"Caffeine's not bad for the baby?" Joel handed a tin cup to Hannah who took it gratefully. She shook her head, but he glanced at her, one eyebrow furrowed, obviously not agreeing with her.

"I don't drink it too much," she added, as if to allay his fears. He shook his head once, and turned back to the pot. "You?" he asked Ellie, pointing raised eyebrows toward her.

"No," she drawled. "It's not good for my digestion. Messes up my brain's ability to make up puns." Her fake high pitched voice brought the intended smirk to his face and Ellie shoved herself to her feet and tossed her empty plate onto his. "You two drink your liquid shit, and rest, and you, Joel, let me look at your wound."

Joel still crouched next to the fire, eyes focused on the dancing flames. He slurped coffee from his thermos and let out an appreciative sigh. "No."

"Joel, I have to see if you need more medication." Ellie trudged to their packs and dug around in hers for a moment.

"No. I'm fine. Poking at it's not gonna help it heal faster."

"Joel, this isn't a fucking optional statement," she grumbled, returning to drop to her knees beside him. "Here, come on." Her long fingers plucked at his flannel, but he carefully pushed her away.

"Ellie, I said no. It's fine. Save that womanly worry for a real injury."

"Fuck you, Joel, that was a real injury. I ought to know, seeing how this womanly worry stitched you the fuck up and sat by your bed for days on end, waiting for you to stop breathing, while you tossed and turned and talked out of your head with fever. Now let me see it."

When she reached for his shirt again, Joel stood, slurping from his thermos again.

"You two, clean up camp. Be ready to move out when I come back. I am going to go scout a little and feed the horse." He paused and looked down at Ellie, who was glaring up at him. His face was strangely passive, and he raised his eyebrows, pointing at her pack with his head. "Get your gun. Eyes open and watching. Keep it handy till I return."

"I don't get a gun?" Hannah asked petulantly, shoving the last of her greens into her mouth. "Pregnant lady here, kind of needs the protection, don't you think?"

Joel glanced at her. "No. Ellie. Look after her. And if she gives you any trouble, shoot her."

Hannah rolled her eyes at him and Joel turned away, a small smirk on his face that only Ellie would have understood to have meant he was being facetious. But she missed it entirely because she was panicking and all she could think of was the fact that he was leaving them, even if for a moment

"Joel-" Ellie started, the desperation she felt at Joel being out of sight again welling up in her. The earlier frustration at his ability to be a bad patient faded into pure fear.

He nodded down at her. "It's okay, Ellie. Not going far. You can do this. Watch her."

Ellie nodded quickly, frustrated at the crazy tears that welled up in her eyes. Joel was a blur as he turned, patting her shoulder as he went, to walk down toward the tree line where he had tied up the horse for the night. He would be fine. He had to be fine.

"He doesn't trust me," Hannah said softly, as if Joel could still hear her. Ellie frowned in the direction that Joel had gone, then turned back to the fire.

"You tried to kill us, if you remember," Ellie remarked, pulling her pack closer. She knew her handgun was in there, and it gave her a little comfort. But the idea that the last time she was away from Joel had nearly been her undoing, nearly sent her running after him. She could feel her throat constricting again, and the blood rushed to her ears.

"Wouldn't you have done the same, in the same situation?" Hannah countered, raising her eyebrows in question. Ellie swallowed hard, thinking back to how she led the men away from Joel as he lay in the basement barely conscious. Of standing there in that metal cage of David's, not knowing if he was still alive or not.

"Yeah," she finally replied, looking up at Hannah. "Guess so. Still don't get a gun though. Joel - makes the rules." Her voice trailed off and she frowned in the direction Joel had gone. Why wasn't he back already?

"He'll be back," Hannah said softly, as if understanding her thoughts.

"Of course he will," Ellie replied roughly, forcing herself to breathe and stop acting like a fucking kid. Joel had trusted her to look after Hannah and her baby and that was what she was going to do. Even if she hated the girl's guts at the moment for the memory of a small town that she brought with her. It would be nice to be back in Jackson, where Joel and Ellie could be together again, with no one else to be a third wheel.

"Do you worry?" Hannah asked again, still softly. "About him."

Ellie did not respond, feeling as if admitting that she was worried would doom Joel to sure danger. The universe liked to reward any feelings with a traumatic loss in these post pandemic days and Ellie had already experienced enough of that, thank you very much. She just raised her eyebrows for a second in a non-committal answer. Hannah sighed and stacked the dishes into a small pile and stood, bringing them to Joel's pack. As she reached for it, Ellie placed a foot on the pack. How dare she touch Joel's things? Ellie knew she was being unreasonable, but Joel was all she had and she was going to protect his things just as she would him.

