#she takes point on feeding and caring for their livestock and chickens and stuff <3

[coffee-obsessed-writer]

The New World - Part 7

Here is the FULL chapter for part 7! As always, thank you for reading it, this series is easily becoming one of my favorites to write!!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Daryl x Reader, Maggie X Glen, Ezekiel x everyone, Rick x Michonne x Carl

Warnings: Language, Canon-divergence, Character death, Comic storyline crossover

Word Count: 4268

Rick’s pace quickened as it rounded the corner and approached the outside of the cell. Sasha stood against the wall, her gaze off in the opposite direction. The sound of Rick’s boot steps snapped her back to attention, making her stand taller at the door.

“He up?” Rick asked, trying to peer into the small cell window.

“I don’t know, he’s been quiet though.”

“Who’s inside tonight?”

“No one, with Daryl and them gone, and Tobin and Spencer put off duty, we were shorthanded. I tried to get a few of the others but, they were all busy.”

“Comforting,” Rick grunted, shaking his head. “I’m going in.”

“You got it, boss,” Sasha handed Rick the keys and stepped aside for him to enter.

Rick unlocked the door and shoved the keys in his pocket.

He cautiously stepped foot into the prison, first looking down the walkway that passed from the cell to the back door of the townhouse, then over to the cell door.

Rick froze when he saw the cell door was wide open and Negan was nowhere to be found.

Rick stood staring into the empty cell, his heart pounding in his chest.

“Sasha!” he shrieked in a voice thick with panic.

Within seconds, Sasha was yanking open the iron gate and running into the cell.

“What? What’s …” She followed Rick’s wide pale expression to the open, empty cage. Rick heard her audibly gasp, her eyes wide with panic. “Rick, I swear, I didn’t…”

“I know Sasha, I know it wasn’t you,” Rick squeezed his eyes shut trying to think of his next move. “Get to my house. Make sure Michonne and the kids are ok. Get Carl to stay with Judy, tell Michonne to get armed, meet me back here.”

Sasha nodded once and took off to follow his orders. A noise from down the hallway caught Rick’s attention. Quietly slipping the python from its holster, he released the safety and readied himself for whatever lay ahead.

The hallway was nearly pitch dark, save for a trickle of moonlight from the back-door window. Hugging the wall, Rick stalked towards the room where the noises were coming from. A few steps later, he stood in front of the bathroom door. Bumps and knocks were coming from the other side.

Rick cocked his head and took a deep breath. Slowly turning the handle with one hand, he had the pistol raised in the other. Throwing open the bathroom door, the man that used to be Spencer Monroe lunched out at Rick, his eyes glazed over and teeth gnashing at Rick’s neck.

“Shit!” Rick cried out, Spencer’s corpse pushed all its weight into Rick’s body, causing him to crash into the wall behind him. He managed to free the arm that was responsible for the colt and drive the barrel into the walker’s temple. Pulling the trigger, the shot rang out causing the sound to bounce down the hallway and the body dropped to the floor.

“Rick!” he could hear a voice shout from a distance. The ringing in his ears was near deafening. Looking down he saw Spencer lying in a pool of blood forming where Rick shot him. Getting up on one knee, Michonne and Sasha were quickly by Rick’s side. Michonne’s hands all over his chest and neck checking to be sure he wasn't bitten.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he cooed, gently caressing her hands to try and calm her.

“Is that Spencer?” Michonne asked, disbelief plastered across her face.

“Yeah,” Rick answered steadying himself against the wall. “Guess we have our answer as to who was helpin’ him,” he bent down and moved the collar of Spencer’s shirt to get a closer look. Dark red lines were crisscrossed around his neck, and when Rick pulled his shirt down further, the thin piece of rope used to strangle him was still entangled around his throat.

“What now?” Sasha asked, her usual calm demeanor now shaky.

“Canvas the community, let’s make sure he’s not hiding somewhere. At dawn, we go hunt the asshole down.” Rick said, casting one last look of disgust down at Spencer’s lifeless body.

Daryl strolled into the courtyard of The Kingdom well past breakfast. Glenn was sitting on one of the stone walls watching the Kingdomers going back to their training exercises as Daryl sidled up to him.

“Hey man,” Daryl clapped him on the back of his shoulders, “you seen the girls around?”

“They’re with the kids in the garden with Ezekiel I think,” Glenn looked up at the archer and winced. “You alright? Lookin’ a little rough today.”

“Guess that wine went to my head more than I thought. I ain’t slept this late since Merle and I used to stay up partying all night. I’m too old for this shit,” Daryl pulled out his zippo and lit a smoke while looking around the community. “Any sign of Paul yet?”

