Michonne slammed out of Pamela Milton's cell, not caring if Negan was behind her or not!
But he was.
Michonne continued not to look behind her, as she skulked back towards the stairwell that would take her back above ground and back into the happy, sunniness that was the Commonwealth.
Negan was suddenly by her side and he reached out to grab her arm!
"Okay, I can see that you're pissed off! I get it! I do! But can you just listen to what I'm telling you here?!"
Michonne stopped walking and shook his hand off of her arm!
"I did listen. That's why Pamela Milton isn't dead. And whatever deal she's made with you, I bet you she won't keep it!"
"And if she double crosses me, I'll kill her myself." Negan said firmly.
Michonne said nothing to that as she stared at Negan. He didn't look any worse for wear, considering he had been on the run from the town he had offended in, this New Babylon, AND had been almost killed by Maggie in New York.
"So…you've been hiding out within the Commonwealth here this whole time?" Michonne asked.
Negan eyed her. Actually, his eyes sort of roamed over her.
"No. I was in the area and I heard about what was going on with Joshua." Negan revealed.
Something about that didn't make sense to Michonne. Like WHO told him about his son's kidney problem? It would've had to have been someone from the Commonwealth.
And yet, if Pamela Milton had true reach outside of her cell, then it was very well possible that someone outside of this town had gotten word to Negan about Joshua.
"Have you seen my boy? How's he holding up?" Negan asked her.
Michonne decided to cut him some slack. For now.
"He's hanging in there. Annie and Ezekiel have been by his side."
"Yeah. King Ass Face. Pamela told me that he's hot for my wife." Negan said in a surly tone.
Of course she did! Michonne thought bitterly.
"From the looks of things Ezekiel is just giving her support." Michonne answered and began to turn away to walk up the stairs, but Negan grabbed her arm again!
"I heard Rick was back. I'm surprised he let you come here…you know…after what happened…"
"You mean when you murdered Glenn and Abraham? You mean when you went to war on all the strongholds that didn't want to be your slaves? And Rick is a good man. He is sorry Joshua is sick."
"Actually," Negan drawled, "I was going to say after Rick went batshit crazy and kept me locked up, when he should have just killed me. That was just horseshit nonsense."
Michonne decided she was not going to respond to that and turned to walk up the stairwell again, when Negan said something else.
"So, where was he all of this time? Was he living with someone else, someplace?" Negan asked slyly.
"Goodbye, Negan." Michonne said shortly, annoyed at how Jadis suddenly came to mind in response to his words. It was as Jadis's image flitted through her head, that the door at the top of the stairwell opened up and Ezekiel appeared! Negan ran back to one of the unlocked cells, went inside and slammed the door closed!
Damn, Michonne thought, just as Ezekiel hurried down the stairs towards her, only to move past her towards the cellblock hallway!
"Did you hear that? Someone slammed one of the cellblock doors closed!" Ezekiel exclaimed, looking up and down the hallway.
"That was someone banging against their cell door or something." Michonne lied. And the only reason she did lie, was because she did not think Ezekiel was ready to hear that Negan was back. She also did not think that Ezekiel was ready to hear, that Negan and Pamela had made some sort of deal that would allow him to reunite with Annie and Joshua.
Ezekiel nodded quickly but he looked tense.
"Did you do it? Is she dead?" Ezekiel asked grimly.
"No. When I slipped into her cell I saw she had company."
"What do you mean by that?" Ezekiel asked in a puzzled tone.
Michonne shrugged.
"I mean that she was having sex with a guard or something. Killing Pamela and a guard would have brought trouble down on you. I'll just let it go. For the time being." Michonne said, smiling wanly at Ezekiel.
Meanwhile, from the door window of the cell Negan was hiding out in, he watched Michonne and Ezekiel closely, shaking his head! Goddamned King Ass Face had a thing for Michonne! He was practically making cow eyes at her! But Michonne didn't seem to notice or be aware of it. That didn't really surprise Negan. All Michonne ever saw was Rick, even when Rick was gone all of those years.
Negan watched the two of them turn and walk up the stairs. He waited a couple of moments before leaving the cell. He closed the door behind him and eased over to the stairwell. Michonne and Ezekiel had already left. Negan repressed the urge to whistle as he slowly climbed the stairs as well. He carefully opened the door, and saw that no one seemed to be paying any mind about who was coming from the detainment cells. Negan then stepped out into the sunlight.
