Several thoughts passed through your mind as you walked through the streets of the community to reach the small cemetery you had erected near the walls. Although you knew that Aiden would never reappear, you still felt better and put a flower on his grave. You arrived at your destination and immediately noticed the slender figure of Deanna standing in front of Aiden's grave. It certainly was her, along with Spencer, who was the most affected by what happened. You looked at her face as you approached, her expression was blank. At that moment, she was not like the strong and determined leader. It was probably the first time she had lost someone she loved ever since the world had fallen apart.

"Deanna...", you called her gently and put a hand on her shoulder. She seemed to recover from the void in her eyes and looked at you; Her expression was so lost that for a moment you feared she would not recognize you. "Y/N... Hello..."

"How do you feel?", you asked her almost anxiously, not sure how to act, Deanna nodded absently, turned her attention away from you and looked at the wooden cross in front of her, and you also looked down and leaned forward to gently lower the flowers nearby.

"I'm so sorry...", you whispered, but she did not say anything for a while and then turned to you. Deanna had met your eyes and a bitter smile played around her lips.

"Deanna...", you urged as you tried to control your voice and the woman exhaled in resignation and crossed her arms over her chest, seeming to waver, one arm raised and her lips resting on her knuckles as she tried to figure out how to express herself.

"Nicholas was there and... He told me reasons...", she admitted, while you were trying to hide the anger that was building inside of you and convincing you that you did not say anything to lose your temper.

"Maybe it's better to talk about it somewhere else...", you suggested, trying to keep a controlled tone in your voice. Then you went to her house, the camera was on and showed a picture: The screen that was showing an image of Nicholas, was turned in your direction and you tried to pay the greatest attention to the look and the way Nicholas spoke in this video. He seemed uncomfortable to talk and tell...

"Aiden tried to save us from some Walkers, he shot at them. Then I diverted Glenn so that he wouldn't go into danger... They wanted to leave, not me. I wouldn't have left him there...", Nicholas said in the video. You pressed the pause button with a furious gesture to stop the video.

"He's lying!", you blurted out, unable to avert your gaze from the face of this asshole. "Glenn told me otherwise. That's all lies, Deanna, Glenn would never leave anyone behind!" You pressed your lips together, trying to calm down and continued the video.

"And then?", Deanna's voice asked in the recording.

"I didn't leave him there!", Nicholas declared with false-sounding loyalty to his tone.

"Sure, what exactly happened?"

"When we arrived at the entrance, he knocked on the glass and pushed the door open...", Nicholas went on, referring to Glenn, but you knew the truth and he was like talking to himself in the third person. "They would have killed me, we were already about to die. If he didn't care, and if I hadn't refused the door, he would have died too, it was his fault, it was him."

Nicholas, who was really in trouble at the time, was disturbed by Spencer's interruption, who asked his mother what she was doing, but Nicholas got more and more irritated: "What do you want? I told you how it went! These new people have to leave, they are not like us, they are the problem, I know it and you know it too!"

"You don't know what I know, Nicholas and I recognize many things."

At this point, the video stopped...


"I... I don't understand, Deanna."

She looked at you without saying anything, as if she were asking you to keep going.

"It's like you blame Glenn and the others in my group for Aiden's death! By the way, you responded to Nicholas, but then you realize that Spencer is also shamelessly lying to protect Nicholas!"

She looked down, but she had no time to hide the agony that lay in it. "Nothing is clear to me, Y/N."

"What do you know then?", you urged. "Glenn was there too, with them, did you ask him your questions?"

"No, Y/N, I have not asked for Glenn's version yet.", she replied, looking lost.
You were surprised that a woman who was so practical and always attentive to every nuance of the story had not thought to question the counterpart to this version. Maybe she did not want to face the truth, she did not want to realize that her son had died because of one of her own people. It was only then that you realized how much influence Spencer had on her; You suddenly saw her so different from the Deanna that you had met back then.

"Now I understand why you still have doubts.", you said in a monotone voice. "If you had asked to ask for Glenn's version of the story, you wouldn't have done it, he tried to help Aiden, you know, it's not like Nicholas said, in fact, it was he who first got your son left, Glenn tried to help him to the last minute, Aiden died because that son of a bitch named Nicholas ran away! He wanted to attack Glenn because he was supposed to wait for Spencer and him to return and wanted to get away with the car instead!"

Deanna sighed, resting her elbows on her legs, rubbing her temples as if it would help to process all this information. You tried to make the notes sound a bit softer: "Deanna, there was always a great clarity between us from the first moment we met. And from the first time I know these people, my people: If I trust Glenn that he says the truth, why can't you trust me?"

