Author's Notes: We're down to the last three chapters. I know you're all upset at the fact that this story's almost over, but if you think you're upset now, just wait until it actually is over. I've got something planned for the finale that is so ballsy and so shocking, that it might just make me the most hated TLOU fanfic author ever. The chapter after this one will be fun and lighthearted, since we haven't had one of those really at all in the second half of the story. And after that will be the finale which will leave you completely stunned.

Now, in the reviews for the previous chapter, someone said that "it didn't feel like TLOU," and I just want to ask do you really think there wouldn't be any crime in this world? As you may remember from the Boston QZ, crime is still very real, which is why I'm writing a double chapter about it. Now, Ellie is obviously going to need a lot of help getting out of jail, but as you'll see, doing so will put other people in danger. It will get pretty gloomy at one point, and we may or may not have to say goodbye to another character. I'm done talking, read and I hope you enjoy!

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

Brand New Start

CH. 17: Protection

Joel was knocking furiously on Tommy's door. He was still fuming about how Tommy had Ellie arrested for a crime she didn't commit… at least he didn't want to believe she committed it. "Tommy, open up now!" Tommy immediately opened the door and let Joel in. "Tommy, we need to fuckin' talk."

"I know. Come with me." Tommy took Joel into his bedroom and closed the door so they could talk in private. Joel spoke up before Tommy could explain his actions.

"You are gonna let Ellie outta jail immediately."

"I'm sorry, but I can't."

"The hell you can't! Tommy, she didn't do nothin'!"

"I know."

Joel grew even angrier when Tommy said that. "I beg your pardon?"

"I know she's innocent, Joel."

That pushed Joel over the edge. As if he wasn't infuriated enough by the fact that Tommy threw Ellie in jail, he threw her in jail even though he knew she was innocent. "You son of a bitch!" he shouted as he forced Tommy against the wall. "You threw her in jail even though you know she didn't commit no crime?!"

"I didn't have a choice, Joel-"

"Let her out!" Joel snapped.

"If I could, I would. But I can't-"

"Why not?!"

"If you take your Goddamn hands off me, I'll tell you."

Joel did as Tommy asked and let him go. Tommy brushed himself off and started pacing around the room. "We found evidence that connected Ellie to the crime, so by the laws that we wrote when we founded the town, I had no choice but to put her in custody. I didn't want to, believe me, but I can't just not follow the law because an innocent person is linked to a crime. I know Ellie's innocent, and I'll do everythin' I can to help prove it."

Joel sighed. Tommy's explanation was understandable, and Joel could clearly tell that Tommy wasn't happy about putting Ellie in jail. "So what do we do? We don't have anythin' to work with."

"We'll figure it out. And we will get her outta there."

Ellie was sleeping on the horribly uncomfortable bed in her jail cell. Her first night of being locked up had been mostly restless, but she eventually did manage to fall asleep. The warden came to her cell to wake her up. "Ellie." She did not stir when he called her name. He tapped on the bars with his nightstick to make some more noise. "Wake up!" The extra noise finally got Ellie to wake up. She slowly rolled over and sat up in the bed, stopping abruptly when she realized where she was.

"That's right, I forgot I was in this shithole."

"Hey, this was a very nice facility back in the day."

"Oh, sure." She put her hands to her lower back, which was aching because of the bed. "God, this bed is gonna kill my back."

"Well if you can't do the time, don't do the crime."

"I didn't do any crime," she said angrily.

"Maybe you're right, but that'll be for the court to decide."

Ellie snapped her head towards him. "Why did you wake me up?" she asked assertively.

"Danielle is here to visit you."

Ellie was happy to get a visit from Danni, but she hoped Danni would see that she was innocent. She ran up to the cell door and put her hands on the bars. "Danni, I know what you probably heard, but I swear I didn't do it."

"I know, Ellie. So does Derek."

Ellie let out a heavy, relieved sigh. "Oh, thank God."

"Besides, I know who actually did it."

Ellie perked up. That was it; there was nothing left to do. Danni was going to get her out of there. "So, that's it then. You can go report that to Tommy and get me outta this place."

Danni hesitated. It wasn't as easy as Ellie thought it was. "I can't."

"Why the hell not?" she asked, frustrated.

"It's not safe."

"How's it not safe?"

Danni sighed and lowered her head. She picked her head back up and tried to explain the complicated situation to Ellie. "The attack on Derek wasn't just a random act. It was planned... premeditated."

"What do you mean?"

