hannahxinterrupted

[hannahxinterrupted]

She could only grin in agreement about his observation. If they'd met under such circumstances Hannah could imagine the walls Ashton would've erected around himself to keep her out. But that was human nature and Hannah would never hold it against someone. Therapy was deeply vulnerable. You were shining a light to the most uncomfortable parts of yourself and there was a near stranger bearing witness. She had been on both sides of that relationship. Hannah's own struggle with mental health in college had been her inspiration to join the field.

The soft flow of the Hudson had drawn Hannah out of the Wexley many times. She'd seen ducks floating across the water, an occasional gull hopping on the banks. There was so much life still living in this world and Hannah never wanted to take it for granted. Her heart was heavy for the loss of so many beautiful species ( humanity, possibly among them ). The world was lesser without Gds creations.

"I would've paid any price for her," Hannah agreed. Her feet moved carefully over broken rocks. Weeds reached from the brown dirt and she was glad to have worn her bell bottoms to protect her ankles from the chiggers. "I think..." She leans down to pull a handle of flowers from their stems. "it's about being seen."

To have someone see the ugly parts of you and not look away. To have proof that you are good & loved in spite of your flaws.

"You can base it on psychology or faith or both, like I have, but I think we're looking for a reflection of ourselves." She sighs slightly, thinking of her own marriage. "Roman and I didn't see each other. We ignored the bad parts." Pretended that they could change each other.

“Hmm, touché,” case in point that Ashton hadn’t met Hannah before all this either, or even all the residents in the building for all the years he lived there. Neither was he like one to seek out meeting new people, Ash had been more than comfortable with the circles he had in his life, small but full enough in his heart. “If I had to meet you as a therapist back then, I bet I’d be a terrible patient,” he scoffed, thinking back of his fill of quote unquote therapists he had been made to go to from the marines. It felt less about him than them trying to cover their asses.

He lead them along near the riverbank before they hit the Hudson, with nature now undisturbed, the city had never looked more vibrant with greenery. Taking a second to at least appreciate that poignant beauty surrounding them in a peace they’ve worked hard to clear out and hold strong. Still he laughed at the new piece of news he hadn’t known about Hannah being revealed today, “really?” Eyes widen with amusement as he silent shook his head for Hannah to continue. “A small gambling lost to pay for striking gold later with June,” he chuckled, he wasn’t much of a gambler himself, too much of a worrier to ever play big, but he guessed most couples married in Vegas would try their new found matrimonial luck from love.

Ash bent down to the flower patches carefully placing the basket on the ground as well for Hannah to populate it further with carefully plucked stems. Outside of the seemingly painful ending in that mentioned marriage though it at least seemed to quell into something respectful between the two, it was an innocent lighthearted conversation had him softly smiling in an absentminded thought out loud, “always wondered what’s it like to get married, and be married.” A fanciful daydream that Ash had never put in the forefront of his priorities in life before.

[hannahxinterrupted]

There had been many months spent wondering on different scenarios. The million little choices that could have resulted in Hannah being somewhere entirely different than trapped inside of the Wexley at the end of the world. In the end Hannah had come to peace that this was where she had been meant to be; that despite the horror & tragedy that had wracked the world, her family had endured as well as it could have. She had June and June had the world ( or what amounted to it, thanks to the found family she'd fallen into ). Hannah could ask for nothing more.

"There were lots of dancers trying to make it." And Aggie had been just coming into her own, still so young, so full of potential. Hannah had always joked that she would've been wonderful in a live action Barbie & The Nutcracker. "Just like there were lots of professors or therapists." Hannah teased. The fact that any of them had met before the infection was slim and yet the Wexley was full of those little connections. Aggie & Roman being the most notable for Hannah herself.

She heads in the direction Ash has indicated happy to see the petals matching the vision Hannah had had in her mind. There's a slight purple hue to the color but it's soft and Hannah can make it work. "Did you know I got married in Vegas?" Hannah is not the kind of person someone would picture eloping but considering the mentioned marriage was to Roman, maybe it made sense. "We went gambling right after. Lost eight hundred dollars." The money had felt so unimportant to them. They were young and in love and had a long future ahead of them. "We had a real wedding a few months after." Only one divorce though.

