The weather was perfect, sunny and breezy, as Ellie whistled her way to the stables for her duties that day. She wished nothing more than to take one of the horses for a ride.

She heard rustling and a faint voice as she approached the stable. On guard, she slowly walked up to the door, trying to peer inside without making much noise. What she saw surprised her. A boy, her age or older, was patting a white beauty named Chessie inside her stall.

Annoyed, she burst through the door.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be in here! That's kind of my job," she scolded the boy, who jumped at her sudden entrance. Catching his breath, he turned to her. Ellie noticed his eyes first, which were a piercing shade of blue, wide with surprise.

"Sorry, I just -" he started, not sure how to explain himself. He seemed to gain some of his courage and narrowed his eyes at her. "Wait, I don't have to answer to you. You're just a kid!"

Ellie scoffed. "So are you! Listen, Maria told me that people aren't allowed to just waltz in here whenever they please."

"I just wanted to pet them, see something happy and nice for once. Jeez," he threw his hands up in defeat, backing away from the horse.

Ellie softened at his comment and apparent distress, because she often felt the same way, and the kid looked like he was having a bad day. The best thing about spending so much time with the horses was their apparent kindness and purity in a world that had nothing but destruction. She sighed and folded her arms across her chest.

"Alright, fine. You can stay, as long as I'm here whenever you are. And if you're going to be here, you may as well help me."

The boy shrugged nonchalantly and agreed to her terms, but Ellie could tell he was excited. "What do we have to do first?" he inquired.

"If you didn't notice, it stinks in here. So I think you can take a guess," she shot off sarcastically, which elicited a smile from the boy. He picked up a shovel and worked side by side with her, cleaning out the stalls.

Ellie was wary of strangers, mostly because Joel had taught her so, and she wasn't up for making much small talk. That didn't stop her new companion from trying to get to know her.

"I'm Austin," he said casually, hoping for a response. Ellie nodded, and begrudgingly decided to answer him.

"Ellie," she mumbled.

"Cool, cool. So how long have you been here?"

"Just this summer. You?" Ellie figured that if the kid was going to stick around they might as well be friendly. And he didn't seem to have any intention of giving up on trying to talk to her.

"Been here about 6 months. With my dad and uncle. We miss my ma but we're gettin' by, you know how it is."

Ellie nodded, not knowing what to say. She felt bad for the kid, and remembered her own parents, long gone. With a sigh she continued working to push the thought from her mind.

"What about you?"

"What?" Ellie asked, lost in her own mind.

"Who'd you come with?"

Ellie stopped shoveling and thought for a moment. How did one even describe Joel to a complete stranger? "It's uh… complicated," she shrugged. Austin didn't seem to like that answer and tried prodding further.

"His name is Joel," Ellie offered, hoping that would be enough.

"Wait..." Austin looked at her incredulously. "That Joel? Like Tommy's brother Joel?"

Ellie nodded and cracked a smile. "Yup. That Joel." She hoped that Joel's reputation wasn't too bad around here, but she did like that he scared people a little. In turn, they tended not to mess with her either.

Austin's eyes widened slightly and Ellie smirked at his fearful reaction. She knew he was thinking of the many ways he could possibly incur Joel's wrath.

"So you like, live with him?" he asked hesitantly, stopping his shoveling for a moment.

"Yeah. But he's really not that bad. Don't tell anyone, but he's secretly a huge softie – trust me."

Austin relaxed a bit and smiled at her comment. "Don't worry, the secret is between us," he said. He was clearly pleased to have found someone his age to talk to. "So you're the girl that Joel would break a neck for, then. At least that's what I've heard," he added.

Ellie felt embarrassed about the prospect. Their ordeal with the Fireflies a few months ago came to mind and Ellie felt a sudden curiosity sweep over her again. What had happened? The only person who knew was Joel, the one who apparently would break a neck for her. Ellie swallowed hard thinking of Joel snapping all the necks of the Fireflies... including Marlene. She shivered in the heat of the day.

"I guess so..." she replied, trying to fake a smile. She didn't think she could bear to explain her fears with this stranger. "You better watch out."

Austin rolled his eyes and kept shoveling. Ellie decided that maybe the kid wasn't so bad after all. It could be nice to have someone to talk to other than Joel, which could sometimes feel like talking to a wall.

"I'm not scared of him, you know."

"Alright, dude." Ellie said, laden with sarcasm.

