Negan didn't come back that night, and when Charlotte woke to the sunlight streaming through the window of the empty room and found the bed cold next to her, she felt her heart sink. Thankfully Gabriel was still sleeping, so she had time to herself that she used to tidy up the room and unpack her things into the dresser alongside Negan's. She found a hairband among the items in the box and yanked her hair into a messy ponytail, brushing a few loose strands out of her face and getting on the floor to do a couple of quick push-ups. She continued lightly exercising – a combination of sit-ups, squats, lunges, and more push-ups – until she heard a soft noise from the parlor and stood. She pulled on a simple black dress, her curiosity getting the best of her as the noises continued to escalate, and moved to the door, placing her hand gently on the round metal knob. She pressed her ear to the wooden door in order to hear more clearly, but the noises were quieter now, so she silently turned the knob and pulled the door open. What she saw made her stomach drop.
On the couch that faced away from the bedroom, Charlotte saw Sarah sitting up, completely naked from what she could make out over the back of the couch, writhing over someone. Her head was thrown back and her hand was on her breast, and she saw Charlotte step into the room out of the corner of her eye. Charlotte moved closer to the couch in order to identify Sarah's partner, although her gut already told her who it was beneath her. Her suspicions were confirmed as she saw the familiar black hair and salt and pepper beard, and Sarah flashed her a wicked smile. The stone that weighed her gut down moments before turned into a fire, and before she could stop herself she had stormed to the other side of the couch, grabbed a fistful of blonde hair, and tore Sarah off of Negan and onto the carpeted parlor floor. She straddled the woman's bare waist, pinned her arms beneath her legs, and began whaling on Sarah, hitting everything she could reach, but mostly focusing on her face. In a matter of seconds, her knuckles were covered in blood. She was unsure of the exact damage she was doing, but she was sure Sarah's nose was at least broken, and she desperately wanted to do more, but a strong pair of arms had found their way around her waist and were now hauling her off of Sarah.
Charlotte began kicking and flailing her arms, screaming, "I will kill you, bitch! I will fucking kill you!" she was thrown down on the couch and Negan stepped in front of her, blocking her from the other woman. She breathed heavily, absolutely seething, and glared up at Negan.
"What the fuck was that? You just beat the ever-living shit out of Sarah here!" Instead of finding anger in his eyes, Charlotte was surprised to find a hint of amusement in them. She looked at him quizzically and he waved a hand, dismissing Sarah without another word to her. The woman looked shocked at his rude gesture, but gathered up her clothes and ran off. As soon as the door slammed behind her, Negan turned back to Charlotte, raising his eyebrows to prompt a response from her.
She huffed, shrugging her shoulders and adjusting herself on the couch so one of her legs was tucked under her and she leaned back on the couch. "I don't really like her much."
"You really expect me to believe you just started whaling on that chick because 'you don't like her'? Nah, I'm thinking there's definitely more to this story, so you're gonna tell me right now, okay?"
Charlotte rolled her eyes and looked away toward the window. "I can't stand her. I can't stand to hear her stupid voice, I can't stand to see her horrible face, I-" she stopped, casting her eyes downward, "I can't stand to see her with you. Negan, remember why I started staying here with you? How one of your wives threatened me?"
His face hardened with realization, but he let her continue. He wanted to be completely sure before he reacted, and her next words made his blood boil.
"It was her. It was Sarah. She came to me in the middle of the night and she had a knife and she really looked like she was going to do it. And when I saw her with you, she gave me this shit-eating grin and I lost it."
Negan's fist clenched and he bent down to give Charlotte a chaste kiss on the cheek. "I'll be right back. There are some things I need to attend to." He stood, but seemed to change his mind and leaned back down to kiss her deeply, letting his hand ghost against her cheek. "I will come back."
He made his way to the door and rested his hand on the knob, turning slightly back to her with a trace of a smile on his lips. "My little Warrior Princess." And with that, he left her in the parlor alone to massage her quickly bruising knuckles. She threw her head back on the couch and exhaled sharply, closing her eyes.
She let her head fall so she was facing the wall opposite the windows and was thrilled when she caught sight of a plate full of fresh fruit. She decided to grab Gabriel, as the racket had probably woken him, to bring him out to the parlor so he could eat with her. She entered the large bedroom and walked to the crib, where the child stared up at her, blowing bubbles and smiling. Charlotte cooed her greeting and picked him up out of the crib, heading back to the plate of fruit and grabbing some things they could both eat.
