Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, Sony, and their creators.

A/N: Hi, here is another chapter. this story is getting to the end soon. It was going to have 25 chapters, but since I been editing the latest ones I decide to divide the epilogue from the last chapter and make it apart so is now going to be 25+ the epilogue of the story. Anyway, I want to thank you to all the people that been follow this story so far and leave a comment. I hope that you enjoy it.

Chapter 20: Christmas Eves

Two days have passed since Joel had a conversation with Marlene about her conduction and the treatment opportunity. Joel has been thinking of a way to help her, to give her more time with Ellie, but how he can get that kind of money. Yes, he has some savings left, but he uses most of it in the house. His part-time job does not pay enough for that kind of money, so he can't count on that either. He has been thinking for the last two days about who can help him with that, but he can't find anyone.

On Christmas eve, Joel goes to town early to buy a few Christmas gifts for Ellie and even for Marlene. After that, he remembers the offer that the old from the ranch offered him, so maybe he can work something out with him. After all, he was so desperate for him to work there and he had a lot of money. So before Joel finishes his shopping he calls the man and tells him that he has to talk to him about a business proposition. So the man told him that he can come to his ranch in the afternoon to talk. So after Joel finished his shopping he drove directly to the Ranch.

Soon he arrived there, Joel stopped on the intercom that was on the main gate of the ranch. "Hi, my name is Joel… Joel Miller and I have an appointment with Mr. Morrison," said Joel after pressing the button to talk.

He has to wait for a few minutes before someone answers the call. "You can come in Mr. Miller, Mr. Morrison is waiting for you." said a man on the intercom. After a minute the main gate opened, and Joel started to drive inside. Soon Joel got to the front of the house, the man that received him last time was there waiting for him.

"It is a surprise to see you here so quickly after your last visit… Mr. Miller," says Gorge as soon Joel gets out of his pick up truck.

"Yeah, it's nice to see you too," said Joel with a sarcastic tone.

The man gave him a hard look, then turned around. "I don't know what Mr. Morrison sees in you, but... follow me. He is waiting for you in his office," he murmured something else, but Joel can't understand what he said.

Joel follows the man into the house. Soon he gets in, he starts to look around watching the interior of the house and the things on it. The house wasn't too big for a rich man, but it was definitely a mansion. He never was in one before, so he was curious about it. Oh man, Ellie will love this if she was here. He said to himself while continuing following the man. The man was really from Texas, he has a few arts and furniture that remember him there. On his way, he saw a few people around, probably some workers from the ranch or probably more servants.

The man guides him up a stair and up to the second floor. After a few minutes, the man stops in front of a big door and knocks. "Sir… Mr. Miller is here."

There was some sound coming from inside before some speak. "Come in…" said the old man from inside the room.

The assistance opens the door and gestures to Joel with his hand to get inside. Soon Joel was in the man speaking again. "Sir, I will be in the living room checking the work we have pending for today. So if you need anything just call me."

The man was standing up behind his desk looking outside. "Thank you, Gorge." said the old man while turning his head and look at him.

The man noodles and closes the door. Joel looked at the old man that was standing in front of one of the windows in the room.

He was looking outside before he spoke again. "I was really surprised when I received your call... Mr. Miller or can I call you Joel now?" said the old man without looking back.

Joel moves closer to the desk and speaks. "Yeah, you can call me that if you want. I knew this would be a surprise to you after our last conversation, but things have changed... and I need the job and a favor," says Joel with a serious tone.

"I see… well, I think that that was a wise decision. So you thought about my offer?" asked the man while turning around to look at Joel.

"About working here… yes I think about it."

"Oh… that is good, so what makes you change your mind? Because last time you were here. You were so sure that you don't want to work for me."

"As I said, Mr. Morrison. Things change."

The old man raised one hand to stop him. "Please just call me Martin… we don't need to be so formal around here." The man walks toward a small table where he has some bottles of different alcohol. "I'm really glad that you called me, whatever the circumstance you have that makes you change your mind…" he opened a bottle and looked at Joel. "Do you want something to drink?" he asked while putting some of the liquor in a small glass. "I have the best whisky you can taste in this state…" said the old man with a smile on his face.

