Surviving The New World (Book Six in the Surviving The Walking Dead Series)

New Leadership

     "Hey, Sweetheart." Negan rasped from his bed as Siddiq finished changing his bandage. "I was wondering when I'd see you again."

     "What did I say about callin' me Sweetheart, Negan?" I asked as I sat my bag down on the floor.

     "Sorry, old habits die hard." Negan smirked before looking at my bag, his smile slowly fading away. "You're leaving?"

     "Yeah."

     "Where?"

     "The Sanctuary. We took a vote, thought I should be the one to lead the Saviors."

     "That's great—"

     "We're doin' it Rick's way." I interrupted. "No more Saviors, just survivors. I'm gonna lead 'em, bu't we're doin' it Rick's way."

     "Oh, and what's Rick's way?"

     "Workin' together, no more points shit, proper trade, rebuildin' the world our way. If someone don't like it, they're free to go. They're gonna get that option when we get there."

     "We?"

     "Daryl and I."

     "And what about me?"

     "When it's secure, you'll be goin' to Alexandria where you'll live out the remainder of your life in a cell."

     "You can't be fuckin' serious."

     "I'm sorry, Negan."

     "YOU CAN'T—" Negan violently began to cough. Siddiq carefully raised the head of Negan's bed, allowing him to sit up.

     "You can't raise your voice like that." Siddiq explained. "You want to keep the bandages on longer or do you want to get better?" Negan subtly nodded and watched Siddiq as he grabbed the medical supplies and walked off to put them away.

     "You can't do this to me, Michaela. I don't give a fuck what Daryl says, those babies are mine."

     "They're his, too." I explained. "Daryl and I talked it over. He ain't happy about it, but I argued my case. You'll be able to see the kids."

     "...Really?"

     "Like I said, he ain't happy about it, but we compromised on a lot of things."

     "Like what?"

     "You'll get supervised visitation only a couple times a week for so many hours. I was gonna make it so many hours a week, but it's easier this way."

     "Supervised?"

     "It's what I got when I was servin' time in jail, it's what you'll get. However, I ruined a lot of their privileges when I was in jail, so you'll be only permitted to your cell, shower, and a locked down room for the visitations."

     "So, a bigger fuckin' cell."

     "Not exactly. We know it ain't ideal to raise kids behind a jail cell, so it'll just be a room where you'll be supervised. There'll be toys, games, whatever ya need to spend time with 'em."

     "And who'll be the one supervising?"

     "Whoever's duty it is to guard the jail that day. You're literally their only prisoner." Negan fell silent before letting out a quiet sigh.

     "Okay." Negan softly nodded. "I've done some fucked up shit, I've gotta own up to that. You saved my life on that field, Michaela, I didn't do shit to deserve to be saved, but you did it anyways. I'll go along with this, I'll do it your way. Thank you. I promise, I'm gonna be a good father to those kids. Riley and lil' Negan are my life, I won't let you—"