Jackson had clearly been doing some upgrading in the last few years. The walls had been reinforced with sheet metal in several places, and street lights had been installed along the length of the path leading up to the gate, though they were not switched on as Abby drove the RV down the path because the sun was still out. The doors rumbled open as they approached, allowing several people holding rifles to come out to meet them. Ellie climbed out of the vehicle, and Dina, Amanda and JJ came outside as well. After taking a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, Abby joined them and stood by Ellie's side.

"Who are these people?" one of the men asked Dina.

"Fireflies. They're here on important business," Dina informed him. "I'm bringing them to Maria."

"How do we know we can trust them?"

"This is Ellie," Dina said. "She used to live here a few years back, but she left to join the Fireflies. If you need to bring out Maria and hear it from her, we'll wait."

The guard considered this. He looked over the RV, then at Ellie and Abby, and his gaze lingered on the high-quality guns that were strapped to their hips. "No offense, but I think I wanna do that. You understand, right?"

"Of course. Go get her," said Dina.

Once the guard had gone, Ellie said, "Geeze, that seems a little extreme. Why don't they trust you?"

"It's not about me," Dina explained. "We got hit a few weeks back. We let in some travellers and they stole a bunch of shit."

"Got someone infected, too," Amanda added.

"Shit!" said Ellie. "Are you serious?"

Amanda nodded. "They hid the fact that one of their people was bitten. The guy turned and bit someone else who was staying at the Inn, one of our own. Maria was furious."

"I bet. What did she do?"

"She contained the infection outbreak before it got any worse and had all the visitors tossed out on their asses, of course."

"Some people wanted her to keep them in jail," Dina said, "but Maria said that wasn't practical. It was a pretty big group. Better to let them fend for themselves, I think."

Ellie nodded her agreement. "Yeah, that's the better option. It takes a lot of resources to keep someone locked up." She didn't mention that the reason she knew this was because Abby had once been kept in a cell by Liz for about a week after they'd had an altercation several years ago. Abby had been angry with Liz for sending a Firefly friend of theirs on a spore-removal mission… Before the friend had been vaccinated. Those types of missions were considered incredibly high-risk for unvaccinated soldiers, and Abby always got upset whenever the people she cared about were sent in harm's way for no good reason. In any event, Liz had eventually been forced to release Abby due to the unnecessary strain on both personnel and inventory. Plus the fact that Ellie and Lev had pounded her door down until she'd agreed to release Abby.

While they were waiting for Maria, Abby remained silent and focused on her breathing, trying not to pass out from her nervousness. She'd never met Maria, but she had heard plenty of stories about her - enough to be very intimidated by her. When an older, stern-looking blonde woman came out of the gates and strode purposefully towards them, Abby knew at once that this could only be Maria.

"Ellie," Maria said warmly. "Welcome back. It's so good to see you." She gave Ellie a hug, which Ellie returned with trepidation, knowing that an unpleasant confrontation was likely seconds away.

"You too," Ellie said in the same tone a child might use if they were about to tell their parents about some trouble they'd gotten into in school.

Maria then turned her steely gaze on Abby. "And you are?"

"This is my wife - Abby," Ellie answered for her.

Maria took in Abby's physique, her eyes lingering on her arms. "I seem to recall," Maria said slowly, "that my late husband once had a deep, unhealthy obsession with a woman named Abby - the woman who murdered his only brother in cold blood and then later shot him in the head. And this Abby was also supposed to have a long braid and be distinctly physically fit. Now Ellie, please tell me that this is nothing more than an extraordinary coincidence, because I was told that Abby was dead by your hands."

"I lied," Ellie said boldly. "This is the same Abby."

Taking a step backwards, Maria turned to the guards and said, "Take her."

When the guards raised their rifles and advanced on Abby, Ellie drew her own gun and stepped in front of her, pointing the barrel directly at the closest man's head. "Back the fuck off," she said sharply. "I'm serious. Put your fucking guns down or I'll shoot all of you."

"Ellie, stop," said Abby, putting her hand on Ellie's arm and pushing it down so she lowered her gun. "If they need to lock me up to feel safe, I accept that."

