Author's Note: If you've been keeping up, you may notice I posted this chapter and the next at the same time. I still have more written, but because there are multiple perspectives that I'm not necessarily writing at the same time, there's been some editing work going on in the background that's been holding things up.

I've been waiting the whole story to get back to this part, but now that I'm here I think I'm nervous about not doing it right. In any case, it still feels good. I hope you enjoy.

Abby wakes up and starts. She pulls at her covers, and looks around. She's lying in a large bed. Sun is coming in through the curtains. She remembers where she is and lets out her breath.

She rubs her eyes, then swings her feet over the side of the bed. She figures sleeping in a bed is something she could get used to more quickly.

Looking down, she notices the blankets and pillow on the floor next to the bed. She scoffs. Lev must have given in. She'd put him to bed in the room next to hers last night. He'd complained about having to sleep so far away. She reminded him this is how it was in the Fireflies. She felt bad, though. Seraphite families always slept close to each other, so it was what he had grown up with.

There are noises coming from the kitchen. Abby plods out into the living area. She'd slept hard.

"Lev?" she calls.

"In here."

In the kitchen, she sees him stirring something in a pan. "What's that?"

"Breakfast, I imagine."

She looks. There are eggs, tomatoes, onions too, looks like. "Where did you get all that?"

"Damon."

"Who the hell is Damon?"

Lev laughs. "So suspicious. He came earlier and gave me this huge crate of food. I put it all in the, uh…"

"Refrigerator?"

"That thing."

"I didn't hear anyone earlier."

"Because you were very unconscious. It's a good thing I heard him knock, or we'd starve." He takes the pan off of the burner. "Probably because I slept on the uncomfortable floor."

"Well, last I saw you—" Abby stops herself. She's doing her 'surly' thing, as Lev would call it. She takes a breath. Her guard will come down, eventually. "Did you have any nightmares?"

"Not really…" Lev rarely leaves his sentences unfinished. He must be embarrassed. "I just didn't want to be alone."

He looks up at her, vulnerable. For the thousandth time, Abby thinks about how glad she is to have him. She smiles, and squeezes his shoulder. He smiles back.

"Did they deliver any elk steaks?" she asks, looking in the fridge.

"Nope. He also said we can get our own food from the market, but we'll need 'notes.' Which I thought, like music? But I think he meant, like, 'money,' I guess."

It clicks in Abby's mind. "Shit, what time is it?"

"That's a good question. Oh!" His eyes go wide. "Damon also said we needed to go see Maria as soon as we could."

"Yeah, I remember that, too."

Jones, these two are under my personal protection.

"Abby," says Lev, scooping some of the eggs onto a plate. "Don't worry too much."

She thinks for a second, then scoffs. "Easier said than done."

They eat breakfast at the little table in the kitchen, just the two of them in the quiet morning light.

"I could get used to this," says Lev at one point. Abby just smiles.

Abby stands in front of the door. No one had even escorted them. Having nothing else to do, she knocks three times.

"Enter," she hears.

Abby pushes open the door to see Maria leaning at the edge of the window, looking out over Jackson. She looks at Abby, wearing a curious smile. She gestures to the chairs. Abby and Lev take a seat.

Maria sits in her high back chair and takes measure of them. "You seem nervous."

"Do we need to be?"

"Only if you don't like work, but I understand you've been with the Fireflies for some time."

"Whole life, almost," Abby replies.

"Then you'll do fine."

"What is this, exactly?" Lev asks.

"Good question," Maria replies. "This is something we do with all newcomers here. This is where we figure out how to put you two to work."

"Oh," says Lev. "That makes sense."

"So," says Maria, leaning back, "what are you good at?"

Abby's at a loss. There are a lot of answers to that question. She's just… never been asked it, like that. She's not sure where to begin.

Maria glances at Lev.

"Well…" he considers. "Abby and I have spent a lot of time in the wild. I can use a bow, and guns. I can hunt, and track, and hide really well…" He fidgets a little.

"But?" Maria asks.

"But I'd rather be around people. I like people."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know… I like talking. I like meeting new people. I guess that's not a skill…"

"I'm not sure," says Maria, "it might be. I've got some ideas. And you, Abby?"

"Ah…" Abby sniffs. "I was a Firefly. I've been in a lot of fights. My dad… I grew up in it. I'm good at taking orders. I'm good at seeing things through. I know how to take care of guns. I'm not afraid of a fight. I don't…" The hospital wing flashes in Abby's mind, where she found her dad. She sets her jaw and pushes it down. "I don't let my people down."

"Your people," Maria considers softly. "That's good. You'll start as a guard. Edna will make good use of you."

