Matthew awoke and quickly sat up, once again forgetting where he was. Once oriented, he looked up at a clock and saw that it was seven in the morning.

Matthew slowly stood and moved to Ellie's room, dragging the blanket with him.

Ellie was still asleep.

Matthew sat down against the bed and rested his eyes.

…

Ellie awoke and noticed Matthew sitting against her bed, half asleep.

Ellie smiled and slowly got out of bed.

Matthew's eyes opened. "Morning," he said, standing and stretching.

"Hey," Ellie said, grabbing clothes from her closet. "You sleep okay?"

"As good as I can," Matthew said after a moment. "Waking up in the same place twice in a row is…"

"Weird. I get it," Ellie said. "I have to get used to it again too."

"Kids," Joel said loudly from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready."

Matthew exited the room and Ellie closed to the door behind him. She got dressed, pulling on a purple sweater and a clean pair of blue jeans.

Ellie made sure that her necklace was secured around her neck. She picked up her switchblade knife. After a moment, she put it down.

When Ellie walked into the kitchen, Matthew was already sitting at the table.

Joel, dressed in a blue sweater and jeans, grabbed a large plate of toast and eggs off the counter and placed it in the center before handing Matthew a spoon and a plate.

Ellie grabbed a plate of her own off the counter before returning to the table herself.

Joel sat across from Matthew and Ellie, handing them silverware.

Matthew grabbed a small piece of toast and two spoonful's worth of eggs.

Ellie grabbed the serving plate and her spoon, placing a large serving of eggs on the young man's plate.

"We've got enough food here," Ellie told Matthew. "You don't have to starve yourself."

"Maybe I'm not hungry," Matthew countered.

"Bullshit," Ellie said nudging him with her arm and serving herself. "Everyone's hungry all the time."

"She's right, kid," Joel said. He took what was left on the serving plate.

Matthew began to eat his food, taking small bites at a time.

After few seconds of silent eating, Joel spoke again. "What are the plans for today?"

"When's our shift on the Wall?" Matthew asked.

"Same as last night," Joel said.

"Good," Matthew said.

Ellie rolled her eyes and looked at Joel. "Was I as mopey as him?"

"Worse," Joel replied.

"Oh, har har," Ellie said.

Matthew smiled slightly and took another bite of his toast.

Ellie looked at the ripped sleeve of his sweater.

"What?" Matthew asked, noticing her stare.

"I think today we should go to the shop and get you some new clothes," Ellie said through a mouthful of food. "Besides, I need to clean it up again and give Clarisse a few pointers."

"Don't get into any trouble," Joel advised, taking another sip of his coffee. "Just so you know, Maria's invited us all over for dinner tomorrow night."

"Cool," Ellie said. She looked at Matthew, who remained silent. Ellie shrugged. "I'll be there."

"Anything else happening?" Joel asked.

Ellie hesitated a moment. She took a deep breath and leaned forward. "I want to tell Tim. Tonight."

"I want to be there," Joel reminded her.

"Then we'll do it before your shift," Ellie promised.

"Why so soon?" Joel asked.

Ellie shrugged. "It's just… I need this to be done."

"I'll be there, too," Matthew said quietly.

Ellie gave him a smile.

"Just be prepared," Joel told them.

Ellie knew that he was just as nervous as she was.

Joel took another bite. "I know you trust Tim, but we don't know what'll happen or how he'll react."

A half hour later, Ellie and Matthew walked side by side down to the shop.

Ellie and Matthew stayed silent for a while before Ellie stopped. "I'm sorry about last night," she said.

"Why?" Matthew asked.

Ellie intertwined her fingers and sighed. "I kind of… forgot about you. I'm sorry."

Matthew sighed as well. "Ellie, despite what you want to do, it's not really your job to make me… to make sure I fit in. I have to do some of this on my own."

"That won't stop me from trying to help," Ellie said defiantly.

"And as for last night," Matthew began, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I was really happy for you. Being close to somebody and feeling safe… It's the reason I wanted you to come back here."

"What's the reason you came back here?" Ellie asked, poking his arm.

"You."

"Good answer."

"What did you want to do after this?" Matthew asked.

Ellie was silent for a few seconds. "I think after we're done here, we should go over to the park," she said thoughtfully. "You know, fix it up."

"Sounds good," Matthew said genuinely.

"You like that spot, right?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah," Matthew assured her. "It's familiar but… safe.

Ellie nodded, assured. As they walked up to the shop Ellie continued. "When we do get it fixed up, we can have a real date."