"No, thank you…I'm good... I just try not to…" Joel tried not to drink any strong alcohol since he came back, except for a few beers here and there.

The man takes his drink and moves back to his desk. "So... since you're here, I guess that you accept my offer to work for me?" he said while taking a sip of his drink.

"The one for working here... yes. But the one you offer me in Texas no. Sorry, but I can't go back there."

"Because of the girl that was with you?" The man sat on his chair and looked at him.

"The girl that was with me doesn't have anything to do with that decision. It is a personal matter." Joel looks at the man and crosses his arm. Because he doesn't like the way he refers to Ellie.

The man takes another sip of his drink and continues. "Look, I'm offering you the job because I really want to help you. But I need to know what is going on between that girl and you. The last thing I want is for you to get into trouble for doing something stupid."

Joel doesn't know what to say to that. He can see that the old man is suspicious of something and if the old man discovers what is going on between Ellie and him, he will probably end up in jail. "I don't know what do you think is going on between us, but I can tell you that-"

"That, your intentions are good?" the man didn't even let him finish. "Look, I don't really know what is going on between that girl and you, and I really hope that you're thinking about all that. I don't want you to do something that ruins her life and yours. If you need a job, I want to help you, but if something happens with that girl, I am not going to help you with that."

"Look, nothing is going on between us, at least nothing to worry about. But if that is a problem with you, maybe it is good if I go and forget about this."

The old man takes another sip from his drink and looks at a portage on one of the walls. It was a painting of his wife. "My wife was young when we got married… she was 18 and I was 30," he started while looking at the painting. "Yeah that is not seen to be much of a difference, but some people don't understand. She helped me when I went to the hospital for some therapy, and with time we fell in love. So we start to get out and get married a little after that. A few years later we want to start a family, so we have a son." said the man while standing up from his chair.

"Sir, I can assure you that I am never going to do anything to hurt that girl."

"Yeah, I can see in her eyes and yours how much you two mean to each other… But that is not going to change the issue that she is underage and you can go to jail for that. My wife was 18 when we started, so it was a different thing. She helps me a lot with my problems and I will always be grateful for that. So I hope that you think deeper about her and all this situation before you do something that you will regret later." the man looked at the painting, then back to Joel. "I really want you to work on my ranch in Texas. Is where I need you most, but I can wait if you're not ready to go there yet."

Joel looked at the man and tried to understand why this man was so desperate for him to work there. Even after he almost confesses his suspicion about what is going on between him and Ellie. "Look, I don't know why you need me, therefore… or why you're not just calling the cops and let them know about Ellie. Yeah, you said that you want to help me, but why? I don't know you, and this is the second time you see me, so don't tell me that it is because you like to help people like me, because I know something more is going on here."

The man looked at Joel for a moment then stood up from the chair and walked to the window. He looks outside and watches some of his men working there. He needs to talk to Joel about the situation with the girl and him, but that can wait for later. "Yeah, you don't know me… but I know who you're. I knew your father well when we fought in the Vietnam war. We only served there for 2 years and even though I was 4 years older than your father we spent much time on missions together. That place was a nightmare, so we helped each other and covered our back, so after time we became friends."

Joel looked at him with surprised eyes. "I didn't know my father fought in Vietnam. He never told me anything about it or mentioned anything when we were kids."

The old man looked at him and continued. "Your dad told me that if he ever has a son, he will never speak with him about what happened there. But he sent me a few pictures after he got married and had you." the man lowers his head and continues. "He saves my life a couple of times out there and I won't be here if it was not for him. I probably would die there, so I will always be grateful for that. We keep in contact after we get back, but with time we get too busy with our family that we lose contact for a time. It was sad for me when I hear about your mom and when he passed away. I tried to talk with you and your brother at the funeral, but for some reason, I never found the courage to do it back then."

"I didn't remember seeing you there. But he never talks much about his past and my grandfather never told us about that either."

The man turns around and looks at him. "As I said, we didn't like to talk about all that and your grandfather never liked that he chose to join the army. So maybe that is the reason they never told you or your brother about that." the man lowered his head and looked to the floor.

