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Once, when Sarah was about six, Tommy was in charge of watching her for the day. It was rare that Tommy had a day off when Joel had to work, and Sarah wasn’t sent to their mother’s or to the teen girl down the street who babysat when she could. Joel had gone back and forth from the door maybe eight times, always claiming that he ‘forgot something’ or ‘just needed one more hug from Sarah.’
It was 10:30 by the time Tommy had finally managed to shoo him out the door.
It was a warm day late in March, one of the only nice spring days that would happen before the Texas heat would take over and make you sweat at the idea of even going outside.
Tommy had done his research for a day just like this. There was a park about fifteen minutes away with a playground that was much bigger than the one right by the house, one he knew Sarah was growing tired of, even at six.
He would take her there, they would play pirates, or princess, or whatever else she was interested in at the moment and eat a lunch they would bring. They’d play some more, and then on the way home get ice cream before dinner-earning him some serious uncle points while also pissing off Joel.
(An unintentional benefit to getting to eat some rocky road.)
On the car ride over Sarah sat in her car seat, trying her best to sing along to the CD blaring from the speakers. As they pulled up to the park, she went silent, eyes as wide as dinner plates as she eyed the playground.
Her silence was short-lived, quickly filled with pleas to “Unlock the door, Uncle Tommy! I want to go!”
Tommy laughed as he abided, helping her step down from the car. Her feet had barely touched the ground before her little legs were carrying her towards the playground. She swerved around the other children and their parents, similarly taking advantage of the nice weather on a Saturday, of all days.
“Uncle Tommy, c’mon!” Sarah had shouted out, not slowing in her run to the climbing structure.
Tommy couldn’t help but smile. Ever since she could toddle, Sarah had been drawn to climbing, from the top of the couch to the kitchen cabinets. It nearly gave Joel a heart attack every time she did it, and he tried to dissuade her by claiming that you could only climb at parks.
Before Tommy could blink, Sarah was already halfway up the wall-like climbing structure, passing kids that were easily twice her age. As impressed as he was, Tommy also knew that a fall like that could do some damage.
(He had broken his arm in a similar way when he was twelve, and if anyone asked, it was definitely Joel’s fault.)
But Sarah was already at the top before Tommy could warn her to be careful. She leaned backwards, hands planted on the structure while the upper half of her body twisted. “Uncle Tommy, look at me!” She had cried out.
“Look at you!” Tommy had said, laughing.
Sarah laughed, releasing one hand to wave at Tommy. She twisted around, her footing uneasy.
Tommy opened his mouth to shout to be careful, but it was already too late.
Sarah’s feet slipped, and she dropped down the side of the playground equipment, meeting the ground with a crunch under her.
Shit, shit, shit! Tommy thought as Sarah began to wail.
As he gathered her up in his arms, whispering promises of it being ok, a feeling reached up from deep inside him, consuming his body.
A feeling that felt a lot like, “I’ve totally ruined Joel’s kid and now he’s going to kill me.”
**
Ellie had insisted on going out with Tommy’s hunting party, with claims of “I’m gonna go batshit crazy if I don’t leave these walls.” Joel had, of course, said no.
But, Joel was working all day and Tommy had been wanting to get on Ellie’s good side. It’s not that she had been cold, per say, more that she was quiet around him. And only him. He didn’t know if it had something to do with Joel, or something that had happened in the months after their first arrival back in Jackson and then their return. But, Ellie was just quiet.
So, Tommy warmed up his ‘uncle skills’ and managed to catch Ellie’s eye after dinner one night. Joel was busy talking to a neighbor about repairing creaky stairs when he walked next to her saying, “Y’know…Joel’ll be gone that entire day. And it’s not like we’re going far.”
Ellie’s eyes had widened and a giant smile had crested across her face, so wide Tommy was sure that her cheeks must’ve hurt. “For fucking real?” She had whispered, like it was all a secret. Tommy nodded, putting a finger to his lips. “What he doesn’t know won’t kill him.”
The day of the trip had arrived with the sun rising high in the sky, illuminating the fresh snow covering Jackson’s main road. The first signs of winter, finally making an appearance. Tommy and Ellie watched Joel make his way into the town, tool box in hand. Just before he turned the corner, he called back a warning of, “And you better not leave on that trip, Ellie!”
“Of course I won’t! Who do you take me for?” She responded, struggling to hide her smile. Joel shook his head fondly, muttering something under his breath that neither of them caught.
