Negan's Rose

by xxBrittMintxx

Melrose Grimes is taken to the Sanctuary as extra leverage to keep her father, Rick, under control. Once there, she accepts Negan's "proposal" and becomes one of his wives, in order to gain his trust and to kill him—but things change. She becomes infatuated with him just as he is infatuated with her. Can she fight her feelings? Can she help her family? Or will it be an all-out war?

2. The Sanctuary

Like I said, I'm writing this just to write~ So if you enjoy this, then please leave a review! Thanks for reading :)

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Chapter 2: The Sanctuary

Melrose Grimes had no comprehension of how much time had passed, as the van continued to bump along the road, all she knew is that it was hot as hell in the back of this van, she was sore and exhausted, pissed off, scared, and thirsty as fuck. She licked her lips, her mouth was so dry, but she could ignore that for a few more moments; Mel sat ready to pounce, her eyes focused on the door, waiting for the instant that they would open, she gripped the knife in her hand, tighter. Sweat trickled down her neck and forehead, her long dark brunette hair was clinging to her moistened flesh; her clothes continued to stick to her body uncomfortably, Fuck, I'd kill for a shower and some water., She thought.

Suddenly, Mel was lunged forward—the van had stopped—her heart began to pound as adrenaline coursed throughout her being, she steadied herself once more, knife ready in hand, waiting for the moment, streams of sunlight would flood into the darkness...

She sat, listening, her nostrils flaring as she breathed in and out; she could hear the driver and passenger side doors of the vehicle, slamming shut, and then the sound of booted footsteps crunching against gravel. Mel could hear murmuring voices, it sounded as if they were right in front of the doors that enclosed her from the outside world; as quietly as she could, she inched herself closer towards the metal doors—Creak—the rusting metal latch of the van's doors called out, and slowly a breach of yellow sunlight slivered through the crack of the opening doors, Melrose instantly charged through the doors, forcing them open and leaping out, her eyes spotted three Saviors, large men, she grunted, plunging her knife into the neck of the first one, she quickly yanked it out, blood began spurting from the man's neck like a water fountain of red; Two left. She thought, as one of them raced towards her, she spun around slicing, deep into his forearm, Good enough. Mel began to run, to where...she didn't know, she just wanted to get away, she realized that she was now in a large, confined courtyard, blocked by a never ending chain linked fence; as she ran her eyes moved upward to see the enormous towering building that she assumed was the Saviors home, their community. She could tell that before the world had gone to shit and was crawling with Walkers, that this place had been a factory; she continued running, breathing harder now, until out of the corner of her eye she spotted a black truck speeding towards her. Mel skidded to a stop and quickly spun around, but was clothesline by one of the Saviors who had been chasing her; she gasped as the wind was knocked out her, she turned on her to stomach trying to crawl away, reaching for the knife that she had dropped, but the Savior with the injured forearm had joined his friend. The one had her pinned down with all of his weight crushing her, while the injured one, grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her head back which caused her to yelp. Mel glared still struggling to reach the knife when finally her fingertips brushed the handle and she gripped onto it tightly; the truck had screeched to a stop before the pile of them, and out stepped Negan, with Lucille perched against his shoulder.

The leader of the Saviors swaggered towards the restrained Melrose, he stared down at her smirking, his dark brown eyes noticed the knife, clutched in her hand, his smirk widened as he placed a booted foot onto her fists, twisting his heel in her bone; she winced, but refused to let go, which caused Negan to add more pressure, until finally...she released the knife.

"Good girl."Negan grinned darkly, he nodded his head, "Set her up."He told his goons, to which they obeyed. The two Saviors yanked her to a kneeling position but still had their iron like hands forcing her arms back behind her back; Mel glowered at Negan as he squated before her, anger was boiling in her blood. "Now, I know we started off on the wrong foot and all, but I would like for us to start out on a fresh, clean slate."He said, picking up her knife, it was clearly now in his possession.

"She fucking just killed Blane."One of the Saviors spat, "She cut my fucking arm open! She deserves to die, I can do it for you, Negan."He hissed, yanking her head back by her hair.

Mel's lips formed a purse line as she breathed raggedly, Negan looked up at his lackey, he stroked the salt and pepper stubble that lined his jawline and narrowed his dark eyes at his man. "No. I don't think you fucking will, I thought I made it fucking clear, that she is my leverage, now, tell me why, Mike, would I kill my fucking leverage?"He spat, enraged. "Plus, she's hot as hell! Now...killing her, that would be a real fucking shame. Let go of her hair, ass."

The hurt Savior named Mike slowly released Mel's hair from his grip, "I'm sorry about that, sweetheart, now, since you and I are clearly going to be spending some quality time together, well, I'm gonna need to know your name, since you know mine. So, what is it? Huh? What is your name, baby doll?"Negan asked, a crooked smile curled up on his lips.

Melrose glowered at him and spat in his face, "Go to hell."She hissed.

Negan chuckled as he wiped her saliva from his face, "Damn, you got them same baby blues that Old Papa Rick has, and ya know...you are giving me that same, damn look."He said, through gritted teeth. "I'm trying to be a gentlemen here, honey, I don't think I asked for too fucking much,"Negan snapped, grabbing a hold of Mel's face so that she was forced to meet his gaze, "all I want to know is your name...now tell me your ***damn name!"He barked, his fingertips were drilling into cheekbones, she narrowed her eyes at him as she winced, but remained silent, "Daddy Rick was calling out 'Mel', now I'm guessing that's short for something, right?"Negan asked, arching a brow, as his grip tightened.

"Y-Yeah."Mel said,

Negan smirked, "Yeah, so what is it?"He asked, softly, removing his hand from her face,

"Melrose."

His smirk widened, "Melrose,"Negan repeated, "pretty name. You got a middle name to go with that?"

Mel stared at him with a furrowed brow, "What the hell does it matter?"She snapped,

"Like I said, you and I are going to be spending a lot of time together, so, I want to get to know you, Melrose."Negan replied,

"Fine...it's Victoria."She spat, rolling her eyes. Mel despised her middle name, "Melrose Victoria', it was just a fucking mouth full,

"Melrose Victoria, now that's just fucking beautiful."Negan smiled, teasingly, "Was your mama some sort of English scholar?"

Melrose gritted her teeth and flashed him a glare as she scoffed, Negan raised his eyesbrows, making a shocked expression, "Ooooh, so mama is a touchy subject, huh?"He said, "So how old are you, Melrose?"He asked,

She remained silent, which clearly pissed him off, "I said how old are you?"He repeated, inching the bloodied Lucille beside her face.

Melrose jerked her head away, trembling, the bat was still covered in Glenn and Abraham's blood, chunks of their flesh still clung to the metal barbs. She closed her eyes, "Twenty-three."She said, softly.

"Good, good age."Negan smiled, as he swung Lucille back against his shoulder,

"Now...will you tell these pricks to let go of me? I'm not gonna try anything else, you have my fucking knife."Mel snapped, struggling against her captors grasp.

Negan's smirk widened, his eyes shot up to his goons, "You heard the lady."He said, giving them a hardened look.

Immediately, they released her, Melrose slowly rose to her feet, brushing herself off, "Now, why don't I show you around, Melrose, you and I have a lot to talk about, ya see baby doll, I've got a proposition for you."Negan said, as he began to encircle her as if he were a vulture,

"A proposition?"Mel repeated, arching a brow.

"Yeah,"Negan grinned, "and not gonna lie, but it's pretty fucking sweet."

She clenched her jaw, Mel glanced about noticing that the black van that carried Daryl Dixon away was nowhere to be found, a sudden emptiness filled her stomach. "Where's Daryl?"Mel asked.

Negan's lips formed a purse line, "That, my dear, is none of your concern, ya see, Daryl is gonna have his very own proposition, and if he refuses...well, sucks to be him, but you on the other hand, are in a much better position."He grinned, staring down at her.

Being this close to him now, Melrose realized how tall Negan was, he easily towered over her five foot and three inches, he had to be at least six foot, his arms were well toned and his leather jacket fitted them nicely. She lowered her gaze, as Negan wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leaning into her, "Drew, make sure to stab Blane in the head so he doesn't come back, lumbering around, and Mike get the fuck to Doctor Carson so he can patch up your boo-boo."Negan said, "I am showing our special guest around the premises."He grinned, swaggering away, which launched Melrose forward, forcing her to walk with him. Her boots scuffed against the gravel as she stumbled, attached to Negan's side. Melrose's eyes followed the chain linked fence which seemed to have no end, until she realized that there were two layers of fence; there was the fence which was securing this large opened area and then there was another surrounding the entire factory. She realized he was leading them towards a large chain linked gate, this part of the fences were littered with prickling barbed wire about the tops; multiple chains with large metal locks were wrapped about the posts. There was a lanky, tall white man with blazing red hair which reminded Mel of Abraham, she swallowed hard as she lowered her eyes to the chalky white gravel beneath her feet. They paused before the gate, waiting for the man to give them entrance, "Can you make it today, Red?" Negan sighed,

"Y-Yes Negan, I'm sorry."The man stammered, fumbling with the ring of keys and many locks, finally he successfully unlocked them all and pulled back the gate, allowing them access to the Sanctuary.

Mel narrowed her eyes up at Negan as he pushed her along beside him, she shrugged his massive arm off of her shoulder and began to move away from him, but Negan quickly grabbed her by her arm, yanking her back to him, "Ooh wee, baby doll, where do you think you're going?"He smirked, as he squeezed the meat above her elbow harshly,

Melrose glared up at him, "I'm not going anywhere, I can walk on my fucking own, I don't need to you to parade me around like some fucking show pony."She snapped.

Negan's smirk widened as he chuckled, "Damn, Old Papa Rick, did a mighty fine job on you, Melrose, you're not scared of shit."He taunted, releasing her from his grasp. "Stay close, baby doll, some of my guys can't help themselves around a pretty lady,"He abruptly paused and turned to face her, "if any of them touches you, and you don't give them permission, you tell me."His whole demeanor changed as he uttered that sentence, a dark shadow seemed to cover his face, as a serious gleam shone in his dark brown eyes, "Got it?"

"Yeah."She muttered,

The serious tone only lasted a brief moment, Negan smirked down at her, turned on his heels and outstretched his arms, slinging Lucille with him, "Welcome to the Sanctuary, Melrose Grimes, this is your new home."Negan bellowed.

Melrose closed her eyes and sighed as she followed behind him, the fastening of the metal locks seemed to echo within her ears. There was no going back now. She was expecting Negan to take her in through the front of the overlooking factory, but he turned, leading her around the side of the building. Melrose looked up, now that she was within the gates of the Saviors compound she could get a better look at the size of the place, it was enormous, compared to the Alexandria Safe-Zone. They finally reached the other side and she was taken aback by the sudden greenery, a vast and lush garden lined the entire left side of the compound, she saw bright red, large tomatoes, rows of carrots and potatoes, lettuce and cabbage and to her surprise she saw actual chickens roaming about, while others were roosting within the small wooden chicken coops. Melrose paused, watching as a group of men and women were collecting some of the vegetables, placing them into large wicker baskets, while some were gathering eggs from the coops. "Holy shit."She mumbled, under her breath.

"What? You don't have a garden back at Alexandria?"Negan inquired,

"No, we do, but to be honest...it's nothing like this. And we definitely don't have chickens."Melrose admitted. She tried to remember the last time she saw a chicken, but failed.

