The next morning, Jake saw clouds in the distance. He knew what that meant-an irradiated rainstorm. He was still limping and very sore, but he moved as quickly as he could. He had to warn everyone. He went inside the med center looking for April and he found her checking in on Heather.

"April, does the clinic have a fallout shelter?"

"Yes. What's going on?"

"It's bad, come on." Jake locked gazes with Heather for a moment before following April.


"Mind if I pitch in?" Heather asked as she entered the shelter.

"Know how to strip wires?" Jake asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Ever since junior high." Jake shot her a glance of surprise and admiration. "Yeah, I was that popular," she said, half-defensively, half-jokingly.

"Alright, great, check the fan belt. I think it's frayed."

"Well, then, you might want to get another one. Any mid-century American car would be a good match." She examined the mechanism. "And check the brushers, we don't the motor to seize up."

"Ok, alright," Jake said, holding up a screwdriver. "You take over. I'll look for a fan belt."

Heather smiled. She looked at the other man working on the system. "Excuse me, sir, you're doing that wrong."

Jake chuckled to himself as he limped away. This was a woman of hidden talents.


As he returned, he saw sparks. "Turn it off!" he exclaimed. He threw the fan belt he'd retrieved against the wall. They weren't going to be able to fix the ventilation system.

April came in, a group of patients behind her. "Jake, everyone's ready."

"Don't let them in here! It's not safe."

"Jake, the storm's almost here and everyone's scared. Do we have air or not?"

"We seal them up in here, they're gonna die."

Jake quickly decided that they had to take everyone to the other shelter at Town Hall. The patients were loaded onto several buses and ambulances. Jake drove one bus. Despite the dire situation, he caught Heather's gaze in the mirror and they smiled at each other. It made him feel like everything was going to be okay. At least until they arrived and his brother told him that only ten people could stay.

Racking his brain, Jake suddenly remembered-the salt mine! Everyone else could go there. It wasn't ideal, but it was the best they could do.

Seeing Jake's concern, Heather touched his wrist. "Hey. It's gonna be okay." She gave him a small smile.

Jake looked up at her at nodded.


Heather tried to help calm the crowd of people as they filed into the mine. Once everyone was inside, she made her way over to where Jake and Shep were wiring up charges of dynamite to seal the entrance until the storm passed. "Where'd you learn how to do that?"

"I knew a guy once," Jake said evasively.

"Did you blow him up?" she teased.

Jake snorted as he and Heather once again exchanged smiles.

Suddenly, a message crackled across the walkie-talkie; it was Emily begging for help out at Richmond Ranch. Jake scrambled to the handset but by the time he got to it, Emily was gone. Heather bit her lip; she knew Jake was going to check it out because that's the kind of person he was. Let him be safe, she prayed.


Jake found Emily in a stand-off with an escaped prisoner dressed like the sheriff. He had an arm around Bonnie Richmond's neck and a gun to her head. Another man was hiding just around the corner, pointing his gun at Emily. Jake took him out, then exchanged shots with the other man. Emily took the opportunity and shot him. Jake sent Bonnie inside, then had to gently coerce Emily, who was in shock, inside as well.

Once she recovered, she adopted the hostile tone once again. "I thought you were gone. Why are you here?"

Jake leaned away from her. "I'm trying to keep you safe."

Emily shook her head. "It's never safe around you." She stood up and walked away.

Jake propped his knees on his elbows and rubbed his hand across his forehead. He was worried about the people in the mine. How much would he rather be there right now, with Heather…


A/N: Remember when Jake was trying to get Emily inside and let 'babe' slip out a few times? That doesn't happen in this universe. I chose not to write out that dialogue so I had to let you know.