Rick did not want Michonne going over to the basement jail to talk to Negan. In fact, he didn't want his wife speaking to Negan at all. While Michonne understood Rick's feelings, she had to confess to herself that she actually believed Negan. But even worse, Darryl, who usually would have kept out of something like this, said that he didn't get what Negan got out of lying about something like this?

Rick looked at Darryl and tried to hide his surprise.

"So I've been gone so long, that both of you have forgotten what kind of man he is?" Rick asked sarcastically.

"No one's forgotten anything." Darryl told him. "That's why he and Annie didn't stay at the Commonwealth or here at Alexandria, after everything went down with Milton."

Rick looked from Darryl and back over at Michonne.

"Negan's lying. And I think him and this Milton woman, Beale's 'wife', are in on this together. She's angry about what we had to do to get free from the CRM and in return, Milton is getting her revenge by having Negan tell a lie that would hurt you. That would hurt us. And apparently, doing Milton's dirty work is more important to Negan than saving his son's life." Rick said firmly.

Michonne was about to answer that when Darryl spoke again.

"She has to know, Rick. Otherwise she'll never be at peace." he said. Michonne smiled softly at Darryl. He got it. He understood. And yet she knew where Rick was coming from as well.

"I thought I saw Andre die. But we need to find out what Pamela Milton is planning against us as well. I'm going to talk to Negan and see if I can get him to admit what's really going on here." Michonne said.

Rick walked over to her and reached for one of his wife's hands.

"We'll go together." Rick said.

"I need to go alone. I need for him to tell me things that he might not say if you are there. He's up to something, Rick. And somehow this all involves making me think that Andre is still alive." Michonne told him.

"I get that, Michonne. We all do. But I'm not going to let him brainwash you from that cell over there, alone." Rick replied.

"I am not about to be 'brainwashed', Rick! I just need to know…"

"You think Andre is really alive." Rick said calmly. "I can see it in your eyes. And if he is and Negan is using your son to get back at you, then we'll deal with it together."

Darryl walked over to them.

"Rick, Negan broke into this house, while we were out at the gate with Ezekiel and Annie. While Michonne was alone in here. He's not going to say shit to her, with either one of us there with her. He knows we don't want his son to die. He knows we have to pull him out of that cell and take him back to the Commonwealth. He has nowhere to go. He can't run. Let Michonne go over there and hear what he wants. And he wants something. And it probably has to do with Milton and her dead, bastard husband." Darryl grumbled.

Rick stared at Darryl before dragging his gaze off of him and re-focusing on Michonne.

"Fine. Go. But get in and out. The sooner Negan helps his son, the sooner we can get him back here and lock him up again." Rick told her. Michonne nodded and moved to claim his lips for a quick kiss, before pulling away and turning towards the front door. Her hand rested on the knob for a moment, before she pulled the door open and left. Once the door closed behind her, Rick turned on Darryl!

"What the hell?! How could you think her listening to Negan's lie would help anything here?!" Rick almost wailed. If anyone had told him that he had been wrong and Carl was not really dead, he didn't know what he would do, or believe!

Michonne had brought him back to her, when he had been thinking of giving up. Rick had honestly been thinking of sending Michonne away and not coming back here with her. He had actually been thinking of never seeing Judith again or meeting RJ.

He had actually been thinking of never coming home.

Michonne had brought him back. Physically and spiritually. And now she needed him to do the same thing for her. And Rick was not in the mood for any dissent from foes…or friends.

Darryl knew Rick was pissed off at him. But he had to say his peace.

"Listen to me: you have to realize that the shit you went through, isn't over. The CRM is here now. And if Andre is alive and was raised by Beale, then he's mad about what happened to him. What both Michonne and you did to him, and others, to escape that place. Something is getting ready to go down and Negan, in his own way, is trying to warn us." Darryl said.

"You really think that he'd come here to warn us, instead of staying within the Commonwealth to save his own child?" Rick asked with incredulity.