They worked the rest of the time mostly in silence, until Austin thought of yet another question to ask Ellie. She always answered honestly, but kept the responses short. The thought of having a friend was nice, but she was still wary about getting close to people. Ellie wondered if his upbeat attitude and constant commentating was how she had seemed to Joel at first. She almost laughed at how jaded she felt she had become. Nevertheless, Austin was a good kid with what seemed like a good heart. She just hoped that proved to be true.

LATER

Ellie walked towards one of the entrances to the settlement, practically bouncing with the pleasant mood she was in. Ellie hadn't had a friend - a real friend - in what felt like a long time. She hoped to find Joel on guard duty, and saw his familiar outline as she approached her destination. The sun was beginning to set, and Joel would be off soon to let the night shift take over.

He didn't see Ellie approaching, but she knew better than to try to sneak up on him. It would likely end up with a bullet lodged somewhere in her head. Joel was far too jumpy and instinctual from all his years of survival.

He was leaning up against the settlement wall, holding a large gun and looking off towards the surrounding woods with a bored expression. He turned to look when Ellie came bounding up to him, filled with excited energy.

"Hey," she greeted him happily.

"Hey kiddo," he smiled softly at her, "what are you all worked up about now?"

"I think… I might have made a friend."

Joel feigned an overly shocked reaction. "I didn't think you had it in ya."

Ellie sat down on the ground across from where he was standing and picked at the grass under her. "I know right?" she chuckled.

"Well this friend better watch themselves," Joel made sure to add, doing his usual tough guy routine.

"Oh please," Ellie rolled her eyes at him. The corners of Joel's mouth twitched, trying not to smile at the young girl.

"Okay, so I have a question you're probably not going to like," Ellie said seriously after a few moments of silence.

Joel eyed her suspiciously. "Alright, shoot," he replied.

"Can we please ride together today? Like out there?" Ellie nodded her head towards the outside of the settlement that Joel was currently guarding. Joel sighed in response to her question and ran his hand through his beard.

"I don't know, Ellie..." he started, looking out towards the outside and shaking his head a little.

"Pleaseeeee. I'll even give you a pretty please," she clasped her hands together.

"Ellie..." Joel warned her, "you will not annoy me into doin' this."

"Come on! We haven't done anything fun in forever."

"We went swimmin' three days ago," Joel said flatly, crossing his arms.

"Yes, exactly. Forever ago," Ellie replied with her usual sarcasm. "Please, Joel? Pleaseeeee," she begged, knowing that Joel had to crack sometime. She had quickly learned that he could only take so much of her nagging before he just decided to give in.

He sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes. "Fine," he blurted out, letting his hands drop to his sides.

"Knew you'd say yes," Ellie chimed in smugly as she stood up.

With perfect timing, a younger man named Matt with faded blonde hair came over to them, likely to relieve Joel of his guard duty. Joel nodded to Matt as they swapped places without a word.

"Have yourselves a good night," he called after Joel and Ellie as they made their way towards the barn.

"Yeah, you too, buddy," Joel replied with a wave of his hand.

Once they were out of earshot, Ellie snorted a little. "I guess you've made a friend too," she teased. Joel grumbled and frowned at her joke, as usual.

"Y'know, we could always just turn and go on home instead," he threatened.

"Okay, fine, no more making fun of you," Ellie threw her hands up in defeat.

"That's more like it," Joel said. Although he looked forward to the silence, in the depths of his heart he knew he could listen to the girl talk and tease him all day long for all he cared.

When they arrived, Ellie took her favorite horse, Chessie, out of her stall and gave her a pat as she led the horse outside to be saddled up. Joel went straight for a chestnut colored one and did the same. Once she was ready, Ellie climbed up onto Chessie and gave Joel a thumbs up. He followed suit and they rode off towards the trees.

The late evening sunset cast its glow all about them, relaxing the mood. Light coming through the trees spilled onto the path that lay before them and the familiar sound of crickets slowly began to surround them. The hard work of the day felt like it melted off Joel's shoulders as he breathed in fresh air.

Ellie and Joel rode side by side when they could, unless the path became to narrow for them. For a long while, they went along as Ellie hummed an unknown tune to Joel, who half listened in a dazed state. He was glad Ellie made him do this, although he tried to remember to still be on guard.

"So, tell me more about this friend of yours," he said finally, letting out a relaxed sigh. Ellie was somewhat surprised at Joel's interest, considering he typically didn't start the conversation first. Normally he was on the other end of the interrogation.

