I think I liked you better when you didn't have a knife in your hand, Peaches

No f*cking buts

Blake padded hastily out of the bathroom on bare feet, tugging a fresh white t-shirt over her still-damp skin.

"Let me speak to him," she said in a pleading voice, gazing desperately up to Negan who was at the door already, fully dressed, with Lucille gripped tightly between the tanned fingers of his left hand.

The sudden realisation of how foolish she had been immediately hit her hard. Bringing Carl here like this, what the hell had she been thinking?

She knew of course, as Negan did, how all this must look to Rick. Seemingly looking like his son was being held here against his will.

But maybe she could speak to him. Rick. Make things right, before Negan got in there at least.

Blake knew that Negan and Rick together, were like two bulls locking horns, especially where their families were concerned.

But wasn't that the precise reason why Carl and Tara had come here in the first place? To stop this war? To make things better for the pair's future generations?

For Mia and Judith...

But Negan now paused, glaring at Blake back over his leather-clad shoulder, fingers tensed around the brass doorhandle.

"No fuckin' way," he bit, in a tone now completely removed from the one had had used with her back in that tub, not five minutes ago. "I ain't riskin' you down there with Rick the goddamn Prick, we clear?"

Blake opened her mouth argue, but Negan spoken across her, sounding angry.

"No fuckin' buts, Peaches," he said sharply. "Look I know you can be a damn badass when you wanna be. But if he tries anythin' down there, I ain't lettin' you be in the firin' line again, not after what happened last time."

He was frowning hard now, but even so, his face seemed to soften slightly as she stared at her.

"Listen', Doll" he continued, as Blake bit her tongue waiting for him to finish. "I know you think I gonna go down there, start crackin' skulls-"

Blake let out a snort, rolling her eyes.

She knew that was exactly what he was likely to do!

"But, shit, Darlin'. I ain't forgotten what I said to you out on that damn rooftop earlier. An' as much as it's gonna fuckin' kill me to talk to that sweaty-faced asshole downstairs like he's on my damn level, I realise now that things have gotta change. That I can't keep riskin' all that anymore. Riskin' you, Peaches."

Blake stared at him sadly for a long moment.

She could tell that he meant all of it.

He was doing this, being the bigger man, for her and for Mia. And Blake needed to respect that.

Negan wasn't another David. He wasn't putting her in her place for his own self-purpose, but instead, all he wanted, was to see them both safe. Even if it meant sacrificing everything he had built here to do so.

"Just be careful, ok?" she finally said, sighing softly and slumping down onto the arm of the leather couch behind her defeatedly.

And with one last swift nod in her direction, Negan was gone.

And Blake could only pray for both her and Mia's sake, as well as his own, that he kept to his word. Although she worried now that the same probably couldn't be said for the Alexandrian leader currently waiting outside in the lot...