"What was the other night?" Matthew asked, opening the door for her.

"Location first. Date later."

Ellie walked through the door and moved to the counter.

Matthew stayed off to the side.

"What do you need?" the shopkeeper asked, walking out of the back room with two apples in his hand. He still wore the same outfit from the day before.

"Clothes," Ellie answered. She looked around. "And also… the net over there."

Matthew looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

Ellie winked and looked at the shopkeeper.

Matthew looked at the shopkeeper as well. "We'll work for them," he offered.

"Help Ellie clean up the shop," the old man grunted.

After a few hours of work, Ellie and Matthew had cleaned and sorted out the shop.

"That didn't take nearly as long as last time," Ellie said, moving toward the clothing. She grabbed a few pairs of jeans and a couple of shirts and sweaters, offering them to Matthew. "Thanks for the help."

"Anytime," Matthew replied, tucking the clothes under his arm.

They looked up as the door opened and Tim and Clarisse walked in. Tim was wearing a dark green sweater and brown jeans. Clarisse wore a black sweater and black jeans.

Clarisse immediately ran to Ellie and gave her a hug.

Ellie held the little girl for a few seconds before straightening up. "We got the place all cleaned up," she informed the little girl. "Why don't you take a look around?"

Clarisse ran off after accepting an apple from the shopkeeper.

Tim watched his sister go with a smile and turned to Ellie and Matthew.

Both stood silently.

"Did I miss something?" Tim asked cautiously.

"Tim…" Ellie cleared her throat and continued. "Would you mind dropping by the house tonight, around six? There's something I want to talk to you about?"

"Sure…" Tim said, scratching the back of his head. He looked around. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Matthew assured him. He took a step forward. "But it's important, Tim."

"Alright," Tim said, looking somewhat nervous. He shrugged. "I'll see you tonight, then."

"Yeah," Ellie said, relaxing. She grabbed the large fishing net off a nearby shelf. "Matthew and I should get going."

"We'll see you tonight," Matthew said to Tim.

Tim nodded and moved aside as they exited.

The door closed and Ellie sighed. "This is going to be hard."

"It'll be what it'll be," Matthew said calmly.

They reached the house and walked into Ellie's room.

Ellie grabbed a few hangers.

"So, are you going to go to the dinner tomorrow?" Ellie asked Matthew as she hung up a shirt.

"Do I have a choice?" Matthew asked lightly.

"Well, I'm going," Ellie replied. "So, unless you want to be alone, and I know how weird that is, you should come."

"Maybe I'll just take a shift on the Wall," Matthew countered with a chuckle.

"If you want Maria to come after you, be my guest."

"On second thought…." Matthew allowed his sentence to trail off and handed Ellie a pair of jeans. "Anyone else being invited?"

"I was thinking of inviting…" Ellie shut her mouth and waited before continuing. "I was thinking that it should just be us."

"No, you weren't," Matthew argued. "You wanted to invite your friend from last night."

Ellie looked away for a moment and didn't respond. "That could be awkward."

"Why?" Matthew asked, closing the closet door. "Because of what happened yesterday at her place? Or are you grasping for reasons to avoid taking risks."

"You do remember what I'm going to tell Tim tonight, right?" Ellie asked in frustration. "And I don't think you're one to talk about avoiding—"

Matthew simply folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.

Ellie sighed. "I don't… I don't want it to go away."

"From what I heard last night, I don't think it's going away," Matthew said softly. "It took me months to see you that happy for the first time. It took Heather—"

"You don't get it," Ellie interrupted. She took a step back and sat on the bed. Emotion rode on the edge of her voice. "Almost every time that I get close to someone… that I had gotten close to someone, I ended up alone. I almost ended up alone when I traveled with Joel. And I almost lost another friend after Boston."

"But you didn't," Matthew reminded her, joining her on the bed. "You didn't. And you won't here."

"How can you guarantee that?" Ellie asked.

"I can't," Matthew admitted. "But you have to decide if it's worth the risk."

Ellie glanced at the closed window and saw a faint reflection of her necklace. She looked at Matthew. "Let's just take one risk at a time. You ready to go?"

Matthew nodded and they exited the house.

As they trudged through the snow, they heard someone calling behind him.

It was Heather. She wore a black pair of jeans and her white sweater.

Ellie and Matthew slowed to a stop.

Heather stopped as well and looked as if she was trying her best not to meet Matthew's eye.

