Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Author's note: if you've read Chapters 7 and 8 of   It's Never Been an Option, you've already read this work. This series includes a chronological version of that work.

OCTOBER 1, 2023
Lincoln, MA

About an hour after failing to divert his teenage companion away from a certain Outbreak-era mass grave, Joel once again directed the girl off the road and into the woods. This time Ellie listened, easily grasping the logic of concealing their final approach to Bill and Frank's place. Plus, it was nice to get back in the shade after walking all morning along mostly-sunny old roads.

This precaution wasn't foolproof. The compound wasn't invisible, just remote by today's standards. It sat on the edge of a town called Lincoln, that used to be real popular with folks who liked to shop for antiques and look at history plaques. Officially abandoned, of course. Except, a few blocks around Bill's childhood home were not only inhabited, but visibly secured. Anyone who got close enough would wonder why this "empty" little neighborhood was protected by a tall, aluminum wire fence, whether they believed the high-voltage signs or not. That type of curiosity had killed a number of armed raiders over the years, but Bill and Frank hadn't always come out unscathed.

It didn't happen very often. The standard scavenging targets hereabouts were miles away: malls, big box stores, and even a shuttered air base. Still, taking cover for the last mile or so cut the odds of randomly being spotted on the road and followed to the compound. It went a long way toward respecting Bill's priorities.

Half an hour after that, Joel found himself explaining colonial revival houses as the white buildings of Lincoln started peeking through the remaining trees. He wasn't above taking pleasure in boring the shit out of his mouthy captive audience. Besides, the kid hadn't ever seen anything like this, cooped up in the goddamned QZ her whole life. He was just about to hold forth on a completely opposite type of house not far from here, by a famous 20th-century architect when the kid got lucky and they ran out of forest preserve.

At the edge of the tree line, Joel extended his right arm in front of Ellie, signaling her to stop. They'd reached the perimeter of the compound and he needed to keep her safe from Bill's traps.

"We're here?" Ellie asked, looking out across a sunny path that ran along the fence, kind like a moat. Through the fence she could see a couple of blue buildings among the white ones, and that the tallest white building must be a church. It had a big pointy spike on top.

"We're here," Joel confirmed. "Now, remember what I said."

"Don't touch the fence. Don't touch any other shit. Walk where you walk. Let you do the talking." Duh. Like she wasn't gonna shut up and follow the asshole who knew where this Bill guy's booby traps were.

Joel walked them up to an unobtrusive gate facing the woods, making sure Ellie steered clear of the round, open pit a few yards away. Once he and Tess had gained Bill's trust, this had become the preferred entry point when they were on foot. It was less obvious than the main gate, which stretched across a road with no cover. Joel waited, showing Ellie the camera and motion sensor he'd just tripped.

"I see you!" Came a shout from somewhere beyond the fence. "Use the code and come out front." So Bill was outside, but found it inconvenient to open the gate himself. Technically Joel was welcome to buzz himself in any time as long as he approached carefully. But he preferred giving Bill and Frank the chance to admit him. Today, especially, he wanted to avoid startling the old man. 

Joel did as he was told and led Ellie around the "actual fucking picket fences" toward Bill and Frank's front door. He idly wondered why Bill had brought a backhoe into his (former) neighbor's backyard, but there were more important things on his mind.

~*~

This is not normal, Joel thought. The “off” feeling started when Bill met them on his front sidewalk with no scanner, no comment about the surprise visit, and no visible consternation about the unfamiliar teenager he had in tow. No, Bill simply ushered both of his guests to the low porch where Frank was sitting, the book he was reading stashed in his lap, looking serenely delighted to see them both. 

“Bill. Frank. Ellie.” Joel found himself slightly tongue-tied as the three strangers nodded at each other.

“No Tess?” Frank asked.

“Not this time.” 

Tess had rarely missed a trip to the compound, since she'd liked Frank (and Bill's cooking) so much. But her absence was nothing suspicious. From time to time over the years, conflicting business commitments had mandated a solo visit for her, Joel, or his brother, Tommy, before he'd left Boston with the Fireflies. Today, though, it seemed maybe that Frank looked at him for a second too long. But that was probably just his dread of slipping up and telling them the truth before he was ready.  

