Maria

"What you should be worried about is what Maria's going to do to you when you get home." Jesse tilted his head to the side, glancing over at Tommy.<br><br>"We've been through worse." His voice low, almost as if he'd felt remorse for the words that slipped from the tip of his tongue. For years, all that he desired was to do right by his wife, but the world had a way of making sure that conflict was opposed to their happiness. Far too often, Tommy found himself wading through minacious waters, often putting Maria's feelings aside without a second thought. He didn't think about how his doltish decisions would affect her now that the pair were married; and sometimes it left him wondering if he deserved someone so benevolent. He asked himself if he'd actually deserved someone that found forgiveness on their heart for him time and time again, even when he took it for granted. Their love was tested with pain and adversity, but not once did she ever bend or break.<br><br>Staring down at the map in front of him as he listened to Ellie and Jesse discuss their plans to locate Abby. Shaking his head from side to side, Tommy allowed his mind to take a trip down memory lane, a chapter of on their lives that he desperately longed to go back in time and expunge from their past.<br><br>-----------------------------------------------<br><br>
<br><br>Two years prior to meeting Joel and Ellie.<br><br>Sunlight peered into the kitchen window, shining like burnished metal as Maria stood before the kitchen counter to prepare breakfast. Thick slices of bacon in which she'd coated in the sweetest maple brown sugar she could find, handcrafted biscuits lightly rubbed in freshly churned butter and Sunnyside up eggs. The aroma both sweet and piquant wafting through her nostrils, causing her mouth to water.<br><br> "Well, whatcha' got cookin' good lookin'?" A male's voice called out to her just before slinking his sturdy arms around her slender waist. Maria shook her head,chuckling faintly at her husband's failed attempt to greet her in the morning.<br><br> "Please...don't ever say that again, Tommy."<br><br>"What? Can't a man flirt with his own wife on peace?"<br><br>"You call that flirting? It's no wonder you didn't have much luck with women until you met me."<br><br>A round of laughter emitted from his being, his  masculine fingers caressing her protruding belly. His lips trailed across the side of her neck, as smooth as a gliding stream before she turned on the heels of her feet to face him. Oceanic hues scanned over his face, dancing like a solar mote around the atmosphere each time she saw him. From his gentle eyes down to his scruffy beard - Maria loved everything about this man.<br><br>"How's our little girl doing in there?" Tommy asked. His hands had now moved around to her lower back because of her movement, the pads of his fingers massaging the area. Maria draped her arms around his neck, the corners of her lips curling up into a gleaming smile. "She's been pretty active lately. It feels like she's taking kickboxing lessons in there." She giggled.<br><br>"Oh come on, darlin'. It can't be that bad."<br><br>"Oh yeah? Well why don't you carry the baby next time and let them play Mortal Kombat on your insides."<br><br>"I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but I don't have the right equipment for that." Tommy teased his wife. Slowly, his right hand traveled over to the countertop and he swiped a strip of bacon from the paper towel. For a moment, all that they could do was stand their and gaze into each other's eyes. The tips of Maria's slender digits caressing the nape of her husband's neck. She was proud. Proud to call him her husband and proud that she'd found her forever home within his heart. She felt like they were still in the honeymoon phase of things, but she wished that it would remain this way forever. A life filled with tranquility even though there was an outbreak weighing heavy on the world right now.<br><br>"You know, I've never loved anyone quite like I love you Mr. Miller."<br><br>"And there is no one that I've ever loved until you came along, Mrs. Miller. I can't wait to share that love with the little sweet pea growing inside of you."<br><br>
"Will you two please get a room?" Maria's father joked as he held his shotgun at his side. A full-throated chuckle reverberated against the walls, filling the vicinity with a resonant bass. "I don't mean to intrude, but we've got ourselves a family that need shelterin' and I figured I'd come check with the boss lady about it first."<br><br>"A family?" Maria asked, quickly pulling away from her husband's grasp.<br><br>
