Five years ago.

Aaron looked at me amused "Another sleepover? "

I nodded "mhm. Yeah... Judith loves them."

Scott walked to me "morning"

Me "morning"

We walked up the front porch.

I knocked on the door and it cracked open. Some parents were here to pick up their kids.

We walked in.

I asked confused "Jocelyn?Judith? "

Scott "Marcus? "

-

We walked out and looked around.

Scott called out "Marcus! Where you at, buddy? "

Michonne walked to us, confused "what's wrong?"

I called out "Judith!"

Scott "Ken!"

Jon was dead on the ground.

Frankie rushed to us "Something's wrong. The infirmary was raided. "

A trail of blood lead to the sewers.

My stomach dropped.

Now. Night. At Negan's cell.

Me "Has Judith been down here today? "

Negan "You just curious, or... "

I sighed "Just answer the damn question, I don't want to be here longer than necessary "

Negan walked to the bars and leaned against them "why? There was a time you came down here on regular bases. Well, these are not the only times you came but.."

I growled "you got something say, Negan"

Negan "I don't. But you have something to say...to Daryl"

I raised an eyebrow "do i? And what?"

Negan "that we consummated the marriage "

Me "are you threatening me?"

Negan shook his head "I'd never. But just to be clear? Do we tell him or do we not?"

I nodded, clenching my jaw "one word from you to Daryl or anyone else and I promise that what you did to Glenn is nothing compared to what I will do to you. Don't forget that the only reason you're still breathing is because of my dad and because we have a council now and I am not allowed to decide shit on my own now"

Negan just looked at me.

Then I turned around to leave.

Negan "I haven't seen her. Not since yesterday. "

I turned to him " the hell does she talk to you about, anyway?"

Negan smirked " So now you're curious. "

I just looked at him "I am not in the mood, Negan, for real"

Negan shrugged "Nothing, really. - Um, just chit-chat. "

Me "Specifics... "

Negan "Homework, sometimes. Other times, how much she misses her Uncle Daryl. "

I looked down.

Negan "She likes hearing stories about her dad. - And Carl. "

Me" So you feed her bullshit. I mean, you have to since you don't know shit about my father and about my brother"

Negan "your little sis would smoke out the bullshit, you know that. I let her know that she's just as much a badass as Carl was. How he got into the Sanctuary and shot up a bunch of my men. How dear ol' dad ninja-sliced my jugular. They're all old stories, wifey, - but they are new to her. "

Me "And you tell her these things why? Because you're trying to earn some sort of trust with her? Something that you can use? "

Negan "She likes listening to me talk. "

I scoffed " You like hearing yourself talk."

Negan " So we have that in common. The point is, she comes down here to talk to me because I shoot straight with her. And now, maybe if you did that, you'd be talking to her right now instead of me. "

I asked amused and pissed off „You shoot straight? Really? Did you tell her what you did to Glenn? To Abraham? To her Uncle Daryl? To her own sister? Did you tell her how you forced me to be your wife?"

He didn't say shit.

I nodded "Yeah, I didn't think so."

Negan „I've always been honest with her. She asks questions, and I answer them. So, yeah, she's heard those stories, too. "

I sighed" This some... "

Negan "She hates that Michonne's not letting new people in. She thinks that things should be like Carl thought they should be in the letter that he wrote to her. "

I slammed my hand against the bars "No, you don't get to talk to me about Carl! And you definitely don't get to tell me what she wants or feels! She is my sister! "

Negan stood up "That is exactly right. She is your sister, so she has her own ideas about how things should be."

He eyed me "Oh, you didn't come down here because you're curious. You came down here because you have no idea where she is. Maybe she's off petting a horse. Or maybe she is exactly like her sister, and she is not taking shit lying down. Besides, that, she left this for you"

he handed me a note.

I read it "Kenny, i am sorry. But our friends need help. Judith"

I sighed.

5 years earlier.

Daryl, Michonne and i were walking through the woods trying to find the kids.

I sighed.

Daryl " Let's take a break.I"

Michonne sat down on a swing.

Daryl " I know you wanna be out here. But you got a baby, you know? "

Michonne sighed.

Daryl "We'll find her. We will. "

Michonne shook her head "I can't believe this. She was a friend, you know? Like, a real one. We went through everything together... Figuring out who we were gonna be. Heartbreak...Losing my mom... I wanted her to be that again, you know? I needed it. I let my guard down, and now..."

I shook my head " Hey. This ain't on you. Not even a little. "

Michonne "I should've known, Ken. I should've sensed something. "

Daryl "You didn't 'cause you ain't like her. Some people just got so much evil in their hearts, and they hide it, like they're wearing a mask or something. Nah. This is on her, and she'll pay. We'll find 'em. We will."

She stood up „We should keep moving. "

Daryl and i walked into an elementary school.

There were a bunch of kids in the hallway aiming at us.

Me "Michonne?"

Michonne „Where are my kids? "

Linus aimed an arrow at me "Drop 'em. "

Michonne "Just tell me that they're safe."

Linus fired but Daryl moved in front of me and the arrow hit him in the shoulder.

He fell to the ground in front of me.

Linus "I said. Drop it."

