A/N: You knew I wouldn't keep you waiting long. I guess I just can't stay away from the Last of Us for too long. Anyways, first things first: this is a direct sequel to my previous story Aftermath. For anyone who hasn't read it, Aftermath takes place during the gap between Winter and Spring in the game. There will be references to events and details from that story in Aftermath: Part II, so if you haven't read it, go and do so before reading Part II.

Part II picks up at that infamous final word of the game. The ending really shocked me, not because it was particularly climactic or epic, but because it wasn't. I was also rather conflicted about it at first, too. To me, it's probably one of the least "happy" happy endings I can recall. But it's very complex and deep, and is ripe for delving into, so here's my attempt at doing just that. All of the stuff that will take place in this story is just my interpretation of how life would be for Joel and Ellie after making it safely to Jackson and trying to settle down and build a life together. I know part of the ending's appeal is that it doesn't show that, and lets the player do that themselves, but I was a player, and that's what I'm doing.

Anyways, enough rambling on. Here's the first chapter! I hope you're as excited for this as I am! Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

DISCLAIMER/LEGAL MUMBO-JUMBO: I do not own The Last of Us, it is Naughty Dog's property.

AFTERMATH: PART II

CHAPTER 1

SAFE

"Okay."

The word fell from her lips. He had hesitated a second too long. He had to be lying, but... he couldn't be. No, she was certain it was a lie. His story about the Fireflies and the dozens of people just like her wasn't that believable. But he wouldn't lie to her. And if he did, he must have his reasons. He must.

"Now c'mon, let's get into town," Joel urged as he turned and began down the embankment to the perimeter of Jackson.

Ellie couldn't move. She stared down at the town, watching people ambling up and down the streets. It almost looked like she imagined it that night on the porch in Evanston. The people were... strolling; there was no tension in their movements, no constant vigilance. They were relaxed, a feeling she wasn't familiar with. She came very close to turning and running away, deep into the woods.

"Ellie!" Joel's voice startled her. "C'mon!"

"Right," she said to herself, forcing her feet to move his direction.

The embankment was fairly steep, and Joel waited for her at a particularly treacherous spot, extending a hand to help her down. He wouldn't lie to her. In every action, it was obvious how much he cared about her. You don't lie to someone you care about that much, do you?

The two of them approached the gate, making sure their weapons were holstered and their hands raised. Joel stepped in front to shield Ellie, always protecting her.

"Hold it!" one of the guards called from the tower beside the gate, rifle barrel protruding over the railing. "What's your business here?"

"Name's Joel, I'm Tommy's brother. He probably ain't expectin' us."

The guard conferred with someone on the other end of the radio. "All right, you hold up. He's on his way down to verify who you are."

Joel and Ellie waited in the palpable tension, but after a few minutes a loud clank preceded the opening of the gate. Tommy's familiar face emerged, followed by Maria's.

"Joel! Ellie! My God I was startin' to think this day would never come!" he exclaimed, clearly relieved to see them. He moved to Joel and embraced him. Ellie smiled, happy to see them reunited once more. "Well, c'mon then. Inside."

"They're friendlies!" Maria announced, just as she had all those months ago back at the dam. The guards eased, looking rather relieved. "How're you doing, Ellie?" she asked.

Ellie truly wasn't sure how to answer. "Surviving."

"You two must be hungry," Maria said.

"Par for the course these days," Ellie replied, hoping she had used the phrase correctly, though she had no idea what it meant.

"We'll see if we can't put together somewhat of a feast tonight, to celebrate your return," Maria replied. Ellie perked up at the thought of a feast. She was starving, as usual. "I know Tommy's been eagerly wishing for this day to come. Ever since you guys left last fall, he's been keeping an eye on the horizon, hoping to see the two of you appear."

The four of them walked through the town, Tommy pointing out locations of interest along the way. "...and that there's the mess hall, where the town can gather for special occasions such as tonight. There's a big cafeteria where we can all eat together." He stepped to the side and grabbed someone passing by. "Earl, you make it known that the town's getting together to celebrate Joel and Ellie's return. Let's throw a feast, or as good of one as we can come up with."

"Sure thing, Tommy," Earl responded, trotting off. Ellie thought she recognized him from the dam last fall. He seemed like the kind of guy who was eager to help.

She looked over at Joel walking beside Tommy. He hadn't said much since they entered Jackson. He was probably trying to shake the disbelief, just like she was. It was a weird change being somewhere safe.

"Ellie, did you hear me?" Maria had been talking to her.

"Huh?"

"What do you think? Of the town?"

"Oh. It's uh... it's gonna take some getting used to," Ellie replied.

"I understand. Can't honestly say I'm completely used to it myself. Having electricity after around twenty years without it is a strange phenomenon," Maria said, looking up at an illuminated streetlight.

"Even in the Zone it was spotty," Ellie remarked. It had been quite a while since she'd seen electricity provided by a power grid rather than a generator.

They continued down the streets of Jackson. Ellie marveled at each of the houses. She wasn't used to seeing them occupied. They were decently well-kept, the yards weren't strewn with debris, and the movement within them wasn't a pod of Infected or hunters scavenging for supplies. It was just people making a house a home.

They came to a house that was in the best shape of them all. It even had a wooden picket fence, though the weather had stripped its white paint years ago. The windows were mostly intact, except for one on the second floor that appeared to have a tree prodding into it. There were no visible structural flaws, the siding was clean and the yard was clear.

"I've uh… I've been savin' this one. Hasn't been easy to do, given the shape its in, but I was holdin' it for you two in hopes you'd return," Tommy said.

Joel and Ellie stared at the house, stunned.

"Tommy… this is…" Joel started, feebly searching for the words. "I can't believe-"

"Wow… this is ours?" Ellie cut him off.