They stood in silence for a few seconds, until the crunch of Joel’s footsteps on the snow could no longer be heard. Then, “Put on your coat and meet me at the stables in five.” Tommy said with a smirk. Ellie grinned like a little kid on Christmas, and rushed back into the house.
Tommy went ahead to the stables, getting everything ready for the trip; getting the horses ready and meeting with the five other people going. They would split up, going in pre-scouted directions to hunt for deer, elk, rabbits, or whatever else they could find. The plan was to reconvene just outside the gates after two hours.
Just as he was going over the map with a woman named Joan, Ellie burst into the stable with a shout of, “Let’s get this fucking party started!” Tommy had no choice but to listen and got everyone to their horses.
Ellie rode up the main street next to Tommy, smiling until she looked around and ducked a little. “Joel’s not going to see us leaving, is he?” She asked quietly.
“Nah. He’s way off the main path. Fixing a gate for somebody or something.” Tommy responded.
After clearing the gates, the group splits, Tommy and Ellie taking their horses off towards the river.
“If we get an elk, I’m telling Joel I left and he won’t even be mad because it's a goddamn elk! How could he be mad?” Ellie stated, eyes facing the river, already scanning for approaching animals.
“He won’t be mad at you,” Tommy said decisively. In all honesty, he didn’t know that, but he was willing to bet on it. Ellie turned to him, a small smile reaching up the side of her face. “I don’t know about that. He’s a grumpy old man. He could get angry that the sky’s blue.” She said.
Tommy let out a laugh. “Yeah, sounds about right.”
The pair got off their horses, tying them to a set of nearby trees, and finding a rock to set up against. They sat in silence, watching for any signs of animals.
They had been sitting for about an hour, when Ellie, seemingly tired of staring at nothing, started to look at the trees around them. She let out a “Oh, shit!” That made Tommy jump a little.
“What, what is it?” He asked, hoping it was an elk, and not an Infected. Ellie simply pointed to a tree near the bank of the river that was sprouting dark, almost purple colored berries.
“Elderberries,” Tommy said. “I’m shocked they’re still there this late in the season.”
“Are they any good?” Ellie asked, already moving from her sitting position.
“Sure. Why, do you wanna go get them?” Tommy asked, offhandedly. He didn’t really think that Ellie would want to pick them.
But, when he turned his head, Ellie was already starting to climb the tree. Eyes widening, Tommy stood up, following Ellie. “Be careful!” He called out. “And don’t eat any, you gotta cook them first!”
“Relax, Tommy!” Ellie called from her perch. “It’s not my first time climbing a tree!”
Tommy stood at the base of the tree, hands planted on his hips. Ellie began to throw branches of elderberries down to him. “Hey, can you make pies or shit with them?” She asked, still plucking berries off the tree.
“Yeah, I think so,”
“Cool! I’ve never had pie, only seen it in those old movies,”
Maybe, in another time, Tommy would’ve been paying more attention to the branches Ellie was climbing on, but he trusted her skills and he was half paying attention to the woods around them, watching for Infected. Maybe, he would’ve seen that the next branch Ellie was stepping to was covered in ice, and would’ve told her not to step on it, or watch her step at least.
But, he was not so lucky.
Ellie’s chatter came to an abrupt stop as she stepped on the icy branch, feet losing their balance. Before Tommy can ask what’s wrong, Ellie’s already slid and fell through the branches, landing on her shoulder with a sickening CRACK.
Tommy rushed to her, frantically calling out, “Are you ok?”
A muffled “Fuuuuck.” is the only response he gets.
“What hurts?” He asked, immediately slipping into damage control. Tommy glanced up at the tree, trying to stop where Ellie fell from, thankfully not too far up.
“My shoulder,” Ellie said. Tommy helped her sit up, and as he spied unshed tears in her eyes, a long forgotten feeling rushed up in Tommy.
A feeling a lot like, “Fuck, I’ve ruined Joel’s kid and he’s totally going to murder me.”
**
“It’s a shoulder fracture,” Dr. Kerms said. “You’re lucky it’s not anything worse.”
Dr. Kerms was an older woman with shocks of gray going through her dark hair. As she was already a doctor before the outbreak, she was the natural choice to lead the infirmary in Jackson.
Tommy watched with his arms crossed as she wrapped Ellie’s left arm in a makeshift sling. “Don’t move it too much, it’ll be a while before the bone heals,” Dr. Kerms said. “It’ll be about…six weeks if all goes correctly.”
Ellie frowned. “Six weeks is such a long fucking time!” She groaned.
