The Honey House

Epilogue

For the most part everyone kept to their side of the Freeway. Alexandria, Hilltop and the Kingdom to the North, Rae and her Savior's to the South. Everyone with the exception of Daryl, who was already waiting for her when she arrived at the usual spot.

"Hey," she said, letting go of the tension she'd been carrying in her shoulders and like clockwork Daryl dug into his pocket for a packet of cigarettes and his lighter. There was no doubt that Rae would take one and then they would lean against the faded white fence and enjoy each others company in a whirl of smoke and silence like old friends.

Maybe by now they were old friends although their first meeting after Negan's arrest hadn't gone so smooth. Back then Rae had been reeling, wracking her brain and searching her conscience for an answer to a question that could have changed everything. To rescue Negan or accept his fate? Some of the Saviors had wanted to wage a war to get him back, others had simply wanted to stay alive. In the end she'd chosen the latter but the day she'd spotted Daryl stalking her through the garden of this old abandoned house she'd had war on her mind.

Rae had ambushed him besides the very fence they leant on with every intention of 'making him pay' except making someone pay for something that wasn't their fault wasn't exactly Rae's style. In fact it was the exact kind of thing that started wars and got people thrown into makeshift jail cells. Not to mention it was cruel and despite the shitty hand the world had dealt Rae she didn't want to be cruel, even if being cruel was sometimes far easier than being kind.

In hindsight Rae realised Daryl had let her catch him that day but she'd never asked him why or if he'd been afraid she'd hurt him. Regardless, letting Daryl return home had helped her take back some of the control Rick Grimes had stolen and in the end it had helped sway her decision towards peace.

And that was how the meetings started. They would meet every other week, leaning against the fence that was as unremarkable as the house it surrounded but over the past couple of years it had become as familiar as the well worn lines in Daryl's leather vest. It felt like even the trees recognised them as they stopped their rustling and settled down to listen in silence.

"Ezekiel wants to know if he can send you another horse," Daryl began, flicking a flurry of ash to the ground.

"The first one was too much," she replied and Daryl shrugged, rolling his cigarette between dirty fingers before taking a long thoughtful drag.

"It's his way of keepin' peace between all y'all," he said eventually and something inside Rae snapped.

"I can keep the peace without bribery!"

Daryl paused, his narrow eyes scrutinising her as she tried to hold onto indignation even if she didn't really feel that offended. No, it wasn't offence that bothered her it was betrayal. Every charity from Ezekiel felt like a betrayal to Negan and her friendship with Daryl was already a betrayal she could hardly stomach when she thought about it too long.

"I think ya should take it," Daryl insisted quietly and Rae knew, regardless of what she thought, he'd be bringing the horse to her anyway.

It was like that with Daryl, he'd show up with things she hadn't asked for and leave her with no choice but to accept them. A deer at Christmas, some antibiotics when Grandma Ellie was sick, one of two stray puppies he'd found. Zuzu had been pleased with Banjo, who was now as big as a pony, Grandma Ellie not so much.

Rae sighed, changing the subject to something she could be proud of. Something she'd done with nothing but sheer determination. "The crops are good, the summers barely started and we're already up on last year's yield."

Turning the Saviors into farmers hadn't been easy and Rae's hands bore the signs of hours and hours of hard work but bringing the fields around Grandma's house back to life had given her an indescribable feeling. It was much more than hope. It was as if she could see into the future and almost reach out and touch it.