"Here," Heather said. She held out a CD case to Ellie. "I had this lying around the house and I don't have a CD player. I figure someone should have it."

"Thanks," Ellie said grabbing the CD case. She read the back of the case. "I've never heard of this guy."

"Well…" Heather shrugged. "I'll uh, I'll see you around."

"Yeah," Ellie said, holding the CD case in her hand. "I'm free again tonight. You wanna hang around nine?"

"Sure." Heather said. "I'll see you then."

Heather turned away.

As Ellie and Matthew turned away, Ellie looked behind her at Heather again.

The young doctor was staring down at the ground as she walked. She didn't see one of the two men walking down the street. As she accidently bumped shoulders with one, Heather's hand drifted to her sweater pocket.

Ellie saw a combination of fear and anger on Heather's face. The look was gone a second later as she accepted the man's apology.

As Heather moved her hand away from her pocket, Ellie thought she saw something thin and silvery.

"Sure you don't want to go hang out with Heather for a bit?" Matthew asked. There was no jealousy or frustration in his voice.

Ellie remained silent and continued walking.

…

"Alright," Matthew said as they made their way to the park. "I'll bite. What's with the net."

"You have your knife?" Ellie asked.

"No," Matthew admitted, surprised that he had forgotten it. "It's back at the house."

"We can deal with it another time then," Ellie said quickly.

Matthew looked behind them again. "You know what?" he said lightly. "Meet me there. I'll grab the knife."

Ellie grabbed Matthew's shirt and turned him around. "What are you doing?"

"Getting the knife."

"Bullshit," Ellie said quietly. "What are you doing, Matthew?"

"Something you wouldn't like if I told you," Matthew finally answered. "I'll be twenty minutes tops."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'll see you in a bit."

…

Joel took a walk with Winston and found Tommy helping a man construct a wooden barricade going up over an old semi near a corner section of the Wall.

"Tommy," Joel called as his little brother picked up a hammer. "Can I have a word?"

"Sure," Tommy said, discarding some broken nails into the back pocket of his blue jeans and grabbing new nails from his black coat.

"In private?" Joel added.

Tommy glanced down and saw the look on Joel's face. He looked at the man next to him. "Thanks for the help, Sean. We'll take it from here."

The man nodded and jumped down, handing his gloves to Joel.

Joel took the gloves and put them on before climbing onto the semi as Winston laid down on the street.

"What are you about to do?" Tommy asked, getting straight to the point.

"It's not me," Joel said, taking the hammer from Tommy and grabbing a small nail. "It's Ellie."

"Is she alright?" Tommy asked, holding the board in place as Joel started to pound in the nail with hammer. Tommy waited until Joel was finished. "It's not the boy, is it?"

"No," Joel assured him, grabbing another nail. "You know the two kids I sent back here with a message a few months after I left?"

"Of course," Tommy said, taking the nail and hammer from Joel to reinforce his side of the board. "Tim and Clarisse. They've done pretty well for themselves here."

"Ellie wants to tell him," Joel said. "Tim."

Tommy's first stroke of the hammer missed its mark. He looked at Joel. "Tell him…"

"Yeah," Joel grunted.

"When?"

"Tonight. Before my shift on the Wall."

"You want me to be there?" Tommy asked skeptically.

"Not exactly."

"Then what?"

"I just wanted to give you a heads up," Joel said. "If Tim comes to you or Maria—"

"Wait a second," Tommy interrupted, sitting down. "You're letting her do this?"

"Yes," Joel answered after a moment of silence. "Yes. I am."

"Why?" Tommy pressed. "A year ago, you would never have let her take the risk. She's barely been back a day and a half. What makes you think this is a good idea?"

Joel looked away for a moment and sighed. He sat down next to Tommy. "When I was out there trying to get her back… I spent a lot of time trying to control her. All I did was drive her away."

"What changed?" Tommy asked.

Joel looked at his brother. "In the end, she chose to come back here even though I was willing to let her… I can't take these choices away from her anymore. Not if I want her to feel safe here."

Tommy scratched the back of his head. "What does the kid think?"

"I agree with Matthew," Joel said firmly. "Tim would come to you, him, or Maria before doing anything else."

Tommy nodded. "I got your back."

…

Matthew knocked on Heather's door.

Heather opened the door a moment later. "Matthew," she said in surprise. A look of concern crossed her features. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Matthew said quickly. "Yeah. Everything's fine."

Heather nodded, looking relieved. She smiled at him sheepishly. "So… look I'm sorry about yesterday morning. I… well, I didn't know you two were together."

