A/N: I apologize for those of you that have already read this chapter...but I've sort of re-written it. I have a bad habit of updating things after I post them, so please don't hate me for that. Having said that, feel free to re-read any of the chapters as most of them have been changed to some degree. Nothing major - but just a few small details I noticed and found myself obsessing over.

I hope you enjoy the new(er) version(s).

Joel grumbled at the brightness of the morning, cursing how early it seemed to come in the summertime. Its warmth was already making itself present on the kitchen tile. Sunbeams bathed the room, giving all the appliances and furniture in the light a warm, golden hue. A pot of stew on the stove simmered as he stirred it with a wooden ladle. The heated smell of meat and vegetables permeated the air, bringing a satisfied smirk across the creased lines of his face.

"Almost ready," he said to himself, staring down into the bubbling, brown liquid. Swirling the ladle through it again, he cleared his throat.

"El-lay!" He called out in his rugged, southern drawl, hoping his voice would reach the little girl upstairs.

"Yeah?" Came a delicate response from the kitchen doorway.

Joel blinked, quickly turning around to see that redheaded girl standing no more than ten feet behind him in the kitchen doorway.

"Oh, sorry," he muttered, turning back to the stove, "Didn't hear ya git up."

Pulling the ladle from the pot, he reached for a pair of bowls on the counter near him.

"It's alright," she shrugged, heading towards the kitchen table.

Her tone was strangely monotonous and faded, but Joel figured that was simply the grogginess of an all-too-early dawn affecting her. Hell, she was still in her pajamas.

Pulling out a chair, she sat down at the small wooden table, awaiting her breakfast. She stared out the window across from her momentarily, watching the sunrays beam through the thickness of the pine trees just beyond the fortified wall of their town.

"Soup's on," Joel said, breaking her concentration. He approached the table with the two bowls in either hand.

"Smells good," Ellie quickly commented, snapping back to reality and reaching for her spoon.

"I reckon'," Joel replied, setting a bowl in front of her.

"It's the last o' that stew we made yesterday."

Without a verbal response, Ellie replied by digging into the mud-colored goop. Joel thought it a bit strange, seeing her so quiet this morning. After all, she had a bad habit of waking him up at the ass-crack of dawn before for no other reason than it being the start of a new day. But then again, Joel thought that maybe not having to fight to survive on a daily basis could be changing that.

"Sleep good?" He asked casually, sitting down and scooting his chair closer to the table.

"Mhm. You?" Ellie replied quickly without even glancing over at him. She just stared down into her dish as she began to eat.

"Eh, better'n I did in Boston." He shrugged.

He gave her a playful smile, but retracted it as it met her cold shoulder. He had thought that they were passed this kind of thing – her shutting him out and giving him that silence as though she were ignoring him. Last night he was so sure he got through to her. But he wasn't so sure anymore today. But he let the thought go, scooping up a mouthful of his breakfast.

That warm, slimy mixture of soft vegetables and rabbit meat instantly coated his taste buds, making him relish each bite. He wasn't a chef by any measure, but the taste was enough to make him take each bite carefully, as if trying to make it last just a little while longer. A few moments of silence passed between them, only the sounds of nature outside providing any sort of atmosphere against the occasional clank of spoon against dish as they ate.

That was, until, a sudden realization hit him.

"Oh – I forgot to tell ya yesterday." He words caught him mid-chew, which immediately caught Ellie's attention. He wasn't one to talk with his mouth full.

"I'm goin' with Tommy this morn' to do some repair work on the south wall a' town."

Ellie's eyes twinkled as she stared at him, as if waiting for there to be more in that statement.

"O-kay." She shrugged before swallowing a spoonful of stew.

"And you're, uh…gonna be workin' with Maria in the stables, I think."

Ellie gave a soft nod, downing another bite.

"I know." She replied as if the conversation was nothing more than small talk – a typical morning conversation that didn't really hold much value to her.

"Yeah. Well, uh… then, I'll be… I'll be goin' out tonight." He quickly slurped up another spoonful, looking down into his stew to avoid her stare that he knew was coming.

This time he could avoid her.

Ellie instantly raised a sharp brow at him. That hint of uneasiness in his voice coupled with his avoidance of her look was telling, making her wonder what could cause such a thing.

"Out where?"

She was demanding, but her tone sounded more inquisitive than anything.

"With Esther." He admitted quietly.

Ellie looked away, eyes momentarily scanning the surface of the table for a response.

"Well then what the hell am I supposed to do?"

Joel scoffed under his breath, half-smiling as he finally felt able to look at her again. That blank expression starting to show her resentment. He tried not to look her right in the eye, knowing all too well that she wasn't in favor of him leaving her by herself any more than he already had to.

