"Give him to me! He's my fucking husband!" Carl screamed, trying to take an unconscious Ron back from negan.
"No! He said he wants to go to the sanctuary so that's where he's going!" Negan yelled back, holding Ron up.
"Stop fighting! He wouldn't want that!" Enid added, the screaming stressing her out.
"Why don't we just wait for him to wake up and we can ask him what he wants?" Mikey said, just wanting his best friend safe despite their fight.
"He already said what he wants. I'm taking him home." Negan said, believing he was in the right.
Bang!
A shot rang out from an anonymous gun.
Negan immediately took Ron and started moving him to the van, Laura and a few others covering him.
"Stop! You can't take him! Negan!" Carl screamed at the top of his lungs, trying to stop him, Laura getting in his way.
"Let him go." She said over the gunfire
"No! Negan! Stop! You'll fucking regret this!" Carl yelled, Laura holding him back as Negan shut the trunk.
"Let's get the fuck out of here!" Negan ordered as Laura jumped into the drivers seat of the car Ron was in.
"Simon get your ass over here!" Negan demanded, knowing he would try to stay as long as he could.
Carl dropped to his knees, sobbing as he watched the saviors drive away with Ron.
"Hey he's going to be ok." Mikey said, sitting next to Carl and putting his hand on his back.
"He'll be back. I know it." Enid said, hugging Carl.
"They can't get away." Aaron said.
"They can't. Come on." Rick agreed going to get keys for the cars.
"He hates me." Carl whispered as tears fell from his blue eye.
"No he doesn't!" Enid exclaimed, wiping his tears.
"No man, he hates me. We had just had an argument. That's why he was upset. It's not your fault." Mikey said, he and Enid hugging Carl.
"I can't lose him again. I can't." Carl said, breaking down into tears.
"You won't. He loves you." Enid said, crying now too.
"What did you two argue about?" Eric asked Mikey.
"Negan. I said he was dangerous and Ron didn't like that. He told me he was a good guy." Mikey said, shaking his head at the thought.
"I guess that's how he sees it." Olivia said, readjusting her glasses.
"Ready?" Rick said, coming back with some keys.
"Yes. Let's go quick." Ezekiel said, taking a key.
"Let's get the son of a bitch." Jesus declared, taking one for himself.
"Hey, we'll get Ron back, ok?" Rick said to Carl, giving him a kiss before he had to go.
"Someone should have shot him." Heath said, watching Rick, Ezekiel, Aaron, and Jesus drive off.
"He had Ron. We couldn't." Barbra said softly, wishing she could have done something to keep him away from Negan.
Jessie had been Barbra's best friend, and they vowed to take care of each other's children if necessary. Now Jessie was gone, and so were Barbra's own children.
"Rick and Aaron will get him back." Eric said, know that his husband cared a lot for Ron.
——
Rick, Ezekiel, Jesus, and Aaron raced down the road after the saviors, not intending to let them get away with Ron.
"Fuck." Negan whispered to himself, seeing the cars in his mirror. He had to get them away from Ron.
He put his hand out the window and flipped them off just to piss them off enough to follow him and not Ron.
He took the next left, his little plan working as they all turned after him except one.
"Yes!" He said, feeling that was a win. Surely Dwight and Simon could handle the one who followed them.
His celebration was cut short when he was hit from the right, causing him to crash into a building.
Rick fucking Grimes had hit him.
Negan quickly realized his car was fucked, and he had to run.
He exited his car with great haste, only now noticing that Rick, Ezekiel, and Jesus had him surrounded.
"Fuck!" He exclaimed, climbing into the building through the broken basement window with Lucille.
"Get back here!" Rick said, shooting at him and the following him in.
"Fuck!" Jesus yelled, following the two in to the old building.
"Why not?" Ezekiel said to himself, not believing the absurdity of his situation. Was he really following Negan into an unknown building?
He dropped down into the dark basement.
"Shh." Rick said, pointing at the foot of water covering the floor.
"We'll hear him if he moves." Jesus whispered, staying still.
Ezekiel shook his head in agreement, the three listing for any splashing.
A light sound of water moving slowly could be heard from the other side of the basement, catching their attention.
"What are you thinking?" Ezekiel whispered to Rick.
"Let's rush him. There's three of us and one of him." Rick suggested.
"Alright." Jesus said, getting his knife out.
"We won't kill him. Not yet." Rick claimed.
"I agree." Ezekiel said quietly.
The three ran quickly in the direction of the sound, ready to restrain Negan.
"Fuck." Jesus said, the noise having only been a walker.
"Listen. I know the three you hate my guts. I get that. You're not the only ones." Negans voice echoed through the building.
"Negan? Where are you? Let's talk outside. This place is crawling with walkers." Rick replied, killing another one.
"You'll kill me the second you lay eyes on me Rick. I think we can talk like this." Negan said, his voice coming from somewhere different now.
