#for now I'm cuddling up with my Rick Bear and going

[misslisamiray]

A little delayed, but finally, here's Chapter 6 of Down With the Rickness! Those of you who remember the excerpts I posted before I started posting actual chapters may notice this features two of them, but longer now! New chapter is below the cut.

Back on Earth, Morty was looking for a place to hide the portal gun. He thought about just putting it back in the garage, but no – that would be the first place Rick would look once he noticed it was missing. After a few minutes of thinking and realizing there really wasn’t a “good” place to hide it, he decided that under his bed was as good a place as any.

“Rick will probably be out for a while. But I think I’ll need help once he wakes up. Better find Dad.” the boy said to himself. He decided to get dressed for the day, since going back to bed was clearly not an option, then went to find Jerry.

“Dad? You here? You didn’t listen to Rick and go next door after all, did you? Dad?” he called, walking through the house and checking anywhere he thought Jerry might be. Kitchen, no. Living room, no. Mancave, no. Bedroom, no. Then Morty heard noise coming from the attic.

“A raccoon or possum or something must’ve gotten in again. Perfect day for it, too. Good thing Rick made Dad immune to rabies.” Morty sighed, heading up the stairs to the attic.

“Hey, Dad? I know you’re having fun up here with your little friends, but it has to wait. I need a hand taking care of Rick, and… what the hell are you doing up here, exactly?” he said, puzzled by the sight in front of him. Morty had expected to find his father either playing with or being attacked by a wild animal or two, depending on the temperament of whatever had gotten into the attic this time. Instead, Jerry was sitting on the floor, surrounded by boxes, some of them tipped over, and piles of disorganized anime VHS tapes.

“Oh, hi Morty. You know what Sailor Moon is, right?” was what he received as an answer.

“Ummm, yes? Classic 90’s manga and anime that’s known for popularizing the magical girl genre in the U.S. And for the old dub making the questionable-at-best choice of trying to pass off two clearly lesbian characters as cousins. Why are you asking me about Sailor Moon?” an even more confused Morty replied.

Ignoring his son’s question while he went through another pile of tapes, Jerry said, “That’s right, Morty! I loved watching it before school as a kid, but I’d forgotten all about it. Then there was this time last year when Rick disguised me as his assistant using something he called a ‘reusable Sailor Moon transformation sequence’, and you see, it brought back all the good memories I had of watching that show when I was young. Along with the bad ones of the boys who liked Dragon Ball Z instead bullying me, but I digress.”

“Uh-huh. That’s great, Dad. Well, mostly. That last part sounds like it sucked… Anyway, nevermind the walk down memory lane right now. I need you downstairs to help me with Rick.”

“Oh. Is whatever the Mimicking Disease mimicking now really bad, Morty? Am I going to come downstairs and see it’s turned all his organs visible, and we can like, see the damage being done to them in real time? If it’s that you’ll warn me, right, Morty?” Jerry worried, getting squeamish over his own made-up scenario.

“No, it’s nothing like that. Rick made up the whole Mimicking Disease thing. Well, I don’t know if he made up that it exists. It might? But he definitely made up the part about him having it.” Morty replied.

He was about to explain further, but was cut off by his father saying, “So it is something worse after all? I thought Rick sending your mom and sister away was a little odd. *GASP!* Morty, you’ve been awfully close to him this whole time, haven’t you?” He quickly backed away from Morty, scooting backwards until he crashed into another box of tapes.

Morty rolled his eyes and said, “Dad, calm down. Rick just has a cold. A pretty bad one from the looks of it, but still just a cold. The thing is, he’s not dealing with it well at all, and apparently store brand otc cold medicine is the only substance out there he has like, no tolerance for. Or hallucinating melting walls is what those internet weirdos meant by the expired medicine ‘working too well’? I don’t know. I do know he’s making this whole thing a lot more of a problem than it needs to be. And it’s probably going to get worse when he wakes up, so come help.”

“But why would Rick lie about having some weird alien disease to hide having a cold? It doesn’t make sense. Now, him lying about having one alien disease to hide having a worse one, that makes sense.” Jerry continued to worry, gulping nervously.

“I don’t know, and I don’t get it either. I’m sure there’s a reason. Probably a reason no one but Rick would understand, or maybe even he doesn’t. But it’s Rick - that’s true for almost everything he does. Please just come downstairs. I see you’ve already given up on your big plan to help to do this instead.” Morty replied wearily.

“Given up? Oh, you couldn’t be more wrong, Morty. This is all a part of my plan.” Jerry stated, starting to look through another pile of tapes. 

"Your plan to help Rick feel better is... old anime VHS tapes? I mean... okay? Maybe it would distract him or cheer him up a little. He'd probably enjoy some, maybe even most of this stuff. That's actually not a bad idea, Dad. But it's also not a priority." Morty said.

"You misunderstand. I'm not looking for something for Rick to watch. I'm looking for something I need to watch. And once I do, then I'll know exactly how to help your grandfather." Jerry replied matter of factly.

After standing there for a moment, dumbfounded and not knowing what to say to that, Morty finally asked, "So, your big, great plan is to spend the day going through these boxes, then watching Sailor Moon? And that's supposed to teach you... something relevant to our current situation?"

"It's not going to take me all day, Morty. If your mom and I had done a better job of putting these tapes away, I'd already have what I need. And it's not as if I could watch all 200 episodes and 3 movies in a single day even if I tried. No, there's just one specific episode I need to find. I know it's technically a 'filler' episode, but it's a classic. Episode 71 of the original English dub, “No Thanks, Nurse Venus!” The bad guys infect the city with a flu virus as part of their evil plan, and all of the Sailor Scouts are down with it - except one." Jerry explained, his voice taking on a singsongy tone at the last part.

"From the title, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's Sailor Venus?" Morty said, the urge to scream growing by the second.

"That's right, Morty! For some reason, she and Artemis - that's her mentor/talking cat - remain completely fine, so Mina sets out to nurse the rest of the team back to health. She's honestly terrible at it, but she means so, so well." Jerry replied fondly.

"Dad, I - where do I even start listing everything that's wrong with this 'plan' of yours?! 1, that sounds more like a magic spell than an actual virus. 2, you can't learn anything about treating an illness by watching an old anime episode, and, and..." Morty sputtered.

"Oh, Morty. It's because I told you it's a filler episode, isn't it? Or maybe because I specifically need to watch the old DiC dub? For someone with only the most basic understanding of Sailor Moon, you really don't have any business being a snobby purist. And for your information, Mister, this episode is so good that even people who normally are snobs about that sort of thing enjoy it." Jerry said, shaking his head and giving his son a disappointed look.

“Dad, of everything that’s wrong with your plan, which is EVERYTHING, that’s easily what’s the least wrong! Just because Rick told you to go be stupid upstairs, does not mean you had to take that as literally as possible! You’re not going to come downstairs and help me, are you?”

“Obviously not, Morty. Until I find that tape and watch that episode, what help could I possibly be?” Jerry replied with a shrug. He was clearly annoyed his son still didn’t seem to understand his plan, even after he’d explained it so well.

“I mean, you could go out to get more medicine. Or keep an eye on Rick while I go do that. Or maybe make food? There’s a lot of things you could do, actually. But it’s fine. Just stay up here and keep doing what you’re doing, Dad.” Morty sighed, deciding there was no point in further trying to talk any sense into his father. Jerry was already back to looking through tapes, humming the Sailor Moon opening theme.

As Morty walked back down the steps, he muttered to himself, “What else is going to help Rick get better? I know he needs to rest, and that we need to get more medicine. And obviously that I can’t let him near more than a single dose at a time. But is that like, it? Feels like there’s more I should do. Aww geez, we really don’t have to deal with normal problems like this often, do we? Kinda makes it harder when they do come up. I hope Mom and Summer get home soon.” 

A few minutes later, Morty had made his way back to Rick’s room. Expecting his grandfather to still be asleep, and not wanting to wake him, he slowly, carefully opened the door… only to discover the bed was empty.

“Rick? Are you in here?” Morty asked tentatively, stepping into the room and looking around. He checked under the bed and in the closet. No Rick.

“God dammit!!!” he yelled, kicking the nearest wall before going to search the rest of the house.

“Rick! Where are you?! You need to go back to bed! Rick!” he called, walking through the house. First he checked the bathroom. Empty.

“You in here? Rick? Come on, this isn’t funny! Are you like, hiding because you’re mad about the medicine?” He checked the living room next. Still no Rick.

“He couldn’t have gotten far. Kitchen, maybe?” As soon as Morty stepped into the kitchen, he realized that it was also empty, but there was noise coming from the garage.

“Dammit, I should have known!” 

Morty ran into the garage and was immediately taken aback by the sight in front of him. Rick was dressed in his normal clothes again, but his labcoat was crooked and sliding down his left shoulder. He had a sock and shoe on his left foot, but a slipper on his right. His belt was unbuckled, and Morty was fairly sure his shirt was on backwards. He was trying to keep his blankets - there were now three of them - wrapped around himself while he set up another experiment and had to keep pausing to adjust them.

The experiment in question? Well, it wasn't clear exactly what Rick was trying to accomplish, but he'd gathered the petri dish containing the blood sample he took earlier, a couple of empty ones, and some used tissues, and was arranging all of them on the garage floor... in front of a large ray gun on a pedestal.

"What the hell do you think you're doing now, Rick?! Whatever it is, stop!" Morty yelled, startling Rick and causing him to stumble forward and bump into the ray gun. This led to it flipping so it was facing the roof, which it immediately shot a hole through.

"Ow! Dammit, Morty! Look what you made me do!" Rick complained, rubbing his forehead where he'd hit the ray gun.

"Uh-huh. Weird way to thank me for that hole ending up in the roof and not your head." Morty said wearily.

"Okay, so this wasn't on the right setting for what I'm *Cough!* trying to do just now. But I would've figured that out on my own without your so-called help." Rick grumbled, turning a dial on the ray gun and repositioning it so it was once again aimed at the assortment of things on the floor.

"And what exactly are you trying to do?"

"Isn't it obvious? I hate to admit it, Morty, but you were right about the idea I had before being terrible. *Sniff!* Shrinking you down to microscopic size to talk to the virus? I don't, don't know what I was thinking with that." Rick admitted as he rearranged the petri dishes. The pile of blankets slid down a little, and he started shivering again.

