Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, Sony, and their creators.
A/N: I want to thanks again the people that are reading this story. Thanks for the comments and the fav and fallow. As I'm still working on this story I will fix a few things that I wasn't happy with and maybe change a few others on the way. But the story probably will stay the way I planned. Anyway, let continue with the story.
Chapter 3: Ellie's Birthday Trip
The next day, Joel wakes up early in the morning and starts to prepare some food for the road trip and breakfast before they go out. "Good morning Joel... you get up early… Mmhmm," said Ellie as soon as she walked into the kitchen.
Joel grabs the plates with food and walks to the kitchen table. "Yeah, I want to prepare some food for the trip and have a good one before we go." He put the plates on the table and sat in a chair on the opposite side of Ellie.
"Oh, that smells good," she said while sitting on the other side.
Joel grabs some food with his spoon and starts to eat. "So… are you ready for the trip?" he asked after swallowing his first bit of food.
Ellie prepares some of her to get it into her mouth. "Yeah… I'm so excited… I have never ridden a bike before." she said before taking the food out of her mouth.
"I think you will like it, it is better and faster than a horse," he says while continuing eating.
"So… where are we going?"
"Well, I knew a place in California where Tommy and I went when we were younger… it was a good place and a clean beach back then, I just hope it is still that way," Joel answered a little enthusiastically.
"That sounds good…" she said while taking another bite of her food. "Do you think that we can find a good house there? I mean one that we can use to stay for a few days?"
"Yeah, there were a few beach houses there. I don't know about it now, but I think that we can find a decent one to stay in."
"Oh, that will be perfect Joel," answer Ellie.
After they finish eating breakfast, they put the rest of the food they are going to take with them in the bags and go up the stairs to finish packing. After that, they go out of the house and close the door. Joel and Ellie walk toward the stables where Joel has the bike stored. Soon they got there Tommy and Maria were waiting for them.
"Hey did you two sleep well?" asked Maria as soon as she saw them arriving at the entrance of the stable.
"Yeah, we did… thanks," answer Ellie while walking closer to Maria.
"I'm glad to hear that it is a long way to California…" She hugs Ellie as soon as she gets closer to her.
"Yeah, Joel told me about that… but I think it is going to be a fun trip." Said Ellie while moving out of the hug and smiled at her. "I have never seen the ocean before, so this is going to be great."
Maria smiled back at her. "Sure honey, I think you will enjoy that, but remember to be alert and careful, you don't know how things are there… okay?" she said the last part in a worried tone.
Ellie rolled her eyes. She is glad that Maria is always worried about her, but sometimes she wants to be treated like she can handle herself, especially if she is with Joel. "I'm sure we can handle whatever shows up. Joel and I are a good team… so don't worry about it."
While the girls continue talking, Tommy walks closer to Joel. "Well, do you have everything ready for the trip?" he asked while Joel walked toward the bike to put their things on the side bags and give it one last check.
"Yeah, we have all we need for the trip... thanks for helping me out with the bike bro..."
"Sure… I think it is a good one…. It will serve you well," he moves closer to Joel and puts one hand on his shoulder. "Just be careful out there… is been a while since you go there and even that things are been quiet here, is not mean that-"
"Don't worry bro, I will be careful… we are just going to stay there for a week then come back."
"Sure… but anyway just be careful bro," he said while hugging him.
After they said their farewell Joel goes onto the bike and starts it. Soon after that, Ellie gets behind him and puts her arm on his shoulder since his backpack won't let her put them on his waist. Both of them look at Maria and Tommy and smile. "Here we go!... see you in a week," said Joel before driving out of the stable and heading to the main gate. Soon they arrived there and the guard opened the door to let them out.
"Be careful out there you two…" said one of the guards. He does watch and goes on patrol with Joel sometimes, so they kind of know each other.
"We will… thanks." Joel waves his hand to him and drives away. Ellie was looking surprised at that because she thinks that Joel doesn't have any friends here even if they've been living in Jackson for the past three years.
