It had certainly been a change, after the doctor's visit, that is. Joel made sure Ellie always took food with ehr when going to the ranch. She returned after a few days, as her sickness had taken a few days to retreat. Her cough was still there, but she was able to go outside and move around.
Joel's paranoia still forbade her from going for patrol, only for another week. It was now Summer, around two weeks later… and it was Ellie's birthday… Joel had been patrolling with Tommy when he found a certain… piece of history that he knew Ellie would adore. So, they were on their way. "Joel, where are we going?" Ellie laughed, looking around at the vast trees surrounding them.
"You'll see." He simply smirked back at her and she sighed, looking back at the guitar she'd laid on the log. Joel had been teaching her once again, but he'd interrupted her for some 'birthday surprise.'
"Can I start guessing?" Before Joel could respond, she started airing out hypothesi that could be the answer. "Is it… a dog?" Joel chuckled and shook his head, not responding.
"You really wanna spoil it?" Ellie stopped for a moment before shrugging, answering with a: 'I dunno.' He chuckled and once again looked back towards her, ducking his head. "You'll see when we get there." Ellie scoffed, looking around them. They'd left Jackson a few hours ago, and it was just walking from then on. They'd spotted a deer, and that was the first time Ellie was able to look at one without remembering Winter.
"Is it a dinosaur? Ummmm… a time machine?" Joel chuckled and turned around, taking in the sight of her. She was smiling, and Joel had made sure -after Winter- to not take that for granted. Seeing her happy genuinely made him feel warm, and he took her hand, squeezing it. "More sneakers?"
"How many of those do you have?" Joel asked with an amused look on his face. Ellie snorted, turning her nose up and then looking back down towards the canvas sneakers fitting her feet.
"Not enough." She piped, hearing a small laugh emerge from her father. "How about… a car? A bunch of kittens?" She kept asking and he just walked along with her smiling.
"It's a litter."
"What?" She asked, confusion etching across her features. Joel held a toothy grin and looked back towards her, shrugging.
"A bunch of kittens is called a litter." She scrunched her features together and swore under her breath. Ellie mumbled a 'why,' and he let out another laugh. "I dunno, just was." He shrugged, watching her separate their hands to slick her hair back. "Here, we're almost there." Joel pointed towards a highway sign that read Route 54. Where the hell are we going? Ellie giddily as they continued walking through the woods. It must've been around one or two in the afternoon, and the simmering heat lingered in the air.
"You still haven't told me where we're going, old man." She said in a sing-song voice, looking around them. Birds flew above their heads and they were in a densely packed forest. A river ran alongside the path and she almost wanted to jump in, due to the boiling heat. "Seriously, I'm half worried you're leading me to my death here." He laughed and just took her hand once again, leading them towards a narrow path. "Mind your step."
"I got it." She smirked at him, pushing through the gap and careful to avoid the drop into the river below. But before she could get to the thicker path before them, she suddenly felt herself being pushed into the freezing water. A scream escaped her lips and she fell into the water, quickly sinking to the bottom.
"Oops." She heard Joel say as she resurfaced, a furious expression on her face. Ellie took a breath of air when she met the surface and looked up to Joel, glaring at him. But worst of all, she heard his laugh and he smiled down at her, chuckling.
"What is wrong with you?!" Ellie yelled at him, weakly keeping herself afloat with a frown. Joel shook his head, laughs still floating from his chest. She squeezed her fists angrily and let out a growl, scrunching her features together.
"You should see your face right now." Joel cackled, smiling when he saw her furious expression. Ellie scowled, looking back at her face in the water and then moving her sight to Joel once again. She fought against the smile that wanted to move on her face successfully.
"What if I drowned?" She demanded, still fearful of the water and drowning, especially after St. Mary's. Her soaked tank top clung to her body and Ellie shivered in the freezing water.
"You're not gonna drown… you gotta work on that confidence, kiddo." He walked beside her on the path she'd been on and Ellie squeezed her eyes shut when she heard his continuous laugh.
"Yeah, keep laughing, old man, see what happens!" Ellie yelled up at him as he continued on the path, moving towards a ledge to pull her up. He just chuckled once again and shook his head, continuing towards the ledge as she began to swim. "You're the worst." Her complaining only seemed to make his amusement rise, which Ellie frowned at.
"You're swimming's getting better." He complimented her, but she only seemed to scowl more at his attempted teasing. "Remember, don't just flail about, you gotta-"
"'Push the water with your whole arm,' yeah, yeah." Ellie rolled her eyes, approaching Joel. He stood five feet up and lowered his arm, seeing a small smile hiding on her face, but she pushed it down, wanting to make it seem like she was upset.
"Glad to see someone's listenin'." Joel smirked and she just rolled her eyes once again, letting out a deep sigh.
"You're lucky I didn't drown, I would've murdered you, old man." She scowled and he let out an airy laugh, lowering his hand.
"Alright, come on." He smiled and she took his hand, letting him slowly pull her up with both hands until she could do it herself. "There you go." Ellie finally let out a small laugh and Joel grinned, patting her back.
"You're such a sap." Ellie shook her head, mud covering her hands and knees. She had long jeans on, but her entire outfit was completely soaked and she was cold. Joel smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and rubbing her slightly.
Suddenly, a smile came on Joel's face and he looked up, seeing a fawn in the distance. "Hey, Ellie, c'mere, take a look at this." Joel whispered, pointing ahead towards the deer. For just a second, Ellie's mind took her back to Winter and she frowned for a second, but then she cleared her mind, pushing the trauma down. Her eyes caught the river beside her and a wicked grin came on her face. "Ya see it?" Ellie nodded, her eyes to the side to make sure Joel's head wouldn't split open on a rock if she pushed him.
"Yeah… looks like…" Ellie suddenly threw her weight into Joel, pushing him into the river and watching him crash into the water.
"Whoa!" He yelled, breaking impact with the water and disappearing underwater for a moment before resurfacing, smirking up at Ellie.
"How's that feel?" Ellie demanded, an evil grin on her face. She held her hands on her waist, smiling down at Joel as he floated through the water, his body now soaked as well. He chuckled, dipping his head underwater and slicking his hair back.
The heat in the air almost made Ellie want to jump in beside Joel. Ellie's tire was beginning to grow, as they'd been hiking for around two hours, something Joel took notice of. He was incredibly careful with her after the doctor's advice, and he always carried around some sort of food for her to eat if she was tired.
It was sweet, she thought, how he was so concerned about her. Ellie had never had that ever before. She thought Marlene had cared about her, but that clearly was all in her head, as the woman had tried to murder her. She would have succeeded if it wasn't for Joel. "Refreshing." Joel responded, smirking when he saw Ellie scour back at him.
