Hey Folks, thanks as always for your positive reviews; I've said it before but it really does make my day when I see someone new that gets some enjoyment out of my ramblings that, contrary to my own opinion, do appear to make some sense.

The good news is that I now have a very solid idea of where this story is going to go; which is surprising to me as a couple of weeks ago this was nothing more than a whole load of aforementioned ramblings, so the fact that I've managed to organise my thoughts briefly enough to set everything out in a decent order is a feat unto itself.

Less certain is how long this story will be; you may notice that at the moment the focus is more on the development of the characters, rather than the development of the plot. This should begin to change over the course of the next few chapters.

But for now, just enjoy the ride as Ellie has an epiphany of sorts, and the group settle down for their first night security – and electricity – in a long, long time. Enjoy!

"So", Maria said, as she brushed down one of the horses in the converted van depot that housed the makeshift stables. "How're you doing?"

It was an empty question, they both knew, but Ellie guessed that as confident as Maria seemed; kids weren't exactly her strong suit.

"I'm fine", Ellie replied. She knew the unasked question hanging in the air and for some reason, she continued,

"It's just… it's been a pretty heavy year. And after it all, things didn't exactly go to plan with the Fireflies either. I…guess I still don't know what to make of it all."

" Oh…"

"Yeah." Finished Ellie, not really knowing what else to say. It wasn't as if she felt like she couldn't talk to Maria; she'd certainly been there for her last time, when she'd needed to talk to someone about her anger at Joel wanting to pawn her off. Maria had consoled her, and explained the connection between him and Sarah. But for some reason, something was making her hesitate in telling Maria about her suspicions of Joel.

"Still", Maria ventured. "You're home now, and safe. We'll look after you here."

Ellie nodded half-heartedly. That wasn't really the point. Joel gave her all the protection she needed, and besides, she'd seen and learned a lot. She didn't need or want to be mollycoddled.

They worked on in silence; the only sound permeating the quiet was the distant sound of the bustling town and the occasional whinnying of the horses.

"Maria…" Ellie started, hesitantly. "Has Tommy ever lied to you?"

"Oh, sure, when he says he didn't have the last of the cow's milk, or tells me he'll be home by eleven", she said with a smile. Ellie gave a forced chuckle before returning to the horse.

"But…I'm guessing that's not why you asked", Maria said, after a pause. She put down the brush and beckoned to Ellie to sit down on a wooden bench in the corner of the converted van depot. When they had both sat, Maria looked at Ellie and began;

"You know, before the outbreak, people didn't live their lives so plainly, like we do today. Nowadays everything's black and white, just a matter of surviving or dying, but it never used to be like that. We didn't have constant danger and starvation at our heels, and that meant people acted differently; in what would now would be considered as strange ways, but back then, made complete sense. You follow?"

Ellie's eyebrows furrowed. "When we were in Pittsburgh, Joel told me that women used to chose not to eat, because they wanted to be skinny."

"Hah! Yeah, well that one's definitely true, I may be guilty of that one myself. But I meant more in terms of people's relationships. Back then everything was more… delicate. Relationships were affected just as much by signals, intuition and hidden meanings, as they were by actual words and actions. Do you understand?"

"No…."

"Ok, look. Let me tell you something I've told very few people", said Maria, her mouth still smiling but her eyes becoming distant as she suddenly avoided Ellie's eyes.

"When I was a kid, my mom came into my room one night and said we were 'moving house'. Just like that. Gave some garbage excuse, said I should pack a bag quietly right now, and so on. She told me that my dad would be staying here and looking after the house, and our family dog. You can probably see where this is going. My mom and dad were getting a divorce. I only learned the truth years later, when my mom sat me down again and explained things to me properly." Maria saw Ellie's expression of concern placed her hand on the top of Ellie's, and continued on,

"See, most children were brought up in comfort, never had to experience fear, or fighting or malnutrition, so parents divorcing at that age, back in that time, was an awfully damaging experience to kids. They suddenly had to go through countless arguments, listen to all sorts of dirty secrets get dragged out of the mud, have to go to school knowing full well that everyone is talking about you behind your back.

"If you had particularly uncaring parents, you'd get dragged into it all as well, and be forced to chose between your mom or your dad. It may not seem like much these days, but going through that can have a huge emotional impact, for years to come."

Ellie listened intently; proud that Maria would reveal such secrets to her. She told her as much.