He quietened down to think of the daydream of another life, perhaps he'd be a hockey player, perhaps still a marine, perhaps nothing else would've changed except the end of the world didn't happen, perhaps he'd go on to NASA, perhaps he'd end up settling down in New York or back in Minnesota become a teacher himself. "Maybe so," he simply smiled back with melancholy laced between softly murmured words. He couldn't really imagining himself becoming a dad of his own but the sentiment of it was there. "Perhaps in another life, we'd still come together for this wedding from all our different walks of life." He stopped himself from sitting in the what ifs, knowing he'd drown in them if he let himself.

Ash hummed at the reasoning for the color scheme, something he didn't initially understand other than grumbling of needed a new suit to fit something blue, "hmm, I never knew." He probably would've grumbled a lot less if he knew. He hadn't been one to watch many of Aggie's performances, but even he had at least watch once or twice on the invitation of the other Turner sibling, though never properly meeting her until that faithful day at the blood spilled beach and then as they quarantined together. "I'm surprised Eric hadn't seen one of her shows before," or even let them cross paths in the Wexley considering they were only a few connections of people apart. Perhaps it was fate helping them only meet at the right time.

Ashton stood up with Hannah, carefully holding onto the basket with a corner of the space holding the baby's breath, "I think there had been some blue flowers closer to the water," he suggested with a point in a direction to the small patch of blue swaying in the wind, before he asked with a chuckle, leading the way, "do you think their non-apocalyptic wedding would've still been in Central Park?"

[hannahxinterrupted]

the expertise in which she dissected others' words had not yet abandoned her and it had been a welcome skill when making judgment calls of strangers. what did cain's words say about him? he'd spoken much with little and hannah could not help but to hold them to the light. righteousness and.. guilt? her smile faulters for a moment but returns slightly softer. she knows family is a dangerous subject but it has never stopped her from venturing there. "do you still pray for them?" there's sincerity in her question.

hannah turns her head into the fading sun so the lines of scarred skin can be seen against her face. it is not ugly. it is her--jagged and raw, a sliver that dances from her brow to the corner of her lip. it's only one of several from the attack that nearly took her life. "a man i thought i loved did this to me," she pauses to think of the months spent in a depressed haze after the hospital. "i didn't pray for him for a very long time." hannah had thought that by doing so she was admitting to her own guilt in the situation: painting herself as the reason it had occurred.

it was only when she'd been able to let go of that when hannah was able to find comfort in praying for the man who'd nearly killed her and her family.

Eyes blink back at her words, spine shrinking away. Shame causes his skin to lose blood beneath it. A milky pallor looks odd on a man whose skin used to bake beneath the sun all year long. There's nothing that she could know of the reason behind it, so much supports it that goes unsaid, only swirled around his temples, a haunting burden to bear. His brother's blood is tasted against his tongue as if he's back in that small frame again, looking down at the grain dyeing red.

"Our home had its back turned to the Lord long before me," he mutters, pained by sins that have all funneled onto him, beginning with parents who shunned their giver, pushed Him out of their lives and tried to keep Him from their children's. A moment passes, drawing his bare feet closer to the rest of his body, the tall grass winding down beneath his soles. "The betrayal was theirs to learn by."

"Your name is a much kinder gift."

[hannahxinterrupted]

There's a sad smile at a memory of another family portrait she'd done. Maisie and Linds, happy and safe all that time ago at Tobias Wexley's birthday party. In many ways that night had marked the end of a chapter within the community and the start to a terrible new one. Sada's takeover, the months of duress spent walking on eggshells in fear of the group's new leader. It had all accumulated in a loss of life so great Hannah had finally lost herself to the spiral she'd been fighting against for months. Through of series of self destructive events her tumultuous relationship with Butcher had started. Somewhere along the way they both decided to get their shit together and start acting like adults again.

"Maybe in another life you'd recognize the smell." A life where the world had been kinder to them all. Where Ashton had found someone to love and marry and have a baby of his own to rock to sleep at night, filing his nose with the smell of sour milk. She's not sure if this beautiful life would have Jeremiah Rose in it or if the man simply wasn't capable of that sort of loyalty even in this imagined scenario.

She nods both to his comparison of stars and question about matching colors. "Soft blues and whites. It was the color of her costume in her first big show." The painting Hannah had done of it had paid off the mortgage on her parent's home. She continued to pull the flowers until the patch was empty. Hannah stood and wiped her palms against her jeans.

"I like to think that even without the outbreak happening Eric and Aggie would've ended up together." It wasn't exactly impossible considering their respective careers, social circles, proximity to the Wexley. "He would've seen one of her shows and fallen madly in love with her."

