Quinn, Alexandria

I woke up slowly, but when consciousness woke up too, it hit me. I remembered what happened yesterday. I opened my eyes quickly and looked at Negan. He was still asleep. I let out a sigh without making any noise. I got up silently and tiptoed upstairs to the bathroom, then I got dressed. I went back downstairs and started making breakfast. As soon as the smell of food started lingering in the house, Negan started moving.

"Smells yummy," he growled sleepily. I jerked my head up when I heard him woke up. I hurried to his side.

"How are you feeling?" I asked worryingly. He opened his beautiful eyes and smiled at me. How could he look so handsome even with bruises all over his face?! This is some kind of magic, I was sure.

"Not gonna lie, my right side hurts, but other than that… Let's just say, I had been in a worse shape."

I crouched down next to the couch and caressed his cheek, then I kissed a spot that seemed to be uninjured.

"Oh, the eggs," I said as I forgot them over the cooker, so I hurried back to the kitchen. They didn't burn, thank god. I scrabbled them onto a plate and placed them on a tray. I placed a glass of water and a painkiller pill as well, then I took it to the living room. I put it on the coffee table, then I helped Negan sit up a bit. I placed the tray on his lap.

"I could get used to this," he smiled.

"I bet. Give me the towel, I'll make it cold again," I held out my hand. He looked around a bit, then pulled out the wet towel from under him. I soaked it again and placed it on the open window to make it colder. I grabbed a quick bite too, then I went back to Negan. He was eating very slowly.

"Are you in that much pain?" I asked worryingly.

"Well, it hurts, but they are not broken so… don't worry," he said. I was still worried. I waited for him to finish, he took the painkiller, then I grabbed the tray and brought it back to the kitchen. Then I sat next to Negan and helped him get comfortable. I lifted the blanket a bit and took a look at his right side. It was full of bruises in every shade of purple that existed. I slowly shook my head disapprovingly.

"Hey…" he growled gently. "I deserved it. Hell, I deserved even worse. So… let's be grateful I got away with just this much."

I covered him with the blanket, exhaled sharply, and ran my fingers through in the front of his hair while making eye contact.

"My heart is breaking… seeing you in pain," I said quietly as I kept caressing his forehead and his cheek. He didn't say anything, just watched me, with that warmness in his eyes. I stood up, brought a cushion, placed it on the ground next to the couch, and sat down on it, leaning my back against the couch. I looked at Negan above my shoulder. He got his left arm out from under the blanket and embraced me with it. I took his hand and kissed it. I leaned my head back, slightly on Negan's left side, so the healthy one, and I turned my head a bit to look at him. He let out a gentle sigh as he looked me in the eye. His left arm was over my collarbone, his hand on my shoulder like he was pulling me closer, not to leave his side. And I didn't want to leave. Not even for a second. I placed my hand on his hand and started caressing it while smiling at each other.

"I think I can keep it up now, but after I take the second pill, I'm sure I'm gonna fall asleep again," he said.

"It's okay. You need to heal."

"I had other ideas for the remaining days we're here…" he said grumpily.

"Honey, you went out there to talk to Maggie. What did you think?" I asked. There was a moment of silence.

"Did you just call me honey?" he asked, raising his head slightly. My face went red, I didn't even realize, it just slipped.

"Maybe," I said with red cheeks. He giggled. There was a moment of pause while he took in the fact, he leaned his head back down to the pillow, then he continued the original topic.

"Yeah, I did this to myself," he said, answering my question. I shook the embarrassment quickly.

"I think Maggie will give us a few more days, for you to recover as much till you can walk long distances," I said, thinking out loud.

"I hope so… I wouldn't want to go out like this," he said grumpily.

"Gosh… I want to beat up Maggie so badly… but at the same time, I can understand her… which makes me so frustrated. So I can't do anything, just sit here and explode inside," I said angrily. He chuckled softly and caressed my cheek.

"It's okay. Let it be. I'll get better and this will go away. Everything will be just fine," he said. I exhaled sharply.

"Yeah," I said while trying to suppress the frustration. "I wonder if Carol and Jesus managed to talk to her last night. I think they should have waited for a little while, till she calms down."

"Maybe they couldn't, that's why Carol hasn't visited yet," he speculated.

"You may be right," I took a couple of seconds, trying to calm myself down from anger. I glanced at Negan. "Tell me more about that house. Did you go inside?"

Negan shook his head gently.

"No. Wish I did. It didn't cross my mind back then that someday I'm gonna look for a house with my girlfriend," he said smiling. I eased up a bit and smiled slightly, embarrassed.

"It didn't cross my mind I was going to have a boyfriend and he would be our greatest enemy," I admitted.

"When I was at that house, you were probably drooling over Dixon, with him having no idea at all," he said.

