Light Switch: I thought it was funny. Kids gotta have fun somehow, right? lol

To my dear Guest: Buckle up, because season nine starts with the next chapter, though, obviously, there's an awful lot of time gap to write for...lol

I apologize for getting this on here so late. I was dealing with a sciatica flare up and couldn't really sit at my desk to write without being in pain. I decided to take the time to stretch and relax before trying to really work on this chapter. I'll do what I can to get the next chapter up sooner. Thank you for your patience!

"All we did was watch him walk around and cuss us out for not bein' where we were s'pposed to be," Sophia told Ani as she got ready for the trip into DC. "Like, we were at one of the watch posts, no biggie, but it wasn't the one that Carl was s'pposed to be at 'cause he managed to get Wade to switch spots with him. It was just a picnic. He made spaghetti and rolls from scratch. That was pretty surprisin'."

"Ya know 'e learned how ta make that from Negan, right?" Ani asked her, trying not to sound too sour.

"Yeah, but that don't mean Carl ain't a good cook. It's nice, knowin' I won't always have to cook. Kinda like you and Daryl."

"I s'ppose so. How pissed was Merle when 'e finally found ya?"

"I'm not really sure," Sophia admitted. "He kinda just shook his head and then made himself a plate of spaghetti while tellin' us off. I think he might've figured it out that we're only avoiding him to make fun of him tryin' to find us. I was thinkin', though..." she trailed off, leaving Ani to stop what she was doing and look at her expectantly, causing Sophia to sigh before blurting out, "would it be alright if I moved to Alexandria?"

"What?" Ani asked, unsure if she'd heard Sophia right.

"I want to move back to Alexandria," she said quietly. "If you do leave the Sanctuary, I want to go back to Alexandria."

"Where's all this comin' from?"

"Well...you and Daryl have been talkin' about leavin' here. The Hilltop is further away from Alexandria than the Sanctuary is...I miss bein' able to be around Carl more and and you have Lou and, I don't know...I just thought that you wouldn't mind if I moved back there."

"Ya know Carl ain' goin' ta be in Alexandria 'til closa ta winta this year, right?" Ani asked her. "Ya could stay with us that long, at least."

"So you're really plannin' on leavin' the Sanctuary?"

"I have ta. I can' stay 'ere. There's jus' not 'nough change that's happened for me ta stay 'ere. And goin' ta the Hilltop is betta than havin' ta travel back and forth 'tween 'ere and there. I ain' goin' ta the Kingdom and I sure as fuck ain' headin' ta Alexandria. Don' want ta be anywhere that's goin' ta cause more stress than this place causes."

"There's not all that much stress in Alexandria," Sophia suggested. "I mean, the only bad there is Negan. They've got apple and pear trees, blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry bushes, strawberries, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots...They're raisin' chickens and cows."

"Phia," Ani sighed. "Look, I know I'm bein' stupid stayin' away from Alexandria like I am. I know Negan's locked up and ain' gettin' let out. I know 'e's not goin' ta be able ta do nothin'. But, when I think a goin' back there. When I think 'bout askin' D ta move back there...All I can think about it is 'the what ifs.' What if 'e gets out and tries takin' Daryl again? What if 'e gets loose and does somethin' ta Lou? What if 'e's jus' waitin' and bidin' 'is time 'til 'e starts makin' a move? What if that's why there's so much resistance ta us takin' ova 'ere? What if we're havin' so many problems 'cause 'e's somehow still whisperin' out in Alexandria and makin' waves? What if?"

"He doesn't really talk to anyone. Gabriel's tryin' to do some work with him," Sophia informed her. "Said it'd be easier if you were the one doin' it, but he won't ask about havin' you come by to work with him."

"'Cause 'e knows the answa would be absolutely not," Ani responded seriously. "That part a my life is done and ova with. Helpin' othas and tryin' ta keep the peace in a world like this. I'll talk ta the people who seek me out, but I ain' movin' or tryin' ta actively change shite nah more. I don' mind helpin' the people who want help and come ta me wantin' it, but I ain' goin' ta try ta change people like Wade and Joe nah more. I ain' able ta care 'bout it all anymore, not with Lou and D and ya and Merle. It started feelin' odd when I was still pregnant, and I don' think it's goin' ta get any betta."

"But you could figure out whether or not Negan could be makin' anythin' happen," was the suggestion she got back. "You could get inside his head. You said you were startin' to when you were stuck here. I mean, you could really get under his skin and..."

