CHAPTER FOURTY SIX

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          THE CLOSER THEY GOT TO THE HOSPITAL, THE MORE NERVOUS ELLIE GOT AND THE MORE SHE WANTED TO TURN BACK. Of course, she would never do that. They had been through too much to just turn back but she thought about it. Or maybe she just thought about because she was sick of this world and all the evil. That thought alone made her push forward. Ellie wanted to help others and make an end to all the death in the world.

The teen glanced up at Lucia when the woman wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into her side as they followed after Joel. Ellie smiled up at her and rested her head against her shoulder, a wave of comfort crashing over her.

The alley they were walking through was narrow but there had been no sign of infected. To be honest they hadn't seen much infected since they left Jackson and Tommy had been right that the area wasn't overrun. 

"Okay, so this is what i'm thinkin -" began Joel, shooting a glance over his shoulder but Ellie cut him off before he even had the chance to finish his sentence.

"Cut through that building to get around that stuff, find the skyscraper, go up and look around." 

The smuggler raised a brow and shook his head. "Actually, this time I was thinkin' we blast our way through that rubble." he turned around to look the way they came from and shot the brunette a wink before he continued, "I found some dynamite in that RV back there."

"Really?" said Ellie, surprised.

"No," he shook his head with a grin as he peered at the Williams girl. "so we're gonna cut through that buildin', find a skyscraper, go up and look around. But I had you goin', didn't I?"

Ellie offered him a weak smile as they continued to weave through the alley. The walls were spray painted with all sorts of images but so far there hadn't been any signs of the Fireflies like there had been at the university and Lucia hoped they were at the right place.

They entered a building at the end of the alley, one right beneath a skyscraper. There had been some construction going on before the outbreak and everything was still there. It was one big dusty mess and Ellie let out a sneeze. 

"Look at this place." scoffed Joel. The shotgun was firmly placed between his hands as he looked around. "Talk about bad luck. Military drops bombs, not one of them hits the buildings you're trying to demolish."

"I don't see a way up." voiced Lucia, spinning around on the heels of her boots as she took in the place. There was a fenced area and she pulled it open, stepping inside. "Look, I got something."

Joel was by her side a second later and he followed her gaze toward the platform about ten feet above them. There was a ladder sticking from the platform. "Ellie, I can get you up there so you can drop that ladder down, maybe we can go through that way. Come on, I can give you a boost."

Ellie stood a few feet away, staring down at the table as she flipped through some old news papers. Joel and Lucia shared a concerned glance before making their way toward the teen. "You okay?"

"Yeah, i'm fine." she confirmed, looking up at him as she came from her daze with a few rapid blinks.

"It's just you kinda seem extra quiet today, so ..." he trailed of carefully, wanting her to feel comfortable enough to talk about what was bothering her but she couldn't.

Ellie slumped her shoulders and looked at the ground. "Oh ... i'm sorry."

"No, it's fine." frowned Joel. "But did you hear what I -"

"Yeah, boost." she nodded. "Got it."

Joel stepped onto a stack of pallets, briefly glancing toward the ladder before turning to face both women. The man held out his hand for Ellie to take and she did so as he hoisted her up onto the pallets. Joel bent through his knees an held onto her waist as she put her foot on his knee and her hands on his shoulders.

"One, two, up." he got to his full height as Ellie clambered toward the upper level. "Ya got it?"

"Yeah," she confirmed as she pulled herself further up and onto the platform safely. Ellie grabbed the ladder and peered down at Joel before she slowly lowered it toward him, but she glanced to her right and her eyes widened. "Whoah."

The Williams girl let go off her hold on the ladder and it plummeted toward Joel and onto the floor as he was unable to get a good grip on the metal. Ellie had disappeared and they could her head footsteps thunder onto the platform.

"Ellie!" shouted Lucia, confused. "God damn it!"

"Shit. You stay there!" Joel swore as he helped Lucia place the ladder onto the pallets and he urged Lucia to go first, holding onto the metal tightly so she could go up safely before following after her in a hurry. "Ellie? Where are you?"

"You gotta see this!" yelled the teen but she sounded far away.

"Where the fuck did she go?" demanded Lucia as she and Joel hurried through the upper level of the building. They ran beside each other, both holding their weapons in fright as they searched for the girl. "Ellie? This isn't funny!"

