said ya'd spent a lot a time one on one with anotha gal, I'd be pissed and questionin' it, too. If they made comments like they did ta ya, if they told me ya were breakin' and someone else wanted ya, I'd have problems ta. Hell, I did have problems and doubt ya when we were fightin' afta Atlanta, and ya were still right by my side. I was taken from ya and kept from don' got ta apologize."

Daryl stayed silent, just holding her in his arms as she sat on his lap, bringing his palm up to her lips and pressing a kiss into it. He'd needed to know everything that had happened to her, but hearing it all, hearing the threats, hearing the way she tried to get Negan to see things her way, how she'd tried. He hated that he had those lingering thoughts in his head that somehow they had a connection, but when she said that the last thing she told Negan was that he was going to die, that made it a hell of a lot easier. He didn't let her leave his lap as he told her his end, Ani holding him and wiping his own tears until they both knew exactly what the Sanctuary had cost the other. Neither of them wanted to move, but when they heard something happening outside, they went over to the window to investigate. She and Daryl left the room to see a couple of large trucks preparing to leave, learning that the King had taken Morgan, Jerry, and a few others had gone on one of their sweeps. The thing was, Ani and Daryl had seen them load a bunch of stuff into one of the trucks before they'd taken off and they both knew there was more to it than a simple 'sweep.' Ani's lips turned up in disgust as they walked around, Daryl managing to snag a pack of cigarettes from somewhere in the facility and lighting one up, waiting for the missing group to get back. It was nearly an hour later when the trucks finally came through the gate prompting Ani and Daryl to walk over as Ezekiel left with Jerry after a moment's conversation. He left Morgan and the kid that had been in the 'throne room' standing beside the trucks, the two talking while she and Daryl waited..

"Hey," Daryl called out in impatience, making the man notice them standing there. "Where'd you go in them trucks?"

"I need to speak to Daryl and Ani alone. Is that okay?" Morgan asked the kid.

"Yeah, I'll get you something for that cut," the boy said before walking off, looking a bit worried for Morgan as Daryl stalked up to him, Ani standing just behind the angry redneck rather doing something she might regret to the pacifist.

"Yeah," Morgan told him.

"You went to see them, right?" Daryl accused, Morgan immediately agreeing. "Part of your deal? What the hell's wrong with you?" he growled at him, taking a step forward. "You're bleedin'. They did that to you. You know what they are."

"I do," Morgan agreed.

"You know, if Carol were here, she saw all that..." Daryl said, Ani tensing behind him; if Carol ran away, even if it was selfish, they should leave it be and, if she was being honest, she was still a little jealous of their friendship. "If she knew about Glenn, what they made Ani do, she'd be leadin' us right to them, ready to kill 'em all."

"She would," Morgan agreed. "And that's why she left, man."

Daryl stared at him before scoffing and walking back to Ani, pulling her under his arm as he walked away, both of them thoroughly miffed. The last thing he needed right now was to try to talk to a man who had no will to fight; Morgan was just like the King, capable, but unwilling to take any chances. He couldn't help but think about how Ani had said she wasn't taking any chances either, but how far to the extreme her way of thinking that was compared to Morgan and Ezekiel's. Ani was willing to kill anyone and anything that threatened them and theirs while the men who were looked up to as leaders and role models in the Kingdom weren't willing to risk any of their own people to deal with the threat. Even if he understood Ezekiel's standpoint to an extent, it was absolute bullshit that these men weren't willing to deal with the problem. Ani could sympathize with the King's plight only because he really was trying to keep his people safe, but safe for the moment and safe for a lifetime were two very different things. She couldn't figure out why he couldn't see that for himself or why Rick wanted him to join the fight against the Saviors. He said there was an uneasy peace; eventually that unease would turn into disturbance and whatever peace there was to be had would be over. How in the world was King Ezekiel supposed to keep his Kingdom without war and sacrifice? They had sacrificed lives, time, goods, people, and that didn't even include those that had been lost to the Saviors; even Alexandria and the Hilltop had sacrificed. What the hell had the Kingdom sacrificed to the Saviors when they had been given a peace with their controlling outpost from the start?

