I think I liked you better when you didn't have a knife in your hand, Peaches

Before sun-up

Dawn had barely broken by the time Blake jolted awake, her eyes snapping open as she heard the tiniest of voices cry into her ear.

"Waik up, Bwakey, I on mai own!"

The caramel-blonde woman, not so used to early mornings, took a long few seconds to realise just why she was awake before the weak fall sun was even properly up.

"I...uhhh...what....?" she manged to mumble, blinking a couple of times and turning her head to see the teeny form of Mia through the gloom of Negan's bedroom, squatted down on her chubby bare legs, holding up a long strand of Blake's hair to get better access to her ear.

"Bwake, wake up naw, I need potty...," came the bossy little voice of the toddler again, as she waddled forwards to gaze over Blake's t-shirt clad form at the man who was sleeping on Blake's other side.

"Eggy schleepin'?" she asked, all of a sudden very interested in the snoozing Saviour, who so far, had not even slightly stirred at the noise. "Me wake Eggy up."

And with that, Mia made to reach across Blake, her pudgy little hands making for Negan's bearded face.

But before she could do so, Blake had grabbed the tiny girl around the middle, hauling her up into her arms with a groan.

"Ah, ah, ah," the blonde woman smiled gently. "We don't want to that. Eggy is super-duper grumpy in the mornings, so maybe waking him up isn't such a good idea.."

Blake chanced a glance at the sleeping Saviour now, waiting for a response.

But he didn't even move, his chest rising and falling carefully as he lay there.

After their day yesterday, Negan certainly needed the rest. She knew that sometimes he often ran on little to no sleep for days at a time. But that was no life. Especially now...when everything seemed calm and settled finally.

They had Mia back, Rick and the Alexandrians knew their place, and apart from that trouble at the Hilltop, the outposts seemed relatively quiet too.

So this was perfect timing for Negan to take a little break and relax a little.

Even though Blake couldn't right now, wrestling now with a wriggling toddler who obviously thought that 5am was playtime.

Mia gave a loud squealing giggle as Blake scooped her up and pulled herself reluctantly from the bed with the little girl in her arms.

"Come on, let's take you to the bathroom," she said with a mutter into Mia's ear causing the baby girl too laugh some more...

...and Blake's heart swell with utter delight.

Thirty minutes later, and Blake and Mia emerged from Negan's humid bathroom, both wrapped in large white towels having enjoyed a nice shallow and bubbly bath together (where Mia had proceed to ask Blake some very, very personal questions about her boobs and ahem other areas!) to find Negan finally stirring inside the large four poster bed.

"Looks like someone needed his beauty sleep, huh Mia?" said Blake in a mocking tone, as the dark-haired man, with a stiff groan, pulled himself up into a sitting position, leaning back against his propped up pillows.

He blinked at them both through lidded eyes giving an amused smirk, as his gaze travelled over the pair of them, damp and glowing in the early morning sunlight.

"Hell, it ain't even fuckin' 6am yet, Darlin', so I'll thank you to quit with the shitty fuckin' remarks," he bit back at her, with a grumbling voice. "An' while we're at it, you wanna remind me if I actually gave either of you permission to use up all my hot water?"