ALEXANDRIA—
Rick and Aaron were hammering on a part of the metal, wall barrier, that had come apart back when the Whisperers attacked the stronghold. It had been put back up twice before but this time, thanks to Aaron getting better materials from the Commonwealth, it looked like the metal sheeting they had gotten, would hold.
"I saw Maggie earlier." Aaron said.
"Yeah. I suggested Hershel stay here for awhile." Rick said as he hammered.
"She said that." Aaron replied. "I don't think she knows what to do about him."
Rick shrugged while still hammering.
"Carl could be like that. You just have to let them go their own way." he said, not really feeling what he was saying. In the back of his mind, Rick always felt that letting Carl do his own thing, was what got him killed in the first place. Rick never blamed Siddiq for what happened to Carl, but at the same time, he had warned Carl about helping others that they did not know. They had been in the middle of a war with Negan. There had been no time for it.
But Carl made the time to help a stranger and had gotten bit. And from what Rick had heard, Siddiq's own death had been very grim. Much had been grim here at Alexandria while he had been away, captured by the CRM and struggling to deal with the seemingly, hopeless predicament he had found himself in.
But things weren't that way anymore. And Rick had no intention of ever losing his family again, or allowing this stronghold to be invaded to the point of despair.
A large, red rubber ball suddenly slammed into the metal sheeting! Rick and Aaron turned to see RJ and Gracie hurrying over to retrieve it!
"Gracie! Have you finished your school work for today?" Aaron asked, knowing the answer. He hated what this world had become, schooling wise. Gracie would be at the top of her class in any grade, if the world was what it used to be.
"Yes, Daddy! RJ and I were playing kickball…" Gracie began but RJ rolled his eyes!
"She missed the ball in the field and it came over here!" RJ groused. Gracie was someone that was sort of let in with the other kids to play sports, out of pity. But if she was up for kickball, baseball…anything with a ball, usually someone in the field caught it. And if she was out in the field, she couldn't catch or stop any ball, no matter the size of it.
Judith could. Judith could kick and hit balls and she could catch! But ever since Hershel had shown up here, Judith wasn't playing with them all that much.
Rick eyed RJ.
"You know, we could use some help with this." Rick hinted.
RJ's eyes roamed over the metal sheeting.
"What happened to the other barrier? The one Negan put up…" RJ trailed off as he saw his father's eyes narrow!
"Negan put up that other barrier? The nails weren't even all the way in!"
"You know, that might have been another barrier I was thinking of." RJ coughed. "By the way, Dad, I think we have mice in the attic."
Now Aaron's eyes narrowed!
"Mice? Our house is next to yours and we don't have any." he noted.
"Something is moving around in the attic. At first I thought something had just fallen, but I heard it this morning before I got up, too." RJ told them.
Rick clenched his jaw. Was it possible that a walker was in the attic? No. It was not possible. But vermin were just as bad.
"Come on, RJ. We'll both take a look." Rick said as he looked from his son and over at Aaron.
"You got this?" he asked Aaron, indicating the sheet metal barrier.
"You did most of the work. I'll finish up." Aaron told Rick. He watched as Rick and RJ headed back to their home, and found that he could not shake the feeling that something was off. First, Ezekiel tells them about Joshua. Then, Darryl and Michonne leave here for the Commonwealth, followed by Maggie's arrival where it's discovered that Hershel somehow made his way here, on foot, last night and that Judith snuck him in.
What Aaron did not tell Rick, was that when he spoke with Maggie earlier, she was convinced someone gave Hershel a ride here. And she wanted to know who that 'someone' was.
Meanwhile, up in the attic, Rick made an unsettling discovery that he could tell RJ did not comprehend instantly.
Someone had a sleeping bag, old Penthouse Magazines, medical supplies and bits of food on paper plates that looked like leftovers from their refrigerator!
Someone was living up here! And it couldn't be Hershel…unless he had been here longer than anyone realized? But Maggie seemed to think that Hershel had left from the Hilltop last night. If he had been gone longer than that, then Maggie would have said something about that.
RJ moved to his father's side and took in what his father was looking at. His eyes fell on some magazines that looked kind of dirty, but RJ decided to say nothing about that out loud.
"I thought Hershel was staying in Judith's room?" RJ asked.
Rick nodded. RJ clearly was now getting what was going on here, based on the evidence.
"He is. This is someone else." Rick said quietly.
"Someone else is living here behind our backs?" RJ asked, shocked.
"It looks that way." Rick replied in a grim tone. "Let's not tell your mother or sister about this, okay?"
"Why? Mom can handle whoever this is with her sword." RJ said casually.