Joel subtly (he hoped) glanced at Ellie to see if her face betrayed anything. On the way here, he'd told her to leave the news of Tess's death to him, grumbling that she and Frank were close. True to her word, the girl showed no sign of Tess's whereabouts  meaning anything as she eagerly looked around the compound. Maybe this was her game face. Maybe she was just taking in her her first sight of a real, dead, all-American small town. Either way, he'd take it. (The kid's fascination was real when she spotted three layers of cars and trucks piled up outside the fence, blocking off a road Bill never used.)

Bill excused himself to get a light lunch together, leaving Frank to get their guests settled. 

"Ellie, would you like first dibs on the powder room?" Frank asked. "Through the front room, down the hall and on the right"

"The bathroom," Joel explained before she could ask. "A little one, for folks to freshen up when they come over."

After two nights without indoor plumbing, plus a five-hour hike, any amenities were welcome. But soon an excited "Fuck yeah!" wafted through the powder room door. Joel exchanged an amused glance with Frank, then avoided further eye contact by stowing his and Ellie's belongings neatly by the entryway. The girl took a half-hearted stab at playing it cool when she emerged.

"All yours," Ellie informed Joel. Then, "They have hot waterrr!" It occurred to her a second later that Joel knew that. He came here a lot. But Joel just nodded with some kind of "yep" grumble and headed down the hall to take his turn.

"It gets better," Frank's eyes twinkled, "Hot showers and baths, laundry, the works."

"Thanks." Ellie tried not to get excited about the possibility of a hot bath. Bill and Frank might still kick them out when they found out why she and Joel were here. 

After freshening up, Joel indulged in a much-needed break while Frank made Ellie feel welcome in the front parlor. To keep Bill's heirloom furniture clean despite the current state of his clothing, he spread an afghan on the big wing chair and leaned gratefully back. He noticed that Ellie had chosen to sit on the hard, wooden piano bench. But then she followed his lead and took the side of the sofa closest to Frank's wheelchair, making sure to sit on a blanket, like Joel had. Observant kid. 

Frank kept the conversation going with Ellie, but stuck to neutral subjects. Explaining the meaning of "powder room." Agreeing that make-up sounded like a stupid amount of work. (But suggesting it could also be fun.) Asking how the hike had been, and what kinds of things she liked to do. Vaguely, Joel picked up that Ellie like to draw, and relaxed further as the kind man jumped on the topic, pointing out his paintings decorating the room, and promising to share his art supplies.  

Frank was, of course, dying to know what was going on. But everything pointed to a delicate situation. Joel had never brought a stranger here before. And from the bits and pieces of backstory gleaned from Tess and Tommy in the past, a teenage girl was his least likely traveling companion. Then there was Joel's demeanor. He'd never been an upbeat guy, but something was off about him today. So Frank waited and enjoyed the unexpected company.

Just in time to prevent Frank from showing Ellie some of his paintings of Joel and Tess, Bill emerged from the kitchen, grumbling "Drinks," and set a pitcher of iced tea down on the table (on top of a little tray, of course, to protect the table from condensation). As usual, Joel offered to help. As usual, Bill preferred to "handle the table service" himself, but "welcomed Joel's subsequent cleanup assistance." Seeing Frank invite Ellie to wheel him into the dining room, Joel simply stood in front of his customary seat at Bill's left. When Ellie approached the remaining chair, on Bill's right, there was a moment of ice-breaking awkwardness as Bill pulled Ellie's chair out for her and she had no idea why he was doing that. 

Bill then retrieved four tall glasses and two bottles from the kitchen, balancing them on a small, round tray perched on his left hand. Joel let slip a smirk, recognizing the bottles as home-brewed beer made possible by ingredients he himself had traded to the couple last year. Pilsener style, judging by the shape of the glasses - gently curved inward at the top and tapering a little bit down toward the bottom.

Bill filled two of the glasses with iced tea and served them to Ellie, then Frank. He then set down a beer and an empty glass for Joel, then himself.

"Is that beer?" Ellie asked. "Can I try some?" Her tone was one of basic curiosity, without any particular relish. At Bill's questioning look toward him, Joel nodded. He didn't see any harm, from what he'd picked up about the kid. Not that it was his call. But he figured he might as well nod to sidestep a discussion of who, if anyone, was in charge of this kid.

When Bill emerged again with plates, and forks, and a large bowl with some kind of salad, he presented Ellie with a small glass and poured about a sip's worth from his own bottle. He watched with interest as she sipped experimentally, then swallowed with a furrowed brow.

"I'd could finish a whole one if I was thirsty and it was the only thing around," she pronounced. "But it's kinda... not my favorite thing. No offense."

