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Writers' notes:Hope everyone enjoys this double update!
The morning showcased the destruction beyond the wall of Alexandria. Jasper forced Bella to sit still long enough to dig the bullet out of her leg and to tend to her shoulder. Charlie waited outside the clinic, meeting everyone that were a part of the community that Bella helped build. Jake was happy to see Sam and Emily and had informed them about Paul and it weighed heavy on them. Carol made food for everyone that morning and Charlie admitted that it was nice to have a hot meal that wasn't cooked in a rush. He wanted to check on Bella but Jake told Charlie that she would come to him and to settle in.
Negan crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall in the clinic, watching Jasper stitch Bella's shoulder. "Where is T Dogg?"
Bella shook her head. "They killed him. I split with Ron as soon as he went down. Ron made it?"
Negan shook his head. "Haven't seen him."
"Shit. Jessie is going to be-"
"Ron knew what he was doing going outside the wall." Jasper said, but his heart hurt. His surrogate son that he had come to love. He loved Jessie and loved her boys so he knew it would devastate her.
Bella shook her head. "He's out there Jazz. I told him if he couldn't get back inside the wall to go to hilltop. Radio Jesus."
Negan pulled the walkie from his hip and turned channels. "Jesus." He said and waited a beat.
"Negan. Everything okay over that way? We heard bombing."
"Yeah we're alive. Is Jessie's boy your way? Ron?"
There was a brief silence. " Yeah. Stumbled in late. He said there were men after him and Bella and they got split up. He's safe. "
Bella felt relieved. "Thank God." She blew out a breath and only winced a little when Jasper finished the last stitch.
Jasper leaned back. "We have to see what's damaged. Assess what we need to do and see how big that herd is."
Bella nodded and then pulled her jacket back on trying not to bust the stitches Jasper just did to her shoulder. She hopped down off the table and pulled her pants up and fastened them swiftly. "Daryl took one of their guys?"
Negan sighed. "Yeah. He's in the armory jail. You sure you don't want to go talk to your dad. You know the man that you thought was dead but isn't."
"I'll talk to him later. I have to talk to the prisoner." Bella said then leaned in and kissed Negan, patting his chest. "Check on the kids."
Negan caught her around the waist and kept her there against him. "Baby, I love you. I'll go check on the kids. Be careful with this guy." He said and kissed her again before swatting her on the ass as she walked out the door. When she was gone, he looked at Jasper. "She is going to be the death of me."
"You and me both." Jasper grumbled. "Okay let's go see what needs to be done." He said and the two walked outside go towards the front gate.
Bella surveyed the man tied up sitting on chair in the windowless room. "Need anything. Water? A cold beer? Maybe a Ruben sandwich?" she said and leaned against the wall. The man was covered in filth and walker blood. He didn't have initials carved in his head. His eyes were dark and angry. His long dark hair was matted in some places. But he stared at her blankly. "No? Okay. Well, let me tell you what's going to happen. You're either going to tell me where you and your men came from or you're going to die. Those are your choices. I don't need you to tell me anything. I'll figure it out eventually but it is better for you if you tell me now." She explained with calm.
The door opened and she glanced up to see Jasper walk in with Charlie and Negan right behind him.
Bella didn't say anything to the others as they walked in. She pushed away from the wall and walked around the man, tapping her knife against the palm of her hand. "Have a name at least?"
The man didn't say anything.
"That's okay. I'll give you a name. She came to a stop in front of him, twirling the knife on her palm fluidly. "Richard. That's you're name. I'm pretty good at giving people names. What do you think?" she stopped spinning her knife and leaned down. The man spit in her face. Bella leaned back and wiped her face. "Don't like Dick, huh." She said and then the man stood abruptly but Bella reacted fast, her hands coming up and locking at the back of the man's neck as she forced him back against the wall. The man threw his knee up but she blocked it with one hand before she pulled his face into her own knee and felt his nose crack but he was sill standing. He spit blood on the ground and lunged at her again throwing a twirl of kicks in an expert manner. Bella blocked his kicks with little effort before she spun her knife out of its sheath and shoved it into his thigh making the man cry out in pain. She then shoved him back into the chair and hit him with a hard right hook making a tooth fly out. She then pulled the knife from his thigh and kicked him and the chair backwards, sliding him into the wall before she threw the knife and it hit the wall beside his head. "This is my fucking house. Sit the fuck down." She yelled at him.
