A/N: According to yesterday's episode, Sherry wouldn't be Negan's wife yet, but it's too late to change that now, so I'll have to modify Dwight and Sherry's story a little bit to match my own, but not too much. Everything else is falling in line with my vision so far, so I'm extremely happy with that! If you're reading, please review! Let me know what you think of Crimson, of my Negan, how I'm writing the rest of the characters, anything, just share your thoughts!
BaMby666: I'm so glad you love Crimson! I love OC fics for Negan and Daryl, but I also have a hard time with how most OCs are written so I'm happy to hear she's well written so far. I'll have to check out your fic soon when I have time.
msgemgem: I don't mind long reviews, I actually prefer them, so thank you! I think you share my vision of Crimson, she will definitely not be falling into Negan's bed at his first offer of being a wife. I don't enjoy fics where OCs just hop right into bed as his newest wife. Crimson's not easy, and she's not a push over, so don't worry about that! I already have a very specific plan for her and Negan. I think you'll like this chapter.
aishiteru naru: Daryl, and the rest of the Walking Dead crew will make their appearance eventually, but Crimson needs to get established in Sanctuary and figure out Negan before that happens. I hope you like Crimson and my take on Negan so far!
Kiwi Mania: Thanks for reviewing so fast, it was great to get some positive feedback right away! I explain the outfit in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it!
Crimson felt her heart skip a beat, and not in the feel good, excitement kind of way. It was in the, brief moment of terrified panic, kind of way. She stood frozen in place for a second before she took a deep breath and collected her thoughts.
"I'm sorry, but what did you say?" she asked Sherry.
"He's going to ask you to marry him. He's gotta really like you, he's never asked anyone as soon as they come in. Normally he'd let you live the working life for a while to see how much better being a wife is. It's a great offer, the best you can get now." Sherry started walking towards the bathroom again, her high heeled shoes clicking on the concrete, and this time Crimson followed. "You don't have to work for anything, and you get anything you want, food, clothes, cigarettes, TV, whatever. And you get free roam of the entire Sanctuary, except Negan's office and bedroom."
"Free roam, walking around in lingerie?" The disgust was evident in Crimson's voice.
"Oh no!" Sherry laughed. "This is just to welcome him back home. They were gone for a few days. I'm a jeans and cute top kinda girl normally." Sherry pushed open the bathroom door and both women stepped inside.
"What happens if I decline his offer?" Crimson asked.
"I don't know, no one ever has. He won't be happy though, so you'd best just say yes. The shower has whatever you need, and you can get a new razor from the pack by the sink. Negan doesn't like body hair so grab a couple if you need to. I'll get you some clothes. Looks like my shirts will fit you, but no way you'll fit those hips in my jeans so I'll see what I can find. I'll be back in a few." Sherry shut the door behind herself as she left.
Crimson inspected the bathroom. There were no windows, and only the one door. The dim florescent lights gave the tiled floor and walls a drab yellow hue. It looked like it had been a small staff bathroom when the factory was still functional. There was a standup shower in the left corner, with a toilet, sink, and standard mirror above the sink. The full length mirror mounted on the back of the door looked like a recent addition. She saw a few small holes on the floor tile around the toilet, indicating it had once had a stall around it. Even with that gone, the bathroom looked nothing like what you would find in a house.
She stopped when her reflection in the full length mirror caught her eye. She looked like shit, like a feral woman dragged in from the woods. When she thought about it, that's almost what she was. Her once long and sleek auburn locks were a tangled mess, darkened and matted with blood. There was so much dirt stuck to her skin by dried sweat and blood that she couldn't even tell what color her skin was. Her clothes weren't any better. She knew the bathroom must stink horribly with her standing in it. She met her own eyes in the mirror. Had they always looked so hard, so cold?
No, they hadn't. Her mind flashed back to a time she tried so hard not to think about.
She was leaning over the sink, putting the final coat of mascara on her already long, dark lashes. Her eyes were bright, and even sparkled like a damned fairy tale when she felt his arms slip around her waist.
"What you puttin' all that on for?" his gruff, but quiet voice still made her stomach flutter, even after 2 years.
She set the mascara down and spun around in his arms so she could face him, her hands coming up to stroke his face.
"You said we're going out tonight," she answered, looking up into his beautiful blue eyes. "I want to look nice."
"You always look nice. Don't need all that." He nodded his head towards her makeup bag on the counter.
