"Fuck!" I cursed, staring at the amniotic fluid that was dripping down from the car seat and onto the truck floor. The walkers we passed had turned around and were headed for us, but I couldn't think. The baby was coming, and we were on the road in the middle of the night. My brain felt unplugged as I gaped at Amy.

Just as I started to snap out of my shocked state, Amy grabbed my arm and twisted my skin. Her face contorted, her body hunched over, and she let out a loud gasp as a contraction hit hard. I tensed up as she squeezed my arm in a vice grip. Suddenly a walker appeared on the passenger side of the truck. It began scratching at the window, desperately trying to get to Amy.

Once she let go of my arm, I stepped on the gas and began driving away from the walkers that were coming up on the truck. Amy was panting, trying to recover from the intense pain when she cried out.

"Wait, stop!"

I slowed the truck and turned to look at her distraught face. Her chest was rising and falling fast and she looked terrified.

"Doveport's closer."

Glancing into the rear view mirror, I watched as the walkers stumbled down the road towards us again. I had no idea which way the school was from where we were at, and I turned to Amy with a frantic look.

"But Eric!" I argued, pointing out that her husband was still back at the Sanctuary. He had helped us cause a distraction to sneak Charlotte out, and we weren't able to bring him with us. I knew Amy wouldn't want to give birth without him there, but I couldn't risk having her out in the open with walkers everywhere.

"Please, Elle!" Amy panted, and gave me a stern look. "I don't want to give birth in a pickup truck. Just take me to the school." Even though she was visibly shaken and in a lot of pain, Amy was determined. Knowing there was no point in arguing further, I nodded. Carson had told us that once the major contractions started, it was only a matter of time until the baby arrived.

Wincing, Amy pulled the map back out from the glove compartment to study it. With the chamber still open, I reached inside to grab the walkie-talkie. Amy gestured for me to turn the truck around, and as I did, I pushed the talk button on the radio.

"I need Negan!" I said panic-stricken. "Tell him it's Elle!"

As we flew down the road, Amy gave me instructions on getting to the school. Her contractions were rare at first, but then they seemed to be happening more frequently. I kept my eyes peeled on the road, occasionally glancing over at Amy. Her forehead was dripping in sweat and she had her eyes closed as she focused on her breathing. With one hand on the steering wheel, I clutched the radio in my other, hoping to hear back from Negan. It wasn't until we reached a familiar road that the radio buzzed to life.

"You are in a fucking SHIT LOAD of trouble, little girl…" Negan's deep voice came through. I could already hear he was livid; he had probably discovered we'd helped Charlotte escape and was enraged for it, but I didn't have time to argue.

"Amy's water broke," I said, cutting off any berating he had in store for me. "We're almost to the school, but I don't know what to do." I did my best not to sound hysteric, but in reality I was panicking. As we came down a road, I recognized the buildings and knew where we were. Speeding up, I headed for the school and waited for Negan to respond. When he didn't, I pressed the talk button again.

"Eric is still at the Sanctuary," I added, swerving to dodge a walker that was standing in the middle of the road. Amy winced at the sudden movement and clutched onto the truck door to keep herself steady.

A few seconds passed and suddenly the walkie-talkie buzzed again.

"Amy?!" Eric's asked fearfully. I realized he must have already been with Negan to have answered us that quickly. Negan was probably interrogating him about where we were. At hearing it was her husband, I handed the radio over to Amy who took it into her hands.

"Eric, the baby's coming!" Amy had started to sob just as I turned down the road leading to the school. Again, there was a long silence, and I knew they had to be discussing what to do. I hoped Negan being pissed at me wouldn't affect his decision to help. He had ensured us that Carson would be there when the baby came, and I was counting on him to make sure Amy and her child would be okay.

When we didn't get another response from the men, Amy handed the walkie back to me and I clipped it onto the belt loop of my jeans. We pulled up to the school gate and I stopped the truck. Getting out, I went over to the metal door and began banging on it as hard as I could. I had given Charlotte my knife and left my gun in the principal's office during the meeting with the Saviors and Greenbrier. If any walkers showed up, we were fucked.

Minutes passed by with no response from inside Doveport, and I banged faster on the metal and called out, hoping someone would hear us. I turned as a sudden cry came from inside the truck when another strong contraction hit Amy. She threw her head back as tears streaked down her face.

