I was thinking about doing random chapters of Ellie and Joel living in the Community in Jackson, I'm not sure how many chapters I will do but there will be random stories. There will be different events and holidays they may celebrate has a community, but be warned people who are sensitive... there maybe horror in some chapters.

I thought I'd begin where Ellie and Joel arrive at the Jackson Community, then we can venture through the years until the present day game. I finished the game now, it was a different. If anyone would like to discuss the game my dms are open.

Sorry if some of my chapters are boring, I just want to do some random happy moments between Joel and Ellie before the heartbreak begins.

-The Last Of Us is owned by Naughty Dog/ Sony Computer Entertainment

-Some of the parts of this fanfiction are in the game, other parts aren't in the game.

- Sorry for the late update, I've been busy - My laptop charger is broken, so I've got to type my fanfictions on my phone from now on until I replace it.

-The song Bring Me To Life by Evanescence is featured in this chapter.

Snowflake Warning

-Ellie grew up in a world of monsters, TLOU isn't about butterflies and rainbows... it's horror.

-If you're playing the game I know, I know the story has thrown heartbreak at us. I'll give us some happy times.

-Sensitive material, Ellie likes girls... get over it!

Thank you for all the Faves, Alerts and Reviews.

Keep safe and enjoy!

Chapter 16!

Summer - 2036

The day was warm and the sky was cloudy, it was a beautiful day just to lough around in Joel's backyard. Ellie didn't have anything to do today, so she had decided to practice a few songs on her guitar and write a few entries in her journal. She was sitting on a blanket outside of her garage apartment, she was wearing no shoes and she had a glass of orange juice sitting on her guitar case. She strummed her fingers tips against the guitar's strings while she sang softly to herself, she had found some music books on her last group patrol.

How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb
Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home

Ellie continued to sing to herself, she swayed side to side while she played her guitar. She stopped after awhile and wrote something down in her journal, she liked writing down the new songs she was learning. She also wrote about Cat and how she had been learning how to play chess with Maria, but she did write something down about Dina which wasn't very nice.

Dina had been off with her lately, she always made excuses to leave when Cat came to hangout with them in the Tipsy Bison Bar. She had heard from Jesse that Dina didn't like Cat that much, she thought Cat wasn't good enough for Ellie. But Ellie didn't agree with Dina, she loved Cat and she couldn't wait to watch a few movies with her later on while Cat finished off her new tattoo design.

Ellie closed her journal and rested the side of her head against her guitar, she then listened to the sounds around her. She could hear birds chirping and children's voices beyond the backyard's fence, she liked to listen to the community sometimes. She looked over at the back door to Joel's house when she heard it open, she saw Joel and Cat walking through the doorway. She had forgotten Cat was helping Joel in the kitchen to make lunch, this had become a regular thing around here.

" I hope you're hungry." Cat said while she carried a plate of sandwiches down the porches steps. " I think we over did it, we've made about twenty sandwiches."

" It's good job I'm hungry then." Ellie said.

" We were hoping you would say that." Cat said.

Ellie moved over on the blanket so Cat could sit down next to her, she then watch Joel carrying one of his porch chairs over to the blanket with a mug of his beloved coffee in his free hand. She made a joke about Joel being careful in case he broke something, but has always Joel played along with her silly little jokes. He commented about a strange smell in his backyard, he placed his chair down near the blanket and gentle kicked Ellie's foot.

" Move over stinky feet." Joel said.

" Ha-ha, you're hilarious!" Ellie said, she rolled her eyes at him. " Have you ever thought about stand up comedy at the Tipsy Bison? You'd bring the house down."

" I thought it was funny." Cat said.

" You would, I can see a double act coming real soon to the Tispy Bison Bar." Ellie smiled.

" Sign me up for it!" Cat giggled while she took a sandwich from the plate. " I'm willing if Joel is up for it."

" Then sign me up too." Joel said.

" Please don't, it was a joke!" Ellie said.