"You're just saying that because you hate it when I get dressed up and other men look at me."
"Don't make no difference if you dress up, they always look." He pulled away from her, looking down at his hands as he fidgeted. She stepped up to him, leaving no space between them so he had to look her in the eye.
"It doesn't matter if they look or not, because I'm only looking at you." She reached up and put both hands around the back of his neck, twisting his short brown hair around her finger. "Johnny Depp could walk into the bar and I wouldn't care."
"You gonna get tired'a me one day," he said as he dropped his forehead to her shoulder. She smiled into his hair. He never believed he was good enough for her, even after everything they'd been through and everything he'd done for her. She spent so much time showing him what a good man he was, and he still didn't think he was good enough.
"I've known you my entire life and that hasn't happened yet, so it's never going to. I travelled all over the country for school and never once met a better man than you. You've got the hottest girl in town on your sexy ass arms, so take me out and show me off. And try not to punch anyone tonight." He just grunted his usual "mmm" in response, and she laughed.
She shook her head to clear her mind. Nostalgia makes you weak, and she couldn't afford to be weak right now. She walked back to the door and turned the deadbolt. That would at least buy her a minute if someone came inside. In the shower, she found shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and body wash. She sniffed the body wash, the smell of brown sugar made her stomach growl. It only took a minute for the water to warm up after she turned the hot water knob. She couldn't help but smile, it had been a couple years since she had hot water to shower in. A small pond under the summer sun or a wash cloth with a pot of water warming over a fire was the closest she'd had since the dead rose up.
She adjusted the cold water to her liking before she stripped down. She looked at the bag of razers by the sink and decided to take one before she stepped under the water and pulled the shower curtain closed. With her eyes closed, she stood under the stream, letting it wash over her face. When she looked down at the water, a murky black and red stream swirling around the drain.
It took three rounds of shampoo before her hair felt clean. She used her fingers to comb the conditioner through her hair before rinsing it, and enjoying the once forgotten feeling of soft, clean hair. She grabbed a wash cloth hanging by a towel just outside of the shower and wetted it before pouring a generous amount of the delicious smelling body wash on it and soaping up. It only took two rounds before she felt truly clean. She ran the razor under her arms to rid herself of that hair, but touched nothing else. No one would be touching her legs, or anywhere else tonight. She rinsed one last time and reluctantly shut off the water. It wouldn't due to waste hot water and piss off her… unusual host.
There was a soft knock on the door as she wrapped the towel around her chest.
"It's Sherry," her voice muffled behind the door. "Sounds like you're done, I got clean clothes for you. I think it'll all fit."
Crimson walked over to the door and when she didn't hear any signs of anyone other than Sherry, she unlocked the deadbolt and cracked the door open enough to see Sherry and reach her arm out for the clothes.
"Thank you," Crimson said after she took the clothes, then shut and locked the door again.
"Negan's office is the first door to the left as you're coming off the elevator. He's waiting for you, so just knock when you're ready. That's my makeup bag under the sink, feel free to help yourself. And you can just leave your dirty clothes on the floor, someone will come to clean up and wash them for you." Crimson rolled her eyes. It's the god damned apocalypse and there were women here still putting on makeup.
She unfolded the clothes and set them on the counter to sort them. There was a pair of barely there black lace underwear, a matching pushup bra, jeans, and a dark gray tank top with a lace overlay. She slid on the underwear and jeans, then tossed the bra to the side. There wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that she was going to be putting her breast on display for Negan. The lace was only attached to the tank top at the shoulders and since she was lacking a knife, or any sharp object, she used her teeth to rip the threads and tossed the lace on top of the bra before she slipped the tank top over her head.
She looked into the mirror and used her fingers to comb out her hair. The conditioner must have been good since she was able to get the last of the tangles out. She thought about looking for a hair tie to braid it back, but it was harder to get away from someone, or something, that had a hold of an entire braid versus just a chunk of hair so she left it down to dry.
One last look in the mirror, and she sighed to herself. It was time to face her fate. Negan seemed… volatile, egotistical, and chauvinistic. Volatile was easy to deal with, backwoods country rednecks like she grew up with were all volatile. Her own redneck, he had an explosive temper, wore his heart on his sleeve, and acted before he thought. Chauvinistic men think with their dick, another easy to deal with trait when you're a pretty girl. Egotistical was the hard one. Egotistical men always have a line and it wasn't one you wanted to cross unless you wanted to see how volatile they could get. So far he'd seemed amused by her natural stubbornness, smart ass remarks, and lack of regard for his authority but at some point she could push too far. She needed to figure out where that line was. Based on what she'd seen of his cult following and amassed power, she'd probably already walked that line. Men like him wanted people to bend and break, anyone who didn't was a threat to his authority. But she wasn't the bend and break type.
