It had been a couple of days. Ellie, despite her protesting, was still stuck in bed. Joel found a few comics for her, but nothing was able to distract her from both boredom, and the pain that still lived in her. She felt so useless. Joel had to go out every once and a while to find either supplies, medicine, or something just to take Ellie's mind off of her thoughts.
It was currently the morning, another day gone by with Ellie in pain and bedridden. It had gotten better undeniably, though. She could make out clear sentences and move, but moving still hurt. Joel had returned from another scavenged with a surprise. "Joel?" Ellie called, hearing the door open, propping herself up slowly.
Joel had found an actual cast for her leg and now, her knee and upper thigh was coated in a thin cast, waiting for the bones to heal. "Yeah, it's me!" Joel called up, hearing her sigh in relief as he locked the door behind him, letting his bag gently fall to the ground. He held his surprise in his hands, a small grin on his face. "Found somethin' for you."
As Joel walked into the room, he held something behind his back, peaking Ellie's curiosity. She tried to peek but he shook his head, kneeling next to her. "What is that?"
"So, I know how you don't like me leavin' without you. So…" Joel revealed two proper metal crutches with a grin. She smiled, looking up at him and taking them in her hands. "Maybe you can start practicing with this, make some short trips across the street once you got it down." Ellie nodded happily, placing the crutches under her arms and looking up to Joel again with a grin.
"Can I try it?" Joel nodded, taking her left hand and helping her to the ground carefully. She balanced on his grip for a second but finally let go, relying on the crutches' balance.
"Careful now, kiddo." Joel whispered, backing up so she had space to limp around with the contraption. She slowly began moving towards him, her right leg dragging but almost working with the crutches. She couldn't bend it, but she was able to swing it off the ground to move with the crutches balance. "There ya go."
Ellie finally made it to him and before he knew it, she laid the crutches on the dresser and relied on him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you." Ellie smiled, so grateful she'd finally be able to get out of the house but mostly, out of the goddamn bed. Ellie hated not being there to watch over Joel when he was out, even if she couldn't do much. It was a horrible feeling to know she couldn't do anything with her broken leg.
"Nah, 't's no problem." Joel slowly got her back to the bed, laying the crutches beside her. "So, we ain't too far from Salt Lake. Reckon a couple more weeks, maybe a month or two and we should be there." Ellie smiled, thankful to hear some good news.
"Can we go outside?" Ellie asked, desperately wanting to breath in fresh air and feel the concrete of the roads again. She just wanted to do something besides sit, sleep and read the same comic books over and over again, hoping the pages would change.
Joel shifted, itching his beard uncomfortably. "I dunno, kiddo… you just started with those…" Ellie shamelessly pulled her saddest face, staring at Joel with large eyes and a pouted lip. "Now, that's cheatin'. That's what that is."
"Pleaseeeeee?" Ellie begged, nearly screaming in joy when Joel let out a sigh and nodded his head, a frown on his lips. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ellie laughed, hugging him once more. He chuckled and rustled her hair, but she didn't even care this time.
"Yeah, reckon ya need to get out eventually. Only short trips though, we ain't going no farther than that bookstore across the street." Ellie didn't find herself groaning or caring, she was just so happy she could get out of the house. "I gotta carry you down them steps, though." Ellie nodded, taking the crutches back under her arms excitedly. Joel slowed her down, a shake of his head. "Careful, baby."
"I know, I know." Ellie groaned, placing the crutches under her armpits and standing with Joel's help, smiling when she was able to start walking. "It's working." Ellie giggled. Joel felt the lasting tension in his body release as she slowly walked out of the room, an easier living rolling over both of them.
"Okay, let me carry ya now." Joel took the crutches from her, disabling her high for just a moment. He swooped his arms under her legs, his arms supporting her neck. She took the crutches from him as he carried her down the steps. They creaked beneath their combined weight and soon enough they were at the bottom again.
Ellie excitedly took the crutches back from Joel, landing back on her own feet. Joel smiled, but in the back of his mind, worry still lived in him. He'd cleared the town to make sure when she was out, they didn't run into anything, but still… it was the father in him to worry about every little thing. He did it with Sarah, and now he was doing it with her. "Careful, Ellie."
"Stop worrying, old man. You might get a little less gray." Ellie smiled, seeing Joel roll his eyes. He slung his backpack over his shoulders and took a new bag he had found for Ellie, swinging it over his shoulders. It had a few things in it, the medicines she had to take each day, her mother's letter and photo, her weapons. Joel had found another charm for her, a little comic book figure. She really loved it, even if Joel had no idea who it was.
"Mhm." Joel rolled his eyes, opening the door for her as she limped out. She'd been sleeping decently, but with her mind trapped in her still body all day, all she had to do was think of memories and nightmares she'd had. Her brain was pretty fried, but it seemed that going outside had broken the cycle. "That's it." Joel pointed to a comic store across the street, seeing Ellie's face lighten.
"Wow, lucky for once, huh?" She asked, slowly moving across the street with Joel close to her, ready to catch her if she lost her balance.
