[mia-watson-blog]

grimaldianthony:

“Do you think people would volunteer to go out there and risk their lives for this?”

“They volunteer for those supply runs so I don’t see why not.”

[mia-watson-blog]

grimaldianthony:

“Do you ever wonder if there are other towns out there, surviving like us? Because if there are, what we really need to do is find a way to connect with them. We’d be stronger together.”

“We need scouts.”

[lucas-watson]

Homecoming || Mia & Lucas

[mia-watson-blog]

lucas-watson:

When Mia agreed to let him stay, it was something Lucas was grateful for. Of course he had his own place in Pleasant Town but it sat vacant more often than it was used. If something were to go wrong, Lucas knew he wouldn’t be able to get to his sister’s apartment in time. He knew he would feel far more comfortable camping out on her couch–closer to the door than her–than he would in his own bed.

“Thanks, Mia.” Lucas said with a smile. “After all this has happened, I feel better sticking together.” It was true. He watched as she pulled the water from the fridge, grateful for it. It wasn’t entirely a surprise that it was warm, but Lucas’ brow furrowed slightly as he had the first taste. “No power set up for the town?”

Mia nodded, looking up at him as he spoke. She knew that if Lucas was spooked by the things he’d seen out there that it must really be as bad as they said. It made her feel a little sick to her stomach, reality setting in again.

“Not for most of us. A few people have their own generators I guess.” She shrugged, leaning against the counter. “I really, really miss air conditioning.” She said with a half-hearted smile.

[lucas-watson]

Homecoming || Mia & Lucas

[mia-watson-blog]

lucas-watson:

“Stop complaining, Mia,” Lucas joked, his voice muffled in the hug. It was good to be back, more than he would like to admit. To be able to breathe again. There was a sort of tension in Pleasant Town that had dropped when Lucas had started working for the mayor. It was easier that way for now. It meant breathing room. It meant being able to keep his weapon. And it meant that he could keep an eye on Mia and make sure she was safe.

“I’m glad too. Real glad.” Lucas agreed with a smile. Usually he’d be the rude big brother to point it out and tease a bit, but this was different. There were a lot of times that Lucas could have come home in a box or not have come home at all but this was something different all together. There’d been a moment where he wasn’t sure about Mia either. Where anything could have happened. He nodded when she asked if he wanted something to drink. “I haven’t had anything decent in a long while.” He followed her to the kitchen, pausing at the counter and leaning back against it. “Hey, Mia, would it be fine with you if I just stay with you here?”

Mia walked around her kitchen, getting a glass and then opening the dead refrigerator to fish some bottled water from the shelf. She twisted off the cap, turning and pouring it into the glass. She looked up at his question, not replying right away. At the moment it sounded nice to have him so close and there with her, especially after she’d been worried that she might not even see him ever again. On the other hand, her apartment was tiny and she was worried that it would negatively affect their relationship to live in such a cramped space together. There wasn’t any harm in letting him stay for now though- they could always revisit it when they started losing their minds.

“Yeah, of course. I’d like that.” She nodded, pushing the glass of water towards him. “I’d definitely feel safer knowing you’re here.”

[mia-watson-blog]

[lucas-watson]

Homecoming || Mia & Lucas

[mia-watson-blog]

lucas-watson:

There wasn’t a lot that could cause Lucas to have a rush of emotions, but the door opening and his sister coming out was one of them. A wave of relief crashed over him and he pulled her in as she stepped forward to hug him. She was alive and that was what mattered. God, it felt good to know she was alive. Mia ended the hug a little too quickly for him, moving to pull him inside and he followed the tugging on his sleeve, shutting and locking be door behind him as he went. He pulled her into another hug, holding her a little tighter than she probably enjoyed but the real was of it all was still settling.

When Lucas pulled back he shook his head and went into telling her just how he got back to Pleasant Town. “It’s bad out there, Mia. I’ve been through some stuff and this is something different. Whole cities down. My team fell apart so we cut our losses and went our separate ways.” Almost without even taking a breath, Lucas was continuing with a, “are you living here alone?” He had his own place for when he was in Pleasant Town but with everything going on he didn’t feel comfortable staying there if Mia was alone in her place. If anything were to happen he wanted to be there.

