For the two days that followed the radio call, Negan did nothing but pace about the place, snapping at everyone but Mia, for even breathing in his direction.

His most loyal lieutenants were supposed to have returned from their run yesterday, but it seemed as though heavy rain had hindered their progress out there, and they would be coming home a day late. Maybe even two at this rate.

But Negan, on this occasion, for once wasn't interested in what they had gone to scavenge.

Fuck, even if it was the goddamn Queen of England's crown jewels, he would be hard pressed to give a shit.

No, all the dark-haired Saviour was waiting for, was Arat's return to the Sanctuary, and for him to finally get the opportunity to confront her about Blake's location.

All Negan knew now was that he needed to see her. He needed her hear her voice again.

It was like a hunger, a yearning for the blonde woman who had come into his life like hurricane and changed it for the better.

And Negan knew he would not be able to sate that hunger until his own dark eyes landed on her again.

And so, in a foul mood, this morning Negan was in the dining hall with Mia, currently laying into Simon for no other reason other than the fact that the mustachioed man had allowed two of his men to get killed out there yesterday, on what should have been an easy routine visit to the Hilltop.

"I told you, Boss. We bust a tire and both of them got bit whilst fixin' it, I barely got out of there alive myself," Simon said with a fixed smile etched onto his features as he stood before Negan now, hands on hips, sweat beading on his dome-like brow.

Things had indeed been frosty between Negan and his right-hand man ever since his confrontation with Blake and that damn gal from Alexandria.

Simon had always seemed loyal to Negan. But did Negan trust him?

The leader of the Saviours narrowed his eyes as he stared back at the mustachioed man, arching his back a little as he pointed Lucille into Simon's chest.

"See, shit like that, seems to have been happenin' a lot lately, Si," Negan growled in a low voice. "Loyal fuckin' men gettin' their ass handed to them by those dead pricks. I mean, they survived this fuckin' long, so why get taken out so easily now?"

"Maybe we're all getting a bit soft," Simon mused with a smirk across his features. "I mean since your lady friend came along, maybe this place isn't as tough as it used to be. People are getting used to the good life. Maybe they're getting lazy."

Ngena;s eyes blackened a little at this.

"An' what the fuck are you suggestin' we do differently," uttered Negan darkly.

But Simon merely shrugged.

"Me?" he mused, his voice full of a faux-innocence that raised Negan's hackles almost instantly.. "I wasn't suggesting we do anything at all, Boss."

The Dark-haired Saviour stared at Simon for a lengthy moment.

Nope, he didn't trust this asshole at fucking all.

And so with that, Negan gave a long sniff, leaning back against his long legs and grimacing. "You smell that, Simon. Cause the more I smell it, the more I think that what you're sayin' to me is utter fuckin' horse-shit."

"Boss…" Simon said with a bemused frown. "Have I really given you any reason not to trust me? I've done what you asked time and time again and not once have I stepped out of line."

But Negan scowled.

No, Simon hadn't done anything implicitly wrong and yet Negan still had this nagging feeling, this doubt about his right-hand man, that kept building, as the days went on.

The dark-haired saviour dug at his cheek with his tongue for a long moment, before his eyes drifted over to the table just behind him, were Mia was sat eating a PB&J sandwich and staring up at the two men with interest, bright red jelly smeared all around her mouth as she smacked her lips together audibly.

At Negan's eye contact she cheerily lifted the sandwich out towards him, as though offering him a bite.

Negan softened a little at this, the frown quickly dropping from his face as he gave a shake of his head in her direction.

"No, Darlin'," he said with a hum. "You can keep it, Daddy aint fuckin' hungry anyway."

And seemingly happy with Negan's remark, Mia just pulled the floppy sandwich back to her lips taking a huge bite, filling her cheeks like a hamster.

And with that Negan's eyes lingered on Mia for a long moment as she ate, before he turned back to Simon seriously.

"This is the last time I'm lettin' shit like this fly, Simon," Negan warned in a low voice. "The next time your men get torn apart by damn biters, then you better be right there behind them offering up your fuckin' arm like it was a goddamn thanksgivin' turkey. You understandin' me?"

And with that, Simon gave a solemn nod, and yet his shark-like eyes never left Negan's.

"Well, yes, Boss," he said sounding almost a little amused now, much to Negan's distaste. But with a nod of his head he had turned on his heel and headed of across the room, getting lost between the figures filling up the busy dining hall.

Negan let out a hard puff of air, dragging a hand down his chin before turning back to Mia.

The teeny toddler was now licking jelly from the gaps between her fingers with her tongue, while her other hand seemed to be clutching what was left of her sandwich so hard the rest of the noxious conconcion was dribbling out from between the two slices of white bread and falling onto the table beside her messily.

