FATAL IMPACT
[ 003 ] human again
[season one, episode three]
The blood flowing from Tessa's wound had slowed significantly allowing her anxiety to ease. There was still the mystery of how much blood she'd lost but Jacqui had promised they'd be able to give her better medical care once they got back to their camp and Tessa was not one to doubt the credibility of the people who had helped her.
In the seat beside her Rick drove with a worried crease between his eyebrows. His guilt from leaving Merle behind was no doubt weighing down on him.
"It's not your fault Rick. It's no ones fault actually. Merle's an ass. No one will miss him." Tessa turned to the cop as she spoke watching for a change in his facial features. The slightest look of relief swept through his eyes but it was short lived being once again replaced by a worried frown.
"Except maybe Daryl." Morales added.
"Daryl?"
"His brother..." Tessa sighed, her fingers going to the locket around her neck. So many memories had wound their way in amongst the gold; the boy Tessa had grown up with and the guilt of leaving him behind. Being left behind seemed to be a running theme in the Dixon family.
Rick had no response. Tessa knew that the news would only grow his guilt but for the time being Daryl's absence was a gift everyone was thankful for. Even her.
The sound of a blaring car alarm seemed to shake everyone from their miserable stupor, the smallest of smiles wafting across their faces as Glenn shot past in a bright red Hot Rod. Several whoops of delight fell from the young mans mouth as he passed them.
"He looked pretty pleased with himself." Tessa smiled, leaning over the dashboard to try and get a better view of the exciting performance.
⋆ ★
The engine of the truck stalled slightly as Rick drew it to a stop. In front of them were the makings of camp; people, tents, even a caravan. It was the most signs of humanity that Tessa had seen in a long time.
"Nice place." She commented, turning to Morales. The man gave her an encouraging nod.
"C'mon you two. Come meet everyone."
Tessa watched as Morales crouched, shoving open the back door of the truck, allowing the others to exit. Her heart fluttered softly as she heard muted cries of reunion from outside ― the desperate happiness of families who though they'd never see each other again.
Beside her Rick sat, unsure, his hand hoovering around the handle of the door. Much like Tessa watching others reunite would only remind him of what he didn't have.
"Hey Officer Einstein." Tessa's hand found Ricks, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Let's do this huh? Go out there, pretend we're some sort of heroes. Soon we'll get out of here, go find your family."
"We?"
"Well you didn't think I was gonna let you do it on your own, did you? You barely survived in Atlanta. You'd never make it by yourself."
A smile flashed across Ricks face, the same thankful one he'd given her in the tank. It warmed Tessa's heart to know that she wouldn't have to fight alone anymore.
"Hey you two! Come say hello!" Morales voiced echoed loudly as he called the two survivors that remained in the truck.
Rick was careful as he climbed out, helping Tessa over the seats and keeping a firm grip on her in attempt to dispel any further damage she might do to her injuries.
Several sets of curious eyes fell on the pair as they came into sight. Once again Tessa felt insecure under their gaze, aware of her filthy state and bloodied midsection. She must've looked a sight to the clean, well fed survivors.
She was ready to open her mouth and introduce herself when a strange look came over Rick. He was staring at a man dressed in a navy shirt with a gun in his hand and as the two made eye contact a look of recognition made its way onto his face. The look grew as Ricks eyes roved over the campsite landing on a woman and her young son.
"Oh my God. Oh my God."
"Rick?" Tessa cocked her head in curiosity before the realisation hit her. The woman. The little boy. They must be Ricks family.
"Dad! Dad!"
The little boys screams felt like a knife in Tessa's heart and she was quick to draw her gaze from the scene trying her best not to cry. It hadn't been the first time she'd watched such a scene but it was the first time she watched one and realised that she would never get to experience it. The family she had was gone.
She would never hear her daughters cry, "Mama!" the way Ricks son cried for him. She would never feel the warmth of their embrace or see that happy glimmer in their eyes as they looked at her.
Like many people everything she'd had was broken now, gone. Her children were a story in the past, a moment in her history, and no matter how many times she dreamed it she'd never see them again.
"You okay sweetheart?" Jacqui had come to Tessa's side, a replacement for Rick.
Wiping the tears from her eyes she nodded; "I'm fine. It's just nice to see Rick get his family back."
The older woman said nothing but she had a look on her face that told Tessa she understood. She knew.