"None taken," Bill answered. "You handled the tasting opportunity correctly, since I failed to provide you with a spitting vessel."

"That's how fancy tastings used to work Before," Frank added helpfully. "You'd taste your drink, then they'd have a bucket for you to spit into. Wine, beer, hard liquors..."

Ellie looked at Joel, "Are they bullshitting?"

"Nope, no bullshit," Joel confirmed. "Never went, myself, to those types of fancy tastings." The kid didn't need to know that he would have spat, if he'd ever been successful enough to be part of that scene. A single father at 21, he'd been obsessed, Before, with never drinking irresponsibly. In the decades since, it was a different story, when he didn't need to keep his edge.

"Gross," the kid concluded cheerfully. "Thanks for giving me some." If FEDRA school had taught her anything, it was that sharing resources was not a given. 

Bill then described what was in the bowl as he served the table, again beginning with Ellie. Panzanella - a crisp salad of toasted bread, a bunch of vegetables Bill grew, and the extra addition of some ham, cured in his own maple syrup. As Ellie swooned over the salty-sweet little cubes (and Joel visibly appreciated them but without the same shock), Bill summed it up as "like a sandwich, but prettier."

Probably easier for Frank to eat, Joel thought. "Best ham sandwich I ever tasted," he complimented, truthfully.

Bill concluded his culinary lesson by telling Ellie that Panzanella salad was usually all about using up bread before it went bad. Pan being "bread" in Italian. (And Spanish, Joel added.)

Ellie wondered if Joel was part Spanish or Mexican or something like that. He sort of looked it but she didn't know that many people so maybe not. Maybe he knew Spanish just because he was from Texas. 

“Scanner broken?” Joel asked Bill, once the meal got going. He was supposed to try to scan us and that was gonna be my cue.

“Nah, you’re fine.”

Definitely not normal.

Even less normal was how calmly Bill took the news about Ellie’s immunity when it did come up. After finishing lunch, Ellie thanked Bill sincerely (but a touch profanely). 

"We need to talk to you about something," Ellie started.

"This story is... easy to misunderstand," Joel began. "I'm askin' you to hear me out before reacting." He retrieved his revolver and placed it on the table, with the safety on. Out of Bill's immediate reach. "If you don't listen to the end, you might consider this a shootin' matter. I'm askin' you to trust me. I've got it if it came to that. Which it won't."

Bill motioned for Joel to proceed. Consider him intrigued. No "shoot on sight" scenario seemed to apply here. After all these years, he was pretty confident Joel would never bring an infected or some kind of hostile mole (in amusingly feisty teenage form)  inside his fence, let alone his home. But Frank spoke for both of them.

"It's fine, Joel. We know you."

Alright, Joel thought. Here we go.

"Ellie's the first person, as far as anyone knows, to heal from a cordyceps bite." 

"Well. This was not on my 2023 Bingo card," Bill sounded amused. Joel was slightly taken aback when the older man simply topped off his beer, sat back in his chair, and said, "Do go on."

~*~

“Three weeks, you say? Has Joel or Tess been with you the whole time?”

“No,” Joel answered for Ellie, having anticipated Bill’s reluctance to accept an unknown teenager’s word. “We met about 48 hours ago. But not so much as a twitch since then. Listen, we can stay outside the fence if you want.” Bill kept certain nearby houses decently fit for shelter.

“I don’t mind being locked up till you’re sure,” Ellie said. “Fucking Fireflies chained me to a radiator for three weeks. I barely got to pee alone.” 

Frank nodded sympathetically toward Ellie. Joel winced inwardly. The kid had mentioned this highlight of her stay with the Fireflies yesterday. But it hadn't really registered while he tried to process the revelation of her immunity. Now he had the mental capacity to picture the kid chained up, wondering if she was going to turn.

Bill tilted his head from side to side in a sort of "seeing both sides" gesture. Like he got the logic of confining the kid, but found the specifics distasteful. Then he answered with surprising mildness. 

“Nah. Between the locking doors, the guns and the drugs we'll be fine." He looked at Ellie. “If you start turning, be smart and speak up. So we have time to handle it the nice way.”

“We've got the good stuff," Frank told her.

"So does Joel. We cut the same deal," Ellie replied. Tess had laid the same option on her. If it happened, fucking tell them early and go out on a high. Ha, so to speak. A 6 out of ten pun normally - plus and extra point for being topical. Retroactively worth an extra point for being her last one, ever. Which sucked. 

