A cold sweat ran over Joel's head as he awoke, noticing the absolute feeling of his head imploding on him. He groaned, opening his eyes. The sunlight battered him, appearing much too bright. "Ah…"
He suddenly realized the absence of Ellie by his side. He jumped up, his body not allowing it and he fell back down to the bed. "Ellie?" He croaked, looking around the room. Thank God. He saw a figure sitting by his feet, her head in her hands as her fingers hid in her messy hair. She was muttering to herself in a craze.
"Oh my God… Joel?" He felt someone instantly take him in their arms, squeezing him tightly. Cries echoed through the room as his brain tried to catch up with Ellie weeping against him. "You've been out for a day." She whispered, tears dripping down her face as she got as close to him as she could, trying to count every breath he took. "I thought… I thought…"
Joel let out another cough, pushing Ellie away slightly. He tried to make out words through his fever, desperate to comfort her. She paced the room, once again whispering mutterings and different medicines under her breath. Books were scattered across the floor of the room and it looked much more cluttered than it had the previous day, or… the day before that, for Joel. He cringed, watching her limp across the room, grabbing her abdomen as she anxiously paced around, pouring different pills from bottles into her palm. "Are… are you feelin' better?" He made through his nasally sickness, watching Ellie move as if she had been full of energy, but he could tell it wasn't the case. "... Ellie."
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Ellie whispered, looking at him directly. There were bags under her eyes as she looked at him, her expression broken. "Fuck, we're almost out of medicine." She whispered to herself, sifting through one of the spilled bottles on the floor, tossing it beside her. Joel slowly rose, leaning against the bed to sit up and watch her crazed movements with concern palpable in his veins.
"Ellie. Did… did you sleep?" He murmured quietly, watching as she ignored him, pouring a small cup of coughing syrup into a cup and moving towards him. She handed it to him, raising it to his lips.
"Here, for the cough." Ellie whispered, watching him drink it slowly, wincing due to the horrible taste it gave him. Wait… where'd she get this?... she's been outside. Alone. Because I can't get up. "And, no, I was out last night on a supply run." Ellie answered quickly, moving towards the portable stove on the ground. Water boiled in it and she threw a few cloves of food in, watching it hiss in response. Ellie stirred the makeshift soup, the watery-broth serving as a good counter-fight to the sickness. "Here, soup's almost ready."
"You… you left at night?" Joel asked, pinched his eyebrows together, trying to clear the headache and his sinuses. Ellie nodded, throwing a few rounds of ammo into her bag and tying her shoe laces, looking back towards the door. "Where… where are you goin'?"
"There's a hospital on the other side of town I haven't cleared yet. You need more medicine, so I'm heading out in a little bit." Ellie answered non-chalantly, throwing her bag over her shoulders and holding Joel's shotgun in her hands. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun with the familiar strands framing her face, showing her desperation to help Joel.
"W-what? No, baby girl, you… you can't go out by yourself." He coughed once again, sending a frown across her lips. She moved towards him, sending the back of her hand to his forehead gently, checking his fever once again.
"Fever's getting worse… damn it, need more Ibuprofen." She whispered to herself, kneeling beside a book on the floor listing medicines and flipping through it obsessively, not even hearing Joel call her name. All that she was focused on was helping Joel to the point she couldn't hear anything but a ringing in her ear as she flipped through the pages, looking for anything that could help him. She had found a bunch of medical books when she was out the previous day. Joel called her name once again, saying it a bit louder. Her head snapped up towards him, only looking because she thought he was crying out for her in pain. "What, what's wrong? Is it the medicine, dammit… knew it wasn't good."
"N-no, Ellie… you need to relax for a little. You're goin' five hundred miles an hour." His voice was hoarse and she simply shook her head, handing him her canteen, pressing it to his left hand. Joel shook his head, pressing it away even though it felt as if his throat were cracking. "Did you get any sleep when I was out?"
"No, like I said, I was out."
"Did you… you see anyone?" He asked, his fingers pinching his forehead in an ache as another wave of his headache ran through him. Though, the pain felt muted and he realized Ellie had been helping him, even at her own cost. Painkillers were running through his veins, suppressing the pain and fever momentarily. She wore the same clothes she'd been wearing two days ago and he could tell she hadn't eaten. "Have you eaten?"
Ellie shook her head, looking in her bag for something for him to eat. "No, are you hungry? I gave you soup, like… an hour ago, I don't know, but-"
"Ellie." She looked up at him, surprised as he grabbed her hands, looking directly into her eyes. She quieted for a minute, seeing his worry.
