"Ellie… I don't like this. The blizzard is going to pass soon and I don't want you outside." Dina expressed in a worried voice as she bounced JJ up and down.

Their son was babbling around, trying to get one of his moms' attention. He swung his hands around before eventually slapping Dina's jaw lightly. His mama simply ignored it by turning her face away slightly and keeping her eyes fixed on her fiancé.

"Don't worry I'll be fine, babe. I promise I won't go far and I'll be back way before the sun sets." Ellie gently reassured as she prepared her bow and arrow. Dina still had this stern look on her face so she batted her eyes before attempting to bribe her. "I'll give you… a massage when I get back?"

The truth was, she knew Dina was right. She didn't need to go outside to hunt. They had plenty of food to last them a month or even two or three thanks to the Thanksgiving feast. If they were trapped in their home by some chance, starving would be the last thing they'd need to worry about. Even their sheep and chickens would be safe and sound. They reinforced the barn and chicken coup so they wouldn't freeze to death and they could manage getting inside to feed them if need be.

What she was doing was reckless and impatient but she couldn't keep her hands still. She kept on fiddling with whatever was in her hands and they were itching to do anything no matter how much she tried psyching herself up. It didn't help that the end of the year was right around the corner and both of them hadn't said it but they were aware that it was too fucking close to the first year anniversary of Jesse's death.

Dina's soft sigh brought her back to reality. "I would fucking love that." She then looked Ellie in the eyes with an affectionate look before brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Fine, you can go but just promise me you'll be extra careful okay?" She slowly leaned up and pecked her lips. "No funny shit. I want you back the moment you get a catch. Nothing dangerous. Understood?"

God, Ellie loved this woman.

"Yes ma'am, I promise."

Ellie leaned in and kissed Dina's lips. "I love you," she then pulled back and kissed JJ's forehead. "Love you too spud, keep your mama company for me okay?"

JJ just turned around and looked at her with his big old eyes before blinking innocently. He then flashed her a big and goofy grin before letting out some happy noises. Ellie quickly smiled at that before pinching his cheek lightly.

"Alright, I'll be back before you know it, babe."

The frown on Dina's face wasn't fully gone but she forced a small smile anyways as she watched Ellie head off. When the door opened, a gust of cold air immediately blew into the house and once she was outside, she quickly shut the door. She then gave Dina and JJ one last wave through the window before trudging off into the forest.

As expected, she felt better breathing in the cold yet refreshing air compared to being cooped up inside their toasty home. She couldn't explain why but it made her chest feel lighter. She promised Dina that she would do better but that was easier said than done. She let out a long and white breath before shaking her head.

She needed to focus.

She promised Dina she'd be quick so she would be quick as her luck and skills would allow her. She ended up hiking about ten to fifteen minutes out just north of their home. From there, she came across a fork in the road. If she took the path on the left, it would lead her to the same path where she proposed to Dina. She decided not to go down that trail and instead took the path on the right. She ended up walking for about another ten minutes before she ran into something.

Or rather a pack of two wolves.

One of them collapsed on the floor while the other was growling at her presence. Ellie held her breath despite having been caught; however, the more she observed them, the more she noticed red on the snow. As she took in the details, one of them was hurt, badly considering the amount of blood that dyed the snow which explained the other one's aggression. She shifted her boot in the snow in an attempt to get a closer look but that only angered the other wolf further.

"Okay…"

She breathed out a cold breath trying to gauge what to do. She could turn around but that wouldn't guarantee that the wolf wouldn't follow her and endanger her farm and family. That would mean she would have to take care of it. Could she kill this wolf at point-blank?

She may have been back on patrol after the incident but she would always snipe the prey from afar and her partner would pick up their body. She barely managed to hunt these days and it was always a surprise attack on her end. Her heart began racing and flashes of him appeared in her memory. Her breath became sporadic and she couldn't look away from the wolf.

She couldn't look away.