"Negan thinks he can do both." Darryl told him.

Michonne slowly walked down the steps to face Negan in his cell. She had seen Maggie go over to Aaron's house, where the kids were sent, so Michonne knew that her and Negan were alone.

Negan did not take his eyes off of her as she finished descending the stairs, then walked over to the cell he had now been returned to. Neither of them said one word to one another, as they stared each other down.

Finally, it was Negan that spoke first.

"Annie told me that you got tested for Joshua. Both Darryl and you. And for that, I thank you."

"And yet you have a peculiar way of showing your gratitude." Michonne noted.

"I told you something you never knew before. I told you that your son was alive. I would say that was a great way of thanking you for what you did." Negan countered, smiling at her.

"Could we cut the small talk?" Michonne asked coolly. "I won't ask what you're up to. I'll just skip to the chase and ask what it is you want from me? Did 'Governor' Pamela order you to tell me this lie, while you were cheating on Annie with her in that cell?"

Surprisingly, or maybe not so much, Negan did not answer that right away. Instead he said something else. Something surprising.

"I always thought that Darryl and you should have hooked up. When I first saw that you were pregnant, through the window bars over there, I assumed you were carrying his kid." Negan told her, as his eyes ran over her.

That comment threw Michonne! More than she wanted to admit!

"What? What the hell are you talking about?" she asked, annoyed.

"You and Darryl. Darryl and you. When I first starting 'accessing' your group, after our 'getting to know one another' intro that fateful night, I knew where Rick got his strength. From Darryl. And from you. Rick's weak. And I think he didn't come home because he found someone else in that CRM camp he was in." Negan said with a grin.

Michonne ignored his bullshit and began talking again. About Andre.

"Tell me about my son. The son you are claiming didn't die. The son who I talked about with you in this very room." she said coldly. Negan could have pieced together this crap story from bits she mentioned, here and there.

"Darryl and you have more in common than Rick and you. Haven't you ever noticed that? And then when Darryl took over…you know, being a real father to Judith and RJ and living with the three of you, I just assumed…"

Michonne gritted her teeth and drowned out that bit of nonsense!

"You told me that story about Andre to get me over here. I'm here. Tell me about Pamela Milton and General Beale." Michonne said, trying to keep her voice at a level decibel.

Negan shrugged.

"She said that they met years ago when he was in the military. Pamela's own father was some kind of General as well. The esteemed Governor was some kind of socialite, which means she probably didn't do shit but spend her father and husband's money, before the world changed. Beale and her had two boys…Sebastian, who was a slimy prick, and a boy they adopted from one of the Refugee camps. His name was Andre. Andre Beale."

Michonne ignored the hard knot in her stomach, that felt like it was going to twist out of control! Just the idea of Andre having Beale's last name was hard to take. But Michonne managed to show no reaction to it whatsoever, since she was still only 98% convinced any of this was true.

"Go on." Michonne told Negan.

Negan eyed her. He could tell she was still not convinced that he was telling the truth. He decided it was time to cut the prolonged bullshit, and tell her something that would make her no longer question the validity of his claim.

"In the beginning, when shit started going to hell and back, Pamela got more involved with what the military tried to do to keep order, back then. That meant maintaining, while figuring out why all of this was happening. But as time went on and the undead kept winning, the plan changed. It changed from trying to fix the problem to reorganizing society. I didn't quite get what Pamela meant by that when she said it, but I got the gist. The two of us wouldn't have held up well in their new world order, would we? Darryl wouldn't have made it either." Negan said.

Michonne did not answer that right away. At the very least, Negan knew enough about the CRM to make her believe that Pamela was tied to Beale. That is exactly what Beale's vision of the Civic Republic Military had been—a messed up, new world order.

Negan continued on.

