Work Text:
Had Tyler known they would be hiding under an empty swimming pool for part of the evening rather than at the rodeo - he still would have gone. Had he known it would reawaken some past trauma for her - he wouldn't have gone along and he certainly wouldn't have dragged her along with him.
As they clung to the exposed pipes of the pool, hanging on for dear life, Tyler grounded himself by listening to the mum tell her daughter over and over that ‘I've got you, we're going to be alright’.
For Kate on the other hand, it dredged up every single memory she had been trying to bury for the past five years. She tried to focus on her breathing but it was difficult when the wind howled in her ears, deafening her to her own body. She could feel her knuckles going white with the amount of grip strength she was using on the pipes. She knew she wasn't hiding under the overpass but with what the mother was saying to the kid next to her, her entire body tensed up like she was there again. Her left leg ached with the phantom pain of the cut that was once there. Tyler's form over her felt the same as Jeb's presence had all those years ago.
Once the tornado had passed over, Tyler was the first to stick his head out from under their hiding place. Once he knew it was safe, he helped the mother and daughter out. He hadn't noticed that Kate wasn't behind him until he was at the base of the pool ladder waiting for Kate to climb up ahead of him.
When he turned back, Kate was still gripping onto the exposed pipes for dear life. He could see the tension in her entire body, each breath she took in was a fight against her own muscles. He slowly approached her. Her knuckles look as if they were going to split the skin over them she was holding on so tightly to the pipes. Her eyes screwed shut. Her mouth was moving but Tyler couldn’t figure out what it was she was saying, if she was saying anything.
“Kate-” Leave me alone. “Kate-?” You're not real, you're dead- “Kate, let go-” I got you killed “Kate!”
Kate opened her eyes, she wasn't under the overpass as a EF5 tornado was passing over. It wasn't her dead boyfriend's voice she was hearing. It was Tyler's and she was hiding in the bottom of a pool.
Tyler stood to her left side, concern etched into his face. His eyes were somehow still so soft as they scanned her body.
“Kate,” She flinched slightly as his hands grazed over her own still white-knuckling the pipe. “Let go. It’s over.”
It was like every neuron in her brain had to go through sludge in order to get to where they needed to be. She looked from his face to her hands, wondering what he meant. She couldn't let go? What about the- the tornado? Kate's eyes scanned over her shoulder to see the tornado had passed through and they were in the clear.
It took her hands a moment to fully let go of the pipes but as soon as they did, there was something warm and a little rough but comforting in them. It took a moment to realise it was Tyler's hands in her own.
Her hands trembled in his, she was ghostly white. He took her hands in a firm but still gentle grip. He had seen it all too much before, the panicked ‘deer in headlights’ look in her eyes, the shaking, the ghostly white complexion that had taken over her skin. Her eyes scanned around them for a moment, as if she was looking for something.
“Kate, look at me.” She snaps her head to him. “We need to get out from here okay? Get checked over by paramedics-” As if a switch had been flipped in her head, Kate snatched her hands from his.
“No no-” The sudden change in her tone and actions made Tyler flinch. She put on a small smile that didn't pass her lips. “I'm fine. I don't need-” She shook her hands at her sides as if it would stop the shaking that coursed through her body.
“Kate, you're not-” Kate waved him off as she went to stand. As she pushed herself up from where she was crouched, her left gave out under her.
“Shit-!” Tyler jumped forward, arms out but not touching her, ready to help her if she needed it. She leant against the trailer that had come down just before they had hidden away with the pipes. Her hand outstretched to him, not for help but as a sign for him to keep his distance. He didn’t move his arms away from her though.
“Are you hurt? What's wrong-?” Kate waved her arm at him.
“Nothing- it's not- I'm fine.”
Slowly, the pair got the pool ladder, Kate limping on her left leg the whole way. She gripped the pool ladder with white knuckles again. Tyler watched as her breaths shuddered through her body. She just stayed there for a few moments too long for Tyler not to be worried.
“Kate-”
“Holy shit! Are you two okay?” The pair looked up to the top of the pool to see the rest of the Tornado Wrangling gang looking down at them. Before Tyler could respond, Kate was on the move.
