Don't let go: Joel Miller x OC

Home: Pt2

A/N: The last chapter! (Bar a fluffy little epilogue) Here we go guys and gals!!
—————————————————————————

She couldn't be sure of how long it was that she sat with him at his bed side. Her palm pressed against his, her delicate shaky digits interlocking between his fingers; even if he couldn't grip back. It was the least she could do as he selflessly sacrificed his own life to protect his family... Her mind drifting back to a point in time many years ago when she had been torn over the brutality he had within him. The lives he'd taken that fateful day at the hospital. She could remember staring up at her bedroom ceiling in the late hours of that summer night as she came to that final conclusion that this man, the man that would eventually become her husband, would do what ever it takes to protect the ones that he loves. She could recall wondering in that moment, what would it feel like to have someone love her in that way? She knew now. She knew exactly how that felt. Bittersweet.

Her voice quaked as she spoke to him softly, the tears now ceasing, leaving behind a salted trail over her puffy washed out cheeks. Weary reddened eyes gazing gently over his still form, taking a second to fixate on the shallow rise and fall of his chest. The tension, the chaos and everything else dissipating into a halcyon. It was just him and her now. Maybe he could hear her... Maybe not, but she took the time to reassure him nonetheless less. That he saved them. That they were safe. That he didn't fail them. That he was the best father she could wish for her daughter, that their little girl loved him so much. That he was her soulmate, that she'd never let go, never give up hope.

The calmness eventually disrupted as Doctor Moore announced his presence by rapping his knuckles onto the panes of the door. Waiting for Ava to acknowledge his proximity before slipping fully into the room. He smiled meekly at her as his focus drew to the couples interlocked hands, "I need to run some further tests... You should probably get some rest yourself my dear."

The blondes gaze didn't leave her husband as her head delicately yet solemnly bobbed. She didn't care for her own physical nor mental health. She'd sit with him all night and all day if there wasn't another little life relying on her. Lily needed her now more than ever and in truth, she needed that little girl just as much.

She leant over pressing her lips tenderly to his cheek, her heart aching at the lack of response, "Goodnight, my love."

Ava straightened back up with an almost silent sniffle, placing Joel's hand back against his side as she untangled her fingers from his. She spared him one last solemn glance before taking a breath to turn away.

"It's good to see a man that's still surrounded by family... It's rare nowadays. He's a lucky man in that respect..." The doctor declared as he watched her head toward the door.

She hesitated for a moment as her hand reached for the knob. Her head slowly swivelling to look back over her shoulder, the corners of her lips weakly tugging into not quite a smile. Her whole demeanour shattered and bleary as she responded back before slipping out of the room, "Keep him a- Look after him for me, doc. Please..."

He offered the blonde one last steady nod before watching her disappear down the quiet corridor, the door softly clicking shut behind her.
———————————————————————

Ava slumped down heavily into one of the dining table chairs that resided in the kitchen, head falling into her hands as a troubled puff of air slipped through her dry lips. The pitched whistle of the kettle ringing throughout the space as Maria busied herself around the counter tops.

Lily clambered up onto the adjacent chair, her little body leaning forward over the table surface and reaching an arm out towards her destitute mother, "Mommy?"