Chapter 19

Jesus laid on his bed, just as he had fallen a few hours ago after his secretive conversation with Sasha inside Maggie's office after dark, he knew he wouldn't manage to sleep more than thirty minutes. Not since the night the Harpy came to the Hilltop.

Images of that night came flashing to his eyes disregarding completely his wish to keep them away. The perverse way the old man's body deformed incessantly, his screams and the sounds of his organs sloshing around, his bones grinding and his muscles snapping with each deformation.

I did it, I started it all, it's all my fault.

Jesus pressed his eyes with his hands hard and with frustration.

Don't think about it! He thought, but even then the awareness of his hands brought up the helpless feeling, the impotence of being eerily stuck to the ground unable to move. He cursed his naivety, he had seen the Harpy as a girl but what girl can do something like that? No, not a girl, a being. What kind of corrupted being could summon such malice and torture?

A memory slide forced itself to the forefront of his mind, the faces of his people, neighbors, and friends illuminated by the green flash. The face of terror in high contrasting green light that washed over all of them, permanently marked in his mind.

"Arrhg." Jesus exclaimed in frustration and stood up fast, the thud of his dirty boots sounding loud in the quiet of the night, he had not even taken them off when he fell on the bed earlier on.

His ability to fall asleep had been taken from him that night. It was all on him, the death and pain that he had brought to his people and the Alexandrians, the hurt in Sasha's eyes, and her desperation for revenge, Maggie's sad mourning. It was all his fault and the Harpy's doing, he had become obsessed with the girl, memories of her popping in his mind almost every waking moment, she had left him with a dark stain.

Never before had he been one to be ruled by anger, rage, revenge. Even growing up and dealing with prejudice and alienating rejection, he always knew how to keep his heart and soul intact, but now it was all he thought of. He wanted to kill her, he wanted to desecrate her and leave nothing of her, he wished for things to go back the way they were but his whole world had been soiled by her.

Jesus watched outside his window, the night was still ruling the sky, but his clock told him dawn would come in a couple of hours.

I might as well head out. He thought.

The day before, the Harpy had been reunited with her mother and now he couldn't get it out of his head. Mother and daughter had stood in front of Carol's fence talking quietly, it was so human, so mundane, almost familiar.

And then the Harpy did something he had never seen before.

Jesus took a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and lit a one with a lighter he kept inside, inhaling hard and taking the smoke straight to his lungs, feeling the burn on his throat then released it through his nose. The strong assault that was the effect on his body gave him a measure of release, as he remembered the moment the Harpy had removed her mask to say goodbye to her mother.

The pale face of a young and fragile little girl with angry scarring on one side, he remembered how he had even been able to make out faint freckles on the untouched skin. But that was just half of it, when he saw the corruption on that scarring, Jesus knew it was not just a wound. He knew that was once a little girl, Carol's girl and now it was something else, something tainted and it was evident when he saw the monstrous scarring on her right side.

Pity. He felt it, but it was a new kind of feeling, one that tasted like ashes and left him feeling empty.

Jesus had watched the girl entranced, the reddened, rough looking skin, the jagged scarring along the head. He noticed the way it tugged on her right eye and almost reshaped it, and how it gave her almost cadaveric features to her right side.

Her visage was firmly in his mind's eyes as he absentmindedly toyed with his cigarette, taking another drag and dropping it on the hardwood floor of his room then he walked away, stepping on it on his way out.

He made it to the escape exit on the back of their wall and wasn't too much surprised when he found Maggie waiting for him, she was sitting on the cover of the fake log chest which covered the exit.

"Did you even get some sleep this time, Jesus?" She asked him, her voice laden with worry. Jesus watched his dear friend for a second, he could see the orange reflection of the bonfires in her big sad eyes.

Here we go… He thought and sat down by her side with a sigh.

"Haven't been much of a sleeper for a while now." He said, offering her a half-smile. Maggie remained quiet and Jesus had to try not to flinch at the look she had on her eyes, the pity. Real pity, not like what he felt when he saw the Harpy's face.

"How's the training going?" He asked her, trying to change the subject.

"They could really use your help, you know?" She answered. "You are the best fighter we have."

"Nah…" He said immediately, his throat was a bit tight. "They have you now, they'll be fine."

