𝙈aggie spoke gently to Bob. They all had gathered in the office, trying to be encouraging to him, though they knew that, soon, he was going to die. Really, they were just saying goodbye. "You'll always be with us," she said. "Part of us."
Bob offered her a smile, and she kissed his knuckles. Glenn patted his leg. They all were making for the door when Bob said, "Rick."
Rick glanced at him, hesitating before he started to hand Judith over to Adalyn. "No, don't," Bob said. "Let her stay. I trust her."
Rick nodded. Adalyn squeezed his shoulder before she left the room, Carl following. Sasha was last to leave.
Adalyn sat down on a bench, taking a deep breath. She barely looked up as Sasha sat beside her. "You gonna be okay?" she asked Sasha, who shook her head.
"Eventually," Sasha answered.
"I'm sorry," Adalyn offered.
"Can we change the subject?" Sasha asked.
"Yeah, of course."
"Why did you want to stay here?"
The question caught Adalyn off guard. She looked up at Sasha, smiling awkwardly. "What?" she said.
"When Abraham wanted to leave," Sasha said, "you wanted to stay. Why?"
Adalyn took in another breath, that awkward smile remaining. "I didn't expect anyone to ask questions, for one," she said. "For two..." she stopped, considering. She hadn't actually fully thought it out. She'd almost expected Abraham to drag her out by the hair. "Y'all are good people. Even after last night, I still think you're good. Abraham is unpredictable. And I mean, nothing about this is predictable anymore, but you don't smile and laugh when you're killing biters. None of you do that. But Abraham, he does. I get that this world can ruin what a human once was, but you've all stayed good. Or, at least, mostly good. That's why I wanted to stay."
Sasha nodded, offering a smile that seemed genuine. "I just thought you liked Rick."
Adalyn actually laughed at that statement. "No," she said. "No, it's not that simple."
Sasha left her when Rick had finished with Bob.
They all heard the crying after some minutes and knew that the news they all were expecting but dreading all the same had come.
Bob was dead.
Tyreese joined his sister in the office. Sasha left first, tears rolling down her cheeks. Tyreese came out next.
They buried Bob in front of the church. Sasha tied together two sticks to form a cross. A grave marker.
No one really wanted to talk about it, but they knew what came next. D.C. and whatever was waiting for them there. Abraham, of course, was the one who broached the subject, showing Rick the map. Not everyone could fit in the bus, so, for now, he needed to gather those who could. "This is our route to D.C.," he said. "We'll stick to it as long as we're able. If not, well, you got our destination. Once Eugene gets to the big brains left up there, things are gonna bounce back. This group should be there for it. You should be there for it."
"They will be," Maggie said.
"We will," Michonne agreed, and Rick looked back at her, nodding.
"We will," he said.
Abraham smiled. "Let's go," he said.
His eyes drifted to Adalyn, who shifted on her feet. "You sure you don't want to see this through with the ones you started with?" he asked.
"I'll see you again," she said, a smile starting to form on her face. "And Eugene will save the whole world."
And then Abraham did something surprising. He hugged her. Rosita followed suit. Then Eugene. Adalyn laughed weakly as she looked at them. "It's been a ride, guys," she said. "And I'm lucky you found me when you did. Thank you. Really."
"No problem, Addy," Abraham answered. "We'll see you soon."
Glenn, Maggie, Tara, Rosita, Abraham, Eugene. They all piled into the bus. Goodbyes seemed to be the hardest thing in the world for those at the church that morning.
Abraham took his place in the driver's seat, giving Rick a stiff nod, which he returned. Abraham closed the bus doors, then they were off.
Adalyn was actually blinking back tears as the bus pulled off into the road, disappearing into the trees. She leaned over Rick's shoulder as he unfolded the map, and she let out a laugh at the sight of a note, written in Abraham's quick scrawl. Sorry I was an asshole. Come to Washington. The new world's gonna need Rick Grimes.
Rick smiled slightly.
Adalyn squeezed his shoulder before she stepped back inside the church.
