Everything seemed to still around Negan now.
It was as though the world was moving in slow motion, swirling in colours and shapes around him. But his dark, pained eyes remained ever-fixed to Blake's green ones.
She was staring back at him, her mouth moving without any sound coming out, and Negan was only brought back to reality by her eyes tearing away from his, drifting instead down to the blood that seemed to be spreading across her otherwise pristine white t-shirt, in horror.
"We need to get her inside," came Dwight's voice, at Negan's shoulder.
But the dark haired man's attention was only on Blake, as he reached out for her, his calloused fingers moving to Blake's cheek, as his other hovered over the wound at her side.
She stared back at him again, looking wholly confused.
"Negan...I-" she began to utter, just as the sudden sound of wails filled the air.
It was Mia, who was stood there now, gazing up at Blake, with fear etched upon her face, still clinging to her hand.
"Negan, we needed to get her inside," Dwight repeated, obviously stepping up far better than Negan was right now.
The dark-haired Saviour was usually so calm, so collected, but now, it was as though everything was falling apart around him. His entire fucking world.
Negan nodded, as Blake's eyes slipped away from his, but a stroke of his thumb across her cheek brought his eyes back up to his again.
"Peaches, you fuckin' stay with me, you hear?" he breathed, his chest restricting, as he held onto her cheek roughly.
Mia gave another loud wail amidst the commotion, causing Negan to glance her way finally, wavering for a long moment, before-
"Can someone-" he began, just as Arat appeared from nowhere, scooping Mia up into her arms.
But the teeny little girl, sobbing hard now, screamed loudly as her hand was torn from Blake's.
"Noh, I wann mai Bwakey!" she cried, as she was tugged swiftly away.
Beneath his grasp Negan could feel Blake suddenly begin to shake, her face becoming a picture of sheer pain.
"I-I..." she began again, but trailed off, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.
Fuck, was this shock?
Negan frowned down at her now, his eyes roving across her face. A face that was so fucking perfect to him in every way.
"Negan," came Dwight's voice, louder now, as he felt a sudden hand clamp down onto his leather-clad shoulder. "She needs to go to Carson. Now."
But before Negan could do or say anything, Blake swayed unsteadily on the spot.
Blood was now dripping down onto the dusty ground below, creating a dark ominous pool at her feet.
Shit.
Negan knew that Dwight was right.
She needed to get inside.... indoors.
Carson could help.
He had to help right?
Negan had never felt so distant, so far away from the world around him.
Not since Lucille had he felt like this. His whole world falling away and leaving just a gaping abyss below.
And so Negan, doing the only thing he could think to do, suddenly dropped Lucille to the ground with a thud.....
Everyone around him stared now, but Negan no longer cared.
And with only one thing on his mind, he reached down, his hands sliding beneath Blake's shoulder and her jean-clad thighs, as he lifted her easily from the ground and up into his arms.
He felt her immediately paw at his arm, wincing in pain.
"Come on, baby," he murmured in a voice that was barely there, trying to sate her as best he could. "Everything's gonna be fuckin' fine."
But of that he wasn't so sure.
Beneath his chin, Blake was still gaping desperately.
"N-Negan..." she managed to breath out. "I-I..."
But Negan gave a gulp and shushed her gently.
He could feel the warm trickle of blood soaking into his own grey t shirt now as he held her close. But he didnt care, turning on his booted heel, as Saviour after Saviour, that had gathered around them in concern, stepped aside, letting him pass.
Dwight was ahead of him now, leading the way into the cool and dark Sanctuary.
"Negan, I-I'm-" Blake said again, her teeth gritted in pain.
But Negan just shook his head.
"It's alright, Darlin', its ok," he replied, cutting across her.
He'd known far bigger and stronger men than her, die from bullet wounds, and knew that she needed to save what little energy she had left.
Dwight shoved open a wide set of doors ahead or them, as behind Negan, he heard at least three other sets of footsteps following along.
But they had barely made it down the lengthy hallway that led past the dining hall when Simon suddenly rounded the corner towards them.
He stared, stopping horrified at the sight of a bloodied Blake, before looking back to Negan.
"I heard, on the radio....what the hell happened?!" he asked, falling into step with Negan as the tall, and looming man strode on, his jaw set, and a tick working its way inside his stubbly cheek.
Oh he knew what had fucking happened.
Someone had been planning this all along. Someone out to get him.
And when he found out who, Negan would bring down this entire fucking world onto their heads.
But right now, he had far bigger concerns.
He looked down to Blake who had her eyes closed in a pained frown, gasping a little, but still conscious at least.
"I don' know," Negan murmured to Simon in reply, shaking his head, barely ale to concentrate on words right now, his focus solely on the woman in his arms.
