UNITED IN BLOOD
CHAPTER SIXTEEN !

   A FEELING OF IMMENSE dread overcame the medic as she watched the Williams girl make her way into the theatre, pushing past Dina as if the girl wasn't there. The warm embrace that the dark-haired girl had pulled Ellie into went unreciprocated as Ellie's arms remained down by her sides.

   If there was one word that Danielle would use to describe Ellie in that moment, it would be destroyed. The auburn-haired teenager looked completely broken, as if one little push would send her collapsing to the floor in a million little pieces. Danielle unfortunately knew that feeling all too well which allowed her the ability to recognise the signs that were plastered across Ellie's crimson stained face.

   Ellie seemed exhausted, in more ways than one. Physically and mentally, Ellie Williams looked completely done. As if she had no more fight left in her. Whatever happened while she was off travelling around Seattle alone, it was enough that it had rendered the redhead speechless.

   As if her tongue had been ripped from her mouth, as if she had not spoken a single sentence in days, Ellie's voice came out hoarse and unsteady as she spoke. "She's hiding out in the... in this aquarium."

   It was impossible to ignore the shake in Ellie's hands as she pointed at the map. As her fingers hovered over the Aquarium illustration, they aggressively trembled. Her entire body wavered as her legs grew weary the further into the theatre she moved.

   "Okay. Come on." Dina reached a hand forward, slowly removing the map from Ellie's hands and passing it over to Danielle, who took it gladly. "Let's get you cleaned up."

   Jesse and Danielle stood so completely still, the pair afraid that any sudden or fast paced movements would spook the auburn-haired girl. With expressions of pity plastered across their faces, they watched Dina lead Ellie away, remaining silent until their figures disappeared into the shadows.

   "Jesus Christ." Danielle uttered, her voice small as she spoke. The shell-shocked look upon Ellie's face was enough to make the brunettes stomach churn with worry. "She looks like she's in a fugue state."

Jesse stared over at dnaielle, concern for his friend flurrying within his wide eyes. "Did you see all that blood?"

   With a nod of the head, her teeth dug deep into her bottom lip. The blood has been the first thing they had all noticed, I mean, it was impossible not to. "No doubt it was someone else's. What the hell happened to her out there?"

   The raven-haired man fell silent for a few moments, trying his best to comprehend and fathom just what had happened as a chill ran up his spine. "I almost don't want to know."

   The pair knew that more than likely, that the blood that was now caked onto Ellie's skin was Nora's. One way or another, Ellie had gotten the Anderson girls location from her and if Danielle knew Nora well enough, she wouldn't just give up Abby without a fight. Ergo the crimson droplets that were splattered across the Williams girls face, masking the freckles that adorned Ellie's nose and cheeks.

   "Me neither." The medic spoke low, her voice just above a whisper. Despite Dina having most likely brought Ellie to that old dressing room behind the stage, Danielle was hesitant to speak too loudly for fear of setting the redhead more on edge than she already was. "At least we know where Abby is."

   "Ellie better rest up before trying to go after her. She looks like she's about to collapse." Jesse commented matter-of-factly,
"You talk to her. Give her some medical advice or something. Tell her her head will explode if she doesn't sleep."

   The Linden girl glanced up at Jesse, the brunette prepared to giggle at his words only to see a completely serious expression plastered upon his face. He truly meant his words. He couldn't seriously believe that Ellie's head would explode from lack of sleep, did he?

   Before Danielle was able to question him, their conversation were interrupted by a returning Dina, who briskly jogged back to their side, tightly gripping Ellie's bloodstained shirt in her hands and with no Ellie in sight. "Guys."

Danielle instinctively leaned her head closer to Dina in order to hear the Woodward girl better. "How's she doing?"

   "She didn't say a single word. She just sat there." Dina explained to the pair in a hushed voice. Her words came out in a whisper, each syllable dripping with worry as her eyes stung with held back tears. "Her hands were shaking like crazy."

"Fuck."

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   "ELLIE, I'M COMING IN, okay?" The door to the dressing room squeaked open as Danielle hesitantly pushed against it. It opened up further and further until the entire room was in clear for her to see.

   A set of dimly lit light bulbs adorned the mirror, illuminating the space just enough to see in front of yourself. All of their gear had been moved into this room, keeping their weapons and what little food and water they had, far away enough from either entrance into the theatre. There was a definite nip in the air which Danielle noticed almost immediately as the hairs in her arms stood up accompanied by raised flesh in the appearance of goosebumps.

   There she sat. Her entire frame was completely still, only moving slightly with each faint and haggard breathe the auburn-haired girl took. Her back was to the door, her upper body free of her blood stained clothing and her flesh exposed to the chill that enveloped the room.

   As if approaching a skittish baby deer that was ready to bound away at any time, Danielle lightly moved across the room, the bottom of her boots brushing against the carpeted floor which swallowed up the impact of her footsteps. The closer to Ellie she inched, Danielle was able to see that her freckles were back within sight, free of the blood that veiled them.

   Ellie's gaze was downcast, the girl intensely staring at her once blood covered outstretched fingers. She was completely unaware of the presence in the room, instead her mind was far away, trapped in the memories of all the violence that she had partaken in since her arrival to Seattle. The lives that had been taken by those very hands in her search for vengeance. Though she doesn't regret her actions, the weight of them had begun to rest heavily upon her shoulders.

   Although they deserved to die, deserved to suffer for what they had done to Joel, it didn't mean that it hadn't began taking a toll on her and her diminishing mental state.

   "How you doing? You okay?" The medic weakly inquired from the auburn-haired girl. Her voice came out soft and slow, her words clearly enunciated as she spoke.

