Chapter 65-Peace

Six months later

Nick's P.O.V

Nick sat inside of a room inside of the Kingdom. Nick stands up and grabs his stick and book, walking outside to the sunny day. He grabs his jacket and puts it on. He walks outside of his room and walks outside of the building. "Hey, Nick," Carol says as she walks up to him.

"Hey, morning," Nick says.

"On your way to your morning session?" Carol asks Nick, who nods. "The Sanctuary, Alexandria, Hilltop and the Kingdom. You've been to all four now. What's your plan after?"

"I don't know," Nick says. "I go back around, but I think I'll be here for a little while," Nick says as he gets to a patch of grass. "See you later, Carol," Nick says as he walks up to Sherry, who is waiting for him.

"Took you long enough," Sherry says with a smile. Nick smiles as he pulls his book out and hands it to her, which she takes with an exasperated sigh. "How many times do I have to read this book?"

"An hour a day," Nick tells Sherry, who sighs as she takes the book and sits down.

Daryl's P.O.V

An arrow goes through a deer, and it falls to the ground. Daryl looked at Clementine, who smiled at him as she lowered her bow. "Finally, only took you one arrow." Daryl says to Clementine, who laughs.

"Shut up." She says as she goes up to the deer and pulls the arrow out of the deer. "So, how did you convince Alicia to let you come out here?"

"It didn't take much. She's been so busy planning with Madison, I've practically become invisible," Daryl says with a smirk. "AJ doing okay?"

"Yeah, Kenny and Lilly are there," Clementine tells him. "When do you plan on seeing Rick again?"

"Soon." Daryl says as he picks the deer up with a heave. "Let's get this back to camp," Daryl tells Clementine, who nods.

Rick's P.O.V

Rick pushes the door open and smiles as he feels the sunshine on his face. He walked forward, pressing the cane against the ground as he walked. Rick looked around Alexandria and smiled at the residents, who smiled happily and waved back. He walked down the steps and looked at Aaron as he walked up to him. "Anything new?" Rick asks as he slowly follows Aaron.

"The food from the Saviors got here, and Carl and Enid are taking the gas to them. They wanted to see the progress of the new Sanctuary." Aaron says, slowing down so he could keep pace. Rick nods.

"How's he been doing with leading?" Rick asks. He knew Aaron had been helping his son when he could.

"Takes after you." Aaron says with a grin as he stops and looks around suddenly, causing Rick to stop gazing at his friend curious. "You ever wonder what Deanna would think about all this?" Rick looks at Aaron, and a sad smile forms on his face as he remembers Alexandria's former leader.

"I think she'd be proud. We made her dream a reality."

Aaron nods. "I hope so. Now come on, let's go check on the crops." Aaron says. Rick nods as he follows him.

Negan's P.O.V

Negan looks around the campgrounds. Over the last six months, they had expanded the walls and installed solar panels. They had built extra cabins and were in the process of building a windmill. Negan smiled as he walked down the stairs. "Hey, Negan," A woman named Hope said as she walked up to him with a smile. She was above average height with a slim build, long blond hair, and green eyes. Negan and Shane had saved her a month ago while taking supplies to Reilly.

"Hey," Negan says to her with a grin. "What are you doing?"

"I was coming for you? We got patrol," Hope tells Negan, who nods.

"Let's go." Negan says as he walks towards the gate. Hope follows him as they leave the camp and start to walk in silence. "What did you do before this."

"I was a lawyer," Hope tells him.

"Damn, that makes me look poor, I was a gym teacher, and you were making money." Negan says as they see two walkers in the trench. "You want these meat sacks?"

"No, you can have them," Hope says. Negan smiles as he pulls his mace off his back and goes up to the first walker. He slams it on the top of its head and then swings it into the side of the other head. "We'll get them on the way back," Negan nods as they continue to walk the wall.

Carl's P.O.V

Carl drove the car down the road. Enid sat in the passenger seat with a book. Over the last six months, Carl had started to grow a beard on his face. "How much further?" Enid asks him.

"We're here." Carl says as he sees the new Sanctuary. The gate opened, and they drove through. Carl climbs out of the car and grabs his hat. He climbs out and looks around. The buildings had been repaired and the walls as well. Two watchtowers stood on the east side of the community was where the plans were growing. They had also installed solar panels on the side of the walls

"Hey, Carl!" Reilly says as he walks up to him, waving. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Well, I told Mike that I would bring the supplies. He didn't look well, so I told him he should see Siddiq and stay in Alexandria for the night." Carl says.

"Yeah, there has been a cold going around. Most people have been sick for a day or two," Reilly tells Carl, who nods, remembering the outbreak at the prison. "I'm actually glad you are you. I want to show you something." Reilly says as he leads Carl and Enid into a church. He leads them into an office, picks up a letter, and holds it out to Carl, who grabs it. He reads the letter and looks at him.

"This is from Georgie." Carl says, his curiosity peaked

"I know, she's offering to help us, but I know she's close to Maggie, and I don't know her. I know you've been in contact with her once or twice."

"Yeah. Two months ago, I met her and traded some stuff for Alexandria," Carl tells him.

"I don't know her, Carl. I don't trust her, but I trust you, Rick Daryl, Ezekiel, and Beth. I can't ask Maggie because I don't trust her yet. If you tell me she's safe to trade with, then I will," Reilly tells Carl, who nods.

"You should do it, and if her intentions aren't good, then we'll be here to help the saviors if they need it," Carl tells Reilly, who nods.

