THE HILLTOP-
Maggie sat at her desk and stared at the walkie-talkie she had just finished talking to Rick with. The sliding doors to the room opened and Eugene stepped inside. He slid the doors closed again and turned to walk over to the desk. Eugene eyed the walkie talkie and knew that things were not going to go as he had hoped.
The day of Andre Beale's murder, he had discovered Iris in his and Stephanie's living room, pointing a gun at him! But it did not take Eugene long to realize that the person she meant to shoot was Stephanie. Eugene assumed this was about some disagreement that had happened at the office, but was quickly corrected when Iris told him that Stephanie was her MOTHER!
It also did not take long for the rest of this tale to be told. Iris had been looking for Major Kublek, who had requested a meeting with her at the hospital. She ran into Andre, who pulled her into the stairwell to talk about something she 'needed to know', privately.
It was there, that Andre told her that Stephanie was her real mother and that General Johnathan Beale, his own father, was also HER father!
Iris hadn't believed any of it at first. Yes, she had been adopted by Kari and Leo Bennett, but Iris had never given any real thought about who her birth parents were, ever. There hadn't been time for it. She and her adopted sister, Hope, had once been happy kids.
Then the world fell apart. Iris and Hope lost their mother and were separated from their father, who was also a doctor, that was workingwith the CRM on things neither her sister, or herself, could know about.
Iris told Eugene that when Andre told her about Johnathan Beale and Stephanie, and how she was conceived, Iris had asked sarcastically if Mason's mother had been underage when he was conceived?
It was then that Iris realized that Andre did not know who Mason Beale was! Mason, who was the only son that Iris knew of, before coming here to the Commonwealth, that belonged to the late, Major General!
When Iris tried to tell Andre about Johnathan Beale's 'third son', Andre freaked and actually grabbed her! Iris didn't know what Andre had been thinking at the time and she decided in that moment, she didn't want to know, as she flung him off of her and in an almost flukey accident, Andre went flailing over the railing and down to the bottom floor of the stairwell!
Iris had refrained from screaming. She also refrained from saying anything, as she left the stairwell and the hospital. But as she headed back towards the office, Iris realized she could not face Stephanie. This woman that was her real mother and had been sexually assaulted by Johnathan Beale—her father.
Iris also realized in those harrowing, first moments after she had murdered someone, that Andre had told her what he had told her, because of the CRM. They had wanted something from her. Something Iris had not wanted to give. Not knowing who to trust, Iris had decided on a whim, to wait for her 'mother' in the home she shared with her husband, Eugene Porter, and hear her out.
But Eugene came home first and Iris spilled her guts to him. And after hearing what she had to say, he decided it would be best if he got Iris out of there. But realizing the true seriousness of the knowledge he had just learned, and hoping to protect both his wife and newly discovered step-daughter, Eugene had left a letter behind…
It essentially said that he had run off with her teenaged daughter.
Now, Eugene realized that he had been wrong to hope that Maggie would keep this secret.
"I'm sorry, Eugene, but I had to call Rick. He and Aaron are coming here to take Iris back to the Commonwealth." Maggie told him.
"What good could come of doing something like that?" Eugene asked tiredly. He wasn't even all that upset. He would have been lying to himself, if he said that he actually LIKED the idea of his wife thinking he had left her for a teenager!
Maggie slowly stood up from her seat.
"Eugene, you know as well as I do, what happened after Andre died. Andre told Negan that Rick pushed him. He has to clear his name." she said firmly.
"No one believes Rick pushed a teenager to his death, Maggie! And Michonne doesn't believe Rick would do that! Besides, the person that 'heard' Andre say that was Negan! Everyone knows he's a liar!" Eugene scoffed.
"The people in the Commonwealth don't know Rick like we do. The same goes for Negan. And Rick and Michonne want to be able to take Joshua home to Alexandria with them. Anyone thinking Rick had killed a sixteen year old, might have a problem with that." Maggie argued.
"Major General Kublek cleared Rick," Eugene continued to complain, "and the CRM would have the final say. I can't believe you went behind my back and called Rick!"
Maggie didn't respond to Eugene's rant right away. She hadn't just contacted Rick for Rick's sake. Maggie wanted this whole thing settled so that Michonne could recover and help contact Glenn for her.
And there was something else: Iris and Hershel were getting just a little too close! That girl was a killer, accidental or not! And if she was Beale's child, that would mean trouble for her and anyone she got involved with.
Maggie was not about to lose Hershel to the CRM or anyone associated with those people!