" We're teasing you Ellie, our jokes are too good for the Tipsy Bison." Cat said.

Ellie playfully pushed Cat away from her, she then crossed her legs and rested her guitar on her knee while she checked the guitar's cords. She ran her finger tips up the cords and Joel gave her a few pointers, she already knew about the cords but she just let him tell her again. She hadn't really been spending much time with Joel lately, she had been busy with patrol training and her art work.

" So, are you up for some patrolling next week with me and Tommy?" Joel asked.

" Sure, we're still going to that old lodge place right?" Ellie asked.

" Yep, it's one of the best patrolling areas on the outskirts of The Jackson Community." Joel replied, he took a sip of his coffee. " There's been a few Infected sightings up that way, we may be away for the night."

" So, it's a camping trip?" Ellie asked.

" Yep, remember to pack your thermals... it's Fall next week." Joel joked.

" You too old man." Ellie smiled.

Ellie turned her attention back to her guitar, she tuned her guitar before she placed it down on the blanket next to her. Joel spoke to Ellie about the little girl she had found last year, he told her he had seen Lara toddling with her new family outside of the nursery this morning. Ellie couldn't help but smile slightly, she had only seen Lara a few times around the community with her new family. She was happy and healthy, Lara's parents had asked Ellie to be her Godmother which she had accepted.

" You'll have to visit her soon, she was asking after you." Joel said.

" Lara or her parents?" Ellie asked.

" Lara, she was asking about Welly." Joel replied with a chuckle. " It's her nickname for you, right?"

" Yeah, she can't say Ellie yet." Ellie replied.

" Well, I think it's cute... Welly." Cat teased.

Ellie rolled her eyes at Cat, she always thought nicknames for people were cute. She had actually given a few nicknames to her friends and neighbours in the community, she secretly called Joel Grizzly Bear because of his beard. That meant Ellie got stuck with the nickname Bear Cub because she was always around Joel, she hated that nickname so much.

" So, what are your plans for today?" Joel asked.

" We were thinking of hanging around here." Ellie replied before she took a sandwich from the plate. " Nothing exciting really, just sunshine and sandwiches. We may catch a movie later at the theatre, I've heard they're having a cheesy 80s movie marathon."

" It will do you good to get out more, it beats sitting around here all day." Joel said.

" Why don't you come with us." Cat said.

" It's mighty kind of you to offer, but I've got plans this evening." Joel said.

" Doing what exactly?" Ellie asked, she took a bite of her sandwich. " Knitting or reading? Oh! I know, you're going to learn how to cook right?"

" Ellie, don't be rude..." Cat sighed.

" What? I'm curious." Ellie smiled.

" Now wouldn't you like to know." Joel said with a slight chuckle. " A gentleman never tells, my business is my own."

" Dude, you're totally making me curious now!" Ellie said.

" Maybe I should keep you guessing, but if you ladies would excuse me..." Joel said while he got up from his chair. " I've got something in the oven, I'll be back soon."

" Joel, don't leave us hanging!" Ellie said.

Ellie watched Joel walking towards the house, she groaned with frustration when he waved to her before he entered his house. Cat couldn't help but laugh at Ellie, she thought it was hilarious when Joel teased Ellie. Ellie told Cat to shut up before she placed her half eaten sandwich back on the plate, she then picked up her guitar and continued to practice the song she was learning to play.

A Week Later

Fall - 2036

The leaves were falling from the trees, the season of Fall was creeping across the country. It wasn't that cold yet which was good, but Ellie enjoyed the changing seasons. She loved nothing more than sketching the changing landscapes and collecting pinecones for Christmas, the children in The Jackson Community liked making Christmas tree decorations with them. It was cute, it lifted the spirits in the community.