She looked at you and her lips formed to a thin line. "I trust you, Y/N, I know how Nicholas is and of course what Glenn says is much more likely, but can you really guarantee that for all the people in your group?"

Her question left you in shock for a few moments and you frowned. "In what sense?"

"Can you really say that none of them are dangerous?", she asked, but from the tone in which she pronounced the question, she already seemed to have found her own answer.

"Explain it to me.", you urged her and suddenly felt tense.

She paused for a moment before speaking again: "I'm talking about your leader. Rick Grimes."

"What did Rick do wrong?", you asked, trying to hold back the grudge and control your voice.

"Not yet, but maybe soon, Y/N... He has some methods that are not like my methods, he can't come to me and tell me that we can decide who dies when and who should do what and when. And there is someone in our community who doesn't agree at all."

"Who?", you asked, but you recognized the answer as soon as you finished the question.

"Pete Anderson."

You nodded and found confirmation in her words. Michonne had brought you up to date when you were absent; She had told you that Carol and Rick had heard that Jessie and her children had been beaten by Pete and that they'd made Deanna aware of Rick's intentions. Rick was increasingly against the thinking that prevailed in this community, more and more convinced that those who lived in Alexandria had no idea how much the world had changed and what laws they governed... And you could understand it.

"I can't tolerate such uncivilized pleas.", Deanna muttered. A wave of irritation made you shiver on the sofa. "Because it's a civil issue to let a man beat his wife and children, or what?"

Deanna frowned at you. "Do you agree with Rick?"

"It's a tricky business."

"It would be enough just to exile Pete...", Deanna said, trying to lull her tone more gently. "But Rick says he could come back and be a threat again. Personally, however, I believe that it is enough to leave Pete outside the walls and leave him alone. I don't think he could survive..."

"What if he can survive and what if he wants to get revenge on Rick?", you asked worriedly. "Jessie and the boys would be in danger again, and I already knew the Anderson situation before Rick and the rest of my family arrived here. Jessie told me."

Deanna sighed, got up and stopped to look out of the window. Again with one arm under her chest and the other on the top while touching her lips with her fingertips, visibly worried.

"Is it always so difficult to do the right thing out there?", she asked tiredly.

You thought about it for a few seconds and stared down. "The world outside the walls has changed, it took me so long to accept it, and if you know me a little, you know it's true, not only the Walkers are a danger to our community. Also survivors like Pete are dangerous in this world, we can not allow it to be within the walls that protect us, and this new world needs Rick Grimes."

"So we have to kill Pete...", she said uncertainly.

You shook your head, "I think at the moment it's really important to get Jessie and her children to safety, then you can think about the rest, we need to make sure they do not live under the same roof anymore."

Deanna nodded worriedly. "It will not be easy... Pete will not accept all that."

You got up and approached her: "He'll accept it, he has to accept it." You smiled at her, tried to give her courage and put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to do it alone Deanna, Rick can help you, just trust me."

She returned and gratefully stroked your forearm. You were about to say something as the front door swung open and Spencer peered into the room.

"Mom!", he called. He was excited, his expression filled with fear and urgency. Deanna did not ask questions and followed him, her expression suddenly changing. You were all out of the house when you felt your stomach clench with worry: What was waiting for you there? A Walker ​​who had managed to escape the lookout? A group that attacks you?

When you stopped, time seemed to slow down for a moment: At first you realized that you were in front of the Anderson House, then there was a group of people watching something or better, somebody. The last thing you noticed was Daryl's vest before you moved forward and noticed that Rick was lying on the ground fighting with Pete. At that moment, in general dismay, Jessie threw herself on her husband, who was sitting on Rick trying to free himself from the grip. The woman tried to hold him by the shoulders, with the sole result that she was knocked down by Pete when he hit her straight in the face. You did not think about it and hurried to her aid. Daryl stepped between you and the two men, wrapping your shoulders around Jessie's arm to help her. As you were on your feet, your eyes followed feverishly the melee: You saw Rick with his bloodied face and Michonne pushed Carl to the side. His arm slipped around Pete's neck like a snake to choke him. The sheriff's back was stiff and his whole body was cramped.

Everything you and Deanna talked about became tragically real.

"Enough! Stop it!", she intervened forcefully.

Rick hissed something in Pete's ear and completely ignored the woman, who said: "Damn it, I told you to stop!" Spencer and other community members began to approach the sheriff with the intention of separating them, but they took a few steps back when they saw Rick aiming a revolver at them.