This compromise was all that Joel had reasonably hoped for. A promise not to shoot the "infected" kid. And if she turned, to take care of her the right way. Which Joel had pretty much decided she wasn’t going to.

“OK. Take the usual guest quarters," Bill announced, pointing toward the blue house next door. “Young lady. Ellie, is it? There is a comfortable bedroom where you can easily be confined -- correction, secured for the night."

"Just so Joel can sleep," Frank added, tactfully. 

"He looks like several metric tons of shit warmed over. Wouldn't you agree?" Bill elaborated, tactlessly. 

Ellie giggled, but didn't interject. She could see that Bill and Joel were in agreement.

"We'll just put some furniture in front of the door and window," Joel reassured. "Hard for a new infected to figure out, but you could get out in an emergency --"

"As long as you still have your marbles," Bill added helpfully. 

"Which the consensus is that you will," Frank pronounced, with a meaningful glance at Bill. 

"And you'll be pleased to know that the amenities include an en suite."

"A what sweet?" Ellie tested the phrase.

"A bathroom," Joel explained. "Private, just for the one bedroom."

"We offer some upgrades from what I imagine to be Marlene's hospitality standards," Bill continued. "Starting with unsupervised pee privileges."

Ellie look delightedly at Bill, appreciating his pickup of her earlier complaint. For Joel, this made it official. Bill wasn't himself. Something was officially up. 

Who's this witty fucker and what the fuck did he do with Bill?

In Joel's experience, Bill had a decent sense of humor once he relaxed a little. He appreciated jokes, especially subtle ones coming from Frank. Chuckled at the right places in movies. But making jokes himself wasn't his thing. And to a stranger, with everything Ellie was bringing with her.

"So one night should do it and we're all set?” Frank asked.

"Two, actually..." Ellie kinked her neck at Joel's pistol. He just gestured toward the pistol again as Ellie revealed that she'd sustained a second bite, just 24 hours ago. Short on details, without mentioning Tess.

“May I see?" Frank asked.

Shoulda thought of that, Joel thought. It figured, Frank was no doctor, but he had medical knowledge enough to know how old a wound was.

Frank obligingly made a big deal out of how healed over the big bite on Ellie's right forearm was, how the fungal tendrils had just seemed to stop, and how her second bite showed no sign of cordyceps activity.

So that went anticlimactically well. 

What also went well was Bill and Frank inviting Joel and Ellie to their... wedding? Tomorrow. (Prompting a "Shit yeah!" from Ellie.)

What went less well, but still OK, was Joel's request to enlist Bill and Frank to reconnect Ellie with the Fireflies to guide her to this lab of theirs. Preparing to abandon Boston, the group had closed out trading ties with the old couple. Quite reasonably, they'd left no information about where they were going. Oh, Bill and Frank grasped the importance and would do what they could. But it could take awhile, as discreet as their radio inquiries would need to be.

Bill correctly surmised that Ellie was unsafe in any QZ as long as she scanned positive for CBI. 

"This one might as well make herself at home," he craned his neck toward Ellie. "Joel, do you have any business to wrap up behind the wall?"

"Nothin' a few radio calls can't put to bed," Joel declared. He was starting to like the idea of never setting foot in that godawful QZ again. 

"I hypothesized as much, given your plan to abscond in search of Tommy," Bill answered.

"You both are welcome here as long as you need," said Frank. "Joel, we understand you need to find Tommy. We'll try the radio -- we'll be looking for his old Firefly friends anyway, on Ellie's account." Then Frank addressed Ellie. "But if he needs to leave, you're fine here till we figure things out." 

"Thank you," Joel said, and waited to feel relieved. He caught Ellie looking down briefly, then setting her features to neutral.

"Will Tess be rendezvousing here when said matters are put to bed?" Bill queried.

"No," Joel said tersely. He excused himself and headed purposefully toward the powder room. Relying on the beer for plausible deniability.

He realized that, in the unlikely event his own tells hadn't tipped off Bill and Frank, they'd glean the truth, or something like it, from Ellie.

Joel lingered unnecessarily at his bathroom tasks, setting set himself up to have the Tess conversation. Or enough of it. It wasn't right to leave it to the kid.

When he returned to the dining room, Frank was once again engaging Ellie in conversation, this time about the FEDRA academy. Bill announced that dinner would be a casual spread with cold cuts and such, since he was planning something more elaborate for tomorrow. 

"Are you sure we have enough set aside for company, Bill?" Frank asked. "Maybe Ellie would like to see where you smoke and cure the meats. Joel can handle the lunch cleanup, I'm sure."

