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[vaccination]

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[hostage]

[He assures her quickly:]

Not in a dangerous way.

[...He hopes that's true.]

Some stuff happened, fucked me up pretty bad.

[vaccination]

Uhh--I didn't assume it was in a dangerous way.

[That much hasn't changed.]

I won't freak out or anything. [She's assuming it's something physical. Maybe he lost an eye. A limb? She's seen worse, so she sounds confident.] I swear.

[hostage]

[The responsible and unselfish thing to do would be to wait a few days until he's really sure he won't snap or fall apart or do something to traumatize her, but - well, fuck it. He spent most of the last week at the bottom of freezing underground cell with no one but Neo-Nazis to keep him company. He misses the people who don't want to torture him, what few there are.]

...Okay.

[vaccination]

Okay. [She tries to not sound too excited, because Jesse definitely doesn't sound thrilled, but she's selfish, too. Dealing with Jesse isn't very complicated. Not to her, anyway, and she's had enough complicated with Joel and Tess to last a lifetime.]

Where are you at?

[hostage]

My house. You need a map?

[vaccination]

Yeah, actually. Or some landmarks. Whatever you think is least likely to get me lost.

[hostage]

It's cool, I got one ready. Kind of out in bumfuck, so...

[He sends the map over. He drew it himself, so it's surprisingly meticulous in that special Jesse way. It's not a long hike, but the house is nestled in the woods rather than in town, with enough distance from other dwellings to ensure that Jesse doesn't encounter neighbors on a daily basis.]

voice --> action

[vaccination]

Got it. See you soon.

[It's sort of like the cabin she and Joel scoped out for themselves, albeit on the opposite side of the town. They're not fond of traffic, either. With Steph living with Saul, it's been easier with just the two of them--just like it was at home.

She shows up a reasonable amount of time later, wrapped up in a hat, scarf, and coat. She's mostly sure it's the right place.]

Hello? Jesse?

[hostage]

[Jesse's been watching her approach from his bedroom window, so he's halfway down the stairs by the time she reaches the door.

The shackles aren't around his ankles anymore, but he sort of walks like they are. His steps are cautious and slow. In fact, the same can be said for all of his movement. He's careful.

But there aren't any other physical markers left to indicate what was done to him. No wounds or scars, no wrists rubbed raw from handcuffs. He's trimmed his hair and shaved his face. Back to looking more like how people would remember him, back to wearing the clothes he left behind here.]

Hey. Come in, got a fire going.

[vaccination]

[She stares. Face intact. Limbs accounted for. It's almost like he never left, like maybe Steph lied to her about him being gone. But she had made sure his name was off the network. He had been gone.]

Fuck, you made it sound like you were mutilated or something. [Ellie enters, eyes on him all the while like he's some sort of ghost.]

[hostage]

[Jesse's decided he doesn't want to lie to her, but he doesn't exactly feel great about telling her the truth, either. He looks down at his hands for a moment, then gestures vaguely.]

Ashraf did a good job fixing me.

[vaccination]

Oh. [Right. Magic, she assumes. Even after all this time, it's hard to swallow the fact that someone can wave their hand and fix you right up. Things that would have meant the end at home might as well be a bruised knee here.]

Well, it's... I'm glad to see you again. [She's hesitant to say that it's good to have him back, because she's not sure if a month of being gone wipes away all the bullshit he had to deal with before.

Ellie takes a step towards Jesse to give him a hug, just like the last time she saw him. No prison cells, no whatever had happened to him. Things seemed okay right now.]

Welcome back.

[hostage]

[When was the last time someone hugged him - hugged him and meant it? It probably wasn't even that long ago, now that he can remember his life here again, but everything feels far away. How could a couple weeks in a dark cell mess with his sense of time more than actual time travel? It's weird.

But he welcomes the hug, tightly, and even smiles a little. He had no idea he missed Ellie for those weeks, but he's realizing how much he was missing now.]

Thanks. You got no idea... Yeah, it's real good to see you.

[vaccination]

[Ellie doesn't care if her hug is more of a cling after a few moments, fingers curling into the fabric of his clothing. It weird to have people coming back. It's too easy to get her hopes up about others.

If Joel leaves, he could come back. With or without memories of what happened here. It's not a very big comfort, but she files this realization away for now.

She wants to jab Jesse in the ribs and remind him about Hawaii, but that's not what happens when she pulls back, rubbing at her nose before moving to take off her gloves.]

Has it been a long time for you? I don't really get how all of it works, but for stuff to have fucked you up, time had to have passed, right? At home.

[hostage]

[He doesn't mind her clinging. He's even disappointed when she lets go, though his arms drop to his sides instead of pulling her back like he wants to.]

It's... I dunno. It feels like a long time. I stopped being able to tell the days. But I don't think it was more than a month. Might not have been more than two weeks. I dunno.

[vaccination]

[She moves over to the fire, crouching down in front of it for now to warm her hands, body turned to keep her sights on Jesse.]

What happened?

[The million dollar question.]

[hostage]

[He drifts after her, hovering off to the side with his hands wringing and his eyes averted.]

My partner turned on me. Handed me over to some bad people to get me outta his way.

[vaccination]

Did they try to kill you?

[No use beating around the bush. When Ellie shifts to sit on the floor, she scoots over. He can sit by her. She won't bite.]

[hostage]

[After a moment's hesitation, he steps forward to take his seat.]

He told 'em to. But they didn't listen.

Kinda wish they had. Woulda been a lot easier on me.

[vaccination]

That bad, huh. [Ellie frowns, playing with the hem of her jeans.]

[hostage]

[Worse. But he doesn't want to unload it all onto Ellie. Honesty is one thing. Traumatizing a kid is another.

But speaking of honesty...]

There's something else I gotta tell you.

[vaccination]

[There's not much left to traumatize, but she's come to understand why Jesse wouldn't want to share. It's probably harder to talk about than to hear.]

Yeah, Jesse?

[hostage]

When... When Saul told everybody I went home, he wasn't telling the whole truth. I didn't just disappear.

[vaccination]

Stephanie was the one that told me. Before Saul posted to the network.

[So whatever Jesse is about to say next, it'll fall on her.]

[hostage]

How much did she tell you?