((A.N. It's about damn time for a feel-good headcanon chapter. Enjoy.))

It was a good thing the jacket I'd found earlier was large, because it fit perfectly over our backs. It took a while for it to start holding in what little body heat the two of us produced, but when it worked, it was so much better. Rosita and I's violent shivering had slowed down to a tremble with slow breaths. To keep our thoughts from deteriorating along with our bodies, I struck up conversation.

"What should we do tomorrow morning?" I asked. "Like, when we get home."

"Eat a big breakfast." was what she said.

And I found myself smiling again, because a really nice image popped into my head; an image of the two of us sitting around a table eating whatever we decided to have. I saw pancakes on our plates. And sun coming through the curtains in the house. You'd think I was thinking of a time before the world ended; maybe a sleepover with an old best friend. But I was thinking of tomorrow, because something sweet like that was still possible. We just had to be somewhere safe. And Alexandria, also known as "home", was safe. It's where all our friends lived too... also known as our family.

"Hey... did you have a best friend back before all this?" I then asked. But when she didn't reply, I felt bad. "Uh, sorry... if that's too personal to ask."

But Rosita shook her head - still resting on my chest. "No, don't worry, it's not too personal." She said, "I was just thinking of someone."
"A friend?"
Again, she shook her head. "My brother."
"I didn't know you had a brother!"
"Yeah, his name was Richard. He was older. Married. A father of three." She told me, "We were really close as kids, but got... distant... as we grew up... As it usually is..."
I knew exactly what she meant, Lily and I were the same way. To be honest, the apocalypse was the thing that brought us back together.

"But would you consider him your best friend?"

"At least during my childhood." Rosita shrugged, "He picked on me a lot, but that's what toughened me up. I don't take any bullshit from guys, as you've probably seen in the time that you've known me."
"Oh yeah." I chuckled, remembering the times where she's chopped down Abraham, Eugene, and even Glenn, for being ridiculous.

"But I just think about Richard sometimes; wondering how he'd do in a world like this." She sighed. "I didn't actually see him go... but I have every reason to think he died saving one, or all, of his kids."
"Do you think he would have died saving you?" I asked.
"No."
Really?
"He would live." She said, "I wouldn't let him die, nor would I need saving in the first place."
Wow, I never of thought looking at that question that way.

"I wish it was like that with Lily..." I said, suddenly pulling the jacket tighter over us.
"What do you mean?"
"I wish I had the opportunity to save her... and still live. Even though I'd like to think I'd have given my life for her." I clarified, "But see, I really, really wish it wasn't one or the other, or neither, who gets to make it out alive in life-or-death situations. And I'm not just referring to Lily and I. I'm talking about Carol and Beth. I'm talking about Glenn and Noah. "
"I know what you're talking about..." Her head was now almost resting on my stomach, and I had my left hand resting on her back. "But tonight... that's going to change... because tonight, either of us could have died back there. But you saved me when I got hit by leading us through the rain to the car. And whether or not either of us need to save the other at any point tonight, I'm sure both of us are going to make it out alive."
Knock on wood.
I just nodded along.

The car shook side to side in the wind again, and the rain hadn't gotten any softer.
"You know, I wonder if they'll come looking for us..." Rosita was now officially laying in my lap.
"I actually sort of hope they won't... for more reasons than one." I commented, "Driving in this shit would mean certain death. I'm positive."
"Maybe they'll come after it all ends... but still before the morning." She suggested, starting to draw small circles with her finger on my knee - out of boredom.
And seeing as she was so hopeful of Rick and the gang pulling up to save us, I decided I'd benefit from playing along too,
"Yeah, that'd be nice." I said. "...We could sleep in the car on the way back, get into dry clothes, sleep more in warm beds, and then eat that big breakfast. I'm thinking pancakes."
"-And peaches." She added.
Boy, that got me hungry. We were dumb and didn't pack much food; seeing as we weren't supposed to stay here for the night. So what we did bring had to last us until we either drove home ourselves, or were rescued like Rosita said. And right now, it couldn't be any later than midnight, so we had a long time to go, and the storm definitely wasn't subsiding any time soon by the sounds of it.

We really needed something to happen to make us feel better about our current situation. And soon enough, one came.

"Whenever it rains like this, I always remember this one day in late July back when I was in high school-" Rosita began, "I used to ride horses. All the time. Richard did too. But this one day, I was at this gigantic county fair in Houston competing in the horse show-"

Wow, I never knew Rosita was a rider, either! But I imagined how pretty she probably looked riding a majestic horse through a field... I'd never actually ridden a horse, being a city kid. I just saw them in movies, and always had a thing for those country girls.

Rosita then continued her story, "Things were going really well - I was confident I'd win a blue ribbon. But a thunderstorm snuck up on the fair and unleashed this awful downpour in the middle of everything. My horse spooked, threw me, and I spent a good minute running around the ring trying to catch him while everyone else was ducking for cover."
"Oh man, that sounded like it sucked." I said, sympathetic but intrigued. Somehow, the story was both sorta tragic, and sorta funny.
"Yeah, and you know, I didn't care how hard it was raining or how much mud was on that ridiculous riding jacket I was wearing - all I cared about was catching my horse before he tripped and got hurt. He was a bumbling idiot, but I loved him."
"What was his name?" I asked.
"Rojo... Even though he was black and white." Rosita replied, "The farm I learned to ride at rescued him from a slaughter auction, then trained him for 3 years before my Dad bought him from them for my 15th birthday."

This made me laugh a little, "See, and I got a hamster for my 15th birthday."
"Really?" I heard Rosita chuckle.
"Yep. I didn't even want a hamster. I wanted a dog." I explained, "So I named him Mr. Chubbs, and had him for a few weeks before he chomped on my finger so hard that I needed two stitches."
"What happened then?" she asked.
"My Mom apologized for thinking hamsters made good pets, and then we gave him away to my cousin. I never saw Mr. Chubbs ever again."

For the first time, I heard Rosita actually laugh. Like, a loud, sincere laugh. And of course, that had me cracking up too.
"Poor Mr. Chubbs!" she laughed.
"More like Tara's poor finger!" I exclaimed, sticking out the pointer finger on my right hand - but it was too dark for either of us to see the little scar that was still on it. "And poor you for falling off your horse. That probably hurt more." I added.
"Oh no, not 'poor me'. I've fallen off so many times. It just happened to be in the middle of a downpour that time." She lifted her head off my lap for a few second to stretch her neck, and then she put her head back down. "But like I said, every time it pours, I always remember the panic I felt running around in that ring."

"Was the rest of the day fun, at least?" I asked.
"Yeah, I brought Rojo home, got changed, and then spent the rest of the night at a diner nearby with my friends from the barn because the fair had been shut down." Rosita explained, "I must have retold that story at least 5 times that night. But that was alright with me... because every time, it was easier to make light of it. What started as a terrible accident, became something worth laughing about in the end."

I had to say it. "...You mean like tonight?"

"Yeah..." she replied, over the sound of the rain on the roof. "Like tonight."