She unlocked the door and pulled it open. The hallway was empty and eerily quiet. There was no sound coming from the door Sherry said was Negan's office, so she knocked on the door. A few seconds later, it swung open to reveal the smiling face of the big man himself. He gripped the door with one hand and leaned against it with that cocky grin on his face. He was wearing the same outfit, jeans, red scarf, and black leather jacket unzipped to reveal a tight white t-shirt underneath. His clothes had already been cleaned. His hair was freshly washed and slicked back. His eyes travelled down her body, and his brow furrowed when they reached her chest. So he'd been expecting her to put on the bra. Did he chose the entire outfit?
"Well now, don't you clean up nice? I thought you were hot before, but god damn! And not a stitch of makeup, just a natural goddess. Come on in, get something to eat before it gets cold." He stood back and pulled the door open for her. She quickly glanced around the room before she stepped in.
It wasn't like the other rooms she'd seen. It was more like a luxurious study than an office. The mahogany hardwood floor was covered by a large area rug in the middle of the room, a small dining table with 2 chairs sat on top of the rug. There was a fire crackling in the glass front wood burning stove that vented out of a window. One entire wall was a floor to ceiling bookcase, filled with books. A high backed dark leather chair sat next to the stove and she could see the indentations in the cushion indicting Negan had just been sitting there. There was a book resting on the small end table next to the chair. She saw a closed door behind a large wood desk to her right. Several crystal bottles sat on top of the desk, presumably holding liquor, and there papers stacked neatly to the side.
She could smell the food from just inside the doorway and her mouth was already watering. Negan closed the door behind her and walked over to the table to pull a chair out for her.
"I had something special cooked up for your welcome dinner," he said. "Have a seat."
He pushed the chair in after she sat down, and then took his seat across from her. Dinner was served on fine white china, complete with a black linen napkin and matching silverware set. There was a large helping of mashed potatoes, french cut green beans, and a fat, juicy steak. She wrinkled her nose for only a moment, but he caught it.
"Something wrong with the food?" he asked.
"I'm sure the steak is delicious, but I'm a vegetarian," she replied. He burst out laughing, and she raised a questioning eyebrow to him.
"You've got to be shitting me. It's the apocalypse, most of the few people left alive are starving, and you're turning down a perfectly cooked, Black Angus steak?"
"Yes. Just because it's the end of the world, doesn't mean I have to sacrifice my morals."
"I watched you slit a man's throat without blinking an eye."
"I never liked people much. That's why I went to vet school, and not med school." He laughed at her again.
"You managed to survive out there, wandering around the woods with a bow and never had to shoot a deer or a rabbit for dinner?"
"Not once. You'd be surprised how many plants are editable, and eggs aren't that hard to come by if you know where to look."
He nodded, impressed with her resourcefulness, and then stabbed her steak with his fork and flopped it on his plate next to his own.
"All the more for me then. Take my potatoes, you need a big meal." He scrapped his potatoes on to her plate.
"Thank you." She took a bite of the potatoes and almost moaned at the delicious buttery flavor. They were fresh mashed, not the boxed powered kind she'd come across occasionally. "I know you didn't invite me for dinner just to stare at me."
"No, that I didn't doll. I'll grab us a bottle of wine and we can talk."
"No thank you, I don't drink wine."
"A sophisticated doctor lady and you don't like wine?" he asked, truly puzzled.
"I guess you didn't listen to me in the truck. I grew up with junkie trailer trash parents. I'd never even seen a bottle of wine until I started college when I was 16. But if you have some whiskey, I'll take that."
He smiled at her and asked what she'd like it mixed with. She shook her head.
"Nothing, just on the rocks. But without the rocks, since ice makers don't exist anymore."
"I can do that," he said as he stood up, grabbed one the bottles with one hand, two glasses with the other, and brought them over to the table before he poured each of them a glass. She took a sip, it was strong but flavorful. Probably the best whiskey she'd ever had and her face must have said so. "Good shit, right? That's Macallan single malt scotch whiskey, 30 years old. 800 fucking bucks a bottle before the end of the world."
