Broken

Chapter 1

Negan and Rick climb the stairs, Rick relying heavily on his cane.

"Keep the fuck up, Grandpa," Negan says with a smirk.

"Who the hell are you calling Grandpa? I should have you carrying me up these damn stairs." Rick sneers. "Since you fucked up my leg in the first place."

"You want a piggy back? Why don't you hop the fuck on, old man?" Negan chuckles. "I could carry your ass all fucking day."

"Shut up," Rick says. "Lets just check this last floor, see if we can find anything so we can get the hell back to Alexandria."

They didn't find much in the way of supplies, though Alexandria was thriving and produced plenty of crops and grain, so they had no need to find food, not that it would be safe to be eaten after this length of time anyway. Their search was mostly for weapons, batteries, toiletries, or anything from the list that had been given to them.

Negan and Rick head towards the last apartment at the end of the corridor. They try the handle, expecting it to be locked as with most of the others, but it opens with ease.

"Christ, i can't wait to get outta here," Negan says as he wrinkles his nose. "The whole place smells like fucking ass."

"Do you have to be so vulgar?" Rick frowns.

"Yeah, i fucking do, it's part of my charm." Negan smiles.

"Just see what's good for taking. You take the bathroom, i'll take the kitchen."

"Oh, i like your fucking style, leaving me with the shitter," Negan grumbles.

"Just get the hell on with it," Rick says impatiently. As he rummages through the kitchen cupboards, he goes over in his mind what possessed him to bring Negan. He'd hoped Daryl would come, but he was out on a hunt, so he'd been stuck with Negan. Rick could've picked someone else, but Negan had been eager to volunteer, and to be fair, Negan was pretty damn good out here. Rick smiles as he snags a bottle of whiskey from the back of a cupboard. He places it in his backpack, not wanting Negan to set his sights on it.

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Negan finds a box of tampons, half a bottle of shampoo, and a fresh tube of toothpaste. He shoves the latter in his pocket, fully intending on keeping it for himself.

Negan walks out of the bathroom, placing his items down on the kitchen counter. "You find anything?" He asks.

Rick shakes his head. "I'm gonna check here, you go check the bedroom." Rick points to a door in the corner.

Negan looks at the door with a frown. "Door's shut. There could be fucking anything in there."

"You scared?" Rick asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Fuck no! I'm just saying, it's fucking typical of you to have me do all the heavy lifting. Anyone would think that's the only reason you brought me."

"That is the only reason i brought you." Rick smiles.

"Fucker, you don't mean that," Negan says as he opens the door a crack. He peers in, sure there's no dead, so he pushes the door open, stepping inside as he scans the room. Holy shit! Negan stands near the door, his eyes fixated on the moth eaten double bed. He makes his way back into the lounge, appearing almost giddy with excitement. "Rick!" He whispers.

"What?" Rick doesn't look up, too engrossed in his search for supplies. He smiles as he finds half a pack of batteries stuffed deep under the cushion of the sofa.

"There's a girl!" Negan beams.

Rick looks up from where he's crouched in front of the sofa. "What?"