Joel took the main road after getting away from the forest close to Jackson and drove west. A few hours later, Ellie was holding Joel's waist as much as she could and had her head on top of his backpack. She was enjoying the ride but wishes that she could be closer to him.
"Are you okay back there?" asked Joel without looking back.
"I'm good… thanks. This is way better than reading a horse… and faster too," she answers him with a joyful tone.
"Yeah, it is… but the horse doesn't need gas and we need to stop soon for some," he yells as the wind and the sound of the motorcycle don't let them hear much of what they are saying.
Ellie looked at the sky and noticed that it was past noon. "Are we going to stop before nightfall?" she asked him while looking at the sky.
"Yes, I will try to find a good place to stay before that, but we need to stop soon for gas. Tommy gave me a map with some places where we can find some. Also told me that in this route there are some farms that have some abandoned cars on them. So maybe we can stop in one and try to find some gas on their tanks and see if we can pass the night there too."
They continue their journey on the highway until they cross to the next state. Then Joel stops in a cross-way road to rest and checks out his map.
Ellie was looking at the mountain on the horizon and eating one of the sandwiches Joel prepared before they left Jackson. Ellie turned and looked at him. "So… are you lost?" she asked sarcastically. "Because you're been looking at that map for the last 10 minutes without saying anything." Asked Ellie while eating her food.
Joel turns his head and looks at her. He saw her standing a few feet from the bike. There was nothing on the interception except for a few old signs. She was eating her sandwich while looking around. "I'm not lost, I just try to find a better way to get to those farms," he said.
Ellie walks closer to him while continuing eating. "Yeah!… well... I still think that you are lost…" she giggles while taking the last bite of her sandwich.
"Yeah, real funny…" Joel fills the map close and puts it in his jacket pocket. "I think we're close to one, so if you finish eating all our food we can go now and check."
Ellie giggled some more. "Whatever you said, boss…" she walked to the bike and grabbed the cantine, and drank some water. After she finishes, she put it back and looks at Joel. "So are we going to stay in one for the night?"
"If it is too late to continue, yes. I don't want to ride in the dark."
"Okay good… we can use that time to rest," she replied back.
After that Joel gets into the bike and Ellie goes behind him. Joel drives for two more hours until they see one of the farms. By then the sky was gray with a lot of dark clouds and before they got closer to the farm rain started to fall down on them.
"Shit!... can you go faster... we're getting all wet…" Ellie yells from behind him.
"I am doing my best, but there is no road here and this terrain is so bad… And I can't control the bike well if I go faster… so just hang on okay?" Joel gives a little more speed to the bike and gets into the farm. He drives to the barn that was closer and stops in front of it. He looked at the door and saw a chain that kept it close. "Get off and keep your eyes open…" he said while turning the bike off.
Ellie does as he said and goes out of the bike, she takes out her gun from her backpack and moves close to the building. The over rooftop gave her a little cover from the rain that was getting heavy now. "Is it going to be hard to see anything with this rain… do you think someone lives here?" she said while moving to the edge of the barn wall and looking around.
Joel gets off the bike too and walks toward the bar. He goes closer to the doors and looks at the padlock and chain. "I don't think so, the padlock is old and rusted, so no one has touched this in years."
Ellie moves behind him and looks at the thing. "So… what do you think is inside?"
Joel moves closer and puts his ears on the wood door to try to see if he heard something inside. "I don't hear anything… so let's hope that nothing or someone is in there… because we need to get out of the rain… fast." Joel takes his backpack off and gets a hammer out of it.
He brings that because it is a good weapon if you get out of bullets. It did not take too much time to break the padlock, so soon he gets the chain off the door, he gives Ellie the signal to be ready.
Joel himself takes out his own gun and grabs the door. Soon Ellie was ready, Joel opened slowly and started to move inside. The place was darker, but not completed. Some holes on the wood walls let some light come in. The rain was getting heavier and thunder could be heard in the distance.
Ellie moves slowly to one side of the barn checking the place. The barn was almost empty so it didn't have many places for someone to hide there. just a few old wooden boxes and some piles of hay. Soon they checked the place out and made sure that no one was hiding there. Joel moves to the center of the barn. "Okay, the place looks secure enough, so let's stay here for the night."
