Hello my friends. Well, I'm back! I have spent the last month reacquainting myself with this story and developing it to the end. So I'm exited to get back into the swing of things. I hope you enjoy the direction I've decided to go with it! Thank you all so much for being patient with my little hiatus.

Happy Reading!

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Jo

I lay the last pan on top of the precarious stack in the drying rack. Lunch was done and there would be a couple hours until dinner rush started. I was still on edge, waiting to hear about Dwight.

I chewed on my lip. I should have noticed there was something going on with him yesterday. I spent more time with Dwight than anyone, but I had been so wrapped up in my own stuff I had missed all the signs that now seemed so obvious. I couldn't imagine what made him feel so trapped that he felt such a risky thing was his only option. I had never met his wife or sister-in-law, but neither worked in the factory. It wouldn't be easy taking two people completely dependent on you out on the road. His real mistake had been stealing insulin other people depended on. I agreed with Negan's decision, we couldn't just let him go because of that. Had he left empty handed everything could have ended fine, but now Simon was out hunting him.

Simon was another problem. Negan didn't seem worried about him, but there had been a gleam in Simon's eye that told me he wasn't as submissive as he pretended. I never asked how Negan took power of The Sanctuary. The truth was I probably didn't want to know, but I had a sneaking suspicion is started a little like Simon was behaving now. I didn't know their personal history, but my instincts told me we couldn't trust Simon. It was hard won, but I had finally learned to trust my instincts.

I missed a lot while I had been hiding down here washing dishes. Maybe Kate's accusations of me being selfish weren't that far off. Everybody had lost someone, everybody was grieving. I didn't get to stop just because Merle was dead. He, possibly more than anyone else, would be incredibly disappointed in me for being so weak. I owed my sister an apology.

I stared down at my hands in the soapy water. Negan was struggling and I couldn't leave him alone to deal with all the problems by himself. As good as he was at acting like he didn't care and nothing touched him, he must have felt like he was surrounded by enemies. It looked like it was time to get back out there.

"Hey," Arat called startling me from my thoughts.

I jerked and swung around to face her. She didn't flinch away from me, just looked apologetic. If any of my strange reactions had ever bothered her she didn't show it. Instead, she just continued to go about her day.

"Sorry," she said, tossing a towel onto the counter.

"It's not you," I promised her. "How long do we have until dinner?"

Arat glanced down at her watch. "Couple hours."

"Great," I said drying my hands and tossing the towel away. "Follow me," I headed towards the swinging door.

"Why?" she asked, frowning in confusion.

I turned back to face her, a glimmer of excitement growing in my chest. Having a purpose was energizing. I needed to move, needed to do something. Arat had helped me when I needed a place to recover, and I could repay the favor. She had told me she wanted to learn to fight. That I could do.

"I'm about to make you like a whole lot more interesting," I promised her.

"Seriously?" Arat asked excitedly as she trotted after me.

"If you still want to learn to fight..." I dragged off, lifting my eyebrows. I wasn't going to make her feel trapped or like she had no choice, but she had mentioned she wanted training, and that was something I could help her with.

"Absolutely!" she enthused.

I led the way through the winding hallways towards the soldiers gym. I held the door and Arat stepped in ahead of me.

"What the hell are you doing here?" a snotty woman's voice reached my ears. I couldn't see who was speaking, Arat was several inches taller than me and I would have had to go on my tip toes to see over her.

I stepped around Arat and came face to face with a scowling red headed woman I didn't recognize. "She's with me," I said.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked. The redhead looked me up and down and didn't look terribly impressed by what she saw. I guess I didn't blame her. I didn't really look like myself. I wasn't armed, or especially badass looking. I was just wearing a plain black t-shirt and comfy jeans.

I didn't like the way she was glaring at Arat or how she was looking at me like I was something she'd stepped in. It made me a little cranky. I flashed her a smile that had too much teeth to be pleasant. "I'm Jo, what's your name?"

The redhead frowned. Her eyes cut to a Savior behind her I was pretty sure was named Donnie. His eyes were almost frantic. She scowled and turned back to face me still looking confused.

Her eyes cut to Arat. "You don't belong down here," she repeated. "Aren't you the one who dishes up my food?" she asked, leaning forward aggressively.

Arat shifted uncomfortably, but she didn't back down from her place just behind my shoulder. "I work in the kitchen," she confirmed.

"Right you and that old bitch," the redhead said with a sneer.

Arat stiffened. "My mom," she growled.