"Well I don't," snapped Ellie, raising the gun again. "We're here to vaccinate this entire city, Maria, every single person. But if you don't leave Abby the fuck alone, we'll turn around and go find another settlement. Jackson isn't the only place that needs us."

"You'd do that?" Maria asked coldly. "You'd leave us high and dry like that? Over her?"

"Try me," said Ellie.

"I'm not letting her walk into this city armed."

"Then take our guns. She wouldn't use them on you anyway."

One of the guards barked a laugh. "Doesn't look like she needs 'em."

"She doesn't," Ellie replied. "Plus, I'll kill anyone who comes near her with my bare hands." She looked over at Maria. "Do we have a deal?"

A long, tense silence followed. Dina, Amanda and JJ were watching carefully, looking back and forth between the two groups. The standoff ended when Maria once more turned to her guards and said, "Take their weapons." To Ellie she said, "I won't forget this."

"I know you won't." Ellie lowered her gun, flipped it in her hand, and passed it handle-first to the guard she'd just been pointing it at.

Abby began unbuckling her gun belt at once, and she stepped forward to hand it to the guards. She also slung her rifle off her shoulder and passed it to them. "We have one more in the RV," she said to Maria. "Would you be more comfortable if someone escorted me inside?"

"Yes," Maria responded. "I'll go myself." She reached over and drew one of the handguns from the belt Abby had just removed, checked that it was loaded, then followed Abby into the vehicle and watched as she retrieved a submachine gun from under the bed. "Pretty ballsy of you to come here," she said as she took the gun.

"Wasn't my decision," Abby said. "Ellie wanted to come, and I don't know how to say no to her."

"So let her go by herself."

"That wasn't an option," said Abby firmly.

"Is she your captive?"

"She's my wife. Where she goes, I go."

"No one here wants you to be here," said Maria. "You can't imagine the damage you've done to this community."

"Yeah, I've damaged a lot more than just Jackson. I'm well aware of that. But I'm not here for your approval. All we're here to do is distribute this vaccine, and then we'll be gone."

"Ellie belongs with us. I intend to ask her to stay, even though she apparently made a monumentally stupid decision in marrying you. Someone needs to snap her out of whatever's gotten into her."

"Ask away," said Abby. "But I promise if you force her to choose between me and Jackson, you're gonna be disappointed in what she picks."

"Yes, I imagine I will be." Maria turned abruptly and left the RV, where she immediately encountered Ellie. "You can set up on the south side, near the orchard. I'll be by soon to discuss logistics." To the guards she said: "Let them through." She swiftly turned and strode back inside the settlement without looking back.

"You wanna ride with us?" Ellie asked Dina.

"Can we?" JJ asked hopefully, obviously excited by the idea of driving through town in the RV.

"No, bud," said Dina. "We'll walk from here. Thanks for the lift, though."

"Are you still at the same place as last time?" Ellie said.

"Yeah, the house up by the school."

"Okay if I drop in later?"

"Alone?"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, fucking alone, alright?"

"Then that's fine." She nodded at Ellie, and the little family walked off towards the gate.

As they went, JJ asked: "Why don't they like Abby?"

"Uh… It's complicated, kiddo," Dina said. "I'll tell you about it someday."

One again alone, Ellie directed her full attention to Abby. "Come on," she said, and she grabbed Abby's hand, tugged her inside the RV, and shut the door behind them. "You okay?"

"You should have let them take me," Abby responded. "You're risking your relationship with Maria."

"There is no fucking way I'd let them take you, alright? So stop thinking that's an option. Maria can go fuck herself. You're the one I care about, remember?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to immediately start burning your bridges. You pointed a gun at them for fuck's sake!"

"And they were pointing theirs at you. It's a choice I'd make again." Ellie slid her arms around Abby's waist and rested her head against her chest. "Look, everything we do here is going to be hard and really unpleasant. But you have to trust me and let me handle this. I know the way people are here. I had to do what I did, otherwise they'd never leave you alone. They need to know how serious I am about being completely on your side."

"Hm," hummed Abby. She brushed Ellie's bangs aside and kissed her forehead. "Thank you for that. And I think Maria got the picture. Did you hear what she said to me?"