But Simon, looked angry on Negan's behalf.
"What do you need me to do, Boss?" he asked sternly, as they turned the corner.
But Negan just gave a scowl, ignoring him.
He didn't have time for Simon's bullshit right now.
But he didn't need to reply, as Carson suddenly stepped out of the medical room at the far end of the long hallway, his face full of concern.
"What happened to her?" said the doctor, staring first at Negan, then down to Blake.
He quickly stepped aside for them to pass through into the doorway, as they barrelled in, and Negan swiftly carried the blonde woman over to the bed, where Blake gave a cry of pain as he lowered her down.
Carson was immediately at her side, shoving Negan's hands away, his eyes roving cross the wound at her side.
"She's fuckin' pregnant, Doc," growled Negan in a desperate voice, staring at the strawberry-blond man expectantly, his eyes set darkly.
But Carson merely ignored him, his full attention now on Blake, as she whimpered and writhed, her hands moving to her side in panic.
But Carson quickly swept them away.
"Heeeey, there Blake, what do we have here," the doctor breathed out quietly, before glancing over at the blonde man, stood now on the far side of the room, thumbnail brought up between his teeth, staring over anxiously. "Dwight would you wheel that tray over please?"
Negan looked up to see Dwight obey instantly, shifting the short trolley, layed out with all sort of sterile looking utensils, over to the doctor.
Carson, who still had his eyes firmly on Blake and the bloody fabric at her side, reached for a large pair of scissors without looking. And in a second he had snipped up the side of Blake's white shirt, as she whimpered out in pain.
"I-It burns," she cried out in a panting voice. "I-I-"
Carson's eyes quickly found her face.
"That's good," he said quickly, offering her a half smile of encouragement.
"You can do somethin'?" Negan asked Carson hopefully, stepping forwards. "You can fix this, right? She's gonna be ok?"
He could hear the panic in his own voice, as he clenched his jaw tightly together, his eyes black.
But Carson shot him a scolding look.
"I can if you give me some space," he said in an irritable tone, peeling aside the bloody material and peering over Blake's wound.
Negan gazed up at the look etched across Blake's face, one of pain, as she winced.
He took a couple of steps back, reality hitting him like a tonne of bricks as he ran a hand through his dark hair.
He was going to lose her wasn't he?
Just like he had with Lucille.
He blinked teras out of his eyes now, turning around on the spot and facing away.
Fuck.
He didn't know if he could go through this again.
Not now, not after everything him and Blake had been through.....he just couldn't.
Behind him he heard Blake give a whimper, and Negan, screwing his eyes shut, opened his mouth, facing his head up towards the ceiling.
His heart thudded in his chest, anger filling him.
Someone had done this, and they were going to fucking pay.
He snapped his head to face Simon suddenly, who was stood at the door, arms folded looking worriedly over. But he noticed Negan addressing him almost immediately.
"Get every fuckin' vehicle we have, load up, an' get out an' find the damn cocksucker who did this," he said in a deadly voice, his lip curling in fury, as his loyal right-hand man gave a solemn, yet understanding, nod, turning on his booted heel and beckoning Dwight to follow him.
But Negan spoke again, causing the two men to pause at the door.
"Oh an' when you find them, bring them back to me.....I'm gonna make them fuckin' pay for what they've fuckin' done."
Simon's eyes lingered on Negan's, before he nodded again, the two men leaving and closing the door behind them.
But now that left only Negan, Carson and Blake in the room, and the bearded man turned to see Blake rubbing her lips together, frowning as Carson poured over her wound.
Shit. If Negan lost her now...
But to his surprise Carson finally spoke, but his words were no longer filled with worry and concern.... but instead another tone filled his voice.
"Well lucky for us, Blake..." said Carson suddenly. "...the bullet just caught your skin. If it had been an inch or two over..."
Negan frowned gazing at the man who seemed to be cleaning Blake's wound carefully, crouched over her, his face full of concentration.
Blake winced again making a face, but Negan blinked a couple of times, looking confused.
"W-What?" he asked bluntly.
But Carson merely flashed a small smile up in his direction. "It just grazed her, look....the blood, it's already stopping, that's a good sign."
Negan took a step forwards and gazed down at Blake's side where a deep red, almost black gash, ran from the top of her hip bone up and over her side.
Carson dabbed at the wound with a cotton pad covered in some sort of strong-smelling yellow liquid. But this caused Blake to wince sharply, propping herself up onto one of her elbows to watch Carson at work.
"I tried to tell you Negan-" she began, panting hard, grimacing a little as Cason dabbed at her side once more.
But Negan stared at her face in a look of utter confusion and awe.
