Negan woke early the next morning, the warm morning sun seeping in through the partially drawn drapes on the far side of his expansive bedroom.
He gave a grizzled groan, dragging a hand down his long, stubbly face, before gazing to his side, at the two girls lying beside him.
Fuck, they were gorgeous.
With Mia on her back, turned in towards Blake, her hands balled into fists at her side. And the caramel-blonde woman beside her, still in his tshirt, looking like a picture of utter fucking perfection, one arm thrown lovingly over her stomach.
Right now, here in the pale morning light, Negan felt like the luckiest fucking guy in this entire damn world.
He had Peaches, and the kid, and soon, there would be a third person for him to pour his heart and fucking soul into.
A baby.
His fucking baby.
He gazed now down at Blake's abdomen, hidden by the baggy shirt, almost feeling like he coould picture the tiny thing growing inside of her.
Negan had never in a million fucking years thought he would have all this.
After Lucille passed away, he spent years grieving and mourning her in the most stupid ways. Taking out his anger and pent up frustration on those around him.
Until SHE had come along, Blake, pulling him back from all that darkness…..his shining light.
He wondered what Lucille would have made of all this?
Him with a baby on the way.
He hoped now that she would be happy for him now...wanting him to have a future. She had told him that back in that hospital bed in those last few days, whilst he had wept and shaken his head, holding onto her hand tightly.
And Negan never thought her wishes would come true. For he always expected to be alone, even with the wives and the workers and the loyal lieutenants he had collected along the way, he had still felt it, that gaping loneliness.
But not with her. Not with Blake.
The moment she had walked into his life...smart-mouthed the hell out of him….bowled him over.
Even back then he had thought she was far too good for him. Negan had twenty years on her. He wasn't college educated, nor would have frequented the same damn places as she obviously had.
But at the same time, it was as though they were made for each other, every curve of her body fit perfectly with his…..every word she uttered making him smile.
Like two damn broken pieces of one whole.
He smiled affectionately over at them both now, before easing himself from the mattress and padding naked over to the bathroom.
In ten minutes he was showered and heading out of the door, fully dressed, grasping up Lucille from a table near to the door.
He turned the door handle quietly, being careful not to disturb the sleeping pair behind him, before heading out into the cool hallway, closing the door behind him with a gentle snap.
It had been a while since he had done a proper check on how things were running around here, distracted by his girls. But being up so early was good and would give him a chance to get on top of things again.
And so, whistling a familiar tune, Negan propped Lucille up onto his shoulder and strolled down the corridor, free hand stuffed into the pocket of his grey jeans.
He thought back to last night, smirking to himself as he went.
He loved the little games he played with Blake. It had been like that from the start.
But it wasn't just the great sex he had enjoyed last night, it was being there on his previously empty bed, joined by the two, soon to be three, most important people in his life.
And as much as all this, the Sanctuary, had always been for his own gain, he wanted now to make it into something real and proper for them….for their future.
Blake had already made a start on that with her damn garden. And if she could do it so could Negan.
Perhaps they could start to become self-sufficient, branch out, 'save' more communities.
For the more people they had on side the better of they were. Right?
He ran a hand over his mouth, heading down the large metal staircase pondering this.
Maybe this was just the start of everything now. A new fucking beginning.
It was early afternoon, the sun beating down hard onto Negan's leather-clad shoulders, as he stood out in the lot, several long hours later, barking orders at his men.
They had made really good progress this morning, with Negan setting plans in motion to clear this disused section of the fenced lots that surrounded the looming factory building behind him.
For too long this area had looked like a junk yard, covered in rusting heaps of scrap metal and the shells of broken down trucks the Saviours had long-since abandoned.
But no more.
And so Negan had set his men to work clearing the space and getting rid of any crap that was in the way.
He scratched at the back of his head now as he gazed around.
He didn't have a fucking clue what he was going to with it, but he had hopes to ask Peaches when she finally emerged from that pit of hers sometime today.