"Pamela said when she arrived at your camp, her assignment was to weed out strong people to help with their survival. She said she got there after you apparently went full Rambo on your boyfriend and his friend. The only thing was, the child that died was some other woman's kid. The woman was killed by walkers…along with her own baby. A girl. Andre had wandered off. He wasn't being looked after properly but…well…that saved him. I saw the footage." Negan said quietly.

Michonne turned away from Negan slightly as she began to slip off into the past, back to the day she lost Andre. Back to the day she saw a walker shoving her baby into his mouth, crunching on his head…

Michonne turned completely away from Negan and closed her eyes. That moment had destroyed her. That moment changed everything. She had turned on Mike and Terry with a vengeance, using the katana she had found, when she had been out rummaging with some of the military personnel for items to use to keep the camp going.

Michonne jumped when she felt Negan's hand encircle her wrist through the bars!

"He didn't die, Michonne. And Pamela has as much as told me, that she could see why you did what you did. But at the same time, she thought you were a danger to Andre, so she kept him with her. Beale agreed. But now Pamela's husband and bio son are gone. Andre is all she has left, and she feels that Rick and you took something from her, when you destroyed that CRM base and killed her husband."

Michonne did not pull out of Negan's grip. Negan continued talking.

"When Pamela arrived at that camp Andre and you were at and saw what happened, military personnel came in and killed the walkers. Andre was the only one found alive. The footage showed some woman put him in a closet for safety, before she got killed herself. The woman put Andre in that closet with his toy. It was some Dancing Mickey Mouse stuffed animal. Andre still has it. It was the only thing he had of you. He knew you gave it to him."

Michonne slowly removed Negan's hand from her wrist and faced him. Negan could see in her eyes that she now believed him.

"Where is he?" Michonne asked softly. "Where is he now?"

"Here and there. Once his brother and father were killed and his mother jailed, Andre had to step up." Negan said.

"What do you mean by 'here and there'? So has he returned to the Commonwealth to visit Pamela in jail? I could have passed right by him today and not known?" Michonne asked him, not quite understanding Negan's phrasing.

"I don't think so, no." Negan said softly. Michonne raised a questioning brow!

"Why not? What else aren't you telling me, Negan?"

"I need your help with something else." he answered.

Michonne was a little surprised to hear that. And she didn't quite understand where he was going with this? Negan had told her that Andre was alive, after all of these years, per Milton's orders, she was sure. And yet he had the nerve to want a favor from her?

"What is it?" Michonne asked.

"Gracie." Negan said.

Michonne shook her head slightly.

"What about her?" she asked.

"Gracie is my daughter. You remember Dwight, right?" Negan asked.

"Dwight who you used an iron on? Yes. I remember him. I also seem to recall that you forced his wife to become one of your wives." Michonne reminded him. She did NOT like where this conversation was going!

"Sherry was her name. And before Sherry was her sister, Tina. Tina needed insulin for her diabetes and I had 'rules' about that. Anyway, she became pregnant, had the baby and tried to run off with Sherry and Dwight. They were found but Tina had been killed."

Michonne backed away from the bars and shook her head with disgust!

"I know you are not about to ask me, to ask Aaron if you can see his daughter?"

"Gracie's not Aaron's daughter and I named her Emily! And fuck yes…"

"I believe you about Andre but this shitty story, is bullshit. Hell no, I am not helping you get near Gracie! She was found as a baby in one of your outhouse…outposts someplace! Alone! She had been left alone!" Michonne snapped.

"After your fucking people killed up everyone that was caring for her! And once our 'war' started, I wanted Emily someplace safe! Hell, Michonne, I had to watch her through those bars over there, grow up without her ever knowing about me! It's not right!" Negan huffed.

"I'm leaving." Michonne announced and started to turn away.

But Negan had ONE more additional thing to say…

"I'm through talking." Negan told her and slyly reached his hand out to caress the v-neck opening of her shirt…

Michonne slapped his hand away!

"You have lost your mind." Michonne told him with a calm she did not feel! Suddenly, her conversation with Darryl, earlier in the truck, came to mind.