"It's fine," Matthew assured her. "I probably could have made that clear earlier on. That's not why I'm here."

"So, why are you here?" Heather asked, relaxing.

"There's a dinner at Tommy's tomorrow," Matthew explained. "I think it'd mean a lot… a lot to Ellie if you'd come."

"I'm guessing Ellie doesn't know you're asking me," Heather said, raising an eyebrow.

"You're right," Matthew confirmed. "But she wants to."

"So, why are you asking me instead of her?" Heather asked. There wasn't a hint of anger or frustration in her voice. Only curiosity. "She seems like a pretty strong, outgoing gal."

Matthew looked around the street for a moment. "Can I tell you something in confidence?"

"Doctor-patient confidentiality," Heather replied.

"What?" Matthew asked.

Heather shook her head. "Nothing. Go ahead."

Matthew took a deep breath. "I spent most of my life out there alone. Ellie spent most of her life out there too," he said carefully. "When I met her about a year ago, she had left Jackson and she…"

Heather waited as Matthew found the right words.

Matthew looked Heather in the eye. "It didn't sound like she had many friends outside her family here. I know last night meant a lot to her."

"Okay," Heather said in understanding. "I'll uh, I'll be there."

"I'll see you then," Matthew said, stepping away from the house.

"Matthew."

Matthew turned back to Heather.

Heather smiled sadly. "Before last night… let's just say that I don't have a big social circle here either. It means a lot that you and Ellie… thanks."

Matthew nodded and walked away as Heather closed the door.

Suddenly, a young man stepped around the corner of a house in front of Matthew. It was one of the three young men from the Wall the night before. He still wore the same black clothing.

Matthew nodded respectfully and went to move around the young man.

The boy stepped in front of Matthew, blocking his path.

Matthew took a step back and glanced behind him as the other two young men from the night before moved forward from behind.

"We got your back, Jeff," one of the young men said to the boy in front of Matthew.

Matthew sighed. "There's no need for that. Excuse me."

Jeff reached out blocked Matthew's path.

"Seriously?" Matthew asked, getting annoyed.

"You think just because you're a favorite and because you've been out there for so long that means you can be a dick?" Jeff asked.

"I don't remember asking to be a favorite and I don't want special treatment," Matthew replied evenly.

"Oh," Jeff said loudly. "So, you don't want special treatment, you just think you're so badass that nobody else can have any fun."

Matthew rolled his eyes and noticed that there was red around Jeff's eyes and he looked sick to his stomach. Matthew risked a glance over his own shoulder and noticed that Jeff's friends also looked the same.

"I have issues with people's idea of fun involving pestering animals," Matthew explained crisply. "I'll admit that my reaction may not have been the most mature, but it happened. And it's done."

Jeff and his buddies chuckled and took a step closer, placing Matthew within easy reach.

"Are we done?" Matthew asked pointedly. "Because I think we're all more mature than this."

Jeff spat on the ground and took another step forward.

Matthew readied himself for a fight.

"Jeff, knock it off."

Matthew looked over Jeff's shoulder and saw Joey walking down the street.

Joey stopped behind Jeff, folding his arms over his tattered blue jacket. He wore black jeans and had a walkie-talkie clipped to his side.

"This guy isn't worth the trouble," Joey grunted. "He thinks he's more than he actually is. Let's just get out of here. We've got better places to be."

There was a moment of tense silence.

Matthew looked Joey in the eye and found that the younger man's face was surprisingly unreadable. Matthew was relieved to notice that there was no redness nor sickness about Joey.

"Whatever," Jeff finally said, moving past Matthew with a rough shove as his goons moved to follow.

"Joey," Matthew said quietly as the younger man moved past him.

"Back off," Joey snapped, throwing a glare at Matthew and moving on without another word.

…

Ellie turned as Matthew walked into the park. He was staring straight ahead and his eyes were unmoving.

"What's up?" Ellie asked.

"Nothing," Matthew said, shaking his head. "So… what are we looking at, here?"

Ellie turned back to the large overgrown trees blocking view of the spot they had found. "I want to kinda clear this out a little. I don't want to see past the trees, but these branches are driving me nuts. And I don't want to be stabbed as we walk by."

"And?" Matthew pressed, knowing Ellie wasn't finished.

"And I want to do the same thing to the inside too."

Matthew laughed. "Well, at least we'll be occupied."

"That's the plan. But first…" Ellie said, hefting the net she had taken from the shop.

