IC CONTACT.

[justgo]

It's Tess. State your business and give me time to get back to you.

[ beep. ]

Comments

[justgo]

[Pulling away from the cabinet, Tess crosses back over into the next room, stops when she sees Ellie. Head shaking, she moves over, gets a hand on her shoulder, the touch tentative.]

No, you're not. Come on, turn around.

[vaccination]

[She seriously thinks she is. There's bile burning the back of her throat, and she feels lightheaded. It's too much. She turns at Tess' touch, but looks over towards the bedroom.]

Maybe I'll just blow chunks on his fucking pillow--

[justgo]

Ellie. [There's a stern tone with the words before she's getting a hand round her, tugging the younger girl in for a quick hug. Tess is rubbing circles at her back, trying to ease the nausea before she leans back, gets a good look at her.] Drink some water.

You're gonna worry yourself sick.

[vaccination]

[So many hugs, lately. Hugs from Tess are different from hugs from Steph. Steph's a friend, she supposes, but still so shiny and new to her. She lives with Tess. Tess knows her habits by now, knows her well. It's harder to keep it together with that familiarity. She heaves a big, unsteady breath against Tess' shoulder, then starts to pull away to go to the sink, away so that she doesn't have to look at her.]

I told him not to fall on a metal pole. What the fuck is wrong with me?

[justgo]

[The breath is enough to keep Tess steady, hold her together for Ellie's sake because now's not the time to fall apart. So she'll keep composure, let out a slow breath as Ellie moves away. Waiting nearby, she leans against the counter then crosses arms back against her midsection.]

You got mad. People tend to say shit when they get upset, no matter how bad. [The way she talks about it says she's told him worse (and none of it's really appropriate).] You can talk about it when he's back.

[Not if. When.]

[vaccination]

[Ellie braces herself over the sink. She doesn't touch the tap, not yet.]

You mean if he comes back.

[justgo]

I don't take kind to that sort of talk.

[vaccination]

You mean what, the truth? It's a possibility. We don't know what the hell is going on.

[justgo]

And it ain't set in stone either, so we've got that. If someone's takin' people, there's gotta be a reason, and it'll show itself soon enough.

[vaccination]

[Ellie groans and presses her forehead against the edge of the sink. She hates not being able to do anything right now. Suddenly she's back in the basement of that cabin, sitting on the dusty floor, waiting. Waiting for death, waiting for a miracle.]

Fuck.

[justgo]

[There's a quiet 'yeah' as she looks over to Joel's pack across the room, brows furrowed.] I hate it too.

Best we can do is be ready for whatever happens. Then we get him back, and get the fuck out of wherever he is.

[vaccination]

Yeah. [If there's a single person at fault for this, Ellie will kill them. She's bash their head in.]

... yeah.

[God, she misses him.]

[justgo]

I know. [Tess might let her, she might not. All depends on the mean streak if it comes down to it. For now she moves over, reaches so she can rub circles on Ellie's back again, trying to keep her anxiety at a minimum.]

You get any sleep?

[vaccination]

[She shakes her head. She has a hard enough time falling asleep most nights. Now?]

Not yet.

[She might not admit it, but that touch is soothing. Tess is pretty different than Joel, for obvious reasons, but Ellie's coming to find her attempts to comfort her aren't too bad.]

[justgo]

[If anyone back home saw what she was doing now? They would've laughed, wondered if that was really Tess. Needless to say, Ellie's growing on her, touching urges she's hardly batted a lash at. It's not a bad thing, but... It's new.]

Don't blame you. Even so, you can use our bed. ['Our'. The word almost makes her pause, but she shakes her head.] How's that sound?

[vaccination]

[A pause, and a small nod. Their bed. Just the other night she found herself in there, looking for comfort like a little kid. She cried like a baby because she was tired. She'd give anything to go back to that moment, when she felt safe and secure and her little world made sense.]

Yeah, I'll--ah, sounds good. I'll head in soon.

[Right now, it sounded like waiting was the plan. She fucking hated it, but she knew better than to run off on her own again.]

[justgo]

Make sure you're fully dry - you go to bed wet in even the slightest, you'll catch something. [While it twists her stomach to turn away from the matter at hand (she'll try his tablet again in a little), she pats Ellie on the shoulder, slows the movement of her arm.] You need anything, I'll be here.

[Worrying, fretting. Least she's not alone in it.]

[vaccination]

Okay. I actually think I'm going to take a shower, first. I feel muddy.

[Warm water sounds good right now, and while she's tired, she knows she's not going to fall asleep. Not when he's out there, somewhere.

She wishes she could be more reassuring, more positive for Tess, but she just doesn't have it in her.]

[justgo]

That's fine, that's fine. [She moves her hand away, scratching at that back of neck now in an effort to contain any anxieties. A sigh as she looks over, makes a motion.] No problem with that

Laundry finished drying, yours should be all good. If you're hungry, I could make something while you're in.

[Really. What the hell are either of them supposed to do?]

[vaccination]

I think I'll pass.

--thanks, though. Maybe in the morning.

[Or maybe not. Food is the last thing on her mind.]

[justgo]

[Quiet, Tess watches Ellie carefully, trying not to step on any mines with her words. She turns her head away into her hand, scrubbing at her face. Was it going to happen to Ellie too, to her? Who else was gonna get up and walk away without reason or rhyme?]

Yeah, alright. [Hardly been at a loss of words her whole life, and here she was. Fumbling in front of a fourteen year old.] - I'll be here.

[vaccination]

[Fuck, Ellie. Try harder. Tess deserves that much. If she can muster up something for Steph, she can do so for Tess.]

I... I just know it's not us. We didn't make this happen.

[Maybe it's her, but she knows it's not Tess. Ellie leans her side against the sink, arms folded.]

He said that having you around helps. It helps him. Even if he was in one of his stupid moods, he wouldn't throw that away.

[justgo]

[Much as she'd like to believe that, Tess finds it hard to do just that. It's a double, with Ellie initiating the contact first then saying... that. Taking in a slow breath, she keeps from flinching at it and lowers her head even as she shifts, gets an arm around Ellie's shoulder.]

And he's not about to leave you over this, hell - over anything. [She's seen that look on Joel's face. She gets it.]

So yeah. You're not at blame for this, either. [Whatever was said, whatever Ellie thinks? Tess wants to take some of that weight off her shoulders, somehow.] Now go take a shower.

... You're startin' to smell like the city.

[vaccination]

[Looks like they're both having a hard time believing their reassurances. But Ellie nods again, certainly wanting to believe that Joel cared about her as much as she cared about him, needed her as much as she needed him.]

You're one to talk.

[Ellie doesn't exactly smile, but she puts a hand on Tess' arm before stepping away. Fine. She'll go shower.]

[justgo]

[As she watches her go, Tess looks down at the spot Ellie touched, brushes over it with her own hand before finger curl, clench once that door is closed and the water's on. Maybe she would have laughed, but she finds herself more uneasy, nervous. She goes to clean up a little at least, make things easy on herself by getting busy.

When Ellie's back out, clean and dressed, Tess is sitting on the bed with the door open and room welcoming. She's got the tablet balanced on a knee and yeah. She's wearing one of the spare shirts Joel had laying around. It's warm, and maybe it's a stupid as hell security blanket for her at this point. Closing the message log and making it look like she's been doing something else, Tess look over, calls out when she hears footsteps.]

In here, Ellie.