Negan thumbed the rim of his glass, the whiskey sloshed at the bottom. He watched Michonne with the kids in the middle of the floor. One could easily mistake them for a family. Michonne cuddling the babies in front of the fire, and himself sipping from a small glass in his rocking chair. The only eyesore was Carl who was scowling at him with his back to the wall. To be honest, he understood the gripe the kid had with him, he really did. When he was a man and decided he wanted to challenge Negan, then so be it. For now, Negan demanded respect.

"You got something you want to get off your chest boy," Negan sneered cutting his eyes at the young man erect against the wall.

"No," Carl spat struggling to control his tone, his voice shaking.

Negan stood and walked the distance to Michonne who quickly gathered the baby and pulled Judith to her side. Negan still focused on Carl lets his hand brush the side of her face. He watched as the young man flinched as Negan caressed his surrogate mother. Carl made it clear the night Negan almost snatched his other eye out that he'd kill him when he got his chance.

"Michonne? Michonne, where are you girl?"

Michonne popped up as Negan called out to her from the hallway of his compound. She was rocking Judith to sleep as the child patted Michonne's growing belly. Carl sat to the side of her his hands clasped in front of him. She watched Carl's knuckles turn white at the force of his clenched fingers.

"You're not some dog, he can't treat you like this," Carl croaked, voice broken and strained.

"Just breath, take your sister, you know he won't hurt me," Michonne assured as she passed the toddler over to his waiting arms.

"He already has," he countered looking at her growing belly with an indescribable expression on his face.

"We're in this together, I need you, Carl," she said reeling the boy back in with her words.

"Don't worry mom, I won't hate it, I don't hate you," Carl said fore longingly as he opened his tense posture.

Michonne hated herself for putting Carl in the position to be submissive but she had to keep him alive and Negan wouldn't think twice about gutting him. The way he shot Rick in front of the boy was a sure fire clue as to what he would do to Carl given the opportunity.

After the death of Rick, Michonne had grandfathered his children and vowed that she would make a life for them. In the past when she didn't have to think for them solely she would have sliced Negan in half. Now that Judith was practically attached to her hip her power moves had to be a bit more calculated. She needed to gain Negan's trust so his take down could be when he least expected it. Then what about his devoted followers? She needed a way to gain their trust and allegiances if she was gonna take him out and live to see the next day. This was all about the long game and it would be a while before she would be able to make some power moves. She was making some ground but she had ways to go.

"Here are my girls," Negan belted from the doorway as he watched his "family" huddled on the loveseat.

"They're not your girls," Carl mumbled in return. Michonne made a grab for his knee to silence the young man but he forged on.

"Come again?"

"They're NOT your girls, none of them are," Carl repeated, this time in an even tone that shook Michonne to her core.

Carl didn't have the patience that Michonne had fine tuned even before the apocalypse ravished the earth. No, he never understood why either of them would bow down until it was time to strike. He had only known to strike while the iron was hot and for him, it was on fire at this point.

"Carl, please," Michonne begged through clenched teeth.

"No! You don't belong to him, you're not his property," Carl shot back never taking his eye off Negan.

Standing, no longer holding Judith, Carl stood, tight fist balled up at her side.

"You've got some nerve boy when you had no place to go I took you in and gave you a roof over your head and food to eat. Yo' daddy gone boy, ya'll be up the creek with no paddle. I saved you, hell I'm your daddy now," Negan announced pointing a finger at Carl's forehead.

Michonne couldn't breathe as the barrage of crazy floated out of Negan so easily she thought that it may have been a mistake on her part. Maybe he hadn't said it. By the look on Carl's face she knew that the next few seconds were critical, she had to act.

"Negan, one of your men came up looking for you, they were talking about some sort of breach and needing you," Michonne voiced in hopes to end the violent standoff.

For a moment it did because Negan glanced at her for a moment and smiled. Carl couldn't take it. He reached into his back pocket and unearthed his knife.

"Carl no!"

It happened so fast. Carl's wrist flicked as his arm jutted forward preparing to stab Negan. Carl didn't factor in the man, the pre-apocalyptic school teacher who the new world hardened. Negan was prepared and almost warmed by Carl's defiance. His ping pong skills didn't fail him, as his right hand caught Carl by the throat and his left gripped his wrist tightly. The knife dropped to the floor and Negan placed a heavy boot on top of it.

Michonne watched in horror as Negan began the careless task of choking the life out of Carl. She scrambles to her feet preparing to barrel forward when Dwight wraps his arms around her.

"Let me go," she screams, struggling against his vice grip.

"Calm down, he ain't gonna kill him, but you need to stay out of it," Dwight whispered in her ear sympathizing with the woman who was losing her mind.

"He needs me!"

"No, he and Judith need you alive, you go charging over there, Negan will gut you without thinking twice. Sit!"

Dwight eases her back onto the couch and making sure to never release the hold he had on her shoulders. Judith loud wails echo in the room as the two men struggle in front of the raging fireplace.

Carl grunted as he clawed at the tight fingers crushing his windpipe. He did everything in his power to keep the tears at bay but he began to feel like that was a losing battle. His lungs made a last attempt to reach for air that came out in more of a shrill cry, making Negan laugh.

"Boy, you are weak, you are nothing, and I could kill you right now," Negan chastised as he jerked Carl around like he was ragdoll.

"Negan stop it, please!"

"You see that woman, she is the only thing that is keeping you and that little girl alive. See I don't see the point of keeping some dead man's bastards around, if I had it my way, I would have fed you to the Wolves by now. She loves you and her pussy hypnotizing. So as long as her legs stay open you stay alive."

Michonne gasped at the vulgarity of his words, while Dwight looked away.