"What do you want to do, banish me?", he provoked. His arm was still outstretched, going from right to left, pointing the gun at everyone in front of him, like the needle of an ejecting compass... You shut up wide-eyed and could not believe what Rick was doing. You searched for Daryl's eyes, but they were fixed on Rick, his jaw clenched and his shoulders stiff. He seemed ready to shoot with his crossbow, in case Rick wanted to take some too risky moves.

"Put the gun down, Rick!", Deanna ordered again, her tone low but firm. He was swinging on his knees, his back bowed, shoulders raised and lowered due to shortness of breath.

"You still don't understand that!", he gasped, continuing to wave his gun feverishly. "None of you understands it! We know what we have to do and you don't do anything! We are the ones who survive! You? You're just sitting here designing any plans without the slightest idea!", he continued, without concealing the deep contempt that his vision of Alexandria showed. You noticed from Deanna's face that Rick looked straight into her eyes, as if that speech were only addressed to her. "You pretend to know everything, but it's not like that! You want things to be not what they are... Do you want to live? Do you want this place to be safe? Your way of dealing with things has failed! Things don't improve just because you wish them to improve! From now on you have to live in the real world!"

To your surprise, Deanna managed to answer: "This concept is now more than ever clear to me."

"You mean me, are you talking to me?", Rick asked, laughing sneeringly. Then he stiffened again: "Your methods will destroy this place!", he hissed and finally shouted: "They will kill people and have already killed! And I will not stay here to let it happen! If you don't fight, you die!"

The biggest moment in the sheriff's monologue was abruptly interrupted by the blow Michonne missed on the back of his head. Rick fell unconscious, and Michonne immediately took advantage to pick up the revolver. Out of breath, she looked at the man she loved and who was now knocked out. Then she looked at Deanna. At that moment, the tension that floated among those present could have been severed with a knife. Everyone exchanged glances, nobody knew what to say and some looked down at Rick. It reminded of the silence of the morning after a stormy night...

"Isolation. Immediately.", Deanna said, still shaken and breaking the silence.

Spencer leaned forward to lift Rick's body, assisted by Michonne, Abraham, and Glenn. Jessie walked away from you, passed Daryl, who had not moved an inch. Other men from Alexandria helped Pete to get up; As soon as he stood, he shook Jessie off with an angry gesture, probably due to the fact that she had not stayed to help him.

"Mister Anderson, from now on you will get another house.", Deanna said. "You have until sunset to get your things together." The man growled something, returned to the house and slammed the door shut behind him.

"He should be treated medically.", you said and for a second, you forgot what kind of man he was.

"Are ya' crazy?", Daryl suddenly smapped, grabbed your shoulder and forced you to turn in his direction. "Yer ain't goin' in there!"

When you turned around, you found his face not far away from you, along with his body, which was completely focused on you. As if to make sure you did not go and understood what he had just told you. You ignored the shudder that this sudden closeness brought you and turned your gaze back to the Anderson House; More to keep control. In fact, you were surprised that he had ventured such contact in front of other people, even if some, disturbed, had returned to their homes. As if he could read your mind, his eyes shot over your shoulder and he left you immediately, as if he had burned himself in contact with you.

"Yes, sure...", you answered.

"Go back to your houses!", Deanna ordered, crossing her arms grimly under her breasts.

"And that's it?", Nicholas snapped, not far from you: "This madman has threatened us with a weapon and your solution is to send us all to our homes? These people have to be kicked out immediately!"

After what happened to him about Aiden, you could not even look at him. You were so disgusted to hear the sound of his voice and the murmur of other people in the audience made you boil. Instead of answering, you started counting up to ten in your head; There was no reason to unleash another stupid conflict. The situation was pretty tense after all.

1

2

3

"It's not up to you to decide, Nicholas. We will all live together as a community. And we'll talk about what happened."

"Do you really want to wait for them to kill someone?"

4

5

6

You arrived at 7 in your head. Aiden was dead because of him. Was it his disgust to kill one of your friends and even dare say that? Your hands began to shake uncontrollably and the rage vibrated from your hair tip to your feet.

8

9

10

In the three seconds that separated you from the point of return, you gathered all the hatred, pain, and anger that you felt against him. You were sure that by the time you were about counting to ten, you would explode like a grenade: You felt like you were losing control, you were ready to fire and instead something else happened. The insults were stuck in your throat as you watched Daryl pass by like a hurricane and hit Nicholas straight in his face.

"Daryl!", you called in alarm, in the midst of the terrifying and surprised faces of the people present. He forced Nicholas to the ground, grabbed him by the head and rammed him down. His hair fell into his face, so you could not see what expression he had at that moment, but you could imagine.