"Yeah. She wants me to stay. But like I said: She can go fuck herself. I don't want this place. I want you."

"I know. And I'm gonna keep reminding myself of that as much as I can while we're here so you don't have to constantly be giving me the same pep talk over and over."

"I'll do it as many times as it takes for you to believe it. Now let's get through those gates before Maria changes her mind."

"Good plan. You wanna drive since you know where you're going?"

"Sure."

They waved at the guards as they passed through the gates, and then Abby got her first look at the city of Jackson from the inside. She'd seen the place from afar twice - once when she'd come here looking for Joel, and again when she'd accompanied Ellie to deliver the vaccine to JJ. But being inside it was different. From here it was evident that this place was more than just a city, it truly was a community. Kids played in large groups on the streets, and Ellie had to stop the RV until they'd moved aside for them. People came out of their homes as they passed by to watch the strange vehicle move through town. All along the roads were shops, community gardens, people sitting around fires and talking with each other, and groups of people playing music together. Abby saw multiple bulletin boards that the townspeople used to advertise upcoming events, look for help with various tasks, request trades, or search for lost items.

The further inside they went, the worse Abby began to feel. It was hard to believe that Ellie had been willing to give this up… For her. To be with her. How could that possibly have been the right choice?

Her feelings must have been showing on her face, because Ellie reached over and snapped her fingers right in front of Abby's nose. "Knock it off," she said. "Whatever you're thinking, just fucking stop."

Abby smiled bashfully. "Sorry."

"You should be. You've got a lot of nerve, thinking you know what's best for me like that."

"What can I say? I'm ballsy," Abby said. "That's the word Maria used."

"Yeah right," laughed Ellie. "You're a lot of things, Abs, but ballsy ain't one of 'em."

"No, I leave that up to you."

Ellie continued to drive slowly through the populated town, waving to a few people she knew as they passed. Eventually they reached a point where the houses stopped, and then there were nothing but trees that stretched about a quarter of a mile. Their RV was at the top of a hill, and down at the bottom of the hill they could see the border fence that separated the organized orchard from the disorganized tangle of nature on the other side. "I guess I'll just leave her here," Ellie said, putting the RV in park next to a telephone pole. "That way we can hook up to the electricity."

"Sounds good to me," Abby agreed. "Let's start getting set up."

They got out of the vehicle and worked in practiced tandem to prepare the RV for an extended stay. Ellie pulled out the connecting cable and handed it up to Abby on top of the vehicle, where she was able to plug it into the telephone pole. They pulled out the awning on the side to protect them from the elements and set up their lawn chairs, table, and grill. Unlike most stops they made, they also set up a long massage table they'd found in a department store near Las Vegas. They would use this table to assist in vaccinating the population of the city.

This was only the second place they'd had to conduct an operation like this, and it was far larger than the first town they'd vaccinated. Their best estimate was that there were probably about 1500 people in Jackson that needed to be vaccinated. To be on the safe side, they'd brought 2000 doses with them. About a year prior they'd gone on a short trip to a small town near Avalon that the Fireflies regularly traded with. It had taken the two of them two days to vaccinate 300 people. The plan for Jackson was to teach some of the locals to administer the vaccine so that Abby and Ellie could limit their stay to less than a week.

They had just finished setting up when Maria showed up with an older, grizzled-looking man in tow. "This is John," she said. "He's our acting sheriff."

"Nice to meet ya," growled John in a thick southern drawl, giving both Abby and Ellie a firm handshake. "Which one 'o ya's the murderer?"

"Me," said Abby, bemused.

"Yer comin' on patrol with me tomorrow," John said, making it perfectly clear that it wasn't optional.

"The hell she is," snapped Ellie. "I need her here to help with the vaccines."

"We'll give ya someone else to help."

"I don't have any weapons," Abby said.

"We'll give ya those, too." He spit into the dirt on the side of the road. "You know how to ride a horse?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Be ready before sunrise." John turned and walked off, leaving Abby staring after him in complete confusion.

Ellie was furious, and she rounded on Maria at once. "The fuck was that, Maria? I told you to leave her alone!"