"I'm fine, I promise. You could be fucking dying, I need to go out again." Ellie tore her hands from him quickly, throwing her bag over her shoulders and standing, pulling him into a hug. "I'll be back in an hour, I promise." Ellie swore, but Joel caught her wrist, giving her a glare. "Joel-"
"Baby girl, I'll survive. You look terrible, you haven't slept. It ain't safe for you to go out alone in your condition, 'specially if you're still sick." Joel whispered, pulling Ellie closer to him with a frown. She sighed, hugging him, but standing once again. "Ellie, please, don't… don't leave." Joel begged, not wanting to think about all the things that could go wrong while he wasn't there for her.
"I've done this for you a billion times, Joel, have I ever not come back?" She asked him, making him sigh with a deep heave. Winter… fuckin' winter. He thought, painfully remembering the month. "I'll be back in an hour or two, I promise. If I'm not back by then, then you're allowed to worry."
Ellie rushily gave him one last hug, allowing herself to stare into his eyes. They begged her not to leave, to be careful, to just stay and snuggle with him, but she wouldn't listen. "I promise, I'll be careful." Part of her hesitated, clearly wanting to say something. "I… I love you, Joel." She whispered before shutting the door behind her, not wanting to hear his response or possible rejection. Joel stood there, trying to catch up with her instantaneous leaving. Part of him itched to follow her but he knew he was nowhere near able to walk for more than a couple feet.
"I… I love you, too. Please be careful, baby girl."
How hard can this be…? Very hard, Ellie. Be careful. She snapped at herself, feeling a physical sickness as she walked away from the motel, leaving Joel behind. She didn't like it any more than he did. Each step felt like a betrayal and every inch of her wanted to turn back, fall into his arms and get just a second of rest, but her body wouldn't let her.
Ellie was absolutely exhausted to the point her ribs hurt with each breath, but she didn't care. Joel needed her and that trumped anything that she was complaining about. "Okay, hospital… hospital." Ellie whispered to herself, looking to the towering building and cringing, knowing there was no way it would be clear. Her footsteps echoed through the silent noon while she hummed to herself, trying to keep her mind off of the towering thought in her head: what if he's already dead when I get anything? What if I fail him?
"I can do this… I can do this, I can do this." Ellie warily looked around her as the building approached, warning Ellie to stay away. "Not threatening at all." She croaked, looking up at the four story building, taking an audible gulp. I wish he was here. She looked to her right, imagining Joel standing beside her and taking her into a hug, whispering comforting words. "Okay. I can do this."
A piece of paper wavered through her hands as she entered the hospital, the doors barely able to move anymore. They let out a small hiss as she pushed herself through them, wincing when one brushed past her abdomen. Still hurts. Ellie didn't have time to care, she moved through the hospital swiftly, already hearing grunts and clicks move through her ears. Fuck… couldn't be easy, could it?
The first clicker went down easily, blood spilling down her shirt as she shushed it violently, knowing these monsters were trying to take her from Joel. "Sh." Ellie hissed, letting its body gently fall to the ground. She crouched through the hospital, suddenly hearing footsteps behind her, scaring her. A runner collapsed against her, berating her with open fists. A cut opened on her cheek as she growled in pain, feeling a wave of pain also run through her abdomen. No, not now… no, no.
As her left arm kept the runner away from her, she reached for its throat with her knife, letting it slam into the runner with an exhausted sigh. The runner's weight slumped over her before she threw it off, reaching at her abdomen in pain. This one was worse and she felt a tear run down her cheek from the pain. Joel had given her things for the… period, that's what he called it. They didn't help much, though.
Suddenly, Ellie felt vomit rising in her throat as her nausea increased. Bile fell beside her while she bent over, vomiting with a small cry. Her body was so tired but she kept going, wiping her mouth. Ellie's hand ripped the knife from the runner's throat, an expression of hatred hidden in her features. "Jesus…" Ellie sighed, placing her hands on her knees, already missing Joel.
The flashlight latched on Ellie's backpack illuminated a checkout, peaking Ellie's interest. She ran to the shelves, quickly digging her nails in them, searching for anything useful. Ellie began searching the shelves, her fingers searching for anything that could help Joel. Mostly, her fingers grasped air and dirt, which she wiped off on her -Joel's- flannel. Then, she heard a clunk as her hand whipped back into the shelves. Ellie's ears rose at the sound, swiping in the same spot. Her fingers wrapped around a bottle, pills rattling around inside. Yes… yes, yes. Ellie screamed in her head, nearly hugging the bottle as she read the label. Ciprofloxacin… sounds like it'll help. Ellie tucked it in her bag, smiling a small bit. It actually felt like she could help Joel.
