"Well, we could use that ladder."

Nodding, Melanie looked up at it and knew that it was within her reach if Joel helped her, "Well, if you give me a boost up," she said glancing at him, "I'll be able to reach it."

"Yeah… I think I'll get Ellie to get the ladder."

Melanie shot Joel an indignant look, "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, frowning at him.

"I'm still recovering from my injury," Joel said quickly but Melanie seen a flicker of amusement in his eyes, "you don't want me getting hurt again, do you?

She shook her head but a small smile was on her face, "Whatever, Ellie, you better help him out before I knock him out."

Joel chuckled and knelt down, "Here we go," he muttered and then after a few moments they both looked around for Ellie and Melanie seen her sitting on a bench staring into space. Sharing a look with Joel, they both sighed at the same time and Joel took a step forward, a concerned look on his face.

"Ellie?"

"What?"

Melanie hated how defeated the young girl sounded, "You need to get the ladder," she said, smiling a little "apparently I'm too heavy."

"I never said that."

Ellie didn't smile with the two adults or made any inclination that she had heard Melanie's comment. Joel raised an eyebrow at Melanie and she just shrugged: she didn't have the answer to their problem.

"Right… let's do this," Ellie muttered and Joel hoisted her up towards the ledge, where she scrambled over. Melanie noticed the small grimace of pain on Joel's face as he bent over slightly with his hand on his stomach.

"Okay… I'll let you off," she smiled, folding her arms and waiting for Ellie to drop the ladder, "you're still in recovery."

Joel looked up and grinned, "Awful kind of you," he said, coming to stand next to her and peering up to where Ellie had disappeared too, "I could get used to this side of you."

"I wouldn't… soon as you're properly healed, you're giving me one boost up to prove I'm not heavy."

Laughing, Joel shook his head as the ladder scraped against the ground above them, "I've carried you plenty of times in the past," he said almost smirking, "and that was when you were eating properly."

Melanie remembered very well of when he had carried her and turned her head slightly, hoping that she wasn't blushing. "Just get the damn ladder-"

"Oh my god!" Ellie exclaimed quickly and dropped the ladder unceremoniously before running off.

The teasing left Melanie and Joel as they quickly rushed forward, "Whoa! Ellie!" Joel shouted and grabbed the ladder to stand it upright.

"I don't think anything heard us," Melanie said warily, glancing behind them and hoping that it was true, "but we shouldn't dilly dally down here."

"ELLIE!"

Rolling her eyes, Melanie didn't bother trying to shush Joel as he anxiously climbed up the ladder, "What the hell is up with her?" he muttered and Melanie shrugged, climbing up after him.

"OH! You guys gotta see this!"

"It must be something interesting," Melanie said thoughtfully as she got to the top, "she hasn't been this enthusiastic about anything in months."

They followed an excited Ellie through the building and everytime they passed a window, she would babble about something amazing that she had seen but Joel and Melanie wouldn't see anything.

Running along a corridor, Ellie looked over her shoulder at them both and beamed, "Come on, you aren't gonna believe this!" she said happily.

"What exactly are we chasing?" Melanie asked, feeling confused about the situation as they rounded a corner, "I think maybe that you hit your-

The words died in her mouth as she walked into the room and seen what Ellie was making such a fuss about. Eating leaves growing up the side of the building was a full grown, live giraffe. Smiling widely, Melanie took a cautious step forward and looked at Joel as he entered the room.

"You see this?" Ellie whispered, her grin growing wider as she turned to look at the giraffe again, "I can't believe it."

Melanie shook her head slowly, "Well… I wasn't expecting this," she said softly.

The giraffe's ears twitched as they spoke and its beautiful brown eyes regarded them for a moment before returning to its eating. Melanie was awestruck as she watched it eat, she had never seen a giraffe before and would never in a million years expect to see one in this day and age.

Out of the corner of her eye, she seen Joel walk forward slowly and Ellie's eyes widened in protest, "Shh!" she hissed, "don't scare it!"

"I won't… I won't…" Joel glanced back at both of them with a carefree smile on his face that Melanie hadn't seen in a very long time, "ever petted a giraffe before?"

Watching in disbelief, Melanie seen him reach out and pet it's neck softly, "What are you doing?" Ellie asked but she slowly made her way over.

"C'mere… the both of you," Joel whispered, "when are we gonna be able to do this again?"

Melanie walked over and stood behind Ellie and reached out to stroke the giraffe. Its coat was unbelievably soft and she couldn't help but smile more as she ran her fingers up and down its neck. In the background, more giraffes walked by and she felt as if she were dreaming.

Glancing down, she felt like crying when she seen the look of wonder on Ellie's face as she petted the giraffe, "Hey, there," she said softly, looking so happy for the first time in months. The giraffe finished eating and with one last look at the three of them, moved it's long neck and walked away to join the others.

