Fandom The Day The World Changed { The Last of Us 1x1 with icedthemoon }

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh looked at Soren and thought about it for a moment. No. He couldn’t go home. Home meant telling Hayden. Home meant breaking his partners heart and telling his brother about their father. No. He was fine. He didn’t need to go home. Besides, Jacob would need Soren there for support when he did tell him. He looked at the hand on his arm and smiled at Soren. But this smile did not reach his eyes like they used to. “No. Let’s go back to the room, let them know how it went and then we can compile this report together. And from there we could find the General.”

Kaiden looked at Theo, bright brown eyes looking at him curiously. He tilted his head a little as he heard the laugh and then felt fingers grab his hand. Kaiden giggled and laughed at the giggle from Theo when he said his name. Kai clapped as well, mimicking Theo before he pointed to himself. “Kai.” Then he pointed to Theo. “Theo.” Then he giggled and clapped his hands.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines and Soren Truelson
FEDRA Civilian, FEDRA Officer | 24, 35 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

The more Soren thought about it, the more he was certain that yes, he would also wanted to work through his grief and pain. If they found someone important to him there, he would not be able to just go home and wallow. If they found Cap? Especially when it was their doing that created the bombing? He would not want to be without something to do. He nodded. “Okay. We do this together.” He moved away and through the streets until they reached the temporary headquarters. Back in that room, all the same people were working. “How did it go? Was it a success?” Soren looked at Josh, unsure how to answer that. “We certainly got rid of a whole lot of the infected,” he answered as he sat down at one of the tables.

The excitement in Kai’s voice excited Theo. The excitement in his face also excited him. Really, Kai was exciting. He didn’t understand the sound of ‘Kai’ but he did understand that Kai learned Theo’s name. He was so happy about this that he bobbed up and down with another giggle. Kai even clapped with him. He liked this other being very much. He did not ever want to leave this spot. He bounced where he sat, wobbling a little to one side but not so much that he was going to fall over. He gurgled sounds as his face scrunched with the wide smile. If only he could talk. If he could, he might have found a way to tell Kai as much. He slapped his hands down on his legs as he bounced.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh nodded to that, a small smile on his face still as he followed Soren through until they made it to the headquarters. As they entered the room, Josh looked at the people as they asked how it went. "We cleared out a lot of the infected like Soren said, so I'd call it a success." He said, sitting down beside Soren. He found a piece of paper, and a pen and began his own report. What he'd seen and what he'd encountered. Writing it down was a form of therapy for him. It allowed him to write out his feelings.

Kaiden was excited and happy, and overall overjoyed to be with Theo. He watched the baby bob up and down and Kai clapped again, seeing him bounce and make sounds. Kaiden giggled and laughed, bouncing a little himself. He loved hanging out with this little baby although he wished he could speak. But Kai didn't mind. Jacob found the entire scene between them adorable, and he kept an eye on Theo so the baby did not fall over or do anything that would hurt himself.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines and Soren Truelson
FEDRA Civilian, FEDRA Officer | 24, 35 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Success. That was such a hard word to work with. What defined success? That was something he wished he could discuss, but he was not sure that Josh was in the right headspace to have that discussion. Really, he was thinking about having it with Jacob later. Of course, he would have to see how he took the hard news about their father. That was going to be so awful. Soren thought about Logan who was by himself somewhere. Soren needed to find a way to bring him in. If he had to smuggle him in and hide him in their room, he would. That was going to be his new mission. He too wrote out his findings on a paper. His thought was that they could write two separate ones and then once they got everyone else’s, they could compile it into one report.

