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[vaccination]

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voice;

[vaccination]

[There is a long, judging pause here. Ellie has had time to simmer down, but she still doesn't necessarily enjoy this.]

Alright. Stop by here first, though. Then you can go have your talk.

voice;

[vaccination]

Five hundred dollars in unmarked bills.

[She doesn't even know what that means.]

voice;

[vaccination]

Nope. Cut the interrogation and get your ass over here already.

[Before her pacing in front of the fireplace makes a groove in the floor.]

action

[vaccination]

[Ellie's sitting on the couch in front of the fire, though she cranes her neck back to look at him when he enters. She seems pretty calm.]

Hey.

action

[vaccination]

Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. [Mostly. She's not thrilled about this Tess business, but she knows how rough it is on him. So, if it eases some of the weight on him, then she can't really tell him to not talk to her.

Ellie just wants to talk to Joel, first. So, she tosses the few comics on the cushion next to her onto the floor as an invitation to sit.]

action

[vaccination]

I'm sure. [She watches him handle her comics with more care than she did. After a moment, she draws her knees up to her chest to rest her chin on them.]

Are you okay, Joel?

action

[vaccination]

Because I saw what Tess leaving did to you. And what her coming back is doing.

[Right for the jugular.]

action

[vaccination]

[Pretty much the reaction she expected. Still, it's disappointing. She's not expecting Joel to be an open book, but after everything they've been through--well, there was still a lot he didn't talk about.]

I know you... [Love her?] I know she means a lot to you. So. I'm not gonna cause a hassle, no matter what happens, okay? I just... want you to do what's best for you, I guess. I want you to be okay.

action

[vaccination]

[She shakes her head.] No. [And as much as Ellie loves hearing Joel tell stories, learning about him, she she gives him an out.]

You don't have to talk about it. I get it. [She lost people, too. Rylie to Ellie may not be Tess to Joel, but it's close enough. If Rylie had pulled the same shit Tess did in Exsilium, Ellie knows she'd be doing the same thing Joel is right now.]

I mean, it's not that I don't wanna hear, it's just--I get it.