Olivia stood in the doorway, looking in horror as Negan and Lilith let themselves into Carl's house. She heard the older woman ask Carl where Enid was, which briefly caused Lilith to stop in her tracks. However, after deciding to bring it up later, she quickly continued on her way to the kitchen. Negan whistled as he followed behind.

"Great, great, great!" He exclaimed, "Where's Rick?"

Olivia struggled to hide her fear as she stuttered in response.

"Don't care," Negan interrupted in a sing-songy voice, "Where's Rick?"

Lilith opened the fridge and rummaged through the shelves and cabinets. Only slightly listening to the conversation taking place.

"He's um. . . out scavenging for you," Olivia's voice shook as she spoke.

"Cool. I'll wait," the man responded.

"Um," the woman continued, "He went out pretty far. They might not be back today. We're practically starving here."

Lilith heard Olivia's voice shake as she spoke. She made her way to sit on the edge of the island, facing the others. The girl had found a Tupperware of pinkish cookies which she thought looked interesting.

"Starving. . ." Negan mocked, "You? By practically, you mean not really."

Lilith froze. Her mouth slightly agape due to the fact she was about to take a bite. She only saw the back of her dad's head but could still tell he was enjoying himself. Olivia tried to hold back tears but failed, turning around as she attempted not to sob.

"Dad, what the fuck?" The blonde girl called out.

Negan turned to face her, "C'mon, sweetheart. It was funny—"

"No it fucking wasn't. Apologize, maybe?."

"I—" he started to defend himself but at seeing his daughter's serious look, he sighed, "You people really don't have a sense of humor." Then he turned back towards Olivia, "My daughter believes I owe you an apology. So, I'm sorry for my extremely clever joke at your expense. I wasn't being rude for the purpose of you know, being rude."

The man turned to his daughter with a smirk and gave her a thumbs up, but Lilith only scoffed and rolled her eyes.

After a moment of silence, Negan spoke up again, "Alright well, I'm just gonna put my feet up and wait for my stuff to get here. Olivia, could you make us some lemonade? I know I left y'all some of that good powdered stuff."

The woman tried to say no, "I'm not supposed to-"

But she was cut off, "Make it. Make it good."

Then Olivia ran out of the house.

Lilith chewed on her first bite of the cookie in her hand, furrowing her eyebrows.

"The hell kinda cookie is this?" She asked.

Carl looked at it, "Um. . . beet and acorn?" It came out more like a question, but he knew exactly what was in the cookie.

The blonde girl's eyes widened, "What?!" She walked over to the trash can, spitting it out, "That's fucking disgusting."

"Ok, kid! Take me on the grand tour!" Negan exclaimed. Carl hesitated but started to lead the way. When the older man realized his daughter wasn't following, he turned to her expectantly. "You aren't coming?" He asked.

Lilith groaned, "I've already been on this tour! I'm bored. And hungry."

Her father chuckled, "Well, that was about 50 excuses at once. C'mon! Quick tour then maybe I can whip up my famous spaghetti you used to love so much!"

The girl sighed but agreed. The trio went through all the rooms, like Lilith had her first day here. She saw Carl start to tense up as they got closer to Judith's room. This annoyed the young savior. Her dad's not gonna strangle a baby, she thought to herself.

Opening the door against Carl's protests, Negan laid his eyes on the small child. Lilith could've sworn she saw his face literally get brighter. One thing about her dad that would never change? He adored babies.

Judith would then accompany them for the rest of the tour. While Negan sat on the porch, drinking liquor with Carl sat in the chair beside him, and Lilith on the railing with her back against a pillar.

She watched her father play with Judith, bouncing her on his lap and cooing. She wondered if that's what it looked like when she was Judith's age.

——

Finally, the group found their way back to the kitchen where her dad began to cook. The girl sat beside Carl at the counter as they watched Negan. Quietly, as to avoid her dad hearing, she spoke to the boy beside her, "So. . . Enid's not here?"

The boy's head jerked to the side. He had a look on his face like a thousand different alarms were going off in his head.

"I just ask because I heard Olivia ask you when we first got here. And I thought I remembered them living together. So if she's not here. . . where is she?"

"Why do you wanna know?" Carl asked equally quiet.