"Up here!"

The brunette rounded a corner and her eyes fell onto the stairs to her left and she could see Ellie run by on the level above them. Fucking kid. She and Joel rushed up the steps, Lucia a few steps ahead as they reached the top. Confused, she glanced around until she saw the teen's red blouse disappear at the end of the hall.

"Ellie," grumbled Joel. "just wait. Goddamn it."

As Lucia rounded another corner, her steps faltered and her eyes widened at the sight before her. The woman could feel Joel bump against her back and he gripped her waist to steady them. Neither said a word as they watched Ellie and the reason she'd run off.

The bombs had blasted a hole in the outer wall of the building and it was overgrown with ferns and other plants. It looked absolutely beautiful with the sun in the distance, but what caught their attention was the giraffe standing before them, chewing on one of the tree leaves.

"Jesus," muttered Joel, and as he stepped around Lucia he squeezed her hip one before sliding off his shotgun while they carefully made it toward the animal and Ellie.

"Don't scare it." said the girl when Joel placed his gun on the ground.

"I won't." He took a few steps toward the plants and began to slowly rip of some leaves. Ellie shot him a look in warning and he shook his head with a chuckle. "It's all right. Come here, hurry up. Come on."

The smuggler held out his hand and Ellie took the leaves from him hesitantly. The giraffe moved its head toward the teen with curiosity and Ellie held out the greenery, trying to hold in a giggle as he ate it from her hands. Joel handed her some more and Ellie gladly took it.

"Hey there." she smiled happily as a genuine giggle escaped her when his tongue wrapped around her hand to get the leaves. "So fucking cool."

Lucia's heart swelled at the sight and she could almost cry as she hadn't seen Ellie be herself for the last week. Her eyes slowly slid toward Joel, who was already smiling down at the teen. They needed this. Needed some form of light and time away from the horrors of the world.

The giraffe turned his head to the side and began to walk off, having had enough food and Ellie frowned, "Where is it going?" The teen was off again as she tried to follow the animal. "Come on! Come on, come on, come on!"

Lucia let out an amused laugh as Joel bent down to pick up his rifle again. She shot him a wink and followed after the girl excitedly. They reached the rooftop and stepped out into the soon, spotting the girl easily as she hung over the railing. There were more giraffes on the field below, and Ellie was watching them with wide eyes.

"So ..." began Joel, resting his elbows onto the railing as he took in the scenery below. "is it everything you hoped for?"

"It's got its ups and downs," nodded the teen with a small smile. "but you can't deny that view."

Joel tilted his head and a chuckle escaped him as he kept his gaze on her. He felt Lucia brush up against his bicep on his other side and his brows pulled together suddenly as he said, "Look, I don't know exactly where this hospital is -"

"Yeah, we'll find it." stated Ellie.

"Sure. It's just-" he trailed off as Ellie glanced up at him and he didn't know how to say the words. His shoulders got tense and he turned toward the field below. "Maybe there's nothin' bad out there, but so far there's always been somethin' bad out there."

"We're still here, though."

"I know." he nodded before taking in a deep breath. "I'm only sayin' there's risk. We don't have to do this. I just want you to know that."

"What do you mean?" muttered Ellie, also meeting Lucia's gaze as she turned her head to remove her gaze from the animals. "What else are we supposed to do. Is there even another option?"

"We can go back to Tommy's." said Lucia, joining in on the conversation. "We can forget about the whole damn thing."

"After all we've been through?" frowned Ellie, unsure. "Everything i've done ... it can't be for nothing. I know you both mean well. I know you wanna protect me and you have. And when we're done we'll go wherever you guys want. Tommy's, sheep ranch, the moon. I also haven't forgotten about that paint store."

Lucia smiled faintly at the memory and she felt Joel intertwine their fingers together as Ellie continued, "I'll follow you anywhere you go. But there's no halfway with this. We finish what we started."

Lucia and Joel looked at each other, contemplating before they turned to face her once more. The two of them gave her a single nod, reassuring smiles on their faces and Ellie let out a relieved breath, before she continued to watch the giraffes as they left the field.

i just absolutely absolutely adored the scene between joel and ellie when she first saw the giraffes it was so wholesome.