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"What the hell happened out there?" Negan questioned as he placed Sky down carefully on the bed.
"Sherry came out of nowhere and raised a bow at her" Sam spoke up as he began to gather medical supplies for Chris.
"What the fuck would provoke her to do such a stupid fucking thing?"
"She's been harassing me for weeks" Sky admitted.
"What the fuck… Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this? Darlin' why didn't you say something?"
"I thought about it, but I thought she was just all talk. I had it handled"
"Obviously not…"Negan replied.
"I'm sorry" Sky replied, her head bowed, she couldn't face the look of disappointment she expected to see in his eyes.
"Don't be sorry Darlin', you got nothing to be sorry for" he said as he hugged her tight. "I'm just glad you're ok, well as ok as can be" he said as he looked at her wounds.
"You're not mad at me?"
"Mad? Darlin' why the fuck would I be mad at you?"
"Because I didn't tell you about what was going on with Sherry"
"I get why you didn't Sky, you felt like you had it handled, and I'm sure you did. That crazy bitch just went and changed the rules on you when she pulled out that bow"
"It's been a long time since I killed someone" Sky admitted. She had only done it once before and in a similar situation where it was their life or hers.
"I'm proud of you Darlin', you stood up for yourself. You didn't take any shit. You showed everyone here the strong woman that I know and love. I'm sorry that you had to kill the mental fucking bitch, but you did us all a favour. You're a survivor Sky, this world just keeps throwing shit your way and you plow on through it and live to fight another day. You're fucking amazing" Negan gushed as he kissed her hard, not worried about Sam standing right there.
Just then Chris ran through the door. "Keira filled me in on what happened, let's get you fixed up" he said wasting no time as he put on some gloves. Taking a quick look at her wounds he knew that he had to deal with the arrow wound first. Blood was still steadily streaming out around the snapped off shaft and he was certain it had nicked an artery.
"Ok, first we are gonna need to get your shirt out of the way, I'm just gonna cut it ok, I think it's safe to say it's already ruined" he said as he took to the fabric with a pair of scissors. "Ok bad news is, the arrow hasn't gone all the way through" Chris began as he checked the back of her shoulder.
"Meaning?" Negan asked.
"Meaning we can't just pull the shaft through from the back, we are going to have to pull the arrow head back through" Chris explained. "It's gonna hurt like hell so I'm gonna give you a shot of morphine ok Sky" he said and she nodded in response, holding tightly to Negan's hand.
As the drugs began to kick in, he gripped the shaft with a pair of pliers and prepared to pull the arrow out. "Ok, this still may hurt but the drugs should have dulled the pain at least a little, but with the way you're still bleeding, we don't have time to wait. This isn't going to feel good. Sam I need you on standby ready to put pressure on the wound once I pull the arrow" he instructed.
"Negan" Chris said as he looked up at the man whose face was filled with worry.
"Yeah Doc?"
"I'm sorry but I'm gonna need you to hold her down. If she moves when I start pulling she could do a lot more damage"
Negan didn't really like the idea, but he didn't want her to be in any more pain than she already was. Leaning over her upper body he put all his weight on each of her shoulders with his forearms as he held her face between his hands, careful not to get in the way of where the doctor needed to be. "You just keep looking at me Darlin', everything is going to be fine I promise" he reassured her.
"Ok, on three. One… two… three" Chris said as he carefully slid the arrow back through her flesh trying to go as fast as possible without causing any more damage.
"Fuuuuuck!" Sky cried out in pain, and Negan held her down tightly making sure she didn't move, while he placed gentle kisses on her cheek. "You're ok Darlin', I got you" he whispered, trying to hide the pain from his own face. He hated seeing her hurt. He wished that he could take all the pain for her.
"It's out!" Chris declared somewhat triumphantly as Sam quickly put pressure on the wound. On further inspection he saw that it was still bleeding quite a bit. "I'm gonna have to open the wound up a little, I think the arrow nicked and artery and I need to stop the bleeding quickly, she's already lost enough blood" Chris explained.
