i can't even imagine the relief ellie mustve felt when joel found her in that diner. she thought the guy was dead or dying. she's just been through hell, shit, with the fire around her she might be in actual hell. the worst human alive is being deconstructed like a club sandwich on the floor beneath her with his own machete. everything hurts, she probably has at least 15 broken bones. 0.1hp away from death. she's just fuckin hacking at that thing over and over again. and he appears, shows up outta absolutely nowhere, grabs her, holds her in a way nobody ever has before. "oh, baby girl. it's okay. it's okay." she's safe now. he's got her.