Before Dr. Kerms could say anything else, the infirmary door slammed open, bringing with it, the full force of Joel.
“Where is she?!” He demanded, barging into the back room where the cot Ellie was sat on was.
At the sight of Ellie’s arm in a sling, Joel’s face softened for half a second. He raced to her, and wrapped her uninjured side in a hug. “Jesus Christ, Joel I’m fine!” Ellie said, but Tommy could tell that she’d been pleased at his affection, a smile cresting her face.
Joel leaned down, cupping Ellie’s face in his hands. “Don’t fucken’ scare me like that.” He muttered. He wrapped her in another half hug. “Didn’t know where you were, running all over the place-” Joel said under his breath, mostly to himself.
“How did you know we were in here?” Ellie asked.
Joel’s eyes narrowed as he turned his head to face Tommy. “Maria said you two came riding in here like something was chasing you and then told her that you had to take Ellie to the infirmary.” He said.
Ellie glanced between Tommy and Joel, noting the tense look on Joel’s face. “Do you two need a moment alone, or…” She asked, trailing off.
“Yeah. Yeah we do,” Joel said, grabbing Tommy’s arm and dragging him out of the infirmary.
Tommy was a little glad they were doing this out front. At least there would be witnesses to his murder.
“What the hell were you thinkin’! Taking her out when I said not to and then she gets fucking hurt!” Joel yelled. “Which is exactly why she shouldn't have gone in the first place!”
“Look, she wanted to go and I was with her the whole time,” Tommy started. “It was some freak accident that she even got hurt in the first place.”
“Yeah, well one day that ‘freak accident’ is going to lead to someone’s death!” Joel responded.
Tommy didn’t have time to respond before Joel stormed back into the infirmary, leaving Tommy alone on the front step.
**
Tommy can hear the voices inside his house before he opens the door. It’s Maria, clearly, talking to someone. It’s not until he’s reached the kitchen that he sees Ellie sat at the table, wiggling her fingers at baby Violet in her high chair that he realizes she was the other voice.
It’s only been a week since her accident, and Joel’s still icy as ever towards Tommy.
“Hey, Ellie,” He says, a little nervous. Tommy doesn’t know if Ellie blames him for her being stuck doing nothing for six weeks with little to no pain meds to help.
“Hey, Tommy,” Ellie says, tone as light as ever.
Good, at least one of the two aren’t mad at him.
Ellie fully turns her body towards Tommy, who’s made his way next to Maria.
“Tommy, why are shoulders your biggest supporters?” She asks with a shit-eating grin on her face.
Tommy sighs, a small smile playing at the side of his face. “Why?”
“Because they’re always by your side!”
Ellie devolves into a fit of giggles, causing Violet to mimic her.
The front door squeaks open, followed by a voice asking, “Who’s doing all this laughing without me?”
Joel enters the kitchen, wrapping an arm around Ellie, gently planting a kiss to the top of her head. His eyes slide over to Tommy, and then away, towards Violet.
Maria glances between the two, and then rolls her eyes. “Would you two please sort this out?” She asks impatiently. Ellie laughs, sharing a conspiring glance with Maria.
Both Miller brothers sigh, and Joel straightens up. “Look, Tommy, I’m sorry ‘bout yelling at you. Wasn’t right to blame you for this one’s slippery feet. And I know it wasn’t your fault.” He says.
Tommy’s almost taken aback. The Joel he had gotten used to never apologized, not even when it was glaringly obvious something was his fault. A glance at Ellie reminds him that maybe she’s changed more than one thing about him.
“It’s alright,” Tommy says. “Shouldn’t have taken her out without askin’ you first.”
The pair make eye contact and nod. Everything’s been forgiven.
Just as a small smile creeps onto Joel’s face, the old egg timer on the counter dings. It’s only then that Tommy realizes that something’s been cooking in the oven. “What is that?” He asks.
“Pie,” Maria says simply. She pulls the pie out of the oven and places it on the counter.
“Elderberry pie!” Ellie says, almost bouncing from excitement.
Joel makes a face, and turns to Tommy. “Elderberry? Really? The one thing I can’t fucking stand?” He asks.
Ellie gasps, “Now you have to eat all of it!” She declares.
“What? No I don’t.”
“Yes you do, just because you insulted it.”
“Insulted it? It’s berries, it can’t fucking be insulted.”
Tommy watches their bickering and wraps an arm around Maria. They make eye contact, smiling at each other.
Yeah, everything’s going to be alright.