"I could use your help too. I could use you here instead of out there doing… this." She insisted.

Jesus sighed and placed an arm over her shoulders.

"You know I'm the one who needs you… for them." He said, nodding to the trailers and the mansion where the people of Hilltop slept .

Maggie huffed, her patience apparently had run out. "But not for this?" She exclaimed, trying to keep it low and pointing at the hidden exit.

He couldn't find an answer for her.

"You are not well and you are going to do something stupid if you don't take a step back, I can help you but you need to get some rest. I promise we are going to do it, but we have to wait and see first." She asked a little more bothered by his lack of care. Then she looked around before continuing.

"Any day now our scouts will confirm contact with Oceanside." She whispered. "With their weapons and fighters, we can do it." She urged him. But in his mind, it was the fact that the Coalition was already formed and gearing up, the reason he knew it wouldn't matter if he failed.

"It won't matter if I fail, all you have to do if she catches me is put on with whatever punishment they deal out and save your strength for the right moment to attack." He explained, trying to calm himself and not to part in anger.

"What about you? What would they do with you?" She asked worriedly.

"Just let it happen, whatever it is. I'll be fine with it even if they ask you to kill me, you should do it but if you help me they might find out, and then who is going to be left for Hilltop?" He asked resolutely. "If I manage, she'll be dead and you all will have one less worry, I'll take the blame anyway."

There was a pause between them after he said that, and for a second, fear crept upon him. Was Maggie about to ask him not to do it? And what would be his response?...

"Will you stop me? Are you asking me not to do it?" He said, very aware of his trembling voice. "Are you asking me not to avenge Glenn?"

Maggie hugged him tightly, pressing her face on his shoulder. "You idiot, why can't you just stay put like the rest of us?" She asked him, he knew now that she was close to tears, so he placed a caring hand on her back. "What if we lose you?"

"Hey, I'm a better fighter than you think." He said jokingly. "Hilltop will be fine."

After all, they have you.

With that said, the two friends parted. Jesus left the Hilltop and he didn't say it to Maggie, but he wasn't planning to get back anytime soon. He had made up his mind, there would be no better place to make his move on the Harpy and all he had to do was be ready for the right moment.

The day after she and her mother had reunited, Sophia woke up in a great mood. Just knowing that she could drop by anytime and that her mother was alive, was enough to put a big stupid grin on her face that she would feel embarrassed to show in public.

When she nibbled on a sandwich and while working on her project for Regina, in the back of her mind was the knowledge that part of her routine from now on would be to visit her long lost mother. Having been separated for so long and thinking she was dead long ago, she couldn't really care that her mother didn't agree with some of her ways or goals, it was very clear in her head. She loved her mother, but she had an important role there and it was bigger than the two of them

"I am a witch...I am free. I am a witch… I am free." She said out loud to her reflection in the mirror, as she placed the mask on her face and picked up her hat.

Once in full Harpy getup, she sat on a bench in front of Rapey and continued her legilimency training for a while. The spell itself was not hard, but she could tell by her experiences with her old master that there was a vast well of experience between her level and the level he was in. The first time she tried it on the man, she knew it must have caused some severe damage to the already broken psyche, luckily she had retreated as soon as she realized and found the sorry thing having a seizure while bleeding from his nose.

Judging by her examinations, the man could have died from the way her spell had affected him. At her level, her legilimency might leave whoever she used it on much like Rapey, that is if they didn't die from it.

Then after playing a while with Rapey, she apparated downstairs into the main area of the Sanctuary at the high scaffolding where she usually apparated to, people were already moving about, and starting their days, she watched them from up there and recognized the tall black man. He was talking to Laura and she guessed that he had decided to enlist, his right eye was patched and in the process of recovering. It was John, the new guy that had gotten a beating for stealing.

Suddenly Negan swaggered over to them, which was mildly unusual that early in the morning, and greeted the new recruit with a handshake and what seemed to be a joke on his eye. Then he caught her by surprise when, out of nowhere, he looked up and directly at her while pointing, drawing the eyes of the other two.

Sophia froze, at once feeling in the spotlight, and like she had been caught peeping for some reason, but dismissed it and concentrated on apparating right next to them.

"Slow morning?" Asked Negan with a big smile and a friendly slap on her back. She tried nodding her head first to Laura as a greeting and then to John, who was recovering from the shock of her sudden appearance.

