Just Keep Walking

One hundred and two

"Look at me," Rick demanded to Dwight, "why?"
"'Cause I want it stopped. I want Negan dead." Dwight insisted.
"So why don't you kill him?"
"Can't just be me. They're all Negan."
"That girl you murdered?" Tara whispered suddenly, "She had a name. Her name was Denise, and she was a doctor. And she helped people."
"I wasn't aiming for her." Dwight said nonchalantly, and Daryl flew at him, pinning him against the wall, his knife to Dwight's face. Michonne held Mary's face into her chest, not wanting her to see.
"Do it. Do it." Tara whispered.
"You wanna end it this way? You go ahead. I'm sorry. I am. I know you want to." Dwight said softly.
"He could just be here to see if you were here." Rick pointed out to Daryl.
"We can't trust him." Michonne insisted, holding Mary's shaking, sleepy, skinny body.
"He owned me. But not anymore. What I did, I was doing it for someone else. She just got away. So now I'm here. So are you. Because of her."
"Do it." Tara whispered.
"There's another choice."
"He killed Glenn." Mary whispered, moving her head to look at Daryl, and all eyes turned to the child.
"Mary..."
"He took us when we were in the woods. If he didn't take me and mom and Glenny and Uncle Daryl and Rosy, Glenn would be alive. It's his fault! Kill him, Uncle Daryl." Mary hissed.
"Mary." Rick whispered shakily, hearing his daughter's words. It scared him; the words coming out of her mouth were horrific. And that was a child he'd raised. He'd raised her to want to kill.
"Daryl. You knew her. You knew Glenn." Tara breathed.
"Negan trusts me. We work together, we can stop him! You knew me then, and you know me now. You know I'm not lying, I'm not!"
"Do it. Do it." Tara insisted, but Daryl looked at Mary, then lowered his knife. Rick walked over to them, closer to them, and looked at Dwight.
"They have Sasha, if she's even alive." Rosita pointed out.
"Why didn't you say something? He could be our only chance to get her back." Jesus snapped.
"Because I don't trust him. But I trust Daryl." Rosita sighed.
"Negan's coming soon. Tomorrow. Three trucks probably," Dwight explained, "twenty Saviours, and him. I can slow them down, bring some trees down in the road, buy a little time for you guys to get ready. If you can take them out, that's where we start. You kill them, I'll radio back to the Sanctuary."
"The Sanctuary?" Rick remarked, not knowing that it was. But Mary did, and the word sent shivers down her spine.
"Where Negan lives," Dwight explained, "that's what they call it. I can radio back to them, and say everything's okay. You drive the trucks back, and I can lead you right inside, and with the right plan, we can wipe out the rest. Check to see if your friends are still alive. Then we get the workers on our side, build our numbers up and go from outpost to outpost and end this."
"Keep talking." Rick nodded.
"Daddy," Mary whined angrily, "this isn't safe. He's a bad guy. He didn't let me out of the cell. He was mean to Al. I loved Al. And I hate him! I hate you! I HATE YOU!" Mary screamed, turning to Dwight.
"Michonne. Please can you step out with Mary. Because this time... I think she may be wrong." Rick sighed, and Michonne sighed too, but went out with Mary.
"Baby girl, you can't do that. Okay? And... We don't want people to die. Not Dwight. Negan, yes. But we don't need to kill everyone else. Do you... Do you understand that? Just because he's a bad person, doesn't mean he has to die." Michonne explained softly as they sat on the ground.
"I just want Glenn back." Mary whispered.
"I know. Me too. But... Killing other people won't bring him back. Killing Dwight... Negan... All those other people... All it does is make you sad inside. It doesn't make you happy, and it won't bring Glenn back." Michonne said firmly, as Mary cried softly.
"He's never coming back, is he?" Mary whimpered.
"No," Michonne breathed, her voice and heart both breaking, "no, my sweet girl. No, he's not coming back."
"When I'm a big girl," Mary sobbed, "I'm gonna not kill people. I do now, because it's a bad world with bad guys. Because I have to sometimes. Like that man that tried to hurt me. But when I'm a big girl, I'm not gonna kill anyone. I want to be like Denise. I want to be a doctor."
Michonne began to cry softly at that, her tears rolling into the top of Mary's head.
"And I'm gonna find a way to make no one dies. And I'll... I'll do medicine on people's brains. I'll make nasty people not bad anymore. So they're good. Not bad. Then no one will get killed. And I'll look after everyone. They'll not die. I'll make sure no one dies again. And I'll fix peoples hearts too."
"Their hearts?" Michonne whispered, a tear falling again.
"Why are you crying? It's okay, see. Sad hearts. I have a sad heart, because Glenn died, and one day my daddy will die. And you have a sad heart because of all our dead friends and because of Andy. And I'll fix the sad hearts."
"You'll be an amazing doctor. And I'll be so so so proud."
"How do I fix your heart?" Mary asked gently, putting a hand on Michonne's cheek.
"Oh, Moo. You fix my heart. You make me so happy, it fixes my heart. You and daddy and Carl and Judith."
"Mom? How do I... How do I fix my sad heart?"
"Time. Time will fix it," Michonne whispered shakily, "and doing things that make you happy. What's... What's five things that make you happy?"
"I like snuggling with you and daddy. And I like it when Carl reads me a story. And when daddy does my hair. And... And when I have bath time. And I like playing with daddy. He's my favourite. Sorry."
"That's okay." Michonne laughed softly.
"Can we go to bed?"
"Yeah. Go to sleep." Michonne whispered, and a few minutes later she was fast asleep in Michonne's arms.

"Did you know that Mary wants to be a doctor?" Michonne asked, as she slid into bed next to Rick, Mary fast asleep in between them.
"Really?" Rick asked with a grin.
"Yeah. She told me she wants to fix peoples sad hearts and make sure no one dies. So she could have saved Glenn, and so she could make Negan a good person."
"This kid... My God. How did I get so lucky?"
"The universe has to give you some good things in all this. They're your good things."
"Our good things. Ours. Carl... Carl won't ever call you mom. I won't lie. But that's what he sees you as. As his best friend and his step mother. But you're still their mom. You're Mary's mom and Judith's mommy."
"She talks about him," Michonne said softly, "about Andre."
"Do you need me to have a word? I get it if you do." Rick asked gently.
"No," Michonne whispered, pushing back a stray piece of hair back off Mary's face, "I... In a weird way, I like it. I like that she knows him. I like that she loves him. Because he's a part of me. And she keeps him with me. She's... She's like him. And I love her so much."
Rick reached over, and his thumb caressed Michonne's cheek. "I love you." He breathed, his voice hoarse and sleepy.
"I love you too. Now, let's go to sleep. We've got... We've got a busy day tomorrow. And it is tomorrow. It's two."
"Hmm. I'm gonna send Moo and Jude back with Jesus and Enid tomorrow. Safest place for them."
"She's not going to do that." Michonne scoffed.
"One can hope. I don't want her here when it happens. It's too dangerous."
"Yeah, I'd also like to have some pineapple for breakfast tomorrow morning. Neither is happening." Michonne sighed, nestling further into the bed.
"'Chonne..."
"It'll work itself out. We've got our own little heart doctor," Michonne mumbled, putting arm over Mary as she said so, "it'll be okay."
But if only she knew of what the next day would bring.
And of where they would be that time tomorrow.
Of where Mary would be.