"I hate sayin' it," Ani said, breaking the silence as they started towards the area they'd left Sophia earlier, finding her talking and laughing with some of the kids still, "but I get it now. Why Carol neva could adjust ta the killin'. Why she's always runnin' off. Ya got ta be born ta somethin' like that for it not ta change ya. She wasn'. It was dropped on 'er by Ed, then by this world. She wasn' born a fighta like ya and me."

"What are you sayin'?"

"I'm sayin' we may not like it, we might neva be the same 'cause a how our views have changed, but we've been fightin' all our lives jus' ta live. Even if ya weren' killin' people, ya been killin' animals, huntin', savivin', fightin'. Killin' somethin' else ta savive is somethin' we've been doin' all our lives. Carol didn' do any a that 'fore Ed died, 'fore I made 'er start takin' lessons. I...I helped turn 'er inta a killa, D. I can' be mad at 'er for not wantin' ta fight nah more. I..." Ani sighed as Sophia saw them and waved, motioning she was going to stay with the group a while longer. Ani smile at her and gave her a thumbs up before turning back to Daryl, "I don' want Phia ta fight. I don' want 'er ta do any more killin' than she's already had ta, than she will have ta at some point. I don' want ta be responsible for what she becomes like I am for Cars."

"You didn't make her leave," Daryl offered.

"Nah, but I trained 'er ta kill. That's bad 'nough."

"She made her own choices with Karen and David. You didn't force anythin' on 'er that wouldn't keep her alive. She's livin' now, out there somewhere, 'cause a you."

"Maybe," was all Ani answered before sighing and leaning her head against Daryl's shoulder.

"C'mon," he said, pulling her away from the gazebo Sophia and the kids were hanging in and over to the firing range.

Richard was standing there with a bow, shooting and missing the target completely, causing Ani to tell him, "Ya got ta stop droopin' ya neck. Stand up straighta and draw back all the way 'till ya thumb's on ya cheek, then loose."

"I'm practicing," he told her.

"I can see that. And based on how my brotha trained my girl and she trained 'er best friend, that's what ya got ta do. Based on how ya'd shoot a rifle, that's still how it should be done. That's what was said when they couldn' hit the target," Ani said with a shrug.

"Thank you."

"Why you practicin'?" Daryl asked him as he got closer, seeing just how far off the target the man truly was.

"I'm gonna have to start using this more," he informed them. "The Saviors are smart enough to know I shouldn't have a gun around them. Morgan said you were a bowman?" he asked.

Richard came closer to where Daryl stood with Ani under his arm and handed over the crossbow that was sitting on the table next to him. Daryl stood and stared at him for a moment, wondering what it was going to cost him; everything had a price now and that had been a lesson both he and Ani had learned the hard way. It didn't matter if it was paid by the body, the mind, or emotions, nothing in this world came without some kind of cost being paid. Richard just held the bow out, not at all perturbed nor surprised by Daryl's hesitation nor the way Ani tensed. After learning that he and his wife had both been abducted by the Saviors and what they had had to endure over the past several days, he could understand the man's caution and even more so the woman's calculative gaze. Neither expected this offering to be freely handed over let alone thought it wouldn't be missed by the Kingdom. Both hunters were a bit wary of what would happen to the other if he accepted the bow but both knowing that they didn't have any weapons between them at the moment. After a minute, Daryl moved away from Ani and took the bow, checking the sights and the weight of it before looking at the man critically.

"Why?"

"'Cause we want the same things," Richard told them. "I need your help."

"I'm goin' ta tell Phia ta stay in town. I'll meet ya back 'ere in five," Ani told Daryl, a silent agreement that she agreed to help him.

"You should stay, too" Daryl said in reply.

"Hell nah, I'm helpin'. Ya got somethin' planned ta get the Kingdom in motion, right? That's why ya need our help?" she asked Richard.

