Hello friends! Another update for you! I'm so excited to put this one out. I'm going to be deviating from canon from now on, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!

Happy Reading!

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Negan
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I was beyond pissed. I was done. Beyond done. This had been a total fuck up and it was Simon's fault. The bastard couldn't keep it together one more goddamn day. He had endangered every single one of us because he couldn't keep his ego in check. He had endangered our soldiers, The Sanctuary, our alliance with the Hilltop, and above all Jo. None of which was acceptable.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.

None of this should have happened. The response of the people of Hilltop was expected. I didn't blame them for fighting back when they were attacked inside their walls. In fact, I would have been disappointed if they hadn't. I wasn't going to punish them for defending their home. Not having fighters was their weakness, but even the farmers would fight if they were attacked. Simon had underestimated them.

I wasn't sure if the relationship could ever be saved, or if it was going to have to be the stick to keep them in line now. I was betting so. They might have forgiven a beating, but killing the teenager had been the final nail in the coffin. No one was going to forgive that.

I glanced out of the corner of my eye. Jo was sitting silently, staring down at her hands. She was blaming herself for what happened. I could see it and there was nothing I could do about it, not yet. I was too damn pissed off to be able to make her feel better. I was still shaking with the desire to beat Simon's head in for his stupidity.

Jo was sitting close to the door, as far from me as possible. I wasn't sure that I had necessarily scared her, but she was being very, very careful of me. She was sensitive to my mood, always had been and I hated that she thought she needed to give me so much space. At least I hoped that's what was happening and that she wasn't wallowing in guilt and blaming herself. She hadn't done a thing wrong.

I glanced towards her and there was a small trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth. My rage rose once again. I should have bashed Simon's brains in a left him in the dirt for the farmers to clean up. There had been one damn fighter in the whole place and of course Jo had thrown herself straight at him. She had nearly slit his throat too. It might have been better if she had. Leaving someone like that behind us after what happened could be dangerous. But she would have felt bad about that later.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel until it hurt. Jo should never have been in that situation. I thought I was fine bringing her along to see the other communities, but what happened today made me want to drag her back to the factory and lock her up. She had been through so much I wanted to protect her from the world and I couldn't.

I hated that feeling. It felt weak as shit. And I hated anything that was weak. Weakness into strength, but there was no way to do that when it came to Jo. If I was the Hilltop I would be coming after us with everything they had and the song and dance put Jo right in the crosshairs for anyone looking to hurt me.

Dwight had done his job today, but there was going to need to be a guard with her twenty-four seven. Dwight and Arat were good, but I was going to need to find someone else she was willing to work with. It wasn't safe anymore and I couldn't protect her all the time. I knew how much that was going to piss her off. I wasn't looking forward to that conversation, but it had to happen.

I was also going to have to do something about Simon as soon as we got back. It couldn't wait. The bastard had finally forced my hand. Maybe it was what he was after all along, but he had picked a hell of a way to do it. We had a long history him and I and I never thought it would come down to something as shitty as this. I had always thought of Simon as being a straight shooter, but this backstabby bullshit was going to end, one way or another.

I glanced back at Jo. I had two options really for handling Simon. Either I could deal with it quick and quietly, or I could take him down in front of the whole community. I knew which way Jo would say. She would want the threat to simply be eliminated. But I couldn't do that, not without knowing how deep this bullshit ran. He could have been sowing seeds of dissent throughout The Sanctuary and I needed to make sure it was squashed out. Whatever I did, was going to have to be a statement.

I just hoped Jo would forgive me for it. In the end, it was what needed to happen to keep us safe.

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Jo
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The drive home was absolutely silent in the truck. I could feel how angry Negan was over what had happened. We went to The Hilltop to fix the issues between our communities and now they were worse. We had managed to get out of there without any casualties but I wasn't sure we had escaped as unscathed as it first appeared.

Negan parked the truck inside the gates. He put the truck in park and sighed. He turned to look at me. I could see indecision weighing in his eyes, but his jaw was still tight with rage. "I'm going to have to take care of this," he said tightly.

I nodded, pressing my lips together. I could taste blood in my mouth still and I wiped at my lips. I looked down at my hand as blood came away on my fingers. He finally looked at me and when he saw the blood on my fingers his eyes darkened. I quickly scrubbed it away on my pants.

