Chapter 69-The Wedding

One month later

Negan's P.O.V

Negan looked at Shane as he walked out of his guest bedroom. "Why did you choose to stay in my cabin?" Negan complains to Shane.

"You've never heard the saying it's bad luck to see your bride before the wedding?" Shane asks him with a smile.

"I've heard it, I didn't think I would hear it after the world ended, but yes, I heard it." Negan grumbled, lying back on his couch. "I can't believe they found her a f*** dress."

"They wanted to make it real," Shane says as he sits down beside him.

"Fair enough, you got cold feet yet?" Negan asks Shane with a smile.

"No, I won't get them either. I've never been so sure of anything in my life," Shane tells Negan firmly.

"Good because if you try to back out, I'm going to break your legs and stand you up there," Negan says.

"You know Maggie's coming, right?" Shane asks after a bit of laughter.

"I thought the agreement was for her to stay the hell away from me and me away from her." Negan sits up staring at him bug eyed.

"It was but well Al's Madison friend, and she convinced Daryl to bend the deal one time. Do you have a problem with it?" Shane asks.

"No." Negan says flatly. "As long as today ends with you and Madison being married and me alive, everything will be okay."

"I'm glad you feel that way because Rick found some tuxedo's in Alexandria, and we have to wear them," Shane tells Negan, who stared at him some more, thn groans.

"You're lucky I like you." Negan mumbles.

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl looks at the MRAP as it drives into the Campgrounds. Al and Maggie climb out of the front. Earl, Tammy, Tara, and Beth climb out the back. "Who's watching Hilltop?" Daryl asks them, looking between them.

"Kenneth and Marco, let's hope it's still standing when we get back." Beth joked, after a quick hug. Daryl nods as he walks up to Maggie. "You good?"

"I'll be fine, Daryl. I won't cause any problems, I promise." Maggie says, raising a hand in surrender. Daryl nods as Maggie follows Al into the big cabin. Earl walks over to Daryl.

"I got your request done." Earl says as he holds a ring out to Daryl.

"Thanks, you get Morgan's necklace done too?" Daryl asks Earl, who nods.

"You plan on doing it today?" Earl asks, curious with an eager grin.

"Tonight," Daryl says. "After everything is over. Pretty sure Shane would pummel me if I took the attention away from Madison." Causing Earl to laugh at that notion.

"I'm happy for you, Daryl, now let's go get ready for the blushing bride and groom" Earl says as he pats his shoulder, causing Daryl to snort, and walks away.

Madison's P.O.V

Madison looks at the door of her cabin as it opens, and Nick walks in. Madison smiles as she goes up to him and hugs him. "It's so good to see you." Madison says.

"You too, Mom," Nick says as he lets her go. He hugs Alicia, with a big grin.

"I was about to send Daryl to Kingdom," Alicia says with a smile.

"I wouldn't miss this. I finally have enough to shoot Shane if it goes wrong." Nick tells them, causing Madison to scowl at her son while Alicia shrugged, knowing he had a point. "So Shane's best men are Negan and Rick. Who is standing by you?"

"Alicia and Al." Madison says.

"Al?" Nick asks her.

"Yeah, Al helped me when I needed it most. I may have never found you guys without Al's help, and she saved Shane after the stadium," Madison says. "Also, she's my friend."

"So, how has your community training been going?" Alicia asks Nick, who starts to explain with an eager air the last few months to them.

Rick's P.O.V

Rick walks into Shane's cabin and smiles at his partner. "How's the leg, Rick?" Negan asks with a smirk.

"You'll know when it's better because I'll start beating you with this cane." Rick says to Negan flatly, who chuckles.

"Ignore him. He's an idiot." Shane says as he hugs Rick.

"Thanks." Negan says rolling his eyes. "If you're here, that also means Maggie is."

"She is," Rick says.

"Well, I will go outside and face the glares," Negan says as he leaves the cabin.

