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Writers Notes: Thank you everyone for your reviews! Alot is happening! There will be a second update today! These are longer chapters so I hope everyone enjoys! As always, don't forget to follow, review and favorite!
Rick was concerned about Bella. He didn't like her going into DC to the hospital on a run, but he knew that he had to let her do it. T Dogg was still conscious and fever free, which was puzzling, but they were still keeping a close eye on him. They weren't sure what was going on with him. So it would take more observation.
"Okay, we have to move out and I won't be back tonight. So just… keep an eye on T and… keep Pete locked up until I get back. I want Maggie to try and talk with Jessie, see if we can get somewhere." Bella relayed to Rick.
Rick nodded. "You don't have to do this today. With T Dogg getting bit…"
"I have to do this run Rick. We need the supplies. Especially now. I have served time in some rougher spots. Trust me when I say that we will be okay." Bella reassured.
Rick was quiet a moment before he nodded again and then reached for her and pulled her to him, his mouth dipping down to cover hers. He kissed her lightly before resting his forehead against hers. "I love you. Please be careful."
"I love you too." Bella murmured. "We have enough formula for Aya for a bit, but I wanted to grab more since… I haven't been able to pump anything out lately."
Rick kissed her again. "Okay. I will make sure the kids are okay. Go… go do your thing." He murmured.
Bella kissed him one more time before she left to go outside the clinic. Jasper, Daryl and Jake were waiting at the gate. The sun was just starting to rise in the sky. They hadn't slept long since it was a very eventful night with T Dogg and then with Pete, but they were going on the run still because it needed to happen. "Okay. Let's roll out." She said and then she nodded over at Carol who opened the gate to let the four out so they could get in the Jeep they had scavenged for runs and head out to DC.
[Washington, DC: Sibley Memorial Hospital]
Bella surveyed the area. There were a lot of walkers everywhere. It was going to be tricky getting inside the hospital, but they didn't have too many choices. There were other hospitals in DC, but this was the closest one to them that they managed to get to with the roads congested the way they were.
"What are you thinking Captain?" Jasper asked as he leaned against beat up Subaru that was parked sideways in the parking lot.
"I'm thinking that we need to be very careful about how we do this." Bella said and sighed. "Okay. Looks like we will have to go in through the front. Too many variables the other way. There's a courtyard just right through the canopy." Bella said and looked at Jake. "Jake, do you remember when you had your tonsils out?"
Jake nodded. "Yeah. Only thing new here is the biters and that koi pond."
"You've been here before?" Daryl asked.
Bella nodded. "Yeah, it was… a while ago." She said and then thought back to her time in DC.
Bella walked into the bar, removing her cover as she did. She was only there for a little while. She just got back from Kuwait and was on leave. Jake was in the hospital having his tonsils taken out. He didn't need her there, but she requested some leave and Jasper granted it. So she was visiting for the weekend only. She would have to return to Kuwait afterwards. She sat at the bar and nodded to the bartender. "Coors." She said simply and the bartender, a young woman with braided hair and dark freckles on her face, handed her the beer after a nod.
Bella took the beer and took a small drink. She sat there just, thinking about Kuwait. Thinking about everything she had seen so far. Everything she had endured so far.
"Small world."
Bella heard his voice and smiled a little. The gruffness sent a little thrill through her. "Lieutenant Smith." She said and turned her head and looked over.
"Bella?" Jasper called her name.
Bella snapped out of her flashback. "Yeah, I'm okay." She said with a nod. "Okay. Let's move. Stay with each other, don't get in a bind. We want to get in and get to the supply rooms. Stick to what we know and we should be okay." She said and everyone nodded.
Jasper was a little worried about Bella. She spaced out sometimes when she was experiencing some flashbacks of the war and just now she had that look. But he didn't say anything. He just nodded, getting ready to follow behind Bella.
They were silent as they moved through the parking lot and approached the front of the hospital. They took out walkers as they got close and they stayed in a clover pattern, not giving their back to anything. It was how they would keep from being snuck up on.
They fought until they made it through the doors. Jasper and Daryl forced the doors closed behind them and they moved into the front lobby. There were nurses and patients that were shambling around aimlessly. Bella took lead, using her crossbow to rapidly fire, taking out as many as she could before retrieving her arrows and slicing through others. She was always impressive. Her strength and speed were ideal for end of theworld situations like this.
