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Special thanks to, DarylDixon'sLover, Brazen Hussy, SeverusSnape'sLove, Emberka-2012, BensidyLover123, FanFicGirl10, Mama's Stories, daisymae1, Annelisa, Emmygrrl167 and cati918773 for the reviews.

Sorry for the long break between updates, my medication has been changed and as I'm pain free lately I've been very busy. Sorry again.

Chapter 50.

Merle had taken full advantage of the fact that when Rick told him to "bring in" Dwight he had specified in what condition he had to be in when he entered the farm.

Dwight was now in the R.V standing in front of the council sporting a cut lip, and bloody nose. His throbbing lip momentarily took over the pain from his burnt face. Merle had then bound Dwight's hand's so tightly he was starting to lose feeling in them.

"Well, talk." Rick perched himself on the edge of the table, he crossed his arms as he made eye contact with Dwight.

"I want to help you." Dwight looked around the group. Each member had the same look of disbelief etched on their faces.

Daryl snorted. The younger Dixon was leaning against the wall closest to the door stopping Dwight from escaping. "So did your boss tell you to say that?"

Dwight sighed heavily; he knew gaining the group's trust was going to be hard, if not damn near impossible. "No." His gaze dropped to the floor. "Negan did this to me." Dwight raised his tied hands and motioned at his face. "I want revenge."

Sasha narrowed her eyes; there was something that just didn't feel right to her. "Why don't you just leave?"

"That's just suicide." Dwight answered back quickly. "I'm not going to put my wife in danger, we need people, and we need a home..."

"And you want to stay here?" Hershel asked.

Dwight nodded. "If I help you kill Negan, Sherry and I can stay here."

Milton as always had been keeping a detailed transcript of the meeting; he stopped writing and looked up at Dwight. "What about the rest of the group? You must know that by disposing of Negan another member will just take his place."

Dwight shuffled on the spot; he wiggled his fingers trying to bring back some feeling to them. "It's not just me. There's a group of us who want out of the Saviors, I can get them to help."

Rick looked over at Daryl looking for some sort of silent advice; Daryl gave a light nod. Rick looked back to Dwight. "How would it work?"

"The next time we trade I'll bring the group of people who want Negan dead, along with the strongest members of our group; I'll give the signal and we all attack and dispose of them."

Andrea chewed her lip lightly, it all sounded too neat and easy. "What's in it for the rest of the group?"

"Freedom, safety." Dwight replied. "Your group needs numbers."

"Our group is fine." Daryl snapped back. There was no way in hell he was having unknown people around his family. "Besides we don't have the room."

Dwight tried to gesture with his bound hands. "We have builders, doctors, farmers, and lots more in our group. We could convert the barn, or build other houses."

Rick shook his head. "We don't know these people, they could be a danger to our family, I don't..."

"I can vouch for them." Dwight answered quickly. "You could talk to each person and if you don't trust them, throw them out. Just give us a chance."

Rick scratched his chin. "We need to discuss this..."

"I need an answer now." Dwight interrupted.

"Son, I don't think you should push this, it may not be what you want to hear." Dale warned the man.

Dwight clenched his teeth. "I don't care, I need to know; I have to talk to the others."

Rick stood up and faced the group. "What do you all think?"

Milton exchanged looks with both Hershel and Dale. Rick knew the look, it was the same look he gave to Daryl when making tough decisions; it was the look of close friends using something more than words to communicate.

"I say we try." Milton answered. "We have more to gain than lose."

"I agree." Dale added.

"Me too." Hershel voted. "I just want my girls safe."

Rick looked at Daryl who just shook his head, it sounded too risky for him.

"I'm in." Andrea answered. "We can't keep living in fear of Negan."

"It's too dangerous." Sasha looked over at Dwight. "I don't trust him, it could be a trap."

Rick turned back to Dwight. "I don't like it either but I've been out voted. You have our help." He closed the gap between them; Rick glared into Dwight's eyes. "I'm just letting you know if this is a double cross you better run." Rick pushed the man towards Daryl. "Show him out."

Daryl roughly shoved Dwight out of the R.V and pushed him in the direction of the main gate.

Dwight looked up at the sky; the sun was starting to set now he'd been here longer than he had hoped. As he slowly made his way towards the main gate he started to try and think of a good excuse to where he had been.

Christa stood at the window in the house. She had been keeping an eye on Sophia, but when Merle had entered the house and started yelling about one of Negan's men at the gate she hadn't moved from the window. She had kept her eyes glued to the R.V sitting in the yard, and now she watched as Daryl led the man towards the gate.

