A/N: Thanks for subscribing, favoriting, and reviewing! Sorry for the delay on this—I'm hoping to update more consistently now that summer's in full swing :) To make up for the delay, I have an aggressively long chapter for y'all. I had a lot of fun writing it, so I hope you enjoy! All reviews are very appreciated.

I don't own TLOU or "Come Away to the Water" by Maroon 5.

XXX

Come away little light

Come away to the darkness

In the shade of the night we'll come looking for you

XXX

Just as Abby spotted the mansion through the trees, the girl with the green coat and bloody leg collapsed behind her. On autopilot, Abby continued forward while the other girl stopped beside her friend.

"Ellie, get up! Please. Get up," the dark-haired girl said, nearly hysterical, as she tried to haul the other girl to her feet. "Lean on me. I've got you."

"Dina, this is so—" the girl named Ellie began, somehow managing to sound irritated despite the weakness in her voice.

The dark-haired friend, Dina, cut her off. "Shut up. Let's go."

Abby heard a groan, which must have come from the girl named Ellie, and a subsequent dragging sound indicated that the pair of women were moving forward again. They're too slow, Abby thought. They aren't going to make it. She couldn't bring herself to look back. A long time ago, Abby had learned that watching other people die didn't do a damn bit of good for anyone, especially not her. Unless they fucking deserved to die, of course.

Dina's voice took on an edge of steel as she yelled at Abby's back, "Hey!" Abby slowed, but she didn't stop. Grunting with the effort of supporting the majority of her friend's weight, the girl added, "Fuck you! We saved your ass back there."

Without Abby, neither girl stood a chance. But without them, Abby knew she would've gotten her throat ripped out back at that building. And they were so, so close to the mansion. It was possible they could all make it out of this alive. Definitely not probable. But possible.

Against her better judgement, Abby turned. A pair of Infected were almost upon them now, and she pulled her gun from its holster and took them out with a single bullet each. Making a split-second decision, she circled back to the women. "Jesus," she breathed, taking in Ellie's pale face and trembling frame.

"Cover me. Buy us some time," Abby said to Dina, grabbing the straps of Ellie's backpack and jerking it off her shoulders. Ellie stiffened, apparently still coherent enough to protest, but Abby didn't have time to argue with her. "It'll slow us down," she said, stepping over the backpack on the ground. The quick pop, pop, pop of bullets pierced the air. On a normal day, Abby might be able to carry Ellie all on her own, but she'd injured her shoulder pushing the gondolas back at the building. She turned to Dina. "Take her legs. We've got to get her to the front gate."

Abby looped her arms under Ellie's shoulders while the other girl grabbed Ellie's legs. Dina put pressure on the wound, which prompted Ellie to mumble a combination of curses and protests about how she could walk. They began to run, with Abby moving backwards and looking over her shoulder to see where she was going. She knew they wouldn't stay ahead of the horde for long. It was usually a mistake to help strangers, and she'd probably end up dying for it.

"Owen!" she called, hearing her voice echo off the snow. With the Infected howling behind them, Abby knew she was probably wasting her breath. Still, she tried again. "Owen! Nora!"

Abby slipped on a patch of ice and barely kept her footing. They kept moving. They came upon a small drop that couldn't be more than four feet tall. "You go first," she told Dina, nodding at the drop. The girl only hesitated for a second before she let go of her friend's feet and jumped down. Unable to hold up her weight, Ellie's knees buckled again. Abby used this to her advantage and shoved the girl over the edge into her friend's waiting arms. She jumped after them.

"It's right through those trees," Abby said. They'd barely made it fifteen feet before the first Infected dropped to the ground behind them. It'd been hard enough carrying Ellie over the slight hills and dips in the snow. There was no way they could navigate the trees.

Feeling sick, Abby decided she wouldn't die for these people. Not while Joel Miller still breathed.

Abby opened her mouth, ready to apologize for what she had to do, when she heard a quick round of bullets pop off behind her, from the direction of the mansion. She turned to see Nora darting through the trees, a rifle in her hands. Owen was a few steps behind her, Molotov cocktail in hand, and not nearly as graceful. Nora had always been one hell of a runner. She had the record for fastest mile back at the WLF's base in Seattle.

Nora took out the three Infected that were right at their heels, and that gave Owen enough time to come within throwing distance of the horde. He tossed the Molotov cocktail, and the flames caught seven Infected. Ellie felt a rush of heat from the fire.

"Thank god," Abby said, wiping her eyes with her shoulder so that her sweat didn't block her vision. "We've got to get her inside."

"I've got her," Owen said, scooping Ellie up into his arms.

"Who the fuck are you?" Ellie asked Owen, looking especially uncomfortable in his arms.