Once they cleared enough, they took a pause to gather themselves to move to the supply rooms on each floor. They took to the stairwell and funneled up single file. The second floor was home to patient rooms, which did have supply rooms and there was an operating room on this floor. They stayed together, not willing to separate because that is how you got into trouble. They made it to a supply room and it was clear, so they closed the door behind them. Bella looked at the rows of shelves. Everything was full and that was a good sign that this was going to be a really good run.
"Okay, let's get started." Bella said and took her seabag out and she moved to the shelves and started filling it.
Daryl, Jasper and Jake followed suit, gathering all the medical supplies they could. When they were all done, everything was full.
"Okay, there is a supply room near the OR." Jake said. "We should get surgical supplies there. We have four more seabags to fill up and I think we can do it there."
"There are six more floors." Daryl said. "Do we want to pack in what we can with these bags and try to shuffle more? We have the jeep so we can pack the rack on top as well." He suggested.
Bella nodded. "We're not heading back tonight. I want to hang around DC a little bit. There's a few gun shops that wouldn't be a bad idea to try and hit. They're more on the outskirts." She looked at her watch. "We're making really great time. Let's pack what we can from the surgical supply room and then we can bounce. We have access to all the other floors, so we can think about hotwiring one of the ambulances and bring that back with supplies as well."
Jasper agreed. "Yeah, an ambulance will be helpful. There's supplies onboard as well."
"It's a plan." Jake said with a nod and the four of them left the supply closet to go towards the operating room.
The Jeep was packed pretty tight and so was the ambulance that was in the emergency bay. They cleared a good bit of the walkers in the area and played things safe. They never put each other in a bind and they moved together without issue. Jasper was driving the ambulance now, Bella was driving the Jeep as they headed away from the hospital and headed towards some gun shops. Ammo and guns were a big deal in the world now and Bella knew that there was a major need for ammo and other guns since the armory back at Alexandria was looking really sparce.
Bella pulled up outside the first gun shop and Jasper pulled up right next to her. She got out fast, Jake and Daryl getting out at the same time and immediately sliced through walkers as they walked over, the movement of the vehicles catching attention. There weren't many biters in the streets and that was good thing. The front door of the shop was chained, but Bella broke the chain with a pair of bolt cutters from her back pack. She moved in first, Jasper following close behind her and then Jake and Daryl right behind him. It was empty inside. There was some ammo stacked like it was organized into different sections. Nothing was in the cases and Bella found that a little odd.
Bella looked back at Jasper. "This has been organized after the virus hit." She said and shook her head. "No dust, this isn't old. Someone still frequents here."
"We found someone's cache? Why would they leave it in this spot?" Jasper asked.
"It doesn't make sense." Bella murmured and looked around the shop again. She saw the glimpse of a camera and paused. "We're being watched."
Daryl frowned. "We're on someone's territory then."
"Seems like it." Bella said and then nodded. "Okay. Leave it. I don't-"She cut off when she heard the rumble of a truck. "Fuck." She muttered. "Jasper." She just said his name.
Jasper nodded and slung his crossbow to his back and took out his sidearm. Bella did the same.
"Jake, stay put." Bella ordered. "Daryl, fall back and hide. I don't want to put us all in a vulnerable spot." She said and Daryl just nodded.
Bella and Jasper went to the door and Bella went first, her weapon was unholstered and she moved, falling back on her military training and used the Jeep as a point of contact.
"Looks like we have some rats scurrying about." A voice sounded.
Bella frowned. "Lieutenant Smith." She said, her voice carrying.
There was a pause of silence.
Bella revealed herself, her arms moving down, her gun still in her hand, but she wasn't actively pointing it. Her blue-green eyes were in shock as her eyes landed on his face. The scruff was different, though she knew it was him. His dark eyes were still the same and his hair was dark, some grey peppered in somewhat. He was wearing a black leather jacket, dark wash jeans and steel toed boots and a white t-shirt. He had a bat resting on his shoulder wrapped in barbed wire. A red bandana was tied at his neck and his hands were gloved, but fingerless.
"I'll be damned."
"Negan." Bella breathed out. Her heart slammed in her chest. The memory of Kuwait flashed back to her. His hands on her skin, the way he kissed her.
Jasper was still wary, as he looked around at the crew that was following Lieutenant Smith. Jake and Daryl were still hidden, so they couldn't hear well. They were just waiting on Bella to tell them something.
"It's been a while." Negan spoke, his gravely voice was still the same.
"It has." Bella agreed. "I didn't know you were still in DC." Bella said simply.