In a world with so little left to give, Hannah's kindness will always be admirable. Though by now, Ash is also aware of the tendency of pouring from an empty cup. He could only give back to fill it back up, for everything she's done for him. "I'm sure everyone's gonna love the flowers," a kindness that will be known to everyone. It's been awhile since the feeling if community was pulled back together to prepare for the wedding. As overwhelming as it was to figure it all out, the end was in sight, and it seemed as beautiful as they hoped for it to be.

Ash knelt down together with Hannah, he slung off his bag to pull out a basket they brought along as she looked over the first patch of flowers they found. He flashed back a smile at the simple idea that perhaps shone of brilliance in its simplicity, chuckling at the joke of taking full credit, "please do, I don't have the talent to make use of the idea anyways." He had been (stressfully) working on his own gift instead. Ash gently placed the basket on his lap for her to begin picking at flowers, "I only thought of it because I still see them everyday on my fridge."

He quietened down as he simply watched her pick flowers, mostly afraid to help in case he ruins the flowers, there wasn't exactly a huge supply of them. "Really?" Ash never really knew there was even a smell to baby's breath, "they don't smell like much to me." Tilting his head as he silently inhaled too, maybe it just wasn't a smell that seemed bad, or perhaps he's smelt worse. Like the undead for one, these suddenly feel like a fresh earthy scented candle. "They really are beautiful though, ..like a little cluster of stars." He glanced towards the whole patch of them, imagining them as dotted glows in the sky, "they'll match blues well, right?"

[hannahxinterrupted]

MERYL STREEP as SUZANNE VALE POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE (1990) dir. Mike Nichols

[hannahxinterrupted]

(c)

[hannahxinterrupted]

[hannahxinterrupted]

@cainxboseman

hannah believed in faith. hers may have taken the form of the torah and the connection between gd and the jewish people, but hannah appreciated faith in all its forms ( as long as it wasn't being used to oppress others ). she'd been so looking forward to having a conversation with the southern spiritualist upon his release from quarantine but having such a discussion while grieving her dear lady seemed unwise. she wanted to be strong in her faith but she was human and hurting and hannah was doing everything she could to not hold this loss against that higher power.

so why did she approach that familiar tall figure who sat across from the animal pasture, his hypnotic gaze watching a family of sheep graze in the field?

she smiled politely as she stood in front of him, hands tucked into the back pocket of her jeans because what else was she to do with them. "is cain your real name?" hannah is curious, hopefully polite, in her question. "out of all the names from the bible i didn't figure that one was very popular"

[hannahxinterrupted]

Hannah was used to a defensive attitude. Sometimes she was met with outright hostility. There'd been more than one occasion where she'd feared for her life doing these little check-ins with new and old survivors alike. But she wouldn't stop doing it. She was a helper.

She smiled at Blake's question unable to hide her small amusement at the truth she was telling. "There's an exception to every rule around here." It seemed like a testament to their humanity, the fallibility. Proof that despite their best efforts at putting this community together there was always the chance they'd mess up.

"I'm not one of the doctors or anyone from the council. I don't draw blood and I'm not here to pass judgement on your morality." Hannah tried to offer an explanation for her presence. There was a pause between them as she climbed into one of the dining room's bar stools. "I'm just here to be here. If you need anything." Most people didn't want to talk to her right away and some never warmed up to her and made their disapproval of her presence clear.

But she always stayed. Just in case.

The blonde started out the window was the woman, apparently named Hannah spoke. If they were gonna lock her up like an animal? At least there was a window. Blake looked down on the street below. The people bustling and preparing for an event. A wedding of all things. Like the civilization wasn’t hanging on my a thread. Like the world hadn’t already ended.

Hazel eye drifted from the members of the “community”, back to whoever the fuck this was. Blake hasn’t been too keen on catching names, seeing as she wasn’t so sure on how long she was planning stay. It was always the same. Sooner or later, they all fell. Whether it was raiders, rival groups, or heard coming through. The only thing that ever stayed the same was her inability to die it seemed. “My neck is fine”, she lied. There was a purple necklace that adorned her olive skin, one she had to resist the urge to touch. “I thought I was supposed to be quarantined anyway, is there a reason I’m not here in solitude?”