⋆ ★
The sky had turned black as night fell, decorated occasionally by the odd star. From where Tessa lay she could see the shadows created by the campfire; the silhouettes of the group ― moving, talking, laughing.
She'd chosen not to join the evening festivities unable to sit amongst the group and watch Rick with his family. Something about the sight continued to cause a jealous twist in her heart and she almost wished that the woman, Lori, and her son, Carl, had died.
She been alone so long that Ricks company had began to feel familial and to lose that feeling just as quickly as she'd found it seemed to ruin some deep part of her.
The camping cot she'd been set up on was sticky with her sweat and, no doubt, her blood. One of the women from the camp had stitched up the wound on her side but not before she'd almost bled out on the bed she'd been given.
Rolling onto her side Tessa looked out the thin mesh window that was set a few feet above her. Jacqui had pulled back the little zip up blind that usually covered it so that Tessa would have something occupy herself with whilst she recovered.
Outside insects chittered, their lives going on despite the world-ending apocalypse. Tessa wondered if their view on the world had changed at all. Did they realise they were landing on walkers and not humans anymore? Did they see the burning orange skies thick with smoke from diseased cities the government tried to eradicate? Did they realise that life, as they knew it, had changed forever?
"Not hungry?" The question came in the form of a males voice, one that Tessa couldn't remember hearing during her hurried introductions.
Sitting up carefully the blonde came face to face with a man she didn't recognise. She'd been careful to observe every face in the camp, trying to piece names to faces. There was only one person she'd been told about but hadn't met.
"You must be Ed." She smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Tessa."
The man made no effort to return the gesture, his beady eyes roving over Tessa. She shifted slightly on the cot not liking the way he looked at her. There was something in his eyes, something hungry and terrifying, and she was suddenly aware of how alone she was. There were no visible weapons in the tent, nothing she could use to defend herself should it come to that. She doubted she'd be very strong with her injuries anyway.
"Are you bothering our new guest, Ed?" A mans voice chimed in from outside, a slight sense of warning in his tone.
Ed sniffed, as if offended that his creepy staring had been interrupted, and promptly turned on his heel, leaving without a word.
"You okay?" The man Rick had recognised earlier ducked his head as stepped into the tent, surveying Tessa as if Ed might have decided to cut her into little pieces.
"Other than being a little creeped out I'm fine. Thanks."
"No problem."
"Shane, right?" Tessa asked, stopping the man before he could leave.
"Yeah." Shane held his hand out and Tessa took it gratefully. She noticed the way his palm was warm and calloused, friendly.
"Look if I were you I'd stay as far away from Ed as possible. He's not the sort of guy you want to be getting friendly with." Shane added.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Shane fell silent, scuffing his foot against the floor of the tent before ultimately deciding that he had somewhere else to be. He left with a polite nod and Tessa watched him recede with curiosity.
She'd noticed how he'd been careful to avoid the tear-jerking reunions, keeping to himself on the outskirts of the excitement. There was something strange, almost wistful, about him but Tessa just put it down to loss. Death and loss was a significant trigger when it came to post-apocalyptic depression and she was sure the muscled man was no exception. Even the most hardened survivors were affected by the end of humanity as they knew it.
⋆ ★
Tessa awoke to the sight of Carl Grimes standing over her, eyes wide.
"Can I help you?"
"I thought you were dead." The boys voice was matter of fact and sincere and Tessa couldn't help but laugh.
"Not dead. Sorry kiddo."
"Who are those girls? The ones in the photo in your necklace."
"Oh um..." Tessa sat up cautiously, wary of her stitches and the aching pain in her hand. "They're my daughters, Effy and Ruth."
She didn't stop to wonder how the young boy had looked in the locket. Part of her didn't care, the other part didn't want to know. Carl continued to stare at her for a few seconds until a young girls voice called his name and he scurried from the tent before Tessa even had a chance to say goodbye.
"Shit." Tessa breathed, glad she was finally able to let the curse word leave her mouth. Her grip travelled from the bandages around her midsection to cradle her sore hand. It had already begun to bruise, hues of purple and red flaring up across her knuckles. She tensed it a few times testing for stiffness and pain in her joints.
Standing, Tessa exited the tent. Outside groups of people milled about, completing chores or talking amongst themselves. Compared to the desolate streets of Atlanta everything seemed so bright and cheerful, almost normal.
