Carol handed the bottle over with a grin. "Glenn brought back several bottles of sunscreen from their last run. I thought that you might like some since you're outside so much lately."
"Thank you! I freckled so badly last summer that Aaron even said he could play connect the dots. I wasn't amused." Eric smiled and took the bottle eagerly, "Avoiding melanoma will be my new hobby."
"I figured something like that. Sunburn isn't fun for anyone." She was still smiling, "You should put some on before we start with the beans."
He hesitated as they went around the side of the house, toward the backyard. "I know everyone in your group appreciates that it was Aaron and I who found you and brought you into Alexandria, but you don't need to keep bringing us presents. It's nice and we're glad that you all think of us, but it isn't necessary."
Carol shook her head, "It isn't that exactly. We do appreciate what you did for us, but there is something else. Most of us have survived through the loss of our original camp at a quarry, the fall of the CDC in Atlanta, the farm being overrun by a herd. We saw the fall of a town called Woodbury, lost our safe haven at a prison, and then survived the downfall of the people at Terminus. As much as I, and everyone else in the group, hope that Alexandria can be a permanent home, we're hedging our bets."
She paused and reached out to take hold of his arm. "If something bad happens here, we want you and Aaron to know that we consider you both to be part of our family. Whatever happens, we would protect you as our own."
Eric looked down at her hand on his arm and then into her eyes, "Thank you." He took a deep breath, "That means a lot. I'm not even sure I can express how much right now, but it does mean a lot. I know that we both care about all of you too. It would be one less worry, if something bad ever did happen here."
She nodded and let go of his arm. "Good." Carol had a habit of bringing up heavy emotional issues and then not wanting to deal with them completely, so she changed the subject again. "So, the beans and then maybe the lettuce could use some harvesting?"
He nodded, letting the other subject go for the moment, but knowing that he had a lot to tell Aaron later.