ALEXANDRIA-
Michonne was still paging through Negan's diary, looking for something in it that mentioned Andre, when she heard the front door slam down below! Michonne hid the diary underneath some things in an open, cardboard box, before pulling herself together and leaving the attic.
By the time Michonne got to the bottom floor, Judith, Hershel, RJ and Gracie were settled in and doing different things. RJ and Hershel pulled out a PlayStation 2 gaming console, that Darryl had found for RJ at the Commonwealth. Once Michonne and Rick returned home, RJ packed it up from the Commonwealth apartment they had been staying in, and took it back home when he and Judith moved back to Alexandria with her and Rick.
Now, RJ and Hershel were taking turns playing an old game called Grand Theft Auto 3, and Judith and Gracie were sitting on stools at the kitchen counter. They were looking at a collection of old movie magazines that Aaron kept at his and Gracie's home. Michonne raised a brow at the sight of them. Aaron was a huge, classic movie buff and those magazines were almost like antiques to him. She could not imagine that he would be alright with Gracie and Judith hauling them over here, much less taking them from his and Gracie's house.
It turned out to be a good thing Michonne had come down when she did, because she watched as Judith went to a drawer in the kitchen, took out a large pair of scissors, then walked back over to Gracie, reached for some of her hair and proceeded to try and cut it!
"Whoa!" Michonne almost yelled. "What are you doing?"
Judith put the scissors on the counter and Gracie stared at Michonne, wide eyed and innocent, as if she had no clue that she could have been cut bald! RJ and Hershel paused their game and looked over at the girls.
"Mom, don't you think Gracie would look good with a hairstyle like this?" Judith asked enthusiastically. She picked up the magazine and walked over to Michonne. Michonne took the periodical, saw that the girls were looking at Marilyn Monroe and shook her head.
"Gracie, your father would have a heart attack if he came home and found your hair short and dyed this color of blonde." Michonne told her.
"I wasn't going to dye it, Michonne." Gracie said softly. "I don't even know how! But I just thought it would look cute."
Michonne walked over to the counter and gathered up the magazines. She moved to set them reverently on a nearby table, before turning back to face the four kids.
"I want to talk about what's been going on here today." Michonne began. But RJ interrupted her!
"Mom, Dad tried to ground us for no reason! You have to help us!" RJ griped.
"We'll talk about that later, okay? Right now, you all need to know why Judith and RJ's father is so upset. You need to know why everyone is upset." Michonne told them.
"Negan." Judith said simply. She was the oldest of the four children and had dealt with their former prisoner, the most.
"Yes. Negan." Michonne confirmed. "I don't know how he got into Alexandria today, but needless to say, everyone is upset about it. He's been taken to the Commonwealth to help his son, Joshua."
"And then what?" Hershel asked. But Michonne could tell by his tone, that Hershel knew what the plan was. Or he at least guessed it.
"He's wanted by another community. For murder. It's up to them how they want to deal with them." Michonne answered firmly.
"He was in here alone with you, and Daddy lost it." Judith said. "He did something to you, didn't he?"
"Did it have to do with that drug Mr. Grimes found?" Hershel asked. All through this, Gracie was wide eyed! She had no idea what they were talking about! She just knew that Negan was back here when he wasn't supposed to be.
"Negan did not drug me. He came here to tell me something. I don't know if it's a lie or not and that's the problem. I have to find out." Michonne told them.
RJ was now solely focused on his mother. She had this tone that she used when something was pretty bad or serious. He glanced at Judith, who gave him a brief look in return, before looking to their mother to explain herself.
Hershel spoke up again.
"I know my mother was upset by whatever he told you. She said that Negan had told a terrible lie, and that she and Mr. Grimes were going to make sure he was put away for it." he said.
Michonne didn't know how to answer that part. The 'Negan's Eventual Fate' part. But she finally found the words to explain what was going on.
"I once had a son. Sixteen years ago. Before any of you were ever born. And when the outbreak that made the dead, undead, happened, he was killed. Or so I thought. Negan told me my son has been alive all of this time. Now I need to find out if it's really true." Michonne told the kids.
"What is his name?" Gracie asked.
"Andre." Michonne said with a smile.