Now that her hands were free, Abby retrieved her gun and held it at her side as the group moved forward toward the mansion. Dina did the same, though she never strayed more than two feet from Ellie's side. Nora took up the rear, covering them all as they ran.

"You okay?" Owen asked Abby, his voice hoarse with the effort of yelling over the sound of the Infected and Nora's gunfire.

"Yeah," she said, wiping at her face again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Owen looking her over, his expression grim. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Would you watch where you're going before you hit a tree?"

As they cleared the trees, Abby found Manny loading a shotgun at the gate, apparently getting ready to follow Owen and Nora into the woods. When he saw their group, Manny switched gears and pulled the gate open. Abby went in first and the rest of the group followed. As soon as Nora was inside, Manny slammed the gate shut behind them. Within just a few seconds, the horde reached the gate, blindly grasping through the bars and smashing their faces against the metal.

"Damn, Abby. What'd you do to piss them off?" Manny asked her, shooting a clicker point-blank in the head. Snorting, Abby checked Manny with her uninjured shoulder and jogged into the mansion, passing a few other members of her group who'd emerged with weapons.

"Mel!" Owen called from behind her as soon as they were inside. They passed through the empty, tile-covered entryway and moved into the living room. He lowered Ellie to a ratty couch in the center of the room and called for Mel again.

Ellie sat up, swaying a little at the effort, before dropping her head back against the couch's armrest with a moan. She closed her eyes. Dina was at her side, wiping the sweaty, matted hair off her friend's forehead. Dina's hands were covered in Ellie's blood from carrying her legs, and some of it smeared across Ellie's face.

"Are you bleeding on me?" Ellie mumbled, eyes still shut.

Her friend made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob. Abby saw that her hands were shaking, but otherwise, the girl was maintaining an iron-tight grip on her fear. Wiping the blood on her jeans, Dina replied, "Don't be an asshole."

Mel emerged from the kitchen, her bag of bandages and disinfectant already in her hand. At the sight of her, Abby felt a swooping sensation in her gut, and it took her a moment to remember why.

Mel was pregnant. Owen had got Mel fucking pregnant.

Already, Abby knew that the close bond between her and Owen had irrevocably changed. She didn't know how she'd expected their story to end, but it wasn't like this. Illogical as it was, Abby felt her chest squeeze with a suffocating sense of betrayal.

As Mel approached their group, Abby lurched back to stay out of her way. Mel didn't seem to notice Abby's discomfort. Her eyes were locked on the bleeding girl on the couch, and she had a calm, calculating look on her face. Mel always got like this in a crisis. She'd probably done a lot more good in her lifetime than Abby ever would.

Mel crouched beside Ellie, inspecting her leg. "Any other injuries?" she asked no one in particular.

While Ellie answered Mel's question, Owen turned to Abby and asked, "Who are they?"

Abby shrugged, and the dark-haired girl looked up. "I'm Dina," she said, voice hoarse and shaky with the effort of keeping it under control. "This is Ellie."

Mel shifted Ellie's leg, and Ellie grimaced in pain. "What happened to your leg?" Mel asked, wiping at the blood with a rag to get a better look.

"Broken glass," Ellie said. As Mel cleared the majority of the blood away to see the wound, something changed in Ellie's expression. She tried to sit up again, looking more alert, and she pulled her leg from Mel's grip. "Just patch it up. There's a doctor back in town."

"What? In Jackson?" Dina cut in. "We barely made it here."

Abby straightened. They were from Jackson. She had an in, as long as Ellie stayed alive.

"You need stitches," Mel said, trying to placate both women. "And I'm a medic. I have what I need here."

"No," Ellie said, her resolve strengthening by the second.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Dina asked, sounding more baffled than angry. "You can't walk."

"So we'll borrow a horse."

While the women argued, Mel turned to Abby and Owen, looking exasperated. "She needs fluids."

Happy for an excuse to leave, Abby moved to the kitchen. To Abby's disappointment, Owen followed her. Behind them, Abby heard a scuffling sound. It appeared that Ellie was trying to bandage up on her own leg, despite the protests of both Mel and Dina.

Abby began sifting through their backpacks, looking for water. Owen joined her and asked, "Where the fuck have you been?" When she didn't respond, he added, "What the hell happened out there?"

"I don't know. The Infected came out of nowhere." She kept her eyes trained on the task in front of her, refusing to look at him. For the first time in years, she felt uncomfortable standing so close to him.

"And them?" Owen asked, jerking his head toward the living room. It sounded like Dina had finally lost her composure, and her fear had turned to anger. Abby heard her demanding to know when, exactly, her friend had developed a death wish.

"I ran into them." Owen was clearly unsatisfied with this answer, so she continued, "In a building."

