"Can ya give us a moment?" Daryl asked Rick as he locked the basement door behind us.

"Everythin' alright?" Rick asked. Daryl gave Rick a nod. "Alright, well, I'll be outside checkin' on Judith if ya need me." Rick tossed Daryl a set of keys. "Lock up?" Daryl nodded once more and we watched in silence as Rick exited the jail.

"What was that about?"

"What?" I asked as he and I descended down the stairs, stopping in front of my old cell.

"He got more than what he bargained for out of ya? What's that supposed to mean?" I could feel my blood pressure rising. He didn't just ask what I think he did...did he?

"What do ya think it meant?"

"How am I supposed to know? Ya were left alone with 'em."

"Lilly was in the same room."

"Never stopped ya before." My fist instantly clenched as my brain screamed with fury.

"Are ya accusin' me of fuckin' cheatin' on ya?"

"I dunno what I'm accusin' ya of, but somethin' went down up there between the two of ya."

"Are ya fuckin' KIDDIN' ME?" I snarled. "I DIDN'T FUCKIN' CHEAT ON YA WITH BRIAN!"

"How am I supposed to know, ya don't tell me shit!"

"I DON'T TELL YA SHIT? IT'S BEEN TWO MINUTES, YOU FUCK!" I began to walk away, but decided better of it and turned back to Daryl. "I can't keep fuckin' doin' this, Daryl."

"Doin' what? Arguin' or our relationship?"

"Take your fuckin' pick! I am sick and tired of havin' to constantly have a goddamn alibi with ya! I am sick and fuckin' tired of havin' ya accuse me of shit just because I'm left alone with someone that ain't you!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but after the shit ya put me through, I thought you'd understand why I'm so uneasy!"

"UNEASY? YOU'RE ON EDGE ABOUT EVERYTHIN' ABOUT ME! IF I PASSED GAS, YOU'D WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE FUCK I ATE!" The room fell silent. "I can't change my fuckin' past, but I can try to move on from it, but I can't do that when you're constantly remindin' me of my perpetual fuck ups. Ya gave me an ultimatum a long time ago, but now I'm givin' one to you. Accept me for who I am and my past, or this marriage is over!"

"Ya fuckin' serious?"

"As a walker bite!" Daryl looked over at Negan's cage and back to me.

"That's what ya want? Me to leave ya so ya can go back to him?" I couldn't stop myself even if I tried. I reached up and quickly slapped Daryl across the face, sending him a step back.

"Fuck you, Daryl."

"No," Daryl spat on the ground by my feet. "Fuck you." Daryl threw the keys to the ground, shoved past me and stormed out of the jail, slamming the door shut behind him.

"You alright?" Negan asked.

"Not now, Negan." I grumbled as I made my way towards the steps.

"Where've you been? You said you'd let me see Harper."

"I said not now!"

"What did I do, baby?"

"STOP CALLIN' ME BABY!" I roared. "I AM NOT YOUR WIFE AND I AM NOT YOUR FUCKIN' BABY!"

"Michaela—"

"Ya wanna know what my fuckin' goddamn problem is? It's you!"

"Me? The fuck did I do?"

"Do ya got fuckin' shit in your ears? Did ya not hear Daryl and I at each other's fuckin' throats? It's been like this since the day I got off parole! Constantly bitchin' and fightin' over you!"

"I didn't do shit!"

"EXACTLY THE FUCKIN' POINT! YA DIDN'T DO SHIT BUT FUCKIN' EXIST!" The room fell silent. "If I would've let Rick kill ya in the field, I don't know whether or not it would've made a difference. All I know is that because we had a relationship and I was more sexually adventurous than Daryl prefers, he can't stop accusin' me of fuckin' cheatin' on 'em."

"Are you?"

"NO!"

"Then why are you screaming at me for? You're not fuckin' anyone else!"

"I'm barely even fuckin' Daryl, for fuck's sake!"

"You're kiddin' me...right?"

"No! Ever since we lost Joseph, my libido has been as active as a coma patient!"

"Have ya talked to Siddiq about it?"

"He said it's just me recoverin' from the mental trauma."

"Sounds to me that you just need to fuck your husband."

"I'm not takin' advice from you! The last time I took advice from you, I went Ed Gein on a pedophile!"

"He deserved to die after what he did to Elijah!"

"I KNOW THAT, NEGAN!"

"Then why are you so fuckin' pissed at me for?"

"I'm pissed at ya because you're Daryl's constant reminder of how I fucked up! I'm pissed at ya because my marriage is fallin' apart and it's all because of you!"

"Maybe it's falling apart because you made the wrong choice on who you wanted to be with." I instantly slammed my prosthetic against the cell bars, causing Negan to jump back. I took a deep breath and slowly stepped away.

"Maybe I did...maybe I didn't. Either way, I chose Daryl."

"That's your mistake, not mine. So stop treating me like it's my fault and start taking responsibility for your own goddamn actions." I furrowed my eyebrows and walked over to the steps, turning to Negan one last time.

"I did the day I left ya for good."

~~

When I arrived at Hilltop, the sun was beginning to set and Daryl was nowhere in sight. He ditched me back in Alexandria and I had to borrow a horse from Alexandria just to get home. It was for the best. I'm pretty sure if I would've shared a ride with Daryl, I would've thrown him out of the wagon. I scanned the property and faintly smiled, Earl was out of jail and working under supervision. I was glad Maggie finally released him, not having a blacksmith was getting pretty bad. Our weapons were getting damaged, we were running out of good tools, the plow from the museum was still busted, and we were in need metal frameworks for repairs; maybe now we can get our lives back on track. Finish the bridge, help the Sanctuary with their crops, and survive.