The smile the redhead flashed was predatory and I realized she was baiting Arat, trying to instigate her into causing a problem. I hadn't realized it until that moment, but the was about class. Arat was a worker and the redhead was a soldier. The redhead was flexing her power, reminding Arat that she was below her. She was nothing but a bully. I hated bullies.

The redhead crossed her arms over her chest. "The Help aren't allowed down here," she smirked smuggly.

Arat opened her mouth and then closed it shifting uncomfortably.

"I told you, she's with me," I repeated. My hands were hanging loose at my sides, my hands open but every one of my muscles coiled, preparing to strike.

The redhead's gaze snapped back to me. "You never did say who in the hell you were," she snarled. Clearly she thought I was also one of the help, and this was hers to push around.

I cocked my head to the side, and it was like all the air in the room suddenly went incredibly still. "Sure I did," I replied smiling. "I told you my name is Jo. Weren't you listening?"

Donnie seemed to have better sense than his friend. He jumped forward and grabbed the redhead's arm. "We better get going," Donnie said quickly. "I think we're already running late."

The redhead looked like she wanted to argue but Donnie tugged her towards the door.

"I never did catch your name," I called after her brightly that same predatory smile that reminded me so much of Negan on my face.

Donnie blanched in fear. It seemed he knew who I was. I would never enjoy being feared, but I could see Negan's point, sometimes it was useful.

The redhead turned back to face me. The scowl was still firmly in place. "Paula," she replied.

I nodded. "Paula, I'll remember that," I promised and I flashed her a dangerous smile.

The door clicked shut behind them and Arat spun around to face me. "That was so cool!" she enthused. "Paula is such a bitch, she bullies anyone she thinks she can get away with it. I thought Donnie was going to shit his pants!"

I nodded, the quiet place was still a little close in my head, but I needed to get over that. I stepped further into the room, towards the mats and turned back around to face Arat. "How much training have you had?"

She shook her head. "None," she said a little self consciously. "Sorry."

I shook my head. "No reason to apologize. It means you have no bad habits for me to break. Do you exercise?"

"Just the elliptical a few days a week in our gym," she said her eyes running over the far superior equipment in the soldiers gym. She turned back to me. "You know for cardio....it's rule one."

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Jo

I worked with Arat for a couple hours. By the end she was sweating, exhausted and still just as enthusiastic to learn as in the beginning. She had been self-conscious in the beginning about not having fought before, but it made her a blank slate with no bad habits. I absolutely could train her. We finished up with some of the sets I usually ran through. We didn't do many because we were short on time but I wanted to show her some so she could work everyday by herself in case I couldn't meet her for training.

We split up to get cleaned up before dinner. I headed back to my room and showered fast. I stared down at my clothes trying to decide what to put on. I had mostly been wearing comfy clothes down in the mess hall, but if I was really going to do this, I needed to do this. I pulled on a pair of leather pants and a tight Henley. I would help in the mess with dinner and then I needed to find Negan. I felt like I owed him an apology and I also needed to get my knives from his room. I needed them back if I was going to train Arat.

No more hiding.

I was the first back in the kitchen and I started putting away the dishes. I needed to talk to Negan about getting more workers down here so I could focus on training Arat. With Merle gone and now Dwight's betrayal Negan was going to insist I have someone watching my back. I would rather it be someone I chose and trained myself rather than another of his mindless soldiers. There seemed to be plenty of people upstairs, it shouldn't be too hard to find someone else to work the kitchens so I could keep Arat with me.

The door swung open and I continued to work thinking it was either Arat or Michelle returning for the dinner rush.

That was my first mistake.

"Where is he?" an angry voice rasped from behind me. I whirled around and saw Simon standing in the doorway. He was dirty and sweaty from the road, but his eyes gleamed with temper.

"Negan?" I asked, frowning. I could feel the tension in the air and I was being very, very careful not to make things worse. I couldn't think who else he would be looking for.

"I don't give a shit about Negan. Where is Dwight?" Simon snarled.

His sudden anger didn't make sense and my hand automatically dropped to my knives for reassurance, but there was nothing on my belt. I felt naked without my shoulder rig. My knives were all still sitting up in Negan's room. I was completely unarmed. Again.

That was my second mistake.

Simon stalked towards me. I refused to back down, or let him see any fear on my face. My brain was automatically cataloging all the possible ways he could attack and how I would have to fight without me even having to consider it. There was a dangerous gleam in his eye, a hint of mania. I wasn't armed, and the closest weapons were on his body. There was a knife on one hip and a handgun on the other. His body was positioned in a way that meant he would go for the gun not the knife. For him the knife was an afterthought. For me, it meant protection and safety. Life. My eyes locked on the knife, but he was too far away for me to take it from him.