After a minute, the old man looked at Joel and continued. "I never talk to my son about our time there either. We didn't want to get back all those bad memories after we get back. Anyway, when my son and his family die in an accident, I have no other family members to pass his Ranch business. And with him dead I don't have anyone to pass mine either when I pass away." The old man walked closer to Joel and stopped in front of him. "Your father was like a younger brother to me, that is why I want to help you and the reason for you to run that ranch for me."

Joel looks at the old man and he can't believe that his father fought in the Vietnam war and never told him. But also he was surprised because this man is not only offering a job but offering to run an entire ranch for him. "That is a nice offer but I don't think that I can help you with that… like I said I don't know much about how to run a Ranch, so maybe it is better if you find someone better for that job. As I said before, my knowledge of how to be a rancher is minimal…"

The man looked at him and smiled. "Don't worry about that son. No one knows anything at first, but if you work here with me, I can teach you all you need to know about how to be a Rancher. And after you learn enough about that, I want you to take care of my son's Ranch back in Texas."

Joel moved away from him. "I already told you that I can't go there. I can do the job you offer me here but back to Texas is out of the question."

The man walks close to him again and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, I know that you don't want to leave that girl… and I also know about your problems with your brother. It's sad to see that because in the end family is all we have." the man walked back to his desk and sat down. He opens a drawer and takes some papers out. "Now, this is your contract for the job I offer you here. I want you to read it and sign it before the new years come." He says passing the papers to Joel.

Joel walked to the desk, took the papers, and looked at them. "You prepared this already? Even when I told you that I wasn't going to work for you?" Joel said while looking at him.

"What can I say... I have the feeling that you will change your mind, so I made them done. Anyway, we can talk about it later if you want, but I think you will find what I'm offering you is a good deal. I just have one conduction for you if you accept the job."

"And what is that?" Joel asked curiously.

Whatever is going on between you and that girl, don't do anything before she turns 18. I don't want to think that you're a man that likes to take advantage of young girls. I saw in her eyes and in yours that whatever it is… it looks like a pure thang. But no matter what it is still illegal going out with a 16 years old girl in this country."

Joel doesn't know what to say, but he is glad that this man is not going to call the cops on him. "I can assure you that I am not going to do anything with her to hurt her." Joel offers his papers back to the man. "But if you have a problem with that, you can have your contract back and call the cops if you want. I know that all this is wrong but I really care about her and I'm never going to take advantage of her."

"I don't have any problem if you stay with her friend until she is an adult. I am not going to judge you for that, but I hope that you know what you are doing." The man stood up again and walked close to him. "Now that we talk about the job and make a few things clear, let's go back to the other business. You said that you need favor when you walk in here… so what do you need from me?"

( Two our later )

After Joel finishes discussing the favor he needs from the old man, he goes back to his truck and gets driven out of the Ranch. He takes the contract with him to study it, but the other thing he needs from the old man he makes deals for it. He has to do a lot of work to pay him back, but it was worth it. Going back to Texas is going to be hard, but lucky for him he does not have to go there for at least a few years. After that Joel drives back home to wrap the gift, so he can take them to Marlene's house.

( Next day )

Ellie was in her room laying on the bed after having breakfast. Her aunt goes out to the store to buy a few things for the Christmas dinner tonight. But Ellie was anxious to get Joel in the house for the special event. So she grabbed her phone and texted him.

"Hey… are you getting ready for the dinner tonight?" Ellie texts Joel on the phone.

After a few minutes, Joel texts her back: "You don't think it's too early for that, it is still 11:00 am."

Ellie starts to write him back: "Yeah, but I am so anxious for you to be here. This will be our first Christmas eve together."

Joel texts back: "I know, but I need to do a few things here before going there, so I will be there at 6:00 pm... okay?"

Ellie writes back to him: "Ahhhh… that is too far away, can you come early? Maybe we can get a walk around the house or do something before dinner time."

Joel texted back: "Okay I will try to be early there. See you in a few hours."

Ellie wrote back: "Okay… bye… love you."

Joel smiled at that. "Love you too." Then they close the text screen.