"You know that Derek used to run with some shady people, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well... a few months after we started seeing each other he left. He didn't want to lead a thug life now that he had me."

"And I guess they didn't take it well?"

"Ja..." she stopped herself before she revealed the name of the group leader. They had informants everywhere; it wasn't safe to say their names even in confidence. "The ringleader wanted to shake Derek up. They weren't looking to kill him, just to scare him." Danni hesitated again. The situation she was in had her scared. "And I think their next move will be to take me out."

Ellie grew concerned over Danni's safety, just as Danni was concerned over her own safety. "Why would they go after you?"

"I'm the whole reason Derek left them. If I'm out of the way, there wouldn't be anything in between him and them. But if I'm gone, Derek wouldn't be of any interest to them. A guy who lost everything isn't much use to a group of thugs. They'll leave him alone after that, but it'll be at the cost of my life."

Ellie was still confused as to why Danni couldn't just go to the authorities. "If you know all this, why can't you just report it?"

"If there's one thing these guys are experts at, it's staying low... flying under the radar. Chances are they'll find out they're being hunted before they're actually caught. If that happens, it won't end well for me or Derek." Danni was genuinely sorry that there wasn't more she could do to help Ellie. She wanted to get her out, but the safety of herself and Derek was her main priority. "I'll do everything I can to get you out of here, Ellie... but there are just some things I can't do. I can't put myself or Derek in any more danger than we're already in. I wish there was more I could do, I really do."

At that particular moment, Ellie was more concerned about Danni's safety than she was about getting out of jail. "Danni, please just be careful."

Danni nodded at Ellie. "I will."

Derek and Danni were walking through the town together. It didn't take long for Derek to recover from his attack, and a day and a half later felt almost no ill effects other than pain in his back. They were quite the mismatched couple. Standing a modest six feet, seven inches, Derek was a full fourteen inches taller than his girlfriend. He had his shoulder-length black hair put back in a ponytail, like always, and he held Danni's hand in his as they walked. "I just don't see why they felt the need to frame Ellie for it," he said.

"They need some kind of scapegoat," Danni replied. "They needed to draw attention to someone else so they wouldn't get caught. Ellie just happened to be the one they picked."

"How long do you think it'll take to get her out of there?"

"I don't know." Danni hesitated. She hadn't yet told Derek the full implications of the situation they faced. "I may not be able to get her out at all."

"Don't say that, Danni. Of course you will."

"You don't understand. Jason's band of thugs is extremely dangerous. Just talking about it here with you might not be safe."

"Danni," Derek stopped her and put his hands on her shoulders. "You're overreacting. They aren't as smart or dangerous as you're saying they are. Trust me, I spent quite a lot of time with them, I know how they operate."

"Then you should know what they're trying to do here. Derek..." she hesitated again, "...they're not happy you left, and that attack on you was one of their scare tactics. They're trying to scare you into joining them again. They know you left because of me... that's why I'm their next target."

Derek thought she was talking crazy. "Danni, you need to think rationally here. What would they possibly want with you?"

"It's not what they want with me. It's because since you left because of me, they're going to try to get me out of your way. To them it's like... if you won't live their way, they'll make sure your life is miserable by getting rid of me."

Derek still thought she was being too paranoid, but he could see she was genuinely scared. "If you really feel like you're in danger, you have to go tell someone."

"I can't, Derek, that's the thing. As soon as they know they're being hunted, they'll make their move. There's a good chance they'll kill us both before they're caught. We have to find some other way."

Derek didn't feel like there was anything worth reporting in the first place, and since Danni wasn't going to do it, he couldn't offer any kind of help. "I'm sorry Danni, but I can't help you. If you won't tell anyone, it's not my problem. Do what you feel you need to do, just leave me out of it."

"That would be best actually," Danni told him. The two resumed their walk in silence. Danni feared for both of their lives, and she was upset that Derek didn't see their situation with the same urgency as she did. She hoped something would come up that would allow her to get Ellie out of jail without endangering herself or Derek, but it seemed like that was highly unlikely. She did not think she would live to see Ellie a free girl again.

Ellie and Hannah sat on the floor talking to each other with the bars of Ellie's cell door separating them. They had been talking for nearly ten minutes, which was the limit for how long a visitor could stay. When Hannah first heard about Ellie's arrest, she was almost as upset as Joel was, since she was there with Ellie when the crime was committed to vouch for her innocence. Most of the time they spent talking was just Hannah ranting about how unjust it was that Ellie was locked up for something she didn't do. "Sorry about all that rambling. How've you been handling yourself in here?"