Noticing that, Morty helped adjust them around Rick's shoulders, saying, "Glad you realized that, but you still didn't answer my question."

"Huh? Oh, *Cough!* right. As I was saying, making you or a clone or a robot germ-sized is not the right way to handle this situation at all. In fact, the way to deal with it is the exact opposite. What I need to do for this negotiation thing to work is make the germs human-sized." Rick explained matter-of-factly.

"Rick, no! Don't you see how that's even worse than your original plan?!" Morty asked, rightfully horrified. 

“Huh? How so? There was a lot that could have gone wrong with the original plan. Even though I’d send you in armed in case the little peace talk fell through, you *COUGH!* woulda been seriously outnumbered in here, Morty. And God forbid anything happened to prevent me from getting you back out. Let’s face it, I am not in peak form today. And it’s not like there’s anyone else here to help. Shit, maybe I shouldn’t have sent Summer away. Eh, I’ll make it up to her once I feel better. Anyhow, *Cough!* *Cough!* if we do it this way instead, all those risks go away. We’ll be face to face with the bastards and on an even playing field.” Rick replied, not understanding Morty’s concerns.

“No, we won’t be! Instead of just me, it’ll be the two of us vs… How many germs are in a person’s body when they have a cold? Millions? Billions? It’s at least thousands, and I’m pretty sure it’s a lot more than that! If you make them all human sized, they’ll overrun the house, then the neighborhood, and, and wouldn’t being exposed to germs that size make everyone around really sick? How are you not seeing everything that could go wrong with this idea, Rick?!” Morty yelled.Visibly annoyed, Rick answered, “Obviously I’m not going to make all the germs our size, Morty. I mean, to do that, I’d need to remove all of them from my body first. Which would require, among other things, a full blood replacement. Which I *Cough!* might not live through, and if I did, I’d already be cured once I was done. And then why would I waste my time talking to over – to a bunch of oversized *SNIFF!* germs, huh, Morty?” Morty was once again at a loss for words due to the crazy plan being explained to him – something that had already happened too many times for how early it still was.

[legolasghosty]

hi if you’re still taking prompts can you please do 12 and/or 15 for boggie 🥺👉🏽👈🏽

Heh yeah so pay no mind to the fact that you sent this in like.... over 7 months ago... I promise I didn't forget! I just haven't had a lot of writing spoons in a hot minute! ANYWAYS have a little drabble. I'm sorry for the delay!!!!

Bobby picks his way down the path to the garage in the dark. He's not totally sure what time it is, he just knows it's late. Or early? Whatever. The other boys fell asleep hours ago, all curled up on the pull-out couch. Thank God Luke and Alex have gotten over that weird post-breakup "we shouldn't cuddle" thing. It made sleepovers way too confusing.

Their breakup made everything a little confusing if Bobby is being honest. Sure it had been a mutual thing and they'd only gone out for like a month, but still. The four of them spent so much time together, of course things got uncomfortable when half of the band members were suddenly exes. There had been a minute there where Bobby thought it would be the end of Sunset Curve.

But the waves have settled now. Luke and Alex are back to being bickering best friends. Their family band is safe. Thank God. Bobby doesn't think he could bear losing them. Any of them. They're his best friends.

He pushes open the garage door as quietly as he can. The beam of moonlight coming in over his shoulder illuminates his boys all tangled together on the couch bed. Luke's head is on Alex's thigh. Alex's arm is thrown over Reggie's torso. Reggie's leg is thrown over Luke's lap. His arms are flopped awkwardly over the space next to him. Bobby recognizes it as the spot he'd been lying before he'd given up on sleep and gone to make some hot chocolate.

Oh, he left his mug on the kitchen counter. F...rick. Bobby groans. Just his luck. Technically he could just go back to the house and get the half-full cup. But that suddenly feels like way too much work. Bobby heaves a sigh and heads for the couch. Maybe the partial drink and the late hour will let him sleep?

He lowers himself carefully onto the couch beside Reggie. The bassist stirs a bit, one hand reaching out towards Bobby. And his heart doesn't flutter a bit. It doesn't. Cause it can't.

Luke and Alex's breakup almost destroyed the band. Bobby can't afford to risk his only friends on a crush. Even if Reggie's eyes light up every time he sees a dog out walking. Even if his stupid jokes always manage to make Bobby laugh. Even if he looks so pretty onstage that Bobby forgets to breathe sometimes. Even if sometimes he'll glance down at Bobby's lips when they're sharing a mic and sometimes seems to watch him for a moment too long.

He can't risk it. Maybe he lov-likes Reggie romantically. But he cares about all three of them deeply. He can't lose any of them. They keep him from drowning in his head or staying inside all the time. They give him a reason to go to school on the bad days. They never like his artsy movie suggestions and then watch them with him anyways. They're his best friends and his lifelines. He's not losing them.

Reggie rolls over towards him, mumbling something incoherent. Bobby chuckles. His sleep-talking is adorable. Reggie's body is now only half covered by the black and white throw blanket that Bobby always claims for sleepovers and Reggie always seems to wake up under.

Bobby glances at the other two boys. Both are still sound asleep. He supposes it's safe to indulge for a moment.

"How come you always end up under my blanket, baby?" Bobby whispers, laying down beside Reggie. Hey, it's not like anyone's going to hear him. He'll take what he can get. Even if his treacherous heart yearns for it to be real.

"Cause you getting all flustered is one of the cutest things I've ever seen," Reggie murmurs, lips quirking up in a smirk.

Bobby jumps, his face heating up. "I...you're awake?" he stammers, backing away from his friend slowly.

Reggie blinks quickly, sleep still pulling at his eyelids as he focuses on Bobby. "Sorta?" he mumbles back. "Awake enough to hear you call me baby."

"I'm so sorry," Bobby says in a rush. "It's nothing, don't worry about it, it doesn't have to be a thing, I'm just being stupid."

Reggie frowns. "But... what if I want it to be a thing?"

Bobby feels like he's about to be split down the middle between logic and lo-his feelings. "We can't," he whispers, feeling a lump form in his throat.

"Says who?" Reggie responds, smiling sleepily. "We're smart, we'll figure it out. Just say it again?"

"Say what?" Bobby tilts his head, confused.

"Call me baby," Reggie clarifies. He reaches out and grabs at Bobby's hands. It takes him a couple of tries to get them both with his eyes still only half open. "I like it."

And Bobby is apparently too weak for this. "You sure, baby?" he breathes.

"Definitely," Reggie hums, laying back down and tugging Bobby down with him.

The bassist shifts around a bit until he can use Bobby's shoulder as a pillow. "Okay, sleepy time," he mumbles, eyes already falling shut. "We'll talk tomorrow."

Bobby's heart is racing, but sleep suddenly feels much more possible. Especially once he pulls his blanket over both of them. Alex shifts a bit in his sleep so his arm is thrown over both Reggie and Bobby. Luke's legs end up tangled with both of theirs.

Bobby takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. Well this was new. But not...necessarily...bad.

He drifts off to sleep.

[teddybeartoji]

and now I'm running as fast as I can to get to you >:3 you don't even have to open the door for me, I'll knock it down!!! I'm very strong!! (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠) I will dote you so much and take so much care of you!!! we can watch some series we like together!! or or or or inglourious bastards (hear me out I love that movie) ALL WHILE I CUDDLE YOU!!! 'CAUSE NUH UH I CAN'T BEAR TO HEAR THAT YOU'RE NOT TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF!!! IT'S OUTRAGEOUS! (taking care of you Is literally a dream mwah<3) ANYWAY!! As a twd characters I really like Rick (hehehe, I can't lie that man makes me so ANEBDBANE!!!) Daryl (he's such a sweetheart I love him so much pls let me hug you and take care of you!! DARYL JUST ONE CHANCE PLEASE) GLENN!! (MY GOD HE'S SO SWEET AND CUTE I LOVE HIM I SWEAR!!) I also really like Michonne, Carl (especially in the comic) and Beth especially in the fourth season which is one of my favorites. IN FACT ONE OF MY FAVORITE EPISODES IS THE ONE FOCUSED ON BETH AND DARYL. My favorite seasons are definitely the first four, I also really like the whole era of Alexandria and Negan, who even though his character made me suffer more than anything else in the world, I particularly appreciated the skills of the actor who managed to impersonate him so well that he made me hate him!!! WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?? OR FAVORITE EPISODE?? PLEASE TELL ME, I LOVE SEEING YOU TALK ABOUT THE THINGS YOU LIKE WITH SO MUCH ENTHUSIASM, SEEING YOU HAPPY MAKES ME FEEL SO GOOD AND ALWAYS MAKES ME SMILE!!! MWAAAH I'M ABOUT TO COME AND FILL YOU WITH KISSES AND BITES(⁠ ⁠˶⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ꁞ⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠˶⁠ ⁠)(⁠っ⁠˘⁠з⁠(⁠˘⁠⌣⁠˘⁠ ⁠)

(AAAAH AND THE FACT THAT YOU SHARE BIRTHDAYS WITH RICK IS THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!)

PS: I FINALLY FOUND THE ONESHOT!! I'M GOING TO READ IT NEOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!