"I told you," Tommy responded. "'There's a place for you here.' I meant it, literally and figuratively."

Joel didn't know what to say, and walked over to embrace Tommy. "Thanks, baby brother. I can't… I don't know what else to say. Thank you."

"You're welcome. It's good to have you back. Go on, check it out." He ushered Joel and Ellie toward the house.

They reached the front door, and Joel brought Ellie up in front of him. "Go on, kiddo, you do the honors."

She turned the handle, brimming with apprehension. She couldn't comprehend having a home. Somewhere fixed, stationary, and not filled with bunks for other people her age. The Ten had saved her and Joel from freezing to death, but she never considered it a home. The hotels they had stayed some nights in were no more a home to them than they were to those who used them before the outbreak. But this was theirs.

The door creaked open, revealing a living room with a couch, easy chair, and even a television. There was no telling if it worked or not, and even if it turned on there were no signals for it to receive. They continued into the house to find a kitchen that was as clean as one could be after so many years of neglect, a bathroom which Tommy informed them would have running water in a couple weeks if the work on the water treatment plant and pumping station from the river went well, and a stairway leading upstairs. On the top floor they found three bedrooms and another bathroom.

"All right. There's the tour. I'm gonna let you two get a little settled while I go get some things prepared for tonight. I'll come get you when it's time," Tommy said, heading back downstairs.

"Well, kiddo. I ain't too picky, so I'll let you pick your room," Joel said.

Ellie looked up at him quizzically. My room, she thought. She wasn't used to having her own quarters. She had always shared Joel's while they were together, and frankly preferred it that way. She looked into the three bedrooms one at a time, and finally settled on one of the two without the broken window.

"Not exactly a lot to unpack," she observed, unslinging her backpack.

"I suppose not. We travel light." Joel leaned in the doorway of her room, watching her rummage through her scant belongings. She pulled the switchblade from her back pocket and flicked it open, examining the blade and wiping it on her cargo pants. "Hey, where'd you get a switchblade like that, anyway?"

Ellie glanced at him, and then returned her eyes to the knife. Joel saw them focus on something miles away as she stared through the blade. Finally, she answered, "It belonged to my mother."

They had hardly spoken about her mother, and Joel wasn't sure if it was a sore topic for her. "Oh… what, uh… what did you know about her?"

She kept her eyes on the gleaming blade and sighed. She considered sharing the note she had tucked in her backpack, but decided against it. "Not much, actually. Just that her name was Anna, she died when I was a baby, and she was close with Marlene."

Joel cringed inside at the mention of Marlene. A vision of the parking garage where she confronted him with a lifeless Ellie in his arms flashed before his mind, and he shook it away. He kept a close watch on Ellie's face, checking for an adverse reaction to his questions. "What about your dad?"

She returned her eyes to him and studied him for a while. "He was gone long before that, that's all I know."

Joel looked down at the weathered floorboards. "I'm sorry."

Ellie shrugged. "It's all right. I didn't know them all that well... and yeah, I wish I had known my parents, but wishing won't bring them back." She closed the blade. "Things happen, and we move on."

Joel flashed back to the last time Ellie spoke those words: that first morning after she had killed David, when he had asked her how she was doing 'besides physically.' It wasn't insignificant or coincidental that she chose those words. He could tell it bothered her more than she was letting on, but he let it go. "Yeah."

"I don't even know if there's a use for this thing anymore, anyways," she pondered, flicking the blade open again. She stood up and walked past Joel into the hallway. He turned to follow her into the unused bedroom.

A gentle breeze was playing at the white curtains hung around the casement window, which was slightly ajar and missing most of its panes of glass. A vine from the nearby tree was growing in through one of the pane segments, and the white paint was peeling from the sill.

Ellie sauntered over to the window and gazed at the knife in her hand for several minutes. She remembered when she had first received it in that package from Marlene, so long ago. She looked back to all it had seen, remembered how many times it had saved her and Joel's skin. Finally, she placed the tip of the blade on the sill and rested the hilt against the frame.

It felt like a goodbye, but Ellie wasn't sure what it was she was saying goodbye to. She hoped to be finally wishing farewell to the life of violence she had lived up to this point. She hated killing, and was ready to try this comparatively easy life she had heard about in stories of years long past. But at the same time, every time she felt the smooth wood of the hilt, she thought of her mother and, by association, her father. This wasn't goodbye to them, was it?

She had come to think of Joel as a father, but ever since she woke in the back of the SUV on the way out of Salt Lake, a creeping sense of wariness and suspicion had seeped into her bones. She knew in the back of her mind that he hadn't been telling her the whole truth. She knew it, but she wouldn't believe it. Besides, whatever choices he made, he was protecting her. That was Joel's primary concern in every matter.

And yet, she remained conflicted. Why did she deserve to be alive and even have a chance at an easy life? She had watched everyone close to her die or depart, except Joel. Those who had died did so horrifically. She had survived the apocalypse, all while supposedly holding the key to mankind's future, and after all was said and done, nothing came of it. The search for the cure was over, or so Joel had said. He said there were dozens more like her, so she wasn't that special after all. Why did she get a chance at this kind of life while Riley didn't? Or Tess? Or Sam? It seemed unfair. But, if it was all true, as Joel swore it was, what could she do? Life is worth living, the words from her mother's note echoed in her head.

Ellie gazed at the blade on the sill for what felt like hours, while Joel leaned against the wall near the door, watching her silently. Finally, she turned and her eyes met his. She offered a weak smile.

"You all right?" Joel asked.

Ellie stole another glance at the knife before turning back to face him. "Yeah."

AFTERMATH: PART II CONTINUES

WITH CHAPTER 2