Don't let go: Joel Miller x OC

Man to man

The next two weeks were pretty uneventful with both Ellie and Joel finally getting accustomed to having a regular routine. For Ellie, it seemed that the addition of a routine provided that security she so desperately required and she was slowly becoming more settled in the mellow civilised environment. Even the nightmares had reduced significantly from almost nightly to perhaps only once or twice a week.

The two newcomers that arrived those weeks ago had decided to also make Jackson their new home permanently. Ellie found herself drawn towards Cat and the pair quickly became friendly - perhaps it was because they were both in the same boat, being newbies to the community after a traumatic journey...

Joel was relieved at the fact that Ellie had finally made friends with another kid. It took the pressure off of him a little. She often would hang out with Cat after school and not arrive home until the evening which gave Joel some much needed time to himself once he'd finished work.

Of course with this extra bit of time, he often found himself at the bar. The novelty of the place still very much just that. Rich was also a regular at the bar and the two of them gelled quite well. As it turned out their pre outbreak lives were fairly similar and they had quite a bit in common. Of course the topic of Sarah was curved but they both worked had worked in construction with no significant other and both grew up in a broken family...

It became a common occurrence for himself, Rich and Tommy to group together on a Friday afternoon once their daily jobs had been completed, to enjoy a few needed glasses of whiskey.

"Surely the lit'lun is arrivin' soon, Tommy?" Rich questioned as he sat back down in the booth, handing out refilled glasses of alcohol.

Tommy's eyes widened and he took in a deep breath "Yeah, not much longer at all. Think about 6 weeks."

The long haired man smirked, bobbing his brows.  "Your gonna have your work cut out, I'm telling ya."

Joel reached out for one of the glasses, dragging the amber filled vessel back to surface in front of him. The talk of his brother starting his very own family still brought up unwanted emotions but he'd gotten better at stomping them down as the weeks passed by. "How you feelin'?"

The younger brother snorted into his glass whilst taking a sip. "Fuckin' terrified."

Rich chuckled at his response "Buddy, I tell you now. As soon as you hold that kid in your arms, there ain't no feelin' like it."

Joel's eyes widened subtly at the other man's comment- perhaps they were more similar than he initially thought but instead of prying he nodded in agreement, recalling the bittersweet moment he first held Sarah. The precious warm weight that instantly made its home in his previously unfulfilled heart. The other man was right, there was no other feeling like it. His mind then switched to the nightmare that was the last time he held his daughter in his arms, drenched in her still hot blood. Twenty years had passed but it didn't hurt any less.

Tommy picked up on his brother's sudden change in demeanor and switched the subject quickly. "So Rich, you plannin' on settling down at some point?"

The man gave a dirty laugh before responding without eye contact "Uh, let's just say that I'm keeping my options open for the moment"

"Why settle on one when you can have three" A smug smirk to his face as the man continued, downing the rest of his drink.

The two brothers chuckled, shaking their heads at the man in front of them. Whilst Joel did get along with Rich, their morals weren't quite on the same level when it came to some things in life.

Rich's focus then turned directly to Joel, brows raised "and what about you? Anyone caught your eye"

Joel snorted and swirled the contents in his glass. He could feel the back of his neck gradually heating up as he shook his head. Half to answer the question and partially to shake any lingering thoughts of the attractive blonde that the query form in his mind. "Uh..nah. I'm not lookin' for nothin' like that at the moment. Got enough on my plate with the...my kid"