Ok! So I haven't written really anything remotely good in years but after playing this game I got the will to try again. So yea this is the first thing I've written in quite some time so I hope you enjoy it!

I do not own anything from "Last of Us".

Also, I myself have on idea how to swim so I just have this as to what I kind of know. I might post a follow up to this Chapter but who knows. Anyways...

Joel had been scouting over the place for a couple of days now. He left in the early morning hours while Ellie was still fast asleep. He always found a couple of Runners here and there, along with a Clicker or two, but once he felt like the place was safe enough, he walked back to their base camp and laid out a change of clothes for the fourteen year old.

"Hey, come on, get up." He said quietly as he shook her awake.

Ellie groaned as she turned on her side, trying to get away from whatever was trying to wake her up from the semi comfortable sleep. But still Joel persisted until she opened one green eye and yawned.

"What the hell? What's wrong?" she asked as sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Get changed. You're gon' to learn somethin' new today." Was all Joel said as he left to give Ellie some privacy.

He sat outside, waiting as he reloaded a spare gun that he always kept by his side. He combed through that place and knew it was safe but it was just in case. The door creaked open and Ellie was standing there wearing black long shorts and dark red tank top. She had her arms folded across her chest as she glared at him.

"Ok I don't like particularly like shorts or shirts without sleeves. What are we doing?" Ellie asked but fell on unheard ears as Joel began walking towards their destination.

Ellie rolled her eyes and made an audible groan as she followed after him. It was quiet except for the chirping birds and the crunching of various objects beneath their feet. She looked around as they past many kinds of supplies and ammo and tried to mention to Joel that they were missing some pretty good stuff but once again was ignored except for the wave if the hand. When Joel finally stopped Ellie kind of bumped into him from not really paying attention anymore since they had been walking for what seemed like miles. She looked past him to see a small clearing overcast from falling building debris and growing foliage. There was pool of water ranging from shallow to very deep with an opening underwater which most likely meant there was another area beyond this.

"Ok that's nice but you forgot I can't swim right?"

"Well we're goin' to try 'n change that; you're going to learn how to swim today."

"Oh fuck no. I thought we were going to do this after we found the Fireflies. Doesn't this seem like we're wasting time?" Ellie shook her head as she looked toward the water again.

"We can't always assume that I'm going to find something to get you across, and what if there is no other choice but to jump into water? Besides, you can't be that scared over some water can you?"

Ellie shook her head nervously as she moved to the side.

"Of course not. Who's scared of some dumb old water anyway?" she asked as jumped into small part of the water that reached up to her knees.

She immediately regretted it as she let out a scream and ran back out of the water.

"Its f-fucking f-freezing!" she shivered while trying to hug herself.

"You're just going to have to deal with it." Joel said as he stepped into the water until he was waist deep in it. "Come on now, let's go."

"Why can't I just wear my jeans?" she rolled her eyes as she slowly stepped back in the cold water.

"You don't need any extra weight, especially when you're trying to learn."

When Ellie got as far as she was willing, she stood there shivering, waiting for Joel to say something or start doing something. He sighed and went to where she was and pushed her little farther out. Ellie groaned as she waited for Joel to get in front of her.

"Ok, the first thing you need to do is stop shivering. Put your head underneath the water and you'll feel a lot better."

Ellie looked down at her reflection and then back at Joel. She shook her head quickly, which made him sigh.

"Don't worry the water isn't the deep and I'll be here to make sure you're ok." He reassured her.

With that safety assurance underneath her belt, Ellie took in a big gulp of air and sat down in the water until her head was fully submerged. She came back up just as quickly taking in another deep breath of air. Her now wet auburn ponytail stuck to the back of her neck, while her teeth were starting to chatter.

"W-when does it s-s-start to f-feel better?"

"Once you start swimming around more, you'll get used to it." Joel chuckled, "Now you need to relax; you weren't even under for that long and I can you were already about to freak out thinking you were drowning. Let's just start with you being used to being underwater. I just take in a deep breath, go under and breathe out through your nose. Like this watch."

Joel moved out to deeper water, took in a breath of air and sank to the bottom while breathing out his nose, which looked like bubbles at the surface to Ellie. He was under for a long time to show her that this was how you stay under for a long time. When he finally came up, he wiped the dripping water off his face and held his hand out to Ellie.

"Ok, now you do it; I'll be right here if you feel like something is wrong." He said as Ellie grabbed hold of his arm let the water reach up to her chest.

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath just as Joel had and went under. She let some of it out through her nose just as he said and felt herself sink lower into the water. She opened one eye to look around. There was nothing really spectacular about the view. Small debris was floating around along with some fish swimming through rusted pipes. She felt herself smile a little as she pushed her feet up to make her stand back up and into the surface. She moved the loose wet hair that was sticking to her face as she looked up to Joel.

