Chapter Text
An long hour had passed down in the Sanctuary's large dining hall, with Negan and Blake, having gained much on an appetite after the afternoon's escapades, enjoying a meal of green beans, carrots- fresh from the gardens, and freshly caught rabbit. The rabbit, the blonde woman, at first, had wrinkled her nose at upon seeing placed onto her plate, but had soon wolfed it down with the speed of a hungry hyena, much to Negan's mild amusement.
The dark-haired man had been in a great mood since their earlier tryst in the room just down the hallway, and had sat next to Blake on one of the long benches, his leather-clad arm tossed around her, his body turned into hers, paying barely any mind to his own plate, but leaning his bearded lips into her ear for the past half hour and whispering oh-so-many inappropriate things to her, while Blake had purred back to him, giving him a gentle shove away from her at times, but really, enjoying the love and affection she was receiving from him.
Negan hadn't even snapped or snarled as a few of the lesser known lieutenants had approached him, on the pretence of letting him know of some completely unnecessary information about the run earlier this afternoon, when really, they were only doing it to gain some attention from the bearded Saviour. But Negan, who would have normally growled at this angrily and told them to 'fuck off' or worse, had barely flickered, merely giving a nod and waving a hand lazily in their direction, turning his wolf-like attention back to Blake and the pulse point he was currently murmuring dirty things into, causing Blake to blush profusely.
To anyone at the Sanctuary right at that moment, it would have been obvious that the pair were utterly besotted with one another.
It had been rare for anyone to see Negan so open with his affection towards anyone, ever. Even the wives Negan had barely batted an eyelid at in public before Blake had arrived here, keeping them to their quarters where they would be sent to Negan's room on rota.
So for the leader of the Saviour's to be sitting here, Lucille abandoned on the bench behind him, his arm snaked around Blake and his eyes on nothing but her, was certainly a sight.
But although it was a strange thing to see, it indeed felt like the Sanctuary was happier than it had ever been.
As though everyone here was happy for them…
Their king and queen…
Blake had long since set down her fork, her knee brushing Negan's as he pressed his bearded lips close to her neck for the third time in a minute.
"I wasn' sayin' we had to call the kid that," he muttered in a low and husky voice, kissing at her soft skin gently, before baring his set of white teeth in a wide grin. "I'm jus' suggestin' that if we have to think of a name-"
But Blake rolled her eyes, shaking her head, as she prised the fingers that were currently snaking their way beneath the hem of her shirt, away.
"We are not calling the baby Negan Jr…" she scolded lightly, glancing up at him and smiling.
"Well you have any better suggestions, Peaches?" he asked raising a dark eyebrow, his face a mere breath away from hers now, as his palm slid smoothly over her denim-clad thigh.
But at this Blake gave a quiet laugh. "Yes, thousands," she tutted. "But we can think of that when he or she's born."
Negan, at once, pulled back a little from her, his tongue reaching his bottom molars, as he stared down into Blake's face.
"You really wanna put that shit off that long, Sweetheart?" he asked curiously.
But Blake merely shrugged lightly, pushing her empty plate further away from the edge of the table absent-mindedly with her finger.
"I just want to make sure we don't make any rash decisions," she said with a sigh, thinking for a moment. " I mean, I don't want to call the baby Negan jr when he's more of a Eugene jr, now do I?"
Negan dipped his chin, raising both eyebrows all of a sudden and staring down at Blake interestedly.
"Eugene, ey?" he commented slowly, licking gently at his lips. "There been somethin' goin' on between you an' Dr Smarty Pants I don' know about, huh? You two been sneakin' off for some afternoon delight behind my back?"
But Blake laughed, peeling his hands slowly from her, as she pushed herself to her feet.
"Oh yeah," he said in a teasing voice. "I mean that mullet is just so super hot to me. And you would not believe the kind of dirty talk he comes up with…all quantum mechanics this, and let me slip my battery-powered device in that..."
She wrinkled her nose a little, clambering over the bench, as Negan marvelled at her, letting out a chuckle, as his hand automatically slipped into hers, making sure she kept her balance while she climbed over.
"I'm gonna go up and see the girls," Blake said matter-of factly, standing close to Negan as he let go of her, her hand sliding up into his dark hair. "See if Mia's still awake. I feel like I've barely gotten to see her today."
Negan gave a nod. "Wan' me to come with, Darlin'?" he asked.
But Blake just shook her head.
"No, I'm good," she replied. "I'll see you back upstairs in a while."
Negan raised a bemused eyebrow once more. "This mean I'm sharing with two tonight?" he mused in a goading voice.
But Blake retracted her fingers from his hair.
"I mean, you can always sleep on the couch if you'd prefer," she said raising one of her own eyebrows in return.
But Negan just gave another laugh, as Blake walked away from him.
