Poker Face

Chapter 50 - Bedside

"Please don't leave me. I can't do this again," Negan begged in a whisper. He shook his head fervently and held Aven's limp body tighter as Simon sped the car even faster. Tears were coming quickly to his eyes but he hid his face so his men couldn't see. He had his left ear to Aven's chest with his head turned towards the window, pretending monitoring her heart beat was all he was doing.

"No, no, no," Negan continued to hiss. Aven was alive but given that she had already lost consciousness and they were at least two hours from the Sanctuary, he couldn't imagine a scenario in which she didn't bleed out. The pace of the bleeding seemed to have lessened significantly under the tight bandage around her neck, but it was still coming. He thought he may as well have already been holding her corpse.

"It's alright, boss," Simon said trying to break the tension. "She's a hell of a woman but if she doesn't pull through you got plenty more."

"Get her to the fucking Sanctuary without another fucking word," Negan growled, not turning to face Simon, "or I will cut out your motherfucking tongue and crucify you on the front gate."

They were an hour out from the Sanctuary when Aven stirred. She let out a soft, almost inaudible moan from her throat and Negan froze.

"Baby, it's okay," he cooed, keeping his voice as steady as possible. "You're okay." She stirred again and it looked like she was about to wake up. Negan's heart surged and he almost began weeping tears of relief when he realized she was still with him.

But she opened her eyes and her orangey-brown irises were pale and glazed over. Her head lulled to one side and then the other before she looked up at him with nothing but an animalistic fury. One hand came up to grab the collar of his leather jacket and pull herself up to him, a gurgling moan falling from her mouth as she snapped at him with her teeth. It all happened in seconds, but he made a fully conscious decision not to fight her. Her teeth scraped down at the skin on the side of his face and she latched onto his jaw bone, gnawing at his flesh.

Negan woke suddenly with a deep gasp and felt Aven in his arms. He peered down at her in the early morning darkness and didn't let his breath out until he felt her breathing steadily at his side, warm and alive.

"Fuck," he sighed, kissing her softly on the top of her head as he calmed down. "I love you, baby."

Needless to say, he hadn't slept well. Not only was he still distraught over Aven being attacked, he now had a war to deal with. He didn't want her having any part in it; after yesterday, he never wanted her to leave the Sanctuary again. But she wouldn't be content if he tried to keep her from the conflict and from him. At the very least, he certainly wasn't going to even consider telling her what he was planning until her stitches were out. She didn't need to worry about the enemies he was making by killing more people now.

On top of all that was immense rage: at Rosita, at Rick, and most of all, at the Hilltop and the Kingdom. The cooperation of those communities was essential now that he'd built up the Sanctuary and its outposts; he only expanded as much as he thought he sustainably could. He had enough soldiers and, thanks to Eugene, would have enough fire power to win the war, but he needed the resources from the other communities to keep his people alive. If he didn't get everyone back in line he would have to kill them, which would mean severe shortage of food for his people. If his people weren't taken care of, he was in trouble and Aven was in danger. And, he found, that's what he ultimately cared about: Aven.