Abby sits up. "You guys get a lot of trouble?"

"No, very little. You'll help see to that."

"And me?" Lev asks.

Maria bears a little smile. "Mailman."

Lev stares back, mouth slightly open. "Huh?"

Maria grins. "I think you'll like it, I'll have Ortez explain."

"Uh…" says Abby. "Is that it?"

Maria regards her. "Normally. How are you feeling, Abby?"

There's a wisdom, and a firmness, and a tenderness. It feels strange. Abby kind of doesn't like it, but she knows she has to answer.

"Nervous."

Maria nods.

"Ellie told me I'm infamous around here."

"Infamous?" Maria cocks her head. "Maybe a bit of an exaggeration." She rises from her chair and paces back toward the window.

"Can I ask something?" Abby says.

Maria looks at her, and nods.

"What do you know about me?"

A heaviness settles into Maria's expression. "Enough that I never expected you to walk through my gates."

She looks out the window for a while and Abby starts to feel like that's all she's going to get. Then Maria continues.

"I know that two years ago, you did something that I suspect you acutely regret."

Abby's chest gets tight, and her breathing stiffens up, but Maria doesn't look for confirmation.

"I know that a girl near and dear to my heart got lost up in that mess, and decided she needed to do something about it, to make it right." Maria looks over. "To do something about you." She looks over the town below. "I might have stopped her," she says quietly.

"But I told myself I couldn't, and she went off to Seattle and, as I understand it, things got worse for all those involved. She, Dina and Tommy came back some time later, worse for the wear, to put it nicely. She and Dina moved to a farmhouse outside town after that, for their version of a happily-ever-after. Or at least that's what I had hoped. Then Dina comes back to town some time later with JJ in tow and I—" For the first time, Maria's voice breaks. She tucks her hair behind her ear.

"I feared I would never see Ellie again."

It's the first time Abby realizes that Maria is not just the mayor to Ellie. She's family.

Maria looks at Abby again. There's the mask of a smile, but there's sorrow in the eyes. And empathy.

"She did tell me about Santa Barbara."

A chill spreads through Abby's gut.

"I was the first she told. I might be the only one who knows." Maria glances at Lev, then back to Abby, and Abby knows she gets it. "You two must have talked about what happened. About everything."

Ellie is standing there on that beach in the moonlight, looking so fucked up. So destroyed.

"We did," Abby issues stiffly.

"Good," Maria says softly. "I think you can tell, how important that girl is to me. I want to…" She laughs bitterly. "I want to make sure she can never get away again, but… I trusted her before, and I trust her now. I have to. And if she trusts you two enough to travel across the country with you…"

The words hang, and the tension hangs in Abby.

"Then who am I not to?"

"You can trust us," says Lev. The others look at him. "We only want to do the right thing. But this world can be cruel. It's just what it means, to be alive in it."

Abby didn't expect Lev to just show up like that. She looks at Maria, and the older woman is clearly taken aback. She issues a quiet laugh, turning to the side. "Well isn't that about right."

Maria walks back to her chair and sits down in it, looking somewhat tired. "That's enough for now. You two go on. See Alvin downstairs about getting to Edna and Ortez."

Abby stands up and nods. She half turns, and looks back at Maria. "Thank you so much."

Maria thinks for a moment. "Get to it, and I'll get to being thankful to you."

Dina stirs the sauce again. Tomatoes aren't too finicky, but she can't let them burn. It's cooking down and gaining some thickness. It's pretty smooth, but with the chunks she and Dale love. The basil makes it smell heavenly. If only she could get JJ to appreciate it as much… Well, he likes buttered noodles well enough.

She looks over where he and Ellie are playing right now, in the living room. He's fussing.

"What is it?" Ellie asks.

He babbles at her. She frowns in confusion. He holds up a wooden block.

"Oh, you want the blue ones? We can do that." They fiddle with the blocks, and Ellie helps him construct a little blue structure. She reaches over for a wooden airplane that happens to be blue and puts in top. JJ smiles, and Dina can see sincere joy on Ellie's face. It just about melts her heart.

Ellie's so gentle and patient with him. And she's learning to speak J quite quickly. In the end, she guesses, he's luckier than most. He gets three parents.