As I was watching her over my shoulder, the gate finally opened partially and Ryan peaked around the corner looking frightened.

"Amy's having the baby!" I announced, grabbing the gate and yanking it fully open. Not waiting to see his reaction, I headed back for the truck and got into the driver's side door. We pulled into the yard and Ryan closed the gate once we were inside. I stopped right in front of the school doors and hopped out, rounding the truck to help Amy. Ryan ran over and held the doors open for us as we carefully made our way into the building.

We went into Amy and Eric's bedroom, and I helped Amy onto the bed. She was drenched in sweat and stared up at me desperately. I didn't know what to say—I didn't know anything about birthing or babies. We both looked at each other and then jumped when the radio that was hooked onto my pants hissed to life.

"We're on our way and we've got Dr. Carson! Just hold on, Amy!" Eric's voice came through in cracks, but Amy seemed relieved to hear they were coming. Leaning against the pillows, she closed her eyes just as Vivienne stepped into the room holding a basin of water. After setting it down on a nearby desk, she began propping up more pillows behind Amy.

"Her water broke," I explained, feeling helpless as I watched Amy's chest heave. "What do you need me to do?"

"Go get some towels and some water to drink. We can't let her get dehydrated," Vivienne ordered. Amy opened her eyes at hearing Vivienne's voice and gave her a weak smile.

"Hey, Viv," Amy said. She already looked exhausted.

Vivienne went over to her and smoothed some hair out of her face, returning Amy's smile. "We've got you, sweetheart. Everything is going to be okay."

Knowing Amy was in good hands with Vivienne, I rushed out of the room and headed for the locker room to gather up the supplies she asked for. After grabbing every towel we had and a couple of washcloths, I went to the kitchen to get a bottle of water.

When I returned to the bedroom, Vivienne had helped Amy out of her pants. I handed her the towels and she set them at the foot of the mattress. Bringing over the water bottle to Amy, I went to help her drink it, but she plucked it from my hands and chugged gratefully. I smirked as I watched her drink—she was still independent as ever.

"She's dilating, which is good," Vivienne explained. "Where's Eric?"

"On his way. They should be here soon." I glanced over to see Amy was clenching her fists as another contraction hit. I wanted so badly to help her, but there wasn't anything I could do.

"We need to keep everyone out of her hair," Vivienne said, glancing at the door that was closed. Most of the Doveporters had gathered into the hall to see what the commotion was about.

"I'm on it," I said. Before I left the room, I reached over and took Amy's hand and squeezed it. She smiled thinly at me and almost appeared delicate, but I knew better. Amy was strong—if anyone could do this, it was her.

Stepping out into the hallway, I was met with worried expressions from everyone in our community. I knew they would be curious about what was happening, and couldn't blame them.

"Amy's in labor," I stated, glancing at each of their faces. Ryan was standing right by the bedroom door and I turned to him.

"We cleaned up the principal's office," he informed me with a grim expression. I winced at his words and what they implemented.

They cleaned up Derek.

This day was starting to feel impossibly long. It had only been hours since I had listened to the sounds of Negan bashing his head in. I hadn't seen the aftermath, and couldn't imagine the horrendous sight, nor did I want to.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, looking down the hall at the office door that was closed. I didn't think I would ever be able to go back in there. The principal's office always made me think of Philip. Now it was forever a grim reminder that my plan for peace had failed.

"It's not your fault, Elle," Ryan tried to assure me. "He's the one who brought a gun. It's over now. We're all just really worried about Amy."

"Don't be." I looked at each one of them again. We'd all knew this day was coming, but I could see the uncertainty. "She's going to be okay. The doctor is on his way, but we need to leave her alone. She doesn't want an audience."

Everyone nodded in understanding. I could tell they wanted to help, and I understood that feeling. It was killing me that I couldn't help my best friend, but we needed to give her space.

"Is there anything we can do?" Ryan asked.

"Just get some sleep," I said, heading for the front doors. "Everyone needs to rest." Before going outside, I turned around to see they all had started to disperse back into their rooms. Once I knew they wouldn't bother Amy, I headed for the front gate to wait for Eric and Dr. Carson.

