Chapter 45-Moving into Hilltop

The next day

John's P.O.V

John was putting some cans inside of a bag. He planned on giving some supplies to Hilltop as a thank you, and so they didn't lose any supplies because of them staying there. He turns his head as he hears the radio go off. "John." He hears Maggie's voice faintly from the radio. He sets the bag down and walks into the room with the radio. He grabs the radio.

"This is John, go ahead Maggie." John says.

"How long until you guys get here?" Maggie questions John.

"I'm getting the last of the supplies. Daryl and Alicia are getting the babies in the truck. Should be there by day's end." John answers.

"You're in charge of the group now, right?" Maggie asks. John sits down, raising a brow at the question..

"With the help of Morgan and Shane."

"Then make sure they know something. I'm in charge of Hilltop, not Daryl, not Shane, not you, and not Rick. If you are coming to live here, you listen to me," Maggie firmly says. "It will take all the power I have in my body not to shoot Negan. I should ban him from ever stepping foot in Hilltop again and I swear if he comes anywhere, and I mean any-where, near Hershel, treaty be fucked, I will kill him. This is my community. I'm in charge. Make sure they all know that."

The radio went silent, and John sat there for a second. He set down the radio, leaned back in the chair, and sighed. John knew that the next few weeks would be the most stressful since he left his cabin. He was hoping he could keep the peace. John sighed again as he stood and went to get the bag he set down and then left the cabin.

Maggie's P.O.V

Maggie looked at Cyndie as she walked into her office. "You heard, huh?" Maggie asks Cyndie, who nods. "I don't like it either."

Cyndie walked over to the chair in front of her desk and sat down. "I know you don't. People from Oceanside will be coming to help with the people."

"Rick will be glad to hear it," Maggie tells her. "Make sure they know Negan won't be here long."

"We could kill him," Cyndie offers. Maggie stares at the woman as she taps her fingers against the desk.

"Don't, Maggie says. "I don't want Negan's blood being split at Hilltop. It will destroy the soil," Maggie growls. "Negan will die, but it won't be here."

"You have Oceanside on your side," Cyndie says. She smiles at Maggie before she stands and leaves. Maggie watched the door. She knew Negan would never leave Shane's side while he was here or at the camp. She knew Daryl, Carol, and Rick wouldn't help her, and the people in Hilltop that were willing to kill Negan were becoming smaller by the day. Right now, the only person she could trust to help her kill Glenn's killer was Cyndie.

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl watched as the gates to Hilltop opened. He looks beside him at Alicia, who had fallen asleep. Shane, Morgan, and John turned away from Hilltop and lined the R.V's up along the wall instead of taking them inside. He drove the truck inside and turned it off. Daryl looked at Alicia and shook her. Alicia opened her eyes and turned and looked at him. Alicia climbs out and goes to the left side of the truck to get Ofelia. Daryl opens the back door, unbuckles Merle, and pulls his son out of the truck as the doors to Barrington house open, and Beth comes outside. She walks up to the truck with a large smile on her face. Daryl looks at her and gives a small smile. "You looked better in the woods," Beth teases.

"I know," Daryl says. "Where's Maggie?"

"She is assigning the trailers. I can take you and Alicia to your room whenever you're ready" Beth tells Daryl, who nods. He goes to the back and grabs one of the bags, and holds it out to Beth, who grabs it.

"We'll get these cribs for you," Earl says as he walks up to the truck with Carl.

"Thanks," Alicia says. Earl nods as he pulls the cribs out of the truck.

"Come on," Beth says as she starts to walk towards Barrington house.

"Is Tara staying with you?" Alicia asks as they walk inside.

"Yeah," Beth says. Daryl looks in Maggie's office and sees her looking at him. She gives him a gentle smile. He nods to her as Beth leads them upstairs. She leads them to the furthest room on the left. She opens the door, and the two of them walk in, followed by Earl and Carl with the cribs. They set it down and leave to get the other one. Alicia hands Ofelia to Beth.