"Well, we have a little bit of everything here, Melrose, I take care of my people."Negan replied, "As long as they follow the rules and do their fair share of work, life is easy, my friend."He began walking once again and she followed behind him,

"Rules? Work? Well, sounds like you have your own little world here, huh." Melrose said. "So what happens if someone breaks the rules? Or doesn't work?"

Negan smirked, "Well then, if someone doesn't work, they don't earn points, therefore, they don't eat, they don't drink, they don't own shit! And if some dumbass doesn't follow my rules, which are very simple, then they will have to deal with corporal punishment, but that depends on which rule they fucking break."

A sudden chill shivered down Mel's spine, Damn..., She thought, realizing how powerful, how in control Negan really was. He owned the people in here and on the outside. He owned everything. "You have a point system? So what, do the points act as money?"Melrose inquired.

"That they do, baby doll."Negan replied,

"Wow,"She said under her breath, "this place is something else."

"Oh you haven't seen anything yet, Melrosy,"Negan said, flashing a smile back at her, "in fact, I think I'll show you the Marketplace next."

Melrose arched a brow, "A marketplace? Are you fucking serious?"She asked,

Negan laughed, "I am as fucking serious as it gets, baby doll."He said, "If you see anything you like, you just take it."

Melrose's brow furrowed, "What about your points? I clearly haven't done anything to earn any points, so wouldn't that be...stealing? Or are you saying that, since I'm with you, the rules are out the fucking window? Seems pretty arrogant for a leader to not follow his own rules, won't that cause some friction in your little system?"She asked.

Negan paused and began to laugh, he turned around facing her, clicking his tongue as he looked her up and down, "***-Damn, you...you have one fucking sarcastic mouth on you, baby doll," He leaned over, his face just inches away from her own, "and that is going to get you in some trouble someday."He whispered, she narrowed her eyes at him, to which he just smirked, "You best be glad, I like 'em feisty."He said, his smile widening, while his dark brown eyes sparkled with sexual desire.

Melrose cut her eyes up at him, she clenched her jaw as she stared hard at him; Negan's grin widened, as he snickered, he raised his gloved hand and gripped the end of her chin, "Damn, Melrose, Melrose,...those big ol' baby blues could fucking kill a man."

She shoved his hand away, refusing to meet his gaze again, Negan just laughed and then turned on his heels, using his baseball bat as if it were a cane. Melrose rolled her eyes and followed behind him, for what else could she do?

---

Negan led her towards the rear of the compound, he turned to the right side of the building, towards a set of large, metal double doors, the once gray paint was slowly chipping away, to leave the metal of the doors, exposed to the elements. Negan forced open the doors which swung inward, slamming against the walls of the inside, Melrose followed him inside; her eyes widened at the sight of the so called "Marketplace", she could tell that this was only a small part of the enormous building, and she could tell that this once was part of the factory's lower level. The entire spacious room was filled with tables and booths, piled with everything you could imagine: some had stacks of clothing, while others were loaded down with books, DVDs, CDs, and other electronics; Melrose spotted at one booth a woman was preparing and kneeding a large dough of homemade bread, some loaves of bread had already been baked and were ready for purchase, another booth nearby which seemed to be ran by an older African-American man, had jars of various sizes, which were filled with homemade pickles, jams, and salsas. People filled the area, whether they were buying or in charge of a booth, a clamorous chatter filled the air; for a moment, Melrose's heart sank into her belly, as she looked here and there, people were everyone, men, women, and even kids. The Saviors had more numbers than they had ever realized, and something told her, that this...wasn't even the half of them. Her eyes lowered to the floor, We didn't even put a dent in their numbers..., She realized, then that her and the Survivors blowing up those outposts, hadn't hurt the Saviors at all...

"Holy crap,"Melrose muttered, shaking her darkened thoughts away,

Negan smirked as he walked up beside her, placing a hand onto her shoulder, "Pretty sweet, huh? Go on, feel free to look around, baby doll."He said, giving her a gentle shove, Melrose shot him a dirty look, but was thankful to get out from under his thumb, even for just a moment.

Melrose made her way down the first row of tables, her eyes glancing over the items that each one carried: she passed tables that had knick-knacks and various items from hair brushes to scissors, to colorful pens and pencils, one table had children's stuffed animals which caused her throat to tighten as she thought of Judith. She closed her eyes and moved on, when suddenly she glanced over at a booth and noticed a large, leather bound book; Melrose strolled over to the table, and read the chipped, golden foil letters printed onto the tome's cover: The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe. The author of old, known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, was one of her favorites, tenderly, Melrose picked up the book and turned it over to see in which order his works were in within the pages.

"Hey!"A croaky voice rasped, before going into a hacking fit,

Melrose looked up, to see the owner of the booth, a wrinkly old woman who truly looked like a witch from a fairytale, glared at her, "You better be payin' for that."The old woman snapped, before spitting a wad of mucus onto the floor.

"Sorry...I was just looking."Melrose replied, placing the book back down onto the table.

"I don't accept browsers."The old woman hissed, narrowing her already squinty eyes at her.

"Again, I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't know."She said, backing away from the hag's table, when suddenly she bumped into someone behind her. Melrose quickly turned around to see that it was Negan, he grinned down at her and then grabbed her by her elbow, hauling her back towards the old woman's booth.

"Maybelle, Maybelle,"Negan grinned, at the old woman whose appearance completely changed, "is there a problem here?"He asked, arching a bushy brow at the elderly woman.

"I-I was just telling this girly here, that..that I don't want no window shoppers..."The old lady stammered, "N-Negan, sir."She quickly added.

"Hmm, is that so."Negan said, "Well, you may not know this, Maybelle, dear, but this, is Melrose, and she...she is a very special guest of mine, and if she wants this book here, then just put it on my tab. Okay?"He replied, he narrowed his eyes at her, but yet a crooked grin formed on his lips.

Melrose felt a bit sorry for the old woman, who gulped and nodded, "Y-Yes, of course, Negan sir."She said, her wrinkled, trembling hands, picked up the book and she held it out towards Melrose, "Here...e-enjoy."She said, forcing a smile which revealed just a few yellow jagged teeth.

Mel tried to smile back as she took the book from the woman's leathery hands, "Thank you."She said.

"Anything else you want, baby doll?"Negan asked, looking down at her.

"No. And you didn't have to do that, it wasn't a big deal."She replied, as they walked down the remaining aisles of the Marketplace.

He smirked, "I told you anything you want, you take it. I am paying after all."

She rolled her eyes, "Mhm. Thanks but no thanks, this is fine."Mel said, clutching the book in her arms.

"So you like to read, huh?"

"Yeah."She said, briefly. Melrose had always enjoyed reading, even as a child, she enjoyed opening up a book and losing herself within the pages, letting her imagination transport her to other worlds. And since she was here now, being held against her will, well, she knew she needed something to lose herself in. She looked up to see that Negan was leading her towards a lone metal door in the corner of the spacious room, "Where are you taking me now?"Mel asked, as he yanked the door open, holding it for her to enter first.

"You'll see."Was all he said,

Melrose stared hard at him for a second and then finally walked past him, she entered a small corridor with blackened stairs, she craned her neck up seeing that the stairwell coiled up to unknown height. "Where do these stairs go?"She asked, looking back at Negan who let the door slam shut, which echoed within the stairwell.

He smiled, perching Lucille on his shoulder, as he stomped up the first few steps, "Oh, just to one of my favorite places of the Sanctuary, the upper levels allow you to over look the whole compound,"Negan breathed in deeply and smirked, glancing back at her, as she followed him up the stairs, "feels good to gaze upon one's hard work from a bird's eye view. Makes me feel like a big ol' fucking bird, overlooking all the smaller birds."He replied, with a dark laugh.

Melrose rolled her eyes, "Must make you feel like a king, huh?"She said, snidely.

Negan let out a long breathy, sinister laugh, "Baby doll, I just rule the roost, anyone who follows my rules and works for me, will live like a fucking king."He said, smirking.

"Is that so? Is that how you bribe everyone to join you?"She asked, passing him and climbing up the next few steps.

Negan reached up and grabbed her arm, yanking her backwards, a gasp caught in her throat as she lost her footing and was dragged down to the step on which Negan was standing, he narrowed his eyes at her, "Oooh, Melrose, there is no fucking bribe. It's a fucking promise."His lips curled into a crooked grin, "Once you've been here long enough, you'll see, and if you accept my proposition, oh, then you will reallly fucking see."

Her heart pounded in her chest, as he stared at her with a dark gleam in his, finally he released her and shoved past her, Melrose closed her eyes and released the breath she was holding, she clutched her book close to her chest, and then forced herself to follow him behind.

Melrose wasn't sure how many flights of stairs that they had ascended, but her legs and joints began to ache. She sighed under her breath, wondering if these staircase even had an end; at each new landing was a metal door which lead to another level of the building, a tiny window was in the middle of each door, Melrose paused at one and peered inside to see hallways lined with doors and bright hanging lights from the ceilings. She assumed these lead to the living quarters of the Saviors, she unglued herself from the landing and hurried up the steps, catching up with Negan; at last, they reached the top, which was yet another metal door that lead to a large cement balcony, flaking yellow painted rails secured the edges of the balcony, Negan strolled out into the sunlight and turned around grinning, propping his elbows onto the railing. Melrose walked out, joining him at his side and overlooked the ground, they were at least five, if not six stories high, from here you could see everything: the lush gardens, the large fences, she glanced over to the right to see another fenced in area, there were dirty looking men in gray baggy sweatsuits, each had a letter of the alphabet spray painted onto their clothing in bright orange paint. The men rushed about, moving growling and hissing pieces of Walkers securing them to the other fences; she raised a brow in suspicion.

"What are they doing?"She asked, looking over at him.

Negan raised his brows and glanced over his shoulder, "Oh my little free laborers?"He inquired, "Well, they are using those sorry sacks of shit as extra protection from all the riff raff."

Melrose smirked and looked back to the men running about and the Walkers that were now trapped onto the fences, "Wow...that's actually pretty smart."She admitted. The more she watched them, the more it suddenly dawned on her, these men...were somehow different from the Saviors she had come in contact with; these men were dressed completely different and were...labeled. They must be low on the food chain here, She thought. "So...is this where Daryl is going?"She questioned.

Negan rolled his head over to look at her, and gave her a warning look, "I thought I said he was none of your concern."He snapped, "What...are you engaged to the guy?"He asked, his dark brown eyes cutting to the diamond engagement ring on her finger.

Melrose scoffed. "No...he's like a brother to me."She said,

"Buuuut, you are promised to someone? That's a mighty pretty ring on that finger, tell me, was it one of the ones that I,"Negan paused, smirking, and slammed Lucille against the railing.

She took a step backward and stared at him in disbelief, she shook the expression away and narrowed her eyes at him. "No. Jase wasn't there."She spat, You better be glad too..., She thought.

Negan rubbed his chin in thought, "Oh, so lover boy is back home in Alexandria, huh?"He smirked. Melrose didn't answer and moved her gaze back to the men in gray suits down below. Negan clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Fine, you ain't gotta answer,"He said, before nodding his head towards the door, "Come on, Melrosy, I got one more place to show you before we settle down and talk."He smiled darkly, as he turned back towards the door.

