Consequence

Hello lovely people I'm sorry it's been so long since my last chapter not quite a year but ehhh yeah I'm sorry. I hope this long chapter makes up for it! Have a beautiful day!!

It had taken some time to get back to the theatre, getting back just in time for daybreak. The morning was surprisingly tranquil. The birds chirping and the sun's rays warming their backs as they walked. It was strange to still see some form of beauty in such a broken and damaged world. Even the abandoned buildings had a twisted sense of wonder about them. Ellie often found herself admiring them when she was out on patrol. Every sign and building or house had a strange aura about it. An essence of the 'before' that she would never know. Joel and Ada had of course told her what it was like in their time. Back when infected were, nothing more than something you'd laugh or scoff at as fiction or a nightmare long forgotten as you awoke to the reality that, something so terrible could never happen. But now the nightmares were a respite in comparison to the reality one would wake too now. Still, Ellie felt a little lighter. Lighter than she had in weeks, months. She hadn't expected to break down like she had with Joel but was rather glad of it leaving her system. It had been bottling up for so long, she was grateful she'd been given the time and space to finally let it out. Joel had helped. And it'd been nice to have him back again after so long.

They chatted on the way back. The atmosphere much more comfortable than the awkward silence on the way there. He'd explained what he'd experienced after leaving Jackson; all the way to her and Tommy finding him. And Ellie had brought him up to speed on things in her life than he'd missed over the last two years. He'd been shocked at first when she'd informed him of Dina's pregnancy. But there was no judgement from him; which Ellie appreciated. After all he wouldn't pass judgement on anyone having kids at a young age, given how young he had been himself when he'd had Sarah. In fact he'd been of similar age; he wouldn't condemn them as he had been. Ellie had even gone as far as teasing him about being a Grandpa. He'd cringed at the idea but deep down mostly grateful to have the opportunity to have something like that.

When they finally arrived back, Joel had held the door open for her. She'd barely made her way inside before Dina came rushing towards them; with panic in her eyes.

"Thank fuck you guys are back!" She gasped, taking a hold of Ellie's arm as fingers traced down to grab her hand. The redhead quickly squeezed back in concern for her girlfriend as she checked her over for injuries. "Why? What's wrong?" Ellie asked with hands moving to cup her face. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Dina shook her head, her own hands moving to hold onto Ellie's wrists. "No, I'm fine." The girl assured her with a small smile. They were so wrapped up in one another; that both had forgotten Joel was even standing in the room until he awkwardly cleared his throat and took a step towards them.

"Did... Tommy and Jesse have any luck finding Ada?" Joel asked as Ellie and Dina parted and the redhead looked to her girlfriend for the answer to Joel's question. Dina paled. "I don't know....Jesse didn't come back." She told them, the air stilled in the room for a moment as the information was processed.

"What do you mean, he didn't come back?" Ellie asked cautiously; she knew wouldn't like whatever answer she was given.

"He's missing. Tommy came back, but Jesse wasn't with him. He's kidnapped one of Abby's people and locked himself in the backroom. He wouldn't let me inside!" she explained gesturing to the door leading to the backstage area of the theatre reserved for staff members. "What the fuck?" "Dammit Tommy...what are you doing?" Joel and Ellie both gritted out simultaneously under their breaths.

Dina huffed running a hand through her hair as she shared in their frustration. It'd all happened so fast. One moment she'd been sat in the control booth listening for activity on the radio the next, the front door had been wrenched open and by the time Dina had made her way to the front of the building; she'd gotten there just in time to see Tommy dragging a man she didn't know into the back room and yelled at her to keep away before slamming the door shut behind him.