004. like she's his own

ONE YEAR PRE APOCALYPSE
February 8th 2002

The insistent knocking on Joel's front door brings him out of his sleep, the man groaning as his rest is interrupted. He pushes himself out of his bed, grabbing his shirt from the bedside table and slipping it on as he heads down the stairs. The banging doesn't stop, and as he reaches the front door, he can hear the sobbing of somebody on the other side. That causes his eyebrows to scrunch together in confusion.

Joel's face falls when he opens up the door, his younger sister standing on the other side looking ready to fall to the ground in a heap. Her eyes are red, cheeks stained with tears and her usually pristine hair is a ruffled mess. "Liz? What's happened?"

Elizabeth stumbles forward with her baby situated in her arms, holding her tightly as if she's going to fade into thin air. Joel manages to catch the two of them before Elizabeth sinks to the floor, holding his sister to him. "They're going to take her, t-they said I'm not fit to be her mother,"

The woman's words are a jumbled mess but her brother manages to decipher what it is she's saying. He's not quite sure who 'they' are, but he knows they couldn't be more wrong. Elizabeth dotes on this child as if she's the most important person in the world, which to her she is. Liz has always wanted to be a mother, wanted to have a child of her own to raise and care for. Not only has she been one of the best mothers Joel has come across, but she's also the best aunt Sarah could ever have.

"Hey, hey," Joel tries to calm her down as he hears the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Sarah must have heard the commotion and has now joined them, rubbing her eyes to wake herself a little better. "Look, how about you go and take a shower and calm down? Sarah and I will take care of Rory,"

"You can't let them take her, Joel. Please," Elizabeth's voice cracks with the last word, more tears sliding down the sides of her cheeks.

"Nobody is taking her, okay? Not if I have anything to do with it,"

There's something about the way she looks at him, the way her eyes are a seemingly endless pool of sadness, that makes her want to hunt down whoever 'they' are and teach them not to mess with his family. Elizabeth looks so much like her younger self, vulnerable and in way over her head, but also like she had been when the asshole had ran out on her before Aurora was born.

"Go and have that shower, okay? We'll put some cartoons on for the little one and keep her occupied until you come back. I'm sure we can look after a nine month old," Joel assures.

"Ten months," Elizabeth croaks out, handing her little girl over into the care of her brother who holds her expertly. He coos at her gently, Aurora giggling as he tickles her sides. Elizabeth gives the two of them one last glance before heading towards the bathroom.

Joel sits down on his worn out couch, letting the little girl sit in his lap as his daughter switches the television on. Joel remembers Elizabeth mentioning in passing that Aurora is a big fan of the Looney Tunes, and it seems Sarah remembers too because it's what she puts on for them to watch.

"What's wrong with Aunt Liz?" Sarah questions as she cuddles into his side, laying her head on his shoulder. Aurora's eyes are fixated on the television, not even taking any notice of the way they're speaking around her. "Did somebody hurt her?"

"In a way, yes, but you don't need to worry. She'll be okay," Joel assures his daughter, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

"Should we call Uncle Tommy?"

The question had run through his mind as well, because he would certainly want to know what was going on. Elizabeth and Tommy are closer in age than Elizabeth and Joel so they were really close growing up. It wasn't until she was a teenager that Elizabeth begun to adore her eldest brother, look at him like he was hung from the moon. Joel was their big brother, and the both of them appreciated him more as they grew.

"Maybe a little later, you know he'd sleep straight through the ringing anyway," Joel replies, smiling softly at Sarah's laughter. "You want some breakfast?"

"I'm okay. I'm more worried about Aunt Liz," Sarah admits quietly, fiddling with the sleeve of her shirt. 

"She's going to be fine, and so is this one, aren't you babygirl?" Joel directs the last part at his niece who is once again giggling as her uncle tickles her gently.

"Jo-Jo. Stop," Aurora is in the early stages of speaking, but she's managed to pick up a few words here and there. She's unable to pronounce Joel's full name yet and she can't quite get Sarah's out either, but she's getting there. "Bugs!"

Aurora points at the television as the cartoon bunny makes his way on the screen, her hands then clapping together in excitement as he begins to speak. Joel smiles slightly, surprised by how much she looks like her mother right now. Elizabeth had been a fan of the same show when they were younger, he hasn't forgotten the amount of pictures she'd drawn him with Bugs Bunny standing alongside him. They were cute though, and quite easily pierced through his tough exterior to make him smile.

His sister walks back into the room a little while later wearing a pair of his old tracksuit pants and a hoodie. She doesn't look any less upset, eyes still rimmed red, but she does look as if she has calmed down a little more.

"Sarah, do you want to take Aurora into the kitchen and draw some pictures with her?" Joel directs the question to the girl beside him who nods her head, lifting up Aurora as best she can and taking her away.

Elizabeth sinks into the couch beside him, her wet hair dripping onto the surface of the sofa whilst she tries to form a coherent sentence. Seeing that it's probably not going to happen, Joel begins the conversation for her. "You want to tell me who they is?"

"Harrison's parents. They told me that the two of them could take better care of Rory and would raise her right," Elizabeth sniffles.

"Because they did such a great job with their kid, turned out to be a real asshole. They lost all rights to be involved in Rory's life when that douchebag ran off on you,"

"They think differently. Apparently because I have no stable income and have a one bedroom apartment that I'm a shitty mum. 'She needs her own room,'. Fuck Joel, I can't afford more than what I have right now. I'll sleep in the fucking lounge room when she's older, I don't care but I can't do it right now,"

Joel can feel his blood boiling slightly, and if he was in one of Aurora's favourite cartoons there would probably be smoke coming out of his ears. He'd met Harrison's parents once and they were dicks, rich folk who thought Elizabeth wasn't good enough for their son because she didn't come from money. If anything, it was the other way around — Elizabeth was too good for their dickhead of a son.

"Look, the two of you can stay here for a while. We have a couple of spare rooms and there will be someone here to look after Rory when you're at work," Joel offers.

It'll be good to have other people around the house for him too, and that way Sarah will have Aurora to keep her company.

"You sure? That's incredibly generous but I doubt you want a screaming kid around the house all the time Joel," Elizabeth responds, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"I dealt with you, didn't I? She can't be much worse," Joel jokes, a teasing smile on his face.

Elizabeth pushes him playfully, a smile finally pulling at her lips for the first time since she'd been there. This was the Elizabeth he was used to seeing, bright and bubbly with a smile so bright it outshined the sun. "Thank you Joel,"

"Don't you worry about it. I promise you, I'll look after that girl like she's my own. Now, let's go see what those two are up to before I end up with crayon all over my walls," He replies.

'I'll look after that girl like she's my own' — a promise that he will unknowingly keep for years to come.