-Rory<3 (⁠´⁠∩⁠｡⁠•⁠ ⁠ᵕ⁠ ⁠•⁠｡⁠∩⁠`⁠)

EEEEEEEEEEEEERORYYY YOU'RE SO FUCKING SWEET WHAT AM I GONNA DO WITH YOUUU AAAAAAAAAAAHHH MY CUTENESS AGGRESSION IS SHOWINGGG I NEED TO SQUEEZE YOU SO HARDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND HELLOO I LOVE INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS IT'S ONE OF MY MOST WATCHED FILM OF ALL TIME LMAO

YESSS RICK LOVERS RISE UPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he still lives in my head a lot like he's so fucking cool and so hot lmao i always think abt that neck bite scene it's one of my favourite things everrrrr!!!! that's definitely one of my favourite eps too!!! aaaand my other fav ep is s6 ep10 that's the one jesus is introduced in lmaoo IT'S SOSOOO FUCKING FUNNYYYY I LOVE JESUS SM:3333333333

and omfg negannnn hhhhhhhhhhhhhh i hate him sooo bad i am also applauding the actor bc i pretty much stopped watch after the seventh season ashghasahgsga i just couldn't take it anymooreeee i think i watched the 8th too but i wasn't that invested in it at that point yk? evil evil man negan i cried so much during That ep hsaghsgha

i am good with all the seasons up until the seventh one!!!! sure, the first four are definitely Better but i still think that the fifth and the sixth are still a lot of fun hehehhe loved seeing rick in that uniform and in that white shirt:3333333333

BUT EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHEHEHHEHEEE I'M KISSING U BACKKK I'M SMOTHERING YOU WITH MY LOVEE:333 THANK YOU SM FOR BEING THE CUTEST LITTLE ANGEL IN THE WORLD IDK WHAT I DID TO DESERVE YOUUU!!!!!!! I HOPE UR HAVING A WONDERFUL DAY A WONDERFUL NIGHT I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ravenrose18]

Crossbow Love

Chapter 11- Switching Places

Daryl watches her as she sleeps, how her body fits him perfectly. He slides his hand over her shoulder, slips his other hand under her head, and stares at the ceiling, the fight isn't over yet but he's home with her. Raven sleeps peacefully never wanting to leave his side but she will protect him and this group if she has to. Finally, Daryl falls asleep calmer that he has her beside him and that he doesn't have to go back to that fucking cell. Raven smiles in her sleep. Once she wakes in the morning she will make him breakfast. Daryl lies peacefully on the bed cuddled up to her body, while outside Rick tries to convince Maggie and Gregory to fight against Negan and defeat Negan.

Raven cuddles up to Daryl keeping him close as she sleeps. They are woken up by a knock on the trailer door, Daryl gets out of bed. "One second," He says, slipping on his pants, covers Raven's naked body, and opens the door. Raven wakes up and covers her body with the sheets not expecting to have visitors yet. Outside the door is Rick with a goofy grin glued to his face. "I don't have the energy for this Rick" Daryl sighs and shakes his head "Just say what you have to say and leave us alone," He says. Behind him, Tara emerges with an even bigger grin.

"Dinner is ready you can come over if you don't have something more interesting to do." She laughs and points her finger at Daryl's bare chest. His ears redden incredibly and only after that comment does he realize he has no shirt on, he is standing with his back to the bed. There are numerous bruises on his back, fresh ones just forming but also old ones that are starting to disappear. Raven gets up puts her bra, and underwear on, and puts his shirt on, and then her pants, and stands behind Daryl kissing his back. "Just give us a minute and we will be right out." She says to them smiling and blushing a bit. Before the trailer door closes in front of Rick's face, they both hear Tara's comment "I was right, they fucked" She says followed by Rick's loud laughter.

Daryl closes the door and rolls his eyes. Raven smiles and giggles as she takes off his shirt tossing it to him and putting her shirt on. "They like to tease us Darbear, it's cute." She says "Darbear?" Daryl raises his eyebrows high and laughs under his breath Raven smiles and giggles "Yeah Darbear. You're like a big cuddly teddy bear." She says smiling and kissing his cheek. "A teddy bear" He mutters under his breath and shakes his head. He sits down on the bed, pulls on his socks and shoes, and looks at her. "Life will be different with you, huh?" He asks. Raven looks at him confused and smiles softly "What do you mean Daryl?" She asks as she grabs her boots and puts them on. "In general" He shrugs his shoulders "I'm not used to having someone waiting for me at home, to have someone to sleep with at night," He says.

Raven smiles and nods "Well I would also cook your meals, help each other fall asleep and we don't have nightmares anymore. I didn't sleep while you were gone." She says softly "Full service like that?" He says laughing and walks over to her "But I'm here and you can sleep now" He says. Raven smiles softly and nods. "I know but my nightmares were so horrible and so real." She says "I know Raven, but they won't happen anymore, okay? I'll take care of it." He smiles and kisses her in the temple. "Come on, let's not give those two another reason to annoy us." He says. Raven smiles softly and nods."Okay, but I can't stop the nightmares if you aren't around ok." She says opening the door and walking out. "I don't have nightmares with you," He says, grabbing her hand lightly as they walk outside. Raven smiles softly and holds his hand tightly. "I know Daryl. But I know you would if I wasn't here." She says walking towards the main building "Probably" He snorts under his breath "But you are right." He says.

Raven nods and gets to the door of the building. They enter the house together, a table is set up in the great hall, and behind it the people who are serving the meal. Raven smiles and looks around at the area and everybody here, she's grateful that we have these moments but she knows Negan will come and try to find Daryl. Daryl takes two plates of food, for himself. "Grab a water and come outside, this house is giving me the creeps," He says. Raven grabs some water and walks behind him following him. "I think it's cool." She says "This house?" He asks, wrinkling his eyebrows, and sits down on one of the benches a little away from the others. Raven smiles and shrugs "It reminds me of a haunted house." She says as she sits with him on the bench "Oh that's for sure" He grins at her and sinks his teeth into his food, but of course, nothing can be as quiet as normal, next to him sits Rick, and on Raven's side sits Tara.

They are both grinning from ear to ear with their food. Raven starts eating glances at Rick and Tara and looks at them confused. "What are you guys smiling about?" She asks "We're just glad Daryl's home." Rick says looking at her, "But we're also happy for you two." He says. Raven smiles and blushes hiding her face in her bowl as she eats. "sooo...." Tara starts saying looking between them "So when can we expect a little Dixon?" She asks Daryl to nearly choke on his food. Raven looks in surprise and is about to spit her food out and coughs a bit. "Excuse me?" She questions Tara on the question she thought of having children before the world went to shit but now that the world is the way it is and seeing kids grow up in this world she doesn't want to have kids. At least not yet I guess. "What?" Tara asks indignantly "You two are together then I'm expecting little Dixons, I want to be the aunt who spoils them" She smiles.

Raven smiles softly and blushes and shakes her head. "To be honest with you I don't know if I want to bring children into this world. I'm afraid if I do, they wouldn't make it, or at least we wouldn't watch them grow up." She says Daryl looks at her and nods slightly in confirmation, but there is something different in his eyes. He had never thought about having children, but when she said she didn't want them, something made him upset, he pushed the emotion aside and focused on eating. Raven looks down "I do want kids but look at the shit we are dealing with in this world and what if something goes wrong and the baby dies or I die." She explains how she feels not wanting to be judged or hated for it. "You are right, it is a reasonable approach. This world isn't what it used to be. But see Judith" Rick smiles "She's still with us, children are a wonderful thing but not everyone necessarily wants them," He says.

Raven looks at him and looks down "I do want kids, I always wanted my own but with the world how it is I don't want to put my children through the horrors and be nearly starved to death. Because if I die giving birth to the child, baby formula is hard to find." She says glancing at Daryl and she finishes eating "You're not gonna die and don't you dare think that." Daryl growls at her. "You two get over your fucking happiness." Daryl pushes the plate away from him. "Rick didn't do shit to get me out of the hell Negan put me through. You don't know what I went through in there, you don't know what they fed me, they beat me up every day, so kindly both of you get the fuck out of our lives." He gets up from the bench and walks back to the trailer slamming the door behind him.

Raven tears up looks down looks at Rick and closes her eyes. She gets up and looks at the trailer and sighs as she walks towards her bike and touches it slightly. Daryl sits on his bed and shakes with anger, Rick didn't do shit to save him and now he's planning his and Raven's life. Raven frowns and looks down. She wants to talk to him but she rather let him calm down. She had no idea what he went through, they haven't had a chance to but I'm sure he wouldn't tell her. She decides to walk away from her motorcycle opens the gate and walks outside with her knife on her waistband for protection. She wanted to just stand outside the gates for a bit. Daryl stares at one point, and his breathing quickens, he has to get himself under control, he can't react like this every time, after all, this is his family.

Raven stares up into the sky takes a deep breath keeps herself calm holds her arms close and keeps herself warm. At the same time, Negan is furious with his men at Sanctuary for letting Daryl escape so easily. Raven leans against the gate outside and sits having her knees to her chest. She is sad that Daryl got upset because he wanted a family with her. Daryl finally comes out of the trailer and looks around for Raven, he unnecessarily raised his voice knowing she went through shit with her parents. Raven stays where she is, holds her legs tight, and covers her face with her knees. Daryl starts to panic when he can't find her anywhere, he runs to Rick "Where is she?" He asks "She's out the gate," He says looking at him. "Fuck, you know what's going on outside and you let her go out there? Rick, start fucking thinking." He yells pushing him away and moving towards the gate. "Open the fucking gate." He says.

Raven keeps her eyes closed and her head down, she plays with her bracelet. "Raven" Daryl runs out of the gate " Raven, fuck" He looks around. Raven leans back putting her head on the gate and looks up at the stars. She doesn't want to have Daryl upset and sad about what she said. But she wants to give her future children a childhood no kid has one in the world. "Raven" He shouts, at this moment nothing matters to him. He moves ahead, without a weapon, without anything. He just has to find her. Raven hears his voice and starts to get up and walk in the direction of his voice. It was a bit dark so she was being cautious. Daryl hears movement behind him, turning ready for a melee with whoever decides to attack him. His body tenses up. Raven walks towards where she hears his voice and does not want to get hurt or killed by an unexpected walker. "Jesus, Raven," Daryl says looking at her. "Don't do that again." He comes up to her and hugs her tight.

Raven looks at him hugs him slightly and pats his back as she walks to the open gate. "What's going on? Talk to me." He asks after her. Raven looks down as she walks "I have a bad feeling. Something bad is going to happen." She says. He grabs her hand "Nothing will happen, we are safe here" He says, Raven looks at him and shakes her head "But for how long? Negan practically owns all these groups he will find us." She says "We will devise a plan, attack and kill him. I will personally stab him in the heart, I promise." He says. Raven slowly nods and goes to the benches and sits down on top of the table. Daryl goes to her and stands between her legs. He carefully places his hands on her thighs and rubs them, he doesn't have to say he's worried because every emotion is written on her face. Raven just sits there in a daze. She knows these people are strong but anything could happen and they wouldn't be prepared when the time comes.