"Well," Ellie sighed, "it's better than the jail was in Boston, which I wasn't exactly a stranger to."

Hannah chuckled. She couldn't see Ellie as someone who would ever get into trouble. "You were in jail a lot back in Boston? Sorry Ellie, but I don't believe you for a second."

"I was a real scrapper. I had over a dozen cases of assault by the time I turned fourteen."

"You're gonna have to do a lot more than that to convince me, Ellie."

"How do you think I got this scar?" She pointed to the scar that cut through her right eyebrow.

Hannah looked at Ellie's scar. She had noticed it before, but never brought it up. "I assumed from bandits or infected."

"Nope, it was in a fight back in Boston when I was thirteen."

"Wow..." Hannah said. "I never would have guessed. You've always been such a nice person in the time I've known you."

"I'm nice to people who are nice to me. If they aren't nice to me, they get their asses beat."

"Well I'm glad I've been nice to you," Hannah laughed.

"Yeah, so am I," Ellie said.

The warden called to Hannah to let her know her visiting time was up. "Miss Lawson."

Hannah did not respond. She had been called by her last name so rarely, she had actually forgotten what it was. "I really hope we get you outta here soon."

The warden spoke up louder. "Hannah!" That got her attention, and she turned to him. "Your time's up."

Hannah turned back to Ellie to say something quickly. "Sorry Ellie, but I gotta go. Good luck in here."

"You don't need to wish me luck," Ellie said as Hannah stood up and walked away from her cell.

Danni had taken it upon herself to find some way to stop Jason's group of thugs before they could make their move, and get Ellie out of jail in the process. The odds were stacked heavily against her. Those guys were just as ruthless as hunters, but were more cunning, strategic, and methodical. Danni had had up-close experiences with hunters when she was twelve years old and watched them kill her parents, and had built on that experience to make sure the same didn't happen to her. Even though Jackson was for the most part a very safe haven, there were still dangers both outside and inside the walls. Danni was throwing herself headlong into those dangers to try and help both her lover and her friend.

Jason and three of his mercenaries were talking in an alley near the edge of town. Danni was eavesdropping on their conversation to try and find something to work with that would allow her to get Ellie out of jail and keep herself and Derek safe. As she listened to their conversation, she was shocked at what they were plotting.

"He goes back to his house at seven after doing his work at the stables. That's when we strike."

"How will we be sure he's alone? You know he's gonna be cautious after getting stabbed just the other day."

"We get someone inconspicuous to tell him something happened to his little love puppet, and they need to talk to him in private. They lure him into an alley, that's when we take him out."

"Who'd willingly work with us though?"

"Nobody. That's why you have to be creative. Bribe them, threaten them, anything it takes to get them to see that not working with us will be a big fucking mistake."

Danni had gotten it wrong all along. They weren't looking to take her our like she thought, they were going to take out Derek. She had very little time; it was only twenty minutes until seven. She couldn't let them get to Derek. She needed to make sure he was safe at all costs. She turned around to run to the guard station to inform them about the situation, but she tripped, and that's when she revealed herself to them.

"You bitch!" Jason shouted as he moved towards her. Danni got up as fast as she could and made a mad dash to the guard station.

As she started running, she heard one of the men say, "Let her go, Jason. I know just what to do with her." She had just made herself a target, but keeping Derek safe was all she cared about. She arrived at the guard station after about a minute of flat-out running and started pounding on the door. "Open up! Open up, please!"

Tommy opened the door, and Danni scrambled to get inside, and slammed the door shut when she was in. She was panting heavily from the sprinting she had just done. "Hello, Danni." Tommy said with confusion. "Somethin' wrong?"

Danni turned around, and saw five people looking at her with the same confusion as Tommy. She needed to tell them about the danger Derek was in. "I have urgent information. There are lives at risk, and you need to help me in any way possible."

Joel approached her and helped her into a chair to let her catch her breath. "Who's lives are at risk? What's wrong?"

After Danni had mostly caught her breath, she told them the details of the dire situation she and Derek were in. "The people responsible for the attack on Derek are still out there, and they're about to make their next move."

"What are you talkin' about? Where're you gettin' this from?" Joel asked.

"I heard them talking in an alley. They're planning on taking Derek out for good. As I was coming to tell you, they saw me. That's why I was so out of breath when I got here, because I was sprinting the whole time."

"When did they say they were gonna do this?" Tommy asked.

"At seven."

"That's in less than twenty minutes," Tommy said.

"You need to get to him and get him safe as soon as you can. We're out of time."