"You have spent every day for the last two weeks with him trotting around behind you. I don't believe for a second you didn't see this coming. Where is he?!"

Simon's shout startled me, but only because I had been so focused on the knife. I wasn't paying attention to his words anymore, I was watching his shoulders and hands, waiting for him to go for a weapon.

I frowned not understanding at first what he had been talking about. "I-" I started to say.

Simon made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat and took an aggressive step towards me. "Negan may buy that wounded bird routine, but I sure as shit don't. Me and my men just spent all damn day out in that shitty forest. You're making me look like an idiot."

He took another step towards me, bringing the knife closer. Everything around me went quiet as I focused entirely on the knife in front of me. "Now I know you know where he went. Tell me now, and things won't have to get...uncomfortable."

The threat registered where none of his other words had. There had always been a small part of me that assumed Negan's power would protect me. That even though Simon was testing the waters against Negan his fear of Negan meant he wouldn't come after me.

That was my third mistake.

Simon took another step towards me stepping into my space and bringing the knife within reach. As soon as it was close enough for me to take I was able to think again. I looked up at him and resisted the urge to grimace. He reeked like old sweat and stale food.

"I don't know where he is," I assured him, keeping my voice as calm and as casual as I could.

"Bullshit," he snarled. He snorted as he dragged his eyes over me. "Not so tough without all your toys are you?"

There was a part of me that wanted to show him exactly how much I was capable of without any weapons. He needed to be afraid of me. If he was, it would help keep us safe. But now that I was able to think again, I realized that escalating this situation wouldn't help anyone. We all needed to work together to find Dwight and the missing Insulin before we lost more people.

Behind Simon the door swung open and Arat froze as she took in what was happening. Simon stiffened and turned his head to look over his shoulder. There had been a brief flash of fear in his eyes and I knew he was worried he had been caught by Negan. Fear was what could keep Simon in his place. Lucky for me I had never had to work very hard at being feared. All I needed was to show them what lived in my head.

I used his moment of distraction to step into his space. I moved fast and jerked the knife out of the sheath on his belt and pressed it against his stomach. I wasn't attacking him, but I needed his full attention.

He didn't flinch. He turned to look down at me, a revolting almost sexual gleam in his eye. "Little bird's got teeth," he growled his muscles coiling.

From inches away I let all the terrible things that lived in my head shine out my eyes. He stilled. My breathing kicked up a notch as I fought to contain it. I pushed myself up onto my tiptoes and bit my lip as I glared out of the tops of my eyes at him. "I'll gut you if you ever touch me again," I promised him. I rocked back onto flat feet and I let him see just how sincere I was.

I didn't need to make an enemy of Simon, but I refused to let him see me as weak ever again. I wouldn't let him think I could be used to get to Negan. I wanted him to realize I was one of the things that stood between him and Negan. In a moment of absolute clarity I knew that if he took a run at Negan I would kill Simon and not lose a wink of sleep over it. I wasn't sure what that said about me or what was left of my soul, but it was one of my truths. I would kill to keep Negan safe.

Simon's radio crackled on his belt. "Simon, he's here," someone said urgently.

Simon lifted his brows as he moved to get the radio, as though daring me to do something.

I nodded, giving him permission and he scowled at me.

He grabbed his radio up. "Where?" he snapped.

"He's here, at the gate."

"Keep him there, I'm on my way." He put his radio back and looked down at me. "So what's the plan little bird? Are you gutting me today or are we going to go find Dwight?"

I flashed him a dangerous smile. I could feel how little control I had. This was the man who was threatening Negan, who was threatening our safety within these walls. It would be so easy to end this right now.

I stepped back, but kept his knife, sliding it naked into my belt. "Too bad you're not going to get credit for this one," I said with a mocking pouty face.

He made a noise low in his chest and whirled away from me, stalking out of the room. He wasn't exactly running from me, the radio call had given him an exit that saved face. Still, I felt like I had accomplished my goal.

I turned to Arat. Her eyes were wide from my and Simon's exchange. As excited as she had been to see me put Paula in my place what had just happened between Simon and I was something else entirely. It reassured me to know she could tell the difference. She didn't exactly look afraid of me, just wary as I approached her.

"Simon doesn't forgive and forget," she warned me grimly.

