A week later.

John's gate.

A slight knock of the metal wall brought John back from his day dreaming. He was currently in the control room for his gate. On the monitors, he could see everything that went on in the bunker at all times. Including the live feed from Olivia's cell. John turned his attention from the live feed to see who had come to visit him.

It was Joseph. He stood there, dressed in his white shirt and dark vest. "John." Joseph greeted, in his usual calm and patient voice.

"Joseph." John's eyes met Joseph's graze, still hidden behind the yellow aviators. "How lovely to see you." John replied with a smile, but he was kind of nervous. He hadn't expected the Father, not at this hour at least.

"You have done well, brother." Joseph brought John in for his signature forehead touch. "I wanted to thank you for bringing the deputy to our gate. They will find salvation." Joseph praised.

"Thank you, Joseph." John smiled.

"I was afraid of what might happen if you allowed your sin to consume your soul, but you did the right thing. We shall enter the gates of Eden together, as a family." Joseph explained. John was overjoyed, the love he got from his brother was something he had sought after all his life. His life with the Duncan's had been devoid of everything even remotely similar to love. The concept was sometimes even foreign to him.

"I look forward to it, Joseph. But...-" John took a deep breath. "-There is a slight problem." John underplayed the issue he had in his mind as much as he could.

"And what would that be?" Joseph asked, his voice still calm.

"Well, the deputy atoned and confessed… But… She hasn't spoken a word since her atonement. I struggle to get her to talk." John confessed. Joseph studied John's face in a very intense manner, but remained silent as John tried to interpret what Joseph was thinking.

"Bring me to her." Joseph finally ordered, and John nodded slowly. The walk to Olivia's cell was silent, and it haunted John to no end. He hated when his brother refused to speak. John couldn't help but feel a bit afraid; he feared what Joseph would do if something went wrong. He had always stressed that the deputy should be brought in to their folds with love.

The cell down was opened with a swing of his personal key. Joseph nodded to him, and gave John a look that could only be described as: Please leave us alone to talk. John obliged, slowly backing away from the cell door and taking a deep breath. Joseph would know what to do, he always did.

Olivia had been stationary for close to 2 days now. Not moving an inch from her position in the corner, her head buried in her knees. Her head simply couldn't comprehend what had happened. She refused to believe Joseph was right; there was simply no way in hell. She hoped that she would wake up any moment, wake up and hear her friends call for her. But it never came, and soon she knew that it would never come.

The door opened, and she suspected that it was just another peggie that had been ordered to give her food. But no, this was different. The air had a sickening sweet taste to it, and when she looked up a bit, and cleared her eye sight of the remains of the tears, she could see a figure in a white shirt and a black vest looking at her.

It didn't take long for her to piece together that it was indeed Joseph, but how could he be here? He was in Faith's bunker… Wasn't he? Her mind hurt as it raced to gain answers that might never be revealed to her.

"May I sit here, my child?" He voice was like silk, so sweet and calming. She hated it.

She didn't answer him, she didn't want to. But, she had to admit, she was torn between telling him to fuck off, and demanding that he explain himself. But, the words refused to roll of her tongue either way.

"I see that you are confused, you are wondering how I am here?" Joseph asked. He had to ability to read her like an open book, and she was always terrified by it.

"In the days that these bunkers were built, they connected them with tunnels to ensure maximum capacity. Nuclear war was always on the edge during those days, and it wasn't until now it came." Joseph explained, he shifted on the prison bed, and continued to stare her down.

She creeped as far as she could in to the corner, and covered herself as much as possible.

"Do not fear, you too will become worthy of seeing the new world. If you believe in me, and cast away your fears, your doubts and look into your heart. You are part of this family." Joseph's voice still sounded sweet like honey. He offered a promise, and in that very moment, she considered taking his hand. To finally listen to what he said.

But, the images of Hudson flooded her mind, of her crying her make up off, of John terrifying her. Then came the images of Pratt, all beaten to a bloody pulp. The sight of The Marshall, Burke, walking through a bliss field, forever doomed to be there. She bit the bullet, she would endure.

"Go fuck yourself." She said, it was not more than a small whisper, but he heard it none-the-less.

"I am quite disappointing in you, deputy. But, God's forgiving nature allows me to keep the door open for you, even after all you have done." Joseph remarked, as he stood up.