Melrose gave those men one last look, and then moved away from the railing and following behind Negan.

---

The two descended down the first flight of stairs, Negan paused at the second landing and forced open the door, holding it open for Melrose, he bowed tauntingly, Melrose rolled her eyes and entered the hallway, this was considered the "top" floor, since the highest level lead out to an open area. Negan walked past her and she trailed behind him, there were doors on both sides of hall, to which they passed the first set of five, he scuffed his boots across the floor as he paused before a dark wooden door, a huge smirk spread across his face as he tapped Lucille against the door- Knock, knock, knock- and then he turned the knob and forced it open, "Helllo ladies."He smiled, that coprophagous grin. Melrose entered the room behind him and looked about the highly expensive decorated room to see about twenty to thirty women ranging from Negan's age to her own age, to a little older than herself. Her brow furrowed as she gazed upon these beautiful women who were all dressed in black, tight fitting dresses, like those men in the gray baggy suits with letters sprayed upon their chests, these women were clearly labeled, as well. These black dresses meant something. These women wore thick, glamorous makeup and black, shiny stiletto heels and jewelry; this was a large opened room which had door to the left and right leading to places unknown to her, in one corner of the room was an open bar, with various shot glasses and alcohol ranging from brandy, to vodka, to whiskey.

"Ladies, this is Melrose Grimes,"Negan smirked, "she is my very special guest."He introduced.

The women muttered 'hellos' and other greetings, Melrose shook her head, her lips formed a purse line, "Um...hi."She said, confused.

Negan looked over at her and smiled, "Melrose, these lovely ladies are my wives.

She stood frozen and speechless for a moment, "I-I'm sorry, did you just say...wives?"She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Negan's smile widened, "Indeed, I most certainly did."

Melrose scoffed, "You've got to be fucking kidding me."She snapped, "What...what am I even doing here?"She demanded.

"Well, I came to get me a fucking drink,"Negan replied, as he sauntered over to the open door in the corner of the room, he picked his glass and choice of poison and began to pour, "and I figured, that my lovely and kind and giving wives, could help you pick out a set of fresh clothes, and...maybe a dress for later."He smirked, looking her up and down.

Melrose narrowed her eyes at him, her fingernails dug into the cover of her book harshly. "Tammy, Lily, why don't you help, Melrose pick out something, while I enjoy my drink."Negan said.

Melrose watched as two of the women rose from their seats on the black and golden, antique Victorian styled sofa, and stepped forward; the first was a beautiful beach bottle blonde, with dark green eyes and long lashes, her hair was worn in long spiral curls that spilled down her back. She had fair skin, with pale freckles, here and there on her arms; the dress she wore was a black halter top type with a tight little skirt, that was hiked up from her lounging about. She was skinnier than the second girl, who was just as beautiful; the second woman was a gorgeous Asian woman, with lightly tanned skin, she had dark chocolate eyes with think lashes. Her long, pencil straight ebony hair was piled onto her head in a messy, yet elegant bun, her black dress was a sleeveless style with a turtleneck, neckline. Both women appeared to be a few years older than Melrose, herself, and both women smiled at her remorsefully, with red and rose colored lips and glistening white teeth. The blonde strolled up and linked arms with Melrose, "Come on sweetie, we'll pick you out something nice."She grinned.

Melrose glanced over at her, as the two women began leading her out of the room, "Umm..thanks."She muttered. She wasn't really sure what else to say, these women all seemed kind but...something just felt off, in their eyes you could see a void filled with sorrow and darkness. Once the dark-haired woman shut the door behind them, sealing them into what looked to be a giant bedroom, Melrose, huffed a sigh of relief for being out of Negan's sight. "How can you put up with that?"She asked.

"Oh, he's not...that bad."The blonde replied, crossing the room, pausing before a large wardrobe that had its doors hanging opened, inside Melrose could see numerous dresses of different styles, all in the shade of black. The woman bent down to the lower drawers and began rummaging through piles of colored clothes that seemed to had been forgotten.

"There's no way that all of you agreed to become his wives, right?"Melrose said, a bit harshly, "He had to have forced you."

"Actually, he didn't."The dark haired woman answered as she perched herself on the edge of the ginormous bed that took up most of the room, piles of silken pillows and silk blankets covered the bed and spilled down to the floor, like streams of colorful ink. "Negan gave us the choice and...we accepted."She said, "I am Lily, by the way, and that is Tammy."She introduced.

Melrose nodded and feigned a smile that quickly vanished, "You're telling me that all of you willingly agreed to this?"She stated, stunned.

Tammy sighed and ceased sorting through the clothes, "You're new here, honey, you don't know how things work here...we all have our reasons. My little brother needs medicine, and that...is hard to scavenge, so it costs more points...I-I couldn't afford it even with all the work that I did...so I left my boyfriend and brother and married Negan, and now, he's taking care of my little brother, making sure he has his meds."She replied, she turned around to Melrose and smiled faintly, her green eyes filled with sadness.

It felt as if someone had punched Melrose right in the gut, she suddenly felt empty and ashamed, "I-I'm so sorry...I shouldn't have said anything...I am so sorry."She said, softly.

"Hey, it's okay, no harm done."Lily replied,

"So, what size shirt are you, honey?"Tammy asked, breaking the silence,

"Um, just give me a large, I don't like my clothes being too tight."She informed.

"Well, you might have to get used to that,"Lily said,

Melrose glanced over at her and furrowed her brow, Lily turned away and Melrose pretended that she hadn't heard her, as an uneasy feeling began to flow through her. Tammy gathered a white t-shirt, a pair of jeans and some black matching undergarments, "Here, these should fit you, and if they don't just bring them back and we can find you something else. If they do, feel free to keep them, we don't...really have the use for these types of clothes anymore."

Melrose took them from her and smiled faintly, "Thanks."She said, "Uh..you don't really think I'll need a...dress, right?"She asked, in a shaky tone.

"You don't have to pick one now, you can always come back later if Negan...well, makes you one of us, we have plenty that you can pick from."Tammy said, in an uncanny cheerful voice.

Melrose gulped, "Do you...,"She paused, hanging her head down in defeat as she sighed, "do you think he's going to?"

Tammy and Lily exchanged an apologetic look, before Lily walked over to Melrose and placed a comforting hand onto her shoulder, "Honestly Melrose, I do...we've gotten to know Negan over the years, the way he looks at you...he's completely infatuated with you."She said.

Melrose released a trembling breath, "Oh shit..."She cursed. Her mind began to race, this...this HAD to be the proposition Negan had been going on about. She closed her eyes, she could feel her throat contracting, and unshed tears stinging the backs of her eyes, she swallowed hard and refused to cry in front of these women that she had just met. She sighed and turned back towards the door, "Thanks for the clothes, and...it was nice to meet you."She said, rather quickly. Melrose was tired of waiting, now that she was piecing things together about the unspoken proposal Negan was mentioning here and there; she was growing tired of him fucking her around.

Melrose forced the door open and reentered the room to find Negan stretched out on the couch, now enjoying a beer from a dark colored bottle, two of his many wives were sitting beside him as he grinned, clearly relishing in the sick perks of HIS world. He glanced over at her and smirked, sitting up so he propped his elbows on his knees, "Did my dear wives, get you all squared away?"He asked, grinning.

"Yeah."She spat.

Negan chugged the rest of his beer and released a long and exaggerated "Ahhhhhh," before saying, "Good. Come on, we got one more little stop to make—"

"How many more fucking stops are we going to make?"Melrose snapped, she clenched her jaw in anger as Negan peered over at her, clearly not amused at her outburst. He slowly walked over to her and stared down at her, in a hard manner, she looked up at him, returning his expression, "You keep talking about a proposition, so why don't you just fucking tell me what the fuck it is, and stop jerking me around."

Negan smirked, clicking his tongue before he released a low, dark, chuckle, "That, my dear, will come when I fucking want it to."He grinned grimly, "Here, I am tryin' to be a ***-Damn, gentlemen, you, Melrose,...have had a one hellll of a day, so I buy you a book, I let my wives give you some fresh clean clothes and...the next thing I am going to let you have is a nice, hot shower...so, I will fucking go over my proposition then."Negan snapped, "Is that alright with you?"He asked, through gritted teeth.

Melrose narrowed her eyes at him, "Fine."She hissed, she wasn't going to admit to him but at the mention of a shower, she was truly grateful. She longed to rid herself of these sticky, dirty clothes and have hot, steaming water pour over her grimy feeling skin.

Negan's smile widened, "I thought so, baby doll."He said, raising his gloved handed to her face and gently patting her on her left cheek before he turned on his heels and tromped towards the door.

---

Once they left the den of Negan's wives, they reached the end of the hallway and took a turn to the right, which led to another hallway lined with doors, which they continued past. Melrose spotted that at the end of the hall were what appeared to be the factories' old locker rooms and shower rooms, that were across from each other, there was a sign on the left and right walls, in faded letters, the left read: Women's, while the right was labeled: Men's. Negan turned to the left, slinging Lucille, as he began to whistle that ominous tone, which echoed within the room; Melrose entered behind him to find that all the lockers that had once filled the room were completely stripped away, leaving behind nothing but the outlined rust stains that marked the wall, indicating of what once was; on the wooden benches sat numerous piles of fluffy white towels and wash clothes, there were various bottles of shampoos and soaps which lined the counter tops that came out of the walls before a large, cracked mirror. This room led to a larger room which was made of gray tile from ceiling to floor, in the midst of the room was a large white antique claw-foot bathtub; there was a lone, porcelain sink against the wall, a small mirror was secured above it. Negan turned around, and outstretched his arms, "Well," He smiled, "you just feel free to use whatever you need, whatever you want, Melrose."

Melrose looked around the room and glanced back at the entrance way, there was no door, it was completely open, meaning anyone, could enter, whether they were female or not. She bit her bottom lip as a wave of uneasiness washed over her, the men that formed the Saviors, she did not trust them. Negan followed her gaze and then looked back at her, as he closed the distance between them, "Hey, no one is going to be on this floor, you will have complete privacy; I got everyone scheduled on jobs right now, leaving this floor, empty."He reassured as if he could read her mind, he bent down, leaning towards her, "And...if anyone happens to be sneaking about, believe me, baby doll, they are gonna wish that they hadn't."Negan said, in a hushed tone, "So, you take as long as you want, and I will be back to retrieve you, in a bit, so we can go over my little proposition."He said with a dark smile and a wink.

"Yeah, okay."Melrose replied, Negan began to make his leave, she glanced over her shoulder, watching him, "Negan,"She said,

He stopped in his tracks and rolled his head over at her, "Yes?"He inquired, arching a bushy brow.

"Thank you..."She muttered, already regretting the words spewing from her lips.

Negan smirked, "You are most certainly, welcome, Melrose Grimes."He said, before turning on his heels, he began whistling that same grim tune before making his leave, the echo of that whistle, lingering in the air. Melrose waited until she was certain that Negan was long gone, and then released a sigh. She walked towards the sink and laid her new clothes across the sink, and sat her book down on the counter. She turned around and gathered a towel and washcloth; Melrose glanced through the variety of shampoos and finally, decided on one that claimed to smell of rose water, she snatched up the first bar of soap that she saw, not particularly caring what scent it had, as long as it cleaned away the dirt and grime. The bar she had selected was a pale purple hue, Melrose raised it her nose and inhaled, catching the faint scent of lavender; she selected a matching bottle of bubble bath to go along with it.