“It looks like the mayor’s got this place pretty locked down on the inside. He or his men aren’t giving you trouble or anything are they?” That was something Lucas needed to know. There was already so much going on outside that he didn’t want to worry about things happening inside. The fresh M mark on his arm still burned and felt far more dangerous than a lot of things inside the town. He wasn’t certain how his little sister would take his allegiance but it wasn’t something Lucas let himself worry about at the moment.

“Jesus, Lucas.” Mia laughed as he pulled her into a crushing hug. She didn’t really mind, hugging him back. It was such a relief to have him here and know that he was alright. She looked up at him with a concerned look as he talked about how things were on the outside, chewing her lip nervously as she wondered how long the walls would keep it all out.

“Nobody has bothered me. I’m fine.” She assured him, forcing a small smile. She hadn’t noticed the fresh brand on his arm, oblivious that he had struck a deal with the mayor. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad you made it here.” She nodded, her throat tightening a little as she fought off the tears that were burning at the backs of her eyes. She hated crying in front of anyone, but especially in front of Lucas. She turned away and started towards the kitchen, anxious for a distraction. “You want something to drink?” She asked.

[lucas-watson]

Homecoming || Mia & Lucas

When Lucas had first arrived to Pleasant Town, he knew that he was coming home to either good or bad news. There was nothing in between. The gray areas of survival had been cut down when everything fell apart. Either he was coming back home and his sister would be there or she wouldn’t. Lucas had lost a lot of people, it came with the territory. But the one thing that he wanted to keep untouched was family. Especially his little sister. Even then he knew the odds. When the infection spread and Lucas was called back to the States, he had a duty. He always had a duty and family fell after that. It would have been a lie to say that he didn’t simply think of dropping his responsibilities and heading for Virginia again. Things just didn’t work out that way.

Instead it was only when things fell apart for more than the country’s citizens that Lucas did what his teammates did, and went on his way. It had been a relief to see that Pleasant Town had some sort of sensible response. Sectioning themselves off from potential exposure was necessary. However when he entered the town and was promptly expected to succumb to a strip search and be removed from his weapons and gear, Lucas refused. There was no doubt that he could handle himself without them, but handing over a SEAL’s set of gear to a shoddily militarized force was not what Lucas was going to allow to happen. He reminded himself that Mia was either behind those walls or she wasn’t. The answer wouldn’t change with time. Pleasant Town wasn’t letting anyone leave.

That thought changed when he found out that there had been a break in to the town. Those holding him were called out and he was left alone in holding. If something happened to Mia and he could have been there to stop it, Lucas wasn’t certain he could live with himself. Holding onto all the gear wasn’t an option anymore and Lucas offer his services in order to keep a gun. His first stop was Mia’s home. Instinctively he looked over the front of it as he came up. It didn’t look broken into or run down like it had been abandoned. Lucas quickly rapped on the door. “Mia?” He knocked again, “Mia!”

[mia-watson-blog]

Mia was holed up in her home, waiting out the chaos. Things had been a mess and she was just hoping to survive another week, doing her best to keep calm regardless of what happened at this point.

She jumped as she heard a loud knock at her door, immediately fearing the worst. She started to look for something- anything that she could use as a weapon. Her search was interrupted by a familiar voice calling her name, her eyes widening in surprise as she quickly hurried towards the door.

“Lucas?” She asked incredulously as she opened the door just enough to try and see out. She saw him there and let the door fall open, her forehead knitting in surprise and confusion. “How...?” Her words failed her as she stepped forward to hug him, quickly pulling away after a moment and grabbing his sleeve to drag him inside where it felt safer.

[gemma-north-deactivated20150810]

“You think there’s other towns out there like us? Or are they all dead?”

[mia-watson-blog]

“I’m sure there are others. There’s no way we’re the only ones who have figured out how to scrape by. We’re not even well equipped or particularly good at it.”

[rooomusic]

[grimaldianthony-deactivated2015]

Anthony blushed a little. “Well, if I ever run for office, I think I’ll hire you as my campaign manager,” he teased back. “Now that we know for sure I’ve got the senior citizen vote locked down, you can help me find a way to be cool and get the twentysomethings to vote for me.”

