I don't own anything to do with Rick or any character from the Walking Dead. I own the OC character, Ruby, however, and I adore her.
Summary: Shane's been killed by Rick and the group doesn't trust him anymore. So what does Rick do? Snap. He finds a girl in the woods and takes out his aggression.
Yes, I know if you've read my other stuff you know that I am a Shane girl, but Rick is awesome, too. So I decided to play with him a little.
Rate and comment if you like! Thanks, and please, no flames. They are... unhelpful.
***I don't really know how this happened, but I find I'm making the chapter involve a day at a time. Too much 24 watching, maybe? Lol, anyway, it might continue that way, might not, but it's just flowing that way and I'm going with it. These next two chapters were written at once, and I am seriously hanging everything on the line here. I hope hope hope you guys like them. Thanks for the love you've shown!
He found Ruby in the kitchen with Carol, laughing at something the woman had said and a large bowl of green beans in her lap. She was cleaning and snapping them rapidly, and they both looked up when he came in.
"Rick, this is quite the spread! Ruby says there's more?" She said from her place at the sink, washing the vegetables.
"Plenty, and we'll go back when you need more." He said, taking a place at the table across from Ruby. He watched her work at the beans, a peaceful expression on her face.
"Ruby, I never asked what you like to eat." Carol said from behind him. "All this work you all did to bring us these things, I think you should get first choice of what we have for dinner."
Ruby grinned into the bowl as she worked. "I miss radishes, I love 'em. Really anything fresh is good by me, though, not from a can."
"I don't think we'll have to touch the cans for a while. Do you cook?" Carol asked, wiping her hands free of water on a kitchen towel. They'd found more of those, too, at the farmhouse, embroidered with delicate lavender flowers around the edges. It was unneeded fluff, but it was nice to have around.
"Lord, no. But I can microwave a mean bag of popcorn. You had to show me how to do this, Carol."
They laughed lightly between the three of them. A tour bus probably isn't the best place to learn culinary skills, Rick thought. Carol took a place next to him with a handful of radishes, a knife and a plate. She quickly cut a few in half and pushed them over to Ruby.
"Oh yum!" Ruby said excitedly. "Where's the salt?"
Carol pushed the shaker over to her as well and Ruby doused the plate. "You want some food with that?" Rick asked jokingly as she popped one half of a radish in her mouth.
"Bite your tongue, this is the only way to eat them." Ruby said, chewing. "Try it."
He took a piece and raised an eyebrow warily at her as he tossed it back. He started coughing at the amount of salt, grainy in his mouth, and he winced at her. "Delicious." He sputtered and the women laughed at him.
"I know, right?" She said sarcastically as he struggled to swallow.
"God, woman. I need water now." He went to the counter and put his whole face under the tap, drinking furiously. When he was done he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and grimaced. "How are you doing that?"
She ate the last one and pushed the plate out in front of herself, laughing at him. "Guess I'm tougher than you."
"You gotta be." He came back and grabbed his seat.
"What's so funny?" Daryl opened the back door and looked at them curiously. "Could hear you out in the yard."
"Sorry." Carol said, but she kept the smile on her face as he came in and put his crossbow on the table before dunking his face under the tap. It was getting to be a routine for him, running water was a luxury they had missed.
"Ruby tried to kill me." Rick said as he crossed to a chair across from Carol, next to Ruby.
"How's that?" He cocked his head at Rick.
"I like salt." Ruby said, holding her hands up innocently and Daryl grunted.
"Whatever you say." He looked over at Rick. "Two cars passed us a while ago, didn't come back." Rick's face went from happy to concerned in a moment, and Carol and Ruby weren't far behind. "I made sure they didn't see me, don't worry. They didn't even know we were here." Daryl finished, his voice going a little higher.
"Good." Carol said softly, frowning into the wooden surface of the table. "You didn't have to say it before, we knew that's what happened last time. People just cause trouble."
"That's why we doctored up the front of the house, nobody's gonna think to stop here." Rick said, and when he saw Ruby's face go a little sad he knew it was the right thing to say to Carol, but the wrong choice for her. She got up and walked out of the room, Daryl and Carol's eyes on her back.
"What's wrong with her?" Daryl looked back at Rick, narrowing his eyes the way he did.
"The people she was with before, a guy named Paul and a woman, Sarah. She lost them a week before I found her, and she's afraid that, if they're still out there, they'll pass us by." Rick said, struggling with not getting up and going right after her.
"Poor thing." Carol said sadly.