She glanced behind her, seeing that she was indeed all alone here in this vast room; she tugged her boots off and removed her socks, Melrose wrinkled her nose as she pulled off her sweaty socks, Thank fuck Negan is allowing me to shower..., She thought, gratefully, tossing her soiled socks to the floor. She could not stand being restricted to these grungy clothes anymore, she hated the way they had begun to stick to her skin. Melrose slowly began to peel off her stained clothes, letting them fall to the floor in a pile by her feet. She stepped into the larger room, the gray titled floors felt cold beneath her feet, she sat her toiletries nearby for easy access and then turned on the metal faucets of the tub, adjusting them for an acceptable temperature. As the tub filled up with water, she poured in the bubble bath, watching as the hot water and suds began to create bubbly clouds; Melrose closed her eyes, only to be haunted by the images of Glenn and Abraham's gruesome deaths, the scared faces of her father and brother, and of the other Survivors, she could still hear Maggie's broken cries ringing in her ears. Her eyes shot open as she heard the old pipes rumbling, she quickly shut off the faucets, as she noticed the water and bubbles were almost to the edge of the tub. Melrose slowly sank into the tub full of hot, sudsy, water, some spilled out onto the titled floor once she was completely submerged. As she rose back out of the water, resting against the back of the tub, she pushed her now drenched hair out of her face, she closed her eyes, feeling the water droplets trickling down her face and that's when the tears began to fall. Melrose pulled her legs close to her chest and began to break down when she felt that her engagement ring was still on her finger, an ache filled her heart as she slowly lifted her head; the diamond caught the light just right, making it shine. She twisted the ring gently, letting it continue to twinkle in the light, her brow furrowed as more tears stung the backs of her eyes. Jase, Melrose thought sorrowfully, I-I never even got to say good-bye...or see you one last time. The tears were streaming down her face now, as she attempted to choke back a heartbreaking sob—now she was here, and she knew what Negan wanted...what he was going to offer for her.

Melrose shook the thought away, she grasped the edge of the tub, as another sob escaped her lips—Who would sing Judith her lullabies now? There was a certain order in which the songs had to be sung to get her young sister to sleep, it had been her job since she was born into this Walker infested world. Her heart ached as if she could already hear Judith's wailings; she was never going to see her again, she was never going to see her father or brother again, she was never going to see Jase or any of the other Survivors, her family...again. Melrose placed a hand over her mouth as she squeezed her eyes shut, tears streamed down her cheeks as she was breaking inside, screaming inside...she abruptly froze, gazing at her reflection in the soapy water, a trembling, sobbing mess stared back at her. Melrose took a deep breath, her nostrils flared as she pushed back her wet hair and then wiped her tears away, Stop, She told herself, you have to be strong and do whatever it takes to survive here, for them. She thought. For her father, Rick, for Carl, for Jase and Judith, for every single one of them back in Alexandria.

Melrose finished her bath focusing on only one thought: Survive. She released the drain as she climbed out of the bathtub, she unfolded the towel and first dried her hair before drying herself off; she pulled the new clothes on, the undergarments fit perfectly as well as the jeans, the shirt was at least two sizes too big but she didn't mind the looseness. Melrose strolled over to the sink and with her hand, she wiped away the fog from the mirror, only to realize she wasn't alone anymore; her entire body tensed as she saw the Savior who she stabbed in the arm from her attempted escape earlier. A darkness shadowed the guy's face and burned in his eyes as he slowly stepped further into the room; Melrose slowly turned around, keeping her back pressed against the edge of the sink.

"Remember me?"The Savior asked as he crossed the room, closing in on her, Melrose remained silent, "My name is Mike."He said, Melrose, narrowed her eyes at him as he continued to walk towards her. She noticed that his injured arm had been bandaged, he appeared to be a few years older than she was; he was grungy, unshaven stubble lined his jawline and was creeping down his neck. He had dark brown eyes and dirty, greasy looking brunette hair which was long and shaggy and pushed out of his face, except for a few strands which seemed to be matted down onto his sweaty brow.

Fuck, She cursed, her knife was gone. She glanced down trying to find something that she could use as a weapon but there was nothing, she clenched her jaw, and glared back up at him. "That guy you killed out there, his name was Blane, he was my little brother." She still didn't speak which clearly was pissing him off, "YOU GOT NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT THAT, EH?"He yelled, closing the distance between them. He grabbed her by the face harshly, getting even closer to her, so close that she could feel his hot breath on her cheeks; Melrose's glare intensified as her eyes met his. "You killed my brother, you cut open my fucking arm!"He snapped, through gritted teeth, "You...you little bitch, need to be punished."Mike whispered, darkly.

Melrose could read between the lines, and his dark, chillingly tone, sent a surge of panic and rage throughout her veins, her body stiffened under his fingers squeezing into her bones. A sick, twisted smirk spread across Mike's face, as a dark gleam twinkled in his eyes, "It's a good thing you're easy on the eyes, honey."

Melrose narrowed her eyes as he released the grip on her face, he let his hand slowly drag against her body until he stopped at the button of her jeans, she shot her eyes up at him, her nostrils flared in anger before she headbutted him right in the nose. Mike cursed stumbling backward as blood began to leak from his nose, that's when Melrose kneed him hard in the groin, she heard him wheeze before buckling to his knees. She ran past him and was making a mad dash towards the door until he grasped her left ankle causing her to crash to the floor; Mel hit the floor hard, she was pulling herself up when Mike began to drag her backward, "You bitch!"He growled.

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she continued to struggle against him, he yanked her backward by her leg, causing the palm of her hands to get scratched by the title on the floor as she attempted to crawl away. He roughly grabbed a fist full of her wet hair and slammed her forehead against the edge of the bathtub, for a moment everything around her blurred and the room spun, Mike was on top of her now. Blood trickled down her face, burning her eyes, she shook the pain and numbness away, "HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP M—"Melrose screamed until Mike smashed his hand over top of her mouth roughly.

"Shut-up!"He snapped, before pulling a switchblade from his pocket.

Mel's eyes round in fright, she continued to struggle against his weight, and was struggling to breathe, she raised her right arm up, clawing at his face, as he sliced open her shirt, revealing her bra; he swatted her hands away but she continued to fight. She jabbed her right thumb into his eye, he grunted shaking her grip loose but she continued the same move, "STOP FIGHTING!"Mike shouted, "This is happening no matter how much you fight."He spat, letting the blade hover inches away from her flesh, he dragged the switchblade down the length of her until he stopped at the button of her pants and sliced it off, before unbuckling his pants. Melrose's breathing became labored beneath his hand that was smashing her nose and her mouth, she jabbed her thumb into his eye again, adding more and more pressure; if she had to gouge his eye out, then so be it. Mike began to scream when suddenly—WHAM—Mike scurried off of her and hurried to his feet, Melrose gasped for air and began to cough as she slowly sat up, the remains of her top slid off of her arms; her body trembled from the fight, the shock, the fear; over by the door, with Lucille still against the wall, stood Negan, glowering at Mike.

"What the fuck is going on here, eh?"Negan asked, his voice soft and dark, as he sauntered into the room.

"N-Nothing, Negan."Mike stammered.

Negan smirked as he narrowed his eyes at his lackey, "Nothing?"He repeated, stunned, "Oh, oh, oh, no, that, what you were doing, was not nothing."He snapped. His gaze moved over to Melrose, and softened a bit, Melrose followed his eyes and quickly wrapped her arms across her chest in an attempt to hide herself. Negan glared back at his man, "Oh Mike, Mike, Mikey boy, what the hell were you in here trying to do, huh? Look, I get it, you're upset about your brother, but...that does not give you the...FUCKING RIGHT TO COME IN HERE AND TRY TO GET RAPEY WITH THIS WOMAN! WITH ANY WOMAN FOR THAT MATTER!"

Melrose flinched at the sudden loudness and anger that was boiling out of Negan, his words echoed against the tiled walls like thunder. "You know the rules!"He growled,

"I-I know...I-I'm sorry...I'm sorry, Negan."Mike said, nervously.

Negan scoffed, "Oh, so you're sorry?"He mocked, his nostrils flared and his glare deepened, as his grip on Lucille tightened, "Sorry isn't going to cut it, Mikey boy."He replied, through gritted teeth, before swinging Lucille, plowing the barbed-wire bat into Mike's face, "YOU KNOW THE RULES...WE! DO! NOT! RAPE!"He bellowed, with each blow.

Melrose gasped and turned away, an uneasiness covered her as Negan continued to pummel his lackey; a bloodied gurgling sound was coming from Mike, which made her think of Glenn and Abraham. Finally, everything stopped, she heard Negan release a sigh as he dropped Lucille to the ground; Melrose slowly turned, her eyes instantly focusing on the bloodied heap that once was Mike. She choked back a gasp, his head was just a pile of meat and mush, blood was splattered all over the floor; Negan slowly walked over towards her and knelt down in front of her, "I'm so sorry about that, babydoll."He said softly, his face full of remorse.

"Y-You killed him...h-he was one of your men..."Melrose stammered, her body continued to tremble,

"I wouldn't call that sack of shit over there a man, not after what he was trying to pull,"Negan said, "hey, don't look at him."He replied, his voice sounded sorrowful as he gently raised her chin to face him. Melrose could see in Negan's dark eyes that he truly was bothered by what had almost happened; she watched as he removed his leather jacket and tenderly wrapped it around her shoulders. Melrose stared at him puzzled, Negan was such an enigma to her, one moment he could be smashing someone's skull into mush and blood, and the next he was playing the part of a gentlemen, fear struck her hard in that moment for she realized, he was totally unpredictable.

"Damn babydoll, he did a number on your head,"He gently touched the wound which caused her to wince, pulling away from his touch, "but don't you worry, Melrose, Dr. Carson will patch ya up."

"But...I-I don't understand...you kill your own people?"She asked,

Negan stared at her for a moment, his gaze softened as he noticed that Melrose was still trembling, "You're new here, I get that you don't understand how things work here, babydoll, but yes, I will fucking kill one of my own, whenever they break my biggest rule—ya see, rape, is something I absolutely cannot fucking tolerate, and if one of my guys or gals for that matter, tries it, well...then they get the fucking punishment they fucking deserve. I really want you to understand...that we're not monsters."

Melrose glanced up at him, her brow furrowed which caused a wave of dull pain to course through her, her head was pounding as she tried to understand this man—he was fine with bashing people's heads in with a barbed wire bat but rape? He was against it?—H-He's fucking insane..., She thought, but grateful that he had come to her rescue.

Negan carefully put an arm around her, "Come on babydoll, let's get you to ol' Dr. Carson—"

"I'm fine."Melrose snapped, shoving him off of her, as she stiffly stood up on her, everything began to spin for a moment, her head pounded thunderously which caused a surge of nausea and pain to jolt throughout her body. She almost lost her balance but thankfully, Negan caught her,

"Easy now,"Negan said, steadying her, he still had an arm about her, "look, babydoll, you don't have to play it tough all the time, I know you've got balls, let me carry you—"

"No."Melrose barked, narrowing her eyes at him, "I can walk on my own."

Negan smirked, "Fine, suit yourself, just hang onto me, so you don't fucking fall on your tight little ass."

