The living room was dark when Charlotte's eyes opened, and it was with a small frown that she realized she was alone in the room. She heard the clanging of the main gate being opened and the crunching of tires on gravel, shortly followed by heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. She sat up quickly when she saw Rick bolt out the front door, and a small smile flickered to her lips when she felt a thick blanket slide off of her, thinking to herself that one of the boys must have been thoughtful enough to make sure she stayed warm. She heard more footsteps running down the stairs and saw Michonne heading after Rick, then Carl came, glancing quickly in her direction and when he saw she was awake, came over to her. He knelt down in front of her and smiled, placing a hand on the couch next to her.

"Hey, what's going on?" Charlotte spoke softly, resting her hand on Carl's arm.

"He's here." Carl's voice was almost a whisper. Charlotte felt a small twist of fear in her belly. 'It was too early', she thought. "Listen, Dad wants you to stay in the house. Go into Judith's room and stay there with her, you both will be safe as long as you stay in there, okay?" She nodded, gripping Carl's arm and swinging her legs around so they hung off the couch and she was facing him fully now.

"Be safe, Carl. Please don't do anything stupid, don't give him a reason to antagonize us. I love you." She whispered back, pulling him into a hug.

"I love you too, Char." He squeezed her in return, then stood up and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead before sprinting out the door. Grabbing the blanket, Charlotte made her way up the stairs into Judith's room and locked the door behind her. The young girl was asleep, so she kept quiet as she made her way to the large window opposite the door. She slowly pulled a small part of the curtains back in order to see what was happening outside, and was greeted with the sight of a black truck surrounded by two large supply trucks. At least fifteen men with guns stood around him, a man that Charlotte had never directly encountered, but had learned a while back to be extremely wary of. His leather jacket shone in the lights around the area and a red scarf was wrapped around his neck. A baseball bat was held in his right hand, swinging back and forth while a wicked smile was spread across his lips. She saw him conversing with Rick, making wide gestures as he spoke with the bat and grinning like a madman. His eyes flicked up to where she was peeking from the window and she jumped back, pulling the curtain quickly closed.

"Charlotte, what's the matter?" a small voice called out beside her. She turned to see Judith sitting up in bed, looking worried, so she rushed over to her and wrapped her arms around her.

"Nothing, Judith, everything's okay." Charlotte whispered, picking the young girl up. The two sat in silence, Charlotte gently stroking Judith's hair until she felt her fall asleep. She lay them both on the bed and closed her eyes, praying that when she opened them again, it would be daytime and the Saviors would be gone.

"Well, Rick" Negan's deep voice was the only sound in the center of the town, "You sure did not disappoint me this time! You've got some good quality shit this time! I think a reward is in order here!"

Rick was scared to hear what this "reward" would be, and for good reason.

"I've decided that my present to you for being so good these past few months is to relieve you of a mouth to feed, so to speak." Negan's smile grew and Rick's blood ran cold. "I've decided that I'd like a new wife, so I'm gonna take one of your lovely ladies here, if they so choose."

Rick's hands began to shake, "Negan I- "

Negan held up a finger, "Now here's where you come in, Rick. I want you to round up all the single ladies in this joint," he gestured with Lucille, "have 'em shower up and make themselves look all pretty, then tonight I'll take my pick. That sound reasonable to you?"

When Rick didn't speak, Negan leaned in closer to his face, his expression becoming deadly, annunciating each syllable slowly, "Does that sound reasonable, Rick?" and Rick forced a nod, terrified of the repercussions if he fought back. Negan's smile returned and he smacked his hand on Rick's shoulder, turned him around and pushed him toward the town.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but loud footsteps coming up the stairs startled her to the point where she stood, placing herself protectively in front of Judith where she lay on the bed. Someone tried the handle and, realizing the door was locked, swiftly knocked on the door. She froze, not daring to make a sound.

"Charlotte, open the door. It's me, it's Rick." His gruff voice held a hint of fear, and Charlotte quickly unlocked the door and flung her arms around Rick's neck in a hug. His strong hands pulled her back, and she saw the fear in his eyes now too.

"Rick, what's wrong?" she was almost afraid to ask. His eyes welled up and he placed his hands on her shoulders in a failed attempt to comfort her.