"My family still has trials for you, but I am sure that you will see the light." Joseph finished as he left his book on the bed table. "Please, read it, and enlighten yourself." He requested, before leaving.

She didn't want to, but with nothing better to do, she finally exited her corner. She sat down on the bed,, and found that it was much more comfortable than the concrete floor. Her mind picked up the hard cover book, and slowly felt the texture of the book. She sighed as she looked around the small cell. She had no idea how long it had been since the collapse happened. Joseph had probably banned all forms for time measurement and calendars. She opened the first page of the book, and read the first passage.

"If you are reading these words, then there is hope.

Hope is the rock on which we build our future.

Know that you are not alone.

Know that you are loved."

4 days later

Time flew by, but in the bunker it was often hard to keep track away way. The father had gone back to Faith's gate, and had been visiting Jacob's armory every now and then. Olivia had been invested in the book she had been given by Joseph. John studied her on the live feed, taking notes for their nest session together.

Joseph's sermon came on. It was playing quietly on the voice announcement system, but John mostly tuned out. He felt like it was his personal mission to make the deputy submit to the project full heartedly. In this train of thoughts, he realized something. He didn't know that much about the junior deputy. Only her first name, Olivia.

Since the collapse was already here, information gathering was hard to come by, so he saw an opportunity. He was never one to pass up on an opportunity when one came knocking. Hudson had been kept on ice since the collapse happened, he didn't have much interest in her anyway. But, he might learn more if the two believed that they were given time together without supervision.

He would pad himself on the shoulder if pride wasn't a sin. But, he feared that the father wouldn't approve of it, so he kept it a secret. In John's mind, it was sometimes easier to ask for forgiveness than permission to pull these stunts. He smiled as he prepared himself for yet another meeting with the stubborn deputy.

When John wanted something done in his gate, it would always be done. No one dared ask questions, lest they be sentenced to another confession. So no one looked twice as he went down and opened the door to the cell. Olivia shocked, and in a panic threw the book underneath the sheets.

"Deputy." John greeted with a wide, teeth showing, grin. "How are you feeling today?" He asked as he stepped further in to the room.

"Just peachy-" She said, her voice was thick with sarcasm. "- Being stuck in a bunker with you is one of my dreams come true." Olivia elaborated.

"That's great to hear, because I think you deserve a little reward." John replied, and instantly saw her eyes turn from bored to curious. "You see, Deputy Hudson is really missing some company, and I think you might be the perfect playmate." John watched her eyes light up at the mention of Hudson. She nodded, and almost began begging to see Hudson. John wanted to smile, but kept his ulterior motive hidden.

There was no way the deputy didn't smell something rotten about it, but she simply wanted to see Hudson more. Any chance she could get, she would gladly take. John happily took her the shoulder and began leading her out of the cell, and down the narrow corridors. The followers had begun to complain about some of the conditions of the bunker, how they felt the walls were closing in and how they couldn't see the sun anymore. He had assured them that there was nothing to worry about, but he couldn't dismiss that he felt that way sometimes as well.

Finally, they came to the cell where Hudson was being kept. Her cell was a mess; she had been throwing everything that was throwable around. John tsked as he watched it in person. "Guess she really wants some company." John joked as he took his key and opened the lock.

Hudson turned her attention from the broken objects to the newly opened door. She was already in attack mode, ready to fight. She had already bit the ear of the servant who served her some food. "Hudson." John greeted. "Breaking stuff is not good manners. I would suggest keeping that wrath in check, lest we will stop serving your food again." John threatened in the most annoying voice that only he was capable of.

"Olivia here-" John slowly padded her on the back. "-Wanted to have a play date, think we can manage that?" John asked.

Hudson nodded slowly, and John smiled. He let Olivia in to the cell. And promptly left and locked the door behind him. "Have fun." He said as the door locked.

Olivia and Hudson stared at each other for a good long minute, before they threw each other in their arms. Olivia was not ashamed to admit that a small tear escaped down her cheek as she hugged Hudson still her was certain it was hurting her breathing.

"I thought you were dead!" Hudson proclaimed, her voice was weak and hoarse. Probably from not talking in a long time.

"I wanted to get you out...-" Olivia looked down into the concrete floor in shame. "-But I failed you, I failed everyone." Olivia allowed the tears to flow.

"Look, Olivia-" Hudson shook her until she stopped looking away. "-We will get out of here… Somehow." Hudson promised.