"Of course you do," I said quickly, trying to distract him. I honestly hadn't even noticed Jesus had hit me. It was a minor thing, but Negan could be protective and he needed to focus on the issue at hand. The men began unloading from the trucks behind us. Simon and Dwight walked around the side of the truck into sight.

He nodded thoughtfully as he stared at Simon. "It's going to get ugly," he muttered and I could see how hard this was going to be for him. He and Simon had been together for a long time.

I reached down to my thigh sheath and pulled a knife. I twirled it through my fingers. "I can finish this now," I told him emotionlessly. And I could. I hated Simon and the threat he posed to our family.

Negan chuckled once humorlessly and turned to me, his eyes softening. He leaned in, his hand moving lightning fast to grab my wrist and he jerked me across the seat and against him. He pressed his lips against mine. "I know you would," he said against my lips. "But this is on me."

I pulled back just enough so I could look him in the eyes. "I thought we were a team," I said as lightly as I could manage.

"Oh we are," he promised, with a glinting smirk. "But Simon is challenging me, and I need to answer that."

I didn't agreed but I nodded anyway because there was no point in arguing. It would only serve to distract him further. I hated it. Hated the idea of Negan having to do this himself, but I recognized that he was right. We had to make it clear how strong we were and it couldn't look as though Negan couldn't fight his own battles. Which is exactly how it would look if I stepped out of the truck and killed Simon where he stood. We had rules for a reason. Even he and I had to follow them or this was all meaningless.

We climbed out of the truck and Negan called all of his generals together for a meeting in the overseer's office. Garret, Regina, Simon and I all took our seats at the table. Simon sat at the foot of the table while Negan had me sit at his right. It surprised me when he insisted Arat and Dwight join us, and he had them stand behind me. It was an interesting show of power. I didn't think was exactly necessary, but Negan's point was clear. I was untouchable.

He would never show it, but I think what happened at the Hilltop had rattled him. Negan prided himself on being able to protect what was his, and even though I could take care of myself, he didn't see it that way. I think part of what bothered him most was that I had to fight. I wished somehow I could explain to him that he didn't need to shelter me, but then he wouldn't be Negan.

Negan was sitting at the head of the table with his feet up on the table.  He was methodically oiling the bat, just waiting, as he let Simon squirm in his seat. Simon's eyes flickered to the other leaders in the Sanctuary, and his gaze landed on me with Arat and Dwight over my shoulders and his eyes narrowed before turning back to Negan.

Negan had been watching him. "You better watch who you go giving the stink eye to," Negan warned pointing his bat straight at Simon's chest.

Simon exhaled impatiently and he seemed to decide to take control of the situation. "What happened at Hilltop," Simon began. "I lacked discipline, I made it personal...Things went bad," he conceded. "Though...I think we maybe would have found ourselves in a similar tactical situation regardless of approach," he defended. "The goal was to scare them, to send a message, and I believe I achieved that."

Negan's eyes narrowed as he stared down the table at Simon. He pointed his bat straight at Simon's face. "But who's message was it to send Simon?" he asked his voice deadly calm.

"I ask for a pass on this one," Simon said, hunching his shoulders submissively. "I'll make it up to you. I promise you." He said raising his eyes to meet Negan's.

A shiver went down my spine as I watched him. He was lying. I knew it with every piece of me. We couldn't trust him. Every instinct that lived in my broken and damaged head was telling me here and now that I needed to eliminate him, that he was too dangerous to live. That we weren't safe as long as he was here and alive. He wasn't on our side.

Negan however didn't look frightened at all. Instead he just flashed a casual smile and rested his bat over his shoulder. "You know," he said thoughtfully. "I remember when I took this place-"

Negan climbed to his feet and prowled around the end of the table turning to meet Simon's gaze. "When you, helped me take this place," he corrected himself. "I wasn't sure I wanted to keep you on board," he confessed. "I mean, before me, before there was a system in place...what you did, killing all those men, those boys in that settlement so long ago..." Negan growled dangerously as he moved around the table like some great stalking cat.

I could feel the tension in the room winding up like a spring coiling. Simon for his part was beginning to look nervous. He knew Negan well enough to be wary of him when he spoke softly and moved slowly. Simon was smarter than I gave him credit for.

Negan shook his head as though the memory disturbed even him. "A lot of people would think that was some psychotic shit." He took another step closer. "Like that was the work of a demented, broken, goddamn ghoul."

