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Slothiest — Michonne's choice should become more clear over the next couple of chapters. Thanks for reading and reviewing :)

Now

-Rhys-

The idea of going back to Alexandria, especially after the last conversation he had with Michonne at Hilltop, wasn't pleasant for Rhys. He'd said the things he had with the full intention of never seeing her again. And yet here they were, going to beg for her help.

Alexandria hadn't changed too much since Rhys was last here, at least not outside the walls. Laura was standing on top of those same walls, holding a shotgun and scowling down at them. Aaron just went to get Michonne after denying Carl's request to open the gate.

"Don't worry," Carl said out of the corner of his mouth, noticing everyone's concern. "Nothin' in the handbook about bringing Whisperers inside."

"Former Whisperer," Henry corrected him.

"Anything in there about people that have been banished?" Rhys asked nervously.

Carl glanced at him, nodding but not saying what.

"Shit," Rhys sighed.

Connie couldn't read Aaron's lips from up on the wall, so Daryl jotted down in her notebook what was going on. She tapped Rhys on the shoulder and held up a piece of paper with something scratched onto it.

'Nervous?'

Rhys nodded. "Just a bit."

Connie smiled and signed something Rhys knew.

Thank you.

"No biggie."

Then Michonne appeared with Aaron on the watchtower above, and suddenly it felt like a biggie... a big biggie.

"Henry's hurt... you were closest," Daryl called up. "We wouldn't have come. We had no other choice."

"What about her?" Michonne asked sternly, watching Lydia, her eyes occasionally darting to Carl. No time for anyone else.

Carl wasn't speaking.

"She's with us," Henry said softly.

Daryl nodded.

Michonne and Aaron exchanged whispers while Laura kept her eyes on us.

"Why aren't you saying anything, dude?" Rhys hissed at Carl.

He smirked back at him. "Because there's only one way this goes."

Then Michonne turned back to the gate guard and called down.

"Open it!"

Carl raised his eyebrow at Rhys. "See."

Rhys didn't have much time to take in the sights. They rushed Henry to the infirmary, and he sat with Lydia by his bed while Sidiq stitched him up. Daryl and Connie were talking to Michonne outside. Rhys had lost track of Carl.

"What now?" Lydia asked quietly, holding Henry's hand between her own. He had been gritting his teeth and looking like he was focusing very hard on not showing any pain, but since Sidiq finished with the stitches he'd fallen asleep.

Rhys shook his head, focusing on the sweet smell of lavender coming from somewhere in the room. "Kingdom. We can't put them at risk... but Carol and Ezekiel need to know."

"That's your mom and dad?"

Rhys laughed, and Lydia looked at him funny.

"No, sorry," he said. "Nah, they're his."

"Is your family at Hilltop?"

"No," Rhys answered quietly. "They're gone. My sister is, but she's like Henry... wasn't always my sister."

"Henry told me you don't like his mom."

"It's complicated," Rhys said.

Lydia snorted. "Sure. You're brothers, and you have different parents. You've got a sister at Hilltop but she's not related to you." She shrugged. "Really not that complicated."

Rhys checked Henry was still out.

"Carol burnt my friend alive the first week I knew her... then I had to help her burn a dozen people in a slaughterhouse. We found Kingdom together, and I made her leave at first because I wanted to pretend that she never hurt me."

Lydia stared at him for a moment.

Rhys spotted what was making the room smell sweet; a small vase of lavender flowers by the window overlooking the lake.

The door opened.

Michonne walked in with Carl. Behind them was a little girl wearing Carl's hat.

Rhys was on his feet before they'd all crossed the doorway.

Carl was grinning at Rhys' eyebrows, which had arched to the sky over his fixated stare.

She stood beside her brother, watching Rhys intently.

"Hi, Judith..." Rhys said, clearing his throat, occasionally glancing at Carl who was still grinning like an idiot. "Do you remember me?"

Judith studied every part of him, from his ear to the scars on his face.

Rhys waved awkwardly, and Judith looked at his missing finger.

"You're Rhys," she said like it was obvious. "You used to sing a lot."

Rhys let out a breathy gasp that could have been a laugh, eyes watering.

"Your hair's shorter," Judith said with a frown.

"Yeah," Rhys chuckled, running a hand through it.

Michonne smiled with tight lips and eyes that said she was ready to get on to business. "Carl, do you mind taking Judith outside so Rhys and I can talk?"

"Can I leave you two alone?" Carl asked in his sarcastic ass way.

Michonne gave him the look.

Carl held up his hands. "Okay, okay. Come on, Jude."

Then they were gone, and Michonne was staring at Rhys.

She gave him a tight smile. "Mind if we talk?"

After ambushing him with Judith... and on top of letting Siddiq help Henry, Rhys couldn't exactly say no. He followed Michonne out onto the porch. She sat down on the steps and waited for Rhys to join her. Again, he didn't really see a choice.

"I heard Alexandria is attending the fair," Rhys said, holding his breath for a moment as he sat beside her. "Thank you. I know you wouldn't have if you knew about all this, but still... thanks."

