Chapter 56-A relaxing day

Morgan's P.O.V

Morgan woke up early in the morning. His hand was on Rosita's back, and her head layed on his bare chest. He rubs her back, and she smiles. "How long have you been up?" Morgan asks.

"Ten minutes," Rosita answers softly.

"We should get back to camp soon."

"Shh," Rosita says. "They'll be fine for a little while. Let's just lay here and enjoy the quiet."

Morgan nods as he lays his head back again, his mind at peace for the moment

Shane's P.O.V

Shane sat by the fire, eating a small cooked rabbit leg. He looked up at Al as she walked into camp. "What are you doing here?" Shane asks her, with an eyebrow raised. He knew Al didn't leave Hilltop very often.

"Just wanted to see how things were going. I like to come out and film the bridge's progress." Al explains as she walks over to him and sits down. Shane nods. "Anything interesting happened since Negan was shot"

"Besides for the tree incident, no," Shane answers casually, going back to eating.

"Can I ask you something?" Al asks Shane, who nods absently. "Why does Carl care so much about Negan?"

Shane used every bit of training he learned in the force to hide his emotions, as he put the leg down. He knew that Al was here for a reason, not stupid in the slightest, and it probably had something to do with Maggie. "I don't know." Shane answers, making sure his eyes furrowed looking at her quizzically. "I never asked. That's Carl's business."

"You've never overheard something?" Al asks Shane, who shakes his head, shrugging again.

"It was good seeing you, Al. I got work to do. Send Maggie my regards," Shane says, trying to not sound hasty, as he stands up and walks away.

As he did he felt Al's eyes staring at him at the very abrupt departure.

Shit, he had to find Rick

Dwight's P.O.V

Dwight stood on the hill spinning his knife in his hand, so lost in thought he didn't hear the footsteps. "You know most men in this world have trouble finding one pretty lady, now you're trying to pick between two," John says as he comes up beside him. Dwight scoffed at the remark, clearly not exactly a secret as he puts his knife away and looks at John.

"How did you know June was the one for you?" Dwight instead asks John.

"You ever hear the story about how we met?" John asks Dwight, who nods once.

"June told me about it once," Dwight says.

"Well, before I met June, I was living. I was surviving and barely doing that. Every day was the same, and death didn't seem like it mattered. But after I met June, I had a reason to live. The world seemed better with her alive in it. I would gladly die for her. Why didn't you stay in Texas and continue looking for Sherry?" John asks.

Dwight stays quiet for a moment then quietly admitted. "I don't know. When Daryl found me I...had no leads."

"Okay, let me ask another question. If there was a herd between you and Amanda. Would you try to save her, even though you know you'll probably die?" John asks.

"I would try." Dwight answers quickly.

"That's how I know. If June was ever in danger, I wouldn't think about my own life. I would try to save her even if I knew I would die. Dwight, if I'm being honest with you, this is an easy choice. You didn't look for Sherry because you wanted to live your life. You chose your life over hers. You didn't even go look for her. She didn't want you to be with her. She left without you, and she never looked for you. She didn't even come back for you, she came back to kill Negan, and that was it. Amanda has been here for everything. She has helped you when you were down. She has supported you when you needed it. She's been somebody for you to lean on. Sherry just wants someone to share her bed. This is an easy choice, Dwight." John says before he leaves Dwight to his thoughts.

Charlie's P.O.V

Charlie was cleaning her gun at a table when Rachel walked over, staring at this with a raised eyebrow. "Who taught you to do that?" Rachel.

"Daniel and Daryl." Charlie answers as Rachel sits down. "Shouldn't you be helping?"

"Shouldn't you?" Rachel asks Charlie, who smiles a little.

"Fair enough," Charlie says as she looks up at Rachel.

Rachel looked around "where's Clementine?"

Charlie frowned, having gotten a liking to the baseball cap wearing girl "She went to Alexandria today, she wanted to visit AJ. She'll be back tomorrow. What do you want to do?"

"There's an entire forest at our disposal," Rachel says with a smile. Charlie smiles as she finishes putting her gun together and follows Rachel into the woods. The two girls move through the woods as quietly as possible. Rachel stops by a log and smiles as she breathes heavily.