"Hammock."

Ellie moved into the small clearing behind the brush and stood before the two parallel trees. After instructing Matthew to cut of lower branches and limbs on the two trees, Ellie started to stretch out the net and estimate its length.

Half an hour later, Matthew had cleared the two trees of any unneeded branches. Ellie borrowed the knife and started to make specific cuts in the net. Matthew stood off to the side and watched curiously.

"Alright," Ellie said. She handed one side of the net to Matthew and slowly started to step back until they had the net set between the two trees. "Let's stretch this as far as we can… there we go and… tie.

"Have you ever done this?" Matthew asked, tying on his end.

"Not exactly," Ellie answered, tying her own end. "But Riley and I had always wanted to."

"What stopped you?" Matthew asked as he tightened knot he had made.

"We couldn't figure out how to sneak another bunk bed into my room," Ellie replied, stepping away from her tree.

Matthew smiled as they stood in front of the hammock they had made together.

"It's nice doing things like this again," Ellie said after a minute.

"It's nice doing things like this, period." Matthew added.

They stood in silence for a few seconds before Ellie sighed. "We should get back."

…

Joel finished cleaning up the living room. He shut off the lights in the kitchen as the door opened.

"Ellie," Joel said without turning. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Do what?"

Joel turned in surprise and saw Tim walk through the door with Clarisse close behind. Joel didn't answer. He shook Tim's hand and nodded to Clarisse.

"Is Ellie here?" Clarisse asked.

"No," Joel answered gently. "But I think Winston is in Ellie's room if you want to visit. Feel free to put on some music too."

"Okay," Clarisse said happily.

Tim watched as Clarisse rounded the corner and shut the door to Ellie's room.

Joel offered Tim a bottle of water.

Tim shook his head. "You didn't answer my question," he said cautiously, turning to Joel.

The door opened behind Tim. Matthew and Ellie walked inside.

"Just try to keep an open mind," Joel said quietly to Tim.

"Tim," Matthew said in greeting. He walked behind the couch as Ellie sat down in front of him. Matthew put a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks for coming."

They heard music start to filter through Ellie's door.

Matthew glanced at Joel.

Joel nodded and positioned himself next to the hallway, close to Ellie's door.

Tim sat down in a chair across from Ellie. "What's going on?" he asked nervously.

Ellie gulped and took a deep breath. "This isn't going to be easy for you to understand," she began. "So, I'm just going to show you and we'll see where we go from there."

Ellie took off her winter coat and set it aside. She lifted up the sleeve of her shirt. The only thing blocking Tim's view of the bite was one of the dark sleeves Matthew had made.

Ellie slowly removed the sleeve and turned her hand, exposing the bite.

Tim sat back in the chair and his mouth dropped open. His hand moved a fraction of an inch toward his belt where he used to keep his knives. He blinked a few times, but never looked away from the bite.

"I got it a long time ago," Ellie continued quietly. "I, um… I'm immune. I've never been infected. I swear."

Tim didn't answer for a full thirty seconds.

Joel watched as the boy's eyes darted from the door of Ellie's room, to the bite, and back to the door.

Tim shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "Was it there when you met her?" Tim asked Matthew, still staring at the bite.

"Yes," Matthew answered calmly. "I saw it the night I met her. That was a month before you found us in the barn."

Tim's eyes flicked to Joel before returning to the bite.

"It's true," Joel assured him. "I've known her longer than anyone."

At that moment, they heard the music in the room shut off and Clarisse exited.

Ellie grabbed a pillow and placed it on her arm, giving Clarisse a one-handed hug.

Joel glanced at Tim as the twelve-year-old boy immediately stood. He stopped for a moment and looked down, grabbing Clarisse's arm and moving her away.

"Can you go talk to Winston for a little longer?" Tim asked her.

"Can I talk to Ellie after that?" Clarisse asked hopefully.

"Go on," Tim said, leading her halfway around the couch.

Clarisse returned to Winston closed the door to Ellie's room.

Ellie stood. "I just wanted to tell you," she said, keeping her voice low. "I just wanted you to know because I—"

"I need three days," Tim interrupted.

Ellie fell silent.

Tim didn't look her in the eye. "If you are… I need three days."

Ellie glanced at Matthew and Joel.

They nodded.

"Okay," Ellie said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Tim called Clarisse. The little girl ran out and Tim intercepted her. "It's time to go."

Clarisse looked between everyone. "But I wanted to talk to—"

"Now, Clarisse."