Tessa was distracted from the uplifting sight by Rick wildly waving his hands in the air to get her attention. A smile lit up her face she as made her way over to the cop.
"Mornin' Officer Einstein." The nickname Tessa had given Rick in Atlanta had seemed to stick in her mind and she found herself unable to call him anything else.
"How do you feel this morning? How's the hand?"
"Probably better than Merle's nose." Tessa laughed and rubbed her knuckles shyly.
Beside Rick, Lori was surveying the blonde, taking in her wounds and matted hair. Tessa was quick to notice the woman's gaze. It was not unkind or judgemental but soft and motherly. There was care in her eyes.
"I can help with your hair later if you like." Lori offered, pointing subtly at the knots that crowned Tessa's head.
"I'd like-" Tessa was cut off by a scream that seemed to shake the forest. Everyone in the camp snapped to attention at the sound. Rick and Lori were quick to take off running towards the cries of fear, Tessa following a few feet behind.
She ignored the branches that grabbed at her hair and the twigs that snapped at her ankles as the cries grew louder. Carl and a young blonde girl appeared in a clearing just ahead of them, their mothers embracing them tightly.
Tessa continued to follow Rick, almost wishing she hadn't, when their eyes came to rest upon a walker feasting on a dead deer. It seemed oblivious to its surroundings focusing only on the bloody meat and veins it ripped from the large furry body.
"Oh my God." Tessa drew her hand to her mouth, gasping at the sight.
Behind her several others found themselves stumbling upon the gruesome display. Muttered words of disgust filtered past the echoing sound of chewing and this seemed to finally draw the walkers attention.
The dead man stumbled up and took immediate steps towards Rick who hit him violently over the head with some sort of wooden stake. Tessa was quick to step out of the way as Morales, Shane and several other men all joined in to try and beat the rotted thing.
A small part of Tessa wanted to speak up, say, "aim for the head," but she chose not to, wondering how long it would take before the men would make the conscious decision to use their brains.
The grisly fight seemed to end when an older man with a white beard struck an axe through the neck of the walker, effectively removing its head from its body.
"That's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain." He said, looking around with concern.
"They're probably runnin' out of food in Atlanta. Ain't many survivors left out there, if any at all. No one to eat." Tessa stated, not taking her eyes off the walker.
Around her the men shared worried looks. A twig snapping put everyone back on alert, weapons raised and ready. From the forest in front of them emerged a man, grubby and pale, but otherwise alive.
"Son of a bitch!" He hissed, ignoring the group, his attention focused on the dear in front of him.
Tessa bit back the urge too say something as she watched the man step further into view. Daryl Dixon hadn't changed much in sixteen years. He still wore the same unimpressed expression on his face and had the same gravely voice. There was little about him that had changed except he was taller and more muscular than she remembered.
"That's my deer!" Daryl continued to complain. "Look at it all gnawed on by this filthy, disease-bearing, motherless proxy bastard!"
Each insult was followed by a violent kick to the walkers body and a dramatic swing of the crossbow in his hand.
"Calm down son. That's not helping." The bearded, axe-bearing man sighed as he tried to calm the agitated redneck.
"What do you know about it old man?" Daryl snapped, taking several long strides until he was almost nose to nose with the old man. "Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'On Golden Pond'?"
"Daryl stop." Tessa's voice cracked slightly as she spoke up, knowing that once she made her presence known there would be no going back.
Everyone in the group noticed the way Daryl stalled at the sound of her voice, turning to land his eyes on the blonde. It was as if a switch had been flipped in his head; there was instant recognition in his eyes as he took in her hair, her face, her locket. Daryl looked as if he might say something, as if he might suddenly break down in tears and cry, but as soon as the look had come it was gone replaced by his usual frown.
"I've been tracking this deer for miles." He continued, looking past Tessa as if she didn't even exist. "You think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?"
Shane shook his head; "Wouldn't risk it."
"Well I got some squirrel... about a dozen or so. That'll have to do."
As Daryl finished his rant the head of the walker snapped its teeth hungrily and several of the men took a fearful step back.
"Come on, people. What the hell?" Daryl huffed going to aim for the walker with his crossbow.
Tessa didn't wait for the redneck to release his arrow before angrily grabbing Ricks stake and plunging it through the snapping head.
"You gotta get the brain." She emphasised, looking Daryl in the eyes as if she were challenging him. "That is, if they have one."
