#sashan

"It's um, ahem, it's a girl."

"Hot damn! A baby girl!" Negan hugged Sasha enthusiastically. Sasha was happy at the news, and found herself hugging him back. She thought about how good of a father he'd been to Leo, and knew that he would be even better with his little girl. Negan had turned out to be a spectacular family man, and Sasha could give credit where credit was due.

She closed her eyes and just...held him. They were doing this-they had been doing this.

They were family.

. . . . .

4 YEARS EARLIER

"Where are we going?"

That morning Sasha had a note slipped under door that said to be ready at 11AM.

Negan glanced at her, grinning.

'He's always so damn jovial.'

"Telling you where before we get there, well, wouldn't be much fun, would it?"

Sasha sighed. "I'm not sure it matters either way if that's the case."

Negan exhaled impatiently. "Do you enjoy sucking all of the joy out of a moment, or is it purely accidental?"

"There's a small amount of enjoyment I suppose," she said with a small grin.

Negan smiled. "It won't be much longer."

"We should listen to some music in the meantime," Sasha suggested.

"What do you wanna listen to?"

Sasha connected the bluetooth. "Eugene gave me this when we rode to Alexandria. Some good tracks on here. Donny Hathaway. Marvin Gaye. Chaka Khan..."

"I only recognized one of those names."

"Well, you're gonna learn today," Sasha said, hitting the "play" button.

. . .

Twenty-five minutes later...

. . .

"Found this place awhile back. The only person allowed here besides yours truly is Simon, but he hardly ever comes up here. It's just you and me. I figured, some one-on-one time alone would be better than having an insanely awkward wedding night. I don't know about you, but I like my wedding nights to be a night of celebration, and not chalk full of awkward. We can talk, get to know each other, and not have so much pressure for appearances. We can go be ourselves."

Sasha scoffed. "'Ourselves?' I don't know who I'm supposed to be right now. Accepting being here with you isn't...That isn't me.  Or it wasn't."

"Ha!" Negan barked, opening the car door. "I thought we were past this. Well hell, there will be absolutely no melodrama this weekend. Tell you what, Sasha. Be who you were before the world kicked the can.  Think you can manage that?"

Negan shut the door behind him, going to the trunk to grab the bags.

Slowly Sasha opened her door, stepping out. She stared at the cabin, then tried to see if she could even remember who she had been, before all this.

. . . . .

PRESENT DAY

One hand was held possessively over her belly, the other over her pelvic bone, his fingers gently massaging. Her head was thrown back, and his lips were peppering kisses down the column of her neck. She hissed as he gently thrust deeply into her.

"A little girl," his voice rumbled. "My princess. Can you believe it?"

"Mmm," she answered in a non-committal tone.

"I hope she has her mother's good looks."

"Maybe your dimples," she said breathlessly as he picked up his pace.

"Our beautiful, baby girl."

She moaned when he pulled out of her, and let him turn her around, and lay her on her back. Painfully slow, he entered her again, staring at her all the while. "I love you," he declared.

"Negan-"

"Sasha, I love you. Okay? I've loved you for awhile," he confessed, gently caressing her face as he moved inside of her.

She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "Please."

"I'm sorry, but I need you to hear me. You are home, Sasha. I love you." Before she could protest again, he kissed her.

Fingers tangled in his hair, she kissed him back.

. . . . .

4 YEARS EARLIER

"Let's do a perimeter check, shall we?" Negan said, putting the bags down at the gate, putting his bat casually over his shoulder.  Reaching into his waistband, he pulled out a knife, handing it over to her.  "I go left and you go right?"

Sasha looked down at the knife in her hand, weighing it, thinking about how isolated they were out there.

"Sasssssha," he sing-songed.  "Thinking about doing something else with that knife?"

Slowly Sasha looked up at him, her gaze flinty.  "Something else?  Naw.  Why would I do that?"

Negan exhaled, looking at the high noon sun.  "Okay.  I tell you what.  Give me your best shot."

Sasha cocked her head at him.  "Are you kidding?"

Negan smiled broadly.  "Wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

"Oh," Sasha said, holding the knife loosely in her hand.  "You must be joking.  You have your bat, and your gun.  There's no way I would win."

"But wouldn't it be fun to try?"

Before she could answer, the low moans of the dead interrupted.  A small group of five walkers started to amble from around the corner of the cabin, headed towards them.  Communicating with their eyes, they slowly spread out, with Negan going left, and Sasha going right.  Sasha struck first, kicking one hard in the knee before stabbing it in the head.  Negan took a swing with ease, almost knocking the walker's head clean off.  It was short work between the two of them.  Negan, with his bat, was faster, though.  He stepped ahead, picking off the last one.

"Well," he said, admiring his handy work.  "That's a helluva way to start a vaca--"

He bobbed to the right as Sasha swiped the knife at him.

And he laughed.

"And there she is, ladies and gents!  I knew my gal would come out swinging."

Sasha grit her teeth.  "Not yours."

She advanced forward as Negan backed up, the mirth in gaze not totally hiding his focus.  To him it was a game, but he wasn't going to let her hurt him.  He couldn't have that.

Sasha, frustrated she couldn't land a hit, or that he wouldn't strike back at her, threw down the knife and charged full speed ahead, leaping and barreling into him, a roar erupting from her throat.  She knocked him down, landing on top of him, punching at his torso and face.  She got five good hits in before he flipped them over, pinning her hands above her head.

"Enough!" he snarled.  "You get that out of your system?  Huh?"

Panting heavily, Sasha leaned her face close to his.  "Let's find out."

Negan looked her over, smirked, then let her go.  "Yeah, you got it out of your system."  He stood, then extended a hand to her.

She rolled her eyes, but took his hand.  Refusing to look at him, she wiped the dust from her pants.

"Not exactly the roll I was looking forward to having with you, but, it was still fun.  Now.  Wanna head in."