If she did, who knows what would happen? She could be coming face to face with vicious teeth and claws to the neck. She'd be dead before she knew it and that wasn't worth anything. Dina would be worried sick about her disappearance and possibly get sick from it. Not to mention despising her for leaving her behind alone with their baby.

She had too much to lose and she was so scared to lose it all.

She started getting nauseous and her vision doubled. The wolf was mocking her and laughing at her inability to get a grip. She ended up throwing up on the side before panting with her hands on her knees.

"Fuck… oh fuck fuck fuck!"

Ellie forced herself to look at the wolf. By some miracle, it was still in the same position it was, protecting and guarding its fallen companion. That's when she suddenly saw herself. She was reminded of Dina and the way she protectively covered her body after she had taken away that man's life. For whatever reason, that grounded her back to reality and she remembered Joel's words.

You're just a survivor.

She took some heavy breaths through her nose, ignoring the chilling burn.

Endure and survive.

Even her comic's favorite quote was speaking to her. Telling her that it was okay. That nature was unforgiving and that you were its bitch. Okay. So she could breathe now. That solved one of her issues but the main one was her snarling at her. She blinked before looking at it again. It had… a gray top and a white bottom. It was also oddly round near the stomach. As for its legs… it was bleeding from its hind, left leg.

Her brain started ticking.

This wolf was a she and she was pregnant. That wolf she was guarding was probably her mate who was most likely dead. Fuck. It reminded her even more of Dina and Jesse and her heart fucking ached at the devastation and fear she was feeling let alone what the wolf must be going through now. It hurt all too much and Ellie couldn't do it.

She wouldn't be able to end her life.

Thankfully, it didn't seem like a rabid wolf. She sighed before forcing her body to relax. Thoughts began swirling in her head again but there was a clear and strong one that stood out. She quickly shook her head and turned away. She couldn't. She shouldn't. She took a few steps away before coming to a hard stop.

"Fuck. Dina's gonna kill me…"

She licked her lips before turning around and cautiously walking toward the pregnant wolf. She lowered her stance, holding her hands out in an attempt to show her that she wasn't a threat.

"I'm not gonna hurt ya…"

What was she doing? This was stupid.

But she couldn't abandon her.

That was how Ellie found herself trying to bait this wolf into leaving its mate and taking her back home. She wasn't sure how long she had been trying not to get her hand bitten off but by the time she somehow managed to get the wolf to tolerate her, she carried her back home. Of course… entering their gate had been one thing but getting her through their front door was another. She made way too much noise and with how expectant her fiancé had been, Dina was quick to greet her and the moment she saw what she was holding, she froze in place.

"Ellie…" She sounded cautious as if she was walking on thin ice. "What the fuck is that?"

Ellie flinched as she carefully shimmed inside. "I'm sorry babe, please don't get mad."

Dina scrunched her face and the moment she registered exactly what her fiancé was carrying, her face flattened. "You gotta be shitting me." She had been loud, scolding really, and to make matters worse, the creature in her arms started thrashing about.

Ellie squirmed around trying to keep her hold on her before awkwardly cooing at angered wolf. "Hey, hey hey hey. It's okay, I got you."

"Ellie," Dina repeated again in a firm voice as she quickly shook her head in disbelief. "No no no no no. Please tell me that is not a fucking wolf!" Her face grew into anger and she stood her ground. "We are not keeping that beast here!" Dina exclaimed in a heated fit. "You know how I feel about them!" She couldn't believe her eyes as Ellie awkwardly brought her inside toward the living room.

"But she's pregnant…" Ellie couldn't look Dina in the eye as she weakly argued back before setting her down on the carpet. "She's injured and I-I couldn't leave 'em alone."

Dina rolled her eyes as she defensively took a step back. "You're fucking ridiculous." She then started nervously fiddling with her body before pacing around, clearly distraught and bothered. "Is it infected? Fucking hell Ellie! What if it bites us? What it infects us—" She paused before correcting her statement. "What if it infects me and JJ, babe? We're not like you El."