"It really stuck in your head, didn't it?" I asked.

"Well, yeah… It keeps popping into my head how you were crying at the cell when he rejected you. And how I made fun of your feelings…"

"Negan… that was… like… almost eight years ago. Almost a decade. Stop thinking about that."

"I'm sorry I made fun of you," he said gently.

"Just… don't think about it. It was ages ago and I'm not that person anymore. I don't have any feelings for him. At least not romantic. You are the one I'm drooling over. All the time," I said smiling at him.

"Mmm-hmmm, keep going," he said with that impish sparkle in his eye I loved so much.

"Nope. Last time I told you my feelings you wanted to leave me," I pointed out. He exhaled sharply.

"True. But I want to hear this one. You got me a bit off-guarded when we were in the forest. But now I'm curious."

"Nope," I shook my head. "I'm hardly keeping myself together, so I won't talk about how hot you are. At least definitely not now, when we can't…" I stopped before my face goes even more red.

"We can't what?" asked Negan smiling widely. Oh, how I loved that impish smile of his. I won't say that we can't make love, because I'm so embarrassed. And he needed to heal.

"Don't do this to me, Negan. Just… calm down and heal," I stated, avoiding eye contact.

"You know… there are ways where I don't have to do anything… not moving at all…" he murmured, trying to get inside my head. My face exploded with redness.

"No. You are already in pain… just no," I stood my ground. I tried to convince myself that if we take a couple of days' break it will feel even better after it. So I stood my ground with this thought.

"You should make me feel comfortable especially because I'm in pain," he tried again, still smiling. I shook my head again, then I glanced at him above my shoulder.

"Negan… it's not a good idea right now," I said gently. I wanted it as much as he did, but I just couldn't. I was scared if I touch him anywhere I would cause him pain.

"It's okay, I'm just messing with you," he gave up. "It does hurt. How long till I can take the second pill?" he asked.

"After lunch. Hang in there for a little more while. I'll bring you the cold towel," I said and I gathered myself up. I grabbed the towel. It became a little bit cold, but not nearly as cold as an ice pack would be. Still better than nothing. I closed the window and headed back to Negan. I lifted the blanket and handed him the cold, wet towel. He placed it on his right side while he barely audibly groaned a little bit from the pain. I tucked him in with the blanket, that was when we heard a knock on the door. It was Carol.

"Hi! I brought you lunch for today and tomorrow as well," she stated and handed me the boxes. I thanked her as I set them on the counter, then I went back to the door. "How's Negan?" she asked.

"Deadbeat," Negan answered raising his voice a bit, so Carol could hear.

"Oh. Great. And how are you?" she asked turning her eyes back at me.

"It's hard to see him like this," I said. Carol nodded understandingly.

"I can't even count how many times I saw Daryl coming back like this," she said slightly shaking her head disapprovingly. "He'll get better," she said referring to Negan now. "We talked to Maggie. She didn't really want to hear anything from you two, but… she accepted you to stay until Negan is able to walk on his own."

"Thank you, Carol," I said. She hugged me gently.

"It's okay."

"How's Maggie?" I asked. "Is she feeling better now? That she got it out."

"I don't know. She seemed really troubled. Probably because she saw this side of Negan. Maybe she is disappointed that he is not the monster she knows. I don't know. But it's okay, she will get herself together."

"I hope she won't come over to murder us in our sleep," I added quietly, so Negan wouldn't hear.

"No. She's not in that state, that much I could see."

"Thank you for the food again and for talking to her," I said slightly smiling at her. She smiled back at me.

"You're welcome. Daryl says hi," she added.

"Okay… I say hi to him too," I said chuckling softly.

"I'll tell him. Enjoy the meal," she said and left. I closed the door smiling slightly, but then I became serious once again.

"Do you think she's right? Maggie's disappointed because I'm not a monster?" asked Negan.

"Maybe. One thing I know for sure is that you are not a monster," I stated as I sat back down next to the couch, but this time, I turned my body towards him, resting my elbows on the edge of the couch, looking up at him. He caressed my cheek gently.

"Can you come here?" he asked in that low, loving tone I loved so much. "I want to kiss you," he stated.

I started blushing and smiling.

"Nope," I said, chuckling softly. He smiled as I gathered myself up again and leaned close to him. I hesitated for a moment, then I kissed him gently. I could feel the wound on his lower lip. I tried to be as gentle as I could. After kissing I brushed my nose gently against his nose, then put my forehead against his forehead. He let me do all this, without saying anything. I gently caressed his cheek once again.

"I'll bring you lunch," I said quietly.

"One more kiss first?" he asked. I chuckled and kissed him again.

…

Author's notes: Listen to "The Cure" by Lady Gaga.

Thank You for reading! ❤