She didn't wait for a response, stepping over the bloody mess she'd created and turning back to the camp. Daryl's lack of emotion other than anger didn't surprise her but it still hurt that he was acting as if he didn't even know her.
Tessa emerged from the woods to find the remaining group huddled together by the caravan, all decorated with concern. She understood their fear but her own was far from it. She'd been cornered by walkers far too many times to be scared by a single stray.
"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! Got us some squirrel!" Daryl's shouts grew louder as he appeared out of the greenery a few feet away from Tessa.
No one in the camp said a word as they watched Daryl call out his brother's name. She knew that they all feared confrontation with the man and she couldn't say she blamed them. Crossbow wielding rednecks were not exactly the sort of people you messed with.
"Merle ain't here." She spoke up, ignoring the desperate looks telling her not to. "He's handcuffed to a roof in the city."
The expression on Daryl's face became a look of contorted curiosity and anger; "Did you put him there?"
The redneck took a menacing step towards Tessa but she refused to back down. In her mind Merle had deserved everything that had been coming to him and she'd be damned if Daryl tried to tell her any different. Rick, however, did not like the sight and was quick to make his presence known.
"She didn't. I did."
"Who are you?"
"Rick Grimes." The cop took several confident strides towards Daryl. "Your brother was a danger to us all. So, I handcuffed him to a roof."
Daryl did not seemed satisfied by Ricks explanation because he took several stressed looking steps away from the group before circling back.
"Hold on. Let me process this." Daryl sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!"
"Yeah." Rick and Tessa replied at the same time.
Their comment seemed to be the final blow for Daryl. He flung his squirrels from his grip and immediately took to attacking Rick. Shane was quick to respond, flinging him to the ground.
Daryl refused to be taken down by the two men. From his belt he pulled a knife and Tessa's heart rate quickened as he swung it at Rick.
"Don't!" Tessa yelled, stepping between Rick and Daryl just as he swung the blade. For a second everything went still but then she heard the screams of the people around her and felt warmth flood her left cheek. She put her fingers to the skin only to be met with the sticky feeling of blood.
The sight seemed to shock Daryl, stopping him just long enough for Rick and Shane to tackle him to the ground and take his knife. The man continued to struggle angrily but his concern had seemed to shift from his brother to Tessa as he looked at the blood that ran down her cheek.
"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic." Rick assured Daryl politely. "Do you think we can manage that?"
The man said nothing but he stopped struggling and Shane released him from the chokehold he'd been holding him by.
"Rick didn't make the decision lightly. Merle's an ass and put everyone at risk. He did what he had to." Tessa didn't let her injury deter her. Despite Daryl's apparent hatred for her, she knew that the information would sound better coming from her - someone Daryl trusted. Or had trusted.
"It's not Ricks fault. I had the key." T-Dog admitted, stepping towards the chaos. "I dropped it."
"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl growled staring the man down as if he were already plotting his death.
"Well, I dropped it in a drain."
Tessa had to bite back a laugh at T-Dog's statement. It clearly wasn't the time to be irritating Daryl but she couldn't get over the idiocy of the situation. Merle's own decisions had put him on that roof and a stupid accident had left him there. Not that he didn't deserve it.
"Look I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him. With a padlock." T-Dog added in attempt to make Daryl feel better.
Tessa noticed the way his face broke, the way he once again almost cried. Had it been sixteen years earlier she would have been the one to hold him. She done it many times; her arms around his shaking shoulders, wiping the tears from his face and avoiding any bruises or cuts that might've decorated his body.
"We can go and get him, right?" She spoke up. "If the door was padlocked he should still be there. And if the dead can't get to him..."
Tessa looked to Rick for assurance. She could see uncertainty in his eyes, the way he glanced from her to Lori and back again. There was warning in the dark haired woman's face but the decision was in Ricks hands and she knew that no matter what Lori wanted, Rick would go back. It wasn't in his nature not to.
"I'm going back." He sighed, looking away from his wife who turned in disappointment.
Tessa understood how she felt. The woman had spent days, no weeks, thinking that she'd never see her husband again only for him return and decide to head straight back into the heart of danger. She had every right to disagree with Ricks decision.
⋆ ★
"You have to let me go!" Tessa argued impatiently. "I know my way around that city better than all of y'all combined. Every escape route, and hiding spot. I know where it all is!"