"So, does the leg feel better?" Joel asked, looking at the back of it. Earlier it had been swollen and red but it was clearer now, letting her barely bend it with the cast. The bone was slowly recovering and when Joel felt her knee, he saw that the cracks in it he had felt a week ago were shallower and that he could feel the bottom of them.
"I guess… I can kinda move it now. My back still hurts, though." Ellie muttered, feeling the bruises that littered it after her fall. Joel did what he could for them, but the only real answer was just to give her more pain meds and wait it out. "It's better, though." She finalized, seeing Joel's head pick up a little at that.
He now knew how she felt during the winter and he hated that she had to feel the things he was feeling for the three months he was out. Guilt still lived in him because of that fact. Ellie's foot splashed down in a puddle of water as she landed it on the ground, quickly growing tired from the crutches. Her face picked up for a second and she looked up to Joel. "Hey, Joel, can you teach me how to swim for my birthday?"
"'T's comin' up?" Joel asked, taking in the sight of Ellie's head bob up quickly. "When?" He asked casually as they continued, finally crossing the street. Joel opened the door for her once again, turning on his flashlight and switching Ellie's on for her as well.
"I dunno… spring, I think. I never celebrated it, so, I kinda… y'know, just forgot." Ellie shrugged, not thinking much of it and walking through the comic book. Joel sighed, shaking his head and shutting his eyes in pain. To think of her never even having someone loving enough of her to wish her a happy birthday… it killed him. He just wanted to hug her and fix all of that, but it had already happened to her. The only thing he could do about it now was make up for lost time. "I dunno, it might've already passed." She corrected herself, completely forgetting the conversation when she walked into the comic shop.
"Holy shit, look at all of these, Joel." Ellie smiled largely, placing one of her crutches and using the left one so she had a free hand to take things.
"Careful."
"Yeah, yeah. Look, they have Savage Starlight." Ellie grinned, picking up a dusty issue and blowing over it, knocking the dust off. She gave it to Joel, who placed it in her backpack with a chuckle. He hadn't seen her this happy since… well, he couldn't remember. Now that Joel thought of it, he'd never really seen Ellie be so excited about something besides the vaccine, of course. Ellie reached up for another book, excitedly flipping through it, not really reading it but blushing and smiling at the familiar characters and drawings.
Comics are what had piqued her interest in drawing. The art styles and colors intrigued her and she always wanted to know how to do that. Before… before everything, Ellie had made a comic book for Riley. It was lost in her old backpack from Winter, something Ellie mourned. "Guess people were really into this, huh, kiddo?"
Ellie scoffed, holding a book up to him with a smile. "'Kinda?' Joel, I still don't get why you won't read any of these." Ellie shook her head, handing Joel another pile of comics and figurines to store in her bag. Joel sighed, a grin worn behind his beard.
"And where do ya think we'll be puttin' all of this stuff, baby girl?" Joel asked her. She happily whistled as she limped through the store, picking up every single thing and staring at it like it was a puppy.
"Well, I figured… once we're done with all of this, we'll go back to Jackson, right?" Joel nodded, placing Ellie's bag down as it was starting to get heavy. It was slowly transitioning into noon and the air became warmer around them. It was a small shop, one floor; two rooms. Still, the small structure was enough to make Ellie smile like she never had before… and that was enough to make Joel happy for life.
"Yeah, reckon that's the plan if that's what you wanna do." Joel nodded, thinking of actually being able to return to Tommy… they'd be able to be brothers again. It'd almost be able to return to how it'd been twenty years ago… Tommy could be like an uncle to Ellie, just in case Joel ever… no, Joel had to stick around. For Ellie's sake. You ain't getting rid of me, kiddo.
"So, I'm going to have a cool-ass room… just a room with posters and shit in it." Ellie beamed, beginning to rip down a poster from the wall with a dangerous care, not letting it even rip.
"Here, I got it." Joel gibed, seeing she was too short to reach it. He reached up, carefully taking the poster down and rolling it up into Ellie's bag. She thanked him, continuing to limp through the store with the single crutch under her arms. "Careful!" Joel called as she moved into the other room, it looked like a storage of some kind.
Joel stayed in the first room, a certain book piquing his interest. He picked it up, rubbing dust from the cover to make it readable. No Pun Intended; Volume Three… Will Livingston. It's a goddamn joke book. Joel felt a devilish smile creep across his lips and he took the book, hiding it in his bag and looking towards the room Ellie was in with a smirk. Gonna make sure you getta birthday present this time.
"Hey, Joel! C'mere!" Ellie called, making Joel immediately rush to her, thinking she fell or was in trouble. His fear dissipated when he saw her standing over a large pile of cards of some sort. "Look, it's like, twenty Starlight cards!" Ellie gleamed, holding up three cards in her hand. "Tormentra… sick." She smiled, slipping the three cards into her pocket.
"Aren't ya gonna take all of 'em?"
"Nah. It's not collecting if you find, like, twenty in one spot. That's cheating." Ellie shrugged, inspecting the other items in the room. There was a desk with an ancient looking computer on it, one that gave Joel nostalgia.
