Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead

Rick hated that annoying little smirk that played across Negan's lips whenever he came to the cell especially early. It was an 'I told you so' kind of look, and he hated it. Negan had always believed that he wouldn't be spending the entirety of his life in his cell, and to a degree he was right.

The communities were on the verge of flourishing, so it was vital that as many people as possible lend a helping hand. It wasn't the only reason Rick had been pulling him from the jail. Negan was meant to symbolize a new way of handling threats. Keeping him behind bars all hours of the day had been the goal in the beginning, but as the workload increased on the outside, Rick decided he could expand on his idea for Negan. Carl had wanted the man to give up the fight. He had wanted people to work together. Well, the next best thing was making the threat work with them whether he liked it or not. So far, three months of Negan's extended role had worked well for them.

He knew some people thought he was trying to rehabilitate the man, but that wasn't the case at all. There was no changing Negan.

"Hands," Rick ordered flatly as he reached for his cuffs. Aaron and Michonne were also occupying the jail, and kept their guns ready as they guarded their leader.

"Come on, I've been a good boy all the time I've been out. So what do you say we skip the damn cuffs?"

"Hands," Rick ordered again.

Negan lifted his hands and allowed Rick to slip his hands past the bars to cuff them. After that Rick unlocked the cell and ushered the prisoner forward.

"So what's on the agenda today? We gonna finally build that bar I been suggesting, or have we moved onto doing a whole damn theme park?"

Rick just ignored him as he usually did and prodded him to walk with a push to his shoulder. Negan knew the routine. Aaron and Michonne would take their positions slightly behind Rick with their guns trained on Negan's back. Sometimes it was other guards, but it was all the same.

As he stepped out into the light, Negan took the fresh air deep into his lungs. It was something he cherished every time he was taken out as there was just no fresh air down in the stale basement. Passerby tossed him wary looks. Negan would just grin and nod or shout out a greeting as though he was truly a part of Alexandria and not its prisoner. No one ever talked back or gave him any kind of greeting. Once, however, an Alexandrian had given him a nice middle finger which made Negan laugh. He knew he'd never get on their good side. It didn't matter how much work he did to help them in rebuilding their private new world, he would always be the enemy; the person everyone wished was dead.

During some long days and nights alone in the cell, his thoughts drifted to the loneliness of his new life. He never examined such a thought too deeply, especially when he started wondering if, deep down, he really wanted to live among these people in a way that didn't require him to stay hidden below the community. Of course that would require forgiveness and acceptance. He supposed it was one of the reasons why he didn't complain too much when he was put to work. They saw him helping, so that should earn him some points.

"Morning ma'am," he greeted happily to a woman that was walking by with her small child.

The woman quickly pulled her child into her arms and hurried away. Negan watched her retreat as the smile fell. He didn't have the energy to keep up the façade today.

"Asshole, why does Rick waste his time?" came a voice to his left.

He looked around and met the glare from a man who was talking to Gabriel nearby. Gabriel took notice of who he was referring to before addressing the man.

"Every bit of help with can get helps."

"Not from him." He moved away from the priest and started to follow Rick. "Rick! Enough of this bullshit! Put that motherfucker down!"

A few people in the area applauded his words. Negan ignored him. It wasn't anything new. He would make nice with the greetings and working, but it changed nothing.

"Still as popular as ever," he muttered.

"It'll always be that way," Rick informed him.

Rick led Negan to the backseat of his car. Aaron and Michonne sandwiched him in-between them while Rick took the driver's seat. Negan glanced back in the window, watching the crowd watch him before they disappeared as Rick drove them through the gates.

The current project that needed a helping hand, was the building of a bridge. There was already a crowd present by the time Rick pulled up. It was a mix of people from various communities including Negan's own Sanctuary.

Negan dropped his head and took a moment to block out the feeling of betrayal when he noticed a few of his men out there.

"Get out," Michonne ordered.

He turned, not realizing the door had been opened for him. He maneuvered himself out as best he could without the use of his hands. Once he was standing, her gun as well as Aaron's was on his back again. Rick said nothing as he led the way toward the bridge.

Daryl, who was overseeing the workers in Rick's absence, met him halfway with a nod.

"Everything going on alright here?" Rick questioned.

"Same as it has been lately. A fight almost broke out, but I stopped it in time."

"Who?"

"One of ours, and a Sanctuary prick," he growled.

It wasn't too surprising for Rick to hear. There was still tension when it came to the Saviors. Daryl turned his gaze to what was coming up behind Rick, and glowered at the sight of a smiling Negan.

"My man Daryl," he greeted. "Hope you're doing your fucking best out here. Ricky boy's counting on you. Ain't that right Ricky?"

Daryl walked up to him with his fists balled.