"So fucking cool," Ellie said breathlessly as they all watched the giraffes walk away, "I can't believe that just happened."

As they began to disappear from sight, Ellie shook her head, "Aw. Where are they off too," she glanced around and spotted a door, "Here, c'mon! Let's see where they go."

Sharing a smile, Joel and Melanie followed her through the door "Slow down, kiddo," Joel chuckled "no need to rush off."

"Come on! We're gonna lose them," Ellie said impatiently, sounding like a child again.

Melanie groaned a little when she seen the two flights of stairs, "She's expecting us to run up them, isn't she?" she asked Joel tiredly.

"Hurry up! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

Joel laughed, "I think you have your answer, 'Mel."

Eventually, they made it to a viewing platform and had a perfect view of the giraffes ambling slowly away. Melanie came to stand next to Ellie, who gave her a quick smile, "Wow… would you just look at those things," she whispered.

"They're certainly something," Melanie replied quietly and leaned against the railings to watch them, the sun was beginning to set and there was a scenic glow and she felt the warm rays against her skin. It had been long time since she had had a moment like this.

Joel put both his hands on the stone wall and glanced at Ellie, "So…" he said quietly, his eyes softening a little as he spoke to the younger girl, "this everything you were hoping for?"

"It's got its ups and downs," Ellie said after a moment, giving Joel a small smile "but…" she sighed contently "you can't deny the view, though."

Melanie let out a long held in breath and took in the view: Ellie was right, you couldn't deny a view like this. Even with a ruined and abandoned city, nature had flourished and reminded them all that there was still some beauty in this world. You just had to look for it. The giraffes slowly melted from view and she closed her eyes, enjoying the peace in that moment.

She heard movement and opened her eyes to see Joel push off from the wall and head to the door behind them, looking down at Ellie she smiled at how content she looked and hoped that this good mood would last for the remainder of their journey. It was good to see her smiling again.

"C'mon sweetie," Melanie said almost reluctantly, putting an arm around Ellie's shoulders, "we're burning daylight."

Giving the giraffe's one last look, Ellie nodded and smiled at her, "Yeah… let's finish this."

As they made their way over to Joel, Melanie frowned a little at the conflicted look on his face but didn't need to wait long to find out what was on his mind. "We don't have to do this," he said quietly, turning to look at them, "you know that right?"

"What's the other option?" Ellie asked, sounding quite confused and she glanced up at Melanie to see if she knew what Joel was trying to say.

"Go back to Tommy's. Just… be done with this whole damn thing."

Melanie felt her eyes widen a little at Joel's comment, he hadn't mentioned his plans as to where he would go after Ellie helped the Fireflies and she felt like there were butterflies in her stomach when she heard him say that.

This means he won't leave again….

Ellie sighed a little, "After all we've been through," she asked, raising an eyebrow then she grew quiet, "Everything that I've done…"

"Ellie… this is completely your choice," Melanie said kneeling down so she was at her eye-level, "whatever you want to do… we'll be behind you 110%. Whether it's going to the Fireflies… or going back to Tommy's… it's up to you, sweetie."

Looking at them both, Ellie seemed to be thinking hard about her answer before she shook her head, "No… it can't be for nothing," she said firmly, "we're going to the Fireflies," and with that, she pushed past Joel and walked through the door.

"You okay with that?" Melanie asked softly, sensing that that wasn't the answer Joel had wanted to hear.

He didn't answer straight away and instead looked over to where the last giraffe was walking into the treeline and out of sight, "It's her choice," he said distantly, and held the door open for Melanie, "we have to respect that."

Instead of walking through the door and leaving it to that, Melanie cupped Joel's face gently and her eyes softened when he looked at her, "It's gonna be okay," she whispered, "you know that, right?"

"I hope you're right," he answered sadly "we've been through enough shit already."

"You're not wrong there," Melanie said, smiling weakly, her hand dropped and she averted her eyes "come on, we should get going."

Ellie leaned against the staircase and thought about what Joel and Melanie had said. Ever since Marlene had found out about her immunity, all anyone had talked about was getting her to the lab and finding a cure. There hadn't been any options but now… now there was.

At the start, she and Joel had disliked each other but now everything that they had been through, she couldn't imagine being without him… or Melanie. She didn't feel like a burden anymore, instead Ellie felt like part of a team and they treated her like an adult, giving her a choice about her life, seeing past whatever it was she had that stopped her turning and just seeing the young girl who had a right to choose her own path in life.

