Disclaimer: don't own Jericho but Essie's mine

Summary: When the bombs go off Jake isn't the only Green to return to Jericho.

A/N: Okey-dokey, another chapter up! Hopefully this will give a little more insight into Essie's character. Reviews and constructive criticism welcome. I'm always looking to improve. Hope you enjoy!

The Four Horsemen Pt 2

Essie woke up to the sound of rushing footsteps around her. She slowly opened her eye and discovered that she was lying on a bed in the medical center; the events of the day suddenly came rushing back. She tried to sit up quickly but was overcome by the sudden throbbing of pain in her head.

"Hey, careful." The familiar voice said soothingly, breaking through the haze that was Essie's brain. "You got a nasty bump on the head but you'll be fine." An older woman with short red hair came into view. It had been four years since she'd last seen her but she still looked the same.

"Aunt Gail?"

"Hey sweetie, I'm so glad your back." Essie almost cringed as she could hear the tears in her aunt's voice. She slowly lifted herself up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"How long was I out?"

"Almost an hour." Essie tried to stand up but Gail held her down.

"I need to get out of here."

"Oh, no you don't young lady, you're staying right here. Jake told me what happened at the ranch." Gail said effectively cutting of any protests. "You need your rest and you're not leaving here until you get some." The Green matriarch was wearing her no nonsense face, her eyebrows raised as if challenging her to disagree. Essie let out a laugh which came out sounding more like a groan.

"I'm not back for a day and you've already got me on bed rest."

"Well maybe I wouldn't have to if you took better care of yourself."

"Hey," Essie cried indignantly, "I lasted four years on my own I think I can take care of myself." If that statement bothered Gail she didn't show it. She simply walked over to the window and closed the shades before turning back to her niece.

"That may be so Esther but you're home now. You will stay here, you will lie down and you will get some rest. Then perhaps we can discuss what happened four years ago."

"Gail, there you are," Dr. April Green said peeking through the door. "We're really swamped out here could you check on some of these people please?" Gail nodded and moved to follow her daughter-in-law. Before she left she turned towards Essie.

"Now remember what I said."

"Get some rest, I know." Essie said rolling her eyes. "Don't worry I will." Gail continued to stare at until she was satisfied that Essie was telling the truth then followed April into the hallway. "Just not here." Essie whispered to herself as she slowly pushed her way off the hospital bed. She felt a wave of dizziness as stood and quickly grasped the bed, waiting for her equilibrium to return.

Essie made her way through the medical center as fast as her legs could carry her, being careful to avoid any contact with her aunt. Once she got out into the fresh air she forced herself to slow down. She still felt weak on her legs but she figured it was because she hadn't eaten in many hours. She spotted Baileys Tavern across the street and decided to check in with Mary to see if the owner still had the food going.

Walking into Baileys Essie noticed that, even though the all clear was given not that long ago, the place was packed with people. She made her way to the bar where she saw the owner Mary Bailey hard at work pouring drinks and yelling at the roof.

"Hey Mary, you trying to make people think your crazy?" The women swung around, her curly hair bounced around her face as she let out a bright smile.

"So the rumors are true. Glad to see your back sweetie." Mary said, walking over to the youngest Green. "And no, I think you still hold that title."

"Hey, that was all Jake and Stanley's idea."

"It was their idea to jump off that building and onto that moving tuck in the middle of Main Street?"

"They dared me!"

"And you were the one who got the broken leg." Essie hung her head in defeat and Mary decided to take pity on the girl. "I got a couple boys up there trying to get a signal on the satellite. So what can I do for you girly? Now before you ask, I know how old you are and I can't serve you boozes no matter how much you beg." Essie made a face at the red head.

"Actually I was wondering if you had any food."

"Well I have some semi cold hot dogs in the back." Essie agreed and Mary went to the back to get her order.

Essie took this time to look around. She was able to spot many familiar faces along with a few new ones. She saw a few people from her school days in Jericho but every time she would make eye contact with one of them they would look away quickly and start gossiping with one another. Essie sighed, wondering not for the first time if it had been a mistake to return home. Mary came back with her hot dog which appeared to have burn marks all over it. The brunette looked up questioningly.

