Chapter 26-Reassurance

Gabriel's P.O.V

Gabriel walks out of the place he was staying in, Kingdom. Rick wanted him to stay there for a few more weeks to ensure no more problems with the true saviors. Gabriel smiles at Jerry as he comes up to him.

"What's up, dude?" Jerry asks him.

"I'm excited to go home today," Gabriel says. "The Kingdom has been nice, but I miss Alexandria."

"Well, Carol is almost ready to go. She wants to see Daryl, so I'm pretty sure you guys will be stopping by the campgrounds," Jerry says as they walk towards Carol. Gabriel nods as they get to her.

"You ready to go?" Carol asks Gabriel, who nods.

"Yeah, let's go," Gabriel says. Carol nods as she hugs Ezikiel and Jerry.

"Safe travels, my friend," Ezekiel says to Gabriel.

"Thanks for letting me stay here," Gabriel says. Ezekiel nods kindly and respectfully as Gabriel climbs into the car. Carol starts the car, and they leave the Kingdom.

Beth's P.O.V

Beth walks out of her room and looks at Maggie. "Hey," Beth says as she goes down the stairs.

"Hey, what are you doing today?" Maggie asks her. Beth stops for a second.

"Going on a run with Carl," Beth says. "Is there a problem with us doing that?" Beth asks her sister.

"No," Maggie says. "Just stay away from the campgrounds, please. I'll see you tomorrow. Al and I are going to Oceanside for the night,"

"Okay, be safe," Beth says to Maggie.

"You too," Maggie says as Beth goes outside. She goes up to Carl, who was waiting by a car.

"We won't have to worry about Maggie now. She thinks we are going on a run, and she's going to Oceanside," Beth says as she gets in the driver's side. Carl nods as Enid walks up to them. "Does she know where you are going?"

"Nope, I was hoping to leave while she was sleeping," Carl says as Enid stops in front of him.

"Where are you guys going?" Enid asks.

"On a run," Carl says.

"I'll come," Enid says. "That's okay right?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Beth says. Carl nods as Enid gets in the back. Beth starts the car, and they leave Hilltop. The three sit in silence as Beth drives down the road, Enid looking between the two with suspicion.

Carl looks at Enid. "So we were lying."

"Where are we going?" Enid asks him.

"The campgrounds to see Daryl and Negan," Carl says.

"Carl, what the hell?" Enid asks. "Maggie is going to be pissed."

"Maggie's been pissed the last two weeks. She can't keep us from seeing our friends," Carl says. "Are you going to tell her?"

"No," Enid says. "You have your reasons, and I respect, but I'm kicking your a** when we get home," Carl smiles at her.

"Understood," Carl says as he looks back towards the road.

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl sat in his room, watching the ceiling. He looks at the door as someone knocks. "Come on. We gotta go eat," Alicia says.

"I'll be out in a minute," Daryl says as he gets out of bed. Daryl grabs his crossbow and leaves the room. Alicia looks at him.

"Ready?" She asks Daryl, who nods as he follows her out of the cabin. They walk to the big cabin in silence. Once they get there, they sit down at the table.

"Took you two long enough," Madison says as she hands them a plate. They nod to the blond who sits down beside Shane. Daryl eats about half of his plate and glances at Alicia. He pushes the rest of his plate towards her.

"What are you doing?" She asks him.

"I'm ain't hungry. Eat it," Daryl tells her. Alicia sighs but puts the rest of Daryl's food on her plate. The group eats in silence.

Maggie's P.O.V

Maggie got out of Al's van after it stopped inside of Oceanside. Al climbs out of the van as Cyndie walks up to them. "What are you guys doing here?" Cyndie asks them.

"You mind if we stay here a night? Things are crazy at Hilltop," Maggie says.

"Yeah, you can stay. Have you heard from Daryl at all?" Cyndie asks.

"Nope," Maggie says. "Negan's still there, though. How have the people here been taking it?"

"They might be more pissed off than most. The saviors killed so many of us, and now the leader of the saviors is walking free. Nobody is happy about it," Cyndie says. "But we can talk about all this stuff with Negan later. I'll show you guys a trailer you can sleep in," Maggie and Al nod as they follow the Oceanside leader. Cyndie shows them their trailer and leaves. Maggie and Al go into the trailer and set their bags down.

Maggie's eyes then flashed and looked at Al "You know, maybe with the help of Oceanside, we could convince Daryl to give Negan up," Al doesn't say anything as she unpacks. "Al," Maggie says. Al stops with a sigh and looks at Maggie.

"Look, I don't want to be a part of this. You have every right to hate Negan, but I won't help you plot against Daryl because I might have done the same thing if it was me. Maggie, I can't be a part of this because if it comes to picking a side. I don't know which side I'll pick," Al says to Maggie before she goes back to unpacking.

Maggie doesn't say anything else as they sit in silence.

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl walks outside of the big cabin and sees Negan sitting on the step. "You okay, boss?" Negan asks with a smile.

"I'm fine," Daryl says. "What are you doing out here?"