"Phia, I know that's what ya think, and I know that's somethin' I could do, but I don' want ta. I don' want ta face 'im right now, and I don' want ta feel like I'm bein' forced ta be there like I'm bein' forced ta be 'ere," she told Sophia truthfully. "Maybe afta everythin' settles, maybe afta...Maybe afta some time I could, but I'd have ta find a reason ta even botha with it."

"It could be fun..."

"Yeah, it could be, but that don' mean that I want ta try anythin', 'cause Negan's pretty good at gettin' in otha people's heads. I don' need 'im tryin' ta get inta my head right now. I won' be as easy ta crack as I was when D and I were kept separate, but I don' want ta risk 'im doin' anythin' that'll cause issues 'tween me and D. That shite almost killed me when we were kept separate and while I know I could go back ta 'im as soon as I was done with Negan, the thought a it makes my skin crawl."

"I'm sorry. I just hate us all bein' everywhere else," Sophia told her.

"It's alright. I ain' angry at ya. Ain' like I like it, eitha," Ani said. "I'd ratha us all be in one place and as strong as we used ta be when we were first in Alexandria and back at the Prison. That's why I want ta go ta the Hilltop. We've got Beth, Maggie, Sasha, and Abraham at Hilltop. Carl and Jesus and Enid. It'd be a betta place for Merle with a doc there that can actually give us some answers 'bout why he's gettin' so tired all the time. Betta for me with Carson bein' there. And all the room for the herbal medicine. Hilltop would be the best fortress with the most strength for all a us. It's also the more centralized settlement we have. It wouldn' hurt bein' there for a while."

"Are you plannin' on stayin' there or movin' again?"

"I don' know. I think it's not smart ta try ta make any permanent plans right now. I jus' think the best thing ta do is ta take it one day at a time. I got too much shite ta do and ta worry 'bout than ta think 'bout where I'm goin' ta end up livin' in the future. For now, it's the Sanctuary and, hopefully, afta taday or so, it'll be the Hilltop. Is there anythin' extra ya want me ta pick up for ya when we're in DC?"

"I could always go with-"

"Nah! I need ya here! I told ya. I can' take Lou inta the city jus' in case we run inta a herd and I can' jus' leave 'im 'ere. I need ya and Merle ta stay 'ere and look afta 'im," Ani practically pleaded with her. "I'm askin' ya ta take care a my boy while I'm tryin' ta make sure whereva we call our home has what it needs ta savive. Can ya please jus' do that for me so at least one thing that's been on my mind can be put at ease?"

"I still don't get why you're so stressed and haven't told me about what's causing it."

"I will. I promise. Jus'...afta we get ta the Hilltop, ok? I got ta talk ta Carson and get a few things figya'd out 'fore I tell ya what's been buggin' me and D."

"Is it about Lou?"

"Nah! I promise ya, nah. It ain' nothin' ta do with Lou."

"What's goin' on with Merle?"

"Yeah, that's a big part a it. I'll tell ya all a it soon 'nough, I promise."

"Does Merle know?"

"Does Merle know what?" the man asked as he entered the room.

"Whatever it is Ani's hidin' from me," Sophia told him, making Ani roll her eyes.

"Whatever it is, they ain't told me shit," Merle informed the girl. "It about that faintin' spell I had?" he asked Ani. "Told ya, I just drank a little too much the night before. Wasn't nothin' major, girl, just an old fool bein' a jackass, that's all."

"Ain' somethin' that should jus' be ignored, eitha, Merle," Ani retorted as she walked over to Lou's crib and handed him his stuffed bunny. "The two a ya rememba 'is schedule?"

"How can we forget it when you're constantly tellin' us what needs doin'?" he asked her.

"Jus'...Do ya rememba 'is schedule or not?" she sighed in frustration.

"Yeah, I remember it, girly," Merle groaned. "Don't let your pants get so far up your ass. He'll get his lunch around noon and his nap right after. Give 'im his water and fruit and let 'im gum up the jerky when 'e gets hungry but wait until you get back to give 'im his dinner. Make sure to get 'im outside and in the sun for a good chunk and don't let anyone else touch him. I know how to take care of my baby nephew."

"I know ya do, but that don' make me any less paranoid," Ani admitted. "I haven' been on many trips without 'im, ok? I'm nervous."

