As Sky woke, it took a while for the haze of sleep to fade away, and when it did she was confused about her surroundings. She lay in a comfortable bed, with clean, warm blankets in an immaculate looking room. Something that in the middle of an apocalypse seemed very strange. She couldn't even remember the last time she had a clean blanket to sleep with. Hell she could barely remember the last time she slept! Being on constant alert made the task almost impossible. She glanced around the room, taking in her surroundings, her natural response being to map out all the exits for a quick escape if needed. As she rolled over in the bed she jumped at the sudden realization that she wasn't alone, quickly she pulled the covers up further.

"You're awake" he said as he looked up from his book.

She stared at him in shock for a moment as she processed everything. She had almost thought that the whole thing was a dream when she woke up in such a nice place.

"Negan?" she asked, memories slowly trickling back into her mind.

"The one and only" he confirmed. "How're ya feeling?".

"Groggy" she replied as she took another quick glance around the room. "How long have I been asleep? Where am I?"

"You've been out for a couple days. You're at my compound" he told her.

"A couple days?" she said sounding shocked.

"Yep. Almost thought you were fucking dead" he laughed. "You passed out on me back on the road".

She stopped and thought for a moment, remembering the events that unfolded when he had found the group she was with. "They're all dead aren't they?"

"Sure are darling. Every last filthy mother fucker" he growled.

"Good" she replied bluntly.

Negan proceeded to tell her all about the compound and how everyone worked to earn what they needed just like in the world before everything went to shit. She learned of his multiple wives, which seemed to be yet another status symbol of his power, like Lucille who was leaning against the chair he was in. The way he talked about them made it sound as though he didn't really care for them, they were just there to serve a purpose just like everyone else. The saviors were a large group, and it sounded as though Negan was a feared and respected leader and he knew how to keep everyone in line. He had many rules, and there were consequences if you ever dared to break one. She knew how violent he could be, she had seen it herself, but she had also seen a small glimpse of another side to him, a softer more human side. She found him intriguing in a strange kind of way.

"So what did you do before all this?" he asked, trying to get an idea of where she would be useful in the compound.

"I had just finished training as a pediatric nurse" she told him.

"Sounds like you'll be a mighty handy woman to have around. We only have the one doctor, he checked you over when I brought you in, the other medical staff are just following his lead" he told her.

"Glad I'll be useful for something other than-" she began, unable to finish the sentence when she realized what she was about to say.

"Just so you know, I have zero fucking tolerance for that shit. In my compound, no man lays a fucking hand on a woman without her consent. So you don't ever have to worry about that again" he assured her and she nodded in understanding. "There's a shower through there, and some clean clothes" he said as he nodded towards one of the doors. "Go get yourself cleaned up. I'll show you around when you're done".

"Thank you" she whispered as she hopped down from the bed and made her way through to the bathroom on somewhat unsteady legs. She stripped off her dirty and blood stained clothes, grateful that no one had done that for her while she was out cold. She eyed herself in the full length mirror, surveying the bruises, cuts and scars all over her body, feeling disgusted with her reflection. She turned on the shower and waited for the water to turn warm before jumping in. Pleased to find that there was soap and shampoo she quickly cleaned herself up, even using one of the disposable razors too. Stepping out of the shower she almost felt normal again.

Sitting on the bathroom cabinet was a pair of scissors, it had been a very long time since she had a haircut so she decided it was time for a trim. Before the outbreak she had a short pixie style haircut, but over time it had grown a little longer and was untidy, she thought it was time to return it to its former glory. Grasping the scissors she did her best to make her hair the way it was, and with every little piece she hacked away, she felt a little lighter. Like she was getting rid of all that she was carrying around on her shoulders.

When Sky emerged from the bathroom Negan stared at her in shock for a moment before quickly neutralizing his expression. With all the dirt and blood wiped from her skin and her hair neatly trimmed from her face she looked younger than he had originally thought.

She studied the way he looked at her, it wasn't the kind of look she had grown used to receiving from a man. Not a hungry and intimidating look, it was more of a curious kind of look. Like he was trying to figure out something.

"Darlin' how old are you?" he asked, knowing full well that once upon a time it would be considered rude to ask such a question, but these days things were very different, and Negan was never really one to follow etiquette anyway..

"That depends on what the date is" she said, unsure of exactly how much time had passed recently.

"July 13 Darlin" he stated almost instantly.

"Then I'm not quite 21. My birthday is July 22nd"

"Jesus…" he said a little stunned, as he mentally stored that information away for later. Out on the road she had showed such strength, more than he would have thought for someone of her age. She can't have been much older than 19 when this all started.

"What?" she asked a little confused.

"Nothin… just impressed by you. You have strength Darlin'. How about I show you round now?" he asked.

"Sure" she replied as she followed him out.

He walked her through the compound, showing her where everything was that she needed to know about. She got the feeling from at the stares of other people that he wasn't usually the one to give the guided tours and wondered why he was making an exception for her. Maybe he pitied her, after what she went through. Their last stop was to the infirmary where he introduced her to her new boss, Dr Blake, but the man insisted that everyone just called him Chris. She was told she was starting first thing tomorrow and she was actually quite pleased about it. She needed something to do, she needed a purpose to take her mind off everything.

When he finished up the tour he walked her over to the accommodation blocks. She wasn't entirely sure what this place was before but it had a lot of little units, all fitted out with a bed, some drawers and an armchair and with the world the way it was, that was luxury. Leading her to an empty one he opened the door and gestured for her to go inside.

