Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Twilight or the Walking Dead, those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and Robert Kirkman. I do own the original characters created for the storyline. Please support the official release.

Writer's Notes: Enjoy the double update!

[Alexandria]

Bella made it back to Alexandria with the others and the information they swiped from the White House. Negan was waiting for her when she walked through the gate.

"How'd it go?" Negan asked as her lips brushed his gently.

Bella smiled a little. "We're alive." She said with a half laugh. "Where's Eugene?"

"Boy genius is in his little lab. He's working on chemical…stuff." Negan said and then fist bumped Daryl. "Hunting party tomorrow?"

"Hell yeah," Daryl said and then slapped Negan's shoulder before walking off.

Charlie was still not liking the tiger that King Ezekiel had following them around. He didn't like the fact that Ezekiel and his men were even in Alexandria's borders, but he was quiet right now.

Jasper patted the tiger, Shiva, on her head and then walked over to Negan. "We got a lot of information on this run. Zero, was Edward."

Negan frowned and looked at Bella. " The Edward?"

Bella nodded. "The very same."

"Put a bullet in him." Jasper said to Negan. "Him and his men. The White House wasn't swarming with a lot of people. He had a tiny hold inside the White House, but I imagine he had other men outside it or they're on runs or something. We don't know how his name stretched as far as the Kingdom, but he won't be a problem anymore."

Ezekiel did a slight bow to Negan. "It is a honor to meet you Sir Negan."

Negan smirked at Ezekiel and bowed back at him. "Your highness. It is a honor to meet you as well. You helped Bella today, so I am grateful for you."

"It was part of our deal. Ammunition for an army." Ezekiel said matter-of-factly.

Bella smiled. "Well, despite the agreement, it was amazing to see Shiva in action today. So thank you anyways."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "I'm going home to shower." He muttered and walked away.

Negan raised a brow and looked at his wife. "Problems?"

Bella sighed. "Dad doesn't like taking orders." She said and looked at Jasper and he nodded. "I'm a tactical leader and…he also found out about my missions with the White House."

"You told him about the-"

"She didn't have a choice." Jasper said. "He was suspicious. In any case, it doesn't matter. National security doesn't mean shit anymore."

Negan sighed. "So, how bad is it? The black book?"

Bella blew out a breath. "Well, it's bad. Seems like they were testing the virus without the people knowing. They used crop dusting planes to spread it. The facility that was eradicated, it only sent the spores up into the air anyways. This virus doesn't die in heat or cold. So they weren't containing it, they were spreading it further. The CDC had no way to combat a virus that was literally built to withstand a fucking atom bomb." She said and ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head a little. "We know that the protein has something to do with it. I figured Eugene will be able to figure out more and we'll be able to develop the vaccine for this chaos."

Ezekiel gave a nod. "I hope that your scientist has a way to engineer a vaccine. The Kingdom is forever in your debt if you will share a vaccine with us all. I don't know what else to do to repay."

Bella smiled at Ezekiel. "King, we will share whatever we find with you. This is for the better of humanity. There is no debt to be paid." She said and said Ezekiel smile. "It is my honor to call you a friend."

Ezekiel nodded. "Friend."

[Two Weeks Later]

Carl and Negan were outside the wall together with Jasper and Daryl. Small runs into DC weren't too bad anymore. They had cleared a lot of the walkers in the area, so Negan thought and Bella, that Carl should be able to go on more runs. He was getting older and having more responsibilities would be beneficial to his growth as a person. He could handle himself, and he had killed walkers before, so he wouldn't be a hindrance to the group.

"What do you think about building a solar field?" Negan asked Jasper as they walked through the streets.

Jasper nodded. "Solar field for any reason? We have enough solar energy in Alexandria."

"Well, if boy genius does develop the vaccine, then we should think about clearing out DC. Try to create a larger census. The compound has like 100 of my men right now, then I have people spread across in small areas, but not all those areas have power or luxury like Alexandria or even the Hilltop. Creating a large solar field, will help start routing power throughout the city. Maybe get people back online. Restore the power grid." Negan explained.

