Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking Dead. All I own are my original characters and my original storylines :-)
A dark haired woman and a little girl with blonde curls ran in front of her. Try as she might, she couldn't catch them. No matter how she yelled, begged, pleaded, they wouldn't slow down. The child turned towards her, smiling. "I love you, Mommy," her tiny hands told her. "I miss you." A piece of paper fell from the woman's hand, fluttering to the ground. Lucia reached down, grabbing it, before she looked up once more. They were gone.
She was alone in the graveyard, the mist swirling around her. Her head turned back and forth, looking for any sign of the ones who had disappeared. She recognized this place, she realized. It was where she buried her daughter, a place that she would never see again in her lifetime. She looked down at the paper, the handwriting beautifully slanted and familiar. "We go somewhere that you cannot follow," it said. "Live, fight, feel, for you are not one of the dead. Do not freeze your heart, my love. Do not live your life surrounded by ice. I am with her, she is not alone, she is not afraid, there is peace here. Live, Lucia, succeed. This world, it's a mess, but I know you can flourish, despite it all." A phrase ghosted in her mind, words that she had not heard in a log time, "I love you."
Lucia's eyes shot open, her breathing erratic. The dream filled her mind, consuming every corner of her waking consciousness. She had dreamt about them before, almost nightly, but this time it was different. There was no death or dying, she wasn't reliving their last moments over again. No, this was bittersweet. This was a proper farewell and it confused her. She turned, looking at the digital clock on the nightstand, it read 5:00. She turned to the Savior beside her, his eyes were closed, breathing deeply, still in the throws of slumber. She knew that he would wake up soon, 5:30 on the dot every single day.
The blonde woman slid silently out of bed and padded across the floor to one of the adjoining rooms. She made coffee, a mug for him and a mug for her, knowing that he would want some when he woke up for the day. She set one mug down on the nightstand beside Negan and held the other while she perused the selection of books that Negan had in his bedroom. She grabbed one with detailed maps of the surrounding area, so that she might get an idea of the places that they could search for more supplies. She might be assigned to the infirmary for the next two weeks, but she refused to allow herself to be completely isolated from what was going on outside of these walls.
As she looked through the maps making notes in pencil, she saw the king of the Saviors begin to stir. She watched as his eyes opened to the world and met hers, a sleepy grin on his face. She put down her pencil, her fingers weaving words, "I brought you some coffee, drink up."
He hummed in appreciation, sitting up and reaching for the mug. He drank in silence until he had drained all of the liquid. He would need more coffee than just that mug to get through the day. There was a laundry list of things to do, people to see, and situations to take care of. Once his mug was refilled once more, he made his way over to Lucia to see what she was up to. The moment he saw the book full of maps in her hand, he tapped on it's pages to get the blonde Savior's attention. She looked up, arching an eyebrow and waiting for him to continue.
"When I said that you were confined to the infirmary for two weeks, I meant it, darlin'. Not recon, no runs, no planning, nothing. Actions have consequences, especially in this world, and these consequences are yours." his hands told her.
Lucia huffed in frustration, closing the book and putting it back on his desk. She grabbed her mug, stewing a little. She flipped him off for good measure before looking out the window at the grounds below. Her attention was redirected when a hand gently cupped her cheek and uninjured side of her jaw.
"Two weeks, Luce, that's it. Then you're back to the fun stuff. I know you're fuckin' scared shitless to be headin' back into medicine, but you gotta rip off the bandaid at some point. And if bein' a little pissed at me keeps the nerves away, then by all means, go right ahead. Ain't the first time you've been pissed at me and it sure as hell won't be the last."
She softened a bit, even though she was still clearly frustrated. She smiled softly, leaning into his touch. As annoyed as she was with the entire situation, his words were comforting, in a way. He was telling her that she was allowed to feel what she felt, that her anger and frustration was valid, and she appreciated it.
"It's time for me to go," her hands told the Savior. I've got work to do.
As she made her way down to the infirmary, Lucia's anxiety grew. Every step she took was more painful than the last, but she refused to show it. She moved with authority, precision, and a keen awareness of her surroundings. She sealed up her dread, locking it away to be dealt with at a later date. She had a job to do and she would be damned if she didn't do it well.
The blonde Savior spent most of her day acquainting herself with the infirmary and conducting exams on all of the pregnant patients. It made her heart swell to see each woman experience getting an ultrasound, something that was to be celebrated in this shit show of a world. She took her time with each of them, showing the women their babies and giving them a picture to take back with them. With Negan's blessing, she had even started all the women on prenatal vitamins so that they and their babies would be healthy and strong.
Late in the afternoon, Dr. Carson felt comfortable enough to leave her in charge while he took time to go eat and get some other work done in other parts of the Sanctuary. Lucia didn't pry as to what he was doing, it wasn't her business and she didn't really care.
