AN ANGEL WAS in his arms. At least, that's what it felt like to him. Y/N was sitting on the sofa with AJ in his arms, and he just looked at him with adoring eyes.

The baby was already getting tired and began to sleep. Like the child, Y/N seemed to drown out the noise of the festivities going on. It was just him and AJ...and all he could hear was the slow breathing of his son as he slept.

Earlier, Erica got to speak to Y/N, and she explained her journey to Alexandria as best as he could.

She had separated from Liliana and Ramon during the battle at the prison and went to get AJ from his quarters. She ended up running into one of the Governor's men and fought him, which ended up in her getting slashed on her arm, evident from a scar she now had. This explained the blood that was all over the crib that Y/N saw.

From there, she got AJ and had to leave the prison. Erica and AJ were on the road for the next few days until she stumbled upon Javier, a recruiter for Alexandria. He brought her back to the community, and they've been there ever since, where he worked as an inventory manager with Olivia.

Y/N explained to her what had happened to Liliana, and they shared a somber moment. She then went back to her younger brother to talk with him.

Suddenly, someone came over to the young father in the living area. Y/N saw their feet and looked up...seeing that it was Rosita.

"Hey." She greeted rather softly with a smile.

Y/N grinned back. "Hey."

Rosita leaned in a bit and got a better look at AJ. She continued smiling and still spoke in a sort of whisper.

"He's adorable."

Y/N looked back down at him. "He is."

"I'm so happy for you. Now, he finally has his father again. It's amazing."

The young man appreciated her words. He always found it pleasant to talk to Rosita, recalling how she was there when Y/N was thinking of ending it all. While most people probably saw the Latina as just fiery and intense eye candy, she was a really genuine and caring person, which was evident in her treatment of Mika at times.

"It is." He simply replied. "Thank you."

Rosita smirked. She kept looking at the baby. Y/N rarely spoke about his past and who he had lost, so she didn't even know the name of him.

"What is his name?"

Y/N took a moment before replying.

"Uh...AJ. Well, it's Alan, named after m—my girlfriend's dad. But...she wanted something unique. And, funny enough, Mika brought up the name. So we decided on that. AJ L/N."

"That is unique. It's a great name." Rosita chuckled. "And it's nice that you're also remembering his grandpa in a way."

He chuckled as well. "Yeah."

There was a moment of silence after his response. He looked at his son again and then spoke once more.

"I—I always found that cool. Passing down a legacy like that. You know, um..." Y/N cleared his throat. "I was named after my dad."

It was the first time he had admitted it to anyone. His father was Y/N Smith Sr., and he grew up as Y/N Smith Jr., up until he decided to change it legally and go by Y/N L/N when he was an adult.

"That's cool." The Latina replied. "My mom wanted to name me Soccoro, but my dad preferred Rosita. I always thought once I had my own kid...I'd give her that name. For mí mama."

Y/N raised a brow. "Soccoro, huh?"

She shrugged. "It was my abuela's name, and hers before that. Guess my mom wanted to keep that tradition. It means help, support, relief. You could also say Coco for short."

The young man took in the words and nodded with a soft smile. He lightly rocked the child in his arms.

"Coco's a cute name." He simply said.

He paused for a moment as he glanced around. What he was feeling was the best he'd felt in a long time. He had the people he cared about around him, he was reunited with his son, and they were all in a seemingly safe community. I felt like it couldn't be any better.

"Maybe down the line...you'll get to use that name," Y/N added as he looked at Rosita. "It's possible now."

Rosita wasn't sure how to respond. She never really thought about having a child, at least not for a very long time, considering the circumstances. But the young man had a point. Down the line, with where they are now, there may be a scenario where she can comfortably raise one.

Before she could say something else, Kate walked up to the two. She had a small plate of snacks and sported a smile.

"Hey. I just wanted to bring some food over." She said softly and offered some to Rosita.

The Latina politely declined. Y/N looked over and nodded.

"Sure."

Kate ended up sitting on the sofa with him, and Y/N reached over, grabbing a piece of fruit. Rosita smirked and bid farewell.

"I'll leave you to your tot." Rosita told Y/N, then nodded at Kate before walking away.

That night, Y/N had brought AJ over to his home. He had the baby in his room, where he slept on the bed. The young man was content with resting on the seat nearby and giving AJ all that space.

There was a soft knock at the door before it was cracked open. Y/N turned and saw Mika peeking inside.

"Come in." He said softly.

The nine-year-old went inside and shut the door quietly. Her eyes were glued on AJ, and Y/N could tell she was over the moon to see the baby again.

"Sorry, you didn't get to play with him." Y/N apologized.

"It's okay. There's always tomorrow."

Y/N smiled. He also noticed she had something in her hand. Mika showed it to him.

"Just so he can see when he wakes up." Mika said, showing the picture frame with the photo of AJ and Liliana.

The girl placed the frame on the nightstand beside the bed. Y/N just watched her with a smile. Mika turned around and smiled back at him.

"That's very sweet of you." He said, then motioned her over toward the seat. "Come here."

The young man opened his arms, and the nine-year-old went over to him. He hugged her, and Mika did so back. They stayed there a moment in the embrace, and Mika heard him sniffle a bit.

"Sorry. I—I just..."

"It's okay," Mika interjected mid-embrace. "I'm happy, too."

Y/N smiled and rubbed her back. He was happy and was reveling in the pleasant moments he was having. Again, it felt like it couldn't get any better.

• • •

A FEW DAYS passed since Deanna's welcoming party, and the group continued to assimilate into Alexandria.