Twenty minutes went by, but it felt like an eternity. I wanted so badly to go in and check on Amy, but I forced myself to stand guard at the gate and wait. Soon enough, a truck came flying down the road at an incredible speed, and I pulled the gate open so it wouldn't have to stop outside. I knew they must have sped the entire way with the time they made. As the truck flew past me into the yard, I noticed it was Negan driving.

The truck came to a halt next to the pickup I had parked in front of the school doors. Eric and Dr. Carson jumped out of the right side and went sprinting into the building. I could see some sort of medical bag in Carson's hand. I let out a sigh of relief knowing that Amy would have the doctor at her side.

I closed the gate and turned to head back inside the school when my body was pushed up against the metal door and held there. With my breath knocked out of me, I stared up wide eyed as Negan pined me down. His eyes were blazing like fire and his brows were slanted down in rage.

"Where the fuck is she?!" he roared, gripping my arms tightly as he demanded to know where Charlotte was. His menacing face was inches from mine and he was seething—I had never seen him so furious.

My surprise transformed into anger and I yanked my arms from his grasp. Placing my hands on his chest, I shoved him backwards. He stumbled a bit, and I used the opportunity to get into his face.

"Don't you EVER do that to me again!" I yelled. I didn't care how angry he was. I wasn't about to let him throw me around.

"WHERE?!" he bellowed, trying to be intimidating. He stepped forward again, towering over me.

"SHE'S NOT HERE!" I yelled, stepping up onto my toes to get into his face. "What are you gonna do, Negan? Punish me? Or have I become a liability now?"

We were both huffing as we glared at one another. I wondered in that moment if I was pushing him too far. I could see from the look on his face that he was ready to explode. But Charlotte was gone and there was nothing he could do.

"We dropped her off in a random spot." I finally spoke and lowered my voice, but it still had an edge to it, as if I was daring him to challenge me.

"Why?" he growled through clenched teeth.

"Because I wasn't going to let you kill her." I held his hard gaze, not willing to back down. Being pressed against the gate had really frightened me, and adrenaline coursed through my veins.

"That wasn't your fucking decision to make!" He raised his voice again.

"Well there's nothing you can fucking do about it!" I mimicked his favorite swear word and went to step past him, but he grabbed my arm and stopped me in my place.

"You're fucking me over, you know that? She'll want revenge for her brother!"

"No! She doesn't want revenge. She wants to be done. It's done, Negan." Ripping my arm from his grasp, I began marching towards the school, not wanting to argue with him anymore.

"He tried to shoot you."

I froze in place with my back to him.

"That Mallrat bastard aimed that fucking gun at you. You saw it."

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes, remembering the sight of Derek leaning up against the office wall and aiming his pistol at me. I knew he wanted Negan dead, but seeing him threaten my life had changed everything in a single instant. I had tried to protect Derek, but he died thinking I was his enemy.

I didn't hear Negan approach me from behind, but he didn't touch me. I slowly turned to look up at him to see the anger was gone and replaced with something else entirely—something I never thought I'd see.

He looked scared.

"Derek threatened the only thing in this world I've come to give a shit about. That was his last mistake." Negan spoke with great conviction as he gazed into my eyes. "He tried to take you from me, Elle."

He wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know, but hearing him say it left me speechless. Perhaps in some sick way it was romantic—he had saved my life.

But it wasn't the way things were supposed to go.

"I just wanted to help," I whispered, hanging my head down. I worked so hard to try and find a solution that would benefit both Negan and Derek, but I failed. I couldn't take it back, and now there was no Greenbrier.

"I know." Negan took a step closer and went to reach out for me, but I stepped away, making him retract his hand.

"Simon brought a gun too. You didn't trust me," I accused him. My eyes began to water, but I fought the urge to cry, not wanting to appear weak. I still blamed myself too—if I had just checked Simon and Derek, I would have found the hidden weapons. I had been too complacent, and both men took advantage of that.

"I do trust you, Elle. It's King Mallrat I didn't fucking trust." He was serious, but was speaking gently, as if he was trying to assure me it wasn't my fault.

But it had been MY meeting.

I sighed, not wanting to discuss it anymore. There were much more important things I had to deal with.

