Chapter 138-Together

Maggie's P.O.V

The clouds above were graying as Maggie walked up to the forge looking up worriedly as it was an imminent sign that the days were getting colder and looked at Earl as he worked. "Earl?" Maggie says softly, making the man look at her.

"Maggie," Earl looked up from his smithy with a concerned expression. "What's wrong?"

"Just wanted to check on you. Is Kenneth here?" Maggie tells him.

"I'm fine, Maggie." Earl says as he sets his hammer down. "I'll be back. Kenneth wants to go to Alexandria, and I wanna see Carl, Robert, and Enid. Check up on them."

"How's Kenneth?"

Earl bowed his head "My boy's angry...he's hurt...but don't worry Maggie I'll keep him in check."

Maggie nods as the two talked for a few more minutes Earl walks away. She sighs as she walks into Barrington house and into Beth's office, where her sister is watching Noah as he sleeps in a crib they kept in there. "Hey." Maggie says softly, making sure she didn't wake up the sleeping boy. "Where's Tara?"

"Lilly's grave," Beth answers rubbing her eyes, clearly the stress of the last few weeks wearing down on all of them. "You doing okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Maggie looked away from her sister's piercing stare.

"Negan has a daughter now, and I've noticed there has been some tension between you and Al." Beth said matter of factly as her sister sits down.

"Beth-"

Beth said "I know, but I'm your sister Maggie. I know when something's bugging you."

"After winter is over, I'm going to tell Hershel everything, about Glenn, about Negan. Al doesn't think I should do it."

"You're not worried that he might try something?" Beth's eyes widened, surprised hearing that.

"That's why I'm telling him, so I can stop him from doing something stupid, like I did. I almost got Rick and Carl killed. That guilt doesn't go away. I don't want Hershel to do something like that, but if I talk to him, explain everything, explain that Negan has changed, maybe I can control what he does."

"You know they forgave you for what happened on that bridge a long time ago." Beth put a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "But I see your reasoning, and I agree with you."

Maggie nods. "As for Negan's daughter. I'm still processing it. He's a father even after what he did for Glenn, and I know he isn't that person anymore. It's just hard to think about."

"I know Sis." Beth says.

"I'm going to find Hershel." Maggie says as she stood, Beth looking on in deep concern as her sister leaves the room.

Negan's P.O.V

Negan sat on the porch of his cabin holding Rose, looking up at the clouds in worry at the decreasing temperature. Shit a part of him wondered if the bitch would freeze to death, but he remembered Lydia said she survived winters before. He looked at Shane as he walked up to him, glancing around. "Where's Kate?"

"Sleeping, I'm trying to get this one to sleep." Negan says as he smiles at his daughter.

Shane nods as he sits down beside him saying "I get the feeling. I remember when Carl was born, that kid did not one to sleep, drove Rick and Lori crazy. Heck I remember Merle and Ofelia driving Daryl crazy and you know better then most how tough he is."

"Now those two drives us crazy. Nothing's changed." Negan says with a smirk making Shane chuckle, pushing him on the shoulder a little.

"I gotta take some supplies to Hilltop tomorrow. You wanna come?" Shane asks but stopped as Negan's smirk faded to a look of disbelief.

"What?" Shane looked confused at that.

"That is a bad idea, and you know it." Negan says. "I get it. There's some tension. I can feel it from here, but I think the best thing for Maggie right now is for Maggie to be as far away from me as possible right now. Regardless of how much I have changed, I did kill Glenn and took Hershel's father away from him. I'm a Dad now, and my daughter has her father. She needs to process that, not see me happy with my family. I'll stay out of Hilltop until she says it is okay," Negan tells Shane who stared then sighed.

"Fuck, sorry."

"...It's fine Shane you were just asking."

Shane patted his shoulder and left as Negan looked at the growing clouds, grimacing.

This would most likely be a rough winter.

Maggie's P.O.V

Maggie sat in the graveyard in front of the grave they had made for Jesus. His head was buried at Alexandria, but Maggie had decided to put a gravestone at Hilltop for him.

She rubbed her eyes, more then anything wanting to hear his voice "I wish you were here." Maggie says wiping her eyes "You always knew what to say, and I don't know what to do right now, Jesus," Maggie says as her voice breaks. "Al's pissed at me. Earl won't talk to me. Hell, he's barely here anymore. He goes to Alexandria almost every day to be with Carl. I can't say I blame him. Being here probably reminds him of Tammy. He's just trying to grieve. Being with Carl, Enid, and Robert probably helps him do that. I miss you, Jesus."

"I think a lot of people do," Maggie stood and turned around As she saw that Rick was standing there.

Embarrassed, Maggie asked trying to hide her tears "What are you doing here?"

"I was bringing for metal for Earl. Beth said you guys needed it, and I figured I'd check on you."

"You know Earl is at Alexandria, right?" Maggie asks as she stands.

"I figured that much out when I got here" Rick says with a snort. "Maggie you're not alright are you?"

"No." Maggie confessed, rubbing her hands and looking away.

"Al doesn't want you to tell Hershel?" Rick asks Maggie, who nods. "He needs to know."

"I know, I understand why she doesn't want him to know, but he needs to," Maggie says, knowing Rick had never liked lying to them, especially Hershel.

"Make her understand, Maggie." Rick assured her warmly. "When Al first came here, and I saw you two together, I saw the light in you that I hadn't seen since before Glenn died. You two belong together. She's worried about her son, and I get it. I'm worried about the other kids finding out as well, but Hershel, Negan did the most damage to Hershel. But you two can make sure he doesn't do anything he will regret together because he lost his father, but he has two parents still, two amazing parents who would die for him in a heartbeat, and no matter what happens, you'll be there for him." Rick tells her as he lays his hand on his shoulder. "You're going to be okay, Maggie, and we'll be with you every step of the way."

