Determined to Endure: The 4th Installment in my Daryl Dixon Love Story

Chapter 5: A Little Information

Maggies comes out of Gregory's office after a half an hour. She says, "he doesn't want to trade with us." She looks to Jesus, "he said you're doing just fine."

Jesus responds, "we want to generate trade. Gregory does. But ammo isn't something we urgently need."

Rick asks back, not understanding that reasoning, "well, how's that?"

"The walls hold." He simply says, "we just brought in more medicine. Gregory wants the best deal possible."

Daryl spits out, "yeah, well, we want things, too."

Rick clarifies, "we need food. We came all this way, we're gonna get it."

I hope Jesus understood that Rick means what he says, and I bite my tongue from jumping in and explaining that to him. Luckily, Jesus answers, "I will talk to him and we will work this out. Circumstances change. We're doing well now, and you will next. I will make him understand that. Can you give me a few days?"

He waits for an answer from Rick, but it's Michonne who gives him one, "we can. Yeah."

Rick let's out a soft laugh, about to say something but the front door opening grabs all of our attention. Gregory opens his french doors and the man who walks in says, "they're back."

Gregory gives Jesus a head nod and they leave the house. We all follow suit, wondering what the hell he's talking about. Gregory calls to the three people walking up, "Nathan, what happened to everybody else? Where's Tim and Marsha?"

"They're dead." The man spits back.

"Negan?" He asks. My eyes go directly to Daryl who just keeps his focus on what's happening in front of us. The man nods, saying it was him and Gregory says, "we had a deal,.."

The other man in the group jumps in, "he said it wasn't enough. Was the drop light?"

Gregory answers "No."

"They still have Craig." The one in front says, "they said they'd keep him alive, return him to us, if I deliver a message to you."

The man gets closer to Gregory as if he's going to whisper it to him. Gregory tells him to get on with it, "so, tell me."

"I'm sorry." I hear it in a whisper followed by a loud groan. Gregory steps back, and as I step forward to help him before he falls down, Rick lunges at the man. Light chaos breaks out around me as Maggie, Jesus and I try to help Gregory with the fresh stab wound.

As he lays there bleeding, I put pressure on the wound while Maggie runs off to find the doctor here. I listen as the man on top of Rick yells, "anybody who tries to stop me is killing my brother!"

The knife rests tight against Rick's throat and Michonne says to the man holding it, "drop it."

With that one distraction, Rick thrusts his fingers into the man's throat and  he begins to bleed out right on top of him. Memory floods me of the time Rick bit the throat of the man trying to kill him, the night Daryl and I reunited after the farm. Rick pushes the body off of him and looks around at everyone staring at him, the sound of the dead weight brings me back to reality, "what?" He asks out.

The women who walked in with the two men cries out, "Nathan! You killed him."

"He tried to kill Gregory, then me." Rick blatanely responds as if what he just did wasn't wrong.

She moves to try and attack Rick but Michonne stops her with a quick push to the ground, "don't."

"Drop it, now!" Cal, from the gate is standing across from Rick, ready to strike at Rick.