Rick sits down and looks at Shane. "You remember mine and Lori's wedding?" Rick asks Shane, who nods with a laugh.

"She was pregnant. A few months along, and I think that was one of the few times I saw you both truly happy during the relationship." Shane says as he sits down. "Look no offense, but if Carl were never born, you two would have never lasted as long as you did."

"Yeah, I think both of us hoped that the end of the world would have been a fresh start for us." Rick says, having long made peace with it. "It was for a little bit, but then it went back."

"It went bad because of me." Shane says, and Rick looks at him. "Come on, Rick, don't try and deny it."

"You were an a***." Rick says, making Shane laugh.

"Yes, I was brother, yes I was/" Shane says with a grin. "I am glad I was an a***. Being an a*** led to me being stabbed, and that was the best thing to ever happen to me."

"I think you are the only man on Earth who is glad they got stabbed." Rick says with a smile. "Glad I could help."

Negan's P.O.V

Negan walked inside the big cabin and saw Maggie looking at him for a moment before she looked back at Michonne. "You don't look too bad," Beth says as she walks up to him.

"I drink my juices." Negan grinned, rubbing his arms.

"I bet you didn't ever expect this." Beth raised an eyebrow.

"I never expected to get out of that cell. I bet you never expected to survive a gunshot to the head." Negan replies.

For a moment, Beth stared, then the faintest smile appeared.

"I guess we should start to expect the unexpected." Beth says. Negan nods as Eugene motion him over.

"Talk to you later," Negan says as he walks up to Negan. "How are you doing, Professor Smartie Pants? I missed you!" Negan says fondly

"Did you see my plans?" Eugene asks Negan, ignoring the comment, who nods.

"They'll work, but we'll have to expand. It will take a few months, but it will work, thanks." Negan says.

"Negan." Alicia barked as she walks up behind him.

"Sounds like I'm in trouble." Negan says, blinking.

"Go get ready," Alicia growls before she walks away.

"Definitely in trouble," Negan says before he walks away, as Eugene was heard giving a faint snort behind him.

Shane's P.O.V

Shane stood in the big cabin under an altar they had made. "These things suck." Negan whispers in Shane's ear, almost a whine.

"Shut up."Shane says. Negan smiles then frowned as Rick tapped the back of his leg as the door open. Alicia and Al walk in first, followed by Madison. Shane smiles as he stares at her. She walks up to him and stops across from him. They both look at Gabriel.

"I would like to say something before we start," Gabriel says as he looks at everybody. "We all remember the fall and what we were doing when we heard of the first walker attacked or a walker attacking us. I was in my church, and I listened to my congregation being torn apart by walkers, and I thought then that is where I would die, in that church alone. But I was wrong, and when Rick proved that to me, I never thought we would beat this, live. But Deanna said we could. Alexandria, Hilltop, Kingdom, and the Sanctuary showed us that we could. All of these things showed us that no matter what we face, we can remake the world. We make a new one. This is just the beginning," Gabriel says. "Sorry," He says to Shane and Madison.

"Don't apologize, well said!" Shane says.

"Now, today, we gather to celebrate the love between Shane Walsh and Madison Clark. I was told you both had your own vows?" Gabriel says. Shane nods as he looks Madison in the eyes.

"You found me when I was at my worse, I was alone and dying in a desert, and then you showed up with Troy. You rebuilt me, Madison. You put me back together and made me a better man. You showed me that even when there was no hope that we had to keep fighting, we had to cling to the people we loved. You're the glue that holds me together, and I would rather be dead than live my life without you in," Shane says to Madison. Madison had tears in her eyes as she looked at him.

"After losing Travis, I never thought I would love again, everything was about keeping Alicia and Nick safe, keeping them alive at all costs, and as long as they were alive, it didn't matter how much of my soul I lost. It didn't matter how many people or walkers I had to kill. Then I met you, and we started to work together, and I found myself catching feelings for you and scared me, and I tried to push you away, and you just wouldn't let me do it. You say I rebuilt you, but you kept me human, you kept my soul in tack, and taking a chance with you was the best decision I've made since this s*** started," Madison says.