Ellie was on group patrol with Tommy and Joel, they were going to spend the night at a old ski lodge in the area. Ellie was enjoying her patrol with them, Tommy had let her have a go of his snipper rifle and he gave her some tips while she took out a few stragglers has Tommy called them. But the day soon turned from fun to deadly, she had no idea what would happen when she went to explore the Music Store not far away from the lodge with Joel.

They never got that far since the route Tommy and Joel used had changed, they use to swim to the little town before it had been drained of it's water. They had no other choice but to cut through an old abandon hotel, it was going fine until they bumped into some Infected. It had been a tough journey through the hotel, they had fought off a Bloater and somehow found their way through the hotel without any trouble after that incident.

Ellie and Joel decided to abandoned their mission for the guitar strings, but they stumbled upon something they hadn't been looking for in this rotting hotel. Ellie had heard about the missing couple who had left the community last year, they basically had packed some supplies and disappeared into the unknown. It turned out that they wanted to help others, but it seemed like they hadn't made it that far. They had ended up getting bitten and one had to shoot the other, it seemed like they had ended it all in this hotel.

Adam and Sidney were their names, Ellie had found a letter that they had both written before their deaths. Adam had let himself turn, luckily for Ellie Joel had been on hand to save her from the Infected Adam's attack. They went to fetch Tommy after their discovery, they returned to the hotel and collected the bodies before they returned back to the ski lodge.

It was getting late so they would have to leave at first light, they had laid Adam and Sidney's bodies in an outdoor area until the morning. But for now they were sheltering in the lodge, it was cosy and Tommy had told Ellie that he always liked patrolling in this area because the views from the lodge were stunning. He was right, the lodge must have been very fancy and expensive to stay at back in the day.

Ellie was sitting on one of the circle couches with her blanket drapped over her shoulders, the fire was roaring not far away from her in this circle fireplace Tommy had lit not long ago. She rested her feet against the side of the fireplace while she wrote in her journal, she was writing about today's events and the conversation she had with Joel about the Flyflies.

Joel told Ellie the same old story, there was no cure for this infection. It made her wonder about the so called other immune people, were they out there or was she the only one? She had so many questions, but she had been unconscious the whole time she had been at the hospital. She needed to find out more about her time at the hospital, she was going to have to find the answers for herself.

Ellie sighed to herself and closed her journal before she put it in her backpack, she would have to look more into the hospital's location when she returned back to Jackson. But for now she was going to relax and keep warm by the fireplace until supper was ready, she wanted to switch off for the next few hours. Joel soon approached Ellie and sat down next to her, he then warmed his hands in front of the fireplace.

" Are you okay, kiddo?" Joel asked.

" I'm good." Ellie replied, she looked at Joel. " Just thinking about stuff..."

" Would you like to talk about it?" Joel asked.

Ellie shook her head at Joel and turned her attention back to the fireplace, she didn't want to argue with Joel after today events. She wanted to know more about St Mary's Hospital and what happened there, but Joel didn't want to tell her much about it. She remained quiet until Tommy brought them some supper, he had toasted some bread over the fireplace and warmed up the stew Maria had made for them on a camping stove.

" Grubs up!" Tommy said.

" Thanks Tommy." Ellie said, she took one of the bowls from him. " It smells delicious, I'm guessing this is one of Maria's recipes."

" You guessed right." Tommy said.

" Tommy can't make stew, he use to burn the bottom of the saucepan back in Texas." Joel said with a chuckle before he spooned some stew into his mouth. " Not to mention he always added too much salt."

" Now you see why I've gotten married." Tommy said, he sat down on the couch. " I've got my own personal chef."

" I'll tell Maria that you said that..." Ellie said.

" Please don't, I've been in the doghouse enough lately." Tommy smiled.

" She's still angry about group patrol training incident, right?" Ellie asked.

" You've just hit the nail on the head, she'll get over it soon enough." Tommy replied.

" But it's been a year..." Ellie said.

" She holds grudges." Tommy sighed.

