UNITED IN BLOOD
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO !

   A SIGH ESCAPED FROM the brunette as she woke from her slumber. Her face nuzzled into the pillow that her head rested upon as her eyes slowly peeled open, struggling to adjust to the early morning light that snuck into the room from under the blinds.

   Asleep before her was Ellie Williams, whose auburn hair lay splayed out across her pillow. Her slightly chapped lips were pouted as she slept and her chest rose up and down with each breath she took.

   Memories of the night prior flashed across Danielle's mind. Images of lips that met with passion and bodies that writhed against one another as pleasure rushed through both girls. Heat bloomed in her face while a rouge tint appeared on the apples of her cheeks.

At some point in the early morning hours, the pair had stumbled their way into Ellie's bedroom, which had been the closest to the staircase. The way they had moved, both completely intoxicated by the sexual tension that filled the air.

As the brunette lay underneath the comforter, she was suddenly aware of the fact that she was completely bare beneath. Her entire body was free of any clothing. Instead of feeling exposed or embarrassed, Danielle instead felt...almost powerful. Here she was, laying naked next to the girl she'd been crushing on for months, after a night of passionate sex, and she felt powerful.

If Dina could see her now, she knew that the dark-haired girl would be fist pumping her hand into the air, hollering cries of praise and how the pair had finally decided to 'Get some.'

Laying next to a still sleeping Ellie allowed Danielle the freedom to just look at her. From the pretty little freckles that decorated her face, creating constellations along the ridge of her nose, to the random, almost invisible scars that littered across the redheads body from years of encountering the infected.

Ellie's body shifted in her slumber, the movement causing a stray piece of hair to fall in her face. Danielle, without much thought, reached out her hand and lightly brushed the hair back behind Ellie's ear, trailing her fingertips ever so slightly along Ellie's face before retracting back to her own body.

Perhaps it was the foggy, post-sex haze, but Danielle couldn't help but feel so lucky. Not once in her entire time alive, did she ever picture herself living in a warm and beautiful home, that was once owned by the very father she was sure had forgotten her, or that she would have quite possibly the most fascinating and amazing girl laying asleep before her.

   In the novels she had read, each one of them having some semblance of romance interwoven into the larger plot, the two main protagonists always seemed to fall in love and have moments just like this. Moments of true bliss.

Was she jumping to conclusions in regards to their relationship? She certainly hoped not and if Ellie's behaviour and reaction to their kiss from the night prior, —how the redhead had pressed their bodies closer and closer to one another, responding to every moan with a smile that Danielle could feel against her lips, was anything to go by then Danielle figured her conclusion were pretty spot on.

The redhead before her slowly began to shuffle, her limbs moving much more than before, which confirmed for Danielle that Ellie was waking up faster than she had expected. Not wanting to be caught staring at her like a weirdo, Danielle quickly shut her eyes. They pressed tightly together as Ellie's breathing became more full, a clear indication of the tattooed girl's state of consciousness.

"Dani." Ellie softly muttered, her voice slightly low and rough from having just woke up. When no response was given, Ellie shuffled closer to the brunette, moving her head until her lips rested just about Danielle's ear. "I know you're awake."

   Danielle's hazel eyes shot open, her gaze immediately falling on the smiling face of Ellie. "I was so sneaky though, how the hell did you know?"

"You think I didn't feel you touching my face?" The sound of Ellie's laughter bounced off the walls as she relaxed back into her pillow, her eyes never leaving the brunettes flustered and blushing face. "Or feel your eyes staring holes into my face?"

"Oh." The Linden girl joyful expression turned crestfallen in a matter of seconds.

   The auburn-haired girl moved her body until she rested on her side once more, facing Danielle. With a gentle smile, she reached over and using her thumb, rubbed comforting circles on the back of Danielle's hand. "Don't be embarrassed. I think it was cute."