"I'm sorry, Eugene," Maggie said when she came back to the here and now, "but this is for the best."
"Maggie," Eugene sighed, "I have risked my marriage to bring Iris here to a safe place. If you can't help me then at least let me take her to Oceanside."
Before Maggie could think to answer, the doors to the room opened and Lydia and Elijah hurried in! They did not bother to pull the doors closed behind them!
"What is it?" Maggie asked tightly. She considered Lydia and Elijah to be two the most trusted members of the Hilltop. They would not have just burst in here unless something was very wrong.
"Hershel is gone." Lydia said in a low voice. She glanced over at Elijah, who shook his head.
"Hershel took off in a jeep—with Iris," Elijah said, "they heard about the plans to rebuild the Kingdom and are heading there."
"To do what?!" Eugene snapped. God, what in the hell had he been thinking when he went down this road?
He knew what he had been thinking. He had been thinking that as much as he loved Stephanie, her Civic Republic Military background, was a bit much. Eugene didn't want to live under the same regime that had kept Rick for six years. The same people that would have kept him forever if it had not been for Michonne.
Eugene didn't think Stephanie liked being part of it, and yet, she seemed helpless with regards to doing their bidding. Her brother, Mercer, was no better. How long had they known that Andre Beale's real mother was still alive?
And now there was Iris. Iris, who had been heartbroken to learn the truth about her parentage and as a result, had accidentally killed someone. Major General Kublek would expect Iris to take a larger part in this organization, that was clearly up to no, damned good.
No one answered Eugene's question. Maggie turned and picked up her walkie talkie. She was going to contact Rick and tell him to head to the Kingdom. She would meet him there to pick up Iris and Hershel.
THE COMMONWEALTH-
Darryl and Carol returned to the church after talking to Rick, and were more than a bit surprised to find Negan and Michonne there. And while it was a happy surprise that Michonne had begun speaking again, Negan's being there put Darryl and Carol on guard…
"So Rick thinks that this girl killed Andre?" Michonne asked, while trying not to look at Negan. If Rick was right about this, that meant that her and Negan would not have to trick Glenn into coming back to this world.
"Eugene said she confessed. She's scared, Michonne. Andre told her that Stephanie was her real mother and that her father was Major General Beale. She's expected to get involved in the CRM…" Carol was saying.
But Michonne interrupted.
"So, Andre told this girl, her name is Iris? Andre told her about her true parentage and that gives her the right to kill him?" Michonne asked in disbelief.
Darryl took over.
"Rick is bringing her back to confess to Major General Kublek. Let's let the CRM handle this, okay?" Darryl suggested. He was seeing the same look on Michonne's face, that she had had, when she had wanted to kill Pamela for shooting Judith.
"Handle it, how?" Negan asked, inserting himself into the conversation. "You think anything is going to happen to her? She was Beale's real daughter. Andre wasn't. She's probably going to be sent to another CRM place to live out her life…unlike Andre."
Carol folded her arms as she stared at Michonne and Negan.
"I get it. You know I get it. Michonne, I have lost two children. Negan, you helped make that right. So I fully get what you are saying. I fully get how you are feeling. But we don't know how this went down. It could have been an accident." Carol said.
"And Rick wants to find that out?" Negan asked skeptically. Darryl eyed him.
"Why don't you stop causing trouble around here. Rick and Aaron are bringing Iris back here to confess and explain what happened." Darryl said.
"And then?" Michonne asked calmly. "What is going to be done about this girl? She can just shove my son to his death and then come here to 'apologize'? And why would Eugene help her? Why didn't he just turn her in?"
"I don't think," Carol said, "that Iris wants any part of the CRM. I think what Andre told her was such a surprise and shock that she just lost it. I'm not saying it is in anyway right, but at the same time, Andre told Negan here that Rick shoved him. Now we know that wasn't true."
"Why wasn't it true?" Negan countered. "Because I said it? You don't think it killed me to find him like that, bleeding to death on some dark floor in a stairwell? This girl couldn't go get help for him? She just ran off…and with Eugene?"
"Why is Iris confessing?" Michonne suddenly asked. "I mean she got away. Why say anything at all?"
"I think Eugene told Maggie why they were at the Hilltop. Maggie is the one that contacted Rick." Darryl explained. He didn't like the way this was going. And it wasn't just because of Negan. He seriously didn't understand just what Rick was planning here? This Iris, had killed the son that Michonne thought she had lost, and Rick wanted to come back here with her and make her say sorry or what?