"RJ," Rick said patiently, "we don't know if this person has left for good or is planning on sneaking back later on. We need to find out who this is now."
"I don't get why that means we have to lie about it?" RJ argued.
Rick did not answer that, as he stooped down and found something else amongst the medical supplies, besides the usual bandages and ointments. It was a bottle of pills. Rick read the name on it and his eyes widened!
It said that it was Rohypnol! Back when he was a sheriff, Rick had been on more than one case where some woman had been 'roofied' with this crap! Roofied and raped! Whoever this was that was staying here, didn't just plan to squat here and eat their food!
Rick hid his growing panic from his son.
"RJ, go and get Hershel. Ask him to come up here. Alone."
RJ nodded, but sensed that his father thought all of this was Hershel's. It couldn't be. RJ turned and left the attic. Rick was listening to RJ's footsteps, as they hurried down the attic stairs, while continuing to hold the sinister pill bottle within his good hand.
Maggie was not quite satisfied with Rick's reasoning, as to how Hershel came to arrive at Alexandria without taking one of the vehicles from the Hilltop. She and Lydia combed the nearby woods, killing a walker here and there, as they conversed about the subject.
"We're not finding any signs of a car, Maggie. It makes no sense that Hershel would have parked it so far away from Alexandria." Lydia remarked.
"I know. We knew where he was going. So it's not like it would make any sense for Hershel to hide it at all." Maggie said, now realizing she desperately wanted that to be the answer. That Hershel had not hidden a vehicle from them and they would soon find it.
Lydia didn't understand, why Maggie didn't just ask Hershel herself about this? But then again, she did understand—a little. No one living at the Hilltop had failed to notice the tension between mother and son. It was there before Hershel had been kidnapped, and it seemed to have ramped up even more after Maggie returned with him.
"Someone gave him a ride. And it's someone Hershel knew." Maggie said firmly.
Yes, Lydia assumed he had gotten a ride, but she figured it was someone from the Hilltop. But the way Maggie was talking now, Lydia had a feeling she was thinking something else.
"Do you think someone from the Hilltop gave Hershel a ride and just doesn't want to admit it?" Lydia asked. Maggie's eyes prowled the woods one final time, before they focused on Lydia.
"No. I don't think it was anyone from the Hilltop. I think it was someone from the Commonwealth." she stated.
Lydia folded her arms. She hated seeing Maggie so upset. So what if someone from the Commonwealth gave Hershel a ride to Alexandria? From what they had seen, the Commonwealth, without Pamela Milton running it, was now a civilized place with civilized people.
"I still don't get why that's such a bad thing? Hershel is fine. Nothing happened to him. He was dropped off to stay at Alexandria and the driver went on his or her way." Lydia pointed out.
Maggie wanted to listen to Lydia. What she was saying made perfect sense.
But it also didn't make sense. Why would anyone from the Commonwealth be way out here? In Hilltop and Alexandria territory?
"I need to know who this was." Maggie replied. "After Hershel was taken by people that were actually from New York, I need to know that this wasn't some lost member of The Croat's crew."
Lydia found that hard to believe. She didn't know why though, since it was entirely possible. After all, The Croat had once been a member of Negan's group, 'The Saviors'. It's always possible that someone from that group that was still around…had what? Given Hershel a ride in the middle of the night but didn't try to kidnap him again?
"You think it's possible someone from the Croat's group, is mad at Hershel and you about what happened in New York?" Lydia asked.
"This person would be angry with Hershel, myself AND Negan." Maggie said.
"What are you thinking?" Lydia asked.
"That maybe this person that gave Hershel a ride, is looking for Negan." Maggie answered.
"Okay…but then why just give Hershel a ride and let him go? And I know that Hershel and you have had disagreements over Negan. But I think he would have said something to at least Rick, about some driver asking questions about Negan." Lydia wondered.
"Do you think Hershel went to Alexandra, in a car he drove himself and we can't find? Or do you think he was driven there?" Maggie asked Lydia bluntly. She didn't re-mention the fact that all the vehicles at the Hilltop were accounted for.
"You know what I think? I think Hershel started off on foot, found a car, got it running and it ran out of gas or stopped working. It got him halfway to Alexandria. It probably wasn't worth mentioning to anyone." Lydia said.
Maggie was silent for a short minute before throwing up her hands in surrender!
"Fine! I'll let it go. For now."
Meanwhile, back at the Commonwealth, Michonne and Darryl began the first steps in finding out if they were a match for Joshua. Dr. Okumura told them that it would be a week before he knew about their results, along with many other donors who had tested. Michonne and Darryl decided to wait until Dr. Okumura spoke with Annie and Ezekiel, before leaving. But while they waited, they discussed Michonne's attempt on Pamela's life…
"What?" Darryl asked softly, unsure that he had heard Michonne right.
