-Chapter eighty one; The King, The Widow, and Rick-
———
TAYLOR
THE DRIVE TO HILLTOP WAS
silent between Taylor and Aaron, Gracie's cooes being the only thing heard.
After an hour had passed, they made it there, Aaron parking his car by the front gate as Taylor hopped out with Gracie still bundled in her arms.
Jordyn walked up to her, her bright, red hair pulled up into a messy ponytail, and she cocked a brow, "Thought you'd be coming back with Daryl.".
"Yeah, well he said some shit that pissed me off, so I decided to come back with Aaron." Taylor replied, rocking Gracie.
Jordyn nodded, looking down at Gracie before back up to her, "Well, Joel, Tommy, Ellie, Dina, Jesse, Becca, and Lee are all here. They're alright. But um...where'd the baby come from?".
"The Savior outpost." Taylor said, "She was one of their's. Her names Gracie...she's ours now.".
That's when Aaron walked up to the two, "I can take her up to Maggie. We need to get a crib, car seat; anything for her to lay in.".
Nodding, Taylor handed him Gracie, "Here you go. And Aaron...if you um...if you ever need to talk, come find me.".
He hugged her, "I will, Taylor. Get some rest, you'll need it.".
He made his way up to the Harrington house as Jordyn turned back to Taylor, "Wait, what happened?".
"...Eric's dead..." She mumbled, "...Bled out from the fight at the Sanctuary...".
Jordyn stayed silent for a few moments before speaking up, "Uh...Becca wants to talk to you, Lee too. It's about time for me to take watch over the Saviors.".
She gestured over to a pen by the front gate containing a large mass of Saviors and none other than Gregory.
Cocking a brow, Taylor turned back to her, "Gregory betrayed us!?".
Jordyn nodded, "Fuck yeah he did. He keeps goin on how he's one of us and he's being treated like an animal. If you ask me, I think he's losing his shit.".
Folding her arms, Taylor muttered, "Let him lose his shit. Fucking bastard deserves it. Anyway, I'm gonna go find Becca and Lee. I'll talk to you later, Jordyn.".
Jordyn waved as Taylor walked off to find her boyfriend and close friend, Jordyn going her own way to take watch over the Saviors.
———
DARYL
DARYL STOOD OUT ON TARA'S
front porch, waiting for her to come out so he could talk to her.
He couldn't get Taylor off his mind, thinking about what she saw him do...what he said to her...
He kept screwing up...maybe she'd be better off with Aaron being her caregiver...
All thoughts of Taylor left his mind as Tara stepped out of her house, "Hey. You just get back?".
"Yeah." He replied, walking up to her, "I was lookin' for ya'.".
"I was looking for you, too." She said, pausing, "I wanted to tell you that you were right when you didn't kill Dwight. We wouldn't have gotten this far without him.".
He nodded as she continued, "The thing is, I know what you said. But after this, I'm gonna kill him. I want it to be me.".
"Maybe it can be you an' me both. An' maybe we don' gotta wait so long." He replied, "I got a plan, but first we gotta go get Taylor an' Jordyn from Hilltop.".
She nodded, heading back to the front door, "Alright, just let me grab my stuff.".
———
TAYLOR
TAYLOR FOUND BECCA LINGERING
around the trailers, sharpening her knife with a wetstone.
She walked up to her, "Hey.".
Becca looked up at her from her knife, sheathing it and putting the wetstone in her back pocket before walking up to Taylor and hugging her, "Hey. How'd it go?".
"Went fine." She replied as the two pulled away, "Jordyn told me you wanted to talk to me?".
Becca nodded, "Yeah. I just uh...I just wanted to let you know when all this war shit it over, I think I'm gonna go live with you and Daryl in Alexandria. I already talked to Maggie about it. It's just...ever since I saw you again, I don't feel like I belong here. I belong with my best friend and her adoptive father.".
Taylor smiled, "I mean, we've got room for you back home.".
Becca giggled, "I'm looking forward to it. Lee wanted to talk to you too by the way. He's inside the Harrington house.".
She hugged Becca one last time, "Thanks, Becca.".
She then made her way up to the Harrington house and walked inside, making her way up to Maggie's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" She heard her say, and she stepped inside, closing the door behind her.
"Hey, Maggs." She greeted her, walking up to Maggie and hugging her.
"Hey, Taylor. How'd it go? Are you alright?" She asked.
Taylor nodded, "Yeah, it went well. None of us were too hurt at the outpost.".
Maggie sighed with relief, "That's good. I half expected to see Daryl walk in beside you.".
Taylor shrugged, "Let's just say Daryl said and did some things that pissed me off, so we're taking a break from one another for a little bit.".
Maggie chuckled, "Glenn could be like that sometimes.".