"Yes. We need something to move Ezekiel. I have an idea on how to do that, but I need your help, both of you," he told them.

"Give me five."

"Why you need her?" Daryl asked as he watched her walk away.

"I heard your people talking last night, how she can fight, how she can predict the way they think. We'll need that if we're going to pull this off," Richard reasoned.

"You know she's pregnant, right? She can't keep doin' all this damn fightin'. Don't need her comin' along."

"We do. She won't be in any danger. With her help, none of us will even have to go face to face with the Saviors."

"Anythin' happens to her, anythin' at all, I'll kill you."

"Understood," Richard said. "I wouldn't ask her to come along if I thought it would put her in danger."

"But it does," Daryl pointed out, watching Ani pull Sophia aside to talk to her, the girl obviously arguing with Ani about being left in the Kingdom while she and Daryl went with Richard. "Puts her in danger just bein' out there."

"We need her," Richard told him. "There's only one other person I know who could help us wants nothing to do with this war. We don't have any other option at this point."

"Anythin' happens to her, I mean it. I won't hesitate," Daryl warned him as Ani gave Sophia a hug. "You'll be dead before you can even try to say sorry."

~x~

Ani walked up to the gazebo the kids were at and cleared her throat, "Hey guys, ya mind if I borrow Phia for a moment?"

The chorus of 'no's' that followed, smiles and happy comments about Sophia had her smiling as the girl came over to her and asked, "What's up?"

Ani moved her away from the gazebo and honestly told her, "Me and Daryl are headin' out with Richard, but we want ya ta stay 'ere with the kids ya age. Mingle. Have fun. Stay out a trouble," she added.

"You want me to stay here?!" Sophia yelled in anger.

"Phia," Ani said seriously. "I don' want ya fightin' in whateva comes next. I want ya ta stay out of it as much as possible."

"I can figh-"

"Neva said ya couldn', Phia," Ani cut her off, a pleading look on her face as she stared at her girl. "I know, betta than anyone else, that ya can fight. You know damn well I know how well ya can fight. But jus' 'cause ya can don' mean ya should. I don' want ya fightin' unless ya have ta. I don' want ya ta have ta kill the livin' if ya don' have ta."

"Why? What's wrong with fighting to protect what's important? What I want to protect?"

"Ya fight ta protect 'em, sure, but, hun, ya still a kid. So be a kid," Ani told her. "Mingle with ya peers. We don' have anyone otha than Carl back home, so go have fun with the people ya age taday. There'll be plenty a time ta help lata on."

"I can help now!"

"I know ya can, but Phia, why do ya think ya momma ran away?"

"'Cause she doesn't ca-"

"'Cause she can' do any more killin'!" Ani shot back at her, correcting her before she could even finish her sentence. "I helped make 'er what she was, by trainin' 'er, teachin' 'er. I helped 'er become what she became, and she couldn' handle it."

"I'm not my mom!"

"I know ya not. Neva said ya were. But Phia, I don' want ya ta fight any more'n ya have ta. I'm not sayin' neva fight, I'm jus' sayin' that, for now, while ya still a kid, let me fight for ya, okay? Me and Daryl. We'll fight for ya so ya can stay a kid for as long as ya can. I...I don' want ya ta become like me," Ani admitted. "I don' eva want ya ta be used ta the killin'. So ya stay 'ere taday. Okay?"

"Why is everyone allowed to protect me, but I can't fight for anyone else?!" Sophia asked petulantly.

"Ya will," Ani assured her. "One day, ya goin' ta save someone's ass like ya did Carl's, and then ya'll realize that killin' like I've done, killin' like what we're plannin' with this war, it ain' the way we should do things."

"Then why are you?"

"'Cause I already tried the nice route. I tried ta talk sense inta Negan. But 'e wouldn' listen, and the Saviors got ta be stopped. I ain' lettin' this baby be born in a world where Negan fuckin' rules."

"Won't you stay with me?" Sophia asked. "With the baby and the Saviors. Please, Ani, just stay here."

