Help Where You Can

A story of how Noah and Tara became friends.

I own nothing (and I am also guessing about the gun safety)

...

Safety First

Tara opened her eyes to Rosita's smiling face.

She smiled briefly before she realised where she was… Before she remembered the explosion…

"Eugene… Glen..?" she gasped, trying to sit up. Her voice was dry and croaky

"They're okay." said Rosita softly, easing her back down to the pillow.

"Noah..?"

That is when Rosita's face changed to mask of regret.

"No…" cried Tara.

"Shhh." hushed Rosita trying to calm her.

"He was my bro." Tara sobbed quietly.

As they walked away from Beth's grave Noah felt like an unwanted burden in a group he was barely a part of. Beth was dead and although no one said it Noah knew she had died to protect him….

The decision was made to keep Beth's promise and take Noah home. They didn't have too. They could have just left him but as Maggie said herself, if they didn't help Noah then Beth would have died for nothing.

And so began the journey to Richmond, Virginia, leaving Atlanta and the sorrow of everything that had happened at Grady Memorial hospital far behind.

Glen, Daryl and Sasha had scouted a town ahead and now, in a long thin crocodile, the group followed. They needed fuel for Abraham's Fire Truck and there was also the welcome prospect of a night with a roof over their heads. Noah found himself somewhere near the back of the group walking on his own.

Almost furtively Noah noticed the girl with dark hair and plaid shirt dropping back to walk beside him. Was her name Tara? He had noticed her watching him all day but he didn't know what to make of her. Tara seemed to spend half her time close to Glen, trying to console Maggie for the loss of her sister and the other half with Rosita teasing the Texan with the mullet. Was his name Gene? He liked her… or at least he thought he might like her. He just hadn't been able to draw up the courage to speak to her. At least not until now.

She leaned close and whispered.

"Your safety!"

"What?" Noah asked, confused by her statement.

Tara nodded to the semi-automatic rifle on Noah's shoulder.

"Your safety is off." She said quietly. "I thought you should know."

Noah griped his gun in what he believed to be a macho manner. He didn't know the first thing about automatic weapons but he had taken the gun when Abraham had offered it to him.

"But that's a good thing right?" he said.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Tara, stepping back as Noah waved his gun about. "Only if you want to shoot your friends… Or yourself in the leg! Here."

Tara carefully took the rifle from his hands, flicked the safety and then proceeded to check the chamber and the magazine with a practiced smoothness that Noah could only envy.

"Do you know about guns?" Tara asked.

"Only as far as which end the bullet comes out." admitted Noah.

Tara gave him a grin.

"Well first lesson." she pointed to the side of the gun. "Safety on…" she flicked a slide, "Safety off. Very important." She repeated the process. "On… off."

Noah nodded.

"So when you need to use it." Tara said, setting the safety on again and lowering the gun to her side. "You draw, flick the safety and aim… Go for the head; short bursts only." She demonstrated with a practiced ease aiming the gun towards the empty roadside, but drawing short of pulling the trigger. They couldn't waste the bullets. "When you are putting the gun back," she added, "Flick the safety on before you even lower it. Remember Safety first. And I mean that literally as well as figuratively!"

"Safety first." echoed Noah.

"You try." said Tara handing back the gun.

Noah found the safety and echoed Tara's movements, flicking the safety and aiming at the empty roadside. Then resetting it and lowering the gun to his hip.

"Better." said Tara patting him on the back. "We'll make a survivor out of you yet!"

"Thanks." said Noah. This felt the kindest thing that had happened to him for a long time.

"Now we just have to work on your aim!" Tara quipped. Noah shook his head at the joke but couldn't stop himself responding to her grin.

Yeah, he was going to like Tara.

"Thanks." he said again.

"Any time Bro." said Tara. She held her fist out to him and for a moment Noah looked at her in confusion.

"Bump it!" Tara hinted.

Noah's smile widened and he bumped her fist with his.

"Welcome to the family!"