"Shut yer fuckin' mouth, ya' damn son of a bitch!"

"Daryl, stop!", you called, trying to grab him by the shoulders.

"You still defend your girl, right? As you did as she was near Aiden!", Nicholas spat, and as near as you were, you could hear him, though he had almost whispered, like the coward he was. It was not long before you understood that he was referring to the evening of the party and Aiden must have told him the abrupt way in which Daryl had attacked him to take care of you personally. To the most mischievous conclusion Daryl took a deep breath, gasped in rage and raised his fist again, ready to beat his face again. And the fact that Daryl was now less secure in the face of Nicholas grip allowed him to free his right arm and return the blow he had been knocked down with, Daryl avoiding him by a hair's breadth.

"Separate them!", Deanna ordered.

"Enough now!", you hissed into Daryl's ear, holding him by the vest and trying to block him. "He's not worth it!"
His accelerated breathing returned gradually as he continued to hold Nicholas on the ground. "Enough, Daryl, just leave it."

With a heavy snort, followed by contempt, he listened to you and rose from the floor. He picked up his crossbow and walked away from Nicholas, while he continued to look at him and smiled sardonically. Daryl passed you without saying a word; You looked at Deanna as if to reassure her that everything was alright.

When you were far enough away from the others, you joined him, "Are you okay?", you asked, laying a hand on his shoulder. But he shook her off and went with his heavy step into the clinic. He was visibly impaired and you told yourself that he only needed time. You forced yourself not to insist and let go of the fact that you openly ignored it. So you sighed and gathered all the patience that was available to you so as not to be irritated by the gruff attitude.

"You can sit on the table...", you invited him in. Daryl avoided your gaze, but he listened to you and awkwardly settled in. Fortunately, for whatever reason, neither Denise nor Tara were there, so you could take care of Daryl, who had also gotten quite a bit of the fight. You went to the medicine cabinet and took out the disinfectant and a clean swab of pressed cotton. Daryl lay comfortably on the table and you were aware of how close you would have been to him, you had to position yourself in front of him and approach him to better see the wound on his eyebrow. You felt his eyes on you, so you coughed nervously and focused your gaze on the spot where his eyebrow was marked by this bright red cut.

"Does it hurt?", you asked in a trembling voice.

"No."

You've never been so close to his face. It would have been easy to lean forward to get what you wanted. You swallowed hard as your gaze left his lips and you focused back on the wound. The tension you had previously felt in Rick's scene was nothing compared to the one that made your head spin right now. You did not know what you did and where the courage came from. You knew that it would be impossible to hold your enthusiasm and feelings back even longer. The beating of your heart throbbed in your ears... All the chaos that had been thrown into the streets of Alexandria and the moods that had settled in you erased themselves in a moment. But you did not care... Daryl could really do anything to bring you back to reality: Any expedient, more or less direct action would have been enough to stop this situation, which could bring you to the point where there is no turning back. Only he, who was usually the one who tried to put distance between you, remained motionless like an animal in the face of danger.
As a kid, you challenged fate with stupid bets, like, 'If the next song that happens to the playlist I don't like, I'll start doing my homework.', or, 'If he doesn't write to me in five minutes, I'll write to him.'

If Daryl doesn't say anything in the next ten seconds, you'll do it.

1

2

Please stay quiet Daryl...

3

4

5

Why has it become so difficult to breathe?

6

7

8

...

When the door swung open, you jumped up and pulled away from Daryl with a jerk. Disoriented, you turned to the entrance of the clinic while Rosita entered. She had Glenn with her. You looked at their faces: They did not seem to notice.

"There is a big problem guys.", your friend greeted you when he looked at Rosita. Although he had given you a smile, his eyes betrayed concern.

"Hello...", you stammered, trying to control your voice. "Do you need something?"

"We're here to get some plaster to treat Rick.", Rosita answered, passing you to rummage through the locker. Then she stopped and turned to you, her expression perplexed as her eyes fell on Daryl's face.

At the same time Glenn asked: "What happened to you?"

"Nicholas.", was his cold-sounding answer.

"When you went with Rick, he urged Deanna to banish us all.", you added in a serious voice, even to justify the fact that Daryl had beaten him, and Glenn pressed his lips together and sighed. "Nicholas should learn to shut up."

"Got it.", Rosita announced when she found the plasters.

"How's Rick?", you asked Glenn anxiously.

"He's still unconscious, he'll stay in a cell in Alexandria, at least for tonight, Deanna wants it that way."

You nodded, looked down and felt great bitterness in you. When your family entered these walls, you never thought it's possible for you to come to such a situation. "Deanna wants to talk about what happened, with all...", you informed him.