"I can'," Ani said sorrowfully. "I can' leave Daryl right now. I don' want ta. I don' know if or when I'll lash out right now. I need ta be 'round 'im ta keep my head on straight and ta keep me from makin' a stupid mistake. Whole reason I came 'ere 'stead a stayed at the Hilltop was 'cause I'd a killed Gregory if I stayed. Nah questions asked. Jus' got rid a the problem. I don' trust myself right now, Phia. And I don' trust ya ta stop me if I fly off the handle. I wouldn' want ya ta try in case ya get hurt. But Daryl? He's strong 'nough, fast 'nough. He's kept me from hurtin' othas before, he'll do it now. I...I really don' trust myself right now."

Sophia gave Ani a hug, Ani returning it as the girl sighed and said, "I trust you. You'll be back by tonight, right?"

"At some point, yeah. And Morgan'll be here. And Nabila. I can even leave the twins with ya if ya want. Be the cool kid with the cool cats," Ani said with a smile.

"Can I have Catty? Bobby should go with you in case you get into trouble," Sophia suggested, knowing that Bobby would come for Catty if Ani got into any trouble.

"A course," Ani told her.

On her way back to Daryl, she signaled to the kittens, Catty running off to Sophia while Bobby ran forwards to Daryl. She was happy with how well the cats had been learning and especially happy with their sizes. The things were almost as big as they were going to get and knew how to attack, defend, hunt, hide, climb, and a slew of other things. According to Daryl, Bobby was damn near as good as a hunting dog and Catty, well, Catty was Catty. She still hadn't quite gotten the hang of hunting anything bigger than a squirrel and regularly ran from any big noises. Neither acted much like the bobcats they were, according to Merle, both behaving more like regular dogs than cats in general. Ani didn't particularly care how they acted or the fact that they were both trained to attack; she was just happy they were both alive and doing well. Besides, when they were threatened, they still acted like the wild animals they were, case in point her hand that Bobby had done a number on when she'd grabbed her leg. Ani thought a regular cat's claws were deadly; the murder mittens on the twins were worse by far and she couldn't help but wonder if Shiva had ever done something like that to Ezekiel. If she was being honest, she really wanted to know the story about how the man had come upon a tiger when the only place he could have was a zoo or a circus, neither of which would take kindly to humans. Daryl was still waiting by the table staring down at Bobby as she walked up and he asked her if everything was fine. She said it was as good as it was going to get at the moment while they followed Richard outside of the Kingdom to an old RV that was hidden by vines and a road sign. The gist of it was that he had weapons, gas, and a variety of other things that would make for a good defense or offense depending on how he used it. He pulled chemicals out of one the cupboards and started pouring them into bottles, making Molotov cocktails as he did so. Ani had to admit that it was an impressive little cache the man had, but questioned why he had so much stuff hidden away when he could have given it to a community that was fighting rather than keep it to himself.

"We need something to move Ezekiel," he told them as he handed them gear. "This is it. Alexandria, the Kingdom, and the Hilltop. Hitting first, hitting hard. Then we wipe the Saviors from the Earth."

"I like the sound a that," Ani told him, sniffing one of the bottles only scrunch up her nose at the intense smell.

"We'll be keeping dozens and dozens and dozens of good people...keeping them safe," he said. "We do this, hit them now, hit them hard, we can make things right."

"So, what's the plan?" Daryl asked. "Why do you need us?"

"Follow me," he told them, heading out of the RV and leading them through the woods.

Daryl took the pack the man had handed to Ani, only letting her carry the gun and the knives the man had given her while he carried two packs, his new crossbow, and a gun himself. To his credit, Richard had given them the lighter packs and taken the heaviest one for himself. They walked along a road, Richard looking back every once in a while, almost as if he expected them to be followed. It had Ani's nerves on edge to the point that she snapped at him when he did it again, making even Daryl question whether or not they were being followed.

"Why the hell ya keep doin' that?!" Ani growled in frustration.

