Author's/Birthday Boy's Notes: You read that right! Today is my 18th birthday! Rather than have you guys give me presents, I figured I'd give you all a present in the form of the newest chapter! Like I said in last chapter's notes, this is a major turning point which will change the focus of the story the rest of the way. The only thing I'll say further is prepare your feels, because things will NEVER be the same between Ellie and Hannah.

Also, there will be an announcement at the end of the chapter. It concerns the future plans of this story.

Completely Unrelated: If any of my readers are Whovians, what did you think of the 50th? My sister and I thought it was amazing.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Of Us or the characters in this chapter, except the ones I introduce. All credit goes to Naughty Dog.

Brand New Start

CH. 10: Angel

It had been two months since Ellie and Joel first arrived at Jackson. Spring had given way to summer; a change that was welcomed by the community. While most people were ditching their warm clothing in favor of clothing more appropriate for the warmer temperatures, Ellie continued to keep her arms completely covered. Though she wanted to be comfortable in the heat, she couldn't let anybody see the bite mark on her arm. Keeping it secret was of utmost importance to her.

The most important thing to her, however, was her friendship with Hannah. She didn't have any intention of trying to make friends when she first got to Jackson, but she was glad she changed her mind. The two had a strong connection. They had felt it ever since the first conversation they had outside the diner, and it had only grown stronger as time passed. Ellie had never had a friendship that lasted more than a couple weeks. She knew Hannah was especially grateful for their friendship, since it was the first she had ever had, and Ellie was happy to have made such an impact on her life.

Joel had the afternoon shift on guard duty, and he left Ellie at Hannah and Jeffrey's house while he was on duty. "Hey Hannah!" Ellie said as she ran towards Hannah to meet her standing in the living room.

"Good to see you again." The two gave each other a quick hello hug.

"You two behave yourselves. Ellie, I'll pick you up after my shift," Joel told her as he stood in the doorway.

"I will," she said cheerfully. Joel backed out and closed the door behind him. "So, are we gonna play blackjack again?" Hannah had taught Ellie how to play blackjack in the time they had spent together. She regretted it a bit, because Ellie won almost every time.

"Actually, since it's such a nice day why don't we go outside? Just enjoy the weather, you know?"

"Oh, I get it. You're getting tired of me kicking your ass so you're trying to avoid it," she said with a smirk.

Hannah rolled her eyes and chuckled. "While I'll admit I was getting a bit frustrated, I just thought we should get some fresh air. We've spent so much time inside when we've been together; I think it's time for a change."

Ellie wasn't buying the story. She knew her friend was just being a sore loser, but she welcomed change. Fresh air was something she never got to enjoy in Boston; she may as well enjoy it now. "Okay. We can go outside for a bit and then I can kick your ass at blackjack."

Hannah laughed again. "Fair enough."

When the girls stepped outside, Ellie saw something in the backyard that caught her eye: an old jungle gym. "Oh hey, look." She jogged over to it. "I really wish I would have gotten a chance to play on one of these when I was little." It had a wooden frame, a central tower with a slide, a row of swings on one side and monkey bars on the other. She could see that the monkey bars used to have ladder steps to get up to the bars, but they were missing now. Ellie walked over to them. "Can you do a chin-up?"

"What's that?" Hannah asked.

"It's something they made us do in the boarding school I was in," Ellie explained. "You'd grab onto a bar and try to pull yourself up until your chin was above it."

"Sounds like you'd have to be pretty strong to do one," Hannah said.

"We're light, so it might actually be easier than you think. I think I used to be able to get three, but I'd be lucky to get one now."

"Well try it."

She walked over until she was under the bar on the far end. "Okay, here goes nothing." She jumped up and grabbed onto the bar, struggled to pull herself up, but eventually completed a successful chin-up. She dropped down to the ground and gave a slight bow. "Ta-da."

"There's no way I could do that."

"You're lighter than me, so maybe you could."