Daryl grunted, the turning wheels in his head obvious. He stood up after a moment and left the room. Rick was about to follow when he re entered with a squarish piece of wood and a small can of paint. He brought it to the table and laid them down, pulling a pocketknife from his jeans. He pried the lid off and dipped his finger in the green paint. They watched closely as he wrote the names Paul and Sarah across the board.
Rick grinned, amused at the redneck's insight. Daryl looked down at his work when he finished and let out a breath before looking back up at them.
"We hang it on the road down the way a piece. If they're on the road, they'll see it. Just hope they're smart enough to stay put."
"That's good." Rick nodded at him with a grin and Carol retrieved a hammer and some nails from the counter.
"I'll go hang it." Daryl said and Rick held out a hand to stop him.
"We'll all go. I'll go get her."
He went to her bedroom quickly, finding Ruby busily going through a drawer in the bureau that had been gone through before. She was trying to distract herself, he saw the signs.
"Hey, come out here." He said, holding out his arm and she pressed her lips together but followed. He took her back to the kitchen and when she saw the sign, she frowned and looked up at him curiously.
"Daryl made it. We're gonna hang on the road, and if they see it, they'll stop."
"Won't that draw other people? Give us away?" She shook her head at him.
Daryl answered her question. "For all they know, it was put up months ago, they won't know to come here. People put these things up everywhere."
She grinned and looked at Daryl gratefully. Rick grabbed the hammer and nails and they walked behind him out the door and across the small lawn, into the trees.
"How far down are we going?" She asked as they reached the highway and Daryl shrugged.
"Just a little bit, but stay in the trees, keep your eyes open."
They got a few yards down and Daryl moved quietly to the road, leaving them just in the tree line. He found a good sized trunk and began hammering, tying to keep the noise to a minimum. Rick put a comforting hand on her shoulder as they watched him, pulling her a little closer and kissing her hair. She raised a hand and put in on his, holding his fingers tightly.
"You think it'll work?" She looked back at him hopefully.
"Yeah, if they come by. But it might take a while, I don't want to see you disappointed." He said, trying not to give her higher hopes than the ones she'd already given herself.
"I know. It's a long shot, but it's the best idea so far." She said, watching as Daryl finished and jogged back to them. She stepped forward and smiled at the man. "Thanks, Daryl."
He put his arm out as she leaned in to give him a hug, and he squeezed her back for a moment. "It's nothin'. I owed you, anyway. That whiskey's lookin' better and better."
She chuckled under her breath and fell back in line between the men as they walked back to the house. The heat of the day was intense and she wiped away a sheen of sweat that had formed on the back of her neck. The movement was so subtle, but something about the way her skin glistened reminded Rick of watching her rise out of the lake the first time he met her, and the fire in his gut raged a little higher. He licked his lips and focused on the grass under his feet, trying to put it in the back of his mind before his body gave everyone else an indication of what he was thinking.
The intense heat of the day had made the house stuffy, especially upstairs, and T-Dog was in the living room with Carol when they came back in. Beth, Maggie and Glen were laying across the chairs, fanning themselves with pieces of paper. Rick and Ruby took places on the floor on either side of the fireplace, loving the feel of the cool stone in the warm room. Rick was slightly surprised to see Daryl grab a place on the couch, he wasn't usually a social person and avoided groups like a disease.
"What are you up to?" Glen asked them lazily.
"Nothing much." Rick answered, bringing his knees up toward him.
"I miss the reservoir." T-Dog said, and Carol smiled wistfully.
"What reservoir?" Maggie asked curiously, looking to Glen.
"On the road, before we got to the farm. We camped up on a hill and there was a big old stone quarry. It was great."
"Nothing like that around here, if you don't count the lake you found me at." Ruby said, turning her eyes to Rick. "But that's pretty far away now."
He shrugged. "The garden had irrigation ditches. Had to come from somewhere."
"Probably a well like the one out back, but bigger." Daryl said from his slouching place near Carol.
"Shouldn't go wanderin' out there, if we don't have to." Rick said, but his voice didn't carry the weight of the words. He looked to T-Dog, then to Ruby, and they both started to grin at him. He chuckled and dropped his chin to his chest as he shook his head. "Plus, we gotta leave someone here, hold the place down. Wouldn't be fair."
"We could find out though, just a couple of us. Wouldn't be far." T-Dog reasoned lightly.