"You're not coming. I'm sorry but not with an injury like that." Rick gestured to the bandages that bound Tessa's waist.
Part of her had already accepted that she wouldn't be a member of the rescue team but that didn't stop her from fighting Rick on the matter. She knew she sounded childish. Every argument she made just seemed to make Rick even more determined she not go.
"Look," Ricks voice lowered as he gently pulled her out of earshot. "You know your stuff. You're strong and smart. You can protect the people here."
"I don't want to be on babysittin' duty. It's not who I am."
"You're not babysitting. You're protecting these people. My family."
Rick knew the impact of his final statement. Guilt-tripping was not his style but he knew that Tessa would only be a liability in the city. She would be of better use at the camp where she could fend off any stray walkers that had wandered up the mountain.
The blonde shook her arm from Ricks grip; "You should be the one protecting your family. Not me. They ain't my problem."
Tessa knew she was being harsh but she didn't like being left behind any better than she liked the idea of some of the strongest fighters they had leaving women and children in the hands of her and Shane. She didn't doubt the other cop but when it came down to fighting she was the one with the injury - she would only slow him down.
"Good luck Officer Einstein. Try and bring the racist back unharmed." Tessa's sarcasm was almost poisonous and Rick suddenly wondered if he should be worried about her killing him in his sleep.
⋆ ★
Tessa peered at the shirt in her hands. A large brown stain covered one side of it and no matter how hard she scrubbed it did not seem keen to disappear. Even before the apocalypse she hadn't been in charge of washing the clothes. For years she'd used small, family run laundromats, moving around too much to even consider a washing machine. When she'd finally bought a house Effy had taken on the duty of washing and drying everyone's clothes. The older Mctate child had always been the responsible member of the family.
"I'm beginning to question the division of labour here." Jacqui huffed, drawing Tessa's attention to where Carl and Shane were splashing around on the other side of the lake. "I mean, hell, even Little Miss Knife Wound is doing her part."
Tessa smiled at the nickname and nudged the older woman beside her. Out of everyone in the camp she'd grown close to Jacqui, the two sharing a tent and, ultimately, a sense of humour.
"How did we manage to end up doing all the housekeepin' work anyway?" Tessa asked, giving up on the shirt in her hands.
"The world ended. Didn't you get the memo?" Andrea's younger sister, Amy, piped up.
Laughter rustled between the women, all of them doing their best to make light of the unpleasant situation.
Feeling eyes on her, Tessa turned and was met with the beady gaze of Ed Peletier. She had learnt very quickly that the man had no interest in being a team player, choosing to sit and smoke over pitching in. There was something about him, about the way he treated his wife and daughter, that left a cold, familiar feeling in the bottom of her stomach.
She'd known men like Ed; lazy and abusive men who took what they wanted and gave nothing in return. Men like that had a look about them, a look she'd learnt to read in an attempt to protect herself and her daughters. It helped to have a partner when you were a single mom but not every person she'd met had had good intentions for her family. She'd learnt that the hard way.
"It's just the way it is." Carol sighed, looking back nervously at Ed as if their innocent conversation were about to trigger some animal part of him.
"Don't mean it has to be. If you stopped doing the washing, the cooking, the cleaning, then the men would eventually have pitch in and do their part." Tessa pointed out.
She received no answers in response to her comment but Amy gave her a friendly shrug and she knew the message had been heard.
The sound of scrubbing took over and Tessa settled herself down with a pair of jeans and a washboard. Every now and again the harsh metal would catch on her skin and she'd have to bite her lip so as not to cry out. Carol smiled when she noticed Tessa nursing her scraped hand and gave her a shy pat on the back.
"I do miss my Maytag." The older woman sighed out and Tessa couldn't help but smile.
"I miss my bath. My daughter's would buy me all these nice bath things and every Friday I'd have this long, warm bath. I could have just sat in there for hours." Tessa reminisced and the women laughed.
"I miss my Benz, my Sat Nav." Andrea added, a dreamy look crossing her face.
Jacqui gave a nod of agreement, "I miss my coffeemaker with that dual drip filter and built-in grinder, honey."
"My computer... and texting." Amy's addition was wistful, almost childlike, and it made Tessa wonder if her daughters would have missed the same things, should they have lived.
