"Admit it, Peaches," Negan chuckled, pressing a scratchy kiss to Blake's damp shoulder. "The only damn reason you came back was to get me to do this kinda shit for you."

Blake smiled closing her eyes as Negan's hands kneaded down onto her muscles from behind.

The pair were currently sat in the bathtub adjacent to their room, which was filled halfway with a fragrant hot water, that lapped around their naked bodies. Negan with his back against the warm porcelain tub, and Blake leaning against his lean form, having her knotted shoulders slowly coaxed into relaxing by the dark-haired man's talented fingers.

"Oh no, you've seen right through me," said Blake in a voice thick with sarcasm, wrinkling her nose in delight, causing Negan to chuckle into her ear once more and graze his bearded cheek against hers.

Cold from being out on that rooftop, Blake and Negan had headed back inside and ended up here, both wanting to be close to one another as the night drew in, but neither ready for sleep just yet.

Negan's confession up on that rooftop was a stark realisation for the both of them. Both of them knowing now that if this was the path they were about to go down, then this place, their lives, well, they might never be the same again.

But as much as Blake had tried to convince him, Carl and Tara too. It had ultimately been Negan who had come to this decision by himself, urged on by his devotion to Blake and Mia, his family.

But that decision, those changes, and how it was all to be implemented, could wait until morning.

For tonight...well, both adults had ultimately decided that this was their time.

Time they could spend together after so long apart.

Mia had been put to bed by Tanya, and for once, it was unlikely they were about to be disturbed any time soon. And so both were free to enjoy each other in whatever way was needed.

And almost immediately, sitting here in the tub, Blake had drawn Negan's attention to her shoulder blades, stiff from sleeping on a lumpy mattress on a cold floor for nights on end.

On reflection it had still been a damn sight better than the days where she had been forced to sleep, holed up in barns or on draughty floors in boarded up buildings or even sometimes out on the road with just a musty smelling sleeping bag, with nothing to defend her against the elements. But her life over the past year or so had changed dramatically, and used to a soft mattress and a proper bed now, Blake's shoulders had forgotten what it was like to sleep rough as she had done for so long, crying out for some attention instead…

...which luckily Negan, tonight, was willing to provide.

Blake smiled blissfully, so truly glad to be back here with the man she loved.

She regretted leaving, she did. But at the time, felt like she had had no other choice. Feeling so broken and completely removed from herself.

For those long and dark days, she had felt like she was so alone, and despite having Negan and Mia and everyone here who adored her, that anxiety had still risen to the surface, consuming her.

But she was back now and determined to make amends for leaving like she had done.

For, losing a baby…. well, the loss hadn't just been on her, but Negan too. And she had ultimately left when he had needed her.

And so for Blake, that was something she so desperately wanted to prove to him she wasn't about to do again.

"I love you, y'know…" she said in gentle voice, nudging the side of her head against his warmly.

"So you keep fuckin' tellin' me," Negan teased, dipping his head slightly and pressing another lingering kiss to the space between her neck and shoulder.

Blake smiled, cocking an eyebrow upwards.

"What? You sick of hearing it?" she commented with playful interest.

But Negan nuzzled her earlobe with his mouth from behind, his hands drifting down her shoulders, and her sides, palms skimming easily around her slender waist beneath the water's surface.

"Nope, quite the fuckin' opposite, Darlin'," growled Negan with a grin. "'In fact..."

And with that, he gave her middle a squeeze, tickling at Blake's bare sides causing her to let out a sweet laugh.

"... how 'bout you tell me again, jus' how much you love me, Peaches…."

Blake squirmed beneath his grasp as he tickled at her harder, swatting his arm with her hand.

"Stop it," she scolded teasingly, smacking his tanned forearm again. "Asshole!"

Negan chuckled into her hairline at this, tugging her body back against his affectionately.

The pair were silent for a moment, the only sound filling the room was the lapping of the water around them.

"M'just glad to have you back home, Sweetheart," the dark-haired man uttered after a long moment passed.

Blake instantly covered her hand over his, that was currently wrapped tightly around her waist.

She dropped her eyes for a moment into the sudsy bath water, pondering the words as he said them.

Home.

Just that word meant so much to her.

Blake had never truly felt at home anywhere.

When she had been young, it had just been her and her Mom for a long time. They had moved about, going from place to place while her mom tried to find a job so she could take care of the both of them. And so the feeling of being settled hadn't come until college for Blake.

And of course there it had felt anything like a home. More a party on some days, or a place of worry on others.

And even after college, in her and David's tiny rented apartment above a coffee shop in the city, Blake, the only one with a job, spent so many hours out of the house, working all the hours her job would allow, never really felt like that little place was never really home to her.

But here….well, it was a strange thing indeed to think of such a looming, drafty place such as the Sanctuary as being a home, but to Blake it was a more of a home than anywhere she had ever been. And silly dreams of spending the holidays with people you loved, snuggling up in bed, doing just whatever what families did together….well, maybe those dreams weren't so far away in this big old factory.

Because here she was. Sat in a hot and bubbly bath, cuddling up to the man she loved with every fibre of her being, with her own little girl asleep in the room next door.

Now that to her was home.

She smiled, biting gently down onto her bottom lip, before lifting her hand to Negan's bearded cheek and turning her face to his.