Maggie looked to Ruby, her eyes twinkling. Ruby bit her lip, looking back to Rick. She shrugged when he looked back to her. "It's up to you." She said and he raised his eyebrows, looking around the group.
"You feel up to it? It's been a big day already."
"Better than sitting here roasting to death." She answered.
"Not if we don't find anything." He countered. "I'll go out with Daryl tomorrow, see what's out there."
Maggie sighed. "Can we go outside then?"
"I'll keep watch." T-Dog said when Rick nodded.
"Just stay in back and if you hear anything, get back inside. Daryl can use the crossbow, keep the noise down."
Daryl stood and followed the others out to the kitchen, and as Carol got up to go to Rick spoke. "Carl and Lori upstairs?"
"They're napping. So is Hershel." She said and disappeared out the back door.
"Well," Ruby groaned, standing up slowly. "I'm going to shower. I'm all itchy now."
He grinned and watched her go to her room, and a minute later she reappeared at the stairs, a towel and clothes in her hands. She tipped her head at him and he sat there for a minute after she'd gone. When he heard the water kick on upstairs he stood up and went to his cot. He changed quickly into a dirt and sweat free tee shirt and looked down at the piles of clothes around the room. He bit his lip and looked back at her door. She didn't use all the drawers in her dresser and he was in there all the time anyway. She wouldn't mind if he borrowed one...
He'd finished and had grabbed a couple bottles of water from the kitchen, meeting her on the stairs when he heard her coming down.
"How was the shower?" He asked, handing her a bottle.
She took it with a smile. "Blessedly freezing." She stepped past him and around he corner to her room. She'd put a pair of white shorts on under a faded gray tank top, and they made her already tanned legs look even darker. The effect was very attractive and he had to pull his eyes up quickly when she looked back at him as she walked. "How did Carl like the toys?"
"He was over the moon. I bet he's faking taking a nap right now just to play with them." He said, grabbing a spot on the end of her bed as she went to the vanity and grabbed her brush. She came back to the bed and sat down, brushing out the long, wet strands.
"That's cool. Kids and toys, it's like peanut butter and jelly. He should have them."
"That why you brought Carol the perfume? Because she should have it?" He asked teasingly and she grinned.
"Pretty much. She's a real lady. Besides, she might want to wear it for someone." She said the last part with a fake innocence that made him laugh.
"Nothing gets by you, does it?"
"You let obvious stuff go over your head you end up letting the big stuff go too. Then you get bit." She said matter of factly. She amused him to no end.
She braided her hair tightly as they spoke, and he found himself mesmerized by the movement. "I invaded your space a little." He said after a moment.
"I don't have space to be invaded, none of us do." She chuckled. "But do tell."
"I took your bottom two drawers." He gestured back to the dresser and she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Seeing as you didn't actually take a room, I'd be one big bitch to deny you that." She wrapped the braid into a neat bun on the back of her head and secured it with pins, an amused look on her face. "You know, I know that it's silly stuff. Dresses and perfume, with everything going on out there."
"Why does it sound like you're defending the things we brought back?" He asked, leaning over on the bed and resting on his elbow. "It's not like you risked your life through a sea of walkers to get at a pair of shoes."
"Yeah, I know." She shrugged, matching his movements so she was facing him, her head on her head. "But I was thinking about it, and there's a big difference between taking something that's right there in front of you and going out blind to find something that might not even be there."
He looked a little confused. "What do you mean?"
"The talk about you going to find the lake or whatever. You're willing to just walk out there for something that we don't really, truly need. It was selfish of us to ask you to do that, and I'm taking it back."
He tilted his head at her. "You don't want me to go."
"No." She shook her head a little, her eyes going a little sad.
She was getting protective of him, he realized, and the thought sent shudders through his body. He reached out and traced her smooth jaw with his rough fingertips gently before he cupped her cheek and leaned forward, kissing her a lot more gently than he wanted to. But if he let those feelings free, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop. She seemed to sense that because she kissed him back just as softly, sweetly.
"You have no idea what it means that you're here with us. With me." He whispered when he pulled back. "I know it's... unusual, to say the least."
"The dead came back to life, Rick. I think the word 'unusual' loses a lot of it's meaning." She said and he chuckled softly. "What was your life like?"
"What's that?" He asked curiously, laying back on the bed and scooting closer to her, so he was looking up into her face, his hair brushing her elbow.
"Before you were a gun toting badass. What was your life life?" She grinned, looking down at him.
"I was still a gun toting badass." He said lightly and she chuckled but furrowed her brow in confusion. "I was a cop up in King's County."