[hannahxinterrupted]

She shook her head at his assumption, moments later her fingers curling the fallen strands right back behind her ear. "The flowers were just a kindness." This was no where near the fairytale wedding Hannah knew Aggie had dreamed of but Aggie's friends had done their best to bridge the gap. Charlie, Rosie, Aspen, Emily, and Hannah had done the majority of the work putting together hand made decorations and stealing away what little supplies they could justify to use for the celebration. All of that work had been easy for Hannah to write off as the least she could offer. "I want to give them something to put in their home. For their new beginning." It was sentimental of her of course.

Hannah kneeled into the dirt without care for the added stains to her dirty jeans. Her hand ran over the colorful petals of the wildflowers, many of which would be considered weeds by actual gardeners. Hannah thought every flower was beautiful in its uniqueness. It was hard to have a favorite when they were all reminders of Gds grace. She looked up at him with sudden excitement in her eyes at his suggestion. "Ash! That's a great idea." The fact she hadn't thought of it sooner was a testament to how long it had been since Hannah had drawn and the realization made her slightly guilty. A reminder that she hadn't been taking very good care of herself lately. Slipping into old habits. "I'm stealing it and taking credit." Hannah joked.

She returned her attention to the ground and began plucking handfuls of white flowers. She lifted a fistful up to her face and took a wistful inhale. "Baby's breath. Most people hate the smell." Because it was said to smell like sour milk. And Hannah agreed that it did; but the scent always conjured memories of baby June milk drunk and spitting up onto Hannah. How could she not cherish that? "But it makes a beautiful addition to an arrangement."

"Aw, you don't have to butter me up, I'm already helping you here," Ash chuckled with a joke, a slightly discomfort in the form of rubbing the back of his neck, compliments weren't really his forte, receiving them even more so. "Yeah, you're right. At least they had fun picking out and tailoring the suit too." The joy on Ember's face was hard to match, especially having once seen her so low before. It stopped Ash from grumbling too much about the whole thing.

A soft hummed grew as they made their way into the grassy patches by the park, feet moving from concrete to soil, quiet day, a very good thing for them. "You mean the flowers aren't your gift?" Ash asked innocently, he didn't exactly know his gift etiquette, but he thought the flowers and bouquet sounded like a good gift. He did know what she meant by distraction though, the news of Lady couldn't be easy, but Ash tried to do the right thing to the best of his abilities for Hannah, and for Lady.

He thought for a little while before giving a suggestion once they got to a small patch where a few hardy wildflowers grew, bending down and gesturing Hannah to check the flowers, "I think a portrait sketch almost like a wedding photoshoot could be perfect for them." Hannah had talents not many did, his heart warmed knowing the photos she redrew still hung carefully on his wall, surely they'd love to have the opportunity to have some kind of wedding photo.

[hannahxinterrupted]

End.

She did not flinch at his unexpected touch, a practiced skill. He was gentle just as she expected and Hannah's wobbly lip turned upward into an expression of comfort. They would hold this pain together. She let out a small laugh at his compliment and squeezed his hand in return. "I think some things can't be taught. I think it's just inside of us." And Ashton had it inside of him, she knew, perhaps all he needed was to be reminded of that.

Hannah retracted into her own space as Ashton tried to shift in the bed. She didn't want to touch him for fear of making his pain worse but it was difficult to stand and watch his attempt. A flood of relief washed through her as he eased back into the bed, apparently resigned to sleeping there for the night. "I'll take a look," She assured him. Her composure had returned but she held her hands together in front of her, running fingers over the rings on her opposite hand. She was fidgety. Maybe not before the accident, but certainly after. Hannah always needed something to do with her hands.

"If you need us, just call." She assured him quietly. Hannah doubted she would sleep much tonight. Between keeping an eye on Ashton and not wanting to risk a night terror scaring the Hell out of him, it would just be better for her to stay awake.

"..I'm going to move some stuff in front of the door. So if you hear a ruckus in the next few minutes don't worry too much about it." She was unsure if anyone would come for him in the night ( or if this would stop them if they did ) but the gesture would hopefully provide them both some needed comfort.

[hannahxinterrupted]

She did not flinch at his unexpected touch, a practiced skill. He was gentle just as she expected and Hannah's wobbly lip turned upward into an expression of comfort. They would hold this pain together. She let out a small laugh at his compliment and squeezed his hand in return. "I think some things can't be taught. I think it's just inside of us." And Ashton had it inside of him, she knew, perhaps all he needed was to be reminded of that.

Hannah retracted into her own space as Ashton tried to shift in the bed. She didn't want to touch him for fear of making his pain worse but it was difficult to stand and watch his attempt. A flood of relief washed through her as he eased back into the bed, apparently resigned to sleeping there for the night. "I'll take a look," She assured him. Her composure had returned but she held her hands together in front of her, running fingers over the rings on her opposite hand. She was fidgety. Maybe not before the accident, but certainly after. Hannah always needed something to do with her hands.