Negan leaned against the door casually as he watched Bella take the man down a notch and Jasper crossed his arms and watched without movement. Charlie found her actions incredibly shocking and it showed on his face.
The man looked to the other three in the room, a look of desperate help.
Negan grinned. "Don't look at me. You're the one that pissed her off. I know better." He said with a chuckle.
"Let me ask you a question Hansel. Do you want to die?" Bella asked squatting down to look at him.
The man shook his head.
"Good. I don't want to kill you. I want you to answer my questions. But I get it. You're scared of whoever you work for. I'm not scared of your boss. Hell, there's not a whole lot I am scared of. So, let's agree to help each other okay. I won't kill you. Let you have some food, water a nice hot shower. We can be friends Clifford. You just have to help me." She said again and stood.
The man shook his head, closing his eyes.
Bella nodded. "Okay Marcus."
The man's eyes shot open in surprise.
Bella smiled. "Surprised?" she pulled the knife out of the wall and walked away turning her back to him. "I know what I need to know Marcus Voltaire. SSN 887-00-7654." She nodded to Negan. "Do you have a lighter? Smokes?" She asked
Negan smiled and reached inside his pocket. "Bad habit. I promise, I'll quit sweetheart." He said as he handed them to her.
Bella took them and smiled at Negan. "Thank you, Honey." She said and then she pulled a cigarette from the pack and put it in her mouth and then she lit it and took a few drags and she leaned down and blew the smoke in Marcus's face. "Want one? It's been a stressful last 24 hours hadn't it?" she said and then she took the cigarette and put it out on the mans wound on his leg and he cried out again in pain.
Charlie flinched a little at his daughter's tactics and started to say something but Jasper shook his head to tell him not to.
Bella leaned back up. "Okay Marcus. Well, I can't help you if you don't want to help yourself." She said and looked over at Jasper. "Gas?"
"Yeah. I'll grab it." He said and leaned off the door then disappeared.
Bella crossed her arms. "How's the weather looking out there?" she asked Negan.
Negan shrugged. "It's a bit cold. Looks like it might give us a late snow."
Bella nodded. "Yeah. Could use a fire." She said and Jasper returned with a small gas can. She took the gas can and swirled it before dumping the gas on Marcus.
"What are you doing?" Marcus asked suddenly, fear coming into his eyes tenfold.
"You have a voice. For a minute there I thought I was torturing a mute." Bella said and smiled. "Well Marcus, I am going to warm you up before I throw you outside my walls. Don't want you to get frostbite." She said and took the lighter and a cigarette and lit it and pulled a few drags off of it.
"Wait!" Marcus said frantically. "I'll talk."
Bella smiled and then nodded. "Good." She said and blew out smoke and then handed the cigarette to Negan and he took it and pulled a couple drags off of it before putting it out on the bottom of his boot. "Who are you working for?"
"He doesn't have a name. People call him Zero." Marcus relayed.
"Why did you attack me and my people without warning?"
"That's what we're told to do. Everything belongs to Zero. Anyone found within his realm will be killed on sight." Marcus explained.
Jasper spoke up. "Is Zero located anywhere close by?"
"We don't normally come this far East." Marcus said. "But we found out that there was a community this way. Zero sent us to scope it out."
"How many men were with you?" Negan asked, pushing away from the door and standing next to Bella.
Marcus swallowed. "Um. 30 men. We lost… so many last night."
Bella nodded. "Well, we have more men than you. It was stupid for you to attack a compound you know nothing about. I'll tell you what Marcus. I'll let you go.'
"You'll let me go?"
"Sure. I'm not a monster. You told me what I needed. I'll feed you, give you water, let you have a hot shower. We'll get you a nice pack together and you can deliver a message to Zero." Bella said with a shrug.
