Alive. Yeah. It's one thing to think that word; it's a whole other thing to hear it. From Tess' mouth, no less. And, shit, something twisting and despairingly ugly starts to rise inside him, which he's quick to clamp down on and push back down to cold nothingness.

Treat it like it's nothing. Like it never happened. Just like the way he told Ellie to never speak of Tess again after they left the Capitol building. It's only way to keep going, keep fighting, surviving, without letting the past drown him.

The mention of Ellie catches his attention. The expression on his face changes; he takes a step closer to Tess, a hand coming up as if to pause her for a second, as if he hasn't quite properly heard what she's said and he urgently needs her to repeat it slowly.

"Wait - you sayin' that Ellie's here?"