It's funny, because JJ had gone to pieces just like his mamas when they were first reunited by West gate, but he was the first one to go back to total normalcy. As soon as they got home and put him down, he went and started pushing on his toy box, looking at Ellie, as if they played together every day. For Dina, it was an adjustment. For Ellie…

It was like Dina's dearest hope and worst fear at the same time when she embraced Ellie. She had been in such a bad way, it was obvious. Dina knows how Ellie can be when it comes to talking about feelings, so she'd been patient. Teased them out. When they started walking back home, Dina instantly and quietly assumed the role of caretaker. She rubbed Ellie's back and let her hold JJ the whole way back. Her face was still a mess, having sloppily wiped the tears and snot away. The sadness pressed in at her eyes, but disappeared whenever she looked at little J. There were also the nervous glances around her, like she was still waiting for the other foot to drop. It wrenched Dina's heart.

Dina had decided to just be what Ellie needed; pure and enduring love. She chatted casually at Ellie while they walked, giving her non-stop smiles until Ellie finally started smiling, too.

A quick and quiet conversation with Dale had brought him onto the same page. He immediately agreed to let Ellie stay with them for a while. He'd even readied the guest room for her.

And from there… If Ellie was a leaf, she'd been tossing around in windstorms for months. She'd been through hurricanes and blizzards, and now that she's finally back in the calm, she just needed the time to drift down and land. And that's what Dina was seeing to.

Ellie had had trouble the first night. She was good during dinner and she played with JJ until Dina could tell Ellie's smile was wearing thin, and Dale stepped in so Ellie could go off to a dark room and cry bitterly while Dina held her hand and rubbed her back.

She's got a lot more tears to cry, Dina's pretty sure.

Ellie asked Dina to stay until she fell asleep. A stranger might think it was absurd, but there was no reluctance in Dina's eyes, and no shame in Ellie's asking. Dina ended up sleeping next to her, on top of the covers.

And so it had been, for the last few days. Ellie really seemed to be improving. That first night, when Ellie was changing in her room, Dina had poked her head in to ask if she had everything she needed. Ellie's ribs were showing as bad as when they'd left Seattle. Dina knows she hadn't been eating right.

But she keeps putting plates in front of Ellie, and they keep disappearing. Dina's pretty sure Ellie knows she'd get scolded if she didn't eat. Sometimes she gives Dina a look if it's a bigger plate, though.

Dina doesn't work, since JJ's just a munchkin. So Ellie's been kind of a godsend, too. She helps a ton with JJ, watching and playing with him. She's even stayed up with him when he refused to go down. And while he's napping, they've had a lot of bonding time.

There have been moments…

Some dishes had piled up and Dina was working on them while they talked.

"Let me see…" Dina considered. "I did an apple cobbler not long ago, that was great. Peach pie is my personal favorite, Dale picks one up from May now and then, to surprise me. I haven't done berry since Winter, though."

"Seriously?" Ellie replied, folding laundry. "But berry pie is the best. Cobbler would be great, too."

Dina gave her a look. "You wanna make me some, then?"

"But I thought baking was always your thing?"

"Psh, cause you didn't want to do it yourself. You sure seemed to enjoy the results, though."

"Yeah, I draw you pictures, and you bake me pies. Sounds like a deal."

"The only pictures you would ever draw me were of me."

"Can't think of a better subject."

More than the words, it was the tone… It was familiar, from a different time. A nice time. A life-fulfilling time, bittersweet in retrospect. Dina could have imagined Ellie walking up behind her and putting her arms around her after saying something like that, maybe even kissing her neck.

And Ellie seemed to feel something similar, because she went quiet and when Dina looked, she was sheepish. Ellie looked up with eyes that wondered if they were gonna get in trouble. And if Dina looked a little deeper, the inner tumult pushed closer to the surface. The fear.

And that's how it's been delicate. How Dina has been very careful. She can't spook Ellie away, that would be a terrible result. But she can't give Ellie the wrong idea, either, and she doesn't want her to shut down.

So Dina gave Ellie a look that didn't admonish. It said it's fine. Don't worry about it.

"If you really want a pie," said Dina, "just mention it to Dale. Sweetheart honestly loves baking."

"Adorable," Ellie had replied.

Dina purses her lips. She knows that Ellie needs, and deserves, more than Dina can offer her anymore. There are moments of sexual tension. And she wants that for Ellie, for her to have someone. She really does. As long as it's not Cat. She rolls her eyes at some of the memories that brings up.

The sauce is almost done. "Ellie, dinner's gonna be ready soon." Ellie looks up from where she's playing with JJ, nodding. Dina can tell there's something on her mind. She'll press her on it after dinner.

Ellie had gone to see Abby and Lev on the first day, just to make sure they were alright. She was actually gone for hours. There had been tension there. Ellie was hesitant, but she said when she got back that night, she would explain everything.

It kind of pissed Dina off, in hindsight, because it amounted to her spending hours alone, wondering how the fuck, of all people, Ellie finally returned to Jackson with those two in tow. And no Clint. Dina has one memory of them, and it's one of the worst she's got.

