"Come on, sweetheart," Negan coaxed, lightly tapping the unconscious girl on the cheek as she sat leaning against a tree by the road. She stirred, opening her blood-shot eyes and looking around lazily from behind her matted hair before zoning out again. Negan could tell when he placed his ungloved hand on her face that she had a dangerously high fever, if the sweating and shivering didn't give it away first, not to mention the yellow bile she had vomited on his boots.
"Come on, wake up," he said a little more sternly, tapping her face more forcefully. She flinched slightly but was too weak to push him away. She felt she couldn't move her arms or legs to save her life and if this man's intentions weren't right, she'd be dead soon. Her eyes fluttered open as he jostled her awake relentlessly.
"M...Wh- I..." she slurred, still not fully conscious.
"Here, sweetheart. Can you drink?" Negan asked, placing a full canteen in her limp hands and wrapping her fingers around it himself. Even the tops of her hands were sunburned, as well as cut and scarred, and he was careful not to agitate her skin too much. She didn't seem to even notice the container in her hands. "Shit, you're not even here right now, are you?"
His eyes trailed up her arms and he noticed several more scars, as well as scars on her chest, visible beneath the torn flaps of her t-shirt. Negan felt his eyes lingering too long and slipped out of his leather jacket, draping it over her. The only reason he wore it in the summer heat was as armor against walker bites, but despite the heat and the extra layer of clothing the girl kept shivering.
"M...Miles?" she mumbled as her eyes fluttered open again, and Negan began to wonder who else was out here with her. The last thing she remembered was Miles' sad smile as she was yanked backwards away from him and thrown onto the forest floor. Her eyes fell heavily to the canteen in her hands and she opened her dry lips as though to try to take a sip without even lifting it to her mouth. The last time she'd taken water from a stranger she'd ended up in a cage in his basement, but she wasn't lucid enough to worry. Negan noticed a tremor in her hands before the canteen tipped slightly, spilling water onto her already soaked jeans.
"Oh, come on," he mumbled impatiently, quickly turning the canteen upright. He wrapped her fingers around it again but when they remained limp, he took the canteen in his gloved hand and used the other to tug at her chin and part her lips. He carefully tipped some water into her mouth and some of it dripped down her chin but he saw her swallow the rest, so he continued to administer small sips. He didn't realize he'd begun to brush his thumb back and forth across her cheek until she absent-mindedly leaned into his hand with an almost inaudible whimper. He froze for a moment, taken aback by the pang he felt in his heart for her.
"You gonna spoon-feed her too, boss?" Simon chucked. Negan turned ever so slightly, shooting him a death glare out of the corner of his eye. He didn't like acting so soft in front of his men, crouched on the ground with wide, worried eyes like he was nursing a baby animal back to health. And he was probably going to have to feed her too. After finding her the way he did, the option of having someone else tend to her didn't sit right. Simon looked down at the ground, knowing not to push the boss any further, and began backing away awkwardly before hesitating and turning back. "Uh, boss?"
"What?" Negan spoke through his teeth, not looking away from the girl, his tone a clear warning.
"I, uh," Simon began, unsure how to phrase his suggestion. "She's not gonna stop shaking in those wet clothes." Negan's face softened as he thought for a moment. She'd only get sicker in wet clothes, but what was he supposed to do? Strip her in the middle of the woods and hope she didn't wake up and start crying again? At the brief thought of her naked, he couldn't avoid the dirty quip that popped into his mind, but he quickly shook it away to focus on the situation. He turned to look at his men and called the first person he saw.
"DJ!" Negan barked.
"Yes, sir?" the man said appearing behind him at attention.
"Boxers or briefs?" he asked, his face serious, in full business-mode.
"Uhhh...what do you-"
"BOXERS OR FUCKING BRIEFS, DJ?"
"Boxers!" DJ coughed out immediately.
"Give me your fucking pants and get in the truck," Negan muttered reaching out his hand expectantly. DJ hesitated but quickly came to his senses and obeyed, shedding his baggy black jeans and rushing off to the trucks. "Arat!" Negan called again, the woman immediatley appearing behind him at attention. "Get her out of these clothes, give her your jacket." Arat nodded as Negan took his jacket back from the girl and stood to turn to his men. "Everyone back to the trucks! Let's give the ladies some fuckin' privacy."
---------------------------------------------------
It was dusk the following day when Negan and the Saviors rolled into the Sanctuary. Negan sat in the passenger's seat of a truck as Simon pulled through the gates. Every so often he glanced into the backseat where the unconscious girl lay, covered in a heavy blanket and tucked into place by supply boxes so she wouldn't get thrown around on the bumpy roads. She was too weak and delirious to even speak and despite keeping a little bit of food and water down, she seemed to be getting worse.
Negan considered climbing into the backseat to comfort her but scoffed at the notion. He felt really bad for her, worse than he'd felt for anyone in a while, but he always told himself those kinds if feelings were unfounded. He saved her, therefore he had nothing to feel bad about. He should feel good. Still, he felt the need to see that she recovered and could join the community. Hell, maybe Tina wouldn't be his only new wife.
