A/N Sunday's season premiere gave me a racing heart, a lot of tears, and a ton of inspiration, so here's the next chapter! The season premiere actually played right into my plans and vision for my story, so it will end up slightly AU like all stories with an OC, but not too far off track. If you're enjoying my story, please, please leave a review. I like to interact with my readers. I gained a ton of follows and favorites after Chapter 3 (thank you all for that too!) but only 2 reviews.

aishiteru naru: Thank you for your review, I hope you like this next chapter!

Kiwi Mania: I'm glad you like my Negan! I love him, and hate him at the same time, especially after the season premiere, so I'm trying to keep my Negan as true to his character as I can. Enjoy this chapter!

Crimson couldn't stop herself from shivering as Negan's breath caressed her ear. She wanted to snap back at him immediately, but didn't trust her voice to stay strong. She wasn't some man crazy, weak willed woman who fell for seduction techniques, even from handsome men. So what was Negan doing to her? She took a deep breath, and then another, before she placed her hand on Negan's chest and pushed him back.

"No," she said, her voice far more confident than she felt. "You can put a paper bag over one of your 'wives' heads and pretend it's me, but that's the closest you're ever going to get."

Negan grinned at her, that charming grin that left a sadistic twinkle in his eye. "I really like you."

She jumped up in the truck to wait before she said, "Of course you do, men always want what they can never have." Then she pulled the truck door shut on his smiling face. She could see his head as he walked around to the front of the truck to give orders. The voices were muffled through the thick glass and heavy metal of the military vehicle, but she watched as Mike and the other two that had been restrained were hauled up into the truck to her right. The rest of the men climbed into the vehicles on either side. When the driver's side door opened, Negan pulled himself up in one, quick, graceful movement and started the truck up.

"Where's everyone else?" Crimson asked.

"Well Doll, just me and you for the rest of the drive. Gives us a chance to get to know each other a little better," he winked at her before he turned back to the road. Their truck took the lead, and she heard the other two fall in line behind them. "So, what were you planning to do with that little Smith & Wesson stored between those gorgeous tits?"

She let out a frustrated sigh at his continued crudeness before she answered, "It's a lot easier to disappear into the night with a weapon in hand than it is to find one and then get out."

"So you weren't planning to use it on me?"

"Not unless you gave me a reason to."

"I gotta admit, I was a little worried when you pointed that right at me. No one's pointed a gun at me and lived."

"I wasn't pointing it at you, I was pointing it behind you. But if saving your ass comes along with threats, next time I'll just let them take a nice, meaty chunk out of your neck."

"Now, now, no need to be like that. Just watch where you point your weapons, if I let you have them back."

"If you let me?" she raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"You gotta earn my trust to get them back sweetheart, prove you deserve them more than someone else. I always have room on my team for a good fighter, but you're also gonna be our only Doc, so I gotta take good care of you."

"Give me back my guns and my bow and I'll take care of myself."

"I'm sure you can, but that's not happening yet. So you keep yourself behind our walls at Sanctuary and you'll be just fine. Between my handsome self, Simon, and my other lieutenants we run a tight ship. No one, dead or alive, gets in or out without me knowing about it."

"That's what they all say, until a gate fails or a wall falls and a herd comes walking in."

"Not gonna happen at Sanctuary. You'll see when we get there."

Crimson turned her head to stare out of the passenger window. She watched his speed, and calculated the distance they were driving. It was important to know exactly where you were at all times. Getting lost is how you ran into a group or town you shouldn't and got yourself into trouble. So far they'd traveled about 40 miles from where they'd picked her up.

"Where were you headed when Dwight found you?" Negan asked.

"I was looking for shelter for the night," she answered. "I found it's dangerous to stay in one place for too long when you're on your own, so I just wandered looking for supplies and shelter."

"I can't see you just walking around hoping for the best. That's a shit plan, and you seem like a planner. Planners always have a plan B."

"My plan B is sleeping in the trees. Not comfortable, but it's safe."

"Fair enough. Don't want to give out all your survival secrets, don't trust me yet, I get it. But give it some time, you'll see I'm not the fucking bad guy you think I am right now. My people love me, you will too." She glanced over in time to see him winking at her, again.

"What's your story?" Crimson asked. "You're asking me all these questions, but I don't know much about you. You found a baseball bat with some barbed-wire and some guys willing to follow your lead after the end of the world?"

"There's not much to tell. I picked up a few people on my way out of town, found Sanctuary, and it's just been growing since," he replied. "In this world, people want safety, security, and they want a leader. I'm smart, quick to act, honest as fuck, and just look at this smile," he flashed his teeth in a big grin, "who wouldn't want to follow this?" She turned back to the window, signaling the end of the conversation.

Negan was silent for a few minutes, glancing over to observe her in the silence.

"What's your real name Doc?" he finally asked.

She turned to face him before she answered, "Crimson. Everyone I knew before this is dead. Just like you, I'm not the same person, so no other name matters anymore."

"It's that fucking bad?" Negan laughed at her. Crimson couldn't help but to crack a smile before she shook her head and resumed her mileage count, using unique trees, rocks, and cars pushed off to the side of the road as markers. "Ah ha, I knew I could get a damned smile on that pretty face before the end of the trip!"

Crimson made a mental note when he turned down a well-worn road. The white and yellow paint was long gone, and the road was wide enough that the large, military vehicles had plenty of clearance. They travelled for a few minutes before Negan spoke.

"We're home."