Raven wanted to talk to Daryl about what was said during dinner and ask him what happened to him when he was with Negan. Daryl stares into her face and sees the emotions that wash over him, the pain is replaced by fear, the fear by apprehension. Raven just stares off into the distance in a daze thinking what if Negan finds him and takes him away or kills him for escaping. "A penny for Raven's thoughts," He whispers as if he doesn't want to interrupt her thoughts. Raven blinks her eyes quickly and looks at him. "I was just thinking about what we were talking about at dinner and what Negan did to you. And if he finds you he will take you away or kill you." She says softly

Daryl took a breath, looked over her, and then returned his gaze to her eyes. "Raven, anything can happen in this world. I don't know what tomorrow holds, I don't know if we have a future. But I can promise you that I will not give up, I will fight to the end for a better tomorrow. I think about it too, you know, for the first time I'm scared. I'm afraid that something might happen that will take me away from you." He says. Raven looks into his eyes holds his cheek and rubs his cheek. "I'm not going to let you be taken from me." She says Daryl rests his forehead against hers and closes his eyes. Raven closes her eyes and holds his hand tightly "Let's live for ourselves, right now here in this moment" He whispers against her lips Raven smiles softly and nods. "I don't want to lose you again," She says softly, "I will do everything in my power not to let that happen." He says. Raven looks at him sighs and nods slowly Daryl smiles slightly "Are you going to the Kingdom tomorrow, or will you stay here with me?" He asks.

Raven looks at him and shrugs "I don't know I didn't expect you to be here Daryl." She says "I wish you would stay" He bites his lower lip. Raven looks into his eyes and smiles softly "I can stay if you want me to." She says "Of course I want to" He smiles "You're my woman and I want you with me," He says. Raven smiles and giggles and looks at him. "Alright I'll stay but if Negan men come you need to hide they're not expecting us to be here," She says "Maggie arranged everything, you don't have to worry about it. I've got my hideout." He rubs her nose with his Raven smile and nods "Okay but you need to stay hidden no matter what till they leave." She says "I promise" He smiled slightly "You promise me something?" He stared into her eyes.

Raven looks up into his eyes holding his hand tightly "Sure Daryl." She says "We'll spend tonight not worrying about anything. Not thinking about those dicks and Negan and the rest of it, how about that?" He asks. Raven smiles and nods slowly "Okay I'll try. It's just hard you know." She says "I know Raven, but I sat there so much time, I just want to spend one day with my girlfriend without worrying about anything" He grabbed her hands. Raven smiles holds his hands tightly and nods "I understand Daryl I'll try I promise. I just need to know your thoughts on the conversation we had at dinner." She says looking into his eyes "What do you mean?" He furrowed his brow.

Raven looks at him and sighs "About what Tara said about having a little Dixon you know?" She asks "I know, you want to know my opinion on having children?" He asks. Raven nods and looks into his eyes "Yes Daryl you heard my opinion and I just hope you respect and accept my opinion on that topic." She says "Of course I respect your opinion and accept as much as possible" He nods. Raven smiles softly and nods "I don't know if you want kids but I'm sorry I don't want to go through being a parent if I might die from childbirth or the child will not have a childhood or... die." She says softly "I understand" He smiled slightly and hugged her close.

He put his head on her shoulder and stared into the distance, he had never thought about having children. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he had always thought that one day he would meet the perfect woman and start a family with her. That he would have the opportunity to be a better father than his father had been. "We need to stock up on condoms, search the pharmacies for birth control pills, we'll have to come up with something," He says. Raven smiles softly and giggles "Look Daryl if I do somehow get pregnant that just means I need to be prepared and be somewhere safe to have the baby." She says hugging him "You know, we've done it twice and I've always finished in you." He says. Raven looks at him and sighs "That's another thing, I don't know if I can have children." She says "What do you mean?" He moves away from her and crinkles his eyebrows.

Raven looks at him and sighs "I don't know if I can have children Daryl." She says "Meaning every woman biologically can have children." His brain is working at high speed. Only after a moment does he understand what she means by "Raven, do you think that because of what your parents did to you, you might not have children?" He asks. Raven looks down and tears up a bit. "With all the shit I went through with my mental stability if I'm able to handle having a child, and with me being raped by my father. I just don't know if I can handle being a parent especially of how fuck up in the head I am." She says as she stands up and walks a bit away from him has her back to him and covers her face with her hands. He turns to her but stands still "Raven" He whispers, she's been through more shit than he could imagine "We'll get through this" He says.

Raven tears down her face and covers her face. "I just don't know if I can have children, believe me, I do want kids but in this world and what I've been through I don't if I can." She says softly holding her arms close to her chest. "I understand" He took a step toward her "I respect your decision and we will do everything we can to make sure you don't get pregnant ok? I will be there for you if anything happens, I will give you as much love as I can" He says. Raven tears up more and gets weak to the knees and faces to her knees "Thank you Daryl for understanding I'm sorry." She says softly "Hey baby girl," He walks up to her and embraces her from behind. "Don't be sorry, you're welcome." He pulls her close, puts his head on her shoulder Raven nods and turns around, and embraces him tightly "I love you." She says "I love you too " He smiles slightly. He strokes her back, only now realizing how much her parents have hurt her, how mentally broken she is.

Raven never shows her being broken. She stays strong; she knows that her mental stability isn't the best. "How about I arrange for us to have tea with a blanket as we sit on the stairs and look at the sky?" He whispered in her ear Raven smiled and nodded "I would like that." She says softly "Okay, so go get a blanket for the trailer and I'll go get some tea and meet you in a little while on the steps or picnic table if you prefer" He moves away from her slightly Raven smiles and nods as she goes to get some blanket and that there is a bell tower and smiles walking towards the bell tower. Daryl organizes two large cups, one of the women has herbs with her and brews them. Daryl thanks her and promises in return a rabbit he will hunt. He walks outside with the two steaming mugs and looks around at Raven. Raven climbs the tower and lays out the blanket and she brings two pillows as well. She looks out and sees Daryl.

Daryl notices her and moves towards her with a smile on his face. Raven smiles and sits down crosses her legs closes her eyes and breathes in deeply. "Kitty" Daryl stands by the ladder "Needs help" He looks up Raven smiles and crawls over to the ladder grabs the tea from him and sets them on the blanket. Daryl comes upstairs "Just like a date " He laughs and sits down next to her. Raven smiles and giggles "Yes it is and you know when we go ride the motorcycle together that's a date too." She says as she grabs a cup and starts to sip on the tea "So this is our second date?" He looks at her embracing the teacup with his hands' Raven smiles and nods holding the tea with both hands "Yeah. It is." She says Daryl leans his back against the wall and sighs "Sit between my legs and rest your back against my torso" He pats the spot between his legs.

Raven smiles and crawls over to him lays between his legs and stares at the sky. Daryl sets his cup down on the ground and embraces her around the waist. He embraces her calmly, kisses her shoulder, and rests her head on his. Raven smiles and tears up a bit enjoying this moment, not wanting it to end. As it gets cooler Daryl puts a blanket over her legs and wraps it around her. Raven smiles and takes a deep breath knowing she found the one. The love of her life. On the steps of the building, Rick stands and stares at the view before him. He smiles, glad that his brother Daryl has found happiness in such a world. Raven smiles and looks at him staring at him and looking out at the opening and seeing the colors of the sky "You like it?" He purrs in her ear.

Raven smiles and giggles "I love you, Daryl. I think you are the one for me. The love of my life." She says softly Daryl sniffs and has tears in his eyes "Raven, you have no idea how much these words mean to me. I never thought I could be this for someone" He says. Raven looks up into his eyes puts her hand on his cheek and wipes his tears "You're the love of my life Daryl I love you with all of my heart and my whole well-being." She says "I love you too" He smiles and kisses her gently. Raven kisses him back the same way. The kiss is gentle and calm, Daryl wants to convey everything he feels in it. Raven keeps him gently and holds his cheek "What do you think about Daryl?" She asks "That you are everything I have always dreamed of for me. That I can do anything with you" He says.

Raven smiles and tears up "Oh Daryl. I can see our future together." She says softly "Tell me about it, I'd love to hear it" He smiles and sips his tea. Raven smiles and looks down "I see us happy, living with no walkers and having a home. We are married and just so happy." She says softly "It can be organized, maybe apart from this part of the walkers," He says Raven looks at him and smiles "Really you want to marry me?" She asks "One day" He smiles Raven smiles and looks out into the distance. Daryl smiled and looked into the distance. they enjoyed peace. Raven smiles and closes her eyes enjoying every minute "Do your He asks.

Raven smiles and looks at him "They do have meaning but they do cover my scars." She says "Will you tell me what they mean?" He asks. Raven smiles and nods Raven turns showing him the angel wings "These are to cover my back scars but they just mean I'm free and I can soar anywhere. The chest tattoo is that my heart needs to be under lock and key so I don't get hurt. The roses are just there to remind me that I'm beautiful inside and out even with these scars. And the wrist tattoos remind me to stay strong because I'm a strong woman even with these scars." She says pointing at each tattoo explaining their meanings. "Beautiful, they are really beautiful. You are a strong, smart, and beautiful woman with a slightly explosive personality. You remind me of a lioness who fights for the lives of others" He says.

Raven smiles and looks up into his eyes "I feel like a badass after the shit I've been through with my parents." She says "Everyone has a story, everyone has experienced it somehow" He shrugged Raven smiled and looked at him "Yeah I know with your story you have been through abuse and it makes you a stronger person." She says holding his hand. Daryl shrugs and hides his face behind his hair, blushing furiously. Raven smiles and kisses his forehead, cheek, and his hand. Daryl laughs to himself, "Will you make me blush again?" He tickled her sides. Raven laughs and lays down and pokes his cheek "But it's adorable when you blush Dixon." She says "So funny huh?" He says tickling her harder.

Raven laughs harder rolls around and kicks her feet. Daryl laughs out loud for the first time in a long time. Raven smiles and looks at him and sees and hears him laugh "Wow I never heard you laugh before." She says staring at him as she lays on her side facing him. Daryl shrugs "Because now I have a reason," He says. Raven smiles holds his hand and stares up at him "I'm glad I can be your reason for anything." She says softly "Blushing again" Raven laughs and smiles as she lays there "I love you, Daryl." She says closing her eyes "I love you too" He says. Raven falls asleep smiling. Daryl smiles at the sight of lying on his back and looks up at the stars. Raven smiles peacefully dreaming about her and Daryl getting married. Daryl turns his head toward her, pushes her hair back from her face, and he stares at her calm face.