I flashed her a smile that felt brittle as it stretched my face in strange ways, like it was a piece of pottery that would shatter and break. "Neither do I," I promised her meeting her gaze. All those pieces of myself were too close to the surface for me to hide, but instead of being scared Arat looked impressed. 

Arat nodded thoughtfully. "You're scary," she observed falling into step beside me as I headed towards the door.

I nodded and turned to look at her. "I guess I can be," I told her.

She snorted and held the door for me. "No 'can be' about it boss lady."

I hesitated then, turning to look down at her from the stairs above her. "Negan's the boss here," I corrected. I didn't want anyone to think I was threatening his power, instead I wanted to strengthen it.

Arat nodded placatingly, but couldn't contain her snort. "Whatever you say."

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Jo

Arat and I hurried up towards the front gate. When I stepped out into the yard I frowned when I spotted only Dwight and his wife. The sister-in-law was no where to be seen. The two of them were standing next to a motorcycle I had never seen before. They had their hands up while Jared and Travis pointed rifles at their chests. Neither had a weapon in hand. Dwight had a crossbow strapped across his back and she had a large, black duffle bag over one shoulder.

I frowned. I didn't remember seeing a crossbow in the armory nor had Simon or Negan mentioned Dwight stealing weapons. It was an odd choice of weapon for anything but a single stealth strike or maybe hunting. The reload would be too slow against humans or biters. For someone to use it effectively they would have to be fast, and incredibly good hand-to-hand. They would be a formidable fighter. Not Dwight. If that had been all he had out there to protect them they were lucky to have made it back alive.

"Well," Negan's voice rang out through the yard. 

I found I could take a deep breath for the first time since Simon cornered me. Just knowing Negan was close helped me tuck a few more of those pieces away. I didn't need them when he was around.

"Just what in the shitting hell do we have here?" Negan growled. He came down the side stairs slowly. His bat was resting over one shoulder and there was an aggressive tilt to his head as he took in the scene below him. I sucked in a breath as I stared up at him. He wore his cold, cruel mask and looked more dangerous than I had seen him in a long time.

"I just-" Simon started to say.

Negan's eyes snapped over to him. "You just nothing Simon," he growled and he turned back to look at Dwight and Sherry. Sherry was half hidden behind Dwight, her shoulders hunched in fear. "Looks to me like a couple of thieves found their way home." When he hit the yard everyone dropped to a knee almost in unison. It was impressive.

Negan's eyes cut to me. I was the only one left standing. A lazy smirk drew itself across his face. He dragged his tongue along his lower lip and I could see in his eyes he was thinking about finishing what we had started earlier in the kitchen. A shiver went down my spine and I shot him a scowl flickering my eyes back to Dwight and Sherry. He was flirting with me when he needed to be focused on what was in front of him.

Negan threw his head back and laughed. Then he turned back to Dwight and Sherry. "Oh shit, I'm sorry, I got distracted as shit by my Hot Friend over there. Now, what was it we were talking about?"

Simon was glaring up at me from his knees. It gave me a tiny thrill of satisfaction to see him being forced into submission, but I kept my face impassive and ignored him. I kept my attention firmly on Dwight and Sherry.

"Oh right," Negan said snapping with his free hand. "You cocksuckers stealing from me."

"We-" Sherry started to say.

Negan whipped around and leveled the bat at her, the point of the barbed wire across the end stopped only inches from her face. Dwight tensed but didn't move a muscle to protect her. Revulsion clawed it's way up my throat. Coward.

"Interrupting someone is rude as shit." Negan admonished jovially as though he were correcting children. "For the record," he said leaning close to Sherry's face and flashing her that dangerous fox-in-the-hen-house smile. "Stealing is also rude as shit. And incidentally against the rules..." Negan cracked his neck and his face fell to something all the more terrifying for it's sincerity as he turned to face Dwight. "Now D, I know you know what happens when someone breaks the rules."

Negan turned away from them, swinging his bat casually. "Simon!" he bellowed.

Simon lifted his head to look up at Negan.

Negan's face was hard, his dark eyes like granite. "Call an assembly. Two hours. We got business to attend to," he growled ominously.

Simon nodded. He pushed himself to his feet and turned to head back inside.

"Oh and Simon," Negan called after him.

Simon stopped and turned around to face Negan.

"Don't forget to round up Doc Carson. Let him know he's gonna have two patients tonight," Negan said grimly. "Assuming they both survive," he added with a hopeful smile. Behind him Sherry began sobbing.

