𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 | Daryl Dixon

36 | OLD FRIEND

She wrapped a loose thread of her shirt sleeve around her finger, pulling it tight. So tight, it hurt, the thin string digging into her skin, restricting the blood flow until she let it go. She did it over and over again, until her fingertip was tingling with the numb feeling, not even close to being comparable to the one in her heart.

Sitting in her cell felt wrong, lonely, even though she could hear the others talking, their voices sounding like low mumbles as they bounced off the stone walls. She'd stayed in the small space, hiding between the four greying walls, keeping her eyes closed, despite being unable to rest. She felt so tired, so many emotions flowing through her veins, fuelling her tears.

Wiping her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time in the hour that had passed since her talk with Daryl, she sat up on her bunk, tired of sitting around, hiding herself away. She forced herself out of the cell, heading down the stairs with one hand on the banister.

She went to Carl's cell, where he sat with his sister in his arms. Judith was fussing while Carl struggled to juggle holding both the girl and the bottle of formula.

"Want me to take her?" Tori asked, and Carl looked up at her with a look of relief, like he'd been praying someone would come and help him.

"Yes please," he exhaled with a small smile.

Tori chuckled, going to sit beside him on the bunk. She carefully took Judith, holding her in her arms. "Hi, sweetheart," she whispered, gently rocking back and forth. Carl handed her the bottle, and she started to feed Judith, still rocking.

There was something so strangely cathartic about holding the little girl. Holding so much innocence in her arms, Tori felt calm, like all the bad things weren't really happening. And all that mattered was this girl.

"It's cool how much she likes you," Carl smiled.

"Pretty sure it's the bottle she likes," Tori replied, returning the light smile. It didn't quite reach her eyes, fading as quickly as it formed. "But if it is me, then it's mutual. I like her very much too."

"Me too," Carl looked at his baby sister, watching her eyes start to close as she almost finished the bottle. "I just wanna keep her safe."

"She'll be safe. Always," Tori said softly. "Everything else, all the fighting – it'll be for her."

"I wanna help," Carl said.

Tori nodded. "I know you do. You are helping."

"No, I mean in the fight," Carl spoke firmly. "When we go after the Governor at Woodbury, I wanna be there."

The brunette looked down at the boy, her eyebrows slightly pinched in concern. He was determined, and that was good. But at such a young age, he seemed a little too keen to run into the battlefield.

Tori took the bottle away from Judith, lighting patting her back as she rocked her to sleep. "It's not your job," she told the boy.

"It should be," Carl sighed.

"No, right now, your job is keeping yourself and your sister safe," Tori replied. "By protecting this place from the inside. This fight is bigger than all of us, honey. It's not like fighting the dead.

"I know that," Carl mumbled, taking the cowboy hat off his head, setting it beside him on his pillow. "It's just... My mom said I was gonna beat this world. How can I do that if I don't do anything?"

Her parted lips let out a sigh, her eyes darting downwards to the baby in her arms. Judith was fast asleep, and Tori slowly stood up to place her down in the crib made from a filing box, the name 'Lil' Asskicker' written in cursive writing on the side.