"Make sure you've got something worth dying for."
~Rosita Espinosa
No one wanted to acknowledge what was presented on the table.
As soon as Rick had laid the objects down, their eyes shifted up, down, left, and right; just anywhere but at the table.
"Why did you bring these here?" Rosita had her hand to her mouth and her head turned away from Rick.
"Netanya had these. She stole them from Glenn..." He answered, looking around the room, digesting each response his friends gave him. They continued to look away, feeling as though if they even made eye-contact with the bats, a horrible truth would be revealed. They wanted to deny the ominous air that had been brought in with the January winds.
"I know you've heard the whispers," Rick looked deeply at Michonne, but was addressing this to everyone in the room.
"He would never do that," Michonne finally lifted her head towards the table.
"Yeah, these women are just looking for a scapegoat," Tara quipped.
"Then why can't you all bring yourselves to look at me...or the table?" Rick's question made everyone tense up even more.
"You sound like you believe those women," Rosita spat, turning to face Rick. "What do they know about Glenn-about us?"
"I think it's worth looking into. See what Glenn has to say about all this," Rick continued, searching within him to find why exactly he wanted to partake in this. Why investigate the claims of a murderous and strange group of women who have wanted to kill his people at one point?
"These women... they've done nothin' but stir up trouble," Abraham thought aloud. "They shouldn't stay a minute longer here."
"We can't just kick them out," Gabriel glanced worriedly at Rick. "Even if they are doing all this, that isn't who we are, Rick."
Rosita scowled; the memory of what happened that night at Oceanside overwhelming her. She had tried so hard to forget the scent of blood and smoke, finding this solution in a bottle and destroying her liver in the process. She hated the Oceanside women and wanted them out of Alexandria. But she hated herself for being the reason they were here, and for keeping what she knew since that night a secret from Rick.
"Glenn didn't do anything," She firmly lied. At that moment, she didn't believe she was lying. She firmly wanted to believe Glenn was not the monster the women painted him out to be; that what she saw that night was all a dream. A terrible, deceitful dream. "I was there that night and he was with me the whole time. Why aren't they accusing me then? Why just Glenn?" Rosita strode over to Rick slowly. "You know why. You know how they are. They already have something against men, thinking they're all evil. They can't be trusted."
"What do you propose we do then?" Aaron asked, wanting to get past these ridiculous rumors. "Have a trial or something? Prove he's guilty or not." He only meant this jokingly, but Rick thought otherwise.
"...Yeah, I think that we should." Immediately everyone started shouting at Rick's response.
"Are you pulling my leg?!" Abraham exclaimed.
"Dad, you're not a sheriff anymore!" Carl crossed his arms over his chest.
"We couldn't do that to him, Rick!" Michonne pleaded.
"I didn't mean that! I was-I wasn't serious," Aaron startled.
"It's not right!" Gabriel raised his voice for once in his life.
"Is he some kind of war criminal now?!" Rosita couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Then we would have to have trials for all of us!" Tara proclaimed.
"We want to rebuild, right? This is how we do it. The new world needs a justice system," Rick's past livelihood called back to him as he thought of this 'trial.'
"Who would even be the jury?" Abraham looked outraged at the idea, feeling as if this was unfair to his friend. "Sure as hell couldn't be those women."
"It would be us, this council," Rick was vividly beginning to imagine this in his mind. How it would all go down, but of course it would all go awry as did most of his plans.
"This makes no sense. Do you want him to be guilty?" Tara brought her hand to her temple.
"No! I want him to...I believe it must go this way so he will have a fair and just trial," Rick answered, gauging their responses once again. They didn't seem too keen on this proposal- at all.
"Then we have to have everyone here..." Michonne stated hesitantly.
"You haven't even asked Glenn if he did it or not and you're already..." Carl walked off, disgusted with his dad's sense of justice and morality.
"He's right, You're already thinking Glenn is guilty," Tara shook her head, following Carl.
"He's one of us. He's been with you from the beginning, he saved you," Michonne whispered angrily. "And you just abandon him like that. How many times did we defend you? When did we ever abandon you? I know Maggie didn't that time against the Alexandrians."
"Michonne, that's not at all what I want to do. I just want to do what's best for the commu-" But she had already left before Rick could finish his sentence.
Gabriel looked at Rick regretfully before leaving. One by one everyone exited, too upset to even consider an option like this.
This left only Abraham, Rosita, and Rick.
"You're better than this. Negan's philosophy messed you up," Abraham turned towards the door.