"But I'm also not as strong as you." She thought about it, and decided that it couldn't hurt to make an attempt. "Oh, I guess I'll try." She walked over to the bars and grabbed on. When she tried to pull herself up, she immediately realized she wouldn't be able to do it and gave up. "Oh, screw that," she said as she jumped back down.

"You didn't even try," Ellie said with a laugh. Suddenly, an idea hit her. "Ooh, I got an idea." She jogged away from the bars until she was about fifteen feet back from the first bar.

"What?" Hannah inquired.

"I'm gonna get a running start, jump up and grab the bar, swing my feet up until they catch around another bar, and just hang there like a spider."

Hannah looked over the structure, deciding whether or not Ellie's idea was smart. The wood had been left to rot in the elements for more than twenty years. It could easily break when she tried that. "Ellie, I don't think that's the best idea."

"Come on, what could happen?"

"You could fall and hurt yourself."

"Pssh… Don't be such a baby." Ellie sprinted towards the bars and leaped up to grab on. She swung her feet forward, and her weight catching on the bar paired with her momentum caused the wood frame to give way. The bar was ripped out of the frame causing Ellie to fall, and the momentum of her feet swinging caused her body to spin backwards, and she landed flat on her back.

"Balls!" Hannah screamed as she ran over to Ellie. The impact had knocked all the air out of her, and for a brief moment she was completely unable to breathe. When Hannah got to Ellie, she found her breathing very heavily, clearly in pain. "Are you okay?" she asked frantically.

Ellie was silent for a moment, before giving her response. "I don't know." Her voice was hoarse and very breathy.

Hannah grabbed Ellie's hands and tried to sit her up. "Come on, sit up." When Ellie was sitting upright, she continued her heavy breathing and leaned over forwards. "Didn't I tell you it was a bad idea?"

"Yeah," she said as she nodded, "but I'm a hardhead."

"Obviously. Now give me a clear answer, yes or no, are you okay?"

Ellie thought for a moment, trying to decide if she was in fact okay. "Yeah, I'm just winded."

Though Ellie had said she was okay, Hannah didn't think she fully was. "You sound more than just winded. What exactly hurts? What do you feel?"

Ellie put her hand to the left side of her back. "It hurts in the back of my ribcage, and… it's hard for me to breathe."

"That might be just from getting the wind knocked out of you."

"No," she shook her head gently. "I feel like I'm not taking in as much air as I should be."

Hannah grew a bit concerned. "Would… would you like me to take you to Brenda's?"

Ellie nodded. "Yeah, that would be smart."

Hannah helped Ellie to her feet. "Let me tell my dad first." Hannah walked to the back door keeping pace with Ellie, who was walking slowly. She opened the door and Jeffrey was sitting at the kitchen table reading one of the many books left behind in their house. "Dad, I'm taking Ellie to Brenda's place. She hurt herself."

Jeffrey stood up. "Is she okay? How'd she get hurt?"

"She says she's fine. She thought she could do something but she couldn't and fell."

"Okay, as long as she says she's fine. Just bring her back here before Joel's shift ends."

"Of course."

Joel was stationed in tower East 2, overlooking the road that leads to Jackson's gate. It had been uneventful, as almost all guard shifts were, until all of a sudden he got a bad feeling in his gut. It was the feeling he got whenever he was worried about Ellie. Every time he pushed the feeling aside, it came right back. He wanted to leave his post to check on her, but his shift had just started a half hour ago. He still had hours to go… until Tommy approached the tower.

"Joel!" he called out to him.

Joel turned around to face Tommy. Branson was standing next to him. "What is it?" Tommy began chuckling. Joel couldn't hear it but he knew what his brother looked like when he was laughing. He got a stupid look on his face that he had never seen on anyone else. "What're you laughin' about?"

"Uh… there's been a bit of a mix up. It's kinda funny actually."

"What do you mean there was a mix up?"

"Well, the guy who made the schedule put you down for the wrong shift. Branson was supposed to have the afternoon shift today and you were supposed to have it tomorrow."

Joel saw this as a blessing in disguise. He wanted to leave to make sure Ellie was okay, and now he had a valid reason to. "So I can go on home now?"