"They ride this road," Richard told them as he lead them around a couple fallen trailers. "If we see cars, it's the Saviors. They've been coming in packs of two or three lately," he informed them, setting down the better part of his gear, Daryl following suit. "That's why I need the two of you. I can't take them alone. We're gonna hit them with the guns first, then the Molotov's, then back to the guns until they're dead."

"Why the fire?" Daryl asked, even Ani wasn't entirely sure what the point of fire was if they were just going to kill them all anyway.

"Needs to look bad," was what was offered. "The Saviors who discover what's left...we want them to be angry."

"They're goin' ta be angry anyway," Ani pointed out. "What's the point a settin' 'em on fire?"

"We have to get Ezekiel specifically involved," Richard said. "I left a trail from here to the weapons cache I planted, to the cabin of someone Ezekiel cares about."

"Who's that?" Daryl asked.

"It's just some loner he met," Richard told them offhandedly as Ani stilled in her movements. "Sometimes he brings food to them."

"Why don't they live in the Kingdom?" Daryl pushed.

"I don't know," he said. "She lives out there, she'll die out there."

"'She?'" Ani asked, her hand going to Daryl's forearm as she watched his body tense, hers doing the same in case he was attacked.

"It's a woman?" Daryl asked.

"What does that matter?" Richard said, trying to provoke Daryl with his next words. "She's got more balls than you and me. She's gonna die either way. When the Saviors come and find their buddies dead, if they know their elbow from their asshole, they can follow an obvious spoor, they're gonna go to the weapons cache, then to the cabin, and they're gonna attack this woman."

"What's her name?" Ani asked, her voice dark.

"Maybe they kill her, maybe they don't," Richard said, continuing his train of thought as if Ani hadn't spoken. "But it's going to show Ezekiel what he needs to do."

"Her name," Daryl said just as darkly as Ani had, though stepping in front of the woman as she dropped her hand from his arm. "What is it?"

"She's tough," Richard tried. "Maybe she'll live."

"Say her damn name!" Daryl yelled, making Richard sigh.

"Carol," he told them. "I hoped you didn't know her. But I didn't think you'd care, either of you. 'Cause you know what needs to happen."

"No," Daryl agreed, storming past Richard to grab the packs he'd originally been given up.

"Hell nah," Ani yelled, going to do the same. "I ain' doin' it. I ain' losin' anyone else."

"Maybe she'll live," Richard tried to reason.

"And maybe she'll die!" Ani yelled back. "She's one a ours! Ya don' care 'bout 'er 'cause she ain' part a the Kingdom! But she is one of our people! We ain' goin' ta be a fuckin' part a this!"

"Look," Richard said. "This is how...this is how this could happen! This is how we can get rid of the Saviors, how we allcan have a future!"

"Fuck ya!"

"She's living out there alone, just waiting to die!"

"Naw!" Daryl said, both he and Ani storming their way towards the woods.

"If we don't do anything, a hell of a lot more people are gonna die, people who want to live!"

"Who says she doesn' want ta live, huh?" Ani growled at him, throwing her bag and the gun down as both she and Daryl turned. "Who says she wants ta die?! That ain' Cars! Jus' 'cause she don' want ta fight doesn' mean she don' want ta live!"

"You stay the hell away from Carol, you hear me?" Daryl warned, throwing down his bow.

He stepped in front of Ani and got right in Richard's face as he threatened him, refusing to back down and let the asshole do what he wanted. Vehicles approaching had both he and Ani bending down to pick up their weapons as Richard edged closer to the back of the trailer before looking at them.

"It's them. Look, we could wait for things to go bad and lose people...or we can do the hard thing...and choose our fate for ourselves."