Michonne nodded, furrowing her brow before letting out a long and frustrated sigh.

"Sending you away was the hardest thing I've ever done."

Rhys opted to stay quiet then.

"I know it hurt. I know it wasn't fair. But we needed to keep everyone inside safe. Being safe isn't always fair."

She grimaced at his persistent silence.

"That's why I had to send you away."

Rhys shook his head. His voice was quiet. "You think I would have made Alexandria unsafe?"

"Of course not," she hissed, looking away for a moment when her voice started to shake. "You were one of the only people I knew wouldn't..."

Her face was stern when she looked back. She couldn't seem to afford for it not to be anymore.

"Things were already starting to fall apart," she told him. "If I couldn't have trusted Jocelyn... someone I thought was my best friend... who could I have trusted? I clearly couldn't trust my own damn judgement anymore. You were the only person that still travelled between the communities the way you did... if I stopped you... made an example of it... I knew no one else would come. That they would understand."

Rhys probably already knew it deep down. But the pang of pain in his gut knowing an example is all he was to her anymore, it still hurt.

Rhys didn't let his face change. Just like she wouldn't.

Michonne sighed. "That's why Lydia can't stay."

"She's not going to," Rhys said, glancing back to the infirmary door.

"Daryl said the plan is Kingdom, then the road?"

"For now..."

She was staring at him. Rhys knew all the things she wanted to say already. How it was dangerous. Putting everyone he cared about at risk. He knew. So he stood up, picking to skip the lecture.

"Carl shouldn't go with you," she said sternly.

"But you know he will."

She bit her lip, frowning. "It wasn't his fault what happened. Wasn't his choice."

"I know," Rhys said. "I don't blame him. Not one bit. He's still the same person he was."

He expected that to hurt her more than it did. In fact, he didn't see anything from her. Not a reaction. Not a flicker of regret.

She sighed. "It was a boy."

Rhys nodded. "R.J."

She looked down at her feet, hands clutched together over her knees.

"Mikey told me a little," Rhys explained.

He swallowed his pride.

"Can I meet him?"

Michonne didn't look up. She nodded.

The sky was dark now, and Rhys was knelt in the old gazebo by the lake, packing a few cans of food that he traded half his quiver for.

He wanted to see Rosita and Mikey before leaving, but Michonne told him they'd already headed to the fair.

There was a rustle in the bushes by the water then. Rhys looked, jumping to his feet at the sight of Judith and the tiny sword on her back.

"Hi, Jude." Rhys beamed like he doesn't ever. "Or— Judith. Sorry, do you prefer Judith?"

She shrugged, her wide rounded eyes staring at him. "I don't mind either, really."

Rhys nodded. "Noted."

Judith was frowning, grinding her heel against the lake's stony shore. "So you're all leavin'?"

"'Fraid so. It's not safe for us to stay."

She grimaced at him, taking him aback a little.

"That's not true," she sighed. "It's not safer out there."

"Safer for Alexandria," he said. "Safer for you and your brother. Your mom. Everyone here."

Her lips curled into a frown. "That's what Uncle Daryl said."

Rhys sat down on the creaky gazebo bench and smiled when Judith joined him.

"My brother really loves you," she said then.

Rhys blushed. "What made you say that."

"Him and my mom were just arguing about it."

"Why?"

"He's going with you," she said. "To the Kingdom."

"She's only mad because she loves him so much," Rhys sighed.

"She loves you, too," Judith said. "I can tell. She only gets mad in that certain way at people she loves."

"Oh yeah?"

Her face lit up with a dimpled grin. "That's why she's always mad at me."

Rhys snort-laughed.

"It's true, though, isn't it?" Judith cocked her chin up to look at him.

"I suppose we're still family," Rhys said. He would never in a million years admit that to Michonne or anyone else. Not even Sasha. There was just something about Judith that seemed to drag out the honest truths you can't even admit to yourself. "I think somehow more happened in those few years before Alexandria went on lockdown than have in the last five."

They both laughed then.

The two sat there for a moment, staying quiet and watching the slow churns of the water wheels on the lake. Then Rhys stood up.

"I'll make sure your brother comes back in one piece."

Judith smiled at him. He could see so many people in it. Maybe that's why he stopped in his tracks as he walked away.

"There was this man..." he said, turning to look back at Judith, who watched him carefully with sharp eyes. "He died a long time ago. Before we ever found this place." Rhys paused, taking a steadying breath. "But he looked after you. He looked after me. He loved you so, so much."

Judith kept watching him without blinking. She was thinking.

"Tyreese?"

Rhys gasped, a sob catching in his throat that he had to take a second to clear as he rubbed the tears from his eyes.

"How—?"

She smiled again. That same smile. "My brother told me about him. How I was with him after the prison, right? I've asked my mom about him."

Rhys was grinning, trying to ignore the tears resurfacing from his eyes. "What did she say?"

Judith thought for a moment.

"That he was kind. She said he was always lookin' after me and lookin' after you and his sister. But she mainly talked about him being gentle with people."

Rhys was nodding, his chin shaking. "He was."