"The three of us can swing by there in a few minutes," Bill countered. "Joel essentially designed the setup, and besides, he might want to keep eyes on Ellie."

"She'll be fine, Joel," Frank pressed. "I thought we might catch up."

Joel caught an exchange of looks between Frank and Bill. He knew family telepathy when he saw it. Frank had noticed something was up, and was offering a Bill-free space for the reveal. And Bill was picking up the hint. Joel knew he could put it off, that Frank would back off without drawing attention to the whole thing. But it was better to get it over with. So Ellie wouldn't have to keep his secret anymore.

"Far as catching up, there is... something," Joel cleared his throat. "No easy way to say this." He decided to look at Ellie. "Tess got bit on the way out."

Joel heard Frank draw a shallow breath. Ellie filled the silence as Joel gathered himself to say more. He looked at nothing or no one in particular.

"In the museum, same place I got this." With her left hand, she pointed  to where her second bite was, under her sleeve. "She told us when we got to the statehouse and the Fireflies were all dead and so we had to come here." She spoke with gravity, but composure.

Joel appreciated the kid wanting to help, to let him get his shit together. But this was his job.

"She had to take care of herself," Joel added. "A horde was comin'. Used her time to make sure Ellie and I made it out."

"Of course she did," Frank murmured. "I'm so sorry for your loss." Frank gestured to include Ellie in that statement despite hearing that the girl had known Tess only for a couple of days. He knew Joel wouldn't be comfortable being the sole focus.

"Me too. Yours," Joel replied. "You.. meant a lot to her." Of course he would think of Joel, and even Ellie, before himself.

"If you get on the radio and hear the Fireflies blew up the statehouse..." Frank was trying to suppress a smile. Bill wasn't bothering, just shaking his head in admiration. "The only truth to that is, it was their ammo, their diesel."

OK, time to be done with the heavy stuff. 

"I swear. That woman..."

"It was badass," Ellie followed his lead. Bill and Frank didn't need to know she'd matched Tess's  badassery with a (really stupid) screaming tantrum as Joel dragged her away to safety.

"At the risk of bad taste, Joel," Bill capped off the discussion. "Had women ever been an option..."

And that was it.

Joel stood up and gathered the salad bowl, plates, and utensils off the table. Bill followed his lead, suggesting Ellie grab the placements and napkins while he started removing the drinkware.

While they put the dining room and kitchen to rights, Joel announced that he could use some fresh air, despite having spent the last day and a half outside. He quietly confirmed that Ellie was, in fact, interested in touring Bill's meat processing setup, so he suggested they both join Bill on his errand for dinner provisions before settling into the guest house.

Frank announced that he could use some rest after all the excitement. He quietly confirmed with Joel that he was there if Joel wanted to talk, but he didn't expect it. 

~*~

OCTOBER 2, 2023
(The next morning)
Lincoln, MA

Being invited to a "pit stop" wasn't new to Joel. This spot, overlooking the pit trap Frank had fallen into and changed their lives all those years ago, was one of Bill's main spots to talk to Joel. The backhoe and the, uh, rectangular pit inside the fence? Those were new. Frank was running out of time. Much faster, apparently, than the visible change in his condition suggested. 

“The reason I’m showing you this is I have half a mind to go with him,” Bill said.

Joel shifted his gaze from the future gravesite to Bill. Was he joking? No, probably not, because... the wedding. Seeing Joel struggle for the right response, Bill softened.

“He was my purpose,” Bill said. “And I’m too old to find something else. I’m done. Satisfied.”

Joel understood half of that feeling. Not the satisfied part – the idea of ever having done enough was inconceivable. The done part had come to him twenty years ago in a wall of blinding despair. But whatever had stayed Joel’s shooting hand just enough after his daughter's death, Tommy’s anguish and fury had jolted him into a state where he could keep going as long as his brother was alive. He’d channeled every ounce of energy and focus into having Tommy’s back. In those early years, when his compartmentalization failed, he told himself that he was gone, basically, but he had to keep some remnant of himself in the world as long as Tommy needed him. Then came Tess, and now it was just Tommy again.

Unless you count this cure business, he wryly thought. Which’ll be someone else’s reason soon enough.

“Don’t worry. Under no circumstances will I leave the girl here alone. After that, If you come back here to not one, but two…  shuffled mortal coils,” Bill took a moment to be pleased with his own turn of phrase. “I’ll leave you a clean job. I’ve got bags.”