"Keep your damn mouth shut, and we won't have any problems."

Negan just maintained the smile even after Daryl stormed away. But then it fell when he noticed the eyes upon him. It was always the same. He was such a damn distraction. It was only made worse when his own people looked at him. He could easily read hints of anger in their eyes and he wasn't sure if they were pissed that he'd become their enemy's captive or if they'd despised how he ran things all along. Aside from anger, a few gave him looks of pity. He tried not to focus on any particular face that turned his way, but ended up seeing Arat. She was laughing as she talked with Tara and a woman he didn't recognize. He assumed the woman had to be either from the Hilltop or the Kingdom.

Negan stared. He couldn't remember ever seeing Arat smile and laugh. When she turned his way, the smile fell and her eyes dropped. Despite how well she'd integrated among Rick's mixed pack, he could see that she held some sorrow for what had happened to him.

"Damn it." The one little gaze had reminded him how embarrassing it was to be paraded before his own people in chains.

Rick grabbed ahold of his hands, breaking him out of his brief thoughts. He forced a smile back onto his face as he proceeded to unlock him.

"I'm disappointed Rick. I was hoping to try my hand at something more challenging. I've worked on this damn bridge long enough."

"Well you're going to work on it some more."

He gave him a hammer and motioned for him to follow.

Whenever Negan had a tool in hand, it seemed to alter the atmosphere. People became tenser and more looks were thrown his way. It was understandable. Even with the guards present they still feared that he would suddenly swing his tool against their leader's skull. Negan almost couldn't blame them for the thought, but at the same time he thought it was quite stupid of them to think he'd do such a thing and risk getting shot. He knew if he wanted some trust and a better chance at having a more favorable position in Alexandria than a prisoner, he'd have to play by the rules and earn it. The looks on people's faces was telling him he'd never get it no matter how much work he put on their bridge.

Rick walked him over to the bridge's rail which was a work in progress. He pushed a box of nails toward him then gave a nod.

"Get to work."

With a smirk, he saluted.

"Sure thing captain prick."

It was approximately ten minutes before Negan decided to break the silence of his work when Rick marched over to see how he was coming along.

"You know something Rick, I've been thinking."

"I'm sure you have."

Negan smiled lightly, before it straightened.

"I'm fucking serious." He paused as he glanced around at his fellow co-workers. Two of them paused in their work to give him a hateful look. "You really believe in this goddamn bridge? Cause I can see it falling apart easily."

Rick searched Negan's face as it became clear what he was really referring to.

"We've had this discussion before," Rick replied. "I do believe in it, because this is how it's supposed to be."

"It won't last," Negan countered. "Right now they're willing to suck on your dick after what you did to me, but sooner rather than later, they'll rise Rick. One group of assholes will rise against the other, and everything you've built is gonna fall like a shitty house of cards."

Rick took a step closer as he felt a strong desire to punch him, but he held back. Sometimes he wished he didn't ask for Negan to be saved, but whenever that thought came into his mind, he was reminded of Carl. His son had wanted something different. He could tell it was pointless to continue arguing with Negan about his son's dream, so he took a different approach.

"If it falls, you'll never have your chance."

Negan quirked his brow.

"What chance? The hell you talking about?"

Rick smirked.

"Redemption."

At that, Negan's brows raised.

"Who the hell says I want redemption?" His face fell flat as he looked away from Rick to look at the others.

"Your Saviors are redeeming themselves for what they've done to my people by helping to build what my son wanted. Working together is the only way people can move forward. I know that for you, being in that cell is a lonely life. You want to be among people again, and considering how hard I've seen you work, I don't think it's a longshot to believe you'd like to be among my people."

Negan slowly looked at Rick. He was unnerved that Rick had been able to see through the cracks. His grip on his hammer loosened as he stood there, feeling uncomfortably vulnerable. He looked away again and caught the continued hateful looks.

"You see the way your people look at me Rick? They're always going to hate me, and they're always going to hate you for not killing my ass. Even if I wanted some kind of damn redemption, I sure as fuck wouldn't get it." Negan looked down at the hammer in his hand. He desperately missed Lucille and all he'd stood for before this. What he was now, he didn't even know. "You said I'd have a job in this new world of yours. Show people there's a better way to deal with assholes. It's all bullshit."

Rick simply gave him a hardened stare. There really was no getting through the bastard. He wouldn't change, not even after he was beat.

"Hmph, you know, I was starting to think you might be able to get it. Guess I was wrong. Get back to work."

As he squared his shoulders up, Rick turned on his heel and headed back down the bridge. When he'd made it halfway down, gunshots rang out nearby, seemingly from all around the area.

"GET DOWN!" Rick ordered, but there was no need as several people had already dropped.