"Then I guess I should send her a letter," Carl nods as they leave the room with Reilly.

Maggie's P.O.V

Maggie sat on a chair on the balcony, watching Hershel as he played in front of her. She looked at Jesus as he walked onto the balcony. "Is today finally the day?" Maggie asks Jesus, who looks at her startled for a moment, and then smiles.

"You know?" Jesus asks, relieved.

"I'm not blind, Jesus," Maggie says as she looks at him and smiles. "Did you think I'd be mad?"

"I've always been here for Hilltop, and now I'm leaving. A part of me thought so" Jesus says. Maggie smiles as she stands up, reassuringly placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You deserve to be happy, Jesus. Going between Hilltop and Alexandria is exhausting and also wastes gas. I'll miss you, Hilltop will miss you, but you belong in Alexandria with Aaron and Gracie, and you aren't leaving us empty-handed. Daryl, Shane, Morgan, Alden, they've been finding people and some of them have come to Hilltop. We'll survive, we always do, and if Hilltop needs you, I know you'll come back." Maggie says. "But for now, you should go be with your boyfriend," Jesus nods as he hugs her.

"I'll miss you too, Maggie," Jesus says. "I already talked to Beth, so I'll be on my way." Jesus says as he lets her go and bends down by Hershel. "Take care of your, Mom kid, don't drive her crazy." Hershel smiles at him innocently. He stands up and looks at Maggie. "I'm only one radio call away."

Beth's P.O.V

Beth rubbed her head and set a piece of paper down. "Problem?" Tara asks as she comes in with a plate.

"Please tell me that's lunch!" Beth begged with hope in her eyes and expression. Tara smiles as she sets it down on the desk. "Thank you, and Earl needs more steel."

"You could probably get some from Daryl, or we could see if there is any at the warehouse." Tara tells her gently.

"I'll have to talk to him, and we should try to use the warehouse as little as possible. It could be useful if something goes wrong," Beth tells Tara, who nods as she walks to the door and shuts it. She walks behind Beth and lays her hand on her shoulders, Beth sighing at the close contact.

"You seem tense," Tara says.

"I am. Maybe you should help," Beth says as she turns the chair around. Tara sits on her lap and kisses her. The two had started a relationship four months after the bridge and had decided to keep it a secret until they figured it out for themselves. Tara pulls back after a moment, looking at the door. "I'm pretty sure Maggie is starting to suspect something.

"It's Maggie. I wouldn't be surprised," Beth says. "I think we know what we're doing. No point in hiding it."

"It's kind of fun, sneaking around," Tara jokingly grinned. Beth smiles as there is a knock. Tara stood up.

"Come in," Beth says. Marco comes in and holds out a note to Beth.

"From Georgie," Marco says. Beth nods as she grabs it. She opens it and reads it.

"What does it say?" Tara asks.

"She's sending a person to look at the community, she said he'd be here in the next week, and his name is Arthur." Beth says. Tara nods as Beth sets the letter down.

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl walks inside of his cabin and sets his crossbow against the wall. He looks at Alicia, who was sitting on the floor with the babies who were now able to sit up on their own. "Hey," She says as Daryl walks over to them. He kisses the baby's head and then Alicia's.

"Charlie or Rachel here?" Daryl asks.

"No, they are having a chess tournament with Daniel, Strand, Cole, and Tobias." He stopped and looked at her blankly, causing Alicia to chuckle at his expression. "No, I'm not kidding," Alicia says.

Daryl nods as he sits down beside her. "How'd it go with your Mom?"

"She thinks we can have it in the next month, Shane agrees," Alicia tells him as she lays his hand on her shoulder.

"Shane know who he is going to have been his best men?"

"Rick, and then he's debating between you and Negan." Alicia tells him with a smirk.

"He should pick, Negan," Daryl says. "Those two are closer than we are," Daryl tells her.

Alicia held her mouth to cover a laugh "oh god, I think he'll just pick Negan just to see the look on both their faces standing next to each other."

Daryl thought for a moment, then sighed, knowing that Shane would do it if only to mess with Rick and Negan at once.

"How'd the hunt go?"

"Good," Daryl pauses then softly confessed. "I'm thinking about going to Hilltop soon. I haven't been there much since the bridge."

"You should. Maggie misses you, and I know you miss her." Alicia says.

"You talk to her?" Daryl asks as he looks at her, questions in his eyes.

"Almost every day, I know you've been dealing with stuff, but Rick's okay, and I think it's time to move on"

"I know." He said looking away "but every time I think about going, I see Rick on that bridge under that wood, seeing Michonne and his kid growing up without knowing him, and it stops me." Daryl tells her as he remembers that day.

If that piece of lumber hit Rick just a few inches above his leg-

"She's doing good, Rick's forgiven her, and I know you have. Your just too damn stubborn to admit it." Alicia says, cutting those dark thoughts off. Daryl nods as Merle hits his foot with a toy. Daryl smiles as he grabs his son.

"You wanna come to see Aunt Maggie with me?" Daryl asks the baby, who smiles. "I'll take that as a yes," Daryl says.

"We'll all go, make it a family trip," Alicia says. Daryl nods as she grabs Ofelia. "Come on, time for dinner," Daryl nods as he follows her.

Thanks for reading, the next chapter, Reilly meets with Georgie, Daryl and Alicia go to Hilltop, and Beth meets Arthur. So quick explanation, there was no chapter on Friday because I got in an accident and was fixing my car. So, as always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.