Hello friends! I really hope you enjoy the update. Things are both simultaneously winding down and totally ramping up as we near the end of this story! From this point on I have diverged from canon, so I really hope you like it. 

Happy Reading!

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Jo

I stood in the middle of the factory floor as Negan stalked out of sight. The soldiers were in a frenzy over his victory. Their cheering and stomping echoed through the steel and glass building as Simon's blood flowed out onto the cement floor not two feet from where Merle had been torn to pieces. One found themselves on this floor from absolute betrayal, the other from absolute loyalty, but both were dead just the same. I tried not to let my mind go down that path, but it was difficult as the smell of blood and the clattering of bodies surrounded me in this place. 

Once Negan was out of sight the cheering soldiers turned to me. The mob was looking to me now to see what it was supposed to do. I needed to go after Negan, but I also needed to take care of this. The mob was a fickle mistress, it always had been regardless of the status of the world. The blood frenzy and triumphant energy following Negan's victory couldn't go to waste, it needed a direction or we risked losing every inch we gained today. Negan's theatrical exit had been necessary, we needed him to appear larger than life, but so was the directions that followed after.

I waited patiently for them to wear themselves out. They needed this. There were so few victories in our lives anymore, it was important to let them have the important ones. It felt strange standing before them without Negan as they screamed and stomped, but I felt better knowing Dwight and Arat were flanking me.

Dwight wasn't as patient as I was. He glanced towards me questioningly and when I didn't stop him he stepped out towards the front. "Hey shut up!" Dwight yelled.

The room immediately fell dead quiet. I stalked out into the middle of the circle, making it a point to completely disregard the blood I had to step in. I wasn't squeamish, but it was disrespectful. I couldn't let them misinterpret any of my actions in this moment however. I had to put on a show; just like Negan. I didn't like being the center of attention, but it had to be taken care of, it couldn't wait.

I cleared my throat and drew in a deep breath. The room was so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears. "What happened today..." I began turning in a slow circle so I could see everyone.

For my own self-control I needed to watch everyone's body language. The fight was too close for me to truly trust them. I had managed to hold it together during the fight, but the adrenaline was still coursing through my body. My hands tightened as my muscles coiled. Every part of me demanded release, but I had to be more than just a fighter now. Negan needed me to be a different kind of weapon, and I wasn't going to let him down. We had given up too much for this. We needed to know for a fact that Simon's betrayal had ended with his death.

"What happened will never happen again," I told them. "Simon endangered not only our lives but the lives of everyone under the Sanctuary's protection, not just soldiers, but also women and children...innocents," I added. I took a breath and waited a beat before continuing. My voice dropped to a warning growl. "That is unacceptable," I snarled. "I will not stand by and let that go unanswered ever again," I promised them. 

The men surrounding me shifted their weight uncomfortably, their triumphant joy stilling as they realized I was not celebrating as they expected. My fierce protectiveness had caught them all off guard. Good. I needed them to fear my threat more than they had ever feared anything. I wasn't bluffing. I had stood by and watched Negan fight to the death once, I wouldn't do it again. I couldn't. They might believe that they could still challenge him for leadership sometime in the future, but I would never let it get to that. They would meet the end of my blade in one of the lonely hallways before I let it happen again. Rules be damned. 

"Get his body out of here," I commanded coldly. I was beyond done, I wasn't playing nice any more, I was taking control before we found ourselves in this situation again. I wasn't willing to risk Negan's life like that, not again. "I want it hanging on the fence to serve as a reminder of what happens to those who challenge us and endanger our people."

I may have gone a little over the top, but I couldn't back down now. There could be no question about what would follow. My instincts were screaming at me to exert our control and dominance. When I said 'us' I didn't mean the group, I meant Negan and I. Negan had stalked out of the room certain that they would fall in line, I wasn't so trusting. I glided my fingers over the handles of my knives as I looked every single one of them in the face.

I was shocked when one by one every man in the room dropped to their knees and bowed their heads to me. I drew in a deep breath and tried not to seem surprised. I had been so ready to fight, so conditioned by my past that the only way for us to survive was to fight, that it had never occurred to me that they would willingly submit. Submission was such a foreign concept to me, I couldn't imagine willingly yielding without a fight.