Her depressive wondering was cut short when Andrea piped up with "I miss my vibrator," and all the women shot her cheeky looks.
"Me too." Carol admitted.
The offhand statement sent the group of women off, each laughing so hard they could barely breath. Tessa felt the stabbing pain in her side increase with each bout of giggles that erupted from her mouth but she was too far gone to stop or worry. It had been a long time since she'd genuinely laughed. It felt good.
"What's so funny?" A plain, joyless voice spoke up from behind them, slowing the laughter.
"Just swappin' war stories Ed." Andrea looked back at him with a grin still on her face.
Ed's presence had put a damper on the on the conversation, each woman trailing off into uncomfortable silence.
"What a buzzkill." Tessa muttered under her breath scrubbing furiously at the jeans in her hand.
"What did you say about me?" Ed's voiced roughened and Tessa heard the stones behind her crunch.
"I said," She hissed, turning to the man. "What a buzzkill. You come over here with your bad attitude and your smelly cigarettes and you do nothin' but whine. Nobody is interested Ed."
"Tessa don't." Carol spoke softly.
Ed scoffed and dropped his cigarette, stamping it into the ground; "You got anything else you wanna say to me?"
"Yeah. You should go. Now."
"If you think I'm gonna stand here and listen to you," The man warned. "You are wrong. You come here, flaunting yourself all over the place like some kinda whore, and think you can tell me what to do."
"It's about time someone told you what to do." Tessa stated, not breaking eye contact. "Like do your own damn washing, you lazy pig."
She didn't hesitate to thrust the damp pair of jeans in her hands at the man, hitting him almost square in the chest.
"Ain't my job missy."
"And what is your job, Ed?" Andrea asked, not hesitating to back Tessa up. "Sitting on your ass, smoking cigarettes?"
"Sure as hell ain't listening to some uppity smart-mouthed bitch." Ed snarled and turned to Carol. "Come on. Let's go."
Tessa scoffed, forcing herself not to land a fist in Ed's face; "You really don't think we're gonna let you go with her, do you?"
"You can't stop me." The man huffed, placing a hand on Tessa's shoulder and roughly shoving her out of the way.
"Like hell we can't." Andrea shook her head in disgust, stopping Carol before she could get to her husband.
"Andrea, don't." The meek woman tried to push gently past the arm that held her back but neither Tessa nor Andrea backed down.
"I know men like you." Tessa said. "She's just gonna turn up tomorrow with bruises. We'll all ask for a reason, an excuse. I know how it goes. 'I ran into a cupboard. I must've hit it and not noticed. I tripped.' I've heard 'em before. You'll go to hell before you lay another finger on her."
Ed laughed, a soulless and unkind sound, grabbing onto Carol's arm without hesitation. Tessa could see the way his meaty fingers dug into her skin. She heard the way the woman let out a tiny gasp of pain.
"Carol you do not have to go with him." She insisted.
"No it's-" Carol didn't get to finish her sentence, Ed landing a hard slap across the skin of her cheek. Something inside Tessa broke.
Before she knew what she was doing her hands were against Ed's chest as she shoved him to the ground. Then she was on top of him and the world around her became a blur. She landed punch after punch anywhere she could, feeling nothing but red, hot anger. She was vaguely aware of the sound of screaming but it didn't deter her. The crunching sounds of Ed's bones and the injured yelps that spilled from his mouth were all that mattered to her.
It was as if, once she'd started, she couldn't stop. She felt the pain in her knuckles, in her side, but they had dulled to an ache. Her focus was only on the man below her.
She would have kept going, had a pair of strong arms not dragged her away, still kicking and screaming obscenities at the abusive man.
Angry sobs tumbled from her mouth as she clutched her side. Everyone's focus was on her.
"Hey. Hey. Stop. It's okay." Shane's voice mumble into her ear. "It's over."
Tessa shook his arms off and stood on shaky feet, as if to admire her handiwork.
"You put your hands on your wife, your kid or anybody else ever again, and I'll kill you. Without hesitation." Tessa's voice was hoarse but she knew had gotten the message across.
She turned, stumbling back into Shane's chest and mumbling a small apology.
The man wrapped an arm around her gently; "C'mon it's okay, let's get you cleaned up."
⋆ ★
okay people it's getting exciting.
shane would probably cry if he knew the one good deed he'd done was given to tessa but i can't stand that man so it's neither here nor there.
tessa solo's.