"Is that near here?"
"Outside of Atlanta. You've never been? Quite the metropolis. I bet it'd give New York a run for it's money."
"Is that right?" She played along, laying back like he did, their heads touching, and he brought her hand up, holding it with both of his and tracing the outline of her fingers with his.
"Oh yeah. We had wild car chases with riding lawnmowers. People even drove away without paying for gas sometimes." He said it all with such solemn conviction she laughed out loud.
"Sounds exciting." She said as the laughter died away, watching as he inspected every inch of her hand and moved to the arm. The bruises had faded away but he rubbed the skin there gently anyway. "What else? Keep going."
"What else..." He mused. "I guess it was pretty standard. Little house with a fence, Carl liked school, and I bowled on the weekends. Boring, isn't it, compared with your life."
"You kidding? I think it sounds great. I lived out of a suitcase. Makes for good training out here, but I always wondered what that was like." She said as he rolled a little, his fingers tracing up to her shoulder now. He heard her breath catch a little as he flicked across her collarbone, and he enjoyed the closeness of the moment, and the way she bit her lip a little as he moved.
"You never had that? I don't believe that."
She took a deep breath, trying to focus on her words. He was making it difficult. "My mom moved us around a lot, she didn't have a lot of money, but she did the best she could. When she died and I went to Dad and Emily, he got me into the business pretty quick so we were traveling a lot. It was so different, you know? Going from little apartments with crappy furniture to hotel rooms and stages."
"You miss them." He said softly, and it wasn't a question.
"Yeah. My mom could sing, you wouldn't believe it. She should have been up there, not me. And Dad, he watched out for me like a lion. He was a good man. I hope he's ok, wherever he is."
He kissed her forehead as she finished, comforting her from the painful thoughts. She smiled and looked up at him. "What do you miss the most, from before?" She asked, changing the subject.
"At the moment, I can't think of anything." He looked her in the eyes, his tone suddenly a little deeper. The back door shut, they could hear it clearly and he sighed, taking his fingers away from the place where her neck meant her shoulder. She gave him a patient look and brushed his temple with her fingers, leaning up to put her lips against the short stubble on his cheek.
They got up together, and he couldn't help but squeeze her hip under his hand as they made their way to the door and left the room. He saw another cold shower in his future if this kept up.
Carol was in the kitchen when they got there and she smiled when she saw them. "Glen attacked Maggie with a bucket of water. I don't think he's long for this world." She said chuckling as she began to slice vegetables for dinner.
"She said she was hot, why's she mad?" Ruby asked, grabbing a slice of potato and taking a bite as she leaned against the counter.
"Oh she's not mad. But she ducked once and he got Daryl instead." The woman said with a twinkle in her eye, and Rick and Ruby moved quickly to the back door, looking out into the yard. They laughed when they saw Maggie doubled over laughing silently on the ground as Daryl circled Glen menacingly. The redneck was soaking wet, his hair falling over his eyes and pasted to his forehead.
"I better get out there before he actually does it." Rick chuckled and Ruby flashed her white teeth at him as he exited the door.
Ruby helped Carol set up the little grill on the counter. It had a little propane tank on the bottom and they figured it out together pretty quickly, and Carol put two little pots of water on to boil on the grate on top.
"I'm so glad we don't have to use the fire, this is much more handy." Carol said as they went back to chopping. She saw Ruby eat a slice of turnip and she chuckled. "Do you eat everything raw? I've never seen that."
Ruby grinned. "No. But I had a friend who was a raw foodist. Wouldn't cook anything. I couldn't watch her eat meat, but the fruits and vegetables kinda stuck with me. Glad it did, too, especially now."
"You adapt pretty well, don't you?" Carol asked as she worked. "You just take things as they come."
"Don't we all?" Ruby looked at her as she dumped a load of chopped potatoes in the now boiling water of one of the pots.
"I suppose. Some better than others." Carol said, and Ruby caught the glance she threw at the ceiling. Carol meant Lori, she realized, and she couldn't argue. "I haven't seen you get stressed over anything after that first night with us. You seemed frightened, but you got over it like that. I wish I could do that."
"If you and Maggie and the others hadn't been as good as you were, I wouldn't have." Ruby answered matter of factly and Carol smiled. "Hey, when was the last time you had mac and cheese?" Ruby asked, going to a bag on the table and pulling out two boxes and holding them up.