Ellie relaxed on the couch and spooned some of the stew into her mouth, it had the little mushrooms in it which she loved. Joel and Tommy spoke to each other while Ellie ate her food, they were talking about the missing couple's bodies. Ellie was going to have to ride with Joel, they needed to use Shimmer to transport the bodies back to Jackson.

Ellie rested her spoon against her bottom lip while she listened to them talking, her thoughts were all over the place right now. She couldn't stop thinking about the Fireflies and the hospital, she just wanted some god damn answers. She finished her stew and got up from the couch, she told Joel she was going to check on the horses.

" Alright, just be careful out there." Joel said.

" Yeah, yeah..." Ellie said

Ellie left Tommy and Joel by the fireplace, she placed her empty bowl on the table where the camping stove was before she left the lodge. She closed the door behind her and stretched her hands above her head while she walked over to the horses, their reins were tied to a wooden fence. Tommy had setup a trap of barbed wire with empty cans hanging from it, he had tied it between the only opening to the lodge area. It was hard to see the barbed wire in the dark, it would keep the infected out while they rested up and alert them if anyone was trespassing in this area.

" Hey Shimmer." Ellie said.

Ellie approach Shimmer and rested her hand on her horse's neck, her faithful horse was happy to see her. She nudged her owners arm and nayed softly, she was a gentle horse. Ellie rested her forehead against Shimmer's neck, she spoke to her about today events and told her they would be going on a little adventure soon. She sometimes spoke to her horse when she had a lot on her mind, she often wondered if Shimmer understood her.

" Penny for your thoughts?" Tommy asked.

Ellie jumped and reached for her hunting knife, she was relieved when she saw Tommy standing not far away from her with a mug in his hand. She swore at him and called him a dick, he had scared the living daylights out of her. Tommy apologised to Ellie and offered her his mug, she took from him before she leaned back against the fence. She watched the steam overflowing from the mug, she knew why Tommy was here.

" Did Joel send you out here to check up on me?" Ellie asked.

" Nope." Tommy replied.

" I know you're lying, what did Joel say to you?" Ellie asked.

" I don't know what's going on with you two, but you need to sort it out." Tommy replied, he crossed his arms with a sigh. " You could cut the tension in the lodge with a butter knife, what happened out there?"

" Just a silly argument, nothing too serious..." Ellie replied.

" Ellie, you know you can talk to me." Tommy said.

" It's just..." Ellie sighed before she continued to speak. " Joel won't tell me anything about the Flyflies, he's always secretive about them. I just want to know what happened at the hospital, I know there's no cure for this infection. I just want to know more about the tests and the other immune people, but Joel says there's nothing else to know..."

" Maybe you should listen to him, he was there after all." Tommy said.

" I know that, but there's got to be more to this..." Ellie said.

" Okay, you're probably right." Tommy said while he took a few steps towards her. " But there's somethings out there that we'll never understand, maybe it's best you just leave some questions unanswered."

" It's not a bad thing wanting to know the truth, right?" Ellie asked.

" Nope, that's not a bad thing at all." Tommy replied, he sighed to himself before he spoke again. " Listen Ellie, I don't want to get involved in this little disagreement between you and my Brother. He cares about you, we both do. I don't want you getting hurt, I just think it's best to forget about the Flyflies..."

" I can't just forget about them, they were my only fucking hope once!" Ellie said.

" I know, what I mean is just let the dust settle for now." Tommy said. " I think you'll get your answers someday, but for now just bide your time and be patient. Don't go rushing into things, the information you seek will just fall into your lap someday."

" Since when did you get all wise?" Ellie asked.

" I've been reading War and Peace, it's an interesting read." Tommy replied, he glanced over his shoulder at the lodge. " I'm heading back inside now, don't be too long out here... it's getting chilly."

" Okay." Ellie said.

Ellie cupped her hands around the mug while she watched Tommy walking back to the lodge, she knew he would be on Joel's side. She sighed deeply to herself and took a sip of the hot drink, she was going to have to find the answers to her questions for herself.