"Yes indeed, sweetheart. A woman and her mate. She's holding a baby that's all wrapped up. Seems to be a newborn if you ask me." Her father nodded his head.<br><br>"We'll let's see if there's something we can do to help those poor souls. Dad, make sure Mohammed and Danny are watching the gates. We still have to be cautious. Tommy, get your firearm and stand beside me, got it?"<br><br>"Yes ma'am."<br><br> After a period of time.<br><br>Maria stood before the gates, the cool breeze swaying her hair like a flower stalk in a gale. Maria's left hand was pressed against hip as Daniel slowly began to open the gates, revealing the travelers up front. They were dressed in rags, their hair unkept and feet bare - something that Maria would assume wildling stragglers would look like. Dirt smeared their faces, almost immediately tugging at her heart strings. She could only imagine what the poor child's hygiene was like.<br><br>"Are any of you infected?" Maria asked. She took a step closer to the family, her eyes meeting with the feral eyes of the woman whom held a bundled up blanket. Squinting her eyes, Maria tried to catch a glimpse of the child, but she couldn't see much of anything aside from the tattered blanket.<br><br>"We ain't infected! We're clean, I swear it! We're just so hungry and my baby...he's so cold." The woman responded.<br><br> "How old is your baby?" Maria narrowed her eyes.<br><br> "She's 5 months."<br><br>"He's 8 months."<br><br>The couple shouted two completely different answers in unison. Not only that, but one referred to the baby as he, the other as she. Maria knew that something wasn't right and it didn't take a rocket scientist to feed into their little game.<br><br>"I'm sorry, but we can't help you. We can spare some food for your travels, but we don't have a room to provide you with."<br><br>
"Maria, what are you doing? They have a baby for Christ sakes." Tommy chimed in. The look on his face was one of utter disbelief as he couldn't believe that his wife would send a family out onto the cold with a child. Considering the fact that they were about to become prebts themselves, he couldn't wrap his mind around how she didn't give it a second thought. What if someone had done this to them with their child?<br><br>"Baby, just trust me on this. Let them go their own way. There is no child with them. They couldn't even remember the age or gender of their child. No parent forgets that. "Maria snapped.<br><br>"I'm sorry, but I can't just watch them go back out into the cold and let their baby freeze to death. I'm not going to live with that on my conscience, Maria." Tommy marched up to the family, his hand extend to welcome the wildlings into their territory. Just as his eyes met with the woman, a sinister grin decorated her dry, cracked lips and she unraveled the blankets that that revealed a 9mm pistol.<br><br>If it hadn't been clear before, it was definitely as clear as day now. These people only wanted one thing - to raid the settlement. With her gun pointed towards Maria, the manic woman rushed at the mother to be, aiming the barrel of her gun towards her pregnant belly. Maria tried to move away, but it was too late.<br><br>B A N G!<br><br>
The sound of her gun was tumultuous and loud. Maria's hands gripped at her belly, blood erupted from separated skin as the hole was almost big enough for her to put her finger inside. She cried, collapsing to the ground as her father rushed to be at her side. Tommy was left speechless, his heart sinking as he watched his wife being picked up and carried away by her father.<br><br>"My God, what the fuck have I done. What the f u c k have I done..." Tommy raised his shotgun, pointing it directly towards the woman's head. Gunshots fired all around him, Daniel and the rest of the community lighting fire to the man that she came with and those that hid in the bushes. Not hesitating to pull the trigger, Tommy blasted her face clean off. Particles of her head spreading out in chunks - exploding like fireworks on the fourth of July.  However, her death wasn't enough. It would never be enough to make up for what he just allowed to happen to his wife and their unborn daughter. It would never be enough to make him forgive himself.<br><br>Tommy began to slip back into reality as he heard the sound of Ellie calling his name. His hues glancing up to the girl as he offered a soft, but reassuring smile.<br><br>"We've definitely been through worse."