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Fever rages through her body like a wildfire, set on destroying everything in its wake.
She can’t remember the last time she was sick. She can barely remember anything at all. Not Joel, not Dina, not herself.
Perhaps for the first time, she’s finally at peace.
~~
“Hey Dina!” Howard, a man about ten years older than her shouts as she sees her walking past the bar. He’s also Ellie’s new patrol partner.
“Hey Howard,” Dina greets him kindly. She doesn’t know him very well, but Ellie has told her a few stories.
“Would you mind checking up on Ellie?” he asks in a low voice, “We got back from late Patrol last night and she didn’t seem like she was feeling too well. She could barely walk back to her place and her face was red as an apple. You know how she is though, she refuses to talk about anything so she swore to me she was fine, but I’m not so sure.”
“Yeah,” Dina agrees immediately, nodding her head, “I’ll swing by Doc’s and get her some medicine. Thanks for letting me know.”
Sickness since the infection isn’t unheard of. In fact it’s what wiped out most people if they were to survive the initial outbreak. Children mostly, their tiny bodies without the medicine they needed to get better. What a simple case of a throat infection used to be, treated with proper medicine, turned deadly overnight. Sure though, if you were lucky and had the right channels you could usually get that medicine as the military hospitals kept producing it. Just not enough for everyone. Though children weren’t the only ones who suffered. Chronically ill people all over the world suddenly without their life saving medication for the first time ever, it didn’t take long for their bodies to succumb. Some even taking what would be considered the righteous way out instead of suffering. Dina always had a deep empathy within her for them.
She’s grateful to have a place like Jackson where despite the circumstances of the world itself, they found a way to produce the medicine right here. Usually in small amounts as only a few people were capable, but it’s what allowed her to keep JJ safe from everything else in the world. From other diseases. They’d surely have what she needs for Ellie.
She arrives to Doc’s house fairly quick. He’s an older man, but not too old. His basement was turned into a makeshift hospital. A few cots, a trauma room and a small pharmacy in the back corner.
“Dina,” he greets her with a warm smile. “Come in please, what do you need?”
“Howard told me Ellie’s not feeling too well,” she tells him, looking around his home. It feels clean but also preserved in time, like something from the old movies her and Ellie have watched. “I wanted to get some medicine to take to her.”
“Sure, just a second,” he holds his finger up and disappears into his basement. When he returns, he has two small cloth bags, “Okay, one is for any fevers. The other here is some penicillin. She’s not allergic right?”
“I don’t believe so,” Dina can’t remember ever seeing Ellie take medicine for anything, so she’s not positive on the answer.
“Okay, well if she is, come get me right away okay?” Doc passes the two bags to her, “How is JJ?”
“He’s good,” she smiles, thinking of her son. “He’s growing like a weed, he learned how to walk finally and now that he’s learned to talk too, I hear him babbling on about all kinds of things.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear that. Bring him by in a week or two, I think he’s due for some of his vaccines,” he tells her, then turns back, “And Ellie. She’s not infected right?”
“No,” Dina answers immediately. Ellie’s words repeating back to her like a record, I told you, I’m immune. I can’t get you infected either if that’s what you’re worried about. I can’t make you immune either. “It’s just some kind of bug.”
“Okay, well, you let me know how she’s feeling in a couple days okay?”
Dina agrees to let him know and with that she parts ways with him. The walk to Ellie’s home is one she could do with her eyes closed from anywhere in Jackson. It used to be kept for storage but Tommy and Maria immediately made a place for her and Joel. She used to think that someday Ellie might take over Maria’s place in Jackson, but now she believes she might be destined for something greater. Something that even Dina has yet to figure out.
She arrives at Ellie's place and knocks on the door. There’s no sound beyond it which worries her a bit. She knocks again harder, “Ellie?” Nothing. Dina reaches down for the door knob and sees that it’s unlocked. Ellie really must not be feeling well to leave that unlocked. She pushes the door open carefully and shuts it behind her with a soft click.
Ellie is laid out on the couch, curled up like a child trying to keep warm. She’s still in her patrol clothes, now soiled from perspiration. Dina bends down to touch her face. “Oh baby, you’re burning up.”
“Dina?” Ellie’s voice croaks and her eyes flutter like they’re trying to open but she’s too weak.
“It’s me,” she brushes her hair out of her face. “Howard told me you weren’t feeling good and I went to get some medicine from Doc. Will you let me help you sit up? You’re covered in sweat and we should get you cleaned up.”
“Everything hurts Dina,” she whimpers weakly.
Dina grabs a bottle of water from the table and takes out two of the small round tablets, “Here, take these. They’ll help with the fever and a cool bath will help, too.” With Dina’s care, she’s able to get Ellie to sit up and swallow the pills. Then she walks into her bathroom to start a bath that will make the fever come down. She returns to Ellie’s side and all but carries her to the bathroom and helps her remove her clothes. I’ll wash those later.
Ellie cries out when the water hits her body but relaxes after a few moments. Dina takes out one of the capsules with the penicillin in it and thumbs it into her mouth, “This will help, too.”
