Hey there, I'm back ! I know it's been a while but I'm happy to say that my exams are all done (and that I passed !) so I guess that means I'm all yours now !

In this chapter you'll learn more about the mysterious Wyatt...Hope you'll like it !

Chapter Sixteen

"Wyatt is not going to like this, Negan" Simon said with insurance. He was fisting the aim of his shirt with anxiety, his knuckles whitening under the pressure. From his point of view, shit would be raining soon.

"Who gives a fuck what Wyatt wants ?! This maniac has no leverage, no authority. Just let him come and see what happens !" Negan spat with a patronizing grin. He didn't like the man in question and didn't fear him, however he had to be very careful with the matter at hand.

"Who's Wyatt ?"

A multitude of wide eyes suddenly turned to the owner of the voice. Gillian. A sparkle in her eyes, she was just standing on the doorstep, waiting for whatever was coming. Negan froze for a second, a lot of shit was happening all of a sudden, preventing him from making a decision on which problem he should handle first. On one side, his little protégé had just shown up from nowhere after having disappeared for who knows how long. And on the other there was this damn note left by the messenger that led Negan to think he was going to have to arrange a little meeting with an old "friend" to clear the situation. One problem at a time he repeated himself as calmly as he could. It happens that one of these problems was conveniently located right in front of him at this very moment, he just had to inquire, and he did.

"Leave us" he said through greeted teeth, not needing to say who needed to stay and who had to leave as his eyes were piercing right through her. Negan's men exchanged dumbfounded looks before their leader urged them again "Do I need to fucking spell it out for you ?" He turned towards them, propping Lucille on his shoulder "Out !"

Everyone picked their shit up and left through the backdoor without another word. Arat eyed her friend worriedly, she had no idea where she had been either but if Negan had found out something he didn't like, Gillian would be in trouble, the no-return kind of trouble.

After several minutes of silence and of pacing in the quiet room he softly spoke

"Am I really gonna need to ask for it ?" He growled, leaning on the table behind him

Gillian acted like she had no clue of what he was talking about, she propped herself on one of the counters

"Ask for…what exa-"

"Don't'' he warned. He looked positively conflicted for a man of his composure, that note displayed on the table surely had something to do with it, Gillian thought. But Negan was focused on her now. "Don't play that game with me, Gil', not now. Where the fuck were you ?"

At first she wanted to say she had been consulting Carson for personal matters but then remembered that he was not to be implied in this big lie, he didn't deserve that and she had somewhat promised him she wouldn't involve him earlier. If something had to happen to her, fine, she had disobeyed the rules and was the only one responsible for it. But there was no way she was dragging someone else along with her.

"I took a walk around the Sanctuary" she said tentatively, only causing him to frown in misunderstanding

"Oh, so was half an hour good enough for you or do you need some more ?" He answered sarcastically, bitterness filling every word.

"I needed some air, Negan, that's all. It's not easy for me, can you understand that ?" Could pity work ? She didn't think so…

"I didn't bring you here so you could have it easy. You're supposed to be a prisoner, remember ?" he laughed "Doesn't look anything near it"

When Gillian looked up to his face he was still waiting. He wouldn't let go until she would give him a satisfying answer, but she couldn't think of anything.

"What do you want me to say ? I don't have a better story than the truth".

Wether he liked this answer or not he didn't show it and started to walk around the room again, thinking. Her eyes couldn't seem to leave Lucille, who was gently swinging with his footsteps. He wouldn't, right ?…Carson had warned her, though, he had said it loud and clear that if Negan found out about whatever she was doing, he would kill her, no questions asked.

"When we danced the other night" he started, laying Lucille down on the table and taking a step towards Gillian "and that you went to our dear doctor just to get me pills, how long did it take you ? Like twenty minutes or so ?" It didn't sound like a question, he knew that, he knew exactly what he was talking about and Gillian was astonished that he was able to remember anything from that night.

