[b]Tyler - Baton Rouge/Motel - Scarlett[/b]

He stood stiffly, regarding her with a suspicious gaze as she began to explain herself. He hadn't assumed she was doing something wrong, but the consideration was there, at the back of his mind. When it involved Katie, Tyler couldn't help but think of even the worst scenarios. But that didn't seem to be the case, exactly-- it was something that Tyler wasn't exactly surprised to hear. 

[i]She wants me to be her mom. Or rather, her new mom.[/i]

Scarlett's words bounced around in his head, scratching and clawing at his memories. [i]Helen[/i]. Her name emerged from the sudden whirlwind inside his mind after being buried deep into Tyler's mind. He'd thought of Helen briefly as they'd arrived in Baton Rouge, but he'd buried her once again, unwilling to to allow himself to think about her for long.

He moved now to lean against the railing, turning to once again look over the motel and the city beyond. The sun had set now, plunging the world into a hazy darkness. Helen had been lost in the early days of the outbreak, and the chaos that resulted hadn't allowed Tyler to grieve her for long. Survival had taken its place, then it had been responsibility. His body had been cut open by Helen's death and nothingness was left in its place. Lynn took up that space, once, and then his misguided desire to fix the world took her place right after. In the wake of all that he'd lost, Tyler was beginning to realize that hole was empty once again, crushing him with its overwhelming nothingness.

When Scarlett was finished, Tyler began to speak. He didn't look toward her, for he knew his emotions were plain on his face. "Katie wasn't there when her mother died. Her... brother died along with her. Dylan." He had to force himself to say the name. It still hurt. "But Katie wasn't there. The safety zone was in chaos, and by the time I found Katie and got us both out of there..." He sighed, lowering his head to run a hand through his hair. "I told her they'd gone away. I never told her they [i]died[/i], but she must have realized they had eventually. I think so. But even when Helen was alive--" That name. Helen. Helen. Helen. "We-- She was always so busy. She'd spend so much time working at the hospital, and then when she alive, she'd bury herself away in our room to work on her novel. She didn't have the best relationship with our kids. Neither did I, for that matter."

He turned to her now, a bit more in control of himself. He'd abated the tears, and he hoped the dim light would obscure the scowl on his face. "So, it's my fault that she's felt the need to say this to you. You're the first woman to spend a lot of time with her in a while." It might have just as easily been Lynn or Lauren, if circumstances were different. Tyler was against it then, and he was against it now. "But-- [i]Listen[/i]. You don't [i]know[/i] what my daughter needs. A maternal figure? [i]She has her father[/i]. If you think you can replace her mother just like that--" He felt it then-- the anger. It was rising, bubbling up from inside him. He didn't want to get angry with Scarlett, but it was simply in his nature. He should never have let his thoughts linger on Lynn and Lauren.

Hands balled into fists, he moved to grab the railing once again so had something to [i]do[/i] with them. "If she talks about this again, you set her straight. You tell her that you could never replace [i]Helen[/i]. You tell her that no one will replace [i]Dylan[/i]. Do you understand? I'm not blaming you, Scarlett, but for you to even entertain this idea is a slap to my goddamn face."