~*~

Bill had been thinking about this quite a bit. He’d prepped multiple places for when the time came, because Frank hadn’t decided where he wanted to fall asleep for the last time. So Bill had just said he’d be ready no matter where, because he hadn’t decided how exactly to work it if he decided to tag along. In the meantime, the bed they shared was protected – long a part of their routine – and two of Bill’s bags were also, now, within reach under the bed, along with some rope, and some menthol to put under one’s nose to block the smell. If it came to that. At worst, Joel (or whoever) would be greeted by quite a site upon cleaning the bedroom, but one that could be quickly taken care of by rolling up the tarp under their bedding and dragging them out, together if need be.

That wasn’t ideal, Bill knew. Moving one body at a time would be much easier, especially since the wheelchair would be right there. So he was hoping to fix it so they could each be “individually wrapped” and carried out -- without ruining the aesthetics of Frank’s last bedtime. One option was slowing down his own endgame. Of sticking around till Frank fell asleep, zipping them both into their bags, and downing his own… final wine pairing. Or he could go ahead and line the bags with their soft bedding, again, discreetly for the aesthetics, and go out together. That way, Joel or whoever could simply zip them up right there.

That was kind of what he was thinking for the other locations Frank had in mind. Make it festive, like camping out in a couple of luxury sleeping bags. To that end, Bill had also stashed bags and nice bedding in the greenhouse and out here, by the grave site. Where they’d met. If Bill got ambitious, maybe he could wait till Frank was done, lower him down, and then join him there for a final (chemically embellished) toast. He'd love to rig some kind of mechanism to fill the grave over them, but that would fill too much of Frank's remaining time. 

If he decided to go with Frank.

For Joel, it went without saying that he would take care of things, given the opportunity. He’d do for these old bastards what he couldn’t do for his other dead. But Ellie’s voice, coming from behind them, interrupted the moment before Joel could decide what to say.

It seemed Bill was wanted in the kitchen to start the roast and “other preparations.” So Joel just looked at Bill and gave him a somber but decisive nod as the older man turned back toward the house.

“I wasn’t spying,” Ellie began. “But he said that thing about ‘going with him’ pretty loud. And I don’t know what the fuck a mortal coil is, but it has ‘mortal’ in it. So.”

“It’s Shakespeare. I think,” Joel told her. Jesus, this kid could be on the ball.

“I’m, s-. I mean, it’s shitty. Frank’s pretty fucking nice. Like you said. And Bill isn’t that bad.” Grumpy like you, she thought, but managed to hold back in the gravity of the moment.

“You won’t hear me arguin’ with that,” Joel agreed.

“We should help them,” the girl pronounced. “But what exactly are we talking about?”

“Don’t worry about it, kid. Bill and I’ll work somethin’ out,” Joel said. “It’s not for kids – “

“Dude. I literally have experience in waiting forever for my life to fucking end and it blows,” Ellie reassured him. Or she probably meant to. No kid should be saying things like that, not even nowadays.

“And…” She hesitated, then fixed her face and looked straight at Joel. “I wasn’t the only FEDRA kid at the mall. Someone else got bit too. And we just left her. Marlene and them.”

I hope she was just some random other kid in that school. 

“That’s a shitty break, kid,” Joel permitted himself to say. “I was always gonna help if I was needed. Bill knows that.” Then he remembered that this kid’s emotional health wasn’t his concern.

“But is it like they want to do it together,” she continued “Or is it like Frank could die any time?”

“Both, from what Bill was saying,” Joel said. “There’s a plan for Frank, which we threw a wrench into, because he feels like he could be done at any time. I don’t know how much you’ve been around people who are sick like him.” Ellie shook her head.

“But it can get to where the pain pills stop workin’ till nothin’ will help but a fatal dose.” Ellie looked a little stricken. "That’s how you get addicted, the longer you take ‘em the worse they work, remember that."

“Frank’s not at that point,” Joel assured the kid. “He’d be in bed 24/7, half out of it.” Not givin’ you painting lessons and givin’ me a stealth therapy session disguised as a sheet music read through on that piano. “But he had more energy the last time.” The last time Tess and I came through here. Which we didn’t know’d be their last time together.

“He’s no doctor, ain’t seen one that I know of,” Joel continued. “But he knows some medicine. From the army. And he’s smart about this type of thing.” He paused. “Anyway. We just made sure he always had enough of whatever pills we were tradin’.”