The wolf was whining in pain as Ellie tried soothing her by patting its head. "I—" Her heart was pounding in her chest and it felt as if she was about to have a heart attack. "She's clean, Dina, I checked. I made sure to double and triple-check before bringing her here. I just—I was reminded of us and I couldn't do it. I couldn't put her out of her misery."

Her arms were crossed now and Dina had a mean glare on her face as she began tapping her foot on the floor. She sighed after a tense moment of glaring at Ellie and the wolf. "Fine." She shook her head angrily before turning around. "Fucking fine! If we get bit and turn, that's all on you babe." She made her way to the first aid cabinet before pulling out some supplies. "For the record, if it does anything to threaten JJ, I'm blowing a hole through its head."

Ellie gave Dina a weak smile. "Thank you."

Once Dina was back, Ellie began treating the wolf only to hesitate when the creature started wiggling around too much. That made her sigh before she slowly shot her fiancé a pleading look. She gave her a slight pout and when Dina noticed, she glared at her.

"No."

"Please…?"

"No, I am not helping you El."

"Dina… please? I love you. Just think of her as a dog, you have to admit she's kinda cute."

Her fiancé started chewing on her lower lip before eyeing the wolf. She then groaned before cursing at herself. "Fucking hell…"

Not believing what she was about to do, Dina pulled her hair back and tied it into a ponytail before walking over to help Ellie. She was shaking her head the entire time until she was on her knees and holding the wolf down as Ellie prepared the bandages and antibiotics. She had a pissed face the entire time as she held the wolf down before shooting her fiancé the death glare.

"A fucking dog…" She mumbled before snapping at Ellie to set things straight. "For the record, I'm hella pissed at you."

Ellie glanced up at that comment before smiling and teasing. "You still look pretty hot."

The scowl on Dina's face only grew. She was clearly very, very mad but the fact that she was still helping her out was all that needed to be said. Actions were louder than words after all. The next hour went by in a blur. The momma wolf whined in pain as she went into labor right after her treatment. Dina cursed even more, mumbling something along the lines of 'Great fuckingtastic!' and 'Yay! More spawns of hell.' as Ellie shrunk in her respective spot, a safe arm's length away from Dina.

For most of it, Ellie and Dina just watched over the wolf give birth. They were hands-off but they did help wipe down the pups once they were out. The awkwardness and tension between them was making the air stale and Ellie kept on glancing at Dina who refused to look her way. Eventually, she couldn't take it before trying to break the ice. She cleared her throat before asking:

"What kind of dog keeps the best time?"

An eyebrow twitched but Dina didn't budge a muscle.

Ellie continued on with her pun. "A watchdog." She heard Dina let out a breath before saying another. "How do you stop a dog from barking in your front yard?"

Dina chewed on her lip, trying not to engage when her fiancé let it rip. "Put him in your backyard!"

A sigh left Dina's mouth this time and she shifted in place as Ellie swallowed. She watched her carefully before speaking up again. "How does a dog stop a VCR? It presses the 'paws' button!"

Finally having enough, Dina looked at the ceiling before facing her fiancé. "Telling me dog puns is not going to get me to like them more."

A small smile curved on her lips. "You know it was good though."

Dina opened her mouth to stretch her jaw. Ellie knew that she knew it was good but refused to admit it. Dina ended up rolling her eyes and turning away before staring at the wolf. Her eyes wavered slightly and Ellie would place a bet that her fiancé felt bad for the poor thing. She had experienced labor and childbirth after all. That was one thing they shared in common.

Once the whole birthing situation was over, Ellie whipped up some food for the wolf, some Thanksgiving leftovers, while Dina was off tending to JJ. In the meantime, she was cleaning up the post-birth mess and the mama wolf ended up giving birth to a litter of three: two boys and one girl. She must have been starving as well because she was scarfing up whatever Ellie had given her.