Abruptly ending her thoughts, another wave of pain ran through her abdomen, making her remember the exhaustion that dawned on her body. Ellie didn't sleep a second the previous night. Not only from the pain, but Joel's coughing. It was abhorrent and loud, but she didn't mind that part. It was as if she could feel the fever coming onto him… feeling him get sicker. Besides that, he hadn't even stirred the previous day, staying asleep the entire day. With each hour, Ellie grew more and more panicked, unable to breath at times. Still, she mustered the strength, to visit the houses in the town, searching for anything. Four new comic cards had entered her collection, almost easing her. Still, it felt wrong to go on without Joel.
At one point she'd even left the room, the echoes of death ringing through her mind, each thought getting progressively more morbid. Joel didn't notice, though… that was what really scared her. He was always so tuned to her noises and the fact that it slipped past him frightened her. Maybe he doesn't care anymore. She had originally thought, but her mind threw that idea out of the window.
From the corner of her eye, a sparkle reflected through her. Glass. Ellie smiled, jogging over to a sectioned off office. "Could have stuff in it." Ellie whispered, wiping the dust off of the glass with her window. "Yes, yes." Ellie chanted, seeing cabinets inside. "These can help." She croaked, desperate to find anything that could help Joel. He was in terrible shape and because of that, she was even worse.
A devilish smile came over Ellie as she took one of the many bricks lying on the floor. The ceiling above her looked as if it had caved in so there were many projectiles lying beneath her feet. In a quick movement, the brick met the glass, making a loud crash.
Maybe I shouldn't have done that. Ellie looked around, expecting something to jump out at her, but… nothing. Okay… She thought, not trusting the silence. Her knife now in her hands, she jumped over the broken glass, landing into a much smaller room. A single safe laid ahead of her while shelves lined the rest of the walls, bottles on some of them. "Jackpot." Ellie grinned, moving towards the safe. Suddenly, something jumped out at her, making her heart rate jump like a frog. "Shit!" Ellie yelped, feeling a dead body collapse on her. She collapsed to the floor from the literal dead weight, coughing slightly. "Oh, you motherfucker…" Ellie groaned, rubbing her cheek. A small bruise had landed on her cheek from the force of the body's hands coming down on her.
"You're such a shit." Ellie growled, pushing the body off of her. He had a dark bite mark on his cheek, gore and blood running down his face and neck. "Ew." She remarked, pushing the body to the ground. Her face fell when she saw the graffiti where the body had been hanging. It looked like the noose had broken when she entered, making the body collapse on her. "You… you were a firefly?" Ellie whispered, seeing the familiar insignia light up under the flashlight on her backpack.
A pit grew in Ellie's stomach, making her lips curve into a deep frown. What if they all ended up like this? What if they're all dead? Ellie rejected the idea, tearing her eyes away from the graffiti. It felt as if a physical chain had been tying her to it and when she broke it, it almost hurt her in a way. There has to be some alive… there has to be, there's no way there isn't. If not, we… we can go back to the QZ, maybe Marlene will still be there. If she's not… Ellie twisted her eyes shut, shooting the idea from her head. Besides Joel, Marlene was the only thing Ellie had ever had for a role model. If she lost her… it would break her. She'll be fine. They'll make a vaccine and Joel and I can go back to Jackson. Everything will be okay.
"It's okay, kiddo." Ellie tried to impersonate Joel, but it didn't exactly work. His accent twisted her tongue, making her words trip over themselves. She smiled, nearly laughing at how bad it was. "That was horrible. Hey, Ellie." She tried again, only to make herself sound worse. A small giggle escaped her. Ellie imagined the smirk and eyeroll he would wear if Joel were beside her… but he wasn't. She was alone. Ellie's smile died as she remembered Joel sick in his bed. "Right." She whispered, remembering why she was here. I need to focus.
Ellie took a key she had found from her pocket, trying it on the safe. Miraculously, it had worked. A small click rang through the air as the safe slowly cracked open, illuminated by Ellie's flashlight. "Yes… yes, yes." Ellie chanted, grabbing the two bottles she scavenged from the safe. "Ace… Acetaminophen." She stuttered over the name, pocketing the bottle of syrup into her backpack behind her. "Andddd…" Ellie drew out her word, squinting at the label on the bag. "... Ceftriaxone. Whatever that is." Time to get back, this should be enough for a couple of more days.
Ellie felt a physical weight lift off of her as she moved towards the exit, beginning to calm… that was when the glass doors slammed shut, making her nearly release a scream from her mouth. "What the-" Ellie was cut off as she took in the sight of some rancid looking beast charging towards her, its fists raised. It looked even bigger than a bloater and she suddenly let out a scream, running from the thing and quickly wielding Joel's shotgun and releasing it.