Raven smiles and is in a deep sleep. Daryl was awakened by Maggie's scream, and he sprang to his feet. "Hide Saviors!" She yells. Raven jumps awake looks around and stands up. and climbs down the ladder quickly and runs to Maggie. Daryl is right behind her "Raven come with me" Raven shakes her head "No Daryl you need to go hide now. Maggie, is it HIM or someone else?" She asks him "I don't know." Maggie shakes her head. "Raven" Daryl groans Raven looks at him and sighs "You and Maggie need to hide. The Saviors think you're dead Maggie, I will handle this." She says "Take care of yourself" He looked at her, pecked her on the lips, and together with Maggie they escaped to the basement and their hideout.

Raven sees that they are hidden and out of sight and goes to the gate and cracks it and looks out to see Simon. "Simon? What do I owe the pleasure?" She asks to be nice knowing that he is not Negan. Simon frowns. "What are you doing here? This is not Alexandria" He says Raven smirks and shrugs "What are you not happy to see me, Simon? We had to check with Hilltop to figure out supplies to put together for Negan." She says, "Have you come to see Daryl?" He asks. Raven frowns and shakes her head "No I thought he would be still captured with you guys." She says acting sad and upset "Somehow I don't believe you, let us in. We'll check it ourselves" He says Raven smiles and opens the gate for them and nods "Be my guest come on in." She says letting them in. Simon waved to people to come in "Imagine your lover decided to leave us." He turned to his people "This place is going to be turned upside down" He said.

Raven looks at him smirks and shrugs "There's not much here except for that idiot Gregory who doesn't know how to lead." She says Daryl was leaning against the wall, his hands clenched into fists. He was shaking inside, he was afraid for her life. Raven follows Simon and keeps an eye on him. "So Negan sent you?" She asks "Yes, Negan is going to flush Alexandria, we'll find him and then he'll regret he's alive," He says. Raven glares at him and shakes her head "Well we don't know where he is." She says seriously Simon stares at her for a long moment shakes his head and marches towards the pantry where Daryl and Maggie are hiding. Raven quickly follows him "You want a snack, I can grab you one." She says as she stands close to the pantry so they can hear her. "I didn't ask you to follow me. I'm not a child," He growled at her and opened the door with a bang.

Raven shakes her head, growls softly, and sees that Daryl and Maggie aren't in there quickly they must have hidden deeper in the pantry. "Well, you act like one with that attitude." She says "Watch your words and maybe you will take the place of your lover," He says. Raven looks at him thinks about it and nods "Well it's not like you guys wouldn't hurt a woman." She says softly as she smirks "Are you asking us to take you?" He asks Raven to take a deep breath and sighs "Yes." She says softly staring at him "Wait what?" Simon frowned "Why do you want us to take you?" He asks. At that moment Daryl stopped, his brain didn't understand what was happening. He felt Maggie's touch on his shoulder to ground him. Raven looks at him and sighs "Even with Daryl out there somewhere after he escaped I would rather take his place than you find him and kill him. I'm sacrificing my freedom for him." She says she knows Daryl is listening but she wants to make sure he wouldn't blow his hiding place.

Simon laughs out loud "Do you think Negan will be satisfied with you and forgive him? I don't know how stupid you must be. Daryl's escape is a disgrace on his honor and he will look for him until he finds him and kills him" He says. Raven looks at him "Don't you think Negan would rather have a woman than a man to keep prisoner maybe use me as a tool to get whatever he wants." She says softly as he stands in the pantry door all the time, Simon is not interested in checking the contents "I don't know what's on your mind, but it's okay if you want." Raven looks at him and looks at him "Why don't you call Negan on your walkie and see what he says." She says "You don't order me to do anything." He growls. "One of you take her to the car and keep an eye on her." He says.

Raven looks at him and gets grabbed by the arm and dragged to the car. She thinks about Daryl. Daryl tightened the sheets tightly and tears flowed from his eyes when Simon closed the door, Daryl started to cry. Raven thinks to herself I'm sorry Daryl I need to do this for you. I don't want you to go through hell or get killed again."Do you get it?" He whispers to Maggie. Maggie shakes her head and hugs him. Raven gets into the car holds herself close and starts crying knowing this will hurt Daryl. Daryl collapses to his knees and weeps, his body shaking. He feels betrayed by the love of my life. Raven cries and covers her face. She didn't want to leave him, she's not betraying him, she's protecting him. Enid came for them as the saviors departed. Raven cried back and forth and repeated, " I'm sorry under her breath.

Daryl falls back on the bed and he stares at his hands. He couldn't believe that the love of his life had broken his heart. He had just confessed his love to her and now she has decided to leave. Raven and the Saviors get back to the Sanctuary and they put her in a cell until Negan gets back. As soon as she gets in the cell she falls to the ground crying and punches the floor. "Daryl, I'm sorry!" She yells to herself. After a few moments, the door opens and a tall figure stands in it. With a bat in his hand "Raven", He says Raven sitting with her back against the wall that was across the door, and once she sees the light coming in she looks up at Negan. "Negan." She says "I didn't believe Simon when he told me you volunteered to be taken," He laughed.

Raven glares at him. "We don't know where he is. He's probably out there in the woods. But I wanted to take his place." She says "Do you think it will change something?" He asks. Raven looks at him "Yeah you can keep me as your prisoner and use me. And in exchange, you don't hurt anybody else in that group. I want you to stop all this." She says looking him dead in the eyes Negan laughs and shakes his head "If you want but it won't change anything" He says Raven looks at him and notices his bat maybe if she takes an interest in him he will be easier on her and the group. "So I noticed you carry that bat all the time. Why is that?" She asks "You're not here to ask questions, you're a prisoner here, and you'll be treated that way too." He says.

Raven sighs and looks at him. She needs to convince him somehow. "So what are you going to torture me, hurt me, rape me?" She questions Negan wrinkling his brow "I don't know what I'm going to do with you yet, but it's going to be hell" He says. "I've lived through hell before so whatever you do will do nothing to me." She says as if she belongs in an insane asylum. Negan stares at her, as does Simon, who doesn't quite understand what's wrong with this woman. Raven smirks and looks at them both "I can help around here and I can kill anything in 5 seconds." She says laughing "What the fuck" Negan crinkles his eyebrows.

Raven smirks and looks at the insane and has her knife in her boot and they don't know. Then she just stood there normally and smiled at them as if nothing happened. Negan walked out the door and locked it. He walks away from the cell, not quite sure what to do with it. Raven smirks and shakes her head and takes her knife out to pick the lock. Daryl sits on the bed and stares at his feet, tears streaming from his eyes the whole time. He didn't even hear someone enter the trailer. Daryl stares up at Rick. "We have to save her because she needs me." He says. "We can't, it's too risky we need to go to The Kingdom to gather more people." He says "Maybe if you saved me sooner they wouldn't have tortured me as they did and they are probably doing the same thing to Raven. But you rather sleep with Michonne." He says. Rick breathes through his nose and walks out of the trailer closing the door behind him. There are tears in his eyes, Daryl was right, instead of saving him, he was lying in bed with Michonne. Raven sneaks out finds a motorcycle and rides away.

Daryl sits on his bed and wonders what he should do. Should he go rescue her or leave her alone now that she's left him? Raven sees a horde and quickly comes to a halt and growls and she goes towards The Kingdom she knows Rick will be there tomorrow. She arrives in front of the Kingdom gates. "Who are you and what do you want?" One of the guards speaks up. Raven looks up at him. "My name is Raven. I'm part of Rick's group. He's at Hilltop and will be here tomorrow. I got captured by Negan and escaped and there was a horde of walkers as I went towards the Hilltop. "How do we know you're not lying?" He asks again. Raven looks at them "I know Carol and I know Daryl escaped from Negan and he's at Hilltop" She says. "Wait there!" One of them aims at you while the other disappears. Raven keeps her hand up and sits on her bike waiting to be let in. The gate door swings open and out from between them comes Carol "Raven?" She wrinkled her brow "What are you doing here?" She asks

Raven smiles at her gets off her bike runs to her and embraces her. "Carol thank god. Daryl is at Hilltop and he escaped from Negan. They came looking for him but I got taken to Negan's place. I escaped and there was a horde going towards Hilltop so I came here. Daryl doesn't know he still thinks I'm captured... God Carol, I feel like I hurt him and betrayed him by sacrificing myself for him." She says tearing up "Slow down Raven, I do not understand what you are saying" She shakes her head "Take the motorcycle and come inside, we will talk calmly." She says. Raven walks with her inside and holds her arm. Carol looked at her out of the corner of her eye and showed her where to put the motorcycle. Then she took her to one of the rooms where they could talk quietly, "Now slow down and relax," she breathed. "I know they took Daryl, and then what?" She asks. Raven walks pacing the room. "Daryl escaped and went to the hilltop. The group and I went to Hilltop and saw Daryl. One of Negan's men comes to the Hilltop looking for Daryl." She says slowly "Mhm, how did you end up with them?" She asks.

Raven looks at her and looks down. "I feel so guilty and I never meant to hurt Daryl. But I sacrificed myself to take his place even though they still didn't know he was there at The Hilltop." She says "What for? I mean ok, you love him and you wanted to sacrifice yourself, but you don't know how Daryl will react." She says Raven looks down holds her bracelet and sighs. "I don't have to, I can feel it. even without seeing his face. I feel like I betrayed him for leaving him I promised I wouldn't leave him.'' She says "Nothing is certain with Daryl, he could have blown half of Hilltop, he could have shut himself away and cried into a pillow, or he could be on his way to Negan." She says. Raven looks up at her once she hears the last part of what she said. "I hope he doesn't go there because he will be killed." She says "I don't know Raven, I have no idea." She says shaking her head.

Raven grips her bracelet and paces the room more grips her hair and starts breathing heavily "You'll stay here tonight, tomorrow we'll try to leave for the Hilltop" She says standing up. "Don't panic, there's a way out of every situation." She says. Raven nodded and sighed knowing she wouldn't get any sleep tonight "Raven, think about it," She breathed, "You can't do things like that to him if you love him, think about how he might feel right now," She grabbed her hand, "Come on, I'll show your room." She says. Raven just stands there staring into a daze and follows her and holds her hand. Negan sat in his room and wondered what was going on with this woman, her mental health had to be out of the ordinary. It was like she had two personalities, but that's not normal. Raven keeps her mental health in check just so she doesn't hurt anybody and gets herself hurt or killed "Negan, we have a problem. Raven has escaped" Simon says looking at the ground. "You can't even keep an eye on a stupid woman. I had big plans for her and you fuckin' screwed up." He says grabbing Lucille.