"Got done eating early. I figured I'd wait out here for Strand, Dwight, and Tobias. We are finishing the north wall today," Negan says. Daryl nods as the gate is pulled open, and Beth drives the car into the campgrounds. Beth gets out of the car.

"I didn't think Maggie would let you come here," Daryl says.

"She doesn't know we are here," Beth says. "She's at Oceanside right now with Al," Daryl nods as Carl and Enid get out of the car.

"Where is everybody?" Enid asks.

"Eating," Daryl says. "How long are you guys staying?"

"A few hours. Tara is running things at Hilltop right now," Beth says. Daryl nods.

"By the way. Carl Shane has Judith inside if you want to see her," Daryl says. Carl nods as he goes into the cabin. Enid follows him.

"Well, come on. Give me a tour. I didn't get to look at this place much when I came here last," Beth says.

"Okay," Daryl says as he goes down the stairs. "Don't cause any trouble," He says to Negan.

"You got it," Negan says as Daryl walks away with Beth. Daryl and Beth walk through the campgrounds, and Beth looks at him.

"Everything okay?" Beth asks him.

"Yeah, why wouldn't they be?" Daryl asks.

"You have this look on your face, and you seem kind of out of it," Beth says. Daryl sighs as he looks at Beth.

"Alicia's pregnant, and it's my kid," Daryl tells Beth.

"You are worried you'll be a bad father," Beth says, making Daryl nod. "Who all knows?" Beth asks.

"You, Shane, Madison, and June. I wasn't even supposed to tell you. I'm going to tell Rick and maybe Morgan and John," Daryl says.

"I remember the day Lori died, and you and Maggie came back from the run with the formula, and you started feeding Judith. I know you're are going to be a great Dad because of that. You have your past, Daryl, but if I have learned anything since the start of this s***. It's that our past doesn't make us who we are. We do that," Beth says.

"Thanks," Daryl says.

"What are friends for?" Beth asks as they continue to walk. After a few minutes, Beth smiles teasingly. "Does this mean Daryl Dixon could have wedding bells in his near future?" Beth asks.

"Shut up," Daryl says. Beth laughs as she follows the archer.

Troy's P.O.V

Troy was standing on watch when Laura walked up to him. Laura had decided to stay at the campgrounds after she asked Rick...figuring with Negan out in the open someone had to watch him, and he was fine with it.

"Hey," Laura says to him. Troy glances at her, an odd look across his face.

"Hey," Troy says. "You here to take overwatch?" He asks her.

"No, you seemed lonely," Laura says with a smirk.

"What do you want?" Troy asks her.

"Fine, I have to go check in on the Sanctuary, and I was hoping you would come," Laura says.

"Yeah, I'll come. Let me find someone to take over watch," Troy says. Laura nods as Troy walks away. Troy walks up to Cole. "Hey, Cole,"

"What?" Cole asks.

"Can you take over watch? I'm going to the Sanctuary with Laura," Troy says.

"Yeah, I got it," Cole says. Troy nods as he goes to the gate. He opens it for Laura to get out and then shuts it. He climbs into the passenger side, and they leave.

Carl's P.O.V

Carl walks out of the big cabin with Judith and sits down beside Negan. "How have you been?" Carl asks Negan.

"I've been fine. Life hasn't been too bad since I've come here," Negan says. "Is your girlfriend going to come out here and bite my head off while we're talking?"

"No, she doesn't hate you as much as Maggie does. She doesn't like you, but she doesn't hate you. She was close with Glenn," Carl says.

"Who wasn't close with Glenn, kid? Hell, the only reason I'm not a walking bag of dirt and shit is because Maggie doesn't want to fight Daryl to get to me," Negan says. "I know the second I leave these walls. I'm dead. That's why I haven't asked to go on any runs," Carl doesn't say anything.

"Hold her," Carl says as he hands Judith to Negan. He goes to the car and opens the truck. He grabs a bag out of the back and comes back over to Negan.

He sets it down, and Negan hands him Judith. "I went to Alexandria last week and grabbed this. Open it," Carl says to Negan, who opens the bag. Negan smiles as he pulls his leather jacket out.

Negan stares at the jacket...memories of one of the last dinner's with his wife, the two joking over dog food.

"Thank you," Negan says as he puts the jacket on. "My wife gave this to me. I'm assuming there's no way I can get you to bring me, Lucille."

"You would be right," Carl says.

"Worth a try," Negan says.

"Hey, you know that Daryl wants this to be a place for people to get a fresh start. You have yours, and Maggie isn't going to ruin that," Carl says.

"How can you be so sure?" Negan asks Carl.

"Because I won't let her. Nobody else is dying if I can control it. This I can control," Carl says.

"I feel safer already," Negan says. "You're a good kid. I'm only going to cause you problems."

"I'm the reason my Dad kept you alive. I'm going to make sure you stay alive," Carl says. Carl stands up. "You should be helping on the north wall." Negan smiles as he walks away. Carl goes back inside.

Thanks for reading. I am going to spend the next few chapters building up characters, relationships, and just characters in general, so these chapters may be a little slower than the rest, but I do want to do this. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.