"I need to go check on Amy," I mumbled, turning away from him again. I didn't mean to be so cold, but Derek had only been dead a couple hours. I was still dealing with the guilt of convincing Greenbrier to come to Doveport and forcing them all to go to the Sanctuary.

As I walked to the school, Negan followed me in. We didn't speak as we headed for Amy and Eric's bedroom. Before I could go in, the door opened and Vivienne stepped out. I glanced through the open door to see Eric had pulled up a chair and was sitting next to his wife, holding her hand. Dr. Carson was taking Amy's vitals and had a stern look on his face as he did. Eric glanced up and me and I smiled meekly at him. He simply nodded.

Pulling the door closed, I glanced over to see Negan had been looking inside the room too.

"Carson thinks all the stress from today triggered the labor," Vivienne explained. "He said the baby will be here by tomorrow. She's already dilated to four, so it's gonna be a long night."

"Thank you, Vivienne," I said sincerely. She was a godsend and Doveport was lucky to have her.

"Is Momma Bear gonna be alright?" Negan asked; his eyes were still fixated on the door.

"Amy's a tough girl," Vivienne said, looking at him. "She's gonna be okay, but she wants visitors kept to a minimum."

"Whatever she wants," I said, staring at the closed door. I wanted to spend the whole night with her, but Amy wanted her privacy, and I needed to get some rest. The adrenaline was wearing off and I felt beat.

Vivienne smiled reassuringly at me and then went back into the bedroom. As the door opened, my eyes went to Amy. She still looked determined as ever, and then the door closed, cutting off my view of her.

Letting out a deep sigh, I headed down the hall towards my room with Negan trailing behind. Too tired to continue our previous argument, I went over to my bed and flopped down onto it horizontally. Negan did the same, flopping down next to me. Our legs dangled over the side as we laid in the middle of the mattress. Staring up at the ceiling, I tried to ignore all the bad thoughts going through my head.

What if Amy dies during childbirth?

What if the baby doesn't make it?

I wouldn't be able to go on if something happened to her.

I was busy entertaining all the ugly possibilities when Negan's voice brought me back to the present.

"I used to be a gym teacher."

At first I didn't think I'd heard him correctly. Sitting up and turning over on my side, I found him looking at me. He was reading my face for a reaction and smirked the moment he saw I was confused.

"Yeah, I know. Me, a coach. Fucking shocker. Hard to imagine this ass in gym shorts, right? But I'm not fucking with you. I worked at a school that was a little bit bigger than this one. Had the damn referee whistle and everything."

I didn't say anything as I stared down at him. He had folded his hands behind his head to prop it up and was regarding the white ceiling.

"Lucille and I never had kids…" He trailed off, and I saw a bit of pain in his face as he said her name. I wondered if there was any regret there. Before I could ask, he continued.

"The high school brats were enough excitement for us. I even set up a fucking ping-pong table in my garage and the little shits would come over after school to play me. I kicked their sorry asses every time." He smiled as if lost in a memory, but then frowned, as if what he was remembering had suddenly turned sour.

At the mention of ping-pong, my mind went back to our first "date" when he had brought me to the sporting goods store and insisted I play a game with him. I wondered if that store was his way of recreating a piece of his life before. I'd have never guessed him to be a gym teacher of all things, but it also seemed strangely fitting. Negan had shown interest in the school gym the first day I had met him, and now it made sense.

"Do you wanna be a mom?" he asked and I looked back at him. He was staring right at me, waiting for my answer.

"I… I don't know. I always wanted to before, but I don't think I could now. The idea of bringing a baby into this world scares me." I was being honest with him—I always planned to have children, but now it just seemed pointless. I had enough people to worry about and didn't need to add to that number.

Negan studied me for a long time without saying anything. I wished I knew what he was thinking and then he spoke.

"It's not too late."

I smiled skeptically at him and waited for the punchline, but it never came. Once I realized he was being serious, my face scrunched in confusion.

He wants to have children with me?

Negan as a lover was one thing—Negan as a father was a whole other ball game. I didn't know how he would act around a child. Knowing him, he'd be very protective of his offspring.

Would that child inherit the Sanctuary and everything he built? If so, wouldn't that child be in constant danger? Negan said there were men that wanted him dead, so wouldn't those same men want his kid dead too?