"It's been home for a while." Negan said with a nod. "I knew you'd still be kicking it." He said and smiled, a beautiful, charming smile. It was what made Bella drawn to him in the first place back then.
Bella nodded. "Yeah." She said and holstered her weapon and swung her bow around and fired it to kill a walker that was shuffling in too close. Negan didn't blink or flinch. He just watched her. "We didn't realize this was claimed territory." She admitted, trying to stay in the moment.
"Yeah. DC belongs to the Saviors." Negan said and walked closer to her. Bella didn't move. She stood there, watching him until he came to a stop right in front of her. He was taller than her by a good bit, though his size wouldn't matter to Bella. "You and Major Whitlock still running together I see."
Jasper nodded. "Yeah, spun down in Atlanta before the shit hit the fan." He spoke now.
Negan smiled, his dark eyes not leaving Bella. "You have others with you?"
Bella nodded. "I do."
"A whole big group or just the four of you?"
"No. We have a camp." Bella admitted. "Trying to build something."
Negan nodded. "You need weapons?"
"Yeah, doesn't everyone?" Bella retorted calmly.
Negan chuckled a little. "I suppose you're right. Everyone needs something."
"Negan." Bella spoke his name smoothly. "Are we free to leave or is there going to be an issue?" She cut to the chase.
"Seeing as you just stumbled across our little cache… I'll let it go. Plus, you're a friend. Why would I want to cause a fuss with someone like you anyways?"
Bella smiled at him then. "Yeah. It wouldn't be smart would it?"
Negan chuckled again. "Although you are hauling a lot of stuff. An ambulance full and a Jeep full. Must be a pretty large camp."
"Yeah, there's a lot of us. We wanted to survive. Community is better than pulling it alone out there. Especially in these times." Bella said with a nod. "Are you needing medical supplies?"
"Yes, but we haven't cleared the hospitals around here yet. You got it from the hospital nearby. That is technically Savior property." Negan ventured to say.
Bella smiled. "There are six more floors ready to be scouted. We cleared it out pretty good."
"Just the four of you?"
"We did." Bella said with a nod. "You shouldn't have a problem getting in and out now."
Negan nodded, glancing over to one of his guys and gave him a nod. The guy had shaggier blonde hair and he seemed like he was burned on one side of his face. He just nodded back at Negan and fell back. He looked back at Bella. "Well Bella, it has been… grand, running into each other again. I don't think I could convince you to join the Saviors."
"Not a chance." Bella shook her head. "I'm fine where I am."
"I see." Negan said. "Well, we'll check out Sibley, but we are going to have to ask for some taxes on the stuff you gathered."
Bella raised a brow. "Oh really?"
"Really."
Bella nodded and looked over at Jasper and then back at Negan. "I'll tell you what Lieutenant. How about this. I'll keep what I have here, I'll come back with you to Sibley and I will personally help you gather more stuff, so I can keep what I have here."
Negan laughed. "I don't need help getting into Sibley since it's clear now. But you are trespassing."
"Hmm. Well that's not going to work for me. I'll tell you why. Hospital is public domain. Unless you have signs posted, there's no telling who's territory is who's. So for this one time, I'll take the stuff I gathered and the next time I'm in DC, I'll be sure to make sure I gather enough for taxes."
"You are pretty ballsy. I remember that about you." Negan said with a smile still plastered to his face.
"I like to be fair."
Negan nodded. "Yeah, I remember that about you too. But I'm still going to have to ask for taxes."
Bella raised a brow. "And that is?"
"Half."
Bella laughed now. "No."
"No?"
"Yeah, the answer is no. Negan, we can stand here and argue all day. I offered you compromises. Either you accept those terms or not at all."
"What will stop us from just taking all of your stuff?" Negan asked.
Bella knew that he could try. "You can try to take it. But I'm not as dumb as you might think I am."
"I don't think your dumb at all." Negan said. "How about this-"
"No." Bella said. "I gave you options. Those are your options. I will not sacrifice any of what I have loaded here for a penalty. Now that I know this territory belongs to the Saviors, I will consider that for future trips."
Negan's smile faltered a little, but it was still there. He was getting annoyed and he knew that Bella could tell. "Let's step inside the shop. Let's discuss this in private." He said.
Bella nodded. "Sure." She said and moved with him towards the shop. She nodded to Jake and Daryl to stay outside and she joined Negan inside the shop.
"Bella, I have to keep a hold on what I've built here. If they think for a moment that I am weak… it's not a pretty world out here." Negan leveled with her, his smile gone now.