Negan paced around behind Simon and the other's at the table shifted uncomfortably. It was clear none of them had known any more about Simon's past than I had. Suddenly, Negan's utter lack of trust in Simon in the past made perfect sense. From the very beginning of my time here Negan had gone to great lengths to make sure I was never alone with Simon. I had never considered the possibility that he was that much worse than the others here.

"Like, that's not someone you want to work with," Negan continued. "Let alone stand next to...so I figured I would keep my eye on you...and I did," he said leaning close. "And everything seemed to work out, right up until this point," Negan pressed his lips together and while no one else could see it, I knew what it was taking for him to do this.

I loved him all the more for it.

"I'm going to need you on your knees," Negan said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Simon nodded and shoved himself away from the table. His back was to Negan, but his eyes were filled with hatred at they stared at me. Negan rested the bat on Simon's shoulder.

"You gonna make a move?" Negan asked after a moment. "Or is that it?"

"No move to make," Simon said, although the resignation in his voice didn't sound sincere to me.

"No," Negan agreed. "There's not," he slapped Simon on the shoulder. "All is forgiven, get your ass up. Get back to work," he ordered, but he wasn't any more sincere than Simon had been.

I kept my face expressionless as I looked back and forth between them and tried to figure out what angle Negan was working here. He couldn't let Simon go. He couldn't. I could see plain as day that at this point Simon wouldn't hesitate to kill either one of us. Had Negan been fooled somehow by him?

Simon stood, rubbing his hands on his pants. "I won't let you down," he promised. "Not you."

Negan smiled at him but it had too much teeth. I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but Simon had just played straight into Negan's hand.

"I appreciate the hell out of that." Negan drawled and moved as though he were going back to his spot at the head of the table. His eyes glazed over me and he stopped as though he were just remembering something he pointed at me and snapped his fingers dramatically.

The show wasn't over yet.

He turned back to face Simon wagging his index finger at him. "But there's someone else I think you need to take a knee to and beg for a little forgiveness, don't you?"

Simon's eyes went back and forth from Negan to me as realization dawned on his face. "You're kidding," Simon spat in disbelief.

Negan's grin would have made a shark cringe. "Do I look like I'm kidding?" He asked, leaning a hip against the table. "Do this look the face of a goddamn joker?" he asked tilting his head towards Simon dangerously. "Now, the way I figure it, you have offended the two of us here. I mean what if something were to happen to me? I would hate to think that I would be gone and you, my right hand...you would be on the outs with the new leader of The Sanctuary."

Simon froze, as did everyone else at the table. It was Negan's bomb. And he dropped it with a smile.

I fought to keep my face neutral, fought not to let the others see my shock and suprise. We had never talked about this. I didn't want to lead The Sanctuary. Not ever. That was Negan's job, I couldn't lead anyone nor did I want to. I didn't see things clearly enough, wasn't stable enough. If Negan died I wouldn't have any reason to stay.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Simon muttered under his breath so low I almost couldn't hear him from less than eight feet away.

"I'm sorry?" Negan asked leaning into him and cupping his ear dramatically. "I didn't quite catch that."

The glower that Simon shot Negan as he slowly lifted his eyes from the table would have sent lesser men running. But Negan just threw back his head and laughed.

"There he is," Negan crowed triumphantly. He cocked his head to the side and slouched as he stared into Simon's eyes. "There's my man."

"You're weak," Simon snarled. "And you..." he growled turning to me. Simon tried to launch himself across the table at me, his fingers reaching for my throat.

Negan slammed the bat onto the table inches from his face. Simon pulled back as Arat and Dwight surged forward and grabbed his arms, hauling him back away from me. There was already a knife in my hand, and I was itching to use it.

"Now there is the Simon that I know," Negan said with a laugh. "He comes right at you instead of all that backstabby bullshit that's been going on. You call me weak," he asked staring down at Simon who was glaring at me. "You're the one who killed some kid to prove you had balls. You're the one sneaking around behind my back, trying to take power because you got your feelings hurt. But, after all of this..." Negan said turning back around to face Simon. "And me being me. I'm still going to give you your shot." Negan prowled towards him, his head tilted dangerously. 

I went cold as I suddenly realized what was about to happen. I opened my mouth but there was nothing for me to say. No way for me to stop this. I knew Negan was going to have to make an example out of Simon, but I never would have agreed to this.

