The dawn of the next day crept in and Negan awoke early. He showered, got dressed and before he could contemplate making a breakfast for himself or Alexandra there was a knock at the door. Without hesitation he made his way through the living room and threw the front door open, sure to have a handgun sitting visible in the waistline of his pants.

"Good morning." Matt stood in front of him alone and nodded. "Mind if I come in?"

Negan stared him up and down and cleared his throat. "A little fuckin' early ain't it?" He stepped aside anyway and allowed him in before shutting the door behind them.

"There's coffee and other things we left for you," Matt explained and then sat down at a chair in the kitchen.

Negan stood, placing his hands on the backs of a second chair and stared across the way. "What's the real fuckin' deal here?"

"I'm not hiding anything," Matt continued to claim. "What you see is what you get."

"Ever get threatened here?"

"Not recently... but yes."

"And?"

"And we did what we had to do to protect ourselves. The group wasn't big who came in but if they were, well I don't know what would have happened." He looked at Negan. "I told you about the cabin. People wind up there from time to time so we try to keep up with it in order to recruit new people for the town. I saw you and your wife had a baby, which is always a good reason to bring somebody in. That was Annie's prime motivation."

"What was yours?" Negan pulled at the waistband of his jeans and Matt glanced at the gun before staring up to look him more directly in the eye.

"We need protection. Honestly Negan you kind of scare the shit out of me a little bit." He shrugged. "Not the easiest thing for a man to admit, particularly now that I'm a father... but we need strong people here who know what the hell they're doing to protect this place. I've held my own. I was one of the first people in this community and we've built it up quite a bit. But I'm more brains than brawn and I need someone like you."

"What, to do the fuckin' dirty work?" Negan huffed a laugh.

"I saw how you reacted when I just took a step in your direction at the cabin. When your wife and kids came outside you raised your gun at us. You'll protect them with everything you have... which means you'll protect this place with everything you have." Matt sighed, "We can work together. That's my only motive here."

"How does shit operate here?" Negan asked. "People have jobs you said."

"That's right." He nodded. "Your wife... she wouldn't have to do anything being a new mother. That should be her only job to raise..." He searched for a name.

"Lucy," Negan replied. "Your wife work?"

"She helps out a little in the school now because she wants to... but she's still at home most of the time with Christopher. She did though... before she had him."

He scratched his head and paced the kitchen. "You need people going out on supply runs?"

"Sometimes," Matt explained. "The livestock helps a lot with that and there are two natural springs nearby where we've been getting a constant water source. One is near that cabin in the woods." He stood up from where he sat. "We have a lot here and experienced people from many trades. Right now the farmers are a huge factor for us. The problem is... we don't have the means to protect it all and we need that." He paused. "Were you a military guy before all this?"

"Gym teacher." Negan laughed.

Matt raised his eyebrows. "I bet your kids passed all the fitness tests in that school."

"Look... I'm all for helping you out," Negan told him, "And if this is what it appears then you're helping us out a fuckin' lot... but if anything happens to Alexandra or Lucy or Sarah-"

"You'll fucking kill me?" Matt asked, half-humorous in his response, but serious all the same.

Negan chuckled again but nodded adamantly. "Yeah."

"I know how hard it is to have a child in all this... but Christopher is a healthy kid. He gets regular checkups. We're making it work here. I really see the same for you guys."

Negan softened a bit and gave a single nod. "Alexandra was the doctor at our our old place, and she loves doing that shit so I'm sure she wouldn't mind getting to know the medical staff."

"Wow, bonus." Matt smiled. "Apocalypse power couple huh?" He laughed. "Well make yourself at home and whenever you're ready I can show you around the lookout stations and weapons supply area. We try to save the shells to our bullets to reuse them."

"You guys have some efficient shit going on here." Negan stared around the room.

He nodded. "And we've got to protect it." Matt held a hand out. "We would really appreciate it if you could help us with that."

Negan looked down and shook his hand with a nod. "I think we can work this shit out Matt."

Relief filled his features and he smiled. "Good."

...

Matt did as he claimed and showed Negan every square inch of The Manor, including a private tour of the stash of weapons they had. He continued to insist he could keep all of the arms he and Alexandra brought into the place and never even touched on the possibility of asking for them - or adding them to the basement full of weapons in one of the houses in the center of the neighborhood.