Bella raised a brow. "You're their king?"
"I'm the leader."
"How many?"
"I lost count. I don't know maybe two or three hundred men and women." Negan said. "We have several compounds all over. We have expanded."
Bella nodded. "Negan, I respect you. I have always respected you. We shared… a lot together." She said, her voice low. "But I have children to watch after. An entire community that needs these things. I am a surgeon and Army medic. Jazz and me, we're all our people have for medicine. I have a man that needs some of this equipment or he will die. I'm not going to walk out of here without it. I promise you, I will help you gather whatever it is you need from Sibley or any other hospital, but right now, I have to get this stuff back."
Negan studied her. "Where are you located?"
"I'm not saying. I don't like the look of some of your men out there and there are several children. I will not disclose our location for their safety."
"That's fair." Negan admitted and was quiet. He thought about Kuwait, how connected they were. How much he cared about her back then… and he admitted, still did. "About the baby." He murmured. He always wanted to talk to her about it.
"It was a long time ago. Negan, I miscarried. I-"
"I know that." Negan said. "But we never got to talk about it. I haven't seen you in two years. Bella I-"
Bella cut him off. "I know… I know you never got to talk about it. I'm sorry about that. We didn't have a lot of options in Kuwait and I didn't want to be booted back to the states."
"But if you had, then you wouldn't have been captured and taken as a POW." Negan said and shook his head. "I loved you Bella." He admitted. "I wanted to marry you. But when you lost the baby-"
"When I lost the baby, I lost myself." Bella admitted to him. "But that was two years ago Negan. We're different people now and-"
Negan cut her off by kissing her. He dropped the bat and his hands came up to frame her face, but he kissed her, the feelings that he had clamped off inside flooded back.
Bella let him kiss her, but she moved back when the kiss broke. "Negan. I can't." She said and her blue-green eyes looked at him a little sorrowful.
Negan shook his head. "We can work together. I can help whatever your community needs. You can make your community apart of the Saviors." He insisted.
Bella shook her head again. "I'm not my people's leader. I am the surgeon. I am the Army medic. I do not call the shots."
"What?"
"I'm not their leader. Neither is Jazz. We have a leader. He does really good and I don't wish to upset a balance we have." She didn't know why she didn't tell him about Rick or about her daughter. Something in her told her not to tell him. She didn't want to cause an upset.
Negan shook his head. "But you… you're a born leader."
"I know." Bella said. "But I can't make decisions for my group because I'm not the one calling those shots. Even if I was… I wouldn't." She shook her head again. "We're different people now. Negan… I care about you."
"Bella. Please." Negan never said please, especially now. He reached for her, his hands going to her hips and she leaned against him, his mouth drew close to hers again and she didn't move. She closed her eyes and felt his lips again. Memories of Kuwait kept flying back.
"You are incredible." Negan said, as the lay naked together in the bunk. The tent was their only protection from the heat and right now, that's all they needed. Bella rolled a little, looking down at him with her blue-green eyes. Her eyes were always so mesmerizing.
"You're not bad." Bella teased and leaned in and kissed him a few times, before their kissing got heated, more intense and she was straddling, his long and hard cock sliding into her. She was in control and this was the way she liked it. She danced her hips over his fast, pushing herself and him towards a release. Any release. She felt his hands grip at her hips as she grind and then he was moaning.
"I'm about to cum again baby." Negan moaned out.
Bella didn't hear his words as she chased her own pleasure. She felt him erupt inside her and that sent her sailing over the edge. Negan groaned under her as she shifted her hips over him, his cock sensitive as it spurted inside. She came to a stop, feeling his cock twitch and shrink before she leaned down and kissed him.
"I really… really… never want this to end." Negan murmured and reached up and brushed her hair out of her face.
Bella smiled down at him. "Me too." She admitted and leaned in and kissed him again.
"Bella…"Negan breathed, his hands framing her face again. "You have PTSD?" He asked, his voice quiet.
"Yeah." Bella said and blinked a few times. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Negan whispered and kissed her again. He lifted her and moved her across to the back and pinned her against the wall, his hands going to her pants to unfasten them.
Bella's mind was still fracturing somewhere between reality and flashbacks. Now she was relieving her experience in DC when Jake was in the hospital for his tonsils.
"Lieutenant Smith." Bella smiled at him as she took a sip of her beer. Negan was dressed in his dress whites from the navy, and he was holding his cap in his hand. He walked over to the bar and smiled down at her.
