LXVIII • Square

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When Negan entered the courtyard, a hush fell over the crowd. He stood on the steps, morning sun falling over his lithe form, and spread his arms. Cheers rose in a crescendo, a rolling thunder that overtook the courtyard in a collective scream the Sanctuary had never heard.

Knights, Alexandrians, and Saviors, side by side, yelling support, clutching each other, stomping feet, jumping on one another.

Daphne stepped through the broken doors behind him, a mangled walker in tow. Negan raised his eyebrow at what was left of Spencer, gurgling and groaning. He was harmless, with no jaw and limp arms, dead eyes unblinking. The King of the Saviors would have liked to have personally seen the light go out of those eyes, but his lady had taken care of that.

Both of his ladies.

The hubbub died down and Negan shoved what was left of Spencer forward to the edge of the top stair.

"This motherfucker right here thought he could take my fuckin' place," he said, voice powerful and loud and booming across the still air. "He thought he could have the fuckin' Sanctuary for himself, turn the Saviors into fuckin' slaves, let his soldiers fucking abuse our people. But even after exiling us, beating us, fuckin' locking us up, we still managed to fucking destroy his army and kill his useless fuckin' ass. So now I'm gonna do what he shoulda fuckin' done to me the first day he took over." He wound up and swung Lucille as hard as he could into the back of Spencer's mutilated head, and with a tight snap, it came clean off, sailing over the crowd like a t-ball.

"Home fuckin' run!" Negan cried, and the cheers rose up again as the rest of the body slumped down, flopping down the stairs like a rag doll. Tanya pushed past Rick and Daryl, sardine-canned in with the group flanking the Savior King in the door, and held up a black leather jacket.

He reached out and cupped her cheek, and she blinked up at him with tearful eyes. He slipped into the jacket, and then gave her a tight hug, stroking her hair as she broke down into ragged sobs. The crowd began to mingle, collecting fallen weapons, examining fallen comrades.

Daphne spotted Carson at the gate, a rolling suitcase in tow, directing people with wounded in the general direction of the infirmary.

Regina took Tanya's arm and folded her into an embrace, kissing the top of her head. Negan waved Rick and Daryl forward, as a pack of Alexandrians surged from the milling people.

Daphne leapt protectively in front of him at the sight of Michonne at the forefront, but he quickly caught her waist and swung her out of the way as Rick practically flew down the stairs into the dark samurai's arms.

Daphne snarled. "That bitch—"

"No, no, fuck no, strawberry," Negan said. "I am shutting that shit down."

"But she—"

"Don't fuckin' care." Negan laughed at her petulant scowl and then tossed a look down at Rick, who nodded. "I think we're fuckin' square now, aren't we, Rick?" Michonne glared at Daphne, but didn't let go of her possessive grasp of her lover.

"I'd say so." Rick nodded in reply, and with one last nod, he turned to his group, asking after his son.

"Maggie?!" Glenn pushed through the crowd, stopping short at the stairs.

"Don't worry daddy, your baby momma made it out okay," Daphne said. "I sent a few of our guys out to retrieve her and the rest of our pregnant pack."

The look of relief on his face as he fell to his knees made her gut clench, and she was surprised to find that she was glad she hadn't killed the knocked-up murderess.

Arat and Simon came through the front doorway, the latter finally able to move without a limp. Arat slapped Daryl on the shoulder and he whipped to face her.

She extended the crossbow to him, and he gingerly took it, eyeing her warily.

"Please take it back," Arat said. "It's painful watching Daphne try to aim the fucking thing."

"I did not miss you," Daphne drawled, rolling her eyes.

Daryl shook his head, turning to follow the Alexandrians.

"Hey." Daphne caught his attention and he glanced back at her. "You'd make an excellent scout."

He raised an incredulous eyebrow. "No thanks."

"Door's always open, bulldog." She shrugged and he shook his head in disbelief, heading down to join his friends.

"Daphne!" A curly dark head of hair bobbed through the crowd and the blonde dove down the stairs directly into Talia's waiting arms.

"The kids?" Daphne asked quietly.

"Made it to the Kingdom with the others, I talked to Carson." The mother of three laughed.

Daphne hugged her even tighter, relief flooding her at the news. If the original evacuation was successful, then that meant a good chunk of the Sanctuary dwellers were alive and well.

"Regina?" Frankie was behind Talia, ghostly pale and thin, and the amazonian lieutenant nearly burst into tears herself. Frankie brushed past Negan to curl against Regina, complete with desperate kisses.

"I thought you were dead," Frankie sobbed between locking lips with her lover.

"I thought you'd escaped," Regina whispered back, noting the dark circles and sunken cheeks.

"I stayed to find you..." Frankie buried her face in her lover's neck.

"Stupid, reckless woman..." Regina murmured into a tuft of flaming hair.

Negan turned away from the scene, taking Daphne's hand.

"My lady," Ezekiel boomed, approaching with Letty on his arm and Shiva flanking them. He held out a hand to the blonde lieutenant and raised it to his lips.

She took them in—they looked a picture perfect Warrior King and Queen, blood spattered and straight backed.

Ezekiel bowed his head. "Lord Negan."

"Jesus fucking christ with the lords and ladies, give me a fuckin' hug you crazy shit," Negan barked, and pulled the dreadlocked King into a laughing hug.

"Your colourful language will never cease to amuse me, good sir," Ezekiel commended, clapping his leather-covered back.

"Happy to fuckin' amuse." The Savior King grinned. "We owe you big fuckin' time, that's for damn sure."

"No debts, I insist." Ezekiel put up a hand. "Though we must palaver in the near future about immigration details, as some of your residents wish to stay in the Kingdom."

"I think we've lost Letty," Daphne whispered loudly to Negan, and he barked a laugh as the former scout blushed. He'd never seen her even remotely embarrassed, and it was a sight to behold.

The quartet's attention shifted as two more figures approached, battle-worn and disheveled.

"Fuck me," Daphne breathed at the sight of Carol and Morgan, and Negan raised an eyebrow.

"Rick said we're square," Morgan said nervously, gripping his trusty staff. "We wanted to make sure that extended to Carol."

The woman in question looked positively morose, and Daphne couldn't help but feel a thrill dance up her spine at what the guilt had done to her. As realization dawned on Negan, he turned to his blonde companion.

"It does," she said, raising her chin. "I'm never going to like you. But I'll stop fantasizing about killing you."

Ezekiel broke the tension with a belly laugh. "My people are preparing a grand feast back in the Kingdom." He spread his arms. "Let us all retire there, and then plan the Sanctuary's rebuilding on the morn!"

Negan nodded and turned to a group of Saviors that had gathered nearby to await orders. "Spread the fuckin' word." He squeezed Daphne's hand. "There's something I'd like to see before we go." He cocked his head at her, and her heart skipped a beat at the intensity in those amber eyes. "We'll catch up."

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