upstandingguy | OPEN;;

[ Pain bloomed hotly, the eruption of it consuming every single part of him until he knew of little else. Time slowly stilled as the shadows closed in and the sight of red faded further and further until nothing else remained. The spell only broke when he started to come to in and out but never for very long. How much time had passed? It made everything a haze but he caught glimpses here and there -- flowers and concern, Shane gesturing wildly and though he tried to reassure everyone, he couldn't manage to stay awake long enough. His heavy eyelids always closed before he could, the cottony dryness of his mouth preventing any words from falling out.

Months later but what felt like days for him, Rick's eyes fluttered open fully for the first time in so long. With a faint groan, his eyes drifted beside him to take in the fresh flowers but only wilted buds met his gaze. What. Stumbling from the bed, he called out for the nurse but no one came. Odd. Pushing himself onto unsteady feet, Rick pushed his way out of the door. Why had someone put something in front of his door for?

Chaos greeted him in the hallway, Rick holding onto the aching middle of his stomach but it didn't stop him from continuing forward. He needed answers and couldn't find them if he stayed still. Along the way, he noted bullet holes, blood splatters and so many thing strewn all around. Something really terrible happened. A shoot out?

Trying to not groan, he finally met a door, his eyes reading it with confusion --

DON'T OPEN - DEAD INSIDE.

An epidemic of some kind? Decayed looking fingers poked through the thin crack of the door, the rattling rasps sounding wrong to his ears and he stumbled backwards.

What. Nothing made sense. Nothing at all. ]

Here's your chance to prove yourself. We're going on a supply run. One false move and you're out of my house and back in the cell. Got it?

[ Before he made it to the city on his pursuit for Lori and Carl, a couple of guys stopped him and told him what happened and how overrun the place had become. They also claimed to have a safe place for him to be apart of while they helped him to find his wife and kid. While he didn't believe them at all, he decided to go along with things to meet their 'boss', in case he did have information and supplies. He still felt exhausted and his entire body hurt from just the few moments he spent on his feet. Being in a coma for so long really took it out of a person.

Situated in a room when they arrived, Rick's eyes quickly evaluated the place and headed over to the bar to sit down to wait. ]

[ Parent-teacher meetings were usually handled by Lori but ever since her passing, Rick had to take over a lot of things. Nervously pacing back and forth, Rick checked his watch. Why did he even need to meet with the gym coach for? What things did they need to go over? Carl ran around and climbed a rope - groundbreaking. With a sigh, he checked his watch again. The teacher was late. ]

[ Regarding the man with displeasure, Rick finished tightening the bandage on the guy's stomach. He didn't care if Negan had information or helped with anything, they didn't need anymore added to their group. Certainly not someone who looked so questionable to begin and with such concerning vibes. ]

You get tonight to heal up. Tomorrow, we'll give ya some supplies and you can be on your way. If you can get up I'll show ya to your cell.

[ He stopped cold in his tracks, watching with barely concealed horror as Negan moved around the kitchen as if he owned it. When had the man gotten to Alexandria and why had no one told him? ]

What in the hell are you doin'?

[ By the time Rick has come into the house, he's made himself at home, shoes off and helping himself to a glass. He still can't get over the goddamn ice maker in the fridge. It's been so goddamn long, it's pleasing as shit. Negan half turns so he can look at Rick over his shoulder, grinning broadly. ]

Well, if it isn't the man of the house! The hell took you so long?

[ He stays relatively quiet as he's tended to, mostly so he can try to figure this guy out. Pretty interesting so far- obviously the leader by the way people practically have their tail tucked between their legs around him. Negan leans almost casually back on his elbows, his head cocked to one side. Not exactly a rookie mistake the way he ended up on the opposite side of this. ~~Not that he'd be so kind to fix anyone up~~. ]

I'd say that's mighty kind of ya, Rick.. But you know damn well what's outside. Seems to me, you need all the muscle you can get.

[ Fashionably late, Rick. His office sits just off the locker room, and he's only briefly surprised that someone's standing there waiting for him, considering practice just ended. It only takes him a second to realize it's not some damn student. Shit, those conferences are today, aren't they? Whoops.

Negan gives him an easy smile as he comes over, readjusting the bag of bats he's got slung over his shoulder. His hand comes out expectantly for a handshake. ]

You know, most people waitin' around my office get to run laps.

Crystal clear.

[ It's hard to describe how fast everything travels down shit creek and they're stranded with arms as paddles. Lucille was in the hospital for a long time even before a state of emergency was declared and everything was on lock down. When the military started storming the hospital shooting the place up? Well, no one in their right mind was going to gun down a dying cancer patient in their bed.. And he sure as shit wasn't about to get killed, either.