[mia-watson-blog]

“You got it, doc.”

[grimaldianthony-deactivated2015]

“I guess you’re right. It’s not really different from wrestling or boxing. I still don’t like it though.” Anthony knew he was being a brat about it, but he couldn’t help it. The last thing he wanted was people getting hurt. Still, Mia had a point. People had always been fighting for sport. The end of the world didn’t change that. “But maybe it’s better that people have the chance to let off a little steam, so long as there’s someone making sure that people aren’t killing one another.”

He chuckled at her words. “Yeah, that’s about all I’d have to campaign on. The respectability angle might make up for the self-righteousness.” He laughed again. “I think my chance at being a politician has passed though. It’s not like the mayor’s going to let us have any more elections. Not unless they’re rigged in his favor.”

[mia-watson-blog]

“Your respectability and your looks. That’d have to help. A handsome doctor running for office? You’d have all of the grandmother votes.” Mia teased, refusing to get stuck on the topic of the mayor’s dictatorship again. It was too depressing and Anthony was clearly hung up on it like most everyone else in Pleasant Town.

[grimaldianthony-deactivated2015]

Anthony pressed his lips into a thin, angry line. “The mayor has to know. He’s got ears everywhere, there’s no way he hasn’t heard by now.” He sighed. “So either he helped set it up or he heard about it and he just doesn’t care that people are going to start beating each other up over a few supplies. Shows the kind of man he is.”

He lowered his voice, as if he was somehow nervous that someone might overhear him. “How the hell did we not know how twisted he was when we elected him? It can’t have been the end of the world that made him like this. He had to have always been this twisted, and was just waiting for the right time to show it.”

[mia-watson-blog]

“People have been fighting for sport since forever. It’s an age-old form of human entertainment. As much as we like to think that we’re so evolved there’s more animal left in us than most of us like to admit.” Mia liked Anthony but he seemed kind of lost in his good doctor world sometimes. People weren’t better than beating each other up for sport and supplies. Mia worked with animals professionally and she saw more gentleness in her patients than she did in the people around her on a daily basis.

“Politicians are all liars. The ones who get elected are anyway.” She sighed, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear. “Maybe you should’ve run for office. You’re probably too genuine to have won but I can see small-town folks going for the whole respectable doctor thing.”

[mia-watson-blog]

Disco/very || Mia & Jessa

[evieavina]

“We’re more qualified than most,” Jessa insisted. “At least we’ll know what we’re talking about, even if they have to teach us some stuff.” She thought about how Anthony had offered to have her shadow; it seemed that they needed help that they didn’t have. Working as a doctor had always been her dream, and she now actually had the chance to become one. “Maybe not right now, but eventually. When they have less staff and need more help. That time will come,” she sat next to Mia. “Why are you worried about them being weird about us being there? I’m sure they’ll be happy to have our help, especially if they really need it.” 

[mia-watson-blog]

“True, yeah.” Mia nodded with a half-hearted smile, unwilling to try and dampen Jessa’s enthusiasm any more. Jessa was adorable and if she wanted to daydream about being recognized as a legit doctor who was Mia to crush her? 

Her smile faded as Jessa questioned her concerns, uncomfortable even thinking about expressing her insecurities. “I don’t know. It’s just like... I feel like they’ll think we’re beneath them or something.” She shrugged.

[grimaldianthony-deactivated2015]

Anthony sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets angrily. “There’s an arena,” he growled. “People are going to go there and fight over supplies. It’s barbaric. Just because the world’s gone to shit doesn’t mean we have to turn on each other.”

He shook his head. “And people are gonna get hurt. Badly. And that’s not right. We shouldn’t be reduced to fighting each other over scraps.”

[mia-watson-blog]

The arena was news to Mia, though she couldn’t say she was exactly surprised. A lot of the gentle people in town had died off already so the brute population seemed to be increasing.

“I don’t think it’s so much people turning on each other. It’s not like we didn’t have people fighting for money before all of this.” She had to agree with him about people getting hurt, though. It was a needless risk in a time when medical treatment wasn’t always easy to come by.

“You’re right though. It’s a waste. We really ought to be focusing on producing more of our own supplies within the town. People are sheep, though. I’d be surprised if the mayor isn’t involved in this somehow.”