“No, not yet. Ezekiel said he’s usually here by mid-day, so should be any time now,” Glenn studied Daryl’s face, gauging if he was in a good mood. “Hey, so I gotta ask ya… Last night with Morgan. You gonna be able to let all that go?”

Daryl squared up his shoulders and took a deep breath. “Why?”

“Because, if there is a problem, and this whole situation needs to be revisited, are you going to be able to work with him?”

Daryl took a drag from his smoke and looked off into the distance. When he met Glenn’s face, he narrowed his eyes. “What if it had been Maggie? Hmm? Morgan’s choice to not shoot Negan when he coulda, resulted in your wife with a gun to her head. How’d you feel then? Could you let it go?”

“I don’t know. Maybe?” Glenn responded. “Look man, I just know that sometimes you got to let shit go. If Negan’s the problem, and this blows up… Morgan and The Kingdom, we’re gonna have to work with them, both.”

Before Daryl could respond Maggie rounded the corner and joined them near the gate.

“Where’s your friend?” Daryl asked, taking another drag from his cigarette.

“She’s still in the gardens with Ezekiel and Morgan. Kids went with Lana to the stables,” Maggie said, shielding her eyes from the bright sun.

Glenn saw Daryl’s body tense at the mention of Morgan’s name.

“She’s with Morgan?” he growled.

“Mmhmm, they’re down to the left and then make a right. Just beyond that brick wall,” Maggie pointed. Without another word Daryl stormed off in the direction she pointed.

“What was that?” She asked draping an arm on Glenn’s shoulders.

“Just Daryl being Daryl,” Glenn said, kissing his wife on her cheek before giving her a squeeze.

 The gardens were luscious and ripe with a wide variety of fruit and vegetables that were overflowing from the branches. You listened intently as Ezekiel told you more about the early days of the Kingdom, while Morgan hovered on the fringe of the conversation.

You saw Daryl approaching and started to smile until you saw his telltale signs of being pissed.

“Hey, there you are,” he said to you while throwing a glance at Morgan standing just beyond where you were. “Mornin’,” he nodded to Ezekiel, and then Morgan, albeit reluctantly.

“Morning Daryl,” Ezekiel smiled and turned to Morgan. “We should get going, he’ll be here soon.” Morgan nodded and left without saying anything. “Please, do excuse us. Jesus will be arriving and we are to meet him at the crossroads.”

“Should we go too?” Daryl asked.

“No, we’ll return soon. Stay and enjoy the garden and some quiet time with your misses,” Ezekiel placed a hand on your shoulder and gave you a little wink as he made his leave of you.

“Mornin’ sleepy head,” you teased Daryl, “you feelin’ alright?”

“Yeah, all that wine went to my head. Knocked me out.”

“Are you sure that it was the wine that wore you out?” You teased again, but when you saw he wasn’t reciprocating you started to worry. “Hey, what’s up with you?”

“What the hell you doin’ with Morgan… and where the hell are the kids?”

You raised an eye brow at him and took a step back. “Wow, I see someone woke up on the dickhead side of the bed this mornin’... Um, I wanted to speak with Ezekiel and Morgan was there. As for the kids, they are at the stables with Lana…”

“Why didn’t you take ‘em. You shoulda took ‘em instead of bein’ here with Morgan.”

“Ah, I see what this is about now. Jesus Christ Daryl, you need to let this shit go.” You crossed your arms over your chest and started walking through the garden.

“Not like I ain’t got no reason to trust him,” Daryl said as he followed you through the plants. “You almost died ‘cause of him Y/N. ‘Cause he was too chicken shit to shoot that asshole, Negan got a gun, got a hold of you and nearly killed ya.”

“But he DIDN’T. I am here. Daryl... I’m alive. Let this go baby, please. It was five years ago, and he’s changed. Please, I am begging you to let this go, for me.”

Daryl emitted a guttural reaction, and for the first time that day reached out to pull you into his arms, but you took a step back, not letting him touch you.

He sighed deeply. “Oh, and who the fuck is Lana?”

“Well, if you weren’t being asshole, I coulda told you that Lana used to breed horses on her farm before the outbreak. Right now, she’s showin’ the kids how to brush and feed them, clean their shoes, you know… the stuff they came here to learn.”

“We brought them to learn how to kill…”

“No! I’m talkin’ now…” you put up a palm to stop him and could see the frustration starting to burn in his eyes because it reflected your own. “We brought them here as part of a lesson in survival, Daryl. Do you think that shootin’ guns and stabbin’ walkers is all they need to know?”