"Yeah, it's not nice getting pushed in, is it?" Ellie laughed, but frowned when he began swimming backwards, looking towards a barely visible structure behind them. Where the hell are we going?
"Well, we need to swim through this part anyway." Joel called up and Ellie frowned, placing her hands on her hips and playfully glaring at Joel. He chuckled, once again dipping his head underwater and wiping the slight traces of dirt from his face. It was blissful after the afternoon's hot atmosphere.
"I got you back, you're angry and upset!" She whined at him, shooting him a playful glare. He barked a laugh and nodded his head, keeping himself afloat and letting his smile live on his lips.
"I am very angry and upset. Now, c'mon." He called, and she groaned, watching him begin to slink through the river, but he kept his sight on her, making sure she was following him. Ellie smiled, suddenly jumping into the water in a cannon ball and making a monumental splash. She smiled as she resurfaced, moving the strands of her hair back. "Alright, you gotta dive under, take a deep breath."
Joel watched her go first, making sure that she was able to get through before going under himself. Ellie enjoyed how underwater sounded: it was silence. It was just silence. And that was what Ellie liked most.
Finally, they surfaced, and began hiking again. Her stomach was slightly empty, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. "Is it… my sixth grade history teacher wanting to apologize for being a massive dick?" Joel pulled a confused face and looked back at her, a question on his lips.
"I beg your pardon?" He chuckled, continuing through the woods but making sure she was behind him every now and then. Ellie thought back to Riley and her in that history class. They sat in the back, to get the least amount of attention. It didn't help that everyone else in the class was much luckier than them, and they didn't need to worry about starving like Riley and Ellie.
"My friend and I would argue whenever he'd call the Fireflies terrorists." She synopsized, knowing that neither of them really liked discussing the fireflies anymore. Ellie took Joel's words from Autumn to heart: "Things happen… and we move on." Part of Ellie was more sad than upset at Joel's actions… but a lot of her was mad at Marlene: did the woman ever care about Ellie? She fought so hard to get to the Fireflies and they killed her before she could even blink. "We got… a lot of detention." Joel frowned, looking back at her in her emerald irises.
"You gotta stop lettin' people rile you up, kiddo." Ellie shrugged passing him by with a small smile.
"Yeah, but that's not as fun." Ellie whined, giving Joel a small laugh. They came towards another edge of the pond, and Ellie slowly slinked herself in, slightly freezing. "Where are you taking me?" Ellie laughed as they approached another dive and yet again, Ellie smiled at the silence under the water. She stayed down for a moment, but when Joel surfaced, she followed. They broke into another lake-like area, and Joel slowly pulled himself out of the water onto the ledge, waiting for Ellie. "Is it… more jerky?" Joel chuckled, reaching his hand down once again.
"Alright, c'mere." Joel ordered softly. Ellie clasped her hand around his and he slowly pulled her up, slightly worried by how easy it was. "You're too light, you gotta eat more."
"I'd argue it comes in advantage, old man." Ellie sassily placed her hands on her hips, but Joel simply mussed her hair with his hand, making her glare. "Fuck it, I'm done guessing." Ellie shrugged and Joel smiled, bringing them further into the forest.
"Oh, good." Joel smiled, but his smile fell when she immediately began shooting out guesses once again.
Her mind was crawling with curiosity and as they got further into the woods, she just grew more and more anxious with delight. "Is it… like, a massive comic book collection? No, more movies?"
"I'm not gon tell you, baby." Joel smiled back towards Ellie, shaking his head and taking her hand. Ellie squeezed it, feeling that they were approaching their destination. What could it be? Where the fuck are we going? She thought, looking up to Joel. "We're getting closer now."
"Keeping me in suspense here, old man." Joel shook his head and now took her hand, leading her towards a gap in the trees. And that was when she saw it. "Holy shit, Joel. It is a dinosaur!" She laughed, looking back towards Joel. A giant grin was on her face as she took in the sight of a mossy beast before her. A building resided beside it and Ellie recognized it as some sort of museum. "Joel!" She laughed, looking back at him and then rushing up to the dinosaur, brushing the dust off of the sign that stood before the majestic beast. "Holy shit!"
"Surprise." Joel grinned at her excitement and pure love ran through him. It was nice to see her so happy, and for a second she was like the Ellie that had been present a year ago, in Summer.
Ellie laughed, looking back at him. He watched from the distance, seeing her read the sign and then look up to the monster. "It's a motherfucking dinosaur!" Ellie giggled, reading the small text that stood in front of the dinosaur. 'Tyrannosaurus is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex, often called T. rex or colloquially T-Rex, is one of the most well-represented of the large theropods.' Holy fucking shit. Ellie grinned, forgetting anything else in the world and just staring up at the 's gleaming eyes. "King of the tyrant lizards…" Ellie's heart lept up and she walked towards the dinosaur, petting the plastic model as if it were real.
"So, you like it?"
"Are you fucking insane? This is awesome, Joel!" Ellie giggled, rushing towards Joel and suddenly taking him into a hug, squeezing him hard. He chuckled, rubbing her back as she took him in an embrace. "Thank you." Ellie whispered and Joel smiled, gently forcing her to look up at him.
"Well, this ain't it. C'mon, don't you wanna explore?" Joel chuckled and she vigorously nodded, looking back towards the dinosaur. Hell yeah. She thought to herself, tearing herself from Joel and slowly climbing up the beast, petting its mossy scales. "What are you doin'?"
"I'm climbing a fucking dinosaur!" Ellie cheered, raising her hands and relying on just her feet. Joel rushed towards the front of it, holding her hands up like she was going to fall.
"E-Ellie, be careful!" He stuttered, looking up to her with a fear in his eyes and concern riddled in his body. "Ellie, climb down!"
"Stop worrying so much!" She chuckled, looking up from the twenty foot drop. There was a small pool of water below Ellie and she wondered if she could land into, or if she'd break her leg again. "Look, I'm on a mother fucking dinosaur, Joel!" Ellie laughed, perching on the dinosaur's skull and raising her hands again, letting out a loud cheer.
Joel still stood directly below her, his hands awkwardly outstretched while he worried about her falling. "Yeah, I see that, just don't die fallin' off of one!" Joel called up to her, his worry etched onto his face. Ellie laughed, pushing herself to the very edge of the dinosaur to the point where she nearly slipped. "Ellie! What are you doin', don't jump, just… just… climb back down!" Before Joel could argue anymore, Ellie suddenly leaped into the air. "Hey, hey-"
She roared on the way down, pulling her knees into her arms and hitting the water with a monumental splash. Ellie took a second before surfacing, a smile on her face even underwater. Joel rushed to her, taking her out of the water and surveying her for broken limbs. "Did you see that?" Ellie slowly took herself from Joel's grip and stood by herself, looking back towards the land beast.