"No, but this is how civilization works. How it always has," Rick felt hopeless at that moment.
"I am a firm believer in justice. But this... This ain't justice," Abraham finally left, disappointed in his leader.
Rick could only go to his window, forgetting temporarily Rosita was still there. She had her back propped against the wall, watching him silently.
Rick looked down at the street below his house; his mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. He didn't blame the group for feeling this way. It did seem like he was siding with the Oceanside women over his longtime friend.
A sharp ache came across his heart at Michonne's words, remembering Maggie and all she had done for him.
And how was he honoring her?
By wanting to put her husband, who had been through intensive trauma and grief, on trial over spiteful rumors.
"She should be here...leading these people... with Glenn and her child," He muttered sorrowfully.
"But you're here now," Rosita said from behind him. "I've been lying to you...to myself," She approached Rick; the latter wiping his eyes free of tears.
"I was just so angry. With Negan, with the situation we were in...With myself. I kept quiet because I knew we didn't need any more problems. But even then, I was angry with Glenn for what he did," Rosita let her secrets be known to Rick and she did not stop.
"Glenn wasn't there the whole night. I woke up to find him missing... I thought someone or something had gotten him. But then he came back and I knew something was wrong. He seemed almost robotic... that's not like him to not have any emotion. I could smell smoke and-and blood on him. Then I saw the stains... they were all over his clothes... and I knew he had done something bad..."
Rick listened intently as she went on, wanting to hold onto every word she said.
"I had seen him hide something in the car... I never knew what it was... But when I asked about the stains and smell, he started crying. And what he said next still haunts me..."
"What did he say?" Rick looked at her deeply, preparing himself for a truth that had been a long time coming.
"What he did was for all of us. Rick, I'm sorry, I should have told you from the beginning. I wanted to, but we had more important problems..." Rosita lowered her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. The shame and guilt that had been repressed had finally released.
Rick slowly let this revelation flow through his being; accepting that the accusations were indeed true.
He let his hand wipe her tears away, lifting her head up as he did this. Their eyes met for a few seconds before he leaned into her, pressing his forehead onto hers.
"I understand why you didn't... Thank you for telling me now," He whispered.
She relished in the comfort of their proximity. "Glenn's still a part of our family... what he did.. I would have done too if it came to that."
Rick remained silent, thinking of what he should say or if he should pull away from her. But her mouth was already on his, offering him a gentle kiss.
The world was still.
Time had slowed.
Everything was right in Alexandria.
And their heartbeats were the only sound that could be heard in this moment.
She wasn't sure why she did this, she felt she would never again get a moment like this. However, the realization of her actions caused her to back away. She felt foolish, thinking Rick would react badly to this sudden affection.
But he only blinked at her and smiled softly, wanting to continue
"Ricckkkk?" Abraham's jaw was slack from what he had just witnessed.
"Shit!" Rosita turned towards Abraham, expecting him to confront Rick. Rick broke his embrace, embarrassed at the situation he found himself in.
"Don't even start, Abraham!" She glared at the redhead, before pushing him aside.
"I just came to tell you I was going to visit Sasha..." Abraham said, dumbfounded.
~
Rosita was on a collision course with anyone who stood in her way. She marched down the street, attracting the attention of several people nearby. Tara was on her patio, rocking in a chair when she saw her visibly vexed friend.
Tara leaped out of the chair, running hurriedly over to see what was going on.
"Hey! What's wrong?" Tara asked, breathlessly.
"Rick and-" Rosita closed her mouth, thinking maybe she shouldn't say anything about what just happened. It was between her and Rick, and no one else needed to know. What had happened did not need to be ruined further.
"What did Rick do?" Tara looked concerned, placing a hand on Rosita's shoulder. But Rosita already had her gaze fixed on the two people heading towards her.
Dwight and Sherry.
"What's been going on around here?" Sherry looked at Tara and Rosita with puzzlement. "We've noticed something has been happening...but no one's told us what..."
"Why would we tell you?" Rosita snarked.
"Because we live here too. We have a right to know," Dwight spoke up before Sherry could.
"You might live here, but you're not- and never be part of this community," Rosita scowled. "You lost that right a long time ago."
"Without Sherry or me, your community would still be working for The Saviors!" Dwight shouted, fed up with her attitude.
"Without you, people would still be alive! Daryl, Maggie...." Rosita turned her head towards Tara. "Denise." The injury struck not only Dwight, but Tara as well. The memory of her girlfriend's short life brought her to tears, recalling how much she cared for her.