Personally, Darryl thought that Michonne needed to kill the girl. Quickly and quietly. He could feel Negan's eyes on him and Darryl knew that he knew, that they both felt the same way.
Carol pulled Michonne aside over, a little ways out of Darryl and Negan's hearing.
"You know what I asked Negan to do with Alpha. Maybe it would be better if you let someone like him, do what needs doing." Carol suggested quietly.
Michonne clenched her jaw.
"You mean ask Negan to stay here and kill Iris?" Michonne asked. "He did what he did for you, for his freedom. Which you gave him. If I ask him to do something like that, it won't be just because of our shared feelings for Andre."
"I don't agree," Carol told her, "you're dismissive of his feelings for you…"
"Carol, he doesn't have 'feelings' for me. His feelings are for Rick. He hates him and wants to get back at him for beating him in the war. For keeping him prisoner and then for us keeping him prisoner. I can assure you, if I decided to leave Rick and run off with him, he'd lose interest real quick. Besides, I am not so sure there is anything to this." Michonne confided.
"What do you mean?" Carol asked.
"I mean I still think Glenn did this. Or he had some part in it." Michonne admitted.
"Michonne!" Carol hissed softly. "There's a teenaged girl out there that has admitted to killing Andre! Glenn clearly didn't do this!"
"He said that he needed to kill to be able to stay here longer, Carol! Andre is the only person dead around here since Glenn last appeared!"
"And yet, there is no sign of Glenn." Carol reminded her. She put a soothing hand on Michonne's arm.
"Michonne, if I could have found out that my daughter, Sophia, had not died…if I could've found her now and then lost her again, I don't know what I would have done. And when Henry was murdered, I pushed Ezekiel away. You have Rick, Judith, RJ and now Joshua. And it's Joshua you need to focus on."
Michonne could hear a warning in Carol's tone.
"What is it?" Michonne asked her.
"Ezekiel. Ezekiel and Elizabeth Kublek. Pull yourself together, stop talking about ghosts and get ready to take Joshua back to Alexandria with you. Otherwise, he and Ezekiel will end up being prisoners of the CRM at the 'New Kingdom'." Carol told Michonne.
Meanwhile, over on the other side of the church, Negan and Darryl were having a very different type of conversation. Negan glanced over at Michonne and Carol, before running his mouth—again.
"You know that I have no intention of letting anyone give my son, to King Zeke or Rick and Michonne, right? You do understand that, don't you, Darryl? Because you've always struck me as the type of guy that would understand shit like that."
"I understand that Kublek woman that took over, wants you dead. So are you planning on fucking, marrying and murdering her too?" Darryl asked calmly.
"I'm going to ignore your crude comment, since you said it out of stress."
Darryl grinned at him!
"Tell me what I'm stressed out about?"
Negan tilted his head at him!
"Your little adventure here is over. Your being alone with Michonne and giving her the comfort that Rick is too fucked up to give her…is…over…that 'stress'. I suggest if you want more alone time with Michonne, you ask her to teach you to read. You could spend twenty more years with her then."
Darryl just stared at him. Negan continued on.
"Rick fucked up by leaving here. Nothing would have happened to the kids, because Glenn is only killing people that have hurt Hershel, Maggie or have helped me…"
"Didn't you hear what Carol and I said? Glenn didn't kill Andre! Rick didn't kill him either, like you claim Andre told you. It was Iris Bennett."
Negan rolled his eyes!
"Would you cut the shit? I've never seen this girl Rick contacted you about around here! And Rick has to frame Andre's murder on someone. Because no one is buying that it was Ghost Glenn!"
"Screwing with Michonne and Rick isn't going to break them up. She doesn't care anything about you…" Darryl started to say but Negan just grinned!
"You wish that was true! Rick wishes it were true too! Rick hasn't been right since he was captured six years ago. He was too lazy to escape and just sat on his ass! That is what happened, not that bullshit he's been running on about. And I don't hate Rick. People don't believe that, but I don't. I don't even see him as a road block to being with Michonne…but I think you are." Negan said coolly.
"And you plan on running your mouth that Michonne and I have been what? Sleeping together for six years behind Rick's back?!" Darryl hissed softly.
"It wouldn't have been behind his back. We thought he was dead. Life had to move on." Negan shrugged.
"You should get out of here before Kublek goes after you." Darryl told him.
"She's given me until after the funeral tomorrow. And then I plan to move back to Alexandria. I plan to ask for my own house for just Joshua and myself. And soon, Michonne will be moving into that house with the two of us…or three, including Gracie. And there won't be a fucking thing Rick will be able to do about it but just watch." Negan said with a smile.