Theo had not said any words yet. In theory, he was a bit late with the talking thing. The most he could do was occasionally make some sounds. He giggled and laughed, of course. He cried as well. He whined. He groaned and moaned and huffed. He learned huffing recently from the girl who held him earlier. He liked Jacob more. He liked Kai even more. He had no opinions about the other Jacob sitting behind Kai. He was loud, but Theo didn’t mind loud. He smiled like Kai did, so maybe he liked that. He looked at Kai and wanted to communicate. He knew that he could, because everyone else could. Everyone else was always making sounds at him. He wanted to make those kinds of sounds. It was mildly frustrating not to be able to. So he tried again. His eyebrows narrowed and his mouth opened as he tried to say something. All that came out was something that might have been a had ‘K’ or ‘C’ sound. He waved his hands in front of him, holding onto Kai’s hand as he tried to speak.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh was too busy writing down everything he witnessed to pay attention to anyone else. As he wrote, he thought about how he had to tell Hayden, oh and Logan. And Jacob. His heart was starting to hurt again as he felt tears threaten to fall. No. He swiped the tears that had gathered under his eyelids and forced that cage shut. Josh finished writing down everything he needed to and pushed the paper away a few inches and leaned against the back of the chair. Once they got the report compiled, then did they head home? What else could he do before he had to face Hayden.. God the way he just thought that made it seem like a chore to tell his partner the news and he hated that feeling.

Jacob looked at Theo, hearing him trying to speak, though the sound could've been a K or a C. "Come on buddy, you can do it." Jacob encouraged Theo as Kai giggled and nodded. He felt his hand waving around as Theo waved his hands, and giggled. "Theo." He said the other's name again.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines and Soren Truelson
FEDRA Civilian, FEDRA Officer | 24, 35 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Soren had a lot of practice writing reports. He usually wrote them out on paper first and then typed them up so that it was a second draft that he was giving people. That was not an option anymore. He was not sure that would ever be something that they did again. That was okay. This could be his first draft. He finished before Josh did, but he assumed that was because he was accustomed to having to do this in disasters. That was his job after all. Or it was before this. He was disaster relief. He waited for Josh. “How are you doing?” he asked quietly once he saw that Josh was finished. He pulled some of the papers that they had gotten from others while they were writing closer to him to see how they were going to compile this.

The encouragement was good. He liked the talking around him. He liked the giggles. When Kai said his name, that was enough to get him excited again. So he tried once more. He worked on the sounds, trying to make the right ones. He could hear it in his brain. He pushed again, trying to create this new sound in his mouth. It was so hard, because he had only heard it a few times. He liked his name more, but he certainly could not make that sound. He made that original hard sound again. “K” but that was too hard for his mouth, so he gave that up and he just tried the other sound. After a while of working, he finally got out a tiny sound that very well could have been “eye.”
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh was so deep in thought that the quiet question made him jump initially and he looked over at Soren. "I'm fine." He said, and he was. He really was. Or he will be. "What do we do after the report is compiled?" He asked. He didn't want to go back home, but he also couldn't prolong that much more. They were still fortifying and creating the quarantine zone. Josh bit his lip as he sighed.

Jacob could see Theo trying to work it out, and it was so cute. Kai looked at Theo and giggled, clapping his hands. "Kai." He said, pointing to himself and then at Theo. "Theo!" He laughed as he spoke. Jacob caught the tiny sound that sounded like the word "Eye." And he smiled. "Good job little buddy!" Jacob said, smiling at Theo.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines and Soren Truelson
FEDRA Civilian, FEDRA Officer | 24, 35 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

What happened next? “Um. Well we get it to the General of course. And then we see where we are with the day. And how we are.” Soren knew that this was difficult. He knew that they were surviving until they could deal with this badness. And it was bad. He may not have known Lucas long, but he was someone special. He didn’t know Hayden’s mother, but if she was anything like the parents that the rest of them talked about, she was also someone the world needed. “It’s later now, so it would probably be okay to go back home after this. But we may also find something that needs doing before we go, and it seems like we do all of the things.”

Kai. Theo learned Kai. Not another Jacob. Not another him. Kai. He just couldn’t say it yet. He clapped along with Kai, because they were doing great things. Oh! And he was Theo! Yes! He looked up at Jacob who seemed just as excited. He laughed and smiled, bobbing up and down. “‘Ai!” He repeated. It was so nice to finally say something real after all this trying. When Rachel held him, she was not very supportive. Now if only he could say his own name. He couldn’t get that beginning sound right. Oh well “‘Ai!” He yelled again and tossed his hands up and down.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh looked at Soren, hearing him and nodding. He knew that there might not be anything left to do and that meant going home. Going to Hayden. Telling him that his mother was dead. "Right." He agreed as they worked to compile the rest of the reports that had filtered in. "I think this report is ready to be brought to the General." Josh said, pausing for a moment.