Ellie moves closer to him and puts her gun back to her hoster. "Okay, what about the house? The one on the other side of the farm?"
"It looks pretty damaged from here, I don't think there is going to be anyone living there either… but the rain is too heavy, so let's leave that for later."
"Okay… that sounds good... I'm all wet and cold…" said Ellie, hugging herself.
"I will bring the bike inside, see if you can find some dry wood to make a fire." Said Joel before moving away. Ellie looks at him and smiles, she loves it when he gets all bossy.
Ellie has been with Joel since they left Boston 3 years ago. She is now 17 and even if things don't go as she wanted with the fireflies, she loves to be with him. Ellie knows that Joel considered her as if she were his daughter, but Ellie thinks of him more like a partner.
In a way, she likes to think like that because if she is developing feelings for him, it will be better that way. Of course, she doesn't show any of that or say anything to him, because she doesn't know what Joel really thinks about her now.
While Joel was out Ellie started to check the place out. There were some stocks of hay closer to the wooden walls and a few rusted farm things tools around the ground. When she moves to the back part she finds a ladder that goes to a small second-floor part. Ellie climbs the ladder and goes up. Soon she was on the small second floor, she saw a few wooden boxes there and a few other things. "Bingo!" she said as she remembers hearing that in some movie she watches with Joel.
The cold breeze that enters through the holes in the barn was starting to get effect on her, as she was all wet. Ellie quickly moves closer to the boxes and starts to open one of them. The first one has clothes on it, she smiles at that because they need to change their wet ones. She moved to the other one and found plates and other kitchen things.
The third one has some tools and a few broken things. Close to the boxes, she found two gas lamps that they can use for the night. She continues checking some small boxes when she hears Joel entering the barn.
"Ellie, did you find anything we can use?" he asked while putting the bike on the left part of the barn.
Ellie moves to the edge of the small up floor and looks down at him. "I'm up here… and you can't believe what I found here," she said with a smile on her face.
"Did you find something to make a fire?" He shakes some of the water off and walks to the back of the barn and looks up at her. "What did you find?"
"I found a lot of things up here, including two lamps and some clothes that we can use to change. Also, I found some blankets and a few cans of food, so I think we're good for the night."
"Oh, that is great, bring some of those things down here, I will start a fire to get warm." There was a lot of hay and he could break some of the barn parts to make a fire, which is not going to be hard. They just need to be careful to not burn the whole place down.
After a few minutes, Joel moves to the center of the barn and puts some wood in the ground. He cleans the place so the fire doesn't spread to the side and cause a fire.
By that time Ellie was already down and walked toward him. "Is no too dangerous to make a fire here?" she said as soon as she got closer. "We can use the lamps… for the night… it will be safer," she said while putting some of the things down on the ground.
"The rain is getting heavy, so it is going to be too cold at night, so the fire is the best option to keep us warm." he bends down and starts the fire. After it starts, he stands up and looks at her. "Okay, now we need to get out of these wet clothes and dry, so what did you get?"
Ellie looks at him and smiles, then looks at the things she put on the ground. "Well, as I said before, I found a lot of useful things up there. But lucky for us, I found some clean and dry clothes that we can use. Also, I found some towels and blankets that we can use to dry up and for sleep tonight," she said while grabbing the two towels and throwing one to Joel. "The clothes, I bring what I think can fit you, but all the pants are too big for me, so I will only use one of the long shirts."
Joel uses the towel to start drying his head. "Okay, let's change then…" Joel moves closer to the things Ellie broke and grabs the clothes that were for him. "Do you want to change first? You can use the back part for that is a little darker over there and-"
"Ahhhh… are we not going to change here together? I can turn around if you want to?" she said with a grin on her face.
"Very funny… just go over there and change. I will do it when you finish," he said with a musing tone.
Ellie feels a little disappointed that Joel did not accept her suggestion. It was a test to see if Joel didn't mind them changing at the same spot. She really has different feelings for Joel but doesn't know how to tell him. He probably still thinks of her as his daughter, even if he did not say it. "Oh don't worry, I will go back up and change there, so you can use the back part if you want." Ellie grabs the shirt she brings and walks back to the small second floor to change.