Darryl and Negan saw Michonne suddenly walk away from Carol and move towards the door of the church. Negan hurried away from Darryl and moved to stop her!
"Whoa! Where are you going?" Negan asked her. Michonne stopped and turned to face him.
"I need to make sure that Ezekiel understands that Joshua will not be leaving with him for the Kingdom." Michonne said.
"I'll go with you." Negan said firmly.
"No. I'll deal with him on my own." Michonne countered, but Negan had one more thing to say—or a couple of things.
"We need to talk about that. If you're taking my son to Alexandria, then I need to be there as well. We need to decide as to how we're going to tell Rick that. And another thing: if this Iris Bennett did kill Andre, she needs to be dealt with."
Michonne thought about what Carol had told her about Negan and Alpha. Somehow, having Negan kill Iris didn't seem quite right. That and she didn't want him holding it over her head in some way. Michonne would deal with the girl that had killed her son, on her own.
"I'll deal with her. Alone. You need to concentrate on keeping yourself alive from Kublek." Michonne told him.
"Do you want me to keep myself alive, Michonne?" Negan smiled.
Michonne did not even blink.
"You were important to Andre. You kept my son alive even when the CRM wasn't looking after him properly. And you were important to Carl. He saw something in you. So yes, keep yourself alive, Negan." Michonne said before turning and walking out of the church.
Negan was staring after her, when he heard loud clapping! He turned to face Carol, who was clapping, and Darryl, who's face lacked expression.
"That was almost beautiful. Throw in all the crap you've been talking about Rick, and I would almost believe that you truly care about Joshua and Michonne." Carol said in a snarky manner.
"I do." Negan said casually.
"You know," Darryl said, "all of this trouble started because Rick wouldn't kill you. He didn't just let you bleed out after slashing your throat. Maggie and I knew better. We knew you needed to be put down but Rick was grieving Carl."
"Rick's in a different place now," Carol said, "and we beat you and your goddamned Saviors. I don't know where you get off thinking that Rick or any of us, are people you can fuck with?"
Negan said nothing to any of it. Darryl and Carol walked past him and out of the church doors. Negan closed the doors behind them and turned to stare up at the front of the church. Tomorrow, the coffins of Perlie, Annie and Andre, along with Pamela, would be sitting up there. And after the service was over, the CRM and the Commonwealth Army, would be escorting him out of here.
Negan knew that he needed for that not to happen.
He turned at the sound of a noise. A familiar whirring sound. Negan looked out of one of the windows and saw a helicopter on the roof of the hospital.
Major General Kublek and Ezekiel, who was supposed to be sitting at Joshua's bedside, were getting into the helicopter. Negan watched as it lifted into their and flew away. He knew where it was going.
To the Kingdom. The newly, renovated Kingdom that would give Ezekiel an edge over him, with regards to being able to take care of Joshua.
And Negan had no doubts that none of this would be happening, if Lizzie Forehead didn't stare at Ezekiel like she wanted to eat him alive. She would probably end up being his son's mother if Negan did not do something.
Darryl had asked him if he planned on 'fucking, marrying and murdering' Elizabeth like he had Pamela. If Darryl were still in this church, Negan would have told him that he would be skipping the 'fucking' and 'marrying' part.
THE HILLTOP-
Rick and Aaron were let through the gates of the Hilltop. They had left Alexandria before getting Maggie's message about Hershel, Iris and the Kingdom.
Maggie, Eugene, Lydia and Elijah were packing up a SUV, as if they planned to go somewhere. Rick and Aaron stopped their own car and got out!
"What's going on?" Rick asked Maggie and Eugene.
"Iris has left. With Hershel. We think they're headed towards the Kingdom." Maggie said.
Aaron raised a brow!
"The Kingdom? Is that place even livable?" he asked.
Eugene answered that question.
"Major General Kublek poured in a massive amount of resources into rebuilding the stronghold. Yes, people could probably stay there now until it was finished." Eugene said solemnly.
"And your wife was in on this?" Rick asked Eugene accusingly. Rick still didn't think he could follow all that happened here! This Iris Bennett girl was really Stephanie's daughter and she had never said anything about this to Eugene? Her own husband?
"Stephanie has to do as she's told. We all have to at the Commonwealth," Eugene said coolly, "and I would appreciate it if you would stop looking at me like that! I have sacrificed my marriage to help clear your name."
Rick had nothing to say to that, because he didn't quite understand what the hell Eugene was even talking about! Once he found out that his 'step-daughter' had killed Andre, he should have turned her in to Kublek.
