Chapter 1
Abby is watching the sea from their home, a small house on the hills of Catalina Island. She felt healthy again, though far from her peak physicality. Lev had just started attending school with the other kids and was very much not keen on it, but today Abby really hoped he wouldn't skip class. She needed time to process the news she had just got.
Cassandra Flores, the Firefly's new leader, had been nothing but welcoming and understanding. Actually, everyone in the island had. It felt like a sheltered paradise on Earth, which at times was unsettling, like she was living in some sort of delirium.
Today, that protective bubble had cracked. Abby had told her story to these people, or at least the gist of it and a few had recognized her from the days back in Salt Lake. As it seemed, Cassandra had considered Jerry Anderson's daughter deserving of privileged intel. Actually, Cassandra was clearly elated to share it with her.
"Abby, now that we have confirmation I want you to be up to the date with the new developments," the old woman took a deep breath, "We're close to developing a vaccine."
Abby replayed the scene now, the mix of hope, relief and joy in the woman's face. The look of someone who had known the old world and had spent her life fighting to regain some semblance of it.
"What?" that was all Abby could concoct and Cassandra carefully pressed on.
"I understand after all these years..."
"Did you find another immune subject?"
"No, no. Uh... I have no medical knowledge, but from what our medical team analyzed, this young doctor really found another way to it. But of course, everyone agrees that having an immune person around would speed things up," Cassandra sighed, but kept going. "Her whole family has been working on this research since the outbreak. Projects were shut down and connections lost, but they never gave up. Kept working on it under wraps, migrated... Now she's close to it. And hearing of the Firefly's resurgence, decided to contact us."
Abby's head was reeling. "Wait, isn't she here? Where's is she?"
"Wyoming. She lives in an old med school building..."
At that point Abby stopped listening, "Wyoming?!"
"Yes..." Cassandra seemed amused with the repeated shocked tone, but didn't comment. "As I was saying, she has a small staff. The communities around think she's just a good doctor who attends whoever appears on her door. So she gained some neutrality there."
"She needs protection."
"I agre-"
"I'll go."
Here Cassandra was taken aback, "Abby, you arrived a month ago."
"Please! This was my father's life mission. He died for this! If I can do anything to help. I need to help!"
Cassandra sighs and thinks for a bit. "I won't send anyone tomorrow or anytime soon. This needs to be carefully planned. Can't draw attention," then she weighs her words some more and completes. "I'll think about it, Abby, and we'll talk then. We're good?"
"Yes, ma'am."
After Cassandra left, Abby had paced the whole house and outdoors, stopping occasionally to look at the sea, as if she'd see the answers arriving on the shore.
"This school thing is really boring," Lev's arrival brought her back. He dropped his things inside the house and came out to her side.
"Where is your discipline now?"
He didn't seem to have an answer to that and they sat in silence for a while.
"Are you ok?" Lev asked her this from time to time.
"I'm good." Abby had never had that much time to think. So now it was hard not to get lost at memories or thoughts about the future. Lev couldn't know what she really was thinking about and Cassandra said they wouldn't move soon, so she had time to figure things out. She definitely couldn't mess this up.
***
Ellie had drifted to a cabin in the woods surrounding Jackson. Her plan was to depart and see where life would take her, but so far she hadn't moved. Actually, she was progressively moving closer and closer to Jackson everytime she was out to hunt or wander around. A couple days ago she had come into sight range from JJ's grandparents house, like a creep.
A part of Ellie's life had definitely ended. And for a brief moment she had naively believed she had achieved closure. The true was that with each passing day she missed her old life more. Sometimes she tried to imagine what Joel could've wished for her now. All Ellie could come up with was going back to Jackson, to her family. The family she threw away.
Then an afternoon Ellie heard a horse approaching the cabin. She carefully came near the window with her rifle prepared and saw Dina dismount with fire in her moves. Even seeing everything Ellie still jumped when the door opened with a bang.
"You!!!" Ellie watched as all possible feelings in Dina warred to become words. "You come back and hide in the woods?! What kind of bullshit is this???"
"You left the farm..."
"What did you want me to do?! You left! I was alone with a baby to take care of everything by myself! Alone with..." Dina was trying not to cry. "Alone with all these memories of the life I thought we..." Dina turned back trying to control herself.
"I'm a coward!" Ellie let out with frustration. "You know I am! From the beginning. I never had the guts to tell you what I felt and you started dating Jesse. You kissed me and I still tried to... When I came back I couldn't face you again, but I also couldn't go away for good!"
"I hope it was worth it," Ellie had never heard Dina's voice so cold.
...
"I gave up."
Here Dina turned back to her. "You gave up?"
"You were right the whole time," and that's when Ellie broke. "What-what do I do?"
Ellie didn't even see it coming, she simply came down to the floor slowly bawling her eyes out. When she finally calmed down Dina was still there, sitting on the floor in front of her. They had visibly deflated after pouring out most of their anger and sorrow.
"You should go back to Jackson. People already know you're back. How do you think I got here?"
"...Would you really be ok with seeing me all the time?"
"I don't want you dead, Ellie. I don't want to see you like this..." She looks away for a moment and then she finds Ellies' eyes. "I still love you. I always have, do you think it'd simply stop like that? But you don't get it, do you? Maybe that's always been the problem."
Then Ellie asks, because she's not beyond groveling anymore, "Would you take me back then?"
"No, Ellie, not like this, no. I can't keep this game, not knowing when you'll simply give up on us again. I have to think of JJ too."
"...I'll stay here for now. I still have nightmares... I still don't know what to do with all this."
Dina slowly stands up and Ellie follows her out.
"If Tommy asks you anything, please don't mention what I said... about giving up. I don't want to argue with him anymore. It's over, that part is over."
Dina nods and already on her horse says, "You should come see JJ sometime."
Ellie nods and watches her ride away. Weirdly some piece inside her seems to get back into place.