"Where is Derek now?" Joel asked.

"He's doing his work at the stables with Andrew right now."

"Joel, you take these guys and get Derek outta there. Take him to my house; he's stayin' there until we get this wrapped up. Go now."

Joel, Dean, John, and Mike picked up their rifles and left to get Derek to safety. "Thank you, Danni," Joel said as he exited the guard station.

After they left to get Derek to safety, Danni breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he would be kept safe. But soon she realized that in making sure Derek would be safe, she had doomed herself. She had interfered with their plot to take Derek out, which was the one thing she could not do. Derek was not safe, and there was only one way to make sure he would be safe. Danni started to cry when reality came and slapped her in the face.

"Thank you for comin' forward with this information, Danni," Tommy told her. "We'll make sure Derek's kept safe until this whole thing is dealt with." Danni did not respond to what Tommy said. She was busy making her peace with whatever entity she believed in. Tommy grew confused and slightly concerned when Danni didn't respond. He would have expected her to feel good that Derek was going to be kept safe, but she appeared to be feeling the opposite. "Danni, is everythin' okay?"

Danni looked at Tommy with tears running down her face. "You promise you'll keep him safe?" she asked.

"Of course," Tommy said confidently.

It was the answer Danni was looking for. "Make sure he knows that I love him... and that I'm sorry."

Tommy grew extra concerned. She sounded like she thought she was going to die. "Danni-"

"There's something I gotta tell Ellie," she said as she ran out of the guard station.

"Danni!" Tommy called out just as Danni ran outside and slammed the door shut.

Danni ran into the jailhouse and approached the warden at his desk. "I need to tell Ellie something," she said frantically.

"Sorry Miss Clancy, you've already had your visit today."

"Please!" she screamed, "it's urgent. This absolutely cannot wait."

"There's nothing I can do. You know you only get one visit per day."

"I just need two minutes. Two minutes to tell Ellie something and that's it."

The warden wasn't supposed to let her see Ellie again that day since she had already visited in the morning. But he sensed urgency in her voice, and he reluctantly agreed to let her speak to Ellie briefly. "Not a second more." He opened the door to Ellie's cell block and Danni ran to the end of the hallway where Ellie's cell was. She got up to the bars and spoke frantically to her.

"Ellie, I've done everything I can. You're gonna be out of here before too long."

Ellie breathed an extremely heavy sigh. A huge weight had been lifted off of her back. "Danni, thank you so much."

Ellie could see that Danni was not as happy as she was. She even seemed... sad. "But it's gonna cost me," she said with her voice breaking.

Ellie then grew concerned when she saw Danni in distress. Had she crossed the line? "What do you mean?"

"I need to keep Derek safe... And as long as I'm around, he's not safe."

It took Ellie a moment to realize what Danni was talking about, but when she did, she grew very somber. "Danni no. You don't have to do this."

Danni broke down into tears as she was saying her farewell to Ellie. She had grown very fond of her, especially with how she had brought her and Derek together. She needed to take this chance to tell Ellie how she felt about her, since she would not get another. "I just w-want you to know t-that I think you're a w-wonderful girl, Ellie. You're bright, you're sweet, and... y-you make everyone around you feel happy."

"Danni, don't do this," Ellie begged desperately. She had come to think of Danni as a friend in her time in Jackson, and she didn't want to lose her this way. "There's another way, Danni. There's gotta be another way!"

"Sorry, but there's no other way," she said through her tears.

"Danni, please..."

Danni swallowed her tears, and looked Ellie in the eyes. "Goodbye Ellie," she said. She turned around and started down the hall.

"No! Danni, no! Danni, please!" Ellie called out as she watched her friend take her final walk down the cell block hallway. Danni was just nineteen years old, and she had so much in her life. She was pleasant to be around, she cared deeply about the people around her, and she was in a great relationship with Derek. Watching Danni walk out knowing she was going to her death made Ellie horribly depressed. She walked away from the bars and sat down on the bed, hanging her head low. The knowledge that she would soon be free was now bittersweet to her, since she wouldn't have Danni around when she got out. She heard the cell block door close, and that that point, Danni was essentially gone. Ellie could feel tears starting to run down her cheeks. "Danni..." she said softly, lamenting for her friend who was about to have her life cut far too short.

