Together -Rositara-

Chapter 2

A/N: I'm not sure how many chapters there is going to be or where I'm really going with this story but I'm Rositara trash and am just gonna keep writing it for as long as I can. This chapter is set around the same time period as the first chapter was - Tara doesn't know about Noah's death yet (yes, I am aware she found out in 6x01 but Tara will find out about it in this fic.) Once again, I apologize for any inaccuracy. (This is a shorter chapter compared to the last, sorry, but don't you worry, I have something bigger coming after this.) I'm not proud of this chapter, it's a mess, and was written quite a while ago, but I have bigger stuff coming!

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Chapter 2

"Everyone got the plan?" Maggie bellowed so that the crowd of people in the room could hear, as she scanned her eyes apprehensively around the room. "Do we all know what we're doing?"

A rally of agreements and nods were thrown back towards the woman, who was centred in one of the lounges of a house in Alexandria; Carl was perched on a windowsill hovering protectively over Judith; Aaron and Jessie sat on the couch to the left of Maggie - with Sasha standing hesitantly behind them; and finally, a still-injured Tara inclined to an arm chair, with an uneasy Rosita balanced on the arm of the chair - one hand placed gently on Tara's shoulder and the other supporting her from the back of the chair.

Tara raised her hand, "you said there was still a spot that needed to be covered, at the west fence?"

With the herd of walkers on their front yard, everyone had to mould together to create a plan that would divert the walker's interests off of Alexandria, and head them in the opposite direction completely.

"I said that, yeah, but we can only take what we've got," she casually raised her gun from her belt to check her ammunition, then placed it back on her belt, "and we haven't got anyone, that hasn't already got a job, that is suitable to take the place." Maggie replied.

"Well," Tara looked up to Rosita, "this one's insisting I stay put for this because I'm," she starts to mock Rosita, ridiculing her voice to sound like the girl sitting next to her, "not ready to fight again yet."

Rosita rolled her eyes with a grin, "Tara, I already said, if you wear yourself out you'll just make yourself b-"

"- Bad again, I know. I know." Tara placed her hand reassuringly on the hand that was on her shoulder, encouraging Rosita that she was just messing around with her. Looking back to Maggie, she continued; "why don't you ask Noah? Maybe I'm mistaken, but he wasn't mentioned in the plan - which means he hasn't got a job to do yet, and I'm sure he'd be happy to - he's fully capable."

Maggie and Rosita look from Tara, to each other and then back to Tara. With everything kicking off the other night, with Pete and Reg dying, with the army of the dead heading their way - Rosita realised that even within all the time she had been spending at Tara's bedside, she had never got round to breaking the news of Noah's death.

Rosita gestured for the rest of the group to migrate into the kitchen so that she could talk to Tara alone about it, and she sat herself on one of the couches opposite the girl, who had already figured what was going on.

"Is he-?" Tara questioned, her voice timid and faint-hearted, "you know..."

Rosita paused for a moment, before nodding lightly and grasping one of Tara's hands in hers. "Yeah, he is." She squeezed her hand tightly into hers, not sure how she'd react. She hadn't meant to keep it from her, and she hated that she had. "I'm sorry, Tar, I was going to tell you - I just - I didn't wan-"

"It's okay, I'm not mad," Tara reassured, "how? What happened?"

"They were on a run... Things went south..."

A tear ran down Tara's cheek. It wasn't that she had been close to Noah - she hadn't - they had only known each other for a short period of time, but almost dying herself, it had brought everything back. The tears that were now progressing down her cheeks weren't just for Noah; they were for her sister, Lilly, her niece, Meghan, her father, her girlfriend. They were for everyone she had ever lost. Rosita had never witnessed Tara cry before - but now that she had, she wanted it to stop more than anything.

Rosita lifted herself from the couch and shifted onto the arm chair next to Tara, opening her arms, allowing her to sob into her lap. And she did; she leant her head deep into the warmth of Rosita's chest and she cried and cried until she had nothing left to give.

Rosita sat there, holding the crying girl close to her and swearing she wouldn't let her hurt again.

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