"If you wanna be the man, you have to beat the man," Negan growled. "If you can do that...then hell, you should be the man."

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Jo
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It took half an hour to round everyone up. So I only had half an hour alone with Negan before he did this. It felt like I couldn't breathe. I couldn't believe he had agreed to do this. He could have just killed Simon. Hell, my mind was running over all the times I could have just killed him and been done with this. All those times he had threatened me, glared at me, felt like a threat, but I hadn't. Now I might lose Negan because of it.

It wasn't a mistake I was ever going to make again. Letting an enemy so close and still breathing was unacceptable. I paced restlessly back and forth in the back hall. We didn't have time to go back to his room for privacy, but Arat and Dwight had stepped away, giving us the illusion of privacy at least. Negan for his part didn't look at all concerned. He was leaning against the wall watching me.

"How could you be so stupid?" I railed for probably the hundredth time.

He just shrugged like he couldn't help it. "It has to be done. This is part of it." He said, but we both knew that, and he knew that I knew, it didn't help my anxiety however. I couldn't stand the thought of him going out onto the factory floor for a fight to the death. And Dwight had explained to me it was to the death. There would be no submission taken on this one. I wasn't surprised. I knew them both well enough to know neither of them would give an inch.

I blew out a sigh and turned to face him. "Just..." I started to say and stopped. I didn't know how to explain to him how I felt, how badly I wanted him to survive. "Kill him," I said resolutely, because there was nothing else.

Negan pushed himself off the wall, he stalked towards me, his muscles coiling and releasing all incredibly deliberately. I watched him through hooded eyes. Negan already knew I was attracted to him, so I didn't see any reason to pretend otherwise. His movement reminded me that he was a fighter, I had known that the first time I saw him, but trusting it would be the most difficult thing I would ever do.

When I first met Negan I had thought he was the most dangerous man I had ever seen. The included the man who turned me into what I was. But now he was human to me, I knew that larger than life persona was just a mask and beneath that was just a man. I was terrified for him.

He stalked up to me, took my face in both of his hands. He stared down at me for a beat, studying my face as though he might never see it again, and he kissed me passionately. Then he pressed his forehead against mine. "I will," he promised and he stalked out onto the factory floor.

I followed at a more sedate pace. Negan turned and looked at both Arat and Dwight. "If this goes sideways-" he started.

Arat nodded once sharply and he looked satisfied. I got the impression there had been some conversation I had missed, but I was too worked up to care right not.

He flashed me a cocky grin. "Back in a minute sweetheart."

The soldiers were gathered in a large circle on the factory floor with Negan and Simon standing in the middle of it. This wasn't something for the civilians to see. This was business.

Simon paced restlessly in a circle, while Negan stood calmly in the center of the storm. Simon may have wanted to rule the place but it was obvious to any one looking which man had the charisma and power to lead. Simon seemed sloppy and insignificant compared to Negan.

Negan turned to me and made a show of handing his bat over to me. "Watch Lucille for me Hot Friend," Negan said with a wink and I realized all the men around me were watching us closely.

"Everyone!" Simon bellowed and the crowd quieted. "Once this is done we all get back to work!" Simon shrugged out of his jacket and made a show of rolling up his sleeves. "Know that I didn't want this. But the Sanctuary must stand...and this is no longer the man to execute that endeavor," he said gesturing behind him to Negan who stood calmly with his hands at his side. "You want to know my problem?" Simon asked turning and looking at the gathered crowds. "It's that!" he yelled pointing at me emphatically where I stood holding the bat with two guards beside me. "She didn't earn that position. She didn't fight for this place. She didn't win it. And here she is building her own power base. She is taking control of this place not on the strength of her arm, but by the strength of her pussy. She has taken one of the greatest men I've ever known and torn him apart." He turned to leer at me. "My hats off to you," he said with a nod. "But when I'm done with him...you're next." he promised.

It was too much. The threat, the crowd gathered in a circle, the cheering, the fighting, it was exactly like the ring I fought in for so long and I was barely in control. I was so focused I didn't even see Negan's reaction to the threat.

I stared at Simon out of the tops of my eyes and pulled a knife. I pointed it at his chest. "Count on it," I promised him. Because if he killed Negan, he wasn't going to leave this room alive. It didn't matter what happened to me or the Sanctuary after that. I didn't care. He was going to die today. I let him see that on my face.