"But how? The Father said that-" Olivia was quickly interrupted by a slap.

"Don't tell me you bought in to the bullshit of him." Hudson was dead serious as she asked the question.

"But-But… The collapse-" Olivia began, but once again, she was overridden by Hudson's voice.

"I don't care if the psychopath guessed right, all I care about is getting out of here, with you preferably." Hudson explained.

"I want to get out, but what about Pratt? And Burke?" Olivia asked concerned.

"We'll get Pratt out as well, hopefully Burke too. Where is the Sheriff?" Hudson asked back.

"Last I heard, he was still at the prison." Olivia answered, but she didn't know what happened. She hoped that he was still okay. He had always believed in her, he had been the father figure in her life after her own father died.

"We'll go look for him as well. But, we need to smart about this. How do we get out of here?" Hudson asked.

Olivia thought about it, scratching the back of her head in the search of an answer. Then, she remembered. "John's key! It's around his neck." Olivia snapped her fingers and replied.

"But, how do we get it?" Hudson asked with worry.

"I have an idea, but I don't think you will like it...-"

"John." A voice greeted, it was at the door way. John almost fell back over his chair when he heard the voice. He had been watching Hudson and Olivia talking for the last 10 minutes, while his record player was busy giving him the sweet classical tunes of Mozart.

John quickly gathered himself and was back in his usual self. It was his older brother Jacob standing in the doorway this time, and John was more relieved. Jacob and John had both made an effort to get closer. But when they were separated, it was at a young age, and the age gap between them was quite big.

"Jacob." John smiled. "Why haven't you visited before?" John asked, hoping to distract him from the live feed of Olivia and Hudson.

"Things needed sorting in the armory. People need my supervision to get things done." Jacob replied, his voice still calm and collected. That was what Jacob was known for these days, he nearly bursted into anger, he always stayed calm.

"Ah, but I missed you here! So, are things going okay now?" John asked further.

"It better be. But, I came here for something else." Jacob admitted.

"And what might that be? I'm here if you need me, brother." John reassured his brother.

"It's… It's Abigail, and Matilda" Jacob almost whispered it. He had been very secretive about the two. Few people in the project knew about it, Jacob had been very keen on keeping it that way. It was his wife and daughter respectively.

"What about them?" John asked concerned. He loved his niece and his sister in law, very much in fact.

"It's just that… I think I have spent too much time training our forces, and not enough time with my daughter… She has grown-" Jacob gestured with his hand as he searched for the word. "-Rebellious." He finally confessed.

"Well… She is thirteen years old. But, I don't see the problem. You seem to know how to deal with..." John held an intentional long pause. "- Rebellious types" John smirked as he said it.

Jacob shifted a bit on his feet, and bit his under lip. "Abigail wouldn't approve of that." He whispered, almost non audible.

"Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear it." John was overjoyed in that moment. He was a little brat of a brother.

"Abigail wouldn't approve." Jacob repeated, this time loud and clear.

"I see." John was close to laughing at this point. "-So, Mr. Control doesn't have control over his own daughter?" John asked.

"I may be your brother, but if you want to keep that baby face in good shape, I would suggest you cut it out." Jacob threatened, and John obliged, but that didn't stop him from laughing a bit more.

"Have you asked Joseph about it?" John then asked.

"Yes, he suggested that I give her lots of love, and accept her of the woman she will grow in to. But, I don't know." Jacob was actually admitting defeat. John couldn't believe it.

"I'm sure it will blow over. All teenagers act like that. It's just the puberty doing its things. Try and be there for her, but don't push her." John advised.

"Faith said the same thing." Jacob replied.

"You came to Faith before me?! I'm hurt." John put on his sad puppy eyes.

"You don't have any track record." Jacob swiftly added.

"Then why did you come to me at all?" John asked.

"Because I wanted your input as well." Jacob confessed. "I need time to think about it. Thank you, truly." Jacob said, and gave John a hug. John hadn't received a hug from Jacob in a long time, and was quite touched to get one. With that, Jacob left again.

As John watched him disappear in to the corridor, he turned his attention from the back of Jacob's camo jacket and onto the screen before him. He heard the last words of the conversation going on.

"Then that's the plan. Remember what I said." It was Olivia, and John was beginning to be pissed that he had missed the conversation. But, he stayed relatively calm. He knew he had everything under control. There was no need to worry.