"I held it over a candle for a few minutes to heat it up." Essie couldn't argue with that.

"Thanks Mar."

"Talk to ya later sweetie." Essie spotted an open booth in the corner and sat down. She made it through her small meal with no interruption and, seeing as no one was fighting her for her seat, she pulled her hood over her head, put her legs up on the booth and leaned back, effectively keeping her promise to her aunt to get some rest. She was about to doze off when she felt more the heard someone come up to her booth.

"Hey, is this seat taken?" Essie lifted her head and saw a short, brunette woman who wore a much too cheery smile on her face. She had a cast on her left leg and was holding two can's of soda, one which she held out as an offering. Essie smiled a little, taking the soda and silently motioned the woman to sit. "Thanks. I'm Heather by the way."

"Essie."

"Oh, I know." Off her look she quickly corrected herself. "I mean, I don't know you but I've been hearing everyone talk about you so when I saw you here I figured I would come and say hi. You know besides Jake Green coming back and, well, the bomb; you're the biggest topic in the gossip pool." Essie could only blink. Heather had spoken so quickly and so… cheery that it took her a moment to soak in what she had said, finally she let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah, I expected as much. So Heather, what brought you to Jericho?"

"A job, I work over at the school as a teacher. We were out actually on a field trip when the bombs went off. Our bus crashed, which is how I got this," she said indicating her cast. "And this guy, Jake, he found us and was able to get us back to town all in one piece. He saved one of my kids to." She looked down, unsuccessfully trying to hide a blush. "He's a real hero."

"He's my cousin." Essie tried to hide her smile as Heathers cheeks turned a deeper shade of red.

"Oh, wow, that's cool. I mean, I probably should have know, with you having the same last name and all- I'm just going to shut up now." Essie couldn't hold back her smile now. She was really starting to like this woman.

"Are you in Jericho all alone or do you have family here?"

"No, I grew up in New Bern then when I went to college my family moved to Florida. I just moved here three years ago."

"Considering the way you talked about Jake I figure you don't have a boyfriend?" Heather blushed again. This was just too easy.

"Um, no nothing since college. I mean, Emily and Roger used to try and set me up but it never worked out."

"Who's Roger?"

"Emily's fiancé." The younger girl suddenly became quiet and had a slightly surprised look on her face. Heather was confused before it hit her. "Oh my gosh, you didn't know." Essie shook her head. "I'm sorry. I feel like such an idiot."

"Don't worry about it; I was just a little surprised that's all." And a little hurt but Essie kept that to herself. "I know I've missed a lot with being gone for four years so I expect I'll be getting a lot of surprises." Heather smiled at her in sympathy. The two fell into a comfortable silence, relaxing and nursing their sodas. Heather appeared to be thinking hard about something. She kept sneaking glances at Essie when she thought she wasn't looking. Finally she appeared to gather up some courage and asked the question that was going through everyone's minds.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, what have you been living?" Essie wasn't sure how she could answer that question. She knew that anything she said would make it around town by the days end and she wasn't sure she wanted that just yet. She was saved from answering when the door burst open and five of six men, led by Jake, made their way through the bar and set up shop around the pool table, laying out what appeared to be a bunch of maps.

Curious to what the men were talking about, Essie excused herself and quickly made her way towards the back of the bar, making sure to stay out of Jake's line of vision just incase he had any idea's of trying to shut her out. Not that he had ever done that before he left but she could see a change in her cousin. He seemed more responsible and more willing to step into a leadership position, even if it was unconsciously done. She found herself standing behind one of the columns near the table and focused on listening to the men's conversation.

They were planning on leaving Jericho. Going every direction and gathering information on the attacks. Essie wasn't sure what she thought about this plan. While information was a must she knew that it was probably very chaotic out there. She knew how out of control things could get when people panicked and she feared for those who planned to go out.

"Where are you going Jake?" And of course her cousin was one of them. Before he could answer, Emily appeared and announced that they would be heading to Wichita. She passed Jake a look which Essie couldn't read but he understood and agreed without hesitation.

