"Torture is fun, too. Maybe a life of eternal slavery. Haven't decided yet," Katie said.
Michonne stood up.
"What are we gonna do?" Michonne asked.
"I don't know. We don't have any guns. We don't have the numbers. I don't know what we're gonna do. I was hoping you would have an answer to that," Katie said with a light chuckle.
She sighed deeply.
"This isn't the life I want for my family, Michonne," Katie said seriously.
Michonne nodded.
"What if we join forces with the Hilltop?" Michonne suggested.
"Gregory would never agree to that. Besides, even with them, we still wouldn't have the numbers," Katie said.
"It's worth a shot," Michonne said.
Katie was silent.
"Does Rick know you're here?" Michonne asked.
"He knows I'm here. He just doesn't know what we're talking about. I'd like to keep it that way until we have a definite plan," Katie said.
Michonne nodded.
"Do you think they'll stand with us?" Katie asked quietly.
"The people at Hilltop?" Michonne asked, confused.
"Our people. I don't know if they're strong enough for this. They couldn't even fight with guns, let alone without them," Katie sighed.
"And our group, our family. What are they gonna say? We're all broken. Just some of us don't know how to do anything but pick up the pieces. You and I, we've picked ourselves up and pieced ourselves back together over and over and over. We pick up the pieces. That's what we do. That's what we have to do. I can't just brush this under the rug. I won't work for Negan. But I don't know if I'm willing to lose my family over this," Katie said.
"You won't," Michonne said.
"You don't know that. They're all I have," Katie said quietly.
"Sometimes you have to lose the people you love in order to save them," Michonne said, putting her hand on Katie's arm reassuringly.
Katie nodded, taking a deep breath, trying to keep the tears from falling from her eyes.
"We have to keep this to ourselves a while. We don't do anything or say anything until we are completely ready. If we act now, everything's ruined. We just need to play along for a little while longer. They have Daryl. They'll kill him. We need to get him out and we need to get Sasha and Maggie. We have to do this together. All of us. Promise me you won't do anything rash," Katie said, giving Michonne an intense look.
"Promise," Michonne said quietly.
Katie nodded and walked out of the room.
She quickly walked back towards her own house to see Rick.
When she walked upstairs, she saw him making a bed on the floor of their bedroom.
The Saviors had taken their mattress.
Rick looked up from what he was doing when he heard Katie walk in.
"They took our mattresses-- most of them," Rick said.
"We've never had a problem with sleeping on the floor," Katie said, trying to keep the mood lighthearted.
"Katie," Rick said seriously.
Katie sighed and nodded.
It was no time for jokes or lightheartedness.
"You're not gonna fight, are you?" Katie asked.
"It's not about what I want to do, Katie, we don't have the numbers," Rick said, trying his hardest not to raise his voice.
"Yeah, that's what I said," Katie sighed.
Rick looked at her with furrowed eyebrows.
"This isn't a life, Rick. This isn't what I want for us, for Carl, for Judith," Katie said quietly.
"Do you remember Shane?" Rick said suddenly.
"How could I forget him?" Katie said.
"Him and Lori, they were together. They thought I was dead. I know Judith isn't mine. I know it. I love her. She's my daughter. But she isn't mine. I had to accept that. I did. So I could keep her alive. I'll die before she does and I hope that's a long time from now so I can raise her and protect her and teach her how to survive. This is how we live now. I had to accept that too. So I can keep everyone else alive," Rick said, his voice breaking, but Katie could tell he was trying to be strong.
Katie sunk to her knees on the opposite side of the makeshift bed from Rick, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Why didn't you tell me that you knew about Shane and Lori?" Katie asked quietly.
"You knew?" Rick asked, dropping his head as not to look at her.
Katie nodded.
"Did I ever tell you that Shane was the one who found me? Yeah, well, he found me at the hospital. I was there cleaning out John's office and the military showed up and gunned every living person down. I tried to make a run for it and I ran into Shane. He was there to get you. He couldn't get you out. He brought me back to your house. I was there when he told Lori that you were gone. God, she was so devastated. I didn't even know you or your family and I cried when I saw your family break like that. When we found the camp, my tent was the closest to the woods and it was usually my job to go and gather any plants that we could eat. I walked in on them by accident one morning. And at first, I thought 'Good for them!' But then you showed up and I realized that Shane wasn't going to let her go. And when I found out Lori was pregnant, I--" Katie started, her voice breaking.
"You knew?" Rick asked again, not looking at her.
"Yeah. Yeah, Rick. I knew," Katie said, crying.
"I asked her about it, you know. I asked her whose baby it was. She told me that no matter whose baby it was, you were the father. Lori wanted Judith to be your daughter. Biology doesn't matter. Judith was always meant to be your daughter. It's what Lori wanted. The people who share your bloodline aren't your family, the people who you'll shed blood for are," Katie said, letting the tears stream down her face.
Rick wiped them away with his thumb silently.
"We have to accept this, Katie. This is the way things are now. This is our life," Rick said quietly.
"Okay," Katie sighed.
"Okay, what?" Rick asked.
"I'm gonna try my damnedest, Rick. I'm gonna accept this because I want our family to live. Okay?" Katie said.
"Okay," Rick said quietly, as they finished making the bed on the floor.