"And a busy afternoon." She then answered Negan.

"Oh yeah? Still working on Shephards Plaza?'' He said, catching her curiosity.

"I am." She said nodding. "Do I sense some kind of request here?" She wondered, glancing at the other two present.

"Maybe, depends on how it went yesterday." He commented. "Come find me before you go." He said and walked away.

"I heard about yesterday, can't believe she walked right up to us." Said Laura referring to her mother.

Sophia tried to control her excitement in front of the new recruit. "Yeah, she's...different from what I remembered." She said, suddenly reminded of the origin of the information that had led her mother to the Sanctuary.

"I wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday, you didn't have to give me a hand, and I know now the favor you did to me with the doctor's bill." John told her, touching his eye as he thanked her. She thought it was very nice of him to mention, and he was immediately on her good side for it.

"Don't mention it, I can tell good people from assholes. Assholes don't do well in the Sanctuary." She said with a nod.

"Ain't that right!" Shouted Laura happily. "Well John, let's go see how you do with a gun, then we'll get you up against Arat. Let's go." She finished, and walked off.

"Ms. Harpy." John said with a deep thankful nod and left after the blonde.

So Sophia found herself alone among the people of the Sanctuary as they moved about their days, they often threw looks at her and greeted her with lowered heads or half bows.

She wished her mother had stayed with them, it frustrated her that the woman was seemingly happy to stay on the sides and not get involved. Even if she stayed with one of the communities, Sophia could respect that, but to isolate herself like that and do nothing with her days.

She always thought of her mother the way she used to when she was a little kid, only recently hearing people testify of her strength and resilience, but rediscovering her mother now had brought a few disappointing things about her to the light.

Maybe it is an age thing.

Sophia thought of herself as a free spirit, but the idea of just lazing about and doing nothing with her time seemed terribly wasteful. The worst of all was that she couldn't help to compare her mother to Negan's wives because of it, sure, her mother was a self-sufficient woman that had gained the respect of her friends and survived through hell just like herself but…well, she knew there was stuff that weighed on her mother's mind, but running away from it was kind of…

Lame. She thought. Mom's like in her late forties, isn't she? That's actually fairly young in wizard's lifespan.

She idly walked among the people and the trading stands, half paying attention to the goings-on and watching out for trouble or wherever she could lend a hand, but her mind was deep in thought.

If anything, Sophia had realized that there was no way for her to understand how the passage of time influenced people, and knowing her kind could live up to almost two hundred years was getting to be a dizzying prospect. She used to feel proud and lucky for having such a long lifespan but now the whole thing was beginning to seem like a big responsibility, not towards her dreams of growing and protecting civilization in the east coast, but a responsibility to herself.

She had never learned her old master's age, he looked old but she had no idea how old he was, so she had no reference as to how exactly a wizard or witch reached their later years. She realized now that maybe she needed to take care of her mental stability, after all, she had a lot to live but she had no idea how to do that anyway.

Though being honest with herself, Sophia could not say that her own stability was impeccable and there was a lot of recent evidence to point to that.

What if I grow up to be some kind of deranged mad person. She thought to herself and shuddered when she thought of her old self as someone similar to her old master.

"Mi-Ms. Harpy." She heard someone say from behind and judging from the tone she wondered if she had failed to hear them before noticing.

Sophia turned around at once and saw that it was the perpetually nervous ex-Alexandrian, Eugene.

"Oh, sorry Eugene. I was lost in thought. Good morning." She tried to explain to the man, who apparently had been shocked by her sudden reaction.

"Mornings to you, Ms. Harpy." He said after gathering some courage, she noticed the man was carrying some kind of plushie on his front pocket and tried to hold back a laugh.

They stood in silence awkwardly observing each other, both apparently waiting for the other to talk.

"Can I help you with something?" She asked when she realized that the man was not about to say anything soon.

Eugene cleared his throat nervously and exhaled to get himself ready. "I would like to talk about our situation in regards to perimeter defense, I do believe it's one of the Sanctuary's weaker points." He told her.

"Oh...Sure, but Negan is obsessed with having that horrible thing out there. I don't know what we can do about it for now, without pissing him off I mean." She said.