"You must be quite hungry ey missy?" That came out in a southern accent and Ellie wasn't sure where that came from. She chuckled to herself before repeating some words. "Missy ey?"

The wolf turned and gave Ellie her attention which she noticed. An eyebrow went up as Ellie jutted her lips slightly.

"Did you… like that name…? Missy?"

The wolf turned its head again and she smiled.

"Alright, Missy it is."

Dina came down the stairs just in time to catch the last bit of her words with JJ in just arms. She was hot as ever before speaking in her upset voice. "You did not just name that wolf."

"Uhh…"

Funnily enough, Dina never mentioned anything about not keeping them. Heck, she knew Ellie better than herself because there was this… connection she felt with this mini wolf pack that she couldn't quite put a name to.

Her fiancé sighed heavily with a groan. "We are not keeping them El."

"But… but Dina… the mom's hurt and she lost her mate and… I just… I can't leave her alone." It was a weak argument and she felt like a weak child begging for permission and forgiveness.

Holding this tense look, Dina was processing a lot of emotions and thoughts before she ended up pinching the bridge of her nose. A heavy sigh left her lips before she looked at Ellie with a deadpan look. "I'll give it to you straight El."

Trying to fight off her jitters and nerves, Ellie couldn't help herself. "Straight huh?"

Dina immediately shot Ellie a look with a low grumble that silenced her right away. "We can keep them for now but those wolves of yours are going outside." She angrily jutted her head toward the back door. "And they're going to stay outside."

Ellie vaguely had that coming but still, there were three puppies and a post-birth mom. "B-But it's winter…"

"Then make them a small house." Dina easily retorted with an annoyed huff. "We already have JJ and don't get enough sleep as it is. If we have to deal with crying baby wolves too, I'm gonna go insane."

Well, that was a fair point. She wasn't sure how noisy puppies could be let alone wolves but if they were anything like their own baby, it'd be a hell storm of cries.

"Okay," Ellie folded as she glanced at the wolf pups. "I'll make them a small house."

"And preferably not by our chickens. I don't want them to get eaten alive." Dina added with a snap to her tone.

"I'll make them a small house away from our chickens then." She confirmed before pointing her head toward the back. "In the back of our house." They stared at each other with unspoken tension before Ellie fiddled with her fingers and looked down before whispering. "Thanks…for giving them a chance."

Dina let out a long and tired huff. "So, what's her name?" She vaguely nodded her head at the wolf before eyeing the puppies curiously.

"Missy," Ellie smoothly replied with a smile. "The mom's Missy. As for the pups…" She stared at the baby wolves before eyeing Dina sweetly. "Help me name them?"

A quiet grumble came out of Dina's mouth as she walked over to the wolves. The three pups were feeding off the milk from their mom and she eyed them cautiously before suggesting, "How about… Poncho. For the one with a scarf neck."

Without missing a beat, Ellie looked down and spotted the baby wolf she was referring to. It was one of the boys and his fur was mostly dark gray minus the white scarf-shaped fur on his chest. She smiled before agreeing.

"That's cute, Poncho it is." She glanced down at his brother before asking, "How about him?"

Dina eyed him with a huff before tilting her head. Compared to his family, he had a dirty gray coat and white socks. After a second, she thought of something. "Buddy."

"Buddy?"

She just shrugged, "Why not?"

"Fair."

A second of silence passed as if Ellie was waiting for Dina to name the last one but Dina spoke up before any other decisions were made. "You name the last one."

"What?"

How could she? After everything she's done, how could she—

"You saved them. There's four of them so it's only right if you name half of them."

"I guess… that's fair." She faced the girl wolf pup before observing her closely.