"Easy," Hannah whispered. "I'm sorry, Ellie. It's okay, you can put them in, you just had to say so." She set the dishes down next to the pack and backed away. Ellie immediately dropped to her knees and began stowing the items into the safety of the larger pack. Hannah sat down on a rock nearby and asked again. "Do you worry?"

"Worry about what?" Ellie asked in a half hearted attempt to be conversational, and trying to make her voice as firm as Tess's. Without Joel there, she felt as if her sanity was flying around the woods in tiny fragments and she was chasing it to try to comprehend the next thought. She expected David to pop around the corner of a tree any minute, false smile and condescending soothing words just waiting to be spoken. She shook her head and forced her mind to focus on Hannah. Joel would be back any minute. He just had to.

Hannah twisted her hands together, then sighed, crossing her arms protectively over her stomach.

"Do you worry about being pregnant? I mean, after what - he - did to you?"

Ellie froze, the world around her going dim and her hearing filtering into one singular roar in her head. Of course it was something she worried about. She had already voiced that to Joel twice the night before last. But the admission, the actual indication of the fear to this other girl who knew that fear too, in her mind, would give life to the chance that it could be. What if there was a chance? What if there was a fucking chance that it just so happened to all fit together? What if they were both carrying the child of that monster?

"That would be fucking weird," Ellie replied flatly.

Hannah nodded. "Yeah, no shit."

"Our kids would be sibling's. What would that make us?"

"Fucked up," Hannah replied bluntly, and Ellie half smiled. Hannah and her were actually pretty similar. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"I've got Joel to help me. He promised," Ellie commented. "When we get to Jackson, Joel's brother Tommy and his wife Maria, they'll help you and find you a place to stay. Maria's tough, but not so bad. You'll fit in alright there."

Hannah studied Ellie for a few minutes. It was clear that she wasn't intending on sharing Joel. Part of it was funny, because it seemed like such a sibling thing to do. And part of it was fine with Hannah. He had killed her dad, after all, and she wasn't ready to forgive him for that. It would do her just fine if she could stay as far away as possible once they found civilization. But it wouldn't bother Hannah to be friends with Ellie, if Ellie would allow her to be a friend. They were both in the same situation, after all, and their kids would have each other to play with.

"How long till you knew?" Ellie's hands twisted together, and her worried tone brought Hannah back to the current moment. "About the baby."

Hannah kicked at some snow for a moment, then replied quietly. "Just a few weeks. It'll be a few weeks before you know, too, most likely. Things start to change slowly. You'll know."

"Shit," Ellie curse softly, her tone sorrowful. Hannah shifted, her slight intake of breath catching Ellie's attention. "Hannah? You okay?"

"Yeah," Hannah replied, rubbing her stomach, and breathing harshly through her nose. "Bit of a cramp, haven't had one of those before."

"Maybe everything's just getting used to the idea of a baby taking up all the room." Ellie offered helpfully. "You know, just stretching and stuff."

"Maybe."

"Are you scared?"

Hannah nodded silently. "Yeah. Like, what if something goes terribly wrong?"

"Yeah, well when we get to Jackson, like I said, there's people there. Good people. You won't be alone anymore, and Maria's pregnant too. She'll know what to do."

"Thanks. Is Joel your dad?"

"Joel?" Ellie asked, her eyes going wide. "No." She dropped her head. "He acts like it though. But don't let him fool you. He's all heart but also fucking stubborn as a mule."

Hannah laughed softly. "Sounds like a dad to me. Ellie, I'm sorry. Can I tell you something that might make you hate me?"

"You're fucking pregnant. I'm not allowed to hate you."

"You might. No, you will."

Ellie frowned. "Go ahead, I guess."

"I hate him," Hannah breathed, her face crumpling into a well of tears. "I hate Joel, because he fucking killed my dad. I hate my dad because he fucking tried to kill Joel, who just saved my ass back there. I hate them both, and I don't know how to feel about it. I can't fucking decide what to feel. And I hate David because he fucking did this to me, and I feel so fucking stupid and broken, and sometimes I just want to die, but then I can't because this baby is depending on me, so I keep living but every second I want to just die."

At this point, Hannah was sobbing, and Ellie looked around in confusion, wishing Joel was there. He was terrible at feelings, but he always knew the right thing to say. What would Joel say?