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure that out."

Ellie nearly laughed, hearing the familiarity in their exchange. She could hardly believe he deflected her question with that same, candid response.

"All-right then." She sighed heavily.

They finished their meals in what was essentially silence, both sensing the strangeness in the air between them now. Joel knew Ellie didn't like him leaving her – especially for some mystery woman she had never seen – but he knew he had to tell her. He knew she would be more upset if he had kept it a secret from her.

Slurping up the last drop of stew, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Setting the spoon in the now empty bowl, her eyes fixated on the brownish ring that had formed near the rim. Meals for her always seemed to go by too fast, always leaving her wanting more than what was given. But she knew she couldn't complain. At least she had food – and it was actually cooked.

"Well I think I'm gonna go get dressed." She said, standing up and heading for the kitchen doorway.

"Thanks for breakfast." She said, patting him on the shoulder.

Joel gave her a nod as he slurped up the final bite of his breakfast.

"Y'er welcome."

He collected their dishes, taking them to the sink. Hearing her bare footsteps on each stair going up, he hollered out to her.

"Meet out front 'n five!"

"Okay, boss!" Came her distant response.

He chuckled under his breath as he turned on the faucet, rinsing each dish. He briefly studied the flow of water as it touched his hand, taking for granted the flow of seemingly clear liquid from the tap.

They actually had running water.

It might have been from an underground well, but it was still clean, or at least, clean enough to bathe in. Hell, it was clean enough to swim in, if he ever actually got around to teaching Ellie that skill.

Joel pondered that thought as he turned off the faucet.

He did say he would teach her. And as he dried off both bowls with a nearby towel, he thought that, if they ever got the time, he just might teach her before the summer ended.

Ellie slid the dark red t-shirt over her head, sliding her arms in and pulling it over the lump of her ponytail. She closed her dresser drawer, turning to grab her nearby pair of black, converse shoes sliding them on. She then snagged her switchblade from her nightstand, slipping it into her pocket. But a shiny, metallic glimmer caught her eye.

It was Riley's pendant.

Ellie briefly felt that same hard lump rise in her stomach, making her brow scrunch in distress and her legs to stand still. It threatened to make her sick with guilt. But she swallowed, forcing that hard lump back down to whatever part of her gut it had come from. She didn't have time for this.

She had shit to do.

Instead, she ignored the metal coin and snatched her nearby backpack, flinging over her shoulder. But her eye caught sight of it again, as if drawn to it like a fish to water.

"Nope." She spat out pulling out the drawer of her nightstand. She slid the pendant across the top until it fell down into the drawer, rattling around as it bounced.

"Not today, fucker." She wasn't going to let this get to her today – or at least right now.

She stood up and kicked the drawer shut, letting the varnished wood slam into itself with an audible thwack. She bottled up whatever feelings were trying to come up out of her just then, holding them down tightly inside of her, tucked away where they could hopefully remain forever.

Joel sat outside on the wooden stairs of the porch, watching the town awake to the start of the day. He glanced around, breathing in the quietness that permeated the morning air. A pair of birds tweeted from a nearby tree as he felt the heat of the late summer sun hit his arms beneath his grey t-shirt. A group of workers walked by, exchanging laughs as they headed for the dam. A spotted dog ran across the street the other way, holding a tennis ball in its mouth as it brought it back to a praising owner kneeling in the street. A man kissed his young son on the forehead as he left his home a few houses down from them. The little boy waved from the comfort of his mother's hip, a carefree smile on his face.

Joel sighed contently, a small half smile parting his lips.

It was almost like Austin.

The sound of the front door opening caught his ear, bringing him to stand up as he heard a pair of small footsteps grow closer.

"Ready?" he said, turning to see that red headed girl hop down the front porch.

"Mhm." Ellie replied, hiding that a solemnness in her tone which, remarkably, left Joel none the wiser.

The two started off down the street, making their way across the town to their designated work stations for the day. They walked quietly in unison for a while; the only sounds between them were the soles of their shoes scuffing the asphalt road beneath. A group of men passed by them on horseback, slowly trotting the other opposite direction. No doubt they were off to hunt in the woods beyond the town walls. Just as they trotted by, a familiar voice called out to the two of them from behind.

"Hey you two." There was that raspy, southern voice which faintly copied Joel's.

They both turned to see Tommy approaching with a hearty smile.

"Mornin', little brother." Joel replied.

"Hey." Ellie waved.

"How ya'll doin' this morn'?"

"We're good." Joel gave him a nod.

"Good to see ya'll up and movin'."

"Likewise. So what's the plan for today?"