As he was speaking, Negan was observing her with attention, waiting for her to give away any sign of lie. He found none. She was just as good as he was. His mind had not yet decided if he believed her or not, it was a fifty-fifty for now. Still, he wanted her to understand he wasn't one to be messed with.

"Fool me once, shame on you…" he was still walking in her direction "Fool me twice…" Negan didn't finish the saying, as though he didn't want it to be true.

"Do you really remember that night ?" Gillian cleared her throat, dry from the lack of speaking, or out of fear…"The night we danced ?"

Negan's eyebrows shot up and he laughed, as if the question was so absurd that it shouldn't even have been asked in the first place

"I can never forget that, Sweetheart" He continued his slow journey towards her and soon was standing between her parted legs, hanging from the counter. Gillian cursed herself for not closing them sooner. He leaned in to rest his hands on either side of her thighs

"I remember every detail. Your breath, cut under the intensity of each moment, our eyes, wanting to get lost anywhere but in each others' " The urge to kiss her was pushing him, again and again, instead he went for her neck and she stayed very still while he nuzzled it, feeling his prickly jaw and cheek against her skin every now and then. No matter how much he wanted it, his lips never connected with her. That was a line he had recently decided not to cross, at least not without her say in it.

Negan lifted his head so that he was looking at her right in the eyes

"And I remember your body" he smiled genuinely, replacing a strand from her messy undercut "so tempted yet determined not to fall into the big bad wolf's claws"

"Oh, so you just know I was so tempted, right ?" She found him pretty sure of himself

"Come on, darlin', those tiny moves you made against me"

"All part of the dance" she assured

"The sounds you made" he was really enjoying this

"Just your imagination" she countered again

"That little ass of yours, grinding against my-"

She cut him before he could say anything more "Okay, now you're just trying to embarrass me." And he was, at least now, because what had happened just before he started playing with her felt pretty serious to him.

He pouted his lips "No, Sweetheart, I'm just," he grazed his fingers against her jeans "testing the waters" he growled seductively. Gillian was quick to grab a hold of his wrists and lift them up and away from her, denying him his little fun

"Might wanna test the waters a few feet away from here if you don't wanna end up with my knee in your ballsack" she smiled fatuously, although it sounded more like a big fuck you to him. But he accepted it gladly, he had started the game after all.

Gillian let go of Negan's wrists and he went to sit at the table, she joined him shortly after. Than, more seriously, over a glass of whisky he told her that for the time being he was going to believe her story but that if he learnt from anyone that she had tried to bullshit him, he would have no other choice than to make an example out of her.

What was really great between them, Negan found, was that they always understood each other rather quickly. Perhaps mostly because they respected each other. The both of them had lived terrible things in the past and were still struggling today in their own ways. Although he hadn't told her about his story, the story of his late wife, they were connected by their losses.

When she had told him earlier that it wasn't easy for her at the Sanctuary it wasn't a lie. She had just been taken away by the people who had recently become her family, and from time to time she was afraid of never seeing them again. Seeing Sasha today had given her strength but now she missed her even more. The worst thing for her had been to see Alexandria's familiar faces and not being able to talk to them, to hug them and tell them just how much she longed to get back.

There was however something that the Sanctuary had, and that Alexandria didn't possess: Negan. Him and his comforting aura that was just the same as hers. They didn't necessarily need to talk, one look was enough. And for the record, Negan knew more about her past than anyone else at the Sanctuary, except for Sasha. When she had opened up to him about her dead husband, she hadn't left any details out. Alexandrians only knew she had lost her life partner in a terrible herd attack but nothing else. Weeks after her arrival in Alexandria, Gillian had come to understand what a strong and happy family Rick had managed to build over the years and she had not wanted to bring the darkness of her life in it. With Negan it was different, there was a darkness in him too, she had finally found that out the night they had danced. He was in need of something, something he hadn't managed to acquire, not by steeling from other communities, not with sleeping with whoever he wanted. No matter how much he had, how much he took, he was still missing this little thing that he couldn't quite put his finger on. And when she was around he felt a little closer to it.