Taylor nodded, "But we all still loved him to death. Anyway, I came to ask you if you know which room is Lee's.".
"Take a left from here and it's the door to the right at the very end." Maggie explained.
Taylor smiled as she headed to the door, "Thanks, Maggie.".
Of course, Taylor. Let me know if you need anythin'." She smiled back.
I will." Taylor nodded before walking out, closing the door behind her as she then made her way to Lee's room and knocked on the door.
He opened it and smiled down at her, placing a kiss on her lips before bringing her into an embrace, "Hey.".
She hugged him back, "Hi. Becca told me it went well for you guys over at the Sanctuary.".
He nodded, "Yeah it went well. What about you? Everyone okay in your squadrant?".
Besides a few minor wounds, everyone's fine." She replied.
Where's Daryl? Is he planning an elaborate murder for me?" He remarked.
She giggled, "Maybe, I don't know. He's not here, though. We went our separate ways for a little while; clear our heads and all.".
He gestured for her to walk inside as he closed the door, "Oh, I'm sorry.".
She waved him off, "No, it's okay. We just need time to think.".
"Are you spending the night?" He asked her.
She shrugged, "Probably. I'm leaving whenever Daryl comes to get me. I can't be away from him too long.".
He nodded, a blush coating his cheeks, "You could uh...share my room with me. I could ask Maggie for a cot to sleep on so you can take my bed if you're not comfortable sharing a bed.".
Giggling, she walked up to him and placed a kiss on his cheek, "Lee, it's okay. We can share a bed, it's not like we're doing any funny business. Just don't tell Daryl. He'll literally kill you.".
He nodded, "Yeah, of course. So uh...what do you want to do now?".
"Have any comics on you?" She asked.
He smirked, "You know it.".
"Then let's read some comics.".
———
IT WAS THE NEXT DAY, AND
Taylor had fallen asleep wrapped in Lee's arms as she slept softly.
The bright rays of the sun was what woke her up as she sat up, stretching her arms to rid some of the stiffness in her body.
"Hey," She heard the soft words of Lee's hoarse morning voice, "How'd you sleep?".
She yawned, "Better than I have in a while not having to deal with Daryl's snoring.".
He chuckled, "Must be tough.".
"Oh it is." She agreed, walking up to the dresser in Lee's room as she grabbed her clothes from yesterday.
"Um...thanks for letting me borrow your t-shirt." She said, tugging at the garment, "I should probably go ahead and change.".
Grabbing his own clothes from yesterday from the dresser, he nodded, gesturing down to his t-shirt and sweats, "Same here.".
The two teens faced away from each other as they changed, and once they were done, they headed out of the Harrington house to grab breakfast.
They stopped by to say hello to Jordyn, and she was currently guarding Gregory and the Ssviors in the pen while Jesus kept walking up and down the line, the sound of construction filling the air of Hilltop.
Taylor noted how Jordyn kept makimg quick glances at one of the tied up Saviors in the lineup.
"Who do you keep staring at?" She whispered to her.
Jordyn jumped, "Jesus fucking christ, Taylor! You scared the shit out of me!".
Taylor giggled, "Sorry. Anyway, answer the question. Who's the lucky guy?".
Jordyn blushed, "His name is Alden, and he's...he's not lucky anything. He's just...I just think he's...".
"Attractive?" Taylor asked, cocking a brow.
Jordyn nodded, "Yeah, that. But look, he's a Savior, me and him would not fly.".
Taylor smirked, "Let's see what Maggie has to say.".
She then sprinted off for Maggie, Lee following her as Jordyn chased after her, "Get back here you fucking roaches!".
The two rushed up to Maggie as Taylor said excitedly, "Maggie Maggie Maggie. Could the Saviors you guys captured be redeemed and joim us!?".
She looked a bit shocked, "I mean, I guess they could. Depends if they cooperate.".
Taylor squealed with delight as Jordyn came up and said to her, "Did you hear that, Jordyn? That means you have a chance with that Alden guy!".
"Wait, does Jordyn have a crush on one of them?" Maggie smirked.
Jordyn burried her face in her hands, "Fuck me...".
That's when the gates opened to Hilltop, and a car from Alexandria came rolling in, parking at the front gate, and Daryl, Tara, Michonne, and Rosita hopped out.
"Jesus fucking Christ..." Taylor sighed, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jeans.
The four walked up to them as she folded her arms and glared at Daryl, "What?".
We need you an' Jordyn for somethin'." He replied.
"What's the something?" Jordyn asked.
"We'll explain on the way. Grab one of Hilltops cars and follow us out." Tara explained.
Sighing, Taylor turned to Jordyn, "Alright, let's go grab a car.".
What the hell were they getting into...
To Be Continued...
Word Count: 1765
Edited: ❌
@Taylor_Frickin_Dixon
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