"Hey, stop it," Ellie tried, trying to channel her inner no-nonsense Joel. "Just fucking stop. This is a post pandemic world. We don't have time to feel sorry for ourselves. So what if your dad fucked up. You can miss him, but move on. He's responsible for that choice. Joel killed him because he fucked up. He should never have charged us like that, never gotten into a fight. We were walking to our horse. We weren't being aggressive toward them at all. In a normal world, attacking people from behind, especially with a kid, would be a shitty thing to do. But they were trying to kill us, and he had no choice. Joel got fucking impaled, and nearly died. I think he paid enough for his wrongs. He's only still alive because David gave me medicine for him in trade for a deer."

This revelation startled Hannah and she froze. "Wait, so David fucking saved Joel?"

"It's a fucked up world, isn't it," Ellie replied dryly.

"No shit," Hannah breathed. "It's just all kinds of messed up. David ends up saving the life of the guy that killed my dad, all while fucking up our lives and not caring a shit about what would happen to us."

"He was an evil fucking bastard who deserved to have his head bashed in."

"Yeah," Hannah replied softly, rubbing at her tear streaked face. "So you aren't mad that I am mad at Joel?"

Ellie shrugged. "You can be mad. Doesn't change a fucking thing, so don't stay mad for too long. He's the one who is going to get your pregnant ass to Jackson in one piece. So you might want to fold up the anger and put it away for another situation that actually deserves it."

Hannah nodded once, picking at her sleeve. "I do miss my dad," she whispered. Ellie thought of Tess and Henry and Sam and sighed.

"You can miss him, Hannah. I'm sorry he died like that."

"Yeah." Hannah whispered. She rubbed her sleeve across her face and stood. "Now that we aren't enemies anymore, do you want to walk down to the lake and fill the water canteens?"

Ellie smiled broadly as Hannah pulled two round canteens out of her pack. "Dude! They look like something out of an old movie!"

"Well, I am pleased that I have finally managed to impress you." Hannah laughed, a genuine laugh. "If we are headed to Jackson, then we will be leaving the lake behind today, and it will be harder to get water without melting snow. Grabbed these from the tack room. You and Joel can have one of them, if you like. Baby and I get the second."

Ellie took the offered container, her face a mask of joy. "That's so fucking cool! Sure, let's go fill them."

It didn't take long for them to walk down to the lake, and fill the canteens with crystal clear lake water. They were trudging back toward camp, chattering together like old friends, when a familiar clicking sound in the trees chilled Ellie's blood.

Immediately she grabbed Hannah's jacket and held a hand to her mouth.

"Hannah, listen," she barely whispered, her eyes glaring at the trees around them trying to find the source of the familiar sound. "Don't make a sound. Just listen. Listen to me. Don't make a fucking sound, if you want to live."

Hannah's eyes were wide with immediate fear at the expression on Ellie's face. But she nodded, and they stood there for a moment, listening. Ellie spotted it first. Not a hundred yards away, a clicker was making its way curiously toward them. She shoved her hand in her jacket pocket, only to find it empty. Vaguely, she remembered Joel telling her to get the gun out, and becoming distracted by her and Hannah's conversation, she realized that she never did.

"Shit," she mouthed, trying to figure out a plan. It would be nearly impossible to kill a clicker without the gun. Ellie waved Hannah forward, and they took a step in the snow. Pairing their own step with that of the clicker, they circled camp, until Ellie was almost fifty feet away from the packs laying on the ground. She motioned for Hannah to stay where she was, as the clicker reached the other side of camp, it's head tilting curiously in different directions. "Can't see," Ellie mouthed to Hannah. "It can only hear."

Hannah's wide eyes looked from the creature to Ellie, nodding her understanding. From her reaction, Ellie could tell that Hannah had never seen one of them before. Ellie also knew from her own experience that these things were hard to kill.

She moved quickly toward the packs on the ground, and the snow silenced her steps until, nearly there, her foot found a stick under the snow and it crunched. The world fell silent for two seconds, then the creature shrieked, a terrible bone chilling shriek, and dove in Ellie's direction.

Hannah shouted instinctively, "Hey! Hey, you! Over here!"

It all happened in what felt like slow motion.

One second, the creature was diving toward Ellie like a cat on a mouse, then it paused at Hannah's shout, and ran her direction.

Ellie, in shock, shouted "Hannah, you fucking idiot!" The creature turned back in Ellie's direction with a shriek of confusion.

Hannah shouted back, "Be quiet, you dimwit! I am trying to save you!"

The creature ran back toward Hannah, shrieking in frustrated anger, and Ellie shouted "Don't do that! I can't shoot it with you behind it!"

The creature turned back toward Ellie, and Hannah darted to the left, toward the hill, and Ellie aimed the gun and fired. The clicker jerked sideways, blood gushing from the side of its neck, but it kept coming. Ellie backed up quickly, her back contacting the rocks that had sheltered them overnight, with no place to run.