"You heard me," Michonne said between clenched teeth, "I went in and found her having sex with Negan."
"He's here? Because if he is, he needs to get his ass up here and help his kid!" Darryl hissed.
"He claims that the New Babylon people are still a danger to him, Annie and Joshua. Pamela, apparently, knows someone over there and is going to help with that." Michonne answered.
"Do you know how fucked up this is? He's HERE and not getting tested." Darryl whispered.
"I know, but I think he wants to be with Annie and Joshua permanently. If Negan comes out of hiding, someone could tell the New Babylon marshals and he'd be pulled out of here and away from his family for good." Michonne whispered back.
"We can't tell Rick." Darryl said.
"I know." Michonne replied.
Michonne and Darryl watched as Dr. Okumura patted Annie's shoulder before walking away. Annie took a deep breath and looked at Ezekiel.
"I don't know if I can ask for more people to get tested here, Ezekiel. Either they want to help or don't. I also can't believe that I was not a match for my own son. I need to find Negan and I need for you to watch out for Joshua." Annie said firmly.
"So your plan is to go find Negan? What if he's not still in New York? Annie, one of us WILL be a match!" Ezekiel said vehemently. He knew he shouldn't give Annie false hope, in case he was wrong, but he couldn't help it! Enough people had tested that Ezekiel truly felt that ONE of them, himself included, could end up being a match. And after all the trouble Negan had caused Maggie with Hershel, when he was abducted, Ezekiel knew that Negan would do more than just donate a kidney to his son.
Negan would cause some kind of trouble around here for all of them.
"My plan is to go to the Hilltop and ask Maggie where she last saw Negan. Who he was with…I'll be wasting time if I just wander around New York looking for him." Annie replied. She then turned from Ezekiel and walked over to Michonne and Darryl.
"Thank you for helping me today. I know the test results will take time, but I'm going to find Negan. I'll probably need to go to New York to look for him. I was telling Ezekiel that I want to go to the Hilltop and ask Maggie where she last saw him." Annie said. Ezekiel walked over and put an arm around Annie's shoulder.
Darryl nodded but tried to gauge Michonne's reaction to this bit of news. Michonne took a deep breath.
"He's here, Annie." Michonne said quietly. Both Ezekiel and Annie gave Michonne a look of pure confusion! Ezekiel noticed that Darryl did not look surprised.
"What's going on?" Annie asked, her eyes darting between Michonne and Darryl. "What do you mean 'he's here'? Who's here?"
"Negan." Michonne said firmly. "I paid a visit to the detainment cells. I planned to kill Pamela Milton for almost killing my daughter. Negan was in the cell with her. They were talking about some kind of deal."
"Michonne! Why didn't you say something?!" Ezekiel exclaimed, shocked that Michonne hadn't confided this to him! After all they had been through to take down Negan and to try and survive…
"Negan is here and you didn't tell me?" Annie asked, trying to keep a civil tone. Michonne could see that she was losing it and decided to just put it out there.
"Look, Negan is here to be with Joshua and you. But he seemed to feel that there could be people here in the Commonwealth, that would tell New Babylon where he was. And New Babylon isn't going to stop hunting your husband to let him help Joshua. They want him captured or dead." Michonne said.
"And it didn't occur to you, Michonne, to remind my husband that we can worry about New Babylon, AFTER he saves Joshua?!" Annie asked between gritted teeth.
"Look," Darryl said, stepping in, "there's a lot you don't understand here. Rick still wants Negan behind bars. New Babylon is looking for him and you know he probably pissed off someone in New York too. So it's not like he's keeping away on purpose."
"And you know that he's made new enemies in New York because you talked to him?" Ezekiel asked sarcastically. His eyes now rested on Michonne again.
"Is he still down there? In the detainment cells?" Ezekiel asked.
"I don't know, Ezekiel. And I do know that Joshua's life hangs in the balance. Negan knows that too." Michonne replied.
"Because Negan told you that?" Annie asked in a pissy tone.
Michonne was sensing something else in Annie's tone, with regards to Negan and yet she couldn't quite grasp what it was.
"Yes, Annie, Negan told me that." Michonne answered coolly. Annie moved past Michonne and Darryl and left the hospital corridor! Ezekiel followed after Annie quickly and Michonne guessed they were going to go down to the cells to check for Negan.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything." Michonne sighed. She turned to stare through Joshua Smith's room window. He was asleep again, tired from all that he was going through.