Melrose rolled her eyes at his remark, and reluctantly grasped a hold of his arm, allowing him to lead her from the shower room, leaving the body of her attacker behind them.

---

Melrose's head was pounding, she could tell that the bleeding had stopped but the pain still lingered; Negan had a strong grip on her as he led her down the hallways which seemed never-ending until finally, they paused at a door. "Just lean on me, babydoll."Negan said, keeping one arm around her as he forced the door open. "Ol' Dr. Carson,"He called, as he helped her inside, "I've got a patient here in need of your utmost attention."

Despite the pounding of her head, Melrose looked about the room, she could tell this was a medical ward of sorts, numerous beds lined the back wall, there were shelves filled with liquid medicines and pills in bottles, needles and other medical supplies were scattered about a nearby table. A medical bench was directly adjacent from the desk littered with papers and medical books, that's where the older man wearing the long white lab coat sat; he quickly hopped up from his seat once they had let themselves in. The man was tall and thin, he appeared to be in his mid-fifties, he had thin brown-graying hair which was neatly combed back, "Oh my, bring her over here, please Negan."The man said, ushering towards the medical bench.

Negan lead Melrose to the bench and helped her up, she quickly shoved his hands away once she was seated, which caused Negan to smirk. "My, what happened to you, young lady?"The doctor asked, kindly.

"Um..."

"We're not here to talk about that, Doc, so just patch her up."Negan snapped.

"Uh..right of course, forgive me for asking."He stammered, he looked up at Melrose and smiled faintly, "I am Doctor Emmett Carson, by the way."

"I'm Melrose Grimes."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, dear."The doctor replied, carefully examining her palms which were scraped up. A bit of dried blood stained her hands, he gently cleaned the blood away and then grabbed a small spray bottle of disinfectant, "This might sting."He warned, she nodded. The doctor then sprayed the grazes, a faint burning nipped at her hands but she ignored it; Doctor Carson then bandaged her hands with some tan colored gauze. "Are you experiencing a headache, Melrose?"

"Yeah."She answered faintly, the pain was slowly subsiding but it was still there.

The doctor nodded and wandered over to one of his shelves, he grabbed a pill bottle and poured out two pills into his palm, he grabbed a nearby unopened bottle of water and returned to his patient. "Take these, these should help with the headache."He instructed, handing her the pills.

Melrose did as she was told, she popped the pills into her mouth and took the bottle of water from his hand to wash them down with, "Now, let me take a look at this nasty gash, I don't believe you have a concussion, so that is a good thing."He smiled, faintly.

Melrose returned the faint smile, she had had a concussion once in her childhood, a freak accident during a kickboxing match, she had already ruled that out diagnosis, and had assumed it was from the injury sustained from Mike slamming her head into the edge of the tub. Doctor Carson cleaned the blood from her face away, she tilted her head to the side to give him better access; he picked up the bottle of disinfectant once again and this time gave no warning, abruptly it felt like fire was kissing her flesh.

"Fuck!"She cursed, wincing.

Negan smirked as he leaned against the doorway, "Sorry, the worst is over, I just need to bandage it."Doctor Carson replied,

Once the doctor strolled over to gather some more bandages, Melrose glanced up and that's when she spotted the glass jar perched on the edge of his desk filled with different colored lollipops. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen candy, her stomach groaned, "Um...are those lollipops?"She asked, shyly.

Doctor Carson smiled, "Yes they are, you are welcomed to one if you'd like."

"Really?"Melrose smiled.

"You don't need to ask permission, babydoll, I told you if you see something you want, you take it."Negan smirked, as he strolled over to the doctor's desk. "So which one do you want?"He asked, removing the glass lid.

"Is there a..watermelon one?"Melrose questioned, as Doctor Carson returned with his supplies.

Negan's smirk widened, "Let's see." As Doctor Carson began to apply the first butterfly bandage, Melrose watched Negan out of the corner of her eye, he was rummaging in the jar until he pulled a lollipop out, his smile widening even more. "Bingo."He said, strolling over to her, brushing past the doctor. She lifted a hand to retrieve the candy, but Negan pulled it away, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, open your mouth, Melrose."

She arched a brow at him, "Excuse me?"

"You got to sit still while ol' Doctor Carson here fixes you up, so open your mouth, babydoll."Negan smiled darkly,

"Just give me the fucking sucker."Melrose snapped, trying to snatch it from Negan's hand,

"Um...actually, Melrose, you do need to stay still while I apply your bandages."The doctor said, nervously.

Melrose narrowed her eyes at Negan, "Say ahhhh,"He smirked. She huffed a sigh and finally opened her mouth, allowing Negan to place the lollipop inside. It was hard to stay angry once the sweetness erupted on her tastebuds, it brought back memories from her childhood which seemed to be from another life now that the world had turned into this. A longing for home and her family stabbed her heart, she lowered her gaze and released a sigh, finally coming to terms that this was her home now, whether she liked it or not.

Doctor Carson finished applying the bandages, "There, all done, Melrose."He smiled,

"Thank you, Doctor Carson."Melrose replied, as she hopped down from the medical bench. The pounding in her head had ceased and she was feeling much better, other than the grumbling in her stomach.

"Now, I'd like for you to stop by the next few days so I can see how that cut is healing. And take these, in case that headache comes back, and if you have any concerns, you can came here anytime."The doctor replied, handing her a bottle of pills.

She smiled faintly as she took the bottle, "Thank you again, for everything."

"Yeah, thanks Doc."Negan said, before exiting the room with Melrose following behind him. "We'll head up to my office, I think it's about time we discussed my proposition."He said, once they were out in the hallway.

Melrose remained silent and focused on her lollipop as she followed behind Negan, pulling his leather jacket closer about her, I know what it's going to be..., She thought, an empty feeling dropped into the pit of her stomach, with each step that she took that feeling grew stronger and stronger. Melrose was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost ran into Negan who had abruptly paused as they walked past a female Savior; she appeared to be about the same age as herself, she was a few inches taller than Melrose, she had lightly tanned skin and black and blonde curly hair which was pulled back into a very messy pontail. "Hey, Arat,"He said,

"Yeah, Negan?"The female Savior asked,

"Do me a favor darling, and bring a clean t-shirt to my office, make it hasty."He grinned, before turning on his heels.

"Sure thing."Arat replied, her eyes darted over to Melrose and narrowed before she head off in the opposite direction.

Melrose rolled her eyes and followed behind Negan, finally he stopped at a door and opened it, motioning for Melrose to enter first, in a joking manner, she ignored his shit-eating grin and shoved past him, entering the room, his room. No doubt that Negan had the biggest room in the entirety of the Sanctuary, dark long curtains hung from the large windows, and were neatly tied open allowing orange sunlight to pour into the room; there was a small sitting area which looked like something out of a magazine: two chevron chairs sat side by side with a small accent table in between them, across from the chairs was a dark brown leather sofa, in the middle was a golden coffee table with a glass top which had a platter of cheeses, fruits, and crackers. The walls were painted in a light gray shade, on one of the walls hung a large mounted deer head, freshly watered palm plants sat in each corner of the sitting area; behind the sofa was a large shelf filled with various knick knacks. Melrose glanced over to see a large bed with oaken bed posts, the blankets and numerous pillows that were neatly arranged on the bed were a dark gray hue; there was a dresser matching the wood work of the bed, in the corner of the sleeping area. Across the room from the bed, there was a door which was opened even from where she stood, she could see a fridge and a table and chairs, she guessed they had made their King a dining and kitchen area so he wouldn't have to dine with the "commoners". There was another door beside it which was closed, Negan shut the door behind them and kicked off his boots, releasing an exaggerated, "Ahhhh",as he strolled over to the couch and plopped down onto the sofa, propping his feet onto the coffee table. "Come on in babydoll, make yourself at home."He smirked.

Melrose stepped further into the room and claimed one of the chairs, eyeballing the tray of food, her stomach growled again, loud enough for Negan to hear which caused his smirk to widen, "Go on, help yourself, Melrose, you must be hungry."

She smiled faintly, "Starving actually."She admitted, before grabbing a few cubes of cheese and few crackers. She removed what remained of her lollipop and placed a bit of cheese in her mouth, she began to chew but abruptly stopped, bringing a hand to her mouth; she wasn't sure if the taste was off due to the flavor of the lollipop, but the cheese had an unusual tang to it. She must have made a face because Negan chuckled,

"Tastes funny, huh? It's goat cheese, it's an acquired taste but you get used to it after awhile."He grinned,

Melrose swallowed, "It's not bad, just different."She said, before devouring another, this time with crackers. In this world now, one could not afford to be a picky eater, if there was food, whether you liked it or not, you ate it.

There was a knock at the door, "Come in."Negan replied, the door opened and the female Savior, named Arat strolled in with a bunched up t-shirt in her hands,

"Here's your shirt."She said, unemotionally, as she tossed it over to Melrose who quickly caught it.

"Um..thanks."Melrose said, with her mouth full.

"Thank you, Arat,"Negan said, "oh before you go, do me another favor, run down to the kitchens and get Dougie to bring up some...Melrose, what are you hungry for?"He asked, glancing over at her.

"Anything at all, I'm not picky."She replied,

He smirked, "Fine, get Dougie to bring up a platter of those sandwiches he's so good at making, would ya?"

"Sure."Arat said, before leaving the room.

"You can go change in that room over there, babydoll, then we'll get to our talk."Negan grinned, darkly.

Melrose rose from her seat and made her way towards the closed door, she opened it and wandered inside, this room was a decent sized bathroom, Of course he'd have his very own private bathroom..., She thought. The walls were painted the same shade of gray as the previous room, a large vanity and sink was on the far wall, an enourmous rounded mirror hung above the sink portion, a large shower with glass doors was in the corner and toilet nearby made up the rest of the bathroon. Piles of dirtied clothes were littered here and there across the glossy white tiled floor. Melrose wandered further inside the room and removed Negan's leather jacket, she unfolded the faded black shirt and pulled it on; the shirt was clearly a man's for she was swimming in it, she could tell it was an old band shirt even though the writing had faded away, she could still make out that it was from Pink Floyd's: Dark Side of the Moon, album from the images. While she was in here she figured she'd fix her now half dried, wavy hair, she quickly braided it, having no hair supplies she tied the end loosy. She decided to tie the shirt up, before she exited the bathroom, she picked up Negan's jacket; Melrose strolled over to him and returned his jacket to it's rightful owner, which he slipped back into. "Negan..."Melrose said, softly, "thank you...for showing up when you did—"

"Oh babydoll, no thanks is needed."He said, waving his gloved hand in the air as if he were swatting her words away. "Take a seat, Melrose, it's time we discussed my proposition."Negan grinned his shit-eating smile.

Melrose chewed the inside of her cheek as she reclaimed her chair across from his, his dark eyes watching her, "Look, I already know what it's going to be so you might as well spit it out."She replied, curtly.

His smirk widened and darkened, "Fine, straight to the point then, will you become one of my wives?"

Negan barely got the words out before Melrose answered, "Yes."

"Damn, babydoll, that was an awful quick answer, if you really don't want that privilege, I could always make you a worker or a Savior—"

"No."Melrose snapped, "I-I want to become your...wife."She forced the words out of her, she had to do this, even if everything within her was screaming against it, if she agreed to this, she would be close to Negan, she could gain his trust and end him.

