I paced around the chairs twice, sat down, counted to twenty, stood back up, and paced again. Sarah was bouncing her knee while she stared at the overhead television playing the news.
"Ellie, sit down," Tess said gently. She was rubbing Sarah's back comfortingly.
"Can't," I mumbled, walking past the chairs for the third time. Tess grabbed my shoulder.
"Listen to me. Joel and Tommy are going to be fine."
I stared at her. The brothers were on a plane, flying right past a bad storm, with nowhere to land. I supposed Tess, Sarah, and Maria looked on the hopeful side. I was hoping for the best but expecting the worst.
Rubbing my arms, I shook my head.
"We hope they're alright. Tess, they could be-"
"Don't say it," Sarah interrupted, looking sick. Maria looked equally ill, but she had nothing to say.
"Sit," Tess commanded. Finally relenting, I sat down beside my almost sister and grabbed her shaking hand. My stomach was twisting into knots and my throat was tight. Tears threatened to fall. I looked at Sarah, who had silent tears sliding down her cheeks.
"I don't wanna lose Dad," She whispered to me. Gritting my teeth in order to not cry, I offered a weak smile.
"Do you really think Joel would leave us in a plane crash? If anything he'd go down fighting ten bears with nothing but a toothpick and a rubber band," I said. Sarah grinned slightly.
"Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Els."
"Does that mean it worked?" I asked. She shook her head slowly. I frowned again, dropping back into a funk.
"You girls want anything to eat?" Maria spoke. Tess held up a plastic bowl of noodles.
"No," Sarah and I answered simultaneously. We both were too worried to care about a silly little thing such as eating. I felt Sarah squeeze my hand.
"Look." I glanced at the bay window that showed the runway. A plane was just touching down.
"Is it them?" I said, looking up at Tess. She watched the aircraft hopefully.
"I don't know, kiddo." Her emotions were carefully hidden (probably something Joel taught her) to spare Sarah and I any extra worry, but for a second, her mask fell. I saw fear, worry, hope, and love. You'd never guess Tess had a soft heart unless you were either a genius or you had hung around her for a while.
Sarah was stock still beside me as the plane docked. My lungs ached and I realized I had been holding my breath. Another few torturous minutes, and the plane began unloading. Passenger after passenger emerged until the stream of people began to slow.
"I don't see them," Maria frowned. Sarah dropped her head, but I wasn't giving up so easily. Finally, the last two passengers stepped out.
"What?" Sarah said as I excitedly tapped her arm. I pointed to the men searching the crowd.
And the next second I was being dragged toward Tommy and Joel because Sarah had forgotten to let go of my hand. Joel grinned widely. Tommy greeted us with a hug, but you could tell he was paying more attention to the women that trailed behind us. Joel pulled Sarah and I into a bear hug.
"Dad!" we both yelled as he crushed our ribs.
"Hey, baby girls."
Then Joel was yanked up by his collar. I turned to see Tess and him kissing like there was no tomorrow. It was kind of funny because Joel looked completely caught off guard.
"Ah, gross," I whispered. Sarah giggled.
"You girls don't need to see that," Tommy chuckled and covered our eyes.
"Hey, I'm sixteen!" I argued, prying the hand away.
"Yea, and I'm fourteen!" Sarah said.
"Hello, Sixteen and Fourteen, I'm Tommy," He replied, laughing. Sarah and I exchanged looks, rolling our eyes.
Maria had finally weaved through the crowd. She hugged Tommy and muttered, "You are never going on another plane ride again."
"Yes, ma'am," Tommy responded.
By then, Joel had been released. He looked dazed but happy.
"Never do that again, cowboy," Tess said, poking him in the chest. He nodded diligently.
A/N: Kind of an abrupt ending, but I couldn't think of anything else. I purposely left questions unanswered in this one, so use your imagination.
Slightly-lovesick Joel and big-sister Ellie are fun to write. :D
Next one will be in the regular universe again, unless I get comments saying different.
Likes, Follows, and Reviews are much appreciated. For those of you who haven't been doing the previously mentioned, I see how it is. It's just a review. It takes like five seconds.
Also, (AND DON'T STEAL THIS IDEA OR I WILL FIND YOU) I'm thinking of writing a story were Ellie and Sarah switch places, and Ellie is Joel's daughter that dies in the beginning and Sarah is the one who has to deal with an almost-coldblooded-killer and anti-social Joel while she slowly starts to see him as a father. It should follow the original plot pretty closely, but with a few exceptions. Please advise.