Raven sits at a window area with the window looking out the window keeping her mind occupied. She doesn't know if Negan will try to kidnap her or not. He probably will. The night passes with Daryl sitting on the steps and staring at the stars. He tries to figure out, how she acted, how she decided, and why she did it. Raven looks out the window staring at the stars wishing she could see Daryl's face hug him hold him, and tell him she's sorry. In the morning Rick comes to him. "It's my fault, I know. I should have saved you instead of waiting. I was just scared. the man is insane" Rick says looking at him "But if it wasn't for that she wouldn't have left. I feel empty." He says.

"We're going to the Kingdom and we'll put a plan together and attack. but I don't know what's next." Rick says. Raven kept her back on the wall staring out the window with her knees to her chest. Not moving, just staring and not leaving that spot at all. Daryl took his motorcycle, sat on it, touched the handlebars, and almost felt her against him. Raven can only think about Daryl when Carol comes to check on her, she notices how she is and can't help but feel sad for her. She knows she loves Daryl, She loves him so much she would do anything to protect him, Rick and the rest of the group set off for the Kingdoms, they took side roads to avoid the Negan's men, and Daryl followed quietly behind them. Raven closes her eyes playing with her bracelet and she turns her wrist reading her tattoo to stay strong.

"Come on, Raven we have visitors" Carol stood in the doorway Raven heard her and looked at her and just stayed where she was because she didn't want to face Daryl just yet Held her knees tightly Carol looked at her and Raven just stared out the window and looks down. She doesn't know how he will be when he sees her again. Daryl follows Rick across the square below her window. He has no idea she's here. Raven holds herself looking out the window and puts her head on her crossed arms on top of her bent knees. Carol walks down to them and immediately approaches Daryl. "She's here" Carol breathed.

Raven signs stands up and goes to open the door through the back the sun is shining bright and it feels warm on her skin she walks around the corner slowly seeing Daryl's back to her but can't see Daryl's face. Carol smiles comfortingly seeing her over Daryl's shoulder. Raven stands there holding one of her arms looking down a little ashamed and glancing up at Daryl, the sun shining into her eyes to make her eyes glow with the sun. Daryl doesn't know if he should yell at her or if he should just hug her. Raven keeps her distance and looks down, closing her eyes and tears come to her eyes as she backs up slowly, she glances at Carol and everybody else just standing there.

Chapter 12

[willandkatealways]

Taken

A/N This is a different kind of Will and Kate fanfic I hope y'all like it.

Kate opened her eyes in the darkness, she had to be strong if she was going to get out of this mess. She knew they would kill her but would wait for the right time so she had to believe there was time. It looked like a warehouse of some kind. Her heart broke for her family. William would be heartbroken and she couldn't bear to think of the children. How long would it be before they killed her?

5 hours earlier

William woke up with Kate curled into him, they both had busy schedules today but these quiet moments made it worth it.

"Good morning sweetheart." He heard her soft whisper.

"Another busy day, should be done by the time the kids are out of school." Will said covering her face with kisses.

Kate sighed as she heard Charlotte running in, "Maybe to tonight." She whispered, "Lottie what have we said about knocking sweetheart?"

"I have to knock and wait to be invited in. But this was important mummy!" Charlotte exclaimed climbing onto the bed.

William chuckled, "Well what is the emergency?" He said tussling her bedhead.

"I'm hungry!" She said rubbing her tummy.

Kate smiled, "Well that is emergency! Are your brothers awake?"

Charlotte giggled as her daddy swung her into his arms, "George is playing in his room and Louis is talking to himself. He's silly."

William heard Maria calling for Charlotte, "Maria shes in here!"

Maria helped with the kids as Kate fixed a quick breakfast, she knew people would be shocked to know that she fixed her children breakfast and fixed lunches.

"You are visiting the children's hospital today correct?" Kate nodded at William as she spooned oatmeal to give Louis.

Maria was faking the children to school this morning so Kate made sure to get hugs and kisses before her team would be here to get her ready. "I love you both! Have fun today and learn lots!"

William finished feeding Louis while Kate got ready. "Just you and me kid." Louis was such a happy baby, he rarely fussed unless he had a dirty diaper but William felt that showed good sense. "Mummy is planning your first birthday, you will get cake and maybe a few presents."

He looked up when Kate walked in, she was wearing a blue overcoat with black heels and a matching hat band. "Louis isn't mummy beautiful?"

Louis looked at her and smiled his baby grin, "mamama"

Kate smiled, "thank you my handsome boys. I have to scoot but give me a kiss. I love you." She said kissing Louis head. She turned to William, "and I love you." She pressed her lips to William's, "I won't be late."

Present

William was outraged, his wife, his Kate had been taken. He would never forget the look on his protection officers face "Repeat." The man had said, his face pale and then those words, "Confirm the swan has been abducted."

William had lunged at the man, screaming at him, no matter that they were in an engagement. "Where is my wife? Where is she?"

And they hadn't known, they had taken him from the engagement and now he was on his way to Buckingham palace for his safety which he thought was crazy, they should be out finding her not worrying whether he stubbed his toe. "My children? Where are they?"

"They have been picked up and are on their way to the palace as well, they do not know."

William nodded and closed his eyes, where was she? Was she scared? If they hurt her, he trailed off he couldn't think that way.

He saw Charlotte talking a mile a minute in his father's lap, George was telling Harry about a spider at school. They were so blissfully unaware. He had to be to be strong for them, he looked around for Louis but didn't see him. "Where is Louis?" Fear clutched at him, what if he had been taken as well, then he saw Megan holding a smiling Louis, "Thank God" he murmured.

Charles forced a smile at his eldest son, "Glad you could join us son, Camillia why dont you take the children outside to play a spell?" He continued smiling as William hugged and kissed his children and ushered them out.

The second all three were out of earshot William exploded, "Where is she? I have to find her, I dont have time to sit around here!"

"Son, I know you are frustrated and upset but we have good men looking for her. You know you have to stay here." Charles tried to explain.

In his 36 years he had never come so close to hitting his father, "You cannot expect me to sit here! She needs me! She could be scared or hurt...or...no I will not lose her!" He felt Harry grab his arm and he shook it off. "Fine, if you won't help me, I will find her myself!"

He hadn't seen his grandmother and the Prime Minister walk in, "William please hear us out and then we will discuss the next steps."

Meanwhile, across town, "She is a pretty woman." The man named Rick ran his hand down her cheek, he took off the gag over mouth.

"What do you want?" She winced at how dry and sore her throat was, she had lost track of how long she had been in the dark warehouse.

"If we had time, a piece of you but we already sent your ring to the Prime Minister, do you think they know you are gone?" He seemed to enjoy taunting her, obviously he was the ringleader. So far she had counted only three men, they hadn't blind folded her, she knew they figured she would be dead before she could identify them.

Her wrists were raw from her trying to free them, "I know they know I am gone as do you." She had seen the news when they had showed her of William being led out of his engagement early, he had his public face on but she had seen the fear in his eyes.

"As soon as they give me what I want I will let you go." He said with a sneer.

"No you won't, you didn't blindfold me so you are planning to kill me. If and when you do, William will make sure you never breathe again." He grabbed her breast and she spat in his face. He slapped her and she tasted blood. She didn't react that's what they wanted.

She had to control her temper and figure out a way out of this mess.

William sat down as his grandmother did, then Teresa May handed him an envelope, "This was sent to me today, there is no way to know who it is from."

He gasped as he touched the ring, the blue sapphire sparkled, he clutched it as he opened the note.

"By now you know that we have the Duchess of Cambridge, give us what we want and she will not be harmed. Release Angus McCoy and she will be retuned. If not she dies."

"Who is Angus McCoy?" William asked, "Wait he was responsible for that bombing a few months back?" Teresa nodded.

William couldn't hear anymore, he didn't want to hear how England does not negotiate with terrorists.

He got up and began pacing, "Do you know where she is? It's been hours."

Elizabeth nodded, "Yes, we have been able to pinpoint her location. Catherine's phone has a GPS tracker, apparently they took it and turned it off but now it's been turned back on. This is most likely a trap but an MI-6 team will go in and see what they can do."

William shot up, "I am going with them Granny, you cannot keep me here!"

Charles started to argue but Elizabeth shook her head, "Very well but you will abide by these rules. You will go in capacity of the pilot, you will not leave that helicopter for any reason. You must remember that other lives are at stake. I have told Captain Simpson that he is in charge and if you do not stay or try to argue he has my permission to handcuff you to the helicopter."

He looked from his grandmother to his father, he had forgotten Harry and Megan were in the room. "I understand, let me say goodbye to the children and I will be ready."

As William went into the garden, Charles turned to his mother, "Are you sure about this? What if he is captured?"

"If something happens to her, he will never forgive himself, he is a grown man and I have a feeling he will do as he's been told. He doesn't have to actually rescue her, but he needs to feel hes done something. " Honestly she wondered if it was a wise decision but Philip had convinced her.

William stood a moment watching them play, he walked to where Louis was crawling on a blanket. Louis looked so much like Kate it took his breath away. Since Louis was only a baby he could be honest. "Sweet boy, mummy is in danger but I am going to get her back. We need her don't we? I just cannot do this alone. I love you pumpkin." He kissed his cheek and gave him a cuddle. "Georgie, Lottie come here please."

"Daddy has to go on a quick trip in the helicopter but I will be back as soon as I can. Be good and help Maria with Louis." He said hugging them both tight.

George looked around, "Where is mummy? She said she would be here when we got home from school."

William hated lying, but he didn't want George to worry. "She was delayed, but she sends her love and will be home soon."

Across town, Catherine lay her phone down, a while ago she had gotten her hands free. They had left her phone out, so she had turned it on knowing the GPS would work. She hoped it was on long enough to get help and then turned it back off. She hadn't dare try to call. She put her hands behind her back as she heard footsteps down the hall. Please God let someone find me, she prayed.

