Chapter Text
“Mmmmmphhh...Fuck you, sun...” Ellie groaned as she buried her face into the back of the girl that was snoring softly beside her. “The one morning it decides to be clear.”
Ellie sniffled slightly before realizing something. The sun was high in the sky, but no one had woken her up.
The red-haired girl sat up reluctantly. Clementine was usually up sometime after dawn to get ready for the day and wake up Ellie. But she was still sound asleep beside her, curled up in the sheets and covers shivering slightly.
Ellie got up to her feet and didn't think too much about her girlfriend not being awake early like she usually is. She figured that they just stayed up a bit too long last night. She turned her head to the smoking remains of the fire from last night and decided to light the fire up again. It was pretty cold that morning, despite the late morning sun that was leaking in through the window.
After grabbing the driest pieces, she threw them onto the smoldering cinders and a little bit of dry and shredded tree bark for kindling. It didn't take long for the fire to blaze up and Ellie warmed herself up quickly.
As she rubbed her hands together to create some sort of friction, she turned her head to stare at Clementine again. She was still asleep and had not stirred once since Ellie had gotten up.
Ellie had to admit that made her a little unsettled. But she tried her best to keep her mind off it. Clementine would never forgive her if she found out she spent time worrying about her when it was not needed, and Ellie could have been doing something better.
Ellie decided that she would go and get some fresh water. Ellie and Clementine both did not like the idea of drinking or using water that had been sitting still for more then half a day or during the night. So Ellie grabbed the bucket, unlocked the front door, poured all the water out onto the front deck and started her short trek from the house to the river where they got their water.
It was a small thing. More like a brook. But it was wide and it moved at a pace that showed to keep away the green gunk you would find in a still lake. Ellie noticed that thin ice had begun to form at the edge of the water, though the running water would probably break or melt the rest in a matter of hours. The ground seemed to be frozen, too, however. No mud. Must have been a really chilly night.
Ellie had soon gathered her water, without falling in again, and began on her way back to her temporary home. She grunted with the effort of carrying the heavy bucket and opening the front door, but she seemed to manage just fine as she carried it in through the open door.
Clementine was still curled up in the sheets when Ellie came into the room. She was still shivering, despite the heavy cover and small wool comforter she was using to keep herself wrapped up, and the fire that was still blazing and keeping the area warm.
Ellie felt a little bit of unease as she saw the girl shiver and whimper as she clutched the blankets to her small frame desperately for warmth. She walked over to Clementine slowly and knelt beside her and gently caressed the darker girl's face. Her skin was damp with sweat, and despite the fact that she was shivering, she was burning up.
Ellie pulled her hand away quickly and ran to the water that the she had just gone to collect and brought it closer to the bed. She then ran to where the two had their packs huddled together and rummaged through it until she pulled out an old shirt of hers.
It was a red one and also one of her favorite ones, even though she outgrew it a long while ago. It was the red one with the palm tree and the beach. The one she used to cover the wound Joel had gotten when she went to go look for supplies for him. Now she was going to use it to help her girlfriend. Even if what she was about to use it for wouldn't be quite the same as stopping Joel from bleeding out.
Ellie gave the shirt a look over quickly to see if it had anything on it or maybe something from the bag wasn't caught anywhere in the cloth. Luckily there wasn't and it was okay to use.
She walked over to the water and dipped the shirt into it. She quickly wrung it out enough so that it was cold and still had just a little bit of moisture trapped in the cloth. She folded it neatly and held it in her mouth as she took the covers off of Clementine.
It was a little hard to get her to let go of their warmth, but she got them away after a bit of prying. Clementine was mumbling at Ellie unintelligibly, but she picked up a little smidge of anger.
“Mmf...E...llie. G-give me b-b-back tha-tha' bl-lanket-shhh...” Ellie noted at how tired she sounded, despite how long she had been sleeping. Her voice was also hoarse as if she had strained it. Maybe coughing though the night?
“I'll give them back in a little bit, crazy straw.” Ellie murmured around the shirt as she grabbed Clementine's small frame and moved her so that she lay comfortably on her back in full and apologized softly as Clementine groaned with the effort.
Ellie took the cloth from her mouth and gently dabbed it onto Clementine's face. The girl shivered as she felt the cold cloth touch her hot skin and she let out a small squeak of protest, “D-don't...t-t-tha-t's co-ooooold.”
“Shhh...stop whining, baby.” Ellie whispered soothingly as she dabbed her flushed cheeks and then lay the cold cloth on her forehead to try and bring her fever down a bit.
Ellie was convinced that Clementine was going to be fine. She would be a 'shit-load' more worried, in her own words, if it was winter. It was pretty late into fall, but it wasn't too cold yet, not for a few weeks now. She would just have to sit here with her until she started to feel a little better.
“W-what ti-ti-ime ish it-it-t?” Clementine said while her teeth chattered. Ellie rubbed her cheek.
“I dunno. Maybe...almost noon, I guess?” Ellie replied, shifting herself to get into a bit more comfortable position. She lifted the wet shirt to dab at the smaller girl's cheeks. She pulled her hand back in surprise once Clementine lifted her head up briskly, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Settle down, Tiger. You shouldn't be getting up so fast.”
“E-Ellie, wh-why didn't y-you wake me u-u-u-up?!” Clementine struggled as Ellie laid her head back down onto the pillow, “How lo-long ha-have you been awake?”
“Not long. Maybe half an hour or so. I got new water and restarted the fire.” The freckle-faced teen said before dipping the shirt back into the bucket so she could dampen it again. Clementine let out a noise of disapproval as the cold cloth was place on her head again. “You're sick. You must have caught it from my last night. Sorry.”
Clementine yawned, “You b-big...jerk.” She murmured softly. Her body must have been fighting hard against the illness, “Thanks a lot.”
“You're the one who wanted to sleep next to me.” Ellie said back. She leaned down and moved the cloth to place a kiss on Clementine's clammy forehead, “Don't worry though. I'll take care of you.”
“You're so...so good to me.” Clementine said softly, clutching the blankets close to her body.
“I know I am. Ellie Williams, best girlfriend in the world.” The red-headed girl chuckled softly as she smoothed out Clementine's hair. Ich. Sweaty. She wiped her hand into the blankets and got up to rummage through the cabinets in the kitchen.
Ellie brought one of the clean pots they had and poured some water from the bucket she had into it. She smiled as she set the pot to boil by the fire. Clementine was going to need a lot of fluids to help fight off her illness before it got too cold.
She knew they'd be fine, though. Clementine was tough for a fifteen year-old. She turned back to the shivering girl under the sheets and blankets, “I'm boiling some water clean for you. Are you hungry?”
“N-no...But I should probably eat...huh?” Ellie smiled down at her, her green eyes meeting Clementine's tired and dark rimmed hazel ones. “Do we have chicken noodle soup?”
Ellie got up and walked over to their food storage, “Hmmm...yeah, we have one can.” She said, pulling it from the bags. “Wait...We had a whole can of chicken noodle soup and you fed me that gross pea and carrot filled tomato barf last night!?”
She heard a wheezing laugh from the pile of blankets, “Yeah. Vegetable soup is better then chicken noodle soup. Plus, I wanted revenge for you tickling me earlier that day.” Clementine's snickering was cut off by a harsh coughing fit.