Setting Gabriel down on the couch with a pillow propping him up, Charlotte peeled one of the bananas that she had grabbed and pushed a small piece into his open mouth, taking a bite for herself next. A small bit of drool dribbled down his chin and dripped onto his bare belly, and Charlotte swiped it up with her index finger and wiped it on her dress before serving him another bite. By the time they had finished off both bananas that she had grabbed, the baby had mysteriously become covered in spit and mashed banana, and Charlotte couldn't help but laugh.
The baby's face brightened in a smile that matched her own, and she heaved him up on her hip to bring him into the bathroom for a bath. She filled the large bathtub with a few inches of water, undressed herself and the baby, and climbed in the tub. She sat loosely cross-legged with Gabriel supported on her calves and began the wash them both, gently pouring water over him until the aftermath of his breakfast was cleared away. As she drained the water from the tub and began swaddling him in a small towel, she noticed a series of bumps on the backs of his thighs and butt. Her brow furrowed in concern and she lifted both of them out of the tub, hurrying to the bed and setting him down, running back to the bathroom to grab a towel and wrapped it around herself as she returned. She opened the baby's towel and inspected his legs a little more carefully, and sure enough the bumps were between his legs as well.
When Gabriel started to fuss, Charlotte clipped a diaper on him and tried cheering him up, giving him raspberries and tickling lightly under his chin. His cries quickly turned to cackles, and she continued blowing raspberries on his stomach until she heard a low chuckle from the open door of the bedroom. She turned, her hands still on the baby, to see Negan watching her from the door with a strange glint in his eyes.
"Hey," she breathed, standing up. "Everything go okay?"
Negan held up a hand, "Let's not talk about that right now. We'll just say it's being handled."
Charlotte nodded and picked Gabriel up, "Alright, that's fine. Is Doctor Carson available right now? I found some bumps on his legs and I want to get them checked out."
Concern flooded Negan's face and he quickly approached the two of them. "Is he okay? What kind of bumps?"
"I don't know, I've never really dealt with babies before. They don't look super serious, but I still want to get them checked just in case. That, and it would be good to have a normal check-up for him, to make sure he's healthy and everything."
Negan nodded, "Go ahead and get dressed and we can go right now. I'll put some clothes on him and we can get going as soon as you're ready."
Charlotte pulled on a small pair of shorts and a tank top, then turned to watch in amusement as Negan struggled to pull a faded green onesie over Gabriel's head. When he finished, he cast a dark look over in her direction, obviously annoyed that she had chosen to watch instead of help him. They walked in silence to the infirmary, where they found the door wide open and Doctor Carson thumbing through a book.
"Doctor Carson!" Negan boomed, "May we come in?"
The small man stood quickly and set his book down, "Of course, come on in. What can I help you with today?"
Negan motioned to Charlotte, who moved forward to set Gabriel down on the examination table. "I found some bumps on his legs today and wanted to have them checked out just in case."
Doctor Carson smiled stiffly at her and approached the child, snapping the onesie and diaper open and lifting his legs so he could get a better look. When he was satisfied with what he saw, he moved to a drawer behind the table and took out a small white tub. "My dear, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Young-" his eyes prompted her for a name.
"Gabriel."
"Of course. Young Gabriel here has a little diaper rash, which is extremely common in infants and very easily treatable." He handed her the tub of ointment, "Just slather this on him every time you change his diaper and it should clear up in no time."
Charlotte smiled, obviously relieved that nothing serious was wrong with him. "Could you weigh him or something? To make sure he's healthy."
The doctor nodded, snapped Gabriel up, and took him over to a scale. "Unfortunately we don't have the correct equipment for an infant specifically, but I'm sure we can make do with what we do have here. May I ask how old he is?"
Charlotte dug through her memory, struggling to remember roughly when Gabriel was born. "Seven months, maybe? Let's see, I think he was born in December and it's July now, right? So yeah, about seven months."
"Then he seems just about perfect for his age, I'd say." Carson handed Gabriel over to Charlotte with a smile, but Negan stepped in between them and took him instead.
"One more think, Doc." Negan's voice cut through, and he gave Charlotte a gentle push toward the doctor. "Ellen Ripley here recently took it upon herself to beat the shit out of someone and I want you to check her out and make sure she didn't hurt herself in the process."