"I'll go get the last of the bags," She says before she leaves the room. Daryl nods as he sits on the bed. The walls were light brown, and a ceiling fan hung in the center. A large queen-sized bed sat against the wall. The walls had windows on them, and a dresser pressed up against the left wall, and there was a door to a bathroom.

"Are you going to talk to Maggie?" Beth asks Daryl.

"Yeah," He says softly. "Once we're settled in, I'll go and talk to her," Beth sits down beside Daryl.

"I'm worried about her, Daryl." Beth says, concerned. "I saw Cyndie leave her office earlier. She's been doing it more recently in the last few weeks. She's putting ideas in Maggie's head that's going to get people hurt," Beth faces Daryl, and he could see the worry in her eyes and hear it in her voice. Daryl looks at Alicia as she walks back into the room.

"Can you take him?" Daryl asks Alicia, who nods as he hands her Merle. Daryl leaves the room and goes down the stairs. He throws the door open and walks outside. He looks at Earl and Carl as they walk back towards the house with the other crib.

"What is it, son?" Earl asks Daryl after seeing his face.

"Where's Cyndie?" Daryl questions them.

"Basement," Carl answers. Daryl nods as he walks past them. He throws the cellar doors open and climbs inside the cellar before he shuts the door. He walks downstairs and looks at Cyndie, who is talking with another woman from Oceanside.

"Get out," Daryl growls. The woman looks at Cyndie and nods. She walks past Daryl and closes the door. Cyndie stares at Daryl. The cellar was mostly dark. The only light was the sunlight shining through the window. Daryl walks up to Cyndie and pushes her back into the wall. He grabs his knife out. "I know the story about what happened at Oceanside. Dwight told me about it. About what Simon did to your people."

"He did what Negan ordered." Cyndie growls.

"Negan's done brutal monstrous things but...that? That he had no hand in. Simon killed them just like he did Anne's people. Those things Negan had no part in." Daryl growls as he walks closer to her. Cyndie pressed her back into the wall, suddenly worried and looked at Daryl's knife. It shined as the sunlight hit it.

"This isn't the best way to show peace." Cyndie protested, trying to calm him down and not let him do anything drastic.

"No, it ain't," Daryl stops right in front of Cyndie. He looked the woman in the eye and saw fear. "I don't know what you're planning. But if anybody gets hurt. Negan, the saviors, my girlfriend, my kids, friends, family. I'll kill you if I find out that Maggie is involved and she got the idea from you. I'll tie you up and take you to the deepest part of the woods where nobody will hear you. I'll dig a hole and throw you in it. I'll bury you alive and leave you to turn, and your walker will dig at the dirt forever. I ain't letting someone with a vendetta fuck up what I got. Once this bridge is finished, you'd be wise to stay at that beach for the rest of your life." Daryl growls at the woman. His voice was low but firm, and he ran his knife up the wall beside her arm as he spoke, Cyndie's eyes darting to it and back. "I'm Not Rick, and I have lost too much. I'll kill you and every fucking person at Oceanside who's involved if it means keeping my people safe," Daryl puts his knife away and leaves. Cyndie stood against the wall. Her breathing was fast, and her eyes were wide with fear.

Carl's P.O.V

Carl walks outside of Hilltop and walks up to the R.V. Shane, Madison, and Negan were staying in. Carl climbs up the ladder and sees Negan sitting on it, watching the woods. He looks at him. "Might not want to be seen with me, kid. Ninety percent of the people who have seen me have glared at me with looks that did not turn me on, and those are the worst." Negan says with a grin.

"I'm still a kid, asshole," Carl says as he sits down. Negan chuckles.

"You're one of the most mature people I know," Negan tells Carl. "Anything wrong?"

"No," Carl says. "I figured you could use a friend."

