Tobin narrowed his eyes in the sunlight, gazing down at the ground in disbelief as Carol's smiling form eagerly waved up at him.
He waved back, holding up a finger to let her know he'd be down in a minute. He climbed down the back of the tower slowly, trying not to take the steps two at a time as he bounded over to her.
"What are you doing here? I figured you'd still be with Daryl. He make it back okay?"
She laughed off all the questions, holding out a tupperware to him. "He's fine. But we had plans, silly."
He took the small container from her, eyeing the slight crust hesitantly before breaking off a piece to taste. "It's good," he said, somewhat surprised.
"I don't know why you ever doubt me," she said with a pleased grin. "Do you think the neighbors will like it?"
"Only one way to find out," he said, offering her his arm.
She rolled her eyes, slipping her arm through his and letting him lead her down the street towards home. They made it back through the gates without circumstance and Carol actually skipped on ahead as they made their way through Alexandria.
"Carol! What a welcome surprise," Mrs. Millar said gratefully. Her children swarmed in on them, grabbing at the food while she shouted at them to be polite.
Carol laughed and Tobin shook his head. "We should see Francine next. I want her to have her pick since she was working late with you."
"I'm sure she'd really appreciate that," He said, lacing his fingers through hers.
She looked down at their conjoined hands, a slight smile tugging at her lips as they continued on.
Once all the food was distributed, she motioned him towards the fence. "It's not dark yet," she murmured. "We could forage some acorns, and I'll show you how to make my special flour."
"If that'll make you happy," he said, gazing thoughtfully at her. "Will it?"
She nodded. "I really liked getting back into the swing of things with the neighbors today," she said softly.
"Okay," he replied. "Let me just get my gun from Olivia."
She shook her head. "No guns. You can use my knife. Besides, I have mine just in case."
"Alright." He let her lead him back outside, swallowing nervously as they made their way into the woods.
"You just have to watch that they don't have worms or anything," she said, picking up a couple to compare for him.
He nodded, taking her cues and filling up his own jar, being careful to keep her in sight as they moved.
His heart pounded slightly when he heard a low gurgling.
"Behind that tree," she said quietly, gesturing with her knife. "There's two of them." She handed him her blade, reaching on her side to pull her gun from its holster.
"I'll get the one on the left," he assured her.
She didn't hesitate, turning her gun around and bludgeoning the handle violently into the skull of the smaller one, the damned thing sinking to the ground with a sickening squish.
He advanced on the other one as it growled and clawed at him, slashing at it with the knife. He missed and the thing grabbed at his wrist, a little too close for comfort and he lost his footing.
"Tobin!" she shouted. She was at his side in an instant, crouching down to pry her knife from his white knuckled grasp and plunge it into the monster's head, cringing as it's blood sprayed her face.
Once she was sure it was down for the count, she leaned down, wiping its guts from the front of his shirt nonchalantly with her sleeve.
"Sorry," he muttered once he caught his breath.
"Don't be sorry," she said with a slight click of her tongue. She held out a hand to help him up, but he refused, standing on his own.
"I'm weak," he said, a slight bitterness to his tone.
She shook her head, squeezing his elbow. "You're not weak, you're inexperienced. Trust me, I know the difference. I've been both."
He gazed down at her gratefully.
"Come on," she said. "Let's go back to my place and get cleaned up."
They hurried home before it got too dark, sneaking in the back way to not call too much attention to their bloodied attire.
"Let me just wash my face real quick," she said, slightly out of breath as she opened the side door. "You can shower first. You're more messed up than I am."
He nodded his appreciation, already shedding bloody layers as she scrubbed at her face and neck.
"I-I think you still have some clothes up in my room," she said, a little shyly as she gathered up the soiled clothes and towels and left him to shower.
She jogged up the stairs to check, and he was finished by the time she was ready to hand him the bundle through the door.
"Your turn," he said, patting his hair dry with a clean towel.
She smiled slightly at his freshly cleaned form. "Make yourself comfortable," she called after him as he headed for the living room. "And try not to wreck anything!" She pulled the door closed before he could retaliate, stepping into the steaming spray.
She hoped she wasn't taking too long, but the warm water felt so good on her aching muscles that she couldn't resist lingering a couple of minutes after she'd scrubbed herself clean.
She wrapped herself up in her favorite oversized towel while she picked a light blouse and pants to change into.
When she was finished, she made her way down the hall and into the living area to find him lounging lazily on the couch with her blanket, eyes trained on the television.
"Amazing," he said. "You guys have the only working dvd player on the block and you never watch it."
She smiled dryly, sinking down next to him. "We're not really the couch potato type," she retorted.
"Well, you should be," he said, gesturing to the set. "I don't even know what this is, but it's already more entertaining than anything going on out there, that's for sure."
He moved to wrap her up in the blanket and she studied him, her smile slowly spreading into a genuine one as she leaned her head down on his shoulder and settled back to watch tv with him.
She wasn't sure exactly when her eyelids started to feel heavy until he gently nudged her.
"Hey," he said softly. "It's getting late. I'd better be getting home."
"Oh, okay," she said, stifling a yawn.
"Thank you for today," he said with a wide grin.
"It was really nice, wasn't it?" She mumbled lazily.
"Yeah," he said with a light laugh. "Okay, sleepyhead. You need me to carry you up to your room?"
She shook her head. "No, I'll manage."
"Goodnight," he said, patting her hair as he rose up.
"G'night," she replied, leaning up to kiss his cheek.
XXXXX
Hours later, she heard someone rustling at her bedroom door. "Tobin?"
She heard a muffled curse and then a gruff voice said, "Nah, it's jus me. That disappoint you?"
"Mmm… hell no," she said, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "It's late," she said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I just got in," he said softly. "Was with Rick."
She frowned. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, everythin's fine. Just wanted ta check in on ya."
"Don't haveta do that everytime," she said.
"I know. I wanted ta. Go back ta sleep."
"Mmmkay, Pookie," she said lazily, squinting at his face in the artificial light.
He smiled. "You haven't called me that in a real long time."
She smiled back, holding up the comforter and scooting over. "While you're here, you might as well stay the night."
"Alright," he said, closing the door behind him before sliding next to her in between the sheets.
He closed his eyes as he settled back against the pillows. "We been here five months and I never knew ya had so many comfy pilla's."
She smiled. "Bet ya didn't know I sleep naked now too."
His face flushed in the darkness. "Do ya?"
"Ha. You wish."
"There she is," he said, reaching across the mattress for her hand.
"Daryl," she whispered, grasping his fingers tightly.
"I'm right here," he murmured.
"Do something for me?"
"Anythin."
She paused, lightly tracing her fingers over his wrist. "Will you hold me so I don't fall apart?" She asked, a little tearfully.
He sat up slightly, reaching to pull her over to him. "C'mere, sweetheart," he murmured, tugging her body tightly against his and wrapping her in his arms.
"You're ok, you're ok," he repeated over and over, as if he were willing it to be true.
She clutched at him tightly, burying her face in his chest.
"S'ok," he promised. "I got ya."