Last One Standing ~ TWD Daryl Dixon

125

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Jo

After dinner Negan stood up, he looked from the table to Olivia, obviously expecting her to clean up. I jumped up, "Carl and I will do dishes," I said. 

Negan frowned at me for a moment but then shrugged and headed out to the porch. Carl and I cleared the dishes and stepped up to the sink together. I washed while Carl dried. Olivia cleared the table then had left at my urging. She didn't need to be here. I had enough people to worry about. As far as I could tell Judith hadn't woken up yet, but it had only been an hour. Her afternoon nap was usually between two and three hours.

"Judith is in the basement," I said in a low voice so only Carl could hear. He turned to face me, frowning. "I didn't want her where she could be found easily in case something goes down."

He nodded tightly.

"Are you okay?" I asked, handing him a plate to dry.

He nodded, glancing once over his shoulder to where Negan stood on the porch. He was out of ear shot if we kept our voices low. "Are you?" he asked.

I nodded.

"I saw Daryl," he told me.

The cup I had been washing slipped from my hands and clattered against the bottom of the sink. Negan turned at the sound and frowned at me, but something outside caught his attention.

Carl looked at me apologetically. "Sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to-" he drug off, then looking at my face he spoke quickly. "He's okay. I mean...he's alive."

I closed my eyes at his words, knowing what he meant. They were still torturing him. The look on Carl's face was all I had to see. But Daryl was strong. He had survived long before this and he would survive Negan until I figured out how to get him out of there. 

Outside I heard Arat speak. "No," she ground out the word angrily.

I stepped around the island, wiping my hands dry on a towel.

"I just want to talk to him."

Negan heard me move and glanced over his shoulder to see me standing behind him. My eyes locked on Spencer. He had cleaned himself up, dressed in khakis and a nice polo shirt with bottle of scotch in hand, looking like the worlds biggest teachers pet. Negan arched a brow as though asking what I thought, but I didn't take my narrowed gaze off of Spencer. 

"I said no," Arat snapped.

Negan turned back to our visitor. "Don't be an asshole Arat. Let the man pass."

Spencer walked up the stairs looking especially smug. I glared at him, trying to tell him with my eyes what a horrible idea this was. He had no idea what he was dealing with, and I wasn't going to endanger Carl or Judith to save him if he did something stupid. 

"Oh shit," Negan said with a pleased smile. "Is that for me?"

Spencer smiled back at him. "Yeah, we haven't officially met. I'm Spencer Monroe. Hi."

I sank my teeth into my lower lip and resisted the urge to face palm. This idiot was going to get himself killed if he wasn't careful. 

Negan waved Spencer to one of the chairs and called over his shoulder to me. "Jo, be a dear and get us some glasses while we have man time."

I arched a brow at his words and folded my arms across my chest. Negan was in absolute control of this situation. I knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt, but I wasn't going to skuttle around after him like a servant.