"Do what you gotta do Doc" Negan said as he prepared to hold her down again.
Using surgical tools he pried the wound open, searching for the source of bleeding. After a few tense moments he located the small nick and took the needle that Sam had given him with the surgical thread attached and he began to sew it shut. The morphine had well and truly kicked in, Sky no longer felt the pain, and Negan was able to let her go. He sat close to her side, holding her hand tight and running his other hand through her hair as she focused on him.
"Ok, I've stopped the bleeding" Chris said, and Negan breathed a sigh of relief. "Sam, can you clean this out to avoid any infection and then I'll stitch it up" Chris said. Once finished with her shoulder wound he turned his attention to the wound on her right side. It was just above her hip bone, but luckily wasn't too deep. Sam had managed to stop most of the bleeding with some gauze but it would still require stitches.
By the time Chris had tended to both her wounds, Sky was as high as a kite from the morphine and laughing at the very serious look on Negan's face. "Well I'm glad someone thinks this is fucking funny" he said as he rubbed a hand over his face wearily.
"Can I take her home doc?"
"Yeah. I'm sure she would much prefer to be there than stuck here all night. Once that morphine wears off she is probably gonna be in quite a bit of pain so make sure she takes these" he said as he tossed Negan a pill bottle which he stuffed into his jacket pocket.
"I'll take care of her" Negan assured him and Chris expected nothing less from the man. He knew how much she cared for her, it was very evident in the way he looked at her. Carefully he picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the door and towards his quarters. Once inside he placed her carefully on the bed and went to fetch a damp face cloth to clean the blood off of her.
"Jesus Christ woman… you gave me a fucking heart attack" he whispered as he carefully wiped the grime away from her skin. "I could have lost you tonight and I have never been more fucking scared of anything in my life" he confessed.
"But I'm ok, I'm better than ok" she grinned, still slightly high from the drugs.
"I'm fucking serious Sky… I don't know what I would do without you".
"I'm sorry baby" she whispered, seeing the sadness clear in his eyes.
"I just hate seeing you hurt Darlin', it kills me" he said as he finished washing the blood from her skin. Kicking off his boots and removing his jacket and pants he climbed onto the bed next to her. Being careful of her wounds he pulled her close to him, wrapping the blankets over them both. "Get some rest Darlin', you've been through hell tonight. I'll be right here".
Sky began to sober up as the morphine wore off and she winced in pain as she moved her arm. Leaping out of bed Negan retrieved the pills from his jacket and a glass of water, ordering her to take them, being a good patient she did as she was told. As he climbed back into bed she snuggled back into him and got comfortable.
After a few moments of silence Sky finally spoke up. "For the first time in a long time, I was scared to die tonight" she confessed.
"Why were you scared Darlin'?"
"Because now I have a reason to live, now I have someone I care about. I spent such a long time not caring if I died, actually wanting to die which at first seemed like such a strange thing, but I grew used to it. And then I met you and everything changed. Now not wanting to die, wanting to live and being scared of death seems so foreign to me" she explained.
"I'm sorry Darlin'" he whispered.
"Why are you sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for"
"I promised you that I would keep you safe, that I would protect you. And since you've been with me you've been attacked multiple times. I'm not doing a very good fucking job" he said, frustrated with himself.
"None of this is your fault Negan. This is the way the world is now. There are always going to be people that want to hurt us. That is a fact of life. We just have to live with it as best we can. I'm not scared of anyone, and I'm not scared to fight. What I am scared of is losing you"
"You'll always have me Darlin'… always" he said as he pulled her close.
"Do you believe in heaven?" she asked.
"With the world the way it is, it's kinda hard to believe in the fucking god almighty. I don't know if I believe in heaven or hell, angels or demons. What I do believe is that there is some sort of life after this. And if by some fucking chance I do die, I'll be waiting right there for you Darlin' coz I aint never leaving you" he whispered as he kissed her forehead softly.
"I love you Negan" she whispered as she snuggled in close.
"I fucking love you too Sky, more than I could ever say, more than you could possibly fucking imagine".
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