Blake woke early with a headache the next morning .

She had had a terrible night's sleep. Half to do with the wriggling toddler that had been sandwiched between her and Negan, who couldn't seem to keep her legs still. And half to do with the impending dread of having to tell Brandon just what had happened to David.

She knew that today needed to be the day.

Blake knew that running out on him, without even an explanation last night, had not been the most sensible thing to do. But would telling him have been the best idea either?

Even so, today had to be the day.

Brandon had always seemed very chilled out and Blake could only hope that he stayed that chilled when she told him the truth. But it did worry her now that despite David never previously showing the signs of having much of a temper, his true colours had eventually come out, revealing him as the monster he truly was.

By the time Blake had dragged her pounding head into the bathroom, showered and dressed, she emerged back into the bedroom to find Mia stirring in the bed.

Not wanting to wake Negan, who was lying on his front, head squashed into a pillow, arm hanging off one side of the bed. Blake scooped up the baby girl and headed into her bedroom next door.

"Come on, Sweetie," she murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of the little girl's head.

Ten minutes later they were out, dressed, and heading down to the large dining hall for breakfast, Mia yawning as they went.

"You still tired, baby?" asked Blake, cocking an eye at the girl who was sat on her hip, as they walked down the wide metal staircase, it taking all Blake's effort not to yawn herself..

"Yesh," said Mia in a matter-of-fact voice. "Mommy wos wriggly in tha night."

Blake knew she had tossed and turned a lot in the night, unable to settle properly.

"Sorry, Mommy didn't mean to wake you," Blake said soothingly, smoothing tuft of Mia's hair away from her face.

Mia peered up at her with round eyes.

"Wos Mommy scawed of the storm too?"

At the toddlers words, Blake smiled softly. "No, baby, I wasn't scared of the storm."

But Blake knew deep down maybe there was another thing she was scared of. One thing keeping her up at night.

One thing that appeared just twenty minutes later, as Blake was sat with Mia on one side of one of the long tables at the very edge of the large dining hall.

The blonde had just been watching Mia messily eat a little oatmeal, not able to stomach anything herself, when she had glanced up to see Brandon walking through the door at the opposite end of the room.

She saw him pause for a moment, eyes searching the room until finally, to Blake's utter dismay, his gaze landed on her.

Brandon gave a smile and quickly hurried over.

"Blake," he said brightly, eyes flicking to Mia as he approached. "I've been looking for you. After you ran out last night I-"

"Yeah sorry…about that," uttered Blake cutting him off. "I was just….feeling a little under the weather."

Brandon eyed her but didn't make any comment, merely turning to Mia, who was currently shovelling a large spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth, and giving a wide grin.

"Now who's this?" he asked titling his head.

But he didn't give either girl the chance to answer, before turning his attention back to Blake, an astonished frown passing over his face.

"She's yours?" he said in amazement. "A-And David's?"

Blake's blood suddenly ran cold at the words.

Her and David's? Is that what he really thought?

Blake felt her blood run cold at the idea of ever having had a child with that man who had abused her for so long.

She looked hurriedly to Mia.

The little girl to her left certainly could have been the right age to be her and David's, especially if they had conceived some time in the year after the apocalypse.

"No!" the blonde woman said quickly, a little louder than she probably should have.

And Brandon looked more than a little shocked at the outburst.

"No, she's uh…she's not mine…" But immediately Blake regretted her words as Mia peered up at her, smacking her lips as she ate. "…I mean, she is…but…not biologically…but we found her…and-"

"You and David?" asked Brandon with another small frown.

At the use of her ex-fiancé's name, Blake faltered, paling immediately.

But Brandon obviously wasn't stupid and spoke before Blake had the chance to answer.

"Listen, Blakey, it's ok. I'm guessing by the way you keep avoiding my question, that David….that he didn't make it."

The blonde woman felt her heart begin to race in her chest.

Shit.

"I…" she began, but Brandon shook his head, cutting over her.

"It's ok," he replied gently. "A lot of people are gone and, well, I hoped that David was still alive…but I guess that's just the way of things now. The people we love are always the first to go and it's us that's got to deal with that heartbreak of losing them. Just living with that loss for the rest of our lives."

Blake stared at Brandon but didn't say a word in response.

If only he knew the truth.

But fuck. How the hell could she tell him now?

But suddenly, a tiny voice from beside her broke the tension.

"Does you knows my Daddy? He taykin' me to see tha chikins layter," Mia said proudly, brandishing her spoon, that was clutched in her tiny fist, up at Brandon.

Negan had indeed agreed, after much whining from Mia, and whining equally as much about the loss of his own big bad reputation himself, to take the little girl down to visit the chicken coop at some point today.

Blake, as much as she liked the gardens, had blanched at the idea, the smell of chicken crap forever making her nauseous.

Brandon immediately beamed down at the toddler, reaching over and tickling her beneath the chin fondly.

"I knew your Daddy alright," he said with a chuckle. He gave a soft sigh. "Betcha miss him don't you?"

Shit.

Blake opened to her mouth to respond but Mia did it for her.

"Noh. I onwy sawed him jus' naw."

Brandon retracted his hand slowly, giving a frown, but seemed to dismiss Mia's comment as toddler babble, turning back to Blake and stuffing his hands into both pockets.

"So…" he said bouncing on his heels. "Big place right? Only got the chance to look around part of it this morning, but it looks like a proper community."

Blake nodded as Brandon continued.

"Not like the last place I was at, just a couple of houses, fifteen of us there max."

"Yeah, the Sanctuary's a great place," Blake replied, her eyes flitting this way and that before they finally fell to her lap, pondering her life anywhere but here at the Sanctuary now.