Michonne turned back to Darryl.
"We have no choice now but to tell Rick." Michonne sighed.
"I know. Because when they don't find Negan down there, they're going to go and talk to Maggie. And this is the last thing Maggie needs to hear. That Negan is not far the hell away someplace." Darryl grumbled. The two of them began to slowly walk down the hospital corridors until they were outside. They got into the truck they came in, with Darryl driving again, and left the Commonwealth community.
Neither of them spoke again until they were out on the open road.
"They're not going to find him," Darryl said, "he'd be a damned fool to still be down there."
Michonne shook her head. She then brought up something else.
"Do you think Annie had a crush on Rick? Back when they were at the Sheriff's department? I'm sensing real attitude from her with regards to me."
Darryl looked over at her and grinned!
"Come on, Michonne! You know why!"
Michonne eyed him.
"No. No I don't."
Darryl now eyed her!
"I think Negan was hot for you, back when we had him locked up. He never said anything to you?"
Michonne now rolled her eyes!
"I barely saw him, Darryl. And he would've known better than to say any inappropriate shit to me."
Darryl looked at the road before glancing at Michonne again.
"Look, it might not be anything, but Negan kept a diary while he was locked up." Darryl revealed.
Michonne now gave this topic more attention than she had before!
"A diary? Where did he get it from? And who have him a pencil? He could have killed himself with it!"
"Yeah, I think that was the hope. That he would kill himself." Darryl grumbled.
"There was just a fresh, unused diary, lying around Alexandria to use?" Michonne asked.
"No. It was found in the house that Olivia used to live in." Darryl said quietly. Michonne did not answer that right away. Her death at the hands of one of Negan's Saviors was revolting enough, but to think that Negan was now using her diary to write in…
"So had Olivia been writing in it?" Michonne asked.
"Yep! And you don't want to know." Darryl said.
"Why?" Michonne asked.
"Because she really liked Rick. If you know what I mean." Darryl told her. Michonne nodded. Yeah, she understood. Jadis had been hot for Rick as well. Rick just had this way about him. She would have been a damned liar herself, if she didn't admit that she had been drawn to him, probably from the first moment she opened her eyes and saw his face swimming over hers. Granted, it was not smooth sailing after that, but Rick, Carl and Judith…Darryl…they were the reason she kept coming back to the prison, when she thought she probably wouldn't. When she was off 'taking breaks'.
Michonne looked over at Darryl again.
"I take it this 'diary' and your theory about Negan and myself, are connected?" she asked sarcastically.
"Rosita got her hands on the diary, back when we left to help the Kingdom people move. They got Negan out of his cell to keep him from freezing to death, and Rosita took it when he wasn't looking. She read some of it, then got it back in there before Negan could notice it was gone. When Rosita and I were working security for the Commonwealth, she told me what was in it. About you."
"Okay, Darryl, I didn't have much of a breakfast so I don't need to hear it…"
"He said you went out at night with your sword. He knew Rick wasn't satisfying you, otherwise you wouldn't be leaving at night, to kill walkers, when you could be in bed with him. Negan said he would whisper shit to you from the bar windows, so that you couldn't hear, but essentially, he was hoping you would come down to his cell at night. Negan also seemed to think that if he had won our 'war', you would've eventually come to live at the Sanctuary with him."
"Damn, Darryl! I told you I didn't need to hear all of that!" Michonne exclaimed. The very idea of that man thinking she would live with him willingly, in that shit hole, warehouse he had going on, was beyond appalling!
"Look, I'm sorry but you asked." Darryl told her.
"Where is this damned diary? I don't want Rick finding it!"
"Negan took it when Carol let him out to kill Alpha. Now back to your 'Annie Question'. I think Negan still has it and Annie found it. That's why she gave you attitude." Darryl theorized.
"Okay but WHO gave Negan Olivia's diary in the first place?" Michonne asked.
"Gabriel. He felt sorry for Negan, I guess. Figured it would give him something to do to pass the time," Darryl said.
Meanwhile, underneath the truck that Michonne and Darryl were driving in, Negan, who had used his belt to attach himself to the bottom of the vehicle, 'Max Cady' style, grinned as Michonne and Darryl unwittingly took him back to Alexandria. And it was only right that they did this, since Negan had caught a ride with them earlier this morning from Alexandria! And when they got back there and the coast was clear, Negan Smith would climb up the side trellis and go through the window of the Grimes attic, where he had been staying…