Ani thought about it for all of a second even though she knew the truth of the matter was that they could very easily end the Saviors with the Kingdom's help. She wasn't willing to take risks that would lead to more of her people getting killed, but Carol was a part of her people and important to Daryl and Sophia. Even if the woman ran away a lot, even if she wanted to be away from everyone and everything, she was still one of the few people they had left from the original group. It was just Carol, the Dixons, and the Grimes' left, three groups of people out of the several families that had once camped together at the quarry. Even if Ani wasn't willing to take risks when it came to defeating Negan, she wasn't willing to sacrifice Carol for what Richard considered to be the greater good. It was like when Shane wanted to cut her and Sophia loose when they'd gotten lost in the woods; there was always a cost and it always seemed to involve her and their people, not anyone else. It didn't matter if she wasn't overly fond of the woman because Daryl was, and it didn't matter if she didn't care about whether or not Carol came back. Sophia and Daryl both needed to know that Carol was alright and Ani knew that her being alright also meant that she would need to talk the woman through her issues. If Carol didn't want to take her help, though, the best thing any of them would be able to do for her was leave her alone.

"No!" Daryl shot back, Ani nodding her head in agreement as her body tensed for what she knew was coming next.

"Sorry," Richard said, turning to make his attack only for Ani to move at the same time.

"No, Ania!" Daryl said, as he moved to get in her way.

Grabbing Richard by the shoulders, he pinned him to the ground and straddled the man, using his weight and strength to overpower him for a little while. When Richard, who wasn't exactly weak himself, began to struggle more than Daryl could handle by just holding, Daryl punched him in an attempt to knock him out. He landed three good blows after the first, using both fists to land the haymakers right to the man's face. Ani was seething and wanted to just shoot the man, but Daryl was right that that would lead to the Saviors finding them there. She didn't have any of her knives on her at the moment either and wasn't sure if she would be able to properly throw the off-balanced weight of the knives she had been given. If it weren't for the fact that Daryl was already fighting the man, Ani wouldn't have let any chances be taken and would have simply snapped the man's neck. Instead, she watched as the man managed to grab hold of the canteen that had fallen when Daryl tossed his pack and smacked Daryl upside the head, managing to break free from her husband's hold. Both men scrambled for their dropped weapons as Ani brought her rifle up and took aim at Richard, stopping him in his tracks even as Daryl managed to grab his crossbow and stand up.

"There'll be more," Richard said, holding his hands up in surrender. "Or those—they're gonna ride back this way later. We'll have another chance. But we're running out of time," he tried to reason. "If you and your people want to move against the saviors, you need to do it soon, and you need the Kingdom. What we have to do requires sacrifice one way or another."

"Then sacrifice yaself, why don' ya?!" Ani seethed.

"People like us, we've lost so much," Richard tried to plead.

"You don't know us," Daryl told him.

"Ya don' know shite 'bout what we've lost or what we've done. Ya don' know shite 'bout shite."

"I know that Carol, living on her own like that, she might as well be dead right now."

Ani's own anger flared as she took two steps and punched Richard herself, knocking him down to the ground as he held his hanging jaw, "She ain' fuckin' dead. She ain' goin' ta die! I ain' fuckin' losin' anyone else!"

"She gets hurt, she dies, she catches a fever, she gets taken out by a walker, she gets hit by lightening- anything happens to her, I'll kill you," Daryl told the man as he stood back up, thankful Ani was standing up for Carol as well.

"I woud die thor the Kingthom," he mumbled past his dislocated, if not broken, jaw.

"Why don't you?" Daryl asked him, grabbing his things and Ani's before grabbing her hand and pulling her back through the woods.

"Should a killed 'im," she said after a few minutes.

"Ya don't need to kill."

"I wanted ta. I will. If 'e eva brings up hurtin' Cars again. I ain' losin' anyone else, D. I ain' makin' any more sacrifices for othas who don' even care ta step up for their own."

"I know, baby girl. He mentioned a cabin, leaving a trail. Mind goin' lookin' for 'er?"

"Nah. We can go. Make sure she's alright and fuck up the trail so's they don' find 'er. I'm angry at 'er, though. I'll try not ta be a bitch 'bout it, but I ain' happy with 'er."