Those already carrying weapons immediately raised them as they scouted their surroundings before deciding to make any move. Rick held up a hand for them to wait, but there were no more gunshots. There was silence, which was quickly broken by a gurgled choke.

Rick noticed the people before him were looking at something behind him with looks of surprise. He dreaded looking back to see that one of his own had taken a shot, but when he turned he saw that wasn't exactly the case.

Blood was quickly pooling out of the wounds in Negan's stomach and chest. His fingers were already reddened as he attempted to cover them. No one said a word. All they did was stare at Negan who staggered on shaky legs. The man was already pale, and his eyes were wide as he raised his head and met Rick's eyes. Rick saw fear in them as well as something that implied that he wasn't terribly surprised.

Negan couldn't help looking frantically around for help, but not one person ran toward him. From the Saviors there were no looks of pity or anger. For once they were all united as they appeared quite stunned. Even Arat expressed such an emotion on her face, but there was something else as well. He could see the sadness underneath. A few more of his people seemed to show the same thing, which made him smile softly.

He dropped to his knees just as the blood started to seep from his lips. He tried not to focus on the pain as the world started to tilt. Just before he fell back, he saw Rick rushing toward him. Negan was flat on his back by the time the man reached him.

Negan choked up blood as he squinted against the pain and desperately clutched his chest. He knew it was as useless as trying to stop a slit throat from bleeding out.

"F..f…fuck," he cursed softly.

Hands were on his chest and stomach pressing down. He wasn't surprised to realize it was Rick's hands.

"GET SIDDIQ UP HERE NOW!" Rick roared.

Negan shook his head slowly and tried hard to control his breathing.

"Just hang on. He's coming."

"No use…he can't…can't save me this time."

Rick wouldn't believe it. He just pressed down harder, determined to keep the man from bleeding to death. He didn't care if several of the people around him would disagree. He had a plan to keep Negan alive; to change things for the better. There had been another way.

"No," Rick argued. Negan pried his eyes open to meet Rick's desperate blue ones. "No…Carl's dream isn't going to die."

At that, Negan gave a soft chuckle.

"I'm not…his dream Rick. And…I fucking told you…so."

Negan was at least pleased that Rick didn't look away. In Rick's eyes, he could see that he genuinely was not happy that this had happened to him. Right down to this moment he really believed that keeping him alive was the right call. That alone made Negan feel he owed him something for showing him mercy.

"You're wrong," Rick said quietly.

Negan's smile widened at the confirmation of Rick's beliefs.

"Appreciate you trying," Negan gasped. Everything was starting to fade faster. He could hear the fast footfalls on the bridge of Siddiq hurrying toward him, but Negan knew it would be too late. "Maybe…you were right…about me…wanting…that redemption."

He swore Rick's eyes widened at the words which gave Negan a final thrill, before he slowly shut his eyes.

Siddiq quickly dropped next to Negan while Rick remained frozen in place. He already knew the diagnosis even as Siddiq checked for a pulse. The doctor looked at him, then shook his head to confirm. Rick felt a horrible drop in his gut.

"Damn it."

People started moving closer. Whispers were staring up as some quietly conversed as they tried to figure out who had killed Negan. There wasn't a question as to why. Some of the armed men and women had already wandered off into the woods to find the shooter despite Rick not giving the order.

Rick couldn't say a word right now. He just couldn't stop staring down at the man that had once made his life more of a nightmare than any previous bastard had. Despite how it had happened, he looked at peace.

He reached around his belt and pulled out a knife. Michonne took a step forward.

"Rick, do you want me to do it?"

Rick looked at her. And while no one was shedding tears for Negan, she at least looked sorry that he was dead. Rick dropped his gaze back on Negan. He had confessed in his last seconds of life that he had actually wanted to be redeemed, and it hadn't been a joke. It was real. He was surprised to find that something had actually gotten through that stubborn skull of his. But in the end, he hadn't been able to keep him alive after all, and in a way, he felt as though he had failed Carl. That in turn made him wonder if it meant he had somehow failed the communities.

He shook himself from his thoughts as he stabbed the knife into the side of Negan's head.

He hoped Negan was wrong about what would happen. He hoped things wouldn't fall apart. A civilization needed to be reestablished, but Negan would no longer be a part of it as Rick had promised him. He would never see just how wrong he had been.

I had a couple of fic ideas of Rick dominating Negan in some way (there's a sad lack of Rick dominating Negan). It included one where Rick has Negan out working with everyone. I decided to combine it with a fic idea of Negan getting assassinated which I haven't seen anything for. I'm pretty certain season 9 will go for redeeming Negan, but in this fic alternative, it never comes. Also, Rick's not really a dominating force here since this focused more on whether or not Rick could successfully rebuild things like his son wanted.