He smirked, "Well alrighty then—"

"On one condition."Melrose said.

Negan arched a brow at her, "Oh?"He said, raising from his seat on the couch, he sauntered around to the other side of the coffee table and perched himself on the edge of it, sitting right in front of Melrose, "And what condition might that be, babydoll?"He smirked.

She returned his expression, refusing to back down to him, "I saw your little den of wives, I saw how they live so closely, how they all share a bed together, and I refuse to live and sleep with your little harem. I want my own place."She demanded, strongly.

Negan smirked, shaking his head as he chuckled, "Damn, babydoll, you are such a fucking badass. So...you want your own room, eh?"

"Yep,"Melrose said, staring sternly at him, " because let's face it, babydoll, I am not like your other wives."

Negan chuckled, inching closer to her, "No, you most certainly are not."He whispered, slowly, she could feel his breath on her neck, "Fine, you can have your own room."He said, leaning backto see her face.

"Good."

Another knock was at the door, Negan rolled his head over to the side, almost annoyed, "Yeah?"He barked.

"Negan, it's me, Dougie, I-I brought you sandwiches."A voice came from the other side of the door.

His annoyed look quickly was replaced with a grin, "Come on in, Dougie boy, we're starving in here!"Negan announced.

"Ummm...I-I could actually use some help, my hands a-are a little full."The voice stated, stammering a bit,

Negan rolled his eyes and huffed a frustrated sigh as he rose to his feet, and walked over to the door, forcing it open, "Dougie boy, get your fat ass in here."He grinned,

Melrose glanced over her shoulder to see a boy about Carl's age waddling inside, he was a bit on the plumper side and whoever cut his hair did a poor job of a buzzcut. In one hand he had a platter of sandwiches which appeared to be made from a professional deli, her stomach whined at the smell of the freshly baked bread, cheeses, meats, and vegetables; in his other hand was a platter of homemade potato chips. The boy placed the platters onto the coffee table beside the tray of snacks, he glanced up at Melrose with big, round, green eyes, and smiled, "Hi."He said, in an overly friendly tone.

"Hi."She smiled faintly. It was clear that the boy wasn't all there, she felt bad for him, he most likely did not comprehend what was going on in this new world, and was probably being overworked and taken advantage of here.

"You're r-really pretty."Dougie said.

"Thank you."Melrose replied, kindly.

Dougie approached her and outstretched a hand as if he wanted to pat her on top of the head, Negan quickly grabbed the kid around his neck, pulling him close to him in a hoax head-lock; Melrose's brow furrowed as fear struck her, not for her, but for the boy, as she noticed a darkness in Negan's eyes. She wondered for a moment if Negan (fucked up as he is), really would hurt an incompetent kid? "Ah, ah ah, Dougie,"He said, "remember what I told you, you do not touch my wives, now I know this is your first time meeting Melrose, so I'm gonna let it slide buddy-boy, okay?"

"Okay, Negan."Dougie grinned widely up at him.

Melrose released a sigh of relief, as Negan smiled and patted Dougie on the cheek, "Good boy, now do me a solid and go fetch D, for me, will ya?"

"Okay."Dougie said, walking towards the door, "Bye, Melrose."

She smiled, "Bye, Dougie."

Once the door was closed and Dougie was gone, Negan chuckled, "Kid's dumb as a stack of rocks but he's a damn good cook."He said, grabbing one of the sandwiches before he reclaimed his seat on the sofa, propping his feet up once more.

Melrose narrowed her eyes at him before taking a sandwich of her own, "It's not funny."She retorted. "It's pretty sick what you're doing."

Negan returned her expression, "Is it now?"He asked, "I saved that kid, I gave him a job and safe place to stay, do you honestly think he has a chance out there with those Walkers? He'd be chewed up and shit out in seconds, I say, he's got it good here."

Melrose decided to keep her mouth shut and focused on the food before her, she had just finished her second sandwich and a pile of chips when there was once again, another knock at the door. "Come on in, Dwighty boy!"Negan called from the couch, refusing to get up again.

The door opened and in strolled a Savior named, Dwight, the instant Melrose saw him, she remembered him, though it was hard to forget someone who's face was half burned off. She glared at him as he approached the sitting area and he returned the expression; Melrose remembered Daryl telling her of his first encounter with the man before her and how he betrayed him. She remembered that he was the one who hauled Daryl into the back of the van, which was how they had ended up here.

"D, I want you to round everybody up, I got to make a public apperance to show off my new wifey, here."Negan smirked.

Melrose nearly choked on food and coughed, "E-Excuse me?"She wheezed.

"Oh, babydoll, I got to show off my merchandise, let my men know that you are not to be touched, that you belong to me,"He said, before letting out a small chuckle, "besides, we need witnesses to make our wedded bliss legit."

Melrose glowered at him, her blood began to boil within her at his words, she scoffed, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that I was fucking property."

Negan arched a brow at her, a smug grin formed on his lips as he stood up from his seat. "Damn, you, Melrose Grimes, have got a fucking smart mouth on you."He said, shoving Dwight aside as he closed in on her. "Like I said before...that, is going to get you into some trouble one day."

Her glare intensified as he gripped the arms of the chair she was sitting in and bent down in front of her, "Which, reminds me, I almost forgot to tell you the one rule that I give allllll of my wives."Negan's voice was low and dark, as he spoke.

Melrose raised a brow at him, "And what rule is that, Negan?"She inquired, dryly.

"None of my wives can ever cheat on me."

She scoffed, which clearly pissed him off, as he narrowed his dark eyes at her, "Says the guy with multiple wives,"Melrose folded her arms across her chest, "you really are a fucking hypocrite."

Negan's nostrils flared as he frowned and before Melrose could blink, he lunged at her and forcefully grabbed her chin, his long fingers squeezing into the bones of her face; it was painful but she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing that. "Just fucking promise that you won't cheat on me, Melrose."He snarled. Her answer was a stern glare, "SAY IT!"He bellowed, applying more pressure.

This time she winced and closed her eyes, "I...I-I promise that I won't cheat on you, Negan."Melrose spat.

Negan smiled darkly before releasing his grip on her, "Good girl."He said, patting her on the cheek, she swatted his hand away which caused his smile to widen.

Melrose felt Dwight's eyes on her, when she looked over at him he quickly looked away, and agreed to Negan's demands before leaving. "Well we got an hour to kill until then, what do you want to do until then, Melrosy?"He asked,

She shot him a glare and turned away from him, "Gonna make me decide, huh? Well there's many, mannnny things I could think of doing."Negan replied in a dark, sensual tone.

Melrose clenched her jaw, quickly understanding his meaning, the thought made her ill. "In your dreams, asshole."She hissed.

Negan smirked, narrowing his eyes at her, "Ouch, that was ice cold."

Oh, soon find out how ice cold I can be., She thought, darkly.

---

Before the hour was up, two male Saviors had stopped by delivering Lucille back to Negan, and bringing Melrose her combat boots and her book, they had informed her that her soiled clothes had been taken in with the rest of the laundry and would be turned once they were washed and dried, to which she nodded. She had began reading and had got a few pages in when she heard Negan raising from the sofa, "Well I guess it's time to greet the people."He said, pulling his boots back onto his socked feet. "Come on, babydoll."He said, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her from her seat, causing her book to clatter to the floor.

Melrose glared up at him, freeing her arm from his grasp, "I don't believe I asked for your assistance."She snapped, brushing past him and making her way to the door,

"As you wish, dear wife."He mocked, smirking that wide, dark, grin as he followed behind her, closing the door to his room. Negan walked in front of her leading the way, they walked down to the very end of the hall and took a door leading to a stairwell which lead to Negan's "favorite" place, where they had been only hours before, overlooking the grounds of the Sanctuary. They finally reached the top and Negan walked out onto the balcony, Melrose stayed back taking everything in; they were not the only ones on the balcony floor, there were quite a few Saviors, men and women, she guessed that the ones allowed to stand here were higher up in Negan's ranks. She slowly walked out towards the rails, that's when her eyes widened, as she saw the sea of people down below; there were more than she had realized, thousands stood down below, and they all knelt down in unison as they saw their leader. A chill ran down her spine, I-It's like a fucking cult..., She thought. Negan wore his famous coprophagous grin as he outstretched his arms and his minions arose, "Everybody, I just want to thank you all for coming,"

Not like they had much of a choice., Melrose thought, rolling her eyes as she folded her arms across her chest.

"today is a special day,"Negan continued, "ya see, I got me another wife!"

The crowd erupted into a thunderous applause which made Melrose uneasy, a look of disgust and confusion was written on her face; Negan glanced back at her and motioned for her to come forward, "Come on, babydoll, don't be shy."He smirked.

Melrose narrowed her eyes at him and hesitantly moved forward, plaing a trembling hand onto the railing, seeing the mob down below from Negan's eyes. "Holy shit..."She whispered under her breath. We..we really didn't even put a dent in their numbers., She thought, fearfully.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that when Negan placed a hand at the small of her back, it caused her to jump, "This is Melrose! Now, I know we've been through this many a time,"His grin widened, "but I always want to publicly announce the fucking rules in case one of you decides to play stupid! So, I'm going to make this as crystal clear as fucking possible, like I always do, no one is to touch, my wife! Any, of my wives."He bellowed, sternly, "If any of you decides to get brave and tries to do so, well,"A dark look washed over his face, "we know the punishment for that."

"WHO ARE YOU?"Negan abruptly roared, to which the crowd in perfect unison answered, "I AM NEGAN!"

A feeling of complete and utter terror surged throughout her body, causing her hair to stand on end, she gripped the railing tighter in attempts to get her nerves under control. Negan leaned towards her, "I think now's a perfect time give me a little kiss, dear wife."He said, softly, in her ear.

Melrose's brow furrowed as she looked over at him, "What?"She gasped,

Negan's smirked widened, "Come on, babydoll, it's time we seal the deal and my people are down their waiting, so what do you say?"

Melrose glanced down at the sea of people below, she gulped, feeling every single eye on her, she looked back at Negan who had a smug look on his face and a dark desire burning in his eyes. Her heart pounded within her, "Fine."She said.

"Good answer."Negan smirked, before pulling her close to him, her arms were crushed against his strong chest. Her heart pounded in her chest and her ears began to burn, she closed her eyes as their lips met; his facial hair was scratching against her cheeks and chin. She tried to pull away but he grabbed her chin, trying to force his tongue into her mouth, Melrose's eyes shot open and she shoved him away, glaring at him as he grinned. "***-Damn, babydoll, you're a sweet little thing."Negan smirked, wrapping an arm around her neck as he forced her to walk beside him, leading back to the stairwell.

"What the fuck was that?"She snapped, shrugging his arm off of her.

"A kiss, dear wife."Negan teased, "So, now that you're mine, that pretty ol' ring of your is gonna have to go."

Melrose clutched her hand tightly, concealing the ring, "No,"She refused, shaking her head, "No, no, y-you took me away! I didn't even get to see Jase, I didn't get to say good-bye...this is the only thing I have left!"She shouted angrily, she could already feel the tears stinging the backs of her eyes.

To her surprise, Negan's expression softened, "You can keep it."He said, before descending down the stairs. Melrose was taken a back, she figured he would have forced it off of her finger, but...he hadn't; she followed after him,

"Y-You're really letting me keep it?"She asked,

"Sure thing, babydoll, you've had a hell of a day."Negan replied, "I can at least let you keep the damn thing."