The hospital was an okay place to hole up after they left, though the whole place was a graveyard. They made it work, for a while. She wasn't getting any better and the lack of access to medicine was straining at best.

It was a mercy killing, really. Dying in excruciating pain, being eaten alive, dying from starvation.. less favorable ways to go out than not waking back up. Which still left the 'getting out of the shithole town' problem. She'd been airlifted out of Atlanta the week before for some specialist or another. It had all been bullshit- they were far enough from home either way.

Raiding the hospital didn't so much feel like stealing as it did saving resources from expiration or disuse. He found a duffel in someone else's room, some basic meds in one of the nurse's carts, a first aid kit. None of the good shit, unfortunately. Probably behind some locked gate or another. Happy coincidence found him a handgun still in the hand of some poor, dead bastard.

Negan's heading toward the goddamn exit when he walks down one of the main halls, a chained off hallway coming into view at a fork.

DON'T OPEN- DEAD INSIDE.

Fucking christ. There was even one of them walking around. He raises the gun at the bastard and almost fires. ]

[ When his men came back, Negan really hadn't expected them to come back with someone else in tow. Hell, so long as they got shit, he didn't give one flying fuck what they did. They could always use the numbers as the Saviors grew in number and notoriety.

Not really notoriety so much. Not yet, but oh, they would. He had BIG plans. He planned on letting the guy fidget in his seat for a while before going to see what the fuss was about. Maybe they could help each other- his men had said the guy was a sheriff. Grimes was his name. Looking for his wife and kid who were probably dead or worse.

Opening the door to the bar, Negan strides in, larger than life. He takes one look at Rick, up and down, before his mouth gets the better of him. ]

Christ. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a damn biter.

[Enid was one of the few remaining behind when Negan decided to pay Alexandria another visit. There weren't actually many of them since their supply closets were starting dwindle each collection time to nothing but the dust and ashes left behind. Everyone else but the children and elderly at this point had to go out to find offerings that kept the saviors satisfied and ultimately themselves alive with their empty near bullies. It was up to them to take care of the place when their strongest were gone.

She didn't like that she didn't go out with them. In some ways, she couldn't and in others, wasn't allowed to even. But she accepted her role each time more and more easily.

At least until Negan showed up and there was no one else willing to step up. Let him in. Her entire core shoke but she did it.

He wanted lemonade and fancy ~~throne~~ lawn chair to sit in, and she brought him to one. The lemonade she would serve to him quietly with a short stare that spoke volumes enough to how much she didn't like him or what he was doing. He seemed amused but she didn't say anything yet. In her mind though she was mentally picturing herself being braver and shooting him a dirty glance for much longer. She was wondering if it would have been possible to have taken one of the knives from the kitchen before and stabbed him dead then and there if she hadn't been so afraid deep down.

To survive this she guessed her best bet was only to do what he asked for now. Answer him when he asked something. But do nothing more, besides wait for the real people she considered anything like saviors to come back. She wasn't in any mood to make him feel more welcome.]

There you go. [She eventually said following a lengthy hesitance after she set down the glass on the table next to him and created some distance between them again by backing up. She made no eye contact.]

That all you need?

[Because what she really wanted was to excuse herself and let him wait on his own. He helped himself to anything he wanted anyway, right? There was nothing she could really worry about other than herself.]

[ Frustration pooled thickly in his veins and it took all of Rick's willpower to stay seated but the fact he still felt a little weak helped a lot. Waking up after being in a coma for months really took it out of a person but he knew how to compartmentalize his pains and keep going until things were taken care of. At the moment, this included finding Lori and Carl.

He didn't care about anything else, certainly not the hotshot man Negan the men had gone on and on about as if he saved everything. Likely, the man bullied everyone else into believing he could do more than he actually could.

Something he saw plenty on the force and when the man arrived he nearly nodded to himself. Yes, exactly the type he dealt with before. ]

Was in a coma. [ The words were clipped and he looked thoroughly unimpressed by the man in front of him. ] Appreciate your men bringin' me here but I gotta get back out there.

[ The sound alerted Rick through the haze of his own mind trying to piece things together. What did the fingers creeping through the opening mean? But he knew he couldn't risk opening the door even in the pursuit of information. Carl and Lori needed him and he needed to do anything to reunite with them. Turning on his heel, a man came into view. A man with a gun pointed at him. Perfect. The first few minutes awake and he already managed to run into some crazed man. Did he have something to do with the state of the hospital?

Where did everyone go?

Head tilted to the side, he realized he needed to say something to keep the man calm and to not shooting up the place. He already woke up from one gunshot wound and didn't feel like earning another so soon. ]

You don't have to do this. [ Voice raspy with disuse, Rick held his hands up as best as he could, wincing at the shift it caused to his side. Ouch. It hurt like hell and more than anything he just wanted to rest but knew he couldn't.

