"Right this way, doll." Negan leads us down the road for a couple more yards before pointing to a walking trail that parts the trees like a narrow Red Sea.

A thin layer of speckled leaves crunch beneath our boots as we trod down the serene path. Slender pines and sprawling oaks intermingle as far as the eye can see, which is restricted in some spots thanks to thicker patches of brush. The pitter-patter of scurrying feet can be heard both on the ground just beyond the trail, as well as overhead on the natural bridges of the knotted branches.

I tilt my chin towards the sky, admiring the way the midday sun pierces through the canopies of the trees. The slivers of light and warmth being enough to balance out the chill that ever reminds us that winter will soon be coming.

"This is nice… thank you."

Negan simply smiles and offers a slight nod.

I inhale deeply, the aroma of the damp earth paired with the faint hint of pinecones bringing forth a warm, comforting sense of familiarity; it being almost enough to make me believe I were treading the woods of home.

Home.

There it is again – the pang of dread deep within my felt like pins and needles were pricking directly at my heart. I quickly blink my eyes, forbidding the escape of the tears that tempt to fall. Goddammit, I don't need this right now.

"Is my company really that bad?" Negan interjects over my silence.

I shrug my shoulders, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Like I said earlier, just a bit tired is all."

Negan hums and slowly nods his head. "Right, right. I mean, who wouldn't be fucking tired when they're up in the middle of the damn night?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Why do you care?"

Negan dryly chuckles as his arm slips along my shoulders. "Believe it or not, I'm not a fucking fan of hearing a girl cry her eyes out every damn night." Negan pauses and takes a breath. "Is it the nightmares again? Or whatever the hell is going on between you and your old man?"

"I don't want to talk about it." I quickly advert my eyes and attempt to shrug Negan's arm off of me. Negan immediately tenses his grip, keeping his arm firmly locked around my shoulders forbidding my escape. "I said I'm not talking about this!" I huff, using all the force I can muster to shove myself away from Negan.

I stumble a half-step and immediately turn my back to him, walking a few yards away in desperate need of space. I clench my teeth, cursing inwardly as I wipe away tears.

Negan's heavy footsteps thud behind me as he approaches. "Well, that's too fucking bad! You've been moping around for too damn long and it's getting fucking tiring."

I know the last thing I should be doing is walking away from Negan, but I just can't do this right now-

"PUP!" Negan bellows sternly, his voice reverberating through the trees.

My entire body tenses and I stop at once, feeling what little resolve I have depleting. I swiftly turn on my heels and march back up to him. "You wanna know what happened? YOU! We were doing just fine before you showed your face! Were our lives perfect? Far from it, but dammit we were all each other had after mom died! My dad knew me better than I knew myself half the time, and now it's like he doesn't even recognize me!" I scream, pacing and angrily kicking at a few loose rocks on the trail. "I'm trying to survive the shit that HE put us in and now suddenly he thinks I'M the one in the wrong?"

Negan looks dumfounded. "Doll, I -" he reaches his hand out to me.

"No!" My voice cracks as I pull away, hot tears streaming down my face. "If he wants to think of me as a traitor.. then fuck him! A real father wouldn't have gotten his kid into this mess in the first place. He can believe what he wants to believe," I inhale shakily, damn near truth of my own words piercing my already fractured heart. "I-I don't need him. . . I don't need him! I don't need him!" My cries echo through the forest, spilling from my lips like a broken mantra.

I'm vaguely aware when I feel a warm tightness surround me. Through blurred, teary vision, Negan is holding me to his chest as if trying to hold together what is left of the shrapnel of my heart. I push against his chest, attempting to break free from the embrace, though his hold stays firm. Words of 'it's okay', 'breathe', and 'let it out' being repeated until they eventually drawn out my own cries.

"Ya know," he speaks after a moment. "You have more balls than your old man will ever fucking have." His hand gently caresses my back as I can't help but half-heartedly chuckle.

