Tabs became a permanent fixture very quick. Everywhere Carol went, she was carrying the kitten in her kangaroo style scarf. Once, Deanna got people to go fetch Carol for her, and they had to wait 25 minutes until Tabs' feeding time was done and Carol was satisfied with the way his digestion was progressing.
Tabs was a boy, of course, as Daryl had predicted, and he was madly in love with his new mom.
It made Daryl happy in ways he sometimes didn't comprehend. When they were feeding the fluffy creature, he would sit closer to Carol, so that their thighs where touching. He would never say it out loud, but there had been that one time when Carol had needed to go check something and had left him with Tabs and the milk, and he had been so proud to be able to provide for the kitten. When Carol had come back, she had smiled, and he would have blushed but he was too busy making sure the kit was still drinking.
It took over 12 days for the kitty cat to finally open his eyes, and Daryl had been waiting for this impatiently. As a boy, he had never had pets. His father had kept a deadly dog once for dog fights, but that had been it. Tabs was fluffy and full of love, and made you feel special, the way Carol made you feel special Daryl would sometimes think. She would trust him with mundane things and he'd feel like the most trustworthy person on Earth. With Tabs, there was the same vibe. The pussy was too small and had to trust you. Difference was Carol could fend off for herself and chose to make you feel good and special he supposed, but all in all, he was liking this new addition to their family.
Carol and he had been sharing a bedroom for a couple of months now, but with Tabs in their life, it felt like they had made a big come out as a couple. Rick and Aaron would jokingly call him "Father Cat", and make joke about his offspring looking like him, but he didn't mind. He was feeling paternal toward Tabs, there was no point in lying. It was something he was sharing with Carol, a new adventure.
Tabs always slept on her side of the bed, and Daryl had gotten used to making sure he was engulfing the kitten when putting his hands around her stomach. The purrs the pussy made were delightful. Sometimes when she was feeding him, Carol also did some low noises, like purrs, and she had explained it was how a mother cat would have let her know her kitten everything was okay.
When Tabs opened his eyes, or finished opening them (it had been a work in progress over several days, but Carol had said not to rush it, that his body knew better), Daryl had been feeding him, and he had found himself calling for Carol who had jumped on the couch next to him and had cooed at the pussy, telling him it was so nice to finally meet him.
Tabs started walking, and it was hilarious to see Daryl move at the slowest pace ever in the house because he had a crawling kitten following him, and he didn't want to go to fast for him. Abraham had made a comment about half eaten walkers being that speed, but Daryl had flipped him the bird.
They had started leaving alone, and Daryl had been the one having the most trouble being fine with it. The kitten was so small, he didn't want anybody to happen to him. He had made it clear that everybody walking in the house had to be aware at all time of the possibility that there might be a kitten sleeping on the ground, and that there would be hell to pay if they didn't mind him.
Carol thanked Daryl several times, for bringing back the kitten, but he had to say it was working amazingly for him too. He had never felt so close to Carol, sharing the bound of cat-parenthood, and being there for her and their ball of fur.
Funny how the sound of a kitten purring made you forget all about the apocalypse.