One hour later Marlene arrives at the house with the things she needed. Soon she got inside with the bags, Marlene walked to the kitchen and put the bags on the counter. "Ellie, I'm back can you come down and help me with this?" yells Marlene while taking the grocery she buys out of the bags.

"Okay… I'm coming," answer Ellie from the second floor. A few minutes later Ellie gets down carrying a few wrapper gifts in her arms. "I will be right back, I'm just going to put this under the tree," said Ellie soon after she gets down and passes in front of the kitchen entrance.

Marlene looks at her and smiles. "Okay… sweetheart," she watches Ellie walk toward the Christmas tree and start to put the gift she has on her arm under the tree. She already has her there, but she was happy to see Ellie like this, all filled with happiness. She hasn't seen her like that since she was a little kid when she really loved Christmas eve. The last few ones, they only have dinner and open the gift the next day. As they don't have any family left, they didn't do anything special that day.

After a few minutes, Ellie walked to the kitchen counter and started to help her aunt to take out groceries from the second bag and put them on top of the counter. "So what are we going to have for dinner tonight?" she asked while continuing to take things out of the bag.

"Well, I don't cook much, so I will make a simple one, that is going to be turkey and potato salad. I will start by preparing the turkey and put it in the oven. You can help with the potato salad and corn. I was thinking of doing some biscuit too, what do you think?"

"That sounds good. Joel said that he will bring the dessert so we don't have to do that." Ellie says while finishing to take out the things from the bag.

"Okay, I will start doing the turkey stuffed, you can start with the potato salad okay." Marlene moves to where she put the turkey and starts to add a few spices to flavor it.

Ellie goes to the fridge and takes the potato out. After a few minutes, both girls were working on the food. "Aunt… Marlene…" Ellie starts with a lower tone.

"Yes, dear?"

"I just want to thank you for all this… I mean not only about the dinner but also about letting Joel be part of our life… I'm really happy about that." Ellie says while continuing peeling the potatoes with a knife. "I know that he is older than me… and that you think that I am too young to love a person like that. But I really love him… and he loves me back. And I wanted to tell you that he was never going to do anything to me."

Marlene stopped what she was doing and looked at her. "Ellie, an old man should not feel that way with a girl you age. But I can see how happy he made you. I trust that you two are going to wait until you are an adult to start something more serious. But you must understand that for other people, this will be wrong. I can see how much you love him and I can see that he loves you back. So I will try to keep my mind open on this, even if this is wrong," Marlene turns her head back and continues with the turkey.

Ellie lowers her head and continues with her work. "Thanks… I know this is hard for you, but I really appreciated it that you let us be together," she said with a little smile on her face.

Marlene tries to let her know that she really trusts them to do the right thing, without telling her anything about the conversation she has with Joel. "I have to said that I was wrong about Joel at first and even though he is too old for you, I think he will take good care of you. But you two need to prepare yourself for what people are going to say and think about you and him. Some people don't like that kind of relationship even if you're an adult."

Ellie lowered her head and looked at the potato she had in her hand. "Yeah, I know. I read a lot and watch tv. I know that people like to judge this kind of relationship, even if the man is too old for a young woman or a woman too old for a younger man. But I don't care what people say about us. Because when you fall in love with someone all those things do not matter and people should not judge that. I love Joel for the man he is and nothing is going to change that. I think that we can make a good home for our kids when we get married."

"Wow, wow, wow... you need to hold yourself a little there missy. You need to finish college first before starting to think about marriage okay? I want you to start to think about choosing a university to go to after you finish school. After that, you can marry him if you want. Your mother would want you to have a good future and a career, so you need to start thinking about that too."

Ellie looks at her and smiles anyway. Yeah, she wanted to marry Joel as soon as possible, but her aunt was right. She needs to think about what she wanted to be in the future. She always thinks to be a nurse or a doctor, so maybe she will start with that. "Okay… I will think about what career I will study after I get out of high school, but if I get to a university, I want to marry Joel before I finish that."

"You need to talk to Joel about that first. I don't know when he will like to marry you, but I'm sure that he will like to wait a little longer for that." Both girls continue talking and worked in the kitchen until dinner was almost ready. After that, Marlene told Ellie to go change before Joel arrived.