"This piece of the wall lifts up," Matt walked him toward the very back of the complex. "You really need a guy on each side to pull the chains and latch them here. He pointed and the two of them lifted the wall that turned into a back door to The Manor. "See, this is a dirt road that goes for about a half a mile through the woods there. It comes out on the main highway."

"No shit." Negan nodded with approval and checked out the makings of the oversized door. "You'd never know this shit was here."

"Got some smart guys who designed this place."

"They still around?"

"Some of them." Matt gave a look.

"And the others?"

"Didn't fend well outside the walls." He shrugged. "Sucks but unfortunately we all have to get used to a little and keep moving."

Negan helped him close it back up and they secured the locks before heading around the perimeter. Matt pointed upward as they walked. "These are our guard stations; little towers. We have people there 24-7 overlooking the area. There are some in the front too."

"What about vehicles?"

"You see the ones scattered in driveways. Most of them work. We try to go on foot to save the gas when possible."

"Any known enemies?"

"No. Haven't been under attack in a long time, knock on wood."

"Shit..." Negan shook his head and looked around. "Pray it fuckin' stays that way. Got a good setup here."

"Yeah." Matt nodded. "I think we've flown under the radar thus far. We've grown gradually. This whole area was run down when we first stumbled upon it. No walls. Nothing. Just a mess of the undead and leftover things in the homes. On that note we were pretty lucky. People must've left in a hurry. There were quite a bit of canned goods and bottled water... clothes, blankets, generators."

Negan pictured Alexandra's face when she had taken Lucy and Sarah with her into the medical building with Annie. He had been hesitant to let them go without him, but she insisted so confidently that he decided not to underestimate her.

"I was talking with Annie," Matt went on, breaking his thoughts. "We'd like to have something this Friday, two days from now, if it's okay with you. Something to welcome you all here into the community and hopefully you can get to know us a little better. I believe she was going to run it by Alexandra."

He looked at the man and decided right then after spending the day with him that he was a good man. In the past he would have pushed and tried to test him more and more, possibly pushing him away but he knew this time was different. It was a different chapter in his life and for Alexandra and his family he had to give the place a chance. "Yeah. I'm sure my wife would like that."

"Great." Matt smiled and nodded. "There's a cold beer or two with your name on it."

Negan laughed. He could see Matt was trying hard to get on his good side, despite them each needing each other, possibly Negan more than Matt. He would never admit that to the young man but he knew it was true. He wasn't a coward; just insecure a bit and in need. "Sold me there." The two shook hands again and in the distance he spotted Alexandra sharing a laugh with Annie as they left the small school with Sarah skipping behind them. Negan smiled to himself and then snickered, seeing right through the act that Sarah was putting on.

Matt took in Negan's appearance as he watched them and smiled. "Go be with your family Negan. Relax and I'll see you at the party on Friday. I'm sure Annie gave Alexandra the details."

"Fuckin' appears that way, don't it." He nodded and headed down the street, catching a glimpse from Alexandra who smiled at him the same way she always did. Negan knew he would have some adjusting to do, but in his mind he knew it helped that Matt was so adamant about needing their help and helping them on the back end. His leadership style complemented Negan's in a way that was passive to his aggressive. He felt their working relationship would go on just fine.

"I was just telling your wife about Friday night." Annie smiled, "Did Matt-"

"He did." Negan smiled wide and slipped an arm around Alexandra's shoulders.

Annie smiled at the two of them. "Well... this has been a nice day."

"It has," Alexandra agreed with a nod.

"Think about school." She pointed to Sarah who simply smiled and eyed a small group of boys playing basketball in the street two houses away from their split level home.

"Go," Negan said, nodding with his head.

"What?" Sarah asked, "Me?"

"Yeah, go... I see you eying them."

"All boys."

"So what."

Sarah looked up at Alexandra with smiled and nodded. "Go ahead if you want to."

She hesitated a moment and then jogged off toward the group of kids.

Annie shrugged. "I've got to get back to my sister's place to get Chris. I'll see you two soon." She gave a wave and Alexandra slumped her arm around Negan's waist as he walked with his over her shoulders.

"What do you think?" she asked him.

"I think we give it a shot." He looked down at her and she smiled and leaned up, touching her lips to his once. "I love you."

"I love you too."