I ground myself in the coolness of the leather against my cheek, trying to match my wavering breathing to that of the steady rise and fall of Negan's chest. The intensity of his embrace gradually lessens the more my own body relaxes in his arms. Even so, his hold is sure, confident, unmoving, protective – everything I need in this moment, even if it means it's coming from Negan.

Shit. I didn't even want him touching me months before and now I don't want him to let go. I cling tighter to him, something he seems to appreciate.

"Atta girl," Negan encourages, giving loving kisses to the top of my head. "You're gonna be just fine, doll. Ol' Negan will make sure you're taken care of." When all he gets is a sniffle in return, he takes a small step back to allow himself to peer down at me. "I fuckin' mean that. Hell, you know your pops and I have an arrangement after all but this goes fucking beyond that. Shit! That reminds me… " Negan reaches into the interior pocket of his jacket, retrieving a small dark blue box. "Now, a full-fledged meltdown isn't how I imagined this going down but –"

"Negan, p-please tell me that's not an actual wedding ring." I take a half-step back, staring at the box as if it were a bomb.

"Slow your roll, doll. I ain't about to get down on my fuckin' knee," Negan grins and holds his hand out to me. I eye it hesitantly before placing my hand in his. He pulls me closer. "I meant what I said – you're my fucking responsibility and I protect what's mine. This little bad boy,' he releases my hand and opens the box, revealing a simple, yet elegant silver band,' is just another way of showing that. What do ya say?" He raises an eyebrow with a smirk.

The ring… it's beautiful. I'd be a fool to decline his offer. At this point, questioning whether I can trust Negan is a moot point – if not him, then who else do I have?

No one.

Especially with the looming presence of the Whisperers, that ring offers a sense of stability and protection that I fear I will not have otherwise.

"Okay."

"Fuck yeah!" Negan beams immediately placing the ring on my finger. He brings one hand to rest on my waist, capturing my chin with the other and gently angles my head up. "Mine, all mine."

I softly smile, draping my arms around his neck to pull him in for a kiss. Suddenly he stops just as our lips are about to touch.

"Say it," he utters in a low tone, eyeing me expectantly with a smirk.

"Yours." It comes out so sure and effortless. "I'm all yours."

Negan rewards me by capturing my lips in his, kissing me deeply. His hands slide along my waist, squeezing my ass possessively before pulling away with a gravely, "Good girl."

With that, Negan reaches for my hand and we make the short trek back to the truck. The walk back is quiet but there is some comfort in the solitude. Negan's hand tight around mine and giving the back of my hand a soft caress with his thumb once in a while to remind me that he's there at my side. Even though there is still turmoiled emotion roiling around inside of me, the feeling and the gentle circular motion is what I need. Then without warning, Negan leans in and nuzzles me gently. I give a light laugh as his teeth nibbles on my ear gently in a playful manner.

We come off the trail and walk down the road. Negan is still occasionally dipping his head to tease me with nibbles and the occasional lick across the earlobe. As we draw closer to the vehicles, Negan stops much to my displeasure. He sees my expression.

"Don't worry baby girl," he whispers. "That ain't the fucking end of it." His eyes glaze over with lust. "You know that."

I smile shyly remembering that night with vivid recollection.

"Quite the appetizer," I mutter shyly. Negan grins widely with praise at my boldness and his eyes gleaming.

We walk up to where Simon sits waiting on the back of his truck's tailgate.

"Did you say 'yes', princess?" Simon wastes no time asking upon reaching the truck. He hops off the tailgate and lifts my hand to get a look at the ring, letting out an appreciative whistle. "I'll be damned! Not a bad choice here, boss."

"It's not that type of ring," I'm quick to clarify, feeling my cheeks getting red. Before he has a chance to say anything else, I make a beeline for Negan's truck and jump into the passenger seat. Negan and Simon exchange a few words before our little caravan is on the road once again, Sanctuary bound.

