When Dwight woke up with Cindy this time, he didn't have the usual rush of guilt that usually followed. Instead, he was only comfortable, knowing that this time, he wasn't just using her or taking advantage of her for something that she didn't understand. And remembering that she really loved him made him pull her sleeping form closer. She was there of her own choice and she loved him and she was his wife, and if he couldn't let himself be happy with that, he would never be able to be happy.

He was going to be happy though, and if ever he started to doubt this again, he would catch himself and remember to accept it. Their relationship may have had a rough start, but she had fallen in love with him because of who he was and that was the way it was supposed to be. She meant what she said, and he wouldn't have to be alone as long as he stuck with her, and that was enough for him.

~X~

All Cindy had wanted from the beginning was to be Dwight's wife. It had been hard, having him tell her that he wanted to wait, and she had always known that he suspected she didn't really love him. Things had only gotten harder when her feelings began to change, and then she found that she wanted to be with him for greater reasons than her own sense of purpose.

Everything had worked itself out now, though, and he had finally told her that he loved her as well. Not only did she have the pride in knowing that she was doing her job well, but she also had Dwight, and that felt a hell of a lot more important. She had been staying with him for a long time and had gotten used to waking up in his bed, but this was the first time that she had woken up because he tightened his hold on her, and this was the first time she saw him smiling down at her like that.

"Sleep well?" he asked, when he noticed that she was awake.

"Yes, sir," she replied, surprising herself when she giggled. It was the happiest she could remember being.

"That's good," he said. "Me too. Really don't want to get up at all today. You think anyone would notice if I just hid inside all day?"

"Of course they would! You know how important you are." She was able to tell now when he was joking, but she still felt the need to answer seriously, just to remind him of how admirable his job was.

"Don't remind me," he mumbled. "You're just making staying in bed sound even better, you know?"

"You're not as bad as you think you are. I'm not just saying that because I love you, either."

Dwight chuckled and shook his head. "You're too sweet for your own good, you know that?" She loved it when he complimented her more than she could possibly say, and the rest of the morning was just as wonderful to her. When he finally decided to get up, she talked with him while he got dressed and kissed him goodbye before he left. She couldn't wait for her husband to get home that night.

It wasn't at all about the job anymore, and she knew it. She knew that she loved him for completely selfish purposes, but she wondered if that was so bad. Maybe she wasn't being as selfish as she thought, and maybe it wasn't even that she was supposed to be there for her leader but that she was supposed to be there for the one she loved. And, if that were true, then it wasn't so selfish at all, and the other wives hadn't done anything wrong by going after what they wanted.

Amber had run away to be with someone she loved, and that was finally starting to make since to Cindy, and Eileen had been so intent on getting Negan back that she had risked her own life. If Sherry really loved the man she was with now, and if Nina was looking for that on her own now, then they were doing the right thing as well. And even if they were all being selfish about this, even if Cindy was being selfish about her feelings for Dwight, it didn't matter so much to her anymore. She hadn't been this happy in a very long time, and she couldn't imagine there being anything wrong with that.

But as she waited for him to get home, she also couldn't believe that she was being entirely selfish. She wanted to do something special for him when he got back, just to celebrate everything that had happened, and spent the day trying to figure out what he would like. It was a bit easier now that she had spent time with him and figured out what some of his favorite things to do were, but, for the first time, she found herself wishing things were like they had been before, back when the world wasn't a mess and it would have been possible to cook him his favorite meal or something like that.

But she wouldn't have met him if things had stayed like that, she knew, and so she figured not having special ways to surprise him was a small price to pay. She would have to take a little more time to figure out what she could do for him, and wished that she could ask one of the other girls what they would do. Eileen would have been her first choice, and for the first time, she felt a strong sadness remembering her fate. She had thought of her as stupid for doing that for so long, but now that she realized her motivation, she regretted that.

From what she had heard, Amber was living in one of the other communities now, and she knew better than to go to Sherry about something like this. Her best bet would have to be Nina, and she hoped that she would have a chance to visit her and get caught up soon. For now, she would just wait for him at the door and ask him what he'd like for her to do, and if he told her that she could do whatever she wanted like he sometimes did, then she would just have to guess and hope for the best. All in all, it didn't sound like a bad night to her.

Thinking about the other girls and where they had ended up had her thinking that they were all lucky if they were happy, and that they were all well off, but as soon as she began to think that, she began to think that she had still ended up better off than them. Not because she was the one married to the leader now, but because she was the one married to Dwight, and she couldn't think of anything better.

It had been hard for her to find her place after Negan was defeated, but what she was proud of the place she had found. Going to Dwight had been the right decision, and he had made her the happiest she could remember being, and she was so glad to know that he returned her feelings now. She had a place with him, and even if it wasn't her job, she wouldn't trade it for anything.

A/N: Uhhh sort of a happy ending I guess? At least she's happy, even if he's just settling. There's gonna be a sequel, but if you want it to keep this happy ending, you probably don't want to read the sequel.