The chopper was ready, William met the team and jumped in the pilot seat. The coordinates showed a warehouse still inside London city limits.

Andrew Simpson watched him, he was there with two more teammates, not a large number but if there Intel was right it was all they needed. He hoped Catherine could hold her own and not go to pieces. "Your highness" he began but was cut off by "You are going to save my wife's life please call me Will."

"Very well, Will tell me about your children? Trust me, right now you are paralyzed in fear for your wife but trust me talking about your children helps." Andrew Simpson had been through similar situations in war.

William nodded and cleared his throat, "My little girl, Lottie, people always say there's a bond between fathers and daughters and I never knew how right they were until we had her. She is our little darling, but dont let her fool you mischievous is her middle name. She is a little mother to Louis, loves to see what he is up to and help Kate with him." He was surprised to feel himself relaxing. "Louis is my baby, he is the happiest boy in the world. He looks so much like Kate. George boy he is a scamp, he really keeps us on our toes has since he was born really tests the limits sometimes but you won't find a bigger heart." He became lost in thought thinking of them, of George bringing home baby animals he swore were lost or hurt and needed care.

As they got close, Captain Andrew Simpson asked him to stay and he nodded as he landed near the warehouse. He had a weapon and knew how to shoot. "If you have a gun give it to her, she is skilled at shooting."

He watched as the team ran towards the warehouse. It killed him to stay but he knew he would be more of a hindrance than a help. Please God she has to be okay.

Catherine heard the gunshots, she tried to get a low as she could. She prayed someone was coming. Rick grabbed her by the hair and yanked her back holding a gun to her head. "I will blow your brains out princess." He sneered.

There was a pop and he fell, she looked in horror as blood poured around him. "Your highness, I am Captain Andrew Simpson, let's get out of here. Will said you could shoot, please carry this. Anything happens keep running when you get outside you'll hear the chopper run to it."

Kate nodded and grabbed her phone, she didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands.

The chopper was in the parking lot next door and she saw with a gasp her husband sitting inside.

Will turned to look, he almost couldn't believe it, he jumped from the helicopter and ran to her, "Kate oh baby thank God you are okay!" He held her in his arms until he realized there was an audience and he needed to get her to safety.

When Catherine woke up she knew she was in the hospital, she heard the beeping from the machine next to her. She looked over and saw William on the phone. When he saw her he hung up, "Hey baby how are you? They are going to release you soon. You have been asleep over 48 hours."

While she had slept William had finally taken a moment to look at her, he saw the bruises on her face and her cut lip. Her wrists were raw and bloody, rage filled him. If the scum wasn't head he would kill him.

Now she was awake and kept watching him, "The children?" He smiled of course she was more concerned about them.

"George knows a bad man hurt you but that I and a team of soldiers rescued you. Charlotte knows you were hurt but okay. Louis is blissfully unaware of anything." Will had told the kids that morning when Pippa had come to stay with Kate.

Tears filled her eyes, "oh Billy I was so scared. I thought I would never see you and the children again." She cried clinging to him.

"I know sweetheart, I was scared too but you are safe now. I love you always." They held one another as dawn broke. The bruises would fade but together they could overcome anything.

A/N hope y'all liked it!

[skiplo-wave]

I sink my bare foot on the soil of land that is filled with rot and microbe. I sing about fingers and coconuts. I taste the winds and rocks. I created a fire and drank ice water. I focus on the sun and fried chicken. I want a sandwich too. I linger in the realm of find and keep. The crystal clear lakes are green. My friends are mean. But I stay clean. Just for me. That take thee to a new degree. Unless I smoke weed. That is new and greed. Tired and free. I can't climb trees. I got aunt name Ree. My arms just flap. I call that whack. I take a snack to the hack. I call dad for the cab. I make seashells sing and clap. Questions and answers. They take time. But I give no dimes. I use to watch vines. Things are changing. But no arrange. We got tictok. But that's mockery, not rockery. Clean up the spilled milk. No deal. We go get a meal. I find a steal. Their eyes are teal. We don't trust those bitches that wear a bunch of rings. We find kings and rust. Tell them to bust. We got corn on the cob drilling and grilling. We going to get tip back as we sip cognac. I got coke too. The soda. Don't think I am fool. They are just tools riding on mules. I rule. My throne is made of oak. Those hating folks jealous over my professional jelling skills in the arts of jello making. Yeah. From the box too. I am a whore for the lime flavor. Clever? We got the lever to to carry the gold to the top where my name drops. I build and grow crops. Machines and paints. We don't relate. But we'll congratulate. It's okay I got cake. We make more in the oven. We got a whole coven of bakers and we here for takers. Watch out I got shakers. I dance with no second chances. I am higher than the sigh of the music you make. You can't take me to the ice cream shop because I fight a mop. Take two. One stool. That's cool. Mary Jane had it's way with me but no games. Scooby snacks be hitting. I find the keys, so we are at ease. I am on my knees barfing in the streets. I got fees and expertise. I can't stop or flop. I chopped sushi with my toes. I swap cards with my rolls. I have gained controls. I am now back in the space with the black holes. I have lost my soul but I am still dancing on poles. I repose and froze. Because I hurt my toe. I am bruise but I ain't bleeding. I snooze and sleep on pain. I paid my dues and blew bubbles among the rubble. They are full of trouble but I still cuddle. I like to jump in puddles. We got jupiter blowing hurricanes to gain and retain the grain. But I remain. You can't take my brain. I can explain. I maintain and obtain. I can campaign. I can drive a train. I can create a chain and still stay in my own lane. I can't complain until I arrive in main. This is is insane. I drank champagne and used profane words. That's just absurd. But I liked the pot stirred. I transferred the herb and blurred. I smoke to much today and got gerd. Goddamn bout to go to sleep to meet the sheep in the dream land called Leap. It's fool of angels and creeps. But I keep hope that the dream won't end that deep. I don't do steep hills. I find a jeep to cheat the heat. I find my voice and speak. The butterflies kiss my cheek. I smile and walked a mile. While they file their hostile hands at me, I'll go to trial. But first I dial and order chamomile them because that's wild. Raspberries and shrimp cocktails is very cherry and merry. I call the tooth fairy. I think she's very scary. I'm wary. But follow me to the fair with the bear. We call the pair to care so we won't have to square. Millionaire, disrepair and tears. I declare. Money doesn't make anyone truly happy. But here. Have a sunny day, honey. We think it's funny because that bunny rabbit is unfunny. Watch the hop for the bop on the head nonstop. Holy shit I found a tick. Call Rick. He's my vet and chick. My only pick. That was quick. I gotta work in the morning but I know I will be late. Don't expect me at the gate. I want to leave state. That would be great.

[flameontheotherside]

Erik helped me sleep off my cold 🥺

I'm doing a little better. Found an old bottle of NyQuil last night with a bear expiration date. I never use the measuring cup lol 😆 so I sipped the last bit and cuddled with him last night watching The Unforgivable on Netflix. It was a very good movie and I recommend it!

Today I woke up spitting out little green men which means I'm doing a lot better. I must have gotten sick from my allergies being so bad or caught it from someone. Who cares? I don't. I just want to feel better so that I can focus on moving. 😆 To be honest I'm enjoying the extra rest and that's what I'm getting. After a good shower, I slept a good deal today too.

I got all comfy in bed wrapped up in my blankets.

Since I was little I love the feel of weighted blankets. My nickname was Linus as a baby because I had this blanket I'd carry around with me all the time. My mom would let it get dirt just to help me develop my immunity but my granny would yell at my mom to wash it. She couldn't even get it out of my hand while asleep. I remember my mom getting frustrated and my uncle teasing her about calling me Linus. Peanuts (Charlie Brown) was my mom's favorite comic and cartoon. Every time she tried to take it away, I'd flip the fuck out.

Back in Florida, I had a huge white comforter I'd wrap around me. Most people have robes and I still have my fluffy pink bath robe. A very nice one too. But that comfortable was always wrapped around me. We kept the condo at 70° all year around. My ex, Vince would call me a bean burrito. Sounds racist but it was appropriate anyway lol 🤣.

It didn't take me long to drift into some sort of meditative state before actually falling to sleep. It wasnt very detailed but I saw us looking different. It was unclear if it was a past life or future life or somewhere in between or nothing at all. I was with him and my heart raced. It was like something out of a movie. I don't want to get into too much detail but it was nice.

My bf woke me up from being at the store.

And I needed to take more medicine. Rick bought some DayQuil and more NyQuil. I'm still tired but I took a sip of DayQuil and I'm about to get some more sleep. I have an oil defuser with peppermint in it on my nightstand. While facing in that direction it's helping me breathe better.

So I'm going to see if I can get more rest before going back to my video game. I'm playing Kingdom Hearts on my PS2 emulator from my computer 😊 which has made me happy because it was a game I almost beat. I want to finally beat a console game but every time I get close, some fuck-shit happens like my computer gets a virus or something goes wrong or I completely forget about the game and lose it somehow.

I still don't want to sing anymore.

It's best I focus on something else for a while. Never in a million years did I think that I'd actually want to stop. Losing the contest to someone without as much talent or experience really devastated me. In spite of how much people back me up, I feel like I've been gaslit pretty fucking hard.... publically. Being bullied fucked up my selfsteem. Singing gave me self esteem and something I was proud of because I worked so hard.

Feeling like the rug was pulled underneath me like that ruined the one thing that made me happy and what I looked forward to. I'm going to focus more on the band project now instead. But going out to sing? Going to a bar? Not so much.

😘💕 I love you guys!

[misslisamiray]

Last but not least, for those of you who prefer doing your fanfic reading right here on Tumblr, Chapter 1 of Down With the Rickness is below the cut.

It was still dark outside when the alarms started going off.

“WARNING! WARNING! INFECTION DETECTED! INFECTION DETECTED!” the AI system blared. The alarms grew louder, red lights flashing. A forcefield formed around the Smith house.

“INFECTION DETECTED! INFECTION DETECTED!” the garage AI repeated.

“Christ, I heard you the first 10 times. Sh-shut up already. You’re gonna wake up the whole house before I can figure out what’s going on.” a semi-awake Rick groaned, punching a button. The alarms and flashing lights continued, but at least the robotic yelling of “INFECTION DETECTED!” stopped.