"But I—"

"No 'buts'," Tim said calmly but firmly. "Dinner's soon."

Tim moved Clarisse to the door. Moments later, they were gone.

Matthew let out a breath and looked at Ellie, who was staring at the floor.

Joel sat down on a kitchen chair. "That went as well as we could expect it to."

"I think it'll be fine," Matthew said after a few seconds. "Tim's… he's a lot more mature than he was a year ago."

Ellie stood and walked into her room without a word, shutting the door behind her.

Matthew walked toward her room.

Joel stopped him with a shake of his head. "Let her handle it, kid. Besides, our shift starts in fifteen minutes."

Matthew nodded and grabbed his crossbow from beside the front door.

Joel glanced at the door to Ellie's room as music began to play again.

…

Upon entering her room, and turning on her music, Ellie felt her ears begin to burn. Her body broke out in a cold sweat as she started to let in the fears of what could happen next. She grabbed a hair tie, put her long up hair up into a pony-tail, and laid on her bed as the music continued to play.

Ellie barely heard the door close as Matthew and Joel departed.

What if I can never see Clarisse again?

What if Tim tells someone and we have to…

What if Tim takes Clarisse back out there?

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Ellie jumped as someone tapped on the closed window. She looked over and saw Heather outside.

Ellie hopped off the bed and opened the window. "Heather… sorry I was…"

"You okay?" Heather asked with concern. "You look—"

"I'm fine," Ellie said quickly. She forced a smile. "You could have come in the front door."

"Well I knocked for, like, two minutes," Heather replied. She looked away for a moment. "If you prefer to be alone, we can hang out another time…"

"No, no," Ellie said with a laugh. "It's fine. You can come in."

Ellie backed up as Heather hesitantly climbed through the window.

"Betcha you've never had someone crawling in through your bedroom window before," Heather said as she helped Ellie close the window.

"Not this window," Ellie replied mischievously. She looked around the room and cleared her throat. "So… poker?"

"Sure."

…

Joel and Matthew sat in silence for the first few hours of their shift, lost in their own thoughts.

Matthew stood slightly as he heard a twig snap on the ground below. A small raccoon ran to the forest beyond.

Joel looked at him and broke the silence. "Do you think this was a good idea?"

Matthew sat back down and thought a moment before answering. "It wasn't our place to stop Ellie, but… Tim's a good guy. I think he'll come around."

"You barely know the kid," Joel said calmly. "You think you can trust him from one night out there?"

"Ellie trusts him," Matthew countered. "And she wants him to trust all three of us. That's gonna have to be enough."

Joel didn't reply. He was silent for another few minutes before looking at Matthew again. The boy was staring straight ahead.

"Something else is on your mind," Joel said.

"Let's just take care of this first," Matthew said, thinking back to his encounter with Joey and Jeff.

…

Ellie stared at the cards in her hand.

It was almost one o'clock in the morning. Heather and Ellie had played several different card games, listened to Ellie's entire collection of music, and were back to cards.

"There's no shame in folding," Heather said.

Ellie jumped at the sound of the other girl's voice and folded, placing her cards face-up on the bed.

"Okay," Heather said as she set down her own cards, not even looking at Ellie's. "Something's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong," Ellie insisted.

"Something's wrong," Heather repeated. "Last night you never once folded, even when you were totally screwed."

"It's complicated," Ellie said, surprised at Heather's ability to read her.

Heather nodded and stood, turning off the CD player before sitting on the bed again. "Ellie… you're my patient," she said slowly, fixing Ellie with an intent stare. "With my patients…the three of them I have, I have a doctor-patient confidentiality vow."

Ellie laughed, despite her inner turmoil. "What the fuck is that?"

"It basically means that I can't repeat anything you say to me to anyone else."

"And?" Ellie pressed.

"And I just wanted you to know that you can trust me."

"I do," Ellie said truthfully. "Like I said, it's complicated."

"You don't have to un-complicate it to talk to me," Heather said as she picked up her cards again. "You can take back that fold if you want."

Ellie picked up her own cards and held them in front of her for another few seconds before setting them down again. She stared at the bed. "Have you ever done something that you think is right, but after you've done it, you think that maybe it wasn't a good idea."

"I think 'what if's' are a bitch," Heather replied. She set down her own cards. "Would you rather not have had the choice at all?"

Ellie shrugged. "I suppose not. But what I did isn't exactly small."

"Pregnant?" Heather asked.