"I used to have one of these… yeah, Tommy an' me'd play games on these all day when we were yer age. It was real popular." Ellie looked at the computer, wiping the screen and staring into, not surprised to find nothing but darkness. "Had some good times with these."
"What kinda games did you play?" Ellie asked, searching through the things on the desk and finding yet another figurine. It had light blue hair and a white outfit with a gun latched onto the figurine's hope. Ellie realized with a massive smile that it was no one else but Dr. Daniela Star. She pocketed the small figurine right away, her excitement reaching its peak. "Like, bloody ones?"
"Nah, took a while for those ta come out. There was this monkey one." Ellie let out a laugh, shaking her head and slowly limping towards Joel, sitting on the chair below him in front of the computer.
"You lived in a weird fucking time, Joel." Ellie smiled, trying to imagine playing a game about 'some monkey' and laughed again. She thought back to Triple Phoenix in that mall with Riley and frowned for a second, letting her excitement die for just a moment. Eventually, Joel nudged her, inspecting her eyes carefully.
"You okay, kiddo?" She snapped out of it rather quickly, rathering not to remember the rest of the night. Ellie slowly nodded, looking back down at the figurine in her hands. She fingered it, remembering how Riley had shared her obsession of the silly comics.
"Yeah… let's get outta here." Ellie nodded, knowing one: she'd picked the store clean and two, this place reminded her too much of Riley.
"Okay…" Joel responded gently, seeing she didn't want to talk about it. So, he left it alone, unsure if consequences would answer or not. "Lemme get your other crutch for you." Ellie nodded, quickly seeing Joel return and slip the piece of metal under her arm, steadying her balance. "There ya go."
"Okay. Maybe we can come back for more of these posters later." Ellie smiled a little bit, trying to ease Joel's worry a little bit. It worked ever so slightly.
"We'll probably find some more before we get back to Jackson." Joel replied, helping her move out of the store and back towards the ivory green house they were camping in. "Once we get back to Jackson, reckon you'd like it if I taught you some guitar?" Ellie nodded, smiling and remembering how Joel had swore to her he'd play for her before they were at Salt Lake. She'd heard him sing, but she wanted her own solo performance of his.
"Yeah… yeah, that sounds cool."
"Y'know, Tommy and I used to make guitars. If they got some wood back at Jackson, some sand paper… could probably make you your own." Ellie grinned, nodding vigorously. She was cheered up almost instantly as she imagined her own guitar, already dreaming of what she could sketch on it. I'm going to have a fucking badass guitar. She thought, smiling with a toothy grin.
"Fuck yeah." Ellie laughed, watching as Joel opened the door of the house for her, letting her hobble inside and slowly put her crutches down, letting Joel scoop her up and carry her up the steps. "My guitar's going to look so fucking cool." Joel chuckled, kissing the top of her head as he laid her back down in the bed. He put her bag beside her, letting her go through all of the things she'd collected in the store.
"Hey, I… I got somethin' for you." Joel whispered, taking his own bag out and hiding the book with his arm.
"Another surprise? Expect me to get used to this five star treatment." Ellie joked, curiously trying to peek but only receiving a playful glare from Joel. "Seriously, you're killing me here, old man."
Joel slowly pulled out the joke book, seeing Ellie's face enlighten with delight and ecstasy when she saw it. Ellie let out a high squeal, taking the book from Joel's hands and embracing it before quickly hugging him with a large grin on her face. "Happy birthday, baby girl." Joel smiled when she looked up at him with a smile. "Ya like it? Reckon I was getting a bit tired of hearin' the same jokes over and over again."
"'Like it?!" This is great, Joel, thank you!" Ellie laughed, squeezing him hard before letting him go, flipping through the pages obsessively, searching for a good first Joel. "What did the mermaid wear to her math class?"
Joel awaited the joke, preparing himself for something horrible. "An algebra." Joel let out a chuckle, shaking his head and putting his head to his temples, giving Ellie a stair.
"In a little bit, I think I'll regret givin' you that, baby girl." Joel smirked, noticing that dusk had begun to fall across the sky, painting it oranges and beautiful yellows. Twenty years ago, Sarah would've dragged him to sit on their roof with an ice pop and just watch the stars in the sky… she was beyond her years.
"Oh, I'll make sure." Ellie laughed, reading another one. "Why did the scarecrow get a promotion? Because he was outstanding in his field." Ellie let out a snicker, feeling Joel close the door with a face of comedic pain, shaking his head.
"Reckon that's enough for today." Joel smiled, taking the book and putting it on the bed table beside them. Ellie giggled, moving herself into a more comfortable position as she piled the comic books into her bag, letting it slide to the ground beside the bed. "Try and get some rest, baby girl… all that walking must've tired ya out." Ellie nodded: her legs and arms were on fire from walking around for the first time in a week. Sure, she had to get up to use the bathroom, but Joel usually just carried her and set her down. Her body wasn't back to its normal immunity of exhaustion yet.
"Yeah…" Ellie yawned again, feeling Joel slip the covers of the bed over her and lay beside her. The mattress sunk with his weight and he nestled his arm under her, letting her slowly nuzzle into him and snuggle around his body. "Night, Joel…"
"Night, kiddo."