"If you need us, just call." She assured him quietly. Hannah doubted she would sleep much tonight. Between keeping an eye on Ashton and not wanting to risk a night terror scaring the Hell out of him, it would just be better for her to stay awake.

"..I'm going to move some stuff in front of the door. So if you hear a ruckus in the next few minutes don't worry too much about it." She was unsure if anyone would come for him in the night ( or if this would stop them if they did ) but the gesture would hopefully provide them both some needed comfort.

Her simple agreement to his offer to help was enough for Ashton, as silly as it sounded, knowing he could be of use to Hannah eased some anxieties, as long as he can do something again, be useful again, made him feel better already. It was enough to convince him that he wasn't broken and tosses aside yet. With a single word, he nodded to it, as if a promise made.

He didn't intend on making Hannah cry much less in tandem with his own tears, and perhaps that gut feeling of her hurting showed itself, perhaps in the tears, in the way she avoided talking about June. Or anyone else. Seemed like the kind gesture was done just as much for the both of them, and that Ashton would understand. That need to do something. His hand that still hung by the bed edge even with Lady long gone to sit by Hannah. Silently, he did his best to reach out and gently wiped away the tears that spilt together with him and they ended up as a soft hold of her hand. Squeezing lightly, sharing the same silence and pain, that she wasn't alone at least. "You're so talented," Ash chuckled over the overwhelming feeling of gratefulness to downplay his own tears, one more squeeze for them both, "you'll hafta teach me one day." Ash had no affinity with the arts at all but it was a nice sentiment.. could be something to look forward to, could be empty goals if the future never came.

Ashton nodded the moment he understood Hannah's sweet gesture, "of course- I um.. no you should take the bed- I can.." Ashton tried to push himself up but his felt the sharp twinge in his ribs at the sudden movement to sit up. He was usually a better host than this. He dropped back down to the bed as the pain persisted. Hannah probably wouldn't take it either even if he offered. "..there's extra pillows and blankets at the top shelf of the wardrobe. -or, there should be, I don't know what else they..." he trailed off, of a disaster to his apartment he never even saw, letting people have to clean up for him.

"I'm-.." fine. He wanted to instinctively say as he always would, he had to be fine. Anything less would be a burden. But he felt like there wasn't a wall that he could build that Hannah couldn't see through. "..I'm scared, of being alone tonight," Ashton quietly admitted with a crack in his voice, crumbling into a vulnerability he isn't used to vocalizing. He was scared, of his own mind, his own thoughts his own actions if left alone to his own devices, without chains holding him back this time.

[hannahxinterrupted]

There was some line from a Shrek movie playing in her head but she couldn't quite remember all the words. Just that animated Donkey running through the forest looking for a particular flower, June giggling at the screen as she sat between Hannah and Roman. June had still been living with Hannah's parents and Hannah and Roman were far from ready to bring her home. They barely spoke to each other at that point and thankfully little June was oblivious to how Hannah distanced herself from Roman as they watched the movie.

"Your eyes are lovely Ash." She assured him, playfully nudging his arm. It would've been a shoulder nudge if she could reach. "I think we're all just looking forward to a distraction.." In a way it was good for them to have something so trivial to complain about. Something that wasn't a matter of life or death. "I can't stop worrying about what to get them for wedding present." It was a good worry to have, she figured.

Better than worries about June or Lady or Roman or any of the other people they had come to love and care for in the township.

Some of the flowers she listed, he wasn't quite too familiar with, once they were in the clearing with not a chomper in sight, he hummed with a light scrunch of his brows trying to envision the flowers she mentioned as they walked. Eh, that's why Hannah is here, to pick the right ones out. He chuckled once she clarified and at least got a color imagery in mind now, "okay, look out for blue flowers, got it." Flora was not his specialty at all, flowers received in his experience had always been due to bad things, flowers at his hospital bed side, flowers at funerals, flowers on a grave. He never really thought about flowers in a joyous occasion much. But guess for a wedding, flowers can bring joy too. But he'll leave it up to the experts, he's just here to escort and be an extra pair of hands to carefully carry them back.