"I don't know if it's $800 good, but it's good." She set her glass down. "So, what did you want to discuss?" She continued to eat, waiting for his response. Strong liquor on an empty stomach was a bad idea, especially when she hadn't had a drink in a couple of years. It wasn't smart to drink when dead guys were walking around trying to eat you.
"We have some rules here at Sanctuary you need to be aware of. Lucille, she's a real stickler for the rules. And everyone's got a place, so we're gonna figure out yours." Crimson nodded, to acknowledge that she was listening. "I think I already told you the no rape rule, so no need to worry about that happening here. I have a point system established here. You want food, water, clothes, a shower, a place to sleep, medical care, a magazine, whatever, you work for it. The bare essentials are pretty cheap, so most everyone can earn them. The good shit, like seasoning on your slop, a can of soda, a cigarette, a clean mattress, those cost more so not everyone gets them. Everyone works, but not everyone's job is equal, so they earn different amounts of points. No one takes anything without having enough points, or they face some serious consequences."
"What kind of jobs are available around here?" Crimson asked.
"There are a lot of options, and new comers are matched to the best job for them. We have cooks, janitors, gardeners, seamstresses, maids, one teacher, one nurse, an architect, an engineer, shopkeepers, blacksmiths, prostitutes, and some useless peons that maintain the roamers on the fence. There are two jobs that everyone wants, but only the best receive. My soldiers, and my wives."
"Your soldiers and wives have it easier, I assume?"
"You catch on quick. My lieutenants and wives get whatever the fuck they want, no points needed. A new shipment comes in, they get first dibs. They have the best rooms, the best clothes, the best food, TVs and DVD players, iPods, and almost all the other luxuries they had in the world before. The rest of my soldiers still earn points, but they earn a shit ton of points in comparison to say, a janitor. Soldiers get most everything they want, just have to work a little harder. More risk, more reward."
"Sounds like a fair system. Unless you're a janitor, then it probably sucks."
"That's right," Negan laughed. "And that's why I'm going to make you an offer of a lifetime doll. I'd like you to marry me. All I ask is for your loyalty to me. Now, normally my wives don't have to do a god damn thing except keep me happy, but since you're a doctor I'll need you to patch people up when it's needed. You won't have to deal with the peons and janitor types often. They rarely have enough points for medical care. But since you'll have to work on occasion, you'll get first dibs on shipments, ahead of everyone except me. That's a fucking sweet deal."
"No, thank you. I'll stick with the doctor job."
"Really? Why the hell's that?" Negan was frowning. He was obviously shocked at her decline.
"Polygamy isn't really my thing. I'm a one woman, one man kind of girl."
Negan pursed his lips before he answered, "Alright, I can respect that, but you're going to have to work real hard for those points." He put both of his arms on the table and leaned forward. The table was small enough that he was half way over it, giving her that same, charming, smirk. "And when your mouth is watering for some fresh potatoes and you don't have enough points for them, you're going to wish you'd said yes."
Crimson dabbed the corners of her mouth before she set her napkin down on the table and leaned in towards him.
"No. I'll work, but it won't be for points. You'll give me whatever the hell I want."
Negan cocked an eyebrow at her before he responded, "What the fuck did you just say?"
"You heard me. I'll be Sanctuary's doctor. I'll also be going on runs at least once a week. I'll live on the 9th floor with your lieutenants and my own private room. You're going to give me all of my weapons back. When I want something, I get it, just like your lieutenants and wives. And I won't be kneeling to you like some fucking cult fanatic."
"And what in the fuck makes you think I'd agree to that?"
"You'll want me on runs anyways, because I'm quick, quiet, and smarter than every idiot you have around here worshipping you. You've already seen what I can do, so that condition benefits you as much as me."
"Don't want to get weak sitting behind these walls?"
"That's right," Crimson answered. "Looks like you catch on quick too." This was it, the time to see how far she could push the beast before he lashed out. "Everything else you're going to agree to because you need a doctor and I'm a damned good one. I may not have treated people before all this, but I specialized in large animal which means I know a little bit of everything for all type of animals, and humans are still part of the animal kingdom. I'm one hell of a surgeon. One day you're going to need me to save your life, accidents happen, it's inevitable in this world." She leaned in a little more, and locked her eyes with his. There was a glint in his eye, a mixture of desire, intrigue, and anger. "And when the day comes that your life is in my hands, you're going to want to make sure that I really like you."