"Yeah, I saw that…" Joel breathed, wiping his hair back and sending her a playful glare. "Don't do that again." He ordered her and she snickered, pulling herself out of the water and moving towards the museum, her smile returning.
"That was awesome."
"It was awesome you didn't break anything." Joel corrected her with a relieved breath, following her into the museum and shutting the broken doors behind them. Ellie moved towards a large sign that read: Wyoming Museum; Exhibit Extinction.
Ellie picked up a brochure that was nestled in the sign and she flipped through it, reading the title. Giants of the Past. "What's this?" Ellie murmured, water still dripping down her skin and from her soaked clothing.
Joel looked to what she'd picked up and leaned on the sign, smiling at her. "It's a book." Ellie sent him a look, rolling her eyes but letting another smile break out from Joel's personality.
"It's a dinosaur book." Ellie scoffed and Joel just shook his head, smirking. Ellie began moving through the museum, looking around. "This place is so fucking cool." Ellie whispered, taking in the sight of the sets of bones and signs that hung by the skeletons. "Oh, man!" Ellie laughed, taking a cowboy hat from one of the merchandise racks and looking at Joel. "Wanna try it on?"
"I do not." Joel shook his head, following her through the museum and watching her run around with glory. Ellie turned around, a large smile on her face and she suddenly ran to Joel, placing the hat on his head with a massive, toothy grin.
He moved to argue, but she put her finger in front of his lips with a face of pure glee. "Uh uh, don't you dare take it off. It's my birthday, so you have a moral obligation to do anything and everything I say." She smiled, releasing him and letting him simmer down with a deep sigh.
When she approached one of the skeletons, she pulled out the brochure, fingering the aged paper and reading through it. "Woah, look at those talons." Ellie smiled, touching one of them and almost trying to break it off, but she retreated.
"That… is a velociraptor." Joel nodded, crossing his arms in complete sureness of his answer. He remembered movies he'd used to watch with Sarah, and how much she loved them. Sarah had even had Joel hang up posters in her room of the franchise, but he didn't complain: compared to the other cheesy series she loved, it was a nice change.
"Actually, it's a dee… dee-oh-niny-chus." Ellie corrected him, looking up and smiling more when she saw the hat lazily placed on his head.
Joel shook his head, looking back up at the skeleton with a grin. "Nah… that there's a velociraptor." Joel nodded, but then corrected himself: "... or at least that's what they called it in this movie I saw." Joel shrugged, brushing the dirt of the dinosaur's bones.
"Hm…" Ellie continued through the building, checking each of the desks for anything else she could nerd over. There was nothing, but she smiled when she saw an empty chair and a phone before her. Ellie lept into it, picking up the phone and seeing Joel watch her from the doorway. "Hello, sorry, the dinosaurs are busy right now."
Joel smiled, crossing his arms and watching her suddenly take the sight of him in. "What are you doing?" An amused, continuous smirk lived on their faces and she leaned into the phone, continuing their conversation.
"Oh, wait… one of the dinosaurs is here." Joel chuckled, sending her a fake glare and rolling his eyes. "Joel, it's for you." She said in a singsong voice, and it reminded him of the hotel they'd found so long ago, all the way back in Summer.
"Very funny." He smiled, watching her leap up from the chair and run past him, excitement breeding in her.
Ellie looked back to Joel, meeting his eyes and still smirking at the hat on his dark hair. "It's pretty funny… did you get it, it's because your old?" Ellie leaned into him, letting her place an arm around her shoulder and rub her back with a smile.
They continued through the museum, and Ellie separated from him suddenly, seeing a model of tiny dinosaurs running through blades of grass. "Comp… compsognathus." Ellie read from the paper in her hands, looking back to Joel with a happy expression. Once again, he messed her hair and she playfully threw him off, sticking her tongue out. "That's a big name for little guys."
Joel nodded, pressing his hands on the bars of the model and looking back to Ellie, seeing her excitement with glee. "Yeah, they'd swarm you…" Joel spoke, remembering the movies Sarah and him had watched nearly monthly. Ellie let out a small giggle, moving beside Joel lovingly.
"Did you see that in a movie too?" Ellie asked and Joel nodded as they continued through the museum, moving into a bigger room.
"Actually, yeah… but in another one. See there was a sequel… but it wasn't as good." Joel spoke softly, but Ellie wasn't listening.
Her face transpired into one of fascination as she looked at two large skeletons in the room. Part of it was consumed by moss but she didn't care, she liked it better this way, where there was no one there except Joel and her. Too many people. Ellie took Joel's hand and led her towards one of the skeletons, climbing up onto it and taking Joel's hat, placing it on the dinosaur's skull. "Tiny head." She giggled, looking down to Joel as she sat beside the model. "Hey, Joel, look."
He put his hands on his hips, looking to the hat with a hidden smile. "That is a hat… on a dinosaur." Ellie vigorously nodded, but soon took the hat and placed it back on Joel's head.
"It's a hatosaur." Ellie shrugged, patting Joel's head before once again removing the hat and rushing over to the other skeleton, tossing it on one of the animal's horns.
"Is this gon be a thing…? Please don't let it be a thing." Joel whispered and she giggled, once again taking the hat and fixing it back on Joel, smiling and meeting his eyes. She seems happy. Joel thought with a grin, grateful that he was blessed with the ability to see her smile one more time.
Ellie approached one and looked back down in her manual, then retracted her vision to Joel with a trusty curl of her lips. "Woah, this one's head was the size of a walnut." Ellie breathed, looking to the skeleton and climbing up, knocking her fist against the skull.
Joel still stood behind her, slightly scared she would fall, but eventually, she climbed down. "Oh, no way, looks like you've got something in common." Ellie barked a fake laugh, glaring at him and shaking her head. Ellie moved towards the triceratops and read the page in the brochure. "You would not wanna be on the business end of that horn." Joel sighed, propping himself up and patting it, but dropping back down to Ellie.
Ellie moved towards another one of the skeletons, reading the brochure page. "The dimetedron was an apex predator." Ellie announced, her clothing still damp from swimming. Thankfully, the heated summer air was slowly drying her, but her hair hung from her ponytail in damp dreads.
"What's an apex predator?" Joel asked, leaning over her shoulder and reading the page, but she looked up back towards him, smiling.
"The most badass predator." She told him and he chuckled, taking her hand. He looked into her eyes and surveyed her body, shrugging.
He smiled, looking at her. "Pretty short for that." Ellie laughed, smacking his shoulder playfully and taking his hand again, squeezing it. They moved towards the center of the room.