"Yeah. Branson's here to relieve you. Leave the rifle up there for him."

Joel did as he was told and made his way down from the tower. He went immediately from the tower to Jeffrey's house to check on the girls. He knocked and waited for someone to answer. Jeffrey opened the door and greeted Joel, "Well, hey there. I thought you had guard duty."

"There was a bit of a mix up. I'm actually not supposed to have it till tomorrow. The girls here?"

Jeffrey shook his head. "Nah, they're at Brenda's."

That's the answer Joel was afraid of. "Why?"

"Ellie hurt herself. They're just checking to make sure she's okay."

"Goddammit," he said as he turned and stormed away.

Ellie lay on a bed in Brenda's house. She was taking slow, deep breaths, making sure she could breathe properly. "Just keep breathing like that and you'll be fine. You'll feel short of breath sometimes, so take it easy," Brenda informed her.

Ellie looked at Hannah, who was standing next to the bed on the right side. "I hope Joel won't be too mad at me."

"I don't think he'll be too mad. I just want to get you back to my place before his shift ends."

Just then there was a knock on the door, followed by a familiar voice. "Brenda, open up." It was Joel. Balls, Hannah thought.

"I'll open it if you ask nicely," Brenda joked.

"Brenda, please… I'm here to check on Ellie." She opened the door, and Joel stepped in. He looked at Ellie in the bed, and Ellie propped herself up with her elbows on the bed to look at him more directly. "How did Ellie get hurt?" he asked Brenda.

"Well, she had the brilliant idea to swing on a dilapidated jungle gym and it broke, causing her to fall hard on her back."

Joel looked at Ellie and threw up his arms as if to say 'what the hell were you thinking?' She forced a pathetic smile, hoping to sway him into forgiving her stupidity. Joel sighed and looked back at Brenda. "Just… tell me the damage."

"From what I can tell, a small piece of her rib cage splintered off and slightly punctured her left lung. She's going to have some difficulty breathing for a while but will fully heal with rest. Make sure she doesn't do a lot of physical activity until she's healed."

"Thank you." He looked at Ellie and Hannah. "Let's go girls."

Ellie got off the bed with a little help from Hannah, and the two followed Joel out of the house. Immediately after stepping on the porch, Joel turned around to reprimand the girls. "Now, what the hell were you thinkin'? Did you really think it was smart to horse around on somethin' like that?"

"Joel, I can explain," Ellie tried to defend herself, but Hannah cut her off.

"I take full responsibility," she said as she closed her eyes and raised her hand.

Joel folded his arms and looked down on her. "Really?"

"Yeah. I kinda… I dared her to do it. But, I didn't think she actually would."

Joel scoffed. "Why does that not surprise me? I'm sure your father will have something to say to you about this."

Hannah became nervous when Joel brought up her dad. She was just trying to cover for her friend to not make her look bad, but she thought it might blow up in her face. It was too late to change her story now.

When they got back to her house, Joel opened the door without knocking first. "You girls sit on the couch while I talk to Jeffrey." They did as they were ordered.

"Talk to me about what?"

Joel took Jeffrey aside and spoke quietly to him so the girls wouldn't hear. As the girls sat listening for a while, they were wondering what Joel and Jeffrey were discussing. "What do you think they're talking about?" Ellie asked.

"I don't know," Hannah replied.

"Hey!" Joel called out. "Keep quiet over there!"

The girls lowered their heads in defeat and continued to wait. They were talking for at least two minutes before they stopped. As the men finished their conversation they came back over to the girls and stood in front of them. Joel spoke up first. "Alright girls, we're sorry to inform you that you will no longer be seein' each other."

The girls were utterly shocked. "What?" they asked in unison. "No!" Hannah said.

"Hannah, this is the second time one of your little ideas has gotten someone sick or hurt," Jeffrey said. "The incident with the vodka was bad enough, but Ellie could have been seriously hurt this time. If the back of her head hit the ground instead of her back, she could've been paralyzed for the rest of her life. Would you have been able to live with yourself if that happened? I don't think you would. I know this isn't fair to Ellie because she's tried to be sensible most of the time."