I drew in a deep breath and lifted my chin confidently. "Let's all get back to work," I called to them. With a subtle gesture of my fingers I left Dwight and Arat behind to ensure my orders were followed and I stalked out of the room no less dramatically than Negan.

I started shaking as I turned the first corner and was alone. I leaned my back against the cool concrete and forced myself to breathe. I was nearly lightheaded with relief. Somehow we had both survived, but what I hadn't expected was the feeling of power and control that came from our soldiers kneeling for me. Negan hadn't been there, it wasn't his threat that commanded their respect, it had been mine. I was almost giddy at the prospect. Was it possible we were finally safe? I had nearly given up on the concept. I had spent so long fighting, I didn't know how to stop.

I took a few moments to compose myself before I walked back to Negan's apartment. I knew him well enough to know he would be self conscious over what he had to do. Not that he would regret what he did, but that he would worry about how I would react to what he had done. He had never completely let loose in front of me before. I didn't want him to ever feel like he had to hide from me. He wouldn't see any judgement on my face.

I slipped into the apartment. The shower was running but the bathroom door was open. It was as much of an invitation as I would get if he was feeling insecure. Negan's leather jacket and the bat were resting on the couch. I shrugged out of my own jacket and tossed it on top of his. Covering up the bat.

Feeling almost giddy and more than a little playful I stepped up to the stereo on the shelf just outside the bathroom door and hit play on the CD player. It was Negan's favorite song. It felt wrong on so many levels, and yet somehow incredibly appropriate as well.

Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and faith.

I stepped into the cloud of steam, threw my shirt on the floor, and shimmied out of my jeans. I slipped into the shower behind Negan just as the first bars of the song started. He was resting his hands against the tile with his head buried beneath the spray. I slid my hands up his spine.

And I was 'round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate

He glanced over his shoulder, a smirk on his face, but his eyes were serious. "Well, what do you think Hot Friend?" He was waiting to see if I was going to pull away or if I was going to accept him for who he was.

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name

After everything he had done for me, there was no question. I exhaled away the last of my stress and pressed a kiss against his bare skin. "I think we're safe."

But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game

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Three Months Later

Jo

It had been three months since Simon died and The Sanctuary had thrived. I don't know if Negan had realized the true extent of the discord Simon had been sowing in the general population. Things were running smoothly now.

I walked through the market, sipping my morning coffee, moving through the crowds of people with absolutely zero fear. I had overslept and Negan was already gone by the time I got out of bed. The luxury of a lazy morning was something we had both began to grow accustom to, but Negan had business to attend to this morning and had been extra quiet getting ready. Many people stopped to chat with me about innocuous things as they started their day.

I was heading down to help train some of the new recruits when I heard running feet coming up behind me in the hall. I turned, my weight automatically rocking onto my back leg. We had been safe for months, but old habits died hard.

It was a young kid named Caleb who had come in a month before with his mom and younger sister. His mom spent most of her time taking care of his younger sister so he had been running errands for us to earn their keep. I maybe pushed the amount of points far beyond what he was actually earning to make sure they had enough to get by, but he was also saving us from having to use power to keep walkies charged.

Caleb skidded to a stop behind me out of breath. "Negan is calling a meeting."

I frowned at that. Negan hadn't called a surprise meeting in months. The last one had been that fateful day with Simon. "Did he say why?" I asked chewing on the inside of my lip thoughtfully.

Caleb shook his head. "He said to cancel your class and get your..." he blanched over delivering the message word for word.

I lifted an eyebrow, knowing it was because Negan had no doubt used a colorful expression he wasn't comfortable repeating. I liked Caleb's mom a lot, she ran a tight ship with her kids and even without her standing here he was afraid of breaking one of her rules.

"-Ass up to the office," Caleb finished sheepishly.

"Language," I warned but grinned at him so he would know I was teasing and he wasn't actually in trouble. "I'll head up there now, go to the gym and let them know I won't be coming?"

Caleb nodded and took off at a run down the hall the way I had been headed. I turned and strode back through the halls towards the overseers office. The market was busy, and people were chattering excitedly. Clearly something had happened, although no one looked concerned or afraid, just interested. With curiosity peaked I climbed the stairs.