"Could always stay here and let me go," Merle suggested. "Wouldn't mind a bit of bonding time with my baby brother."

"Ya had 'nough when ya sent 'im back ta me stumblin' 'round like a damn idiot!" Ani shot back. "Afta that, ya dumb ass is lucky ya didn' get kicked out a the Sanctuary!"

"Ah, you had a fun night!"

"Don' matta how fun it was! I still got some damn bruises from that night and a plethora a otha problems!"

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Like I don' have a single shirt that's mine now! They're all Daryl's shirts that I get ta pick and choose from 'cause 'e ripped my last one that night! I got a few pairs a jeans left! Jus' a few, and I can fit in D's pants 'bout as well as 'e can fit inta mine. Ya see how fuckin' loose 'is shirts are on me," she complained, pulling the shirt she was wearing away from her body to readjust it since it was so big the seams kept sitting wrong against her side and stomach. "Ain' that bad a deal right now, but I'm goin' ta need ta get me some new clothes soon 'nough."

"What happened to the rest of your clothes?" Merle asked dumbly.

"What the hell do ya think happened ta 'em?! Eitha they got killed by baby vomit and shite or walka guts or they were torn apart by Daryl. I only had a few outfits ta begin with. Asshole destroyed all my bras, too."

"That's not good."

"Nah, it ain'. I can' stand the ones we were able ta find. Half the time I ain' even botharin' wearin' any 'cause they're more trouble'n they're worth. Not like D cares," Ani stated with a smirk on her face.

"You two are so gross," Sophia told them.

"Says the little girl who wants to get to bonin' her boyfriend," Merle clapped back at the girl.

"We haven't done anythin'! I swear, you're more interested in what I'm doin' with Carl than you are Daryl and Ani!"

"That's 'cause 'e knows what me and D get up ta in our alone time. What ya and Carl get up ta is somethin' completely different," Ani told her before turning to Merle. "Though, sounds more like they're seein' how pissed they can get ya 'fore ya blow a gasket than they are tryin' ta get away with doin' shite."

"Yeah, I know," Merle said, earning a shocked look from Sophia. "You think it's hard to tell when you're always just 'round the corner from where you're s'pposed to be at? Think you're oh so sneaky? Hell, I figured it out a while ago. I was just so pissed 'bout what the two of you idiots were doin' that I didn't say shit. You two shitheads seemed to calm down 'round the time I caught you red-handed with his dick in your hand."

"Oh my God, Mom!" Sophia groaned as she turned to Ani for help.

Ani betrayed her, though, by responding, "Jus' 'cause ya haven' caught 'em doin' somethin' doesn' mean they ain' done somethin'. Girl ain' jus' held it, if ya catch my drift."

"Mom!"

"What's this now?" Merle asked, suddenly very invested in the conversation as he stood and looked at the two women from fawning over Lou.

"Oh yeah," Ani started as Sophia went to try to cover her mouth, the two having a small spar while Ani kept talking. "They've set a date ta go all the way and tried a few otha innocent things. They jus' do it when ya ain' 'round!"

"What?"

"MOM!" shouted Sophia.

"What? He's goin' ta find out at some point," Ani said with a shrug. "Not like ya've been doin' anythin' outside the norm for a teen. Hand jobs and oral sex is jus' par for the course for teens as far as I know. Usually more, and the two a ya have kept away from more. I ain' complainin' or goin' inta the details ya told me."

"What now?!"

"I didn't want him to know anythin' at all! I'm gonna be grilled 'til kingdom comes while you're gone!" Sophia whined.

"Good! Gives ya somethin' ta talk 'bout!" Ani laughed.

"Someone better start talkin' or I'm gonna start swingin'!" Merle threatened, finally getting the two women to look at him and stop their little back and forth.