When your husband didn’t say anything, you took that as a cue to continue.

“They are the next generation, the ones we are fightin’ for, right? The ones that’ll inherit all this,” you said, motioning to the area around you. “They need to know how to grow quality food, raise livestock, care for horses… THAT’S also survival Daryl. You can teach ‘em how to hunt and track, I can teach them how to read and write. Maggie and Carol can teach ‘em how to care for others, and just generally be bad ass… Glenn, Rick, Sasha… they can teach them too shoot and how to lead... But here, they can learn all the other stuff we can’t teach ‘em.”

Daryl glared at you from beneath the fringes of his hair, blue eyes burning with a mix of emotions you couldn’t read. Chewing on his lip, he crossed his arms and seemed to be able to cool down the fire in his gaze.

“Alright,” he shrugged, arms still crossed. He was pissed, but he was calming. You, however, were not.

“Alright, what? Alright… you’ll stop being a dick to Morgan? Alright that its okay for me to send our children off with someone who can teach them something?”

“Y/N,” Daryl started but you stopped him again.

“No, I am pissed at you Dixon, you’re not gonna cute your way outta this one.” Shaking your head, you continued to walk deeper into the gardens. You heard him sigh behind you, his heavy boot steps following yours as you wound through the paths of succulent fruits.

“Y/N… babe… please, just stop,” he’d caught up to you and left a hand on your shoulder. Daryl turned you to face him, his face completely void of any anger or frustration. His gaze softer and a small smile played on his lips. “I’m sorry, ok? I know I can be a dick. When it comes to you I get a little possessive. Not like I can help it. But, I promise, to stop being so hard on Morgan. I promise to let it go.”

Taking a deep breath, you smiled sweetly at your husband. “I accept your apology, but I am still pissed.”

Daryl looked confused, and even though you could feel any anger leaving your body, you couldn’t pass up an opportunity to make him pay a little.

“I am pissed because this is the first time seeing you today, and you go act like some macho asshole, getting me angry before I even have a chance to kiss you good mornin’. It ain’t right,” you shrugged and started to walk away from him.

Grabbing you by your waist, Daryl spun you around and embraced you tightly so you could move away from him.

“I guess it’s my turn to make apologies now, huh?”

“Mmhmm, you’re damn straight,” you kept your face as serious as possible, but all it took was Daryl to lightly bit at his lower lip and your resolve shattered. Pulling his face to yours, you kissed him deeply. You allowed him to nearly swallow you with his mouth, and as it always was with Daryl, you felt that ache begin between your thighs and his own need hardening beneath his pants.

Putting your hands on his chest, you pushed him back from you, “Easy cowboy, we have company comin’. You’re just gonna have to offer these apologies up later baby. Sorry,” you winked as you pulled out of his arms completely.

Daryl growled and wrapped an arm around your neck, “You’re evil.”

“Well, we are gonna go see Jesus, maybe he can save my soul,” you said, raising a playful brow at him.

Daryl scoffed and shook his head. “Jesus… what kinda name is that anyway? I mean, the man does have a real name.”

You wrapped your arm around Daryl’s waist as the two of you started towards the gates. “Have you not seen him? Baby… he looks like Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah, I get it… still dumb.”

“That’s just cause you got a ‘lil crush on him and his ninja skills,” you teased and grabbed his ass, pulling him closer to you. “

Daryl stopped and shook his head at you. “Woman, I swear, by the end of this day, we’re gonna see who owes who some apologies.”

“Oh, Daryl… promises, promises.”

  Ezekiel, Morgan, Glenn, Maggie, and Jesus were all still exchanging welcomes and pleasantries when you and Daryl arrived hand in hand at the gates.

A smile spread across Paul’s face as he spotted the two of you. Releasing Maggie from his embrace, he went to you first and embraced you heartily and giving you a little squeeze in the process.

Turning to Daryl he stretched out a gloved hand and gripped Daryl’s, giving it a firm shake.

“Despite the circumstances, it’s so good to see you all,” Paul said, his bright blue eyes sparkling with warmth.

“I assume you’ve been caught up then?” you ask, hoping that Ezekiel and Morgan filled him up while heading back.

“For the most part, but I would love for us to go somewhere quiet to talk. I want to hear exactly what you remember happening from you, Maggie and Glenn.”

“Let us head into my chambers. I would rather this conversation stay within walls I can control,” Ezekiel declared and directed the group towards his study.

Once in the privacy of Ezekiel’s room, you recounted your tail of the day the walkers breached the walls. Paul listened with an attentive ear, occasionally throwing a look at Daryl or Glenn as you and Maggie relived the afternoon.

