NOTES/DISCLAIMERS

1. This is a fan fiction based on characters owned by PlayStation/Sony. I DO NOT OWN THEM. This is just for fun.

2. Though I've never played The Last of Us (I don't have the hand dexterity for shooters, nor a Playstation 3 or 4 regardless), I was so impressed by the story and characters I can confidently say it's one of my favourite games ever. That's allowed, right?

To say Joel was worried would be an understatement.

It was rare - very rare - for one of the two to not know what the other was doing, or where they were. Even the simplest change in circumstances was noted by the other, either through being told or a visual cue. It was not that they never spent time apart, but when they did, it was always after making a point of letting the other know where they would be.

Which made this current situation all the more worrying. Joel had not seen Ellie for a couple of hours. Sure, he knew broadly what she was doing. His baby girl was out socialising with the other children of the settlement. Since the pair set up home in Tommy's... or rather, Maria's compound in Jackson two years prior, the community steadily grew. More and more drifters and wanderers joined the settlement, and many of them were kids.

Inwardly, Joel was of two minds. On one, he was glad Ellie had people her own age to be around, after being surrounded by adults all her life. The Texan remembered the brief time they had with the tragic Henry and Sam, and how chatty and downright kid-like Ellie was with the boy. He could still picture her trying to catch berries in her mouth and failing miserably... and adorably.

But on the other hand, Joel had to admit a pang of jealousy. He lived for the immune girl now, and never wanted her out of his sight. His need to protect her bordered on obsession - fuck, passed obsession ages ago - but he could not help it: after everything they went through, and what he did in Salt Lake, he would never risk her safety again - even if it came across as possessive.

However, he knew he was being a stubborn old man. Ellie was growing up: it made sense she would want more time to herself, away from him. And if that made her happy, then Joel would let her have - some - freedom. Because the only thing he wanted as much as her to be safe was her to be happy.

This was different, though. He had no idea where his baby girl was. The other kids stopped "hanging out" nearly twenty minutes ago, when they were called in for dinner. Joel had to smirk when that happened: it reminded him of cliche families from before the outbreak. Any mirth he felt quickly evaporated, however, when Ellie did not return. The Texan's heart immediately clenched, and he was out the door like a bolt.

Which led to him now, scouring every inch of the settlement for Ellie. He did not even care it was only twenty minutes; if Joel did not know where she was for twenty seconds, it was too long. He looked everywhere he could think of - the "playground", which was little more than an area of gravel with a scavenged, barely-holding-itself-together swingball; the recently-built stables, necessary to keep the new kids from scaring the horses; and even the weapons stockroom - it would not be the first time Ellie tried to steal some extra ammo for him before supply hunts, or look for something to upgrade her switchblade.

Nothing. Ellie was nowhere to be found. Panic began to engulf Joel, and he was on the verge of ordering Tommy to initiate a settlement-wide search. There was just one last place he could check before giving in and radioing his brother.

As Joel reached the bike shed, he again remembered how much had changed since he and Ellie first came here... when he tried to hand her off to Tommy. The compound was alot more organised now, with separate areas for specific things, instead of bits and bobs laying about wherever there was space. With the influx of new people, specifically the children, it was felt certain things needed to be sectioned off.

And incredibly, some of the kids had bicycles. Coupled with those found and scavenged, they now had enough bikes that a shed was needed. Plus, they gave the horses a rest. It was another instance of Joel being reminded of pre-outbreak days.

The Texan strode to the small structure housing the bicycles, and instantly heard something. He stopped and tensed. It sounded like rustling. Or something moving slightly and quietly. Oh God. Not Infected... not inside, surely...

Joel's gun - never leave home without it - was already off his hip and in his hand. He approached cautiously as he reached the back of the shed. He focused his hearing. Yep, definitely something there.

He inched closer, before slowly peeking his head round the edge to see what was behind the shed. What he saw...

He was not expecting.

Ellie was up against the back of the shed, with a second girl pressed against her, their mouths pressed against eachother. All in all, alot of pressing. Ellie's hands were running through the girl's dark blonde hair, with the stranger's hands stroking Ellie's sides.

Joel was dumbfounded.

However, as she always did, Ellie sensed his presence: her eyes instantly shot open, and she broke the kiss and turned to look at him. "Oh, shit Joel!"

Joel had by now abandoned his stealthy crouch and was standing upright, glaring at them. He was speechless.

The other girl looked flustered, then nervous, and eventually shy. She ducked her head down and took a visible gulp. The two quickly disentangled themselves from eachother. Ellie too seemed intently interested at the grass at their feet, and mumbled. "OK, er... see ya." With that, she quickly stepped away and walked out from behind the shed, not looking at Joel as she passed him. The other girl was like an afterimage as she followed suit.

The two young women shared a glance, then the stranger hurried away. Ellie began walking back to her and Joel's house.

Joel darted his head between the two retreating girls, then marched after Ellie. Once they entered their home and Joel closed the door behind him, he turned to see Ellie making a beeline for her room. "Hold up, hold up!" he ordered to her retreating form. "You mind tellin' me what that was?"

The young brunette stopped, but kept her back to him. "What the hell did it look like?"

Joel blinked and - unusually for him - stuttered. "You... you... you and... you have a... ?"

Ellie gradually turned to face him. "What? You surprised?"

"No fuckin' shit I'm surprised," he growled. "You coulda warned me."

She shrugged. "Sorry."

He blinked again. "That's it? You're 'sorry'? Dammit girl, I've been worried sick about you. Why didn't you tell me?"

Another shrug. "It's nothing."