"Don't worry," she replied, "it was a long time ago in the past. The point is; when I moved away with my mom, I knew there was more to this than there seemed. Don't ask me how I knew, but I knew there was something she wasn't telling me. But I didn't say anything. Why? Because I trusted her more than any other human on the planet, and I knew that because she loved me, whatever she did, she did it out of necessity, to protect me. You understand?"

This time, Ellie nodded slowly.

"Now, then. You've been acting all dejected and downtrodden since you first arrived here, and I'm guessing by Joel's mood that this isn't just today. I'm guessing you think he's lied to you, right? That's why you asked if Tommy ever lies to me?" Ellie continued nodding; impressed at Maria's sudden show of astuteness.

"You clearly care a lot about him, and it bothers you more than you're letting on that he's been dishonest. Well, you want to know what I think? I think, maybe he's worth the benefit of the doubt. You two have clearly been through a lot and must've built up quite a bond; so do you still think he has it in him to think only about himself? Of course not. Whatever his reasons he did it for you, Ellie. He may have lied, but sometimes, that's what people do to protect the people they love."

Ellie pondered Maria's words, her stomach performing flips. Could that really be the reason? She thought. If so, has he really betrayed me?

"Did…you ever find out what it was? That she was hiding from you, I mean."

"I did. Many years later. She told me that my dad had been beating her for years. It was then that I understood why she'd lied to me so blatantly. She'd done it because to tell the truth when I was that young, and while everything with my parents was still so volatile, would've completely destroyed me."

Ellie stared into space, processing all this information. Her eyes begun to glisten.

"I'm not trying to say that Joel is treating you like a kid; nor am I saying you don't deserve the truth. I'm just saying that when you love someone and need to protect them, sometimes it's better to tell them what they need to hear, instead of what they want to hear. Sometimes, you need to get a little perspective on things before you judge people's actions. Waiting until I was older allowed me the time to understand the full picture, and realise that sometimes, what you feel you want, and what's actually best, can sometimes be worlds apart."

Ellie tried to comprehend everything Maria had said, as they packed up their tools and walked home in the warm, summer afternoon. With the sun still shining down brightly on the dishevelled, yet luxurious town, she smiled at people as she walked past, townsfolk clearly curious as to this new arrival that was attracting such special attention from Maria. Townsfolk that were heading home themselves, weary after a hard day's work but looking forward to their home comforts. Could that really be the case, Ellie thought, that there was something worse out there, or something that was more important than saving humanity? Ellie struggled to think, but then of course, that was the point.

Either way, she resolved to try harder from now on, to try not to judge Joel, despite his secrecy. Maria was right; despite whatever betrayal she felt on the surface, she'd always known that deep down, Joel only had her best interests at heart. She tried to convince herself that however it may look, all he wanted to do was protect her, and that should be enough, whatever the reason. From now on, she'd try to give Joel the benefit of the doubt. At least for now.

While Ellie and Maria were seeing to the horses, Joel and Tommy were on Tommy's front porch; propping themselves up on the side and looking out over the town. There they stood, casually swapping idle chit chat and watching the townsfolk walk past, for the rest of the afternoon, watching the sun slowly descend through the trees, covering the valley with shafts of pure white light that slowly melded to a deep orange fire as the day wore on.

By the time Ellie and Maria got home their previous argument was well forgotten, and hatchets had been buried. It was clear Tommy disagreed with Joel, but he understood. How could he not? He knew what Joel had been through probably better than anyone else. After all, he'd been there. He'd seen how Sarah's death had destroyed the last 20 years of his life. It's easy for bystanders to see something and condemn it without thinking, quite another to be caught in that situation yourself. No one could ever fully understand what Joel and Ellie had been through apart from themselves, so no one deserved to judge them.

And so, he'd decided to let bygones be bygones, and simply be thankful that not only was his brother home, but he had found something worth living for again.

"Oh, I forgot to ask", said Joel, as they leant on the fence. "That horse you gave us last year; what was its name?"

Tommy frowned, puzzled. "The brown? That one was Bella."

"Bella."

"Yup."

"It was a guy."

"Don't blame me; I think some girl decided that would be a nice name when we first brought it back from the ranch, and it just sort of stuck."

"Huh."

"Yup. Why do you ask?"

"Oh…Ellie always scolded me for never finding out before we went; insisted she give it a new name."

"Oh this is gonna be good", smiled Tommy, turning away from the beautiful glow of the sun to watch Joel. "Go on, then!"

"Callus."

"Excuse me?"

