Carol bounded down the stairs, a prepared smile already on her face as she threw open the door. "Tobin!" she said, her smile changing to a sweet one.
"Hey, Carol," he said with his usual happy grin.
"What a nice surprise," she said, motioning him inside. "What are you doing?"
He shrugged. "I'm on break. Wanted to bring you lunch, see how you're doing."
"How sweet," she said sincerely, embracing him in a quick hug. "I'm happy to see you. How are you?"
"Happy to see you too," he said with a hint of his old smitten look.
She blushed, gesturing towards the counter. "What'd ya bring?"
"Not much. Just chick peas and beets."
She laughed. "Well, then I guess we're making a chick pea and beet casserole." She opened her cabinets, searching for something to add. "We can stretch this out, distribute some later when you get home from work. If you feel like it."
"Uh, yeah." He nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great."
He came up beside her to watch what she was putting in. "You're not casually telling me I'm a terrible cook, are you?"
"No," she swatted his shoulder playfully. "You're not…. terrible. There's just more you can do with the rations. Here, I'll show you."
She paused with a spoon in mid-air as she heard a low rumbling engine in the distance.
"Sounds like Daryl's back," Tobin said, following her gaze out the window. "You should go to him."
She shook her head idly, turning back to their work.
"He'll want to see you," he pressed. He placed a hand over hers to stop her. "Come on, it's okay. Go to him."
She gazed at him thoughtfully for a moment before snapping the lids back on the containers and shoving them in her bag. "We'll continue this later," she said sternly, pointing two fingers at him.
"Yes, ma'am," he conceded, watching her go.
She jogged swiftly to the gate, just in time to see Abraham and Spencer opening it for the lone rider.
She could tell even from a distance that he was bruised up, even if she hadn't heard the slight puttering in the engine as man and bike practically crawled through.
"Hey," she called to him.
"Hay," he answered, his head snapping up to look at her with a slightly surprised expression on his face.
He grunted as he parked the bike between two cars, kicking the stand into place before hopping ungracefully off. "You're a welcome sight," he said carefully.
"You need cleaning up?"
He nodded.
"Come on, then," she said, tugging gently at his elbow.
He tossed polite gazes and waves in the direction of the others who had come to greet him before falling into step beside her.
"You're more banged up than I thought," she said, a hint of scolding in her voice as she led him to the infirmary.
He shrugged. "Ya should see the other guy."
She raised an eyebrow. "Is the other guy a savior by any chance? I thought Rick said to lay low for a little bit until we get our bearings. You don't want to get yourself killed."
He looked sideways at her. "We doing this now?"
She ushered him through the door. Rosita looked up when she saw them enter, already scrambling to see what she needed, but Carol waved her away and she left them.
Daryl hopped up on the table, tugging his tattered shirt off as Carol prepared an alcohol solution and some bandages.
"It wasn't a savior," he said in a low voice. "And there were no fatalities."
She decided not the press the matter, mostly since this was the first time she'd seen him in nearly a month and she didn't want to argue. She gently went to work, cleaning the dried blood from his shoulders and blowing softly on his skin to soften the sting when she found the fresh blood. "Well, at least you don't need stitches this time," she said, taping a bandage in place.
His mouth twitched for a moment as he studied her, his smile frozen in place as he saw the food in her bag. "You runnin' again?"
"Hmmm?" Her brow furrowed as she followed his gaze. "No. No, I was just teaching Tobin how to stretch the rations. We'll hand these out to people later on."
He nodded in understanding, wondering if he should be satisfied with that answer. "Ya like him, huh?"
She smiled, reaching forward to place her hands on his shoulders. "Yeah, I do. He's a sweet guy."
His shoulders tensed as she dug her fingers into his muscles.
"Can't you ever just relax and let anything feel good?" she murmured.
He sighed, leaning his head back as she lowered her hands, the heels pressing into his back. "Who you askin, me or yourself?"
"You," she said as she continued her massage.
He closed his eyes as she worked. "Guess it'd be a lil easier if I had clothes on."
She snorted. "For who?"
He reached back to gently pat her hand. "So you stayin fer awhile then?"
She was quiet, her hands gently gliding over his back in a comfortable rhythm.
"I got it," he said, turning his head to look at her. "Let's you an' me go next time."
She grinned, nuzzling her face slightly against his as she leaned closer. "I believe I've asked you that a couple of times already," she murmured. "But you always say to stay with Rick."
His breath was heavy on her face as he slid his hand along her jaw to keep her in place.
"And then Rick left ya. And we never talked about that, you an' me."
She stiffened, eyes wide. "I don't want to talk about it," she whispered.
"C'mere," he said, sliding back on the table and pulling her forward so she was practically in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, clutching her against his chest and breathing her in.
"I was never goin ta be ok wit it. Even if all that shit didn't happen. Ya know that, right?"
She nodded slightly, suddenly finding it hard to swallow as she gazed up at him.
"You an' me… we're family," he whispered, moving his fingers to stroke her hair.
"Yeah," she agreed once she'd found her voice.
"It's always been us, always gonna be us," he murmured. "Right?"
"Right," she repeated hoarsely.
"So you just stay awhile, lemme take care a' ya when ya need takin' care of. Alright?"
She nodded again, his face getting closer to hers every time she moved her head. "This…. would be a lot easier if you had clothes on," she croaked.