Surprisingly enough, she had a pretty clean, solid coat of white fur given her post-birth state. A few seconds passed and honestly… Ellie was drawing blank. What was she supposed to name this life helped bring into the world? She was the least fussy out of her siblings and the smallest of them as well, meaning, she was the runt of the litter. If this was the wild, there would be a slim chance of her survival, and the thought of that made her heart ache.

That's when the image of that bright star in the sky when she was star gazing with Dina and JJ.

It calmed her and gave her hope that a name came out of her lips. "Estelle…"

Dina tilted her head. "Estelle?"

"Yeah," Ellie smiled warmly, "Estelle."

The wolf pup in question let out a squeak and resuming her meal. Dina looked at her again before softly slightly.

"That's a pretty name."

"Mmh…"

Soon after, Ellie went outside to put together a small house. She managed to finish the basic frame of it before heading back inside when the sun started setting. By then, Dina had finished up the mess inside their living space and the momma wolf was just there, staring at her and JJ, as she tended to her pups. There was a stalemate and Ellie found it somewhat amusing before she looked at Dina. Dina still looked mad and tense and her shoulders were closer to her neck than it normally was. She felt bad before cleaning up and walking over to her fiancé.

"Hey…" Ellie gently called out, "I believe I promised you a massage."

Dina looked up to meet her eyes before letting out a quiet huff. "You did."

Ellie smiled further. "Let's put JJ to bed and I'll give you one."

Her fiancé was starting to look more tired than she was. "But the wolf."

"C'mon," Ellie walked over and grabbed JJ from her arms. "On your stomach."

"But the—"

"Don't worry, Missy's too weak to try anything funny. Besides, I'd like to believe she isn't going to try to kill us in our sleep."

Even though that was a joke, that didn't help her nerves. Dina was still lost for words as she eyed Ellie closely before glancing at the wolf again. She still had a lot to say but was too tired and emotionally drained to even start. "..."

"Trust me Mama, you need one." Ellie insisted again with a sheepish smile.

One final huff left Dina's lips before she gave in. "Okay." She got up before following Ellie upstairs. "Okay."

Ellie led Dina up the stairs by hand and once they were in their bedroom, she tucked JJ in his crib. He was still awake but at least he was less restless than he normally was. She cooed at him one last time before pinching his nose. "Sleep tight potato."

When she turned around, Dina was sitting on their bed and staring at her silently. Ellie ended up walking up to her and pulled her in for a hug before kissing the top of her head. "C'mon, lie on your stomach."

Dina licked her lips before glancing toward the door. When she didn't comply with Ellie's request, her fiancé gently pushed her down.

"C'mon, stop being stubborn." Ellie gently ushered her to bed and once Dina was lying flat on her stomach, she climbed on top of her before straddling her hips. "Now relax babe…" She quickly leaned down and kissed her shoulder before sitting upright. She then cracked her fingers before starting her massage. Her fingers dug into Dina's shoulders and she quickly worked on the knots before rubbing her body in a circular motion.

A soft groan left Dina's lips.

"That feel good?" She continued to rub her muscles in a circular and firm motion.

"Mmh… yeah…"

"See? You needed one."

Dina grunted when Ellie hit a hot spot before grumbling, "Says the one stiffer than me."

"Hey! I'm not that stiff."

"Mmhmm… sure you aren't."

Ellie scoffed lightly before making her way down Dina's back. "Whatever." She carefully made her way down, kneading out her knotts until eventually, she made it to her ass. She looked at Dina briefly before smirking and groping her ass. Surprisingly enough, her fiancé didn't react and surely enough, with due time Ellie was rubbing out her thighs and calves.

Once her whole routine was over, Ellie was curious as to why Dina hadn't said anything about her innocent groping and when she climbed on top of her to find out, she discovered that she had fallen asleep. It was adorable to say the least and Dina had to be the cutest person alive. She ended up cuddling with her before kissing her cheek.

"Good night babe, sweet dreams." Ellie kissed her again before hugging her tightly and joining her in bed.