The bedroom door creaked open. "Hey sweetie." Omid's voice was a light whisper. "I've brought you some food."

Christa turned around with a small smile on her face. Even when the world seemed its bleakest Omid would be there with a large grin on his face letting her know there was hope. "Thank you. Do we know what that man wanted?"

Omid handed the plate of food to Christa and sat down on the chair next to an unconscious Sophia. "How's she doing?" He asked whilst moving a strand of hair off Sophia's face.

Christa walked over to her boyfriend; she sat on the edge of the bed with her plate in her hand. "Still no change, it must be hard losing someone at a young age."

"Or losing someone at any age." Omid replied sadly. "You know." Omid's voice seemed to pick up a little. "We could look after Sophia."

Christa raised her eyebrow and smirked. "We can raise a teenager?"

Omid leant back in his chair. "How hard can it be? We're already doing great with Clem, and Sophia needs a family...we can be that family. We've lost a child we can help her cope with loss."

Christa gazed lovingly at Omid, the man had a heart of gold and so much hope; he really was one of a kind. "When she wakes up we'll ask her."

The sound of conversation and people entering the house cut the conversation short.

Omid stood up. "We should go check out what's going on. Come on." Omid held his hand out to Christa.

Christa placed her plate on the nightstand and took Omid's hands. "Let's hope its good news."

The couple swiftly made their way downstairs and into the living room where the entire group were now situated.

Rick stood in the centre of the room; everybody stopped everything to listen to their leader. "Dwight came to us today to work out a way to get rid of Negan for good." Mummers started to fill the room; Rick raised a hand to silence people. "As a council we decided to go ahead with the plan."

Merle was the first one to tackle the idea. He crossed his arms over his broad chest. "You're gonna trust that damn prick? It's more likely a trap."

"We've thought of that and we have a back up plan." Rick started to explain calmly. "We're going to find and secure a building and a day or so before the trade all those who aren't taking part in the attack will be moved there for safety."

"How will we know when to return?" Patricia asked nervously; she hadn't left the farm since the beginning of the outbreak and she didn't much like the idea.

"Someone will come and collect you after everything is safe..." Rick started to explain.

"What if we lose?" Martinez interrupted. "I've seen it happen; I've been on the losing side."

Rick placed his hands on his hips. "If someone doesn't show up by the next morning then don't return to the farm, don't look back move on."

Lori shook her head frantically. "No! I've lost you once, I won't do it again."

"That's the final word on the matter." Rick replied sternly; he couldn't bring himself to look at Lori's face. "Now in the next couple of days we'll work out who's going and who will be staying behind; but first things first we need to find a safe place for the group to stay."

Milton pulled out his trusty map from his notebook. "I have a few suggestions."

Rick gave the scientist a nod. "We'll take a look over dinner. Maggie, Glenn can you take the night watch."

"Sure thing." Glenn answered.

Hershel gave a small yawn. "I'll keep an eye on Christopher; I've got to keep checking Sophia anyway."

Maggie kissed her father on the cheek. "Thank you Daddy." She tugged on Glenn's arm. "C'mon we'll start now." Since Chris's birth Maggie and Glenn had had very little time alone. It didn't matter to Maggie that both she and Glenn would be on watch all night all that mattered was she'd get some quality time with her man.

Glenn slipped his hand into Maggie's as they made the walk across the farmyard. He looked over at her and smiled.

Maggie glanced over. "What?" She asked tilting her head slightly.

"You're beautiful." Glenn's smiled widened.

Maggie blushed a little as she used her free hand to push her hair behind her ear. "Shut up." She almost giggled.

Glenn stopped walking; he turned Maggie to face him. "No, really you are. I love you Maggie Greene." With that Glenn dropped to one knee.

Maggie's eyes grew wide in disbelief. "W-what are you doing? Get up!"

"Maggie Greene, will you marry me?" Glenn held his breath waiting for the answer and he didn't have to wait long.

"Yes." Maggie sobbed with joy. "Yes."

Glenn leapt up engulfing his new fiancé into a tight hug. "I don't have a ring yet." He mumbled into Maggie's neck.

"I don't care." Maggie pulled away from Glenn; she gazed deeply into his eyes. "As long as I have you I don't care." Maggie kissed Glenn passionately.

In that moment Glenn had never felt so happy, he knew the feeling wouldn't last long, soon he'd have to tell Maggie he was going to stay on the farm and help with the attack on Negan; but for now she didn't need to know.

It was dark when Sophia's eyes fluttered open. She panicked at first, she was unsure of where she was; then the memories came flooding back. Her mother was dead. Tears started to flow and a small squeaky sob escaped her.