"S-So she's gonna be ok?" he managed to stutter out, his eyes remaining fixed on hers, as she stared up at him too.
But Carson gave a nod, easing out a sigh. "Yeah she is, I mean, she had a lucky escape if you ask me-"
But Negan was no longer listening, instead he had gone over and pressed a firm and well-needed kiss to the top of Blake's blonde head.
"Negan-" she frowned bemusedly, pawing him away from her. "Ouch...Ow!
"Sorry," said Carson apologetically, placing the cotton pads that were covered in blood down onto the tray. "I'm gonna get this covered up straight away, best thing for it. Dont want you getting any infection in it. But you're going to need to get the dressing changed at least three times a day for the next couple of days at least."
Blake nodded.
That was it?
She was going to be ok?
Negan knew he should be relieved, of course he should be. But for some reason his chest still remained tight, his heart still thudding away.
But after a short few moments Blake spoke, asking the question currently going around and around in Negan's own head right now...
"D-Do you think the baby's ok?" she asked in a very quiet voice, looking worried.
And Negan too stared at the Doc now, a lump appearing in his throat.
Carson gave an understanding nod, turning and reaching for his stethoscope, placing the ends onto his ears and shifting what was left of Blake's tattered t-shirt aside.
Blake let out a steadying puff of air, as the two parents waited, both seemingly holding their breath. Or at least Negan was anyway.
There was a long pause as Carson hovered for a moment, readjusting the position of the stethoscope against Blake's skin, a frown littering his brow.
Negan's heart seemed to stop. Everything going quiet as they waited for what seemed like an eternity for Carson to speak.
Blake's fearful and tearful eyes flitted up to Negan's dark ones suddenly, just as Carson eventually spoke.
"There's a heartbeat," he said, causing Blake and Negan to both give an audible sigh in unison. "And a strong one at that."
Blake pressed a bloodied hand to her chest in happy relief, before letting out a sob, that caused both men to look at her.
She she swiped at her eyes quickly.
"Sorry," she said hurriedly, shaking her head. "Hormones..."
But Carson gave a smile at this.
"No, it's totally natural," he ressaured her gently. "But your body has gone through a huge stress. You need to take it easy, alright?"
Blake gave a visible gulp and a nod, before she reached her hand up to Negan.
He swiftly took it with his own tanned one, pulling it to his mouth and pressing a kiss to her smooth knuckles.
Fuck. Everything was going to be alright.
Both Blake and the baby were ok. They were fucking ok.
He felt his heart swell suddenly. But this feeling of elation was soon taken over by another feeling, a stronger one.....
....a feeling now of anger and fury that flooded every inch of him.
"I-Is Mia ok?" Blake asked conversationally, biting down onto her lip and wincing slightly as Carson swiftly got to work dressing her wound. "I must have scared her..."
But Negan was no longer listening, his eyes moving to the door, as he let go of her hand, standing up straight once more.
"Oh I am gonna make whoever did this fucking pay," he growled, his leather-clad shoulders tensing.
"Negan..." Blake started gently a flicker of a smile forming then disappearing from her face as quickly as it had come. "Please..."
Her tone was of slight pleading now, but Negan shook his head.
"What? You think I'm gonna just stand here an do fuckin' nothin'?" he growled, feeling a fury bubbling inside him.
"N-No, but there no need to do anything stupid," Blake murmured back looking strained, her forehead beaded with perspiration, long-since spent.
But Negan could feel his blood pumping through his veins, furious that the person responsible for this was still out there.
"Those pricks could've fucking killed you, Peaches-" he said incredulously.
"But they didnt, Negan," said Blake soothing him quickly. "Look I'm as angry as you are. And y'know, my bikini wearing days are certainly going to be over after this..."
And with that she pointed to her side, her skin still smeared with blood.
"... but running off and punishing people you can't prove have done anything wrong, isn't the way to do it."
"An' what the fuck is, Darlin'?" snapped Negan, his voice filled with concern. "What? We just wait around for it to happen again? What if it's the kid next time, huh?"
Blake pursed her lips together, frowning at him sadly.
"There's nothing you can do, Negan..." she said shaking her head. "They're bound to be long gone by now."
She suddenly reached out, grasping hold of his arm.
"Just don't do anything rash ok?" she asked in a quiet voice, staring up into his eyes. "Promise me."
And Negan staring back, felt himself calming a little.
Shit.
She was his fucking world. And as much as Negan knew he should listen to her words, he still wanted something to be done about the person who had done this.
To the person that could have killed her.
Like Carson had said. That bullet only needed to land an inch or two over, and that could have been it.
He gave a sigh.
"I gotta fucking do this, Peaches," he said, a frown line stuck between his brows.