"Now be a good boy and nod your head if you understand me," Carl squinted at the harshness of his words. Negan shook him again and Carl knew it was time to concede.

Negan dropped Carl in a coughing heep on the floor. Dwight released Michonne and she went diving for Carl, covering him with her body in hopes to protect him from another blow.

Carl could barely see, his vision clouded by tears and his ears pounding by the surge of pumping blood. He felt Michonne pull him into her lap and he wrapped a weak arm around her. Still not having proved his point yet Negan snatches Michonne off the floor and into his arms. Carl raises his head to look up at the two. He tries to stand but ends up staggering back down to his knees.

"You see Carl, she belongs to me, every inch of her and if you play your cards right you'll live long enough to have a girl like this of your own. What kind of girls do you like Carl? We have all kinds of girls here? What can I get you?"

"Go to hell," Carl managed to whisper.

"Hopefully these lips will keep me company while I'm there," Negan hoped for as he pulled her chin up and captured her lips with his.

His tongue slithered past her thick lips and just like every other time she could remember Negan took control. He turned her until they were pelvis to pelvis, damn near glued to each other. Michonne groaned in contempt as he took handfuls of her backside, being absolutely deployable in front of her children.

Carl looked away knowing that he was too weak to do anything to stop him. He'd bide his time and when the moment showed itself he wouldn't miss his opportunity.

The kiss itself was getting pretty heated as Michonne's knees had long since buckled and it was only Negan who was responsible for holding her up. With her arms lips at her side she put up no fight against him. It was Negan who pulled away with Michonne gasping for breath against him.

"I'm going to kill you, even if it's the last thing I do," Carl vowed in a voice so quiet it shook the room into complete silence.

"Yeah well, in the meantime, Dwight take the kids mommy and daddy need some alone time," Negan growled as Dwight quickly gathered the children and scurried out the room.

Dwight pulled both Carl and Judith into his chest to block out the sounds of her fabric tearing and cries echoing throughout the hallway.

Negan gazed around the dinner table as his closest comrades and family and talked amongst themselves. Everyone else ate at the surrounding tables in the mess hall. After how Rick and the others from the Safe Zone almost destroyed everything the Saviors had worked so hard to build he had any and everyone who thought of double crossing him that it wasn't going to happen.

He would always remember that night, the look of defiance in their eyes. He struck Glenn first bludgeoning him with Lucile and then he ordered the execution of the others, one by one they were all killed. Rick was saved for last but in that moment Negan saw man broken; instead of a meeting with Lucille he decided one bullet would do. He didn't know what it was about Michonne that made him keep her alive but after he watched her throw herself on top of Carl, he then claimed her for his own.

Now they set at the table together breaking bread like nothing ever happened at all but Negan was no fool. He knew that Michonne was plotting against him and he was ready for her. Negan looked over at Judith who looked to be around five and Reagan who was eight months old. Carl sat between him and Michonne in an act of protection, it made Negan chuckle. The boy who was no longer the scrawny kid he choked out was tone and wiry. Carl had grown up nicely and even with the patched eye, his good looks didn't go unnoticed by the young women in the camp.

He watched Carl sneak glances across the hall, to a group of newcomers. Negan followed his line of sight and noticed that he was watching a young lady. She was a dark copper toned complexion with short curly hair. Oh, he likes her. Leaning over to where Dwight sat on the other side of him, he whispered in the man ear and watched Carl as Dwight stalked over the girl. He watched Carl grit his teeth and loose fingers tighten into a fist as Dwight fetched the girl and her tray. Dwight sat the girl down in front of Carl and next to Negan. The girl was timid and looked to have been to hell and back.

"Hi, I'm Negan, what's your name," he said to the girl in a low voice hoping not to scare her too much. It took her a few moments before getting up the courage to look up at him.

"Egypt."

"That's a pretty name for a pretty girl," Egypt says nothing in return. "I asked Dwight to go get you cause you looked a bit lonely."

"I don't know those people, I had just met them the day before we got here."

"Well, welcome to the Savior's let me introduce you to everyone, this is the fun table by the way," Negan joked throwing in a wink for good measure.

After the introductions were made Negan leaned back and marvelled at his and Egypt had found a common interest in comic books. Egypt even whipped out a graphic novel she was reading called the Walking Dead; a story involving a group of people surviving an apocalypse, oh the irony. As his eyes scanned the table they rested on Michonne whose gaze was transfixed on him. He winked at her.

Later that night Michonne lie a bit more relaxed in his arms gazing up at the ceiling. Now looking more so at the groves and valleys than slipping through the cracks. Negan gripped her naked midriff before applying a chaste kiss to the top of her head. To unknowing eyes, they resembled a couple in post-orgasmic bliss.

"Dinner was good tonight, huh?"

"Sherry did a good job as always," Michonne whispered into the darkened room as Negan rubbed circles on her back.

"Carl had a good time, Egypt is nice."

"Oh, so you care."

"I just want you to be happy."

Michonne didn't say anything but he felt her body stiffen up a bit. He wanted to make things right but he knew it would take everything he didn't have to see that through. For now, he would settle for her contentment.

"What was all the commotion between you and Carl in the hallway?"

"Just a boy being a boy," she confessed.

"He's gonna be a man a lot sooner than you think. You need to stop treating him like a baby."

"I do not," she retorted heatedly. Negan laughed at her pulling her closer to him. If he didn't know any better he would think this is what post-apocalyptic domesticated relationships looked like.

"Get some sleep," Negan whispered as he burrowed deep in the mattress with her nestled on top of him.

Seconds later the alarm went off, alerting everyone. Someone was breaking into the compound, someone was about to change their lives forever.

I heard your cries and here it is a new installment. This story won't be long but it is my hope that you enjoy the ride while it lasts.