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“I hope Taco is alright.” Dani said quietly, as she watched Carl petting the dog next to him. Both Grace and Sarah froze and turned to look at Dani with bewildered expressions. “Who the fuck is Taco?” Sarah asked at the same time Grace said, “Now you worry about the dog?” Dani looked at the two other women and shrugged her shoulders.
Carl gave her a small smile and nodded his head towards his pet. "I have come to learn that animals can be rather resilient. Sasha here will happily follow Mateo out into the woods for miles." He said, his voice kind as he continued to pet the dog.
“I wouldn’t hold your breath about the dog, kid.” Sarah said, shaking her head as she brought her beer up to her lips. “We’ll get another. Dogs are helpful against Terminators and are good companions.” Grace promised, giving Dani a small grin. Dani smiled at her, keeping her eyes on the blonde’s face for a long moment.
Grace's grin widened and she said, "I'm sure someone took him in. Graciela and her little boy, Hector always adored him." After a few seconds of silence Dani's head tilted to the side and her eyes narrowed as she stared at Grace for a long moment. The blonde's face morphed into a look of confusion after Dani continued to remain silent. "How do you know that, Grace? This is the first time I've mentioned anything about Taco." Dani asked, her voice pointed and calm.
Grace stared at her with wide eyes, her jaw going slack a little. "I believe I should go inside and help Alicia." Carl announced, getting to his feet and leading his dog inside. Sarah looked at the two of them and shrugged her shoulders at the looks both women were giving her. "There's no way in hell I'm following that thing inside. If you two kiddies want privacy go find it." She said, unmoved by the awkward atmosphere and the slight glare Grace was giving her.
Dani stood and started off towards the trail that led into the woods, knowing Grace would follow after her. She kept walking, listening to the crunch of the sticks and leaves under the shoes. Dani took in a deep breath and let her eyes wander over all the greenery, wondering if there was any type of nature or clean air in Grace's future. She never really took a moment to just look at nature and appreciate what was around her naturally.
She was brought out of her thoughts when Grace's hand on her elbow brought her to a stop. "I don't think we should be going too far out." She said gently when Dani turned to face her. Dani looked over her shoulder and could just barely make out the home through all of the branches.
She let her eyes wander over Grace's face, taking in the faint lines of her enhancements. It suddenly dawned on her that this was the first time she had seen Grace's face without any sweat or dirt smudged all over it. It didn't surprise her that it made her want to kiss her just like all the other times she looked at her.
"I'm sorry." Grace whispered, her eyes locked on Dani. She always had her eyes on the other woman no matter what. Dani brought her eyes up to meet Grace's.
Dani gave her a weak smile and shook her head. "Don't give me an apology. Give me answers, please. You know me and I want to know how." She watched as Grace's teeth started to gnaw at her lip and her eyes darted away from hers. She shook her head and refused to think about just how soft those lips were.
"Don't lie to me or change the subject." She said, bringing Grace's attention back on her. Dani brought her arm up in front of their faces, pointing at her elbow with Grace's hand still wrapped around it. "No one cradles the elbow of someone they are just protecting. Now be honest and tell me who I am to you." She said, her gaze intense and unrelenting.
Grace stared down at her. "We love each other. We're in love. With each other." She replied, her eyes wide in fear as she watched Dani absorb what she just said. She was starting to reconsider every single decision she ever made that led her to this moment when Dani broke the silence with a small laugh.
Grace swallowed hard and just watched the other woman with concern and let her eyes roam up and down Dani's body, assessing her vitals and hoping she wasn't having some sort of breakdown.
"Good, because all I've been wanting to do since you wrapped me in your arms in the factory is this." Dani grabbed the front of Grace's tank top and pulled their lips together softly. She let out a little hum of satisfaction and unfurled the fist she had in the shirt to lay against Grace's collarbone.
Grace pulled away, resting her forehead against Dani's. "You have no idea how much I've missed doing that." She said with an actual smile on her face, the first since she had landed in 2020. Dani returned it with a soft smile of her own and tucked herself into Grace, resting her head on the right side of her chest.
"The first time you tucked yourself into me like this you told me about Taco. How you found him shaking and cowering behind your neighbor's trash can." Grace laughed a little and kissed the top of Dani's head. "I did always think it was sweet of you to let Diego name him."
Dani nodded, not really wanting to talk or think about her brother. "That just means I get to name ours." Her small smile vanished as she felt Grace tense up at her words. Grace pulled away and brought her hands to rest on Dani's shoulders and looked her in the eye.
"Dani...there's a good chance that us having a dog or any type of future together before the apocalypse isn't going to happen." She said softly, her eyes earnest and searching. "As it stands right now I don't meet you until everything goes to hell. There's a good chance that I don't make this. Honestly it never crossed my mind that I would."
Grace watched as Dani mulled everything over and couldn't help but smile at every little twitch of Dani's face. As soon as Dani's jaw twitched and then hardened into an unmovable line she knew that Dani refused to accept anything that meant Grace wouldn't be alive at the end of everything.
Dani looked up to meet her eyes. "We'll make it happen. You, me, Sarah, and hell even Carl. No one is getting hurt to protect me and I refuse to lose you." She said, her eyes dark with determination and voice unwavering.
Grace stared at her, weighing her options. She didn't know how or if she should tell Dani that she was ready to lay down her life to protect her or that it would more than likely come to that. She had always thought that she was okay with giving her life up but everything Dani was offering was making her reconsider her decision. "Oh you're nice." Grace said her voice soft and full of wonder.
Dani smiled up at her with a face filled with pride and triumph. She leaned up on her toes and kissed Grace's lips softly before sliding her hand down to clasp their hands together. "Just wait until we get a room to ourselves. You'll see just how nice I can be then." She said, giving her a mischievous grin.
Grace snorted at her and shook her head. They looked at each other with sweet smiles before Dani turned serious. "I'm not going to watch you die. Especially not when I've just gotten to have you. I know that the future says different or whatever. I don't get how this time travel thing works honestly." She said, shrugging her shoulders before continuing on. "But I refuse to let you go and I've already lost two people I love."
Grace nodded and squeezed Dani's hand. "I can't promise you anything. If I have to choose between you or me I'm always going to choose you." She said, her voice steady. She knew that Dani wouldn't really accept her way of thinking, it was all over her face and in her eyes.
Dani nodded her head, determination radiating off of her small frame. "Then we just have to make sure you won't have to make that choice." She squeezed Grace's hand and started tugging her back towards Carl's home. "Vamos, the sooner we make a plan with Carl and Sarah the sooner we can go get a dog." Dani said, grinning when she heard Grace's soft laugh behind her.
"We can name it Taco Junior or Quesadilla. I think I like the food theme your brother started." Grace said, her smile widening as soon as she heard Dani start to mumble different insults under her breath in Spanish.
Grace tugged her hand until they both stopped and Dani turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Before we return to the tin man and the hangover on legs I want to say that I am sorry about everything. How fast everything has been, your family, me not telling you anything." Grace then looked at her and let out a sigh. "This is probably not the best time to say this but I love you. I love you and you don't have to say or do anything about it."
Dani opened and closed her mouth a few times before laughing a little. "I thought I was the nice one here." She said, her voice cracking slightly. She pushed herself back up to her toes to kiss Grace again, her hands coming up to rest on her shoulders.
She rocked back down onto her heels and shook her head. After that there was no way Dani was going to let her go. She refused to lose her. "Let's go. We have a future to rewrite." She said, looking up at Grace and nodding back towards the cabin.