Joel interjected. "But part of this is on you, Ellie. You didn't have to do it just because she dared you to."

Jeffrey continued lecturing his daughter. "Obviously you've shown that you aren't mature enough to handle something as simple as having a friend. I'm ending this before one of you gets more than just a hangover or punctured lung."

Hannah stood up off the couch and approached her dad. "This is completely stupid!"

"I'm not having anything from you. Now, go on up to your room."

Hannah turned to Ellie. "Ellie, I'm really sorry." Ellie stood up and the two wrapped each other in their arms. Hannah felt horrible for destroying their friendship. In her attempt to spare Ellie from Joel's wrath, she ruined the best thing she had in her life.

"Yeah, say goodbye, then get up to your room." The girls hugged for a long time before letting go. Hannah slowly and dejectedly made her way up the stairs. She looked back at Ellie one last time when she got up to the top of the steps, and then started down the hall to her room. Ellie lowered her head. "Ellie, I'm sorry it had to end like this for you two. You're a good girl and I've come to like you. I especially liked that you made my girl happy; I loved seeing her smile. But if she's not responsible enough to be friends with you without getting into trouble, I can't risk you two getting into more serious trouble."

She looked up at Jeffrey, sadness evident in her eyes. Joel gave a quick, gentle tug on her shoulder motioning her towards the door. "C'mon. Let's go." She followed Joel out of the house and closed the door behind her. Joel started walking back to their house but Ellie stayed put. She had to speak up.

"Joel, wait."

Joel turned around and walked back towards her. "What?"

She hesitated. "Hannah was lying."

He folded his arms across his chest. "I beg your pardon?"

"It wasn't her idea for me to swing on the bars. It was mine. She actually tried to stop me but… I didn't listen."

Joel turned his head away. "Mm-hm."

"You don't believe me?"

"If that's really what happened, then why are you just tellin' me this now? Why didn't you tell me back when I first asked you?"

"I was going to, but Hannah cut me off. I'm being serious, Joel, you have to believe me. Hannah was just trying to make me not look like an idiot in front of you. It was my own stupid fault for getting hurt, not hers." She stopped to catch her breath. Even talking was harder than it should be.

"You know, I'd have an easier time believin' you if Hannah didn't have a history of doin' this shit."

"If you're talking about the night with the alcohol, that was ONE incident! That's not much of a history."

"Plus, I know you're smarter than to try somethin' that stupid just because 'it seems like a fun idea.'"

"Joel, please listen to me…" She was becoming very upset. Her friendship with Hannah had rejuvenated her good spirit. Now that it looked like it was over, she was not taking it well.

"We're goin' back to the house," he said. "This conversation's over." He turned around to lead her back home.

"Fucker," she said under her breath as she followed. Thankfully he did not hear her. As they walked down the street, Ellie kept turning back to look at Hannah's house. She hoped that Joel and Jeffrey would come around and let them see each other again someday.

When Ellie awoke the next morning, something felt seriously wrong. She couldn't place what it was, until she smelled what it was that was wrong. Burning. Something outside was on fire. She got out of bed and looked out the window to see a thick cloud of black smoking rising up from… Hannah's house! Without putting her shoes on, she ran down the stairs and outside while Joel was still sound asleep.

She got near Hannah's house and saw Tommy standing there looking over it and instructing people to stay back. The house was almost completely engulfed in flames, and Hannah and Jeffrey were nowhere to be seen. Ellie ran close and Tommy put his arm across her body to stop her. "Ellie, keep back!"

She was panting heavily. She knew she wasn't supposed to run like that with her injured lung, but she was too desperate to make sure Hannah and Jeffrey were safe. "Has anyone come out?" she asked desperately after she had caught her breath.

"No, they're both still in there."