Negan turned to where Regina and Gavin knelt a short distance away. "Get up off your asses. Some of you son's of bitches still gotta work for a living. Search 'em, tie 'em up, bring them to the factory floor," he ordered.

Negan stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest as his men scrambled into action, all nearly stumbling over one another to follow his orders.

Sherry cried out in terror and wailed as The Savior soldiers converged on them. I stood where I was, watching as they searched them and tied their hands behind their backs. Dwight's face was completely blank as though he had resigned himself to his fate. Sherry begged and cried as the men tied her hands behind her back and took her bag.

Regina opened the bag and pulled out a cooler. She lifted it up for Negan to see.

"Get that shit to Doc Carson pronto," Negan ordered.

Regina nodded briskly and moved inside. Gavin waved to his men and they dragged Dwight and Sherry away. Before the door closed I could hear Sherry crying hysterically, but Dwight was silent.

Once they were gone Negan whirled away and stormed out of the yard. His shoulders were tight and he slammed the door behind him.

"Come on," I told Arat and I headed back inside the way we had come.

Arat stopped me just inside the door. "If he's calling everyone together we have to go. Otherwise you can be fined for missing," she hesitated for a moment. "Well, maybe not you...but I can be."

"I'll meet you there," I promised her. I didn't want her thinking I ignored the rules completely. I was happy to train her and if she continued to work out have her watch my back, but I couldn't completely disregard the rules in front of her. The rules kept us safe even from ourselves sometimes. I needed to start leading by example a little bit.

She nodded. "I'm going to get my mom. I'll see you." She hurried away down the hall.

I headed towards Negan's room. I wasn't sure where he had gone, but I wasn't going to stand in front of all of The Sanctuary without my knives. When I got to his hallway Fat Joey was on guard duty. I nodded my head to him and he nodded back respectfully.

"Is he here?" I asked in a low tone.

Fat Joey nodded, but his expression was frightened. "M-maybe kn-knock," he stammered. I felt bad, because it was clear he was as frightened of upsetting me almost as much as he was scared of upsetting Negan. It put him between a rock and a hard place and the poor man was just trying to do his job.

I tried flashing him a reassuring smile but it only seemed to make him more nervous. I stepped up to the door and rapped my knuckles against it.

There was a pause and a gruff. "Come in," muffled by the door.

I stepped inside.

Negan was pacing along the length of the apartment. The bat and his leather jacket had been discarded next to the pile of my own knives and jacket. I kicked the door closed behind me and he cocked his head to the side.

"Why did you knock?" he asked frowning.

I arched a brow. "You scared Fat Joey so badly he recommended I not surprise you," I informed him.

He grunted. "At least someone's still afraid of me," he growled and he resumed his pacing.

I moved across the room and leaned my hip against the bed. He wanted to talk, needed to talk. I could feel it, but I didn't think I would get anywhere by pushing him. I needed to wait for him to come to me.

It took a few minutes for the storm of his anger to subside. He finally dragged his hand through his hair and turned back to me. The anger was suppressed, but the need for action had built into something different. His eyes raked over me and it felt like physical caress. He bit his lower lip and took a step towards me.

His gaze dropped lower and when it landed on my belt he stopped abruptly a frown darkening his face.  It was then I remembered I still had Simon's knife wedged under my belt.

He took a step towards me and looked down at it. "That ain't your steal Hot Friend," he observed. I didn't need it but his use of the nickname reminded me just how close to the edge he was right now.

Right now he wasn't my Negan. He had to be their's.

I flashed him a confident smirk. "I commandeered it," I told him.

"Problems?" he inquired, his voice was calm, but I could feel the tension simmering just below the surface. At this point it could go either way what he decided to do with it. I realized in that moment I had the power here to push it any way I chose. It was a terrifying prospect.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," I promised him and I pushed myself up on tip toes and pressed a gentle kiss against his cheek. Hoping to calm him. I still stood by my belief that he needed to talk and the tension thrumming through his body wouldn't lead to that.

He made a sound low in his throat and took almost a gasp of air. He wrapped an arm around me, crushing me to his chest as he drew in a deep sigh of relief and when he let it out his muscles sagged. He was my Negan once again.

He held me in his arms for several long minutes before he finally spoke. His voice rumbling deep in his chest. "I don't want you there tonight," he finally said, but it didn't sound final or like a command. It sounded like an opening, like the beginning of what was bothering him, I just needed to find the right thread and pull.

"Why not?" I asked him, pulling back so I could look up at his face.

He let me go although he didn't move back. He wanted to stay close.