Carl and Negan look towards the path and see a few horses ride up to the gate. They all glared at Negan for a second before they went back in. "That is Oceanside," Carl says.

"Great. You know I killed Simon. You would think they wouldn't want to kill me," Negan says with a frown.

"We'll keep you safe." Carl assures him. Negan chuckles with a nod.

"My own child bodyguard."

"Shut up," Carl mumbles.

Charlie's P.O.V

Charlie watched as the horses were put away. "Charlie, a little help?" Tara asks the girl, who nods as she comes over to her. "Take Rachel's horse," Charlie nods as she grabs the rein's to Rachel's horse. The girl drops from the horse and looks at Charlie.

"You're new," She says.

"No, I'm not. I'm Daryl and Alicia's daughter," Charlie says. "Adopted daughter," She corrects. She puts the horse in a pin and closes the gate. "Need any more help?" Charlie asks Tara, who shakes her head. Charlie starts to walk away.

"Hey, wait," Rachel says as she catches up to Charlie, who glances at her. "You want to give me a tour?"

"Sorry, I have to go find Daniel," Charlie says before she walks away. Charlie knew about Oceanside and their hate for Negan, the saviors, and even Daryl. She knew they couldn't be trusted.

Maggie's P.O.V

Maggie sat on the balcony after dinner. Everybody was going to sleep, and Al was with Tara and Beth, making sure everybody was settled in. She turns around and looks at Daryl as he walks into the room. He walks up to her and stands by her. "Cyndie told me you threatened her," Maggie says to Daryl, who nods.

"I did," Daryl admits. He pushes himself away from the balcony. "Make sure your friend knows I was being serious," Daryl growls. "If that's what you want to talk about, I'd rather go to sleep."

"I don't," Maggie softly says. "I don't want to talk about it."

Daryl pauses for a moment, wondering if she was serious...then nods as he leans against the railing again.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there." Maggie says, her voice more than a bit guilty.

"You shouldn't be." Daryl says. Maggie looks at him in mild shock. "I was mad and hurt at first. As I thought about it, I couldn't blame you. If you had the Governor living here when you had Hershel, I wouldn't have come because I knew what would happen," Daryl explains to Maggie. Maggie nods. "I know having him here ain't easy. Thank you for allowing us to stay."

Maggie smiles at Daryl and wraps her arm around him. Daryl kisses the side of her head before he lets her go. He nods to her before he starts to walk back towards the door. He stops and looks at Maggie. "That girl is only going to get people killed. Sure, Negan might be one of them, but revenge doesn't help Maggie, and it would be even worse if it were one of us that got killed in the process. You would never be able to live with yourself," Daryl says to Maggie gently before he leaves. Maggie sits back against the railing and sighs. She runs her hand through her hair. She didn't know what to do.

Rachel's P.O.V

Rachel knocked on the trailer Cyndie was staying in. Cyndie opened the door and moved out of the way. Rachel stepped inside of the trailer and looked at Kathy and Beatrice, who were sitting at the table. "I'm assuming we are addressing the elephant outside," Rachel says. They nod.

"What do you need?" Cyndie asks.

"I may have a way to get some info," Rachel tells Cyndie, who looks at her interested. "The girl that Daryl and Alicia take care of."

"Charlie?" Cyndie asks.

"Yeah, the girl probably doesn't have anybody to talk to besides Daryl, Alicia, and whoever Daniel is. If I got close to her, I might be able to get something out of her," Rachel explains. Cyndie looked at Kathy and Beatrice, who nodded.

"Knock yourself out," Cyndie says. Rachel smirks as she leaves.

Thanks for reading. There will be a few more chapters before he gets to episode 2 of season nine. The next chapter will have some different characters that aren't Daryl, Negan, Maggie, Shane, or John. I have a plan for Nick to start a story with him, so that will be fun. Also there will be no upload on Friday. I won't be home. So Merry Christmas. See you next week. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.