"Sophia?" Carl's groggy voice croaked. He reached out his hand and grabbed Sophia's. "Are you awake?"

Sophia wiped her eyes with her free hand. "Y-yes." She muttered back through tears.

Carl climbed onto the bed with the young girl; he wrapped his arms around her. "I missed you." He mumbled into her blonde hair trying to fight back his own tears.

Sophia let her tears flow freely; she buried her face into Carl's chest staining his shirt with her tears. "She's gone Carl, she's gone."

Carl held Sophia as tight as he could without causing her pain, he wanted to comfort her, and he wanted to make everything better. "It'll be okay." Carl replied softly. "I'll look after you."

The two teenagers clung to each other in the darkness of the room. It was in that moment Carl vowed he'd make Negan pay, one way or another.

The morning came bringing a glimmer of hope with it. The sun had brought a fair amount of heat with it melting the remaining snow on the ground; the weather seemed to put everyone in a good mood.

The news of Sophia waking had quickly made it through the group and added to the hopeful atmosphere.

To give Sophia some rest the children had been placed in the Grimes's trailer for the day, that way the teenage girl could roam around the house without screaming children to stress her. Carl had taken it upon himself to protect and guard his girlfriend; the young boy hadn't left Sophia's side since she regained consciousness.

Daryl stood leaning against the living room doorway of the Grimes's trailer watching his daughter play with Judith. The little Dixon was showing Judith her animal book.

Lori joined Daryl's side holding Chris in her arms. "I expected to see Beth."

Daryl ruffled the little boys jet black hair. "She's on watch with Andrea."

Lori placed Chris on the floor, the little boy made his way to the two girls. "And Merle's okay with that?" Lori asked.

Daryl just gave a light shrug. "It ain't Merle's decision. You on your own?" Daryl didn't like the idea of just one person watching three children; Hope alone needed at least two people to keep track of her.

"No, Christa is going to bring Clementine over after checking on Sophia." Lori looked over at Daryl; she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Do you think Dwight is telling the truth?"

Daryl looked at Lori; fear was etched on her face. She had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep; she looked like a woman on the edge. "I'm sure he is." Daryl said in his most reassuring voice.

Lori smiled weakly. "Good, I can't lose Rick...not after..."

"It'll be fine." Daryl interrupted before Lori said Shane's name. "Rick knows what he's doin'."

"Hey Lil' D, you in here?" Merle's amused voice boomed around the trailer.

"In here." Daryl called back.

Dirty work boots thudded towards them. "You should see what Brownie found when he was clearing the biter bodies from outside the gates." Both Daryl and Lori glanced between each other nervously; usually when Merle was amused it was due to something crude or gruesome. "Go on guess." Merle chuckled.

"Just tell us ya ass." Daryl grumbled.

"Hell, I'll do one better, I'll show ya." Merle whistled and a scruffy looking dog ran in leaving a track of muddy paw prints behind it.

The mutt at one time had been white, but now thick mud clung to its fur making it more brown than white. The dog was painfully thin and had only one eye.

"A dog." Daryl smiled bending down holding his hand out to the animal.

Lori didn't share the Dixon men's fondness for the stray. "Get it out, it might savage the kids."

Merle snorted. "He'll be fine, we just need to feed him and get him used to them."

The dog had made its way to Daryl and was now being fussed over. "What we gonna call him." Daryl laughed as the dog licked his face.

Merle pushed past Lori and scooped up Hope. "Hey squirt, lookie what Mine got ya, it's a doggy!"

Daryl steadied the stray, he made sure it's head was away from Hope whilst Merle let Hope pet the animals back. The dog tensed up a little as the youngest ruffled his dirty fur.

"Good boy." Daryl said softly and calmly to the dog. "Good boy."

Hope clapped her hands as Merle took her away from the dog. "I lub him." Hope hugged Merle. "For keeps?"

Merle kissed his daughter's cheek. "For keeps. What do ya wanna call him?"

Hope gave the question a moments thought. "Stinky." She chirped.

Merle laughed. "We can't name him Stinky." He placed Hope down with Judith and Chris.

Lori scrunched up her nose. "It smells, and it's probably got fleas."

Daryl scoffed. "You got fleas."

Lori frowned, she was about to launch an attack when Christa and Clementine walked in. "There's mud everywhere." Christa pointed at the boot and paw prints covering Lori's once clean floor.

"A puppy." Clementine smiled. "Is he friendly?"

Daryl walked over to Clementine. He knelt down to the girl's level. "Hold out your hand to him." He slowly extended Clementine's hand towards the stray. "Okay now don't move too fast or you'll spook him."

