Shorter chapter this time around just so you guys have something. I actually split a chapter in two just to be able to post. The closer to the end I get the harder it is to keep going. It's going to be weird when this is finally finished. I only have 3-4 chapters left. Next chapter will be short too.

Sunny watched the children run around the new playground the whole Sanctuary banded together to build. A playscape that had been sitting in the back of one of the storage areas, the lumber and hardware just waiting to be used for anything other than its intended purpose, was built complete with rainbow roofs over the different levels providing shade and shelter. Slides and climbing apparatus surrounded the structure. Swings hung from a long beam that jutted out from a tower.

Barricades were erected to shield the children's eyes from the outside world. A sandbox was filled, teeter-totters and obstacle courses of old tires arranged on astroturf stolen from a nearby high school football field. The Saviors had even stripped an old truck leaving just the seats and steering wheel for the kids to climb on and pretend to drive. Some of them too young to remember ever riding in one.

Schools were raided per Sunny's requests. The first things they used were the art supplies. The hallways for families, nursery, and future school rooms were painted with whatever bright colors were on hand to cover the dingy gray of the factory. Paper decorations the kids had worked so hard on hung from the ceilings. Handprints of the kids and their families decorated the walls forming murals of flowers created by tiny hands. Everyone's names were written by their hand. No matter what, a piece of them would always exist.

Sunny loved her work with the kids and helping to make their surroundings a home. She had become more confident that their baby would be able to thrive there. She had already seen a remarkable change in the attitudes of the parents and their kids. They were happy and hopeful.

The kitchen had the inventory lists ready a few days after the initial committee meeting. They were learning to harvest seeds and regrow from scraps of greens and roots. Canning and making preserves was a work in progress but progress was being made.

Yet there was still so much to do. She wanted to get as much of it done before the baby was born or before she was too big to help. Her stomach seemed to pop overnight. She was finally in maternity jeans. They assumed she was approaching the halfway point but without a sonogram or exact dates, it was hard to know for sure. Negan had promised he would figure out a way to get one for her. Adding to the list of many things they needed.

"Dominique!" Sunny shouted across the playground. She waved the woman over to her. "We should probably think about getting them inside. It'll be time for dinner soon. Their parents will want to get them."

"I think we should let them keep playing. It would be good for their parents to get to see them like this. Spend a few minutes playing with them too."

Sunny nodded. "You're right." Everyone should get to see such pure joy. Far be it for her to deny them such a simple pleasure. She took the hand of a precious 5-year-old who tugged her to the swings. Helping them up, she took her spot behind them and started to push, smiling at their cry of "higher" with each pass.

Negan oiled Lucille, running the rag up and down her handle as he sat alone in his office. It was strange to be in this room without Sunny flitting in and out from their bedroom. Lonely even. But she was at work and he had plans to mull over.

It was the weirdest thing. The world essentially ended. He lost everything and everyone who had ever meant anything to him. And yet, he was almost happy for the first time in his life. He wasn't looking for greener pastures. Wasn't avoiding his responsibilities. He was all in. But a nagging part of his brain was just waiting. Waiting for the other shoe to drop because a bastard like him didn't deserve to be happy.

It was getting harder to maintain control. He was still sending Saviors to other communities to collect. But those groups of enforcers were getting smaller with every visit especially since he had his people out there looking for other resources now.

Keeping everyone under his thumb was difficult. There were whispers of alliances. People from three of the groups were spotted in other communities. Negan had Dwight and a few others watching them. Waiting to see if they'd make a move. They didn't have the firepower, but they did have the numbers.

To make matters worse the Saviors were also getting restless. It was only a matter of time before they started shit. It was tough to keep the reins tight when you were being pulled in a thousand different directions. So far, no one had said anything but he could tell the tension was coiling ready to snap.

In the middle of their plans, he had men and women scattered across the area following Sunny's directions, but also a few of his own. One to surprise and the other to protect her.

He had worked out training schedules for the outposts. Evacuation routes were drawn up and ready to implement. If the time came, to defend themselves they would be ready.

For now, though, he wasn't all that worried. Dwight would tell him if anything was going down. So far, it just seemed like those groups were all bluster.

What Negan wanted to focus on was making The Sanctuary better. Making it a home. He could see a boost in morale since Sunny started making changes. She was a natural leader whether she believed it or not. People liked her. Wanted to follow her. And they were happier for it.

He was looking forward to tomorrow. Hopefully, she'd be surprised. It took a lot to keep it under wraps but the people putting everything together were sworn to secrecy and they seemed to be excited to be part of the event.

The door opened, Sunny walked in and smiled. She looked beautiful but tired. Faint shadows cradled her eyes. Her smile not quite reaching all the way to her eyes.

"Rough day at the office, dear?" he asked.

She chuckled. The thought of him playing the happy homemaker was enough to have her biting her lip to keep from teasing him as the vision of him with a cute little apron, slippers, and drink in hand waiting for her to bring home the bacon flashed through her mind. "Not rough, just busy. I don't know how those kids move all day every day. If I wasn't pregnant, I'd be losing weight chasing after them. Luckily, I also get to spend time in the kitchen and Ava insists on using me as a taste tester."

"Maybe you should take a day off. Get some fucking rest." He was happy she was out and keeping busy but she didn't need to kill herself. "They can handle a day without you."