“We're okay. I think we got insanely lucky.” She slowly made her way up the ladder, one foot hold at a time. Tyler wanted to object but at this point he knew better too.
Once they were both out of the pool, Tyler could see the pain on Kate's face despite her best efforts to hide it.
“Kate, what's wrong with your leg? You’re not putting any weight on it-”
“Kate!” Before he could stop her, she limped her way over to Javi and the Storm Par group. He sighed in defeat.
“Where did you guys hide? Under the trailer?” Tyler turned to Lily who was crouched by the poolside. Tyler shook his head.
“No, behind it is a missing chunk of wall with exposed pipes.” Ben nodded in admiration.
“Good call.” Tyler turned back to where Kate was standing, seemingly having an intense conversation with Javi.
“It wasn’t my call.”
“Tyler!” Glancing over his shoulder, Tyler saw the rest of the wranglers coming over to join him, Lilly and Ben. “You need to see this!” Dexter was standing with a laptop in his arms.
Before Tyler could speak, Dexter turned the laptop to face him. On the screen was an article from five years ago.
Students killed in freak EF5 Tornado - Surviving Girl Named
Tyler felt his heart drop as he read the article. He read about how it was a failed science experiment for the local university. There was an attached photo that was clearly a case of someone having shoved a camera into a woman’s face as she was loaded onto the back of an ambulance.
“Kate.” The wranglers nodded. They turned back to Javi and Kate stood not too far from them. The group watched as the pair's conversation seemed to get quite intense. Tyler could see Javi speaking with venom toward her and he had to hold back the urge to storm over there to see what was going on.
Before Tyler could decide if he was going to storm over there, Javi said something that made Kate stumble back in surprise. Tyler could see the immediate regret on Javi's face. He took a step toward Kate but Kate took a step back.
“Is she limping? Did something happen?” Dani looked to Tyler for the answer but he shrugged his shoulders. Without a second thought, Tyler darted forward to them as Kate continued taking steps back, back toward a pile of debris that Tyler could just see Kate tripping over.
As predicted, Kate lost her footing, putting more weight on her left leg, causing her to cry out as she started falling. Javi took a step forward to try and help her but Tyler beat her to it. He caught her in his arms with one hand on her elbow and the other on her back to support her.
“You okay?” She didn't respond for a moment, she couldn't take her eyes off Javi.
“Kate- I didn't- I didn't mean it- God- I'm sorry-” Tyler looked back down at Kate, her breathing started to get faster.
“Kate, you need to breathe.” She couldn’t take her eyes off Javi, her body was tensing up again. Her hands trembled in his and he watched as her skin became covered in goosebumps.
“God- I can’t- It is my fault-” Javi steps forward to speak to Kate again but Tyler blocks him.
“I think you have done enough. Just- give her some space, yeah?” Javi knew Tyler wasn’t asking him to give Kate space, it was more of a hidden threat. He nodded his head and headed to his truck.
Tyler turned back to Kate, her breathing was still in light and sharp breaths.
“Kate, talk to me.” Tears started rolling down her cheeks, without even thinking, Tyler wiped them away with the pad of his thumb.
“It w- my fault-” Tyler shook his head.
“What? The tornado? You didn’t know, none of this is-” Kate shook her head in response.
“No no-” She took a deep shuddering breath in. “Not this tornado-”
Before Tyler could respond, Kate darted away from him. He was quick on her tail as she sprinted to the Storm Par truck Javi had leant to her earlier in the day. He could only watch as she drove away.
“What the hell did you say to her man?” Tyler glared at Javi as the man shrunk in on himself.
“It- I-” Tyler walked over to him, towering above the man.
“Well?” Javi opened his mouth to speak.
“God I’m so stupid- Why did I say that?” Tyler still got closer, he could hear Boone and Dani running over to him.
“You blamed it on her didn’t you?” Dani and Boone put their hands on his chest to stop him from getting any closer to Javi.
“Tyler. Calm down!” It was useless trying to stop him given the size difference between them. Javi turned away from the man, trying to put some space between them.
Lilly put herself in front of Tyler. “Tyler, right now we need you. Forget them.” Tyler took a small step back before the group all turned and headed back to their cars.
“We need to find where she will go.”