And with that, he tugged his arm away, and left the room, shutting the door closed behind him with a loud snap.
Blake looked forlornly over to the door that Negan had just left through.
He knew that he was bound to do something stupid now. And all because of this.
Blake hadn't really realised what had happened straight away.
The noise had hit her first. That sharp zip of the bullet as it had shot through the air.
Then the burning.
It was like she had been branded by a hot stake, feeling it searing at her side, as she had looked down seeing the blood seeping through her white shirt.
But she had just stood there for a long moment, unable to scream, or shout, or do anything...almost bowled over by the pain.
And the fear she had felt then, hadn't been on her own behalf but on the baby growing inside her.
But now, not even twenty minutes later, Blake's fear had gone from worry about an unborn baby, to worry about a fully-grown man.
Blake knew that Negan could handle himself. But she knew just what his temper was like and knew he would likely stop at nothing to find the person who had done this.
It certainly worried Blake a little to think that there was someone out there willing to put, not only Negan, but her and Mia in harms way. But Negan had made a lot of enemies. And at least the outcome today hadn't been a lot worse than it actually was.
Blake lay back in silence as Carson finished his word, carefully dressing her side in sticky bandages. Her wound still stung very painfully, but she had seen that, clean, it didn't look as bad as it certainly felt.
And at least most of the bleeding had stopped now.
"Al-right," eased out Carson finally, sitting back in his chair and tossing down another bloody cotton pad onto the trolley. "I'm gonna needed to redress this in a couple of hours time. You can stay here if you like. You need rest-"
But Blake shook her head, pulling herself from the gurney, letting out a small whimper as she did so. "I need to go find Mia..." she said stubbornly, standing on wobbly legs. "And Negan too."
But Carson frowned up at her, watching her gape suddenly at the pain, almost staggering backwards.
"Blake you need to rest," he said, getting to his feet too. "You've lost a lot of blood-"
And Blake defeatedly sat back down onto the gurney with a sigh, as Carson placed a hand gently to her shoulder easing back down against the hard bed.
"Rest, ok?" he uttered. "You're gonna do too much damage to yourself chasing after a big kid like that. And yes, I'm talking about Negan, not the little girl."
Blake gave a tiny smile at this, but still felt a worry flood through her.
Concerned about just what Negan was going to do now...
Negan strode down the hallway on leg legged strides, bursting suddenly out of the wide set of doors that led into the lot.
The sun was still burning high in the sky now, but Negan didn't care, for an icy blackness filled his world now, as he gave an intimidating growl of fury, addressing his men who were currently loading up into trucks and cars that filled the dusty lot.
Everyone seemed to stop now, faces nervously turning his way.
Negan's blood was boiling, and despite knowing that Peaches was alive and fucking well and lying up on that bed in there, that still didn't make what happened ok. Not in a million fucking years.
And by the looks on their faces, his loyal men and women knew that too.
Simon suddenly stepped forwards hands on hips, his chin lowered, staring at Negan expectantly.
"How is she?" he asked, sounding a little tentative, as though he was not sure whether he wanted to know the answer or not.
And Negan was glad of this, knowing full well that he wasn't the only person around here that cared for Blake or the kid.
For Blake was a fucking queen around this damn place. And his people treated her like one.
"She's gonna be fuckin' fine," Negan bellowed, his eyes dark. "No thanks to the soon-to-be-dead asshole who did this to her."
Simon shifted his weight from foot-to-foot, looking slightly relieved, as did everyone else, as a murmur flooded the otherwise quiet lot.
But Negan spoke again, loudly, causing everyone to fall deadly silent once more.
"I want whoever is responsible to pay. Hell, I wanna be wearin' their damn nut sacks around my neck!" he shouted angrily. "So we get out there and find the goddamn prick who did this and skin them alive. Along with anyone who was in cahoots with them."
There was a murmur of appreciative agreement almost his men, all of them grabbing ahold of their weapons, looking riled up and ready for a fight.
And to his side, Dwight approached Negan holding out a very fucking familiar weapon, that Negan vaguely remembered ditching for Blake just a little while ago.
And so, giving a dark growl, his eyes meeting viciously with Dwight's for a moment, the dark-haired Saviour felt his tanned digits tensing around the smooth handle of Lucille.
And with a dark, cruel and malevolent smile, Negan, looked back to his men.
"Y'all with me?" he asked in a low voice, suddenly leaning back on his heels and gesturing to his loyal lieutenants with the barbed end of his baseball bat.
And it didn't even take a second for them all to give a loud, carrying cry of support....
....causing Negan to lower his chin darkly, clenching his jaw together.
Of course they fucking were.
For he was Negan. And...at the end of the day.....
.....so were they.