I opened the door and stepped inside the office. Negan was sitting at the head of the table with his feet up and his bat resting casually against his legs. Garrett sat to his right with Regina on his other side. The chair to Negan's left was open for me and Arat was sitting beside it. Dwight was standing back against the wall. He was there primarily as an enforcer, although he didn't look tense.

I was clearly the last one to arrive. It had probably taken Caleb a while to find me.

There was a stranger sitting at the foot of the table and I didn't recognize them from the back. When I stepped around the side I immediately recognized Tom. It had been a long time since he visited us and it was without doubt his presence that had the market bubbling with rumors.

He smiled a greeting and I stepped up to him and held my hand out. "Tom," I greeted with a curt nod. We were close enough now that if I wasn't so adverse to being touched I could have hugged him. He and Kate were still together and running the Satellite station flawlessly. In fact, we had relocated five families over there just this month. Tom nodded to me and released my hand immediately, knowing how I felt about being touched. I moved to my chair and sat down.

"Well Tommy, we're always glad to see you, but what in the hell are you doing here?" Negan asked, settling down straight to business. Since Simon died there was no need for the show among our most trusted people. Every single person in this room respected Negan and I as leaders and it was clear none of them wanted the job. We had bought and paid for that loyalty with blood.

"It's about Hilltop," he started and I lifted my eyebrows. To my knowledge things had been going well lately with all the communities under our protection. "The last two deliveries have been light."

"Two?" Negan rocked back in his chair sucking in a breath. "Really," he drawled.

Tommy nodded. "With the first, I should have reported it, but I thought there was some kind of mistake, thing have been going pretty smoothly. When yesterday's delivery came in, I realized it had been deliberate. It was even lighter than the one before it."

Negan looked thoughtful as he stared down at the bat in his hand. "Disrespect," he muttered half under his breath. His eyes went to me for a fleeting second before his face shut down into that careful mask that allowed him to do his job. "Gregory, Gregory, Gregory," Negan said exhaustively with a shake of his head. He was coiling that energy around him, I could practically watch him summon what it would take to deal with this.

Things had been going so well...

"No word from the people doing the drops about them being light?" I asked Tommy.

He shook his head. "Nothing, just the light deliveries. I should have addressed it after the first one but..." Tom dragged off shifting in his chair. It was brave of him to come himself to face the boss in person over the mistake.

"You didn't want to rock the boat," Negan acknowledged with a tip of his head.

Tom swallowed and nodded. "Yes sir," he admitted and his jaw tightened as he waited to see if he was going to be punished for it.

"Well, it sounds like Gregory is the one at fault here," I filled in quickly. I understood Tom's decision to not make waves if they had a tough month, but two months in a row was unacceptable. Having the second delivery even lighter than the first was a slap in the face.

Disrespect 

Negan rocked back in his chair. "What do you think hot friend?" Negan asked with a teasing grin. "It doesn't sound like old Gregory is doing what's best for his people does it?" He lifted the bat and examined it as though he didn't know every singe line in the wood. "I can't stand by and let him fuck the whole program up for those people. They deserve their shot and their community is strong for food production. That kind of trade value shouldn't be in the hands of some douche bag like him."

"I think it's time that we discuss replacing Gregory." I said with a nod. My eyes flickered over to Tom who looked relieved. It was brave of him to come before Negan and admit fault, but he didn't deserve to be punished for Gregory's mistake.

Negan nodded grimly, looking over the rest of the group, but no one looked like they were going to argue. "This is something I think the people of Hilltop should have to take care of this themselves. There leadership is up to them. We can't hold their hand every damn second now can we?" He turned to look at Tom. "Do you have an idea of how you would like this to go down? It'll be your guys running point on this one...unless of course you need me and my hot friend to crash the party, hold your hand," the last was said with a dangerous flash of teeth. Negan was clearly challenging Tom to fix the problem he created.

Tom cleared his throat but didn't let any of his fear show on his face. He was a good leader. "My people can handle it. We'll keep it simple. If the next drop is light, we'll hold two of their people until they bring us Gregory's head."

Negan flashed a sharks smile. "Account-a-fucking-bility. I love it," he turned to Tommy with a nod. "All right, pull the trigger."

Tom nodded and pushed away from the table. "Thank you for seeing me," he said with a respectful nod.

"Any time Tommy boy," Negan assured him. Negan waited until Tom was almost to the door before he spoke again, this time in a low growl. "Oh and Tom?"