The monster didn't even seem to be phased by the blow to the head, only scaring Ellie more. Her hands shook as she looked for another exit, desperate to get back to Joel. Maybe I… I can block it off or something. There's no fighting this thing. The monster screeched, quaking Ellie's bones as she ran as fast as she could, shooting the beast with each step, but it didn't seem to do much. "Fuck!" Ellie croaked, seeing the monster approach her quicker and quicker.
Her muscles finally seized her fear, letting her dodge out of the way of the monster and release another shot in its neck, pouring an ocean of blood from its flesh. Still… nothing.
Gunshots rained through the air as it came closer and closer to Ellie, now less than a foot away. "No!" Ellie screamed, feeling it pick her up like she was nothing but a weed. It squeezed her waist, moving it closer to its jaw, its teeth hungry for her fair and soft skin. "Fuck… you!" Ellie squealed, taking Joel's shotgun and aiming directly for the monster's face and shooting, her ears feeling like they were going to burst.
The monster dropped her somehow, letting her skamper away like an injured beast. Her hands dove in her bag, grabbing a molotov and lighting it quickly, hurling it towards the monster. It only seemed to upset it more, making Ellie's bottom lip quiver. "What's going to fucking kill you?!" Ellie whined, letting another finger push the trigger only to find a small click awaited her action, letting all of her hope fall into pieces. "No, no, no."
Booming footsteps screamed towards her, letting her temporarily dodge it, pushing her switchblade into its skin, having no fight left. "Fuck you!" Ellie roared, sinking the knife in as many times before it picked her up once again. "Get off!" Ellie screamed as loud as she could, praying that there wasn't another one of those things in the building that was coming towards her.
Its teeth began to dig into her old bite mark, sending pain blossoming through her. And then… it ended. Her left hand stopped stabbing as the thing collapsed, dropping her along with it. Ellie groaned in pain, grabbing her bite mark and holding it in her chest, a small whimper escaping her.
Ellie laid there for what must've been ten minutes just contemplating her exhaustion, her old bite mark slowly dripping blood down her arm. Finally, she mustered the strength to stand, swinging her bag over her shoulders and looking down at the body, frowning.
What… what are you? She hadn't even seen it before and decided she didn't care. Ellie just wanted to get back to Joel. She wanted him to be proud of her and show him that she could actually do something right. Worry bled through her as she made her way back, anxiety building in her that she was too late and he'd already be dead.
Aside from that, she was so tired. Her arm hurt like hell and a small bruise formed on her face from when the thing had struck her. Joel would no doubt be ballistic about her injuries, but she didn't even care. For the first time since Joel was sick, she just wanted some sleep.
As she limped towards the motel, she wiped her tears from her cheeks, trying to present herself better so she didn't worry Joel as much. He was already dealing with too much and she knew he'd try to get up to help her. Ellie climbed the steps to their room in the motel, feeling her tiredness weigh her down with each step. But, she didn't care.
She provided for Joel. Ellie had found the exact medicine he needed, somehow. And that was the only thing she relished as she opened the door to the room, instantly seeing Joel turn over in his sheets. He was waiting for her to respond, not even trying to be patient. As soon as he saw her, he cringed. Blood was poured on her shirt, both from the monster and the other Infected. But, she didn't even speak, she just closed the door behind her and sat down, searching through her bag for the medicine she'd found. Three bottles came out of her bag, one syrup and the other two pills. "Ellie…" He whispered, seeing a small bit of her own blood drip from her hand. "Ellie." He talked a little bit louder, snapping her out of her desperation to help Joel.
"I'm fine." She whispered, her response a little softer than it had been hours earlier when Joel first awoke. He grimaced, shaking his head gently as she looked up at him, tears shimmering in her eyes. She pushed them down, walking towards him with the medicine and a silent grip on her. "Here, this will help with the cough." Ellie muttered, placing the syrup beside him as she took out the other two bottles, holding them up for Joel to see. "And this, this'll keep your fever down. I read some books yesterday and I think this'll help your immune system or something, and-"
"Ellie." Joel interrupted her, sitting up slightly to take her in his sight. Blood dripped from her right arm and a bruise lived right under her eye. He frowned, seeing the exhaustion hidden in her skin. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"Ran into some fucker. Bloater, I think… I dunno, he was bigger than a bloater." Ellie mumbled, pouring the syrup into a small cup and handing it to Joel. He accepted it gratefully, not done with his interrogation. Joel then put the now empty cup down, refusing anymore medicine until Ellie was okay. "I'm okay."