Lilith sighed, "I'm just curious. When I first got here, she didn't take any shit. And she really put me in my place last time we spoke. It hurt like a bitch, what she said, but damn do I admire her for it."

Carl's expression changed. He didn't look alarmed anymore, but now he was confused, "What? You have a crush on her or something?"

The girl clenched her jaw, "Dude, no. I barely know her." She studied him for a brief moment before continuing, "Why? You have a problem with gay people?"

"What? No! I just have a problem with you."

Lilith laughed, "And here I was thinking we were becoming friends."

The boy was silent, annoying the blonde. She thought of what to say next.

"Mm, mm!" The two teenagers jumped as Negan yelled. The man turned to them both, shoving a wooden spoon covered in sauce in their faces, "want a taste?"

Both declined. Lilith waited for her father to turn back to the stove before speaking again.

"Look, I don't know why your so adamant on hiding her—"

"Because I want her safe and far away from you and your people. I care about her. . . And I like her too," he said the last part even quieter.

"Awww, cowboy has a crush," Lilith teased in a babyish voice.

Carl rolled his eyes looking away, "Shut up."

"Not a chance."

___

The group had finally sat down to eat, with Olivia joining them. Growing tired of waiting for Rick, Negan and Lilith dug in. The entire meal was filled with awkward silence. The blonde girl grew incredibly bored while mindlessly playing with her half eaten roll.

By the time they all finished, Lilith noticed someone talking to Arat outside. Making her way to the door, she realized whoever it was wanted to speak to her father.

"You want an audience with the big man?" The girl asked, stepping onto the porch.

The man cleared his throat, "Yes, I would."

Lilith studied him. He made her uncomfortable just looking at him. He was too clean. Granted, everyone in Alexandria managed to somehow look pristine, but this guy was different. He seemed arrogant, too separated from the world beyond their walls. However, she called to her father anyway. She was too curious not to.

"Dad!" She called behind her, and the man appeared.

"Well, what do we have here?" He asked rhetorically. "Don't be an asshole, Arat. Let him pass."

The man finally walked up the steps, leaving Negan to notice the liquor bottle in his hands.

"Oh crap. Is that for me?" He asked excitedly.

"We haven't officially met," The stranger said. "I'm Spencer Monroe. . . Hi."

Lilith turned to go back inside, losing interest. She saw Olivia and Carl doing the dishes, and she walked over to help. Reaching for the pile of dirty plates, she tried to grab one when her hand got smacked away.

"We got it," Carl told her.

The blonde laughed in bewilderment, "Did you just swat my hand away? What are you, 8?" They boy ignored her. "Fine. I was just trying to help, but I'll gladly prop my feet up while you do the chores."

She then went and laid back on the couch in the other room, one arm behind her head and the other on her stomach. With a sigh, she shouted, "Oh yeah! This is nice! Letting the man do the house work for a change! One positive about the world ending, maybe the patriarchy will finally be abolished!"

Still receiving nothing in return, Lilith groaned in annoyance. She got up and peeped her head back into the kitchen, "This whole silent treatment thing is juvenile." Walking back to the counter and leaning on it, she looked at Carl closely. "C'mon dude. I thought we were finally getting along. Back at the sanctuary—"

"You burnt a guy's face off." The boy interrupted.

Lilith sighed, dropping her head, "I know it's hard—sickening even—to watch that. But. . . how do you think it feels to be the one to have to do it?" She asked him, but got no response. "Listen, I don't want me to be here either. But I am. And I have nothing do. When I get bored enough, I am willing to do anything. Anything. Please Carl, help me out here! I just—"

"Why don't you go play pool with your dad and let me have some space away from you?" They boy cut her off.

Lilith looked at him in confusion, causing him to gesture towards the window. Turning her head, the girl watched a handful of saviors carry a pool table into the middle of the street. She sighed, deciding to listen to the Grimes boy, and walked outside.

"That little shit gives me whiplash," she muttered to herself.

Spencer was setting up the balls on the table when Lilith approached them. She leaned on the edge of the table. "Wow," she chuckled, looking at her dad. "You never would have been able to do this with Rick. He'd just be standing there, scowling, giving you that trademark side-eye he gives you." Negan laughed with his daughter.

