I think I liked you better when you didn't have a knife in your hand, Peaches

No happy reunions

The whole world seemed to fall away as Blake stood there, a shocked frown fixed between her brows as she stared in disbelief at the person before her...

...a person she had never thought she would see standing here within the walls of the Sanctuary as long as she lived.

They did not respond at first, merely staring back at Blake, eyes glassy and expression unreadable.

Had this been the person who had cut through the fence? Who had broken in here?

But why? After everything...

"Tara..." Blake breathed out, her voice catching slightly in her throat as she spoke. "W-What the hell are you doing here?"

She repeated her question again, desperate for an answer now, as her eyes began to well with tears.

It was funny, Tara looked completely out of place here, standing in Mia's bedroom in a dark grey hooded sweater, jeans and sneakers, a gun clutched between her hands, looking like it was an alien object to her.

Shit.

She wasn't supposed to be here.

What the hell was going on?

Tara's place was back there at Alexandria, a world away from the factory Blake now called her home.

But before the blonde woman could say another word, Tara had suddenly closed the gap between them, and to Blake's utter surprise....

....pulled her into a tight hug.

God...

After all that had happened to her over these last few weeks, Blake couldn't help close her eyes, clutching Tara back and burying her face in the dark-haired woman's hooded sweater.

A sadness overwhelmed her of a life now long gone.

But Blake needed to snap out of this. This was no game. No happy reunion.

This was real life, and she needed to know exactly what her old friend was doing here.

After a few short seconds Blake pulled away and stared up into Tara's face through the gloom of the small bedroom.

But Tara spoke, obviously knowing that Blake wanted answers.

"I heard what happened..." she quickly uttered in a hushed voice. "I-I wanted to come see if you were ok. I was worried out of my mind that you were hurt, or..."

But she trailed off, shaking her head unable to finish her sentence.

Blake frowned for a moment, her mind whirring, wondering how on earth Tara had found out about the miscarriage. But then it finally dawned on her.

Tara wasn't talking about the miscarriage at all. She was talking about the bullet that had almost killed her instead.

She let out a slow breath of air, realising that neither she nor anyone back at Alexandria had known about Blake's pregnancy....about what she had lost in the interim....

....such a silly shred of an event, that had come and gone in a matter of days, but had shaken those, at the heart of the Sanctuary, to their core.

Turned everything in Blake's world on its head. Hurting her more than any bullet ever could.

"I'm fine," lied Blake giving a gulp, that frown still fixed between her brows. "I....jeez, you shouldn't be here, Tara..."

But her friend looked strained, suddenly reaching out and grasping Blake's slender forearm.