A few minutes after the attack, the guard team huddled around Tommy's desk, conversing on their strategies.
"What the hell do you mean? We have to go for my dad!" Ellie never had liked Arthur, but she was staring to sympathize him; his mother was dead and now his father may be dead as well. Well when sh*t hits the fan...
"I know; we have to find the safest way to retrieve Peter and Will... If they hear us coming, they might just shoot both of them." Will huffed, and threw his hands up in the air, and stalked out; slamming the door behind him.
Tommy sighed in frustration, and tightened his hand around the chair.
"If we can track them, we can find Peter and Will," Joel said.
Another guard said, "But what if they just left? They can't be that stupid; staying a couple a miles away from the place they just attacked." Everyone started to talk, yelling at one another; debating.
Tommy yelled, "Stop!" everyone stopped, "Stop with the talking! I f***ing mean it! We have two of our own men out there; this is no time to argue like a couple of children. I have heard all I need to; we're going after them."
It only took a few minutes of persuasion to get all of the guards on board. They were going to wait until nightfall; it was only dawn.
Ellie fidgeted in anticipation, curled in the mass of blankets. They had been dismissed, and told to get a lot of rest before the raid. Maria had tried to talk Joel out of taking Ellie countless times, but failed. Ellie knew Maria's heart was in the right place, but sometimes she just wanted her to keep it to herself; Maria couldn't control her.
"Ellie?" A deep voice came from the doorway. Ellie was bundled up in the covers and blankets, sitting up in the bed; she was still freezing.
"Y-Yeah?" Joel sighed, and walked further into the room. He slipped out of his boots, and slid down in the bed, next to Ellie. She slid down further in the bed, curling herself next to Joel's side, shuddering at the amount of heat that radiated off of him.
"I figured we could get some shut eye for 'couple hours and then going to see if Maria needed any help; I talked my way out of guard duty." Ellie slightly smiled, and adjusted the blankets again.
"A-Aren't we going to scope the a-area out first before g-going to r-rescue Will and Peter?" Joel remained silent, trying to find a good way to break the news to Ellie.
"Ellie... I don't think, in your 'current state, you should go with us. You can barely leave the blankets for a minute; what makes you think that you'll be ready by tonight? You won't even let me get your jacket and sweater from the horses." Ellie sat up, fully facing Joel.
"No way. I'm c-coming with you. I-I'll be fine." Joel wrapped his right arm around Ellie, and ushered her to his side.
"Come on; go to sleep. I'll think about it, but right now; you need to sleep." Ellie complied, too tired to argue. She closed her eyes, instantly drifting off into a deep sleep.
Joel woke up, and looked down at his side, at a sleeping Ellie.
Ellie's arm was sprawled across his chest, her head resting under his neck. Joel felt her shivering, and knew that she was in no condition for the 'rescue mission.' He looked out of the window, concluding it must be mid-afternoon.
Joel gently grabbed Ellie's arm, and put it next to her side. He mentally cursed himself as her eyes fluttered open.
"Hey, Joel." Ellie stretched her arms, and sat up.
"It's not ready to go. Go back to sleep." Ellie frowned, and readjusted her blankets.
"No, J-Joel. I'm coming with you." Joel sighed, and looked down at Ellie.
"Maria is stayin' here too. She's been beggin' me to not 'llow you to come. Right now, I'm 'kinda agreein' with her. You're not coming." Ellie shot daggers Joel's way.
"I'm capable!"
"I know you're capable. You're more capable than most men in this town. But you know that even the best of fighters need some time alone, and your time is now. You got frostbite a day, and you're still shiverin'. I cain't let you out there like this."
Ellie huffed, and faced the other way. She laid on her side, facing the opposite way of Joel.
Ellie knew he had a point, but shut her eyes; hearing Joel exit the room.
"Where's Ellie?" Tommy asked. The group was in the process of getting their horses ready. It was almost nightfall; the perfect time to attack.
"She's still recoverin'. 'Put up hell of a fight." Tommy scoffed.
"I imagine so," he saw Joel's troubled expression, "Don't worry 'bout her. Maria's 'gonna take good care of her. 'Ya got nothing to worry about."
Joel nodded, and looked a couple of stables down, Callus still wearing Ellie's jacket.
A/N: I know; very short chapter, but since I haven't updated in a while, I thought that I should give you something in the mean time. The next chapter is going to have much more action. This could be considered a 'breather' chapter.
A lot has happened since I've updated. My kitty, Sassy, recently passes away due to a car accident, and I have started school.
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A huge thank you to ThatChickontheInternet (I can't even come up with the words to thank you. You are an amazing person- thank you thank you thank you thank you!), Tabi Cat'n'Jacob Black (thank you! I hate math- it will definitely be the death of me :D), AKgal2001 (thank you so much! I love Love and Theft- I am in love with every song of theirs!), Elli89 (thanks! I try to equal out the amount of action... I am not the best at writing it, nor do I like to. Please tell me if you want more or less action! I'm open to anything!), Guest (thank you! I WILL!), and Guest (thanks- like I mentioned, I am going to keep the censors... Please respect my decision. Thank you for reviewing!).