exsiliumlogs | closed | some black ink on some blue lines

Entry tags:

closed | some black ink on some blue lines

Date & Time: August 1st
Location: Transport clinic
Characters: Ellie, Joel, and ~~their hot nurse~~ Kaneis
Summary: Joel pops some stitches, Ellie brings him to a magical redhead
Warnings: Descriptions of blood/gore are likely!

Getting anywhere in the rain always seemed to take longer than anything else. Thankfully, they don't get lost on their way to their destination, and Ellie heaves a sigh of relief once she sees the clinic doors. Good. They made it. Her footsteps already feel lighter, any injuries of her own forgotten.

"Almost there. I got the door," she says to Joel, running ahead and holding it open for him. She leans inside. Sure looked like a clinic, or what remains she'd seen of labs and research facilities. Except this definitely felt alive. It felt hopeful.

"Hello? Need some help over here!"

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You're welcome.

[Jesus, this man needs a hug. Ellie stands, a little stiffly, then leans in to slip her arms around Joel's shoulders. It's nice to be the one initiating it, trying to do the comforting, even if she feels awkward. She doesn't want to overstep, whatever that is.

She's not his daughter, but she's there for him.]

[ The hug takes him by surprise - it's just one thing after the other with this girl. Joel's tense for the briefest of moments when her thin arms go around his shoulders but then he's returning the hug, shifting to sit up so the embrace isn't awkward on his healing torso and isn't uncomfortable for her with the height of the bed.

While Ellie's not his daughter and he sure as hell ain't her dad, they have a relationship almost close to that now. He cares a lot for her, watches out for her, wants to do everything he can to protect her and keep her safe.

Joel's got both arms around her, picture in hand behind her back. Sarah may be gone now, but Ellie's still there, and she's whole and trusts him as he trusts her. She needs him just as much as he needs her. She, too, had changed him. All for the better.

After the quiet moment passes, Joel eases away and exhales shakily. To cover it up he reaches behind her to lightly tug on her ponytail, a corner of his lips quirked.

He won't admit to it but he had really needed that hug, the contact. ]

Edited 2013-08-30 01:27 (UTC)

[And with that, Joel's officially the person Ellie has hugged most. It feels safe, and she lets herself lean into him, mindful of his injury. She smiles when he tugs on her hair. It's alright.]

I can put it in your pack.

As long as it don't tear.

[ Joel eases back, absently swipes his thumb under his eye, and says nothing else. ]

It won't.

[Ellie gives him some time and space to collect himself, sliding away to do as she'd said. Before going to his pack, she grabs her own, pulling out one of the small joke books that had come along with her. She flips to the middle, and carefully tucks the photo between the pages.]

But, just in case... page twenty-five.

[She takes her time, zipping her pack, putting it aside, walking over to Joel's, and choosing a pocket to slip the book into.]

What was on page twenty-five again?

[ The question's a little rough even after he's cleared his throat, leaning back against the pillow as his fingers make a slow pass over the broken glass of his wristwatch.

Joel looks over then to where she's crouched down at his pack. ]

The photo and some jokes I don't get.

[She zips up his pack after making sure the book and its special addition are safe. She's glad to not have to carry it around anymore. She heads back over to her chair and sits.]

You can get some more sleep, if you want.

What about you? You ain't tired?

[ He lifts the arm he had draped over his eyes to look over at her. ]

I'm okay. Don't worry.

[She's exhausted, but she'll sleep once he's sleeping. Maybe. Hopefully.]

I worry.

[ He's always worrying. ]

You don't have to. I'm not going anywhere.

I'm firmly planted in this chair.

I reckon that can't be too comfortable for you.

There should be another bed around here.

[There is, but Ellie is adamant about staying near.]

I'll find one when I'm tired.

[ Sighing. But then he can't help but wonder... ]

Ellie- where'd you sleep? [ Joel is referring to winter, but he won't outright say when you took care of me. ]

[She figures.]

... in the basement. [Near you.] Why?

There was only one mattress in that basement. [ And a smudge big enough in the dust and grime that had settled before their arrival next to the mattress on the FLOOR that could've only suggested her small body had laid there. ]

Yep. [She could have fit on that mattress next to him, but he was in so much pain that she didn't want to risk jostling him, or making his fever worse by adding her body heat to the mix. So the floor it was.

She looks at him, idly rubbing her chin. What did he expect? Leaving the house to find food was hard enough. She wasn't going to sleep upstairs. If he died all alone...

Well. She'd never forgive herself if he died, period. It would just be so much more worse if she wasn't there with him.]

Ellie. Where did you sleep?

[ That stern tone somehow comes out now. It leaves no room for arguing, and it's the kind of the tone that speaks of how he'll know she's lying if she tries. ]

... the floor, alright? It's not a big deal.

Not a big deal?

[ Scoffing. ]

To you it's not. But to me- that mattress was big enough for two people.

You were sick. Burning up. And I didn't wanna accidentally bump that injury. I was being careful. [She was taking care of him.]

[ How can he be angry at that face? When she's telling him, in her little way, that she was only looking out for him and doing what she thought was best.

Joel pushes out a sigh. The fight slips right out of him with the exhaled breath. Back into the pillows he goes, laying there and looking up at the ceiling, silent. ]