Y/N continued to work in the garden and being a father to AJ. Erica helped as much as she could, of course, being the best aunt she could. It was what Liliana would've wanted and what she promised her.

At work, Y/N was with a few of the folks in the garden. He picked some berries from the plant and put them in the basket beside him.

"Y/N?" He heard Kate call out as she walked over. "Surprised to see you here."

"Really?" He replied as he looked up while on a knee. "I mean...this is my job."

"Well, since you have AJ now, I wouldn't have minded if you decided to stay another day with him."

Y/N chuckled. "I've had a great last few days with him. But...progress waits for no one. He's with Beth at the daycare-slash-school you all have."

"Okay. Sorry for questioning your work ethic." Kate replied with a snicker.

"Yeah, never do that." He said in a joking matter and stood up. "I didn't win the World Series out of pure luck. All hard work."

The two shared a quick laugh. This was also the first time Y/N openly spoke about his past life positively. Kate could tell he was now opening up a lot more and was more jubilant than when she first met him.

As Kate laughed, she groaned a bit and moved her shoulder. Y/N arched a brow.

"You good?"

"Yeah, just earlier this morning, I was moving some things, and I think I sprained it." She replied. "Shouldn't be a problem. I'll go see Pete later."

Y/N nodded. There was a beat as the man looked down at his callused hands. He spoke.

"Well...uh, after you get that checked out..." He began, then looked up at her. "Want to...uh...I don't know—"

"Want to what?"

The young man stammered a bit as he continued.

"Walk around a bit? Talk? Eat? Uh..."

"Are you asking me out?" Kate questioned with a smile.

Y/N let out a breathy chuckle. "Is that fine with you?"

Kate thought about it for a moment. Y/N noticed her touch the ring on her finger, and for a moment, he regretted the entire question. He forgot that she was technically still married and that David was still out there somewhere.

"You—you don't have to." He tried to save face. "I know it's stupid—"

"It's not." She interjected and smiled again. "That sounds nice. How about tomorrow?"

"Okay. Like around 4?" He asked.

"It's a date then." She lightly patted the side of his arm.

Kate started walking away, leaving Y/N there, processing what had just happened. It went smoother than he thought it would. Then, the man let out a quiet chuckle.

He remembered what he told Ramon a few days ago about not wanting a relationship after losing Liliana. Still, he felt that he should try again, especially with the security he had now. Lili likely would've wanted that...to move on and live comfortably with their son.

As he thought about her, Y/N looked up at the sky. A soft smile grew on his face before resuming his tasks in the garden.

Mika was at school. She and the few other children went over English and basic writing activities for the day. Then there was also time to play around with both Judith and AJ, whom the kids loved.

Sometime later, there was a knock at the door, and Beth opened it. She smiled upon seeing that it was Ramon.

"Hey."

He smirked back. "Hey."

The two hugged. They parted, and he spoke again.

"Everything good here?" He asked.

Beth looked back and nodded.

"How about everything else?" He asked again.

Beth turned to him. She knew he was referring to their current situation at Alexandria. In all honesty, where they were now felt like a dream. There was the fear that she could just wake up one day, and it'd be gone. Still, she reveled in every moment.

"This is what my daddy dreamed of." She simply replied.

Ramon smiled and nodded. He looked over his shoulder for a moment and then back at her.

"I came by to tell you I'm about to go on a run with Glenn and everyone else. Just...wanted to see you before I go."

Beth understood why. She pulled him in for another hug and embraced him.

"Be safe, okay?"

"Of course, Preciosa."

They parted, but not before Beth kissed him. A couple of the kids looked over and reacted.

"Ew!"

Later, toward the end of one of their lessons, Samantha brought out some journals and showed them to the kids.

"Before the internet and phones, everyone used pen and paper to document events. That is how all the important people in history kept a record of their lives. Now...you should too."

She handed them the journals. Mika held hers and looked at it with intrigue. Mariana looked at hers as well.

"I used to journal in school." She remarked.

"Me too." Mika replied.

Samantha wanted them to start writing and told them to try and write daily. Mika thought it was a fantastic idea and a fun thing to do. She thought about how, in the future, she could show her journaling to AJ or maybe even her own family.

As the other kids started writing, Mika opened the book to the first page, picked up her pencil, and began to do so herself.

March 11 2012

I just got this new journal at school. I'm going to try and write about my life every day!

Alexandria is really nice. I think this can be a place we can all stay forever. AJ can grow up and Y/N can be happy again.

And hopefully people won't die anymore.

By the front of the gate, the runners were gathering their things before they left. Eugene was supposed to join them, but he was becoming weary about the whole thing. Noah went up to him and tried handing him a silenced pistol.

"Oh, no, thank you."

"Just take it." Nicholas said.

Noah agreed. "Come on, you got to protect yourself."

"Not if I don't go." Eugene butted.

"We're not driving all that way, so we can just drive back with the wrong shit." Aidan said.

"It's a dozen of these." He held up the device. "They are consistent in appearance across manufacturers. The shit will be right. I will install said shit. Then the grid will be fully operational again."

Noah wasn't hearing any of it and just put the gun and holster to his chest. Eugene relented and took it.

"Heard you talking to Holly last night." Tara asked Noah as he placed a bag into the van. "What's her story?"

"Why do you ask?" Noah replied coyly.

"No reason."

"Mm-hmm."

Noah smirked and walked away. Tara snickered and practically jumped on his back, squeezing his neck.

"It's an innocent question. Don't make me hurt you."