Ellie smiled. “So you’re saying if Robin Hood was a drug dealer, that’s you.”

“Nothin’ that generous, apart from these two,” he conceded. “But they’ve always done good business with us. And Frank meant a lot to Tess.”

Time to change the subject.

“Bill’s not set on... goin’ along. Supposedly. But if I'm any judge of him, the more he thinks about it, the more he likes the idea. I don’t think he’s let Frank in on it, so.” He gave her a meaningful look.

“Gotcha,” Ellie mimed zipping up her lips. “If we’re still here and something happens, it’s all good. You help Bill with Frank, or I help you with both of them. Depending.”

“That’s nice of you, but I don’t think they’d want you dealin’ with all that.”

“Dude. They won’t know,” Ellie rolled eyes.

Maybe I don’t want you dealing with all that, Joel thought.

 “Fine, whatever,” the girl conceded. “I can carry things, get stuff out of the way, plant flowers and shit. And if you’re gone looking for Tommy, Bill said he'd wait with me.”

Joel noticed the air getting suddenly sucked out of the room. Which was impressive, considering they were outside.

Shit. Hadn’t thought that far ahead. It was just “get the kid here,” get back on track looking for Tommy. By myself.

But that plan assumed that Bill and Frank had more time. Meanwhile, Ellie was still gaming out the death and burial of her new best friend and his partner. Make that fiancé.

“If it’s Frank, Bill will have to let me help. If it’s both of them, that'll mean we’ve found someone to get me to the Fireflies.” She pictured making herself scarce for a few hours, then at least wrapping them up nicely. Bill said he had bags.

It then occurred to Joel for the first time that Tess’s plan – their plan – ended with Ellie going off into the sunset, alone with a bunch of strangers. He hadn’t thought about from her side. He’d just been all about shedding responsibility for her.

Yeah, strangers, like the Fireflies we were takin’ her to. Like Tess and I were three days ago. Frank was a stranger just yesterday. C’mon now. It’s not like I have some kind of relationship with this kid. Much as I like her grit.

“Maybe whoever they find to take me can help. We could give them space and then bury them, or they could send someone back if you’re still in Wyoming.”

Joel didn’t like the idea of strangers muckin’ around in the compound any more than he liked them whisking Ellie off who knows where. It’s not that he didn’t trust Bill’s judgment but –

“Ellie, enough. I’m not leavin’ you here to handle any of this, by yourself or with a bunch of new people –”

Ellie looked up, unable to keep the surprise and a little pleasure off her face. “Dude, I could totally – “

Joel raised his hand. “I know you could handle it. But it would suck. Right?”

She nodded.

“Alright. I’m thinking the best thing is for you to come with me to find Tommy. He was a Firefly. He’ll know where to find this lab of yours.”

“OK.”

“It gets us out of Frank and Bill’s hair faster.”

“That makes sense.” Ellie held Joel’s gaze as long as he did, keeping her features even.

“OK. Let’s head back. We got a wedding to get ready for.”

Ellie permitted herself a happy grin. She might have kept watch out of the corner of her eye, to make sure Joel didn’t catch her smiling.

~*~

The wedding was a lot simpler than the few Ellie had read about or seen on old videos from movies and TV. It was basically sappy music, then Bill and Frank saying totally sappy things, then more sappy music. 

She and Joel helped. They wore nice shirts and jackets Frank picked out on a walk with Ellie to this old clothing store. The clothes were more interesting than the FEDRA school crap, and way nicer, not messed up. But still plain as fuck. But Frank had played along while Ellie pretended to shop like she'd seen in books and videos. She was pretty sure Joel would've let her do that, but also sure that he'd have shit-talked about it. Kinda.

Before the vows, Joel played the piano while Bill sang a song about loving someone for a long time. It was a little weird, because it sounded like the people in the song broke up or something. Definitely the opposite of married. Frank just said it was their main song, and who was she to get all picky? After the vows, Ellie was ready at the record player to start Frank's surprise pick. As it started, Joel cocked his head in recognition.

