"Save who you can save" She had been responsible for the deaths of many over the last two decades-more than she could count. Some deserved it... others did not. In a twisted turn of events she finds herself potentially harbouring the cure for humanity. Could this be her redemption? Would this finally open Joel's heart to her?... That's if she could find him after forcing him to flee the capitol building... This is a prequel to 'Don't Let Go' that explores Tess's story and how she ends up in Jackson. The Last Of Us and all canon characters are owned by Naughty Dog.

'In sickness and in health. Until death do us part...' There were times when the world seemed to be a ghastly place with horrors lurking around every corner and yet, within the very same breath it could also be a beautiful phenomenon. Set nine years after the events of 'Don't Let Go', Joel found himself resonating more with the latter in recent times... More than content with what he had built for himself in the later part of his life; a home that was safe, a wife that he loved, a kid he adored and Ellie of course... Still, life was but a delicate concept. Something so fragile and easy to lose as a mortal sentient being. He'd learned to navigate and survive what he once deemed to be the end of the world with precision and expertise but what should happen when fate has him losing all control over the situation? When the powers above decide to try and rip the centre of his universe away from him? Can he save her or will he be forced to watch her fade away?

**18+, dark topics covered, toxic relationships, graphic violence and smut throughout** Pre Part 1: You never used to be this desperate. Never used to allow yourself to grovel at a man's feet for him just to give you the smallest morsels of warmth in return. Yet, you found yourself lapping up each and every crumb. It was never supposed to even be him. It was Tommy that set his eyes on you on that godforsaken night at the bar- the night that turned to utter carnage. Yet now, you would do just about anything to have his brother look at you with the same warmth and wanting. You wanted to hate Joel Miller, wanted to feel nothing but disgust as you looked at him but you never could... and so in turn, you allowed him to ruin you over and over in every sense of the word.

Proverbs 28:13-Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. They say time should heal all that is broken, yet seven years have passed since you walked away from his hollow heart, and still the memories fester. The name 'Joel Miller' remains to taste like poison on your tongue, a wound that never learned to scar. But fate is merciless and against all odds, he crosses your path once more. And in the shadows of his return, one question waits with teeth: how long can you guard the secret you swore to protect?

The world ended, but people didn't. Not entirely. Twenty years after the outbreak, survival has become second nature. But when Althea agrees to help smuggle a girl across the country, everything shifts. There's Joel: quiet, brutal, impossible. The gruff, closed-off man with blood on his hands and grief in his bones. There's Ellie: foul-mouthed and sharp-eyed, with too much riding on her small shoulders. And there's Althea, stuck somewhere between running from her past and crashing headfirst into a future she never dared to want. Love isn't safe. Hope isn't smart. But some things are worth the risk. Because in the end, it's not about what you've lost, but what you're willing to fight for, even when the world seems beyond saving.

As Captain of the Boston QZ, Nora Bounds upholds FEDRA's system without question---until the same system she serves marks her estranged brother for death. With a freshly healed arm and a target on her back, Nora knows she can't make the nearly 3,000-mile journey alone. Desperate, she strikes a deal with the only man reckless enough to take it. Joel Miller. But nothing is ever as simple as it seems. With plans to double-cross Nora to search for Tommy in Wyoming, Joel is even less willing to trust the partnership than he lets on. However, as the harsh reality of their circumstances sets in, Nora and Joel are forced to rely on each other, making their fragile alliance into something far more dangerous-and complicated-than either of them ever anticipated.

The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London.

Diane Salvino had never been dealt a winning hand. Life seemed hell-bent on testing her limits-growing up rough in the outskirts of Waco, enduring a childhood best left unspoken, throwing herself into the military, and carving out a place in Black Ops before trading combat boots for scrubs. Survival had always been her specialty. But for the first time, she thought she'd found something worth living for. Joel Miller and his daughter, Sarah. A family. A future. Until it all went up in flames. Two decades later, the world had rotted, and so had the last remnants of her heart. The outbreak stole Sarah on the first night, shattered her marriage the next, and left Diane to forge a new legend in the ashes of a world that once was. To FEDRA, she was the Boogeyman. To the Fireflies, a War Dog. To Joel, a ghost. And to one defiant, sharp-tongued girl named Ellie, she was something else entirely. A reluctant protector, maybe even a second chance. Now, fate had thrown her back into Joel's path, their history tangled in grief and blood, both bound by the impossible task of shepherding the one girl who might just save the world, and a sixteen year old boy with a deadeye shot, the journey ahead is certain. But in a place where survival demands sacrifice, Diane knows better than anyone, hope is the most dangerous weapon of all. #1 in Joel #1 in Miller #1 in The Last of Us #1 in Pedro Pascal #1 in season one #2 in Post-Apocalyptic #3 in Ellie #5 in survival #6 in outbreak #9 in The Last of Us