But when Ellie got back, she did explain. Over the course of an hour, just her and Ellie in the living room, Dina had melted into her couch. She's not sure if Ellie realized it yet, but Dina sure did. It meant she needed to have a conversation with them, too. They weren't going anywhere any time soon.

"Do you really feel like you can forgive her like that?" Dina had asked.

Ellie frowned. "You were the one that wanted me to let it go."

"I know. I still am. I just… it was a lot. I saw it firsthand, Ellie. Don't you remember?"

Ellie's heavy eyes drifted to the floor, distant. She was sitting in the recliner, elbows on her knees. "Of course I remember. How it was for me, in Santa Barbara, the first time… It was hard to admit, but Abby was never the problem. It was Joel, and—" She shuddered suddenly, frowning, not wanting to accept it. She cradled herself with her arms, rocking back and forth slightly.

Dina tensed up. Ellie's pain was so obvious. Should she go over there and—

"It was Joel that was the problem," Ellie finished quietly. "And lacking him."

"Ellie," Dina breathed. Ellie was right. Dina hadn't realized how far she'd come with it. She wished she could have been there, now. Thinking about that, her stomach turned.

It was the first time since she left the farmhouse that she felt like she let Ellie down. Her brow furrowed, and she looked at the floor.

"After seeing Abby's regret," said Ellie, apparently unaware of Dina's thought process, "it's not that hard to forgive her. Which is a process, I think. I think I forgive her a little more all the time. The bad things she did…" Her brow pinched further. There was fearfulness, and hopelessness. She looked down at her lap and started picking at her fingernails. When she spoke, it was barely audible. "They're the same things I did."

"Ellie," said Dina, and she did go over. On her knees, Dina took Ellie's hands and found her eyes. "I just needed to hear it," Dina said. "I just needed to know your feelings."

Ellie didn't say anything, she just nodded.

The house was quiet. JJ was still down.

"Do you want to start making lunch?" Dina asked.

Ellie nodded again. They stood up, and did the only thing they could; they carried on with the day. Whenever Ellie would start crying, always stuttering, reluctant at first, Dina would go over, pull her into an embrace, and just stay there until the tears stopped. Sometimes they wouldn't even say anything afterward, just exchange a knowing look. Ellie's of thanks, Dina's of love.

There have been some raw moments. And there has been just as much tenderness. At one point, on the second or third day, Dale had said something about what they were doing.

"What?" Dina had asked him, surprised.

He looked over, a little unsure of himself. "I'm just saying, I can see how much work you guys are doing. Like you're building a house, almost."

It was thought provoking. A few seconds later, he spoke up again.

"Am I doing enough?"

When she looked, Dina could tell he was really asking, the angel. "Hmm," she pretended to contemplate. She took his cheek in her hand. "Let me see…" She looked him over, and smiled. "Yep." She leaned in for a kiss, and stroked his cheek with her thumb. "Leave the rough stuff to me. You're doing plenty."

In the end, she had decided he was almost right. They weren't building a house. They were rebuilding Ellie's house, after all the storms.

Maria would check in, too. Usually by phone. They'd make short small talk, but she'd always ask after Ellie. And Dina would tell her. They're getting there. She really doesn't know how much Maria understands, but she seems to know a lot. Maria was satisfied with that answer.

Dina takes the sauce off heat and starts setting the table. Ellie walks in carrying JJ at chest height, facing in front of her. It brings up some strong memories and jerks Dina's heart a little. She tries to hide it, but Ellie seems to notice.

"Where is that man I married?" Dina asks, avoiding the subject.

Dale comes trotting down the stairs a few moments later.

"Where have you been?" Dina asks him.

"Working on that thing you asked me," he replies innocently.

Dina pauses. "What thing?"

"You know, your box."

Dina recalls suddenly. "Did you finish it?"

"Yeah, it was just some light circuitry stuff."

Now Dina is excited. "Oh my gosh! Can you get it?"

"Now?"

"Yes! I'll make you a plate."

Raising his brows, Dale turns around and trots back upstairs. He returns a few minutes later with a black-framed box with white plastic panels on the sides. He plugs it into the wall and places it on the table, where the girls are already eating.

"What's that thing?" Ellie asks. She just finished chopping up JJ's butter noodles into little pieces.

"A fancy lamp, basically," says Dale. He clicks a button on the back, and it starts glowing bright white.

"Oh…" says Dina. "But you said…"

"Yeah," he replies, "here, there's a dial in the back."