Paul sat back in his chair and ran a hand over his face, down his beard. “Well, I am fairly certain, we have a problem then. I was really hoping it was exclusive to The Hilltop, but I can see now with what you’ve told me, there is something bigger happening.”

“Yeah, Negan,” Daryl huffed and headed towards the opening to the balcony. He lit a cigarette and shambled out towards the fresh air.

“He’s just nervous,” you said trying to blow off his still surly demeanor. Paul caught the look of worry on your face and reached over to squeeze your hand.

“We all are hun,” he smiled at you sweetly and you felt your nerves settle a little. Paul’s calm demeanor was a welcome change to Daryl’s and acknowledging that made you feel slightly guilty. You knew Daryl just wanted to protect you, but his constantly changing mood was starting to make you feel frazzled.

Glenn sighed and sat back in his chair, grasping Maggie’s hand in his. “Jesus, what is happening at The Hilltop? Is Gregory still in charge? I mean, the last time we saw him, he wasn’t exactly friendly.”

“He is, for now. But the people are not happy with him and he’s not happy with them. You know Gregory, he thinks it should be his way and his way only. He doesn’t like the trade rules the three communities have established. Not to mention…”

Paul stopped and looked across the faces around the table. Hearing Daryl’s footsteps, he turned and threw a glance towards him before continuing.

“He’s been disappearing lately. Kal, you know him, right?” he paused as you all nodded, “him too… I don’t know where they go, but at least twice a week they’ve been going out beyond the gates. Just gives me a bad feeling.”

“Rick’s going to want to hear this,” Glenn said, running a hand through his hair.

“Indeed,” Ezekiel spoke up and carefully looked around the table. “I propose we head out straight away for Alexandria. Let us speak with the Sheriff and his queen, then to the prisoner himself. We shall get to the bottom of this one way or another.”

  After the meeting was over, Maggie and Glenn returned to their room to pack and Ezekiel and Morgan left to make arrangements for the journey back to Alexandria.

You watched them all leave but never moved from your seat. Paul hung back as well and once again took your hand in his.

“You ok?” He asked, his bright blue eyes smiling at you despite the heaviness of the situation.

“No, not really,” you said quietly and dared a glance out towards the balcony where Daryl remained. “I’m just worried. Mostly about him… he’s not handling this like he normally would.”

“Y/N, I’ve known you all a long time now. Daryl is strong and capable, but he has a weakness, sweetheart. Men who have a weakness cannot always be held accountable for their behavior. Unfortunately for him, you’re his weakness and there’s no riding himself of it. That’s a lot for a man to carry on his shoulders.”

You snorted a laugh but knew he was right. “He’s going to hate me, Paul,” the smile faded from your lips and you could feel your gut turning at the thought of the conversation you still needed to have with Daryl.

“Oh please, that man couldn’t hate you even if he tried. He’s so in love with you, it’s ridiculous,” Paul’s eyes drifted out to the balcony, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Trust me, we would all kill for what the two of you have.”

“Well, after he hears what I want, he may be the one to kill me.”

“What is it that you want hun?” Paul’s grasp of your hand tightened.

“To stay here at The Kingdom while you all go back to Alexandria.”

Paul’s eyes widened with surprise. “Oh,” he said almost breathlessly. “Well, that may a harder conversation than I thought.”

“What’s that?” Daryl asked as he entered the room, only having heard Paul’s comment.

You and Paul exchanged a worried glance as you stood from your respective chairs.

“I’m going to let you talk,” Paul smiled at you and went to leave the room. Stopping next to Daryl, he placed a hand on your husband’s broad shoulder and squeezed.

“Be kind, okay? Just hear her out.”

Daryl’s brow furrowed in confusion as he looked back and forth between you and Paul. Offering you one last smile of support, he left the room to catch up with Ezekiel.

“What the hell’s he talkin’ about?” Daryl asked, the earlier frustration rising in him again.

“Baby, we need to talk about what happens next…”

Before you could continue, Lana entered the room followed by Abe and Shelby who both barreled into you and Daryl as they ran through the doorway.

“Mama! The horses were so cool! Miss Lana let me and Abey ride!” Shelby exclaimed, her big blue eyes shining like diamonds as she recounted her afternoon.

“Me too,” Abe said grinning up at Daryl.

Bending down, he picked up his son and studied his face carefully. Looking at the joy written all over their faces, you could see his chest rise and fall with several deep breaths. As the children continued to prattle on about the horses, Daryl seemed to come to a realization and nodded to you.

“You wanna stay here with them, right? That’s what you wanna talk about?”