Negan slumped down onto the seat opposite her, plonking Lucille down onto the bench at his side.

"These damn shit-for-brains, assholes, drive me 'round the goddamn bend," he growled, as Mia barley even bothered to look up at him, merely mouthing the word '...Ash'owl…' to herself between licks of her fingers.

Negan stared at her.

"Jeez, what the fuck has it come to when the fuckin' one person I can find around here to have a straightforward conversation with, is a damn kid," he mused, huffing again.

But this time Mia did look up at him, dropping her smushed up sandwich to the table disinterestedly.

"Eggy, I don' wan noh mor," she said making a face.

Negan gave the smallest of eye rolls at this.

After several long days of lone parenting, Negan was very much used to Mia's little quirks and habits by now. But that didn't mean that he had things easy.

On the fucking contrary.

Negan stood again with a sigh and leaned across the table, hauling Mia up by her armpits. And almost at once two older women hurried forward to clear the table after them, Negan not even having to say anything to them.

Damn, that was why he liked this place, and it was shit like that that had made him lucky that he was a leader in this goddamn awful fucking world.

Mia settled herself in his arms comfortably, continuing her mission to lick every inch of jelly from her sticky fingers as Negan stared at her, arching an eyebrow disapprovingly.

"Jeez, ease-off, Beansprout. You carry on like that, an' you won't have any fuckin' hand left," he reprimanded, but Mia just ignored him, something across the room catching her interest instead.

The toddler lifted her sticky hand, tilted her head and gave a wave of her palm.

And Negan followed the tiny-girl's gaze over to where a large number of people had just entered the room looking bedraggled and very much in need of refreshment, wiping their brows and placing down weapons they had not yet had the time to put away.

Negan at once recognised them of course as the men and women who had headed on on that damn run two days ago.

And, as though on cue, there, in amongst the returnees, easing her green shirt off of her shoulders was Arat, wearing a purple bandana and a tired-looking frown.

Her eyes met at first with Mia, offering her a small smile in return for her wave, before the curly-haired woman's eyes travelled up to Negan's own, where her smile soon slipped from her features.

She offered him a short nod instead, before moving off towards the line for breakfast.

He wondered for a moment whether or not she had been in range to hear his and Blake's conversation over the radio?

But regardless of whether she had or not, Negan knew that this was the chance he had been waiting for for two long days now. And he wasn't about to delay any fucking longer.

And so, clenching his jaw, the dark-haired Saviour strolled across the room, heads turning as he went, still as formidable as he always was, even with Mia balanced on his hip.

It took him only a second to reach Arat now, who glanced over at him as he approached.

And for a moment, it very much looked like she was about to say something to him, but Negan got in their first.

"Where is she?" he said in a low voice, a frown settling itself between his dark brows.

And for a long few seconds Arat merely dropped her eyes to the ground, licking at her lips and shoving her hands into her pockets.

Shit. What if she refused to tell him?

What if she didn't fucking trust him to be around Blake?

Negan felt a sudden burst of pointless anger bubbling up inside him now as he waited for a response.

But he fortunately didn't have to wait long, as the curly-haired woman gave a small sigh and stared up at him, looking sad.

"I can tell you…. but you've got to understand that she's not there yet...it's gonna take time for her to get better…" Arat murmured in a quiet voice, lowering her gaze once more.

But Negan emitted a short huff from his lips, knowing of course that Arat was only looking out for Blake but even so, finding the frustration of it all, too hard to bare.

He paused for a long moment, his chocolate eyes flickering up to Mia who was smiling and waving and trying to catch the attention of a bald-headed guy with an earring stood in the line in front.

Fuck.

Negan needed to do this. If not for himself, then for the damn kid.

And so, he cocked his head to the side, lifting a hand and running it down his face, before sighing back.

"I just need to see her…" Negan mumbled in an earnest voice, reaching up and running his free hand over Mia's mousy brown hair earning him a grizzling grimace from the toddler who looked up at him in a look that resembled utter disgust. "...I jus' need to tell her I'm sorry."

It was indeed unusual to hear Negan talking like this. Usually so cocky and arrogant with every syllable that spilled out of his mouth.

But it looked like Arat appreciated his attempt at honesty and remorse, as, with a nod, pursing her lips together, she spoke.

"The place...it's about an hour out, going South-East. You need to turn left off Ridgeway and you'll see it. It's a little wh-"

"-white house," Negan finished, cutting across Arat and blinking a couple of times in realisation.

Of course that's where she had fucking gone.

That damn place.

Negan had seen, that day they had stumbled upon that house, that a gal like Peaches deserved a place like that. A nice house, white picket fence and pretty shutters on the windows.

Cleaned up and looking its best, it would perfection, just like her.