A loud static sound filled the bar making everyone jump; The T.V. was picking up a signal. The bar occupants gathered around the bar watching as the screen showed an oriental man in front of a map of the U.S. with markers on it. The language was foreign but the map spoke volumes. It looked like at least 20 major cities were hit. Panic spread through the bar like wildfire. Essie's stomach clenched as she thought of all those people gone; friends she had made on the run, people who gave her a place to crash. She wished now more then ever that the electricity would come back on so she could make some calls.

"Hey, Essie are you ok?"

"Yeah, Heather, I'm fine." Essie's reply was so soft that Heather had to strain to hear it.

"Come on. Mary's got a map we're trying to mark the cities that got hit. We can use all the help we can get." The two made their way to the bar where Mary already had a map out. The three spent the next half hour going over the map, marking the places they remembered from the T.V. and talking about what this could mean for Jericho.

Jake came by after awhile to say goodbye, he and the others were leaving. He said goodbye to Mary then Heather before turning awkwardly to Essie who suddenly found her nails very interesting. "We'll talk more when I get back okay? Es?"

"Whatever." Jake stood there until it was clear that she wouldn't look at him; he said a quiet goodbye then, after throwing the others a sad smile, he was gone.

"Essie, sweetie are you ok?" Mary asked the young woman softly.

Essie didn't respond. She appeared to be having an internal battle. Before Mary could ask again the young girl jumped out of her seat and ran out the door.

Mary felt for the young Green. When Jake left the first time he hadn't said goodbye. With everyone focused on Jake's leaving or Chris's death (Chris was Emily's brother) Essie spent a lot of time hiding out at Bailey's dealing with her own hurt. Mary had tried to comfort the girl then but nothing had seemed to work. Then one day she just stopping coming and five months later she was gone. For Essie's sake she hoped that Jake would come back this time.

***

Essie ran out the door of the Tavern, looking around wildly for her cousin. She finally spotted him in a vehicle down the road talking to his mom. She took off at a full run, calling out to him. Jake turned around, a small smile pulled on his lips as he saw who it was. He opened his arms and she ran into them nearly knocking him over. People around them stopped to watch as the two once lost cousins shared a long over due hug.

Essie pulled away. "Try not to get into to much trouble."

"You to kiddo." Jake said with a small smile. "I see you when I get back." He gave her and Gail one last hug then climbed into his vehicle and drove off leaving the two Green women gazing after him.

"Well, nothings going to get done with us just standing here." Gail said, as she turned towards her niece. "And since you've obviously had enough rest you can help me." There was a look on her face that Essie had seen many times before; Jake Green wasn't the only one who had been doing some planning.

"What do you have in mind?" Gail laughed gleefully and wrapped her arm around the younger girl, leading her towards Gracie's Market.

"When was the last time you had a good Bar-B-Q?"

***

Hours later Main Street was filled with picnic tables and smoking Bar-B-Q's. Instead of letting all the uncooked meat around town go to waste the Green women organized a cookout for the whole town.

It brought back many memories for Essie from when she used to help her aunt set up the house for a dinner party. Gail was gracious enough not to mention their earlier scene or demand answers from her about her disappearance. Johnston had come by once to see how they were doing but after giving Essie a short, awkward hug and Gail a kiss he had to get back to his mayoral duties.

After making a plate for herself Essie made her way through the sea of tables looking for a place to sit. She spotted Heather sitting with a familiar looking man. She made her way over to them.

"Jake, you moron. You make it back to town in less then a day and you don't tell me?" Her cousin looked up quickly at her voice, a guilty look on his face.

"Es, I'm sorry I had to-" he was cut off suddenly by her arms around his neck.

"Thank you for coming back." Essie whispered.

"I've really missed you Essie." Essie straightened her food still in her hands.

"Mind if I join you?"

"No, go ahead." Heather quickly pulled out the empty chair for her to sit in. "So I hear we have you to thank for this little party here."

"Well, it was Aunt Gail's idea; I just helped her with it."

"Still, you did a good job kiddo." Jake said, ruffling her hair fondly. She slapped his hand away playfully. The three of them fell into an easy conversation, enjoying whatever feeling of normalcy they had left. Little did they know the road that lay before them and how much they would change because of it.