"Uh, I dunno. His name is Austin," Ellie shrugged, not sure what to say about her newfound friend since she actually didn't know hardly anything about the kid.

"I think I've seen'm around. Scruffy lookin' kid with brown hair?"

"Mhm," Ellie nodded. "He's here with family. His mom's dead, though," she said with the same casual nature which people used to discuss the weather.

"Shame," Joel said, feeling truly sorry for the boy.

"He seems pretty cool though. I made sure to be careful, thanks to you."

"Atta girl," Joel smiled faintly. He knew better than to put his trust in anyone, and hoped that Ellie had learned the same throughout their journey together. If she wasn't convinced after what they went through in Pittsburgh, then he didn't know what would.

"Oh, and he's totally scared of you," Ellie grinned, knowing Austin would probably kill her if he was here.

"That so?" Joel said, chuckling. He really couldn't say he was surprised to hear that. Ellie laughed with him and nodded.

"Don't worry, I set him straight and told him you're actually a big softie," she smirked, knowing now that Joel was going to be the one to injure her.

He grunted in disapproval. "I should disown you, y'know."

"You wouldn't dare," she threatened, and both Ellie and Joel knew it was the truth. Joel chuckled a little and looked towards the passing ridge with a smile. His heart had always belonged to two things – his daughter and nature. With the former gone, and the world too dangerous to enjoy the beauty of nature anymore, he was more than glad to have this time to appreciate it.

"So… now it's my turn for a question," Ellie said. Joel perked up a bit, wondering what the girl had up her sleeve now.

"You get enough questions in most of the time," he said with a tired sigh.

"I'm serious. I've been thinking," she began, taking a moment to think of the best way to approach this. "Before the Fireflies, you said something about being married, and I just was wondering…"

"We've been over this," Joel warned, feeling his muscles tense up.

"I'm just curious! I just don't… I don't think you should be so closed off about everything. It's not fair that I'm not allowed to know you, Joel."

"Ellie…" he said, exasperated. He hated that he knew she was right. He hated how grown up and mature she sounded in that moment. He hated that time already felt like it was slipping through his fingers, that he felt like he would lose her any moment, and that she brought up the one woman he vowed never to speak of if he could help it. But he owed Ellie too much to keep doing this to her. The person he was really angry at was himself.

Ellie sat, silently chewing her lip, knowing she had gone too far once again. Joel pinched the bridge of his nose, collecting his thoughts.

"She uh, she left," Joel said reluctantly, getting a shocked look from Ellie. She hadn't expected him to actually answer. Her mind flooded with more questions

"I'm so sorry, Joel. It was her loss," Ellie felt so much anger towards this woman she had never met.

"It was 30 years ago, Ellie, I don't need that whole talk. I got it enough from everyone else at the time." Joel cringed at the memory of all the hollow consolation from family and friends.

"What, um, happened?" Ellie asked timidly, knowing she was really testing the waters. She was glad to get Joel to open up more but didn't want to push his limits.

"We had Sarah real young, and things didn't go so well from there. She wanted a 'normal' life, or somethin' like that," Joel was quiet and thoughtful as he spoke, as if he was really talking about this for the first time ever.

"I can't believe this, she just… left you guys? Left being a mother?" Ellie truly was incredulous at the aspect. What parent left their child voluntarily? Hers hadn't gotten to make that choice.

"Sure did." Joel tried not to let too much of his resentment come through in his tone, but it was hard to bite his tongue.

"So you were on your own? Before the infection happened?"

"For a long time, yeah. It wasn't all bad, though," Joel nodded solemnly.

"I'm sure you were a great dad, Joel," Ellie assured him, although she figured the need for it was long gone. She could tell what kind of father he was from the fierce way he missed his daughter.

"Thank you. I 'preciate it." Joel looked down towards the ground, not feeling very taken with this kind of conversation.

"Ready to head back?" Ellie asked, feeling that Joel didn't want to talk anymore. On Joel's terms, she had done enough asking for a lifetime.

"Sure thing," he said, grabbing the reigns and pulling the horse to turn around.

They rode the rest of the way in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Joel couldn't quite place the sad smile that had formed on his lips. It was for the bearing weight of nostalgia and times long gone; it was for Sarah, who was nothing but a memory now; and it was for Ellie, who truly cared so much for him without reason. He didn't deserve what he got from that girl, and he knew she sure didn't deserve how little he was giving in return.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! x