Chapter 3
The breeze coming through the window was so pleasant that Ellie opened her eyes sighing.
"Sorry, didn't want to wake you up," Dina spoke softly standing in front of the wardrobe.
"It's fine." Ellie sat up in bed.
"How was the sleep?"
"Good. Some days I'm just so tired I pass out." Ellie watched Dina give her that look. The look that meant "please, don't freak out and leave me again". It hadn't took long for them to get back together. After such an abrupt parting, spending time under the same roof and interacting with JJ again was too much of a pull for both of them. Ellie still struggled, but she had had enough of "you know the value after you lose it" for a lifetime.
She frequently felt like saying "I'm not going anywhere", but she also was afraid of making promises again. "Will you ever forgive me?" And Ellie had a deja vu of an awkward conversation in a certain porch.
Dina gestured to her surroundings, like showing the house. "I'm working on that, ain't I?" She gave up on whatever she was picking up and came to sit in front of Ellie. "We don't have to make things heavier than they already are. We're together again and I love you, that's all that should matter."
Ellie nodded. Dina gave her a peck and got up. "You know, we should really pick more of your things from the farm. You barely have anything wearable left."
Dina hadn't wanted to go back to the farm, she said for now they should stay in Jackson, until "things settled". Ellie understood, like Maria said, winning back Dina's trust had to be her first task.
"We can go today, I have the day off. And I need to get rid of the mold I'm accumulating in Maria's office."
"I'm so telling her you said that. But I guess it's good. Day's looking hot enough."
"Let's have a picnic! JJ would love it." As on cue he woke up in his crib. "Well, he's on board."
"It's a date."
***
Abby was trying to keep her focus on the road and at the same time grapple with the absurdity of this situation. Just when they were a couple days away from their goal, the route had being disrupted by a horde of infected. Now they had been circumventing the area by getting dangerously near Jackson.
She hadn't told the couple of doctors traveling with them exactly what this meant, but she warned Jarod and Alanna that they could find hostility around these parts. They wouldn't be welcomed into town, so they'd have to find a roof somewhere nearby and pray to not find familiar faces.
Jarod was the first to point out the farmhouse coming into view. Abby had no choice but to steer the horse that way...
***
Ellie and Dina were encouraging JJ to walk between them on the tablecloth they had spread in the backyard. It had been one of the most peaceful afternoons Ellie experienced in a long time. She was keeping herself from thinking about the end of this day and going to sleep.
That's when they heard horses approaching.
"Maybe you should take JJ inside." Ellie immediately tensed up.
"They're probably just passing." Dina got up and rounded the house to see a small group approaching. Ellie grabbed JJ and came to her side. Before their image could become recognizable, a man in the group shouted their way.
"We mean no harm! We had to detour from a horde south from here."
"You'll be welcomed!" but just as Dina answered, Ellie recognized them. It was like a gut punch, sucking all the air from her lungs, she fell to her knees, trying to keep JJ secure. "Ellie!"
Dina kneeled beside her and grabbed the boy that was already crying. Soon more noise was nearing. She was desperate trying to find control to fight, she had no weapons on her, they were outside the house, but her body wouldn't revert from shutting down.
"We have medical training! What happened?" The man dismounted and came running to them.
"I don't..." That's when Dina saw them. Abby and Lev looked equally shocked and Ellie was resisting the man. "Leave her alone!"
"We're just trying to help! She looks like she's having a panic attack," Alanna defended him.
"Thanks to your friends! Haven't you caused harm enough?!"
For a moment Abby felt angry at the confrontation, but that was the woman she almost killed when she was pregnant and now there was a baby crying in her arms. And there in the ground was her old enemy, completely vulnerable, just like when she met Abby back at the beach... Jarod and Alanna were looking back at her confused.
"We don't want to fight anymore," it had to be Lev to do the right thing. "We didn't even know you're here. We're just traveling east."
"Good, then leave!"
That was it, she had done everything to avoid this. She really didn't want to look back, but now they were already here.
"Wait. We need to talk."
"Are you kidding me?" Dina was trying to help Ellie get back to her feet.
"Let's just go," Alanna said trying to turn Abby away.
"We're close to a vaccine." That's when everyone finally shut up and Ellie looked her in the eye. "We need to talk."
***
There was tea on the table and JJ was asleep in Dina's arms. The night was falling outside. Thankfully they had come ready to spend the night. Jarod and Alanna clearly weren't happy with all the pieces of information they hadn't, but kept silent on the side. The weapons had been left on the entrance.
"That's why I came here. Though I had no plans to come here, exactly," Abby finished her curt explanation and silence ensued once more.
Dina wasn't looking at Ellie, clearly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Ellie looked at the new strangers, weighing in the risks of what she could say.
"So what? Are you expecting me to come with you?" hearing Ellie's tone, Abby felt the anger rising again. How could this little shit not understand the scope of things? Abby was giving her a new chance to help, even if they didn't need her anymore.
"How can you be this selfish?!" Abby felt Lev's hand on her shoulder.
"I have a family to care for now."
"I told you, this doctor, Madison, she found another way. You won't be harmed! They can even come along if you want, isn't that far!"
"Wait, what?" Jarod intervened here, but Abby just lifted her hand for him to wait without even looking.
"Imagine what this could mean for your kid. He could grow up in a better world. I know it's hard for us to imagine what that's like, but... don't you want it? How can you not?!"
Ellie was feeling her heart rate increasing again. It had been so hard to minimally shut the past out in the last months, and now she was screaming in her face inside her house. Her hair and muscles had grown back, like nothing had happened. For years Ellie had resented the fact Joel robbed this opportunity from her, but now she couldn't even start to process the possibility of having that chance back, no strings attached. How many developments unfolded in vain.
"I think you should go," Dina's voice was so unexpected, it took a bit for Ellie to recognize who had talked and what she meant.
"You do?" Ellie asked weakly.
"I can't start to wrap my mind around how we got here, but she's right." She scoffed still full of resentment. "Besides, isn't that what you've always wanted? A new chance?"
Ellie lowered her head. Why was this happening now? Why were things always happening in the worst moments?
"I'd go with you, by the way. We would."
Ellie raised her head again to look at Dina and the sleeping JJ. She sighed.
"Hell..." She finally looked back at Abby and nodded.
"Ok, we're adding two more people and a baby and you just dropped our mission details to them. Are they Fireflies too?"
"No. But we'll be taking with us someone immune to help research."
"What?!" They looked now at Ellie like she had become gold.
"Let's just go to sleep. It'll be a long day tomorrow," Dina said with finality.