A/N: Some good ol’ @thetremorssaga fanfic for this one. Another square filled for @julybreakbingo ‘s Mini Bingo.
Burt would later wonder if the basement had been the wrong choice. Nancy had always been close with Heather, of course, and he did care for Kate and Rhonda but the losses taken had been a lot. Val had fallen first, then Earl crying out for Rhonda to look after Kate even as he fails to reach safety.
He had left, slowly, to fetch back what was left of Val and Earl, burying them carefully within his compound walls. He returned to chaos. Heather cradling Nancy who was whimpering just slightly, calming her as gently as possible. Kate, meanwhile, was silent, turning the ring Earl had given her around and around on her finger.
Rhonda, in the end, had lead Kate away to a quieter corner, speaking slowly, softly, gently and promising she would do all she could to keep Kate safe from now on. They would survive, mourn together and months later, choose to live together alone, asking Burt to help safeguard their home.