"That rape drug Rick found was for me, wasn't it?" Michonne asked coldly.

"Nope. I've already used it." Negan said and Michonne suddenly backed away from the cell! What the hell did he mean by that?

"I'm leaving. I won't tell Rick what you tried to pull just now, because I know you want to live to see Joshua." Michonne told him.

"I don't give a fuck what you tell Rick. You were the only that stepped up to save Joshua. You and Darryl, but especially you. Hell, even Annie didn't match. So no, Michonne, I haven't lost my goddamned mind. But Rick will when he loses you."

Michonne emitted a barking laugh!

"Rick and I are forever! So you can forget about whatever it is you think is going to happen between us!"

"Everything I want to happen, will happen, if you want my help with Andre. Not to be mean, but he hates your guts for killing his father. He sees me like a second father. If I go to him and tell him…oh I don't know…that you're a fucking bitch or something, he's not going to want to get to know you at all. Mommy Pamela will win". Negan told her and suddenly Michonne realized that the grin on his face was no longer sly in nature.

No.

Now his grin looked smug, self assured and all knowing.

"If you want us to take you to the Commonwealth to save Joshua…" Michonne began with her own threat, but Negan's grin grew unnaturally wider!

"Pamela Milton was a match. She always was. She's going to get a full pardon for her decent act. When King Ass Face and Annie get back to the Commonwealth, they will find Pamela under the knife, surrendering one of her kidneys to my son." Negan told her.

Michonne began to back away even further from the jail bars! Negan stopped grinning and tilted his head at her.

"You know, I just would like to get to know you better is all, Michonne. And I think that Andre, Joshua and Gracie would get along well too. At the Commonwealth." Negan said in a tone that Michonne could not quite read. Nor did she want to.

Michonne calmly turned away from him and walked up the stairs. Negan watched her walk up the steps, his eyes on her retreating form as she left and slammed the door behind her. Negan then began whistling his haunting tune, thinking back to the other night, when he had crept down into RJ's room while the boy was in the bathroom, spiked the lemonade he was drinking with the Rohypnol, then hid in his closet. Negan had waited until RJ passed out, removed the comic book he had been reading, out of his hands, then cut off a bit of RJ's hair. Negan had taken it to Pamela, when he 'met' with her in her cell, earlier today.

Dr. Tomichi Okumura was being blackmailed, for reasons not known to Negan, to help pull off a DNA switch. One that would prove that Darryl Dixon was RJ Grimes's father and not Rick. That 'reveal' alone would be enough to keep Rick out of his goddamned way.

Pamela Milton had revenge in mind with this little plot she had cooked up to get back at Rick and Michonne. Negan, on the other hand, had something a little more large scale in the works. That being the rebirth of the Sanctuary, using the Commonwealth community as his base of operations and running it with…

Pamela had taken a liking to him. In a primal way. She wanted to run the Commonwealth with him. Together.

Negan had offered her advice, along with his mammoth dick. He told her about all of the mistakes she had made the first time around in running the stronghold. Negan let her know that with him by her side, Pamela would not make those same mistakes again.

Negan didn't think it was a bad idea to have a strong woman by his side, to keep what was his, the way he wanted it, this time around. Only Pamela Milton was not the woman he envisioned running the Commonwealth with.

COMMONWEALTH-

Annie could not help but notice how quiet Ezekiel had been, on their drive home. She knew this was about what Negan was alleging about Michonne's son and yet, Annie didn't know what to think, really. All she could focus on was that Negan would be coming to the Commonwealth to help their son. That was all that mattered to her in this moment.

Or at least that's what she wanted to tell herself. But Annie realized that Ezekiel's disapproval was weighing heavily on her mind. She had never felt defensive, with regards to her relationship with Negan, before now.

But in this uncomfortable moment, she did. They were coming up on the Commonwealth gate when Annie broke the silence.

"I know what Negan is doing is low. I talked to him about it. He claimed…"

Ezekiel cut Annie off abruptly!