Two large dinosaurs' skeletons were dragged through the room, landing just above Joel's head. He looked up, staring into the empty sockets of the dinosaur. "The brachiosaurus ate six hundred pounds of plants each day. Imagine the poops…" Ellie giggled, placing her hands on the bars of the model and squeezing it, almost thinking this was a dream.
As much as she loved Jackson, she was happy to have a break from it. The nosy neighbors, and having to see Jesse and Dina now be a couple… but Joel helped her. Joel was like her ventilator, and he made it easier to live in general. If he wasn't there… she wouldn't be able to breathe. "They had this one scene, where, uh… actually one of the guys says: 'that's a big load of shit.'"
Ellie laughed, looking back at Joel and slipping the brochure into the back of her pocket. She took Joel's hand again, clasping her fingers around his and smiling. "What is this movie, and when can we see it?" Ellie asked, looking up at him and actually allowing him to ruffle her hair once again.
"Tell ya what… when we get back to Jackson, movie night." Ellie vigorously nodded, squeezing his hand and leading him through the museum once again.
"Hey, look, this one looks like a bird." Ellie exhaled, leading them into another part of the building and taking in the skeleton of a tall dinosaur, though it was much skinnier than the others.
They'd been camping for nearly two days, and Joel had made sure they had enough rations for the trip. She liked how concerned he was about her at all times, it certified to her that she was loved, which was a rare occurrence in her life. "Well, actually, paleontologists believed that birds were descended from dinosaurs."
"Well, excuse me, Mr. Professor." She teased, adjusting the hat on his head. There was a grand staircase before them and Ellie released Joel, running up the steps and seeing him slowly follow, making sure to keep her in his sight at all times.
"I happen to know a thing or two." He crossed his arms as they reached the second floor, smirking at her.
"From a movie." She snarkily responded and he smiled, following her once again. There was a line of skulls and bones before them and Ellie gasped, pointing at one of them. "Look how thick this one's skull is." Ellie whispered, looking at one of the skulls.
It had bumps protruding from it and Ellie knocked her fist against it, hearing a hollow sound respond to her action. "Kinda looks like Tommy." Ellie snickered, looking back at Joel and crossing her arms.
"I'm telling him you said that." Ellie had an amused tone of voice and she looked to Joel, knocking her fist against the exterior of each of the skulls.
Joel shrugged, moving closer to the thick one and inspecting it, squinting and then retreating to Ellie. "Catch it in the right light, boom, Tommy." Ellie cackled, switching her flashlight on and shaking her head.
Ellie began inspecting each of the skulls once again, stopping at the end of the line. "Veloc… velociraptor. Hey, Joel, this is the one you were talking about." Joel squinted and moved his head in confusion.
"It's so small… don't trust the movies, I guess." Joel shrugged, and they finished making their way up the stairs. It provided a lookout to the rest of the museum, and one of the bronchiasaurus' heads was inches from the railing. Ellie reached out towards it, petting it almost like a giraffe.
Joel watched her, a smile on his face. "Did you go to museums a lot?" Ellie asked, making her way back towards him and leaning against the railway. Her freckles wrinkled when she smiled and her nose scrunched up in a way that Joel found adorable.
"Yeah… yeah, Sarah loved 'em." Whenever Joel mentioned Sarah, it was now calmer, instead of much more defensive like it had been at the very start of Autumn, when they first got into Jackson. Whenever Ellie thought of that first time in Jackson she cringed, remembering Joel's harsh words: "You are not my daughter… and I sure as hell ain't your dad." That's not true, Ellie… he told you… he told you how he feels, you're his daughter. "I swear that damned girl dragged me to every museum in Texas."
Whenever Joel thought of his time with Sarah, he felt more guilt than sadness. He felt guilty, as if he was using Ellie to replace her. Ellie made her way over to the railing, staring at the bronchiasaurus' outstretched head. "Kind of looks like a giraffe…" Ellie whispered, moving her head towards Joel and smiling gently. She didn't like thinking back to Salt Lake City… especially when she knew there could've been a cure if it weren't for her.
Joel nodded, moving his hand out to brush the head. He was just barely able to reach it, but the old bones felt familiar in his touch. "Yeah, it does… doesn't it?" Joel took the hat from his head and slowly reached it out towards the bronchiasaurus' head, his hand preparing to toss it. Finally, the hat landed on the skull and Ellie giggled, looking towards her father. "I can see the appeal." Joel teased, nudging Ellie's shoulder gently.
She looked back towards him, smiling. She leaned into him, looking out towards the museum. "Told ya." She whispered, before finally dragging away from the railing. On the wall beside her there was a hidden mural of the earth, and it reminded her of the forgotten painting that decorated her room in Jackson. After Chase, she didn't use the room, really, at all. She tried after a week, and that nightmare had been… one of the worst since they got to Jackson. When she eventually woke up, she was able to see Chase's bloody figure standing in the room, stalking her.
There was a gate to the next room, and she pushed through its rusty parts, permitting herself entrance. Joel followed close behind her, smiling when he heard a quick inhale of breath from Ellie. The painted walls were fluorescent, glowing like the stars. Ellie stopped for a moment, taking in the sight and shutting her eyes, imagining herself floating beyond the atmosphere.
Finally, she continued her descent and let out an even bigger gasp, eyeing Joel behind her with a smirk. "Did you know this was here?" Ellie looked around the room in pure glee, rubbing her hand on the walls as she danced around, looking back towards Joel.
"Oh, you don't like it… we can head back." Joel mocked and Ellie punched his arm, once again taking him in a tight hug. Joel chuckled, tickling her back and letting her squeeze him near to death.
"Shut up, old man." She whispered, her voice muffled by his shirt. He let out an airy laugh and finally, she separated herself from him, a tear rolling down her face.
He frowned, bending in front of her and cupping her face. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked and she shook her head, hugging him again and crying slightly.
Joel stroked her back, feeling guilty and thinking he was the cause for this. "Nothing's wrong, Joel… before… before I met you, no one ever cared about me. This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me." She murmured, her voice muffled in his shirt. He cringed, squeezing his features together and looking to Ellie, taking her out of his chest momentarily.
Ellie's cries were barely visible, but Joel took them with seriousness. "Hey… that's never going to happen again… okay? I'm going to be right here… always." He swore and she nodded, letting him take her back in his arms. Finally, her cries died, and she smiled for a second, looking at the star-like pattern around them.
"This is so fucking cool." Ellie whispered, wiping her eyes as Joel stood once again, their hands entwined. Joel squeezed her hand and slowly, they began exploring once again. There was a large crank ahead of Ellie and she temporarily separated from Joel, looking up at the large sun that was attached to the crank.
Ellie began winding it, and the large orb began to glow, submitting a heated orange glow on the young girl's freckled face. "Whoa…" She whispered, cranking it faster and looking at the walls. They'd begun to glow once again, and stars surrounded Ellie and Joel, reflecting on their guns and the handle of Ellie's knife. "Hey, Joel… can you name all of the planets?"