"We feed them like this very often, they'll get spoiled." Carol said, taking the boxes and ripping the tops open. The back door opened and a wet Maggie and Beth, sheepish Glen, and amused Rick filed through, followed by a semi-grumpy Daryl.
"You shoulda killed him." Ruby said to the dripping man with a stern look and he held a hand out to Rick, his eyes wide.
"I told you." He blurted out and Rick rubbed his forehead, stifling a grin.
"Not helping." He said and Ruby chuckled as Daryl chucked her shoulder and went out to the living room for a dry shirt.
Lori, Carl and Hershel came down a little bit later and everyone either crowded into the kitchen or took plates to the living room to eat. It was a laid back evening, something they all obviously needed to get used to again but enjoying immensely. When they were done Glen retrieved a pack of cards he and Maggie had found at the house and several of them gathered around the kitchen table to play, candles lit when the growing darkness outside made it difficult to see. Daryl sat at the front window in the dining room and watched the road, and Rick sat on the floor in the living room with Carl playing with a few toys the boy had brought down, Lori curled up on the end of the worn couch to watch.
Ruby helped Carol wash up and joined the card game. Glen was good, but Maggie was better and when she cleaned them all out of the candles, razors, toothbrushes and the things they used to bet with for the fourth time, T-Dog leaned back in his chair and let out a low whistle.
"She's been hustlin' us, man."
Maggie shook her head innocently. "It's not my fault you suck, man."
He laughed and sat back up toward the table. "Say that again, woman. Deal." He challenged and when Maggie grinned and tossed cards out again Ruby held her hand up.
"You finished me, Mags. I have to go find more toothpaste. You took all mine." She said with a smile and Maggie pushed the things she'd collected back across the table.
"Anytime you want me to take 'em again, come on back."
Hershel came to the door and raised an eyebrow at his daughter. "What did I tell you about gambling, Maggie?"
They expected her to look a little chagrined, but she just grinned. "Clean up and walk away."
"That's right. Now let me show them how it's done." He took Ruby's vacant chair as she gathered her things, laughing with the others.
"Damn..." T-Dog said in a low voice, his eyes filled with a new appreciation for the old man.
When Ruby returned from her room after putting her things away, she wondered briefly if she should have stayed in there. Going out to the living room to sit in awkward silence with Lori and Rick was less than an appealing thought, so she grabbed a chair from the dining room and turned it backward, sitting down against the back near Daryl.
She put her chin on the top rung and looked out into the moonlit night over his shoulder. "You want me to watch for a while?"
"Nah." He shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "I'm good."
"You could play cards with the rest of them."
"He answered her question with another. "I told you ain't never heard anybody else sing that song. Where'r you from?" He slid his eyes over to her, the shadows making his eyes all but disappear.
"I was born in Tennessee. Little place called Soddy-Daisy." She answered and he looked at her in surprise. "You heard of it?"
"Hell yeah, been there once with my pa." He said. "I figured you were country, but damn."
"You did, huh?" She grinned. "What about you."
"Right outside of Chatsworth, back in the hills." He said, his eyes going back to the yard outside. "My brother and me."
She nodded, sensing it was a sore subject. "You know, when I got adopted they took me to New York. I didn't eat anything for a week, they were giving me sushi and crap. All I wanted were my Momma's biscuits and gravy." She chuckled at the memory. "When all this happened and I got deer again I thought I'd gone home."
He grinned, unusual for him she knew. "I guess you did. Look where we are."
"Maybe if I'd stayed I'd have learned to hunt. Skin, cook. Would be helpful, but carol teaching me a few things."
"I saw you use that knife, you're not bad. And you didn't whine about it after, just did what you had to do." He shook his head at her. "I ain't seen you shoot yet, though. You might be crap."
She chuckled. "You might think so, but it's a hell of a lot better than the first time I picked a gun up. That crossbow of yours, though. That looks fun."
"Fun?" He acted offended. "That's a finely crafted piece of weaponry, girl." She held up a hand, excusing herself, but saw the hint of a tiny smile start at the corner of his mouth. "But yeah, it's pretty damn fun."
She chuckled softly and he glanced over at her. "You wanna learn how to use it?"
She opened her eyes wide. "Carol said nobody touches it but you."
He narrowed his eyes. "You plannin on breakin it?"
"No."
"Fine. You wanna learn or not?"
"Yeah, I do." She nodded, amused with him.
"In the mornin', then. But you gotta replace any arrows you break, you got it?"
"How do I do that?"