As Aidan spoke to his parents, Deanna and Reg, Y/N stopped by and a surprise guest with him: AJ. Ramon was the first to greet him.

"Aye!"

Y/N chuckled. "You guys already going?"

"Just about to," Glenn replied, then looked at AJ. "Hey, little man."

AJ just blabbered a bit. Tara came over to see the baby as well.

"Whoa! It's mini Y/N! Came to say bye to us?"

This time, AJ smiled and laughed a bit. The reaction took aback Glenn since it was a far cry from what he did with him.

"Dang. Looks like he likes her more." Y/N joked.

"Ha!" Tara pointed at Glenn.

Glenn rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

They were all about to leave, and Y/N began to bid farewell to them all. He clasped Noah's hand as he held AJ with the other.

"Be safe out there, man."

"Definitely." He replied. "Hey, maybe I'll bring something back for the kid."

"You don't have to." Y/N butted.

"Hey, we're family, right?"

Y/N smiled at Noah's remark. He recalled the day he found his family's neighborhood destroyed and everyone dead. He basically told Noah that they were family now, and Noah remembered.

"You're right." Y/N replied.

Noah nodded and went back to the van. Maggie, who was there as well, said goodbye to Glenn.

"All set?" She asked him.

He nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"You got this. You always do."

"Yeah."

The two kissed. Deanna and Reg said their goodbyes to Aidan as well.

"Power grid was a prototype." The older man spoke. "I'm surprised it took this long to start acting up."

"We'll get it going." Glenn reassured him.

"Daylight's burning," Aidan called out. "Let's go."

They all went into the vehicle and drove away. Y/N stood beside Maggie and waved at them. He also made sure to show AJ how to do so as well.

Later, Y/N was done with gardening for the day and stopped by the house where Carol was. He saw her, along with Sam, the youngest son of Jessie and Pete Anderson, making cookies.

"Heya, Carol." He greeted.

"Hey."

The boy spoke. "Hi!"

"Hello. Uh, Sam, right?"

"Yeah. You work in the garden, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Did you work with plants before?"

Before he can respond, Carol interjected.

"Enough questions. You're annoying him."

She said it so bluntly, and the kid quickly quieted. Y/N found it weird since she seemingly dropped her current sweet housewife guise around him. Carol seemed to notice his reaction.

"Showing tough love." She said. "You know this kid saw me take the guns from the armory?"

Y/N made an inaudible oh and nodded. Sam put his head down again as she continued.

"He knows better than not to say a word."

"Yeah..." Y/N said and glanced at Sam. "You don't wanna mess with Carol."

Carol looked at Sam and gave a sweet-yet-also-threatening smile. They continued making cookies, and Y/N stood beside the island.

"What brings you here, Mr. Farmer?" Carol asked.

"Was going to bring something out of the pantry." He replied. "Something sweet or...refreshing."

"Why?"

"I'm...hanging with Kate tomorrow."

Carol looked at him and smirked. "Ah. A date?"

"Is it, though?"

"I can tell you are nervous. It's all over your face." She said, then spoke again before he could deny it. "My momma instincts."

Y/N softly chuckled. She was right. There was no getting by Carol with anything. It honestly reminded him of his own mom.

"Right." He replied.

"Well, I think strawberries are a nice treat."

Y/N smiled. "I'll do that then."

The young man went to get some of the fruit from the fridge. As he did, Sam and Carol were talking, and the boy asked about her life and whether she was a good cook before. Carol rebuffed her questions a couple of times but ultimately answered genuinely. Soon after, Sam ended up mentioning that he often broke things when he was upset.

"What kind of stuff?" Carol asked, but he kept quiet. "You said somebody broke your owl statue. Did you break it? Why?"

Sam was still unresponsive. Carol tried again.

"Why are you here?"

"Why did you steal the gun?" Sam abruptly asked.

Y/N finished getting the fruit and placed it on the table. He overheard their conversations and glanced over.

"'Cause sometimes you need to protect yourself." Carol answered.

There was a beat before Sam spoke again. "Can I have a gun?"

Carol arched a brow. "Why do you want one?"

"It's not for me."

"Who's it for?"

The boy didn't answer. Y/N was now drawn to the conversation and focused on Sam. He studied his facial expressions...and he could see the turmoil within. And, weirdly, it was like he saw his younger self for a moment.

"Sam, who's it for?" Carol asked again.

Sam immediately ran off and went for the door. Carol called out once more.

"Sam!"

The boy left the house, leaving both Carol and Y/N wondering what was wrong. But the pondering didn't last long. The two knew what upset the boy and who he wanted to protect with the gun. They both shared a glance, and Y/N let out a sigh as he rubbed his face.

Later in the evening, Y/N stopped by Rick's house. He was alone and looking out the window but turned around upon hearing the door open.

He could tell that something was on the young man's mind. With what Carol told him after she stopped by the Anderson house, the confirmation of what he suspected irked Y/N.

"Pete is hitting Jessie." He said without a greeting. "Maybe...maybe the kids too."

Rick went up to him. "You know this how? Did they tell you?"

Y/N had a stern look. "They didn't need to."

Rick had no response. He continued.

"I know the looks—the signs. I—I experienced it firsthand. Carol has, too...she is with me on this. To have a man in the house...so power hungry and angry all the time...that energy just radiates off those who are victim to it."

Rick took in his words. He knew of both Y/N's home life growing up and the abuse he and his mother faced. If anyone knew what was really going on, it was him.

"He asked for a gun." Y/N's voice broke a bit. "He—He wants to help his mom."

Rick paced around the room and rubbed his face. He had his back turned to Y/N. The young man continued.