"You look the same." Negan said.
"You do too. Dress whites is a change. I miss the NWUs." Bella said with a smile and another drink of her beer.
Negan grinned. "Yeah, I had a ceremony to get to. You want to leave this place and head back to my hotel?"
"Yeah, I can spare some time." Bella said and they left the bar and headed back to the hotel that Negan was staying at. They were tearing each other's clothes off the moment they made it through the door. He pushed her back on the bed and ripped her panties away, before his mouth was back on her skin again, his hands playing.
Bella moaned as he pleasured her.
Bella's mind filtered back in as she felt Negan's hands sliding her pants down. "Negan." She breathed out, her mind trying to make it's way back to the present time, but she was still flashing back and it was hard for her to keep control.
"Baby, I missed you." Negan said, as he kissed her neck.
"Negan." She said his name again, but it was more throaty now, seductive and her memory faded back in.
"Negan! Oh god!" Bella moaned out as she came hard. Negan's mouth traveled up her body, before his cock dripped at her cunt. She felt his cock slide against her folds, teasing her at first, making her shiver and moan, before his cock was pushing inside her deep. He leaned up to push her legs up, hooking them on his shoulders as he plunged into her. His balls slapping against her as he thrusted fast and hard.
Negan freed his cock from his pants as his mouth pressed against hers again, her pants down far enough so he could slide inside her. Her eyes were shut and she kissed him back, so he took that as the consent he needed. He slid his cock inside her and her breath hitched. Negan's mouth went back to her throat to kiss her.
Bella opened her eyes, fighting her way out of the flashback she was trapped in. "Wait." She said and Negan stopped, his cock buried inside her, throbbing for a release. "Wait. Stop." She breathed out. Her mind was struggling.
"Are you okay?" Negan asked, his brows furrowing together, concerned.
"I can't. I'm I have a partner now." Bella said and her blue-green eyes came back to focus. "I love him very much. I… I'm flashing back and I can't stop." She whispered.
Negan studied her face. "Bella…."
"Negan… I…." she felt his cock throb some more inside her. The act was already committed. She felt pain in her chest as she thought about Aya and Rick. "I can't. This has to stop."
Negan pulled from her, his cock sloshing a little, but he obeyed. He stopped when she told him stop. He adjusted himself, putting his cock back in his pants. It was painful. But he would never take advantage of a woman. Especially Bella.
Bella pulled her pants up, fastening them. She swallowed and felt a little panicked. "Um."
Negan moved to her, his hands going to stop her from moving away. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were flashing back so bad. You… you were with me."
"In my head… we were in Kuwait… and DC. I… I am a terrible person. Oh god." Bella felt herself tear up.
"No. No you're not. I'm the asshole. Jesus Bells, I didn't… I didn't think about you having a person. I fucked this up. Don't… don't feel…god I'm so sorry." He knew about Edward, about everything that she went through as a teenager. He was an idiot. "Bella I-"
Bella cried a little. "I have a daughter Negan… Rick… me and him, we have a daughter together."
"Oh Bella…"Negan whispered. "I'm so fucking sorry."
Bella shook her head and then wiped her face. "Um. I have to leave. I have to go. Negan I can't… I can't be here."
Negan nodded. "Okay. Okay. Yeah… I'll um. Okay." He didn't' know what to say. He just felt like shit right now.
Bella swallowed. "Do you still want-"
"No. Leave. Just. Leave. I'll tell the others that you will… come with us to Sibley. Make sure we get in. That's it." Negan said then he stopped and pulled a box of ammo off the shelf along with a pistol then handed it to her. "Put it in your bag."
"The cameras."
"Don't work. We just have alarms set. It alerted me someone was here. I didn't know it was you." Negan said.
Bella nodded and just pushed the ammo and pistol into her backpack. "Negan I-"
"Don't mention it." He said and then he retrieved his bat. "Let's go." He said and he walked towards the front door.
Bella followed him out, trying to make sure her face was passive when she left.
Jake and Daryl were anxious as they waited. When they emerged, Daryl felt relief and so did Jake.
Jasper was leaning against the Jeep. He saw Bella's face, could see that she had been upset before, but now she was masking it. "So. What's the verdict Captain?"
"You're going to head back to our travel point. Hunker down. I'll be back. I'm taking Negan and his crew to Sibley. Help them get some supplies. I'll meet you."
"What?" Daryl frowned. "You're going to go with them?"