Marcus shifted his gaze to Negan and then back to Bella. "Okay what's the message?"
"Negan is coming for you." Negan said. "if he doesn't know that name then he's gonna regret hearing it." He said his tone was like ice and so was his stare. "You crossed the wrong people. He's not the Boogeyman that haunts you in the night. I am." He said and he leaned down so Marcus could look at him. "Take a good look at my face Marcus. Remember ever detail because this is the last time you will see my face. Tell Zero, I will take him out. I don't run from a fight."
Marcus shuddered a little and then Negan leaned back up. He looked at Bella. "That's it?'
Bella smiled a little. "That's it. Deliver the message. If you think Negan isn't scary enough then you tell him about me." She winked and then patted his face. "Jasper, fix his leg." She said and then turned and walked towards the door. "Colonel." She said to her dad and that was his cue to follow her out. Negan followed with them.
Bella walked out and looked around. Smoke was still billowing outside the wall from the fires Bella set. She looked up to see Carl crossing over to her. He hugged her immediately. "Hey. I'm sorry I worried you." She said gently.
Carl nodded and then leaned back to look at her. "Mom, you make me worry all the time when you're gone."
"I know kiddo. I'm sorry about that." Bella said, laying a hand on his head and smoothing his dark hair down a little. "I love you."
"I love you too, mom." Carl said and hugged her again.
Negan smiled and rubbed a hand over Carl's back. "We have a lot of cleanup to do today. Why don't you help Ana and Sophia with your sisters so we don't have to worry too much."
Carl leaned back and nodded. "Okay. But make her rest. Don't let her work too hard."
"I promise."
"Dad." Carl said with a raised brow.
Negan chuckled. "Okay I'll try. Go on." He said and Carl went back torward the house. He sighed and then kissed the top of Bella's head. "Okay. I love you. You need to talk to your dad and I need to go help Daryl and the others with damage assessments." He said and started to walk away but Bella grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her and she tipped up and kissed him on the lips.
Bella smiled. "Okay. I love you. I will come find you when I'm done."
Negan nodded and gave her a salute before walking away and leaving Bella there with Charlie.
Charlie watched the interaction. Seeing Carl call Bella mom and Negan dad. Negan had mentioned sisters and it made his heart swell to know that Bella made a family for herself even though the world was chaos now. "So."
"So." Bella said with a nod before she went to her dad, hugging him tight.
Charlie's arms envelopes Bella, hugging her tight as tears fell down his face, dripping into her dark hair. "I love you so much." He said, his voice tight.
Bella sniffed a little. "I love you too." She said and then they detangled and looked at each other again. "Um. Clearly you walked into pure chaos. We haven't had issues at all in the last nine months but then as you saw… chaos."
Charlie swallowed and nodded. "So the torture was a bonus?"
"Dad. We live in a very different world. I get the answers I need. I have a community to protect. I don't take chances."
"Were you really going to set him on fire?"
"No. The house would burn down." Bella said. "I would have taken him outside first." She said and rotated her shoulder a little. She felt that she popped her stitches. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that though. It was shocking for you"
Charlie nodded. "But Jasper and Negan weren't."
"I was a POW with Jasper dad. Negan has seen me in action enough times to know I mean business." Bella explained.
Charlie didn't have to be reminded of the dark times his daughter endured while she was a POW. "Negan. Is he the Lt. Smith you told me about from Kuwait?"
Bella nodded. "He is and I love him. He's my better half.
Charlie nodded again. "He seems good. The boy. He called you mom."
"Because I'm his mother. His name is Carl. He's 15. I have daughters. 3 of them. Aya is nearly 2. Jezebel and Harley are one month old." She said.
Charlie teared up again. "You became a mother."
"I did. I gave birth to Aya early but Jasper saved her. Kept her alive. The twins came right on time and are perfect." Bella said softly. "They're perfect dad. All of them. Negan is the best father and partner. You will like hIm."
Charlie wiped his face a little. "Yeah, he makes an impression. He seems solid. I… I want to see the kids. Can I meet them?"
"Of course you can. Have you met everyone yet?"
"No."
Bella smiled and took her dad's hand.