"What Dwight did," he said and his lips flattened grimly as his body went rigid again. "It can't happen again, not ever."

I nodded in agreement. I certainly wasn't going to argue the point with him.

"He nearly killed someone else because he was a cowardly little selfish bitch," Negan growled his fists tightening so much his knuckles turned white.

I nodded again. "I agree," I said simply.

"He has been your protection detail for months. You've eaten meals with him, talked to him..." he dragged off and he looked away. There were too possibilities for what was bothering Negan. The first was that he felt guilty for trusting Dwight and the second...

"...made friends with him?" I filled in for him.

Negan grunted.

"I wouldn't say we were friendly," I told Negan. "He was too afraid of me for that."

"Yeah, but he was still one of your people."

My eyebrows shot up at that. "One of my people?" I clarified. I hadn't realized I had people, or that Negan thought of anyone as being 'my people'. I couldn't fathom a world where he would be comfortable with that. That one statement was tantamount to him sharing power. It simply didn't register for me as a possibility.

Negan stepped up so he was close enough to touch. He stared straight down at me and the intensity in his gaze took my breath away. "There are only so many people I trusted with you," he told me, his voice low and gravely with sincerity. He reached up and his fingers were whisper light as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. After a second his eyes glittered with humor. "And only so many people I trusted around you," he added a little wryly.

I snorted and nodded, knowing he wasn't wrong. On my worst days only he and Merle had been able to get anywhere near me. Dwight was one of the few who I had trusted enough to be around me even when I wasn't fully in control. It was disconcerting when I thought about his betrayal. Had he truly wanted to hurt me he had more chances than I could count.

I shook off the thought. I couldn't think about the past, I needed to focus on what was in front of me. And right now that was Negan. With him so close I found it difficult to focus on much of anything. I could feel his warmth even though he was still inches away. I reached up and my fingers traced the flat line of his sternum through his white t-shirt. 

"The point," Negan said, taking a measured step back and shooting me a contrite look.

Even though he was trying to be serious and remain focused I had a small moment of triumph to know I could distract him just as easily as he could distract me. It made me feel like we were on more even ground.

"The point," he repeated, tilting my chin up with his knuckle. "Is that I am going to have to make it clear to everyone at Sanctuary that doing what Dwight did is not only unacceptable, but will rain down on them a worse hell than they could possibly imagine," his voice was hushed, barely over a whisper. When I met his gaze he was staring down at me, willing me to understand.

I drew in a deep breath. Negan was trying to protect me. He was trying to protect me from myself, from him, and from having to see someone I trusted be punished. I swallowed. "You have to make an example of him," I said the words calmly and matter-a-fact so he would know I understood and didn't judge him.

"I do," he agreed. "And I don't want you there," he repeated, but once again it wasn't an order.

I sucked in a surprised breath as I suddenly remembered my conversation with Arat. "But you can't afford for me to not be there," I filled in as understanding dawned.

Negan looked down and his warm hands came up to rest on my shoulders. "I don't want to have to ask you to stand beside me while I do this..." he dragged off. "You and your new girl-"

"Arat," I corrected without really thinking about it.

He grunted. "Arat," he repeated, knowing how much it irritated me when he didn't pay attention to workers names. "The two of you can stand in the back. People will see you there and you don't have to be standing right beside it."

I nodded, chewing on my lip thoughtfully. I took a step back from him and he let his arms drop in resignation. He looked exhausted and I wanted to smooth the lines of stress from his face more than anything. I moved across the room, as though I were pacing away from him. I stopped next to the side table where my knives and jacket rested beside his bat and jacket. I picked up my shoulder holster and shrugged it on.

I hadn't worn it since the night Merle died but my fingers were steady and sure as I fastened the buckles. I put on my thigh holster and checked my knives. I shrugged into my jacket feeling like myself again. I turned back to face Negan and he was staring at me through hooded eyes. "I'll be standing beside you," I promised him.

His eyes were wary and I could tell he wanted to argue, but surprisingly he held his tongue. "You sure about this sweetheart?"

I drew in a deep breath and nodded. "I'm sure," I promised him. "I'm all in. No more hiding."

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So...what did you think?

It's so amazing to be back! I've missed writing both Jo and Negan, but it was great to take a small break. It's allowed me to come back to the story with fresh eyes and renewed enthusiasm. I re-read the whole thing for the first time and now have a plan for the direction I want to take it. I'm going to be deviating from cannon quite a bit, but I hope you will all trust me and stick with me.

Thank you so much!