"Where has he been all of this time?" Judith asked suspiciously.
Hershel tilted his head!
"Your son has survived alone all of this time? I couldn't have if Mom had not been with me." Hershel said.
"Neither could I." Gracie admitted.
Michonne took a deep breath before getting into the complicated part.
"He was not alone. Negan told me he was adopted by some terrible people. He told me that the woman who was his mother all of these years, was Governor Milton from the Commonwealth." Michonne revealed.
Judith gasped and Gracie's mouth dropped open! Hershel, who had been sitting down next to RJ, now stood up and RJ himself, didn't know what to think!
"Andre was at the Commonwealth when we were there?" Judith asked her mother.
"I don't know," Michonne admitted, "I don't know that Negan is even telling the truth about any of this."
"Dad thinks Negan is lying, doesn't he?" RJ asked.
"Yes. Yes he does." Michonne admitted.
"But you believe Negan?" Hershel asked. Michonne found herself nodding.
"He told me about something that Andre had. A toy that I had given him. There is just no way Negan could have known about that unless he knew Andre." Michonne said.
"He knows Andre? I thought he just knew he was alive, Mom?" Judith asked.
"Negan claims to know him. He's claiming a lot of things." Michonne said, while doing her damnedest not to look at Gracie.
"Are you bringing him here to live with us?" RJ asked. He didn't like any of this and yet, he couldn't really think as to why. Would it be so terrible to have a brother?
"Why doesn't Daddy believe it's true if you told him about the toy?" Judith asked.
"I didn't get a chance to tell him about that. And to be honest, I don't know that your father would believe that was proof. Negan has just done so much that it's hard to believe anything he says." Michonne told her.
"Meaning killing my father, right? And that other man, Abraham?" Hershel asked in a level tone.
Michonne had never thought that the day would come, when she would have any discussion of that horrific night, with Hershel. She had never imagined that Glenn would not be here to even see his own son born.
Michonne walked over to him.
"I know that your mother and you are going through a hard time now. But trust in what I am saying, when I tell you that I was there that night when Negan killed your father and Abraham. Negan may have changed. He could even apologize until he took his last dying breath, but what he did is something that neither your mother, Rick, Darryl, Aaron, or myself, could ever truly forgive. When I look at Negan, all I see is that night. So finding out from him that Andre is alive, and that he knows him, is not easy to just accept. From him. I am never going to know what the truth is until I see Andre for myself." Michonne told Hershel.
COMMONWEALTH-
Ezekiel, Yumiko, Gabriel and Eugene were meeting in Ezekiel's apartment…
"I am telling you all," Eugene said, "my wife knows nothing about this Andre Beale or any connection the Commonwealth could have to the CRM. Stephanie practically took over running this place after Milton was jailed."
"But her brother knows something, doesn't he?" Ezekiel asked. "Mercer had to have been the one to let Negan in to see Milton. And for the two of them to have cooked up this kind of crap, means that Negan would have had to have been here, within the Commonwealth, more than once!"
Yumiko could see this was getting out of control and she looked at Ezekiel.
"What does Annie say about all of this? You said she's claiming to know Andre as well?" Yumiko asked.
"Yes. She says that Andre helped Negan kill the men that raped her. Rick and Maggie are going to New Babylon to tell them to come here to get Negan for five murders that they think he did alone. If they find out that Negan had an accomplice…" Ezekiel trailed off.
"Michonne will lose Andre all over again." Gabriel said.
"Will she?" Eugene asked. "I saw Pamela Milton's 'son', this Andre, get out of a helicopter on top of the hospital here and go in through the roof door. If he is connected to those people that had Rick all of this time, then New Babylon is the one that's in trouble."
Yumiko looked at Ezekiel again.
"You think my brother is involved with this somehow, don't you? You said something about the organ donation testing."
"Yumiko, I'm not blaming Tomi for anything here! But how could he have possibly known Milton was a match for Joshua, this fast? So she tested before we did and for some reason, your brother didn't see fit to tell Annie or myself, anything." Ezekiel countered.
Yumiko chose her next words carefully.