"Rick...there's only one way this can go with Pete..."

The current constable of Alexandria turned around and faced his friend. Y/N swallowed, keeping his composure and looking back at Rick stoically as he finished.

"He has to die."

• • •

THE NIGHT BEFORE, Glenn and his group came back from their run. Unfortunately, Tara was gravely injured, while Aidan and Noah had died.

It was heartbreaking for Y/N to hear the news. Tara was a kind soul, and Noah was becoming close to him. Beth was also taken aback by the news as the man who basically saved her was now gone.

Carol made the Monroe family a casserole with a sorry for your loss note. They didn't take it, though.

Y/N was also told more about Pete. Carol explained to him and Rick about the many times he attacked Jessie, detailing one time when Sam found his mother on the floor unconscious and bleeding while Pete was just on the porch drinking.

This irked Y/N. It cemented the notion even more that Pete shouldn't be breathing. But he couldn't act now. He couldn't give in to his tendencies, especially where he was and what he had now. Rick also struggled with that since there was a lot to lose.

Either way, Pete needed to be removed. They just had to figure out what the best plan of action was.

In the middle of the day, Y/N stopped by the Garcia house to see Kate. He knocked on the door, and it wasn't long until Javier answered it.

"What's up, man?" He greeted.

"Hey, Javi. Is Kate around?"

"Uh, no. She left in a rush earlier. I think she's in the garden."

"Oh. Okay. I thought we were off today?"

Javier shrugged.

"You are. She just went still. She still has that hurt shoulder, too, and I told her to rest, but she just ignored me and left."

"Something wrong with her?" Y/N asked.

"Don't know. Seems like it." Javier replied.

Y/N nodded. "I—I'll go see her then."

He bid farewell and made his way to the garden. As expected, she was the only one there and tending to the plants. Y/N went over to her and had a smile on his face.

"Kate!"

She turned to him, and for a second, he noticed her dejected expression, but Kate quickly feigned a smile and stood up.

"Hey!"

"I didn't get the memo that we still worked today." Y/N said with a chuckle.

"Right! Uh, no, it was an off day, but I just...wanted to work still."

"Oh, okay. Well, I can help you."

"No, it's fine. Really."

"I can. Hey, we're alone. It's a nice day. This can be our date."

Kate immediately remembered the request yesterday and facepalmed. He covered her mouth next.

"Oh, my God! Right...I'm sorry." Suddenly, she cried. "I'm so sorry."

That caught Y/N off guard. He had a worried look and reached out to grab her arm.

"Hey...it's okay. I—"

She backed away at his touch and rubbed her face, still in tears. Y/N stayed still a bit and just watched her. Kate noticed.

"I'm sorry I'm like this. It's just—" She paused. "It's not your problem."

That feeling from before lingered. It was just a little bit, but Y/N could somewhat feel the dread he once felt back in Woodbury...when he saw Liliana in a similar state. He slowly reached out again.

"You can tell me. I—I'm here. I'm here for you."

Y/N placed a hand on her arm, and this time, Kate didn't flinch or back away. She seemingly melted to his touch and chose to embrace him. Y/N rubbed her back.

"I got you." He added.

Kate cried a bit more into his chest before finally speaking.

"Ye—Yesterday...I saw Pete. He—He was drunk and...and he—he tried to..."

That was all Y/N needed to hear. Y/N tried to calm her down and rubbed her back.

"I just ran off. But—I was so scared." She sobbed. "I didn't know what to do."

That feeling from before grew tenfold. He never thought he'd have that same rage again. Flashes of the time Liliana told him what the Governor did to her filled his mind. A tint of red hit his vision.

"I'm going to tell Rick, all right? I trust him. He'll know what to do."

Kate nodded amidst the embrace. As he held her, Y/N looked forward and saw a face he never thought he'd see again...

His father.

The man crossed his arms and kept looking at him. His expression was all Y/N needed to know what he was thinking. He was egging him on to act on his violent tendencies. To do what he needed to do.

To protect the people he cared about.

Rick was walking down the street. He saw Y/N ahead and with a scowl on his face. Rick kept up his stoic demeanor and caught up with him.

"Something's on your mind." He spoke as they walked.

"A lot." He replied. "Pete almost assaulted Kate."

Rick stopped walking and turned to him. There was a hint of malice in his tone.

"What?"

"She told me. It was during her visit for her hurt shoulder." Y/N said. "A fucking check-up, Rick! Son of a bitch was drunk and tried to hurt her."

Rick shook his head, and they kept walking.

"He's a liability."

"He's a monster." Y/N butted. "I'm going to kill him."

"Let's think about this—"

Y/N stopped again and spoke in a harsh whisper.

"There's no thinking! People like him don't deserve to live another day on this earth. People like the Governor. And just like I killed him...I'm going to kill Pete."

Y/N touched the pistol he had hidden in his waistband and was about to walk forward, but Rick stopped him. He understood that Pete brought back old wounds about what Philip Blake did to Liliana. He also knew that Y/N was becoming fond of Kate Garcia, like how he started caring about Jessie Anderson.

"Relax," Rick said calmly. "You can't just waltz in there and shoot Pete dead. These people will just see you as a monster. They'll exile you, Y/N. It would help if you were here, in their good graces, for AJ. For Mika."

Y/N took in a breath and let it out. Rick had a point. Remembering them seemed to calm him down a bit.

"I'll handle it," Rick added. "You trust me?"

After a beat, Y/N nodded. "Always."