"That's what she called the horse. Callus."

Instead of wincing at the unorthodox name, as well he might've done a month or two ago, Joel just smiled to himself.

"As in…callus?", said Tommy. Joel nodded his head, as if to say, don't ask.

"Hah. Well, there you go, then."

"There you go."

They settled back into a comfortable silence once more as they basked in the last of the day's warmth Tommy began to pass the time by pointing out to Joel the names of some of the townsfolk as they strolled past or worked in their tiny vegetable gardens surrounding almost every house. He was in the middle of pointing out one such person, when at long last Ellie and Maria returned, slowly wandering back up the cul-de-sac in the evening glow of the sunset.

"Looks like our girls are back", said Tommy.

"Yup", replied Joel, sighing despondently. He desperately wanted Ellie to have enjoyed herself, and hoped she'd had a chance to have some girl time for a change. From what he gathered on the road, despite their short stay Ellie and Maria had formed quite a bond when they were last here. Joel hoped that Ellie would come out of her shell a little more now she had other females to talk to, rather than just him.

However when she reached the porch, Ellie surprised Joel by doing something completely unexpected. In an unexpected act of affection, Ellie walked straight up the steps onto the porch and barely bothered to wave a hand to Tommy in greeting, before heading straight towards Joel and putting her arms around his chest.

"Hey Joel", she said almost to herself, eyes closed, cheeks squashed against his torso as she held on tightly. Joel raised his eyebrows at Tommy, before catching Maria's eye, who, just as surprisingly, gave him a wink.

Joel brought his arms up and wrapped them around Ellie's shoulders as he returned the hug, his eyes gaining their increasingly familiar sparkle. Then, as quickly as it had happened, the moment was over. Ellie stepped back, rubbed her nose, and gave him one of her characteristic crooked smiles. A true smile. He looked down at Ellie's dark red hair and, quite contrary to his usual gruff voice, he quietly whispered;

"Hey, baby girl."

A flash of surprise darted across Ellie's face as she was taken aback at Joel's words, but she relaxed again. They both recognised the significance of those words, the fact that it was the first time he'd ever said those words to her without any great danger in the air, or their emotions in overdrive. But to hear them then it didn't sound forced, or as if he'd overstepped a boundary. It just sounded…right. No other words were needed; Joel understood Ellie's message loud and clear, and his heart sang.

"Well, you boys look like you've made yourselves at home while we've been gone!" Said Maria, taking her cue perfectly.

"Yeah, we've got a fair few years of catchin' up to do", replied Tommy, playfully.

"Well you've got all night for catching up yet, we've got dinner to sort out. Come on!" Maria teased, swatting his arm.

"How're the horses?" Joel asked Ellie as they walked back inside.

"Oh man, they have so many now", Ellie begun, waving her arms dramatically. "And they've been breeding them too; I even got to walk a foal round the yard! And there's this huge one, biggest I've ever seen, and completely black. Maria said someone had ridden him all the way from this ranch in Texas…"

"Oh, that'll be Thunder", interjected Tommy. "Yeah he's a biggun alright; with an attitude to boot. Still tryin' to work out what to do with him."

"Nah, Joel could handle him no problem" said Ellie, patting him on the back with a grin. "They'd suit each other, both being so grumpy and all."

The room erupted in laughter, while Joel made various comments regarding Ellie's age, and it not being sufficiently high enough to avoid a clip on the ear.

"Enough joking you lot", came Maria's voice from the kitchen adjoining the living room. "If you want something to eat tonight, you better get in here and help me!"

"Well what do you say brother, you ready for some proper home cooked food?" Asked Tommy.

Home-cooked was right, too. When Joel and Ellie headed into the kitchen, they saw Maria preparing two huge, dark venison steaks, to be used in a stew, Ellie's eager questions revealed. Joel's mouth watered at the thought of real food. Even in the QZ it had been rat on the menu more often than not, but a year's worth of being on the road, with burnt rabbit and tinned peaches when there was any food to be had at all, made a real home cooked meal seem like a veritable feast.

"I think we'd best get started before I start drooling on the floor." Joel replied.

And so came the dinner preparation; yet another ceremony that was old hat to Tommy and Maria; spookily familiar for Joel and a new, alien ritual for Ellie, who was promptly handed a bigger batch of potatoes she'd ever seen before in her life, and taught to peel and cut them by Joel while Maria braised the venison on a real electric stove; one of the few ones in the town they'd managed to repair. Slowly the sun retreated behind the hills surrounding Jackson, and as darkness descended on the town, lights began to flick on all around them like stars in the night sky; pinpricks in the darkness. In the kitchen, quarter of an hour and various mutilated potatoes later, and Ellie was instead given an easier task to go and chop some carrots; which she did, albeit sulkily.