And it wasn't even five minutes later, that, as if on cue, whilst he was deep in conversation with Dwight, he saw the blonde man's eyes drift over his shoulder, glancing at something behind him.
The tall leader of the Saviours swung instantly around, leaning back on his long legs to see Blake, looking like goddamn vision in a while tshirt and dark blue jeans, walking towards him, holding hands with Mia, who waddled along at her side.
They both immediately smiled his way, as Blake bent down to say something to the mousy haired toddler, one hand she held over her abdomen.
Shit, he was besotted. A wide grin sliding its way over his bearded mouth as they approached him.
"Well look at my damn girls!" he said in a loud, carrying voice, causing several nearby lieutenants to glance over and smile at the pair, noticing their presence too.
He saw Blake blush a little, throwing him a scolding smirk, but she didn't say anything in response, merely glancing down at Mia who held up a limp-looking piece of toast up towards him.
"Eggy, I sayved you sum of mai towst," she said, as they came to stop before him, and Negan obediently held out his hand, taking the floppy corner of toasted bread from her grasp.
It was soggy and didn't really seem all that appealing to him, but he tossed it back into his mouth anyway, before thanking her.
"We had brunch," Blake said gently. "Didn't we, Sweetie?"
At her side Mia gave a nod.
But at Blake's words, Negan let out a loud scoff.
"Well you are about five fuckin' hours too late for breakfast, Peaches…" he murmured pretending to check the time on his non-existent watch, as Blake rolled her eyes in his direction fondly.
"Shut up," she tutted gently. "I think I deserve a lie in this morning after last night."
Her green eyes lingered on his for a moment, as she bit down onto her lip.
Negan felt his eyes twinkling in return as he stared at her, before he raised a dark eyebrow in her direction, leaning back on his heels and gesturing to her with the end of Lucille.
"Uh, well if I remember fuckin' rightly, Sweetheart," he scoffed. "You were flat on your fuckin' back for most of it."
Blake gave a mock-scowl at this, before sighing and gazing around interestedly.
"Wow," she said after a second or two, sounding slightly surprised. "They do all this in one morning?"
Negan cocked an eye too at the, now, almost clear space around them, as his men moved to and fro, across the dusty lot.
"Yup," he replied, scuffing the heel of his black boot across the ground, drawing Mia's interest. "On my damn orders."
But Blake pursed her lips, smirking a little as she looked up at him.
"Well I don't see you helping…" she purred in a goading tone. "In fact, you look like you're just standing here shouting orders and getting in everyone's way."
Negan chuckled a little at this, narrowing his brown eyes in her direction.
Fuck, she really was fucking something, wasn't she?
He leaned into her now in an intimidating manner.
"You wanna remind me why I haven't locked you down in that damn cell again, Sweetheart?" he growled teasingly. "Cause, y'know, I am startin' to change my damn mind…"
But Blake just parted her lips, pulling back and looked him up and down bemusedly.
"Oh just try it, asshole," she threatened darkly.
But at her playful words Negan gave a whine of enjoyment, arching his back and letting out a long laugh, causing Mia to look up between the pair interestedly.
"Damn, I love you, Peaches…" he said, biting down onto his lip hard and shaking his head, staring at her with a look of utter awe passing over his long, tanned features.
But Blake just smiled, as Dwight, from just over Negan's shoulder, approached him again, causing the dark-haired Saviour to swing around, lifting his chin slightly to acknowledge the blonde man.
"Negan, what do you want us to do with-"
But Dwight wasn't able to finish his sentence….
For the sudden sound of a loud gunshot ripped through the open space, causing the air around them to shatter, and a ringing silence to fall in its wake.
Negan felt it…
…..the bullet, as it zipped by him, flying past his leather sleeve.
The moment hung for what felt like an age...as if everything around him had suddenly gone quiet and still.
The birds had stopped singing, everything around them had falling utterly silent.
That was until Negan let out a furious roar of pure rage.