Joel cleared his throat, walking around the machine and raising his arm up. "My very educated mother just served us nine pizzas." Ellie perked her head up, tilting it and letting out a small giggle.
"Uh… did you just have a stroke?" She asked, releasing the handle and letting the glow simmer down. Joel chuckled, shaking his head and lowering his arm. He walked around towards her, looking down towards the girl.
Ellie looked up towards him, a smile hidden in her lips. "My: Mercury, Very: Venus. Mother: Mars…" He trailed off and she shaped her lips in an 'o,' nodding her head.
"Oh, I get it. That's pretty cool." Ellie looked around them: there was a large rover in the center of the room and she nearly screamed. On the right of the room, there was a line of model rockets and Ellie trotted her way over, giggling. Joel watched her warmly, seeing her wipe a line of dust from one of the rockets and squinting at it. "Hey, Joel. Guess what the first animal to go to space was?"
She looked to him but he shook his head, looking at the rockets. "I don't have to guess, it was a monkey." He vaguely remembered an old movie that Sarah loved, when she was just above an infant. It was about a pack of monkeys, but he couldn't remember the name of it. Sarah was so adorable when she was an infant… Joel knew he had a picture of it lying somewhere around their house.
Maria had brought old photos and a camera that Tommy had scavenged from their old house in Texas. Ellie found it fascinating, the camera. She'd taken it to the ranch with her one day and returned with half a dozen photos of Jesse, Dina and her. And of course, on their patrol, she'd forced Joel to take a photo with her. So, pictures hung all around the house, mainly in Joel's room and the main room downstairs. She had a photo of Joel and her in her room, even if she didn't go in it often. His presence almost purified the room, and maybe, just maybe, if he stood there long enough, she'd be able to use it again. "No, it was fruitflies! Yeah, in 1947. It was to… see radiation exposure at high altitudes. They lived through it."
Joel smiled, brushing her hair back and looking down at her. "Daggum, girl, you are smart." She began to walk away and he sighed, looking towards her… "So… did they become superflys?" Joel asked, and Ellie giggled, looking back towards him with a confused face.
"What? No." She giggled, inspecting another rocket that laid beside the other one. Some of them were knocked over, but she was too short to reach over and inspect them.
"Tell me another fact." He asked gently and she sighed, checking her mental library. Riley shared her love for the planets, so remembering it made Ellie feel a little less guilty about her feelings for Dina. She tried to push those feelings down, especially after seeing Jesse and Dina. But, they were still her friends, and she loved them.
Ellie scrunched her features together, releasing them when she thought of one. "Um… astronauts say that the moon smells like gunpowder." She smiled and Joel returned the favor.
"Now, that's a fun fact… but wait how would they smell-"
"Oh, well, they'd take samples back inside and… smell them later, I guess." Ellie shrugged, and Joel nodded, moving towards the other side of the room. Ellie trotted towards the rover in the center of the room, a humongous grin on her face. Before she entered it, she moved towards Joel, giving a last look towards the rockets. "Hey, Joel… quiz me."
He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck and looking towards the floor, trying to think of a question. "I dunno… um… who was the first person in space?" Joel asked and Ellie giggled, turning around on the railing and squeezing her hands around it.
"Easy. Yuri Gagaran." Ellie shrugged. She had no idea if she was pronouncing it correctly, which Joel commented on:
"Gagarin, is that…" Joel trailed off and Ellie shrugged, squeezing her palms and thinking, but she came to no true conclusion.
"I dunno how you say it, I've only ever read it, so…" Ellie trailed off, remembering the expedition she'd read about with Riley. Riley used to sneak out and smuggled books from the thin library at schools, gifting them to Ellie. "Anyway… He flew to space on April 12th, 1961."
Ellie placed her hands on her hips, tilting her nose up with a grin. "Color me impressed, baby girl." He smirked, seeing the smile on her face when she looked at the museum from the railing. She made sure not to put too much weight on it, as the glass didn't look exactly stable. "Just how many books have you read on this?"
She sighed, looking back at him with her hair still slightly dripping. "C'mon, Joel, isn't it amazing?" She said in a hushed voice, placing her arms down on the railing and looking out towards the first floor from below. Ellie wished that one of the skeletons from before just disappeared. She thought that'd be so cool.
"Why don't you tell me what you like about it, baby." He asked gently, leaning beside her and looking out towards the museum with her.
Ellie shrugged, trying to wrap all of her love for the bigger picture and the stars in a sentence. "I dunno… Riley and I used to sneak out… go to museums for this, kinda like this. There was this big one, right outside school. In this mall. So one night… we snuck out. We thought we were so damn cool… like no one could mess with us." Ellie smiled softly, until she remembered the rest of the night, and what had happened at dawn. "So… we go through the mall. And Riley turns on this music." She met Joel's eyes and took his hand, leaning on the glass and looking down towards her feet for a moment. "And I tell her it's not a good idea. But she doesn't listen… and we start dancing, and… we both end up bitten. And then I shoot her." Ellie croaked, looking down at the ground of the first floor and then back up to Joel.
Joel frowned, rubbing her back and letting her hide in his arms. She began crying, but it was at a lower volume. "Oh, kiddo… I'm sorry. I thought this would cheer you up, I-"
"No, Joel, no… this is… this is amazing." Ellie croaked, temporarily removing herself from Joel and gesturing towards the floors of the museum, smiling slightly with a singular tear rolling down her cheek. Joel wiped it away with his thumb and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Dad."
Joel warmed and he watched as she slowly separated herself from Joel, her little moment of her shields coming down over. "I love you, too, Ellie." He murmured softly, brushing her hair gently with his fingers and untangling the subtle knots from all of her swimming. Ellie turned around, pressing her back onto the railing and looking up at him. She wiped her eyes, smiling up at him.
"Holy shit." Ellie whispered, seeing the rover in the center of the room and temporarily forgetting the trauma with Riley. Joel smiled, relieved that he wasn't making her feel worse about Riley's death, and that she was feeling a little better because of the camping trip. Ellie climbed up onto the rover and settled into the driver's seat, wrapping her hand around the joystick in the center. "Fuck yeah." She whispered, pushing the stick around.
"Where's the steering wheel?" Joel asked, placing his hands on his hips and looking up to her. Ellie shrugged, juggling the joystick and pushing a few buttons on the consoles.
"Well, rovers don't use steering wheels. They use joysticks." Ellie murmured, remembering Angel Knives and the dumb video games Riley was so addicted to.
