The Doc

Chapter 2

A few days had passed, Alice finished up her work at the open clinic earlier than she thought. It was still bright outside so she decided to grab a bite to eat at the mess hall before heading home; wanting to get all the rest she could before her upcoming graveyard guard shift at the wall. It was just before the lunch rush, so she didn't expect a lot of people in there anyway. However, just before she could pull the door to the mess hall open, she heard someone calling her name.

"Hey doc!"

Alice turned, only to see Tommy walking towards her, smile on his face. A man was right behind him, followed by a girl. She didn't recognise either of them.

"What's up?" Alice said casually.

He waved her over expectantly. "There's someone I want you to meet."

Alice stopped in her tracks as she realised who the man who was with him. It was the man who'd saved her at the dam yesterday. She suddenly felt a little self-conscious. He didn't look as gruff as he did then, as he gently ushered forward the girl that was with him. Alice wondered if she was his daughter.

"This is my older brother Joel." Tommy introduced. "Joel, this is Alice, the doc. She's a good friend of mine and Maria's. She's from Canada and is the best doctor we've got here. We're very lucky to have her."

Joel nodded at Alice, a shadow of an amused smile on his face. "We've kinda met before."

Alice fought the urge to blush. Of course he remembers.

His accent was similar to Tommy's, but his voice was deeper, smoother. He was also taller than Tommy, and a complete contrast to his brother's blonde hair. His eyes were a grey-ish blue and his hair was dark, even though he was already going a bit grey.

Alice felt like a dumbass for not making the connection between the stranger who had saved her and the fact that both Maria and Tommy had mentioned that he had paid them a visit at the dam a few months prior - the timing worked out. But she could really only see the resemblance between the brothers when they were standing next to each other. How the hell was Alice supposed to know?

"Really? You two know each other?" Tommy sounded surprised.

"Yeah. He saved my ass in the bandit attack yesterday." Alice replied, not taking her eyes off Joel.

Tommy barked out a laugh. "Well, I'll be damned."

"Hello?" The girl next to Joel piped up. "Weren't we going to get something to eat? I'm fucking starving ."

"Ellie." Joel scolded.

"What? It's true!"

Alice chuckled.

"That's Ellie." Tommy introduced with an amused smile.

"Nice to meet you, can we go eat now?" The girl said impatiently.

"Sure." Tommy grinned. "The mess hall is right in there."

Ellie grabbed Joel's wrist, pulling him towards the mess hall. Joel chuckled, letting her. Before going inside, he threw Alice a glance. It didn't make her uncomfortable at all, on the contrary - it made her feel something. She didn't know what, but it was different. And nice.

She glanced towards Tommy, and his knowing gaze was locked on her.

"What's on your mind?" Tommy said, a slight grin on his face.

"Nothin'. Just thinking about what job would be a good fit for him." Alice attempted to be nonchalant but was failing miserably. "Patrols, maybe." Anything but guard duty.