Crimson looked up to the windshield to see a large industrial building. It appeared to have been some sort of factory before the apocalypse, a tall building, maybe 10 stories in the center with some shorter buildings attached around the sides. It was made of concrete, steel, and a lot of glass with a few large smoke stacks. It was surrounded by tall and heavy chain link fencing with a row of razor wire across the top. The trees had opened up to a large parking lot. When she looked closer, she could see a row of dead heads along the fence line.

She was about to make a smart remark about his men failing miserably at their jobs when she realized the dead heads were either chained to the fence, or impaled on some sort of spear, and all were unable to move other than stretching their arms out, hoping to reach a human. There were even heads set on pikes.

"What the…" she couldn't help but speak out loud.

"Fucking amazing, isn't it?" Negan said.

"That… was not the word I was going to use."

"I started putting them out there when we had some fucking defectors and thieves run out, fuckers thought they could get away with it. I thought they'd make a nice example for everyone, remind them what happens when your dumb-as-shit ass steal from me and my Saviors. Then we realized they actually cut down how many biters wander over this way. These ones cover up our smell or some shit like that."

"Well, it definitely makes the place seem so… welcoming."

Negan grinned, "You're gonna love it, I promise." Two large gates swung open as the trucks approached, and shut just as quickly after they rolled through. She could see a couple of women hanging laundry on a line to dry. There were a few kids playing kickball. Men patrolled the fence line with rifles. Everyone was clean, clothes in perfect condition.

Negan pulled the truck up in line with several other military vehicles and shut it off.

"Stick by my side Doll, I'll take you to get cleaned up," he said. "But I'll give you my own personal fucking tour on the way there."

Crimson nodded, and then opened the door to hop down to the ground. The concrete was clean, well maintained but had a few cracks with some blades grass peeking through. Negan walked around the back of the truck and offered her his right arm as she approached. She looked at it, but made no move to take it.

"Sweetheart, when I offer you my arm, the polite thing to do is take it," he said. "I fucking hate being disrespected."

Crimson clenched her jaw but slid her arm through his. He smiled again.

"That's not so bad, now is it?"

"Can we just get this over with, please?" she questioned. He answered by stepping forward. He was significantly taller than her, with much longer legs, and had to take 2 steps for every 1 of his. The other men were following behind.

"Simon, take a couple men to bring those three to holding, we'll deal with them later. I'll escort Crimson to her new quarters. Everyone else is dismissed. Go eat, get some pussy, whatever, you all earned it today."

A chorus of "Yeah Boss" answered him.

He was silent as they approached the front doors of the building, but she could see him smiling, the smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. The kids playing kickball stopped as soon as they saw him, and looked down at the ground. She didn't realize they were bowing their heads until they reached the women hanging laundry and they actually dropped to their knees, bowing their heads to the ground.

"This is the main entrance," he said as a man pulled open the door for them, his head also bowing. "There are a few other entrances around the sides and back, but those are always kept locked 24/7 so if there isn't anyone with a key around, you're shit out of luck." The floor was the typical off-white industrial tile you'd expect to find in a factory. It smelled faintly of bleach, and was incredibly clean for the amount of people walking around. The hallways were spacious enough for a few people to walk side by side. Doors lined the hallways. Long florescent bulbs lit up the 1st floor. She would have been in awe of the electricity she hadn't seen in years if she weren't so taken by every single person kneeling to Negan as they walked by.

When they reached the end of the hall, an elevator opened and he gently guided her inside, then hit the 10th floor button, the top floor.

"The first floor is all storage. The kitchen is down there, so is the clinic you'll see tomorrow and a few recovery rooms for when someone is too fucked up to be walking up and down the stairs to their assigned room." The door slid shut and she felt the old, familiar tug as it started to ascend.

"They can't use the elevator?"

"No, the elevator is for me, my wives, and my lieutenants. Anyone else caught using it loses a finger," he said like it was common sense. "The second floor is additional storage, 3rd through 5th floors are general housing, 6th and 7th are for soldier's with familes, 8th is for single soldiers, 9th is for my lieutenants, and then 10th is my office, bedroom, and wives' housing. What do you think? Fucking amazing, right?"

"You like honesty, right?" she asked.

"Abso-fucking-lutely," he replied.

"Then I think this place is like a creepy fucking cult that's one imaginary astrological sign away from drinking the kool-aid."

Negan laughed so loud she could feel his arm shaking. "That's some damned honesty!" The elevator dinging, signaling their arrival to the 10th floor, and he pulled her through the doors as the opened. The hallway was straight ahead with a few doors to the right and left. This floor had carpeting, and smelled sweet, like women's perfume. A decent looking, long haired blonde in a skimpy, bright pink, silk negligee came out of the first door to the right to greet them.

"Negan, baby, so glad you're home safe!" She greeted him with the biggest smile she could fit on her face before she turned to Crimson. "Who's this?"

"Sherry, sweetcheeks, this is Crimson. She needs to get cleaned up, and needs a fresh set of clothes. I know you're the girl to help out."

"Or course, I'll take good care of her!" Sherry said.

"Sherry will bring you to my office when you're ready," Negan told her as he slipped her arm out of his, and disappeared behind a door to the left.

"Come on," Sherry headed towards the end of the hall. "I'll show you to the wives' bathroom." Crimson didn't follow, so Sherry stopped and asked, "Are you coming? Negan doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Why am I using the wives' bathroom, and not one for the general public?"

"You know, I didn't think he liked redheads, but you're so gorgeous it give you that kinda exotic feel. You're getting ready to have dinner with him, get the run down on his rules, and then he's going to give you the offer of a lifetime and ask you to be his newest wife."