Jacob clapped as Kai giggled hearing him. "Good job little man!" He said with a smile on his face. Kai heard Theo say his name and he clapped his hands. "Theo!" He cried out as he laughed and wriggled his fingers towards Theo while Jacob smiled at them, he loved how the two of them already had a connection.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines and Soren Truelson
FEDRA Civilian, FEDRA Officer | 24, 35 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Right. Right of course. They worked, and they compiled until they were finished. Soren read over it once more to make sure everything flowed together and sounded good. That was one of the parts he didn’t love as much. He was not built for writing things. “Alright. Let’s take this to the General.” He stood up and waited for Josh.

Hayden watched as these two little boys seemed to be having the time of their lives doing nothing but yelling each other’s names. “Please tell me this was how Josh was as a baby.” He could only imagine and he felt like he would be so much more fulfilled if he’d gotten to see that. Theo, still clapping and bobbing, really wanted to say his name too. He tried with the beginning part and gave up quickly as it was annoying him. To avoid the frustration, which he did not like, he went with the vowel sounds. “Eee.. eee…” he huffed. “Oh.” He slammed his tiny hands into the bed when he just couldn’t get it all.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh looked at Soren as they worked to compile the report correctly. Once it was done, he stood up and nodded. "After you." Josh said, walking with Soren towards the office the General had made his own. Once they got to the door, Josh took a deep breath, looked at Soren and nodded. Josh knocked on the office door and waited for a 'come in' from him.

Jacob looked at Hayden and chuckled. "He was definitely like this. His first word was.. Dada." Jacob said with a grin as he looked at Theo. He saw him clapping and bobbing, and then he heard him trying to sound out his own name. "You can do it buddy. You're so close." Jacob said while Kai giggled and clapped his hands. "Theo! Theo!" He said, trying to encourage the baby.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines and Soren Truelson
FEDRA Civilian, FEDRA Officer | 24, 35 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

They moved to the General’s office and Soren waited for Josh to knock. Josh was the one who had to be ready for this. Not him. Soon after the knock, the General summoned them in. Soren opened the door, and there was General Fontaine with a stack of papers sprawling across his desk and two men standing to the side. They had clearly been talking about something. He raised his hand and gestured for them to come forward. “We’ve got the report from the downtown ground survey,” Soren answered. He walked to the desk and handed the General the official report. “Ah,” said the General. “How’s it looking out there?”

Hayden laughed. “I choose to believe that ‘Kai’ is his first word, which is adorable.” Theo was really, trying, but his little body just couldn’t do it. He was not developed enough. Instead, he repeated, “’eo” a couple of times as he patted on his own stomach and then went back to yelling, “’ai!” as he grabbed at Kai’s arm. He bounced a few more times and then yawned, stretching his arms up wide and to the side.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh swallowed hard as he heard the General call them in. It was time. He stepped inside, looking at the other two men before his attention was turned to the General. He was silent as Soren handed the report over and then he nodded. “It’s looking.. good out there. Well, good in that it looks like we managed to get all of the infected in the area.” Josh replied as he thought about the downtown area again. “But I’d recommend a more thorough search team just in case.” Josh added.

Jacob nodded as he looked at Theo. “It certainly seems like that was his first word.” Jacob agreed as he watched the two little ones. Then he saw the yawn and chuckled. “Looks like we wore him out again. Hey buddy? You tired?” Jacob leaned forward and rubbed Theo’s back. Kaiden watched as Theo tried to say his name and watched him pat his own stomach. Kai giggled at the sound of his name And the grab on his arm. As if it was a chain reaction, Kai yawned when Theo did. ​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines and Soren Truelson
FEDRA Civilian, FEDRA Officer | 24, 35 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Good. Soren guessed that in the grand scheme of things, that was true. They did get rid of a whole bunch of the infected. That was going to help everyone in the long run. They also killed a lot of people and destroyed a giant part of town. Soren wanted to know the numbers. He wanted to see the data. He wanted to know if this was worth it. The General seemed to agree. “Good. We will send another search later. I’m not sure we can spare the troops right now. There’s been a lot going on since we declared Martial Law. We have a lot to pack down before we are settled. Like finding a better place of operations. This one isn’t going to work for us. We need a bigger space.” He waved the matter away. “Tell me, do you think the downtown area is something we can use after this? Or are your gut feelings telling you that this was a sacrifice we made for the greater good?”