Soon she was up there, Ellie used one of the lamps to illuminate the place. It was getting darker and the rain is falling heavily now. Ellie walked back where the boxes were and started to take her t-shirt off and put it on top of one of the boxes. Then she proceeds to take her wet pants off too. Soon she was in her underwear, Ellie looked around to make sure no one was watching her. Of course, that was just an instinctual reflex, because she knows that there was no one there except for Joel.
Ellie wishes to have the courage to tell him how she feels about him, but she is so scared of what Joel is going to think or react to that. They have been together for 3 years and Joel has given her everything he can and she is happy about that. Joel not only gives her his love, even if it is just a platonic one, but he also gives her a home and a new family and she is happy about that.
After a few minutes, Ellie takes off the rest of her clothes and uses the towel to dry herself. Even if it was summer, the rain was going to make the night a cold one. But she will be okay with only the shirt on her. So soon she put her spare panties on, she put on the shirt too. Soon she finishes, Ellie climbs down and walks toward the fire and sees that Joel was already there.
Soon Joel hears her walking toward the fire, he turns his head and looks at her. His face goes a surprised expression when he saw her wearing only the long shirt without any pants visible. At that moment he realizes how to grow up Ellie was and that she does not look like a kid anymore. After a few minutes of looking at her and how beautiful she was, he shakes those thoughts out of his mind and looks back to the fire. "Are you hungry? I took the soup you found and warned them," he said, trying to change his thoughts.
Soon Ellie arrives at the fire, she sits down on the ground and looks at him. "Yeah, I'm a little hungry… thanks." She looks at his body and notices that he put on a shirt and short pants. They were going to go to sleep soon so that was normal for him. Ellie watches Joel put the soup in a bowl and pass it to her. "Thanks… this smells good…" said Ellie as soon as she grabbed the bowl.
"We're lucky that you find this… we can't bring much from home," he said while sitting beside Ellie with his own bowl of soup. They start to eat and after a few minutes, Ellie spooks again.
"There was a lot of stuff up there packed in boxes... what do you think happened here?" she asked with some curiosity.
Joel eats some of his food before he answers her. "I don't know… the place was locked from outside, so maybe the people that live here have to go in a hurry and can't take all of their stuff with them."
"Well, maybe we can check the house in the morning and see if we can find something else there or if they are still living here."
Joel takes another spoon of soup in his mouth before answering her. "I don't think someone is still living here… the lock was rusty and I looked at the house when I was bringing the bike in and it looked bad. Part of the roof was gone as well as the front door and some of the windows are all broken."
Ellie takes some of the soup to her mouth and looks at the fire. "Oh… so what are we going to do about the gas we need? You said that we need some to continue," she said looking at him now.
"Yeah… we need to fill the tank of the bike soon…" Joel tried not to look much in Ellie's direction the way she was sitting with her legs crossed, he could almost see her panties and that it was not helping him at all. He quickly turns his head and looks at the fire again. "I don't see any here, so maybe it is a good idea to check the house anyway in the morning and see if they left some there."
"Okay… that sounds like a plan…" answered Ellie quickly.
After a few minutes, both of them finish with the food and put the bowls beside the fire. Joel stands up and grabs one of the blankets and puts it on the ground beside the fire while some thunder can be heard in the distance.
"It's better if we try to get some sleep, it seems that it will rain all night," said Joel while looking in her direction.
Ellie stands up and grabs the other blanket and puts it beside Joel's. "Yeah, we were lucky to find this place before it gets worse." After she finished with the blanket, Ellie lay down and put her hands behind her head, and looked at the roof of the barn.
Joel does the same and lays in his and looks at the rooftop too "Yeah, we were lucky…" he answers her back.
They're silent for a few minutes probably thinking about what to do next. Only the rain can be heard outside and the fire inside. Ellie starts to think about all the times they have to sleep outside together. Not only on the trip to the fireflies but after they go to Jackson and she goes out with Joel on a scavenger or hunting trip.