"Well, we got some work to do on that south wall, like I said." Tommy began, walking ahead of them in a gesture to follow.

"Since we still got bandits attackin' from time ta' time, we're beefin' up the reinforcements 'round that end a' town."

"Reckon you could help with some 'a that." He smirked at Joel.

"Heh - yeah, I reckon I could do some good."

Ellie began to trail a bit further behind them, effortlessly letting their conversation fall away from her focus. She took in the sights of the town more closely, instead, as if deflecting her disdain for Joel basically ignoring her now. She caught sight of a few men hammering away at the side of a house, attempting to repair a portion of the wall that looked like it had rotted away. That was a nice change from the outside world, where most people seemed hell-bent on destroying everything.

Every day the town was looking more and more like what she would imagine when Joel told her stories about life before the outbreak. It was becoming that oasis in the desert – that diamond in the rough. She found herself smile before the sound of her name broke her train of thought.

"Ellie?" Tommy called over his shoulder.

"Huh?"

"You're gon' be workin' in the stables today with Maria."

"Oh. Yeah, I know. She told me yesterday." she nodded.

"Oh – A'right then." Tommy conceded, turning back to Joel.

Ellie rolled her eyes as he turned away from her, that faint hint of irritation coming through at being told the same thing multiple times.

"So a little birdie told me that you an' Esther are goin' out tonight." Tommy smirked, giving Joel another nudge.

Ellie's ears perked up as she heard that. She immediately looked over at Joel, waiting for to see his reaction.

Maybe his reaction could tell her more about this mystery "Esther".

"Heh, some'm like that." He scoffed, somewhat dodging that prod.

That was surprisingly benign.

"Well go on – what you two gon' do?" Tommy continued, nudging Joel with his elbow.

Joel feigned a nervous laugh, rubbing his palm against the back of his neck. He looked embarrassed by the mention of all this, which gave her a peculiar feeling of discontented intrigue. She wasn't fond of seeing him uncomfortable or nervous – seeing as how he was her rock and protector. And she actually cared about him, which was a rare thing for her anyway. But, maybe his embarrassment would mean he would forego his date, leaving her to have Joel all to herself.

Ellie leaned in some, trying to get closer to hear his answer. But just as he was about to speak, another voice caught her attention.

"Ellie!" Came that female voice.

Turning her head, Ellie saw Maria catching up to the three of them.

"Oh hey, Maria."

"How you doin', kiddo?"

"I'm good," she nodded, matching the older woman's demeanor.

"Good. So you ready to go to work?"

Looking up at Joel, Ellie saw he was far too engrossed in his conversation with Tommy to even notice Maria had approached them, leading her to hide a small, disheartened frown before turning back to Maria.

"Yeah, I think so."

She lifted her arm, giving the two men a lazy wave before turning away.

"See you guys later."

Joel stopped, looking back over his shoulder at her.

"Oh- shit. Then here."

He immediately jogged over to her, wrapping his veiny arms around her shoulders, fully embracing her in a hug. Ellie could only return the gesture, hugging his waist-line. His warmth melted that frown from her lips. Their interaction drew matching smiles from both Tommy and Maria, who shot one another a glance that they understood the relationship the two had now.

"Have a good day, babygirl." He smiled, giving her a final squeeze before letting go.

"You too." She grinned back at him with those shining, emerald eyes of hers.

She always enjoyed his touch.

But with that, the foursome split up for their respective workstations for the day.

Catching back up with Maria, Ellie walked with her as she led them towards the horse stables.

"So you two are getting along well, yeah?"

"I guess so." Ellie shrugged.

"I mean, Joel's kind of a hard-ass, but he's a good guy. What about you and Tommy?"

Maria stifled a boisterous laugh.

"What can I say? We're the perfect-fucking-two." There was an stark sarcasm in that statement, and Ellie could sense it, given how estranged their relationship looked the first time she had met them nearly a year ago.

Maybe there was at least some truth in those words, but Ellie merely shrugged it off, letting that be the end of the conversation.

A few moments of quietness passed between them as they continued towards the stables, leaving the sounds of their shoes against the gravel and the jumbled sounds of the town coming to life in the late summer morning.

"Here we are. Just up ahead." Maria commented as they approached the stables.

Ellie looked up, seeing the building they were headed towards. It almost looked like a flatter, wider house with several doors and small window openings lining the sides. The bright, wooden exterior almost seemed to shine in the sunlight, showing off the regency of its construction. Behind it lay the large, open field where several horses were already out and about, trotting along a fence-line where a few men stood, observing each one as it passed by.

"Okay." She said under her breath, lagging behind Maria by a few steps.

"Here we go. Endure and survive."