Theo yawned again, eyes closing with the rubbing on his back. He crawled his little hands forward as he lowered his top half down. He felt something close to him and peered over. Oh. Kai. The little boy crawled a little closer and snuggled his head against Kai as he laid there. He was so tired. Hayden smiled wide as he watched this. It was probably the cutest thing he had ever seen in his entire life. “Everyone is sleepy, huh? Even I’m a little tired too.” The infectious yawn made its way to Hayden as well.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh looked at the General and nodded as he listened to him. He thought about the destruction of downtown and shook his head. “I wouldn’t recommend using it sir. Several buildings took obvious structural damage and it would be smart to call it a buffer zone but that’s it. As for a bigger space, the Stadium is rather large so that could be an option for a bigger place of operation.” Josh said as he thought another the giant Stadium.

Kai looked at Theo when he felt the head snuggle against him. He shifted his body to lay down snuggled up to Theo. Jacob’s heart swelled at the adorableness of the two. Then he yawned. “Mm. Nap time sounds like a great idea.” Jacob commented as he shifted his body to lay on his side. He moved one arm up to block the edge of the bed and his leg blocked the other edge as he rested his head on his arm. “What do you think Hayden? Little bit of sleep never hurt.”​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines and Soren Truelson
FEDRA Civilian, FEDRA Officer | 24, 35 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

General Fontaine sighed. “I thought as much.” He looked at them both, leaning back in the chair. “This was a good idea, don’t get me wrong. In fact, I think the end justifies the means, because this is going to change the safety of everyone else in this area.” He thought for a moment as he read through the report. He nodded a few different times. “Alright.” He turned to one of the men to the side. “It’s what we were saying earlier. Stadium?” He turned back to Josh and then nodded. “That was one of the places that some of the men were thinking. I am sending out teams to scout more areas. You did good work.” He handed the report to one of the men. “You two always pull through, don’t you? I like it. I need people like that, and you’re already proving valuable.” He smiled. “I think you’ve done more than enough for one day. That looks like it was a tough scene. Or if you’re still in the mood for more-“ Soren stepped forward. “We are making headway on the warehouse project. We can check on that before we head back.”

Hayden laughed but he couldn’t help but think that this was not such a bad idea. He moved himself to be on the opposite side of Jacob so that he could also block that direction. He too laid down as he yawned once more. “A nap really doesn’t sound so bad. I think I understand Emily now.” He was starting to understand all parents really. No wonder they were always so tired. Theo fell asleep pretty much instantly as he lay there.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh listened to the General, nodding and he felt that similar swell of pride as he did. “Thank you sir.” Josh replied before he paused. Head home.. he wasn’t sure he wanted to head home. But if there wasn’t anything else. More? He was about to ask what else he could do when he heard Soren mention the warehouse project. Right. That was important. They could grab the kids books too while they were there. “Yes. We can check on that before we head back.” Josh agreed as he looked at the General, ready to head out and head to the warehouse once they were dismissed.

Jacob chuckled tiredly. “Yes. I remember giving my parents a break and watching Josh. I always needed a nap after that.” He said as he closed his eyes. Him and Kai drifted off to sleep rather quickly.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines and Soren Truelson
FEDRA Civilian, FEDRA Officer | 24, 35 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

The General gave them an affirmative nod and moved back to his paperwork. “Keep up the good work, men.” Soren nodded as well. “Thank you, sir.” He nodded to the other two men in the room as well. “Have a good rest of your day.” He stepped to the side, gently pulling at Josh’s arm to lead him out of the room. Once they were out and walked far enough away, he said, “I thought you might need something else to help your mind before you’re ready to go home.” Soren did not quite understand what was going on with Josh, but he knew that he was struggling. He wished that he could help more.