Rick patted his back and walked away. Y/N stood there and watched his friend walk off, taking another breath and exhaling as he closed his eyes.

Deanna was at the burial site of her son, Aidan. Rick walked in and saw her.

"I'm sorry for what happened." He apologized and stood a few feet away from her. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm not." She replied.

There was a pause before he went straight to what was on his mind.

"We have a problem with Pete."

Deanna sighed. "I hoped it'd get better."

"You knew?" Rick asked in a surprised manner. "It hasn't gotten better. It won't."

"Pete's a surgeon. He's saved lives. He might be saving Tara's life."

"He's beating his wife." Rick butted. "He tried to assault Kate in his drunken state."

Deanna turned to him and was surprised by the revelation. He continued.

"We have to stop it."

"How?" She asked.

"We separate him from the family. We tell him that's how it'll be from now on."

"What happens when he doesn't want to do that?"

Rick licked his lips."It's not his choice."

"So what happens?" Deanna asked again as he came face to face with him.

After a moment, he replied.

"I kill him. We kill him."

"We don't kill people." Deanna butted. "This is civilization, Rick."

"Warning someone to stop or die, that is civilized nowadays."

She scoffed. "Oh."

Rick didn't take too kindly to her reaction and inaction at the situation.

"So what? So, we just let him hit Jessie? We let him kill her? We let him get away with rape if he ever does?"

"No, we exile him if it comes to that." Deanna said.

"We do that, we don't know when he comes back and what he does to them. Letting him go makes this place vulnerable. You really want to wait till someone in that tower has to take care of it? And that's if we're lucky."

"We are not..." She raised her voice but quickly quieted. "...executing anyone. Don't ever suggest it again. That sort of thinking doesn't belong in here."

"People die now, Deanna. They do." Rick said. "There's times like this you can decide who and when. Or it can be decided for you."

"It already was." She responded, keeping Rick quiet. "I wouldn't kill you. I'd just send you away."

Deanna walked away, leaving Rick alone in the cemetery area. In the silence, he thought about what to do. He wasn't going just to stand around and continue to let Pete be the threat that he was. He needed to take action.

Rick walked off, too...making his way toward the Anderson house.

Y/N was at his house. It was just him, Mika, and AJ, along with Erica, who stopped by to see them. The Latina had the baby on her lap as she was sitting down.

"You're so cute. You're so cute." Erica said in a singsong manner as he played with him. "Yes, you are."

Nearby, Mika was on the sofa writing in her journal. Erica looked up and saw her.

"What are you doing there?" She asked.

"Ms. Brooks gave us these journals to write about our day."

"That's cool. Maybe you can show AJ here everything you did when he's big."

"I was thinking that too." Mika replied.

They shared a laugh.Y/N came out of the kitchen into the living room. He looked serious, which Mika caught instantly.

"You okay, Y/N?" She asked.

Y/N turned to her and feigned a reassuring expression. He nodded.

"Yeah, sweetheart. Everything's fine. Just...got some things on my mind."

"I'm here if you need anything."

Y/N smiled at her. "I know."

Erica looked at Mika and smiled, too. She loved her innocent and often cheery demeanor. It was nice to see despite the world she was currently in. But she still didn't know the full extent of what they went through immediately after the fall of the prison.

Suddenly, they heard the crashing of glass outside, which was soon joined by shouts. They even heard Reg call out.

"Deanna!"

"What...?" Erica reacted.

Y/N immediately ran outside. Down the road, he saw a small crowd surrounding Rick and Pete, who fought on the floor. People looked on, such as Carol, Sam, Rosita, Carl, Enid, Glenn, Ramon, Kate, Javier, and many other townsfolk. Reg, Deanna, and Spencer soon arrived as well.

Pete ended up getting on top of Rick and began to choke him. Jessie ran up to try and pull her husband off, but Pete backhanded her and knocked her down.

Seeing this lit a fire in Y/N.

"You fucking asshole..." He muttered and ran up to them.

He pulled out the handgun from his waistband and aimed it at the back of Pete's head. He wasn't even thinking and was immediately going to pull the trigger. But as he did, Javier ran up and grabbed his arm, forcing the shot to hit the floor.

BANG!

"Y/N! Man!" Javier exclaimed.

Everyone around was in shock. Kate covered her mouth and sobbed. Mika, who had followed Y/N and witnessed the act, was also scared. Rosita went over and held her close.

"Let go of me!" Y/N shouted.

Another man went over and decided to help Javier hold Y/N. They forced the gun out of his hands and brought him to the ground. Rick continued to fight Pete and ultimately got on top of him.

"Dad, get off!" Carl exclaimed as he ran over to him.

Carl grabbed him, but Rick pushed him away. Pete punched Rick in the face, but he ultimately wrapped his arm around his neck and put the man in a chokehold. Rick could hear nothing but ringing as Pete writhed in his grasp.

"Stop it!" Deanna shouted. "Stop it right now."

"You touch them again, and I'll kill you." Rick seethed as he threatened Pete.

"Damn it, Rick! I said stop."

Rick let go of Pete. Nicholas and another man, Tobin, started to walk up to Rick.

"Or what?" Rick asked as he pulled out a revolver.

The two men, along with everyone else, stepped back at the sight. Javier and the other man got off Y/N, but the young stayed on the ground.

"You gonna kick me out?" Rick asked as he aimed the gun around.

"Put that gun down, Rick." Deanna demanded calmly.

The bloodied Rick became irate and spoke to Deanna and every Alexandrian in the area.

