'So what have you got up here?' Negan asks, wandering into my bedroom.
'Uh, this is my bedroom', I say, trying to discretely look around a little to figure out where Ella went.
'So this is where the magic happens?' he asks with a grin, looking back at me as I follow him into the room.
I don't answer. Instead, I look away uncomfortably. I want this man out of my bedroom as soon as possible.
'You share this room with anyone, doc?' he asks when I stay silent.
'Uhm, no?'
'No? No mister Doctor in the picture?'
'No', I answer him shortly.
'Hm', he says, raising his eyebrows a little before he starts to wander around the room. His eyes land on my dressoir where I've gathered my jewelry and perfumes.
'Oh, my wives are going to love this', he says, picking up my bottle of Dior perfume to smell it.
I raise my eyebrow at the statement. Wives? As in, plural? He looks over at me as he stuffs the bottle into his jacket, as if daring me to comment on it. Or ask him about his wives. I don't. I have no interest in making conversation with this man. I just want him to leave and not find out about the medication I hid beneath the sink.
He starts to grin again and thankfully leaves the room to wander through the hallway. He walks past the room we've turned into our living room and stops in front of the door to Ella's room.
'And what's behind door number 2?' he asks, putting on a gameshow voice. I watch him open the door anxiously, expecting to find Ella there. But when we walk inside, the room is empty.
'Whose room is this?' Negan asks me.
'It's my sister's', I say, wondering where she is.
'Oh', he says suggestively, 'there's more of you?'
'She's only 15', I say agitatedly. I told her to hide for a reason. Ella's a very pretty girl. And men are fucking animals these days. I don't want them to see her.
'You take care of her?' he asks. 'Or are your parents around?'
'No, it's just us.'
'So', he says, sauntering back over to me, 'you take care of your patients, you take care of your sister... But who...' to my dismay he reaches out his hand and gently grabs my shoulder, '...takes care of you?'
'I take care of her, asshole.'
Negan turns around in surprise and I curse under my breath when Ella dramatically bursts out of her wardrobe. She looks at Negan with fury in her eyes and seems about ready to murder him if he dares to touch me again.
'Holy shit', Negan says, sounding amused rather than intimidated, 'were you in the closet all this time?'
'I told her to hide', I explain quickly.
'Why?' Negan asks. 'You think we're here to snatch little girls from their rooms?'
'I don't know', I shrug anxiously. 'Please just... don't hurt her.'
Negan actually looks a little offended when I say that.
'I don't hurt children', he says determinedly.
'Really?' I ask skeptically. 'Didn't you almost make Rick cut off Carl's arm?'
'I was just making a point', Negan says incrediously. 'I didn't make him do it in the end, did I?'
'No, you're right. Very kind of you', Ella says sarcastically. 'I'm sure you've never heard of emotional trauma?'
I close my eyes to hide my anxiety. She's very clearly demonstrating the other reason I told her to hide. Her big mouth is always getting her in trouble.
Negan takes a couple steps away from me to get closer to Ella. But I can't risk her getting hurt so I hurry after him to get to her side.
'Oh, I'm very kind. Whenever I can be. But you people made it clear that kind doesn't work for you. So I had to find another way to get you all in line. You got anything you want to say about that, little girl?'
'No', I say quickly before she can open her mouth again. 'She doesn't.'
I can tell by her face that she actually has a lot more to say, but I grab her arm and squeeze it, begging her silently to keep quiet. Fortunately, we're interrupted when two new men barge into the room. They stop for a moment when they spot Negan, but he turns around to urge them to carry on.
'Don't let me stop you', he tells them. 'We've still got a shit load of work to do here.'
The man continue to walk into the room and we watch in confusion when they start to strip the bed and pick up the mattres.
'You're taking our mattresses?' Ella asks incrediously.
'Yes', Negan smiles triumphantly. 'A good mattress is very valuable these days. I'm sure you're happy to provide them to us, aren't you?'
We merely scowl at him in response. It's ridiculous how quickly fortunes can turn. We had everything here at Alexandria. Now he's taking it all away.
Before they carry out the mattress, one of the men adresses Negan.
'Sir, there's an old guy downstairs in a bed. You want us to take his mattress as well?'
'He can't get up', I say quickly. 'He's very ill.'
'Your patient?' he asks me. I nod in in response.
'You know what', Negan says, running his hand over his beard as he watches us. 'Leave that mattress. In fact, leave all the mattresses in the infirmary. We need the good people of Alexandria to have a place to heal if they get sick so they can get back to working for me as soon as possible.'
Ella and I glance over at each other in suprise for a moment, making Negan chuckle.
'See, I can be kind', he continues. 'Besides, if I ever need medical assistance, I might just decide to look you up, doc.'
I avert my gaze when he winks at me and watch his minions carry out Ella's mattress instead. If he ever decides to seek my medical assistance, I'm afraid I might just have to break my Hippocratic Oath.
'It's been a pleasure meeting you, ladies', Negan says, staring to make his way to the door. 'I'm afraid I have to go. Everything that just happened downstairs reminded me that you people have a lot of guns. We're gonna have to take care of that.'
He lingers for a moment by the door to glance back at us before he leaves. But then he finally says goodbye.
'I'm sure I will see you again.'
I let out a sigh of relief when he finally walks away, but then I round on Ella before she gets a chance to walk away.
'What the hell were you thinking? You can't talk to this man like that.'
'Well, excuse me for trying to stand up for you', she snaps back. 'What the hell were you thinking letting him creep on you like that?'
'He murdered Glenn and Abraham with a fucking baseball bat, El. This guy isn't messing around. Whatever he does, whatever he says, you stay polite, you stay compliant.'
'Is that what you were doing downstairs?' she asks me skeptically. 'I couldn't hear, but it looked like you were arguing with that guy.'
'I wasn't arguing', I protest. 'I was just... surprised.'
'Surprised about what?' she asks, raising her eyebrows suspiciously. I take a deep sigh before I answer her.
'It was my understanding that they would take half our medicine. Turns out they're taking everything.'
'Everything?' she repeats, sounding shocked. 'But then... my seizures-'
'Don't worry about it', I cut her off quickly. 'I... worked it out.'
'You worked it out? The fuck does that mean?'
'Just don't worry about it', I say vaguely. 'You'll be alright. I'll explain later.'
Ella crosses her arms and squints her eyes at me in a way that reminds me eerily of my mother when she would try to catch me in a lie.
'You didn't hand them over, did you?' she asks suddenly.
'Shhh', I tell her agitatedly. I quickly walk over to the door to glance into the hallway. Thankfully, it's empty. Negan's minions must be ready with our rooms. Still, I hiss at her in a whisper as I walk back.
'Don't say that out loud. Don't say anything about it. We'll talk about it later.'
'You stay polite, you stay compliant only counts for me, does it?' she hisses back.
'This is different.'
'Different how?'
'Well... he doesn't know about it.'
'Chris, this is dangerous', she says worriedly. 'If he finds out you've held things back-'
'Then I'm in trouble. So let's make sure he doesn't find out.'
'You can't do that', she says anxiously. 'You can't risk your life for me. I need you more than I need those meds. I can live with the seizures.'
'You don't know that. You fall in a wrong way, you could die. You seizure around the dead, you could die. You get a really bad one, you could suffer permanent brain damage...'
'But-'
'No buts', I say sternly. 'It's already done. Even if we told him now, he'd know I lied about it first. They'll be gone soon, we'll be alright.'
'Alright', Ella says unconvinced.
'You'll see', I add, trying to reassure us both.