He stared back at her, looking a little concerned for second, his dark eyes searching hers, but Blake nudged her nose with his, offering him a reassuring smile.

"I'm glad to be home," she whispered her voice full of honesty. "Where I belong."

And she truly meant that.

Blake didn't allow him to reply, merely moving her lips forward and pressing them to Negan's.

And he was still, for a pinprick of second at least, before she felt him relax a little and begin to kiss her back, grinning wolfishly into her lips as she did so.

Their lips lapped against one another before Blake finally pulled away with a giggle, as Negan pouted like a moody teenager.

"That all I'm gettin'?" he huffed.

But Blake just smirked, pouting back playfully, her lips hovering torturously close to his.

"Well if you play your cards right, Daddy," she purred, her hand disappearing under the water, making for Negan's crotch. "Maybe I can pay you back for that massage…"

And Negan was about to bite down onto his bottom lip with a groan, sounding obviously appreciative of Blake's suggestion…

….when suddenly, from the next room, there came the sound of a fist hammering loudly against their large oak front doors.

Blake paused in what she was doing, pulling her lips slowly away from Negan's…

...as she saw his face change from one of enjoyment, to instead, a look of utter lividness at the disturbance.

"Ignore it," Blake's said soothingly, pressing her hand to Negan's cheek and trying to draw his attention back to her, which seemed to work for a second or two, before the loud bashing against the wooden doors came again, and Simon's calling voice could be heard just outside.

"That goddamn, motherfuckin' shit-for-brains asshole, better have a good fuckin' reason to be disturbin' me tonight," Negan snarled, his eyes blackening with anger. And Blake could only shift over, as Negan quickly pulled himself from the tub, snatching a towel from the side and flinging it around his waist heading for the bathroom door.

Blake was just about to argue, when Negan turned back to her pointing a sudden finger in her direction.

"Don' move, Peaches. Me an' you ain't done in that tub yet, alright?"

And Blake could only smile, sitting back against the warm porcelain bath, as she nodded and allowed Negan to deal with whatever the problem was outside in the hallway.

Blake closed her eyes and slid her body further under the warm water, savouring the feeling, as she heard Negan's barks from the next room and Simon's urgent please and mutters.

But the muffled noises meant nothing to her, as she tried to zone them out, looking forward to Negan's return and the fun they could have together when he did so.

For this place could never be quiet that was for sure. Negan was forever being called away urgently, and made to deal with whatever shit his lieutenants couldn't. So tonight was obviously no exception.

All Blake could hope, was that the problem, whatever it was, was sorted quickly.

And only split second later, as if one cue, the door to the bathroom swung open once more, causing Blake to smile.

"You coming back in to join me, Daddy?" she asked in a vixen-like voice, opening her eyes and expecting Negan to be naked again and ready to climb back in beside her.

But when she gazed up she saw that, instead, Negan's jaw was set, and instead of getting naked, he was in fact, to her disappointment, getting dressed.

Blake, pressing her hands to the sides of the tub, lifted herself up into a sitting position, wrapping her arms over her naked chest.

"What's happened?" she asked, her voice suddenly full of concern, as she stared up at the dark-haired Saviour. " What's wrong?"

But Negan, who was pulling on his abandoned pants, merely gazed over at her, his face full of what Blake could only describe as a resigned and worried frustration.

And she watched as an un-characteristic gulp slid its way up and then back down his adam's apple, and only a few growled words left his pursed lips.

But they were indeed enough to make Blake's blood run cold once more….

"Rick the fuckin' Prick's here..." he said flinging on his white t shirt and staring at Blake, a scowl forming across his darkened brow.

"...an' he's come for his damn son."

Uh-oh….

Thanks so much to werdan, Elle Flanders, CLTex, Guest, tomieharley, ElysiumPhoenix, satcey40, BlueBloodsSVUOrder, Green, MegShinkley, calh, kingdaryldixon and xXMoonlitSorrowsXx for reviewing.

I do however have a request for the anonymous 'Guest' that has taken time to review most of my recent chapters twenty or thirty chapters and leave me long worded essays detailing how much you detest my OC and her actions. I would like to remind you politely that I write for free, I'm not paid (I do it solely for fun), and also in turn YOU do not pay to read my fic, and are under no obligation to continue reading if you do not like it. Move on. There are so many amazing fics out there that I'm sure you'd like better than mine! Because for every review you leave telling me how weak and pathetic Blake is being, I feel like you are missing the entire point of this fanfic. She's a human, a woman with flaws. She was abused and so is far from perfect. She was flawed enough to be manipulated by David and in turn others around her, she's very far from perfect, like all of us. And the very fact that you can't see how difficult having a miscarriage was for her, makes me think that you have missed the entire idea behind this story. People don't just bounce back. People have mental health issues. People go through trauma. It' not as simple as 'standin' by your man' and 'she's being pathetic because Negan needs her and she's throwing a pity party for herself'. Negan is a big boy and can handle himself. And realistically Blake can't just lose a baby and start strutting around the Sanctuary being Negan's double straight away. She needed time. Alone. Away. Because that was HER way of coping. Don't you have yours? It would be impossible for her to be a badass every day of her life. I mean, who on this earth is?!

So please, let me remind you, please, if you really do hate this fic, my OC and how the plot is going, so much, then I ask you, no beg you, to stop reading. For your obvious benefit and mine. Thank you.