Ani was in the middle of trying to tickle Sophia while Sophia was obviously trying to get the older woman to stop talking when they froze and looked at Merle. Sophia looked mortified at the fact that Merle wanted to know more about what she and Carl had gotten up to than anything else. Ani looked like she had just handed a live rat to Eugene, getting a kick out of everything that happened in the chaos she created. She didn't instigate craziness all the time, but when she did, she lapped it up like the crazy woman she was. Merle knew the two teens had been doing things behind his back and knew that they'd been doing more than they'd let on, but he didn't know what. And, apparently, Ani knew exactly what the two had been getting up to in the time they spent alone and who knew where doing what Ani apparently knew. It was ridiculous to him that the two teens thought they were pulling the wool over his eyes by acting like typical teens. He knew, just knew, the two kids had been up to more than they had let on when it came to their times alone. They were too happy when they came back from wherever they had gone off to and too cagey about what they'd been doing. Merle knew damn well what the two teens could have done when alone and knew all too well that the kids had done more than just cuddle and kiss. Sure, they'd been able to mess with his head for a couple months before he just got annoyed, but that wasn't enough for those cheery looks on their faces. Seeing Ani and Sophia playing around like two little kids after Ani had spilled the beans that Sophia and Carl had been up to stuff, though, had him fuming and ready to keep to his word and start throwing fists.

"You can't hit us," Sophia told him.

"Yeah, ya too slow," Ani added.

"Shut up!" Merle shouted at them as Daryl came into the room. "How the hell do you deal with these two?" he asked the younger Dixon brother who answered immediately.

"I don't. They just do what they do," he said with a shrug. "You about ready? Gotta head out."

"What's wrong?" Ani asked him, the look on his face hard and angry.

"Nothin'," he replied after he checked on Lou, giving the boy a kiss on the head right after and quickly moving away. "Just some jackasses outside again."

"Anotha sign?" she asked while the other two stopped in their tracks and looked at him rummaging through one of the trunks in their room.

"Naw, a damn walker in the crops," Daryl told her.

"What? Again?" Ani exclaimed in exacerbation. "Don' they realize that that's the most likely reason why we're lookin' at dyin' crops 'stead a growin' ones?!"

"Do you think they care?!" he shot back at her. "All they care about is whether or not they get what they want and that's all that matters!"

Daryl was angry as all hell at the fact that he had been forced to, yet again, shoot a walker and demand its removal from the fields. It was part of the reason he wanted to get away from the Sanctuary as fast as possible and take Lou and Ani with him. He wanted to get his family away from the dying settlement before it died for good and the only reason he'd even stayed so long was because Ani had asked him to. She wanted them both to be in a certain mindset before they just jumped ship to make sure they had more than just a lifeboat to jump to. Maggie had agreed to let them move to the Hilltop last month, which was when Daryl had wanted to move to begin with. There were so many reasons for them to leave, but the biggest involved Ani's health and Lou having somewhere to play now that he was moving more. He had a feeling the boy would be running soon enough with how fast he had taken to walking once he got used to it. He could walk across their room from his play area to their bed without falling most of the times he tried to and had been talking up a storm lately, though it was mostly just mamas and dadas. Daryl was surprised by how much the baby talked considering how little he'd cried and how much that had scared Ani that he would be more like her than anything. And now, with Lou getting so smart so fast with his growth spurts, Daryl knew he needed to get the three of them out of there. Sophia would go with them or go back to Alexandria to be closer to Carl, and Merle would follow either of them to either place and bounce back and forth. He just knew that the Dixons did not belong at the Sanctuary and he wasn't going to allow them to stay there any longer.

"Hey," Ani told him, moving over to him and putting a hand on his arm and cocking her head to the side to look into his eyes better, "everythin's goin' ta be alright. We told Mags we were comin' and she's got a room set up for us when we get there. Everythin's goin' ta be alright. I promise," she told him quietly.

Daryl looked at her and sighed before nodding his head and saying, "Let's get this over with."

"You really don't like this, do ya?" Merle asked him.

"What's it gonna change?" Daryl asked him. "Ain't nothin' we bring back here gonna help keep it goin'! Place is just waitin' to die."

"Preachin' to the choir, brother," Merle said. "Hell, ain't nothin' gonna be done 'bout this place, either. Just gonna keep rottin' away. Once rot sets in, it's hard to stop it without cuttin' away all the bad. We ain't done enough trimmin' to stop this place from implodin' on itself."

"There's ways ta stop it dependin' on how far it's reached, but it ain' so much that the Sanctuary needed trimmin'. It needed burnin' down and rebuildin', and that didn' happen," Ani added.

"Well, it's not entirely too late for that," Merle suggested. "A little too much of somethin' in the furnace would put this whole place up in flames."

"And displace ova a hundred people with nowhere ta go that really wants somethin' ta do with 'em," Ani pointed out. "Betta ta try ta get 'em ta build individual relationships so that individual families can get 'emselves ta safety 'fore takin' the option ta blow this place ta shite."