"This will be yours" he said. "I'll have someone bring over your belongings from recovery. Like I said before, you're safe here, but lock the door at night" he warned. He wasn't sure what it was, but he felt very protective of her. For such a young woman to go through all that she had, the thought of anything else happening to her made his gut twist in knots. "Get some rest, and don't be late for work tomorrow. I'll have someone bring you some food, unless of course you are ready to brave the dining hall" he said, and she gave him a shy kind of smile that said 'I'd rather not'. "I'll check in on you from time to time" he said as he began to leave.

"Negan" she called out after him.

"Yeah Darlin?" he replied with his charming grin.

"Thank you… for everything" she said simply with a sweet smile.

He gave her a quick nod and disappeared through the compound leaving her with her thoughts. She closed the door and locked it behind her, needing to feel some measure of safety since she didn't have a weapon anymore. As she lay down on the bed her thoughts drifted to Negan, he seemed so charming and almost caring, which was a far cry from the brutal man she had seen the other night, caving men's skulls in. But she knew from experience that sometimes you just had to lock away the real you to make it through this cruel world.

Sky woke to the sound of quiet bustling through the compound. Checking her watch, which by some miracle was still working se she it was 5.45am. Perfect timing, she started at the infirmary at 6. She quickly threw on some clothes and left for the bathrooms where she threw some water on her face and flattened down her bed hair ready for the day.

She spent the day learning the ropes from Chris, memorizing where all the different supplies were, as well as putting her skills to the test by treating some minor injuries. Her patients were a lot older than she was used to, but it felt good to do what she enjoyed again. It wasn't until lunch time that she realized she hadn't eaten breakfast, and some of the other medical staff showed her to the dining hall, informing her what times they served each meal.

The rest of the afternoon went by rather fast and it wasn't long before she retired back to her room for the day after having dinner in the hall. She lay back on the bed, contemplating whether to go have a shower, or just get some sleep when a firm knock came at the door, startling her a little.

Wandering over she unlocked the door and opened it just a crack so that she could see who it was, and to her surprise it was none other than their fearless leader Negan.

"Good to see you took my advice" he stated, and she looked up at him somewhat puzzled. "The door.." he said.

"Oh right, yeah. Better safe than sorry" she replied as she opened the door further.

"Mind if I come in?" he asked, not really waiting for her reply and stepping on in anyway. Had it been anyone else she would have felt scared or intimidated, but she was strangely at ease with him, even though she knew he was a killer. "How was your fist day in the infirmary?" he asked as he sat down in the chair, eyeing her carefully as he placed Lucille protectively in his lap.

"It was good. They all made me feel welcome. Even got to stitch up a couple people" she smiled.

"Good to hear you're settling in. If anybody gives you grief, you let me know. I'll deal with the mother fuckers myself" he told her, his protective side emerging again.

"Forgive me sir, but are you this protective of all the new people?" she asked, curious.

"Only the cute ones" he smiled, before he realized what had just come out of his mouth. Sometimes his brain to mouth filter was fucking useless. 'Jesus Negan, she's young enough to be you're fucking daughter' he told himself.

Sky blushed and looked up at him from her spot on the edge of the bed with a shy smile. Was he flirting with her? Because that definitely sounded like he was flirting. She brushed a stray bit of the longer front part of her hair from her face and all he could think about was how fucking beautiful she looked, and a part of him just wanted to shamelessly flirt with her and she how much he could make her blush.

"Did you have a man before all this? Or after the world turned to shit?" he asked boldly. Negan never cared about boundaries, besides he was the boss and he could ask whatever the damn hell he pleased.

"No sir" she replied quietly, the blush creeping back into her cheeks.

"You have a girl then?" he asked as he gave her a sideways look with a smirk, and damn he looked sexy as hell. What in god's name was he doing to her?

"No sir" she laughed in response.

"So before all this you never…?" he began, as it dawned on him just what those men had taken from her. His blood boiled with anger, and he had the sudden urge to wrap Lucille around someone's fucking skull.

"No… I never…" she said, unable to the finish the sentence.

"Mother fuckers" Negan growled, as Lucille twitched beneath his vice like grip. He wished he could bring those bastards back from the dead just so he could make them suffer some more. Not only had they taken from her what was a woman's to give to someone, but she had never gotten to experience anything of a sexual nature other than rape.

She watched him quietly as the thoughts seemed to tick over in his mind. She could see the anger burning behind his eyes, and was bracing herself for him to lash out. But it never came. He took a deep breath and she visibly saw his shoulders relax, his grip around Lucille loosening.

"Get some rest Darlin' I'll see you tomorrow" he told her, as though they had made plans.

"Night" she called after him as he headed for the door and stepped out into the night closing it behind him. He stood there for a moment, processing the whole encounter, relieved when he heard the lock on her door click. Not only did he feel protective on Sky, but he felt something else for her. She was gorgeous and she had spunk. When he looked into her beautiful blue eyes he saw nothing but truth and honesty. She never looked at him with fear, despite having seen the brutal side of him. He'd never felt anything, for anyone since Lucille. He was in uncharted waters, and he knew the last thing he should do was rock the boat, but he just couldn't help himself. Negan needed to know her. He wanted to know everything there was to know about her, he wanted to fix her, and maybe fix himself a little in the process.


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