Relief washed over you. You sat back down in the chair and slowly exhaled the breath you hadn’t realized you were holding.

“Yes Daryl, I do.”

“I hate it Y/N,” Daryl sat down where Paul had been sitting, Abe positioned on his lap and Shelby on yours. Daryl took your hand and looked between the three of you. “Y’all are my world,” his voice cracked, nearly breaking your heart. You knew this would be hard, but you also knew it was for the best. “I know its right, but don’t make it easy.”

“I know baby,” your free hand found his. Bringing it to your lips, you kissed his fingers gently.

“Ew! Mama kissed daddy!” Shelby squealed and jumped out of your lap.

Both you and Daryl chuckled. Abe quickly followed his sister as they began to run circles around Ezekiel’s grand table.

Daryl pulled your chair closer to his and leaned his forehead to yours. “The idea of not wakin’ up to you makes me crazy. But it won’t be for long, right?”

“It can’t be, Daryl. I would go crazy being away from you too long. Just go home, deal with this and then come back,” you got up from your seat and slipped into his lap. Nestling your head into his neck, you drew in a deep breath of his scent and relished in the way it made you feel.

His arms wrapped around your torso and as his mouth found yours, your lips parted allowing him to have you, but he didn’t take advantage this time. Instead, his lips lingered sweetly on yours just long enough for Shelby to squeal again and making you both laugh.

“You got this, Dixon,” you whispered to him, pulling away from his kiss.

“Yeah, I do. So do you, Dixon,” he replied mockingly. “Just a few days, right?”

“Yeah baby, just a few days.”

Sitting in the master suite of The Kingdom, you relished in the love your little family gave you and knew that no matter what happened, both you and Daryl would do everything necessary to make sure you were safe again together soon.

  The moonlight offered enough of a view of the small map, for him to know he’d arrived at his destination. Spencer hadn’t failed to deliver the items he needed for his journey, but Negan had certainly failed Spencer.

Grinning, Negan approached the back of the high wall as his mind flashed back to the feeling of wrapping the rope around the idiot’s neck and the satisfying crush of his windpipe. Stretching out his arms to the side, and drawing in a deep breath, the former leader of the Saviors then raised his hands to the moon and resisted the urge to howl.

Spencer had been visiting him for only about a year, but Negan had quickly grown tired of the man’s whining. He constantly asked himself how Rick had not yet killed the ‘fucking shit stain’ but somehow resisted the urge to ask him straight out.

Negan knew not to look a gift horse in the mouth though when Spencer finally admitted his hatred for Rick. He knew that Spencer, somehow, could be his ticket out of the cell and on his way back to the top of the food chain.

Sure, he’d promised to take Spencer to The Hilltop with him; that had been the plan. Negan had a small window to arrive at his new home, and it was all a matter of timing. Spencer and his prattling on had nearly fucked that all up. So, instead of taking him to meet up with Gregory, Negan discarded the stain in the prison bathroom before heading on to begin phase two of his plan.

The crisp night air felt like bliss on his skin. All he needed now was a hot meal, a warm bed and a curvy body to share it with him. The thought of having all that within his grasp caused an ache in his groin made and a guttural reaction from deep within.

From the shadows, Negan saw Gregory step out, his hands turning with anxiety in each other as he came face to face with his old enemy.

“Ne- Negan,” Gregory nodded hesitantly and looked behind him for Spencer. “Where… uh… where’s the boy?”

“Boy?” Negan chuckled, “Oh, that boy. He’s dead. Slipped and fell in the bathroom I hear. Such a fucking shame, huh?”

Gregory swallowed hard and wanted to wretch when the sick feeling rose in his throat. “Terrible,” he muttered, his hand absently tugging at his collar.

“So, are you going to show me to my new home, or…. Do you wanna sit out here under the moonlight and remind me of what it means to be a fucking man?! Cause, no offense buddy, you really aren’t my fucking type. I was hopin’ for someone with more…” Negan dramatically made curves of a woman with his hands while licking his lips.

“Uh, follow me. Your quarters are all ready,” Gregory responded nervously and stepped quickly towards the back passage into The Hilltop.

“And, where is our Lord and fucking savior this evening? Has he fled the grounds yet to help all those poor fucking souls in need?” Negan inquired, casually sauntering behind Gregory and watching the man like a hawk.

“Yes, Jesus has left for The Kingdom as planned. I imagine they are all there now trying to sort it out.”

“Oh, I imagine that they fucking are, Gregory,” Negan purred to himself, a feeling of satisfaction settling into his core. “I imagine they are.”

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