"I am," snapped Maria. "But I can't promise she'll be safe here. Word gets around, Ellie, and a lot of people loved Jesse and Joel. You were unbelievably stupid to bring her here. I would have thought you'd know better. Sending her out on patrol is the only way this can work."

"Is this a patrol from which you intend her to return?"

"Yes," answered Maria succinctly. "You can trust John. He's a murderer, too."

Throwing her hands up, Ellie huffed, "Jesus Christ…"

But Maria had clearly already moved on from the subject. "What do you need from me to get this done?"

"I need Abby."

"Ellie," Abby cut in. "It's okay. I don't mind going. It's better this way."

Again, Ellie said, "Jesus Christ." She heaved a huge sigh. "Fine. Then I'll need people. Maybe four or five people, and I need them to come here soon so we can teach them what to do."

"Done," Maria said. "I already have volunteers lined up. Dina and Amanda are among them."

"Really?"

"Once I told them I was sending her out," she jerked her head at Abby, "they were agreeable to it. I told them to come by at sundown."

"Oh," said Ellie, surprised. "I was gonna go over there."

"Well, now you don't have to." Maria reached into her back pocket and pulled out a map, which she unfolded and laid out on the table nearby. Ellie went over to join her, and after a second Abby did too. "We can divide the town up into sectors and you can do them one by one."

"How many people live here now?" Ellie asked.

"1468," Maria replied. "Do you have enough vaccines?"

"More than enough."

"How many people do you want per day?"

"Maybe about 50 per volunteer."

"Okay. I'll put people on crowd control in case there's fighting. You just worry about administering your doses. I'll handle everything else," said Maria briskly, and she picked up the map and re-folded it. "I'll have dinner sent over for you shortly."

When she started to walk away, Abby called, "Hey, wait!"

Maria froze in her tracks but did not turn around. "What?" she asked angrily.

"We can do yours now, if you want."

"No. I'll go last. But get John before you leave in the morning." And she resumed walking away.

A short time later a teenage boy came by with some food - lamb chops, string beans, and to Abby's delight, apple pie for desert. She didn't even bother with the other things, she immediately picked up a fork and attacked the pie. "Oh my god," she groaned with her mouth full. "This is so good. I haven't had apple pie since I was with the WLF."

Ellie watched her with amusement. "Help yourself. In case you didn't notice, that's a whole orchard of apple trees over there. This is a Jackson standard."

"So we can have this every day we're here?"

"Yep. And we'll probably be able to take some with us when we go."

"You made the wrong choice, El. You should have stayed here."

"You're sweeter than any old apple pie, baby," replied Ellie suavely.

A gagging noise made them both look over to see Dina, Amanda and JJ coming their way. "Still making those terrible jokes, huh?" Dina teased.

"You know it," responded Ellie. "Thanks for coming."

Abby rose from her seat, setting her beloved pie aside. "Uh, here, I'll grab some more chairs." She disappeared into the RV, and Ellie frowned at her as she went. When she came back she set out the chairs, but instead of joining them, she made herself useful by starting a fire in the grill.

As she did that, Ellie brought over a vial of vaccine and a couple of needles. She used a rubber ball to demonstrate what to do with the needles, then she watched as Dina and Amanda vaccinated each other for practice. Afterwards, Dina rubbed her arm and said, "So… That's it? We're immune now?"

"Pretty anti-climatic, right?" Ellie said. "All the shit Abby and I went through to make this thing possible, and all the work it took the Fireflies to mass produce it, and it all comes down to a little prick of a needle. Abby said she didn't even feel any different afterwards."

"But it works?" Amanda asked, and it was obvious that she was feeling a little emotional.

"It works."

"You're sure?"

"With all the spores Abby's breathed in the last five years? Yeah, I'm sure."

"She was wearing her mask in the bookstore," Dina pointed out.

Ellie shrugged. "I wore mine in front of you, too."

"Touche."

"Besides, the spores are kinda nasty, as you will learn. Sometimes it's just more comfortable to wear the mask if there are a ton of spores. And there is such a thing as spore toxicity."

"What's that?" Amanda asked.