"What building?" he asked.

She tried to sound nonchalant. "I took a different route."

"Jesus Christ, Abby."

She'd found a canteen and Owen held two water bottles in his hand, so she turned to leave. Owen looked mutinous, but he seemed to decide that it wasn't a good time to argue. "So why'd you pair up with them?" he asked, staying where he was.

"I think they thought I needed help," she said, her back to him.

His footsteps approached behind her. "Did you?"

She shrugged, taking a few brisk steps toward the doorway. Almost immediately, his hand fell on her hurt shoulder, and he spun her around to look at him. She hissed in pain, and his hand dropped to his side.

"I'm fine," she said shortly, before he could ask. "It's just strained."

She continued into the living room, and he sped up to walk at her side. "You could have Mel—"

The white-hot pain sliced through her again, all the way from her stomach to the top of her head. "I'm not asking Mel."

When Abby saw the look on his face, she almost felt guilty. Almost.

By then, the rest of their group had returned inside, and they were loitering around the living room, watching the drama unfold.

Owen didn't say anything as they returned to the couch. He probably didn't want an audience.

Things had calmed some by now, mostly because all of the movement had apparently exhausted Ellie, whose head had fallen back against the armrest again. She looked disoriented and dizzy, and even paler than before. Abby thought Ellie was only still conscious by sheer force of will. There was something respectable about that, no matter how stupid and stubborn she seemed to be.

By this point, Mel had prepared all of the materials for stitches, but she looked hesitant. Dina was glaring at her. She looked like she was about one minute away from stitching up her friend's leg herself.

Mel caught Dina's eye, and she let out a long breath. "I can't do something she doesn't want me to do."

At that, Dina jumped to her feet, looking like she was ready to throttle Mel. Owen moved forward, and Abby saw that his hand had fallen to the gun at his side.

Mel held up her hands, still calm. "I'll clean it. We'll start there. Okay?"

Scowling, Dina gave Mel a single, terse nod. She took a water bottle from Owen's hand and opened it before handing it to Ellie.

Ellie took a small sip before she tried to sit up and pull her leg away again. She didn't seem to have enough strength left to drag it from Mel's grasp, and Mel finally finished wiping all the blood away until the wound was visible.

Mel leaned over, beginning to inspect the injury.

Abby desperately wanted to leave. She felt like she might be sick, and if it wasn't for the horde of Infected just outside their gates, she would've been tempted to make a break for it into the woods. She just wanted to be alone.

But if she left the room, Owen might follow her. And then what would she do? Before she had time to decide, Mel abruptly straightened. She dropped Ellie's leg and stood up. "It's a bite," she said softly, a glint of sadness flashing across her face. "I'm sorry."

Ellie swore under her breath.

Fuck, Abby thought. That sucked. And how the hell was she going to get into Jackson now?

Dina made a sort of choking sound, looking ready to pounce on Mel again. "That's bullshit. She cut it on a window. Give her the stitches."

Mel shook her head, but before she could reply, Jordan moved forward from where he'd been leaning against the wall. His gun was in his hand. He pointed it at the back of Ellie's head. Just as quickly, Dina dropped to sit on the couch's armrest next to Ellie's head, pulled her own gun, and fixed it on him.

In response, Nora and Manny trained their guns on Dina. She didn't seem to notice. Or maybe she didn't care.

"Don't be a moron," Jordan said. "She's gone anyway."

"Fuck you," Dina hissed, venom in her voice.

Looking like she was about one minute from passing out, Ellie began, "Listen, you assholes, I—"

Jordan cut her off, still glaring at Dina. "What are we supposed to do? Wait for her to turn? Set her loose and hope she bleeds out before the Infected tear her apart?"

"We could take her home. Let them decide what to do with her," Abby said, trying to keep her voice even. She planted herself between Jordan's gun and the two women, frowning at her friend. She nodded toward Dina. "We don't want any more enemies. They've got a lot of friends nearby. It's a big town."

Owen shot her a look that suggested that he knew exactly what she was trying to do. And he clearly thought it was a stupid plan. He cleared his throat, looking at Ellie with a soft expression on his face. He held out his hands, showing that he held no weapon. "It's quick. You won't feel anything." His eyes found Dina's. "You know it's better than turning."

"It's not a fucking bite!" Dina said. Abby noticed that Dina wasn't looking at Ellie's wound anymore. Abby guessed that, deep down, Dina knew she was lying to herself.

"Fuck this. We're wasting our time," Jordan said, moving around Dina to get a clear shot at Ellie. Before he could fire, Dina pulled her own trigger, just as Ellie shot out an arm and threw the bullet off course. It hit the ceiling, and bits of drywall rained down on them.