"We're going to get in trouble," Charlie says with a smile.

"What are they going to do? Ground us?" Rachel asks as she looks around. "We belong in the woods. That's what is so great about Oceanside. We're in the forest all the time. There are no restrictions."

"I traveled on the road once. It goes bad at some point," Charlie says as she takes a seat beside her.

"That was the group filled with people older than you. There are kids at Oceanside. Being surrounded by adults would suck," Rachel says.

"I'm surrounded mainly by adults now. There are no other kids at the campgrounds. Besides the babies," Charlie explains. "I don't mind it."

"Doesn't Carl come over to see Negan?" Rachel asks.

"Yeah, but he's there to see Negan," Charlie says. "Daniel's taught me to play guitar and chess."

"Come on. We should keep going," Rachel says as she stands. Charlie nods as she follows her.

Shane's P.O.V

Shane finds Rick on watch by the logs, scanning the horizon on top of a large makeshift tower. "Is anybody around us?" Shane asks Rick, who shakes his head.

"Nice to see you too Shane." Rick tried to joke, but his face fell as he saw Shane looking both anxious and worried.

Rick comes down from their handmade watchtower. "What's up? Why do you look worried?"

"Did you tell Maggie about Carl wanting Negan alive?" Shane asks quietly.

"No," Rick answers in the same quiet tone, his face behind his beard paling. "Why?"

"Al's asking questions," Shane says cautiously.

"Dammit," Rick says, rubbing his head in worry. "If Maggie finds out, Cyndie, people around the other communities, it could spread."

"What do you want to do?" Shane asks.

"I don't know," Rick answers honestly, causing Shane to look at him surprised. "It was only a matter of time before she found out. I know we should have told her, I know that, but I would rather have her hate and blame me rather than hate and blame Carl." Rick says with a sigh.

The two of them had always been so close, Maggie being right there for him when Lori died, delivering his sister and being there for her after Glenn. If she found out, God knows how'd she react.

"Carl's strong." Shane reassured, putting a hand on Rick's shoulder to calm him down. "Hell, he's probably stronger than us. When they do find out, we'll keep him safe and make sure they don't hurt him. Heck he'd likely deal with them himself."

Rick nods. "Daryl will protect him at Hilltop."

"Damn right. He's pretty much his nephew at this point, you know damn well Daryl'll look after him. Him and the rest of us. It'll work itself out brother, count on it."

Shane ends with a final nod of reassurance as Rick went back to the tower, his mind racing an 100 hours a minute.

Alicia's P.O.V

Alicia walked into Maggie's office with Ofelia in her hands. Maggie looks up at smiles at her. "Hey, where is the other one?"

"His father decided to take him for a walk." Alicia says as she sits down "You said you wanted to see me about something?"

Maggie nods as she looks at Alicia, after a moment she asked bluntly "Most of the people in your group at one point or another has given some bullshit reason on why I should let Negan live or forgive or whatever. Besides you, I imagine you would share the same views as Daryl." Maggie says.

"I do, and I care about Negan I won't lie about that, he's an aass but he grows on you." She tried to joke...but she continue seeing Maggie's unamused face "But I am also the last person to tell you not to take revenge. I got revenge for my Mom when I thought she was dead. In the process, Nick almost died, and I shot Daryl. I would be a hypocrite. All I will tell you is the truth. That it doesn't make you feel better, especially when you hurt someone else in the process." Alicia says.

After a moment of silence, Maggie then changed the subject

"I was just told me that they excited the farm outside and wanted me to look at it. You want to come? Beth and Tara will be with us."

"Sure, why not. Can do with a girls day out." Alicia says. Maggie couldn't help but smirk slightly at that as she leads her out of the room.

Dwight's P.O.V

Dwight found Sherry talking with Carol. "Carol, can you give us a minute?" Dwight asks Carol, who nods as she walks away. Dwight sits down beside her.

"You made your decision," Sherry says.

"Yeah." Dwight says.

"You'll be happy with her, D. And...I'm sorry." Sherry says.

"I didn't say it was Amanda," Dwight says, confused.

"You didn't have to," Sherry says. "Our relationship ended the second we arrived back at the Sanctuary. Take your second chance. Maybe I'll get one someday." Sherry says. She smiles at Dwight as she stands up and walks away.