"There is no one living here named Andre! Sebastian was the only son, anyone in the Commonwealth has ever seen of Pamela's! Throw in the fact that Negan had been carrying around a drug that knocks people out while living in Rick and Michonne's attic, and I cannot believe you're still defending him, Annie!"

"I am NOT defending him, Ezekiel! Believe me, I'm not! But I'm thinking of Joshua! He can finally get the help he needs." Annie argued.

"Negan could have given him that help today…or for however long he's been slithering around this community and screwing Pamela Milton!" Ezekiel seethed.

The guard let them through the gate and Ezekiel and Annie drove the rest of the way in uneasy silence. They parked near the hospital and as Annie was getting out, she saw Father Gabriel come running up to them! Fearing the worst, Annie steeled herself to hear that Joshua had died while they were gone. And if that had happened, she would be the first in line to kill Negan herself.

But Father Gabriel would not tell her that. Ezekiel was by her side, as she and Ezekiel were told that a match had been found for Joshua, and that both donor and recipient were in surgery now.

"Who is the donor?" Ezekiel asked, putting gentle hands on the back of Annie's shoulders. Suddenly, Negan did not matter any longer.

"It was Pamela Milton." Father Gabriel said quietly. "She wanted to be tested and she was let out of her cell…"

"Wait a minute!" Annie interrupted. "The results for all of the people that tested were supposed to take a week. When did Pamela get tested?"

"I don't know. And Dr. Okumura said it can be less than a week. Sometimes." Father Gabriel replied and his eyes met Ezekiel's. Ezekiel could tell that Gabriel did not believe that assertion to be quite true. And yet, Ezekiel didn't want Annie stressing about it.

"Why don't you go in and find out what's going on? I want to bring Gabriel up to speed about what's going on at Alexandria." Ezekiel told Annie.

Annie gave Ezekiel a brief smile that did not match her eyes. Something was off about this whole thing and yet, Annie forced herself to believe that it didn't matter. Her baby was getting the help he needed. And that meant Negan would not be needed. Or around to cause more trouble.

But as Annie walked towards the front door of the hospital, she realized that once Joshua recovered, there would be new problems. Rick and Maggie still wanted revenge against Negan for all of the pain he had caused them. And yet Annie knew her husband well. Negan Smith had a plan. A plan to get out of that cell he was trapped in at Alexandria and…

And what? Annie realized she had no idea what made Negan tick, if she ever had. During their time together, it had never been important to her. And in many ways, it still wasn't.

But it was to Rick and Michonne. And the many people Negan had wronged. Annie got to the front door of the hospital and looked back at Ezekiel and Gabriel. Ezekiel was gesturing wildly and Annie swallowed! Negan hadn't been back in their lives for even a day, and he was already coming between her and Ezekiel. She could feel it.

Annie turned and went inside the Commonwealth hospital. The how and why of Pamela Milton's kidney donation to her little boy, didn't matter right now. Joshua's surviving the operation and Annie's being able to thank Pamela for her generosity, was all that was important.

Annie took an elevator to the floor where surgeries were performed, knowing Joshua would no longer be in his room. Her baby boy would live! Joshua would live and…

Negan would want to see him. Joshua had no memory of Negan, really. He had been a baby when his father spirited the two of them away from New Babylon, and took on her assailants alone.

No, correction, Negan and Andre had murdered the five men that had raped her. Only Negan was wanted for all of the murders.

Annie shook off her dark thoughts as she turned a corner. There was a waiting room near a nurse's station, and sitting there was an African American, teenaged boy that looked startlingly familiar…

Annie stopped in her tracks! It was him! The then sick boy with the chicken pox that Negan had nursed back to health! The boy had been about ten back then. That same boy, now almost a man, had been looking at an old magazine, when he looked up from it and locked eyes with hers. He then set the magazine down and stood up.

Annie knew that she was about to meet Andre Beale.