"But I like it. Wait, a minute. You practically shoved me into these jobs and now you want me to slack off?" She crossed her arms in front of her, the effect diminished as they rested on her curving belly.

"I don't want you to do too fucking much. You need to take care of yourself. Your fucking awesome at what you're doing, but you don't have to be the one to do it day in and day out. Delegate. No one will think less of you."

"I don't want to be treated differently. No one else gets a day off." She meant it. Sunny didn't want to lose the few friends she had made because she was the boss's wife. Resentment had a way of creeping through any cracks in a foundation and bringing whole relationships to a crumbled ruin.

Negan looked at her. She was so sweet. Too sweet for this world. "Well, that's too fucking bad, honey. You're my wife. Carrying my child. You will be catered to in a way no one else fucking will because I am in charge. And what I say goes. Right now, I say that you go lay down while I rustle up some fucking grub and you take tomorrow off."

She opened her mouth the protest. Her chest swelling with a deep breath ready to let him have it.

He held up his hand. "I'll scrub your tub so you can soak all day tomorrow and find some of that lotion that smells so fucking good you want to eat it and rub your feet."

Sunny's lips pursed in her usual pout. A soak in a tub she didn't have to clean and a foot rub? Her parents didn't raise a fool. "Deal. But you have to tell people you made me take the day off. I don't want anyone thinking I'm a spoiled brat."

Negan barked out a laugh. "Oh, princess, you are a spoiled brat. But we'll let them think you aren't for a little while longer." He stood and kissed her brow. Patting her on the ass, he gave her a gentle push towards the bedroom. "Go lay down for a few minutes. I'll be back soon."

On his way back carrying their trays of what looked to be some sort of noodle casserole. He saw two figures lurking outside his door, the fluorescent light flickering over them casting their shadows on the linoleum. There was no mistaking their profiles. Dwight and Simon were waiting for him and that never boded well.

"What the fuck are you two doing out here? Shouldn't you be watching the other groups," he glared at Dwight and then to Simon, "and don't you have Saviors to keep in check?"

"That's what we're here about, boss." Simon nudged Dwight. "Tell him."

"Tell me what? Quit fucking pussyfooting around whatever you have to say and just fucking say it." His dinner was going to get colder than it already was.

"We-" Dwight took a deep breath. Being the bearer of bad news was never easy especially when the recipient was likely to beat the messenger with a barbed wired bat if he didn't like what he heard. "We think the other groups are planning something."

"A party?" Negan scoffed. This wasn't a surprise. He nodded for Simon to open the door for him, the two men following in his wake as he set the trays down and turned to hear what nefarious plans were afoot.

Dwight continued cautiously. "Actually we know they're planning something. An attack or a full-on war, we're not quite sure. The widow from Hilltop, the King, and Rick have been meeting. We know they have guns. No idea where they got them, how many they have, or where they're stashing them."

"You're telling me, I have people tailing these sons of bitches, and not a fucking god damn one knows where their fucking artillery is?" This was un-fucking-believable. How did they find enough guns to have a stash? He was sure they had cleared most of the groups in the surrounding areas. "What the hell are The Saviors good for if we can't keep these groups isolated and unarmed?"

Simon winced. "That's another issue, sir."

"What?" Negan glanced at the doors to their bedroom. He needed to keep it down, heads would roll if Sunny woke up.

"Well, the men aren't happy with the changes that are happening." Simon toed the edge of the carpet in the small sitting area with his scuffed boots.

Negan was prepared for something like this coming up. Knew it would but he had hoped it wouldn't. Thought given some time everyone would understand. Apparently, he had given them too much fucking credit. "Such as…"

"They didn't sign up for raiding schools and museums. They're concerned that the ranks they worked hard for are going to be obsolete." If Simon were honest, the same thoughts had crossed his mind. He had no desire to be overthrown by some civilian with a green thumb.

Fucking assholes. "There's always going to be a need for fucking muscle and violence in this world. But what we really need are thinkers and doers. They're the ones with the fucking brains and know-how to keep us from starving."

Simon's lips pulled into a frown. That was not the answer he had wanted nor would it thrill the Saviors. Maybe they were right. He never would have thought it. "I've tried to tell them, boss, but they're getting bored and all pent up. They think you're going soft with your sweet new bride."

Negan bristled. If he wasn't mistaken, that was an insult and a thinly veiled threat. "Anyone who wants to say that to my fucking face is welcome to. Me and Lucille will happily help them see the fucking light."

Noting the feral change in his voice and stance, Dwight nodded and made his way to the door. Simon in his wake with a quick, "Yes, sir."

Negan took the food from the trays. "Fucking cold." He nuked them in the microwave he couldn't wake Sunny up to cold noodles. The food turned as the microwave buzzed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. These issues would have to wait. He needed time to think. Time to plan. But he knew deep down he was racing his own timer. Which would go off first? Rick? The Saviors? The birth of his child? Was this even a race he could win?

The important thing now was to keep his wife and child safe and happy. He would burn the world down to protect them. But he was tired of fighting. Maybe he was going soft. The microwave beeped at him bringing him out of thoughts.

From behind the door, Sunny took her ear from the wood and tip-toed back to bed.

Notes:

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