Daryl thought it was fair enough that she was willing to check on Carol considering how things had always seemed to go between them. Yet she made it a point to purposely destroy any and all evidence of a trail as soon as they found the one Richard had been talking about. They were both surprised when they saw the King and his troupe walking up to the place, a nice little cabin out in the middle of no where. Ani and Daryl were a little cautious to approach, looking at each other with the same amount of fear and trepidation, stopping at the edge of the woods to talk. She explained how Carol was most likely suffering from PTSD or was in the early stages of it, and that was why she ran away. Even though she admitted she hated the idea, she agreed with Daryl when he asked to take the lead if they were asked about what happened. The woman didn't need to know what happened or the gravity of the situation or she might run even farther than she had and possibly be never seen again, or worse. Neither even knew if Carol would want to see them, Morgan's words of her wanting to just be gone echoing in both of their heads as they walked up to the door and Daryl gently knocked on it. When Carol opened the door with an annoyed look, all of them froze up until her face morphed into that of surprise and she broke down crying. She came out of the house and hugged Daryl for a good moment before he pushed her away and went back to stand by Ani, who simply nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Wha-How?" Carol asked when she and Daryl broke apart.

"Jesus took us to the kingdom," Daryl informed her. "Morgan said you just left. We were out here. I saw you. Why'd you go?"

"I had to," she whispered as the tears ran down her face.

"Why?" Ani asked.

"I couldn't...I couldn't..." Carol tried to explain, but couldn't find the words.

"Ya left Phia again," Ani accused.

"She had you and Merle and Daryl. She had everything she needed," Carol cried while shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders, obviously upset about everything herself. "She didn't need me."

"Maybe, maybe not, but we needed ya, Cars! Everyone back home! We needed ya! And ya ran off! " Ani tried to calm herself down, turning to Daryl and burying herself in his arms before she really went off on the woman who she knew really didn't deserve her anger.

"What happened?" Carol asked.

"Some shit went down back home," Daryl told her.

Carol breathed in deeply before inviting them inside, both of them looking around before Daryl went over to the table, pulling Ani with him as he sat down in one of the chairs at the table. She watched as he made her sit on his lap while she went to the fire to add more wood now that Ani was there, knowing she would probably be cold. She remembered when she was pregnant with Sophia that she couldn't get warm enough at the beginning and, considering the woman was only in a light flannel and wife beater, Carol assumed she would be. She couldn't help the soft smile spread across that her face as she watched the pair, Daryl's hand moving from Ani's thigh to her stomach. As she watched both hunters, it seemed to become clear that they were having a bad time emotionally, Ani just leaning her head on Daryl's shoulder with her eyes closed. Silent tears were falling down Ani's face as Daryl rubbed circles on her back while her hand laid on top of his and Daryl just stared at the rug before looking up at Carol and back down. Carol didn't know what to say or what to ask either of them as the three sat in silence until she stood up and grabbed some stuff. She busied herself with getting to work on cutting up some of the vegetables Ezekiel had given her and a rabbit she'd caught herself. The trio stayed quiet as she got the stew on the fire and added some water and herbs before looking back at Daryl and Ani and their obvious love for their unborn child.

"How far along are you now?" she asked.

"'Bout sixteen-ish weeks, I think?" Ani answered quietly.

"And everything's going well?"

"Could be betta. Gettin' sick a lot. Lovin' squirrel. Found out we're havin' a boy."

"Really?" Carol said with a smile. "Congrats."

"We're tryin' to get shit back home settled 'fore the baby comes," Daryl told her.

"Could use ya bein' around ta help with it," Ani suggested.

"I can't."

"Why the hell not?" Daryl asked, his own frustration getting the best of him.

"I can't...kill...anymore," Carol cried. "I couldn't lose anymore. I couldn't lose any of them. I couldn't lose you, or the group. I couldn't kill them. I could. I would. If they hurt anymore of our people, any more of them, that's what I would do. And there wouldn't be anything left of me after that."

"There'd be somethin' left, but ya wouldn' recognize 'er. Ya don' got ta fight, Cars. Ya don' got ta give anymore a yaself up."

"You're not gonna blame me this time?" Carol chuckled. "I thought you were always gonna hate me."