It wasn't like she cared about angering him, she knew Negan was a more mature man than to make a thing about it, even though most other people thought of him as someone who killed on a whim sometimes.

"I believe we can reach a middle ground that would provide a better, more resistant perimeter fence while keeping the psychological factor that the boss is so fond of." he said in his usual ranty manner.

"Well...Alright, let's see." She said with a sigh. "Whatever it is, though, I'll end up taking it down eventually. I want to build a wall one day." She warned and started walking towards the exit, signaling him to follow.

"Even so a wall and a fence are better than just a fence." Eugene said, catching up to her.

"Weren't you supposed to be making bullets for us?" She asked the man.

"I was, they have yet to provide me with the proper setup. Furthermore, I presented a requisite detailing the manual labor and security needed to pull such an operation at the locale, but I wager things are getting a tad understaffed around these parts." He explained.

"You can't just make them here?" She was a bit confused by his requirements.

"As I said, the machinery necessary to mass-produce live rounds is in another place, plus the required helping hands, plus the material stockpile and finished product stockpile. It all needs space and people. Besides, it would be easier to move the operation to the machinery locale than to move them here." He explained in his dragging way, they walked outside through the front gates and up to the chain-link fence that was now slowly being covered with walker corpses and melted metal.

A monstrosity. She thought as she watched the poor souls working on it.

The air there was perpetually tainted with the odor of rotting flesh and old grime, it was a feast of flies, carrion eaters, and all manner of infestations. Some time ago she had to take care of getting rid of a plague of cockroaches that had started reaching the compounds. Working there was a true punishment.

"You know, I could put all that workshop in your pocket right?" She said casually, as she observed the terrible sight closely. Eugene's jaw dropped and he turned towards her shocked.

"How would you go about doing that?" He said suddenly even more seriously than his usual manner. Every time they talked about magic he would get intensely focused on her.

"I can use a shrinking charm on anything that needs moving and then undo it wherever we need it." She just explained.

"Do you use that often? How long does it last?" He asked her and she remembered his strong interest in her magic from that night they dined together.

"Not that often I think. Time is not a constraint." She said.

"Don't you pull stuff out of your hat too? Is that the same?" He asked her.

"No, my hat has a couple of pockets inside with an extension charm on it. It means there is a lot more space inside than it looks." She told him.

"Did you do that? That...breaks all kinds of rules." He said intensely.

"It came like this, I can't do it. Some spells and other forms of magic used to be heavily controlled by the government, so the knowledge and means to perform it is guarded where our government used to be." She said. "The real progress will start when we can get our hands on that place."

"That is incredibly intriguing, what else?" He urged her to continue.

"A lot of shit, but let's focus for now. Eugene." She insisted. "What did you say about the fence?"

"Hmm… I was just thinking of using slats to hinder visibility and somewhat reinforce them as well." He explained, she thought she understood what he meant but it wasn't anything that revolutionary to her.

"But now that I'm starting to figure out your particular set of skills… that wall doesn't look so unattainable."

"I know! That's what I've been saying, but it's true that we are short on people." She said.

"Can't you do it all by yourself?" He asked her and he was right, she could technically do it all herself but what he didn't know was that he probably was thinking of a much smaller wall than she was. Plus there were other technicalities.

"Yeah, but there are better ways to do these things in order to get the best result, and some of it requires good old fashioned labor." She simply explained while looking out and to the walker wall that protected that side of the fence.

Eugene went quiet for a while, seemingly lost in thought, then turned towards her fully.

"Little lady, I'm starting to realize that you represent an incredible advantage when it comes to quick and easy solutions which otherwise would require a large amount of manpower and resources." He explained. "You best be sure that yours truly will find all kinds of ways to make good use of your set of skills."

Sophia was left a bit speechless by the intensity of the man and his words, was she actually not making proper use of her magic for the sake of the Sanctuary?. Suddenly she was eager to get away from the man.

"Alright, well I'll go see Negan and fly off for the day. You can find me around in the mornings and sometimes after dark!" She told him, slapping his shoulder in a friendly manner and walking off quickly before he set her on a task that would take her the whole day.

She briskly walked back inside through the big main doors of the factory, crossing the main area filled with workers and patrolled by Saviors. All around there were people eating, trading, or working, many of them bigger than her with her short stature. On its busiest hours, it could get cramped and loud but Sophia loved the way life moved on its own at the Sanctuary. It reminded her what they cared for and protected, a strong and healthy community primed for progress.