As Elle watched over the burning house, she folded her hands and pressed them up against her forehead. She found herself doing something she never thought she would do… she was praying. "Please let them be okay. Please let them come out. Please let them be okay." She continued watching as smoke billowed high into the air. She waited and waited and hoped that they would come out of the house. Suddenly, the front door was knocked off of its weakened frame, and a plume of black smoke erupted from the opening. From the smoke emerged Jeffrey; a bandana covered his mouth and nose, and the limp body of Hannah hung in his arms. "Hannah!" Ellie ducked under Tommy's arm and ran to get closer to her friend.

"Ellie! Get back here!" Tommy shouted, but Ellie was set on one thing: making sure her friend was okay.

Jeffrey set Hannah down on the sidewalk. Her eyes and mouth were closed and her skin had been blackened from soot. "Is she okay?!" Ellie frantically asked Jeffrey.

"She's breathed in a lot of smoke," Jeffrey said as he pulled the bandana off his face. He grabbed onto Hannah's wrist looking for signs of life. "Fuck, she's got no pulse!" No heartbeat, no breathing, nothing. He was in panic mode now. He pressed his hands to Hannah's chest and began giving her CPR. "Come on… breathe, Hannah… fucking breathe!"

Ellie tried a much gentler approach. She held Hannah's right hand in her own and began stroking it gently. "Hannah… it's me, Ellie. If you can hear me, you need to keep holding on. You can come back, I know you can."

Neither approach seemed to work. She had not so much as stirred, and time was quickly running out. Jeffrey stopped with the chest compressions for a brief moment to check for life… still nothing. "No! Don't do this to me, Hannah!" Jeffrey screamed as he resumed trying to revive his daughter.

"Hannah, you can't die. You've got so much in life. You've got a father that loves you, you've got a great life here in Jackson… and most importantly you have our friendship. That's why you can't leave now; because our friendship is too strong to end like this." She placed the hand that was stroking Hannah's on top of her soot covered forehead.

Through both their efforts to bring Hannah back, she had not shown a single sign of life. It appeared to them both that she was dead. As Jeffrey gave up on trying to revive his daughter, concluding that she was beyond rescue, he began to cry. "No, no, no… Hannah… Oh God, Hannah… Nooooo!"

"Hannah?" Ellie had not lost hope yet. She felt that Hannah could still come back, but with every second that passed, that hope quickly faded. "Don't die on us, Hannah." Still no response. There was still a slim sliver of hope though, Ellie could feel it. "Please don't go," she pleaded with her voice breaking. She waited for a response: a stir, a twitch, anything to let them know she was alive, but got nothing. "Please…" She pleaded weakly with her one last time… but it was too late. The smoke she inhaled had taken its toll... Hannah was gone.

Ellie held Hannah's hand in between hers and held them up to her forehead. Tears flooded down her face, as her friendship with Hannah had ultimately come to an end. Though the two girls had only known each other for two months, they had become inseparable. She was worried about how well she would be able to cope with this loss, or if she would even be able to cope at all. After losing Riley and Sam, she had told herself she was never going to allow anyone else to get close to her. She gave Hannah a chance under the – apparently false – assumption that there was no danger of losing her in the way she lost those two. She now realized that she should have listened to herself to spare the grief she felt with losing Hannah.

Tommy looked on in pure shock as Jeffrey watched his daughter slip away from him. He had known Hannah for most of her life. And though he had never had a true attachment to her, apart from her being a friend's daughter, he found himself struck with grief as well. The worst part for him was not seeing Hannah die; it was seeing Jeffrey lose his child, his own flesh and blood. He was right by Joel's side when he lost Sarah; watching it happen again was almost too much for him to handle.

Then there was Jeffrey, who Ellie and Tommy both worried about. His wife had run off when Hannah was less than a year old, so for the last fifteen years Hannah was his only family. Other than Tommy and Maria, he was not close with anyone else in town. Even Houser, who he traveled to Jackson with, was merely an acquaintance as opposed to an actual friend. Hannah was the only thing he had. They were worried that he would end up like Connie did. He sat next to his daughter's body with his face buried in his hands, bawling like a baby.