"We have not done this in a long time…" she said out of nowhere. "Do you miss it?"
Joel looks in her direction. "Missing?" he asked, confused.
"Yeah… been outside on the road again… together… sleeping in places like this... I know that we do some trips to hunt and all that, but that is always closer to Jackson. This is the first time in three years that we go this far away... just the two of us." she said while looking at the rooftop.
Joel looks back to the roof again. "Yeah, I guess that being out here for a while feels good… I haven't ridden a bike since I was young… and being out of Jackson for a while it feels good too."
"You don't much like to be around people… do you?" she asked without looking at him.
"Is not that… but sometimes I worry that they will find out about your condition and try to do something about it." Yeah, that was something that scares him more than bandits or infected people. He doesn't want to remember what happened with the fireflies when they try to get a cure out of her. He was lucky that Ellie got distracted in town for the last three years and didn't ask him about what happened there.
Ellie looks in his direction. She didn't think about her condition in years. Yeah, Tommy and Joel wanted to keep that to themself so no one in Jackson knows about it, not even her friends. "Well, we should tell them someday... It's not like they will try to find a cure out of me… we already tried that and it didn't work out… remember?" She looked back to the rooftop.
Now Joel feels guilty… because of him that possibility was out now. But he didn't believe that the fireflies were going to find one anyway. Even if they did not have to kill Ellie in the process, all that was all bullshit to him. All they have were theories on how they can get a cure from Ellie brian and not in hell he was going to let them kill Ellie just test that. Yeah, he was a little selfish about that too, because he was not going to watch another person he loves die, not even for a possible cure.
"You should not be thinking about that… Now, try to get some sleep… tomorrow will be a long day," he said, trying to change the subject.
Ellie turns her head and looks in his direction again. She is glad that Joel decides to take her out of Jackson on this trip, maybe it was a good time to tell him what she feels about him. But she still fears what he is going to say because she is only 17 and he is much older than her. She doesn't care about that, but some people do, and probably Joel too.
"Joel?"
"Hmmm?" he answers with his eyes closed now...
Ellie wanted to tell him right there but maybe it is better to wait until they arrive in California. She doesn't want to ruin the trip if Joel freakout about her confection and wants to go back to Jackson. "What do you think happened to the people that live here?" Ellie asked again, trying to continue the conversation.
After a few minutes of silence, Joel answers her. "I don't know… this place looks like it was closed for a long time and judging by the look of the house… I think that the people that live here have been gone for a long time."
"Do you think they get infected?" she continued.
Joel opens his eyes and looks in her direction. "I don't know… maybe or they just leave in a hurry… It does not matter now. The thing is that they are gone and we don't need to worry about that." Joel turned to the side and closed his eyes.
After a few minutes, Ellie spoke again. "Joel!"
"Ellie… is late... go to sleep… we need the rest…" he answered, more irritated.
"I can't sleep… it's getting cold and the thunder is not helping either…" She looks at him and waits for an answer, but Joel doesn't say anything. "Joel?"
"Ellie… please go to sleep…" he said with an annoying tone.
Ellie turned to her side and closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep even if she could find any. The rain continues to fall without stopping. Thunders can be heard in the distance and even though she is not afraid of them she can't get to sleep. After one hour Ellie turns to the other side and looks at Joel. he looks like he is in deep sleep now, he never sleeps much when they are out of Jackson, so Ellie thought that riding the bike would tire him.
After a few minutes, Ellie stands up and grabs her blanket. She walks toward him and puts the blanket beside him. She can't sleep, but maybe laying beside him can help her. So slowly Ellie gets down on the blanket and lays beside him. As Joel didn't move or say anything, she knew that he did not notice her there. So slowly she moves her body closer to him and moves one arm put it around his waist.
She practically was hugging him from behind. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she can feel the heat of his body warm her out and it feels good. They sleep close before when they go out, but never like that. Smelling his essence and feeling his warm body so close makes her love him even more. She was liking the idea of them sleeping like that forever. Hugging the man she loves, makes her find her sleep in no time and she loves that.