She was preoccupied with putting together records for the pregnant patients when a tap on her shoulder snapped her back into the present. She turned around to see a woman standing before her, fidgeting with the hem of her black dress. The Savior stared at her for a moment, taking in her appearance. The woman had long flaxen hair and big blue eyes, she looked so young, so vulnerable, as she stood there. She was wearing an extremely short black dress and heels. As Lucia studied her, it clicked, this woman was one of Negan's wives.
"Um, I was looking for Dr. Carson, could you get him for me?" the woman asked timidly.
The blonde Savior sighed, the last thing she wanted was to interact with the wife before her, but she saw no other choice. She had tried her best to keep her distance from these women, she had never even met one of them, that is until today.
"He's not in right now, unfortunately. I'm more than happy to assist you with whatever you need, though. I can assure you I am medically trained and qualified."
The woman bit her lip and shifted on her feet. She looked as if she was about to hightail it out of there as fast as she could.
"I don't know...it's just that, you're well...and I'm..."
A moment of understanding hit Lucia, she knew what this woman was worried about. "You're worried because you're a wife and I'm whatever I am to Negan, aren't you?"
The woman nodded, not saying a word.
"In this building, I am a medical professional first and foremost. I will not discuss your visit with him or anyone else that doesn't need to be in the know. I may discuss you with Dr. Carson, but that would only be if I needed his medical expertise for something that was over my head. I am more than happy to help you with whatever you need. The only thing that Negan gets from here is the inventory log at the end of the night that records what has been used, who used it, and how many points it cost that individual. Obviously, you don't have to worry about the point system since you're not on it, so it'll just be a list of what was given to you and you'll sign for it. That's it, I'm not going to go running to Negan and tell him anything. That's not my job. I'm just here to help. We haven't properly introduced ourselves, my name is Lucia Johansson."
She stuck out a hand, waiting for the woman to shake it. It took her a moment, but she responded in kind, placing her hand in Lucia's.
"I'm Amber."
The handshake was short and Amber didn't seem to be putting much effort into it, but a shitty handshake was better than no handshake, the blonde Savior mused.
"So, take a seat on this table and we can get started. What seems to be bothering you?"
Amber sat on the examination table and once again began to fidget with her dress. Her eyes refused to meet the blonde Savior's, instead darting from place to place.
"I think I might be pregnant and I need to be sure one way or another."
Lucia sure hadn't been expecting that, but she didn't miss a beat. "Okay, well let's start with the basics. I'll give you a pregnancy test which you can take in the bathroom right over there and then I can do just a quick exam while we wait for the results. I'll just listen to your heart, take your blood pressure, stuff like that. I just want to make sure the basics are all good before anything else."
The woman nodded, still not making eye contact. She really wasn't one for conversation, the Savior observed.
She handed Amber the test and guided her to the bathroom, then she began her initial exam. The woman seemed to be in good health, if not a little underweight.
"Well, you seem to be in overall good health, so you're all good there. Let's take a look at that test."
She picked up the test, revealing a negative sign. She could see the wife visibly exhale in relief. Lucia couldn't blame her, this was a frightening new world and most of the comforts of pregnancy from the way the world had been were nonexistent now. The woman still seemed nervous and skittish, but a little less than before.
"Unless you need anything else, you're good to go, Amber. If I could just please have you sign here for the pregnancy test, we will be good to go."
The wife looked up, panic in her eyes. "I- I can't sign for that. Since you came along, Negan's attention has been mostly on you. Negan and I haven't- well, I just can't sign for it."
Lucia's mind was racing, trying to understand. What this woman was trying to tell her was that she couldn't sign for the pregnancy test because she hadn't been having sex with Negan recently. She must be so jumpy and worried that she was pregnant because she was sleeping with someone else. If she had been pregnant, that baby wouldn't have been Negan's.
The Savior raked her curls back with one hand while she tried to make up her mind. She couldn't just not put the pregnancy test in the logs, eventually they would come up short in inventory and it would be her ass or Dr. Carson's on the line. She had no desire to pull the doctor into this trouble, he didn't deserve that. If Amber signed for it, Negan would be guaranteed to see it tonight when he went over everything. She knew what the rules were, if you were Negan's wife, you had to be faithful. If you weren't, there were punishments for both yourself and the other party. How could she go about this? What could she do?