Ellie remembered the console Jesse had gifted her, and she hadn't touched it much, as it had brought memories of the fresh injury of Chase, but Joel seemed to love it. They had a small competition between them that whoever won one of the games was able to pick their movie for the night. "Hang on… is this the real one?" Joel asked, looking to Ellie.
She chuckled, watching Joel climb onto the rover with her, wrapping his hands around the stick above hers. Joel looked in Ellie's eyes as she played with the buttons. She looked down at the console, blowing the dust off and wiping it down. "Considering they left the real ones on the moon, I'd say no."
Ellie considered asking Joel to help her bring it back to Jackson. Maybe if they got an engine in it, she could have her own little rover. But she knew it was impossible. Finally, Ellie sighed and both of them dropped from the rover.
A large shuttle laid before them. Vines and moss had taken it over and Ellie looked around, seeing a line of helmets and suits beside the small ship. To the left was another small room with a diagram of the moon in it. Ellie trotted over, wrapping her hands around the miniature moon and spinning it, looking to Joel. "Do you know how many times we've been to the moon?"
Joel shrugged, pouting his lips and moving towards Ellie. "Six times." Ellie announced, watching the small globe skin. The light gleamed on the plastic wall and she sighed, watching it spin around for a second.
"Are you sure?" Ellie nodded her head, seeing that on the diagram there was a small box. Her eyes widened when she saw above the box was a label: touch a real life piece of the moon! Ellie took her knife, prying open the box and taking the small rock in her hands. Ellie fingered the material and smelled it, smiling wickedly. Gun powder. She slipped the rock into her pocket, being impatient to put it back in her room at Jackson.
"Yup, six times… I'm going to make it seven." Ellie swore, squeezing her nails into her fists and making a moral obligation to accomplish that dream before she died. Ellie, in a morbid fashion, almost wanted to make sure that she and Joel disappeared at the same time. Ellie couldn't live without him, and she knew that he felt the same way. And she didn't plan on going on without him.
Finally, Ellie approached the shuttle, wrapping her hands around the opening and struggling to get it open. Joel appeared behind her, helping her open it quickly and pushing the small trap door up. As Ellie went to enter, Joel pushed her back. "Hey, now, hold on just a minute. You're goin' into space, you're gonna need a helmet."
A wicked smile spread across her face and Ellie rushed towards the line of helmets behind her, choosing a light colored one and slinking it over her head. So cool. Ellie thought to herself, disappearing behind the golden glass of the helmet. "How's it smell in there?" Joel asked, a dorky grin on his face.
"Like space… and dust." She whispered, making her way back towards the shuttle and slowly climbing in. Joel followed close behind her, sliding in and shutting the door behind them. "Whoa." Ellie giggled, looking at the monolithic control board, and all of the buttons and switches. She began to make sounds with her mouth of explosions and crashes while her hands flew across the switch board.
"Would you look at all those buttons…" Joel breathed, flipping one before looking to Ellie, who was playing with them, a giant smile living on her face.
Ellie smiled, looking back towards him but then retreating to the switches and joysticks once again. "So badass… God, could you just imagine… brrrrrvvvvooooah!" She imitated an explosion, not noticing Joel pull some sort of box from his shirt pocket. He held it in front of Ellie and a confused grin spread on her face. She took it from him, seeing it was for her Walkman.
"Happy birthday, kiddo." He grinned, squeezing her hand before letting her inspect the box. In Joel's handwriting, Ellie was scrawled on the top and she smiled, looking back towards him.
"What is this?" She asked, smiling at him and slipping her player from her bag, keeping her helmet on her head.
Joel smiled, remembering the patrol with Tommy leading up to her birthday. He had a backup plan, but he wanted her birthday to be special. Joel loved her, and he wanted it to be a special day for her. "This is something that took a mighty effort to find. Take it."
Ellie slipped it into her player, removing her helmet momentarily to put the headphones on her ears before placing the helmet on again. Joel watched with a hopeful expression, but before she could play it, he gently brushed her hand. "Close your eyes… it'll be worth it." He swore softly and she obliged, letting darkness crawl over her. She swore she could see a hint of a tear glistening in his eyes…
Her thumb pressed against the play button, and she waited impatiently. 'Thirty seconds and counting.' The fuzzy sound met her ears and her breath hitched. A wicked giggle escaped her lips and she looked over to Joel, her laugh seeming to make him breath. 'Astronauts report it feels good, T-minus twenty five seconds.'
A hungry and pleasing shock lived in her and she smiled, closing her eyes and imagining the cold glow of space reflecting on her skin. 'Twenty seconds and counting.' Ellie's smile grew and she could feel Joel's eyes on her. When she closed her eyes, she could feel the moon's familiar glimmer face her, greeting her 'hello' like this was a privilege she'd finally been granted. 'T-minus fifteen seconds, guidance is internal.'
Excitement grew in her and she laughed. Her warm breath reflected on the helmet's glass, signifying her happiness to Joel, who was watching her with a warmed expression. They were safe, they both had made it out. His daughter was safe right beside him, and she was happy… and that thought made him the happiest man in the world.
'12, 11, 10, 9… ignition sequence starts…' The static of the audio was taken over by a low grumbling, and she smiled, squeezing her fists together in happiness. It was almost like she was really there, and she could feel the heat on her face. Ellie could feel the smoke drifting through her hair and the flames reflecting in her shut eyes. '6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0… All engines running.'
The roar of the engine ran through her ears, but it wasn't through the fuzzy audio this time. Ellie was transported to so many decades ago and she was being taken to the moon, with her father right beside her. 'Liftoff… we have a liftoff.'
She imagined her body shaking with the rumble of the rockets and the warm air around her transported to a cold taste, one that matched the environment outside the shuttle. 'Thirty two minutes past the hour, liftoff on Apollo 11.' A small giggle ran from her lips, heating the glass of her helmet.
Joel's hand took hers and she squeezed it, imagining looking over and having Joel in a space suit, right next to her while they were shot into the sky. No one could bother them anymore, not the Infected, no hunters, and no trauma. It'd just be them and the silence that she'd experienced underwater… and she was fine with that.
And it came: the quiet. The gleam of the stars reflected on her pasty white skin, making her grow goosebumps where they spoke on her body. A hitched breath ran from her and she smiled, but slowly… it retreaded. The tape ended and she was left with silence.
Eventually, Ellie turned over, meeting Joel's eyes with a twinkle. All of her gratitude was translated in that loving star of theirs, and he smiled at her gently, squeezing her hand. "I do okay?" He whispered, and Ellie laughed softly, slipping the earbuds from her helmet.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Both of them chuckled slightly and he smiled, dipping his head and feeling her squeeze his hand tenderly.
"You're welcome, kiddo." He softly murmured and she held the player close to her, wishing she could listen to it for the first time again.
