For my sister | Negan |

35 - Goodnight

'Where the hell have you been?' Myeong demands as soon as I walk back into our makeshift infirmary downstairs. Though she seems to have everything under control, her face indicates that her stress levels have risen significantly in my absence. I immediately feel guilty about staying away for so long just to satisfy my personal needs.

'I'm so sorry', I say, rushing to her side to help her out with the patient she's working on. 'Negan wanted to talk to me.'

'You alright?' Cal asks, coming up to us too. He's been here the whole time, helping out Myeong and Jake however he can. He tries to keep his voice neutral but I can sense that he's been nervous about how my conversation with Negan went. I'm sure he could never guess which direction it turned out to take.

'I'm okay', I say, smiling reassuringly. 'He just wanted a uhh... status update.'

I make up the lie for Myeong's sake, but I can see Cal relax. Once again, I'm surprised and grateful at the friendship we've formed in the time I've been here. Who would have thought that on the first day?

'Well, great', Myeong says, sounding annoyed. 'The status is, it's a fucking warzone down here. I'm sure you told him that?'

'Um, yes, I did', I say, avoiding her eyes.

'And then he hozed you down or something?' she asks.

'What?'

'Why's your hair all wet?'

'I just... took a quick shower', I say, praying my face won't flare up. 'Anyway, get me up to speed, what are our priorities?'

Fortunately, Myeong gets swept up in the action again and doesn't push me on exactly what I've done in the time I've been away. Cal looks at me a little quizzically, but doesn't press me on it either. I'm not sure he won't be doing that later, but for now, I'm glad that everybody's focusing on what needs to be done rather than on me.

Hours later, we've finally got everything under control. Any critical wounds have been taken care of and we've dismissed everyone that we could. There are still some patients downstairs and a couple more at the doctor's office that require more supervision, but there's not much we can do right now, so I've told Cal, Myeong and Jake to get some rest and I intend to do the same as soon as I've ran some last checks on everybody.

Through the chaos of today, we've managed to hear that Negan gave a speech at some point in the afternoon, declaring that the Sanctuary is at war with Alexandria.

There's been a knot in my stomach ever since I heard it, even though it was already pretty obvious that this is where we were headed. I'm sure this won't help our chances of getting out of here in the slightest. If anything, the place will be even better guarded. And then there's the gnawing underlying feeling I'm trying very hard to ignore, but that's becoming increasingly persistent with every moment I spend with Negan. Do I even want to leave anymore?

But I've too much to do to think about these things anyway. When everything's finally done for the day, I sink down in my chair in the doctor's office to make some notes about what we're going to have to do tomorrow. But my head feels heavy and my eyes struggle to stay open. I don't even know what time it is anymore. I decide to lay my head down on the desk for just a moment.

---

I don't wake up until the sudden movement of somebody carrying me up into the air startles me awake.

'Oh my God', I mumble, feeling competely disorientated when the world around me starts to move.

'I tried not to wake you', Negan's voice rumbles closely above me. I turn my head around and find him glancing down at me. Things are finally starting to make sense. The idiot has picked me up and is currently carrying me through the hallway.