I was thinking about doing random chapters of Ellie and Joel living in the Community in Jackson, I'm not sure how many chapters I will do but there will be random stories. There will be different events and holidays they may celebrate has a community, but be warned people who are sensitive... there maybe horror in some chapters.

I thought I'd begin where Ellie and Joel arrive at The Jackson Community, then we can venture through the years until the present day game. I finished the game now, it was a different. If anyone would like to discuss the game my dms are open.

Buckley was the dog from the Jackson Dam and he was in the TLOU2 too, the old timer needed to have a moment with Ellie because he's a good doggo. I wanted to do something different in this chapter, I thought I could start covering Joel's guitar lessons with Ellie.

-The Last Of Us is owned by Naughty Dog/ Sony Computer Entertainment

-Some of the parts of this fanfiction are in the game, other parts aren't in the game.

-Spoilers may happen.

- Lone Pilgrim by Crooked Still

- Behind Blue Eyes by The Who

Snowflake Warning

-Ellie grew up in a world of monsters, TLOU isn't about butterflies and rainbows... it's horror.

-If you're playing the game I know, I know the story has thrown heartbreak at us. I'll give us some happy times.

-Sensitive material, Ellie likes girls... get over it!

Thank you for all the Faves, Alerts and Reviews.

Keep safe and enjoy!

Chapter 7!

Ellie and Joel had arrived at The Jackson Community two hours after dawn, they had brought Lucy back with them. She had a fever when she had woken in the night, Joel had checked her over again for bite marks but she was still clean. Joel had decided that they should leave the garage at first light just in case Lucy had an infection due to her injury, she may need antibiotics. They had left Lucy with Maria, she told them she would take her to the medical center and get her settled into the community.

Leaving their horses with the stable hands they began their walk back home, the day was still young has Joel always put it. Everyone was carrying on with their morning chores, the stores were opening and a group of children were making their way to the school. The community was bustling with life, it was just another beautiful day in Jackson. Ellie could smell freshly made bread coming from the bakery, her stomach rumbled at the thoughts of toasted bread and homemade strawberry jam. Joel told Ellie to wait for him outside of the Tipsy Bison Bar while he nipped in for a moment, she sat down on the steps of the bar's porch and waited for him. She smiled when a dog approached her, she fussed over him and gave him a itch behind his ear.

" Hey Buckley, who's a good boy?" Ellie asked.

The dog wagged his tail while she itched behind his right ear, he was a sweet dog with a beautiful black and white coat. Joel had once told Ellie that Buckley was a Border Collie, he had seen him hanging around the Jackson Dam a few years back when they went to visit Tommy. He was meant to be the guard dog there, but he was a big softy and no guard dog due to his sweet nature. She fussed over her four legged friend until Joel reappeared, he walked down the steps and beckoned Ellie to follow him.

" C'mon kiddo, let's get moving." Joel said.

" Okay." Ellie said, she patted the dog's head before she got up from the step. " See you later boy."

Ellie followed after Joel and asked him what he had been doing in the Tipsy Bison Bar, he told her that he was just looking for Tommy because he wanted to ask him a favour. They kept on walking until they reached Joel's house, Ellie hurried upstairs to her bedroom and hung her backpack over the back of her desk's chair. She had a quick wash and changed into some clean clothes, she heard Joel calling for her from downstairs while she pulled her shirt over her head.

" Ellie, will come downstairs for a moment!" Joel yelled.

" Give me a moment, I'm just getting changed!" Ellie said.

Ellie tied her hair up into a ponytail has she left her bedroom, she hurried downstairs and entered the kitchen through the Dining Room. She stopped dead in the doorway and stared at a strawberry cream cake on the kitchen counter, she could see some blue coloured candles on it. Joel was resting his hands on the counter, he smiled at Ellie and told her that this was another Birthday gift for her. She hurried into the kitchen and looked at the cake, she tasted some of the whipped cream from the cake with her finger tip. It tasted so good, she went to steal a sliced strawberry next but Joel stopped her and told her to save some for the rest of them.

" Holy shit, I've got a Birthday cake!" Ellie smiled.

" You deserve one kiddo, you can't have a Birthday party without a cake." Joel said.

" Hold on one second, I'm having a Birthday party?!" Ellie asked.

" Yep, I arranged it with Tommy before we left Jackson." Joel replied.

" Dude, this is so fucking awesome!" Ellie said while she approached Joel. " Who did you invite?"

" Dina, Jesse, Cat, Tommy and Maria." Joel replied.