Carl was listening to Negan talk, thinking about what society would look like trying to restart. "Dad, wouldn't it be easier to just restore the power grid instead of building an entire solar field?"

"Well son, if we start back up with greener energy, we can restart the world in a way that allows us to be less dependent on artificial energy and depend on what is natural and already around us." Negan said. "We've survived this long in a world that is literally trying to kill us."

Carl understood it a little more. "But why would we have to restore the power grid once we have the green energy?"

"It takes time to reroute energy. If we restore power to the city, we can potentially try to find others out there surviving. We have no way of knowing if someone else has a city up and running. We don't know how many people are left in the world either. Are there areas that are more affected, or least affected?" Negan said and then the four of them stopped and looked around. The streets were still littered. Debris and death was everywhere.

Jasper looked at Carl. "Rebuilding takes time. The solar field is a first step in controlling the power to a smaller area. Cleaning it up, expanding, making it safe. What your dad wants to do, and your mom, is make the entirety of DC, a safe zone."

Carl looked back at Negan. "That makes sense. That would be pretty awesome."

Negan smiled and ruffled Carl's hair. "Yeah son, it would be awesome." He said and then looked at Jasper and smiled.

The shot rang out, piercing the air, and Negan felt the impact of a bullet ripping through his chest.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion from that point. Negan's hand came up and touched at the bullet wound and the blood starting to pour out and frowned. The searing pain was like a white hotness and he remembered being shot when he was in Kuwait before.

"Dad!" Carl yelled, his eyes wide as he moved forward to help Negan.

Daryl and Jasper went on the defense, swinging their weapons around to look for the source of the shot.

Negan groaned a little, his lungs feeling like they were being constricted and he coughed. "Carl." He wheezed a little, still staggering on his feet some.

Carl shook his head, trying to hold Negan up on his feet when Negan leaned against him. "Dad! Don't die!" He screamed at Negan.

Negan shook his head, fighting off the dizziness. "Burn the wound." He said through grit teeth.

Carl rushed his hands into Negan's pockets and found the butane lighter that Carl had always found to be cool and he flipped it on and the blue flames dance. "Are you sure?" He said and Negan nodded.

"We need to move inside." Jasper said as walkers started to gather. He helped Negan, putting his arm under his armpit and took on some of his weight. "We'll cauterize the wound inside." He told Carl and Daryl watched their back, backing up as they rushed towards the nearest house.

Daryl locked the door and shoved a chair in front of it and drew the curtains closed. "I don't know where that shot came from." HE said as he moved through the house to clear it.

Jasper ripped Negan's shirt down the front to look at the bullet wound. "IT's a through and through." He said as he rolled him.

Negan groaned. "I'm having a hard time breathing." He said, wheezing a little.

"Yeah, well that's because you were shot in the chest." Jasper said and he ripped pieces of Negan's shirt up and started pressing into the exit wound. "Carl, use the lighter, start cauterizing the entrance. We need to get the bleeding under control fast." He instructed.

Carl nodded, tears trying to threaten, but he held them back and he flicked the lighter on again and then put it to the wound and Negan cried out in pain, gritting his teeth to stop some of the noise the best he could. "I'm sorry dad, I'm so sorry." He said, his hand shaking a little.

Daryl came back into the living room and showed Jasper a small blow torch. "This will work better."

Jasper nodded. "Move Carl." He said and Carl moved and Daryl flipped on the blow torch and put it to Negan's wound and he howled again. Jasper turned Negan so Daryl could cauterize the other side and that didn't hurt any less. Jasper wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "Okay, that's good." He said and then he took off his pack and sifted through it to find medicine. He smoothed it out over the cauterized wounds and then started using the shirt and whatever gauze he had to wrap over the wounds so the medicine wouldn't get rubbed off.

Negan took a deeper breath as the pain throbbed in his chest. "I don't think I'm gonna die." He said weakly.

Jasper frowned. "No, I think you got lucky. You're not drowning in your blood and your heart seems to still be working." He said and looked at Carl, who was trembling. "Hey, listen, he's okay now. Your dad is a strong dude. I've seen him take worse hits than this."