"If there are too many spores in your system they can be poisonous. But there's only been one case of it so far - me, in fact." Ellie reached forward and added a log to the fire. "If you have the time, I'll tell you about it. It might help you understand about Abby a little better."

Dina looked around and noticed that Abby had not rejoined them and was nowhere to be seen. "Where is she?"

"Hiding again," Ellie said. "Saw her sneak off after she finished with the fire. She took a book with her, so she'll be fine for a while."

"Okay," said Dina. "So talk."

On the other side of the RV, Abby listened as Ellie launched into the story, starting from their reunion in LA after the earthquake. Deciding she didn't want to eavesdrop, she went further into the orchard and sat beneath an apple tree that was bursting with ripe, delicious-looking apples. She turned her flashlight on and opened her book to begin reading, but then the sound of a twig snapping made her look up to see JJ observing her from beneath another tree. "Hey, kid," she said.

"Hey," he replied.

"Your moms know you're out here?"

"No. I snuck away."

"You'd better go back. They won't like it if they find you here with me."

"Why?"

Abby frowned. "They just won't, alright?"

"'Cause you killed people before?"

Looking away with shame, Abby said, "Yeah."

"Are you gonna kill more people?"

"Wasn't planning on it, no."

"So what's the problem?"

Exasperated, Abby said, "Fucking kids, man. Fine, if you want to get in trouble, that's on you. But when the shit hits the fan, you make sure to tell them I tried to get you to fuck off."

"Okay, I will," said JJ, grinning. He came closer and stood beside Abby where she was sitting on the grass, looking over her shoulder at her book. "What are you reading?"

Abby showed him the cover. "Into the Wild," she said. "It's about a guy who goes and tries to live in the Alaskan wilderness."

"Where's Alaska?"

"You know where Canada is?"

"Yeah."

"It's above that."

"Cool," said JJ. "Does he go home in the end?"

"No. He dies, actually."

JJ scrunched up his nose. "That's stupid. That sounds like a dumb book."

"Why do you say that?"

Shrugging, JJ said, "It's good to have a home. You're safe when you're home. That's why your home is so cool, because it moves."

"You mean my RV?"

"Yeah."

"That's not my home. Home isn't always a place. Sometimes it's a person instead. Ellie is my home."

JJ blinked as he thought about that. "That's… Maybe my moms are my home then."

"Maybe," Abby agreed. She looked at him as he kicked his shoe in the dirt, deciding that she really liked this kid. He seemed brighter than a lot of kids his age, and he was obviously curious about the world around him. Wanting to do something nice for him, she said, "Hey, you wanna help me with something?"

"Okay."

"I really want an apple, but the best-looking ones are too high up. Can you help me get some?"

"Okay!" said JJ enthusiastically.

Abby grinned and got to her knees on the ground in front of him. "Climb up on my shoulders," she directed him. He followed the order and she took hold of his lower legs to stabilize him as she rose to her full height. "Okay, now grab a couple of the best ones you can find."

Using the bottom of his t-shirt as a basket, JJ picked some apples. "Got some," he said once he'd picked four.

"Good." But instead of releasing him, Abby started walking around the orchard with him on her shoulders, which made him laugh with delight. "Let's see," she said dramatically. "Where should we eat these?" She went in one direction, then swerved at the last second and spun around, which made JJ cackle even louder. But once the spin was finished, Abby saw that they were no longer alone - Amanda was watching them. The smile immediately fell from Abby's face, and she raised JJ up and placed him on the ground.

He, too, spotted his mom and ran over to her. "Here, Mama! Have an apple!" He held out one of the fruits. "Abby helped me pick them from higher branches so they're really good."

"Sorry," Abby said contritely. "We were just having a little fun."

"I see that," said Amanda coldly.

"Don't be mad at her," JJ said. "She tried to get me to fuck off, but I wouldn't."

Abby slapped herself on her forehead, wincing. "Jesus, kid… I swear I was nicer than he's making it sound."

"She was real nice," JJ confirmed.

"JJ, you know what we've told you about wandering off," said Amanda sternly. "It's not safe."

"But I was with Abby!"