It might be that some of the other communities were far prettier than her home, but they felt much more stagnated in that sense, just to have a semblance of an economy promised a lot of possibilities that the communal way the others handled their people and resources.

Once she reached the metal stairs to the next floor and she happily skipped through the steps and headed to the meeting room, where she found Negan having a conversation with Simon when she barged in.

"Well someone is chipper this morning." Commented Simon, he was sitting on his seat by Negan's right hand, who was sitting on his big comfy chair on the head of the table.

"Were you two having a moment? I'm sorry boys." She teased them, as she sat on the chair opposite Nega at the other end of the table, her elbows on the table and her head on her hands.

Negan barked a laugh at the joke and continued. "We were talking about the Hilltop and wondering about who's going to handle Alexandria, they are due for some direction I think." He sat back on his chair with his arms crossed and a knowing, cocky smile.

"You can put that smile away if you think things are stable, it's a mess out there." She said, her mood coming down a little bit as she got back in the frame of mind of the Harpy.

"Always with the bad omens. Let them dream and conspire, it's all to be expected, they can learn the hard way if they have to." Simon dismissed her warning and crossed his arms in a similar way to Negan, he often imitated like that unconsciously.

Sophia shifted her head over to her left, fleshy, arm, and tapped on the wooden table with the hard metallic fingers of her right hand. Thinking about what Simon had said.

Sure, he was right and she did say the same about the prospect of conflict with them, but what had happened with people being resources? What if it escalated?

"It might be my paranoid self but...I don´t know if it's nothing." She said. "Did you know my mom knows Ezekiel?" She informed Negan.

The man's reaction was a simple lifted single eyebrow, mild interest.

"So what? What are you implying here?" Asked Simon, always willing to go against her.

"She met Daryl after he escaped, and there's also another one of Rick's people that is unaccounted for…" She told them, eyeing both men.

"You are saying they are in contact?" Asked Negan, getting her meaning. Simon did a double-take on Negan and her.

"I don't know for sure, but I don't know why they wouldn't." She answered thoughtfully.

"What does that mean?" He asked, confused. "Wouldn't Ezekiel be a good model for Rick, considering the Kingdom's cooperation?"

"Yes, but it means more than that. It means that if they are in contact, they are doing so while trying to hide it from us." She explained as she sat back on her chair, sadly the good news never stopped the bad ones.

Negan exhaled through the nose, leaning forward and over the table.

"What's more, the other day I visited the King. I asked about my mother by name and description and he denied any knowledge of her, he tried to keep her from me. Why would he do that? It only makes me more suspicious of them now." She informed them.

"But why would your mother tell you about Daryl and Ezekiel? If they were up to something, wouldn't she want to keep that secret?" Simon asked. A sharp question from him.

"Does that mean that she's willing to work with us?" Asked her Negan.

"No, she won't, I can assure you that right now." She answered Negan's question first. "As to Simon's question, she didn't even know exactly what happened between us and Alexandria. She's been isolated from all of this and going by her comments, I don't think she knows of any conspiracy, but she thinks it's inevitable anyway."

"That was stupid of your mother, she wouldn't have made a good handler anyway." Simon commented harshly, Sophia agreed too but his critic bothered anyway.

"I'm sure my mother knows more than she told me. She couldn't really hide her knowing Ezekiel since her home is within their limits." Sophia argued in defense of her mother, Simon just huffed as if doubting her.

"Hilltop is in it too. I bet, no, it may even be them who introduced the new kids to the big guys of the block. They recently pushed back, they might be willing to push again if they have better backing, and with a better idea of our strength." Negan mussed, deep in thought.

He stood up and swung Lucille hard a few times, each swing barely avoiding the windows behind him. Light of the sun nearing midday filtering through its frames.

"This is what we'll do." He said holding Lucille high and in front of his face as if in prayer. "We'll make a priority to keep an eye on their movements, specifically between the communities…" He said, talking with his eyes closed.

"Alexandria and Hilltop are disarmed, the Kingdom is not and in the interest of holding the peace, we won't disarm them. But what we may be able to get away with is sabotage" He said and finished the question giving her a curious look.