The sun had gone down in Jackson. Danni was waiting in the same alley where she heard Jason and his men talking earlier about their plan to take Derek out. Even though Derek was under Tommy's protection, his safety was not guaranteed. She knew that the only way to guarantee his safety was for her to be taken out. She was not scared as she waited for her death to come. She had already made her peace, and knew that this was all part of the plan for her life. Her role in the world had come to an end, and soon she would move on to whatever was waiting for her after she died. As long as she went out of the world knowing that Derek would be safe, she'd be able say that she died happy. She turned around and saw two men standing at the end of the alley. They both were wearing jackets with the hoods pulled up, and bandannas covering their faces except for their eyes. The time had come.

"I know why you guys are doing this," she said to them. "You needed me to stay out of the way while you dealt with Derek. I couldn't let any harm come to him. I know you won't have any use for him once I'm gone; ruining a man's life is the next best alternative for getting rid of him altogether." The two men started slowly walking towards Danni. "You'll leave him alone once I'm gone... I'll go out of this world knowing he's safe." They stopped walking about three feet in front of Danni. "I'm not gonna run, I'm not gonna resist." She held her arms out by her sides, indicating that she was giving herself up to them to make sure Derek was safe. "Just make it quick. Consider that my last request."

The man on the right took a stiletto knife out of his jacket pocket, and flipped out the blade. Danni stared at the eight-inch cold steel blade that was soon going to end her life, then looked the knife-wielding man in the eyes. He lowered his hood, and removed the bandanna; revealing himself as Jason. "I was hoping you'd put up a fight. Kills are always more fun when your prey fights back. If you want it to be quick, I'll graciously honor your last request. The man standing next to Jason looked at Danni and winked. She saw it, and looked right at him. Jason went to jam the knife into Danni's chest, but as soon as he moved, the other man pulled out a gun and held it to his head.

"It's over Jason! Put the knife down now!" Danni appeared just as surprised as Jason did, and she took several steps back.

"You bitch! You set me up!" Jason growled to Danni.

"No," she defended herself, "I didn't know about this, I swear."

"Drop the knife, Jason! Last warning!" Two other men came from the other end of the alley, aiming rifles at Jason. Jason recognized them as two of the thugs from his group.

When Jason saw that his own men had turned against him, he decided to give up without a fight. He threw the knife down, and put his hands on the back of his head. The man put the gun back in his jacket and then handcuffed Jason. "You fucking traitors!" he shouted. The man who had put Jason in handcuffs took of his bandanna and revealed himself as Robin, his second in command.

"We grew tired of your bullshit. You've been going off the deep end for a while, but the whole plot with Derek and Danni crossed the line. It's safe to say... they're protected now." They had gone to Tommy to turn in Jason at some point after the conversation in the alley.

Tommy came down the alley the same way the other two defectors came from. "Hand him over," he instructed Robin.

"He's all yours," Robin said as Tommy took Jason from him.

Before Tommy marched Jason to the jailhouse, he stopped to tell Danni something. "I wasn't gonna let it end that way for you. You and Derek are both completely safe now."

Danni smiled at Tommy, and he smiled back, before he took Jason away.

Ellie hadn't moved from the bed in her jail cell since Danni said goodbye to her; a goodbye that turned out to be unwarranted. The warden came and unlocked the door to her cell. "Well, looks like you were right all along. They caught the real perp, You're free to go." Ellie kept sitting on the bed. She couldn't enjoy her freedom like she wanted knowing that Danni was gone. She looked at the Warden, but did not get up. "You coming out or not?" He asked. Eventually Ellie stood up and slowly walked out of the cell.

As she sadly ambled down the hallway, she passed Tommy walking Jason back to his cell. Tommy smiled at her when they passed, and told her, "I knew you were innocent all along." Ellie did not respond. She got into the main room in the jailhouse and saw Joel there. He came up to hug her, and she hugged back gently, still grief-stricken because she believed that Danni was dead.

"I told you I was gonna get you out," Joel told Ellie as they hugged.

Ellie remained silent for a while, before softly saying, "Thank you." It was somewhat insincere, because the sadness she felt over Danni was the only thing she could feel at that moment.

Joel backed off slightly, sensing that something was wrong. "Ellie, is everythin' okay?"

Ellie didn't want to tell him why she was upset. "I'm just really tired," she said.

Joel could tell she was hiding something, but he didn't want to give her a hard time. If she didn't want to talk about it, he respected that. "Okay."

In the walk back to the house, Ellie had managed to put on a happy mask so Hannah wouldn't see that she was actually very sad. "Guess who's back?" she exclaimed with false happiness as she walked through the door.

"Ellie!" Hannah shouted as she jumped off the couch and ran to hug her. The girls hugged each other tightly, happy to see each other again without bars separating them. "It's so good to see you free again," she said.