Ellie knew that she'd be listening to that like a lullaby for years. She wondered what lengths he'd gone to to fetch that and her thanks only grew. I love you, Dad. She whispered to him, hearing him respond with the same sentence. "Alright… you wanna keep looking around?" He asked tenderly, releasing her hand and pushing the exit, making the door release and let fresh air in.
Ellie nodded, still taken by the tape. Finally, she whispered: "Yeah… I guess." The helmet dropped when she pushed it gently, letting it sit in the seat almost like part of her was still living in it.
Joel slipped out of the shuttle, taking her by under her arms and lifting her out. He nudged her gently, holding something in his hands. "Hey… welcome to Earth." Joel murmured softly, handing her a badge. She let out an airy giggle, looking up to Joel in shock.
"Fuck yeah." Ellie whispered gently, looking at the badge. It was of a rocket and a model of the Earth hid behind it. When she turned it around and looked at the back, in Joel's handwriting, a small message wass scrawled. Happy birthday, baby girl. She held it close to her before slinging her bag over her shoulder, attaching the pin to the exterior with a jaunting smile. "Hey, over here." Ellie beckoned him over to a door, part of her smile still living on her lips.
She struggled against the door, pushing it but to no avail. Joel smiled, doing it himself and the door soon opened, revealing fresh air and another building on the side of a large river. "There's more museum stuff over there!" Ellie pointed, looking back to Joel.
"Yeah, I never checked that part out."
"Well, let's go!" Ellie smiled, looking at the sheer drop. It must have been at least twenty or thirty feet, but she didn't plan on letting the day go without more adventure.
Joel placed his hands on his hips, his skin wrinkling when he grinned. "And just how do you plan on getting yourself over there?" Joel asked, but his question was answered when Ellie suddenly lept off of the ledge, performing a cannon ball. A shrill scream escaped her lips and Joel rushed over, thinking she'd fallen. "Ellie, God…" He yelled down at her, glaring at her when she surfaced. "You're gon' give me a goddamn heart attack." Joel exhaled, running his hands through his hair.
"Get down here!" Ellie ordered and Joel's brows furrowed. He violently shook his head, looking at the dramatic drop.
"No!" He argued, frowning when a giant grin broke on Ellie's face.
"Hey, whose birthday is it?" Ellie asked, a giant smile on her lips. Her freckles curled together when her lips moved upwards and Joel, despite his fake anger, couldn't help but find it adorable.
She pushed her arms together, making the sounds of a chicken and giggling when his 'angry' expression only grew. "You can't keep doing that…" He groaned, knowing what the only answer was. Abruptly ending her argument, he leaped through the air, yelling: "Geronimo!"
Ellie giggled, seeing him surface as the current slowly pushed her downstream. "Nice…" Ellie complimented him, seeing his grin when he surfaced. They began swimming towards the foregin building. Joel docked, approaching the door and forcing against it, cursing when it didn't budge. "Hey, boost me in there." Ellie pointed to an open window and Joel scratched the back of his neck nervously.
"Yeah… I don't know." Ellie rolled her eyes, taking his hand and gently dragging him towards the window, looking in his eyes.
"I'll open the door for you. C'mon, we can't chicken out now!" Ellie laughed, pulling a sad face and he cursed, looking down and then back at her.
He growled, moving towards the window slowly. "That ain't fair and you know it." Ellie cackled, seeing him bend down and hold his hand up. Before she could jump up, he paused, looking up at her. "You be careful." Joel ordered and she nodded, seeing the seriousness behind his words.
"I promise." Ellie nodded, jumping up onto Joel's hand as he pushed her through the window, sending her over. She gracefully landed with the six foot drop. "Shit." Ellie cursed, seeing a pile of rubble that had fallen against the door. No way I'm clearing this out. Ellie thought somberly. She tried fighting against it, but it didn't pan out. "Okay, bad news, there's shit blocking the door!"
She heard Joel's voice from the other side, cursing. He tried the door once more, but it obviously didn't work. "Well, see if you can find me another way in. I'll walk around from the outside." Joel ordered carefully, stress palpable in his voice. He hated being separated, as the habitat of Jackson had made it normal for Ellie to be right beside him, so having that taken away felt unnatural.
"Okay, be safe!" Ellie called back and she could practically hear his eye roll.
"You be safe!" Joel yelled back, and Ellie chuckled looking back towards the window almost as if she were talking to Joel himself.
"There are dinosaurs around!" Ellie sang, hearing a chuckle before receding footsteps. Alright… this totally isn't creepy. Ellie thought as she moved through the dark building. A statue appeared in front of her. Vicious wolves were circling around a deer and Ellie clenched her teeth, looking at the large mammal. "Oof… stay strong, buddy." There were demonstrations of different animals around: she recognized a bison, and a big horn.
Ellie chuckled, looking at the big horn's 'suite' and waving to it, remembering the time at the University. But then, she frowned, recalling her cries for Joel to waken, and feeling his blood cake her body in a disgusting horror. But then, she turned around, seeing spray paint scrawled on the wall. 'I killed for them.' A layer of uneasiness suddenly rose in Ellie and she shifted her weight from foot to foot, clawing her hand with her nail anxiously. "This guy needed a hug." She murmured, trying to push it aside.
"It's dark in here." Ellie whispered, suddenly spooked by the glowing of eyes, but when she focused her light on it, she realized it was just a model of an owl. Let's just get back to Joel, Ellie. Then, she saw another one of the scrawled messages. The black spray paint dripped down from the letters, almost making it seem like it'd been freshly painted, even though Ellie knew it wasn't. 'The four soldiers at the gate… the last one cried.'
Ellie stayed silent, but a thin layer of fear crawled down her spine. Time to get the fuck out of here. She craved Joel and she passed the message, trying to push it down and think nothing of it.
A sudden rumble almost made her release a scream and she took her gun out, cursing under her breath. Shit. Maybe it's just Joel. She optimistically thought, but she then saw yet another sentence drawn onto the cyan wall. 'The woman we tortured, she choked on her own blood.' Ellie stopped, crouching in front of the message and touching one of the letters, almost feeling as if her skin was burning.
Her flashlight suddenly stuttered, and she shook it slightly, banging her fist against it. When the light returned, another message appeared in front of her, almost as if it had teleported just then. 'The kid who ran into the blast… I couldn't stop him.' She gulped and jumped when suddenly, another shuffle came from the darkness.
Part of her almost wanted to call out for Joel, but she knew that could be a potentially fatal idea. "Come out, fucker." She whispered vindictively, moving through the building, desperate to find an exit. 'The people in the van… we locked them in and doused it with gas.' A shuddered exhale escaped Ellie's mouth and she looked down, screwing her eyes shut and moving through the doorway besides the excerpt, ignoring it once again. That was when she saw it: a rolled over skeleton that matched the one of the dinosaurs outside. Jesus. Ellie thought, taking a sheet of paper that laid in the corpse's hand.