   Danielle gripped onto the blanket, holding it up and over her chest with one hand and playfully pushing Ellie with the other. "Don't laugh! Ellie, I wanted to be romantic. I thought, 'hey, this is how it goes in my books.'  Why couldn't you just pretend for my sake?"

"Dani, slow down."

"You don't get it, Ellie. Do you know how long I've wanted this to happen? How long I've imagined this mo—"

   The feeling of lips pressed against her own caused all words to fly free from her brain, leaving her mind completely blank with only one thought remaining. How nice it was to be kissed by Ellie.

   "You were rambling." Ellie mumbled against Danielle's lips, her hand reaching up to lightly but firmly hold the nape of the brunettes neck.

   As Ellie pulled away from the kiss, Danielle subconsciously chased after her lips, not wanting to part from her just yet. Her voice fell in volume as she whispered, "If that's your response, I might ramble more often."

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AS THE WEEKS PASSED, the two girls never confirmed the state of their relationship. They didn't feel like they had to. They knew that they were now together and that their eyes would never stray. Danielle adored Ellie as Ellie adored Danielle.

   Their relationship and how they interacted didn't really change, expect for the odd peck on the lips or the fact that they now shared Ellie's bedroom. Danielle's room had been far too bare of personal affects that it just made sense for her to move into Ellie's room, that had essentially become a replica of her little garage.

They continued with their day to day activities, Danielle still worked her typical nine-to-five while Ellie went out in patrol, usually helping train a newer recruit, someone who had never really travelled outside the walls before. Knowing that Ellie would be out in the open alongside someone who didn't really know what they were doing gave the brunette great cause for concern. Though she had never said it, it was always in the back of her mind, —Ellie may have been immune to the infection but she was certainly not immune from being torn apart.

As the redhead left the community earlier that morning atop her new horse, that would never replace shimmer and who she had yet to give an official name for fear of getting attached, her backpack full of medical supplies and ammo, Danielle had decided to take the leap and do something she had been putting off for far too long.

So while on her lunch break, the Linden girl walked along the streets of Jackson, her little portable lunch box in hand that held sandwiches she had packed earlier that morning, around the same time she had made sandwiches for Ellie to eat while on patrol, Danielle shuffled on until she stood outside the home that once housed Joel Miller.

Since his break from Maria, rumours of Tommy having packed up some of his belongings that he brought with him when he moved into his deceased brother's home, ran rampant through the settlement of Jackson.

   Danielle's feet carried her up the wooden steps that led to the porch, her hands holding the small lunched box that held the sandwiches she had prepared for herself and the Miller man. Her palms began to sweat as she stood before the door, contemplating whether or not to follow through with her plan.

   Finally, after a few moments of internal conflict, Danielle mustered up all of the courage she could and began to knocking her closed fist against the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

   "Tommy." The brunette called out, hoping her voice was carrying throughout the home as she continued to knock on the door, not willing to let to man ignore her presence. "I know you're in there. Please let me in."

No response came. Her grip on her lunchbox tightened in frustration. "Come on, I just want to see you. I've missed you."

   A figure stepped out from the side of the house, cleaning their grime covered hands with a cloth. Tommy stood off to the side, keeping his eyes on Danielle who had yet to notice him and instead continued to rap her knuckles against the wooden door.

"Hey, kid." Tommy chirped up after a couple seconds of simply watching her in amusement.

"Christ!" Danielle exclaimed as her voice rose in volume and pitch. As her heart raced and thudded against her ribcage as she spun around to face the man. "Sorry, you really scared me."

   Her eyes trailed over the mostly healed scar along the side of Tommy's face while he began to walk up the steps to the porch, coming closer and closer to her. The gunshot wound was not a pretty sight and every time Danielle saw it, a gnawing feeling clawed and twisted at her guts.

Just like her own scars that plagued her mind with negativity every time she would changed her clothes or when her hand would accidentally brush against the raised scar tissue, she was sure Tommy hated his more so as at least hers could be hidden behind fabric. Tommy however, had to be reminded of what happened every time he looked in the mirror.