"It's really good to be free again," Ellie replied as they let go of each other. All of a sudden, Ellie's happy facade started to crumble, and Hannah could see it clearly.

"Ellie, what's wrong? Why do you look sad? You're free, you should be happy."

"Hannah, can we talk in private?"

Hannah read the sadness on Ellie's face like a book, and saw that she urgently wanted to talk. "Okay. Let's go into your room." The girls walked upstairs and went into Ellie and Joel's room. Ellie closed the door to give them some privacy. "What did you want to talk about? I can see you're sad, but why are you sad?"

Ellie hesitated before telling Hannah about Danni's death. She didn't actually have any confirmation that she was dead, but she had very little doubt about it. "Hannah... Danni's dead."

Hannah grew shocked at the news Ellie just told her. "What?" she asked concernedly.

"She gave herself up to keep Derek safe. She came to my cell right before to tell me goodbye. I tried to get her to stop... but she did it anyway."

Hannah buried her face in her hands and started to cry. "Oh my God," she said feebly as she sat down on the bed. After Hannah sat down, she then proceeded to start bawling her eyes out.

Ellie was surprised at Hannah's reaction. Hannah was not close with anyone except Ellie, but she seemed to be hit very hard by the news of Danni's death. "I never thought you and Danni were so close," she said.

"W-W-We weren't," Hannah said through her tears. "I-I-I only talked to her a l-l-little bit, and n-never thought of h-her as a f-f-f-friend. B-But looking back... I've known her since she first came to Jackson. She was twelve when s-she got here a-and my dad took her in until she was s-s-sixteen. We d-didn't talk much but... looking back she was like a s-s-sister to me. I shouldn't have taken our relationship for granted... But I did and now she's gone. I'll never get a chance to make it right between us."

Ellie sat down next to Hannah and wrapped her arms around her tightly, bringing her close to her body. Hannah pressed her face into Ellie's bosom, like a child would comfort itself against its mother, and continued crying. It really was a case of 'you don't know what you've got till it's gone'. Hannah had taken her time with Danni for granted, and was regretting it now. She didn't realize until Danni was gone that she did feel affection for her. For four years, she was essentially a big sister to Hannah, but she neglected those four years with her and never made an attempt to form a strong relationship. A dark spot was forming on Ellie's shirt from Hannah's tears, but she was only concerned with comforting her best friend. "It's gonna be okay, Hannah. You'll get through this; you're strong. And you've still got me, Hannah. I'll always be here for you."

Hannah sniffled, and tried to suck up her tears. "I know, Ellie. I know."

The girls heard a knock at the door, followed by Joel's voice. "Girls, there's someone here to see you."

They didn't know who would be coming to visit them at their house, but they were curious. They walked down the stairs, managing to hold back their tears for the moment, and stepped into the room downstairs. They looked to the door, and were both shocked at who they saw standing there. It took them a few seconds to know if they were seeing things correctly. "Holy shit!" Ellie exclaimed when she saw Danni standing in the doorway. She ran over to her and threw her arms around her. Hannah followed right on her heels and joined the hug. "Danni, you're alive!"

"Yes, I am!" she exclaimed. The three girls were all laughing, overcome with the joy of reuniting after all were sure they wouldn't meet again.

"Danni, we thought you were dead!" Hannah said. Her tears of grief had turned into tears of joy.

"I thought I was going to die. I never thought I would get to see you girls again. I'm sorry I scared you like that; I really hope you can forgive me."

"Never," Ellie said playfully.

"Ellie, shoo," Hannah said. "I need to tell Danni something." Ellie did what Hannah asked without hesitation, and went upstairs to leave the girls alone. "Danni... I know that even though you lived with me and my dad for four years, we were never close. I didn't realize until I thought you were gone that I actually did think of you as a sister. I was devastated when I thought you were dead, since I realized that we didn't have as good a relationship as we should have. I'm sorry we never had a real good relationship, and I want to change that."

"Hannah, don't worry. If you ask me, you've always been like a little sister to me. Things will be different between us; I'll gladly be your unofficial big sister."

Hannah was still crying, but she wasn't sure which emotion was causing the tears. She felt so many different things, it was hard to keep track of all the emotions she was going through. "Thank you, Danni." She was extremely grateful that Danni was alive, and now she had a chance to make sure things were right between them.

That concludes chapter 17 of Brand New Start. In the next chapter: Ellie will go to any length to show her appreciation for Joel.

Don't forget to leave a review for this chapter.