If David had never brought her here, would she still be at Alexandria? Would she still have been alive even? At David's hand she wasn't so sure…

"This Negan guy seems a but of a hard-ass though, right?" Brandon said suddenly causing Blake's eyes to flick immediately up to him. "Haven't seen him yet but from what I've heard-"

Brandon gave a whistle.

"-seems like a guy you don't want to get on the wrong side of, y'know what I mean?"

Blake opened her mouth to reply.

Because she had to tell him right? Tell him who exactly Negan was to her?

But to her utter dismay, before she could even say a word to forewarn him, despite the buzz of the bustling dining hall, a set of unmistakable heavy and chinking footfalls could be heard approaching.

And Blake looked up to see Negan, leather jacket on, Lucille lifted up onto his shoulder intimidatingly, crossing the room towards them.

Blake closed her eyes.

Goddamn it.

Brandon followed Blake's gaze over his shoulder, stiffening slightly as Negan strolled towards them.

Despite never meeting Negan he obviously recognised him, and the bat on his shoulder.

The dark-haired Saviour had his jaw clenched, eyes narrowed and glinting and looked so very far removed right now from the soft and caring Negan Blake had confessed her worries to last night.

Now he looked like the fearsome leader of grotesque legend.

And certainly someone you didn't want to get on the wrong side of.

But yet again, a certain toddler was the one to break that foil.

"Hai Daddy!" she said happily, lifting a spoonful of breakfast up towards him. "Does you wan sum of mai owtmeel?"

Brandon didn't move for a moment before his eyes slowly travelled, first from Mia, then to Negan, a sudden realisation dawning upon his face. Before turning back to Blake, who instantly felt her cheeks turn a bright pink colour.

But Negan didn't give a response to Mia, merely stroking the top of her head with his large hand, the gesture enough to make Mia lower her spoon back to her mouth contentedly.

But the dark-haired man's eyes were fixed now to the blonde man before him instead.

"So….you mus' be Brandon," said Negan in a low and growling voice, taking a long and looming step forward.

Blake saw Brandon give a visible gulp, his bright blue eyes looking far more fearful that they previously had a mere moment ago.

"Y-Yes, I am…" he nodded instantly.

Negan sucked on his teeth, looking slightly irritable as he continued to gaze at Brandon.

Blake knew what Negan was thinking of course.

The same of she had last night when she had first laid eyes on him.

Just how much, in this slimmer form, he looked like David. The hair, the eyes… especially to someone like Negan who had only met David a handful of times.

But Brandon looked more than a little flustered now with the way that Negan was staring him down, unblinking and not speaking. And so with his blue eyes unable to meet Negan's gaze any longer, he excused himself.

"I errr, I'd better get going…" he said quickly, easing himself around Negan and shuffling quickly away, crossing the dining hall, getting lost in the crowd.

Blake gave a small groan as she watched him go, letting her head drop forwards in frustration.

"You didn' tell him, Doll-face?" enquired Negan, climbing on his long legs over the bench and dropping down into the seat opposite the blonde woman, placing Lucille down onto the table before him.

Blake looked up at him, letting out a sigh.

"Well he figured out David was gone by himself," she said wearily. "But I didn't tell him how it happened."

"That enough?" Negan said cocking an eyebrow up at her.

But Blake gave a shrug. "I don't know, he deserves he truth, but telling him…well its hard."

Negan huffed. "You gotta remember what that asshole fiancé of your did to you for all those fuckin' months, Darlin'. Shit, Davey-boy wasn' a fuckin' saint. An' his damn brother needs to hear that shit."

He was right of course. But that still didn't make any of this any easier.

Blake stared at Negan. "I know," she murmured, letting out yet another heavy sigh before turning to Mia who had dropped her spoon into the bowl before her with a clatter. "You done, baby?"

Mia, who looked like she had had more oatmeal on her, than was likely in her stomach, nodded.

"Chikins naw, Eggy?" she asked the dark-haired man before her hopefully, as Blake wiped at her face with a napkin.

And this time it was Negan's turn to sigh.

"Shit, alright then, Beansprout," he said tiredly, pushing himself to his feet again and reaching across the table and hauling the toddler up from beneath her arms, pulling her into his chest.

"You able to look after Lucille for me for a while, Peaches?" he smirked at Blake as Mia made a grab for his ear, pulling hard on it.

Blake smirked back at his words rolling her eyes.

"Do I have to?" she asked, tutting playfully.

"Now, now, Darlin'," Negan scolded in a teasing voice. "Play nice, Sweetheart, an' if you're lucky Daddy might jus' have a treat for you later, if you catch my drift."

And with that Negan waggled his eyebrows in Blake's direction cockily.

But this only caused Blake to grin, narrowing her green eyes in his direction, as she got to her feet and slid herself from the bench neatly.

"You talking to me or the bat there, tough guy?"

But she didn't wait for a response now, merely snatching up the barbed-wire covered Lucille from the scrubbed wooden table and giving another audible tut, before turning and walking away, swaying her hips as she went.

"We'll be in the west garden if you want us," she called back to him over her shoulder, as Negan chuckled behind her, watching her go, carrying Lucille with her as she went.

"You know what, Beansprout?" said Negan, pressing his face into Mia's, grizzling his stubbly cheek across hers. "Your Daddy really does love your Momma. Very fuckin' much."

"Chikins naw, Eggy," Mia reprimanded, pressing her chubby palm flat to Negan's cheek and holding his face away from hers.

And Negan could only grin.

"Alright, alright, kid," he chuckled, as he turned, making to head back across the busy dining hall with Mia in tow. "Chickens it is."