Once Lucia decided, she squared her shoulders and turned back to Amber, her cold mask covering her true emotions. "What I am about to do for you I will do once and only once. I will sign for the test, as if I took it myself. I have a few conditions for this, though. If I do this, you have two options: you stop fucking around with whoever the hell you're fucking around with so that you don't end up in this situation again or you be more goddamn careful. If this happens again, I will not cover for you, you will be on your own. I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, but I do want you to know that you're walking along a dangerous cliff. The last thing I want is to have to take care of some poor bastard that got half of his fucking face ironed off because you simply were not careful and couldn't stay fucking faithful. I'm not judging you for being stupid, but you are being stupid. You know who runs this place, you know how he operates, you know better than this. You made a choice by being a wife, you knew the terms and conditions. Negan can be ruthless and if this happens again and he finds out, which you know he will, people are gonna get hurt. I won't stand between him and his goal because I fucking know better than that. Are we clear, Amber? Do you understand what I am telling you?"
The wife nodded, tears in her eyes.
"Dry your tears, clean yourself up. The last thing either of us needs is for you to leave here crying. The Sanctuary has many eyes and as a wife, those eyes will be on you. If anyone ever asks, even your fellow wives, you were here because you were feeling very fatigued because you were iron deficient. I told you to eat more foods with iron in them on a consistent basis and you went on your way. That's it, that's why you were here."
Amber wiped her eyes and got off the table, she straightened her dress for good measure before looking straight at Lucia for the first time the entire visit. "Thank you, Lucia."
The blonde Savior shook her head, "I don't want thanks, just don't get into this situation again. I will not save you next time."
As Amber left the infirmary, the Savior shook her head. Her first day back in the medical field and she had to deal with a wife; that was the last thing she ever wanted. There was a reason that she kept her distance from the wives, she had no desire to be involved with them. She didn't want to be a wife and she sure didn't feel the need to associate with them. They all made the decisions that they had for various reasons and Lucia assumed that they were good reasons, but she didn't appreciate the lives that they lived. Everyone else here had a purpose, a job, a reason to be here. Each worker and Savior contributed to life here in the Sanctuary, everyone besides the wives. She raked a hand through her long curls, maybe she was just being petty, this wasn't worth the time and mental effort she was pouring into this subject. There was a reason for everything that Negan did and she wouldn't start questioning it now. She huffed as she signed for the pregnancy test, clearly putting her name followed by initials. It was done, so there was no use dwelling upon it further.
The rest of the day passed by in an uneventful manner. Lucia patched up a few minor injuries, but nothing major or exciting. By the time seven in the evening came, Dr. Carson was ready to lock up and call it a day. They parted ways, the doctor leaving her with the logs to bring up to Negan later that night. There hadn't been much conversation between the two of them throughout the day, but she hadn't minded. She had a sneaking suspicion that Carson couldn't quite figure out what to make of her deafness, but it hadn't been the first time someone had made that into a roadblock. She would simply have to allow her medical talent to shine. For now, the silence was fine.
She trudged up the stairs to Negan's rooms, hoping to drop off the logs and go. Her mind was tired and she could use some sleep, if she could get it. Once she reached his rooms, she knocked on the door before announcing herself. She had no way to tell if anyone ever responded, so she simply opened the door. The rooms were deserted, Negan nowhere to be found. She placed the logs on his desk before hurrying out.
Her next objective was a shower. Even just a few minutes of lukewarm water would do wonders. She grabbed her toiletries from her room and made her way to the women's showers. Since she was a Savior, she was allotted fifteen minutes instead of the seven that workers got. She sighed contentedly as the water washed over her body, carrying away the stress of the day. The Savior made quick work of her shower, she had no desire to dwell today. She had seen the whispers and the looks that had been thrown her way all day. The Sanctuary knew why she was working in the infirmary and she was sure that she was gossip for the place. It wasn't the first time, either.
When she had first arrived, there had been so much curiosity about the Deaf girl that had survived the end of the world. As she rose up the ranks, the curiosity grew. She had never been overly social at the Sanctuary, not wanting to interact with people simply because they were curious about her. The stares and whispers were something she simply learned to ignore. The less she acknowledged it, the better.
Once she was finished, she made her way back to her room to eat something and then sleep. She didn't feel very hungry, but she knew that Negan was right when he told her that she needed to eat more.
When she opened the door to her room, she was surprised to find the very Savior that had been occupying her thoughts sitting at her table. Lucille was propped against the wall and the logbook was open to today's entries. She froze, realizing that he must have read a certain entry with her name attached to it.
Author's Note: Oh dear, oh dear, I wonder how this will play out. I tried to get this out a few days ago, but my word, I got hit with the worse stomach flu that I've ever experienced. My sister, her husband, and all my nieces got it and I was dumb enough to think that I wouldn't get it too, even though I take care of the kids every afternoon...silly me! I'm not back to normal just yet, but I'm MUCH better than I was. So what did you guys think of this chapter? I know the site has been down today, so fingers crossed that this can get to you guys. Drop a review if you're in the mood, I would greatly appreciate it. I am genuinely curious about what you guys think of what's happening. -xo Kat