[center]Joel had been taking in everything from his corner. From the rambunctious rumblings of the bearded man, to the various other kidnapped denizens all having those same damn looks on their faces. They all looked confused. Scared, even. Had he not come from a world of complete and utter shit, perhaps Joel Miller would have felt the same way. But... this wasn't that.

It was a breath of fresh air, really. For a moment. Admittedly, he did have a bit of a headache. Whatever the hell that "Luthor" guy did to them all had left a bit of a mark on the old man's brain. But as his vision cleared, so did his thoughts. And with that clarity came a face. The one person he'd sacrificed everything to protect. The girl who'd... well, who'd taught him what it was like to be a father again. 

[img]https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/projects/404/ca364c41342659.Y3JvcCw0ODMsMzc4LDEwNywxODA.jpg[/img]

[b][i][color=f26522]"...Ellie!"[/color][/i][/b]

With her name muttered under his breath, Joel had pushed up off the wall he'd been leaning against. Fuck this place. Fuck this Luthor guy. And fuck whatever the hell they'd done to their brains. Ellie wasn't here. He knew that much by the distinct lack of her voice. He didn't even [i]need[/i] to look in order to find that out. And if he'd been kidnapped, then that meant she was alone. And if she was alone, and Joel was here? Well, that just wasn't gonna fuckin' fly. Peri-

“[color=964B00]…[i]Joel?[/i] That really you?[/color]”

Immediately, Joel turned as he heard that familiar voice. It was one he hadn't heard in a long damn time - yet one that he'd recognize clear as day. She'd been his partner for twenty odd years, after all. Yeah... his [i]partner[/i]. The one who'd been fucking [b][i]bit.[/i][/b] And then [b][i][u]shot.[/u][/i][/b] 

[i][color=f26522][b]"Tess...?"[/b][/color][/i]

So many thoughts were running through his head at once. Was this some kind of fucked up dream? It... it had to be, right? Tess was [b][u]dead.[/u][/b] He saw her die with his own damn eyes. Her body was right there, laid out on the fucking floor. Blood pouring out of her dozens of exit wounds. She hadn't even lasted a fucking minute with those damn soldiers. So... so how the hell was she [b][i]here?[/i][/b] This could've been a dream... but since when were they this damn vivid? Joel couldn't recall any time, really. Period. 

He was in shock. Words failed him as the world around him turned to a blur. All he could do was stare at the woman in front of him. The very woman who he'd seen die. And as if life hadn't thrown him enough damn curveballs at that moment...

[color=938374][i]"...what even happened?"[/i][/color]

Everything else she'd said fell on deaf ears. Tess herself was even forgotten in that moment - and so was everyone else in that damn cage. He'd turned upon hearing that voice, tears immediately falling out of his eyes as he'd done so. This many fucking years later... and he still remembered her voice. Her laughter. Her [i][b]sobs.[/b][/i] Because what kind of a damn father would he be if he'd forgotten? Sure, Ellie had helped him move on... but Joel didn't forget. He couldn't. 

But that didn't mean that he could believe his damn eyes, neither.

[i][b][color=f7941d]"Sarah..."[/color][/b][/i]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLuPQfIZDSs&ab_channel=Michael%26Luky[/youtube]

He muttered her name for the first time in years. Other than when talking with Ellie, of course. Fuck... fuck... [h1][b]FUCK![/b][/h1]

All at once, Joel's knees gave, and he fell to his knees. Right in front of his daughter. And immediately his arms reached out and wrapped around her, pulling her in as close as he could. He held onto her for dear life - like both their lives depended on it. For the first time in fucking years, he'd held his baby girl in his arms. He hadn't held her since... [i]since[/i]... 

[img]https://78.media.tumblr.com/df2f1386f0188fd0750a2bfd11595e28/tumblr_ohzptw443q1v15bzho2_500.gif[/img]

Joel could stop his tears like a man could stop a train. He didn't give a fuck how he was doing it. He'd either died and gone to Heaven, or he was in a dream. And as he rocked back and forth with his daughter, running his fingers through her hair again and outright sobbing, he could only think one thing. One thing as he held her close to him again. One thing as he had her face buried into his shoulder, just like she'd done when she crawled into bed with him on those stormy nights when she was a little girl. 

[b]If this was a dream... [u][i]then he'd sure as shit better not wake up...[/i][/u][/b]

[h3][color=f26522][b][i]"Oh... oh baby girl... baby baby please don't ever leave me again... fuck... please girl stay with me... don't leave me again... just hold onto me baby girl... just hold onto me a little bit longer..."[/i][/b][/color][/h3]

[@teapartybs] [@TheElenaFisher] @whoeverelse
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