   When Ellie didn't reply, most likely from still being trapped in that in-between state of mental anguish, Danielle slowly reached out for the crumpled up blanket that sat at the end of the couch Nellie sat on. "Let's throw this over you, yeah?"

   With a flourish of the fabric, Danielle draped the blanket over Ellie's shoulders before crouching down in front of the redhead to bunch up the blanket as best as possible to shield Ellie from the chill in the air that was no doubt, nipping away at her exposed upper body.

   The entire time, Ellie remained still. Though she had shown no reaction to the brunette, the moment the blanket was tossed over her shoulders, Ellie had been made aware of Danielle's presence within the dressing room. No movement emerged from the auburn-haired girl, even as Danielle began lightly tapping upon her jean clad knees with her fingers.

   Danielle wasn't sure what she should have done in that situation. Never before had she treated someone for shell-shock. She could count of both of her hands, the times in which she had treated her previous fellow WLF for grave injuries. From amputation to gangrenous wounds, you name it Danielle had treated it, but not once had she dealt with what Ellie was currently struggling with.

   As her cargo pants clad knees knelt upon the carpeted floor in front of the redhead, Danielle used her fingertips to lightly tap at Ellie's knees in an effort to stimulate from type of reaction from her. "You don't have to speak okay? Just nod to let me know you're still in there."

   With whatever strength the Williams girl could muster up, she nodded weakly as her gaze slowly but surely lifted, trailing up Danielle's body before landing on her face.

   "That's good." Danielle complimented the girl softly, her voice staying in the low register she had been using since she had entered the room. Her hazel eyes surveyed the grimace that graced Ellie's face, the prominent crease between her furrowed eyebrows hard to miss.

   If the two girls had been closer and had met under different circumstances, Danielle would have had no problem caressing the spot upon Ellie's forehead, veering off from the deep scar that ran right through the redheads right eyebrow. She would calmly whisper about how 'everything was going to be okay' as she smoothed out the tension that was evident in the furrowed brow. Just like her mom had done for her all those times she had been scared as they fought for their lives.

   But they weren't close, they had met under quite possibly the worst circumstances ever and they had just come to an understanding. Danielle was in no position to comfort Ellie as though the duo were friends. Instead, the brunette settled for the continued light tapping of her fingers upon Ellie's knees.

   "Ellie listen to me, my opinion mightn't matter much to you but whatever you did, don't blame yourself for it." The Linden girl said with a tone of urgency. The likelihood of her words having much effect on Ellie was low but she couldn't have Ellie caught in the woes of despair over something she had to do.

   Her words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the tattooed girl remained completely mute, clutching onto the blanket with her fingers with a grip so tight, her fingers had begun to turn completely white.

   "I made her talk." Her voice croaked out after a while. It was hoarse and faint but her words were clear enough for Danielle to understand. Each and every syllable was filled with an emotion that Danielle just couldn't quite place.

Was it guilt? Self-hatred? Vulnerability? Could have been any one of them or all of them combined.

   "Oh god, it's okay. Look at me." Danielle desperately searched for Ellie's eyes, though the auburn haired girl was determined to keep her head hung low. Danielle's left hand reached out to brush back a stray piece of Ellie's hair behind her ear as she grabbed hold of the redheads face, forcing Ellie to meet her gaze. "Ellie, look at me."

"No, she-she..." Her words were mumbled as they fell past her lips.

   "She didn't give you any other choice, am I right? She refused to give up Abby?" Danielle knew Nora. She was stubborn but a friend to the end, happily giving up Abby's location didn't exactly scream Nora.

"You did what you had to do, okay? Her blood is not on your hands."

   A sniffle reverberated off the walls as Ellie held back her tears that began to sting along her waterline. All of her emotions that she had bottled away to that point were threatening to bubble over with each and every swallow to rid herself of the lump that had formed in the back of her throat.

   "Shh, it's okay. Lay down, Ellie." Danielle was now stood up, hovering over the redhead as her outstretched hands gently began to tilt Ellie back to lay her down upon the couch. "You're in no shape to be going after Abby right now, not when you look like Bambi."

   "My legs work fine, thank you." A slight scoff escaped from the Williams girl as she attempted to playfully reply, though it just sounded as though she was holding back cries of anguish.

   "Sure they do. Just lay your head back. Relax, okay?" Danielle looked on as Ellie did what she was told and reclined back into the couch cushions, her head resting against an old plush, velvet covered pillow. "I'll be right here if you need anything. Just close your eyes."

   The blanket that had been draped over Ellie's shoulders was now fixed over her body, covering her from the neck to just below her knees as it wasn't a particularly lengthy piece of fabric. Danielle sat off to the side allowing her eyes to fall upon Ellie's face every now and again. Her eyes were shut, though her eyelids did flutter as the redhead fell asleep at a snails pace.

   A series of shuddered breaths escaped from Ellie while she slept. Her slender body shook beneath the blanket, occasionally twitching.

   Danielle trailed her eyes over Ellie as the auburn-haired girl slept, just watching as Ellie caught up on some much needed rest. All romantic feelings she had for Ellie set aside, Danielle couldn't suppress the concern that continued to build inside of her. Ellie was one death away from crashing and burning and that's worried the medic greatly.

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jamielee's thoughts.
raise your hand if you want to slap me for how long this took to get out?? why this is taking me so long to write, I have no idea. sorry for the wait, I was preparing another ellie fic to publish for when I finish act two, so look out for that. Anyway I tried my best to delve deep into Ellie's trauma and feelings that came from torturing Nora. Hopefully that was conveyed well enough. Hope you enjoyed :)