We wander through each other's secrets
We traded an honored word
We shared a solemn promise
But like the raven's cry, it must be heard

Please don't take away your love dear
One mistake is not a crime
Let's start again, my love is yours dear
Your love is mine
One more time, one more time

You tell me a cold wind's a' comin'
A chill that turns a heart to stone
And your eyes say it's time to move on
Down a road you'd rather walk alone

Now pride is a raging river
You could fell the tallest tree
When some need the wings of forgiveness
And tame the stormy seas

Please don't take away your love dear
One mistake is not a crime
Let's start again, my love is yours dear
Your love is mine
One more time, one more time

You say that nothing is forever
Like the tide that comes in but doesn't stay
But our journey has taken up our lifetime
And what you give you just can't take away

I can't take away my love dear
One mistake is not a crime
Let's start again, my love is yours dear
Your love is mine
One more time, one more time

~*~

OCTOBER 5, 2023
Lincoln, MA

Two days after the wedding turned out to be a particularly radiant, golden autumn day.

For about an hour that morning, Joel sat at the piano again, playing “requests” while Frank quietly sang. Frank was really just whispering the words with the correct rhythm and at basically the proper pitch. Pretending to read in the living room, Ellie thought he had a nice voice. Sometimes Joel sang, too. Fucking finally! They’d had a routine going the past few days. Joel would play, but he wouldn’t sing. And Ellie would come up with some way of saying that it was a good call, because he probably couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. Now Joel sang, but very quietly. Probably to have Frank’s back without drowning him out. Ellie couldn’t make out much more than a low rumble from Joel, but it sounded kinda soothing. She now had evidence that it would be cool to hear him sing for real sometime.

Frank caught her watching them, and the way he silently directed her attention to Joel gave her the idea that he thought so, too. Fortunately, Joel was seated kinda sideways from Ellie and focused on the sheet music so he missed her spying and Frank’s wordless message. Ellie got the feeling that she wasn’t allowed to notice what a nice, sappy motherfucker he maybe was deep down. He did look up at Bill when he came in from some chore and stood with his hand on Frank’s shoulder for a few minutes. Bill chuckled and gave Joel the closest thing to a real smile Ellie had ever seen from him. Not, like, a smiley smile. But way different from the nods they usually exchanged. Ellie decided Bill was kinda making fun of Joel for caving on his no-singing rule, but also saying thank you.

Ellie gave up on reading and started to sketch the three men at the piano.

Frank devoted the afternoon to Ellie, sharing his art books and offering pointers on her sketching while Bill and Joel saw to random things around the compound and prepared for Joel and Ellie’s trip. When some errand brought Joel to the greenhouse area, the girl left Frank briefly to ask Joel if he and Bill needed help with anything. He shook his head.

“Last thing Bill and I need’s a motormouth kid gettin' underfoot,” he declared. Relatively confident that she could clock his fake asshole tone by now, he still made a point to come closer and tell her quietly to hang out with Frank while she had the chance. “We’ll be hittin’ the road in a couple of days,” he quickly amended. Which he was pretty sure she recognized as code for Frank running out of time. “He likes you.”

After dinner Frank said goodnight, earlier than he had on previous nights. Joel suspected Frank was downplaying some kind of physical distress, but he simply volunteered to clean up like he and Ellie always did. As Bill wheeled Frank out of the dining room, Joel briefly took the arm Frank held out to him. A long look passed between the three men. For Ellie, Frank offered their now-usual fist bump. After helping Frank in the bathroom, Bill came back and puttered in the pantry for a couple of minutes before visiting the facilities himself and joining Frank in the bedroom.

Neither Joel nor Ellie said anything, but both noticed a break from the pattern of their stay. Joel figured there was good chance the kid had picked up on the same thing he had. She was pretty damned observant. But they just went ahead and started clearing the table, as if there was an unspoken agreement to ignore their suspicions.

No sense in reactin’ till we know there’s somethin’ to react to. Besides, I’m not this kid’s… anything. And I am shit at stuff like this.

When they finished cleaning, Joel suggested they listen to music till bedtime – something they could do in “the guest house” without disturbing Frank and Bill. The neighboring house they were using (that he and Tess had always used when they stayed over) had a generator and a decent stereo system.

“Why don’t you pick out some LPs for tonight,” Joel said. “They don’t travel well, so—”

“So do my listening before we leave,” Ellie finished. Frank had encouraged her to do just that on their first day here. Before indicating that he’d be willing to part with some tapes for her Walkman when the time came.

Their selections made, Joel and Ellie adjourned to the guest house. Ellie got the albums arranged in the den while Joel turned on the power.

Joel stopped cold at the record Ellie had teed up. The same one Frank had chosen for the wedding. Mitch and Mickey.

"Don't worry, dude," the kid said. "Just one from on here. Frank said you'd like this one." And he did. Lovebird folk music had never been one of his main things, but he respected the genre. He and Tommy had grown up hearing it at home.