Carson nodded and gestured for Charlotte to take a seat on the table, and Negan bent down to whisper in her ear. "Come back to our room when you're finished here." He nuzzled his cheek roughly into hers, his beard scratching her skin and making her shudder.
Negan left with the child in his arms, making his way through the concrete halls to find Dwight. He threw open a door to the yard, sunlight pouring across his face, and found him standing next to his newest recruit, Eugene, ordering around a few other Saviors.
"Dwighty boy!" he called, clapping his hand on the smaller man's shoulder. "Did you set up that little thing I asked for earlier?"
Dwight set his jaw and cast a wary glance at Eugene. "Yeah, everything'll be ready when you are. I've already talked to the others and they're on board. Most of them aren't happy about it, but they don't really have a say, do they?"
"That's my boy," he clapped Dwight's back once more, "Oh, and I'm gonna need someone to watch this little monster while all of the fun stuff is going down."
Dwight looked uncomfortable at this, but nodded quickly. "Yeah, yeah of course. No problem."
"Good man." Negan affirmed. He gave Eugene a slight nod and went back inside, heading back to his suite. He spent the next hour or so on the floor with Gabriel, keeping him entertained with his toys and stuffed animals. He was nuzzling a small sheep stuffed animal into the child's neck, making the baby cackle like crazy, when the parlor door cracked open to reveal Charlotte. Her knuckles were wrapped in white bandages and she was grinning from ear to ear at the sight of Negan being so soft. She knelt down beside him and stroked a hand over the baby's dark hair before turning back to Negan and scratching her fingers gently through his beard. He smiled warmly at her and leaned over to kiss her, pulling his fingers through the hair at the base of her neck. He then hauled himself to his feet, pulled Gabriel up on his chest, and offered a hand to Charlotte.
"Come on, I have something for you."
She grabbed his hand and he helped her to her feet before leading her to the bedroom, where she saw a large black mound heaped on the bed. She approached it to find it was a huge pile of clothing and turned back to throw Negan a confused look.
"We're having a sort of ceremony tonight and I thought you might want to wear something a little nicer. I had one of my men bring up whatever he thought might fit you, and I thought black was your color." He said the last bit with a dark smirk.
Charlotte rolled her eyes and breathed out a laugh, picking up the first piece of clothing her hand rested on. It was a strapless dress that she could immediately tell would be too small for her, so she tossed it to the side and moved on. When she had sorted through everything, she was left with two piles: things that would fit and things that wouldn't. The former, sadly, was a much smaller pile, but she quickly changed in and out of each dress until she found her favorite. It was a vintage style, halter necked dress with a high, cinched waist, and came down just above her knees.
"I think this is the one." She spun around so the bottom of the dress flared.
A low whistle came from Negan. "God damn woman, if I didn't have this kid right now…" he exhaled and the smirk came back to his lips.
"You're a horrible man." Charlotte laughed, coming up to place a hand on his shoulder. "So, if I may ask, what exactly is this 'ceremony' you speak of?" she cocked an eyebrow.
He traced a finger under her chin, lifting her face to look her in the eye. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise. Therefore, both the effect and the special moment would be lost."
She snorted, "Alright, Mr. Secretive," she gave him a quick peck before moving to change back into her clothes, "why don't you show me a little around this place? So I'm not just wandering blindly every time I leave the room."
Negan watched in longing as Charlotte's tank top slipped over her belly, and when she turned to face him in order to leave, his lower lip was captured between his teeth and his eyes seemed to devour her. She blushed and pushed past him to the door and he followed hesitant, giving Gabriel a mock grumpy look as he led her out into the concrete halls of the Sanctuary.
Negan showed her everything to the makeshift automotive garage to the market and anything in between. He brought her to a stall in the market where an old woman was selling jewelry and coaxed her to look at the many items the woman had.
"What's your favorite color?" he prodded.
"Red." She answered without thinking. Negan nodded to the woman, who proceeded to pull everything she had with red in it onto her main table. He gestured down to the merchandise on the table and Charlotte hesitated.
"Pick out whatever you'd like, little Warrior Queen. I'd say you earned it." He winked and she proceeded to pick up each piece of jewelry individually, looking over each one before she found a ruby necklace with a silver chain that she decided she liked. It was simple; the chain was thin and the gems were small and delicate, and when she nodded in satisfaction, Negan thanked the vendor, scribbled something down on a piece of paper, and continued around the market. They grabbed a few woolen blankets that Charlotte liked, along with a small octopus stuffed animal for Gabriel and a couple of disposable razors.