"Rings?" Gabriel asks. Shane looks at Rick, who hands him a ring, and Alicia hands Madison one. "Shane, do you swear to cherish, protect, and love Madison through sickness and in health for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Shane says as he slides the ring onto Madison's finger.

"Madison, do you swear to cherish, protect, and love Shane through sickness and in health for as long as you both shall live?" Gabriel asks her.

"I do," Madison says as she slides the ring onto Shane's finger.

"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride," Gabriel says, and Shane kisses her.

Carl's P.O.V

Carl walks up to Shane after Madison had gone to talk to Alicia and Michonne. "When is your wedding going to be kid?" Shane asks him with a grin.

"Hopefully not for a very long time." Carl says as he sits down beside him. "What do you think my Mom would say if she was here?"

"Something along the line of it's about time you settled down, you j***." Shane says dryly, making Carl laugh. "T-dog and Glenn would be teasing me, Hershel would be giving me a pat on the shoulder, and I would be sharing a beer with Dale talking about the times we hated each other." Shane says to Carl, who smiles and nods. Shane looks at Daryl, who is talking with John. "You wanna have a bet?" Shane asks Carl, who looks at him.

"What's the bet?" Carl asks him.

"I bet that John will propose before Daryl." Shane says with a smirk.

Carl smiles as he looks at Daryl. Earl had told him about Daryl's request when he had visited Hilltop. "I say Daryl will," Carl says. "What does the winner get?"

"The winner gets to have the loser do inventory for the warehouse for the next year," Shane says.

"Then you better hope you win because it's your turn next. Then Beth, Ezekiel, and me," Carl says. "Deal," Carl says as he shakes Shane's hand.

Maggie's P.O.V

Maggie sat on the steps to a cabin and looked at Shane as he walked up to her and sat down. "Congratulations." Maggie says sincerely.

"Do you remember when we first saw each other again in Alexandria?" Shane asks Maggie, who nods, not sure where that came from

"Yeah, I said you still looked like the same man we lost on the farm, and I thought you might have been for a while."

"When did I prove you wrong?" Shane asks her.

"When you fought for Troy and gave Negan a second chance." Maggie answers. "That's when I knew you had changed."

Shane nods. "Enjoy the party, Maggie." He gently layed a hand on her shoulder and then said softly "you want to talk, I'm here."

At this, Maggie swallowed but nodded appreciatively as he stood.

Alicia's P.O.V

Alicia and Daryl walked inside the cabin that night. Daryl walked to Charlie's room and cracked the door open. He saw that Charlie and Rachel were asleep. He looked at Alicia as she walked out of the baby's room. "They're still asleep," Alicia says as she sits down on the couch. Daryl sat down beside her, her head thrown back. "I'm so tired."

"Just wait until tomorrow and clean up and the number of people we will have to feed," Daryl smirked.

"Don't remind me," Alicia says as she looks at him. "What did Earl want?"

"What are you talking about?" Daryl asks her.

"I saw him hand you something, and last month, Morgan said you had him fix your knife, but you were using your knife," Alicia says to Daryl, who chuckles.

"I can't get a damn thing past you," Daryl says as he reaches into his pocket. He pulls a ring out and shows it to Alicia, who looks at him with wide eyes. "Will you marry me?"

Alicia smiles and kisses him. "Yes." Alicia says as she puts the ring on, then paused. "Was this the plan?"

"I can't say I planned some big proposal." Daryl shrugged.

"Good," Alicia says as she kisses him and stands up. "Let's go celebrate," Daryl smiles as he follows her into the bedroom.

Thanks for reading. This was a light-hearted chapter, and I think we will get into the next big arc next chapter. I don't plan on doing another wedding. I'm not great at it. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.