Joel told Ellie that Maria and Tommy would be bringing some food over at lunch time, he said the party would be starting around 1pm. They had three hours to choose some music and decorate the Dining Room with paper chains, they had plenty of time since it was only 10am. Joel helped Ellie with some of the party decorations, he soon left her to finish the job since he had to collect some fruit drink from Seth at the Tipsy Bison Bar. Ellie soon finished decorating the Dining Room, it look pretty good if you didn't count the paper chain draped over the light fitting above the table. Next she chose some vinyls from her personal collection in her bedroom, she was in the mood for something retro. Pearl Jam, The Cure and The Smiths. She had so many records, Joel had found them for her in a music store outside of the community. She took a pile of them downstairs to the living room and placed them on the coffee table, she put a random record on.

Music blared from the record player's speakers, she heard a knock at the front door and she hurried to answer it. She opened the door wide, Tommy and Maria were here with the food. They had brought meat pies, steak sandwiches, baked potatoes and an array of sliced fruits. Ellie helped them to carry the food to the Dining Room, she placed a bowl of baked potatoes on the table and Maria went to the kitchen to get some plates. Tommy playfully hit Ellie on the top of her head with present he had gotten her before he held it towards her, it was wrapped in blue paper with a name tag on it.

" This is for the birthday girl, I hope you like it." Tommy said.

" Thank you, can I open it now?" Ellie asked.

" I don't see why not." Tommy replied.

Ellie gave Tommy a smile before she ripped the paper away from the present, she was surprised to see a book. She read the book's title out loud, it was called The Call Of The Wild. She had no idea what it was about but she couldn't wait to start reading it, Maria told Ellie that she had loved that book when she was a little girl. Tommy told Ellie that it was about a dog named Buck, she couldn't help but mention Buckley the old useless guard dog of the Jackson Dam which earned her a chuckle from Tommy. There was no pictures in the book, but Ellie didn't mind since she could sketch the screens out in her notebook.

" I'll start reading it later, this is so fucking cool!" Ellie said.

" We're glad you like it." Maria said.

Ellie placed the book on the drinks cabinet and help Maria set the table, she placed her Birthday cake in the middle of the table for the center piece. It wasn't long until Joel returned with a crate of bottles, there were fruit drinks and some ale in the box. Ellie showed Joel the book Tommy and Maria had gotten her for her Birthday, he told Ellie that it was an excellent read. It was long until Ellie's friends began to turn up for her surprise party, she greeted them one by one. Cat had turned up first, then Jesse and Dina turned up together.

They all gathered in the Dining Room while Joel lit the candles on the cake, Ellie felt herself blushing badly has they sang Happy Birthday to her. She covered up her face and peeped through the gaps between her fingers while Dina placed a colourful paper crown on her head, this was so embarrassing for her. She blew out the candles on the cake and made a wish, she had wished for some roller skates. She always wanted to own a pair of roller stakes, she had seen a movie once where some teenagers were roller skating in a Roller Ring.

" Present time!" Tommy said.

" Shouldn't we eat first?" Ellie asked.

" It's traditional, well it was when we were kids." Tommy replied.

" Okay, who's first?" Ellie asked.

" Oh me! Happy Birthday Ellie!" Cat said, she handed her an unwrapped box of pencils. " I thought you could do with some new ones, you know since you chewed the tops of your pencils."

Ellie thanked Cat and placed them on the table, she was getting a small pile of presents now. Jesse had brought her a tin of sugar cookies, his Mother had made them especially for Ellie's Birthday. Dina had given Ellie two stretching books and some beef jerky, she had also brought her the paper crown she has made at the abandoned Summer Camp they had visited a few weeks back when they had sneaked out of community. Maria had brought her a green hoody, it fitted her perfectly. Joel told Ellie he was still working on another present for her, it should be ready in a day or two.

They all sat around the table together and tucked into the Birthday feast, the food Maria had made for them was delicious. Joel and Tommy were drinking ale together, they told Ellie about their past Birthday parties from when they were kids. She couldn't help but laugh when Joel told Ellie about the time Tommy had cried when their Mom had arranged a clown for his fifth Birthday party, she thought it was hilarious. But Tommy on the other hand hadn't enjoy that Birthday treat, he told Ellie he had never been a fan of clowns since he had seen the movie Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

" It wasn't funny, it scarred me for life..." Tommy said.

" What was he called now?" Joel asked, he thought for a brief moment. " Oh yeah, Chuckles the Clown."

" Maybe he got Infected, an Infected clown." Ellie joked.

" That sounds so fucking creepy!" Cat said.

" Maybe you'll bump into him on one of your patrols with Joel, it could happen." Jesse said.

" Heaven forbid that he's still out there..." Tommy said.

" He could be waiting for you outside of the communities wall." Ellie teased.

" Okay Ellie, you're creepy me out now!" Dina said.

" Don't worry, we'll sleep with the hall's light on tonight." Maria said.