"Let me see." Joel shook his head, watching as Ellie sighed, pulling her sleeve up. Her bite was bleeding from the cysts, making a small wave of pain gravitate through her. "Baby girl…" He murmured, taking her hand gently in his arms and reaching down to her bag, pulling out an almost clean roll of bandages.
"I'm sorry. I really was trying to be careful."
"No, you did good. You've been doin' really good. Reckon you saved my life today." Joel assured her, seeing a small smile spread on her face. He bandaged her arm, not tying it too tightly. The bite had already marked her so he was sure that she was sensitive about him seeing it. She thought it was the ugliest part of her, the thing that set her out from the crowd. "I'm proud of you." Ellie's smile grew once again and suddenly, she dove into his arms, her arm still in pain.
"I… I thought you were dead. You didn't wake up." Ellie whispered, having no tears left to even cry. She'd spent all of them on David, the bloater from days ago, the hunters… she was done crying.
"I told you, never gon' happen." Joel swore softly, cursing at himself that he left Ellie alone once again. "You sure that arm's okay?" He asked, feeling the softness in her return. Her hardened exterior began to melt as she shook her head, clutching it slightly.
"It… I'm okay." She whispered, her shields recovering from their weakness and coming back even stronger. "I'm really good, I promise." Ellie pulled herself from Joel's grip, bringing her focus back to the pills that laid before her on the dresser. "Here, these… um, these will help. And then, I'll go back out tomorrow… search the second floor of… of the hospital."
"Ellie…" She didn't respond, she just handed him the pills and her canteen, then set herself to make food for Joel. Her stomach growled but she told it to shut up. Joel was all that mattered right now. He could barely get a sentence out without a cough and though his fever had lowered, it was still above a hundred, which was nowhere near good. Joel sighed in defeat, seeing she wasn't going to talk anytime soon. But he'd be damned if he didn't get her to at least rest. "Will you at least sleep?"
"I'm not tired." Ellie lied through her teeth, dragging a rabbit from her bag and skinning it, not even wincing anymore as she separated its flesh from its skin. She took the portable stove Joel had found and threw the meat onto the grill, beginning to cook it. She packed the skin into the dresser's drawer, knowing socks would probably be able to be made from it, something she was in dire need of.
"Yes, you are." Joel saw through her lies, letting out another dry cough, making Ellie look up. She rubbed his back just as he'd do for her during her nightmares and looked at his sleeve.
"No discharge, cough's getting a little better." She whispered, more to herself. It was weird having Joel be okay whilst he was sick. She was so used to being on her own after Winter and now, nursing him again just brought back too many memories… none of them were good. But Ellie didn't care, she needed to push through it. Joel needed her more right now.
"For me… take some rest, kiddo." He begged, breathing heavily. She paused, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Finally, an eye roll ran through her and she nodded, knowing she desperately wanted it anyway.
"Only for a little bit." Ellie finally muttered, watching as Joel scooted over, making room for her gratefully. His face had a warm look of relief as she laid beside him, relishing the feeling when her body was finally able to stop working so hard for just a second.
Joel quickly pulled her in close to him, making sure she was warm and comfortable. She was stiff for a few minutes before finally, she returned his embrace, hiding in his strong arms. The medicine was beginning to sit into Joel and he felt his pain and cough lessen, looking down to Ellie with a grateful expression. "Thank you." He whispered, both for allowing herself to relax and what she risked to make him feel just a little less pain. "I'm feelin' a bit better."
Ellie seemed to finally breathe at that statement and she allowed herself to hug Joel back, feeling as if she actually did something. I actually helped him…? "Really?" Joel nodded, feeling his headache lighten, almost dissipate for a second, but it returned quickly, though: it was still weakened.
"Mhm… reckon I'll be good with a good sleep… and so will you." Joel said the last part firmly, looking down at her and rubbing her back, making her feel almost okay again. "You need your rest, too, okay? Don't make me worry about you, baby girl."
"I… I'll try to sleep." Ellie shuddered, remembering the nightmare she'd had two days prior. It felt so… so real. She didn't know if she'd be able to see Joel so… so mad at her once again. Ellie shuddered, an action that didn't go past Joel.
"It's okay. I'll be right here." Joel assured her, feeling her fear and quenching it with no mercy. Ellie looked up at him and nodded, shutting her eyes. With Joel running his fingers through her hair, sending warm breath across her freckled skin. Soon enough, due to her exhaustion and Joel being somewhat okay again, she fell asleep, her mind waiting to terrorize her.