Letting out a shaky breath, Ellie looked up to see them both walk down the stairs slowly. Melanie gave her a soft smile while Joel just kept his eyes on the ground. She knew that he wanted to return to Tommy's… but she couldn't live with herself knowing she could have cured whatever it was that causes the infection… she could make a difference and she planned on doing exactly that.

"Look, I know you both mean well…" Ellie's voice echoed around the stairwell and made both the adults stop and listen, "but there's no half-way with this. Once we're done, we'll go where ever you want. Okay?"

Melanie nodded, "We're behind you all the way, don't worry."

"Yeah… well, I ain't leavin' without ya," Joel said firmly, sounding as if he was making a promise to her, "so let's go wrap this up."

Ellie couldn't help but smile as he walked past her and lead the way down the stairs, she glanced at Melanie who also seemed glad of Joel's words. Without saying anything, they both headed towards the door and made their way back outside into the fresh air and sunshine.

She walked in between the two adults and took the time to look around: there were abandoned stage coaches littered around and tents that were still standing. Ellie couldn't imagine what it had been like when the world first started going to shit and the panic that Melanie, Tommy and Joel had to live through after losing Sarah. Staring sadly down at a backpack that had been ripped apart, she remembered Riley and realized that she had known the pain of losing someone to all this madness.

"Well, this brings back memories," Melanie said quietly, her voice bringing Ellie out of her thoughts a she looked up to see the older woman gazing at the medic tents.

"How so?" she asked curiously.

Joel stepped forward and nodded slowly, "It was right after everything went down. We ended up in a triage just like this," his face grew solemn as he seemed to relive that night, "man… everywhere you looked, you just… saw families torn apart. The whole damn world seemed to have turned upside down in a blink."

Ellie bit her lip unsure of whether or not to ask the question she had in mind but her curiosity won, "Is that after… you lost Sarah?"

"Yes… it was."

Melanie had grown quiet and avoided looking at either of them and Ellie regretted asking, "I… can't imagine losing someone you love like that, losing everything you know," she looked up at Joel who was looking at her sadly "I'm sorry Joel."

"That's okay, Ellie," Joel nodded and gave her a weak smile, "thank you."

He walked by and searched for anything useful as Melanie kept watch outside, Ellie however looked around the inside of the tent and took in the overturned beds and blood stains still on the floor. She could stop this… stop another family from losing a daughter, a father or a mother. Clenching her fists, she nodded to herself and whispered so quietly only she could hear.

"I'm gonna fix this…"

Looking up at the two adults, she remembered something she had taken from Tommy's that seemed like a lifetime ago. Shrugging off her backpack, she felt past the gun and ammo in her pack and found what she was looking for between the pages of the book of bad puns she had picked up ages ago.

"Hey Joel!" she called out, her throat going dry at the thought of giving him this, "I got something for you."

Melanie turned around at the sound of her voice and she watched from the side lines as Joel walked up to Ellie with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, what is it?" he asked, a small grin playing on his lips, "Is it another bad pun?"

"You should be so lucky," Ellie joked but grew serious again as she took out the photograph and held it out to him, "Here. Maria showed this to me and I uh… I stole it," she said quickly, hating how silent he was as he looked down at the photo in her hand, "I hope you don't mind."

Slowly, Joel took the photo and looked at it carefully – Ellie personally thought it was a good photo. Sarah looked so happy holding a trophy while Joel and Melanie hugged her tightly, all three of them smiling widely at the camera. Melanie walked over and she seemed on the verge of tears when she seen what he was holding.

"That was a good day," she said faintly, a small smile tugging on the corner of her lips "I don't think I've ever got so excited about sports before. She played… amazingly that day," she added wiping her eyes quickly.

Ellie bit her lip as she seen Joel gaze intently at the smiling face of his daughter, "You okay Joel?" she asked concerned when she caught sight of his hands shaking slightly.

Seeing Melanie give him an equally concerned look, it was a moment before Joel answered them: letting out a shaky breath he pinched the bridge of his nose before carefully folding the photo and putting it into his pocket, "Well, no matter how hard you try. I guess you can't escape your past," he murmured before looking at Ellie and nodding slowly, "Thank you… this means a lot."

"No problem," Ellie replied quietly and smiled again "c'mon enough mushiness… let's get to this hospital."

A/N

Hey there, hope you are all still enjoying this story! Sorry for such a long wait! Was going through some personal problems with my depression but I'm back now and determined to finish this story.

Thank you for all the reviews, views and basically for reading my story. It means a lot. And sorry for not replying to reviews for some reason my account won't let me reply.

Next chapter is going to be angsty as you all know if you've played the game. I just wanted these two chapters to be the fillers as I love the dialogue and especially the cutscene with the giraffes and the moment Ellie gives Joel the photo.

Enough rambling, it's 03:12am where I am and I'm working tomorrow :)

~BSI