Her eyes wandered up and down Rhys, like she was making sure he was ready for something.

"Will I see you again?"

Rhys paused.

I really hope so, Jude."

-Henry's POV-

When we first arrived at Hilltop a few days ago, it felt so different to watch Rhys in his element. Up until then, I only got to see him when he visited the Kingdom. I only got to see the polite side of him, the side that enjoyed not making choices or getting up early to muck out stables.

Alexandria did something else to him.

Something knew.

The way his legs trembled and his knees knocked when he got to meet Carl's little brother, R.J.

The high squeak in his voice when he and Carl explained who he was to him.

This place made Rhys giddy under his grumpy mask, and it almost felt magical.

Michonne hugged Daryl and Carl before we set out. She and Rhys exchanged short nods. She squeezed my arm and told us all to be careful.

Judith waved from the side of the road across the street.

Dog raced out the gate as it opened.

Then we were gone.

Alexandria disappeared as we circled into the woods and made our way to the Kingdom in the most roundabout way possible to avoid Alpha's people.

We camped by a stream for the night once we got far enough away from Alexandria that Daryl didn't think we would be being watched by Whisperers.

It was strangely nice.

Daryl and Connie, despite being two of the least talkative people I'd ever met, spent the whole evening talking; Daryl holding a lighter to his lips so she could read them. Connie scribbled down notes to pass her thoughts.

Rhys and Carl were curled up by the fire, Rhys fast asleep with his head nestled against Carl's neck, his mouth hanging open, but no noise escaping it. Lydia found it funny; I could feel her body shaking against mine as she giggled at him, leaning her shoulder comfortably into mine. I found it funny, too, even though I still felt bad for being the reason everyone was out here. But it felt good. The six of us huddled around the campfire, Dog beside me, snoozing, with my fingers buried in his fur.

In the morning, something occurred to me. I pulled Rhys aside while Daryl was stomping out the fire, and Connie and Carl were checking over a map for the best way back to the Kingdom. Lydia was a few paces away, rolling up the plastic tarps we'd slept on.

"If the six of us are leaving anyway, why are we going to Kingdom first?"

Rhys frowned at me. "Your mom and dad need to know. You can't just vanish."

"They'll try and stop us, though," I said quickly. "We should just go now. No one will find us. Not them. Not Alpha."

"Nah, it'll be fine," Rhys said.

"What do you mean?" I hissed. "No way they let me run off."

"Man, we're going to Kingdom. That's the end of it."

His eyes were wide and glued to me like I might run for it, his chest heaving.

"Shit," I sighed, finally realising what an idiot I'd been. "You're taking me back, aren't you..."

Rhys grimaced, looking over his shoulder to Daryl, but he hadn't noticed.

Rhys nodded. "Yeah, Henry."

"I don't—" I stuttered, feeling breathless and lost all of a sudden. "Daryl said we'd all go."

Rhys shook his head. "No, we talked about it. That's not happening."

"Change your mind," I begged quietly.

"Henry—"

"No. Change your mind." I grabbed his shoulder, but he averted his gaze to the trees. "We can all go, right now."

"No."

"Please."

"Henry," Rhys hissed. "It's too dangerous. Me, Daryl, and Carl will take Lydia away. Connie agreed, too. You'll stay at Kingdom. Lydia will be safe, and so will you."

"Where will you go?"

Rhys sighed. He reached down into his pack that was leaning against his leg. He pulled out a letter and shook it before folding it up and tucking it into his jacket pocket. "Maggie still sends me letters. She always puts where she last was at the end. The last one was some community out past Washington. Somewhere safe and far away."

"Why?" I tried. "Why do you guys get to go? It's my fight, too."

Neither of us were shouting. Even though it felt like it. It felt worse. More serious than if we were screaming down each other's throats.

"Because, man. Keeping you safe is my job, okay? Ever since you walked into Hilltop. I promised your parents. I already fucked that up once."

I grimaced at him. "How did you fuck it up?"

"I was meant to look out for you after Benjamin. Then I left you out there to go and kill Saviors because I was really fucking angry." Rhys shook his head. "If Carol hadn't been thinking, you would have died. I'm not making the same mistake again— not thinking."

"We going?" Daryl barked at us, scratching charcoal out from under his nails.

I stared at Rhys for a second longer before turning.

"Yeah," I said back. "Let's go."

Rhys went to follow everyone else, but I caught his arm.

"You need to look after her too now," I said. "She's family now."

He could see how serious I was.

Rhys nodded. "We'll keep her safe."

Arguments can be so pointless.

One minute, it's the most important thing in the world. Your whole future hinging on a fight no one's willing to back down from.

Then the next minute, a horse-drawn carriage made from an old car is pulling up on the road ahead of you, Michonne and Judith sitting in the front with alien grins on their faces.

"Anyone headed to Kingdom?" Judith asked, stealing her brother's hat when he went in for a bone-crushing hug.

"How— why?" Carl asked, looking past his sister to Michonne.

She smiled a sad and strange smile I didn't recognise on her. Carl clearly did.

"You were right," she said simply.