I closed my eyes and tried to picture what Negan as a dad would look like. I imagined being in the big open room of the Sanctuary with Negan standing in the middle holding an iron.

Would he make his child watch?

The idea made my stomach flip and I let out a long sigh.

"We should get some sleep," I mumbled, laying back down onto the bed and trying to shake the mental image of an innocent child being subjected to such horror.

Exhaustion overcame me, and it wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep with Negan laying at my side.

Sitting up with a yawn, I reached over to turn on my nightstand lamp. Once the orange light flooded my room, I glanced around to find Negan was gone. I had been moved so I was laying vertically with my head propped up onto a pillow and a blanket was draped over my body. I knew it had to have been Negan who re-positioned me, and smiled to myself at the idea of him being so thoughtful.

Getting up from the bed, I quietly opened the door and was met with light shinning from the school windows. It was daytime, and my eyes grew wide as I realized I had slept much longer than intended.

Amy.

Glancing down the hall, I saw all the Doveporters were in the hallway. Some of them were standing and others were sitting up against the wall. Negan was with them with his arms crossed over his chest. Everyone was staring at Amy and Eric's bedroom door. Vivienne and Ryan were also in the hallway and they both turned to greet me as I approached. I was just about to ask how Amy was doing when a strange sound caught my attention.

A tiny cry.

I pushed past a few Doveporters who were gathered by the room and opened the door.

Amy was still propped up against the pillows with a bundle in her arms. Carson was slumped down into a chair. He looked exhausted, but smiled politely at me as I entered. Eric stood next to Amy and was proudly smiling down at the bundle in her arms.

Stepping forward slowly, I came around the other side of the bed and peeked over the bundle to see a little round face poking out of the swaddled blanket.

Tears filled my eyes and spilled down as I studied the pink cheeks and squinting grey eyes that were trying to adjust to the light.

"A healthy baby girl," Carson announced, breaking the silence. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the baby who was wailing softly. She had a soft tuft of brown hair on the top of her head and her tiny hand was wrapped around Amy's finger.

She was so beautiful.

"Abigail," Amy stated, staring down at her child with the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face. "Abby."

We both looked at each other and I grinned through my tears.

She was okay and so was the baby—it was all I could ask for.

Vivienne entered and came around my side of the bed. I moved out of her way so she could see our new community member. She began to cry as she smiled down at Abby.

"Hey there, little one," Vivienne cooed.

"We need to try breastfeeding soon, and you need to make sure to keep her warm," Carson explained, standing up from his chair. Amy nodded in understanding, but continued to study Abby's face mesmerized.

"Congratulations, Dad," I said softly, smiling at Eric. He grinned wide at me and then turned his attention back to his daughter. The sight made me feel euphoric; all the fear I'd had the previous day was gone and replaced with excitement and relief.

Our family was now complete.

Looking over at the door, I realized Negan was still waiting out in the hall. Stepping out of the room, I walked up to where he was leaning against the wall. He stood up straighter and smirked at the sight of me beaming.

"So that Pop-Tart finally finished toasting, huh?" he asked, immediately assigning one of his ridiculous nicknames to the baby. Taking him by surprise, I reached up to hook my arm around his neck and pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

In that moment, I felt eternally grateful to him.

Sure Negan was a violent man, and maybe he had broken the rules of my meeting with Derek, but it was because of him that Amy and Abby were okay. All of my fears were for nothing because Negan always made sure we were safe. And sure, he had been angry with me for helping Charlotte escape, but somehow I knew he would never hurt me for it.

I pulled away from our kiss to find him grinning.

"I think somebody has baby fever," he whispered, gazing deep into my eyes. I smiled at him and wrapped my fingers with his. Taking his hand, I began pulling him up from the wall.

"Elle, what the fuck…" he said hesitantly as I towed him with me.

Going into Amy and Eric's room, everyone looked up nervously from Abby's face to see Negan enter, except for Amy who couldn't seem to take her eyes off her child. Guiding an unsure Negan over to the front of the bed, Vivienne stepped out of our way so he could see the baby.

Everyone in the room watched as he stared down at Abby for a long time. His expression was hard to read and then he smiled with twinkling eyes.

"She's fucking perfect," he declared.

I grinned and stared down at Abby's little angelic face.

"Yes, she is."