"I don' hate ya. Ya don' make it easy ta like ya sometimes, but ya ain' a bad person. My head don' always let me see things clearly and I neva thought I'd be the jealous kind. I don' like what's happened 'tween ya and Phia, I ain' good at sharin' things, eitha, but that don' give me a right ta treat ya like a criminal. Sorry for bein' a bitch."

"What happened to you? You would never forgive me this easily. Was it...The Saviors, did they come?" she asked.

"Yeah," Daryl said, his arms going around Ani as she tightened her grip on him.

Carol moved to face the two of them, trying her hardest not to cry, "Did anyone get hurt? Is everybody ok? Why're you so upset," she asked Ani through a sob as she realized the girl was crying herself, trying to control her own tears before continuing. "Did the Saviors-? Is everybody back home okay? Daryl...Ani...just tell me."

"They came," Daryl told her. "We got 'em all. Made a deal with the rest of them, like Ezekiel. Everyone's alright."

"Why's Ani...?"

"My parents were with 'em," Ani told her, the appalled look on Carol's face saying it all. "They...Negan...he found out they lied ta 'im. He...He..."

"She was forced to kill her parents. He made her beat her dad to death, break her mom's neck, as part of the deal," Daryl finished for her.

"Oh God, Ani, I'm sorry," Carol told her, crying even as .

"I'll be alright," she mumbled, silence falling around them before Daryl clapped his hand on the table behind Ani to relieve the awkwardness.

"We gonna eat or—or we gotta be a king or somethin' to get some food around here?" he joked dryly, though it did make Carol chuckle and stop crying.

"Shut up," she said before bringing the stew to the table, Ani moving to sit across from Carol with Daryl sitting at the head of the table.

"Ezekiel," Daryl said as Carol started serving up the food. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, I think he is," Carol answered, offering Ani a bowl.

No one spoke as they ate, Carol calming down and drying her tears as Ani just stared off into space thinking about how she wanted to protect this woman's daughter as much as possible, and how that meant helping her. It wasn't just that she'd been the one to teach Carol how to do what she could now, it was that she was still her kid's birth mother, her husband's best friend, and a part of her family at the end of the day. She knew that she would never have a bond with her like Daryl had and she didn't trust her as much, but after what she'd done to her father, Ani had to take care of the family she had left. That included trying to help Carol work through her problems and try to make her come back for Daryl and Sophia at the very least. When the meal was finished, Daryl let Carol know that they had to get back as he and Ani grabbed their gear. Ani wanted to get back to Sophia, letting Carol know that she was fine and why she was in the Kingdom before they left the little cabin, fully intending to just head back to the room they'd been given. However, they both only got a few steps off the porch before Daryl stopped them and turned back, practically running back to the house. Ani stood back as Daryl crushed Carol into him as he held her as tightly as he could and told her to be careful before stepping back and nodding his head. She had to admit that there was a ping of jealousy that ran through her, but that fight was done and over with and Carol was still Daryl's best friend. He was having a hard time letting go, especially with what they had done to him at the Sanctuary, and Carol not wanting to be around was hard on him. To him, he was losing his best friend and Ani knew just how hard that was considering she had lost Jesse. The parallels were so similar that the only real differences were what had made them run; Jesse out of fear of being alone and Carol out of fear of herself. She let them have their moment without saying a word, bowing her head in recognition of Carol and her hardships and choices. Daryl pulled Ani under his arm as he walked away, Ani taking a moment to look back at the woman and become determined to help her.

"She'll be okay, D. She ain' goin' ta be gone long. We win this war, we'll get 'er ta come back," she assured her husband.

"You sure she's gonna be okay?"

"We'll make sure she'll be okay. I promise."

"You good with that?"

"I thought I wouldn' be, but I can' sit back while ya lose ya best friend like I lost mine. So, yeah, I am good. S'long as she's willin' ta let me, I'll help 'er as much as I can."

Daryl brought her closer and kissed her hair, "I owe you one."

"Ya don' owe me nothin'. Ya jus' keep me unda ya arm like this. That's all I need."

"You got it, baby girl."