Carl just nodded and then tears fell.

Negan reached a hand over and smoothed it against Carl's face. "Look at me son, I'm fine. It's going to take more than getting shot to do me in." He said and smiled a little.

Daryl went to the window and carefully looked out. He frowned. "Walkers are filling the streets. That shot drew them in fast. We're not going to get out of here easily." He said and looked over at Jasper. "Who the hell would just open fire like that?"

Jasper shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe one of Zero's men that found out that Zero died?"

Daryl looked back out the window and scanned the street. That shot wasn't that far off. But it happened so fast and someone would have to be a professional to be able to take a shot like that from a distance, but for it to sound like that, it had to be some sort of rifle. "Military guy perhaps? You were military. Piss anyone off?"

Negan chuckled a little. "Yeah, I've pissed off plenty of people."

"Any of them alive in DC?" Daryl asked.

"We have been surviving in this shit hole for years now Daryl, if it was someone that was in DC from the start, then they would have tried to shoot me a long time ago." Negan said and tried to sit up more, and Jasper helped. He felt weak, tired, but he didn't think he lost too much blood to where he would just pass out just yet. The pain was what was taking it's toll, but he was fighting that off. He had to, for Carl's sake.

Jasper stood and went towards the kitchen and started going through the cabinets and found some tylenol so he tossed that over to Carl, who caught the bottle and he gave it to Negan. "Take that Negan, it'll help with pain. We need water, or something. Clean up. We'll figure out the mystery shooter, but for right now, we're inside. We need to figure out how to make it back to Alexandria without attracting an entire fucking herd." He said and looked through the kitchen some more.

Negan took the Tylenol and dumped four pills in his hand and then took them. He looked at Carl. "Go help Jasper look for things. I'm going to be okay."

Carl hesitated a little, but he nodded and followed Jasper into the kitchen and helped search.

Daryl was still at the window, his eyes searching other houses for movement, and when he caught movement coming from a house farther off, he knew which house it was the shooter was squatting in. "Got him."

Negan stumbled to his feet and went to the window to look. "Where?"

"Fifth house on the left." Daryl said and Negan looked that direction and saw movement in the window, but it wasn't clear.

"IT could be anything. A hungry house cat or possum." Negan said.

Daryl shook his head. "Cats and possum's don't carry rifles."

Jasper and Carl walked into the living room carrying some food, and Jasper had a bottle of vodka. "Eat something and here's something to drink." He said and handed the vodka to Negan.

Negan frowned, looking at the vodka. "Seriously? That's all they had?"

Jasper smirked. "Take it or leave it."

Negan sighed and took the vodka. "Numbing the pain. Smart." He muttered and took a swig of the vodka and groaned. He wasn't a fan of vodka, he was a whisky type of person but he hadn't really drank a lot since everything went to shit.

Jasper looked out the window, looking towards the house that he heard Daryl mention. "Who the fuck is squatting there?" He muttered.

Carl searched through his bag and then found the binoculars. "Here. Use these," he said and handed the binoculars to Jasper.

Jasper took them and looked out the window with them and waited. When he saw the window open and someone climb out. "Holy shit."

"What?" Negan asked, taking another swig of the vodka.

"It's Rick." Jasper said and handed Daryl the binoculars.

Daryl looked through them out the window. "He's using the roof to get to a different vantage point. He's anticipating us leaving out that side door that I already thought about."

Carl's brows knitted together. "Why is he here?"

"He was banished, so he had no choice but to go somewhere. I thought he would be dead by now honestly." Jasper said and then frowned and looked at Carl. "Carl…I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"You're right. He should be dead by now." Carl said and took the binoculars back and looked out the window and saw Rick setting up a different kind of rifle on the roof. "He's going to try and snipe us."

"He's not going to hurt you." Negan said, feeling the effects of the vodka and the tylenol he took. It was a good thing, not being in pain, but he hated not being able to move properly. "He wouldn't hurt you Carl."

