vaccination | contact ☣ ❝scorpions are pretty creepy.❞

[That draws a worried glance, but she nods.]

'Course. [a beat] You're not gonna bail, right?

[Whether because she's being controlled or she's just scared or something, Steph's just - worried.]

I have to pee.

[More like chill in there until Steph's looked through the video recordings. She won't bail, but she doesn't want to relive any of what just happened with Joel. She does it enough in her head already.]

I'll be back.

[She turns to head to the bathroom.]

Thanks.

[Which sounds - weird, but she means for the reassurance, and she's just going to let Ellie go.

She's also going to go over the video at least three times, hoping that there's something familiar in the background, anything that could give her a clue about where he might have gone.

There's nothing. Just rain and indistinct buildings.

She doesn't even know where to start looking.]

[Once she's in the bathroom, she presses her back to the door and lets herself slide to the floor. Steph's speculation doesn't help clear up any of Ellie's confusion, but if Joel was drugged or something, at least that meant she could give him the benefit of the doubt.

She just wants to rewind to last night. Maybe if she hadn't fallen asleep, things would be different.

Ellie leans her head back against the door to listen to what Steph's doing. Any sound is muffled by the wood between her and the rest of the apartment, though she'd recognize Joel's low rumbles and Texan accent from across anything. But the tone was off, off, off. While she can't hear the words, she remembers them, and how off they were, too.

She presses her palms against her eyes. The hell was going on?

After Ellie thinks it's safe to head out, she pushes herself to her feet, flushes the empty toilet, and washes her hands before heading to the door. It's pretty obvious she was just biding her time in there--or taking a massive dump.]

Anything?

[Steph knows, but she won't press it. Everyone needs privacy, everyone has to deal with things in their own ways, and she won't begrudge Elie for whatever she needs.

As long as she's still here, that's all that matters.]

Not yet, but I've got other ways of finding people.

[This feels awful already, guilt like a heavy weight in her chest, because she's already let her Ellie slip away, and she can't let down anyone else.]

It's gonna be okay.

[She holds an arm out to offer another hug, though she's not sure if it's for Ellie or herself, right now.]

What can I do?

[Because if there's some sort of plan, she wants in. Better than sitting around.

Though she does (belatedly) realize that it's not just her missing someone, worrying about someone. So, with a little less hesitance this time, she goes for the hug. An arm finds its way around Steph's middle.

Even superheroes freaked out.]

[Steph has a complicated relationship with physical affection, but right now she's just glad for the contact.]

You should talk to... Tess, right? [the woman from her world] She might know a little more about where Joel could've gone to.

I've got a couple cameras around the city, so I'm gonna check the feeds for the last few days and see if I can find anything out of sorts.

[And she'll talk to Babs and the Birds, see if they can't all figure something out.]

[Even Joel needed that contact, sometimes. She'll never forget the look on his face when she gave him that photo of Sarah. He was gone in that moment, but came back when she decided to be brave and give him a hug, remind him of who was still alive and breathing. It had been pure grief. She doubted anyone would expect that of a man who snapped necks regularly.]

Yeah, Tess. [Jesus, Tess. That was not going to go well.] I should probably start heading back soon. I don't want her to think I ran off, too.

[She doesn't want Ellie to go, not when there's the possibility of her leaving, too, but she knows it's necessary. Tess will need to see her, and Steph can work better alone.]

Tell her she can call me if she has any questions. [In case she doesn't believe Ellie about the whole mind control theory.] And--

[This is potentially a bad decision, when it compromises Babs a little, but she just can't risk something happening to her and Ellie not knowing.]

If something happens to me, I want you to call a woman named Barbara Gordon, okay? You'll be able to search for her on the tablet, she'll help find me.

[That part will be simple enough, if a little painful.

She already joked about subdermal trackers with Saul, now it's time to actually impliment it.]

[Ellie's not sure how she's going to explain that to Tess, but surely a woman who went from a normal, relatively peaceful life to a post-apocalyptic world full of monsters could swallow that. Benefit of the doubt.]

What do you think is going to happen?

[She knows about preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, but this is heavy.]

[How does she answer that?]

I don't know.

[It's painfully honest, because she can spin theories and make guesses but until she has more evidence, there's not much she can do.

And the theories that she's forming aren't ones she wants to share with Ellie, not when it'll just worry her.]

People are probably gonna keep leaving, but I don't think they're gonna be hurt, okay? It's too complicated for that, so we've just gotta figure out where they are and get 'em back. But if anything tries to make me leave, I'll make sure you can find me again, with Barbara's help.

[Honesty is something Ellie likes, even if it's not exactly comforting. She nods.]

Okay.

[It's something, at least. She doesn't know what she and Tess are going to do, but she doubts they're just going to sit around the apartment and hope Joel comes back.]

I'll check in with you soon, alright?

[She starts moving backwards, towards her pack. When she gets back to the apartment she'll see if she can find anything of note in Joel's.]

Yeah.

[If she'd had more forethought, she could stick a tracker on Ellie right now, but she doesn't have any on hand. She'll just have to make sure to keep in contact.]

I'll keep you updated. Stay safe.

[Be careful.]

You too.

[She pulls on her pack, pausing after she opens the door to leave.]

And... thanks.

[It helped, talking to her. Maybe she could bring back some of that calm and reassurance to Tess.

With one last look, she heads out.]

You're welcome.

[She manages something like a smile, even if it's sad and rueful, before Ellie leaves.

There's a lot to do, and she isn't even sure where to start, but she won't stop until she's got Ellie and Joel back.

contact ☣ ❝scorpions are pretty creepy.❞

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