Sophia understood at once what he was talking about, it wasn't often that Negan asked her something, but she had to agree that it was a good idea.

I could get in there and mess with their ammo or their weapons. She thought.

Sophia nodded and he smiled.

"It may even keep them fighting with each other for a while. Meanwhile, we play dumb." Simon said nodding too.

Yes… that's even better. She thought. It felt to her like a sensible solution. It was an effort to avoid deaths, so they would be saving people.

I should make it so they don't have the means to fight in the first place.

"I can do it, I can make it so we don't have to fight at all." She said, convinced and motivated.

"If you can do that, the rest will be smooth sailing. Truth is we are stretching a bit tight, but the outposts are better defended now and we have more eyes on the streets." Negan continued, pacing the room and then stopping behind her, he placed his big hands warmly on her shoulders.

"Then we have our Savior Harpy here, who is always keeping her eyes on her playground. There's no one on the east coast who will ever manage to take her claim of this land. In a decade or two they'll be worshiping you, mark my words." He finished, his words made her heartbeat slightly rise and her cheeks feel hot.

Yes, it's a matter of time. Sophia thought and she couldn't help to think back on the warm feeling she would get when her people thanked her for her protection, the way they greeted her, and showed her their appreciation.

I just wish mom could see that…

"Which brings me to my next point." He continued, bringing her out of her mind.

"We still need a handler for Alexandria and since we are short on people, I was thinking, what if you take them under your wing?" He asked sweetly. "I mean, if your mom was a good choice then the next down is you, right?"

Sophia froze, did he really ask her to take charge of Alexandria? She always saw herself as a third party, support, but this sounded a bit more of a compromise.

I would have to dedicate more time to them, and I'm assuming I won't get any backup like the rest. She thought.

"Are we really that understaffed?" She asked him, but it was Simon who answered.

"There are about twenty enforcers here on the Sanctuary, now Regina just took more so she can't spare, Gavin has to contend with the biggest community and I actually have even fewer people than before the attack." He explained.

"I don't really know much about the drops, like what should I expect from them?" Sophia asked, a bit shocked at the new development.

"They mostly scavenge, so just make sure they are bringing the bread instead of fucking around. Keep them busy, you know what to do." Explained Negan, he seemed to have confidence in her ability so she tried to collect herself.

"Have them start producing something, those lazy fucks, I don't know how they survived that long." Offered Simon, who stood up and proceeded to put on his jacket.

"I'll take my leave, good luck Ms. Harpy." He said with a smile that told her he was happier about her discomfort with her new responsibility than for her.

They were left in silence, while Negan sat down on the chair to her right and took her hand in his. She was actually feeling like a task had been placed on her that she had not chosen.

"What if something happens and I am over there?" She asked him just to argue against it, Negan just nodded knowingly and took something black and blocky from his back.

"That's why it's time you start having one of these on you." He said, showing her a handy.

"It will break!" She complained, she never had wanted to carry one of those with her. Moving around without one was so much freer than having one on herself and paying attention to it.

"It won't break nearly as fast as you make it out to be and you know it." He countered.

Sophia huffed in annoyance and took it reluctantly.

"What if it malfunctions when I need it and I can't tell until it's too late?" She asked again.

"Odds are little. We'll give it a check in a month and see how it fares, we have plenty." He assured her.

She huffed again, annoyed.

"Fine, I guess it's for the best." She admitted.

Negan laughed and slapped her shoulder warmingly.

"Take a home there and set it as a vacation spot for us later, I don't know, have fun with it." He said and stood up and moved to the door.

"Fine, I'll go work with Regina's project then go to Alexandria for a while. After that, I'll drop by at my mom's for a bit then after dark, I'll get inside the Kingdom to mess with their shit." She said, getting up from the chair and sighing as she thought of all the things she had to do. If only her mother had taken over Alexandria she wouldn't have to play tax collector.

Suddenly, she was taken out of her thoughts when she was about to exit the meeting room as Negan carefully stopped her by placing one of his big hands on her shoulder.

"Sophia." He said, in a serious tone.

She remained in silence, only looking at him and waiting for whatever he had to say, his tone said to her it was something important.

"How's that noodle arm doing? Does it hurt too much?" He asked.

She wondered at that moment, if he really meant to ask about it or if he was actually beating around the bush.