Ellie watched has Maria kissed Tommy's cheek and rubbed his back with her hand to comfort him, they were the perfect couple in her eyes. They carried on eating, laughing and dancing in the living room until it had gotten late, it was time for everyone to leave. Tommy and Maria told Joel that they would walk the kids home since it was getting late, Ellie waved them off while Joel made a start on tidying up the Dining Room. She locked the front door and joined Joel the Dining Room, she helped him carry some dirty plates into the kitchen.

" Did you enjoy your surprise party?" Joel asked.

" Yeah, it was totally awesome!" Ellie replied, she placed the dirty dishes in the sink and looked over at Joel. " You sure kept quiet about it, I guess that's why they're called surprise parties."

" You right, that's the whole point of them." Joel said.

" Are you still up for a movie night?" Ellie asked.

" Of course, just give me a moment to tidy up first." Joel replied.

Joel threw a rag at Ellie, she managed to catch it before it hit the floor. He told her to give him a hand with the tidying up, Ellie told him okay and headed back into the Dining Room. There was some leftover meat pies, she sat down on a chair and helped herself to a pie. The pies weren't hot anymore but they were juicy and seasoned to perfection. She took a bite of the pie while she watched Joel walk back into the Dining Room, he shook his head at her in amusement and continued to tidy up the Dining Room by himself while Ellie finished off some of the leftover food.

Time Skip

Three Months Later -Autumn - 2034

The evening was chilly and the leaves were falling from the trees, Autumn had crept over Jackson. Ellie was having one of her many guitar lessons with Joel on the back porch, they did this every Friday evening since she moved out of the Joel's house. She still visited him when he was around or if she wasn't busy herself with the greenhouses and her field duties, but sometimes Joel was out on patrol with Tommy for more than two nights. When she had lived with Joel she use to stay up until late when he was meant to returning back to the community, she could never settle unless she knew he was safe.

Ellie licked her lips has she moved her finger tips up the guitar's cords, she rocked gently side to side while she strummed at the strings of the guitar. She had been practicing a new song she had been learning, Joel had found her some music sheets and a vinyl of Crooked Still at a Music Store near some Ski Lodges. He had told Ellie that his Daughter Sarah had been fond of this band, Ellie could see why since the band's music was pretty rocking. She took a deep breath before she began to sing, she wanted to get her vocals right for the song.

Yesterday I came to the place where Dad lay
And pensively stood by his tomb
When in a low whisper I heard someone say
"how sweetly I sleep here alone"

"the tempest may howl and the loud thunder roar
And gathering storms may arise
But calm is my feeling at rest is my soul
The tears are all wiped from my eyes

The cause of my master compelled me from home
No kindred or relative nigh
I met the contagion and sank to my tomb
My soul flew to mansions on high

Go tell my companion and children most dear
To weep not for me now i'm gone
The same hand that lead me through scenes most severe
Has kindly assisted me home"

Ellie continued to play her guitar until Joel opened the back door of his house, he had been making them some coffee. She wasn't a big fan of coffee, but she tolerated it when Joel made her a mug of the disgusting hot drink. She leaned on her guitar has Joel joined her on the porch, she watched him sit down and place the mugs on the table between them. He picked his guitar up and looked over at Ellie while he rested his guitar on his knee, he gave her a smile before he began to play Hurt by Johnny Cash on his guitar.

" You've improved a lot, have you been practicing?" Joel asked.

" Not much." Ellie replied.

" You may not anymore lessons from me at this rate, you're a fast learner." Joel said.

" I don't know about that, there's still many more songs you could teach me." Ellie replied.

" Yep, there's millions of songs out there that I can't remember anymore." Joel said.

" Is it because you're getting old?" Ellie asked.

" You could be right, but I'll teach you something special tonight." Joel replied.

" A new song, huh?" Ellie asked.

" Something like that, I'll sing it to you first before I teach you the cords." Joel replied.

" Okay." Ellie said.

Joel stopped playing for a moment while he took a sip of his coffee, he cleared his throat and told Ellie that this was one of his favourite songs when he was growing up. She remembered the time when Joel had told her that he wanted to be a singer when he was young, she never understood why he didn't try to follow his musical dreams. He wasn't the world's greatest singer, but his voice was smoothing and full of emotion. He told her that the song was called Behind Blue Eyes by The Who before he began to play his guitar, Ellie listened to him singing while she watched his fingers changing to the different cords on his guitar.

No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes

No one knows what it's like
To be hated
To be fated
To telling only lies

But my dreams
They aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be

I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free

Ellie couldn't help but smile at Joel, she could listen to him singing and playing his guitar for hours. The song was beautiful and sad at the same time, she couldn't wait to learn how to play the song he was singing to her. Joel soon finished the song he had been playing, Ellie gave him a round of applause and wolf whistled for his performance. Joel bowed his head at Ellie and thanked her for the applause, it would be moments like these that Ellie would remember fondly in the future.