Gillian declined when he offered her another glass of whisky, he followed her lead. Surely they didn't want to end up dancing again, or maybe they did but wanted to try it when sober this time. As she laid her empty glass on the table, the note caught her attention. She had almost forgotten the reason they were all awake at this hour in the first place. Maybe it wasn't her business, but it surely concerned the Sanctuary and she was in it at the moment so…

"What's this all about ? The note, the messenger ?"

Negan traced his finger along the edge of the glass. She probably didn't need to know about the messenger but the rest concerned everyone

"You said you went to walk around the Sanctuary at least twice recently. That means outside the fences, right ?" She nodded and he didn't even bother asking how she had made it past the guards. That would be for later, it wasn't her trial anymore. "And on your little field trips have you met anyone, seen anyone that didn't look like a Savior ?"

Gillian was a bit surprised by his questions, she had no idea the note would have anything to do with her.

"No, I've seen no one and I made sure no one saw me" she said with conviction.

"You made sure no one saw you…" he said thoughtfully "Does that mean you could have fought or…killed someone that would have stood in your way ?"

"Negan, I didn't see anyone, I swear ! And no, I wouldn't have killed anyone, that is not how I do things. What is this, what am I accused of exactly ?"

Negan slipped the note across the table

"About two or three days ago a nearby community found out one of their own had gone missing. They asked around but came up empty handed, that leaves the Sanctuary." He said in a tone she had never heard from him. It was closer to distress than fear, either way it was clear that it weighed him, that's what Gillian found weird.

"Why would you care, I mean, every single community around answers to you, why would you have to care for one of their missing person ?" Gillian realized just how awful that sounded but it was simply the truth.

"Not every community, Gil' " Negan said with concern. He hadn't really planned to tell her about this story but it was too late now, she had to know. "Before I tell you anything I really need to know if you saw anyone that was not a Savior outside the fences."

"I swear I didn't see anything, I took every necessary precautions". She assured him. He nodded, stood up and dragged his chair around the gigantic table to sit near her. As he did so, Gillian checked the window briefly, the night was still impossibly dark and quiet. It reminded her of the time it was and also of how much she needed to sleep. Three hours of rest was all she had had and it was far from enough.

The story he was about to tell her was pretty serious and he honestly didn't know where to start. Gillian remained silent and let him the time he needed to begin. The man she now had in front of her was neither the asshole of a leader the Sanctuary had, or the conflicted man who didn't know how to behave with her. There were so many sides of him she didn't know about, it was frightening and equally gripping.

A few minutes past and he finally found a starting point to his story.

"When I first arrived here with my ridiculously small crew, we were completely alone. Nobody had come here before, the abandoned stores were full, it was a true fucking gold mine ! I quickly understood that I could make this place bigger, greater, simply by adding new people. So that's exactly what we did, we scavenged to find them and find them we fucking did. The Sanctuary grew in no time, we had weapons, food stocks, anything that any of us could dream of in a shitty world like this. The place grew more and more, the people who didn't join us started to fear us. We behaved like kings and I guess we became…noisy. Turns out we weren't alone after all, and that since the goddamn beginning". Gillian was listening with great attention, and she observed too. By the expression on his face it seemed like he missed those days. The beginning. Everything is always better and simpler at the beginning, it's fresh, new, every problem can be fixed with a snap of fingers. Time tends to damage that. Irreversibly.

"One day we received a message, pretty much like this one," Negan pointed the piece of paper on the table, "it said that we were summoned to a meeting with the Great Wyatt or some bullshit like that. At first I swear I thought this was a fucking joke but we still went to the meeting, heavily armed to show whoever was behind that letter that they shouldn't mess with us. That's the day we got to meet Wyatt and his loyal followers, the Immortals." A smirked escaped Gillian's mouth at the sound of that name, which made Negan smile too.