"You still don't get it. None of you do! We know what needs to be done, and we do it. We're the ones who live. You, you just sit and plan and hesitate. You pretend like you know when you don't. You wish things weren't what they are. Well, you want to live? You want this place to stay standing? Your way of doing things is done. Things don't get better because you—you want them to. Starting right now, we have to live in the real world. We have to control who lives here."

"That's never been more clear to me than it is right now." Deanna replied sternly.

It took a moment for Rick to get what she was inferring.

"Me? Me? You—" He laughed. "You mean—you mean me? Your way is gonna destroy this place. It's gonna get people killed. It's already gotten people killed."

Everyone stayed quiet. Rick continued his tirade.

"And I'm not gonna stand by and just let it happen. If you don't fight, you die. I'm not gonna stand by—"

Suddenly, he was silenced with a hard hit to the back of the head by Michonne, who was wearing her constable uniform. Rick fell to the floor, unconscious. Michonne stood there, panting as she moved her gaze from her colleague to the rest of the crowd around her.

• • •

MIKA WAS IN her room, sitting on the seat by the window. She once again wrote in her journal, occasionally looking outside at the street.

There, she saw Y/N walking with Carol, Abraham, Ramon, and Glenn. She kept staring out until she went back to writing in her journal.

March 13 2012

I think about yesterday. I got scared but Rosita was there to hug me. I get scared easily and I don't want that to keep happening. But it just keeps happening.

Rick was fighting that man and Y/N almost shot him. He had that look which is one of remembered from back then. It was the same look he had when he killed those bad guys who tried to hurt Carl and me.

He had the same look whenever he protected us.

Rick was lying on the cot in the infirmary. His eyes opened upon hearing some rustling, and he saw Michonne sitting in the corner of the room. He chuckled.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"You were here the whole time?"

"All night." She replied. "What's so funny?"

He groaned and sat against the wall.

"It's—It's like the train car. After the whole thing, I'm still there."

"Deanna wanted you in here, calm things down. Rosita patched you up. Carl came by for a while. I sent him home." Michonne brought the chair closer to the bed and sat in it. "Rick. What are you doing?"

Rick just sighed. Michonne let out a breath and sat back against the chair.

"We put Pete in another house. You could have told me what was happening."

"It moved fast. And then Noah." Rick replied. "I couldn't tell you about the gun."

"No, you couldn't."

"Oh, you wanted this place."

"We had to stop being out there."

"Well, here we are."

She scoffed. "Well, you just said you weren't."

Rick didn't respond. Suddenly, the door opened, and in came Y/N, Glenn, Carol, and Abraham.

"Where'd you get the gun?" Michonne immediately asked Y/N.

Y/N sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He wasn't sure what to say. Rick decided to speak up.

"I told him to get it for me."

"That's stupid," Carol remarked, playing coy before the rest. "Why'd you two do that?"

"Just in case," Y/N said. "Bad idea, though. Now I'm gonna be under a microscope from now on after what I pulled."

Michonne wasn't sure what to make of their responses. She had a great bullshit detector and also knew when Y/N was hiding something. The young man just looked away.

"Deanna's planning to have a meeting tonight," Glenn said. "For anyone who wants to."

"To kick Rick out?" Abraham asked.

"To try." Carol added.

"We don't know that," Glenn said. "Maggie's with Deanna right now. She already convinced her to grant Y/N some leniency, but with Rick...well...she's gonna find out what it is."

Carol started to tell Rick what to do if the meeting came to fruition.

"At the meeting, you say you were worried about someone being abused, and no one was doing anything about it. You say you took a gun just to be sure that Jessie was safe from a man who wound up attacking you. You say you'll do whatever you want them to. Just tell them a story that they want to hear. It's what I've been doing since I got here."

"Why?" Michonne asked.

"Because these people are children, and children like stories."

"What happens after all the nice words, and they still try to kick him out?" Abraham asked.

"They're guarding the armory now." Glenn added.

Carol shrugged. "We still have knives. That's all we'll need against them."

"Well, tonight at the meeting, if it looks like it's going bad, I whistle." Rick began. "Carol grabs Deanna, I take Spencer, Y/N grabs Reg, Glenn and Abraham cover us, watch the crowd."

"We can talk to them." Michonne butted.

"Yeah, we will. If we can't get through, we take the three of them and say we'll slit their throats."

"Like at Terminus?" Glenn asked.

"No, we just tell 'em. They give us the armory, and it's over."

They weren't so sure about Rick's plan, more so Glenn and Michonne, who were the more peaceful people in the room.

"Did you want this?" Glenn questioned Rick.

"No." He replied. "I hit my limit. I—I screwed up. And here we are."

Y/N just glanced at the rest. Rick began to settle back onto the cot he was on.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna sleep some more."

Kate was at her place alone while Javier was at work, and the kids were out. She was in the kitchen washing some plates, in her own thoughts, despite the low music playing in the background.

She was thinking back at what happened the last couple of days. From her encounter with Pete to her heart-to-heart with Y/N to witnessing the chaos on the street.

The gunshot that popped off still stuck with her since she hadn't heard one in so long. All she could picture was the sight of Y/N almost shooting Pete and Rick strangling him.

Suddenly, a knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts. Kate dried her hands and went to answer it. To her surprise, Y/N was on the other side.

"Kate..."

"Y/N...you—you shouldn't be here."

"Can I talk to you?"

"I—I don't know..."

Y/N spoke softly. "Please."

There was a beat before the woman ultimately relented. She nodded and moved aside to let him in.

Y/N looked around a bit at their abode. It was the first time he had actually been inside. Still, he went straight to speaking with her.