"T-Thank you."

"Now, let's get back to my place—"

Melrose stopped and narrowed her eyes at him, "Oh no. We had a deal, you said I could have my own room."She retorted, "I thought you were a man of your word."

Negan paused and turned towards her, "I am and you will, but tonight you're staying with me."He smirked, "I want to keep an eye on you, considering all that's happened today. You being attacked, getting injured—"

"I'm fine, I don't need a fucking babysitter!"Melrose snapped,

He closed the distance between them and stared down at her, towering over her, "You're spending the night with me, Melrose."

She glared up at him, searching his eyes but she realized, there was no changing his mind, she huffed a sigh, "Fine, you're an asshole, ya know that?"She barked, shoving past him.

Negan smirked, "I know."He said, proudly.

---

Evening was closing in, casting an orange glow onto the Sanctuary, streams of dark orange sunlight flooded Negan's quarters. After they had returned from the public display announcing their "union", a dull headache was plaguing Melrose, she figured it was from all the stress and fatigue that the past two days had brought, finally affecting her; she had decided to take nap, and that was where she was now, dozing on the couch. She rolled on to her side and slowly her eyes fluttered open, she sat up popping her neck and stretched, her entire body felt stiff but the headache had subsided. She looked about the room, seeing Negan was nowhere to be found but there was a rustling of metal pans coming from the kitchen area; she could smell something cooking which caused her stomach to grumble. Melrose arose from the sofa and quietly peered into the kitchen to find Negan with his back turned towards her, she could tell he was stirring something that was in a pot on the stove. The kitchen area was small, a refrigerator was in one corner, followed by a sink with various cabinets underneath and overhead, the stove, and then a small table with two cushioned chairs.

Melrose leaned against the door frame and folded her arms across her chest, "I didn't peg you as the cooking type."She finally spoke up, a smirk on her lips.

Negan turned towards her and grinned, "I am a man of various talents, babydoll."He stated, in a teasing manner, "So, how ya feeling?"

There were many things Melrose could have said but the plan that she had been planning was slowly knitting together a plan, Why fight it? She thought, I need to gain his trust, I need to do whatever it takes to stay alive here.., Mel thought, an uneasy feeling formed in the pit of the stomach at the thought of...being with him. "Better."She answered, bluntly. "So, what are you cooking?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs, homemade."

She arched an eyebrow as she wandered further into the kitchen, "So what, were you a chef, before the outbreak?"She asked, jokingly.

"Hell no."Negan replied, almost offended, as he ceased his stirring. He turned around and leaned against the counter, folding his arms across his chest, "I was a highschool gym coach."

Melrose smirked, she could totally see him being a hardcore, foul mouthed coach, scaring kids into submission; she shook the image away and strolled over to him, "So, do you need help with anything?"Melrose asked, glancing up at him from under her long, dark lashes, "I mean..I am your wife, afterall."She replied, a bit flirtatiously, as she gently brushed her fingertips against the flesh of his arm.

Negan arched a bushy brow at her, his dark eyes flashed alluringly, that famous grin curled upon his lips, "My, my, babydoll, what changed your tune?"He inquired, grimly.

Melrose's heart almost skipped a beat, as he narrowed his eyes at her, S-Surely, he hasn't figured out my plan..., She wondered. She ignored the chill slithering down her spine and pressed herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck, her fingertips gently brushing against the hair at the nape of his neck, "I just...had to let everything sink in, everything was happening so fast, ya know?"Melrose replied, innocently.

That smile of his widened as his coarse hands brushed down her sides, resting at her hips, "Yeah, I get that."He said, softly and darkly. His expression quickly changed, "Why don't you finish slicing up the bread, I'm gonna toast it in the oven so it'll have a nice crrrunch."

"Sure."Melrose forced a smile, as they untwined themselves. She spotted the loaf of bread Negan had refered to, the loaf was perched on the counter beside the sink, sitting on a metal cooking tray, a few pieces had been cut off already. She picked up the large knife that lay beside the tray, the blade wasn't the sharpest but with enough force it could still deliver some damage; she gripped the wooden handle tighter, glancing over at Negan out of the corner of her eye. Not yet, She thought. Melrose began slicing the bread into thick, even slices; she opened the first two sets of cabinets that were overhead and began pawing through the bottles of spices and herbs, until she found the one she desired—garlic powder, "Do you have any butter?"She asked, half-heartedly, almost certain that the answer would be "no".

"Sure do, there's some in the fridge."Negan replied.

Melrose was surprised, Damn...this place has everything., She thought. She moved towards the refrigerator and opened it, the fridge was completely stocked of food and beer, even a few sodas in aluminum cans; she quickly spotted the butter perched, half gone, on a small tray with a clear, glass lid. She plucked it from it's spot in the fridge and closed the door with a bump of her hip, she retrieved a small glass bowl from one of the other cupboards; Melrose placed some of the butter into the bowl and spotted a small, but functional microwave wedged into the corner of the counter. She placed the bowl inside and punched in a time, long enough to melt it; while she waited, she began opening drawers until she found one which held silverware and retrieved a spoon. Ding. She trotted over and the bowl was warm, not too hot to the touch; she could feel Negan's eyes on her the whole time, she glanced over at him as she sprinkled a bit of the powdered garlic into the melted butter, stirring it together before she began to drizzle it over the slices of bread. A smirk formed on his lips, "Well, you sure are making yourself at home."He stated.

Melrose returned his expression, "Shouldn't I?"She inquired, arching a brow at him. "It's not like I'm going...home anytime soon."She forced the thoughts and heart ache away. Melrose shoved past Negan and placed the bread inside the oven, beside the tray of baking meatballs, her stomach growled again as the aroma of everything cooking circled around her. An awkward silence filled the room, Melrose took a step past Negan and sat down in one of the chairs, "It shouldn't take long on the bread, a few mintues, you just want it to a little toasted..."She replied, drumming her thumbs together, her tone a bit on edge.

Negan smirked, "You want a drink?"

"God yes!"Melrose sighed, thankfully.

His grin widened as he wandered over to the fridge, he pulled out two beers and let the door shut with a SLAM! Negan strolled back towards the table with a beer in each hand, he slid one across the tabletop towards Melrose, which she quickly grabbed. She twisted the top open and began to chug, with each guzzle she began to submerge her thoughts and feelings of home and her family deep down, until she finished the bottle. Negan arched a brow at her, "Damn."

"What, you think I can't handle my alcohol?"She snapped, "It takes a lot more than that to get me tipsy. Mind if I have another?"

"Oh babydoll, you do not have to ask for anything. I told you before, you want something, you take it."Negan smirked, before taking a big gulp, "So you go right ahead, help yourself."

"Thanks."

Melrose helped herself to another bottle and reclaimed her seat across from Negan, "So, Melrose Grimes, tell me about yourself."He said, leaning back in his chair before he took another swig.

She looked up at him and wiped the foam from the corner of her lips, "Are we really doing this?"Melrose scoffed,

Negan's smile widened, "You are my wife now, I think I have the right to know some things about you."He replied,

Melrose rolled her eyes, "What do you want to know?"She asked.

"Welllll, earlier when I mentioned your Mama, there seemed to be some hostility coming from you, so...tell me about that."

Melrose chewed the inside of her cheek, "What's there to say?"She said coldly. An image popped into her head, it was from long ago, the only framed photo that Rick had of her mother, he had gotten rid of all the others and she didn't blame him, Naomi was hardly ever around and their relationship was...rocky to say the least. Melrose despised her, despite having no memories of her. "I didn't really know her to be honest..."She began, softly, "Dad, g-got her knocked up in highschool...he wanted to do the right thing by her—ya know, get married, buy a house, the whole nine yards but...Naomi, she was a party girl, she didn't want that...didn't want me, so...she planned to have an abortion..."Melrose paused, her hands had formed into fists on her knees, her knuckles turning white, anger and bitterness were boiling within her as Negan whispered "Damn."

"...Dad, somehow talked her out of it and she agreed to marry him...and after I was born, she went right back to her partying and drinking and whoring around, leaving Dad to take care of me."

"Damn babydoll, sooooo...what happened to her?"Negan inquired, before finishing off his beer.

Melrose looked up at him with dark, emotionless eyes, "She died being a dumbass...she was driving home one night from a party, completely shitfaced, swerved off the road, flipped the car about five times and straight into a tree...the impact killed her instantly, thank God no one else was involved."

"Fucking hell."He sighed, "How old were you?"

"I had just turned two."Melrose answered, "Well, I should probably take the bread out now."She said, changing the subject. Mel quickly found a pair of bright colored oven mitts with a hideous mix-match pattern woven into them; she opened the oven and removed the tray of bread, she also took out the meatballs to see if they were thoroughly cooked.

She didn't have to turn around to know that Negan was standing behind her, she could feel him; her body stiffened as he placed a hand on her hip, his fingers brushed against her softly as he moved beside her, removing his hand to tend to his sauce and boiling noodles. He turned the burners off, and she assisted him in straining the noddles; she began to set the table while Negan mixed in the sauce and the meatballs, and brought the pot of spaghetti over to the table, placing it beside the tray of bread. He turned on his heels and pulled out a bottle of wine from one of the cabinets, along with two glasses; he poured Mel a glass first and then one for himself, he smirked as he plopped down in the chair across from her, "Go on babydoll, bon appetit, help yourself."He replied.

Melrose scooped a big heaping pile onto her plate, and claimed two pieces of bread. She quickly began to eat, she couldn't remember the last time that she had eaten something so delcious. The sauce was exquisite, seasoned perfectly with oregano, the meatballs were juicy and again seasoned perfectly. She paused a moment, letting the flavors mingle on her taste buds before swallowing, "Something wrong?"Negan asked, as she sat frozen.

"N-No...it's actually fucking delicious."

That famous crooked grin formed on his lips, "Well thank you."He replied, proudly.

Melrose began to dig in, it had been a long time since she had had something so filling. Back in Alexandria, every one had a ration limit so everyone was given an equal amount; before they had left, supplies weren't dangerously low but low enough that groups were heading out to scavenge more. She knew she must have looked like a pig, devouring everything the way that she was, but surprisingly Negan did not remark on it, instead he brought the conversation back to her, "So then, you and Carl have different mama's."

She cut her eyes up at him and wiped her mouth, a slight chill ran down her spine, he remembered Carl's name, He has a damn good memory., She thought. "Gee, what gave it away?"Mel said, sarcastically, "We don't exactly look alike if you haven't noticed...my mom was Native American."She replied, curtly. The only similarlies that Carl and her shared were the same ice blue eyes that they had inherited from their father, Rick.

"So what's your step mom like? She back in Alexandria?"Negan asked,

"No...she died before we ever made it there."Melrose answered, a twinge of sorrow plucked at her heart.

"Geeez."Negan said, "how'd she go out, if you don't mind me asking."

Melrose swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly went dry, "...giving birth to my sister. W-We had to cut Judith out and...and had to ummm...end her before she changed..."

"***-Damn."

"I...I hated her so much near the end. I never got to...to make amends with her."She said, ashamed. Lori was the only real mother that Melrose had known, she had treated her like her very own since the beginning. Rick and her had gotten married when she was six, then they had Carl, she had never once thought of Carl as her step-brother, he was her brother. Things were good until the outbreak, that's when her relationship with Lori started to crumble.