Ellie snorted. "Fuck no! Oh God, Joel would…"

Heather covered her mouth and laughed silently.

"No," Ellie said again with a laugh. "It's not that. But… it is big."

Heather sighed. "Well the way I see it, there's nothing we can do about the 'what if's'. But at least it was your choice to make."

"I guess," Ellie conceded. She didn't feel any better.

After finishing up their hand and putting away the cards, Heather stood. "I'd better get going. I have to feed the cat."

"Alright. I'll see you later," Ellie said, angry at herself for being awkward the entire night.

Heather walked out of the room.

Ellie fidgeted with her ponytail for a moment and quickly stood, moving after Heather.

"Hey," Ellie called as Heather reached the front door. She stopped a few feet away from the doctor. "There's this dinner thing at Tommy's tomorrow night. You wanna come? I'll try to be in a better mood."

"I'll be there," Heather answered. She smiled slightly. "Matthew asked me about it earlier."

"Of course he did," Ellie mumbled, rolling her eyes. "What else did he tell you?"

"Doctor-patient confidentiality," Heather replied slyly.

"Cute," Ellie answered. She opened the front door for Heather. "I'll see you tomorrow night."

Heather nodded. "My door's always open."

The second that the door closed behind Heather, the 'what ifs' returned.

Ellie went to her room, retrieving her Walkman and every tape that she had. She laid down on her bed.

Winston got up a moment later and laid down next to her.

…

It was two in the morning when Joel saw Matthew yawn.

"You look tired," Joel observed, returning his gaze to the forest beyond the Wall.

"It's been an interesting two days," Matthew said. "I'm still trying to get rid of the feeling that something's going to jump out at me."

"Give it time," Joel advised. "The tension will wear off eventually."

"Excuse me," a voice said from behind them.

Matthew and Joel turned to see Heather standing below them.

Joel looked at Matthew, who nodded.

Joel climbed down from the Wall and approached Heather. "You just heading home?" he asked.

"Yeah," Heather answered.

Heather briefly looked behind Joel at Matthew.

Joel knew that the boy was listening in. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Heather opened her mouth for a moment, then closed it. She took a deep breath. "I know it's not any of my business, but… I think one of you should talk to Ellie. I don't know any details, but something's wrong and she's not really talking to me."

"You think I should go check on her?" Joel asked.

"It may not be a bad idea," Heather said cautiously. "Like I said, I don't really know much."

"Thanks for telling us," Joel said.

"No problem," Heather said. "I'll see you tomorrow night."

Joel returned to the top of the trailer. "I think she's right. I should go check on Ellie."

"I got rest of the shift," Matthew said. "I'll see you in an hour."

"Marcus," Joel called down the Wall to a man with brown eyes and black hair. The man wore all black. Joel stepped forward. "Do you mind taking one more hour?"

"Go ahead. The wife's already pissed anyway," Marcus grunted. He looked at Matthew. "You talk?"

"Not if you don't want me to."

"Good."

Joel made his way back to the house. He found Ellie sitting up in her bed. She had her Walkman lying next to her as well as a bunch of tapes. Joel could hear the music coming through the earbuds.

Joel sat down on the bed and placed a hand on Winston's head as Ellie removed the earbuds. "I don't want to talk," she said.

"It's okay to be scared," Joel said, ignoring her words. "This was a big decision."

"A decision you already hated," Ellie grumbled.

"I can't say I approve," Joel admitted. "But I can understand why you wanted to do it."

Ellie didn't answer.

"So, you're not going to talk for three days?" Joel asked with a sigh.

"Nope," Ellie replied. She placed her earbuds on her head and turned away.

Joel flicked the earbuds.

Ellie slipped them off her head again and turned to Joel, giving him an annoyed glare.

"At least try and sleep," Joel said.

"No point," Ellie said, placing the earbuds in her ears again.

…

Matthew returned to the house at the end of his shift.

Joel was sitting at the kitchen table.

Matthew removed his boots, set aside his crossbow, and sat down across from the older man.

"No luck?" Matthew asked.

"No," Joel answered. He ran a hand through his hair. "She doesn't want to talk to me."

"Think I should give it a shot?"

"Whatever you can do to help," Joel said. "I hate seeing her like this. I haven't seen her like this since…"

"Since I said I wasn't coming back here with you," Matthew completed.

"Yeah," Joel said, looking at the table again.

Matthew nodded. "I'll try my best."

"I'm going to bed," Joel replied.

…

Ellie looked up as Matthew walked into her room. She turned away a moment later.