"JJ," was all Amanda said.

Sighing, JJ said, "Sorry Mama. It won't happen again."

"Yeah, sure it won't. Now go back to Mom, and don't argue with me."

"Okay," said JJ, dejected. He looked back at Abby and waved. "Bye, Abby. Thanks for playing with me."

"Sure, kiddo," Abby replied with a smile. Once he had gone, Abby returned her focus to Amanda. "Look, he just came over while I was sitting out here."

"And you decided man-handling him was the correct thing to do?"

"Oh, come on," said Abby. "We were hanging out. He's a kid. You really think I'm so evil I'd hurt a fucking kid?"

This made Amanda shut her mouth against whatever she was about to say. After a moment she decided on saying instead: "No, I don't. But that doesn't mean I trust you to be alone with him."

"Fair enough. If it happens again, I'll bring him right back to you."

"I'd appreciate that." Amanda looked down at the apple in her hand. "So there wouldn't be a vaccine without you, huh?" she commented.

Abby shook her head. "It was all Ellie. She did the hard part."

"Yeah, but she wouldn't have made it back without you."

Abby shrugged. "I didn't do it for the vaccine. I just didn't want to lose Ellie."

"Does that make a difference?"

"To me it does, yeah. I started the mission with more noble intentions, but I ended it as the same old selfish bitch I've always been."

Despite herself, the corners of Amanda's lips twitched in a little smile. "At least you're self-aware about it."

"Yeah, well, if there's one thing I've learned in the last ten years, it's to stop lying to myself," said Abby. "If I'd taken the time to listen to my heart when I was younger, I probably wouldn't have strangers referring to me as the murderer today."

Amanda considered her reply carefully, and when she finally spoke it made Abby's head spin. She said: "It makes you wonder, doesn't it? Maybe things have a way of working out for the best, in the end." She nodded once before following JJ up the hill towards the RV. Once she'd gotten her balance back, Abby picked up her book and did the same.

By the time she got back Amanda had resumed her seat by the fire with Ellie and Dina, who had JJ sitting in her lap. When Ellie patted an empty seat beside her, Abby came and joined them. "I told them the whole sordid tale," Ellie said.

"Pretty wild, huh?" Abby said. "It's a miracle any of us made it back alive."

"How is Lev doing now?" Dina asked her. She couldn't help having a certain amount of empathy for him - after all, if it wasn't for him, she'd probably be dead.

"Oh, he's fine," Abby told her. "His leg still bothers him on rainy days, but he's been working out with me so he's in excellent shape."

"Is he still with Brandy?"

"Yep, they're still going strong. They're up in Oregon vaccinating a settlement near Portland right now."

"Why didn't they come to Jackson with you?"

"Too much to do, not enough Fireflies to do it," responded Abby. Internally she was overjoyed about the pleasant conversation she was having with Dina, and she knew Ellie was, too, because she reached over and took her hand, squeezing it in silent support. "Splitting up just made more sense."

An awkward silence fell, as though Dina all of a sudden realized exactly who she was talking to. She cleared her throat and said, "Well, it's getting late. We should head back. See you in the morning, Ellie." JJ hopped up off her lap and the three of them rose. As an afterthought, she said to Abby: "Good luck on your patrol."

"Thanks," said Abby dazedly.

"Bye!" said JJ cheerfully, and he skipped along the road in front of his parents as they walked off towards town.

Abby dramatically put the back of her hand against her forehead and slid down in her chair. "Hoooooly shit, Ellie," she said. "Holy fucking shit."

Ellie grinned and slapped her on the arm. "See? I toldja this was gonna work. And look what else - Dina brought us a little welcome present." She reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out a joint. "She's been growing it in secret in this library outside town."

Abby laughed. "Okay, she's pretty great. I totally get what you saw in her."

"Uh huh," Ellie agreed as she picked a small stick out of the fire and used it to light the joint. She took a deep draw and held it for a few seconds before letting it out slowly as she said, "Not bad, Dina. Not bad at all."

She passed the joint and Abby took her own draw. "I'm really glad I didn't get to finish my pie earlier. Now it'll be even better."

"Things are definitely looking up, my love."