It didn't take Blake long to reach the wives quarters at the far end of the Sanctuary. It was a big place, but after months of being here, Blake had gotten her barings pretty well and there were very few hallways and rooms that eluded her.
She remembered, of course, the first time she had been invited up here by the wives. Blake had not really known what to expect back then. But these days she knew that she loved these woman with all her heart.
It was good to have friends, girlfriends, in a world where everything was so dark and terrible. And despite the circumstances they had found each other in, Blake knew she would support these woman no matter what. She had seen the pain and the anguish and the worry they had been through here. And she hoped that her presence around Negan had made their lives a little better.
Blake arrived at the room to find the door shut to, and so she gave a gentle knock as she pushed it open with a small shove.
But she smiled widely at the sight that met her eyes.
For the normally neat and decadent room looked as though a bomb had hit it, with toys (looking like they had come from down in the marketplace) littering the floor along with a widely spread pile of paper covered in glitter that seemed to sparkle across almost every surface, including Frankie and Amber, who were sat on the floor beside a tiny figure.
The three of them (as well as Layla and Michelle who were stood on the far side of the room placing cushions back on the sofas nearest to the wall) all looked up as Blake entered the room, scratching at her arm a little awkwardly.
"Hi, everyone," she said in a kindly voice. "What on earth happened here?"
But before anyone could answer, there was a shuffle of papers and the teeny form of Mia scrambled to her chubby legs and bumbled across the room towards her.
"Bwakey," said the little girl in delight, holding up a crumpled piece of paper in her hand. "I made thas for you. I mished you. Wher you beyn?""
And Blake, at once, bent down to scoop the toddler up into her arms with a groan, pressing a kiss to her glittery cheek, before admiring the paper in Mia's hand.
"Wow," she said gently. "This is for me?"
The crude drawing Mia had down was in the vague shape of a large purple butterfly covered in glitter glue and several teenage mutant ninja turtle stickers.
"I di' tha, an I played hide a' see," Mai informed her. "An I had chikin faw mai dinna."
Blake lifted her eyes to Frankie's, who had gotten to her feet, and was currently swiping the glitter off her pants.
"We had fun didn't we, Sweetie?" said Frankie moving over to Mia and stroking back her messy hair. "We even got grumpy old Layla in on a game of hide and seek."
From across the room, Layla raised her eyebrows and pointed a finger in protest.
"Uh for the record, I bossed that last game," the dark-haired woman commented in jest, looking Blake's way and giving a wide grin. "So, Negan finally find you? He looked pretty stressed earlier today?"
But Blake parted her lips, his eyes flitting to the ground for a moment before she gave a slow nod.
"Yeah, he found me…." she uttered in reply.
But Frankie standing close to Blake, searched her face. "Are you ok?" she asked quietly after a moment, as the room fell to a stony silence.
The wives had all seen Blake feeling woozy and and distracted. So it was no wonder they were concerned.
But Blake gave an inwards sigh to herself.
Well, if there rest of the Sanctuary knew, there was no point in keeping it from her own friends any longer...
Blake's green eyes darted up once more.
"Well I guess I'd better tell you as Negan's telling everyone himself already…." she said giving a small sigh, out loud now. "I'm p-r-e-g-n-a-n-t."
She spelled the word, now wanting Mia to catch on. She would tell her in her own time.
At this the women were all silent for a long moment. Longer perhaps than Blake would have liked.
Before Frankie's face finally broke into a wide smile and she rubbed at Blake's shoulder.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you," she said giving her an awkward one-armed hug, causing Mia to giggle and squeal.
To her right Layla and Michelle approached both smiling, but each with a hint of concern etched upon their faces.
"Yeah, us too," Michelle said in a soft voice, her deep brown eyes roving across Blake's tired face. "You cool with it?"
Blake stopped momentarily.
No one had asked if this was something she wanted, and Blake could imagine how few people actually wanted to get pregnant in this world.
Was she crazy if she said yes, that she was cool with this? Telling them that this is what she had always wanted?
She had never told the wives about her previous miscarriages years ago. And right now she didn't particularly want to tell them….to tarnish this moment.
Because this time would be different. Right?
It had to be.
Blake gave a smile, batting her eyelashes a few times.
"Yeah, I'm cool with it," she said biting down onto her lip, a feeling of happiness suddenly washing over her.
Everything was good.
She had Negan.
She had Mia.
She had the wives, her friends.
There was even Carson downstairs. A doctor, in this world.
Everything was as perfect as it possibly could be.
"I want this," Blake reiterated, as Layla, moving over, cupping the back of Blake's head lovingly and giving her a small squeeze, being careful to avoid crushing Mia as she did so.
"We're pleased for you," said the dark-haired woman. "If there's anything you need, you know were here."