Michonne „Okay. Okay. "

Daryl groaned in in pain. Suddenly everything wen black.

-

Michonne, Daryl and i were each tied to pipes. We were gagged.

Winnie "she's awake. "

Linus walked to me with a hot iron shaped X.

Jocelyn "go on, Linus, be strong"

Suddenly he pressed the iron on my hip and i cried out in pain.

Daryl went crazy next to me.

I lost some tears.

Then they walked to Daryl and did the same with him.

He cried out.

Jocelyn" Well done, Linus. "

Linus "The strong survive."

Jocelyn „And thrive. "

The kids walked away.

Jocelyn "I told you, children are capable of anything. I taught them, helped them become what we are. Because they can't be soft. Not now. Not like I was..."

Michonne pressed out "Where is she?! "

Winnie walked to Michonne with the Iron.

Jocelyn „Control it, Winnie. Don't let it control you. "

Winnie held the iron on Michonne's skin and burned her.

Michonne screamed out.

Now. on a field

I got off my horse when i saw Judith's bike standing there. A bunch of walkers were also here.

I froze "no"

5 years ago.

Daryl managed to free himself first and knocked out one of the kids.

Then he freed me and Mich " All right."

Michonne breathed out in pain "we should split up"

Daryl nodded "I'm gonna tie him up"

Michonne nodded and walked upstairs.

--

I heard Michonne screaming and rushed out.

Jocelyn was there dead on the ground.

Michonne had a act on her belly. she was also killing some of the kids that were attacking her. Now we also have to kill children, I hate what this world has become.

I saw Winnie disappearing into the trailer.

Me "Winnie"

she walked to the door with a raised knife.

Me "Winnie, stop it. It's not worth it"

She looked at me before running away.

Me "Judi. Judi"

She showed up in the door and rushed over to me "Kenny"

I picked her up and she hugged me "baby, hey"

Michonne walked to us and hugged her.

the rest of the kids rushed out of the trailer.

Daryl walked to them and hugged them.

Judith "are we going home?"

I nodded and hugged her.

Now.

I was killing off every walker when i saw Judith killing one.

I breathed out relieved "Judi"

Judith killed the walker and looked at me.

Suddenly one grabbed her.

Judith yelled "Kenny, Kenny help! help! no!"

I threw my knife at the walkers head and he died.

Judith ran to me and hugged me.

I picked her up and hugged her back"you okay, baby?"

She nodded "yeah"

I kissed her forehead "thank god. We need to talk. "

-

Me "I was standing right there, and it was like you didn't know me. For a second, I thought... I thought I was too late. I thought... that you'd changed and that I'd lost you. "

Judith shook her head "You didn't look like you. Because of the blood. But then I saw it was you. And I was happy you'd found me. "

I froze "You remember that? What else? "

Judith "Jocelyn. Her kids. They were nice to us the whole time. I remember they made it all seem like a game, so we went with them. But she was a bad person. They all were. It's why you did what you did."

Me „All this time, I thought you didn't remember. I hoped you didn't. And you... You never said anything after that first year. "

Judith "Because it made you and Mommy sad. "

I sighed "What I've done at home... I thought you didn't understand because you didn't know. But you did. So how the hell are we here right now?"

Judith " Our friends need our help."

I sighed „ it's not that simple. "

Judith nodded "Yes, it is. You're my sister. You love me, and I love you. I do. And loving someone means doing whatever it takes to keep them safe, right? But when did we stop loving Aunt Maggie?"

Her voice broke " Aunt Maggie? Carol? The King? When did we stop loving uncle Daryl?"

I looked down before shaking my head " We... We didn't. "

Judith asked hurt "Then why does it feel that way? "

At Alexandria. At Carl's grave.

Me "Dad and I dug this together. And that day, standing right here, I made a promise to never bury another child again. But then dad was gone... and I was... lost. And then you were lost. And I was scared. More scared than I have ever been before, or since. And I wasn't the only one. So we decided to make this place only about the people who lived here. And that's not what Carl or dad gave their lives to create, but it kept you and RJ safe. That's what I wanted. That's what Michonne wanted for her kids. You were right. We have to protect the people we love. All the people we love. And we will. "

Judith grabbed my hand and nodded.

In the woods. On the road. In the horse carriage.

Judith looked at the little cut on her arm "Do you think it'll leave a scar?"

Me "No. But it's okay if it does. You know what i once told Carl?"

She shook her head.

Me "after he got shot at the farm- i've told you that story."

She nodded.

Me " I told him that he shouldn't worry about it leaving a scar"

Judith asked confused "why?"

Me "Because girls dig them"

Judith "and guys?"

Me "first of all, you should not worry about what guys think of you. You're too young and you don't need a guy. Besides that good luck with convincing Uncle Daryl to let you see boys. But the right guy will love you for who you are. Scars tell stories. You'll always be reminded of what happened, but you will also remember and realize that you survived"

Judith "Does Uncle Daryl love your scars?"

I nodded "your uncle Daryl has some of his own. But yeah, i think so"

Then I made the horses stop "who whoa whoa"

Daryl, Henry and Lydia showed up.

Judith teased "Anyone headed to Kingdom?"

Daryl looked at me and i looked at Judith.

He patted Judith on the shoulder before they got into the car