Something terrible happened and he needed to find his son and Lori. ]

We can - talk about this. [ Didn't the man realize he didn't have time for this? ]

Are you even strong enough for it?

[ Eyeing the man warily, Rick reached out to shake his hand, trying to not look too displeased by his words. The man probably found himself funny but Rick really lacked the patience to 'shoot the breeze'. There were a few more teachers to see and the coach already wasted plenty of time with making him stand around. Being a single father and a Sheriff's Deputy really ate away at his time and Judith's parent-teacher night happened to be tomorrow, leaving him not too much of a chance to get through Carl's. ]

How's Carl doin'? Is it even necessary to have a parent-teacher conference over gym? [ Clearly, he didn't find it important to be there talking to the man at all. ]

[ Patting at the guy's side none too gently to 'complete' the bandaging, Rick looked up at him slowly, listening to his words but already pushing them away. Strangers rattled him and he always felt reluctant to add anyone to their group. Not only because it added more mouths to feed but also because of the risk factor. More people made them a bigger target and led to greater extremes to try and protect them all. Could this guy even be apart of a group setting and not only look out for himself?

Rick highly doubted it. ]

Yeah? You'd care 'bout protectin' other people? Not just gettin' anythin' you could get before you deserted?

[ Hands balling into fists, Rick tried to remind himself over and over again to not attack Negan and wipe the stupid damn smirk off his face. It took every single ounce of his self control to stay rooted in his current spot.

Breathe, breathe, breathe. ]

What. are. you. doin. here. [ Each word was gritted through his teeth and he dug his nails into his palms to keep himself in check. The words were actually more of a demand than a question. ]

[ He can't get enough of the way Rick continues to swallow his damn hate, despite how the man clearly wants to rip off his testicles with his bare hands. Leaving him to stew in his anger, Negan turns his attention back to the fridge, messing with the settings on the ice dispenser and serving himself some water before making a show of taking a drawn-out swig. Both brows raising at the tone, he leans back and clicks his tongue. ]

What am I doing here? Rick, Rick, Rick.. do I need an excuse to pay a visit to my best providers?

[ He grunts at the rough press to his middle, considering the question. Negan can see himself butting heads with Rick in the long run, but that's half the fun, isn't it? He's not kidding himself into thinking it would ever last, but hell, if it got him supplies and someone to watch his back before he got bored of it, that was better than going solo. He works better on a team- mostly leading it, but he can play lackey until he was all healed and got a peg on the rest of the group. ]

If I were concerned about whatever shit you all had, you'd be the first to know.

[ As far as he can tell, it's not a lot. Not by a long shot. And if they end up parting ways down the line? That's fine by him. It's all about finding the top dog in this fucked up world they're in now. ]

Want to find out? ;)

[ Why are you so easy to rile up, Rick?? ]

[ Fuck, most parents chuckled with a quip like that. If he had any question as to whose dad this was, it was answered. That stink eye is the exact same. Brushing it off, he shakes Rick's hand, gesturing to his desk when he opens the door to his office. ]

Normally I'd say no, we'd shoot the shit for a minute and you'd move on to the other teachers.

[ Letting the equipment bag drop in the corner behind his desk, Negan sits himself down, pulling out his planning book and flipping it open for Rick to see. He taps on the attendance record next to Carl's name. ]

Now, I'm not one for bustin' a kid's balls for ditching PE once or twice-- hell, I did it often enough when I was in school. Nor am I going to press anybody for answers, since I'm not a damn counselor. You see where I'm goin' with this, right?

[ H-o-ly shit. This guy was fuckin' alive. No mistaking that he was a patient, though from what remains to be seen. His finger moves off the trigger for now, but it stays aimed at the guy. Fuck, he doesn't want to get bit. ]

What were you in for?

[ Sorry, guy. Not taking any chances of getting out of the hospital without some Grade A shit. Maybe the cafeteria has something partially edible, too. ]

[ This guy definitely screamed law enforcement. Not much call for it anymore, thankfully. Negan moves to behind the bar, helping himself to a tumbler of scotch and sliding one toward Rick. He could be a good host when the moment presented itself. ]

You were in a coma and you woke up to this shit? Hell.. [ He rubs a hand over the stubble at his chin. Fuck, he couldn't imagine not getting a leg up watching everything go to hell in a hand basket. He nurses his drink, elbows resting on the counter top across from Rick. ]

I get that you're looking for your family, and that's important shit, I get it. But you've got to realize that traveling in a group is better than going Clint Eastwood- as badass as that may be. Loners only serve to get themselves killed.

OPEN;;

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