Dwight just stared after her, soon sighing. Hoping he made the right choice.

Charlie's P.O.V

Charlie and Rachel sat by a river. They were leaning up against a rock sitting there in silence. The only sound was the sound of running water. "What is one thing you wished you could have done before the world ended?" Rachel asks her, staring at the water.

"Go to a dance." Charlie answers.

"Seriously?" Rachel asks in disbelief.

"Yeah." Charlie says. Rachel chuckles.

"A dance seems so crazy now," She says.

Charlie teased "and boy trouble."

The two girls looked at each other, and both started to laugh.

"It will get dark soon. We should start heading back," Charlie says. Rachel nods as she stands up. They begin to walk back in silence. Charlie kept glancing at Rachel, and she looked like she was in her own world. They both stop when they see walkers. Charlie pulls her knife out as three walkers come towards them. Rachel pulls her knife out as well, seeing what she was looking at. "Go for the legs."

Rachel nods as Charlie kicks the first walker in the leg. The other two walkers go for Rachel. Charlie stabs the first in the back of the head. The walkers push Rachel to the ground. She lets out a yell as she falls, dropping her knife. She holds one up as Charlie runs over and stabs the second one in the head. She kicks the one on Rachel in the hip, and it falls off the girl. She stabs it in the head. She looked at Rachel, who was breathing heavily. Charlie goes over to Rachel. "Are you okay? Did it bike you?" Charlie asks Rachel, who shakes her head.

Charlie grabs Rachel's hand and helps her stand. Rachel looks at Charlie and hugs her. "Thank you," Rachel says. Charlie nods as she hugs her.

Dwight's P.O.V

Dwight finds Amanda after her patrol. He walks up to her. "So, do I need a new partner?" Amanda asks him.

"No," Dwight answers. "I plan on staying your partner," Dwight says. Amanda nods with a smile. "I said you were the problem when it came to Sherry. I was wrong. You were the solution," Dwight says.

"Glad I could help," Amanda says. Dwight kisses her.

He pulls back after a moment. "I should have done that a while ago," Dwight says.

"I'm hungry. You hungry?" Amanda asks. Dwight nods as he follows her.

Rachel's P.O.V

Rachel and Charlie were able to slip back into camp during dinner. They then saw Kathy walked up to them. "Cyndie wants you," She tells Rachel, who nods.

"I'll walk with you." Charlie says. Rachel nods as they walk towards where Cyndie says. Rachel stopped far enough away so that Charlie wouldn't hear. "What was yours?" Rachel looks at her, confused. "The one thing you wished you could have done before."

"Have my first kiss," Rachel answers. Charlie smiles as she kisses her cheek.

"Today was fun, besides for the walker. Goodnight, Rachel," Charlie says before she walks away. Rachel watched her for a moment and went into the tent. Beatrice, and Cyndie stood in the tent, Kathy leading her in.

"Finally." Cyndie says. "You get anything out of her?"

Rachel shakes her head. "Try again tomorrow," Cyndie says. Rachel stared for a moment and just nods.

"Why are we here?" Beatrice asks, looking at Cyndie with confusion.

"We've waited long enough for Maggie to take action. If she wants to keep spitting on her husband's grave, let her." She said bitterly. "When Negan comes back, we will give justice to the dead. We'll start from the bottom and go to the top if Daryl or Rick tries to get in our way and keep siding with those monsters. We'll deal with them and anybody that stands with them."

Beatrice and Kathy nod, and Rachel stares.

Seeing this, Cyndie blinked "You agree, Rachel?"

"Yeah," Rachel says. "I'm just tired."

"Go to sleep," Cyndie orders. Rachel nods as she leaves the tent. She walks out of the tent. She walks towards her tent and lays down. She should have been glad about what Cyndie said, justice for all the people that lunatic Simon ordered to be gunned down, but now all she could think about was what she said about Daryl, Rick, and anybody that stood with them. She didn't want to hurt Charlie.

Thanks for reading. The next chapter will be a time skip. Will Rachel switch sides? Is she starting to have a change of heart, and how will Maggie react to finding out that Carl is the real reason Negan is alive. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.