"Look, about yesterday—"

"I shouldn't have told you." Kate interjected.

"But you did. And it's a good thing."

"So Rick can go beat him up? So you can try and shoot him?!"

"Rick had his reasons, too. Pete was beating Jessie. He was beating his kids."

That was all news to Kate. She had a clue about the Andersons' home life but didn't know there was physical abuse.

"He is a monster," Y/N added. "I was—We weren't going to let that fly."

Kate stayed quiet and looked down, putting a hand over her mouth. She moved to the kitchen, and Y/N followed her.

"I know that whole gun thing was...out of line. I'm sorry about that. It's just..." He began. "What he did is unacceptable."

Kate leaned against the wall and turned to him, crossing her arms. Y/N sighed and continued.

"That shouldn't have happened to you. It—It shouldn't happen to anyone."

Y/N kept thinking about Liliana and what she had to endure with The Governor. If he could stop that from happening again to someone he knew...he would. He had to.

Kate stared at him and read his expression. She could tell that what happened seemingly hit close to home.

"Why...why do you care so much?" She asked rather softly.

There was a beat. He put his hands in his pockets and contemplated what to say. Ultimately, he decided to let it all out.

"My dad beat my brother and I. Yelled at us. Did the same to my mom. I—I see Pete, and I just see...him. Then...I found out what he tried to do to you an—and I thought about AJ's mother. She...she was assaulted too."

That came as a shock to Kate, and she felt for him. The young man continued rather emotionally as he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

"I wasn't going to let that happen. I wasn't. I wasn't. Not again. Not to you. No."

There was silence for a moment. Kate kept looking at Y/N.

"So you went out of your way to do that. You...were willing to kill him...for me?"

Y/N kept his eyes closed as he nodded. Kate slowly walked up to him and spoke again.

"Why?"

He finally opened his eyes and looked at her. Their faces were mere inches from each other.

"Because I care about you. You—you deserve someone who does."

A moment of silence befell them afterward as tension built. They kept looking at each other until Kate leaned in and captured his lips. Y/N kissed back and did so softly.

For a moment, the tension eased while all their doubts and stress dissipated. It was just the two of them in the middle of the room in the passionate embrace.

They kissed for a few more seconds before ultimately parting. It seemed that the two were surprised by the sudden act and weren't sure of what to say afterward.

"Um..." Kate looked to the side and touched the ring on her finger. "You—you should go."

Y/N wasn't going to overstay his welcome and respected her wishes. He cleared his throat and nodded.

"Okay."

The young man went struggling for the door and left the house, leaving Kate where she stood. The woman leaned against the wall and let out a breath.

Y/N was back at home. Mika was out with Erica and AJ, so he was alone in his room. As he was organizing some stuff, he heard footsteps in the hall and turned to see Michonne already at the door.

"You need to lock your front door." She said.

He chuckled. "I don't have to worry about break-ins with you as constable, though."

"There's only so much I can do."

Michonne came into the room. Y/N sat down on the side of the bed. There was a beat before he spoke again.

"Sorry about the whole gun thing."

She crossed her arms. "Just that?"

Y/N arched a brow. Michonne continued.

"I talked with Rick. He told me about this whole thing with you, Daryl, and Carol. She was the one who got the guns and gave them to you."

Y/N sighed and looked down. He fiddled with his hands.

"Yeah..." He began. "Sorry about that, too."

"Why didn't you tell me about all that?" She asked. "You don't trust me?"

"Of course I do, Michonne. It's just that...I felt you wouldn't be with it. You really like this place, and we still had our doubts."

"You thought I'd turn you in or something?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Either way, my perspective's changed now. This place...we need to stay here."

Michonne paced around the room, gazing at some of the trinkets he had on the dresser. She saw the framed photo of AJ and Liliana and looked at it.

"You were right," Y/N added. "You've always been right. This is where we need to be. And, despite those people out there not being the strongest, we have to keep trying, too."

Michonne looked back at Y/N. Just like when she talked to Rick earlier, he had seemingly come to terms with what they had to do and to try and change for the better.

"No hard feelings about the lying," Michonne said and smirked. "And, yeah, you are damn right...I'm always right."

Y/N snickered as he stood up. He turned to Michonne and looked at her momentarily before going in for a hug. The woman reciprocated the act.

"Been getting emotional lately, huh, Bambino?"

The young man chuckled mid-embrace. He appreciated what he had, and Michonne was one of them.

"No better time than now."

That night, the meeting was about to start. Townspeople were around a campfire in the yard of the Monroe home.

Among them were Y/N, Maggie, Carol, Eugene, Abraham, Michonne, Jessie, Kate, and Ramon. Carl was at home, and Mika was with Erica and AJ. Javier was with his niece and nephew at his house.

"We're going to start." Deanna spoke.

"Can we wait?" Maggie asked. "There's still people coming. Glenn, Rick."

"We're going to start. It's already dark." She empathized and then spoke to everyone.

"We're going to talk about what happened. Not the fight. Not what precipitated it. We're dealing with that. We're going to talk about one of our constables, Rick Grimes. We're going to talk about how he had a pistol he stole from the armory, about how he pointed it at people. And we're going to talk about what he said. I was hoping he'd be here."

"She said he's coming." Michonne said.

"I'm sure he'll be here," Carol added. "And I'm sure we can work this all out."

As they waited, Deanna asked for some people to speak on Rick. Michonne went first and detailed how the world outside changed him.

"And after being out there and then not being how you were out there...it can drive you crazy. Rick just wants his family to live. He wants all of you to live. Who he is is who you're gonna be...if you're lucky."