I remain relatively silent for the first hour or so of our journey home, thankfully it being easy enough to feign sleep with the blindfold over my eyes. Oddly enough, the ring on my finger feels lighter than the collar that was once around my neck, even though their significance and symbolism being nearly identical. I thought it'd be harder to say yes to his proposition, though for once, that was the easiest decision for me to make.

I stir from my inner dialogue, hearing Negan uttering a few curses under his breath. His radio rattles in the center console as he retrieves it.

"What the fuck is up with that piece of shit you call a truck?" Simon is quick to respond to Negan, not understanding why his truck isn't able to keep speed with us. "Fuck it, I'm pulling ahead. It'll take a goddamn century to get back at this pace and I'm fucking tired. Catch up or radio if your ass breaks down," Negan sighs, the radio thudding into the cup holder of the center console.

Simon's truck has to be on its last leg. I mean, he's put countless hours into it just this past week and it's seemed to have done him no good at all. I'll be surprised if he's able to make it back to the Sanctuary on his own.

Suddenly, I yelp as I'm propelled to my left. My seatbelt digs hard into my chest, though thankfully being the only thing keeping me from flying across to Negan's side of the cab. The truck roars to life as Negan steps on the gas, the sudden force pushing me back into the seat.

"What the hell is going on, Negan?" I blindly reach for the handle above the passenger door, tightly gripping it as I attempt to steady myself in my seat.

"We're being followed," Negan's voice is urgent, on alert. "Hang on to something!"

I frantically rip the blindfold from my eyes. I peer into the rearview mirror and spot a dark gray SUV dangerously close on our tail. The license plate on the front end is missing. No other vehicles are behind or ahead of us on this secluded stretch of road that's flanked by woods on either side.

Negan is white-knuckling the steering wheel, the speedometer on the truck pushing a hundred and twenty miles-per-hour. His eyes flicker between the various mirrors and the road ahead of him, scanning for a possible escape. Even at our speed, the SUV is easily keeping pace directly behind us.

Just as Negan blindly reaches for his radio, the SUV roars from behind us and shifts into the opposite lane. They increase their speed, their front end now even with our rear tires and quickly gaining on us.

"Motherfuckers are trying to run us off the road! Get your ass here NOW!" Negan barks into the radio.

It's too late, the rogue vehicle has caught up and is directly beside us. In that split second, I only see that there's two men in the SUV before they veer right, purposely colliding into our truck. The harsh high-pitched scraping of metal on metal can be heard as they force our truck off the road and into the ditch.

I scream as we're violently jostled to-and-fro. Negan desperately tries to steer us back onto the road and away from the trees, but the forces are just too strong. I look up just before we make impact –

The world blurs to the side at full speed – then a sudden stop. The whoosh of an airbag deploying. The ringing in my ears reverberates through my brain, hurting everything, even my eyes. The throbbing pain in my head… Yelling? But it's not my voice. Banging? I muster my eyes open, the intrusion of light paining my head even more. A large and dark silhouette pounds furiously on the passenger side window, pulling frantically at the door, though it won't budge open. Suddenly, a sharp point of a jagged rock is in my face. It bangs around the window, smashing the tempered glass to bits. I force my eyes to focus, recognizing Negan's bloodied face.

"Hang…on! …Sam! Sam!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Edited by Spitfire47

Hey guys! First off, I want to apologize for my absence. Just as it did for many of you, my life kind of flew off the rails for a bit over the past year and some change. It's taken time to find my bearings once again. Even in the midst of life, this story never once left my mind and I've been determined to get back to writing for yall. I would also like to thank yall for the continued messages of support during my absence - I can't even begin to express how much they meant to me.

Be on the lookout for chapter updates in the near future!

Yall stay safe- Turtle54

**This story is dedicated to the life and memory of my grandmother, who passed in September after a long fought battle with breast cancer.**