"Yes, she told us, Maggie would just as well talk to the other residents of Alexandria... To have a good word."

"These people 're too stupid to learn or understan'!", Daryl put in.

"They're scared, they don't know what Rick's been experiencing, probably a man who is pointing guns at other people is the most shocking thing they've ever seen here."

He did not answer and looked away with a snort. So you turned back to Glenn. "Tell Maggie, I'll help her tomorrow and talk to the others, I know you and I know her, and I know that a sensible living together is possible."

"We all count on you, Y/N."

"I will try everything possible, I promise."

"I know.", Glenn nodded, smiling, and he turned to leave, but before saying goodbye, he said: "We'll go and leave you two better alone again..."

And so he closed the door behind him as the echo of those words hovered in a mocking tone in the room... You decided not to share your embarrassing doubts with Daryl.

"Come on, sit down so I can finally disinfect your wound.", you urged him, avoiding his gaze and nervously picking up swabs and disinfectants.

"Already healed by 'self.", he provoked you.

"Very funny, Dixon."

When the cotton patch was sufficiently soaked with disinfectant, you carefully dabbed it on the wound. Daryl frowned at the light breeze and jumped up imperceptibly.

"Fuck!", he answered harshly.

"Is it better?", you asked him and he nodded without saying a word.


You then went to the cell where they had Rick locked up. You saw Carl and Michonne watching over him while he was sleeping on the mattress. His relaxed face was dotted with white strips of plasters.
Alexandria's cells were uninhabited basements where the various sections were separated by iron gates that reminded you of the main gate. Carl sat on the only available chair, while Michonne stood at his side, leaning against the wall, her arms crossed. When Daryl and you entered, they said nothing, but both continued to scowl at Rick. You approached Carl and put a hand on his shoulder: "How are you?"

"Obviously better than my dad."

As a gesture of comfort, you rubbed your hand against his back. "They will not banish your father, they trust me, they know me, and I will not let them, everything will be fine."

Carl nodded, but was by no means convinced.

"It will be difficult tomorrow at the meeting.", Michonne said, and you tried to smile encouragingly. "There are worse things and we have always made good progress, they are upset but they will understand, we will find a way to work together and live together in peace."

"And if they will not understand it?"

"At this point, we have to trust Deanna. She will make the final decision and in the end we must try to convince her." Michonne looked at you with her big eyes and then looked back at the sheriff: "That doesn't mean that the problem with Rick is solved. He could do it again."

"All we have to do is show him that the people of Alexandria can continue to learn to defend themselves.", you replied, leaning toward her. "I know you and I know them, I know that's possible, they just have to keep training."

Michonne looked at you again and tried to show a smile. "I know...", she replied in the voice of someone who did not believe it at all. You felt your shoulders sink and sighed. Daryl and you stayed a little longer until Michonne decided it was time for Carl to go home. Despite the protests, you managed to drag Daryl with you, prepare the dinner, and then helped Carl to put Judith to bed. Daryl stayed with you and tried to cheer up Carl. At some point you saw him sitting with Carl on the porch. The door was ajar, and from the little bit you could hear, you realized that Daryl wanted to take him aside to give him some encouragement; You smiled toward the entrance and walked up the stairs with Judith in your arms. After Carl had said good night, Daryl and you found each other alone on the porch. You had decided to wait until he finished smoking his cigarette, and then you returned to your house.

"How do you think it will go out tomorrow?", you asked, breaking the silence.

"Fucked up.", he said, inhaling the smoke.

"I thought you wanted to give this place a chance, so didn't you refuse the weapons of Rick and Carol?"

He was silent for a moment without looking at you. "Yeah, but that doesn' mean that I believe these people know how to defen' 'emselves."

"They just have to learn.", you said. "You could teach them as well."

Daryl turned to you with an almost scandalized expression on his face. "I don' even think 'bout it!"

"But you're really good at teaching.", you said, softening your tone.

"Yer an incompetent parasite."

You gave a cry of indignation and slapped his arm. "How dare you!"

"The truth hurts.", he said bluntly and went on to smoke his cigarette. By now you were up, chuckling while you were already down the stairs. "Y/N!", he shouted to you and you turned around. "What?", you asked roughly.

"How ya' think tomorrow will end?", he asked you with a look that pierced you. You tried to stay clear, think about it for a few seconds and looked away. Then your eyes found his again and a hopeful smile opened on your lips.

"Everything will be fine.", you replied with conviction and Daryl waited a few seconds to seek confirmation in your eyes, then pulled one corner of his mouth upwards.

"I know."