The look. The passion. The love. The grief. I could see all of them written across his face like a picture book. Yet, deep down, I suspected that he was lying; that he had done the horrible, atrocious act, for whatever reason.

"Swear to me that everything you said about the Fireflies was true."

He stiffened, looked away, and I knew what was coming.

"Yes. It is."

Like a sigh of resignation and a ray of hope, I surrendered.

"Okay."

It touched me, really. I felt that he cared deeply for me, and, despite myself, I found that I cared for him a whole lot, too. Then, in silence, we walked towards Tommy's town.

"Ellie."

I turned, and smiled slightly.

"Hey, Tommy."

He had grown much older since those many years ago; his blond hair now gray and his face, while still firm and strong, showed signs of wrinkling. His leadership of Jackson, his many trials against both the Hunters and the Infected, these things broke him down bit by bit. Maria's death at the hands, or teeth, I should say, of a Clicker had truly broken him. Now, he was quiet, giving orders but no longer smiling much. More than anything, tired.

Tommy's face was even older, even sadder.

"He's askin' for you."

I nodded, the grief creeping back into my heart.

"How long does he have?"

Tommy sighed, deeply.

"It's a miracle he's made it this far. That cancer's eating him dead. It's…" his voice cracked, the tears beginning to stream, "Soon. It's gonna be soon."

I nodded again, and walked to the door, taking a deep, steady breath to calm myself.

Don't cry, Ellie. Don't let him see you like this.

I opened the door slowly.

His hair once black with streaks of gray was now snow white; as white as the snow before I met David—

No. Don't think about that.

His face, once so comfortingly lined was much more wrinkled and weathered now than it had been twenty years ago. Yet, beneath the age, it was still Joel. It was still the Joel I knew and loved. It had, quite some time ago, stopped being 'like a father' to 'my father'. And now, looking at his withered, frail form, my eyes welled up with tears. I knew, under the exterior, was the strong man who had cared for me most of my life.

As he always did, he simply looked. It was a blessing of sorts, I suppose, that Alzheimer's and memory loss hadn't sunk in. He was still Joel.

My Joel.

Then, his face broke into a wide smile, and his dark brown eyes, gleaming with intelligence, teared up.

It was all I could do to keep from crying.

Keep it together, Ellie. Don't start sobbing. Be strong for Joel.

I gingerly set my rifle against the wall and knelt by his bed. I intertwined my fingers with his and stared into his eyes.

"Hey Ellie," he said, his rough Texan accent for the most part unaffected by age.

It took all my strength to keep from crying.

"H…Hey Joel. How you doin' today?"

He smiled upon hearing my voice.

"Hangin' around Texans too much, Ellie; you've got the accent down."

We both laughed.

"I gotta tell you, baby girl, I'm goddamn fucking tired of this shitty hospital," he said, chuckling.

Yet despite the mirth, his eyes told me that he was fully aware just how close he was to death.

A fit of coughing overtook him and held him tight as the wheezing coughs racked his body. When the fit was over, he sighed and reclined in the bed, sinking into the pillow. Then, gently, he held my cheek in his hand.

"Oh, baby girl, you still look like you did when we met in Boston," he said, staring deeply into my eyes.

It had been a few months after settling down in Jackson that Ellie had confronted Joel about Salt Lake City.

Joel sat idly in his chair by the fireplace, admiring the nice house Tommy and Maria had seen fit to assign to them. Life in Jackson was… different. Joel found he could relax here, but for the most part he kept to himself, and only spoke with Tommy and Maria out of the town. Of course, he spent most of his time with Ellie, and he took on a more protective role over her.

As he strummed on his guitar and sang softly to himself, Ellie walked in the door, promptly sitting in the chair. She looked disturbed, and avoided Joel's eyes for a long time.

"What're you doin' up, it's way past your bedti-"

She cut him off with a glare.

"No bullshit anymore, Joel."

"What're you talking abou—"

"Just stop it, alright?!" she said forcefully. "What happened at that hospital?!"

For Joel, each syllable she uttered was like a gunshot.

Oh Shit. She asked the question.

Sighing deeply, he set the guitar down and looked at her straight on.

"I did what I had to do, Ellie, now let's just go—"

She shook her head in rage.

"Stop fucking lying to me Joel! What the hell did you do?! What, did you fucking kill all of them?!"

She had said it sarcastically, but he stiffened and flinched when she said it. She noticed, and her eyes widened in shock.

"You fucking bastard."

"Ellie, I—"

"Marlene? The doctors? All of them?"

"Look, they were gonna—"

Abruptly, Ellie stood, putting on her backpack and slinging her rifle over her shoulder. Joel got up and started walking towards her.

"Ellie, don't do this…"

She broke into a sprint, and Joel ran after her. He chased her through the streets and upon reaching the main gate, she climbed up the wire fence. Desperate, Joel grabbed her ankle and pulled her down, wrapping her in a bear hug.

"Ellie, just let me ex—"

In a single movement, she kicked him, hard, in the balls. He emitted a grunt, and released her, falling to her knees. She resumed climbing, and as Joel's vision got dizzy, he dragged himself closer to the fence.

"Ellie, don't do this!" he bellowed.

The light in Tommy's house flicked on, and Tommy ran out, in pajamas.

Ellie reached the top and dropped down, breaking into a sprint down the road. Joel struggled to his feet, and fumbled with the lock.

"DON'T DO IT, JOEL!" bellowed Tommy, who tackled Joel to the ground.

Shouting in rage, Joel shoved Tommy off, who came back at his legs.

"If you go out, you'll die! Wait for the others to find her!"

Joel shoved Tommy off and punched him across the face, then turned and ran towards the gate. Desperately, he tried climbing the fence, but Tommy, like Joel had before, grabbed his ankle and shoved him to the ground, pinning him there.

"ELLIE!" bellowed Joel as he tried to push Tommy off.

Gritting his teeth, Tommy cursed. Then, instinctively, he smashed his fist into Joel's head, knocking him out cold.

Tears of pain and grief flowed from Tommy's eyes as he slowly stood, looking at his older brother's unconscious body.

"Ellie, Joel, I'm sorry."

So I really liked the Last of Us, and I know this has been done a lot, but this is my vision of what happened after the ending. Let me know if you like it, I've got another chapter in the works.

Sincerely,

IGDude117