The Archer and The Airship » 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕕 «

Chapter Thirty

She cracked a smile, just for him, took the bowl, and headed back to her bed. "Your turn today, huh?" she grimaced.

"Not like we have a calendar on the fridge with shifts," he blurted as he plopped down next to her. She raised one eyebrow and thoughtfully chewed the already soggy corn flakes. He was getting older now, smarter, snappier. Judith giggled as she crawled around the thin green blanket and sprawled against the pillows.

"What are you up to today?" she pondered, reaching an arm behind her to tickle Judith's feet as she screamed with joy.

"I dunno," he mumbled.

"Someone's real cheery today," she quipped back at him.

He rolled his eyes and scuffed his boots against the floor. "Just bored, I guess." He turned around to face the window and adjusted the bandage on his eye.

"Bored?" she scoffed. "Kid, you should consider yourself lucky to be bored. Could be way worse and you know that."

"I'm not doing anything here, I could be helping," he snapped as he met her gaze.

She set her now empty bowl on her wobbly nightstand, crossing her legs on the bed and pulled Judith into her lap. She fussed with Zepp's hair, lightly tugging it into her tiny fists.

"I get it, Carl," she whispered. "I do. But you have a chance here, a chance to be a kid. Don't take it for granted." She kept her voice calm and steady, when really she wanted to scream at him for being so naive. He knows what's out there, he's lived it. But her thoughts softened. He's too young to remember what it's like to be a kid in the normal world. This world is what he knows now.

He nodded his head slowly and dropped his gaze, but it wouldn't hide what she could see on his face. It didn't matter what she said, he would do whatever it took to feel like he was helping them.

Judith screamed again, a little more demanding this time. How dare they not pay attention to her? Zepp stood and placed Judith on her hip. "Tell ya what," she empathized. "You ask your dad if you can go on a run with me sometime. He says yes, I'm game."

His expression lifted, a wide grin splitting his cheeks. "Okay!" he beamed and bounced up from the bed. He grabbed her bowl from the table and she stopped him, taking it out of his hands and shooing him away.

"I got it," she smiled. "Go do something fun."

He returned her smile and left, the sound of his boots clacking away down the stairs ringing in her brain. She kissed the top of Judith's head and bounced her lightly before heading out the same way.

There was nobody in the living room when she made it down, but she could hear the faint sounds of chatter in the kitchen. Rick's unmistakable drawl and Carol's calm, low voice. They hushed their tone as she got closer, completely shutting up when she rounded the corner.

Annoying, she thought, narrowing her eyes at the two of them. They leaned against the kitchen counter, Rick facing one way with his elbows on the marble and Carol the other with her back against it. "Good morning," Carol beamed, shifting the direction of the mood.

"Morning," she returned, placing her bowl in the sink. Rick smiled and met her there, rubbing a soft hand across Judith's forehead. He was freshly showered and shaved, the bags under his eyes fading away. He looked strong, healthy, happy.