"I'll show you. You better get to bed, I don't want ya half asleep out there."
She gave him a salute and got up, putting the chair back at the table and went to the kitchen for a bottle of water.
When Rick got up to walk Carl back up to the bedroom, his arms full of the toys the boy had brought back and Lori right behind them, he saw Ruby and Daryl at the window talking quietly. He hadn't realized she'd come back from her room, and he was a little surprised to see Daryl grin at her. The man didn't grin at anyone.
Beth hadn't followed right away, leaving Rick, Carl and Lori alone. He put the things he carried into a bin against the wall as Carl climbed into the bed next to his mother. Being the second floor, and the fact that the room faced out over the backyard, Rick pushed the black coverings back and opened the window. A cool breeze blew through the warm room, and he wished he could do the same for Ruby downstairs.
Lori extinguished the candle she'd brought up and settled back against the pillows, the moonlight lighting the room enough for Rick to still be able to move around. He went over to Carl and kissed the top of his head.
"How you feelin'?" He asked Lori as he stood back up.
"Fine." She answered shortly. Her tone hadn't taken the bitter, angry edge back yet, but the short answers she gave didn't invite more conversation either. Not that he really wanted it. She turned over and he left the room for the stairs, passing Beth and Hershel on the way down.
"Night." He said and they waved. He could hear Maggie laughing in the kitchen as they finished up their game, chairs sliding across the floor. Daryl had moved to the living room to keep watch, laying sideways across the now empty couch, and Ruby was no where in sight. Rick went to the kitchen for a bottle of water and to make sure the back door was secured. He said goodnight to Maggie and Glen as he headed back to the dining room.
He knocked lightly on Ruby's door and opened it, poking his head around. She was washing her face at the wash basin, and he came in, closing the door behind him.
"I'm going to see about trying to find a way to open that window tomorrow." He said as he went to the dresser and opened the bottom drawer. He pulled out a shirt and tossed it on the bed, stripping the one he wore off. She patted her face dry with a hand towel, looking at him interestedly.
"Yeah?" She asked as he came up behind her, looking at her in the mirror, his hands moving up to her shoulders to knead the delicate muscles there lightly.
He nodded. "We can put boards across it instead of the door, maybe open it from the top. If it's a walker, we'll hear it, and it can't get in anyway, and if it's people, whoever's keeping watch out front will see them coming."
"That would be great. It's so hot in here."
"So hot?" He teased remembering her singing with Maggie in the kitchen of the farmhouse up the road. She grinned at him in the mirror and dropped the towel she held.
"Just about there." She answered lightly. He gave her a cheeky look and his eyes landed on the electric razor she'd found for him. He reached around her and picked it up, flicking it on. It buzzed to life and he put it up to his face, feeling it cut at the stubble there easily. She moved out from under him, brushing her shoulder off and he chuckled as she went back to the bed and flopped across it tiredly.
"What were you and Daryl talking about?" He asked, his eyes flicking to her in the mirror. He hoped he didn't sound jealous, he really wasn't. He didn't feel threatened by the redneck, and luckily she didn't seem to take it that way.
She chuckled and raised her head toward him. "He's going to show me how to shoot tomorrow morning."
He frowned. "We can't go out far enough to stop the noise from attracting attention."
"No, his crossbow." She clarified, moving on the bed so her head was against the pillows.
His eyebrows nearly met his hairline, he was so surprised. He shut the razor off and turned around. "You're kidding me."
"Guess he really liked that whiskey." She shrugged. "It's good though, having more people that can use it, I guess."
"More? He won't let anybody touch that thing." He said, amusement overtaking him. He'd seen the brotherly attitude the man had taken toward her, he just hadn't realized she'd made that big an impact.
"I kind of get the impression that if I break it, he's gonna kill me though." She said with a wince. "I'm really starting to relate excitement to mind numbing fear. You think that's normal?"
He laughed and turned back around, finishing his face quickly and putting the razor back on the vanity. He ignored his new shirt on the bed and came to sit next to her, much like they had that afternoon. It had long ago become his favorite place to be.
"I don't think you have to worry about that." He said, looking up at her. She yawned and moved down a little in the bed, snuggling in against him despite the heat.
"We'll see, won't we?" She said jokingly and closed her eyes. He draped his bare arm over her and put his chin against her forehead. In a little while her breathing turned deep and even, and he smiled a little to himself. He stayed longer than before, unable to bring himself to stop holding her, but when he felt his own fatigue slowly take over, he made himself go to his own cot.