( Later that Evening )

Joel arrives at Marlene's house at 4:00 pm. He parks his pick-up truck in front of the house and gets out. Then he walks to the other side of his truck and gets out a bag with a bottle of wine and the dessert he brought for dinner. He has another bag with the gift he bought for Ellie and Marlene in the truck, but he will get that one out later. After he closed the door of his truck, Joel walked toward the front door and knocked. A few minutes later the door opened and Marlene was standing in front of him.

"I welcome you to our Christmas dinner… but are you not a little early?" said Marlene while looking at him.

"Yeah, I know… but Ellie wanted me to come early. I think she wants to take a walk or something before dinner, but it is too cold outside for that."

"Yeah, I think that too. But come in…" Marlene moved to the side to let Joel enter. Soon he was inside, she closed the door and walk close to him. "I think Ellie is still in her room preparing herself for the evening. So you can sit in the living room and wait for her if you want."

"Okay…" Joel starts walking toward the living room but stops as soon he remembers the bag in his hands. "Oh, I brought this for dinner." He passed the bag with the bottle of wine and the container with the dessert to Marlene.

"Oh… thank you.'' She grabbed the bag and look inside. Then she walked toward the kitchen and put the bag on the counter. "You know that Ellie can't drink this… right?" she said while taking the bottle out of the bag.

"Yeah I know, I just bring that for you… because I won't be drinking either," he said while watching her go.

Marlene grabs the pie and put it in the fridge, then she checks the oven and sees if the turkey is ready. "Oh, so you are not drinking any alcohol now?" she asked while looking at him.

"No anything strong, just a few beers here and there. I try to quit that… Because I have had some problems with drinking before," said Joel as he walked into the living room. Soon he was there, he saw the Christmas tree and he remembered the gift he brings with him. "Oh… I have some gifts on the truck, I will bring them here to put them under the tree so that way Ellie and you don't have to come to my house to open them."

Marlene walks out of the kitchen and enters the living room. "Oh, that is nice of you… but you know that you have to come back here tomorrow morning for the gift exchange… right?"

Joel looked at her and smiled. He was glad to have dinner with them. He hasn't done that since he was a kid. "Sure… just tell me the time and I will be here."

"Well, I'm sure Ellie will be up early, so I will text you as soon as she wakes up. Now dinner is ready so we can eat as soon Ellie came down or if you wanted we can sit in the living room and talk a little before dinner, either option is fine with me."

"Yeah, that sounds good to me." Joel looked at her and start to felt strange. Even that Marlene is close to his age, been here like this feels like the first time he visited his first girlfriend's parents when he was 14. After a few minutes of silence, Joel decides to get out of there. He not have any problem talking to her now, but right at that moment, he doesn't know what to say. "I will go to get the gifts I brought from the truck."

"Okay, I will go to Ellie's room and check why she is taking so long," Marlene smiled at him and turned around. Joel walks to the front door and goes out of the house, while Marlene goes upstairs and walks toward Ellie's room. Soon she stands in front of her door, Marlene knocks. "Ellie, is everything alright? Joel is here and dinner is ready… can I come in?"

"Is open…" Ellie answers her.

Marlene opens the door and gets inside. She saw Ellie sitting on the edge of the bed facing the mirror. "Hey, what is taking you so long?" she walked close to her and looked at the dress she was wearing. "Wow… Isn't the dress Joel gives it to you?" she asked with a surprised expression. Ellie already told her about the dress Joel give her at the resort and showed it to her, but she didn't see her on her yet.

"Yeah… I thought it was a good idea to wear it… but now I don't know if it is too much for just a dinner here. And also I don't know how to use my makeup right, because I only use the lipstick before a few times,"

Marlene looks at her and smiles. She can't believe that Ellie was growing up fast and soon she will become a woman. "Well, I think that you look beautiful without it. So you don't need to worry about that, I will teach you later how to do it right… okay?" Marlene sat on the bed beside her and grabbed her hands. "I never imagined this moment would come… so soon or the way we're on it," Marlene starts to pass her hand softly on top of Ellie's. "I know the circumstances are not the normal one. Not only for me or Joel but for you too. Because I was hoping when the time came for you to find someone and fall in love, it will be with someone more your age. But no matter how rare this is, I am happy for you." she said with a proud tone.