"Fine, guess I forgot to clean it today. I heal fast anyways and I can take the pain." She assured him.

Negan kept quiet for a second, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

"I'm okay with it, what happened is not a problem between us." She reassured him, she wasn't sure what was holding the man back.

"How did things go with the old lady? I heard you showed her around the place. Did she like it? I can't say I wouldn't like to see her again." He asked.

She knew better than to bother with his humorous implications. They were standing on the door of the meeting room, seemingly having a casual conversation about nothing in particular, and it was starting to get on her nerves.

"It went more or less as expected, she had a few things to say about… stuff. You know, we argued a little, but I'm stoked to have her back. I can't wait to spend more time with her."

"That's good Sweetpea, honest. You are very lucky to have her back, don't forget that." Negan said.

Sophia tried her best to read his tone and manners but she couldn't say he wasn't being honest. It felt to her like he really meant it.

"What is this about?" She asked, trying to get to the point with the man.

Negan moved his hand from her shoulder, and took a step back, leaning back against the door

"Oh, you know this old man, I'm just checking on you… there's been a lot on your plate lately." He said as he casually twirled Lucille with one hand.

Sophia looked at him skeptically. "I think we both know that I've been through worse. What is your point? Everything is going great."

"I know, I know." He said, holding his hands up in a placating way "…So you think you'll be fine handling Alexandria?" He asked.

Which came off as a little out of nowhere in Sophia's opinion.

"Why should it be a problem?"

He gave a casual shrug, finally resting the bat on his shoulder as he studied her.

"As I said, there's been a lot going on, you are involving yourself more, and now you just found your mother. Just try to take it easy, alright? You can take some time with your mother if you'd like, I can handle Alexandria personally if you want to take some time off."

"Ok… I'm fine though, this is no time for vacations." Sophia answered, confused by his apparent concern.

Is he trying to get rid of me? She couldn't stop the mild drip of fear at the possibility, not that she would ever admit it.

Negan stood up from his leaning position and affectionately slapped her back with a warm smile and a nod. "Just take it easy for me, would you? You still have a lot to go, Sweetpea."

"I know th-" She started to retort, somehow his concern was grinding on her nerves but then they were interrupted by the sound of someone behind Negan.

"Ahem." They heard the discreet voice of a female. Negan moved aside clearing the view, and standing outside looking in was the blond Amber. She was watching the two of them with a raised eyebrow.

"Well if it isn't the one that got away!" Negan said, going back to his cocky persona.

"Not the only one" Sophia corrected him, which brought a small chuckle from Amber.

Negan waved her off dismissively and turned back to Amber. "At least some come back, right sweet tits?" He asked suggestively.

"Not really, no. I was looking for you." Amber said as she turned her attention to her.

"Me? Is something wrong?" Sophia asked, she guessed Amber might need some help as they had arranged.

"Nothing's wrong! I'm doing great. Actually, I got these two salads and I thought we could eat lunch together." She said with a wide smile and Sophia noticed then that in her hands she held two small brown paper bags.

The invitation was not something she expected from the older girl and she wondered if there was some motive behind it.

"I would love to, Amber but I was just about to head out. I have a few things to do." Sophia said with a little bit of regret

"Oh, it's alright. Here." She said, seemingly not bothered. "Take your salad, if you are going to have a long day, don't forget to eat."

"No need, I was thinking of having dinner with my mom anyway." Sophia said as an excuse.

"Good luck with that shit, sweet tits. She doesn't eat shit, I mean look at her, barely any meat!" Negan interrupted. Sophia turned to the man with an unamused look on her face, realizing then that he was apparently standing there doing nothing but listening to them talk and that Amber had turned to look at him as well.

The man looked between the two of them giving him the stink eye and lifted his hands as if in surrender.

"I see how it is. Don't mind me, I'll just fuck off then." He said and walked away, leaving the two alone.

"Maybe another time, Ok?" Sophia promised, after a few seconds of silence between the two.

"Yeah, sure. But take the food, you can put it in the hat." Amber said, pushing one of the paper bags in her hand.

Sophia nodded and took the bag at the blond girl's insistence. "Fine, thanks Amber." She said and after saying goodbye to her, she apparated back at her place above Sanctuary to prepare for all the things she had pending.

Damn, it's going to be a long day I guess.