"Why'd you hate her so much?"He pried.

"A lot of reasons actually...it started with how quickly she began fucking my dad's best friend."

"Damn."

"Before the outbreak, dad had been shot, he was a sheriff. He was in a coma when it started and we had to leave...it had only been a few weeks and she was already screwing Shane. Then Dad found us and she went right back to him as if nothing ever happened, only to drop the bombshell that she was pregnant. God, I hated her, to...to willing to get knocked up and to bring a baby into this shithole that's now the world..it's fucking selfish! We weren't on speaking terms when she went into labor...but when I held Judith in my arms...all that hate went away. I love that little girl, even if there's a chance she's not dad's, she's my sister...I-I took out of the room when..."She paused a moment, "...when they killed her."

"***-Damn, babydoll, you've had a hell of a time out there."Negan stated, "So, how old is she?"

"She's almost a year old."Melrose said softly, her voice almost breaking at the thought of Judith crying and wrestling with Rick and Carl.

"I'm sorry...I can see how much you miss her...miss your home, but I assure you, babydoll, that this place will feel like home soon."

She narrowed her eyes at him and continued eating; she gulped down her glass of wine and finished off her plate, for the first time in a long time, her belly was full. Once they had eaten their fill, and cleared the table they moved back to the sitting area of the room, Negan brought out another bottle of wine and their glasses. Melrose took a set on the sofa, and Negan plopped down beside her, invading her personal space. "So,"He started, his voice was soft and dark as his eyes focused on the ring on her finger, "how did you and lover boy meet?"

"That's a long story."

"Oh come on now, babydoll, we've got nothing but time."He grinned, propping his feet upon the coffee table.

Melrose rolled her eyes and sighed, "Well, I was given a scholarship for an internship in the UK, we met while I was in Edinburgh...and we just continued to keep in touch and...yeah, it just happened."

Negan arched a brow as he looked over at her, "***-Damn, a Scotsman, eh?"

"I...I was actually planning on leaving before Dad was injured. I was going to move there but Dad wanted Jase to move here so we were closer to home...we had a huge argument the day he was shot...and after we heard the news, we decided to stay until he woke up...but then..."She stopped, remembering the day as if it happened only yesterday. It wasn't long after Rick had been shot that the world had...changed to the shit hole it was now.

"So you blame Papa Rick for you being stuck here."

Melrose stared up at him dumbfounded; was she that easy to read? It had been a long while since she had felt that hostility towards her father, and she thought that it had melted away. "I-I did...but there's no way that it would have made a difference...this...it has to be happening worldwide, if it wasn't...then why has no one tried to save us?"

"Hmm, you're right about that."Negan said, grimly, before taking a drink from the wine bottle.

The conversation changed back to her and Jase, she told hm how they had met; a sad smile tugged at the corners of Melrose's mouth, reminiscing caused her heart to ache. She longed to be out of this hell and return to Jase's side, back with her father and brother and sister. Melrose took a sip of wine and gritted her teeth, she didn't know why she was spilling her guts to Negan; perhaps she was trying to get his mind far from sex, she had seen that dark, sensual flicker in his eyes since their first encounter and she had no desire in fulfilling his wish. She refilled her glass, "We've been talking about me for hours, so...why don't you tell me something about you?"Melrose smirked.

Negan grinned rolling his head over towards her, "Well, babydoll, what is it you want to know?"He asked.

Melrose glanced about the room, searching for anything to get the conversation rolling again, when her eyes focused onto the bloodied barbed wire bat which was perched agains the wall by the door. Bingo., She thought, with a sly grin. "What's the deal with...Lucille?"Melrose inquired. She knew she had to gain Negan's trust and while in doing so, she needed to learn as much as she could about the man and any weakness he may have.

A dark shadow seemed to wash over Negan's face at the mention of his beloved Lucille, he snatched the bottle of wine and finished it off before muttering, "That...is a long story."

"Well, you said it yourself, we have nothing but time,"Melrose pressed on, "but if you don't want to tell me, then you don't have to."

He sighed as he stretched back onto the couch, propping his feet back onto the coffee table and placing his hands behind his head; a dark, almost sorrowful look, flickered within his dark eyes, which almost made Melrose regret asking the question...almost. "Lucille was my wife, my real wife, before the world went to the shitter. She died before...before any of this happened."

A small twinge of remorse plucked at Melrose's heart, "Oh shit...h-how did she die?"She asked, carefully.

"Cancer."Negan replied, darkly. "We were in the hospital...I-I had just lost her when all the chaos broke loose and Lucille...changed, and I-I couldn't bring myself to take her out...I couldn't do it." He paused for a moment and sniffled, wiping his nose with his thumb. "Fought my way out of that place and was on my own for a loooonnng while, I had to improvise out there and so...I created Lucille."He said, his dark eyes focused onto the bat perched in the corner. "To protect not only me but to protect others."

Melrose's expression softened as she noticed the sorrowful look in Negan's eyes, even he had heart, she had tried to fight it but even she couldn't help but feel remorseful about bringing up such a grim subject. "I-I'm sorry..."She said, softly, placing a comforting hand on his arm. Negan turned towards her, their eyes met, and that sorrowful flicker quickly changed to a blaze of desire; Melrose quickly removed her hand and lowered her gaze.

Negan smirked, "Ya know, Melrose, you remind me of her."He said, softly, she glanced over at him. "Your smart-ass mouth, your sarcastic remarks, Lucille was always a tough broad, she never put up with my shit. She deserved better than me...plus,"A smirk spread across his face, "you're both hot as helll."

She narrowed her eyes at him, whatever remorse she had felt for him had melted away. "Is that why you took me? Because I remind you of her?"Melrose replied, curtly.

He returned the expression, his smirk widening, "There's that smart-ass mouth again."Negan said, "No. I took you because your my extra leverage to keep your daddy in line."

Melrose glared at him, "And what happens if he doesn't fall into line? Are you going to kill me?"She snapped, "Your own wife?"

Negan stared at her darkly, "Well...let's hope you don't ever have to find out, babydoll. I sure would hate to mess up that pretty face of yours."He grinned, as invaded her personal space once again. He placed his arm about her and pulled her close him, she glared up at him which only made him smirk. "Oh come on now babydoll, doesn't your loving husband deserve another kiss?"

Melrose gulped. She could feel him undressing her with his eyes, her heart pounded fearfully within her chest at the thought of this kiss leading to anything else. Slowly and reluctantly she wrapped her arms about his neck, she could feel him resting his strong hands on her hips; Melrose could feel her cheeks burning, her heart beat was now hammering in her ears as she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his. I'm sorry Jase..., She thought, guiltily. Negan pulled her closer and attempted to deepen the kiss, and to Melrose's dismay...she allowed him; his tongue entered her mouth and hers into his, the dance was awkward and unwanted at first but quickly became synchronized as Melrose imaged Jase was the one holding her, kissing her. She gently tugged the hair at the nape of his neck as she bit his bottom lip, Negan growled in her mouth, as he pulled her closer, while his free hand fumbled with the button of her jeans. Melrose's eyes shot open, as realization struck her like a lightning bolt; she wasn't kissing Jase, she was kissing...Negan! She was his prisioner, his wife. She pushed him off of her and rose to her feet, turning away from him with trembling hands, as she recaptured her breath.

"Melrose..."Negan said, his voice soft and gruffly, "I'm sorry, if I was forceful. I know you've had a helll of a day—"

"Stop!"Melrose snapped, turning back to face him, "Look...I-I don't mind the kissing...but if you think for one mintue that I'm going to spread my legs for you then you're fucking wrong!"She spat, angry tears stung the backs of her eyes as she turned away from him once again. She hated herself...she felt guilty, dirty, and her heart seemed to crack as she had to admit to herself that she had minded kissing him, a part of her wanted more. Melrose squeezed her eyes shut as she folded her arms across her chest, trying to forget his touch.

"***-Damn, if I didn't know better I'd think you were a virgin."Negan teased. Melrose glared back at him and saw his expression soften, "Oh shit, you are, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am! Happy now, dick?"She snapped.

"Damn, babydoll, I'm sorry."was Negan's poor excuse for an apology, "I didn't peg you as one."

She turned back to face him, narrowing her eyes at him, "What the shit is that supposed to mean?"Melrose snarled.

Negan scoffed, smirking, "It's just hard to believe that someone who looks like you do, has never been fucked."

Melrose could feel her cheeks burning hot as she glowered at him. He is simply unbelievable!, She thought, irritated at Negan's nonchalant tone. "So you and lover boy never—"

"Would you shut-up!"Melrose snapped, "We messed around yeah, but no we never did it, if you must know we were...we were waiting until our wedding night."She replied sadly, staring down at her engagement ring which glistened in the low light. "So go on and laugh!"She retorted.

Negan stared up at her with a contrite expression, "Now, why would I laugh at that? That's fucking beautiful."

"Don't fucking patronize me."Melrose warned.

"I'm not, I mean it, babydoll."Negan said, as he rose to his feet, closing the distance between them. "Look, Melrose,"His tone sympathetic, as he tenderly took a hold of her hand which caused her to face him, "I'm sorry if I was forceful in anyway, I'm not going to make you do something you don't want to do. We'll wait until your ready."

Melrose furrowed her brow as she searched his dark eyes, she could see that Negan was serious and spoke true, but she could still see that flicker of sexual hunger burning within his orbs. She pulled her hand from his, "And...what if I don't ever want to?"

Negan arched a brow at her, she couldn't help but notice him grimace at her words but the expression quickly morphed into that shit-eating grin. "Well now babydoll, that's what my other wives are for, now ain't it?"

She rolled her eyes at him in disgust, but a part of her was thankful to let his harem deal with his sexual desires and not her. "Oh shit,"Negan stretched and yawned, "I. Am. Bushed!"He said, in an over-exaggerated manner. "You and I have had a helll of a day, shit, you've had a few more than me, so whattaya say about hitting the hay?"

Melrose looked at Negan and then at the single bed that was positioned on the other side of the room and then looked back at him, arching a brow. Negan followed her gaze and then glanced back at her, smirking, "Look, I get it, you don't trust me, you're still getting used to being here, so I'm gonna step out on a limb here and play the gentleman and I'll take the couch, you my dear, can have the bed."He replied, before he stretched himself out on the couch, releasing an exaggerated "Ahhh". Melrose wandered over towards the bed, she made sure he wasn't looking when she removed her jeans, she untied her t-shirt so that it covered her underwear. Melrose pulled back the covers before she climbed into bed, settling herself into the plush matteress. She looked over at Negan and cursed herself for feeling guiltly about taking the mad man's bed.

She sighed,"Look, you...don't have to do that. This is your room, your bed. I don't mind sharing."

Negan sat up on the couch before he rose to his feet, that smirk of his widening, "Oh, babydoll, are you saying you want to sleep with me?"He teased, as he strolled towards her.

"Emphasis on sleep, jackass."Melrose said, before pulling the covers close to her before she laid down. She could feel him climbing into bed, there was about an inch in-between them but she could still sense his warmth, feel his presence.

"Ahhhhh."Negan sighed, "This is much better." Melrose didn't have to look to know that he was wearing that damn smug-ass grin. "Good night, Melrose Grimes."

Her brow furrowed, "Yeah...good night, Negan."