Tommy simply shrugged his shoulders. "Ain't no thing. You comin' in?"

"Yeah. I've got sandwiches if you're hungry." The brunette offered as she followed Tommy inside the home, trailing after the man as he lead her further into the house and into the dining room.

The interior of the home hadn't changed much from the last time Danielle had stepped foot past the threshold. The place still had a comforting atmosphere, one she had attributed to Joel Miller, if the way everyone spoke of him was anything to go by. Though the man had now been gone for almost an entire year at this point, the home still felt warm and welcoming. It still felt like he lived there despite the fact that he didn't.

"What kind?" The blond man asked as he pulled out a chair and took a seat.

Danielle began to unwrap the sandwiches, handing one of them over to Tommy before unwrapping her own. "It's just a simple chicken sandwich. Had some leftovers after I made some for Ellie so I made extra. I've been wanting to pay you a visit, the sandwich is just a good excuse."

"How's she doing?" Tommy asked of the brunette, curious as to how the young girl whom he considered like a niece was doing. He and Ellie had not really crossed each others paths since they returned back to Jackson.

   The two had simply gone their separate ways and had only spoken when absolutely necessary, as if neither could look at the other without feeling immense guilt. The last thing Danielle remembered Ellie saying to the Miller man was 'I'll make her pay.' The 'her' had obviously been Abby but in what world would Ellie be able to even find Abby much less make her pay?

"She's good." Her head lulled to the side, her gaze downcast at her fingers that pulled off small chunks of crust from her sandwich. "Well, she's as good as she can be."

"We're all still a little shook up."

   Danielle's gaze rose from the sandwich to the forlorn Tommy. The medic couldn't help but feel guilty. Here she was, happily in a relationship while Tommy was living in his deceased brothers home after his marriage began to fall apart.

"How you doing, Tommy?" She questioned, genuinely curious as to how he was coping with everything.

   "Some days are better than others." Tommy shrugged. He turned his head to glance around the room, taking in all of the little details that had been placed there by Joel. With a sniff, he muttered, "This house is strangely comforting. I miss him. He was my brother after all."

   "I'm so sorry for everything, Tommy." She earnestly spoke, struggling to keep her voice from wavering with emotion. "I wish there was something I could do."

   A look of pity flashed in Tommy's eyes. With zero hesitation, the man reached a hand forward to grip onto Danielle's. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here right now. In my eyes, you've never had to fix anything cause you ain't never done nothing wrong."

   He truly meant every single word that passed his lips. Danielle had been an innocent bystander, unable to do anything to save Joel without losing her life. She had worked hard and fought desperately to prove how sorry she was, for something that he had never even blamed her for.

If there was one thing that Danielle needed that Tommy would always been willing to provide, was the reassurance that she had done everything she possibly could have. No one could have saved Joel that day. Tommy knew that and he would try for the rest of his days, to make sure that Danielle knew that to.

   Her eyes began to water as tears began to force their way free but she quickly blinked them away, flashing Tommy a smile as he pulled his hands away and began to eat his sandwich.

"This is a really good sandwich, by the way." Tommy commented with a mouthful of bread and chicken, waving the sandwich about in the air. His words caused Danielle to let out a small laugh before she herself finally took a bite.

   The two sat in silence for the majority of their time together, both just enjoying each other's company. Tommy appreciated the way in which Danielle sought him out, not willing to let him wallow in despair all on his lonesome.

   For Danielle, the Miller man had become an almost father figure of sorts, having filled the role that had been left empty by her own father so many years prior. He was one of the first people to make her feel as though Joel's death hadn't been her fault, reassured her that 'there was nothing you could have done.'

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jamielee's thoughts.
chapter twenty two. not proofread. I really loved their little interaction in the first part. It's just so cute in my opinion. also a little tommy scene cause we all know what's coming soon :) what do we say to some longer smut next chapter?! anyway that's all I really have to say. hope you enjoyed :)