Carl shook his head. "He already did. He doesn't care about me. If he did, then he wouldn't have done any of the things back in Alexandria and he wouldn't be banished right now. But he did and there's no changing that."

Jasper sighed. "Carl…sometimes alcohol does change a person. I'm sure he's not-"

"If he's sober and shooting at us, then that just makes it worse." Carl said. "Don't make excuses. I'm not a kid anymore. Rick ruined his chance at being in my life. I'm not going back. He can fuck off."

"Hey. Language." Negan slurred a little.

Jasper moved to Negan and eased him back down on the couch. "Get rest Negan. You'll need it for when we try to get out of here."

"What about the SAT phone?" Daryl asked. "We could turn it on and try to radio in."

Jasper shook his head. "I don't want to drag the others into this. It would put them in danger. The walkers gathering and there are more to handle than just a couple dozen." He ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't bring big bangs because I didn't think we would need them on a simple run. This wasn't going to be a big one because we had Carl with us. I purposely picked this area because it was the safer zone."

Daryl sighed. "Well, then what?"

"Distraction." Carl said. "We distract him. If he's looking at one spot, we move from another. If you think he isn't going to hurt me. Then I go out that side door."

"No." Negan said, struggling to sit up. "No. I am not putting you in the line of fire." He slurred.

Carl looked at Negan. "Dad. If we don't try something, then we're going to wait here forever. We can't afford that. You were shot. We don't know what kind of damage is inside your chest so we have to get you back so Carlisle and Hershel can take a look at you. I'm old enough to make decisions. I am not a kid."

"You're my kid." Negan said, his eyes sobering a little. "I promised to take care of you and look after you and make sure you don't get hurt." He was trying to fight the weariness of the alcohol and Tylenol mixed. "I can't let you just put yourself in danger for me."

"You put yourself in danger for me all the time." Carl reasoned.

"Because I'm your dad. I'm supposed to do those things. I will always be your shield." Negan said, shaking his head a little. "I can't let anything happen to you. I'll go out the side door."

Daryl grunted a little. "That's suicide. Do you think he'll miss something more vital the next time? He's setting up a sniper rifle on the roof right now. He's going for a kill shot." He said and shook his head. "I'll go. I've been with Rick hunting and at one point, we got along. I don't think he'll try to take a shot a me."

Jasper didn't like that either. "Daryl…what if we're wrong."

"Then we're wrong and I die." Daryl said. "It's better than sending Carl through the side door. Negan's right. He's just a kid, even if you don't think you're a kid Carl, you're still a kid." He said and looked at Carl. His stone eyes were serious. Daryl wasn't a big talker, but right now, he needed to be. "Carl, you are safest with Jasper and your dad. I will distract Rick. I will draw his fire if he does fire and you will get out of here with Jasper and your dad and make it back to Alexandria. You need to survive so you can be the best damn big brother. You got that?"

Carl wanted to cry again, but that would negate what he said about being old enough to make decisions. He didn't want to lose Daryl either. He was family, and he loved him. "Daryl. You can't die."

"Listen bud, these are chances that I have to take." Daryl said. "Not everyone is guaranteed to survive in his shithole. It's best it's me. I stand a better chance. Jasper threw him out of Alexandria and your dad is well, he's married to your mom. I was once his friend. Maybe I can reason with him if I can get in close. Trust me. Okay?"

Carl didn't want to send anyone out there. He didn't want to lose any of his family, and he was starting to think that it didn't matter who went out that door. Rick wanted revenge for what happened at Alexandria. "Do you think we can wait him out?"

"No." Jasper said. "He's determined. He knows which house we're in. We don't know what other weapons he has on him. Best solution is to rest for the night and first light, make our move."

Negan nodded his agreement. "Rest first, run second." He slurred a little and took a drink of the vodka. It burned less this time.

Carl sighed and looked from Negan to Daryl, and then Jasper. "Okay. Okay, I understand."

Jasper blew out a breath and nodded. "Alright. Eat something and get some rest. We move at first light." He instructed and Negan lay his head back on the pillow on the couch. He closed his eyes, the heaviness of the alcohol weighing on him and he found slumber pretty quickly.