Tom stiffened but turned back to face Negan, meeting his eyes.

"Don't fuck up again or your little playhouse will become Garret's, understood?"

Tom dropped his chin to his chest. "Yes boss," he said respectfully.

Negan looked at the others. "Dismissed," he called with a vague wave of his hand.

I stood as well. I nodded to Negan who winked at me and I followed behind Tom, walking him back towards the front gate.

"How are you?" he asked, glancing down at me.

I nodded. "We're good," I assured him. "Things have been pretty quiet around here until this."

He nodded awkwardly.

"She didn't come," I finally said without needing to explain to him who I meant. It was the elephant in the room between us.

Tom's mouth flattened into a grim line and I could see the disapproval on his face. "She said it was too painful to come here. The Sanctuary reminds her too much of him."

I nodded, pressing my lips together as I fought not to let him see how much it bothered me to know that Katie wouldn't come here again. I exhaled, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I hadn't seen Katie since the last time I went to The Satellite Station. We had been civil but I wasn't sure we would ever be as close as we were after all that had been said between us. She still blamed me for Merle's death, and didn't bother to hide her feeling about my relationship with Negan or the person I had become to survive.

I loved my little sister, but I didn't always like her very much.

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other as we stood beside the truck Tommy had driven here. The workers had just finished emptying out the back and it was ready for him to head back home.

"Well," I said. "Good luck with the Hilltop business. Don't let Negan's growling scare you. If you need a hand, just let us know."

"I'm not scared of the boss," Tom said brazenly.

I laughed and he chuckled with me because we both knew the truth of it.

"We'll be able to handle them," Tom said confidently. "They are a lot of talk, but it usually doesn't take too much to get them to fall back in line. They're just a bunch of farmers. No real fighters among them."

"Except that one," I pointed out. I didn't bother to hide my admiration for the man they called Jesus. He was a extremely capable fighter and had his loyalty not been so clearly aligned with the people of Hilltop I would have happily offered him a place here among us. He might be the only man I met that I could confidently rank as high as Negan or the Dixon brothers.

"Right," Tom nodded, but he didn't look like he knew who I was talking about. It was going to cause a problem if he wasn't careful, but it wasn't my place to micromanage him. Tom needed to learn to handle these types of issues on his own. The Sanctuary was simply growing too large for Negan to handle every aspect of it himself.

"Well, send Kate my best," I said.

He nodded and climbed into the truck. "Will do," he said slamming the door behind him.

I turned once he had driven out of sight and saw Negan leaning against one of the upper ledges. I climbed the stairs and leaned against the railing beside him.

"So..." he drawled.

I arched a brow but didn't respond.

"How's Katie?" he pressed turning his head to face me. His chocolate eyes were grave.

"She didn't come." I said my voice a little sharper with emotion than I would have liked.

Negan nodded, but didn't look surprised. "What excuse did she give this time?"

I sniffed in annoyance. I really didn't want to get into this with Negan right now, I was feeling too raw. I already knew he had zero respect for Kate or the decisions she made and whatever he had to say about it would just frustrate me. "She claims its too painful to be here with Merle gone...maybe I should go visit her."

Negan lifted his eyebrows. "Giving in?" He asked.

I scowled at him. "It's not giving in," I snapped defensively.

He shrugged in an if-you-say-so gesture and I wanted to tell him that not everything had to be a dominance game, but of course that would have been a lie. Of course going felt like giving in, but my entire life had been spent accommodating Kate. I wasn't willing to give up on our relationship for the sake of my pride and her stubborn temper.

"Shut up," I grumbled.

Negan snorted but then his expression turned serious. He turned to face me, propping a hip against the railing and crossing his arms over his chest. "Whatever you decide, wait until this business with The Hilltop is settled," he said firmly.

I shot him a disgruntled look but his jaw tightened and his eyes were hard. He wasn't going to be moved on this one.

I sighed dramatically but nodded, knowing Negan didn't often exert any type of control over me and if he felt strongly about this I wouldn't argue.

"All right," I agreed. "When it's done."

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Hello friends! I sincerely hope you enjoyed this update!! It was a little shorter than usual but a very important transition chapter. I'm really looking forward to the next one!

Thank you as always for your amazing support. It is your comments and votes that keep me writing and truly inspired me to see this project through to the end!