Negan glanced up the way from the passenger seat of a truck that had gone on a supply run when he saw Nina standing a step outside the gates pacing nervously. Immediately his mind went to the negative end of possibilities, taking in her body language; though he also knew it could have meant the moment he had been anticipating had finally arrived.

Before the truck came to a full halt, Negan had already popped open the door and proceeded to leap out.

Nina approached, taking in deep breaths as she hurried up to him.

"What?" Negan asked, his eyes shifting back and forth as if reading her expression.

"We have to get to the Hilltop."

"Is Marilyn okay?"

Nina nodded. "She asked me to come get you when you got back."

"Is she-"

"She was in labor when I left."

"How long ago?"

Nina began guiding him back toward the truck. "It's had to have been over an hour... maybe an hour and a half."

"Fuck." Negan hopped back into the truck and Nina helped herself into the back seat.

"She was doing good, Negan," Nina assured him.

Negan glanced at the driver, who was easing the car in reverse. "Fuckin' step on that shit. Let's fucking go." He huffed a breath, "I knew this shit was going to happen on a day I was out."

"It's okay," she continued to try easing his mind, "Marilyn is great."

He eyed the speedometer as the truck began to cruise down the street, staring so long that it finally prompted the driver to glance over at him.

"If this fuckin' thing doesn't hit eighty in two fucking seconds..." Negan shook his head and felt the car pick up.

"We'll get there." Nina continued to be positive despite the nervous butterflies in her stomach for her best friend. "We'll get there."

...

"Where is she?" Negan hurried through the gates of the Hilltop, addressing Jesus who was first to approach.

"Upstairs." He motioned to the main building and couldn't get another word in as Negan began to run with Nina just a few feet behind at his heels.

With the first floor vacant and no more distractions, Negan took the stairs by two, finding Morgan and Maggie just a step outside the door that led into Dr. Carson's office. Before words could be exchanged on either side he heard the faint sounds of a baby crying and burst into the room without any interference.

Negan's eyes shifted around the room in an anxious search for Marilyn and their son. When his eyes finally found hers, an exhausted smile decorated her face as she laid partially propped up on the bed with a freshly cleaned and swaddled newborn on her chest.

"Marilyn..." He rushed to her side, only taking his eyes away from hers to look at the child.

"I, uh..." She smiled wider as Negan's fingers gently grazed the barely-there strands of hair on the top of the baby's head. "I kind of went rogue and chose a name before you got here."

"I'm sorry," he began but Marilyn shook her head.

"Don't be." She took a long, decompressing breath and leaned forward to hand him over.

"Shit, I don't even know how to fuckin'... do this."

Dr. Carson finally managed his way over to the two of them and smiled at Negan's awkwardness as Marilyn aided in securing him in his arms.

"You're doing fine," the doctor assured him. "Just make sure his head is where it is now in the crease of your elbow."

Negan's posture was stiff and uncomfortable at first, though after a moment he managed to relax a bit as he stared down his son.

"Don't you want to know what name I chose?" Marilyn asked, laying her head down flat against the pillows. She smiled when Negan turned back to her and he finally managed a grin of his own.

"I don't get a say?" he asked, still smiling.

She shook her head. "Only because you were kind of against the idea to begin with."

Negan squinted his eyes a bit but then raised his eyebrows as he waited for her to continue.

"I'll give you a say," Marilyn took back her previous statement, "But I want to name him after you. I want his name to be Negan."

He glanced back down at the baby who's eyes were actively taking in the scenery around them. The thought of giving him the same name almost made him shudder a bit. "Do you think he'll end up paying for my mistakes if we name him that? Will people hate him for it?" Negan looked back up at Marilyn, who was already slowly shaking her head.

"Look at us now." She gave a content sigh, "We're all united."

"With some underlying tension."

"That has died down... a lot. Time is only going to make it better." Marilyn placed a hand gently on his arm. "There's only one Negan in the world right now. I think we have room for one more... to carry the name on."

Negan swallowed hard and cleared his throat as he stared down into the wondrous eyes of the newborn child. He could feel Marilyn's lazy stare in his direction and could see how much it would mean to her. It was almost something he felt like he didn't deserve, though a part of him did feel a sense of joy and pride from the possibility of his name living on.

"He's the new beginning, Negan," Marilyn told him. "Maybe when he's our age things will be somewhat normal; more structured. Society might be blooming again."

"So the new world needs a new Negan." He almost chuckled but couldn't bring himself to.

"Something like that."

Negan carefully leaned down, touching his lips to hers once and then returned his focus on the child in his arms.

"It all makes sense now, doesn't it?" Marilyn asked, unable to keep the natural joy from radiating out of every question.

He let out a breath through his nose when he locked eyes with their son again he felt exactly what Marilyn had just said aloud. Negan cleared his throat and almost had a feeling like all of his life's choices, good and bad, flashed before his eyes.

"Yeah," he replied quietly, "Yeah it does."