But he also knew in his heart of hearts, that this girl probably wanted nothing to do with the CRM, and was probably trying to escape them, more than justice. At the same time, he refused to leave Michonne in the condition she was in. She thought Glenn had killed Andre. Rick wanted Glenn to be at rest and to not have his name slandered. That meant everyone had to know that Iris Bennett had killed Andre Beale.
Aaron looked at Maggie.
"So…Elijah and Lydia overheard Hershel and Iris talking about going to the Kingdom? Hershel is smarter than that." Aaron noted.
Maggie didn't quite understand.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean that if Hershel was really serious about trying to help Iris get away, he wouldn't have let himself be overheard. I don't know. Something about this feels wrong." Aaron noted.
Maggie turned towards Lydia and Elijah, who were now approaching.
"Lydia, where were Hershel and Iris when you overheard their plans to go to the Kingdom?" Maggie asked.
Rick noticed that Lydia got a funny look on her face. Elijah noticed it too!
"What?" Elijah asked his girlfriend. Lydia focused on Maggie.
"Maggie…I don't really know why that matters?" Lydia asked softly. Elijah turned her so that she was facing him!
"What's going on? What is it?" he asked her. Lydia reached behind her to take off the knapsack she had been carrying. She opened it and pulled a small book out. Elijah took it from her, not quite understanding, but as soon as Rick and Aaron could sight of it, they knew exactly what the hell it was!
"That's Negan's goddamned diary!" Rick swore.
Maggie snatched it from Elijah and saw that there was a bookmark in it! Swallowing convulsively, she opened the page…
I woke up with tears in my eyes today. I had had the most vivid and beautiful dream of Michonne's giving me a blow job. When I woke up and realized it had never happened, I started to cry.
We were in a gazebo someplace, naked and Michonne took my dick in her hands like it was a treasure or something. She pulled it gently towards her face and then began causally licking it, and I felt it tremble and gradually grow rigid beneath the workings of her beautiful mouth. Michonne closed her lips over my pulpy head and let her tongue play over my spectacular dome! My rod grew so immense that soon it filled her mouth and…
Maggie thought she would be sick! Not only by Negan's written words but it was clear that this page was 'bookmarked', because Hershel and that murderous girl, had been experimenting! Either they had been playing out what Negan had written down, or Iris had seduced her boy with this filth!
Rick walked over and snatched the diary from her hands! He too then looked over the bookmarked pages and he felt ever fiber of his body, coil in rage! Would they ever be free of this diary or Negan? And how had Hershel or this Iris, gotten their hands on this stupid journal anyway? He had given it back to Negan at the Commonwealth, hadn't he?
Or maybe he hadn't? Maybe it had still been in his attic?
No. Rick had thrown it at Negan at the Commonwealth and somehow, Hershel Rhee got his hands on it.
"There's a gazebo at the Kingdom." Maggie said quietly. "Or there was."
Aaron slowly took the diary from Rick and skimmed the pages. He wasn't interested in Negan's fantasies, so much as he wanted to make sure that Gracie's supposedly being his daughter, was not mentioned.
"It makes no sense that Hershel and Iris would run away to do all of this." Aaron said, trying to inject some sense into all of this. "They are gone because they knew we were coming to take Iris back."
Rick took a deep breath and nodded. He then locked eyes with Maggie.
"We need to go now and see if we can stop them. If they get there with a CRM presence there, then we'll never be able to get Iris back to the Commonwealth to confess." Rick told her.
"It's gone beyond that, Rick. If my son is getting his ideas on sex, from Negan's journal, we could end up finding Hershel, Iris and some newborn of theirs! I'm going to the Kingdom to get Hershel. And Hershel alone." Maggie said firmly.
Rick nodded his understanding of her point of view. He looked at Aaron.
"Why don't you go back to Alexandria and take Eugene with you. I don't know if he actually has a home to return to anymore." Rick said in a low tone. He then walked over to the SUV and looked at Lydia and Elijah.
"Maggie and I are going to go to the Kingdom—alone." Rick announced. For Maggie, this was about stopping the possible seduction of Hershel, if it hadn't happened already. But for him, the stakes were much higher. He had already failed to be by his wife's side when she needed him. Rick HAD to bring back her son's murderer to the Commonwealth. Or else.
Or else…Rick tried not to think of Lori and Shane, but he couldn't help it. Rick planned to return to the Commonwealth with Iris Bennett, and be present at the funeral of Andre Beale.