They returned to the room with a little over an hour to spare before Negan's secret ceremony and Charlotte disappeared immediately to the bathroom to shower and shave, leaving Negan to once again entertain Gabriel. She decided to keep her hair dry so it would be easier to style and quickly finished in the bathroom, emerging in her towel to smile as she watched Negan play with Gabriel on the bed. She made her way over to them from behind him and placed a hand on his back, propping a knee up on the bed next where he sat. She saw him smile and he turned to face her, placing a large hand on her thigh and rubbing small circles on the soft skin with his thumb. He slid his hand to the underside of her thigh and, maintaining eye contact with her the whole time, Negan leaned down and pressed his lips to the spot where his thumb was before. Charlotte sighed softly and pulled her fingers through his dark hair, her eyes closing slightly. His eyes smiled devilishly up into hers and he nipped hard, earning a cry from her, and she yanked his hair so his head was tilted up toward hers.
"Ouch." She challenged through gritted teeth. He let a small chuckle escape him before moving up to capture her lips. The kiss was deep but broken too quickly, and Charlotte grunted in frustration as Negan stood and made his way into the bathroom to get himself ready for the evening. Charlotte dressed quickly and plaited her hair into a simple braid before pulling a black onesie and sweatpants on Gabriel as he gurgled happily. Negan was quick in the bathroom, and as he emerged he came up behind her with the necklace in hand, placing a warm kiss on the side of her neck before clasping the chain around her neck. He let his hand rest at the base of her neck, massaging lightly, until she turned to face him and pulled her arms around his neck.
A soft knock sounded at the door, and Negan begrudgingly moved to open it, revealing a small dark haired woman that Charlotte recognized to be Sherry. The woman held a small cloth bag out to Negan, who eagerly snatched it up, thanked her, and returned to Charlotte. She took the bag and zipped it open, revealing makeup in such a large amount that she was left to wonder how the hell they had come across it.
"Thank you, but I don't really know what to do with it." She explained shyly, and Sherry took a hesitant step into the room.
"I can help," she offered, holding out her hand. "I've helped a few of the other girls out with it before, so I'm not exactly new to it." Sherry offered a small smile, which Charlotte eagerly returned before handing over the bag.
"Alrighty then. I guess the kid and I'll give you two a little privacy while you get all dolled up." Negan picked Gabriel up and moved the two of them to the the next twenty minutes, Sherry busied herself with adorning Charlotte's eyes with makeup. She was using mostly reds and blacks to make her blue-gray eyes stand out more, and for the most part leaving the rest of her face alone, save for the tiniest hint of blush on her cheeks. When Sherry had finished, she stepped back and smiled.
"Beautiful," was all she said. Charlotte tucked her chin and blushed.
"Thank you, Sherry. Really."
Sherry placed a hand on Charlotte's shoulder. "Of course, Charlotte," and moved to the parlor door. She placed her hand on the doorknob and turned slightly, continuing with "You know, I've never seen him act the way he does when he's around you. You're pretty special, kid. And it was about time someone kicked Sarah's ass." She smiled and left the room.
A few moments later, Negan reentered, smiling. He whistled and approached her, Gabriel resting his head on his shoulder. She offered to take the baby, but instead Negan held out his arm for her, which she gladly looped hers through.
"Ready?" he prompted, leading her through the halls. She nodded, a nervous pit forming in her stomach, but she smiled through it, trying to mentally prepare herself for whatever was waiting for her.
Hello friends, this chapter is long AF but cool :)
Had a total mental breakdown earlier this week, but I'm good now. On a different note, spring semester for me here at college is almost done, so I'm super happy and looking forward to being able to write much more often!
WHAT DID YOU GUYS THINK OF THE FINALE OMG
Tbh I'm really sick of hearing people bitch about TWD and the writer's decisions and tiny errors that literally no one cares about? I saw a post today complaining about how the episode "focused on a relationship that no one cared about" like excuuuuuuussseeee me? Sasha and Abraham were adorable and their relationship was super important to the events of this episode because it influenced like all of her decisions? And they were adorable AF, so fight me over it
I just have a lot of emotions over this show and I need someone to talk to me about it until the next season premiere
ILY, thanks for reading