"How did I do?" She half smiled, hoping to get some approval.

Joel stroked his short beard and nodded.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. So let's try something else. You'll never actually sink to the bottom as long as you remain calm; you'll always float if calm. I'm going to put you on your back and just have you floated a little like this, look."

As he swam even further out into the small pond of water he leaned back into the water until his whole body appeared on the surface. He floated there for awhile while looked up at the opening which showed a cloudless blue sky. He laid a lot longer than he meant to because he suddenly felt a splash of cold water hit his face and he sank under before coming back up. He looked around to find Ellie laughing and pointing at him.

"Thank God, I thought you died and forgot about me."

Joel mocked her laughter as he swam back to her.

"Ha ha ha. Now it's your turn." He motioned her over.

The first attempt at getting Ellie to float didn't go over so well. When Joel tried to put her on her back, the second she felt a small bit of water enter her nose, she splashed around in panic before Joel was able to calm her down. The second time went a little bit easier as Ellie managed to breathe slow and let her be carried by Joel, who she made promise that he wasn't going to let her go. He walked around with her for a few minutes before letting his arms slowly go to his sides and let her float off into the open water. As Joel watched over her he noticed the scratches on her arm. The scratch that should've killed her and turn her into one of those… things. Yet there she was, still healthy and still just a kid. Joel found himself chuckling under his breath.

"I hope these Fireflies have the answers… if there are any left." He had thought to himself.

"You know, this isn't half bad. This is actually enjoyable once you get used to it." Ellie semi-shouted out to Joel.

She opened her eyes to expect to see him still there carrying along the water, but he was further back waving at her.

"You fucker, you promised you weren't going to let go!"

Joel laughed as he raised his hands and shrugged.

"If I didn't let you go, you wouldn't know you could do it on your own. And look, you are floating all by yourself."

Ellie rolled her eyes as she tried to sit up without freaking out so much. Knowing that it wasn't going to go over well, Joel swam over to her and helped her go back to vertical. As the sun began to make its way across the sky, Joel spent the rest of his time teaching Ellie the bare basics of swimming; everything from a simple butterfly stroke to a doggy paddle. She tried her hardest to follow Joel's directions but sometimes he went too quickly making Ellie get frustrated. But Joel kept persisting that she keep going, for he was not sure when they were going to get another opportunity like this again. As the birds chirped and flew overhead against the now orange and red sun, Ellie doggy paddled her way to Joel as he waited patiently. When she touched the hand he held out for her, she high fived it and laughed.

"Haha yes! I am now a natural born swimmer." Ellie smiled as she floated on her back.

"Well I wouldn't call you a 'natural' yet but it's a start," Joel chucked as he too floated on his back. "When we get through with this I'll teach you more often. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan…" Ellie sighed as she stared up at the opening on the pond.

The sky looked like a mixture of red, orange, and pink. A few dark purple clouds scattered over the sky with the first starts starting to twinkle out. It was a perfect setting to Ellie as she floated along the still semi clear water. From the corner of her eye she saw Joel's moving body floating alongside her. She could use to this, she thought. When all of this was over and all they needed to do was just float on water seemed like a dream made in heaven. But that dream was short by the echoing sound of two clicks not far from them. Joel sat up immediately and took hold of Ellie's hand. They moved as quietly as they could to their shoreline as the lone clicker came into view on the other side. As soon as their feet felt solid ground, Ellie made a silent break for it as Joel picked up the few belongings he had with them and followed after her. Back at the base camp, they dried themselves off with old faded green towels and changed into dry clothes. Joel set up a small cooking fire while placed a silver pot of canned beans over it. Ellie laid her head on her backpack as she looked up at the roof.

"Well so much for that." She finally said.

"I could've sworn I got rid of them all… I'm sorry Ellie." Joel sighed as he mixed the beans.

"Don't worry about it; you managed to teach me something so it wasn't a total waste. And besides, I never actually thought swimming could be an enjoyable. But shit does it make you tired." She chuckled.

"Well after you eat something you can—

Joel looked over to Ellie who was already passed out on the floor sleeping soundly. He sighed but smiled a little as he moved a blanket over her. He continued to cook the food in silence as he watched her toss and turn.

"Hey Joel?" she mumbled.

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

Joel didn't respond but only chuckled under his breath as he sat there, eating his small dinner. He could only hope that the days were going to be better. Even under all the conditions they were under, he only hoped that there would be something to enjoy, even if it was the smallest of things. With that thought in mind, Joel left the fire going until it burnt out and fell asleep on the opposite wall to Ellie, who he wouldn't to admit to anyone else, was starting to grow on him.