"Don't worry. Negan is an old friend. I'm completely safe." Bella reassured and her eyes met Jasper's honey ones. She didn't say anything but he nodded.
Negan whistled to his men. "Alright, you heard the lady. Let's move out to Sibley." He barked out, commanding.
Bella paused and looked at Jake. "Jake. I will come back. I promise you that. Go back with Daryl and Jasper. I'm helping Negan because it's the right thing to do." She saw how concerned Jake was. They hadn't really been apart since this happened. Of course runs were different. They always came back, but this was going off with a separate group. This was different for him.
Jake just nodded. "Okay. I trust you." He said and then hugged her.
Bella hugged him back and then she looked at Jasper. "Watch over him." She said lowly.
"Will do. Hey, are you good?"
"I'm okay." Bella lied. "I'll be back." She said and then she fell into step with Negan, as they walked back to his big truck. He got up in the driver's side and she hopped up into the passenger side. They were the only two in the truck now. He started it and the truck roared to life. The others got into their vehicles. There were eight other guys and two other vehicles.
Negan started driving towards Sibley hospital, he was quiet at first. "This Rick… he's good to you?"
"Always." Bella said, her eyes looking out the window.
Negan glanced over at her. "I really did love you… still do."
"I know." Bella said and she looked back at him. "I loved you too." She admitted. "Still do." She said and looked back out the window. It was hard for her to admit having feelings for someone other than Rick, because the truth was. She loved Rick, so much. He was the first person since Kuwait, that she could admit to loving. She tried not to get attached to people. After everything that she went through and she never wanted to fall in love again. But she had and that love created Aya and she didn't want to jeopardize her family. The family that she had protected and built. Sure she had thought about Negan before. She thought about it when she told Rick that it was just a one time thing in Kuwait. How she had lied about it. But she didn't want to admit that she was love with Negan and that if it wasn't for the miscarriage, that it was possible that they would have gotten married. That they would have been a family. But the miscarriage did happen and it fractured Bella, again. With every loss, it felt heavy and she just didn't have it in her to try anymore. But now, she was trying. She was trying to be the best version of herself, for Rick. She didn't know what to even tell Rick about this experience. She knew she couldn't keep it from him. She would have to come clean and tell him the truth and that was the pain she felt inside. The pain that she loved Rick so much, but what happened with Negan in the gun shop… it meant something to her and she didn't know if it was because of being stuck in a flashback or if it was a genuine feeling, either way, it made her a terrible person.
"Bells… don't shut down on me. I know you."
"I'm not shutting down." Bella said. "I'm trying to think how I'm going to tell Rick about what happened."
"You're going to tell him?"
"I have to." Bella said and swallowed. "I can't lie to him. Not again." She whispered. She would have to explain who Negan was… have to explain everything and she felt afraid… afraid how Rick would act or how he angry he would be. Rick wasn't violent with her, but she somehow thought about how upset Edward was all the time. How he claimed her and abused her. How it didn't matter if there was an excuse for something or not. But the fact was, there wasn't an excuse. A flashback wasn't an excuse. She was quiet again. "Let's just… get to Sibley. "I'll help gather what you need. I'll have to avoid DC after."
"You don't have to avoid DC." Negan said with a sigh. "Stay to the East of DC. We don't have things staked there. No alarms set. If your group needs things… take it from that side. We won't know when you're here."
Bella shook her head. "Eventually you'll expand."
"Can't we just… coexist? We can do this Bella. Convince your leader. I have the manpower, I will protect you from other bandits."
"Are you a bandit?" Bella asked.
Negan was quiet. "No. But we don't let others railroad us either. It's us versus them out there. We have to sustain ourselves."
"You're right." Bella said, agreeing. "It is us versus them. The dead. They are the enemy. Humanity doesn't go to shit because three quarters of the population is trying to eat us. Compassion, understanding… morals. That is what is necessary now. Leading with hate, or violence… that's not always the answer."
Negan was quiet a moment. "You're right." He said before they pulled up at Sibley memorial hospital. "I'll try to be more compassionate. But I also have to keep being strong. I have to show my men that I'm not weak, so sometimes I have to make the hard decisions. I have killed people. I'm not going to say I regret it because I have to make a point. Someone crosses me… I have to make a point or people will walk all over me."
"I didn't say you had to be weak." Bella said. "Strength does not mean violent. Strength is courage." She said and then she opened her door and got out. Negan followed soon after her. She just wanted to get this over with and get back to Alexandria.