"I am as sick as everyone else with your little Bonny and Clyde routine," he growled. "You both-" he swung in that moment, catching Negan by surprise and sending him stumbling.

I tensed, every instinct I had in me ready to leap forward to defend Negan. Arat grabbed my arm, pulling me back. I swung to look at her and she met my gaze fearlessly. "He has to do it," She said in a low tone. "Otherwise you lead."

I nodded to her even though I hated it. I did understand. Just like ancient warrior chiefs, our leader earned his position and if I stepped in no one would ever respect Negan as the leader again.

I swung back around in time to see Simon punch Negan while he was down. He reached down, grabbing Negan up by his leather jacket. He held him and swung again, catching Negan across the jaw.

Negan spun with the motion and moved out of reach, throwing Simon off balance. Negan used the opportunity and shoved him so he could swing around behind. Simon stumbled and Negan slammed his powerful elbow down on the back of Simon's neck. Simon grunted and the crowd of Saviors cheered gleefully as their leader landed his first powerful blow. Negan punched Simon hard enough to send him flying across the open span of floor. Simon grunted and staggered away from Negan, dropping down to one knee.

Negan spun around to face the crowd, raising his hands. The crowd cheered wildly and it reminded me so much of the ring I could barely stand it. I sank my teeth into my bottom lip and wrapped my arms around myself.

Simon leaped to his feet and charged Negan, grabbing him by his collar. He tried to push Negan off his feet, but Simon wasn't strong enough. He swung his fist and Negan pulled back so it was just a glancing blow off his jaw and Negan shoved him away again.

Simon charged him once more, swinging wildly. He was coming apart. He may have been able to take on Negan when he had caught him by surprise and had the upper hand, but now that they were going head to head it was clear he was outmatched.

Negan ducked and swung out of the way. Simon stumbled over his feet and yelled, completely enraged. He ran straight at Negan who grabbed him by the neck and began raining down brutally, powerful blows. Negan gripped Simon by the collar in one hand and didn't let up as he slammed his fist repeatedly into his face.

Finally he hits him hard enough for Simon to stumble away. Blood was running from various cuts on his face and he was gasping for breath. Negan prowled across the floor towards Simon. Simon swing wildly at him and managed to land a single punch, but Negan didn't flinch as he grabbed Simon again.

He head butted Simon and swept his legs out from under him. Simon landed on his back on the concrete floor at Negan's feet. Negan stood over him and stopped for a moment as he stared down at Simon's bloody face. Then he slammed his heel down on Simon's face over and over until it was a bloody mess.

I swallowed and drew in a deep breath as the metallic scent of blood filled the air. It was one of the most brutal beatings I had ever seen. And that was saying something. Negan dropped to a knee beside him and wrapped his hands around Simon's neck.

"You went for it all at Hilltop," Negan snarled. He squeezed, the muscles and tendons in his own neck standing out with the effort of choking the life out of Simon. It was a gruesome and I didn't understand why they hadn't just used knives to fight one another. Silence fell over the crowd as they realized what was happening. Maybe none of them had actually expected it to go so far.

Negan's face pinched as his whole body shook and there was a cracking noise that echoed through the silent factory. When it stopped Simon's body went slack. The whole room was quiet enough to hear Negan's panting as he stood.

Negan straightened and turned, looking over his Saviors. "What an asshole," he muttered and he chuckled. He ran the back of his hand over his forehead to wipe the sweat away. He kicked the corpse away from him and stalked around the small circle. His eyes were still glinting with the excitement of the fight. His shoulders were tight with tension as he paced across the concrete floor looking every single man in the face challengingly. No one could hold his gaze for more than a second.

"Any one else think they want to be the man?" Negan called, holding his hands out challengingly. When no one responded he swung around to face me, a smirk stretching his face.

He stalked towards me, sweat dripping from his temples. This was the first time I had seen him that he truly looked as dangerous as he had the first night I met him.

He held his hand out for his bat. I handed it to him. He winked at me and turned back to the men. "All right, everyone back to work. Someone clean this shit up," he called to them and he paced out of the room disappearing down the hall.

I watched him go, uncertain if I should follow.

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Hope you enjoyed the update! Thank you as always for the amazing support!