Carol went next. She emphasized the good man that he was and how he protected her since the beginning.

"Rick Grimes saved my life over and over. There's terrifying people out there. And he rescued me from them. People like me, people like us need people like him. I know what happened last night was scary. And I'm sure he's sorry for that. But maybe we should listen to what he was saying."

Abraham then spoke. He knew how strong Rick was and how resilient he could be. There was no other man he would stand behind.

"Simply put, there is a vast ocean of shit you people don't know shit about. Rick knows every fine grain of said shit...and then some."

Maggie spoke up next.

"My father respected Rick Grimes. Rick is a father, too. He's a man with a good heart who feels the things he does, the things he has to do. And all of us who were together before this place, no matter when we found each other, we're family now. Rick started that. And you won't stop it. You can't. And you don't want to. This community, you people...that family...you want to be a part of it, too."

Everyone, including Deanna, took in Maggie's words. There was a moment of silence amongst the crackling of the fire before Y/N decided to speak.

"Rick didn't have to do the things he did. Things like...saving me. Taking me in. Helping me save my friends when they needed the help. And then he took said friends in as well. He once told me that we are the greater good, and we are. Here we are, doing the same thing he did before. Helping you. Saving you. Making you all be that greater good. You just have to trust us. Trust him. Trust in Rick Grimes."

They all heard his words, too. Deanna stepped forward.

"Before we hear from anyone else, I—I would like to share something in the spirit of transparency. Father Gabriel came to see me the day before yesterday, and he said our new arrivals can't be trusted, that they were dangerous, that they would put themselves before this community. And not one day later, Rick seemed to demonstrate all the things Father Gabriel said. I had hoped Gabriel would be here tonight."

"I don't see him here, Deanna," Jessie spoke, her support for Rick and the group being prevalent. "So you're just saying what someone said. Did you tape him?"

"He's not here." Maggie said.

"Neither is Rick." Deanna butted.

Maggie just stared at Deanna. She remembered overhearing Father Gabriel's conversation with Deanna and felt somewhat betrayed. She decided to leave.

"Excuse me."

After Maggie left, Tobin decided to give his piece and spoke to them.

"I just want to keep my family safe. You know? And I don't even know what that means anymore, but if it means that we've got to get rid of—"

Tobin stopped and looked ahead. There were footsteps, and everyone looked over at the entrance to the yard, seeing a bloodied Rick carrying a corpse.

He dropped it on the floor beside the fire, and a woman gasped. Rick breathed heavily as he looked down at the walker's body and then at everyone else.

"There wasn't a guard on the gate." He spoke. "It was open."

"I asked Gabriel to close it." Spencer remarked.

"Go." Deanna ordered her son, and he soon ran off.

"I didn't bring it in. It got inside on its own." Rick explained, then began to speak to everyone at the meeting.

"They always will—the dead and the living, because we're in here. And the ones out there...they'll hunt us. They'll find us. They'll try to use us. They'll try to kill us. But we'll kill them. We'll survive. I'll show you how. You know, I was thinking—I was thinking how many of you do I have to kill to save your lives? But I'm not gonna do that. You're gonna change."

Rick turned to Deanna for a moment. "I'm not sorry for what I said last night. I'm sorry for not saying it sooner."

Rick continued talking to the townspeople.

"You're not ready, but you have to be. Right now, you have to be. Luck runs out."

Suddenly, footsteps were heard approaching, and someone came into the yard. It was drunken and angered Pete, who had Michonne's sword in hand.

"You're not one of us. You're not one of us!"

Reg stepped toward him. "Pete, you don't want to do this."

"Get the hell away from me, Reg."

"Pete, just stop."

"Get away from me."

Deanna wanted her husband to step away from the armed man. "Reg. Reg."

Rick slowly went for the gun he secretly had, but Carol whispered to him.

"Not now."

"Get away." Pete kept telling Reg.

"Now, Pete, stop. Pete—"

"Get away!"

Pete tried pushing Reg away but, in the process, inadvertently sliced his throat open with the sword. Reg gurgled and held his bleeding neck as Deanna screamed.

"No, no! Oh, no, no!"

Y/N was the first one to run forward and grab Pete. He immediately disarmed him and put him on the ground. Deanna was on the floor hugging her dying husband and kept crying. Everyone else was in shock.

"This is him!" Pete exclaimed.

"Shut the fuck up!" Y/N shouted back as he pinned him to the floor.

"This is him!"

"Oh, God! Oh, my love." Deanna sobbed as Reg continued bleeding out. "My love, my love, my love, no. No, my love!"

"It's him!" Pete still yelled. "This is him!"

Seconds later, Reg took his last struggling breath and died. Deanna, now in grief and seemingly broken, looked up at Rick with tearful eyes.

"Rick..."

The man just looked at her. Deanna moved her gaze from the floor back to Rick.

"...do it."

Without hesitation, Rick took out his gun and aimed it at the pinned-down Pete, where he shot him once in the head.

BANG!

There were screams from some of the townsfolk after the shot. Y/N was unwavering and stood up and let go of Pete's lifeless arms. He shared a glance with Rick. Y/N commended him for it...as he would've done the same thing.

"Rick?"

Rick looked ahead and saw Aaron. Daryl, and a familiar face. It was someone he never thought he'd see again after the first couple of times they'd run into each other: Morgan Jones.

The man was taken aback and in awe at what he stumbled upon. Rick, still bloodied with the same malicious look in his eyes, stared back at his old friend...but didn't say a word.