In the next moment, Owen had Dina pinned to the ground. His elbows rested on her biceps and his knees pinned her thighs. She struggled. Ellie was yelling something in the background, but Abby tuned her out.

Abby approached Owen and Dina, pulling her own gun from its holster and kicking Dina's gun from her hand. Standing just over Owen's shoulder, she pointed her weapon at Dina's head.

"We would've let you go," she said. Her gun clicked as she pulled the hammer back.

Before she could pull the trigger, Ellie's voice broke through her focus. It wasn't so much her screaming that caught Abby's attention, but a single word. Immune.

"What?" Abby said, her head whipping to the side to look at Ellie. Nora had the barrel of a gun pressed to the girl's forehead. "What did you say?"

"I said I'm immune, you motherfuckers."

Abby spun on her heel and approached the couch, towering over Ellie. Her face was burning, and she felt lightheaded. "You're immune?"

Jordan scoffed. "Come on, Abby, you're smarter than that."

"Shut the fuck up, Jordan" Owen grunted, breathless from the effort of keeping Dina pinned.

Abby crouched next to the couch, resting her gun on her thigh, eyes never leaving Ellie's. "Show me."

With considerable effort, Ellie pulled herself into a sitting position. She took off her winter jacket. As soon as she began pulling up the sleeve on her right arm, Abby knew. She didn't even need to see the mark. Her father had shown her pictures.

"It's you," Abby said, her voice sounding foreign to her own ears. Her hand twitched, like it was going to shoot Ellie on its own accord.

The girl was alive. She was still fucking alive. Joel Miller had gotten every goddamn thing he'd hoped for.

Abby wanted to kill her.

She heard Owen's soft voice behind her, saying her name. She turned to look at him, dazed. While she'd been distracted, Owen had apparently gotten to his feet. Manny had taken over for him, and he stood over Dina with the gun aimed at her.

Owen approached, and he put a gentle hand on her bicep. "Abby," he repeated. "Come here."

She nodded dumbly. There was a ringing sound in her ears. Abby's stomach heaved, and she felt like she'd be kicked in the stomach and gotten the wind knocked out of her.

"Nobody touch them," Owen warned their friends before he guided her into the entryway where they could talk.

"It's her," Abby said, her voice flat. "From the hospital."

Owen stared out the window, looking pensive. His hazel eyes met hers. "What do you want to do?"

Slowly, Abby shook her head. She was at a loss. She'd told herself over and over, for years now, that Joel Miller had destroyed the Fireflies for nothing. That he'd slaughtered her father in cold blood to save a 14-year-old who was bound to die anyway. Hell, Ellie had been practically dead by the time she and Joel showed up.

"I don't know," she said finally. She straightened a little, her voice steadying. "I didn't come here for her. I want him."

"Abby…" he trailed off. After a pause, he continued, "This means we can try again. We have another shot at the vaccine."

"With what surgeon?" she asked. Her voice broke as she continued, "My dad was the best chance we had. He was so fucking good at his job."

"We'll take her to Santa Barbara."

"And if no one's there?"

He sighed. "Abs, we have to try."

She backed away from him, heading towards the front door. She'd finally made her decision. "No. You have to try, Owen. I'm not leaving without Joel."

He blocked the door.

"Get out of my way," she said.

"No."

He shook his head, and she shoved him. His back hit the wood door with a thump. At the movement, her shoulder began to throb. Still, she moved to push him again, and he blocked her hands. They wrestled like that until he managed to catch both of her forearms in his hands and hold them still.

Her chest heaved, but her anger fled. Now she just felt like she wanted to cry. Sensing her change in mood, Owen dropped an arm and carefully placed his free hand on the side of her face. His touch was barely a whisper against her cheek.

He almost felt like her lover again.

"Abby," he said, his voice even. "Listen. We can use her as bait. He'll come looking for her."

"He won't know where to find us," she protested, though she knew her point was weak.

Owen's hand dropped from her cheek, and he moved away from the door. "We'll leave her friend alive. We'll mention where we're headed. Maybe leaving a few things behind."

"All our shit says Western Liberation Front. He'd end up in Seattle."

"We have to make a stop there first anyway. Isaac will be expecting us back," he said. "And we'll have a better chance against him once he's on our turf."

Unable to formulate any good argument, she took a step back so that he could maneuver around her. She watched him walk back toward the living room.

"Owen," she called. He stopped in the doorway, spinning around to look at her. "What if he won't leave Jackson?"

"We both saw what he did in Boston," Owen replied, his voice low enough that he wouldn't be overheard by anyone else. His head turned to face away from her. "He'll come."

XXX

Come away little lamb come away to the water

To the arms that are waiting only for you

Come away little lamb come away to the slaughter

To the one appointed to see this through