“You don’t have to stay,” Ellie says, chattering through her teeth. Her entire body is shaking. But Dina ignores that and runs a rag across her back.
She notes the old scars from Seattle, dragging a finger along the edges of them. It’s not the first time she’s done this and it surely won’t be the last. But Dina does it to soothe Ellie, to let her know that she still loves her despite what she’s done. Showing her the love that she went without for so long. As if with one simple gesture it will make up for all that lost time. It’s also something that when she does, Ellie’s entire body just falls calm, soothing her emotional pain on a level that nothing else can reach.
The water runs completely cold soon enough and by then, the fever has broken for the time being. Ellie seems back to herself as much as possible and thanks Dina for deciding to stay, “I need to quit being so stubborn when it comes to you.”
“I don’t mind it,” Dina dries her off and tries not to pay too much attention to her naked body. It’s not the time for any of that but she can’t help but notice and she blushes at Ellie’s beauty. She lifts her arms up to put on a tank top after Ellie slips on a pair of underwear, “You okay in just that?”
“It’s better,” Ellie confirms as they walk over to the bed, laying down side by side together. “Maybe I won’t feel as hot now.”
“News flash,” Dina leans up to press a kiss to her cool cheek, “You’re always this hot.”
“Don’t start,” Ellie cracks a weak smile, “It hurts too much.”
“The medicine should start working quick,” Dina reminds her as she covers her up, “You feeling okay now though?”
“Yeah,” Ellie nods, “Much better.”
They lay there in a comfortable silence, just staring at each other. Their eyes staring deep into one another's souls, the ones they share together. Moulded and bound together by the forces of the universe. She breaks their eye contact to look down at her tattoo.
“You know,” Dina traces the raised scar underneath the ink, “You’ve never told me the story of how you got bit.”
Ellie looks away and then back again, “Her name was Riley. She was my best friend and she was the first to die.”
Dina feels like slinking away for even bringing it up now, but it’s too late to go back now, so she pushes softly for more, “What happened?”
“She left military school to join the fireflies,” Ellie starts, “She left and for a while I thought she was dead but then she came back a few weeks later. Asking to sneak out and go to one of the malls nearby to explore, so we did. We played around and took pictures on one of those old photo machines. It was amazing. Until it wasn’t. A horde of runners found us and came after us. We ran as fast as we could, but we were just kids. We weren’t prepared. We both got bit and she said we could kill ourselves or turn together, but we decided to leave instead. But then she turned and she died,” Ellie lets out a quiet sob, “I went to Marlene and told her what happened and that’s when she told me about my mother. She was bitten literally right before I was born. Like the day before and she entrusted me to Marlene. That’s how I’m immune I think because it was already inside me and it mutated or something.”
“Is that why Marlene wanted you to find the fireflies in Salt Lake?” Dina wraps her arm around Ellie and pulls her close so their eyes meet again. She reaches up to press her hand to her forehead which is still okay for now.
“Yeah and that’s why things with Joel and I weren’t good for a long time. She said that I could be used for a vaccine but the fungus, it’s, it’s in my brain and to take it out would’ve killed me. He killed everyone in that hospital and Marlene. Then he lied to me about it for years. Telling me that there were so many more immune people but I didn’t believe it. If it was true, then we all could’ve been saved by now. Not living in fear anymore and he took away my only chance to do that for the world. I was supposed to die but I didn’t,” Ellie pauses for a moment, “It was supposed to be my purpose and I haven’t found out what I’m really even supposed to be doing.”
“Maybe,” Dina stops to make sure what she’s about to say comes out right, “Maybe your purpose isn’t to save the world, Ellie. Maybe your purpose is right here. To be with me, for us. With JJ.”
Ellie smiles widely at the suggestion, believing that maybe Dina was right, “I would be okay with that.”
She’s not fighting it anymore, not running away. Dina feels relief inside, “Good. Also, JJ has been asking to see you. He wants you to come over soon.”
“Do you think it would be okay if maybe I could keep him for a day?” Ellie asks and she knows it might be too much, especially since Dina is still learning to trust her again, with JJ most of all. “I could take him to the park and have like a picnic or something.”
“I’d have to talk to mom,” Dina tells her but she already knows she’d be okay with letting Ellie take him for the day.
“Is she still mad at me?”
“It’s mostly that she doesn’t trust you,” Dina points out, “But I trust you and I know JJ will be safe with you. Once you’re feeling better of course.”
“Of course,” Ellie nuzzles herself deeper into Dina’s skin. She's also grateful that Dina is showing that she's okay trusting her again. She wants to make sure she never takes advantage of that gift again. “The last thing I’d want to ever do is get him sick. I’ll let you know what day?”
“Yeah,” Dina smiles and kisses Ellie on the lips.
“You know you’ll get sick from that?” Ellie reminds her, smiling as just barely the edges of their lips remain touching.
“I don’t care,” Dina kisses her again, deeper this time but Ellie grabs her side and lets out a groan. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s just me and whatever this stupid illness is,” Ellie lays back down but still holds onto Dina tightly. She looked deep into her eyes, “Will you stay with me tonight?”
“I’ll stay however long you want me to.”