Joel walked in through the front door, it was late at night and he had to take a night shift at work.

He hated leaving Ellie late at night, he'd realised very early on into Ellie living with him, that she had night terrors and would often wake up sobbing or screaming.

Ellie had been living with him for the past 5 months, it had been the best 5 months of his entire life, he got to experience being a father all over again, he got to do things correctly.

He heard the soft sound of singing coming from upstairs, a familiar gentle voice.

He walked upstairs, making sure not to make a sound and to avoid creaky steps.

Ellie was sat on her bed, sheets of music of surrounded her on the bed, one was in her hands as she read off it, her voice following each line.

She let out a sigh as she messed up one of the many lines, it was the fourth time that night.

She let out a frustrated sigh, putting the paper down on her bed, she was tired and stressed, worst of all, she couldn't focus on the words on the page.

She heard a soft clap from her bedroom door, she looked up and smiled softly as Joel clapped for her.

"That was amazing baby girl, the best singing I've ever heard" he smiled at her, Joel had a way with lifting Ellie's spirits when she was sad.

"Shut up, I messed up a lot and I can't hit the high notes" she sighed, Joel frowned and walked in, moving the sheets of music into a neat pile, putting them on her desk.

"I think you did incredible, and fuck those high notes, you'll be able to get them with a little practice" he smiled softly, Ellie smiled a little.

"Y-Yeah, I guess, but the auditions are in two weeks and I'm worried about it, I can't get the right notes" she sighed, bringing her knees to her chest and laying her chin on her knees, Joel watched her, moving closer and rubbing her back.

"Hey, you're going to do incredible, and when you get that lead role, you're going to come running through the front door and I'll give you a big hug" Joel smiled softly and hugged her.

"Yeah....Thank you Joel" she cuddled against his chest, yawning softly.

"Did you get any sleep today?" Joel asked, concerned, Ellie shook her head.

"No, I couldn't sleep" she sighed, Joel frowned.

"Get to sleep baby girl"
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I've finally been able to write again.

I've been really anxious recently and writing has been helping me relax