"I know right, I thought exactly the same thing. These guys are quite something…a bunch of fucked up fanatics driven by a holly mission, they say. They consider themselves elected by God and his lawful servant on earth, Wyatt. Steeling other's supplies is not what they do, if you wanna join them, you have to survive with your own skills. The people who live are elected. The rest…they join Wyatt's other army, among the dead. I guess that's his biggest strength, dead or alive, his people remain his people and they serve a purpose. The deadliest weapon there is today is walkers, and he understood that pretty damn quickly."

Negan was conscious that this story could be hard to believe, it sounded like a narrative from a horror novel.

"So anyway I met with Wyatt and we spoke for a while. He realized what man power I had, I guess that made him change his plans a little bit. We had to come to an agreement because if we came to a fight, he and I would lose a lot of people, and there wouldn't even even be a winner to see what was left. We agreed that the eastern part of the region belonged to them and that the rest was ours. To make sure we all understood he took us to what they call the Pit. You've never seen a place like this…It's like a gigantic underground cave, Wyatt said it took them years to dig it and frankly I gotta believe the man. The worst is not the Pit though, it's what's inside." Negan closed is eyes as if to recall what he had seen that day. It was the first and last time but it was enough "You've probably seen a herd of a hundred walkers, right ?" Gillian nodded "Well…Wyatt has thousands. Thousands and thousands of walkers. If we break the deal, if a Savior steps foot on their lands and that he decides to release them…the Sanctuary, Hilltop, Alexandria, they're all done. Nobody has enough bullets to kill so many walkers, nobody. The deal had been working very well so far, hell, we didn't even have to see each other. I haven't seen Wyatt or his goons in months and I was personally all right with that. And here we are now…"

Since it was very probable that the Immortal was on Sanctuary grounds, it was Negan who had to initiate the searches. It could take hours like it could take ages. Thankfully, he had a lot of contacts and resources. If the man was alive, they would probably find him in no time, however if he was dead…

Negan wanted this to be done as quick as possible, he would put everyone on the job starting now. He got up and took the letter with him, he needed to tell Simon about the little change of plan. The search would begin in a few hours.

"Stay here, I'm not quite done with you. I'll be back in a minute." He said to Gillian who was seconds away from passing out of exhaustion.

Simon was waiting for him in the parking lot. They usually met there after the meetings to discuss things in detail. They trusted each other and worked incredibly well together. Simon was, in more ways than one, an extension of Negan.

They never had a problem like this before and didn't quite know how to deal with it. What if they never found the guy ? What if he was dead ? They kept asking those questions to each other but both agreed that for now, they would tell the Saviors the man was alive and that everything would work out fine.

It had been a long time since Simon had gone to bed with knots in his stomach. Whenever there was a problem he handled it within seconds, that was his job and he was damn good at it. But what to do when you didn't have your hands on the problem yet ? He hoped a good night's sleep would help him figure it out. Little did he know sleep was going to be very hard to find tonight.

Negan didn't have this problem, he still had things to take care of with Gillian. He wanted to know more about her repeated escapades, about how she had managed to get past the guard. He figured that if Fat Joey was in duty, it shouldn't have been much of a challenge.

He just had to ask and that is exactly what he was going to do. He pushed the door in one motion

"So, you and I have a- oh shit" he cursed when he saw she had fallen asleep, her arms and head resting on the table. "Oh, Sweetheart, that's no place to sleep" he said affectionally. He passed one hand behind her back and under her arm, the other under her knees and carried her to her bedroom. He was surprised she didn't wake. From what Simon had told him she had had a tough day, working under the sun for hours, almost getting in a fight with Larry. She had done her part.

He laid her down gently on the mattress, took her shoes off but didn't put the covers over her, it was actually quite hot in the room.

Instead of leaving he sat on the bed and watched her for a moment. He had never seen her sleeping before. She was just the same as when awake, composed, peaceful. He envied her right now. Like Simon he probably wouldn't be able to find sleep himself.

Running the back of his fingers against her shaved sides, just above the ear, he leaned in to kiss her forehead but then remembered his rule. No kissing. He cursed inwardly and exited the room as quietly as possible, careful not to wake her from her dream, or nightmare, given the stories he had just told her…