It was by no means the nicest kitchen in the world. The paint was peeling in here just as much as anywhere else, most of the cupboards lacked doors and the single appliance they did have had a tendency to cut out regularly; requiring Tommy to give it a harsh boot (and on one particular occasion scramble behind the cooker and reconnect some wires). Nonetheless Joel felt a sense of homeliness that he hadn't felt in over 20 years as they peeled, chopped, carved, boiled and simmered, all while shouting, commanding, laughing and joking together. Worries of the outside world, hunters and infected and fireflies, all melted away, and evaporated along with the steam that slowly clouded the small kitchen, misting up the windows and flooding the house with a delicious aroma of meaty gravy and herbs, and making joel and Ellie salivate so muhc that Ellie was sent to sit down at the kitchen counter, lest her excitement get in the way, while the rest of them eagerely clustered around the old, battered cooker, watching the progress intently. Joel and Tommy joked, Maria chided and Ellie simply got in everyone's way at her amazement at it all, but nonetheless the atmosphere in that kitchen could not have been more homely.

And when the stew was finally done, it may have been as thin as water, the carrots wonky and the potatoes with more skin on than off, but it didn't matter. Because when they finally clustered around the worn yet spotless table with their mismatched chairs, and the stew was dished out into the three cracked dishes (with Joel left to eat directly out of the pot), suddenly the atmosphere reched a high, as everone and took their first mouthful, tasted the succulent gravy and chewed the rich, tender, gamey venison. All was right in the world once more. Ellie and Joel both made noises that made Tommy and Maria smile at each other, then burst out laughing when they wouldn't stop, even when the meal was finally finished; second helpings and all. Ellie in particular appeared to be on cloud nine, as this was the very first time she'd experienced the bursts of flavour from real, home grown herbs, freely given to Maria by one of the townsfolk, who'd somehow managed to cultivate a small herb garden.

After the meal congratulations were given all round at the excellent skill of Maria's cooking, and the quality of the ingredients which, though by no means perfect, were fresh and plentiful. The meal, it was generally agreed, was exquisite.

Finally, when the plates were cleared and pots piled by the back door ready to take to the river for washing, it was time for the group to at last settle down on the old, green couch in the living room, where Tommy drew the thin, torn curtains and sprung yet another treat on Joel and Ellie; a movie. And a real movie as well; not one of the "Military Approved Documentaries" and war films they'd all seen countless times in the QZ's.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, most DVD's had been relatively well preserved after the outbreak. Most had simply been left in their cases untouched as they held no value without electricity, and were no good for fuel or food. This meant that they had quite a wide selection to chose from; so when Ellie was given the honour of the final decision, it wasn't long before she was sat on the floor surrounded by cases, quite literally spilt for choice.

After much deliberation, Ellie finally settled on a superhero film released a couple of years before the outbreak. Decision made, they sat on the single couch in the living room, or on the floor, and settled down to enjoy the rare experience. But though the film gave all three adults a bittersweet feeling of nostalgia; it wasn't long before Joel began to realise that Ellie was didn't understand a large part of the dialogue. Different world, he thought. Still, Ellie laughed at the jokes and gasped at the action scenes though she may not have completely understood, by the time the credits rolled she was once again full of questions about life before the outbreak, and amazed at the trivialities of normal life.

After they had talked for a while and educated Ellie, Tommy rose from the couch and proclaimed he had one last thing to show Joel.

"What's that?" asked Joel, rising himself as Tommy headed into the kitchen.

"Ah, you'll see. I found it one day a while back, while scavenging. Was sort of saving it; nearly got it out the last time you were here, but I reckon now's the right time."

"Okay…" replied Joel hesitantly, as Tommy banged and clattered his way around the kitchen. Finally, he appeared in the doorway, beaming grin on his face, holding two chipped glass tumblers in one hand…and an unopened bottle of Gentleman Jack bourbon in the other.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Joel, eyes staring at the bottle.

"You bet it is," said Tommy with a grin. "30 year aged, unopened bottle of the best god damned American whiskey you've ever tasted in your life. I've been saving it just for this moment. Welcome to Jackson County, big brother."