"We aren't going to kill you. We agreed. We just want to talk. Like you suggested." Ezekiel said, straining his eyes to look out for walkers in the dark basement.
"Fuck it. Here I am. Say what you want." Negan said, seemingly appearing next to them and lighting a match.
"Outside." Rick demanded.
"No. Here." Negan said, his match the only source of light for the four.
"Why? We're going to get killed in here." Jesus said, killing another walker.
Negan said nothing, just looking at them.
"Look, we know you don't want this war anymore than we do. Especially with Ron being so sick." Ezekiel said, trying to ease the tension between the others.
"I don't want this war at all. You started it. Not me. And yes, Ron is sick. I need to go be with him." Negan said, not sure who would care for him in his absence.
"Carl could have taken care of his own husband if you hadn't taken him." Rick said with anger.
"Ron said he wanted to go to the sanctuary. Keeping him in Alexandria wasn't carls decision. Or mine. He made his own choice." Negan said, his match going out before he light another one.
"What'd you do to him? He was a good kid. Now he's your model savior." Rick said, mad with how Ron turned out.
"He is a good kid. You left him for dead. That's what he'd be if it wasn't for me. And I'd be dead too if it wasn't for him. So what did I do to him? I cared about him, Rick." Negan said, pointing at rick with Lucille.
"We get it. You two have a custody battle going on over the kid. He's old enough to make his own decisions. So let him. We have bigger issues here." Jesus said, not quite fond of Ron himself.
"He's right. We have things to discuss. But not in this basement." Ezekiel said, having his own soft spot for Ron.
Negan, seemingly adamant to not leave that basement, dropped the match into the water and ran off in the dark.
"Fuck!" Rick exclaimed, chasing after him, Ezekiel and Jesus not far behind.
"You won't win this fight Negan!" Ezekiel said, urging him to give up peacefully.
Rick rounded the corner where he was sure Negan had gone, quickly realizing he was right as Negan threw a walker on him.
"Look out!" Jesus said, killing another one of Negans walkers that he had thrown at Ezekiel whilst he help Rick.
"Negan! Stop this!" Ezekiel tried once again.
"Get away from me!" Negan demanded, swinging Lucille at Jesus when he got to close.
Rick ran at him, tackling him to the ground and taking Lucille.
"Give her back! Right now!" Negan demanded once he was back on his feet.
"This bat is all you care about. It's a shame you've convinced Ron you care about him. He's been through enough without having to find out you never gave a fuck about him." Rick said, holding Lucille away from Negan.
"Fuck you Rick! I care about Ron like he's my own son! More.. more than the Lucille." Negan claimed.
"I don't believe a word you say." Rick said, pulling out his lighter and setting Lucille ablaze.
"No! Put her out! I'll go outside! Just stop!" Negan pleaded.
"Outside now!" Jesus demanded, hoping that was ricks plan.
Negan quickly made his way outside, believing every second he took Lucille was in more pain.
The group emerged from the flooded basement, Rick finally putting Lucille out.
"Look at her." Negan whispered, in tears at the sight of the charred bat.
Rick tossed the bat on the ground carelessly.
"Get in the car." He demanded of Negan.
"Not without her." Negan replied, gesturing to Lucille on the floor.
"Get in the fucking car Negan." Jesus said, not intending on taking the bat.
Negan got in without a fight, knowing they would hurt Lucille again if he didn't comply.
——
Negan sat in the cell he didn't believe he'd be in long. Surely Ron and the others would come get him soon.
"Really? Just like that? I heard you didn't even put up a fight." Carl said, entering the basement.
"Carl. Of course. When you said I'd regret it, I didn't think it'd be so soon." Negan replied, looking up at Carl.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I should. But you're lucky Ron likes you." Carl said, tugging at the sleeve of Ron's jean jacket he was wearing.
"Yeah. I guess so." Negan said with a smile.
Carl crossed his arms.
"So it's kind of over now? Now that we have you?" He asked.
"I don't know. I left Ron in charge if something happened to me. I think I did at least. So it's up to him now I guess." Negan replied, not confident he had informed his lieutenants of his decision for Ron to be in charge.
"Oh. He'll stop it then. If I tell him to." Carl said, confident of his influence over his husband.
"Yeah. He might. He needs rest." Negan claimed, worried about who was taking care of him now.
"He does. I might go get him. He needs me." Carl said, pondering his options.
"I don't know kid. Simon might do something stupid. I'm sure Ron will come here soon." Negan said.
"What about the walkers? Are they gone now?" Carl questioned him.
"Yeah. We moved them with some trucks and speakers." Negan said, moving his hands to explain.
"Oh. I have to go." Carl said, getting up and leaving negan alone. He was presumably going to get Ron, despite Negans warning.
"Be careful." Negan said after he was already gone, knowing he couldn't stop him.
——