Blake smiled sweetly, overwhelmed by the women's warmth and love.
"Thank you," Blake said softly, just as Frankie gave a small squeal clapping her hands together and bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.
"Oooh I can't wait to tell Tanya," she said in an excited voice. "She's just gone down to take a shower-"
But suddenly, before the redhead could say another word, there came a sudden loud squeak from behind her, causing Blake and the others all to look around to see Amber standing there, her large, round eyes awash with tears.
"Y-You can't….t-this is wrong…." mumbled the young blonde woman.
But Michelle gave her a sudden stern look. "Amber-" she began, but the blonde woman stepped forward, visibly shaking, her hands fisted at her sides.
"No…..d-don't you see how much of a monster he is?" Amber said in tearful voice. "W-What he did to Mark…"
Blake stared at the young girl.
Frankie gave a sudden hiss.
"Amber stop it," she scolded in a cold voice, moving over to the young girl and attempting to pull her away. But Amber snatched her arm away, side-stepping the red-head and moving over to Blake, her eyes big and pleading.
"...he kept us here, manipulated us into becoming his wives," she continued. "He's killed people, Blake! H-He's a monster. Y-You just can't have a baby with him. You can't!"
She shook her head, clutching suddenly at Blake's free arm.
And for a long moment, Blake just stood there…..unable to speak, a hard gulp trailing its way down her slender throat as a silence filled the entire room.
No one dared to speak...all of them looking to Blake's now.. worried that she might burst into tears or worse.
But to their surprise, a second later the tall, caramel-blonde woman blinked and lifted her chin, holding Mia close to her now as she stared down at Amber with nothing but coldness in here eyes.
"Well I am having a baby with him," Blake said in aggrieved voice, choosing her words carefully. "And whatever Negan's done-"
But Amber cut across her.
"Sherry thought she was pregnant? H-He ever tell you that?" blurted out Amber loudly, before any other the others could do anything to stop her.
Blake froze at the words.
What?
No.
Her stomach gave a horrible lurch and her mouth went suddenly very dry.
The women all looked from Amber to Blake, looks of concern passing over their faces.
But no one said a word.
The only sound that actually filled the room now was Ambers continued whimpers, and the sound of Mia patting her hand on Blake's shoulder, vying for attention.
But the caramel-blonde woman merely stood there staring at Amber. Unable to move.
Frankie swiftly stepped forwards, shoving Amber aside
"It was a long time ago…" she said in a reassuring voice, looking at once to Layla and Michelle for help. "A-And it turned about to be nothing anyway. Just a false alarm."
But Blake felt the entire world spin now, as she took in this information.
Blake had never met Sherry, but if there was anyone Blake would have felt jealous over it would have been her. She had heard the way Negan had spoken about her, 'his favourite' , with a glimmer in his chocolate eyes, as if thinking upon a fond memory.
Blake had never been sure whether it was just the idea of him getting one over on Dwight and keeping him in his place that had sparked Negan's attention so much, or the fact that she had most likely been a very attractive young woman.
But either way it still hurt to hear all this. Now. From Amber like this.
"Listen, Blake, honey," said Michelle, placing her hand to Blake's cheek and drawing her attention back to the beautiful black skinned woman before her. "Amber is just talking shit. Negan fucking loves you. That's obvious. And whatever Amber thinks went on with him and Sherry it wasn't anything like what the two of you have now."
From beside her, Layla and Frankie nodded in agreement.
"Michelle's right," said Layla, tilting her head to the side. "He loves you."
But it took a few long and drawn out moments for Blake to finally nod, righting herself a little, hitching Mia further up onto her hip and lifting her chin confidently again.
"Oh I know," she uttered out firmly, turning away from where Amber now stood, hands cupped between her, not really wanting to look upon the young girl any longer. "And I love him back."
And she did.
Blake truly did.
But as much as she held her head high right now, waving the issue aside, it was still there, eating at Blake's stomach from the inside, causing it to churn and jolt like a rollercoaster.
"Right, I'd better get this one to bed," said Blake firmly, changing the sunjet airily. "Mind If I bring her back up to you girls tomorrow? I've been meaning to get back into the garden."
And at once, looking utterly relieved, Frankie, Layla and Michelle all smiled.
"Yes of course," Frankie said grasping ahold of Mia's chubby paw gently. "We'd love to play with little Mia-bear again."
Mia gave a giggle before snuggling her head underneath Blake's chin shyly. And Blake took that as her well-needed cue.
"Well, see you tomorrow then," finished Blake offering the women one last small smile, before turning on her heel and leaving the room.
On the outside she looked completely fine. Like she had taken the news of Sherry's scare very well. Any of the girls would have said that right at that very moment.
But in reality, Blake was dying on the inside. Not quite knowing whether she wanted to scream or burst into tears. Or both.