Accepting the Unexpected (Ellie x Abby) (TLOU2 AU!)

Crying Over A Curse

Another day; another dollar... Or at least in Anna's case, another late ass graveyard shift at the hospital. These weren't her favorite nights by any means, but the money was definitely worth it.

Her typical routine after she had returned home from work was to immediately retreat to the master bedroom, quickly shower and with any luck, pass out. However; that was about to change today...

As the young 43 year old woman made her way up the stairs, her eyes immediately landed upon a neatly arranged basket.

"Hmmm..."

Anna tiredly mumbled, sticking the key into the door lock and kneeling down to inspect the contents of the supposed gift.

Upon further inspection, Anna noticed a surprising name written on the gift tag. Of course; Anna began to vigorously blink, assuring herself that she had read that correctly.

Abby.

Anna didn't exactly know what to do at this moment. This was obviously meant for Ellie, but a lot or things about this just didn't seem right.

Abby... Abby... Abby... Abby... But she hates my daughter, right?

Stop kidding yourself, Anna! You know damn well that they've got it bad for each other. I guess I should take this to Ellie's room. She's probably still sleeping, so I've gotta be quiet.

Oh, how wrong she was....

Making her way upstairs towards the second set of bedrooms, Anna was hopeful that her little girl remained asleep. After all, she had a busy few days so far.

Again... Oh, how wrong she was...

Upon entrance of Ellie's bedroom, Anna poked her head inside, attempting to figure out if Ellie was asleep or not. It seemed as though she was, leading Anna to step inside.

Glancing around the room while simultaneously clicking her tongue in deep thought, Anna placed the basket of miscellaneous goodies onto Ellie's desk.

Most parents would've found any reason in the world to snoop through their children's belongings, especially if they had a crush.

However, if Ellie and Sarah never did anything potentially dangerous, what they had stored away within their personal space was none of their parent's business.

Besides, Sarah had moved away several years ago. Now, her old bedroom was Joel's office.

Even then, Sarah wasn't Anna's biological daughter. As far as she was concerned, Joel could do most of the advice and parenting for Sarah.

Obviously, Anna adored Sarah all the same, but she wasn't about to parent a child that wasn't hers by blood, even if she did adopt Sarah.

Thankfully, their parenting between both girls remained 50/50. The only thing that was any different was discipline strategies, which never really had to be utilized.

Making her way towards Ellie's bed, Anna dropped down to one knee to scan Ellie's body language. While on the outside, she seemed to be asleep, Anna knew better. Her little girl definitely wasn't asleep...

Upon further examination, Anna noticed red welts circling around her daughter's eyes. The nurse in her initially thought that maybe she was sick and itching her eyes until they were raw. Although, the "mama bear" inside of her was saying:

No. She's been crying...

Of course, Anna knew that Ellie wasn't a baby anymore. Far from it, obviously. Despite this though, she wasn't about to hold herself back from giving her baby the care she so desperately needed.