"You shouldn't care about this place so much," he told her.

"Ain' so much that I care as much as there's families 'ere. At least let 'em try ta find somewhere else ta live 'fore ya set the rats' nest on fire."

"Like you did when you two decided to crack this place open with a trash truck?"

"Are ya fuckin' serious?"

"Tell me it's different!"

"Wasn' the same situation at all! That was war time! All is fair in love and war, Merle, and we were at war," she shot at him. "Ain' the same as startin' shite jus' 'cause we hate the place. Ain' the same at all."

"She's right. 'Sides, ain't like it mattered none," Daryl said. "Didn't do shit thanks to Eugene."

"Yeah, but 'e was playin' the long game," Ani told her husband. "And 'e won in the end. And grew a damn backbone finally. Ya know, he was workin' with Simon and Dwight the whole time."

"Yeah, that's why he didn't get an arrow to the head."

"You ain't killin' Hair," Merle told him. "He's a damn good poker player. Better than you ever were. Got a damn poker face that could make every saint in the priesthood think he's the Pope."

"Gabe would tell ya ya bein' sacrilegious," Ani told him seriously before breaking out into giggles, "but it's still prolly true."

"Hey, what else do you need to go?" Daryl asked her, pulling her out of her giggling fit and back to the real world.

"What else do I need?" she replied, thoroughly confused by his question.

Ani was wearing one of his wife beaters with another one of his black button up shirts hanging loosely around her, the entire ensembled different from her normally tight clothes. The problem was that Daryl had torn most of her tight clothes or they had been ruined from how fast her belly got larger when she was pregnant. She also had a pair of jeans on with her newly forged throwing knives, courtesy of the Hilltop's blacksmith in exchange for a topical ointment to help with his aching hands at the end of the day. It had been tricky and take a few tries for Earl, the blacksmith, to get them right and at the right weight, but they'd managed it and now she had her Darts back in double the quantity. She also had a machete that Daryl had found for her and two separate buck knives, one from each of the Dixon brothers, on each hip. She didn't carry a gun anymore due to the lack of ammo, but she had a very nice compact bow that she kept with her any time she was outside the Sanctuary. It didn't make sense for Daryl to ask about whether or not she needed anything else to go when she already had everything she needed on her. At least, not until she looked into his eyes and saw how he was barely hiding his concern and took a deep breath, making a show of double checking everything.

"I should a neva said shite ta ya 'til afta all this is ova," she told him quietly. "Everythin's goin' ta be jus' fine."

"You keep sayin' that, don't mean you believe it," Daryl told her, noticing how her eyes widened in shock before she went back to hiding the fear he knew she was feeling, too.

"I hate it when ya do that, but, still, it's helpin' me not go inta fuckin' panic mode tellin' us both that everythin'll be different and betta this time 'round."

Daryl just stared into her eyes for a moment before Sophia asked, "What are you guys talkin' about?"

"Nothin'," both Daryl and Ani quickly said before walking over to Lou and giving him hugs and kisses goodbye.

"Ya rememba when ta put 'im down for a nap, right?" Ani asked them.

"Oh my god, get the fuck outta here!" Merle shouted, plucking the gabbling boy from her arms and pushing her towards the door with his stump. "We've been takin' care of the boy for just as long as you. We know what the fuck we're doin'!"

Ani just chuckled and copied Daryl's action by giving Lou a final kiss on the forehead before leaving the room and following him out to the courtyard. Before they reached it, Daryl stopped and double checked that she had all of her gear before pulling out his old poncho and pulling it over her head. She looked at him with a small smile on her face and reached up to gently kiss him and leaned in for a hug. He held her for just a moment before releasing her and pulling her under his arm while they continued towards the yard they kept the bikes at. Ani commented to him about how smart he was to get so many of the two wheeled vehicles switched over to ethanol tanks only for him to tell her to shut up. The look on his face, though, told her that he was proud of himself while also embarrassed to hear her praise. It made her smile widely at how cute he could be at times and how it was always in little moments only shared between the two of them. He brought her over to the ATV and triple checked it before he let her get on it and start it up. Ani gave Daryl another kiss as she did before he walked over to his motorcycle and mounted it.

"You stay behind me, you got it?" he asked her, giving her a hard stare and earning an eye roll in return.

"Yeah, dad, I got it," she teased.

"You better, or I'm gonna make good on that threat to tie you to the bed."