Winston hopped off the bed, walked out of the room, and was heard making his way up the stairs.

Matthew sat down on the edge of the bed. Ellie moved aside as he moved next to her. She removed one earbud and placed it in Matthew's ear. As they listened to the next song, Ellie laid her head on his shoulder. Matthew tipped his head against hers.

After half an hour, the tape ended.

Ellie ejected the tape and reached for another.

Matthew blocked her hand with his own and took their earbuds out.

Ellie shut off her Walkman.

"We're going for a walk," Matthew said. "Grab your coat and boots."

"Matthew," Ellie moaned. "It's, like, four in the morning. And I really don't feel like going for a walk."

"Are going to sleep?" Matthew asked.

"No."

"Then let's go."

Matthew stood and tossed Ellie her coat.

As they quietly exited the house, they found that it was snowing. Matthew closed the door behind him as Ellie took a deep breath.

They walked a few blocks in silence until they reached an area of Jackson where there were no houses. When Ellie shivered, Matthew reached over and gently pulled the hair tie from Ellie's hair. She shook her head, allowing the hair to cover her ears.

"Better?" Matthew asked.

"Better," Ellie admitted.

"Good, now close your eyes."

"Why?" Ellie asked.

"I've got a surprise."

Ellie did as she was told and heard Matthew move away.

"This surprise had better be good," Ellie called. "It's fucking cold out he—"

Something soft hit her chest and broke apart.

Ellie opened her eyes to see a small ring of snow on her coat where she'd felt the collision. She narrowed her eyes. "Did you just—"

Pfft. Another snowball hit Ellie's chest.

"That's it!" Ellie said loudly, looking up and spotting Matthew a short distance away.

As another snowball collided with her chest, Ellie scooped snow into her hands and threw as hard as she could. The snow hit Matthew in the neck.

"Hey!" Matthew said taking a step back.

Ellie scooped up more snow.

Matthew turned to run. "I didn't hit you above the chest."

"That was your mistake!" Ellie shouted as she ran at him, throwing handfuls of snow.

They both ran another block laughing, shouting, and exchanging snowballs.

Ellie took another hit to the chest and saw Matthew dart behind an abandoned house. When Ellie turned the corner, she saw that there was only one tree in the yard. Ellie slowed her pace.

"Matthew," she called, taunting him. "Where are you?"

The tree above her was huge. Its branches hung low due to the snowfall over the past few weeks. Ellie found a low clump of branches and smiled evilly.

"I was always pretty good at 'hide and seek' so, you might as well give up," Ellie continued. She grabbed onto the clump of low branches. "Not coming out? Okay. Suit yourself…"

Ellie yanked and shook the branches, causing a large amount of snow to fall from the lower part of the tree. Matthew yelped and jumped out from behind the tree. He started to wipe the snow from his hair and coat.

Matthew shook his head and turned to Ellie. "That was so not co—"

Ellie tackled him to the ground and shoved snow in his face.

"It's on," Matthew exclaimed grabbing her shoulders.

"Damn right it is," Ellie smiled as she grabbed his shoulders.

They began to wrestle around in the soft snow. For five minutes, they laughed, giggled, and shivered. Eventually, they came to a rest as Ellie ended up on top.

Ellie chuckled between gasps for breath. "I think… I won," she said.

Matthew shrugged.

Ellie smiled and lowered her head, giving Matthew a kiss as her long hair brushed against his cheek. "Again."

Matthew returned the kiss, grabbed a handful of snow, and stuck it down the back of Ellie's coat and shirt.

"Ahh!" Ellie exclaimed in reaction to the sudden cold. As Matthew laughed, Ellie stood and spun around in circles as the snow on her back began to melt. "Shit, that's cold! That's really, really cold!"

"Well, that's snow," Matthew said, rising. "It has to be cold."

Ellie finally stopped moving and yawned as the snowy ground grew brighter in the early morning light.

"Finally tired?" Matthew asked.

Ellie shoved him aside as she started walking back in the direction of the house. She flashed him a small smile over her shoulder.

They finally walked into the house and took off their coats and boots as the sun started to crest the horizon. They walked to Ellie's room and Ellie collapsed on bed.

Matthew turned to leave.

Ellie grabbed his arm and yanked him onto the bed with her. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Anytime," Matthew said. He slowly laid back and closed his eyes.

Ellie reached under Matthew's shirt and touched his back with her cold hands.

Matthew flinched and shivered.

Ellie smiled.

They were both asleep minutes later.