"...Rosita...I was once with the enemy too..." Tara stated weakly.
"Yeah? But you didn't screw shit up for everyone by eagerly being Negan's little bitch," Rosita balled her hands into fists. "You're past redemption, Dwight. The moment you shot that arrow-"
"Shut up! I know what I did!" Dwight growled.
"...What did you do?" Sherry looked at her husband, afraid of his answer.
"Sherry, you know I had to do some awful things. But-" Dwight pleaded, before being interrupted.
"But you shot an arrow from Daryl's crossbow into Denise's eye in front of Daryl and me. An arrow meant for Daryl. You stole so many things from Daryl like the bike you forced me to retrieve. You trapped Daryl, Glenn, Michonne, and me before taking us to that lineup," Rosita steadied her voice from yelling, something that proved to be even more menacing.
"....You never told me how she died," Tara finally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably into her hands.
Sherry could only look at her husband in horror. "I knew you did some awful things... I did too. But look what you've become... because of me," Her voice started to crack. "You've killed and become everything you didn't want to be..."
"Honey, that's not true," Dwight tried to gather her into his arms, but she pushed him away, devastated about what she just learned.
Rosita could look on with a hardened gaze, muttering, "I wish Eugene would have bitten your nuts off.."
Dwight immediately turned towards Rosita and charged at her with a violent fury. However, due to her extensive training, she dodged his attack and punched him straight across the face.
Dwight fell back, while Tara tried restraining Rosita. Sherry, still loyal to her husband, went to his side immediately.
"Bitch," Dwight rubbed his jaw, while Sherry glared at the woman who had punched him. She was about to tell her off when Rick came running up to them.
"Alright. This ends now. I don't care what happened as long as it's over," He glowered severely at the couple. "We have a bigger problem right now, which I'm heading over to fix. So get up, get bandaged, and everyone else can get lost."
~
No. No. No.
Not this again.
Glenn struggled to get up from his knees, but he couldn't. It was as if his arms and legs were tied down by an invisible force. As was his group around him.
They had a full view of an even more terrifying Negan. This Negan was a bloody and decaying monstrosity; barely recognizable to be human. In his hand, was an equally bloody and cracked Lucille.
"You thought you could escape me? You thought you could escape this?" Negan taunted, pointing his bat down at Glenn.
"Face it, boy. You ARE ME!" Negan bellowed.
As soon as he shouted that, extreme heat and pain shot through Glenn's body. It felt like his skin was melting. Like his head was being bashed in.
A hoarse shriek erupted from Glenn's mouth; the only sound he could make from his suffering.
"What you did to those poor women, to poor Gregory, to my poor Saviors. It was all for the greater good, right? " Negan's grin widened as Glenn's agony intensified.
"You think you're some sort of hero? Some sort of savior? Is that what your conscience tells you to help you sleep at night? " Negan pressed Lucille down onto Glenn's shoulder deeply.
"But you know the difference between me and you? I wasn't weak. I commanded respect. I earned my place at the top of the food chain!" Negan discarded Lucille to the side suddenly, grabbing Glenn's face between his fingers and pulling him close to his own.
Glenn shut his eyes tightly, squirming at this unbearable torment.
But then the rough, leathered touch turned into a soft, gentle one.
When he gathered enough courage to finally open his eyes again, he saw his wife. She looked just like the day he met her; beautiful and smiling.
"Maggie," He whispered, hardly believing what stood in front of him.
"Us humans are so weak, aren't we?" Her bright green eyes glowed, gazing lovingly at him.
"We give up, we run away, we lie, we kill, we turn on each other so easily." Her hands wiped away every stray tear that ran down his face. "We fail to protect the ones we love."
"But it's our love for others... for people who don't deserve it... that redeems us. That makes us strong. It was my love for you that allowed us to create such a beautiful child."Â She brought his hands to her stomach, placing hers on top of his.
"You're strong, Glenn. Stronger than you give yourself credit for. I've always known you were. That's why I fell in love with you," Maggie brought her mouth closer to his, murmuring her calming words.
"I can't be strong anymore!" Glenn sobbed, shaking with each breath he took. "I only could because I had you!"
"Then look to the past. Remember the times we spent together on the farm. In the prison. On the road. In Alexandria." She leaned her heard into the crook of his neck. A calmness filled him as the scenery changed to their days on the farm. A place where he had been the happiest.