"I know you will," Maggie says as she hugs him. "Thanks, Rick."

"Anytime, Maggie. Now come on, days are getting colder and don't want you catching a cold," Rick answered, leading her back inside

Beth's P.O.V

Beth walked into her room and looked at Tara, who was lying on the bed, staring at the wall. "Hey," Beth says softly, making her wife look at her, seeing immediately her red eyes.

"Hi, come to baby me then?" Tara says as she sits up.

"No Tara. I'm not...You hungry?" Beth asks Tara, who shakes her head. Beth nods as she sits down beside her. "Come here." Tara lays her head on Beth's shoulder.

"I can't imagine what you're going through, but you know I'm here for you, right?"

"I know I just..." Tara says as she takes her hand. "After the prison, after I thought she had died in that field, I didn't think about it for so long. Not until Alexandria did I really let myself grieve my sister. She was dead, and then she came, she was alive, and I didn't want to believe because I thought it was too good to be true. I let myself be happy, and it's been almost ten years since she came back, now she's gone, and there was no chance of her coming back." She teared up as she buried her face in Beth's shoulder.

"I know, baby," Beth says as she kisses her head. "We'll get through this together."

Tara nods as Beth holds her close as Tara just weeped

Earl's P.O.V

Earl sat in Carl's living room, holding Robert. He smiled at the baby boy as Enid and Carl came in. "I need to feed him." Enid says softly. Earl nods as he hands Robert to Enid, who takes him upstairs as Carl sits down beside Earl.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm alive, kid." Earl rubbed his face. "I'm trying to be strong for Kenneth. That boy lost his mother."

"You lost your wife, I can understand" Carl says softly. "I couldn't imagine losing Enid."

"I hope you never do." Earl then looked up. "I found something of Tammy's. She had written letters for people and stored them under our bed, I gave Kenneth his, and I read mine and gave Maggie hers. She had them prepared just in case she died in her sleep or a walker got her." Earl says as he opens his bag and pulls out Carl's letter. "You mind if I read it?"

"That's fine." Carl leaned back, eye furrowed unsure what was going to be read.

"Carl, if you're reading this, it means that I am gone. Maybe a walker got me, maybe I died in my sleep, or maybe some asshole killed me. I hope that Kenneth or Earl found these. I hope that Earl is with you. If he's still alive, he'll need you. The day you came to Hilltop was one of the best days of my family's life. We didn't know it at the time, but it was. You're my son, even if it isn't by blood, you are my son, and I know Earl sees you the same way. You are a special young man Carl Grimes, and you will do great things. You've already done great things. I hope I got to meet your child if I didn't make sure to tell him plenty of stories of his Grandma Tammy. Thank you, Carl, for helping to build the New World for our family. I am so grateful I met you and take care of my boys. They need you. I love you, Carl. Tammy-Rose."

Earl looks at Carl, who has tears in his eye, rubbing. Earl pulls the young man into a hug as he said "Just remember to build a world she would love."

"...I will."

Enid's P.O.V

Enid laid Robert down and looked at Carl as he walked into the room. "Earl?"

"He went back to Hilltop and wanted to get back before sundown." Carl answered, then reached to his pocket and handed it to Enid. "He asked me to give this to you It's from Tammy."

Enid nods as she takes it and sits down. "You want me to read it out loud?"

"If you want." Carl says.

"Enid, let's skip the part about me being dead, it happened, and I talked about it enough in Carl's letter. He can fill you in." Enid says, and they both chuckle. "I said it in Carl's, and it is the same for you. You're my daughter, same as I see him as a son. You two reminded me of Earl and me when we were kids. Your love is special and rare, and I am glad to be a part of it. You are a remarkable young woman, and I know you will help Carl make the world better and maybe make sure that baby doesn't get in as much trouble as his Daddy. Take care of our boys, Enid, you are the rock that must hold them together, and one day, when it is your time, I hope to see you again, and I want to hear about all the stupid shit they did. I love you, Enid Grimes. I hope your life is as long and happy as mine was. Tammy-Rose."

"She has a way with words, doesn't she?" Carl asks Enid, who smiles as he hugs her.

"She does. She was special."

"Yes, she was."

Maggie's P.O.V

Maggie walked into her room that night and looked at Al who was looking outside, looking at her.

After a moment Maggie quietly asked "Can we talk?"

Al sighed, looking down but nodded

Maggie sits across from her on their body. "I understand your worry about telling Hershel about Negan, but can you honestly tell me that he will never find out?"

"We can protect him from it. You don't know what can happen." Al says.

"We can't because if we do, we'll have to keep him a prisoner here, away from the other kids. He already almost found out about it at the fair." Maggie explains.

Althea looked down grimacing at that, knowing Hershel was now curious about this 'Uncle Negan' that he never met.

"We can't protect him forever, as much as we'd both like to."

"Telling him is the best answer, though?" Al asks hesitant, clearly full of worry.

"Yes, because then we can help him understand, only if we do it together, though. It needs to come from his parents. I wish I didn't have to tell him that the man who killed his father is living among us and has a family, but I have to because Negan has changed, and he isn't the man from before. I wanna tell him together. I don't want revenge to consume him as it did me. So please, trust me on this. Trust that I'm doing what is best for our son."

Al stares at her for a moment, and then she nods. "Alright, we'll tell him, after winter is over, but we do it together, only together."

"Together," Maggie says as she takes her hand.

Thanks for reading. This was a really fun chapter to do. It was mostly focused on Hilltop and how they have been dealing with what Alpha did and Maggie's own problems. I think it is the first chapter in a long time with no Daryl in it whatsoever. I loved this chapter, and I'm hoping soon we can get back to our regular chapter schedule. Thank you, guys, for being so patient with me. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.