"Didn't look like nothin' back there, kiddo!" Again, Joel was conflicted: part - most - of him was simply relieved to find her alive and well, but he was still angry at not being aware of this... any of this. "I didn't know you were seein' someone, let alone a... a... "

"What?" came Ellie's sharp voice. "A girl? What's wrong with that?"

He forced himself to calm, and raised a hand to stem the fight he knew was coming... after all, he sort of started it. "I... I didn't say there was nothin' wrong with it."

She folded her arms. "I already told you about Riley."

It took a microsecond for Joel to remember who Ellie was referring to. "You said Riley was your best friend. And besides, you were only fourteen."

"So?" Ellie's eyes were now full of her usual steel resolve. "'Best friend' and 'girlfriend' can't be the same thing?" She shook her head increduously. "And what's my age got to do with it? Fuck... sorry asshole, but I didn't know I had to wait 'til a certain age to know which side of the fence I kicked for."

Under different circumstances, Ellie's mixed-up metaphors would have elicited a chuckle from Joel. And a guffaw from Tommy. But not now. Because Joel knew she was right. His baby girl was always right.

At that, the Texan did chuckle, albiet inwardly. Baby girl. She sure did not act like such a few minutes ago. Along with that unknown-to-him blonde, Ellie acted more like the seventeen-year-old she nearly was.

Ellie rolled her eyes and huffed, and looked like she was about to turn and stomb away to her room, when Joel spoke. "I'm sorry, kiddo." She returned her gaze to him, and while it was obvious she was trying to maintain an expression of anger, he could see her eyes widen slightly, becoming the lovely green orbs he knew so well.

They stared in silence for a moment, until Ellie eventually took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She ran a hand through her red-brown hair and sighed. "No. I... I'm sorry. I was just... it's... "

He looked at her, his anger gone. "You can tell me anything, Ellie. You know that."

She tried a smile, but was clearly unsuccessful. "I didn't want you to find out like that."

"What, that you like girls?" Joel smiled. "Kiddo, that don't matter at all. I just want you to be happy."

"I don't mean that," Ellie said, her shoulders slumping in frustration. "I... " Joel fell silent, knowing she would talk in her own time. "I didn't want you to know about her... until I was sure."

"Sure of what?"

"I dunno," she tutted. "If it was... like, serious or something." To Joel's surprise, she actually blushed. "She's new here. She was in the group that came from Casper. We got talking and... " Again Ellie went shy. Joel was impressed: twice in one day.

"Why so worried?" he asked. "You think I'm gonna go after her if she breaks your heart?" He smirked. "I'm not that shitty, Ellie." He then pondered for a moment. "Her folks, on the other hand... "

Ellie looked at him lopsidedly. "Her parents are dead, Joel."

Oh. Typical - of course they were. It almost seemed to Joel the Infected and scum of this world specifically went after the people with kids to leave behind. He shook away such thoughts and returned to the matter at hand. "So what's the problem?"

Ellie suddenly took a gulp. A deep gulp. Deep enough to know there was something she was actually scared to tell him. Joel's chest again stung at the idea of her being afraid to tell him something, and he was about to repeat what he said a couple of minutes before, about her having no need to worry, when she answered. Her voice was so quiet Joel could barely hear her. "Her name's Sarah."

Joel's throat momentarily constricted, but he gave no outward reaction. Instead, he simply stared. His guts, however, began to churn. And there was no rebar to blame this time.

"That's why I didn't say anything," Ellie hurriedly explained. "That's why I didn't want you to know until I knew or thought or felt we were serious. I mean, it's only been a week or so, and it's never gone beyond kissing and she doesn't even know about my arm and I don't even know her surname and I didn't want you to be reminded of Sarah Sarah and... " Finally, she fell silent once more. After another gulp of air, she looked up waringly at him. "I'm sorry."

Joel simply stood there. What did he feel? He was unsure. Surprise, certainly. Pain, for sure. But it was various degrees of pain. It hurt to always be actively reminded of his precious daughter, no matter how much he tried to run away from the memory. It hurt to know Ellie kept something from him - like he should talk. And it hurt, her thinking she could not be completely open to him - again, pot calling kettle.

But most of all, it hurt to think she would be so worried about his emotional state to curtail her own happiness. True, she said it only just started, but Joel knew Ellie would break off whatever she had with this girl, if it overly troubled him. She would do it in a heartbeat.

In many ways, they were both still children. And while it was hardly childish to forever feel the agonising loss of your own daughter, Joel knew he could not allow that to interfere with Ellie. His two baby girls worked together harmoniously in his heart. He swore that would be the case long ago. And unlike his promise regarding Salt Lake, this one was true.

Joel walked to his reason for living and, the two always in-sinc, she mirrored him, closing the gap between them. They embraced softly, and Joel lovingly stroked her hair, while she clung tight to his shirt. They stayed in silence for what seemed an eternity, simply happy to get past this little hiccup and again be bound together.

"You sure this is what you want?" he eventually whispered.

She looked up at him, and as their eyes met, she rolled her eyes dramatically. "Of course not, dipshit. If I was, I would've told you about her days ago." He mouth stretched into a wide grin.

Joel finally let out a hearty laugh. All - well, some - of the awkwardness of the was washed away with the sound, and Joel knew any bristling he felt about the new girl's name was insignificant compared to seeing his princess smile. He ruffled her hair with his big hand - which made Ellie scrunch her face and swear again - and nodded. When he spoke, her expression instantly changed and she looked at him wide-eyed again. "Then go get her, kiddo."

Three days later, Sarah caught a glimpse of Ellie's arm. Ellie never saw her again.

THE END