"You gotta come with me, Charlotte. You need to get cleaned up, I'll explain everything."

Charlotte was horrified as Rick told her what was going to happen later than night. He was sitting on top on the toilet as she washed up in the shower, and at one point she swore she heard him choke up. Once she was finished, she wrapped herself in a towel and sat on the edge of the tub, her head in her hands. Rick leaned in closer to her.

"I won't let him pick you, Charlotte, I swear it." He said, and she knew he meant it. She nodded, tears in her eyes, and stood up. Rick followed suit and opened the bathroom door, leading her to her room. When they entered, she saw a bright red dress laying on her bed and blinked back tears.

"I'll be downstairs when you're ready." Rick said from the door, and closed it softly as he exited. Charlotte looked down at the dress and dropped her towel, pulling on a pair of underwear before stepping into the dress. It was fitted around her chest but hung loose from there, and though it did not fit her perfectly by any means, Charlotte accepted that she didn't look horrible in it. She let out a huff of frustration when she attempted to zip the dress up and the zipper wouldn't budge. Not wanting to walk all the way downstairs to Rick, she made her way through the hall upstairs and knocked softly on the last door to the right.

"Come in" a soft voice called out, and Charlotte opened the door. Carl turned to face her, his lips forming a sad smile when he saw her in the dress.

"Char, you look beautiful." He said, coming toward her and embracing her.

She returned his smile and gestured to her back. "Zipper's stuck, can you help me?" she walked further into the room, closing the door behind her and turning around. Carl fidgeted with the zipper for a minute before it finally moved and zipped to her mid back. She turned around to face him, placing her hands on his arms and rubbed them soothingly.

"Char, I don't want it- "

"I know, Carl. I know." Their eyes both filled with tears and Carl pressed his forehead against hers, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and bringing her closer to him. She gripped his arms and sniffled, and she felt Carl's hand move up to the side of her face, his thumb softly stroking her cheek. He tipped her head up slightly so their eyes locked; hers soft and comforting and his filled with worry. She gently squeezed his arm with one hand as the other made its way to the back of his neck, gently pulling his face down so his lips met hers. Their grips on each other tightened as they kissed, both of them recognizing that this may very well be a goodbye but neither of them wanting to accept that as fact. Carl was holding her waist so tightly that Charlotte was sure bruises were forming, but neither of them cared. They kissed until both of their lips felt swollen and when they pulled back from each other, Carl pressed another kiss to her forehead.

"I should get going." Charlotte's voice was hoarse from holding back tears, "I love you, Carl."

He nodded and hugged her tightly once more. "I love you too."

Charlotte left his room in silence and made her way down the stairs to see Rick waiting in the foyer next to the front door. He smiled and his eyes filled with tears when he saw her, and he opened his arms to pull her into a hug when she reached him.

"You look gorgeous. You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Rick nodded and opened the door, stepping out into the firelit courtyard where other women were beginning to line up. Charlotte shivered at the crisp night air and followed suit, going to join the other women. She saw Carl and Michonne step out of the house shortly after, and they went to stand with Rick and the other men and women with husbands of their own. The women were standing between them and a house that used to belong to a woman named Olivia, where five Saviors with weapons were standing guard. Another stood near the front door, and when she received a nod from a man out front, she casually rapped on the door, a fiendish smirk on her lips. Not moments later, the door flung open and out stepped the leader of the Saviors in his trademark leather jacket and red scarf, a devil's grin on his face. He motioned to his guards, and in turn they aimed their weapons at the women and ordered them to line up, an order which they quickly obeyed.

"Ladies, ladies!" Negan called out. "Wow! Don't you all just look beautiful." He drew out the last word, approaching them like a tiger approaching its prey.

"Let's begin."

A/N: Hey guys! I hope you like where this story has begun, because I've got really good ideas for where I want to take it. Lots of character development and fun stuff ;)

Anyway, how'd you like tonight's midseason finale? I won't give any spoilers, but I thought it was really great. Lots of fun Negan stuff, gotta love Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I'm out of school for a while now, so I should be updating pretty regularly, so just sit back and enjoy! Thanks for reading!