Hayden smiled as he too started to drift off to sleep. Who knew that this was where they would be? Certainly not him. The only thing that could make it better was if Josh could be with them too. Josh curled behind him as they snuggled close to these little guys. In the moment just before he fell asleep, he imagined what it would be like to be the three of them. Him, Josh, and Kai all together. Like a family. A really beautiful family.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh followed Soren out of the room, quietly. Once they were away from the door, he turned to Soren and gave a small nod. “I just need a few minutes to get my mind clear. We can check in on the warehouse, grab the books and head home.” Josh said, knowing he couldn’t put this off much longer. He had to talk about it. As they neared the warehouse, Josh looked at it and sighed. Go in. Check in. Grab the books and head home. To Hayden. To.. telling him. That was a conversation he was not ready for.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines and Soren Truelson
FEDRA Civilian, FEDRA Officer | 24, 35 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Soren hooked his arm through Josh’s as they made it to the warehouse. “I know this is hard. Don’t forget that I am your friend. If you need anything, and I mean anything, you’ve got me.” He smiled and unhooked as they walked inside. He inquired with the people there about anything new and what had been going on. While they were away, a couple of shipments of more stuff had been brought in, but because they started categorizing, things were looking more organized than they could have been. It was still a work in progress. They had a long way to go.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh glanced at Soren, feeling the arm hook with his. “Thank you. I really appreciate it. I appreciate everything you’ve done so far for me, and for Jacob too.” Josh told him, appreciation in his words and tone. “And if I need anything, I’ll let you know.” He added as their arms unhooked when they got inside. The people inside appeared to have continued to put everything in the categories and spots as they had been they left. “Looks better but still some work to be done.” Josh said as he moved towards the box of books. “Okay. Ready to head home?” He asked as he picked them up. He wasn’t but he knew he couldn’t put it off anymore.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines and Soren Truelson
FEDRA Civilian, FEDRA Officer | 24, 35 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Soren was not sure that he believed Josh. Would he come to him if needed something? Was Josh that kind of person? He just didn’t know. He thought maybe before, but this had shaken him. This was different. There was nothing wrong with that of course. Soren wished he knew what it was though. He followed Josh to the books and picked up a handful of items that he remembered being on the list to place into a different box to take with them as well. “I’m ready,” he answered. He jerked his head to the side and made his way out of the warehouse. “Okay. Real talk. How do you want to handle this? What do you want us to do?”
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh was independent, and even before the world broke he didn’t always ask for help or go to anyone. Not with some things anyway. He probably wouldn’t go to Soren, not because he didn’t trust him, but because it was who he was. This only reinforced that. Josh nodded and headed out of the warehouse with the box of books. Once outside, he heard Soren’s words and sighed. “I’ll probably take him into our apartment alone. If I need help, I’ll come get Jacob. But I think I’ll tell Jacob first and away from Hayden. I don’t know how Hayden is going to take this, so I’d rather it just be us.”​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines and Soren Truelson
FEDRA Civilian, FEDRA Officer | 24, 35 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Soren understood this. He didn’t understand a lot, but he understood that Josh knew Hayden the best of them all. Not only that but from what Soren had been able to tell, Hayden was particularly sensitive, at least right now if not always. Josh could handle him, and Jacob would be a good backup. “Do you want me there when you tell Jacob? I won’t be upset or offended either way. I only want the best for you and yours.” He already felt so close to everyone. He already loved Jacob. That was still new and amazing. He hated that someone he loved had to go through this. First with his mom and now with his dad. They had to find Logan. They had to make sure he was okay. Right now, though, they had to get through today. They had to get through tonight. Soren would do whatever Josh wanted from him.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua and Jacob Smith
FEDRA Officer, FEDRA Civilian | 24, 30 | Current location ;; Seattle Quarantine Zone

Josh looked at Soren as they walked and he nodded. “You should be there when I tell Jacob. He’s going to need you.” Josh replied, as they neared the apartment buildings. “I just.. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Hayden. That’s what I’m concerned with. He’s.. already going through a tough time as it is.” Josh admitted as he looked over at Soren once more. He knew that Hayden was not going to take it well, but he just didn’t know how bad it was going to be.​