He lightly sighed in jest as the made their way across the street, "I tried to convince them that my eyes were the blue enough for the occasion." It was a funny conversation with Aggie, one time she put her foot down as she deserved to get her way as the bride. "Not blue enough I guess. Ugh, doesn't feel right wearing someone else's suit." Even more so Mr Wexley's, even if Ember was the one to give it to him and they even tailored it down to his size for the occasion being just a shade too big, now already hanging in his room awaiting the day.

[hannahxinterrupted]

[hannahxinterrupted]

@cnehitwcnder quarantine suite // blake's arrival

the past several months had brought unprecedented stability in the community and as a result hannah was feeling much more stable herself. june illness had calmed long ago, charlie delivered a healthy baby boy. the raiders more or less left the town alone. on the really good days, hannah could almost convince herself things would stay this way forever. that losing her parents and sister and so many others along the way would be the end of her grief.

but for others, the good days were still far from close. the woman brought in earlier by the scouts had apparently been in the middle of attempting to end her life when she'd lashed out upon their arrival. now that the situation had been more or less handled and things were calmer, the question of blake's mental health persisted.

"i'm hannah," she smiled softly, stepping into the room they'd given blake. "and this is lady." her chocalate lab, now older and in her senior years. "how's your neck?" the question was two-fold. she wanted to know how blake was feeling while also making it clear hannah knew the details of how she was found.

[hannahxinterrupted]

“In a world where each man must be of use

and each thing useful, the rebellious Jews

light not one light but eight—

not to see by but to look at.”

— Notes on the Spring Holidays ["Hanukkah"], by Charles Reznikoff

[hannahxinterrupted]

It was heroic. She wished he could see it as that. Not that it would make his suffering any easier to swallow. Her head bobs softly at his offering of help and yes she knows he would do something if she asked and maybe one day soon she would. But not today. "Okay." Hannah speaks as if her words seal the deal. Call and he will come.

She'd never been a sympathetic crier. It was a valuable skill in her career, the ability to absorb someone's pain and hurt and hate for the world without making it about her. But Hannah is tired. Her daughter is sick and Roman is likely infected and Hannah has no one to hold her. So she doesn't fight the tears that flutter from her eyelid. "I did have to." Because there was going to be good in this world even if she had to be the one who put it there. "And you look just as handsome as you did in the originals."

Hannah patted the side of Ashton's bed as she stood up and wiped her cheek with her other hand. "I was going to.. um," It sounds wrong now that she's about to say her plan out loud but she's made it this far and seeing Ashton look so broken in his bed assured her it was the right choice. "I brought a bag... I was going to sleep on your couch." Maybe it should've been someone else and Hannah knew that Ruth would be here if she could've gotten away from Sada's busywork.

Maybe Sada had kept Ruth busy tonight for exactly that reason. What an awful woman.. "I couldn't imagine you wanting to be alone tonight."

A chuckle rumbled at the back of his throat, managing a weak smile to Lady as she returned the actions of affection, it's a wonder how much such simple gestures can do. He continued to pet her and give her scratches under her chin, till his arm ran out of energy.

He listened attentively to Hannah's reply, closing his eyes as a soft smile grew with her words. "That's too kind of you, you make it sound almost heroic," Ash would've laughed if he could, but he made do with an exhale of a breath. In reality it felt like nothing worthy of the perspective Hannah beautifully phrased it, a shameful and pitiful cautionary tale for others at best - locked up for speaking out against her. Or for simply loving someone. Or both. "But thanks, now we can keep our stories straight for June." Can't break that immersion now, can they?

It didn't slip by Ashton that Hannah never answered his question, reading into the silence as something to worry about and so he simply left it at that with a simple offer, as useless as it was right now, "if you need anything, let me know." As if he could do anything in his state, but for June, he'd do what he can, even if he was 10 feet in the ground. He left it at that thought, never prying anymore unless Hannah wanted to share.

"The ones on the fridge.." things were still hazy on what happened to his apartment. Aggie did her best to explain but it was hard to comprehend or rather, accept. He felt violated enough and the addition to his home also violated felt like it was just an additional kicker. But the fact that he didn't come home to the mess, that people cared enough about him to help him put things back together so that he'd never see the mess meant to break his spirit further, had silent hot tears well up and spill over as Hannah explained. "..thank you. You didn't-- have to."

Same with the photos Aggie saved and gave him yesterday, he wasn't sure if he could face them yet, or if they were exactly what he needed to hold on. "Hope you made me look prettier," still, Ash found the strength to joke through the tears and appreciation, if anything to break to overwhelming flood of emotions.