Ellie looks at her and smiles. "Yeah… I know that this is not the usual thing for a girl, but Joel is a good man and I'm happy that I fall in love with him," Ellie looks at the mirror again. "I know that this is just a Christmas dinner and not a date, but I just feel like this is a new phase in my life."

Marlen looks at Ellie's reflection in the mirror. "Well, I think it is. Look at you, you soon will be 17 and things will be changed before you know it. But I think that your mom will be happy to see how a great young woman you became."

Ellie turns her head and looks at her. "Do you really think that? Because I'm not sure that she will be happy to see that I fell in love with an older man."

"I think that she will be happy knowing that you're happy. And if this man can make you happy I'm okay with that too," said Marline while squeezed her hands a little before letting them go.

Ellie moves to the side and hugs her. "Thanks… that really means a lot to me." some tears started to come out of Ellie's eyes.

Marlene herself gets a few tears out of her eyes. In all her life with Ellie, she never feels this close to her or made her feel like a mother. It was the first time… that she feels like a real one and make her happy. Marlen starts to think about what Joel said to her. That she needs more time to fix all these years of negligent Ellie, but how can she do that now? When her time would be up soon and she would not have enough time to fix all the things she did wrong in the past. When they get separated from the hug, Marlen moves away and stands up. "Well, I think it's time to go downstairs, we can't let our guest waiting for us all day, don't you think?"

Ellie wipes her tears and stands up too. "No… I guess not." after that Ellie move closer to her aunt and give her another hug. "Thanks again for inviting him for dinner, I really appreciate all that you're doing for me."

Soon they get apart, Marlene looks at her face. "Yeah… I just want you to be happy Ellie, I really do. Besides, no one should be alone on Christmas eve." Marlene extends her arm, so Ellie can grab it. "Now let's get down there and have a wonderful time, okay?"

Ellie grabs it and smiles. "Yes… let go and have a happy Christmas time together."

Soon Ellie and Marlene get out of her room, they go downstairs. Soon both girls enter the living room, they saw Joel there finishing putting the gift he brought under the tree. When Joel hears them walking in, he stands up and looks at them. He notices the dress Ellie was wearing, it was the one he gave her at the resort, but now she looks even more beautiful than before. "Wow… you look…" he doesn't know what more he can say at that moment.

"Okay, I will put on some music and get the table ready. You two can stay here and talk… only talk okay? I don't want to see any kissing, okay." Ellie looks at her nervously. Because she does not want her to see how desperate she was for him to kiss her.

"Don't worry will be alright," said Ellie. When the music started Ellie saw Joel move close to her.

"You really look beautiful… can you give me the honor for the first dance?" Ellie smiles at him and moves close to him, putting her arm around his neck and starts moving her body with his. They already dance before, but this time she not have to pretend that he is her uncle. Even if her aunt is watching them, she can be more herself around him.

Ellie feels Joel's hands moving on her back, as they move around in the living room. She knows that her aunt is right there looking at them, but she not even care. Been in Joel's arms is like a dream came true. She put her head on his shoulder and let her body move with the music. She closes her eyes and imaging them dancing on their wedding day in front of a lot of people. She wearing her white dress and Joel his smoking. She already has a few dreams like that ad she loves them, especially the part when they end in the bed and make love.

They dance and talk for a few hours before they have the first Christmas dinner together. Joel even dances a few times with Marlene too. He was happy to be there, it was a long time that he spent Christmas Eve with someone. After they have their dinner Joel stays for few more hours before he called the night. Ellie wanted him to stay longer, but Joel knows that it wasn't right to be there all night. So he promises her to be back in the morning for the gift opening. He thanks Marlene for the dinner and the invitation and walks toward the door.

Marlene left Ellie to go outside with him to say goodbye while she stays inside the house. Soon Joel and Ellie were alone beside Joel's truck. She moves close to him and kisses him on the lips. It was short, but with all her love. After that Joel got into the truck and drove back to his house. Ellie goes back inside with a smile on her face and a happy sensation in her heart.