"Know that I never lost my love for you."
The knocking on the door woke up Glenn from his slumber. He groaned, feeling a dull pain in his heart.
He remembered being in great sorrow in his dream, but he couldn't remember anything else. Only that it had shaken him to his core.
"Hold on, I'm coming!" He called out as he dashed down the stairs. He opened the door to find a disgruntled Rick on his doorstep.
"May I help you?" Glenn asked, baffled as to why Rick was here so serious-looking.
"Can I come in?" Rick raised his eyebrow expectedly.
"Sure," Glenn stepped aside, leading Rick to the den.
"I'm just gonna cut to the chase and ask you upfront. Have you heard the rumors about you?" Rick sat down on the sofa, never breaking his gaze from Glenn.
"...Yeah, I have," Glenn scratched the back of his head, knowing exactly where this was going.
"Can you deny them?"
"Rick, seriously? You know me. You really believe I would do something like that?"
"I don't, but I just wanted to make sure. But you still haven't answered the question."
"...No, of course I didn't do that," Glenn answered, cracking a smile. "That's insane," He started to laugh, causing Rick to do the same.
"I know right? Once I heard, I told myself Glenn would be the last person to do that!"
"Exactly!" The pair continued laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Rick shifted a little in his as his laughter died down, showing a metallic object attached to his belt.
Glenn's laughter immediately quieted when he saw the handcuffs, but he acted like he hadn't noticed them.
"So what were you going to do if I had admitted to these rumors?" Glenn asked incredulously.
"Well, I was planning to have a trial of sorts. Take you down to the church and hear you confess to the council, made up of myself and our closest friends."
"Then-" Glenn's mouth snapped shut as the memory of his dream was recalled to him. His eyes began to water and he started to tremble at what his wife had told him.
"I'm sorry..." He whispered, dropping his head. "I'm not the man you love... not anymore."
"What?!" Rick leaned in closer to hear what Glenn was talking about.
Glenn slowly raised his head; tears streaming down his face with an unhinged gleam in his eye.
"Then I wasted your time here. Because I have much more to confess to."
Rick sank in his chair as he looked across at his friend. He had come here, expecting Glenn to admit to what he did. When he didn't, he believed for a second that Glenn truly was innocent. That's how much he considered him a friend. He was still going to take him to the church without the handcuffs to clear things up with Rosita's story and Netanya's accusations. But then...
Glenn stuck out his wrists, anticipating Rick to handcuff him.
"Aren't you going to read me my Miranda Rights?"
~
The walk to the church was a long one.
At least to Rick, it was.
He could barely move as he escorted a handcuffed Glenn; each step for him a tremendous effort.
Glenn, however, was basking in the shocked gazes from the Alexandrians. He wore a smug expression on his face, making sure everyone knew just what he was capable of.
Netanya smirked at the display that came marching up to them in front of the church. Glenn matched her expression, not giving her the satisfaction.
Netanya's eyes burned with rage when she saw this act of defiance. "You thought you would get away with this? I'm going to make sure you're hung!" She pointed her finger at Glenn angrily.
Glenn ignored her, while Rick told her that would never happen.
"Glenn!" Sherry came from the infirmary with Dwight and Irene in tow. Rick and Glenn both turned to face the frantic woman.
"You didn't do this right?!" Sherry cried out. Dwight only looked at his wife and Glenn in pity, knowing just what men were capable of. Irene was sniffling in the background, deliberately ignoring the arrested man.
"Take the handcuffs off of him!" Sherry demanded. "He's your friend isn't he?!"
"We're going to sort this out inside," Rick turned Glenn back around and led him inside.
~
The whole community was there; people squished in to make enough room for this first-ever hearing.
Rick stood in the middle of the pulpit, Michonne, Rosita, and Aaron on his right. Gabriel, Tara, and Carl on his left. Glenn stood below them; his hands free of the restraints.
"Order! Order!" Rick called out to the buzzing crowd. Only when there was absolute silence did he continue.
"This is the immediate trial for Glenn Rhee vs. The Oceanside Community. The accusations made are that he has committed arson, destruction of property, and premeditated murder. Do you admit or deny these accusations?"
"I admit to these accusations," Glenn stated, causing the crowd to roar up in shock and anger. Even the council could barely contain their anguish at this.
"ORDER!!!" Rick slammed his fist on the pulpit. "Glenn Rhee, state your reasoning for admitting to this..."