"We wanted to end suffering. We wanted to restore humanity. Each time we sacrifice ourselves, our leaders keep saying, 'it'll be worth it. Now we've disbanded, with nothing to show for our sins." Ellie wondered if they were hunters and she kept reading, her grip on the paper tightening fatally.
"I thought coming here might reunite something… Some purpose. My parents loved bringing me here. It's one of my earliest memories from before the Outbreak. Before all the cruelty and savagery.' Ellie cringed, turning over the bloody sheet and seeing more messy writing on the back. There was a bloody handprint on the letter and she cringed, realizing the man had written it on his deathbed.
When she looked at the splatter of blood coating the wall behind the man's head, she sickly realized he'd shot himself. Ellie wondered if he was Infected or not. Faint footsteps in the distance shocked Ellie and she looked up, terror brewing in her. No one's here, Ellie… you're fine, just get back to Joel. Ellie slowly continued reading the letter, her goosebumps growing.
'Those memories just made me angrier. I don't want to be in this world anymore. I can't look at the person I've become.' Ellie swallowed, folding the letter and hiding it in her bag, wondering who the man had been with… Firefly, maybe? Was this our fault?
She crawled through a gap next to the body, gasping when she saw the glow of pupils staring back at her. "Stupid fake animals." Ellie growled, moving past them only for something to suddenly tackle her to the ground. A shrill scream escaped her lips and she looked as a hog ran away from the scene, snorts and growling escaping it. "Fucking thing." Ellie croaked, groaning in pain and slowly going to recover her bag, which had fallen off her shoulders.
She looked up, seeing the final message she'd take in that day. 'Liars.' A large firefly logo was scrawled before her and she frowned, looking down and gulping. Ellie almost screamed again when the door beside her suddenly broke open, but she breathed when she saw it was only Joel.
"Ellie, you alright? I heard screaming." She nodded, placing her hands on her knees and exhaling. Finally, Ellie looked back up towards Joel, feeling a small sense of calm move through her when she saw him.
"Yeah, just… some fucking animal." She saw him look towards the spray paint, but she began walking towards the exit, not wanting to discuss it. "C'mon… we should get back, it's getting dark." It must have been around three or four, and Ellie's tire was growing. "I'm tired." Joel's ears perked at that and he nodded, following close behind her.
And so, their hike to their campsite began and Joel looked at Ellie, holding her hand. "Alright, let's get some food in you when we get back, then."
"I won't argue against that." Ellie smiled, letting Joel lead her through the woods. Their campsite wasn't far away and Ellie felt relieved because of that, as she hadn't exercised this much in a while, due to Joel's paranoia after she'd gotten sick.
"Hey, Joel… got something for you." Ellie smiled, slinging her bag over her shoulders and pulling out her jokebook. She smiled when Joel cursed under his breath, faking a glare. "Here's a good one… 'I thought about going on an all-almond diet, but that's just nuts.'" Ellie giggled, watching as Joel took the book from her, looking through it himself.
He flipped to one page, smiling at one joke and looking to Ellie. She noticed his shirt was wet, and realized he must've had to swim to get to her. "'Why did the coffee file a police report? It was mugged.'" Ellie cackled and looked at Joel.
She placed her hands on her hips, looking at him. "I still don't know why you love that… bean water so much. It doesn't taste that good." She shrugged and Joel held his hand to his heart, almost as if she'd shot him.
"I have no clue what you're talking about." He shook his head, seeing their campsite ahead of them. "Here we are… alright, let's get you some food, baby girl." Ellie nodded, seeing their tent and dead fire ahead of them.
They'd been camping for two days, and the entire time Ellie had been kept in suspense. They had a scare with a bear, but instead of running, Ellie simply smiled at it and looked in awe, but Joel took her in his arms since she wouldn't move and sprinted away from the beast in fear. Ellie didn't let him live it down. "I'm still telling Tommy you called him thick-headed." Ellie snickered as Joel took food from his bag, presenting her with a box. "And what's this?" She jokingly said, taking the box from Joel and opening it.
"There you go." Joel whispered as she took in the sight of a sliver of cake kept in the box, with her name spelt in frosting. "Now… you gotta smear your name. For good luck."
Ellie laughed, looking up at Joel. "You lived in a weird fucking time, Dad." She whispered lovingly, smearing her name with her pinky and licking the frosting from her finger. Slowly, she devoured the cake and in less than a second, it was gone.
Joel watched her with a smirk and took the box from her while she cleaned her cheeks with her sleeve. "Did you even taste that?" He mocked, wiping the frosting from her lips and noticing the suddenly dim skin. Dusk was beginning to paint the sky and Ellie yawned, now full from the cake and exhausted from all of the action.
"Be prepared for me to just dump space facts on you from now on." Ellie smiled, looking towards Joel as he started a fire, laying paper in the heart before piling sticks on. He pulled his lighter from his pocket, striking a spark and soon making a fire. "Hey, Joel… did you know… the astronauts of Apollo 11, their footsteps'll be there for like… a million years?" Ellie sat down on their sleeping bag, looking up towards the stars and letting it reflect in her eyes.
Joel finished with the fire and slowly sat down beside her, laying a blanket over both of them in the chilly summer night. "Could you imagine that? Like, a grave… for the entire universe to see."
"Yeah… reckon that'd be pretty cool."
"We're gonna get up there, y'know. You and me… think we can, what fix up that shuttle? Just take a vacation to the moon?" Ellie smiled, looking at Joel and chuckling. He took her in a hug, gently stroking her back as they both slowly lulled themselves to sleep.
His hands gently brushed her hair out of its ponytail and he sorted the knots out, feeling her slow breaths in his arms. "Yeah. I'm sure Tommy has a spare spaceship lyin' around somewhere." Ellie giggled from in his arms and she lied so that she was still in his arms, but she could stare at the constellations once again. "Can you name them?" Joel asked, looking down at Ellie and then down to the stars.
She sighed, shutting her eyes and soon remembering. "Um… that horse one is… Leo." Ellie recalled, looking to Joel then back up to the stars. "That snake one is named Hydra, that one's the little dipper. Its tail is the North Star, and the North Star points to the big dipper… I dunno, Riley was more into the constellations… I was the planets nerd."
Joel chuckled, brushing her hair and noticing she was slowly falling asleep. "Try and get some rest, baby girl." He whispered, kissing the top of her head and feeling her soon loosen in his arms. "I love you."
"Love you, too, Dad." Ellie whispered, soon after falling asleep. Joel smiled, tickling her back and falling into a slumber, his last sight being Ellie's slumbering body in his arms before the darkness took over him.