I made my way towards the building, but stopped at the sight of Jesus and MJ talking by the steps. I really didn't want to talk to MJ right now, I just knew he'd ask me what was up with Daryl. Then again, at least I'd know where he is...but did honestly want to know? Probably not. I gave Daryl an ultimatum and he needed time away from me to make up his mind. Then again, if he was upstairs with Harper, I needed someone to go get her for me so I wouldn't have to see his stupid face or hear his stupid voice or be around his stupid...stupidness. I continued towards MJ and opened my mouth to speak, but my voice caught in my throat as my jaw dropped to the ground as I watched MJ kiss Jesus.

"Well..." I cleared my throat, causing MJ and Jesus to quickly separate. "...that was unexpected."

"Michaela!" MJ nervously smiled as his face grew bright red. "I-I was waitin' for ya. Daryl got back hours ago and when I saw he was alone..." MJ looked me over for a moment. "Ya alright?"

"I'm fine," I lied.

"Maybe I should go," Jesus insisted. "Still on for tonight?"

"Absolutely," MJ smiled.

"Great, see you later." MJ watched as Jesus walked inside and turned to me after he was out of sight.

"Alright, Dixon, spill the tea."

"I really don't wanna talk about it right now."

"Ah, Daryl accusin' ya of shit again?"

"How did ya—"

"Daryl was very verbal about your fight...plus, he has a hand print on his face the size of Texas," MJ chuckled. "Seriously though, nice arm." I gently shrugged and sat down on the steps. "You haven't sleep with anyone since Harlow, have you?" I opened my mouth to argue. "I'm not accusin' ya, I'm just askin'."

"No," I answered. "The only reason I did what I did with Harlow was to create a window of opportunity."

"I know. Trust me, I completely understand. Ya did what ya had to do to keep everyone else alive."

"So why does he keep treatin' me like I'm always doin' somethin' wrong? He got mad at me for not tellin' 'em what happened between me and that guy from the woods two minutes after we walked away from 'em."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah! The fucker didn't give me a chance to fill 'em in on everythin', just went into an instant rampage."

"Have ya ever considered that men who constantly accuse have a guilty conscience?"

"Daryl didn't cheat on me, MJ, he ain't like that."

"I'm not sayin' he is, but, from my experience, men who accused their significant other of cheatin' were just as guilty, whether it be cheatin' or somethin' else."

"Somethin' else? What else would Daryl be doin'?"

"I dunno, but ya should talk to 'em before y'all decide to get a divorce."

"We decide? I gave him the ultimatum."

"Yeah, but accordin' to him, ya want a divorce."

"I don't want a..." I grumbled under my breath. "I just want 'em to treat me with some fuckin' dignity"

"Do you?"

"What?"

"Treat 'em with dignity?"

"Of course I do!"

"Apparently not enough." MJ sat down beside me and let out a sigh. "I don't wanna be the bearer of bad news, but all I ever hear y'all do is fight anymore. If he's tellin' ya what's on his mind, he's usually shoutin' it. It ain't healthy. Not for you, not for him, and especially not for Harper. Look, I'm not sayin' leave 'em, but I'm not sayin' stay with 'em, either. Y'all need to have a night to yourselves, Michaela. Have Tammy watch Harper, I'm sure she'd absolutely love to. You and Daryl need to talk this out before makin' any rash decisions. I see the way he looks at ya, eyes full of love, I see it in your eyes, too...but this marriage will only work when y'all are on the same page." I gently nodded my head. "Will ya ask Tammy to watch 'er?"

"Yeah...I love Daryl, I really do."

"I know ya do."

"Which is why I really need to make this work." I wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled. "So, enough about me, what's with you and Jesus?"

"Oh! Well," MJ nervously cleared his throat. "Well, we've been hanging out a lot since we've been tending to business here while everyone else works on the bridge. One thing led to another, and all of a sudden...he kissed me."

"Really?"

"Yeah...it was...somethin' else," MJ smiled. "Threw Elijah through a loop, though."

"How did ya explain it to 'em?"

"Just how I would about a man and a woman. I said, 'Elijah, you know how I told you that men and women grow up to get married and have babies? Well, sometimes men marry other men and women marry other women because they love each other so much and they make each other happy'. He seemed pretty satisfied with my explanation...until he asked how we had babies."

"Oh, my God!" I laughed.

"Yeah, I'm just not ready for that conversation."

"So, what did ya tell 'em?"

"To ask you."

"MJ!" I playfully smacked his arm and let out a content sigh. "I'm happy for ya, MJ. I really am, ya deserve to be happy."

"I am. And so do you." The space between us fell silent. "So, are ya gonna ask 'er?"

"Yeah."

"Ya sure?"

"Yes, MJ, I will ask Tammy to watch Harper for tonight."

"Oh, I'd love to!" Tammy smiled as she approached us. I glared over at MJ, who gave me a shit eating grin. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was just hopin' to spend some alone time with Daryl, is all."

"Well, I'm always happy to watch the kids...after Ken died..." Tammy cleared her throat, forcing the urge to cry away. "It fills my heart with so much love."

"I really am sorry for your loss, Tammy. I didn't know Ken, but how everyone talks about 'em makes 'em sound like he was a real respectable boy."

"He was," Tammy nodded. "Respectable, dependable, would give anyone the shirt off their back." Tammy let out a sigh and wiped her eyes dry. "Well, is it okay if I go get Harper now?"

"Yeah, I'll come with ya." I looked over at MJ and smiled. "Thanks...jerk."

"Ya love me," MJ smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I playfully shoved him as I rose to my feet and led Tammy inside.