"It is possible that my brother told Annie and she just never said anything about it. Ezekiel, you are not Joshua's father. You aren't even Annie's husband. You have no right to any medical information." Yumiko told him.
Ezekiel scoffed!
"Don't pull that legal jargon on me, Yumiko! None of that holds water in this new world anymore! And Annie wouldn't have kept Milton's being the donor, from me! She was ready to leave here and look for Negan!"
"No one is saying that Annie knew Milton was the donor, Ezekiel," Gabriel said gently, "but she may have known that Milton had gotten tested."
Ezekiel was about to argue that point as well, when the noise of a helicopter, silenced all of them. Ezekiel went to his window and saw a helicopter land on top of the hospital roof and…
Negan got out! He clapped someone on the back that got back inside the helicopter, before hurrying to the roof door, opening it and disappearing inside!
"No." Ezekiel said in a hollow voice.
Gabriel, Yumiko and Eugene joined him at the window. It was starting to get dark and all they saw was the helicopter, with it's lights on, lifting into the air and flying off.
"What?" Gabriel asked Ezekiel. Ezekiel turned to look at the three of them.
"I just saw Negan get out of that helicopter. The last time I saw that bastard was when he was being lead out of Alexandria, gagged and put into a SUV with Carol, Darryl and Aaron! I sure as hell don't see the three of them anywhere around!" Ezekiel snapped.
"I'm going to find Stephanie and let her know what's going on!" Eugene huffed. He didn't like the sound of any of this either! He also didn't like the idea that his wife appeared to either be ignorant of what was going on within the Commonwealth, or complicit in some kind of Milton/Negan plot!
Eugene quickly left Ezekiel's apartment, followed by Yumiko, who planned to go over to the hospital later on and hang out there. When she got a moment alone with Tomi, after surgery, Yumiko would find out just how much her brother really knew about this whole thing.
Gabriel stayed, closing the door after Eugene and Yumiko. He then faced Ezekiel.
"No one is blind to the fact that you care for Annie. I cared for Jadis in that same way. Only in the end, I couldn't help her. There were things I didn't know about her. It's not the same for you. You can help Annie. Whatever is getting ready to happen here, you cannot allow Negan to drag Annie and Joshua into it."
Ezekiel nodded, knowing Gabriel was right. Gabriel put a hand on Ezekiel's arm.
"We'll both go over to the hospital. I couldn't help Michonne with Rick, with regards to Jadis. But maybe I can help with Andre. Let's find out if this boy is really her son, or someone that is being used to hurt her and our friends." Gabriel told him.
Negan stepped off of the elevator and walked over to the waiting area, where Andre and Annie were still sitting. Andre got up immediately and ran to Negan, hugging him!
Annie was surprised to see this and stood up as well. Negan let go of Andre and walked over to his wife.
"Is Joshua still in surgery?" Negan asked softly.
Annie nodded and turned away from him. She walked over to a window to stare out. Negan turned away from her to look at Andre.
"Thank you." Negan said in a low tone. "The people at Alexandria had other ideas about dispensing justice."
"I know. Annie told me that they had plans to call the New Babylon police on you. I got in contact with some people and took care of it. No one is going to be coming here. And you will not be going there." Andre said firmly.
Negan lifted a brow!
"That sounds like some serious shit! How the hell did you pull that off?"
"I did what needed doing." Andre said as he walked back over to a chair and tiredly sat down. Negan glanced at Annie, who was still staring out of the window, before walking over to sit down next to Andre.
"Did you get to see your mother before she went into surgery?" Negan asked.
"Yes. I did. She said you told my real mother that I was alive and that I knew she killed my real father." Andre said with a bitter snort.
"I did." Negan said carefully. "What do you think about that?"
"I think that this 'Michonne', knew I was alive this whole time! That kid that was being eaten didn't even have on the same clothing I was wearing that day!" Andre snapped softly.
"Andre, you were nowhere around and Michonne just assumed the worst. Drug paraphernalia was found on your father and his buddy. She just snapped. But she wants to see you." Negan told him.
"I don't want to see her. Nor do I need to. The only woman that I consider to be my mother is in surgery, saving your son's life. And my father was killed by the man Michonne took up with, after murdering my father. And they are both going to answer for that." Andre told Negan, just as a beeping sound got their attention.
