Disclaimer: AMC owns the story and characters of The Walking Dead, I just like to play cruel games with them.

Author's note: Have I told you I've got the best beta ever? Lara, is the sweetest beta and friend and I'm super thankful to her for enabling my madness. I'm sorry for whatever suffering I may cause with this chapter, it is my intention, but I do not enjoy it.

Before

Savannha, Gerogia

It was a real fucking pleasure, Sue.

"Soulmate's been a shit?" Henry asked, after reading the words on Tory's arm that just refused to fade.

"He's cheating on his wife." Tory said bitterly. "I hate it. He always said he'd always love her, that doesn't seem like love to me."

Henry let out a low whistle. "Love comes in all shapes, kitten."

Tory sighed and took a long swig out of the lukewarm bottle of Coke that sat beside her at the pool in the Oats' home. She didn't like Coke, but Mrs. Oats had given it to her and she didn't want to be impolite or be teased by Henry.

"Would you cheat on your wife if you married someone that wasn't your soulmate?" Tory asked Henry, checking the fading words on his left upper back.

"No." he snapped immediately. "I wouldn't do that."

"Neither would I." she declared.

"Yeah, I don't see you having a wife." Henry mocked.

Tory narrowed her eyes at her friend and crossed her arms with a huff.

"Why not? Mom had female friends who were married to other women." Tory said unabashedly. "I don't see anything wrong with it, they were cool, always gave me candy bars."

Henry nodded and shrugged. "So, you wouldn't judge me if my soulmate is a boy?"

Tory turned to look at her friend, her eyes wide and surprised. "You found them?"

"Found him, for sure." Henry said sheepishly, blushing as he spoke. "Address appeared on my back, my ma' saw and I wrote to him." He answered Tory's unspoken question.

A high pitched squeal left Tory's mouth as she jump-hugged Henry.

"So what happened?!"

"I'm gonna meet him."

Tory squealed again and slid into the pool while Henry rolled his eyes at her and followed her into the water. They were silent a while, basking in the cool of the water.

Henry was serious now.

"How are you?" he asked. "How are you really? Don't give me some 'I'm-fine-shit', kitten."

Tory narrowed her eyes at Henry, leveling him with a cold grey glare.

"I'm sad, but I've been sad for a long while." She answered sincerely, as Henry said, she couldn't just lie and say she was okay. "I'm glad we moved here."

"I'm glad to hear that." Henry said solemnly. "How is your mom?"

"She's holding on, sold my grandparents' house right after they decided we'd move here." The girl sighed. "She misses them so much."

Henry sighed as well and looked up to the clear blue sky. "Things will get better with time, I suppose."

Negan arrived home in time for dinner.

Lucille had called him earlier asking for take-out from a restaurant that was almost half an hour away from home, but he had obliged. The past three months had been good. Things seemed to be better, but Negan wasn't sure, since he kept meeting Susan every other day to have a good fuck or sometimes a quicky in some secluded classroom, away from the prying eyes of their students.

Yes, Negan was happy that he and Lucille were having a baby, but he wasn't ecstatic.

Lucille was the one doing things, keeping everything afloat, letting her take the reins was easier.

"I'm home, doll." He hollered, expecting Lucille to come and get her dinner. Negan placed the bags on the kitchen bar and then returned to the hallway to leave his car keys and jacket. "Lucille, the food's gonna go cold!"

In the silence of the house, Negan heard something hit the hardwood floor easily.

"Lucille? Is that you, baby girl?" Negan asked, loud and clear. If he wasn't wrong, the sound came from the baby's room, so he picked the poker by the chimney on his way to the room.

"Lucille?"

This time a quiet thud reached Negan's ears, followed by a groan.

It was Lucille.

Negan threw the poker away and ran to the baby's room to find his wife on her knees, sobbing quietly as she rubbed the floor with her hands. Negan turned the lights on and almost fell on his ass at the gruesome image.

Lucille was kneeling on a pool of blood, seemingly trying to wipe it away with her bare hands. And he didn't even need to ask what had happened. He knew.

Negan stepped carefully into the room and kneeled beside his wife.

"Lucille, doll, we have to take you to the hospital." He said softly.

"But the blood, I want to clean this up, it's the baby's room Negan." She responded, just as softly as he spoke. "We can't have this mess."

Negan felt his eyes fill with tears and shut his eyes hard.

"Don't worry, we'll clean after we come back."

"But-" Lucille started to protest but Negan hauled her up.

"I promise, doll. After we come back." He said, just before his throat closed up with worry. His wife was pale and cold. "I promise." He repeated. "I promise."

Lucille was awake, but she hadn't turned her head towards her husband, who was snoring softly of the chair beside her bed.

Her whole body was sore in a way she hadn't felt before. The emptiness felt different this time, it felt hot and somehow heavy. Lucille blinked slowly, numb to her sluggish movements as she caressed her lower belly, the place where the pain was worse. A thick bandage had been placed around her, but Lucille couldn't make herself ask r even speak up. She didn't care right now.

The outside noise was distracting and she felt blessed for it.

Closing her eyes, she waited for the darkness of sleep to take her but she was afforded no such luck.

"…said she almost died."

"I heard it's the third one. You don't come back from that."

"Such a shame they'll never have any."

"It's really sad, but Doctor Summers did it to save her life."

"You're right, but I would hate to be the one to tell her."

"It's a shame I tell you. Poor thing."

Lucille opened her eyes and turned her head, she caught a glimpse of the nurses that had been talking outside of her room.

Were they talking about her?

Were they?

When the doctor actually said the words to her, Lucille nodded, but she didn't remember much after, just asking to be left completely alone. The doctor had been kind and said he would be around if she needed anything.

Negan didn't even protest and Lucille's pain grew bigger when she saw the disappointment in his eyes and wondered if their marriage was coming to an end.

She hoped it wasn't.