"SHIT," he yelled, staring up in the direction the gunshot had come from...a heavily wooded area that overlooked the Sanctuary lots.
At his cry, all his men, including Dwight standing in front of him had turned, picked up various weapons they all had at their belts or slung over their shoulders, and pointed it in the direction of the trees.
"SHIT!" Negan yelled in anger again. "Find that piece of fuckin' shit shooter, now! DAMNIT. SHIT. FUCK!"
And in an instant, his men had taken their orders, running this way and that, as yells filled the wide open space.
"Negan…"
Negan was furious, seething.
What the fuck was going on?!
Was someone really that fucking stupid to try and kill him? Now? Here?
Fuck. When he found out who that was, there was going to be hell to fucking pay!
"Negan…" came the voice again, causing him to blink a couple of times and remember just where he was….
….and whose voice that was, so quiet and wavering now….
Shit.
A sudden gulp travelled down his bearded throat, but it went nowhere, his mouth going instantly dry.
And with his blood running icy cold, Negan finally swung around, time standing still as he turned slowly on his booted heel….
…. to see Blake stood there, Mia's hand still held tightly in hers, but her other hand was clutched to her side…
….where he could just about make out the pool of ruby red blood, blossoming through her pristine white shirt.
She stared at him, looking slightly confused, as a small frown twitched its way between her slender brows, her lips parting.
No...
No…
"No…" Negan breathed out, moving quickly forwards, as Blake mouthed at the air, her green eyes fixed to his, forming into a look of confused horror.
Everyone in the lot seemed to still suddenly, heads turning their way, as did Mia's, as she stared up Blake and her bloody shirt, looking terrified.
"Someone fetch Carson!" Negan yelled at the top of his lungs as beside them, Mia began to sob. "NOW!"
And Dwight took no time in tugging his radio from his belt and yelling for the doctor over the static….
...as everything around the usually cool and collected leader of the Saviours seemed to fall away…
….Blake's eyes being the only thing he could see through the hazy afternoon sunlight that surrounded them.
Rosita paled, pulling her face back from the scope fixed to the top of her rifle.
The bullet had been meant for Negan….
It had always been meant for Negan, but her heart pounded now, as far away from her, in the lot below, she saw people rush towards the blonde woman who stood there, the tiny, and now-crying, toddler's hand, still clutched tightly in her own.
Yes, this had been Rosita's aim all along, to hurt Negan in whatever way possible...
But now she was here, having missed the asshole leader of the Saviours completely and hit someone else instead, someone Rosita didn't even notice had been standing there, a stark realisation washed over her.
She had been so focused now on shooting Negan, on finishing him for good, that she hadn't checked who else was in the firing line.
Things between her and Blake had not been good of late, but now, seeing the blood blooming on the blonde's white shirt, Rosita had been hit with regret, and a pain coursing through her entire body.
No, no, no. This wasn't supposed to have happened like this. It wasn't...
Negan wasn't supposed to have swung around like that. He was supposed to have stayed standing there! He was supposed to have stayed still!
From behind her, Rosita suddenly heard yells.
The Saviours were coming, and now she knew that if anything happened to Blake and they found out who was responsible, both she and the rest of her people, were likely to feel the full, earth-shattering wrath of Negan.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit.
Rosita gathered up her things quickly, stuffing everything she carried into her large duffel bag, before standing up and flinging her rifle strap over her shoulder.
And so, throwing one last look of guilt and sorrow back over towards Blake, now, not even visible amongst the crowd of Saviours below...Rosita fled on her heel, battling back through trees, heading in the direction of her awaiting car, feeling a single tear slide its way down her scarred cheek.
What had she done?
Thanks to Imperia Phantomhive, klulu120, Nicolina88, CLTex, GuiliaMonroe, LJH, Nicole, MJ, BlueBloodsSVUOrder, Jazzy, ShadoowQueen3304, Green, Guest and Guest for reviewing the last chapter.
I'll update as soon as I can...
Please review.