Andre pulled out a wrist watch communicator and stood up.
"I have to take this. The CRM never sleeps." Andre said, clapping Negan on the shoulder before walking off. Negan stared after Andre, thinking that he had Michonne's strength.
And he had her eyes.
Judith had that kind of strength as well. As for Gracie, Aaron had coddled her. Maybe he could change that.
Negan stood up and walked over to Annie. She was still staring out of the window and he rubbed his hand up and down her back.
Annie turned to face him.
"Don't." she said.
"Don't what? Offer my wife some comfort while we wait for our son to come out of surgery?" Negan asked.
"Andre is not just some boy you helped once. He's a big part of those people that took Rick. And now his adopted father is dead because of Rick. Negan, Joshua and I don't need any trouble." Annie told him.
"I'm not here to make trouble. But I'm not blind either. King Ass Face is not just some friend that has been comforting you through our son's illness. I want to know what's going on between the two of you?" Negan asked.
Annie gave him a wan smile.
"Really? Do you really want to know? Because I don't believe you actually care. You know what I think you do want to know? If there is someway you can get in between Rick and Michonne." Annie told him.
"What? What are you…"
"Shut up! Just shut up, Negan!" Annie hissed. "Do you even remember shouting out her name while you were making love to me? Do you? Because it was that moment that drove me out of our home and in to New Babylon that day! I could not stand the sight of your face and I just needed to process what had happened between us. What you hadn't even realized had happened. I can tell by just looking at you now, that you do not remember calling out Michonne's name while you were with me, do you?"
Before Negan could even think how to react to what his wife had just said, Dr. Okumura walked out of the O.R.. Joshua was being wheeled to recovery on one gurney.
Pamela on the other.
Negan's mouth went dry as he watched his small boy, looking helpless, being wheeled off to God knows where! Annie immediately hurried up to Tomi!
"How did it go? Tell me my son is going to be alright?" Annie quietly begged.
"The transplant was successful. But we have to watch for rejection. There is always that chance." Tomi told Annie and Negan.
Andre returned from his communication and stood next to Negan and Annie. He looked at Tomi.
"My mother is going to be okay? She's all I have left in this world." Andre said.
Annie winced at his words, since technically, that was not true. But she told herself that Michonne, Rick and however they chose to deal with Negan, was not her concern.
"Can I see Joshua?" Annie asked Tomi. Negan put an unwanted arm around her shoulder.
"Can we both see him?" Negan asked.
"I would suggest one person at a time." Tomi told them.
"I'd like to see my mother." Andre requested. Tomi nodded at him and both Andre and Annie, walked off to get dressed in protective gear to sit with their loved ones.
Negan took a deep breath to keep from revealing how pissed off he was about that rule! But as he exhaled, the elevator doors opened and Darryl, Carol and Aaron stepped out and stared him down.
Seconds later, another elevator opened and someone that looked like Perlie Armstrong, was on a gurney being rushed into surgery! Negan shook his head slightly, figuring he had to be imagining things!
But when Rick and Maggie appeared shortly after Perlie did, Negan knew he had seen what he had seen. He just did not know why.
"I'm not going anywhere." Negan told the five of them.
Rick walked up to him.
"I know. You made sure of it when you killed everyone at New Babylon. Did you have your new CRM buddies do it?" Rick asked sarcastically.
"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about!" Negan snapped. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go and sit with my son! He has a new kidney now, no thanks to any of you fucks!"
Negan started to walk away but Darryl and Aaron moved to block his way!
"You have no where to take me." Negan said quietly. But Maggie moved closer to him.
"Except back to Alexandria." she told him.
Rick was about to second that, when his eyes locked with a teenaged boy that arrived from another hallway, to stand at Negan's side. He was dressed in scrubs. Rick refrained from sucking in a breath! The boy was Michonne all over again!
Negan glanced at Andre and knew what Rick was seeing.
"Andre, this is…" Negan began.
"I know who he is." Andre interrupted curtly. "You're the man, that murdered the man who raised me, in cold blood. Michonne, and you, have killed both of my fathers." Andre told Rick in a frigid and emotionless tone.