Christa held her breath as Clementine softly called the dog; she placed her hand on her gun for safe measure. Slowly the animal made its way to the child; the dog sniffed the tips of her fingers.

"That's it nice and slow." Daryl whispered in Clementine's ear. "Don't rush him."

The dog gave a low growl, a whine and then laid down. Slowly Clementine petted his head. "He stinks." She moved away from the dog. "He needs a bath."

"I'll do it." Both Merle and Daryl replied in unison.

"I clean Stinky." Hope chimed in.

Merle picked up Hope again. "How's about Dada and I clean him up and then you can see him after?"

Hope looked down at the dirty dog. It was now lying by her Dada's feet whining. "I wanna help." Hope whined in a similar fashion to the dog.

Merle looked at Daryl who just shook his head a little; Daryl didn't want Hope being around the dog until he knew it was safe for her.

Merle rubbed his nose against Hope's. "Sorry squirt, you play with your friends."

Hope pouted as Merle placed her on the floor.

"C'mon D, let's get this thing cleaned and fed." Merle started to walk out of the trailer.

Lori stood in his way. "You need to clean up this mess." She scolded the elder Dixon.

Merle smirked; he picked up Lori and moved her out of his way. "Sorry string bean I got more important things to do." He whistled making both the dog and Daryl start to follow him.

Hope had also heard the whistle and started to run towards her father only to be stopped by Christa picking her up.

Lori crossed her arms as she watched the Dixon boys and their new pet leave her home. She hadn't a clue how Beth and Sasha coped with them.

Both Rick and Milton were in Milton's basement bedroom looking over the map.

Both men had narrowed down two places to hold the children during the attack.

The first was an old church. It was a bit of a trek, but the doors would be solid and withstand any sort of walker attack.

The second choice was an old cabin that's wasn't far from the farm. It was close and could be made secure, but it if the attack on Negan failed it wouldn't take much for him to find the children hidden away.

Milton placed a hand in his pocket. "So, that do you think?" He watched Rick look over the map before reaching a decision.

"We'll check out both of these places and decide which is the safest, then we'll work on securing it as best we can."

Milton was about to answer when a wet, white blur came shooting down the stairs followed by the Dixon men.

The dog dived on Milton's cot soaking the bedding. It then jumped off the bed and stopped in the middle of the room. The Dixons backed away while Milton and Rick just stared at the dog in confusion. The dog then shook it's whole body, water flew off its wet fur covering both Rick and Milton in a horrid wet dog smell.

"What is that?" Milton groaned in a disgusted manner.

Merle rolled his eyes at the scientist. "It's a fuckin' baked potato, what the fuck do you think it is."

Milton was trying to shoo the stray away from his desk. "I know what it is." He snapped back. "What's it doing here?"

Rick squatted down. "C'mere boy." He called softly. The dog slowly and cautiously approached the stranger. Once the dog got close enough Rick slowly petted the dog's wet head. Rick smiled up at Daryl. "The kids will love him." He looked back to the dog. "Looks like you've had a hard time buddy." Rick looked at his healed missing eye.

Milton pointed down at the dog. "It might savage the children; no, it can't stay here, it..."

"Damn well is." Daryl butted in protectively. "Bugs already seen him, and she loves him. We'll just watch him 'till he settles in." The dog barked at Milton.

"It will bark, make a noise and draw biters to us." Milton tried to argue.

Rick chuckled as the dog licked his face. "The kids make a noise, he stays." Rick stood up wiping his face. "Does he have a name?"

Merle gave a shrug. "Not yet."

Daryl scratched the back of his head. "Merle likes Duke, I like Chief...Bug likes Stinky."

"We had a dog called Chester once." Rick explained. "Carl loved him."

Milton shook his head. "If we have to keep him we'll put names in a hat."

"Rick, you down here?" Glenn called out.

"Yeah down here Glenn." He answered back.

The dog started to emit a low growl as Glenn approached. Rick tickled the dog behind the ear to calm it.

"Hey a dog." Glenn said in surprise as he entered the crowded basement.

Rick smiled at the obvious statement. "Did you want me?" He asked.

Glenn's eyes moved from the dog to Rick. "Yeah, I want to put my name down to stay on the farm for the attack..."

Merle rolled his eyes. "You and everybody else."

Rick raised his hand stopping an argument before it started. "The team hasn't been decided yet, It will be sorted out once we have a safe base for the children to stay in, until then the subject is over."

Glenn sighed. "Fine, I just want you to know I'm willing to fight."

Rick placed his hand on Glenn's shoulder. "I know you are." He patted the young man on the back. Glenn had had Rick's back since they first met, he would always place his trust in the man no matter what.