"I committed these crimes," Glenn sighed. "We lacked numbers to fight in the war and this was the only way to get those numbers. I tried to get Oceanside to join us first by talking, but they were too stubborn. I calculated their hate against Negan would benefit us so I started a fire and killed one of their women with my own bat. I made it look like The Saviors had done it."
The room was too shocked to react, but Tara broke the silence with her sobs. She collapsed to her knees, unable to stop crying for her involvement in this. She had only been thinking of her rage and pain at that moment, and not of what could come after she spoke about Oceanside.
"Tara, don't blame yourself," Glenn regarded her sadly, but the former could only look back at him with indignation.
"Is it true you were with Rosita that night?" Rick went on, swallowing his anguish.
"Yes, but she was not involved. She knew nothing of what I planned to do." Rosita raised her head to look at the stained glass windows, trying to prevent her tears from flowing.
"So how did you plan that you would burn and kill this community?" Rick felt so miserable he wanted to die. "I mean, how did you know you would have to do this?"
"Nothing is ever easy in this world. Not anymore. I had already built the bats I would use to kill Negan with. And from anything I've learned, people only react when blood's spilled... If it matters any, I knocked out the woman before I killed her."
This sent the room back into madness. One half of the church calling for Glenn's head and the other half trying to rationalize this admission.
"Do you regret what you've done?" Tara shook with fury.
"No. I regret that it came to that...and right after it happened I did cry. But I would do it again if got me the same result."
"Anything else you would like to add?" Rick wanted to end this as soon as possible to deliberate a verdict.
"...I lied about Gregory. He never pulled a gun on me. I pulled one on him. I knew Hilltop would never be our ally without either Sasha or Jesus as the leader."
Sasha, who had just come back from Hilltop with Abraham, heard this from the entrance. She strolled over Glenn, mustering all her strength to stand in front of him.
"What?" She was in denial of what had just been said.
"That's how you became the leader of Hilltop... I had planned for Gregory to die," He didn't shift his eyes away when he saw the tears building up in hers.
Sasha shook her head, lowering her face so her cries wouldn't be seen. Abraham went up to comfort her and looked as if he was about to sock Glenn in the eye. But he restrained himself as Sasha needed him more at the moment.
Glenn glanced at the council, who had lost all control of their emotions. The shock, rage, grief, pain, and disappointment had weighed too heavily on them; had taken too much of a toll on their already unstable minds.
All except for Carl. He was staring at Glenn with an unreadable expression.
"I also manipulated Enid. I knew how she felt about me and I used that so she could help me," Glenn finished. "That's all."
An expression of absolute hatred shadowed Carl's face when he heard this. "You deserve to die then."
At these words, Glenn lowered his head. He wanted to break down along with his friends, if he could consider them that anymore. A strange thought crossed his mind; the last time they had wept like this was at the lineup. When they were all companions of death, circled around Negan. Now they have broken again and circled around Glenn.
"That concludes this s-session. We will decide on a sentence soon. T-The court is adjourned," Rick walked off from the pew to place the handcuffs on Glenn. He didn't resist.
Sherry and Dwight were paralyzed in their seats. Sherry wanted to scream at Rick as he led Glenn out of the church that he should just arrest the both of them then. They weren't innocent either by his logic. But she didn't, she just sat in distress alongside a husband who had done similar things. As for Dwight, he felt nauseous at the brutality of the crimes and at the shattered image that remained of Glenn. He too wanted to confess to everything he did because he had no more of a right to be a free man than Glenn. None of these people did. They were all guilty of something; something that made them less of what they had been.
~
Glenn could only stare straight ahead as Rick led him to an unknown destination. A crowd was following them, but Rick paid no attention to them.
He didn't even speak to Glenn once. Glenn was fine with that.
Glenn wasn't going to lie to himself that it didn't hurt how his friends had all turned their backs on him. But he didn't blame them, even if they were as guilty as him.
In Alexandria, everyone was in the same boat.
Rick's mind was occupied with only one thought: how things had gone so wrong. He had led them to that point; the only thing he seemed to be good at as a leader.
They had reached a house, a house that had belonged to Morgan when he lived there. Carefully, Rick led Glenn down the steps into the lower floor. This was the best option for now until the council decided what would happen to Glenn.
"This is a nice change of scenery," Glenn stated, taking in the cell that loomed in front of them.
A/N: Rick and Michonne are not a couple in this story by the way (don't think he cheated on her). So none of the canon romance that happened between them happened here. I, personally, ship Rick and Rosita and have for a long time.