Dina sees what he's talking about. She reaches out and turns it a little, and the light turns yellow. She gasps. She turns it further, and it turns orange, then red, then purple. "Look at that!" she exclaims, looking at JJ. The little angel's eyes are fixated on it, fascinated. But Dina's just giddy. She fiddles with it more, changing the colors around.

"I mean, that's pretty cool," says Ellie, looking amused, "is that all it does?"

"Basically," says Dale. "There's also this, though." He flips a switch on the back, and it starts slowly changing colors on its own.

Dina gasps again. She looks at Dale. "Oh, I love it."

He smiles, blushing a little. "That's all I need to hear."

She gives him one of her looks that suggests how thankful she's feeling, but she remembers that Ellie's at the table. She glances over, and it's pretty clear Ellie follows. Shoot. Was that bad timing?

Ellie scoops another little spoon of noodles into JJ's mouth, made a little trickier by JJ's fascination with the lights. She's wearing a little smile, but Dina can't read it.

The sauce came out wonderful; it's Jesse's mom's recipe. But Dina spends much of dinner wanting to pick Ellie's brain.

After dinner is done, Dale goes to start the dishes, but Dina stops him. "Can you look after J for a little bit? I want to talk to Ellie."

"Sure. Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, I think so. I just need to talk to her."

"Sure thing, babe."

Dina corners Ellie in the dim entry hallway. "Hey."

Ellie acts a little surprised. "Hey."

"I feel like something's on your mind."

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm telepathic. What's up?"

Ellie sniffs, and scratches the back of her head. "Actually, I was gonna tell you that I'm thinking about heading back to my place."

Dina's gut tenses. "What?"

Ellie's expression is casual. "I'm sure it's covered in dust, but all my old stuff is still there. I talked to Maria."

"When did you talk to her?"

"On the phone earlier. Is that against the rules?"

"No, of course not. I just… Like when?"

"I was thinking tonight."

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"Ellie…" Dina bits her lip. She closes the distance between them. "Are you sure? It's not too soon?"

Ellie chuckles. "Dina… you can't take care of me for the rest of your life."

"I mean, I could."

Ellie rolls her eyes. "Dina, I'm fine."

At that Dina tilts her head, with eyes that make it clear she doesn't quite believe that.

"Alright, alright," Ellie says. "But I can stay at my place."

"Ellie, tell me it's not because you feel like you're intruding."

"Of course I'm intruding!" Ellie replies, exasperated. Dina screws up her lips. "I saw that look you gave Dale earlier."

"Oh, that doesn't matter."

"Well, I think it does, because if it were me, it would matter."

"Ellie—"

"Dina," Ellie stops her. "It's time."

Dina crosses her arms, frowning.

"Oh my gosh, Dina, I'll only be like five minutes away."

"Yeah, I know. Okay, but you come right back if you need to, okay?"

Ellie nods casually, but Dina gives her a look that says I'm serious. "Okay," Ellie says, "I will. Trust me…" Sadness touches her face again and her eyes go distant for a second. She shakes it off. "After all the time I spent wishing I could see you guys one last time, I'm not gonna waste any more opportunities, okay? Trust me."

"Okay," Dina replies, and it feels like enough.

Dale is surprised as well, but he handles it gracefully enough. JJ gets scared in no short order, though.

"Don't go!" he says with all the drama of an almost three-year-old.

"Oh, J," says Ellie, kneeling down where he stands clutching his mama's fingers. "I'm not going far this time. I'll just be a few blocks away."

He frowns in confusion.

Ellie smiles. "It means I'll see you soon. Maybe even tomorrow. I'm not going away like before. Not again."

"Promise!" he implores her.

Ellie's features soften.

Never make him a promise you wouldn't defend with your life.

Dina gut chills as the memory surfaces. The last time Ellie told him goodbye, and he had demanded a promise from her that she couldn't make. And he had hit her, and the look that came over her afterward…

Dina fidgets, thinking how she should intervene.

But before she does anything else, Ellie smiles. She reaches down and takes JJ's little hand in hers, shaking it. "I promise."

After saying their goodbyes, Dale holds JJ while Dina walks Ellie to the front gate in the post-sunset darkness. Ellie opens the gate, but pauses, looking back at Dina. She thinks for a few seconds. "One last thing," she starts. "The other thing, the thing you asked me to promise you last time."

Dina frowns. She doesn't recall asking Ellie for a promise. She's about to ask when it hits her.

Don't ever lament what you had with me and JJ because thinking about it causes you pain.

Dina's eyes widen. Ellie's wearing the ghost of a smile. "I'm working on it."

The gate creaks as Ellie lets go, and Dina watches her walk into the night.