ELEANOR . NEGAN

036.

Eleanor woke up surprisingly warm. Her once freezing skin now wrapped in a thick, heavy quilt. Beneath the material was another deep red throw that draped across her legs and around her feet. Other than that, she felt quite bare.

The fuck?

She pulled back the blankets and sat up way too fast. She knew that when her brain rattled against her skull and all she wished she could do was hide back under the covers. Too late. Green eyes casted down to her frame and she internally gagged.

A white tank top covered her braless torso and she only had her cotton black pants on below. "What the fuck-"

"You're up." Elle spun her head around, ouch, and gave Siddiq a tantalising took. "I didn't touch you!" He squeaked, lifting his hands up above his head.

"For crying out loud..."

"Rosita did it." He responded. "You, uh, your clothes were soaked. Must've been the snow. Sorry."

Elle slowly exhaled through her nose because she thought she'd give Siddiq a break. "Where's Judith?"

"Outside. Playing in the snow." She raised her brows at that, how is she okay? "You kept her shielded so... she's just got a cold now."

"I kept her okay?"

Siddiq smiled to try and make her believe she did some good while he patted her shoulder in a friendly way. "You did." He scratched the back of his head and a sigh fell from his lips. That wasn't good. "You're really lucky, Elle."

"Why?"

"It kinda... kills to say this but, but without Negan you could've been so much worse. Hyperthermia... maybe frostbite."

Sounds like nothing. "Right."

Silence loomed over the pair and Elle really wished she was still under her covers. The distant sound of laughter and hollers from outside settled in her heart but Siddiq's nerving eyes stayed put on her.

"He's been asking for you."

She let out a deep, deep sigh and looked at him.

"Where is he?"

-

Eleanor walked into Negan's room with nerves that made her hands shake and her heart to plummet. Her clothes were still out drying and no one thought to grab her some fresh ones, so she was clad in the red blanket around her body like some child who just had a nightmare.

Her bare foot padded against the laminate and really she should've stayed in bed but she needed to see him. To at least make sure he was okay. I hope he's okay. Elle cleared her head and rubbed her nose and looked over at the man.

Negan was led on his back with his fingers laced over each other across his chest, his white shirt clinging to his torso as his eyes stayed stuck to the ceiling. He was counting every little change in pattern, trying to find some sort of animal or person with his imagination. It was shit — all he saw was wiggles.

"Nelly..." Her soft voice called out for him and in an instance he turned his head, tilting it across the pillow with a grand smile that made its way on his face. "You look like shit."

He smirked, "Glad to see you're back to your old self, sunshine." With a sniffle, he sat up straight on the nursing bed and pointed at her. "You did look like shit. What happened, hm? Had a sleep or some shit?"