"It's funny you say that. That's actually what I came to see your dad about," Spencer said to the girl. Many Alexandrians gathered around the table to watch. Carl and Olivia came to stand on the porch. Lilith and Negan raised their eyebrows in curiosity. The younger man looked back at her father, "I want to talk to you about Rick."

Negan shrugged, putting chalk on his pool cue. "Alright. Talk to me Spencer." He leaned down to aim. "Talk to me about Rick." And he shot.

____

The two men continued their game as Spencer spoke. "I get what you're trying to do here. What you're trying to build. I'm not saying I agree with your methods, but I get it." Negan hit a ball into one of the wholes, scoring for himself. "You're building a network," Spencer continued, "You're making people contribute for the greater good. It makes sense. But you should know that Rick Grimes has a history of not working well with others."

Here it was. The thing Lilith knew was coming. Something about Spencer bothered her from the moment she set eyes on him and now she knew. He was a backstabber. A coward.

"Is that so?" The girl spoke up from where she sat on the edge of the table.

Spencer nodded, "Rick wasn't the original leader here. My mom was. She was doing a really good job of it. Then she died not long after Rick showed up—same with my brother, same with my dad."

"So, everything was peachy here for—what—years? And then Rick shows up and suddenly you're an orphan."

Negan took a sip of his drink, masking the smirk on his face caused by his daughter's comment. "Well," he said, "That is just about the saddest story I've ever heard. Good thing for you, he's not in charge anymore."

"Doesn't matter," Spencer pushed, "His egos out of control."

Lilith muffled a laugh. His ego?

"He'll find a way to screw things up, to try and do things his way, to take over. That's what he did with my mom. That's what he'll do again." The man finished.

Negan and Lilith made eye contact, realizing their both on the same page.

"What exactly are you proposing be done about that?" Lilith asked him.

"I am my mother's son. I can be the leader she was. That's what this place needs. That's what you need," Spencer pointed at her and her father.

"So we should put you in charge. That's what you're saying?"

"We'd be much better off."

Lilith sighed. Negan and Spencer played a couple more rounds as the ladder's words hung in the air. Eventually, she got off the edge of the table and walked closer to the young man.

"You know, I'm thinking, Spencer. I'm thinking how Rick threatened to kill him," She gestured to her dad. "How his son threatened me. How they all clearly hate our guts. But Rick is out there, right now, gathering shit for us to make sure we don't hurt any of the fine people that live here. He is swallowing his hate and getting shit done. That takes guts."

Lilith expected her dad to interject, seeing as he loved to be the talker of them two. But when she looked at him and saw his proud smirk, she realized he wanted it to be her this time.

Turning back to Spencer, she gave him a tight lipped smile. "And then there's you. . . The guy who waited for Rick to be gone so he could sneak over and talk to us and get us to do his dirty work so he could take Rick's place. So I gotta ask—if you wanna take over, why not just kill Rick yourself and just take over?" Lilith now stood directly in front of him.

Spencer may have towered over her, but he was the one that stuttered in fear. "You know what I'm thinking? Cause I have a guess. It's because. . . " Lilith slowly unsheathed her knife from her waist band. " . . . you got no guts."

Shoving her blade into his stomach, she heard the people around her gasp in shock. She dragged it across his torso before removing it and watching the man's insides spill out. Spencer collapsed onto the ground. Negan laughed.

"Ohh. How embarrassing! There they are. They were inside you the whole time. You did have guts! I don't think my girl's ever been so wrong in her whole life!" Negan taunted, beaming with pride at what his daughter had done.

Lilith looked around at everyone's expressions. Some held fear, some held shock, some anger. She found Carl's gaze, who displayed all three of those at once. He didn't look surprised though. And she didn't blame him.

She wasn't uncomfortable with killing. She had done it before. As long as they deserved it, she never felt too torn up about it. And in her eyes, Spencer deserved it. He was not safe to keep around.

"Now," her father began, "someone oughta get up here and clean this mess up." No one moved or said anything. "Oh! Anyone wanna finish the game? C'mon. Anybody? Anybody? C'mon! I was winning!"

Then, time slowed. Lilith watched Rosita, a woman she knew from the clearing, pull out a gun. The blonde girl started to run at her. She had almost reached the woman when a shot rung out. A shot flying in her father's direction. And then Lilith tackled Rosita to the ground.

But the bullet had already left the gun.

___
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