As soon as the truck came to a halt, Negan swung the door open and hopped out to land heavily on both feet. He stretched his body with a dramatic groan before turning his attention to Dwight, who had gathered with a group of other Saviors to help unload the trucks.
"Dwight!" Negan began, looking not at Dwight but at the group of four prisoners being yanked out of one of the trucks. "We have some extra cargo. I'm gonna need you to show these fine gentleman," Negan motioned to the prisoners with a wide swing of Lucille. The men shuddered at the proximity of the bat, on which they could still see blood and scraps of skin from their leader and friends. Negan smiled smugly, his eyes twinkling at their reaction. "Show these gentleman to their new rooms. Two to a cell- no..." Negan paused, reconsidering. "Nah, let 'em all share one. And take out the mattress, wouldn't want it to take up too much room." His grin widened as he observed the men's despair. "Aw, don't worry, boys. It won't be so bad. Might even let ya crank up some music, make it a fuckin' party. I have to apologize though, I do only have one song and it gets pretty fuckin' annoying after a while." He chuckled at his own joke and turned back to Dwight. "When you're done, come to medical."
"Is everyone okay?" Dwight asked, looking around and seeing no Saviors unaccounted for.
"Those fucks ain't the only extra cargo we got," Negan said darkly as he turned to open the back door of his truck, revealing the sleeping girl lying amongst the boxes of supplies.
"Who-"
"No idea," Negan said carelessly with an exaggerated shrug. "Get the fuck to work and hurry up." Dwight gulped and nodded, scurrying off like a mouse before straightening up in front of the prisoners and shoving one as they began to walk. "And Dwight," Negan called after him. Dwight turned to listen. "No holds barred on those assholes." Dwight gave nod to a group of soldiers who joined him in leading the prisoners away at gun point.
"You," Negan pointed to a fairly new recruit, a young man with shaggy chesnut hair and bushy eyebrows. The recruit stood at attention with wide eyes, causing Negan to smirk. "Start unloading these boxes." The young man nodded and proceeded to begin carefully lifting the supplies out of the truck. Beyond him, now curled up in the backseat, the immaciated girl held her stomach and let out a pitiful moan. Negan's heart dropped slightly at the sound and his eyes softened for a second before he snapped himself out of the moment and hardened back up.
"Chop chop," he scolded. "This isn't fine fuckin' china, no need to be so god damn dainty." The man nodded, keeping his head down and moving faster, dropping boxes on top of each other and spinning back around to remove more. He hadn't finished when Negan bumped him out of the way to reach into the truck and pull the girl out. Negan cradled her in his arms before turning to the worker he'd stepped in the way of. "The fuck are you waiting for? Get the rest of these crates out!" With that, he turned and began walking towards the building. A small group of kneeling workers parted, staring after him quizically before going to work unloading the trucks.
Negan carried the girl through the Sanctuary, gazing down at her twitching eyelids, wondering what was going on in her mind. She grimaced and pressed her forehead to his chest, letting out small, pained groans that echoed through the hallways. He tensed and picked up his pace to speed walking, passing a few stray Saviors who almost laughed at the boss's flustered urgency. Of course, they'd never dare laugh.
Negan kicked open the door to the medical wing with his heavy boot, startling Dr. Carson who jumped to his feet and clumsily grabbed around for a pair of rubber gloves and his stethoscope. Negan carefully placed the girl on the empty bed closest to the door as Carson reached his side.
"What do we have?" Carson asked, already concerned at the girl's burnt but drained complexion.
"Found her in the woods with a group of cocksuckers trying to fuckin' rape her," Negan said tensely, not taking his eyes off of the girl's face. "Hasn't been able to tell us anything, don't know her name. Hasn't stopped shaking. Keeps puking up yellow shit. Soaking wet when we found her, she's burning up," he listed rapidly, somewhat surprising the doctor with his demeanor. Negan was hurried, his face hard with worry for a near-stranger; Carson had never seen him so uneasy.
"I need to get her on fluids immediately," said Dr. Carson, jumping into action. He placed his hand on the girl's forehead, holding it there with a frown. "Jesus, 'burning up' is putting it lightly." He moved around quickly, slipping an IV into her arm before making his way to a small refrigerator to get an ice pack. "All I can do right now is get her hydrated and try to get her temperature under control. Won't be able to do much else until she can tell me exactly what's bothering her. I'm assuming she hasn't had anything to eat or drink?"
"Got a little bit of water in her but that's it. She hasn't been lucid enough to do anything but puke."
"How long has she been like this?"
"We found her yesterday afternoon." Before Dr. Carson could express his doubt that the woman would recover, Dwight entered the room and stood at Negan's side, awaiting orders.
"I have some shit to take care of but I want to know the god damn fucking millisecond she wakes up. She needs anything, you fucking get it for her immediately."
"So...if she asks for something, do you want me to tell you first or get her what she wants?"
"Are you trying to be a fuckin' smartass?" Negan asked with a hint of menace.
"No, Negan. I just-"
"Just tell me when she fucking wakes up," Negan muttered as he gave one last glance at the girl before pushing her out of his mind and disappearing out the door. Dwight and Dr. Carson made eye contact, both shrugging at whatever had the boss's temper up this time. All they knew was this girl better be okay, or he wouldn't be happy and someone would pay.