And so, breathing in deeply through his nostrils, Negan allowed a small grin to grace his lips as he turned his attention to Mia now.

"So, kid," he said in a growling voice, gaining an immediate look from the two-year old in return. "You up for a road trip?"

Blake winced against the heavy rain currently teaming down onto her blonde head, as she darted back under the cover of the back porch, pail full of water in hand.

Today, dressed in jeans and a rumpled plaid shirt, Blake shook her long damp hair off of her face as she caught her breath, almost laughing to herself at how wet she had got just going the short distance to the well and back.

She could feel herself now beginning to get there, beginning to heal. It was a slow process but hearing Negan's voice two days ago had definitely helped matters.

Blake missed him with all her heart, and there was barely a second that went by, where him and Mia weren't on her mind.

Blake knew that she would need to go back there, to the Sanctuary eventually...but just the thought of it right now, filled her with a pain and a fear that seemed to cause her heart to race and her stomach to churn unpleasantly.

It wasn't that she never wanted to go back, for she truly did miss that place, but Blake was terrified.

Terrified that the depression and the anxiety would take hold again. And turn her once more into the person even she barely recognised when she looked into the mirror.

The blonde gave a soft sigh, heading inside, moving straight through the kitchen and back into the living room, where she poured the bucket of water into a pot hanging over the already-lit fire, that was currently burning away nicely within the grate.

It was odd to think of the life she had gotten used to at the Sanctuary where they had generators and electric lights and almost all the luxuries one could expect to find in a home.

And yet here...well, this was like those long two years she had spent out of the road with David and the others she had travelled around with, holing up in dark buildings with no running water, no electricity and very little food.

But she had survived all that….made it out the other side, and still earned a few valuable skills along the way. Skills that five years ago, before the outbreak, Blake would never have imagined she would gain.

She remembered her life, strutting around the city on high heels on her way to work, with takeout cups of coffee in hand and an oversized purse in the other. It was a life away from all this.

And yet in a funny sort of way Blake didn't miss it.

Life was simpler now. And a person's priorities were easier to see when all you had in the world were the clothes on your back.

Blake settled herself down onto her knees in front of the fireplace.

The rain that had barely related over these last couple of days, had caused a stark chill to grow, even in the daytimes. And so Blake had luckily managed to stockpile al of the dry kindling she could find to keep the fire burning.

Maybe she would spend the afternoon reading, finding herself slowly begin to be able to concentrate on things a little more now.

Her eyes scanned the bookshelf full of books and old CDs over to her right lazily.

But before she had even a chance to pick out a single title that took her interest, the blonde's heart stopped suddenly in her chest….

...as there came a gentle rat-a-tat-tat on the front door.

Blake froze.

Normally she would have heard someone approaching the house, but today the noise of the rain outside must have drowned out their arrival.

Could it be Arat, back again?

But Blake wasn't so sure.

Although who else knew that she was here?

Worry filled Blake's veins, as she stumbled hurriedly to her feet, brushing down the back of hr damp jean-clad thighs nervously.

Shit.

What was she going to do?

But as she paused, hovering there inside the living room, there came anther knock, a little louder this time.

Blake cautiously over towards the tiny hallway.

What if she just pretended she wasn't here?

But what if whoever it was tried to come in? The door wasn't locked.

And so, the blonde with a hard gulp, moved over to the side table, picking up the large hunting knife that Arat had left for her, holding it quickly aloft.

Well, whoever it was, they were gonna see that Blake meant business.

There came a third knock now, and from behind the door Blake could hear muffled voices as she moved out into the compact hallway.

But she frowned, stopping suddenly…

...for even through the thick white painted wood, Blake would recognise that tone anywhere.

That low, growling, baritone voice, that sent shivers down her spine with every syllable. In the best of ways of course..

And, with her heart continuing to thunder away in her chest, Blake's hand quickly reached for the brass doorknob, as she tugged the door swiftly open.

And almost at once, at the sight that met her, her eyes brimmed with tears…

….for standing on the other side of the door were the two people Blake had longed for most in the entire world.

One tall, with a his black leather jacket slung over angular shoulders and his salt and pepper dark hair dripping wet. And the other, clutched in the first's arms, with her mousy hair damp, carrying a large piece of crumpled paper between her sticky paws.

And Blake felt her lip tremble as she stared at both of them, so overwhelmed by their presence here on her doorstep.

And it only took the tall figure to say two single words, to cause Blake to let out a happy sob, dropping the knife to the ground with a clatter.

"Mornin', Peaches…"

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Reunion time...

Thank you to CaptainWilliamsN7, Green, LJH, Elizabeth, CLTex, stacey40, WildBirdie and BlueBloodsSVUOrder for reviewing.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Please leave a review if you're still enjoying this fic! :)