“I wouldn’t be doing a very good job of warning the family about the danger they’re in if I whispered and let them sleep in until noon, now would I?” the AI pointed out.

“Potential danger! This could be an emergency, or it could be nothing! I never finished setting up this protocol, so I have to figure it out manually. There’s a 50% chance you’ve caused a panic over a bug that got into the house carrying some bacteria on its antennas that’s only harmful to one species of insect. And maybe the unfortunate spider that decides to make a meal out of it. *Cough!* Rick argued, fumbling around under the workbench he’d fallen asleep at.

“I suppose. But wouldn’t that mean there’s also a 50% chance this is an actual emergency? One with potentially devastating consequences if this virus or bacteria manages to escape the quarantine forcefield?”

Rick, having found what he was looking for – a small, orange-red cube that was pulsating and flashing in unison with the alarms – stared at the ceiling dumbfounded for a few seconds. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, he stammered, “J-Jesus, you d-don’t have to jump straight to the worst possible scenario! At least not until there’s evidence pointing to that being likely. There’s, there’s endless possibilities between a false alarm and a doomsday virus!”

Fiddling with the cube until a keyboard and five smaller cubes popped out of it, he paused, then continued, “Yes, I know I started the whole th-thing with the percentages and the likelihood of whatever this is being nothing versus the likelihood of it being a crisis. J-just nevermind that, okay? For the record, since I don’t hear screams of agony coming from the rest of the family, and I’m not *Urp!* oozing bodily fluids from any orifices, I’d wager we’re dealing with a low to moderate risk organism. *Cough!* * Cough!* Now, can you please kill the lightshow so I can identify it and figure out an appropriate course of action?”

“Very well. Entire household has been alerted to potential danger. All are currently approaching. Alarms off. Quarantine forcefield will remain in place until threat level can be further assessed.” the AI relented. True to her word, the blaring alarms and flashing lights stopped, but the glowing red dome surrounding the house stayed up.

“Fucking finally. Remind me to decrease the volume on that alarm by at least 30% and maybe dim the lights between 15-22% when I finish setting up this damn protocol. Ugh. Right now, I have to complete the analysis manually, and you’re gonna buy me time to do that before anyone else gets in here. Computer, activate *COUGH!* Maze Delay, Level 2.” Rick instructed, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand and pressing a series of commands on the keyboard with the other.

“The maze? Really? You do know that if I had eyes, I would be rolling them at you sooo hard right now?” the garage scoffed.

“Look, even I think the maze is a cliché, hack move. Not my proudest work, not by a l-longshot. But I needed a non-lethal deterrent for times like this, and Beth made me deactivate the Floor is Lava setup. It’s called a compromise, okay?! Just put the goddamn maze up!” Rick griped, continuing to press seemingly random commands on the keyboard in front of him. The flashing red X’s on the screen showed that he’d entered the wrong sequence. Again.

“Fine. Activating Maze Delay, Level 2. This should keep the family from entering the garage for between 2 and 10 minutes.” the AI informed Rick.

“That *SNIFF!* fast?! Last time it took 3 hours! Oh, right. Nobody was home except Jerry and that raccoon that got in the attic. Jerry just kept walking in circles, ‘til he started following the raccoon and got here a few minutes later.” Rick muttered, adding, “Doesn’t matter. I only need 1 minute, tops. If I can just get past this step…”

“PASSWORD INCORRECT! One more attempt before lockout.” the holographic computer screen in front of him announced. It was now flashing 4 bright red Xs, one for each incorrect sequence Rick had tried to input. Another alarm started going off.

“Seriously?! Why the fuck did I make every part of this system so flashy and loud? Uggghhh, my head. Why can’t I concentrate on *AHCHOO!* this enough to get to the next part? I know I purposely made this as uncomplicated as possible in case I had to operate it while I was… Shit.” Rick complained, the realization hitting him like a ton of bricks.

______________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, the rest of the family was trying to get to the garage. The walls and floors moving and shifting as they transformed into a maze were proving to be a challenge, or at least a nuisance.

“Okay, s-so this corridor here where the living room was is the fastest way there, right? We make a right turn here?” Morty asked.

“Uh-uh. Left turn. But wait ‘til that wall goes back another 3 feet. 2… 1… now!” Summer instructed, pushing her little brother forward. Beth and Jerry followed closely behind.

“I know I’m going to regret asking this, but what would have happened if we took the wrong turn there, and would I still have a mouth to ask that question?” Jerry asked, tightening his hold on the golf club he was carrying.

“It’s only the Level 2 maze, Dad. If it were the Level 3, well, I don’t think you can die in it, but it’s pretty easy to lose a limb. The worst that can happen in this one is you end up on the roof or stuck in the plumbing. B-t-w, if you don’t want to take a trip to toilet town, jump over that step that just came through the floor, look up at the ceiling for exactly 5 seconds, and make a sharp right turn now.” Summer replied. Everyone followed her instructions, Beth pulling Jerry along.

“Jerry, why do you have a golf club?” Beth asked.

“Because I got woken up at 4:00 A.M. by a very loud alarm and figured it was an intruder. I’m preparing to protect my family.” Jerry explained, proudly raising the club.

“Dad, did you not also hear the part about it detecting some kind of infection? What, were you planning to putt some space germs out of the house with that?” Summer scoffed.

“Well, it’s more than any of you brought, isn’t it?”

______________________________________________________________

Back in the garage, Rick finally entered the correct sequence into the computer.

“Initializing health analysis, Stage 1. Searching for infected individual.” it droned. Four of the smaller cubes floated off to find the rest of the family, while the fifth hovered above Rick’s head.

______________________________________________________________

“Okay, we’re on the ceiling, and now there’s ominous floating cubes. The sun isn’t even up, and there’s ominous floating cubes. Beth, can’t you talk to your dad about sci-fi shenanigans only occurring  during more reasonable hours? No turning the house into a shape-shifting maze before 9:00 A.M. sounds like a good place to start.” Jerry complained as the cubes approached. Each floated over to a different family member (all of whom were, in fact, floating upside down in midair near the ceiling).

“Now Jerry, this could be an emergency. My father can’t control when those happen.” Before Beth could say anything else, the four cubes simultaneously (and loudly) went off.

“Analyzing subject: Beth Smith!”

“Analyzing subject: Summer Smith!”

“Analyzing subject: Morty Smith!”

“Analyzing subject: Jerry Smith!”

“That being said, if this isn’t an emergency, yeah. 100% agree. This bullshit needs to be contained to normal business hours.” Beth continued, shouting to be heard over the loud, flashing cubes.

“How do we get down from here, Summer? I think something’s really wrong, and we need to get to Rick.” Morty asked, starting to worry.

“So you admit you don’t know the downstairs maze as well as you thought, and you should have listened when I said to take 1 step forward and 2 steps back?” Summer prodded.

______________________________________________________________

“Analyzing subject: Rick Sanchez!” the fifth cube boomed.

______________________________________________________________

“Yes! Yes! I thought you were just saying r-random shit from some 1980’s pop song to be sarcastic, but of course Rick programmed nonsense like that into the stupid maze. I should’ve stayed in my lane – I helped Rick with the upstairs part, he and Mom made those stairs that lead nowhere, or to m-more stairs, or wherever the fuck those go, and you helped build the downstairs maze. I shouldn’t have second guessed you. Now get us down!” Morty stammered. Just then, the cubes sounded off in unison again.

“Analysis complete. Subject: Summer Smith. Status: Normal.”

“Analysis complete: Subject: Morty Smith. Status: Normal.”

“Analysis complete: Subject: Beth Smith. Status: Normal.”

“Analysis complete: Subject: Jerry Smith. Status: Normal, just stupid.”

“Really? Even in the middle of an impromptu weird flashing cube exam, Rick still has to insult me?” Jerry sighed as the cubes hovered back to the garage.

______________________________________________________________

“Analysis complete. Subject: Rick Sanchez. Status: INFECTED! INFECTED! INFECTED!” the fifth cube announced, setting off a new alarm.

“Yeah, big *COUGH!* *COUGH!* shocking reveal right there. Nobody could’ve seen that one coming. *Sniff!* Now to find out what I’m dealing with.” Rick grumbled, grabbing the flashing, blaring cube. A small needle popped out to draw a few drops of blood from his finger.

“Beginning analysis Stage 2: Identifying infection type.” the AI stated.

“Oh shit. Yeah, we need to get down stat. Mom, you kick the ceiling exactly 1 foot and 5 inches to your left. Morty, you move 4 and a half inches closer to me, close your eyes and back up 1 step. Dad… think soft thoughts and hang onto your golf club, I guess.” Summer instructed.

“Infection type: Viral. Virus origin: Earth”

“Really? Well, that *ACHOO!* narrows it down, at least.”

“Contagion level is high, but risk posed by infection is low. Beginning final virus identification now.”

______________________________________________________________

“Summer, could, could you just disarm the entire maze this whole time?!” Morty asked as they got closer to the garage. Summer nodded.

“And you didn’t do that from the start why?!”

“Because, dumbass, Grandpa Rick clearly wants to keep us out for a while, and I’m trying to respect that. Plus, he was super drunk when he gave me that code and the one to turn the Level 2 maze into the Level 3, so he wasn’t sure which was which.” Summer explained.

“Yeah, that checks out.” Morty sighed, at the same time Beth said, “Makes sense.”

“Really? What part of any of this makes sense?!” Jerry asked, staring at Beth.

“Okay, okay. It is a little much. Let’s deal with whatever the hell is causing these alarms, and once that’s over I’ll talk to my dad about toning down the maze.” she conceded.

______________________________________________________________

“Analysis complete. Infection identified. Displaying test results now.” the AI system said. A detailed analysis of its test results appeared on the computer screen in front of Rick.

“WHAT?! Seriously?! You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! This?! *Cough!* Fucking this?! I don’t have time for this kind of bullshit!” he complained, punching the workbench in frustration.

“Infection identified as: a common strain of rhi-”  the computer began.

“Stop! It’s *COUGH!* right there in front of me. You don’t need to say it out loud. Now stop the alarms and take down the *Sniff!* forcefield. That is clearly overkill for just…” Rick snapped, the last part of what he was trying to say getting cut off by a series of loud coughs.

“Fine. Ending quarantine protocol. Forcefield is down and all alarms are off. Maze has been disabled. Family incoming in 3, 2…”