"Come here, you fucker!" Hannah shouted, waving her arms. "There's two of us for you, you fucking bastard. Come and get me!"

The creature left Ellie's direction again, darting with renewed anger toward the shouting voice. Ellie fired the gun again and again, bullets bouncing off the armor created by the mushrooms growing from the clicker's head.

"Ellie!" Hannah screamed at her, as the creature nearly reached her, its jaws snapping like a wolf that had treed it's prey.

"Over here!" Ellie shouted at the creature, tossing the gun aside. She picked up a stick on the ground, as the creature ran her direction. Stepping on the middle of it as if to break it in half, she tested the stick with her weight. It did not bend and she determined that was sufficient. As the creature reached her, she threw the branch over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and at the last moment, ignoring the cry from Hannah, she swung the branch with all her might, sending the creature tumbling to the ground. The second it hit the ground, she stabbed the stick into the creature's neck, ignoring the way blood flew everywhere, stabbing until the creature fell still and silent.

"Ellie!" Hannah gasped, running toward her. "Are you oaky?"

"I'm fine," Ellie replied, examining her arms and clothing. "I'm not bit. Are you okay?"

"Yes, it didn't touch me, but I wasn't sure for a second what was about to happen. My hands are shaking so bad."

"Mine too. Damn it, that was too close." Ellie picked up her gun and pulled their packs further away from the creature. "You sure you're okay, though?" She would have been fine if she had been bitten, and she knew that, but she also knew that for one, she didn't want to have to explain it to Hannah, and second, clickers would have done more than bite. They would kill.

"Yeah." Hannah examined her arms and legs and nodded, satisfied. "Yeah, not bit."

"Hey, thanks for saving me."

"You saved me too," Hannah replied softly. "I owe you one."

"You saved me first," Ellie replied, shouldering her pack. "So we are even. Here, take your pack. We have to go find Joel. I don't know where the fuck-"

"ELLIE!" Joel rushed into camp, his face drawn and haggard, rifle pointed toward the clicker on the ground. He reached out a hand, cupping her neck and pulling her to his side. She went willingly, grasping his shirt tightly in her hands as he rested his chin on her head. "Ellie, fuck, are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, voice muffled against his jacket. "Hannah helped me."

Joel nodded, still breathing heavily. He shouldered the rifle, and reached the other hand out to Hannah. "Come here, kid, you okay?"

She took a deep breath. This was the moment. The man who had killed her dad was standing here, offering her the comfort she so desperately needed. And in that moment, she knew she needed it. Her dad had fucked up. David had fucked up. There was nothing she could do about it.

"Yeah, I'm good." Willingly, she stepped forward, letting Joel cradle her head against his chest. The moment of comfort drained the agony in her heart, and she willed her shaking insides to calm. She opened her eyes, and looked directly into Ellie's. They had a sisterhood now, both in experience and in the bond of saving each others life.

And it felt good.

"I saw some of that," Joel finally said above them. "You two little shits were like a fucking team. I'm fucking proud of you both. Hannah, I know that may not mean much coming from me, but you're a good kid."

He pulled away, and handed her the rifle he had taken from her in Silver Lake. "Here. You can take care of yourself, that's clear, but it will be easier with this. Ellie, kiddo, grab your gun. Packs everyone. Let's get the fuck out of here." He glanced back at the dead clicker, his upper lip curling in disgust.

"Where is the horse," Ellie asked, dropping her pistol into her jacket. Joel did not reply, just kicked snow onto the fire, and inspecting it to make sure it was completely out.

Hannah shouldered her pack and held out one of the canteens. "This is for you and Ellie."

Joel's face lit up. "Shit, that's nice. We look like real travelers now. Thanks, kid."

Hannah's heart warmed at the way he said 'kid'. Maybe it would be nice, having a guy like Joel looking out for her. Her emotions felt fragile after her crying spell earlier, and while it was over a reasonable problem, she knew pregnancy hormones were partially at fault.

"Joel?" Ellie asked again. He looked at her, as if hearing her for the first time and grunted. "Where's Piper, Joel?"

Joel sighed, pursing his lips in thought. "Damn clicker got it last night."

Hannah gasped, her face paling, but she did not speak. Joel glanced at her sympathetically. "We are walking, kiddo. Let's go."

"Joel, you are in no shape to fucking walk to Jackson." Ellie exclaimed. "That could take weeks! And I need to look at your wound, Joel, it's definitely not healed yet!"

"Yep," Joel replied, walking ahead of them toward the snowy distant yonder. "We better get to walkin'."