valiant|| the walking dead

thirteen.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN,
a game of cat and mouse.

Rick and Aiden both returned back to Alexandria. Aiden told Daryl she would be back as soon as she could but she needed to be with Elliot for a while. He couldn't just stay at the Grimes home all the time.

Aiden sat with a giggling Elliot and a half asleep Xavier when Rick came up to them, "what?" Aiden asked him.

"Justin. I sent him away last night, told him if I saw him again I'd kill 'em. He turned up dead this mornin'. But it wasn't an accident." Rick informed her.

Xavier was now fully awake and staring at Rick, "the douchebag who caused Aaron told lose his arm?"

"That's the one." Rick said, "we need to get to the camp." He said to Aiden.

She nodded, "I love you." She kissed Elliot's head and handed him to Xavier. She ruffled Xavier's hair and she and Rick both walked off.

»

Aiden and Rick raced into the camp on their horses and between the two groups about to start fighting. "Back off! Right now." Rick said to them. Aiden glared at the Saviors, her Beretta in hand.

"Alright, we are not doing this. Let it go." Laura said to the Saviors.

"I'll talk to Rick. I'll try and find a way to make everybody feel safe, alright?" Alden said to his once people.

"Start the redirect. Pair off to work the grid," Rick said to everyone.

Aiden got off of Sebby and walked off. She saw Daryl sitting on a log sharpening his knife. She sat beside him. "How's the little man?" He asked her.

"He's doin' okay. He's with Xavier right now." Aiden replied, "asshole got what he deserved."

"Yeah. Some of 'em thought you did it. Cause you blacked out again yesterday, Aid. When you attacked Justin. That's why people thought it was you." Daryl explained to her.

"I haven't blacked out in a while. I thought- I thought I was doing better." Aiden said when Rick walked up to the couple and sat on another log.

"Go ahead. Ask." Daryl said to his best friend.

"That wound on Justin... looks like a puncture. I wondered if it could be from a knife, but it's small, round, and clean. Smaller and cleaner than a bullet hole. It kind of looks like an arrow hit him. Or a bolt." Rick began.

"Is this the kind of shit of used to do?" Daryl asked him.

"Yes," Aiden piped.

"When we had to." Rick said to him.

"You really think I did it?" Daryl asked him. Aiden felt Daryl's hand grip hers- his way of keeping himself calm.

"No. But others do. So I'm making sure." Rick said.

"If I had killed him, I'd have killed him in plain sight. I don't know who it is, but I do know why, and so do you. Bringing all these people together, it was always gonna happen." Daryl stated.