[mia-watson-blog]

Disco/very || Mia & Jessa

[evieavina]

“Neither do I,” Jessa frowned. She tried not to think about the consequences of her actions too much. For the months that the two of them had been doing this, they had to hope that no one heard about what they were doing. Word was spreading around quickly through Shady Grove, and even some of Greenwillow, however, and the two of them had to be more careful than ever. 

“If it wasn’t for the animals and the people, I’d try to work at the hospital,” Jessa admitted. “Sometimes it’s too much to handle.” For months she had been debating it. Working at the hospital would ensure that she’d be safer, especially if she could assist people. However, it would stop everything that she had been able to do in the clinic, for both the animals they still treated and the people they helped. 

[mia-watson-blog]

“You think they’d let us? I mean, we’re not really qualified... We’re better than nothing but the hospital is still pretty well staffed except during the emergency situations. I feel like even if they let us work there the other staff might be kind of weird about us being there.” Mia pulled herself up to sit on the counter, insecure about the idea of being looked down on by actual medical staff. Mia had chickened out of even becoming an actual veterinarian.

[mia-watson-blog]

Disco/very || Mia & Jessa

[evieavina]

As soon as he relaxed, Jessa assisted Mia in checking the man’s body for any sign of a bite. Jessa hated when they came in with bites; there was nothing either of them could do for them at that point. “I don’t see anything,” she commented, finishing up her examination of his side, “But you never know.” She nodded, jumping into action with Mia. For her entire life, all Jessa wanted to do was be a doctor. Now, she was somehow living her dream, in the back of an animal clinic with no medical license. 

Jessa had never been one to crack under pressure, and when she was working she made no exception. As much as she hated it, playing doctor in the apocalypse was the most fun she ever had, even though it was also the most dangerous thing she’d ever done. “I know what you mean,” Jessa replied, straightening the tools on the table. That always helped her to clear her mind. “I think it’s worth it, though.” 

[mia-watson-blog]

Mia kind of liked playing doctor too. She’d never been particularly ambitious in her professional life but it was nice to feel important for once and the service they offered to these poor souls was invaluable. 

“Yeah, I hope so. I just don’t want to end up getting beaten up in the town square.” She sighed, drying her hands on a clean towel. She was honestly pretty scared of what would happen to them if the mayor found out what they were up to here. Mia didn’t mind helping but she wasn’t really keen on risking her neck for strangers.

[mia-watson-blog]

Disco/very || Mia & Jessa

[evieavina]

As Mia walked to the door to let the man in, she raced to the side yard, ushering all of the dogs inside. She shut them into the playroom, locking the side door before darting into the back room. They kept it clean and ready for emergencies for this, but she still had to turn on the lights and unlock the cabinets.

When Mia came in with the man, Jessa helped her lower him into the chair. She nodded at her request, grabbing a syringe as she opened one of the cabinets, grabbing a mild sedative out of it. Jessa took some of it with a syringe, walking over to where the man was writhing in the chair. He would be much better off at the hospital, with an IV and a drip, but the very fact that he wasn’t allowed inside was why Mia and Jessa, a couple not quite vets, did this.

“Hold him down,” Jessa instructed as she wiped the side of his arm before sticking the needle in it. After a moment, he relaxed and she let the needle go, pressing the cloth into his arm to stop the bleeding. “I gave him 30mg of Acepromazine,” she looked up at Mia. Using the drugs meant for animals on people had been something they were skeptical of at first, but as time went on, they had realized it was their only option. “How bad is it?” 

[mia-watson-blog]

Mia nodded and held the man down as best she could, restraining him long enough for Jessa to inject him with the sedative. It was easier to work once that kicked in, allowing them to patch the man up and check him for bite marks or any zombie-related injuries that they would have to worry about. “Bad enough... but as long as he isn’t bitten I think we can handle it.” She replied.

It wasn’t until the man was settled and resting comfortably (thanks to the drugs they had administered to him)  that Mia was able to relax. There was always a huge amount of stress that went into letting strangers in here for help, especially when they had no idea how much trouble they might get into if they were found out.

“Sometimes I think this is a really bad idea.” She sighed, looking over at Jessa as she washed up.