But they may had begun grieving too soon. What happened next could only have been described as a miracle. As Ellie and Jeffrey sat mourning over Hannah… her eyes shot open and she drew in a deep breath. The two were struck with disbelief as they heard Hannah come to life in a coughing fit. Jeffrey grabbed her in his arms and held her close to his body. His tears of grief had turned into tears of joy that his daughter was, in fact, alive. "Oh my God! Oh Hannah, you're alive!"

Hannah had stopped coughing long enough to speak feebly. "Dad… the fire… our house…"

"Don't worry about our house, baby. You're alive and that's all that matters. Oh my God, I thought I lost you, Hannah. I thought you were gone." He continued holding his daughter tightly to himself.

"You saved my life, Dad," she said with admiration.

He paused before responding. "No… I didn't." A confused look came over Hannah's face. Jeffrey held her away slightly and looked at Ellie. "Ellie did." Ellie appeared as confused as Hannah was when Jeffrey said he wasn't the one who saved her. She was also still in shock that Hannah was actually alive. "It was all her."

"No, all I did was talk to you. Your dad's the one who revived you."

"Ellie, don't you see? Hannah trusts you and looks up to you more than anyone. It was your voice, and your comforting touch, that let her come back to me. The bond between you two was strong enough to bring her back." Ellie thought the smoke must have killed a few of his brain cells. He was just talking crazy.

Hannah let go of her father and threw her arms around Ellie. Ellie hugged back. "I knew, as soon as I met you, that befriending you would be the best thing to ever happen to me." Hannah was crying as she talked. "And I was so right. I've never been more grateful to say you're my friend."

Ellie wasn't sure how to respond. She still didn't believe she was the one who saved Hannah, but she went along with it. "Same here."

"Listen, girls, as far as I'm concerned you can forget that whole conversation last night about you two not being allowed to see each other. Clearly this is a sign that you are in fact meant to be friends."

"Jeffrey!" Joel called from down the street. He jogged down the street and Jeffrey turned and jogged to meet him.

Before Joel could say anything about the fire, Jeffrey spoke first. "Oh, Joel, If I didn't know any better I'd… I'd say I just witnessed a miracle."

"What do you mean?"

Jeffrey took a deep breath before speaking. "My girl, Hannah… when I carried her out of the burning house, she wasn't breathing. I tried, and tried, and tried to revive her, but I just couldn't. I thought she was dead… I thought I had lost my daughter. But then, Ellie… just by talking to her… helped bring her back. It's almost like there was an angel working through her."

Joel listened to what Jeffrey said, and thought there was a much simpler explanation. "Like you said, Ellie's got a gift. It's as simple as that."

Jeffrey still believed that there was something greater at work, but he considered what Joel said. "I guess you're right."

Joel looked at the burning house. It was almost entirely brought to the ground. "Listen, Jeffrey, the two of you are more than welcome to come live with us. We've got two spare bedrooms we ain't usin'."

Jeffrey embraced Joel in response to his offer. "Thank you, Joel."

Ellie and Hannah watched as what remained of the house crumbled to the ground. Hannah bowed her head and turned to her friend, who she was convinced saved her life. "We lost everything." She looked up at Ellie. "But I still have you." Hannah offered a hand out to Ellie, which Ellie grabbed a hold of. "Friends for life," Hannah said with a smile.

Ellie put on an identical smile. "Friends for life," she repeated.

Announcement: With the conclusion of this chapter, I will be taking an indefinite hiatus from writing. Here's why: I have the final chapter (which is going to be intense) all planned out, a year of time in the story that needs to pass from now until then, but only a few chapters worth of material to fill that gap. So rather than take a really long time and be inconsistent in between chapters, I figured it would be better to wait until I had it all thought out and try to update consistently like I have been. I am NOT abandoning this story. I am just taking a break until I have enough material to put out a new chapter every 3-5 days. Think of this as the story's "mid-season finale." I'm aiming for another 8-10 chapters after the hiatus, including the grand finale. So just sit tight and be patient. If I had to make a guess, it'll be two to three weeks before the next chapter's up. I'm not sticking to that guess; it could be more or less time than that. It all depends on how long it takes for me to collect my ideas.

Brand New Start will continue after hiatus.

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